1,229 research outputs found
The nexus between corruption and academic freedom: An international investigation of the underlying linkages
No full textStudying a relatively under-researched aspect in economics, this paper examines the nexus between corruption and academic freedom. Our main hypothesis is that greater corruption undermines academic freedom and we test this hypothesis using data for 104 nations from 2012 to 2018. Our results support the main hypothesis, and this finding also generally holds across alternative aspects of academic freedom. Another contribution of this work lies in dissecting the direct and indirect (through corruption) effects of various drivers of academic freedom. Finally, additional insights are gained by considering different dimensions of academic freedom and how they are impacted by corruption
Do deep regional trade agreements strengthen anti‐corruption? A social network analysis
No full textThis paper adds to research on the international drivers of corruption and anti-corruption by focusing on the influence of regional trade agreements (RTAs). Using cross-national data and employing a social network analysis, we provide descriptions of the evolution of deep integration of RTAs' network in anti-corruption and transparency with a comprehensive view in which we utilise the network's Closeness, Harmonic, Betweenness, Eigenvector, and PageRank centralities to demonstrate the positions of member countries. We examine the relations of the positions of member countries in the deep RTAs' network and the performance of those countries in fighting corruption. Our empirical results suggest that the countries which hold dominant positions in the deep RTAs' network may be associated with better performance in fighting corruption. At the same time, countries which may have traditionally lagged in the enforcement of anti-bribery and corruption laws will benefit through the transfer of best practices and technical expertise in rulemaking and enforcement by using their positions in the deep RTAs' network. Furthermore, our results indicate that the provisions related to anti-corruption or transparency in RTAs will play more important roles in fighting public sector corruption for member countries. The findings are robust to alternate corruption and governance measures
Laparoendoscopic single-site radical cystectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection: initial experience and 2-year follow-up.
No full textGeneralized TASE-RK methods for stiff problems
No full textA family of Time-Accurate and Stable Explicit (TASE) methods for the numerical integration of Initial Value Problems in stiff Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) y'(t) = f (t, y) was recently introduced in [1]. The main idea was to make local extrapolation of a stabilized Euler method. More recently, in [3] a similar approach by considering the stabilization of arbitrary explicit Runge-Kutta methods (TASE-RK) was analyzed. In this case the explicit Runge-Kutta method integrates a transformed ODE obtained by multiplying the vector field f (t, y) by a certain operator which approximates the identity mapping up to a given order p. The main inconvenience of both approaches is that to reach order p the solution of p2 linear systems plus the evaluation of p derivatives are required per integration step.In order to substantially reduce the computational costs of the former approaches in the linear system solution, but maintaining the good accuracy and stability properties, a new family of TASE-RK methods which allow to introduce a few more free parameters are considered. The formulation of the methods was conceived to be implemented not only in sequential mode but it admits parallelism in a straightforward way. Furthermore, since these methods are linearly implicit, connections to the class of W-methods [19] are properly established. The order conditions for the new class of methods are widely studied by using the rooted tree theory. For p = 3, 4, new methods with p sequential stages and order p are derived and compared on semidiscrete 1D and 2D Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) to those in [1,3] and other standard Rosenbrock and W-methods in the literature.(c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of IMACS. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http:// creativecommons .org /licenses /by-nc -nd /4 .0/)
Wide-band dispersion compensating optical fiber
No full textA novel technique for wide-band dispersion compensation using multiply cladded fiber is presented here. The compensating fiber is designed to operate in LP11 mode near its cutoff. The dispersion calculations are carried out by solving the wave equation with the help of quadratic FEM. It is shown that when an optimally designed dispersion compensating fiber is added with a step index, single mode fiber in proportion of 1:22.24, the average compensated dispersion reduces below 0.47 ps/km-nm over a wavelength range of 1480 to 1580 nm. The technique suggests a cost effective solution for upgrading the existing fiber-optic networks to future WDM systems.IEE
The morphological effects of sediment diversions the Lower Mississippi River
No full textThe wetlands in the Mississippi delta (USA) are drastically subsiding and eroding. Many projects and researches are ongoing to determine how this “drowning effect” of the delta can be stopped. One of the solutions that could be feasible is implementing sediment diversions in the levees of the Lower Mississippi River in order to divert sediment into the delta. This thesis addresses the morphological effects of river diversions on the Lower Mississippi River. The main objective is to analyze and optimize trade-offs between delta building and river navigability. For this purpose a 2DH numerical model with Delf3D has been created; the model simulates the hydro- and morphodynamic behavior. The river reach which has been studied is the final 110 km of the river from Point a la Hache at River Kilometer 78 (RK 78) down to the mouth of the river (RK -30), below Head of Passes. The hydrodynamic model has been calibrated and verified with flow and stage data from daily observations on the river. With the available sediment data a calibration has been carried out of the morphological behavior in the river. The model has been used to simulate several scenarios to get insight in the problems in the delta. From analysis of the model results the river bed in the study area can be divided into three categories. Upstream of RK 4 the bed is subject to erosion, around RK 4 the bed is practically in equilibrium and downstream of RK 4 the bed is subject to sedimentation. The reach downstream of RK 4 is the dredging reach; after analyzing the long-term simulation of 20 years it is not expected that the dredging quantities will decrease in the future. Closing off West Bay diversion has a positive effect on the dredging quantities. The best diversion site for this study area is found in the inner bend of the river upstream of Empire (RK 47) at RK 53. This site is most efficient and diverts the largest quantities of sand through the diversion.Hydraulic EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience
The Dunston Manuscript
Get PDFVariously titled 80 Slides and a Memory, Fit for a King and others this is the definitive performed version as an invited reading in 2001 to the Urban Design Group. It describes in blank verse the early stages of the Gateshead Garden Festival illustrated with slide
A quantitative assessment of nanometric machinability of major polytypes of single crystal silicon carbide
No full textThe influence of polymorphism on nanometric machinability of single crystal silicon carbide (SiC) has been investigated through molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The simulation results are compared with silicon as a reference material.
Cutting hardness was adopted as a quantifier of the machinability of the polytypes of single crystal SiC. 3C-SiC offered highest cutting resistance (∼2.9 times that of silicon) followed by the 4H-SiC (∼2.8 times that of silicon) whereas 6H-SiC (∼2.1 times that of silicon) showed the least. Despite its high cutting resistance, 4H-SiC showed the minimum sub-surface crystal lattice deformed layer depth, in contrast to 6H-SiC. Further analysis of temperatures in the cutting zone and the percentage tool wear indicated that single point diamond turning (SPDT) of single crystal SiC could be limited to either 6H-SiC or 4H-SiC depending upon quality and cost considerations as these were found to be more responsive and amenable to SPDT compared to single crystal 3C-SiC
Vibration exposure and transmissibility on dentist's anatomy : a study of micro motors and air-turbines
Get PDFThe use of dental hand pieces endanger dentists to vibration exposure as they are subjected to very high amplitude and vibration frequency. This paper has envisaged a comparative analysis of vibration amplitudes and transmissibility during idling and drilling with micro motor (MM) and air-turbine (AT) hand pieces. The study aims to identify the mean difference in vibration amplitudes during idling, explore different grasp forces while drilling with irrigant injection by the dentist, and various vibration transmission of these hand pieces. The study utilized 22 separate frequency resonances on two new and eight used MMs and two new and eight used ATs of different brands by observing the investigator at 16 different dentist clinics. The study adopted a descriptive research design with non–probability sampling techniques for selecting dentists and hand pieces. Statistical methods like Levene Test of Homogeneity, Welch ANOVA, independent t-test, and Games–Howell test were utilized with SPSS version 22 and MS-Excel. The results reveal that vibration amplitudes and vibration transmissibility when measured at position 2 are higher than in another position 1. Vibrations during idling for used MMs are more than AT hand pieces, and the used MM (MUD) and used AT (AUA) hand pieces differ due to their obsolescence and over-usage. Vibration amplitudes increase every time with the tightening of grasping of the hand piece. Vibration amplitudes for each grasping style of MM hand piece differ from all other grasping styles of AT hand pieces. Routine exposure to consistent vibrations has ill physical, mental, and psychological effects on dentists. The used hand pieces more hazardous as compared to newer ones. The study suggests that these hand pieces must be replaced periodically, sufficient to break between two operations, especially after every hand piece usage. Hence, the present research work can be further extended by creating some control groups among dentists and then studying the vibration amplitude exposure of various dental hand pieces and subsequent transmissibility to their body parts
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