109 research outputs found
The Impact of Human-Artificial Intelligence Partnerships on Organizational Learning
To make sense of their increasingly digital and complex environments, organizations strive for a future in which machine learning (ML) systems join humans in collaborative learning partnerships to complement each other’s learning capabilities. While these so-called artificial assistants enable their human partners (and vice versa) to gain insights about unique knowledge domains that would otherwise remain hidden from them, they may also disrupt and impede each other\u27s learning. To explore the virtuous and vicious dynamics that affect organizational learning, we conduct a series of agent-based simulations of different learning modes between humans and artificial assistants in an organization. We find that aligning the learning of humans and artificial assistants and allowing them to influence each other’s learning processes equally leads to the highest organizational performance
Harrow with screw-type operating tools: optimisation of design and process parameters
Received: August 1st, 2022 ; Accepted: September 8th, 2022 ; Published: September 9th, 2022 ; Correspondence: [email protected] new design of the harrow with screw-type operating tools is presented in the paper.
It describes the theoretical and experimental investigations carried out for the purpose of
optimising the design and process parameters of the harrow with screw-type operating tools. Such
optimisation will provide for improving the soil fertility, when burying chaff and other plant
residues as organic fertilisers into the soil during its tillage. On the basis of the results obtained
in the comprehensive experimental investigations, new regression relations have been generated.
These relations provide for determining the proportion of the field surface, where the after harvesting
residues have been completely buried in the soil with the harrow with screw-type operating tools.
It has been established that the dominant effect on the relative amount of the field surface area S
with completely worked-in plant residues is produced by the soil tillage depth h, then follows the
factor of the screw-type operating device battery approach angle β. The pitch distance Т of the
screw-type operating device has the smallest effect. The results of the completed research prove
that increasing the pitch distance Т of the screw-type operating tool from 0.18 m to 0.26 m results
in the decrease in the area S of the field surface with the plant residues buried in the soil by 1.4%.
An increase in the approach angle β from 20° to 40° results in the increase in the field surface
area S with the plant residues completely worked into the soil by 5.6%. Increasing the soil tillage
depth from 0.08 m to 0.12 m results in the increase in the above-mentioned surface S by 7.1%.
The simultaneous action of the factors of the tillage depth h and the approach angle β results in
the percentage of the surface S rising from 72% to 82%
Individual and organisational factors in the psychosocial work environment are associated with home care staffs’ job strain: A Swedish cross-sectional study
Background
Home care staff (HCS) provide essential service to enable older adults to age in place. However, unreasonable demands in the work environment to deliver a safe, effective service with high quality has a negative impact on the individual employee’s well-being and the care provided to the older adults. The psychosocial work environment is associated with employees´ well-being, although, knowledge regarding which individual and organisational factors that contribute to job strain for HCS is limited. These factors need to be identified to develop targeted interventions and create sustainable work situations for HCS. This study aimed to explore how HCS´s perceived job strain is associated with, and to what extent can be explained by, individual and organisational factors of the psychosocial work environment and psychosomatic health.
Method
An explorative cross-sectional questionnaire survey design was used in a large Swedish county. Five home care agencies with a total of 481 HCS were asked to respond to a questionnaire regarding their perceived level of job strain (Strain in Dementia Care Scale), psychosocial work environment (QPSNordic34+), and psychosomatic health (Satisfaction with Work Questionnaire). Multiple linear regression (MLR) analyses were conducted to explore the association between job strain and individual and organisational factors.
Results
In total, 226 (46%) HCS responded to the questionnaire. Both individual and organisational factors were significant predictors of job strain and explained a variance ranging between 39 to 51% (p = 0.001). The organisational factor job demand and the individual factor feeling worried and restless was most frequently represented in these MRL models. A higher job strain was also associated with adverse outcomes regarding leadership, organisational culture and climate, and control at work.
Conclusion
This study indicates that there is an intertwined complexity of individual and organisational factors that are associated with the HCS´s perception of job strain. Implementation of new multidimensional work strategies, such as a reablement approach, could support the development of efficient strategies for HCS and reduce the level of job strain. Policy changes for the provision of home care are also needed to support the development of a sustainable and healthy psychosocial work environment
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What motivates academic dishonesty in students? A reinforcement sensitivity theory explanation
BACKGROUND: Academic dishonesty (AD) is an increasing challenge for universities worldwide. The rise of the Internet has further increased opportunities for students to cheat.
AIMS: In this study, we investigate the role of personality traits defined within Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) as potential determinants of AD. RST defines behaviour as resulting from approach (Reward Interest/reactivity, goal-drive, and Impulsivity) and avoidance (behavioural inhibition and Fight-Flight-Freeze) motivations. We further consider the role of deep, surface, or achieving study motivations in mediating/moderating the relationship between personality and AD.
SAMPLE: A sample of UK undergraduates (N = 240).
METHOD: All participants completed the RST Personality Questionnaire, a short-form version of the study process questionnaire and a measure of engagement in AD, its perceived prevalence, and seriousness.
RESULTS: Results showed that RST traits account for additional variance in AD. Mediation analysis suggested that GDP predicted dishonesty indirectly via a surface study approach while the indirect effect via deep study processes suggested dishonesty was not likely. Likelihood of engagement in AD was positively associated with personality traits reflecting Impulsivity and Fight-Flight-Freeze behaviours. Surface study motivation moderated the Impulsivity effect and achieving motivation the FFFS effect such that cheating was even more likely when high levels of these processes were used.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that motivational personality traits defined within RST can explain variance in the likelihood of engaging in dishonest academic behaviours
Theoretical study of the conditions of the maximum allowable slipping of wheel tractors
Received: October 1st, 2022 ; Accepted: March 15th, 2023 ; Published: March 17th, 2023 ; Correspondence: [email protected] process of tractor wheels slipping is accompanied by two forms of ground
deformation: displacement and shearing. From the point of view of preserving the structure of the
soil environment, wheel slip should be limited to displacement only. The limit of soil strength [σo]
at this deformation can be a standardizing parameter. In this article an analytical dependence is
developed, which allows using the parameter [σo] to establish the maximum permissible level of
slipping of wheeled tractors. Of the soil parameters, the specified dependence includes the
coefficient of sliding friction between the particles of soil medium and the coefficient of wheel
rolling resistance on a particular agrotechnical background. Theoretical studies have established that
the greater the value of this coefficient, the smaller should be the maximum permissible value of
tractor slipping with a more economical effect on the soil environment. Compared to a tractor with
a nominal drawbar pull of 14 kN, the use of a heavier tractor with a drawbar pull of 30 kN is possible
with higher values of maximum permissible towing. This result is due to the magnitude of the
vertical load on the wheel of the heavier tractor, which gives it a greater friction force between the
tire wheel and the ground and allows the same contacting traction force to be realized at a lower
level of slipping. The results of mathematical modeling using the developed analytical relationships
indicate that with increasing the value of the angle of placement (slope) of the tractor wheel to the
longitudinal axis of symmetry, the maximum permissible level of its slipping should be less. This
will help to reduce the value of deformation (longitudinal shift) of the soil by the tractor during its
working movement. When using the ground shear strength limit [σo] у as a limiting parameter for
increasing the pitch and height of the tractor tire, as well as the width of the tractor wheel tyre, the
maximum permissible level of its towing is more than 15%, which is an undesirable fact
Experimental study of the distribution of the heights of sugar beet root crowns above the soil surface
ArticleThe results of experimental studies and operational tests of the sugar beet harvesting process carried out recently reveal that the latest models of beet harvesters produced in Europe and America cause considerable loss of the sugar-bearing mass. The source of this loss is mainly the poor topping of the crowns of standing sugar beet roots, more specifically the excessively low point at which the tops are cut off, which results in the straight out loss of sugar-bearing mass. Thus, there is need to search for such engineering solutions that would avoid both the loss of sugar-bearing mass and the presence of residual haulm on the roots. The aim of this study was to reduce the loss of sugar-bearing mass in the process of topping sugar beet root crowns. The results of this research into the distribution of the heights that root crowns protrude above the soil surface have confirmed the hypothesis that it follows the normal distribution. Based on the results, it has been established that this distribution has the following statistical parameters: mean deviation a = 20–30 mm, mathematical expectation m = 40...60 mm. The laboratory unit developed for this work and the field studies performed with it have provided sufficient evidence to develop a new system to automatically adjust the topping height on state-of-the-art root crop harvesters
A mathematical model of the rear-trailed top harvester and an evaluation of its motion stability
Received: October 7th, 2021 ; Accepted: December 10th, 2021 ; Published: December 10th, 2021 ; Correspondence: [email protected] the quality of sugar beet harvesting to a great extent depends on the first
operation in the process, which involves cutting and harvesting sugar beet tops. This
technological process is performed with the use of either the haulm harvesting modules of beet
harvesters or top harvesting machines as separate agricultural implements, which are aggregated
with a tractor. At the same time, front-mounted harvesters are as widely used as trailed
asymmetric implements, in which case the aggregating tractor moves on the already harvested
area of the field. The purpose of this work is to determine the optimal design and kinematic
parameters that would improve the stability in the performance of the technological process of
harvesting sugar beet tops by means of developing the basic theory of the plane-parallel motion
performed by the rear-trailed asymmetric top harvester. As a result of the analytical study, an
equivalent scheme has been composed, on the basis of which a new computational mathematical
model has been developed for the plane-parallel motion of the asymmetric top harvester in the
horizontal plane on the assumption that the connection between the wheeled tractor and the
rear-trailed top harvester is made in the form of a cylindrical hinge joint. Using the results of
mathematical modelling, the system of linear second-order differential equations that determines
the transverse movement of the centre of mass of the aggregating wheeled tractor and the rotation
of its longitudinal symmetry axis by a certain angle about the said centre of mass as well as the
angle of deviation of the rear-trailed asymmetric top harvester from the longitudinal symmetry
axis of the tractor at an arbitrary instant of time has been obtained. The solving of the obtained
system of differential equations provides for determining the stability and controllability of the
motion performed by the asymmetric machine-tractor unit, when it performs the technological
process of harvesting sugar beet tops
Research into properties of blue melilot and fenugreek cultivated using different sowing times
Received: September 6th, 2021 ; Accepted: January 30th, 2022 ; Published: February 17th, 2022 ; Correspondence: [email protected] paper presents the results of the research into the properties of blue melilot
(Melilotus caeruleus (L.) Desr.) and fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum L.) with regard to
the set of their economy-and-biology and biochemical indices in relation to the dates of their
sowing. It has been established that the two species under consideration feature wide ranges of
index variability depending on the sowing term and the weather conditions. The earliest ripening
terms have been recorded for species in case of summer sowing dates (decade I of June), when
short growing season lengths of 36–37 days were observed. At the same time, in terms of heavy
plant herbage yield obtained from species in the green conveyor system, the early spring (decades
II–III of April) and late spring (decade I of May) sowing terms are more suitable providing
a herbage yield of 5.7–6.9 t ha–1 in case of blue melilot and 7.3–9.3 t ha–1 for fenugreek, with a
solids content of 12.4–28.4%, total sugars of 2.5–5.0% and vitamin C - 38.0–51.8 mg (100 g)-1
.
For the purpose of obtaining the spice named ‘Greek hay’ (foenum Graecum), a better choice is
to cultivate fenugreek with early spring (decades II–III of April) and late spring (decade I of May)
sowing times, as in this case a greater vegetation mass develops, resulting in a plant dry weight
yield of 1.3–1.4 t ha–1. An increase in the total precipitation by 1 mm has contributed to the
variation of the herbage yield within the range of 15.0 to 77.3 kg ha–1, dry matter yield - 0.693 to
25.9 kg ha–1. High seed yield has been noted in case of sowing the species in early spring (decades
II–III of April), where the seed yield of blue melilot was equal to 0.4 t ha-1, fenugreek - 2.0 t ha-1
,
their 1,000 seeds having a weight of 0.71 and 9.7 g, respectively
Enlargement of ribbons in zebrafish hair cells increases calcium currents, but disrupts afferent spontaneous activity and timing of stimulus onset.
In sensory hair cells of auditory and vestibular organs, the ribbon synapse is required for the precise encoding of a wide range of complex stimuli. Hair cells have a unique presynaptic structure-the synaptic ribbon-that organizes both synaptic vesicles and calcium channels at the active zone. Previous work has shown that hair-cell ribbon size is correlated with differences in postsynaptic activity. However, additional variability in postsynapse size presents a challenge to determining the specific role of ribbon size in sensory encoding. To selectively assess the impact of ribbon size on synapse function, we examined hair cells in transgenic zebrafish that have enlarged ribbons, without postsynaptic alterations. Morphologically, we found that enlarged ribbons had more associated vesicles and reduced presynaptic calcium-channel clustering. Functionally, hair cells with enlarged ribbons had larger global and ribbon-localized calcium currents. Afferent neuron recordings revealed that hair cells with enlarged ribbons resulted in reduced spontaneous spike rates. Additionally, despite larger presynaptic calcium signals, we observed fewer evoked spikes with longer latencies from stimulus onset. Taken together, our work indicates that hair-cell ribbon size influences the spontaneous spiking and the precise encoding of stimulus onset in afferent neurons.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTNumerous studies support that hair-cell ribbon size corresponds with functional sensitivity differences in afferent neurons and, in the case of inner hair cells of the cochlea, vulnerability to damage from noise trauma. Yet it is unclear whether ribbon size directly influences sensory encoding. Our study reveals that ribbon enlargement results in increased ribbon-localized calcium signals, yet reduces afferent spontaneous activity and disrupts the timing of stimulus onset-a distinct aspect of auditory and vestibular encoding. These observations suggest that varying ribbon size alone can influence sensory encoding, and give further insight into how hair cells transduce signals that cover a wide dynamic range of stimuli
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