Economic Operation of Smart Micro-Grid

Presently, economic operation of micro-grid is a major concern in smart grid environment. This is a very complex problem, which can be solved with the help of various meta-heuristic techniques. Therefore, this chapter provides a comparative analysis of four different renowned meta-heuristic techniques with reference to the problem of optimal operation of micro-grid (MG). Genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), differential evaluation (DE), and firefly (FF) algorithm are utilized for this purpose.

Perspectives on Gender Stereotypes: How Did Gender-Based Perceptions Put Hillary Clinton at an Electoral Disadvantage in the 2016 Election?

Research on gender stereotypes has largely emphasized that women candidates are evaluated differently compared to their male counterparts. In this article, I argue that such differential evaluation put Clinton at an electoral disadvantage in the 2016 election. I develop my expectations based on the differences between feminine stereotypes and masculine stereotypes and how voters’ perceptions of the latter match the longstanding popular expectations for political leaders, in a way that advantages men as candidates and disadvantages women. I also expect that a “gender affinity effect” influenced the election, with Democratic women being more likely to vote for Clinton. In this article, I rely on data from the 2016 American National Election Survey to evaluate the role of gender affinity effect and gender stereotypes in Clinton’s electability. The results show that masculine personality traits had the largest effect and were more fundamental for winning the White House. They also show that there was no significant evidence of a gender affinity effect among Democratic women in terms of voting for Clinton. These results offer new insights into voters’ gender stereotypic perceptions of Clinton and their consequences for the electoral fortunes of women candidates in general.

Performance of Gradient-Based Optimizer on Charging Station Placement Problem

The electrification of transportation is necessary due to the expanded fuel cost and change in climate. The management of charging stations and their easy accessibility are the main concerns for receipting and accepting Electric Vehicles (EVs). The distribution network reliability, voltage stability and power loss are the main factors in designing the optimum placement and management strategy of a charging station. The planning of a charging stations is a complicated problem involving roads and power grids. The Gradient-based optimizer (GBO) used for solving the charger placement problem is tested in this work. A good balance between exploitation and exploration is achieved by the GBO. Furthermore, the likelihood of becoming stuck in premature convergence and local optima is rare in a GBO. Simulation results establish the efficacy and robustness of the GBO in solving the charger placement problem as compared to other metaheuristics such as a genetic algorithm, differential evaluation and practical swarm optimizer.

Of pathogens and party lines: Social conservatism positively associates with COVID-19 precautions among U.S. Democrats but not Republicans

Social liberals tend to be less pathogen-avoidant than social conservatives, a pattern consistent with a model wherein ideological differences stem from differences in threat reactivity. Here we investigate if and how individual responses to a shared threat reflect those patterns of ideological difference. In seeming contradiction to the general association between social conservatism and pathogen avoidance, the more socially conservative political party in the United States has more consistently downplayed the dangers of COVID-19 during the ongoing pandemic. This puzzle offers an opportunity to examine the contributions of multiple factors to disease avoidance. We investigated the relationship between social conservatism and COVID-19 precautionary behavior in light of the partisan landscape of the United States. We explored whether consumption of, and attitudes toward, different sources of information, as well as differential evaluation of various threats caused by the pandemic—such as direct health costs versus indirect harms to the economy and individual liberties—shape partisan differences in responses to the pandemic in ways that overwhelm the contributions of social conservatism. In two pre-registered studies, socially conservative attitudes correlate with self-reported COVID-19 prophylactic behaviors, but only among Democrats. Reflecting larger societal divisions, among Republicans and Independents, the absence of a positive relationship between social conservatism and COVID-19 precautions appears driven by lower trust in scientists, lower trust in liberal and moderate sources, lesser consumption of liberal news media, and greater economic conservatism.

Uprooted Speakers’ Grassroots English: Metalinguistic Perspectives of Asylum Seekers in Germany

This chapter discusses metalinguistic discourse produced by asylum seekers from English-speaking West Africa in Germany, with a focus on the role of English in participants’ communicative environment and the values and affordances ascribed to different varieties of English. The chapter argues that, in this specific context, a) English loses much of its communicative range but retains important identity-related functions, and b) the values associated with different varieties of English reflect global relationships in the World system of Englishes. African varieties are linked to in-group functions and receive differential evaluation, with Nigerian English being constructed as more standard-distant than Ghanaian English, whereas the English of German interlocutors is associated with the prestige varieties American and British English. Particularly surprising is the frequent equation of Gambian English with Jamaican ways of speech, a pattern accounted for not in terms of linguistic similarity but of the global circulation of reggae and dancehall culture. The chapter thus contributes to the sociolinguistics of globalization and the study of language, mobility, and migration.

Optimization of social functioning quality of preschool children with cerebral palsy

Among the children with violation of supporting-motor apparatus, the largest group is comprised of those with cerebral palsy (CP). The lack of diagnostic toolkit adequate to pedagogical tasks does not allow to examine such children from the point of view of educational capabilities and socialization. The aim of research is development and scientific substantiation of innovative technology of pedagogical examination of preschool children with CP, aimed at differential evaluation of their educational capabilities and determination of specificity of educational demands. Analysis of the experimental results has allowed to formulate a set of conclusions determining scientific novelty of the research: educational potential of preschool children with CP is characterized by indicators of different levels, which stipulates variability and specificity of demands of psychological and pedagogical support; educational capabilities of preschool children with CP can be manifested at optimum, medium, low, critical levels, each of which is characterized by similar patterns irrespective of age; during the research no direct correlation between the manifestation rate of motor disorders of preschool children with CP and the level of their educational capabilities has been revealed; the educational potential of preschool children with CP significantly depends on the manifestation rate of intellectual disabilities stipulating features of mental development and is not correlated with the severity of motor impairment; the obtained experimental results have allowed to reveal peculiarities of educational capabilities of preschool children with CP, which is the key point in development of individual remedial programs; differentiation of preschool children with CP on the basis of level-driven approach allows to optimize the content of psychological and pedagogical assistance and the selection of remedial actions.