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Yes / Traditional concrete, primarily employed for structural purposes, ensures the safety and reliability of infrastructure due to its excellent mechanical and durability properties. However, with the increasing scale of infrastructure, coupling of multifactorial and harsh service environment, expanding usage spaces, escalating demands for construction-environment harmony, and ever-rising human habitat standards, traditional concrete proves inadequate in meeting the sustainable requirements during construction and service phases, thus prompting its development towards multifunctionality. Electricity, the invisible force that propels modern civilization, has given rise to the emergence of electricity-based multifunctional concrete when combined with tangible concrete that carries human civilization. Through the structure–function integration and function-intelligence integration, this innovative composite material demonstrates excellent intrinsic properties as a structural material, including mechanical performances and durability, and superior electrical properties, such as conductivity, inductance, capacitance, impedance, thermoelectricity, piezoelectricity, among others. It, therefore, holds significant promise across various engineering applications, such as structural health monitoring, traffic detection, energy conversion/storage, de-icing and snow melting, building heating, electromagnetic protection, cathodic protection, grounding, and electrostatic protection. The ongoing research on electricity-based multifunctional concrete establishes a fundamental material framework for the transformation of infrastructure, offering a method to enhance safety, durability, functionality, and resilience of infrastructure. This review summarizes the relevant research progress on electricity-based multifunctional concrete, focusing on its design, composition, underlying principles, properties, and applications in infrastructures. Current technical challenges and future perspectives toward applying electricity-based multifunctional concrete in infrastructures are also discussed. / National Science Foundation of China (51978127, 52178188, and 51908103), the Provincial-Municipal Joint Fund (Youth Fund) of Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2023A1515110437), and the Major Science and Technology Research Project of the China Building Materials Federation (2023JBGS10-02). / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 17 Nov 2025.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University. Missing page 42. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2999-01-01

Construction Sustainability involves the processes, decisions, and actions during the construction phase of capital projects that enhance current and future environmental, social, and economic needs while considering project safety, quality, cost, and schedule. Most of the currently available published literature and advances in project level sustainability practices have focused on the early Concept Planning and Design phases of capital projects. Knowledge of sustainability practices during the Construction phase of capital projects is still in the early development stages and is highly fragmented; information regarding the selection, assessment, and implementation of construction sustainability solutions has remained largely unavailable or underdeveloped. Moreover, capital project owners and constructors increasingly seek practical guidance and resources to better integrate and evaluate sustainability decisions and actions within project construction services. The dearth of research on effective sustainability practices during the construction phase suggests that higher levels of sustainability attention and effort are needed in this area, in addition to the creation of support guidance and tools. To fill this gap in knowledge, this research has identified 54 unique actions that project teams can apply during construction to enhance the overall sustainability of their project. These construction phase sustainability actions (CPSAs) have been cataloged, characterized, and evaluated to facilitate their consideration and implementation by project teams. To further support the selection process and implementation of these actions, the research team developed a high-level strategic work process, a spreadsheet-based CPSA Screening Tool, and additional in-depth guidance for three CPSAs. In addition, both input- and output-oriented construction sustainability metrics have been developed and identified. Equipped with the findings from this study, owners and construction contractors will be better prepared to implement sustainability actions during the construction phase of capital projects. / text

During the 20th century, numerous philosophers of science pointed out several problems afflicting scientific communication. Communication in accounting is also problematic. In both cases (science and accounting) there seems to be a tension between objectivism and subjectivism. The former emphasizes the objects of knowledge while the latter prefers to rely on the human subject. In science one of these approaches seems to prevail in different periods. In accounting there seems to be an oscillation or ambiguity between the two tendencies (subjectivism and objectivism) which remain side by side. A polarity seems to emerge as statutory disclosures are influenced by objectivism, while contextual disclosures are inclined towards subjectivism. With reference to the philosophy of Herman Dooyeweerd subjectivism and objectivism are interpreted as emphasizing certain modal aspects to the detriment of others. Although this problem can be regarded as the cause of many difficulties in annual reports, this article focuses on communication problems. It is suggested that a better approach can be adopted by paying attention to all the modal aspects, in particular to those which tend to be neglected under a certain approach (objectivism or subjectivism). The final sections of this article provide a few concrete examples of how to improve communication in corporate reports by taking into account the neglected modal aspects. / MPhil, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This study investigated the level of leadership practices and retention rates of freshman students at Texas Woman's University. The data for the study were collected using the Leadership Practices Inventory, Student Version. The sample for the study consisted of 151 freshman students. The students were each placed in one of three control groups. Group A students (the treatment group) were in the Neighbors Educated Together Program (NET). Group B students (control group) were in one of two university-sponsored programs (COLORS or University 1000), and Group C students (control group) were the residual group of first-time college freshmen. These three groups were surveyed prior to their participation in the NET program or a university-sponsored program and again at the end of 14 weeks. In addition, retention rates were examined on the 12 class day of the spring semester. The study found statistically significant differences (p <. 05) on the pretests and posttests between Group C, residual students, and the other two groups on the Enabling the Followers to Act subscale, the Inspiring a Shared Vision subscale, and Encouraging the Heart subscale. Group A, NET students, and Group B, COLORS/University 1000 students, showed no statistically significant differences between groups. The difference from the residual group could indicate that students who self-select into programs such as NET, COLORS, and University 1000 are more likely to engage in practices measured by the subscale prior to enrollment in the respective programs. No statistically significant differences were found on the Challenging the Process or Modeling the Way subscales. The lack of significance shows that there are no differences in practices for any of these groups prior to enrollment at the university or as a result of participation in a university-sponsored program such as NET, COLORS, or University 1000. A chi-square test was performed following the 12 class day for the Spring 2001 th semester. Approximately 89% of the students in Group C Residual, 97% of Group B COLORS/University 1000, and 91% of Group A NET were retained. The chi- square frequency test revealed no statistically significant differences in level of retention between groups.

This thesis is an ethnographically grounded description and interpretation of a variety of writing practices observable in an Arabic speaking community, primarily on the Internet. Working with, or in reaction to, the concept of diglossia, of which Arabic sociolinguistic setting is often cited as a textbook example, the majority of scholars have focused their attention on speech as a major site of language variation and mixing. Writing has been largely neglected. This thesis is a contribution to what I hope will become a growing number of works aimed at filling that lacuna. I examine linguistic features of a number of, mostly non-literary, texts in contemporary Egypt where Modern Standard Arabic (Fuṣḥa) and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (ˤAmmiyya) constitute the theoretical poles of the diglossic continuum. The Egyptian sociolinguistic setting, however, is here understood as being defined and reconfigured by the increasing socio‑economic importance of yet another linguistic variety – English. The analysis of linguistic details is conducted with reference to a broader socio‑cultural context and local language ideologies surrounding the production and reception of a rapidly growing number of texts that employ a variety of features and draw on different linguistic resources, thus often defying, in the outcome, the hegemonic ideological projection that writing is the domain of Fuṣḥa. In order to offer an account of a dynamic, changing and diversified character of writing practices in present‑day Egypt, illustrative examples are drawn from a number of different texts and domains of writing, including Wikipedia Masry, Twitter, Facebook, advertisements, online campaigns for political and social causes, as well as books. The inventory of linguistic resources variously employed by various writers in various circumstances is identified to contain re-combinations across three linguistic varieties, Fuṣḥa, ˤAmmiyya and English, and two scripts, Arabic and Latin.

The objective of this thesis is to enhance the archaeological visibility of mobile pastoralists in the southern Levant, accomplished through an ethnoarchaeological study of Bedouin mortuary practices in Jordan. Qualitative data, collected via 136 ethnographic interviews, and quantitative data, collected from 20 Bedouin cemeteries, are analyzed to distinguish the material residues of Bedouin funerary practices. Patterns in these data are investigated using a multi-scalar spatial model, to improve archaeological interpretations and produce a predictive model for locating the material signatures of mobile pastoralist mortuary practices in the southern Levant. This research yields results of high archaeological visibility, demonstrating that Bedouin mortuary practices leave behind a detectable material signature on the landscape. / February 2017

Abuse of Dominant Position - Individual Forms of Abusing Practices under Community and Czech law Abstract Competition is a basic mechanism of the market economy. It encourages companies to provide consumers products they want, encourages innovation, and pushes the prices down. In order to be effective, competition needs independent undertakings which are subject to the competitive pressure. That was the reason why Competition law has developed. It should pre- eminently ensure to preserve the competition on the market. Competition law comprising three pillars, namely cartel agreements prohibition, merger control and the law against abuse of dominant position. This thesis focuses on the last mentioned branch of the competition law. Attention is aimed to the individual possible forms of abusive conduct of dominant undertakings. The text explicates this problem from the Czech and European law perspective and attempts to explain individual forms of abusing practices in the light of case law. It only contains substantial law, procedural law is not covered. The main aim of the thesis is to bring out the comparison between the legislation relating to the individual forms of abusing practices in the European law and Czech law and to find out if the approach of the competition authorities on the European and Czech...

Introdução: As mudanças nas relações entre pais e filhos decorrentes das transformações pelas quais a família vem passando têm levado a um crescente questionamento sobre o papel dos pais na educação de seus filhos. Objetivo: Realizar um levantamento sistemático e revisão crítica da literatura referente a estilos e práticas parentais, buscando apontar diretrizes que possam ser orientadores para pesquisadores, profissionais e pais. Metodologia: Revisão sistemática integrativa da literatura. Definimos como questão norteadora O que tem sido estudado e publicado sobre estilo e práticas parentais que pode orientar pesquisadores, profissionais e pais? Estabelecemos como descritores parenting style AND parenting practices e SciELO, PsycINFO, Science Direct e Web of Science como bancos de dados. Optamos por artigos publicados em periódicos, desde o início do ano 2006 até o final de 2010 e estudos voltados para as práticas com crianças de 02 aos 12 anos. Após a obtenção do corpo da pesquisa ficamos com um total de 67 artigos na integra para serem analisados. Utilizando o programa Access criamos um banco de dados que permitiu análises do conjunto do material a partir de várias tabelas construídas automaticamente de acordo com a determinação do pesquisador. Foi realizado posteriormente um trabalho exaustivo de leitura dos artigos voltada para a análise das contribuições trazidas na temática. Resultados: Percebemos uma grande maioria de artigos (61,8%) oriundos dos Estados Unidos, um aumento no número das publicações no decorrer dos anos e trabalhos predominantemente quantitativos e transversais. O número amostral utilizado variou bastante, com uma maioria de artigos (60,3%) com até 200 participantes; quanto às crianças focalizadas, meninas e meninos aparecem com porcentagens praticamente iguais. No maior número de trabalhos (39,7%), os participantes eram as crianças e seus pais (pais e mães) e as pesquisas são realizadas principalmente nas escolas (50%). Encontramos na maioria dos artigos a caracterização da sua amostra tanto com relação ao fator socioeconômico (69,1%) como dos grupos étnicos (89,7%). Dentre os instrumentos o Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire é o mais utilizado (16%) e os autores mais citados foram Baumrind (1966, 1971), seguido por Maccoby e Martin (1983) e Darling e Steinberg (1983). Após várias leituras do material completo definimos três temas: a) conjunto de práticas que afetam o desenvolvimento (34% dos artigos); b) práticas educativas e saúde (28% dos artigos); c) contexto afetando as práticas parentais (38% dos artigos). A descrição do corpo reunido por tema permite apontar: a) é comum o uso de práticas parentais coercitivas, inclusive a punição física, sendo associada com problemas de adaptação, comportamento, ajustamento emocional e baixa autoestima; b) o aumento da obesidade infantil é foco de várias pesquisas, que sugerem que o uso de práticas inadequadas, relacionadas aos estilos autoritário, negligente e indulgente propicia a obesidade infantil; c) os treinamentos para pais foram impulsionados por questões diversas - deficiência de desenvolvimento, ajustamento comportamental e emocional da criança talentosa e/ou superdotada, crianças diagnosticadas com obesidade, ansiedade, problemas de aprendizagem, de comportamento e de conduta - e foram unânimes em constatar ótimos resultados para pais e filhos; d) vários estudos correlacionais enfocam as questões das diferenças relativas à culturas e etnias, sendo sugerido que o estilo parental autoritativo de Baumrind (1966), considerado como o mais adequado a partir de estudos com norte americanos descendentes de europeus, não poderia ser considerado desta forma em outros contextos. Conclusão: através da revisão sistemática integrativa percebemos que os estudos com foco nas práticas que afetam o desenvolvimento investigam continuamente as práticas disciplinares coercitivas, que as práticas relacionadas à saúde voltam-se para problemáticas e demandas atuais e que a tipologia dos estilos parentais de Baumrind vem sendo questionada e investigada para melhor utilização em diversas culturas e etnias. / Introduction: Families have changed, and, therefore, so have parent-child relationships. This has raised constant questions regarding the parents role in their childrens education. Goal: Perform a systematic search and critical review of the literature on parenting styles and practices, aiming at pointing out guidelines to assist researchers, psychologists, and parents. Method: Integrative systematic literature review. We used the following guiding question What has been studied and published on parenting styles and practices that could guide researchers, psychologists, and parents? We chose parenting style AND parenting practices as keywords, and SciELO, PsycINFO, Science Direct and Web of Science as databases. We chose journal articles published between early 2006 and late 2010, and studies on practices with children aged 2 to 12 years. The complete body of research comprised 67 full-text articles to be analyzed. We used Microsoft Access to create a database that permitted to perform group analyses of the material from several tables created automatically and according to the researchers preference. Later, an exhaustive reading of the articles was performed aimed at analyzing their contributions. Results: We realized that the vast majority of the articles (61.8%) were originally from the United States, and that the number of publications has increased over the years, mostly quantitative and cross-sectional studies. The sample size ranged considerably, with most articles (60.3%) working with 200 participants or less; as to the children involved, boys and girls appear with virtually the same participation. The larger part of the studies (39.7%) had children and their parents for participants, and was usually (50%) performed at school. We observed that most articles characterized the sample regarding socioeconomic factors (69.1%) as well ethnic groups (89.7%). The Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire is the most often used (16%) instrument, and the most cited authors were Baumrind (1966, 1971), followed by Maccoby and Martin (1983), and Darling and Steinberg (1983). After reading the material several times, we defined three themes: a) set of practices that affect child development (34% of articles); b) educational practices and health (28% of articles); c) context affecting parenting practices (38% of articles). The description of the body of research grouped according to the theme shows that: a) coercive parenting practices are common, including physical punishment, and they are associated with problems involving adjustment, behavior, emotional adjustment, and low self-esteem; b) several focus on the increasing rates of childhood obesity, which suggest that inadequate practices, related with authoritarian, negligent and indulgent styles promote childhood obesity; c) parent training programs were motivated by several different issues impaired development, behavioral and emotional adjustment of talented and/or gifted children, children diagnosed with obesity, anxiety, and learning, behavior, and conduct disorders and were unanimous in reporting excellent results for parents and children; several correlational studies focus on issues regarding cultural and ethnical differences, suggesting that the authoritarian parenting style proposed by Baumrind (1966), considered the most appropriate according to studied with North-Americans of European descent, could not be considered as such in different contexts. Conclusion: through an integrative systematic review we realized that studies focused on practices affecting child development continuously investigate coercive disciplinary practices, that health practices aim at current issues and demands, and that the typology of Baumrinds parenting styles is being questioned and investigated to improve its use among different cultures and ethnicities.