Acceptable Conditions Research Articles

Gerontechnology acceptance by older adults and their satisfaction on its servitization in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT In recent years, the unprecedented growth of the aging population has posed lots of challenges to society. Gerontechnology, combining gerontology with technology, could be a way to turn this challenge into an opportunity. As older adults always evidence a lower-level technology usage compared with younger people, studies on technology acceptance and adoption for older adults have significant research value. Although this topic has been widely studied, most of them focus on the design of products’ physical features and the interaction between older adults and technology, its related services are rarely discussed. To bridge the gap, this study aims to capture older adults’ gerontechnology acceptance and usage conditions and increase the knowledge of gerontechnology servitization for older adults. A face-to-face interview-based survey questionnaire was purposely designed for collecting data related to older adults’ technology experience, technology acceptance factors, and their views on services. Older adults aged 55–75 years old in Hong Kong participated in this survey. The study shows the pitfall of a lack of supportive services of gerontechnology, especially during initial use, and highlights the potential for comprehensive design that integrates products and services into a system facilitating older adults’ technology acceptance and adoption.

Functioning of Cinemas in the Cities of the Tobolsk Province at the Beginning of the XX Century .

The purpose of the article is to conduct an overview of the functioning of pre–revolutionary cinemas in one of the most remote provinces of Russia based on the analysis of archival materials, chronicle newspaper publications and the advertising component of regional periodicals. The object of the study is stationary cinematographic institutions of the cities of the Tobolsk province, the subject is the peculiarities of their functioning at the beginning of the XX century. In methodological terms, the work is based on descriptive-narrative, comparative-historical, logical and retrospective methods of scientific cognition, the method of historical reconstruction. It describes the formation of urban cinematographies of the province, their technical characteristics and infrastructure elements in accordance with official Russian standards, the conditions of acceptance of buildings, fire safety issues and problematic aspects of the existence of cinemas. Attention is paid to the repertoire content of film screenings, pricing policy, the phenomena of competition among film entrepreneurs, their work with the audience. The scientific novelty of the study is due to the lack of comprehensive regional works considering the specifics of the activities of pre-revolutionary cinematographic institutions in the territorial framework of the Tobolsk province. It is determined that cinema, having arisen at the end of the XIX century as a sporadic form of entertainment for citizens, during the first decades of the XX century it evolved into an important social phenomenon of everyday life and became one of the key factors of transformations that took place in the system of value attitudes and behavioral stereotypes of the population of the region. Stationary cinemas were not only a fundamentally new type of communication for representatives of the urban community, but over time they turned into significant objects of socio-cultural infrastructure and leisure centers for citizens of the Tobolsk province. A key trend in the progressive development of the cinema services industry in the studied region was constructive competition for the audience, during which the owners of institutions improved the infrastructure and regularly updated the repertoire of cinemas, resorted to intensification and forcing the advertising component in the development of their own business.

Field evaluation of spray drift and nontargeted soybean injury from unmanned aerial spraying system herbicide application under acceptable operation conditions.

Droplets of plant production products sprayed from unmanned aerial spraying system (UASS) applications are prone to drift, threatening nontarget crops, humans, and environment. There are few studies that have investigated plant bioassay of UASS spray drift, and even fewer when it comes to herbicide application. This work reports a combined field-scale evaluation of spray drift and plant bioassay for a rice herbicide florpyrauxifen-benzyl application using a six-rotor motor UASS under acceptable operating conditions. An artificial rice canopy was built to simulate a practical field application scenario and the soybean was applied to assess the nontargeted crop injury. The effects of nozzle type (droplet size), flight height, and adjuvant on spray deposition, sedimenting drift, airborne drift, and soybean injury were studied to explore the feasibility of UASS herbicide application. Under an average wind speed of 1.2-1.5m s-1 , reduced flight height, increased droplet size, and adding nonionic surfactant resulted in greater deposition, lower drift, and less injury to soybean. Increasing droplet size by changing the nozzle was more effective compared with adding adjuvant and reducing the flight height, which offers greater flexibility and can accomplish better spray performance. The correlations between sedimenting drift and soybean injury percentage were highly significant (P < 0.01, r > 0.96). The calculated buffer distances of 7.7-18.9m were to varying degrees less than the soybean safety distances of 10.0-20.0m. The results of this study provide a reference basis for determining optimum working parameters and establishing buffer zones for the rice herbicide application of UASS. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Evaluation of the controllability of a remotely piloted high-altitude platform in atmospheric disturbances based on pilot-in-the-loop simulations

In the context of the project HAP, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is currently developing a solar-powered high-altitude platform that is supposed to be stationed in the stratosphere for 30 days. The development process includes the design of the aircraft, its manufacturing and a flight test campaign. Furthermore, a high-altitude demonstration flight is planned. While the high-altitude flight will be performed using a flight control and management system, during take-off and landing and at the beginning of the low-altitude flight test campaign, the aircraft will be remotely piloted. The aircraft has a wing span of 27 m and operates at extremely low airspeeds, being in the magnitude of around 10 m/s equivalent airspeed, and is therefore profoundly susceptible to atmospheric disturbances. This is particularly critical at low altitudes, where the airspeed is lowest. Hence, both time and location for take-off, landing or low-altitude flight test campaigns need to be selected thoroughly to reduce the risk of a loss of aircraft. In this regard, the knowledge about the operational limits of the aircraft with respect to atmospheric conditions is crucial. The less these limits are known, the more conservative the decision about whether to perform a flight on a certain day or not tends to be. On the contrary, if these limits have been adequately investigated, the amount of days and locations that are assessed as suitable for performing a flight might increase. This paper deals with a pilot-in-the-loop simulation campaign that is conducted to assess the controllability of the high-altitude platform in atmospheric disturbances. Within this campaign, the pilots are requested to perform practical tasks like maintaining track or altitude, flying a teardrop turn or performing a landing while the aircraft is subject to different atmospheric disturbances including constant wind, wind shear, continuous turbulence, and discrete gusts of different magnitudes. This paper describes the desktop simulator used for the campaign, outlines the entity of investigated test points and presents the assessment method used to evaluate the criticality of the respective disturbances. Finally, a set of restrictions on the acceptable wind conditions for the high-altitude platform are found. The underlying limits comprise a constant wind speed of 3.0 m/s in any direction, except during landing, maximum wind shear of 0.5 text { m/s}^{2} and gusts with peak speeds of 1.5 to 2.0 m/s, depending on the direction.

Human and environmental health concerns: What differences are required to make the difference?

This article will take an interdisciplinary perspective on the combined concerns of human and planetary health. There will be an argument made here that in order for the mitigation of some of the more pressing human and planetary health problems, there is a need to entertain a ‘different’ perspective. We as a collective (of disciplines & people) desire change for the planet and its inhabitants and yet change is one of the least acceptable conditions of human experience. Developing an openness to alternative understandings of the human condition, to sit alongside the more ‘normal’ general social and cognitive perspectives that tend to be pervasive in the broad literature, is imperative if change is to occur. In essence we, as individuals, need to embrace the very concepts that we are promoting for the world. True to the roots of psychology, this paper will make the necessary (re) turn to the ‘particular’ and personal and a more inward rather than outward focus. Ideas derived from the wealth of psychotherapeutic literature and theory will be introduced and highlighted as important additions to the understanding, and therefore the mitigation, of both psychological and environmental dis-ease. Particular attention will be given to a 'depth' consideration of the human condition incorporating various pertinent ideas derived from the concept of the unconscious (e.g., defence mechanisms: Idealisation; Denial; & Rationalisation)

Design of personalized scoliosis braces based on differentiable biomechanics-Synthetic study.

This work describes a computational methodology for the design of braces for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The proposed methodology relies on a personalized simulation model of the patient's trunk, and automatically searches for the brace geometry that optimizes the trade-off between clinical improvement and patient comfort. To do this, we introduce a formulation of differentiable biomechanics of the patient's trunk, the brace, and their interaction. We design a simulation model that is differentiable with respect to both the deformation state and the brace design parameters, and we show how this differentiable model is used for the efficient update of brace design parameters within a numerical optimization algorithm. To evaluate the proposed methodology, we have obtained trunk models with personalized geometry for five patients of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, and we have designed Boston-type braces. In a simulation setting, the designed braces improve clinical metrics by 45% on average, under acceptable comfort conditions. In the future, the methodology can be extended beyond synthetic validation, and tested with physical braces on the actual patients.

Benzylic C(sp3)-H Bonds Play the Dual Role of Starting Material and Oxidation Inhibitor for Hydrazides in the Electrochemical Synthesis of Hydrazones.

The electrooxidation of benzylic C(sp3)-H bonds to produce hydrazones as an alternate for conventional pathways has an enormous dignity. Under the aegis of electricity, instead of hazardous metal catalysts and external oxidants, we unveil an electrochemical process for electrooxidation of various benzylic C(sp3)-H bonds in aqueous media in all pH ranges that subsequently produce hydrazones with further reactions. This electrooxidative reaction strategy provides an acceptable condition for synthesizing hydrazones with various functional groups in good efficiency and amenable to gram-scale synthesis. The electrochemical oxidation condition proves an excellent level of compatibility with super cheap electrolyte NaCl for the oxidation of benzylic C(sp3)-H position despite the highly oxidizable hydrazide group remaining intact in the reaction.

Performance assessment of the TORO Company Neptune PC AS dripline

In order to design an efficient microirrigation system, a monitoring approach allowing quantifying the main variables affecting the level of uniformity should be pursued. In the present work, we assess the performances of a commercial dripline, the product “Neptune PC AS”, furnished by TORO Company, employing an ad hoc built experimental benchmark, in doing so defining the dripline acceptable working conditions. Neptune PC AS has been tested at different operating pressure heads (range 1.5 - 3.5 bar) and its performances have been evaluated employing a series of metrics (the emitter technological variation coefficient, the emitter uniformity and the application efficiency). The obtained results show that Neptune PC AS is characterized by a strong pressure-compensating effect on the emitters and by very good / excellent performances for all the investigated operating pressure heads. Moreover, Neptune PC AS is characterized by limited differences between the maximum and the minimum of the emitter flow rate, in case of operating pressure heads equal to 1.5 bar and 2.0 bar, while such differences tend to increase for higher operating pressures.

An isotropic extension of Einstein’s universe solution through gravitational decoupling

In this work, we use the gravitational decoupling framework through the extended minimal geometric deformation to construct and study a new interior isotropic extension of Einstein’s universe solution. The resulting model fulfills the fundamental physical acceptance conditions. As well, we study the energy exchange between the Einstein’s fluid distribution and an extra perfect fluid which supports the resulting isotropic stellar configuration.

Thermal system for comprehensive utilization of boiler and steam turbine energy of coal-fired power units based on the S-CO2 cycle

In this study, an additional S-CO2 cycle system configuration for coal-fired power units has been proposed. This system achieves cascade utilization of steam turbine extraction and boiler flue gas energy, to improve the coal-fired power unit generation efficiency. Thermodynamic analyses were carried out for the new thermal system based on energy and exergy analyses. The results show that under the turbine heat acceptance (THA) condition, the proposed thermal system could reduce the standard coal consumption rate by 0.91% in coal-fired power units. Furthermore, the factors affecting the system performance are analyzed, and the effect laws of various elements on the total investment and payback period are derived. The suggested thermodynamic system provides a method for using energy on both sides of the boiler and steam turbine.

Integer Weighted Automata on Infinite Words

In this paper we combine two classical generalisations of finite automata (weighted automata and automata on infinite words) into a model of integer weighted automata on infinite words and study the universality and the emptiness problems under zero weight acceptance. We show that the universality problem is undecidable for three-state automata by a direct reduction from the infinite Post correspondence problem. We also consider other more general acceptance conditions as well as their complements with respect to the universality and the emptiness problems. Additionally, we build a universal integer weighted automaton with fixed transitions. This automaton has an additional integer input that allows it to simulate any semi-Thue system.

Machining Tool and Bearing Failure Analysis Using the Orthogonal Hilbert-Huang Transform on Vibration and Motor Current Datasets

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; Early fault detection is the primary goal of condition-based maintenance (CBM); to identify an impending fault before failure occurs and provide the necessary maintenance in a timely manner. Machining tools, such as drill bits and milling inserts, require a significant amount of maintenance during industrial machining operations to ensure that workpiece tolerances are met. Faulty tools tend to machine outside expected tolerances and run the risk of causing permanent damage to the workpiece, resulting in added production costs and unwanted delays. Similarly, ball bearing maintenance is crucial for keeping a machine in acceptable working condition, and has been the primary focus of many CBM studies due to nonlinear bearing degradation.&#x0D; The orthogonal Hilbert-Huang transform (OHHT) is a recent improvement to the relatively new Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) that is significantly more computationally efficient— compared to other improved HHT algorithms—and reduces the amount of energy leakage caused by non-orthogonal intrinsic mode functions. The HHT and its derivatives are being explored in CBM applications due to its adaptive nature in analyzing nonlinear and non-stationary phenomena, which is characteristic of machining induced vibrations. It has also shown promise in diagnosing machine tool wear from motor current signals compared to commonly used techniques such as wavelet analysis. This paper showcases the OHHT’s potential as a useful diagnostics tool for analyzing machine induced vibration and motor current signals.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

Triangulation Method to Assess Indoor Environmental Conditions and Occupant Comfort and Productivity towards Low Energy Buildings in Malaysia

Saving energy and cutting costs without compromising indoor comfort conditions are challenging, especially in hot and humid regions such as Malaysia. This study explores a new approach to reducing energy consumption without compromising staff comfort in office buildings. This study aims to develop a method for lowering Building Energy Index (BEI) and maintaining acceptable indoor conditions while increasing productivity in office buildings. A developed triangulation method using Building Use Studies (BUS) for evaluating occupant satisfaction, physical measurements, and simulation modelling was implemented to measure indoor performance in an office building. The results indicated that enhancing six variables of building conditions managed to improve occupant satisfaction by 44%. Hence, the productivity of staff in the building increased by 16%. The findings demonstrated that a reduction of 3 h in the operating times of chillers while an increase in chillers’ temperature by 1.5 °C maintained an acceptable indoor environment and reduced the building’s BEI to 89.48 kWh/m2/year, with an energy saving of 21.51%, turning the case study into a low energy building.

The Feasibility and the Conditions for Acceptance of Space Sharing in the Planned Detached Housing Estates

The Feasibility and the Conditions for Acceptance of Space Sharing in the Planned Detached Housing Estates

Generalized Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff model and neutron stars

This work is motivated by the existence of mapping the extended theory of gravity with a standard energy-momentum tensor to general relativity with a modified energy-momentum tensor. We construct a modified anisotropic energy-momentum tensor from a standard isotropic energy-momentum tensor by adding a ``geometrical correction'' to precisely reproduce the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equations predicted by the generalized Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff (GTOV) model. This construction aims to calculate the moment of inertia ($I$) and tidal deformability ($\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$) of neutron stars (NSs) within the GTOV model. Therefore, we can comprehensively investigate the role of each free parameter of the GTOV model in NS properties. Furthermore, through this construction we can also utilize physically acceptable stability conditions for anisotropic stars to constrain the physical range of each parameter value and investigate the existence of a correlation among the parameters of the GTOV model. Except for $\ensuremath{\alpha}$, we find that the values of the GTOV free parameters can be limited to acceptable ranges. We also find that the parameters $\ensuremath{\theta}$, $\ensuremath{\chi}$, and $\ensuremath{\beta}$ are correlated, and the parameter $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$. With these free parameter ranges in hand, we study the role of each parameter of the GTOV model in NS properties, including $I$ and $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}$. We also revisit the hyperon puzzle in NSs within the GTOV model. We find that the $\ensuremath{\theta}$ parameter plays a crucial role in controlling the NS maximum mass value. We also find that the threshold ${k}_{2}$ peak for NS is ${k}_{2}\ensuremath{\approx}0.167$. Furthermore, if we use parameter sets with $\ensuremath{\theta}=\ensuremath{-}1$, the mass-radius predictions are compatible with recent NICER data on PSR $\mathrm{J}0030+0451$ and PSR $\mathrm{J}0740+6620$.

Introducing ‘cultures of rejection’: an investigation of the conditions of acceptability of right-wing politics in Europe

ABSTRACT In this article Bodjadžijev and Opratko introduce the special issue on ‘Cultures of Rejection’. First, they describe the political and intellectual conjuncture in which the term ‘cultures of rejection’ was developed. Second, they introduce some core assumptions and methodological considerations informing the perspective that came to be associated with that term, and that eventually gave rise to original empirical research on the sociocultural conditions in which right-wing and authoritarian politics, movements and sentiments can thrive in contemporary Europe. In the third part, they introduce the common conceptual design and methodological approach of the research projects that follow, and their key findings in Serbia, Croatia, Austria, Germany and Sweden between 2019 and 2022.

‘Everything has changed’: right-wing politics and experiences of transformation among German retail workers

ABSTRACT Harder’s article investigates how changes in working and living conditions are experienced by workers and how these changes create the conditions of acceptability for right-wing politics. Drawing on qualitative interviews, mappings, questionnaires and fieldwork with workers in two retail workplaces in southern and eastern Germany, it outlines processes of logistification that impact workers’ routines of labour and social reproduction: that is, their everyday lives. Respondents testify to an intensification and isolation of labour as well as a general scarcity of resources for social reproduction and powerlessness to influence the changes. Their work environments demand continuous adaptation to new technologies and management strategies. These experiences are shaped by a metanarrative of societal decline that appears to lie beyond the workers’ control. Nostalgia—a romanticized imagination of the past—and reclusivity—a preference for privacy and suspicion of the public—emerge as responses to the perceived decline of their surroundings. They can constitute elements that far-right parties articulate against migration and towards authoritarian politics.

Study on thermal characteristics and electrical performance of a hybrid building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system combined with vacuum insulation panel (VIP)

Renewable energy systems are key technologies towards realizing reduced carbon footprint and sustainable architecture. Building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are renewable energy systems that function as integral building envelope components and simultaneously produce electricity. Not only is it essential to install BIPV for energy rebates, incentives or to cut down dependence on grid, but it is equally important that BIPV satisfies relevant building energy codes. Thus, thin high-performance insulation is needed to meet strict codes. Of all kinds of insulation materials presently available, vacuum insulation panel (VIP) has the highest thermal resistance per unit thickness. Therefore, VIP is a viable solution as an insulator for BIPV. In this study, the thermal characteristics and electrical performance of a hybrid BIPV module combined with VIP was investigated. The study is largely based on experiments carried out in a test building facility and supplemented with essential numerical simulations using Physibel BISCO/TRISCO building physics software. Data analysis was carried out for winter season. Results indicated that temperature at the back of the hybrid BIPV module (directly in contact with indoor air) was about 4 °C warmer than the heating setpoint temperature, which is advantageous for winter season. The maximum electrical efficiency was estimated to be 12.3 %. Compared to manufacturer specified electrical efficiency of 15 %, the peak efficiency realized is somewhat acceptable, factoring losses and winter weather conditions. Integrating BIPV and VIP yields an overall hybrid product that is compact and portable, and thermally more efficient from a building envelope perspective. As far as the authors know, this study is the first covering BIPV combined with VIP as a unitized module. Finally, current challenges and future research opportunities are explored.

Multiobjective optimization of building energy consumption and thermal comfort based on integrated BIM framework with machine learning-NSGA II

Detailed parametric analysis and measurements are required to reduce building energy usage while maintaining acceptable thermal conditions. This research suggested a system that combines Building Information Modeling (BIM), machine learning, and the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA II) to investigate the impact of building factors on energy usage and find the optimal design. A plugin is developed to receive sensor data and export all necessary information from BIM to MSSQL and Excel. The BIM model was imported to IDA Indoor Climate and Energy (IDA ICE) to execute an energy consumption simulation and then a pairwise test to produce the sample data set. To study the data set and develop a prediction model between building factors and energy usage, 11 machine learning algorithms are used. The best algorithm was Group Least Square Support Vector Machine (GLSSVM), later employed in NSGA II as the building energy consumption fitness function using Dynamo software. An NSGA II multi-objective optimization model is designed to reduce building energy consumption and optimize interior thermal comfort (measured by the predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD)). The Pareto front is calculated, and the optimum point approach is used to find the best combination of building envelope characteristics, HVAC setpoints, shading parameters, lighting, and air infiltration. The feasibility and effectiveness of the developed framework are demonstrated using a case study of an upper secondary school building in Norway; the results show that: (1) The GLSSVM has a unique capacity to forecast building energy use with high accuracy: R2 of 0.99, an RMSE of 1.2, MSE of 1.44, and MAE of 0.89; (2) Building energy consumption and thermal comfort may be successfully improved by the GLSSVM-NSGA II hybrid technique, which reduces energy consumption by 37.5% and increases thermal comfort by 33.5%, respectively.

Social acceptance of biodiversity offsetting: Motivations and practices in the designing of an emerging mechanism

AbstractBiodiversity offsetting is a governance mechanism proposed as a solution to ecosystem degradation and the underlying economic drivers. Biodiversity offsetting's potential is often evaluated and argued with ecological and economic criteria. These factors are intertwined with a multitude of social and ideological conditions for acceptance and legitimacy, which have received less systematic empirical attention especially from the perspective of the actors who implement the offsets. In this paper, we empirically analyse how companies and authorities, the central actors applying biodiversity offsetting in practice, perceive the social acceptance in the design and implementation of the emerging mechanism in Finland. The interview data analysed with three interlinked dimensions of social acceptance, namely socio‐political acceptance, market acceptance and community acceptance reveal where the mechanism's implementation may face friction with the central actors. While the importance of social acceptance of biodiversity offsetting shows to be a priority for the actors that will be implementing the mechanism and carrying the responsibility of the offsets in practice, the division of roles and benefits remains a point of tension, in the political sphere, in the market and in the community. Our analysis points to the necessity of integrating social and local values alongside ecological and economic ones as a way to address social acceptance. Finding the limits to flexibility between ecological, economic and social aspects is important in order to reach the diverse objectives of a BO mechanism.