Case Study Research Articles

Assessment of Urban Wastewater Reuse for Irrigation – Environmental Feasibility and Sustainable Development – A Case Study in El Jadida

Assessment of Urban Wastewater Reuse for Irrigation – Environmental Feasibility and Sustainable Development – A Case Study in El Jadida

Domain generalization for machine compound fault diagnosis by Domain-Relevant Joint Distribution Alignment

In machine fault diagnosis, domain generalization methods have gained significant attention due to their advantage in non-requirement of priori target domain distribution. However, they pose great challenges in domain-relevant feature learning and incurs inferior unseen-domain classification when large domain divergence exists. To address this issuse, we propose a novel distribution alignment strategy named DRJDA (Domain-Relevant Joint Distribution Alignment) that matches the domain-joint distribution and domain-relevant distribution for domain generalization fault diagnosis. Specifically, the α-PE divergence is employed to minimize the distribution discrepancy, which is demonstrated to be explicitly derived as the maximum value of a quadratic function. Additionally, a parameter-free plug-and-play data augmentation module that performs feature-level instance mixture and style transfer to increase the generalization ability. Finally, data from the China Light-duty Vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC) tests are used as case studies, and the experiments carried out across 14 different domains prove the proficiency of the proposed DRJDA in learning domain-invariant feature when significant domain divergence exists, indicating its remarkable potential in compound fault diagnosis for industrial machinery.

Climate change scenario simulations for urban flood resilience with system dynamics approach: a case study of smart city Shanghai in Yangtze River Delta region

With the rapid advancement of technology, cities are increasingly integrating smart designs to enhance their urban resilience, particularly against natural disasters such as floods. This study employs an integrated approach to simulate the social, economic, and environmental conditions under various climate change scenarios to strengthen urban flood resilience in smart cities. The CMIP5 BCC-CSM 1-1 model, using the RCP4.5 scenario, is utilized to project future climate changes. Shanghai, a highly developed smart city in the Yangtze River Delta, was selected as the case study. Five scenarios are examined through a system dynamics model spanning from 2015 to 2030, encompassing current continuation, economic priority, social priority, natural priority, and coordinated development scenarios. The model is built upon a conceptual framework known as PSR-SENCE (Pressure-State-Response model and Social-Economic-Natural Complex Ecosystem theory). The findings reveal a consistent improvement in resilience within the response dimension facilitated by modern technology. Notably, the coordinated development scenario emerges as the most effective in bolstering urban flood resilience, surpassing scenarios prioritizing economic, social, or natural development individually. Smart cities like Shanghai must prioritize technological innovation alongside enhancing organizational governance to address these challenges effectively.

Keeping Siblings in Care Connected: Improving Relationship Stability via the Mockingbird Family Model

ABSTRACT Children and young people in Australian foster or kinship care are separated from their siblings for a range of reasons. These may include issues that are behavioural, sibling-related, the capacity of carers to host multiple children, or policies that enforce a one-child-per-bedroom rule. This study investigated strategies enhancing stability and meaningful connections among siblings within the Mockingbird Family, a social network model of foster and kinship caring. Case examples, network mapping, and visualisation of the Mockingbird Family networks are presented alongside results from thematic analysis of qualitative data. The findings suggest that the Mockingbird Family facilitates meaningful contact and sibling connections, even when coplacement was not possible. Sibling coplacement and contact provide crucial benefits such as emotional support, stability, shared experiences, and a sense of belonging, contributing to children’s and young people’s development, healing from trauma, and overall wellbeing. IMPLICATIONS Keeping sibling groups connected and in contact can reduce placement breakdown and contribute to their overall wellbeing. The Mockingbird Family model of foster care provides a range of options for keeping siblings meaningfully connected through coplacement within the same constellation and opportunities for other siblings to join in Mockingbird Family activities.

Does presence of top predator improve forest birds' survival and diversity? An ecological case study assessing umbrella conservational impact of tiger using carrion

After hunting, predators tend to leave a large amount of carrion behind. It is widely reported that this resource is commonly used by various species in the ecosystem and is essential for the survival of scavengers, particularly in winter. Although recent studies are focused on mammals, little is known about how this works with facultative scavenger birds, which may lead to a serious underestimation of the key role that top predators such as the Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) play in ecosystems. Here, we conducted a field feeding experiment to quantitatively evaluate the effects of Amur tiger on avian scavengers by simulating their predation residue. The results show that the Corvidae is the main bird species that consumes carrion, while woodpeckers and some insectivorous songbirds also benefit from the remains that Amur tiger leaves behind. We assumed that in winter, if the daily energy demand for the six main scavenger birds completely relied on the predation residues of Amur tiger separately, the prey remains of one Amur tiger could feed about 28 crows, 49 azure-winged magpies, 61 Eurasian jays, 235 Eurasian nuthatches, 96 great spotted woodpeckers, or 385 willow tits. It means that the prey remains of top predators like Amur tiger may be an extremely important resource to avian scavengers and carrion could be a potential ecological indicator of Amur tiger keystone effect. This study provides experimental evidence from the field for the first time, and reveals the ecological mechanism of the role of keystone species of the Amur tiger, i.e., how to indirectly protect other animal groups in the forest ecosystem that have important ecological value for the biodiversity and the health of local forest vegetation through the protection of the Amur tiger.

Performance Metrics And Game Outcomes In Division I Women's Soccer: A Sport Analytics Case Study

Performance Metrics And Game Outcomes In Division I Women's Soccer: A Sport Analytics Case Study

A Current View on Strawberry Production Practices and Trends in the Northeastern United States and Canada

Strawberries (Fragaria ×ananassa) are an important crop for diversified fruit and vegetable farms in the northeastern United States as well as in Ontario and Québec, Canada. The industry in this cold climate region differs greatly from that in the major strawberry-producing states of Florida and California because strawberries typically represent a smaller share of total farm revenue and are sold primarily through retail markets. In recent years, strawberry production and marketing methods in the northeastern United States and Canada have diversified to meet the unique challenges of the region, including regional demand, extended seasons, and management of an increasingly challenging pest and disease complex. In 2020, we distributed an online survey to 163 commercial producers to obtain a snapshot of marketing and production practices used on strawberry-producing farms in this region and to assess research and outreach needs to better serve the industry. We conducted in-depth case study interviews with a small number of producers after the survey. We found that traditional June-bearing strawberry production continues to represent >50% of production, and that most fruit are grown conventionally. Day-neutral strawberry production was reported by an increased number of producers in New York as well as in Canada, and a higher percentage of day-neutral growers, compared to that of June-bearing producers, reported using protected culture. Botrytis (gray mold), weeds, and leaf spots were the top overall pest pressures indicated by growers. Survey respondents preferred written outreach materials and on-farm meetings to obtain information. Integrated pest management, organic production, and cultivar performance were the top priorities for subjects. The survey and interviews also provided information about the most common strategies for winter protection, frequency of pesticide applications, lifespan of plantings, and other current strawberry production practices in the region. Our survey results may be used by researchers and extension professionals to better serve this diversifying industry.

Controlling soil erosion and landslides through Ecosystem-based Adaptation interventions in the hilly landscape of Western Rwanda

Ecosystem-based Adaptation interventions such as protective vegetation, soil and water conservation measures and re-vegetation of degraded land have shown promise in reducing soil erosion and landslides occurrence. The western province of Rwanda has experienced destructive natural hazards especially soil erosions, floods and landslides. This study aimed to assess the contribution of Ecosystem-based Adaptation interventions on the reduction of soil erosion and landslides in the hilly landscape of Western Rwanda with a case study of Rubyiro sub-catchment in Rusizi District. Methods used in data collection comprised remote sensing techniques combined with a questionnaire survey to collect perceptions of farmers conducting agricultural activities in the catchment where Rusizi District has implemented Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) interventions. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model combined with Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing tools were used to assess soil loss pre- and post-EbA interventions. The results of the survey indicated that after four years of EbA interventions, the number of landslide occurrences was reduced at a rate of 62.6%. The respondents who appreciated forest restoration to minimize landslides were 72.4%, progressive terraces 26.1% and bench terraces 1.5%. The estimated average annual soil losses were 11.9 tons/ha/year, 17.6 tons/ha/year, 10.1 tons/ha/year, 9.3 tons/ha/year in 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022, respectively. This indicates a reduction of 8.3 tons/ha/year from 2018 to 2022 as opposed to an increase of 5.7 tons/ha/year recorded from 2017 to 2018. Thus, EbA interventions made a great contribution to the reduction of soil erosion and landslides in the Rubyiro sub-catchment, and they can be recommended in other similar hilly landscapes.

Acquisition Intrinsic or Extrinsic motivators; Boom or Bust on performance; The case study of Fast Food Operations in Egypt

Acquisition Intrinsic or Extrinsic motivators; Boom or Bust on performance; The case study of Fast Food Operations in Egypt

Social Movements and Policy Entrenchment

A vast scholarship shows that social movements can play pivotal roles in bringing about policies that benefit marginalized groups. However, the role of social movements in entrenching those policies—ensuring they take root—remains insufficiently studied. We set a research agenda for the study of how social movements shape policy entrenchment by calling attention to three commonly used strategies—occupying state bureaucracies, engaging in pressure and persuasion tactics, and building alliances with political parties—and analyzing the relationships among them. We illustrate these strategies through short case studies of social movements that achieved significant change benefitting marginalized groups in Latin America: the health movement in Brazil, the unemployed workers’ movements in Argentina, and peasant and indigenous movements in Bolivia.

The impact of accessibility changes on local development: A spatial approach

Throughout the years, the European Commission has allocated significant financial resources to road infrastructure construction, based on the belief that it would boost, socioeconomic development. However, literature evidence shows it is not consensual whether those investment policies will yield the expected outcomes. The main goal of this work is to shed light on where, and to what extent, accessibility changes due to road infrastructure construction might contribute to boost socioeconomic development at the municipal scale and regional cohesion, resorting to a case study consisting of the municipalities located in the Center Region of Portugal. The analysis uses spatial statistical methods and considers both space and time-lagged variables simultaneously, while controlling for endogeneity, spatial autocorrelation and demographic variables. Results show that accessibility changes induced by 20 years of road infrastructure construction had, in general, a positive impact on the development of the Center Region municipalities. However, depending on how accessibility is defined, negative impacts were also reported, as well as impacts that depend on geographic location. It is suggested that these latter impacts might be related to population migration within the Center Region. Concerning cohesion, no significant impacts of accessibility changes were found.

Teaching reading in digital era: Exploring Indonesian in-service teachers’ perceptions and challenges

This illustrative case study investigation was conducted to learn how Indonesian in-service teachers perceived teaching reading in a digital era and the challenges they encountered. The data were submitted by a total of 30 teachers who participated in the subject post for Indonesian junior high schools. Data collection strategies include participatory classroom observation, interviews, and guided written reflection. The data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. The study’s findings highlight issues concerning teachers’ perceptions and teachers’ challenges while teaching reading in a digital setting. As many as 63% of teachers believe that the proportion of time teachers spend to practice reading skills from online sources is 40%–50% of total teaching hours at school. Furthermore, 40% of them believe that the criteria for teacher success in reading is when pupils improve their reading comprehension skills. The analysis also revealed that teachers encountered a number of challenges: (1) lack of knowledge about models and media for learning to read in a digital context, (2) lack of students’ ability to read multi-text sources, and (3) lack of motivation and awareness among students in reading. The findings of this study impact the understanding and training requirements of junior high school teachers concerning reading instruction methods in a digital context. Future studies should focus on innovation and the development of learning models to improve the quality of reading comprehension in a digital environment.

Analyzing e-government agencies’ Twitter/X engagement: A case study of Nevada

This research aims to investigate the dynamics of interactivity between Nevada’s e-government and its citizens through the utilization of social media, with a specific focus on Twitter. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the study analyzed how Nevada state agencies engage with the public on Twitter, while concurrently assessing citizens’ responses through qualitative empirical research. These responses were categorized into content features, encompassing subjective opinions and sentiments (positive/negative), and structural features, comprising objective elements like special characteristics and multimedia components. Content analysis was employed to explore these features, leading to the identification of seven themes within a hypothesized two-dimensional framework, encompassing both the reflection of interactivity and the transmission of interactivity.<br /> Quantitative methods, specifically ANOVA and multiple regression analysis, were utilized to test the hypothesis. The findings revealed that Nevada e-government agencies predominantly used Twitter for one-way information dissemination, with limited two-way communication with citizens. To enhance interactivity, it is suggested that e-government posts incorporate multimedia elements and external links to facilitate information dissemination. Public administrators in the State of Nevada should focus on providing valuable and beneficial government posts, encouraging citizens to respond and express their opinions. Continuous training for public administrators is recommended, given the rapid advancements in technology and social media platforms.<br /> Furthermore, adopting best practices from domestic and international social media companies is advised to stay innovative. Public administration should transition from merely governing individuals and information to becoming facilitators and moderators of discourse on social media platforms. State e-government can strengthen citizen interaction by consistently delivering valuable information on social media, thereby obtaining immediate feedback, and influencing public opinion.

Analysis of Soil Water Erosion Risk Using Machine Learning Techniques – A Case Study of Ourika Watershed in Morocco

Analysis of Soil Water Erosion Risk Using Machine Learning Techniques – A Case Study of Ourika Watershed in Morocco

Revealing the True Cost of Locally Differentially Private Protocols: An Auditing Perspective

While the existing literature on Differential Privacy (DP) auditing predominantly focuses on the centralized model (e.g., in auditing the DP-SGD algorithm), we advocate for extending this approach to audit Local DP (LDP). To achieve this, we introduce the LDP-Auditor framework for empirically estimating the privacy loss of locally differentially private mechanisms. This approach leverages recent advances in designing privacy attacks against LDP frequency estimation protocols. More precisely, through the analysis of numerous state-of-the-art LDP protocols, we extensively explore the factors influencing the privacy audit, such as the impact of different encoding and perturbation functions. Additionally, we investigate the influence of the domain size and the theoretical privacy loss parameters ϵ and δ on local privacy estimation. In-depth case studies are also conducted to explore specific aspects of LDP auditing, including distinguishability attacks on LDP protocols for longitudinal studies and multidimensional data. Finally, we present a notable achievement of our LDP-Auditor framework, which is the discovery of a bug in a state-of-the-art LDP Python package. Overall, our LDP-Auditor framework as well as our study offer valuable insights into the sources of randomness and information loss in LDP protocols. These contributions collectively provide a realistic understanding of the local privacy loss, which can help practitioners in selecting the LDP mechanism and privacy parameters that best align with their specific requirements. We open-sourced LDP-Auditor in [4].

A Direct Measure Of Leg Blood Flow During Running: A Feasibility Case Study

A Direct Measure Of Leg Blood Flow During Running: A Feasibility Case Study

Voyage scheduling and energy management co-optimization in hydrogen-powered ships

The maritime sector is striving to lessen its dependence on fossil fuels, motivated by both economic factors related to fuel efficiency and the policies established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Consequently, there has been a growing focus on developing and deploying all-electric ships (AES) as a more sustainable alternative to conventional fossil fuel-powered vessels. AES presents several advantages over conventional ships, including zero emissions, enhanced energy efficiency, and greater sustainability. However, the implementation of AES also brings new challenges, such as the necessity to manage a hybrid microgrid and optimize voyage scheduling. Hybrid fuel cell (FC)-battery energy storage (BES) technology can significantly contribute to addressing these requirements. To tackle these challenges, this article introduces a comprehensive framework for the optimal planning of hybrid microgrids and voyage scheduling in AES. The framework incorporates multi-objective optimization techniques based on genetic algorithms to achieve a balance between cost and voyage time. The proposed framework is applied to a case study of a ship operating on a fixed route between two ports. The simulation results indicated that the total cost per voyage, associated with the objective function of cost minimization and voyage time reduction, has decreased by 12% and increased by 40%, respectively, when compared to the regular ship speed profile. Additionally, the travel time has been reduced by half an hour and 2 h, respectively, in comparison to the regular ship speed profile. To verify the results, the optimization problem for cost and voyage scheduling is also solved by Mayfly Algorithm (MA) separately. Thus, it can be illustrated the effectiveness of the framework in enhancing energy efficiency and fuel economy while preserving the ship's performance.

What Makes Bureaucracies Politically Resilient? Evidence from Brazil’s Covid‐19 Vaccination Campaign

This article sheds new light on the drivers of bureaucratic resilience in the face of presidential attacks, an understudied but politically salient topic. Scholars have long shown how political advocacy can protect bureaucracies from presidential attacks on policy regulation. We argue, however, that advocacy is insufficient to defend bureaucracies against attacks on policy implementation, which occurs largely outside the formal political arena. Through a case study of Brazil’s successful Covid‐19 vaccination campaign, we call attention to two additional forms of support for agencies under attack–resource provision and social activism–that come into play during the implementation phase of policy. In conjunction with political advocacy, resource provision and social activism bolster bureaucracies under attack by filling in where other forms of support fall short.

Examining Parents' Views on Parental Involvement in Preschool English Teaching

This study aims to examine parents' views on parental involvement in preschool English language teaching. Today, as parents realize their roles, they have started to play a more active role in their children's educational process. In this period when children need their parents' support the most, parents need to turn this situation into an opportunity and contribute to their children's foreign language acquisition process. For this reason, this study examined the views of parents on their participation in this process in the preschool period, which is considered to be very important in terms of foreign language acquisition. It is predicted that this study will shed light on parents' thoughts about their participation in the preschool foreign language education process and will benefit the studies to be carried out to make English language teaching more effective in the preschool period. In this study, the case study design, one of the qualitative research designs, was used to obtain parents' views on their involvement in preschool English language teaching. A total of 15 parents, consisting of eight fathers and seven mothers, whose children received preschool English education in different schools in Afyonkarahisar province in Turkey, voluntarily participated in the study. In this study, the parents' opinions about their involvement in English language teaching were obtained through semi-structured interview forms. As a result of the study, it was found that although almost all the parents adopted the view that parental involvement was necessary when the situation of supporting their children's English learning at home was examined, it was found that they could not support their children in their English learning process due to limited time, insufficient English level, the view that school alone is sufficient and similar reasons. It is concluded that parents who thought that their English level was insufficient for their children's participation in the English language learning process, remained passive in this process and were not informed about how they could participate in the foreign language teaching process of their children.

Optimal Location for Tower Crane and Dynamic Trailer Parking in High-Rise Modular Building Construction Project

Optimization of tower crane positioning is essential in precast building construction to ensure that a crane is in the right position to offer the best value for placing precast elements. The first goal is the optimization of transportation distances made by tower cranes, which will address the issues of efficiency and cost. This is done in a way that provides for minimization of the distances that lie between the trailer parking where elements are parked, the tower crane, and the construction installation point. However, current research fails to address the dynamic movement efficiency of trailers, especially when handling multiple trailers and several models of tower cranes, making this scenario an optimization problem that is classified as NP-hard due to the likelihood of causing a combinatorial explosion. This work endeavors to present a new mathematical model that has been applied to the Genetic Algorithm (GA). The ideal demand-generated model is designed to solve the optimal model and position of tower cranes and the prospective positioning of trailers for parking. The feasibility and applicability of the method exploited in the study are also established through a project case study. When adopting the proposed planning model compared to the earlier planning scale, comparisons highlight a small yet significant saving of 6% in time and cost when lifting elements instead of providing them from the trailers by setting up a new on-site stockyard. In addition, a great deal of enhancement is also observed in the final solution aspects, where the developed GA has even reduced the operational time and cost by half a percent each. The results of this research offer best-practice approaches to the position analysis of tower cranes in precast building construction to bring scalability and cost optimization to bear on the construction business.