Contact Situations Research Articles

The exercise of authority during interactions in custody hearings in São Paulo (Brazil): Building legitimacy through exclusion

In Brazil, the Custody Hearing is a legal device established in 2015 to safeguard the rights of people arrested in flagrante delicto by the police. In an attempt to prevent the indiscriminate use of preventive detentions in the country, the custody hearings were created for the potential effects that an in-person meeting may have on the flow of the Criminal Justice System. While the recent literature on criminology has produced significant empirical data testing the effects of peoples’ evaluations of procedural justice during court hearings for institutional legitimacy, little is known about what happens during these situations of contact between citizens and judicial actors. Using data from the observation of 138 custody hearings at the largest Criminal Forum in Brazil, we analyzed in this work how interaction procedures and ceremonial resources are employed by judicial actors to exercise authority. By focusing on the quality of decision-making and the interpersonal treatment expressed in procedures, we sought to analyze the effects of the punitive framework for the construction of legitimacy. Our analysis of interactions in custody hearings indicates the existence of a claim to legitimacy which, counter to procedural justice principles, develops through the exclusion of the person subjected to that authority.

A Siloxene/Ecoflex Nanocomposite‐Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator with Enhanced Charge Retention by MoS2/LIG for Self‐Powered Touchless Sensor Applications

AbstractThe contactless triboelectric nanogenerator with the capability of touchless interactions has become extremely fascinating for applications in health care, remote security, and augmented reality. Herein, a Siloxene/Ecoflex nanocomposite‐based high‐performance contactless triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is newly proposed that induces abundant surface charges owing to the strong electron affinity property of the Siloxene/Ecoflex. Furthermore, charge retention is one of the significant challenges in contactless TENG. For this, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) incorporated laser‐induced graphene (LIG) is introduced as a charge trapping interlayer, which increases the surface potential by four‐fold, enhances the output performance of the TENG, and exhibits excellent charge trapping property which is supported by the surface potential measurements. In addition, the fabricated TENG exhibits excellent humidity sensing characteristics with a sensitivity of 0.45 V/% whereas the wear and tear of the device is prevented owing to the non‐contact mechanism of TENG. Finally, the TENG is demonstrated as a self‐powered sensor for touchless hand sanitizer applications as well as a wireless controller that transmits triggering signals for controlling the movement of the object in a gaming interface. Considering the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the proposed contactless TENG is highly promising for touchless interactions and for reducing possible contact situations.

The Vulnerability of Emerging Sign Languages: (E)merging Sign Languages?

Emerging sign languages offer linguists an opportunity to observe language emergence in real time, far beyond the capabilities of spoken language studies. Sign languages can emerge in different social circumstances—some in larger heterogeneous communities, while others in smaller and more homogeneous communities. Often, examples of the latter, such as Ban Khor Sign Language (in Thailand), Al Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language (in Israel), and Mardin Sign Language (in Turkey), arise in communities with a high incidence of hereditary deafness. Traditionally, these communities were in limited contact with the wider deaf community in the region, and so the local sign language remained relatively uninfluenced by the surrounding signed language(s). Yet, in recent years, changes in education, mobility, and social communication patterns have resulted in increased interaction between sign languages. Rather than undergoing language emergence, these sign languages are now facing a state of “mergence” with the majority sign language used by the wider deaf community. This study focuses on the language contact situation between two sign languages in Kufr Qassem, Israel. In the current situation, third-generation deaf signers in Kufr Qassem are exposed to the local sign language, Kufr Qassem Sign Language (KQSL), and the dominant sign language of the wider Israeli deaf community, Israeli Sign Language (ISL), both of which emerged around 90 years ago. In the current study, we analyzed the signing of twelve deaf sign-bilinguals from Kufr Qassem whilst they engaged in a semi-spontaneous task in three language conditions: (1) with another bilingual signer, (2) with a monolingual KQSL signer, and (3) with a monolingual ISL signer. The results demonstrate that KQSL-ISL sign-bilinguals show a preference for ISL in all conditions, even when paired with a monolingual KQSL signer. We conclude that the degree of language shift in Kufr Qassem is considerable. KQSL may be endangered due to the risk of social and linguistic mergence of the KQSL community with the ISL community in the near future.

Just Enough English to Get by: Language Practices of Transnational Migrants in Chinese Stores in Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract The presence of a Chinese community in South Africa has become increasingly visible over the last decade, particularly in the trading sector. This is illustrated in the sizable number of new shopping centres settled specifically by groups of Chinese traders, known as China Towns. Shopkeepers and shop assistants come from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds, China and other African countries respectively, but living and working in a multilingual South Africa, they communicate in English, which is the lingua franca. This paper explores their language practices and reflects on a particular language contact situation where shopkeepers and assistants of various migrant origins work closely together. The study adopts a linguistic ethnographic approach to the analysis of the interaction between shopkeepers and assistants and uses conversation analysis to elucidate the ways in which meaning is negotiated and understood in interaction between multilingual speakers. Unscripted audio recorded spoken interaction of the participants throughout the workday is the primary source of data. Additionally, interviews and observational notes are used to supplement the interactional data and illustrate the creative forms of language use that emerge in a in a China Town centre near Cape Town in the Western Cape.

A video-based analysis of situations bearing the risk of respiratory disease transmission during football matches

We aimed to analyze the number and type of contacts involving the risk of respiratory disease transmission during football match play. We analysed 50 matches from different playing levels. Two reviewers evaluated the contacts of all players in each match. We focused on between-player contacts, crowding, actions with potentially increased aerosol and droplet production and within-player hand-to-head contacts. We categorized the duels with direct contact into frontal and other ones and measured contact duration. The number of between-player contacts were similar between playing levels (median 28.3 [IQR 22.6, 33] contacts per player-hour). Frontal contacts summed up to 8% of all contacts. Contacts involving the head occurred less than once per player and match with none lasting longer than 3 s. Crowding included between two and six players and the duration was mostly less than 10 s. Aerosol and droplet producing activities were three to four times more frequent in adult compared to youth players. Our results suggest that the risk of respiratory pathogen transmission is low during football matches. This conclusion is based on the finding that most close contact situations are of short duration and on the fact that it is an outdoor sport.

A Note on Parameter Setting in Contact Situations

This paper revisits the study of linguistic variation within the Government and Binding approach to parameters, pointing out some limitations of parameter schemata in language contact scenarios. Discussion is focused on the possibility that clustering effects (the schemata themselves) are more complex than conventional approaches suggest. We outline an alternative approach, directly connected to Uriagereka’s typology or parameters, which is itself based on Chomsky’s Theory of Formal Languages. Empirically, we focus on language contact situations, as they provide cases where variation by contact operates under what we call an Excess of Stimulus, whereby access to the relevant data is overwhelming, but somehow ignored by learners.

Research on electrical contact fault characteristics of GIS circuit breaker based on vibration signal

In order to analyze the vibration characteristics of GIS equipment when the contact is poor, we established a threedimensional model of 40.5kV circuit breaker by using the magnetism and solid coupling method. By changing the ratio of the close contact area of moving and stationary contacts to the total area of moving contacts (contact ratio), the situation of poor electrical contact was simulated and analyzed. The simulation results show that, when the contact ratio is constant, the current increases from 1000A to 3000A, and the acceleration of the contact also increases. In the case of the same current, the acceleration value when the contact ratio is 0.3 is greater than the value when the contact ratio is 0.6. When the contact ratio is 0.3 and the current is 3000A, the acceleration amplitude of the component with the frequency of 100Hz is the largest, which is 0.07m/s2. After research and analysis, it is shown that the vibration signal is based on 100Hz as the fundamental frequency. At the same time, multiple frequency components such as 300Hz, 600Hz and some other high-frequency components are generated. Therefore, the contact state can be judged through the measurement and analysis of the vibration signal.

Change of Tōhoku dialect spoken in Hawaii

AbstractThis study investigates changes in Tōhoku dialect speakers’ phonology after their immigration to Hawaii, specifically concerning intervocalic voicing and alveolar/palatal mergers. Tōhoku dialect is known for its unique phonology compared to other Japanese dialects and, for this reason, it is often stigmatized. Previous studies of second dialect acquisition have suggested that older speakers tend to retain the phonological features of their original dialects during dialect contact situations. The results from adult Japanese plantation immigrants, as expected, suggested that adult Tōhoku dialect speakers demonstrated limitations in acquiring second dialect phonology in their contact with non-Tōhoku dialect speakers. However, there are different degrees of second dialect acquisition between the intervocalic voicing and alveolar/palatal mergers among the Tōhoku dialect immigrants who interacted with non-Tōhoku dialect speakers on a daily basis and those who did not; namely, the former eliminated the stereotypical stigmatized Tōhoku dialect feature – the mergers – more than those speakers who did not have such frequent interaction. This suggests that both sociolinguistic factors, e.g., dialect discrimination by peers, as well as relative phonological complexity, influence the rates of second dialect acquisition.

Improving robotic impedance control performance employing a cascaded controller based on virtual dynamics model

We propose a cascaded impedance control algorithm based on a virtual dynamics model (VDM) to achieve robust and effective mechanical impedance for a robot interacting with unknown environments. This cascaded controller consists of an internal loop of virtual impedance control based on a VDM and an external loop of impedance reference control. The VDM-based virtual impedance control can achieve the same effect as the conventional admittance control; its intermediate output of force/torque serves as the input for the external loop reference impedance control. Therefore, this cascaded controller shows superior performance by combining the advantages of admittance control and impedance control. We evaluate the controller in multiple-contact experiments on a six-degrees of freedom (6-DOF) industrial robot manipulator. The result shows that under various contact situations such as soft and rigid surfaces and free space, the proposed method can rapidly track the target and effectively maintain stability. In the experiments conducted on the robot in contact with various environments, the proposed control method reduced the steady-state error by more than 20% compared with the conventional admittance control.

Migrants' Social Integration and Its Relevance for National Identification: An Empirical Comparison Across Three Social Spheres.

A key element of migrants’ well-being is their emotional integration, that is, the extent to which they perceive themselves as members of society and their identification with the country they are living in. To foster this sense of belonging, many integration programs aim to increase the migrants’ social integration, for example, by organizing events for migrants to meet natives in various settings. The validity of this strategy is supported by decades of international research. It remains unclear, however, which aspects of social integration are most relevant for national identification. Multiple theories concerned with contact and group identification support the assumption that contact to natives should foster a sense of belonging and national identification. However, for a contact situation to bear this potential, a certain set of criteria, including aspects like direct personal contact, a similar social status, and the presence of egalitarian norms, needs to be fulfilled. It is expected that these characteristics are more likely to be fulfilled within family and friendship settings than in contact situations within the employment context. Hence, I expect contact to natives within the network of friends and family to be more greatly associated with migrants’ national identification. I analyzed data from a 2013 cooperation between the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) and the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), that is, the IAB-SOEP Migration Sample, as well as the 2014 wave of the SOEP. The subsample used included 2,780 first- and second-generation migrants living in Germany. The results indicate that not all kinds of contact are equally linked to national identification. In contrast to expectations, in neither the cross-sectional models nor the lagged models was living together with native family members significantly linked to national identification. Similarly, the association between having predominantly native co-workers and national identification was insignificant when controlling for migrant-specific characteristics. Only the relation with having predominantly native friends was significant and positive across all models. This as well as a comparison of the associations lead to the conclusion that when it comes to migrants’ national identification native friends might be the most relevant form of contact to natives.

Virtual Validation of Power and Force Limiting Setups in Human-Robot-Collaboration

Industrial applications with physical human-robot-interaction that rely on the application principal “Power and force limiting” require to verify the biomechanical load acting on the operator during a contact to ensure compliance with applicable standards. The related force and pressure measurements can only be carried out after a specific application is built up. Existing approaches to determine the biomechanical load range from simulations over setups with crash test dummies or biofidel measurement devices to studies with humans. Studies with humans are suited to define thresholds for biomechanical loads but not to verify them on a real application. To some extent, dynamic simulations can estimate the biomechanical load in unconstrained contact situations but are limited in case of constrained contacts. To fill this gap related to constrained contacts we propose a comprehensive approach for the planning of Power and force limiting in this paper. After giving an overview over existing testbeds for collision testing in human-robot-interaction, a new testbed setup is proposed as well as an approach to utilize the generated data to create benefits for end users of the tested robots. With this approach the collision-force and -pressure during a contact are estimated based on information that are available before the application is built up. An expert system gives advice to the user how to modify the application to meet design requirements and ensure operator safety. The proposed approach relies on an advanced testbed, which is able to reproduce representative contact situations between a human and a test-robot by varying the parameters: contact position and direction, velocity at the contact point, end-effector weight, collision surface and affected human body part. The testbed is implemented prototypically to investigate the feasibility of the approach. The biomechanical loads of reproduced contact situations are measured using a state-of-the-art biofidel measurement device and stored in a database, where they can be used to estimate the force and pressure of planned applications and create instructions to influence a desired application parameter.

Приватне життя Євгена Коновальця: кореляція особистого та політичного (1921–1930 рр.)

Introduction. The article examines private life of the famous Ukrainian politician, leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists Yevhen Konovalets in 1921–1930. Purpose. The purpose of the work is to cover the main features of Konovalets private life and its correlation with political activity during 1921–1930. Originality. Academic novelty and originality of work is due to the lack of a special study devoted to the details of the private life of Y. Konovalets in 1921–1930 in modern Ukrainian historiography. Methods. Framework methodology for research is the biographical method. Analysis of various groups of personal documents (memoirs, diaries, letters), which contain biographical information, allowed us to specify the details of the most important events in the private life of Y. Konovalets, which took place during 1921–1930. The use of prosopographic approach in the work allowed to outline the nature of interpersonal relations between Y. Konovalets and his wife O. Fedak. The research also used such special historical methods as: historical-chronological, historical-comparative and historical-systemic. Results. As part of the study, it was possible to dispose of the widespread thesis in historiography that Y. Konovalets returned to Lviv only in July of 1921. Separately, the features of Lviv household were detailed. Versions of Yevhen’s acquaintance with O. Fedak and their relations at the initial stage of relationship were outlined. Details of the wedding ceremony organization were revealed, which, despite the influence of the Lviv family of Fedak and the authority of Y. Konovalets among the Ukrainian community in Lviv, was modest. Some aspects of the Berlin period of the Konovalets family’s life were highlighted, in particular, the birth of a son and details of support in the situation of contacts with Galician relatives in that situation. The influence of the political factor on the private life of Y. Konovalets and the material, moral and psychological condition of his family members was clarified. Conclusion. The period of 1921–1930 became decisive in Y. Konovalets’ private life. His return to Lviv in 1921 allowed him to settle his personal life and start his own family. At the same time, commander’s private life was closely connected with his active pro-Ukrainian political activities, which significantly influenced the resolution of major personal and family issues.

A review on recent development and challenges in automotive brake pad-disc system

From a tribological prospect, the brake pad-disc system undergoes severe abrasive and adhesive wear mechanism in the production of wear debris. Because of the constant abrasion, this procedure produces fine particle debris, which certainly harm the environment. The conventional material for brake-discs is usually grey cast iron in the pearlite form with lamellar graphite phases. These materials are thermally conductive and have a high thermal capacity. It also has a high corrosive tendency and severe material wear throughout the service. According to studies, PM10 emissions (inhalable particles-particulate materials with dimensions of 10 µm or less) from disc brake wear can account for 50% of overall non-exhaust wear emissions from vehicle transport. The interplay between the friction pairs has the greatest impact on the braking performance of the diverse brake regimes. The friction material used in brakes has a considerable impact on the contact situation in the brake disc of a car. As a result, friction material qualities have a critical influence in brake performance, specifically at severe braking condition, in which the system temperature rises beyond critical value. The sensitivity of disc brakes to pressure, speed, and temperature in a braking phase is generally governed by the system ingredients and their quantity. Therefore, this research paper focusses on the analysis of the historical evolution of the brake pads, challenges and future prospective of the automotive brake-pad disc system.

The Use of Tameguchi and its Metamessages in First-Time Face-to-Face Contact Situations

The Use of <i>Tameguchi</i> and its Metamessages in First-Time Face-to-Face Contact Situations

Nemci u Vojvodini u periodu osnivanja Kraljevine SHS - interdisciplinarni pristup

In this paper, we conducted an interdisciplinary analysis of the process of integration of the German minority in the historical context of the first Yugoslav state, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (1918-1929). In 1920, Swabian-German Cultural Association, Kulturbund, was founded as an important factor in preserving the German identity. Even though Kulturbund had interruptions in its activity, in 1924 and 1929, it remained the basic frame for cultural life of the German community during the period between the two wars. Officially, this organization was founded as non-political and loyal to new state, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. The activities of Kulturbund were focused on preservation of German heritage through establishment of cultural institutions such as libraries and bookstores and through organization of cultural events in the area of literature, film, music, and theatre. Kulturbund was most active in Vojvodina. Vojvodina is still a unique model of co-existence of different ethnic groups and cultural patterns, and the German community historically contributed to multiculturalism, multi-confessionalism and multiethnicity of this region. We based our analyses on contributions in the field of sociology on ethnicity, cultural anthropology, and history. Specifically we found theoretical model of ethnical boundaries, established by Fredrik Barth within the interactional approach to exploring ethnicity, which proved to be useful. Barth's influential model allowed us to examine the ethnicity from very important aspect-social interaction. In that way, ethnicity is interpreted as a form of social organization of cultural differences. Also, this model implies that ethnical boundaries are flexible, but also resistant, and can be preserved in situations of intensive cultural contacts between different ethnical and cultural groups. According to Barth, the factors with the most influence to the strengthening of ethnical boundaries are social changes on the international level, such as wars.

Contact of Cultures and the Image of Japan in European Fiction (Frigate “Pallada” by I. Goncharov and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by D. Mitchell)

This article studies the situation of contact between European and Japanese cultures and the image of Japan created in the classical work of Russian literature Frigate “Pallada” (1858) by I. Goncharov and in the novel The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (2010) by David Mitchell, a contemporary British writer. The books were written during different periods of time, but they describe the same historical period and similar events; they both have documentary foundation. Special attention is paid to translators as characters of the books who play an important role in the plot development and provide intercultural communication. The research methodology combines methods of comparative literary criticism with a post-colonial approach, E. Said’s ideas about orientalism and ethnocentrism in particular. Comparative analysis of the two books demonstrates that the image of Japan created by the two writers has a number of similar features, which confirms its objective nature. Conversely, the authors’ perspectives and points of view of Japan differ drastically. The Russian writer looks at the Japanese down and from the outside; he considers “strangeness” and “childishness” to be their national features. Goncharov’s Eurocentric position is explained by several reasons: his knowledge of Japan was external, he was a civil servant, who cared mostly about the interests of Russia, and he represented an influential group of Eurocentric intelligentsia. D. Mitchell’s knowledge of Japan and its culture is deep and internal due to his biography. The English writer creates a bicultural novel in which the European and the Japanese worlds are equally significant. Thus, in the novel, the author offers a modern point of view on the world order and intercultural communication.

Linguistic Identity Embedded in Multilingual Landscape of Assam1

The north eastern parts of India which is commonly known as (the seven sisters) are seven hill states on the north-eastern frontiers of India. These states are Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam. Northeast India has approximately over 250 ethnic groups and equal or probably a greater number of languages around 300. Most of these languages are mutually non-intelligible. These hill states host a wide range of diverse tribal societies with layered distinctions within the same tribal groups. Assam as one of these states has many languages spoken in the society. It has got many languages spoken in the North East. Assam has languages from major language families such as Tibeto-Burman, Indo-Aryan, and Austro-Asiatic, which converge out of contact situation and complex ways of maintaining social and linguistic identities. This paper attempts to understand almost 200 years of sustained movements amid various forms of linguistic identity and linguistic tensions in Assam. This paper deals with the linguistic identity of Assamese society and sustained conflicts with other linguistic groups, which finds an origin in the colonial history and multiple geographical reorganization of the present-day Assam. In doing so, this paper closely looks at the Assam Official Language Act 1960, consequent fall out of the Act and the recent questions of linguistic identity of minority groups in the multilingual landscape of Assam with specific reference to the Assamese Language Learning Act 2020.

Dynamic Simulation and Analysis of Engagement Process for Logarithmic Spiral Bevel Gear Based on Accurate 3D Model

Based on the accurate 3D model of logarithmic spiral bevel gear, the operation of spiral cone gear engagement is analyzed and simulated by ANSYS. Through the nonlinear static contact analysis of different positions, the stress change rule and the maximum contact stress is obtained. Compared with the theoretical contact stress strength rule, this paper also analyzes the dynamic operation situation of the gear pairs, obtains the dynamic contact situation rule at different engagement times and different rotating speeds, the influence of the rotating speed on the gear contact characteristics is compared too. The static, dynamic performance and change rules of the gear engagement is obtained, which lay a solid foundation for the further research, design and manufacture of spiral bevel gears.

Electrochemical modification of high contact stainless steel 304 surfaces for antimicrobial applications

High-contact or high-touch surfaces are usually associated with higher risk of microbial contamination and subsequent infection, especially during global pandemics. Previous studies have shown that changing the surface roughness or topography at the micro or even nano-scale to enrich antimicrobial properties on the high-contact surfaces has been widely considered. In this work, we have used electrochemical techniques to modify the surface of metals that are commonly used in high contact situations such as stainless steel 304 (SS304). The aim of this study was to systematically elucidate the optimal electrochemical parameters such as anodizing current density and electrolyte composition needed for different types of metals. Surface morphology and topography profiles were observed by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Fabricated surface nanostructures were studied to evaluate the effect it has on the antimicrobial properties. The colony forming units with Escherichia coli were investigated. The results indicated that SS304 anodized at 3.5 V for 20 mins resulted in the fabrication of nanostructures up to 556 nm in size and was the optimized candidate due to its highest surface roughness (Ra) of 262.28 nm and 52.6% reduction of bacterial adhesion after 24 h incubation.

Linguistic areas in the history of the Mansi language

The article is devoted to the reconstruction of historical contacts of the Mansi language with Samoyedic languages. On the modern linguistic map of Western Siberia these languages are not in direct contact, however, linguistic data make it possible to reconstruct several contact situations of varying degrees of temporal depth. I suppose that in the region of the Upper Ob there was a historical linguistic area, which included the Mansi, Selkup, and Kamas languages. In the eastern periphery of this zone, some limited contacts between the Selkups and the Kets took place. The Khanty language was widespread north of the Mansi language, possibly, in the northern periphery of this area. The ancestor of the modern Eastern Khanty language was located closest to the Mansi language. The Mansi contacted with the speakers of the Southern Samoyedic languages most probably across the rivers of Chizhapka and Parabel. Within the same area E. G. Bekker identifi ed the zone of distribution of the Kamas toponymy. During the period of these contacts, in my opinion, Kamas and Selkup were already two separate languages, but the dialectal diff erentiation of Selkup had not yet begun: the article proposes a number of Mansi-Selkup areal isoglosses, equally represented in all Selkup dialects. Subsequently, the relative position of the Khanty and Mansi languages on the linguistic map of Western Siberia changed. The Eastern Khanty penetrated the Upper Ob area. Then the Northern and Southern Khanty settled in a wide zone stretching from north to south along the course of the Middle Ob and Irtysh. This interrupts the connection between the Mansi and the Eastern Khanty and cuts off the Mansi from the Upper Ob area. During this period, the modern “Ostyak” area including the Selkup, Ket, and Khanty languages began to form in the Upper Ob region. The formation of this “Ostyak” area should be attributed to the period after the dialectal differentiation of the both mentioned Uralic languages: this area includes only the easternmost dialects of Khanty and only the Northern and Tym dialects of Selkup.