Part Of Exchange Research Articles

Heritage Diplomacy, Neo-Ottomanism, and a Local Quest for a New Place of Worship: The Politics of Mosque Building in Batumi, Georgia

ABSTRACT Over the past few decades, Turkey has funded numerous construction and building rehabilitation initiatives in foreign countries. Amidst such efforts, this article scrutinises the implications of Turkey’s heritage diplomacy tied to Ottoman architecture and how it has the potential to overshadow the desires of local populations. It points to one such case in Batumi, Georgia, where a replica of the 1868 Aziziye Mosque was proposed as a part of Georgia-Turkey cross-border heritage exchanges in the 2010s. Here, Turkey’s fostering of the project exacerbated local Muslim Georgian efforts to construct a mosque of their own in the city. The case demonstrates how heritage diplomacy can land poorly, shining light on a range of broader domestic impacts to urban planning and national identity, electoral politics and community social cohesion. Instead of seeing local Muslims as passive bystanders, the article demonstrates how they asserted their rights, building a temporary open-air mosque and redirecting the focus back towards their particular needs. The findings are based on a long-term study of the politics of urban development in Batumi using qualitative methods. They contribute to a growing body of scholarship in critical heritage studies, highlighting connections to public policy, diplomatic relations, and religious activism.

An Overlooked Jewish Community: The Jews of Rodoscuk in the 17th Century

This article addresses the intercommunal relations between the 17th century Jewish community of Rodoscuk and other social groups. It examines the community’s social structure, housing distribution and economic activities, placing particular emphasis on its interactions with Muslims in areas like trade, religious practices and social dynamics. By drawing on local court records, particularly the Qadi Registers, this article reveals how these interactions were shaped by the legal and social frameworks of their day, highlighting the complexities of coexistence in those contexts. In doing so, it evidences not only that Rodoscuk’s Jewish community took part in vibrant economic exchanges with its Muslim neighbors but also that it engaged with common social and religious contexts. Via a detailed analysis of these records, this study offers new insights into the nature of intercommunal relations in Rodoscuk. It challenges the often-assumed narrative of segregation and conflict in Ottoman society by testing existing claims in the literature through the case of the Jews of Rodoscuk. It concludes that Jews in this region in fact lived in relative harmony with Muslims and other groups in their vicinity.

A dataset of vegetation aboveground biomass in typical grassland and desert ecosystems in arid and semi-arid areas in China (2005–2020)

Plant biomass are important components of global carbon cycle, important part of carbon exchange between terrestrial ecosystems and atmosphere, as well as is a basis of quantitative analysis about feedback and regulation effects between grassland and desert ecosystems and global climate change. Grassland and desert ecosystems in arid and mid-arid area are important carbon stock in China. This paper chooses 2 grassland field sites (Haibei station and Inner Mongolia station) and 5 desert field stations (Erdos station, Fukang station,Linze station,Naiman station ,Shapotou station) in China 's arid and mid-arid area which belongs to Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN)， We collect these 7 field station's originally observed data about plant aboveground biomass in monthly frequency according to CERN's observational protocol from the year of 2005–2020, and make quality control ，then calculate originally observed data in sub-plot into statistical data in the scale of plot, build dataset of plant aboveground biomass, which can be used as ground measured data to support the research of grassland and desert ecosystems' response to the global climate change, vegetation conservation and sustainable development in the arid and mid-arid area.

A de Sitter S-matrix from amputated cosmological correlators

Extending scattering to states with unphysical mass values (particles “off their mass shell”) has been instrumental in developing modern amplitude technology for Minkowski spacetime. Here, we study the off-shell correlators which underpin the recently proposed S-matrix for scattering on de Sitter spacetime. By labelling each particle with both a spatial momentum and an independent “energy” variable (the de Sitter analogue of a 4-momentum), we find that the practical computation of these correlators is greatly simplified. This allows us to derive compact expressions for all 3- and 4-particle S-matrices at tree-level for scalar fields coupled through any derivative interactions. As on Minkowski, we find that the 3-particle and exchange part of the 4-particle S-matrices are unique (up to crossing). The remaining contact part of the 4-particle S-matrix is an analytic function of just two differential operators, which become the usual Mandelstam variables in the Minkowski limit. Finally, we introduce a spectral decomposition for the tree-level exchange of a heavy field responsible for a cosmological collider signal. Once projected onto physical mass eigenstates, these S-matrix elements encode the statistical properties of the early inflationary perturbations.

NGO Support for International Security Force Vetting and Screening

Abstract Many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) document violations of human rights and international humanitarian law (IHL) for the purpose of contributing to criminal accountability processes. This requires NGOs to meet criminal procedural standards, often dedicating extensive resources to a form of accountability that is difficult to secure. Given these challenges, this article explores an alternative end-use for NGO documentation of violations: the security force vetting carried out by multilateral organizations and donor governments as part of an international exchange of resources or personnel. In particular, we examine the United Nations system for screening peacekeepers, and national and international systems for vetting foreign recipients of security force assistance. We review the processes and rationale for these international vetting and screening systems, identifying both opportunities and challenges for NGO engagement. We conclude that NGOs seeking to restrict the power and capacity of an abusive security force may find it worthwhile to engage with these systems, which would benefit from the contribution of high-quality NGO documentation.

The Role of Cacao and Chocolate in Transpacific Exchange Part II. Cacao as Transpacific Trade Good and Global Commodity

In the course of the second half of the sixteenth century, chocolate and cacao became increasingly popular among many Europeans. By the 1630s if not earlier, not only the Spanish but also the Dutch, the French, and even the English were consuming a fair amount of cacao. Cacao drinking was introduced into Britain in 1657, and by the early eighteenth century ‘chocolaterías’ existed throughout London, competing with the traditional coffee houses. The drinking of cacao received the support of Quakers, who considered chocolate to be a welcome substitute for ginger. Chocolate was frequently sent as a present from New Spain, both to Spaniards living in Asia and to residents in Spain: In 1621, the Count of Santiago sent some small boxes of chocolate to his wife; in 1625, the Countess of Santiago of New Spain sent, among other things, boxes of chocolate and cacao to the Marchioness of Belvedere in Madrid.

THE TRANSLATION OF S. KING’S “DARK TOWER” NOVEL SERIES AND R. BROWNING’S POEM “CHILDE ROLAND TO THE DARK TOWER CAME”: A COMPARATIVE ASPECT

This article analyzes the formation of the diversity of the genre of the series of novels “The Dark Tower” by Stephen King, as well as the clips of Robert Browning’s poem in the predominant image of the Tower of Roland and the connection with these genre transformations. In the course of the study, the authors analyze the series of novels “The Dark Tower” and the poem “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”, in particular, the features of the genres, the compositional and stylistic features inherent in these works. When demonstrating the characteristic features of R. Browning’s and S. King’s creative work, it was found that romanticized fantasy per se includes many genre features that differ from the manifestations of horror and classic fiction: fantasy is a genre in the style of high fantasy and concealment, a fairy tale. At the same time, dark fantasy, although it includes most of the traditional fantasy surroundings, is characterized not so much by the interrelationship between its fantasy elements and the narrative, but rather by the connection between the gothic and the horror types of fiction; there is much less science fiction in dark fantasy than in high fantasy. At the discussion stage, it was determined that the best method for translating the lead when working with two multi-genre works is the comparative method, which is based on a simple principle: “What is it like?” As a result, we came to the conclusion that, on the one hand, the use of a methodological method leads to the fact that in the process of text analysis it is necessary to limit the framework to the conventions of the functional style, the genre uniqueness of the analyzed ones, preserving their artistic orientation and the idiostyle of the author. On the other hand, in this way we get the opportunity to carry out parallel search and optimization of data for its synthesis and translation into the exchange part.

A novel strategy to enhance power management in AC/DC hybrid microgrid using virtual synchronous generator based interlinking converters integrated with energy storage system

Hybrid microgrids (HMGs) have a flexible structure, higher reliability, and both AC and DC MG merits. However, in this type of MGs, there are challenges such as accurate power sharing, the voltage control of the DC link, the AC side voltage and frequency stability, the negative impact of telecommunication delay, and so on. Therefore, a power management scheme is presented here that can perform proper and precise power sharing in a hybrid AC/DC MG. This HMG consists of one energy storage system (ESS) along with two interlinking converters (ILC) based on a virtual synchronous generator (VSG). Besides, the physical inertia of a MG is less than that of a power grid, hence, changing the output power of wind turbines and photovoltaic (PV) arrays might make system unstable. To overcome this challenge, virtual inertia is used. As the virtual inertia can be embedded with the VSG method, in this scheme, the VSG strategy is implemented to enhance the system dynamic behavior by imitating the synchronous generator kinetic inertia. The VSG-based ILC1 converter is used to establish interlinking and energy exchange between AC and DC sub-grids and share power. Also, other interlink devices including a bidirectional half-wave DC/DC converter integrated with the ILC2 are considered, which aim to control the voltage of the DC link and exchange part of the power between the AC and DC sub-grids. An ESS is placed between the bidirectional DC/DC converters and the DC link of the ILC2. Such a structure is referred to as a two stage interlinking converter with an ESS (TSILC-ESS). The power management system employed in AC/DC HMG according to the ILC controller is utilized to form the DCMG along with controlling the TSILC-ESS, providing additional and auxiliary services to the power grid. To assess the introduced scheme of both AC and DCMG to investigate VSG-based ILC1 and ILC2 in grid-connected and islanded operational mods, various resource and load profiles are assumed. The simulation study is performed in MATLAB/ Simulink environment to confirm the proposed method.

From immersion to inclusion, a learning experience

As part of their training, volunteer nursing students from the Gers healthcare training institute were invited to take part in a sports exchange with a handibasket team. The main aim of the project was to change their perceptions of disability. Here, four of the students share their experiences and the benefits of the experience.

Work and heat of a quantum system far from its equilibrium state

In this paper, we give a computational approach of work and heat for any quantum systems. We use the strategy that the part of energy exchange with the von Neumann entropy unchanging is defined as work, and the part with the von Neumann entropy changing is defined as heat. We define the work and heat and they are formulated. This method is suitable for the study of any quantum systems (not only bipartite quantum systems, but also single-body, and multi-body quantum systems). As examples, firstly we investigate a bipartite model whose dynamics can be rigorously solved by using the Bloch equation, and secondly, we study two single-body models by using the numerical method of master equation of Redfield form.

Numerical and experimental investigation of the hybrid piston compressor using the novel multi-time-scale OpenFOAM®-based model

Strongly coupled thermodynamic and heat exchange models of the hybrid piston compressor with regenerative heat exchange are developed, calibrated, and experimentally validated. The main challenge is the consideration of gas dynamics and heat transfer processes appearing at time scales different by three orders of magnitude. The Finite Volume Method (FVM) within the OpenFOAM® framework is used to discretize the actual three-dimensional compressor domain for heat exchange computation. On the other hand, the lumped zero-dimension approximation is used for gas dynamics. The present study is the first attempt to suggest a multi-time-scale numerical model of the hybrid piston compressor with no constraints on the domain geometry in the heat exchange part. The compressor’s heating during operation was reported to cause a reduction in its energy efficiency. Analysis of the three-dimensional fields of temperature and heat flux demonstrated that the piston and the valve plate are the hottest parts of the domain. Their cooling is not possible with standard approaches to heat exchange enhancement, while regenerative heat exchange within the hybrid compressor helps to circumvent such a constraint. The parametric investigation was carried out by determining the hybrid piston compressor transient processes and its integral characteristics using the proposed numerical model.

DEVELOPING THE COMPETENCIES OF RUSSIAN-CHINESE STUDENT PROJECT EXCHANGES IN THE FIELD OF CREATIVE INDUSTRIES: THE IDEA OF A STARTUP USING IMMERSIVE TOURISM TOOLS

The development of forms of Russian-Chinese relations is a managerial task for specialists in creative industries and educational institutions. Student project exchange for the development of university ties allows you to deepen relationships based on the development of competencies in the field of creative industries. The object of this research is a student Russian-Chinese project exchange in the field of creative industries, the subject is the development of a startup idea in a particular region, with the aim of mastering and developing competencies using immersive tourism tools. The purpose of the study: to create a startup idea as an integral part of student Russian-Chinese project exchanges in the field of creative industries, with the development of creative industries competencies among students (using the example of the Republic of Tatarstan, Tatar culture). Research methods: analysis, synthesis, classification, use of B.Bloom's taxonomy. The result of the research is: the development of the idea of a startup student project exchange in relation to the Republic of Tatarstan, attractive: in the form of mastering competencies (virtual, immersive formats); for students of Chinese and Russian universities; the application of B.Bloom's taxonomy to the development of creative industries competencies, where the target descriptors of educational cycles («to know», «to be able», «to own») are presented (in a theoretical aspect) in relation to fourteen online materials (courses) from the Russian side of the cycle (for teaching Chinese students) and nineteen from the Chinese side the parties.

Discord as a fandom platform: Locating a new playground

The VoIP and instant messaging platform Discord has seen immense user growth over the past few years, including among fans involved with transformative works. Analyzing Discord from a framework of polymedia and play provides new insights into what Discord affords these fans and how they navigate the platform as part of their fan practices. It shows how the platform has been adopted and adapted in ways that facilitate fan play and allow for play moods to be created, strengthened, or maintained. Discord provides a suitable playground for fans, because it allows fans to negotiate closed online spaces where they can play freely, without outside disruption. These spaces can be organized in ways that distinguish between play and nonplay and maintain fannish principles of warning and consent. In addition, Discord provides an extra dimension to the experience of taking part in fan fiction exchanges, creating a compelling, collective mood in servers that people can continually come back to. Positioning this within a broader network of platforms and affordances that fans navigate shows how Discord fulfills particular needs and niches, especially with regard to Not Safe For Work material. More generally, this study provides a framework for understanding the reciprocal and dynamic relationships between users, affordances, rules, and structures in contemporary platform society.

An in-house numerical code to assist in designing a small-scale red-hot air furnace

The implementation of a sustainable development concept that involves an improvement of resource use efficiency, whilst maximizing the utilization of locally available biomass resources, has contributed to an increased interest in the combined heat and power systems based on externally fired gas turbines. Since the high-temperature gas/gas heat exchangers intended to heat the turbine inlet air are the key components of such systems, intensified research on exchangers of this type has been observed over the last decade. This work presents the in-house calculation code developed to analyze the heat transfer between the hot-side and cold-side streams in the small-scale red-hot air furnace of a unique design. The performed calculations, based on the assumed thermal and flow operation parameters and technical specifications, allowed to determine the required heat exchange surface area of the furnace to achieve the target outlet conditions. The calculation code allows for determining the geometry of a furnace, including its overall dimensions, number of tubes, and their bent sections in the heat exchange parts. The study of the laboratory-scale furnace performance has demonstrated its good agreement with the simulation results, thereby proving the code a reliable tool in designing.

Degradation Models and Maintenance Strategies for Reinforced Concrete Structures in Coastal Environments under Climate Change: A Review

Modern engineering faces challenges in ensuring technical standards for service, durability, and sustainability. Political, administrative, and budgetary factors, coupled with climate change, pose tasks to structural integrity, affecting industries and economies. Marine infrastructures represent a strategic asset of a country as they handle a large part of the economic exchanges. This article analyzes five essential factors that play a fundamental role in the performance analysis of coastal structures: chloride-induced corrosion, degradation models, maintenance strategies, monitoring, and climate change. We start with reinforcement corrosion, which is considered as the main cause of distress, particularly in coastal zones, for the long-term behavior of structures. Additional pressure from the influences of climate change is becoming evident and extreme, leading to a reduction in capacity. To guarantee the lifespan of infrastructures, degradation models contribute by estimating the long-term performance of the asset as a strategic piece to the development of effective maintenance solutions. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) have gained recent prominence in this field due to their ability to learn intricate patterns from historical data, making them valuable instruments for predicting structural deterioration. Additionally, quantifying the condition of the structure from monitoring data plays a crucial part in providing information on the current situation of the structure. Finally, this review summarizes the challenges associated with the maintenance of aging marine structures considering aspects such as corrosion, monitoring, and the future challenges this area will face due to climate change.

Economic Growth in China: The Impact of Globalization

Globalization is an intrinsic part of todays economic exchanges. This research investigates the impact of globalization on Chinas economic development. For inferences, it relies on a comprehensive literature review of relevant material published within the last 10 years. The focal themes in the literature review include knowledge transfer, trade expansion, and FDI. Consequently, the study concludes that globalization has had a substantial impact on China's economic development. It establishes that China has been able to close the technological divide, expand its industrial base, and boost productivity as a result of technology transfer in and out of the country. Furthermore, China has become a major exporter given the trade expansion involved in globalization. The resultant FDI has aided China's economic growth by facilitating infrastructural and industrial growth. China's human capital growth is enhanced by the transmission of knowledge through collaborations and educational exchanges. Future studies should, however, examine the nuances of economic growth through the globalization prism.

Design and performance validation of a novel 3d printed thin-walled and transparent electron beam applicators for intraoperative radiation therapy with beam energy up to 12 MeV.

A high-energy electron accelerator is used in the treatment of patients in the so-called intraoperative electron radiotherapy (IOERT). The work aimed to present the results of the validation of a new design of an electron beam applicator for use in IOERT. A novel solution was described along with the design optimization method based on Monte Carlo simulations. In this solution, the applicator consists of two parts. The lower exchangeable part collimates the therapeutic field. Measurements were made based on the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard recommendations. The measurement described in the standard has been adapted to the specificity of the intraoperative accelerator Source to Skin Distance - of 60 cm and applicators with a circular cross-sectional area. Measurements were performed for nominal beam energies of 6, 10, and 12 MeV and two therapeutic field diameters of 6 and 10 cm. The dose due to stray X-ray radiation in all energies is less than 0.3% and increases for energies from 6 to 12 MeV by 2.9 times from 0.1 for 6MeV to 0.29 for 12 MeV. The average dose due to leakage radiation also shows an increasing trend and is higher for a 6 cm diameter applicator. Validation confirmed the usefulness of the novel applicator design for clinical applications. Thanks to the use of 3D printing, it was possible to make applicators that are transparent, biocompatible and, at the same time, light and form a beam field with therapeutically useful accuracy, and the leakage radiation does not exceed normative recommendations.

Roman amphorae discovered at Romula in the archaeological campaign of 2018

The article presents a lot of Roman amphorae, discovered at Romula, in the excavations from 2018. All presented amphorae were found in the central area of the former Roman city, so-called Central Fort. The amphorae represent an important number of all Roman pottery vessel discovered in 2018. They were found in all research units, and, in all archaeological levels. Almost all of them are certainly arrived at Romula from other Roman provinces as a part of a commercial exchanges. The study of them indicate an Oriental origins of this kind of vessel. Some of them were used specially for wine transport, other ones were used for more type of goods as olive oil, wine salted fish or fish sauce. The large number of this kind of vessels indicate a wealth category of people that could buy them that were more expensive that those of local origins.

“Physically this universe is one”: Universal Unity in Swami Vivekananda’s Raja Yoga

Swami Vivekananda’s Raja Yoga (1896), the focus of this article, is usually credited with starting the yoga renaissance in the late nineteenth century. The text marks a watershed moment in yoga history when Vivekananda translated and popularised the ancient Indian Yoga Sutras by the sage Patanjali as part of anti-colonial intercultural exchanges between east and west in the fin de siècle. The book’s transnational discourse drew from contemporary new physics and neo-Vedantic philosophy as well as Indian nationalism, pre-Freudian psychology, Western occultism, and modern ideas about physical health, and it issued a radical alternative to the binary oppositions on which imperialist and materialist ideologies rely. Vivekananda elucidates Patanjali’s yogic philosophy but, significantly, he also outlines a practical methodology for achieving Raja yoga’s goal of universal unity. He sets out a praxis that gradually breaks down the boundaries between mind and body, matter and energy, subject and object, and thereby transforms the individual in powerful and positive ways. It was an idealistic goal that appealed to various groups of unconventional heterodox thinkers at the fin de siècle, and it arguably contributed to the spiritual and political revolution that spread in subcultural forms, across Europe and America from the second half of the nineteenth century onward (Gandhi 2006: 121).

Assessing the Economic Impact of the Fishing Industry in Coastal Karnataka: A Case Analysis

Purpose: The purpose of this research study is to examine the role of the fishing industry in India's economic development, with a particular emphasis on the coastal region of Karnataka. The fishing industry is an important part of India's economy, providing both jobs and foreign exchange gains. Coastal Karnataka, noted for its diversified fisheries resources and fishing communities, is an excellent example of understanding the sector's dynamics, challenges, and possibilities for long-term growth. This study will take a multidisciplinary approach, combining economic, environmental, and social perspectives to examine the influence of the fishing industry on regional development. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research methodology employed in this study is primarily based on the utilization of secondary data collected by CMFRI reports, MPEDA reports, case studies, articles in the fishing industry, and other government websites have been used. Findings: The coastal population depends heavily on the fishing business for a steady source of income. As this industry grows, it helps to reduce poverty and raise the standard of living in these neighbourhoods leading to economic development of the nation. Additionally, the industry has made significant strides in international markets, boosting India's reputation for high-quality seafood goods. With notable improvements in fish landings and economic value, the fishing industry is growing commercially. Originality/value: This study may be useful to the various stakeholders in like fishing industry/sectors, government, Fishing boat owners, fishing community, other users, society Paper type: Case study