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Innovationen im Zuge der Digitalisierung des Personenverkehrs

The transport system is an important sector in economies, both in terms of its own share of gross national product and in its role as a presupplier, prime location and facilitator of private and occupational mobility. Like other industries, the transport system is subject to changes in technological trends, especially with regards to digitalisation. When analysing the forms and effects of digitalisation, one may be overwhelmed by the multitude of terms, such as: Industry 4.0, Physical Internet, Internet of Things, Radical Innovation, New Business Models and Digital Transformation. These terms are often interpreted in different ways because they have been specifically designed for agenda setting and thus for the enforcement of the individual interests of consultants, researchers and industries. And while transport has high hopes for digitalisation, it doesn’t necessarily apply to all parameters of the transport system. There are several relevant issues to consider including the extent to which digitalisation affects the traffic supply and demand and whether this will lead to an increase or decrease in traffic movements.     

ECB: Independence at risk?

The extraordinary measures taken by the ECB to combat the fi nancial crisis have led many observers to question whether the bank has put its independence at risk. The bank’s vow to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro has added a second (and potentially contradictory) goal alongside its primary mission of achieving price stability. This expansion of the ECB mandate could expose the bank to national and European political demands, thereby endangering its prized independence.     

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Patience and achievement test results

I investigate the relation between high-stakes achievement test scores and students’ patience. I use an experimentally validated measure of time preferences to assess patience in a large sample of Dutch students in secondary school. A one SD increase in the achievement test at the age of 12 predicts 26% of an SD greater level of patience at the age of 15. The results hint at the fact that education can shape preferences.     

Statistical Inference,Learning and Models in Big Data

The need for new methods to deal with big data is a common theme in most scientific fields, although its definition tends to vary with the context. Statistical ideas are an essential part of this, and as a partial response, a thematic program on statistical inference, learning and models in big data was held in 2015 in Canada, under the general direction of the Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute, with major funding from, and most activities located at, the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences. This paper gives an overview of the topics covered, describing challenges and strategies that seem common to many different areas of application and including some examples of applications to make these challenges and strategies more concrete.