Explore the vast range of titles available.

Many international survey projects contain items on corruption that facilitate comparative analyses of individual-level determinants of perceived and experienced corruption, yet such data remain under-used. To encourage more and better use of the wealth of available survey projects, this article presents a comprehensive review of the largest collection of extant cross-national data suitable for research on corruption in Europe. I examine a total of 1129 items on corruption stemming from 21 international survey projects and their 89 survey waves that cover 45 European countries during the period 1989–2017. Within three decades, the number of corruption items has grown remarkably, rising from just one in 1989 to nearly a hundred in 2017. This article shows the trends: a considerable increase in experiential items; greater differentiation between forms of corruption; a move from items on ‘what government has done’ to items on ‘what ordinary people can do’; and inclusion of items on corruption in private sector. Researchers interested in understanding perceptions and experiences of corruption, as they are shaped by social contexts, are offered an opportunity of exploring the availability of corruption items in international survey projects in a systematic manner in order to analyzed patterns of corruption, its causes and consequences. Concluding part of the paper contains some remarks on the challenges of using survey data on corruption in a comparative framework.

Following the popularity of smart phones and the development of mobile Internet, the demands for accurate indoor positioning have grown rapidly in recent years. Previous indoor positioning methods focused on plane locations on a floor and did not provide accurate floor positioning. In this paper, we propose a method that uses multiple barometers as references for the floor positioning of smart phones with built-in barometric sensors. Some related studies used barometric formula to investigate the altitude of mobile devices and compared the altitude with the height of the floors in a building to obtain the floor number. These studies assume that the accurate height of each floor is known, which is not always the case. They also did not consider the difference in the barometric-pressure pattern at different floors, which may lead to errors in the altitude computation. Our method does not require knowledge of the accurate heights of buildings and stories. It is robust and less sensitive to factors such as temperature and humidity and considers the difference in the barometric-pressure change trends at different floors. We performed a series of experiments to validate the effectiveness of this method. The results are encouraging.

The crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus has far-reaching effects in the field of education, as schools were closed in March 2020 in many countries around the world. In this article, we present and discuss the School Barometer, a fast survey (in terms of reaction time, time to answer and dissemination time) that was conducted in Germany, Austria and Switzerland during the early weeks of the school lockdown to assess and evaluate the current school situation caused by COVID-19. Later, the School Barometer was extended to an international survey, and some countries conducted the survey in their own languages. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, 7116 persons participated in the German language version: 2222 parents, 2152 students, 1949 school staff, 655 school leaders, 58 school authority and 80 members of the school support system. The aim was to gather, analyse and present data in an exploratory way to inform policy, practice and further research. In this article, we present some exemplary first results and possible implications for policy, practice and research. Furthermore, we reflect on the strengths and limitations of the School Barometer and fast surveys as well as the methodological options for data collection and analysis when using a short monitoring survey approach. Specifically, we discuss the methodological challenges associated with survey data of this kind, including challenges related to hypothesis testing, the testing of causal effects and approaches to ensure reliability and validity. By doing this, we reflect on issues of assessment, evaluation and accountability in times of crisis.

By monitoring the movement of the body’s centre of mass during daily-living activities, it is possible to gather information on an individual’s functional capacity and quantify key abilities such as lower limb strength, postural control and dynamic stability. To this end, a wearable inertial measurement unit attached to the lower back can offer a practical solution for analysing CoM movement in real-world conditions. However, accelerometer-based measurements are prone to drift, limiting their suitability for long-term monitoring. To mitigate these effects, miniaturized high-resolution barometers can be integrated to provide stable direct height measurements. In this study, we developed and validated a method for the reconstruction of the vertical displacement of the centre of mass during daily activities (Transition-Based Complementary Filter). The method consisted of two steps: first, the transition intervals within which vertical displacements of the centre of mass occur are identified, then, within these intervals, the complementary filter is applied to estimate the vertical displacement. Validation was carried out on twenty healthy subjects wearing an inertial unit and a barometer on the lower back, while a marker-based stereophotogrammetry system served as reference. Participants performed a series of motor tasks replicating typical home-based activities, including standing, sitting, lying, squatting, and stair climbing. The method demonstrated high accuracy, achieving a median root mean square error of 0.02 m and a median concordance correlation coefficient of 98 %. These findings underscore its robustness and clinical utility, paving the way for improved rehabilitation strategies and enhanced patient outcomes.

The current rate of species extinction is rapidly approaching unprecedented highs, and life on Earth presently faces a sixth mass extinction event driven by anthropogenic activity, climate change, and ecological collapse. The field of conservation genetics aims at preserving species by using their levels of genetic diversity, usually measured as neutral genome-wide diversity, as a barometer for evaluating population health and extinction risk. A fundamental assumption is that higher levels of genetic diversity lead to an increase in fitness and long-term survival of a species. Here, we argue against the perceived importance of neutral genetic diversity for the conservation of wild populations and species. We demonstrate that no simple general relationship exists between neutral genetic diversity and the risk of species extinction. Instead, a better understanding of the properties of functional genetic diversity, demographic history, and ecological relationships is necessary for developing and implementing effective conservation genetic strategies.

The nonstationary roles of regional forcings from alongshore wind stress and sea level pressure (SLP) in driving low‐frequency (interannual‐to‐decadal) sea level variability along the U.S. east coast for the 1959–2020 period are investigated. The role of regional forcings increases with time north of Cape Hatteras particularly during summer when their contributions to the variance of observed summertime coastal sea level anomalies increase by approximately 58%–87% from 1959–1989 to 1990–2020. The enhanced impact of regional forcings in recent decades results from an increase in the Inverted Barometer (IB) effect that act constructively with alongshore wind stress especially during summer, and to a lesser extent for the Gulf of Maine during fall. The summertime North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is largely responsible for the increased IB effect, owing to the stronger NAO‐associated low SLP anomalies centered around the Mid‐Atlantic Bight in recent decades compared to earlier decades. Plain Language Summary Alongshore wind stress and sea level pressure (SLP) are important regional forces in driving low‐frequency (interannual‐to‐decadal) sea level anomalies along the U.S. east coast. The roles of these regional forcings, however, vary with time, season, and region, which can shift the location and change the frequency and intensity of coastal flooding. In this study, we find that regional forcings contribute more to observed sea level variability north of Cape Hatteras in recent decades (1990–2020) compared to earlier decades (1959–1989), particularly during summer. The increased role of regional forcings results from SLP variability via the Inverted Barometer (IB) effect, which exhibits a significant upward trend during summer with lower (higher) SLP raising (suppressing) sea level. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is largely responsible for the increased role of IB effect because the lower SLP anomalies related to the NAO have become more prominent north of Cape Hatteras in recent decades. Although winter NAO has been shown to be important for affecting the coastal sea level anomalies, it is the summer NAO effect that is enhanced via the IB effect, accounting for the enhanced regional forcing in recent decades. Key Points The sea‐level variance explained by regional forcings increases with time north of Cape Hatteras due to the Inverted Barometer effect Lower sea level pressure centered around Mid‐Atlantic Bight favors more contributions of the Inverted Barometer effect in recent decades The summertime North Atlantic Oscillation is largely responsible for the increased role of the Inverted Barometer effect

Oxygen fugacity is a key parameter in controlling the petrogenesis of mafic-ultramafic rocks and their associated sulfide mineralization, especially in convergent settings. This study uses new and previously published experimental data on olivine-sulfide pairs to reparameterize an expression for oxygen barometry using the distribution coefficient KDFeNi for Fe-Ni exchange between olivine and sulfide. We derive a new expression, ΔQFM = (9.775 + 0.416 ∙ CNi − KDFeNi)/4.308, where ΔQFM denotes divergence from the fayalite–magnetite–quartz buffer. The revised oxygen barometry has been applied to the Permian magmatic Ni–Cu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, NW China. The Ni–Cu deposits in the East Tianshan—North Tianshan, Central Tianshan, and Beishan—are considered as a single mineral system, whereas the spatially separated deposits in the East Junggar are considered as a separate system. The deposit of the East Tianshan group exhibits a large range of oxygen fugacity (QFM − 2 to ~QFM + 1) and Ni tenor (metal concentration in pure sulfide, ~ 5 to 16 wt%). The Poyi and Huangshannan deposits contain high-Ni tenor sulfides, varying from 12 to 16 wt%. The relatively high Fo values (> 85 mol%) and Ni contents (> 2000 ppm) in olivine of these deposits indicate that the high-Ni tenor sulfides were segregated from less differentiated high-Ni magmas that also had relatively high oxygen fugacity (~QFM + 1). The remaining Ni–Cu deposits in the East Tianshan—the Huangshandong, Huangshanxi, Hulu, Tulaergen, Tudun, and Xiangshanzhong deposits—have intermediate Ni tenors (5–8 wt%). These sulfides correspond to intermediate Fo values (80–84 mol%) and Ni contents (700–1400 ppm) in the coexisting olivine, illustrating that they were segregated from magmas with lower Ni contents thought to be the result of a large amount (15–20%) of olivine fractionation at depth. These magmas are more reduced (− 2 < ΔQFM < + 0.3) than the less evolved magmas (~QFM + 1). It is shown that the ΔQFM value calculated for the deposits in East Tianshan decreases with decreasing Fo value, indicating that the host magmas became gradually reduced during evolution, which can be explained by primarily oxidizing magma progressively assimilating crustal material containing reducing agents, such as carbon. The Kalatongke deposit in the East Junggar belt, with the lowest Ni tenors in sulfides (3–5 wt%) and low Fo values in olivine (< 78 mol%), was derived from relatively oxidizing magmas (~QFM + 1) that had experienced significant olivine plus clinopyroxene and plagioclase fractionation at depth. We propose that the variation in oxygen fugacity and Ni tenor in the Permian Ni–Cu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is the result of gradual contamination and a variable degree of fractional crystallization.

This paper presents an indoor floor positioning method with the smartphone's barometer for the purpose of solving the problem of low availability and high environmental dependence of the traditional floor positioning technology. First, an initial floor position algorithm with the \"entering\" detection algorithm has been obtained. Second, the user's going upstairs or downstairs activities are identified by the characteristics of the air pressure fluctuation. Third, the moving distance in the vertical direction and the floor change during going upstairs or downstairs are estimated to obtain the accurate floor position. In order to solve the problem of the floor misjudgment from different mobile phone's barometers, this paper calculates the pressure data from the different cell phones, and effectively reduce the errors of the air pressure estimating the elevation which is caused by the heterogeneity of the mobile phones. The experiment results show that the average correct rate of the floor identification is more than 85% for three types of the cell phones while reducing environmental dependence and improving availability. Further, this paper compares and analyzes the three common floor location methods - the WLAN Floor Location (WFL) method based on the fingerprint, the Neural Network Floor Location (NFL) methods, and the Magnetic Floor Location (MFL) method with our method. The experiment results achieve 94.2% correct rate of the floor identification with Huawei mate10 Pro mobile phone.

Jakarta as the capital city is viewed as the barometer of every city in Indonesia. The city preparedness to face VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) caused by Covid-19 pandemic is also in the national spotlight. One of the main solutions to face VUCA is Computational Thinking (CT). CT provides the ability to approach VUCA characteristics by systematically ingraining abstraction, algorithmic thinking, decomposition, and pattern recognition in mind. For this reason, Jakarta plans to disseminate this concept to students as early as possible, namely by embedding CT to every subject in primary and secondary schools. The activity began with online CT socialization, which was attended by 1,761 teachers, of which 238 via Google Meet and 1,523 via live streaming. In this activity we also distributed questionnaires to 258 elementary and junior high school teachers spread across 41 sub-districts of 44 sub-districts in Jakarta. The result is that 93.8% of teachers in Jakarta do not understand CT, excitingly 69.4% of teachers wish to teach CT in the subjects they can afford even though it is not compulsory, but if it is obligatory then all teachers will implement it.

Amphibole is widely employed to calculate crystallization temperature and pressure, although its potential as a geobarometer has always been debated. Recently, Ridolfi et al. (Contrib Mineral Petrol 160:45–66, 2010 ) and Ridolfi and Renzulli (Contrib Mineral Petrol 163:877–895, 2012 ) have presented calibrations for calculating temperature, pressure, f O 2 , melt H 2 O, and melt major and minor oxide composition from amphibole with a large compositional range. Using their calibrations, we have (i) calculated crystallization conditions for amphibole from eleven published experimental studies to examine the problems and the potential of the new calibrations; and (ii) calculated crystallization conditions for amphibole from basaltic–andesitic pyroclasts erupted during the paroxysmal 2010 eruption of Mount Merapi in Java, Indonesia, to infer pre-eruptive conditions. Our comparison of experimental and calculated values shows that calculated crystallization temperatures are reasonable estimates. Calculated f O 2 and melt SiO 2 content yields potentially useful estimates at moderately reduced to moderately oxidized conditions and intermediate to felsic melt compositions. However, calculated crystallization pressure and melt H 2 O content are untenable estimates that largely reflect compositional variation in the crystallizing magmas and crystallization temperature and not the calculated parameters. Amphibole from Merapi’s pyroclasts yields calculated conditions of ~200–800 MPa, ~900–1,050 °C, ~NNO + 0.3–NNO + 1.1, ~3.7–7.2 wt% melt H 2 O, and ~58–71 wt% melt SiO 2 . We interpret the variations in calculated temperature, f O 2 , and melt SiO 2 content as reasonable estimates, but conclude that the large calculated pressure variation for amphibole from Merapi and many other arc volcanoes is evidence for thorough mixing of mafic to felsic magmas and not necessarily evidence for crystallization over a large depth range. In contrast, bimodal pressure estimates obtained for other arc magmas reflect amphibole crystallization from mafic and more evolved magmas, respectively, and should not necessarily be taken as evidence for crystallization in two reservoirs at variable depth.