Relative Shift Research Articles

Religion to culture: who is the ‘Us’?

ABSTRACT In this paper I focus on designations of ‘our culture and heritage' that defend practices and symbols of religious majorities. I consider the entanglement of nationalist narratives, secularity and the ‘us' in the claims of social actors and public discussions about culture and heritage. What is understood as being religious and what is culture/heritage is dependent on the social actors involved, their position in society and the interpretive frameworks available to them. I consider the following questions: How are culture and heritage used in legal and public discourse to justify the continued presence of such symbols and practices in Christian majority countries in the West? What are the religious histories implicated in this process? Who is imagined to be included when crosses and prayers are staked out as ‘our culture and heritage’? What is the relationship between culture and heritage and national imaginaries? Ultimately, as religious majorities see their numbers dwindle and power relations shift, the attempt to imbricate religious practices and beliefs in public spaces and rituals is quite possibly a translation of the religious to the secular.

Another type of forward and backward shift relations for orthogonal polynomials in the Askey scheme

The forward and backward shift relations are basic properties of the (basic) hypergeometric orthogonal polynomials in the Askey scheme (Jacobi, Askey-Wilson, q-Racah, big q-Jacobi etc.) and they are related to the factorization of the differential or difference operators. Based on other factorizations, we obtain another type of forward and backward shift relations. Essentially, these shift relations shift only the parameters.

Short-wavelength infrared light sensing using an electrostatic MEMS resonator integrated with a plasmonic optical absorber

Near-infrared light detectors are employed in various fields such as food inspection for spectroscopic measurements. Despite the fact that photodiodes made of compound semiconductors are used in conjunction with optical filters or monochromators for highly sensitive and wavelength-selective detection of near-infrared light, improvements in device size and cost are necessary for widespread application. Therefore, we propose the use of silicon microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors. This study proposes a single-crystalline Si electrostatic MEMS resonator sensor that is integrated with a gold nanostructure near-infrared light absorber. The device utilizes the resonance frequency shift that occurs due to the thermal stress caused by the heat generated by the near-infrared light on the resonator. A gold nanostructure absorber is mounted on the resonator to enhance photothermal conversion efficiency, enabling the detection of near-infrared light with wavelength selectivity. We fabricated an Au nanostructure-mounted electrostatic transducer and evaluated its performance by measuring its resonance under near-infrared light irradiation. In a light intensity detection experiment, it was found that the relative resonant frequency shift increased linearly with the input in the range below 100 μW, which is consistent with the trend against the input heat. The minimum detection resolution of the light intensity was approximately 5 nW, and the minimum detectable intensity was 3.8 nW. The linear relationship between the optical absorption coefficient and the relative resonance frequency shift was clarified. An array of the devices with different absorption wavelength bands can be used to realize an ultra-compact spectroscopic analysis device without the need for traditional optical filters or monochromators.

Assignment of Subject Headings and Classification Codes to e-books in South American University Libraries

The integration of e-books into university libraries has allowed for interesting analysis and discussions in recent years about user preferences between printed and electronic books, the difficulties and challenges librarians face in their incorporation into libraries, among other aspects. However, with this work, the main objective is to analyze the changes that are occurring in South American university libraries regarding the processes of subject heading assignment and classification codes with the massive incorporation of e-books, as well as to understand librarians’ perceptions of these changes. To achieve this, we developed and distributed a web-based questionnaire consisting of twenty-four questions to a total of 1,175 university libraries in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay, from which we received 123 responses (10.5%). Among other findings, it is concluded that indexing and classification processes are losing relevance in librarians’ activities, the quality of metadata provided by publishers does not seem to be a significant factor for librarians, and furthermore, the data obtained does not clearly indicate a paradigm shift in relation to indexing and classification processes.

“Restoration” and representation: Legislative consequences of Black disfranchisement in the American South, 1879–1916

AbstractThe elimination of Black voting in the U.S. South after Reconstruction is the most significant instance of democratic backsliding in American history. I use newly collected state legislative roll call data from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, consisting of more than 19,400 unique roll calls, to explore Black disfranchisement's consequences for legislative representation. Using ideal point estimates in a panel design, I demonstrate that disfranchisement is associated with substantial changes in roll call voting. In states where competition between Democrats and Republicans structured roll call voting, disfranchisement precipitated shifts away from more‐Republican roll call records. In states already dominated by Democrats before disfranchisement, disfranchisement often led to relative shifts toward the agrarian, reform wing of the Democratic Party. These results demonstrate the centrality of Black disfranchisement for the creation of the Solid South and the significant impact of Black suffrage on southern politics in the years following Reconstruction.

Reading in Relation: Youth Mentors and Adults Co-Constructing Teaching and Learning in a High School Literacy Classroom

Most schools operate as hierarchical structures, where adult stakeholders largely dictate what counts as knowledge and how to teach it. While previous scholarship has documented the promise of youth-led initiatives to trouble hierarchical structures, these explorations tend to occur outside of schools and do not typically account for the kinds of changes in relations between youth and adults necessary to disrupt hierarchical structures from within. Using third-generation cultural-historical activity theory as our theoretical framework, in this study we explore the shifts in subject-subject relations that emerged as high school youth literacy mentors, their teacher, and university researchers participated in iterative processes of co-configuration to open up new possibilities for literacy learning at their public school. We examine how youth mentors and adults co-designed and co-taught the Literacy Mentorship Class (LMC) while increasingly engaging contradictions as double binds within the Literacy Mentorship Debrief (LMD). We trace how evolving subject-subject relations in the LMD contributed to shifts in divisions of labor, rules, objects, and mediating artifacts in and beyond the LMC. Ultimately, we propose debriefs as a set of reflective practices to facilitate future possibilities for co-configuration among youth and adults that can be responsive to the particularities of any school community.

An observable in Classical Pure AdS3 Gravity: the twist along a geodesic

In this paper, we consider a little-studied observable in classical pure AdS3 gravity: the twist along a geodesic. The motivation is that the twist only supports on the geodesic so may be a candidate element in the center of the algebra in either entanglement wedge associated to the geodesic. We study the properties of the twist and get the following results. First, we get the system’s evolution generated by the twist, which exhibits a relative shift along the geodesic. Second, we show that the twist commutes with the length of the same geodesic, which supports the proposal that the twist is a candidate element in the center.

Airborne GNSS reflectometry for coastal monitoring of sea state

Sea level rise and sea state variability, resulting from climate change and global warming, are critical research areas. However, current techniques for observing and monitoring these phenomena have limitations in terms of spatial and temporal resolution, particularly in dynamic coastal zones. GNSS Reflectometry (GNSS-R) is an emerging bistatic radar-based technique that utilizes the GNSS direct (transmitter-receiver) and reflected (transmitter-reflection point-receiver) signals to extract properties of the reflecting surface. This study explores the potential of airborne GNSS-R as a means to monitor sea state in coastal areas by using the Doppler spread and reflectivity as observables. The paper aims to derive a sea state factor from the reflected signal power and the Doppler shift distribution to analyze its correlation with wind speed and significant wave height data obtained from the ERA5 model. The experiment involved four flights conducted along the coast between Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, in July 2019. A GNSS software receiver processes the direct and reflected signals, tracking and re-tracking the reflected signals with the aid of a specular reflection model. The resulting in-phase and quadrature components are analyzed in the spectral domain every minute to estimate the power, the surface reflectivity, and the relative Doppler shift. The findings reveal that the sea state factor and Doppler spreading are sensitive to sea state conditions, correlated with the ERA5 parameters, and influenced by the elevation angle of GNSS satellites. At low elevations (E<10°), the sea state factor demonstrates an inverse relationship (anti-correlation) with the wind speed and significant wave height, while the Doppler distribution shows a correlation with these parameters. Both correlations decrease with increasing elevation angle. This research underscores the potential of airborne GNSS-R for monitoring sea state variability in coastal areas enhancing our understanding of the relationships between GNSS-R measurements and sea state parameters.

Cosmopolitanism Represented in Ocean's Eleven Movie Script

Globalization has become a primary concern today, leading to significant shifts in social relations and making various global issues more visible. It is characterized by conditions where one can move easily from one place to another. Thus, it blurs the meaning of one's identity and citizenship. Hence, this research uses a structuralist approach and cosmopolitanism. The object of this research is Ocean's Eleven movie script which contains similar issues. The aim is to discover how cosmopolitanism is represented in Ocean's Eleven movie script and to find what kinds of cosmopolitanism are experienced by Ocean's Eleven characters. The researcher used the structuralism approach, Stuart Hall's concept of representation, cosmopolitan identity, and imaginative cosmopolitanism. Then by applying literary criticism, the researcher found that the representation of cosmopolitanism in Ocean's Eleven movie script is shown through character, dialogue, and narration. In addition, the cosmopolitanism shown by the characters of Ocean's Eleven is included in cultural cosmopolitanism. Based on the results, this research can be used as a model for further researchers in finding cosmopolitanism issues in literary works.

R&D innovation, industrial evolution and the labor skill structure in China manufacturing

This paper utilizes the skill-biased technological change and routine-biased technological change hypotheses, along with the theory of firms' innovation behavior, to establish a comprehensive analytical framework. This framework aims to elucidate the mechanisms through which technological innovation, industrial evolution, and education affect the labor skill structure in China manufacturing. The empirical results that have been gathered can be succinctly described in the following manner: (1) Research and development innovation stimulates the demand for high-and low-skilled labor, and, the rising of total factor productivity reduces the demand for low-skilled labor, confirming the labor-friendly effect of product innovation and the labor-saving effect of process innovation. (2) The cyclical pattern of fluctuating demand for low-skilled labor can be attributed to the industrial concentration, driven by technological advancements. Nevertheless, the phenomenon of cyclicality has not been observed for high-skilled labor. (3) There exists a paradoxical relationship between higher education and industrial demand, wherein education and skill are mismatched. (4) There exists the SBTC in China manufacturing resulted from process innovation. However, the SBTC does not explain the cause or mechanism behind the relative productivity shift and the higher demand for educated workers. This paper examines several policy implications including R&D innovation, employment, and education.

Shocking Offers: Gender, Wage Inequality, and Recessions in Online Labor Markets

Using data from the largest online job portal in Nigeria, we document (i) gender differences in salary offers for jobs and (ii) the response of (i) to recessions. Jobs in industries where the number of job applicants skews female offer lower starting salaries than jobs in industries where applicants skews male. During Nigeria's 2016 recession, applications to jobs in industries that skew female fell, and salary offers rose. In contrast, applications to jobs in industries that skew male rose, and salary offers fell. In accordance with this relative shift in applications, in 2016 the salary-offer gap almost disappears.

The shifts in intergenerational relations in Cameroon and their potential impact on the health of older adults

IntroductionAfrica is experiencing a gradual demographic shift due to rising life expectancy and increasing urbanisation. In sub-Saharan Africa, elderly individuals typically reside with their children. The rise in life expectancy...

Tórtola Valencia, José Zamora, and the art of queer collaboration

ABSTRACT This article assembles and analyzes an archive of texts and images that attest to the interactions of the modern dancer Carmen Tórtola Valencia and the illustrator José (Pepito) Zamora between 1914 and 1917. Their relationship emerges from the archive as a collaboration whose queerness hinges on their performances of non-normative gender, rumors concerning their homosexual inclinations, and their joint efforts to increase their celebrity and nourish their creative work. Tórtola and Zamora cultivated their queer personas and drew attention to their art by associating with one another. Their queerness and creativity were a shared endeavor that issued from and fed into a series of public performances, dances, costume designs, illustrations, and novels. Studying this collaboration requires a methodological shift in relation to previous scholarship on early twentieth-century Spain, which has tended to segregate research on male homosexuality from work on female homosexuality or lesbianism. Today there is a growing need to recognize the rich interactions between individuals who occupied different positions on spectra of sex, gender, and sexuality in modern Spain. Tórtola and Zamora have been largely overlooked in existing studies of male or female homosexuality; they are more at home in an examination of queer culture.

A materialist reconsideration of international peace practice and its human and non-human constituents

Abstract The international community's sobering track record of sustainably reducing the number of armed conflicts worldwide, as well as the increasing involvement of non-human complexities in times of climate crisis suggest that current approaches to foster peace are too narrow and inflexible. So far, demands and calls for more flexible and adaptive peace practice made by policy-makers and researchers have not led to a related paradigm shift. In order to contribute to such a change of practice, this article advances a speculative analytical attempt that seeks to conceptually uncover new modes of engaging with the world for the purpose of peace. It builds on Baruch Spinoza's materialism and describes peace as intimately interrelated with the issue of political community. Following Spinoza, the article reconsiders the imaginary of political community as something that is constantly being rearticulated by a contingent complexity of human and non-human actors, and thus transcends the geographic scope of its formal borders as well as its epistemic scope across power hierarchies. Finally, the article introduces the human-non-human multitude as political subject that is able to detect and interpret the constituents of a political community, and therefore to maintain and sustain peace.

The relational shift in urban ecology: From place and structures to multiple modes of coproduction for positive urban futures.

This perspective emerged from ongoing dialogue among ecologists initiated by a virtual workshop in 2021. A transdisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners conclude that urban ecology as a science can better contribute to positive futures by focusing on relationships, rather than prioritizing urban structures. Insights from other relational disciplines, such as political ecology, governance, urban design, and conservation also contribute. Relationality is especially powerful given the need to rapidly adapt to the changing social and biophysical drivers of global urban systems. These unprecedented dynamics are better understood through a relational lens than traditional structural questions. We use three kinds of coproduction-of the social-ecological world, of science, and of actionable knowledge-to identify key processes of coproduction within urban places. Connectivity is crucial to relational urban ecology. Eight themes emerge from the joint explorations of the paper andpoint toward social action for improving life and environment in urban futures.

Development of Patient and Caregiver Conceptual Models Investigating the Health-Related Quality of Life Impacts of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare and usually fatal malignancy frequently linked to occupational asbestos exposures and associated with poor prognosis and considerable humanistic burden. The study aimed to develop conceptual models of the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) impact on patients with and receiving treatment for MPM, and the burden on their caregivers. This multi-country study (Australia and United Kingdom) adopted a qualitative methodology to conduct semi-structured, independent interviews with people with MPM (n = 26), current caregivers (n = 20), and caregivers of people who had recently died because of MPM (n = 4). Participants were recruited using a purposive sampling approach and interviews conducted via telephone between January 2021 and January 2022. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis and used to construct conceptual models. Patient analysis yielded four overarching themes: (1) debilitating burden of breathlessness and fatigue; (2) physical mesothelioma symptoms experienced by patients; (3) distress of MPM on the self and family; and (4) treatment is worth 'having a go' despite the potential impact on symptoms. Caregiver analysis yielded five core themes: (1) daily life limited by caregiving duties; (2) emotional well-being and the need for support; (3) the relational role shift to caregiver; (4) time spent providing care negatively impacts work and productivity; and (5) positive aspects and outcomes of caregiving. This study highlights the substantial daily and emotional HRQoL impact that MPM symptoms have on patients and caregivers. Both groups reduced work, productivity, and social and leisure activities. There was evidence of positive HRQoL impacts as a result of immunotherapy and radiotherapy, but less for chemotherapy. Caregiver impacts were intensified during the end-of-life period and persisted following patient death. Evident is a need for increased psychological support, information, and advice for caregivers, increased during the end-of-life period.

Intensified Impact of Spring Tibetan Plateau Snow Cover on Summer Compound Heat Waves in Western Europe after 1998

Abstract This study revealed a significant interdecadal change in the impact of spring western Tibetan Plateau (TP) snow cover (TPSC) on subsequent summer compound heat waves (CHWs) in western Europe (WE) after 1998. This interdecadal change is attributed to a change in a western Europe high–western TP low (WEH–TPL) atmospheric circulation pattern. This pattern arises due to both the inherent variability of TPSC and the phase transition of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) after 1998. The increased magnitude and persistence of western TPSC from spring to summer after 1998 enhanced the snow–atmosphere coupling effect, intensifying ascent and decent motion over the TP and WE, respectively, and strengthening the WEH–TPL pattern. In addition, the post-1998 positive AMO phase favors continuous and stable downstream Rossby wave propagation, enhancing the WEH–TPL pattern and the TPSC–CHWs relationship. Further analyses reveal that the interdecadal changes in the TPSC and the AMO around 1998 contribute to the presence of “double jets” over the North Atlantic–central Eurasian sectors. The TPSC–related anomalous atmospheric circulation and AMO phase shift contribute to the southern and northern branches of the intensified westerly jet, respectively. These conditions create a favorable environment for the formation and persistence of summer CHWs in WE. Numerical modeling experiments with a linear baroclinic model confirm these findings. Our findings suggest that in the context of a changing climate, TPSC plays a pivotal role in the genesis of summer CHWs in WE and may serve as a valuable predictor for CHWs. Significance Statement This study discovered that starting from 1998 there was a significant change in how spring snow cover on the western Tibetan Plateau affects summer compound heat waves in western Europe. After 1998, the snow cover on the western Tibetan Plateau increased in size and lasted longer from spring to summer, intensifying the interaction between the snow and the atmosphere. This led to more rising and sinking air over the Tibetan Plateau and western Europe, respectively. Also, after 1998 a positive phase of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) was favorable for the circulation connection between western Europe and the Tibetan Plateau. Further analysis showed that these changes in snow cover and the AMO after 1998 caused “double jets” in the North Atlantic and central Eurasia that created better conditions for summer heat waves in western Europe. Numerical models are used to confirm these findings. Our research indicates that, in a changing climate, the snow cover on the western Tibetan Plateau plays a crucial role in the development of summer heat waves in western Europe and can be a useful predictor for these heat waves.

Theoretical study on Stark effect of Rydberg atom in super low frequency electric field measurement

AbstractSuper low frequency electric field measurements are crucial in analysing electromagnetic compatibility, assessing equipment status, and other related fields. Rydberg atom‐based super low frequency electric field measurements are performed by observing the Stark shift in the spectrum of the Rydberg state. In a specific range of field strength (E < Eavoid, where Eavoid is the threshold to avoid crossing electric fields), the Rydberg atomic spectrum experiences a quadratic frequency shift in relation to the field strength, with the coefficient being determined by the atomic polarisability α. The authors establish a dynamic equation for the interaction between the external electric field and the atomic system, and present the Stark structure diagram of the Caesium Rydberg atom. The mathematical formulae for α and Eavoid in different Rydberg states are also obtained: α = A × (n*)6 + B × (n*)7 and Eavoid = C/(n*)5 + D/(n*)7, where A(B) = 2.2503 × 10−9(7.49,948 × 10−11) and C(D) = 1.68,868 × 108(2.45,991 × 109). The error of α and Eavoid compared with the experimental values does not exceed 8% and is even lower in the low Rydberg states. Accurately calculating the values of α and Eavoid is crucial in incorporating the Rydberg atom quantum coherence effect into super low frequency electric field measurements in new power systems.

Time-dependent model for two-phase flow in ultra-high water-cut reservoirs: Time-varying permeability and relative permeability

For the ultra-high water-cut reservoirs, after long-term water injection exploitation, the physical properties of the reservoir change and the heterogeneity of the reservoir becomes increasingly severe, which further aggravates the spatial difference of the flow field. In this study, the displacement experiments were employed to investigate the variations in core permeability, porosity, and relative permeability after a large amount of water injection. A relative permeability endpoint model was proposed by utilizing the alternating conditional expectation (ACE) transformation to describe the variation in relative permeability based on the experimental data. Based on the time dependent models for permeability and relative permeability, the traditional oil-water two-phase model was improved and discretized using the mimetic finite difference method (MFD). The two cases were launched to confirm the validation of the proposed model. The impact of time-varying physical features on reservoir production performance was studied in a real water flooding reservoir. The experimental results indicate that the overall relative permeability curve shifts to the right as water injection increases. This shift corresponds to a transition towards a more hydrophilic wettability and a decrease in residual oil saturation. The endpoint model demonstrates excellent accuracy and can be applied to time-varying simulations of reservoir physics. The impact of variations in permeability and relative permeability on the reservoir production performance yields two distinct outcomes. The time-varying permeability of the reservoir results in intensified water channeling and poor development effects. On the other hand, the time-varying relative permeability enhances the oil phase seepage capacity, facilitating oil displacement. The comprehensive time-varying behavior is the result of the combined influence of these two parameters, which closely resemble the actual conditions observed in oil field exploitation. The time-varying simulation technique of reservoir physical properties proposed in this paper can continuously and stably characterize the dynamic changes of reservoir physical properties during water drive development. This approach ensures the reliability of the simulation results regarding residual oil distribution.

Systemic cycles of accumulation and chaos in the world capitalist system: a missing link

Abstract We re-examine the systemic cycles of accumulation (SCA) of Arrighi (2010) and Arrighi and Silver (1999) which provide a framework for the analysis of the cyclical patterns of geographical expansion of trade and production and the related shifts of hegemonic power within the world capitalist system. Within the SCA framework, the last stage of a hegemonic cycle is characterized by what is called ‘systemic chaos’. However, the drivers of these dynamics have not been explicitly analyzed. This article fills this gap by providing a link between the accumulation process and systemic chaos. Introducing the logistic map into the SCA analysis, our approach provides the missing detailed understanding of how systemic chaos is an outcome of the contradictory socioeconomic dynamics of capital accumulation itself while being based on the key insights of the SCA framework of hegemonic cycles.