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Education Innovations: Systems and Future Learning?The Canary in the Coal Mine: What Neurodivergent Learners Reveal about Cognitive Sustainability in Education 5.0
No full textNew insights on the Lower Ordovician linguliformean brachiopods of the Anglo-Brabant Massif and the Stavelot-Venn Inlier (Belgium)
Get PDFThe Lower Ordovician (Tremadocian) linguliformean brachiopods of the southeastern part of the Anglo-Brabant Massif are documented systematically for the first time. The material belongs to a single Belgian locality (La Roche-en-Brabant), situated in one of the few valleys that incise the Mesozoic-Cenozoic cover, and more precisely from the topmost part of the siliciclastic Mousty Formation (Tangissart Member). Here, minute, poorly diverse linguliformeans are associated with planktic graptolites (Rhabdinopora) and nileid trilobites (Platypeltoides). They consist of three species belonging to three genera (Obolidae and Elkaniidae), of which only Broeggeria is known with certainty, due to the poor preservation of the material. In the Belgian part of the Stavelot-Venn Inlier, the presence of linguliformean brachiopods within the Floian Les Plattes Member of the Ottré Formation, which were reported more than 150 years ago, remains unconfirmed. The genus Broeggeria, known from several Belgian Tremadocian localities, is a relic from the Cambrian brachiopod fauna. By the Tremadocian it is well established globally between the Low-Latitude and High-Latitude provinces. The Belgian assemblage has strong similarities with assemblages from Baltica reflecting the early Palaeozoic changing palaeogeography
What kind of thing is an 'everyday crisis'?
No full textWhat kind of thing is an everyday crisis? This paper poses this question in the context of a range of attempts to challenge and rework the geohistorically specific distinction between crisis and everyday life. After placing the term ‘everyday crisis’ in the context of contemporary reconfigurations of everyday life theory, this afterword to the Special Feature ‘Critical geographies of everyday crisis’ draws out two partially connected versions of ‘everyday crisis’ across the Special Feature and in the broader literature, and poses a series of questions about each version – first, everyday crisis as an orientation to all crises and, second, everyday crisis as a distinctive condition defined by open-endedness, an indistinction between crisis and everyday life, and a particular form of harm. The paper concludes by reflecting on questions of form in relation to crisis theorising. Keywords: Crisis, Everyday Life, Everyday Crisis, Normal, Normalisatio
Three-dimensional Hybrid Finite Element-Material Point Method for analyzing reinforcement and stability of tunnel face with fiberglass anchor bolts
No full textTunnel face instability and excessive deformation are common challenges during excavation in poor geological strata without pre-reinforcement. Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) anchor bolts offer an effective solution for stabilizing tunnel faces under such circumstances. This study addresses the issue of tunnel face instability and large deformation in geologically unfavorable segments using the recently developed Material Point Method (MPM), and highlights the effects of pre-reinforcement by integrating FRP anchor bolts using bar elements within the MPM framework. To achieve this, a three-dimensional hybrid finite element-material point method (HFEMPM) in-house code is developed to simulate the coupled deformation of FRP anchor bolts and the surrounding stratum mass at the tunnel face. The coupling algorithm and numerical implementation of the proposed 3D HFEMPM are comprehensively outlined. The validity of this method is confirmed through comparisons with centrifuge tests on reinforced soil slopes and scaled tunnel excavation tests involving FRP bolt reinforcement. Furthermore, the influences of FRP anchor bolt density, length, and diameter on the tunnel face stability and associated failure/deformation mechanisms are explored using the proposed 3D HFEMPM. Numerical results demonstrate that increasing the anchor bolt diameter and reinforcement density significantly enhances the tunnel face stability. Additionally, the optimal reinforcement length of FRP anchor bolts is concentrated within a localized region in front of the tunnel face. When the bolt diameter and density exceed certain thresholds, the surrounding stratum tends to stabilize. The proposed 3D HFEMPM offers a theoretical foundation for understanding tunnel face failure/deformation mechanisms in poor geological conditions and provides guidance for selecting effective pre-reinforcement strategies
Modelling cliff collapse and run-out with the material point method
Get PDFThis paper proposes a method for modelling the combined collapse and large deformation run-out of cliffs using the Material Point Method (MPM). An explicit dynamic MPM formulation is derived with features key for simulating ductile-brittle fracture dynamics over varying timescales. An isotropic non-local plastic-damage scheme is presented that may be used to simulate crack initiation and growth leading to brittle collapse of a cliff. The scheme is applicable to both quasi-static and dynamic cases. The behaviour of the proposed plastic-damage model is compared to experimental data utilising numerical shear-box tests. A numerical case study is carried out on a real-world chalk cliff to show the model's applicability to rock-slope mechanics in both failure initiation and post-failure run-out
National identity and foreign directors' access to private information
Get PDFThis study provides the first empirical evidence that directors' nationality significantly influences the profitability of insider trading. Using a large sample of reported stock transactions by directors of U.S.-listed firms between 1996 and 2023, I find that foreign directors earn statistically and economically lower abnormal returns following their trades compared to their domestic counterparts. The informational disadvantage of foreign directors appears only in firms with either a domestic CEO or CFO, lower board-level national diversity, when the directors work in overseas branches, and during the early stages of their tenure at the firm. These findings suggest that foreign directors face disadvantages in accessing private information due to the impact of national identity on information flow. I also find that this informational disadvantage only appears when foreign directors do not serve as top executives or independent directors and in firms with higher levels of information asymmetry. Further analysis suggests that the alternative explanation that foreign directors are less willing to trade on private information due to concerns about legal risks does not explain the findings. Moreover, trades by foreign directors are less likely to be classified as opportunistic or to follow a clustered trading pattern, consistent with the finding that they exploit private information to a lesser extent. Additionally, these trades trigger weaker market reactions compared to those executed by domestic directors. Finally, geographical distance and linguistic barriers are also found to influence foreign directors' ability to access and process information
Macroevolutionary brain scaling is a microevolutionary metaphenomenon.
Get PDFFrom bees to blue whales, it has long been assumed that brain size scales with body size according to a simple log-linear relationship – with differences in the slope and intercept observed amongst different groups of animals. However, recent analyses in mammals contradict this view, revealing size dependency in the form of curvature in the brain and body mass relationship. Here, we use data from 4679 species across seven animal classes and spanning nearly 12 orders of magnitude to uncover near universal curvilinearity. We demonstrate that this body size dependence is a metaphenomenon emerging from a pattern of diminishing allometry within species with increasing body mass. This has fundamental implications for how we interpret macroevolutionary patterns – which can arise as a consequence of within-lineage dynamics. Our integration of inter- and intra-specific allometries reshapes perspectives on morphological evolution by providing a broader framework for understanding how microevolutionary within-species dynamics shape macroevolutionary phenomena
Heatwave Characteristics and Trends Across Eight Japanese Cities
No full textThis study provides an assessment of warm season (May to September) heatwave characteristics and their trends across eight cities in Japan, using daily maximum (Tmax) and minimum (Tmin) temperature records spanning the period 1955 to 2022. Tmax and Tmin heatwaves were defined using a relative threshold approach and described in relation to their annual frequency, duration and cumulative heat and exceedance probabilities. Man-Kendall trend tests and spline regression techniques were applied to establish the nature of trends and to estimate the rates of change and acceleration of annual heatwave related cumulative heat. Findings confirm that heatwaves are an intrinsic feature of Japan’s warm season climate, with annual exceedance probabilities greater than 60 percent for Tmax heatwaves and 70 percent for Tmin heatwaves across all eight locations. A pronounced north–south gradient was identified, with southern locations experiencing more frequent and longer-lasting events, greater cumulative heat, and faster rates of heat accumulation, reflecting the influence of extended warm seasons and likely persistent subtropical high-pressure systems. Strong evidence was found for an increase in annual heatwave frequency and duration and cumulative heat for both daytime and nocturnal heatwaves, especially for recent decades with the trend in nocturnal heat particularly noticeable. Overall study findings contribute to a growing international literature on the evolving nature of heatwaves and their differential expression across space and time which bears implications for the field of heatwave risk management under current and future climate
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