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Through a qualitative case study of an elite, predominantly White, liberal arts college, we find that the unmarked Whiteness of core organizational structures and practices socialized undergraduates to normalize segregation while commodifying diversity. Analysis of publicly available documents (webpages, student newspaper, speeches) and student interviews (n=57) revealed that individuals' attitudes were filtered through organizational structures. When students spoke about race, they tended to use two scripts: diversity script and/or naturalization of segregation script. Yet these culturally legitimated scripts were decoupled from organizational practices. Even though most students claimed to value diversity for its learning potential, many students believed social segregation was "natural," and either "opted out" of conversations about race or "opted in" to conversations within homogeneous friend groups to maintain respectability within tightly-knit, well-resourced campus networks. The decoupling of structures, scripts, and behaviors motivated undergraduates of all races to adopt White, elite norms for (not) talking about race, which we dub "civilized diversity discourse." Drawing on racialized organizations theory, we argue that the unmarked Whiteness of organizational structures—as well as the college's size and status—shaped students' scripts and behaviors in ways that ensure the enactment and entrenchment of racial ignorance and structural White supremacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policymakers have been debating for over a decade whether Asia is decoupling from the USA. Increasingly, deepening regional integration is cited as a possible driver of this decoupling. Using large Bayesian Panel Vector Autoregressions, estimated over different subperiods, we jointly examine bilateral macro-financial interdependencies between Asia Pacific countries and between each Asia Pacific country and the USA. We uncover no evidence of decoupling. Instead, we find that both global and regional interdependencies deepened following the Asian financial crisis, before receding after the Global financial crisis. We also show that while US shocks are important, attention should also be devoted to regional shocks which play a large role in Asia Pacific countries across all subperiods considered. Our results also suggest that there have been shifts in the relative importance of different transmission channels over time. Following the Asian financial crisis, as regional interdependencies deepened, US financial shocks began to play a larger role than US macroeconomic shocks. These results support the view that rising intra-regional trade contributed to a fall in the importance of US macroeconomic shocks. They are also consistent with research suggesting that strong, common global financial linkages increase the synchronization of Asian regional business cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing demand for high processing performance in wireless base-station equipment as bit rates and capacity continue their upward trend in Long-Term Evolution and fifth-generation mobile communications system networks. To meet this demand, NTT DOCOMO has been using purpose-built hardware and software. There has also been remarkable technical innovation in cloud computing for web services, as reflected by ongoing improvements in hardware performance and increasing decoupling of hardware and software provided via virtualization and cloud-computing technologies. These innovative technologies should lead to superior wireless base-station design and solutions so that a more disaggregated and efficient radio access network (RAN) can be achieved. The development and commercialization of such equipment is moving forward as RAN virtualization is becoming predominant. This article describes NTT DOCOMO initiatives toward RAN virtualization technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine two external shocks that trigger inflationary pressures in Argentina. The first corresponds to a shock in international prices of agricultural commodities exported by this country. The second external shock affects the nominal exchange rate ($/U$S). Through the estimation of a quarterly VAR with directional quantiles model for the 2004–2019 period, we show how the pass-through from these external shocks to the inflation rate operates asymmetrically and mainly through increments in nominal wages. We estimate that an external shock in the international agricultural commodities prices exported by Argentina engenders a pass-through of 10 per cent, vis-à-vis a shock in the nominal exchange rate with a pass-through of 25 per cent. We explain these results highlighting the relevance of the class struggle as a key inflationary transmission mechanism, in line with Post-Keynesian-Structuralist conflicting claims models of inflation. These empirical results pose significant challenges for economic policy design, particularly pondering the adoption of measures that aim to decouple the potentially disruptive effects of these external shocks on inflationary pressures in Argentina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grounded on the Neo-institutional theory, this paper investigates the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) decoupling and tax avoidance in three CSR dimensions, particularly community, employee, and environment. A sample of 52 Malaysian listed companies for the financial years of 2009 to 2019 provides evidence that overall, CSR and tax are unrelated except for community CSR. The finding implies that companies do not view avoiding tax as immoral, lending credence to the belief that the relationship between CSR and tax is complex subject than mere ethical issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using new data from the Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP), this paper provides a basis for an integrated account of the Canadian housing market in the last two decades. It shows how the housing markets in Vancouver and, to a lesser extent, Toronto have become de-coupled from local incomes due to significant flows of foreign capital. Once this dynamic is appreciated, certain puzzling elements of the Canadian market become intelligible. The analysis points to possible policy solutions to intense housing affordability challenges. It also provides evidence of widespread tax avoidance in certain urban areas. Furthermore, it documents a methodology that researchers in other national contexts, who may lack government generated data on non-resident or foreign ownership, may adopt to infer the presence of de-coupling through foreign ownership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past three decades, United Nations (UN) Peace Operations have become increasingly multidimensional and integrated. Blue helmets, originally deployed to provide security and enforce cease-fires, are now engaging in multi-domain activities aimed at sustaining long-term peace. As part of this trend, the UN Security Council has begun mandating Peacekeeping Operations (PKOs) and Special Political Missions (SPMs) to engage in climate-sensitive programming. Questions, however, remain over the effectiveness of climate-related activities in peace operations. This study, using a large textual dataset, provides a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of the state of climate-sensitive programming in PKOs and SPMs. The findings indicate that while mandates and programming activities related to climate change have been on the rise, most field operations have failed to integrate climate-sensitive programming into their work. Moreover, the agenda on climate security appears to have led to a process of institutional decoupling between organizational arrangements and field activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fraud remains a challenge for corporate and local governments in Ghana. Therefore, this study probes behavior predictors using the fraud diamond theory. The study used questionnaires to draw data. Results of data (n = 624) analysis based on the structural equation modeling confirmed the positive relationship between pressure, opportunity, rationalization and capability, and behavior intention. Opposed to erstwhile for-profit studies, rationalization was dominant, emphasizing nuanced behavior outcomes across domains. Situating the theory within the local government context, the investigation backs up the theory's suitability for behavior prediction whilst inter alia forefronting anti-fraud success as contingent on decoupling public administration from partisan politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We assess the consumption-based carbon footprints of 43 major economies from 1995 to 2019. • We examine the moderating effect of income inequality on the decoupling of economic growth and carbon footprint. • Reducing income inequality can promote the decoupling of economic growth and carbon footprint. • Reducing income inequality is more conductive to decoupling in rich countries. • There exists a synergy among economic growth, reducing inequality, and carbon reduction. Mitigating climate change, improving economic growth, and reducing income inequality are three of Sustainable Development Goals (17 SDGs). It has been well understood that economic growth has a significant impact on carbon footprint, but it remains unclear whether this impact will be mitigated or intensified by reducing income inequality. By applying the Multi-Regional Input-Output model, this study assesses the consumption-based carbon footprints of 43 major economies over the period 1995–2019 and conducts the corresponding empirical analysis. Through examining the moderating effect of income inequality (Gini coefficient) on the relationship between economic growth (GDP per capita) and consumption-based carbon footprint (CO 2 per capita), we demonstrate that a lower Gini coefficient – a more equitable distribution of income − could significantly promote the decoupling of economic growth from carbon footprint. The results also show a heterogeneous moderating effect of income inequality – reducing income inequality in rich countries helps decouple economic growth from carbon footprint more than in poor countries. This study contributes to a better understanding of the synergy among economic growth (SDG 8), income inequality reduction (SDG 10), and carbon mitigation (SDG 13). Given that reducing income inequality in the context of economic growth can have significant benefits for carbon mitigation, we would suggest that income inequality reduction should be incorporated into climate action, particularly in rich countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early diagnosis of signet ring cell carcinoma dramatically improves the survival rate of patients. Due to lack of public dataset and expert-level annotations, automatic detection on signet ring cell (SRC) has not been thoroughly investigated. In MICCAI DigestPath2019 challenge, apart from foreground (SRC region)-background (normal tissue area) class imbalance, SRCs are partially annotated due to costly medical image annotation, which introduces extra label noise. To address the issues simultaneously, we propose Decoupled Gradient Harmonizing Mechanism (DGHM) and embed it into classification loss, denoted as DGHM-C loss. Specifically, besides positive (SRCs) and negative (normal tissues) examples, we further decouple noisy examples from clean examples and harmonize the corresponding gradient distributions in classification respectively. Without whistles and bells, we achieved the 2nd place in the challenge. Ablation studies and controlled label missing rate experiments demonstrate that DGHM-C loss can bring substantial improvement in partially annotated object detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating world-class universities (WCUs) has recently become a significant policy and practice in higher education in China under the Double World-Class Project. However, some negative effects have encouraged decoupling from the policy goals. To identify the reasons, we conducted policy document analysis and purposive interviews at three elite universities, focusing on financial funding, discipline development, and human resources. First, the uneven funding plans by central and local governments shape non-competitive environments for universities, hindering the dynamic adjustment of the Double World-Class Project. Second, universities have closed or merged programs in weak academic disciplines to gain legitimacy and stability in conformance to WCU guidelines. Last, as a result of the unbalanced development of universities in east, middle, and west China, universities in the west are facing a serious brain drain. To achieve a higher level of performance, an increasing number of 'shadow academics' are being recruited by Chinese universities. These decoupling responses and manipulative strategies result from the dominating constituent in WCUs, ambiguity in policy contents, hierarchical control systems in higher education, and uncertain environments for universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of the institutionalist literature on decoupling. Based on that literature, it proposes an analytic framework to consider state characteristics that lead to decoupling: commitment, capacity and context, or 'the 3Cs'. Then, using this framework, it assesses what sorts of aid initiatives we would expect to see to answer the question 'How can aid reduce or increase decoupling gaps?' Finally, it presents several possible combinations of the 3Cs and examples of how the presence or absence of one or all of these components have increased or reduced decoupling in ongoing or concluded aid interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• One reliability-based design with uncertain manufacturing accuracy is proposed. • Lightweight optimization models of vehicle structures are established and validated. • The optimal design variables and maximum allowable deviation range are provided. • More design options considering uncertain manufacturing accuracy are provided. Structural lightweight optimization is one of the key themes to continuously improve vehicle performance. However, most of the studies so far have not considered reliability and manufacturing issues brought about by the uncertainty of tolerances in structural lightweight optimization. In this study, a reliability-based design for lightweight vehicle structures with uncertain manufacturing accuracy is proposed. This method can provide not only the optimal design variables but also the maximum allowable deviation range. The main design variables lacking sample information are regarded as interval variables and other design parameters as probabilistic values. A progressive reliability-based design with uncertain manufacturing accuracy is established for lightweight vehicle structures by employing the transformation method of the interval model and the decoupling strategy of the probabilistic model. Firstly, the general test function is used to analyze the accuracy and efficiency of the reliability decoupling method. Then, lightweight optimization models of a classic cantilever beam and two vehicle structures (parking robot frame, energy absorption box) are established respectively, and the effectiveness of the present optimization method is verified. The optimized design results show that the optimal variables and the corresponding maximum allowable deviation range under acceptable manufacturing requirements can be obtained. The requirements for manufacturing accuracy can be reduced by appropriately increasing the deviation range of the design variables, which may lead to a reduction in manufacturing cost. This study aims to provide feasible design options by optimizing lightweight structures considering uncertain manufacturing accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marketing managers often face dilemmas when their athlete endorsers are accused of immoral behavior. However, research findings have been equivocal as to whether athletes' transgressions damage endorsed brand evaluations. Using two experiments, we empirically demonstrate that consumers' moral reasoning (i.e., moral rationalization, moral coupling, and moral decoupling) has differential effects on evaluations of a transgressor (Study 1). In Study 2, we examine the causal effect of moral reasoning choice on evaluations of the transgressor and the associated brand. Findings show that moral coupling has negative effects on the athlete and brand evaluations, whereas moral decoupling and moral rationalization positively affect brand attitude and purchase intent through positive evaluation of the athlete. Findings from this study provide empirical evidence to explain how and why some consumers continue or discontinue their support for a troubled athlete and associated brand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decoupling environmental 'bads' from economic 'goods' is a key part of policies such as green growth and circular economy that see economic growth as desirable or necessary, and also see that current use of natural resources and its environmental impacts is unsustainable. We estimate what a 'successful decoupling' (2% annual GDP growth and a decline in resource use by 2050 to a level that could be sustainable and compatible with a maximum 2°C global warming) would mean in terms of its type, timeline and size. Compared to 2017, 'successful' decoupling has to result in 2.6 times more GDP out of every ton of material use, including in-use material stocks. There are no realistic scenarios for such an increase in resource productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'decoupling' between the economic development and water resources utilization in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has become an academic hot spot and research field of great concern to the administrative departments in the governments of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei and relevant scholars. The existing literature mainly uses the classic framework of decoupling discrimination, focusing on the total amount of water resources utilization in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, or short-term decoupling situation evaluation and decoupling effect of industrial water resources utilization in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Few scholars have emphasized the guiding role of dual control action in the evaluation mode of decoupling, took the decoupling relationship between the economic development and industrial water resources utilization of different plan periods in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region as a whole consideration, and revealed the internal driving mechanism of water resources utilization decoupling in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Therefore, based on the analysis perspective of driving force-pressure-response, this study constructs the evaluation mode of decoupling between economic development and water resources utilization in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region under dual control action. The Tapio elastic coefficient method is used to dynamically compare and evaluate the decoupling situation of economic development and water resources utilization in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and its industries in different planning periods. The internal driving mechanism of water resources utilization decoupling is analyzed in depth through the driving factor decomposition of different industries in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. The results show that: CD Dual control action in Hebei has significant effect, followed by Beijing and Tianjin. Since beginning of the the Tenth Five-Year Plan period, the overall economic development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei has shown a stable 'strong decoupling' trend from water resources utilization. However, Beijing and Tianjin are still in a 'weak decoupling' situation, and Hebei Province is in a strong decoupling' situation. Among them, the industrial and agricultural economic development and water resources utilization in the Beijing-Hebei region presents a relatively stable 'strong decoupling' situation. Hebei' s overall water resources utilization has a significant impact on the 'strong decoupling' of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Beijing's water resources utilization of the service industry has a significant impact on the 'strong decoupling' of Beijing, and the water resources utilization of the industry and agriculture in the Tianjin-Hebei region has a significant impact on the 'strong decoupling' of Tianjin-Hebei region. (2) The effect of technical progress of industrial water resources utilization on the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is significant, which is the key driving factor of water resources utilization decoupling in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. In the first half of the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan period, the structural adjustment of agricultural water resources utilization has become one of the key driving factors to realize the decoupling of agricultural economic development and water resources utilization in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. However, the service industry in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has not yet reached the 'inflection point' of water consumption peak and water consumption increment. It is urgent to enhance the capacity of water conversancy science and technology innovation, increase the intensity of water use in the service industry, and speed up the structural transformation and upgrading of the service industry, so as to exert the driving effect of structural adjustment on water resources utilization of the service industry in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human rights education and Islamic education are typically presented as finished products without room for critique that do not always align with local and personal realities, resulting in a phenomenon sometimes called 'decoupling'. To examine the ways in which decoupling might occur in one setting, this proposed article reports on the results of a quantitative study that analysed the responses of 470 education students at a university in Kuwait who were asked to rate on a 4-point scale their level of agreement with statements of women's rights in general terms and in specific situations. Mean differences in their responses to women's rights in general were compared to their responses to women's rights, in particular, using a one-sample t-test, along with comparisons of demographic differences in responses analysed using ANOVA. The results showed that the students agreed with women's rights in general but there was significantly less agreement with women's rights in particular, suggesting that even on an individual level, a decoupling effect takes place when translating universalised value systems, like human rights and religion, to local realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present surge in imperial nostalgia in Britain has been widely remarked and critiqued. This article considers the relationship between imperialism and nostalgia, from their historical interconnectedness to their potential decoupling. I conceptualize nostalgia as the recognition of a gulf between past and present, the judgment that the past was somehow preferable to the present, and the longing for a "home" in which there is no longing for any other timespace. Nostalgia may engender a paralyzed longing for the past, a critical engagement with the present, or an imagined utopian future. After tracing the history of nostalgia, I provide an overview of nostalgia in social theory, including imperialist as well as anti-racist and anticolonial thought. In pursuit of nostalgia's decolonizing potential, I trace its development in Fanon's writing. Finally, I ask how an expanded understanding of nostalgia might provide insight into the logic and expression of imperial nostalgia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Label imbalance is one of the characteristics of multilabel data, and imbalanced data seriously affects the performance of the classifiers. In multilabel classification, resampling methods are mostly used to deal with imbalanced problems. Existing resampling methods balance the data by either undersampling or oversampling, which causes overfitting and information loss. Resampling has a significant impact on the minority labels. Furthermore, the high concurrency of majority labels and minority labels in many instances also affects the performance of classification. In this study, we proposed a bidirectional resampling method to decouple multilabel datasets. On one hand, the concurrency of labels can be reduced by setting termination conditions for decoupling, and on the other hand, the loss of instance information and overfitting can be alleviated by combining oversampling and undersampling. By measuring the minority labels of the instances, the instances that have less impact on minority labels are selected to resample. The number of resampling is limited to keep the original distribution of the data during the resampling phase. The experiments on seven benchmark multilabel datasets have proved the effectiveness of the algorithm, especially on datasets with high concurrency of majority labels and minority labels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the quality of undergraduate teaching, the Chinese government has been implementing a scheme of institutional accountability in a bid to ensure the adequacy of university quality assurance measures. This study employed a qualitative method to explore the responses of administrative personnel and the perceptions of academics at a local comprehensive university, which has recently experienced a new round of external review mechanisms. Through in-depth interviews conducted with 23 staff members from four units, we found the university had adopted flexible strategies to respond to the external pressures. The reasons can be categorized under five 'C's: the Cause of the institutional review, the Constituents for the university and academics, accountability Control measures, the Content of the external review and the Context of this particular university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Label imbalance is one of the characteristics of multilabel data, and imbalanced data seriously affects the performance of the classifiers. In multilabel classification, resampling methods are mostly used to deal with imbalanced problems. Existing resampling methods balance the data by either undersampling or oversampling, which causes overfitting and information loss. Resampling has a significant impact on the minority labels. Furthermore, the high concurrency of majority labels and minority labels in many instances also affects the performance of classification. In this study, we proposed a bidirectional resampling method to decouple multilabel datasets. On one hand, the concurrency of labels can be reduced by setting termination conditions for decoupling, and on the other hand, the loss of instance information and overfitting can be alleviated by combining oversampling and undersampling. By measuring the minority labels of the instances, the instances that have less impact on minority labels are selected to resample. The number of resampling is limited to keep the original distribution of the data during the resampling phase. The experiments on seven benchmark multilabel datasets have proved the effectiveness of the algorithm, especially on datasets with high concurrency of majority labels and minority labels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Where policy goals can be achieved through regulation of private firms, private provision of public services allows governments to separate public policies from their political costs by shifting those costs to the private sector. Over the past three decades, financial decoupling has emerged as a regulatory strategy for promoting conservation, especially in the energy sector. Decoupling refers to the separation of a firm's revenues from the volume of its product consumed, which allows companies to pursue resource efficiency free from financial risk. Similarly, when private firms provide public services, they separate public policies from their political costs. This political decoupling allows governments to pursue controversial policies while avoiding their attendant political risks. Applied to environmental policy, this theory implies that potentially unpopular conservation policies are more likely to be adopted and succeed when implemented through private firms. As an initial test of the theory, we analyze California water utilities and their responses to that state's drought from 2015–2017. Analysis shows that, compared with those served by local government utilities, private utilities adopted more aggressive conservation measures, were more likely to meet state conservation standards, and conserved more water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores academic identities in Ukrainian research universities whilst means–ends decoupling takes place at the state level. The latter term implies that the practices of state policies are disconnected from the state's core goal of creating public welfare. Such means–ends decoupling occurs in oligarchic economies, Ukraine being one. Data for research were collected through semi-structured interviews with 38 academics from the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences affiliated with 2 Ukrainian research universities. The findings reveal that while institutional complexity caused by means–ends decoupling at the state level results in means–ends decoupling at the organisational level which leads to cultural complexity, both institutional and cultural complexities experienced by academics trigger them to sustain means–ends decoupling at the individual level. As a consequence, academics are able neither to adopt practices/roles prescribed by the organisational identities of the global model of the research university nor to attain synergy among them. The greater means–ends decoupling at the individual level implies a larger gap between constructed academic identities and identities prescribed by the global model of the research university. The greater awareness of academics about their practices being either loosely related or not related at all to their core goal (aspirational identity) and the larger number of practices which they compartmentalise the greater the dissonance they experience. As means–ends decoupling at all the aforementioned levels implies a severe diversion of human intellectual capital in Ukraine, it entails grave consequences for the Ukrainian society and economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What are the capacities of the state to facilitate a comprehensive sustainability transition? It is argued that structural barriers akin to an invisible 'glass ceiling' are inhibiting any such transformation. First, the structure of state imperatives does not allow for the addition of an independent sustainability imperative without major contradictions. Second, the imperative of legitimation is identified as a crucial component of the glass ceiling. A distinction is introduced between 'lifeworld' and 'system' sustainability, showing that the environmental state has created an environmentally sustainable lifeworld, which continues to be predicated on a fundamentally unsustainable reproductive system. While this 'decoupling' of lifeworld from system sustainability has alleviated legitimation pressure from the state, a transition to systemic sustainability will require deep changes in the lifeworld. This constitutes a renewed challenge for state legitimation. Some speculations regarding possible futures of the environmental state conclude the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we introduce readers to a new concept, Executive Decoupling, which describes a statistical decline in the capacity of the Executive to modify existing legislation by decree. In contrast with Bureaucratic Delegation models, which consider legislative encroachment by the Executive as a contextual event and the result of conflict among the different branches of the government, we show that increased statutory density restrains the ability of the Executive to legislate by decree. The motive is an increase in interdependence between legislative jurisdictions, some of which connect with issues that are restricted to the President. As the citation network of existing legislation expands, increased interdependence between jurisdictions prevents the executive from innovating in contiguous normative issue areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the rising demand for high reliability in complex multidisciplinary engineering systems, more attention has been paid to reliability-based multidisciplinary design optimization (RBMDO). In this paper, a sequential optimization and fuzzy reliability analysis (SOFRA) method for multidisciplinary systems is developed to decouple the fuzzy reliability analysis from the optimization. In SOFRA, the multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) and fuzzy reliability analysis are conducted in a sequential manner. Furthermore, a novel adaptive collocation method (ACM) is proposed to conduct the fuzzy reliability analysis for multidisciplinary systems. The ACM arranges points adaptively at the axis of the membership to obtain more accurate results. The shifting distance of the constraint is calculated by the bi-section method. Both numerical and engineering examples are used to demonstrate the validity of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the acceptance process of newly developed five-axis machine tools (FAMTs), it is urgent for machine tool builders to understand the main causes of machining defects on S-shaped test piece. This paper proposes a novel causation analysis method based on error spatial morphology of S-shaped test piece to decouple the key geometric error parameters causing contour errors of test piece. Firstly, based on multi-body system (MBS) theory, tool axis surface error model of a FAMT is set up. In order to eliminate the effect of theoretical error on contour error of S-shaped test piece, the optimized tool path is planned based on the three-point tangential method. Then, the NC instruction is calculated, and error spatial model is established to characterize contour error of the test piece by considering tool setting position. As a basis, error spatial morphologies of test piece are drawn and the relationships between geometric error parameters and error spatial morphologies are analyzed. In order to decouple the key geometric error parameters affecting contour error of test piece, the causation analysis method of local error and global error are presented. After repairing the local and global key error parameters of the test piece obtained from these two analysis methods respectively, the local machining errors are reduced by more than 80%, and the global machining error is not beyond the tolerance. Finally, the cutting experiments of S-shaped test piece on the FAMT XKAS2525 × 60 are implemented. Error detection results of the cutting test piece are basically the same as that shown in error spatial morphologies of test piece, which verifies the correctness of error spatial model for the test piece. After compensating the global key error parameters obtained from the causation analysis method of global error in CNC system, the detection results of re-cutting test piece under the same conditions indicate the test piece has very few points that are not within the tolerance range, and detection results after compensation and global repaired results are almost similar, which verifies the feasibility and correctness of the proposed analysis method. Therefore, it is obvious that the presented method bridges between geometric characteristics of S-shaped test piece, geometric errors of machine tool, and machining defects of test piece and provides a comprehensive error analysis method in the acceptance and performance testing of FAMTs by using the S-shaped test piece. Thus, this study is of great significance for improving the accuracy evaluation method and enhancing the design accuracy of FAMTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: A decoupled visual model and a fractional PID controller are designed aiming at the problem of the view distortion in the fillet weld welding process. Firstly, the intersection point coordinates of two laser stripes are selected as the image characteristics, and the decoupled visual model is designed to the tracking control of the fillet weld seam so that the control value in two directions is decoupled, reducing the difficulty of control. In addition to this, the image may produce distortion in the dynamic tracking process, causing nonlinearity and coupling in two directions. To solve this problem, the fractional‐order PID controller is designed so that the adjustment range and the control ability are improved better than the traditional PID controller. Some experiments verify that the desired performance can be achieved by using the proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a fault detection and isolation (FDI) approach for actuator faults of complex thermal management systems. In the case of safety critical systems, early fault diagnosis not only improves system reliability, but can also help prevent complete system failure (i.e., aircraft system). In this work, a robust unknown input observer (UIO)-based actuator FDI approach is applied on an example aircraft fluid thermal management system (FTMS). Robustness is achieved by decoupling the effect of unknown inputs modeled as additive disturbances (i.e., modeling errors, linearization errors, parameter variations, or model order reduction errors) from the residuals generated from a bank of UIOs. Robustness is central to avoid false alarms without reducing residual sensitivity to actual faults in the system. System dynamics are modeled using a graph-based approach. A structure preserving aggregation-based model-order reduction technique is used to reduce the complexity of the dynamic model. A reduced-order linearized state space model is then used in a bank of UIOs to generate a set of structured robust (in the sense of disturbance decoupling) residuals. Simulation and experimental results show successful (i.e., no false alarms) actuator FDI in the presence of unknown inputs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Triple Helix is a global model originating in developed economies but less developed countries have also made attempts to implement it into their national contexts. Meanwhile, the national context can be characterised by means-ends decoupling at the state level which implies that policies and practices of the state are disconnected from its core goal of creating public welfare. It refers to the oligarchic economies in which the state is captured by exploitative, rent-seeking oligarchies in business and politics. Ukraine is an example of such a country. Thus, the research question is: how did means-ends decoupling at the state level affect the implementation of the Triple Helix model in Ukraine? To answer this question, we employed both rational choice institutionalism and sociological institutionalism. The data emanate from interviews with the senior managers of four universities and science parks established within them. The findings reveal that means-ends decoupling at the state level, caused by the rent-seeking behaviour of business and political oligarchies, led to the implementation of the Triple Helix model in Ukraine also reflecting a case of means-ends decoupling. The greater the institutional complexity experienced by the science park and the more the senior managers of the university and the science park maintain a logic of confidence in practices that deviate from the Triple Helix model, the greater rent-seeking and means-ends decoupling at the organisational level. Both rent-seeking and means-ends decoupling were found to not only hinder economic growth but also result in a diversion of human intellectual capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • This paper analyzed the decoupling effect of industrial carbon emissions in Xinjiang. • Attribution analysis was utilized. • Industrial structure was the most influential factor for decoupling after 2008. • The sub-sector's contributions to the decoupling process varied markedly. Abstract As the gateway of "the Belt and Road", it is of great significance for Xinjiang to fulfill the carbon reduction target without compromising the steady socio-economic development. A comprehensive understanding of the decoupling relationships between industrial growth and carbon emissions as well as its driving factors is helpful to make targeted recommendations. In this paper, decoupling analysis, index decomposition analysis, and attribution analysis were applied to analyze the decoupling effect, driving factors, and contributions of sub-sectors to each driving factor, respectively. Some conclusions were drawn. (1) Xinjiang's decoupling relationships between industrial growth and carbon emissions experienced three stages, i.e., "negative decoupling, weak decoupling, and negative decoupling". Xinjiang's industrial sector was in relatively unsustainable period after 2008. (2) From 2000 to 2014, energy intensity promoted the decoupling process, and industrial structure and energy structure were the main factors which inhibited the decoupling process. But after 2008, all driving factors showed negative influences. (3) After 2008, fuel processing , textile , and mining and quarrying were primarily responsible for the energy intensity's negative influence; fuel processing was primarily responsible for energy intensity's negative influence; production and supply , smelting and pressing of metals , and chemicals were primarily responsible for industrial structure's negative influence. (4) This paper suggests that Xinjiang should make targeted carbon reduction policies at sub-sector level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Despite a dramatic expansion in states' adoption of UN agreements to protect human rights, these efforts often fail to deliver on the full promise of compliance within national contexts. In this paper, we examine the process and mechanisms behind this hypocrisy paradox—when states sign onto yet fail to comply with international agreements. Borrowing from repression and social movement literature, we identify one central process that states draw on to avoid garnering international condemnation while maintaining non-compliance nationally: soft repression. We highlight two mechanisms of soft repression: the mobilization of state resources (working at the macro-level to silence activists) and counterframing techniques (working at the meso-level to stigmatize activists and their goals). Using Ghana as a case study, we demonstrate how proposed domestic violence legislation lost ground when state actors mobilized resources to stall the bill and successfully counterframed the law as a foreign import and a threat to Ghanaian nationalism and families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Detecting objects and estimating their pose remains as one of the major challenges of the computer vision research community. There exists a compromise between localizing the objects and estimating their viewpoints. The detector ideally needs to be view-invariant, while the pose estimation process should be able to generalize towards the category-level. This work is an exploration of using deep learning models for solving both problems simultaneously. For doing so, we propose three novel deep learning architectures, which are able to perform a joint detection and pose estimation, where we gradually decouple the two tasks. We also investigate whether the pose estimation problem should be solved as a classification or regression problem, being this still an open question in the computer vision community. We detail a comparative analysis of all our solutions and the methods that currently define the state of the art for this problem. We use PASCAL3D+ and ObjectNet3D datasets to present the thorough experimental evaluation and main results. With the proposed models we achieve the state-of-the-art performance in both datasets. Graphical Abstract Highlights • Simultaneous object detection and pose estimation problem is addressed. • Three new deep learning models are evaluated on PASCAL3D+ and ObjectNet3D. • A thorough comparison with state-of-the-art solutions is carried. • The new networks achieve state-of-the-art performance on both datasets • Decoupling the detection from the viewpoint estimation have benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • DNP MAS NMR below 6 K. • 2-D DNP MAS NMR below 6 K. • Electron decoupling applied to CPMAS pulse sequences. • Electron decoupling of the hyperfine shift with MAS. Abstract Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) can improve nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) sensitivity by orders of magnitude. Polarizing agents containing unpaired electrons required for DNP can broaden nuclear resonances in the presence of appreciable hyperfine couplings. Here we present the first cross polarization experiments implemented with electron decoupling, which attenuates detrimental hyperfine couplings. We also demonstrate magic angle spinning (MAS) DNP experiments below 6 K, producing unprecedented nuclear spin polarization in rotating solids. 13C correlation spectra were collected with MAS DNP below 6 K for the first time. Polarization build-up times with MAS DNP (T 1DNP, 1H) of urea in a frozen glassy matrix below 6 K were measured for both the solid effect and the cross effect. Trityl radicals exhibit a T 1DNP (1H) of 18.7 s and the T 1DNP (1H) of samples doped with 20 mM AMUPol is only 1.3 s. MAS below 6 K with DNP and electron decoupling is an effective strategy to increase NMR signal-to-noise ratios per transient while retaining short polarization periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among all the monitoring data which could be captured in a machining process, the cutting forces could convey key knowledge on the conditions of the process. When the machining involves a single cutting edge the relationship between the output forces (measured with off-the-shelf dynamometers) and condition of the process, is somehow straight forward. However, when multiple cutting edges are in contact with the workpiece, the conventional dynamometers, that cannot separate the reaction forces on each cutting edge, lose significant information that could be used to in-detail monitor the machining process. To this end, this paper presents a novel concept of instrumented wireless milling cutter system with embedded thin film sensors in each cutting inserts, thus the cutting forces acting on each cutting edge could be monitored without reducing the stiffness and dynamic characteristics of the machining system. For this to happen, a dedicated milling force decoupling model for the developed instrumented milling cutter system is proposed and calibrated, and for the first time the accurate on-line estimation of the separate inserts’ working conditions is achieved. The validation demonstrates a satisfactory agreement between the forces measured from the dynamometer and the proposed monitoring system prototype with the error less than 10%. Furthermore, the experimental results also indicate that the monitoring system prototype could also identify the tool insert conditions such as worn and chipped, which could be of high relevance to the analysis of the insert failure mechanism and its progress. Not only the proposed method and easy implementable but above all, it allows the monitoring of the condition (e.g. worn, chipped) of each insert, ability that has not been previously reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key points Technological and policy developments are changing the context for long‐form scholarly writing. In the face of a changing context, the structures supporting the publication of academic books have been stable. There may be potential benefits in separating the functions of the journal in a decoupled model. Separating functions could also be applied to long‐form scholarly works, with potential benefits that are worth exploring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prospects for long-term sustainability depend on whether, and how much, we can absolutely decouple economic output from total energy and material throughput. While relative decoupling has occurred – that is, resource use has grown less quickly than the economy – absolute decoupling has not, raising the question whether it is possible. This paper proposes a novel explanation for why decoupling has not happened historically, drawing on a recent theory of cost-share induced productivity change and an extension of post-Keynesian pricing theory to natural resources. Cost-share induced productivity change and pricing behavior set up two halves of a dynamic, which we explore from a post-Keynesian perspective. In this dynamic, resource costs as a share of GDP move toward a stable level, at which the growth rate of resource productivity is typically less than the growth rate of GDP. This provides a parsimonious explanation of the prevalence of relative over absolute decoupling. The paper then presents some illustrative applications of the theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Commission is frequently faced with leaks, much like other public administrations in Western democracies. While executive leaders often criticise the practice of leaking as an unwanted breach of confidentiality and secrecy, leak prevention is usually not taken seriously compared to the scale of the phenomenon. This article discusses leaking and leak prevention more broadly and analyses the efforts of the European Commission to prevent leaks. It finds that leaking and leak prevention were regularly discussed at the highest level of the EU’s executive between 2006 and 2015. However, few Commission officials have been sanctioned for leaking in that period, and mostly for leaks that appear unrelated to the substance of those discussed at the political level. This mismatch is explained by a decoupling of talk and action regarding leak prevention, allowing the European Commission and other public administrations to manage inconsistencies in competing internal and external demands for openness and confidentiality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Microaerophilic, phototrophic and nitrate‐reducing Fe(II)‐oxidizers co‐exist in coastal marine and littoral freshwater sediments. However, the in situ abundance, distribution and diversity of metabolically active Fe(II)‐oxidizers remained largely unexplored. Here, we characterized the microbial community composition at the oxic‐anoxic interface of littoral freshwater (Lake Constance, Germany) and coastal marine sediments (Kalø Vig and Norsminde Fjord, Denmark) using DNA‐/RNA‐based next‐generation 16S rRNA (gene) amplicon sequencing. All three physiological groups of neutrophilic Fe(II)‐oxidizing bacteria were found to be active in marine and freshwater sediments, revealing up to 0.2% anoxygenic photoferrotrophs (e.g., Rhodopseudomonas, Rhodobacter, Chlorobium), 0.1% microaerophilic Fe(II)‐oxidizers (e.g., Mariprofundus, Hyphomonas, Gallionella) and 0.3% nitrate‐reducing Fe(II)‐oxidizers (e.g., Thiobacillus, Pseudomonas, Denitromonas, Hoeflea). Active Fe(III)‐reducing bacteria (e.g., Shewanella, Geobacter) were most abundant (up to 2.8%) in marine sediments and co‐occurred with cable bacteria (up to 4.5%). Geochemical profiles of Fe(III), Fe(II), O2, light, nitrate and total organic carbon revealed a redox stratification of the sediments and explained 75%–85% of the vertical distribution of microbial taxa, while active Fe‐cycling bacteria were found to be decoupled from geochemical gradients. We suggest that metabolic flexibility, microniches in the sediments, or interrelationships with cable bacteria might explain the distribution patterns of active Fe‐cycling bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contact force between pantograph and contact wire presents periodic variation with the running of trains. In this paper, the effects of dynamic contact force on friction coefficient and wear rate of pure carbon strip were studied on a pin-on-disk test rig with coupling and decoupling tests. Coupling results showed that the best tribological properties were obtained at 80 km/h. Decoupling results suggested that the increasing amplitude resulted in the production and extension of cracks and severe arc erosion; the increasing frequency contributed to the formation of the oxide film at low arc rate phases. This paper studied the detailed electrical wear behaviors of pure carbon strip and the related mechanism. The results may provide some practical guidance for railway operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of brandstanding has been embraced by leading public relations firms and practitioners, but is virtually absent from scholarship. This conceptual essay defines brandstanding as an organization (corporation, nonprofit, or government agency) taking a public stance on a contentious issue (generally, outside of its industry or core purpose) while articulating its corresponding values and maintaining authenticity. It further describes the phenomenon in four components: (1) organizational and stakeholder values, (2) authenticity, (3) engagement, and (4) measurement. Understanding the role of each can help PR practitioners guide organizations toward informed participation in civic discourse. While some have encouraged an approach that minimizes contention (i.e. Argenti, 2020), this essay uses moral decoupling theory to argue that reducing the distance between what they say and how they act (Dowell & Jackson, 2020; Weiner, 2021) and striving for authenticity—the continuity, credibility, integrity, and symbolism of an organization's stance (Morhart et al., 2015)—should be the most crucial factors in engagement decisions. • This paper develops a theory of brandstanding—organizational engagement on contentious issues not tied to the organization's core purpose. • Brandstanding connects corporate social advocacy (CSA) and recent scholarship on general publics, with moral decoupling theory (MDP) and articulations of brand authenticity. • The paper presents facets of ethical brandstanding, an actionable and generative framework for understanding contentious issue engagement. • This research asserts that any type of organization can play a role in contentious issue engagement, and that it may be less risk-laden for organizations than it appears. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excited-state interchromophoric couplings in π-conjugated polymers present a daunting challenge to study as their spectroscopic signatures are difficult to separate from structure-dependent intrachromophoric spectral characteristics. Using custom-designed molecular model systems in combination with single-molecule spectroscopy, a controlled coupling of the excited states between cofacially arranged π-conjugated oligomers is shown to be possible. Multiscale molecular dynamics simulations allow us to generate a representative ensemble of molecular structures of the model molecule embedded in a polymer matrix and examine the connection between structural fluctuations of the molecule with theoretically predicted and measured spectral signatures. The single molecules in the embedding matrix polymer can be assigned to specific conformational features with the help of computer-based "virtual spectroscopy". By combining a quantum chemical approach with an analytical approach, we show that the coupling between the chromophores is well-described by transition dipole coupling above an interchromophoric separation of ~4.5 Å. Even for aligned chromophores, however, twisting between repeat units of the π-system and bending of the individual π-systems can lead to a decoupling of the chromophores to a degree far beyond what their equilibrium structures would suggest: tiny displacements of the molecular constituents can dramatically impact excited-state interactions. This observation has profound implications for the design of future tunable organic optoelectronic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this thesis is to develop a double cylinder synchronization control system to address the high precision control requirement of this system. First, the dual-input dual-output coupling mathematical model of the hydraulic press synchronization control system was built using mechanism modelling. Then, the mathematical model of compensating and decoupling links is established by the input and load disturbance decoupling control method based on feedback compensation. Next, a cross-coupled fuzzy PID controller is designed, which is then combined with full decoupling compensation method. Finally, the coupling characteristics of the synchronization control system and the synchronization control performance of the hydraulic cylinders under the cross-coupled fuzzy PID controller combined with the decoupling control algorithm were tested and evaluated in a principle experiment platform. The results indicate that the robustness and the ability to resist interference load are improved under the theory and control strategy outlined in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A better understanding of the economy-material-emissions nexus is fundamental in order to reveal the interactions between human development and the natural environment, and more importantly, to design integrated de-carbonization and de-materialization policies. In this paper, we conducted a decoupling analysis of fossil fuel-induced CO 2 emissions and in-use material stocks in infrastructure to economic growth at the provincial level in China and investigated the trilateral causal relationships among the three indicators. The results show that the average elasticity of CO 2 emissions and material stocks to economic growth was smaller than 1, representing a status of relative decoupling. However, in many less developed provinces in central and western China, we observed increasing trends of elasticity in the past three decades, which suggest their economic growth became more tightly linked to CO 2 emissions and the accumulation of material stocks. Granger tests suggest that in the long run there existed a unidirectional causality running from CO 2 emissions, economic growth and urbanization to material stocks. In the short run, a bi-directional causality between CO 2 emissions and economic growth and a unidirectional causality from material stocks to CO 2 emissions were detected. Policy implications for the de-carbonization and de-materialization transition include enhancing renewable energy utilization, upgrading industries to less carbon-intensive ones, developing compact cities, prolonging the lifespan of infrastructure, and strengthening the life-cycle carbon management of infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the recent debate about the movement towards a monographs mandate for the UK, this opinion piece considers the logic of 'decoupling' that underlies it. It also looks at the real opportunities to improve on the current extraordinarily durable high-price system for publishing long-form research. Thinking around decoupled monograph publishing has positioned academic authors as the individual consumers of diverse publishing services (a wide array of which are fast emerging) in the face of significant scholarly caution. Furthermore, a danger of renewed market dominance by price-makers in an open access environment remains, with the risk of inequitable outcomes that may mirror problems that have arisen in journals. Opportunities may also arise for new local initiatives, especially collective and community-based publishing, with academic libraries likely to be in the middle of a fast-changing and contested environment for publishing monographs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the concept of decoupling, from institutional theory in organizational studies, this paper explains how organizations mitigate demands for circularity. Seven Swedish apparel companies that have started collecting used clothes as a form of engagement with circular business models serve as case studies. The paper shows how outsourcing and internal separation allow these companies to buffer their business model and core way of creating value from emerging demands. It also shows how companies pro-actively work at influencing institutional demands for circularity by making these demands compatible with their own interests. The concept of decoupling thereby provides key insights into the development and implementation, or absence thereof, of circular business models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]