Critical Objective Research Articles

Hollow reversible kapok fibrous membranes with amphiphilicity, natural antibacterial properties, and biodegradability

The demand for exploring biodegradable materials that possess multiple functionalities is rapidly increasing. However, achieving a balance between multiple functional properties is a critical objective that presents a significant challenge. In this study, we have developed multifunctional fibrous membranes with a porous layered structure and high porosity fabricated using alkali-treated kapok fibers via a wet-laid web formation and hot-pressing technique. A noteworthy phenomenon has been observed wherein a fibrous membrane can recover up to 4.49 times its original thickness and restore its hollow structure after being soaked in water for 24 h. This exceptional behavior is attributed to the combined effects of hydration and structure in the kapok fibers. Additionally, the kapok fibrous membrane demonstrates amphiphilic properties, evidenced by contact angles below 42° for water and oil. Furthermore, the membrane exhibits degradation rates of 17.91 % and 74.14 % after 15 and 30 days, respectively. The presence of associated substances and the unique hollow structure inherent in kapok fiber contribute to the outstanding antibacterial efficacy of the fibrous membrane, demonstrating a remarkable inhibition rate of 94 % and 95 % against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. This innovative approach enables the production of versatile biodegradable fibrous membranes with the potential to be utilized in various environmentally-conscious applications, particularly in personal protection and human health.

ALGORITHM FOR APPLICATION OF METHODS FOR DETECTING CENTRAL SIGNS OF AN EMERGENCY SITUATION DUE TO FIRE AT CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES

The work is devoted to the solution of an actual scientific task in the field of civil protection, namely, the development of an algorithm for the application of the technique of detecting focal signs of an emergency situation due to a fire at critical infrastructure facilities. Recommendations for the practical application of the methodology as the basis of the method of non-destructive control of the processes of preventing emergency situations due to a fire of a terrorist nature at the objects of critical infrastructure of Ukraine are given. the algorithm for the application of the method of detecting focal signs of an emergency situation due to a fire at critical infrastructure facilities consists of three procedures, namely: procedures for conducting measurements at a critical infrastructure facility, procedures for statistical processing of measurement results, fire reconstruction procedures. The received general recommendations of the fire reconstruction procedure can be reduced to the following. In particular, we note that the value of the electrical resistance of soot is related to the mode of combustion in one or another zone. If this value, which was measured directly above the investigated area, exceeds 10101011 Ohm, then this indicates that there was no intense flame burning in this area, but the burning took place in the form of smoldering. Long-term smoldering of a fire load in conditions of insufficient air exchange can lead to the formation of a thick layer of greasy soot on the ceiling and in the upper part of the walls, sometimes with clear drops of the liquid phase or drop-like spots. This can be observed in small rooms and other volumes that are not ventilated. If the combustion moves from such premises to a larger space with better air exchange, and a flaming combustion occurs, then the formed electrical resistance pattern will mainly reflect the development of flaming combustion. The source of the fire may appear in the form of soot burning or extremely low values of its electrical resistance, or vice versa, in a rather thick layer of soot with a high content of extractive substances. Thus, the interpretation of the results of the measurement of electrical resistance must be accompanied by an analysis of the specifics of the volume-planning decisions of the building (room), the conditions of air exchange, and the distribution of the fire load. The obtained results of the soot research can be used within the framework of fire engineering expertise to reconstruct the process of the occurrence and development of combustion, including to establish the center of the fire. Keywords: emergency situation, critical infrastructure object, technique, focal signs, thermal damage.

Meaningful objects avoid attribute amnesia due to incidental long-term memories

Attribute amnesia describes the failure to unexpectedly report the attribute of an attended stimulus, likely reflecting a lack of working memory consolidation. Previous studies have shown that unique meaningful objects are immune to attribute amnesia. However, these studies used highly dissimilar foils to test memory, raising the possibility that good performance at the surprise test was based on an imprecise (gist-like) form of long-term memory. In Experiment 1, we explored whether a more sensitive memory test would reveal attribute amnesia in meaningful objects. We used a four-alternative-forced-choice test with foils having mis-matched exemplar (e.g., apple pie/pumpkin pie) and/or state (e.g., cut/full) information. Errors indicated intact exemplar, but not state information. Thus, meaningful objects are vulnerable to attribute amnesia under the right conditions. In Experiments 2A-2D, we manipulated the familiarity signals of test items by introducing a critical object as a pre-surprise target. In the surprise trial, this critical item matched one of the foil choices. Participants selected the critical object more often than other items. By demonstrating that familiarity influences responses in this paradigm, we suggest that meaningful objects are not immune to attribute amnesia but instead side-step the effects of attribute amnesia.

Alsace in Algeria and the Notion of ‘Failure’ in Settler Political Culture, c. 1870–1960

AbstractThis article explores a key trope in the history of French colonial Algeria: the idea of the colony as a failure. The focus is on the resettlement of Alsatians and Lorrainers in Algeria in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War. What started as a wave of nationalist elan that sought to rebuild the lost provinces in France’s largest colony soon became the object of criticism and controversy, depicted by contemporaries from early on as failure. While this perceived failure was itself a colonial category – the failure to recruit settlers, expulse Algerians, and seize land – it tells us a great deal about the political culture of the colony. How was this resettlement project conceived? What visions of colonization and colonial settlement were projected upon it? And what mechanisms of coercion, dispossession, and violence did different colonial players seek to deploy? Through these questions, this article seeks to demonstrate that the verdict of ‘failure’ by settlers and lobbyists did not emerge in hindsight but was rather the product of the inherent tension between the sheer force that was necessary to seize the land and the metropolitan attempt to establish in the colony a form of unequal yet standardized civilian governance.

Ensuring information security of critical infrastructure objects as a component to guarantee Ukraine’s national security

The purpose of the article is to define and justify the conceptual foundations of the implementation of the state policy on ensuring the information security of critical infrastructure objects, as a component of guaranteeing the national security of Ukraine. The methodological basis of the study was a set of general scientific and special methods of scientific knowledge: dialectical-phenomenological, systemic analysis and synthesis, structural-functional, deduction and induction, etc. According to the results of the research: the author's definition of the concepts «information security of critical infrastructure objects of Ukraine» and «threats to information security of critical infrastructure objects of Ukraine» was formulated; the elements of the system of threats to the information security of critical infrastructure objects of Ukraine are identified; the factors leading to the emergence of threats to critical infrastructure objects of Ukraine are singled out and groups of basic measures aimed at countering traditional and new threats to the information security of critical infrastructure objects of Ukraine are formulated.

Аналіз кадрового складу підприємств та організацій критичної інфраструктури в умовах пандемії та військових дій

This study is dedicated to the analysis of the personnel composition of critical infrastructure enterprises and organizations in the conditions of the pandemic and hostilities. The aim of this study was to analyze the staffing of critical infrastructure enterprises and organizations in the conditions of the pandemic and hostilities and to determine the factors affecting it. The works of Ukrainian and foreign scientists, as well as regulations and statistical data on this issue, have been analyzed. The article analyzes the essence of the category "personnel administration" in the dimensions of the management object – critical infrastructure objects – including current problems of the recruiting process through normative and legal acts, the personnel composition of civil servants at CI enterprises is analyzed, and a forecast of the state is provided vacancies in the total amount of employed workers in critical infrastructure facilities in 2023, recommendations for improving the motivational system during martial law in Ukraine and the consequences of the pandemic situation in the world have been considered, and factors affecting the activities of CI during martial law have been determined.

ECONOMIC MEASURES FOR MANAGING CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES IN UKRAINE

Purpose. This article defines the variety of economic measures for the management of critical infrastructure objects. Attention is paid to their nature and characteristics, and it is shown how they affect the area under study. The object of the article is social relations arising in the spheres of critical infrastructure. The subject is economic measures of management of critical infrastructure objects of Ukraine Economic measures of management of critical infrastructure objects of Ukraine. Research methods are a system of ways of knowledge that allow to determine the concepts, types and characteristics of economic measures of critical infrastructure. A system of general and special scientific methods of knowledge was used in writing the article. It is about the dialectical method (used during the characterisation of the content of economic methods of public administration of critical infrastructure objects), the grouping method (used during the study of specific types of economic methods of public administration of critical infrastructure objects), the comparative legal method (it helped to compare economic methods of public administration of critical infrastructure objects), the method of documentary analysis (used to confirm the provisions on the facts of application of economic methods of public administration of critical infrastructure objects), the method of analysis (played a significant role in the formulation of the position and conclusions on the researched issues as declared in the article topic). The practical implications are that critical infrastructure facilities are of particular importance for the independence, economic stability and development of the state. The value/originality lies in the fact that the author gives the concept of economic measures of management of critical infrastructure objects of Ukraine and distinguishes their types. Examples of ineffective application of economic measures in the field of critical infrastructure are given. Results. The system of economic measures for the public administration of critical infrastructure objects requires attracting huge funds both from the state budget of Ukraine and from local budgets, as well as from the private sector – operators of critical infrastructure objects. Economic measures, depending on their result and impact on critical infrastructure objects, are divided into 1) those that have a positive meaning, i.e., ensure their development and protection, and 2) negative, i.e. those that contribute to the removal of critical infrastructure objects from the competence of the state and negatively affect their condition and controllability. In addition, the types of economic measures of management of critical infrastructure objects of Ukraine are: 1) categorisation of critical infrastructure objects; 2) assessment of the need to improve their protection and security; 3) involvement of private partnership in the development and modernisation of critical infrastructure facilities; 4) stimulation of sectoral bodies in the reconstruction and modernisation of critical infrastructure facilities; 5) planning measures to ensure the stability and protection of critical infrastructure facilities; 6) privatisation; 7) monopolisation.

Total allowable catches and fishing opportunity decisions of the Council of the EU – A voting power index approach

The setting of total allowable catches (TACs) have been a part of the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy since its conception in 1983 and has been the main management tool of conservation of fisheries stocks in EU waters. TAC decisions of the Council are made behind closed doors, which has been the object of criticism. Previously voting power indices have been calculated and used to analyse Council decisions (e.g. EU budget) and institutional changes of the EU (e.g. Treaty of Lisbon), however not for EU TAC legislation and decisions. This paper looks at EU Council decision making for a subset of member states concerning TAC decisions for which the Council has exclusive competence in. Specifically, the paper looks at formal mechanisms of voting in the Council concerning EU TAC decision-making by calculating voting power indices for member states. Additionally, the paper looks at the changes in voting power due to the UK leaving the EU. Results indicate that the Council’s voting rules distributes voting power to member states with larger populations, but also distributes disproportionally voting power to smaller member states at the expense of medium size populated member states. This reflects previous results from the literature. The results do not undermine the importance of informal mechanisms such as consensus and coalition building among member states, but rather complement it.

Fueling the future: A comprehensive review of hydrogen energy systems and their challenges

This comprehensive study assesses the current state of the hydrogen energy system and investigates its potential to transform the global energy landscape while addressing important concerns about climate change. While hydrogen energy has numerous advantages, including sustainability and cleanliness, it faces substantial challenges in the areas of storage, manufacturing, distribution, infrastructure, safety, and cost. Scholars, lawmakers, business leaders, and the general public must all work together to address these complex issues. The research emphasizes the significance of breakthrough technology and astute government policies for the successful development and widespread deployment of hydrogen energy systems. It highlights that this revolutionary effort cannot be performed in solitude. Public education and enhanced awareness appear to be significant factors in promoting greater acceptance and use of hydrogen energy. Furthermore, the study identifies critical future research objectives. It underlines the importance of enhancing the efficiency, sustainability, safety, and economic feasibility of hydrogen energy systems. The development of new storage systems, superior infrastructure designs, and seamless integration technologies is vital to achieving the full potential of hydrogen energy. Finally, the research presented here gives a critical assessment of the hydrogen energy situation and outlines a roadmap toward a more sustainable and resilient future. The review's conclusions are significant for policymakers, academics, and stakeholders because they provide critical insights into the opportunities and problems associated with realizing the full potential of hydrogen energy.

Network Analysis in Literature and the Arts: Rethinking Agency and Creativity

AbstractThe essay proposes to think of the creative subject as an actor in a network, that is, following Bruno Latour, as a »moving target of a vast array of entities swarming toward it« (Latour 2005, 46). It explores what it means to bring a network analysis to lectures on poetics by employing both a structuralist visualization informed by a computational method and a sociological method according to Latour’s Actor-Network-Theory (ANT). ANT is used to make traceable what with Hugh Kenner is called »elsewhere communities« consisting of spirits and minds along with objects and spaces. This serves to defend a method of criticism that is not oriented towards unearthing deep textual meanings, but which foregrounds the arts’ relatability and potential for provoking association and attachments. Network analysis in the arts and humanities, so goes the argument, has the potential to be much more than a formalist description of connections made. It offers means for detecting the implicit and explicit presences of a variety of different actors in or relating to works of art and challenges us to move beyond established analytical categories such as intertextuality and intermediality by opening the inquiry to a wider diversity of actors and to redefine our understanding of creativity.The article focuses on networks that emerge in lectures in which renowned artists from around the world share with general audiences their views on work processes, motivations to create, and artistic self-understandings. These are known asPoetikvorlesungenin Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, but do not have a distinct label outside of the German-speaking literary scene. The article departs from the observation that making connections and forming artistic associations are key components of these lectures as this feature can be found frequently. It first outlines genre characteristics of lectures on the arts with particular focus on networks that such lectures participate in. Emblematic examples are the Frankfurt Lectures on Poetics by the German novelist Daniel Kehlmann (given in 2014) and the Tanner Lectures by the Canadian writer and critic Hugh Kenner (given in 1999). Kehlmann depicts his artistic influences, sources of inspiration, and references to existing contexts by pretending to summon spirits, a rhetorical gesture akin to a necromancy. Kenner calls networks that evolve from making such connections »elsewhere communities«.The essay explores what a network-oriented analysis of this genre could look like by turning to the Norton Lectures by the German filmmaker Wim Wenders (given in 2018). These serve to test two different analytical approaches. The article relies both on network visualization and on tracing of networks according to Actor-Network-Theory (ANT). The article thus offers both a graphic representation of references from Wenders’ lectures and a textual tracing of associations according to the methodology outlined by Latour.An important finding is that network analysis, no matter its method, offers exciting opportunities in revealing the significance of relations and associations. Network analysis challenges literary scholars to revisit and rethink intertextuality, intermediality, or intersubjectivity and invites them to unearth a new diversity of actors. The article argues that graphic visualizations done with computational methods can be instrumental in the immediacy with which they communicate findings, especially when it comes to findings from a large corpus. The article then moves on to explore the nuances and theoretical implications that ANT offers in addition to the network visualization. A major appeal of ANT is, so the argument, that it offers insight into processes that are central to literary criticism: translation, mediation, and the evolving dynamics that stem from them. Since lectures on poetics are located at the intersection of artistic creation, authorial self-presentation, and criticism, they offer a particularly good window into the interactions ofpoiesisandaesthesis, of creative work and its dependency on the reception of other artworks. The argument concludes by suggesting that network analysis invites theorists to reconceptualize reader-response theory toward what scholars call comparative media studies.Finally, the article briefly considers lectures on the arts not as objects of criticism, but as a blueprint for scholarship that looks to re-envision literary criticism and its engagement of the reading public.

Solution-Processed ZnO with Conductivity over 1000 S cm-1 for ITO-Free Organic Photovoltaics.

Developing transparent conductors to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) is a critical objective in the field of organic optoelectronics. Non-atomically doped (NAD) ZnO thin films, while currently exhibiting limited conductivity, are highly promising candidates due to their unique advantages, such as having complete transparency in both the visible and near-infrared spectral regions, solution processability, and the desired surface electronic properties. In this work, the impact of surface modification by insulating polymers on the ultraviolet-enhanced conductivity of NAD-ZnO films is investigated. It was found that polymer modifiers that are rich in amino and hydroxyl groups are effective at increasing the concentration of oxygen vacancies and the conductivity of NAD-ZnO films. The highest conductivity of over 1000 S cm-1, which is more than twice as high as the previous record for NAD-ZnO films, is achieved using polyethylenimine ethoxylated (PEIE) to modify NAD-ZnO films. Subsequently, the replacement of ITO in organic photovoltaic devices by a ZnO/PEIE electrode is realized. The ZnO/PEIE-based OPV devices that were created exhibit performances comparable to those of ITO-based devices under simulated solar illumination and performances better than those achieved with ITO-based devices under simulated indoor illumination. These results make NAD-ZnO a promising candidate for the widespread replacement of ITO in optoelectronic devices.

INFORMATION SPACE IN THE TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED TERRITORIES OF UKRAINE: HOW INFORMATION OCCUPIES REALITY

The article focuses on the information policy as well as certain aspects of the organizational policy in the territories of Ukraine, which have been temporarily occupied by Russia after its large-scale military invasion on February 24, 2022. The author traces how the occupation authorities were established and the role of the Russian leadership in this process. Based on an analysis of the priority goals and actions taken to create a new information space in the temporarily occupied territories coupled with an examination of the current state of the occupation structures formed and the activities of the Russian occupying power, the author seeks answers to the question why the local population is particularly vulnerable to information influence in the conditions of temporary occupation.
 The author argues that the algorithm of the information policy in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine includes the following: creating a context and establishing control over the information space as well as forming new institutions and means for conducting the information policy necessary for the occupying power. With this algorithm in mind, the specific features of some newly created institutions, mass media, publications and other channels of disseminating propaganda in the temporarily occupied territories are analyzed to uncover the characteristic approaches to the formation of the information space, methods of influence and methods of communication with the local population. The methodological framework applied in this study, results in identifying specific features of communication by the occupation authorities, its aims and senses, including the key narratives and the main objects of criticism, which the occupation authorities appeal to. Crucially, the author establishes how in the temporarily occupied territories communication is transmitted simultaneously to the local information market in order to influence the local population and to the external Russian market to shape the desired visualization of events in the temporarily occupied territories.
 The author highlights the sequence of the invaders’ activities in the temporarily occupied territories, their information influence on the local population; the groups of methods used to form the information space; the communication strategy for the local population in the temporarily occupied territories.

Question-conditioned debiasing with focal visual context fusion for visual question answering

Existing Visual Question Answering models suffer from the language prior, where the answers provided by the models overly rely on the correlations between questions and answers, ignoring the exact visual information, resulting in a significant drop in the out-of-distribution datasets. To eliminate such language bias, prevalent approaches mainly focus on weakening the language prior with one auxiliary question-only branch while focusing on the statistical question type–answer pairs’ distribution prior rather than that of question–answer pairs. Besides, most models provide the answer with improper visual groundings. This paper proposes a model-agnostic framework to address the above drawbacks by question-conditioned debiasing with focal visual context fusion. To begin with, instead of the question type-conditioned correlations, we overcome the language distribution shortcut from the aspect of question-conditioned correlations by removing the shortcut between questions and the most occurring answer. Additionally, we utilize the deviation of the predicted answer distribution and ground truth as the pseudo target to avoid the model falling into other frequent answers’ distribution bias. Further, we stress the imbalance of the number of images and questions that post higher requirements of a proper visual context. We improve the correct visual utilization ability based on contrastive sampling and design a focal visual context fusion module that incorporates the critical object word extracted from the question after the Part-Of-Speech tagging into the visual features to augment the salient visual information without human annotations. Extensive experiments on the three public benchmark datasets, i.e., VQA v2, VQA-CP v2, and VQA-CP v1, demonstrate the effectiveness of our model.

Effect of TG5 and LEP polymorphisms on the productivity, chemical composition, and fatty acid profile of meat from Simmental bulls.

Enhancing the nutritional and biological value of meat obtained from young surplus replacement animals of dual-purpose breeds is a critical objective in the livestock industry. This study aimed to investigate the impact of thyroglobulin (TG5, c. -422C > T) and leptin (LEP, c. 239C > T) polymorphisms on the productivity, chemical composition, and fatty acid (FA) profile of meat from Simmental bulls. A total of 26 Simmental bulls were genotyped for TG5 (c. -422C > T) and LEP (c. 239C > T) polymorphisms and reared under the same fattening conditions. Controlled slaughter was conducted at 18 months of age. Subsequently, the experimental animals were evaluated to determine their slaughter traits and the chemical and FA composition of ground beef and the longissimus dorsi muscle. The results showed that the TG5 (c. -422C > T) polymorphism significantly (p < 0.05) affected the differentiation of bulls in terms of the synthesis of stearic acid, linolenic acid, and total polyunsaturated FAs, as well as the fat and dry matter content in the longissimus dorsi muscle. Conversely, the presence of the T allele in the LEP (c. 239C > T) polymorphism was associated with increased dry matter and fat in ground beef, carcass weight, and internal fat weight. The analysis of slaughter traits and the chemical and FA composition of meat from the Simmental bulls genotyped for the TG5 and LEP genes revealed a genetic basis for the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of meat productivity. Thus, the genetic variability of bulls regarding the LEP and TG5 genes can be used to improve the quantitative and qualitative indicators of meat productivity in Simmental cattle through marker-assisted selection.

Psychosomatic states and their correlation with letting-go: two newly evaluated core factors for investigating the therapeutic effect of spa treatment.

Spa therapy (aka crenobalneotherapy) has been the object of criticism due to insufficient evidence of its effectiveness. While further effectiveness studies are needed, others are also required to better evaluate the curative factors involved during spa therapy that may contribute to the effectiveness. The current study used specific scales to investigate two possible curative factors: the psychosomatic state and the letting-go of patients with mental disorders after 3 weeks of spa therapy. The Saujon Psychosomatic Questionnaire (SPQ) and the Quantified Assessment of Fluidity of Consciousness Questionnaire (QACF) evaluate psychosomatic state and letting-go, respectively. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) evaluate depression and anxiety symptoms and insomnia symptoms, respectively. Sixty-five subjects (57 women (87.69%); 8 men), with a mean age of 56.9 (± 9.7) years, were included. SPQ and QAFC scores improved significantly before and after the 3 weeks of spa therapy. Improvement in HAD and ISI scores was significantly correlated with SPQ and QACF scores. These preliminary results suggest that the induced psychosomatic state and the letting-go induced by spa treatment with bubbling baths, jet showers, pool bathing and massage could help patients to become more available and more able to change their psychophysiological state.

Of translation: the conceptual work of multilingualism in David Hume

ABSTRACT Although David Hume never addresses translation at length, he regularly invokes an interlingual movement at decisive moments in his work. Each of this article’s three sections addresses a pair of such moments. The first argues that translation establishes the association of ideas in A Treatise of Human Nature and An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding. The second analyzes translation as the ground of both the rational and the emotional arguments for God in the Dialogues concerning Natural Religion. The third and final section addresses translation as a highly regulated object of criticism in the History of England before turning to the Essays where it launches the search for the standard of taste in all criticism. Because translation thus intervenes not only in Hume’s criticism, where one might expect it, but also in his historiography, theology and epistemology, this article concludes by formalizing the interdisciplinary perspective translation opens in Hume’s work.

Development of a Generalized Model for the Protection of a Critical Infrastructure Object from the Destructive Impact of Air Attack Means

Purpose: development of a generalized model for the protection of critical infrastructure objects from the destructive action of an air attack. Theoretical framework: based on the analysis of the use of cruise missiles with radar correlation-extreme algorithms to damage critical infrastructure objects in the conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war, a generalized model of the protection of critical infrastructure objects from the destructive action of an air attack has been developed. Methods: determined by a set of solved scientific and research tasks and carried out using: methods of system analysis - during studies of the distribution function of the electronic subsystem; numerical modeling methods - when studying the main electrophysical properties of critical infrastructure objects. Results and conclusions: a generalized model of the protection of a critical infrastructure facility against the destructive action of air attack tools has been developed, which allows for the assessment of risks and their management. The developed model can quantify uncertainties, simulate potential scenarios and assess the impact of various factors on the level of risk. This allows decision makers to make informed choices and develop strategies to mitigate risks. Finding implication: the research carried out in the article makes it possible to develop a mathematical model for ensuring the protection of critical infrastructure objects from the destructive impact of various types of air attack means. Uniqueness /value: a mathematical model of the protection of a critical infrastructure object from the destructive effects of air attack provides a powerful basis for understanding, predicting and optimizing air defense, contributing to progress in various fields and enabling evidence-based decision-making.

Business models and the performance of Chinese high-tech service firms: the role of the technological innovation mode and technological regimes

Given China’s rapidly developing landscape, improving innovation performance has become a critical objective for high-tech service firms. This study examined the relationship between business models and the performance of Chinese high-tech service firms. The theoretical model is based on contingency theory and incorporates concepts from business model innovation, and technological innovation. A multilevel regression analysis was conducted using data from 489 high-tech service firms in China. The results indicate significant positive correlations between innovation performance and various factors such as efficiency- and novelty-oriented business models, technology development, and technology acquisition. Second, technological innovation mode mediates the relationship between the business model and innovation performance. Third, technological regimes have different moderating effects on the relationships between the type of business model and innovation performance and that between the type of technological innovation and innovation performance. From a practical perspective, firms operating under different technological regimes should adjust their business strategies to achieve optimal innovation performance. Furthermore, the results have several theoretical contributions and practical implications. The findings offer a valuable reference for business growth in developing regions and identifies viable ways to improve the innovation performance of China’s high-tech service enterprises.

ENF-S: An Evolutionary-Neuro-Fuzzy Multi-Objective Task Scheduler for Heterogeneous Multi-Core Processors

In this paper, an evolutionary-neuro-fuzzy-based task scheduling approach (ENF-S) to jointly optimize the main critical parameters of heterogeneous multi-core systems is proposed. This approach has two phases: first, the fuzzy neural network (FNN) is trained using a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II), considering the critical parameters of heterogeneous multi-core systems on a training data set consisting of different application graphs. These critical parameters are execution time, temperature, failure rate, and power consumption. The output of the trained FNN determines the <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">criticality degree</i> for various processing cores based on the system's current state. Next, the trained FNN is employed as an online scheduler to jointly optimize the critical objectives of multi-core systems at runtime. Due to the uncertainty in sensor measurements and the difference between computational models and reality, applying the fuzzy neural network is advantageous. The efficiency of ENF-S is investigated in various aspects including its joint optimization capability, appropriateness of generated fuzzy rules, comparison with related research, and its overhead analysis through several experiments on real-world and synthetic application graphs. Based on these experiments, our ENF-S outperforms the related studies in optimizing all design criteria. Its improvements over related methods are estimated <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$19.21\%$</tex-math></inline-formula> in execution time, <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$13.07\%$</tex-math></inline-formula> in temperature, <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$25.09\%$</tex-math></inline-formula> in failure rate, and <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$13.16\%$</tex-math></inline-formula> in power consumption, averagely.

Mutual aid and competition as driving forces of economic development

The theory of competition is one of the main theories of modern economic science and is an important component of its methodological and theoretical apparatus. In the classical and neoclassical paradigm of economic science, competition is objective, independent of individual economic entities, the basis of the market mechanism, an “invisible hand” that coordinates the activities of producers and consumers, the distribution of limited resources, the creation, distribution and use of economic benefits. Over the past 250 years, the theory of competition has gone through the path of formation and development and currently has a developed methodology that has made it possible to distinguish and study various types of competition and various types of market structures: pure competition, oligopoly, pure monopoly, monopolistic competition. The developed economic and mathematical apparatus of the microeconomic theory of competition makes it possible to realize its cognitive, practical and ideological functions. But throughout the entire period of formation and development of the theory of competition, there has been criticism of it. The object of criticism are both theoretical and practical aspects of the theory of competition. The most prominent opponents of the supporters of the theory of competition are Russian scientists: P. Kropotkin, A. Chayanov, N. Kondratiev, M. Tugan-Baranovsky, S. Kirdina-Chandler, G. Kleiner and others. They contrast the theory of competition with the theory of mutual aid, according to which mutual aid, not competition, is the driving force behind economic development. The authors of the article reconstructed the process of formation and development of the theory of competition and the theory of mutual assistance, revealed the relative heuristic significance of both theories, clarified the concept of “mutual assistance” in relation to the concept of “cooperation”, substantiated the existence of the dichotomy “mutual assistance – ​competition” and proved that it is driving force of economic development.