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This study examines the evaluation of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education within the architecture curriculum. By discussing the application and impact of STEAM education in the architecture curriculum, this study aims to clarify its role in improving the quality of architecture education. Taking the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) approach, this study also assesses the degrees of association and influence between various components of STEAM education in the architecture curriculum. It is found that the engineering course group has the highest centrality, while the arts course group has the lowest. This study emphasizes the strengthening of the leading role of the arts course group and provides suggestions. This study not only reveals the mutual impact relations between different components of STEAM education in architectural education but also provides practical implications and possible research directions for educational practice, offering a scientific basis and practical guidelines for promoting innovation and development of architectural education.

Only 10 years remain to achieve all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) globally, so there is a growing need to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of action by targeting multiple SDGs. The SDGs were conceived as an ‘indivisible whole’, but interactions between SDGs need to be better understood. Several previous assessments have begun to explore interactions including synergies and possible conflicts between the SDGs, and differ widely in their conclusions. Although some highlight the role of the more environmentally-focused SDGs in underpinning sustainable development, none specifically focuses on environment–human linkages. Assessing interactions between SDGs, and the influence of environment on them can make an important contribution to informing decisions in 2020 and beyond. Here, we review previous assessments of interactions among SDGs, apply an influence matrix to assess pairwise interactions between all SDGs, and show how viewing these from the perspective of environment–human linkages can influence the outcome. Environment, and environment–human linkages, influence most interactions between SDGs. Our action-focused assessment enables decision makers to focus environmental management to have the greatest impacts and to identify opportunities to build on synergies and reduce trade-offs between particular SDGs. It may enable sectoral decision makers to seek support from environment managers for achieving their goals. We explore cross-cutting issues and the relevance and potential application of our approach in supporting decision making for progress to achieve the SDGs.

This study introduces the Quick Group Search Optimizer with Passive Congregation (QGSOPC) coupled with the influence-matrix method to optimize cable forces in a completed 1 070 m, five-span, twin-tower cable-stayed bridge. Compared with the original design, QGSOPC reduces maximum tower-top displacement by 83.8% (84.1 → 13.6 mm), girder deflection by 41.9% (236.7 → 137.5 mm) and peak bending moment by 11% (118 078 → 105 120 kN·m), while lowering the composite objective function by 40.7%. A comparative analysis using GSO confirms the enhanced performance of the proposed algorithm. The results demonstrate that QGSOPC offers a practical, efficient tool for achieving the “straight-tower & level-beam” completion state of long-span cable-stayed bridges.

In the field of education, investigating the relationships between different majors in universities is an important topic in current educational research. The application of social networks from informatics provides new opportunities and potentials for the field of education. Due to the complexity of social interactions, the social network connections surrounding individuals exert a significant influence on their daily decision-making processes. This paper aims to introduce the social network and influence analysis theories from informatics into the field of education, regarding major as a variable, and comparing and analyzing the influence relationships between majors. An empirical study was conducted, involving the collection of questionnaire data on graduates’ evaluations of various aspects of their university experiences across different majors. The evolution of this model follows the DeGroot opinion dynamics with the inclusion of stubborn nodes. By defining leader majors and general majors based on the data and modeling the questionnaire data as the outcome of a discrete random process, an influence matrix is ultimately generated through the opinion dynamic model. Through this modeling approach, we revealed the underlying influence relationships between different disciplines (majors). These findings provide schools with insights to adjust the directions of discipline cultivation, and offer new perspectives and methods for the study of majors in higher education.

DEMATEL is a popular approach in multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) to understand the influence relationship between elements. In addition, the result of DEMATEL is used as the input in other approaches to explore further applications. However, DEMATEL may fail to derive the reasonable total influence matrix, i.e., all positive elements. Hence, DEMATEL uses a special normalization method to avoid that situation. It has been reported that selecting the normalization method plays a critical role after we determine the research method. This paper compares different normalization methods in DEMATEL and proposes a novel formula to derive the total influence matrix when the conventional DEMATEL cannot obtain a correct result. The numerical examples demonstrate how different normalization methods generate contradicted results of DEMATEL and the proposed approach ensures a reasonable result. In addition, we also shed light on further applications based on this paper.

We numerically study wall-bounded convectively driven magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) flows subject to rotation in a Cartesian periodic channel. For the accurate treatment of the rotating MHD equations, we develop a pseudo-spectral simulation code with accurate treatment of boundary conditions for both velocity and magnetic fields. The solenoidal condition on the magnetic field is enforced by the addition of a fictitious magnetic pressure. This allows us to employ an influence matrix method with tau correction for the treatment of velocity and magnetic fields subject to Robin boundary conditions at the confining walls. We validate the developed method for the specific case of no slip velocity and perfectly conducting magnetic boundary conditions. The validation includes the accurate reproduction of linear stability thresholds and of turbulent statistics. The code shows favorable parallel scaling properties.

To compensate the incapability of traditional cable force adjustment methods to automatically optimize cable forces, this paper proposes Midas/Civil and MATLAB as a structure calculator and a cable force optimizer, and external memory as a data transfer. Initial solutions from conventional methods can be optimized by internalizing the influence matrix into the multiobjective particle swarm optimization algorithm with mutation operation and constructing the mathematical model of cable force optimization, and then, a series of Pareto frontier solution sets are obtained. For the first time, fuzzy set theory is introduced for selecting Pareto presolution set for the optimization of cable-stayed bridges, to solve the final reasonable dead load state of bridges. By using this method, the peak vertical displacement of a main girder of the optimized cable-stayed bridge decreased from −11 mm to −6 mm, with a reduction of 45%. Before and after optimization, the difference of peak negative bending moment at the top of the pier was 34.8%, indicating that the main beam was more evenly stressed and the alignment was more reasonable.

Network meta-analysis (NMA) pools evidence on multiple treatments to estimate relative treatment effects. Included studies are typically assessed for risk of bias; however, this provides no indication of the impact of potential bias on a decision based on the NMA. We propose methods to derive bias adjustment thresholds which measure the smallest changes to the data that result in a change of treatment decision. The methods use efficient matrix operations and can be applied to explore the consequences of bias in individual studies or aggregate treatment contrasts, in both fixed and random-effects NMA models. Complex models with multiple types of data input are handled by using an approximation to the hypothetical aggregate likelihood. The methods are illustrated with a simple NMA of thrombolytic treatments and a more complex example comparing social anxiety interventions. An accompanying R package is provided.

This paper investigates a 6-degree-of-freedom foldable parallel mechanism for the ship-based stabilized platform, which is driven by closed chain linkages. The velocity and acceleration mappings between the moving platform and inputs of the closed chain linkages are deduced in the form of the first- and second-order influence coefficient matrices. The continuous stiffness matrix is deduced; furthermore, the translation and rotational stiffness along any direction are also deduced. With directional stiffness, the singularity of the mechanism is analyzed, and the explanation of the singularity is given from the viewpoint of stiffness. The directions the platform cannot move or lose its constraints are got from directional stiffness.

During the construction of large-span steel truss arch bridges, challenges such as complex control calculations, frequent adjustments of the cantilever structure, and deviations in the closure state often arise in the process of the assembly and closure of arch ribs. Based on the stress-free state control theory, this paper proposes a precise assembly control method for steel truss arch bridges, which takes the minimization of structural deformation energy and the maintenance of the stress-free dimensions of the closure wedge as the control objectives. By establishing a mathematical relationship between temporary buckle cables and the spatial position of the closure section, as well as adopting the influence matrix method and the quadprog function to determine the optimal parameters of temporary buckle cables (i.e., size, position, and orientation) conforming to actual construction constraints, the automatic approaching of bridge alignment to the target alignment can be achieved. Combined with the practical engineering case of Muping Xiangjiang River Bridge, a numerical calculation study of the precise assembly and closure of steel truss arch bridges was conducted. The calculated results demonstrate that, under the specified construction scheme, the proposed method can determine the optimal combination for temporary buckle cable tension. Considering the actual construction risk and the economic cost, the precise matching of closure joints can be achieved by selectively trimming the size of the closure wedge by a minimal amount. The calculated maximum stress of the structural rods in the construction process is 42% of the allowable value of steel, verifying the feasibility and practicality of the proposed method. The precise assembly method of steel truss arch bridges based on stress-free state control can significantly provide guidance and reference for the design and construction of bridges of this type.