Wall-Corner Classification Using Sonar: A New Approach Based on Geometric Features

Ultrasonic signals coming from rotary sonar sensors in a robot gives us several features about the environment. This enables us to locate and classify the objects in the scenario of the robot. Each object and reflector produces a series of peaks in the amplitude of the signal. The radial and angular position of the sonar sensor gives information about location and their amplitudes offer information about the nature of the surface. Early works showed that the amplitude can be modeled and used to classify objects with very good results at short distances—80% average success in classifying both walls and corners at distances less than 1.5 m. In this paper, a new set of geometric features derived from the amplitude analysis of the echo is presented. These features constitute a set of characteristics that can be used to improve the results of classification at distances from 1.5 m to 4 m. Also, a comparative study on classification algorithms widely used in pattern recognition techniques has been carried out for sensor distances ranging between 0.5 to 4 m, and with incidence angles ranging between 20° to 70°. Experimental results show an enhancement on the success in classification rates when these geometric features are considered

The (Diverse) Company You Keep: Content and Structure of Immigrants' Social Networks as a Window Into Intercultural Relations in Catalonia

This research examines how the social networks of immigrants residing in a European bicultural and bilingual context (Catalonia) relate to levels of adjustment (both psychological and sociocultural) and to bicultural identity integration (BII). Moroccan, Pakistani, Ecuadorian, and Romanian immigrants residing in Barcelona nominated 25 individuals (i.e., alters) from their habitual social networks and provided demographic (e.g., ethnicity), relationship type (e.g., family, friend, neighbor), and structural (who knew whom) information for each of these alters. Even after controlling for individual-level demographic and acculturation variables, the content and structure of immigrants’ personal social networks had unique associations with both types of adjustment and with BII. Specifically, the overall degree of cultural diversity in the network and the amount of Catalan (but not Spanish) "weak" ties (i.e., acquaintances, colleagues, neighbors) positively predicted these outcomes. Amount of interconnectedness between local coethnic and Catalan/Spanish alters also predicted sociocultural adjustment and BII positively. Finally, against a "culture and language similarity" hypothesis, Moroccan and Pakistani participants had social networks that were more culturally integrated, relative to Ecuadorians and Romanians. Results from this study attest to the importance of examining actual intercultural relations and going beyond individuals’ reported acculturation preferences to understand immigrants’ overall adaptation and cultural identity dynamics. Furthermore, results highlight the interplay between interculturalism experienced at the intrapersonal, subjective level (i.e., BII), and at the meso-level (i.e., having culturally diverse networks that also include interethnic ties among alters)

Conceptualizing the Dynamics between Bicultural Identification and Personal Social Networks

An adequate understanding of the acculturation processes affecting immigrants and their descendants involves ascertaining the dynamic interplay between the way these individuals manage their multiple (and sometimes conflictual) cultural value systems and identifications and possible changes in their social networks. To fill this gap, the present research examines how key acculturation variables (e.g., strength of ethnic/host cultural identifications, bicultural identity integration or BII) relate to the composition and structure of bicultural individuals’ personal social networks. In Study 1, we relied on a generationally and culturally diverse community sample of 123 Latinos residing in the US. Participants nominated eight individuals (i.e., alters) from their habitual social networks and across two relational domains: friendships and colleagues. Results indicated that the interconnection of same ethnicity alters across different relationship domains is linked to cultural identifications, while the amount of coethnic and host individuals in the network is not. In particular, higher interconnection between Latino friends and colleagues was linked to lower levels of U.S. identification. Conversely, the interconnection of non-Latino friends and colleagues was associated with lower levels of Latino identification. This pattern of results suggests that the relational context for each type of cultural identification works in a subtractive and inverse manner. Further, time spent in the US was linked to both Latino and U.S. cultural identifications, but this relationship was moderated by the level of BII. Specifically, the association between time in the US and strength of both cultural identities was stronger for individuals reporting low levels of BII. Taking the findings from Study 1 as departure point, Study 2 used an agent-based model data simulation approach to explore the dynamic ways in which the content and the structure of an immigrant’s social network might matter over time in predicting three possible identity patterns: coexisting cultural identifications, conflicting cultural identifications, and a mixture of the two. These simulations allowed us to detect network constellations, which lead to identification or disidentification with both cultures. We showed that distinct patterns of social relations do not lead to identity outcomes in a deterministic fashion, but that often many different outcomes are probable

The Interplay between the One and the Others: Multiple Cultural Identifications and Social Networks

This article proposes a social network approach to the study of multiple cultural identifications. We argue that social network theory and social network methodology are essential for a truly dynamic examination of how multiple cultural identifications develop and how they are negotiated. This article starts by defining some relevant concepts (i.e., cultural identification, Bicultural Identity Integration, social networks), and then goes on to integrate these concepts into a micro-meso-level framework by discussing the bidirectional links between cultural identifications and social networks (i.e., their content and their structure). We, then, explicate how social and cultural psychology can gain theoretically and methodologically from social network analysis. Finally, we conclude with some recommendations for researchers who seek to include social networks in their approach, and also discuss general and specific policy implications

Exploring the Consequences of Biculturalism: Cognitive Complexity

To explore the possible socio-cognitive consequences of biculturalism, we examined the complexity of cultural representations in monocultural and bicultural individuals. Study 1 found that Chinese-American biculturals’ free descriptions of both American and Chinese cultures were higher in cognitive complexity than that of Anglo-American monoculturals, but the same effect was not apparent in descriptions of culturally-neutral entities (landscapes). Using the same procedures, Study 2 found that the cultural representations of biculturals with low levels of Bicultural Identity Integration (BII; or biculturals with conflicted cultural identities) were more cognitively complex than that of biculturals with high BII (biculturals with compatible cultural identities). This work shows that biculturalism and BII have meaningful cognitive consequences; further it suggests that exposure to more than one culture increases individuals’ ability to detect, process, and organize everyday cultural meaning, highlighting the potential benefits of multiculturalism

"United in diversity": The interplay of social network characteristics and personality in predicting outgroup attitudes

Diversity in social relations is important for reducing prejudice. Yet, the question of when this occurs remains open. Using a social network approach, we test whether the link between outgroup attitudes and number of intra- and intergroup contacts is moderated by type of relationship (strong vs. weak ties) and personality (openness to experience) while also considering network structure (connections between contacts). In a culturally diverse sample of 122 immigrants residing in Barcelona, positive outgroup attitudes were predicted by several network characteristics: low proportion of intragroup contacts and high proportion of intergroup contacts among strong ties, high ethnic diversity among strong ties, low connectedness among contacts in the country of origin, and high connectedness between coethnic local and host national contacts. Openness to experience moderated these effects. These results affirm the intergroup benefits of having compositionally and structurally diverse networks, and the gain in examining intergroup dynamics at the meso level of analysis

Identity integration matters:The case of parents working from home during the COVID-19 health emergency

Since February 2020, the world has faced a health emergency due to the rapid spread of COVID-19. Two of the first measures adopted by most countries to ensure social distancing were the closure of schools and childcare services, and the mandate to work from home. Millions of parents, while facing the threat of the virus infection, suddenly found themselves locked down in their homes managing workload and care load in single “crowded” spaces. This study tested whether relevant identity structures and individual differences (i.e., work-parent identity integration, identification with family, and identification with work) and contextual factors (i.e., work demands, family demands, and housing conditions) predicted parents’ professional, parental, and mental health outcomes during the lockdown. Data collected in April-2020 from 432 Italian parents working from home during the strict lockdown showed that the main predictor of all outcomes is work-parent identity integration. We provide recommendations for how professionals and organizations can support parents working from home due to COVID-19 or in future lockdowns

Introducing Risk Considerations into the Supply Chain Network Design

Supply chains (SC) aim to provide products to the final customer at a certain service level. However, unforeseen events occur that impede supply chain objectives. SC Risk has been studied in the literature, providing frameworks and methodologies to manage SC failures. Nevertheless, more efforts are needed to prevent hazardous and disruptive risks and their consequences. These risks must be considered during the process of designing a supply chain. Somemethodological contributions concerning risk in the supply chain network design (SCND) are conceptual frameworks formitigating SC disruptions, which suggest strategies andmeasures for designing robust and resilient SCs. Although such contributions are valuable, they do not indicate how to cope with risk when designing a SC. The main objective of this research is to describe amethodology aimed at including risk considerations into the SCND. Our proposal aims to be, on the one hand, a comprehensive approach that includes a risk identification and assessment procedure in each of the stages of the SCND process and, on the other hand, a tool for decision-making in SC design or redesign processes when SC risks need to be considered. The methodology proposed is an extension of a SCND methodology including risk considerations in order to improve the performance of the supply chains. A case study illustrates how the proposed methodological works, achieving the identification of SC risks already observed in previous works.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Introducing Risk Considerations into the Supply Chain Network Design

Supply chains (SC) aim to provide products to the final customer at a certain service level. However, unforeseen events occur that impede supply chain objectives. SC Risk has been studied in the literature, providing frameworks and methodologies to manage SC failures. Nevertheless, more efforts are needed to prevent hazardous and disruptive risks and their consequences. These risks must be considered during the process of designing a supply chain. Somemethodological contributions concerning risk in the supply chain network design (SCND) are conceptual frameworks formitigating SC disruptions, which suggest strategies andmeasures for designing robust and resilient SCs. Although such contributions are valuable, they do not indicate how to cope with risk when designing a SC. The main objective of this research is to describe amethodology aimed at including risk considerations into the SCND. Our proposal aims to be, on the one hand, a comprehensive approach that includes a risk identification and assessment procedure in each of the stages of the SCND process and, on the other hand, a tool for decision-making in SC design or redesign processes when SC risks need to be considered. The methodology proposed is an extension of a SCND methodology including risk considerations in order to improve the performance of the supply chains. A case study illustrates how the proposed methodological works, achieving the identification of SC risks already observed in previous works.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Single-site strategic capacity planning considering renewal, maintenance, inventory, taxes and cash flow management

This paper deals with strategic capacity planning of a single-site manufacturing system. We propose a MILP model that includes relevant business aspects and possibilities, some of which are only partially or not at all found in the literature. Specifically, we consider decisions on expansion, reduction and renewal of production capacity, and acquisition of storage capacity. In addition, we model aspects such as (a) maintenance costs and unit variable costs depending, respectively, on age and characteristics of facilities, (b) seasonality of the demand and (c) cash flow management, including taxes and, therefore, depreciation of assets. The model maximises the after-tax cash balance at the end of the planning horizon. We also present a computational experiment with 54 instances to show that the model can be solved for a wide range of sizes in a reasonable computing time using comercial software.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft