425 research outputs found
Time and Its Object: A Perspective from Amerindian and Melanesian Societies on the Temporality of Images
This volume examines the way objects and images relate to and shape notions of temporality and history. Bringing together ethnographic studies from the Lowlands of Central and South America and Melanesia, it explores the temporality inhering in images and artefacts from a comparative perspective. The chapters focus on how peoples in both regions ‘live in’ and ‘navigate’ time each through their distinctive systems of images and the processes and actions by which these come to be manifest in objects. With original theoretical and ethnographic contributions, the book is valuable reading for scholars interested in visual and material culture and in anthropological approaches to time
Towards Digital Social Infrastructure? Digital Neighborly Connectedness as a Social Resource
Social infrastructure is made up of various material as well as non-material goods, ranging from venues for leisure such as movie theaters to indispensable everyday commodities, like sidewalks and streets. This is true both for urban and rural areas. However, the increasing emergence of digital aspects of social infrastructure has seemed to go unnoticed to some extent, with research specifically focusing on these digital aspects of social infrastructure being scarce at best—even though digitalization is currently a major emerging meta-development worldwide. The goal of our contribution is therefore to investigate the digital sphere and integrate it into the concept of social infrastructure. Drawing on descriptive findings from a multi-sited, community-based survey of residents in four rural areas in Germany (N = 413) as well as from 40 qualitative interviews, we present an integrative and expanded conceptualization of what we term a tangible digital social infrastructure. To do so, we examine digital neighborly connectedness as a social resource during the Covid-19 pandemic as a case study. We argue that digital neighborly connectedness served as both an integral part of on-site social infrastructure and as a social resource, especially during pandemic times. We discuss our results in light of current research on social infrastructure, with a specific focus on the scope of what counts as social infrastructure, as well as current discourse on social infrastructure in rural areas
Quantum Criticality in doped CePd_1-xRh_x Ferromagnet
CePd_1-xRh_x alloys exhibit a continuous evolution from ferromagnetism (T_C=
6.5 K) at x = 0 to a mixed valence (MV) state at x = 1. We have performed a
detailed investigation on the suppression of the ferromagnetic (F) phase in
this alloy using dc-(\chi_dc) and ac-susceptibility (\chi_ac), specific heat
(C_m), resistivity (\rho) and thermal expansion (\beta) techniques. Our results
show a continuous decrease of T_C (x) with negative curvature down to T_C = 3K
at x*= 0.65, where a positive curvature takes over. Beyond x*, a cusp in cac is
traced down to T_C* = 25 mK at x = 0.87, locating the critical concentration
between x = 0.87 and 0.90. The quantum criticality of this region is recognized
by the -log(T/T_0) dependence of C_m/T, which transforms into a T^-q (~0.5) one
at x = 0.87. At high temperature, this system shows the onset of valence
instability revealed by a deviation from Vegard's law (at x_V~0.75) and
increasing hybridization effects on high temperature \chi_dc and \rho.
Coincidentally, a Fermi liquid contribution to the specific heat arises from
the MV component, which becomes dominant at the CeRh limit. In contrast to
antiferromagnetic systems, no C_m/T flattening is observed for x > x_cr rather
the mentioned power law divergence, which coincides with a change of sign of
\beta. The coexistence of F and MV components and the sudden changes in the T
dependencies are discussed in the context of randomly distributed magnetic and
Kondo couplings.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure
Universally diverging Grueneisen parameter and the magnetocaloric effect close to quantum critical points
At a generic quantum critical point, the thermal expansion is more
singular than the specific heat . Consequently, the "Gr\"uneisen ratio'',
\GE=\alpha/c_p, diverges. When scaling applies, \GE \sim T^{-1/(\nu z)} at
the critical pressure , providing a means to measure the scaling
dimension of the most relevant operator that pressure couples to; in the
alternative limit and , \GE \sim \frac{1}{p-p_c} with a
prefactor that is, up to the molar volume, a simple {\it universal} combination
of critical exponents. For a magnetic-field driven transition, similar
relations hold for the magnetocaloric effect .
Finally, we determine the corrections to scaling in a class of metallic quantum
critical points.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; general discussion on how the Grueneisen exponent
measures the scaling dimension of the most relevant operator at any QCP is
expande
Kondo-Cluster-Glass State near a Ferromagnetic Quantum Phase Transition
We report on a comprehensive study of CePdRh poly- and single crystals close to the ferromagnetic instability by
means of low-temperature ac susceptibility, magnetization and volume thermal
expansion. The signature of ferromagnetism in this heavy-fermion system can be
traced from 6.6 K in CePd down to 25 mK for . Despite pronounced
non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) effects in both, specific heat and thermal expansion,
the Gr\"uneisen ratio {\it does not} diverge as , providing evidence
for the absence of a quantum critical point. Instead, a peculiar
"Kondo-cluster-glass" state is found for , and the NFL effects in
the specific heat, ac susceptibility and magnetization are compatible with the
quantum Griffiths phase scenario.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Dry electrodes for surface electromyography based on architectured titanium thin films
Electrodes of silver/silver chloride (Ag/AgCl) are dominant in clinical settings for surface electromyography (sEMG) recordings. These electrodes need a conductive electrolyte gel to ensure proper performance, which dries during long-term measurements inhibiting the immediate electrode’s reuse and is often linked to skin irritation episodes. To overcome these drawbacks, a new type of dry electrodes based on architectured titanium (Ti) thin films were proposed in this work. The architectured microstructures were zigzags, obtained with different sputtering incidence angles (α), which have been shown to directly influence the films’ porosity and electrical conductivity. The electrodes were prepared using thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and stainless-steel (SS) substrates, and their performance was tested in male volunteers (athletes) by recording electromyography (EMG) signals, preceded by electrode-skin impedance measurements. In general, the results showed that both SS and TPU dry electrodes can be used for sEMG recordings. While SS electrodes almost match the signal quality parameters of reference electrodes of Ag/AgCl, the performance of electrodes based on TPU functionalized with a Ti thin film still requires further improvements. Noteworthy was the clear increase of the signal to noise ratios when the thin films’ microstructure evolved from normal growth towards zigzag microstructures, meaning that further tailoring of the thin film microstructure is a possible route to achieve optimized performances. Finally, the developed dry electrodes are reusable and allow for multiple EMG recordings without being replaced.This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2019 and Bilateral Project FCT/DAAD 2016/2017 “Sunshine” (No. 3340). Joel Borges acknowledges FCT for his Researcher Contract from project NANO4BIO POCI-01-0145-FEDER-032299, with FCT reference PTDC/FIS-MAC/32299/2017. Marco S. Rodrigues acknowledges FCT for his PhD Scholarship, SFRH/BD/118684/2016
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