Effects of Structural Dimension Variation on the Vibration of MEMS Ring-Based Gyroscopes

This study investigated the effects of structural dimension variation arising from fabrication imperfections or active structural design on the vibration characteristics of a (100) single crystal silicon (SCS) ring-based Coriolis vibratory gyroscope. A mathematical model considering the geometrical irregularities and the anisotropy of Young’s modulus was developed via Lagrange’s equations for simulating the dynamical behavior of an imperfect ring-based gyroscope. The dynamical analyses are focused on the effects on the frequency split between two vibration modes of interest as well as the rotation of the principal axis of the 2θ mode pair, leading to modal coupling and the degradation of gyroscopic sensitivity. While both anisotropic Young’s modulus and nonideal deep trench verticality affect the frequency difference between two vibration modes, they have little contribution to deflecting the principal axis of the 2θ mode pair. However, the 4θ variations in the width of both the ring and the supporting beams cause modal coupling to occur and the degenerate 2θ mode pair to split in frequency. To aid the optimal design of MEMS ring-based gyroscopic sensors that has relatively high robustness to fabrication tolerance, a geometrical compensation based on the developed model is demonstrated to identify the geometries of the ring and the suspension.

How closeness matters: the role of geographical proximity in social capital development and knowledge sharing in SMEs

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impacts of geographical proximity on social capital development through the inter-relationship between three social capital dimensions (structural, relational and cognitive dimension) and the knowledge sharing between small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The authors empirically test a main hypothesis that the mechanism of social capital development that subsequently results in tacit knowledge sharing is different for SME buyer-supplier partners across their different geographical distances. Design/methodology/approach Multiple-group analysis in structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to test the research hypotheses using data collected from approximately 200 SMEs in Thailand’s food industry. Findings At a great geographical distance, the structural dimension impacts the cognitive dimension only in an indirect way through a relational dimension, which subsequently leads to knowledge sharing between SME buyer-supplier partners. At close geographical proximity, while the indirect impact of structural dimension on cognitive dimension through a relational dimension is still presented as it is in a great geographical distance, structural dimension has a positive and direct impact on the cognitive dimension as a complementary way to jointly reinforce knowledge sharing between SME partners. Among distant SME partners, the relational dimension shows a stronger impact on the cognitive dimension. In contrast, the direct influence of structural, relational and cognitive dimensions on knowledge sharing is identical, regardless of geographical distance. Practical implications The managers of SMEs can design their network-building approach in such a way that different location partners can enhance knowledge sharing. Policymakers could consider these results as a guideline when imposing SME development policies and geographical cluster policies in emerging economies. Originality/value This study provides empirical evidence that demonstrates how geographical proximity between SME partners in an emerging economy influences their social proximity through the lens of social capital development mechanism and thus leads to knowledge sharing between them.

Defamiliarizing Technology, Habituation, and the Need for a Structuralist Approach

In response to my article “Earth, Technology, Language”, Christopher Müller asks whether use-oriented theory and Wittgensteinian language can capture the structural relations of power that shape habituation and argues that digital media do not provide opportunities for empowerment and democracy because there is no co-ownership. In my reply I argue that I have shown that this can be done with the broader conception of use I propose, that the grammar of technology should also be understood in terms of implicit knowledge, and that technology, like language, also has a public dimension: I claim that there is no such thing as a private technology or private power, and that some degree of co-ownership or resistance is possible. In the second part of the paper I reply to Bas de Boer’s questioning of my criticism of postsphenomenology. I insist that postphenomenology does not have the full instrumentarium to carry out an adequate and comprehensive analysis of the social dimension of technology use, and that it is important to attend to the structural dimension of technology, with or without use of the term ‘transcendental’. I clarify my use of the term as referring to conditions of possibility.

Structural bioinformatics survey on disease-inducing missense mutations

Understanding the molecular mechanisms that correlate pathologies with missense mutations is of critical importance for disease risk estimations and for devising personalized therapies. Thus, we have performed a bioinformatic survey of ClinVar, a database of human genomic variations, to find signals that can account for missense mutation pathogenicity. Arginine resulted as the most frequently replaced amino acid both in benign and pathogenic mutations. By adding the structural dimension to this investigation to increase its resolution, we found that arginine mutations occurring at the protein–DNA interface increase pathogenicity 6.5 times with respect to benign variants. Glycine is the second amino acid among all the pathological missense mutations. Necessarily replaced by larger amino acids, glycine substitutions perturb the structural stability of proteins and, therefore, their functions, being mostly located in buried protein moieties. Arginine and glycine appear as representative of missense mutations causing respective changes in interaction processes and protein structural features, the two main molecular mechanisms of genome-induced pathologies.

Who should fight domination? Individual responsibility and structural injustice

Who is responsible for fighting domination? Answering this question, I argue, requires taking the structural dimension of domination seriously to avoid unwillingly reproducing domination in the name of justice. Having cast domination as a structural injustice that refers to structurally constituted positions of power and disempowerment, I show that the outcome-based, the capacity-based and the social connection model suggested in literature on responsibility, fail to fully meet this challenge. Drawing on insights from all of them, I propose an account that proves more sensitive towards the power dynamics at play in fighting domination. It is based on a fundamental duty of justice, which gives rise to two kinds of responsibility. Dominators, dominated and peripheral agents share political responsibility for domination in virtue of reproducing domination by occupying a position within structures of dominating power; they are required to acknowledge and undermine their position of power or disempowerment rather than simply using and thus tacitly reaffirming it. Political responsibility for domination is distinct from moral responsibility for acting within contexts of domination; in fact, ignoring this difference risks reproducing rather than transforming relations of domination. Bystanders who are not implicated in reproducing domination bear limited remedial responsibility to support this struggle.

Who Is Considered Well Integrated? A Vignette Study About the Perception of Integration of Migrants

This contribution examines the relevance of the cultural, social and structural dimension of integration for the total perception of integration of migrants by the population of Switzerland. By means of a vignette study we show in our model that language ability as an aspect of cultural integration is the strongest determinant for a positive perception of integration. Second is the social integration as measured by the participation in associations, followed by the structural integration. Nationality and religion have only little relevance.