Non-traditional Approach Research Articles

“Cutting Editors Faster Than We’re Cutting Reporters”: Influences of The Athletic on Sports Journalism Quality and Standards

Since its 2016 launch, negative attitudes toward The Athletic, a network of hyperlocal subscription sports news sites, have resonated throughout the journalism community because of the new media startup’s nontraditional approach, one centered on hiring established journalists from the hometown newspaper. Therefore, to accurately paint a picture of The Athletic’s perceived impact on print journalism, 22 in-depth interviews were conducted with newspaper sports editors. This analysis reveals that most sports editors were generally accepting of The Athletic and viewed its presence as reinforcement that newspapers need to stick to daily coverage to stand out in the crowded sports media marketplace.

Multi objective optimization of wire electrical discharge machining on Inconel 718 using Taguchi grey relational analysis

Inconel 718 one of the Superalloy which is a high performance material that possess special features such as better mechanical properties, creep strength, oxidation and corrosion resistance and thermal resistance and considered as a difficult to machine material because of its poor machinability by traditional machining methods due to its low thermal diffusivity and high strength. To overcome such kind of shortcomings, nontraditional approach of material removal processes have been developed and expected to be a suitable substitute method for traditional methods of machining. Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM) is one of the variant developed from the perception of Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) process that is predominantly employed for machining of hard materials and also for making complex shaped components. In this present work, the machinability study on WEDM of Inconel 718 has been discussed with special attention on parametric optimization by Taguchi’s single response approach. The experimental runs are planned by Taguchi’s DoE approach. The experiments have been performed by considering the process variables such as pulse on time, pulse off time and peak current at three various levels. The ascendency of process variables are determined by ANOVA analysis. Taguchi - Grey methodology has been adopted for the WEDM process and combination of process variables are determined for accomplishing improved multi performance characteristics.

Effect of three different Pilates sessions on energy expenditure and aerobic metabolism in healthy females

The Pilates method has become a popular exercise modality. However, there is little information on the energy expenditure (EE) and aerobic metabolism involved in a Pilates session. This study aimed to compare the EE of three different types of Pilates sessions. Thirty-three sedentary women (22.03 ± 3.32 years old) performed three Pilates sessions: (1) a traditional session (TS): single set, low volume of repetitions, and long rest interval; (2) non-traditional session (NSS): single set, a high volume of repetitions, and short rest interval; and (3) non-traditional session (NMS): multiple sets and short rest interval. In each session, EE per minute (EE/min), total EE (TEE), oxygen consumption (V’O2), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and metabolic equivalent were determined via a gas analyzer. Heart rate (HR) was measured via a HR monitor. Repeated measures two-way ANOVA (time × session) followed by Tukey test were used to compare differences in each variable for the sessions (P ≤ 0.05). When compared to the TS session, the non-traditional sessions resulted in greater EE/min, TEE, V’O2, RER, and mean HR (P < 0.001). TEE in NMS was also greater than NSS (P < 0.001). Our findings indicate that a non-traditional approach to Pilates, with multiple sets, high repetitions, and a shorter rest interval induces greater metabolic cost than a traditional Pilates session. However, the total caloric cost of high-volume protocols such as the NMS performed in this study is small compared to aerobic exercise and does not contribute significantly to daily EE.

Multiple dye interactions in plastic scintillators: Effects on pulse shape discrimination

The scintillation process in plastic scintillators has been studied with mixed systems containing high concentrations of multiple fluorescence dyes. It has been shown that the triplet–triplet interaction phenomena leading to the production of delayed light and pulse shape discrimination (PSD) can vary depending on the triplet energies of the interacting dyes. At small differences between the first excited triplet state energies, found to be below 0.1 eV, a pair of interacting dyes of different molecular species can be involved in heterogeneous excitation migration and triplet–triplet annihilation that result in the enhancement of delayed light and PSD, due to the engagement of both dyes in the process. At differences above ∼0.27 eV, excitation trapping on the lower energy triplet molecules leads to conditions when triplet–triplet migration and annihilation can proceed only homogeneously between molecules of the same species. The results explain the different effects produced by the selection of fluorescent dyes in previously reported PSD systems containing one primary and one secondary dyes. They also demonstrate a non-traditional approach to the design of new plastic scintillators with multiple dyes that, at improved scintillation and PSD performance, may simplify the production process.

Multi aspects optimization on spark erosion machining of Incoloy 800 by Taguchi Grey approach

Incoloy 800 is one among the difficult to machine nickel based superalloy and comprehensively used in high temperature environments. It has better strength and lower thermal diffusion that leads to deprived machining by traditional methods of machining. To overcome such kind of shortcomings, nontraditional approach of material removal processes have been developed and expected to be a suitable substitute method for traditional methods of machining. Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM) is one of the variant evolved from the perception of Electrical Discharge Machining process that is predominantly employed for machining of hard materials and also for making complex shaped components. In this study, an experimental study has been done on WEDM of nickel based superalloy and primarily focusing on optimizing the process variables for machining of Incoloy 800 by using Taguchi’s analysis. The experimental runs are planned by Taguchi’s DoE approach. The experiments have been performed by considering the process parameters such as pulse on time, pulse off time and peak current at three various levels. Material Removal Rate (MRR), Surface Roughness (SR) and Overcut (OC) are the desired performance measures considered in this present analysis. Taguchi’s analysis and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) has been used to determine the significance and influence of independent variables on the desired dependent variables. Taguchi - Grey methodology has been adopted for the WEDM process and combination of process parameters are determined for obtaining improved multi performance characteristics. The performance of the selected machining processes has been improved by proposed approach.

RAN-aware adaptive video caching in multi-access edge computing networks

Videos are expected to be a primary contributor to an anticipated massive surge in mobile network data. Caching the videos within the mobile network can significantly reduce the network load and Operational Expenditure (OPEX) for mobile network operators. Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) can enable the video caching by providing processing and storage capabilities within the network. However, content providers usually employ Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) for video streaming, which contains multiple bit-rate representations of videos. Constrained by its capacity, MEC can not cache all representations of popular videos. Video transcoding mitigates this issue to a certain extent by converting the higher available video bit-rate to a requested lower one; but, it can quickly exhaust the available edge processing power by transcoding a large number of videos in parallel. Therefore, caching appropriate video bit-rates that can serve the maximum number of users in the network is a non-trivial problem. To resolve this problem and to efficiently utilize the resources (processing and storage) at the network edge, we took a non-traditional approach for video caching that utilizes the network information provided by MEC's Radio Network Information (RNI) Application Program Interface (API). In particular, RNI API provides Radio Access Network (RAN) status information that can be employed to estimate the probability distribution of requested video qualities. In this work, we formulate the video caching problem as an Integer Linear Programming (ILP) for the hit-rate maximization. Since the optimization problem requires the knowledge of all future requests, it obviously cannot be used in real-time. Therefore, we develop a RAN-aware Adaptive VidEo cachiNg (RAVEN) method that uses network information to make an informed decision for video bit-rate selection in video caching coupled with transcoding and maximizes the number of served users form the network edge. Simulation results demonstrate that the RAVEN significantly outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms in the domain and performs closer to the optimal solution.

The construction of “post-hegemonic multipolarity” in Eurasia: A comparative perspective

The 2000s witnessed tectonic changes in the pattern of international relations. Central to these changes is the crisis of global governance and the multipolarization of world politics. Against this backdrop, Eurasian regionalism led by China and Russia is rising as a major force in geopolitical multipolarization. Recent research in international relations attests to growing interest in Eurasian regionalism, with case studies focusing on individual regional mechanisms. Almost entirely absent, however, is comparative research as to how alternative initiatives may promote Eurasian cooperation in a post-hegemonic direction. My research seeks to advance both our empirical and theoretical knowledge of this emerging area. How do geopolitical and economic realignments shape Eurasian cooperation and conflicts in a post-hegemonic direction? What are the historical and institutional settings that are helping Eurasian countries to implement a post-hegemonic agenda of regional cooperation? Using incorporated comparison, this article focuses on the cases of the SCO, the CSTO, the EAEU, and the AIIB; these are regarded as the most coherent and inclusive alternative governance initiatives in the Eurasian region. I argue that post-hegemonic multipolarity in Eurasia finds its strongest expression in regional governance focused on security and economic cooperation at the expense of US global hegemony. These governance mechanisms arise from several competing but complementary initiatives led by China and Russia. A striking characteristic of these mechanisms is that their institutional design reflects a nontraditional security approach, combining conventional security governance with efforts at market and financial and academic integration, business community building, and youth mobilization. The post-hegemonic character of Eurasian regionalism mainly lies in how it provides competing, but coalescing and coexisting schemes for regional governance, which redress Sino-Russian competition into a peaceful framework and do not call for a frontal attack on the US. Their prospects are threatened by Russia and China’s current economic challenges.

The bright and dark sides of humorous response to online customer complaint

PurposeDisplaying a sense of humour provides various interpersonal benefits including reducing tension and promoting conflict resolution, but should a firm use humour in response to publicly viewable online customer complaints after a service failure? The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that a firm’s use of humour in response to negative online consumer reviews has both positive and negative effects on perceptions of corporate image from a customer-as-onlooker perspective.Design/methodology/approachThree experimental studies are conducted and analysis of variance is used to empirically test the hypotheses.FindingsAlthough humorous responses have an unfavourable influence on perceived trustworthiness of the firm, they have a favourable influence on perceived excitingness of the firm. The former influence is tied to lower perceived firm sincerity, whereas the latter is tied to higher perceived firm innovativeness and coolness. Furthermore, humour within the customer complaint itself is shown to moderate the influence of humorous responses on perceptions of the firm. Finally, regardless of the type of humour used (i.e. affiliative or aggressive humour) in the humorous response, the positive effect of humorous response remains strong, although aggressive humour further aggravates the negative impact of humorous response on trustworthiness.Research limitations/implicationsThe experimental set-up may limit external validity of the study, and the research is limited to the variables examined.Practical implicationsHumorous response is identified as a non-traditional approach to online customer complaints that poses a double-edged sword for managers of service organizations. Firms should avoid using humour in online service recovery if perceptions of trustworthiness are critical or if complaints are written in a neutral tone. However, such responses may be successfully used when a firm wants to position itself as exciting and if complaints are also humorous. Finally, firms are advised to avoid aggressive humour.Originality/valueThe present research represents one of the few studies in marketing to examine the potential of injecting humour into complaint management and service recovery. In addition, this study considers the consumer-as-onlooker perspective inherent in social media.

OneCommunity Reads: A Model for Latino Parent-Community Engagement and Its Effect on Grade-Level Reading Proficiency

The importance of establishing effective literacy/reading skills at an early age, preschool to early elementary, is well known and accepted among educators. For students whose heritage language is not English, the influential factors of cultural relevance and parent/family involvement for the acquisition of these fundamental skills are underscored. OneCommunity (OC) Reads is a literacy program focused on enhancing Latino children’s reading proficiency in a culturally sensitive manner utilizing the funds of knowledge of parents/families and community. Using a community-based, participatory evaluation/research paradigm, the impact of OC Reads was examined using both quantitative and qualitative data. Findings indicated parents/families were affected positively, resulting in increased empowerment and involvement in the schools and the community. Themes derived from the qualitative data included (a) broad empowerment, (b) increased mutual understanding and respect, (c) shared responsibility, and (d) academic and reading improvement. Strengths were noted in the areas of culturally sensitive and helpful processes, and additional activities and enhancements. OC Reads’ success in enhancing literacy/reading proficiency with its nontraditional approach of empowering parents and building on the cultural realities of the students gives further credence to the literature regarding the success of such approaches.

СТВОРЕННЯ ПОЗИТИВНОЇ МОТИВАЦІЙНОЇ НАСТАНОВИ НА НЕТРАДИЦІЙНИЙ ПІДХІД У НАВЧАЛЬНОМУ ПРОЦЕСІ ПІД ЧАС ФОРМУВАННЯ ГОТОВНОСТІ МАЙБУТНІХ ОФІЦЕРІВ ЗБРОЙНИХ СИЛ УКРАЇНИ ДО ЗАСТОСУВАННЯ STEM-ТЕХНОЛОГІЙ У ПРОФЕСІЙНІЙ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ

Introduction. Recently, the regular Armed Forces of the powers are increasingly confronted with "unconventional" wars. And this requires "non-traditional" qualities from the military themselves, especially from the leadership of the Armed Forces. Such trends should be considered during future officers’ training.In the study, we connect this aspect of the future Armed Forces’ of Ukraine officers’ training with the formation of their readiness for using STEM-technologies in professional activities.Purpose. To publish the results of the theoretical study on the identification of pedagogical conditions for formation readiness of Armed Forces’ future officers of Ukraine for using STEM-technologies in professional activities, in particular, creating positive motivational guidance on non-traditional approach in the educational process while forming of the said readiness.Methods of research: analysis, synthesis, systematization of scientific pedagogical manuals, normative documents, generalization.Results. One of the pedagogical conditions for formation readiness of Armed Forces’ future officers of Ukraine for using STEM-technologies in professional activities, that authors propose is creating positive motivational guidance on non-traditional approach in the educational process while forming of the said readiness.The study identifies the following areas of influence on the process of formation of readiness Armed Forces’ future officers of Ukraine for using STEM-technologies in professional activities through the creating positive motivational guidance on non-traditional approach in the educational process:- the formation of positive motivational attitudes to professional activity;- the formation of the need to study and implement in its activities the latest developments in the military and managerial spheres;- the actualization of the need for Armed Forces’ future officers of Ukraine to use STEM-technologies in professional activities; - the creation of situations that contribute to the awareness of the need for Armed Forces’ future officers of Ukraine to use STEM-technologies in professional activities.Originality. It manifested itself directly in the process of formation readiness of Armed Forces’ future officers of Ukraine for using STEM-technologies in professional activities through the creating positive motivational guidance on non-traditional approach in the educational process.Conclusion. It is proved that the creating positive motivational guidance on non-traditional approach in the educational process while forming formation readiness of Armed Forces’ future officers of Ukraine for using STEM-technologies in professional activities can be defined as a pedagogical condition for the successful formation of this readiness.

Orofacial Cleft Incidence in Slovenia – Statistical Analysis of Forty Years' Records

The occurrence of births of children with orofacial clefts in Slovenia during the forty-year period 1973-2012 was recorded daily. Days with one birth with cleft, with much less frequent two, and with exceptionally rare three births with clefts were recorded by date. Incidence was calculated as the ratio of number of clefts per thousand live births in a time period. Numbers of live births, recorded monthly, were accessed on the web site of the Statistical Office of Republic of Slovenia. The purpose of the article was the investigation of the time pattern of births with clefts, in particular the presence of an assumed Poisson process. The data made statistical analysis on several levels of aggregation (daily, quarterly, yearly) possible. However, the approaches on different aggregation levels had to be adapted, partly due to the changing birth rate. Overwhelming majority of results is compatible with the assumed Poisson process hypothesis. An additional purpose was testing the suspected time periodicity of the cleft incidence. A non-traditional approach using the Siegel's test was applied. No periodic frequency could be confirmed at the 0,05-significance level.

A case study of innovations that address constraints on the effectiveness of early-grade reading achievement

The United States Agency for International Development, World Vision, and the Australian government established All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development (ACR GCD) to address problems that prevent children from gaining foundational reading skills. ACR GCD mobilizes the private sector, academia, and nongovernmental organizations in problem-solving dialogues that support the development, testing, and promotion of new solutions to these problems. It also advances EdTech innovation and research to improve reading outcomes for marginalized children in low-resource contexts to effectively build bridges over system constraints in ways that lower the risk of pilot-testing and eventual large-scale replication. This case study describes some of ACR GCD’s funded innovations and its nontraditional approach to employing grant competitions (in which innovators propose solutions to broadly described problems) and prizes (in which innovators develop solutions to specifically identified problems). For innovations that have been evaluated, this article summarizes the findings on their impact on learning.

Эффективность использования многозадачной методологии в работе с аутентичными источниками на занятиях английского языка со студентами неязыковых вузов

The article describes peculiarities of the non-traditional methodological approach to using authentic texts when forming non-linguistic students’ professional foreign-language competences. The conclusions are made about efficiency of multi-task methodology when working with authentic sources. The research findings justify the necessity to introduce highly effective innovative approaches in higher professional education.

Highly Strained Au Nanoparticles for Improved Electrocatalysis of Ethanol Oxidation Reaction.

Au is an ideal noble metal for use as an electrocatalyst for the ethanol oxidation reaction owing to its high performance-to-cost ratio. The catalyst usually exists as nanoparticles (NPs) for high surface area-to-volume ratio. In the present work, a nontraditional physical approach has been developed to fabricate ultrasmall and homogeneous single-crystalline Au NPs by ion bombardment in a precision ion polishing system. Transmission electron microscopy characterizations show that the Au NPs produced with 5 keV Ar+ are highly strained to form twinned crystals, which accumulate a large amount of surface energy, and this was found to be an underlying reason causing strong catalysis. Electrochemistry tests reveal that in alkaline medium the C1 pathway occurs much more preferentially with the strained Au NPs than the normal Au NPs. The surface area-to-volume ratio is no longer the only factor that affects the performance; instead, surface energy might play a more important role in enhancing the catalytic activities.

RESEARCH-ORIENTED COLLABORATIVE INQUIRY LEARNING MODEL: IMPROVING STUDENTS’ SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDES IN GENERAL CHEMISTRY

Promoting students’ attitudes, a part of affective domains is a major goal in higher education. Unfortunately, only a few studies were available related to the improvement of pre-service chemistry teachers’ attitudes as this domain was rarely explored using a mixed teaching approach. In this quasi-experimental research, we investigated the effect of the Research-Oriented Collaborative Inquiry Learning (REORCILEA) in improving students’ scientific attitudes. A total of sixty-four (6 males, 58 females) first-year pre-service chemistry teachers at the Department of Chemistry Education of a public university in Indonesia attended the General Chemistry course. In order to collect the data, the Scientific Attitudes Scale and Interview Protocol were administered. The data were then analyzed using t-test and thematic analysis. The results of the t-test revealed that students in the experimental group obtained significantly greater scores than the ones of the control group regarding their scientific attitudes. After analyzing the interview data qualitatively, students who were exposed to non-traditional teaching approach had stronger learning interests and enjoyed the chemistry lectures. In conclusion, REORCILEA model could be considered more effective in improving students’ scientific attitudes compared to conventional teaching methods. Keywords: collaborative inquiry learning, general chemistry, pre-service chemistry teachers, research-oriented learning, scientific attitudes.

O dodecassílabo iâmbico misto: uma proposta para a adaptação do verso branco épico inglês ao português

A tradução do verso branco épico usualmente toma duas formas: fidelidade formal à contagem silábica como recriação do pentâmetro em decassílabos ou fidelidade semântica como transposição adaptativa em versos livres. Ambos os modos causam detrimento aos efeitos particulares da forma original por não transporem à língua de chegada as qualidades essenciais do verso branco inglês: o ritmo cadenciado e constante e a tensão entre o ritmo métrico e o ritmo sintático-semântico. Em nosso artigo, buscamos estudar as qualidades e efeitos que tornam o verso branco épico distinto de outras formas métricas, explorando os mecanismos do pentâmetro iâmbico, seus limites e mutações dentro da tradição inglesa, e como esse verso opera em composições não-rimadas de caráter narrativo e meditativo, nas quais as diferenças entre prosa e poesia tornam-se mais tênues e a métrica toma um caráter ao mesmo tempo menos marcado e mais fundamental. Após esse levantamento, propomos uma nova variação do verso branco em português, o dodecassílabo misto, composto de ritmo iâmbico, formado pela alternância de sílabas átonas e tônicas ou subtônicas, e dodecasílabos acéfalos quando o verso precedente é grave. Ilustramos nosso estudo do verso branco com passagens de The Prelude, de William Wordsworth, e traduzimos trechos da mesma obra segundo nossa medida métrica para determinar sua eficácia. Como resultado, notamos que nossa forma adaptada mostra-se capaz de acomodar aquelas qualidades consideradas essenciais ao verso branco, reformulando, em português, efeitos poéticos frequentemente perdidos no processo de versão de obras inglesas, como o ritmo regular binário e o momento de leitura vertido de um verso a outro de modo integrado. Concluímos, dessa maneira, que uma abordagem não-tradicional das potencialidades métricas da língua portuguesa, em diálogo com os moldes da poesia inglesa, é capaz de abrir novas perspectivas tradutórias para pesquisadores em língua portuguesa e trazer a lume qualidades de tradições métricas distintas que podem oferecer novas ferramentas a seus tradutores.

Non-traditional Approach to the Evaluation of the Freeze-thaw Resistance of Concrete based on the Fracture Tests

The paper deals with a pilot study focused on the freeze-thaw (F-T) resistance of concrete. A non-traditional approach to the evaluation of the F-T resistance of concrete based on the determination of the fracture parameters is presented in the paper. Three types of specimens were used in the experimental program – prisms with edge and Chevron notch, and cylinders with the Chevron notch. Three sets of specimens of each shape were tested in total. The reference set was stored in the water until the time of testing. Another two sets of specimens were subjected to 50 and 100 freeze-thaw tests, respectively. One F-T cycle consisted of 4 hours freezing in the air at temperature -18 °C and 2 hours thawing in the water at temperature +20 °C. Based on the results, it can be stated that the values of fracture energy are proportional to the area of the ligament. This finding was observed for all tested sets – non-frost and frost attacked. The values of modulus of elasticity and fracture toughness are influenced more by the geometry and also by the changes of the specimens’ stiffness due to the exposition to the F-T cycles.

CONCEPT OF EXPERT EVALUATION OF HOLISTIC COMPETENCE OF SENIOR MANAGERS

The aim of this scientific paper is to outline the key terms of holistic competence of senior managers operating in individual types of work environment. The paper also proposes and presents a concept of a nontraditional approach to valuating holistic competence of managers. The concept is based on a scientific analysis of the deficiencies of the current model of selection and appointment of senior managers, which is shaped mainly by the outcome of elections and by auditions. The new concept capitalizes on the findings of two 2011 and 2013 VEGA (Scientific Grant Agency) projects, specifically Project Reg. No. 1/0794/11 Holistic Management Competence, Need, Approaches and Methods of Valuation (Celostná manažérska kompetentnosť, potreba, prístupy a metódy jej ohodnocovania), and Project Reg. No. 1/0539/14 Requirements for Work and Manager Competence of Public Administration Staff (Požiadavky na pracovnú a manažérsku spôsobilosť /kompetentnosť/ pracovníkov verejnej správy).

Cardiovascular shunting in vertebrates: a practical integration of competing hypotheses.

This review explores the long-standing question: 'Why do cardiovascular shunts occur?' An historical perspective is provided on previous research into cardiac shunts in vertebrates that continues to shape current views. Cardiac shunts and when they occur is then described for vertebrates. Nearly 20 different functional reasons have been proposed as specific causes of shunts, ranging from energy conservation to improved gas exchange, and including a plethora of functions related to thermoregulation, digestion and haemodynamics. It has even been suggested that shunts are merely an evolutionary or developmental relic. Having considered the various hypotheses involving cardiovascular shunting in vertebrates, this review then takes a non-traditional approach. Rather than attempting to identify the single 'correct' reason for the occurrence of shunts, we advance a more holistic, integrative approach that embraces multiple, non-exclusive suites of proposed causes for shunts, and indicates how these varied functions might at least co-exist, if not actually support each other as shunts serve multiple, concurrent physiological functions. It is argued that deposing the 'monolithic' view of shunting leads to a more nuanced view of vertebrate cardiovascular systems. This review concludes by suggesting new paradigms for testing the function(s) of shunts, including experimentally placing organ systems into conflict in terms of their perfusion needs, reducing sources of variation in physiological experiments, measuring possible compensatory responses to shunt ablation, moving experiments from the laboratory to the field, and using cladistics-related approaches in the choice of experimental animals.

Strain shifts under stress-controlled oscillatory shearing in theoretical, experimental, and structural perspectives: Application to probing zero-shear viscosity.

Rheological measurements in which the applied stress or strain is oscillated are widely used to interrogate viscoelastic properties due to the independent control over the time scale and length scale afforded by changes in amplitude and frequency. Taking a nontraditional approach, we treat stress-controlled oscillatory tests as creep tests with transiently varying stress and apply an analysis typically used for steady creep and recovery experiments. Defining zero strain as the state prior to external shearing, it is shown that strain responses to small-amplitude oscillatory stressing are naturally shifted from the starting point by an amount proportional to the phase of the applied stress. The phenomenology is experimentally observed with entangled polymerlike micelles and polyethylene oxide solutions. A theory of strain shifting in the steady alternating state is provided based on recovery rheology, where differences between total strain and recoverable strains are acknowledged. User-controlled variables, such as the amplitude of the stress, the angular frequency, and the phase of the stress, as well a lone material parameter, the zero-shear viscosity, are shown to dictate the amount of shifting. A rapid and efficient approach of determining the zero-shear viscosity is, therefore, presented. We investigate the microstructural evolution via in situ small-angle neutron scattering when strain shifting appears. The microscopic orientation is shown to correlate to the recoverable strain independent of the shifting. Additional measurements are carried out on collagen, pluronic-hyaluronic acid, alginate gels, and polystyrene melts to show the generic nature of the strain shift phenomenon. In addition, we demonstrate that the strain-shift knowledge can be applied to determine the horizontal shift factor in time-temperature superposition, free of any numerical fitting procedures.