Social Distance in Interactions between Children with Autism and Robots

The use of non-industrial robots, called service robots, is increasing in the welfare fields to meet the demand for robot therapy among individuals with autism. The more simple communication structures and repetitive behaviors of robots, compared to humans, make it easier for children with autism to interpret communication and respond appropriately. Interacting with a robot allows for social distance to be designed and maintained depending on a person’s social interaction needs. To simulate natural social interactions, robots need to perform social distance in some way. In the context of interacting with autistic children, understanding their social response levels is crucial for the robot to implement decisions regarding the distance kept during the interaction. In this study, an experiment was conducted to examine the accuracy of a detection program and explore the correlations between the social responsiveness of children and social distance, wherein 15 autistic children interacted with a robot on a one-to-one basis for about 20 min. The results revealed that both programs implemented in the robot-assisted autism therapy were effective in detecting social distance in a natural HRI situation.

Developing New Things: Implications of the Platform Economy for Intrapreneurship

The following paper deals with the implications of the platform economy for intrapreneurship. It is becoming increasingly difficult for traditional pipeline companies to keep up with the speed of platform companies. They are innovative, agile, and ready for change, while their legacy counterparts are the opposite. In this paper, sources from the platform economy and intrapreneurship are analyzed and evaluated using qualitative research methods. The focus is on the question of what the structure of the platform enterprise must look like for the intrapreneur to unfold his creative potential. The results show that the intrapreneur needs structural autonomy and distinctive communication structures to act successfully. Within these structures moves the intrapreneur, considered an entrepreneur and a central driver for change and innovation. Based on the results, a structural model is derived and visualized, which concretizes the findings.

Telegraph Department as a Structural Element of Public Administration in Russia in 1865—1881

The issue of the formation of one of the central communication management bodies of the Russian Empire — the Telegraph Department is considered. The relevance of the study is due to the need to study the features of the evolution of departments to improve the mechanism of public administration at the present stage. The author provides an overview of the views of historians on the establishment and liquidation of the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs. Particular attention is paid to the activities of the Ministers of Posts and Telegraphs I.M. Tolstoy, L.S. Makov and Director of the Telegraph Department K.K. Luders. The novelty of the research is seen in the fact that the author reveals and clarifies previously unknown aspects of the functioning of the Telegraph Department. New data from archival sources are introduced into scientific circulation. The results of a comparative analysis of the number and financial position of officials of the Telegraph and Post Departments are presented. It has been proved that the maintenance of the personnel of the communication structures was developing towards equalization, expressed in a decrease in salaries in the Postal Department and an increase in the Telegraph departments. The author dwells on the consideration of the privileges of officials of the Telegraph Department and the position of women employees.

Using Disability Studies in Education (dse) and Professional Development Schools (pds) to Implement Inclusive Practices

This article highlights ways in which disability studies in education (dse) and professional development school (pds) partnerships can be used to provide students with disability labels more access to inclusive classrooms. The authors of this qualitative exploratory case study interviewed 16 teacher and administration pds steering committee members to better understand how students with disability labels could be supported through the development and implementation of dse-informed inclusive practices. The findings indicate that instituting proactive communication structures, providing ongoing dse-informed professional development to teachers, administration, and staff, and teachers taking inclusive action increased the number of students with disability labels accessing general education classrooms. These findings, while a work in progress, show how members of one pds steering committee took steps to resist deficit models of disability and questioned traditional segregated approaches to special education at their school.

Ambient vibration testing and operational modal analysis of monopole telecoms structures

A structural health monitoring (SHM) system was developed to study the ambient response of monopole communication structures in the UK operated by Arqiva Ltd. The exercise had several purposes that included the evaluation of the SHM system itself and the system identification procedures applied to the data, followed by analysis of the evaluated modal properties to validate the current analytical models, structural assessments and standardised design procedures advising on dynamics actions. This paper describes the instrumentation and procedures used during monitoring of a lightweight flexible 14.5 m tubular tapered monopole supporting an array of mobile telecoms antennas. A Bayesian OMA (BAYOMA) approach is implemented to identify structural modal properties under different time windows as comparison for further assessments. Results from stochastic subspace identification are also obtained and compared. The correlation between modal properties and monitoring wind-response data reveals specific tendencies such as nonlinear stiffness behaviour, the existence of aerodynamic damping and typical directionality of the mode shapes with future implications for reformulation of current methods of assessing dynamics on monopole.

Piloting Learning Analytics in a Multidisciplinary Online Program

Learning analytics is a recent innovation that holds promise for improving retention in fully online programs. However, only a few case studies exist to show models for and outcomes of the implementation of learning analytics systems. This paper reports on a learning analytics implementation in a fully online, multidisciplinary program designed for nontraditional students using a pilot planning group with stakeholders from various roles. The processes for selecting reports, creating communication structures, and evaluating outcomes are outlined. Overall, faculty and advisors were positive about the project and found the reports to be helpful. The results suggest that the actions most often triggered by learning analytics reports were emails to students. Evaluation results suggest that the implementation of the learning analytics program and the interventions enacted had a positive impact on student success, though we acknowledge that it is difficult to isolate the impact of the learning analytics tool itself. We also address several challenges that came along with the implementation of learning analytics including understanding the efficacy of interventions, data security, and ethics.

TGF-β promotes microtube formation in glioblastoma through Thrombospondin 1

Microtubes (MTs), cytoplasmic extensions of glioma cells, are important cell communication structures promoting invasion and treatment resistance through network formation. MTs are abundant in chemoresistant gliomas, in particular glioblastomas (GBMs), while they are uncommon in chemosensitive IDH-mutant and 1p/19q co-deleted oligodendrogliomas. To identify potential signaling pathways involved in MT formation we performed a bioinformatics analysis of TCGA data showing that the TGF-β pathway is highly activated in GBMs compared to oligodendroglial tumors. In particular we observed that signaling pathways involved in extracellular matrix organization are differentially expressed between these tumor entities. Using patient-derived GBM stem cell lines, we demonstrated that TGF-β1 stimulation promotes enhanced MT formation and communication via Calcium signaling. Inhibition of the TGF-β pathway significantly reduced MT formation and its associated invasion in vitro and in vivo. Downstream of TGF-β, we identified thrombospondin 1 (TSP1) as a potential mediator of MT formation in GBM through SMAD activation. TSP1 was upregulated upon TGF-β stimulation and enhanced MT formation, which was inhibited by TSP1 shRNAs in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, TGF-β and its downstream mediator TSP1 are important mediators of the MT network in GBM and blocking this pathway could potentially help to break the complex MT driven invasion/ resistance network.

Analyzing the impact of the number of nodes on the performance of the routing protocols in manet environment

Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs) are independent systems that can work without the requirement for unified controls, pre-setup to the paths/routes or advance communication structures. The nodes/hubs of a MANET are independently controlled, which permit them to behave unreservedly in a randomized way inside the MANET. The hubs can leave their MANET and join different MANETs whenever the need arises. These attributes, in any case, may contrarily influence the performance of the routing conventions (or protocols) and the general topology of the systems. Along these lines, MANETs include uniquely planned routing conventions that responsively as well as proactively carry out the routing. This paper assesses and looks at the effectiveness (or performance) of five directing conventions which are AOMDV, DSDV, AODV, DSR and OLSR in a MANET domain. The research incorporates executing a simulating environment to look at the operation of the routing conventions dependent on the variable number of hubs. Three evaluation indices are utilized: Throughput (TH), Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR), and End-to-End delay (E2E). The assessment outcomes indicate that the AODV beats other conventions in the majority of the simulated scenarios.

Team Communication Patterns in Critical Situations

Teams operating in time-pressured, dynamic environments frequently need to cope with critical situations varying in complexity and hazard. To cope with critical situations, teams may have to adapt their communication processes. Adaptation of team communication processes has been studied mostly at short time frames (minutes). Literature on adapting communication at longer time frames is limited (hours, relative to minutes). We used the relational event model to compare team communication in critical and noncritical situations of pediatric cardiac surgeries and Apollo 13 flight director’s voice loops. Teams showed some flattening of communication structures in critical situations. Both teams maintained institutional roles and displayed closed-loop and information-seeking communication. Communication patterns may change further with increasing criticality. The exact way teams adapt to critical situations may differ depending on team, team size and situation. Findings may inform team training procedures or team structure development.

The Democratic Impact of Strengthening European Fundamental Rights in the Digital Age: The Example of Privacy Protection

In times of digital pervasion of everyday life, the EU has strengthened a normative idea of European fundamental rights, especially by referring to a strong notion of privacy protection. A normative corridor is evolving with the “right to privacy” at its heart, a right that will be instrumental in shaping the European legal architecture’s future structure. In this Article we argue that the constitutional protection of privacy rights is not only of individual relevance but also of major democratic significance: it protects the integrity of the communication structures that underpin democratic self-determination. The debate on privacy protection, however, often lacks a democratic understanding of privacy and misses its public value. Following an interactionist understanding of privacy and a discourse-theoretical model of democracy, our argument puts forward a conceptual link between privacy and the idea of communicative freedom. From this perspective, the substantiation of a European fundamental right to privacy can be seen as a possible contribution to promoting European democracy in general.