Integration Concept Research Articles

RealTHASC—a cyber-physical XR testbed for AI-supported real-time human autonomous systems collaborations

Today’s research on human-robot teaming requires the ability to test artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms for perception and decision-making in complex real-world environments. Field experiments, also referred to as experiments “in the wild,” do not provide the level of detailed ground truth necessary for thorough performance comparisons and validation. Experiments on pre-recorded real-world data sets are also significantly limited in their usefulness because they do not allow researchers to test the effectiveness of active robot perception and control or decision strategies in the loop. Additionally, research on large human-robot teams requires tests and experiments that are too costly even for the industry and may result in considerable time losses when experiments go awry. The novel Real-Time Human Autonomous Systems Collaborations (RealTHASC) facility at Cornell University interfaces real and virtual robots and humans with photorealistic simulated environments by implementing new concepts for the seamless integration of wearable sensors, motion capture, physics-based simulations, robot hardware and virtual reality (VR). The result is an extended reality (XR) testbed by which real robots and humans in the laboratory are able to experience virtual worlds, inclusive of virtual agents, through real-time visual feedback and interaction. VR body tracking by DeepMotion is employed in conjunction with the OptiTrack motion capture system to transfer every human subject and robot in the real physical laboratory space into a synthetic virtual environment, thereby constructing corresponding human/robot avatars that not only mimic the behaviors of the real agents but also experience the virtual world through virtual sensors and transmit the sensor data back to the real human/robot agent, all in real time. New cross-domain synthetic environments are created in RealTHASC using Unreal Engine™, bridging the simulation-to-reality gap and allowing for the inclusion of underwater/ground/aerial autonomous vehicles, each equipped with a multi-modal sensor suite. The experimental capabilities offered by RealTHASC are demonstrated through three case studies showcasing mixed real/virtual human/robot interactions in diverse domains, leveraging and complementing the benefits of experimentation in simulation and in the real world.

Integrity – a status quo of judicial conduct

This article seeks to elucidate the concept of integrity as a status quo of judicial conduct, guided by the values enshrined in the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct. The examination of judicial integrity as an integrative aspect of judicial behavior will be approached by considering the theoretical acceptance of this value, in light of rele-vant international and national academic research that elucidates the notion of judges’ ethical and financial integrity, as well as the principles applicable to it. The paper also addresses the perspective of reforming justice in the context of granting Moldova the status of a candidate country for European Union membership.

Systematic Literature Review on the Perceptions of Teachers of STEM Integration

Low academic performance of students has always been a challenge in science and mathematics education despite the introduction of different constructivist approaches, like STEM integration, to promote student learning. The beliefs and perceptions of teachers about a certain approach were believed to shape curriculum implementation. This necessitates a review of the perceptions of teachers of STEM integration. PRISMA 27-item components of reporting systematic literature review were employed to extract patterns relevant to the benefits, challenges, and recommendations identified by K-12 teachers. From n=721, only five research articles were left for final review after a four-phase screening process. Teachers generally view STEM integration as promoting student achievement (problem-solving skills) and motivation or interest. There is an emerging view that science integration in mathematics instruction is stronger than mathematics integration in science instruction. Interestingly, a misperception was identified about technology education integration. This implies incorporation of STEM integration concepts in the undergraduate curriculum as teacher preparation was identified as one of the main problems on which improvements may be focused. The lack of equipment to support technology education integration as well as the appropriate skills needed to deliver the lesson was another emerging theme. In turn, the need for upskilling programmes to support the teachers in delivering 21st-century learning approaches is emphasised. Content knowledge is a prerequisite to pedagogical knowledge. To implement STEM integration, teachers need to know the contents of the different disciplines integrated.

Hydrogen from solar? A rigorous analysis of solar energy integration concepts for a high temperature steam electrolysis plant

Hydrogen from solar? A rigorous analysis of solar energy integration concepts for a high temperature steam electrolysis plant

The search for new methodological approaches in legal research in the context of modern challenges

The subject of this article is theoretical concepts and explanatory models used in legal science to identify the essence of law and legal phenomena, as well as issues of the evolution of methodological knowledge in jurisprudence in modern conditions. Due to the lack of adequate tools in classical jurisprudence for describing and researching the nature of new phenomena of legal reality, as well as in connection with overcoming politically and socially determined methodological limitations, legal science is faced with the need to search and disseminate new methodological approaches. New methodological approaches in the social sciences in general and in jurisprudence in particular do not pretend to establish the absolute truth, their advantage lies in the integration of traditional approaches. When considering the problems of the methodology of modern legal research, the author points out the need to apply new postclassical approaches, including the communicative theory of law. The novelty of the research consists in substantiating the impossibility of the transition of legal science to a qualitatively new level of knowledge of law and legal phenomena, provided that it uses the classical (and to a certain extent outdated) methodological optics. Since legal science develops in the context of the development of scientific knowledge in general and goes through the same stages in its development, at the present stage its development may be associated with the application of integrative concepts of legal understanding. One of the most interesting integrative concepts of legal understanding is the communicative approach, which allows us to give a more complete picture of the law, of all legal institutions, as it introduces legal dogmatics into the context of social communication. The communicative approach offers legal science new tools for understanding law and legal phenomena in their social dimension, which is the basis for using it as a methodological basis for current research in the field of lawmaking and law enforcement.

Psychosocial exposome and double precarity as emergent concepts for an old story

Psychosocial exposome is presented as a novel integrative concept, stressing out the relevance of individual unique physical and psychological caracteristics and how these interact with a multitude of global (e.g., pandemics, climate change, war, etc.) and proximal (e.g., family, individuals' health conditions, socio-economic status, etc.) challenges, at different moments of the life cycle. Double precarity (precarious housing and employment) is highlighted as a highly relevant marker of psychosocial exposome due to its close relationship with decision making and mental health. Despite not being a new phenomenon, double precarity has been recently recognized also as a main health-related determinant, especially when considering the Portuguese (and international) economical crises, associated with global threats. Evidence-based science addressing individual and plublic health is crucial for mitigating the negative effects of enduring scenarios of double precarity as a relevant component of the psychosocial exposome.

Smart logistic for sustainable cities

The United Nations has agreed on sustainable cities to be one of a series of sustainable development goals (SDGs) as the eleventh goal. This shows the seriousness of the world government in viewing the role of cities to participate in building the concept of sustainability. However, on the other hand, the phenomenon of urbanization continues to increase from year to year. The increase in urbanization is followed by an increase in the number of motorized vehicles, including logistics activities in it. The increase in logistics and transportation activities has a negative impact on air quality in urban areas with its CO2 emissions. Poor air quality will certainly hamper a city's efforts in achieving the concept of sustainability or sustainable cities. Thus, solutions to improve logistics activities are needed in an effort to achieve the sustainability of a city. In today's digital era, the role of technology is enormous including in the field of logistics, by integrating technology with logistics activities, more optimal solutions related to efficiency and so on will be more easily recorded. This integration concept is known as smart logistics. This research presents the results of a review of various literatures to define the concept of sustainable cities, the concept of smart logistics, and what logistics solutions have been studied before and how these solutions can answer the challenges posed in the development of the concept of sustainable cities

Korelasi Integritas Akhlak Pelaku Ekonomi dengan Kesuksesan Bisnis

This research explores in depth the concept of moral integrity which is the main basis for economic actors in the current context. The focus of this research is to identify ethical principles that should be upheld and behaviors that economic actors should avoid ensuring sustainability and fairness in economic interactions. A qualitative approach is used to investigate the impact of moral integrity on economic decisions. Research findings show that moral integrity must involve a commitment to values such as honesty, justice, and social responsibility. On the other hand, behavior that should be avoided includes practices that can harm society, such as fraud, corruption, and exploitation. This article provides a holistic picture of the role of moral integrity in shaping the character of economic actors and its impact on economic sustainability. The implications of this research finding can guide companies, regulators, and individuals in designing policies, business practices, and ethical guidelines that are in accordance with Islamic moral and justice principles. This research contributes to a deep understanding of moral integrity in the complex context of today's economic interactions.

РЕТРОСПЕКТИВА И ПЕРСПЕКТИВА: ИСТОРИЯ МОДЕЛИ ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОГО РАЗВИТИЯ КИТАЙСКИХ УЧИТЕЛЕЙ

The teacher professional development model is an important part of teacher education and the key aspect in developing teacher’s individual style, consolidating their professional knowledge, and improving their teaching methods. In retrospect to value connotations, the article explores the evolutionary characteristics of the macro design from governmentled to multi-subject collaboration, the development of teacher groups from scattered groups to integration, and the development of individual teachers from passive to active professionals. As for the prospective view, the authors claim the need to deepen the reform of the teacher professional development model by innovations from the governmental macro-regulation of teacher professional development policies, strengthening the integration concept of teacher professional development model, and integrating the elements of the teacher professional development model, as well as improving teachers’ knowledge, teaching techniques, and reflection on teaching

Defining and visualizing process execution variants from partially ordered event data

The execution of operational processes generates event data stored in enterprise information systems. Process mining techniques analyze such event data to obtain insights vital for decision-makers to improve the reviewed process. In this context, event data visualizations are essential. We focus on visualizing variants describing process executions that are control flow equivalent. Such variants are an integral concept for process mining and are used, for instance, for data exploration and filtering. We propose high-level and low-level variants covering different levels of abstraction and present corresponding visualizations. Compared to existing variant visualizations, we support partially ordered event data and allow for heterogeneous temporal information per event, i.e., we support both time intervals and time points. We evaluate our contributions using automated experiments showing practical applicability to real-life event data. Finally, we present a user study indicating significantly improved usefulness and ease of use of the proposed high-level variant visualization compared to existing variant visualizations for typical analysis tasks.

Concept of an elementary work as introduction to the line integral in engineering studies

The paper is devoted to the line integral topic belonging to the section of vector calculus in Mathematical Analysis applied to the undergraduate Mechanical Engineering program. An efficient way of teaching line integrals is proposed and developed based on the elementary work/force principles. By this way, the mathematical concept of the line integral is supposed to be learned in harmony with the elementary mechanics to appreciate its diversity and to set up the right idea about the scientific area covered by Mechanical Engineering and related academic and technical fields. In terms of practical training, the research also offers two new techniques of analytical calculus for line integrals containing singularities and provides a new coherent engineering approach to deal with vector fields as integrands in line integrals.

Exploration on the Innovation Model of County Urbanization Development with the Resource Constraints in China

The 14th Five-Year Plan for China proposes to promote the urbanization process from a county perspective, presenting an unprecedented opportunity to develop county urbanization. However, in the context of relatively limited resources, insufficient funds, and comparatively lower land values in Chinese counties, how to promote county urbanization remains the primary challenge, which has not been studied yet. This study first analyzes the necessity of promoting county urbanization from four dimensions: national development strategy, industrial policy development, local government status, and enterprise development demands using literature research and survey interviews. Based on field research conducted in 32 counties in China, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis is carried out on the county urbanization process in this study. By analyzing the developmental status and challenges of major urban areas, expansion areas of counties, and their surrounding countryside, this paper proposes a “three-level gradient integration” concept for the spatial integration of county urbanization. Furthermore, the mechanism of multi-agent linkage to promote county urbanization was explored based on the theory of urban governance and the characteristics of county urbanization. Subsequently, relying on the analysis of policies, such as land acquisition and integrated land improvement, and adopting modes, such as “Investor + Engineering Procurement Construction + Operation” (investor + EPC + O) and renovate–operate–transfer (ROT), we propose a pathway for promoting county urbanization through the linkage of government, enterprises, and residents. This study provides insight into promoting the county urbanization process. Additionally, each country faces the common issue of how to use limited resources to promote regional development, and this article can provide valuable insights and inspiration for addressing this shared issue by the principle of adapting to local conditions and adhering to the concept of efficient market and proactive government.

Synergistic solar-powered water-electricity generation: An integrated floating system on water

The global pursuit of sustainable development faces two critical challenges: the scarcity of clean water and the growing energy crisis. The integration of solar-powered hybrid systems that harness the photovoltaic effect and passive steam generation has emerged as a crucial strategy. While several thermally-localized multi-stage solar stills have been developed, they predominantly rely on ground-mounted designs. Herein, we present a groundbreaking integration concept that combines a floating solar panel with a five-stage membrane distillation (MD) device, enabling simultaneous clean water and electricity generation on water surfaces. Positioned on the reverse side of the photovoltaic (PV) cell, the Janus membrane-involved multi-stage architecture of the MD device passively cools the PV cell, captures and repurposes the waste heat and manages vaporization enthalpy recycling. Our research highlights the importance of optimizing heat and mass transport within each stage, boosting the photoelectronic and photothermal conversion of the whole system. As a result, the integrated system achieves an impressive water production rate of 4.14 kg m−2 h−1 while simultaneously maintaining a high electricity generation efficiency of 16.4 % under 1 sun, therefore maximizing the total solar energy conversion. The clean water production rate of 11.6 kg m−2 day−1 places our system among the best-performing solar stills operating under natural sunlight. This integrated system sets a pioneering example of clean water and electricity co-generation with minimized carbon footprint, extending the applicability of ground-mounted solar conversion systems to water bodies.

Self-care strategies for medical students: an uncontrolled mixed-methods evaluation of a mind-body-medicine group course

BackgroundHigh stress during medical education and its detrimental effects on student health is well documented. This exploratory evaluation study assesses a 10-week Mind-Body-Medicine student course, created to promote student self-care at Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.MethodsDuring 2012–2019, uncontrolled quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from 112 student participants. Outcomes including changes in perceived stress (PSS), mindfulness (FMI/MAAS), self-reflection (GRAS), self-efficacy (GSE), empathy (SPF), and health-related quality of life (SF-12) were measured between the first (T0) and last sessions (T1). Qualitative data were obtained in focus groups at course completion and triangulated with quantitative data.ResultsQuantitative outcomes showed decreases in perceived stress and increased self-efficacy, mindfulness, self-reflection, and empathy. In focus groups, students reported greater abilities to self-regulate stressful experiences, personal growth and new insights into integrative medicine. Triangulation grounded these effects of MBM practice in its social context, creating an interdependent dynamic between experiences of self and others.ConclusionAfter completing an MBM course, students reported reduced perceived stress, increased self-efficacy, mindfulness, empathy and positive engagement with integrative concepts of doctor–patient relationships. Further research with larger randomized confirmatory studies is needed to validate these benefits.

Emotional Integrity: Implications for the Ghanaian Youth from a Pastoral Perspective

This research, conducted from a pastoral perspective, explored the concept of emotional integrity and its implications for the Ghanaian youth. While the study of emotions has been extensively examined from psychological, philosophical, and biological perspectives, there is a need to explore the subject from a pastoral standpoint. Given the increasing prevalence of emotional challenges among young people in Ghana, and the religious nature of the country, it is essential to examine this topic within an African context. This study employed qualitative research methods within a theological framework and utilized both primary and secondary data sources to illustrate various aspects of emotional development within Ghanaian society. Primary data principally comprised “media materials data,” also referred to as “qualitative audio and visual materials.” Secondary data was obtained from published academic materials. The research emphasized the heightened emotional instabilities within the country. It also emphasized the significant role of the Church in providing guidance, support, and healing to address these challenges. The study highlighted the importance of examining emotional integrity within the Church’s preaching and service, emphasizing the need to prioritize love over fear-based manipulation. By adopting a holistic approach that combines religious and relevant non-religious approaches, the Church can effectively address emotional issues, facilitate healing, and promote the overall well-being of the Ghanaian youth. This research sets the stage for a deeper exploration of emotional integrity and its implications for the Ghanaian youth within a pastoral view. It contributes to the understanding of emotional integrity from a pastoral perspective and provides insights into how the Church can play a vital role in empowering young individuals to navigate emotional challenges and foster their personal and spiritual growth. Keywords: Emotional Integrity, Pastoral Perspective, Ghanaian Youth, Well-Being, Sexual Impropriety, Violence, Anger, drug abuse.

Integrity and the University

This paper examines the idea of the integrity of academic practice. We offer an account of the integrity of professional practice in general before applying it to academic professional practice within the contemporary, western university. We then introduce the concept of integrity traps and explain how they can make it difficult for academics working within a contemporary university environment to maintain their integrity.

Depletion Calculations for an Integral Small Molten Salt Reactor With Serpent

Abstract The molten salt reactor (MSR) concept is among the Generation IV designs considered feasible for providing clean, safe, sustainable, and economical energy supplies to the world's population. The depletion of fuel for a small modular fluoride molten salt reactor (sm-FMSR) with a closed fuel cycle based on the integral molten salt reactor concept has been investigated using Serpent. The Monte Carlo transport code Serpent has burnup capability and flow features that can be used to model fuel circulation and online fuel addition in an MSR. Three fueling schemes to control Serpent depletion cycles have been simulated and compared: step fueling (SF), continuous fueling with all fission products (FPs) accumulating in the reactor system (CFA), and continuous fueling with insoluble FPs separated from fuel (CFS). CFA and CFS require fewer depletion cycles that are longer in duration than the cycles required by SF, in order to maintain the effective multiplication factor (keff) within a working range over the seven years of the reactor fuel cycle. sm-FMSRs with SF and with CFA require similar quantities of “top-up” fuel, consume similar fuel (fissile) amounts, and result in similar fuel isotopic concentrations if keff is kept within a similar range. However, with separation of insoluble FPs from the circulating fuel, CFS gains a large reactivity worth due to the removal of FP poisons. This allows for reduction of fuel enrichment in both initial and total top-up fuel and leads to savings of a considerable fissile quantity in fueling MSR and in spent fuel. The Serpent depletion calculations require manual arithmetic calculations for adjustment of the Serpent built-in settings before the start of every calculation cycle for all three fueling schemes. Implementation of additional Serpent flow features in changing material volumes and flow constants would facilitate the simulation of the fuel depletion process and allow for more realistic simulations of fuel circulation.

How do students learn definite integrals? Exploring students' learning opportunities

AbstractThis study explores calculus students' opportunities to learn the concepts of integral by examining one mathematician's videotaped lessons and the textbook. Results show that both lessons and the textbook introduce important cognitive resources briefly and focus on other units of knowledge. Implications to these results are also discussed.

Понятие интеграция мигрантов в российских концепциях миграционной политики: к вопросу о концептуальных основах

Attempts to conceptualize the integration of migrants in society regularly face criticism within the academic community; the term integration does not have a generally accepted definition. The article offers an analysis of Russian migrants integration policy. The purpose of the study is to clarify the meaning of the term integration, as well as to compare integration theories with practical measures of immigrant integration. The authors define the concept of integration, explore its conceptual foundations, and shed light on some contradictions of its use in political discourse and scientific literature. The concept of integration is defined as the inclusion of an individual in a certain host community’s social ties structure. Using the content analysis method, the article considers the place of integration concept in the fundamental documents of the Russian immigration policy. The authors conclude that the Russian integration policy has its faults. There is a gap between the integration policy and the realities of the migrants' existence, which prevents the effective inclusion of migrants in Russian society. Solving the problem requires close cooperation between various actors of migration policy, including non-profit civil organizations.

Normal mode analysis in multi-coupled non-Hermitian optical nanocavities

Coupled optical cavities are an attractive on-chip optical platform for realizing quantum mechanical concepts in electrodynamics and further developing non-Hermitian photonics. In such systems, an intercavity interaction is often considered as a key parameter to understand the system’s behaviors but its estimation/calculation is typically limited for some simplified systems owing to extended complexities. For example, multi-coupled photonic crystal (PhC) nanocavities exhibiting strong resonances with a large free spectral range can serve as an excellent test-bed to study non-Hermitian optical properties when spatially non-uniform gain is introduced. However, the detailed quantitative analysis such as spectral tracing of cavity normal modes is often limited in commercially available numerical tools because of the required massive computation resources. Herein, we report on a concept of spatial overlap integrals (SOIs) between the eigenmodes in non-coupled PhC nanocavities and utilize them to obtain the intercavity interactions in passively coupled PhC nanocavity systems. With the help of coupling strength factors calculated from SOIs, we were able to fully exploit the coupled mode theory (CMT) and readily trace the detailed spectral behaviors of normal modes in various multi-coupled PhC nanocavities. Full-wave numerical simulation results verified the proposed method, revealing that the characteristics of original eigenmodes from non-coupled PhC nanocavities can act as key building blocks for analyzing the normal modes of multi-coupled PhC nanocavities. We further applied this SOI method to various multi-coupled PhC nanocavities with non-symmetric optical gain/loss distributions and successfully observed the unusual spectral evolution of normal modes and the correspondingly occurring unique non-Hermitian behaviors.