Power Discrepancy Research Articles

Executive power discrepancy and corporate ESG greenwashing

Originating from the theory of organizational hierarchy, the concept of power discrepancy among corporate executives has garnered scholarly attention due to its roots in the unequal distribution of authority and influence within the upper echelons of management. This paper explores the realm of corporate ESG greenwashing, a deceptive practice masking genuine environmental, social, and governance responsibilities, and empirically investigates the influence of executive power discrepancies on such practices. Findings indicate a direct correlation between increased executive power discrepancies and a heightened propensity towards ESG greenwashing. Furthermore, the impact of this discrepancy is notably more pronounced in non-state-owned entities, corporations operating in highly marketized regions, and those with substantial financing constraints. This study contributes to the nuanced understanding of how disparities in executive power shape corporate ESG conduct, enriches the discourse on corporate governance structures, and fosters the evolution of theories related to internal governance and social accountability, offering vital practical insights.

Novel Multi-Port Converter for Distributed MPPT Operation in Solar PV System

Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems continue to be the most prevalent renewable energy resource despite the presence of numerous limitations. A power discrepancy between PV modules on a large scale may result in power dissipation throughout the entire PV system. This particular paper proposes an efficient multi-port converter for distributed maximum power point tracking operation (D-MPPT) for a solar PV system. The operation details of the proposed multi-port converter along with analytical waveforms are presented in this paper. To implement the D-MPPT approach in the proposed multi-port converter, a detailed analysis of mathematical modeling of solar PV systems with a mismatch of PV power and voltage stabilization approach is done. In addition, the proposed approach eliminates the need for additional current sensors and semiconductor components to overcome the effect of mismatched power in the PV system. To validate this, the prototype has been built and integrated with the real environment of the solar PV system. To verify the operation, a detailed simulation study and experimental investigation have been carried out and presented in this paper. After a detailed investigation and discussion of measured results and analysis, it is concluded that the proposed multi-port DC-DC converter is the most suitable solution for solar PV applications.

Examining the impact of market power discrepancy between supply chain partners on firm financial performance

Market power reflects a firm's competitive advantage and plays an important role in its performance. However, in a buyer-supplier relationship, how the asymmetric market power between a firm and its partners affects the firm financial performance remains an open question. This study investigates the impact of market power discrepancy (MPD) between a focal firm and its supply chain partners on the focal firm's financial performance, as measured by return on assets (ROA). With empirical evidence from China's listed firms between 2001 and 2021, we find that a higher MPD between the firm and its supplier or the firm and its customer negatively affects the firm's financial performance. A supplier or customer that has a matched market power with the firm is the best candidate for building a relationship. In addition, our findings suggest that the strength of the buyer–supplier relationship amplifies the negative impact of MPD on the firm's financial performance, whereas the level of relationship embeddedness reduces the MPD's negative effect. Moreover, our findings suggest that firm-specific institutional, industry, and regional economic heterogeneities affect the MPD's financial impact. Further, we find that MPD not only negatively affects a firm's financial performance but also worsens its environmental, social, and corporate governance performance. Our study recommends that firms should alleviate the asymmetry of market power with their partners and leverage the relationship dependence to balance power and benefits.

An island detection approach in 6G paradigm for an active distribution network – A future perspective for next generation smart grids

Aiming ultra-reliable and mountable connectivity of tremendously high data rates in the Tb/s era with zero-perceived latency of 6G systems, next generation smart grids will need to captivate the advantages of breakthrough novel technology perceptions, incorporating THz wireless links, broadband and machine learning-based models designs, protocols and management practices. Motivated by the transformation potential of 6G systems, this paper deals with an island detection approach in 6G paradigm for an active distribution network. The proposed island detection method is tailored to adopt the breakthrough technologies of 6G, particularly, ultra-low latency, high volume data transmission and machine learned intelligent system. This methodology calculates the angular sum of the positive and the zero-sequence phase angle of the voltage at point of common coupling combined with random forest (RF) machine learning to identify islanding conditions. The technique has a robust resistance to noise due to the inherent nature of RF, has no consequences on power quality and exhibits a zero non-detection zone. It has the ability to differentiate between islanding and non-islanding events precisely even during active and reactive power discrepancy and transients similar to islanding. The method depicts a high testing accuracy of 98.46% with an island detection time of 52 ms.

Flatness enhancement of multi-wavelength Brillouin-Raman fiber laser with 10 GHz spacing utilizing Raman pump power distribution.

A simple high flat amplitude multi-wavelength Brillouin-Raman fibre laser (MBRFL) with 10 GHz spacing and excellent optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) in C-Band spectral region is demonstrated. The laser consists of a linear cavity in which 12 km dispersion compensating fiber (DCF) in addition to 49 cm Bismuth-oxide Erbium doped fiber (Bi-EDF) are employed as a gain medium for amplification. The impact of Raman pump power distribution through changes in coupling ratio on amplitude flatness is carried out by comparing the peak power discrepancy between odd- and even-order Brillouin Stoke lines. This is the main property that allows the efficient controlling of gain propagation between lasing lines that is vital for Stokes flattening initiation and other output spectra characteristics. The attainment of MBRFL with outstanding OSNR necessitates the utilizing of Bi-EDF as a noise suppressor. By utilizing a 50/50 coupler, 354 identical channels together with uniform Brillouin Stokes linewidth within only 0.3-dB maximum power difference between adjacent channels is generated. The average OSNR and Stokes power are 28 dB and -5 dBm respectively when the RPP is set at 1300 mW. To date, this is the highest flatness 10 GHz spacing MBRFL with outstanding OSNR attained in MBRFL that incorporate only a single Raman pump unit.

Switchable wide-band multi-wavelength fiber laser via Brillouin random lasing resonance

A switchable wide-band multi-wavelength Brillouin-erbium fiber laser constructed by a sub fiber loop (SFL) containing an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) and a main fiber cavity (MFC) including a 1-km length of high nonlinear fiber (HNLF) via Brillouin random lasing resonance is proposed and experimentally investigated. The EDFA is incorporated into the sub fiber loop to boost optical power of the externally injected Brillouin pump (BP) light and Stokes wave fed back from the MFC, and the amplified BP light and Stokes wave are forward launched into the HNLF via the SFL, meanwhile, the generated Stokes wave is partially backward injected into the HNLF via the MFC, which make the Brillouin random lasing resonance of the Stokes wave form in the laser cavity. Using the proposed scheme, up to 19-orders backward-output Brillouin Stokes lines with a peak power discrepancy of less than 10 dB, and 281 stable forward-output Brillouin Stokes lines with a peak power discrepancy of less than 30 dB are obtained from the different output ports of the laser. Compared with the previous results, the backward generated Brillouin Stokes lines increase from 11 to 19 orders and the spectral-lines compositions also happen to change, and the forward generated stable Brillouin Stokes lines span over 30 nm and are extended by more than 18 nm. It is obvious that the generated Brillouin Stokes lines significant increasing should owe to the Brillouin random lasing resonance being introduced into the laser cavity. Influences of the system parameters including the BP power, EDFA pump power, and feedback power of Stokes wave on the laser lasing are investigated in detail. The proposed multi-wavelength fiber lasers can backward generate switchable Brillouin Stokes lines from 1st order to 19th order with an increasing wavelength number in turn, only by adjusting the EDFA pump power; moreover, the wavelength interval of the backward generated Brillouin Stokes lines can be switched between double- and single-Brillouin frequency shift, only by adjusting feedback power of the Stokes wave, without adding additional system configuration. A statistical analysis for the randomness of the multi-wavelength Brillouin-erbium fiber lasers is also done.

Heterogeneity of Decoupling Between Economic Development and Carbon Emissions in China's Green Industrial Parks

AbstractOn the path to carbon neutrality, the journey to net‐zero emissions in the industry is achievable, and the green development of industrial parks is crucial for a smooth transition. We examined a sample of 171 green industrial parks certified by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Using the Tapio decoupling model, we conducted decoupling analyses at both the national and regional scales of their economic growth and environmental conservation for three consecutive years. Spatial heterogeneity is found in carbon‐economy decoupling states and carbon‐pollutant synergy effects. Industrial parks in the east of China present better carbon‐economy decoupling states and carbon‐pollutant synergy effects than the other regions. The CO2 emissions determinants were explored by using the STIRPAT model. The variable industrial value‐added per capita, which is representative of economic growth, presents a positive and significant effect on emissions; the energy output and the proportion of high‐tech industries present a negative effect. However, after dividing the parks into groups by their leading industries, the influence of the variables started to show a power discrepancy. The heterogeneity analysis of this study can provide a basis for developing diversified strategies for Chinese industrial parks under the net‐zero emission goal.

Understanding opportunism in buyer–supplier–supplier triadic relationships: the role of power asymmetry

PurposeFirms often struggle with opportunistic behavior from supply chain partners. Relying on Transaction Cost Economics and its extensions, this study developed a conceptual model theorizing the antecedence, consequences and conditional factors of opportunism within a buyer–supplier–supplier triadic relationship.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed a cross-sectional survey data collected from 200 U.S. firms. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS and AMOS, the two statistical software, for reliability, validity, confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation modeling.FindingsFirst, opportunism negatively influences operational performance and business performance, and such an effect is fully mediated by relationship stability. Second, this study classified power asymmetry as asymmetrical power discrepancy and asymmetrical power advantage with these two forms playing different roles in influencing opportunism. Results indicate that asymmetrical power discrepancy induces opportunism while asymmetrical power advantage strengthens the negative influence that opportunism has on relationship stability. Additionally, the mediated moderating effect of asymmetrical power advantage by relationship stability is confirmed.Originality/valueThe results provide significant academic and managerial insights that can guide managerial efforts in distinguishing types of power asymmetry, controlling opportunism and further mitigating the consequences of opportunism within a triadic relationship.

Data-Driven Repeated-Feedback Adjustment Strategy for Smart Grid Pricing

Applying the optimal problem, we get the optimal power supply and price. However, how to make the real power consumption close to the optimal power supply is still worth studying. This paper proposes a novel data-driven inverse proportional function-based repeated-feedback adjustment strategy to control the users’ real power consumption. With the repeated-feedback adjustment, we adjust the real-time prices according to changes in the power discrepancy between the optimal power supply and the users’ real power consumption. If and only if the power discrepancy deviates the preset range, the real power consumption in different periods will be adjusted through the change of the price, so the adjustment times is the least. Numerical results on real power market show that the novel inverse proportional function-based repeated-feedback adjustment strategy brought forward in the article achieves better effect than the linear one, that is to say, the adjustments times and standard error of the residuals are less. Meanwhile, profit and whole social welfare are more. The proposed strategy can obtain more steady and dependable consumption load close to the optimal power supply, which is conducive to the balanced supply of electric energy.

Switchable single-double frequency multi-wavelength Brillouin Raman fiber laser based on micro-air cavity misalignment

This study experimentally demonstrates a switchable single-double frequency spacing multi-wavelength Brillouin Raman fiber laser (MW-BRFL). The switching functionality was assisted by a micro air cavity (MAC) that was constructed by lateral misalignment of two cleaved fiber facets. Experimental results indicated that the frequency spacing of the generated channels could be switched via adjusting the MAC lateral misalignment. The laser performance was evaluated by fixing the peak power flatness to 1.5 dB. For Raman pump power of 800 mW, as many as 503 channels (39.72 nm bandwidth) with single frequency spacing of 0.079 nm were obtained when the lateral misalignment was set at 0 µm. On the other hand, with MAC misalignment of 25 µm, the laser produced 235 channels (37.03 nm bandwidth) with double frequency spacing of 0.158 nm. The peak power discrepancy between the odd and even channels was 20 dB, indicating high suppression of double-frequency spacing laser. In comparison to other switchable MW-BRFLs, this proposed configuration exhibited significant improvements with respect to channel bandwidth, flatness and suppression.

From Higher Education in Historic Palestine towards a Pan-Palestinian Higher Education

The fiercely waged, century-long conflict on the ground of historic Palestine between the Jews, who from the mid-nineteenth century have mainly immigrated from Europe, and the Arab Palestinians, who live there—and have been living there for centuries/thousands of years—primarily started in the educational field. With the establishment of the Technion Institute in 1912, the Political Zionist movement started to develop a higher education system (HES) that could deliver the human capital needed for the building of a prosperous state, one built on the occupation and expropriation of Palestinian land and material property, on the expulsion of the people who lived there, on a system of apartheid, and, at long last, on the denial and destruction of the Palestinian identity. It was only sixty years later that a Palestinian response in the field of higher education was in a position to start with the establishment of Hebron University in 1971, followed by over fifty other Palestinian higher education institutes (HEIs). Despite current numerical parity in the population of around 6.5 million each (The New Arab 2018) and the number of HEIs (over fifty each) on the ground of historic Palestine, a devastating multi-sectorial power discrepancy exists in favor of the visions of Political Zionism. The power discrepancy and the irreconcilable narratives developed on both sides render peaceful compromises impossible. Through bibliographic research, this paper provides an outsider’s general snapshot of the current state of higher education in Palestine in order to explore its relation to conflict narratives, to power gap, and to major political events. It presents ideas for an intra-Palestinian, just as a regional and a global, discourse on how the still weak Palestinian HES in the Occupied Palestinian Territory could be improved to further strengthen Palestinian economic and scientific progress. It reflects on how to expand into a pan-Palestinian HES that, in addition, targets Palestinian refugees and diaspora Palestinians from all over the world, as well as Palestinians living in Israel. Beyond this demographic expansion, this essay suggests an academic engagement with the strengthening of historic Palestinian identity and the restitution of its cultural Druze and Jewish components, which were lost during the last century of conflict. This strengthened renewed multi-religious (now multilingual) Palestinian identity can also offer a long-term perspective for a peaceful solution, a perspective which cannot be offered by the exclusive Political Zionism.

Hybrid MAP and PIC Detection for OTFS Modulation

Orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) modulation has attracted substantial attention recently due to its great potential of providing reliable communications in high-mobility scenarios. In this article, we propose a novel hybrid signal detection algorithm for OTFS modulation. Based on the system model, we first derive the near-optimal <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">symbol-wise</i> maximum <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">a posteriori</i> (MAP) detection algorithm for OTFS modulation. Then, in order to reduce the detection complexity, we propose a partitioning rule that separates the related received symbols into two subsets for detecting each transmitted symbol, according to the corresponding path gains. According to the partitioning rule, we design the hybrid detection algorithm to exploit the power discrepancy of each subset, where the MAP detection is applied to the subset with larger channel gains, while the parallel interference cancellation (PIC) detection is applied to the subset with smaller channel gains. We also provide the error performance analysis of the proposed hybrid detection algorithm. Simulation results show that the proposed hybrid detection algorithm can not only approach the performance of the near-optimal <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">symbol-wise</i> MAP algorithms, but also offer a substantial performance gain compared with existing algorithms.

Decision-Making in U.S. Foreign Policy Crises: Presidential Leadership and Outcomes

Scholars of foreign policy decision-making have argued that international interactions ultimately are grounded in people acting singly or in groups. Unfortunately, data limitations prevent many of these crucial foreign policy decision-making theories from being rigorously tested and systematically compared with theories from alternative perspectives. A promising approach to remedying this deficiency is the addition of decision-making variables to existing, large- N data sets. In this study, we coded a series of foreign policy decision-making variables for all U.S. cases in the International Crisis Behavior (ICB) data set, and examined how these decision-making variables compared with structural factors in shaping crisis outcomes. The results reveal that when controlling for structural factors such as conflict setting and power discrepancy, foreign policy decision-making variables related to leaders’ traits, advisory structure, and the political context shaped the severity and centrality of violence employed by the United States. We conclude that including decision-making variables alongside structural variables will enhance the quality of data analysis in the areas of conflict studies and foreign policy analysis.

Real Power Loss Reduction by Enhanced RBS Algorithm

In this paper enhanced red-breasted sapsucker (ERBS) algorithm has been proposed to solve the power loss lessening problem. RBS algorithm is designed on the copulate actions of RBS. Male RBS (MRBS) will attract the female with an exclusive tone. Concerning the concentration of the tone female RBS (FMBS) will progress in the direction of the MRBS. Various tone engendered by MRBS will catch the fancy of FRBS, and this action is analogous to data contribution in Evolutionary techniques. Naturally, so many MRBS will put huge efforts simultaneously to attract the FRBS for copulate. RBS has been integrated with the sine-cosine algorithm (SCA) and opposition-based learning (OBL). SCA process shifts resourcefully from exploration to exploitation by acclimatizing the functions. Solutions are frequently streamlined to the premium solution and optimization of the premium region of the exploration zone. OBL is one of the significant optimization procedures to improve the convergence pace of different optimization procedures. The successful execution of the OBL holds the assessment of the opposite population and present population in the analogous generation to find out the better contender solution. The proposed enhanced RBS (ERBS) algorithm is corroborated in IEEE 30 bus test systems. Power discrepancy compressed, power reliability amplified, and power loss condensed.

Unexpected Intimacies

Anthropologists examining the relationship between physician and patient in Western biomedicine have observed an inherent power discrepancy between the physician, assumed to hold scientific knowledge, and the patient, the recipient of this knowledge. COVID-19 presents a unique challenge to that dynamic, as physicians, scientists and medical experts possess limited understanding of the pathophysiology, interventions and treatment of the disease. Drawing on my experience as a resident physician on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, I contend that the absence of knowledge surrounding COVID-19 fosters a new form of intimacy between physician and patient through greater emphasis on subjective patient experience, increased transparency between physician and patient, and an expanding physician role beyond management of the physical disease state.

A Review of Doctor-Patient Communication Studies

The constant rising number of violent events between doctors and patients has drawn great attention from researchers in different fields. Communication is the most fundamental way to solve the problem. The paper makes a brief review of the studies on doctor-patient communication during the past twenty years. It focuses on the features of doctor-patient communication, the reasons for the poor communication, the solutions to the problems and the future research tendencies. The paper gives consideration of the four aspects from the two following aspects, medical and linguistics. The current feature of doctor-patient communication is inconsistent, following the traditional liner model. The main reasons for the problem are the power discrepancy and the inappropriate attitude held by doctors. To handle the situation, measures like adjusting address terms have been proposed. Further research tendencies are also given in the paper, such as building up a communicative model.

The Complicated Digital Fandom: Empowerment and Exploitation of Fans in Digital Media Era

Over the past several decades, the once despised fans have been introduced to the central stage of audience study, challenging people’s stereotype about fans. Fans are considered as the most active and visible audiences since they are active producers rather than passive consumers. With the pervasiveness of the digital media, fans are provided with more opportunities to engage with the media production and challenge the authority of media industry. However, there are still some scholars argue that fans in digital era are prone to be exploited by media industry as free labor. These two contradictory aspects illustrate the main characteristics of fans in digital media era. This research aims to explore the reconfigured relationships between fans and professional media producers, critically discussing the extent to which fans are empowered and exploited in the digital media era. The analysis in this paper is organized from three main aspects: first, the transformation of fans’ images in the ever-changing media landscapes is illustrated, emphasizing the trend that fans are increasingly considered to be more active and influential in the media production process; second, the ways that fans engage with media production in the digital media era are explored in details, which supports the opinion that fans are empowered in digital media era; third, the emerging exploitations of fans online practice are demonstrated by employing the concept of free labor. By critically discussing both the empowerment and exploitation of fans in digital media era, in this paper, it is concluded that although the increasing productivity and influence of fans imply the reconfigured relationships between fans and media producers, the emerging exploitation of fans’ free labor should not be ignored which indicates that the power discrepancy between fans and media producers still exists. The empowerment and exploitation of fans in digital media era should not be considered as a zero-gum game. Since the digital fandom is more complicated than before, the binary opposition between empowerment and exploitation should be revisited and revised. Within the context of the emerging digital economy, fans and media producers are continuously negotiating with each other.

The Case of Ukrainian Corruption: Phenomenology and Psychological Insides

This article describes modern corruption in Ukraine. A communication-dyad with unequal power distribution was taken as the basic element for corruption modeling. Based on the analysis of 51 cases it uncovers the phenomenology of corruption and its psychological insides. It was shown that power gradient and obedience within the dyad are the key preconditions for the initiation of corrupt action. An active misuse of power discrepancy is also essential for sustainable proliferation of corruption. According to the data, about one third of corruption cases are accomplished exclusively by the involvement of state servants. In 31.4% of the cases, one finds the signs of organizational support of corruption. Moreover, in another 21.5% of the cases one finds a rather supportive position of state organization towards an act of corruption. 49% of the cases describe corrupt operations on a regular basis, which means that corrupt actions are run systematically on daily, weekly, or monthly bases depending on the specific organization. These findings uncover an active and aggressive nature of corruption, which is described by the dyadic model of coercive corrupt relationship. The power- discrepancy within dyad is intentionally used for the extraction of resources from the subjects with low power or from the budget.

Analysis of decoupled association in HetNets using soft frequency reuse scheme

Meeting the huge data demands of cellular networks requires an integrated model in terms of interference mitigation technique and cell association scheme. A heterogeneous cellular network (HetNet), which comprises low power small base stations (sBSs) deployed in the coverage of high power macro base station (mBS), plays a vital role in achieving high network performance gains. Large transmit power discrepancy among various tiers of HetNet with maximum received power association scheme results in fewer number of users associated with sBSs causing inefficient utilization of resources. A fraction of users from mBS are offloaded to sBSs for performance improvements, which causes signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio degradation due to strong mBS interference. Therefore, proactive user association along with interference management technique is essential to abate interference with efficient use of sBSs' resources. In this paper, we consider soft frequency reuse scheme together with decoupled association (DA) to mitigate interference and to achieve load balancing. Results indicate that the proposed unified model achieves enhanced coverage probability due to reduced interference and DA outperforms all other methods used in the state-of-the-art.

Comparative study using soft computing techniques for the reactive power compensation of a hybrid power system model

Abstract Reactive power discrepancy has caused brief disturbance in the Hybrid Power System Model (HPSM), resulting into voltage fluctuation in the system. This fluctuation has impact in the HPSM both for the steady state and the transient stability. The objective of this paper is to compensate this reactive power and find solution to overcome the problems of not being able to maintain a flat voltage profile of a wind-diesel HPSM. Therefore, the study employs a Proportional-Integral-Derivative Controller with Derivative Filter (PIDF) along with a Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) controller. It also proposes an effectiveness of symbiosis organism search algorithm to optimize the various controller parameters of the studied HPSM and compares the results with other reported stochastic and heuristic algorithms.