A multi-scaling approach to predict hydraulic damage of poromaterials

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of hydraulic damage and its numerical integration. Unlike the common phenomenological continuum damage mechanics approaches, the procedure introduced in this paper relies on mature concepts of homogenization, linear fracture mechanics, and thermodynamics. The model is applied to the problem of fault reactivation within resource reservoirs. The results show that propagation of weaknesses is highly driven by the contrasts of properties in porous media. In particular, it is affected by the fracture toughness of host rocks. Hydraulic damage is diffused when it takes place within extended geological units and localized at interfaces and faults.

New security notions and relations for public-key encryption

Since their introduction, the notions of indistinguishability and non-malleability have been changed and extended by different authors to support different goals. In this paper, we propose new flavors of these notions, investigate their relative strengths with respect to previous notions, and provide the full picture of relationships (i.e., implications and separations) among the security notions for public-key encryption schemes. We take into account the two general security goals of indistinguishability and non-malleability, each in the message space, key space, and hybrid message-key space to find six specific goals, a couple of them, namely complete indistinguishability and key non-malleability, are new. Then for each pair of goals, coming from the indistinguishability or non-malleability classes, we prove either an implication or a separation, completing the full picture of relationships among all these security notions. The implications and separations are respectively supported by formal proofs (i.e., reductions) in the concrete-security framework and by counterexamples.

Friends or followers? The relations between German soccer clubs and their fans on Twitter

This paper shows how soccer clubs from Germany’s first division have started to use Twitter. Analysis is based on tweets from and to club accounts as well as on follower numbers, and specific clubs are selected for case studies. This approach reveals that Twitter mirrors the conflicts between professional sports and traditional fandom.

Modelling NPO-government relations : Australian case studies

Non-profit organizations (NPOs) are major providers of services in many fields of endeavour, and often receive financial support from government. This article investigates different forms of government/nonprofit funding relationships, with the viewpoint being mainly, though not exclusively, from the perspective of the non-profit agencies. While there are a number of existing typologies of government/NPO relations, these are dated and in need of further empirical analysis and testing. The article advances an empirically derived extension to current models of government/NPO relations. A future research agenda is outlined based on the constructs that underpin typologies, rather than discrete categorization of relationships.

Composite SaaS scaling in cloud computing using a hybrid genetic algorithm

A Software-as-a-Service or SaaS can be delivered in a composite form, consisting of a set of application and data components that work together to deliver higher-level functional software. Components in a composite SaaS may need to be scaled – replicated or deleted, to accommodate the user’s load. It may not be necessary to replicate all components of the SaaS, as some components can be shared by other instances. On the other hand, when the load is low, some of the instances may need to be deleted to avoid resource underutilisation. Thus, it is important to determine which components are to be scaled such that the performance of the SaaS is still maintained. Extensive research on the SaaS resource management in Cloud has not yet addressed the challenges of scaling process for composite SaaS. Therefore, a hybrid genetic algorithm is proposed in which it utilises the problem’s knowledge and explores the best combination of scaling plan for the components. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms existing heuristic-based solutions.

On the relations and differences between Popper dimension, exclusion dimension and VC-Dimension

A high-level relationPopper dimension—( Exclusion dimension—( VC dimension—( between Karl Popper’s ideas on “falsifiability of scientific theories” and the notion of “overfitting”Overfitting in statistical learning theory can be easily traced. However, it was pointed out that at the level of technical details the two concepts are significantly different. One possible explanation that we suggest is that the process of falsification is an active process, whereas statistical learning theory is mainly concerned with supervised learningSupervised learning, which is a passive process of learning from examples arriving from a stationary distribution. We show that concepts that are closer (although still distant) to Karl Popper’s definitions of falsifiability can be found in the domain of learning using membership queries, and derive relations between Popper’s dimension, exclusion dimension, and the VC-dimensionVC dimension.

Leader-follower interactions : relations with OCB and sales productivity

Purpose Based on substitutes for leadership theory, the aim of this study is to examine followers' learning goal orientation as a moderator of relationships among transformational leadership, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and sales productivity. Design/methodology/approach Data came from 61 food and beverage attendants of a casino, and were analyzed using regression analyses. Findings Transformational leadership was positively related to both OCB and sales productivity. Learning goal orientation moderated the relationship between transformational leadership and OCB, such that transformational leadership was more strongly related to OCB among followers with a low learning goal orientation than among followers with a high learning goal orientation. Research limitations/implications Limitations of the study include the small sample size and cross-sectional research design. Practical implications Organizations could train supervisors to practice a transformational leadership style and to take followers' learning goal orientation into account. Originality/value The findings of this study suggest that, with regard to OCB, a high learning goal orientation of followers may act as a “substitute” for low levels of leaders' transformational leadership.

Invisible connections : investigating older people's emotions and social relations around objects

The advent of the Internet of Things creates an interest in how people might interrelate through and with networks of internet enabled objects. With an emphasis on fostering social connection and physical activity among older people, this preliminary study investigated objects that people over the age of 65 years viewed as significant to them. We conducted contextual interviews in people's homes about their significant objects in order to understand the role of the objects in their lives, the extent to which they fostered emotional and social connections and physical activity, and how they might be augmented through internet connection. Discussion of significant objects generated considerable emotion in the participants. We identified objects of comfort and routine, objects that exhibited status, those that fostered independence and connection, and those that symbolized relationships with loved ones. These findings lead us to consider implications for the design of interconnected objects.

Pragmatic two-way communication : a practitioner perspective on dialogue in public relations

Public relations has traditionally claimed a close association with dialogue, but this research demonstrates that formal notions of dialogue have little relevance to the real world of public relations practice. Instead, practitioners undertake pragmatic forms of two-way communication, because the constraints within which they work mean dialogue is difficult if not impossible to carry out. This qualitative research project shows that although the label of 'dialogue' has been co-opted in both the theory and practice of public relations, this claimed connection is not supported by empirical evidence.

Happy talk? Toward understanding the significance of dialogue to the practice of public relations

The significance of dialogue to public relations is a persistent and widespread theme in both industry and the academy (International Communication Association, 2013). Dialogue is integral to a number of theoretical perspectives in public relations, from the instrumentalist/functionalist through to the rise of the influence of the two-way symmetric model (Grunig & Hunt, 1984). The emergence of the relational perspective – with its emphasis on dialogue as a means of achieving mutually-beneficial relationships between organisations and stakeholders – brought attention to dialogue as a discrete concept (see, for example, Ledingham, 2003; and 2006). Dialogue continues to be an implicit element in the development of new perspectives on public relations, such as Holtzhausen and Voto’s (2002) postmodern approach...

The Healthy Trends of International Relations Research

As the end of the Cold War approached in 1989, Caroline Thomas argued: “It is important that the discipline [International Relations, IR] should address the issue of disease and more broadly, health, not simply to facilitate containment of disease transmission across international borders but also because central notions of justice, equity, efficiency and order are involved” (1989:273).1 Ten years later, Craig Murphy echoed these sentiments. Murphy (2001: 352) proposed that IR had yet to grapple with the political consequences of growing inequality between the world’s rich and poor, and areas such as health—where these inequalities were most stark—should become the field’s core business. How IR’s theories and methods would approach these issues was less clear. Bettcher and Yach (1998) cautioned that IR would be unable to develop progressive research projects that explored global health diplomacy as a global public good without adopting new perspectives and methods. Others warned that the expansion of security studies into areas such as global health would weaken the intellectual coherency of the field (Walt 1991:213). Taking its cue from the recent Ng and Prah Ruger (2011) study, this paper returns to these concerns to briefly explore key trends and potential future concerns of research in IR on health...

Twentieth Anniversary Special Issue – International relations: an Oceanic perspective

In his sweeping survey of the Australian study of international relations, Martin Indyk1 claimed that ‘a common set of assumptions tends to underpin the work of almost all Australian scholars in the discipline’. If that assertion could have been plausibly extended to the whole region one generation ago, it certainly cannot now. The International Relations scholarship emanating from the Oceanic region regales in a diversity of theoretical, methodological and ethical assumptions. This diversity certainly emerged before the first Oceanic Conference on International Studies (OCIS) was convened in Canberra in 2004, however, subsequent conferences in Melbourne (2006) and Brisbane (2008) have galvanised and enriched that diversity. The state of the discipline in the region is as strong and healthy now as it has ever been, as is its integration into the global discipline, something we believe is reflected in the contributions collected in this Special Issue of Global Change, Peace and Security....

What contribution can International Relations make to the evolving global health agenda?

This article presents two approaches that have dominated International Relations in their approach to the international politics of health. The statist approach, which is primarily security-focused, seeks to link health initiatives to a foreign or defence policy remit. The globalist approach, in contrast, seeks to advance health not because of its intrinsic security value but because it advances the well-being and rights of individuals. This article charts the evolution of these approaches and demonstrates why both have the potential to shape our understanding of the evolving global health agenda. It examines how the statist and globalist perspectives have helped shape contemporary initiatives in global health governance and suggests that there is evidence of an emerging convergence between the two perspectives. This convergence is particularly clear in the articulation of a number of UN initiatives in this area—especially the One World, One Health Strategic Framework and the Oslo Ministerial Declaration (2007) which inspired the first UN General Assembly resolution on global health and foreign policy in 2009 and the UN Secretary-General's note ‘Global health and foreign policy: strategic opportunities and challenges'. What remains to be seen is whether this convergence will deliver on securing states’ interest long enough to promote the interests of the individuals who require global efforts to deliver local health improvements.

OCIS and Beyond: International Relations in Australia: Introduction

The Oceanic Conference for International Studies (OCIS) has grown from a small, mostly Australian and New Zealand, affair to an international biennial gathering of scholars from North America, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. Established by a small organising committee drawn from universities across Australia and New Zealand, the principal aim of OCIS was to bring together the Oceanic International Relations (IR) community in an organic and inclusive fashion. There would be no secretariat, minimal bureaucracy, costs would be kept as low as possible, and assistance provided to graduate students. The first OCIS, held at the Australian National University in 2004, proved more successful than the organisers had envisaged. The conference continued to grow at its subsequent meetings at the University of Melbourne (2006) and the University of Queensland (2008). With each conference, a new organising committee was established to take carriage of OCIS. At the 2008 meeting, the question of creating a permanent organising meeting and beginning the transition towards a professional association was discussed in detail. If the transition happens at all, it will be gradual, organic, inclusive, and will prioritise the maintenance of the sense of community OCIS has helped establish. Whilst OCIS itself has flourished, associated initiatives such as OCIS working groups and the OCIS newsletter and listserv have withered on the vine, confirming the original organising committee’s view that endeavours such as this will only prosper to the extent that they are derived and driven from the community as a whole. In 2010, OCIS will hold its first conference in New Zealand, hosted by the University of Auckland...

Open-air direct current plasma jet : scaling up, uniformity, and cellular control

Atmospheric-pressure plasma jets are commonly used in many fields from medicine to nanotechnology, yet the issue of scaling the discharges up to larger areas without compromising the plasma uniformity remains a major challenge. In this paper, we demonstrate a homogenous cold air plasmaglow with a large cross-section generated by a direct current power supply. There is no risk of glow-to-arc transitions, and the plasmaglow appears uniform regardless of the gap between the nozzle and the surface being processed. Detailed studies show that both the position of the quartz tube and the gas flow rate can be used to control the plasma properties. Further investigation indicates that the residual charges trapped on the inner surface of the quartz tube may be responsible for the generation of the air plasma plume with a large cross-section. The spatially resolved optical emission spectroscopy reveals that the air plasma plume is uniform as it propagates out of the nozzle. The remarkable improvement of the plasma uniformity is used to improve the bio-compatibility of a glass coverslip over a reasonably large area. This improvement is demonstrated by a much more uniform and effective attachment and proliferation of human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK 293) cells on the plasma-treated surface.