Sorry Not Sorry: (Non-) Apology, Satire, and the Vacuum

This essay considers the theme of apology and what happens when the demand for apology is subverted, using the Vacuum newspaper as a case study. I consider the argument that played out in 2004 between the Vacuum and Belfast City Council, which partially funded its production. The Vacuum’s publication of themed double issues entitled ‘God’ and ‘Satan’ provoked the ire of conservative Council Members who proposed that the publication's editors must apologize to Members of the Council and the citizens of Belfast for the offence they had caused. In so doing, the publication secured its place as one of the most controversial Northern Irish print publications of recent years. In their response to the Council’s demand – a themed ‘Sorry’ issue – the Vacuum’s editors struck a defiant tone. Media discourse around the ‘Sorry’ issue of the Vacuum has centred on the element of public spectacle it generated, but this essay represents a reconsideration of its importance. I read it as informed by an ethics of resistance. By refusing to be co-opted into making a sham apology, the ‘Sorry’ issue illuminates the crucial importance of apology in the place and time of its production – in a country still reeling from the violence of the Troubles.

Nanometric transverse displacement metrology in range of hundreds of micrometers with polarization-encoded metasurface

A long range, high precision and compact transverse displacement metrology method is of crucial importance in many research areas. We propose and experimentally demonstrate the first prototype polarization-encoded metasurface for ultrasensitive transverse displacement metrology. The transverse displacement of the metasurface is encoded into the polarization direction of the outgoing light via the Pancharatnam-Berry phase. By measuring the output light polarization direction, the metasurface’s position can be readout directly according to the Malus law. We experimentally demonstrate nanometer displacement resolution with the uncertainty on the order of 100 pm for a large measurement range of 200 µm with the total area of the metasurface being within 900 µm x 900 µm. The measurement range can be extended further using a larger metasurface. Our work largely broadens the existing application areas of metasurface and opens new avenue of applying metasurface in the field of ultrasensitive optical transverse displacement metrology.

Heterogeneous Ice Growth in Micron-Sized Water Droplets Due to Spontaneous Freezing

Understanding how ice nucleates and grows into larger crystals is of crucial importance for many research fields. The purpose of this study was to shed light on the phase and structure of ice once a nucleus is formed inside a metastable water droplet. Wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) was performed on micron-sized droplets evaporatively cooled to temperatures where homogeneous nucleation occurs. We found that for our weak hits ice grows more cubic compared to the strong hits that are completely hexagonal. Due to efficient heat removal caused by evaporation, we propose that the cubicity of ice at the vicinity of the droplet’s surface is higher than for ice formed within the bulk of the droplet. Moreover, the Bragg peaks were classified based on their geometrical shapes and positions in reciprocal space, which showed that ice grows heterogeneously with a significant population of peaks indicative of truncation rods and crystal defects. Frequent occurrences of the (100) reflection with extended in-planar structure suggested that large planar ice crystals form at the droplet surface, then fracture into smaller domains to accommodate to the curvature of the droplets. Planar faulting due to misaligned domains would explain the increased cubicity close to the droplet surface.

Zoster infection after vaccination with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine: A case report

Herein, we present the case of a 55-year-old patient who developed a severe zoster reaction after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Although zoster reactivation has already been observed with various vaccines, the extent and length of this reaction raise serious concerns. Hopefully, the outcome of this patient was favorable. The case of this patient, who could have only received a single dose of the vaccine, suggests that immunity after this type of vaccine vanishes rapidly and booster shots will be of crucial importance in the future.

Investigation of Green Criteria With Clustering Analysis in Green Supplier Selection

Green supplier selection has a crucial importance for businesses. In the past, the selection of suppliers was solely based on conventional criteria such as cost, quality, and flexibility whereas expectations of businesses transformed in today's world on grounds of raised environmental awareness, public pressure, and regulations. Alternatives called green suppliers sensitive to the environment, preserving the ecological balance, managing wastes, and preventing pollution increased in value. This study analyzes practices on the selection of green suppliers. The articles between 2014 and 2021 were analyzed from the perspective of green criteria. The green criteria in the 50 articles determined are divided into 28 groups. With the k-means algorithm, these criteria groups are divided into four clusters, which was aimed to analyze the usage frequency of green criteria. This study is intended to contribute to green supplier selection practices in academia and industry in the future.

Close enough – obrazy porażki transformacji ustrojowej w Polsce lat dziewięćdziesiątych XX wieku na przykładzie "Psów" Władysława Pasikowskiego i "Szamanki" Andrzeja Żuławskiego [“Close Enough”: Images of the Failure of the 1990s’ Political Transformation in Poland as Exemplified by Władysław Pasikowski’s "Psy" [Pigs] and Andrzej Żuławski’s "Szamanka" [She-Shaman]]

“Close Enough”: Images of the Failure of the 1990s’ Political Transformation in Poland as Exemplified by Władysław Pasikowski’s Psy [Pigs] and Andrzej Żuławski’s Szamanka [She-Shaman]This article problematizes the Polish cinema of the 1990s by analyzing it in terms of the aesthetic of failure. Of crucial importance for that interpretation is the postcolonial perspective. Seen from this perspective, Poland of the political transformation period appears a land of unfulfilled dreams of being-like-the-West. One of the spheres where this is visible is the Polish cinematography of that time.Close enough – obrazy porażki transformacji ustrojowej w Polsce lat dziewięćdziesiątych XX wieku na przykładzie Psów Władysława Pasikowskiego i Szamanki Andrzeja ŻuławskiegoNiniejszy tekst problematyzuje kwestię polskiego kina lat dziewięćdziesiątych XX wieku w kategoriach estetyki porażki. Kluczowe znaczenie dla tego rozpoznania ma perspektywa postkolonialna, w której Polska czasów transformacji jawi się jako kraina niespełnionych marzeń o byciu-jak-Zachód, co widać m.in. w kinematografii tamtego okresu.

The Relationship between Energy Production and GDP: Evidence from Selected European Economies

The aim of this article was to investigate the possible relationship between energy production and GDP growth. This problem is of a crucial importance because as a numerous studies show, it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to the question of whether there is a relationship between GDP and energy production and what direction it takes if it exists, i.e., whether energy production drives GDP growth or GDP growth drives energy production. The research conducted by the authors used data on hourly power production in MWh/h averaged over a whole day, which were converted into total quarterly production. The data were divided in terms of the type of energy into conventional, renewable, other and total. Next, the correlation coefficient was calculated for proper data sets in order to determine whether there was a correlation between the variables. The main conclusion from the study is the fact that a correlation measured with the Pearson correlation coefficient is not reflected in the data. Changes in power production independent of the source of power do not influence the GDP directly. Naturally, in some countries, the connection between power production and GDP was stronger; however, comparing this to the rest of the researched countries, where correlation was low or even extremely low, it can be seen that the relationship is random. This study should be seen as an introductory one with a perspective of broadening research in terms of causality between variables, which, nowadays, has great application in terms of climate change and sustainable development.

Detection and Tracking of UAV Targets Using Deep Learning

In recent years, the use of Flying drones and modern Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with the latest techniques and capabilities for both civilian and military applications growing sustainably on a large scope, Drones could autonomously fly in several environments and locations and could perform various missions, providing a system for UAV detection and tracking represent crucial importance. This paper discusses Designing Detection and Tracking method as a part of Aero-vehicle Defense System (ADS) for UAVs using Deep learning algorithms. The small Radar cross-section (RCS) foot-print makes a problem for Traditional methods and Aero-vehicle Defense systems to distinguish between birds, stealth fighters, and UAVs incomparable of size and RCS characteristics, the detection is a challenge in low RCS targets because the chance of detection is incredibly less moreover, in the existence of interference and clutter which reduce the performance of detection process rapidly.

Embedded Genres

The concept of the embedded genre is of crucial importance if we want to understand the way genres interact, within any given text, within any given genre, and in forming larger genre patterns. By discussing a tentative distinction between three kinds of embedding, “recontextualized embedding” (from Bakhtin), “contextualized embedding” (from Orlikowski & Yates), and “element genre” (from Swales and Martin), the present study initiates an unraveling of some of the intricacies involved in genre embedding. This demonstrates why genre research as well as studies of written communication can profit from integrating an expanded understanding of genre embedding in its theoretical deliberations and analytical work.

The domestic and foreign policy of the Canadian Liberals under Justin Trudeau in 2015-2020: achievements and challenges

The key idea of this article is that, for the first time, on the example of the domestic and foreign policy of the Canadian Liberals, led by Justin Trudeau, we discuss the problems and prospects of Canadian Liberalism. The recent defeat of the Conservative Party of Canada in the 2019 parliamentary elections gave the impression that only the Liberal Party contributes to the prosperity of the modern Canadian state. The closest attention to the activities of the Liberal Party allows us to identify its absolute advantages and corresponding shortcomings. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to analyze and investigate both the indisputable advantages and current shortcomings of the Liberal Party in power, and against this background to determine the effectiveness, or vice versa, the incompetence of Canadian liberalism as a political ideology. At the same time, according to the author, it is necessary to separate objective and subjective factors associated with the presence of liberals in power. The objective ones are related to how the Liberals program settings meet the needs of the time, while the subjective ones characterize how an individual, and, above all, the party leader, implements the partys requests and the electorates hopes. In this regard, the reputation of its leader is of crucial importance. On the basis of the considered source base, and, first of all, the electoral programs of Liberals under Trudeau, since coming to power in 2015. In the first part of the article, the author presents a comparative analysis of the results of the liberals in the parliamentary elections in 2015 and 2019, explaining the reasons for the victory of the latter, and obtaining, respectively, a parliamentary majority, and then a minority. The second part of the article is devoted directly to the aspects of the domestic and foreign policy of the Liberals in 2015-2020. The author comes to the conclusion that the Canadian liberalism, implemented by Justin Trudeau is currently the leading political ideology that unites a significant part of the electorate.