MLSS-VO: A Multi-Level Scale Stabilizer with Self-Supervised Features for Monocular Visual Odometry in Target Tracking

In this study, a multi-level scale stabilizer intended for visual odometry (MLSS-VO) combined with a self-supervised feature matching method is proposed to address the scale uncertainty and scale drift encountered in the field of monocular visual odometry. Firstly, the architecture of an instance-level recognition model is adopted to propose a feature matching model based on a Siamese neural network. Combined with the traditional approach to feature point extraction, the feature baselines on different levels are extracted, and then treated as a reference for estimating the motion scale of the camera. On this basis, the size of the target in the tracking task is taken as the top-level feature baseline, while the motion matrix parameters as obtained by the original visual odometry of the feature point method are used to solve the real motion scale of the current frame. The multi-level feature baselines are solved to update the motion scale while reducing the scale drift. Finally, the spatial target localization algorithm and the MLSS-VO are applied to propose a framework intended for the tracking of target on the mobile platform. According to the experimental results, the root mean square error (RMSE) of localization is less than 3.87 cm, and the RMSE of target tracking is less than 4.97 cm, which demonstrates that the MLSS-VO method based on the target tracking scene is effective in resolving scale uncertainty and restricting scale drift, so as to ensure the spatial positioning and tracking of the target.

Evaluation of passenger service within the area of Beijing west railway station

Purpose This study aims to analyze passenger service quality in Beijing West Railway Station from the perspective of passengers, to better understand the current service quality and obtain the areas of weakness for improvement. Design/methodology/approach The research investigates the passenger experience of service in Beijing West Railway Station by using a questionnaire survey. The service quality (SERVQUAL) evaluation method is used to analyze the survey data, and it divides the passenger service into 5 attributes with 20 indicators. This research uses the Likert five-level scale method to process data and calculates the SERVQUAL value and weight difference of each attribute to evaluate the passenger service. Therefore, the deficiencies have been pointed out, so the station manager can improve the passenger service accordingly. Findings It is indicated that among the five studied attributes, Beijing West Railway Station has the smallest service quality value in terms of timeliness, which means this part needs the largest improvement. To the five attributes, each lacks in station security check, ticketing efficiency, station identification accuracy, emergency processing of train delays and the restroom environment, respectively. Originality/value The research can provide specific suggestions for the optimization of the passenger service of Beijing West Railway Station, and provide reference information for the formulation of policies.

When Your Ankle Becomes a Knee – Long-Term Functional Outcome and Quality of Life with a Rotationplasty after Resection of Malignant Limb Tumors

Background Increasing numbers of patients surviving malignant bone tumors around the knee joint have led to an increasing importance to investigate long-term results. This study assessed the long-term results of rotationplasty after resection of malignant bone tumors regarding functional outcome and quality of life to allow better comparison with other treatment options in bone cancer treatment. Procedure 60 participants who underwent rotationplasty due to bone cancer took part in this multicentric questionnaire-based study. The long-term functional outcome was measured by the Musculoskeletal tumor society score (MSTS) and the Tegner activity level scale. The health-related quality of life (HRQL) was assessed by using the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Results Patients treated with rotationplasty (median follow-up of 22 years, range 10–47 years) regained a high level of activity (median MSTS score of 24). Even a return to high level sports was possible (mean Tegner activity level scale of 4). Duration of follow-up did not influence the functional outcome. HRQL scores were comparable to the general German population. Concerns of psychological problems due to the unusual appearance of the rotated foot have not been confirmed. Conclusion Rotationplasty can be a good alternative to endoprosthetic replacement or amputation, either as primary surgery or as a salvage procedure. Especially for growing children and very active patients rotationplasty should be considered.

An Integrated Safety, Health and Environmental Management Capability Maturity Model for Construction Organisations: A Case Study in Ghana

Safety, health and environmental (SHE) management is becoming a priority as construction companies (i.e., contractors) strive to reduce construction accidents and negative environmental impacts, conform to regulatory requirements, and sustain their competitiveness. Consequently, construction firms are expected to adopt and implement innovative SHE management systems to mitigate SHE risks effectively and efficiently. For construction firms to effectively do this, they need to have the adequate capability in respect of integrated SHE management. However, there is limited empirical insight regarding the integrated SHE management capabilities of construction companies. Furthermore, there is limited insight regarding the mechanisms for ascertaining the integrated SHE management capability of construction companies to guide such organisations towards SHE management excellence in their operations. Drawing on the capability maturity model integration (CMMI) concept, this study, by applying expert reviews (i.e., Delphi technique and the design methodology for capability maturity grids), developed an integrated Safety, Health and Environmental Management Maturity Model (iSHEM-CMM). The model offers capability maturity assessment on a five-level scale within five thematic categories and 20 integrated SHE management capability attributes. Based on an industrial validation by construction professionals, it is concluded that the maturity model is a useful assessment framework or tool for industry stakeholders, particularly construction firms, to evaluate the status of their current SHE management capabilities, identify strengths and improvement areas, and accordingly prioritise strategies/actions for improving their SHE management. Furthermore, clients who appoint construction companies could use the model as part of prequalification arrangements in selecting construction companies with an adequate SHE management capability.

Evolution of Short Food Supply Chain Innovation Niches and Its Anchoring to the Socio-Technical Regime: The Case of Direct Selling through Collective Action in North-West Portugal

This paper employs MLP (Multi Level Perspective) applied to a study on the transition to SFSC (short food supply chain) innovation taking place in North-West Portugal. MLP allows capturing transition phenomena and analysing them from a perspective that posits intervening factors and events on a three-level scale. Emphasis is laid on the institutional actors and factors that influence these processes, namely the Three Interrelated Analytic Dimensions and Types of Anchoring. Methodologically, personal interviews were conducted with 34 farmers who either are carrying out SFSC initiatives, or have dropped out, or even have never considered participating in them. A process of anchoring the innovation to the local socio-technical regime has been identified, characterised by a low buy-in from institutions and stakeholders. The anchoring that has been found has the peculiarity of occurring only in some points of the intersection between niche and regime, in a process in which it survives bordering this threshold, thanks to the mobilisation of multiple innovations. This type of anchoring, not yet described in the literature, draws attention to a possible pathway that innovations can follow, and brings implications for projects and for policy proposals to support the agroecological transition.

The Attitudes of Parents towards the Introduction of Compulsory Pre-School Education in Slovakia

Introduction: This empirical study discusses the issue of compulsory pre-school education in the Slovak Republic from the viewpoint of the parents of children attending nursery school. The goal of the research is to establish the attitudes of presents to compulsory education a year before the child begins school. The research therefore works with two key concepts, this being the obligation of educating children before they begin primary school and “attitude” as a relatively stable assessment of the object to which it applies. Methods: A rating scale questionnaire of our own design was used to collect data. It was administered through a web interface. A five-level scale was used to apply a Likert scale and statements were classified into five dimensions. The research tool had 36 items following validation. The available sample was used to create the research sample. Data was collected in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia; the sample of parents from Slovakia consisted of 162 respondents. Each of the respondents had to have at least one child of pre-school age. When processing the research data the basic statistical characteristics were used, along with a non-parametric Friedman test. Calculations were executed in STATISTICA and SPSS software. Results: The surveyed parents attributed the appropriate importance to compulsory education a year before children begin primary school, they did not believe that implementation of this obligation would have any significant impact on the family’s life and appreciated its importance for their child’s subsequent education. They rated potential interference in the organisation and assurance of pre-school education, related to the newly originating obligation, as suitable and appropriate. They disagreed slightly with the academic focus of pre-school education. Discussion: The consensual opinion of the surveyed parents in regard to implementation of the obligation to educate children a year before they start primary school seems a good basis for realisation of this legislative amendment. In their attitudes, the parents incline towards the fact that compulsory education before starting primary school could help their children start their subsequent educational career, or could enable a smoother transition between the two levels of education. The structure of the research sample focused more on middle-class parents. Parents, due to whom this obligation was chiefly implemented, were not surveyed. It can be assumed that the situation will be similar in relation to attendance of nursery school. Limitations: The main limiting element in the presented research is the available sample of respondents for the research sample. Likewise, validation of the questionnaire, which passed through all the necessary phases, but ran up against the obstacle of the available time and personal availability of researchers and respondents during one phase. Conclusion: The results can be considered positive and no strongly disagreeing standpoints by middle class parents towards compulsory education at nursery school were registered. It would be very useful for further research to survey parents who are not mainstream and children who appear disadvantaged when starting nursery school, chiefly due to the attitude of these parents.

Thai Student Teacher Learning Innovation: A Second-Order Confirmatory Factor Analysis

The study’s objective was to analyze the corroborating elements of a Thai student teacher’s (TST) learning innovation as perceived through the expertise of their teachers. Therefore, from 12 Thai teaching universities (Rajabhats) located across four Thai regions, multiple sampling techniques were used to select a sample of 151 teaching professionals. The research instrument was a questionnaire using a 5-level scale to assess the opinions on the four latent and 12 observed variables. The results showed that of the three latent variables analyzed that contributed to TST learning innovation (IN), learning innovation use (US) were perceived as most important, followed by the learning innovation development process (DE) and then the TST’s creative collaboration (CO) abilities, respectively. Finally, all the observed variables were determined to be compatible with TST innovation learning at a ‘high’ level.

Impacts of Emission Reduction Technological Changes on China’s City-Level PM2.5 Concentration Based on Sustainable Development

As an important field for human activities, cities play a critical role in PM2.5 reductions. Among the determinants for PM2.5 concentration, technological progress is considered to exhibit significant inhibitory effects. Although most extant research has focused on energy technologies or total factor productivity, due to limitations in data and methods, few scholars have focused on emission reduction technological changes at a city-level scale. Therefore, based on the combination of k-means clustering and the log-mean Divisia index method, this study estimates and explores the impact of PM2.5 emission reduction technology (PME) on the temporal changes and spatial differences of 262 Chinese cities’ PM2.5 concentration during 2003–2017. The findings show the following: (1) although the results based on econometric methods indicate that emission reduction technological changes decreased China’s city-level PM2.5 concentration, there were turning points in the yearly impacts, indicating that the improvements to emission reduction efficiency were not stable; (2) compared with PME, energy intensity played a more stable role in PM2.5 emissions reductions, implying that the improvement of energy efficiency was still very important in controlling PM2.5 concentrations; (3) based on the classified groups after clustering, most cities’ PME contributed to negative differences, but the PME of a small number of cities was very weak to largely lower the average level of their group; and (4) distributions of the spatial decomposition of the three classified groups were stable in the period of 2003–2017, implying that the catch-up and transcendence effects of PME within the group were limited. Thus, policymakers should focus on the impact of different policies on PME differences between cities.

Enhancing precision of the 16-item Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE-16) using Rasch methodology

Objective: This study aimed to investigate psychometric properties and enhance precision of the 16-item Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE-16) up to interval-level scale using Rasch methodology. Design: Partial Credit Rasch model was applied to the IQCODE-16 scores using longitudinal data spanning 10 years of biennial follow-up. Setting: Community-dwelling older adults aged 70–90 years and their informants, living in Sydney, Australia, participated in the longitudinal Sydney Memory and Ageing Study (MAS). Participants: The sample included 400 participants of the MAS aged 70 years and older, 109 out of those were diagnosed with dementia 10 years after the baseline assessment. Measurements: The IQCODE-16. Results: Initial analysis indicated excellent reliability of the IQCODE-16, Person Separation Index (PSI) = 0.92, but there were four misfitting items and local dependency issues. Combining locally dependent items into four super-items resulted in the best Rasch model fit with no misfitting or locally dependent items, strict unidimensionality, strong reliability, and invariance across person factors such as participants’ diagnosis and relationship to their informants, as well as informants’ age and sex. This permitted the generation of conversion algorithms to transform ordinal scores into interval data to enhance precision of measurement. Conclusions: The IQCODE-16 demonstrated strong reliability and satisfied expectations of the unidimensional Rasch model after minor modifications. Ordinal-to-interval transformation tables published here can be used to increase accuracy of the IQCODE-16 without altering its current format. These findings could contribute to enhancement of precision in assessing clinical conditions such as cognitive decline in older people.

Graphic Representation of The Degree of Historical-Archaeological Evidence: The 3D Reconstruction of The “Baker’s House”

Over the years, the methodologies used for graphic representation in archaeology have evolved. The substantial change in representation was achieved with the use of computer software. Currently, sketch scanning and photogrammetry are predominating tools used in this field. A new methodology, i.e., the use of the historical-archaeological evidence level scale, has entered this discipline to show the veracity of archaeological studies, as well as that of the vestiges found. The present study is focused on the virtual reconstruction of the ‘Baker’s House’ in the archaeological site of Torreparedones (Córdoba, Spain). The main aim of this study was to show and identify the veracity of the obtained reconstruction, through the use of the historical-archaeological evidence scale. The methodology used shows the evidence level employed by experts in the creation of virtual representations. The dissemination of the proposed historical-archaeological evidence scale entails the graphical identification of the veracity of reconstructions in this type of representations, always complying with the scientific quality criteria established by the Seville Letter.