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Carbon assurance: Does it have an impact on credit ratings?
No full textThis paper examines the impact of firm‐level carbon assurance on credit ratings among U.S. publicly traded firms. The findings reveal a positive relationship, indicating that carbon assurance enhances credit ratings by reducing information asymmetry and attracting analyst following. These results are robust to alternative measures of variables, model specifications, and endogeneity tests. U.S. firms with higher carbon assurance benefit from improved creditworthiness, particularly in competitive markets and Democratic‐leaning states. These findings support signalling theory and show the strategic importance of carbon assurance in credit assessments and corporate sustainability.</p
Blindness as the creative liberation of curatorial practice
No full textThis essay traces the development of blindness as a framework for liberatory curatorial practice.</p
Organizational Internal Factors and Sustainable Performance: A Serial Mediation Model
No full textObjective: The present study aims to explore the relationships between big data analytics capability, circular economy practices, and SMEs’ sustainable performance in Pakistan. It investigates notable factors determining SMEs’ sustainable performance, including employees’ perceived usefulness, data-driven culture, and leadership competency mediating the mentioned relationships. Method: The study employs quantitative research based on a positivist philosophy orientation. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire distributed among the employees of 350 SMEs operating in Pakistan’s different regions. Findings: The study's results demonstrated the direct effects of big data analytics capability on sustainable performance, employee perceived usefulness, and data-driven culture. Additionally, circular economy practices influence sustainable performance; employee perceived usefulness and leadership competency. Finally, the results highlighted that each relationship is subject to partial mediation, which indicates the role of employee-perceived usefulness and data-driven culture in the relationship between big data analytics and sustainable performance and employee-perceived usefulness associated with the relationship between circular economy practices and sustainable performance. Novelty: The present study highlights that all three of the previous topics are consistent and significantly contribute to the existing literature by providing a model with the main factors that determine SMEs’ sustainable performance, which can be sufficient for countries’ developing economies. </p
Using neuroimaging to identify sex differences in adults with sports-related concussion: a systematic review
No full textAbstract
Concussion is a common injury in sports that causes neurological damage, leading to memory loss and difficulty concentrating. Insufficient recovery time may result in significant long-term harm to individuals. Several neuroimaging techniques have been used to understand the pathophysiological changes following concussion, and how long individuals need to recover before returning to play. Despite the progress in neuroimaging concussion research, few studies have considered whether females sustain different effects on the brain and how recovery from concussion might differ from males. Thus, we conducted a systematic review of the existing literature to highlight sex differences in concussion with neuroimaging techniques. By searching four different databases, studies were selected if they used a neuroimaging technique to examine sex differences following concussion in athletes over the age of 18. After screening 2295 studies from an initial search, 15 were found to match the selection criteria. Nine papers established some difference between males and females, however many of these studies were not designed to specifically examine sex differences, and hence conclusions in this regard are somewhat limited. A further common limitation among these papers was a lack of whole brain scans, instead relying on regions of interest analyses, which reduces the ability to compare studies effectively. The current systematic review has highlighted the need for future studies to specifically consider whether, and how sex influences the impact and trajectory of brain recovery from concussion. This can then help to inform suitable amendments to current concussion return-to-play protocols for male and female athletes.</p
Autonomous Search for an RF Emitter in a GPS-denied Indoor Environment
No full textThis paper presents a method for autonomously searching for a Radio Frequency (RF) emitter with unknown intensity in an indoor environment. It employs a cognitive search strategy to locate the RF emitter at discrete intervals. The searcher concurrently estimates the RF emitter parameters and self-localizes within a known map. The searcher utilizes the received signal strength sensor to estimate the location and signal intensity of a stationary RF emitter. The search algorithm employs a partially known path loss model to account for realistic RF signal propagation, addressing the uncertainties regarding the structure and materials of the indoor environment. RF emitter localization and self-localization are carried out simultaneously using a sequential Bayesian estimation framework (implemented by using particle filter), and dynamic routing strategies are planned using a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP).</p
Cybersecurity framework for connected and automated vehicles: A modelling perspective
No full textConnected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) cybersecurity is an inherently complex, multi-dimensional issue that goes beyond isolated hardware or software vulnerabilities, extending to human threats, network vulnerabilities, and broader system-level risks. Currently, no formal, comprehensive tool exists that integrates these diverse dimensions into a unified framework for CAV cybersecurity assessment. This study addresses this challenge by developing a System Dynamics (SD) model for strategic cybersecurity assessment that considers technological challenges, human threats, and public cybersecurity awareness during the CAV rollout. Specifically, the model incorporates a novel SD-based Stock-and-Flow Model (SFM) that maps six key parameters influencing cyberattacks at the system level. These parameters include CAV communication safety, user adoption rates, log file management, hacker capabilities, understanding of hacker motivations (criminology theory maturity), and public awareness of CAV cybersecurity. The SFM's structure and behaviour were rigorously tested and then used to analyse five plausible scenarios: i) Baseline (Technological Focus Only), ii) Understanding Hacker Motivations, iii) CAV User and OEM Education, iv) CAV Penetration Rate Increase, and v) CAV Penetration Rate Increase with Human behaviour Analysis. Four metrics are used to benchmark CAV cybersecurity: communication safety, probability of hacking attempts, probability of successful defence, and number of CAV adopters. The results indicate that while baseline technological advancements strengthen communication framework robustness, they may also create new vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit. Conversely, a deeper understanding of hacker motivations (Criminology Theory Maturity) effectively reduces hacking attempts. It fosters a more secure environment for early CAV adopters. Additionally, educating CAV users and OEM increases the probability of defending against cyberattacks. While CAV penetration increases the likelihood of hack defence due to a corresponding rise in attempts, there is a noticeable decrease in hacking attempts with CAV penetration when analysing human behaviour. These findings, when translated into policy instruments, can pave the way for a more optimised and resilient cyber-safe ITS.</p
Old Threats, New Name? Generative AI and Visual Journalism
No full textGenerative AI applications have been hailed as “transformative,” “disruptive,” and posing a “threat to human journalists and media professionals.” Much of this discourse reflects longstanding concerns about the impact of technological change on both the production and consumption ends of journalism. Perhaps nowhere is this felt more strongly than in visual journalism, where fears about AI replacing cameras and associated implications are rife. These concerns resemble earlier debates about visual technologies, from the smartphone camera to social media, and intersect with fundamental debates about journalism’s boundaries and norms: what news “is,” how it is produced, and what we expect it to achieve. Amidst this hype and anxiety, we offer an analysis of AI’s risks to visual journalism that contextualises this technology against journalism’s existing tensions. Our study asks: How unique are the threats that generative AI poses to visual news? Specifically, we look across academic disciplines to interrogate three threats that are especially prevalent in the literature. Our conceptual evaluation is benefited empirically by dozens of industry perspectives spanning three continents, and allows us to identify exactly which threats, if any, that generative AI poses to visual journalism are new, and which are extant threats folded into more longstanding discourses.</p
When Vic learnt about healthy, comfortable and energy-efficient homes - Comic_small size
No full textThis comic book ‘When Vic learnt about healthy, comfortable and energy-efficient homes’ aims to raise awareness about energy vulnerability and the ways it can be tackled in a gentle way. It has been written by Nicola Willand (RMIT University), Lucie Middlemiss (University of Leeds) and illustrated by the RMIT University PhD student Suxuan Tian. The development of the comic has been funded by the British Academy and RMIT University and supported by the European WELLBASED study.The comic tells the story of Vic who lives with their grandmother in a home that is too cold in winter and too hot in summer. When Vic’s grandmother tells Vic that they cannot go on holiday because of their latest energy bill, Poppy the pet cockatoo suggests that he will take Vic to visit his friends around the world to find out how about their ways of living in a healthy, comfortable and affordable home. Vic and Poppy visit feathery and human friends in six cities where they find out about insulation, ventilation, efficient appliances and more. When Poppy gets into trouble, e.g. for stealing food, they move on. In the end, Vic and Poppy return to Naarm/Melbourne and retrofit their house to be comfortable, energy efficient and healthy.In Australia we do not have a shared understanding what energy vulnerability looks like, its signs and symptoms, that the causes are more varied than financial stress and what needs to be done to help. The comic aims to help communicate the importance of housing quality and thermal performance on health and wellbeing.This comic also aims to empower children and their parents to better understand energy stress and how it may be reduced. For children in energy stress, reading about other kids in similar situations can be affirming. For children who have adequate access to energy, learning about less fortunate children can build empathy and understanding. For parents, this book offers objective information on the situational causes of energy stress and may help start discussions with their children about how households can be lifted out of energy stress through comprehensive and collective actions.</p
Electric vehicle charging technologies: topologies, modulation, and control
No full textElectric vehicle (EV) chargers are the primary systems that enable the exchange of energy between the vehicle battery and the AC electricity grid. Charging systems are based on power electronic converter platforms that are operated using sophisticated control strategies that enable specific performance objectives to be realised. This chapter provides a comprehensive review of the fundamental elements that form the basis of EV chargers. The chapter begins with an overview of the critical charger classifications, specifications and standards. Next, a review of the fundamental knowledge underpinning power electronic topologies and their operating principles is provided. Single-phase on-board chargers (OBCs) are then described, including unidirectional and bidirectional variants. The chapter then provides a review of three-phase chargers, including two-stage, integrated and modular variations, before briefly discussing wireless charging systems. The control of EV chargers is more complex and less standardised compared to distributed generation since the operating requirements for EV chargers are still being refined in response to fast-changing standards and regulations. Similarly, conversion technologies are continuously advancing, resulting in a wide variety of solutions. To address this evolving scenario, this chapter outlines the essential control features required for modern chargers to operate in different modes, the control architectures for dual-stage chargers and single-stage chargers and the principles that underpin grid-side and battery-side control.</p
Hybridizing Expressive Rendering: Stroke-Based Rendering with Classic and Neural Methods
No full textNon-Photorealistic Rendering (NPR) has long been used to create artistic visualizations that prioritize style over realism, enabling the depiction of a wide range of aesthetic effects, from hand-drawn sketches to painterly renderings. While classical NPR methods, such as edge detection, toon shading, and geometric abstraction, have been well-established in both research and practice, with a particular focus on stroke-based rendering, the recent rise of deep learning represents a paradigm shift. We analyze the similarities and differences between classical and neural network based NPR techniques, focusing on stroke-based rendering (SBR), highlighting their strengths and limitations. We discuss trade offs in quality and artistic control between these paradigms, propose a framework where these approaches can be combined for new possibilities in expressive rendering.</p