Cultural context and attitudes towards genetically modified food in Greece and West Germany

'Bisherige Untersuchungen haben gezeigt, dass es innerhalb der Europäischen Union zum Teil erhebliche Unterschiede in den Einstellungen zu gentechnisch veränderten Lebensmitteln (GM food) gibt. Die Erklärungen für die gefundenen Einstellungsunterschiede basieren vor allem auf soziodemografische und Wissensvariablen als einstellungsdeterminierende Faktoren der Einstellung gegenüber GM food. Kulturelle Unterschiede werden hingegen als Erklärungsfaktoren kaum in Betracht gezogen. In dem vorliegenden Papier werden Hypothesen über den Einfluss des kulturellen Kontext auf die Ablehnung von GM food formuliert. Diese Hypothesen basieren auf Überlegungen, die sich aus der Kombination des Ansatzes von Hofstede (1997) mit dem Einstellungsmodell von Eagly und Chaiken (1993) ergeben. Die Überlegungen beziehen sich auf Griechenland und Westdeutschland als Länder mit Stellvertreterpotential für einen bestimmten kulturellen Kontext (modern vs. traditional). Als Ergebnis kann festgehalten werden, dass das Wissen über GM food nur in Westdeutschland einen Effekt hat, in Griechenland sind hingegen die negativen Beliefs über GM food von großer Bedeutung für die Einstellung gegenüber GM food. Generell lässt sich festhalten, dass in Westdeutschland eine wesentlich strukturiertere Einstellungsstruktur zu finden ist als dies in Griechenland der Fall ist.' (Autorenreferat)'Although there are strong national differences in people's rejection of in genetical modification in food production (GM food), research mainly examined sociodemographics and knowledge an GM food as general determinants of attitudes towards GM food. Cultural differences seldom are taken into account, usually there are no theoretically founded hypotheses, which can be tested empirically. In the present paper we formulate specific hypotheses an cultural context effects an rejection of GM food by combining Hofstedes (1997) approach with cultural differentiation to a general beliefattitude model as it is represented in the core of Eagly and Chaikens (1993) composite model. Specific hypotheses are formulated for Westgermany and Greece as cases of contrasting cultural contexts (modern vs. traditional pattems of orientation). We find, that knowledge an GM food has an effect an rejecting GM food only in Westgermany, whereas negative beliefs are more important in determining GM food rejection in Greece. Generally, the attitude structure in Westgermany is more differentiated than in Greece, as it is reflected in more variance explained by knowledge, beliefs and sociodemographic status in Westgermany than in Greece.' (author's abstract)

Physics-augmented models to simulate commercial adaptive cruise control (ACC) systems

This paper investigates the accuracy and robustness of car-following (CF) and adaptive cruise control (ACC) models in reproducing measured trajectories of commercial ACCs. To this aim, a general modelling framework is proposed, in which ACC and CF models have been incrementally augmented with physics-based extensions: namely, perception delay, linear or nonlinear vehicle dynamics, and acceleration constraints. This framework has been applied to the Intelligent Driver Model (IDM), Gipps’ model, and to three basic ACC algorithms. These are linear controllers which are coupled with a constant time-headway spacing policy, and with two other policies derived from the traffic flow theory: the IDM desired distance function, and Gipps’ equilibrium distance-speed function. The ninety models resulting from the combination of the five base models with the aforementioned extensions, have been assessed and compared through a vast calibration and validation experiment against measured trajectory data of vehicles driven by ACC systems. Overall, the study has shown that physics-based extensions provide limited improvements to the accuracy of existing models. In addition, if an investigation against measured data is not carried out, it is not possible to argue which extension is the most suited for a specific model. The linear controller with Gipps’ spacing policy has resulted the most accurate model, while the IDM the most robust to different input trajectories. Eventually, all models have failed to capture the behaviour of some car brands – just as models fail with some human drivers. Therefore, the choice of the “best” model is independent of the car brand to simulate

Is the construction of a sanitary landfill acceptable in a karstic area? The case of the sanitary landfill site in Fokida, Central Greece

Για τη μελέτη της καταλληλότητας μιας συγκεκριμένης θέσης ως Χ.Υ.Τ.Υ. πραγματοποιήθηκαν οι εξής ερευνητικές εργασίες. Εκπόνηση λεπτομερούς γεωλογικής χαρτογράφησης σε αρχική κλίμακα 1:5.000 και στη συνέχεια κατασκευή γεωλογικής- υδρογεωλογικής τομής που περνάει από τη θέση του Χ.Υ.Τ.Υ. Στη συνέχεια εκτελέσθηκε γεωτρητικό πρόγραμμα τόσο με βαθιά γεώτρηση για τη διαπίστωση ύπαρξης στάθμης υπόγειου υδροφόρου ορίζοντα όσο και δειγματοληπτικές γεωτρήσεις με δοκιμές εισπίεσης. Επιπλέον, εφαρμόσθηκαν μέθοδοι εκτίμησης της τρωτότητας υποκείμενου υδροφόρου στρώματος (DRASTIC και EPIC). Τέλος υπολογίσθηκε ο ετήσιος όγκος απορριμμάτων που θα τοποθετούνται στο Χ.Υ.Τ.Υ., ο οποίος δίνει και το μέγεθος του ρυπαντικού φορτίου.This paper investigates the suitability of a specific site for the construction of a sanitary landfill. The following works were performed: detailed geological mapping at a scale of 1:5,000, a geological-hydrogeological cross-section of the sanitary landfill, drilling exploration including the construction of a deep borehole for the detection of any perched aquifer, core logging and in situ permeability tests, implementation of the DRASTIC and EPIC methods to estimate the aquifer’s vulnerability. Finally estimation of the total annual amount of solid waste that will be deposited into the sanitary landfill and determination of the pollution load

Exploring the Behavioral Intentions of Food Tourists Who Visit Crete

Food tourism has been growing globally in recent years. Food tourism is considered as special interest tourism, attracting tourists who have a great interest in food. Tourists spend a significant percentage of their budget on the purchase of local food products and related food activities, contributing to the sustainable development of the touristic destination in the process. This survey took place in Crete, Greece, throughout the touristic period of 2021, and 4268 valid questionnaires were completed by international tourists. For the data analysis, the Structural Equation Model and an extended Theory of Planned Behavior Model, based on subjective norms, attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and satisfaction, were used to better understand the consumers’ intentions to revisit and recommend the region of Crete. The outcomes of the research pinpointed that the perceived quality and perceived value of local foods positively influenced satisfaction, which, in turn, evoked favorable intentions to revisit and recommend Crete as a touristic destination. Moreover, while satisfaction, attitude, and subjective norms seem to be the most significant drivers affecting positive behavioral intentions, perceived behavior control seems to have had no significant impact. The implications and limitations of the survey, as well as future recommendations, are also discussed

The energy impact of adaptive cruise control in real-world highway multiple-car-following scenarios

Abstract Background Surging acceptance of adaptive cruise control (ACC) across the globe is further escalating concerns over its energy impact. Two questions have directed much of this project: how to distinguish ACC driving behaviour from that of the human driver and how to identify the ACC energy impact. As opposed to simulations or test-track experiments as described in previous studies, this work is unique because it was performed in real-world car-following scenarios with a variety of vehicle specifications, propulsion systems, drivers, and road and traffic conditions. Methods Tractive energy consumption serves as the energy impact indicator, ruling out the effect of the propulsion system. To further isolate the driving behaviour as the only possible contributor to tractive energy differences, two techniques are offered to normalize heterogeneous vehicle specifications and road and traffic conditions. Finally, ACC driving behaviour is compared with that of the human driver from transient and statistical perspectives. Its impact on tractive energy consumption is then evaluated from individual and platoon perspectives. Results Our data suggest that unlike human drivers, ACC followers lead to string instability. Their inability to absorb the speed overshoots may partly be explained by their high responsiveness from a control theory perspective. Statistical results might imply the followers in the automated or mixed traffic flow generally perform worse in reproducing the driving style of the preceding vehicle. On the individual level, ACC followers have tractive energy consumption 2.7–20.5% higher than those of human counterparts. On the platoon level, the tractive energy values of ACC followers tend to consecutively increase (11.2–17.3%). Conclusions In general, therefore, ACC impacts negatively on tractive energy efficiency. This research provides a feasible path for evaluating the energy impact of ACC in real-world applications. Moreover, the findings have significant implications for ACC safety design when handling the stability-responsiveness trade-off. </jats:sec