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On the thermodynamic consistency of Quasi-Linear Viscoelastic models for soft solids
No full textOriginating in the field of biomechanics, Fung’s model of quasi-linear viscoelasticity (QLV) is one of the most popular constitutive theories employed to compute the time-dependent relationship between stress and deformation in soft solids. It is one of the simplest models of nonlinear viscoelasticity, based on a time-domain integral formulation. In the present study, we consider the QLV model incorporating a single scalar relaxation function. We provide natural internal variables of state, as well as a consistent expression of the free energy to illustrate the thermodynamic consistency of this version of the QLV model. The thermodynamic formulation highlights striking similarities between QLV and the internal-variable models introduced by Holzapfel and Simo. Finally, the dissipative features of compressible QLV materials are illustrated in simple tension
Do associations between education and obesity vary depending on the measure of obesity used? A systematic literature review and meta-analysis
No full textBackground: Consistent evidence suggests a relationship between lower educational attainment and total obesity defined using body mass index (BMI); however, a comparison of the relationships between educational attainment and total obesity (BMI ≥30kg/m2) and central obesity (waist circumference (WC) >102cm for men and WC >88cm for women) has yet to be carried out. This systematic literature review (SLR) and meta-analyses aimed to understand whether i) the associations between education and obesity are different depending on the measures of obesity used (BMI and WC), and ii) to explore whether these relationships differ by gender and region. Methods: Medline, Embase and Web of Science were searched to identify studies investigating the associations between education and total and central obesity among adults in the general population of countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Meta-analyses and meta-regression were performed in a subset of comparable studies (n=36 studies; 724,992 participants). Results: 86 eligible studies (78 cross-sectional and eight longitudinal) were identified. Among women, most studies reported an association between a lower education and total and central obesity. Among men, there was a weaker association between lower education and central than total obesity (OR central vs total obesity in men 0.79 (95% CI 0.60, 1.03)). The association between lower education and obesity was stronger in women compared with men (OR women vs men 1.66 (95% CI 1.32, 2.08)). The relationship between lower education and obesity was less strong in women from Northern than Southern Europe (OR Northern vs Southern Europe in women 0.37 (95% CI 0.27, 0.51)), but not among men. Conclusions: Associations between education and obesity differ depending on whether total or central obesity is used among men, but not in women. These associations are stronger among women than men, particularly in Southern European countries
Viewpoint: Engaging the Public with the Pankhurst Home
No full text62 Nelson Street possesses an almost a mythical status in the history of British feminism. Home to Emmeline Pankhurst and her family between 1898 and 1907, on 10 October 1903 its parlour famously hosted the first meeting of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), the militant wing of the women’s suffrage movement. It is now home to the Pankhurst Centre, which houses a museum to the history of the Pankhurst family and to women’s activism more generally, and to Manchester Women’s Aid. Despite its prominence in British history however, supporters and curators have faced a constant battle to sustain the Pankhurst house in the face of limited funding and redevelopment. Our public engagement work with the Pankhurst Centre set out some of the reasons as to why engaging the public with the Pankhurst home remains crucial and why the museum’s new focus on domestic lives of the Pankhurst family can help to draw new audiences to the history of the suffragette movement. It argues that the house itself presents a more inclusive history of feminism than is often acknowledged or associated with the Pankhurst family and that it is a useful case study that brings together important yet relatable links between homes and activism that can engage a range of publics and visitors to the house
An Interactive Decision Tree-Based Evolutionary Multi-Objective Algorithm
No full textRecent research using machine decision makers has revealed that some leading interactive evolutionary multi-objective optimization algorithms do not perform robustly with respect to interactions with preference models (and biases) posited to be representative of human Decision Makers (DMs). In order to model preferences better, we propose an explainable interactive method that uses decision trees to automate (fast) pairwise comparisons based on trade-offs of two given solutions. To cancel out possible biases and errors in estimations, we use the trained tree in holistic comparisons to determine solutions that survive each generation. We test our new method with respect to two different preference models (Tchebychef and Sigmoid) on problems from 2 to 10 objectives, and control both the number of interactions available and various biases. The results suggest the superiority of our method in learning the DM’spreferences and in terms of the utility value of the final solution returned by the algorithm compared with some well-known interactive methods.Keywords: Interactive Evolutionary Multi-Objective Optimization · Decision Tree · Machine Decisio
Feature-based Benchmarking of Distance-based Multi/Many-objective Optimisation Problems: A Machine Learning Perspective
No full textWe consider the application of machine learning techniques to gain insights into the effect of problem features on algorithm performance, and to automate the task of algorithm selection for distance-based multi- and many-objective optimisation problems. This is the most extensive benchmark study of such problems to date. The problem features can be set directly by the problem generator, and include e.g. the number of variables, objectives, local fronts, and disconnected Pareto sets. Using 945 problem configurations (leading to 28 350 instances) of varying complexity, we find that the problem features and the available optimisation budget (i) affect the considered algorithms (NSGA-II,IBEA, MOEA/D, and random search) in different ways and that (ii) it is possible to recommend a relevant algorithm based on problem features.Keywords: Multi/many-objective distance problems · Feature-based performance prediction · Automated algorithm selection.<br/
Detection of hearing problems in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander children: A comparison between clinician-administered and self-administrated hearing tests
No full textObjective: This study evaluated the agreement of self-administered tests with clinicianadministered tests in detecting hearing loss and speech-in-noise deficits in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander children. Design: Children completed clinician-administered audiometry, self-administered automatic audiometry (AutoAud), clinician-administered Listening in Spatialized Noise – Sentences test, and self-administered tablet-based hearing game Sound Scouts. Comparisons were made between tests to determine the agreement of the self-administered tests with clinician-administered tests in detecting hearing loss and speech-in-noise deficits. Study Sample: 297 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 4-14 years from three schools. Results: Acceptable threshold differences of ≤ 5 dB between AutoAud and manual audiometry hearing thresholds were found for 88% of thresholds, with greater agreement for older than for younger children. Consistent pass/fail results on the Sound Scouts speech-in-quiet measure and manual audiometry were found for 81% of children. Consistent pass/fail results on the Sound Scouts speech-in-noise measure and LiSN-S highcue condition were found for 73% of children. Conclusions: This study shows good potential in using self-administered applications as initial tests for hearing problems in children. These tools may be especially valuable for children in remote locations and those from low socio-economic backgrounds who may not have easy access to healthcare
Moving from face-to-face to a web panel: impacts on measurement quality
No full textTime and cost pressures, the availability of alternative sources of data as well as societal changes are leading to a move from traditional face-to-face surveys to web or mixed-mode data collection. While we know that there are mode differences between web and face-to-face (presence of an interviewer or not, type of stimuli, etc.), it is not clear to what extent these differences could threaten the comparability of data collected in face-to-face and web surveys. In this paper, we investigate the differences in measurement quality between the European Social Survey (ESS) Round 8 and the CROss-National Online Survey (CRONOS) panel. We address three main research questions:1) Do we observe differences in terms of measurement quality across face-to-face and web for the same people and questions? 2) Can we explain individual level differences in data quality using respondents’ characteristics? and 3) Does measurement equivalence (metric and scalar) hold across the ESS Round 8 and the CRONOS panel? The results overall suggest that: 1) in terms of data quality, the measurement mode effect between web and face-to-face as implemented in the ESS (i.e. using show-cards) is not very large, 2) none of the variables considered consistently explain individual differences and 3) measurement equivalence often holds for the topics studied
Old spirits of capitalism: Managers and masculine alterity in/as the Korean office
No full textThis article analyzes the aging of a figure of labor: the male Korean office manager. In contrast to its normative heyday in late twentieth century East Asia, the figure of the older manager has become a devalued and deviant figure in contemporary Korea. Based on ethnography of a Korean white-collar workplace, I argue that the older male manager has emerged as a “figure of alterity” that seems to permeate all aspects of Korean company life. By attuning to how indexes of this figure are marked across different areas of office life, from everyday narration to policy, I show how their negative presence can be cited to justify new office reforms. Younger managers shape their own office identities in contrast to older figures, and formal office policies implicitly target managerial stereotypes. An ‘old’ spirit of capitalism, embodied in a personified figure, is just as central in articulating and differentiating models of capitalist subjectivity and institutional identity as a new one.[Labor, Gender, Korea, Aging, Corporations, Enfiguration]본 논문은 노동의 상징인 한국 남성 사무직 관리자들의 노쇠 현상을 분석한다. 20세기 후반 동아시아의 규범적인 전성기에 비추어 볼 때, 나이 많은 관리자의 피규어는 현대 한국 사회에서 평가 절하되고 비정상적인 것으로 비춰지고 있다. 한국 화이트 칼라 사무 환경을 민족지적 현장연구 관점으로 분석한 본 논문은 나이 많은 남성 관리자는 한국 회사 생활의 모든 측면에 스며든 것처럼 보이는 ‘타성의 피규어’로 인식되고 있다고 주장한다. 직원들의 서술에서 회사 내부 정책에 이르기까지 다양한 분야에서 이 피규어를 관찰하고 논의함으로써, 이들의 부정적인 존재가 어떻게 새로운 사무실 개혁을 정당화하는 데 인용될 수 있는 지를 보여줄 것이다. 젊은 관리자들은 나이 많은 관리자들과 대조적인 정체성을 형성하며 인사관리적 정책은 암시적으로 피규어의 고정관념을 지목한다. 의인화된 형상에 구현된 ‘늙은’ 자본주의 정신은 새로운 정신만큼이나 자본주의의 주관성과 제도적인 정체성의 모델을 표현하고 차별화하는 데 중요한 역할을 한다.[노동, 성별, 한국, 노쇠화, 기업, 피규어화]<br/
