Toward an understanding of the implementation of management innovation in international joint ventures: A multilevel perspective

in European Management Review (in press)

Implementing management innovation (MI) is a great challenge for international joint ventures (IJVs), specifically for those between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and local firms. Different multilevel ... [more ▼]

Implementing management innovation (MI) is a great challenge for international joint ventures (IJVs), specifically for those between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and local firms. Different multilevel factors have been shown in the international business literature to play a role in MI implementation within IJVs. In this paper, we add to this literature by showing that these factors do not act in isolation and that their interplay must be considered. To this aim, we draw on qualitative data from 35 CEOs and TMT members of five IJVs between European MNEs and Tunisian local firms. Overall, our study reveals that depending on the type of IJV, the multilevel factors playing a role in the implementation of MI are different [less ▲]

War as an Enduring Determinant of Party Choice in Postwar Southeast Europe

in Europe-Asia Studies (in press)

In postwar elections, voter choices are often shaped by the memory of past violence. Taking Bosnia & Hercegovina and Croatia as case studies, this study examines war as an enduring determinant of party ... [more ▼]

In postwar elections, voter choices are often shaped by the memory of past violence. Taking Bosnia & Hercegovina and Croatia as case studies, this study examines war as an enduring determinant of party choice among the age cohorts who lived through the wars of the 1990s, and the cohorts who were born after. Based on a representative survey of over 5,000 citizens, the results show that in Bosnia & Hercegovina, war-related issues and social divisions continue to inform party preferences in the postwar generation as much as they did in the generations that came before. In Croatia, by contrast, war-related issues are showing signs of diminishing political relevance. [less ▲]

Schumpeterian entrepreneurial digital identity and funding from venture capital firms

in Journal of Technology Transfer (in press)

Schumpeterian entrepreneurs are considered agents of innovation and technology transfer. However, to fulfill this role, they need entrepreneurial finance. From the perspective of digital identity, we ... [more ▼]

Schumpeterian entrepreneurs are considered agents of innovation and technology transfer. However, to fulfill this role, they need entrepreneurial finance. From the perspective of digital identity, we examine the relationship between a Schumpeterian digital identity and venture capital (VC) funding. Because the VC industry celebrates innovative and visionary entrepreneurship, we posit that a founder’s digital identity as a Schumpeterian-type entrepreneur influences the venture’s chances of receiving VC funding. A quantitative analysis of the language used by 3313 founders in a large sample of Twitter messages, however, provides a mixed picture. While some dimensions of Schumpeterian entrepreneurship have a positive relationship with the acquisition of resources from VC firms (entrepreneurial vision and optimism), other dimensions seem to have no (uncertainty tolerance and rationality) or even a decreasing (achievement motivation) effect. The negative relationships observed can be explained by the particularities of the VC business model, which does not align with Schumpeterian entrepreneurship in all respects. Our study contributes to research on Schumpeterian entrepreneurship, the financing of technology transfer, and the link between entrepreneurial digital identity and entrepreneurial finance. From a practical perspective, the results of our study demonstrate the limits of VC with regard to the financing of technology transfer and highlight the need for public funding through governmental VC or agencies for (disruptive) innovation. [less ▲]

Development and initial validation of a self-report measure to assess eating disorderspecific interoceptive perception

in Psychological Assessment (in press)

Interoceptive deficits – particularly with respect to the perception of emotions, hunger, and satiety – constitute important targets for intervention in eating disorders (EDs). Suitable self4 report ... [more ▼]

Interoceptive deficits – particularly with respect to the perception of emotions, hunger, and satiety – constitute important targets for intervention in eating disorders (EDs). Suitable self4 report measures to identify these deficits, however, are lacking. We, therefore, developed and validated a multidimensional questionnaire to assess eating disorder-specific interoceptive perception (EDIP) in terms of the ability to perceive and discriminate between emotions, hunger, and satiety. In two independent samples with a total of 2058 individuals (22.74% with self8 reported EDs), exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a four-factor solution of the EDIP Questionnaire (EDIP-Q) with the subscales Emotions, Hunger, Satiety, and Discrimination. The EDIP-Q has sound psychometric properties and was related to convergent questionnaires but unrelated to divergent self-report measures, supporting its construct validity. Participants with self-reported EDs had significantly lower EDIP-Q scores compared to participants without self-reported ED diagnosis. While individuals with self-reported anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge-eating disorder (BED) report similar difficulties in perceiving emotions, participants with BN and BED report greater difficulties in perceiving satiety and differentiating between hunger and emotional states compared to participants with AN. In contrast, individuals with AN report higher sensibility to satiety, but lower sensibility to hunger compared to individuals with BN and BED. The EDIP-Q is a valuable clinical tool to establish profiles of deficits in EDIP that provides the basis for developing more targeted treatment approaches for EDs. [less ▲]

Fear of physical activity relates to cardiac interoception and symptom distress in patients with chronic heart failure

in Mental Health and Physical Activity (in press)

Background: Patients with chronic heart failure often experience symptoms during physical activity, such as shortness of breath and tachycardia, which may result in fear of physical activity (FoPA). This ... [more ▼]

Background: Patients with chronic heart failure often experience symptoms during physical activity, such as shortness of breath and tachycardia, which may result in fear of physical activity (FoPA). This study tested whether interoception (i.e., the perception of body sensations) and symptom distress (i.e., negative appraisal of symptoms) are associated with FoPA in outpatients with chronic heart failure. Method: FoPA was assessed with the Fear of Activities in Situations (FActS) in patients with diagnosed heart failure and healthy controls. A heartbeat tracking task and self-reports were used to assess interoceptive accuracy and interoceptive attention in patients and controls. Heart failure-related distress was assessed using ratings of symptom and treatment burden in patients. Multiple regression models were calculated to determine associations with continuous FoPA scores. Results: Patients with low FoPA perceived their heartbeats more accurately than patients with high FoPA and healthy controls. Interoceptive accuracy and symptom distress explained almost half of the variance in FoPA, after adjustments for sex and disease severity, in patients with heart failure. Conclusions: In patients inaccurate interoception and symptom distress were associated with high FoPA, independent of heart failure severity. The perception and appraisal of cardiac arousal and symptoms during physical activity deserve further attention to develop interventions to reduce FoPA in patients with heart failure. [less ▲]

High-Definition Maps: Comprehensive Survey, Challenges and Future Perspectives

in IEEE Open Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems (in press)

In cooperative, connected, and automated mobility (CCAM), the more automated vehicles can perceive, model, and analyze the surrounding environment, the more they become aware and capable of understanding ... [more ▼]

In cooperative, connected, and automated mobility (CCAM), the more automated vehicles can perceive, model, and analyze the surrounding environment, the more they become aware and capable of understanding, making decisions, as well as safely and efficiently executing complex driving scenarios. High-definition (HD) maps represent the road environment with unprecedented centimetre-level precision with lane-level semantic information, making them a core component in smart mobility systems, and a key enabler for CCAM technology. These maps provide automated vehicles with a strong prior to understand the surrounding environment. An HD map is also considered as a hidden or virtual sensor, since it aggregates knowledge (mapping) from physical sensors, i.e. LiDAR, camera, GPS and IMU to build a model of the road environment. Maps for automated vehicles are quickly evolving towards a holistic representation of the digital infrastructure of smart cities to include not only road geometry and semantic information, but also live perception of road participants, updates on weather conditions, work zones and accidents. Deployment of autonomous vehicles at a large scale necessitates building and maintaining these maps by a large fleet of vehicles which work cooperatively to continuously keep maps up-to-date for autonomous vehicles in the fleet to function properly. This article provides an extensive review of the various applications of these maps in highly autonomous driving (AD) systems. We review the state-of-the-art of the different approaches and algorithms to build and maintain HD maps. Furthermore, we discuss and synthesise data, communication and infrastructure requirements for the distribution of HD maps. Finally, we review the current challenges and discuss future research directions for the next generation of digital mapping systems. [less ▲]

Law and Discretion in Monetary Policy and in the Banking Union: Complexity Between High Politics and Administration

in Common Market Law Review (in press)

The controversy over the degree of judicial review of monetary policy decisions triggered by the contrasting Weiss judgments of the German Constitutional Court and of the Court of Justice of the European ... [more ▼]

The controversy over the degree of judicial review of monetary policy decisions triggered by the contrasting Weiss judgments of the German Constitutional Court and of the Court of Justice of the European Union invites an inquiry into the role of law in areas characterised by a high degree of political and technical complexity. This article singles out the structural conditions that qualify complexity in specific instances of decision-making: prognostic assessments, goal-oriented decisions, marked by uncertainty, legal indeterminacy and discretion. These traits characterise both monetary policy decisions and some regulatory decisions taken within the banking union, such as the setting of minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) and the calculation of the leverage ratios of credit institutions (Livret A judgments). Irrespective of the very distinct formal-institutional legal frameworks of these two policy fields, in those conditions legality may be determined by the discretionary choices of the decision-maker. For this reason, they impact the court’s deployment of legal principles, namely proportionality and careful and impartial examination. This cross-sector comparison sheds light on the relative specificity of monetary policy, and leads to rejecting the transposition of a distinction between ‘high politics’ and ‘ordinary administration’ to EU law, as a means of both explaining and guiding different degrees of judicial review in conditions of complexity. The different constitutional relevance of monetary policy decisions and of ‘ordinary’ banking supervision requires not a distinction that can rationalise judicial review, but a full consideration of the role that the law must have in supporting non-judicial accountability [less ▲]

Invariant density adaptive estimation for ergodic jump diffusion processes over anisotropic classes

in Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference (in press)

We consider the solution of a multivariate stochastic differential equation with Levy-type jumps and with unique invariant probability measure with density μ. We assume that a continuous record of ... [more ▼]

We consider the solution of a multivariate stochastic differential equation with Levy-type jumps and with unique invariant probability measure with density μ. We assume that a continuous record of observations is available. In the case without jumps, Reiss and Dalalyan [7] and Strauch [24] have found convergence rates of invariant density estimators, under respectively isotropic and anisotropic H ̈older smoothness constraints, which are considerably faster than those known from standard multivariate density estimation. We extend the previous works by obtaining, in presence of jumps, some estimators which have the same convergence rates they had in the case without jumps for d ≥ 2 and a rate which depends on the degree of the jumps in the one-dimensional setting. We propose moreover a data driven bandwidth selection procedure based on the Goldenshluger and Lepski method [11] which leads us to an adaptive non-parametric kernel estimator of the stationary density μ of the jump diffusion X. [less ▲]

Im Schatten der Geschichte. Die (vergessene) Gewaltkommission der Bundesregierung zur Analyse und Prävention politisch motivierter Gewalt (1987 bis 1990)

in Zeithistorische Forschungen (in press)

“When viewing is already gambling”—the need for eye-tracking research to examine sports betting cue reactivity.

in Addiction (in press)

Detecting Anomalous Cryptocurrency Transactions: an AML/CFT Application of Machine Learning-based Forensics

in Electronic Markets (in press)

In shaping the Internet of Money, the application of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) to the financial sector triggered regulatory concerns. Notably, while the user anonymity enabled ... [more ▼]

In shaping the Internet of Money, the application of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) to the financial sector triggered regulatory concerns. Notably, while the user anonymity enabled in this field may safeguard privacy and data protection, the lack of identifiability hinders accountability and challenges the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation (AML/CFT). As law enforcement agencies and the private sector apply forensics to track crypto transfers across ecosystems that are socio-technical in nature, this paper focuses on the growing relevance of these techniques in a domain where their deployment impacts the traits and evolution of the sphere. In particular, this work offers contextualized insights into the application of methods of machine learning and transaction graph analysis. Namely, it analyzes a real-world dataset of Bitcoin transactions represented as a directed graph network through various techniques. The modeling of blockchain transactions as a complex network suggests that the use of graph-based data analysis methods can help classify transactions and identify illicit ones. Indeed, this work shows that the neural network types known as Graph Convolutional Networks (GCN) and Graph Attention Networks (GAT) are a promising AML/CFT solution. Notably, in this scenario GCN outperform other classic approaches and GAT are applied for the first time to detect anomalies in Bitcoin. Ultimately, the paper upholds the value of public-private synergies to devise forensic strategies conscious of the spirit of explainability and data openness. [less ▲]

Data-driven Mutation Analysis for Cyber-Physical Systems

in IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (in press)

Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) typically consist of a wide set of integrated, heterogeneous components; consequently, most of their critical failures relate to the interoperability of such components ... [more ▼]

Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) typically consist of a wide set of integrated, heterogeneous components; consequently, most of their critical failures relate to the interoperability of such components. Unfortunately, most CPS test automation techniques are preliminary and industry still heavily relies on manual testing. With potentially incomplete, manually-generated test suites, it is of paramount importance to assess their quality. Though mutation analysis has demonstrated to be an effective means to assess test suite quality in some specific contexts, we lack approaches for CPSs. Indeed, existing approaches do not target interoperability problems and cannot be executed in the presence of black-box or simulated components, a typical situation with CPSs. In this paper, we introduce data-driven mutation analysis, an approach that consists in assessing test suite quality by verifying if it detects interoperability faults simulated by mutating the data exchanged by software components. To this end, we describe a data-driven mutation analysis technique (DaMAT) that automatically alters the data exchanged through data buffers. Our technique is driven by fault models in tabular form where engineers specify how to mutate data items by selecting and configuring a set of mutation operators. We have evaluated DaMAT with CPSs in the space domain; specifically, the test suites for the software systems of a microsatellite and nanosatellites launched on orbit last year. Our results show that the approach effectively detects test suite shortcomings, is not affected by equivalent and redundant mutants, and entails acceptable costs. [less ▲]

Diversifizierung von Kindertagesbetreuungsangeboten durch mixed economy of care: Eine vergleichende Perspektive aus Luxemburg und Deutschland.

in Zeitschrift für Soziologie der Erziehung und Sozialisation = Journal for Sociology of Education and Socialization (in press)

Towards an alternative to territorial jurisdiction to face criminality committed through or facilitated by the use of blockchains

in Eurojus (in press)

On deformation quantization of quadratic Poisson structures

in Communications in Mathematical Physics (in press)

We study the deformation complex of the dg wheeled properad of Z-graded quadratic Poisson structures and prove that it is quasi-isomorphic to the even M. Kontsevich graph complex. As a first application ... [more ▼]

We study the deformation complex of the dg wheeled properad of Z-graded quadratic Poisson structures and prove that it is quasi-isomorphic to the even M. Kontsevich graph complex. As a first application we show that the Grothendieck-Teichmüller group acts on the genus completion of that wheeled properad faithfully and essentially transitively. As a second application we classify all universal quantizations of Z-graded quadratic Poisson structures together with the underlying (so called) homogeneous formality maps. [less ▲]

Enlarging the frame: Issues of inclusion and mental health in an ageing society

in Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities (in press)

This contribution frames the notions of inclusion and mental health by describing trends in European societies at the social and economic level that will have direct consequences for a participative civil ... [more ▼]

This contribution frames the notions of inclusion and mental health by describing trends in European societies at the social and economic level that will have direct consequences for a participative civil society and social cohesion. Starting point is the observation that the world faces challenges at the start of the 21st century that are new and unprecedented in its history. The four global forces that break all the trends known so far in human history include urbanization, accelerating technological development, greater global connections, and population ageing. The authors first describe the scale of population ageing, as ageing populations characterize several developed economies. In a second step, they highlight some consequences of population ageing for social welfare and in a third part they elaborate on the notion of justice and inclusion in rapidly changing societies. [less ▲]

Do banks and microfinance institutions compete? Microevidence from Madagascar

in Economic Development and Cultural Change (in press)

This paper examines whether the loan strategy of a microfinance institution is shaped by the entry of a bank. Specifically, we investigate whether the distance between a borrower of a microfinance ... [more ▼]

This paper examines whether the loan strategy of a microfinance institution is shaped by the entry of a bank. Specifically, we investigate whether the distance between a borrower of a microfinance institution and the closest bank influences loan conditions provided by the microfinance institution. We use an original panel dataset of 32,374 loans granted to 14,834 borrowers provided by one of the largest microfinance institutions in Madagascar between 2008 and 2014. We find that the closer a bank is located to a given MFI borrower, the larger the loan obtained and the less collateral required. We also find that the effect is stronger for clients that could be more easily caught by banks (i.e., large firms and clients without a previous relationship with the MFI). [less ▲]

Safety-aware Location Privacy in VANET: Evaluation and Comparison

in IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology (in press)

VANET safety applications broadcast cooperative awareness messages (CAM) periodically to provide vehicles with continuous updates about the surrounding traffic. The periodicity and the spatiotemporal ... [more ▼]

VANET safety applications broadcast cooperative awareness messages (CAM) periodically to provide vehicles with continuous updates about the surrounding traffic. The periodicity and the spatiotemporal information contained in these messages allow a global adversary to track vehicle movements. Many privacy schemes have been proposed for VANET, but only few schemes consider their impact on safety applications. Also, each scheme is evaluated using inconsistent metrics and unrealistic vehicle traces, which makes comparing the actual performance of different schemes in the wild more difficult. In this paper, we aim to fill this gap and compare different privacy schemes not only in terms of the privacy gained but also their impact on safety applications. A distortion-based privacy metric is initially proposed and compared with other popular privacy metrics showing its effectiveness in measuring privacy. A practical safety metric which is based on Monte Carlo analysis is then proposed to measure the QoS of two safety applications: forward collision warning and lane change warning. Using realistic vehicle traces, six state-of-the-art VANET privacy schemes are evaluated and compared in terms of the proposed privacy and safety metrics. Among the evaluated schemes, it was found that the coordinated silent period scheme achieves the best privacy and QoS levels but fully synchronized silence among all vehicles is a practical challenge. The CAPS and CADS schemes provide a practical compromise between privacy and safety since they employ only the necessary silence periods to prevent tracking and avoid changing pseudonyms in trivial situations. [less ▲]

De quoi les Conseils nationaux de la productivité sont-ils le nom ? Contribution à la réflexion sur le sens de la gouvernance économique européenne et ses effets sur l’administration nationale

in Europe (in press)

Regional foreign banks and financial inclusion: Evidence from Africa

in Economic Modelling (in press)

Regional foreign banks expanded quickly over the past decade in developing and emerging countries and have a growing influence in banking systems. We question whether the development of African regional ... [more ▼]

Regional foreign banks expanded quickly over the past decade in developing and emerging countries and have a growing influence in banking systems. We question whether the development of African regional foreign banks, also called Pan-African banks, influences financial inclusion of firms and households. To this end, we combine the World Bank Global Findex database and the World Bank Enterprise Surveys with a hand-collected database on the presence of regional foreign banks. We find that Pan-African banks presence increases firms’ access to credit and limited evidence that they favor financial access of the middle class by restoring confidence in banks. We suggest that this impact is related to the adoption of an aggressive strategy aiming at gaining market shares rather than through the exploitation of informational and technological advantages. [less ▲]

Security of Distance−Bounding: A Survey

in ACM Computing Surveys (in press)

Distance bounding protocols allow a verifier to both authenticate a prover and evaluate whether the latter is located in his vicinity. These protocols are of particular interest in contactless systems, e ... [more ▼]

Distance bounding protocols allow a verifier to both authenticate a prover and evaluate whether the latter is located in his vicinity. These protocols are of particular interest in contactless systems, e.g. electronic payment or access control systems, which are vulnerable to distance-based frauds. This survey analyzes and compares in a unified manner many existing distance bounding protocols with respect to several key security and complexity features. [less ▲]

Disruption and Recovery: Transitions, Transformations and Trends in Histories of Education

in Encounters in Theory and History of Education (in press)

In times of radical global precarity and unprecedented change, how might histories of education be researched and written and what might be their utility? This special issue of Encounters explores how we ... [more ▼]

In times of radical global precarity and unprecedented change, how might histories of education be researched and written and what might be their utility? This special issue of Encounters explores how we might do histories of education in times of disaster and disruption, and how methods, theories and sources in the history of education are being transformed or reinterpreted in light of our precarious planetary and emotional condition (e.g., Grosvenor and Priem, 2022; Priem, 2022; Novella, 2022; Sriprakash, 2022). The unfolding global pandemic, ecological crises, and reckoning with colonial violence have exposed the hubris and failure of anthropocentrism. Human vulnerability and entanglement with the material and natural world has been laid bare. Today, modernist developmental conceptions of change over time, which position the future as the potential fulfilment of that development, look decidedly less assured in a world where the future now heralds unprecedented, catastrophic change. The frameworks of nationhood that rationalised the idea of history as a process of continual movement towards the future with the transcendental human subject as its hero, are now threatened by entangled planetary forces of epidemic and ecological collapse. The myth of human exceptionalism has been sustained by modernist historiography’s emphases on human sovereignty, agency, and development. Histories of education specifically have justified anthropocentric worldviews. Education has been invoked as the place where ideals of human autonomy, freedom, progress, and rights might be developed, realised, learned. Histories of education as a modernising tool, histories of the stratifying effects of education systems, and of the development of human subjects and societies, have long been written without recourse to their ecological consequences. This special issue asks: what modes of historical understanding are needed to orient us in the maelstrom of our times? It confronts questions of planetary responsibility and centres entangled relations and post-anthropocentric perspectives. Historians have a crucial role to play in the broad-scale historical thinking needed to provide orientation, build community, and open possibilities for generative ways of making sense of our present and repairing our past and future (Pietsch and Flanagan, 2020). Papers in this special issue consider transformations, transitions, and trends in the history of education that are responding to these conditions. [less ▲]

Societal Emotional Environments and Cross-Cultural Differences in Life Satisfaction: A Forty-Nine Country Study

in Journal of Positive Psychology (in press)

In this paper, we introduce the concept of ‘societal emotional environment’: the emotional climate of a society (operationalized as the degree to which positive and negative emotions are expressed in a ... [more ▼]

In this paper, we introduce the concept of ‘societal emotional environment’: the emotional climate of a society (operationalized as the degree to which positive and negative emotions are expressed in a society). Using data collected from 12,888 participants across 49 countries, we show how societal emotional environments vary across countries and cultural clusters, and we consider the potential importance of these differences for well-being. Multilevel analyses supported a ‘double-edged sword’ model of negative emotion expression, where expression of negative emotions predicted higher life satisfaction for the expresser but lower life satisfaction for society. In contrast, partial support was found for higher societal life satisfaction in positive societal emotional environments. Our study highlights the potential utility and importance of distinguishing between positive and negative emotion expression, and adopting both individual and societal perspectives in well-being research. Individual pathways to happiness may not necessarily promote the happiness of others. [less ▲]

Characterization of field homomorphisms through Pexiderized functional equations

in Journal of Difference Equations and Applications (in press)

Arts vs Engineering: Choosing Consumption of and Investment in Education

in Research in Economics (in press)

Semiparametric estimation of McKean-Vlasov SDEs

in Annales de l'Institut Henri Poincaré (B), Probabilités et Statistiques (in press)

Boundlessly Entangled: Travels and Performances of School Hygiene in the Context of Open-Air Education (c. 1904-1936)

in Canadian Bulletin of Medical History (in press)

This article develops a histoire croisée of health education using the example of open-air schools. It reflexively analyses the entangled performances of knowledge and praxis around hygiene in the context ... [more ▼]

This article develops a histoire croisée of health education using the example of open-air schools. It reflexively analyses the entangled performances of knowledge and praxis around hygiene in the context of “international” open-air school conferences and in relation to “materials” of open-air education. Such performances reveal open-air schools as “practice and movement” unbound by “national” or otherwise imagined borders. Fragmentation accompanied their circulation and ensued from non/humans’ active, co-constitutive role in the mediation of knowledge and praxis. While underexplored, material and economic factors were key to this process. Their analysis enriches the study of the “internationalization” of school hygiene. [less ▲]

Digital/material housing financialisation and activism in post-crash Dublin

in Housing Studies (in press)

This paper’s main argument is that housing financialisation can be understood as a set of intertwined digital/material processes, and that resisting housing financialisation requires activism that ... [more ▼]

This paper’s main argument is that housing financialisation can be understood as a set of intertwined digital/material processes, and that resisting housing financialisation requires activism that recognises and capitalises on this dynamic. Drawing from Desiree Fields’ (2017a) work on urban struggles with financialisation, this conceptual argument is unpacked through a case study of post-crash Dublin, an urban space reshaped by housing financialisation and struggles resisting it. Housing has been a key subject of contention in post-crash Dublin and activists’ digital/material struggles illustrate how digital technologies and platforms can be and are appropriated to resist housing financialisation. The paper traces the intertwining of housing financialisation, resistance, and the digital in post-crash Dublin and argues that future research on platform real estate, urbanism, and automated landlord practices must take seriously the ambivalent opportunities, agency, and counter narratives that housing activists create through their digital/material practices. [less ▲]

Development of a Cued Pro- and Antisaccade Paradigm: An Indirect Measure to Explore Automatic Components of Sexual Interest

in Archives of Sexual Behavior (in press)

We developed a cued pro- and antisaccade paradigm (CPAP) to explore automatic components of sexual interest. Heterosexual participants (n = 32 women, n = 25 men) had to perform fast eye movements towards ... [more ▼]

We developed a cued pro- and antisaccade paradigm (CPAP) to explore automatic components of sexual interest. Heterosexual participants (n = 32 women, n = 25 men) had to perform fast eye movements towards and away from sexually relevant or irrelevant stimuli across a congruent (i.e. prosaccade towards sexually relevant stimuli, antisaccade away from sexually irrelevant stimuli) and an incongruent condition (i.e. prosaccade towards sexually irrelevant stimuli, antisaccade away from sexually relevant stimuli). We hypothesized that pro- and antisaccade performance would be influenced by the sexual interest-specific relevance of the presented stimulus (i.e., nude female or male stimulus) and the instructed task (i.e., pro- or antisaccade) and, thus, differ meaningfully between conditions. Results for prosaccades towards sexually relevant stimuli in the congruent condition showed that error rates were lower and latencies were shorter compared with prosaccades towards sexually irrelevant stimuli in the incongruent condition, but only for male participants. In addition, error rates for antisaccades away from sexually irrelevant stimuli in the congruent condition were lower than for antisaccades away from sexually relevant stimuli in the incongruent condition, for both female and male participants. Latencies of antisaccades, however, did not differ between conditions. In comparison with established indirect sexual interest paradigms, the CPAP benefits from measuring highly automated processes less prone to deliberate control. To this end, the CPAP could be applied to explore the interplay of early automatic and deliberate components of sexual information processing. [less ▲]

Family income and material deprivation: do they matter for sleep quality and quantity in early life? Evidence from a longitudinal study.

in Sleep (in press)

Study Objectives: The aim of the present paper is to investigate the determinants of sleeping patterns in children up to age 9 on a large and geographically homogeneous sample of British children and ... [more ▼]

Study Objectives: The aim of the present paper is to investigate the determinants of sleeping patterns in children up to age 9 on a large and geographically homogeneous sample of British children and parents, focusing in particular on the role of economic and social factors, specifically on income. Methods: The data of this study come from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a long-term health research project that recruited over 14,000 pregnant women who were due to give birth between April 1991 and December 1992 in Bristol and its surrounding areas, including some of Somerset and Gloucestershire. Logistic regression models for the sleep problems dummies and log-linear models for the sleep quantity. Results: One additional item in the material deprivation index is associated to an increase of around 10% to 20% in the odds of having at least one sleep problem. Similarly, children from the richest families are less likely to have any sleep problem up to 115 months (around 20% reduction in the odds). Mother’s characteristics (i.e. education and mental health in the pregnancy period) are also significant predictors. Sleep quantity does not vary much and is not sensitive to socioeconomic factors. Conclusion: Exposure to income-related inequalities affects child sleep. Further research is needed in order to understand if sleep in early life influence future health and economic trajectories. [less ▲]

Simulator-based explanation and debugging of hazard-triggering events in DNN-based safety-critical systems

in ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology (in press)

When Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) are used in safety-critical systems, engineers should determine the safety risks associated with failures (i.e., erroneous outputs) observed during testing. For DNNs ... [more ▼]

When Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) are used in safety-critical systems, engineers should determine the safety risks associated with failures (i.e., erroneous outputs) observed during testing. For DNNs processing images, engineers visually inspect all failure-inducing images to determine common characteristics among them. Such characteristics correspond to hazard-triggering events (e.g., low illumination) that are essential inputs for safety analysis. Though informative, such activity is expensive and error-prone. To support such safety analysis practices, we propose SEDE, a technique that generates readable descriptions for commonalities in failure-inducing, real-world images and improves the DNN through effective retraining. SEDE leverages the availability of simulators, which are commonly used for cyber-physical systems. It relies on genetic algorithms to drive simulators towards the generation of images that are similar to failure-inducing, real-world images in the test set; it then employs rule learning algorithms to derive expressions that capture commonalities in terms of simulator parameter values. The derived expressions are then used to generate additional images to retrain and improve the DNN. With DNNs performing in-car sensing tasks, SEDE successfully characterized hazard-triggering events leading to a DNN accuracy drop. Also, SEDE enabled retraining leading to significant improvements in DNN accuracy, up to 18 percentage points. [less ▲]

Lettere alla redazione : il caso della “Buona Domenica” lussemburghese Un fenomeno mediatico italo-lussemburghese

in El Ghibli - Rivista di Letteratura della Migrazione (in press)

A Generic Approach for Solving Nonlinear-Discrete Security-Constrained Optimal Power Flow Problems in Large-Scale Systems

in IEEE Transactions on Power Systems (in press)

This paper proves the practicality of an iterative algorithm for solving realistic large-scale SCOPF problems. This algorithm is based on the combination of a contingency filtering scheme, used to ... [more ▼]

This paper proves the practicality of an iterative algorithm for solving realistic large-scale SCOPF problems. This algorithm is based on the combination of a contingency filtering scheme, used to identify the binding contingencies at the optimum, and a network compression method, used to reduce the complexity of the post-contingency models included in the SCOPF formulation. We show that by combining these two complementary ideas, it is possible to solve in a reasonable time SCOPF problems on large power system models with a large number of contingencies. Unlike most results reported for large-scale SCOPF problems, our algorithm uses a non-linear AC network model in both pre-contingency and post-contingency states, optimizes both active/reactive powers flows jointly, and treats the discrete variables. The proposed algorithm is implemented with state-of-the-art solvers and applied to two systems: a national grid with 2563 buses and 1297 contingencies, and a model of the European transmission network with 9241 buses and 12000 contingencies. [less ▲]

A Polynomial Time Subsumption Algorithm for Nominal Safe $ELO_{\bot}$ under Rational Closure

in Information Sciences (in press)

Description Logics (DLs) under Rational Closure (RC) is a well-known framework for non-monotonic reasoning in DLs. In this paper, we address the concept subsumption decision problem under RC for nominal ... [more ▼]

Description Logics (DLs) under Rational Closure (RC) is a well-known framework for non-monotonic reasoning in DLs. In this paper, we address the concept subsumption decision problem under RC for nominal safe $ELO_{\bot}$, a notable and practically important DL representative of the OWL 2 profile OWL 2 EL. Our contribution here is to define a polynomial time subsumption procedure for nominal safe $ELO_{\bot}$ under RC that relies entirely on a series of classical, monotonic $EL_{\bot}$ subsumption tests. Therefore, any existing classical monotonic $EL_{\bot}$ reasoner can be used as a black box to implement our method. We then also adapt the method to one of the known extensions of RC for DLs, namely Defeasible Inheritance-based DLs without losing the computational tractability. [less ▲]

Short-Packet Communications in Multi-Hop Networks with WET: Performance Analysis and Deep Learning-Aided Optimization

in IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications (in press)

Enhancing reading and digital competencies: Leveraging Instagram Literature Reviews to Increase Learners' Reading Motivation

in andererseits (in press), 11/12

Can the Plight of the European Banking Structural Reforms be a Blessing in Disguise?

in European Business Organization Law Review (in press)

One of the problems perceived to be at the heart of the global financial crisis was an amalgamation of various commercial and investment banking activities under one entity, as well as the ... [more ▼]

One of the problems perceived to be at the heart of the global financial crisis was an amalgamation of various commercial and investment banking activities under one entity, as well as the interconnectedness of the banking entities with other financial institutions, investment funds, and the shadow banking system. This paper focuses on various measures that aim to structurally separate the banking entities and their core functions from riskier financial activities such as (proprietary) trading or investments in alternative investment funds. Although banking structural reforms in the EU, UK, and the US have taken different forms, their common denominator is the separation of core banking functions from certain trading or securities market activities. Having reviewed the arguments for and against banking structural reforms and their varieties in major jurisdictions, including the EU, UK, US, France, and Germany, the paper argues that a more nuanced approach to introducing such measures at the EU level is warranted. Given the different market structures across the Atlantic and the lack of conclusive evidence on the beneficial impact of banking structural reforms, the paper concludes that the withdrawal of the banking structural reforms proposal by the European Commission has been a prudent move. It seems that in the absence of concrete evidence, experimenting with structural reforms at the Member-State level would be less costly and would provide for opportunities for learning from smaller mistakes that could pave the way for a more optimal approach to introducing banking structural reforms at the European level in the future. [less ▲]

Interindividual differences in responses to global inequality

in Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy (in press)

One of humanity’s most pressing problems is the inequality between people from “developed” and “developing” countries, which counteracts joint efforts to combat other large scale problems. Little is known ... [more ▼]

One of humanity’s most pressing problems is the inequality between people from “developed” and “developing” countries, which counteracts joint efforts to combat other large scale problems. Little is known about the psychological antecedents that affect the perception of and behavioral responses to global inequality. Based on, and extending, Duckitt’s (2001) dual-process model, the current research examines psychological antecedents that may explain how people in an industrialized Western country respond to global inequality. In two studies (N1 = 116, N2 = 117), we analyzed the relationship between the Big Five and justice constructs, right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), social dominance orientation (SDO), and behavioral intentions to reduce global inequality. Two-group path analysis revealed support for the dual-process model in that RWA and SDO were important predictors of behavioral intentions and partially acted as mediators between personality and such intentions. Moreover, justice sensitivity explained variance beyond the “classic” DPM variables. In Study 2, we additionally assessed individuals’ global social identification and perceived injustice of global inequality that explained additional variance. Extending previous work on the dual-process model, these findings demonstrate that individual and group-based processes predict people’s responses to global inequality and uncover potentials to promote behavior in the interest of global justice. [less ▲]

Intelligent Blockchain-based Edge Computing via Deep Reinforcement Learning: Solutions and Challenges

in IEEE Network (in press)

The convergence of mobile edge computing (MEC) and blockchain is transforming the current computing services in wireless Internet-of-Things networks, by enabling task offloading with security enhancement ... [more ▼]

The convergence of mobile edge computing (MEC) and blockchain is transforming the current computing services in wireless Internet-of-Things networks, by enabling task offloading with security enhancement based on blockchain mining. Yet the existing approaches for these enabling technologies are isolated, providing only tailored solutions for specific services and scenarios. To fill this gap, we propose a novel cooperative task offloading and blockchain mining (TOBM) scheme for a blockchain-based MEC system, where each edge device not only handles computation tasks but also deals with block mining for improving system utility. To address the latency issues caused by the blockchain operation in MEC, we develop a new Proof-of-Reputation consensus mechanism based on a lightweight block verification strategy. To accommodate the highly dynamic environment and high-dimensional system state space, we apply a novel distributed deep reinforcement learning-based approach by using a multi-agent deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed TOBM scheme in terms of enhanced system reward, improved offloading utility with lower blockchain mining latency, and better system utility, compared to the existing cooperative and non-cooperative schemes. The paper concludes with key technical challenges and possible directions for future blockchain-based MEC research. [less ▲]

University competition and transnational education: the choice of branch campus

in B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics (in press)

Environmental and Sustainability Education in the Benelux Region

in Environmental Education Research (in press), (Special Issue),

Calabi-Yau structures for multiplicative preprojective algebras

in Journal of Noncommutative Geometry (in press)

Smoking related warning messages formulated as questions positively influence short-term smoking behaviour

in Journal of Health Psychology (in press)

Pension Insecurity and Wellbeing in Europe

in Journal of Social Policy (in press)

This paper studies pension insecurity in a sample of non-retired individuals aged 50 years or older from 18 European countries. We capture pension insecurity with the subjective expectations on the ... [more ▼]

This paper studies pension insecurity in a sample of non-retired individuals aged 50 years or older from 18 European countries. We capture pension insecurity with the subjective expectations on the probability that the government will reduce the pensions of the individual before retirement or will increase the statutory retirement age. We argue that changes in economic conditions and policy affect the formation of such probabilities, and through this, subjective wellbeing. In particular, we study the effects of pension insecurity on subjective wellbeing with pooled linear models, regressions per quintiles and instrumental variables. We find a statistically significant, stable and negative association between pension insecurity and subjective wellbeing. Our findings reveal that the individuals who are more affected by pension insecurity are those who are further away fromtheir retirement, have lower income, assess their life survival as low, have higher cognitive abilities and do not expect private pension payments. [less ▲]

Relative critical loci and quiver moduli

in Annales Scientifiques de l'École Normale Supérieure (in press)

Vertiges adolescents : La violence dans Amok de Tullio Forgiarini et ses adaptations

in Cultural Express (in press)

Europeans and Americans in Korea, 1882-1910: A Bourgeois and Translocal Community

in Itinerario (in press), 39(3),

This article deals with the European and American community in Korea between the conclusion of Korea’s first international treaties in the early 1880s and the country’s annexation by the Japanese Empire ... [more ▼]

This article deals with the European and American community in Korea between the conclusion of Korea’s first international treaties in the early 1880s and the country’s annexation by the Japanese Empire in 1910. The article starts out by presenting an overview of the community. Concentrated in Seoul and Chemulp’o, the Anglo-Saxon element dominated a community made up of diplomats, foreign experts in the service of the Korean government, merchants and missionaries. Next, the article describes two key characteristics of the European and American residents in Korea. Firstly, they were individuals defining themselves as bourgeois, or middle-class; secondly, the term “translocality” serves to bring together the multiple layers of border-crossing these individuals were involved in – as long-distance migrants between Europe or Northern America and East Asia, as migrants within the East Asian context, and as representatives of different Euro-American nationalities living together in Korea. [less ▲]

A remark on Schröder's equation: Formal and analytic linearization of iterative roots of the power series f(z)=z

in Monatshefte für Mathematik (in press)

We study Schröder’s equation (i.e. the problem of linearization) for local analytic functions F with F (0)=0, F(0)=1, F(0) a root of 1. While Schröder’s equation in this case need not have even a formal ... [more ▼]

We study Schröder’s equation (i.e. the problem of linearization) for local analytic functions F with F (0)=0, F(0)=1, F(0) a root of 1. While Schröder’s equation in this case need not have even a formal solution, we show that if F is formally linearizable, then it can also be linearized by an invertible local analytic transformation. On the other hand, there exist also divergent series solutions of Schröder’s equation in this situation. We give some applications of our results to iterative functional equations, functional-differential equations and iteration groups. [less ▲]

Network Identifiability from Intrinsic Noise

in IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control (in press)

Möglichkeiten statistischer Erhebungen für politische Strategien – Eine psychologische Deutung der Naturbewusstseinsstudie 2011

in BfN-Skripten (in press)