Nothing Going On? Exploring the Role of Missed Events in Changes in Subjective Well-Being and the Big Five Personality Traits

Objective: Missed events are defined as the nonoccurrence of expected major life events within a specified time frame. We examined whether missed events should be studied in research on growth by exploring the role of missed events for changes in subjective well-being (SWB) and the Big Five personality traits. Method: The samples were selected from two nationally representative panel studies, the German Socioeconomic Panel Innovation Sample (SOEP-IS, total N = 6,638) and the Dutch Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences panel (LISS, Ns between 4,262 and 5,749). Rank-order stability and mean-level change were analyzed using regression and mixed models. Type I error probability was reduced by using conservative thresholds for level of significance and minimal effect size. Results: Expected but missed events were more frequent than actually experienced events. For SWB, rank-order stability tended to be lower among those who experienced a missed event than among those who did not. For the Big Five personality traits, significant differences between those who did and those who did not experience a missed event were rare and unsystematic. Conclusion: Missed events merit more attention in future research on growth and personality change, but the effects are probably weak

An Approach for Cost-Efficient Grid Integration of Distributed Renewable Energy Sources

We describe a specific approach to capacity management for distribution grids. Based on simulations, it has been found that by curtailing a maximum of 5% of the yearly energy production on a per-generator basis, distribution grid connection capacity can be doubled. We also present the setting and first results of a field test for validating the approach in a rural distribution grid in northern Germany

The Perception of Major Life Events Across the Life Course

To better understand the effects of life events, research interest recently turned to the question of how life events are perceived (e.g., as positive, predictable, or controllable). However, research on this topic primarily focused on young adulthood, leaving it unclear whether and how the perception of life events varies across the life course. In this study, we examined the relationship between age and different perceived event characteristics using nationally representative data from the German Socioeconomic Panel Innovation Sample (N = 1,044). We found that people reported different event types across among age groups. Furthermore, the perception of life events varied across age and depending on whether an event was experienced at a normative age or not. These findings underline the necessity to take on a life-course perspective when examining life events and support theoretical claims on the relevance of age norms in life-event research

Are U.S. older adults getting lonelier? Age, period, and cohort differences.

In this study, we examine whether perceived loneliness is greater among the Baby Boomers—individuals born 1948–1965—relative to those born 1920–1947, and whether older adults have become lonelier over the past decade (2005–2016). We use data from the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP) and from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) collected during 2005–16 to estimate differences in loneliness associated with age, birth year and survey timepoint. Overall, loneliness decreases with age through the early 70s, after which it increases. We find no evidence that loneliness is substantially higher among the Baby Boomers or that it has increased over the past decade

The interplay of domain- and life satisfaction in predicting life events

To better understand the occurrence of major changes in people´s lives like job changes or relocations, we test a model of motivational consequences of life and domain satisfaction using data of the German socio-economic panel study (SOEP) (waves 2005–2015; Ns between 2,201 and 28,720). We examined job and location changes as outcomes that people may actively initiate as a result of dissatisfaction with these domains. One of our results indicates that for similar levels of job satisfaction, individuals with higher levels of life satisfaction were more likely to report a subsequent job change, presumably because they possess necessary resources to actively initiate such a major life change. The patterns were similar for relocation satisfaction and subsequent relocation, but not all effects were significant. Generally, the effects of life satisfaction and domain satisfaction on life events were independent of affective well-being. Contrary to what we expected based on life-span theories, perceived control did not significantly moderate the tested mechanisms. These findings furthermore show that examining life satisfaction and domain satisfaction in isolation can lead to theoretically and empirically false conclusions. Contrary to previous research, high life satisfaction appears to not be a general driver for stability but rather should be seen as an indicator of resourcefulness that allows people to strive for changes in specific life domains

Psychological Item Pool for Corona Outbreak (PIPCO)

Psychological Item Pool for Corona Outbreak (PIPCO) contains a variety of self-constructed items and items that were adapted from existing scales in order to measure the psychological and social effects of COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus). The PIPCO items were first used in the long-term Bochum Berlin Covid-19 Study (previously called "Covid-19-Psych"), which is a measurement burst daily diary study. Please note that this item pool does not cover all items used in the study Bochum Berlin Covid-19 Study. The original items are in German. This document also presents a first English version of all items. The PIPCO items can be used for research purposes freely. PIPCO is published under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. Consequently, PIPCO may not be used for commercial purposes. For non-commercial purposes, PIPCO may be used, shared and adapted as long as appropriate credit is given to the original authors. We encourage others who use PIPCO to provide a link to this original material, and to indicate if changes were made. For questions regarding the use of these items, the original PIPCO authors should be consulted

Interaction of EMS related systems by using the CIM standard

Abstract: Energy distribution companies nowadays use different IT-systems from vendors within their infrastructure. Those systems often use proprietary data exchange formats and must be connected to other systems. Building specialized adaptors for interconnection between the systems is the most common and timeconsuming task for IT-departments at energy companies. The Common Information Model (CIM) establishes a common language and domain model for energy management systems and related data structures. Instead of connecting all systems and building up a meshed net, it is possible to connect the systems to a an integration platform using the CIM as a common language. This paper will discuss the CIM and its benefits and focusses on a current industrial project conducted by the authors which integrates CIM as a standard for data exchange between energy management related systems. Keywords: Common Information Model, CIM/XML, RDF, data exchange, power system modeling