Return Journey Research Articles

The Return Journey: A Multivariate Analysis of Covid-19 Related Academic Pitfalls in Post-Secondary Business Education

Online instruction is not new and has not been such for over two decades. Despite this, it still presents challenges for faculty and students alike. Specifically, many faculty and students avoid online instruction because it does not fit their teaching or learning styles. A problem then occurs when this instructional methodology cannot be avoided. The current work looks at online instruction from before, during, and after COVID-19 (i.e., when faculty and students were not necessarily given a choice on the delivery of instruction) to assess any instructional quality gaps during this period. The results significantly impact a student’s classroom performance (i.e., grades earned) based on several factors. Results and future research are discussed.

They returned to the Chinese mainland, and what? A collaborative autoethnographic study on the career transitions of Chinese international doctorates from the West to the east

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to analyse the approaches of three Chinese international doctoral degree holders who received their doctoral education in the West in tackling the challenges of relocation and career transition to the East after completing their doctoral degrees. Through a collaborative autoethnographic research from June 2020 to December 2022, from the theoretical perspectives of institutional theory, the study reveals four tactics of institutional arbitrage, driven by resources, purpose, practice, and legitimacy, allowed the Chinese international doctoral degree holders to extend their international academic networks to the local context, adapt research purposes to fit national needs, introduce effective practices from the international academic community to local institutions, and advocate for the legitimacy of cutting-edge research in the local academic community. Through these tactics, the multiple logics of profession, corporation, market, and state were found to be strengthened in the institutional environment, thus supporting their career development. The study further proposes to view Chinese international doctoral degree holders’ relocation to China as an important component of the international mobility of knowledge workers, contributing to the formation of global scholarship, rather than a simple return journey to their homeland.

Coleridge in Wolfenbüttel: The Double Portrait of Hans Sachs

Abstract: In 1799 Samuel Taylor Coleridge studied at the University of Göttingen to research German literature for his projected biography of Lessing. On his return journey to England in June 1799, Coleridge visited the Wolfenbüttel library, where he discovered a double portrait of the German Meistersinger Hans Sachs by Andreas Herneisen. Familiar with the afterlives of Sachs’s likeness, Coleridge understood the significance of this obscure portrait and recorded a detailed description in his notebooks. This article engages in a comparative analysis of Coleridge’s note and his studies of the visual-media afterlives of Hans Sachs, showing his scholarly engagement with German literature.

Design of an Automatic Sealing Mechanism for Extraterrestrial Sample-Collecting Robot

Returning extraterrestrial samples to Earth for analysis is crucial for planetary geological research and resource utilization. However, during their return journey, these samples undergo significant environmental changes, such as varying pressure, temperature, impact, and vibration. Hence, a dependable sealing technique that preserves sample integrity without requiring high-powered tools is necessary. This article aims to develop an automatic sealing system for collecting extraterrestrial samples, conducting parametric design and mechanical analysis on two types of proposed sealing structures with minimal sealing force as the benchmark. Additionally, the system will undergo validation through sealing and leakage detection experiments. An automated sealing system, capable of storing samples in multiple sampling tubes, is assembled for the extraterrestrial sampling device.

An unmanned aerial vehicle autonomous flight trajectory planning method and algorithm for the early detection of the ignition source during fire monitoring

ABSTRACT Timely identification of a fire’s origin in its initial stages is essential for minimizing human as well as material losses. Hence, formulating a methodology and algorithm for autonomously planning the flight path of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) during fire monitoring to identify ignition sources early is a pressing objective. The proposed ignition detection method comprises three flight plans (FPs); Flight Plan A (FPA) involves surveying the monitored area with tacks, and assessing harmful substance concentrations in each pixel. Upon identifying a pixel surpassing the threshold concentration, Flight Plan B (FPB) directs the UAV control for targeted navigation, employing local planning based on calculating local differential operators within a nine-element mask. FPB enables the UAV to directly reach and pinpoint the fire source coordinates. Flight Plan C (FPC) outlines the UAV’s return journey to the departure point from any pixel within the monitoring zone. A multi-criteria algorithm for UAV flight path control has been devised, facilitating the determination of local target pixels and subsequent Local Flight Plan (LFP) construction. The guiding principle for constructing an LFP is the ‘at least three pixels on the tack’ rule, yielding a nine-element matrix with known harmful substance concentrations in the target pixel. It enables the identification of pixels within the LFP where obtaining this matrix is unattainable. Mathematical modelling of the UAV flight control algorithm, as per the proposed methodology, was executed using MATLAB® R2019b, demonstrating control stability and accelerated attainment of ignition source pixel coordinates. The achieved speed surpassed the set goal by 1.5 to 2 times, contingent on the ignition source’s location concerning the monitored territory’s flyby direction.

Theory of Everything

Our Theory of Everything is made possible by the discovery of a closed fluid dynamic principle, working in a closed fluid space-time system, (the universe). Through the principle of fluid space-time, almost all of the unexplained mysteries of the universe are revealed. How the universe came into being, with matter and the most basic force, Gravity. Newton’s law of gravity in particular, the inverse square law with distance. (the reason is for appearance of the inverse square law, simultaneously in gravitation and electromagnetism, not a coincidence). Special Relativity is an account of how space contracts, time dilates and mass increases, with velocity. General Relativity is an account of how space-time curves. According to Muhammad’s closed fluid dynamic principle, space actually consists of an extremely fluid substance which we call aether. It is therefore fitting that through the closed fluid dynamic principle, we can arrive at an explanation for one major thorn in the side of Special Relativity, the twin paradox. The problem is, it is the twin who accelerates that gets it wrong. Because his assessment of the age of his brother was done without consideration of the fact that when he turned around, made the return journey, he felt his acceleration but did not employ this in Einstein’s time dilation, which was based on inertial reference frames. The task we are confronted with in this paper is to find out how the time dilation addressed in special relativity comes into proceedings in an accelerated frame. We achieve this.

Tales in Athenaeus of divine statues preventing or favoring journeys

AbstractThis article focuses on two stories contained in Deipnosophists 15 by Athenaeus of Naucratis. Both stories are comprised in the section in which Athenaeus discusses the use of crowns in festive rituals. Athenaeus attributes the first story (672a–e) to Menodotus of Samos. Here we read that some Tyrrhenians went to Samos to steal the simulacrum of Hera. But, having boarded the ship with the statue, they were unable to set sail. Thus, they unloaded the simulacrum on the shore and left. Then the heroine Admete retrieved it and took it back to the temple. For this reason, every year since then, the inhabitants of Samos celebrated the feasts called Tonaia in honor of Hera. The second story, that Athenaeus draws from Polycarmus of Naucratis (675f–676b), tells of a certain Herostratus who, on his return journey from Cyprus to Naucratis, was saved from a storm thanks to the sailors' prayers to the statue of Aphrodite on board. Thereafter, Herostratus prepared a banquet at the temple of the goddess to honor her. These stories introduce the recurring motif, also found in other sources, of travelling divine statues, which display supernatural powers.

Geographic Accessibility of General Practitioners by Car and Public Transport - A Study Using the Minimum Travel Time Method in a Rural Area in the North-East of Germany

Basic medical care should be accessible to all people without restriction. However, the distribution of practices in rural areas is often limited to the centers, meaning that distances have to be covered. The Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), the highest decision-making body of the joint self-government of physicians, dentists, hospitals and health insurance funds in Germany, only states for cars that 95% of the population should be able to reach general practitioners (GPs) in less than 20 minutes on average. The aim of this study was to determine the geographic accessibility of GP practices by car and public transport. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a rural area in the north-east of Germany called Neustrelitz Central Zone and reported according to the STROBE statement. Geographic data of OpenStreetMap and the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy and GP practices data of the Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg were used. Based on the method of minimum travel time, the required travel times by car and public transport from the local centers to the three nearest physician locations were determined using various online tools. On average, inhabitants need 10.7 minutes to reach the three nearest GP practices by car, up to a maximum of 19 minutes. The average travel time by public transport for an appointment at 10 a.m. is four hours and twelve minutes. While it is possible for all municipalities (and their inhabitants) to reach the nearest GP practices in time for an appointment at 10 a.m. and to complete the return journey on the same day, this is no longer possible for 35% of municipalities (and their inhabitants) for an appointment at 3 p.m. and for 53% for an appointment at 5 p.m. In the Neustrelitz Central Zone, the accessibility of GP practices by car is ensured in accordance with the G-BA statements. On the other hand, the accessibility of GP practices by public transport can be a problem for people who do not have their own car. This could be remedied, for example, by expanding eHealth or mobile medical practices.

‘A Return, a Mirror, a Photograph’: Return Journeys, Material Culture and Intergenerational Transmission in a Greek Cypriot Refugee Family

During times of war, displaced families carry various material items that later serve as means for preserving the memories of lost homes and maintaining a sense of identity. In divided Cyprus, the use of material objects by people displaced before and during the 1974 Turkish invasion has been influenced by the opening of checkpoints between the two sides in 2003. This paper explores how different generations in my family reacted to and interpreted the rediscovery of a lost material item—a handmade mirror piece—during the return journey. It discusses how my mother located the item, photographed it, and placed its photograph in the family’s photographic archive. During the research project upon which this paper follows from, both items re-emerged through my mother’s storytelling about her experience of return, transforming the project into a form of intergenerational transmission. The paper portrays how the storytelling about the mirror piece and its photograph was interpreted differently by me and my mother, influenced by the different politics of memory. The paper also showcases the resourcefulness of refugee families in maintaining the memory of their lost homes, which simultaneously reveals their views and hopes regarding the political future of the island.

Seasonal movements of Black Coucals Centropus grillii in Nigeria

The scale of movement associated with the migration of many intra-African bird species is still poorly known even with the increasing availability of tracking devices. In this study, we tracked the movements of Black Coucals Centropus grillii breeding in Nigeria from late July using satellite telemetry. Individuals remained on the breeding site for several months; two individuals transmitted after October and these two moved shorter distances (< 100 km) away from the breeding site in early December. One of these was tracked for a full year, moving to a site 175 km south of the breeding site in early January and returning to the breeding site in late May. The bird migrated faster during the return journey (58 km day−1) as compared to the post-breeding journey (5.9 km day−1). The overall home range (90% kernel density) during breeding was 20.4 ± 3.3 km2 (mean ± s.d.) and the core (50%) 5.0 ± 1.6 km2 with no apparent clear change outside of the breeding season. Vegetation conditions at the distant site were apparently poorer although in an average year the move would have led to improved conditions. Short-distance seasonal migration of Black Coucals might be widespread in drier seasonal habitats.

Extreme precipitation event at the Ross Ice Shelf during the 1911–1912 South Pole run

AbstractIn March 1912, Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his companions perished on their return journey from the South Pole. The Final Blizzard delivered a terminal blow. However, it was only a part of this story of endurance and tragedy. In December 1911, en route to the South Pole, the men had been tent-bound for 4 days due to an exceptionally warm, wet blizzard. This article compares the meteorological situation that the polar party encountered in December 1911 to a similar situation in the modern time and suggests a possible climatology behind the 1911 event.

Prevalence of Trachoma in Four Evaluation Units in Yemen after Implementation of Trachoma Elimination Measures

ABSTRACT Background In baseline trachoma prevalence surveys, six districts in two governorates of Yemen were identified as requiring interventions. We set out to estimate the prevalence of trachoma 6−12 months after one round of antibiotic mass drug administration (MDA) and implementation of measures to encourage facial cleanliness. Methods A population-based prevalence survey was conducted in each of the four evaluation units in October 2019. Contemporary World Health Organization recommendations for trachoma surveys were followed. Participants were selected using a two-stage cluster sampling process. The prevalence of inflammatory and late-stage trachoma was measured through eye examination. Water, sanitation, and hygiene facility access among visited households was estimated. Results The prevalence of trachomatous inflammation—,follicular (TF) in 1–9-year-olds per EU was <5.0% in three EUs (Al Mighlaf, Al Munirah, and As Salif; Az Zaydiyah; and Mudhaykhirah districts) and 5.0–9.9% in one EU (Far Al Udayn District). The prevalence of TT unknown to the health system in ≥15-year-olds per EU was <0.2% in all four EUs. Per EU, the proportion of households with an improved drinking water source ranged from 40% to 100%; access to an improved drinking water source within 30-minute return journey of the household ranged from 45% to 100%; and with an improved latrine ranged from 32% to 83%. Conclusion An additional round of antibiotic MDA should be administered in Far Al Udayn district before it is resurveyed. In the other surveyed districts, pre-validation surveillance surveys should be conducted in 2 years’ time to determine if the TF prevalence <5% has been maintained.

The flight-related carbon footprint of the Pan-African Thoracic Society (PATS) methods in epidemiologic, clinical and organizational research (MECOR) course 2023

Objectives: Climate change is a worldwide public health emergency, and traveling by plane results in the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), which plays a major role in global warming. This study sought to measure the flight-related carbon footprint of the Pan African Thoracic Society (PATS) Methods in Epidemiological, Clinical, and Organizational Research (MECOR) 2023 course. It looked at whether providing feedback on emission information to attendees would affect their attitudes about flight choices. Materials and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study at the PATS MECOR 2023 training program whereby the flight itineraries of all attendees were used to estimate the total carbon emission for each participant’s return journey to Mombasa, Kenya, using the Google Flight tool. An electronic survey was conducted on consecutive days to measure the knowledge, attitude, and practices of respondents before and after feedback on the aggregated emissions estimate. Results: The estimated total flight-related emissions of the 80 attendees were 57 tonnes of CO2. The primary determinant of choice of flight among most respondents was cost, and the least important was carbon emission. Only 22% of respondents correctly estimated that the total carbon footprint exceeded 30 tonnes. The proportion of attendees prepared to offset their carbon footprint increased from 54% to 73% before and after being informed of the delegates’ estimated CO2 emissions, but the change was not statistically significant (P = 0.07). Conclusion: Hosting a major international conference produces a carbon footprint, which, if measured and shared with funders, organizers, and attendees, can help inform the debate about how to reduce and mitigate this important contributor to global climate change.

A Case Study of the Return Journey of Adolescents with School Attendance Problems

A Case Study of the Return Journey of Adolescents with School Attendance Problems

최인훈 소설에 나타난 서술 상황과 자기성찰의 관련 양상 연구

This thesis attempted to explain the narrative situation of Choi In-hoon’s short story &lt;Woosumsori) from a self-reflective perspective. Self-reflection refers to establishing one’s identity while interacting with objects in the position of a subject, and it is no exaggeration to say that Choi In-hoon’s novelistic sensibility is created from such a sense of self-reflection. &lt;Woosumsori&gt; can be said to be a novel that falls into the form of a return journey. In this case, the work focuses on internal changes or reflections before leaving the journey and after returning. And the process is conveyed in the narrative method. That is the main use of a narrative method called free indirect discourse, and shows the process of self-reflection to construct a new self.&#x0D; What the free indirect discourse method intends in &lt;Woosumsori&gt; is the effect manifested when the character’s thoughts and feelings are inserted into the narrator’s narration or when the narrator’s voice intervenes. This serves the function of allowing the reader to capture the process of how an individual’s inner self relates to the world. For example, free indirect discourse is creating an effect that allows now only symbolic signs such as the desert, trimming nails, and Jesus, but also unconsciousness such as dreams and hallucinations to operate as a mechanism for reflection. Choi In-hoon’s narrative style like this stems from his perception of reality, which tries to respond with thoughts or actions that develop inside the individual rather that directly intervening in reality. For this reason, the work of identifying self-reflection is related to understanding Choi in-hoon’s ideality as a reality with methods and customs.

The Riddle of the “Great Person”. The European Wanderings of Prince Pyotr Alekseevich Golitsyn

The article attempts to solve a riddle that has occupied historians for 250 years. We are talking about the authorship of travel notes by a certain “Great Person” who made a great European voyage in 1697–1699: from Moscow to Holland, then south along the Rhine to Southern Germany; through the Austrian Alps to the states of Italy and further, repeating the return journey from Venice to Amsterdam, through Hamburg and Riga to Moscow. For a long time it was believed that the “Great Person” was the young Russian Tsar Peter Romanov, who went to Europe in those years as part of the Great Embassy. However, the routes of Peter I and the unknown Anonymous person obviously do not coincide, and this prompted historians to take a closer look at other candidates for “Great Person”. In recent years, a mysterious Anonymous Person has been sought among the second-rate participants of the Great Embassy, who for some reason broke away from the parent group. Gradually, the opinion was formed that the “Great Person” is just an “idle traveler”, and his travel notes are nothing more than a “tourist diary”. Based on the study of new materials, the author of this article proves that a personal friend of Tsar Peter, the future famous diplomat and statesman, Prince Peter Alekseevich Golitsyn (1660–1722) traveled around Europe under the name of a “Great Person”.

Prevalence of Trachoma After Three Rounds of Antibiotic Mass Drug Administration in 13 Woredas of Gambella Region, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT Background Following baseline surveys in 2013 and 2014, trachoma elimination interventions, including three rounds of azithromycin mass drug administration (MDA), were implemented in 13 woredas (administrative districts) of Gambella Regional State, Ethiopia. We conducted impact surveys to determine if elimination thresholds have been met or if additional interventions are required. Methods Cross-sectional population-based surveys were conducted in 13 woredas of Gambella Regional State, combined into five evaluation units (EUs), 6─12 months after their last MDA round. A two-stage systematic (first stage) and random (second stage) sampling technique was used. WHO-recommended protocols were implemented with the support of Tropical Data. Household water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) access was assessed. Results The age-adjusted prevalence of trachomatous inflammation – follicular (TF) in 1–9-year-olds in the five EUs ranged from 0.3–19.2%, representing a general decline in TF prevalence compared to baseline estimates. The age- and gender-adjusted prevalence of trachomatous trichiasis (TT) unknown to the health system in those aged ≥ 15 years ranged from 0.47–3.08%. Of households surveyed, 44% had access to an improved drinking water source within a 30-minute return journey of the house, but only 3% had access to an improved latrine. Conclusion In two EUs, no further MDA should be delivered, and a surveillance survey should be conducted after two years without MDA. In one EU, one further round of MDA should be conducted followed by another impact survey. In two EUs, three further MDA rounds are required. Surgery, facial cleanliness and environmental improvement interventions are needed throughout the region.

Personal measurements and sampling of particulate matter in a subway – Identification of hot-spots, spatio-temporal variability and sources of pollutants

A mobile measurement system for complex characterization of particulate matter (PM) was developed together with the proposed methodology and applied in the subway system of Munich, Germany. The main objectives were to observe the spatio-temporal variability of PM, personal exposure, identify hot-spots and pollution sources. Particle mass (PMx) and number (PNC) concentrations, and equivalent black carbon (eBC) were measured at 0.1–1 Hz. On the U5 subway line, PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 concentrations at platforms ranged from 59 to 220, 27–80, and 9–21 μg m−3, respectively. During rides towards downtown, average PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 levels gradually increased from 8 to 220, 2 to 71 and 2–20 μg m−3, respectively, with a similar dynamic of decrease on the return journey. Spatial variability of PM was generally more important than temporal, and significant differences were observed between platforms. During the rides, air exchange between train and tunnel was high in both air-conditioned and old passively ventilated trains. Peak PM concentrations on platforms were associated with arriving/departing trains. Subway PNC were not significantly elevated, but a few cases of intake of traffic-related particles from outside were observed, otherwise air exchange was considered low. Generally, most of the aerosol mass was composed of iron corrosion products from rails and wheels (Fe up to 66 μg m−3 in PM2.5). The effective density of PM2.5 was 2.1 g cm−3. Particles were classified as 75.4% iron oxides, 5.35% metallic Fe, 1.23% aluminosilicates and 17% carbon and oxygen rich particles. The iron oxide particles consisted predominantly of Fe (63.4 ± 8.7 wt%) and O (36.2 ± 8.2 wt%). To effectively monitor subway PM and reduce overall PM exposure, we propose to identify hot-spots using our methodology and focus on improving their ventilation, as well as installing filters in air-conditioned wagons.

First data about movements and threats of Rüppell's Vultures (Gyps rueppellii) tagged in Morocco: an international and multi-institutional study.

The Rüppell's Vulture (Gyps rueppelli) is listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ at the global and regional levels in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. A multi-institutional collaboration to fit 13 vultures with GPS transmitters in northern Morocco was launched to get information on their movements and threats along the flyway, both to the north and the south of the Sahara. Preliminary results from individuals released in November 2021 indicate a low survival rate during the wintering period in Morocco and on the return journey to the Sahel, which is usually attempted by Rüppell's Vultures with large groups of migratory birds, especially Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus). Of the group of tagged individuals, only four birds travelled definitely in a southwards direction, apparently migrating. Two of those have died, with one presumed to have starved in the Algerian desert, and another one presumed to have been killed by human persecution in The Gambia. A third individual was captured by local people in Mauritania and it is unknown what happened thereafter. One bird remains alive in Senegal at the time of writing. For the birds that did not disperse far after being fitted with transmitters, a relatively high number of fatalities seems to confirm that threats to the species are prevalent in Morocco: one bird died after being struck by a wind turbine; one was electrocuted by a power line; and two suffered from starvation and weakness. Birds remaining close to the release area fed mainly at a vulture feeding station or at rubbish dumps, which may indicate that there is a lack of food available in the wider surroundings. Five vultures originally fitted with transmitters are still alive in North Africa at the time of writing.

The impact of elevated aestivation temperatures on the behaviour of bogong moths (Agrotis infusa)

Bogong moths are an iconic Australian insect. They migrate annually in spring from low elevation locations in southern Australia to the Australian Alps where they aestivate during summer. As summer ends they make their return journey to the breeding grounds where they mate, lay eggs, and die. Given the moth's extreme behaviour in seeking out cool alpine habitat and with the knowledge that average temperatures at their aestivation sites are rising because of climate change, we first asked whether increased temperatures affect bogong moth activity during aestivation. We found that moth behaviour patterns changed from showing peaks at dawn and dusk with supressed activity during the day at cooler temperatures to near-constant activity at all times of day at 15 °C. Second, we asked whether moth mass changes after aestivating at different temperatures for a week due to dehydration or consumption of body energy reserves. We found that moth wet mass loss increased with increasing temperature, but found no difference in dry mass among temperature treatments. Overall, our results suggest that bogong moth aestivation behaviour changes with temperature and that it may be lost at around 15 °C. The impact of warming on the likelihood of individuals to complete their aestivation in the field should be investigated as a matter of priority to better understand the impact of climate change on the Australian alpine ecosystem.