Product Form Research Articles

“A Setting Where Things Can Happen”: The Dialectics of Liberation Congress and the Politics of Knowledge in the 1960s

For two weeks in July 1967, several thousand people attended the International Congress on the Dialectics of Liberation in London, a sprawling event that is now largely remembered as a point of convergence for an unlikely roster of prominent radical intellectuals—Stokely Carmichael, Allen Ginsberg, Paul Goodman, and Herbert Marcuse among them. This article uses a broad array of sources to present the congress as a mass counterinstitution in which a variety of social actors—including not only the invited speakers, but also conference organizers and audience members—struggled to establish nonauthoritarian forms of knowledge production. The record of these efforts, and in particular the audience's demand to participate directly in the production and exchange of ideas, illuminates the ways in which radical intellectuals' challenge to dominant institutions in the global North during the late 1960s threatened to undermine their own discursive authority.

Product-Form Strategy and the Macro Structures of Service Ecosystems

Recent conceptual advances in macromarketing suggest that to understand the service ecosystem, we need to study the interactions and interconnectedness at different levels. Relatedly, recent work in product-form strategy suggests environmental and technological factors may influence decisions about where to position a product or service. We categorize these “what to sell” decisions into four principal product-forms—know-how, components, systems, and solutions. We develop a framework to suggest how the macrostructure of the service ecosystem shapes and gets shaped by the product form the firm chooses to offer in a market. Additionally, we explore the impact of this product-form framework across service ecosystems that are representative of marketing systems. We illustrate these interactions in the market for cookies by focusing on one firm—Pillsbury—that simultaneously offers all four product forms. We conclude by drawing implications for future research directions in the area.

Inovasi Produk Olahan Tahu dan Pengemasannya serta Pengembangan Pemasaran dalam Upaya Meningkatkan Pendapatan Perajin Tahu di Desa Karanganyar Kecamatan Wates Kabupaten Kediri

MSMEs in the food sector are among the main supporters of Indonesia's economic activities. As a food production center in the form of tofu products, Kediri Regency is well known to the public, with white, yellow, silk, and other tofu products. Most of the tofu production carried out to date is only in the form of tofu products in their original form. This is because tofu craftsmen have not utilized other processed tofu products to increase their income. This community service activity aims to introduce innovations in processed tofu products, packaging, marketing, and processing of liquid tofu waste into new products which are expected to increase the income of tofu makers in Karanganyar village, Wates District, Kediri Regency. This community service activity was carried out using the media of presenting several materials and carrying out two-way interactive discussions. Evaluation of this activity was carried out with pre- and post-tests from the participants by answering 10 questions related to the three materials. The results obtained after being analyzed using the SPSS program showed differences between the pre-and post-tests of the participants, whereas the post-test results showed that the participants had understood the material provided during this activity. Thus, it can be concluded that this activity can be proven to be understood by the participants regarding innovation in processed tofu products and processing of tofu liquid waste.

Music – Recording – Aura: Marginal Notes on the Debate between Adorno and Benjamin and on Adorno's Fragmentary Theory of the Gramophone Record

AbstractThere is hardly another Frankfurt School treatise on art theory today which is as much discussed and quoted as Walter Benjamin's notable “artwork”-study. This text has become a mandatory reading; however, it has been largely overlooked by musicologists. Benjamin developed his theory in connection with the visual arts: it is only the image that carries the aura, traveling through time and space and is saturated with historical substance. Benjamin remained seemingly uncertain about the place and role of the sound (and the music) in the historical process of losing the aura. Among the three surviving versions of his study, the first one posited a direct cause-and-effect relationship between the reproduction of sound and the paradigm shift that affects art as a whole, while in the third version, this connection is vanishing. It is generally known how challenging Benjamin's study was to Adorno's ideas on art theory. Adorno tried to deny the positive value of the change that Benjamin described. He raised doubts about the constitutive role of “reception in the distraction” in his famous “Fetish-Character” study. The “distracted perception,” the “atomistic hearing” dissociates the unity of the work. Adorno wanted later to preserve the validity of the “auratic work” and its derivatives that he called “critical works” (for example, in the famous footnote 40 of the “Philosophy of New Music,” or in the 1950s, when he faced efforts aimed at the radical erasure of the musical context, and for example, he classified Křenek's works written in the 1920s as productive forms of loss of aura). According to these, it is difficult to place the technical work of art on Adorno's aesthetic value horizon. This makes his writings on gramophone recordings or the relationship between music and mediality so interesting. Focusing on the discussion of Benjamin and Adorno, this presentation tries to find an answer to the following questions: how can the paradigm shift in art history (and art ontology) described by Benjamin be interpreted in relation to music? And what does this imply about the relationship between the “artwork of music” and the sound recording?

Sociomaterial networks for a systemic circular economy transition in an intermediate Global South city

The transition to a Circular Economy (CE) requires systemic change. The narrow focus of technocratic assessments of the CE inhibits the transformation of the economic system that the CE demands. Understanding Global South perspectives and context in the transition to avoid widening regional inequality is imperative, particularly in intermediate cities that hold most promise in the scale of implementation. This analysis uses sociomaterial theory to investigate the entanglement of the social and the material with a systemic narrative. We use a qualitative assessment of the local informal recycling sector and other invisible and nascent circular economy stakeholders to assess the current network in an intermediate city in Ecuador as a case study. The sociomaterial network in transformation has strengths that need to be reinforced but also significant gaps in how materials and relationships in informal sectors are considered and valued. From a practical perspective, there are several role gaps, such as reducing regulatory barriers to operate in a CE and implementing extended producer responsibility. Materials that must enter the economy in the form of products must last longer, be recyclable but also have realistic market and structural conditions to be recycled. Caring relationships and organizational strengthening must be fostered, as they constitute the main social support for the most vulnerable in informal sectors that sustain the CE. Finally, a value-based education must be addressed holistically, alongside a ubiquitous paradigm shift towards global circular value chains for a just transition

Correlations and signaling in the Schrödinger–Newton model

Abstract The Schrödinger–Newton (SN) model is a semi-classical theory in which, in addition to mutual attraction, massive quantum particles interact with their own gravitational fields. While there are many studies on the phenomenology of single particles, correlation dynamics in multipartite systems is largely unexplored. Here, we show that the SN interactions preserve the product form of the initial state of a many-body system, yet on average agreeing with classical mechanics of continuous mass distributions. This leads to a simple test of the model, based on verifying bipartite gravitational evolution towards non-product states. We show using standard quantum mechanics that, with currently accessible single-particle parameters, two masses released from harmonic traps get correlated well before any observable entanglement is accumulated. Therefore, the SN model can be tested with setups aimed at observation of gravitational entanglement with significantly relaxed requirements on coherence time. We also present a mixed-state extension of the model that avoids superluminal signaling.

Platform Pragmatics

This article proposes platform pragmatics as a framework for understanding collective behaviour and forms of labour within platform ecosystems. It contributes to the field of platform criticism by problematising a certain view of users as passive victims of surveillance and algorithmic governmentality. The main argument is developed by thinking through the production of content and forms by users, and their circulation through computational logic and aective contagion. Through some illustrative cases and analyses of cultural habits, the article addresses the political and aesthetic configuration of these forms of production — not only of content/forms, but also of culture and subjectivity. This is explored by thinking through three themes: the subsumption of creativity and opportunism in platform economies; the mobilisation of speculative temporalities not only in computation but also across user practices; and the generalisation of self-reflexivity as a feminised cultural behaviour and aesthetic mode. Finally, I propose to understand platform pragmatics as a mode of subaltern power, that might be alien to traditional political reason, but precisely because of this needs to be grappled with through inventive cultural and social criticism.

Development of a Textbook on the History of Economic Thought with a Combination of Barcode Video in the Application of Differentiated Learning

Objectives: This research is to facilitate the diversity of student conditions in learning and can even be used simply for students with special needs at a low level such as deaf students and other limitations that can still be facilitated with a combination of audio visual media. Method: The type of research method used in this study is a research and development design . Reaserch and development is a research method used to produce a certain product and test the effectiveness of the product. The development model used in this study is a development research model by proposing a series of stages that must be taken in this approach, including research and information collecting, planning, developing preliminary form of product, preliminary field testing, main product revision, main field testing, operational product revision, operational field testing, final product revision, and dissemination and implementation. Results: Based on the results of validation that have been carried out by experts in media, language, and materials, as well as in limited trials, this book is considered very good and worthy of application in learning. The integration of technology in this textbook reflects significant developments in the development of interactive and digital educational resources. Novelty: A combination of video barcodes in diverse learning contexts This innovative approach combines digital technology with traditional teaching materials, so students can choose the most effective way of learning according to their learning style. Either visually, auditory, or kinesthetic. Thus, the ADDIE model is used to develop textbooks in getting positive assessments from each expert and limited trials. This shows that the approach is not only innovative, but also effective and suitable for application in the field of education.

Industrial designs and firm performance: evidence from publicly traded Canadian companies, 1990–2014

ABSTRACT Industrial designs (IDs) are a specialized type of intellectual property that protects a product's form and presentational features, giving it uniqueness that differentiates it from other products. This paper estimates the effect on firm revenue and profitability of holding IDs. Using a unique data set linking Canadian ID holdings with Canadian publicly traded firms over the years 1990-2014, the authors use two methods to identify a positive association between holding IDs and firm revenue per employee and net income per employee. We contribute to the literature on IDs by introducing controls for patenting, R&D spending, and time-varying sector effects. To determine the marginal effect of each additional ID held, we use a fixed effects regression and find that a 1% increase in the stock of IDs increases revenue per employee by 0.19%. With a nearest-neighbor matching approach, we find a 10% total premium in revenue per employee and a 20% premium in net income per employee among firms holding at least one ID, compared to those with none.

Gender knowledge production and epistemology in the incelosphere

ABSTRACT There is a growing field of research dedicated to online incel communities, gathering men identifying as involuntary celibates or ‘incels’. A distinctive aspect of the incelosphere is the elaborate ‘theoretical framework’ communicated in the forums, portraying incel men as voiceless losers at a (hetero)sexual market ruled by women and biologically superior men. While the content of this incel worldview is relatively well-studied, a notable gap exists in the examination of the way knowledge production taking place within these communities is epistemologically legitimized. This article aims to fill this void by scrutinizing the epistemic logics and practices used by members at incel forums to validate their knowledge production on gender relations. By shedding light on how incels mobilize science as well as counter-hegemonic forms of knowledge production to legitimize their knowledge claims, the article offers a nuanced understanding of the intricate relation between the knowledge production of movements and counter-movements. This exploration can, we believe, form a basis for challenging and contesting claims made by incels.

Messing up Visual Management Studies: A Problematizing Review

AbstractManagement studies are increasingly turning to visual materials to generate rich insights on the complexities in organizational life, thereby developing visual management studies (VMS). In this paper, we conduct a problematizing review to re‐imagine VMS so that it is better equipped to deal with the complexities or, from our perspective, the messiness in organizational life. Informed by theoretical readings in visual studies and reflexivity we analyse this research domain with three questions: (1) How is the visual conceptualized? (2) How is visual meaning decided? and, (3) how is the visual researcher depicted? Our findings show how the studies in our review tend to converge on an orderly form of knowledge production, missing out on the domain's messy potential. Our proposal is to mess up VMS through rediscovering visual, social and philosophical perspectives that theorize the visual, cultivating the polysemy of the visual and working with the ‘inter‐situality’ of visual meaning, thereby ensuring that, as visual researchers, we take responsibility for the visual in our research decisions.

Influence of the mass percentage of binders on the properties of LHC

This paper investigates the effects on the physical and mechanical properties and microstructure of lime-hemp concrete (LHC) materials at different binder mass ratios. A mixture of three cementitious materials, slaked lime, cement, and coal gangue powder, was used as binder, and hemp shives were used as concrete aggregate, and five test groups were designed, i.e., binder/hemp shives (B/H) mass ratios of 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, and 2.0. The physical properties of LHC, including density, drying rate, water absorption, thermal conductivity coefficients, and mechanical properties (compressive strength and flexural strength) with different binder ratios were investigated. In addition, the microstructural properties of 56d LHC were investigated by SEM, XRD, and TG-DTG micro-scale analysis methods. The results showed that with the increase in binder content, the drying speed of LHC became faster, the thermal conductivity coefficients, compressive strength, and flexural strength increased, and the water absorption was just the opposite. With a fit ratio of 2.0, the strength is the greatest and the toughness is the best; with a fit ratio of 1.2, the thermal conductivity coefficient is the smallest and the insulation effect is the best. In addition, the hydration of the binder produced different forms of hydration products (CaCO3 and C-S-H), and the hydration products increased in quantity with the increase of the binder, resulting in stronger CaCO3 and C-S-H diffraction peaks. The hydration products produce a better bond with the rough cannabis particle surface, filling the internal voids of the LHC, improving the density of the material, and enhancing the mechanical properties of the material.

Efektifkah Kenaikan Tarif Cukai Rokok Elektrik Cair Sistem Terbuka bagi Industri Rokok Elektrik?

Liquid e-cigarettes have become a popular new form of addictive tobacco products. The increasing prevalence of e-cigarette and smoking behaviors has led the government to increase tobacco tax rates every year. While this policy boosts state revenues, it also poses challenges for conventional and e-cigarette businesses, including tobacco farmers. Excise tariffs for liquid e-cigarettes are divided into open and closed system types, with the method of filling the liquid is the key distinction. Users can manually refill the open system, the closed system cannot be refilled. Despite both containing cigarette liquid, the percentage of raising excise taxes is higher for the open system than the closed system. This study aims to evaluate the effect of the increase of excise taxes on business competition between open and closed systems of liquid e-cigarettes. Using descriptive analysis, literature review, and a basic quantitative approach, this study found that differences in excise tax rates on e-cigarettes encourage competition and create unequal treatments. The higher excise tax on open systems has created a polemic in sustainability of small entrepreneurs in the tobacco sector. The role of the government as a regulator is very important in ensuring fair and responsive policies in order to create conducive business competition between open and closed system liquid e-cigarettes.

НАПРАВЛЕНИЯ ОБЕСПЕЧЕНИЯ ЭФФЕКТИВНОЙ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ СЕМЕЙНЫХ ФОРМ АГРАРНОГО ПРОИЗВОДСТВА

In modern conditions, the issues of ensuring the effective functioning of small forms of economic activity are of great importance for the effective functioning of rural areas in social and economic and administrative aspects. In this regard, there is a need to substantiate effective models of economic activity for family forms of agricultural production. These issues are especially relevant for new regions of the Russian Federation. In the course of the study, it was established that peasant farms of Zaporozhye region, included in the cooperative, are differentiated by commodity. Representatives of the commodity group are the least numerous, but they use more than 50% of the total area of agricultural land. In order to improve the efficiency of using the resource potential, increase the number of commodity-type farms and improve the level of well-being of their members, it was proposed to optimize the structure of land use. The proposed land use structure is as follows: cherries - 48%, apricots - 15%, other fruits - 7%, potatoes - 21%, tomatoes - 5%, other crops - 4% of the total volume of agricultural land. Practical implementation of the proposed recommendations will reduce labor costs by 32.7%, but at the same time financial costs increase by 71.4%. Reducing the labor intensity of agricultural production increases the attractiveness of this model for family forms of farming. According to the research results, an increase in the conditional level of profitability by 269 points, as well as the level of family income by 16.2% is noted, which proves the social effect of the implementation of this project for residents of rural areas. A scientifically substantiated model of mutually beneficial cooperation of family forms of agricultural production is an incentive for their participation in the activities of cooperative integration entities.

Efficient removal of nitrate and ammonium by strain Pseudomonas poae EH-E3 under acidic pH and low-temperature conditions

The combined effect of low temperature and an acidic environment may restrict the growth and metabolic activity of microorganisms involved in nitrogen removal. To overcome poor biological nitrogen removal efficiency during low-temperature treatment of acidic wastewater, a novel pure strain of Pseudomonas poae EH-E3 was successfully isolated and screened based on its strong heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification capacity. Strain EH-E3 could completely eliminate inorganic nitrogen sources of nitrate within 30h and ammonium within 20h at 15 °C and pH 5.0, with corresponding removal efficiencies for total nitrogen of 95.13% and 91.35%, respectively. Nitrogen balance testing indicated that strain EH-E3 removed 43.25% of ammonium, 45.72% of nitrate, and 51.20% of nitrite in the form of gaseous products. Enzyme activity assays revealed that the specific activities of ammonia monooxygenase, nitrate reductase, and nitrite reductase were 0.533, 0.956, and 0.011 U/mg proteins, respectively. These findings suggest that strain EH-E3 has strong potential for use in low-temperature treatment of acidic wastewater.

Jaringan Saraf Tiruan Backpropagation untuk Prediksi Harga Bahan Pangan di Wilayah Kabupaten Deli Serdang

Foodstuffs are raw materials in the form of agricultural, vegetable and animal products that are used by the food processing industry to produce a food product. Food ingredients consist of plant foods and animal foods. Food is the most basic need for human resources in a country. Food prices sometimes experience erratic increases or decreases. The aim of this research is to determine the results of food price predictions in the Deli Serdang Regency area using the Backpropagation algorithm. The data used in this research is food price data from 2020 to 2023 which comes from the official National Food Ingredients website. This research uses the Backpropagation algorithm artificial neural network method which uses several architectural models and the results of this test will produce the best accuracy values. The test results show that the best architecture for research on implementing the backpropagation algorithm in predicting food prices in Deli Serdang Regency is 2-10-1 with an accuracy of 87.5% and the 2-3-8-1 architecture with an accuracy of 87.5%.

Indie economics: social purpose, lay expertise and the unusual rise of modern monetary theory

ABSTRACT We argue that the IPE literature on economic expertise has been characterised by ‘methodological elitism’ that makes it ill equipped to account for the influence of heterodox and grassroots forms of expertise. To remedy this, we posit a theoretical framework that emphasises the tensions between two forms of professional legitimacy. One is internal legitimacy and it is rooted in appeals to scientific objectivity, political neutrality and high professional barriers of entry. However, internal legitimacy may clash with external legitimacy, which is a function of a clear articulation of social purpose. Taking the surprising rise of Modern Monetary Theory as a case study, the paper makes two claims. First, its ideas did not coalesce into a distinctive heterodox brand of economics through traditional mechanisms like academic peer-review and citation networks, but through intense online activity. Second, the messaging that spurred MMT consistently combined constitutive claims with explicit declarations of social purpose. The result was an open project with a broad normative appeal, which successfully enrolled a large group of passionate followers and co-creators. To date, IPE scholars have been blind to such alternative forms of knowledge production.

School-Based Professionals' Knowledge of Autistic Speech and Augmentative and Alternative Communication Decision Making.

Autistic adults report communication access barriers related to the prioritization of speech over all other forms of communication. Our participatory research team, including autistic adults who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) both part- and full-time, designed and administered a 35-question online survey to examine school-based professionals' knowledge, training, and practices related to AAC and autism. The current study reports a portion of the larger data set specific to participants' definitions of speech terms related to autistic speech. A total of 567 participants completed the survey. Thematic analysis of participants' responses to speech definitions revealed multiple themes, including a focus on speech without implying or suggesting other forms of communication, speech production (mechanics), communication functions (intentionality), deficits, and definitions that were exclusionary in nature (e.g., identifying what the term did not define). Quantitative analysis of definitions of autistic speech revealed the need for increased exposure to these internal speech states for professionals working with autistic children. Increasing school-based professionals' knowledge, including community-sourced knowledge, related to autism and AAC, can improve access to AAC for speaking autistic students who may benefit from AAC.

Agroecology Practices Applied To Cotton Culture In The Scope Of Family Farming

The present study was developed at Projetos de Settlement (PA) Né Laranjeira, located in the Rural Area of Parnamirim, a municipality belonging to the development region of the central Sertão of the state of Pernambuco. The data collection procedures were carried out between March and May 2022, and aimed to describe the state of structuring of family agroecosystems of production implemented in the community through actions promoted by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) such as Diaconia , Dom Helder Câmara and the Caatinga, which resulted in the production, in an agroecological way, of food products as well as organic cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), guaranteeing the food and economic security of the settlers. Therefore, a descriptive, qualitative research was developed, during which production techniques and management were identified, as well as the difficulties faced by the community in the application of protocols and consolidation of systems. It was possible to identify that the form of production implemented in the settlement provides the sustainability of agroecosystems that are committed to the principles that govern the program and that the results obtained have allowed other producers to join the project, even with the difficulties of access to education, health, credit and official public policies in addition to family succession that has limited the family's ability to work

A Survey of Melatonin in Dietary Supplement Products Sold in the United States.

In the United States, melatonin products are widely available as dietary supplements. During the past few decades, melatonin products have gained popularity primarily as a sleep aid, with a variety of product forms available for different age groups of consumers. Recent reports have highlighted a rise in melatonin ingestion among children reported to poison control centers. The increased use of melatonin-containing products, the diversity in product forms, and reported label discrepancies has emphasized the need for additional research to better understand the marketplace. This work aims to measure melatonin content in products sold as dietary supplements and marketed for children, evaluate method performance across different product categories, and determine if product form has an impact on melatonin stability. One hundred ten (110) dietary supplement products labeled to contain melatonin and marketed towards children were purchased and analyzed using a targeted LC-MS/MS method validated for the qualitative determination of serotonin and quantification of melatonin, N1-acetyl-N2-formyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AFMK), and N1-acetyl-5-methoxykynuramine (AMK). Melatonin was identified in 108 of 110 products (98%) with a median concentration of 1.2 mg/g (range: 0.017-130 mg/g) or 1.7 mg/serving (range: 0.042-50 mg/serving). Further, in the tested products, melatonin content ranged from 0% to 667% of the label declaration. This study provides evidence to inform safety assessments and investigate potential factors that may influence reported concentrations, such as product stability and matrix influences.