Nonholonomic Research Articles

What is quality in long covid care? Lessons from a national quality improvement collaborative and multi-site ethnography

BackgroundLong covid (post covid-19 condition) is a complex condition with diverse manifestations, uncertain prognosis and wide variation in current approaches to management. There have been calls for formal quality standards to reduce a so-called “postcode lottery” of care. The original aim of this study—to examine the nature of quality in long covid care and reduce unwarranted variation in services—evolved to focus on examining the reasons why standardizing care was so challenging in this condition.MethodsIn 2021–2023, we ran a quality improvement collaborative across 10 UK sites. The dataset reported here was mostly but not entirely qualitative. It included data on the origins and current context of each clinic, interviews with staff and patients, and ethnographic observations at 13 clinics (50 consultations) and 45 multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings (244 patient cases). Data collection and analysis were informed by relevant lenses from clinical care (e.g. evidence-based guidelines), improvement science (e.g. quality improvement cycles) and philosophy of knowledge.ResultsParticipating clinics made progress towards standardizing assessment and management in some topics; some variation remained but this could usually be explained. Clinics had different histories and path dependencies, occupied a different place in their healthcare ecosystem and served a varied caseload including a high proportion of patients with comorbidities. A key mechanism for achieving high-quality long covid care was when local MDTs deliberated on unusual, complex or challenging cases for which evidence-based guidelines provided no easy answers. In such cases, collective learning occurred through idiographic (case-based) reasoning, in which practitioners build lessons from the particular to the general. This contrasts with the nomothetic reasoning implicit in evidence-based guidelines, in which reasoning is assumed to go from the general (e.g. findings of clinical trials) to the particular (management of individual patients).ConclusionNot all variation in long covid services is unwarranted. Largely because long covid’s manifestations are so varied and comorbidities common, generic “evidence-based” standards require much individual adaptation. In this complex condition, quality improvement resources may be productively spent supporting MDTs to optimise their case-based learning through interdisciplinary discussion. Quality assessment of a long covid service should include review of a sample of individual cases to assess how guidelines have been interpreted and personalized to meet patients’ unique needs.Study registrationNCT05057260, ISRCTN15022307.

How is the path produced and sustained? Path-dependent college education expansion and underlying liberal rule in Korea

Abstract The conventional policy analyses with a path-dependent framework are featured by sequential causation composed of analytically two distinct phases: path production that occurs through a significant policy change at critical junctures and the subsequent path reproduction. This paper explores one policy area where the two-phase framework falls short in explaining path-making and maintenance – college education expansion in Korea. We argue that the shortcomings of the two-phase model can potentially be overcome by incorporating the underlying rule of the countries into the model. We identify the underlying rule relying on Esping-Andersen’s welfare regimes to highlight the political underpinnings of the countries. We show that the underlying liberal rule is a fundamental causal force behind the production and reproduction of college education expansion in Korea, using qualitative comparative analysis. Our framework based on the underlying rule provides a richer understanding of path dependency.

Entrepreneurial prototyping: the role of purpose, prototype recycling, and skills bricolage

AbstractThis paper explores how entrepreneurs engage in prototyping as part of the venture development process. We conduct a qualitative field study of 156 instances of prototyping across eight venture development processes. From a theoretical perspective, we build on alternative and complementary views of entrepreneurial action and their implicit modes of prototyping, emphasizing experimentation and transformation. Our findings identify three important themes in the prototyping process. These include purposes where the entrepreneurs use prototyping for either flexible experimentation or directed transformation. Further, the entrepreneurs predominantly engage in prototype recycling and skills bricolage when prototyping. Accordingly, the studied entrepreneurs carefully navigate purpose and resource investments in prototyping, making extensive use of their existing resource base of skills and prototypes. After noting the positive aspects of prototyping, we also discuss the potentially destructive outcomes of misapplied prototyping in the form of prototyping myopia and problematic path dependencies of the different ways of prototyping.

Enhanced path planning algorithm via hybrid WOA-PSO for differential wheeled mobile robots

This study introduces an enhanced algorithm for global path planning of Differential Wheeled Mobile Robots (DWMRs) that merges the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). This hybrid strategy, termed HWPSO, is designed to leverage WOA's exploration strength with PSO's efficient exploitation, specifically targeting the challenges of non-holonomic constraints in complex terrains. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, its performance is evaluated across five diverse environments and compared against PSO, WOA, and Grey Wolf Optimization which is widely used for mobile robot path planning. Moreover, the comparison broadens to encompass four established environments from the literature where algorithms based on firefly, ant colony, A*, and other PSO variants have previously exhibited optimal performance. Additionally, a new environment is introduced to analyze the efficacy of the proposed approach for path planning for two DWMRs. Simulation results consistently demonstrate the superiority of the proposed HWPSO, manifesting performance improvements of up to 19.3% for path length reduction and up to 12.7% for DWMR travel duration reduction when compared to other methods. This underscores the efficacy of the proposed hybrid approach in achieving enhanced path planning outcomes for DWMRs in diverse scenarios.

Nudging Sustainable Development: Reviewing Energy Transition and Economic Development

Recently, as more countries and regions have embarked on the path of energy transition, the speed and manner of economic development have been influenced in varying degrees. However, the relationship between energy transition and economic development remains unclear, as research conclusions are inconsistent. The aim of this study is to systematically examine the relationship between energy transition and economic development using the literature review approach. This study selected 102 studies from Scopus that explicitly address energy transition and economic development as our final sample for this investigation, aiming to clarify the current research status on factors, barriers, and pathways of energy transition, and discuss related theories about energy transition. The results indicate a significant increase in research volume on this topic over the past four years, with nearly half of the studies focusing on cross-regional countries or economic entities. The sampled literature reveals various relationships between economic development and energy transition, including one-way promotion, one-way inhibition, bidirectional causality, and ineffectiveness. Factors influencing energy transition include technology, financial support, environmental governance, human capital, taxation, rents, and foreign direct investment (FDI). The main obstacles to energy transition lie in the scarcity of environmental resources, path dependence, and uneven development. Based on these research findings, this study discusses prospects and potential directions for future studies.

The Path Innovation of Regional Economic Growth: Data Analysis Based on China

AbstractInnovative development to some extent overcomes the path-dependent characteristics of knowledge proximity, and the diversity and complexity of regional knowledge and technology foster regional economic growth. This study constructs a dynamic mechanism for maximizing the enterprise profit to explore the conditions enabling regions that can achieve knowledge accumulation and technological leapfrogging. Utilizing the fitness landscape methodology based on customs data from 30 provinces in China and employing genetic algorithms, we analyze two modes of enterprises with similar and different initial conditions under varying leapfrogging scenarios. By applying profit maximization rules within the fitness landscape of the product space, we examine how to promote regional industrial transformation and upgrade. The results indicate that a larger leap range in the production of products by enterprises, reflecting stronger innovative capabilities, significantly enhances the region’s ability for industrial transformation and upgrade. There is a strong positive relationship between the initial industrial foundation and regional economic development. When regions share a similar industrial base, the complexity of regional knowledge becomes more critical. Therefore, an increase in the foundational development of industries and technology-intensive products can enhance the potential for regional path innovation. Past research has primarily been based on the path dependence theory, emphasizing that the most crucial aspect for underdeveloped economies is the accumulation and development of foundational capabilities. However, our study contends that, for emerging economies, it is crucial to enhance the diversity and complexity of knowledge and technology. Particularly, it is essential to, based on a comprehensive understanding of their own strengths, open up new areas and new arenas in development, continually shaping new growth drivers and new strengths. This emerges as a significant factor in regional growth and leapfrog development.

Assessing Path Dependency in Vietnam’s Healthcare Legal Framework: Exploring Public–Private Collaboration in Ho Chi Minh City during the COVID-19 Crisis

Assessing Path Dependency in Vietnam’s Healthcare Legal Framework: Exploring Public–Private Collaboration in Ho Chi Minh City during the COVID-19 Crisis

Implication of institutional informality in the historical urban evolution of Morocco: Case studies of Fes and Oujda

This paper is concerned with the role of informality in the spatial and institutional development of post-colonial cities. The study uses a historical institutionalist approach to trace the historical evolution of Morocco's Fes and Oujda as two former French colonies. It analyzes the historical urban growth of both cities through archival research, policy analysis, and complements its findings with semi-structured interviews. This study explores the different interactions between formal policies and the informal spatial and institutional urban practices, and discusses the processes of incremental institutional change that informal institutions introduce and sustain without disrupting the status-quo. This paper argues that in post-colonial contexts, informality prevails over formality as a stronger feedback mechanism to path dependence. Finally, the paper makes the case for the importance of mapping informal practices within and in relation to formal planning institutional structures for more comprehensive understandings of the role and the impact of spatial planning as a practice.

Disrupting the social and time vacuum: A systemic and lifespan perspective on job insecurity

AbstractIn their lead article, Klug et al. conceptualize job insecurity as a multilevel construct whereby individuals are situated in mesolevel and macrolevel contexts. In our article, we advocate deepening the current conceptual model with two partially intertwined perspectives. First, we suggest adding a systemic perspective at the mesolevel that considers individuals' nestedness in family and relationship systems, thus looking into how individuals' job insecurity affects close others (i.e., [romantic] partners and family members) and how close others affect individuals' experience of and reactions to job insecurity. To illustrate our propositions, we draw on the crossover model and the systemic‐transactional model of stress processes within romantic couples. Second, we suggest adding a lifespan perspective that considers biographic time as a facet of the individual level in addition to historical time on the macrolevel. In doing so, we draw on the notion of path dependence and processes related to social learning. We advocate for future research taking into account the various, intertwined levels on which job insecurity operates to fully understand job insecurity as well as its consequences and remedies.

The Dynamic Role of Subnational Regions in Firm Performance

AbstractThis study investigates dynamics of subnational regions in determining firm performance over time and by ownership type. We explain theoretically how subnational regions affect firm performance over time in the context of path dependence and the institution‐based view and test these predictions using annual data of manufacturing firms in China from 2000 to 2014 – before and after a major negative institutional shock (2008 financial crisis). Consistent with path dependence, regional institutional quality diverges across regions before 2008, a pattern that is disrupted post‐2008. Firm performance is increasing in institutional quality so that location effects are increasingly important before the financial crisis but less so post‐crisis. These effects are greater for private‐ than state‐owned enterprises consistent with differences in organizational objectives under the institution‐based view.

A Novel Trajectory Tracking Control of AGV Based on Udwadia-Kalaba Approach

Several control approaches have been used in order to achieve the trajectory tracking control of automated guided vehicle (AGV). But they are all based on the D'Alembert principle which requires to determine the Lagrangian multipliers. Unlike those control methods, in this paper, a novel approach of trajectory tracking control is presented, which is based on Udwadia-Kalaba approach. This approach presents a novel, concise and explicit equation of motion for constrained mechanical systems with holonomic and/or nonholonomic constraints as well as constraints that may be ideal or non-ideal. The Udwadia-Kalaba equation is uncoupled and free from the Lagrangian multipliers. In this paper, we classify constraints into structural constraints and performance constraints. Structural constraints are set up regardless of trajectory control and we use structural constraints to establish the dynamic model. Then the desired trajectory is set as performance constraints and constraint torques are solved by analyzing Udwadia-Kalaba equation. For AGV, a nonholonomic mechanical system, second-order constraints are used to get constraint forces and the numerical simulation is conducted by using Matlab. The results show that the AGV's movement meets the requirement and the tracking trajectory is exact and perfect. Compared with other approaches, this approach requires very little computation. Through two cases of tracking a circle and a line, how to use Udwadia-Kalaba equation to realize trajectory tracking control is shown in detail.

Global Governance in Time: Institutional Sequences, International Regime Complexes, and the Politics of Global Governance

abstract: Will China's rise fundamentally change global governance? Answering this question requires grasping how sequences shape the development of institutions across time. The books that we review adapt the standard historical institutional (hi) conceptual toolkit—path dependence, reactive sequences, and gradual institutional change—to explain institutional persistence and change in global governance. We argue that international regime complexity (irc) scholarship is a necessary complement because the international institutional context differs from the domestic context in important ways. irc generates two sequencing mechanisms that the standard hi toolkit misses. Disjointed sequences occur when actors relocate their efforts to other parts of the regime complex, creating changes that reverberate across parallel international institutions. International nondecisions are stymied efforts to adapt global institutions to address pressing concerns, in which the nondecision pushes the construction of substitutes outside of global institutions. The standard hi toolkit, plus the two irc sequence types, compose a helpful framework for thinking about what China's rise portends for the politics of global governance.

Sustainability against the logics of the state: Political and institutional barriers in the Chilean infrastructure sector

The state is often portrayed as a progressive entity enabling transition processes. However, this article delves into the limitations faced by state institutions, which have been identified as resistant to change and entrenched in path dependence. This article explores the political and institutional barriers that state institutions encounter when implementing sustainability approaches in the infrastructure sector in Chile. The article argues that explanations based on path dependence and lock-in overlook the crucial political and strategic dimensions of policy and institutional inertia. Employing a Strategic Relational Approach (SRA) reveals that the identified barriers, such as limited state capacity and institutional logics, are strategically employed by state and civil society actors to maintain a growth-oriented policy paradigm conflicting with sustainability goals. State barriers constitute a system of strategic selectivity to discourage the adoption of sustainability approaches while favouring incumbent actors, market-based systems, and those specific infrastructures of the growth-oriented paradigm.

Resolving Absorbed Work and Generalized Inertia Forces From System Energy Equation—A Hamiltonian and Phase-Space Kinematics Approach

Abstract This paper develops a theoretical basis and a systematic process for resolving all inertia forces along generalized coordinates from the overall energy equation of a dynamical system. The theory is developed for natural systems with scleronomic constraints, where the potential energy is independent of generalized velocities. The process involves expansion of the energy equation, and specifically a special expansion of the kinetic energy term, from which the inertia forces emerge. The expansion uses fundamental kinematic identities of the phase space. It is also guided by insights drawn from the structure of the Hamiltonian function. The resulting equation has the structure of the D’Alembert’s equation but involving generalized coordinates, from which the Lagrange’s equations of motion are obtained. The expansion process elucidates how certain inertia forces manifest in the energy equation as composite terms that must be accurately resolved along different generalized coordinates. The process uses only the system energy equation, and neither the Hamiltonian nor the Lagrangian function are required. Extension of this theory to non-autonomous and non-holonomic systems is an area of future research.

Local Inter-Governmental Cooperation in Regional Innovation in China: Historical Evolution and Logic of Change

Under the innovation-driven development strategy, inter-governmental cooperation in regional innovation has proliferated, but the historical change logic of local government participation in innovation cooperation has not been explained yet. Based on the theoretical paradigm of historical institutionalism, this paper attempts to construct a "structure-history-action" analytical framework for local government participation in innovation cooperation. Based on the theoretical paradigm of historical institutionalism, this paper attempts to construct a "structure-history-action" analytical framework for inter-governmental cooperation in regional innovation. In the course of more than forty years of change, inter-governmental cooperation in regional innovation in China can be divided into four stages. In the course of more than forty years of change, inter-governmental cooperation in regional innovation in China can be divided into four stages. Firstly, it has been driven by structural conditions in macro-institutional change; secondly, 'path dependence' Firstly, it has been driven by structural conditions in macro-institutional change; secondly, 'path dependence' caused by political and cultural genes, administrative institutional traditions and the 'key nodes' that drive change. Finally, the perceptions and interests of local governments, as micro-actors, have profoundly shaped the direction of change. On this basis, the development path of inter- governmental cooperation in regional innovation is proposed: strengthening the top-level design of innovation cooperation and optimizing.

Adapting to discontinuous technological change from the perspective of knowledge management: a case study from the lighting industry in Lin’an, China

Purpose This study aims to answer the question of how incumbent firms cultivate dynamic capabilities through knowledge management so that they can efficiently adapt to the changing external environment. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a case study approach and collects data through interviews and secondary public information on the lighting industry and two lighting firms in Lin'an, China. It qualitatively examines the challenges and strategic recommendations for incumbent firms in the context of discontinuous technological change from a knowledge management perspective. Findings Incumbent firms often face a variety of challenges when responding to discontinuous technological change. These challenges include identifying opportunities, overcoming path dependence and dealing with employee resistance to change. To overcome these difficulties, three strategies have been proposed to enhance the dynamic capabilities of incumbent firms through knowledge management: cross-border search helps firms improve their knowledge acquisition capabilities and better understand their environment to identify opportunities; building strategic leadership overcomes path dependence and improves knowledge integration capabilities; organizational learning deepens employees’ understanding of change and enhances organizational knowledge application capabilities. Research limitations/implications Previous research attributes a firm's ability to cope with discontinuous technological change solely to its general resources, which weakens the importance of knowledge management in this context. This study emphasizes the importance of knowledge as a crucial strategic resource in developing the essential dynamic capabilities for incumbent firms to cope with discontinuous technological change. Practical implications This study provides an in-depth analysis of incumbent firms' coping strategies in the new context of discontinuous technological change and further promotes cross-disciplinary research. Originality/value This study provides an in-depth analysis of coping strategies in the new context of discontinuous technological change, furthermore theoretically advancing the interdisciplinary research of firm transformation and knowledge management. Meanwhile, it is crucial to identify the preconditions for cultivating dynamic capabilities, especially from a knowledge-based view, which enhances the depth of knowledge management research.

Pricing Chinese Convertible Bonds with Learning-Based Monte Carlo Simulation Model

In this paper, we explore a novel model for pricing Chinese convertible bonds that seamlessly integrates machine learning techniques with traditional models. The least squares Monte Carlo (LSM) method is effective in handling multiple state variables and complex path dependencies through simple regression analysis. In our approach, we incorporate machine learning techniques, specifically support vector regression (SVR) and random forest (RF). By employing Bayesian optimization to fine-tune the random forest, we achieve improved predictive performance. This integration is designed to enhance the precision and predictive capabilities of convertible bond pricing. Through the use of simulated data and real data from the Chinese convertible bond market, the results demonstrate the superiority of our proposed model over the classic LSM, confirming its effectiveness. The development of a pricing model incorporating machine learning techniques proves particularly effective in addressing the complex pricing system of Chinese convertible bonds. Our study contributes to the body of knowledge on convertible bond pricing and further deepens the application of machine learning in the field in an integrated and supportive manner.

The End of Globalized Production? Supply-Chain Resilience, Technological Sovereignty, and Enduring Global Interdependencies in the Post-Pandemic Era

This article assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and geopolitics on geographies of production. Criticizing simplified perspectives on globalized versus intraregional production, we stress the multi-scalarity, the role of industrial policies and sector-specific path dependencies in shaping global production. Based on expert interviews and policy and industry documents, our analysis focuses on the automotive, clothing, and electronics industries. Although concerns for resilience increasingly shape lead firms’ strategies, increased regionalization of production through re- or near-shoring is only one of several strategies. Where it does occur, it has been driven by state policies that tackle certain strategically important products, not production networks as a whole. Hence, while recent events exposed the vulnerabilities of global production, we do not observe deglobalization in the sense of a comprehensive retreat from globalized in favor of intraregional production. Nonetheless, state interventions that are geopolitically motivated and affect firms’ investment decisions have intensified particularly in the United States and the European Union.

Mathematical Modeling of Robotic Locomotion Systems

This article deals with the presentation of an alternative approach that uses methods of geometric mechanics, which allow one to see into the geometrical structure of the equations and can be useful not only for modeling but also during the design of symmetrical locomotion systems and their control and motion planning. These methods are based on extracting the symmetries of Lie groups from the locomotion system in order to simplify the resulting equations. In the second section, the special two-dimensional Euclidean group SE2 and its splitting into right and left actions are derived. The physical interpretation of the local group and spatial velocities is investigated, and by virtue of the fact that both of these velocities represent the same velocity from a physical point of view, the dependence between them can be found by means of the adjoint action. The third section is devoted to the modeling and analysis of the planar locomotion of the symmetrical serpentine robot; the positions and local group velocities of its links are derived, the vector fields for the local connections are given, and the trajectories of the individual variables in the lateral movement of the kinematic snake are shown. At the end of the article, the overall benefits of the scientific study are summarized, as is the comparison of the results from the simulation phase, while the most significant novelty compared to alternative publications in the field can be considered the realization of this study with a description of the relevant methodology at a detailed level; that is, the locomotion results confirm the suitability of the use of geometric mechanics for these symmetrical locomotion systems with nonholonomic constraints.

The Ukraine War as a Driver of Intraparty Conflict: Germany's Left Party and the AfD

ABSTRACT The two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine affords an occasion to examine why the war has produced such deep rifts within the Left Party and the AfD. Drawing upon party documents, parliamentary proceedings, electoral and polling data and secondary literature, this article examines why Russia’s war against Ukraine proved so disruptive to both parties and explores the implications of these intraparty conflicts. Germany’s domestic politics of the Ukraine War matter given Berlin’s central role in backing the Kyiv government. This article assesses three explanations for the lack of internal unity in the Left Party and AfD regarding a new Russia policy: (a) path dependency; (b) eastern Germany, and (c) the reinforcing rather than crosscutting nature of the Ukraine War vis-à-vis the primary intraparty cleavage. It finds that the third explanation fits both Left Party and AfD cases.