174 research outputs found
Visiting Socialism: Scandinavian Tourists as Addressees of German-Soviet Public Diplomacy
The article was submitted on 08.12.2019.This article considers the concerted attempt of the German Democratic Republic and the Soviet Union to influence Scandinavian tourists during Baltic Sea Week in pursuit of their foreign policy goals. The author begins by discussing the implications of ‘public diplomacy’ within the context of East European socialism. Before examining how German and Soviet public diplomacy strategies intertwined, the paper outlines the methods of socialist public diplomacy and the reactions of the target audience, as well as certain aspects of Eigen-Sinn brought by the western guests. To explore these connections, the paper draws primarily on the records of the Danish working-class movement, the organizing committees and intelligence reports by the East German Ministry for State Security. While foreign tourism in the Soviet Union typically entailed both economic and political interests, the GDR even subsidised foreign tourists and designed package tours to serve almost exclusively political purposes. Focusing on Scandinavian guests, the paper discusses their reaction to the politically loaded tourism experience. Whereas some tourists readily spread the message that the organizers wanted to send, others did not hesitate to criticise what they saw or insisted on their own apolitical agendas. In addition, differing concepts of international understanding reflected the growing distance between Western leftist visitors and Eastern European communist parties. While there were hardly any measurable effects in the political realm, Baltic Sea Week seems to have produced unintended cultural effects resulting from its omnipresent friendship rhetoric and peace message.Анализируется сотрудничество Германской Демократической Республики и Советского Союза в целях оказания идеологического влияния на скандинавских туристов в рамках Недели Балтийского моря. Автор обращается к термину «публичная дипломатия» и анализирует его специфику при изучении социализма в странах Восточной Европы. Исследуются методы социалистической публичной дипломатии, а также реакция ее целевых аудиторий, включая некоторые аспекты «своемыслия» (Eigensinn), которые были характерны для западных гостей «Недели». Источниковую базу составили документы датского рабочего движения, а также органов Министерства государственной безопасности ГДР. Отмечая, что иностранный туризм в условиях «реального социализма», как правило, был нацелен на реализацию не только политических, но и экономических интересов, автор доказывает, что в случае Недели Балтийского моря ГДР разрабатывала для иностранных туристов специальную программу пребывания, носившую идеологизированный характер. В центре исследовательского интереса находится реакция скандинавских гостей на подобный вид туризма. Автор доказывает, что некоторые туристы из скандинавских стран после возвращения на родину действительно транслировали идеологические послания организаторов мероприятия, другие не останавливались перед критикой того, что видели, третьи оставались равнодушными к политической пропаганде. Документы показывают, что посещавшие социалистические страны левые общественные деятели Запада не воспринимали пропаганду коммунистических партий государств Восточной Европы. Несмотря на отсутствие явно ощутимых политических последствий, Неделя Балтийского моря имела серьезный культурный эффект
Ab initio study of the phase diagram of epitaxial BaTiO3
Using a combination of first-principles and effective-Hamiltonian approaches,
we map out the structure of BaTiO3 under epitaxial constraints applicable to
growth on perovskite substrates. We obtain a phase diagram in temperature and
misfit strain that is qualitatively different from that reported by Pertsev et
al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 1988 (1998)], who based their results on an empirical
thermodynamic potential with parameters fitted at temperatures in the vicinity
of the bulk phase transitions. In particular, we find a region of `r phase' at
low temperature where Pertsev et al. have reported an `ac phase'. We expect our
results to be relevant to thin epitaxial films of BaTiO3 at low temperatures
and experimentally-achievable strains.Comment: 4 pages, with 4 postscript figures embedded. Uses REVTEX and epsf
macros. Also available at
http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~dhv/preprints/od_epi/index.htm
Tunability of the dielectric response of epitaxially strained SrTiO3 from first principles
The effect of in-plane strain on the nonlinear dielectric properties of
SrTiO3 epitaxial thin films is calculated using density-functional theory
within the local-density approximation. Motivated by recent experiments, the
structure, zone-center phonons, and dielectric properties with and without an
external electric field are evaluated for several misfit strains within +-3% of
the calculated cubic lattice parameter. In these calculations, the in-plane
lattice parameters are fixed, and all remaining structural parameters are
permitted to relax. The presence of an external bias is treated approximately
by applying a force to each ion proportional to the electric field. After
obtaining zero-field ground state structures for various strains, the
zone-center phonon frequencies and Born effective charges are computed,
yielding the zero-field dielectric response. The dielectric response at finite
electric field bias is obtained by computing the field dependence of the
structure and polarization using an approximate technique. The results are
compared with recent experiments and a previous phenomenological theory. The
tunability is found to be strongly dependent on the in-plane lattice parameter,
showing markedly different behavior for tensile and compressive strains. Our
results are expected to be of use for isolating the role of strain in the
tunability of real ultrathin epitaxial films.Comment: 11 pages, with postscript figures embedded. Uses REVTEX and epsf
macros. Also available at
http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~dhv/preprints/ant_srti/index.htm
Containing the Not-Invented-Here Syndrome in external knowledge absorption and open innovation: The role of indirect countermeasures
This paper builds new theory and provides supporting evidence to contain the Not-Invented-Here Syndrome (NIHS) – a persistent decision-making error arising from an attitude-based bias against external knowledge. Conceptually, we draw on the 4i framework of organizational learning to develop a novel process perspective on NIHS. This allows us not only to unpack how and where NIHS impedes organizational learning, but also to identify the key requirements for effective NIHS countermeasures. Importantly, countermeasures fall into two categories: those that seek to change the negative attitude directly (direct NIHS countermeasures) and those that seek to attenuate the behavioral impact of negative attitudes without addressing the attitudes as such (indirect NIHS countermeasures). While the evidence base on direct NIHS countermeasures has grown over the last decade, indirect NIHS countermeasures have received little research attention. To address this gap, we adopt a mixed methods research design composed of two complementary empirical studies – the first qualitative and the second quantitative. Study 1 explores the prevalence of distinct NIHS countermeasures in collaborative R&D practice. Based on 32 interviews and three focus group meetings with R&D employees, we find that a broad array of primarily direct NIHS countermeasures is employed in R&D practice. Study 2 addresses the scarcity of scholarly and managerial insights on indirect NIHS countermeasures by testing the effectiveness of perspective taking as a debiasing technique to contain negative attitudes at the level of the individual. Based on quantitative survey data from 565 global R&D projects, it provides empirical evidence not only for the prevalence and negative effects of NIHS on project success as mediated by external knowledge absorption, but also for the effectiveness of perspective taking as an exemplary indirect NIHS countermeasure
Decellularised tissues obtained by a CO2-philic detergent and supercritical CO2
Tissue decellularisation has gained much attention in regenerative medicine as an alternative to synthetic materials. In decellularised tissues, biological cues can be maintained and provide cellular environments still unmet by synthetic materials. Supercritical CO2 (scCO2 ) has recently emerged as a promising alternative decellularisation technique to aggressive detergents; in addition, scCO2 provides innate sterilisation. However, to date, decellularisation with scCO2 is limited to only a few tissue types with low cellular density. In the current study, a scCO2 technique to decellularise high density tissues, including articular cartilage, tendon and skin, was developed. Results showed that most of the cellular material was removed, while the sample structure and biocompatibility was preserved. The DNA content was reduced in cartilage, tendon and skin as compared to the native tissue. The treatment did not affect the initial tendon elastic modulus [reduced from 126.35 ± 9.79 MPa to 113.48 ± 8.48 MPa (p 〉 0.05)], while it reduced the cartilage one [from 12.06 ± 2.14 MPa to 1.17 ± 0.34 MPa (p 〈 0.0001)]. Interestingly, cell adhesion molecules such as fibronectin and laminin were still present in the tissues after decellularisation. Bovine chondrocytes were metabolically active and adhered to the surface of all decellularised tissues after 1 week of cell culture. The developed method has the potential to become a cost-effective, one-step procedure for the decellularisation of dense tissues
Towards a first principles description of phonons in NiPt disordered alloys: the role of relaxation
Using a combination of density-functional perturbation theory and the
itinerant coherent potential approximation, we study the effects of atomic
relaxation on the inelastic incoherent neutron scattering cross sections of
disordered NiPt alloys. We build on previous work, where
empirical force constants were adjusted {\it ad hoc} to agree with experiment.
After first relaxing all structural parameters within the local-density
approximation for ordered NiPt compounds, density-functional perturbation
theory is then used to compute phonon spectra, densities of states, and the
force constants. The resulting nearest-neighbor force constants are first
compared to those of other ordered structures of different stoichiometry, and
then used to generate the inelastic scattering cross sections within the
itinerant coherent potential approximation. We find that structural relaxation
substantially affects the computed force constants and resulting inelastic
cross sections, and that the effect is much more pronounced in random alloys
than in ordered alloys.Comment: 8 pages, 3 eps figures, uses revtex
Efficient decellularization of equine tendon with preserved biomechanical properties and cytocompatibility for human tendon surgery indications.
Chronic and acute tendon injuries are frequent afflictions, for which treatment is often long and unsatisfactory. When facing extended injuries, matrices and scaffolds with sufficient biomechanical properties are required for surgical repair and could additionally serve as supports for cellular therapies to improve healing. In this study, protocols of either commonly used detergents only (SDS 1%, Triton 1%, TBP 1%, and Tween-20 1%) or a combination of freeze/thaw (F/T) cycles with decellularization agents (NaCl 1M, ddH <sub>2</sub> O) were evaluated for the decellularization of horse equine superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) for hand flexor or extensor tendon reconstruction. Decellularization efficiency was assessed microscopically by histological staining (HE, DAPI) and DNA quantification. Macroscopical structure and biomechanical integrity of the tendon matrices were further assessed by gross observation, histological staining (SR), and mechanical testing (ultimate strain and stress, Young's modulus, energy to failure) for select protocols. Decellularization with hypertonic NaCl 1M in association with F/T cycles produced the most robust tendon matrices, which were nontoxic after 10 days for subsequent recellularization with human fetal progenitor tendon cells (hFPTs). This standardized protocol uses a less aggressive decellularization agent than current practice, which allows subsequent reseeding with allogenic cells, therefore making them very suitable and bioengineered tendon matrices for human tendon reconstruction in the clinic
The role of traditional knowledge and access to genetic resources in biodiversity conservation in Southeast Asia
Psychophysiology-based QoE assessment : a survey
We present a survey of psychophysiology-based assessment for quality of experience (QoE) in advanced multimedia technologies. We provide a classification of methods relevant to QoE and describe related psychological processes, experimental design considerations, and signal analysis techniques. We summarize multimodal techniques and discuss several important aspects of psychophysiology-based QoE assessment, including the synergies with psychophysical assessment and the need for standardized experimental design. This survey is not considered to be exhaustive but serves as a guideline for those interested to further explore this emerging field of research
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