Simplified Strategies Research Articles

Compensation in Residential Real Estate Purchasers’ Decisions

Abstract Predicting demand on the residential real estate market and the behavior of the purchasers requires a wide knowledge of both the economic mechanisms and psychology of decision-making. Decisions on the real estate market are often made by people without professional skills, and using simplified strategies. However, the decision-making process, on top of its heuristic nature, is dynamic and changing. As a result, a discrepancy in the preferred characteristics of planned and actually bought real estate can be observed. Such a discrepancy can be explained with the occurrence of the compensation process. The aim of this article was to recognize and describe the compensation process on the example of the suburban residential real estate market. The aim was achieved by analyzing the preferences of potential buyers in terms of particular characteristics of the location of suburban plots destined for single-family housing (respondents divided into age groups: 25 and 26-40), analyzing the real settlement trend in the suburban zone (the result of actual transactions) and comparing the results, including compensation.

How to Identify Strategy Use and Adaptive Strategy Selection: The Crucial Role of Chance Correction in Weighted Compensatory Strategies

AbstractModel comparisons based on choices are a common method to assess adaptive strategy selection models. We show that one common methodological choice prevailing in parts of this work makes it hard to draw sound conclusions concerning the central questions of how often people indeed use simplified strategies (e.g., fast‐and‐frugal heuristics) and whether they select between them adaptively. Conclusions from this work are biased insofar that more complex weighted compensatory strategies, such as Franklin's Rule, that are considered alternatives to fast‐and‐frugal heuristics are specified in a way that leads to a systematic underestimation of the degree to which they are relied on. Specifically, the common practice of not correcting cue validities for chance level results in a substantial disadvantage for weighted compensatory strategies. Model recovery simulations and a reanalysis of published data correspondingly show overestimation of the reliance on fast‐and‐frugal heuristics for various environments used in prominent studies. Furthermore, our results indicate that the magnitude of this overestimation is contingent on the structure of the environment so that strategy selection is mimicked without any material basis. As a result, even completely rational individuals would be erroneously classified as adaptive users of simple strategies. We recommend that chance corrected implementations of weighted compensatory strategies should be included in all future studies investigating the usage of adaptive strategies and argue that comprehensive re‐analyses of previous work are warranted. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Variations in Substance Use Prevalence Estimates and Need for Interventions among Adult Emergency Department Patients Based on Different Screening Strategies Using the ASSIST.

IntroductionAmong adult emergency department (ED) patients, we sought to examine how estimates of substance use prevalence and the need for interventions can differ, based on the type of screening and assessment strategies employed.MethodsWe estimated the prevalence of substance use and the need for interventions using the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) in a secondary analysis of data from two cross-sectional studies using random samples of English- or Spanish-speaking 18–64-year-old ED patients. In addition, the test performance characteristics of three simplified screening strategies consisting of selected questions from the ASSIST (lifetime use, past three-month use, and past three-month frequency of use) to identify patients in need of a possible intervention were compared against using the full ASSIST.ResultsOf 6,432 adult ED patients, the median age was 37 years-old, 56.6% were female, and 61.6% were white. Estimated substance use prevalence among this population differed by how it was measured (lifetime use, past three-month use, past three-month frequency of use, or need for interventions). As compared to using the full ASSIST, the predictive value and accuracy to identify patients in need of any intervention was best for a simplified strategy asking about past three-month substance use. A strategy asking about daily/near-daily use was better in identifying patients needing intensive interventions. However, some patients needing interventions were missed when using these simplified strategies.ConclusionSubstance use prevalence estimates and identification of ED patients needing interventions differ by screening strategies used. EDs should carefully select strategies to identify patients in need of substance use interventions.

Egocentric biases in comparative volume judgments of rooms.

The elongation of a figure or object can induce a perceptual bias regarding its area or volume estimation. This bias is notable in Piagetian experiments in which participants tend to consider elongated cylinders to contain more liquid than shorter cylinders of equal volume. We investigated whether similar perceptual biases could be found in volume judgments of surrounding indoor spaces and whether those judgments were viewpoint dependent. Participants compared a variety of computer-generated rectangular rooms with a square room in a psychophysical task. We found that the elongation bias in figures or objects was also present in volume comparison judgments of indoor spaces. Further, the direction of the bias (larger or smaller) depended on the observer's viewpoint. Similar results were obtained from a monoscopic computer display (Experiment 1) and stereoscopic head-mounted display with head tracking (Experiment 2). We used generalized linear mixed-effect models to model participants' volume judgments using a function of room depth and width. A good fit to the data was found when applying weight on the depth relative to the width, suggesting that participants' judgments were biased by egocentric properties of the space. We discuss how biases in comparative volume judgments of rooms might reflect the use of simplified strategies, such as anchoring on one salient dimension of the space.

Estimating Lifetime Expected Credit Losses Under IFRS 9

We present an estimation framework of lifetime expected credit losses in accordance with IFRS 9. Rooted in the literature of estimating multi-period default probability, the framework rests on a rigorous definition of term structure of default probability and conditional expectation given forward-looking economic dynamics. It is easy to implement and allows banks to adopt simplified and sophisticated modeling strategies alike. We consider numerous modeling strategies within this framework, and demonstrate examples of implementation.

3D macro-element modelling approach for seismic assessment of historical masonry churches

Recent earthquakes have demonstrated the high vulnerability of cultural heritage buildings, whose seismic assessment and rehabilitation constitute an important issue in seismic regions around the world. The high nonlinear behaviour of masonry material requires ad hoc refined finite element numerical models, whose complexity and computational cost are generally unsuitable for practical applications. For these reasons many authors proposed simplified numerical strategies to be used in engineering practice. However, most of these alternative methods are oversimplified since based on the assumption of in plane behaviour of masonry walls.In this paper a discrete-modelling approach for the simulation of both the in plane and out of-plane response of masonry structures is proposed. The method is applied to a basilica plan church, which has been partially investigated in the literature. The results show the capability of the proposed discrete element approach to simulate the nonlinear response of monumental structures also in those cases in which the ‘in’ and the ‘out’ of plane response cannot be decoupled, as it happens for many structural layouts typical of churches, ancient palaces and several other monumental structures.

Improved probabilistic neural networks with self-adaptive strategies for transformer fault diagnosis problem

Probabilistic neural network has successfully solved all kinds of engineering problems in various fields since it is proposed. In probabilistic neural network, Spread has great influence on its performance, and probabilistic neural network will generate bad prediction results if it is improperly selected. It is difficult to select the optimal manually. In this article, a variant of probabilistic neural network with self-adaptive strategy, called self-adaptive probabilistic neural network, is proposed. In self-adaptive probabilistic neural network, Spread can be self-adaptively adjusted and selected and then the best selected Spread is used to guide the self-adaptive probabilistic neural network train and test. In addition, two simplified strategies are incorporated into the proposed self-adaptive probabilistic neural network with the aim of further improving its performance and then two versions of simplified self-adaptive probabilistic neural network (simplified self-adaptive probabilistic neural networks 1 and 2) are proposed. The variants of self-adaptive probabilistic neural networks are further applied to solve the transformer fault diagnosis problem. By comparing them with basic probabilistic neural network, and the traditional back propagation, extreme learning machine, general regression neural network, and self-adaptive extreme learning machine, the results have experimentally proven that self-adaptive probabilistic neural networks have a more accurate prediction and better generalization performance when addressing the transformer fault diagnosis problem.

Characterization of Visual Scanning Patterns in Air Traffic Control.

Characterization of air traffic controllers' (ATCs') visual scanning strategies is a challenging issue due to the dynamic movement of multiple aircraft and increasing complexity of scanpaths (order of eye fixations and saccades) over time. Additionally, terminologies and methods are lacking to accurately characterize the eye tracking data into simplified visual scanning strategies linguistically expressed by ATCs. As an intermediate step to automate the characterization classification process, we (1) defined and developed new concepts to systematically filter complex visual scanpaths into simpler and more manageable forms and (2) developed procedures to map visual scanpaths with linguistic inputs to reduce the human judgement bias during interrater agreement. The developed concepts and procedures were applied to investigating the visual scanpaths of expert ATCs using scenarios with different aircraft congestion levels. Furthermore, oculomotor trends were analyzed to identify the influence of aircraft congestion on scan time and number of comparisons among aircraft. The findings show that (1) the scanpaths filtered at the highest intensity led to more consistent mapping with the ATCs' linguistic inputs, (2) the pattern classification occurrences differed between scenarios, and (3) increasing aircraft congestion caused increased scan times and aircraft pairwise comparisons. The results provide a foundation for better characterizing complex scanpaths in a dynamic task and automating the analysis process.

Modified Diode Assisted Extended Boost Quasi Z-Source Inverter for PV Applications

The design, simulation and implementation of modified diode assisted extended boost q-ZSI (MDAEB q-ZSI) for photovoltaic application are proposed in this paper. It is the most efficient topology that provides a single stage conversion for PV systems by providing high input voltage gain, reduced number of components count, increased voltage boost property, reduced voltage ratings, reduced voltage stress across the switches and simplified control strategies. Its unique capability in single stage conversion with improved voltage gain is used for voltage buck and boost function. The operating modes and the steady state theoretical analysis of voltage boost, control methods and a system design guide for the proposed topology are investigated in this paper. A simulation model of the PV system based on MDAEB q-ZSI has been built in MATLAB/ SIMULINK. Performance parameters such as Total harmonic distortion (THD), voltage gain, voltage stress and boost factor are computed and compared with the conventional quasi z-source inverter. The prototype model for MDAEB q-ZSI is developed and the results are validated.

Treatment of Hypertension in New Frontiers

This symposium provided an excellent forum in which to discuss the global burden of hypertension (HTN), its challenges, and approaches to best management in new frontiers. The symposium speakers also reviewed recent data for clinical practice, especially those relevant for patients at high risk of HTN. The presentations were delivered within a highly interactive setting to facilitate audience questions and discussion. The symposium was opened by Prof Bryan Williams, who gave a description of the global burden of HTN, emphasising the need for effective, simplified treatment strategies and algorithms to effectively control blood pressure (BP). Prof Gordon Thomas McInnes then gave an overview of the challenges faced when treating HTN in the developing world and the best management practices of HTN adopted across different countries. HTN control in Latin America (LA) and the Caribbean region, and its opportunities and challenges was the subject of the next presentation given by Dr Jesús Isea-Pérez. Lastly, Dr Jorge Sison discussed HTN control in Asia and the Middle East, presenting real-world data in addition to a review of the latest clinical data on optimal management of HTN, and focussing on the use of single-pill combination (SPC) therapies. This engaging and interactive symposium was facilitated by multiplechoice questions posed by speakers, allowing audience participation via an electronic voting system. The meeting closed with a lively panel discussion and concluding remarks from Prof Bryan Williams. This truly international symposium brought together more than 550 delegates from across Europe and North America, Africa and the Middle East, Asia and Pacific regions, and Central and South America, with attendees representing a wide range of clinical and professional settings.

Factors affecting the thermo-chemo-mechanical behaviour of massive concrete structures at early-age

Different factors related to construction site conditions must be accounted for when designing concrete massive structures in order to accurately predict the cracking risks at early-age. Detailed descriptions of the thermal and mechanical boundary conditions as well as analyses accounting for the coupling between damage and creep may lead to computationally expensive simulations campaign. On the other hand, simplified modelling strategies have been extensively used but may not capture accurately key aspects of such analysis. Based on a previous chemo-thermal analysis by Honorio et al. (Eng Struct 80:173–188, 2014), the present study focuses on the mechanical behaviour of a specific structure by making use of a coupled thermo-chemo-creep-damage model. Simplified modelling strategies to treat the external restraints and some thermal boundary conditions are compared to more realistic ones. The risks of cracking are assessed by means of a cracking index (CI) and a damage model. Restraint conditions in which the ground is not represented leads to cracking risks in different zones if compared to the case with the ground. It is shown that, the ambient temperature affects directly the tensile stresses reached and the oscillation of the temperature within a day may play a non-negligible role. The effect of damage and its coupling with creep are analysed, and a strong influence of the corresponding coupling parameter on the cracking initiation and propagation is observed.

Employers’ perceptions and attitudes toward the Canadian national standard on psychological health and safety in the workplace: A qualitative study

The estimated societal and economic costs of mental illness and psychological injury in the workplace is staggering. Governments, employers and other stakeholders have been searching for policy solutions. This qualitative, exploratory study sought to uncover organizational receptivity to a voluntary comprehensive standard for dealing with psychological health and safety in the workplace. A series of five focus groups were conducted in a large Western Canadian city in November 2013. The seventeen participants were from the fields of healthcare, construction/utilities, manufacturing industries, business services, and finance. They worked in positions of management, consulting, human resources, health promotion, health and safety, mediation, and occupational health and represented organizations ranging in size from 20 to 100,000 employees. The findings confirm and illustrate the critical role that psychological health and safety plays across workplaces and occupations. This standard resonated across the represented organizations and fit with their values. This alignment posed challenges with articulating its added value. There appears to be a need for simplified engagement and implementation strategies of the standard that can be tailored to the nuanced differences between types and sizes of industries. It appears that organizations in the most need of improving psychological health and safety may be the least receptive.

Effects of simulated pulpal pressure, mechanical and thermocycling challenge on the microtensile bond strength of resin luting cements

This study aimed at comparing the microtensile bond strength (µTBS) of three simplified luting strategies after different aging processes. Sixty human molars were prepared to expose flat middle dentin surfaces which received the following luting procedures: (i) SB+ARC – two-step etch-and-rinse adhesive+conventional resin cement (Adper Singlebond 2+RelyX ARC, 3M-ESPE); (ii) S3+PAN – one-step self-etch adhesive+conventional resin cement (Clearfil S3+Panavia F2.0, Kuraray Medical); (iii) U200 – self-adhesive resin cement (RelyX U200,3M-ESPE). The specimens were finally restored by indirect resin composite procedures (Filtek Z100,3M-ESPE). The aging regimens were water storage at 37°C for one week (control), one week of 20cm H2O simulated pulpal pressure (SPP), 200,000 mechanical loading (ML) cycles, or 5000 thermal cycles (TC). The µTBS data was analyzed by two-way ANOVA and Tukey's test (α=0.05). SB+ARC showed significantly higher µTBS for control and all aging processes (p<0.001). Nevertheless, TC had no effect on the bond strength of SB+ARC. No difference in µTBS was observed between S3+PAN and U200 after SPP (p=0.251), but significant lower values were found for U200 after ML (p=0.010) besides being superior in the control groups (p<0.001). For U200, all ageing regimens induced significant reductions in the bond strength (p<0.001) with a more pronounced negative effect after ML. S3+PAN showed significant lower bond strength (p=0.010) only after ML aging. Two-step etch-and-rinse adhesive associated with dual-curing conventional resin cement may present the highest overall µTBS. However, the use of S3 one-step self-etch adhesive along with conventional resin cements may provide the most stable luting performance under the tested aging strategy.

Approximation of the maximum dynamic stress range in steel catenary risers using artificial neural networks

Adequate assessment of fatigue damage in steel catenary risers (SCRs) is essential, and usually evaluated with time consuming numerical analyses. Simplified design strategies would improve the efficiency of the screening tasks in the early design stages.As part of on-going research aiming to define a simplified fatigue design procedure for SCRs in the touchdown zone (TDZ), the sensitivity of fatigue damage to various parameters is explored using a large database (>40,000 cases). An approximation of the maximum stress range in the TDZ is established using several artificial neural networks and predicts well the fatigue life of selected example SCRs.

Control allocation strategies for an electric vehicle with a wheel hub motor failure

Three fault-tolerant control strategies for electric vehicles with wheel hub motors are presented and compared, which are all based on the control allocation principle. The main objective is to maintain the directional stability of the vehicle in case of a component failure during high speed manoeuvres. Two simplified strategies that are suited for on-board implementation are derived and compared to an optimal control allocation strategy and a reference vehicle with a basic electronic stability control system. The occurring faults are considered to be in the electric high-voltage system that can arise in wheel hub motors. All three control allocation strategies show improved re-allocation of traction forces after a severe fault, and hence an improved directional stability. However, the performance of both simplified algorithms shows limitations in case of force demands outside the capabilities of the respective actuator. This work shows that vehicle safety is increased by the proposed fault-tolerant control strategies.

Detailed FE and DE Modelling of Stone Masonry Arch Bridges for the Assessment of Load-carrying Capacity

This paper reports on numerical modelling strategies for assessment of the load capacity of stone arch bridges based on realistic knowledge of the constituent material properties. Detailed micro-models based on FEM and DEM with suitable nonlinear behaviour of the bridge materials are used to evaluate the bridge structural behaviour under incremental static loading. Simplified modelling strategies based on rigid blocks analysis is also used for comparative purposes. Results of laboratory testing performed to characterize the deformability and strength parameters of the bridge materials (masonry and infill) are used to support the structural analysis. The study comprised four existing road bridges located in the North of Portugal. Experimental modal identification of the bridge cases has also been included in the study with the aim of updating and validating the bridge models.

Numerical study of the 3D failure envelope of a single pile in sand

The paper presents a comprehensive study of the failure envelope (or capacity diagram) of a single elastic pile in sand. The behavior of a pile subjected to different load combinations is simulated using a large number of finite element numerical calculations. The sand is modeled using a constitutive law based on hypoplasticity. In order to find the failure envelope in the three-dimensional space (i.e. horizontal force H, bending moment M and vertical force V), the radial displacement method and swipe tests are numerically performed. It is found that with increasing vertical load the horizontal bearing capacity of the pile decreases. Furthermore, the presence of bending moment on the pile head significantly influences the horizontal bearing capacity and the capacity diagram in the H–M plane manifests an inclined elliptical shape. An analytical equation providing good agreement with the 3D numerical results is finally proposed. The formula is useful for design purposes and the development of simplified modeling numerical strategies such as macro-element.

Simplified feeding strategies for the fed-batch cultivation of Kluyveromyces lactis GG799 for enhanced recombinant xylanase production

A xylanase gene (xyn2) from Trichoderma reesei ATCC 58350 was previously cloned and expressed in Kluyveromyces lactis GG799. The production of the recombinant xylanase was conducted in a developed medium with an optimised batch and with fed-batches that were processed with glucose. The glucose served as a carbon source for cell growth and as an inducer for xylanase production. In a 1-L batch system, a glucose concentration of 20gL(-1) and 80% dissolved oxygen were found to provide the best conditions for the tested ranges. A xylanase activity of 75.53UmL(-1) was obtained. However, in the batch mode, glucose depletions reduced the synthesis of recombinant xylanase by K. lactis GG799. To maximise the production of xylanase, further optimisation was performed using exponential feeding. We investigated the effects of various nitrogen sources combined with the carbon to nitrogen (C/N) molar ratio on the production of xylanase. Of the various nitrogen sources, yeast extract was found to be the most useful for recombinant xylanase production. The highest xylanase production (110.13UmL(-1)) was measured at a C/N ratio of 50.08. These conditions led to a 45.8% increase in xylanase activity compared with the batch cultures. Interestingly, the further addition of 500gL(-1) glucose led to a 6.2-fold increase (465.07UmL(-1)) in recombinant xylanase activity. These findings, together with those of the exponential feeding strategy, indicate that the composition of the C/N molar ratio has a substantial impact on recombinant protein production in K. lactis.

Quantitative flow cytometric identification of aberrant T cell clusters in erythrodermic cutaneous T cell lymphoma. Implications for staging and prognosis

AimsAssessment of peripheral blood tumour burden for staging of cutaneous T cells lymphoma is most often accomplished by flow cytometry (FC) using various non-standarised strategies. We report the results of...

Indicial functions and flutter derivatives: A generalized approach to the motion-related wind loads

This paper presents a general time-domain description of the loads acting on a moving cylindrical body immersed in a two-dimensional low-speed flow, aiming to consistently extend the framework of thin airfoil theory to mildly bluff sections, such as those usually employed for decks of modern long-span bridges. In order to systematically accommodate typical features of bluff-body aerodynamics, the classical Theodorsen and Wagner results are reorganized within a unified dimensionless approach, and generalized preserving their main formal structure. Accordingly, circulatory and non-circulatory contributions are separately described and superimposed, and generalized downwash-related terms are introduced. The strong duality between time-domain and frequency-domain representations is focused, and direct relationships between proper Wagner-like indicial functions and Theodorsen-like circulatory functions are deduced. Thereby, following the Scanlan formulation for bridge deck sections, flutter derivatives are represented by superimposing circulatory and non-circulatory effects, resulting in a frequency-domain description fully consistent with the Theodorsen's theory.The model is based on few parameters that can be estimated by simplified strategies and, when applicable, by asymptotic relationships. An identification procedure involving few experiments or numerical simulations is proposed and numerically implemented. Simulation results obtained in the case of a flat thin plate and of a closed box section, similar to the cross-section of the Great Belt East Bridge, are successfully compared with theoretical and/or numerical solutions, highlighting effectiveness and soundness of the presented identification strategy.