Mainstream Research Research Articles

Analyses of mwoch: Acholi nicknames

Rationale of Study – Mwoch is an Acholi term for various poetic pronouncements. Depending on the frequency of use and popular reaction, such pronouncements can define individual identity or become community nicknames that work like national anthems. In general, mwoch are folkloric, metaphoric or panegyric statements of opinion on life; in this article, we translate mwoch as nicknames whose main cultural landscape is the Acholi of Northern Uganda. Methodology – Discourse analysis, participant observation, and interviews dating back to the 1940s were among the parameters we used. Yet, we fear that overindulgence in mainstream research methods will ‘get us stuck in a tar baby’ (Disney Walt, 1946). Findings – Though ‘getting stuck in a tar baby’ is culturally North American, it is similar to the Acholi folktale entitled ododo pa apwoyo, oculli ki won poto ngor (tale of the hare, wildcat and the owner of a field of cowpeas). The Hare and Wildcat used to steal the cowpeas; the owner noted goings-on but could not catch the culprits. The theft continued until the owner conceived and crafted a beautiful girl (tar baby) from the latex of a rubber tree and placed it in his field of cowpeas. When the two came to steal the crop, they saw the tar baby, engaged with it and got stuck. Implications – Although Acholi and American folktales strike similar notes, Acholi folktales are often different since they are largely verbal rather than visual and metaphoric rather than overt. Unless analysed and discussed, meanings in such expressions may remain hidden and rather useless to stakeholders, including scholars. Originality – This is an original article whose main goal is to unravel the meanings, if not the knowledge, of a few selected Acholi nicknames.

Research on autonomous obstacle avoidance and automatic obstacle avoidance of minimally invasive surgical robots

Abstract. With the development of modern society, people pay more and more attention to health and safety, especially to the development of medical techniques. The demand for higher medical standards has led to minimally invasive surgery becoming a better choice for patients. Minimally invasive surgeries involve less trauma, lower blood loss, quicker recovery, and a lower risk of infection. However, compared to traditional surgeries, these surgeries demand higher precision and skill from the surgeons, making surgical robots the preferred tool for most minimally invasive operations. Surgical robots can eliminate the surgeon's hand tremors during the operation, enhance the precision of surgical operations, and offer greater flexibility with their small end size inside human organs. Despite these advantages, minimally invasive surgical robots can not avoid obstacles and plan the path of human organs and cavities in real-time. This paper reviews the dynamic path planning and real-time obstacle avoidance of modern minimally invasive surgical robots, including their development progress and research directions. It also introduces in detail the mainstream research methods of path planning and real-time obstacle avoidance in modern research. Finally, the current technical challenges and the prediction of the future research direction are pointed out and the reference suggestions are provided.

Catalytic oxidation of CO over CuO@TiO2 catalyst: The relationship between activity and adsorption performance

AbstractThe emission of CO toxic gases seriously endangers environmental safety and human health. At present, the use of catalysts for catalytic oxidation of CO has become the mainstream research direction. In this study, CuO@TiO2 catalysts with different ratios were prepared by solvent hydrothermal method, and the effects of reaction pretreatment temperature and other factors on the catalytic oxidation performance of CO were investigated. The experimental results show that the catalyst can achieve 100% conversion of CO at 115°C under the condition of pretreament at 350°C for 2 h. This excellent performance is due to the uniform distribution of the active component on the surface of the TiO2 support, and the large pore structure constructed by the solvent hydrothermal method enhances the adsorption and activation of CO. This work provides an idea for the preparation of CO oxidation catalysts.

Impact of mandatory environmental information disclosure on the capital cost: Evidence from listed companies in China

Mandatory environmental information disclosure is characterized by formal environmental regulation and that the content of the disclosure promotes public participation and oversight in the environmental field. This paper studies the impact of mandatory environmental information disclosure (EID) enforcement in China on corporate capital cost using a difference-in-difference model. The results indicate that mandatory EID increases debt capital cost, but has no significant impact on equity capital cost, which differs from mainstream research that suggest EID can reduce capital cost. Mechanism tests reveal that mandatory EID raises debt capital cost by deteriorating the financial performance of enterprises. Further research finds that the mandatory EID also reduce enterprise's total debt amount and restructure debt structure by increasing short-term liability and decreasing long-term liability. In addition, the increasing effect of mandatory EID on the debt capital cost is more pronounced among non-SOE corporations, small-scale corporations and recession corporations. This study provides new empirical evidence for the impact effectiveness of mandatory EID and suggests different research views in the related field.

A Study of Realistic Love View in Love in a Fallen City

Love in a Fallen City is an early work by Eileen Chang, written during the war in Hong Kong. The work describes the tug of war in the relationships between Bai Liusu and Fan Liuyuan. It is about love, marriage, and human nature. This paper talks about the realistic love view in Love in a Fallen City in three parts, the love view shown in the work, and the influence of the author’s life experience and the historical background. This paper adds research about why the author’s writing style is different from mainstream research about the character image analysis of the work and the comparison between works. The author believes that the love view expressed by Eileen Chang in her works has realistic and sad colors. Eileen Chang uses the detailed portrayal of the protagonist’s inner thoughts and behaviors to echo real life. The seemingly happy ending also implies the sadness of the couple’s Superficial harmony and spiritual separation. At the same time, the content of the work is closely related to the author’s own experience. Eileen Chang incorporated her own experiences and the background of the war when creating the protagonist’s experience, which makes the content and style of her work extremely realistic. Therefore, it has become one of Eileen Chang’s most popular works.

A survey on person and vehicle re‐identification

AbstractPerson/vehicle re‐identification aims to use technologies such as cross‐camera retrieval to associate the same person (same vehicle) in the surveillance videos at different locations, different times, and images captured by different cameras so as to achieve cross‐surveillance image matching, person retrieval and trajectory tracking. It plays an extremely important role in the fields of intelligent security, criminal investigation etc. In recent years, the rapid development of deep learning technology has significantly propelled the advancement of re‐identification (Re‐ID) technology. An increasing number of technical methods have emerged, aiming to enhance Re‐ID performance. This paper summarises four popular research areas in the current field of re‐identification, focusing on the current research hotspots. These areas include the multi‐task learning domain, the generalisation learning domain, the cross‐modality domain, and the optimisation learning domain. Specifically, the paper analyses various challenges faced within these domains and elaborates on different deep learning frameworks and networks that address these challenges. A comparative analysis of re‐identification tasks from various classification perspectives is provided, introducing mainstream research directions and current achievements. Finally, insights into future development trends are presented.

A Systematic Literature Review for Investigating DevOps Metrics to Implement in Software Development Organizations

ABSTRACTDevOps is a collaborative software development process where practitioners work as a team to continuously develop, deploy, and deliver software. DevOps practices still need to be mature, and practitioners face numerous challenges while considering DevOps as a software development process. The mainstream research community has helped simplify the DevOps adoption process and eliminate complexities by developing DevOps maturity models. However, the current maturity frameworks cannot measure every component of DevOps and do not mention metrics as parameters for measuring different DevOps practices or features. Therefore, this study aims to identify metrics for measuring practices and activities responsible for DevOps implementation. The systematic literature review (SLR) method was used to determine the metrics needed to measure DevOps practices. Using SLR, we have identified 32 metrics from 57 articles. The metrics identified in this study can be used to measure the impact of the practices adopted for DevOps implementation within software development organizations. Furthermore, we divided the identified metrics into Dev and Ops categories and five significant categories based on the DevOps lifecycle. The classification of metrics in our study into diverse regions provides a conceptual framework and understanding of DevOps measures.

SMEs’ strategic orientation through Miles and Snow typology: a synthesis of literature and future directions

Purpose The purpose of this research is to present a systematic analysis of consequents and antecedents of strategy and performance. To acheive this, this systematic review article analyzes and synthesizes mainstream research on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) where Miles and Snow typology was used for strategic orientation of the SMEs. The specific focus of the research is to develop a conceptual framework showing consequents and antecedents of the strategic orientation. Design/methodology/approach This study uses systematic literature review (SLR) method to identify, summarize and synthesize literature on Miles and Snow typology. Preferred reporting method for systematic reviews and meta-analyses to ensure adherence to systematic approach. The key words search consists of the words: “Miles and Snow”, “Miles and Snow” and “miles-snow” from Web of Science and Scopus databases for sample articles. Findings The trend of research on SMEs using Miles and Snow typology is on the rise with a shift from developed countries to the developing ones. Support for strategy-performance relationship hypotheses is overwhelming but the traditional view is in decline while new antecedent and consequent variables are being added. Mediator and moderating variables are also identified. Originality/value The SLR where a synthesis approach was applied for finding antecedents and consequent variables of strategy-performance relationship along with a presentation of conceptual framework makes this research unique. Additionally, the article presents the trends of research over the time based on timeframe, regions, methodological approaches and hypotheses support.

A Categorical Framework of Ethical Leadership for Public Organizations: Testing a Multi-Dimensional Model of Local Government Managers

Organizational managers serve as ethical role models in their capacity as leaders. Mainstream research on ethics leadership is multidisciplinary, although empirical research is dominated by business administration and psychology scholars with less empirical work in public administration. This article develops and tests a categorical framework for ethical leadership behavior by applying it to data from a national survey of Chief Administrative Officers (CAO) of local governments in the United States. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) is used to test six dimensions of ethical leadership behavior and support is found for the model. This research is novel since it extends the ethical leadership research in business administration and psychology to local government managers and by extension, to public managers in general.

Explaining Gender Neutrality in Capital Punishment Research by Way of a Systematic Review of Studies Citing the ‘Espy File’

Peer-reviewed journal articles provide the data for this study, given that their findings undergird the quantitative data referenced by prominent organizations, courts, and policy-makers. The “Espy file”, based on the research of Major Watt Espy, Jr., is used to identify studies due to the dataset’s esteem and prolific usage. It is the largest known dataset of men’s and women’s executions in the United States since 1608 and has been of monumental significance to capital punishment research. The protocol established by the Preferred Reporting of Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) is the methodology followed due to its conformity to scientific standards and acceptance in scholarly communities. The initial sampling frame involved 613 studies which were narrowed to 79 peer-reviewed journal articles that cited or utilized the Espy file. The empirical findings justify the contention that past and current studies, while interdisciplinary, require new voices and approaches to contribute to the study of capital punishment. Mainstream death penalty research does not generally incorporate critical theories including, for example, gender, intersectional, Black feminist, Queer, and other theories that focus less on quantitative data and more on how capital punishment is a reflection of institutional, historical, and social processes that are hierarchical and defined by power. The findings suggest that not only are executed women removed from many analyses, but so are inclusionary methodologies and theoretical approaches that could bolster the legitimacy of academic studies (inside academia as well as the judicial system) and our understanding of capital punishment in general.

A Bibliometric Analysis of Inflammation in Hydrocephalus

Hydrocephalus ranks among the most prevalent neurosurgical conditions worldwide, with a growing body of literature suggesting a potential association with inflammation. Employing bibliometric methods, this research visually analyzes the scholarly output on inflammation in hydrocephalus over the past 2 decades and provides a scientific framework for delineating research pathways and addressing key issues in this field. Publications sourced from the Web of Science Core Collection as of July 18, 2024 encompassed articles and reviews in English spanning from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2024. Statistical analyses of countries, institutions, authors, references, and keywords were conducted utilizing VOSviewer1.6.20 and CiteSpace6.3. R1. A total of 424 reviews and articles were included in the analysis, showcasing a rising trajectory in publications concerning inflammation and hydrocephalus over time. The United States emerged as the leading contributor in terms of publication output, with Harvard Medical School topping the list of institutions. Notably, World Neurosurgery and Journal of Neurosurgery emerged as the most prolific journals and the most frequently cited, respectively. Authors Keep, Richard F., and Xi, Guo Hua, demonstrated the highest productivity, while Karimy, J.K., emerged as the author with the highest co-citation count. Following thorough analysis, the predominant keywords identified include mechanisms, management, inflammation, posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus, cerebrospinal fluid, surgery, microglia, risk factors, and choroid plexus, reflecting current research hotspots likely to persist. This study will help researchers determine the mainstream research directions and latest hotspots of inflammation in hydrocephalus and provide a reference for revealing the molecular mechanism of hydrocephalus.

Mission-oriented innovation for sustainable polymers in liquid formulation.

Industrial chemical producers and formulators are increasingly conscious of their responsibility in stewarding planetary resources and minimizing harm to the environment. In 2019, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) engaged an industry task force from across the value chain to drive technical research to classify a new class of polymer-polymers in liquid formulation (PLFs). Building on this, the task force called for step change in sustainability practices for PLFs and instigated a design and development process to identify research themes and priorities that could accelerate innovation in this area. However, a key challenge was that as a novel classification, PLFs were largely unknown outside the chemistry community and entirely absent from the mainstream research agenda. To establish the demand-pull requirements of the value chain for sustainable PLFs, the RSC used a 'mission-oriented' innovation framework to enable the taskforce to co-design an ideal-type portfolio of research and innovation projects, and to set out a realistic roadmap for transition. This perspective article presents a summary of the activities carried out by the task force in its pursuit of mission-oriented innovation for PLFs and describes the strategic design method used to enable cross-value chain consensus on action for PLF sustainability, build system-wide innovation ecosystems and explore common-good scenarios. This article is part of the discussion meeting issue 'Green carbon for the chemical industry of the future'.

Recent advances on the electrocatalytic oxidation of biomass-derived aldehydes

The escalating demand for sustainable and environmentally benign chemical processes has driven the exploration of biomass as an alternative to non-renewable resources. Electrocatalytic upgrading of biomass-derived aldehydes plays a crucial role in biomass refining, and has become a frontier of mainstream research. This paper reviews the recent advances on the electrocatalytic oxidation of typical biomass-derived aldehydes (5-hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural, glucose, xylose, vanillin and benzaldehyde, etc.). The research presented in this review covers a wide range of oxidation mechanisms for each aldehyde. It is evident from the current literature that challenges related to the comprehensiveness of mechanistic studies, catalyst stability, and reaction scalability remain, but the rapid progress offers hope for future advancements. Finally, we elucidate the challenges in this domain and provide the perspectives on future developments. This review corroborates the significance of investigating the electrocatalytic oxidation of biomass-derived aldehydes and emphasizes the need for continued research to refine these processes for industrial applications.

“The seven principles of universal design of research”: how to increase user diversity in mainstream research

PurposeUser diversity has been discussed in many fields of study for decades. Nevertheless, some cohorts are rarely included in mainstream research. According to the concept of universal design of research (UDR), people with disabilities should be more often included in participant pools. There is, however, a need for certain methodological considerations to achieve UDR.Design/methodology/approachThe suggested guidelines are based upon existing guidelines and research in addition to key takeaways from studies conducted by the authors over the past 15 years. Six studies are used to show how the guidelines can be applied in research involving three example cohorts, namely people with dyslexia, aphasia and intellectual disability.FindingsExtensive guidelines are needed to increase user inclusion in mainstream studies and support researchers in conducting purposeful and ethical research. The suggested guidelines should be examined for other cohorts to ensure that all types of user needs are accommodated.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes with methodological approaches to enhance inclusion of all types of participants in mainstream research.Originality/valueThe main contribution is The seven principles of UDR, a further development of the original principles for UDR.

Effects of transformational leadership and organizational climate on project performance in industrial revolution 5.0: a systematic literature review

Purpose The relationships between transformational leadership (TL), organizational climate (OC) and project performance have been investigated by previous studies, but no review of existing studies has systematically analyzed the effects of TL and OC on project performance in the industrial revolution (IR) 5.0 era. Therefore, this study aims to conduct a systematic literature review on the effects of TL and OC on project performance in IR 5.0, and to identify mainstream research topics, research gaps and future research directions. Design/methodology/approach To do this, a total of 53 included journal articles were obtained after initially retrieving 648 documents from the Scopus database by following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. It consists of four main steps, namely, identification of documents, screening, eligibility and included articles. In addition, science mapping analyses were conducted for keyword co-occurrence and document analyses, which aided in identifying the mainstream research topics, research gaps and future research directions. Findings The results report the annual publication trends, keywords and document analyses. Furthermore, a detailed qualitative discussion highlighted four mainstream research topics including TL in project management; the relationship between TL, OC and innovation; safety climate; and OC in project management. Moreover, this review study identified four research gaps and future research directions aligned with the mainstream research topics. They include: longitudinal investigations and multinational corporation surveys in TL; scope and longitudinal data in innovation; mono-method bias and universality of safety climate; and more comprehensive analyses of OC. Originality/value This review study would contribute to not only advancing the effects of TL and OC on project performance in IR 5.0, but also enabling project managers to understand TL or OC issues to improve project performance.

A Possible Link between Cell Plasticity and Renin Expression in the Collecting Duct: A Narrative Review.

The hormone renin is produced in the kidney by the juxtaglomerular cells. It is the rate-limiting factor in the circulating renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), which contributes to electrolyte, water, and blood pressure homeostasis. In the kidneys, the distal tubule and the collecting duct are the key target segments for RAAS. The collecting duct is important for urine production and also for salt, water, and acid-base homeostasis. The critical functional role of the collecting duct is mediated by the principal and the intercalated cells and is regulated by different hormones like aldosterone and vasopressin. The collecting duct is not only a target for hormones but also a place of hormone production. It is accepted that renin is produced in the collecting duct at a low level. Several studies have described that the cells in the collecting duct exhibit plasticity properties because the ratio of principal to intercalated cells can change under specific circumstances. This narrative review focuses on two aspects of the collecting duct that remain somehow aside from mainstream research, namely the cell plasticity and the renin expression. We discuss the link between these collecting duct features, which we see as a promising area for future research given recent findings.

Artificial Intelligence in Net-Zero Carbon Emissions for Sustainable Building Projects: A Systematic Literature and Science Mapping Review

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as an effective solution to alleviate excessive carbon emissions in sustainable building projects. Although there are numerous applications of AI, there is no state-of-the-art review of how AI applications can reduce net-zero carbon emissions (NZCEs) for sustainable building projects. Therefore, this review study aims to conduct a systematic literature and science mapping review of AI applications in NZCEs for sustainable building projects, thereby expediting the realization of NZCEs in building projects. A mixed-method approach (i.e., systematic literature review and science mapping) consisting of four comprehensive stages was used to retrieve relevant published articles from the Scopus database. A total of 154 published articles were retrieved and used to conduct science mapping analyses and qualitative discussions, including mainstream research topics, gaps, and future research directions. Six mainstream research topics were identified and discussed. These include (1) life cycle assessment and carbon footprint, (2) practical applications of AI technology, (3) multi-objective optimization, (4) energy management and energy efficiency, (5) carbon emissions from buildings, and (6) decision support systems and sustainability. In addition, this review suggests six research gaps and develops a framework depicting future research directions. The findings contribute to advancing AI applications in reducing carbon emissions in sustainable building projects and can help researchers and practitioners to realize its economic and environmental benefits.

Research regarding the simulation of the autonomy for the electric vehicles in the case of the WLTC test cycle

Abstract In current mainstream research, energy consumption and autonomy are just a few of the the major objectives anticipated for electric road vehicles. The production of electric vehicles is continuously expanding, offering to the market a large variety of constructive variants in order to satisfy the requirements for their exploitation. Also, in the current energy context, it is expected from the electric car manufacturers, to deliver high quality models which can be characterized as the actual alternatives to actual existing solutions equipped with an internal combustion engine. Under these circumstances, the continuous research it is a high priority for everyone electric vehicle producers, where simulation on the computer is basically not absent as a go-between step prior to the validation of the final draft proposals. According to these assumptions, in the first part of the article you will find the AMESim simulation platform points, where it describes the model made with it and the simulated test cycle. In the second part of the article, as a consequence of the simulation of the experimental electric vehicle, are highlighted some aspects of the autonomy behaviour in the case of simulation on the World-wide harmonized Light duty Test Cycle (WLTC), for all four speed zones specific to it.

사회적 연결은 득인가 실인가: 사회적 연결의 이점과 비용에 관한 연구 동향과 과제

Network theory has traditionally focused on social ties as its primary subject of study, investigating patterns of linkages and relationships among actors and the ensuing social structures from various perspectives. This paper reviews the extant literature on both the positive and negative effects of social ties and social networks. It transcends the mainstream research tradition that has predominantly emphasized positive impacts, presenting domestic and international studies that explore the constraints and costs engendered by social ties, including the excessive homogenization they can cause. Specifically, the paper delves into Granovetter’s (1973) “strength of weak ties” theory, Burt’s (1992, 1995) structural hole theory, which addresses both the patterns of connections and relationships between actors and the resultant structures, and Coleman's (1990) concept of network closure, which underscores the overall structure of social networks. In doing so, this paper presents core tenets of these theories and critically evaluates the current state of knowledge as presented in leading domestic and international management and sociology journals. Finally, considering the implications of networks and their social ties for organizational research, alongside the ease with which individuals can now join various networks through the rapid development of online and mobile social networking sites, the paper underscores the importance of focusing on the costs and constraints that actors face when navigating numerous social connections. It also highlights the necessity of being wary of confirmation bias caused by suggestion algorithms embedded in online sites and proposes directions for future research.

The dual effects of digital inclusive finance on the urban-rural income gap: An empirical investigation in China's Yangtze River Delta region

The digital development of finance has positive implications for improving income inequality. As one of the mainstream research findings, the view that digital inclusive finance could alleviate the urban-rural income gap has been reaffirmed. Further empirical evidence reveals that digital inclusive finance bridges the urban-rural income gap by enhancing deposit behavior and promoting innovation activities. Compared with large population scale cities, the development of digital inclusive finance in small ones has a more significant reduction effect on the urban-rural income gap.