QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF A NATIONWIDE DATA SET CONTAINING AUTOMATICALLY RECONSTRUCTED 3D BUILDING MODELS

Fully automated reconstruction of high-detail building models on a national scale is challenging. It raises a set of problems that are seldom found when processing smaller areas, single cities. Often there is no reference, ground truth available to evaluate the quality of the reconstructed models. Therefore, only relative quality metrics are computed, comparing the models to the source data sets. In the paper we present a set of relative quality metrics that we use for assessing the quality of 3D building models, that were reconstructed in a fully automated process, in Levels of Detail 1.2, 1.3, 2.2 for the whole of the Netherlands. The source data sets for the reconstruction are the Dutch Building and Address Register (BAG) and the National Height Model (AHN). The quality assessment is done by comparing the building models to these two data sources. The work presented in this paper lays the foundation for future research on the quality control and management of automated building reconstruction. Additionally, it serves as an important step in our ongoing effort for a fully automated building reconstruction method of high-detail, high-quality models.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN HOW LANGUAGE LEARNERS PURSUE GOALS

In two studies, we examined two functional dimensions of L2 learners’ self-regulation toward their motivational goals: assessment and locomotion. The assessment constitutes the aspect of self-regulation concerned with critically evaluating the relative quality of L2 states and goals and the means to achieve them. The locomotion mode constitutes the aspect of self-regulation concerned with uninterrupted movement from state to state toward L2 goals. We developed two scales to measure L2 self-regulatory modes. We also examined how L2 learners’ regulatory modes were associated with their emotional experiences, motivation, and language proficiency. Psychometric work attested to the reliability and validity of the two scales. Moreover, regression analyses revealed that each L2 self-regulatory mode has distinct emotional, motivational, and linguistic emphases. Finally, cluster analyses suggested that both L2 self-regulatory modes should work together for optimal L2 learning outcomes.

COMPARING THE SMALL-SAMPLE ESTIMATION ERROR OF CONCEPTUALLY DIFFERENT RISK MEASURES

Motivated by the need to correctly rank risky alternatives in many investment, insurance and operations research applications, this paper uses a generalized location and scale framework from utility theory to propose a simple but powerful metric for comparing the estimation error of conceptually different risk measures. In an illustrative application, we obtain this metric — the probability that a risk measure ranks two assets falsely in finite samples — via Monte Carlo simulation for fourteen popular measures of risk and different distributional settings. Its results allow us to highlight interesting risk measure properties such as their relative quality under varying degrees of skewness and kurtosis. Because of the generality of our approach, the error probabilities derived for classic risk measures can serve as a benchmark for newly proposed measures seeking to replace the classic ones in decision making. It also supports the identification of the most suitable risk measures for a given distributional environment.

Experimental Study on Sulfate Erosion Resistance of Nano-CaCO3 Modified Concrete

In the saline soil environment of western China, the salts can corrode the ordinary cement concrete seriously, and the durability of concrete structure deteriorates gradually until it fails. This impedes the application of ordinary Portland cement concrete in this area. Aiming at the problem of the short service life of concrete in the harsh environment of western China, this study probes the performance of nano-CaCO₃ modified concrete in a sulfate environment. The durability of the concrete was evaluated by the apparent phenomena on the relative quality evaluation parameter, the relative dynamic elastic modulus evaluation parameter, and the comprehensive damage evaluation parameter. The microstructure of corroded products was investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to reveal the deterioration mechanism. The result shows that the addition of 1% nano-CaCO₃ can enhance the resistance of concrete to sulfate corrosion, and the service life of concrete structures will increase significantly.

A Tentative Discussion of Some Phenomena Concerning Early Texts of the Shi jing

The means by which the Shi jing was transmitted were, primarily, written texts as well as oral recitation and singing, and the textual features formed by these processes were often quite varied. During the pre-Qin period, written texts were frequently “open documents”; therefore, discrepancies among texts do not necessarily indicate distinctions of relative quality. Moreover, texts with different features do not necessarily belong to different textual systems. Therefore, one should adopt a holistic, open-minded attitude toward early textual forms of the Shi jing, and avoid hastily proceeding from discrepancies of format to rash judgments that they belong to different texts.

Input substitution and relative input price variability in timber markets

Timbers of multiple tree species and sizes are often traded in a single market. Some previous studies have empirically examined their price interdependences, but the drivers of such relationships remain unclear. I demonstrated with a rational expectations model that when timbers of two species (or sizes) were gross substitutes in production, the steady-state ratio between their prices was dependent on their relative quality and ease of substitution in production. The relative input price variability−the variance of the deviation of the relative price from its steady-state value−was a function of shocks in tree growth and demand for the output, negatively related to the ease of substitution. A case study illustrates that the relative price between pine pulpwood and hardwood pulpwood drastically decreased and so did its variance from 2001 to 2016, as compared to 1986 to 2000, in the U.S. southern region, whereas the relative price between pine pulpwood and pine chi-n-saw was more stable. One possible explanation was that the emergence of novel forest products may have altered the relative quality and substitutability between pine pulpwood and hardwood pulpwood in the manufacturing process.

Do well-reputed companies carry out higher quality social reporting? An empirical approach

PurposeThe purpose of this research objective was to analyse social reporting within MERCO Business companies both from the point of view of the quantity of information disclosed and the references about their quality. This approach constitutes a novelty with respect to previous literature on the subject.Design/methodology/approachThis paper assesses how social reporting is being carried out by the companies included in the MERCO Corporate Reputation Business Monitor, MERCO Business, during the period 2014–2016. The methodological design include the construction of a weighted index based on two unweighted indexes related to the quantity revealed and the quality detected. In addition, this study integrates intellectual capital and social responsibility approaches in order to deep into these voluntary disclosures.FindingsWhile social reporting is considerable from a quantitative point of view within MERCO Business companies, they do not reach very high levels of quality, which is good to counteract the final value of the quantity–quality index that the authors' propose.Research limitations/implicationsIn MERCO Business companies, quantity is not a proxy for quality within social reporting. In this sense, only considering both dimensions it will be possible to assess these disclosures in a more complete way.Practical implicationsThis study allows a more accurate and comparable view of social reporting than those studies that only focus on how much information is disclosed. Besides, it involves an important advance in the identification of the relative quality of social reporting, opening a new line of research that will be key to comparing this type of disclosures in a more homogeneous way. Likewise, the results can be applied in future studies in the intellectual capital field given the complementarity between both types of disclosures.Social implicationsLikewise, these results will be of interest for future actions aimed at regulating the improvement of the quality of social reporting in the hands of managers, investors and regulators.Originality/valueThe authors have tested the value of quality in social reporting using a weighted index amongst the most reputable companies in the Spanish scenario. These disclosures have been compared with and without the use of it in order to deduce its value to obtain valid conclusions about social reporting.

Trade Patterns in Central America and the Dominican Republic:

This paper explores international trade data, classified by technology-intensiveness and type of products, to identify stylized facts, strengths, and weaknesses of the trade patterns in the region of Central America and the Dominican Republic, between 1975 and 2016. I focus the analysis not only on the total export of the region but on its exports to the United States (main trade partner). I examine export concentration, comparative advantages, trade specialization, and relative quality of the export basket (characterizing zones with high tax incentives in the region, free zones). The main findings suggest that the region has made little progress in improving trade accounts. The gains in diversification are being lost, the comparative advantages have historically remained in traditional exports, and the region does not appear to export quality to the world. The model of tax incentives is not generating local spillovers, and the relative quality of exports, as well as the specialization patterns, revive the idea of adjusting promotion schemes for local industry and direct investment. It is time for a competitiveness agenda.