Ambulatory assessment in neuropsychology : applications in multiple sclerosis research

Peer reviewedPostprin

Measuring the Impact of Renewable Energy Technologies on Energy Security: A Multi-level Assessment of the German Heating Sector

This thesis has been written as input for a publicly funded research project on the economic evaluation of the implications of renewable energy expansion in the German electricity and heating sector. So far, the project has only qualitatively assessed the impact of renewable energy deployment on energy security. This thesis presents the first approach of its kind to quantitatively assess the influence of renewable energy deployment on energy security. The German heating sector is taken as a case-study to carry out this assessment. The political, societal, and academic discourse on energy security in Germany is focussing on supply-based price and quantity risks and discusses energy security mainly as security of supply. Based on this narrow definition, the overall impact of renewable energy deployment is assumed to be beneficial to energy security. This thesis scrutinises this hypothesis in developing a methodological approach aiming at appropriately assessing the complexity and heterogeneity of energy security and at broadening the currently narrow discourse on energy security in Germany. This thesis highlights that the complexity and heterogeneity of energy security can be delineated with the help of dimensions (i.e. different stakeholders’ views on and perceptions of energy security) and characteristics (i.e. more or less pronounced requirements of energy systems and their subcomponents necessary to meet energy security). Within these dimensions and characteristics, indicators allow to measure the impact of the deployment of renewable energy technologies to energy security. This thesis further reveals that the deployment of renewable energy technologies in the German heating sector could be beneficial, harmful, or neutral to energy security depending on the deployed technology and the regarded subsector or end-use of thermal energy

Beauty, elegance, grace, and sexiness compared

Beauty is the single most frequently and most broadly used aesthetic virtue term. The present study aimed at providing higher conceptual resolution to the broader notion of beauty by comparing it with three closely related aesthetically evaluative concepts which are likewise lexicalized across many languages: elegance, grace(fulness), and sexiness. We administered a variety of questionnaires that targeted perceptual qualia, cognitive and affective evaluations, as well as specific object properties that are associated with beauty, elegance, grace, and sexiness in personal looks, movements, objects of design, and other domains. This allowed us to reveal distinct and highly nuanced profiles of how a beautiful, elegant, graceful, and sexy appearance is subjectively perceived. As aesthetics is all about nuances, the fine-grained conceptual analysis of the four target concepts of our study provides crucial distinctions for future research

Tracking daily fatigue fluctuations in multiple sclerosis : ecological momentary assessment provides unique insights

The preparation of this manuscript was supported by a UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) PhD studentship (ES/1026266/1) awarded to DP. The study was funded by the Psychology Unit at the University of Southampton. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The authors thank all participants of this study. Open access via Springer Compact Agreement.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Modeling Music-Selection Behavior in Everyday Life: A Multilevel Statistical Learning Approach and Mediation Analysis of Experience Sampling Data

Music listening has become a highly individualized activity with smartphones and music streaming services providing listeners with absolute freedom to listen to any kind of music in any situation. Until now, little has been written about the processes underlying the selection of music in daily life. The present study aimed to disentangle some of the complex processes among the listener, situation, and functions of music listening involved in music selection. Utilizing the experience sampling method, data were collected from 119 participants using a smartphone application. For 10 consecutive days, participants received 14 prompts using stratified-random sampling throughout the day and reported on their music-listening behavior. Statistical learning procedures on multilevel regression models and multilevel structural equation modeling were used to determine the most important predictors and analyze mediation processes between person, situation, functions of listening, and music selection. Results revealed that the features of music selected in daily life were predominantly determined by situational characteristics, whereas consistent individual differences were of minor importance. Functions of music listening were found to act as a mediator between characteristics of the situation and music-selection behavior. We further observed several significant random effects, which indicated that individuals differed in how situational variables affected their music selection behavior. Our findings suggest a need to shift the focus of music-listening research from individual differences to situational influences, including potential person-situation interactions

Understanding music-selection behavior via statistical learning: Using the percentile-Lasso to identify the most important factors

Music psychological research has either focused on individual differences of music listening behavior or investigated situational influences. The present study addresses the question of how much of people's listening behavior in daily life is due to individual differences and how much is attributable to situational effects. We aimed to identify the most important factors of both levels (i.e., person-related and situational) driving people's music selection behavior. Five hundred eighty-seven participants reported three self-selected typical music listening situations. For each situation, they answered questions on situational characteristics, functions of music listening, and characteristics of the music selected in the specific situation (e.g., fast - slow, simple - complex). Participants also reported on several person-related variables (e.g., musical taste, Big Five personality dimensions). Due to the large number of variables measured, we implemented a statistical learning method, percentile-Lasso, for variable selection, which prevents overfitting and optimizes models for the prediction of unseen data. Most of the variance in music selection behavior was attributable to differences between situations, while individual differences accounted for much less variance. Situation-specific functions of music listening most consistently explained which kind of music people selected, followed by the degree of attention paid to the music. Individual differences in musical taste most consistently accounted for person-related differences in music selection behavior, whereas the influence of Big Five personality was very weak. These results show a detailed pattern of factors influencing the selection of music with specific characteristics. They clearly emphasize the importance of situational effects on music listening behavior and suggest shifts in widely-used experimental designs in laboratory-based research on music listening behavior

Results of ultra-low level 71ge counting for application in the Gallex-solar neutrino experiment at the Gran Sasso Underground Physics Laboratory

It has been experimentally verified that the Ultra-Low-Level Counting System for the Gallex solar neutrino experiment is capable of measuring the expected solar up silon-flux to plus or minus 12% during two years of operation

The Motivational Value Systems Questionnaire (MVSQ): Psychometric Analysis Using a Forced Choice Thurstonian IRT Model

This study presents a new measure of value systems, the Motivational Value Systems Questionnaire (MVSQ), which is based on a theory of value systems by psychologist Clare W. Graves. The purpose of the instrument is to help people identify their personal hierarchies of value systems and thus become more aware of what motivates and demotivates them in work-related contexts. The MVSQ is a forced-choice (FC) measure, making it quicker to complete and more difficult to intentionally distort, but also more difficult to assess its psychometric properties due to ipsativity of FC data compared to rating scales. To overcome limitations of ipsative data, a Thurstonian IRT (TIRT) model was fitted to the questionnaire data, based on a broad sample of N = 1,217 professionals and students. Comparison of normative (IRT) scale scores and ipsative scores suggested that MVSQ IRT scores are largely freed from restrictions due to ipsativity and thus allow interindividual comparison of scale scores. Empirical reliability was estimated using a sample-based simulation approach which showed acceptable and good estimates and, on average, slightly higher test-retest reliabilities. Further, validation studies provided evidence on both construct validity and criterion-related validity. Scale score correlations and associations of scores with both age and gender were largely in line with theoretically- and empirically-based expectations, and results of a multitrait-multimethod analysis supports convergent and discriminant construct validity. Criterion validity was assessed by examining the relation of value system preferences to departmental affiliation which revealed significant relations in line with prior hypothesizing. These findings demonstrate the good psychometric properties of the MVSQ and support its application in the assessment of value systems in work-related contexts

Modeling of Spray Combustion under Cryogenic and High Pressure Conditions

The paper concerns both the numerical and experimental investigation of turbulent liquid oxygen/hydrogen spray combustion for elevated subcritical pressure and cryogenic inlet temperature conditions. In particular, the combustion in the single injector combustion chamber is studied where experimental data are obtained for gas phase temperature and both droplet size and velocities. The model uses an Eulerian--Lagrangian formulation for the gas and the liquid phase, respectively. Detailed models for droplet heating and vaporization in a convective flow field are employed, and detailed gas phase reactions are accounted for through use of a flamelet model for turbulent spray combustion. The results show a very good agreement between experimental and computational spray characteristics. The computed gas phase temperature lies somewhat above the experimental values which is associated with CARS single shot measurements and incomplete data for the initial conditions of the combustion process

Measuring Optimal Reading Experiences: The Reading Flow Short Scale

In transferring the concept of flow to the context of fiction reading a new approach to understanding the evolvement of reading pleasure is provided. This study presents the Reading Flow Short Scale (RFSS), the first reading-specific flow measurement tool. The RFSS was applied to 229 readers via online survey after 20 min of reading in self-selected novels. In a systematic analysis of psychometric properties, the RFSS’ factorial structure, reliability, and associations with theoretically related constructs were examined. As expected, the RFSS showed a two-factor structure, positive correlations with variables related to reading pleasure and flow, and an inverted U-shaped association with perceived fit between reader skills and text challenge. Comparisons of confirmatory factor analysis model confirmed that RFSS items loaded on different latent variables than items assessing other narrative engagement concepts, namely presence, identification, suspense, and cognitive mastery, and hence distinctly capture flow states in fiction reading. In sum, our findings indicate that the RFSS is a useful instrument for assessing flow states in fiction reading, thereby enriching the portfolio of measurement instruments in reading research