Search Results (63,007)

Truly impactful innovations are developed by outsiders out of a sense of need; those that rise to mainstream recognition and acceptance, however, are colonized by dominant hegemonies. This paper traces cycles of innovation and colonization in literature, publishing, and computing as ancestral domains to electronic literature, which has been subject to the same gendered and othered frontier-colonization cycles that dominated its forebears. Elit was a new frontier for writing and publishing, a strong site of marginalized creativity, until it was codified and colonized into publishing and academia by the dominant class: women could create, but men had the actual and cultural capital to create and develop the structures to platform their work into the dominant discourse. This paper analyzes how feminist and marginalized digital writers resist colonization of their innovations and erasure of their innovations by hacking platforms, subverting narrative conventions, and amplifying hidden voices. The paper examines elements of innovation-colonization cycles in elit and adjacent practices (indie games, fanfic), showcases Lillian-Yvonne Bertram’s algorithmically-generated epoetry as a site of subversion, and presents fanfic community Archive of Our own as a preliminary model of value-sensitive and inclusive community design. It argues for the development of feminist-first platforms—digital spaces that actively resist the structural colonization of marginalized storytelling. Full article

Towers often have complex structures and higher reflectances than the surrounding surfaces. To identify the uncertainty of the tower in tower-based albedo observations, a combined approach involving simulation and field observations was applied to three newly constructed towers in the Saihanba region. The simulation results demonstrate that tower presence influenced the albedo measurements, with the impact primarily controlled by tower reflectance rather than sensor height. When the tower-body albedo markedly differs from the background, systematic correction is necessary. Field validation indicates that for the towers in the Saihanba region, the contrast in albedo between the tower and the surrounding background is small, and both the simulated and observed albedos agree well with the ground measurements, with differences below 0.0075. By identifying when and how tower structures distort albedo observations, this study enhances confidence in ground-based validation and provides practical guidance for future tower design and material selection. Full article

Sustainable export governance increasingly extends beyond technical compliance to encompass coordination among diverse actors with competing objectives and unequal power. This study examines the governance of swallow bird’s nest (SBW) exports in Indonesia as a sustainability coordination system shaped by actor configurations, power asymmetries, and anticipatory capacity. Employing a foresight-based stakeholder analysis using the MACTOR method, the study maps influence–dependence relations, objective alignment, and mobilization capacity among key actors involved in SBW export governance in East Java. The findings reveal a stratified governance structure characterized by dominant regulatory actors, intermediary relay institutions, dependent economic stakeholders, and peripheral actors with contextual influence. While regulatory dominance ensures export compliance and market access, it generates conditions of fragile dominance in which sustainability objectives related to ecosystem resilience and local value creation remain weakly mobilized. Objective alignment is strongest around compliance imperatives and weakest for distributive and environmental goals, reflecting hierarchical prioritization embedded in actor roles and dependencies. The study demonstrates that sustainability challenges in export systems are driven by misaligned coordination and limited coalition capacity. By integrating foresight and stakeholder analysis, this research contributes a relational and anticipatory perspective to sustainable trade governance and offers insights for designing adaptive export governance arrangements. Full article

The construct validity of self-assessment tools designed to measure adaptive expertise, which is crucial for today’s complex work environments, is evaluated in this study. Although students are still novices and do not yet possess fully developed adaptive expertise, its fostering and assessment should begin during higher education, when future professionals build the foundations of their expertise. Three instruments originally developed for working professionals, the Adaptive Expertise Inventory, the Self-Adapt, and the Adaptability Scale, were examined for their applicability to higher education students. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed strong construct and ecological validity for Self-Adapt and the Adaptability Scale, consistent with previous research. The Adaptive Expertise Inventory showed less stability, with inconsistent factor loadings, potentially related to its prompt or conceptual framework. Exploratory factor analysis indicated no shared factor structures across instruments, suggesting limited conceptual clarity. A flexible approach is recommended to match instruments with program needs, particularly for high-stakes decisions such as advancement. Combining generic, domain-specific, and qualitative tools at the program level may yield deeper insights. These tools should be evaluated using adapted quality criteria to ensure valid and reliable student assessments. Full article

Addressing the issues of the complex mechanical responses and significant spatial effects of asymmetric large-span cable-stayed steel box girder bridges with shared public-rail traffic under operational loads (live load, static wind, and structural temperature differences), this paper uses the Lijiatuo Yangtze River Double-Line Bridge on Chongqing Metro Line 18 as the engineering background to construct multi-scale finite element models for the entire bridge and the closure segment, and validates them against GNSS displacement and strain monitoring data from the actual bridge. The study shows that the spatiotemporal asymmetry of operational live loads induces significant lateral bias effects in the main bridge, resulting in reverse displacements in the mid-span section, and with stress distributions characterized by “oscillation in the side spans and concentration in the mid-span.” The study also shows that, under static wind loads, the bridge’s lateral displacement approximately increases linearly with wind speed, and the mid-span response is higher than that of the side spans, showing significant spatial sensitivity to wind loads. Finally, the study shows that, although the system temperature difference causes small overall displacements, it still induces symmetrical lateral deformations and local stress concentrations near the closure segment. Local refined analyses further reveal the displacement distribution mechanism of the closure segment under operational loads. The health monitoring data agree well with the simulation results, validating the reliability of the numerical model. The research systematically reveals the spatial mechanical behavior of such bridges under operational loads, providing theoretical basis and engineering references for the design optimization and safety monitoring of similar asymmetric cable-stayed bridges. Full article

This study presents the development of a computational tool designed to help automate decision-making in excavation and foundation construction in rock, aiming to minimize risks to adjacent historical structures in an urban context. The tool uses a graphical interface and focuses on estimating the propagation of vibrations generated by these construction processes. A working methodology has been proposed, and a computational tool has been developed to predict the feasibility and safety of specific construction techniques in different areas of study. Using field-collected data, a three-dimensional survey of adjacent buildings is conducted in a 3D CAD model, converting the continuous terrain into a discrete point mesh. This mesh enables the tracing of vibrational wave trajectories from their origin to potentially affected structures. The tool then calculates the peak particle velocities (PPV) at the foundations of these structures. By comparing these PPV values with predefined thresholds—selected from different excavation procedures with heavy equipment—excavation zones where equipment can be safely used are visually represented using a color-coded scheme. To validate the applicability of the proposed method and developed approach, the tool was tested on a case study: The Rehabilitation Project of the Cervantes Theater in Segovia, promoted by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility, and Urban Agenda. This project is currently halted due to damage sustained by adjacent buildings during the excavation process. Full article

Ensuring strategic resilience in critical infrastructures supported with a machine learning approach requires moving beyond compliance checklists and post-incident analysis toward proactive, intelligence-based approaches. This study introduces the Forensic Resilience Operational Model (FROM), a systems thinking framework designed to embed forensic intelligence into the resilience cycle of complex socio-technical systems. To quantify this integration, the study investigates the determinants of the extent to which four operational pillars (forensic readiness, anomaly detection, governance and privacy safeguards, and structured intelligence integration) affect forensic resilience, using empirical survey data from 212 cybersecurity professionals across critical infrastructure sectors. We deploy Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to investigate these relationships, and the results confirm that anomaly detection is the strongest contributor to forensic resilience, followed by structured intelligence integration and forensic readiness. Governance safeguards, while comparatively weaker, provide the necessary legitimacy and assurance of compliance. Supported with sector-specific case studies in the maritime, financial, and CERT domains, the findings highlight both the adaptability of the proposed FROM and the operational constraints encountered in real-world contexts. The study contributes to the field of systems-oriented strategic management by demonstrating that, when systematically embedded, forensic intelligence enhances adaptive capacity, supports predictive decision-making, and strengthens resilience in environments characterized by uncertainty and high complexity. Full article

Much of Japan’s social infrastructure was concentrated during the period of rapid economic growth around the 1970s and is now facing the serious problem of simultaneous aging. To address this, a shift from conventional reactive maintenance to asset management utilizing various data is urgently needed. However, a critical barrier in practice is that inspection data predominately exists in analog paper formats or unstructured files, relying on subjective expert ratings (e.g., scale A to D). This lack of digital structure and the presence of “Assessor Bias” make it difficult to secure the robustness required for direct statistical analysis. To advance data analysis under these constraints, it is crucial to first verify whether a mathematical model can handle such uncertainty. This paper focuses on verifying the robustness and convergence of a deterioration prediction model designed to bridge this gap. Specifically, it incorporates the expert’s “judgment variation” into the model as probabilistic fluctuations (e.g., Beta-distributed noise) and uses large-scale Monte Carlo simulations to verify whether the model can produce stable results. This establishes a foundation for advancing future data analysis. Based on these verifications, we promote not only the “micro-segmentation of homogeneous statistical populations” but also the “micro-detailing of analytical models.” Such efforts are expected to drive the shift from qualitative methods reliant on human intuition to quantitative methods in modern society. Full article

This study presents a comprehensive investigation of the electrical, structural, and electrochemical properties of graphite flake (GF)-reinforced epoxy composites for energy storage applications. Epoxy/GF composites with filler loadings of 10, 30, 50, 70, and 80% wt. were fabricated to evaluate the effect of graphite concentration on conductivity, charge storage, and structural integrity. Impedance spectroscopy demonstrated that quantum-mechanical tunneling, consistent with fluctuation-induced tunneling transport, predominates charge transfer over a wide temperature range, ensuring strong electrical performance. The results show that at 10–30% wt.% GFs, incomplete conductive networks and limited electron and ion transport reduce electrochemical performance. At 50–70% wt.% GFs, the composites exhibited the highest specific capacitance and excellent cyclic stability due to the formation of well-connected three-dimensional conductive networks with sufficient porosity for efficient ion diffusion and charge transport. At filler loadings above 70 wt.%, graphite agglomeration, pore blockage, and microstructural defects were observed, resulting in reduced conductivity and capacitance. SEM, FTIR, and XRD analyses confirmed optimal chemical and morphological interactions at moderate filler contents, highlighting structural degradation at excessive loadings. These results indicate that an optimal graphite content of 50–70% by weight balances conductive pathways, mechanical stability, and electrolyte accessibility, providing a blueprint for designing epoxy/graphite composites that are robust and efficient for next-generation energy storage devices. Full article

Staphylococcus aureus, particularly its multidrug-resistant strains, poses a critical biological hazard throughout the global food supply chain, underscoring the need to transition from inert petroleum-based packaging to active, biodegradable alternatives. This review presents a comprehensive analysis of the structure function relationships and interfacial interaction mechanisms that govern polysaccharide-, protein-, and lipid-based films designed for the targeted inhibition of S. aureus. We critically evaluate the extent to which the intrinsic molecular features—such as the polycationic charge density of chitosan and the amphiphilic self-assembly of fatty acids—determine baseline antibacterial activity. A key contribution of this work is the elucidation of three synergistic pathways: physical barrier effects, chemical interference, and biological regulation. Furthermore, we discuss how composite systems, such as polysaccharide lipid hybrids and protein nanomaterial scaffolds, exploit charge complementarity and controlled-release kinetics to surpass the performance limitations of single-component materials. Finally, we address the critical trade-offs between mechanical integrity and antimicrobial efficacy, proposing a roadmap for intelligent, stimuli-responsive packaging that is capable of responding to microbial metabolic cues. Overall, this review provides a theoretical foundation for the rational design of high-performance biodegradable films to safeguard global food safety. Full article

The hanging net shielding system, employing a suspended cage-type enclosed structure to restrict the high-voltage transmission wire, has seen increasingly widespread application in transmission line crossing construction. However, the lack of a comprehensive dynamic analysis methodology has limited the standardization of its design and usage. In this investigation, a systematical dynamic modeling and analysis procedure of the hanging net shielding system is proposed based on the absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF). The carrier cable, slings and transmission wire are discretized by the ANCF cable element. The spatial flexible beam–beam contact model and the assumption of a single contact area are adopted to perform the contact searching between the transmission wire and the horizontal pulley. The system dynamics analysis equation is assembled and solved by generalized alpha method. A full-scale model is simulated for the transmission wire impact condition and the variation history of the tension in carrier cable and the sling cable are given. The peak value of the tension in carrier cable could be 110 kN, while the largest tension in sling cable is 9 kN. Results could help to ensure construction safety, shorten the design cycle of the protection system and reduce the development cost at the same time. Full article

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into healthcare and public services, making user acceptance a key prerequisite for safe and effective implementation. The Artificially Intelligent Device Use Acceptance (AIDUA) model provides a multidimensional framework for evaluating acceptance of intelligent systems, yet no validated Italian instrument is currently available. Objectives: This study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and preliminarily validate the Italian version of the AIDUA scale (AIDUA-IT) following COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) and Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) recommendations. Methods: A two-phase cross-sectional design was used. Phase one included forward–backward translation, expert review (n = 7), and cognitive debriefing (n = 8). Phase two assessed structural validity, internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity, and short-term test–retest reliability in a convenience sample of Italian-speaking adults (N = 140), with a subsample completing the test–retest assessment (n = 32). Results: The hypothesized eight-factor measurement model demonstrated excellent fit (Comparative Fit Index [CFI] = 0.984; Tucker–Lewis Index [TLI] = 0.981; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation [RMSEA] = 0.041; Standardized Root Mean Square Residual [SRMR] = 0.056), with strong standardized loadings (β range: 0.64–0.96) and good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α and McDonald’s ω range: 0.82–0.90). Convergent and discriminant validity were supported, and test–retest reliability was good to excellent across subscales (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient [ICC] range: 0.81–0.90). Conclusions: These findings provide initial evidence that the AIDUA-IT is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing acceptance of AI-enabled services in Italy. Further validation in larger and more diverse samples is recommended. Full article

Heliostats constitute essential elements within concentrating solar power (CSP), where their structure, load profiles, and operational environment render wind loads a critical factor in their design considerations, as these loads directly impact the cost of energy generation. The aerodynamics significantly influence wind-induced effects, resulting in considerable variability in wind loads among different heliostat geometries. This study utilizes the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methodology to systematically examine the aerodynamic behavior of an isolated pentagonal heliostat. Employing the Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) equations with an atmospheric boundary layer inlet condition, the investigation focuses on the flow field and wind load characteristics at four representative pitch angles: 0° (stow position), 30°, 60°, and 90°. Findings indicate that the pitch angle exerts a decisive impact on flow separation patterns. Specifically, as the elevation angle decreases, the flow regime shifts from being predominantly influenced by the mirror surface to being governed by the support structure, mediated through an interactive coupling between these components. At the 60° operational pitch angle, the pentagonal heliostat’s distinctive corner geometry induces an asymmetric vortex configuration—characterized by a smaller vortex at the top and a larger one at the bottom—thereby disrupting the conventional vortex distribution observed in symmetric heliostat designs. A further analysis of wind load characteristics indicates that, compared to a quadrilateral heliostat, the pentagonal mirror exhibits a significantly lower Elevation Moment Coefficient, despite a slight increase in the normal force coefficient. This reduction is attributed to a balancing mechanism: the “vortex structure asymmetry” creates an upper-large–lower-small distribution of absolute negative pressure on the support surface, while the “stagnation point position” shift with elevation angle produces an upper-small–lower-large distribution of absolute positive pressure on the reflector. The interaction between these opposing trends minimizes the net pressure differential across the mirror height, thereby contributing to superior overall aerodynamic performance. The reduction in the elevation moment coefficient contributes to enhanced structural wind resistance, thereby improving the overall energy efficiency and economic viability of concentrating solar power. Full article

This review provides a comprehensive overview of molecular doping in organic semiconductors (OSCs), with particular emphasis on the mechanistic understanding of doping processes, rational material design strategies, and processing approaches for achieving high doping efficiency and stability. We discuss fundamental doping mechanisms, including integer charge transfer and orbital hybridization models, and highlight how molecular structure, polymer design, and dopant–host interactions influence electrical performance. Recent advances in processing strategies—such as sequential, vapor-phase, and hybrid doping methods—are also summarized in relation to microstructural control and charge transport optimization. In addition, the implications of molecular doping for emerging organic thermoelectric applications are addressed, emphasizing the interplay between dopant distribution, morphology, and device performance. By integrating mechanistic insights, material design principles, and application perspectives, this review aims to provide a unified framework for researchers in organic electronics, materials science, and thermoelectric device engineering seeking to develop highly efficient and stable molecularly doped organic conductors. Full article

This case report describes the esthetic and functional rehabilitation of a 45-year-old male patient presenting with a missing maxillary right lateral incisor (#12). Due to persistent insufficiency of alveolar ridge width following multiple augmentation procedures, implant placement was contraindicated. A minimally invasive prosthetic approach was therefore selected, consisting of a single-retainer lithium disilicate resin-bonded fixed dental prosthesis (RBFDP) combined with laminate veneers to optimize anterior esthetics. The cantilever design and adhesive protocol were selected based on biomechanical principles aimed at minimizing interfacial stresses and preserving enamel structure. The prosthesis was fabricated using a fully digital workflow, and adhesive bonding was performed following established ceramic and enamel surface conditioning protocols. The restoration fulfilled the patient’s esthetic and functional expectations, and clinical follow-up at 18 months demonstrated stable bonding, healthy peri-abutment tissues, and absence of technical or biological complications. This case highlights the role of lithium disilicate cantilever RBFDPs as a minimally invasive and clinically viable treatment option for the replacement of maxillary lateral incisors when implant therapy is contraindicated, with outcomes limited to short- to medium-term observation. Full article