Time Reference Research Articles

Methodological approach for measuring the effects of organisational-level interventions on employee withdrawal behaviour

BackgroundTheoretical frameworks have recommended organisational-level interventions to decrease employee withdrawal behaviours such as sickness absence and employee turnover. However, evaluation of such interventions has produced inconclusive results. The aim of this study was to investigate if mixed-effects models in combination with time series analysis, process evaluation, and reference group comparisons could be used for evaluating the effects of an organisational-level intervention on employee withdrawal behaviour.MethodsMonthly data on employee withdrawal behaviours (sickness absence, employee turnover, employment rate, and unpaid leave) were collected for 58 consecutive months (before and after the intervention) for intervention and reference groups. In total, eight intervention groups with a total of 1600 employees participated in the intervention. Process evaluation data were collected by process facilitators from the intervention team. Overall intervention effects were assessed using mixed-effects models with an AR (1) covariance structure for the repeated measurements and time as fixed effect. Intervention effects for each intervention group were assessed using time series analysis. Finally, results were compared descriptively with data from process evaluation and reference groups to disentangle the organisational-level intervention effects from other simultaneous effects.ResultsAll measures of employee withdrawal behaviour indicated statistically significant time trends and seasonal variability. Applying these methods to an organisational-level intervention resulted in an overall decrease in employee withdrawal behaviour. Meanwhile, the intervention effects varied greatly between intervention groups, highlighting the need to perform analyses at multiple levels to obtain a full understanding. Results also indicated that possible delayed intervention effects must be considered and that data from process evaluation and reference group comparisons were vital for disentangling the intervention effects from other simultaneous effects.ConclusionsWhen analysing the effects of an intervention, time trends, seasonal variability, and other changes in the work environment must be considered. The use of mixed-effects models in combination with time series analysis, process evaluation, and reference groups is a promising way to improve the evaluation of organisational-level interventions that can easily be adopted by others.

Traceability of network time service to UTC(NIM): online calibration

Network time service provided by Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers is widely used to synchronize the clocks of computers and other networked equipment. With the rapid development of smart devices and their applications, more NTP servers as time sources need to be calibrated to a legal time reference. This work proposes using a low-cost and convenient calibration method to investigate the time service capability of ten NTP servers located at different cities in China. The uncertainties (k = 2) of the time offsets between Coordinated Universal Time (National Institute of Metrology) and network time from NTP servers for a single measurement are generally less than 150 ms, and the uncertainties (k = 2) of the mean time offsets for 24 h are less than 85 ms. Calibration results were found at the same level when applying the two time references, which were maintained a time offset less than 10 ns and located more than 1000 km apart.

Quantification of immobilization-induced changes in human calf muscle using speed-of-sound ultrasound: An observational pilot study.

Short-term immobilization leads to fatty muscular degeneration, which is associated with various negative health effects. Based on literature showing very high correlations between MRI Dixon fat fraction and Speed-of-Sound (SoS), we hypothesized that we can detect short-term-immobilization-induced differences in SoS.Both calves of 10 patients with a calf cast on one side for a mean duration of 41 ± 26 days were examined in relaxed position using a standard ultrasound machine. Calf perimeters were measured for both sides. A flat Plexiglas-reflector, placed vertically on the opposite side of the probe with the calf in-between, was used as a timing reference for SoS. SoS was both manually annotated by two readers and assessed by an automatic annotation algorithm. The thickness values of the subcutaneous fat and muscle layers were manually read from the B-mode images. Differences between the cast and non-cast calves were calculated with a paired t test. Correlation analysis of SoS and calf perimeter was performed using Pearson's correlation coefficient.Paired t test showed significant differences between the cast and non-cast side for both SoS (P < .01) and leg perimeter (P < .001). SoS was reduced with the number of days after cast installment (r = −0.553, P = .097). No significant differences were found for muscle layer thickness, subcutaneous fat layer thickness, mean fat echo intensity, or mean muscle echo intensity.Short-term-immobilization led to a significant reduction in SoS in the cast calf compared to the healthy calf, indicating a potential role of SoS as a biomarker in detecting immobilization-induced fatty muscular degeneration not visible on B-mode ultrasound.

An Empirical Analysis of the Growth-Health Relationship in Pakistan

The purpose of this study is to examine Pakistan's health sector issues and the critical ties between health indicators and economic growth. ARDL analysis has been applied on the data set of Pakistan’s economy, in the time reference to 1990-2020. The study revealed that the important ties between GDP, foreign direct investment, fertility and life expectation in the short run are strong, while mortality rate is negative, but have a significant impact on economic development. The fertility rate has a huge effect on GDP in long-term, while affecting foreign direct investment. The study achieves that countries with developing economic growth will focus more on improving human capital well-being.

Defining Post-COVID Symptoms (Post-Acute COVID, Long COVID, Persistent Post-COVID): An Integrative Classification.

The pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has provoked a second pandemic, the “long-haulers”, i.e., individuals presenting with post-COVID symptoms. We propose that to determine the presence of post-COVID symptoms, symptoms should appear after the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection; however, this situation has some problems due to the fact that not all people infected by SARS-CoV-2 receive such diagnosis. Based on relapsing/remitting nature of post-COVID symptoms, the following integrative classification is proposed: potentially infection related-symptoms (up to 4–5 weeks), acute post-COVID symptoms (from week 5 to week 12), long post-COVID symptoms (from week 12 to week 24), and persistent post-COVID symptoms (lasting more than 24 weeks). The most important topic is to establish the time reference points. The classification also integrates predisposing intrinsic and extrinsic factors and hospitalization data which could promote post-COVID symptoms. The plethora of symptoms affecting multiple systems exhibited by “long-haulers” suggests the presence of different underlying mechanisms.

Low-Latency, Three-Phase PMU Algorithms: Review and Performance Comparison

Phasor Measurement Units are the most advanced instruments for power network monitoring, since they allow phasors, frequency and rate of change of frequency (ROCOF) to be measured in predetermined time instants with respect to an absolute time reference. The employed estimation algorithm plays a key role in overall performance under off-nominal conditions; the challenge to be faced is combining high steady-state accuracy with fast responsiveness in dynamic conditions, small reporting latency and reduced computational burden. Under regular operation, AC power networks are weakly unbalanced three-phase systems. Based on this consideration, the recent literature has proposed native three-phase estimation algorithms that effectively exploit this property to accurately identify the positive sequence synchrophasor, frequency and ROCOF. In this respect, the present paper describes three among the most promising three-phase algorithms based on the Space Vector transformation. By means of numerical simulations, it compares the achieved performance in terms of response time and estimation error both under steady-state and dynamic conditions. All the considered approaches enable a flexible design that allows balancing accuracy and responsiveness. For this analysis, the reporting latency has been limited to about one and half nominal cycles, i.e., 30 ms at 50 Hz; the P-class algorithm suggested by IEC/IEEE Std 60255-118-1 has also been included as comparison benchmark.

Cuffless blood pressure estimation methods: physiological model parameters versus machine-learned features

Objective. For the first time in the literature, this paper investigates some crucial aspects of blood pressure (BP) monitoring using photoplethysmogram (PPG) and electrocardiogram (ECG). In general, the proposed approaches utilize two types of features: parameters extracted from physiological models or machine-learned features. To provide an overview of the different feature extraction methods, we assess the performance of these features and their combinations. We also explore the importance of the ECG waveform. Although ECG contains critical information, most models merely use it as a time reference. To take this one step further, we investigate the effect of its waveform on the performance. Approach. We extracted 27 commonly used physiological parameters in the literature. In addition, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) were deployed to define deep-learned representations. We applied the CNNs to extract two different feature sets from the PPG segments alone and alongside corresponding ECG segments. Then, the extracted feature vectors and their combinations were fed into various regression models to evaluate our hypotheses. Main results. We performed our evaluations using data collected from 200 subjects. The results were analyzed by the mean difference t-test and graphical methods. Our results confirm that the ECG waveform contains important information and helps us to improve accuracy. The comparison of the physiological parameters and machine-learned features also reveals the superiority of machine-learned representations. Moreover, our results highlight that the combination of these feature sets does not provide any additional information. Significance. We conclude that CNN feature extractors provide us with concise and precise representations of ECG and PPG for BP monitoring.

Interaction of Verbal and Non-Verbal Elements in Educational Comics

The article describes the mechanisms of interaction between two sign systems – the verbal and non-verbal ones, exemplified by a German-language historical comics which we regard as a type of creolized text. It is revealed that the non-verbal components of the comics that are interacting with the verbal contents are aimed at the transfer of knowledge, thus stimulating the interest of the recipient and permanently fix in his mind the visual image of the events depicted in the comics. The purpose of the research is to study the mutual influence of verbal and non-verbal components which creates the circumstances for visual quickcomprehension by the recipient of the information transmitted. The peculiarities of interconnection between verbal and non-verbal components of a creolized text are considered at semantic, semantic-and-linguistic, and semantic-and-compositional levels. Factual information is noted to be expressed by means of verbal components, while time and place reference is communicated non-verbally. It is established that paragraphemic elements of different types (syngraphemic, supragraphemic, topographemic) perform an essential role in transmitting information. The author analyzes compositional-and-spatial elements of historical comics, such as layout and number of pictures, and identifies their functions of attracting attention to significant events, retarding the tempo of depicted actions. The colour coding in comics is shown to be semantically significant, as it introduces different time periods without additional verbal comments.

Balinese verbs related to water : metalanguage approach

This article aims at displaying the way how to map the meaning of Balinese verbs related to water. The data are oral and written forms collected by observation, interview, and taking-note. The oral language was collected from the key-informant in three villages within two regencies in Bali, namely Klungkung and Buleleng. The written data was observed from the 4 novels using the modern Balinese language. The collected data was furthermore analyzed by the Metalanguage approach which manages to map all the meaning in the form of language description. Metalanguage approach based upon entity, process, instrument, and result is able to detect the subtle meaning difference among the verbs having a similar semantic field. From the scale of time-stability, the result shows that the mapping of action verbs: anyud, ngelangi, mandus, silem, mambuh imply the time reference change rapidly. The mapping of process verbs: aad, tiis, éncéh, and beku carry the time reference is less stable. The mapping of state verbs: bedak, belus, and tuduh is considered to imply the time reference is very stable.

Balinese verbs related to water : metalanguage approach

This article aims at displaying the way how to map the meaning of Balinese verbs related to water. The data are oral and written forms collected by observation, interview, and taking-note. The oral language was collected from the key-informant in three villages within two regencies in Bali, namely Klungkung and Buleleng. The written data was observed from the 4 novels using the modern Balinese language. The collected data was furthermore analyzed by Metalanguage approach which manages to map all the meaning in the form of language description. Metalanguage approach based upon entity, process, instrument, and result is able to detect the subtle meaning difference among the verbs having a similar semantic field. From the scale of time-stability, the result shows that the mapping of action verbs: anyud, ngelangi, mandus, silem, mambuh imply the time reference change rapidly. The mapping of process verbs: aad, tiis, éncéh and beku carry the time reference is less stable. The mapping of state verbs: bedak, belus and tuduh is considered to imply the time reference is very stable.

Processing past time reference in a tenseless language: An ERP study on the Mandarin aspectual morphemes -le and -guo

Reference to the time of an event can be encoded through various devices in language. While the neural processing of time reference in tense languages has been explored through tense inflection, relatively little is known about such processing through aspect in a tenseless language. The current study investigated how Mandarin speakers process perfective aspect markers -le and -guo, which are usually related to past time. Through the manipulation of the (dis)agreement between time adverbs and perfective markers, the results revealed that when co-occurring with a future/incongruent time adverb, compared with a past/congruent one, -le induced an early anterior negativity, while -guo triggered a P600. These distinct ERP patterns suggest that there is no unitary mechanism underlying perfectives in Mandarin, and that aspect modulates the relation of an event to time reference in a tenseless language, just like what tense inflection does in a tense language.

Impacts of a large invasive mammal on water quality in riparian ecosystems.

Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are a highly invasive species in many regions of the world and can act as ecosystem engineers in areas where they are established. In riparian ecosystems, wild pigs may affect water quality parameters and introduce fecal bacteria, although previous studies have reported conflicting results. We propose four conditions that we believe are needed for an accurate assessment of wild pig impacts on water quality and address each one in our study. Water samples were collected between May 2018 and June 2019 in riparian watersheds on a privately owned property in Alabama that was densely populated by wild pigs (treatment) and in watersheds at a nearby national forest without an established population. Samples were analyzed for concentrations of water quality parameters, such as anions and cations, dissolved oxygen, total suspended solids, N, dissolved organic C, and Escherichia coli and other fecal coliforms. An additional 38 samples were analyzed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction for swine fecal bacteroidetes. At treatment watersheds, specific conductivity and concentrations of organic N and C, SO4 2- , and Ca2+ were between 2 and 11 times that of reference watersheds. Escherichia coli values at treatment watersheds were 40 times reference watershed values. DNA from swine fecal bacteroidetes was detected in 70% of treatment samples and 0% of reference samples. Wild pigs are a threat to water quality in riparian areas, and our results indicate that it may be important to control populations upstream of major drinking water sources and recreational areas.

Development, gender, and asymmetries between Mexico and Japan

The gender gaps in Mexico and Japan can be fruitfully compared even though the economic development of these two countries is at very different levels. The purpose of this paper is to compare gender equity between a developed and an underdeveloped country through a comparative and descriptive analysis using gender and macroeconomic indexes. The World Economic Forum points out that Mexico was ranked 75th and Japan 80th out of 153 countries on the Global Gender Gap Index in 2006, but by 2020 Mexico reached 25th place, and Japan had fallen to the 121st. In this paper, indicators and statistics will function as an aid in understanding gender gaps, macroeconomic differences, and the development of women in Mexico and Japan. The time reference for this study includes the periods before and after the Great International Financial Crisis (GFC), a watershed in global economic development until 2020.

High-precision time synchronization of kinematic navigation system using GNSS RTK differential carrier phase time transfer

Time synchronization is a fundamental requirement of radio navigation systems, and it is essential for real-time high-precision positioning in emergency applications such as fire scenes and military operations. For urgent positioning requirements without effective positioning means, a radio kinematic navigation system, which can be quickly deployed, is designed based on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) space–time reference. Firstly, aiming at the time difference between system stations, a Real Time Kinematic-Differential Carrier Phase Time Transfer (RTK-DCPTT) method based on Global Positioning System (GPS) common view principle is proposed. This method can solve the interstation time difference in real time with high precision by using sequential least squares recursion technique. Secondly, interstation time synchronization method based on RTK-DCPTT is proposed by using Pulse Per Second (PPS) signal trigger and clock correction. Thirdly, PPS signal stability and availability are evaluated. Fourthly, clock difference consistency between PPS signal acquisition and RTK-DCPTT approach is analyzed. Finally, a signal synchronization measurement system of kinematic navigation system is designed and time synchronization performance is evaluated. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of real-time high-precision signal synchronization method based on RTK-DCPTT technique for kinematic navigation system.

PENENTUAN WAKTU BAKU DALAM PENGECEKAN BONDING SAMPEL SEPATU PADA PT. CHING LUH INDONESIA

PT. Ching Luh Indonesia is a company engaged in the manufacturing industry that produces sports shoes with well-known global brands, with annual revenues of more than US $ 1 billion, and has 8,000 workers. PT. Ching Luh Indonesia is a company that is responsive to technological advances and pays great attention to the comfort of employees in working, especially in the Laboratory section. In that section, the bonding checking process on the shoe samples currently still uses direct checking without any time reference in each sample. This is considered less effective because it makes the addition of the remaining sample for the next shift. This study aims to determine the standard time of each shoe sample variant and to determine the number of samples received by each operator. From the research results using the calculation of the standard time can be determined the standard time of each variant of the shoe sample, so it can also be determined the number of samples received for each operator. By determining the standard time for each shoe sample, it is expected that each operator can complete each sample according to the predetermined standard time, so that the specified target can be achieved.. Keywords: Standard Time, Bonding, Shoe Samples, Laboratory, Operator

Water Droplet Erosion Life Prediction Method for Steam Turbine Blade Materials Based on Image Recognition and Machine Learning

Abstract In this paper, a method for predicting remaining useful life (RUL) of turbine blade under water droplet erosion (WDE) based on image recognition and machine learning is presented. Using the experimental rig for testing the WDE characteristics of materials, the morphology pictures of specimen surface at different times in the process of WDE are collected. According to the data processing method of ASTM-G73 and the cumulative erosion-time curves, the WDE stages of materials is quantitatively divided and the WDE life coefficient (ζ) is defined. The life coefficient (ζ) could be used to calculate the RUL of turbine blades. One convolutional neural network model and three machine learning models are adopted to train and predict the image dataset. Then the training process and feature maps of the Resnet model are studied in detail. It is found that the highest prediction accuracy of the method proposed in this paper can be 0.949, which is considered acceptable to provide reference for turbine overhaul period and blade replacement time.

Integrated Dissemination System of Frequency, Time and Data for Radio Astronomy

For radio telescope array applications, the precise time and frequency reference predominantly determines the quality of the observation. In this paper, we demonstrate an integrated dissemination system which can achieve ultra-stable frequency dissemination, time synchronization and data transfer simultaneously over a single optical fiber link. The test of this integrated system was carried out on the 48-km fiber link, which consisted of 28-km buried fibers, and 20-km fiber spool in laboratory. It has been experimentally demonstrated that the frequency transfer stability is $2.6 \times {10^{ - 14}}/s$ and $3.0 \times {10^{ - 16}}/{10^4}s$. The time synchronization with 100-ps accuracy and the error bit ratio of data transfer at the level of 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">-8</sup> are also demonstrated.

Multiple Anthropocenes: pluralizing space–time as a response to ‘the Anthropocene’

ABSTRACT This article examines how ‘the Anthropocene’ is conceptualized within discourses on security, politics, and ethics, and is narrated as a global-collective experience for all of humanity with an identifiable beginning, common horizon, and shared fate. However, this space–time framing assumes knowledge and experience not actually shared. Even critical engagements with the Anthropocene frequently invoke cosmopolitan space–time referents when seeking to intervene or call for action. Instead, we turn to the metaphor of the palimpsest and its discussion by Jacques Derrida alongside the ‘worldism’ and ‘multiple worlds’ of Anna Agathangelou and L.H.M. Ling to propose the heterogeneity of space–time. Doing so de-centres monolithic portrayals of climate change as ‘the Anthropocene’ and enables ‘Multiple Anthropocenes’, or the multiplicity of experiences of extinction and visions of political and ethical response. We conclude by discussing some insights from indigenous and queer space–time perspectives that narrate various climate change experiences that are evaded and written-over.

‘Child's time’: Kinship carers' use of time reference to construct parental identities

Disputes about parenting, including investments of time, can arise when families break apart. One such context is that of kinship care, where relatives (typically grandparents or siblings) take over parenting responsibilities for a child. However, little is known about the discursive processes by which ‘good’ and ‘bad’ parental identities are constructed. From a corpus of video–recordings of kinship carer support groups, we examine how time references feature in carers' complaints about birth parents. Using Conversation Analysis, we identify two forms of reference: (i) reference to “child's time”, a shared cultural device concerning children's experience, and (ii) juxtaposing reported events on a timeline to infer consequentiality, thus attributing unparental motives to the birth parent. Both forms of time reference substantiate carers' inferences about birth parents' ineligibility for membership of the “good parent” category, and thus affirm their own entitlement as members, as key actions in the formulation of their complaints. We consider the implications of these findings for understanding co-constructed time-referenced devices such as “child's time”, and how Conversation Analytic studies could usefully investigate what other event-relative devices may be used to accomplish different social actions, and what identities might get constructed in the process.

Emerging New Psychiatric Symptoms and the Worsening of Pre-existing Mental Disorders during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Canadian Multisite Study: Nouveaux symptômes psychiatriques émergents et détérioration des troubles mentaux préexistants durant la pandémie de la COVID-19: une étude canadienne multisite.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused global disruptions with serious psychological impacts. This study investigated the emergence of new psychiatric symptoms and the worsening of pre-existing mental disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic, identified factors associated with psychological worsening, and assessed changes in mental health service use. An online survey was circulated between April 3 and June 23, 2020. Respondents were asked to complete mental health questionnaires based on 2 time referents: currently (i.e., during the outbreak) and in the month preceding the outbreak. A total of 4,294 Canadians between 16 and 99 years of age were subdivided based on the presence of self-reported psychiatric diagnoses. The proportion of respondents without prior psychiatric history who screened positive for generalized anxiety disorder and depression increased by 12% and 29%, respectively, during the outbreak. Occurrences of clinically important worsening in anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation symptoms relative to pre-outbreak estimates were significantly higher in those with psychiatric diagnoses. Furthermore, 15% to 19% of respondents reported increased alcohol or cannabis use. Worse psychological changes relative to pre-outbreak estimate were associated with female sex, younger age, lower income, poorer coping skills, multiple psychiatric comorbidities, previous trauma exposure, deteriorating physical health, poorer family relationships, and lower exercising. Reductions in mental health care were associated with increased suicidal ideation. The worsening in mental health symptoms and the decline in access to care call for the urgent development of adapted interventions targeting both new mental disorders and pre-existing psychiatric conditions affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.