The two faces of party ambiguity: A comprehensive model of ambiguous party position perceptions

Recent research on electoral behavior has suggested that policy-informed vote choices are frequently obstructed by uncertainty about party positions. Given the significance of clear and distinct party platforms for meaningful representation, several studies have investigated the conditions under which parties are perceived as ambiguous. Yet previous studies have often relied on measures of perceived positional ambiguity that are fairly remote from the concept, casting doubt on their substantive conclusions. This article introduces a statistical model to estimate a comprehensive measure of perceived ambiguity that incorporates the two principal factors: non-positions and positional inconsistency. The two-faces model employs issue perceptions in an item response framework to explicitly parametrize the perceived ambiguity of party positions. The model is applied to data from the Chapel Hill Expert Survey and subsequently associated with party characteristics that drive perceptions of party ambiguity. The results suggest that (a) there are notable differences between the proposed and competing measures, highlighting the need to be mindful of the intricacies of political information processing in research on perceptions of ambiguity and (b) involuntary ambiguity might be an underexplored explanation for unclear party perceptions

Improving The Planning Quality Through Model-Based Factory Planning In BIM

In recent years, Building Information Modelling (BIM), which originated in the construction industry, is increasingly finding its way into the planning of factories and production environments. In the scientific assessment of this change and possible future scenarios regarding BIM, the research mostly focuses on the planning process and the influence that the use of BIM has on it. However, improving the outcome of a factory planning project enjoys priority over optimizing the planning process itself regardless of whether BIM is being used or not. This paper therefore aims to build a bridge from a process-side view to the planning result. The concept of BIM is to be explained from a technical point of view establishing a reference to the concept of synergetic factory planning. For this purpose, the process view and the spatial view will be examined and the BIM model will be characterized with regard to different levels of development in the planning process. The goal is to show how the use of BIM in factory planning can ultimately improve the planning result. For this purpose, the factory targets are considered and their optimizability through the use of BIM is investigated

Methods and tools for dynamic capacity planning and control Métodos e ferramentas para planejamento e controle dinâmicos de capacidade

This article discusses material flow management. More specifically, it presents methods and tools used for capacity dynamic planning and control. Such resourses are focused on the reduction or elimination of static and dynamic bottlenecks. Practical applications are made using the FAST/pro, a software which associates the concepts presented through a demand-orientated, capacity dynamic regulation.<br>Este artigo discute o gerenciamento de fluxo de materiais. Mais especificamente, apresenta métodos e ferramentas usados para o planejamento e controle dinâmicos de capacidade. Tais recursos estão focados na redução ou eliminação de gargalos estáticos e dinâmicos da produção. Aplicações práticas são feitas com o uso do FAST/pro, um software que agrega os conceitos apresentados por meio de uma regulação dinâmica da capacidade, orientada para a demanda

A new species of <i>Cyclotosaurus</i> (Stereospondyli, Capitosauria) from the Late Triassic of Bielefeld, NW Germany, and the intrarelationships of the genus

A nearly complete dermal skull roof of a capitosaur stereospondyl with closed otic fenestrae from the middle Carnian Stuttgart Formation (Late Triassic) of Bielefeld-Sieker (NW Germany) is described. The specimen is assigned to the genus Cyclotosaurus based on the limited contribution of the frontal to the orbital margin via narrow lateral processes. A new species, Cyclotosaurus buechneri sp. nov., is erected based upon the following unique combination of characters: (1) the interorbital distance is short so that the orbitae are medially placed (shared with C. robustus); (2) the region lateral to the orbitae is only slightly broader than the orbitae (shared with C. posthumus, C. ebrachensis, C. intermedius, and C. mordax); (3) the postorbital region is slender (shared with C. ebrachensis); (4) the preorbital projection of the jugal is shorter than half the length of the snout (shared with C. mordax, C. ebrachensis, C. intermedius, C. posthumus, and C. hemprichi). A phylogenetic analysis of seven Cyclotosaurus species, including C. buechneri, and eight further capitosaur taxa with the Rhinesuchidae as an outgroup finds a monophyletic Cyclotosaurus. In accordance with its stratigraphic occurrence, C. buechneri nests at its base but is more derived than C. robustus. Among the more derived Cyclotosaurus species, C. ebrachensis and C. intermedius, as well as C. posthumus and C. hemprichi, form sister groups, respectively. However, the phylogenetic position of C. mordax with respect to both groups remains unresolved. In the phylogenetic analysis presented here, Cyclotosaurus is the sister group of the Heylerosaurinae (Eocyclotosaurus + Quasicyclotosaurus). Cyclotosaurus buechneri represents the only unequivocal evidence of Cyclotosaurus (and of a cyclotosaur in general) in northern Germany

Young children with Down syndrome show normal development of circadian rhythms, but poor sleep efficiency: a cross-sectional study across the first 60 months of life

Objectives: To evaluate sleep consolidation and circadian activity rhythms in infants and toddlers with Down syndrome (DS) under light and socially entrained conditions within a familiar setting. Given previous human and animal data suggesting intact circadian regulation of melatonin across the day and night, it was hypothesized that behavioral indices of circadian rhythmicity would likewise be intact in the sample with DS. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 66 infants and young children with DS, aged 5e67 months, and 43 typically developing age-matched controls. Sleep and measures of circadian robustness or timing were quantified using continuous in-home actigraphy recordings performed over seven days. Circadian robustness was quantified via time series analysis of rest-activity patterns. Phase markers of circadian timing were calculated alongside these values. Sleep efficiency was also estimated based on the actigraphy recordings. Results: This study provided further evidence that general sleep quality is poor in infants and toddlers with DS, a population that has sleep apnea prevalence as high as 50% during the preschool years. Despite poor sleep quality, circadian rhythm and phase were preserved in children with DS and displayed similar developmental trajectories in cross-sectional comparisons with a typically developing (TD) cohort. In line with past work, lower sleep efficiency scores were quantified in the group with DS relative to TD children. Infants born with DS exhibited the worst sleep fragmentation; however, in both groups, sleep efficiency and consolidation increased across age. Three circadian phase markers showed that 35% of the recruitment sample with DS was phase-advanced to an earlier morning schedule, suggesting significant within-group variability in the timing of their daily activity rhythms. Conclusions: Circadian rhythms of wake and sleep are robust in children born with DS. The present results suggest that sleep fragmentation and any resultant cognitive deficits are likely not confounded by corresponding deficits in circadian rhythms

Entwicklung eines Fertigungssystems der Mittleren Technologie fuer die Drehteilbearbeitung Endbericht zum Forschungsprojekt

SIGLETIB: AC 7405+a / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman