Subjective and objective evaluation of sense of space for vehicle occupants based on anthropometric data

At present, the number of the vehicle requirements has been continuously increasing. These requirements can be related to the customer as well as the technical requirements. Among these, the "feeling of space" of the occupants inside the vehicles can be regarded as one of the most important factors. In this respect, the driver and passengers should be able to experience positive feeling of space inside the vehicle. There are numerous factors that can influence the sense of space inside the vehicle. These include geometry (vehicle dimensions), light exposure, ambient lights, colors, material selection and material surface. Depending on the selection, the sense of space can be dramatically influenced by these factors. In general, human feeling is subjective and cannot be measured by any instrument. The measure can nevertheless be carried out by utilizing the method of subjective evaluation. Throughout the experiments, the method of evaluation is developed and the factors which can influence the interior feeling are analyzed. In this process, psychological perception, architectural aspects and anthropometry are considered and knowledge from the other domains is transferred in the form of a multidisciplinary approach. The experiments with an aim to evaluate the overall sense of space in the vehicle are carried out based on the physical mock up of BMW 1 series (E87). The space perception with different interior dimensions and anthropometric data of test persons are also analyzed. The use of Computer Aided Technology was shown by CATIA V5, PCMAN and RAMSIS. The results show a good correlation between the subjective evaluation and the geometric values.     

Migration information campaigns: How to analyse their impact?

Information campaigns aim at discouraging potential migrants from leaving their countries irregularly. This article discusses how to analyse the impact of such campaigns by identifying different research lines in the literature. The impact of migration information campaigns may be explored by, firstly, focusing on transnational migratory data and inter-state relations (the macro-level); secondly, by investigating their impact on narratives within societies (the meso-level); and, finally, by investigating the micro-level of their influence on migratory decision-making. At each level, scholars face considerable methodological challenges to filter out the impact of campaigns. This article suggests that a promising research avenue is to analyse more widely the narratives and information sources upon which (potential) migrants rely. Opening up the research focus may avoid the risk of over-emphasising the impact of information campaigns by only looking at them. It allows to better understand which sources of information actually influence migratory behaviour.     

Finding disjoint paths on edge-colored graphs: more tractability results

The problem of finding the maximum number of vertex-disjoint uni-color paths in an edge-colored graph (called MaxCDP) has been recently introduced in literature, motivated by applications in social network analysis. In this paper we investigate how the complexity of the problem depends on graph parameters (namely the number of vertices to remove to make the graph a collection of disjoint paths and the size of the vertex cover of the graph), which makes sense since graphs in social networks are not random and have structure. The problem was known to be hard to approximate in polynomial time and not fixed-parameter tractable (FPT) for the natural parameter. Here, we show that it is still hard to approximate, even in FPT-time. Finally, we introduce a new variant of the problem, called MaxCDDP, whose goal is to find the maximum number of vertex-disjoint and color-disjoint uni-color paths. We extend some of the results of MaxCDP to this new variant, and we prove that unlike MaxCDP, MaxCDDP is already hard on graphs at distance two from disjoint paths.     

Motherhood and Employment Among Whites,Hispanics, and Blacks: A Life Course Approach

Research has shown that having children reduces women's employment; yet how this effect differs for racial minorities has received less attention. Using random effects models and data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 4,526), this study investigates the association between motherhood and employment among Whites, Hispanics, and Blacks over women's entire reproductive span. Results indicate that having children reduces labor force participation primarily by deterring full‐time employment. This effect is stronger and lasts longer among Whites, smaller and shorter among Hispanics, and brief among Blacks. Motherhood reduces part‐time employment for young mothers, but temporarily increases it for older mothers. Early childbearing partly explains Black and Hispanic women's low employment rates at young ages; interestingly, the evidence indicates that their employment prospects would benefit the most from delaying childbearing. This study highlights the relevance of intersectionality and the life course perspective for investigating inequality in the labor market.     

On estimands and the analysis of adverse events in the presence of varying follow‐up times within the benefit assessment of therapies

The analysis of adverse events (AEs) is a key component in the assessment of a drug's safety profile. Inappropriate analysis methods may result in misleading conclusions about a therapy's safety and consequently its benefit‐risk ratio. The statistical analysis of AEs is complicated by the fact that the follow‐up times can vary between the patients included in a clinical trial. This paper takes as its focus the analysis of AE data in the presence of varying follow‐up times within the benefit assessment of therapeutic interventions. Instead of approaching this issue directly and solely from an analysis point of view, we first discuss what should be estimated in the context of safety data, leading to the concept of estimands. Although the current discussion on estimands is mainly related to efficacy evaluation, the concept is applicable to safety endpoints as well. Within the framework of estimands, we present statistical methods for analysing AEs with the focus being on the time to the occurrence of the first AE of a specific type. We give recommendations which estimators should be used for the estimands described. Furthermore, we state practical implications of the analysis of AEs in clinical trials and give an overview of examples across different indications. We also provide a review of current practices of health technology assessment (HTA) agencies with respect to the evaluation of safety data. Finally, we describe problems with meta‐analyses of AE data and sketch possible solutions.     

Structural and motivational mechanisms of academic achievement: a mediation model of social‐background effects on academic achievement

This paper takes up ongoing discussions on the inequality of educational opportunities and formulates a conceptual model to link separate lines of research. Our particular focus is on combining motivational and structural approaches into a mediation model that explains differences in academic achievement. In the literature, four main mechanisms of social reproduction are discussed. Two main pathways refer to (1) parents’ expectations regarding their children’s academic success and (2) replicating cultural capital through intra‐familial cultural practices. (3) Parents’ perception of children’s abilities depends on social position and is influential for expectations of success. (4) For all three pathways, we expect effects on students’ motivational characteristics, which in turn influence academic achievement. We test our conceptual model by structural equation modelling using longitudinal data from primary school students in Germany. Empirical evidence is in line with the assumptions in the model. Cultural reproduction and expectations of success can be seen as the key components of the model. However, both chains of reproduction are related to each other by parents’ perception of child’s ability, and their effects are mediated by child’s motivational characteristics.     

From connective to collective action: internet elections as a digital tool to centralize and formalize protest in Russia

Over the past decade, an extensive body of literature has emerged on the question of how new communication technologies can facilitate new modes of organizing protest. However, the extant research has tended to focus on how digitally enabled protest operates. By contrast, this study investigates why, how, and with what consequences a heavily digitally enabled ‘connective action network’ has transitioned over time to a more traditional ‘collective action network’ [Bennett, W. L., Segerberg, A. (2013). The logic of connective action: Digital media and the personalization of contentious politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 47]. Specifically, the article scrutinizes the trajectory of the Russian protests ‘For Fair Elections.’ This wave of street protests erupted after the allegedly fraudulent parliamentary elections of December 2011 and continued into 2013. As is argued, the protests were initially organized as an ‘organizationally enabled connective action network.’ However, after eight months of street protests, Russian activists reorganized the network into a more centralized, more formalized ‘organizationally brokered collective action network.’ In order to implement this transition, they deployed ‘Internet elections’ as a cardinally new digital tactic of collective action. Between 20 and 22 October 2012, more than 80,000 activists voted online in order to create a new leadership body for the entire protest movement, the ‘Coordination Council of the Opposition.’ As the study has found, activists implemented this transition because, within the specific Russian socio-political context, enduring engagement and stable networks appeared crucial to the movement’s long-term success. With regard to achieving these goals, the more formalized collective action network appeared superior to the connective action form.     

The Peru Urban Management Education Programme (PEGUP) — linking capacity building with local realities

The development of initiatives for Local Agenda 21 for the cities of Peru, their documentation for the “best practices” programme of HABITAT II, and the demand for a formalized programme of support, capacity building and technical assistance has stimulated the establishment of the Peru Urban Management Education Programme (PEGUP). The PEGUP represents an innovative approach to capacity building, working through different mechanisms of education and training, technical assistance to municipal development of Local Agenda 21 and the promotion of networking and experience exchange. The experiences to date indicate that the set of support mechanisms is in line with the requirements of local governments which need a variety of support on the long road to develop urban management capacities that allow the solution of their urban and environmental problems. PEGUP offers a variety of services which are part of the development strategy of “Forum of Cities for Life” network.     

确定型公交时间表分配

基于分配问题的基础时间表是对一个给定起,迄点及到达,离开时间信息的乘客找到一个最优路径,确定型公交分配在确定最佳路径时不必使总消耗时间最小化,而是使用权因和非时间费用因素。因此,算法是根据时间确定路径的可行性并根据费用业确定路径的吸引力而进行的。