Disruptive Elements Research Articles

P071 Legislative and governance pathways to psychologist prescribing of melatonin in the behavioural sleep medicine setting in Queensland

Abstract Introduction Melatonin can be a beneficial adjunctive therapy alongside behavioural sleep medicine (BSM) interventions for circadian rhythm disorders or other behavioural sleep problems with an element of circadian disruption. Current psychologist scope of practice in Australia is federally regulated and does not include activities with medicines, including prescribing. Authorisation of health professions to prescribe medicines as part of an extended scope of practice, including research or scope of practice trials, is subject to individual state and territory government regulation. Methods Queensland legislation and health department procedures were reviewed to outline the mechanisms for psychologists to prescribe melatonin in a public sector BSM setting. Results Authority to prescribe medicines is provided by the Medicines and Poisons Act 2019 (Qld) (MPA) and the Medicines and Poisons (Medicines) Regulation 2021 (Qld) (MPMR). This authority may be provided under s75 (General Approval) or s52 (clinical trial) of the MPA without an MPMR amendment. Alternatively, for extended scope models in both public sector and private community settings, an amendment to the MPMR made by the executive branch of government provides authority for a health professional to prescribe medicines alongside an extended practice authority (EPA) by the state health department which specifies the circumstances under which the clinician can execute that authority. Discussion Queensland’s medicines legislation enables allied health extended scope of practice models. Implementation of psychologist prescribing of melatonin alongside BSM requires a MPMR amendment and EPA, or General Approval or clinical trial approval which would specify requisite training requirements, formulary, and any other limitations.

Determination of the environmental impacts of gold mining within the scope of the circular economy: Applications of the new economic model of the European Union

Following the Industrial Revolution wastes generated in the production and consumption processes have emerged as disruptive elements to ecosystems and threats to the safety of future generations. Resources are finite, limiting the ability to sustain the cycle for a sustainable future. With increasing population and industrial development, the single-use lifestyle of “take, use, discard” has become a significant problem in direct economic strategies. The European Union has led the way in waste management with its circular economy strategy, aiming to 'do more with less' as a long-term approach to economic growth. Today, companies in various industries must set an example for environmental awareness, lifestyle, and consumption habits in society to shift positively. This study focuses on the gold mining sector. Its objective is to examine and evaluate the impact of cyanide used in the purification process on groundwater and surface water resources. A sample facility was selected for analysis. Monthly environmental reports from 2015-2016 were obtained for this facility, allowing the study to examine the effects of cyanide on water sources by comparing available analysis results with the relevant national legislation. As a result, it was found that the cyanide levels at the treatment plant outlet and waste storage facility did not exceed the committed limits, and continuous pollution was not observed in the monitoring wells drilled to assess groundwater contamination.

Visual Pollution: Causes, Health Impacts, And Mitigation Strategies for Enhancing Environmental Aesthetics and Public Well-Being – A Review

This review paper examines visual pollution, its causes, and impacts on human health and well-being, defined as unattractive and disruptive visual elements in the environment that degrade aesthetic quality. It explores sources such as billboards, litter, industrial structures, and poorly planned urban development. The paper discusses how rapid urbanization, industrialization, and excessive advertising exacerbate visual clutter, particularly in urban areas. The impacts of visual pollution on health are significant, including increased stress, anxiety, and diminished quality of life. Vulnerable populations, such as lower-income communities, children, and the elderly, face heightened risks due to greater exposure. The review highlights disparities in exposure and health outcomes, emphasizing that the cumulative effects of visual pollution and socio-economic disadvantages intensify its negative impact. The paper also evaluates strategies for mitigation, including urban planning measures like green spaces and zoning regulations, as well as regulatory approaches to manage outdoor advertising and waste. By addressing visual pollution through comprehensive planning and regulation, the paper aims to inform policies that enhance environmental aesthetics and improve public well-being.

Through the Looking Screen: Exploring Familiar Places Through Google Maps Street View

The widespread of digitalization and its consequent adoption of digital navigation tools has led to an increased digitally mediated wayfinding of unknown and known places. In this study, the focus was placed on the latter, namely the exploration of familiar places through Google Maps. This study aimed to understand how familiar places are digitally revisited through the use of the popular Google Maps Street View. By employing digital go-along interviews, participants were invited to choose a known place which they have not physically visited in a significant amount of time and guide a digital walk. By adopting an agential realist theoretical perspective, Google Maps Street View is articulated as a more-than-digital tool. The main emerging themes consisted of the experienced disruptive elements leading to workarounds, the existent spatiotemporal shifts, and the visibility of present and absent matter emerging from the intra-actions of human and non-human actors. The work illustrates how digital places are understood and engaged with, and how meaning is ascribed to such digital worlds which come into being through an entanglement of memories, physicality, and digital elements. The paper contributes to an understanding of digital place, being of relevance to future directions in the development of similar navigational technologies, and to policy and legislation being formulated in this area.

Toward sustainable development: Revealing the dynamic impacts of the belt and road initiative on energy transition

AbstractThis article investigates the influence of the belt and road initiative (BRI) on energy transition within the context of sustainable development goal (SDG) 7. The study utilizes daily data from May 3, 2017, to June 30, 2023, and deploys advanced econometric methods like heatmap‐based QVAR, cross‐quantilogram, and recursive time‐varying methods. The findings determine that BRI can significantly foster the global energy transition process. Further, the Paris Agreement (PA) and green finance (GF) support the energy transition system by showing positive effects. In contrast, geopolitical risk (GPR) introduces disruptive elements that impede green energy production. Notably, the amalgamation of GF, PA, and BRI showcases the potential to not only facilitate SDG 7 but also contribute substantially to SDGs 8 and 13. Based on the above findings, the study suggests fostering synergies and collaboration between GF, PA, and BRI to maximize their combined impact on the energy transition, which may decrease the influence of GPR.

The Authority of Constituent Power

This article delves into a specific facet of the widely acknowledged ‘paradox of constitutionalism’. Specifically, it focuses on the tension between the disruptive aspect of constituent power and its alleged authority. Paying special attention to the Chilean social outbreak and the constitutional process that followed, the article draws inspiration from Robert Brandom's recent work to examine a constituent moment in action and argues that the constitutional paradox can be productively addressed if the pragmatic and semantic dimensions of the constituent moment are both distinguished and harmonised. By aligning these two aspects, the article offers a novel version of a ‘relational’ approach to the paradox, revealing the potential for reconciling the disruptive and authoritative elements of a constituent moment, and providing fresh insights into the Chilean case.

Research step of PID control method of stepper motor based on improved fuzzy control algorithm

The significance of PID control within the management system of stepper motors is noteworthy; nonetheless, it is worth noting that stepper motors are susceptible to issues such as low power, step loss, and vibration. The conventional Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control method is insufficient in addressing the control challenge specific to stepper motor management systems. Hence, this research work presents an enhanced fuzzy control method that integrates the principles of fuzzy control theory with traditional PID control theory. The integration of fuzzy control into the P ID control is undertaken to create a fuzzy controller that satisfies the demands of stepper motor control. Additionally, the division of indices is conducted in accordance with the specifications of the fuzzy controller in order to mitigate the disruptive elements of PID control. then, the use of fuzzy control rules is employed to achieve control over the stepper motor, resulting in the development of an enhanced scheme that is then subjected to rigorous validation. The present study employs a MATLAB simulation to compare the performance of the enhanced fuzzy control algorithm with that of the P-ID control method. The results demonstrate that the improved fuzzy control algorithm significantly enhances the stability and dynamic performance of the stepper motor. Superior to traditional Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control.

Assessment of tourism socio-ecological system resilience in arid areas: A case study of Xinjiang, China

Arid regions hold a prominent position as global tourist destination. However, their ecological fragility and sensitivity to economic and social factors make them more susceptible to various disruptive elements, thereby exacerbating the instability of the tourism socio-ecological system. Consequently, there has been a growing focus on tourism socio-ecological system resilience (TSESR) in arid regions. This study has developed a scientific and universally applicable assessment framework to evaluate TSESR in arid regions, considering the system's process mechanisms and dimensions. The framework encompasses four key domains: resistance, recovery, adaptation, and renewal, further divided into twelve criterion layers. This study conducted a case study in 14 prefecture-level units in Xinjiang, China, from 2010 to 2020. An improved TOPSIS model, Gini coefficient, Kernel density estimation, and Obstacle degree model were employed to investigate the levels, spatiotemporal variations, and obstacle factors of TSESR. The research findings indicate that during the study period, the resilience levels of the 14 prefecture-level cities exhibited an overall upward trend with fluctuations. There are notable spatial disparities, yet these disparities are diminishing. Furthermore, factors such as resource endowment, market potential, economic foundation, industrial environment, and human capital represented common obstacles, while unique regional impediments also existed. The TSESR assessment index system can scientifically and comprehensively evaluate resilience levels, offering an adaptive indicators framework for arid regions. It promotes the development of a resilient tourism socio-ecological system, thereby achieving sustainable tourism development.

A weighted sparse classification method based on period analysis dictionary

The periodic transient shocks triggered by damages in rolling bearings are frequently overshadowed by disruptive elements such as noise and harmonics. Therefore, the extraction of fault characteristics from these disturbances to identify the health status of the bearing is crucial for fault diagnosis. This study presents a novel approach, the period analysis dictionary weighted sparse representation classification (PAD-WSRC) method, designed specifically for rolling bearings. The proposed approach incorporates Bi-damped wavelet as the dictionary wavelet atom, while accounting for the pulse characteristics induced by faults and leveraging prior knowledge of periodicity. A weighted sparse representation (SR) method was also designed, which calculates the weighted SR coefficients of samples, amplifying the local features of samples while addressing the impact of time-shift bias. In addition, the bearing fault type is identified using a mutual correlation classification criterion based on sparse approximation. Our PAD-WSRC strategy has demonstrated its effectiveness in classifying the health status of bearings across three datasets, achieving recognition accuracies of 99.75%, 99.69% and 99.17%, respectively. Comparisons with several traditional methods further underscore the effectiveness and superiority of our proposed method in classifying rolling bearing faults.

Implementing Horizon Scanning as a tool for the strategic development of regulatory guidelines for nanotechnology-enabled health products.

Strategic regulatory development is essential to ensure that new innovations in nanotechnology-enabled health products (NHPs) successfully reach the market and benefit patients. Currently, the lack of specific regulatory guidelines for NHPs is considered one of the primary causes of the so-called "valley of death" in these products, impacting both current and future advancements. In this study, we have implemented a methodology to anticipate key trends in NHP development and compare them with the current regulatory landscape applicable to NHPs. This methodology relies on Horizon Scanning, a tool commonly used by policymakers to foresee future needs and proactively shape a regulatory framework tailored to those needs. Through the application of this methodology, different trends in NHP have been identified, notably NHPs for drug delivery and dental applications. Furthermore, the most disruptive elements involve NHPs that are multicomposite and multifunctional, harnessing nano-scale properties to combine therapeutic and diagnostic purposes within a single product. When compared with the regulatory landscape, current regulations are gradually adapting to accommodate emerging trends, with specific guidelines being developed. However, for the most disruptive elements, multicomposite and multifunctional NHPs, their novelty still poses significant regulatory challenges, requiring a strategic development of guidelines by regulatory agencies to ensure their safe and effective integration into healthcare practices. This study underscores the importance of proactive regulatory planning to bridge the gap between NHP innovation and market implementation.

Disruptionen: Sprachliche und seelische Brüche in »Sam va mieux« von Alain Damasio

The writer Alain Damasio (1969– ) is one of the best-known SF authors in France. Recently, Damasio has made a name for himself in the English-speaking world through various projects such as translations, blogs, animated films, video games and fan art based on his novels. In Damasio’s fiction, disruptive elements interact on a structural and narrative level. The short story »Sam va mieux« (»Sam is doing better«, first published in 2010, republished in 2021) represents a particularly complex case in terms of use and functioning of disruption. The lonely protagonist imagines a counterpart – in this case a samovar – as his son Sam. This article deals with the concept of post-apocalypse, which is evoked by linguistic means. The short story’s creative linguistic treatment of resistance to (uncomfortable) reality is intended to show that the hero’s psychological defense mechanisms are based on disruption. The treatment of disruptive conditions in »Sam va mieux« points to Damasio’s specific conception of the post-apocalyptic narrative. Sam and all the protagonist’s other imaginary children serve functions that are central to post-apocalyptic fiction as a whole: a cathartic function (providing comfort), a critical and educational function (disillusionment and warning), and and an empowering and emancipatory function (maintaining agency). »Sam va mieux« explores the question of how agency unfolds despite the catastrophe and what effects can possibly be generated as a result. One possibility is the will to deal creatively with a changing world. Human beings have the potential and the duty not to suffer the world passively. 

CARNIVALISING THE SCREEN: BAKTHIN’S DIALOGISM AND THE EVOLUTION OF NEW-GEN MALAYALAM CINEMA

The Malayalam film industry has undergone a significant transformation since 2010, marked by the emergence of a new generation of filmmakers who have introduced innovative and disruptive elements into the cinematic landscape. This article explores the concept of "carnivalising the screen" and the dialogical nature of New-Gen Malayalam cinema, focusing on how these films have subverted traditional norms and embraced a more inclusive and diverse narrative approach.

Classifying Face Features For Better Recognition And Detection

Recognition of facial features is in high demand currently because of its value in individual proof of identity, wherein a short input picture or a glance can assist in recognizing an individual using a database of images. This type of identity isn't commonly used in India, although it is necessary. Fingerprint identity systems ought to utilise facial recognition to render the system frictionless and more secure. As a result, these researchers attempted to assess the suitability of two separate face recognition computational methods, facet, which came, and facial features, in this work. The traits are retrieved and then prepared before being turned to a list and then compared with the area of interest to determine the individual in question [5]. The characteristics considered were the Euclidean gap between the pupils, the contours of the nostrils, plus the lip-to-lip length. This initiative will assist in guarding factories wherein trespassing is possible, identifying people in crowds, tracing those who have vanished, and keeping tabs upon some disruptive elements of the community. It's used for a wide range of applications, including legislative bodies and vaults at financial institutions. At the exact same period of time the identification and detection percentages with the three distinct criteria for lateral recognition of faces, opacity identification, and face dramatic emotion are contrasted using the contrast test, and the adequacy for both methods is improved [6]. These results demonstrate the fact that every instance can be assessed individually. Conventional detectors may "perceive" an object or message, turn it into an electrical signal, store it, and then utilise a conversion circuitry to turn the electricity into an amount or another observable screen format.

Eye-Tracking Study of Cognitive Effort in Processing of Lexical Features in Students and Experts

In this paper, it is our aim to observe the impact that translator training and experience have on different groups of participants (novice, trained and experienced) when evaluating a translation. We will be doing so by measuring the cognitive effort invested by the participants in the processing of lexical features applying an eye-tracking methodology. Participants will be presented with several translated versions from English into Spanish done by translators with different levels of training and experience. This paper offers a detailed description of the experiment carried out. In it, we were also able to observe that while there are common patterns in the three groups, training and experience does have an impact on their behaviour when reading and assessing the different translated versions. We have been able to observe a link between these two factors and the amount of cognitive effort, which is higher in the group of students than in the group of experts, with trained participants leading the numbers, which we believe confirms the skill acquisition model proposed by Dreyfus (2004). Also, that extrinsic information is an element of disruption that influences the decisions made by participants, the amount of cognitive effort employed and how those lexical features have been processed.

TERT and BRAF V600E mutations in thyroid cancer of World Trade Center Responders.

The 2-fold excess thyroid cancer risk reported in multiple World Trade Center (WTC) disaster exposed cohorts cannot entirely be explained by surveillance and physician bias thus highlighting the need to investigate the potential consequences of the dust exposure, containing carcinogenic and endocrine disruptive elements, on the thyroid. This study investigated the presence of TERT promoter and BRAF V600E mutations in 20 WTC-exposed versus 23 matched non-exposed thyroid cancers as potential mechanism explaining the excess risk. Although no significant difference in BRAF V600E mutation was found, TERT promoter mutations were significantly more prevalent in WTC thyroid cancer versus non-exposed thyroid cancers (P = 0.021). The odds of a TERT promoter mutation was significantly higher in the WTC versus the non-WTC thyroid cancers after adjustment [ORadj: 7.11 (95% CI: 1.21-41.83)]. These results may indicate that exposure to the mixture of pollutants present in the WTC dust resulted in an excess thyroid cancer risk and potentially more aggressive thyroid cancer, warranting investigating WTC responders on thyroid-associated symptoms during their health checkups. Future studies should include long-term follow-up to provide important insights in whether thyroid-specific survival is negatively affected by WTC dust exposure and whether this is because of the presence of one or more driver mutations.

Network science approach for identifying disruptive elements of an airline

Currently, flight delays are common and they propagate from an originating flight to connecting flights, leading to large disruptions in the overall schedule. These disruptions cause massive economic losses, affect airlines’ reputations, waste passengers’ time and money, and directly impact the environment. This study adopts a network science approach for solving the delay propagation problem by modeling and analyzing the flight schedules and historical operational data of an airline. We aim to determine the most disruptive airports, flights, flight-connections, and connection types in an airline network. Disruptive elements are influential or critical entities in an airline network. They are the elements that can either cause (airline schedules) or have caused (historical data) the largest disturbances in the network. An airline can improve its operations by avoiding delays caused by the most disruptive elements. The proposed network science approach for disruptive element analysis was validated using a case study of an operating airline. The analysis indicates that potential disruptive elements in a schedule of an airline are also actual disruptive elements in the historical data and they should be considered to improve operations. The airline network exhibits small-world effects and delays can propagate to any part of the network with a minimum of four delayed flights. Finally, we observed that passenger connections between flights are the most disruptive connection type. Therefore, the proposed methodology provides a tool for airlines to build robust flight schedules that reduce delays and propagation.

Mempelajari Faktor-Faktor yang Memengaruhi Efektivitas Kepemimpinan di Perusahaan XYZ

The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the disruptive elements in this modern era. In addition to the rapid spread, other impacts in the form of progress and increased use of communication technology, especially the internet, require organizations to be able to adapt quickly. For large organizations, of course, is a challenge in itself in the adaptation process. Like other companies, XYZ Company has also been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This research tries to study the influence of group and work team behavior factors, leadership model, organizational structure and design, organizational culture, organizational communication, change management and career management on the effectiveness of organizational leadership in XYZ Company. The methodology used in this research is literature study, namely the method in the form of a series of activities related to the methods of collecting library data, reading and taking notes, and managing research materials. The study found that the variables of group and work team behavior, leadership model, organizational structure and design, organizational culture, organizational communication, change management and career management affect the effectiveness of organizational leadership in XYZ Company. It is suggested in further research to study organizational planning variables and their effect on leadership effectiveness.

A deep assessment of a pair of built-in winglets with similar disposition on a rectangular channel

Heat transfer enhancement is a constant objective in the design of heat exchangers. Several techniques have been implemented to achieve it. Passive techniques use the fluidˈs energy to improve the heat exchanger surface performance. As a passive technique, vortex generators produce a relatively low impact on drop pressure. They are a disruptive element of the boundary layers and when facing the flow, they create secondary flows responsible for the enhancement of heat transfer. Vortex generators can be implemented on surfaces using different methods, but a mechanical punching operation is probably the best option to create them. The operation produces a hole on the surface which plays a crucial role in the heat transfer process. There is a lack of studies where the influence of punched holes on the rectangular channelsˈ performance has been researched. Numerical methods allow to develop such analysis. As a novelty, this paper numerically analyzes the influence of two built-in punched vortex generators on a rectangular channel with a similar disposition and inside the laminar flow regime. Four dispositions with a variable transversal pitch are studied, for a total of 22 different models. The results are discussed using a modified non-dimensional parameter. The best overall performance was obtained using the arrangement with punched holes in front of the vortex generators. When compare to the others, that arrangement allowed to double the overall performance. A heat transfer enhancement ranging from 1 to 14% was obtained as a Reynolds number function. In contrast, the pressure drop increased from 3 to 17%.

The Piano in the Portuguese Experimental Music Scene: Approaches, Contexts, and Practices

ABSTRACT In Portugal, the avant-garde experimental approaches of the 1960s were fruitful for the emancipation of the sound potential of musical instruments and non-instruments. Since then, prepared techniques—the use of objects as sound producers, or in the context of extended techniques, electronics, and other processes of sound engagement—brought along the potential for rethinking and reformulating the piano and relationships between musical bodies. These prepared (extended) techniques were then acculturated, integrated, and somehow accommodated as a new normalisation, becoming in certain musical spheres the ‘new normal’. Connected to these approaches, new perspectives on experimentation with regard to the piano seem to be taking shape in Portugal, encompassing significant aesthetic, creative, and technical differences from the previous experimental vanguards. This study addresses the piano as a disruptive element in the current Portuguese experimental context, with regard to approaches, contexts, and practices. These disruptions are marked by an association with digital media resources, innovative performative perspectives, and the creation of different aesthetic outputs. However, this is an unconventional disruption—not a disruption related to the past, but an occasional disruption with the past. The objectives of the present study are to identify how the piano is treated by past experimentalists and as a contemporary technological artefact—including influences, techniques, languages, writing/recording materials, and the role of the performer—verifying the impact of its production, new conceptual transmutations, mapping composers and representative works, repertoires and formations, and the different roles assumed by the instrument.

Direct Test Effect of Disruptive Technology Acceptance Model (DTAM) on Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCS) Learners’ Satisfaction

Objectives: Higher education learners paid attention to MOOCs in their relevant fields to enhance their skills and knowledge. The purpose of the current study is to find the MOOCs’ disruptive technological dimensions of learners’ attitudes, learners’ usage behavior, and learners’ satisfaction. Methodology: The current study adopted a descriptive research design, it is a cross-sectional study, with 384 MOOCs learners included in a questionnaire survey during the months of June to August 2022 in the Tamil Nadu. For Data analysis, Frequency statistics, the Kruskal Wallis test, and PLS-SEM were employed. Findings: Kruskal Wallis test revealed that there is no mean significant difference between gender, education stream, MOOC preference, and MOOC course mode on attitude to use MOOC, usage behavior, and learners’ satisfaction. PLS-SEM results revealed that there exists a positive significant relationship between the dimensions of disruptive technology (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, reliability, portability, and economic value) on the attitude, usage behavior, and learners’ satisfaction. However, there is no significant relationship (t- statistics with 0.783) found between the perceived ease of use dimension of disruptive technology on user behavior. Managerial implications: MOOC service providers need to concentrate on DT dimensions, which affect users’ attitudes, usage behavior, and satisfaction. Novelty: The current study introduces the disruptive technological dimensions with the existing TAM model, it helps Edtech companies, higher education institutions and MOOC service providers to understand the learners’ usage behavior and the expectations of disruptive technology elements in MOOCs. The DT dimensions introduced in the present study will have adopted by future researchers to make the relationship between the emerging DTs and user satisfaction in the different segments and markets. Keywords: Disruptive technology; Higher education; MOOCs; Online learning; Behaviour