Advances in Design by Metallic Materials: Synthesis, Characterization, Simulation and Applications

Very recently, a great deal of attention has been paid by researchers and technologists to trying to eliminate metal materials in the design of products and processes in favor of plastics and composites. After a few years, it is possible to state that metal materials are even more present in our lives and this is especially thanks to their ability to evolve. This Special Issue is focused on the recent evolution of metals and alloys with the scope of presenting the state of the art of solutions where metallic materials have become established, without a doubt, as a successful design solution thanks to their unique properties

Towards a theory of human mobility and wall-building: a comparative analysis of Hadrian\u27s Wall and the Iron Curtain.

This thesis contributes a theory on human bordering practices that encompasses diverse types of borders and border experiences. In order to flesh out the factors underlying human wall-building, it is vital to first understand the mobile nature (both as an innate characteristic and adaptive strategy) of our species. A clearer appreciation of the biology of human mobility elucidates the seemingly counterintuitive process of the establishment of cultural boundaries. Such an inquiry into the available inter-disciplinary literature on the topics of human mobility and wall-building reveals much about the manner in which humans interpret and utilize space, the variety of walls that exist, and the ways in which varying boundary types are imagined, constructed and managed as social institutions. In addition, this analysis provides insights into the frontier boundaries created peripheral to, or, on either side of, physical and ideological (or non-material) borders, as well as how such barriers, despite an intent to distinguish and separate populations, paradoxically create zones that allow for a more efficient integration and fusion of these populations. In this way, borders serve vital integrative roles in such transitional spaces. Previous analysis and discussion of such behaviors tends to focus on single variables that are at the root of the human propensity to build boundaries. A multidisciplinary review of the literature dealing with the construction of human walls over both lengthy temporal and varied typological continua creates an opportunity to concisely articulate an original, multifactorial general theory of human wall-building that is consistent across a diversity of wall-building projects. The S-ential Theory of Human Wall- Building describes the essential elements – separation, structure, social skin, symbolism and societal status quo – that, to varying degrees, drive humans to construct both physical and ideological barriers. With this theory in hand, the reader can better understand the connections between the past and present and, thus, more clearly comprehend and discuss issues pertaining to contemporary and future wall-building projects. Using the S-ential Theory as a tool to more clearly appreciate the end-result of human wall-building, this review then explores a comparative analysis of two historical walls – the Roman Empire’s 2nd century Hadrian’s Wall that traversed the entire breadth of the Britannian isthmus and the mid-20th century Iron Curtain that served as an imposing ideological barricade between Eastern and Western Europe for nearly five decades. These two walls, analyzed because of their particular locations at disparate ends of temporal and typological continua, allow for a critical inquiry into human wall-building across both an expanse of time and differing taxonomies. An analysis of these distinct wall classifications, through the lens of available interdisciplinary material on the origins of human mobility and wall-building, challenges the reader to think more critically about the nature, consistencies and dissimilarities of the component threads woven into the boundless tapestry of human bordering practices

Proceedings of the 2018 Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME) International Congress

Published proceedings of the 2018 Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME) International Congress, hosted by York University, 27-30 May 2018

In search of the millennial : is there a distinctive millennial identity and what might this mean for our understanding of identity in organisations? : a study of emerging identities in Mexican young adults

Ideas of selfhood in contemporary society are increasingly understood in terms of generational membership (Rudolph, Rauvola & Zacher, 2018; Howe & Strauss, 2000). Popular discourses of generational identity offer individuals alternatives for self- definition in ways akin to traditional social identities (Gilleard, 2004). The Millennial Generation (born 1981 to 2000) is portrayed as particularly transformative, differentiated from its predecessors through a series of millennial roles and a distinctive portrayal of leadership (Howe & Strauss, 2000; Elmore, 2009).Contemporary organisations are also conceptualised as spaces for self-definition (Brown, 2015). Individuals are theorised as “identity workers” (Alvesson & Willmott, 2002, p. 622, italics in original) who craft an organisational self subject to identity regulation and control (Reedy, King & Coupland, 2016). Leader identity has received particular attention from scholars (Sinclair, 2011) and is especially relevant to the popular discourse of The Millennial Generation.This qualitative research finds only weak support for claims of a distinctive millennial identity. Further, the participants’ narratives suggest only partial support for a distinctive millennial understanding of leadership. These findings suggest discourses of generational identity overestimate the power of change, and underestimate that of continuity and stability, in self-definition. Data was collected through open-ended interviews with twenty-four young adult Mexicans.This research theorises the lack of millennial distinctiveness in the participants’ accounts as attributable to the popular discourse’s over-reliance on a ‘digital native’ portrayal (Prensky, 2001), one not supported by academic research. Secondly, it conceptualises the participants’ emerging leader identity in terms of micro and macro processes of identity construction and not solely in terms of dominant leader discourses. It recognises the participants undertaking identity work to adapt and mould dominant discourses into more nuanced leader portrayals. Thirdly, it theorises an alternative portrayal of emerging identity in young adulthood characterised by information search (Berzonsky, 1989) and the continual refinement of ideas of selfhood

Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music

Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music by Steven Jan is a comprehensive account of the relationships between evolutionary theory and music. Examining the ‘evolutionary algorithm’ that drives biological and musical-cultural evolution, the book provides a distinctive commentary on how musicality and music can shed light on our understanding of Darwin’s famous theory, and vice-versa. Comprised of seven chapters, with several musical examples, figures and definitions of terms, this original and accessible book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the relationships between music and evolutionary thought. Jan guides the reader through key evolutionary ideas and the development of human musicality, before exploring cultural evolution, evolutionary ideas in musical scholarship, animal vocalisations, music generated through technology, and the nature of consciousness as an evolutionary phenomenon. A unique examination of how evolutionary thought intersects with music, Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music is essential to our understanding of how and why music arose in our species and why it is such a significant presence in our lives