Static Construction Research Articles

Making or faking capitalism? Socialist dreams and postsocialist experiences in East-Central Europe

ABSTRACT Our paper proposes to rethink the concepts of modernization and modernity in the context of state socialist and postsocialist transformations in Eastern and Central Europe. By focusing on historical transformations, we seek to challenge normative and static constructions of the state socialist legacy and show that such perceptions are rooted in the Cold War ideological division. One way to contest this division is to reconceptualize socialist modernity. Drawing on James Ferguson’s seminal study on the “expectations of modernity,” we argue that modernization was central to the Eastern European Communist parties’ claims to legitimacy. While the state socialist experiment proved to be a failed political and social project, the dreams of modernity bereft of socialism continued to shape people’s self-images and social visions beyond the borders of “Eastern” Europe. In order to better understand the state socialist legacy and the political and social thinking of “postsocialist” people, we propose to link the study of the small transformations of everyday life with the critique of binary constructions of the concepts of socialism and capitalism.

Staged revision of the infected knee arthroplasty and endoprosthesis.

Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a challenging complication of any arthroplasty procedure. We reviewed our use of static antibiotic-loaded cement spacers (ABLCSs) for staged management of PJI where segmental bone loss, ligamentous instability, or soft-tissue defects necessitate a static construct. We reviewed factors contributing to their failure and techniques to avoid these complications when using ABLCSs in this context. A retrospective analysis was conducted of 94 patients undergoing first-stage revision of an infected knee prosthesis between September 2007 and January 2020 at a single institution. Radiographs and clinical records were used to assess and classify the incidence and causes of static spacer failure. Of the 94 cases, there were 19 primary total knee arthroplasties (TKAs), ten revision TKAs (varus-valgus constraint), 20 hinged TKAs, one arthrodesis (nail), one failed spacer (performed elsewhere), 21 distal femoral endoprosthetic arthroplasties, and 22 proximal tibial arthroplasties. A total of 35/94 patients (37.2%) had spacer-related complications, of which 26/35 complications (74.3%) were because of mechanical failure of the spacer construct, while 9/35 (25.7%) were due to recurrence of infection. Risk factors for internal failure were a construct where the total intramedullary spacer length was less than twice the length of the central osseous defect (p = 0.009), where proximal or distal intraosseous spacer contact was < 10%, and after tibial tubercle osteotomy (p = 0.005). The incidence of spacer complications significantly increased the time to second stage: mean 157 days (42 to 458) in those without complications versus 227 days (11 to 528) with complications (p = 0.014). The failure rate of static antibiotic-loaded cement spacers is much higher than anticipated. Complications of the spacer significantly increased the time to second-stage revision. The risk of mechanical failure is significantly increased if the spacer is less than double the size of the segmental defect, or if inadequate reinforcement is inserted into the residual bone. These findings serve as a guide for surgeons to avoid mechanical complications with static spacers.

Capturing Successful Aging in Daily Life: Exploring the Intensive Longitudinal Findings from a US National Sample.

Thus far, successful aging has been conceptualized and operationalized as a relatively static construct. Investigating daily successful aging provides a dynamic approach highlighting how successful aging can be achieved through everyday actions, giving older adults a stronger sense of control over their lives. We used 8-day diary data from MIDUS 2's US national sample of older adults (N=716, Mage[SD]=68.80[6.45]). Participants reported daily physical symptoms, functioning, and engagement in life (collectively, successful aging indicators), alongside daily stressors and positive events. We also correlated personal mean and standard deviation of the indicators with one-time measures of health and well-being. Intra-class correlation revealed substantial within-person variability in successful aging indicators. These indicators were associated with daily stressors and positive events. One-time health and well-being indicators were positively associated with personal mean levels of successful aging, although their correlations with personal standard deviations were less consistent. Intra-individual variations in successful aging as everyday symptoms, functioning, and engagement with life are observable among a national sample of older adults, challenging the static view of successful aging and, instead, emphasizing the need to understand "micro-level" contributors of successful aging.

Longitudinal patterns of adversity from childhood to adolescence: Examining associations with mental health through emerging adulthood using a random-intercept latent transition analysis.

Childhood adversity can have detrimental impacts on life course mental and physical health. Timing, nature, severity, and chronicity of adversity are thought to explain much of the variability in health and developmental outcomes among exposed individuals. The current study seeks to characterize heterogeneity in adverse experiences over time at the individual, family, and neighborhood domains in a cohort of predominantly Black children (85% Black and 15% White, 46.2% girls, 67.2% free/reduced lunch in first grade), and to examine associations with mental health from sixth grade to age 26. Participants were part of a randomized universal preventive interventions trial in first grade with prospective follow-up through early adulthood. Separate models characterized heterogeneity in adversity in elementary, middle, and high schools. Changes in adversity over time and relationships with mental health (anxiety, depression, suicidal behaviors) were investigated using a random-intercept latent transition analysis (RI-LTA). We identified three-class solutions in early childhood, middle school, and high school. Generally, both a higher and a lower poly-adversity class were observed at each time point, with varying nature of adversity characterized by the third class. RI-LTA indicated prevalent within-individual changes in adverse exposure over time and differential associations with mental health and suicidal behaviors. Results suggest that treating adverse exposures as a static construct may limit the ability to characterize salient variation over time. Identifying complexity in adverse experiences and their relation to health and well-being is key for developing and implementing effective prevention and early intervention efforts to mitigate negative effects through the life course. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Re-conceptualising learner feedback agency: a situational, deliberative and entangled perspective

This article critically examines current conceptualisations of learner feedback agency (LFA) by juxtaposing them against debates and origins of agency to uncover their existing limitations. This examination found three limitations, portraying LFA as a static construct, overemphasising behavioural enactments over underlying deliberations, and presenting a unidirectional influence of structures on LFA. Responding to these limitations, the article proposes a three-fold re-conceptualisation of LFA as (1) situational, highlighting the adaptability of learners in dynamic learning environments, urging a shift from static to situation-specific considerations; (2) deliberative, underscoring the significance of examining learners’ thought processes beyond behavioural actions, and (3) entangled, recognising the co-constructive relationship between learners’ actions and existing structures, emphasising that learners not only respond to, but also influence structures in feedback. Implications of these perspectives are discussed, challenging prevailing assumptions and advocating for a more robust understanding of LFA.

4D printing for biomedical applications.

While three-dimensional (3D) printing excels at fabricating static constructs, it fails to emulate the dynamic behavior of native tissues or the temporal programmability desired for medical devices. Four-dimensional (4D) printing is an advanced additive manufacturing technology capable of fabricating constructs that can undergo pre-programmed changes in shape, property, or functionality when exposed to specific stimuli. In this Perspective, we summarize the advances in materials chemistry, 3D printing strategies, and post-printing methodologies that collectively facilitate the realization of temporal dynamics within 4D-printed soft materials (hydrogels, shape-memory polymers, liquid crystalline elastomers), ceramics, and metals. We also discuss and present insights about the diverse biomedical applications of 4D printing, including tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, drug delivery, in vitro models, and medical devices. Finally, we discuss the current challenges and emphasize the importance of an application-driven design approach to enable the clinical translation and widespread adoption of 4D printing.

Fluency in Speaking as a Dynamic Construct

In current research into second language (L2) speaking, aspects of fluency are measured as static constructs. Averaged over a complete speaking performance, for instance, syllables per minute is calculated. Similarly, the number of pauses is calculated per minute, averaged over a complete speaking task. This paper argues, however, that we need to investigate fluency as a dynamic construct. Research into L1 speaking has shown that L1 fluency aspects may show cyclical temporal patterns (Roberts &amp; Kirsner, 2000). In addition, research into the changes in perception of L2 comprehensibility during task performance has shown that L2 comprehensibility may show dynamic patterns, with implications for ratings on comprehensibility (Nagle et al., 2019). This paper, therefore, argues that L2 fluency should be investigated as a dynamic construct as well. The paper finishes by sketching pedagogical implications and directions for future research.

From Static to Dynamic: Smart Materials Pioneering Additive Manufacturing in Regenerative Medicine.

The emerging field of regenerative medicine holds immense promise for addressing complex tissue and organ regeneration challenges. Central to its advancement is the evolution of additive manufacturing techniques, which have transcended static constructs to embrace dynamic, biomimetic solutions. This manuscript explores the pivotal role of smart materials in this transformative journey, where materials are endowed with dynamic responsiveness to biological cues and environmental changes. By delving into the innovative integration of smart materials, such as shape memory polymers and stimulus-responsive hydrogels, into additive manufacturing processes, this research illuminates the potential to engineer tissue constructs with unparalleled biomimicry. From dynamically adapting scaffolds that mimic the mechanical behavior of native tissues to drug delivery systems that respond to physiological cues, the convergence of smart materials and additive manufacturing heralds a new era in regenerative medicine. This manuscript presents an insightful overview of recent advancements, challenges, and future prospects, underscoring the pivotal role of smart materials as pioneers in shaping the dynamic landscape of regenerative medicine and heralding a future where tissue engineering is propelled beyond static constructs towards biomimetic, responsive, and regenerative solutions.

Total BIM on the construction site: a dynamic single source of information

Digital technologies are rapidly transforming the construction industry, offering new opportunities to improve site work performance. Traditionally, site workers take information from static construction documents such as 2D paper drawings. However, in the Nordic region, a dynamic approach known as Total BIM has gained interest. Total BIM is a model-based approach to construction where BIM replaces 2D drawings as the contractual and legally binding construction document, and site workers use production-oriented, cloud-based BIM, on mobile devices to extract construction information. By having a dynamic single source of information, site workers face new demands as they independently extract construction information directly from BIM. This paper investigates the impact of Total BIM on site work methods through four real-life case studies, site visits, workshops, seminars and semi-structured interviews. The findings indicated that Total BIM provided site workers with a more dynamic construction process where the mobile BIM-viewer software became a central communication and management platform. Key digital Total BIM features were investigated that site workers used to perform new work methods, including measuring, filtering, visualizing, communicating, checklists, and requests for information. By using Total BIM instead of static 2D drawings, site workers interacted dynamically with BIM on mobile devices, changing the process of how work was implemented on the construction site. The practical implications of these findings can be used to support the on-site implementation and strategy work of Total BIM. Furthermore, this paper contributes practical concrete examples of on-site Total BIM use and addresses issues commonly found in state-of-the-art BIM projects.

REFORMING ELECTORAL SYSTEMS IN RUSSIA AND ABROAD: FROM MOTIVATION TO LEGAL INNOVATION

The article is devoted to the practices of reforming electoral systems in the Russian Federation and abroad. Despite the fact that the influence of electoral systems on party systems has been revealed by M.Duverger at the beginning of the XX century, the influence of party systems on electoral systems remains a topical research field. The fact is that electoral systems do not represent a prescribed static construct, but are a reflection of political will motivated by various factors. The purpose of the article is to identify the motives of various political actors to change the electoral legislation. Within the framework of a small-scale comparative study, based on the study of empirical data on the reform of electoral systems in Russia and abroad, these motives were identified and classified. The main determinants of changes in electoral systems are highlighted, among which the basic one is the political will of actors to preserve the status quo. The hypothesis is confirmed that the fundamental motivation for the reform (or lack thereof) of electoral systems is the intention of political elites to preserve power. Other factors also include the sociological and institutional features of the state. It is also important that the motivation and factors of electoral reform are the same in both majoritarian and proportional and other electoral systems. What is distinctive here is only a set of specific parameters that can be reformed in the context of a particular electoral system. Based on empirical analysis, it has been established that under the threat of monopolization of the tools for reforming the electoral system, it is necessary to create such a system of reforming the electoral system, which would be based on the institutional consolidation of the system of checks and balances in order to prevent the influence of only one of the political actors on it.

Discrimination between Gaussian process models: active learning and static constructions

The paper covers the design and analysis of experiments to discriminate between two Gaussian process models with different covariance kernels, such as those widely used in computer experiments, kriging, sensor location and machine learning. Two frameworks are considered. First, we study sequential constructions, where successive design (observation) points are selected, either as additional points to an existing design or from the beginning of observation. The selection relies on the maximisation of the difference between the symmetric Kullback Leibler divergences for the two models, which depends on the observations, or on the mean squared error of both models, which does not. Then, we consider static criteria, such as the familiar log-likelihood ratios and the Fréchet distance between the covariance functions of the two models. Other distance-based criteria, simpler to compute than previous ones, are also introduced, for which, considering the framework of approximate design, a necessary condition for the optimality of a design measure is provided. The paper includes a study of the mathematical links between different criteria and numerical illustrations are provided.

ЧТО ЗНАЧИТ "ПОНИМАТЬ"? ЧАСТЬ ПЕРВАЯ. ВАСИЛИЙ ВАСИЛЬЕВИЧ РОЗАНОВ О ПОНИМАНИИ

The article opens a series of studies about the formulation and solution for the issue of understanding in the Russian philosophical tradition. The article considers the concept understanding proposed by V.V. Rozanov. It task is to show what Rozanov understands by understanding himself and not his numerous elucidators. The dependence of Rozanov’s optics on Aristotelian ontologism and realism is noted, as well as its relationship with the philosophical systems of his era: V.S. Solovyov and N.N. Strakhov. Understanding for Rozanov is a process based on the fundamentally unified nature of the world and the mind. The world is understandable because it is initially true. And, at the same time, the world and the understanding are not static constructions. Contrary to the usual usage of words, Rozanov’s understanding does not grasp, does not appropriate, does not constitute, and does not describe the world at all

From Divided to Diasporic: Re-envisioning Italian American Texts through Transformative Translingual Practices

From Divided to Diasporic: Re-envisioning Italian American Texts through Transformative Translingual Practices

알고리즘 기반 가격 개인화의 법적 문제

Product prices are now one of the many areas of our daily life in which artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly important. Digitization, especially online trading, opens up completely new possibilities and gives price adjustments a big boost in various ways. Thanks to their computing speed, algorithms can not only change and vary prices very quickly. Their enormous capacities for collecting and processing information even make it possible to include consumer data in the price calculation and thus adjust prices individually. Although we have become accustomed to uniform prices, the price has never been a purely static construct. Fluctuating prices are not a new phenomenon. Pricing freedom prevails within the framework of private autonomy. The aim of this paper is to examine how Korean law can respond to the new challenges posed by algorithmic price diversity. The law currently seems to offer little help against the currently existing lack of transparency in relation to the pricing process, which can go hand in hand with automated price individualization. So far, there are no legal regulations for disclosing how prices are determined. A central concern when dealing with individualized prices concerns the existence of information asymmetries and the (in)transparency of pricing strategies.

Reimagining Preparedness of Health Professional Graduates Through Stewardship

Issue: Preparing health professional students for practice matters and is an important objective of health professional education. But although health professional courses grow in number and continue to graduate entry-level practitioners annually, there are signs that health professional education is not quite hitting the “purpose” mark. Preparedness is a term encountered often in health professional education, but it is besieged with challenges. Those challenges relate to whether graduates are prepared for their future careers and how preparedness for practice is understood; understandings of preparedness influence what curriculum, teaching, and learning prepares graduates about and for. Evidence: There is a wealth of the literature that suggests that graduates are not prepared for practice or believe they are not. This literature tends to grow rather than diminish, with arguments about preparedness materializing time and again. Preparedness means different things to students, academics, and practitioners and this creates misunderstanding as well as lessening the construct’s value to research, education, and practice. What it means to be prepared is in fact not a static construct but changes in response to the needs of individuals and communities and broader societal context. When preparedness is defined as competence in skills or knowledge, graduates will be ill equipped to operate in the chaotic, ambiguous times we now face as competencies tend to oversimplify and reduce the demands of practice. Implications: Preparedness is only one purpose that could be attached to the educational formation of university graduates. It is time we expand our thinking about what is valuable and necessary to learn in order to become health professionals equipped to address the health and social care problems now and to come. Furthermore, continuing to address the challenges of preparedness for practice in the same ways as we have done for decades will not result in change; new and different educational approaches are required to meaningfully reimagine health professional education. We need to value education as a scholarly field in its own right, as much as we do evidence-based healthcare. A concept that prompts us to think and act in these reinvigorated ways is stewardship, which I offer as an expansive way to think about the purposes and desired outcomes of health professional education. Stewardship is an idea that sustains and cares for the professions, and therefore is highly relevant to the preparation of healthcare practitioners.

Surgical Treatment of Pediatric Scoliosis: Historical Origins and Review of Current Techniques.

The treatment of scoliosis has been explored and debated in medicine since the first recorded texts. Scoliosis treatment has shifted over time from external modalities, such as traction and bracing, to internal stabilization techniques that leverage surgical advances. Surgical fixation constructs can generally be separated into two different modalities: dynamic vs. static constructs. For skeletally immature individuals with progressive deformities, surgical options range from traditional or magnetically controlled growing rods to vertebral body staples or tethering. For individuals who have reached skeletal maturity, many devices have been developed that provide static length constructs. Understanding the surgical options available is critical for the appropriate management of this varied patient population. With this article, we sought to provide a summary of past and present techniques and devices used in the treatment of scoliosis.

Positivity in peer perceptions over time: Personality explains variation at zero-acquaintance, popularity explains differential change.

People have characteristic ways of perceiving others' personalities. When judging others on several traits, some perceivers tend to form globally positive and others tend to form globally negative impressions. These differences, often termed perceiver effects, have mostly been conceptualized as a static construct that taps perceivers' personal stereotypes about the average other. Here, we assessed perceiver effects repeatedly in small groups of strangers who got to know each other over the course of 2-3 weeks and examined the degree to which positivity differences were stable versus developed systematically over time. Using second-order latent growth curve modeling, we tested whether initial positivity (i.e., random intercepts) could be explained by several personality variables and whether change (i.e., random slopes) could be explained by these personality variables and by perceivers' social experiences within the group. Across three studies (ns = 439, 257, and 311), personality variables characterized by specific beliefs about others, such as agreeableness and narcissistic rivalry, were found to explain initial positivity but personality was not reliably linked to changes in positivity over time. Instead, feeling liked and, to a lesser extent, being liked by one's peers partially explained changes in positivity. The results suggest that perceiver effects are best conceptualized as reflecting personal generalized stereotypes at an initial encounter but group-specific stereotypes that are fueled by social experiences as groups get acquainted. More generally, these findings suggest that perceiver effects might be a key variable to understanding reciprocal dynamics of small groups and interpersonal functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Analytical model for viscous and elastic Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities in convergent geometries at static interfaces

Great attention has been attracted to study the viscous and elastic Rayleigh–Taylor instability in convergent geometries, especially for their low mode asymmetries that behave distinctively from the planar counterparts. However, most analyses have focused on the instability at static interfaces that excludes the studies of the Bell–Plesset effects and the elastic–plastic transition since they involve too complex mathematics. Herein, we perform detailed analyses on the dispersion relations by applying the viscous and elastic potential flow method to obtain their approximate growth rates compared with the exact ones to demonstrate: (i) The approximate growth rates based on potential flow method generally coincide with the exact ones. (ii) An alternative expression is proposed to overcome the discrepancy for the low mode asymmetries at fluid/fluid interface. (iii) Extra care must be taken in solids since the maximum discrepancies occur at the n = 1 mode and at the mode proximate to the cutoff. This analytical method of great simplicity is essential to describe the dynamic interface by including the overall motion of the interface based on the static construction, while the exact analysis involves too complex mathematics to be extended by including the Bell–Plesset effects and the elastic–plastic properties. To sum up, the approximate analytical dispersion relations derived in convergent geometries, have the potential for dealing with dynamic interfaces where Bell–Plesset effects are combined with elastic–plastic transition.

Construction Risk Assessment of Deep Foundation Pit Projects Based on the Projection Pursuit Method and Improved Set Pair Analysis

Accurately evaluating the construction risk of deep foundation pit projects is crucial to formulate science-based risk response measures. Here, we propose a novel construction risk assessment method for deep foundation pit projects. A construction risk evaluation index system based on a work breakdown structure-risk breakdown structure matrix was established to deal with the complex risks of deep foundation pit construction. The projection pursuit method optimized by particle swarm optimization was used to extract the structural features from the evaluation data to obtain objective index weights. The calculation method of the five-element connection number in the set pair analysis was improved to evaluate the static construction risk. The partial derivatives of the five-element connection number were utilized to assess the dynamic construction risk. The Qi ‘an Fu deep foundation pit project in China was selected as a case study. The results show that the construction risk was acceptable and decreased during the construction period, which was consistent with actual conditions, demonstrating the effectiveness of this novel method. The proposed model showed better performance than classical methods (analytic hierarchy process, entropy weight method, classical set pair analysis, fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, gray clustering method, backpropagation neural network, and support vector machine).

Dynamic Multi-objective Construction Site Layout Planning Based on BIM

The planning effectiveness of construction site layout greatly influences construction efficiency. Many previous studies assumed that all the facilities exist on the construction sites for the whole duration of the projects. Some researchers found the shortcomings and developed models to improve it. But these models also have different limitations, such as ignoring the future impact of the layout decision in early construction phases on the later layout quality, only considering transportation costs when optimize the layouts, etc. To address these issues, this study proposes a building information modeling (BIM)-based model that dynamically optimizes the multi-objective construction site layout. In this model, BIM and construction schedules provide the updated construction project information. This model introduces the construction phase impact on layout. The layout of each construction phase is optimized in order of corresponding phase impact. Considering the sustainable development for construction industry, the noise pollution level is chosen to be the optimization objective together with the total transportation cost. In order to balance the noise pollution level and total transportation cost, the multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) is applied to obtain trade-off solutions. A case study is presented to demonstrate the capability of the proposed model. The results indicate that the proposed dynamic construction site layout plan (CSLP) reduces transportation cost by 43.45% and 11.46% compared with the original and static construction site layout. This study breaks the traditional site layout plan order and locates the facilities in order of their phase impact, which can greatly reduce the transportation cost on the site. It also incorporates the noise pollution reduction into CSLP to enhance on-site sustainability.