Intense Focus Research Articles

Power, discourse, and student agency in colonial education

This paper aims to glean valuable insights from critical pedagogy in order to apply them to the field of African literary studies. Specifically, I am interested in how approaches inspired by culturally responsive education can help us revisit the important but under-researched topic of student agency as it features in fictional works that deal with colonial education in Africa. Although colonial education in literature has been the subject of intense focus in postcolonial theory, such theorizations largely examine how colonial education reproduces colonial rule through the dissemination of colonial discourse/ideology. When student agency in the colonial education systems is addressed, conventional postcolonial theory sees it as being overwhelmed or assimilated by colonial discourse and power. Ideas emanating from critical pedagogy and culturally responsive education are of value here in that they can elucidate how students interact with and even resist the pedagogical and political power of the colonial education system. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s novel Weep Not, Child is an illustrative example of how such a critical-pedagogy-inspired approach can help us reorient literary studies of colonial education systems.

Engineering Assembly of Plasmonic Virus-Like Gold SERS Nanoprobe Guided by Intelligent Dual-Machine Nanodevice for High-Performance Analysis of Tetracycline.

Accurate detection of trace tetracyclines (TCs) in complex matrices is of great significance for food and environmental safety monitoring. However, traditional recognition and amplification tools exhibit poor specificity and sensitivity. Herein, a novel dual-machine linkage nanodevice (DMLD) is proposed for the first time to achieve high-performance analysis of TC, with a padlock aptamer component as the initiation command center, nucleic acid-encoded multispike virus-like Au nanoparticles (nMVANs) as the signal indicator, and cascade walkers circuit as the processor. The existence of spike vertices and interspike nanogaps in MVANs enables intense electromagnetic near-field focusing, allowing distinct surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity. Moreover, through the sequential activation between multistage walker catalytic circuits, the DLMD system converts the limited TC recognition into massive engineering assemblies of SERS probes guided by DNA amplicons, resulting in synergistic enhancement of bulk plasmonic hotspot entities. The continuously guaranteed target recognition and progressively promoted signal enhancement ensure highly specific amplification analysis of TC, with a detection limit as low as 7.94 × 10-16g mL-1. Furthermore, the reliable recoveries in real samples confirm the practicability of the proposed sensing platform, highlighting the enormous potential of intelligent nanomachines for analyzing the trace hazards in the environment and food.

The Unstable Subject: Public Constructs and Borderline Personality Disorder

Kelly’s intense focus on personal construing processes is understandable given the aims he put forth when creating personal construct psychology and the socio-cultural context in which his theory arose. Plenty of space remains, however, to elucidate the interaction between public construing processes and personal constructs to the extent that these can be separated in a relational theory such as this one. Previously, this exploration was largely theoretical, and it involved drawing parallels between Kelly and theorists such as Foucault or Bauman. In this paper, the relationship between public and personal systems of constructs is theorized with clinical applications in mind, emphasizing its practical importance as a means of understanding clients and situating their change in a wider social context, while understanding the possibilities and limitations determined by constructs structuring and governing social relations. This paper will attempt to create a new framework for further expansion of Kelly’s theory. A brief clinical vignette will be used to illustrate how this approach reframes borderline personality disorder as a primarily relational issue.

Effectiveness of a blended school-based mindfulness program for the prevention of co-rumination and internalizing problems in Dutch secondary school girls: a cluster randomized controlled trial

BackgroundA growing body of literature indicates that adolescent girls who talk with close friends about interpersonal problems or worries in an excessive, speculative way, and with an intense focus on distress (i.e., co-rumination) are at heightened risk for developing internalizing symptoms and disorders as well as reduced friendship quality. However, to date, there are no prevention programs available that target high levels of co-rumination between adolescent girls. As such, we developed the blended school-based mindfulness prevention program Happy Friends, Positive Minds (HFPM) that targets co-rumination at the dyadic level, i.e., between two close female friends. The aim of this trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of HFPM to reduce co-rumination and internalizing problems and to enhance wellbeing and social-emotional behavior in Dutch adolescent girls.MethodsA cluster Randomized Controlled Trial (cRCT) will be conducted to evaluate HFPM effectiveness. We will recruit 160 female friendship dyads (n = 320 girls) aged 13 to 15 years who will be characterized by high levels of self-reported co-rumination. The cRCT has two arms: (1) an intervention condition in which 160 girls (80 friendship dyads) will receive the 14-week HFPM program in two consecutive cohorts (cohort 1 in academic year 2023/2024 and cohort 2 in academic year 2024/2025, and (2) a control condition in which 160 girls (80 dyads) will receive care-as-usual (CAU) in two consecutive cohorts (cohort 1 in academic year 2023/2024 and cohort 2 in academic year 2024/2025). Data will be collected at baseline (T0), during the program (T1;T2; T3), immediately after the program (T4), and at 1-year follow-up (T5). Participant-level self-reported risk for (early onset) depression and anxiety, self-reported and observed co-rumination, self- and friend-reported friendship quality, self-reported positive and negative affect, self-reported interpersonal responses to positive affect, and self-reported anhedonia symptoms will be the outcome variables.DiscussionThis study will provide insights into the short-term and long-term effects of the HFPM program on girls’ internalizing problems, wellbeing, and social-emotional behavior.Trial registrationInternational Standard Randomized Controlled Trials, identifier: ISRCTN54246670. Registered on 27 February 2023.

Machine learning topological defects in confluent tissues

Active nematics is an emerging paradigm for characterizing biological systems. One aspect of particularly intense focus is the role active nematic defects play in these systems, as they have been found to mediate a growing number of biological processes. Accurately detecting and classifying these defects in biological systems is, therefore, of vital importance to improving our understanding of such processes. While robust methods for defect detection exist for systems of elongated constituents, other systems, such as epithelial layers, are not well suited to such methods. Here, we address this problem by developing a convolutional neural network to detect and classify nematic defects in confluent cell layers. Crucially, our method is readily implementable on experimental images of cell layers and is specifically designed to be suitable for cells that are not rod shaped, which we demonstrate by detecting defects on experimental data using the trained model. We show that our machine learning model outperforms current defect detection techniques and that this manifests itself in our method as requiring less data to accurately capture defect properties. This could drastically improve the accuracy of experimental data interpretation while also reducing costs, advancing the study of nematic defects in biological systems.

Leaf carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus ecological stoichiometry of grassland ecosystems along 2,600-m altitude gradients at the Northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains.

Ecological stoichiometry of terrestrial ecosystems has been a hot issue in current research, with intense focus on the proportional relationships of nutritional elements within plants and between plants and their environment. To clarify these relationships along continuous environmental gradients is essential for a more comprehensive understanding how plants adapt to a changing environment. In arid regions, the varying plant and soil types along altitude gradients offer a unique opportunity to examine the vertical spectrum of plant and soil ecological stoichiometry. In this study, the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains was selected as the study area to explore the carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) ecological stoichiometric characteristics of herbaceous plants along 900-m-3,500-m altitude gradients. We also investigated the variation of ecological stoichiometric characteristics among different grassland types. The results indicated that the mean C, N, and P in leaf of grassland were 342.95 g·kg-1-557.73 g·kg-1, 6.02 g·kg-1-20.97 g·kg-1, and 0.71 g·kg-1-3.14 g·kg-1, respectively. There was no significant change in leaf carbon content along the elevation gradient, and the highest and lowest leaf C concentrations were in the upland meadow and the semidesert grasslands. Both N and P concentrations obtained their highest value in the meadow steppe. The P concentration gradually increased in desert and semidesert grasslands and reached the highest value in the meadow steppe, and then decreased to the lowest value in the upland meadow and subsequently increased in the alpine meadow. The ranges of the C:N ratio, C:P ratio, and N:P ratio were 16.36-155.53, 109.36-786.52, and 2.58-17.34, respectively. Due to fluctuations in the P concentration, the C:P ratio and N:P ratio reached the lowest value in the meadow steppe and obtained their highest value in the upland meadow. Redundancy analysis showed that temperature was the dominant factor affecting the C, N, and P ecological stoichiometry of herbaceous plants, followed by soil organic carbon, mean annual precipitation, soil pH, and soil electrical conductivity. Corresponding results could enhance predictive models of nutrient cycling and ecosystem responses to climate change, particularly in arid and semiarid regions.

Management of Musculoskeletal Disorders; A Systematic Review

Musculoskeletal disorders pose a substantial health risk to employees in various professions worldwide, particularly those in healthcare settings. While prior research has predominantly focused on musculoskeletal issues among nurses, limited attention has been given to doctors across different specialties, including surgeons. Surgeons face unique challenges, combining intense mental focus, precision in movements, and varying physical demands. This systematic review aimed to explore the epidemiology, causes, and management of musculoskeletal disorders among surgeons and healthcare workers. PubMed/Medline and Embase were used as data sources, and articles published in English from 2010 to 2023 were reviewed following PRISMA guidelines. The analysis included seven articles, primarily employing surveys and national database analyses. The findings revealed a high prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms among healthcare workers, particularly surgeons, who experienced significant rates of shoulder, back, and neck complaints. Physical risk factors, including constrained postures and repetitive motions, were identified as significant predictors of musculoskeletal problems. Holistic treatment approaches that consider the patient\'s lifestyle, preferences, mental health, and concurrent conditions were emphasized. Conservative therapy, assistive technology, psychiatric counseling, and coping skills were recognized as beneficial interventions. The study underscores the importance of understanding and managing musculoskeletal disorders in healthcare workers, contributing to improved evaluation and management strategies in the future. Surgeons, in particular, require attention to their unique work.

The Second Wave of Look East Policy (Lep 2.0): Enhancing The Bilateral Relations Between Malaysia – Japan

Japan was among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with Malaya (then Malaysia). On 9 September 1957, nine days after Malaya achieved independence, Japan opened its embassy in Kuala Lumpur. The introduction of the Look East Policy (LEP) in 1982 strengthened the existing Malaysia-Japan bilateral relations. The main objective of this study is to examine the nature of the bilateral relationship between Malaysia and Japan during the implementation of the Look East Policy (LEP) and to identify the mutual benefits obtained by both countries in the implementation of LEP 2.0. This study adopted a qualitative analysis method by conducting intensive interviews and focus group discussion involving 13 informants who were directly involved with the implementation of LEP. The study found that, among other things, while LEP made the good practice of the Japanese people as the main driving factor, it also included the Japanese work culture, discipline, ethics, integrity, accountability, management and strategic partners. Three decades after the implementation of LEP in Malaysia, LEP took up a notch with the introduction of the Second Wave of LEP in 2012. Otherwise known as LEP 2.0, it prioritised new areas in line with technological developments in the millennial era. In line with that, LEP 2.0 also focused on the context of mutual benefit (common interest) for both countries especially in Halal hub industry and tourism.

Effects of ankle exoskeleton assistance and plantar pressure biofeedback on incline walking mechanics and muscle activity in cerebral palsy

Ankle dysfunction affects more than 50 % of people with cerebral palsy, resulting in atypical gait patterns that impede lifelong mobility. Incline walking requires increased lower limb effort and is a promising intervention that targets lower-limb extensor muscles. A concern when prescribing incline walking to people with gait deficits is that this exercise may be too challenging or reinforce unfavorable gait patterns. This study aims to investigate how ankle exoskeleton assistance and plantar pressure biofeedback would affect gait mechanics and muscle activity during incline walking in CP. We recruited twelve children and young adults with CP. Participants walked with ankle assistance alone, biofeedback alone, and the combination while we assessed ankle, knee, and hip mechanics, and plantar flexor and knee extensor activity. Compared to incline walking without assistance or biofeedback, ankle assistance alone reduced the peak biological ankle moment by 12 % (p < 0.001) and peak soleus activity by 8 % (p = 0.013); biofeedback alone increased the biological ankle moment (4 %, p = 0.037) and power (19 %, p = 0.012), and plantar flexor activities by 9 – 27 % (p ≤ 0.026); assistance-plus-biofeedback increased biological ankle and knee power by 34 % and 17 %, respectively (p ≤ 0.05). The results indicate that both ankle exoskeleton assistance and plantar pressure biofeedback can effectively modify lower limb mechanics and muscular effort during incline walking in CP. These techniques may help in establishing personalized gait training interventions by providing the ability to adjust intensity and biomechanical focus over time.

‘A storm of post-it notes’: Experiences of perceptual capacity in autism and ADHD

Lab-based tasks suggest autistic people have increased perceptual capacity (i.e. process more information at any one time) compared to non-autistic people. Here, we explored whether this increase is reflected in autistic people's day-to-day perceptual experiences and, when compared to those with ADHD/neurotypical people, whether commonalities/divergences in these experiences can illuminate differences between neurotypes. UK-based adults (108 autistic, 40 with ADHD, 79 autistic with ADHD, 85 neurotypical) completed an online survey about experiences of attention and distraction. Responses were analysed using thematic analysis. We found that participants of all neurotypes experienced periods of intense focus. Neurodivergent participants reported experiencing a barrage of information; autistic participants found this overwhelming, whereas those with ADHD referred to overload. This finding may reflect increased perceptual capacity for autistic people (adding ecological validity to previous findings regarding increased autistic perceptual capacity) vs. difficulties maintaining attentional priorities for those with ADHD. While differences between neurodivergent and neurotypical people were evident, discrepancies between experiences of neurodivergent groups were more subtle, suggesting that increased perceptual capacity may extend beyond autism. Consequently, perceptual capacity offers a useful framework to promote better understanding of one's own perceptual experiences, and to guide strategies to ameliorate any challenges encountered.

‘Paleofloodscapes’: Application of sediment source fingerprinting to track flood regime change over space and time at the Peace-Athabasca Delta, Canada

Deltas are hydrologically dynamic landscapes where river floodwaters create a mosaic of productive ecosystems that provide important services. The flood regime, however, is vulnerable to upstream anthropogenic activities, climate change and geomorphic processes. Deciphering the roles of multiple potential stressors on flood regime change is critical for developing appropriate adaptive and mitigative strategies but requires knowledge of hydrological variability at broader scales of space and time than is typically available from instrumental and observational records. At the globally recognized Peace-Athabasca Delta (Canada), the timing, magnitude and causes of reduced flooding and drawdown of perched basin water levels remain an intense focus of investigation. Here we employ novel ‘paleofloodscapes’, generated from geospatial interpolation of Bayesian mixing model fingerprinting of sediment elemental concentrations, to quantify variation in the delta's flood regime during the past ~140 years. Results reveal that flooding of the delta began to decline several decades before hydroelectric regulation of Peace River flow, not coincident with it, and the influence of floodwaters from the unregulated Athabasca River has declined more than the regulated Peace River. A key discovery is that widespread flooding of perched basins occurs when ice-jam events on the river(s) coincide with a relatively high water-plane in the delta's open-drainage network. Without knowledge of open-drainage water levels, inferred change to the flood regime of perched basins may be inaccurate when derived solely from analyses of Peace River hydrometric data and climatic records. The paleofloodscapes illustrate that rising sediment delivery caused by a natural river avulsion in 1982 may undermine the intended purpose of a proposed weir installation. The most recent paleofloodscape, developed from lake surface sediment sampling shortly after widespread flooding, demonstrates the value of the approach as a landscape hydrological monitoring tool, and is readily transferrable to other floodplains to track flood regime change.

American Merger Enforcement: A Progress Report on The Biden’s Administration’s Agenda

Abstract This Article seeks to cast a critical but balanced eye on the record of the Biden administration’s antitrust agenda. Part II offers a brief history of United States antitrust policy to couch the administration’s philosophy in its appropriate historical context. Part III examines the economic evidence, both broadly and focusing on technology – an industry of intense focus for the current administration – as a case study to answer whether radical change is really necessary or whether the landscape is too complicated and the evidence too thin to insist on sweeping reform to competition law. Finally, Part IV surveys the actions taken thus far by the Biden administration. It details the administration’s current track record in court, looks to merger enforcement statistics for guidance, and canvasses the commentary around the FTC’s proposed HSR (Hart-Scott-Rodino) Rule change and the joint FTC and Department of Justice Draft Merger Guidelines.

The Dialectics of Essayism

This article argues that our current situation is one that both prevents us from telling ‘grand narratives’ and necessitates us to ‘think big’. This makes the task of the essay today a dialectical one. Following Adorno, the essay is not merely seen as a literary genre but also as a mode of thought that reflects and criticises a particular socio-historical condition. The essayistic mode of thought attempts to reinstate or revive particularity as well as our experience of it, in a world wherein all things appear as a function or exemplar of something else. At the same time, however, and exactly through this intense focus on the particular object or experience, the essay brings to light something universal. This makes the essay the philosophical and aesthetic form par excellence of our current time.

The role of executive functions in mediating the relationship between adult ADHD symptoms and hyperfocus in university students

BackgroundHyperfocus, a state of intense, narrow and prolonged attentional focus, has been associated with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in both clinical and non-clinical populations. Hyperfocus may be explained by difficulties in executive control, typically observed in ADHD. AimsTo investigate (1) whether ADHD and executive functions (EF) are associated with hyperfocus and (2) whether EF mediate the relationship between ADHD symptoms and hyperfocus. Methods and proceduresA non-clinical sample of 380 university students (264 females) completed self-reports of ADHD, EF, hyperfocus and hyperfocus during rewarding activities. Outcomes and resultsIncreased difficulties in EF and severity of ADHD symptoms were significantly and positively correlated with a higher frequency of hyperfocus. Moreover, EF difficulties partially mediated the relationship between ADHD and hyperfocus (after controlling for sex and substance use), but not the relationship between ADHD and hyperfocus during rewarding activities. Conclusions and implicationsDifficulties in EF partially explained the higher frequency of hyperfocus, but not of hyperfocus during rewarding activities, among university students reporting more severe ADHD symptoms. Future research should investigate whether and how specific EF and other ADHD-related neurocognitive difficulties (e.g., reward sensitivity) contribute to various types of hyperfocus experiences in ADHD. What this paper adds?This paper is a first attempt to explain the relationship between adult ADHD symptoms and hyperfocus experiences. Our findings suggest that, although highly correlated, existing self-reports of hyperfocus measure different aspects of this experience: hyperfocus and reward-related hyperfocus. We replicate previous findings that indicated a greater frequency of both types of hyperfocus in ADHD. Additionally, we demonstrate a connection between EF difficulties and different aspects of hyperfocus. Finally, we extend previous findings by proposing that EF difficulties partially explain the relationship between ADHD and hyperfocus, but not the relationship between ADHD and reward-related hyperfocus. We hypothesize that other neurocognitive difficulties (e.g., reward sensitivity) may contribute to explain the relationship between ADHD and different aspects of hyperfocus.

Chiral magnets from string theory

Chiral magnets with the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction have received quite an intensive focus in condensed matter physics because of the presence of a chiral soliton lattice (CSL), an array of magnetic domain walls and anti-domain walls, and magnetic skyrmions, both of which are important ingredients in the current nanotechnology. In this paper, we realize chiral magnets in type-IIA/B string theory by using the Hanany-Witten brane configuration (consisting of D3, D5 and NS5-branes) and the fractional D2 and D6 branes on the Eguchi-Hanson manifold. In the both cases, we put constant non-Abelian magnetic fluxes on higher dimensional (flavor) D-branes, turning them into magnetized D-branes. The O(3) sigma model with an easy-axis or easy-plane potential and the DM interaction is realized on the worldvolume of the lower dimensional (color) D-branes. The ground state is the ferromagnetic (uniform) phase and the color D-brane is straight when the DM interaction is small compared with the scalar mass. However, when the DM interaction is larger, the uniform state is no longer stable and the ground state is inhomogeneous: the CSL phases and helimagnetic phase. In this case, the color D-brane is no longer straight but is snaky (zigzag) when the DM interaction is smaller (larger) than a critical value. A magnetic domain wall in the ferromagnetic phase is realized as a kinky D-brane. We further construct magnetic skyrmions in the ferromagnetic phase, realized as D1-branes (fractional D0-branes) in the former (latter) configuration. We see that the host D2-brane is bent around the position of a D0-brane as a magnetic skyrmion. Finally, we construct, in the ferromagnetic phase, domain-wall skyrmions, that is, composite states of a domain wall and skyrmions, and find that the domain wall is no longer flat in the vicinity of the skyrmion. Consequently, a kinky D2-brane worldvolume is pulled or pushed in the vicinity of the D0-brane depending on the sign of the skyrmion topological charge.

Progress of 2D MXene as an Electrode Architecture for Advanced Supercapacitors: A Comprehensive Review.

Supercapacitors, designed to store more energy and be proficient in accumulating more energy than conventional batteries with numerous charge-discharge cycles, have been developed in response to the growing demand for energy. Transition metal carbides/nitrides called MXenes have been the focus of researchers' cutting-edge research in energy storage. The 2D-layered MXenes are a hopeful contender for the electrode material due to their unique properties, such as high conductivity, hydrophilicity, tunable surface functional groups, better mechanical properties, and outstanding electrochemical performance. This newly developed pseudocapacitive substance benefits electrochemical energy storage because it is rich in interlayer ion diffusion pathways and ion storage sites. Making MXene involves etching the MAX phase precursor with suitable etchants, but different etching methods have distinct effects on the morphology and electrochemical properties. It is an overview of the recent progress of MXene and its structure, synthesis, and unique properties. There is a strong emphasis on the effects of shape, size, electrode design, electrolyte behavior, and other variables on the charge storage mechanism and electrochemical performance of MXene-based supercapacitors. The electrochemical application of MXene and the remarkable research achievements in MXene-based composites are an intense focus. Finally, in light of further research and potential applications, the challenges and future perspectives that MXenes face and the prospects that MXenes present have been highlighted.

Normalizing need not be the norm: count-based math for analyzing single-cell data.

Counting transcripts of mRNA are a key method of observation in modern biology. With advances in counting transcripts in single cells (single-cell RNA sequencing or scRNA-seq), these data are routinely used to identify cells by their transcriptional profile, and to identify genes with differential cellular expression. Because the total number of transcripts counted per cell can vary for technical reasons, the first step of many commonly used scRNA-seq workflows is to normalize by sequencing depth, transforming counts into proportional abundances. The primary objective of this step is to reshape the data such that cells with similar biological proportions of transcripts end up with similar transformed measurements. But there is growing concern that normalization and other transformations result in unintended distortions that hinder both analyses and the interpretation of results. This has led to an intense focus on optimizing methods for normalization and transformation of scRNA-seq data. Here, we take an alternative approach, by avoiding normalization and transformation altogether. We abandon the use of distances to compare cells, and instead use a restricted algebra, motivated by measurement theory and abstract algebra, that preserves the count nature of the data. We demonstrate that this restricted algebra is sufficient to draw meaningful and practical comparisons of gene expression through the use of the dot product and other elementary operations. This approach sidesteps many of the problems with common transformations, and has the added benefit of being simpler and more intuitive. We implement our approach in the package countland, available in python and R.

Enhanced detection stability in femtosecond time resolution transient absorption system from a tight-focusing filamentation

Femtosecond time resolution transient absorption spectroscopy (FTRTAS) is a powerful tool to obtain ultrafast photoexcitation dynamics of matter. The rapid development of photosensitive materials such as bioprotein and advanced photoelectric nanocrystal put forward higher stability requirements for the technique of FTRTAS. In this paper, we propose a strategy to establish a tight-focusing stable femtosecond laser filamentation system to optimize the stability of probe pulses, and finally achieve highly sensitive detection of weak signals. It is found that intense geometric focusing with short-focus lens can effectively reduce the self-focusing effect and plasma defocusing effect in the process of filamentation, avoid multiple filamentation, and promote a stable and tight femtosecond laser filamentation in the crystal. The results indicate that the supercontinuum white light (WL) pulse generated from 50 mm lens tight-focusing filamentation displays a comprehensive high detection ability with an enhanced stability and appropriate power and width, which improves the performance of the FTRTAS system and increases the detection sensitivity from conventional mode of 0.75 mOD to 0.3 mOD. The optimized FTRTAS system shows a great performance in detecting weak signals and tracking carrier evolution of perovskite and carotenoid after photoexcitation. These results demonstrate that the optimization of the femtosecond laser filamentation system can effectively improve the signal-to-noise ratio, and provide a valuable strategy for optimizing the FTRTAS system.

Who Learns Fastest, Wins: Lean Startup and Discovery Driven Growth

Most entrepreneurial ventures fail. Most corporate ventures fail too, often more expensively. Against this backdrop, Lean Startup and Discovery-Driven Growth (DDG) are methods that emphasize rapid learning, resource parsimony, and an intense focus on validating assumptions as ways of reducing the cost and risk of failure. Lean Startup had its roots in and makes a contribution to entrepreneurship; Discovery-Driven Growth emerged instead from the study of corporate innovation efforts. Both acknowledge that planning methods based on low-uncertainty situations fall short when faced with high-uncertainty contexts. DDG suggests five design steps that interact: defining success, checking for realism, defining operations, documenting assumptions, and planning through checkpoints. Similar to Lean Startup, it emphasizes an experimental approach to learning. Different than Lean Startup, it is less prescriptive about the method and embraces wider uncertainties than Lean Startup's focus on product-market fit. In a context that has been described as an “innovation arms race,” both methods are a major advance over traditional planning processes because they both emphasize rapid learning. As is rapidly becoming clear, in more and more parts of the evolving digital economy, whoever learns the fastest wins.

Impact of Glasgow Climate Pact and Updated Nationally Determined Contribution on Mercury Mitigation Abiding by the Minamata Convention in India.

India is one of the largest emitters of atmospheric anthropogenic mercury (Hg) and the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. In the past decade, India has been committed to the Minamata Convention (2017) in addition to the Paris Climate Change Agreement (2015) and the Glasgow Pact (2021). More than 70% to 80% of India's mercury and carbon dioxide emissions occur because of anthropogenic activities from coal usage. This study explores nine policy scenarios, the nationally determined contribution (NDC) scenario, and two deep decarbonization pathways (DDP) with and without mercury control technologies in the energy and carbon-intensive sectors using a bottom-up, techno-economic model, AIM/Enduse India. It is estimated that NDC scenarios reduce mercury emissions by 4%-10% by 2070; while coal intensive (DDP-CCS) pathways and focus on renewables (DDP-R) reduce emissions by 10%-54% and 15%-59%, respectively. Increase in the renewables share (power sector) can result in a significant reduction in the costs of additional pollution-abating technologies in the DDP-R scenario when compared with the coal intensive DDP-CCS scenario. However, the industry sector, especially iron and steel and metal production, will require stringent policies to encourage installation of pollution-abating technologies to mitigate mercury emissions under all the scenarios.