The Union of Regeneration: the Anti-Bolshevik Underground in Revolutionary Russia, 1917-1919

PhDThe Union of Regeneration has been chosen as the main focal point of this thesis, a study of underground political organisations in revolutionary Russia who came about as a result of fragmentation of Russia's major political parties in 1917 and sought to oppose the Bolshevik takeover of power. The thesis traces the origins of the underground in the political turmoil of 1917 before detailing how each group was formed, and how a number of plans were made, most of which hinged on the extensive involvement of Allied interventionist forces, to form an anti-Bolshevik and anti-German front in the wake of the signature of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The efforts of the Union of Regeneration, the National Centre, and other groups such as the Union for the Defence of the Fatherland and Freedom are presented as a series of failures which took place mostly in 1918. By examining the reasons for each of these failures, this thesis hopes to focus not on external factors, such as the lack of Allied intervention to assist the underground groups or the machinations of reactionary forces against them, in order to reveal the fundamental failings of the underground movement as a whole. The underground lacked any organisational discipline or coherence, its ranks were easily entered on a loose, `personal' basis and there was little unity of purpose between its members, save the removal of Soviet power. Consequently, plans made were too vague, agreements were too easily broken, and alliances were too easily ruptured. This thesis, then, hopes to demonstrate that although when considered together the anti-Bolshevik underground constituted a genuine potential threat to the Bolshevik regime, that it failed to act as one contributed greatly to it being easily marginalised by the extremes of left and right

Nanostructured Device Designs for Enhanced Performance in CdS/Cu\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3eS Heterojunction Solar Cells

Nanostructured CdS/Cu2S devices have been simulated using SCAPS-1D to demonstrate enhanced performance over traditional planar device structures. Two designs were examined: a nanowire CdS/planar Cu2S device and a nanowire CdS/nanowire Cu2S device. The addition of nanowires to a device had been previously demonstrated to improve device performance in a nanowire CdS/planar CdTe device by decreasing the amount of light absorbed by the CdS window layer, thus allowing more light to reach the absorber layer. Additionally, the total number of interface states can be greatly reduced due to the decreased total surface area between the window and absorber layers. The nanowire CdS/planar Cu2S device showed an increase in efficiency of 0.88% over an optimized planar device. The nanowire CdS/nanowire Cu2S device showed an increase in efficiency of 1.16% over the optimized planar device. This shows that there is a significant benefit to the addition of nanostructures to CdS/Cu2S solar cell devices

Structure of Singular Sets Local to Cylindrical Singularities for Stationary Harmonic Maps and Mean Curvature Flows

In this paper we prove structure results for the singular sets of stationary harmonic maps and mean curvature flows local to particular singularities. The original work is contained in Chapter 5 and Chapter 8. Chapters 1-5 are concerned with energy minimising maps and stationary harmonic maps. Chapters 6-8 are concerned with mean curvature flows and Brakke flows. In the case of stationary harmonic maps we consider a singularity at which the spine dimension is maximal, and such that the weak tangent map is homotopically non-trivial, and has minimal density amongst singularities of maximal spine dimen- sion. Local to such a singularity we show the singular set is a bi-Hölder continuous homeomorphism of the unit disk of dimension equal to the maximal spine dimension. A weak tangent map is translation invariant along a subspace, and invariant under dilations, so it completely defined by its values on a sphere. Such a map is said to be homotopically non-trivial if the mapping of a sphere into some target manifold cannot be deformed by a homotopy to a constant map. For an n-dimensional mean curvature flow we consider a singularity at which we can find a shrinking cylinder as a tangent flow, that collapses on an (n−1)-dimensional plane. Local to such a singularity we show that all singularities have such a cylindrical tangent, or else have lower Gaussian density than that of the shrinking cylinder. The subset of cylindrical singularities can be shown to be contained in a finite union of parabolic (n − 1)-dimensional Lipschitz submanifolds. In the case that the mean curvature flow arises from elliptic regularisation we can show that all singularities local to a cylindrical singularity with (n − 1)-dimensional spine are either cylindrical singularities with (n − 1)-dimensional spine, or contained in a parabolic Hausdorff (n − 2)-dimensional set

Structure of Singular Sets Local to Cylindrical Singularities for Stationary Harmonic Maps and Mean Curvature Flows

In this paper we prove structure results for the singular sets of stationary harmonic maps and mean curvature flows local to particular singularities. The original work is contained in Chapter 5 and Chapter 8. Chapters 1-5 are concerned with energy minimising maps and stationary harmonic maps. Chapters 6-8 are concerned with mean curvature flows and Brakke flows. In the case of stationary harmonic maps we consider a singularity at which the spine dimension is maximal, and such that the weak tangent map is homotopically non-trivial, and has minimal density amongst singularities of maximal spine dimen- sion. Local to such a singularity we show the singular set is a bi-Hölder continuous homeomorphism of the unit disk of dimension equal to the maximal spine dimension. A weak tangent map is translation invariant along a subspace, and invariant under dilations, so it completely defined by its values on a sphere. Such a map is said to be homotopically non-trivial if the mapping of a sphere into some target manifold cannot be deformed by a homotopy to a constant map. For an n-dimensional mean curvature flow we consider a singularity at which we can find a shrinking cylinder as a tangent flow, that collapses on an (n−1)-dimensional plane. Local to such a singularity we show that all singularities have such a cylindrical tangent, or else have lower Gaussian density than that of the shrinking cylinder. The subset of cylindrical singularities can be shown to be contained in a finite union of parabolic (n − 1)-dimensional Lipschitz submanifolds. In the case that the mean curvature flow arises from elliptic regularisation we can show that all singularities local to a cylindrical singularity with (n − 1)-dimensional spine are either cylindrical singularities with (n − 1)-dimensional spine, or contained in a parabolic Hausdorff (n − 2)-dimensional set

The death of a transport regime? The future of electric bicycles and transportation pathways for sustainable mobility in China

This paper has an empirical and theoretical focus: to empirically assess electric bicycle development in China, and to theoretically test and apply the “Multi-Level Perspective” on transitions and innovation. We examine the electric bicycle (e-bike) sector in China to understand the future prospects for urban mobility and the interaction of e-bikes as a form of vernacular technology within the existing transport regime. For this purpose, we address the following questions: 1) What factors will influence the future adoption of e-bikes? 2) How are alternative travel modes evaluated against e-bikes? 3) Will e-bikes become a popular sustainable mobility mode in the future or only an intermediary mode to cars? To provide answers, we conducted a survey in Nanjing city in order to assess the attitude of e-bike users, other mode users (e.g. pedestrians; bicycle users), and the traffic police. We then analyse responses from this survey through the lens of sociotechnical transitions theory, notably the “Multi-Level Perspective” notions of niches, regimes, and landscape. The paper explores the influential factors underpinning future e-bike adoption and the decision-making calculus behind alternative mode choices. Generalised Linear Models are used to investigate the factors influencing future e-bike adoption and alternative mode choices based on the survey data. We conclude that e-bikes are an intermediary mode on Nanjing’s motorisation pathway, and that they therefore may eventually reflect a dying regime

RealKIE: Five Novel Datasets for Enterprise Key Information Extraction

We introduce RealKIE, a benchmark of five challenging datasets aimed at advancing key information extraction methods, with an emphasis on enterprise applications. The datasets include a diverse range of documents including SEC S1 Filings, US Non-disclosure Agreements, UK Charity Reports, FCC Invoices, and Resource Contracts. Each presents unique challenges: poor text serialization, sparse annotations in long documents, and complex tabular layouts. These datasets provide a realistic testing ground for key information extraction tasks like investment analysis and legal data processing. In addition to presenting these datasets, we offer an in-depth description of the annotation process, document processing techniques, and baseline modeling approaches. This contribution facilitates the development of NLP models capable of handling practical challenges and supports further research into information extraction technologies applicable to industry-specific problems. The annotated data and OCR outputs are available to download at https://indicodatasolutions.github.io/RealKIE/ code to reproduce the baselines will be available shortly

Benign mobility? Electric bicycles, sustainable transport consumption behaviour and socio-technical transitions in Nanjing, China

In this paper, we ask whether electric bicycle (e-bike) use in urban China is a temporary phase or an embedded form of sustainable mobility. A survey was conducted in Nanjing in order to assess the characteristics and attitudes of electric bicycle users and other mode users (e.g. pedestrians; car drivers). Based on over 1000 responses a Logit Model was used to analyse current and future mode choice. The results show that electric bicycles are not necessarily displacing cars on a substantial scale, but are rather displacing the ‘benign’ modes of walking, traditional bicycling, and using the bus. We conclude that electric bicycles are helping to enable mobility-dependent lifestyles that may in the future be supported by cars, rather than offering a true departure from carbon-centred, motorized forms of transport

Modified C-17 Taxi Procedures: A Fuel Cost Savings Exploration

Purpose — This study aims to explore the viability of using C-17 reduced-engine taxi procedures from a cost savings and capability perspective. Design/methodology/approach — This study model expected engine fuel flow based on the number of operational engines, aircraft gross weight (GW) and average aircraft groundspeed. Using this model, the research executes a cost savings simulation estimating the expected annual savings produced by the proposed taxi methodology. Operational and safety risks are also considered. Findings — The results indicate that significant fuel and costs savings are available via the employment of reduced-engine taxi procedures. On an annual basis, the mobility air force has the capacity to save approximately 1.18 million gallons of jet fuel per year ($2.66m in annual fuel costs at current rates) without significant risk to operations. The two-engine taxi methodology has the ability to generate capable taxi thrust for a maximum GW C-17 with nearly zero risks. Research limitations/implications — This research was limited to C-17 procedures and efficiency improvements specifically, although it suggests that other military aircraft could benefit from these findings as is evident in the commercial airline industry. Practical implications — This research recommends coordination with the original equipment manufacturer to rework checklists and flight manuals, development of a fleet-wide training program and evaluation of future aircraft recapitalization requirements intended to exploit and maximize aircraft surface operation savings. Originality/value — If implemented, the proposed changes would benefit the society as government resources could be spent elsewhere and the impact on the environment would be reduced. This research conducted a rigorous analysis of the suitability of implementing a civilian airline’s best practice into US Air Force operations