Over the last 20 years, Polish society’s attitude towards people with disabilities has changed for the better. However, we still have not completely rid ourselves of prejudices, fears, and stereotypes.
When considering tax reporting, taxpayers have an individual attitude towards the risk of being caught evading taxes by the tax authorities. This attitude is interdependent with how this inherent risk is perceived. We propose to analyse this phenomenon through a risk perspective by adding a risk attitude and corresponding perceived probability of being caught evading. In this paper, we study the dynamics of tax evasion under risk perception and attitude, and the consequent propensity of imitators to evade or to comply. Under this proposal, we conduct our experiments through a multi-agent based simulation. Simulation results suggest first that the risk attitude, in conjunction with perceived risk and its consequences are the main reasons to guarantee a low level of tax evasion. Secondly, results also demonstrate a non-linear impact of tax rate, investment interest rate and fines which is especially interesting and non-intuitive.
The discourse on homosexually has largely remained Euro-American with a focus on human right of African homosexuals residing in Africa. However, current debates in Africa have centered on the cultural acceptability, legality as well as mental health concerns presumed to be associated with homosexuality. The paper approaches the issue of homosexuality from a perspective that is sensitive to the cultural context of Ghana and also through a non-Euro-American lens. The author attempts to address some of the misunderstanding about the legal status of homosexuals and the negative attitudes in Ghana. The paper concludes that Ghanaians face a paradox of accepting homosexuality because it cannot be understood to further growth of human society from their perspective. Similarly, if Ghanaians view homosexuality as a mental health issue, then it is more appropriate to decriminalize it as it is not appropriate to criminalize mental disorders. Reconceptualizing the issue as a human rights one in which both anti- and pro-homosexual religious and sexual rights respectively are accommodated may be more progressive than promoting one set of rights at the expense of the other. Though Ghana is the focus of this paper, it is believed that the discussions presented are applicable to the rest of Africa and other non-Western societies.
The integrated Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) and Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) method can recursively estimate the attitude and attitude rates of a nanosatellite. At first, Wahba’s loss function is minimized using the SVD and the optimal attitude angles are determined on the basis of the magnetometer and Sun sensor measurements. Then, the UKF makes use of the SVD’s attitude estimates as measurement results and provides more accurate attitude information as well as the attitude rate estimates. The elements of “Rotation angle error covariance matrix” calculated for the SVD estimations are used in the UKF as the measurement noise covariance values. The algorithm is compared with the SVD and UKF only methods for estimating the attitude from vector measurements. Possible algorithm switching ideas are discussed especially for the eclipse period, when the Sun sensor measurements are not available.
Conventionally, the filtering technique for attitude estimation is performed using gyros or attitude dynamics
models. In order to extend the application range of an attitude filter, this paper proposes a quaternionbased
filtering framework for gyroless attitude estimation without an attitude dynamics model. The attitude
estimation system is established based on a quaternion kinematic equation and vector observation models.
The angular velocity in the system is determined through observation vectors from attitude sensors and the
statistical properties of the angular velocity error are analysed. A Kalman filter is applied to estimate the
attitude error such that the effect from the angular velocity error is compensated with its statistical properties
at each sampling moment. A numerical simulation example is presented to illustrate the performance of the
proposed algorithm.
Wave-Based Control has been previously applied successfully to simple underactuated flexible mechanical systems. Spacecraft and rockets with structural flexibility and sloshing are examples of such systems but have added difficulties due to nonuniform structure, external disturbing forces and non-ideal actuators and sensors. The aim of this paper is to extend the application of WBC to spacecraft systems, to compare the performance of WBC to other popular controllers and to carry out experimental validation of the designed control laws. A mathematical model is developed for an upper stage accelerating rocket moving in a single plane. Fuel sloshing is represented by an equivalent mechanical pendulum model. A wave-based controller is designed for the upper stage AVUM of the European launcher Vega. In numerical simulations the controller successfully suppresses the sloshing motion. A major advantage of the strategy is that no measurement of the pendulum states (sloshing motion) is required.
On one hand, the development of medicine allows to prolong the life of patients who previously had no chance for survive, on the other hand, though, it condemns some of them and their loved ones to extreme suffering. Fear of suffering is the main reason for a possible wish for euthanasia. The research aimed at measuring the attitude towards euthanasia among doctors and nurses who come in professional contact with terminally ill patients or patients versus the medical personnel who do not come in such contact. The research included: age, profession and workplace as well as personal experience in providing care to the seriously ill. The Attitudes Towards Euthanasia Questionnaire by Głębocka and Gawor was used during the research. The method consists of three scales: Informational Support, Liberal Approach and Conservative Approach. Medical stuff taking care of terminally ill patients were less conservative in their opinions than the participants from the comparative group. The intergroup differences in terms of Liberal Approach towards Euthanasia Scale were not obtained. It turned out that the age fostered the conservative approach, and working at the intensive care units or taking care of an ill relative fostered the reduction of such approach. All the respondents approve the idea of providing the patients and their families with informational support. Working in intensive care units or taking care of terminally ill relatives seems to reduce conservative attitudes towards euthanasia because persons with such experience have personally faced the multifaceted emotional and physical costs of suffering.
Napisany przez Petera Fredericka Strawsona esej Wolność a uraza (1962) to jeden z najbardziej wpływowych tekstów w XX-wiecznych badaniach nad problemem wolnej woli. Interesującą krytykę tej pracy zaproponował syn autora, Galen Strawson, który dokonał analizy poglądów swojego ojca – zwanych teorią podejść reaktywnych – a następnie je odrzucił. W swoim artykule rekonstruuję poglądy Petera Strawsona i przedstawiam kontrargumenty wysunięte przez Galena Strawsona. W podsumowaniu sugeruję, idąc za Robertem Kane’em, że wskazana niezgoda może stanowić odbicie pewnych zmian, jakie zaszły w obrębie filozofii analitycznej.
Single-frame methods of determining the attitude of a nanosatellite are compared in this study. The methods selected for comparison are: Single Value Decomposition (SVD), q method, Quaternion ESTimator (QUEST), Fast Optimal Attitude Matrix (FOAM) − all solving optimally the Wahba’s problem, and the algebraic method using only two vector measurements. For proper comparison, two sensors are chosen for the vector observations on-board: magnetometer and Sun sensors. Covariance results obtained as a result of using those methods have a critical importance for a non-traditional attitude estimation approach; therefore, the variance calculations are also presented. The examined methods are compared with respect to their root mean square (RMS) error and variance results. Also, some recommendations are given.
Artykuł przedstawia charakterystykę postawy, jaką wykazują się studenci wobec samochodów elektrycznych oraz znaczenie wyróżnionych elementów postawy w tworzeniu zainteresowania zakupem takich pojazdów. Samochody elektryczne to nowy rodzaj pojazdów, które posiadają silnik elektryczny i korzystają z energii elektrycznej zgromadzonej w akumulatorach. Wprowadzane są na rynek, lecz z różnych względów ich sprzedaż w Polsce nie jest wysoka. Jak dotąd wiadomo niewiele o tym, jak samochody elektryczne są oceniane przez Polaków. Przeprowadzone badania referowane w przedstawianym artykule są próbą poznania postawy wobec tego typu pojazdów. Badany model postawy obejmuje trzy obszary: wiedzę na ich temat, emocje, jakie one wywołują oraz potencjalne zachowania. Osobami badanymi byli studenci Politechniki Rzeszowskiej, więc grupa młodych ludzi stanowiąca potencjalnych odbiorców nowych technologii. Uzyskane wyniki wskazują, że samochody elektryczne są mało znane, jednocześnie budzą one duże zainteresowanie, a ich obraz w umysłach młodych ludzi jest bardzo pozytywny. Zauważalne są także ich ograniczenia, w największym stopniu zbyt wysoka cena zakupu, ale także inne czynniki: brak wystarczających informacji oraz niezadawalające parametry techniczne, głównie długi czas potrzebny na naładowanie baterii oraz zbyt krótka odległość możliwa do przejechania na jednym ładowaniu baterii. Zainteresowanie zakupem jest uwarunkowane odczuwaniem pozytywnych emocji, a brak wystarczających informacji stanowi przeszkodę w zastanawianiu się nad kupnem takiego pojazdu. Poznanie postaw polskich studentów wobec samochodów elektrycznych może być pomocne w dostosowaniu informacji o takich samochodach do potencjalnych odbiorców, co w efekcie może mieć wpływ na poziom zainteresowania oraz wielkość sprzedaży.
In the article, the authors propose a typology of political knowledge from online learning activities and test its validity in an empirical qualitative study. The essence of their proposal is that meaningful study of the process of acquiring knowledge (rational analysis of factors modifying attitudes) must take into account both the perspective of the citizen (the demand for information) and an analysis of the publicly available knowledge (the supply of information). The authors distinguish three main methods of acquiring information: heuristic, reflective, and by-product learning. They note the importance of generational factors in shaping the cognitive activity of Internet users. There has been a gradual increase in the importance of source management, with simultaneous alienation and skepticism towards information obtained on the Internet. While the authors’ analysis is restricted to the Internet, their approach is not reductionist in that they consider the internet to be a medium for traditional media and its influence on civic attitudes.
Previous research showed that children can exhibit preferences for social categories already at preschool age. One of the crucial factors in the development of children’s attitudes toward others is children’s observation and imitation of adults’ nonverbal messages. The aim of our study is to examine whether children’s tendency to perceive and follow nonverbally expressed attitudes toward other people is related to ingroup bias, i.e. the tendency to favor one’s own group over other groups. We examined 175 preschool children (age in months: 61–87; M = 72.6, SD = 6.53) presenting them with a video of a conversation between a message sender and a message recipient. The study was conducted in a minimal group paradigm. We found that children accurately identified the message sender’s attitude toward the recipient and also generalized this attitude to other members of the new group. We also found explicit ingroup bias among children from the message sender’s group. However, no generalization of the sender’s attitude to other ingroup members was found. The results are discussed in reference to previous findings on the role of imitation of adult’s non-verbal behavior for the development of social attitudes among children.