Conceptual Modification Research Articles

Design of Matrix Production Systems: New Demands on Factory Planning Methods

The production paradigm of "matrix production", newly discussed in the context of the digital transformation, is challenging traditional factory planning methods. In a turbulent market environment, more and more companies are striving to increase their competitiveness through more flexible and efficient production systems. Traditional factory planning approaches are still based on classical production systems. Conflicts and inefficiencies in the transformation project are inevitable. To avoid controversy, the question of how factory planning can be updated with the support of matrix production systems (MPSs) must be answered. Should an existing framework be adapted or a new one developed? A detailed literature review reveals the need for an update. In essence, it becomes clear that the topics of MPSs and factory planning have already been connected. These connections do not take into account the morphological requirements that are placed on the planning and operation of MPSs in a factory. The result is a conceptual modification of a common guideline for factory planning. Following the result, recommendations for the way to a successful validation are given. The article provides valuable insights into the core issues of MPSs and factory planning and stimulates scientific discourse.

아마르티아 센의 파레토적 자유주의 불가능성에 대한 공공선택학파의 반론

Kenneth’s Arrow Impossibility Theorem revealed dismal prospect to democracy, Amartya Sen’s Impossibility Theorem of Paretian Libertarianism provoked deep pessimism to Libertarianism. This paper synthesize critique by Public Choice School on Sen’s theorem comprising three points. Firstly, Sen misunderstood individuals as picking ‘social states’, which he regarded as complete description of society including all individual positions on it. Actually, however, individuals just choose particular aspect. Secondly, Sen’s impossibility basically comes from externality of individual’s preference. Public Choice scholars revealed, by designing proper game model under externality, Pareto optimality comes along with libertarian choice. Thirdly, Sen’s Impossibility Theorem is just short-term equilibrium showing contradiction between Pareto principle and Libertarian principle. Buchanan proves that paradox can be resolved through mutual coordination between individuals who are under Paretian inferior equilibrium. This paper suggests some implication as follows. Firstly, Libertarianism in Sen’s sense is far from normal meaning of liberty. Without proper conceptual modification, his theorem needs to be renamed. Secondly, If Sen’s Impossibility Theorem under U-condition can never exclude some cases in which two principles can coexist, then his theorem can be renamed as “Impossibility of Sen’s Impossibility of Paretian Libertarianism”. Thirdly, Public Choice theorists properly proved Paretian Libertarianism is possible, showing Sen exaggerated the paradox. Then, as Arrow’s theorem can be interpreted as ‘Possibility’ Theorem, considering substantial stability of actual collective choice situation, Sen’s theorem also can be re-interpreted as ‘Possibility’ Theorem of Paretian Libertarianism. Two camps needs to confront each other again towards the empirical proof on it.

Applying the Lagrange multiplier technique to reconstruct a force-free magnetic field

Context. The magnetic field in the solar corona can be reconstructed by extrapolating the data obtained by measuring the magnetic field in the photosphere. It is widely thought that the dynamics of the solar corona is governed by the magnetic field. The magnetic field in the corona can therefore be reconstructed using the physics of force-free fields. Several models have been developed so far to reconstruct the magnetic field, but shortcomings in this regard remain. Therefore, alternative models in this respect can still be proposed. Here we apply the Lagrange multiplier technique to render an optimization model. Aims. The main aim of the present paper is to propose a method of constrained optimization using the vector Lagrange multiplier and compare the results with those of preexisting models. Methods. Our main focus is on the conceptual modification of the optimization models. Since these models are computationally efficient and easy to implement, any possible progressive step would be welcome. The Lagrange multiplier technique is a powerful mathematical tool that has been successfully applied to many areas in physics. It may serve this purpose. In the absence of nonmagnetic forces such as pressure, gravity, and dissipative forces, the coronal medium is dominated by magnetic force. Thus, the function that is considered to be minimized may include a divergence term subject to the constraint force-free term, which yields a solenoidal and force-free magnetic field by an iterative process. Results. The numerical analysis of the proposed model was conducted through an artificial magnetogram and an observational vector magnetogram obtained by SDO/HMI images. The results obtained confirm that (i) the Lagrangian to be minimized in the present model converges slightly faster toward zero, at least for initial iteration steps, (ii) the energy variation during the optimization is compatible with the variations in previous studies, (iii) the numerical results seem to be compatible with a semi-analytical solution as the test case, and (iv) the model is applied to a real magnetogram, and relevant quantities such as magnetic energy content, the current-weighted angle between the current density vector and magnetic field, and the fractional flux errors are computed. Conclusions. The methods and techniques that convert a constrained problem into an unconstrained one are the penalty method, the barrier method, the augmented Lagrangian method, and the Lagrange multiplier technique, for instance. We have employed the Lagrange multiplier technique, by which any constrained condition could be added to the Lagrangian by an appropriate Lagrange multiplier. In our case, the constraint is the force-freeness of the magnetic field and is therefore a special case. The method has the following advantages: (i) The convergence rate is slightly higher for the initial iteration steps, which may help us for time-series events, while several magnetograms must be considered and limited steps of iteration may be needed. (ii) The Lagrangian is introduced based on the Lagrange multiplier technique, which facilitates first fixing a physical compromise such as a divergence-free condition, and subsequently adding any given constraint term. (iii) The quantities obtained by the constrained optimization with the vector Lagrange multiplier model, that is, the relative magnetic energy, the ratio of the magnetic energy to its initial value, the angle between the electric current and the magnetic field, fractional flux errors, the normalized vector error, the vector correlation, and the Cauchy-Schwarz indicator, are comparable with those of the comparison models considered in this article.

Reflection article | Scientific publications: Knowledge A market or a common good?

Scientific publications have become the preferred vehicle to announce advances made in the field of knowledge. In recent decades, the distribution of scientific knowledge has undergone important changes aided by the strong emergence of the Open Access and the so-called open science movements. These changes have brought about a conceptual modification regarding to the past, present, and future of scientific publications. Technological advances have also made it easier and less costly to share knowledge, a situation that is undoubtedly influencing the development of these publications. In this reflection paper we will describe the events that have occured around the distribution of science and will analyze the available information to subsequently scrutinize the present of scientific publications and project the possible immediate future of such important publishing activity. First, we will describe the origins of scientific publication, its achievements, and the establishment of an industrial market, as well as the existence of a prestige emporium and the movements that advocate for a change in the commercial vision of the sector so that science is better served as a common good. In addition, we will review the role of scientific publications in Latin America and the challenges of an industry whose main product is knowledge.

Bacterial peptidoglycan muropeptides benefit mitochondrial homeostasis and animal physiology by acting as ATP synthase agonists.

The symbiotic relationship between commensal microbes and host animals predicts unidentified beneficial impacts of individual bacterial metabolites on animal physiology. Peptidoglycan fragments (muropeptides) from the bacterial cell wall are known for their roles in pathogenicity and for inducing host immune responses. However, the potential beneficial usage of muropeptides from commensal bacteria by the host needs exploration. We identified a striking role for muropeptides in supporting mitochondrial homeostasis, development, and behaviors in Caenorhabditis elegans. We determined that the beneficial molecules are disaccharide muropeptides containing a short AA chain, and they enter intestinal-cell mitochondria to repress oxidative stress. Further analyses indicate that muropeptides execute this role by binding to and promoting the activity of ATP synthase. Therefore, given the exceptional structural conservation of ATP synthase, the role of muropeptides as a rare agonist of the ATP synthase presents a major conceptual modification regarding the impact of bacterial cell metabolites on animal physiology.

Assessment study of a four-step copper-chlorine cycle modified with flash vaporization process for hydrogen production

This paper develops a four-step copper-chlorine cycle for hydrogen production with conceptual modification through flash vaporization and evaluates its economic and environmental performances through exergy approach. The flash vaporization method is employed as a new approach for realizing the anolyte separation under vacuum conditions for reducing the thermal requirement of the anolyte separation step and consequently of the overall cycle. A flash vaporization is usually employed commercially for seawater desalination purposes. However, its utilization in a thermochemical hydrogen production process has not been considered previously which is really one of primary novelties of this investigation. The obtained results for the exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental analyses of the conceptually modified cycle are also compared with those of the existing integrated cycle at the Ontario Tech University. The exergoeconomic analysis of the cycle has also been carried out for the cycle operating with and without waste heat recovery. In this regard, waste heat recovery from a steel furnace has been considered for supplying the required thermal energy for the hydrolysis step. The cost assessment of the cycle is carried out in the Aspen-plus. Compared with the existing cycle, the cycle with the proposed modification results in a lower unit cost of hydrogen. Moreover, a significant reduction in the unit cost of hydrogen is observed when waste heat recovery is considered for the modified cycle. The average unit hydrogen cost for the modified version of the cycle is evaluated to be 4.7 $/kg which reduces to 2 $/kg with incorporation of waste heat recovery. Furthermore, the overall environmental impact of the existing cycle can be potentially minimized by considering the proposed modification through flash vaporization.

Self-rotation of emitting galaxies without dark matter

Temporal derivatives of the attracting mass in Newton’s law of distant interactions can balance the centripetal and centrifugal accelerations for the rotating periphery of a spiral galaxy. Thermal losses of the mass-energy integral inside the circle of rotation are the cause of the mega-vortex organization of the emitting galaxy. To reject dark matter in cosmic distributions, a conceptual modification of the Euler/Navier–Stokes hydrodynamics is required using adaptive tensor responses with metric waves but not gravimagnetic corrections from General Relativity.

From creative destruction to creative appropriation: A comprehensive framework

This paper introduces a conceptual modification of Schumpeter's concept of creative destruction. Identifying a Kuhnian anomaly in a case of creative destruction in the ‘new economy’, we analyze a case study of the Chinese e-hailing firm DiDi Chuxing to show that this firm used a strategy we term ‘creative appropriation’, whereby a new firm utilizes incumbent firms’ complementary assets but without cooperating with the incumbent, to disrupt a market. This exploitation of complementary assets is based on recombining prevailing technological infrastructure(s) as well as flexible business models that facilitate open innovation. Employing documentary analysis, participant-observation, face-to-face interviews with informants, and a quantitative survey, the study finds that DiDi deployed its e-hailing app to disrupt the taxi market in Xi'an, China (as it did elsewhere in China) as a means of creative destruction, appropriating human-resource-based complementary assets (social and personal reputations, tacit knowledge, and connections) of taxi companies in Xi'an, first to dominate e-hailing in the taxi industry and then to destroy that industry by shifting its focus to private cars.

On the Prospect of Using the Maximum Circular Velocity of Halos to Encapsulate Assembly Bias in the Galaxy–Halo Connection

Abstract We investigate a conceptual modification of the halo occupation distribution approach, using the halos’ present-day maximal circular velocity, V max, as an alternative to halo mass. In particular, using a semianalytic galaxy formation model applied to the Millennium WMAP7 simulation, we explore the extent that switching to V max as the primary halo property incorporates the effects of assembly bias into the formalism. We consider fixed number density galaxy samples ranked by stellar mass and examine the variations in the halo occupation functions with either halo concentration or formation time. We find that using V max results in a significant reduction in the occupancy variation of the central galaxies, particularly for concentration. The satellites’ occupancy variation on the other hand increases in all cases. We find effectively no change in the halo clustering dependence on concentration, for fixed bins of V max compared to fixed halo mass. Most crucially, we calculate the impact of assembly bias on galaxy clustering by comparing the amplitude of clustering to that of a shuffled galaxy sample, finding that the level of galaxy assembly bias remains largely unchanged. Our results suggest that while using V max as a proxy for halo mass diminishes some of the occupancy variations exhibited in the galaxy–halo relation, it is not able to encapsulate the effects of assembly bias potentially present in galaxy clustering. The use of other more complex halo properties, such as V peak, the peak value of V max over the assembly history, provides some improvement and warrants further investigation.

Application of deep reinforcement learning to intrusion detection for supervised problems

The application of new techniques to increase the performance of intrusion detection systems is crucial in modern data networks with a growing threat of cyber-attacks. These attacks impose a greater risk on network services that are increasingly important from a social end economical point of view. In this work we present a novel application of several deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithms to intrusion detection using a labeled dataset. We present how to perform supervised learning based on a DRL framework.The implementation of a reward function aligned with the detection of intrusions is extremely difficult for Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) since there is no automatic way to identify intrusions. Usually the identification is performed manually and stored in datasets of network features associated with intrusion events. These datasets are used to train supervised machine learning algorithms for classifying intrusion events. In this paper we apply DRL using two of these datasets: NSL-KDD and AWID datasets. As a novel approach, we have made a conceptual modification of the classic DRL paradigm (based on interaction with a live environment), replacing the environment with a sampling function of recorded training intrusions. This new pseudo-environment, in addition to sampling the training dataset, generates rewards based on detection errors found during training.We present the results of applying our technique to four of the most relevant DRL models: Deep Q-Network (DQN), Double Deep Q-Network (DDQN), Policy Gradient (PG) and Actor-Critic (AC). The best results are obtained for the DDQN algorithm.We show that DRL, with our model and some parameter adjustments, can improve the results of intrusion detection in comparison with current machine learning techniques. Besides, the classifier obtained with DRL is faster than alternative models. A comprehensive comparison of the results obtained with other machine learning models is provided for the AWID and NSL-KDD datasets, together with the lessons learned from the application of several design alternatives to the four DRL models.

Adjoint Methods as Design Tools in Thermoacoustics

In a thermoacoustic system, such as a flame in a combustor, heat release oscillations couple with acoustic pressure oscillations. If the heat release is sufficiently in phase with the pressure, these oscillations can grow, sometimes with catastrophic consequences. Thermoacoustic instabilities are still one of the most challenging problems faced by gas turbine and rocket motor manufacturers. Thermoacoustic systems are characterized by many parameters to which the stability may be extremely sensitive. However, often only few oscillation modes are unstable. Existing techniques examine how a change in one parameter affects all (calculated) oscillation modes, whether unstable or not. Adjoint techniques turn this around: They accurately and cheaply compute how each oscillation mode is affected by changes in all parameters. In a system with a million parameters, they calculate gradients a million times faster than finite difference methods. This review paper provides: (i) the methodology and theory of stability and adjoint analysis in thermoacoustics, which is characterized by degenerate and nondegenerate nonlinear eigenvalue problems; (ii) physical insight in the thermoacoustic spectrum, and its exceptional points; (iii) practical applications of adjoint sensitivity analysis to passive control of existing oscillations, and prevention of oscillations with ad hoc design modifications; (iv) accurate and efficient algorithms to perform uncertainty quantification of the stability calculations; (v) adjoint-based methods for optimization to suppress instabilities by placing acoustic dampers, and prevent instabilities by design modifications in the combustor's geometry; (vi) a methodology to gain physical insight in the stability mechanisms of thermoacoustic instability (intrinsic sensitivity); and (vii) in nonlinear periodic oscillations, the prediction of the amplitude of limit cycles with weakly nonlinear analysis, and the theoretical framework to calculate the sensitivity to design parameters of limit cycles with adjoint Floquet analysis. To show the robustness and versatility of adjoint methods, examples of applications are provided for different acoustic and flame models, both in longitudinal and annular combustors, with deterministic and probabilistic approaches. The successful application of adjoint sensitivity analysis to thermoacoustics opens up new possibilities for physical understanding, control and optimization to design safer, quieter, and cleaner aero-engines. The versatile methods proposed can be applied to other multiphysical and multiscale problems, such as fluid–structure interaction, with virtually no conceptual modification.

To Stand with the Nations of the World: Japan's Meiji Restoration in World History by Mark Ravina

Reviewed by: To Stand with the Nations of the World: Japan's Meiji Restoration in World History by Mark Ravina Alistair Swale To Stand with the Nations of the World: Japan's Meiji Restoration in World History. By Mark Ravina. Oxford University Press, 2017. 328 pages. Hardcover, £21.99/ $29.95. In this expansive analysis of Japan's transformation in the mid-nineteenth century, Mark Ravina departs from more conventional studies grounded in historical, political, and economic perspectives to examine his subject through a wide historical lens. The novelty of his approach to the Meiji Restoration is especially apparent in the initial chapters, whose broad sweep takes in earlier phases of radical change such as the introduction of the Tang model of government in the seventh and eighth centuries and the national transformation initiated by Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the latter sixteenth century. Ravina sees these historical precedents as illustrative of Japan's profound capacity to innovate in the face of external stimuli and, moreover, pursue a proactive and beneficial diplomatic strategy with its neighbors. This perspective is noteworthy because the relative stasis and seeming withdrawal of Japan from world affairs under the Tokugawa government belies a deeper capacity for adaptation and international engagement that has in fact been more persistent than is commonly recognized. The Restoration needs, according to the author, to be reconsidered in terms of these deeper and more persistent propensities. In their most general form they reveal themselves as, first, a capacity to innovate while nonetheless maintaining a deep sense of continuity from the past, and, second, a readiness to engage with the world—albeit with the express aim of enshrining the uniqueness of Japanese culture and society. Coining new terms, Ravina refers to these two propensities as, respectively, "radical nostalgia" and "cosmopolitan chauvinism." Though not intuitively a comfortable fit within conventional parlance, academic or otherwise, these phrases suggest an important conceptual modification to the conventional Japanese catchphrases that have most often been applied in this context—ōsei fukko (restoration of imperial rule) and wakon yōsai (Japanese spirit, Western learning). The book under review aims in large part to explicate how the author's new terminology facilitates a more nuanced analysis of Japan's development in the buildup and aftermath of the Restoration of 1868. [End Page 115] One of the great merits of this book is its commentary integrating institutional developments with broader historical and social trends. Chapter 2, on the demise of the Tokugawa shogunate, is a prime example. The discussion is at its most persuasive where it focuses on the inherent tension between the daimyo and the Tokugawa regime based in Edo. Ravina explains that stability was predicated on a degree of delegation by the shogunate to the domains (indicating a loss of direct control) coupled with a system of compulsory attendance by the daimyo in Edo. The latter kept people in their place, but at a cost to all concerned that made contributions in the national interest unattractive. This key relationship evolved through a series of reforms late in the Tokugawa era, and Ravina's explanation of these dynamics provides valuable detail and insight. The encroachment of Western imperial powers exposed the shogunate's lack of bureaucratic, military, or diplomatic means to maintain the status quo. The unraveling of the shogunal system became increasingly apparent, it seems, to astute observers including those within the shogunate, but the solution to the threat lay beyond the shogunate's grasp so long as it adhered to its founding principles. Discussion of the preconditions of the modern "nation-state," a term Ravina uses frequently, also figures prominently in this early part of the book, and indeed it structures the commentary on how figures both within the Tokugawa government and among the anti-Tokugawa forces came to understand the need to create both an integrated state apparatus and a people that could subscribe directly to it. Ravina convincingly articulates how these deeper commonalities of understanding could bring erstwhile opponents together following the Restoration despite their having been mortal enemies during the conflicts preceding and leading up to the Boshin War in 1868. Though Ravina articulates this fundamental theme well, this part of the book...

A review of the application of non-intrusive infrared sensing for gas–liquid flow characterization

This paper reviews the use of non-intrusive optical infrared sensing for gas–liquid flow characterisation in pipes. The application of signal analysis techniques to infrared-derived temporal signal outputs enables the objective determination of flow characteristics such as flow regimes, phase fractions and total pressure drops. Key considerations for improving the performance of infrared sensors are discussed. These include global and local measurements, ray divergence, effects of ambient light and temperature variations. Most experimental studies have reported consistent and excellent results for flow regime identifications and phase fraction estimation but with a few validating total pressures drop from correlations and direct pressure measurements. Other gaps in research were highlighted; these include the use of pipes sizes greater than 0.005 m for experimentation under high superficial velocities conditions greater than 10 m/s. The capabilities of infrared sensing as a standalone measurement for flow metering were considered a possibility via an inferential approach for phase volumetric rates. More so, the derived infrared sensing flow characteristics could be combined with available pressure–volume–temperature correlations in estimating mass flow rates of each phase. As a future development, a conceptual modification to surface installations using a transparent opaque coupling is suggested to overcome the accessibility limitation of infrared light penetration for opaque pipes.

Street-Level Bureaucrats as Individual Policymakers: The Relationship between Attitudes and Coping Behavior toward Vulnerable Children and Youth

ABSTRACTLipsky (1980) pointed out that street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) are important policymakers due to the discretion they exercise and argued from a structural perspective that these workers manifest relatively similar coping behaviors owing to their shared working conditions, characterized by chronically limited resources and non-voluntary clients. Using data from a national survey of municipal child welfare caseworkers in Denmark, we further develop Lipsky's theory from an agency perspective by focusing on variation in coping among SLBs and examining the extent to which such variation is explained by SLBs’ attitudes towards the target group, the objectives and content of their jobs, and their perceptions of the capacity of their institutions. We find that SLBs’ aversion to and tolerance of the client group, their perceptions of institutional capacity in terms of municipal resources and local political inefficacy, and their conceptual modification of job contents are all related to their use of coping.

Mentoring as the Core Element of New Teacher Induction in the USA: Policies and Practices

Abstract The paper focuses on mentoring as the key strategy of novice teacher induction in the USA. The study reviews current mentoring/induction policies and trends in the U.S. system of in-service teacher training and support. The findings suggest that the conceptual framework, standards and practices of new teacher mentoring in the United States conform to the dynamic trends in education and organizational management. The conceptual modification of teacher mentoring manifests itself in the development of comprehensive and sustained formal induction programs based on the theories of educational leadership, adult learning, social interaction and collaborative learning. Quality induction programs are context-based and involve multiple stakeholders (schools, school districts, local educational organizations and agencies, partner universities, state departments of education etc). Diverse forms of mentoring (one-to-one, peer, group, reciprocal, online and needs-driven mentoring, etc.) are extensively combined with other induction components offered to beginning teachers and mentors during the whole induction period. The induction components include: summer courses, orientation sessions, workshops, seminars, webinars, conferences, interviews, informal meetings and celebrations, district-based mentor training programs etc. The quantitative data obtained through the analysis of the U.S. national surveys and research reports provides ground for highlighting those mentoring and induction programs which have significantly decreased turnover rates among new teachers, contributed to their professional development and improved academic achievement in public schools by providing students with quality instruction.

Book Review: A Guide to Civil Resistance: A Bibliography of People Power and Nonviolent Protest, Vol. 1 by April Carter, Howard Clark, Michael Randle (eds.)

April Carter, Howard Clark, Michael Randle (eds.) A Guide to Civil Resistance: A Bibliography of People Power and Nonviolent Protest, Vol. 1, Merlin Press, London, 2013; 257 pp: 97818542510844, (pbk) 10 [pounds sterling] It is a common experience to feel overwhelmed when entering a new field of research, especially if the field in question has been well established for some time, and has produced a considerable body of work to sift through. An urgent need arises to find a 'reliable guide' that would not only reveal the contours of the broad canvas of the subject matter, but also provide a glimpse of different positions, past and present tensions, and significant debates that have emerged and waned in time within this very literature. A Guide to Civil Resistance: A Bibliography of People Power and Nonviolent Protest (Volume 1) is one such guide for any scholar and/or activist whose primary focus is 'people power' and 'nonviolent protest' within the larger field of social movements. In an ambitious undertaking, the editors bring together numerous samples of scholarly and journalistic work that span a vast temporal and geographical landscape of civil resistance. The book offers a rich annotated bibliography of online sources and little-known studies, as well as key reference works that investigate unarmed, nonviolent struggles for social and political change in almost every corner of the world in the post-1945 era. The book is a revised and expanded edition of an earlier (2006) publication entitled People Power and Protest Since 1945: A Bibliography of Nonviolent Action (Housmans). The new edition, like the previous one, outlines in separate sections different forms of nonviolent political struggles against oppressive, authoritarian and sometimes military-controlled regimes, and is further divided along a geographical taxonomy within each section. As was the case in the previous edition, the editors provide a brief summary of particular political developments in the region and in the individual countries under scrutiny in each section, followed by brief annotations for almost every reference provided. Overall, the sources in the bibliography are carefully selected, and comprise an impressively rich collection of books, peer-reviewed articles, journalistic accounts, memoirs, pamphlets and websites. There are, however, several enhancements that come with the new edition: First, numerous studies on nonviolent protests published after 2006 were included in the book, which also required the preparation of a second volume (no publication date has been announced for this at time of writing). Such an expansion in breadth makes the whole project even more indispensable for those in the field. Second, there is an accompanying website (http://civilresistance.info) which maintains the book's bibliography, in addition to other sources including texts of classic and out-of-print books, web links to important institutions and organisations focusing on the study and promotion of nonviolence, and regular updates from online news sources reporting on nonviolent protest around the world. The dynamic nature of the website allows for more flexibility in searching the database by author, title, year, country/region or any other keyword, and as such, enhances the utility and convenience of the project for a broader group of scholars and activists. More importantly, the editors introduce a significant conceptual improvement in the new edition by replacing the term 'nonviolent action with a more inclusive 'civil resistance' to refer to collective actions that aim at political and social change without using violence as a strategy. The latter term, in the editors' usage, comprises not only nonviolent actions but also 'unarmed resistance', which by definition may involve minimal defensive strategies causing disruption, or unobtrusive everyday resistance. Such a conceptual modification not only refines the definition of 'people power' to reflect more contemporary and everyday tactics of popular opposition that would have otherwise been left out, but also allows the editors to make organisational improvements in the book. …

A Structural and Conceptual Modification of the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health (ICF)

Current criticisms of the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health (ICF) are focused on its activity/participation component and on its conceptual basis. I propose structural and conceptual changes. (1) The components would be body structure, body function, intent, actual environment, and participation. (2) Intent would be linked to the concept of self-agency, and its codes would have two qualifiers associating it with capability and strength of willed activity. (3) All activity/participation codes of the original ICF would be moved to the modified ICF's participation component. This component is based on interaction between intent and environment, and it is linked to the concept of joint agency. (4) A new entity, scene setting, represents the sum total of all components' codes involved in a given act of participation. (5) Additional constructs are suggested to elucidate the relations between intent and environment that allow enactment of a given act of participation. The modified ICF is consistent with current concepts of disability and unambiguous in distinctions between body function, activity, and participation. There are no significant alterations in the original ICF codes.

Chronic diseases and multi-morbidity--a conceptual modification to the WHO ICCC model for countries in health transition.

BackgroundThe burden of non-communicable diseases is rising, particularly in low and middle-income countries undergoing rapid epidemiological transition. In sub-Saharan Africa, this is occurring against a background of infectious chronic disease epidemics, particularly HIV and tuberculosis. Consequently, multi-morbidity, the co-existence of more than one chronic condition in one person, is increasing; in particular multimorbidity due to comorbid non-communicable and infectious chronic diseases (CNCICD). Such complex multimorbidity is a major challenge to existing models of healthcare delivery and there is a need to ensure integrated care across disease pathways and across primary and secondary care.DiscussionThe Innovative Care for Chronic Conditions (ICCC) Framework developed by the World Health Organization provides a health systems roadmap to meet the increasing needs of chronic disease care. This framework incorporates community, patient, healthcare and policy environment perspectives, and forms the cornerstone of South Africa’s primary health care re-engineering and strategic plan for chronic disease management integration. However, it does not significantly incorporate complexity associated with multimorbidity and CNCICD.Using South Africa as a case study for a country in transition, we identify gaps in the ICCC framework at the micro-, meso-, and macro-levels. We apply the lens of CNCICD and propose modification of the ICCC and the South African Integrated Chronic Disease Management plan. Our framework incorporates the increased complexity of treating CNCICD patients, and highlights the importance of biomedicine (biological interaction). We highlight the patient perspective using a patient experience model that proposes that treatment adherence, healthcare utilization, and health outcomes are influenced by the relationship between the workload that is delegated to patients by healthcare providers, and patients’ capacity to meet the demands of this workload. We link these issues to provider perspectives that interact with healthcare delivery and utilization.SummaryOur proposed modification to the ICCC Framework makes clear that healthcare systems must work to make sense of the complex collision between biological phenomena, clinical interpretation, beliefs and behaviours that follow from these. We emphasize the integration of these issues with the socio-economic environment to address issues of complexity, access and equity in the integrated management of chronic diseases previously considered in isolation.

Mantle transition zone input to kimberlite magmatism near a subduction zone: Origin of anomalous Nd–Hf isotope systematics at Lac de Gras, Canada

Late Cretaceous–Eocene kimberlites from the Lac de Gras area, central Slave craton, show the most extreme Nd–Hf isotope decoupling observed for kimberlites worldwide. They are characterized by a narrow range of moderately enriched Nd isotope compositions (εNd(i)=−0.4 to −3.5) that contrasts strongly with their moderately depleted to highly enriched εHf(i) values (+3.9 to −9.9). Although digestion of cratonic mantle material in proto-kimberlite melt can theoretically produce steep arrays in Nd–Hf isotope space, the amount of contaminant required to explain the Lac de Gras data is unrealistic. Instead, it is more plausible that mixing of compositionally discrete melt components within an isotopically variable source region is responsible for the steep Nd–Hf isotope array.As development of strongly negative ΔεHf requires isotopic aging of a precursor material with Sm/Nd⪢Lu/Hf for billion-year timescales, a number of models have been proposed where ancient MORB crust trapped in the mantle transition zone is the ultimate source of the extreme Hf isotope signature. However, we provide a conceptual modification and demonstrate that OIB-type domains within ancient subducted oceanic lithosphere can produce much stronger negative ΔεHf during long-term isolation. Provided that these OIB-type domains have lower melting points compared with associated MORB crust, they are among the first material to melt within the transition zone during thermal perturbations. The resulting hydrous alkali silicate melts react strongly with depleted peridotite at the top of the transition zone and transfer negative ΔεHf signatures to less dense materials, which can be more easily entrained within upward flowing mantle. Once these entrained refertilized domains rise above 300km depth, they may become involved in CO2- and H2O-fluxed redox melting of upper mantle peridotite beneath a thick cratonic lid.We argue that incorporation of ancient transition zone material, which includes ultradeep diamonds, into the convecting upper mantle source region of Lac de Gras kimberlites was due to vigorous mantle return flow. This occurred in direct response to fast and complex subduction along the western margin of North America during the Late Cretaceous.

Modified Dual-stage Inverter Applied in a Three-phase Grid-connected Pv System Using Behavior Matching Technique


 This paper presents a grid-connected PV system in a centralized configuration and constructed through a three-phase dual-stage inverter. In this topology, usually, a DC-DC converter performs the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and an inverter is responsible for controlling the grid-current. For the DC-DC stage the three-phase series resonant converter (SRC3) is chosen thanks to the advantages that it exhibits. However, it is inadequate for the accomplishment of MPPT, due to its efficiency strongly dependent on the implemented deadtime and switching frequency. Then, this paper proposes a conceptual modification, i.e., a modified dual-stage inverter in which the inverter stage is responsible for both the MPPT and the grid-current control. In addition, the DC-DC converter operates with constant duty cycle and frequency. Such configuration requires a new concept, introduced as Behavior Matching. It serves as a fundamental feature for the DC-DC converter to reproduce the PV array I-V characteristic when they are connected, without control action. The maximum power operating point (MPOP) is found by maximizing the direct axis current, obtained by Park’s transformation from the inverter, through the perturbation and observation algorithm (P&O). Any specific measurement to realize MPPT is not needed. The galvanic isolation is achieved by using a high-frequency transformer. The structure is appropriate for high power applications, above 10 kW.