Concept Of Alignment Research Articles

An Overview of Higher Education in Tourism and Hospitality in Portugal

Objective: This study evaluates the higher education provision in Portugal's tourism and hospitality sector, examining its evolution and alignment with labor market demands to address the growing skills gap in the industry. Theoretical Framework: The research is grounded in concepts of labor market demands, educational alignment, and workforce development amid digital, societal, and economic transformations. Theories on skills mismatch and human capital development help understand the dynamics between education and employment in this sector. Method: A comprehensive review of higher education offerings in tourism and hospitality in Portugal was conducted, assessing the number of courses and student vacancies while analyzing job market trends. Data were collected from national educational databases and industry reports to examine the evolving relationship between educational programs and labor needs. Results and Discussion: Results indicate a notable increase in tourism and hospitality courses and student vacancies in Portugal’s higher education system, reflecting efforts to cultivate a skilled workforce. However, gaps persist in regional job distribution and the need for specialized training in certain areas. Research Implications: The findings suggest that higher education institutions are progressing in closing the skills gap by offering programs aligned with industry needs, which may influence workforce development strategies and curriculum design. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by analyzing Portugal's educational response to labor market shifts, highlighting the growing alignment between education and industry needs, and providing actionable insights for improving human capital development in tourism and hospitality.

Pediatric Learning Health Networks in Solid Organ Transplantation-Engaging all Stakeholders to Achieve Health for Children Who Require Transplantation.

Learning Health Networks (LHN) have evolved within medicine over the past two decades, but their integration into transplantation has been more recent. In this paper, we describe three LHNs in end-stage organ disease/transplantation, their common and unique features, and how their "actor-oriented" architecture allowed for rapid adaptation to meet the needs of their patients and practitioners during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The structure and focus of the Improving Renal Outcomes Collaborative (IROC), Starzl Network for Excellence in Pediatric Transplantation (SNEPT), and the Advanced Cardiac Therapies Improving Outcomes Network (ACTION) are reviewed. We discuss the critical role of patient and family engagement, focusing on collaboration with Transplant Families. Finally, we review challenges common to the LHN concept and potential common areas of alignment to achieve the goal of more rapid and sustained progress to improve health in pediatric transplantation. LHN in transplantation are essential to accelerate knowledge dissemination and improve outcomes.

HINTs: Sensemaking on large collections of documents with Hypergraph visualization and INTelligent agents.

Sensemaking on a large collection of documents (corpus) is a challenging task often found in fields such as market research, legal studies, intelligence analysis, political science, or computational linguistics. Previous works approach this problem from topic- and entity-based perspectives, but the capability of the underlying NLP model limits their effectiveness. Recent advances in prompting with LLMs present opportunities to enhance such approaches with higher accuracy and customizability. However, poorly designed prompts and visualizations could mislead users into falsely interpreting the visualizations and hinder the system's trustworthiness. In this paper, we address this issue by taking into account the user analysis tasks and visualization goals in the prompt-based data extraction stage, thereby extending the concept of Model Alignment. We present HINTs, a VA system for supporting sensemaking on large collections of documents, combining previous entity-based and topic-based approaches. The visualization pipeline of HINTs consists of three stages. First, entities and topics are extracted from the corpus with prompts. Then, the result is modeled as a hypergraph and hierarchically clustered. Finally, an enhanced space-filling curve layout is applied to visualize the hypergraph for interactive exploration. The system further integrates an LLM-based intelligent chatbot agent in the interface to facilitate the sensemaking of interested documents. To demonstrate the generalizability and effectiveness of the HINTs system, we present two case studies on different domains and a comparative user study. We report our insights on the behavior patterns and challenges when intelligent agents are used to facilitate sensemaking. We find that while intelligent agents can address many challenges in sensemaking, the visual hints that visualizations provide are still necessary. We discuss limitations and future work for combining interactive visualization and LLMs more profoundly to better support corpus analysis.

The problem of alignment

AbstractLarge language models (LLMs) produce sequences learned as statistical patterns from large corpora. Their emergent status as representatives of the advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have led to an increased attention to the possibilities of regulating the automated production of linguistic utterances and interactions with human users in a process that computer scientists refer to as ‘alignment’—a series of technological and political mechanisms to impose a normative model of morality on algorithms and networks behind the model. Alignment, which can be viewed as the superimposition of normative structure onto a statistical model, however, reveals a conflicted and complex history of the conceptualisation of an interrelationship between language, mind and technology. This relationship is shaped by and, in turn, influences theories of language, linguistic practice and subjectivity, which are especially relevant to the current sophistication in artificially produced text. In this paper, we propose a critical evaluation of the concept of alignment, arguing that the theories and practice behind LLMs reveal a more complex social and technological dynamic of output coordination. We examine this dynamic as a two-way interaction between users and models by analysing how ChatGPT4 redacts perceived ‘anomalous’ language in fragments of Joyce’s Ulysses. We then situate this alignment problem historically, revisiting earlier postwar linguistic debates which counterposed two views of meaning: as discrete structures, and as continuous probability distributions. We discuss the largely occluded work of the Moscow Linguistic School, which sought to reconcile this opposition. Our attention to the Moscow School and later related arguments by Searle and Kristeva casts the problem of alignment in a new light: as one involving attention to the social regulation of linguistic practice, including rectification of anomalies that, like the Joycean text, exist in defiance of expressive conventions. The “problem of alignment” that we address here is, therefore, twofold: on one hand, it points to its narrow and normative definition in current technological development and critical research and, on the other hand, to the reality of complex and contradictory relations between subjectivity, technology and language that alignment problems reveal.

The effects of AIoT-SC strategic alignment on SC intelligence and NPD performance

ABSTRACT The emergence of AIoT has profoundly influenced supply chain management (SCM) and new product development (NPD) performance. However, the AIoT and its strategic alignment with the supply chain (SC) strategy have not received equal attention in academia and industry. By incorporating concepts of strategic alignment, AIoT, and NPD from previous literature, this study proposes a new concept of AIoT-SC strategic alignment and examines its role in SC intelligence (SCI) and NPD performance. By using a partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach, the survey data results demonstrate that AIoT-SC strategic alignment in planning, making, delivery, sourcing, and return is positively related to SC intelligence regarding market intelligence quality (MIQ), SC partner intelligence quality (SCPIQ), and NPD performance. The study’s findings can guide managers in improving firms’ business functions through AIoT-SC strategic alignment. Furthermore, this research provides researchers with sound theoretical grounds/basis for further academic development of AIoT, SCM, and NPD.

Engagement as Revenue in Journalism: Turning Community, Comments, and Access into Economic Viability

ABSTRACT While both the journalism industry and journalism studies research have long celebrated engagement as both a normative goal and a potential revenue source, scant evidence exists illustrating how an organization can turn engagement into profit. This study, utilizing a case study of the sports and culture news organization Defector, examines how one newsroom monetizes engagement. Through the lens of market theory for news production, the study examines what engagement practices Defector enacts, and how those successfully catalyze subscribers to pay almost 50% more annually for the ability to engage with the organization. Lastly, the study introduces, to journalism studies, the concept of market alignment, a necessity for monetizing engagement.

Confronting recurring violence in the DRC and Mali: The concept of adaptive alignment of peace processes

ABSTRACT This article presents a critical analysis on the interrelated yet distinctive approaches of various peace processes, namely: peace mediation, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. The critique aims to broaden the understanding of the extent to which peace processes adapt to complex environments marked by cycles of violence, and the extent to which these adaptations align. This understanding is particularly critical given the complexities of current peace processes, which often involve overlapping interventions in persistently violent settings. To address this need, the article draws on the concept of adaptive alignment, which views peace processes as dynamic and interconnected systems that continuously adapt to the evolving nature of complex conflict-affected situations. Adaptive alignment focuses on maintaining peace through adaptability, offering a nuanced understanding of how peace initiatives collectively engage to mitigate violence and achieve sustainable peace. The concept is further illustrated through examination of the specific cases of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali.

Robotic‐assisted total knee arthroplasty is not associated with improved accuracy in implant position and alignment compared to conventional instrumentation in the execution of a preoperative digital plan

AbstractPurposeThe primary objective of the present study was to evaluate if robotic‐assisted total knee arthroplasty (RO‐TKA) results in improved accuracy compared to conventional TKA (CO‐TKA) with respect to alignment and component positioning executing a preoperative digital plan. The secondary objective was to compare patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs) between the two groups at 6 months of follow‐up (FU).MethodsPatients who underwent primary TKA using the concept of constitutional alignment were identified from the database. Each patient underwent preoperative digital planning as well as postoperative evaluation of the preoperative plan (alignment and component position) using mediCAD® software (Hectec GmbH). Two groups were formed: (i) The RO‐TKA group (n = 30) consisted of patients who underwent TKA with a robotic surgical system (ROSA®, Zimmer Biomet) and (ii) the CO‐TKA group (n = 67) consisted of patients who underwent TKA with conventional instrumentation. To assess accuracy, all qualitative variables were analysed using the χ2 test. Tegner activity scale, Oxford Knee Score and visual analogue scale were assessed preop and at 6‐month FU. To assess differences between the two groups, a 2 × 2 repeated measures analysis of variance was performed.ResultsThere was no significant (p > 0.05) difference in the accuracy of alignment as well as tibial and femoral component position between the two groups. At the 6‐month FU, there was no significant (p > 0.05) difference in PROMs between the two groups.ConclusionWhile robotic TKA may have some potential advantages, no significant difference was found between robotic and conventional TKA with respect to limb alignment, clinical outcomes and component positioning.Level of EvidenceLevel III.

Can Renewed Tensions of Tourist Areas Be Resolved? The Key Issue of Stakeholders’ Alignment

Tensions in tourist areas (over-visiting, waste management, traffic jams, conflicts of use, etc.) raise fundamental questions about sustainable development, the distribution of wealth, social justice, cultural identity and inclusion. Paradoxically, few decisions are taken to resolve these tensions, despite the dissatisfaction of all tourism stakeholders. The aim of this study is to help resolve the tensions in tourism areas by identifying a global method for aligning stakeholders. We conducted 72 interviews with all the tourism stakeholders in two very different tourist areas (Brittany and Bali) and used the concepts of sustainable tourism, stakeholders and strategic alignment. The results show that (1) the stakeholders, whether in favour of tourism development or not, all agree on the need to resolve the tensions in the tourist areas; (2) the obstacles and levers of the stakeholders play a decisive role in their commitment to collectively resolving the tensions in the tourist areas; (3) the existing data on tourist numbers are the subject of debate among the stakeholders and slow down the commitment to concrete action. Our conclusions are encouraging, since tensions in tourist areas constitute a problem like any other, which makes it possible to envisage a global methodology for aligning stakeholders. However, the subject of tourist numbers remains a stumbling block in the project to resolve tourism tensions in these areas. Three avenues of research are proposed to help overcome this dead end: integrating the notion of perceived value into measures of tourist numbers in tourist areas, mobilising participatory science to increase the potential of measures of tourist numbers, and adapting the technological acceptance model to tourist numbers.

Functional alignment maximises advantages of robotic arm-assisted total knee arthroplasty with better patient-reported outcomes compared to mechanical alignment.

Robotic arm-assisted total knee arthroplasty (RTKA) enables adjustment of implant position to achieve the surgeon's preferred alignment. However, the alignment concept that most effectively enhances patient satisfaction remains unclear. This study compares the clinical outcomes of patients who underwent functionally aligned RTKA (FA-RTKA), mechanically aligned conventional TKA (MA-CTKA) and mechanically aligned RTKA (MA-RTKA). A prospectively collected database was retrospectively reviewed for patients who underwent primary TKA for knee osteoarthritis. One hundred and forty-seven knees were performed with MA-CTKA, followed by 72 consecutive knees performed with MA-RTKA, and subsequently, 70 consecutive knees performed with FA-RTKA were enrolled. After 1:1 propensity score matching of patient demographics, 70 knees were finally included in each group. The extent of additional soft tissue release during surgery was identified, and the Coronal Plane Alignment of the Knee classification was utilised to categorise the alignment. At the 1-year follow-up, patient-reported outcomes, including the pain Visual Analogue Scale, Knee Society Score, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index and Forgotten Joint Score-12, were also compared among the groups. The FA-RTKA group showed significantly less additional soft tissue release than the MA-CTKA and MA-RTKA groups (15.7%, 38.6% and 35.7%, respectively; p = 0.006). Statistically significant differences in functional scores were observed in the postoperative 1-year clinical outcomes in favour of the FA-RTKA group, which had a significantly larger percentage of knees that maintained constitutional alignment and joint line obliquity than those of the other groups. Functionally aligned TKA showed superior 1-year postoperative patient-reported outcomes compared with those of conventional and robotic arm-assisted mechanically aligned TKA. Therefore, the advantage of RTKA is maximised when the implant positioning is based on functional alignment. The application of RTKA with mechanical alignment has been proven ineffective in improving the clinical outcomes of patients. Level III.

Current Concepts of Cervical Spine Alignment, Sagittal Deformity, and Cervical Spine Surgery.

There are not many reports on cervical spine alignment, and only a few analyze ideal surgical approaches and optimal amounts of correction needed for the various types of deformity. We comprehensively reviewed the present literature on cervical spinal deformities (with or without myelopathy) and their surgical management to provide a framework for surgical planning. A general assessment of the parameters actually in use and correlations between cervical and thoracolumbar spine alignment are provided. We also analyzed posterior, anterior, and combined cervical surgical approaches and indications for the associated techniques of laminoplasty, laminectomy and fusion, and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. Finally, on the basis of the NDI, SF-36, VAS, and mJOA questionnaires, we fully evaluated the outcomes and measures of postoperative health-related quality of life. We found the need for additional prospective studies to further enhance our understanding of the importance of cervical alignment when assessing and treating cervical deformities with or without myelopathy. Future studies need to focus on correlations between cervical alignment parameters, disability scores, and myelopathy outcomes. Through this comprehensive literature review, we offer guidance on practical and important points of surgical technique, cervical alignment, and goals surgeons can meet to improve symptoms in all patients.

Embodiment in music education

In this article, we give an overview of theoretical and empirical research that exemplifies how and why the body of the student and teacher plays a pivotal role in music learning and teaching processes. We will discuss the concepts of entrainment, alignment, and prediction, that have been developed within the theory of embodied music cognition, and their relation to music learning. Furthermore, we will discuss how physical modelling, gestures and touch are important embodied teaching strategies. The article concludes with some suggestion as to how these concepts and strategies can be put into the music educational practice.

Social Alignment Contagion in Online Social Networks

Researchers have already observed social contagion effects in both in-person and online interactions. However, such studies have primarily focused on users’ beliefs, mental states, and interests. In this article, we expand the state of the art by exploring the impact of social contagion on social alignment, i.e., whether the decision to socially align oneself with the general opinion of the users on the social network is contagious to one’s connections on the network or not. The novelty of our work in this article includes: 1) unlike earlier work, this article is among the first to explore the contagiousness of the concept of social alignment on social networks; 2) our work adopts an instrumental variable approach to determine reliable causal relations between observed social contagion effects on the social network; and 3) our work expands beyond the mere presence of contagion in social alignment and also explores the role of population heterogeneity on social alignment contagion. Based on the systematic collection and analysis of data from two large social network platforms, namely, Twitter and Foursquare, we find that a user’s decision to socially align or distance from social topics and sentiments influences the social alignment decisions of their connections on the social network. We further find that such social alignment decisions are significantly impacted by population heterogeneity.

Curriculum Alignment: Doing Kinesiology as We Mean It

Based on the lessons learned from history and articulation of paradigm change in science, this article clarifies the concept of curriculum alignment and describes the risk of curriculum disalignment between school physical education and kinesiology. Through contextualizing kinesiology as an integrated science, it explains the difference between a discipline and a field (subdiscipline) and argues that K–12 physical education is an integral and indispensable component of kinesiology. The article provides detailed discussions about the historical reasons/events that might have led to the curriculum disalignment and the ways the disalignment can be understood and addressed. Based on the analysis, a four-pillar framework (science, health, culture, and education) is proposed as a platform for “doing kinesiology” and a way to address the curriculum disalignment crisis.

Propositions and alignment as constructs of cooperation in multiprofessional–client meeting interactions

ABSTRACT Finland is currently amidst a significant national healthcare and social welfare reform, with the goals of multiprofessional-integrated work and client centredness, necessitating more detailed research on multiprofessional – client meetings as joint interactions. This study dissects these interactions as forums for clients and professionals to practise integrated work. As such, the data consist of seven audio-recorded team meetings concerning six clients’ cases, and the study aims to identify the propositions for client help from the meetings and to analyse how they are used as potential openings for cooperation. The analysis draws from the interaction study and utilizes concepts of alignment and misalignment to specify how cooperation is negotiated and constructed in the meetings turn-by-turn after propositions are displayed. The analysis reveals how the actors align or misalign, as well as who joins the process and how minimal interactional acts are powerful in shaping multiprofessional – client meeting interactions. The central finding is that propositions open an alignment process that evokes cooperation in meetings, but typically only between two actors, omitting multiparty cooperation. Therefore, the study suggests not only offering propositions but also reacting and responding to them constructively by all the other actors that is needed when aiming towards multiprofessional joint action.

Using life-history maps to support students in connecting theory to practice: a case study of a social work teaching intervention

ABSTRACT Theory is essential to the professional knowledge base of social work, and the ability to understand, apply, and analyze theory in practice is central to professional capabilities and competence. This places social work education in the intersection of understanding, analyzing, and applying theoretical knowledge, a complex task which requires more than the transmission of information and extends to building skills in analysis, reflection, and critical thought. This article explores the implementation of life history mapping as a formative task to support undergraduate students connecting theory to practice in a second-year human development module as part of a qualifying training programme in the United Kingdom. Drawing upon the concepts of constructive alignment and Bloom’s taxonomy of learning, an action research method was applied to review existing teaching and learning approaches alongside learning outcomes. The article is structured around the four phases of action research: planning, action, observation, and reflection. Findings indicate positive outcomes with students reporting how life-history mapping has supported their ability to critique theories and models of development through connection to their lived experience, alongside enhancing their personal growth, empathy, and practical assessment skills.

Misalignments: House money and inflationary experiences

This article deals with how residents of a favela region known as the Complexo da Maré (Maré Complex), in the city of Rio de Janeiro, experienced price increase, particularly in food and energy, during 2021 and 2022, still in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We use the concept of alignment (and its derivatives, such as misalignment and realignment) to analyse the different ways of navigating an increase in the cost of living through accommodating material changes and future perspectives at different scales: from the ideals of a good life desired by people and families to decisions that need to be taken immediately or in a proximate future. We call alignment work the daily activities through which people and families deal with the instability of income, variation in money flows, the management of frustrations with the restrictions imposed by inflation, and the maintenance of significant ties which are altered or placed at risk by the crisis.

Compact and modular system architecture for a nano-resonator-mass spectrometer.

Mass measurements in the mega-to giga-Dalton range are essential for the characterization of natural and synthetic nanoparticles, but very challenging to perform using conventional mass spectrometers. Nano-electro-mechanical system (NEMS) based MS has demonstrated unique capabilities for the analysis of ultra-high mass analytes. Yet, system designs to date included constraints transferred from conventional MS instruments, such as ion guides and high vacuum requirements. Encouraged by other reports, we investigated the influence of pressure on the performances of the NEMS sensor and the aerodynamic focusing lens that equipped our first-generation instrument. We thus realized that the NEMS spectrometer could operate at significantly higher pressures than anticipated without compromising particle focusing nor mass measurement quality. Based on these observations, we designed and constructed a new NEMS-MS prototype considerably more compact than our original system, and which features an improved aerodynamic lens alignment concept, yielding superior particle focusing. We evaluated this new prototype by performing nanoparticle deposition to characterize aerodynamic focusing, and mass measurements of calibrated gold nanoparticles samples. The particle capture efficiency showed nearly two orders of magnitude improvement compared to our previous prototype, while operating at two orders of magnitude greater pressure, and without compromising mass resolution.

Interference Alignment in Channel Estimation Using Hybrid Deep Neural Network with Multi-user Propagation Model for 5G in MM Wave Massive MIMO

Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technologies, as well as higher frequencies utilization, such as MilliMeter Wave (MM Wave) frequencies, should be utilized in the 5G wireless network. This massive transmission will require a higher frequency band and in cellular massive MIMO, frequencies re-use leads to interference in channel estimation. Interference Alignment (IA) is a transmission strategy of the channel with higher capacities of signal-to-noise ratio. This interference needs to be aligned before the transmission of signal, so this research proposes a novel technique in IA by hybridization of deep learning techniques for Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets). The aim of this work is to develop a new interference alignment scheme based on multi-user with a neural network which can be efficient in mitigation of interference of the networks. The model that is proposed properly exploits the interference alignment concept by developing a multi-user group of small cells assisted by various BSs in the heterogeneous networks for MM Wave. The paper focuses on channel estimation by IA for a 5G network that transmits MMWave using neural networks. The neural network is utilized for learning the mapping functions between the received mmWave channels with negligible overhead. Here Hybrid Deep Neural Network is used with Multi-User Propagation (HDNN-MUP) model for IA and demonstrates a practical upper bound for MIMO array sizes that balance throughput and estimation overhead. The experimental analysis is done by utilizing the parameters namely Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), Bit Error Rate (BER), computational time, energy efficiency, and spectral efficiency.

On closing the inopportune gap with consistency transformation and iterative refinement.

The problem of aligning multiple biological sequences has fascinated scientists for a long time. Over the last four decades, tens of heuristic-based Multiple Sequence Alignment (MSA) tools have been proposed, the vast majority being built on the concept of Progressive Alignment. It is known, however, that this approach suffers from an inherent drawback regarding the inadvertent insertion of gaps when aligning sequences. Two well-known corrective solutions have frequently been adopted to help mitigate this: Consistency Transformation and Iterative Refinement. This paper takes a tool-independent technique-oriented look at the alignment quality benefits of these two strategies using problem instances from the HOMSTRAD and BAliBASE benchmarks. Eighty MSA aligners have been used to compare 4 classes of heuristics: Progressive Alignments, Iterative Alignments, Consistency-based Alignments, and Consistency-based Progressive Alignments with Iterative Refinement. Statistically, while both Consistency-based classes are better for alignments with low similarity, for sequences with higher similarity, the differences between the classes are less clear. Iterative Refinement has its own drawbacks resulting in there being statistically little advantage for Progressive Aligners to adopt this technique either with Consistency Transformation or without. Nevertheless, all 4 classes are capable of bettering each other, depending on the instance problem. This further motivates the development of MSA frameworks, such as the one being developed for this research, which simultaneously contemplate multiple classes and techniques in their attempt to uncover better solutions.