Expansion and inequality of educational opportunity: a comparative study

in Research in Social Stratification and Mobility (2013), 31

Expansion of a Fermi cloud in the BCS-BEC crossover

in Physical Review A (2006), 73(6), 065601

We study the free expansion of a dilute two-component Fermi gas with attractive interspecies interaction in the BCS-BEC crossover. We apply a time-dependent parameter-free density-functional theory by ... [more ▼]

We study the free expansion of a dilute two-component Fermi gas with attractive interspecies interaction in the BCS-BEC crossover. We apply a time-dependent parameter-free density-functional theory by using two choices of the equation of state: an analytic formula based on Monte Carlo data and the mean-field equation of state resulting from the extended BCS equations. The calculated axial and transverse radii and the aspect ratio of the expanding cloud are compared to experimental data on vapors of 6 Li atoms. Remarkably, the mean-field theory shows a better agreement with the experiments than the theory based on the Monte Carlo equation of state. Both theories predict a measurable dependence of the aspect ratio on expansion time and on scattering length. [less ▲]

Expansions of the Instant. Disruptions of Time in Contemporary German Literature

in Koch, Lars; Nanz, Tobias; Pause, Johannes (Eds.) Disruption in the Arts. Textual, Visual, and Performative Strategies for Analyzing Societal Self-Descriptions (2018)

Expected and Unexpected Consequences of the Educational Expansion in Europe and the US Theoretical approaches and empirical findings in comparative perspective

Book published by Haupt Verlag (2009)

A main mechanism behind the change in European and North American societies in the second half of the 20th century is the educational expansion, i.e. the increase in educational opportunities and the ... [more ▼]

A main mechanism behind the change in European and North American societies in the second half of the 20th century is the educational expansion, i.e. the increase in educational opportunities and the higher demand for education. Whereas other abstract social processes like modernization have been widely theorized in social science literature, the educational expansion and its consequences in particular have not been well studied. Therefore the main aim of this compilation is to deal with the question of whether the demands of the educational reforms have been fulfilled and which other consequences the educational expansion has had. This book will focus on consequences of the educational expansion for individuals and their life courses as well as for the social structure and other societal areas such as culture and politics. Aspects that will be analysed in the light of educational expansion include participation in education, educational inequalities, labour market outcomes, educational returns, and gender differences as well as crime, life expectancy, and lifestyles. Countries analysed in the book include West European countries like Germany, France, Italy and Spain, East European countries (Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic) as well as the US. [less ▲]

Expediting in Two-Echelon Spare Parts Inventory Systems

in Manufacturing and Service Operations Management (in press)

We consider a two-echelon spare parts inventory system consisting of one central warehouse and multiple local warehouses. Each warehouse keeps multiple types of repairable parts to maintain several types ... [more ▼]

We consider a two-echelon spare parts inventory system consisting of one central warehouse and multiple local warehouses. Each warehouse keeps multiple types of repairable parts to maintain several types of capital goods. The local warehouses face Poisson demand and are replenished by the central warehouse. We assume that unsatisfied demand is backordered at all warehouses. Furthermore, we assume deterministic lead times for the replenishments of the local warehouses. The repair shop at the central warehouse has two repair options for each repairable part: a regular repair option and an expedited repair option. Both repair options have stochastic lead times. Irrespective of the repair option, each repairable part uses a certain resource for its repair. Assuming a dual-index policy at the central warehouse and base stock control at the local warehouses, an exact and efficient evaluation procedure for a given control policy is formulated. To find an optimal control policy, we look at the minimization of total investment costs under constraints on both the aggregate mean number of backorders per capital good type and the aggregate mean fraction of repairs that are expedited per repair resource. For this non-linear non-convex integer programming problem, we develop a greedy heuristic and an algorithm based on decomposition and column generation. Both solution approaches perform very well with average optimality gaps of 1.56 and 0.23 percent, respectively, across a large test bed of industrial size. Based on a case study at Netherlands Railways, we show how managers can significantly reduce the investment in repairable spare parts when dynamic repair policies are leveraged to prioritize repair of parts whose inventory is critically low. [less ▲]

Experience Design for Digital Cultural Heritage

Scientific Conference (2019, September)

The experience of visiting museums has evolved to extend beyond the walls of the institutions themselves into digital spaces, where online galleries, exhibitions, and virtual tours invite audiences to ... [more ▼]

The experience of visiting museums has evolved to extend beyond the walls of the institutions themselves into digital spaces, where online galleries, exhibitions, and virtual tours invite audiences to explore arts and culture from their personal devices. However, generating interest from the public around these platforms remains a challenge, and the digital experience rarely compares to an in-person visit. Building on research that demonstrates the effectiveness of emotional design as a way to generate public engagement with physical museum spaces and exhibitions, this project adopts a user-centered design approach to develop novel experiences around digitized museum collections. [less ▲]

L'expérience gastronomique : comment faire signifier la nourriture

in Indagini Semiotiche (2013), (14),

Experience matters: Bridging the gap between experience- and functionality-driven design in technology-enhanced learning

in International Journal on Interaction Design & Architecture(s) (2019), 42

With the growing importance of digital technologies in learning and assessment, it is important to consider user experience (UX) to ensure that tools provide useful functionalities for learning without ... [more ▼]

With the growing importance of digital technologies in learning and assessment, it is important to consider user experience (UX) to ensure that tools provide useful functionalities for learning without overwhelming users, to motivate users and ensure that they have positive learning experiences, and to allow users to realize their potential with the help of technology. Building on a case study of concept mapping for technology-enhanced learning, we combined experience-driven and functionality-driven approaches in co-design sessions in four school classes (67 students). We investigated the anticipated experiences that students imagined as well as the functionalities and characteristics they expected. We found that combining experience-driven and functionality-driven approaches is a valuable method for improving technology-enhanced learning. [less ▲]

The Experience of Cognitive Intrusion of Pain: scale development and validation.

in Pain (2015), 156(10), 1978-90

Patients with chronic pain often report their cognition to be impaired by pain, and this observation has been supported by numerous studies measuring the effects of pain on cognitive task performance ... [more ▼]

Patients with chronic pain often report their cognition to be impaired by pain, and this observation has been supported by numerous studies measuring the effects of pain on cognitive task performance. Furthermore, cognitive intrusion by pain has been identified as one of 3 components of pain anxiety, alongside general distress and fear of pain. Although cognitive intrusion is a critical characteristic of pain, no specific measure designed to capture its effects exists. In 3 studies, we describe the initial development and validation of a new measure of pain interruption: the Experience of Cognitive Intrusion of Pain (ECIP) scale. In study 1, the ECIP scale was administered to a general population sample to assess its structure and construct validity. In study 2, the factor structure of the ECIP scale was confirmed in a large general population sample experiencing no pain, acute pain, or chronic pain. In study 3, we examined the predictive value of the ECIP scale in pain-related disability in fibromyalgia patients. The ECIP scale scores followed a normal distribution with good variance in a general population sample. The scale had high internal reliability and a clear 1-component structure. It differentiated between chronic pain and control groups, and it was a significant predictor of pain-related disability over and above pain intensity. Repairing attentional interruption from pain may become a novel target for pain management interventions, both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic. [less ▲]

An Experience Report On Applying Software Testing Academic Results In Industry: We Need Usable Automated Test Generation

in Empirical Software Engineering (2018), 23(4),

What is the impact of software engineering research on current practices in industry? In this paper, I report on my direct experience as a PhD/post-doc working in software engineering research projects ... [more ▼]

What is the impact of software engineering research on current practices in industry? In this paper, I report on my direct experience as a PhD/post-doc working in software engineering research projects, and then spending the following five years as an engineer in two different companies (the first one being the same I worked in collaboration with during my post-doc). Given a background in software engineering research, what cutting-edge techniques and tools from academia did I use in my daily work when developing and testing the systems of these companies? Regarding validation and verification (my main area of research), the answer is rather short: as far as I can tell, only FindBugs. In this paper, I report on why this was the case, and discuss all the challenging, complex open problems we face in industry and which somehow are ``neglected'' in the academic circles. In particular, I will first discuss what actual tools I could use in my daily work, such as JaCoCo and Selenium. Then, I will discuss the main open problems I faced, particularly related to environment simulators, unit and web testing. After that, popular topics in academia are presented, such as UML, regression and mutation testing. Their lack of impact on the type of projects I worked on in industry is then discussed. Finally, from this industrial experience, I provide my opinions about how this situation can be improved, in particular related to how academics are evaluated, and advocate for a greater involvement into open-source projects. [less ▲]