Homogeneous Coordinate Research Articles

Projection continuation for minimal coordinate set formulation and singularity detection of redundantly constrained system dynamics

The formulation of (possibly redundantly) constrained system dynamics using coordinate projection onto a subspace locally tangent to the constraint manifold is revisited using the QR factorization of the constraint Jacobian matrix, using column pivoting to identify a suitable subspace, possibly detect any singular configurations that may arise, and extract it. The evolution of the QR factorization is integrated along with that of the constraint Jacobian matrix as the solution evolves, generalizing to redundant constraints a recently proposed true continuation algorithm that tracks the evolution of the subspace of independent coordinates. The resulting subspace does not visibly affect the quality of the solution, as it is merely a recombination of that resulting from the blind application of the QR factorization but avoids the artificial algorithmic irregularities or discontinuities in the generalized velocities that could otherwise result from arbitrary reparameterizations of the coordinate set, and identifies and discriminates any further possible motions that arise at singular configurations. The characteristics of the proposed subspace evolution approach are exemplified by solving simple problems with incremental levels of redundancy and singularity orders.

O.4.4-2 Cross-sectoral sporting programs aimed at children from low-income families: lessons learnt from the Netherlands

Abstract Purpose Children from low-income families participate less often in sport and physical activity than children from high-income families. In the Netherlands, sporting programs were implemented by sports clubs in collaboration with other local organizations to stimulate physical activity among children from poor families. These programs were funded by the Dutch government within the program ‘Sport Impulse Youth from Low Income Neighborhoods’ (2014-2020). The aim of the research was to get insight into the implementation and successfulness of these sporting programs with regard to increasing sport participation among the target group. Methods After the two-year funding period, online questionnaires were sent to project coordinators and group interviews were conducted with project coordinators and collaborating partners (funding period 2014-2017). During the final funding period (2018-2020), also group interviews were conducted with participating children and parents. The research focused on the reach and implementation of the programs, involvement of parents, experienced effects, and factors influencing sport participation among the target group. Results Sporting programs were often adapted to the local context. Furthermore, there was little collaboration with key figures in the neighborhood that were close to the target group. The target group was predominantly reached through providing sport activities at schools in low-income neighborhoods. Providing different sport activities and personal guidance, stimulated children’s participation. However, a lack of follow-up activities and a lack of parental involvement, hindered structural sport participation. Conclusions The target group can be reached with these kind of sporting programs. To enhance program effectiveness, it is important to involve parents and to ensure suited follow-up activities are available. Furthermore, it is important that the sport coach is someone who is familiar with the background of the target group. Moreover, collaborations with key figures in the neighborhood could help in attracting more participants. Finally, adaptations in sporting programs should be thoroughly monitored. Funding source This study was funded by ZonMw, The Netherlands.

THE EFFICACY OF CLIMATE CHANGE FINANCING ON SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Climate change has become an increasingly pressing issue across the world, particularly in developing countries, and Nigeria is no exception. As climate change continues to create severe weather cycles such as floods and droughts, Nigeria has looked for ways to tackle the resulting development challenges. One option that has arisen is the utilization of climate change financing to drive economic development. This paper seeks to evaluate the efficacy of climate change financing on sustainable economic development in Nigeria. A comprehensive literature review of relevant studies was conducted to assess the efficacy of climate change financing on sustainable economic development in Nigeria. The research showed that climate change financing has many potential benefits, such as reducing poverty and inequality, promoting economic growth, and creating employment opportunities. Climate change financing also has the potential to provide communities with the resources needed to adapt to the changing climate and improve their resilience. However, the research also revealed that the efficacy of climate change financing depends on proper management, governance, and coordination. The paper further discusses policy recommendations for the effective utilization of climate change financing for sustainable economic development in Nigeria. It emphasizes the need for a greater focus on improving the management, governance, and coordination of climate change financing projects. The paper concludes by proposing further areas of research that could be explored in order to better understand the efficacy of climate change financing on sustainable economic development in Nigeria.

Towards FAIR Research Data in Metrology

Good data management is necessary to maintain the trustworthiness and reliability of data. This is particularly important in metrology, the science of measurement, which ensures stable, comparable, coherent, and traceable measurement results. The digitalization of metrology has increased the demand for structured and harmonised research data management (RDM).
 To meet this demand, the project TC-IM 1449 "Research data management in European metrology" was established in 2018. The project aims to promote good RDM practices underpinned by the FAIR principles, supporting traceability and reproducibility of measurement results. For that purpose, the project is providing researchers with the knowledge, competency, awareness, and tools to implement good RDM practices.
 The project has formulated a vision for RDM in metrology for the support of scientists by developing and disseminating recommendations and in the organisation of training. As part of this vision, the project has produced several deliverables, including a template research data management policy, guidelines for data documentation, creation of metadata, and quality assurance for data publication. The project is also creating a comprehensive guide to RDM, a checklist for project coordinators, and providing training modules.
 The project's activities reflect the needs of metrologists that are collated and communicated by the technical experts from the relevant Technical Committees and European Metrology Networks. Furthermore, the project's deliverables will be an invaluable resource for researchers seeking to effectively manage and share their research data.

Screening of Different Genotypes of Niger (Guizotia abyssinica Cass) against Major Insect Pests

An experiment was conducted at Project Coordinating Unit Sesame and Niger, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur (M.P.) during Pre-Rabi season in the year 2020-21, encompassed of 21 promising genotypes of Niger which were screened for resistance/susceptibility against whiteflies, leafhoppers, and capsule fly. The genotypes JNS-28, JNS-9, JNC-6, NRS-1805, IGPN-15-02 and NRS-1513 were found promising against whitefly. The genotypes JNS-2017-8, IGPN-15-02, NRS-1513, NRS-1511 and JNS-2017-1 were found promising against the incidence of leafhopper. The genotypes DNS-19-24, JNS-2017-8, JNS-2016-1115, NRS-1513 and NRS-1807 were found promising against capsule fly.

Resilient communities? A qualitative interview study on sustaining a community project for health promotion among socially disadvantaged women during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic

ObjectivesWith the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 a global pandemic impacted on health promotion, overlapping and hindering efforts to overcome the worldwide pandemic of lacking physical activity (PA). Nationwide lockdowns, the closure of public facilities and sports venues, made it significantly more difficult to sustain community-run PA projects. In our case study, we explore (a) under which circumstances a community-basedhealth promotion project can be maintained during crisis and (b) what resilience capacities are important for community project coordinators to deal with those aggravating circumstances.MethodsOur case study looks at a community-based project called BIG, an exercise promotion project for women in difficult life circumstances. The case study was conducted between July 2021 and January 2022 with six municipalities implementing the project. Following a triangulation approach, we used minutes from short exchanges (n=17) with community project coordinators, information brochures about current exercise classes (n=6) and semi-structured qualitative interviews with project coordinators (n=6). All data were analyzed using the framework approach.ResultsAll sites showed a high level of willingness to adapt to the pandemic situation and to maintain the project as best as possible. Findings highlight that coordinators whose work routine was characterized by intense relationship management with participants and trainers demonstrated higher levels of adaptive and absorptive capacities on an individual level than coordinators of those communities with less social cohesion. At a community level, important resources for strengthening adaptive and absorptive resilience capacities were job security of the coordinators, sufficient financial resources to adapt classes to changing circumstances, and a supportive organizational climate in the coordinators’ working environment to allow them to react flexibly according to current pandemic regulations.ConclusionDespite high resilience capacities especially on an individual level, the low-threshold nature of the project could not be maintained at a pre-pandemic level. For many women, participation in the project was no longer possible at times. Awareness should be raised in communities that PA promotion programs are crucial to strengthening physical and mental health, even in times of crisis. It seems necessary to find permanent funding options for such programs, to integrate them permanently into municipal structures.

Financing Decisions and Financial Sustainability of Social Service Projects: The Case of the Dominican Region of Rwanda and Burundi

Purpose: Organizations strive, among other things, to be financially stable for the long haul. Implementing sound fiscal management procedures is one approach to ensure the long-term sustainability of social service programs. The study set out to answer the question, "How do the financing decisions of the Dominican region of Rwanda and Burundi affect the financial sustainability of social service projects?" The current study was guided by Resource-Based View theory and Financial sustainability model.
 Methodology: Multiple research strategies were employed in this investigation. All eleven social service programs in the Dominican region of Rwanda and Burundi served as the study's primary population. Eleven chief directors, five congregation superiors, thirty financial officers and accountants, and five project coordinators made up the unit of observation. Data was gathered with the help of questionnaires and preplanned interviews. Inferential and descriptive statistics were calculated from the analyzed data. Statistics were utilized to describe the data, including frequency distribution, mean, and percentages. On the other hand, inferential statistics like correlation and regression existed. The data collected was tallied. 
 Findings: Financing decisions were found to have a positive significant association with SSPs' financial sustainability (r=0.550, p=0.004).
 Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: We draw the following conclusions: financing decisions improve SSP sustainability. Among the study's many suggestions: ensuring that stakeholders are kept in the loop from the start of a project until its conclusion.

BIM Manager Role in the Integration and Coordination of Construction Projects

Building information modelling (BIM) methodology has been implemented in the construction industry, reaching all sectors: multidisciplinary design development; construction planning and monitoring; and building management and maintenance. A complete BIM project aggregates several disciplines and different professionals skillsets. In order to achieve a suitable control, contributing to improve the quality of the project, a BIM manager is required. The BIM manager has the responsibility to coordinate all tasks involved in a building design, as well as the associated activities usually that are normally worked-out, complementing the project. During the development of a project, a BIM manager can access various discipline models, located in a delayering shared platform, and request responsibilities and amendments if inconsistencies are detected. The relevance of the BIM manager function is illustrated with three building cases where distinct specific projects, disciplines, and tasks were elaborated: collaboration between disciplines (architecture, structures, and construction); structural analyses and reinforcement details; quantity take-off of materials and cost estimation; construction scheduling and simulation. Although there are limitations in the software interoperability capacity, within the elaboration of a multiple stage project, BIM implementation in the construction industry has been carried out. The present study shows that the BIM manager role in projects aggregates several disciplines and experts, bringing an important improvement in the quality of the final product. A suitable BIM implementation in the construction industry needs to be supported by the most current advanced technology and in adequate BIM manager coordination.

The philoSURFERS: Reflections on utilising pre-collegiate students as Philosophers in Residence to support the p4c Hawai‘i movement in our public schools

Since 1984, the philosophy for children (p4c) Hawai‘i movement, a partnership between the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) and Hawai‘i’s public schools, has experienced success in creating a more philosophical schooling experience. UHM’s Uehiro Academy for Philosophy and Ethics in Education supports this movement by offering a ‘Philosopher in Residence’ who aids teachers in bringing philosophical inquiry into practice (Lukey 2013). Philosophers in Residence continue to support p4c Hawai‘i at Kailua High School, Waimānalo Intermediate and Elementary School, and Waikīkī, Ka‘elepulu, and Sunset Beach Elementary Schools.
 As the movement grows, we continually ask, how can we support teachers in making p4c a ‘living and reliable educational option’ (Lipman 1988, p. vii) with limited resources? One solution is the philoSURFER Internship Project, where pre-college students intern with university Philosophers in Residence and assist kindergarten through to ninth grade teachers in ‘doing’ philosophy with students. Kailua High School started their first philoSURFERS cohort in the fall of 2015, and Sunset Beach Elementary School adapted the model and had their first cohort of philoSURFERS in the fall of 2021. Since 2015, 151 philoSURFERS have supported over 65 teachers and thousands of students at eight schools to engage in philosophical inquiry.
 The aim of this academic reflection is to share the lessons the five authors and project coordinators have learned over the last eight years of this school-university partnership for other organisations interested in utilising pre-collegiate students as catalysts for making philosophy an integral aspect of our schools.

Governance, cooperation and coordination in large inter-organisational project networks: a viable system perspective

PurposeThis study aims to further the understanding of multi-level analysis in inter-organisational relationships by investigating the interplay of governance, cooperation and coordination in inter-organisational projects (IOPs) on sub-system and project levels.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the Viable Systems Model as a framework to analyse inter-organisational project governance, cooperation and coordination by adopting a multiple-case study.FindingsThe findings illustrate how governance and coordination mechanisms exhibit a filter-down effect on lower sub-systems while cooperation influence is confined within each sub-system. While remarking the importance of specific sub-systems on the overall project performance, the interplay of governance, cooperation and coordination across sub-systems appears to be complex, with governance influencing cooperation and coordination, whereas cooperation and coordination influence each other with an incremental effect.Originality/valueThis study defines two propositions that explain how multiple levels of analysis (project and sub-systems) can support the governance of large inter-organisational projects. The authors elaborate theory on the interplay of inter-organisational project governance, cooperation and coordination.

Методика стратегического управления проектами

The article presents strategic project management methodology developed to meet the relevant requirements and challenges faced by organizations in current business environment. The methodology includes an algo-rithm for strategic project management, a system of indicators for assessing the results of project implementa-tion and a mathematical model for optimal resource allocation. The relevance of the methodology develop-ment is determined by the importance of strategic project management in current conditions of instability, un-certainty and innovations implementation necessity. It enables organizations to effectively plan, analyze, moni-tor and coordinate project activities to achieve their overall strategic objectives. The study also provides an ex-tended list of prospective project management principles, which served as the basis for the development of an algorithm and a system of indicators for evaluating the results of such activities. The latter are categorized into groups, including assessment of the achievement of strategic objectives, the quality of task performance, the use of resources and the level of risks. The mathematical model for optimal resource allocation enables effi-cient resource management in projects, taking into account requirements and limitations. The said model is based on minimizing the use of available capacity while meeting the availability restrictions for each project task.

Current Benefits of ASCE 75 and its Potential to Affect Digital As-Built Initiatives at State Departments of Transportation

For the proactive documentation of utility infrastructure at the time of its installation, the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) is finalizing their ASCE 75 “Standard Guideline for Recording and Exchanging Utility Infrastructure Data.” ASCE 75 provides guidance for collecting sufficient geospatial and attribute data of utilities to facilitate the development of precise 3D digital twins. Some state departments of transportation (DOTs) in the U.S. have already adopted draft versions of ASCE 75 and are attempting to use it to assist their efforts to standardize and expedite their utility accommodation, permitting, and highway project coordination regulations and procedures. In alignment with these efforts, the Federal Highway Administration’s “Every Day Counts Round Six” initiative illustrates the importance of digital as-built (DAB) records by stating that their implementation can enhance safety, quality, and cost savings. However, there is no standard practice for the general construction DABs. Therefore, this study illustrates the benefits of implementing the ASCE 75 utility as-built standard and its potential impact on DABs for general construction. This study used a research methodology comprised of interviewing state DOTs, and a comprehensive literature assessment. The benefits of implementing ASCE 75 include improved data exchange methods among the project stakeholders and the collection and exchange of data about subsurface and above-ground utilities’ location and other attributes. Moreover, ASCE 75 provides a framework for all infrastructure projects. Also, the study highlights how ASCE 75 is adopted across the state DOTs and how it presents a path forward beyond just developing a utility as-built standard.

A method for sensitivity analysis of deviation factor for geometric correction of cone-beam CT system

To propose a sensitivity test method for geometric correction position deviation of cone-beam CT systems. We proposed the definition of center deviation and its derivation. We analyzed the influence of the variation of the three-dimensional spatial center of the steel ball point, the projection center and the size of the steel ball point on the deviation of geometric parameters and the reconstructed image results by calculating the geometric correction parameters based on the Noo analytical method using the FDK reconstruction algorithm for image reconstruction. The radius of the steel ball point was within 3 mm. The deviation of the center of the calibration parameter was within the order of magnitude and negligible. A 10% Gaussian perturbation of a single pixel in the 3D spatial coordinates of the steel ball point produced a deviation of about 3 pixel sizes, while the same Gaussian perturbation of the 2D projection coordinates of the steel ball point produced a deviation of about 2 pixel sizes. The geometric correction is more sensitive to the deviation generated by the three-dimensional spatial coordinates of the steel ball point with limited sensitivity to the deviation generated by the two-dimensional projection coordinates of the steel ball point. The deviation sensitivity of a small diameter steel ball point can be ignored.

Color coordination project for the historic shipyard site of La Ciotat: A geopoetic approach to urban color design

AbstractThe color coordination project focuses on an important industrial heritage site in the Mediterranean—the shipyards of the town of La Ciotat, which is situated in southeastern France. As part of a waterfront requalification project, the company, La Ciotat Shipyards, commissioned a color consulting design agency to collaborate in redeveloping the site and maintaining its unique identity. This article aims to present the color research conducted by the agency Nacarat Color Design in 2018, by putting it into perspective alongside the 1974 work carried out by renowned color designer, Jean‐Philippe Lenclos, on the same industrial site but in a different political, economic, and social context. Applying a geopoetic approach, the color coordination project focuses first on understanding the current identity of the site and its history; second on applying a chromatic field research method; and, third on exploring the narratives brought by the use of color and materials. The complex social history of the shipyards of La Ciotat and its industrial conversion has created new challenges for the town, its inhabitants, and its workers. The conclusions of this study show how color and materials are understood as markers of the site's history, playing not only an important role in the affirmation of historical identity and the creation of a continuity, but also in the construction of a new narrative for a site that reinvents itself.

(0, 4) Projective superspaces. Part I. Interacting linear sigma models

We describe the projective superspace approach to supersymmetric models with off-shell (0, 4) supersymmetry in two dimensions. In addition to the usual superspace coordinates, projective superspace has extra bosonic variables — one doublet for each SU(2) in the R-symmetry SU(2) × SU(2) which are interpreted as homogeneous coordinates on CP1 × CP1. The superfields are analytic in the CP1 coordinates and this analyticity plays an important role in our description. For instance, it leads to stringent constraints on the interactions one can write down for a given superfield content of the model. As an example, we describe in projective superspace Witten’s ADHM sigma model — a linear sigma model with non-derivative interactions whose target is R4 with a Yang-Mills instanton solution. The hyperkähler nature of target space and the twistor description of instantons by Ward, and Atiyah, Hitchin, Drinfeld and Manin are natural outputs of our construction.

Assessment Model of Interactions Required in Design Teams in High-Rise Building Projects

There is a lack of knowledge of the interactions required over time among the members of a building project design team. Without a specific target, it is impossible to identify gaps to propose improvement plans in the coordination and management of projects in the early stages. Therefore, this study proposes a model of the required interaction among the members of a building project design team during the different phases of the design process. The research was divided into three stages: (1) design team interactions; (2) construction of ideal interaction networks and proposed evaluation model; and (3) pilot cases—evaluation and analysis. Through this study, eight ideal networks were constructed, four for each interaction (information flow, collaboration, and coordination) and one for each design phase. In addition, a series of metrics were proposed to evaluate the current state of a building project, which, together with the constructed model networks, allowed the development of an evaluation method for real projects. Finally, two pilot cases were used to exemplify the use of the proposed model tool.

Systems resilience in the implementation of a large-scale suicide prevention intervention: a qualitative study using a multilevel theoretical approach

BackgroundResilience, the capacity to adapt and respond to challenges and disturbances, is now considered fundamental to understanding how healthcare systems maintain required levels of performance across varying conditions. Limited research has examined healthcare resilience in the context of implementing healthcare improvement programs across multiple system levels, particularly within community-based mental health settings or systems. In this study, we explored resilient characteristics across varying system levels (individual, team, management) during the implementation of a large-scale community-based suicide prevention intervention.MethodsSemi-structured interviews (n=53) were conducted with coordinating teams from the four intervention regions and the central implementation management team. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed, and imported into NVivo for analysis. A thematic analysis of eight transcripts involving thirteen key personnel was conducted using a deductive approach to identify characteristics of resilience across multiple system levels and an inductive approach to uncover both impediments to, and strategies that supported, resilient performance during the implementation of the suicide prevention intervention.ResultsNumerous impediments to resilient performance were identified (e.g., complexity of the intervention, and incompatible goals and priorities between system levels). Consistent with the adopted theoretical framework, indicators of resilient performance relating to anticipation, sensemaking, adaptation and tradeoffs were identified at multiple system levels. At each of the system levels, distinctive strategies were identified that promoted resilience. At the individual and team levels, several key strategies were used by the project coordinators to promote resilience, such as building relationships and networks and carefully prioritising available resources. At the management level, strategies included teambuilding, collaborative learning, building relationships with external stakeholders, monitoring progress and providing feedback. The results also suggested that resilience at one level can shape resilience at other levels in complex ways; most notably we identified that there can be a downside to resilience, with negative consequences including stress and burnout, among individuals enacting resilience.ConclusionsThe importance of considering resilience from a multilevel systems perspective, as well as implications for theory and future research, are discussed.

Area‐time efficient point multiplication architecture on twisted Edwards curve over general prime field GF(p)

AbstractElliptic curve point multiplication is the main primitive required in almost all security schemes using elliptic curve cryptography (ECC). It is the leading computationally intensive operation that sets the overall performance of the associated cryptosystem. This work presents a highly novel area–time efficient elliptic curve point multiplier over a general prime field . It is based on an efficient radix‐23 parallel multiplier, which performs a ‐bit multiplication in clock cycles. On the system level, the twisted Edwards curves with unified point addition using projective coordinates are adopted, where an efficient scheduling technique is presented to schedule several operations on deployed modular arithmetic units. Due to the introduced optimization at different stages of the design, latency, hardware resource requirement, and total clock cycle count are reduced significantly. Synthesis, and implementation of the proposed design over different Xilinx FPGA platforms are completed using the Xilinx ISE Design Suite tool for key sizes of 192, 224, and 256 bits. The 256‐bit Xilinx Virtex‐7 FPGA implementation reveals that it completes a single point multiplication operation in 0.8 ms and occupies 6.7K FPGA slices in a clock cycle count of 132.2K. It produces significantly better area–time product and throughput per slice than the contemporary designs. The proposed design also has the potential to counter simple power analysis and timing attacks. Thus, it is an elegant solution to develop ECC‐based cryptosystems for applications, where both speed and hardware resource consumption are important.

Use of plant essential oils for the management of sheath blight disease in rice

Sheath blight caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn is one of the most important diseases on the major high yielding rice varieties. Because of lack of resistant donor lines, no variety is completely immune to the disease. Till now, chemical control is the most widely used means to manage the disease which may have several adverse effects on the environment. Plant essential oils are among the most promising compounds for bio rational pest management. As highly volatile compounds are found in essential oils, they therefore cause no residue problems either in crop or in soil and are less subject to resistance. Keeping these factors in view, a field experiment was conducted at All India Co-Ordinated Rice Improvement Project, Chiplima, Sambalpur, Odisha during kharif and rabi seasons of 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively to assess the effect of seven essential oils for the management of sheath blight disease in rice. They were sprayed twice at weekly interval starting from the third day of inoculation. Among all the essential oils, citronella oil @ 2ml l-1 was found best to manage the disease during both the years of experiment. It gave 36% disease control compared to check plots. Under invitro condition also, citronella oil @ 500 ppm proved to be the best of all the essential oils. Though the chemical check carbendazim gave the highest disease control (47.25%) but considering the environmental point of view, citronella oil @ 2ml l-1 can be recommended as an alternative to manage sheath blight disease in rice without any toxic effect on the crop.

Evaluating Effectiveness of Student Final Year Project Allocation: a Case Study at Universiti Brunei Darussalam

The allocation of final year projects is a critical task for universities to ensure that students receive the best possible academic experience. The allocation problem is often complex, and universities face several challenges, including balancing staff workload, taking into consideration students’ preferences as well as allocating resources optimally. This paper presents a Linear Programming approach for optimising student final year project allocation to address the mentioned challenges. By considering students’ preferences, staff workload, and project quality, the proposed model provides an optimal and fair project allocation scheme. The model’s effectiveness was demonstrated through a case study in Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science, UBD, using real data. The results obtained from the LP model are both feasible and optimal, indicating that the approach provides an unbiased allocation of supervisors to project students satisfying all constraints. The model allows for flexibility in fine-tuning the allocation scheme, as it can accommodate different levels of quality preferences and student priorities. It is believed that the proposed LP model can provide necessary support for the project coordinator to make informed decisions regarding final year project allocation. The model can also save time and resources by providing solution quickly and efficiently.