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Book Review: No Justice, No Police? The Politics of Protest and Social Change
Get PDFBook review for 'No Justice, No Police? The Politics of Protest and Social Change'. Edited by Matt Clement (Zero Books, 2023
Commodity Market Risk: Examining Price Co-Movements in the Pakistan Mercantile Exchange
Get PDFCommodity price co-movements significantly impact investment decisions. High correlations constrain portfolio diversification and limit risk mitigation potential. While international markets often exhibit strong price linkages, understanding national-level dynamics is crucial for effective portfolio optimization. In this paper, we examine the commodity price co-movements within three key sectors—energy, metals, and agriculture—in the specific context of Pakistan. Utilizing data from 13 January 2013 to 20 August 2020 and employing an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, we reveal a surprising finding: co-movement among these sectors is weak and primarily short-term. This challenges the conventional assumption of tight coupling in national markets and offers exciting implications for investors. Our analysis suggests that Pakistani commodities hold significant diversification potential, opening promising avenues for risk-reduction strategies within the national market
Introducing the new IOA Research Member grade
Get PDFLooking back at the Acoustics Bulletin articles
covering the history of the IOA it becomes obvious
that when the Institute was formed there was interest
mainly from manufacturers, consultants, environment
health officers and academics. In recent years, the
IOA has moved to include industry and consultancy
Exploring attitudes toward xenotransplantation: A scoping review of healthcare workers, healthcare students, and kidney patients
Get PDFBackground
Recent advances mean that formal clinical trials of solid organ xenotransplantation are increasingly likely to begin and patients requiring a kidney transplant could be the first participants. Healthcare workers and healthcare students constitute the current and future workforce that will influence public opinion of xenotransplantation. The attitudes of these populations are important to consider before recruitment for formal clinical trials begins.
Methods
This scoping review was reported according to the PRISMA extensions for scoping reviews checklist and the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. The Scopus, PubMed, and ScienceDirect databases were searched to identify articles that studied the attitudes of healthcare workers, healthcare students, or kidney patients toward xenotransplantation.
Results
The search generated 816 articles, of which 27 met the eligibility criteria. The studies were conducted in 14 different countries on five different continents. Participants from the 27 studies totaled 29,836—this was constituted of 6,223 (21%) healthcare workers, 21,067 (71%) healthcare students, and 2,546 (8%) kidney patients. All three groups had an overall positive attitude toward xenotransplantation. However, in studies where participants were asked to consider xenotransplantation when the risks and results were not equal to allotransplantation—the overall attitude switched from positive to negative. The results also found that Spanish-speaking populations expressed more favorable views toward xenotransplantation compared to English-speaking populations.
Conclusion
The results of this review suggest that while attitudes of the three groups toward xenotransplantation are—on the face of it—positive, this positivity deteriorates when the risks and outcomes are framed in more clinically realistic terms. Only formal clinical trials can determine how the risks and outcomes of xenotransplantation compare to allotransplantation
“Awful Skinny Boys” – Male Musical Theatre Performers’ Experiences of Body Image: A Reflexive Thematic Analysis
Get PDFBody dissatisfaction is likely to be particularly salient in aesthetically focused professions, including the performing arts. However, there is a paucity of research involving male theatre performers. This study addressed this omission by exploring how male musical theatre actors experience body image. Interviews were conducted with 7 male performers and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings illustrate the lasting influence that instructors and the training environment have upon the participants’ perceptions of their bodies, participants’ desire to appear masculine through greater muscularity, and the dissatisfaction that occurs when they perceive that their bodies do not conform to rigid notions of gender and body ideals. This study also provides insight into the nuanced experience of existing within a body of worth, often commodified and sold to audiences. These findings highlight the importance of facilitating a supportive training environment and opening up conversations about body dissatisfaction among male performers
Investigation of the fire hazard of underground space fire scenarios in urban metro tunnels under natural ventilation: Analysis of the impact of tunnel slope on smoke back-layering length
Get PDFThe smoke back-layering length is a crucial parameter for evacuating people in both road and subway tunnel fires. This study investigates the fire hazard induced by carriage fire in inclined metro tunnels under natural ventilation. The parameter ‘transition slope’ is defined to measure the smoke flow from the carriage head in the upstream direction to the tunnel or not due to the stack effect of the tunnel slope. The aim of this paper is to analyse the effects of changes in cross-section, downstream length, tunnel slope, and carriage side-door coupling on smoke behaviour characteristics by experiment and simulation methods. A piecewise function expression between dimensionless smoke back-layering length, downstream length, and tunnel slope for carriage fires in an inclined tunnel under natural ventilation is proposed by theoretical analysis. At the same time, a 1:15 scale model experiment was conducted to initially analyse the characteristics of smoke movement. Following this, full-scale numerical simulations were employed to complement the model experiment and quantify the principles governing smoke movement. The experimental results show that the tunnel slope has a significant effect on the smoke back-layering length. In contrast, the influence of the heat release rate was found to be relatively minor. In addition, simulation results show that the tunnel slope has no significant effect on the smoke back-layering length when the fire location is approximately 20 m from the train head, and the tunnel slope is in the range of 2.29° ∼ 3.43° (4% ∼ 6%). For small tunnel slopes, smoke spreads in the tunnel, and the smoke back-layering length produced by the virtual fire source shows a different law from the previous study model. Finally, the correlation coefficient of the piecewise function in theoretical analysis is fitted by combining the experimental and numerical simulation results. Practical application This study provides valuable insights into the practical implications of controlling and mitigating the impact of fires in inclined metro tunnels. By understanding the critical role of tunnel slope and providing a quantitative tool for smoke spread law assessment, this study contributes to the enhancement of safety measures and the protection of lives in tunnel environments during fire incidents
Photography at a Standstill
Get PDFWhat has replaced the still photograph are dynamic and distributed image-assemblages that unsettle received notions of space-time — no longer limited to traditional representation and not necessarily even visual. When it comes to computer vision for example, the descriptor photography seems largely redundant (despite deep learning computer vision systems being trained on large datasets of photographic images), and so too the tired metaphor of the eye that once supported its theories and practices. What is at stake here, as ever, is a kind of ‘seeing’ (if we continue to call it that) that makes clear what is visible, sensible and knowable, and crucially also what is not. We might call this seeing algorithmically, or seeing like a dataset, or perhaps even seeing like an infrastructure, comprised of fake images that render fake history. The logic of this invokes the complex notion of ‘image is dialectics at a standstill’, encapsulating a constellation of possible outcomes. To what extent is the radical potential that Benjamin once foresaw in montage applicable to image-based AI given that it seems less an instrument to imagine a qualitatively different future but simply more of the same. What can be seen is not so much representational nor photographic but latent traces of material relations and infrastructures that render historical experience in compromised form
A hidden curriculum of certainty: Inadequate education in an uncertain world
No full textAs educators in university education departments, we want to teach about the complex and contested nature of education and society. Furthermore, we are very conscious that our planetary predicament calls for different ways of thinking. Despite all this, we often find that students just want ‘the right answer’. They have been through test-based schooling (Ball, 2017) and are trying to find the rules of the game where they sense that their degree certificate will be based on them giving ‘the right answer’. It seems there is a hidden curriculum of certainty throughout our education system. This blog post focuses on how a hidden curriculum of certainty ill-prepares students for the uncertain world in which we live. Uncertainty permeates all aspects of life although it is particularly and increasingly pertinent in relation to our planetary predicament of climate breakdown, mass extinction and global injustice
Black phosphorus: The rise of phosphorene in 2D materials applications
Get PDFFew layers Black phosphorus (BP) and phosphorene are two-dimensional (2D) materials renowned for their adjustable bandgaps, high carrier mobility, and anisotropic conductivity, which make them highly promising for applications in the visible and infrared spectrum. The incorporation of these materials into polymer matrices has led to significant advancements in material science, resulting in nanocomposites with enhanced mechanical, electrical, and optical properties. This article provides a thorough analysis of BP/phosphorene polymer nanocomposites, including synthesis techniques (such as exfoliation methods) and manufacturing approaches. Advanced characterisation techniques are utilised to assess the structure, morphology, and properties of these composites. The article highlights the potential applications of these materials in energy storage (e.g., high-capacity batteries), flexible electronics (e.g., bendable displays), environmental sensing, and emerging biomedical fields such as targeted drug delivery. Furthermore, the article discusses potential solutions to tackle the challenges associated with the scalable, cost-effective production and ambient stability of BP/phosphorene, leveraging recent advancements in engineering research. The conclusion outlines future research directions, emphasising the importance of addressing persistent challenges through technological breakthroughs and exploring potential avenues for further advancement
GreenBytes: Intelligent Energy Estimation for Edge-Cloud
Get PDFThis study investigates the application of advanced machine learning models, specifically Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks and Gradient Booster models, for accurate energy consumption estimation within a Kubernetes cluster environment. It aims to enhance sustainable computing practices by providing precise predictions of energy usage across various computing nodes. Through meticulous analysis of model performance on both master and worker nodes, the research reveals the strengths and potential applications of these models in promoting energy efficiency. The LSTM model demonstrates remarkable predictive accuracy, particularly in capturing dynamic computing workloads over time, evidenced by low mean squared error (MSE) rates and the ability to closely track actual energy consumption trends. Conversely, the Gradient Booster model showcases robustness and adaptability across different computational environments, despite slightly higher MSE values. The study underscores the complementary nature of these models in advancing sustainable computing practices, suggesting their integration into energy management systems could significantly enhance environmental sustainability in technology operations