Evaluation of a global soil moisture product from finer spatial resolution sar data and ground measurements at Irish sites

In the framework of the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative, a global, almost daily, soil moisture (SM) product is being developed from passive and active satellite microwave sensors, at a coarse spatial resolution. This study contributes to its validation by using finer spatial resolution ASAR Wide Swath and in situ soil moisture data taken over three sites in Ireland, from 2007 to 2009. This is the first time a comparison has been carried out between three sets of independent observations from different sensors at very different spatial resolutions for such a long time series. Furthermore, the SM spatial distribution has been investigated at the ASAR scale within each Essential Climate Variable (ECV) pixel, without adopting any particular model or using a densely distributed network of in situ stations. This approach facilitated an understanding of the extent to which geophysical factors, such as soil texture, terrain composition and altitude, affect the retrieved ECV SM product values in temperate grasslands. Temporal and spatial variability analysis provided high levels of correlation (p < 0.025) and low errors between the three datasets, leading to confidence in the new ECV SM global product, despite limitations in its ability to track the driest and wettest conditions

Langevin equation for the extended Rayleigh model with an asymmetric bath

In this paper a one-dimensional model of two infinite gases separated by a movable heavy piston is considered. The non-linear Langevin equation for the motion of the piston is derived from first principles for the case when the thermodynamic parameters and/or the molecular masses of gas particles on left and right sides of the piston are different. Microscopic expressions involving time correlation functions of the force between bath particles and the piston are obtained for all parameters appearing in the non-linear Langevin equation. It is demonstrated that the equation has stationary solutions corresponding to directional fluctuation-induced drift in the absence of systematic forces. In the case of ideal gases interacting with the piston via a quadratic repulsive potential, the model is exactly solvable and explicit expressions for the kinetic coefficients in the non-linear Langevin equation are derived. The transient solution of the non-linear Langevin equation is analyzed perturbatively and it is demonstrated that previously obtained results for systems with the hard-wall interaction are recovered.Comment: 10 pages. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Autoritätsakzeptanz und Folgebereitschaft in Organisationen. Zur Beteiligung der Mitglieder des Reserve-Polizeibataillons 101 am Holocaust

Gruber A, Kühl S. Autoritätsakzeptanz und Folgebereitschaft in Organisationen. Zur Beteiligung der Mitglieder des Reserve-Polizeibataillons 101 am Holocaust. In: Gruber A, Kühl S, eds. Soziologische Analysen des Holocaust. Jenseits der Debatte über "ganz normale Männer" und "ganz normale Deutsche". Wiesbaden: Springer VS; 2015: 7-28

Does knowledge help with the identification and control of a complex economics system?

Um Ansatzpunkte für instruktionale Förderungsmaßnahmen abzuleiten, wurde versucht, Probleme der Wissensanwendung bei einer komplexen ökonomischen Problemstellung zu identifizieren. Zu diesem Zweck wurde die Steuerung und Identifikation eines komplexen ökonomischen Systems durch Semiexperten (Mandl, Gruber & Renkl, 1992) und Novizen analysiert. Es wurden 18 Semiexperten (Graduierte Studenten der Wirtschaftswissenschaften) und 17 Novizen (Studenten der Psychologie und Pädagogik) untersucht. Sie explorierten und steuerten ein ökonomisches Planspiel, bei dem eine Fabrik zu leiten und deren Gewinn zu maximieren war. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass die Semiexperten Schwierigkeiten hatten, ihre im Vergleich zu den Novizen größere Wissensbasis zu nutzen: (1) Sie leiteten die Fabrik weniger erfolgreich als die Novizen, d.h. sie steuerten das System schlechter. (2) Sie konnten eine Explorationsphase nicht nutzen, um differenziertere und kohärentere mentale Modelle über das ökonomische System (Fabrik und entsprechender Markt) zu konstruieren als die Novizen. Erst nach der Systemsteuerung waren die mentalen Modelle der Semiexperten denjenigen der Novizen überlegen. Aus den Befunden werden pädagogische Schlussfolgerungen für die Förderung von Wissenserwerb und Wissensanwendung in komplexen Problemstellungen gezogen. (DIPF/Orig.)Difficulties of knowledge application in solving a complex economical problem were analyzed in order to get hints for the implementation of effective instructional support. For this purpose, intermediate experts and novices had to identify and control a computer-based economics simulation. Intermediate experts were graduate students of Economics (n = 18), novices were students of Psychology and Education (n = 17). The subjects had to explore a simulated jeans factory and, later on, to maximize the profit (system control). The results show that intermediate experts encountered difficulties in using their extensive knowledge base: (1) They were less successful than novices concerning the profit made in the economics computer simulation. (2) They were not able to use the exploration phase in order to construct more sophisticated and coherent mental models of the system than the novices. Not until the system control phase was finished the intermediates outperformed the novices with respect to the quality of their mental models. Conclusions about the educational consequences of the results are drawn. (DIPF/Orig.

Analysing the preferred characteristics of frontline employees dealing with customer complaints: A cross‐national Kano study

Recent research in customer satisfaction suggests that attributes of products and services can be classified into three categories, must-be factors, one-dimensional factors and excitement factors, which all affect customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction. These originate from Kano’s model (1984) that allows researchers to gain a deeper understanding of customer preferences by analysing how they evaluate and perceive product or service attributes. This paper uses the Kano model to gain a deeper understanding of attributes of effective frontline employees dealing with customer complainants in personal interactions. For products such as the TV remote control, Kano (2001; 2006) showed that excitement factors deteriorate to must-be factors over time. This research investigates whether the same phenomenon holds true for attributes of service employees. Data were collected from 197 respondents with complaining experience in the UK and Saudi Arabia, these being two countries at different stages of service sector development and the analysis of the Kano maps reveal significant differences between the two countries

Multicomponent Reactions and Their Libraries - a New Approach to Preparative Organic Chemistry

Classical chemical syntheses from n starting materials usually require sequences of at least n-I preparation steps, including separation and purification of the intermediates. A perfect alternative for the rapid syntheses of a large variety of agrichemically and pharmaceutically relevant products are one-pot syntheses by multicomponent reactions (MCR)on the basis of isocyanides. Four to seven different types of components mixed in a reaction vessel undergo the transformation to one molecule. Due to the last irreversible step that involves the isocyanides, a stable product results in quantitative yields. Using more than one representative of each type of starting materials (i.e. different isocyanides, amines, etc.) in the same vessel, all possible combinations will lead to a molecular library with hundreds and thousands of products formed according to a given reaction scheme. The design of such syntheses and the handling of the results require adequate mathematics and computer tools

Sex-specific-differences in cardiovascular risk in type-1-diabetes : a cross sectional study

Background: Little is known about the impact of sex-specific differences in the management of type 1 diabetes (T1DM). Thus, we evaluated the influence of gender on risk factors, complications, clinical care and adherence in patients with T1DM. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, sex-specific disparities in glycaemic control, cardiovascular risk factors, diabetic complications, concomitant medication use and adherence to treatment recommendations were evaluated in 225 consecutive patients (45.3% women) who were comparable with respect to age, diabetes duration, and body mass index. Results: Although women with T1DM had a higher total cholesterol than men, triglycerides were higher in obese men and males with HbA1c>7% than in their female counterparts. No sex differences were observed in glycaemic control and in micro- or macrovascular complications. However, the subgroup analysis showed that nephropathy was more common in obese men, hyperlipidaemic women and all hypertensive patients, whereas peripheral neuropathy was more common in hyperlipidaemic women. Retinopathy was found more frequently in women with HbA1c>7%, obese men and in both sexes with a long duration of diabetes. The multivariate analysis revealed that microvascular complications were associated with the duration of disease and BMI in both sexes and with hyperlipidaemia in males. The overall adherence to interventions according to the guidelines was higher in men than in women. This adherence was concerned particularly with co-medication in patients diagnosed with hypertension, aspirin prescription in elderly patients and the achievement of target lipid levels following the prescription of statins. Conclusions: Our data showed sex differences in lipids and overweight in patients with T1DM. Although glycaemic control and the frequency of diabetic complications were comparable between the sexes, the overall adherence to guidelines, particularly with respect to the prescription of statins and aspirin, was lower in women than in men

Which classroom service encounters make students happy or unhappy?: insights from an online CIT study

Purpose – This paper explores satisfactory and dissatisfactory student-professor encounters in higher education from a student’s perspective. The critical incident technique (CIT) is used to categorise positive and negative student-professor interactions and to reveal quality dimensions of professors. Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory study using an online application of the well established CIT method was conducted. The study took place at a large European university. 96 students took part in the study on a voluntary basis and reported 164 incidents. Respondents were aged between 19 and 24 years (X=23.2) and slightly more female students (52%) filled in the online CIT questionnaire than male students (48%). On average, every student provided 1.7 incidents. Findings – The results of the critical incident sorting process support previous classification systems that used three major groups to thoroughly represent the domain of (un)satisfactory student-professor encounters. The results of the CIT study also revealed 10 quality dimensions of professors, corroborating previous research in this area. Research limitations/implications – Due to the exploratory nature of the study and the scope and size of its student sample, the results outlined are tentative in nature. The research study also only investigates the experiences of one stakeholder group. Practical implications – Gaining knowledge of students’ classroom experiences should be beneficial for professors to design their teaching programmes. Based on the results, universities might consider the introduction of student contracts or student satisfaction guarantees to manage student expectations effectively. Originality/value – The study was the first to successfully apply an online version of the CIT techniques to the issue of higher education services. This study shows that the CIT method is a useful tool for exploring student-professor encounters in higher education. The paper has hopefully opened up an area of research and methodology that could reap considerable further benefits for researchers interested in this area