Preferred Solution Research Articles

Whatever the problem, entrepreneurship is the solution! Confronting the panacea myth of entrepreneurship with structural injustice

A topic of growing interest in entrepreneurship research is how entrepreneurial ventures address grand challenges. This literature, we argue, tends to produce a panacea myth by suggesting that entrepreneurship is the universal remedy for existing social and environmental ills. Starting from the claim that the persuasive power or ‘stickiness’ of the panacea myth depends not only on what it explicitly says (in terms of ideas and beliefs) but also on what it leaves out, we suggest that the exclusion of explicitly political and holistic explanations of grand challenges such as Iris Marion Young's theory of structural injustice, which we use as an illustrative example, precipitates a ‘constitutive absence’ whose mythic function is to sanitize the image of entrepreneurship as the preferred solution to grand challenges. In an effort to denaturalize the panacea myth, we first identify three ‘figures of thought’ – coined ‘extrapolation fallacy,’ ‘political agnosticism,’ and ‘positive acculturation’ – that define the content of the panacea myth while simultaneously excluding theoretical concepts and frameworks, such as structural injustice, that conceptualize grand challenges as structural, multidetermined, and inherently political problems that are not necessarily amenable to stand-alone entrepreneurial approaches and solutions. Second, to loosen the grip of the panacea myth, we suggest rethinking entrepreneurship research in terms of who is involved, what methods are used, and how we talk about it. Taken together, these tactics create an opening in entrepreneurship research for a more complexity-sensitive and political understanding of grand challenges that cultivates a more humble and realistic depiction of entrepreneurship's problem-solving capacity.

The missing link in Learning Analytics

Learning Analytics and staff-facing dashboards enable educators to gain insights into student learning, enhancing teaching practices and learning outcomes. Student-facing dashboards (SFDs) can also prove advantageous for students as they empower them to better interpret their results, promote self-reflection with the goal of improving their academic performance. Whilst there is no currently preferred software solution for implementing dashboards. Through the authors’ reflections of creating SFDs, using assessment and ePortfolio asset data, this can be achieved with free or readily available tools. This concise paper used initiatives for the author to reflect upon the process creating SFDs. Investigations for opportunities to refine dashboards are also presented.

Slag chemistry, element distribution behaviors, and metallurgical balance of e-waste smelting process

The co-smelting of electronic waste (e-waste) in copper/lead pyrometallurgical processes is widely recognized as the preferred solution for sustainable development. However, aluminum and halogen elements in e-waste causes new challenges. To address this, the slag chemistry of high Al2O3-containing slag was studied, and the distribution behaviors of Au, Ag, Sn, and other elements in the copper alloy/slag/gas system were investigated in the presence of halogen elements (F/Cl/Br) using the equilibration method. The industrial practice of electronic waste smelting was modeled using METSIM, and the material and energy balances of one industrial process were obtained. Under the conditions of electronic waste smelting, the solubility of Al2O3 in the FexO–SiO2–Al2O3–CaO slag system decreased with increasing CaO content. When the CaO content was 20 wt%, and the Fe/SiO2 mass ratio was 0.62–0.95, the solubility of Al2O3 in the slag reached 20 wt%. When 1%–10% CaF2 was added, 93% of Au entered the metal phase. When the same amount of CaCl2 or CaBr2 was added, up to 32% Au entered the gas phase. When CaF2 was added to the system, 22%–49% of Ag entered the gas phase. However, when CaCl2 or CaBr2 was added, 3%–34% of Ag entered the gas phase. The proportion of tin in the gas and slag phases increased with increasing temperature or the addition of halides. The METSIM simulation results showed that under optimized conditions, the crude copper contained more than 90 wt% copper, the discharged slag contained approximately 0.5 wt% copper, and the recovery rates of copper, gold, and silver were ≥98%. The heat generated from raw materials and fuel accounted for the largest part of the heat income, representing 65.32% of the total.

A preference elicitation approach for the ordered weighted averaging criterion using solution choice observations

Decisions under uncertainty or with multiple objectives usually require the decision maker to formulate a preference regarding risks or trade-offs. If this preference is known, the ordered weighted averaging (OWA) criterion can be applied to aggregate scenarios or objectives into a single function. Formulating this preference, however, can be challenging, as we need to make explicit what is usually only implicit knowledge. We explore an optimization-based method of preference elicitation to identify appropriate OWA weights. We follow a data-driven approach, assuming the existence of observations, where the decision maker has chosen the preferred solution, but otherwise remains passive during the elicitation process. We then use these observations to determine the underlying preference by finding the preference vector that is at minimum distance to the polyhedra of feasible vectors for each of the observations. Using our optimization-based model, weights are determined by solving an alternating sequence of linear programs and standard OWA problems. Numerical experiments on risk-averse preference vectors for selection, assignment and knapsack problems show that our passive elicitation method compares well against having to conduct pairwise comparisons and performs particularly well when there are inconsistencies in the decision maker’s choices.

Interpretable self-organizing map assisted interactive multi-criteria decision-making following Pareto-Race

The problem-solving task of the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach involves decision makers’ (DMs’) interaction by incorporating their preferences to arrive at one or more preferred near Pareto-optimal solution(s). The Pareto-Race is an interactive MCDM approach that relies on finding preferred solutions as the DM navigates on the Pareto surface by selecting the preferred reference direction and uniform/varying speed using the concept of Achievement Scalarization Function (ASF) or its augmented version (AASF). Selecting a reference direction or speed is possible, algorithmically, but the effectiveness of the Pareto-Race concept relies on suitable visualization methods that present the series of past solutions and convey the current objective trade-off information to assist the DM’s in decision-making task. Traditional multi-dimensional Pareto-optimal front visualization methods like parallel coordinate plots, radial visualization, and heat maps are deemed insufficient for this purpose. Therefore, the paper proposes integrating the concept of the Pareto-Race MCDM approach with a recently developed interpretable self-organizing map (iSOM) based visualization method. The iSOM maps high-dimensional data into lower-dimensional space, facilitating visual convenience for the DM. The proposed method requires a finite-size representation of non-dominated solutions near the complete Pareto Front to generate iSOM plots of objectives. We also propose visualizing the metrics such as closeness to constraint boundaries, trade-off value, and robustness using iSOM to check the quality of the preferred solutions, which is rarely considered in existing MCDM approaches. iSOM plots of objective functions, closeness to constraint, trade-off, and robustness metrics assist the DM in effectively choosing new reference direction and step size in each iteration to arrive at the most preferred solution. The proposed iSOM-enabled Pareto-Race approach is demonstrated on benchmark analytical and real-world engineering examples with 3 to 10 objectives.

Pump quantum efficiency optimization of 3.5 μm Er-doped ZBLAN fiber laser for high-power operation

976 nm + 1976 nm dual-wavelength pumped Er-doped ZBLAN fiber lasers are generally accepted as the preferred solution for achieving 3.5 μm lasing. However, the 2 μm band excited state absorption from the upper lasing level (4F9/2 → 4F7/2) depletes the Er ions population inversion, reducing the pump quantum efficiency and limiting the power scaling. In this work, we demonstrate that the pump quantum efficiency can be effectively improved by using a long-wavelength pump with lower excited state absorption rate. A 3.5 μm Er-doped ZBLAN fiber laser was built and its performances at different pump wavelengths were experimentally investigated in detail. A maximum output power at 3.46 μm of ~ 7.2 W with slope efficiency (with respect to absorbed 1990 nm pump power) of 41.2% was obtained with an optimized pump wavelength of 1990 nm, and the pump quantum efficiency was increased to 0.957 compared with the 0.819 for the conventional 1976 nm pumping scheme. Further power scaling was only limited by the available 1990 nm pump power. A numerical simulation was implemented to evaluate the cross section of excited state absorption via a theoretical fitting of experimental results. The potential of further power scaling was also discussed, based on the developed model.Graphical

Seismic design methods for concrete buildings

Earthquake is a devastating natural disaster that can easily cause buildings to collapse, posing a serious threat to human life. Concrete, as a widely used building material, is of significant concern for its seismic performance. This paper mainly presents how seismic resistance can be considered in concrete building design and proposes two main solutions, the use of high-performance materials and rational structural placement. Through comparison and analysis, it finds that rationalization of the structural placement is the preferred and feasible solution for the future between the two. The successful development of computer software has dramatically reduced the workload of structural modeling and analysis. At the same time, the combination of considering the use of high-performance materials and rationalizing the structural placement is a highly effective approach, which requires more time from the researcher to solve the difficulties and challenges. This paper provides a clear direction for research into seismic problems in concrete buildings.

Optimizing a direct flow cooling battery thermal management with bod baffles for electric vehicles: An experimental and simulation study

The scarcity of energy and environmental pollution are increasingly becoming serious issues. Encouragement for the use of electric vehicles (EVs) has become a preferred solution. The battery thermal management system (BTMS) is one of the core modules for ensuring the safe operation of EVs. This paper proposes a direct flow cooling battery thermal management system (DFC-BTMS) with rod baffles for EVs. It uses a lipid organic liquid as the coolant and rod baffles as the flow disturbance structures in the flow channel. Based on extensive experimental and simulation results for 18,650-type battery, DFC-BTMS is empirically analyzed. The experimental results show that DFC-BTMS can control the average surface temperature of the battery within the safe range at a 4C discharge rate. This paper also optimizes the distance of the rod baffles and the length of the battery pack through simulation. The optimized system is comprehensively evaluated based on the Performance Evaluation Criterion (PEC). At a 3C discharge rate and a volume flow rate of 2 LPM, the optimized DFC-BTMS results in a maximum average surface temperature of 24.789 °C and a maximum temperature difference of 2.734 °C for the battery pack. The system PEC is 3.07. The proposed DFC-BTMS can provide an innovative thermal management solution for EVs.

Scaling slowly rotating asteroids with stellar occultations

Context. As evidenced by recent survey results, the majority of asteroids are slow rotators (spin periods longer than 12 h), but lack spin and shape models because of selection bias. This bias is skewing our overall understanding of the spins, shapes, and sizes of asteroids, as well as of their other properties. Also, diameter determinations for large (>60 km) and medium-sized asteroids (between 30 and 60 km) often vary by over 30% for multiple reasons. Aims. Our long-term project is focused on a few tens of slow rotators with periods of up to 60 h. We aim to obtain their full light curves and reconstruct their spins and shapes. We also precisely scale the models, typically with an accuracy of a few percent. Methods. We used wide sets of dense light curves for spin and shape reconstructions via light-curve inversion. Precisely scaling them with thermal data was not possible here because of poor infrared datasets: large bodies tend to saturate in WISE mission detectors. Therefore, we recently also launched a special campaign among stellar occultation observers, both in order to scale these models and to verify the shape solutions, often allowing us to break the mirror pole ambiguity. Results. The presented scheme resulted in shape models for 16 slow rotators, most of them for the first time. Fitting them to chords from stellar occultation timings resolved previous inconsistencies in size determinations. For around half of the targets, this fitting also allowed us to identify a clearly preferred pole solution from the pair of two mirror pole solutions, thus removing the ambiguity inherent to light-curve inversion. We also address the influence of the uncertainty of the shape models on the derived diameters. Conclusions. Overall, our project has already provided reliable models for around 50 slow rotators. Such well-determined and scaled asteroid shapes will, for example, constitute a solid basis for precise density determinations when coupled with mass information. Spin and shape models in general continue to fill the gaps caused by various biases.

Defeating the ‘social danger’ of homosexuality while ‘forging the fatherland’: Sexual science and biotypology in Mexico’s national development, 1927–57

This article situates Mexican sexology, and how it engaged homosexuality and gender nonconformity, within more familiar nation-building projects in Mexico following the Revolution (1910–20). It argues that much like with understandings of race, Mexican sexologists, influenced by neo-Lamarckism and ‘Latin' eugenics, viewed sexuality as caused largely by social and environmental factors, rather than simply as a congenital characteristic. Such experts advocated for social solutions for what they saw as the ‘state of danger’ that homosexuality represented, targeting their interventions at youths, who were seen as pliable, future citizens, rather than adults, who were largely seen as irredeemable and best isolated from the national body. The article explores discursive, ideological, and methodological threads in Mexican sexology from the 19th to the mid-20th century, the field’s professionalization and transnational connections, case studies of youths in which the preferred solutions involved promoting family stability and coherence, and adult cases ranging from prison studies to the case of Marta Olmos, recipient of Mexico’s first widely known sex reassignment. Overall, it demonstrates important intersections between sexology and nation-building projects related to criminology, anthropology, and eugenics, and how the attempted management of homosexuality and gender nonconformity sheds light on Mexican development more broadly.

Desain Papan Permainan Tokoh Ibnu Battuta

Ibn Battuta was a Muslim born in the Moroccan population of the Muslim cities of Ibn Battuta, the city of Tangier. Born and raised in the town of Tangier, Ibn Battuta dreamed of traveling to cities far from where he lived. Until he decided to follow the trail of the dream on an expedition. The exploratory story has been written in the book entitled "rihla" but few know of it's existence, and the absence of any visual element found in it. This causes a lack of public interest in reading the story of Ibn Battuta from the book of rihlah. Not a few people are interested in learning the story of Ibn Battuta, but the problem of the lack of information telling the book's existence and the lack of visual elements that are at present a cause for the lack of interest. It could also be an opportunity to inform the public about the story of Ibn Battuta with more interesting delivery. The boardgames is a preferred solution to inform the public of the Ibn Battuta character, because games are one of the popular activities, as well as these games the public can imagine the Ibn Battuta on an exploration route.

Decision-Maker’s Preference-Driven Dynamic Multi-Objective Optimization

Dynamic multi-objective optimization problems (DMOPs) are optimization problems where elements of the problems, such as the objective functions and/or constraints, change with time. These problems are characterized by two or more objective functions, where at least two objective functions are in conflict with one another. When solving real-world problems, the incorporation of human decision-makers (DMs)’ preferences or expert knowledge into the optimization process and thereby restricting the search to a specific region of the Pareto-optimal Front (POF) may result in more preferred or suitable solutions. This study proposes approaches that enable DMs to influence the search process with their preferences by reformulating the optimization problems as constrained problems. The subsequent constrained problems are solved using various constraint handling approaches, such as the penalization of infeasible solutions and the restriction of the search to the feasible region of the search space. The proposed constraint handling approaches are compared by incorporating the approaches into a differential evolution (DE) algorithm and measuring the algorithm’s performance using both standard performance measures for dynamic multi-objective optimization (DMOO), as well as newly proposed measures for constrained DMOPs. The new measures indicate how well an algorithm was able to find solutions in the objective space that best reflect the DM’s preferences and the Pareto-optimality goal of dynamic multi-objective optimization algorithms (DMOAs). The results indicate that the constraint handling approaches are effective in finding Pareto-optimal solutions that satisfy the preference constraints of a DM.

Area-based initiatives and urban democracy

Area-based initiatives (ABIs) set out to improve livability and living conditions in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods by making use of extensive citizen participation. ABIs are often criticized for constituting a form of undemocratic tokenism; this creates the illusion that residents have a say over urban development because citizens are only given consultative power. This paper takes a different perspective. We follow the ‘systemic turn’ in democratic theory, which addresses how direct citizen participation can reduce problems of inclusion, communication, and collective action created by defects in representative democracy. We find evidence that our case, the Grønland-Tøyen ABI in Oslo, Norway, at its best, is able to include new, previously marginalized groups in formulating a collective will that eventually impact city government policy. We argue that these cases show the potential of ABIs to enhance government effectiveness, as the participatory process creates preferable solutions to those produced by city experts. We also argue that it is the narrow scope of the participation schemes, rather than the lack of power devolved to citizens, that limits the ABIs contribution to urban democracy. This hinders the ABI's ability to address social justice and puts the legitimacy of the participatory arrangements at risk.

P042 Lean Six Sigma Approach to Improve Non-Invasive Ventilation Patient Care

Abstract Introduction A lean six-sigma (LSS) approach to clinical redesign looks at aspects of patient flow, value to consumer and process inefficiencies. We used LSS quality management approach for clinical redesign of our non-invasive ventilation patient care. Current recommendations suggest that patients using non-invasive ventilation (NIV) require therapy for a minimum of 4 hours per night for optimal health benefits, with less than this amount defined as low adherence. This information is collated for each patient at each clinic visit. The aims of this study were to improve the identification of patients on non-invasive ventilation that are poorly adherent to paediatric specialist support, decrease the time taken for entry of NIV adherence data for all patients and evaluate process/es for scalability for future growth. Methods A LSS approach was used with identification of variation, waste and patient flow concerns in diagnostic stage. Rapid improvement events, diagnostic and solution design workshops were conducted to determine root cause, key issues and possible solutions. A preferred solution was adopted through team collaboration. Results A diagnostic stage identified two key areas: a 45% increase in telehealth and 162 man-hours of manual data entry for patient care. The solution initiated was to extract NIV machine data remotely and automate data collection. Discussion Healthcare is well suited to using the lean six-sigma approach to facilitate team collaboration in all aspects of clinical redesign of a healthcare pathway. Automating aspects of patient care may improve patient health and staff satisfaction.

Puzzling out graphic codes.

This response takes advantage of the diverse and wide-ranging series of commentaries to clarify some aspects of the target article, and flesh out other aspects. My central point is a plea to take graphic codes seriously as codes, rather than as a kind of visual art or as a byproduct of spoken language; only in this way can the puzzle of ideography be identified and solved. In this perspective, I argue that graphic codes do not derive their expressive power from iconicity alone (unlike visual arts), and I clarify the peculiar relationship that ties writing to spoken language. I then discuss three possible solutions to the puzzle of ideography. I argue that a learning account still cannot explain why ideographies fail to evolve, even if we emancipate the learning account from the version that Liberman put forward; I develop my preferred solution, the "standardization account," and contrast it with a third solution suggested by some commentaries, which says that ideographies do not evolve because they would make communication too costly. I consider, by way of conclusion, the consequences of these views for the future evolution of ideography.

Impact of Mechanical Removal on the Regeneration and Colonization Abilities of the Alien Aquatic Macrophyte Egeria densa.

The development of aquatic plant beds can obstruct boat traffic, hinder the practice of water activities, and impact the functioning of freshwaters. In order to mitigate their effects, mechanical removal is often the preferred management solution. The objective of this study was to test, in mesocosms, the effect of frequency (none, one, and two cuts) and cutting dates (May and/or July) on the regeneration and colonization capabilities of the aquatic plant Egeria densa, an invasive alien species in France. The cutting date had no effect on the capabilities of E. densa, but the two cuts significantly reduced the plant's biomass. Removal produced numerous fragments, which exhibited very high survival and anchoring rates. However, summer removal produced fragments with lower regeneration and colonization abilities compared to fragments from spring cutting. Mechanical removal only temporarily reduced the biomass of the aquatic plant beds and could promote the formation of new beds from the fragments generated by management and dispersed by water flow.

COMPO*SED: Composite Parallel Coordinates for Co-Dependent Multi-Attribute Choices.

We propose Composite Parallel Coordinates, a novel parallel coordinates technique to effectively represent the interplay of component alternatives in a system. It builds upon a dedicated data model that formally describes the interaction of components. Parallel coordinates can help decision-makers identify the most preferred solution among a number of alternatives. Multi-component systems require one such multi-attribute choice for each component. Each of these choices might have side effects on the system's operability and performance, making them co-dependent. Common approaches employ complex multi-component models or involve back-and-forth iterations between single components until an acceptable compromise is reached. A simultaneous visual exploration across independently modeled but connected components is needed to make system design more efficient. Using dedicated layout and interaction strategies, our Composite Parallel Coordinates allow analysts to explore both individual properties of components as well as their interoperability and joint performance. We showcase the effectiveness of Composite Parallel Coordinates for co-dependent multi-attribute choices by means of three real-world scenarios from distinct application areas. In addition to the case studies, we reflect on observing two domain experts collaboratively working with the proposed technique and communicating along the way.

N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide as a predictor for myocardial preservation in cases of isolated severe Aortic stenosis

Background Myocardial hypertrophy is a common pathologic finding in the natural history of severe aortic stenosis. A hypertrophied myocardium predisposes the patient to decreased tolerance to ischemia and increased reperfusion injury, myocardial protection is of utmost importance in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR) for severe aortic valve stenosis. Myocardial protection techniques during cardiac arrest have been extensively investigated in the clinical setting of coronary revascularization. However, fewer studies have been carried out on patients affected by left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, where the choice of type, and temperature of cardioplegia remains controversial. Aim The study investigates preoperative N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT pro-BNP), its relation to Troponin I levels, and whether it can predict a preferred cardioplegic solution by comparing the short-term outcomes of the two commonly used blood and Histidine-Tryptophan-Ketoglutarate (HTK) cardioplegic solutions in patients undergoing aortic valve replacement for severe aortic stenosis. Patients and methods A total of 72 patients will be randomly allocated into two groups; group (A=36) received HTK solution, and group (B=36) received blood cardioplegia. All anesthesia protocols are unified among all patients. All surgical procedures were conducted on a cardioplegic arrested heart via standard median sternotomy, utilizing full Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) via aorto-atrial cannulation and LV venting through a left atrial catheter under moderate hypothermia (28–32°C) by topical cooling. Results There was no statistically significant difference found between group A and group B regarding post-operative ejection fraction (EF) and newly developed postoperative Regional wall motion abnormalities (RWMA). There was no statistically significant difference found between group A and group B regarding the percentage of patients with atrial fibrillation, ventilation hours, and exploration while there was a statistically significant increase in troponin, I level in group B than group A. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between NT pro-BNP preoperative and aortic valve area (AVA) and also with ejection fraction preoperative while there was a statistically significant positive correlation found between NT pro-BNP and troponin I preoperative and postoperative. Conclusion HTK solution and Blood cardioplegia both offer sufficient protection for the myocardium. NT pro-BNP serves as a sensitive indicator for predicting the results and effectiveness of different cardioplegia types

Energy potential of mining transport at mines of Kyrgyzstan located at high altitude

Review and Justify use of new alternative way of gold ore transportation on high altitude mining operations in Kyrgyzstan in prime purpose of the study. Glaciers of Kyrgyzstan are main source of fresh water supply in Central Asia. Local ecosystem preservation is important part of metal mining in Kyrgyzstan and specific needs of nomads should be taken in the account. Novelty of study is preliminary assessment of mine in Kyrgyzstan for potential gravity energy by loading and dumping point’s GPS coordinates are taken on site and review of appropriate technologies for ore transportation in order to reduce carbon emissions. Aerial ropeway specific energy consumption formula and recuperating ropeway system from previous studies are reviewed and used in study. Improvement of existing mine operations by improving transportation practices should be further studied. The design and maintenance of haul roads may allow to reduce diesel fuel consumption by 10% and more. Preliminary potential energy for recuperation by aerial ropeway application in Jerooy and Jamgyr gold mines of Kyrgyzstan are identified. Energy recuperating aerial ropeway system with fuel cells can be strategically long-term preferred solution for mines in Kyrgyzstan located in high altitude.

Cost-benefit analysis in fire safety engineering: State-of-the-art and reference methodology

Cost-effectiveness is a key consideration within fire safety engineering. Currently, different approaches are being applied in literature. These approaches differ in how cost-effectiveness is evaluated, which costs are considered, and how the preferred design solution is defined. Recognizing this issue, the Fire Protection Research Foundation enrolled an international team of researchers, supported by a broad stakeholder panel, to develop a reference methodology. In this paper, this reference methodology for cost-benefit analysis in fire safety engineering is presented following an extensive literature review. The methodology clarifies the minimum requirements for assessing cost-effectiveness, and highlights that only a present net value evaluation can be used to compare design alternatives. Commonly used cost-benefit ratios should only be used when deciding on the effectiveness of a single package of fire safety measures. An illustrative case study demonstrates the application of the methodology and shows how designs based on cost-benefit ratios can be sub-optimal when evaluating multiple possible fire safety measures.