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Professionalisation of home economists in Britain from the 1950s to the 1980s: mediating small domestic electrical appliances
No full textThis article explores the role of home economists from the 1950s until the 1980s in relation to small domestic electrical appliances when home economists promoted these small electrical products and began to have a role in their development and evaluation. It is argued that education for home economists and their professional role developed during this period as they became mediators between producers and consumers. It captures the changing role of women in the electricity and appliance industry during the period up to the late 1980s, when the role of the home economist in these areas began to decline. Further and higher education syllabuses were developed and refined in response to the growth of employment opportunities, particularly for home economists in the electricity and appliance industry. This article therefore draws upon both a case study of the Polytechnic of North London home economics syllabuses and an oral history of Jenny Webb, a leading home economist in the electricity industry
The museum that spills out: reflecting on Raffaello visita le carceri di Salerno from the perspective of the ‘expanded museum’
No full textIn a digital world, in a context where we are rightly exposing historic biases related to imperialism, colonialism and the equation of wealth with cultural power, all this whilst treading pandemics, cost of living crises and global threats, the role of museums continues to be fraught with existential questions: what is a museum’s use and relevance nowadays? How necessary is a museum and is its perceived necessity shared by many or simply by the privileged few?
This contribution was written to reflect on the project Raffaello visita le carceri di Salerno (“Raffaello visits the prisons of Salerno”), created by Michele Citro in collaboration with Fondazione della Comunità Salernitana Ets. The project entailed the exhibition, hosted at the Brig. Antonio Caputo Prison in Salerno, Italy (2023), involving fourteen inmates in a participatory project, through which they temporarily became museum guides for the general public invited to visit this work.
The articles draws on the notion of the ‘expanded museum’, a phrase originally coined in the 1970s through the work of museologists like Georges Henry Rivière and Hugues de Varine and of architect Fredi Drugman (Zucca, 2022), broadly entailing the idea of a museum experience that is not confined by the familiar display cases or museum walls that we are generally accustomed to. The article further argues that this project functions, beyond its literal display of the historical artefact in question, as a significant gesture of contemporary public art. Accordingly, it transcends the private domain of the work inside a building, and just as contemporary public art aims to do, it shifts our perception of the public’s role, no longer as passive recipient, but as active interlocutor with it, as observed by Hein (2006). And as Hein points out, this public art mission is exactly what a museum should strive for
Unlock the potential: unveiling the untapped possibilities of blockchain technology in revolutionizing Internet of Medical Things-based environments through systematic review and future research propositions
No full textThe Internet of Medical Things (IoMTs) has rapidly gained popularity recently, and the need for self-health assessment and the resulting reduction in treatment waiting periods have sped up the usage of IoMTs. Unfortunately, the growing usage of IoMTs has also brought up issues that have unintended effects, including a lack of data management, an unsafe network environment, privacy and security concerns. To address the problems with IoMT applications, distributed ledger technology, which forms the basis of blockchain technology (BCT), has emerged as a practical solution. The utility of BCT to support IoMT-based settings has been demonstrated by academic research. However, no analysis of the literature has been performed to comprehend BCT performance in IoMT scenarios. Therefore, the present study offers a thorough literature review of 182 studies on the use of BCT in an IoMT environment, drawn from 70 pioneering journals included in the WoS database. It also outlines recommendations for future research areas. This study adds to the body of literature in three main ways using a mix of bibliographic and content analysis. It starts out by outlining the structure of how BCT works in an IoMT setting. Secondly, it provides a roadmap that takes into account the factors that might aid in BCT proliferation in IoMT situations. Thirdly, the paper outlines the prerequisites for BCT's effective adoption and use in an IoMT environment. The implications of the recognized clusters and the factors influencing the properties and outcomes of BCT are covered in the article's conclusion. This is the first effort to investigate BCT's function within the context of the IoMT environment; this has become crucial since BCT has developed popularity in IoMT contexts. The article highlights many aspects that may help to improve comprehension of this important issue by utilizing the provided outline as a guide and identifying major knowledge gaps
Between 'cultural richness' and 'useful enemy': the securitization and instrumentalization of Christians in Turkey
No full textThis article employs interviews and primary and secondary sources to examine the discrimination, securitization, and instrumentalization faced by four main Christian denominations throughout Turkish history: the Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, and Protestant communities. We shed light on how some religious minority groups have been utilized and represented within the framework of Turkish diplomacy and the pursuit of neo-Ottomanism. We contend that the blanket term ‘Christian’ is less applicable in Turkey's context, where religion becomes intricately intertwined with ethnicity. Thus, it becomes imperative to investigate each non-Muslim community independently, considering their unique trajectories, historical traumas, internal divisions, and relationships with the state
Accidental thinking: a model of serendipity's cognitive processes
Get PDFSerendipity captures the interaction between a skilled human agent and a fortuitous event in the environment. Although it features in many stories of invention and discovery, its antecedents remain elusive. This paper combines research from different domains of psychology to present a model of the cognitive processes required for a serendipitous episode to occur. The model describes a prepared mind that consists of an informational state and an attentional state. Both states are continually updating. An accident is considered as a trigger event that updates both of these and feeds information back into the prepared mind. If the accident is noticed, a cycle of judgement and amplification occurs, eventually leading to an output. The model generates novel predictions that point to an increased understanding of how best to scaffold serendipitous moments
H∞ gain-scheduled dynamic output feedback control with transient performance applied to electrical microgrid
No full textThis paper introduces an approach for designing gain-scheduled dynamic output feedback controllers for continuous-time Linear Parameter-Varying (LPV) systems. The aim is to improve transient response by incorporating both D-stability and H-infinity criteria into the synthesis conditions. We achieve this by employing changes in variables and congruence transformations, which lead to new synthesis conditions expressed as linear matrix inequalities. Additional fine-tuned scalar parameters can be used to enhance further the controller performance in terms of less conservative H-infinity guaranteed costs.
To assess the effectiveness of our proposed synthesis procedure, we conduct computational experiments in the context of a microinverter-based distributed power generation system. These experiments take into account real-world operational characteristics, providing a comprehensive evaluation of our approach. The results demonstrate that the designed controller effectively ensures the desired closed-loop system behavior, even when dealing with state noise and discretization errors originating from digital implementation
Synergistic biomedical potential and molecular docking analyses of coumarin–triazole hybrids as tyrosinase inhibitors: design, synthesis, in vitro profiling, and in silico studies
Get PDFThe tyrosinase enzyme has a vital role in the browning of vegetables and fruits and the biosynthesis of melanin. In this work, we synthesized a diverse library of coumarin–triazole hybrids, and these compounds were characterized by using suitable analytical techniques. Our research work extends beyond the synthetic effort to explore the therapeutic potential of these compounds. We put the synthesized compounds through meticulous in vitro screening against the tyrosinase enzyme, and these coumarin derivatives evinced good IC50 values in the range of 0.339 ± 0.25 µM to 14.06 ± 0.92 µM. In the library of synthesized compounds, six compounds were found to be more potent than standard ascorbic acid (IC50 = 11.5 ± 1.00), and among them, 17e and 17f, being the most active, exhibited remarkable anti-tyrosinase potential, with IC50 values of 0.339 ± 0.25 μM and 3.148 ± 0.23 μM, respectively. Furthermore, an in silico modeling study was carried out to determine the key interactions of these compounds with the tyrosinase protein (PDB ID: 2Y9X) and thus to authenticate our experimental findings. The quantitative SAR studies exhibited a good correlation between the synthesized derivatives of coumarin and their anti-tyrosinase activity. The docking studies verified the experimental results, and ligand 17e showed good interaction with the core residues of tyrosinase. This study not only expands the field of coumarin–triazole hybrid synthesis but also provides valuable insights for the development of novel tyrosinase inhibitors
The future of platforms, big data and new forms of capital accumulation
Get PDFPurpose
The paper argues that the classical Marxist theory of capitalist accumulation is inadequate to understand new forms of capitalism and their accumulation processes determined by “platforms” and “big data”. Big data platforms are shaping the processes of production, labour, the price of products and market conditions. “Digital platforms” and “big data” have become an integral part of the processes of production, distribution and exchange relations. These twin pillars are central to the capitalist accumulation processes. The article argues that the classical Marxist theory of capitalist accumulation is inadequate to understand new forms of capitalism and their accumulation processes determined by “platforms” and “big data”.
Design/methodology/approach
As a conceptual paper, this paper follows critical methodological lineages and traditions based on non-linear historical narratives around the conceptualisation, construction and transition of the “Marxist theory of capital accumulation” in the age of platform economy. This paper follows a discourse analysis (Fairclough, 2003) to locate the way in which an artificial intelligence (AI)-led platform economy helps identify and conceptualise new forms of capitalist accumulation. It engages with Jørgensen and Phillips' (2002) contextual and empirical discursive traditions to undertake a qualitative comparative analysis by exploring a broad range of complex factors with case studies and examples from leading firms within the platform economy. Finally, it adopts two steps of “Theory Synthesis and Theory Adaptation” as outlined by Jaakkola (2020) to synthesise, adopt and expand the Marxist theory of capital accumulation under platform capitalism.
Findings
This article identifies new trends and forms of data driven capitalist accumulation processes within the platform capitalism. The findings suggest that an AI led platform economy creates new forms of capitalist accumulation. The article helps to develop theoretical understanding and conceptual frameworks to understand and explain these new forms of capital accumulation.
Originality/value
This study builds upon the limited theorisation on the AI and new capitalist accumulation processes. This article identifies new trends and forms of data driven capitalist accumulation processes within platform capitalism. The article helps to understand digital and platform capitalisms in the lens of digital labour and expands the theory of capitalist accumulation and its new forms in the age of datafication. While critiquing the Marxist theory of capitalist accumulation, the article offers alternative approaches for the future
Monocyte-derived extracellular vesicles, stimulated by Trypanosoma cruzi, enhance cellular invasion in vitro via activated TGF‐β1
Get PDFDuring cell invasion, large Extracellular Vesicle (lEV) release from host cells was dose‐dependently triggered by Trypanosoma cruzi metacyclic trypomastigotes (Mtr). This lEV release was inhibited when IP3‐mediated Ca2+ exit from the ER and further Ca2+ entry from plasma membrane channels was blocked, but whilst any store‐independent Ca2+ entry (SICE) could continue unabated. That lEV release was equally inhibited if all entry from external sources was blocked by chelation of external Ca2+ points to the major contributor to Mtr‐triggered host cell lEV release being IP3/store‐mediated Ca2+ release, SICE playing a minor role. Host cell lEVs were released through Mtr interaction with host cell lipid raft domains, integrins, and mechanosensitive ion channels, whereupon [Ca2+]cyt increased (50 to 750 nM) within 15 s. lEV release and cell entry of T. cruzi, which increased up to 30 and 60 mpi, respectively, as well as raised actin depolymerization at 60 mpi, were all reduced by TRPC inhibitor, GsMTx‐4. Vesicle release and infection was also reduced with RGD peptide, methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin, knockdown of calpain and with the calpain inhibitor, calpeptin. Restoration of lEV levels, whether with lEVs from infected or uninfected epithelial cells, did not restore invasion, but supplementation with lEVs from infected monocytes, did. We provide evidence of THP‐1 monocyte‐derived lEV interaction with Mtr (lipid mixing by R18‐dequenching; flow cytometry showing transfer to Mtr of R18 from R18‐lEVs and of LAP(TGF‐β1). Active, mature TGF‐β1 (at 175 pg/×105 in THP‐1 lEVs) was detected in concentrated lEV‐/cell‐free supernatant by western blotting, only after THP‐1 lEVs had interacted with Mtr. The TGF‐β1 receptor (TβRI) inhibitor, SB‐431542, reduced the enhanced cellular invasion due to monocyte‐lEVs
The removal of Irish paupers from Britain: 1819 to the early twentieth century
No full textDuring the nineteenth century, local officials sought to deal with their Irish pauper ‘problem’ by removing these poor migrants back to Ireland under the laws of settlement and removal. Over the course of the century, hundreds of thousands of Irish paupers were forcibly repatriated in this way. Even though the settlement rights of Irish immigrants gradually improved over time, removals were still taking place into the twentieth century.
The system was widely recognised as being cruel and unfair, especially in Ireland where the removal of Irish paupers from Britain garnered considerable political and press attention. Much was made of the illegality of some removals, and of harsh removals involving widowed women, children and the elderly.
This book, which is the first sustained study of repatriation from Britain, demonstrates a persistent theme: the marginal nature of Irish life on the larger island. Drawing on extensive research from newspaper sources and parliamentary papers, it presents an original and richly detailed perspective on Irish immigration, poverty and pauperism in nineteenth-century Britain