The Little Book of Public Space and the Internet of Things

Our public spaces are changing, they are at the forefront of a technological revolution yet this is a revolution that often remains hidden from sight. Sensors are being installed and the ability to interact with objects in our spaces – from projects such as the PETRAS Talking Trees through to conversations with Lamp Posts or data interactions with local wildlife is changing our interactions both in and with these places and spaces. This Little Book explores safety and security and moves onto maintenance. We then look at some of the issues affecting people and explore health, community building and culture while exploring the use of public space for play. After this, we explore conservation and culture, transport and signage, accessibility and then, finally, we discuss future trends

Heterogeneity in Preferences towards Complexity

We analyze lottery-choice data in a way that separately estimates the effects of risk aversion and complexity aversion. Complexity is represented by the number of different outcomes in the lottery. A finite mixture random effects model is estimated which assumes that a proportion of the population are complexity-neutral. We find that around 33% of the population are complexity-neutral, around 50% complexity-averse, and the remaining 17% are complexity-loving. Subjects who do react to complexity appear to have a bias towards complexity aversion at the start of the experiment, but complexity aversion reduces with experience, to the extent that the average subject is (almost) complexity-neutral by the end of the experiment. Complexity aversion is found to increase with age and to be higher for non-UK students than for UK students. We also find some evidence that, when evaluating complex lotteries, subjects perceive probabilities in accordance with Prospective Reference Theory

Does the sole description of a tax authority affect tax evasion? The impact of described coercive and legitimate power.

Following the classic economic model of tax evasion, taxpayers base their tax decisions on economic determinants, like fine rate and audit probability. Empirical findings on the relationship between economic key determinants and tax evasion are inconsistent and suggest that taxpayers may rather rely on their beliefs about tax authority’s power. Descriptions of the tax authority’s power may affect taxpayers’ beliefs and as such tax evasion. Experiment 1 investigates the impact of fines and beliefs regarding tax authority’s power on tax evasion. Experiments 2-4 are conducted to examine the effect of varying descriptions about a tax authority’s power on participants’ beliefs and respective tax evasion. It is investigated whether tax evasion is influenced by the description of an authority wielding coercive power (Experiment 2), legitimate power (Experiment 3), and coercive and legitimate power combined (Experiment 4). Further, it is examined whether a contrast of the description of power (low to high power; high to low power) impacts tax evasion (Experiments 2-4). Results show that the amount of fine does not impact tax payments, whereas participants’ beliefs regarding tax authority’s power significantly shape compliance decisions. Descriptions of high coercive power as well as high legitimate power affect beliefs about tax authority’s power and positively impact tax honesty. This effect still holds if both qualities of power are applied simultaneously. The contrast of descriptions has little impact on tax evasion. The current study indicates that descriptions of the tax authority, e.g., in information brochures and media reports, have more influence on beliefs and tax payments than information on fine rates. Methodically, these considerations become particularly important when descriptions or vignettes are used besides objective information

Testing the Strength and Robustness of the Attraction Effect in Consumer Decision Making

We report the results of an original experiment that was designed to test the strength and robustness of the attraction effect. Rather than the usual simple tests for this effect, we consider a conceptually simple consumer purchasing task where alternatives are however difficult to evaluate. For the attraction effect to be observed, the consumer must go through two steps: the first is to find out that two or more options are comparable, which leads him to exclude the dominated alternatives. The second is to favor the dominant option over those that are not comparable. Our experiment allows us to determine whether and how many individuals stop before each of those two steps. The results confirm the existence of an attraction effect in our setting, but the effect is not strong. Indeed, only a minority of subjects perform the second step. The effect is not robust to introducing larger differences in prices among options and to widening the range of options to choose from. We conclude by showing that our subjects would benefit from relying more on performing asymmetric dominance editing rather than on their skills in the purchasing task

Prediction of service fatigue strength of awelded tubular joint on the basis of the notch strain approach

The applicability of the notch strain approach to the assessment of the fatigue strength and service life of a K-shaped tubular joint is investigated. The structural stresses in the hot spot area are calculated by the finite element method and compared with the results of relevant parametric formulae as well as of strain gauge measurements. The stress concentration factor at the weld toe is determined on the basis of a plane cross-sectional model of the weld at the hot spot. The elastic-plastic notch strains are derived therefrom using the cyclic stress strain curve of the material (finite element results and approximations according to Neuber and Sonsino). The fatigue strength of the tubular joint under constant-amplitude loading is predicted on the basis of the strain S-N curve. The service life under variable-amplitude loading in seawater is derived using the Miner rule. The notch strain approach for welded joints results in unacceptably large differences in the predicted strength a nd life values under similarly acceptable assumptions in respect of material state, local hardness and residual stress. The inhomogeneity of material and hardness at the weld toe seems to be the main reason for the discrepancies