Consumer Acceptance, Barriers and Success Factors of Peer-to-Peer Carsharing in Perspective of Connected Car Services and Autonomous Vehicles

Until now, car ownership has been a symbol of wealth and personal freedom. The high value of the car in society has been enforced by the powerful automotive industry with their well-funded marketing budgets. Currently, there are one billion cars worldwide, possibly increasing to 2,8 billion by 2050. However, the awareness of the negative consequences of car ownership on the environment, cities, and individuals in terms of reduced personal and financial freedom is increasing. The trend towards collaborative consumption involving activities like sharing and trading is leading to a shift from ownership to the access of goods and services. In this context, carsharing is receiving more and more attention and the number of users for B2C carsharing models is increasing exponentially. The least-developed business model with the biggest opportunities in terms of environmental benefits is peer-to-peer carsharing (P2P carsharing). Providers face daunting problems in reaching critical mass, due to a lack of consumer acceptance. Academic contributions on the topic are rare. The goal of this dissertation is to capture the acceptance factors, barriers and success factors for P2P carsharing. Additionally, the phenomenon is explored within the perspective of disruptive technologies, including the connected car and autonomous vehicles. A comprehensive literature review including collaborative consumption, carsharing, and in particular P2P carsharing, has been conducted. A mixed-method approach has been used. Qualitative interviews with leading academic and industry experts in the field of collaborative consumption and shared mobility, as well as a focus group discussion, have been executed. In the quantitative survey, the identified factors have been integrated into the Technological Acceptance Model (TAM), the theoretical foundation of the work. A representative survey was conducted in Austria with 801 respondents. The results were generated by applying a partial least squares analysis. Results show that the TAM model, including the extensions, appeared to be applicable. In particular, people with an innovative mindset are open to the usage of the business model. The main motivational factors for participating are economic, utility and enjoyment. The personal attachment towards one's own car remains one of the main barriers, next to fear of sharing and loss of convenience. Success factors in increasing acceptance are - among others - trust, value-added services and keyless car exchange. The preferred usage model for autonomous vehicles tends to be ownership. Even though the awareness of P2P carsharing is rather low among the Austrian population, 13,6% state that they would use the service. Sharing one's privately owned autonomous vehicle with others met with even higher levels of approval from the respondents. The extension of the TAM, as well as its application to a new field outside information system (IS) research, can be viewed as the major academic contribution of this work. Practical implications for P2P carsharing providers and the automotive industry include strategic recommendations regarding the current disruptive trends within the automotive industry. In particular, concrete measures have been identified to scale the business model by addressing new customers and reducing the identified barriers by providing extensive knowledge of relevant success factors

Evaluation of a new approach for semi-automatic segmentation of the cerebellum in patients with multiple sclerosis

Cerebellar dysfunction is an important contributor to disability in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), however, few in vivo studies focused on cerebellar volume loss so far. This relates to technical challenges regarding the segmentation of the cerebellum. In this study, we evaluated the semi-automatic ECCET software for performing cerebellar volumetry using high-resolution 3D T1-MR scans in patients with MS and healthy volunteers. We performed test-retest as well as inter-observer reliability testing of cerebellar segmentation and compared the ECCET results with a fully automatic cerebellar segmentation using the FreeSurfer software pipeline in 15 MS patients. In a pilot matched-pair analysis with another data set from 15 relapsing-remitting MS patients and 15 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC), we assessed the feasibility of the ECCET approach to detect MS-related cerebellar volume differences. For total normalized cerebellar volume as well as grey and white matter volumes, intrarater (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)=0.99, 95% CI=0.98-0.99) and interobserver agreement (ICC=0.98, 95% CI=0.74-0.99) were strong. Comparison between ECCET and FreeSurfer results likewise yielded a good intraclass correlation (ICC=0.86, 95% CI=0.58-0.95). Compared to HC, MS patients had significantly reduced normalized total brain, total cerebellar, and grey matter volumes (p≤0.05). ECCET is a suitable tool for cerebellar segmentation showing excellent test-retest and inter-observer reliability. Our matched-pair analysis between MS patients and healthy volunteers suggests that the method is sensitive and reliable in detecting cerebellar atrophy in M

The marker quantification of the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 2: A middle-of-the-road scenario for the 21st century

AbstractStudies of global environmental change make extensive use of scenarios to explore how the future can evolve under a consistent set of assumptions. The recently developed Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) create a framework for the study of climate-related scenario outcomes. Their five narratives span a wide range of worlds that vary in their challenges for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Here we provide background on the quantification that has been selected to serve as the reference, or ‘marker’, implementation for SSP2. The SSP2 narrative describes a middle-of-the-road development in the mitigation and adaptation challenges space. We explain how the narrative has been translated into quantitative assumptions in the IIASA Integrated Assessment Modelling Framework. We show that our SSP2 marker implementation occupies a central position for key metrics along the mitigation and adaptation challenge dimensions. For many dimensions the SSP2 marker implementation also reflects an extension of the historical experience, particularly in terms of carbon and energy intensity improvements in its baseline. This leads to a steady emissions increase over the 21st century, with projected end-of-century warming nearing 4°C relative to preindustrial levels. On the other hand, SSP2 also shows that global-mean temperature increase can be limited to below 2°C, pending stringent climate policies throughout the world. The added value of the SSP2 marker implementation for the wider scientific community is that it can serve as a starting point to further explore integrated solutions for achieving multiple societal objectives in light of the climate adaptation and mitigation challenges that society could face over the 21st century

The Kidney Donor Profile Index (KDPI) Correlates With Histopathologic Findings in Post-reperfusion Baseline Biopsies and Predicts Kidney Transplant Outcome

Background The increasing organ shortage in kidney transplantation leads to the necessity to use kidneys previously considered unsuitable for transplantation. Numerous studies illustrate the need for a better decision guidance rather than only the classification into kidneys from standard or expanded criteria donors referred to as SCD/ECD-classification. The kidney donor profile index (KDPI) exhibits a score utilizing a much higher number of donor characteristics. Moreover, graft biopsies provide an opportunity to assess organ quality. Methods In a single center analysis 383 kidney transplantations (277 after deceased and 106 after living donation) performed between January 1st, 2006, and December 31st, 2016, retrospectively underwent SCD/ECD and KDPI scoring. Thereby, the quality of deceased donor kidneys was assessed by using the KDPI and the living donor kidneys by using the living KDPI, in the further analysis merged as (L)KDPI. Baseline biopsies taken 10 min after the onset of reperfusion were reviewed for chronic and acute lesions. Survival analyses were performed using Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards analysis within a 5-year follow-up. Results The (L)KDPI correlated with glomerulosclerosis (r = 0.30, p 85%, respectively. Conclusion With a higher granularity compared to the SCD/ECD-classification the (L)KDPI is a promising tool to judge graft quality. The correlation with chronic and acute histological lesions in post-reperfusion kidney biopsies underlines the descriptive value of the (L)KDPI. However, its prognostic value is limited and underlines the urgent need for a more precise prognostic tool adopted to European kidney transplant conditions

Socio-Informatics

Contents Editorial Thematic Focus: Socio-Informatics Introduction to the Thematic Focus “Socio-Informatics” / Claudia Müller Digitalisation in Small German Metal-Working Companies. Appropriation of Technology in a “Traditional” Industrial Domain / Bernhard Nett, Jennifer Bönsch Travelling by Taxi Brousse in Madagascar: An Investigation into Practices of Overland Transportation / Volker Wulf, Kaoru Misaki, Dave Randall, and Markus Rohde Mobile and Interactive Media in the Store? Design Case Study on Bluetooth Beacon Concepts for Food Retail / Christian Reuter, Inken Leopold Facebook and the Mass Media in Tunisia / Konstantin Aal, Marén Schorch, Esma Ben Hadj Elkilani, Volker Wulf Book Review Symposium Charles Goodwin Charles Goodwin’s Co-Operative Action: The Idea and the Argument / Erhard Schüttpelz, Christian Meyer Multi-Modal Interaction and Tool-Making: Goodwin’s Intuition / Christian Meyer, Erhard Schüttpelz Co-Operation is a Feature of Sociality, not an Attribute of People : “We inhabit each other’s actions.” (Goodwin, cover) / Jutta Wiesemann, Klaus Amann The Making of the World in Co-Operative Action. From Sentence Construction to Cultural Evolution / Jürgen Streeck On Goodwin and his Co-Operative Action / Jörg R. Bergman

Application of Airborne Ocean Color

Airborne ocean colour and surface temperature measurements were carried out to support oceanographic field studies by monitoring the spatial and temporal variabilities of biological and physical patterns in coastal and offshore waters. Tis paper reports on two oceanographic aircraft m issions. Mission objectives are briefly describedHlm. 190-20

Airborne Scanradiometer for Ocean Color Sensing

An airborne scanradiometer is introduced, recently developed at DFVLR the purpose of ocean chlorophyll and suspended sediment determinations from low aircraft altitudes. Instrument objectives and design caracteristics are sketched, followed by a technical description of the sensor and associated airborne equipmentHlm. 270-28

OCEAN \'COLOR RADIOMETER

ABSTRACT Technical description is given of an Ocean Color Radiometer (OCR) developed recently at DFVLR for chlorophyll and suspended sediment determination from low aircraft altitudes. Purpose and use of the instrument is discribed in essence followed by a detailed functional description of the radiometer and peripheral units. RINGKASAN Dalam tulisan ini dikemukakan teknik mengenai Ocean Color Radiation (OCR) yang baru-baru ini dikembangkan di DFVLR R. Sensor ini digunakan untuk mendeteksi klorofildan penentuan sedimentasi dengan menggunakan wahana pesawat terbang pada ketinggian rendah. Tujuan dan penggunaan peralatan tersebut serta uraian fungsional dari pada radiometer dan peripheralnya secara singkat dikemukakan juga.Hlm.20-31:Il.; 30 cm