High Level Of Connectivity Research Articles

It's Crowded at the Bottom: Trust, Visibility, and Search Algorithms on Care.com

Trust, visibility, and the deepening of existing inequalities are major themes within the platform care work literature. However, no study to date has applied these themes to an analysis of worker profiles. I investigate both how workers communicate trustworthiness through their profiles on Care.com, the world’s largest care work platform, and which of these profiles are rendered more and less visible to clients. Through a qualitative content analysis of profiles (n=60) sampled from the top and bottom search results in three different US zip codes, I find that visibility is often related to connectivity, response time, and positive reviews, and who is rendered visible mirrors preexisting inequalities. The language of “passion” for the job is common across top and bottom profiles, indicating a contradiction between the deemphasis on professionalization and the high level of connectivity and responsiveness present in top profiles.

RAILWAYS CONTRIBUTION TO NATIONAL SECURITY

The railways system has a tremendous influence to the national security. First of all, railways development is strongly pushing the GDP growth for any country, as being a veryelaborate industry and having a very large in the railways supply industry (RSI). Second of all, the industries which are contributes to the RSI are the high end of the specific domains and all of the new systems in the network is often coming with very sophisticated and new products, having an important contribution to the research and development (R&D) departments. And, thirdly, railways and highways are creating a more cohesive EU and is creating a high level of connectivity for all the member states. Connectivity is the key feature for a better mobility for the humans’ resources and for material resources. If the EU gains in connectivity any potential enemy of any member state will understand that the given member state could easily and timely benefit from the resources of all the member states. A better connectivity will also bring the US and UK military capabilities closer to any member state.Keywords: Railway, national security, mobility, connectivity, GDP growth, railway supply industry.

Who Are the Gatekeepers? An Examination of Diversity in INFORMS Journal Editorial Boards

Publishing in respected scholarly journals is critical to academic success. However, if journal editorial boards fail to reflect the diversity of thought in a field, worthy work may be overlooked. This study assesses the level of diversity in the editorial boards of the 16 INFORMS journals. We examine gender, whether an individual is an underrepresented minority, and institutional affiliation, and perform a network analysis to identify coauthor relationships between editorial board members. We find that the editorial boards have low levels of diversity: women comprise just under 20% of the editorial board members; fewer than 1% of editorial board members are underrepresented minorities; and 10 institutions (less than 5% of the total) account for more than 25% of the editors. We find a high level of connectivity between editorial board members (as measured by coauthor relationship) for some of the INFORMS journals, suggesting the influence of an “in crowd” of like-minded individuals. INFORMS can and should work to end this state of affairs: we provide a set of actionable recommendations for broadening diversity and reducing connectivity on the INFORMS journal editorial boards. In this way, INFORMS journals can support a diversity of backgrounds and views, enabling the publication of a broader range of ideas and invigorating academic discourse in our profession.

Environmental drivers of reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) visitation patterns to key aggregation habitats in the Maldives.

A detailed understanding of the dynamics of small-scale (10s km) habitat use by the reef manta ray (Mobula alfredi) in the Maldives Archipelago is required to develop an effective national conservation management plan for this wide-ranging species. Here, a combination of photo-ID sightings data and acoustic telemetry were used to investigate both long-term M. alfredi visitation trends and small-scale movement patterns to key habitats on the eastern side of Baa Atoll (Hanifaru Bay feeding area, Dhigu Thila multifunctional site, and Nelivaru Thila cleaning station). All tagged and most of the sighted M. alfredi exhibited high affinity to the eastern side of Baa Atoll, where 99% of detections occurred, and 69% of individuals were re-sighted in multiple years. Sightings data suggests that visitation patterns may be associated with differences in habitat use by sex and maturity status. Boosted regression trees indicated that tag detection probability at Hanifaru Bay increased with increased westerly wind speed (>5ms-1) during the day, close to a new and full moon just after high tide, and when the tidal range was low. Interaction effects between predictors suggest that wind-driven oceanographic processes, such as Langmuir Circulation, maybe working to increase zooplankton concentration at this location. Tag detection probability increased at Dhigu Thila under similar conditions. At Nelivaru Thila, it increased at lower wind speeds (<5ms-1), close to a full moon, three hours after high tide. These results suggest that M. alfredi may utilise cleaning stations during the day when environmental conditions are not suitable for feeding. There was a high level of connectivity between these three locations, which suggests they form part of a network of key habitats that provide essential services to M. alfredi locally. Future conservation efforts should focus on identifying all areas of key habitat use for this species within the Maldives; applying strict protective measures to these sites and any connecting migration corridors which link them.

Heritability of Magnetoencephalography Phenotypes Among Patients With Genetic Generalized Epilepsy and Their Siblings.

ObjectiveTo assess whether neuronal signals in patients with genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE) are heritable, we examined magnetoencephalography resting-state recordings in patients and their healthy siblings.MethodsIn a prospective, cross-sectional design, we investigated source-reconstructed power and functional connectivity in patients, siblings, and controls. We analyzed 5 minutes of cleaned and awake data without epileptiform discharges in 6 frequency bands (1–40 Hz). We further calculated intraclass correlations to estimate heritability for the imaging patterns within families.ResultsCompared with controls (n = 45), patients with GGE (n = 25) showed widespread increased functional connectivity (θ to γ frequency bands) and power (δ to γ frequency bands) across the spectrum. Siblings (n = 18) fell between the levels of patients and controls. Heritability of the imaging metrics was observed in regions where patients strongly differed from controls, mainly in β frequencies, but also for δ and θ power. Network connectivity in GGE was heritable in frontal, central, and inferior parietal brain areas and power in central, temporo-parietal, and subcortical structures. Presence of generalized spike-wave activity during recordings and medication were associated with the network patterns, whereas other clinical factors such as age at onset, disease duration, or seizure control were not.ConclusionMetrics of brain oscillations are well suited to characterize GGE and likely relate to genetic factors rather than the active disease or treatment. High power and connectivity levels co-segregated in patients with GGE and healthy siblings, predominantly in the β band, representing an endophenotype of GGE.

Reproductive isolation between two cryptic sponge species in New Zealand: high levels of connectivity and clonality shape Tethya species boundaries

Although commonly reported among widespread marine taxa, hybridization has only been recorded for one species of marine sponge to date. Sponges have evolved an array of sexual and asexual reproductive strategies, but it remains unclear if the lack of reported hybrids in this phylum is due to their reproductive diversity (which promotes reproductive isolation) or instead due to a lack of data. In this study, we aimed to determine whether hybridization occurs between two cryptic species of Tethya burtoni (T. burtoni sp. A and T. burtoni sp. B) that live sympatrically in central New Zealand. We also examined how both small-scale population structure (for five locations) and asexual reproduction contributed to instances (or lack thereof) of hybridization for these sponges. Using 11 microsatellite markers, we found no evidence of hybridization between species. Both species exhibited differences in distribution, where one species was present at all five locations, but the other was only detected at three locations. For these three locations (all within 20 km of each other), both species exhibited high levels of gene flow. Asexual buds did not appear to disperse far, and groups of clonal individuals were found within areas of < 900 cm2. Asexual reproduction, therefore, did not play an obvious role in connectivity between populations, but instead appeared to be important for population maintenance. While specific mechanisms for reproductive isolation, such as gamete recognition, between both T. burtoni species remain unknown, we suggest that such mechanisms likely exist due to the strong differentiation found between both species (FST = 0.191, P < 0.0001). Further, the observed high levels of both gene flow and asexual reproduction may also act to reduce the potential for hybridization by maintaining genetic diversity and increasing the chance of mating with a conspecific individual.

The Early Impact of Social Distancing Measures on Drug Use

Background and Objectives Social distancing policies have been widely adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. High levels of social connection are positively associated with beneficial health outcomes, while social isolation is associated with poor long-term health outcomes including reduced life expectancy. The present study evaluates the impact of social distancing measures during the early period of COVID-19 on substance use behaviors among those in the United States. Methods: We used an internet-based survey with participants (n = 157; 86 male) reporting a history of problems related to drug use. We relied on ANOVA and logistic regression techniques to assess the associations between social connection and substance use. Results: People with more severe drug use problems reported feeling more socially isolated during social distancing. Those who primarily use alcohol reported higher global feelings of social connection than those who primarily use opioids. During social distancing, participants reported an increase in alcohol and cigarette consumption, and a decrease in cocaine use. Lastly, those who reported using drugs for social reasons were less likely to have decreased substance use during social distancing. Conclusions: The current study provides evidence that social distancing guidelines have impacted both substance use behaviors and feelings of social and physical connection. Further, there are differential impacts based on drug of choice. These results advance delineation of the connection between sociality and drug use.

High gene flow in polar cod (Boreogadus saida) from West-Svalbard and the Eurasian Basin.

The current and projected environmental change of the Arctic Ocean contrasts sharply with the limited knowledge of its genetic biodiversity. Polar cod Boreogadus saida (Lepechin, 1774) is an abundant circumpolar marine fish and ecological key species. The central role of polar cod in the Arctic marine food web warrants a better understanding of its population structure and connectivity. In this study, the genetic population structure of 171 juveniles, collected from several fjords off West-Svalbard (Billefjorden, Hornsund and Kongsfjorden), the northern Sophia Basin and the Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean, was analysed using nine DNA microsatellite loci. Genetic analyses indicated moderate to high genetic diversity, but absence of spatial population structure and isolation-by-distance, suggesting ongoing gene flow between the studied sampling regions. High levels of connectivity may be key for polar cod to maintain populations across wide spatial scales. The adaptive capacity of the species will be increasingly important to face challenges such as habitat fragmentation, ocean warming and changes in prey composition. In view of a limited understanding of the population dynamics and evolution of polar cod, a valuable next step to predict future developments should be an integrated biological evaluation, including population genomics, a life-history approach, and habitat and biophysical dispersal modelling.

Optimal Investment in Prevention and Recovery for Mitigating Epidemic Risks.

The worldwide healthcare and economic crisis caused by the COVID‐19 pandemic highlights the need for a deeper understanding of investing in the mitigation of epidemic risks. To address this, we built a mathematical model to optimize investments into two types of measures for mitigating the risks of epidemic propagation: prevention/containment measures and treatment/recovery measures. The new model explicitly accounts for the characteristics of networks of individuals, as a critical element of epidemic propagation. Subsequent analysis shows that, to combat an epidemic that can cause significant negative impact, optimal investment in either category increases with a higher level of connectivity and intrinsic loss, but it is limited to a fraction of that total potential loss. However, when a fixed and limited mitigation investment is to be apportioned among the two types of measures, the optimal proportion of investment for prevention and containment increases when the investment limit goes up, and when the network connectivity decreases. Our results are consistent with existing studies and can be used to properly interpret what happened in past pandemics as well as to shed light on future and ongoing events such as COVID‐19.

Protecting the Internet of Vehicles Against Advanced Persistent Threats: A Bayesian Stackelberg Game

Connected vehicles are essential for the deployment of intelligent transportation services. However, the high level of connectivity in today's Internet of vehicles (IoV) and the extreme reliance on the data collected from the smart transportation infrastructure widen the space of security vulnerabilities, making the IoV a potential target for cyberattacks. This article investigates novel sophisticated ways to exploit the IoV and launch intelligent attacks on road traffic services by creating persistent impact and reducing detection chances. This article models the processes of attack and defense as a cybersecurity Stackelberg game leading to optimal mixed strategies for both the attackers and the IoV defense system, where the latter optimally deploys the available security resources within the transportation infrastructure to minimize the impact of attacks and improve their detection. The game is of Bayesian type and considers several types of data corruption attacks that occur according to a probability distribution that we determine based on a rigorous risk assessment approach. The results show that our game model and solution allow us to reduce the impact of advanced persistent threats compared to a uniform defense design that is indifferent to attackers' strategies and types. The solution could be integrated into the design of IoV intrusion detection systems to increase their robustness.

“High schoolers’ and middle schoolers’ connections in their schools: Relation to tardiness, absences, disciplinary referrals, and failed courses”

The Connections Project (Pristawa,2014) is designed to assist school personnel in identifying students at-risk for social-emotional concerns by examining students’ perceptions of connectedness with adults and peers in school. Currently used in several states, schools complete the screening measure as part of their use of the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) framework. While many measures of connectedness are lengthy and designed for elementary grade children, the Connections measure is an efficient, straightforward assessment employed with middle school and high school aged youth and school personnel. The purpose of the current study was to examine student connectedness with adults (including advisory teachers) and peers in relationship to several student outcome variables (i.e., tardy arrivals, attendance, disciplinary referrals, failed courses, and school dropout) when controlling for SES and student qualification for IEP or 504 plan. Results indicated that students with higher levels of perceived connectedness to adults and peers in their school building had more positive school outcomes. Students with higher levels of connectedness had fewer instances of disciplinary referrals and fewer failed courses when compared to peers with lower levels of perceived connectedness. Further, students who named their advisory teacher as an adult connection had fewer instances of tardy arrivals, absences, and failed courses. However, student-perceived connectedness was not a significant predictor of dropout risk. Study limitations and future research directions are discussed.

Interventions as Soft Policies to Support Sustainable Behavior

It is not always easy for consumers to estimate ecological factors of products. These characteristics of products from production to disposal are trust characteristics, because they “are not written on its forehead”. In a few consumption areas eco-labels are established, e.g. food. In others, they are not, e.g. transportation. There is a need of transparent and believable information to teach consumers. Information, training and education can empower people to make well-founded decisions. In many social groups (sinus milieus) informing is not enough. The awareness of sustainability is quite low and additional measures needed. Motivation, reflexion, coinage and economic benefits are the key to get these people to act more environmental-friendly. Measures like these are soft policies in the field of transportation and mobility. There are no restrictions or changes to the infrastructure. Soft policies are implemented much faster and with lower financial investment. In 1993 Dwyer et al. investigated different types of soft policy measures to preserve the environment, so called interventions to change individual behaviour and decisions and diffusions to spread changes into community and to penetrate all social groups. More than a quarter century later digital mediums and a high level of social connection and interaction opened up new ways to intervene and diffuse. This paper presents new formats based on the development of 1993 tested formats. Formats are compared to Dwyer et al., Mosler and Schade.

FROM DARK TO LIGHT AND BACK AGAIN: IS PINNA NOBILIS, THE LARGEST MEDITERRANEAN BIVALVE, ON THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION?

Pinna nobilis&nbsp;is the largest bivalve of the Mediterranean Sea, where it represents&nbsp;a flagship species. As a possible consequence of several human disturbing activities, at the beginning of ‘80s, populations of fan mussel started a severe demographic decline. To reverse this trend, P. nobilis&nbsp;was included in a regime of full protection which led to a significant recovery of the species at the beginning of the millennium. Unfortunately, P. nobilis&nbsp;is presently facing a dramatic epidemic, which is bringing this species to the brink of extinction. This phenomenon started in early autumn 2016, from the Mediterranean coasts of Spain. Since then, the mass mortality spread quickly eastward reaching almost all Mediterranean areas. First epidemiological surveys ascribed the mass mortality of P. nobilis&nbsp;to the protozoan Haplosporidium pinnae,&nbsp;but recent studies indicated some species of bacteria belonging to the genera Mycobacterium&nbsp;and Vibrio as further or alternative etiological agents. Presently, a multifactorial disease mediated by the combined action of several pathogens seems to be the most probable responsible factor which is favouring the phenomenon. Despite the conservational prominence of P. nobilis, a low number of studies investigated the genetic structure of this species before its mass mortality and all were consistent in evidencing a very good health for populations throughout the whole Mediterranean, pointing out high levels of genetic variability and good genetic connectivity among areas. Now it would be useful to provide an extended molecular survey post-epidemic, for a deeper understanding of the causes of mass mortality of fan mussels.

Connectedness as a Predictor of Academic and Youth Development Outcomes at a Summer Day Camp for Low-Income Youth

Organized camp programs impacted over 10 million youth in the United States in 2019 (American Camp Association, 2019). While residential camp programs have shown ample evidence of their potential to produce opportunities for growth and learning (Garst et al., 2011; Wilson et al., 2019), less is known about the benefits of summer day camp programs. Day camp programs have the potential to serve a more diverse group of campers than residential camps (Kimmelman, 2011), and have become popular formats for summer programs designed to enhance academic skills and prevent summer learning loss. This study sought to understand the factors that influenced self-perceptions of academic attitudes and positive youth development at a summer day camp program offering academic and recreational activities for economically vulnerable fourth to ninth graders (n=240). Specifically, the study was interested in the role that camp connectedness played in influencing perceptions of outcomes (Sibthorp et al., 2011). The study found that campers who participated in a summer day camp program reported that their interest in academic subjects increased over the course of the camp. Campers who had higher levels of connectedness to camp reported significantly stronger academic and youth development outcomes than those who had lower levels of connectedness. The study also found no significant differences in connectedness based on camper characteristics such as gender, age, race, ethnicity, school attended, or language spoken at home, suggesting that these variables were not salient in whether a camper felt connected to camp. These findings provide implications for the design and delivery of academically focused day camp programs to enhance feelings of connectedness, including the importance of using an intentional curriculum, offering a variety of academic and recreational activities, employing trained educators and youth development specialists, and being mindful of class and group sizes.

Genetic analyses reveal temporal stability and connectivity pattern in blue and red shrimp Aristeus antennatus populations

Temporal variability of the genetic structure and connectivity patterns of the blue and red shrimp Aristeus antennatus in the seven most important fishing grounds of the Western Mediterranean Sea, were assessed using twelve microsatellite loci during 2 consecutive years (2016 and 2017), in a total of 1403 adult individuals. A high level of geographical connectivity among groups was observed in the two studied years. In fact, no significant geographical differentiation was found in 2016 (FST = 0.0018, p > 0.05), whereas it was indicated in 2017 (FST = 0.0025, p < 0.05). This small divergence in 2017 was not attributed to the distance among locations nor to the effect of the Ibiza Channel. Significant allele frequency changes were found at local level between the 2 years (FCT = 0.0006, p < 0.05), mainly due to Blanes’ fishing ground. Larval dispersal from the North to the South through the main superficial current supports the high level of connectivity pattern found. The temporal genetic instability detected in the Blanes’ fishing ground could be explained by oceanographic temporary features. Our findings evidence only one biological unit in the study region and establish the baseline for an inter-federal management plan of A. antennatus.

Reconstruction of Sparsely Sampled Seismic Data via Residual U-Net

Reconstruction of sparsely sampled seismic data is critical for maintaining the quality of seismic images when significant numbers of shots and receivers are missing. We present a reconstruction method in the shot-receiver-time (SRT) domain based on a residual U-Net machine learning architecture, for seismic data acquired in a sparse 2-D acquisition and name it SRT2D-ResU-Net. The SRT domain retains a high level of seismic signal connectivity, which is likely the main data feature that the reconstructing algorithms rely on. We develop an “ <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">in situ</i> training and prediction” workflow by dividing the acquisition area into two nonoverlapping subareas: a training subarea for establishing the network model using regularly sampled data and a testing subarea for reconstructing the sparsely sampled data using the trained model. To establish a reference base for analyzing the changes in data features over the study area, and quantifying the reconstructed seismic data, we devise a baseline reference using a tiny portion of the field data. The baselines are properly spaced and excluded from the training and reconstruction processes. The results on a field marine data set show that the SRT2D-ResU-Net can effectively learn the features of seismic data in the training process, and the average correlation between the reconstructed missing traces and the true answers is over 85%.

Identifying Entrepreneurial Influencers on Twitter

Entrepreneurship involves an immense network of activities, linked via collaborations and information propagation. Information dissemination is extremely important for entrepreneurs. Finding influential users with high levels of interaction and connectivity in social media and involving them in information spread helps disseminating the information quickly. Thus, facilitating key entrepreneurial actors to find and collaborate with each other. Identifying and ranking entrepreneurial top influential people is still in infancy. This paper proposes an ERank framework for topic-specific influence theories that are specialized with respect to Twitter. Firstly, it extracts four dimensions to characterize influencers, including user popularity, activity, reliability, and tweet quality. Afterwards, it uses linear combinations of these dimensions to assign influence score to each user. Experimental results on a real-life dataset containing 233,018 Arabic tweets show that ERank successfully ranks 8 out of 10 entrepreneurial influencers. Unlike other existing approaches, ERank doesn’t require any labelled data and has lower computational cost. To ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of ERank, three validation techniques were used (1) to compare the detected influencers with the real-world influencers, (2) to investigate the spread of information of the detected influencers, and (3) to compare the quality of ERank results with other ranking methods.

Process drama in five international contexts: Considering emotional responses and dramatic structuring

This article reports on the responses of 114 adult participants in a process drama delivered in five international contexts. Drawing upon the work of Gavin Bolton and key appraisal theorists, the aim of the article is to extend current understandings of how emotion is experienced within process drama, while also gaining new insights into the factors that impact its type and intensity. Using a framework that links emotion, connection and commitment, analysis of the data reveals that when individuals experience high levels of both commitment and connection, diverse emotions are generated. It also reveals that while these emotional responses are highly individual and generally independent of the strategies being employed, their intensity is associated with dramatic tension. The article suggests that an understanding of these findings is important for effective process drama structuring and facilitation.

The role of oxides in the shallow vesiculation of ascending magmas

Despite their generally low volume fraction, FeTi oxides have the potential to greatly influence the eruptive style because they lower the supersaturation pressure for heterogeneous bubble nucleation. Once nucleated, bubbles respond fast to pressure changes, fostering rapid expansion and explosive behavior. Yet, oxide microlite quantifications are often absent from data of explosive products. We used new, re-analyzed, and published data to build a compilation of oxide number densities (ONDs) and vesicle number densities (VNDs) of trachytic and calc-alkaline products. Four eruptive styles were selected: 1) Vulcanian explosions from Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat, Lascar volcano, Chile, and Kilian volcano, France, 2) blasts from Mt. Pelée volcano, Lesser Antilles, Mount St. Helens, USA, and Merapi volcano, Indonesia, 3) a sub-Plinian explosion from Merapi volcano, and 4) lava dome effusions with intermittent collapse from Soufrière Hills and Mt. Pelée volcanoes. Natural samples were separated into two groups according to the dominant texture of the products of each event: 1) vesicular pumice clasts from explosions with a strong vertical component and 2) dense clasts with diktytaxitic textures from dome collapse event and lateral blast. Group 1 samples are either distributed alongside the 1:1 trend between VND and OND that spans from 1015 to 1017 m−3, or have a constant VND of 1016–16.5 m−3 regardless of OND. A large proportion of oxides (55–100%) touch vesicles. A more variable proportion of vesicles (16–72%) are in contact with oxides because of syn-explosive growth and coalescence. Group 2 samples have ONDs in the same broad range as group 1 samples. We also used new and published data to build a compilation of ONDs and VNDs of five series of experimental decompression of rhyolitic and phonolitic melts. In samples with OND ≈ VND, most bubbles are in contact with more than one oxide and 64–88% of the oxides are in contact with bubbles. Such high levels of connectivity suggest that the role of oxides in controlling bubble nucleation has been underestimated. When VND ≥ OND, nucleation densities of experimental vesicles can be reproduced by heterogeneous nucleation models, which we used to calculate syn-explosive decompression rates from VNDs at Merapi, Soufrière Hills, and Kilian. These rates and textural evidence suggest that the decompression front accompanying these Vulcanian and sub-Plinian explosions is responsible for syn-explosive bubble nucleation. We calculated the average pre-explosive ascent rates necessary to yield the observed ONDs at Soufrière Hills and Merapi volcanoes. The resulting rates, 0.005–20 m/s, overlap considerably with the range of critical ascent rate inferred for the effusive–explosive transition, supporting the hypothesis that this transition is primarily controlled by oxide microlites in the conduit because oxides are a primer for explosive behavior when present in sufficiently high number densities. Focusing on the older eruption of Kilian, for which no observation is available, we infer that pre-explosive ascent rates of >7 × 10−3 m/s were necessary for explosive behavior to occur.

Letter from Singapore: The clinical and research response to COVID‐19

Letter from Singapore: The clinical and research response to COVID‐19