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Otherwhere Ethnography: An Introduction to Outer Space Studies
No full textWhat happens when contemporary space exploration outgrows Space Age modernity? In this volume, a collective of social scientists and humanities scholars provides an introduction to the emerging field of outer space studies. This is done by means of "otherwhere ethnography," richly detailed accounts of how space research and space enterprises are being rethought in an age where extraterrestrial exploration is no longer the monopoly of a handful of superpowers. While many off-Earth endeavours remain embedded within characteristically modern forms of thought—scientism, productivism, extractivism, (neo-)colonialism—there is also an emerging trend to move away from such ingrained conceptual frameworks. If one looks beyond the much-hyped projects of billionaire space gurus and their coterie of rocket-obsessed followers, one notices that Space Age modernity can also be thought otherwise, and that the very idea of "exploration" has already mutated into something else. Outer space studies can be envisaged as the antenna that seeks to capture this momentous, ongoing mutation
A Multi-load balancing control strategy for a novel low carbon integrated energy system for buildings
Get PDFWith the escalating global energy demand and the pressing need for clean energy, innovations in building energy systems are crucial. This paper proposes a Multi - load Balancing Control Strategy (MLBS) based on the Improved Tuna Swarm Optimization (ITSO) algorithm. By integrating battery and compressed air energy storage, the strategy enhances the building energy system’s flexible dispatch capability.A building complex in Huai’an, Jiangsu is used as a case study. Two cases are compared: one without MLBS and the other with MLBS using a low - carbon economic dispatch model. Results show that MLBS effectively adjusts electric and thermal loads. After applying MLBS and the low - carbon economic dispatch strategy, the quarterly planning cost drops to 110.37 million, the operating cost to 204.28 tons, the carbon trading cost to 8.15 million, and the total carbon emission to 137.27 million, significantly lower than the values without the strategy. Moreover, the TSO - MLBS energy scheduling strategy adopted in this paper has the shortest computation time and lower energy scheduling cost, offering a double improvement in economic efficiency and carbon emission reduction
Restricting Insider Trading through Increasing Managerial Risk Aversion – A Behavioural Mechanism
Get PDFWe leverage the Chinese zodiac-year belief to examine whether insider trading could be restrained by increasing risk aversion of managers. According to the zodiac-year belief, individuals perceive themselves as more vulnerable to misfortune during their zodiac years, leading to greater caution and risk-aversion in decision-making. On this basis, we hypothesize that managers are less inclined to engage in insider trading during their zodiac years, as they perceive the risks of reputational damage and litigation to likely outweigh the potential benefits of the trades. Using a stacked difference-in-differences research design, we provide causal evidence that CEOs sell fewer stocks in their zodiac years, suggesting that heightened risk aversion, driven by the zodiac-year belief, helps curb insider trading. We find this effect to be more pronounced in firms with higher financial reporting quality, stronger corporate governance, and among CEOs more susceptible to the zodiac-year belief — particularly in the presence of elevated firm-level business risk and high region-level superstition. Our findings highlight a behavioral disciplinary mechanism, complementing traditional governance measures, to constrain insider trading and enhance market integrity and fairness
Introduction: Otherwhere Ethnography, a Means to Reimagine Contemporary Space Exploration
No full textAn introduction to the field of outer space studies is provided by means of a selection of “otherwhere ethnographies,” fine-grained accounts of how space exploration is being reconfigured in an age in which major nation-states are no longer its only prime movers. A key aim is to show that off-Earth enterprises do not necessarily have to be conceived of along the lines of the scientistic, military–industrial, and neocolonial templates espoused by Silicon Valley’s self-proclaimed visionaries. Space Age modernity can also be thought otherwise—indeed, it is already being thought otherwise. Otherwhere ethnography opens a new pathway to grasp the ongoing mutation of the very idea of “exploration.” What transpires, in the end, is the distinctive conceptual provinciality of current fixations with rocketry and the extraterrestrial more generally
Obesity
No full textThis entry critically explores the relationships between ‘obesity’, food and society. It begins by defining what is meant by the term ‘obesity’ as both a category of body size and a disease state. ‘Obesity’ is considered to be caused by the over-consumption of high calorific or ‘unhealthy’ food and drink and an absence of energy expenditure though physical activity. Thus, the entry considers the contexts in which ‘unhealthy’ food consumption takes place, sometimes termed ‘obesogenic environments’, and how these spaces, those who inhabit them, and the food itself are regulated and deemed responsible for preventing or reducing ‘obesity’. This includes food retail e.g. supermarkets and fast food restaurants, food provisioning in schools and homes and food composition, for example sugar content. However, a critical obesity studies and Fat Studies approach is introduced to question the efficacy of the assumed relationships between obesity, food and ‘ill-health’ and to highlight the harmful and stigmatising consequences of anti-obesity’ initiatives for fat people and places categorised as ‘obese’ and ‘obesogenic’. Instead, by centring ‘health sovereignty’, a more compassionate and social justice orientated approach to fatness and food is presented whereby all people are able to access affordable and nutritious food regardless of body size and without judgement
Exploring the Acceptability of Web-Based Health Modalities in Individuals With Hypertension: Qualitative Study
Get PDFBackground:Hypertension is a significant public health concern in low- and middle-income countries, where access to care is crucial for effective treatment and control. Web-based health modalities provide a promising solution to overcome barriers to care, particularly in underresourced communities, if those communities engage with the technology.Objective:This study aims to examine the past experiences, perceptions, and preferences of using web-based health modalities for health care access among community members with or at high risk for hypertension.Methods:Semistructured interviews were completed with individuals randomly selected from a sample of community members in Soweto, South Africa, previously screened as having either elevated (systolic blood pressure [BP]≥120‐139 mm Hg or diastolic BP≥80‐89 mm Hg) or high (systolic BP≥140 mm Hg or diastolic BP≥90 mm Hg) BP to determine their past experiences using web-based services and what their perceptions were on using such services. An interview script, grounded in the Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model, was used to guide the interviews. Deductive thematic analysis was used to code the interviews and identify common themes.Results:A total of 178 community members (including 104 with elevated BP and 74 with high BP) were randomly selected and invited to participate in the study. Forty interviews were conducted with individuals from the elevated (n=20) and high (n=20) BP groups. Four major themes emerged from the interviews regarding using technology to receive health care services: (1) trust and credibility of health professionals in a web-based environment, (2) comfort level using technology to receive health care, (3) experience using technology to receive health care, and (4) preference for in-person versus web-based interactions.Conclusions:Despite being open and receptive toward the use of web-based health modalities to receive health care, participants preferred in-person interactions due to both a lack of experience using web-based health care and familiarity with traditional in-person health services. Further research is needed to understand how technology may aid future hypertension management efforts in urban African communities
Axolotl soup: Hydrocoloniality, contested foodscapes, and plural values of nature
Get PDFThis paper explores the ways in which memories of food speak of environmental change in a lacustrine foodscape. We focus on the case of Xochimilco in southern Mexico City, given its environmental, historical, and cultural importance. By surveying Xochimilca foodscapes, in which axolotl was once central, we address questions of hydrocolonialism and bring these debates into conversation with the recent relational turn of sustainability studies – particularly those regarding plural values and ontologies of nature – and with theoretics emerging from lacustrine communities. This transdisciplinary exploration brings together food geographies with current debates on sustainability science, decolonial theory, the blue humanities, and environmental history through creative participative methods, drawing upon the insights of scholars, activists, producers, and cooks working and living in the Xochimilco canals. Una versión en español de este artículo está disponible en los materiales suplementarios
A posteriori error bounds for finite element approximations of steady-state mean field games
Get PDFWe analyse a posteriori error bounds for stabilised finite element discretisations of second-order steady-state mean field games. We prove the local equivalence between the H1-norm of the error and the dual norm of the residual. We then derive reliable and efficient estimators for a broad class of stabilised first-order finite element methods. We also show that in the case of affine-preserving stabilisations, the estimator can be further simplified to the standard residual estimator. Numerical experiments illustrate the computational gains in efficiency and accuracy from the estimators in the context of adaptive methods
Two second Steenrod squares for odd Khovanov homology
Get PDFRecently, Sarkar–Scaduto–Stoffregen constructed a stable homo-topy type for odd Khovanov homology, hence obtaining an action of the Steenrod algebra on Khovanov homology with ℤ∕2ℤ coefficients. Motivated by their construction we propose a way to compute the second Steenrod square. Our construction is not unique, but we can show it to be a link invariant which gives rise to a refinement of the Rasmussen s-invariant with ℤ∕2ℤ coefficients. We expect it to be related to the second Steenrod square arising from the Sarkar–Scaduto–Stoffregen construction
Advanced Study of Lateral Inter-Laminar Faults in Laminated Magnetic Cores with Homogenization Method
No full textWhen the lateral inter-laminar fault occurs on the silicon steel laminations, the simulation of the silicon laminated core with the conventional finite element method could be time-consuming considering the specific structure of the model. Thus, we proposed a 1D-2D homogenization method with equivalent electrical conductivity considering the inter-laminar eddy currents on the lateral side to save computing costs. For experimental verification, the edge burrs are represented by artificial faults with lead-free solder on the lateral side of the lamination. With the proposed method, iron losses can be calculated accurately compared with the experimental results. The simulation time can be reduced from hours to minutes. And length of lateral solder can be predicted by converse calculation using the proposed method
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