Immersive Technologies in Media: Towards the Concept of Generative Mediatization?

The practices of so-called immersive media have been developing in the past few years. The immersive media situation characteristics, infrastructure, content and social aspects have been identified through the use of a multilevel structural and functional methodology, and make it possible to fix its specificity at all levels. The new format of the immersive media situation leads to changes in approaches to the mediatization studies. In the article, to study the media immersive communicative situation a generative approach is proposed for the first time. It is relevant to topological thinking, and to the modern immanent picture of the world, when a person and technology co-create a new form. Along with the generative approach and generative design, the necessity of applying relevant paradigms and methods of psychology to form new theoretical and methodological foundations of immersive user-centric media communication is substantiated. Several new concepts and terms are introduced, in particular, the term immersive hypermediation, which is opposite to immediacy as a classical criterion of media effectiveness. As a result, the analysis of the essence and features of immersive media projects allows fixing the premises of immersive paradigm shift in mediatization studies.

Associated probabilities aggregations in multistage investment decision-making

PurposeThe attributes that influence the selection of applicants and the relevant crediting decisions are naturally distinguished by interactions and interdependencies. A new method of possibilistic discrimination analysis (MPDA) was developed for the second stage to address this phenomenon. The method generates positive and negative discrimination measures for each alternative applicant in relation to a particular attribute. The obtained discrimination pair reflects the interaction of attributes and represents intuitionistic fuzzy numbers (IFNs). For the aggregation of applicant's discrimination intuitionistic fuzzy assessments (with respect to attributes), new intuitionistic aggregation operators, such as AsP-IFOWA and AsP-IFOWG, are defined and studied. The new operators are certain extensions of the well-known Choquet integral and Yager OWA operators. The extensions, in contrast to the Choquet aggregation, take into account all possible interactions of the attributes by introducing associated probabilities of a fuzzy measure.Design/methodology/approachFor optimal planning of investments distribution and decreasing of credit risks, it is crucial to have selected projects ranked within deeply detailed investment model. To achieve this, a new approach developed in this article involves three stages. The first stage is to reduce a possibly large number of applicants for credit, and here, the method of expertons is used. At the second stage, a model of improved decisions is built, which reduces the risks of decision making. In this model, as it is in multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) + multi-objective decision-making (MODM), expert evaluations are presented in terms of utility, gain, and more. At the third stage, the authors construct the bi-criteria discrete intuitionistic fuzzy optimization problem for making the most profitable investment portfolio with new criterion: 1) Maximization of total ranking index of selected applicants' group and classical criterion and 2) Maximization of total profit of selected applicants' group.FindingsThe example gives the Pareto fronts obtained by both new operators, the Choquet integral and Yager OWA operators also well-known TOPSIS approach, for selecting applicants and awarding credits. For a fuzzy measure, the possibility measure defined on the expert evaluations of attributes is taken.Originality/valueThe comparative analysis identifies the applicants who will receive the funding sequentially based on crediting resources and their requirements. It has become apparent that the use of the new criterion has given more credibility to applicants in making optimal credit decisions in the environment of extended new operators, where the phenomenon of interaction of all attributes was also taken into account.

A new fractal-theory-based criterion for hydrological model calibration

Fractality has been found in many areas and has been used to describe the internal features of time series. But is it possible to use fractal theory to improve the performance of hydrological models? This study aims at investigating the potential benefits of applying fractal theory in model calibration. A new criterion named the ratio of fractal dimensions (RD) is defined as the ratio of the fractal dimensions of simulated and observed streamflow series. To combine the advantages of fractal theory with classical criteria based on squared residuals, a multi-objective calibration strategy is designed. The selected classical criterion is the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (E). The E–RD strategy is tested in three study cases with different climates and geographies. The results reveal that, in most aspects, introducing RD into model calibration makes the simulation of streamflow components more reasonable. Also, pursuing a better RD during calibration leads to only a small decrease in E. We therefore recommend choosing the parameter set with the best E among the parameter sets with RD values of around 1.

The role of curvature in modifying frontal instabilities, part 1

In this study, we examine the role of curvature in modifying frontal stability. We first evaluate the classical criterion that the Coriolis parameter, f, multiplied by the Ertel potential vorticity (PV), q, is positive for stable flow and that instability is possible when this quantity is negative. The first portion of this statement can be deduced from Ertel’s PV theorem, assuming an initially positive fq. Moreover, the full statement is implicit in the governing equation for the mean flow, as the discriminant, fq, changes sign. However, for curved fronts in cyclo-geostrophic or gradient wind balance (GWB), an additional term enters the discriminant owing to conservation of absolute angular momentum, L. The resulting expression, Lq < 0, simultaneously generalizes Rayleigh’s (1917) criterion by accounting for baroclinicity and Hoskins’ (1974) criterion by accounting for centrifugal effects. In particular, changes in the front’s vertical shear and stratification owing to curvature tilt the absolute vorticity vector away from its thermal wind state; in an effort to conserve the product of absolute angular momentum and Ertel PV, this modifies gradient Rossby and Richardson numbers permitted for stable flow. This forms the basis of a non-dimensional expression valid for inviscid, curved fronts on the f -plane, which can be used to classify frontal instabilities. In conclusion, the classical criterion, fq < 0, should be replaced by the more general criterion, Lq < 0, for studies involving gravitational, centrifugal, and symmetric instabilities at curved density fronts. In Part 2 of the study, we examine interesting outcomes of the criterion applied to low-Richardson number fronts and vortices in GWB.

A new fractal-theory-based criterion for hydrological model calibration

Fractality has been found in many areas and has been used to describe the internal features of time series. But is it possible to use fractal theory to improve the performance of hydrological models? This study aims to investigate the potential benefits of applying fractal theory in model calibration. A new criterion named ratio of fractal dimensions (RD) is defined as the ratio of fractal dimensions of simulated and observed streamflow series. To combine the advantages of fractal theory with classical criteria based on squared residuals, a multi-objective calibration strategy is designed. The selected classical criterion is Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (E). The E-RD strategy is tested in three study cases with different climate and geography. The results of experiment reveal that, from most aspects, introducing RD into model calibration makes the simulation of streamflow components more reasonable. Besides, in calibration, only little decrease of E occurs when pursuing better RD. We therefore recommend choosing the best E among the parameter sets whose RD is around 1.

Moisture Transfer and Formation of Separate Ice in the Freezing Process of Saturated Soils

The formation and layer of ice lenses during the freezing of soil in cold regions is closely related to frozen heave and moisture immigration. The purpose of the paper is to explain the physical mechanisms pertaining to ice lens formation, which were analyzed and verified using numerical simulation results. Based on a few assumptions, the formation and layers of ice lenses are illuminated in the following steps: the initial stage of freezing, formation of the first layer of ice lens, formation of the second layer of ice lens, and formation of the final layer of ice lens. Compared with the numerical results of coupled thermo–hydro–mechanical simulations of one-side freezing of soil columns in an open system, the proposed analysis method of the formation and layers of ice lenses is verified to be reasonable, and it is demonstrated that the classical criterion for the formation of ice lens in freezing saturated soil is only suitable for the final layer of ice lens. Finally, a new criterion, in terms of flux rate, for the formation of ice lens is proposed.

Optimal under voltage load shedding based on voltage stability index

This paper presents a methodology for under voltage load shedding using a metaheuristic optimization technique and a stability criterion. Two strategies are proposed to find the minimal size and location of load to shed for the recovery of normal operation conditions. The first one is based on a classical criterion for the under voltage load shedding, identifying the load to disconnect by considering bus voltage level; the second includes a simplified voltage stability index SVSI, which identifies critical buses in the system. The proposed methodology is implemented in an IEEE 14 bus test system, considering a heavy loading condition with andwithout contingency to validate its efficiency.

Extremum properties of lattice packing and covering with circles

Recent results on extremum properties of the density of lattice packings of smooth convex bodies and balls extend and refine Voronoĭ’s classical criterion for balls. This article treats in more detail the special case of lattice packings and coverings with circular discs. The aim is to determine those lattices for which the densities of the corresponding packings and coverings with circular discs, and certain products and quotients thereof, are semi-stationary, stationary, extreme, and ultra-extreme. The latter notion is a sharper version of extremality. It turns out that in all cases where solutions exist, the regular hexagonal lattices are solutions. Unexpectedly, in a few cases the square lattices and in one case special parallelogram lattices are solutions too. A further surprise is the fact that the lattices forwhich the circle packing density is extreme coincide with the lattices with ultra-extreme density. For semi-stationarity, stationarity and ultra-extremality the duality between packing and covering results breaks down. All results may be interpreted in terms of binary positive definite quadratic forms.

Dual approach to averaged values of functions: A form for weighting coefficient

Averaged values play major roles in the study of dynamic processes. The use of those values allows transforming varying processes to some constant characteristics that are much easier to be investigated. In order to extend the use of averaged values one may apply the dual approach which suggests a consideration of two different aspects of a problem in question. In this short communication the main idea of the dual conception is further extended to suggest a new form for weighting coefficient and then a new averaged value of functions. This new averaged value depends on the parameter \(s\) and contains the classical averaged value when \(s=0\). In the example of Duffing oscillator it is shown that the parameter \(s\) can be chosen as \(s=n/(2\pi)\) and for \(n=4\) one gets the solution that is much accurate than the conventional one obtained by the classical criterion of equivalent linearization.

Slipping on Concrete: A Case Study

The notion of slipperiness is rarely associated with a concrete walkway. The aggressive nature of this surface invariably satisfies the classical criterion of a safe floor. The case study described in this paper challenges this preconception. It involves a woman who enters an indoor stairwell of a parking lot and slips on the dry concrete landing while approaching the stairs with her arm outstretched to grasp the railing. The current state-of-the-art of human slipping provides this victim with no remedy at law. This paper presents a forensic and safety study that focuses on slip and fall. Slip is usually analyzed by a classical system that has no redeeming features. This protocol provides a go/no-go criterion that proclaims a walking surface safe if its interaction with a surrogate material (e.g. leather) produces an average coefficient of friction greater than 0.5. It turns out that many walkers slip on such mythical “safe” floors. The subject case adopts a modern theory of human slipping that quantitatively predicts the number of walkers who will slip on a given surface including concrete landings.