9,437 research outputs found
Diagramming social practice theory:An interdisciplinary experiment exploring practices as networks
Achieving a transition to a low-carbon energy system is now widely recognised as a key challenge facing humanity. To date, the vast majority of research addressing this challenge has been conducted within the disciplines of science, engineering and economics utilising quantitative and modelling techniques. However, there is growing awareness that meeting energy challenges requires fundamentally socio-technical solutions and that the social sciences have an important role to play. This is an interdisciplinary challenge but, to date, there remain very few explorations of, or reflections on, interdisciplinary energy research in practice. This paper seeks to change that by reporting on an interdisciplinary experiment to build new models of energy demand on the basis of cutting-edge social science understandings. The process encouraged the social scientists to communicate their ideas more simply, whilst allowing engineers to think critically about the embedded assumptions in their models in relation to society and social change. To do this, the paper uses a particular set of theoretical approaches to energy use behaviour known collectively as social practice theory (SPT) - and explores the potential of more quantitative forms of network analysis to provide a formal framework by means of which to diagram and visualize practices. The aim of this is to gain insight into the relationships between the elements of a practice, so increasing the ultimate understanding of how practices operate. Graphs of practice networks are populated based on new empirical data drawn from a survey of different types (or variants) of laundry practice. The resulting practice networks are analysed to reveal characteristics of elements and variants of practice, such as which elements could be considered core to the practice, or how elements between variants overlap, or can be shared. This promises insights into energy intensity, flexibility and the rootedness of practices (i.e. how entrenched/ established they are) and so opens up new questions and possibilities for intervention. The novelty of this approach is that it allows practice data to be represented graphically using a quantitative format without being overly reductive. Its usefulness is that it is readily applied to large datasets, provides the capacity to interpret social practices in new ways, and serves to open up potential links with energy modeling. More broadly, a significant dimension of novelty has been the interdisciplinary approach, radically different to that normally seen in energy research. This paper is relevant to a broad audience of social scientists and engineers interested in integrating social practices with energy engineering
Stochastic model for the 3D microstructure of pristine and cyclically aged cathodes in Li-ion batteries
It is well-known that the microstructure of electrodes in lithium-ion
batteries strongly affects their performance. Vice versa, the microstructure
can exhibit strong changes during the usage of the battery due to aging
effects. For a better understanding of these effects, mathematical analysis and
modeling has turned out to be of great help. In particular, stochastic 3D
microstructure models have proven to be a powerful and very flexible tool to
generate various kinds of particle-based structures. Recently, such models have
been proposed for the microstructure of anodes in lithium-ion energy and power
cells. In the present paper, we describe a stochastic modeling approach for the
3D microstructure of cathodes in a lithium-ion energy cell, which differs
significantly from the one observed in anodes. The model for the cathode data
enhances the ideas of the anode models, which have been developed so far. It is
calibrated using 3D tomographic image data from pristine as well as two aged
cathodes. A validation based on morphological image characteristics shows that
the model is able to realistically describe both, the microstructure of
pristine and aged cathodes. Thus, we conclude that the model is suitable to
generate virtual, but realistic microstructures of lithium-ion cathodes
Downlink Coverage and Rate Analysis of Low Earth Orbit Satellite Constellations Using Stochastic Geometry
As low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems are gaining
increasing popularity, new theoretical methodologies are required to
investigate such networks' performance at large. This is because deterministic
and location-based models that have previously been applied to analyze
satellite systems are typically restricted to support simulations only. In this
paper, we derive analytical expressions for the downlink coverage probability
and average data rate of generic LEO networks, regardless of the actual
satellites' locality and their service area geometry. Our solution stems from
stochastic geometry, which abstracts the generic networks into uniform binomial
point processes. Applying the proposed model, we then study the performance of
the networks as a function of key constellation design parameters. Finally, to
fit the theoretical modeling more precisely to real deterministic
constellations, we introduce the effective number of satellites as a parameter
to compensate for the practical uneven distribution of satellites on different
latitudes. In addition to deriving exact network performance metrics, the study
reveals several guidelines for selecting the design parameters for future
massive LEO constellations, e.g., the number of frequency channels and
altitude.Comment: Accepted for publication in the IEEE Transactions on Communications
in April 202
Marshfield Clinic: Health Information Technology Paves the Way for Population Health Management
Highlights Fund-defined attributes of an ideal care delivery system and best practices, including an internal electronic health record, primary care teams, physician quality metrics and mentors, and standardized care processes for chronic care management
Substantiating a political public sphere in the Scottish press : a comparative analysis
This article uses content analysis to characterize the performance of the media in a national public sphere, by setting apart those qualities that typify internal press coverage of a political event. The article looks at the coverage of the 1999 devolved Scottish election from the day before the election until the day after. It uses a word count to measure the election material in Scottish newspapers the Herald, the Press and Journal and the Scotsman, and United Kingdom newspapers the Guardian, the Independent and The Times, and categorizes that material according to discourse type, day and page selection. The article finds a number of qualities that typify the Scottish sample in particular, and might be broadly indicative of a political public sphere in action. Firstly, and not unexpectedly, it finds that the Scottish newspapers carry significantly more election coverage. Just as tellingly, though, the article finds that the Scottish papers offer a greater proportion of advice and background information, in the form of opinion columns and feature articles. It also finds that the Scottish papers place a greater concentration of both informative and evaluative material in the period before the vote, consistent with their making a contribution to informed political action. Lastly, the article finds that the Scottish sample situates coverage nearer the front of the paper and places a greater proportion on recto pages. The article therefore argues that the Scottish papers display features that distinguish them from the UK papers, and are broadly consistent with their forming part of a deliberative public sphere, and suggests that these qualities might be explored as a means of judging future media performance
Empirical Evaluation of Abstract Argumentation: Supporting the Need for Bipolar and Probabilistic Approaches
In dialogical argumentation it is often assumed that the involved parties
always correctly identify the intended statements posited by each other,
realize all of the associated relations, conform to the three acceptability
states (accepted, rejected, undecided), adjust their views when new and correct
information comes in, and that a framework handling only attack relations is
sufficient to represent their opinions. Although it is natural to make these
assumptions as a starting point for further research, removing them or even
acknowledging that such removal should happen is more challenging for some of
these concepts than for others. Probabilistic argumentation is one of the
approaches that can be harnessed for more accurate user modelling. The
epistemic approach allows us to represent how much a given argument is believed
by a given person, offering us the possibility to express more than just three
agreement states. It is equipped with a wide range of postulates, including
those that do not make any restrictions concerning how initial arguments should
be viewed, thus potentially being more adequate for handling beliefs of the
people that have not fully disclosed their opinions in comparison to Dung's
semantics. The constellation approach can be used to represent the views of
different people concerning the structure of the framework we are dealing with,
including cases in which not all relations are acknowledged or when they are
seen differently than intended. Finally, bipolar argumentation frameworks can
be used to express both positive and negative relations between arguments. In
this paper we describe the results of an experiment in which participants
judged dialogues in terms of agreement and structure. We compare our findings
with the aforementioned assumptions as well as with the constellation and
epistemic approaches to probabilistic argumentation and bipolar argumentation
Civilising Globalism: Transnational Norm-Building NetworksâA Research Programme
Decentralised, self-organised cross-border activities are increasingly shaping global policymaking. While state actors have lost ground, policy and economic networks have emerged as key actors, transforming international relations as well as national spheres. Academic discourse is following their activity, often focusing on "advocacy networks" and on the role of transnational actors within the transformation of the world economy and world polity. In contrast to these research activities, the approach proposed here extends the scope of inquiry to include the role of transnational networks in norm-building and norm-implementation. The networks under scrutiny here do not confine themselves to the articulation of particular interests, the resolution of particular conflicts, or compliance with legal norms. It is presumed here that a variety of networks which are fundamentally concerned with the creation of norms have emerged. The predominance of the nation-state, one of the main characteristics of modern democratic thinking, has eroded to the point where the fundamental nexus of voice (democratic participation) and entitlement (legal and social rights and duties) has been weakened or even broken. We presume that this decentration has fundamentally changed the option of voice as one of the most important responses by citizens to crisis and change. This comes to the fore with the emergence and effectiveness of transnational norm-building networks. The article develops a research programme, the outcome of which will shed light on this new resource for the development of a democratised world polity.networks, norms, world polity, globalisation, global civil society
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