Decoding Different Patterns in Various Grey Tones Incorporated in the QR Code

Using colors in bar codes causes errors that may adversely affect their readability (Tan etal. 2010), given that the contrast between data and background modules is reduced. Due to the unreliability of using color bar codes, most designers still keep to the limitations placed by Pira International (Smithers Pira) in 2002 (Williams, 2004). Since the contrast between data modules and background modules is the most important aspect in the process of reliable bar code decoding, this paper explores the dependence of reliable decoding of QR codes incorporated with combinations of grey tones on the technical characteristics of the cameras on smartphones that were marketed in the period between 2008 and 2012

Characterizing Risk Attitudes of Industrial Managers

We study the risk attitudes of an important segment of the economy: managers. We conduct artefactual field experiments with 130 managers from 12 industrial companies. Our analysis is particularly careful to evaluate alternative models of decision-making under risk. In general, we find that the managers in our sample are moderately risk averse. Assuming a standard EUT model they exhibit similar risk attitudes as other sample populations. However, we find some differences within our sample. Superiors exhibit a higher level of risk aversion than team members that work for them in their department. Comparing purchasing managers with a random sample of non-purchasing managers from different corporate functions such as controlling, sales, engineering and so on, we cannot conclude that they differ from each other. We show that alternative theories of risky behavior provide complementary information on the risk attitude of industrial managers. While an expected utility theory model only characterizes managers as globally risk averse, we learn from a prospect theory model that the managers in our sample are only risk averse for a certain range of payoffs. For other payoffs, they even exhibit risk-seeking behavior. The reference point that determines which outcomes are to be viewed as losses and which as gains is not that induced by the task frame. We show that subjects had implicit expectations about their earning in the experiment, and used these expectations to evaluate the lotteries presented to them. Remarkably, the managers in our sample did not weigh probabilities and they did not exhibit a hypothetical bias in their decisions

Repräsentierung von Raum und Zeit in Digitaltechnik innerhalb der Globalisierungsprozesse

Po nekim autorima, digitalna je tehnologija klju~ni ~imbenik pove}anoga toka informacija u ekonomiji koja mo`e raditi u stvarnom vremenu na planetarnoj razini (Castells, 1996., 2000.). Ovaj se rad bavi analizom predstavlja~kih i komunikacijskih karakteristika digitalne tehnologije u prikazu prostorno- -vremenskih konvencija te njihovom usporedbom s tradicionalnim dru{tvenim shva}anjima prostorno-vremenskoga fenomena. Ako za bitne parametre opa`aja nekoga fenomena uzmemo prostor i vrijeme, tada se analize digitalne kompresije prostora i vremena (Mittelman, 1996.), odnosno digitalnog odvajanja prostora od vremena (Giddens, 1990.) mogu izvesti isklju~ivo istra`ivanjem predstavlja~kih i komunikacijskih svojstava te iste tehnologije. Analiza `eli pokazati da se upravo razotkrivanjem dijalekti~kog odnosa izme|u stvarnoga i virtualnoga prostora mogu prevladati negativne strane uporabe tehnologije u globalizaciji. Taj se dijalekti~ki odnos razotkriva u svjesnom suprotstavljanju osje}aja prisutnosti i djelovanja u prostoru (postojanja ovdje i sada), `elji za br`im savladavanjem prostora i vremena. Te negativne strane Paul Virilio (1999.) opisuje ovako: "Upravo to ~ine teletehnologije stvarnog vremena: one ubijaju \u27sada{nje\u27 vrijeme izdvajaju}i ga od njegova ovdje i sada na ra~un nekog zamjenjivog drugdje, koje nije mjesto na{e \u27konkretne prisutnosti\u27 na svijetu, nego one pritajene \u27teleprisutnosti\u27 ~ija zagonetnost ostaje posvema{njom."Research so far has confirmed that digital technology is a key factor in the increased exchange of information in economy, which is able to operate in real time on a planetary level (Castells, 1996, 2000), i.e. in globalisation. This paper deals with a comparative analysis of presentational and communicational possibilities of digital technology (space and time conventions) with conventional social conceptions of the space-time phenomenon. If space and time are taken as essential parameters of perception of an experience, then the analyses of compression of space and time (Mittelman, 1996) and their separation (Giddens, 1990), with the help of digital technology, are possible only by research of presentational and communicational properties of this technology. The analysis wants to show that negative sides of the use of technology can be overcome by revealing the dialectic relationship between the real and virtual in a conscious contrast of feelings of being and acting in space "here" and "now", the desire and efforts to master space and time more quickly. Paul Virilio (1999) describes these negative sides: "This is what teletechnologies of real time are doing: they are killing \u27present\u27 time by separating it from its here and now at the expense of some place else, which is not a place of our \u27particular\u27 presence in the world, but of the concealed \u27telepresence\u27 whose mysteriousness remains absolute."Einigen Autoren zufolge ist die Digitaltechnologie der Schlüsselfaktor für den gesteigerten Informationsfluss innerhalb der Ökonomie, welche die Möglichkeit hat, in der realen Zeit auf planetarer Ebene wirksam zu sein (Castells, 1996, 2000). Die vorliegende Arbeit analysiert die Repräsentierungs- und Kommunikationscharakteristiken der Digitaltechnologie bei der Darstellung räumlich-zeitlicher Konventionen und zieht einen Vergleich zu traditionellen gesellschaftlichen Auffassungen des Raum-Zeit-Phänomens. Nimmt man Raum und Zeit als die wesentlichen Parameter, die die Wahrnehmung eines Phänomens ausmachen, können die Analysen zur Raum- und Zeitkomprimierung (Mittelman, 1996) bzw. zur Trennung von Raum und Zeit (Giddens, 1990) – Verfahren, die für die zeitgenössischen globalen Bewegungen charakteristisch sind und mit Hilfe der Digitaltechnik ausgeführt werden – ausschließlich anhand der Untersuchung der Repräsentierungs- und Kommunikationsmerkmale ebenderselben Technologie vorgenommen werden. Die vorliegende Analyse soll zeigen, dass gerade durch die Transparentmachung des dialektischen Verhältnisses zwischen realem und virtuellem Raum – in der bewussten Konfrontierung des Gefühls der Gegenwärtigkeit und des Handelns innerhalb des Raumes "hier und jetzt" einerseits und des Wunsches nach einer schnelleren Bewältigung von Raum und Zeit mittels Technologie und moderner ästhetischer Verfahren andererseits – der negative Aspekt der Technologieanwendung innerhalb der globalen Bewegungen überwunden werden kann. Diesen negativen Aspekt beschriebt Paul Virilio (1999) folgendermaßen: Gerade das machen die Teletechnologien der realen Zeit: Sie töten die "Jetztzeit", indem sie das Hier und Jetzt auf Kosten eines austauschbaren Anderswo aus ihr herauslösen, welches nicht der Ort unserer "konkreten Gegenwart" in der Welt ist, sondern jener latenten "Tele-Gegenwart", deren Rätselhaftigkeit allumfassend bleibt

NS-Herrschaft in der Gemeinde Techelsberg am Wörthersee unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der religiös und politisch motivierten Minderheiten

Die NS-Herrschaft und ihre Auswirkung auf die Bevölkerung spielt auch in der heutigen Zeit noch eine bedeutende Rolle. Diese Arbeit hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, die NS-Herrschaft in der Gemeinde Techelsberg am Wörthersee zu beleuchten, wo in der Zeit während des Nationalsozialismus Menschen von unterschiedlichen religiösen und politischen Gesinnungen gelebt haben. Dort waren Deserteure, Partisanen, Euthanasieopfer, Nationalsozialisten und Zeugen Jehovas ansässig. Es sollen die unterschiedlichen Zugänge und Reaktionen auf die NS-Herrschaft untersucht und diskutiert und die Schicksale der einzelnen Bevölkerungsgruppen in Erinnerung gerufen werden. Weiters wird die Problematik behandelt, wie die Gemeinde Techelsberg mit der NS-Herrschaft heute umgeht und welche Mittel sie einsetzt, um den Opfern der Gemeinde zu gedenken

OUTDOOR MEDIA DESIGN FOR BETTER TRAFFIC SECURITY

Vanjsko oglašavanje uz televiziju, radio, internet i dnevni tisak, pripada glavnim medijima oglašivačke industrije. To su mediji eksterijera koji se postavljaju uz prometnice, a njihove poruke namijenjene su sudionicima prometa, vozačima. Osim komercijalnih priopćavanja i reklamiranja, mediji vanjskog oglašavanja primjenjuju se i u kampanjama Nacionalnog programa sigurnosti na cestama u cilju informiranja sudionika u prometu o opasnostima i njihovim posljedicama koje se pojavljuju na cestama zbog nepoštovanja propisa. Zbog toga je za njihovo oblikovanje iznimno bitno poruku učiniti vizualno prepoznatljivom u kratkom vremenu jer je vrijeme primanja poruke putem veleplakata vrlo kratko. Načini privlačenja pozornosti uz aktiviranje interesa prikazani su u radu na primjerima veleplakata koji su bili izloženi uz visokofrekventne prometnice na području Republike Hrvatske. Prikazani su primjeri plakata temeljenih na humoru, manipulirajućim simbolima, provokaciji i kao sredstva javnog priopćavanja u sklopu Nacionalnog programa sigurnosti na cestama. Na temelju analize različitih rješenja zaključno su definirani kriteriji koje treba zadovoljiti da bi se postigla vizualno aktivna poruka prezentirana medijima vanjskog oglašavanja.SUMMARY: The outdoor media are, like television, radio, the Internet and daily press, the most common media in the advertising industry. Their messages are presented on billboards placed along roads for drivers to see. In addition to being vehicles for commercial advertising, the outdoor media are used in the national traffic security campaigns with the objective to inform traffic participants of the dangers and consequences if traffic regulations are not strictly adhered to. Their design must be visually clear and perceptible in a very short time, as the time available to drivers perceiving the content of a billboard is very short. The modes of attracting attention and interest are shown on examples of billboards mounted along busy roads in the Republic of Croatia. Examples are given of billboards with humorous content, manipulating symbols, provocative content and of some acting as public announcement tools used in the national road safety program. A variety of examples have been analysed to set out the criteria that should be met to achieve a visually clear message in the outdoor media

HYBRID CRYPTOSYSTEMS IN CLIENT-SERVER ARCHITECTURE ON THE APPLICATION LAYER OF THE INTERNET

Uslijed sve šire upotrebe kriptografije u raznim domenama računarstva razvijaju se sve napredniji kriptografski algoritmi, protokoli i sustavi o čijoj ispravnosti ovisi povjerljivost privatne i poslovne komunikacije sve većeg broja ljudi. Povrh kompleksnosti svake od kriptografskih komponenti, moderne klijentsko-poslužiteljske arhitekture zahtijevaju njihove precizno izvedene kombinacije s drugim elementima sustava koji također primjenjuju kriptografiju u različite svrhe. S ciljem boljeg razumijevanja uloge kriptografskih primitiva u suvremenim distribuiranim sustavima, u ovom su radu objedinjene značajke temeljnih kriptografskih metoda zajedno s njihovim primjenama na aplikacijskom sloju Interneta. Na primjerima popularnih hibridnih kriptosustava (Transport Layer Security, Secure Shell, End-to-end Encryption) predstavljene su namjene kriptografije u distribuiranim mrežnim aplikacijama uz sažet opis glavnih ideja koje se koriste pri oblikovanju takvih sustava. Rad ne ulazi u tehničke detalje i implementacije algoritama, već doprinosi jezgrovit pregled navedenih principa i ideja uz praktične primjere relevantne mladim programskim inženjerima.Due to the increasing use of cryptography in various domains of computing, more and more advanced cryptographic algorithms, protocols, and systems are being developed, the correctness of which largely determines the confidentiality of private and business communication of an increasing number of people. In addition to the complexity of each of the cryptographic components, modern client-server architectures require their precisely executed combinations with other elements of the system that also apply cryptography for various purposes. In order to better understand the role of cryptographic primitives in modern distributed systems, this paper combines the features of basic cryptographic methods together with their applications on the application layer of the Internet. Examples of popular hybrid cryptosystems (Transport Layer Security, Secure Shell, End-to-end Encryption) present the purposes of cryptography in distributed network applications with a brief description of the main ideas used in designing such systems. The paper does not go into technical details and implementations of algorithms but contributes a concise overview of these principles and ideas with practical examples relevant to young software engineers

Psychoeducation versus treatment as usual in diabetic patients with subthreshold depression: preliminary results of a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND ----- Research on the effects of treating sub-threshold depression in persons with diabetes is scarce in spite of the findings indicating that this condition is highly prevalent in the diabetic population and may increase the risk of developing a subsequent major depression. This study was aimed at exploring the effects of a psycho-educational intervention on depression- and diabetes-related outcomes in patients with mild to moderate depressive symptoms. METHODS ----- A randomized controlled study design with a one-year follow-up was used. Fifty patients with mild to moderate depressive symptoms (74% female, aged 57 +/- 9 yrs, diabetes duration of 10 +/- 8 yrs, BMI 31 +/- 6 kg/m2, HbA1C 7.7% +/- 1.4, 53% insulin treated) were randomly assigned to either an intervention or a control group. The intervention group underwent four psycho-educational sessions aimed at enabling self-management of depressive symptoms. The control group was informed about the screening results and depression treatment options while continuing diabetes treatment as usual. Both groups were contacted by phone in 2-3-month intervals, and re-assessed for depression after 6 and 12 months. Changes in depressive symptoms and glycaemic control were considered primary outcomes. Mann-Whitney U test and Friedman ANOVA were used to compare between- and within-group indicators at 6- and 12-month follow-ups. RESULTS ----- Both the intervention and the control group reported a significant decrease in depressive symptoms as measured by the CES-D scale (Friedman ANOVA chi2 = 10.8 p = .004 and chi2 = 7.3 p = 0.03, respectively). The 6-month and 1-year indicators of glycaemic control as compared to baseline HbA1C values were also improved in both groups (chi2 = 11.6 p = 0.003 and chi2 = 17.1 p = 0.0002, respectively). Between-group differences in depressive symptoms and HbA1C values were not statistically significant either at 6- or at 12-month follow-up (all p > 0.05).CONCLUSION ----- Psycho-educational treatment appears to be beneficial in diabetic patients with mild to moderate depressive symptoms, but its effects are comparable with the non-specific support given to the subjects in the control group. TRIAL REGISTRATION ----- Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN58745372

Šećerna bolest kao kronična bolest – potreba redefiniranja modela pružanja skrbi

Tradicionalnim modelom zdravstvene skrbi, prilagođenim liječenju akutnih bolesnih stanja, nije moguće optimalno zbrinuti osobe koje boluju od šećerne bolesti. Kako bi se poboljšala regulacije bolesti, te unaprijedila kvaliteta života bolesnika i osobna kontrola nad zdravljem, potrebno je redefinirati odnos liječnik-bolesnik. Tradicionalni, liječniku usmjeren pristup, obilježen izradom plana liječenja za bolesnike i poticanjem njihova pristajanja uz preporuke, nastoji se zamijeniti bolesniku usmjerenim pristupom koji se oslanja na autonomiju, aktivno sudjelovanje, osnaženost bolesnika za donošenje informiranih odluka, te suradnu skrb o šećernoj bolesti. Podaci istraživanja potvrđuju da implementacija modela osnaživanja bolesnika pozitivno doprinosi zdravstvenom samozbrinjavanju i zdravstvenim ishodima u bolesnika koji boluju od šećerne bolesti

Procjena i praćenje psihosocijalnih potreba u liječenju osoba sa šećernom bolešću

Suvremena istraživanja i intervencije vezane uz psihološke i psihosocijalne činitelje u šećernoj bolesti usmjerila su se u dva područja [1]. Prvi smjer istraživanja i djelovanja tiče se povezanosti psihosocijalnih čimbenika sa zdravstvenim ishodima liječenja šećerne bolesti. S druge strane, psihosocijalnu dobrobit se promatra kao vrijedan ishod liječenja sam po sebi. Psihosocijalni čimbenici utječu na zdravstvene ishode bolesti, jer djeluju na uspješnost pojedinca u svim aspektima samozbrinjavanja šećerne bolesti. Pritom valja imati na umu da je veza između psihosocijalnih činitelja i zdravstvenih ishoda bolesti dinamička. S jedne strane, psihosocijalni resursi kojima raspolaže osoba oboljela od šećerne bolesti će pozitivno ili negativno djelovati na njezinu dobrobit. Oni će time posredno dovoditi i do boljeg ili slabijeg samozbrinjavanja, što će uvjetovati poželjne ili štetne zdravstvene ishode. S druge strane, poželjni zdravstveni ishodi će povećavati psihosocijalnu dobrobit, čime će doprinositi održavanju poželjnih obrazaca ponašanja samozbrinjavanja i očuvanju dobrog zdravstvenog stanja. Nepoželjni zdravstveni ishodi će otežavati daljnje pokušaje samozbrinjavanja i negativno djelovati na dobrobit pojedinca, čime će postizanje boljih zdravstvenih ishoda biti teže. Ovo je perspektiva koja je često od primarne važnosti medicinskom osoblju koje se bavi liječenjem osoba sa šećernom bolešću. Psihosocijalna dobrobit kao važan samostalni ishod skrbi za oboljele veže se uz činjenicu da šećerna bolest pogoduje razvoju različith psiholoških i psihosocijalnih smetnji i tegoba. Prevalencija depresije među osobama sa šećernom bolešću iznosi oko 20%, što je oko tri puta učestalije nego u općoj populaciji [2], a procjenjuje se da oko 40% osoba sa šećernom bolešću doživljava smetnje raspoloženja različitog intenziteta. Pritom oko dvije trećine depresivnih poremećaja kod dijabetičara ostaje neprepoznato i neliječeno. S druge strane, život sa šećernom bolešću u sličnoj mjeri povećava i vjerojatnost razvoja anksioznih poremećaja i klinički značajno povišene anksioznosti [3]. Konačno, osobe sa šećernom bolešću, a osobito mlađe ženske osobe, sklonije su razvoju poremećaja prehrane, kao i poremećenim obrascima hranjenja koji ne zadovoljavaju pune dijagnostičke kriterije [4]