Reducing implicit prejudice by blurring intergroup boundaries

In two experiments we examined whether and when blurring intergroup boundaries reduces implicit prejudice. In Experiment 1 we observed that when participants first completed a task in which they generated characteristics that overlapped between an ingroup and an outgroup they showed less implicit bias as measured by an Implicit Association Test. In Experiment 2 we found that the effectiveness of blurring intergroup boundaries for reducing implicit bias was moderated by pretask levels of ingroup identification. We discuss these findings in the context of extending differentiation-based interventions for reducing explicit bias to the domain of implicit attitudes.

Combined bias and outlier identification in dynamic data reconciliation

Measured process data normally contain inaccuracies because the measurements are obtained using imperfect instruments. As well as random errors one can expect systematic bias caused by miscalibrated instruments or outliers caused by process peaks such as sudden power fluctuations. Data reconciliation is the adjustment of a set of process data based on a model of the process so that the derived estimates conform to natural laws. In this paper, techniques for the detection and identification of both systematic bias and outliers in dynamic process data are presented. A novel technique for the detection and identification of systematic bias is formulated and presented. The problem of detection, identification and elimination of outliers is also treated using a modified version of a previously available clustering technique. These techniques are also combined to provide a global dynamic data reconciliation (DDR) strategy. The algorithms presented are tested in isolation and in combination using dynamic simulations of two continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTR).

Enhancing model predictive control using dynamic data reconciliation

The use of data reconciliation techniques can considerably reduce the inaccuracy of process data due to measurement errors. This in turn results in improved control system performance and process knowledge. Dynamic data reconciliation techniques are applied to a model-based predictive control scheme. It is shown through simulations on a chemical reactor system that the overall performance of the model-based predictive controller is enhanced considerably when data reconciliation is applied. The dynamic data reconciliation techniques used include a combined strategy for the simultaneous identification of outliers and systematic bias.

Dynamic data reconciliation for sequential modular simulators: application to a mixing process

This paper describes a method for dynamic data reconciliation of nonlinear systems that are simulated using the sequential modular approach, and where individual modules are represented by a class of differential algebraic equations. The estimation technique consists of a bank of extended Kalman filters that are integrated with the modules. The paper reports a study based on experimental data obtained from a pilot scale mixing process.

Dynamic data reconciliation for sequential modular simulators

In this paper the implementation of dynamic data reconciliation techniques for sequential modular models is described. The paper is organised as follows. First, an introduction to dynamic data reconciliation is given. Then, the online use of rigorous process models is introduced. The sequential modular approach to dynamic simulation is briefly discussed followed by a short review of the extended Kalman filter. The second section describes how the modules are implemented. A simulation case study and its results are also presented.

Forgotten children: work-family reconciliation in the EU

At the core of this article is a discussion of how, why and with what implications, considerations of children’s needs are missing from the EU’s work-family reconciliation framework. Part I demonstrates how the EU has failed to properly identify, let alone acknowledge or promote, children’s interests in relation to work-family reconciliation. An examination of relevant legislation and case law shows how children are ‘missing’ from this policy area, which has huge implications for their day to day lives. Part II then considers the reasons behind, and consequences of, this reluctance to engage with children’s interests in reconciliation laws and shows how children’s well-being could be better incorporated into relevant policies and within the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice. This section highlights, for example, how the EU has been willing and able to promote children’s interests in other legal fields and suggests that changes in the Treaty, post Lisbon, offer a means to improve the current approach.

Reconciliation of halogen-induced ozone loss with the total-column ozone record

The observed depletion of the ozone layer from the 1980s onwards is attributed to halogen source gases emitted by human activities. However, the precision of this attribution is complicated by year-to-year variations in meteorology, that is, dynamical variability, and by changes in tropospheric ozone concentrations. As such, key aspects of the total-column ozone record, which combines changes in both tropospheric and stratospheric ozone, remain unexplained, such as the apparent absence of a decline in total-column ozone levels before 1980, and of any long-term decline in total-column ozone levels in the tropics. Here we use a chemistry–climate model to estimate changes in halogen-induced ozone loss between 1960 and 2010; the model is constrained by observed meteorology to remove the effects of dynamical variability, and driven by emissions of tropospheric ozone precursors to separate out changes in tropospheric ozone. We show that halogen-induced ozone loss closely followed stratospheric halogen loading over the studied period. Pronounced enhancements in ozone loss were apparent in both hemispheres following the volcanic eruptions of El Chichon and, in particular, Mount Pinatubo, which significantly enhanced stratospheric aerosol loads. We further show that approximately 40% of the long-term non-volcanic ozone loss occurred before 1980, and that long-term ozone loss also occurred in the tropical stratosphere. Finally, we show that halogen-induced ozone loss has declined by over 10% since stratospheric halogen loading peaked in the late 1990s, indicating that the recovery of the ozone layer is well underway.

Transitional justice in Nepal: the Commission on Investigation of Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation Act 2014

The Commission on Investigation of Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation Act 2014 is Nepal’s latest attempt to establish a transitional programme to respond to conflict era abuses. In part, the Act remedies the inadequacies of the 2013 Ordinance. It creates two commissions, on truth and reconciliation and enforced disappearances, makes provision for the establishment of a Special Court to try past abuses and incorporates systems to enable vulnerable witnesses to participate in truth seeking. Yet in a number of respects it continues to fall short of international legal standards, not least in the possibility of amnesty for international crimes and gross violations of human rights. In addition, the relationship between the three mechanisms – truth seeking, amnesty and prosecution – remains unclear and safeguards for individual rights are lacking. This paper explores these recent developments, highlighting issues that must be remedied if transitional justice objectives are to be achieved in Nepal.

Recategorization and subgroup identification: predicting and preventing threats from common ingroups

Much work has supported the idea that recategorization of ingroups and outgroups into a superordinate category can have beneficial effects for intergroup relations. Recently, however, increases in bias following recategorization have been observed in some contexts. It is argued that such unwanted consequences of recategorization will only be apparent for perceivers who are highly committed to their ingroup subgroups. In Experiments 1 to 3, the authors observed, on both explicit and implicit measures, that an increase in bias following recategorization occurred only for high subgroup identifiers. In Experiment 4, it was found that maintaining the salience of subgroups within a recategorized superordinate group averted this increase in bias for high identifiers and led overall to the lowest levels of bias. These findings are discussed in the context of recent work on the Common Ingroup Identity Model.