Generic Elements Research Articles

Navigating the World of The Stranger (1979) After the Cultural Revolution: Unveiling Hong Kong Leftist Science Fiction Film by Bao Fang

Abstract After the Cultural Revolution, a period marked by a global retreat from radical politics and increased compromises, filmmakers in the Hong Kong leftist film industry faced financial challenges stemming from the studio’s struggles during the Cultural Revolution. Despite these difficulties, they ingeniously incorporated generic elements to captivate audiences, using popular genres as conduits for social commentary. The Stranger by Feng Huang Motion Picture company stands out, as director Bao Fang adeptly appropriated science fiction elements to adapt a real story of espionage in Hong Kong. The film signifies Bao’s transition from opera film and historical pictures to negotiating realist and science-fictional elements to convey social innuendo. Drawing inspiration from recent works by Mingwei Song and Seo-young Chu, my argument extends to explore how sci-fi serves as a mode of expression for geopolitical commentary. The film not only expresses concern over Soviet espionage and also reflects the fear over the collapse of grand narratives such as Enlightenment and Revolution.

A non-perturbative and background-independent formulation of quadratic gravity

A non-perturbative and background-independent quantum formulation of quadratic gravity is provided. A canonical quantization procedure introduced in previous works, named after Dirac and Pauli, is here applied to quadratic gravity to obtain, as required by consistency, a well-defined Euclidean path integral. The theory is unitary: all probabilities are non negative and they sum up to one. We obtain path-integral expressions for the transition amplitudes, Green's functions and generic matrix elements of time-ordered products of the metric. As a byproduct, similar results are also obtained for a scalar-field four-derivative interacting model. In this way, among other things, previous perturbative and background-dependent calculations are justified. The (quantum) quadratic gravity effective action, whose field equations determine the vacuum expectation value of the metric in the presence of a generic energy-momentum tensor, is constructed. The classical limit of the effective action turns out to be equivalent to the starting classical action of quadratic gravity, whose runaway rates were previously shown to be slow enough to be compatible with observations. Finally, the constructed non-perturbative and background-independent quantum quadratic gravity is applied to quantum cosmology to obtain a path-integral expression for the wave function of the universe, which satisfies a sort of Wheeler-DeWitt equation. This application allows us to understand at the quantum level why our universe is nearly homogeneous and isotropic.

PLEIADES: A numerical framework dedicated to the multiphysics and multiscale nuclear fuel behavior simulation

The aim of this paper is to introduce the PLEIADES framework offering a set of services and numerical tools to model and simulate the behavior of nuclear fuels of different concepts of reactors. The framework provides in particular the following features: interfaces to manipulate meshes and fields, services to deal with different physical solvers, setup of coupling trees to realize multiphysics partitioned (accelerated) fixed point couplings, automated time-marching algorithm, checkpoint/restart strategies, capability to realize on-the-fly multiscale couplings. It is built with a permanent concern for sustainability, scalability and maintainability. PLEIADES framework supports multidimensional simulations, typically 1D, 2D and 3D, possibly multilayered. To date, this framework relies on the generic thermomechanical finite elements solver Cast3M to deal with partial derivative problems (mechanical, thermal or diffusion problems) at the scale of the structure or the (heterogeneous) microstructure. It also makes use of so-called point models (mainly based on ODE — ordinary differential equations) to describe the local (mesoscale) evolution of the material through the physics of irradiation. Several software applications are built on the PLEIADES framework, they can use its parallel features to use multiple processors. The multilayered calculation scheme provides a way to loosen the computations and access to a good parallel performance up to hundred cores. It is also possible to achieve efficient scalable concurrent multiscale simulations through finite element square (FE2) computational homogenization algorithms.

Teaching quality in kindergarten: professional development and quality of adaptive learning support enhances mathematical competency

Adaptive learning support provided by kindergarten teachers before and after (macro-adaptive learning support) as well as during mathematical learning activities (micro-adaptive learning support) is a cross-cutting concept of teaching quality. Effective adaptive learning support enhances children’s learning. However, providing it is challenging and teachers need professional development (PD) to improve the quality of their support. This study investigates the mediating role of teaching quality between PD programs for kindergarten teachers and the development of children’s mathematical competency. 122 kindergarten teachers and their 825 pupils participated in the study. The teachers were randomly assigned to three groups. Two groups attended PD sessions designed to foster either macro- or micro-adaptive learning support. The third was the materials-only control group. The data was analyzed using a self-developed rating instrument focusing on generic and domain-specific elements of teaching quality related to macro- and micro-adaptive learning support. The multilevel latent change model analysis revealed that the PD programs had positive and significant effects on the teaching quality of kindergarten teachers. A significant positive relationship was also found between micro-adaptive learning support and changes in children’s mathematical competency. However, an indirect effect of teaching quality could not be detected, and the PD programs did not have a total effect on children’s mathematical competency. The study reinforces the importance of PD that specifically targets macro- and micro-adaptive learning support for kindergarten teachers. The mediation between PD and mathematical competency development requires further investigation.

The generic Middle Stone Age: fact or fiction?

ABSTRACT Recent decades have seen a surge of interest in the Middle Stone Age (MSA) as it constitutes the archaeological background to the early evolution of Homo sapiens. Research primacy has been given to rare regional and temporal signatures of MSA technological diversity and material culture, typically in open grassland or sparse savanna regions. These include, for example, the Still Bay, Howiesons Poort, Lupemban and Aterian, all of which can be seen as specific variants of the MSA. Archaeological assemblages apparently lacking distinctive features have received little attention in their own right. Such occurrences can be subsumed under the informal term of a more ‘generic’ MSA. The marginalisation of this material culture is problematic as it dominates the MSA record. The apparent continuity and commonality of generic MSA elements over large spatial and temporal scales also raise manifold questions about the early evolution of our species. As such, a ‘generic’ MSA might be perceived as the common technological and material substrate of early Homo sapiens behaviour and culture. At the same time, we lack quantitative studies that justify subsuming close to 300,000 years of material culture into a single category. This special issue of Azania is based on a symposium at the Sixteenth Congress of the PanAfrican Archaeological Association of Prehistory and Related Studies in Zanzibar (Tanzania) that brought together researchers working in different African regions to scrutinise apparently ‘non-specific’ MSA lithic assemblages across time and space, evaluating their commonality and relevance on different chronological and geographical scales. The six articles in this issue span comparative quantitative studies within and across regions, methodological and theoretical advances to reach these goals and the integration of palaeoecological data. A common interest lies in understanding but also testing the validity of using a ‘generic’ MSA and the general relevance of more specific or generic technological assemblages in the wider framework of modern human cultural and biological evolution.

Phase Field Fracture Modelling of Crack Initiation and Propagation in Dual-Phase Microstructures

Dual-phase (DP) steel's spread in the industry has been fueled by its highly desirable qualities, which include a unique balance of strength and ductility, making it a valuable material for applications ranging from automotive manufacturing to construction. Despite the continued progress in the research of DP steels, the complex failure mechanisms at the microscale, resulting from the coexistence of brittle martensite phases within the ductile ferrite phase, remain an area of ongoing exploration. This study aims to investigate the micro structural evolution, as well as crack initiation and propagation, in DP steels at the microscale. In this context, to accurately capture the microstructural evolution of DP steels, a rate-dependent crystal plasticity formulation is utilized for the ferrite phase alongside a phenomenological isotropic J2 plasticity model for the martensite phase. A novel ductile phase-field fracture framework has been implemented to predict crack initiation and propagation, integrating both crystal plasticity and J2 plasticity constitutive models with the phase field fracture model. Generic 3D polycrystalline Representative Volume Elements (RVEs) are created and simulated to analyze the trends influencing the failure behavior of DP steels. The numerical study includes examples with two different martensite volume fractions (15% and 37%), each characterized by varying random crystallographic orientation sets and morphologies. The obtained results suggest that despite the similarity in stress concentration regions within two different random orientation sets in a simulation with fixed volume fraction and morphology, the resulting crack paths exhibit significant differences. Additionally, it is inferred that damage appears to accumulate at the junction points of the martensite islands. Moreover, an increase in the martensite volume fraction is found to diminish the influence of crystallographic orientation on the resultant crack path. Therefore, given the aforementioned findings, it is essential to analyze the microstructural evolution, as well as crack initiation and propagation in DP steels, utilizing appropriate material and fracture modeling frameworks at the microscale.

A NEED ANALYSIS FOR THE TRAINING CURRICULUM MODEL

Work-based learning is a learning process carried out in most of a real work environment. It requires students to have the ability to apply those skills in their work environment. Developing a training curriculum model for a course is normally preceded by a need analysis. So, there is a need to do needs analysis. The aim of this study is to determine the generic skills and values required to fulfil the need of the community and the needs for the development of a training curriculum model which is trained based on the work-based learning approach. The study is using a quantitative approach which uses survey method. The samples involved are 43 trainers which are chosen through purposive sampling. Questionnaires are distributed to all the samples. Questionnaires are developed by the researcher. Data is analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25.0 for frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. The overall findings of the study show that there is no educational training either scheduled or application in the course, and there are no direct resources which focuses on generic skills and values elements. They also agree to be trained with all the seven generic skills and five values skills before they join the industry. The implication of the study is that all the elements such as the generic skills and values should be included in the training curriculum module. In conclusion, they need few generic skills and values which contributes to a training curriculum model that can facilitate a better teaching and learning process. Further researchers proposed are to gain data from various educational sector like community colleges and to go for in-depth research such as qualitative approach.

Students’ Critical Thinking Skills in Writing Analytical Exposition Text

The objective of this study is to assess the proficiency of students' critical thinking skills in composing analytical exposition texts, as well as to examine their perceptions regarding the development of critical thinking skills in this particular writing genre. The research employed a descriptive qualitative methodology, utilizing data gathering instruments such as observations and interviews. A study was undertaken at SMA Negeri 4 Gowa Regency during the academic year of 2021/2022. The participants in this study consisted of 30 students enrolled in the class XI MIA 3 during the second semester. However, for the purpose of data collection, the researchers selected a subset of 15 students by purposive sampling for interviews. The findings of this study suggest that students frequently commit errors when it comes to utilizing generic structures and language elements in their written analytic exposition texts. Based on the identified faults, the researcher saw that a majority of the students exhibited deficiencies in adhering to the prescribed guidelines of the analytical exposition text. Furthermore, it was noted that critical thinking skills were not adequately incorporated in the writing sessions conducted within this particular class. The observed phenomenon can be attributed to the insufficient comprehension and instruction provided to students within the educational setting, hindering the development of critical skills. Additionally, the absence of thought-provoking inquiries posed by educators may impede students' progress in enhancing their critical thinking abilities. Based on the analysis and observations conducted, the researcher has reached the conclusion that the students of class XI MIA 3 at SMA Negeri 4 Kabupaten Gowa demonstrate a moderate degree of critical thinking skills, as assessed by the critical thinking characteristics outlined by Facione (Facione, 2013).

“Narrative Enmeshment” in Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)

Rockstar Games’ 2018 Western video game, Red Dead Redemption 2, received critical acclaim upon its release. In particular, the narrative and technical aspects of the game received praise from critics. A slow pace, strong narrative, and impressively rendered game world are hardly unique within the genre of open-world video games, however. In this article, I analyse the game and argue that the combination of traditional narrative elements (such as plot, characterisation, setting, and time) is carefully interwoven with technical aspects of the game (including the game mechanics and internal honour system) through which the player experiences the narrative. Through this process of imbricated generic elements and game presentation, I contend, the game achieves a high level of what I theorise here as “narrative enmeshment”, a state through which the player’s narrative engagement in the story is heightened to a point that is technically unachievable through other storytelling media such as prose and film. In my discussion, which takes a narratological point of departure, I focus on select moments in the game’s narrative, as well as the game mechanics the player is compelled to use to progress through the game, to argue that the interlinked nature of the game’s technical sophistication and narrative maturity ultimately allows the player to experience a heightened level of engagement— or narrative enmeshment—in the game. This emphasises the importance of studying video games as a highly effective and innovative narrative medium.

Extended Higher-Order Elements with Frequency-Doubled Parameters: The Hysteresis Loops Are Always of Type II.

Current MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) can be modeled by state-dependent elements that exhibit hysteretic behavior. Examples include capacitors and inductors whose capacitances and inductances are dependent on the instantaneous state of the electromechanical system, resistors whose resistances exhibit temperature changes when the elements are actually heated, etc. Regardless of the physical background, such hysteresis manifestations can be studied uniformly in the broader framework of generic and extended higher-order elements, in which a classification of hysteretic loops into types I and II is established. The loop type is an important dynamical parameter of an element, having the potential to indicate, for example, its (in)volatility. Thus far, there is no reliable criterion to determine the type of steady loop from the defining relations of an element. This work reports on one special class of extended elements that produces type II loops under all circumstances. The paper presents hitherto unpublished connections between the frequency-doubling parameters of an element and the type of its hysteresis loop. The new findings are expressed by several theorems that allow the type of hysteresis to be inferred from the frequency behavior of the element parameter or state, and vice versa. These procedures are demonstrated with examples and verified by computer simulations.

Writing a Letter to One’s Muse: Genre memory and epistolography in Carl August Thielo’s Enveloppens eller Saloppens forunderlige Hændelser (1763)

Epistolary texts are often incorporated into 18th-century prose literature, but only rarely do they self-referentially discuss intertextuality as the mimesis of memory (Neumann 2005; 2008). Carl August Thielo’s “comic novel” uses a letter to the Muse to juxtapose a writer’s reliance on literary memoria and the demand for innovation.Drawing on Mikhail M. Bakhtin’s (1984) term “genre memory,” this paper examines the relationship between memory, generic hybridity and epistolography. Genre memory describes how, through the process of “novelization,” genres are incorporated and contemporised by the novel. Creative genre memory drives innovation by giving the most archaic generic elements a voice in narration and by establishing a ground for their hybrid interplay, thus producing a semantic surplus. By connecting this approach to epistolography, generic hybridity is illustrated as a product of material and narrative practices.In lieu of a preface to the reader, Thielo’s text begins with a Muse letter asking for assistance with the poetic work. This opens a discussion of generic differences and similarities, as well as the workings of intertextuality. At the same time, the engagement of texts with literary history is visualised via addresses to a mythical being belonging to literature’s memoria. Hence, the Muse letter depicts how poetical inventio builds on intertextuality to spark inspiration, thereby materialising the otherwise invisible, but crucial stage of writing before writing.This article serves to elaborate a first understanding of novelised epistolography and its potential for literary memory studies, which emphasises material and paratextual aspects over purely linguistic elements.

Integrable Multi-Hamiltonian Systems from Reduction of an Extended Quasi-Poisson Double of {text {U}}(n)

We construct a master dynamical system on a {text {U}}(n) quasi-Poisson manifold, {mathcal {M}}_d, built from the double {text {U}}(n) times {text {U}}(n) and dge 2 open balls in mathbb {C}^n, whose quasi-Poisson structures are obtained from T^* mathbb {R}^n by exponentiation. A pencil of quasi-Poisson bivectors P_{underline{z}} is defined on {mathcal {M}}_d that depends on d(d-1)/2 arbitrary real parameters and gives rise to pairwise compatible Poisson brackets on the {text {U}}(n)-invariant functions. The master system on {mathcal {M}}_d is a quasi-Poisson analogue of the degenerate integrable system of free motion on the extended cotangent bundle T^*!{text {U}}(n) times mathbb {C}^{ntimes d}. Its commuting Hamiltonians are pullbacks of the class functions on one of the {text {U}}(n) factors. We prove that the master system descends to a degenerate integrable system on a dense open subset of the smooth component of the quotient space {mathcal {M}}_d/{text {U}}(n) associated with the principal orbit type. Any reduced Hamiltonian arising from a class function generates the same flow via any of the compatible Poisson structures stemming from the bivectors P_{underline{z}}. The restrictions of the reduced system on minimal symplectic leaves parameterized by generic elements of the center of {text {U}}(n) provide a new real form of the complex, trigonometric spin Ruijsenaars–Schneider model of Krichever and Zabrodin. This generalizes the derivation of the compactified trigonometric RS model found previously in the d=1 case.

PROPOSALS AND ALGORITHMS FOR CRIMINAL LAW AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACTIONS IN FULFILLING REQUIREMENTS OF ARTICLE 615 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE OF UKRAINE

The article is devoted to the analysis of scientific approaches to determining the essence of criminal law and criminal procedure characteristics of offenses committed in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Attention is paid to the need to distinguish between the following scientific concepts: “criminal law characteristics of a certain type of a criminal offense”, “criminal law characteristics of a group of crimes”, and “forensic characteristics”. The problem of shaping a criminal law characteristic as a system of generalized data on the generic elements of criminal offenses, given their connections, is considered. The author emphasizes the practical significance of the relevant characteristics in managing the investigation of offenses committed in the occupied territories of Ukraine and formulating methodological recommendations for the pre-trial investigation of the specific group of criminal offences. In addition, there is a lack of аn overall study of the internal processes determining the development of foundations for specific methods of investigation of offenses in domestic criminology. Since the relevant process is natural, there is an objective need to elaborate methods for solving tasks characteristic of all cases of investigation. In that context, the author provides a list of comprehensive, in his opinion, proposals and algorithms for criminal law and criminal procedural actions in fulfilling the requirements of Art. 615 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine by prosecutors and investigators of law enforcement agencies of Ukraine.

A data driven methodology for upscaling remaining useful life predictions: From single- to multi-stiffened composite panels

In this paper we execute a complex test campaign to develop a novel methodology for the Remaining Useful Life (RUL) estimation of complex multi-stiffened composite aeronautical panels utilizing Machine Learning models trained with Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) data from hierarchically simpler elements, i.e., single-stiffened panels. Distributed Fiber Optical sensors (DFOS) are employed to monitor the panels’ behavior undergoing variable amplitude compression-compression fatigue after multiple impacts. A data processing methodology is first applied to the DFOS data, to both alleviate the effect of the variable loading conditions on the monitored strain and ease the computational burden. In this upscaling endeavor, an advanced strain-based Health Indicator (HI) based on Genetic algorithms, created and validated on the single-stiffened panel data, is utilized as the prognostic feature for the RUL estimations of the multi-stiffened panels. The HI displays favorable characteristics in terms of monotonicity and prognosability which are highly desirable for more accurate RUL estimations. For the prognostic task, standard machine learning models are trained using the historical degradation data of the single-stiffened panels and a similarity analysis is performed to enhance the accuracy when predicting the RUL of the multi-stiffened panels. Despite the increased structural complexity of the multi-stiffened panels, we demonstrate that the RUL is able to be predicted with reasonable accuracy. The present work paves the road for upscaling and applying prognostic methodologies to more complex structures beyond simple coupons or generic elements.

An Analysis of Selected Supreme Court Rulings on Human Rights Violation in Nigeria

Communication gaps between members of the legal profession and people outside the profession still leave a lot to be explained. This study investigates the technicality of written legal documents by studying 10 Nigerian Supreme Court rulings, specifically the outcome of cases of human rights violations by the Nigerian military regime. Nine purposively selected excerpts were analysed using generic structure potential elements. The analysis generated nine elements, five of which are obligatory and the other four optional. The obligatory elements are Review of Lower Court Proceedings, Reproduction of Issues, Reference to Authorities, Application of Authorities, and Final Verdict. The optional elements are Review of Facts, Reproduction of Pleadings, Analysis of Evidence, and Analysis of Argument. This study concludes that generic structure potential is a useful theory for demystifying complex texts.

A Survey of Indicators for Mesh Quality Assessment

AbstractWe analyze the joint efforts made by the geometry processing and the numerical analysis communities in the last decades to define and measure the concept of “mesh quality”. Researchers have been striving to determine how, and how much, the accuracy of a numerical simulation or a scientific computation (e.g., rendering, printing, modeling operations) depends on the particular mesh adopted to model the problem, and which geometrical features of the mesh most influence the result. The goal was to produce a mesh with good geometrical properties and the lowest possible number of elements, able to produce results in a target range of accuracy. We overview the most common quality indicators, measures, or metrics that are currently used to evaluate the goodness of a discretization and drive mesh generation or mesh coarsening/refinement processes. We analyze a number of local and global indicators, defined over two‐ and three‐dimensional meshes with any type of elements, distinguishing between simplicial, quadrangular/hexahedral, and generic polytopal elements. We also discuss mesh optimization algorithms based on the above indicators and report common libraries for mesh analysis and quality‐driven mesh optimization.

VISIT: A Content Management and Exploration System for Mobile Augmented Reality in the Context of Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage

We present in this article an augmented reality system called VISIT designed to deliver content about artworks to visitors. This system aims to simplify the use of augmented reality by allowing (non-computer) users to define content and place it in 3D around an artwork. VISIT is composed of two main generic elements with respect to historical or artistic content: a Web interface allows to represent in a cloud all the necessary information (sites, areas, artworks, media) to define the augmented reality content that visitors will see. Its use is simple and accessible to non-computer specialists and does not require additional software development or special hardware. A mobile augmented reality application under Android will use this content and deliver it to the visitor on his/her smartphone. The application automatically detects the presence of the artworks and then places the 3D content as specified in the Web interface. The visitors can choose the elements that interest them. The user’s actions are recorded and allow site managers to analyze their behavior. VISIT is operational and we tested it in the context of a large-scale exhibition at the Château d’Azay-Le-Rideau in France. We conclude with the progress achieved as well as the limits and perspectives of our work.

BPMN4MOOC: A BPMN extension for the design of connectivist MOOC

ABSTRACT Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) is a standard formalism for business process modeling that is very popular in professional practices due to its expressiveness, the well-defined meta-model, and its easiness of use by non-technical users. For instance, BPMN2.0 is used for business processes in commercial areas such as banks, shops, production, and supply industry. Due to its flexible notation, BPMN is increasingly being used in non-traditional business process domains like education. The presented research work aims to develop a valid extension by applying the BPMN representation of pedagogical scenario in connectivist cMOOC context. BPMN provides a set of generic process modeling elements that make it necessary to extend the language and notation by domain-specific concepts from connectivist pedagogical approach. Therefore, BPMN2.0 extensibility mechanism was explored to include the representation of specific cMOOC pedagogical concepts. Moreover, this paper provides an analysis of the requirements of those concepts. Based on a cMOOC-oriented pedagogical scenario model, the need for an extension is identified and the valid BPMN extension meta-model is designed by the construction of a conceptual domain-specific model and the corresponding BPMN extension model.

Generic Types and Generic Elements in Divisible Rigid Groups

Generic Types and Generic Elements in Divisible Rigid Groups

Quantum element method for multi-dimensional nanostructures enabled by a projection-based learning algorithm

A projection-based learning method developed previously based on proper orthogonal decomposition (POD), together with the quantum element method (QEM), is investigated for a 2D multi-element quantum nanostructure, where an element denotes a generic subdomain of a group of nanostructures. Unlike many other projection-based models, the basis functions for the POD approach are trained via solution data of the electron wave functions in the selected quantum state (QS) derived from direct numerical simulation of the Schrödinger equation for the nanostructure. This learning process minimizes the least square error with a small set of basis functions to reduce computational effort. Based on the QEM, the nanostructures are first partitioned into smaller generic elements (i.e., building blocks), and each of the elements is projected onto the POD space and stored in a database. For a large nanostructure, several generic elements can then be selected and glued together to perform simulation of the selected large nanostructure with the interface continuity imposed by the discontinuous Galerkin method. It has been shown that the QEM offers a reduction in numerical degrees of freedom (DoF) by 3 to 4 orders of magnitude for the trained quantum states with a high accuracy compared to direct numerical simulation. For some untrained quantum states above the trained states, a reasonably accurate prediction can be achieved with a few more DoF.