Chemistry-Mediated Ostwald Ripening in Carbon-Rich C/O Systems at Extreme Conditions

There is significant interest in establishing a capability for tailored synthesis of next-generation carbon-based nanomaterials due to their broad range of applications and high degree of tunability. High pressure (e.g. shockwave-driven) synthesis holds promise as an effective discovery method, but experimental challenges preclude elucidating the processes governing nanocarbon production from carbon-rich precursors that could otherwise guide efforts through the prohibitively expansive design space. Here we report findings from large scale atomistically-resolved simulations of carbon condensation from C/O mixtures subjected to extreme pressures and temperatures, made possible by machine-learned reactive interatomic potentials. We find that liquid nanocarbon formation follows classical growth kinetics driven by Ostwald ripening (i.e. growth of large clusters at the expense of shrinking small ones) and obeys dynamical scaling in a process mediated by carbon chemistry in the surrounding reactive fluid. The results provide direct insight into carbon condensation in a representative system and pave the way for its exploration in higher complexity organic materials. They also suggest that simulations using machine-learned interatomic potentials could eventually be employed as in-silico design tools for new nanomaterials.

Chemistry-Mediated Ostwald Ripening in Carbon-Rich C/O Systems at Extreme Conditions

There is significant interest in establishing a capability for tailored synthesis of next-generation carbon-based nanomaterials due to their broad range of applications and high degree of tunability. High pressure (e.g. shockwave-driven) synthesis holds promise as an effective discovery method, but experimental challenges preclude elucidating the processes governing nanocarbon production from carbon-rich precursors that could otherwise guide efforts through the prohibitively expansive design space. Here we report findings from large scale atomistically-resolved simulations of carbon condensation from C/O mixtures subjected to extreme pressures and temperatures, made possible by machine-learned reactive interatomic potentials. We find that liquid nanocarbon formation follows classical growth kinetics driven by Ostwald ripening (i.e. growth of large clusters at the expense of shrinking small ones) and obeys dynamical scaling in a process mediated by carbon chemistry in the surrounding reactive fluid. The results provide direct insight into carbon condensation in a representative system and pave the way for its exploration in higher complexity organic materials. They also suggest that simulations using machine-learned interatomic potentials could eventually be employed as in-silico design tools for new nanomaterials.

SUCCESSIVE ELECTION OF REGIONAL HEADS: A COMPARISON STUDY OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS OF MAJAPAHIT, INDONESIA, AND THE UNITED STATES

A constitution is a written regulation and a state convention (state administration) that determines the composition and position of state bodies, regulates relations between the bodies, and regulates the relationships between these bodies and the citizens. The enactment of a constitution as a binding fundamental law is based on the highest power or the principle of sovereignty adopted by a certain country. If the country adheres to the notion of popular sovereignty, then the source of the legitimacy of the constitution is the people. If monarchical sovereignty is applied, then the monarch will determine whether or not a constitution may be enforced. A constitution also contains regulations for the election of regional heads. Regional head elections are one of the characteristics of a state that applies democratic principles. This study aims to analyze the election of regional heads by comparing the constitutions of Majapahit, Indonesia, and the United States of America. The method used in this research is normative juridical, namely by reviewing the norms of Constitution, laws and other sources of legal material, including journals. The results of this research are that regional heads in Majapahit were directly elected by the Prabu (King). It was a District/majority representative system since the regional heads were directly elected by the king, an Organic and Non-Democratic electoral system. Whereas in Indonesia, regional heads (Governors, Regents and Mayors) are democratically elected, elected directly by the people or by the Provincial, Regential and Municipal House of Representatives (district representation system based on the majority and balance). However, in the reform era, the legislators interpreted the democratic system as direct election by the people. The electoral system is mechanical, organic and democratic. In the United States, the Head of State is directly elected by the people but at the discretion of the legislature, hence the representative system is a balanced representation system. The electoral system is organic and semi-democratic. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0754/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

A system of indicators for assessing companies’ sustainable development in globalized world

The article presents a literature overview of scientific and analytical insights into business sustainability assessment highlighted by both researchers and well-known international organizations. The key idea is to investigate different approaches to forming indicators for sustainability assessment. Therefore, the purpose of this article is the following: to research approaches to the formation and composition of indicators for assessing the enterprise’s sustainable development, given in international standards, ratings, indices, and scientific publications devoted to the study of a given issue; to develop indicators system for business sustainability analysis that meets the needs of Ukrainian enterprises; to argue the necessity to introduce into the scientific discourse the term “indicator for organizations sustainable development assessment” and specific criteria that fully reflects the main peculiarities of the enterprise’s sustainable development concept. Today, there are many approaches to outlining indicators for assessing harmonious development, given in a number of international standards, generally accepted indices and ratings, research by domestic and foreign experts. At the same time, the activities of economic entities are affected by unpredictable environmental challenges, requests from a wide range of stakeholders, which, in turn, complicates the process of tracking and maintaining the harmonious development of the organization as a whole. The solution of the outlined problems is possible under the condition of application of relevant, crosscutting and systematic analysis of sustainable development, which will take into account both the multidimensional nature of the phenomenon, the existing conditions of enterprises and the level of implemented initiatives for such a development. The latter is ensured by the use of an adequate and representative system of indicators, which reflects both the peculiarities of the business sustainability and can be applied to various needs of the enterprise — both those that are only at the initial stage of adaptation of harmonious development ideas and those that implement outlined initiatives on a regular basis. As the result, it was suggested to form an indicators system that includes a set of measures, constructed within five sustainability spheres (economy, social, environment, management, and culture) under three criteria — “effectiveness”, “development”, “stakeholder cooperation”. The final list of developed indexes is presented. The main advantages of the developed system of indicators are: it allows the organization to collect and systematize comprehensive information about the aspects of the sustainable development (which reflect the main sustainability elements at the enterprise level, assess the existing situation with such development and the potential of the organization for the systematic its implementation), which can become the basis for benchmarking, in order to improve its existing development strategy as a whole; it contains quantitative and qualitative indicators, taking into account both the specifics of the object of research and the ways of collecting such information; it allows to analyze the current results of sustainability ideas implementation (indicators of criterion “effectiveness”) and to identify and monitor qualitative changes that have occurred in the organization, in the direction of supporting measures for such a development (criterion “development”).

Young Rebels Who Do Not Want a Revolution: The Non-participatory Preferences of Fridays for Future Activists in Finland

Young people’s lack of participation in elections has been taken as a sign that the young are wary of representative democracy and reject traditional authorities. Instead of election participation, it is expected that the young want more possibilities for direct involvement in political decision-making. Fridays for Future (FFF) is a global, youth-led climate movement that has been able to mobilize millions of young people around the world into political action (de Moor et al., 2020; Wahlström et al., 2019) in times when youth participation is generally declining, especially in traditional forms of political participation. While many have taken this as evidence that young people dismiss representative democracy in favor of a more participatory democracy, in-depth studies of their motivations are still lacking. This article helps fill this lacuna by providing a case study on Finnish FFF participants. Through semi-structured interviews and theory-guided content analysis with 15- to 20-year-old climate activists, the Finnish FFF participants’ attitudes toward political participation are examined. The data consists of 11 one-on-one in-depth theme interviews with young people, who participated in the FFF movement by attending at least one protest in Finland in 2019. The interviews focused on the following themes: motivation for participation in the FFF movement, interviewee’s background, and the participant’s ideas regarding politics, democracy, and political participation. The interviews were combined with material from various news sources to contextualize the information in the analysis phase. Based on the empirical evidence, I argue that although these young citizens have become politically active in a climate protest movement, it does not necessarily mean that they want major reforms to the representative democracy toward a more participatory system. Instead of more participatory possibilities, the Finnish climate activists want a better-functioning representative system with politicians who listen to their demands.