Disruptive Phenomena Research Articles

The tidal flood implications for territorial resilience in the coastal area of Sayung, Demak Indonesia

Tidal floods have transformed into a serious threat in the coastal area of Sayung, Demak, Indonesia. The disasters, which afflict recurrently and in the long term, will have an adverse effect on the territorial resilience of the impacted areas. Disasters constitute disruptive phenomena in the national resilience system in a broad scope. Territorial resilience is a micro form of national resilience, and hence, the study of territorial resilience is emphasized at local government levels, e.g., provincial and regency, and on all systems which become subsystems within a region. This research is aimed at analyzing tidal flood implications for territorial resilience using a qualitative method with a case-study approach. Results demonstrated that tidal floods had an implication for gatras (aspects) of national resilience. Several aspects with significant effects in the static aspect were geographic, demographic, and natural resources, while in the dynamic aspect, tidal floods impacted economic and socio cultural aspects.

Unintended Consequences: How COVID-19 Provided a Unique Opportunity for Disabled Workers

COVID-19 has been such a challenge for everyone across society in all countries and every economy. It has been one of the most disruptive phenomena experienced by anyone in over a century. Because of COVID-19 the very nature of work changed significantly and therefore many obstacles arose that had to be handled as well as some opportunities. Most organizations were caught off guard and as expected clung very hard to established work procedures and protocols that had been previously established. The result created a conflict between accepted corporate cultures and the forces for change to adapt to COVID-19 and its implications. One such issue was the sudden reliance on working remotely and its effects on workers, especially those with disabilities. While this study is about working remotely and those with disabilities, it is important to note up front that regardless of the type of workers involved employer opposition to remote work exists to some extent for all workers and is not particularly directly at those with disabilities.

A critical turn in numeracy education and practice

Research into the nature of numeracy and numeracy practice has typically been focused on the capabilities required to participate effectively within personal, civic, and work life. In this article, we document the development of numeracy theory and practice from a functional perspective through to a view that includes evaluative and decision-making capabilities now required for informed and responsible citizenship—a critical turn. We map this development through an audit of policy and curriculum documents in addition to published research, making connections to the ever-changing mathematical demands of society. These include new demands that require critical approaches to the deployment of numeracy capabilities. We argue that this turn to the critical is central to how citizens support their societies' responses to recent and intensifying disruptive phenomena such as COVID-19 and for ensuring equity, inclusiveness, and social justice remain a high priority in a rapidly changing world.

An Autoethnographic Reflection of COVID-19 and/as Biographical Disruption

The COVID-19 pandemic and concomitant measures to mitigate it have exacerbated pre-existing social inequalities and have proven to be major disruptive phenomena at both individual and community levels. People with disabilities and chronic illnesses have been some of the most drastically impacted social groups during the pandemic whose isolation and vulnerabilities have often been compounded in the wake of the massive social upheaval. Through an autoethnographic account of a woman with a physical disability in India who has also survived polio, heart disease, cancer and COVID-19, this article captures some of the complex and conflicting emotions and experiences of a life lived at the intersections of various embodied precarities and demonstrates how a social disaster can itself constitute a biographical disruption.

SPATIOTEMPORAL PATTERNS ON THE APPEARANCE OF THE FIRST TRAPEZE INDUSTRIES IN THE LATE MESOLITHIC OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA

ABSTRACTThe spread of trapeze industries (the creation of trapeze-shaped flint tips) during Late Mesolithic is one of the most disruptive phenomena of technological change documented in the European Prehistory. Understanding the chronological patterns of this process requires (i) a critical evaluation of stratigraphic relationship between trapeze assemblages and radiocarbon samples, and (ii) considering different levels of chronological uncertainty according to the inbuilt age of the samples and the calibration process. In this paper, we critically evaluate and analyze the radiocarbon record of the first trapeze industries in the Iberian Peninsula. A dataset of 181 radiocarbon dates from 67 sites dated to 8800–8200 cal BP was collected and evaluated following a strict data quality control protocol, from which 135 dates of 53 sites were retained and classified according to a reliability index. Then, three different phase Bayesian chronological models were created to estimate the duration of the first spread of trapezes across Iberia, considering different levels of chrono-stratigraphic resolution. We find that trapeze industries appeared in the eastern half of Iberia, over an area of 330,000 km2 between 8505–8390 and 8425–8338 cal BP, spanning 0–85 yr (95.4% CI). When the oldest evidence of trapezes from Portugal are considered, the probability distribution expands (8943–8457 and 8686–7688 cal BP), due to the chronological uncertainty of human samples with marine diet and regional ΔR values applied. For the eastern half of Iberia, the current evidence indicates a very rapid spread of trapeze industries initiated in the Central-Western Pyrenees, suggesting cultural diffusion within Mesolithic social networks as the main driving mechanism.

EVOLVING NORMS

EVOLVING NORMS

Can industry 5.0 technologies overcome supply chain disruptions?—a perspective study on pandemics, war, and climate change issues

AbstractIndustry 5.0 (I5.0) is the next industrial revolution that will leverage human intervention in collaboration with intelligent, logical, and smart machines to attain even more user-preferred and resource-efficient manufacturing and supply chain solutions. The main aim of this article is to study I5.0 technologies in supply chains when these are affected by disruptive phenomena such as those created by wars, climate change or pandemics. A systematic literature review methodology was conducted to understand the present knowledge connected with this theme. This study summarises 194 research articles from the period 2009 to 2022 to understand the present knowledge connected with this theme. The research findings show a significant gap related to the adoption of I5.0 technologies to prevent or overcome supply chain disruptions. 194 articles, including journal and review articles, were identified in the literature. The study provides a novel and insightful concept related to I5.0 within the context of supply chain disruptions. The potential applications of I5.0 and Industry 4.0 are elaborately discussed in three areas, namely: (1) disruptions in supply chains due to pandemics; (2) disruptions in supply chains due to war; and (3) disruptions in supply chains due to climate change. Finally, this study highlights research implications and proposes future research avenues that will contribute to further exploring the adoption of I5.0 technologies to prevent, manage and overcome disruptions in supply chains.

An Analysis of Residual Financial Contagion in Romania’s Banking Market for Mortgage Loans

The uncertainty of the environment, the complexity of economic systems, both at the national and global economy levels, and the digital age and artificial intelligence draw attention to the existence or appearance of systemic, disruptive phenomena that can appear and propagate in different forms, producing effects that can turn into economic crises. These phenomena can be transmitted like a domino effect, and they are referred to as the contagion effect in the scientific literature. In this research, one of the four forms of financial contagion, known as residual contagion, is studied on the mortgage loan market in Romania using agent-based modeling. By considering the economic crisis of 2007–2009, also supported by the mortgage crisis, in the present paper, we aim to study the Romanian mortgage market in 2022 through the use of machine learning techniques and agent-based modeling. The purpose of this research is to capture the potential systemic risks that can outline a residual financial contagion effect. The simulation results highlight the fact that the degree of connectivity between the commercial banks in Romania and the way in which they are interconnected have a major importance in the emergence and propagation of contagion effects. The proposed approach and the obtained results can offer more insight to policymakers on how the contagion effect takes place within the banking sector.

Differential Harm

This essay opposes the idea that contemporary critical events like pandemics, global warming, environmental deterioration, et cetera, are to be considered as affecting humanity in a uniform way. Instead of seeing these phenomena like abstract universal threats, I propose to look at them through the lens of my concept of differential harm. By drawing on interdisciplinary sources, this concept aims at covering a series of processes that are best described in differential, rather than absolute, terms. By the same token, differential harm is a matter of scale. Moreover, this essay also suggests that macroscopic critical processes are better understood as instances of harm, rather than violence. Instead of framing macroscopic disruptive phenomena as simple calamities or crises, my approach also aims at acknowledging their social, political, and psychological dimensions.

La costruzione del sociale nell’epoca della postrealtà

In a contemporaneity in progress, the emergence of disruptive phenomena, unexpected and not underlying the rules of control and immediate quantification, induces the subject to a continuous representation and participation in the public debate, driven by the need to regain possession, even if only apparently, of the space of a mixture in which reality and fiction are contaminated in a relationship of continuous exchange until it is impossible to resolve their factuality and their construction. The intent is to theoretically outline the contours and the correlation phenomena between the understanding and manipulation of reality and the elements of communication, identity formation and social implications through the spread of social networks, deep fakes and artificial intelligence in the post-reality period.

Asymmetric Interactions Induce Bistability and Switching Behavior in Models of Collective Motion

Moving animal groups often spontaneously change their group structure and dynamics, but standard models used to explain collective motion in animal groups are typically unable to generate changes of this type. Recently, a model based on attraction, repulsion and asymmetric interactions designed for specific fish experiments was shown capable of producing such changes. However, the origin of the model’s ability to generate them, and the range of this capacity, remains unknown. Here we modify and extend this model to address these questions. We establish that its ability to generate groups exhibiting changes depends on the size of the blind zone parameter β. Specifically, we show that for small β swarms and mills are generated, for larger β polarized groups forms, and for a region of intermediate β values there is a bistability region where continuous switching between milling and polarized groups occurs. We also show that the location of the bistability region depends on group size and the relative strength of velocity alignment when this interaction is added to the model. These findings may contribute to advance the use of self-propelled particle models to explain a range of disruptive phenomena previously thought to be beyond the capabilities of such models.

Experimental Investigation Of Disruptive Burning Phenomena On Nanofuel Droplets

The use of sustainable and green fuels in the aeronautical industry has been implemented due to the environmental concerns and depletion of fossil fuels. The introduction of biofuels, a renewable energy source in the transportation sector, has shown advantages in terms of pollutant reduction. Recently, the addition of nanoparticles in the combustion of biofuel has been studied with the purpose of enhancing its combustion characteristics. Consequently, the present work evaluates nanofuel single droplet in a falling droplet method. In this way, the fiber suspension effect was neglected, and droplets with a diameter of 250 μm were evaluated. A comparison between pure biofuel and a nanofuel at two furnace temperatures (T = 800 ºC and T = 1000 ºC) was performed. Nanofuels can be defined as a novel class of fuel, where energetic or not energetic nanoparticles are stably suspended in liquid fuel. The preparation of nanofuels demands a methodic procedure to accomplish stable, long-term stability. Therefore, in the present work, the liquid fuel is a biofuel named NEXBTL (HVO) from NESTE. The nanofuel is composed of HVO and aluminum nanoparticles of 40 nm in a particle concentration of 1.0 wt.%. The combustion of pure biofuel and nanofuel was evaluated in a drop tube furnace. This droplet combustion facility consists of an electrically heated drop tube furnace (DTF), an illumination set, an image acquisition system, and an injector device. To follow the burning process from the injector tip until the micro-explosion, a CMOS high–speed camera (CR600×2, Optronics), coupled with a high magnification lens, was used. The image acquisition was pursued with 1000 fps with a resolution of 1200×500 pixels and an exposure time of 1/13000 s. Moreover, a Photron FASTCAM mini UX50, a high-speed camera with 1.3 Megapixel was used to acquire micro-explosions with more detail, and a high magnification lens was coupled to the camera. The results reveal that disruptive burning phenomena occur when aluminum nanoparticles are added to the biofuel. Consequently, a micro-explosion determines the end of the droplet lifetime, mainly affected by the furnace temperature. Disruptive burning phenomena identified in the experimental study are difficult to acquire since its duration is brief and occurs at the end of the droplet lifetime. Due to this, different camera operating ranges were considered. Several frame rates from 2000 to 5000 fps and exposure times of 1/16000s and 1/20000s were considered. The image data processing was performed in ImageJ and MATLAB software. First, the droplet size evolution was evaluated using ImageJ based on the droplet outline through the brightness gradient. Then, the bright spots provided from the micro-explosions were identified and counted by an algorithm developed in MATLAB. It was concluded that adding aluminum combustion in a proper particle concentration can potentially improve the biofuel combustion performance. Moreover, no puffing or micro-explosions were detected in the pure HVO. In contrast, nanofuels displayed puffing and micro-explosions at the end of the droplet lifetime. In addition, the furnace temperature affects the disruptive process, being more intense at T = 1000 ºC. It was observed that a higher number of fragments are ejected at the highest furnace temperature. In addition, the fragments after the explosion are mainly on the lower side, however more studies focusing on this topic should be performed since these disruptive events are unpredictable. The image data acquisition provided the visualization and description of micro-explosions in nanofuel droplets, as well as comprehension of its phenomenology.

The Addition of Particles to an Alternative Jet Fuel

The expansion of the research on nanoscale particles demonstrates several advantages in terms of stability and an increased surface area to volume ratio compared to micron-sized particles. Based on this, the present work explores the addition of aluminum particles in hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), an alternative jet fuel. To evaluate the influence of particle sizes, nano and micron particles (40 nm and 5 μm) in a particle concentration of 0.5 wt.% were stably suspended in HVO. This study evaluates droplet combustion with an initial diameter of 250 μm in a drop tube furnace under different furnace temperatures (600, 800, 1000 °C). A high magnification lens coupled with a high-speed camera provides qualitative and quantitative data regarding droplet size evolution and micro-explosions. Pure HVO and Jet A-1 were also tested for comparison purposes. The results reveal that the addition of aluminum particles enhances the alternative jet fuel combustion. Furthermore, decreasing the particle size and increasing the furnace temperature enhances the burning rate compared to the pure HVO. Pure HVO presents a burning rate nearly to 1.75 mm2/s until t/D02 = 0.35 s/mm2 at T = 1000 °C. When nanoparticles are added to HVO in a particle concentration of 0.5 wt.%, an improvement of 24% in burning rate is noticed. Conventional jet fuel and pure HVO do not present any disruptive burning phenomena. However, when aluminum particles were added to HVO, micro-explosions were detected at the end of droplet lifetime, regardless of the particle size.

A Simplified Approach for the Corrosion Fatigue Assessment of Steel Structures in Aggressive Environments.

Fatigue performance is often a key aspect when dealing with existing steel structures such as steel bridges or offshore constructions. This issue proves to be more critical as these structures are usually located in aggressive environments and are thus exposed to progressive degradation. Indeed, disruptive phenomena such as corrosion can severely worsen the fatigue performance of the steel components. Currently, the normative standards do not provide a codified procedure for the fatigue checks of steel structures subjected to ongoing corrosion. Within this framework, in this paper a simplified approach for the life-cycle assessment of corroded steel structures is proposed. For this purpose, the concept of “critical corrosion degree” is introduced, allowing the expression of corrosion fatigue checks in a more direct “demand vs. capacity” form with respect to the currently available methods. A first validation of such methodology is reported for the corrosion fatigue tests drawn from the literature. The predicted levels of critical corrosion are in good agreement with the values of artificially induced corrosion (i.e., 4, 8, and 12% of mass loss, respectively), with a maximum relative error of ≈9.3% for the most corroded specimen. Finally, parametrical analyses are performed, highlighting the influence of the model parameters on the corrosion fatigue performance of the steel elements.

Global Challenges vs. the Need for Regional Performance Models under the Present Pandemic Crisis.

The present study uses the analysis of the EU’s regional performance structure based on clusters to test the versatility of the regional administrative capacity in relation to three disruptive global phenomena: the economic crisis, the coronavirus epidemic and the phenomenon of refugee migration to Europe. We defined a regional performance model based on maintaining sustainability indicators in the 240 EU regions. The objectives of the study are aimed primarily at a structured assessment of regional administrative capacity in the initial version, based on statistical indicators, and in the current version, after the outbreak of the pandemic, based on quantifying the impact of the disturbing factors. Secondly, the objectives of the study are to evaluate the reaction of the administrative units according to their ability to respond to the economic problems in the region, in the sense of improving the performance of the regional economies. The methods used in this paper will be empirical (the study of the specialized literature), analytical and will contain econometric modelling and statistical processing of the data. The results of the study will allow the identification of the necessary traits to train a leader in regional performance, traits that will be useful to European decision makers in adjusting the EU regional policy. Moreover, the need to redefine the EU in terms of performance will be substantiated once again. The study is current and is based on the latest Eurostat information, pertinent tables and diagrams.

Prevalence in News Media of Two Competing Hypotheses about COVID-19 Origins

The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the most disruptive and painful phenomena of the last few decades. As of July 2021, the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused the outbreak remain a mystery. This work analyzes the prevalence in news media articles of two popular hypotheses about SARS-CoV-2 virus origins: the natural emergence and the lab-leak hypotheses. Our results show that for most of 2020, the natural emergence hypothesis was favored in news media content while the lab-leak hypothesis was largely absent. However, something changed around May 2021 that caused the prevalence of the lab-leak hypothesis to substantially increase in news media discourse. This shift has not been uniformed across media organizations but instead has manifested itself more acutely in some outlets than others. Our structural break analysis of daily news media usage of terms related to the laboratory escape hypothesis provides hints about potential sources for this sudden shift in the prevalence of the lab-leak hypothesis in prestigious news media.

Covid-19, Knowledge Production and the (Un)Making of Truths and Fakes

ABSTRACT The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the most disruptive phenomena of our time. It has threatened and destabilised the normative, it has stoked fear and anxiety, and laid bare the fragility of our systems of governance, medical science and the immanent tensions within our knowledge systems. The pandemic has provoked a fundamental collision of these systems, leaving in its wake confusion as we struggle over meaning; the production of meaning, its husbandry and political instrumentalisation as a tool for domination and resistance. This article explores the emerging reconfiguration of the certainty about what is authentic or the truth, and of the un/certainty of the fake and fakery as alternative or complementary sites of truth(s). It argues that we are now faced with a complex and layered contestation over who gets to define the truth and the fake, and under what terms. This conversation is deeply insurrectional for it invites the whole world, centres and margins alike, to confront how political, cultural, economic and social values and structures of knowledge production are implicated in the making and unmaking of the authentic, of truth as well as of the fake.

Combustion characteristics of a single droplet of hydroprocessed vegetable oil blended with aluminum nanoparticles in a drop tube furnace

This study examines the burning characteristics and disruptive burning phenomena of single droplets of aluminum nanoparticles (n-Al) stably suspended in a biofuel (HVO). The biofuel used in the present work is a promising alternative fuel already tested in the aviation sector to reduce greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions. Experiments were conducted with two particle sizes (40nm and 70nm) and two particle concentrations (0.5 wt.% and 1.0 wt.%) to study its influence when added to the biofuel. The effect of size and concentration of the aluminum nanoparticles was studied at 1100 °C in a drop tube furnace. This experimental facility allows the study of combustion characteristics of falling droplets, ensuring there is no influence of the supporting fiber on the burning rate and disruptive burning phenomena occurrence. A CMOS high - speed camera coupled with a high magnification lens was used to evaluate the droplet size, burning rate, and micro-explosions. Based on this procedure, pure biofuel droplets were compared with those of biofuel blended with nanoparticles. The results suggest that the combustion characteristics of pure HVO can be enhanced with the addition of aluminum nanoparticles. Furthermore, by decreasing the particle size, a slight increase in the burning rate of nanofuels was noticed. Additionally, an increase in the particle concentration leads to a pronounced increase in the burning rate. The particle concentration also influences the delay and intensity of micro-explosions, disruptive burning phenomena detected at the end of the droplet lifetime.

Socioeconomic spillovers of the 2016–2017 Italian earthquakes: a bi-regional inoperability model

In August and October 2016, and January 2017, Central Italy was shaken by four strong earthquakes followed by other earthquake swarms. These disruptive phenomena, besides bringing devastation in the territory directly involved, caused economic blackouts to important transactions among activities, with consequent different reactions in the economic performance of the whole country. Therefore, the overall economic impact of a disaster should encompass the complete representation of phenomenon, and requires an analytical framework to depict the circular flow of income in all its phases. In this perspective, the current study presents an evolution of the inoperability input–output model by introducing a new approach of bi-regional inoperability extended multisectoral model. This allows assessing the intra-regional and the inter-regional effects of the earthquakes in the production processes and in the institutional sectors disposable incomes of two Italian macro areas, the North-Centre and the South-Islands.

The enhancement of emotional skills as a resource to reduce hopelessness

IntroductionEmotional Intelligence (EI) involves a set of emotional skills (attention, clarity, and emotional regulation) for the effective use of emotional information (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). The lack of emotional skills has been associated with multiple disruptive emotional phenomena, such as hopelessness. It has been observed that EI can be a predictor of hopelessness in older adults, in such a way that we can consider that the development of EI could be a relevant resource for promoting mental health in older adults.Objectives Implement an EI intervention to reduce levels of hopelessness.Methods The sample consisted of 123 healthy older adults from Valencia (Spain), randomly distributed into two groups: treatment group (N = 57) and control group (N = 68), aged between 60 and 84 years, with a mean age of 67.62 years (SD = 6.43). Of these, 54.4% were women and the remaining 45.6% were men. The Trait Meta-Mood Sclae 24 (TMMS 24) was applied to assess EI and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) to assess hopelessness.Results Significant differences are observed in the treatment group after the intervention (F1, 123 = 19.86; p < 0.001, h2 = 0.142), with a decrease in scores (T1= 4.72; T2=2.88). For the control group, the effects were not significant (F1, 123 = 1.06; p = 0.305, h2 = 0,009).ConclusionsThe efficacy of the intervention in EI to manage emotional states is evidenced, reducing levels of hopelessness thanks to training in adaptive emotional processing and emotional management skills.DisclosureNo significant relationships.