Intersection Space Research Articles

Niche-Making in Intersectional Spaces: Narratives of a Mathematics Teacher Union Activist

In a world of rigid social norms that have shaped women’s lives, there are those who have broken stereotypes and advanced the field. This qualitative research investigates the narratives of Kaisog, a mathematics teacher whose strategic and deliberate decisions created within intersectional spaces brought about a negotiation of a mathematics teacher’s professional identity in the eventual creation of a new professional category: that of a mathematics teacher union activist. This paper explores the three categories of intersectionality namely structural, representational, and political, that were present in the life of Kaisog. Thematic analysis of the data revealed three themes of intersectionality: Neglecting the Vulnerable, Selective Mathematics, Women in the Workplace, and Being Queer in Society. It also argues how these intersectional spaces created niches for Kaisog: The Designated “Mother” Role, Decolonizing the Mathematics Curriculum, and Social Justice through Mathematics Education. Kaisog’s empowering structures include quality basic education, brilliant teachers, a matriarchal Ilonggo culture, and supportive family. Kaisog used mathematics as a tool for liberation and for achieving social justice and thus, creating a new niche for herself, that of a mathematics teacher union activist.

Dynamic Traffic Light Algorithm Incorporating Post-Intersection Space Allocation

This research presents a novel dynamic traffic light algorithm designed to optimize traffic flow and reduce traffic congestion by dynamically allocating green time based on post-intersection space availability. The algorithm employs a three-stage process: input generation, processing, and output. The input stage involves capturing traffic images using cameras strategically placed at intersections, which are then processed using background subtraction, edge detection, and object counting techniques. The processing phase includes vehicle counting using the YOLOv8 algorithm and open space calculation based on the maximum capacity of each road section. The output phase involves dynamically allocating green time to roads based on available post-intersection space and occupancy rates. The algorithm is designed to adapt to changing traffic conditions by continuously monitoring the post- intersection space and adjusting green times accordingly. It also incorporates a reset timer to ensure the algorithm loops back to the initial stage of gathering and processing traffic images. Simulation experiments using a physical model with toy vehicles and a camera setup demonstrated the benefits of this approach. Compared to the density-based approaches[1], this algorithm reduced average vehicle delay by 20-30%, increased overall intersection throughput by 15-25%, and decreased maximum queue lengths in each lane by 25-35%. It also adapted more effectively to fluctuations in traffic conditions, improving performance metrics by 20-30%. These results highlight the potential of incorporating downstream space considerations into traffic light control algorithms to enhance intersection efficiency, reduce traffic congestion, and enable more adaptive and fair traffic management.

Nothing for us, except by us – Support for queer ethnic young people in Aotearoa New Zealand

PurposeThis paper looks at mainstream lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA+) support services in Aotearoa New Zealand, which predominantly center white queer voices and services and fail to account for the intersectional identities of young ethnic queers.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory, qualitative study investigated the social and professional support experienced and responded to by 43 young ethnic queers living in Aotearoa New Zealand, who were between 18 and 35 years of age. Participants identified as queer, non-binary, gay, pansexual, demisexual, gender fluid, non-binary and trans among others and held ethnic heritage from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. Persadie and Narain's Mash Up methodological approach (2022) was used to analyze the data. Mash Up allowed us to understand the intersectional spaces of queer ethnic lives in white-dominated spaces, the ways in which young ethnic queers resisted the marginalization of their racialized being and took agency to counter actions and decisions that negated their presence and intersectional identities.FindingsThe findings from the study showed that young ethnic queers responded to the lack of adequate support services by establishing their own voluntary organizations and support networks. The study revealed that ethnic queer young people were critical of the white-dominated LGBTQIA+ support organizations; they created their own transformative spaces where they found “family” and community where they could be open about their queerness without the fear of rejection and stigma, while still advocating for equitable resources and an intersectional approach in queer mainstream services.Originality/valueThis paper provides valuable information on the lack of support for queer ethnic young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. The absence of information on the needs of this group poses a challenge to government departments, which rely on data to inform policy and allocate resources. The limited research and knowledge of this community make them less visible and, consequently, less likely to be given resources. It also means that harmful practices and behaviors toward queer ethnic young people by families and communities are more likely to go unnoticed and unaddressed. The paper also shows that the agency of young ethnic queers to create their own transformative spaces and to challenge the white-centric spaces, which have failed to consider their intersectional identities, has been instrumental to their well-being.

Neuro-Urbanism: Measurement of the Street Enclosure and its Influence on Human Physiology Through Wearable Sensors

This study explores the neurophysiological impact of visual qualities in Shanghai’s chosen urban spaces, specifically focusing on the perception of street’s visual quality. This metric has been defined by changes in physical space of intersection vs. in street, visibility of the sky, continuity of the wall, and ratio of sections. These variables contribute to the “enclosure rating”, a dimensionless number that can determine the perception of urban street intersectional space by occupants. We measured the changes in average heart rate of 15 participants at the selected intersections using a customized wearable sensor kit. We compared the participants’ heart rate towards the intersectional space and towards street and ask participants to complete a comfort-related post-evaluation. Analysis of the data show that subjects who look at enclosed views of streets experienced a lower heart rate than those who look at intersections.

Simulating Attochemistry: Which Dynamics Method to Use?

Attochemistry aims to exploit the properties of coherent electronic wavepackets excited via attosecond pulses to control the formation of photoproducts. Such molecular processes can, in principle, be simulated with various nonadiabatic dynamics methods, yet the impact of the approximations underlying the methods is rarely assessed. The performances of widely used mixed quantum-classical approaches, Tully surface hopping, and classical Ehrenfest methods are evaluated against the high-accuracy DD-vMCG quantum dynamics. This comparison is conducted for the valence ionization of fluorobenzene. Analyzing the nuclear motion induced in the branching space of the nearby conical intersection, the results show that the mixed quantum-classical methods reproduce quantitatively the average motion of a quantum wavepacket when initiated on a single electronic state. However, they fail to properly capture the nuclear motion induced by an electronic wavepacket along the derivative coupling, the latter originating from the quantum electronic coherence property, key to attochemistry.

Co-creating Inclusive Intersectional Democratic Spaces across Europe (CCINDLE): Counteracting Anti-gender through Feminist Knowledge

Abstract: The construction of feminist democratic societal projects relies on the production of feminist knowledge and ideas within social movements, as well as academic, professional, and institutional settings. In the context of a rising opposition against democracy and gender, race, and sexuality equality at a global level, the European Union has launched the call Feminisms for a New Age of Democracy with the purpose of supporting knowledge production about opposition to gender equality in Europe and feminist democratic responses. The CCINDLE (Co-creating Inclusive Intersectional Democratic Spaces across Europe) project is one of the funded research projects under this call. CCINDLE's objectives include analyzing not only anti-gender politics and the problems that they create for democracy in Europe but especially feminist movements' and institutional responses to anti-gender and anti-democratic forces. The project aims to co-create feminist knowledge with the actors that are already working to counter the antidemocratic project that anti-gender movements and far right parties are trying to construct, and to envision feminist futures building on theories and practices of intersectional justice, inclusion, and participation in European democracies.

A New Method for the Compaction Quality Inspection of High Rockfill Dams Based on 3D Laser Scanning Technology

The compaction quality is directly related to the deformation and stability of the rockfill dam. Measuring the test pit volume efficiently and accurately is the most critical step during the compaction quality inspection. A new method for calculating the test pit volume based on point cloud data is proposed. An auxiliary device that can change the scanning distance and angle of the handheld 3D laser scanner is developed to collect the initial point cloud. The segmentation method of the initial point cloud data including the test pit and the compaction surface outside the pit is to divide the data into two parts according to the order number of the segmentation point, after slicing and sorting point clouds, which is the key to ensuring the computational precision. The segmentation points are the adjacent two points with the greatest order number difference in these point clouds whose distance from the line connecting the end points of the slicing point clouds is less than dz. The compaction surface point clouds are used to construct a plane by the least-squares algorithm so that the closed three-dimensional model is formed by registering it with the test pit point clouds. After converting the test pit surface to the horizontal plane by the Rodrigues formula, the test pit point clouds are divided into n2 parts with equal projection areas on the horizontal plane, and n2 prisms are constructed using them and their projection areas. The test pit volume is the sum of the intersection space volumes of all prisms and the test pit model, and the intersection space is determined by comparing the Z-values of point clouds. The new method was programmed in MATLAB and applied to the Shuangjiangkou rockfill dam with a height of 315 m. The relative error of volume results between the new method and the old water-filling method is 0.14–2.31%. The cause of the error is analyzed, and it is proved that the results of the new method are closer to the real volume of the test pit in theory. This method reduces the inspection cost but greatly improves the level of precision, efficiency, and intelligence for compaction quality inspection.

Selectivity descriptors of the catalytic n-hexane cracking process over 10-membered ring zeolites.

Zeolite-mediated catalytic cracking of alkanes is pivotal in the petrochemical and refining industry, breaking down heavier hydrocarbon feedstocks into fuels and chemicals. Its relevance also extends to emerging technologies such as biomass and plastic valorization. Zeolite catalysts, with shape selectivity and selective adsorption capabilities, enhance efficiency and sustainability due to their well-defined network of pores, dimensionality, cages/cavities, and channels. This study focuses on the alkane cracking over 10-membered ring (10-MR) zeolites under industrially relevant conditions. Through a series of characterizations, including operando UV-vis spectroscopy and solid-state NMR spectroscopy, we intend to address mechanistic debates about the alkane cracking mechanism, aiming to understand the dependence of product selectivity on zeolite topologies. The findings highlight topology-dependent mechanisms, particularly the role of intersectional void spaces in zeolite ZSM-5, influencing aromatic-based product selectivity. This work provides a unique understanding of zeolite-catalyzed hydrocarbon conversion, linking alkane activation steps to the traditional hydrocarbon pool mechanism, contributing to the fundamental knowledge of this crucial industrial process.

Cryptanalysis of the SHMW signature scheme

In recent research, Durandal, a signature scheme based on rank metrics following Schnorr's approach, was introduced to conceal secret key information by selectively manipulating the vector subspace of signatures. Later, an enhancement, namely the SHMW signature scheme, with smaller keys and signatures while maintaining EUF-CMA security, was proposed. Both Durandal and SHMW require adversaries to solve hard problems (i.e., Rank Support Learning, Rank Syndrome Decoding, and Affine Rank Syndrome Decoding) for secret key retrieval, in which the parameters are designed to withstand at least 128-bit computational complexity. The authors claimed that the security of the SHMW scheme is deemed superior to that of the original Durandal scheme. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach to identifying weak keys within the Durandal framework to prove the superiority of the SHMW scheme. This approach exploits the extra information in the signature to compute an intersection space that contains the secret key. Consequently, a cryptanalysis of the SHMW signature scheme was carried out to demonstrate the insecurity of the selected keys within the SHWM scheme. In particular, we proposed an algorithm to recover an extended support that contains the secret key used in the signature schemes. Applying our approach to the SHMW scheme, we can recover its secret key with only 97-bit complexity, although it was claimed that the proposed parameters achieve a 128-bit security level. The results of our proposed approaches show that the security level of the SHMW signature scheme is inferior compared to that of the original Durandal scheme.

Evaluation of Car-Following Model for Mixed Autonomous and Human Driven Vehicles on Road Facilities.

Driverless cars are emerging slowly but bear the opportunity to improve the traffic system efficiency and user comfort. For the near future, a mix of human-driven and driver-less vehicle co- existence is inevitable. The quest to integrate autonomous and human-driven vehicles has created numerous critical questions in the road traffic system: How can autonomous and human- driven vehicles co-exist efficiently? What are the prospects of breaching the existing car-following model widely adopted to control the longitudinal movement of vehicles and control the driver’s maintenance of a safe distance? There is no doubt, that the emergence of autonomous vehicles and their integration is altering the existing traffic theories and the idea behind the car-following model. Currently, researchers are working hard to efficiently describe the physics behind the traffic flow theory of car-following models in mixed traffic. This work investigated a homogeneous car-following model sensitivity with varying human drivers’ reaction time in mixed traffic. The ability to predict the optimal vehicle response time in a platoon to the behaviour of its predecessor is vital in predicting the effect a change in the driving environment of mixed traffic has on traffic flow. The major complexities surrounding the car- following model in a mixed traffic flow environment are how the traffic participants share the road intersection space and the car-following behavior of human-driven vehicles. Investigation in microscopic traffic flow describes the way a single car be- haves and then introduces the impact another car has on a car’s behavior to address the mixed traffic flow. The traffic speed performance under the different traffic conditions suggests that the proposed mixed traffic car-following model outperforms the existing car-following model for human-driven vehicles with an average of 22.59mph. There is a significant throughput improvement in a mixed traffic environment when the distance headway of autonomous vehicles is adjusted to support the research hypothesis.

“It's Just a Feeling!”: Emotions and Intersectionality in Language Teacher Narratives

AbstractLanguage teacher identities and emotions are deeply sociocultural phenomena. Although intersectionality has asserted itself as a powerful framework in other fields, it is just beginning to emerge in language teacher education. This article argues that intersectionality provides a powerful conceptual lens for analyzing the complex and varied connections between language teacher identity and emotions. It also claims that emotions originate in the spaces between different social factors. Specifically, the article investigates the following questions: How do English‐as a‐second‐language teachers construct their emotions in narratives and what discourses of emotion do they evoke? How are emotions generated within the intersectional spaces of facets of their social identities? To address these, the article focuses on the micro‐level of analysis and the daily emotional experiences of two language teachers. The findings show how the focal participants navigate the complex emotional landscapes of teaching and how these are mediated by the intersections of different social identity markers such as gender, race, non‐native speaking status, and socioeconomic status.

The Intersections of Innovation

To unlock the power of creativity and innovation, it is very important to engage the entire in- novation ecosystem so that the full potential can be unveiled. These collaborative intersectional spaces between different disciplines — academia-industry, faculty-administration, and faculty-students — can open new dimensions for creative excellence, and thus, such intersectional spaces need to be created and nurtured. To this end, here, the pillars of innovation: creativity, motivation, ecosystem, and support, are discussed and their impacts on generating innovations are presented. While existing challenges in the academic setting are acknowledged, the role of faculty and the technology transfer offices and their positive interactions have a very critical role in the success of generating impactful innovations and their transfer to commercialization. In addition to the pillars of innovation, diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice are crucial components for creating impactful and sustainable innovations. Embracing diversity in all its forms, providing equitable opportunities for all, fostering an inclusive environment, and ensuring justice for all members of the ecosystem can lead to a broad range of perspectives and ideas, ultimately resulting in more creative and impactful solutions to the current and future challenges of the 21st century.

Model predictive control of connected vehicles under automated driving at path-free signal-free intersections

In this paper, we tackle the problem of real-time multi-vehicle interactions at signalfree and path-free intersections, which we call plazas, aiming for an efficient use of the intersection space. We propose a method that combines the path planning and path following tasks of connected vehicles under automated driving in one formulation. The method extends the standard nonlinear model predictive contouring control for application at intersections via the generation of multiple timeindependent reference paths. The goal is to maximize the progress of each vehicle along its reference path and penalize the rate of the control inputs while handling the continuous arrivals of the vehicles. The method is demonstrated using numerical simulation of vehicles at an intersection. The simulation results show that the proposed method achieves optimal and safe trajectories of the vehicles with driving flexibility and the possibility of better utilizing the intersection space.

Mean attractors and invariant measures of locally monotone and generally coercive SPDEs driven by superlinear noise

We study the global solvability, mean attractors and invariant measures for an abstract locally monotone and generally coercive SPDEs driven by infinite-dimensional superlinear noise defined in a dual space of intersection of finitely many Banach spaces. The main feature of this abstract system is that it covers a larger class of fundamental models which are included or not included previously. Under an extended locally monotone variational setting, we establish the global well-posedness, Itô's energy equality and existence of mean random attractors in some high-order Bochner spaces. The existence, uniqueness, support, (high-order and exponential) moment estimates, ergodicity, (pointwise and Wasserstein-type) exponentially mixing and asymptotic stability of invariant measures and evolution systems of measures are discussed for autonomous and nonautonomous stochastic equations. A stopping time technique is used to prove the convergence of solutions in probability in order to overcome the difficulty caused by the local monotonicity and superlinear growth of the coefficients. Our abstract results and unified methods are expected to be applied to various types of SPDEs like 2D Navier-Stokes equations, 2D MHD equations, 2D magnetic Bénard problem, Burgers type equations, 3D Leray α-model, convective Brinkman-Forchheimer equations, fractional (s,p)-Laplacian equations with monotone nonlinearities of polynomial growth of arbitrary order, and others.

The Experiences of 2SLGBTQ+ Adults Labeled with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities When Navigating Mainstream Queer Social Spaces

ABSTRACT Drawing on interviews with 31 2SLGBTQ+ people labeled with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities, this exploratory study focuses on participants’ experiences navigating mainstream queer social spaces. The current study is an explorative qualitative view at the intersection of the 2SLGBTQ+ and disability community. There is a call for more inclusive spaces for people with disabilities within queer social areas. Although queer spaces attempt to be free and inclusive, many have inaccessible activities and locations. The findings depict that individuals with lived experiences are not often represented in the 2SLGBTQ+ community due to a lack of inclusion. Participants highlighted feelings of rejection as people with disabilities were not represented in many 2SLGBTQ+ focused groups or organizations. The current paper calls attention to creating more inclusive intersectional spaces to promote inclusivity and ensure people with disabilities have the opportunity to contribute through an active role in the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

CROSSING SPEEDS OF CARS THROUGH SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS

The article deals with the problem of traffic in three traffic-light intersections in the street network of Iasi city. Usually, the existing traffic lights do not fully take into account the size, structure and parameters of the queue of vehicles waiting at intersections; which in turn affects the traffic capacity of the intersection. In the study, we used a representative set of measurements taken at the three intersections to interpret the variation in the crossing speeds of the traffic light intersection space by the vehicle columns using the linear regression method. We studied several categories of vehicles queuing before the stop line at the intersection. We made a statistical analysis of the time taken to cross three intersections by vehicles in different starting positions. The main results of the research showed estimates in good agreement with observational data as well as a significant reduction in vehicle speed (to 58%) when there are different categories of vehicles queuing at the intersection. This study can be used in the urban traffic diagnosis method, being part of a traffic study together with urban traffic forecasting and therapy.

Analysis of pedestrian illegal crossing at unmarked segments: Environmental factors, pedestrian characteristics and crossing behaviours

Pedestrian violations are a major cause of pedestrian accidents. Considering that pedestrians are vulnerable to mortality and severe injury in traffic accidents, it is necessary to conduct a study of the factors influencing the occurrence of unmarked street crossing violations and to improve pedestrian safety in a targeted manner. This paper investigated pedestrian spatial violations on unmarked roadways at six high-traffic locations in Hefei and examined the effects of the road environment, pedestrian crossing behaviour, and pedestrian characteristics on pedestrian spatial violation decisions. Thirty variables with a total of 723 samples were obtained by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a camera. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of pedestrian spatial crossing violations at unmarked roadways. A random parameter logit model was used to establish a pedestrian crossing decision model for roadway violations. The results indicate that males are more likely to violate than females; the probability of violation with companions is higher than that of crossing alone; when pedestrians cross with other strangers in the same direction, the rate will decrease; and shorter intersection spacing, a higher vehicle flow, and a longer pedestrian crossing length all reduce the illegal crossing propensity. The findings should be indicative to help traffic road construction departments and traffic participants take effective measures to improve road safety.

Meso Safety Analysis of Major Arterials: The Impact of Intersection Spacing and Network Connection Compatibility

With the increase in high-density road network construction in many urban areas, neither macro- nor micro-level safety analysis can fully explain the impact of network characteristics on safety. This study employed a meso-level analysis unit, which combines intersections with adjacent road segments, to investigate the safety impact of intersection spacing and network connection compatibility along 19 major arterials in Suzhou, China. Three main intersection spacing characteristics, the density of intersection spacing (DOIS), the standard deviation of intersection spacing (SDOIS), and the variation of intersection spacing (VOIS), were used to represent the interaction between arterials and other roads in the network. This study introduced the concept of hierarchical differences to quantitatively analyze the safety effects of connections between roads with different accessibility and mobility functions. To manage the hierarchical structure of the data (which has both within-arterial and between-arterial correlations), a two-level hierarchical negative binomial conditional autoregressive model was adopted to examine the safety effects of network characteristics at the meso level. The results showed the existence of unobserved heterogeneities among the selected arterials. The SDOIS and VOIS were found to have positive effects on crash frequency (more crashes on units with higher SDOIS and VOIS), while the DOIS was negatively associated with crash frequency. The meso units with moderately compatible network connections were found to have more crashes than those with compatible connections, while the units with the highest hierarchical differences had fewer crashes. The results from this study are expected to provide suggestions on potential safety hazard screening and crash prevention.

Nowhere to bi: Barriers to belonging in the broader LGBTQ+ community for Aboriginal bi+ people in Australia

Having a multiplicity of identities not only makes it difficult to find inclusive spaces for Aboriginal bisexual+ (bi) people but may often be a barrier to building connections and relationships with people who have other queer identities. Bi + identities alone are often rendered invisible, unintelligible or erased when it comes to inclusion and solidarity among their peers. An intersectional lens is used to reflexively investigate existing literature to explore how a lack of solidarity among lateral communities may impact Aboriginal bi + people in Australia who face an array of racism and queerphobia from both LGBTQ + and Aboriginal communities. These unique and multifaceted layers of discrimination greatly impact mental health and wellbeing. These experiences stem from the heterosexist and monosexist status quo from heteropatriarchal settler colonialism that is seen in both Aboriginal and LGBTQ + communities respectively. As a result, Aboriginal queer people are constantly surveying risks, policing their own identities and identity expression, often hiding parts of their identity as a survival strategy to avoid rejection and adhere to dominant cultural norms. When specifically considering Aboriginal bi + identities, there are added unique stressors of lateral violence with other LGBTQ + groups, antibisexual prejudice, and assumed monosexuality, adding additional layers of minority stress. The author explores these experiences by extending upon borderland theory and minority stress models. Whilst there is solace in the holistic celebration of intersecting identities in emerging intersectional Aboriginal queer spaces, there is still a great need for solidarity and celebration of Aboriginal bi + people within the broader LGBTQ + community.

A short note on simplicial stratifications

We show that the simplicial stratification associated to a triangulation of a PL pseudomanifold possesses a canonical system of trivializations of link bundles that satisfies a natural compatibility condition over nested singular strata. Consequently, Agustín Vicente and Fernández de Bobadilla’s generalization of Banagl’s intersection space construction is applicable to all PL pseudomanifolds (and in particular, to all complex algebraic varieties).