Practical Necessity Research Articles

Optimizing inland container logistics through dry ports: A two-stage stochastic mixed-integer programming approach considering volume discounts and consolidation in rail transport

It is essential for container shipping companies to plan for the optimum number and locations of dry ports as well as efficient inland container logistics operations to reduce costs and environmental impacts while improving customer service. The plan for optimum inland container transportation network design must account for demand uncertainty to eliminate financial difficulty due to redundant investment. In this regard, this study proposed a two-stage stochastic mixed-integer programming model for optimizing inland container logistics through dry ports. The model contributes to the state of the art in current research by including a piecewise-linear cost function for railway transportation to account for volume discounts, integrating full container scheduling with transport mode selection and empty container relocation for consolidation, and reflecting the fact that the amount of import and export full containers transported between customers (consignees and consignors) and seaports are exogenously decided. The solution results demonstrated the definite performance superiority of the progressive hedging algorithm over the extensive form solution. Additionally, the value of stochastic solution calculation showed that the application of stochastic solution might result in significant cost savings compared to the application of mean value deterministic solution. The proposed model can be applied for practical necessities to design robust optimum inland container logistics operations using intermodal rail transport with the progressive hedging algorithm as an efficient solution approach.

Cultivating Resiliencies for All: The Necessity of Trauma Responsive Research Practices

This paper is an exploration of trauma, how and why it can surface during ethnographic and qualitative research, and the importance of anticipating its potential presence. We present a model to help plan for and mitigate the risks of trauma and demonstrate how it fits into broader methodological discussions of conducting safer and more ethical, responsible, and humane research. We close by discussing one pathway for a journey from being sensitive and aware of trauma to actively responding to it at both the individual and organizational levels across your work.

Finding balance: the positives and negatives of moving peer mentor training online

The Student Academic Mentor (SAM) programme at the London School of Economics has only been in place for five years, and in that time it has rapidly grown in scope and numbers. With the pandemic, training of the largely international cohort of undergraduates moved online and in-person training was removed. This continued in 2020/21. The result is a trained cohort, but a disconnection between the student volunteer and the programme co-ordinator. In a Learning Development context, with the new landscape of HE emphasising hybridity, where do we find the balance between practical necessity and losing our personal touch with students?

The Palanquin Thrones of the ʿAlawite Sultans of Morocco

Abstract The ceremonies of the ʿAlawite dynasty were often held out of doors, with the monarch appearing on horseback and under a parasol, escorted by a master of ceremonies holding a large baton; a row of saddled horses led by grooms; lancers; ensign bearers; musicians; a horse bearing a copy of the Qurʾan or volumes of the Hadith; and attendants who performed the ritual waving of white cloths. When the sultan conducted annual expeditions to subdue rebellious tribes and extract taxes, he was accompanied by a red-curtained palanquin slung between two mules, a practical necessity in case the monarch was indisposed. Most of these traditions continued the practices of earlier dynasties. However, for the later ʿAlawite period, more detailed descriptions are available, and these indicate that the palanquin also served as a throne. The sultan sat enthroned in the palanquin, which was placed in the royal audience tent facing a parade ground. In a similar fashion, European carriages served as portable thrones for receptions within royal palaces. This essay examines the history and iconography of the Moroccan palanquin throne, along with some associated rituals and insignia. While palanquins have been abandoned by the ruling dynasty and superseded by motor vehicles, a similar iconography survives in religious processions carrying another type of draped box, the cover of a cenotaph from a saint’s tomb.

Prioritizing a Physical Education Workforce Research and Development Agenda

ABSTRACT External developments and intra-professional needs, challenges, and opportunities recommend a workforce research and development agenda. In particular: (a) new models for schools necessitate customized, evidence-based curricula and school/community programs; (b) the effectiveness of every curriculum and program depends on workforce readiness, commitments, competency, adaptability, and retention; (c) the workforce thus is a social determinant for pediatric experiences and outcomes; (d) performance-based accountability requirements for evidence-based and data-informed programs and practices expose workforce-related gaps and illuminate needs for better designs; (e) because one size does not fit all, justifiable variability is a core problem for the profession’s members to address; and (f) strategic differentiation among teacher education programs in tandem with specialized school offerings necessitates better quality assurance mechanisms coordinated by state and national professional associations. Improved workforce specialization in service of better outcomes thus necessitates pivotal choices. Place-based, collaborative planning for collective action is a practical necessity.

The innovative contribution of kantian thinking in the history of political ideas

In the material below, the author brings in a well-structured and systematized form of the strong arguments about the place and role of Classical German Philosophy in the History of Political Ideas: the economic recovery and poor integration of the states of Germany under the blow of Napoleon’s occupational wars by German thinkers, some innovations in knowledge of German philosophers, the lessons imposed by the experience of the franchise revolution to the German bourgeoisie, its fear of its own people and pushing it to compromise with the aristocracy. On the other hand, German ideology in the new space of religious tolerance between Catholics and Protestants created favorable conditions for the development of abstract-theoretical thinking, as it freed philosophy from the need to depend entirely on religious dogma, but also alienating it from the necessities of practice. In these critical conditions of the previous theories and of elaboration of a new theoretical-methodological foundation of knowledge, the new political-philosophical movement is initiated, known as the classical German philosophy, which will strongly mark the modern political thinking. The founder of this movement will be the famous philosopher and great innovator of German thought in modern times Immanuel Kant, who will make an essential turn in political thought, will strongly mark the Western modern society and will be the basis of the most important modern political and contemporary ideas.

Quality indicators for capsule endoscopy and deep enteroscopy

Capsule endoscopy (CE) and deep enteroscopy (DE) can be useful for diagnosing and treating suspected small-bowel disease. Guidelines and detailed recommendations exist for the use of CE/DE, but comprehensive quality indicators are lacking. The goal of this task force was to develop quality indicators for appropriate use of CE/DE by using a modified RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method. An expert panel of 7 gastroenterologists with diverse practice experience was assembled to identify quality indicators. A literature review was conducted to develop a list of proposed quality indicators applicable to preprocedure, intraprocedure, and postprocedure periods. The panelists reviewed the literature; identified and modified proposed quality indicators; rated them on the basis of scientific evidence, validity, and necessity; and determined proposed performance targets. Agreement and consensus with the proposed indicators were verified using the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method. The voting procedure to prioritize metrics emphasized selecting measures to improve quality and overall patient care. Panelists rated indicators on the perceived appropriateness and necessity for clinical practice. After voting and discussion, 2 quality indicators ranked as inappropriate or uncertain were excluded. Each quality indicator was categorized by measure type, performance target, and summary of evidence. The task force identified 13 quality indicators for CE and DE. Comprehensive quality indicators have not existed for CE or DE. The task force identified quality indicators that can be incorporated into clinical practice. The panel also addressed existing knowledge gaps and posed research questions to better inform future research and quality guidelines for these procedures.

Optimization-Based High-Frequency Circuit Miniaturization through Implicit and Explicit Constraint Handling: Recent Advances

Miniaturization trends in high-frequency electronics have led to accommodation challenges in the integration of the corresponding components. Size reduction thereof has become a practical necessity. At the same time, the increasing performance demands imposed on electronic systems remain in conflict with component miniaturization. On the practical side, the challenges related to handling design constraints are aggravated by the high cost of system evaluation, normally requiring full-wave electromagnetic (EM) analysis. Some of these issues can be alleviated by implicit constraint handling using the penalty function approach. Yet, its performance depends on the arrangement of the penalty factors, necessitating a costly trial-and-error procedure to identify their optimum setup. A workaround is offered by the recently proposed algorithms with automatic adaptation of the penalty factors using different adjustment schemes. However, these intricate strategies require a continuous problem-dependent adaptation of the penalty function throughout the entire optimization process. Alternative methodologies have been proposed by taking an explicit approach to handle the inequality constraints, along with correction-based control over equality conditions, the combination of which proves to be demonstrably competitive for some miniaturization tasks. Nevertheless, optimization-based miniaturization, whether using implicit or explicit constraint handling, remains a computationally expensive task. A reliable way of reducing the aforementioned costs is the incorporation of multi-resolution EM fidelity models into the miniaturization procedure. Therein, the principal operation is based on the simultaneous monitoring of factors such as quality of the constraint satisfaction, as well as algorithm convergence status. This paper provides an overview of the abovementioned size-reduction algorithms, in which theoretical considerations are illustrated using a number of antenna and microwave circuit case studies.

Використання державного контролю фінансової звітності для обґрунтування ефективності прийнятих управлінських рішень

Abstract. Introduction. At the present stage of development of economic relations the issue of reliability of financial reporting, which serves as the main source of information on the property status of an institution or organization, is acute. Purpose. To understand the practical necessity of control procedures, it is necessary to clearly understand the essence of this concept and their role in making effective management decisions by users of information disclosed in financial statements. Results. The article considers the basic concepts, which reveal the essence of the process of application of procedures of state control of financial reporting, structured the methodology of such procedures, analyzed the methods of control and carried out a review of the legal framework, which regulates its implementation. For revealing of these questions, the works of domestic and foreign researchers have been analyzed, the concept of reliability of indicators of financial reporting has been revealed, the process of gathering of audit evidences and the source of their reception has been described. Also, the article characterized the importance of state control of financial reporting for the correction of deviations from the adopted standards and compliance with current legislation, for the formation of a positive image of the institution or organization and for all users of such information to make informed decisions. Consideration of the concepts of "audit report" and "audit conclusion" allowed to analyze their difference and the materiality of their impact on the organization, in which control procedures were applied to determine the reliability of the information given in the financial statements. Conclusions. As a conclusion, it is noted that the state control is an integral part of the regulatory system, which aims to identify deviations and violations of the principles of legality, efficiency and economy of expenditure of material resources at the earliest possible stage in order to be able to take corrective action.

"further proof of the robust nature of the local economy": macroeconomics as architectural driver of Palmerston North's Civic Administration Building

The Civic Administration Building in Palmerston North is often rated the ugliest building in the city. Dreamed of at the start of the 1970s, it was seen as eventually being the physical manifestation of Palmerston North's big city status (once Hamilton had been defeated). By the time it was completed at end of the decade it was a monument to austerity, having survived rampant inflation and central Government controls, and proudly declared as a "solid, practical unobtrusive building." This paper explores how the macroeconomic conditions of the 1970s shaped this transition from dream to practical necessity.

Scientometric Analysis for Cross-Laminated Timber in the Context of Construction 4.0

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) has been one of the principal materials in mass timber construction, and now it is possible to find mid-rise and high-rise projects around the globe. This study makes a scientometric review comparison between CLT and the impact of the fourth industrial revolution (formally known as Industry 4.0) in the construction industry, focusing on worldwide academic publications between 2006 and 2022. The analysis considers keywords, co-author, co-citation, and clustering analysis. This study used 1320 documents, including journals and conference proceedings from the Scopus database, where 753 were for cross-laminated timber and 567 for Industry 4.0. Key researchers, research institutions, journals, publications, citation patterns, and trends are some of the results obtained from the scientometric analysis. Once the knowledge mapping was conducted for both fields, scrutiny of the interconnection of both areas was performed to find possible research gaps from a manufacturing perspective. Among the conclusions, it is logical to say that Industry 4.0 implementation in cross-laminated timber is still in its infancy. One of the most popular technologies impacting construction is the digital twin concept; however, no work is reported for CLT on this topic. Additionally, digital automation is a necessity in any research practice, and the use of industrial robots is shown to be an essential asset for CLT as these robots can handle complex shapes.

Developing a two-parabolic band model for thermoelectric transport modelling using Mg2Sn as an example

Thermoelectrics is a field driven by material research aimed at increasing the thermal to electrical conversion efficiency of thermoelectric (TE) materials. Material optimisation is necessary to achieve a high figure of merit (zT) and in turn a high conversion efficiency. Experimental efforts are guided by the theoretical predictions of the optimum carrier concentration for which generally the single parabolic band (SPB) model is used which considers the contribution to electronic transport only from the majority carriers’ band. However, most TE materials reach peak performance (maximum zT) close to their maximum application temperature and when minority carrier effects become relevant. Therefore, single band modelling is insufficient to model the behaviour of TE materials in their most practically relevant temperature range. Inclusion of minority effects requires addition of the minority carrier band and necessitates the use of a two-band model—the simplest and, for most cases, sufficient improvement. In this study, we present a systematic methodology for developing a two-band model using one valence and one conduction band for any given TE material. The method utilises in part the SPB model and in part a simple cost function based analysis to extract material parameters like density of states masses, band gap, deformation potential constant etc., based on easily available experimental data. This simple and powerful method is exemplified using Mg2Sn, chosen due to its low band gap, the availability of experimental data in a wide range of dopant concentrations and its practical importance, being an end member of the highly popular Mg2(Si,Sn) solid solutions. Using the experimental data for p- and n-type Mg2Sn from literature, a two-band model was obtained. Optimum carrier concentration and maximum zT were predicted from both SPB and two-band models and at 650 K pronounced differences between the two models, which could prevent realisation of maximum zT, were observed, demonstrating the practical necessity to model the effect of minority carriers.

Practical necessity, freedom, and history: From Hobbes to Marx

Practical necessity, freedom, and history: From Hobbes to Marx

Who’s in the driver’s seat? Gender and the division of car use in auto-deficit households

• Practical necessity—the amount of time spouses that spend on household-serving or work-related activities—is the primary determinant of automobile use for both men and women. • Women are more likely to be the primary houseworker than men. • Women have substantially more exclusive access to the household vehicle than their male partners. • The findings reflect the persistence of the gender division of household labor and the role of the car in its maintenance. • The use of alternative modes of transportation is high among spouses who travel when the vehicle is in use by their partners. We examine the role of gender in access to household resources, in particular the household automobile. Drawing on data from the 2012 California Household Travel Survey, we isolate the determinants of vehicle use within dual-earner, dual-driver, heterosexual households in which drivers share a single vehicle. We test four gender-related hypotheses: the role of disparities in economic power, practical necessity related to the household division of labor, gender norms, and gender preferences. We find that practical necessity—the amount of time that spouses spend on household-serving or work-related activities—is the primary determinant of automobile use for both men and women. In contrast to previous research, we find that women have substantially more exclusive access to the household vehicle than their male partners. Rather than a measure of equality, this finding reflects the persistence of the gender division of household labor and the role of the car in its maintenance. The study underscores the broader need for policies to equalize gender roles both within and between the home and the workplace, as well as a role for transportation policies that serve the needs of household members who do not have primary use of the household car.

Critical theory in use: Organizing the Frankfurt School

The Frankfurt School was an interdisciplinary grouping of left-wing thinkers whose contributions to the social sciences and humanities made them one of the most influential groups of scholars from the last century. Their work has inspired decades of critical organizational research. Yet, across this body of thought, few organization theorists have considered the Frankfurt School as an organization. This article argues that we cannot apply Frankfurt School theories to organizations unless we understand how the School managed its own activities. Reading the School’s texts and examining its working practices through historical documents, we show that Frankfurt School thinkers did not ignore everyday organizational tasks, nor did they grudgingly accept them as a practical necessity. Rather, they embraced them as components of a dialectical theory of organizing and society – which we term critical theory-in-use. Defining what it means to be a critical scholar today is, we conclude, not just a matter of reading Frankfurt School theory but also understanding how this research institute endured for so long and had such a significant influence.

The impact of environmental risk and platform trust on satisfaction with health qr code use.

In response to the economic and social hazards posed by the COVID-19 global pandemic, many countries have adopted various information technologies to rapidly track and control the spread of the epidemic. Health Quick Response (QR) codes are emergency measures implemented by the Chinese government in the epidemic environment to balance epidemic prevention and control with recovery of economic and social development, and facilitate public mobility across regions and access to various public spaces. The use of health codes by the public is a practical necessity, but the satisfaction of their use is influenced by multiple factors such as environment, technology, and organization. In this paper, we collected data through a questionnaire to analyze the basic situation of public satisfaction with the use of health QR codes in China and its influencing factors. The results show that perceived quality and platform trust directly affect the satisfaction of health code usage, while environmental risk and platform trust indirectly affect the satisfaction of health code usage through the mediating effect of perceived quality.

Integral Studies and Integral Practices for Humanity and Nature

Humanity is facing a crisis of survival. In order to save humanity and nature, we must rebuild their foundations. This paper proposes integral studies and integral practices as a possible new paradigm for the 21st century. First, we investigated the necessity of integral studies and integral practices, which were suggested by the following three evidences: (1) limitations of the Spiritual Revolution and modern philosophy, (2) limitations of the Scientific Revolution and modern science, and (3) contemporary practical problems that threaten the future of humanity and nature. Second, we investigated the purpose and the principle of integral studies and integral practices from a viewpoint of the nature of both human beings and universe. One of the fundamental questions for humanity is how to overcome the egoism of individuals as well as the entire human race. In this avenue, we think the first step is to transcend toraware, which is a Japanese word meaning both “states of being caught” and “what catches us”. The state of being caught manifests itself when the ego emerges while we begin to distinguish between the self and others. Therefore, integrity and intrinsic nature become principles of integral studies and integral practices. Consequently, integral studies and integral practices serve for the sake of nature including humanity. Third, we discussed the methodology of integral studies and integral practices. We argue its core is integral exploration and reframing of the self and others, ourselves and the world (universe), and humanity and nature. It consequently reveals integrity and harmonizes intellect, emotion, and volition as well as goodness, truth, and beauty while revealing integrity and opening up or unfolding the intrinsic nature of the individual and the collective. Finally, we addressed limitations and future agendas of integral studies and integral practices. We suggest it is essential to raise and discuss fundamental questions on humanity and nature as well as to elucidate the truly unknown, which cannot be understood within existing frameworks. However, whether it is correct or not will come to be verified over time. No one in the history of humanity has ever attained universal truth, which is absolutely true in light of absolute criteria that are not relativized by differences in space, time, or people, or which is absolutely true even without referring to any criteria. Therefore, it is necessary for each of us to discern what is right and maintain a critical gaze.

Moving from dialogue to demonstration: assessing anti-racist practice in social work education utilizing simulation

ABSTRACT The stark racial health disparities associated with the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the apparent rise of white supremacy in the United States (U.S.) supports the necessity of anti-racist social work education and practice. Anti-racist practice is particularly salient given the significant numbers of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) served by social workers across the country. This paper highlights ways in which racism continues to permeate the country and the implications for social work practice and education, and how assessment of anti-racist practice has historically and continues to be absent in social work education. After reviewing the coming changes to the Council on Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Educational and Policy Accreditation Standards (EPAS) associated with centering anti-racism in social work education, the paper then offers a rationale for utilizing simulation in student assessment of anti-racist practice behaviors. In order to ensure that social work students are meeting the mandate associated with practicing through an anti-racist lens and are ready to effectively collaborate with BIPOC communities, social work students must be adequately assessed while engaged in their educational training.

Automatic Detection of Driver Fatigue Based on EEG Signals Using a Developed Deep Neural Network

In recent years, detecting driver fatigue has been a significant practical necessity and issue. Even though several investigations have been undertaken to examine driver fatigue, there are relatively few standard datasets on identifying driver fatigue. For earlier investigations, conventional methods relying on manual characteristics were utilized to assess driver fatigue. In any case study, such approaches need previous information for feature extraction, which could raise computing complexity. The current work proposes a driver fatigue detection system, which is a fundamental necessity to minimize road accidents. Data from 11 people are gathered for this purpose, resulting in a comprehensive dataset. The dataset is prepared in accordance with previously published criteria. A deep convolutional neural network–long short-time memory (CNN–LSTM) network is conceived and evolved to extract characteristics from raw EEG data corresponding to the six active areas A, B, C, D, E (based on a single channel), and F. The study’s findings reveal that the suggested deep CNN–LSTM network could learn features hierarchically from raw EEG data and attain a greater precision rate than previous comparative approaches for two-stage driver fatigue categorization. The suggested approach may be utilized to construct automatic fatigue detection systems because of their precision and high speed.

Would Mr. Science Eat the Chinese Diet?

Although science has been central to the history and historiography of the May Fourth Movement, our understanding of how May Fourth concerns influenced scientific discourses of food and eating remain undeveloped. What and how Mr. Science could and should eat were topics of genuine and thorough-going debate among the Chinese public, for whom food was as much a practical necessity for survival as an intellectual vehicle for understanding and grappling with the social, cultural, and economic crisis they perceived in the present. This essay analyzes two episodes, whose combination reveals the hidden logics of how efforts to historicize Chinese food in the 1930s informed the production of a scientific nutritional policy. First, we unpack these “histories” of Chinese food and its role in the degeneration of the Chinese people. Next, we follow the strands of this scientific storytelling into the thickets of science policy. In this way, we can see the interplay of May Fourth thinking and the practice of science as acts of negotiation between cultural narratives and scientific knowledge. The critical, connective figure was the biochemist Wu Hsien whose scientific credentials and professional standing made it possible for him to speak authoritatively to lay, scientific, and political audiences.