Conceptualising In-Flight Experience: An air Traveller Perspective

The aviation industry has evolved rapidly in recent years, and so have consumer expectations with regard to air travel. This study examines how air travellers conceptualise in-flight experience. Using a mixed-methods approach, this study is divided into two phases. First, semi-structured qualitative interviews were undertaken with 32 members of the flying public and analysed using thematic analysis. Second, based upon the key themes identified in the first phase, a questionnaire (with both quantitative and qualitative questions) was developed and administered to 151 participants. The first phase identified the different ways air travellers conceptualise in-flight experience, with the most important elements being food and drinks, flight attendants, entertainment, seat comfort, and leg room. In the second phase these important elements are shown to have statistically significant effects upon in-flight experience (using a t-test and chi-squared goodness of fit test), however, the size of their effects varied. A Friedman test (with post-hoc Wilcoxon signed-rank test) demonstrates that air travellers rank the contribution of each of these elements towards in-flight experience differently. The findings allow airline managers to prioritise different aspects of in-flight experience based upon their relative importance to air travellers

Consistent numerical methods for state and control constrained trajectory optimisation with parameter dependency

The article of record as published may be found at https://doi.org/10.1080/00207179.2020.1717633This paper describes and proves the consistency of a flexible numerical method for producing solutions to state and control constrained control problems with parameter dependencies. This method allows for the use of a variety of underlying discretisation schemes, which can be catered to differing numerical chal- lenges of specific problems, such as rapid convergence or large parameter spaces. The paper first provides a broad formulation for optimal control problems with parameter dependencies which includes multiple types of state, control, and end time constraints to enable a wide scope of application. For this formula- tion, the consistency of these methods for state and control constrained problems is then proved. Finally, a numerical example of an optimal search problem with constraints is demonstrated.This work was supported by Office of Naval Research [N001415WX01451, N001417WX01098, N001418WX01204].This work was supported by Office of Naval Research [N001415WX01451, N001417WX01098, N001418WX01204]

Exploring Perspectives of the Validity, Legitimacy and Acceptability of Environmental Valuation using Q Methodology

The extension of market systems and economic appraisal methods to the natural world and allocation of scarce resources is highly controversial and viewed by some as unethical. This has resulted in questions about the appropriate role of valuation and appraisal methods in informing policy and decision-making. We address this issue by assessing the different points of view that exist in marine research, management and policy communities regarding the estimation of monetary values for marine ecosystems and services and their use in appraisal and policy settings. The principal perspectives emerging from a Q-sort survey of x respondents reveal a clear distinction between a group that is highly sceptical of the framing of human-environment relations in terms of ecosystem services and of the use of economic appraisal and valuation tools in this context, and two or three other groups that are broadly favourable towards that paradigm and its methods, but with slightly different reasons for supporting valuation in practice. Despite the distinguishing features, areas of consensus emerge, including a strong shared perspective that places avoiding damage to marine biodiversity and ecosystems as a fundamental obligation. Furthermore, it is shown that the sceptics do not entirely reject valuation out of hand, but rather express understandable concerns about applicability and appropriate uses that are to some extent recognised by the pro-valuation groups

Exploring Perspectives of the Validity, Legitimacy and Acceptability of Environmental Valuation using Q Methodology

The extension of market systems and economic appraisal methods to the natural world and allocation of scarce resources is highly controversial and viewed by some as unethical. This has resulted in questions about the appropriate role of valuation and appraisal methods in informing policy and decision-making. We address this issue by assessing the different points of view that exist in marine research, management and policy communities regarding the estimation of monetary values for marine ecosystems and services and their use in appraisal and policy settings. The principal perspectives emerging from a Q-sort survey of x respondents reveal a clear distinction between a group that is highly sceptical of the framing of human-environment relations in terms of ecosystem services and of the use of economic appraisal and valuation tools in this context, and two or three other groups that are broadly favourable towards that paradigm and its methods, but with slightly different reasons for supporting valuation in practice. Despite the distinguishing features, areas of consensus emerge, including a strong shared perspective that places avoiding damage to marine biodiversity and ecosystems as a fundamental obligation. Furthermore, it is shown that the sceptics do not entirely reject valuation out of hand, but rather express understandable concerns about applicability and appropriate uses that are to some extent recognised by the pro-valuation groups

Modeling and Control of Large-Scale Adversarial Swarm Engagements

We theoretically and numerically study the problem of optimal control of large-scale autonomous systems under explicitly adversarial conditions, including probabilistic destruction of agents during the simulation. Large-scale autonomous systems often include an adver sarial component, where different agents or groups of agents explicitly compete with one another. An important component of these systems that is not included in current theory or modeling frameworks is random destruction of agents in time. In this case, the modeling and optimal control framework should consider the attrition of agents as well as their position. We propose and test three numerical modeling schemes, where survival probabilities of all agents are smoothly and continuously decreased in time, based on the relative positions of all agents during the simulation. In particular, we apply these schemes to the case of agents defending a high-value unit from an attacking swarm. We show that these models can be successfully used to model this situation, provided that attrition and spatial dynamics are coupled. Our results have relevance to an entire class of adversarial autonomy situations, where the positions of agents and their survival probabilities are both important.ONR SoA programNPS CRUSER progra

Risk Behaviors and Reasons for not Getting Tested for HIV among Men Who Have Sex with Men: An Online Survey in Peru

Men who have sex with men (MSM) account for the greatest burden of the HIV epidemic in Peru. Given that MSM are frequent users of the Internet, understanding the risk behaviors and the reasons for not getting tested among MSM who surf the Internet may improve the tailoring of future online behavioral interventions.From October 2007 to April 2008, we conducted an online survey among users of seven Peruvian gay websites.We received 1,481 surveys, 1,301 of which were included in the analysis. The median age of the participants was 22.5 years (range 12-71), 67% were homosexual, and the remainder was bisexual. Of survey respondents, 49.4% had never been tested for HIV and only 11.3% were contacted in-person during the last year by peer health educators from the Peruvian Ministry of Health and NGOs. Additionally, 50.8% had unprotected anal or vaginal sex at last intercourse, and a significant percentage reported a condom broken (22.1%), slipped (16.4%) or sexual intercourse initiated without wearing a condom (39.1%). The most common reasons for not getting tested for HIV among high-risk MSM were "I fear the consequences of a positive test result" (n = 55, 34.4%), and "I don't know where I can get tested" (n = 50, 31.3%).A small percentage of Peruvian MSM who answered our online survey, were reached by traditional peer-based education programs. Given that among high-risk MSM, fear of a positive test result and lack of awareness of places where to get tested are the most important reasons for not taking an HIV test, Internet interventions aimed at motivating HIV testing should work to reduce fear of testing and increase awareness of places that offer free HIV testing services to MSM

A randomized placebo-controlled study of a transcranial photobiomodulation helmet in Parkinson’s disease : post-hoc analysis of motor outcomes

Emerging evidence is increasingly supporting the use of transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) to improve symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD). The objective of this study was to analyse the safety and efficacy of tPBM for PD motor symptoms. The study was a triple blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial with 40 idiopathic PD patients receiving either active tPBM (635 nm plus 810 nm LEDs) or sham tPBM for 24 min per day (56.88J), six days per week, for 12 weeks. The primary outcome measures were treatment safety and a 37-item MDS-UPDRS-III (motor domain) assessed at baseline and 12 weeks. Individual MDS-UPDRS-III items were clustered into sub-score domains (facial, upper-limb, lower-limb, gait, and tremor). The treatment produced no safety concerns or adverse events, apart from occasional temporary and minor dizziness. There was no significant difference in total MDS-UPDRS-III scores between groups, presumably due to the placebo effect. Additional analyses demonstrated that facial and lower-limb sub-scores significantly improved with active treatment, while gait and lower-limb sub-scores significantly improved with sham treatment. Approximately 70% of participants responded to active treatment (≥5 decrease in MDS-UPDRS-III score) and improved in all sub-scores, while sham responders improved in lower-limb sub-scores only. tPBM appears to be a safe treatment and improved several PD motor symptoms in patients that responded to treatment. tPBM is proving to be increasingly attractive as a possible non-pharmaceutical adjunct therapy