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Key factors influencing adoption of next-generation transportation technologies among people with disabilities
Get PDFThe evolving landscape of transportation technology holds significant potential for enhancing mobility for people with disabilities. However, the adoption of emerging transportation modes, such as autonomous vehicles (AVs), and micromobility options, is influenced by a plethora of factors. This study investigates these factors within the context of the United Kingdom’s disability community, accounting for about 24% of the total population. Using a multi-engagement approach, including 8 focus groups with 51 participants, we examined the preferences and adoption patterns for 8 new mobility modes among people with diverse disabilities.Focusing on the impact of attitudinal barriers stemming from participation accessibility, the study explores how these barriers influence the willingness of people with disabilities to adopt and use emerging technologies in transport. Through these sessions, the study unveiled a profound difficulty in comprehending new transport technologies among participants, resulting from their limited exposure to these concepts. This lack of familiarity significantly influenced their attitudes towards usage, with perceived control and safety emerging as major concerns in evaluating if the choice is limited to awareness.The results also indicate clear distinctions in transportation choices based on specific disability types and socio-economic factors. AV remote taxis and AV taxis emerged as preferred modes for those with mobility issues and anxiety disorders, respectively, emphasizing the need for stress-free and convenient travel. Gender and location significantly influenced adoption rates, with males and urban residents demonstrating a higher inclination towards autonomous transportation modes. Age and marital status also played roles in adoption behaviour, indicating varying acceptance levels across different demographic groups. A significant portion of participants cited apprehension about safety during boarding and alighting, and concerns over financial constraints for AV private cars.Despite these barriers, the appeal of increased mobility and virtual assistance contributed to the overall interest in emerging transportation technologies. AV taxis emerged as the most preferred choice among those experiencing stress and general social anxiety, indicating a desire for comfort and relaxation during transit. Vision, speech, learning, hearing, and mobility impairments appeared as crucial factors influencing the adoption of AV taxis.Our study underscores the importance of addressing these nuanced needs and ensuring that new mobility technologies are designed with inclusivity and accessibility in mind. At the end of our study, we provide detailed recommendations for creating accessible and user-friendly features for future transport solutions for people with various physical and mental health disabilities. These insights can guide stakeholders in developing transportation solutions that contribute to a more equitable and accessible transportation system for vulnerable communities such as those with disabilities
The Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland Vol 1 Part 1:From the Earliest Times to 1707 – Foundations, Production and Expansion
No full textBusiness group affiliation and misreporting:evidence from Korean <i>chaebols</i>
No full textWhile prior studies suggest that business groups actively manage their earnings, direct evidence on whether or how they ultimately violate accounting rules remains scarce. Our investigation of Korean business groups reveals a negative association between business group affiliation and detected misreporting propensity, unexpectedly signalling less detection of misreporting among group affiliates. However, further analyses indicate that misreporting complexity, captured by cases involving valuation of derivatives, private companies, and other complex financial instruments, may obscure detection of misreporting in business groups. We also find that within business groups, misreporting is disproportionately concentrated in affiliates positioned closer to controlling families on the pyramidal ownership chain, where it is more likely to benefit these controlling families. However, misreporting affiliates are rarely the ultimate parents. Overall, our findings suggest that business groups strategically balance the costs and benefits of misreporting to maximise gains for controlling owners while mitigating their exposure to legal and reputational risks
Dynamic Swarm Intelligence for Time Series Forecasting in the Presence of Concept Drift
No full textA time series is a sequence of numerical data arriving sequentially as a data stream. Typically, data streams’ generating distributions change over time (i.e., concept drifts), potentially degrading predictive model performance. Despite extensive literature on time series forecasting and concept drift handling separately, few studies address both problems together. Recently, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) has been applied to dynamic optimization problems and training neural networks for forecasting. Building on these PSO applications, we propose the first approach using dynamic swarm intelligence to address concept drift in time series forecasting. Our approach includes three strategies: (i) using swarm models to detect concept drifts; (ii) managing swarm models to adapt to new concepts; and (iii) utilizing past swarm models for recurrent drifts. Experiments with six synthetic and four real-world datasets demonstrated that the proposed approach was competitive in concept drift detection, achieving the best forecasting errors compared to existing methods. This suggests dynamic swarm intelligence is a promising method for handling concept drift in time series forecasting
Risk of Revision and Patient-Reported Outcomes Following Primary UKR Performed Using Computer Navigation or Patient-Specific Instrumentation:An Analysis of National Joint Registry Data
No full textBackground: Computer navigation and patient-specific instrumentation in unicompartmental knee replacement (UKR) improve the precision of implant positioning, but there is limited information regarding their impact on implant survival and patient-reported outcomes. We aimed to compare postoperative implant survival, Oxford Knee Score (OKS) values, health-related quality of life (measured using the EuroQol-5 Dimension 3-level version [EQ-5D-3L]), and intraoperative complications between UKRs performed using computer navigation or patient-specific instrumentation versus conventional instrumentation. Methods: Using National Joint Registry data, an observational study of patients who underwent primary UKR for osteoarthritis between 2003 and 2020 was performed. The primary analyses focused on all-cause revision, and the secondary analyses focused on differences in the OKS and EQ-5D-3L at 6 to 12 months postoperatively. To account for several covariates, weights based on propensity scores were generated. Cox proportional hazards models and generalized linear models were used to assess for differences in revision risk, and OKS and EQ-5D-3L change scores, respectively, between patient groups. Sensitivity analyses accounting for body mass index were performed. Effective sample sizes (ESSs) were computed, representing the statistical power comparable with that of an unweighted sample. Results: Compared with conventional instrumentation, the hazard ratio (HR) for all-cause revision was 1.126 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.909 to 1.395; p = 0.277; ESS, 4,273) with computer navigation and 0.805 (95% CI, 0.442 to 1.467; p = 0.478; ESS, 1,199) with patient-specific instrumentation. No difference was found in the change in OKS between the groups (21.287; 95% CI, 22.851 to 0.278; p = 0.107; ESS, 470), although improvement in the EQ-5D-3L scores was relatively lower for computer-navigated UKR compared with conventional instrumentation (20.049, 95% CI, 20.093 to 2 0.005; p = 0.028; ESS, 455). However, sensitivity analyses demonstrated that computer navigation was associated with an increased risk of all-cause revision (HR, 1.446; 95% CI, 1.102 to 1.898; p = 0.008; ESS, 3,011) and relatively smaller improvements in the OKS (22.845; 95% CI, 25.006 to 20.684; p = 0.010; ESS, 272) and EQ-5D-3L scores (20.087; 95% CI, 20.145 to 20.030; p = 0.003; ESS, 286). There were no differences in intraoperative complications (p = 0.073). Conclusions: This study found no clinically meaningful differences in patient-reported outcomes following computer-navigated UKR. Although likely underpowered, the primary analyses showed no difference in implant survival. While a sensitivity analysis suggested that computer navigation could worsen implant survival, this analysis had a smaller sample size. These findings highlight potential signals that warrant further investigation. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.</p
Analysis of output performance and low-grade heat recovery efficiency in thermal regeneration ammonia-based flow battery under various flow fields
No full textThe structure of the flow channel has a crucial impact on output capability and thermoelectric conversion efficiency of the Thermal Regeneration Ammonia-based Flow Battery (TRAFB) used for waste heat recovery. In this work, the three-dimensional numerical models of the battery with various flow channel configurations, which couple mass transfer and electrochemical reactions, have been established. Firstly, a comparative analysis of five classical flow channels (rectangular, parallel, interdigitated, serpentine, and spiral) is conducted to examine their influence on the battery's voltage, power, electrical capacity, energy density, active species concentration distribution, and uniformity. Subsequently, the effects of flow channel depth, width, and initial reactant molarity on the battery's output capability and energy storage performance are explored to optimize the flow channel structural parameters and battery operating parameters. In addition, the thermoelectric conversion capability of the battery is a key focus of the study. The research results indicate that the battery with a serpentine flow channel demonstrates the best performance. In terms of enhancing the battery performance, the order is serpentine > spiral > interdigitated > parallel > rectangular. Moreover, by reducing the depth and width of the flow channel, the peak power, energy density, and electrical capacity of the battery can be further enhanced. In addition, as initial Cu2+ molarity grows, the peak power, energy density, and electrical capacity of the battery all show a trend of first increasing and then decreasing, with the maximum values achieved at 0.4 M initial Cu2+ molarity. After enhancement by the serpentine flow channel with both depth and width of 0.5 mm, up to ∼50.00 % Carnot relative efficiency can be attained by the battery during low-power operation. Even when operating at limited power, it is still capable of achieving a Carnot relative efficiency of ∼11.22 %, which is significantly higher than the 5 % commercial benchmark
Are Routine Jobs Moving South? Evidence from Changes in the Occupational Structure of Employment in the United States and Mexico
No full textEmployment in middle-wage jobs has declined in the United States over recent decades. At the same time, US trade with developing countries such as Mexico has intensified. We analyze whether the loss of middle-wage employment in the United States can be attributed to increasing trade with Mexico. We do this by contrasting the observed changes in employment across 175 detailed occupational categories in the two countries and find that, with few exceptions, occupations that declined in the United States have also declined in Mexico. The evidence is inconsistent with the hypothesis that trade between the United States and Mexico is a primary driver of the decline of middle-wage employment in the United States
Examining When Imaginative Involvement Relates to Worry and Generalized Anxiety:Moderating Effect of Negative Affect
No full textDespite theoretical connections between imagery and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), particularly worry, research, to date, has not supported a bivariate association between imaginative involvement and GAD/worry. This study extended existing research focused on a bivariate association by examining the moderating effect of negative affect and positive affect. This study includes a sample of U.S.-residing adults (N = 250) and a replication sample of college students (N = 484). Participants completed self-report measures, with different measures of imaginative involvement and symptom severity used across the two samples. In both samples, the association between imaginative involvement and symptom severity depended on negative affect. The magnitude of the interactive effect was small (f 2 = .05 and .02) and consistent with the magnitude of effect sizes for interactive effects typically seen in questionnaire-based studies. Regions of significance testing indicated an association between imaginative involvement and symptom severity was present only starting around and above the average negative affect score. Results across samples offered mixed support for positive affect as a moderator. Study results and future directions are discussed in terms of the potential cognitive avoidance functions of worry in response to imaginative involvement within GAD
Delusion as embodied emotion:a qualitatively driven, multimethod study of first-episode psychosis in the UK
No full textBackgroundDelusions in psychosis involve complex and dynamic experiential, affective, cognitive, behavioural, and interpersonal alterations. Their pattern of emergence during the early stages of illness remains poorly understood and the origin of their thematic content unclear. Phenomenological accounts have emphasised alterations of selfhood and reality experience in delusion formation but have not considered the role of life events and other contextual factors in the development of these disturbances. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between self-experience and the lived world in first-episode psychosis by situating the phenomenological analysis of delusions in the context of the person's life narrative.MethodsIn this qualitatively driven study, we recruited individuals with lived experience of delusions receiving care from three Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) teams in the UK. People with lived experience were involved in the development of the study design and protocol. Inclusion criteria were that the individual was being treated within an EIP service; past or current experience of clinically significant delusions, assessed by the attending psychiatrist to be at least of moderate severity; aged between 18 and 65 years; and willing and able to give informed consent and able to undertake interviews in English. Exclusion criteria included presence of a psychotic disorder solely related to substance intoxication or withdrawal. We used a novel multi-perspectival design to investigate delusions across three analytical standpoints: standard clinical psychopathology (third person), phenomenological psychopathology (a top-down approach to eliciting first-person data), and narrative inquiry (a bottom-up approach to eliciting first-person data). Delusion content was classified based on the definitions provided by the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms. Participants completed standardised psychometric scales, a narrative interview (ad-hoc Life Story Interview), and a phenomenological (Examination of Anomalous World Experience [EAWE]) interview. Findings were integrated through meta-inference across analytical frameworks.FindingsBetween Jan 4, 2023, and June 14, 2023, 33 interview sessions were completed with ten adults with first-episode psychosis and lived experience of delusions (three men, six women, and one person who was non-binary; median age 24·5 years [IQR 14·8]; eight White, two White and Black Caribbean). The three most common delusion themes were: persecutory (ten [100%]), reference (nine [90%]), and grandiose or religious (nine [90%]). No theme occurred in isolation. The phenomenological component of the analysis revealed a global, qualitative shift in the subjective experience of the lived world, with total EAWE scores ranging from 13 to 48 (mean 26·5 [SD 10·85]). The first narrative theme highlighted the role of early and repeated negative interpersonal emotions (especially shame) and subsequent experiential avoidance or immersion and absorption to understand the embodied phenomenology of delusions emerging in later life: (1) recurrent shame, anger, fear, and feelings of being controlled; and (2) “it really turned my whole life upside down”: coping with emotional upheavals before the onset of delusions. The second narrative theme revealed three main patterns of emotional transformation of the world and the self: (1) being under the spotlight: from embodied shame to almighty invincibility; (2) being part of something bigger: from meaninglessness and absence to embodied love, awe, and hope; and (3) being in a simulation: life without a body, cut off from others.InterpretationThe emergence and evolution of delusions reflected a temporally extended, embodied, and cognitive–linguistic process characterised by an emotional transformation of the self and the world as a unified conscious experience. Metonymic thinking and language linked to contiguous bodily experiences appeared to explain some of the apparently incomprehensible or extreme delusional appraisals of self and world, such as being a bad person or being connected to God. Prevention and intervention models for psychosis should consider the role of the lived body for the regulation of emotions, and the effect of the surrounding material and social environments as central affective–regulatory mechanisms, and potential targets for intervention and support.FundingPriestley Scholarship and the Wellcome Trust.</div
Induction chemotherapy and molecular MRD influence outcomes in KMT2A-rearranged AML
No full textWe analyzed 217 patients with KMT2A-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 2 large sequential randomized trials. Those randomized to FLAG-Ida (fludarabine, cytarabine, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, idarubucin) had markedly lower rates of relapse than other chemotherapy regimens. Molecular measurable residual disease assessment after cycle 2 was strongly prognostic for relapse and death. The trials were registered at the ISRCTN Registry as AML17 ISRCTN55675535 and AML19 ISRCTN78449203
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