Empirical Method Research Articles

Criminal Fines and Customary Justice in Papua: Socio-Legal Analysis in Child Sexual Intercourse Cases

This study aims to analyze the formulation and application of criminal fines for child sexual intercourse within Papuan Indigenous society. Utilizing a socio-juridical or empirical legal research method, the study examines criminal sanctions, particularly fines, in cases involving child sexual intercourse. Data collected from primary, secondary, and tertiary sources are analyzed qualitatively to draw legal conclusions. The research highlights that customary law, recognized under the 1945 Constitution of Indonesia, plays an essential role in the legal culture of Indigenous communities, including those in Papua. Customary courts, as established by Law Number 21 of 2001 concerning Special Autonomy for Papua Province, are recognized within specific customary law communities. These courts operate based on the respective community's customary law, with provisions allowing for judicial review in formal courts if a party disagrees with the customary Court's ruling. Regarding fines as a criminal sanction, determining the appropriate amount often complicates the resolution of cases. The system is rooted in communal values emphasizing collective rather than individual justice, reflecting principles of kinship, religious beliefs, and societal cohesion in decision-making.

The Impact of Bilateral Currency Swaps on Outward Foreign Direct Investment

The outbreak of the 2008 international financial crisis caused many countries around the world to face exchange rate fluctuations and currency crises. At the same time, China's central bank creatively began to sign central bank currency swap agreements with other countries to stabilize exchange rates and avoid the risk of fluctuations in the US dollar. This article is based on panel data from 90 countries from 2000 to 2021, and uses empirical analysis methods to explore the impact of currency swap agreements on China's outward foreign direct investment. On this basis, the intermediary effect is applied to analyze the financial market mechanism of currency swap policy. Research has found that currency swap agreements have a significant positive impact on the scale of China's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI). Financing constraints are an important influencing mechanism for currency swap agreements to promote China's OFDI. In the context of economic globalization and complex international situations, this study has important reference value for China to further promote deepening cooperation in the financial field between countries and promote the internationalization of the renminbi to facilitate the domestic and international dual circulation.

Regional Approach to Boosting Local Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Capacity: A Critique of the East African Community Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan of Action

Abstract The East African Community (EAC) has had a chequered history, evidenced by multiple changes of names and objectives, and a hiatus lasting more than two decades following a collapse in 1977. It was resuscitated in 1999 by its founding members (Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya). That four other partner states have since joined is a clear testament to the effectiveness of its overhaul. The community is regulated by the EAC Treaty which promotes collective actions in several areas of mutual interests. Plagued by an ongoing access-to-medicines conundrum, EAC governments have considered collective action as recommended by the Treaty. This effort began around the 2010s when policy measures aimed at exploring collective solutions were adopted with a view to replacing reliance on importation and external drug donation with a gradually developed regional pharmaceutical production capacity. EAC policies such as the Policy/Protocol on TRIPS Flexibilities, the Medicines Registration Harmonisation Initiative, the Draft Anti-Counterfeit Policy, and a Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan of Action (EAC PMP) have since been developed to achieve this ambitious goal. Using both doctrinal and empirical (semi-structured interviews) methods, this paper examines the EAC PMP – the ‘be all’ of the policies. The priority actions outlined under the plan’s six pillars and presented as a bankable pathway to self-sufficiency in pharmaceutical production are critiqued. The paper finds considerable implementation of the drug harmonisation theme, while the others (leveraging TRIPS flexibilities, ensuring coherence, and boosting research and development and technology transfer) remain largely unimplemented.

Financial literacy as an important aspect in the area of business sustainability: the case of Slovak Republic

The essence of literacy is currently understood on a broader level. Emphasis is placed on functional literacy, which also includes financial literacy. Its level significantly affects a person’s standard of living. In the contribution, we are devoted to the investigation of this issue and the possibilities of increasing the level of financial literacy in the Slovak Republic. We will use theoretical and empirical scientific methods. We work with analysis, synthesis, induction, and deduction. Subsequently, empirical scientific techniques that work with concrete data and precise methods to achieve results will be used. In addition to explanatory methods, interpretative methods will also be used. According to the level of financial literacy of respondents based on the interview method, hypotheses are established. An analysis of individual answers and an analysis of the impact of financial literacy on young people’s interest in entrepreneurship will be carried out. The findings led to the definition of practically oriented conclusions, with an emphasis on the assessment of the level of financial literacy. Attention is also paid to incentives for young entrepreneurs. All proposals written in this chapter are designed with the intention of improving the level of financial literacy in Slovakia.

T. MARTEMIANOVA’S PROPAEDEUTIC COURSE “PRO-PHYSICS”: EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF EFFECTIVENESS

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the effectiveness of the propaedeutic course “PRO-physics” by T. Martemianova. The methods of this research are: analysis of sources on the issues of propaedeutics of physics, empirical methods (analysis of data arrays from electronic systems of educational process management, lists of winners and prize-winners of olympiads, statistics of admission to universities, survey methods), statistical methods of results processing. The study proposes a methodology for assessing the effectiveness of propaedeutic courses. The study revealed that students who took the “PRO-physics” propaedeutic course programme subsequently have higher results in physics olympiads at all levels, more often enter universities from the top 20 of the RAEX rating, better cope with intermediate and final control activities in physics within the framework of school education. The results of the questionnaire survey of teachers and students have shown high efficiency of the propaedeutic course under consideration.

RASCAL v1.0: an open-source tool for climatological time series reconstruction and extension

Abstract. The reduction of in situ observations over the last few decades poses a potential risk of losing important information in regions where local effects dominate the climatology. Reanalyses face challenges in representing climatologies with highly localized effects, especially in regions with complex orography. Empirical downscaling methods offer a cost-effective and easier-to-implement alternative to dynamic downscaling methods and can partially overcome the aforementioned limitations of reanalyses by taking into account the local effects through statistical relationships. This article introduces RASCAL (Reconstruction by AnalogS of ClimatologicAL time series), an open-source Python tool designed to extend time series and fill gaps in observational climate data, especially in regions with limited long-term data and significant local effects, such as mountainous areas. Employing an object-oriented programming style, RASCAL's methodology effectively links large-scale circulation patterns with local atmospheric features using the analog method in combination with principal component analysis (PCA). The package contains routines for preprocessing observations and reanalysis data, generating reconstructions using various methods, and evaluating the reconstruction's performance in reproducing the time series of observations, statistical properties, and relevant climatic indices. Its high modularity and flexibility allow fast and reproducible downscaling. The evaluations carried out in central Spain, in mountainous and urbanized areas, demonstrate that RASCAL performs better than the ERA20C and ERA20CM reanalysis, as expected, in terms of R2, standard deviation, and bias. When analyzing reconstructions against observations, RASCAL generates series with statistical properties, such as seasonality and daily distributions, that closely resemble observations. This confirms the potential of this method for conducting robust climate research. The adaptability of RASCAL to diverse scientific objectives is also highlighted. However, as with any other method based on empirical training, this method requires the availability of sufficiently long-term data series. Furthermore, it is susceptible to disruption caused by changes in land use or urbanization processes that might compromise the homogeneity of the training data. Despite these limitations, RASCAL's positive outcomes offer opportunities for comprehensive climate variability analyses and potential applications in downscaling short-term forecasts, seasonal predictions, and climate change scenarios. The Python code and the Jupyter Notebook for the reconstruction validation are publicly available as an open project.

Statistical modelling of a tractor tractive performance during ploughing operation on a tropical Alfisol

Abstract Tractor is the most prominent off-road agricultural machinery that is significant to the global food security. The tractive modelling of tyre–soil interaction and agricultural implement dynamics is a complex phenomenon that require holistic approach. Terramechanics techniques such as empirical, semi-empirical, analytical, and numerical methods such as finite element models and discrete element models have gained traction in tractive performance studies. Some of these approaches are premised on large arrays of variables for modelling tractive performance based on the soil–tyre and tools interactions. In this study, soft computing in R software domain was used to model the tractor tractive performance during ploughing operations on a tropical Alfisol. The research farm at the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization was used for the field experiment. The experimental design was a nested-factorial under a Randomized Complete Block Design having three replications. The input factors were tractor power size, T, (60, 65, and 70 hp); tyre inflation pressure, P, (83, 124, and 165 kPa); implement configuration, I, (2 and 3 bottoms disc plough); and operational speed, S, (6.31, 7.90, 9.47, 11.05, and 12.63 km/h). Standard procedures were followed to obtain the measured parameters in the field, which were statistically analysed. Correlation analysis and analysis of variance of the measured parameters at 5% significance level were established. Multiple linear regression was used to develop the model, validated using the 10-fold cross-validation method. The results revealed that the evaluated variables have a range of 1.56–7.79 kN, 5.15–27.20%, 9.10–32.00 cm, 4.50–13.94%, 1.31–1.67 g/cm3, 95.89–207.78 kPa, and 98.67–295.56 for draught, wheel slip, depth of cut, moisture content, bulk density, cone index (CI), and shear stress, respectively. A positive correlation exists between the towing force (TF) and the measured variables except for the shear stress and CI. The final developed model has seven variables for predicting TF with a 6.5% error and an average of 0.4735 cross validation root mean square error. The model quality of fit achieved an R Adj 2 = 0.8754 {R}_{\text{Adj}}^{2}=0.8754 which satisfactorily described the response variable. The study provides insights into tractive dynamic systems modelling of machine, tractive medium (soil), and agricultural tools anchored on soft computing approach. Its adoption will assist in quality ploughing operation integrating the variables established in the model.

Ultrasonic Lamb wave detection using a fiber-optic quasi-distributed acoustic sensing system.

The Lamb wave represents one of the most utilized forms of ultrasonic guided waves for flaw detection. A novel approach, to the best of our knowledge, for Lamb wave sensing using a fiber-optic quasi-distributed acoustic sensing (QDAS) system is proposed. Sensing elements constructed with optical weak reflectors are designed and analyzed, demonstrating the theoretical feasibility of establishing an ultrasonic sensing array comprising over 300 points. An empirical mode decomposition method is applied to this system to remove harmonic components in a frequency division multiplexed interrogation system. Verification experiments are carefully designed, employing compact 2.5 cm-sized sensing elements to capture 1 MHz Lamb wave signals on an aluminum plate. These findings significantly broaden the applicability of QDAS in the field of ultrasonic flaw detection.

Quality of services as a vector for expansion and development of service activities

The article studies problematic aspects of expansion and development of service activities in Russia. The main purpose of the study is to analyze problematic aspects of the service sphere development and existing and most popular methods of assessing the quality of services. The relevance of the study is due to the need to expand service in the country, considering orientation on the interests of the end consumer and with simultaneous improvement of service quality. The main objectives of the study are: to identify problematic aspects of development of service activities in Russia, to identify and analyze the shortcomings of the methods used by service enterprises to assess the quality of services, and to propose options for their minimization and elimination. The article used both theoretical methods (analysis of current regulatory legal acts, as well as scientific works of researchers in this field) and empirical research methods (practical substantiation of the need to improve the quality of services provided to customers). On the basis of the analysis of the most popular and frequently used methods of service quality assessment the advantages and disadvantages of their application have been revealed. The study results are the problems identification that have a negative impact on service activities development and proposal of possible options for their solution.

Strategies and tactics to reduce the impact of healthcare on climate change: systematic review

ObjectiveTo review the international literature and assess the ways healthcare systems are mitigating and can mitigate their carbon footprint, which is currently estimated to be more than 4.4% of global...

Enhancing public opinion monitoring for social hot events with a time series neural network-based logic map

A method for constructing a commercial map of social hotspots based on time-series neural networks is proposed. It explores map construction through three stages: atomic event graph building, fusion, and public opinion analysis. The neural network captures event dynamics and public opinion evolution. An unsupervised learning approach trains the model to explore deep event connections. A time map reflects event trends and opinion changes. A sentence-level event extraction model provides rich information. An empirical mode decomposition method analyzes IMF data to understand intrinsic patterns. Time-series neural networks classify and reconstruct event graphs, constructing a knowledge graph. Experiments show this method reduces storage costs, simplifies prediction, and exhibits robustness. It offers new insights for commercial mapping and contributes to public opinion monitoring.

МОДЕЛЮВАННЯ ТА ОПТИМІЗАЦІЯ РЕЖИМУ ТЕРМООБРОБКИ ТРУБЧАСТИХ ЕЛЕМЕНТІВ ФЕРМЕННИХ КОНСТРУКЦІЙ ЛІТАЛЬНИХ АПАРАТІВ З ВУГЛЕПЛАСТИКУ

The article analyzes the current state of development of dimensionally stable tubular elements (TE) and technological problems arising during their production. It is shown that along with empirical methods of studying the influence of various technological schemes on the dimensional stability of tubular elements, it is useful to use the optimal temperature-time mode for heat treatment and, based on it, select the optimal technological scheme. Modeling and determination of the optimal mode of heat treatment of tubular elements were performed. The study of the TE heat treatment mode was carried out in two stages, first by methods of mathematical modeling and optimization, and then by empirical enumeration of various technological schemes. At the first stage, the material properties, which are parameters of the mathematical model, were studied, and the optimal curing modes were calculated. At the second stage, the calculated optimal curing modes were supplemented with various technological methods that cannot be mathematically modeled, and a study was carried out on the influence of the resulting combined heat treatment mode on the geometric characteristics and dimensional stability of carbon fiber TE. The mathematical model of the process of heat treatment and curing of TE in a heat chamber, when heated by a heating air flow, is a system of differential equations: thermal conductivity and curing kinetics. A mathematical model of the process of heat treatment of tubular elements manufactured by the winding method is proposed, the ways of optimizing the curing mode of carbon fiber TE are shown. A numerical calculation of temperature-conversion fields during curing and calculation of optimal curing modes of tubular elements are performed taking into account various process schemes. The values of heat capacity C and thermal conductivity l are calculated depending on the temperature T, the degree of curing b and the filling coefficient g, Безфітингова ферма з вуглепластику Безфітингова ферма з вуглепластику Безфітингова ферма з вуглепластику the power of heat release W and the thermal effect of the curing reaction Q of carbon fiber. Optimum curing modes for a plate made of composite polymer material are obtained, calculated from the data obtained as a result of studying material samples. Temperature-time curing modes are obtained, which are optimized for different thicknesses of the studied material. The statistical hypothesis about the significance of the influence of the process flow chart and reinforcement pattern on the wall thickness of a tubular element and its compressive strength was proved by the dispersion analysis method. The influence of process flow charts and heat treatment modes on the geometric and mechanical characteristics of carbon fiber tubular elements of aircraft truss structures was studied. The statistical hypothesis about the significance of the influence of the process flow chart and reinforcement pattern on the deviation of the wall thickness of tubular elements and their strength characteristics was tested. The significance of the influence of process flow charts with different heat treatment modes on the average wall thickness of a carbon fiber tubular element was statistically proven.

Collectivism-Based Travel Culture as the Antecedents of Travel FOMO And Intention to Travel Responsibly

As collectivists, Indonesians tend to travel with friends and family. The destination is usually inspired by social media content which then will increase fear-of-missing-out anxiety (FOMO) for traveling because it generates travel intention. A previous study claimed that collectivist culture has a strong correlation with FOMO behavior. This research analyzes the role of collectivism-based travel culture as the antecedent of travel FOMO on Indonesian domestic tourists. High travel intention may lead to high profits for tourism businesses, but the sustainability of the natural habitat of the natural tourism destinations is no less important. Tourists must also increase their intention to travel responsibly when visiting natural destinations to protect nature. This study employed an empirical quantitative research method with 340 sample data of Indonesian domestic tourists. The analysis of statistical data analysis is provided from PLS-SEM. This research is limited to collectivist behavioral observation of Indonesian domestic tourists to natural tourism destinations. Future studies can be conducted on different cultural dimensions and tourism market segmentation. The analysis showed that the collectivism-based travel culture of Indonesian tourists had positive influences on both travel FOMO and intention to travel responsibly individually, but will bring damage if combined.

Numerical investigation on plastic hinge behavior of hybrid steel-FRP reinforced concrete columns

This paper presents a numerical study on the plastic hinge behavior and rotation capacity of concrete columns reinforced with a combination of steel bars and fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bars. A meso-scale numerical model, which considers the internal heterogeneity of concrete and bond behavior between concrete and longitudinal reinforcements, was developed and validated. The failure modes, lateral load-displacement responses, and the physical plastic hinge lengths of hybrid steel-FRP reinforced concrete (SFRC) columns were investigated and compared with those of conventional steel-reinforced concrete columns. The results indicated that the steel yielding zone and curvature localization zone of SFRC columns with FRP longitudinal bars were enlarged, due to the relatively low modulus of FRP bars. After that, a parametric analysis was performed to study the plastic hinge length of SFRC columns with respect to the nominal area ratio of FRP longitudinal bars, shear span-to-depth ratio, axial load ratio, and longitudinal reinforcement ratio. A new empirical model was proposed to predict the equivalent plastic hinge length, which was subsequently integrated into an analytical method for predicting the ultimate rotation. The comparison of predictions with simulation and test results demonstrated the accuracy of both the proposed empirical model and analytical method.

The Courtroom as Four Landscapes: Reflections on Terrorism Trials Through Ethnographic Research

In the past decade, Western European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, the UK and France have seen a sharp increase in terrorism trials. Studying these trials can provide unique insights into which terrorist offences come before the court and what legal challenges arise from this relatively novel practice. To unpack the complexity of terrorism trials, we adopt an empirical approach to terrorism trials. Based on 3 years of extensive ethnography in Dutch courts, the paper makes two contributions to the socio-legal literature. Methodologically, our ethnography connects traditional empirical methods to artistic tools. As such, we further the current debates in socio-legal studies on courtroom ethnography. Empirically, we present critical insights on the interaction between pre-emptive speculative security measures and legal procedures in the prosecution of terrorist activities.

Comparison of measurement of integrated relaxation pressure by esophageal manometry with analysis of swallowing sounds with artificial intelligence in patients with achalasia.

Esophageal motility disorders are mainly evaluated with high-resolution manometry (HRM) which is a time-consuming and uncomfortable procedure with potential adverse events. Acoustic characterization of the swallowing has the potential to be an alternative noninvasive procedure. We compared the findings on HRM and swallowing sounds in 43 patients who were referred for evaluation of dysphagia. The sound analysis was done with empirical mode decomposition method and with artificial intelligence (AI) and the estimated integrated relaxation pressure (IRP) from a two-layer neural network method was compared to measured IRP on HRM. The model then was tested in five patients. IRP was estimated with high accuracy using the model developed with two-layer neural network method. The analysis of acoustic properties of swallowing has the potential to be used for evaluation of esophageal motility disorders, this needs to be further evaluated in larger studies.

Assessment of damage prediction models for composite laminates under single and repeated low-velocity impacts

The aim is to explore the influence of damage initiation criteria and evolution methods on the damage prediction for composite laminates under single and repeated low-velocity impacts. A 3D finite element model is established to analyze the impact behavior of laminate, and a damage analysis process including the initiation determination, progressive evolution, and constitutive relationship is designed. Hashin criterion based on tensile strain for matrix is modified by an empirical assumption method. Besides, the quantitative evolution of damage area during impact is studied, which provides a new perspective for elucidating the damage mechanism. The numerical model is first validated against the available experimental data. The influence of initiation criteria and evolution methods on damage prediction is then performed in two-phase research. The first phase discusses the prediction capabilities of different combinations under single impact. In the second phase, a method for removing residual vibrations under repeated impacts is proposed. The differences caused by the removal and non-removal of residual vibrations are analyzed, and the sensitivity of these differences to various combinations is discussed. Results show that the numerical prediction agrees well with the experiment in dynamic mechanical response curve. Combining Hashin-Strain criterion with linear equivalent strain method and Puck criterion with exponential equivalent displacement method yields optimal results. Moreover, the sensitivity to differences caused by the residual vibrations effects is related to the initiation criterion, and the evolution method.

Empirical method for predicting speech sound propagation in offices

The room acoustic parameters of ISO 3382-3 allow for an evaluation of sound propagation and speech intelligibility in open-plan offices and have increasingly been used in the planning process since their introduction in 2012. The input parameters are the speech sound pressure levels and the speech transmission indices at the workstations along a measurement path including a sound source (imaginary speaker). ISO 3382-3 is a measurement standard - a calculation method is not defined. However, it is possible to calculate the necessary input data, namely the speech sound pressure levels and the speech transmission indices, using room acoustic computer simulations. Although computing power is no longer a limiting factor today, the modeling and verification of computer models are still complex and correspondingly time and cost intensive. Hongisto and Keränen (2013, 2015) describe a model for predicting the ISO 3382-3 parameters. In this study, this prediction model was tested using measurement data from several open-plan offices in Germany. Recommendations for the application of the model are derived from preliminary investigations, and the limitations and boundaries of the method are further specified.

Radiation image reconstruction and uncertainty quantification using a Gaussian process prior

We propose a complete framework for Bayesian image reconstruction and uncertainty quantification based on a Gaussian process prior (GPP) to overcome limitations of maximum likelihood expectation maximization (ML-EM) image reconstruction algorithm. The prior distribution is constructed with a zero-mean Gaussian process (GP) with a choice of a covariance function, and a link function is used to map the Gaussian process to an image. Unlike many other maximum a posteriori approaches, our method offers highly interpretable hyperparamters that are selected automatically with the empirical Bayes method. Furthermore, the GP covariance function can be modified to incorporate a priori structural priors, enabling multi-modality imaging or contextual data fusion. Lastly, we illustrate that our approach lends itself to Bayesian uncertainty quantification techniques, such as the preconditioned Crank–Nicolson method and the Laplace approximation. The proposed framework is general and can be employed in most radiation image reconstruction problems, and we demonstrate it with simulated free-moving single detector radiation source imaging scenarios. We compare the reconstruction results from GPP and ML-EM, and show that the proposed method can significantly improve the image quality over ML-EM, all the while providing greater understanding of the source distribution via the uncertainty quantification capability. Furthermore, significant improvement of the image quality by incorporating a structural prior is illustrated.

A review of research on computer‐aided translation technologies and their applications to assist learning and instruction

AbstractBackgroundOur study analysed 46 articles on computer‐aided translation (CAT) and its educational uses. We explored two main areas: CAT technologies in learning and teaching, and the research methodologies of these studies.ObjectivesOur review covered the types of CAT technologies used, their applications in different learning settings, theoretical backgrounds and their pros and cons. We also looked at the research designs, participant demographics and data collection methods used in these studies.MethodsWe conducted an extensive search across academic databases using relevant keywords and employed open coding to analyse and categorize the content of identified articles, focusing on aspects related to CAT technologies in educational contexts.Results and ConclusionsOur findings showed the use of 22 distinct CAT technologies, with Google Translate being the most common. The studies mostly used empirical research methods and questionnaires. University students were the primary participants. CAT technologies were applied in various contexts, including language learning, translation teaching, cross‐cultural learning and foreign language lectures. We identified five key theoretical foundations for CAT use. Benefits included bridging language barriers, vocabulary enhancement, and grammar improvement as well as providing reference and feedback for writing and translation. Challenges included inaccuracies and inappropriate translations. However, most studies showed a positive impact of CAT on learning outcomes. Based on our analysis, we offer recommendations for educators and researchers in the field. This review provides a thorough understanding of CAT's applications and effects in education, guiding future advancements in this area.