Sample records for abstract problem addressed

  1. Time Management: Addressing and Assessing Classroom Participation Problems

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-01-01

    Time Management Addressing and Assessing Classroom Participation Problems Cary A. Balser Abstract While research shows that technology in...novel experimental design in concert with SmartSync technology to block cadet use of internet and outlook email on their computers in order to measure...undergraduate institution with a clear focus on STEM, technology in the classroom is very nearly necessitated by the content in many technical courses

  2. Intuitive reasoning about abstract and familiar physics problems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kaiser, Mary Kister; Jonides, John; Alexander, Joanne

    1986-01-01

    Previous research has demonstrated that many people have misconceptions about basic properties of motion. Two experiments examined whether people are more likely to produce dynamically correct predictions about basic motion problems involving situations with which they are familiar, and whether solving such problems enhances performance on a subsequent abstract problem. In experiment 1, college students were asked to predict the trajectories of objects exiting a curved tube. Subjects were more accurate on the familiar version of the problem, and there was no evidence of transfer to the abstract problem. In experiment 2, two familiar problems were provided in an attempt to enhance subjects' tendency to extract the general structure of the problems. Once again, they gave more correct responses to the familiar problems but failed to generalize to the abstract problem. Formal physics training was associated with correct predictions for the abstract problem but was unrelated to performance on the familiar problems.

  3. Addressing problems of employee performance.

    PubMed

    McConnell, Charles R

    2011-01-01

    Employee performance problems are essentially of 2 kinds: those that are motivational in origin and those resulting from skill deficiencies. Both kinds of problems are the province of the department manager. Performance problems differ from problems of conduct in that traditional disciplinary processes ordinarily do not apply. Rather, performance problems are addressed through educational and remedial processes. The manager has a basic responsibility in ensuring that everything reasonable is done to help each employee succeed. There are a number of steps the manager can take to address employee performance problems.

  4. Abstract generalized vector quasi-equilibrium problems in noncompact Hadamard manifolds.

    PubMed

    Lu, Haishu; Wang, Zhihua

    2017-01-01

    This paper deals with the abstract generalized vector quasi-equilibrium problem in noncompact Hadamard manifolds. We prove the existence of solutions to the abstract generalized vector quasi-equilibrium problem under suitable conditions and provide applications to an abstract vector quasi-equilibrium problem, a generalized scalar equilibrium problem, a scalar equilibrium problem, and a perturbed saddle point problem. Finally, as an application of the existence of solutions to the generalized scalar equilibrium problem, we obtain a weakly mixed variational inequality and two mixed variational inequalities. The results presented in this paper unify and generalize many known results in the literature.

  5. Professional Preparation of Teachers for Rural Schools: Abstracts of Addresses Delivered at a Conference Called by the United States Commissioner of Education, at the Lenox Hotel, Boston, February 25, 1928. Bulletin, 1928, No. 6

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cook, Katherine M.

    1928-01-01

    This bulletin contains abstracts of the addresses delivered at a conference called by the United States Commissioner of Education to consider problems concerned with the professional preparation of teachers for rural schools. They were prepared from copies of the addresses or abstracts of them furnished by the speakers who prepared or delivered…

  6. Methods for solving reasoning problems in abstract argumentation – A survey

    PubMed Central

    Charwat, Günther; Dvořák, Wolfgang; Gaggl, Sarah A.; Wallner, Johannes P.; Woltran, Stefan

    2015-01-01

    Within the last decade, abstract argumentation has emerged as a central field in Artificial Intelligence. Besides providing a core formalism for many advanced argumentation systems, abstract argumentation has also served to capture several non-monotonic logics and other AI related principles. Although the idea of abstract argumentation is appealingly simple, several reasoning problems in this formalism exhibit high computational complexity. This calls for advanced techniques when it comes to implementation issues, a challenge which has been recently faced from different angles. In this survey, we give an overview on different methods for solving reasoning problems in abstract argumentation and compare their particular features. Moreover, we highlight available state-of-the-art systems for abstract argumentation, which put these methods to practice. PMID:25737590

  7. Supporting Abstraction Processes in Problem Solving through Pattern-Oriented Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muller, Orna; Haberman, Bruria

    2008-01-01

    Abstraction is a major concept in computer science and serves as a powerful tool in software development. Pattern-oriented instruction (POI) is a pedagogical approach that incorporates patterns in an introductory computer science course in order to structure the learning of algorithmic problem solving. This paper examines abstraction processes in…

  8. Teaching with Concrete and Abstract Visual Representations: Effects on Students' Problem Solving, Problem Representations, and Learning Perceptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moreno, Roxana; Ozogul, Gamze; Reisslein, Martin

    2011-01-01

    In 3 experiments, we examined the effects of using concrete and/or abstract visual problem representations during instruction on students' problem-solving practice, near transfer, problem representations, and learning perceptions. In Experiments 1 and 2, novice students learned about electrical circuit analysis with an instructional program that…

  9. Autocheck: Addressing the Problem of Rural Transportation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Payne, Guy A.

    This paper describes a project implemented by a social worker from the Glynn County School District in rural Georgia to address transportation problems experienced by students and their families. The project aims to assist families who are unable to keep appointments or attend other important events due to unreliable transportation. A county needs…

  10. Beating the Odds: Preparing Graduates to Address Gambling-Related Problems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Engel, Rafael J.; Bechtold, Jody; Kim, Yoonmi; Mulvaney, Elizabeth

    2012-01-01

    As gambling opportunities proliferate, social workers are likely to see clients with gambling-related problems, but they often lack the expertise to address these concerns. This descriptive study assessed the inclusion of content on gambling-related problems in graduate social work curricula. Responses to an online survey from 86 (43.7%) of the…

  11. Can small institutes address some problems facing biomedical researchers?

    PubMed

    Sheetz, Michael P

    2014-11-01

    At a time of historically low National Institutes of Health funding rates and many problems with the conduct of research (unfunded mandates, disgruntled reviewers, and rampant paranoia), there is a concern that biomedical research as a profession is waning in the United States (see "Rescuing US biomedical research from its systemic flaws" by Alberts and colleagues in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). However, it is wonderful to discover something new and to tackle tough puzzles. If we could focus more of our effort on discussing scientific problems and doing research, then we could be more productive and perhaps happier. One potential solution is to focus efforts on small thematic institutes in the university structure that can provide a stimulating and supportive environment for innovation and exploration. With an open-lab concept, there are economies of scale that can diminish paperwork and costs, while providing greater access to state-of-the-art equipment. Merging multiple disciplines around a common theme can catalyze innovation, and this enables individuals to develop new concepts without giving up the credit they deserve, because it is usually clear who did the work. Small institutes do not solve larger systemic problems but rather enable collective efforts to address the noisome aspects of the system and foster an innovative community effort to address scientific problems. © 2014 Sheetz.

  12. Finding Feasible Abstract Counter-Examples

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pasareanu, Corina S.; Dwyer, Matthew B.; Visser, Willem; Clancy, Daniel (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    A strength of model checking is its ability to automate the detection of subtle system errors and produce traces that exhibit those errors. Given the high computational cost of model checking most researchers advocate the use of aggressive property-preserving abstractions. Unfortunately, the more aggressively a system is abstracted the more infeasible behavior it will have. Thus, while abstraction enables efficient model checking it also threatens the usefulness of model checking as a defect detection tool, since it may be difficult to determine whether a counter-example is feasible and hence worth developer time to analyze. We have explored several strategies for addressing this problem by extending an explicit-state model checker, Java PathFinder (JPF), to search for and analyze counter-examples in the presence of abstractions. We demonstrate that these techniques effectively preserve the defect detection ability of model checking in the presence of aggressive abstraction by applying them to check properties of several abstracted multi-threaded Java programs. These new capabilities are not specific to JPF and can be easily adapted to other model checking frameworks; we describe how this was done for the Bandera toolset.

  13. The method of abstraction in the design of databases and the interoperability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yakovlev, Nikolay

    2018-03-01

    When designing the database structure oriented to the contents of indicators presented in the documents and communications subject area. First, the method of abstraction is applied by expansion of the indices of new, artificially constructed abstract concepts. The use of abstract concepts allows to avoid registration of relations many-to-many. For this reason, when built using abstract concepts, demonstrate greater stability in the processes. The example abstract concepts to address structure - a unique house number. Second, the method of abstraction can be used in the transformation of concepts by omitting some attributes that are unnecessary for solving certain classes of problems. Data processing associated with the amended concepts is more simple without losing the possibility of solving the considered classes of problems. For example, the concept "street" loses the binding to the land. The content of the modified concept of "street" are only the relations of the houses to the declared name. For most accounting tasks and ensure communication is enough.

  14. An Ethnomethodological Perspective on How Middle School Students Addressed a Water Quality Problem

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Belland, Brian R.; Gu, Jiangyue; Kim, Nam Ju; Turner, David J.

    2016-01-01

    Science educators increasingly call for students to address authentic scientific problems in science class. One form of authentic science problem--socioscientific issue--requires that students engage in complex reasoning by considering both scientific and social implications of problems. Computer-based scaffolding can support this process by…

  15. Abstraction of an Affective-Cognitive Decision Making Model Based on Simulated Behaviour and Perception Chains

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sharpanskykh, Alexei; Treur, Jan

    Employing rich internal agent models of actors in large-scale socio-technical systems often results in scalability issues. The problem addressed in this paper is how to improve computational properties of a complex internal agent model, while preserving its behavioral properties. The problem is addressed for the case of an existing affective-cognitive decision making model instantiated for an emergency scenario. For this internal decision model an abstracted behavioral agent model is obtained, which ensures a substantial increase of the computational efficiency at the cost of approximately 1% behavioural error. The abstraction technique used can be applied to a wide range of internal agent models with loops, for example, involving mutual affective-cognitive interactions.

  16. School Nurses' Perceived Prevalence and Competence to Address Student Mental Health Problems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stephan, Sharon H.; Connors, Elizabeth H.

    2013-01-01

    Due to under-identification of student mental health problems and limited specialty mental health providers in schools, school nurses are often faced with identifying and addressing student mental health needs. This exploratory study assessed prevalence and types of student mental health problems encountered by school nurses, as well as their…

  17. Collaborative capacity, problem framing, and mutual trust in addressing the wildland fire social problem: An annotated reading list

    Treesearch

    Jeffrey J. Brooks; Alexander N. Bujak; Joseph G. Champ; Daniel R. Williams

    2006-01-01

    We reviewed, annotated, and organized recent social science research and developed a framework for addressing the wildland fire social problem. We annotated articles related to three topic areas or factors, which are critical for understanding collective action, particularly in the wildland-urban interface. These factors are collaborative capacity, problem framing, and...

  18. Addressing Complex Challenges through Adaptive Leadership: A Promising Approach to Collaborative Problem Solving

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nelson, Tenneisha; Squires, Vicki

    2017-01-01

    Organizations are faced with solving increasingly complex problems. Addressing these issues requires effective leadership that can facilitate a collaborative problem solving approach where multiple perspectives are leveraged. In this conceptual paper, we critique the effectiveness of earlier leadership models in tackling complex organizational…

  19. Commentary: getting real on addressing health care disparities and other systems problems.

    PubMed

    Madara, James L

    2012-06-01

    Physician membership organizations vary in the extent of their engagement in activities to address health disparities. Increasing engagement of those organizations not already highly active in this critical area is, thus, an opportunity. Studies that provide definitional contours of key issues, like disparities, are necessary and must be iteratively refined. However, parallel activities of intervention with measured outcomes to assess the effects of these interventions are necessary to truly address major problems in the health care system. To date, work in the problem definition category exceeds work toward intervention in and mitigation of these problems with measured outcomes. Many problems in health care, including disparities, are now sufficiently understood that it is time to shift focus toward bold intervention with measured outcomes. Optimal approaches that yield superior outcomes generally require collaboration across the provider-payer spectrum and the private sectors, including physicians, hospitals, insurers, etc. Stakeholders are now free to act in such coordinated fashion; it only requires social capital that permits cooperation and compromise. Interventions for problems such as health care disparities can be developed in the private sector and mirrored by government payers if physicians and organizations can get real about collaborating to implement outcomes-based initiatives to improve the health of all patients.

  20. Multilevel and Hybrid Architecture for Device Abstraction and Context Information Management in Smart Home Environments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peláez, Víctor; González, Roberto; San Martín, Luis Ángel; Campos, Antonio; Lobato, Vanesa

    Hardware device management, and context information acquisition and abstraction are key factors to develop the ambient intelligent paradigm in smart homes. This work presents an architecture that addresses these two problems and provides a usable framework to develop applications easily. In contrast to other proposals, this work addresses performance issues specifically. Results show that the execution performance of the developed prototype is suitable for deployment in a real environment. In addition, the modular design of the system allows the user to develop applications using different techniques and different levels of abstraction.

  1. Abstraction and Assume-Guarantee Reasoning for Automated Software Verification

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chaki, S.; Clarke, E.; Giannakopoulou, D.; Pasareanu, C. S.

    2004-01-01

    Compositional verification and abstraction are the key techniques to address the state explosion problem associated with model checking of concurrent software. A promising compositional approach is to prove properties of a system by checking properties of its components in an assume-guarantee style. This article proposes a framework for performing abstraction and assume-guarantee reasoning of concurrent C code in an incremental and fully automated fashion. The framework uses predicate abstraction to extract and refine finite state models of software and it uses an automata learning algorithm to incrementally construct assumptions for the compositional verification of the abstract models. The framework can be instantiated with different assume-guarantee rules. We have implemented our approach in the COMFORT reasoning framework and we show how COMFORT out-performs several previous software model checking approaches when checking safety properties of non-trivial concurrent programs.

  2. Fire Technology Abstracts, volume 4, issue 1, August, 1981

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holtschlag, L. J.; Kuvshinoff, B. W.; Jernigan, J. B.

    This bibliography contains over 400 citations with abstracts addressing various aspects of fire technology. Subjects cover the dynamics of fire, behavior and properties of materials, fire modeling and test burns, fire protection, fire safety, fire service organization, apparatus and equipment, fire prevention, suppression, planning, human behavior, medical problems, codes and standards, hazard identification, safe handling of materials, insurance, economics of loss and prevention, and more.

  3. On Using Meta-Modeling and Multi-Modeling to Address Complex Problems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abu Jbara, Ahmed

    2013-01-01

    Models, created using different modeling techniques, usually serve different purposes and provide unique insights. While each modeling technique might be capable of answering specific questions, complex problems require multiple models interoperating to complement/supplement each other; we call this Multi-Modeling. To address the syntactic and…

  4. Families and Positive Behavior Support: Addressing Problem Behavior in Family Contexts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lucyshyn, Joseph M., Ed.; Dunlap, Glen, Ed.; Albin, Richard W., Ed.

    The 19 chapters of this volume address theory, research, and practice concerning positive behavior support with families of children and youth with developmental disabilities and problem behavior. The chapters are: (1) "Positive Behavior Support with Families" (Joseph Lucyshyn and others); (2) "Finding Positive Behavior Support One…

  5. Teaching Problem Solving to Students Receiving Tiered Interventions Using the Concrete-Representational-Abstract Sequence and Schema-Based Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Flores, Margaret M.; Hinton, Vanessa M.; Burton, Megan E.

    2016-01-01

    Mathematical word problems are the most common form of mathematics problem solving implemented in K-12 schools. Identifying key words is a frequent strategy taught in classrooms in which students struggle with problem solving and show low success rates in mathematics. Researchers show that using the concrete-representational-abstract (CRA)…

  6. From action to abstraction: Using the hands to learn math

    PubMed Central

    Novack, Miriam A.; Congdon, Eliza L.; Hemani-Lopez, Naureen; Goldin-Meadow, Susan

    2014-01-01

    Previous research has shown that children benefit from gesturing during math instruction. Here we ask whether gesturing promotes learning because it is itself a physical action, or because it uses physical action to represent abstract ideas. To address this question, we taught third-grade children a strategy for solving mathematical equivalence problems that was instantiated in one of three ways: (1) in the physical action children performed on objects, (2) in a concrete gesture miming that action, or (3) in an abstract gesture. All three types of hand movements helped children learn how to solve the problems on which they were trained. However, only gesture led to success on problems that required generalizing the knowledge gained. The results provide the first evidence that gesture promotes transfer of knowledge better than action, and suggest that the beneficial effects gesture has on learning may reside in the features that differentiate it from action. PMID:24503873

  7. Alcohol highway safety : problem update

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-04-01

    Author's abstract: This document examines new literature and data on selected alcohol-crash targets or problems that have become available since the November 1989 State of Knowledge review. Specifically, this update addresses research since the 1989 ...

  8. Metacognition and abstract reasoning.

    PubMed

    Markovits, Henry; Thompson, Valerie A; Brisson, Janie

    2015-05-01

    The nature of people's meta-representations of deductive reasoning is critical to understanding how people control their own reasoning processes. We conducted two studies to examine whether people have a metacognitive representation of abstract validity and whether familiarity alone acts as a separate metacognitive cue. In Study 1, participants were asked to make a series of (1) abstract conditional inferences, (2) concrete conditional inferences with premises having many potential alternative antecedents and thus specifically conducive to the production of responses consistent with conditional logic, or (3) concrete problems with premises having relatively few potential alternative antecedents. Participants gave confidence ratings after each inference. Results show that confidence ratings were positively correlated with logical performance on abstract problems and concrete problems with many potential alternatives, but not with concrete problems with content less conducive to normative responses. Confidence ratings were higher with few alternatives than for abstract content. Study 2 used a generation of contrary-to-fact alternatives task to improve levels of abstract logical performance. The resulting increase in logical performance was mirrored by increases in mean confidence ratings. Results provide evidence for a metacognitive representation based on logical validity, and show that familiarity acts as a separate metacognitive cue.

  9. Communicating with the crowd: speakers use abstract messages when addressing larger audiences.

    PubMed

    Joshi, Priyanka D; Wakslak, Cheryl J

    2014-02-01

    Audience characteristics often shape communicators' message framing. Drawing from construal level theory, we suggest that when speaking to many individuals, communicators frame messages in terms of superordinate characteristics that focus attention on the essence of the message. On the other hand, when communicating with a single individual, communicators increasingly describe events and actions in terms of their concrete details. Using different communication tasks and measures of construal, we show that speakers communicating with many individuals, compared with 1 person, describe events more abstractly (Study 1), describe themselves as more trait-like (Study 2), and use more desirability-related persuasive messages (Study 3). Furthermore, speakers' motivation to communicate with their audience moderates their tendency to frame messages based on audience size (Studies 3 and 4). This audience-size abstraction effect is eliminated when a large audience is described as homogeneous, suggesting that people use abstract construal strategically in order to connect across a disparate group of individuals (Study 5). Finally, we show that participants' experienced fluency in communication is influenced by the match between message abstraction and audience size (Study 6).

  10. Experience with abstract notation one

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Harvey, James D.; Weaver, Alfred C.

    1990-01-01

    The development of computer science has produced a vast number of machine architectures, programming languages, and compiler technologies. The cross product of these three characteristics defines the spectrum of previous and present data representation methodologies. With regard to computer networks, the uniqueness of these methodologies presents an obstacle when disparate host environments are to be interconnected. Interoperability within a heterogeneous network relies upon the establishment of data representation commonality. The International Standards Organization (ISO) is currently developing the abstract syntax notation one standard (ASN.1) and the basic encoding rules standard (BER) that collectively address this problem. When used within the presentation layer of the open systems interconnection reference model, these two standards provide the data representation commonality required to facilitate interoperability. The details of a compiler that was built to automate the use of ASN.1 and BER are described. From this experience, insights into both standards are given and potential problems relating to this development effort are discussed.

  11. Nonlinear Multidimensional Assignment Problems Efficient Conic Optimization Methods and Applications

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-06-24

    WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Arizona State University School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences 901 S...SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT The major goals of this project were completed: the exact solution of previously unsolved challenging combinatorial optimization... combinatorial optimization problem, the Directional Sensor Problem, was solved in two ways. First, heuristically in an engineering fashion and second, exactly

  12. Bilingual Vocational Education. Project Abstracts 1987-1988.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Office of Vocational and Adult Education (ED), Washington, DC.

    Abstracts are provided for 16 bilingual vocational education projects offered in 1987-88. Each abstract provides information on: grantee; state; project title; project director, address, and telephone number; project officer and U.S. Department of Education address; language group(s) served; occupational skills area(s); length of training cycle…

  13. Achieving Success with More Students: Addressing the Problem of Students At Risk, K-12.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pennsylvania State Dept. of Education, Harrisburg.

    This resource book was developed to provide information that state and local leaders can use to stimulate discussion of the problem of students at risk and support the planning of initiatives that address the problem. An overview defines students at risk, summarizes the content of the book, and lists recent reports and publications on the problem…

  14. Is Principled Pragmatism a Viable Framework for Addressing Complex Problems?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Islam, S.

    2017-12-01

    Complex water problems are connected with many competing and often conflicting values, interests, and tools. These problems can't be addressed through simply applying dogmatic principles or a deal-making pragmatic approach. Because these problems are interconnected and interdependent, a final solution can't be pre-specified. Any intervention to a complex problem requires attention to both principles and pragmatism. Strict adherence to principles without pragmatism is often not actionable; pure pragmatism exercised without guiding principles is not sustainable. In a colloquial sense, pragmatism is often taken to suggest practical, opportunistic, and expedient approaches at the expense of principles. This perception appears to be rooted in the dichotomy between "being pragmatic" and "being ideological". The notion of principled pragmatism attempts to get away from this duality by focusing on how to make ideas clear and actionable. In other words, how to connect our thoughts to action given the context, constraints, and capacity. Principled pragmatism - rooted in equity and sustainability as guiding principles for water management - approach attempts to synthesize symbolic aspirations with realistic assessment to chart a trajectory of actionable subset of implementable solutions. Case studies from the Ganges Basin will show the utility of principled pragmatism for water management in a changing world.

  15. Identification and addressing reduction-related misconceptions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gal-Ezer, Judith; Trakhtenbrot, Mark

    2016-07-01

    Reduction is one of the key techniques used for problem-solving in computer science. In particular, in the theory of computation and complexity (TCC), mapping and polynomial reductions are used for analysis of decidability and computational complexity of problems, including the core concept of NP-completeness. Reduction is a highly abstract technique that involves revealing close non-trivial connections between problems that often seem to have nothing in common. As a result, proper understanding and application of reduction is a serious challenge for students and a source of numerous misconceptions. The main contribution of this paper is detection of such misconceptions, analysis of their roots, and proposing a way to address them in an undergraduate TCC course. Our observations suggest that the main source of the misconceptions is the false intuitive rule "the bigger is a set/problem, the harder it is to solve". Accordingly, we developed a series of exercises for proactive prevention of these misconceptions.

  16. Routing and Addressing Problems in Large Metropolitan-Scale Internetworks. ISI Research Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Finn, Gregory G.

    This report discusses some of the problems and limitations in existing internetwork design for the connection of packet-switching networks of different technologies and presents an algorithm that has been shown to be suitable for internetworks of unbounded size. Using a new form of address and a flat routing mechanism called Cartesian routing,…

  17. How Are 2-Year US Colleges Addressing Student Alcohol Use and Related Problems?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lenk, Kathleen M.; Nelson, Toben F.; Erickson, Darin J.; Toomey, Traci L.

    2015-01-01

    A considerable amount of attention and research has been dedicated to addressing alcohol use and related problems among students at 4-year colleges; however, less attention has been given to alcohol-related issues among students at 2-year technical/community colleges. This article describes research that expands on a study by Chiauzzi and…

  18. Using Sequence Diagrams to Detect Communication Problems Between Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lindvall, Mikael; Ackermann, Chris; Stratton, William C.; Sibol, Deane E.; Ray, Arnab; Yonkwa, Lyly; Kresser, Jan; Godfrey, Sally H.; Knodel, Jens

    2008-01-01

    Many software systems are evolving complex system of systems (SoS) for which inter-system communication is both mission-critical and error-prone. Such communication problems ideally would be detected before deployment. In a NASA-supported Software Assurance Research Program (SARP) project, we are researching a new approach addressing such problems. In this paper, we show that problems in the communication between two systems can be detected by using sequence diagrams to model the planned communication and by comparing the planned sequence to the actual sequence. We identify different kinds of problems that can be addressed by modeling the planned sequence using different level of abstractions.

  19. National Workplace Literacy Program. 1993 Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Office of Vocational and Adult Education (ED), Washington, DC. National Workplace Literacy Program.

    This publication presents the abstracts of the 57 National Workplace Literacy Program 1993 projects. Each abstract provides the following information: project title; award number; project director; awardee; address; telephone and fax numbers; funds by fiscal year (federal and nonfederal); award period; federal project officer; objectives;…

  20. SIMS: addressing the problem of heterogeneity in databases

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arens, Yigal

    1997-02-01

    The heterogeneity of remotely accessible databases -- with respect to contents, query language, semantics, organization, etc. -- presents serious obstacles to convenient querying. The SIMS (single interface to multiple sources) system addresses this global integration problem. It does so by defining a single language for describing the domain about which information is stored in the databases and using this language as the query language. Each database to which SIMS is to provide access is modeled using this language. The model describes a database's contents, organization, and other relevant features. SIMS uses these models, together with a planning system drawing on techniques from artificial intelligence, to decompose a given user's high-level query into a series of queries against the databases and other data manipulation steps. The retrieval plan is constructed so as to minimize data movement over the network and maximize parallelism to increase execution speed. SIMS can recover from network failures during plan execution by obtaining data from alternate sources, when possible. SIMS has been demonstrated in the domains of medical informatics and logistics, using real databases.

  1. Multidimensional Family Therapy: Addressing Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Other Problems among Adolescents with Comprehensive Family-Based Treatment

    PubMed Central

    Rowe, Cynthia L.

    2010-01-01

    Synopsis Adolescent substance abuse rarely occurs without other psychiatric and developmental problems, yet it is often treated and researched as if it can be isolated from comorbid conditions. Few comprehensive interventions are available that effectively address the range of co-occurring problems associated with adolescent substance abuse. This article reviews the clinical interventions and research evidence supporting the use of Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT) for adolescents with substance abuse and co-occurring problems. MDFT is uniquely suited to address adolescent substance abuse and related disorders given its comprehensive interventions that systematically target the multiple interacting risk factors underlying many developmental disruptions of adolescence. PMID:20682221

  2. How do Dutch GPs address work-related problems? A focus group study.

    PubMed

    de Kock, Cornelis A; Lucassen, Peter L B J; Spinnewijn, Laura; Knottnerus, J André; Buijs, Peter C; Steenbeek, Romy; Lagro-Janssen, Antoine L M

    2016-09-01

    In the Netherlands, there is a lack of knowledge about general practitioners' (GPs) perception of their role regarding patients' occupation and work related problems (WRP). As work and health are closely related, and patients expect help from their GPs in this area, a better understanding is needed of GPs' motivation to address WRP. To explore GPs' opinions on their role in the area of work and health. This is a qualitative study using three focus groups with Dutch GPs from the catchment area of a hospital in the Southeast of the Netherlands. The group was heterogeneous in characteristics such as sex, age, and practice setting. Three focus groups were convened with 18 GPs. The moderator used an interview guide. Two researchers analysed verbatim transcripts using constant comparative analysis. We distinguished three items: (a) work context in a GP's integrated consultation style; (b) counselling about sick leave; (c) cooperation with occupational physicians (OPs). The participants are willing to address the topic and counsel about sick leave. They consider WRP in patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) challenging. They tend to advise these patients to continue working as they think this will ultimately benefit them. The participating GPs seemed well aware of the relation between work and health but need more knowledge, communication skills and better cooperation with occupational physicians to manage work-related problems. [Box: see text].

  3. The representation of abstract words: why emotion matters.

    PubMed

    Kousta, Stavroula-Thaleia; Vigliocco, Gabriella; Vinson, David P; Andrews, Mark; Del Campo, Elena

    2011-02-01

    Although much is known about the representation and processing of concrete concepts, knowledge of what abstract semantics might be is severely limited. In this article we first address the adequacy of the 2 dominant accounts (dual coding theory and the context availability model) put forward in order to explain representation and processing differences between concrete and abstract words. We find that neither proposal can account for experimental findings and that this is, at least partly, because abstract words are considered to be unrelated to experiential information in both of these accounts. We then address a particular type of experiential information, emotional content, and demonstrate that it plays a crucial role in the processing and representation of abstract concepts: Statistically, abstract words are more emotionally valenced than are concrete words, and this accounts for a residual latency advantage for abstract words, when variables such as imageability (a construct derived from dual coding theory) and rated context availability are held constant. We conclude with a discussion of our novel hypothesis for embodied abstract semantics. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

  4. Addressing College Drinking as a Statewide Public Health Problem: Key Findings From the Maryland Collaborative.

    PubMed

    Arria, Amelia M; Jernigan, David H

    2018-03-01

    Excessive drinking among college students is a serious and pervasive public health problem. Although much research attention has focused on developing and evaluating evidence-based practices to address college drinking, adoption has been slow. The Maryland Collaborative to Reduce College Drinking and Related Problems was established in 2012 to bring together a network of institutions of higher education in Maryland to collectively address college drinking by using both individual-level and environmental-level evidence-based approaches. In this article, the authors describe the findings of this multilevel, multicomponent statewide initiative. To date, the Maryland Collaborative has succeeded in providing a forum for colleges to share knowledge and experiences, strengthen existing strategies, and engage in a variety of new activities. Administration of an annual student survey has been useful for guiding interventions as well as evaluating progress toward the Maryland Collaborative's goal to measurably reduce high-risk drinking and its radiating consequences on student health, safety, and academic performance and on the communities surrounding college campuses. The experiences of the Maryland Collaborative exemplify real-world implementation of evidence-based approaches to reduce this serious public health problem.

  5. Generating effective project scheduling heuristics by abstraction and reconstitution

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Janakiraman, Bhaskar; Prieditis, Armand

    1992-01-01

    A project scheduling problem consists of a finite set of jobs, each with fixed integer duration, requiring one or more resources such as personnel or equipment, and each subject to a set of precedence relations, which specify allowable job orderings, and a set of mutual exclusion relations, which specify jobs that cannot overlap. No job can be interrupted once started. The objective is to minimize project duration. This objective arises in nearly every large construction project--from software to hardware to buildings. Because such project scheduling problems are NP-hard, they are typically solved by branch-and-bound algorithms. In these algorithms, lower-bound duration estimates (admissible heuristics) are used to improve efficiency. One way to obtain an admissible heuristic is to remove (abstract) all resources and mutual exclusion constraints and then obtain the minimal project duration for the abstracted problem; this minimal duration is the admissible heuristic. Although such abstracted problems can be solved efficiently, they yield inaccurate admissible heuristics precisely because those constraints that are central to solving the original problem are abstracted. This paper describes a method to reconstitute the abstracted constraints back into the solution to the abstracted problem while maintaining efficiency, thereby generating better admissible heuristics. Our results suggest that reconstitution can make good admissible heuristics even better.

  6. Potential effects of the introduction of the discrete address beacon system data link on air/ground information transfer problems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Grayson, R. L.

    1981-01-01

    This study of Aviation Safety Reporting System reports suggests that benefits should accure from implementation of discrete address beacon system data link. The phase enhanced terminal information system service is expected to provide better terminal information than present systems by improving currency and accuracy. In the exchange of air traffic control messages, discrete address insures that only the intended recipient receives and acts on a specific message. Visual displays and printer copy of messages should mitigate many of the reported problems associated with voice communications. The problems that remain unaffected include error in addressing the intended recipient and messages whose content is wrong but are otherwise correct as to format and reasonableness.

  7. Development of abstract mathematical reasoning: the case of algebra.

    PubMed

    Susac, Ana; Bubic, Andreja; Vrbanc, Andrija; Planinic, Maja

    2014-01-01

    Algebra typically represents the students' first encounter with abstract mathematical reasoning and it therefore causes significant difficulties for students who still reason concretely. The aim of the present study was to investigate the developmental trajectory of the students' ability to solve simple algebraic equations. 311 participants between the ages of 13 and 17 were given a computerized test of equation rearrangement. Equations consisted of an unknown and two other elements (numbers or letters), and the operations of multiplication/division. The obtained results showed that younger participants are less accurate and slower in solving equations with letters (symbols) than those with numbers. This difference disappeared for older participants (16-17 years), suggesting that they had reached an abstract reasoning level, at least for this simple task. A corresponding conclusion arises from the analysis of their strategies which suggests that younger participants mostly used concrete strategies such as inserting numbers, while older participants typically used more abstract, rule-based strategies. These results indicate that the development of algebraic thinking is a process which unfolds over a long period of time. In agreement with previous research, we can conclude that, on average, children at the age of 15-16 transition from using concrete to abstract strategies while solving the algebra problems addressed within the present study. A better understanding of the timing and speed of students' transition from concrete arithmetic reasoning to abstract algebraic reasoning might help in designing better curricula and teaching materials that would ease that transition.

  8. Model-based object classification using unification grammars and abstract representations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liburdy, Kathleen A.; Schalkoff, Robert J.

    1993-04-01

    The design and implementation of a high level computer vision system which performs object classification is described. General object labelling and functional analysis require models of classes which display a wide range of geometric variations. A large representational gap exists between abstract criteria such as `graspable' and current geometric image descriptions. The vision system developed and described in this work addresses this problem and implements solutions based on a fusion of semantics, unification, and formal language theory. Object models are represented using unification grammars, which provide a framework for the integration of structure and semantics. A methodology for the derivation of symbolic image descriptions capable of interacting with the grammar-based models is described and implemented. A unification-based parser developed for this system achieves object classification by determining if the symbolic image description can be unified with the abstract criteria of an object model. Future research directions are indicated.

  9. Addressing the Missing Instructional Data Problem: Using a Teacher Log to Document Tier 1 Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kurz, Alexander; Elliott, Stephen N.; Roach, Andrew T.

    2015-01-01

    Response-to-intervention (RTI) systems posit that Tier 1 consists of high-quality general classroom instruction using evidence-based methods to address the needs of most students. However, data on the extent to which general education teachers provide such instruction are rarely collected. This missing instructional data problem may result in RTI…

  10. Geophysical abstracts 167, October-December 1956

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rabbitt, Mary C.; Vitaliano, Dorothy B.; Vesselowsky, S.T.; ,

    1956-01-01

    Geophysical Abstracts includes abstracts of technical papers and books on the physics of the solid earth, the application of physical methods and techniques to geologic problems, and geophysical exploration. The table of contents, which is alphabetically arranged, shows the material covered.Abstracts are prepared only of material that is believed to be generally available. Ordinarily abstracts are not published of material with limited circulation (such as dissertations, open-file reports, or memoranda) or of other papers presented orally at meetings unless summaries of substantial length are published. Abstracts of papers in Japanese and Chinese are based on abstracts or summaries in a western language accompanying the paper.

  11. Geophysical abstracts 164, January-March 1956

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rabbitt, Mary C.; Vitaliano, Dorothy B.; Vesselowsky, S.T.; ,

    1956-01-01

    Geophysical Abstracts includes abstracts of technical papers and books on the physics of the solid earth, the application of physical methods and techniques to geologic problems, and geophysical exploration. A new table of contents, alphabetically arranged, has been adapted to show more clearly the material covered.Abstracts are prepared only of material that is believed to be generally available. Ordinarily abstracts are not published of material with limited circulation (such as dissertations, open-file reports, or memoranda) or of papers presented orally at meetings unless summaries of substantial length are published. Abstracts of papers in Japanese and Chinese are based on abstracts or summaries in a western language accompanying the paper.

  12. Geophysical abstracts 166, July-September 1956

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rabbitt, Mary C.; Vitaliano, Dorothy B.; Vesselowsky, S.T.; ,

    1956-01-01

    Geophysical Abstracts includes abstracts of technical papers and books on the physics of the solid earth, the application of physical methods and techniques to geologic problems, and geophysical exploration. The table of contents, which is alphabetically arranged, shows the material covered.Abstracts are prepared only of material that is believed to be generally available. Ordinarily abstracts are not published of material with limited circulation (such as dissertations, open-file reports, or memoranda) or of other papers presented orally at meetings unless summaries of substantial length are published. Abstracts of papers in Japanese and Chinese are based on abstracts or summaries in a western language accompanying the paper.

  13. Geophysical abstracts 165, April-June 1956

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Rabbitt, Mary C.; Vitaliano, Dorothy B.; Vesselowsky, S.T.; ,

    1956-01-01

    Geophysical Abstracts includes abstracts of technical papers and books on the physics of the solid earth, the application of physical methods and techniques to geologic problems, and geophysical exploration. The table of contents, which is alphabetically arranged, shows the material covered.Abstracts are prepared only of material that is believed to be generally available. Ordinarily abstracts are not published of material with limited circulation (such as dissertations, open-file reports, or memoranda) or of other papers presented orally at meetings unless summaries of substantial length are published. Abstracts of papers in Japanese and Chinese are based on abstracts or summaries in a western language accompanying the paper.

  14. Cauldrons: An Abstraction for Concurrent Problems Solving. Revision.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1986-09-01

    iaCtio1ns are the cauldron, a mechanism for organizing inference into distinct reasoning contexts: the flmse. a way of mnodularly describing the components...reasoning systems. 1 . Main Points This paper develops three mechanisms for organizing large distributed reasoning systems: Cauldrons -- A chunk of...introduction.s ’Thc goal-node/frame mechanism supports a useful abstraction over the hare cauldrons implementation, providing a protocol for organizing

  15. Development of abstract mathematical reasoning: the case of algebra

    PubMed Central

    Susac, Ana; Bubic, Andreja; Vrbanc, Andrija; Planinic, Maja

    2014-01-01

    Algebra typically represents the students’ first encounter with abstract mathematical reasoning and it therefore causes significant difficulties for students who still reason concretely. The aim of the present study was to investigate the developmental trajectory of the students’ ability to solve simple algebraic equations. 311 participants between the ages of 13 and 17 were given a computerized test of equation rearrangement. Equations consisted of an unknown and two other elements (numbers or letters), and the operations of multiplication/division. The obtained results showed that younger participants are less accurate and slower in solving equations with letters (symbols) than those with numbers. This difference disappeared for older participants (16–17 years), suggesting that they had reached an abstract reasoning level, at least for this simple task. A corresponding conclusion arises from the analysis of their strategies which suggests that younger participants mostly used concrete strategies such as inserting numbers, while older participants typically used more abstract, rule-based strategies. These results indicate that the development of algebraic thinking is a process which unfolds over a long period of time. In agreement with previous research, we can conclude that, on average, children at the age of 15–16 transition from using concrete to abstract strategies while solving the algebra problems addressed within the present study. A better understanding of the timing and speed of students’ transition from concrete arithmetic reasoning to abstract algebraic reasoning might help in designing better curricula and teaching materials that would ease that transition. PMID:25228874

  16. Pervasive Sensing: Addressing the Heterogeneity Problem

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    O'Grady, Michael J.; Murdoch, Olga; Kroon, Barnard; Lillis, David; Carr, Dominic; Collier, Rem W.; O'Hare, Gregory M. P.

    2013-06-01

    Pervasive sensing is characterized by heterogeneity across a number of dimensions. This raises significant problems for those designing, implementing and deploying sensor networks, irrespective of application domain. Such problems include for example, issues of data provenance and integrity, security, and privacy amongst others. Thus engineering a network that is fit-for-purpose represents a significant challenge. In this paper, the issue of heterogeneity is explored from the perspective of those who seek to harness a pervasive sensing element in their applications. A initial solution is proposed based on the middleware construct.

  17. Overcoming barriers to addressing education problems with research design: a panel discussion.

    PubMed

    Yarris, Lalena M; Gruppen, Larry D; Hamstra, Stanley J; Anders Ericsson, K; Cook, David A

    2012-12-01

    A plenary panel session at the 2012 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference "Education Research in Emergency Medicine: Opportunities, Challenges, and Strategies for Success" discussed barriers educators face in imagining, designing, and implementing studies to address educational challenges. This proceedings article presents a general approach to getting started in education research. Four examples of studies from the medical education literature that illustrate a distinct way to approach specific research questions are discussed. The study designs used are applicable to a variety of education research problems in emergency medicine (EM). Potential applications of studies are discussed, as well as effects and lessons learned. © 2012 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

  18. Computational strategies to address chromatin structure problems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perišić, Ognjen; Schlick, Tamar

    2016-06-01

    While the genetic information is contained in double helical DNA, gene expression is a complex multilevel process that involves various functional units, from nucleosomes to fully formed chromatin fibers accompanied by a host of various chromatin binding enzymes. The chromatin fiber is a polymer composed of histone protein complexes upon which DNA wraps, like yarn upon many spools. The nature of chromatin structure has been an open question since the beginning of modern molecular biology. Many experiments have shown that the chromatin fiber is a highly dynamic entity with pronounced structural diversity that includes properties of idealized zig-zag and solenoid models, as well as other motifs. This diversity can produce a high packing ratio and thus inhibit access to a majority of the wound DNA. Despite much research, chromatin’s dynamic structure has not yet been fully described. Long stretches of chromatin fibers exhibit puzzling dynamic behavior that requires interpretation in the light of gene expression patterns in various tissue and organisms. The properties of chromatin fiber can be investigated with experimental techniques, like in vitro biochemistry, in vivo imagining, and high-throughput chromosome capture technology. Those techniques provide useful insights into the fiber’s structure and dynamics, but they are limited in resolution and scope, especially regarding compact fibers and chromosomes in the cellular milieu. Complementary but specialized modeling techniques are needed to handle large floppy polymers such as the chromatin fiber. In this review, we discuss current approaches in the chromatin structure field with an emphasis on modeling, such as molecular dynamics and coarse-grained computational approaches. Combinations of these computational techniques complement experiments and address many relevant biological problems, as we will illustrate with special focus on epigenetic modulation of chromatin structure.

  19. Activity Theory as a Tool to Address the Problem of Chemistry's Lack of Relevance in Secondary School Chemical Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Van Aalsvoort, Joke

    2004-01-01

    In a previous article, the problem of chemistry's lack of relevance in secondary chemical education was analysed using logical positivism as a tool. This article starts with the hypothesis that the problem can be addressed by means of activity theory, one of the important theories within the sociocultural school. The reason for this expectation is…

  20. What is occupational therapy’s role in addressing sleep problems among older adults?

    PubMed Central

    Leland, Natalie E.; Marcione, Nicole; Niemiec, Stacey L. Schepens; Don Fogelberg, Kaivalya Kelkar

    2014-01-01

    Sleep problems, prevalent among older adults, are associated with poor outcomes and high healthcare costs. In 2008, rest and sleep became its own area of occupation in the AOTA Occupational Therapy Practice Framework. This scoping review examined a broad context of sleep research in order to highlight efficacious interventions for older adults that fall within the occupational therapy scope of practice and present an agenda for research and practice. Four sleep intervention areas clearly aligned with the Practice Framework, including cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, physical activity, and multi-component interventions. Occupational therapy is primed to address sleep problems by targeting the context and environment, performance patterns, and limited engagement in evening activities that may contribute to poor sleep. Occupational therapy researchers and clinicians need to work collaboratively to establish the evidence-base for occupation-centered sleep interventions in order to improve the health and quality of life of the older adult. PMID:24844879

  1. Knowledge acquisition for temporal abstraction.

    PubMed

    Stein, A; Musen, M A; Shahar, Y

    1996-01-01

    Temporal abstraction is the task of detecting relevant patterns in data over time. The knowledge-based temporal-abstraction method uses knowledge about a clinical domain's contexts, external events, and parameters to create meaningful interval-based abstractions from raw time-stamped clinical data. In this paper, we describe the acquisition and maintenance of domain-specific temporal-abstraction knowledge. Using the PROTEGE-II framework, we have designed a graphical tool for acquiring temporal knowledge directly from expert physicians, maintaining the knowledge in a sharable form, and converting the knowledge into a suitable format for use by an appropriate problem-solving method. In initial tests, the tool offered significant gains in our ability to rapidly acquire temporal knowledge and to use that knowledge to perform automated temporal reasoning.

  2. Using the concrete-representational-abstract approach to support students with intellectual disability to solve change-making problems.

    PubMed

    Bouck, Emily; Park, Jiyoon; Nickell, Barb

    2017-01-01

    The Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) instructional approach supports students with disabilities in mathematics. Yet, no research explores the use of the CRA approach to teach functional-based mathematics for this population and limited research explores the CRA approach for students who have a disability different from a learning disability, such as an intellectual disability. This study investigated the effects of using the CRA approach to teach middle school students in a self-contained mathematics class focused on functional-based mathematics to solve making change problems. Researchers used a multiple probe across participants design to determine if a functional relation existed between the CRA strategy and students' ability to solve making change problems. The study of consisted of five-to-eight baseline sessions, 9-11 intervention sessions, and two maintenance sessions for each student. Data were collected on percentage of making change problems students solved correctly. The CRA instructional strategy was effective in teaching all four participants to correctly solve the problems; a functional relation between the CRA approach and solving making change with coins problems across all participants was found. The CRA instructional approach can be used to support students with mild intellectual disability or severe learning disabilities in learning functional-based mathematics, such as purchasing skills (i.e., making change). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Abstraction in perceptual symbol systems.

    PubMed Central

    Barsalou, Lawrence W

    2003-01-01

    After reviewing six senses of abstraction, this article focuses on abstractions that take the form of summary representations. Three central properties of these abstractions are established: ( i ) type-token interpretation; (ii) structured representation; and (iii) dynamic realization. Traditional theories of representation handle interpretation and structure well but are not sufficiently dynamical. Conversely, connectionist theories are exquisitely dynamic but have problems with structure. Perceptual symbol systems offer an approach that implements all three properties naturally. Within this framework, a loose collection of property and relation simulators develops to represent abstractions. Type-token interpretation results from binding a property simulator to a region of a perceived or simulated category member. Structured representation results from binding a configuration of property and relation simulators to multiple regions in an integrated manner. Dynamic realization results from applying different subsets of property and relation simulators to category members on different occasions. From this standpoint, there are no permanent or complete abstractions of a category in memory. Instead, abstraction is the skill to construct temporary online interpretations of a category's members. Although an infinite number of abstractions are possible, attractors develop for habitual approaches to interpretation. This approach provides new ways of thinking about abstraction phenomena in categorization, inference, background knowledge and learning. PMID:12903648

  4. An Integrated Planning Representation Using Macros, Abstractions, and Cases

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Baltes, Jacky; MacDonald, Bruce

    1992-01-01

    Planning will be an essential part of future autonomous robots and integrated intelligent systems. This paper focuses on learning problem solving knowledge in planning systems. The system is based on a common representation for macros, abstractions, and cases. Therefore, it is able to exploit both classical and case based techniques. The general operators in a successful plan derivation would be assessed for their potential usefulness, and some stored. The feasibility of this approach was studied through the implementation of a learning system for abstraction. New macros are motivated by trying to improve the operatorset. One heuristic used to improve the operator set is generating operators with more general preconditions than existing ones. This heuristic leads naturally to abstraction hierarchies. This investigation showed promising results on the towers of Hanoi problem. The paper concludes by describing methods for learning other problem solving knowledge. This knowledge can be represented by allowing operators at different levels of abstraction in a refinement.

  5. Identifying problem and compulsive gamblers.

    PubMed Central

    van Es, R.

    2000-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To present a meta-analysis of current research on the prevalence, identification, and treatment of problem and compulsive gamblers. QUALITY OF EVIDENCE: Problem and compulsive gambling was not a socio-scientific concern until the last two decades. Hence research on this topic is limited. The summary and analysis for this paper relied on computer searches of journal and news abstracts in addition to direct contact with organizations addressing the identification and treatment of compulsive gamblers. MAIN MESSAGE: An estimated 5% of those who gamble run into problems. About 1% of those who gamble are predicted to experience serious problems. Successful treatment of problem and compulsive gambling continues to be a challenge. Although cognitive therapy has been the favoured approach, a combination of several therapeutic approaches is advocated. CONCLUSIONS: Problem and compulsive gambling can present a real health threat. As with other addictions, treatment strategies continue to be a baffling social problem. Aware and informed physicians can have a pivotal role in the difficult process of identifying, acknowledging, and remediating problem and compulsive gambling. PMID:10907572

  6. An analysis of abstracts presented to the College on Problems of Drug Dependence meeting and subsequent publication in peer review journals

    PubMed Central

    Valderrama-Zurián, Juan Carlos; Bolaños-Pizarro, Máxima; Bueno-Cañigral, Francisco Jesús; Álvarez, F Javier; Ontalba-Ruipérez, José Antonio; Aleixandre-Benavent, Rafael

    2009-01-01

    Background Subsequent publication rate of abstracts presented at meetings is seen as an indicator of the interest and quality of the meeting. We have analyzed characteristics and rate publication in peer-reviewed journals derived from oral communications and posters presented at the 1999 College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) meeting. Methods All 689 abstracts presented at the 1999 CPDD meeting were reviewed. In order to find the existence of publications derived from abstracts presented at that meeting, a set of bibliographical searches in the database Medline was developed in July 2006. Information was gathered concerning the abstracts, articles and journals in which they were published. Results 254 out of 689 abstracts (36.9%) gave rise to at least one publication. The oral communications had a greater likelihood of being published than did the posters (OR = 2.53, 95% CI 1.80-3.55). The average time lapse to publication of an article was 672.97 days. The number of authors per work in the subsequent publications was 4.55. The articles were published in a total of 84 journals, of which eight were indexed with the subject term Substance-Related Disorders. Psychopharmacology (37 articles, 14.5%) was the journal that published the greatest number of articles subsequent to the abstracts presented at the 1999 CPDD meeting. Conclusion One out of every three abstracts presented to the 1999 CPDD meeting were later published in peer-reviewed journals indexed in Medline. The subsequent publication of the abstracts presented in the CPDD meetings should be actively encouraged, as this maximizes the dissemination of the scientific research and therefore the investment. PMID:19889211

  7. Send Me No Abstract.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Levy, Steven

    1985-01-01

    Discusses Magazine Index's practice of assigning letter grades (sometimes inaccurate) to book, restaurant, and movie reviews, thus allowing patrons to get the point of the review from the index rather than the article itself, and argues that this situation is indicative of the larger problem of reliability of abstracts. (MBR)

  8. On problems in defining abstract and metaphysical concepts--emergence of a new model.

    PubMed

    Nahod, Bruno; Nahod, Perina Vukša

    2014-12-01

    Basic anthropological terminology is the first project covering terms from the domain of the social sciences under the Croatian Special Field Terminology program (Struna). Problems that have been sporadically noticed or whose existence could have been presumed during the processing of terms mainly from technical fields and sciences have finally emerged in "anthropology". The principles of the General Theory of Terminology (GTT), which are followed in Struna, were put to a truly exacting test, and sometimes stretched beyond their limits when applied to concepts that do not necessarily have references in the physical world; namely, abstract and metaphysical concepts. We are currently developing a new terminographical model based on Idealized Cognitive Models (ICM), which will hopefully ensure a better cross-filed implementation of various types of concepts and their relations. The goal of this paper is to introduce the theoretical bases of our model. Additionally, we will present a pilot study of the series of experiments in which we are trying to investigate the nature of conceptual categorization in special languages and its proposed difference form categorization in general language.

  9. Children and Computers Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rothenberg, Dianne, Ed.

    1992-01-01

    Abstracts of reports of eight research studies on computer uses in children's education are presented. Topics covered include (1) LOGO computer language; (2) computer graphics for art instruction; (3) animation; (4) problem solving; (5) children's use of symbols; (6) an evaluation of a Chapter 1 program involving children's computer use; (7) peer…

  10. Convocation address.

    PubMed

    Swaminathan, M S

    1998-07-01

    This address delivered to the 40th convocation of the International Institute for Population Sciences in India in 1998 opens by noting that a shortage of jobs for youth is India's most urgent problem but that the problems that attend the increasing numbers of elderly also require serious attention. The address then notes that the Earth's population is growing at an unsustainable rate while economic inequities among countries are increasing, so that, while intellectual property is becoming the most important asset in developed countries, nutritional anemia among pregnant women causes their offspring to be unable to achieve their full intellectual potential from birth. Next, the address uses a discussion of the 18th-century work on population of the Marquis de Condorcet and of Thomas Malthus to lead into a consideration of estimated increased needs of countries like India and China to import food grains in the near future. Next, the progress of demographic transition in Indian states is covered and applied to Mahbub ul Haq's measure of human deprivation developed for and applied to the region of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives). The address continues by reiterating some of the major recommendations forwarded by a government of India committee charged in 1995 with drafting a national population policy. Finally, the address suggests specific actions that could be important components of the Hunger-Free India Programme and concludes that all success rests on the successful implementation of appropriate population policies.

  11. Modelling Metamorphism by Abstract Interpretation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dalla Preda, Mila; Giacobazzi, Roberto; Debray, Saumya; Coogan, Kevin; Townsend, Gregg M.

    Metamorphic malware apply semantics-preserving transformations to their own code in order to foil detection systems based on signature matching. In this paper we consider the problem of automatically extract metamorphic signatures from these malware. We introduce a semantics for self-modifying code, later called phase semantics, and prove its correctness by showing that it is an abstract interpretation of the standard trace semantics. Phase semantics precisely models the metamorphic code behavior by providing a set of traces of programs which correspond to the possible evolutions of the metamorphic code during execution. We show that metamorphic signatures can be automatically extracted by abstract interpretation of the phase semantics, and that regular metamorphism can be modelled as finite state automata abstraction of the phase semantics.

  12. The identification of clinically important elements within medical journal abstracts: Patient-Population-Problem, Exposure-Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Duration and Results (PECODR).

    PubMed

    Dawes, Martin; Pluye, Pierre; Shea, Laura; Grad, Roland; Greenberg, Arlene; Nie, Jian-Yun

    2007-01-01

    Information retrieval in primary care is becoming more difficult as the volume of medical information held in electronic databases expands. The lexical structure of this information might permit automatic indexing and improved retrieval. To determine the possibility of identifying the key elements of clinical studies, namely Patient-Population-Problem, Exposure-Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Duration and Results (PECODR), from abstracts of medical journals. We used a convenience sample of 20 synopses from the journal Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) and their matching original journal article abstracts obtained from PubMed. Three independent primary care professionals identified PECODR-related extracts of text. Rules were developed to define each PECODR element and the selection process of characters, words, phrases and sentences. From the extracts of text related to PECODR elements, potential lexical patterns that might help identify those elements were proposed and assessed using NVivo software. A total of 835 PECODR-related text extracts containing 41,263 individual text characters were identified from 20 EBM journal synopses. There were 759 extracts in the corresponding PubMed abstracts containing 31,947 characters. PECODR elements were found in nearly all abstracts and synopses with the exception of duration. There was agreement on 86.6% of the extracts from the 20 EBM synopses and 85.0% on the corresponding PubMed abstracts. After consensus this rose to 98.4% and 96.9% respectively. We found potential text patterns in the Comparison, Outcome and Results elements of both EBM synopses and PubMed abstracts. Some phrases and words are used frequently and are specific for these elements in both synopses and abstracts. Results suggest a PECODR-related structure exists in medical abstracts and that there might be lexical patterns specific to these elements. More sophisticated computer-assisted lexical-semantic analysis might refine these results, and pave the way

  13. Static Analysis Using Abstract Interpretation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Arthaud, Maxime

    2017-01-01

    Short presentation about static analysis and most particularly abstract interpretation. It starts with a brief explanation on why static analysis is used at NASA. Then, it describes the IKOS (Inference Kernel for Open Static Analyzers) tool chain. Results on NASA projects are shown. Several well known algorithms from the static analysis literature are then explained (such as pointer analyses, memory analyses, weak relational abstract domains, function summarization, etc.). It ends with interesting problems we encountered (such as C++ analysis with exception handling, or the detection of integer overflow).

  14. Experimental philosophy and the problem of free will.

    PubMed

    Nichols, Shaun

    2011-03-18

    Many philosophical problems are rooted in everyday thought, and experimental philosophy uses social scientific techniques to study the psychological underpinnings of such problems. In the case of free will, research suggests that people in a diverse range of cultures reject determinism, but people give conflicting responses on whether determinism would undermine moral responsibility. When presented with abstract questions, people tend to maintain that determinism would undermine responsibility, but when presented with concrete cases of wrongdoing, people tend to say that determinism is consistent with moral responsibility. It remains unclear why people reject determinism and what drives people's conflicted attitudes about responsibility. Experimental philosophy aims to address these issues and thereby illuminate the philosophical problem of free will.

  15. Addressing Society's Problems in a Global Studies Class.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pesce, Louis; And Others

    1996-01-01

    Describes the adaptation of the Future Problem-Solving Process (FPS) in a global studies class. The process applies state-of-the-art critical thinking and problem solving to unstable areas such as the Middle East and the former Soviet Union. Includes handouts directing the students through the process. (MJP)

  16. Scientific meeting abstracts: significance, access, and trends.

    PubMed Central

    Kelly, J A

    1998-01-01

    Abstracts of scientific papers and posters that are presented at annual scientific meetings of professional societies are part of the broader category of conference literature. They are an important avenue for the dissemination of current data. While timely and succinct, these abstracts present problems such as an abbreviated peer review and incomplete bibliographic access. METHODS: Seventy societies of health sciences professionals were surveyed about the publication of abstracts from their annual meetings. Nineteen frequently cited journals also were contacted about their policies on the citation of meeting abstracts. Ten databases were searched for the presence of meetings abstracts. RESULTS: Ninety percent of the seventy societies publish their abstracts, with nearly half appearing in the society's journal. Seventy-seven percent of the societies supply meeting attendees with a copy of each abstract, and 43% make their abstracts available in an electronic format. Most of the journals surveyed allow meeting abstracts to be cited. Bibliographic access to these abstracts does not appear to be widespread. CONCLUSIONS: Meeting abstracts play an important role in the dissemination of scientific knowledge. Bibliographic access to meeting abstracts is very limited. The trend toward making meeting abstracts available via the Internet has the potential to give a broader audience access to the information they contain. PMID:9549015

  17. Constructing Abstraction Hierarchies Using a Skill-Symbol Loop

    PubMed Central

    Konidaris, George

    2017-01-01

    We describe a framework for building abstraction hierarchies whereby an agent alternates skill- and representation-construction phases to construct a sequence of increasingly abstract Markov decision processes. Our formulation builds on recent results showing that the appropriate abstract representation of a problem is specified by the agent’s skills. We describe how such a hierarchy can be used for fast planning, and illustrate the construction of an appropriate hierarchy for the Taxi domain. PMID:28579718

  18. Evidence-Based Practices for Addressing Classroom Behavior Problems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Park, Hye-Suk Lee; Lynch, Sharon A.

    2014-01-01

    Teachers of young children can plan proactively so that they avoid some of the serious problem behaviors in the classroom. The strategies presented in this article are part of a problem solving approach to challenging behavior based on the principles of positive behavioral support. Although these methods presented here have research-based…

  19. In Situ Airborne Instrumentation: Addressing and Solving Measurement Problems in Ice Clouds

    DOE PAGES

    Baumgardner, Darrel; Kok, Greg; Avallone, L.; ...

    2012-02-01

    A meeting of 31 international experts on in situ measurements from aircraft was held to identify unresolved questions concerning ice formation and evolution in ice clouds, assess the current state of instrumentation that can address these problems, introduce emerging technology that may overcome current measurement issues and recommend future courses of action that can improve our understanding of ice cloud microphysical processes and their impact on the environment. The meeting proceedings and outcome has been described in detail in a manuscript submitted to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (BAMS) on March 24, 2011. This paper is currently undermore » review. The remainder of this summary, in the following pages, is the text of the BAMS article. A technical note that will be published by the National Center for Atmospheric Research is currently underway and is expected to be published before the end of the year.« less

  20. Identifying problems and generating recommendations for enhancing complex systems: applying the abstraction hierarchy framework as an analytical tool.

    PubMed

    Xu, Wei

    2007-12-01

    This study adopts J. Rasmussen's (1985) abstraction hierarchy (AH) framework as an analytical tool to identify problems and pinpoint opportunities to enhance complex systems. The process of identifying problems and generating recommendations for complex systems using conventional methods is usually conducted based on incompletely defined work requirements. As the complexity of systems rises, the sheer mass of data generated from these methods becomes unwieldy to manage in a coherent, systematic form for analysis. There is little known work on adopting a broader perspective to fill these gaps. AH was used to analyze an aircraft-automation system in order to further identify breakdowns in pilot-automation interactions. Four steps follow: developing an AH model for the system, mapping the data generated by various methods onto the AH, identifying problems based on the mapped data, and presenting recommendations. The breakdowns lay primarily with automation operations that were more goal directed. Identified root causes include incomplete knowledge content and ineffective knowledge structure in pilots' mental models, lack of effective higher-order functional domain information displayed in the interface, and lack of sufficient automation procedures for pilots to effectively cope with unfamiliar situations. The AH is a valuable analytical tool to systematically identify problems and suggest opportunities for enhancing complex systems. It helps further examine the automation awareness problems and identify improvement areas from a work domain perspective. Applications include the identification of problems and generation of recommendations for complex systems as well as specific recommendations regarding pilot training, flight deck interfaces, and automation procedures.

  1. Evaluation Practice and Theory: Up and down the Ladder of Abstraction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leviton, Laura C.

    2015-01-01

    Debra Rog presented the 2014 Eleanor Chelimsky Forum address, offering ways to integrate evaluation theory and practice by abundant use of practice examples. These examples illustrate the effective use of the Ladder of Abstraction from semantics, working from the concrete to the abstract and back again.

  2. Rhetoric and Public Address: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," January through June 1980 (Vol. 40 Nos. 7 through 12).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, IL.

    This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 20 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the campaign communication during the Carter-Ford television debates; (2) apprehensiveness and performance in public speaking; (3) a history and criticism of…

  3. Rhetoric and Public Address: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," January through June 1983 (Vol. 43 Nos. 7 through 12).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, IL.

    This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 31 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the rhetoric of confrontation in Northern Ireland; (2) rhetorical arguments in public health regulations; (3) epideictic discourse in the founding of the…

  4. First LDEF Post-Retrieval Symposium abstracts

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Levine, Arlene S. (Compiler)

    1991-01-01

    The LDE facility was designed to better understand the environments of space and the effects of prolonged exposure in these environments on future spacecraft. The symposium abstracts presented here are organized according to the symposium agenda into five sessions. The first session provides an overview of the LDEF, the experiments, the mission, and the natural and induced environments the spacecraft and experiments encountered during the mission. The second session presents results to date from studies to better define the environments of near-Earth space. The third session addresses studies of the effects of the space environments on spacecraft materials. The fourth session addresses studies of the effects of the space environments on spacecraft systems. And the fifth session addresses other subjects such as results of the LDEF life science and crystal growth experiments.

  5. Rhetoric and Public Address: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," July through December 1980 (Vol. 41 Nos. 1 through 6).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, IL.

    This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 16 titles deal with the following topics: (1) a psycholinguistic analysis of the rhetoric of Abba S. Eban; (2) synergetic tetrahedral communication models; (3) a form critical approach to the oral traditions of the black church…

  6. Rhetoric and Public Address: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," July through December 1984 (Vol. 45 Nos. 1 through 6).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, IL.

    This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 10 titles deal with the following topics: (1) the television sermons of Jerry Falwell, W. A. Criswell, Robert Schuller, Jimmy Swaggert, James Robinson, and Howard Estep; (2) the preaching of Wallace E. Fisher; (3) Theodore…

  7. Rhetoric and Public Address: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," January through June 1982 (Vol. 42 Nos. 7 through 12).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, IL.

    This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 14 titles deal with the following topics: (1) the rhetoric of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; (2) the rhetorical strategies employed in the political speaking of George C. Wallace in the 1968 United States presidential…

  8. Rhetoric and Public Address: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," July through December 1982 (Vol. 43 Nos. 1 through 6).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, IL.

    This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 11 titles deal with the following topics: (1) the credibility of the sources of public information during the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant crisis; (2) the anticorporation rhetoric of New York reformer Samuel Seabury; (3)…

  9. Rhetoric and Public Address: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," July through December 1985 (Vol. 46 Nos. 1 through 6).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, IL.

    This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 15 titles deal with the following topics: (1) the role of public discourse in the soil conservation movement from 1865 to 1935; (2) Dwight D. Eisenhower's public imagery of the Soviet Union and Communist China as presented in…

  10. A Thesaurus for Use in a Computer-Aided Abstracting Tool Kit.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Craven, Timothy C.

    1993-01-01

    Discusses the use of thesauri in automatic indexing and describes the development of a prototype computerized abstractor's assistant. Topics addressed include TEXNET, a text network management system; the use of TEXNET for abstracting; the structure and use of a thesaurus for abstracting in TEXNET; and weighted terms. (Contains 26 references.)…

  11. Rhetoric and Public Address: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," January through June 1985 (Vol. 45 Nos. 7 through 12).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, IL.

    This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 20 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the rhetoric of the Moral Majority, (2) epideictic rhetoric in the works of 16th cntury humanist John Colet, (3) rhetoric and the Equal Rights Amendment, (4)…

  12. The Effects of the Concrete-Representational-Abstract Integration Strategy on the Ability of Students with Learning Disabilities to Multiply Linear Expressions within Area Problems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strickland, Tricia K.; Maccini, Paula

    2013-01-01

    We examined the effects of the Concrete-Representational-Abstract Integration strategy on the ability of secondary students with learning disabilities to multiply linear algebraic expressions embedded within contextualized area problems. A multiple-probe design across three participants was used. Results indicated that the integration of the…

  13. Information Leakage Analysis by Abstract Interpretation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zanioli, Matteo; Cortesi, Agostino

    Protecting the confidentiality of information stored in a computer system or transmitted over a public network is a relevant problem in computer security. The approach of information flow analysis involves performing a static analysis of the program with the aim of proving that there will not be leaks of sensitive information. In this paper we propose a new domain that combines variable dependency analysis, based on propositional formulas, and variables' value analysis, based on polyhedra. The resulting analysis is strictly more accurate than the state of the art abstract interpretation based analyses for information leakage detection. Its modular construction allows to deal with the tradeoff between efficiency and accuracy by tuning the granularity of the abstraction and the complexity of the abstract operators.

  14. Time to address the problems at the neural interface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Durand, Dominique M.; Ghovanloo, Maysam; Krames, Elliot

    2014-04-01

    interface with the CNS. In 2013, two symposia were held independently to discuss this problem: one was held at the International Neuromodulation Society's 11th World Congress in Berlin and supported by the International Neuromodulation Society1 and the other at the 6th International Neural Engineering conference in San Diego2 and was supported by the NSF. Clearly, the neuromodulation and the neural engineering communities are keen to solve this problem. Experts from the field were assembled to discuss the problems and potential solutions. Although many important points were raised, few emerged as key issues. (1) The ability to access remotely and reliably internal neural signals . Although some of the technological problems have already been solved, this ability to access neural signals is still a significant problem since reliable and robust transcutaneous telemetry systems with large numbers of signals, each with wide bandwidth, are not readily available to researchers. (2) A translation strategy taking basic research to the clinic . The lack of understanding of the biological response to implanted constructs and the inability to monitor the sites and match the mechanical properties of the probe to the neural tissue properties continue to be an unsolved problem. In addition, the low levels of collaboration among neuroscientists, clinicians, patients and other stakeholders throughout different phases of research and development were considered to be significant impediments to progress. (3) Fundamental tools development procedures for neural interfacing . There are many laboratories testing various devices with different sets of criteria, but there is no consensus on the failure modes. The reliability, robustness of metrics and testing standards for such devices have not been established, either in academia or in industry. To start addressing this problem, the FDA has established a laboratory to test the reliability of some neural devices. Although the discussion was mostly

  15. A grounded theory of abstraction in artificial intelligence.

    PubMed Central

    Zucker, Jean-Daniel

    2003-01-01

    In artificial intelligence, abstraction is commonly used to account for the use of various levels of details in a given representation language or the ability to change from one level to another while preserving useful properties. Abstraction has been mainly studied in problem solving, theorem proving, knowledge representation (in particular for spatial and temporal reasoning) and machine learning. In such contexts, abstraction is defined as a mapping between formalisms that reduces the computational complexity of the task at stake. By analysing the notion of abstraction from an information quantity point of view, we pinpoint the differences and the complementary role of reformulation and abstraction in any representation change. We contribute to extending the existing semantic theories of abstraction to be grounded on perception, where the notion of information quantity is easier to characterize formally. In the author's view, abstraction is best represented using abstraction operators, as they provide semantics for classifying different abstractions and support the automation of representation changes. The usefulness of a grounded theory of abstraction in the cartography domain is illustrated. Finally, the importance of explicitly representing abstraction for designing more autonomous and adaptive systems is discussed. PMID:12903672

  16. A grounded theory of abstraction in artificial intelligence.

    PubMed

    Zucker, Jean-Daniel

    2003-07-29

    In artificial intelligence, abstraction is commonly used to account for the use of various levels of details in a given representation language or the ability to change from one level to another while preserving useful properties. Abstraction has been mainly studied in problem solving, theorem proving, knowledge representation (in particular for spatial and temporal reasoning) and machine learning. In such contexts, abstraction is defined as a mapping between formalisms that reduces the computational complexity of the task at stake. By analysing the notion of abstraction from an information quantity point of view, we pinpoint the differences and the complementary role of reformulation and abstraction in any representation change. We contribute to extending the existing semantic theories of abstraction to be grounded on perception, where the notion of information quantity is easier to characterize formally. In the author's view, abstraction is best represented using abstraction operators, as they provide semantics for classifying different abstractions and support the automation of representation changes. The usefulness of a grounded theory of abstraction in the cartography domain is illustrated. Finally, the importance of explicitly representing abstraction for designing more autonomous and adaptive systems is discussed.

  17. Ionic liquids for addressing unmet needs in healthcare

    PubMed Central

    Agatemor, Christian; Ibsen, Kelly N.; Tanner, Eden E. L.

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Advances in the field of ionic liquids have opened new applications beyond their traditional use as solvents into other fields especially healthcare. The broad chemical space, rich with structurally diverse ions, and coupled with the flexibility to form complementary ion pairs enables task‐specific optimization at the molecular level to design ionic liquids for envisioned functions. Consequently, ionic liquids now are tailored as innovative solutions to address many problems in medicine. To date, ionic liquids have been designed to promote dissolution of poorly soluble drugs and disrupt physiological barriers to transport drugs to targeted sites. Also, their antimicrobial activity has been demonstrated and could be exploited to prevent and treat infectious diseases. Metal‐containing ionic liquids have also been designed and offer unique features due to incorporation of metals. Here, we review application‐driven investigations of ionic liquids in medicine with respect to current status and future potential. PMID:29376130

  18. Addressing Problems Encountered in Case-Based Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Turgeon, A. J.

    2007-01-01

    TURF 436 (Case Studies in Turfgrass Management) is the capstone course for turfgrass science majors at the Pennsylvania State University. Students are introduced to problems and complex problematic situations encountered in the management of golf and sports turf and in professional lawn-care operations. Following completion of the orientation case…

  19. PS2-06: Best Practices for Advancing Multi-site Chart Abstraction Research

    PubMed Central

    Blick, Noelle; Cole, Deanna; King, Colleen; Riordan, Rick; Von Worley, Ann; Yarbro, Patty

    2012-01-01

    Background/Aims Multi-site chart abstraction studies are becoming increasingly common within the HMORN. Differences in systems among HMORN sites can pose significant obstacles to the success of these studies. It is therefore crucial to standardize abstraction activities by following best practices for multi-site chart abstraction, as consistency of processes across sites will increase efficiencies and enhance data quality. Methods Over the past few months the authors have been meeting to identify obstacles to multi-site chart abstraction and to address ways in which multi-site chart abstraction processes can be systemized and standardized. The aim of this workgroup is to create a best practice guide for multi-site chart abstraction studies. Focus areas include: abstractor training, format for chart abstraction (database, paper, etc), data quality, redaction, mechanism for transferring data, site specific access to medical records, IRB/HIPAA concerns, and budgetary issues. Results The results of the workgroup’s efforts (the best practice guide) will be presented by a panel of experts at the 2012 HMORN conference. The presentation format will also focus on discussion among attendees to elicit further input and to identify areas that need to be further addressed. Subsequently, the best practice guide will be posted on the HMORN website. Discussion The best practice guide for multi-site chart abstraction studies will establish sound guidelines and serve as an aid to researchers embarking on multi-site chart abstraction studies. Efficiencies and data quality will be further enhanced with standardized multi-site chart abstraction practices.

  20. Addressing the Curriculum Problem in Doctoral Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Green, Bill

    2012-01-01

    How best to understand the curriculum problem in doctoral research education: that is the question that this paper engages. It begins by noting that curriculum as such is little referenced and inadequately theorised in higher education and certainly in doctoral education, and indeed has been described as a "missing term". The paper then…

  1. Ninth workshop on seedling physiology and growth problems in oak plantings (abstracts)

    Treesearch

    D.R. Weigel; J.W. Van Sambeek; C.H., eds. Michler

    2005-01-01

    Research results and ongoing research activities in field performance of oak plantings, seedling propagation, genetics, acorn germination, and natural regeneration of oaks are described in 26 abstracts.

  2. Computing through Scientific Abstractions in SysBioPS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chin, George; Stephan, Eric G.; Gracio, Deborah K.

    2004-10-13

    Today, biologists and bioinformaticists have a tremendous amount of computational power at their disposal. With the availability of supercomputers, burgeoning scientific databases and digital libraries such as GenBank and PubMed, and pervasive computational environments such as the Grid, biologists have access to a wealth of computational capabilities and scientific data at hand. Yet, the rapid development of computational technologies has far exceeded the typical biologist’s ability to effectively apply the technology in their research. Computational sciences research and development efforts such as the Biology Workbench, BioSPICE (Biological Simulation Program for Intra-Cellular Evaluation), and BioCoRE (Biological Collaborative Research Environment) are importantmore » in connecting biologists and their scientific problems to computational infrastructures. On the Computational Cell Environment and Heuristic Entity-Relationship Building Environment projects at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, we are jointly developing a new breed of scientific problem solving environment called SysBioPSE that will allow biologists to access and apply computational resources in the scientific research context. In contrast to other computational science environments, SysBioPSE operates as an abstraction layer above a computational infrastructure. The goal of SysBioPSE is to allow biologists to apply computational resources in the context of the scientific problems they are addressing and the scientific perspectives from which they conduct their research. More specifically, SysBioPSE allows biologists to capture and represent scientific concepts and theories and experimental processes, and to link these views to scientific applications, data repositories, and computer systems.« less

  3. Fifth workshop on seedling physiology and growth problems in oak plantings (abstracts).

    Treesearch

    Janette R. Thompson; Richard C. Schultz; J.W. Van Sambeek

    1993-01-01

    Research results and ongoing research activities in field performance of planted trees, seedling propagation, physiology, genetics, acorn germination, and natural regeneration for oaks are described in 30 abstracts.

  4. Can Abstract Concepts Be Taught to All Students?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fields, Steve

    A review of the literature was conducted to determine if there are instructional treatments that are effective at fostering the learning (conceptualization) of abstract concepts and what personal and/or cognitive attributes favor conceptualization. Areas addressed include: reporting relative effectiveness of findings (including the reporting of…

  5. RCDPM 1992 Conference Book of Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    1992

    This booklet contains 51 abstracts of papers presented at the 1992 conference for the Research Council for Diagnostic and Prescriptive Mathematics (RCDPM). Topics covered include: the use of expressive writing to enhance metacognition, adult assessment, cooperative learning assessment, visualization in problem solving, deaf students' beliefs about…

  6. A tensor Banach algebra approach to abstract kinetic equations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Greenberg, W.; van der Mee, C. V. M.

    The study deals with a concrete algebraic construction providing the existence theory for abstract kinetic equation boundary-value problems, when the collision operator A is an accretive finite-rank perturbation of the identity operator in a Hilbert space H. An algebraic generalization of the Bochner-Phillips theorem is utilized to study solvability of the abstract boundary-value problem without any regulatory condition. A Banach algebra in which the convolution kernel acts is obtained explicitly, and this result is used to prove a perturbation theorem for bisemigroups, which then plays a vital role in solving the initial equations.

  7. Extended abstracts for an international conference on the development of the North and problems of recultivation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Everett, K.R.

    1994-12-31

    Ecological problems in many regions on Earth are the result of increasing technological pressure on the environment. These problems concern many of us and cause mankind to unite in order to search for means to protect the environment. Scientists, especially are responsible for the protection of the biosphere. The objective of this conference was to discuss the results of studies on the present condition of the environment in the Far North where the industrial pressure is increasing. The participants of this conference also offered and suggested various necessary measures for the protection of the region and restoration of its disturbedmore » sites. The specific structural characteristics of the environment of the Far North, tundra and northern taiga, cause its fragility and vulnerability to anthropogenic impact. The destruction of the thin, weak layer of soil and vegetation cover changes the thermal balance and thus causes the development of erosion process, which in their turn increase the zone of the direct technogenous destruction. Self restoration processes in this harsh climate usually are slow. The preservation of the ecological integrity in the Far North is essential for the stability of the biosphere of the planet. The specifics of the natural conditions must be taken into account so that man will be able to develop the means of intensive agro-technology that can speed up the process of restoration of the biocenosis in the damaged areas. The extended abstracts of the conference reports that constitute this volume contain both theoretical discussions of problems of recultivation as well as accounts of experimental studies and applied explorations.« less

  8. Teachers Are Designers: Addressing Problems of Practice in Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Henriksen, Danah; Richardson, Carmen

    2017-01-01

    Teachers may be confused or put off by buzzwords like "design thinking," but the concept is a useful one: To solve stubborn, everyday problems of practice in schools, they should approach those problems strategically and systematically. Specifically, explain the authors, teachers gain new insights into challenges they face when they take…

  9. Title TBA: Revising the Abstract Submission Process.

    PubMed

    Tibon, Roni; Open Science Committee, Cbu; Henson, Richard

    2018-04-01

    Academic conferences are among the most prolific scientific activities, yet the current abstract submission and review process has serious limitations. We propose a revised process that would address these limitations, achieve some of the aims of Open Science, and stimulate discussion throughout the entire lifecycle of the scientific work. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  10. An Address on the Population Problem: Address to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McNamara, Robert S.

    In this speech, Robert McNamara examines the background of the world population problem, analyzes its current trends, evaluates the measures available to deal with it, and suggests actions governments and others can take to help solve it. It now appears that significant fertility decline may have begun in developing countries. Data seem to…

  11. An Abstract Plan Preparation Language

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Butler, Ricky W.; Munoz, Cesar A.

    2006-01-01

    This paper presents a new planning language that is more abstract than most existing planning languages such as the Planning Domain Definition Language (PDDL) or the New Domain Description Language (NDDL). The goal of this language is to simplify the formal analysis and specification of planning problems that are intended for safety-critical applications such as power management or automated rendezvous in future manned spacecraft. The new language has been named the Abstract Plan Preparation Language (APPL). A translator from APPL to NDDL has been developed in support of the Spacecraft Autonomy for Vehicles and Habitats Project (SAVH) sponsored by the Explorations Technology Development Program, which is seeking to mature autonomy technology for application to the new Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) that will replace the Space Shuttle.

  12. Activity theory as a tool to address the problem of chemistry's lack of relevance in secondary school chemical education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Aalsvoort, Joke

    In a previous article, the problem of chemistry's lack of relevance in secondary chemical education was analysed using logical positivism as a tool. This article starts with the hypothesis that the problem can be addressed by means of activity theory, one of the important theories within the sociocultural school. The reason for this expectation is that, while logical positivism creates a divide between science and society, activity theory offers a model of society in which science and society are related. With the use of this model, a new course for grade nine has been constructed. This results in a confirmation of the hypothesis, at least at a theoretical level. A comparison with the Salters' approach is made in order to demonstrate the relative merits of a mediated way of dealing with the problem of the lack of relevance of chemistry in chemical education.

  13. Abstract processing and observer vantage perspective in dysphoria.

    PubMed

    Hart-Smith, Ly; Moulds, Michelle L

    2018-05-07

    processing and observer vantage perspective have been associated with negative consequences in depression. We investigated the relationship between mode of processing and vantage perspective bidirectionally in high and low dysphoric individuals, using abstract and concrete descriptions of experimenter-provided everyday actions. When vantage perspective was manipulated and processing mode was measured (Study 1a), participants who adopted a field perspective did not differ from those who adopted an observer perspective in their preference for abstract descriptions, irrespective of dysphoria status. When processing mode was manipulated and vantage perspective was measured (Study 1b), participants provided with abstract descriptions had a greater tendency to adopt an observer perspective than those provided with concrete descriptions, irrespective of dysphoria status. These results were replicated in larger online samples (Studies 2a and 2b). Together, they indicate a unidirectional causal relationship, whereby processing mode causally influences vantage perspective, in contrast to the bidirectional relationship previously reported in an unselected sample (Libby, Shaeffer, & Eibach, 2009). Further, these findings demonstrate that abstract processing increases the likelihood of adopting an observer perspective, and support targeting abstract processing in the treatment of depression to address the negative consequences associated with both abstract processing and recalling/imagining events from an observer perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  14. The problems inherent in teaching technical writing and report writing to native Americans

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zukowski/faust, J.

    1981-01-01

    Teaching technical writing to Native Americans contending with a second language and culture is addressed. Learning difficulties arising from differences between native and acquired language and cultural systems are examined. Compartmentalized teaching, which presents the ideals of technical writing in minimal units, and skills development are considered. Rhetorical problems treated include logic of arrangement, selection of support and scope of detail, and time and space. Specific problems selected include the concept of promptness, the contextualization of purpose, interpersonal relationships, wordiness, mixture of registers, and the problem of abstracting. Four inductive procedures for students having writing and perception problems are included. Four sample exercises and a bibliography of 13 references are also included.

  15. Ineffective Healthcare Technology Management in Benin’s Public Health Sector: The Perceptions of Key Actors and Their Ability to Address the Main Problems

    PubMed Central

    Houngbo, P. Thierry; De Cock Buning, Tjard; Bunders, Joske; Coleman, Harry L. S.; Medenou, Daton; Dakpanon, Laurent; Zweekhorst, Marjolein

    2017-01-01

    Background: Low-income countries face many contextual challenges to manage healthcare technologies effectively, as the majority are imported and resources are constrained to a greater extent. Previous healthcare technology management (HTM) policies in Benin have failed to produce better quality of care for the population and costeffectiveness for the government. This study aims to identify and assess the main problems facing HTM in Benin’s public health sector, as well as the ability of key actors within the sector to address these problems. Methods: We conducted 2 surveys in 117 selected health facilities. The first survey was based on 377 questionnaires and 259 interviews, and the second involved observation and group interviews at health facilities. The Temple-Bird Healthcare Technology Package System (TBHTPS), tailored to the context of Benin’s health system, was used as a conceptual framework. Results: The findings of the first survey show that 85% of key actors in Benin’s HTM sector characterized the system as failing in components of the TBHTPS framework. Biomedical, clinical, healthcare technology engineers and technicians perceived problems most severely, followed by users of equipment, managers and hospital directors, international organization officers, local and foreign suppliers, and finally policy-makers, planners and administrators at the Ministry of Health (MoH). The 5 most important challenges to be addressed are policy, strategic management and planning, and technology needs assessment and selection – categorized as major enabling inputs (MEI) in HTM by the TBHTPS framework – and installation and commissioning, training and skill development and procurement, which are import and use activities (IUA). The ability of each key actor to address these problems (the degree of political or administrative power they possess) was inversely proportional to their perception of the severity of the problems. Observational data gathered during site

  16. The Representation of Abstract Words: Why Emotion Matters

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kousta, Stavroula-Thaleia; Vigliocco, Gabriella; Vinson, David P.; Andrews, Mark; Del Campo, Elena

    2011-01-01

    Although much is known about the representation and processing of concrete concepts, knowledge of what abstract semantics might be is severely limited. In this article we first address the adequacy of the 2 dominant accounts (dual coding theory and the context availability model) put forward in order to explain representation and processing…

  17. Leadership Abstracts, Volume 2, Numbers 1-21, 1989.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doucette, Don, Ed.

    This series of abstracts from the League for Innovation in the Community College and the Community College Leadership Program is published approximately bimonthly and distributed to the chief executive officer of every two-year college in the United States and Canada. Addressing a variety of topics of interest to community college administrators,…

  18. Leadership Abstracts, Volume 3, Numbers 1-20, 1990.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doucette, Don, Ed.

    This series of abstracts from the League for Innovation in the Community College and the Community College Leadership Program is published approximately bimonthly and distributed to the chief executive officer of every two-year college in the United States and Canada. Addressing a variety of topics of interest to community college administrators,…

  19. The Mastery Matrix for Integration Praxis: The development of a rubric for integration practice in addressing weight-related public health problems.

    PubMed

    Berge, Jerica M; Adamek, Margaret; Caspi, Caitlin; Grannon, Katherine Y; Loth, Katie A; Trofholz, Amanda; Nanney, Marilyn S

    2018-06-01

    In response to the limitations of siloed weight-related intervention approaches, scholars have called for greater integration that is intentional, strategic, and thoughtful between researchers, health care clinicians, community members, and policy makers as a way to more effectively address weight and weight-related (e.g., obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer) public health problems. The Mastery Matrix for Integration Praxis was developed by the Healthy Eating and Activity across the Lifespan (HEAL) team in 2017 to advance the science and praxis of integration across the domains of research, clinical practice, community, and policy to address weight-related public health problems. Integrator functions were identified and developmental stages were created to generate a rubric for measuring mastery of integration. Creating a means to systematically define and evaluate integration praxis and expertise will allow for more individuals and teams to master integration in order to work towards promoting a culture of health. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Predicting Semantic Changes in Abstraction in Tutor Responses to Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lipschultz, Michael; Litman, Diane; Katz, Sandra; Albacete, Patricia; Jordan, Pamela

    2014-01-01

    Post-problem reflective tutorial dialogues between human tutors and students are examined to predict when the tutor changed the level of abstraction from the student's preceding turn (i.e., used more general terms or more specific terms); such changes correlate with learning. Prior work examined lexical changes in abstraction. In this work, we…

  1. Addressing Sexual Harassment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Young, Ellie L.; Ashbaker, Betty Y.

    2008-01-01

    This article discusses ways on how to address the problem of sexual harassment in schools. Sexual harassment--simply defined as any unwanted and unwelcome sexual behavior--is a sensitive topic. Merely providing students, parents, and staff members with information about the school's sexual harassment policy is insufficient; schools must take…

  2. Addressing Problem Behavior at Recess Using Peer Praise Notes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teerlink, Elise; Caldarella, Paul; Anderson, Darlene H.; Richardson, Michael J.; Guzman, E. Geovanni

    2017-01-01

    School recess, though beneficial to students in many ways, can be a problematic setting due to inadequate supervision, structure, and safety. A peer praise note (PPN) intervention was implemented on the recess playground to address these concerns at a Title I elementary school. Researchers used a single-subject reversal design across all students…

  3. Addressing Beyond Standard Model physics using cosmology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghalsasi, Akshay

    We have consensus models for both particle physics (i.e. standard model) and cosmology (i.e. LambdaCDM). Given certain assumptions about the initial conditions of the universe, the marriage of the standard model (SM) of particle physics and LambdaCDM cosmology has been phenomenally successful in describing the universe we live in. However it is quite clear that all is not well. The three biggest problems that the SM faces today are baryogenesis, dark matter and dark energy. These problems, along with the problem of neutrino masses, indicate the existence of physics beyond SM. Evidence of baryogenesis, dark matter and dark energy all comes from astrophysical and cosmological observations. Cosmology also provides the best (model dependent) constraints on neutrino masses. In this thesis I will try address the following problems 1) Addressing the origin of dark energy (DE) using non-standard neutrino cosmology and exploring the effects of the non-standard neutrino cosmology on terrestrial and cosmological experiments. 2) Addressing the matter anti-matter asymmetry of the universe.

  4. Effects of Variation and Prior Knowledge on Abstract Concept Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Braithwaite, David W.; Goldstone, Robert L.

    2015-01-01

    Learning abstract concepts through concrete examples may promote learning at the cost of inhibiting transfer. The present study investigated one approach to solving this problem: systematically varying superficial features of the examples. Participants learned to solve problems involving a mathematical concept by studying either superficially…

  5. Experimental evaluation of certification trails using abstract data type validation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wilson, Dwight S.; Sullivan, Gregory F.; Masson, Gerald M.

    1993-01-01

    Certification trails are a recently introduced and promising approach to fault-detection and fault-tolerance. Recent experimental work reveals many cases in which a certification-trail approach allows for significantly faster program execution time than a basic time-redundancy approach. Algorithms for answer-validation of abstract data types allow a certification trail approach to be used for a wide variety of problems. An attempt to assess the performance of algorithms utilizing certification trails on abstract data types is reported. Specifically, this method was applied to the following problems: heapsort, Hullman tree, shortest path, and skyline. Previous results used certification trails specific to a particular problem and implementation. The approach allows certification trails to be localized to 'data structure modules,' making the use of this technique transparent to the user of such modules.

  6. Address tracing for parallel machines

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stunkel, Craig B.; Janssens, Bob; Fuchs, W. Kent

    1991-01-01

    Recently implemented parallel system address-tracing methods based on several metrics are surveyed. The issues specific to collection of traces for both shared and distributed memory parallel computers are highlighted. Five general categories of address-trace collection methods are examined: hardware-captured, interrupt-based, simulation-based, altered microcode-based, and instrumented program-based traces. The problems unique to shared memory and distributed memory multiprocessors are examined separately.

  7. The Evolution of Chemical High-Throughput Experimentation To Address Challenging Problems in Pharmaceutical Synthesis.

    PubMed

    Krska, Shane W; DiRocco, Daniel A; Dreher, Spencer D; Shevlin, Michael

    2017-12-19

    The structural complexity of pharmaceuticals presents a significant challenge to modern catalysis. Many published methods that work well on simple substrates often fail when attempts are made to apply them to complex drug intermediates. The use of high-throughput experimentation (HTE) techniques offers a means to overcome this fundamental challenge by facilitating the rational exploration of large arrays of catalysts and reaction conditions in a time- and material-efficient manner. Initial forays into the use of HTE in our laboratories for solving chemistry problems centered around screening of chiral precious-metal catalysts for homogeneous asymmetric hydrogenation. The success of these early efforts in developing efficient catalytic steps for late-stage development programs motivated the desire to increase the scope of this approach to encompass other high-value catalytic chemistries. Doing so, however, required significant advances in reactor and workflow design and automation to enable the effective assembly and agitation of arrays of heterogeneous reaction mixtures and retention of volatile solvents under a wide range of temperatures. Associated innovations in high-throughput analytical chemistry techniques greatly increased the efficiency and reliability of these methods. These evolved HTE techniques have been utilized extensively to develop highly innovative catalysis solutions to the most challenging problems in large-scale pharmaceutical synthesis. Starting with Pd- and Cu-catalyzed cross-coupling chemistry, subsequent efforts expanded to other valuable modern synthetic transformations such as chiral phase-transfer catalysis, photoredox catalysis, and C-H functionalization. As our experience and confidence in HTE techniques matured, we envisioned their application beyond problems in process chemistry to address the needs of medicinal chemists. Here the problem of reaction generality is felt most acutely, and HTE approaches should prove broadly enabling

  8. Role of Visualization in Mathematical Abstraction: The Case of Congruence Concept

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yilmaz, Rezan; Argun, Ziya

    2018-01-01

    Mathematical abstraction is an important process in mathematical thinking. Also, visualization is a strong tool for searching mathematical problems, giving meaning to mathematical concepts and the relationships between them. In this paper, we aim to investigate the role of visualizations in mathematical abstraction through a case study on five…

  9. Integrating causal reasoning at different levels of abstraction. [in problem-solving system functioning as pilot assistant in commercial air transport emergencies

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hudlicka, Eva; Corker, Kevin

    1988-01-01

    In this paper, a problem-solving system which uses a multilevel causal model of its domain is described. The system functions in the role of a pilot's assistant in the domain of commercial air transport emergencies. The model represents causal relationships among the aircraft subsystems, the effectors (engines, control surfaces), the forces that act on an aircraft in flight (thrust, lift), and the aircraft's flight profile (speed, altitude, etc.). The causal relationships are represented at three levels of abstraction: Boolean, qualitative, and quantitative, and reasoning about causes and effects can take place at each of these levels. Since processing at each level has different characteristics with respect to speed, the type of data required, and the specificity of the results, the problem-solving system can adapt to a wide variety of situations. The system is currently being implemented in the KEE(TM) development environment on a Symbolics Lisp machine.

  10. Addressing the critical health problem of adolescent substance use through health care, research, and public policy.

    PubMed

    Feinstein, Emily C; Richter, Linda; Foster, Susan E

    2012-05-01

    The use of addictive substances-tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs-during adolescence interferes with brain development and increases the risk of serious health and mental health conditions, including addiction. Yet, adolescents live in a culture in which family, social, community, and media influences regularly bombard them with pro-substance use messages, creating an environment in which substance use is considered an expected behavior, rather than a considerable health risk. To prevent the significant harm that falls to teens and young adults because of substance use, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA Columbia) undertook a study to explore how adolescent brain development relates to the risk of substance use and addiction; the cultural influences that create an environment in which substance use is considered normative behavior; individual factors that make some teens more disposed to substance use and addiction; and evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies for addressing this problem. The recently published report Adolescent Substance Use: America's #1 Public Health Problem concludes that risky substance use is a major public health problem that can be ameliorated through evidence-based public health measures, including education about the disease and its risk factors, screenings, and clinical interventions, and that addiction can be treated and managed effectively within routine health care practice and specialty care. Copyright © 2012 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. GOClonto: an ontological clustering approach for conceptualizing PubMed abstracts.

    PubMed

    Zheng, Hai-Tao; Borchert, Charles; Kim, Hong-Gee

    2010-02-01

    Concurrent with progress in biomedical sciences, an overwhelming of textual knowledge is accumulating in the biomedical literature. PubMed is the most comprehensive database collecting and managing biomedical literature. To help researchers easily understand collections of PubMed abstracts, numerous clustering methods have been proposed to group similar abstracts based on their shared features. However, most of these methods do not explore the semantic relationships among groupings of documents, which could help better illuminate the groupings of PubMed abstracts. To address this issue, we proposed an ontological clustering method called GOClonto for conceptualizing PubMed abstracts. GOClonto uses latent semantic analysis (LSA) and gene ontology (GO) to identify key gene-related concepts and their relationships as well as allocate PubMed abstracts based on these key gene-related concepts. Based on two PubMed abstract collections, the experimental results show that GOClonto is able to identify key gene-related concepts and outperforms the STC (suffix tree clustering) algorithm, the Lingo algorithm, the Fuzzy Ants algorithm, and the clustering based TRS (tolerance rough set) algorithm. Moreover, the two ontologies generated by GOClonto show significant informative conceptual structures.

  12. Grasping the invisible: semantic processing of abstract words.

    PubMed

    Zdrazilova, Lenka; Pexman, Penny M

    2013-12-01

    The problem of how abstract word meanings are represented has been a challenging one. In the present study, we extended the semantic richness approach (e.g., Yap, Tan, Pexman, & Hargreaves in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 18:742-750, 2011) to abstract words, examining the effects of six semantic richness variables on lexical-semantic processing for 207 abstract nouns. The candidate richness dimensions were context availability (CA), sensory experience rating (SER), valence, arousal, semantic neighborhood (SN), and number of associates (NoA). The behavioral tasks were lexical decision (LDT) and semantic categorization (SCT). Our results showed that the semantic richness variables were significantly related to both LDT and SCT latencies, even after lexical and orthographic factors were controlled. The patterns of richness effects varied across tasks, with CA effects in the LDT, and SER and valence effects in the SCT. These results provide new insight into how abstract meanings may be grounded, and are consistent with a dynamic, multidimensional framework for semantic processing.

  13. RAPD MARKERS AS A MOLECULAR TOOL FOR ADDRESSING THE SPECIES PROBLEM IN CORALS. (R828008)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Concl...

  14. RAPD MARKERS AS A MOLECULAR TOOL FOR ADDRESSING THE SPECIES PROBLEM IN CORALS. (R825158)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Concl...

  15. The Abstraction Ability in Constructing Relation Within Triangles by The Seventh Grade Students of Junior High School

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Annas, Suwardi; Djadir; Mutmainna Hasma, Sitti

    2018-01-01

    on is an activity to organize a mathematical concept that has been previously owned into a new mathematical structure. Activites in abstraction are recognizing, organizing and constructing. Recognizing is a process of identifying a mathematical structure that had existed before. Organizing is a process of using structural knowledge to be assembled into a solution of a problem and constructing is a process of organizing the characteristics of the object into a new structure that does not exist. In abstraction process, the students use attributes to address the object, including routine attribute, nonroutine attributes, and meaningless attributes. This research applied descriptive qualitative research which aimed to describe the abstraction ability of students from high, moderate, and low groups to construct a relation within triangle. In collecting the data, this research used students’ pre-ability math test, abstraction test, and guided interview. The sampling technique in this research was based on the students’ scores in pre-ability math test, which were divided into three groups. Two students from each group were opted as the subjects of this research. Questions of the test are based on the indicators of steps in abstraction activity. Thus, based on the data gained in this research, researcher determined the tendency of attributes used in each abstraction activity. The result of this research revealed that students from high, moderate and low groups were prone to use routine attributes in recognizing triangles. In organizing the characteristics within triangles, high group tended to organize the triangle correctly, while the moderate and low groups tended to organize the triangle incorrectly. In constructing relation within triangles, students in high, moderate and low groups construct it incompletely.

  16. Sub-Saharan African migrant youths' help-seeking barriers and facilitators for mental health and substance use problems: a qualitative study.

    PubMed

    McCann, Terence V; Mugavin, Janette; Renzaho, Andre; Lubman, Dan I

    2016-08-02

    Many young migrants and their parents are reluctant to seek help for mental health and substance use problems. Help-seeking delays can result in longer duration of untreated problems and poorer outcomes. In this study, we aimed to identify the help-seeking barriers and facilitators for anxiety, depression and alcohol and drug use problems in young people from recently established sub-Saharan African migrant communities. A qualitative study, incorporating individual, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, was undertaken in Melbourne, Australia. Twenty-eight young sub-Saharan African migrants participated in the individual interviews, and 41 sub-Saharan African-born parents and key community leaders participated in 4 focus groups. All participants were aged 16 years or over. A thematic analysis of the data was undertaken. Themes and related sub-themes were abstracted from the data, reflecting the young people's, parents' and key community leaders' beliefs about barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for mental health and substance use problems. Four help-seeking barriers were identified: stigma of mental illness, lack of mental health literacy in parents and young people, lack of cultural competency of formal help sources, and financial costs deterring access. Five help-seeking facilitators were abstracted: being open with friends and family, strong community support systems, trustworthiness and confidentiality of help-sources, perceived expertise of formal help-sources, increasing young people's and parents' mental health literacy. Programs that identify and build on help-seeking facilitators while addressing help-seeking barriers are needed to address mental health issues among young sub-Saharan African migrants. Strategies to address help-seeking barriers should consider counteracting stigma and increasing mental health literacy in sub-Saharan African communities, increasing health providers' cultural competency and perceived trustworthiness, and

  17. How Have States Used Executive Orders to Address Public Health?

    PubMed

    Gakh, Maxim; Callahan, Karen; Goodie, Aaliyah; Rutkow, Lainie

    2018-06-07

    Gubernatorial executive orders (GEOs) are important, yet poorly understood, public health tools. We analyzed health-related GEOs nationwide using a modified legal mapping approach. We searched Westlaw's Netscan Executive Orders database for orders issued between 2008 and 2014. Search terms were generated from the Healthy People 2020 Leading Health Indicators (LHIs). GEOs were screened with data abstracted and analyzed on the basis of LHIs, states, years, and characteristics identified in previous literature. We found differences in GEOs issued per LHI. Of the 303 unique orders, they ranged from 32 to 53 issued per year and 0 to 45 issued per state. Most GEOs managed governmental public health functions, required collaboration, and mandated studying problems. Fewer directly addressed health equity, chronic disease, and resource deployment. Gubernatorial authority and political and institutional factors appear relevant to GEO issuance. GEOs offer means to institute public health policies and should be considered by public health professionals.

  18. Internal process: what is abstraction and distortion process?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fiantika, F. R.; Budayasa, I. K.; Lukito, A.

    2018-03-01

    Geometry is one of the branch of mathematics that plays a major role in the development of science and technology. Thus, knowing the geometry concept is needed for students from their early basic level of thinking. A preliminary study showed that the elementary students have difficulty in perceiving parallelogram shape in a 2-dimention of a cube drawing as a square shape. This difficulty makes the students can not solve geometrical problems correctly. This problem is related to the internal thinking process in geometry. We conducted the exploration of students’ internal thinking processes in geometry particularly in distinguishing the square and parallelogram shape. How the students process their internal thinking through distortion and abstraction is the main aim of this study. Analysis of the geometrical test and deep interview are used in this study to obtain the data. The result of this study is there are two types of distortion and abstraction respectively in which the student used in their internal thinking processes.

  19. Brain network response underlying decisions about abstract reinforcers.

    PubMed

    Mills-Finnerty, Colleen; Hanson, Catherine; Hanson, Stephen Jose

    2014-12-01

    Decision making studies typically use tasks that involve concrete action-outcome contingencies, in which subjects do something and get something. No studies have addressed decision making involving abstract reinforcers, where there are no action-outcome contingencies and choices are entirely hypothetical. The present study examines these kinds of choices, as well as whether the same biases that exist for concrete reinforcer decisions, specifically framing effects, also apply during abstract reinforcer decisions. We use both General Linear Model as well as Bayes network connectivity analysis using the Independent Multi-sample Greedy Equivalence Search (IMaGES) algorithm to examine network response underlying choices for abstract reinforcers under positive and negative framing. We find for the first time that abstract reinforcer decisions activate the same network of brain regions as concrete reinforcer decisions, including the striatum, insula, anterior cingulate, and VMPFC, results that are further supported via comparison to a meta-analysis of decision making studies. Positive and negative framing activated different parts of this network, with stronger activation in VMPFC during negative framing and in DLPFC during positive, suggesting different decision making pathways depending on frame. These results were further clarified using connectivity analysis, which revealed stronger connections between anterior cingulate, insula, and accumbens during negative framing compared to positive. Taken together, these results suggest that not only do abstract reinforcer decisions rely on the same brain substrates as concrete reinforcers, but that the response underlying framing effects on abstract reinforcers also resemble those for concrete reinforcers, specifically increased limbic system connectivity during negative frames. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Abstracts of Papers Read at Sixteenth Annual Conference on Linguistics.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Macris, James, Ed.

    Abstracts of 23 addresses given at the Sixteenth Annual Conference on Linguistics are presented in this report. The papers given at the conference deal with French, American English, English, Japanese, Cantonese, Latin, and Proto-Indo-European and cover a wide variety of topics, including dialectology, form classes, grammar, and semantics. The…

  1. International Conference on Environmental Education (Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, India, December 16-20, 1981). Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bhat, J. L., Ed.; Bandhu, Desh, Ed.

    Abstracts of papers presented at the International Conference on Environmental Education are included in this document. Although title, author(s), and abstract are provided for each of the 124 entries, a table of contents and author/subject index are not included. Topics and issues addressed focus on various aspects of environmental education…

  2. The 20,000 Article Problem: How a Structured Abstract Can Help Practitioners Sort out Educational Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miech, Edward J.; Nave, Bill; Mosteller, Frederick

    2005-01-01

    This article describes what a structured abstract is and how a structured abstract can help researchers sort out information. Today over 1,000 education journals publish more than 20,000 articles in the English language each year. No systematic tool is available at present to get the research findings from these tens of thousands of articles to…

  3. Proposing a health promotion framework to address gambling problems in Australian Indigenous communities.

    PubMed

    Fogarty, Marisa; Coalter, Nicola; Gordon, Ashley; Breen, Helen

    2018-02-01

    Gambling impacts affect Australian Indigenous families and communities in diverse and complex ways. Indigenous people throughout Australia engage in a broad range of regulated and unregulated gambling activities. Challenges in this area include the complexities that come with delivering services and programmes between the most remote regions, to highly populated towns and cities of Australia. There is little knowledge transfer between states and territories in Australia and no conceptual understanding or analysis of what constitutes 'best practice' in gambling service delivery for Indigenous people, families and communities. This article reviews health promotion approaches used in Australia, with a particular focus on Indigenous and gambling-based initiatives. Contributing to this review is an examination of health promotion strategies used in Indigenous gambling service delivery in the Northern Territory, New South Wales and Western Australia, demonstrating diversity and innovation in approaches. The article concludes by emphasizing the potential value of adopting health promotion strategies to underpin programme and service delivery for addressing gambling problems in Australian Indigenous communities. However, success is contingent on robust, evidence-based programme design, implementation and evaluation that adhere to health promotion principles. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. Research of future network with multi-layer IP address

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Guoling; Long, Zhaohua; Wei, Ziqiang

    2018-04-01

    The shortage of IP addresses and the scalability of routing systems [1] are challenges for the Internet. The idea of dividing existing IP addresses between identities and locations is one of the important research directions. This paper proposed a new decimal network architecture based on IPv9 [11], and decimal network IP address from E.164 principle of traditional telecommunication network, the IP address level, which helps to achieve separation and identification and location of IP address, IP address form a multilayer network structure, routing scalability problem in remission at the same time, to solve the problem of IPv4 address depletion. On the basis of IPv9, a new decimal network architecture is proposed, and the IP address of the decimal network draws on the E.164 principle of the traditional telecommunication network, and the IP addresses are hierarchically divided, which helps to realize the identification and location separation of IP addresses, the formation of multi-layer IP address network structure, while easing the scalability of the routing system to find a way out of IPv4 address exhausted. In addition to modifying DNS [10] simply and adding the function of digital domain, a DDNS [12] is formed. At the same time, a gateway device is added, that is, IPV9 gateway. The original backbone network and user network are unchanged.

  5. NASA Patent Abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 21) Abstracts

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1982-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 87 patents and applications introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period of January 1982 through June 1982. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in mose cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  6. Grounding Abstractness: Abstract Concepts and the Activation of the Mouth

    PubMed Central

    Borghi, Anna M.; Zarcone, Edoardo

    2016-01-01

    One key issue for theories of cognition is how abstract concepts, such as freedom, are represented. According to the WAT (Words As social Tools) proposal, abstract concepts activate both sensorimotor and linguistic/social information, and their acquisition modality involves the linguistic experience more than the acquisition of concrete concepts. We report an experiment in which participants were presented with abstract and concrete definitions followed by concrete and abstract target-words. When the definition and the word matched, participants were required to press a key, either with the hand or with the mouth. Response times and accuracy were recorded. As predicted, we found that abstract definitions and abstract words yielded slower responses and more errors compared to concrete definitions and concrete words. More crucially, there was an interaction between the target-words and the effector used to respond (hand, mouth). While responses with the mouth were overall slower, the advantage of the hand over the mouth responses was more marked with concrete than with abstract concepts. The results are in keeping with grounded and embodied theories of cognition and support the WAT proposal, according to which abstract concepts evoke linguistic-social information, hence activate the mouth. The mechanisms underlying the mouth activation with abstract concepts (re-enactment of acquisition experience, or re-explanation of the word meaning, possibly through inner talk) are discussed. To our knowledge this is the first behavioral study demonstrating with real words that the advantage of the hand over the mouth is more marked with concrete than with abstract concepts, likely because of the activation of linguistic information with abstract concepts. PMID:27777563

  7. Addressing Issues Related to Technology and Engineering

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Technology Teacher, 2008

    2008-01-01

    This article presents an interview with Michael Hacker and David Burghardt, codirectors of Hoftra University's Center for Technological Literacy. Hacker and Burghardt address issues related to technology and engineering. They argue that teachers need to be aware of the problems kids are facing, and how to present these problems in an engaging…

  8. Bioethicists Can and Should Contribute to Addressing Racism

    PubMed Central

    Danis, Marion; Wilson, Yolonda; White, Amina

    2016-01-01

    The problems of racism and racially-motivated violence in predominantly African American communities in the US are complex, multifactorial and historically rooted. While these problems are also deeply morally troubling, bioethicists have not contributed substantially to addressing them. Concern for justice has been one of the core commitments of bioethics. For this and other reasons, bioethicists should contribute to addressing these problems. We consider how bioethicists can offer meaningful contributions to the public discourse, research, teaching, training, policy development and academic scholarship in response to the alarming and persistent patterns of racism and implicit biases associated with it. To make any useful contribution, bioethicists will require preparation and should expect to play a significant role through collaborative action with others. PMID:26982911

  9. Bioethicists Can and Should Contribute to Addressing Racism.

    PubMed

    Danis, Marion; Wilson, Yolonda; White, Amina

    2016-01-01

    The problems of racism and racially motivated violence in predominantly African American communities in the United States are complex, multifactorial, and historically rooted. While these problems are also deeply morally troubling, bioethicists have not contributed substantially to addressing them. Concern for justice has been one of the core commitments of bioethics. For this and other reasons, bioethicists should contribute to addressing these problems. We consider how bioethicists can offer meaningful contributions to the public discourse, research, teaching, training, policy development, and academic scholarship in response to the alarming and persistent patterns of racism and implicit biases associated with it. To make any useful contribution, bioethicists will require preparation and should expect to play a significant role through collaborative action with others.

  10. Federal Activities Addressing Violence in Schools. Special Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barrios, Lisa C., Comp.

    Many federal agencies actively address the problem of violence in schools by acquiring and disseminating information about school violence and supporting strategies that work to reduce violence. This document provides an inventory of federal activities addressing violence in schools. It was designed to facilitate coordination of federal school…

  11. Uncommon strategies for a common problem: addressing racism in family therapy.

    PubMed

    Laszloffy, T A; Hardy, K V

    2000-01-01

    Race and racism have a profound effect on our daily lives and the practice of family therapy. Whether individual or institutional level, overt or covert, intentional or unintentional, there are a variety of ways in which racism can infiltrate the therapeutic process. Before therapists can take steps to address racism effectively within the context of family therapy, it is important to attend to the development of their racial awareness and racial sensitivity. These provide the critical foundation upon which specific skills and strategies associated with effectively identifying and responding to racism in therapy are based. This article defines racial awareness and sensitivity and provides suggestions for enhancing both. In the section that follows, three major ways in which racism can infiltrate the therapeutic process are described. Skills and strategies for addressing each of these in family therapy are presented.

  12. Toward Solving the Problem of Problem Solving: An Analysis Framework

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roesler, Rebecca A.

    2016-01-01

    Teaching is replete with problem solving. Problem solving as a skill, however, is seldom addressed directly within music teacher education curricula, and research in music education has not examined problem solving systematically. A framework detailing problem-solving component skills would provide a needed foundation. I observed problem solving…

  13. Addressing the Spectrum of Adolescent Weight-Related Problems: Engaging Parents and Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne

    2007-01-01

    Weight-related problems, including eating disorders, disordered eating, and obesity, are prevalent among adolescents. School and community-based educators and health care providers have an important role to play in the prevention of weight-related problems in youth. This article includes: 1) a brief overview of weight-related problems in…

  14. Promoting Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Trainees Addressing Siloed Medical Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kitts, Robert Li; Christodoulou, Joanna; Goldman, Stuart

    2011-01-01

    Objective: Professional siloing within medical institutions has been identified as a problem in medical education, including resident training. The authors discuss how trainees from different disciplines can collaborate to address this problem. Method: A group of trainees from psychiatry, developmental medicine, neurology, and education came…

  15. Business and Organizational Communication: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," January through June 1981 (Vol. 41 Nos. 7 through 12).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, IL.

    This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 12 titles deal with the following topics: (1) identifying problem formation behaviors within the process of organizational change; (2) using the communication audit to determine decision style, satisfaction, and communication…

  16. Problem Solvers: Problem--How Long Can You Stand?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Teaching Children Mathematics, 2010

    2010-01-01

    Healthy lifestyles are increasingly emphasized these days. This month the authors begin a series of mathematical problems that also address physical activity. They hope that these problems offer opportunities to investigate mathematics and also reinforce the desire to lead a healthy life. In their first problem of the academic year, students…

  17. Road-traffic injuries: confronting disparities to address a global-health problem.

    PubMed

    Ameratunga, Shanthi; Hijar, Martha; Norton, Robyn

    2006-05-06

    Evidence suggests that the present and projected global burden of road-traffic injuries is disproportionately borne by countries that can least afford to meet the health service, economic, and societal challenges posed. Although the evidence base on which these estimates are made remains somewhat precarious in view of the limited data systems in most low-income and middle-income countries (as per the classification on the World Bank website), these projections highlight the essential need to address road-traffic injuries as a public-health priority. Most well-evaluated effective interventions do not directly focus on efforts to protect vulnerable road users, such as motorcyclists and pedestrians. Yet, these groups comprise the majority of road-traffic victims in low-income and middle-income countries, and consequently, the majority of the road-traffic victims globally. Appropriately responding to these disparities in available evidence and prevention efforts is necessary if we are to comprehensively address this global-health dilemma.

  18. Promoting interdomain analogical transfer: When creating a problem helps to solve a problem.

    PubMed

    Minervino, Ricardo A; Olguín, Valeria; Trench, Máximo

    2017-02-01

    Research on analogical thinking has devised several ways of promoting an abstract encoding of base analogs, thus rendering them more retrievable during later encounters with similar situations lacking surface similarities. Recent studies have begun to explore ways of facilitating transfer at retrieval time, which could facilitate the retrieval of distant analogs learned within contexts that were not specially directed to emphasize their abstract structure. Such studies demonstrate that comparing a target problem to an analogous problem helps students retrieve base analogs that lack surface similarities. To devise more portable ways of enhancing analogical transfer, Experiment 1 replicated Kurtz and Loewenstein's (Memory & Cognition, 35, 334-341, 2007) target-comparison procedure with an additional condition in which participants compared the target to a nonanalogous problem before attempting to reach its solution. Although comparing two analogous targets outperformed the standard transfer condition in promoting analogical transfer, comparing nonanalogous problems did not yield a transfer advantage. Based on prior studies that showed that the activity of creating analogous problems during their initial encoding elicits a more abstract representation of base analogs, in Experiment 2 we assessed whether constructing a second analogous target problem at retrieval time helps participants retrieve superficially dissimilar base analogs. As predicted, target invention increased the retrieval of distant sources. In both experiments we found an association between the quality of the generated schemas and the probability of retrieving a distant base analog from memory.

  19. Imbalance between abstract and concrete repetitive thinking modes in schizophrenia.

    PubMed

    Maurage, Pierre; Philippot, Pierre; Grynberg, Delphine; Leleux, Dominique; Delatte, Benoît; Mangelinckx, Camille; Belge, Jan-Baptist; Constant, Eric

    2017-10-01

    Repetitive thoughts can be divided in two modes: abstract/analytic (decontextualized and dysfunctional) and concrete/experiential (problem-focused and adaptive). They constitute a transdiagnostic process involved in many psychopathological states but have received little attention in schizophrenia, as earlier studies only indexed increased ruminations (related to dysfunctional repetitive thoughts) without jointly exploring both modes. This study explored the two repetitive thinking modes, beyond ruminations, to determine their imbalance in schizophrenia. Thirty stabilized patients with schizophrenia and 30 matched controls completed the Repetitive Response Scale and the Mini Cambridge-Exeter Repetitive Thought Scale, both measuring repetitive thinking modes. Complementary measures related to schizophrenic symptomatology, depression and anxiety were also conducted. Compared to controls, patients with schizophrenia presented an imbalance between repetitive thinking modes, with increased abstract/analytic and reduced concrete/experiential thoughts, even after controlling for comorbidities. Schizophrenia is associated with stronger dysfunctional repetitive thoughts (i.e. abstract thinking) and impaired ability to efficiently use repetitive thinking for current problem-solving (i.e. concrete thinking). This imbalance confirms the double-faced nature of repetitive thinking modes, whose influence on schizophrenia's symptomatology should be further investigated. The present results also claim for evaluating these processes in clinical settings and for rehabilitating the balance between opposite repetitive thinking modes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. The maps problem and the mapping problem: Two challenges for a cognitive neuroscience of speech and language

    PubMed Central

    Poeppel, David

    2012-01-01

    Research on the brain basis of speech and language faces theoretical and empirical challenges. The majority of current research, dominated by imaging, deficit-lesion, and electrophysiological techniques, seeks to identify regions that underpin aspects of language processing such as phonology, syntax, or semantics. The emphasis lies on localization and spatial characterization of function. The first part of the paper deals with a practical challenge that arises in the context of such a research program. This maps problem concerns the extent to which spatial information and localization can satisfy the explanatory needs for perception and cognition. Several areas of investigation exemplify how the neural basis of speech and language is discussed in those terms (regions, streams, hemispheres, networks). The second part of the paper turns to a more troublesome challenge, namely how to formulate the formal links between neurobiology and cognition. This principled problem thus addresses the relation between the primitives of cognition (here speech, language) and neurobiology. Dealing with this mapping problem invites the development of linking hypotheses between the domains. The cognitive sciences provide granular, theoretically motivated claims about the structure of various domains (the ‘cognome’); neurobiology, similarly, provides a list of the available neural structures. However, explanatory connections will require crafting computationally explicit linking hypotheses at the right level of abstraction. For both the practical maps problem and the principled mapping problem, developmental approaches and evidence can play a central role in the resolution. PMID:23017085

  1. Using ecotechnology to address water quality and wetland habitat loss problems in the Mississippi basin: a hierarchical approach.

    PubMed

    Day, John W; Yañéz Arancibia, Alejandro; Mitsch, William J; Lara-Dominguez, Ana Laura; Day, Jason N; Ko, Jae-Young; Lane, Robert; Lindsey, Joel; Lomeli, David Zarate

    2003-12-01

    Human activities are affecting the environment at continental and global scales. An example of this is the Mississippi basin where there has been a large scale loss of wetlands and water quality deterioration over the past century. Wetland and riparian ecosystems have been isolated from rivers and streams. Wetland loss is due both to drainage and reclamation, mainly for agriculture, and to isolation from the river by levees, as in the Mississippi delta. There has been a decline in water quality due to increasing use of fertilizers, enhanced drainage and the loss of wetlands for cleaning water. Water quality has deteriorated throughout the basin and high nitrogen in the Mississippi river is causing a large area of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico adjacent to the Mississippi delta. Since the causes of these problems are distributed over the basin, the solution also needs to be distributed over the basin. Ecotechnology and ecological engineering offer the only ecologically sound and cost-effective method of solving these problems. Wetlands to promote nitrogen removal, mainly through denitrification but also through burial and plant uptake, offer a sound ecotechnological solution. At the level of the Mississippi basin, changes in farming practices and use of wetlands for nitrogen assimilation can reduce nitrogen levels in the River. There are additional benefits of restoration of wetland and riverine ecosystems, flood control, reduction in public health threats, and enhanced wildlife and fisheries. At the local drainage basin level, the use of river diversions in the Mississippi delta can address both problems of coastal land loss and water quality deterioration. Nitrate levels in diverted river water are rapidly reduced as water flows through coastal watersheds. At the local level, wetlands are being used to treat municipal wastewater. This is a cost-effective method, which results in improved water quality, enhanced wetland productivity and increased accretion. The

  2. An abstract specification language for Markov reliability models

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Butler, R. W.

    1985-01-01

    Markov models can be used to compute the reliability of virtually any fault tolerant system. However, the process of delineating all of the states and transitions in a model of complex system can be devastatingly tedious and error-prone. An approach to this problem is presented utilizing an abstract model definition language. This high level language is described in a nonformal manner and illustrated by example.

  3. An abstract language for specifying Markov reliability models

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Butler, Ricky W.

    1986-01-01

    Markov models can be used to compute the reliability of virtually any fault tolerant system. However, the process of delineating all of the states and transitions in a model of complex system can be devastatingly tedious and error-prone. An approach to this problem is presented utilizing an abstract model definition language. This high level language is described in a nonformal manner and illustrated by example.

  4. A Game-Theoretic Approach to Branching Time Abstract-Check-Refine Process

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wang, Yi; Tamai, Tetsuo

    2009-01-01

    Since the complexity of software systems continues to grow, most engineers face two serious problems: the state space explosion problem and the problem of how to debug systems. In this paper, we propose a game-theoretic approach to full branching time model checking on three-valued semantics. The three-valued models and logics provide successful abstraction that overcomes the state space explosion problem. The game style model checking that generates counter-examples can guide refinement or identify validated formulas, which solves the system debugging problem. Furthermore, output of our game style method will give significant information to engineers in detecting where errors have occurred and what the causes of the errors are.

  5. Abstraction and Consolidation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Monaghan, John; Ozmantar, Mehmet Fatih

    2006-01-01

    The framework for this paper is a recently developed theory of abstraction in context. The paper reports on data collected from one student working on tasks concerned with absolute value functions. It examines the relationship between mathematical constructions and abstractions. It argues that an abstraction is a consolidated construction that can…

  6. Information Technology for Training and Education (ITTE): Conference Keynote Addresses (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, February 4-8, 1991).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Queensland Univ., Brisbane (Australia).

    This volume presents the text of nine keynote addresses and an abstract of one other address presented at ITTE'91, an international forum and conference on Information Technology for Training and Education (ITTE). Each address is preceded by biographical information on the speaker and followed by a brief critique by a professional in information…

  7. Innovative Use of the Law to Address Complex Global Health Problems Comment on "The Legal Strength of International Health Instruments - What It Brings toGlobal Health Governance?"

    PubMed

    Walls, Helen L; Ooms, Gorik

    2017-05-20

    Addressing the increasingly globalised determinants of many important problems affecting human health is a complex task requiring collective action. We suggest that part of the solution to addressing intractable global health issues indeed lies with the role of new legal instruments in the form of globally binding treaties, as described in the recent article of Nikogosian and Kickbusch. However, in addition to the use of international law to develop new treaties, another part of the solution may lie in innovative use of existing legal instruments. A 2015 court ruling in The Hague, which ordered the Dutch government to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% within five years, complements this perspective, suggesting a way forward for addressing global health problems that critically involves civil society and innovative use of existing domestic legal instruments. © 2017 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

  8. Divvy Economies Based On (An Abstract) Temperature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Collins, Dennis G.

    2004-04-01

    The Leontief Input-Output economic system can provide a model for a one-parameter family of economic systems based on an abstract temperature T. In particular, given a normalized input-output matrix R and taking R= R(1), a family of economic systems R(1/T)=R(α) is developed that represents heating (T>1) and cooling (T<1) of the economy relative to T=1. .The economy for a given value of T represents the solution of a constrained maximum entropy problem.

  9. Test Input Generation for Red-Black Trees using Abstraction

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Visser, Willem; Pasareanu, Corina S.; Pelanek, Radek

    2005-01-01

    We consider the problem of test input generation for code that manipulates complex data structures. Test inputs are sequences of method calls from the data structure interface. We describe test input generation techniques that rely on state matching to avoid generation of redundant tests. Exhaustive techniques use explicit state model checking to explore all the possible test sequences up to predefined input sizes. Lossy techniques rely on abstraction mappings to compute and store abstract versions of the concrete states; they explore under-approximations of all the possible test sequences. We have implemented the techniques on top of the Java PathFinder model checker and we evaluate them using a Java implementation of red-black trees.

  10. Development of Quality Indicators to Address Abuse and Neglect in Home-Based Primary Care and Palliative Care.

    PubMed

    Sheehan, Orla C; Ritchie, Christine S; Fathi, Roya; Garrigues, Sarah K; Saliba, Debra; Leff, Bruce

    2016-12-01

    To develop candidate quality indicators (QIs) for the quality standard of "addressing abuse and neglect" in the setting of home-based medical care. Systematic literature review of both the peer-reviewed and gray literature. Home-based primary and palliative care practices. Homebound community-dwelling older adults. Articles were identified to inform the development of candidate indicators of the quality by which home-based primary and palliative care practices addressed abuse and neglect. The literature guided the development of patient-level QIs and practice-level quality standards. A technical expert panel (TEP) representing exemplary home-based primary care and palliative care providers then participated in a modified Delphi process to assess the validity and feasibility of each measure and identify candidate QIs suitable for testing in the field. The literature review yielded 4,371 titles and abstracts that were reviewed; 25 publications met final inclusion criteria and informed development of nine candidate QIs. The TEP rated all but one of the nine candidate indicators as having high validity and feasibility. Translating the complex problem of addressing abuse and neglect into QIs may ultimately serve to improve care delivered to vulnerable home-limited adults who receive home-based medical care. © 2016, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2016, The American Geriatrics Society.

  11. Abstract concepts, language and sociality: from acquisition to inner speech.

    PubMed

    Borghi, Anna M; Barca, Laura; Binkofski, Ferdinand; Tummolini, Luca

    2018-08-05

    The problem of representation of abstract concepts, such as 'freedom' and 'justice', has become particularly crucial in recent years, owing to the increased success of embodied and grounded views of cognition. We will present a novel view on abstract concepts and abstract words. Since abstract concepts do not have single objects as referents, children and adults might rely more on input from others to learn them; we, therefore, suggest that linguistic and social experience play an important role for abstract concepts. We will discuss evidence obtained in our and other laboratories showing that processing of abstract concepts evokes linguistic interaction and social experiences, leading to the activation of the mouth motor system. We will discuss the possible mechanisms that underlie this activation. Mouth motor system activation can be due to re-enactment of the experience of conceptual acquisition, which occurred through the mediation of language. Alternatively, it could be due to the re-explanation of the word meaning, possibly through inner speech. Finally, it can be due to a metacognitive process revealing low confidence in the meaning of our concepts. This process induces in us the need to rely on others to ask/negotiate conceptual meaning. We conclude that with abstract concepts language works as a social tool: it extends our thinking abilities and pushes us to rely on others to integrate our knowledge.This article is part of the theme issue 'Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use, and representation in the brain'. © 2018 The Author(s).

  12. What Is the Problem in Problem-Based Learning in Higher Education Mathematics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dahl, Bettina

    2018-01-01

    Problem and Project-Based Learning (PBL) emphasise collaborate work on problems relevant to society and emphases the relation between theory and practice. PBL fits engineering students as preparation for their future professions but what about mathematics? Mathematics is not just applied mathematics, but it is also a body of abstract knowledge…

  13. Sessions with Associated Abstracts by Day: Teaching Materials and Methods.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Physiologist, 1984

    1984-01-01

    Presented are abstracts of five papers on teaching materials/methods presented at the 35th annual meeting of the American Physiological Society. Topic areas include expert system used as a teacher/consultant in hemostasis problems, computer assisted testing, and excitation/conduction properties of membranes as illustrated by the compound action…

  14. Teaching Problem Solving without Modeling through "Thinking Aloud Pair Problem Solving."

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pestel, Beverly C.

    1993-01-01

    Reviews research relevant to the problem of unsatisfactory student problem-solving abilities and suggests a teaching strategy that addresses the issue. Author explains how she uses teaching aloud problem solving (TAPS) in college chemistry and presents evaluation data. Among the findings are that the TAPS class got fewer problems completely right,…

  15. CONSORT Statement for Randomized Trials of Nonpharmacologic Treatments: A 2017 Update and a CONSORT Extension for Nonpharmacologic Trial Abstracts.

    PubMed

    Boutron, Isabelle; Altman, Douglas G; Moher, David; Schulz, Kenneth F; Ravaud, Philippe

    2017-07-04

    Incomplete and inadequate reporting is an avoidable waste that reduces the usefulness of research. The CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) Statement is an evidence-based reporting guideline that aims to improve research transparency and reduce waste. In 2008, the CONSORT Group developed an extension to the original statement that addressed methodological issues specific to trials of nonpharmacologic treatments (NPTs), such as surgery, rehabilitation, or psychotherapy. This article describes an update of that extension and presents an extension for reporting abstracts of NPT trials. To develop these materials, the authors reviewed pertinent literature published up to July 2016; surveyed authors of NPT trials; and conducted a consensus meeting with editors, trialists, and methodologists. Changes to the CONSORT Statement extension for NPT trials include wording modifications to improve readers' understanding and the addition of 3 new items. These items address whether and how adherence of participants to interventions is assessed or enhanced, description of attempts to limit bias if blinding is not possible, and specification of the delay between randomization and initiation of the intervention. The CONSORT extension for abstracts of NPT trials includes 2 new items that were not specified in the original CONSORT Statement for abstracts. The first addresses reporting of eligibility criteria for centers where the intervention is performed and for care providers. The second addresses reporting of important changes to the intervention versus what was planned. Both the updated CONSORT extension for NPT trials and the CONSORT extension for NPT trial abstracts should help authors, editors, and peer reviewers improve the transparency of NPT trial reports.

  16. From action to abstraction: Gesture as a mechanism of change

    PubMed Central

    Goldin-Meadow, Susan

    2015-01-01

    Piaget was a master at observing the routine behaviors children produce as they go from knowing less to knowing more about at a task, and making inferences not only about how the children understood the task at each point, but also about how they progressed from one point to the next. In this paper, I examine a routine behavior that Piaget overlooked—the spontaneous gestures speakers produce as they explain their solutions to a problem. These gestures are not mere hand waving. They reflect ideas that the speaker has about the problem, often ideas that are not found in that speaker’s talk. But gesture can do more than reflect ideas—it can also change them. In this sense, gesture behaves like any other action; both gesture and action on objects facilitate learning problems on which training was given. However, only gesture promotes transferring the knowledge gained to problems that require generalization. Gesture is, in fact, a special kind of action in that it represents the world rather than directly manipulating the world (gesture does not move objects around). The mechanisms by which gesture and action promote learning may therefore differ—gesture is able to highlight components of an action that promote abstract learning while leaving out details that could tie learning to a specific context. Because it is both an action and a representation, gesture can serve as a bridge between the two and thus be a powerful tool for learning abstract ideas. PMID:26692629

  17. From action to abstraction: Gesture as a mechanism of change.

    PubMed

    Goldin-Meadow, Susan

    2015-12-01

    Piaget was a master at observing the routine behaviors children produce as they go from knowing less to knowing more about at a task, and making inferences not only about how the children understood the task at each point, but also about how they progressed from one point to the next. In this paper, I examine a routine behavior that Piaget overlooked-the spontaneous gestures speakers produce as they explain their solutions to a problem. These gestures are not mere hand waving. They reflect ideas that the speaker has about the problem, often ideas that are not found in that speaker's talk. But gesture can do more than reflect ideas-it can also change them. In this sense, gesture behaves like any other action; both gesture and action on objects facilitate learning problems on which training was given. However, only gesture promotes transferring the knowledge gained to problems that require generalization. Gesture is, in fact, a special kind of action in that it represents the world rather than directly manipulating the world (gesture does not move objects around). The mechanisms by which gesture and action promote learning may therefore differ-gesture is able to highlight components of an action that promote abstract learning while leaving out details that could tie learning to a specific context. Because it is both an action and a representation, gesture can serve as a bridge between the two and thus be a powerful tool for learning abstract ideas.

  18. Speech Communication Education and Classroom Interaction: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," January through June 1981 (Vol. 41 Nos. 7 through 12).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, IL.

    This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The ten titles deal with the following topics: (1) the effect of dramatic improvisation on the attitudes of high school teachers toward their students; (2) the effects of training teachers in interpersonal cognitive problem solving…

  19. Nanotechnology for sustainability: what does nanotechnology offer to address complex sustainability problems?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wiek, Arnim; Foley, Rider W.; Guston, David H.

    2012-09-01

    Nanotechnology is widely associated with the promise of positively contributing to sustainability. However, this view often focuses on end-of-pipe applications, for instance, for water purification or energy efficiency, and relies on a narrow concept of sustainability. Approaching sustainability problems and solution options from a comprehensive and systemic perspective instead may yield quite different conclusions about the contribution of nanotechnology to sustainability. This study conceptualizes sustainability problems as complex constellations with several potential intervention points and amenable to different solution options. The study presents results from interdisciplinary workshops and literature reviews that appraise the contribution of the selected nanotechnologies to mitigate such problems. The study focuses exemplarily on the urban context to make the appraisals tangible and relevant. The solution potential of nanotechnology is explored not only for well-known urban sustainability problems such as water contamination and energy use but also for less obvious ones such as childhood obesity. Results indicate not only potentials but also limitations of nanotechnology's contribution to sustainability and can inform anticipatory governance of nanotechnology in general, and in the urban context in particular.

  20. An approximation algorithm for the Noah's Ark problem with random feature loss.

    PubMed

    Hickey, Glenn; Blanchette, Mathieu; Carmi, Paz; Maheshwari, Anil; Zeh, Norbert

    2011-01-01

    The phylogenetic diversity (PD) of a set of species is a measure of their evolutionary distinctness based on a phylogenetic tree. PD is increasingly being adopted as an index of biodiversity in ecological conservation projects. The Noah's Ark Problem (NAP) is an NP-Hard optimization problem that abstracts a fundamental conservation challenge in asking to maximize the expected PD of a set of taxa given a fixed budget, where each taxon is associated with a cost of conservation and a probability of extinction. Only simplified instances of the problem, where one or more parameters are fixed as constants, have as of yet been addressed in the literature. Furthermore, it has been argued that PD is not an appropriate metric for models that allow information to be lost along paths in the tree. We therefore generalize the NAP to incorporate a proposed model of feature loss according to an exponential distribution and term this problem NAP with Loss (NAPL). In this paper, we present a pseudopolynomial time approximation scheme for NAPL.

  1. Symposium on Early Childhood Education (Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, November 9-10, 1997). Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Illinois Univ., Champaign. Coll. of Education.

    This book compiles abstracts of presentations from a symposium held in honor of Dr. Bernard Spodek, a leading scholar in early childhood education, on the occasion of his retirement. Topics addressed are as follows: (1) culture in early childhood curriculum; (2) developmental and cultural appropriateness; (3) kindergarten in Japan; (4) pressure…

  2. Addressing the minimum fleet problem in on-demand urban mobility.

    PubMed

    Vazifeh, M M; Santi, P; Resta, G; Strogatz, S H; Ratti, C

    2018-05-01

    Information and communication technologies have opened the way to new solutions for urban mobility that provide better ways to match individuals with on-demand vehicles. However, a fundamental unsolved problem is how best to size and operate a fleet of vehicles, given a certain demand for personal mobility. Previous studies 1-5 either do not provide a scalable solution or require changes in human attitudes towards mobility. Here we provide a network-based solution to the following 'minimum fleet problem', given a collection of trips (specified by origin, destination and start time), of how to determine the minimum number of vehicles needed to serve all the trips without incurring any delay to the passengers. By introducing the notion of a 'vehicle-sharing network', we present an optimal computationally efficient solution to the problem, as well as a nearly optimal solution amenable to real-time implementation. We test both solutions on a dataset of 150 million taxi trips taken in the city of New York over one year 6 . The real-time implementation of the method with near-optimal service levels allows a 30 per cent reduction in fleet size compared to current taxi operation. Although constraints on driver availability and the existence of abnormal trip demands may lead to a relatively larger optimal value for the fleet size than that predicted here, the fleet size remains robust for a wide range of variations in historical trip demand. These predicted reductions in fleet size follow directly from a reorganization of taxi dispatching that could be implemented with a simple urban app; they do not assume ride sharing 7-9 , nor require changes to regulations, business models, or human attitudes towards mobility to become effective. Our results could become even more relevant in the years ahead as fleets of networked, self-driving cars become commonplace 10-14 .

  3. Selective Prevention: Addressing Vulnerability to Problem Drug Use in Europe

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burkhart, Gregor; Gyarmathy, V. Anna; Bo, Alessandra

    2011-01-01

    Following the 2003 publication of the European Union (EU) Council Recommendations and the 2005-2008 and 2009-2012 EU Drugs Action Plans, increasing attention has been given in EU member states' drug policies to populations that are vulnerable to problem drug use (PDU). Monitoring data reported to the EMCDDA by designated agencies from 30 countries…

  4. The Development of Public Policies to Address Non-communicable Diseases in the Caribbean Country of Barbados: The Importance of Problem Framing and Policy Entrepreneurs

    PubMed Central

    Unwin, Nigel; Samuels, T. Alafia; Hassell, Trevor; Brownson, Ross C.; Guell, Cornelia

    2017-01-01

    Background: Government policy measures have a key role to play in the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The Caribbean, a middle-income region, has the highest per capita burden of NCDs in the Americas. Our aim was to examine policy development and implementation between the years 2000 and 2013 on NCD prevention and control in Barbados, and to investigate factors promoting, and hindering, success. Methods: A qualitative case study design was used involving a structured policy document review and semi-structured interviews with key informants, identified through stakeholder analysis and ‘cascading.’ Documents were abstracted into a standard form. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and underwent framework analysis, guided by the multiple streams framework (MSF). There were 25 key informants, from the Ministry of Health (MoH), other government Ministries, civil society organisations, and the private sector. Results: A significant policy window opened between 2005 and 2007 in which new posts to address NCDs were created in the MoH, and a government supported multi-sectoral national NCD commission was established. Factors contributing to this government commitment and funding included a high level of awareness, throughout society, of the NCD burden, including media coverage of local research findings; the availability of policy recommendations by international bodies that could be adopted locally, notably the framework convention on tobacco control (FCTC); and the activities of local highly respected policy entrepreneurs with access to senior politicians, who were able to bring together political concern for the problem with potential policy solutions. However, factors were also identified that hindered multi-sectoral policy development in several areas, including around nutrition, physical activity, and alcohol. These included a lack of consensus (valence) on the nature of the problem, often framed as being predominantly one of

  5. Abstract quantum computing machines and quantum computational logics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chiara, Maria Luisa Dalla; Giuntini, Roberto; Sergioli, Giuseppe; Leporini, Roberto

    2016-06-01

    Classical and quantum parallelism are deeply different, although it is sometimes claimed that quantum Turing machines are nothing but special examples of classical probabilistic machines. We introduce the concepts of deterministic state machine, classical probabilistic state machine and quantum state machine. On this basis, we discuss the question: To what extent can quantum state machines be simulated by classical probabilistic state machines? Each state machine is devoted to a single task determined by its program. Real computers, however, behave differently, being able to solve different kinds of problems. This capacity can be modeled, in the quantum case, by the mathematical notion of abstract quantum computing machine, whose different programs determine different quantum state machines. The computations of abstract quantum computing machines can be linguistically described by the formulas of a particular form of quantum logic, termed quantum computational logic.

  6. Looking beyond first-world problems: an emerging global workplace is encouraging more biomedical engineers to address the health issues of the developing world.

    PubMed

    Tucker, Lindsay

    2014-01-01

    Each year, the developed world is flooded with complex new medical technologies, from robotic prosthetics to remote-controlled aspirin implants. Meanwhile, only about 10% of health research funds are spent addressing the pressing problems of developing nations, although these countries make up 93% of the worldwide burden of disease. In short, while a small fraction of the world pops brand-name pharmaceuticals, the majority suffers from poor sanitation, contaminated drinking water, preventable disease, and child mortality.

  7. Split gender identity: problem or solution? Proposed parameters for addressing the gender dysphoric patient.

    PubMed

    Osborne, Cynthia; Wise, Thomas N

    2002-01-01

    Working with the gender dysphoric patient is complex because of the various clinical issues that arise. One issue that has not been addressed in the psychiatric literature is whether to address the patient with the biologically congruent pronoun or name or with the patient's preferred-gender pronoun or cross-gender name. This article presents clinical examples that allow a template to be developed for pronoun use in working with such patients. Whether the clinician uses biologically congruent names and pronouns may depend upon the patient's progress in adopting the cross gender role as well whether family or friends either know or accept such changes. In certain situations, such as meetings with family members, the therapist may address the patient with gender congruent names; whereas on other occasions use cross-gender pronouns or names.

  8. 2018 Congress Poster Abstracts

    PubMed

    2018-02-21

    Each abstract has been indexed according to the first author. Abstracts appear as they were submitted and have not undergone editing or the Oncology Nursing Forum’s review process. Only abstracts that will be presented appear here. Poster numbers are subject to change. For updated poster numbers, visit congress.ons.org or check the Congress guide. Data published in abstracts presented at the ONS 43rd Annual Congress are embargoed until the conclusion of the presentation. Coverage and/or distribution of an abstract, poster, or any of its supplemental material to or by the news media, any commercial entity, or individuals, including the authors of said abstract, is strictly prohibited until the embargo is lifted. Promotion of general topics and speakers is encouraged within these guidelines.

  9. Problem Video Gaming Among Children Enrolled in Tertiary Weight Management Programs

    PubMed Central

    Datto, George; Phan, Thao-Ly T.; Werk, Lloyd N.; Stackpole, Kristin; Siegel, Robert; Stratbucker, William; Tucker, Jared M.; Christison, Amy L.; Hossain, Jobayer; Gentile, Douglas A.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Prior studies show seven percent to nine percent of children demonstrate gaming behaviors that affect a child's ability to function (e.g., problem gaming), but none have examined the association between problem gaming and weight status. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of problem gaming among children enrolled in tertiary weight management programs. We administered a computer-based survey to a convenience sample of children aged 11–17 years enrolled in five geographically diverse pediatric weight management (PWM) programs in the COMPASS (Childhood Obesity Multi-Program Analysis and Study System) network. The survey included demographics, gaming characteristics, and a problem gaming assessment. The survey had 454 respondents representing a diverse cohort (53 percent females, 27 percent black, 24 percent Hispanic, 41 percent white) with mean age of 13.7 years. A total of 8.2 percent of respondents met criteria for problem gaming. Problem gamers were more likely to be white, male, play mature-rated games, and report daily play. Children in PWM programs reported problem gaming at the same rate as other pediatric populations. Screening for problem gaming provides an opportunity for pediatricians to address gaming behaviors that may affect the health of children with obesity who already are at risk for worsened health and quality of life. PMID:28170312

  10. [Problems encountered by hospital pharmacists with information systems: Analysis of exchanges within social networks].

    PubMed

    Charpiat, B; Mille, F; Fombeur, P; Machon, J; Zawadzki, E; Bobay-Madic, A

    2018-05-21

    The development of information systems in French hospitals is mandatory. The aim of this work was to analyze the content of exchanges carried out within social networks, dealing with problems encountered with hospital pharmacies information systems. Messages exchanged via the mailing list of the Association pour le Digital et l'Information en Pharmacie and abstracts of communications presented at hospital pharmacists trade union congresses were analyzed. Those referring to information systems used in hospital pharmacies were selected. From March 2015 to June 2016, 122 e-mails sent by 80 pharmacists concerned information systems. From 2002 to 2016, 45 abstracts dealt with this topic. Problems most often addressed in these 167 documents were "parameterization and/or functionalities" (n=116), interfaces and complexity of the hospital information systems (n=52), relationship with health information technologies vendors and poor reactivity (n=32), additional workload (n=32), ergonomics (n=30), insufficient user training (n=22). These problems are interdependent, lead to errors and in order to mitigate their consequences, they compel pharmacy professionals to divert a significant amount of working hours to the detriment of pharmaceutical care and dispensing and preparing drugs. Hospital pharmacists are faced with many problems of insecurity and inefficiency generated by information systems. Researches are warranted to determine their cost, specify their deleterious effects on care and identify the safest information systems. Copyright © 2018 Académie Nationale de Pharmacie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  11. A Multi-Systemic School-Based Approach for Addressing Childhood Aggression

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Runions, Kevin

    2008-01-01

    School-based approaches to addressing aggression in the early grades have focused on explicit curriculum addressing social and emotional processes. The current study reviews research on the distinct modes of aggression, the status of current research on social and emotional processing relevant to problems of aggression amongst young children, as…

  12. Residualization is not the answer: Rethinking how to address multicollinearity.

    PubMed

    York, Richard

    2012-11-01

    Here I show that a commonly used procedure to address problems stemming from collinearity and multicollinearity among independent variables in regression analysis, "residualization", leads to biased coefficient and standard error estimates and does not address the fundamental problem of collinearity, which is a lack of information. I demonstrate this using visual representations of collinearity, hypothetical experimental designs, and analyses of both artificial and real world data. I conclude by noting the importance of examining methodological practices to ensure that their validity can be established based on rational criteria. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Big data, little security: Addressing security issues in your platform

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Macklin, Thomas; Mathews, Joseph

    2017-05-01

    This paper describes some patterns for information security problems that consistently emerge among traditional enterprise networks and applications, both with respect to cyber threats and data sensitivity. We draw upon cases from qualitative studies and interviews of system developers, network operators, and certifiers of military applications. Specifically, the problems discussed involve sensitivity of data aggregates, training efficacy, and security decision support in the human machine interface. While proven techniques can address many enterprise security challenges, we provide additional recommendations on how to further improve overall security posture, and suggest additional research thrusts to address areas where known gaps remain.

  14. Texts, Structure, and Collaboration: Reflections of a Professional Development Addressing Homophobia in Secondary Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Joseph R.

    2015-01-01

    Homophobia is an incredible problem within educational settings. Therefore, we must begin examining how we can address the challenge in an effective manner. Researchers postulate professional development (PD) discussing homophobia is an appropriate method to address the problem. To date, there is little published literature that discusses how a PD…

  15. Abstract semantics in the motor system? - An event-related fMRI study on passive reading of semantic word categories carrying abstract emotional and mental meaning.

    PubMed

    Dreyer, Felix R; Pulvermüller, Friedemann

    2018-03-01

    Previous research showed that modality-preferential sensorimotor areas are relevant for processing concrete words used to speak about actions. However, whether modality-preferential areas also play a role for abstract words is still under debate. Whereas recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies suggest an involvement of motor cortex in processing the meaning of abstract emotion words as, for example, 'love', other non-emotional abstract words, in particular 'mental words', such as 'thought' or 'logic', are believed to engage 'amodal' semantic systems only. In the present event-related fMRI experiment, subjects passively read abstract emotional and mental nouns along with concrete action related words. Contrary to expectation, the results indicate a specific involvement of face motor areas in the processing of mental nouns, resembling that seen for face related action words. This result was confirmed when subject-specific regions of interest (ROIs) defined by motor localizers were used. We conclude that a role of motor systems in semantic processing is not restricted to concrete words but extends to at least some abstract mental symbols previously thought to be entirely 'disembodied' and divorced from semantically related sensorimotor processing. Implications for neurocognitive theories of semantics and clinical applications will be highlighted, paying specific attention to the role of brain activations as indexes of cognitive processes and their relationships to 'causal' studies addressing lesion and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) effects. Possible implications for clinical practice, in particular speech language therapy, are discussed in closing. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  16. Abstract Proceedings of the Florida Instructional Computing Conference (Orlando, Florida, January 21-24, 1986).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roblyer, M. D., Ed.

    Current issues in educational uses for microcomputers are addressed in this collection of 139 abstracts of papers in which computer literacy and practical applications dominate. Topics discussed include factors related to computer use in the classroom, e.g., computer lab utilization; teaching geometry, science, math, and English via…

  17. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 08)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1976-01-01

    This bibliography is issued in two sections; abstracts and indexes. The Abstract Section cites 180 patents and applications for patents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period of July 1975 through December 1975. Each entry in the Abstract Section consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent. The index Section contains entries for 2,905 patents and applications for patent citations covering the period May 1969 through December 1975. The Index Section contains five indexes -- subject, inventor, source, number and accession number.

  18. Addressing the Health Concerns of VA Women With Sexual Trauma

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-10-01

    SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT Lifetime ST disproportionately affects women veterans and can threaten their health and wellbeing. PTSD, IPV, and...alcohol use are closely interrelated and significant concerns for women veterans with lifetime ST . Providing effective and low-cost interventions to...address ST -related risks among women veterans with lifetime ST would advance clinical care for these women in an important area. 15. SUBJECT TERMS

  19. Abstracts for the Planetary Geology Field Conference on Aeolian Processes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Greeley, R. (Editor); Black, D. (Editor)

    1978-01-01

    The Planetary Geology Field Conference on Aeolian Processes was organized at the request of the Planetary Geology Program office of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to bring together geologists working on aeolian problems on earth and planetologists concerned with similar problems on the planets. Abstracts of papers presented at the conference are arranged herein by alphabetical order of the senior author. Papers fall into three broad categories: (1) Viking Orbiter and Viking Lander results on aeolian processes and/or landforms on Mars, (2) laboratory results on studies of aeolian processes, and (3) photogeology and field studies of aeolian processes on Earth.

  20. Abstracting Concepts and Methods.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Borko, Harold; Bernier, Charles L.

    This text provides a complete discussion of abstracts--their history, production, organization, publication--and of indexing. Instructions for abstracting are outlined, and standards and criteria for abstracting are stated. Management, automation, and personnel are discussed in terms of possible economies that can be derived from the introduction…

  1. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 07)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1975-01-01

    This bibliography is issued in two sections: Section 1 - Abstracts, and Section 2 - Indexes. This issue of the Abstract Section cites 158 patents and applications for patent introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period of January 1975 through June 1975. Each entry in the Abstract Section consists of a citation, an abstract, and, in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent. This issue of the Index Section contains entries for 2830 patent and application for patent citations covering the period May 1969 through June 1975. The index section contains five indexes -- subject, inventor, source, number and accession number.

  2. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 09)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1976-01-01

    This bibliography is issued in two sections: Section 1 - Abstracts, and Section 2 - Indexes. This issue of the Abstract Section cites 200 patents and applications for patent introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period of January 1976 through June 1976. Each entry in the Abstract Section consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent. This issue of the Index Section contains entries for 2994 patent and application for patent citations covering the period May 1969 through June 1976. The Index Section contains five indexes -- subject, inventor, source, number and accession number.

  3. Confronting Decision Cliffs: Diagnostic Assessment of Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms' Performance for Addressing Uncertain Environmental Thresholds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ward, V. L.; Singh, R.; Reed, P. M.; Keller, K.

    2014-12-01

    As water resources problems typically involve several stakeholders with conflicting objectives, multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) are now key tools for understanding management tradeoffs. Given the growing complexity of water planning problems, it is important to establish if an algorithm can consistently perform well on a given class of problems. This knowledge allows the decision analyst to focus on eliciting and evaluating appropriate problem formulations. This study proposes a multi-objective adaptation of the classic environmental economics "Lake Problem" as a computationally simple but mathematically challenging MOEA benchmarking problem. The lake problem abstracts a fictional town on a lake which hopes to maximize its economic benefit without degrading the lake's water quality to a eutrophic (polluted) state through excessive phosphorus loading. The problem poses the challenge of maintaining economic activity while confronting the uncertainty of potentially crossing a nonlinear and potentially irreversible pollution threshold beyond which the lake is eutrophic. Objectives for optimization are maximizing economic benefit from lake pollution, maximizing water quality, maximizing the reliability of remaining below the environmental threshold, and minimizing the probability that the town will have to drastically change pollution policies in any given year. The multi-objective formulation incorporates uncertainty with a stochastic phosphorus inflow abstracting non-point source pollution. We performed comprehensive diagnostics using 6 algorithms: Borg, MOEAD, eMOEA, eNSGAII, GDE3, and NSGAII to ascertain their controllability, reliability, efficiency, and effectiveness. The lake problem abstracts elements of many current water resources and climate related management applications where there is the potential for crossing irreversible, nonlinear thresholds. We show that many modern MOEAs can fail on this test problem, indicating its suitability as a

  4. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 13)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1978-01-01

    This bibliography is issued in two sections: Section 1 - Abstracts, and Section 2 - Indexes. This issue of the Abstract Section cites 161 patents and applications for patent introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period January 1978 through June 1978. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent.

  5. Curriculum Development in Population Education. Abstract-Bibliography, Series 6.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Bangkok (Thailand). Regional Office for Education in Asia and the Pacific.

    Part of a series of annotated bibliographies dealing with issues and problems raised by educators involved with population education programs, this publication addresses curriculum development in population education. Curriculum development is the most important component of a population education program, for it is through curriculum materials…

  6. Abstract Interpreters for Free

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Might, Matthew

    In small-step abstract interpretations, the concrete and abstract semantics bear an uncanny resemblance. In this work, we present an analysis-design methodology that both explains and exploits that resemblance. Specifically, we present a two-step method to convert a small-step concrete semantics into a family of sound, computable abstract interpretations. The first step re-factors the concrete state-space to eliminate recursive structure; this refactoring of the state-space simultaneously determines a store-passing-style transformation on the underlying concrete semantics. The second step uses inference rules to generate an abstract state-space and a Galois connection simultaneously. The Galois connection allows the calculation of the "optimal" abstract interpretation. The two-step process is unambiguous, but nondeterministic: at each step, analysis designers face choices. Some of these choices ultimately influence properties such as flow-, field- and context-sensitivity. Thus, under the method, we can give the emergence of these properties a graph-theoretic characterization. To illustrate the method, we systematically abstract the continuation-passing style lambda calculus to arrive at two distinct families of analyses. The first is the well-known k-CFA family of analyses. The second consists of novel "environment-centric" abstract interpretations, none of which appear in the literature on static analysis of higher-order programs.

  7. Abstraction of information in repository performance assessments. Examples from the SKI project Site-94

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dverstorp, B.; Andersson, J.

    1995-12-01

    Performance Assessment of a nuclear waste repository implies an analysis of a complex system with many interacting processes. Even if some of these processes may be known to large detail, problems arise when combining all information, and means of abstracting information from complex detailed models into models that couple different processes are needed. Clearly, one of the major objectives of performance assessment, to calculate doses or other performance indicators, implies an enormous abstraction of information compared to all information that is used as input. Other problems are that the knowledge of different parts or processes is strongly variable and adjustments,more » interpretations, are needed when combining models from different disciplines. In addition, people as well as computers, even today, always have a limited capacity to process information and choices have to be made. However, because abstraction of information clearly is unavoidable in performance assessment the validity of choices made, always need to be scrutinized and judgements made need to be updated in an iterative process.« less

  8. Electrophysiological responses to feedback during the application of abstract rules.

    PubMed

    Walsh, Matthew M; Anderson, John R

    2013-11-01

    Much research focuses on how people acquire concrete stimulus-response associations from experience; however, few neuroscientific studies have examined how people learn about and select among abstract rules. To address this issue, we recorded ERPs as participants performed an abstract rule-learning task. In each trial, they viewed a sample number and two test numbers. Participants then chose a test number using one of three abstract mathematical rules they freely selected from: greater than the sample number, less than the sample number, or equal to the sample number. No one rule was always rewarded, but some rules were rewarded more frequently than others. To maximize their earnings, participants needed to learn which rules were rewarded most frequently. All participants learned to select the best rules for repeating and novel stimulus sets that obeyed the overall reward probabilities. Participants differed, however, in the extent to which they overgeneralized those rules to repeating stimulus sets that deviated from the overall reward probabilities. The feedback-related negativity (FRN), an ERP component thought to reflect reward prediction error, paralleled behavior. The FRN was sensitive to item-specific reward probabilities in participants who detected the deviant stimulus set, and the FRN was sensitive to overall reward probabilities in participants who did not. These results show that the FRN is sensitive to the utility of abstract rules and that the individual's representation of a task's states and actions shapes behavior as well as the FRN.

  9. Electrophysiological Responses to Feedback during the Application of Abstract Rules

    PubMed Central

    Walsh, Matthew M.; Anderson, John R.

    2017-01-01

    Much research focuses on how people acquire concrete stimulus–response associations from experience; however, few neuroscientific studies have examined how people learn about and select among abstract rules. To address this issue, we recorded ERPs as participants performed an abstract rule-learning task. In each trial, they viewed a sample number and two test numbers. Participants then chose a test number using one of three abstract mathematical rules they freely selected from: greater than the sample number, less than the sample number, or equal to the sample number. No one rule was always rewarded, but some rules were rewarded more frequently than others. To maximize their earnings, participants needed to learn which rules were rewarded most frequently. All participants learned to select the best rules for repeating and novel stimulus sets that obeyed the overall reward probabilities. Participants differed, however, in the extent to which they overgeneralized those rules to repeating stimulus sets that deviated from the overall reward probabilities. The feedback-related negativity (FRN), an ERP component thought to reflect reward prediction error, paralleled behavior. The FRN was sensitive to item-specific reward probabilities in participants who detected the deviant stimulus set, and the FRN was sensitive to overall reward probabilities in participants who did not. These results show that the FRN is sensitive to the utility of abstract rules and that the individualʼs representation of a taskʼs states and actions shapes behavior as well as the FRN. PMID:23915052

  10. Moving Forward with Modern Vocational Education Programs. Abstracts for Vocational Education Exemplary and Innovative Project Grants 1987-88, 1988-89.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    North Carolina State Dept. of Public Instruction, Raleigh. Div. of Vocational Education Services.

    This volume provides a one-page abstract for each of the vocational exemplary and innovative projects in the state of North Carolina that were funded in 1987-88 and 1988-89 as authorized by the 1984 Carl D. Perkins Act. Each abstract provides the following information: title of project; local education authority; project coordinator; address;…

  11. Solution of magnetic field and eddy current problem induced by rotating magnetic poles (abstract)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Z. J.; Low, T. S.

    1996-04-01

    The magnetic field and eddy current problems induced by rotating permanent magnet poles occur in electromagnetic dampers, magnetic couplings, and many other devices. Whereas numerical techniques, for example, finite element methods can be exploited to study various features of these problems, such as heat generation and drag torque development, etc., the analytical solution is always of interest to the designers since it helps them to gain the insight into the interdependence of the parameters involved and provides an efficient tool for designing. Some of the previous work showed that the solution of the eddy current problem due to the linearly moving magnet poles can give satisfactory approximation for the eddy current problem due to rotating fields. However, in many practical cases, especially when the number of magnet poles is small, there is significant effect of flux focusing due to the geometry. The above approximation can therefore lead to marked errors in the theoretical predictions of the device performance. Bernot et al. recently described an analytical solution in a polar coordinate system where the radial field is excited by a time-varying source. A discussion of an analytical solution of the magnetic field and eddy current problems induced by moving magnet poles in radial field machines will be given in this article. The theoretical predictions obtained from this method is compared with the results obtained from finite element calculations. The validity of the method is also checked by the comparison of the theoretical predictions and the measurements from a test machine. It is shown that the introduced solution leads to a significant improvement in the air gap field prediction as compared with the results obtained from the analytical solution that models the eddy current problems induced by linearly moving magnet poles.

  12. Paper Abstract Animals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sutley, Jane

    2010-01-01

    Abstraction is, in effect, a simplification and reduction of shapes with an absence of detail designed to comprise the essence of the more naturalistic images being depicted. Without even intending to, young children consistently create interesting, and sometimes beautiful, abstract compositions. A child's creations, moreover, will always seem to…

  13. Problem Solving through Paper Folding

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wares, Arsalan

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to describe a couple of challenging mathematical problems that involve paper folding. These problem-solving tasks can be used to foster geometric and algebraic thinking among students. The context of paper folding makes some of the abstract mathematical ideas involved relatively concrete. When implemented…

  14. Addressing the third gamma problem in PET

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schueller, M. J.; Mulnix, T. L.; Christian, B. T.; Jensen, M.; Holm, S.; Oakes, T. R.; Roberts, A. D.; Dick, D. W.; Martin, C. C.; Nickles, R. J.

    2003-02-01

    PET brings the promise of quantitative imaging of the in-vivo distribution of any positron emitting nuclide, a list with hundreds of candidates. All but a few of these, the "pure positron" emitters, have isotropic coincident gamma rays that give rise to misrepresented events in the sinogram and in the resulting reconstructed image. Of particular interest are /sup 10/C, /sup 14/O, /sup 38/K, /sup 52m/Mn, /sup 60/Cu, /sup 61/Cu, /sup 94m/Tc, and /sup 124/I, each having high-energy gammas that are Compton-scattered down into the 511 keV window. The problems arising from the "third gamma," and its accommodation by standard scatter correction algorithms, were studied empirically, employing three scanner models (CTI 933/04, CTI HR+ and GE Advance), imaging three phantoms (line source, NEMA scatter and contrast/detail), with /sup 18/F or /sup 38/K and /sup 72/As mimicking /sup 14/O and /sup 10/C, respectively, in 2-D and 3-D modes. Five findings emerge directly from the image analysis. The third gamma: 1) does, obviously, tax the single event rate of the PET scanners, particularly in the absence of septa, from activity outside of the axial field of view; 2) does, therefore, tax the random rate, which is second order in singles, although the gamma is a prompt coincidence partner; 3) does enter the sinogram as an additional flat background, like randoms, but unlike scatter; 4) is not seriously misrepresented by the scatter algorithm which fits the correction to the wings of the sinogram; and 5) does introduce additional statistical noise from the subsequent subtraction, but does not seriously compromise the detectability of lesions as seen in the contrast/detail phantom. As a safeguard against the loss of accuracy in image quantitation, fiducial sources of known activity are included in the field of view alongside of the subject. With this precaution, a much wider selection of imaging agents can enjoy the advantages of positron emission tomography.

  15. Book of Abstracts from the MORS Symposium (62nd) Held in Colorado Springs, Colorado

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1994-06-01

    34Med poin detector roles, wil be addressed. Abstract amt available. Dr. Willim Christiansen Louis Douingusa, Randall Parish, Fernando, Pens, Susan...Costs: Air Force Methodology Army Reserve Component Inventory Projection Daniel L. Leighton Herb Shukiar SRA Corporation RAND 1777 NE Loop 410, Suite...35, 52 Chevalier, William J ...................... 80 Behymer, Maj Bill ..................... 53 Christiansen , William

  16. ASTRONAUTICS INFORMATION. Abstracts Vol. III, No. 1. Abstracts 3,082- 3,184

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    None

    1961-01-01

    Abstracts are presented on astronautics. The abstracts are generally restricted to spaceflight and to applicable techniques and data. The publication covers the period of January 1961. 102 references. (J.R.D.)

  17. Motivation to Address Self-Reported Hearing Problems in Adults with Normal Hearing Thresholds

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alicea, Carly C. M.; Doherty, Karen A.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the motivation to change in relation to hearing problems in adults with normal hearing thresholds but who report hearing problems and that of adults with a mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss. Factors related to their motivation were also assessed. Method: The motivation to change in…

  18. Capturing Students' Abstraction While Solving Organic Reaction Mechanism Problems across a Semester

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weinrich, M. L.; Sevian, H.

    2017-01-01

    Students often struggle with solving mechanism problems in organic chemistry courses. They frequently focus on surface features, have difficulty attributing meaning to symbols, and do not recognize tasks that are different from the exact tasks practiced. To be more successful, students need to be able to extract salient features, map similarities…

  19. Addressing Cultural Diversity: Effects of a Problem-Based Intercultural Learning Unit

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Busse, Vera; Krause, Ulrike-Marie

    2015-01-01

    This article explores to what extent a problem-based learning unit in combination with cooperative learning and affectively oriented teaching methods facilitates intercultural learning. As part of the study, students reflected on critical incidents, which display misunderstandings or conflicts that arise as a result of cultural differences. In…

  20. Addressing Students' Difficulties with Faraday's Law: A Guided Problem Solving Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zuza, Kristina; Almudí, José-Manuel; Leniz, Ane; Guisasola, Jenaro

    2014-01-01

    In traditional teaching, the fundamental concepts of electromagnetic induction are usually quickly analyzed, spending most of the time solving problems in a more or less rote manner. However, physics education research has shown that the fundamental concepts of the electromagnetic induction theory are barely understood by students. This article…

  1. Addressing the Antibiotic Resistance Problem with Probiotics: Reducing the Risk of Its Double-Edged Sword Effect

    PubMed Central

    Imperial, Ivan C. V. J.; Ibana, Joyce A.

    2016-01-01

    Antibiotic resistance is a global public health problem that requires our attention. Indiscriminate antibiotic use is a major contributor in the introduction of selective pressures in our natural environments that have significantly contributed in the rapid emergence of antibiotic-resistant microbial strains. The use of probiotics in lieu of antibiotic therapy to address certain health conditions in both animals and humans may alleviate these antibiotic-mediated selective pressures. Probiotic use is defined as the actual application of live beneficial microbes to obtain a desired outcome by preventing diseased state or improving general health. Multiple studies have confirmed the beneficial effects of probiotic use in the health of both livestock and humans. As such, probiotics consumption is gaining popularity worldwide. However, concerns have been raised in the use of some probiotics strains that carry antibiotic resistance genes themselves, as they have the potential to pass the antibiotic resistance genes to pathogenic bacteria through horizontal gene transfer. Therefore, with the current public health concern on antibiotic resistance globally, in this review, we underscore the need to screen probiotic strains that are used in both livestock and human applications to assure their safety and mitigate their potential in significantly contributing to the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in our natural environments. PMID:28018315

  2. ASTRONAUTICS INFORMATION. ABSTRACTS, VOL. V, NO. 3. Abstracts 5,201- 5,330

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hardgrove, B.J.; Warren, F.L. comps.

    1962-03-01

    Abstracts of astronautics information covering the period March 1962 are presented. The 129 abstracts cover the subject of spaceflight and applicable data and techniques. Author, subject, and source indexes are included. (M.C.G.)

  3. The Development of Public Policies to Address Non-communicable Diseases in the Caribbean Country of Barbados: The Importance of Problem Framing and Policy Entrepreneurs.

    PubMed

    Unwin, Nigel; Samuels, T Alafia; Hassell, Trevor; Brownson, Ross C; Guell, Cornelia

    2016-06-15

    Government policy measures have a key role to play in the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The Caribbean, a middle-income region, has the highest per capita burden of NCDs in the Americas. Our aim was to examine policy development and implementation between the years 2000 and 2013 on NCD prevention and control in Barbados, and to investigate factors promoting, and hindering, success. A qualitative case study design was used involving a structured policy document review and semi-structured interviews with key informants, identified through stakeholder analysis and 'cascading.' Documents were abstracted into a standard form. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and underwent framework analysis, guided by the multiple streams framework (MSF). There were 25 key informants, from the Ministry of Health (MoH), other government Ministries, civil society organisations, and the private sector. A significant policy window opened between 2005 and 2007 in which new posts to address NCDs were created in the MoH, and a government supported multi-sectoral national NCD commission was established. Factors contributing to this government commitment and funding included a high level of awareness, throughout society, of the NCD burden, including media coverage of local research findings; the availability of policy recommendations by international bodies that could be adopted locally, notably the framework convention on tobacco control (FCTC); and the activities of local highly respected policy entrepreneurs with access to senior politicians, who were able to bring together political concern for the problem with potential policy solutions. However, factors were also identified that hindered multi-sectoral policy development in several areas, including around nutrition, physical activity, and alcohol. These included a lack of consensus (valence) on the nature of the problem, often framed as being predominantly one of individuals needing to take

  4. Check Sample Abstracts.

    PubMed

    Alter, David; Grenache, David G; Bosler, David S; Karcher, Raymond E; Nichols, James; Rajadhyaksha, Aparna; Camelo-Piragua, Sandra; Rauch, Carol; Huddleston, Brent J; Frank, Elizabeth L; Sluss, Patrick M; Lewandrowski, Kent; Eichhorn, John H; Hall, Janet E; Rahman, Saud S; McPherson, Richard A; Kiechle, Frederick L; Hammett-Stabler, Catherine; Pierce, Kristin A; Kloehn, Erica A; Thomas, Patricia A; Walts, Ann E; Madan, Rashna; Schlesinger, Kathie; Nawgiri, Ranjana; Bhutani, Manoop; Kanber, Yonca; Abati, Andrea; Atkins, Kristen A; Farrar, Robert; Gopez, Evelyn Valencerina; Jhala, Darshana; Griffin, Sonya; Jhala, Khushboo; Jhala, Nirag; Bentz, Joel S; Emerson, Lyska; Chadwick, Barbara E; Barroeta, Julieta E; Baloch, Zubair W; Collins, Brian T; Middleton, Owen L; Davis, Gregory G; Haden-Pinneri, Kathryn; Chu, Albert Y; Keylock, Joren B; Ramoso, Robert; Thoene, Cynthia A; Stewart, Donna; Pierce, Arand; Barry, Michelle; Aljinovic, Nika; Gardner, David L; Barry, Michelle; Shields, Lisa B E; Arnold, Jack; Stewart, Donna; Martin, Erica L; Rakow, Rex J; Paddock, Christopher; Zaki, Sherif R; Prahlow, Joseph A; Stewart, Donna; Shields, Lisa B E; Rolf, Cristin M; Falzon, Andrew L; Hudacki, Rachel; Mazzella, Fermina M; Bethel, Melissa; Zarrin-Khameh, Neda; Gresik, M Vicky; Gill, Ryan; Karlon, William; Etzell, Joan; Deftos, Michael; Karlon, William J; Etzell, Joan E; Wang, Endi; Lu, Chuanyi M; Manion, Elizabeth; Rosenthal, Nancy; Wang, Endi; Lu, Chuanyi M; Tang, Patrick; Petric, Martin; Schade, Andrew E; Hall, Geraldine S; Oethinger, Margret; Hall, Geraldine; Picton, Avis R; Hoang, Linda; Imperial, Miguel Ranoa; Kibsey, Pamela; Waites, Ken; Duffy, Lynn; Hall, Geraldine S; Salangsang, Jo-Anne M; Bravo, Lulette Tricia C; Oethinger, Margaret D; Veras, Emanuela; Silva, Elvia; Vicens, Jimena; Silva, Elvio; Keylock, Joren; Hempel, James; Rushing, Elizabeth; Posligua, Lorena E; Deavers, Michael T; Nash, Jason W; Basturk, Olca; Perle, Mary Ann; Greco, Alba; Lee, Peng; Maru, Dipen; Weydert, Jamie Allen; Stevens, Todd M; Brownlee, Noel A; Kemper, April E; Williams, H James; Oliverio, Brock J; Al-Agha, Osama M; Eskue, Kyle L; Newlands, Shawn D; Eltorky, Mahmoud A; Puri, Puja K; Royer, Michael C; Rush, Walter L; Tavora, Fabio; Galvin, Jeffrey R; Franks, Teri J; Carter, James Elliot; Kahn, Andrea Graciela; Lozada Muñoz, Luis R; Houghton, Dan; Land, Kevin J; Nester, Theresa; Gildea, Jacob; Lefkowitz, Jerry; Lacount, Rachel A; Thompson, Hannis W; Refaai, Majed A; Quillen, Karen; Lopez, Ana Ortega; Goldfinger, Dennis; Muram, Talia; Thompson, Hannis

    2009-02-01

    The following abstracts are compiled from Check Sample exercises published in 2008. These peer-reviewed case studies assist laboratory professionals with continuing medical education and are developed in the areas of clinical chemistry, cytopathology, forensic pathology, hematology, microbiology, surgical pathology, and transfusion medicine. Abstracts for all exercises published in the program will appear annually in AJCP.

  5. Sensory Intelligence for Extraction of an Abstract Auditory Rule: A Cross-Linguistic Study.

    PubMed

    Guo, Xiao-Tao; Wang, Xiao-Dong; Liang, Xiu-Yuan; Wang, Ming; Chen, Lin

    2018-02-21

    In a complex linguistic environment, while speech sounds can greatly vary, some shared features are often invariant. These invariant features constitute so-called abstract auditory rules. Our previous study has shown that with auditory sensory intelligence, the human brain can automatically extract the abstract auditory rules in the speech sound stream, presumably serving as the neural basis for speech comprehension. However, whether the sensory intelligence for extraction of abstract auditory rules in speech is inherent or experience-dependent remains unclear. To address this issue, we constructed a complex speech sound stream using auditory materials in Mandarin Chinese, in which syllables had a flat lexical tone but differed in other acoustic features to form an abstract auditory rule. This rule was occasionally and randomly violated by the syllables with the rising, dipping or falling tone. We found that both Chinese and foreign speakers detected the violations of the abstract auditory rule in the speech sound stream at a pre-attentive stage, as revealed by the whole-head recordings of mismatch negativity (MMN) in a passive paradigm. However, MMNs peaked earlier in Chinese speakers than in foreign speakers. Furthermore, Chinese speakers showed different MMN peak latencies for the three deviant types, which paralleled recognition points. These findings indicate that the sensory intelligence for extraction of abstract auditory rules in speech sounds is innate but shaped by language experience. Copyright © 2018 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. U.S. Geological Survey National Computer Technology Meeting; Program and abstracts, May 7-11, 1990

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Balthrop, B. H.; Baker, E.G.

    1990-01-01

    Computer-related information from all Divisions of the U.S. Geological Survey are discussed in this compilation of abstracts. Some of the topics addressed are system administration; distributed information systems and data bases, both current (1990) and proposed; hydrologic applications; national water information systems; geographic information systems applications and techniques. The report contains some of the abstracts that were presented at the National Computer Technology Meeting that was held in May 1990. The meeting was sponsored by the Water Resources Division and was attended by more than 200 technical and managerial personnel representing all the Divisions of the U.S. Geological Survey. (USGS)

  7. The representation of abstract words: what matters? Reply to Paivio's (2013) comment on Kousta et al. (2011).

    PubMed

    Vigliocco, Gabriella; Kousta, Stavroula; Vinson, David; Andrews, Mark; Del Campo, Elena

    2013-02-01

    In Kousta, Vigliocco, Vinson, Andrews, and Del Campo (2011), we presented an embodied theory of semantic representation, which crucially included abstract concepts as internally embodied via affective states. Paivio (2013) took issue with our treatment of dual coding theory, our reliance on data from lexical decision, and our theoretical proposal. Here, we address these different issues and clarify how our findings offer a way to move forward in the investigation of how abstract concepts are represented. 2013 APA, all rights reserved

  8. Abstract Datatypes in PVS

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Owre, Sam; Shankar, Natarajan

    1997-01-01

    PVS (Prototype Verification System) is a general-purpose environment for developing specifications and proofs. This document deals primarily with the abstract datatype mechanism in PVS which generates theories containing axioms and definitions for a class of recursive datatypes. The concepts underlying the abstract datatype mechanism are illustrated using ordered binary trees as an example. Binary trees are described by a PVS abstract datatype that is parametric in its value type. The type of ordered binary trees is then presented as a subtype of binary trees where the ordering relation is also taken as a parameter. We define the operations of inserting an element into, and searching for an element in an ordered binary tree; the bulk of the report is devoted to PVS proofs of some useful properties of these operations. These proofs illustrate various approaches to proving properties of abstract datatype operations. They also describe the built-in capabilities of the PVS proof checker for simplifying abstract datatype expressions.

  9. Hierarchical auto-configuration addressing in mobile ad hoc networks (HAAM)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ram Srikumar, P.; Sumathy, S.

    2017-11-01

    Addressing plays a vital role in networking to identify devices uniquely. A device must be assigned with a unique address in order to participate in the data communication in any network. Different protocols defining different types of addressing are proposed in literature. Address auto-configuration is a key requirement for self organizing networks. Existing auto-configuration based addressing protocols require broadcasting probes to all the nodes in the network before assigning a proper address to a new node. This needs further broadcasts to reflect the status of the acquired address in the network. Such methods incur high communication overheads due to repetitive flooding. To address this overhead, a new partially stateful address allocation scheme, namely Hierarchical Auto-configuration Addressing (HAAM) scheme is extended and proposed. Hierarchical addressing basically reduces latency and overhead caused during address configuration. Partially stateful addressing algorithm assigns addresses without the need for flooding and global state awareness, which in turn reduces the communication overhead and space complexity respectively. Nodes are assigned addresses hierarchically to maintain the graph of the network as a spanning tree which helps in effectively avoiding the broadcast storm problem. Proposed algorithm for HAAM handles network splits and merges efficiently in large scale mobile ad hoc networks incurring low communication overheads.

  10. Spatiotemporal dynamics during processing of abstract and concrete verbs: an ERP study.

    PubMed

    Dalla Volta, Riccardo; Fabbri-Destro, Maddalena; Gentilucci, Maurizio; Avanzini, Pietro

    2014-08-01

    Different accounts have been proposed to explain the nature of concept representations. Embodied accounts claim a key involvement of sensory-motor systems during semantic processing while more traditional accounts posit that concepts are abstract mental entities independent of perceptual and motor brain systems. While the involvement of sensory-motor areas in concrete language processing is supported by a large number of studies, this involvement is far from being established when considering abstract language. The present study addressed abstract and concrete verb processing, by investigating the spatiotemporal dynamics of evoked responses by means of high density EEG while participants performed a semantic decision task. In addition, RTs to the same set of stimuli were collected. In both early and late time intervals, ERP scalp topography significantly differed according to word categories. Concrete verbs showed involvement of parieto-frontal networks for action, according to the implied body effector. In contrast, abstract verbs recruited mostly frontal regions outside the motor system, suggesting a non-motor semantic processing for this category. In addition, differently from what has been reported during action observation, the parietal recruitment related to concrete verbs presentation followed the frontal one. The present findings suggest that action word semantic is grounded in sensory-motor systems, provided a bodily effector is specified, while abstract concepts׳ representation cannot be easily explained by a motor embodiment. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  11. Modelling abstraction licensing strategies ahead of the UK's water abstraction licensing reform

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klaar, M. J.

    2012-12-01

    Within England and Wales, river water abstractions are licensed and regulated by the Environment Agency (EA), who uses compliance with the Environmental Flow Indicator (EFI) to ascertain where abstraction may cause undesirable effects on river habitats and species. The EFI is a percentage deviation from natural flow represented using a flow duration curve. The allowable percentage deviation changes with different flows, and also changes depending on an assessment of the sensitivity of the river to changes in flow (Table 1). Within UK abstraction licensing, resource availability is expressed as a surplus or deficit of water resources in relation to the EFI, and utilises the concept of 'hands-off-flows' (HOFs) at the specified flow statistics detailed in Table 1. Use of a HOF system enables abstraction to cease at set flows, but also enables abstraction to occur at periods of time when more water is available. Compliance at low flows (Q95) is used by the EA to determine the hydrological classification and compliance with the Water Framework Directive (WFD) for identifying waterbodies where flow may be causing or contributing to a failure in good ecological status (GES; Table 2). This compliance assessment shows where the scenario flows are below the EFI and by how much, to help target measures for further investigation and assessment. Currently, the EA is reviewing the EFI methodology in order to assess whether or not it can be used within the reformed water abstraction licensing system which is being planned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to ensure the licensing system is resilient to the challenges of climate change and population growth, while allowing abstractors to meet their water needs efficiently, and better protect the environment. In order to assess the robustness of the EFI, a simple model has been created which allows a number of abstraction, flow and licensing scenarios to be run to determine WFD compliance using the

  12. The Right Network for the Right Problem

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gomez, Louis M.; Russell, Jennifer L.; Bryk, Anthony S.; LeMahieu, Paul G.; Mejia, Eva M.

    2016-01-01

    Educators are realizing that individuals working in isolation can't adequately address the teaching and learning problems that face us today. Collective action networks are needed. Sharing networks use collective energy to support individual action and agency, whereas execution networks typically address complex problems that require sustained…

  13. Association between addressing antiseizure drug side effects and patient-reported medication adherence in epilepsy

    PubMed Central

    Moura, Lidia M V R; Carneiro, Thiago S; Cole, Andrew J; Hsu, John; Vickrey, Barbara G; Hoch, Daniel B

    2016-01-01

    Background and aim Adherence to treatment is a critical component of epilepsy management. This study examines whether addressing antiepileptic drug (AED) side effects at every visit is associated with increased patient-reported medication adherence. Patients and methods This study identified 243 adults with epilepsy who were seen at two academic outpatient neurology settings and had at least two visits over a 3-year period. Demographic and clinical characteristics were abstracted. Evidence that AED side effects were addressed was measured through 1) phone interview (patient-reported) and 2) medical records abstraction (physician-documented). Medication adherence was assessed using the validated Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-4. Complete adherence was determined as answering “no” to all questions. Results Sixty-two (25%) patients completed the interviews. Participants and nonparticipants were comparable with respect to demographic and clinical characteristics; however, a smaller proportion of participants had a history of drug-resistant epilepsy than nonparticipants (17.7% vs 30.9%, P=0.04). Among the participants, evidence that AED side effects were addressed was present in 48 (77%) medical records and reported by 51 (82%) patients. Twenty-eight (45%) patients reported complete medication adherence. The most common reason for incomplete adherence was missed medication due to forgetfulness (n=31, 91%). There was no association between addressing AED side effects (neither physician-documented nor patient-reported) and complete medication adherence (P=0.22 and 0.20). Discussion and conclusion Among patients with epilepsy, addressing medication side effects at every visit does not appear to increase patient-reported medication adherence. PMID:27826186

  14. Promoting Health by Addressing Basic Needs: Effect of Problem Resolution on Contacting Health Referrals.

    PubMed

    Thompson, Tess; Kreuter, Matthew W; Boyum, Sonia

    2016-04-01

    Members of vulnerable populations have heightened needs for health services. One advantage of integrating health risk assessment and referrals into social service assistance systems such as 2-1-1 is that such systems help callers resolve problems in other areas (e.g., housing). Callers to 2-1-1 in Missouri (N= 1,090) with at least one behavioral risk factor or cancer screening need were randomly assigned to one of three health referral interventions: verbal referrals only, verbal referrals + a tailored mailed reminder, or verbal referrals + telephone health navigator. After 1 month, we assessed whether the nonhealth problems that prompted the 2-1-1 call had been resolved. Logistic regression estimated effects of having the problem resolved on calling a health referral. Callers were predominantly female (85%) and had a high school education or less (61%); nearly half (47%) had incomes under $10,000. The most common service requests were for utility assistance (35%), home/family problems (23%), and rent/mortgage assistance (12%). At follow-up, 38% of callers reported that all problems prompting their 2-1-1 call had been resolved, and 24% reported calling a health referral. Resolving all problems prompting the 2-1-1 call was associated with a higher odds of contacting a health referral (odds ratio = 1.44, 95% confidence interval [1.02, 2.05]) compared to people whose problems were not resolved. Multifaceted interventions that help meet non-health-related needs and provide support in reaching health-related goals may promote health in vulnerable populations. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

  15. Promoting Health by Addressing Basic Needs: Effect of Problem Resolution on Contacting Health Referrals

    PubMed Central

    Thompson, Tess; Kreuter, Matthew; Boyum, Sonia

    2016-01-01

    Members of vulnerable populations have heightened needs for health services. One advantage of integrating health risk assessment and referrals into social service assistance systems such as 2-1-1 is that such systems help callers resolve problems in other areas (e.g. housing). Callers to 2-1-1 in Missouri (N=1090) with at least one behavioral risk factor or cancer screening need were randomly assigned to one of three health referral interventions: verbal referrals only, verbal referrals + a tailored mailed reminder, or verbal referrals + telephone health navigator. After one month, we assessed whether the non-health problems that prompted the 2-1-1 call had been resolved. Logistic regression estimated effects of having the problem resolved on calling a health referral. Callers were predominantly female (85%) and had a high school education or less (61%); nearly half (47%) had incomes under $10,000. The most common service requests were for utility assistance (35%), home/family problems (23%), and rent/mortgage assistance (12%). At follow-up, 38% of callers reported that all problems prompting their 2-1-1 call had been resolved, and 24% reported calling a health referral. Resolving all problems prompting the 2-1-1 call was associated with a higher odds of contacting a health referral (OR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.02-2.05) compared to people whose problems were not resolved. Multifaceted interventions that help meet non-health-related needs and provide support in reaching health-related goals may promote health in vulnerable populations. PMID:26293458

  16. For Example? A Philosophical Case Study of Some Problems When Abstract Educational Theory Ignores Concrete Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Golding, Clinton

    2017-01-01

    In Philosophy of Education we frequently argue for or against different educational theories. Yet, as I illustrate in this analysis of two articles, in order to maintain the abstract theoretical distinctions, we are liable to ignore the concrete details of practice, caricature the theories we reject and make false distinctions. The two articles…

  17. Irrelevance in Problem Solving

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Levy, Alon Y.

    1992-01-01

    The notion of irrelevance underlies many different works in AI, such as detecting redundant facts, creating abstraction hierarchies and reformulation and modeling physical devices. However, in order to design problem solvers that exploit the notion of irrelevance, either by automatically detecting irrelevance or by being given knowledge about irrelevance, a formal treatment of the notion is required. In this paper we present a general framework for analyzing irrelevance. We discuss several properties of irrelevance and show how they vary in a space of definitions outlined by the framework. We show how irrelevance claims can be used to justify the creation of abstractions thereby suggesting a new view on the work on abstraction.

  18. Abstracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Biology Teacher, 1976

    1976-01-01

    Presents abstracts of 63 papers to be presented at the 1976 Convention of the National Association of Biology Teachers, October 14-17, 1976, Denver, Colorado. Papers cover a wide range of biology and science education topics with the majority concentrating upon the convention's main program, "Ecosystems: 1776-1976-?". (SL)

  19. 77 FR 32138 - Agency Information Collection Agencies: Proposed Collection; Comments Requested Census of Problem...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-31

    ... Agencies: Proposed Collection; Comments Requested Census of Problem-Solving Courts 2012 ACTION: 30-Day...-Solving Courts (CPSC), 201 2. The title of the form/collection: Census of Problem-Solving Courts or CPSC... Abstract: Problem-solving courts at all levels of government. Abstract: The Bureau of Justice Statistics...

  20. Research Abstracts of 1982.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1982-12-01

    Third Molars in Naval Personnel,- (Abstract #1430) 7. A. SEROWSKI* and F. AKER --"The Effect of Marine and Fresh-Water Atmospheric Environments on...Packaged Dental Instrument4’, (Abstract #1133) 8. I. L. SHKLAIR*, R. W. GAUGLER, R. G. WALTER -.The Effect of Three Surfactants on Controlling Caries...Insoluble Streptococcal Glucan"’. e (Abstract #102) - _/_ / 10. R. G. WALTER* and I. L. SHKLAIR - The Effect of T-10 Dextran on Caries and Plaque in

  1. Addressing the Needs of Transgender Military Veterans: Better Access and More Comprehensive Care

    PubMed Central

    Dietert, Michelle; Dentice, Dianne; Keig, Zander

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Purpose: There is a gap in social science literature addressing issues of access and quality of care for transgender military veterans. Psychologists, medical doctors, and other health professionals are beginning to address some of the barriers present in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) system that affect veterans who are also transgender and intersex. Over a 7-year period, between 2006 and 2013, 2600 transgender veterans were served by the VA. Data from several surveys revealed that most transgender veterans perceive the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to be less than accommodating for their special needs. The goal of this study was to investigate the experiences of a sample of transgender veterans with regard to their experiences with healthcare services provided by the VHA. Methods: Using snowball sampling techniques, we were able to recruit 22 transgender military veterans to participate in our study. A combination of telephone interviews and questionnaires provided data from veterans in various branches of the military throughout the United States. Results: Findings indicate that even though the VHA is working to address issues of inequality for transgender veterans, our participants indicated that there are still some problems with administration of care, proper training of staff and physicians, and availability of comprehensive services for the unique healthcare needs of transgender individuals. Conclusion: Since our data were collected, the VA has worked to bridge the gap by focusing on increased training for VHA providers and staff and establishing LGBT programs at VA facilities. However, we suggest that one key area of importance should continue to focus on how mental health and medical providers and ancillary staff are trained to interact with and provide care for their transgender patients. PMID:28861546

  2. Addressing domestic violence in primary care: what the physician needs to know

    PubMed Central

    Usta, Jinan; Taleb, Rim

    2014-01-01

    Domestic violence (DV) is quite prevalent and negatively impacts the health and mental wellbeing of those affected. Victims of DV are frequent users of health service, yet they are infrequently recognized. Physicians tend to treat the presenting complaints without addressing the root cause of the problem. Lack of knowledge on adequately managing cases of DV and on appropriate ways to help survivors is commonly presented as a barrier. This article presents the magnitude of the problem of DV in the Arab world, highlights the role of the primary care physician in addressing this problem, and provides practical steps that can guide the clinician in the Arab world in giving a comprehensive and culturally sensitive service to the survivors of DV. PMID:24647277

  3. Report to Congress on the U.S. Department of Energy`s Environmental Management Science Program: Research funded and its linkages to environmental cleanup problems, and Environmental Management Science Program research award abstracts. Volume 2 of 3 -- Appendix B

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    The Department of Energy`s Environmental Management Science Program (EMSP) serves as a catalyst for the application of scientific discoveries to the development and deployment of technologies that will lead to reduction of the costs and risks associated with cleaning up the nation`s nuclear complex. Appendix B provides details about each of the 202 research awards funded by the EMSP. This information may prove useful to researchers who are attempting to address the Department`s environmental management challenges in their work, program managers who are planning, integrating, and prioritizing Environmental Management projects, and stakeholders and regulators who are interested in the Department`smore » environmental challenges. The research award information is organized by the state and institution in which the lead principal investigator is located. In many cases, the lead principal investigator is one of several investigators at a number of different institutions. In these cases, the lead investigator (major collaborator) at each of the additional institutions is listed. Each research award abstract is followed by a list of high cost projects that can potentially be impacted by the research results. High cost projects are Environmental Management projects that have total costs greater than $50 million from the year 2007 and beyond, based on the March 1998 Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closure Draft data, and have costs or quantities of material associated with an Environmental Management problem area. High cost projects which must remain active in the year 2007 and beyond to manage high risk are also identified. Descriptions of these potentially related high cost Environmental Management projects can be found in Appendix C. Additional projects in the same problem area as a research award can be located using the Index of High Cost Environmental Management Projects by Problem Area, at the end of Appendices B and C.« less

  4. Barriers to addressing substance abuse in domestic violence court.

    PubMed

    Riger, Stephanie; Bennett, Larry W; Sigurvinsdottir, Rannveig

    2014-03-01

    Substance abuse commonly co-occurs with intimate partner violence among both perpetrators and survivors. Specialized courts that focus on intimate partner violence provide a unique opportunity to address both problems simultaneously, but research has yet to identify whether this happens. In this qualitative study of a domestic violence court in a large midwestern metropolitan area, key informants were interviewed to understand how the Court treats substance abuse. Results indicate that substance abuse typically is not identified among perpetrators or survivors going through the Court unless it is mentioned in a police report. Barriers to such identification are the organization of the Court, bounded definition of actors' roles in the Court, limited resources, and negative attitudes towards survivors. These results suggest that specialized courts that attend to only one problem may overlook the possibility of addressing issues that commonly co-occur.

  5. Content addressable memory project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hall, J. Storrs; Levy, Saul; Smith, Donald E.; Miyake, Keith M.

    1992-01-01

    A parameterized version of the tree processor was designed and tested (by simulation). The leaf processor design is 90 percent complete. We expect to complete and test a combination of tree and leaf cell designs in the next period. Work is proceeding on algorithms for the computer aided manufacturing (CAM), and once the design is complete we will begin simulating algorithms for large problems. The following topics are covered: (1) the practical implementation of content addressable memory; (2) design of a LEAF cell for the Rutgers CAM architecture; (3) a circuit design tool user's manual; and (4) design and analysis of efficient hierarchical interconnection networks.

  6. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 05)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1974-01-01

    This bibliography is issued in two sections: Section 1 - Abstracts, and section 2 - Indexes. The abstract section cites 217 patents and applications for patent introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period of January 1974 through June 1974. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and, in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent. The index section contains entries for 2653 patent and application for patent citations covering the period May 1969 through June 1974. The index section contains five indexes -- subject, inventor, source, number and accession number.

  7. Beyond learning fixed rules and social cues: abstraction in the social arena.

    PubMed Central

    Call, Joseph

    2003-01-01

    Abstraction is a central idea in many areas of physical comparative cognition such as categorization, numerical competence or problem solving. This idea, however, has rarely been applied to comparative social cognition. In this paper, I propose that the notion of abstraction can be applied to the social arena and become an important tool to investigate the social cognition and behaviour processes in animals. To make this point, I present recent evidence showing that chimpanzees know about what others can see and about what others intend. These data do not fit either low-level mechanisms based on stimulus-response associations or high-level explanations based on metarepresentational mechanisms such as false belief attribution. Instead, I argue that social abstraction, in particular the development of concepts such as seeing in others, is key to explaining the behaviour of our closest relative in a variety of situations. PMID:12903652

  8. Congruence between nursing problems in nursing care plans and NANDA nursing diagnoses.

    PubMed

    Varsi, Cecilie; Ruland, Cornelia M

    2009-01-01

    This study abstracted nursing problems documented in cancer patients' nursing care plans to analyze (1) which nursing problems were documented and (2) the degree of congruence between the abstracted problems and NANDA nursing diagnoses. 236 unique nursing problems were identified and could be mapped to 32 NANDA nursing diagnoses. However, only 4.3% had a precise match with NANDA, Thirty-eight percent were classified as similar and the rest were broader, narrower or no match. Thus NANDA only partially covered problems written by nurses in the care plans for this group of patients.

  9. Automatic Abstraction in Planning

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Christensen, J.

    1991-01-01

    Traditionally, abstraction in planning has been accomplished by either state abstraction or operator abstraction, neither of which has been fully automatic. We present a new method, predicate relaxation, for automatically performing state abstraction. PABLO, a nonlinear hierarchical planner, implements predicate relaxation. Theoretical, as well as empirical results are presented which demonstrate the potential advantages of using predicate relaxation in planning. We also present a new definition of hierarchical operators that allows us to guarantee a limited form of completeness. This new definition is shown to be, in some ways, more flexible than previous definitions of hierarchical operators. Finally, a Classical Truth Criterion is presented that is proven to be sound and complete for a planning formalism that is general enough to include most classical planning formalisms that are based on the STRIPS assumption.

  10. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 32)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1988-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 136 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July through December 1987. Each entry consists of a citation , an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  11. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 29)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1986-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 115 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period January 1986 through June 1986. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent application.

  12. Identifying the mathematics middle year students use as they address a community issue

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marshman, Margaret

    2017-03-01

    Middle year students often do not see the mathematics in the real world whereas the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics aims for students to be "confident and creative users and communicators of mathematics" (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA] 2012). Using authentic and real mathematics tasks can address this situation. This paper is an account of how, working within a Knowledge Producing Schools' framework, a group of middle year students addressed a real community issue, the problem of the lack of a teenage safe space using mathematics and technology. Data were collected for this case study via journal observations and reflections, semi-structured interviews, samples of the students' work and videos of students working. The data were analysed by identifying the mathematics the students used determining the function and location of the space and focused on problem negotiation, formulation and solving through the statistical investigation cycle. The paper will identify the mathematics and statistics these students used as they addressed a real problem in their local community.

  13. Content-addressable read/write memories for image analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Snyder, W. E.; Savage, C. D.

    1982-01-01

    The commonly encountered image analysis problems of region labeling and clustering are found to be cases of search-and-rename problem which can be solved in parallel by a system architecture that is inherently suitable for VLSI implementation. This architecture is a novel form of content-addressable memory (CAM) which provides parallel search and update functions, allowing speed reductions down to constant time per operation. It has been proposed in related investigations by Hall (1981) that, with VLSI, CAM-based structures with enhanced instruction sets for general purpose processing will be feasible.

  14. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 31)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1987-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 85 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period January 1987 through June 1987. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  15. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 24)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1984-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 167 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1983 through December 1983. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  16. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 27)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1985-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 92 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period January 1985 through June 1985. Each entry consist of a citation, and abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  17. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 45)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1994-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 137 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period Jan. 1994 through Jun. 1994. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  18. NASA patent abstracts bibliography. A continuing bibliography (supplement 22). Section 1: Abstracts

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1983-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 234 patents and patent applications introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1982 through December 1982. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  19. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 35)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1989-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 58 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information systems during the period January 1989 through June 1989. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  20. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 37)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1989-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 76 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information systems during the period January 1990 through June 1990. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  1. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 30)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1987-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 105 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1986 through December 1986. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  2. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 38)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1991-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 132 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1990 through December 1990. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  3. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 39)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1991-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 154 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information systems during the period Jan. 1991 through Jun. 1991. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  4. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 43)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1993-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 128 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period Jan. 1993 through Jun. 1993. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  5. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 42)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1993-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 174 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1992 through December 1992. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  6. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 36)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1990-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 63 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information systems during the period July 1989 through December 1989. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  7. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 40)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1992-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 181 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1991 through December 1991. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  8. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 28)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1986-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 109 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during the period July 1985 through December 1985. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  9. NASA Patent Abstracts Bibliography: A Continuing Bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (Supplement 48)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1996-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 85 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1995 through December 1995. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  10. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 25)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1984-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 102 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period January 1984 through June 1984. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  11. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 33)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1988-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 16 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information systems during the period January 1988 through June 1988. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  12. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 15)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1979-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 240 patents and applications for patents introduced into the NASA scientific system during the period of January 1979 through June 1979. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent.

  13. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 26)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1985-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 172 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1984 through December 1984. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  14. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 16)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1980-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 138 patents and patent applications introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1979 through December 1979. Each entry cib consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  15. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 23)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1983-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 129 patents and patent applications introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period January 1983 through June 1983. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  16. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 18)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1981-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 120 patents and patent applications for patents introduced into the NASA scientific system during the period of July 1980 through December 1980. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent.

  17. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 34)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1989-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 124 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information systems during the period July 1988 through December 1988. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  18. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 41)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1992-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 131 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period Jan. 1992 through Jun. 1992. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  19. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 44)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1994-01-01

    Abstracts are provided for 131 patents and patent applications entered into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period Jun. 1993 through Dec. 1993. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  20. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 20)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1982-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 165 patents and patent applications introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1981 through December 1981. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application.

  1. Abstraction and art.

    PubMed

    Gortais, Bernard

    2003-07-29

    In a given social context, artistic creation comprises a set of processes, which relate to the activity of the artist and the activity of the spectator. Through these processes we see and understand that the world is vaster than it is said to be. Artistic processes are mediated experiences that open up the world. A successful work of art expresses a reality beyond actual reality: it suggests an unknown world using the means and the signs of the known world. Artistic practices incorporate the means of creation developed by science and technology and change forms as they change. Artists and the public follow different processes of abstraction at different levels, in the definition of the means of creation, of representation and of perception of a work of art. This paper examines how the processes of abstraction are used within the framework of the visual arts and abstract painting, which appeared during a period of growing importance for the processes of abstraction in science and technology, at the beginning of the twentieth century. The development of digital platforms and new man-machine interfaces allow multimedia creations. This is performed under the constraint of phases of multidisciplinary conceptualization using generic representation languages, which tend to abolish traditional frontiers between the arts: visual arts, drama, dance and music.

  2. The Software Problem.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walker, Decker F.

    This paper addresses the reasons that it is difficult to find good educational software and proposes measures for coping with this problem. The fundamental problem is a shortange of educational software that can be used as a major part of the teaching of academic subjects in elementary and secondary schools--a shortage that is both the effect and…

  3. USSR and Eastern Europe Scientific Abstracts, Engineering and Equipment, Number 32

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1977-05-25

    serial publication contains abstracts of articles and news items from USSR and Eastern Europe scientific and technical journals on the specific...loads ( internal pressure plus pure bending). A study is made of a broad range of problems involved in the design of torroidal, spherical and...and protec- tion system are regulated by the International Electrical Engineering Com- mission. Figure 1; tables 2; references 12. 18 Construction

  4. Dual-Use Partnership Addresses Performance Problems with "Y" Pattern Control Valves

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bailey, John W.

    2004-01-01

    A Dual-Use Cooperative Agreement between the Propulsion Test Directorate (PTD) at Stennis Space Center (SSC) and Oceaneering Reflange, Inc. of Houston, TX has produced an improved 'Y' pattern split-body control valve for use in the propulsion test facilities at Stennis Space Center. The split-body, or clamped bonnet technology, provides for a 'cleaner' valve design featuring enhanced performance and increased flow capacity with extended life expectancy. Other points addressed by the partnership include size, weight and costs. Overall size and weight of each valve will be reduced by 50% compared to valves currently in use at SSC. An initial procurement of two 10 inch valves will result in an overall cost reduction of 15% or approximately $50,000 per valve.

  5. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 19)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1981-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 130 patents and patent applications introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period of January 1981 through July 1981. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent.

  6. Cooperative Educational Abstracting Service (CEAS). (Abstract Series No. 103-122, March 1972).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    International Bureau of Education, Geneva (Switzerland).

    This document is a compilation of 20 English-language abstracts concerning various aspects of education in Switzerland, New Zealand, Chile, Poland, Argentina, Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand, and France. The abstracts are informative in nature, each being approximately 1,500 words in length. They are based on documents submitted by each of the…

  7. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 17)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1980-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 150 patents and applications for patents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period January 1980 through June 1980. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent.

  8. NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 14)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1979-01-01

    Abstracts are cited for 213 patents and applications for patent introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period of July 1978 through December 1978. Each entry consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or application for patent.

  9. Eighth workshop on seedling physiology and growth problems in oak plantings (abstracts). 2001 September 9-12; Hiwassee, GA.

    Treesearch

    S. Sung; P.P. Kormanik; W.J. Ostrosina; J.G. Isebrands

    2002-01-01

    Research results and ongoing research activities in field performance of planted trees, seedling propagation, physiology, genetics, acorn germination, and natural regeneration for oaks are described in 21 abstracts.

  10. Sixth workshop on seedling physiology and growth problems in oak plantings (abstracts); 1995 September 18-20; Tomahawk, WI.

    Treesearch

    Ronald M. Teclaw

    1996-01-01

    Research results and ongoing research activities in field performance of planted trees, seedling propagation, physiology, genetics, acorn germination ,and natural regeneration for oaks are described in 29 abstracts.

  11. USSR and Eastern Europe Scientific Abstracts, Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences, Number 93

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1978-08-21

    BlOMEDICAL SCIENCES Agrotechnology 1 Biochemistry 7 Biophysics n Environmental and Ecological Problems 12 Epidemiology 15 Hydrobiology 20...Agrotechnology USSR UDC 631.452(571.1) RAISING THE ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY OF AGBICULTURAL CROPS OF WESTERN SIBERIA Novosibirsk SIBIRSKIY VESTNIK...Scientific Research Institute of the Economics of Agriculture [Abstract] The need for improvement of agricultural productivity in Western Siberia will

  12. Preferred Psychological Internet Resources for Addressing Anxiety Disorders, Parenting Problems, Eating Disorders, and Chemical Dependency.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morse, Laura; Doran, Matt; Simonin, Danielle; Smith, Allyson; Maloney, Colleen; Wright, Cara; Underwood, Michelle; Hoppel, Andrea; O'Donnell, Shannon; Chambliss, Catherine

    Although the Internet offers information about psychological problems and support resources for behavioral health problems, the quality of this information varies widely. So as to offer guidance in this area, preferred sites pertaining to anxiety disorders, parenting problems, eating disorders, and chemical dependency were analyzed. A total of 365…

  13. Methods for Intelligent Mapping of the IPV6 Address Space

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-03-01

    the " Internet of Things " ( IoT ). (2013, Jan. 7). Forbes. [Online]. Available: http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/01/07/ how-many- things -are...currently-connected-to-the- internet -of- things - iot / 57 [13] G. Huston, “IPv4 address report,” Mar 2015. [Online]. Available: http://www.potaroo.net/tools/ipv4...distribution is unlimited 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) Due to the rapid growth of the Internet , the available pool of unique

  14. LitMiner and WikiGene: identifying problem-related key players of gene regulation using publication abstracts.

    PubMed

    Maier, Holger; Döhr, Stefanie; Grote, Korbinian; O'Keeffe, Sean; Werner, Thomas; Hrabé de Angelis, Martin; Schneider, Ralf

    2005-07-01

    The LitMiner software is a literature data-mining tool that facilitates the identification of major gene regulation key players related to a user-defined field of interest in PubMed abstracts. The prediction of gene-regulatory relationships is based on co-occurrence analysis of key terms within the abstracts. LitMiner predicts relationships between key terms from the biomedical domain in four categories (genes, chemical compounds, diseases and tissues). Owing to the limitations (no direction, unverified automatic prediction) of the co-occurrence approach, the primary data in the LitMiner database represent postulated basic gene-gene relationships. The usefulness of the LitMiner system has been demonstrated recently in a study that reconstructed disease-related regulatory networks by promoter modelling that was initiated by a LitMiner generated primary gene list. To overcome the limitations and to verify and improve the data, we developed WikiGene, a Wiki-based curation tool that allows revision of the data by expert users over the Internet. LitMiner (http://andromeda.gsf.de/litminer) and WikiGene (http://andromeda.gsf.de/wiki) can be used unrestricted with any Internet browser.

  15. Approaches used by employee assistance programs to address perpetration of intimate partner violence.

    PubMed

    Walters, Jennifer L Hardison; Pollack, Keshia M; Clinton-Sherrod, Monique; Lindquist, Christine H; McKay, Tasseli; Lasater, Beth M

    2012-01-01

    Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are workplace resources available to employees with problems impacting work performance. EAPs are well-positioned to address intimate partner violence (IPV), a major public health problem with workplace impacts. A purposeful sample of 28 EAPs across the United States was surveyed to identify policies and programs to address IPV, including perpetration. Most EAPs did not report having standardized approaches for addressing IPV perpetration. EAPs also described significant barriers to identifying IPV perpetrators, with the majority relying on self-disclosure on the part of the perpetrator when contacting the EAP. These results suggest that many EAPs--even when interacting with employees who present with issues known to correlate with IPV--are missing a potential opportunity to assess and intervene with IPV perpetrators.

  16. Abstraction and reformulation in artificial intelligence.

    PubMed Central

    Holte, Robert C.; Choueiry, Berthe Y.

    2003-01-01

    This paper contributes in two ways to the aims of this special issue on abstraction. The first is to show that there are compelling reasons motivating the use of abstraction in the purely computational realm of artificial intelligence. The second is to contribute to the overall discussion of the nature of abstraction by providing examples of the abstraction processes currently used in artificial intelligence. Although each type of abstraction is specific to a somewhat narrow context, it is hoped that collectively they illustrate the richness and variety of abstraction in its fullest sense. PMID:12903653

  17. Abstraction and reformulation in artificial intelligence.

    PubMed

    Holte, Robert C; Choueiry, Berthe Y

    2003-07-29

    This paper contributes in two ways to the aims of this special issue on abstraction. The first is to show that there are compelling reasons motivating the use of abstraction in the purely computational realm of artificial intelligence. The second is to contribute to the overall discussion of the nature of abstraction by providing examples of the abstraction processes currently used in artificial intelligence. Although each type of abstraction is specific to a somewhat narrow context, it is hoped that collectively they illustrate the richness and variety of abstraction in its fullest sense.

  18. Using the virtual-abstract instructional sequence to teach addition of fractions.

    PubMed

    Bouck, Emily C; Park, Jiyoon; Sprick, Jessica; Shurr, Jordan; Bassette, Laura; Whorley, Abbie

    2017-11-01

    Limited literature examines mathematics education for students with mild intellectual disability. This study investigated the effects of using the Virtual-Abstract instructional sequenceto teach middle school students, predominantly with mild intellectual disability, to add fractions of unlike denominators. Researchers used a multiple probe across participants design to determine if a functional relation existed between the Virtual-Abstract instructional sequence strategy and students' ability to add fractions with unlike denominators. The study of consisted of three-to-nine baseline sessions, 6-11 intervention sessions, and two maintenance sessions for each student. Data were collected on accuracy across five addition of fractions with unlike denominators problems. The VA instructional strategy was effective in thestudents to add fractions with unlike denominators; a functional relation existed between the VA instructional sequence and adding fractions with unlike denominators for three of the four students. The Virtual-Abstract instructional sequencemay be appropriate to support students with mild intellectual disability in learning mathematics, especially when drawing or representing the mathematical concepts may prove challenging. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Problems Facing Rural Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stewart, C. E.; And Others

    Problems facing rural Scottish schools range from short term consideration of daily operation to long term consideration of organizational alternatives. Addressed specifically, such problems include consideration of: (1) liaison between a secondary school and its feeder primary schools; (2) preservice teacher training for work in small, isolated…

  20. Hierarchy problem and BSM physics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bhattacharyya, Gautam

    2017-10-01

    The `hierarchy problem' plagues the Standard Model of particle physics. The source of this problem is our inability to answer the following question: Why is the Higgs mass so much below the GUT or Planck scale? A brief description about how `supersymmetry' and `composite Higgs' address this problem is given here.

  1. Problem-Framing: A perspective on environmental problem-solving

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bardwell, Lisa V.

    1991-09-01

    The specter of environmental calamity calls for the best efforts of an involved public. Ironically, the way people understand the issues all too often serves to discourage and frustrate rather than motivate them to action. This article draws from problem-solving perspectives offered by cognitive psychology and conflict management to examine a framework for thinking about environmental problems that promises to help rather than hinder efforts to address them. Problem-framing emphasizes focusing on the problem definition. Since how one defines a problem determines one's understanding of and approach to that problem, being able to redefine or reframe a problem and to explore the “problem space” can help broaden the range of alternatives and solutions examined. Problem-framing incorporates a cognitive perspective on how people respond to information. It explains why an emphasis on problem definition is not part of people's typical approach to problems. It recognizes the importance of structure and of having ways to organize that information on one's problem-solving effort. Finally, problem-framing draws on both cognitive psychology and conflict management for strategies to manage information and to create a problem-solving environment that not only encourages participation but can yield better approaches to our environmental problems.

  2. Ecosystem services and cooperative fisheries research to address a complex fishery problem

    EPA Science Inventory

    The St. Louis River represents a complex fishery management problem. Current fishery management goals have to be developed taking into account bi-state commercial, subsistence and recreational fisheries which are valued for different characteristics by a wide range of anglers, as...

  3. The molecular matching problem

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kincaid, Rex K.

    1993-01-01

    Molecular chemistry contains many difficult optimization problems that have begun to attract the attention of optimizers in the Operations Research community. Problems including protein folding, molecular conformation, molecular similarity, and molecular matching have been addressed. Minimum energy conformations for simple molecular structures such as water clusters, Lennard-Jones microclusters, and short polypeptides have dominated the literature to date. However, a variety of interesting problems exist and we focus here on a molecular structure matching (MSM) problem.

  4. Abstraction and art.

    PubMed Central

    Gortais, Bernard

    2003-01-01

    In a given social context, artistic creation comprises a set of processes, which relate to the activity of the artist and the activity of the spectator. Through these processes we see and understand that the world is vaster than it is said to be. Artistic processes are mediated experiences that open up the world. A successful work of art expresses a reality beyond actual reality: it suggests an unknown world using the means and the signs of the known world. Artistic practices incorporate the means of creation developed by science and technology and change forms as they change. Artists and the public follow different processes of abstraction at different levels, in the definition of the means of creation, of representation and of perception of a work of art. This paper examines how the processes of abstraction are used within the framework of the visual arts and abstract painting, which appeared during a period of growing importance for the processes of abstraction in science and technology, at the beginning of the twentieth century. The development of digital platforms and new man-machine interfaces allow multimedia creations. This is performed under the constraint of phases of multidisciplinary conceptualization using generic representation languages, which tend to abolish traditional frontiers between the arts: visual arts, drama, dance and music. PMID:12903659

  5. Wicked problems and a 'wicked' solution.

    PubMed

    Walls, Helen L

    2018-04-13

    'Wicked' is the term used to describe some of the most challenging and complex issues of our time, many of which threaten human health. Climate change, biodiversity loss, persisting poverty, the advancing obesity epidemic, and food insecurity are all examples of such wicked problems. However there is a strong body of evidence describing the solutions for addressing many of these problems. Given that much is known about how many of these problems could be addressed - and given the risks of not acting - what will it take to create the 'tipping point' needed for effective action? A recent (2015) court ruling in The Hague held that the Dutch government's stance on climate change was illegal, ordering them to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% within 5 years (by 2020), relative to 1990 levels. The case was filed on behalf of 886 Dutch citizens, suing the government for violating human rights and climate changes treaties by failing to take adequate action to prevent the harmful impacts of climate change. This judicial ruling has the potential to provide a way forward, inspiring other civil movements and creating a template from which to address other wicked problems. This judicial strategy to address the need to lower greenhouse gas emissions in the Netherlands is not a magic bullet, and requires a particular legal and institutional setting. However it has the potential to be a game-changer - providing an example of a strategy for achieving domestic regulatory change that is likely to be replicable in some countries elsewhere, and providing an example of a particularly 'wicked' (in the positive, street-slang sense of the word) strategy to address seemingly intractable and wicked problems.

  6. Analysis of conference abstract-to-publication rate in UK orthopaedic research.

    PubMed

    Collier, Thomas; Roadley-Battin, Michelle; Darlow, Chloe; Chant, Philip; Hing, Caroline B; Smith, Toby O

    2018-02-01

    Presentation of research at orthopaedic conferences is an important component for surgical evidence-based practice. However, there remains uncertainty as to how many conference abstracts proceed to achieve full-text publication (FTP) for wider dissemination. This study aimed to determine the abstract-to-publication rate (APR) of research presented in the largest hip and knee orthopaedic meetings in the UK, and to identify predictive factors which influence the APR. All published abstracts (n=744) from the 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 British Hip Society (BHS) and the 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 British Association for Surgery of the Knee (BASK) annual conference meetings were examined by four researchers independently. To determine whether abstracts had been published in full-text form, Google Scholar, Medline and EMBASE evidence databases were used to verify FTP status. Variables including sample size, statistical significance, grade of the first author, research affiliated institution and research design were extracted and analysed to identify whether these were associated with FTP. 176 out of 744 abstracts achieved FTP status (APR: 23.7%). Factors associated with FTP status included statistically significant results (P<0.01) and research design (P=0.02). Factors not associated included sample size, grade of the first author and research affiliated institution (P>0.05). APRs of the assessed BHS and BASK annual conference presentations are low in comparison to other scientific meetings. Encouragement should be provided to clinicians and academics to submit their work for publication to address this short fall, thereby enhancing the potential for full-text research publications to inform evidence-based orthopaedics. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  7. Teacher Characteristics and Teacher Education in Reading and English Language Arts Instruction: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," January through June 1983 (Vol. 43 Nos. 7 through 12).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, IL.

    This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 16 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the relationship between selected teacher personality traits and the teaching behaviors of remedial reading teachers; (2) reading program problems of beginning…

  8. Typology of person-environment fit constellations: a platform addressing accessibility problems in the built environment for people with functional limitations.

    PubMed

    Slaug, Björn; Schilling, Oliver; Iwarsson, Susanne; Carlsson, Gunilla

    2015-09-02

    Making the built environment accessible for all regardless of functional capacity is an important goal for public health efforts. Considerable impediments to achieving this goal suggest the need for valid measurements of acccessibility and for greater attention to the complexity of person-environment fit issues. To address these needs, this study aimed to provide a methodological platform, useful for further research and instrument development within accessibility research. This was accomplished by the construction of a typology of problematic person-environment fit constellations, utilizing an existing methodology developed to assess and analyze accessibility problems in the built environment. By means of qualitative review and statistical methods we classified the person-environment fit components covered by an existing application which targets housing accessibility: the Housing Enabler (HE) instrument. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) was used as a conceptual framework. Qualitative classification principles were based on conceptual similarities and for quantitative analysis of similarities, Principal Component Analysis was carried out. We present a typology of problematic person-environment fit constellations classified along three dimensions: 1) accessibility problem range and severity 2) aspects of functioning 3) environmental context. As a result of the classification of the HE components, 48 typical person-environment fit constellations were recognised. The main contribution of this study is the proposed typology of person-environment fit constellations. The typology provides a methodological platform for the identification and quantification of problematic person-environment fit constellations. Its link to the globally accepted ICF classification system facilitates communication within the scientific and health care practice communities. The typology also highlights how relations between aspects of functioning

  9. Impact of Context-Rich, Multifaceted Problems on Students' Attitudes Towards Problem-Solving

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ogilvie, Craig

    2008-04-01

    Young scientists and engineers need strong problem-solving skills to enable them to address the broad challenges they will face in their careers. These challenges will likely be ill-defined and open-ended with either unclear goals, insufficient constraints, multiple possible solutions, and different criteria for evaluating solutions so that our young scientists and engineers must be able to make judgments and defend their proposed solutions. In contrast, many students believe that problem-solving is being able to apply set procedures or algorithms to tasks and that their job as students is to master an ever-increasing list of procedures. This gap between students' beliefs and the broader, deeper approaches of experts is a strong barrier to the educational challenge of preparing students to succeed in their future careers. To start to address this gap, we have used multi-faceted, context-rich problems in a sophomore calculus-based physics course. To assess whether there was any change in students' attitudes or beliefs towards problem-solving, students were asked to reflect on their problem-solving at the beginning and at the end of the semester. These reflections were coded as containing one or more problem-solving ideas. The change in students' beliefs will be shown in this talk.

  10. The Problems of Dissection.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davis, Pat

    1997-01-01

    Describes some problems of classroom dissection including the cruelty that animals destined for the laboratory suffer. Discusses the multilevel approach that the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) has developed to address the problems of animal dissection such as offering a dissection hotline, exhibiting at science teacher conferences, and…

  11. Concept Formation and Abstraction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lunzer, Eric A.

    1979-01-01

    This paper examines the nature of concepts and conceptual processes and the manner of their formation. It argues that a process of successive abstraction and systematization is central to the evolution of conceptual structures. Classificatory processes are discussed and three levels of abstraction outlined. (Author/SJL)

  12. Abstraction Techniques for Parameterized Verification

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-11-01

    approach for applying model checking to unbounded systems is to extract finite state models from them using conservative abstraction techniques. Prop...36 2.5.1 Multiple Reference Processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 2.5.2 Adding Monitor Processes...model checking to complex pieces of code like device drivers depends on the use of abstraction methods. An abstraction method extracts a small finite

  13. Design of Biomedical Robots for Phenotype Prediction Problems

    PubMed Central

    deAndrés-Galiana, Enrique J.; Sonis, Stephen T.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Genomics has been used with varying degrees of success in the context of drug discovery and in defining mechanisms of action for diseases like cancer and neurodegenerative and rare diseases in the quest for orphan drugs. To improve its utility, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness optimization of analytical methods, especially those that translate to clinically relevant outcomes, is critical. Here we define a novel tool for genomic analysis termed a biomedical robot in order to improve phenotype prediction, identifying disease pathogenesis and significantly defining therapeutic targets. Biomedical robot analytics differ from historical methods in that they are based on melding feature selection methods and ensemble learning techniques. The biomedical robot mathematically exploits the structure of the uncertainty space of any classification problem conceived as an ill-posed optimization problem. Given a classifier, there exist different equivalent small-scale genetic signatures that provide similar predictive accuracies. We perform the sensitivity analysis to noise of the biomedical robot concept using synthetic microarrays perturbed by different kinds of noises in expression and class assignment. Finally, we show the application of this concept to the analysis of different diseases, inferring the pathways and the correlation networks. The final aim of a biomedical robot is to improve knowledge discovery and provide decision systems to optimize diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. This analysis shows that the biomedical robots are robust against different kinds of noises and particularly to a wrong class assignment of the samples. Assessing the uncertainty that is inherent to any phenotype prediction problem is the right way to address this kind of problem. PMID:27347715

  14. [VDT worker's posture and workload in free-address office system].

    PubMed

    Iwakiri, Kazuyuki; Mori, Ippei; Sotoyama, Midori; Nose, Kaori; Ochiai, Takanori; Jonai, Hiroshi; Saito, Susumu

    2006-01-01

    A free-address system is a new office layout in which a worker can freely sit in their favorite place with a computer and materials. Since this layout has recently been introduced in offices, we conducted a questionnaire survey which aimed to clarify the effects of the free-address system on visual display terminals (VDT) workers' posture and workload. A total of 203 male VDT workers who were system engineers aged 20 to 59 using a notebook computer were evaluated, of whom 150 used the free-address layout, and 53 used the fixed-address layout. The free-address layout was effective in the improvement of individual work space compared with the fixed-address layout. Also, in this layout the worker did not feel dissatisfaction with communication or support between workers. However, workers using the free-address layout assumed an unsuitable work posture, without adjusting the height of their chairs. Furthermore, this layout might have risk factors which increase neck/shoulder and low back stiffness and/or pain. Therefore, the free-address layout may have incipient problems, and it will be necessary to examine further the effects of this layout on VDT worker's health.

  15. The Minimal Control Principle Predicts Strategy Shifts in the Abstract Decision Making Task

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taatgen, Niels A.

    2011-01-01

    The minimal control principle (Taatgen, 2007) predicts that people strive for problem-solving strategies that require as few internal control states as possible. In an experiment with the Abstract Decision Making task (ADM task; Joslyn & Hunt, 1998) the reward structure was manipulated to make either a low-control strategy or a high-strategy…

  16. Advancing efforts to address youth violence involvement.

    PubMed

    Weist, M D; Cooley-Quille, M

    2001-06-01

    Discusses the increased public attention on violence-related problems among youth and the concomitant increased diversity in research. Youth violence involvement is a complex construct that includes violence experienced in multiple settings (home, school, neighborhood) and in multiple forms (as victims, witnesses, perpetrators, and through family members, friends, and the media). Potential impacts of such violence involvement are considerable, including increased internalizing and externalizing behaviors among youth and future problems in school adjustment and life-course development. This introductory article reviews key dimensions of youth-related violence, describes an American Psychological Association Task Force (Division 12) developed to advance relevant research, and presents examples of national resources and efforts that attempt to address this critical public health issue.

  17. Enrichment Effects of Gestures and Pictures on Abstract Words in a Second Language.

    PubMed

    Repetto, Claudia; Pedroli, Elisa; Macedonia, Manuela

    2017-01-01

    Laboratory research has demonstrated that multisensory enrichment promotes verbal learning in a foreign language (L2). Enrichment can be done in various ways, e.g., by adding a picture that illustrates the L2 word's meaning or by the learner performing a gesture to the word (enactment). Most studies have tested enrichment on concrete but not on abstract words. Unlike concrete words, the representation of abstract words is deprived of sensory-motor features. This has been addressed as one of the reasons why abstract words are difficult to remember. Here, we ask whether a brief enrichment training by means of pictures and by self-performed gestures also enhances the memorability of abstract words in L2. Further, we explore which of these two enrichment strategies is more effective. Twenty young adults learned 30 novel abstract words in L2 according to three encoding conditions: (1) reading, (2) reading and pairing the novel word to a picture, and (3) reading and enacting the word by means of a gesture. We measured memory performance in free and cued recall tests, as well as in a visual recognition task. Words encoded with gestures were better remembered in the free recall in the native language (L1). When recognizing the novel words, participants made less errors for words encoded with gestures compared to words encoded with pictures. The reaction times in the recognition task did not differ across conditions. The present findings support, even if only partially, the idea that enactment promotes learning of abstract words and that it is superior to enrichment by means of pictures even after short training.

  18. Enrichment Effects of Gestures and Pictures on Abstract Words in a Second Language

    PubMed Central

    Repetto, Claudia; Pedroli, Elisa; Macedonia, Manuela

    2017-01-01

    Laboratory research has demonstrated that multisensory enrichment promotes verbal learning in a foreign language (L2). Enrichment can be done in various ways, e.g., by adding a picture that illustrates the L2 word’s meaning or by the learner performing a gesture to the word (enactment). Most studies have tested enrichment on concrete but not on abstract words. Unlike concrete words, the representation of abstract words is deprived of sensory-motor features. This has been addressed as one of the reasons why abstract words are difficult to remember. Here, we ask whether a brief enrichment training by means of pictures and by self-performed gestures also enhances the memorability of abstract words in L2. Further, we explore which of these two enrichment strategies is more effective. Twenty young adults learned 30 novel abstract words in L2 according to three encoding conditions: (1) reading, (2) reading and pairing the novel word to a picture, and (3) reading and enacting the word by means of a gesture. We measured memory performance in free and cued recall tests, as well as in a visual recognition task. Words encoded with gestures were better remembered in the free recall in the native language (L1). When recognizing the novel words, participants made less errors for words encoded with gestures compared to words encoded with pictures. The reaction times in the recognition task did not differ across conditions. The present findings support, even if only partially, the idea that enactment promotes learning of abstract words and that it is superior to enrichment by means of pictures even after short training. PMID:29326617

  19. Use abstracted patient-specific features to assist an information-theoretic measurement to assess similarity between medical cases

    PubMed Central

    Cao, Hui; Melton, Genevieve B.; Markatou, Marianthi; Hripcsak, George

    2008-01-01

    Inter-case similarity metrics can potentially help find similar cases from a case base for evidence-based practice. While several methods to measure similarity between cases have been proposed, developing an effective means for measuring patient case similarity remains a challenging problem. We were interested in examining how abstracting could potentially assist computing case similarity. In this study, abstracted patient-specific features from medical records were used to improve an existing information-theoretic measurement. The developed metric, using a combination of abstracted disease, finding, procedure and medication features, achieved a correlation between 0.6012 and 0.6940 to experts. PMID:18487093

  20. Addressing substance abuse and violence in substance use disorder treatment and batterer intervention programs.

    PubMed

    Timko, Christine; Valenstein, Helen; Lin, Patricia Y; Moos, Rudolf H; Stuart, Gregory L; Cronkite, Ruth C

    2012-09-07

    Substance use disorders and perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) are interrelated, major public health problems. We surveyed directors of a sample of substance use disorder treatment programs (SUDPs; N=241) and batterer intervention programs (BIPs; N=235) in California (70% response rate) to examine the extent to which SUDPs address IPV, and BIPs address substance abuse. Generally, SUDPs were not addressing co-occurring IPV perpetration in a formal and comprehensive way. Few had a policy requiring assessment of potential clients, or monitoring of admitted clients, for violence perpetration; almost one-quarter did not admit potential clients who had perpetrated IPV, and only 20% had a component or track to address violence. About one-third suspended or terminated clients engaging in violence. The most common barriers to SUDPs providing IPV services were that violence prevention was not part of the program's mission, staff lacked training in violence, and the lack of reimbursement mechanisms for such services. In contrast, BIPs tended to address substance abuse in a more formal and comprehensive way; e.g., one-half had a policy requiring potential clients to be assessed, two-thirds required monitoring of substance abuse among admitted clients, and almost one-half had a component or track to address substance abuse. SUDPs had clients with fewer resources (marriage, employment, income, housing), and more severe problems (both alcohol and drug use disorders, dual substance use and other mental health disorders, HIV + status). We found little evidence that services are centralized for individuals with both substance abuse and violence problems, even though most SUDP and BIP directors agreed that help for both problems should be obtained simultaneously in separate programs. SUDPs may have difficulty addressing violence because they have a clientele with relatively few resources and more complex psychological and medical needs. However, policy change can modify

  1. Attracting Girls into Physics (abstract)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gadalla, Afaf

    2009-04-01

    A recent international study of women in physics showed that enrollment in physics and science is declining for both males and females and that women are severely underrepresented in careers requiring a strong physics background. The gender gap begins early in the pipeline, from the first grade. Girls are treated differently than boys at home and in society in ways that often hinder their chances for success. They have fewer freedoms, are discouraged from accessing resources or being adventurous, have far less exposure to problem solving, and are not encouraged to choose their lives. In order to motivate more girl students to study physics in the Assiut governorate of Egypt, the Assiut Alliance for the Women and Assiut Education District collaborated in renovating the education of physics in middle and secondary school classrooms. A program that helps in increasing the number of girls in science and physics has been designed in which informal groupings are organized at middle and secondary schools to involve girls in the training and experiences needed to attract and encourage girls to learn physics. During implementation of the program at some schools, girls, because they had not been trained in problem-solving as boys, appeared not to be as facile in abstracting the ideas of physics, and that was the primary reason for girls dropping out of science and physics. This could be overcome by holding a topical physics and technology summer school under the supervision of the Assiut Alliance for the Women.

  2. Energy Research Abstracts. [DOE abstract journal

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1981-01-01

    Energy Research Abstracts (ERA) provides abstracting and indexing coverage of all scientific and technical reports, journal articles, conference papers and proceedings, books, patents, theses, and monographs originated by the US Department of Energy, its laboratories, energy centers, and contractors. ERA also covers other energy information prepared in report form by federal and state government organizations, foreign governments, and domestic and foreign universities and research organizations. ERA coverage of non-report literature is limited to that generated by Department of Energy activity. ERA is comprehensive in its subject scope, encompassing the DOE's research, development, demonstration, and technological programs resulting from its broadmore » charter for energy sources, conservation, safety, environmental impacts, and regulation. Corporate, author, subject, report number, and contract number indexes are included. ERA is available on an exchange basis to universities, research intitutions, industrial firms, and publishers of scientific information. Federal, state, and municipal agencies concerned with energy development, conservation, and usage may obtain ERA free of charge. Inquiries should be directed to the Technical Information Center, P.O. Box 62, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830. ERA is available to the public on a subscription basis for 24 semimonthly issues including a semiannual index and an annual index. All citations announced in ERA exist as separate records in the DOE Energy Data Base.« less

  3. Co-operative Educational Abstracting Service (CEAS). [Abstract Series No. 1-4, 1969-1971].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    International Bureau of Education, Geneva (Switzerland).

    This document is a compilation of 163 English-language abstracts concerning various aspects of education in Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Iceland, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Thailand, UAR, U.S., USSR, and Yugoslavia. The abstracts are informative in nature and are approximately 1,500 words…

  4. Finite dimensional approximation of a class of constrained nonlinear optimal control problems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gunzburger, Max D.; Hou, L. S.

    1994-01-01

    An abstract framework for the analysis and approximation of a class of nonlinear optimal control and optimization problems is constructed. Nonlinearities occur in both the objective functional and in the constraints. The framework includes an abstract nonlinear optimization problem posed on infinite dimensional spaces, and approximate problem posed on finite dimensional spaces, together with a number of hypotheses concerning the two problems. The framework is used to show that optimal solutions exist, to show that Lagrange multipliers may be used to enforce the constraints, to derive an optimality system from which optimal states and controls may be deduced, and to derive existence results and error estimates for solutions of the approximate problem. The abstract framework and the results derived from that framework are then applied to three concrete control or optimization problems and their approximation by finite element methods. The first involves the von Karman plate equations of nonlinear elasticity, the second, the Ginzburg-Landau equations of superconductivity, and the third, the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible, viscous flows.

  5. Education Technologies in Addressing the Problem of Forming the Socially Active Individual

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Popova, Irina N.

    2016-01-01

    The article is devoted to the analysis of technological support of the educational process in solving the problem of forming the socially active individual. The authors studied the value of the category "social activity" and analyzed educational technologies that have an impact on its formation. The obtained results gave the possibility…

  6. Psychosocial needs of older cancer patients: a pilot study abstract.

    PubMed

    Houldin, A D; Wasserbauer, N

    1996-08-01

    Approximately 50% of all cancers occur in persons aged 65 and over (American Cancer Society, 1994). However, the special psychological problems of these patients have been inadequately addressed (Massie & Holland, 1989). The psychosocial needs of older cancer patients were surveyed in this pilot study. Two-thirds of the older adults surveyed experienced concerns or problems. Almost 50% of the sample did not receive adequate assistance in dealing with their emotional needs and 69% did not receive sufficient spiritual support. Older cancer patients experience psychosocial distress and may benefit from professional assistance in dealing with these concerns.

  7. Designing for Mathematical Abstraction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pratt, Dave; Noss, Richard

    2010-01-01

    Our focus is on the design of systems (pedagogical, technical, social) that encourage mathematical abstraction, a process we refer to as "designing for abstraction." In this paper, we draw on detailed design experiments from our research on children's understanding about chance and distribution to re-present this work as a case study in designing…

  8. Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Problem-Solving Intervention Addressing Barriers to Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Behaviors in 3 Underserved Populations: Colorado, North Carolina, West Virginia, 2009

    PubMed Central

    Bryant, Lucinda L.; Leary, Janie M.; Vu, Maihan B.; Hill-Briggs, Felicia; Samuel-Hodge, Carmen D.; McMilin, Colleen R.; Keyserling, Thomas C.

    2014-01-01

    Introduction In low-income and underserved populations, financial hardship and multiple competing roles and responsibilities lead to difficulties in lifestyle change for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention. To improve CVD prevention behaviors, we adapted, pilot-tested, and evaluated a problem-solving intervention designed to address barriers to lifestyle change. Methods The sample consisted of 81 participants from 3 underserved populations, including 28 Hispanic or non-Hispanic white women in a western community (site 1), 31 African-American women in a semirural southern community (site 2), and 22 adults in an Appalachian community (site 3). Incorporating focus group findings, we assessed a standardized intervention involving 6-to-8 week group sessions devoted to problem-solving in the fall of 2009. Results Most sessions were attended by 76.5% of participants, demonstrating participant adoption and engagement. The intervention resulted in significant improvement in problem-solving skills (P < .001) and perceived stress (P < .05). Diet, physical activity, and weight remained stable, although 72% of individuals reported maintenance or increase in daily fruit and vegetable intake, and 67% reported maintenance or increase in daily physical activity. Conclusion Study results suggest the intervention was acceptable to rural, underserved populations and effective in training them in problem-solving skills and stress management for CVD risk reduction. PMID:24602586

  9. An integrated approach to addressing addiction and depression in college students.

    PubMed

    Eisen, Arri; Kushner, Howard; McLeod, Mark; Queen, Edward; Gordon, Jonathan; Ford, John L

    2009-01-01

    The authors present an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to address the problem of increasing student mental health issues on college campuses. The model uses addiction and depression as lenses into the problem and links residence life and academic and community internship experiences. The project has a positive impact on student attitudes and actions and strengthens and broadens the campus network required to ensure optimal student mental health.

  10. Foundations of the Bandera Abstraction Tools

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hatcliff, John; Dwyer, Matthew B.; Pasareanu, Corina S.; Robby

    2003-01-01

    Current research is demonstrating that model-checking and other forms of automated finite-state verification can be effective for checking properties of software systems. Due to the exponential costs associated with model-checking, multiple forms of abstraction are often necessary to obtain system models that are tractable for automated checking. The Bandera Tool Set provides multiple forms of automated support for compiling concurrent Java software systems to models that can be supplied to several different model-checking tools. In this paper, we describe the foundations of Bandera's data abstraction mechanism which is used to reduce the cardinality (and the program's state-space) of data domains in software to be model-checked. From a technical standpoint, the form of data abstraction used in Bandera is simple, and it is based on classical presentations of abstract interpretation. We describe the mechanisms that Bandera provides for declaring abstractions, for attaching abstractions to programs, and for generating abstracted programs and properties. The contributions of this work are the design and implementation of various forms of tool support required for effective application of data abstraction to software components written in a programming language like Java which has a rich set of linguistic features.

  11. A Novel Method Using Abstract Convex Underestimation in Ab-Initio Protein Structure Prediction for Guiding Search in Conformational Feature Space.

    PubMed

    Hao, Xiao-Hu; Zhang, Gui-Jun; Zhou, Xiao-Gen; Yu, Xu-Feng

    2016-01-01

    To address the searching problem of protein conformational space in ab-initio protein structure prediction, a novel method using abstract convex underestimation (ACUE) based on the framework of evolutionary algorithm was proposed. Computing such conformations, essential to associate structural and functional information with gene sequences, is challenging due to the high-dimensionality and rugged energy surface of the protein conformational space. As a consequence, the dimension of protein conformational space should be reduced to a proper level. In this paper, the high-dimensionality original conformational space was converted into feature space whose dimension is considerably reduced by feature extraction technique. And, the underestimate space could be constructed according to abstract convex theory. Thus, the entropy effect caused by searching in the high-dimensionality conformational space could be avoided through such conversion. The tight lower bound estimate information was obtained to guide the searching direction, and the invalid searching area in which the global optimal solution is not located could be eliminated in advance. Moreover, instead of expensively calculating the energy of conformations in the original conformational space, the estimate value is employed to judge if the conformation is worth exploring to reduce the evaluation time, thereby making computational cost lower and the searching process more efficient. Additionally, fragment assembly and the Monte Carlo method are combined to generate a series of metastable conformations by sampling in the conformational space. The proposed method provides a novel technique to solve the searching problem of protein conformational space. Twenty small-to-medium structurally diverse proteins were tested, and the proposed ACUE method was compared with It Fix, HEA, Rosetta and the developed method LEDE without underestimate information. Test results show that the ACUE method can more rapidly and more

  12. Is It Really Abstract?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kernan, Christine

    2011-01-01

    For this author, one of the most enjoyable aspects of teaching elementary art is the willingness of students to embrace the different styles of art introduced to them. In this article, she describes a project that allows upper-elementary students to learn about abstract art and the lives of some of the master abstract artists, implement the idea…

  13. Easy as ABCABC: Abstract Language Facilitates Performance on a Concrete Patterning Task

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fyfe, Emily R.; McNeil, Nicole M.; Rittle-Johnson, Bethany

    2015-01-01

    The labels used to describe patterns and relations can influence children's relational reasoning. In this study, 62 preschoolers (M[subscript age] = 4.4 years) solved and described eight pattern abstraction problems (i.e., recreated the relation in a model pattern using novel materials). Some children were exposed to concrete labels (e.g.,…

  14. USSR and Eastern Europe Scienitific Abstracts, Geophysics, Astronomy and Space. Number 399

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1977-06-10

    Orbit 47 TASS Announces Launching of "Molniya-3" Communications Satellite 47 Abstracts of Scientific Articles 49 Inhomogeneities of Electron...Directions in Space Technology 52 Motion of Body of Variable Rest Mass in Gravity Field 52 Orbits in Applied Problems of Celestial Mechanics..... 53...Satellite Oscillations in Plane of Elliptical Orbit 53 Submillimeter Radiation of Convective Cloud Systems 54 Combined Braking of Spacecraft in

  15. Water Pollution Abstracts. Volume 43, Number 4, Abstracts 645-849.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    WATER POLLUTION, *ABSTRACTS, PURIFICATION, WASTES(INDUSTRIAL), CONTROL, SEWAGE, WATER SUPPLIES, PUBLIC HEALTH, PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, DEGRADATION, DAMS...ESTUARIES, PLANKTON, PHOTOSYNTHESIS, VIRUSES, SEA WATER , MICROBIOLOGY, UNITED KINGDOM.

  16. Military Training: DOD’s Annual Sustainable Ranges Report Addressed Statutory Reporting Requirements

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-06-01

    electromagnetic spectrum, (5) continued growth in domestic use of Unmanned Aerial Systems, (6) early coordination with renewable energy industry, and (7...unclassified b. ABSTRACT unclassified c. THIS PAGE unclassified Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18 United States Government...challenges; (4) manage increasing military demand for range space; (5) address effects from new energy infrastructure and renewable energy effects; (6

  17. Adult Education for the Homeless. FY 89 Project Abstracts. Twenty-Eight Programs that Can Help the Homeless.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Office of Vocational and Adult Education (ED), Washington, DC. Clearinghouse on Adult Education and Literacy.

    In the first portion of this document, abstracts are given for 30 projects that were designed to provide basic skills and literacy training to homeless adults in fiscal year 1989. The following information is provided for each project: state; grant award number; grantee; project title; project director, telephone number, and address; and…

  18. An abstract approach to evaporation models in rarefied gas dynamics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Greenberg, W.; van der Mee, C. V. M.

    1984-03-01

    Strong evaporation models involving 1D stationary problems with linear self-adjoint collision operators and solutions in abstract Hilbert spaces are investigated analytically. An efficient algorithm for locating the transition from existence to nonexistence of solutions is developed and applied to the 1D and 3D BGK model equations and the 3D BGK model in moment form, demonstrating the nonexistence of stationary evaporation states with supersonic drift velocities. Applications to similar models in electron and phonon transport, radiative transfer, and neutron transport are suggested.

  19. Processing emotion from abstract art in frontotemporal lobar degeneration

    PubMed Central

    Cohen, Miriam H.; Carton, Amelia M.; Hardy, Christopher J.; Golden, Hannah L.; Clark, Camilla N.; Fletcher, Phillip D.; Jaisin, Kankamol; Marshall, Charles R.; Henley, Susie M.D.; Rohrer, Jonathan D.; Crutch, Sebastian J.; Warren, Jason D.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract art may signal emotions independently of a biological or social carrier: it might therefore constitute a test case for defining brain mechanisms of generic emotion decoding and the impact of disease states on those mechanisms. This is potentially of particular relevance to diseases in the frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) spectrum. These diseases are often led by emotional impairment despite retained or enhanced artistic interest in at least some patients. However, the processing of emotion from art has not been studied systematically in FTLD. Here we addressed this issue using a novel emotional valence matching task on abstract paintings in patients representing major syndromes of FTLD (behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, n=11; sematic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA), n=7; nonfluent variant primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA), n=6) relative to healthy older individuals (n=39). Performance on art emotion valence matching was compared between groups taking account of perceptual matching performance and assessed in relation to facial emotion matching using customised control tasks. Neuroanatomical correlates of art emotion processing were assessed using voxel-based morphometry of patients' brain MR images. All patient groups had a deficit of art emotion processing relative to healthy controls; there were no significant interactions between syndromic group and emotion modality. Poorer art emotion valence matching performance was associated with reduced grey matter volume in right lateral occopitotemporal cortex in proximity to regions previously implicated in the processing of dynamic visual signals. Our findings suggest that abstract art may be a useful model system for investigating mechanisms of generic emotion decoding and aesthetic processing in neurodegenerative diseases. PMID:26748236

  20. Data Abstraction in GLISP.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Novak, Gordon S., Jr.

    GLISP is a high-level computer language (based on Lisp and including Lisp as a sublanguage) which is compiled into Lisp. GLISP programs are compiled relative to a knowledge base of object descriptions, a form of abstract datatypes. A primary goal of the use of abstract datatypes in GLISP is to allow program code to be written in terms of objects,…

  1. Youth Studies Abstracts. Vol. 4 No. 3.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Youth Studies Abstracts, 1985

    1985-01-01

    This volume contains 169 abstracts of documents dealing with youth and educational programs for youth. Included in the volume are 97 abstracts of documents dealing with social and educational developments; 56 abstracts of program reports, reviews, and evaluations; and 16 abstracts of program materials. Abstracts are grouped according to the…

  2. Thyra Abstract Interface Package

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bartlett, Roscoe A.

    2005-09-01

    Thrya primarily defines a set of abstract C++ class interfaces needed for the development of abstract numerical atgorithms (ANAs) such as iterative linear solvers, transient solvers all the way up to optimization. At the foundation of these interfaces are abstract C++ classes for vectors, vector spaces, linear operators and multi-vectors. Also included in the Thyra package is C++ code for creating concrete vector, vector space, linear operator, and multi-vector subclasses as well as other utilities to aid in the development of ANAs. Currently, very general and efficient concrete subclass implementations exist for serial and SPMD in-core vectors and multi-vectors. Codemore » also currently exists for testing objects and providing composite objects such as product vectors.« less

  3. Hydrogen Abstraction from Individual Thiophenol Molecules Adsorbed on Cu(111)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rao, Bommisetty; Kwon, Ki-Young; Liu, Anwei; Zhang, Jin-Tao; Bartels, Ludwig

    2004-03-01

    Thiol compounds on metal surfaces have been studied intensively because of their ability to form self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). However, the transition from the thiol to the surface thiolate is difficult to investigate in detail in the solution phase. Here we report on STM measurements that address the adsorption of a variety of substituted thiophenols on Cu(111) at 15K in vacuum. At this temperature, adsorption does not cause immediate scission of the S-H bond. We confirmed this by STM-based vibrational spectroscopy. Consequently, the sulfur atom of the thiol group adsorbs on-top of a substrate atom, which results in a sufficient separation of the aryl group from the substrate to allow its free rotation even at 15K. Asymmetrically substituted thiophenols result in STM images of pronounced helicity, which indicates that the molecules cannot tilt upright to exchange their adsorption side. Attachment of electrons from the tunneling current can cause hydrogen abstraction from the thiophenols, which locks them into the substrate. We investigated the dependence of the yield of the hydrogen abstraction on the thiophenol substituent identity and position. We find pronounced variations which may follow the Hammett Equation known from Standard Organic Chemistry.

  4. Addressing multi-label imbalance problem of surgical tool detection using CNN.

    PubMed

    Sahu, Manish; Mukhopadhyay, Anirban; Szengel, Angelika; Zachow, Stefan

    2017-06-01

    A fully automated surgical tool detection framework is proposed for endoscopic video streams. State-of-the-art surgical tool detection methods rely on supervised one-vs-all or multi-class classification techniques, completely ignoring the co-occurrence relationship of the tools and the associated class imbalance. In this paper, we formulate tool detection as a multi-label classification task where tool co-occurrences are treated as separate classes. In addition, imbalance on tool co-occurrences is analyzed and stratification techniques are employed to address the imbalance during convolutional neural network (CNN) training. Moreover, temporal smoothing is introduced as an online post-processing step to enhance runtime prediction. Quantitative analysis is performed on the M2CAI16 tool detection dataset to highlight the importance of stratification, temporal smoothing and the overall framework for tool detection. The analysis on tool imbalance, backed by the empirical results, indicates the need and superiority of the proposed framework over state-of-the-art techniques.

  5. Waste Form and Indrift Colloids-Associated Radionuclide Concentrations: Abstraction and Summary

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    R. Aguilar

    This Model Report describes the analysis and abstractions of the colloids process model for the waste form and engineered barrier system components of the total system performance assessment calculations to be performed with the Total System Performance Assessment-License Application model. Included in this report is a description of (1) the types and concentrations of colloids that could be generated in the waste package from degradation of waste forms and the corrosion of the waste package materials, (2) types and concentrations of colloids produced from the steel components of the repository and their potential role in radionuclide transport, and (3) typesmore » and concentrations of colloids present in natural waters in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain. Additionally, attachment/detachment characteristics and mechanisms of colloids anticipated in the repository are addressed and discussed. The abstraction of the process model is intended to capture the most important characteristics of radionuclide-colloid behavior for use in predicting the potential impact of colloid-facilitated radionuclide transport on repository performance.« less

  6. Efforts to Empower Teachers in Ethiopia to Address Local Environmental Problems: Achievements and Limitations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dalelo, Aklilu

    2009-01-01

    It is believed that the possibilities of integrating environmental issues into the formal and nonformal education programs depend on the capacity of teachers who put such programs into effect. A pilot project, aimed at building the capacity of schools in Ethiopia to address key environmental issues, was initiated in 2004. Among the major…

  7. Can Innovation Save Gifted Education? 2010 NAGC Presidential Address

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Robinson, Ann

    2012-01-01

    Connecting innovation with gifted education is a necessity not only in the current political climate but also because it is a field with deeply held beliefs about the importance of problem solving, creativity, imagination, and invention--all critical components of innovation. In this address, the author focuses on three key ideas. First, she…

  8. Environmental problem solving

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Miller, A.

    Human influences create both environmental problems and barriers to effective policy aimed at addressing those problems. In effect, environmental managers manage people as much as they manage the environment. Therefore, they must gain an understanding of the psychological and sociopolitical dimensions of environmental problems that they are attempting to resolve. The author reappraises conventional analyses of environmental problems using lessons from the psychosocial disciplines. The author combines the disciplines of ecology, political sociology and psychology to produce a more adaptive approach to problem-solving that is specifically geared toward the environmental field. Numerous case studies demonstrate the practical application of theorymore » in a way that is useful to technical and scientific professionals as well as to policymakers and planners.« less

  9. Abstract Constructions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pietropola, Anne

    1998-01-01

    Describes a lesson designed to culminate a year of eighth-grade art classes in which students explore elements of design and space by creating 3-D abstract constructions. Outlines the process of using foam board and markers to create various shapes and optical effects. (DSK)

  10. 75 FR 57006 - Addressing Policy and Logistical Challenges to Smart Grid Implementation

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-17

    ... electric vehicles, photovoltaic cells, wind turbines, or inflexible nuclear plants? What approaches make... generation and electric vehicles into the electric system; detect and address equipment problems and outages...

  11. Indirect addressing and load balancing for faster solution to Mandelbrot Set on SIMD architectures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tomboulian, Sherryl

    1989-01-01

    SIMD computers with local indirect addressing allow programs to have queues and buffers, making certain kinds of problems much more efficient. Examined here are a class of problems characterized by computations on data points where the computation is identical, but the convergence rate is data dependent. Normally, in this situation, the algorithm time is governed by the maximum number of iterations required by each point. Using indirect addressing allows a processor to proceed to the next data point when it is done, reducing the overall number of iterations required to approach the mean convergence rate when a sufficiently large problem set is solved. Load balancing techniques can be applied for additional performance improvement. Simulations of this technique applied to solving Mandelbrot Sets indicate significant performance gains.

  12. An inconclusive study comparing the effect of concrete and abstract descriptions of belief-inconsistent information.

    PubMed

    Collins, Katherine A; Clément, Richard

    2018-01-01

    Linguistic bias is the differential use of linguistic abstraction (as defined by the Linguistic Category Model) to describe the same behaviour for members of different groups. Essentially, it is the tendency to use concrete language for belief-inconsistent behaviours and abstract language for belief-consistent behaviours. Having found that linguistic bias is produced without intention or awareness in many contexts, researchers argue that linguistic bias reflects, reinforces, and transmits pre-existing beliefs, thus playing a role in belief maintenance. Based on the Linguistic Category Model, this assumes that concrete descriptions reduce the impact of belief-inconsistent behaviours while abstract descriptions maximize the impact of belief-consistent behaviours. However, a key study by Geschke, Sassenberg, Ruhrmann, and Sommer [2007] found that concrete descriptions of belief-inconsistent behaviours actually had a greater impact than abstract descriptions, a finding that does not fit easily within the linguistic bias paradigm. Abstract descriptions (e.g. the elderly woman is athletic) are, by definition, more open to interpretation than concrete descriptions (e.g. the elderly woman works out regularly). It is thus possible that abstract descriptions are (1) perceived as having less evidentiary strength than concrete descriptions, and (2) understood in context (i.e. athletic for an elderly woman). In this study, the design of Geschke et al. [2007] was modified to address this possibility. We expected that the differences in the impact of concrete and abstract descriptions would be reduced or reversed, but instead we found that differences were largely absent. This study did not support the findings of Geschke et al. [2007] or the linguistic bias paradigm. We encourage further attempts to understand the strong effect of concrete descriptions for belief-inconsistent behaviour.

  13. U.S. Geological Survey national computer technology meeting; program and abstracts, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 10-15, 1994

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Balthrop, B. H.; Baker, E.G.

    1994-01-01

    This report contains some of the abstracts of papers that were presented at the National Computer Technology Meeting that was held in April 1994. This meeting was sponsored by the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, and was attended by more than 200 technical and managerial personnel representing all the Divisions of the U.S. Geological Survey. Computer-related information from all Divisions of the U.S. Geological Survey are discussed in this compilation of abstracts. Some of the topics addressed are data transfer, data-base management, hydrologic applications, national water information systems, and geographic information systems applications and techniques.

  14. Small business innovation research: Abstracts of 1984. Phase 1 awards

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1985-01-01

    On September 27, 1984, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced the selection of Phase I projects for the Small Business Innovation Research Program. These awards resulted from the evaluation of proposals submitted in response to the 1984 Program Solicitation, SBIR 84-1. In order to make available information on the technical content of the Phase I projects supported by the NASA SBIR Program, the abstracts of those proposals which resulted in awards of contracts are given. In addition, the name and address of the firm performing the work are given for those who may desired additional information about the project. Propulsion, aerodynamics, computer techniques, exobiology and composite materials are among the areas covered.

  15. Lack of Cost-Effectiveness Analyses to Address Healthy People 2020 Priority Areas.

    PubMed

    Neumann, Peter J; Farquhar, Megan; Wilkinson, Colby L; Lowry, Mackenzie; Gold, Marthe

    2016-12-01

    To examine the extent to which recently published cost-utility analyses (cost-effectiveness analyses using quality-adjusted life-years to measure health benefits) have covered the leading health concerns in the US Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2020 report. We examined data in the Tufts Medical Center Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Registry, a database containing 5000 published cost-utility analyses published in the MEDLINE literature through 2014. We focused on US-based cost-utility analyses published from 2011 through 2014 (n = 687). Two reviewers scanned abstracts and met for a consensus on categorization of cost-utility analyses that addressed the specific priorities listed in the 12 Healthy People 2020 areas (n = 120). Although 7.3% of recently published cost-utility analyses addressed key clinical preventive services, only about 2% of recently published cost-utility analyses covered each of the following Healthy People 2020 topics: reproductive and sexual health, nutrition/physical activity/obesity, maternal and infant health, and tobacco. Fewer than 1% addressed priorities such as injuries and violence, mental health or substance abuse, environmental quality, and oral health. Few cost-utility analyses have addressed Healthy People 2020 priority areas.

  16. Problem Solving on a Monorail.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barrow, Lloyd H.; And Others

    1994-01-01

    This activity was created to address a lack of problem-solving activities for elementary children. A "monorail" activity from the Evening Science Program for K-3 Students and Parents program is presented to illustrate the problem-solving format. Designed for performance at stations by groups of two students. (LZ)

  17. Abstracts of contributed papers

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1994-08-01

    This volume contains 571 abstracts of contributed papers to be presented during the Twelfth US National Congress of Applied Mechanics. Abstracts are arranged in the order in which they fall in the program -- the main sessions are listed chronologically in the Table of Contents. The Author Index is in alphabetical order and lists each paper number (matching the schedule in the Final Program) with its corresponding page number in the book.

  18. Problem Solving and Learning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Singh, Chandralekha

    2009-07-01

    One finding of cognitive research is that people do not automatically acquire usable knowledge by spending lots of time on task. Because students' knowledge hierarchy is more fragmented, "knowledge chunks" are smaller than those of experts. The limited capacity of short term memory makes the cognitive load high during problem solving tasks, leaving few cognitive resources available for meta-cognition. The abstract nature of the laws of physics and the chain of reasoning required to draw meaningful inferences makes these issues critical. In order to help students, it is crucial to consider the difficulty of a problem from the perspective of students. We are developing and evaluating interactive problem-solving tutorials to help students in the introductory physics courses learn effective problem-solving strategies while solidifying physics concepts. The self-paced tutorials can provide guidance and support for a variety of problem solving techniques, and opportunity for knowledge and skill acquisition.

  19. Employee assistance programs: a workplace resource to address intimate partner violence.

    PubMed

    Pollack, Keshia M; Austin, Whitney; Grisso, Jeane Ann

    2010-04-01

    Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health problem with significant impact on the workplace. Employee assistance programs (EAPs) are a confidential benefit to assist employees and their families with a variety of problems that may negatively affect their job performance. The purpose of this systematic review is to study the extant literature to identify articles that have explored the role of EAPs in addressing IPV. We searched Medline, PsychINFO, and Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) for English-language papers that have explored how EAPs can address IPV. Articles published through 2008 were included. Our review yielded nine articles, mostly from EAP-centered journals. Nearly all of the studies were published before the year 2000 and primarily describe the need for EAPs to be more engaged in preventing violence against women. Most of the studies were commentaries, often using case reports to support recommendations on how EAPs could address IPV. Results from the two intervention studies revealed close connections between EAP clients being treated for alcoholism and IPV perpetration and the effectiveness of a standardized tool to identify EAP clients experiencing IPV. Research in this area is in its infancy, and more studies are needed to inform the formulation of evidence-based policies and programs that guide the role of EAPs in addressing IPV. The lack of research on how EAPs address IPV is alarming, as many employers state that they often refer employees affected by IPV to the EAP for assistance.

  20. Doing Science that Matters to Address India's Water Crisis.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Srinivasan, V.

    2017-12-01

    Addressing water security in developing regions involves predicting water availability under unprecedented rates of population and economic growth. India is one of the most water stressed countries in the world. Despite appreciable increases in funding for water research, high quality science that is usable by stakeholders remains elusive. The absence of usable research, has been driven by notions of what is publishable in the developed world. This can be attributed to the absence of problem driven research on questions that actually matter to stakeholders, unwillingness to transcend disciplinary boundaries and the demise of a field-work research culture in favour of computer simulation. Yet the combination of rapid change, inadequate data and human modifications to watersheds poses a challenge, as researchers face a poorly constrained water resources modelling problem. Instead, what India and indeed all developing regions need is to approach the problem from first principles, identifying the most critical knowledge gaps, then prioritizing data collection using novel sensing and modelling approaches to address them. This might also necessitate consideration of underlying social and governance drivers of hydrologic change. Using examples from research in the Cauvery Basin, a highly contentious inter-state river basin, I offer some insights into framing "use-inspired" research agenda and show how the research generates not just new scientific insights but may be translated into practice.

  1. Advance Organizers: Concret Versus Abstract.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Corkill, Alice J.; And Others

    1988-01-01

    Two experiments examined the relative effects of concrete and abstract advance organizers on students' memory for subsequent prose. Results of the experiments are discussed in terms of the memorability, familiarity, and visualizability of concrete and abstract verbal materials. (JD)

  2. Challenges in an Aging Society: Presidential Address to APPAM

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Swartz, Katherine

    2010-01-01

    The United States is at a critical crossroads in its history right now. The public policy problems that the people are facing are complex and interrelated, and the demographic changes that are about to significantly change their country are not well understood by large numbers of people. In this presidential address to the Association for Public…

  3. Abstracting and indexing guide

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    ,; ,

    1974-01-01

    These instructions have been prepared for those who abstract and index scientific and technical documents for the Water Resources Scientific Information Center (WRSIC). With the recent publication growth in all fields, information centers have undertaken the task of keeping the various scientific communities aware of current and past developments. An abstract with carefully selected index terms offers the user of WRSIC services a more rapid means for deciding whether a document is pertinent to his needs and professional interests, thus saving him the time necessary to scan the complete work. These means also provide WRSIC with a document representation or surrogate which is more easily stored and manipulated to produce various services. Authors are asked to accept the responsibility for preparing abstracts of their own papers to facilitate quick evaluation, announcement, and dissemination to the scientific community.

  4. A Case Study of Team-Initiated Problem Solving Addressing Student Behavior in One Elementary School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Todd, Anne W.; Horner, Robert H.; Berry, Dorothy; Sanders, Carol; Bugni, Michelle; Currier, Allison; Potts, Nicky; Newton, J. Stephen; Algozzine, Bob; Algozzine, Kate

    2012-01-01

    Team-Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) is an approach for organizing school team meetings to improve identification of targeted problems, use of data in the development of solutions, and development of implemented action plans. TIPS has been demonstrated in single-case and randomized controlled trial studies to improve the effectiveness of teams to…

  5. Publication Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD. Center for the Study of Social Organization of Schools.

    This booklet contains abstracts of 62 documents published by the Johns Hopkins University Center for the Study of Social Organization of Schools from September 1967 to May 1970. The majority of the documents are research studies in the areas of desegregation, language development, educational opportunity, and educational games--most of them…

  6. Could HPS Improve Problem-Solving?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coelho, Ricardo Lopes

    2013-01-01

    It is generally accepted nowadays that History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) is useful in understanding scientific concepts, theories and even some experiments. Problem-solving strategies are a significant topic, since students' careers depend on their skill to solve problems. These are the reasons for addressing the question of whether problem…

  7. Interpreting Abstract Interpretations in Membership Equational Logic

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fischer, Bernd; Rosu, Grigore

    2001-01-01

    We present a logical framework in which abstract interpretations can be naturally specified and then verified. Our approach is based on membership equational logic which extends equational logics by membership axioms, asserting that a term has a certain sort. We represent an abstract interpretation as a membership equational logic specification, usually as an overloaded order-sorted signature with membership axioms. It turns out that, for any term, its least sort over this specification corresponds to its most concrete abstract value. Maude implements membership equational logic and provides mechanisms to calculate the least sort of a term efficiently. We first show how Maude can be used to get prototyping of abstract interpretations "for free." Building on the meta-logic facilities of Maude, we further develop a tool that automatically checks and abstract interpretation against a set of user-defined properties. This can be used to select an appropriate abstract interpretation, to characterize the specified loss of information during abstraction, and to compare different abstractions with each other.

  8. New Perspectives on Human Problem Solving

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldstone, Robert L.; Pizlo, Zygmunt

    2009-01-01

    In November 2008 at Purdue University, the 2nd Workshop on Human Problem Solving was held. This workshop, which was a natural continuation of the first workshop devoted almost exclusively to optimization problems, addressed a wider range of topics that reflect the scope of the "Journal of Problem Solving." The workshop was attended by 35…

  9. Fatigue in hospital nurses - 'Supernurse' culture is a barrier to addressing problems: A qualitative interview study.

    PubMed

    Steege, Linsey M; Rainbow, Jessica G

    2017-02-01

    Fatigue in hospital nurses is associated with decreased nurse satisfaction, increased turnover and negative patient outcomes. Addressing fatigue in nurses has been identified as a priority by many organizations worldwide in an effort to promote both a culture of patient safety and a healthy nursing workforce. The overall aim of this study was to explore barriers and facilitators within the hospital nurse work system to nurse coping and fatigue. The purpose of this paper is to describe emergent themes that offer new insight describing the relationships among nurse perceptions of fatigue, nursing professional culture, and implications for the nursing workforce. A qualitative exploratory study was used to explore nurse identified sources, barriers to addressing, and consequences of fatigue. Twenty-two nurses working in intensive care and medical-surgical units within a large academic medical center in the United States participated in the interviews. Interviews with the participants followed a semi-structured interview guide that included questions eliciting participants' views on nurse fatigue levels, consequences of fatigue, and barriers to addressing fatigue. The interview transcripts were analyzed using directed content analysis guided by the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model. Additional themes that did not directly align with the SEIPS model were also identified. All nurses in the current study experienced fatigue; yet they had varying perspectives on the importance of addressing fatigue in relation to other health systems challenges. A new construct related to nursing professional culture was identified and defined as "Supernurse". Identified subthemes of Supernurse include: extraordinary powers used for good; cloak of invulnerability; no sidekick; Kryptonite, and an alterego. These values, beliefs, and behaviors define the specific aspects of nursing professional culture that can act as barriers to fatigue risk management programs

  10. SEER Abstracting Tool (SEER*Abs)

    Cancer.gov

    With this customizable tool, registrars can collect and store data abstracted from medical records. Download the software and find technical support and reference manuals. SEER*Abs has features for creating records, managing abstracting work and data, accessing reference data, and integrating edits.

  11. Disruption of Alluvial Fan Processes in a Cascade Range Stream, and Attempts to Address the Resulting Problems...

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    DeVries, P.

    2016-12-01

    Alluvial fan processes have been altered in two ways on Mouse Creek, tributary of the Sauk River, WA. A county road and low profile bridge were built in the vicinity of a large scale break in slope, and a berm was built upstream along one bank to confine flows. The system has a high sediment load from episodic mass wasting upstream. Over 10 years of survey data and analyses provide a case study of aggradation, flooding, and avulsion processes above the road crossing, and of efforts to address the resulting problems. The berm precluded fan deposition upstream, and appears to have shifted the deposition zone downstream closer to the bridge, leading to an avulsion and impacting upstream migration of salmon to spawning habitat. In addition, the bed elevation of the channel is now higher than the historic fan surface on the other side of the berm. The bridge was raised to reduce the road crossing influence on sediment transport and deposition, which worked for a while locally until the avulsion developed, which accelerated aggradation in the former main channel above the bridge. Plans have been developed for removing the berm and allowing the stream to re-engage its fan. The key design question presently is: should the berm be excavated to its toe on the channel side to accelerate restoration of depositional processes, or should a semblance of bankfull morphology be retained?

  12. The Abstraction Process of Limit Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sezgin Memnun, Dilek; Aydin, Bünyamin; Özbilen, Ömer; Erdogan, Günes

    2017-01-01

    The RBC+C abstraction model is an effective model in mathematics education because it gives the opportunity to analyze research data through cognitive actions. For this reason, we aim to examine the abstraction process of the limit knowledge of two volunteer participant students using the RBC+C abstraction model. With this aim, the students'…

  13. An implementation and analysis of the Abstract Syntax Notation One and the basic encoding rules

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Harvey, James D.; Weaver, Alfred C.

    1990-01-01

    The details of abstract syntax notation one standard (ASN.1) and the basic encoding rules standard (BER) that collectively solve the problem of data transfer across incompatible host environments are presented, and a compiler that was built to automate their use is described. Experiences with this compiler are also discussed which provide a quantitative analysis of the performance costs associated with the application of these standards. An evaluation is offered as to how well suited ASN.1 and BER are in solving the common data representation problem.

  14. Addressing Disruptive Behaviors in an after School Program Classroom: The Effects of the Daily Behavior Report Card

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCorvey, Zamecia J.

    2013-01-01

    There is a need to address behavior discipline problems in special and general education setting classrooms. Disruptive behaviors are a major concern as they create excessive stress and demands for classroom teachers and school administrators to address them. Effective interventions are needed to properly address them. Moreover, classroom…

  15. Relationship of aggression, negative affect, substance use problems, and childhood delinquency to DWI recidivism.

    PubMed

    Linn, Braden K; Nochajski, Thomas; Wieczorek, William

    2016-01-01

    Driving under the influence remains a pervasive problem. Approximately 30% of those arrested for impaired driving offenses each year are repeat offenders, suggesting that current rehabilitative efforts are not sufficiently effective for reducing driving while intoxicated (DWI) recidivism. Aggression, negative affect, substance use problems, and childhood delinquency have been noted in the population of impaired drivers, but study of these variables on recidivism has been limited. The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of aggression, negative affect, substance use problems, and childhood delinquency on DWI recidivism among first time offenders. In 1992, 6436 individuals in impaired driver programs in New York State were surveyed. A total of 3511 individuals provided names so that state driver abstracts could be reviewed in the future. A total of 2043 matches were found and 1770 remained after excluding those with previous DWI convictions. Driver records were reviewed in 2010 and 2012, providing between 18 and 20 years of follow-up. During the follow-up period, 16.5% of individuals were arrested for an impaired driving offense. Multivariate analysis suggested that recidivism was a function of several problems, including: alcohol problem severity, aggression, negative affect, drug problem severity, criminal history, and childhood delinquency. Impaired driving programs should assess for childhood delinquency, aggressive tendencies, and negative affect as these constructs, along with substance use, are evident among impaired drivers who recidivate. Interventions addressing aggression and negative affect may ultimately prove useful in reducing recidivism.

  16. Abstracts of Research Papers 1970.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Drowatzky, John N., Ed.

    This publication includes the abstracts of 199 research papers presented at the 1970 American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation convention in Seattle, Washington. Abstracts from symposia on environmental quality education, obesity, motor development, research methods, and laboratory equipment are also included. Each…

  17. Clarifying the abstracts of systematic literature reviews*

    PubMed Central

    Hartley, James

    2000-01-01

    Background: There is a small body of research on improving the clarity of abstracts in general that is relevant to improving the clarity of abstracts of systematic reviews. Objectives: To summarize this earlier research and indicate its implications for writing the abstracts of systematic reviews. Method: Literature review with commentary on three main features affecting the clarity of abstracts: their language, structure, and typographical presentation. Conclusions: The abstracts of systematic reviews should be easier to read than the abstracts of medical research articles, as they are targeted at a wider audience. The aims, methods, results, and conclusions of systematic reviews need to be presented in a consistent way to help search and retrieval. The typographic detailing of the abstracts (type-sizes, spacing, and weights) should be planned to help, rather than confuse, the reader. PMID:11055300

  18. ERP evidence for hemispheric asymmetries in abstract but not exemplar-specific repetition priming.

    PubMed

    Küper, Kristina; Liesefeld, Anna M; Zimmer, Hubert D

    2015-12-01

    Implicit memory retrieval is thought to be exemplar-specific in the right hemisphere (RH) but abstract in the left hemisphere (LH). Yet, conflicting behavioral priming results illustrate that the level at which asymmetries take effect is difficult to pinpoint. In the present divided visual field experiment, we tried to address this issue by analyzing ERPs in addition to behavioral measures. Participants made a natural/artificial decision on lateralized visual objects that were either new, identical repetitions, or different exemplars of studied items. Hemispheric asymmetries did not emerge in either behavioral or late positive complex (LPC) priming effects, but did affect the process of implicit memory retrieval proper as indexed by an early frontal negativity (N350/(F)N400). Whereas exemplar-specific N350/(F)N400 priming effects emerged irrespective of presentation side, abstract implicit memory retrieval of different exemplars was contingent on right visual field presentation and the ensuing initial stimulus processing by the LH. © 2015 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

  19. ISSUES THAT MUST BE ADDRESSED FOR RISK ASSESSMENT OF MIXED EXPOSURES: THE EPA EXPERIENCE WITH AIR QUALITY

    EPA Science Inventory

    Issues that Must be Addressed for Risk Assessment of Mixed Exposures: The EPA Experience with Air Quality

    Daniel L. Costa, Sc.D.

    Abstract
    Humans are routinely exposed to a complex mixture of air pollutants in both their outdoor and indoor environments. The wide...

  20. Abstracts Produced Using Computer Assistance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Craven, Timothy C.

    2000-01-01

    Describes an experiment that evaluated features of TEXNET abstracting software, compared the use of keywords and phrases that were automatically extracted, tested hypotheses about relations between abstractors' backgrounds and their reactions to abstracting assistance software, and obtained ideas for further features to be developed in TEXNET.…

  1. New and Emerging Problems in School Adminstration.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    TenHaken, Richard E.

    This paper examines a number of problems facing school board members and educational administrators today and suggests some possible approaches to addressing those problems effectively. In considering each problem area, the author emphasizes its impact on the activities and responsibilities of school officials and discusses concrete steps they can…

  2. Addressing Cultural and Native Language Interference in Second Language Acquisition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Allard, Daniele; Bourdeau, Jacqueline; Mizoguchi, Riichiro

    2011-01-01

    This paper addresses the problem of cultural and native language interference in second/foreign language acquisition. More specifically, it examines issues of interference that can be traced to a student's native language and that also have a cultural component. To this effect, an understanding of what actually comprises both interference and…

  3. Food Science and Technology Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cohen, Elinor; Federman, Joan

    1979-01-01

    Introduces the reader to the Food Science and Technology Abstracts, a data file that covers worldwide literature on human food commodities and aspects of food processing. Topics include scope, subject index, thesaurus, searching online, and abstracts; tables provide a comparison of ORBIT and DIALOG versions of the file. (JD)

  4. Abstracts of Research Papers 1982. Presented at the Houston, Texas Convention of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance in the Research Consortium Meetings.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD).

    This volume contains the Research Consortium research abstracts which were accepted for presentation at the annual convention of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance in Houston (Texas), April 23-27, 1982. Included for each abstract are the name and address of the presenter and the day and time of presentation.…

  5. Teaching Water: Connecting across Disciplines and into Daily Life to Address Complex Societal Issues

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eisen, Arri; Hall, Anne; Lee, Tong Soon; Zupko, Jack

    2009-01-01

    A central problem in higher education is how to best develop in students interdisciplinary thinking and application skills necessary to work and engage effectively in the twenty-first century. Traditional university structures make addressing this problem especially challenging. Using as a model courses with diverse perspectives on water taught by…

  6. Addressing the Academic and Social Needs of Young Male Students through School-Based Mentoring

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alston, Curtis E.

    2013-01-01

    This study addressed the problem within the U.S. public school system to sustainably meet the academic and social needs of its African American male students. The administrative team of the elementary school in this study desired an evaluation of a school-based male mentoring program that was designed to address these needs. The program, Gentlemen…

  7. SEMINAR PUBLICATION: MANAGING ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AT INACTIVE AND ABANDONED METALS MINE SITES

    EPA Science Inventory

    Environmental problems associated with abandoned and inactive mines are addressed along with some approaches to resolving those problems, including case studies demonstrating technologies that have worked. New technologies being investigated are addressed also.

  8. Analysis of Arguments Constructed by First-Year Engineering Students Addressing Electromagnetic Induction Problems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Almudi, Jose Manuel; Ceberio, Mikel

    2015-01-01

    This study explored the quality of arguments used by first-year engineering university students enrolled in a traditional physics course dealing with electromagnetic induction and related problem solving where they had to assess whether the electromagnetic induction phenomenon would occur. Their conclusions were analyzed for the relevance of the…

  9. Preventing musculoskeletal disorders in clinical dentistry: strategies to address the mechanisms leading to musculoskeletal disorders.

    PubMed

    Valachi, Bethany; Valachi, Keith

    2003-12-01

    The authors reviewed studies to identify methods for dental operators to use to prevent the development of musculoskeletal disorders, or MSDs. The authors reviewed studies that related to the prevention of MSDs among dental operators. Some studies investigated the relationship between the biomechanics of seated working postures and physiological damage or pain. Other studies suggested that repeated unidirectional twisting of the trunk can lead to low back pain, while yet other studies examined the detrimental effects of working in one position for prolonged periods. Additional studies confirmed the roles that operators' flexibility and core strength can play in balanced musculoskeletal health and the need for operators to know how to properly adjust ergonomic equipment. This review indicates that strategies to prevent the multifactorial problem of dental operators' developing MSDs exist. These strategies address deficiencies in operator position, posture, flexibility, strength and ergonomics. Education and additional research are needed to promote an understanding of the complexity of the problem and to address the problem's multifactorial nature. A comprehensive approach to address the problem of MSDs in dentistry represents a paradigm shift in how operators work. New educational models that incorporate a multifactorial approach can be developed to help dental operators manage and prevent MSDs effectively.

  10. Newborn infants perceive abstract numbers

    PubMed Central

    Izard, Véronique; Sann, Coralie; Spelke, Elizabeth S.; Streri, Arlette

    2009-01-01

    Although infants and animals respond to the approximate number of elements in visual, auditory, and tactile arrays, only human children and adults have been shown to possess abstract numerical representations that apply to entities of all kinds (e.g., 7 samurai, seas, or sins). Do abstract numerical concepts depend on language or culture, or do they form a part of humans' innate, core knowledge? Here we show that newborn infants spontaneously associate stationary, visual-spatial arrays of 4–18 objects with auditory sequences of events on the basis of number. Their performance provides evidence for abstract numerical representations at the start of postnatal experience. PMID:19520833

  11. Seventh workshop on seedling physiology and growth problems in oak plantings (abstracts); 1998 September 27-29; South Lake Tahoe, CA.

    Treesearch

    D.D. McCreary; J.G. Isebrands

    1999-01-01

    Research results and ongoing research activities in field performance of planted trees, seedling propagation, physiology, genetics, acorn germination, and natural regeneration for oaks are described in 17 abstracts.

  12. A study of optimal abstract jamming strategies vs. noncoherent MFSK

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mceliece, R. J.; Rodemich, E. R.

    1983-01-01

    The present investigation is concerned with the performance of uncoded MFSK modulation in the presence of arbitrary additive jamming, taking into account the objective to devise robust antijamming strategies. An abstract model is considered, giving attention to the signal strength as a nonnegative real number X, the employment of X as a random variable, its distribution function G(x), the transmitter's strategy G, the jamming noise as an M-dimensional random vector Z, and the error probability. A summary of previous work on the considered problem is provided, and the results of the current study are presented.

  13. Innovation Abstracts; Volume XIV, 1992.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roueche, Suanne D., Ed.

    1992-01-01

    This series of 30 one- to two-page abstracts covering 1992 highlights a variety of innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the community college. Topics covered in the abstracts include: (1) faculty recognition and orientation; (2) the Amado M. Pena, Jr., Scholarship Program; (3) innovative teaching techniques, with individual abstracts…

  14. Global challenges keynote address in memoriam to colleagues lost in the Malaysia airlines 17 crash

    PubMed Central

    Hankins, Catherine A.

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT Six colleagues working in the HIV field were killed when their flight en route to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over the Ukraine. This report is drawn from the in memoriam keynote opening address given at the 12th International AIDS Impact conference in Amsterdam in 2015. It highlights their tangible and valued roles in the HIV response and looks forward to the road ahead. It describes the ways in which we can build on their legacy to address current global challenges in HIV prevention and treatment and to mobilise the intensified, focused resources that are needed to turn the HIV epidemic on its head. PMID:26963879

  15. Applications of Quantum Theory of Atomic and Molecular Scattering to Problems in Hypersonic Flow

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Malik, F. Bary

    1995-01-01

    The general status of a grant to investigate the applications of quantum theory in atomic and molecular scattering problems in hypersonic flow is summarized. Abstracts of five articles and eleven full-length articles published or submitted for publication are included as attachments. The following topics are addressed in these articles: fragmentation of heavy ions (HZE particles); parameterization of absorption cross sections; light ion transport; emission of light fragments as an indicator of equilibrated populations; quantum mechanical, optical model methods for calculating cross sections for particle fragmentation by hydrogen; evaluation of NUCFRG2, the semi-empirical nuclear fragmentation database; investigation of the single- and double-ionization of He by proton and anti-proton collisions; Bose-Einstein condensation of nuclei; and a liquid drop model in HZE particle fragmentation by hydrogen.

  16. Are Teacher and Principal Candidates Prepared to Address Student Cyberbullying?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Styron, Ronald A., Jr.; Bonner, Jessica L.; Styron, Jennifer L.; Bridgeforth, James; Martin, Cecelia

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the preparation of teacher and principal candidates to address problems created in K-12 settings as a result of cyberbullying. Participants included teacher and principal preparation students. Findings indicated that respondents were familiar with the most common forms of cyberbullying and its impact on…

  17. Oversight of human participants research: identifying problems to evaluate reform proposals.

    PubMed

    Emanuel, Ezekiel J; Wood, Anne; Fleischman, Alan; Bowen, Angela; Getz, Kenneth A; Grady, Christine; Levine, Carol; Hammerschmidt, Dale E; Faden, Ruth; Eckenwiler, Lisa; Muse, Carianne Tucker; Sugarman, Jeremy

    2004-08-17

    The oversight of research involving human participants is widely believed to be inadequate. The U.S. Congress, national commissions, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Institute of Medicine, numerous professional societies, and others are proposing remedies based on the assumption that the main problems are researchers' conflict of interest, lack of institutional review board (IRB) resources, and the volume and complexity of clinical research. Developing appropriate reform proposals requires carefully delineating the problems of the current system to know what reforms are needed. To stimulate a more informed and meaningful debate, we delineate 15 current problems into 3 broad categories. First, structural problems encompass 8 specific problems related to the way the research oversight system is organized. Second, procedural problems constitute 5 specific problems related to the operations of IRB review. Finally, performance assessment problems include 2 problems related to absence of systematic assessment of the outcomes of the oversight system. We critically assess proposed reforms, such as accreditation and central IRBs, according to how well they address these 15 problems. None of the reforms addresses all 15 problems. Indeed, most focus on the procedural problems, failing to address either the structure or the performance assessment problems. Finally, on the basis of the delineation of problems, we outline components of a more effective reform proposal, including bringing all research under federal oversight, a permanent advisory committee to address recurrent ethical issues in clinical research, mandatory single-time review for multicenter research protocols, additional financial support for IRB functions, and a standardized system for collecting and disseminating data on both adverse events and the performance assessment of IRBs.

  18. Innovation Abstracts, Volume XV, 1993.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roueche, Suanne D., Ed.

    1993-01-01

    This volume of 30 one- to two-page abstracts from 1993 highlights a variety of innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the community college. Topics covered in the abstracts include: (1) role-playing to encourage critical thinking; (2) team learning techniques to cultivate business skills; (3) librarian-instructor partnerships to create…

  19. Vague Language in Conference Abstracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cutting, Joan

    2012-01-01

    This study examined abstracts for a British Association for Applied Linguistics conference and a Sociolinguistics Symposium, to define the genre of conference abstracts in terms of vague language, specifically universal general nouns (e.g. people) and research general nouns (e.g. results), and to discover if the language used reflected the level…

  20. Toward best practice framing of uncertainty in scientific publications: A review of Water Resources Research abstracts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guillaume, Joseph H. A.; Helgeson, Casey; Elsawah, Sondoss; Jakeman, Anthony J.; Kummu, Matti

    2017-08-01

    Uncertainty is recognized as a key issue in water resources research, among other sciences. Discussions of uncertainty typically focus on tools and techniques applied within an analysis, e.g., uncertainty quantification and model validation. But uncertainty is also addressed outside the analysis, in writing scientific publications. The language that authors use conveys their perspective of the role of uncertainty when interpreting a claim—what we call here "framing" the uncertainty. This article promotes awareness of uncertainty framing in four ways. (1) It proposes a typology of eighteen uncertainty frames, addressing five questions about uncertainty. (2) It describes the context in which uncertainty framing occurs. This is an interdisciplinary topic, involving philosophy of science, science studies, linguistics, rhetoric, and argumentation. (3) We analyze the use of uncertainty frames in a sample of 177 abstracts from the Water Resources Research journal in 2015. This helped develop and tentatively verify the typology, and provides a snapshot of current practice. (4) We make provocative recommendations to achieve a more influential, dynamic science. Current practice in uncertainty framing might be described as carefully considered incremental science. In addition to uncertainty quantification and degree of belief (present in ˜5% of abstracts), uncertainty is addressed by a combination of limiting scope, deferring to further work (˜25%) and indicating evidence is sufficient (˜40%)—or uncertainty is completely ignored (˜8%). There is a need for public debate within our discipline to decide in what context different uncertainty frames are appropriate. Uncertainty framing cannot remain a hidden practice evaluated only by lone reviewers.

  1. Complex Problem Solving: What It Is and What It Is Not

    PubMed Central

    Dörner, Dietrich; Funke, Joachim

    2017-01-01

    Computer-simulated scenarios have been part of psychological research on problem solving for more than 40 years. The shift in emphasis from simple toy problems to complex, more real-life oriented problems has been accompanied by discussions about the best ways to assess the process of solving complex problems. Psychometric issues such as reliable assessments and addressing correlations with other instruments have been in the foreground of these discussions and have left the content validity of complex problem solving in the background. In this paper, we return the focus to content issues and address the important features that define complex problems. PMID:28744242

  2. Distributed problem solving by pilots and dispatchers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Orasanu, Judith; Wich, Mike; Fischer, Ute; Jobe, Kim; Mccoy, Elaine; Beatty, Roger; Smith, Phil

    1993-01-01

    The study addressed the following question: Are flight planning problems solved differently by PILOTS and DISPATCHERS when they work alone versus when they work together? Aspect of their performance that were of interest include the following: Problem perception and definition; Problem solving strategies and information use; Options considered; Solution and rational; and errors.

  3. Addressing the Wicked Problem of Quality in Higher Education: Theoretical Approaches and Implications

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krause, Kerri-Lee

    2012-01-01

    This article explores the wicked problem of quality in higher education, arguing for a more robust theorising of the subject at national, institutional and local department level. The focus of the discussion rests on principles for theorising in more rigorous ways about the multidimensional issue of quality. Quality in higher education is proposed…

  4. A General Architecture for Intelligent Tutoring of Diagnostic Classification Problem Solving

    PubMed Central

    Crowley, Rebecca S.; Medvedeva, Olga

    2003-01-01

    We report on a general architecture for creating knowledge-based medical training systems to teach diagnostic classification problem solving. The approach is informed by our previous work describing the development of expertise in classification problem solving in Pathology. The architecture envelops the traditional Intelligent Tutoring System design within the Unified Problem-solving Method description Language (UPML) architecture, supporting component modularity and reuse. Based on the domain ontology, domain task ontology and case data, the abstract problem-solving methods of the expert model create a dynamic solution graph. Student interaction with the solution graph is filtered through an instructional layer, which is created by a second set of abstract problem-solving methods and pedagogic ontologies, in response to the current state of the student model. We outline the advantages and limitations of this general approach, and describe it’s implementation in SlideTutor–a developing Intelligent Tutoring System in Dermatopathology. PMID:14728159

  5. Use of Syllabic Logograms to Help Dyslexic Readers of English Visualize Abstract Words as Pictures

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Saez-Rodriguez, Alberto

    2009-01-01

    Background: Dyslexics read concrete words better than abstract ones. As a result, one of the major problems facing dyslexics is the fact that only part of the information that they require to communicate is concrete, i.e. can easily be pictured. Method: The experiment involved dyslexic third-grade, English-speaking children (8-year-olds) divided…

  6. An Integrated approach to the Space Situational Awareness Problem

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-12-15

    data coming from the sensors. We developed particle-based Gaussian Mixture Filters that are immune to the “curse of dimensionality”/ “particle...depletion” problem inherent in particle filtering . This method maps the data assimilation/ filtering problem into an unsupervised learning problem. Results...Gaussian Mixture Filters ; particle depletion; Finite Set Statistics 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT UU 18. NUMBER OF PAGES 1

  7. Innovation Abstracts, Volume XVI, 1994.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roueche, Suanne D., Ed.

    1994-01-01

    This volume of 30 one- to two-page abstracts highlights a variety of innovative approaches to teaching and learning in the community college. Topics covered in the abstracts include: (1) music in the biology classroom; (2) pairing English as a second language and freshman composition students in writing activities; (3) moot court exercises in…

  8. Addressing Student Difficulties with Buoyancy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wagner, D. J.; Cohen, Sam; Moyer, Adam

    2009-11-01

    This study is part of an ongoing effort to develop a diagnostic test assessing student understanding of fluids. In particular, this paper addresses a question involving density and buoyancy, which was used in the study of reference [1]. The "five blocks" question, which asks students to predict the final location of blocks released from rest when submerged and explain their reasoning, has been administered to hundreds of students in three different introductory courses at Grove City College for the past four years. We used the common student responses to craft a multiple-select version of the five blocks problem in 2008. This paper will present the effects that changing workshop activities have had on student performance on the five block question.

  9. Addressing Passive Smoking in Children

    PubMed Central

    Hutchinson, Sasha G.; Kuijlaars, Jennifer S.; Mesters, Ilse; Muris, Jean W. M.; van Schayck, Constant P.; Dompeling, Edward; Feron, Frans J. M.

    2014-01-01

    Background A significant number of parents are unaware or unconvinced of the health consequences of passive smoking (PS) in children. Physicians could increase parental awareness by giving personal advice. Aim To evaluate the current practices of three Dutch health professions (paediatricians, youth health care physicians, and family physicians) regarding parental counselling for passive smoking (PS) in children. Methods All physicians (n = 720) representing the three health professions in Limburg, the Netherlands, received an invitation to complete a self-administered electronic questionnaire including questions on their: sex, work experience, personal smoking habits, counselling practices and education regarding PS in children. Results The response rate was 34%. One tenth (11%) of the responding physicians always addressed PS in children, 32% often, 54% occasionally and 4% reported to never attend to it. The three health professions appeared comparable regarding their frequency of parental counselling for PS in children. Addressing PS was more likely when children had respiratory problems. Lack of time was the most frequently mentioned barrier, being very and somewhat applicable for respectively 14% and 43% of the physicians. One fourth of the responders had received postgraduate education about PS. Additionally, 49% of the responders who did not have any education about PS were interested in receiving it. Conclusions Physicians working in the paediatric field in Limburg, the Netherlands, could more frequently address PS in children with parents. Lack of time appeared to be the most mentioned barrier and physicians were more likely to counsel parents for PS in children with respiratory complaints/diseases. Finally, a need for more education on parental counselling for PS was expressed. PMID:24809443

  10. Addressing Barriers to Learning. Volume 13, Number 2. Spring 2008

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA, 2008

    2008-01-01

    Concern about responding to behavior problems and promoting social and emotional learning are related and are embedded into the arenas we frame to encompass the content of student/learning supports. How these concerns are addressed is critical to the type of school and classroom climate that emerges and to student engagement and re-engagement in…

  11. Managing Human Resources. Greater OPM Leadership Needed To Address Critical Challenges. Report to the Congress.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    General Accounting Office, Washington, DC. General Government Div.

    The General Accounting Office examined the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM's) leadership role in addressing critical human resource problems and preparing the government to meet future challenges. Federal managers, OPM employees, and federal personnel officials were surveyed to study federal government problems in hiring, managing, and…

  12. Abstract Spatial Reasoning as an Autistic Strength

    PubMed Central

    Stevenson, Jennifer L.; Gernsbacher, Morton Ann

    2013-01-01

    Autistic individuals typically excel on spatial tests that measure abstract reasoning, such as the Block Design subtest on intelligence test batteries and the Raven’s Progressive Matrices nonverbal test of intelligence. Such well-replicated findings suggest that abstract spatial processing is a relative and perhaps absolute strength of autistic individuals. However, previous studies have not systematically varied reasoning level – concrete vs. abstract – and test domain – spatial vs. numerical vs. verbal, which the current study did. Autistic participants (N = 72) and non-autistic participants (N = 72) completed a battery of 12 tests that varied by reasoning level (concrete vs. abstract) and domain (spatial vs. numerical vs. verbal). Autistic participants outperformed non-autistic participants on abstract spatial tests. Non-autistic participants did not outperform autistic participants on any of the three domains (spatial, numerical, and verbal) or at either of the two reasoning levels (concrete and abstract), suggesting similarity in abilities between autistic and non-autistic individuals, with abstract spatial reasoning as an autistic strength. PMID:23533615

  13. Using Quotitive Division Problems to Promote Place-Value Understanding

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bicknell, Brenda; Young-Loveridge, Jenny; Simpson, Jackie

    2017-01-01

    A robust understanding of place value is essential. Using a problem-based approach set within meaningful contexts, students' attention may be drawn to the multiplicative structure of place value. By using quotitive division problems through a concrete-representational-abstract lesson structure, this study showed a powerful strengthening of Year 3…

  14. The Problem-Solving Nemesis: Mindless Manipulation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawkins, Vincent J.

    1987-01-01

    Indicates that only 21% of respondents (secondary school math teachers) used computer-assisted instruction for tutorial work, physical models to interpret abstract concepts, or real-life application of the arithmetic or algebraic manipulation. Recommends that creative teaching methods be applied to problem solving. (NKA)

  15. Temporal construal effects on abstract and concrete thinking: consequences for insight and creative cognition.

    PubMed

    Förster, Jens; Friedman, Ronald S; Liberman, Nira

    2004-08-01

    Six studies investigate whether and how distant future time perspective facilitates abstract thinking and impedes concrete thinking by altering the level at which mental representations are construed. In Experiments 1-3, participants who envisioned their lives and imagined themselves engaging in a task 1 year later as opposed to the next day subsequently performed better on a series of insight tasks. In Experiments 4 and 5 a distal perspective was found to improve creative generation of abstract solutions. Moreover, Experiment 5 demonstrated a similar effect with temporal distance manipulated indirectly, by making participants imagine their lives in general a year from now versus tomorrow prior to performance. In Experiment 6, distant time perspective undermined rather than enhanced analytical problem solving.

  16. Addressing chronic operational issues at the W. M. Keck Observatory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nordin, Tom; Matsuda, Richard

    2016-07-01

    The W. M. Keck Observatory (WMKO) has a good track record at addressing large critical faults which impact observing. Our performance tracking and correcting chronic minor faults has been mixed, yet this class of problems has a significant negative impact on scientific productivity and staff effectiveness. We have taken steps to address this shortcoming. This paper outlines the creation of a program to identify, categorize and rank these chronic operational issues, track them over time, and develop management options for their resolution. The success of the program at identifying these chronic operational issues and the advantages of dedicating observatory resources to this endeavor are presented.

  17. Construct Abstraction for Automatic Information Abstraction from Digital Images

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-05-30

    objects and features and the names of objects of objects and features. For example, in Figure 15 the parts of the fish could be named the ‘mouth... fish -1 fish -2 fish -3 tennis shoe tennis racquet...of abstraction and generality. For example, an algorithm might usefully find a polygon ( blob ) in an image and calculate numbers such as the

  18. Tips to Understanding and Writing Manuscript Abstracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Plakhotnik, Maria S.

    2017-01-01

    An abstract represents a short summary of key elements of the manuscript. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the function, contents, and types of manuscript abstracts. The essay concludes with a few tips for authors to writing effective abstracts.

  19. New generation of content addressable memories for associative processing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lewis, H. G., Jr.; Giambalov, Paul

    2000-05-01

    Content addressable memories (CAMS) store both key and association data. A key is presented to the CAN when it is searched and all of the addresses are scanned in parallel to find the address referenced by the key. When a match occurs, the corresponding association is returned. With the explosion of telecommunications packet switching protocols, large data base servers, routers and search engines a new generation of dense sub-micron high throughput CAMS has been developed. The introduction of this paper presents a brief history and tutorial on CAMS, their many uses and advantages, and describes the architecture and functionality of several of MUSIC Semiconductors CAM devices. In subsequent sections of the paper we address using Associative Processing to accommodate the continued increase in sensor resolution, number of spectral bands, required coverage, the desire to implement real-time target cueing, and the data flow and image processing required for optimum performance of reconnaissance and surveillance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). To be competitive the system designer must provide the most computational power, per watt, per dollar, per cubic inch, within the boundaries of cost effective UAV environmental control systems. To address these problems we demonstrate leveraging DARPA and DoD funded Commercial Off-the-Shelf technology to integrate CAM based Associative Processing into a real-time heterogenous multiprocessing system for UAVs and other platforms with limited weight, volume and power budgets.

  20. Time Dependent Heterogeneous Vehicle Routing Problem for Catering Service Delivery Problem

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Azis, Zainal; Mawengkang, Herman

    2017-09-01

    The heterogeneous vehicle routing problem (HVRP) is a variant of vehicle routing problem (VRP) which describes various types of vehicles with different capacity to serve a set of customers with known geographical locations. This paper considers the optimal service deliveries of meals of a catering company located in Medan City, Indonesia. Due to the road condition as well as traffic, it is necessary for the company to use different type of vehicle to fulfill customers demand in time. The HVRP incorporates time dependency of travel times on the particular time of the day. The objective is to minimize the sum of the costs of travelling and elapsed time over the planning horizon. The problem can be modeled as a linear mixed integer program and we address a feasible neighbourhood search approach to solve the problem.

  1. Evaluating Data Abstraction Assistant, a novel software application for data abstraction during systematic reviews: protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Saldanha, Ian J; Schmid, Christopher H; Lau, Joseph; Dickersin, Kay; Berlin, Jesse A; Jap, Jens; Smith, Bryant T; Carini, Simona; Chan, Wiley; De Bruijn, Berry; Wallace, Byron C; Hutfless, Susan M; Sim, Ida; Murad, M Hassan; Walsh, Sandra A; Whamond, Elizabeth J; Li, Tianjing

    2016-11-22

    Data abstraction, a critical systematic review step, is time-consuming and prone to errors. Current standards for approaches to data abstraction rest on a weak evidence base. We developed the Data Abstraction Assistant (DAA), a novel software application designed to facilitate the abstraction process by allowing users to (1) view study article PDFs juxtaposed to electronic data abstraction forms linked to a data abstraction system, (2) highlight (or "pin") the location of the text in the PDF, and (3) copy relevant text from the PDF into the form. We describe the design of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that compares the relative effectiveness of (A) DAA-facilitated single abstraction plus verification by a second person, (B) traditional (non-DAA-facilitated) single abstraction plus verification by a second person, and (C) traditional independent dual abstraction plus adjudication to ascertain the accuracy and efficiency of abstraction. This is an online, randomized, three-arm, crossover trial. We will enroll 24 pairs of abstractors (i.e., sample size is 48 participants), each pair comprising one less and one more experienced abstractor. Pairs will be randomized to abstract data from six articles, two under each of the three approaches. Abstractors will complete pre-tested data abstraction forms using the Systematic Review Data Repository (SRDR), an online data abstraction system. The primary outcomes are (1) proportion of data items abstracted that constitute an error (compared with an answer key) and (2) total time taken to complete abstraction (by two abstractors in the pair, including verification and/or adjudication). The DAA trial uses a practical design to test a novel software application as a tool to help improve the accuracy and efficiency of the data abstraction process during systematic reviews. Findings from the DAA trial will provide much-needed evidence to strengthen current recommendations for data abstraction approaches. The trial is registered

  2. Annual Conference Abstracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Journal of Engineering Education, 1972

    1972-01-01

    Includes abstracts of papers presented at the 80th Annual Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education. The broad areas include aerospace, affiliate and associate member council, agricultural engineering, biomedical engineering, continuing engineering studies, chemical engineering, civil engineering, computers, cooperative…

  3. Annual Conference Abstracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Engineering Education, 1976

    1976-01-01

    Presents the abstracts of 158 papers presented at the American Society for Engineering Education's annual conference at Knoxville, Tennessee, June 14-17, 1976. Included are engineering topics covering education, aerospace, agriculture, biomedicine, chemistry, computers, electricity, acoustics, environment, mechanics, and women. (SL)

  4. Abstracting/Annotating. ERIC Processing Manual, Section VI.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brandhorst, Ted, Ed.

    Rules and guidelines are provided for the preparation of abstracts and annotations for documents and journal articles entering the ERIC database. Various types of abstracts are defined, including the Informative, Indicative, and mixed Informative-Indicative. Advice is given on how to select the abstract type appropriate for the particular…

  5. Choosing a Database for Social Work: A Comparison of Social Work Abstracts and Social Service Abstracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Flatley, Robert K.; Lilla, Rick; Widner, Jack

    2007-01-01

    This study compared Social Work Abstracts and Social Services Abstracts databases in terms of indexing, journal coverage, and searches. The authors interviewed editors, analyzed journal coverage, and compared searches. It was determined that the databases complement one another more than compete. The authors conclude with some considerations.

  6. ABSTRACTS OF RESEARCH REPORTS.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    DENTISTRY, ABSTRACTS), TEETH, DISEASES, MOUTH, TRANSPLANTATION, HYGIENE, STERILIZATION, FLUORIDES, HISTOLOGY, SURGICAL IMPLANTATION, OXYTETRACYCLINE , GELATINS, CELLULOSE, CASTING, PROGRAMMED INSTRUCTION, TRAINING DEVICES

  7. Special Medical Problems of Athletes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Couch, Joan M.

    1987-01-01

    This article addresses the situations in which athletes with special needs and considerations participate in sports. The health problems discussed are diabetes mellitus, exercise-induced asthma, exercise-induced anaphylaxis, and epilepsy. (MT)

  8. Abstractions for Fault-Tolerant Distributed System Verification

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pike, Lee S.; Maddalon, Jeffrey M.; Miner, Paul S.; Geser, Alfons

    2004-01-01

    Four kinds of abstraction for the design and analysis of fault tolerant distributed systems are discussed. These abstractions concern system messages, faults, fault masking voting, and communication. The abstractions are formalized in higher order logic, and are intended to facilitate specifying and verifying such systems in higher order theorem provers.

  9. Sleep promotes analogical transfer in problem solving.

    PubMed

    Monaghan, Padraic; Sio, Ut Na; Lau, Sum Wai; Woo, Hoi Kei; Linkenauger, Sally A; Ormerod, Thomas C

    2015-10-01

    Analogical problem solving requires using a known solution from one problem to apply to a related problem. Sleep is known to have profound effects on memory and information restructuring, and so we tested whether sleep promoted such analogical transfer, determining whether improvement was due to subjective memory for problems, subjective recognition of similarity across related problems, or by abstract generalisation of structure. In Experiment 1, participants were exposed to a set of source problems. Then, after a 12-h period involving sleep or wake, they attempted target problems structurally related to the source problems but with different surface features. Experiment 2 controlled for time of day effects by testing participants either in the morning or the evening. Sleep improved analogical transfer, but effects were not due to improvements in subjective memory or similarity recognition, but rather effects of structural generalisation across problems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Address-event-based platform for bioinspired spiking systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiménez-Fernández, A.; Luján, C. D.; Linares-Barranco, A.; Gómez-Rodríguez, F.; Rivas, M.; Jiménez, G.; Civit, A.

    2007-05-01

    Address Event Representation (AER) is an emergent neuromorphic interchip communication protocol that allows a real-time virtual massive connectivity between huge number neurons, located on different chips. By exploiting high speed digital communication circuits (with nano-seconds timings), synaptic neural connections can be time multiplexed, while neural activity signals (with mili-seconds timings) are sampled at low frequencies. Also, neurons generate "events" according to their activity levels. More active neurons generate more events per unit time, and access the interchip communication channel more frequently, while neurons with low activity consume less communication bandwidth. When building multi-chip muti-layered AER systems, it is absolutely necessary to have a computer interface that allows (a) reading AER interchip traffic into the computer and visualizing it on the screen, and (b) converting conventional frame-based video stream in the computer into AER and injecting it at some point of the AER structure. This is necessary for test and debugging of complex AER systems. In the other hand, the use of a commercial personal computer implies to depend on software tools and operating systems that can make the system slower and un-robust. This paper addresses the problem of communicating several AER based chips to compose a powerful processing system. The problem was discussed in the Neuromorphic Engineering Workshop of 2006. The platform is based basically on an embedded computer, a powerful FPGA and serial links, to make the system faster and be stand alone (independent from a PC). A new platform is presented that allow to connect up to eight AER based chips to a Spartan 3 4000 FPGA. The FPGA is responsible of the network communication based in Address-Event and, at the same time, to map and transform the address space of the traffic to implement a pre-processing. A MMU microprocessor (Intel XScale 400MHz Gumstix Connex computer) is also connected to the FPGA

  11. “Extra Oomph:” Addressing Housing Disparities through Medical Legal Partnership Interventions

    PubMed Central

    Hernández, Diana

    2016-01-01

    Low-income households face common and chronic housing problems that have known health risks and legal remedies. The Medical Legal Partnership (MLP) program presents a unique opportunity to address housing problems and improve patient health through legal assistance offered in clinical settings. Drawn from in-depth interviews with 72 patients, this study investigated the outcomes of MLP interventions and compares results to similarly disadvantaged participants with no access to MLP services. Results indicate that participants in the MLP group were more likely to achieve adequate, affordable and stable housing than those in the comparison group. Study findings suggest that providing access to legal services in the healthcare setting can effectively address widespread health disparities rooted in problematic housing. Implications for policy and scalability are discussed with the conclusion that MLPs can shift professionals’ consciousness as they work to improve housing and health trajectories for indigent groups using legal approaches. PMID:27867247

  12. Assessing Cognitive Learning of Analytical Problem Solving

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Billionniere, Elodie V.

    Introductory programming courses, also known as CS1, have a specific set of expected outcomes related to the learning of the most basic and essential computational concepts in computer science (CS). However, two of the most often heard complaints in such courses are that (1) they are divorced from the reality of application and (2) they make the learning of the basic concepts tedious. The concepts introduced in CS1 courses are highly abstract and not easily comprehensible. In general, the difficulty is intrinsic to the field of computing, often described as "too mathematical or too abstract." This dissertation presents a small-scale mixed method study conducted during the fall 2009 semester of CS1 courses at Arizona State University. This study explored and assessed students' comprehension of three core computational concepts---abstraction, arrays of objects, and inheritance---in both algorithm design and problem solving. Through this investigation students' profiles were categorized based on their scores and based on their mistakes categorized into instances of five computational thinking concepts: abstraction, algorithm, scalability, linguistics, and reasoning. It was shown that even though the notion of computational thinking is not explicit in the curriculum, participants possessed and/or developed this skill through the learning and application of the CS1 core concepts. Furthermore, problem-solving experiences had a direct impact on participants' knowledge skills, explanation skills, and confidence. Implications for teaching CS1 and for future research are also considered.

  13. Abstraction and model evaluation in category learning.

    PubMed

    Vanpaemel, Wolf; Storms, Gert

    2010-05-01

    Thirty previously published data sets, from seminal category learning tasks, are reanalyzed using the varying abstraction model (VAM). Unlike a prototype-versus-exemplar analysis, which focuses on extreme levels of abstraction only, a VAM analysis also considers the possibility of partial abstraction. Whereas most data sets support no abstraction when only the extreme possibilities are considered, we show that evidence for abstraction can be provided using the broader view on abstraction provided by the VAM. The present results generalize earlier demonstrations of partial abstraction (Vanpaemel & Storms, 2008), in which only a small number of data sets was analyzed. Following the dominant modus operandi in category learning research, Vanpaemel and Storms evaluated the models on their best fit, a practice known to ignore the complexity of the models under consideration. In the present study, in contrast, model evaluation not only relies on the maximal likelihood, but also on the marginal likelihood, which is sensitive to model complexity. Finally, using a large recovery study, it is demonstrated that, across the 30 data sets, complexity differences between the models in the VAM family are small. This indicates that a (computationally challenging) complexity-sensitive model evaluation method is uncalled for, and that the use of a (computationally straightforward) complexity-insensitive model evaluation method is justified.

  14. A Restorationist Views the Modernist/Post Modernist Debate. (Presidential Address).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Flinders, Neil J.

    The nation's schools and society in general face serious problems that are largely rooted in moral and spiritual issues. Modern philosophy has led to a secular culture in which the existence of a divine God has been rejected, and man has become his own God, his own standard of measurement. These issues are addressed from the point of view of a…

  15. Defense Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) Abstracts of Phase 2 Awards: Fiscal Year 1987 (ARMY)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1987-01-01

    Program, this report presents the abstracts of those proposals which have resulted in contract awards. Further, the name and address of each firm...CONDITIONS; AND, PRODUCE A FINAL REPORT AND A FINAL DESIGN PACKAGE THAT CAN BE USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF THE UNIT. BY THE END OF PHASE II THE ARMY CAN...NUMBER: DAAD07-87-C-107 ROGER W ANDERSON TITLE: AUTOMATED WEATHER FACTOR ANALYSIS AND DISPLAY TOPIC# 71 OFFICE: LABCOM/ASL IDENT#: 16015 SMALL BUSINESS

  16. Writing a Structured Abstract for the Thesis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hartley, James

    2010-01-01

    This article presents the author's suggestions on how to improve thesis abstracts. The author describes two books on writing abstracts: (1) "Creating Effective Conference Abstracts and Posters in Biomedicine: 500 tips for Success" (Fraser, Fuller & Hutber, 2009), a compendium of clear advice--a must book to have in one's hand as one prepares a…

  17. Abstracted Workow Framework with a Structure from Motion Application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rossi, Adam J.

    In scientific and engineering disciplines, from academia to industry, there is an increasing need for the development of custom software to perform experiments, construct systems, and develop products. The natural mindset initially is to shortcut and bypass all overhead and process rigor in order to obtain an immediate result for the problem at hand, with the misconception that the software will simply be thrown away at the end. In a majority of the cases, it turns out the software persists for many years, and likely ends up in production systems for which it was not initially intended. In the current study, a framework that can be used in both industry and academic applications mitigates underlying problems associated with developing scientific and engineering software. This results in software that is much more maintainable, documented, and usable by others, specifically allowing new users to extend capabilities of components already implemented in the framework. There is a multi-disciplinary need in the fields of imaging science, computer science, and software engineering for a unified implementation model, which motivates the development of an abstracted software framework. Structure from motion (SfM) has been identified as one use case where the abstracted workflow framework can improve research efficiencies and eliminate implementation redundancies in scientific fields. The SfM process begins by obtaining 2D images of a scene from different perspectives. Features from the images are extracted and correspondences are established. This provides a sufficient amount of information to initialize the problem for fully automated processing. Transformations are established between views, and 3D points are established via triangulation algorithms. The parameters for the camera models for all views / images are solved through bundle adjustment, establishing a highly consistent point cloud. The initial sparse point cloud and camera matrices are used to generate a dense

  18. SIAM conference on applications of dynamical systems. Abstracts and author index

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1992-12-31

    A conference (Oct.15--19, 1992, Snowbird, Utah; sponsored by SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics) Activity Group on Dynamical Systems) was held that highlighted recent developments in applied dynamical systems. The main lectures and minisymposia covered theory about chaotic motion, applications in high energy physics and heart fibrillations, turbulent motion, Henon map and attractor, integrable problems in classical physics, pattern formation in chemical reactions, etc. The conference fostered an exchange between mathematicians working on theoretical issues of modern dynamical systems and applied scientists. This two-part document contains abstracts, conference program, and an author index.

  19. Addressing Social Determinants Of Health Through Medical-Legal Partnerships.

    PubMed

    Regenstein, Marsha; Trott, Jennifer; Williamson, Alanna; Theiss, Joanna

    2018-03-01

    The US health care system needs effective tools to address complex social and environmental issues that perpetuate health inequities, such as food insecurity, education and employment barriers, and substandard housing conditions. The medical-legal partnership is a collaborative intervention that embeds civil legal aid professionals in health care settings to address seemingly intractable social problems that contribute to poor health outcomes and health disparities. More than three hundred health care organizations are home to medical-legal partnerships. This article draws upon national survey data and field research to identify three models of the medical-legal partnership that health care organizations have adopted and the core elements of infrastructure that they share. Financing and commitment from health care organizations are key considerations for sustaining and scaling up the medical-legal partnership as a health equity intervention.

  20. The semantic richness of abstract concepts

    PubMed Central

    Recchia, Gabriel; Jones, Michael N.

    2012-01-01

    We contrasted the predictive power of three measures of semantic richness—number of features (NFs), contextual dispersion (CD), and a novel measure of number of semantic neighbors (NSN)—for a large set of concrete and abstract concepts on lexical decision and naming tasks. NSN (but not NF) facilitated processing for abstract concepts, while NF (but not NSN) facilitated processing for the most concrete concepts, consistent with claims that linguistic information is more relevant for abstract concepts in early processing. Additionally, converging evidence from two datasets suggests that when NSN and CD are controlled for, the features that most facilitate processing are those associated with a concept's physical characteristics and real-world contexts. These results suggest that rich linguistic contexts (many semantic neighbors) facilitate early activation of abstract concepts, whereas concrete concepts benefit more from rich physical contexts (many associated objects and locations). PMID:23205008

  1. Reframing and addressing horizontal violence as a workplace quality improvement concern.

    PubMed

    Taylor, Rosemary A; Taylor, Steven S

    2018-06-27

    To reframe horizontal violence as a quality improvement concern. Although the number of studies exploring horizontal violence has increased, evidence supporting the effectiveness of current interventions is weak and the problem persists. Often framed as an individual or interpersonal issue, horizontal violence has been recognized as a complex phenomenon that can only be understood through an examination of social, individual and organizational factors. As such, interventions to address horizontal violence must be applied systemically and address contributions from all sources. This is a discussion paper. This discussion is based on results of a study of nurses' perceptions of horizontal violence and review of the literature. Context is recognized as a contributing factor in human behavior, yet often overlooked in interventions to address horizontal violence. Moving the focus away from the individual and investigating systems contributions to horizontal violence using existing quality improvement frameworks is suggested. To date, efforts to address horizontal violence have not been proven effective. There is a call for a wider application and investigation of interventions. This reframing provides the system level application suggested and would address a broader range of factors contributing to the perpetuation of the phenomenon. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Sub-problem Optimization With Regression and Neural Network Approximators

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Guptill, James D.; Hopkins, Dale A.; Patnaik, Surya N.

    2003-01-01

    Design optimization of large systems can be attempted through a sub-problem strategy. In this strategy, the original problem is divided into a number of smaller problems that are clustered together to obtain a sequence of sub-problems. Solution to the large problem is attempted iteratively through repeated solutions to the modest sub-problems. This strategy is applicable to structures and to multidisciplinary systems. For structures, clustering the substructures generates the sequence of sub-problems. For a multidisciplinary system, individual disciplines, accounting for coupling, can be considered as sub-problems. A sub-problem, if required, can be further broken down to accommodate sub-disciplines. The sub-problem strategy is being implemented into the NASA design optimization test bed, referred to as "CometBoards." Neural network and regression approximators are employed for reanalysis and sensitivity analysis calculations at the sub-problem level. The strategy has been implemented in sequential as well as parallel computational environments. This strategy, which attempts to alleviate algorithmic and reanalysis deficiencies, has the potential to become a powerful design tool. However, several issues have to be addressed before its full potential can be harnessed. This paper illustrates the strategy and addresses some issues.

  3. Mathematical Problem Solving through Sequential Process Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Codina, A.; Cañadas, M. C.; Castro, E.

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: The macroscopic perspective is one of the frameworks for research on problem solving in mathematics education. Coming from this perspective, our study addresses the stages of thought in mathematical problem solving, offering an innovative approach because we apply sequential relations and global interrelations between the different…

  4. Personal and parental problem drinking: effects on problem-solving performance and self-appraisal.

    PubMed

    Slavkin, S L; Heimberg, R G; Winning, C D; McCaffrey, R J

    1992-01-01

    This study examined the problem-solving performances and self-appraisals of problem-solving ability of college-age subjects with and without parental history of problem drinking. Contrary to our predictions, children of problem drinkers (COPDs) were rated as somewhat more effective in their problem-solving skills than non-COPDs, undermining prevailing assumptions about offspring from alcoholic households. While this difference was not large and was qualified by other variables, subjects' own alcohol abuse did exert a detrimental effect on problem-solving performance, regardless of parental history of problem drinking. However, a different pattern was evident for problem-solving self-appraisals. Alcohol-abusing non-COPDs saw themselves as effective problem-solvers while alcohol-abusing COPDs appraised themselves as poor problem-solvers. In addition, the self-appraisals of alcohol-abusing COPDs were consistent with objective ratings of solution effectiveness (i.e., they were both negative) while alcohol-abusing non-COPDs were overly positive in their appraisals, opposing the judgments of trained raters. This finding suggests that the relationship between personal alcohol abuse and self-appraised problem-solving abilities may differ as a function of parental history of problem drinking. Limitations on the generalizability of findings are addressed.

  5. Moving beyond regression techniques in cardiovascular risk prediction: applying machine learning to address analytic challenges

    PubMed Central

    Goldstein, Benjamin A.; Navar, Ann Marie; Carter, Rickey E.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Risk prediction plays an important role in clinical cardiology research. Traditionally, most risk models have been based on regression models. While useful and robust, these statistical methods are limited to using a small number of predictors which operate in the same way on everyone, and uniformly throughout their range. The purpose of this review is to illustrate the use of machine-learning methods for development of risk prediction models. Typically presented as black box approaches, most machine-learning methods are aimed at solving particular challenges that arise in data analysis that are not well addressed by typical regression approaches. To illustrate these challenges, as well as how different methods can address them, we consider trying to predicting mortality after diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. We use data derived from our institution's electronic health record and abstract data on 13 regularly measured laboratory markers. We walk through different challenges that arise in modelling these data and then introduce different machine-learning approaches. Finally, we discuss general issues in the application of machine-learning methods including tuning parameters, loss functions, variable importance, and missing data. Overall, this review serves as an introduction for those working on risk modelling to approach the diffuse field of machine learning. PMID:27436868

  6. Olfactory language and abstraction across cultures

    PubMed Central

    Burenhult, Niclas; Stensmyr, Marcus; de Valk, Josje; Hansson, Bill S.

    2018-01-01

    Olfaction presents a particularly interesting arena to explore abstraction in language. Like other abstract domains, such as time, odours can be difficult to conceptualize. An odour cannot be seen or held, it can be difficult to locate in space, and for most people odours are difficult to verbalize. On the other hand, odours give rise to primary sensory experiences. Every time we inhale we are using olfaction to make sense of our environment. We present new experimental data from 30 Jahai hunter-gatherers from the Malay Peninsula and 30 matched Dutch participants from the Netherlands in an odour naming experiment. Participants smelled monomolecular odorants and named odours while reaction times, odour descriptors and facial expressions were measured. We show that while Dutch speakers relied on concrete descriptors, i.e. they referred to odour sources (e.g. smells like lemon), the Jahai used abstract vocabulary to name the same odours (e.g. musty). Despite this differential linguistic categorization, analysis of facial expressions showed that the two groups, nevertheless, had the same initial emotional reactions to odours. Critically, these cross-cultural data present a challenge for how to think about abstraction in language. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain’. PMID:29915007

  7. Leadership Abstracts, 1993.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doucette, Don, Ed.

    1993-01-01

    This document includes 10 issues of Leadership Abstracts (volume 6, 1993), a newsletter published by the League for Innovation in the Community College (California). The featured articles are: (1) "Reinventing Government" by David T. Osborne; (2) "Community College Workforce Training Programs: Expanding the Mission to Meet Critical Needs" by…

  8. Leadership Abstracts, 2001.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilson, Cynthia, Ed.

    2001-01-01

    This is volume 14 of Leadership Abstracts, a newsletter published by the League for Innovation (California). Issue 1 of February 2001, "Developmental Education: A Policy Primer," discusses developmental programs in the community college. According to the article, community college trustees and presidents would serve their constituents well by…

  9. Recall Performance for Content-Addressable Memory Using Adiabatic Quantum Optimization

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Imam, Neena; Humble, Travis S.; McCaskey, Alex

    A content-addressable memory (CAM) stores key-value associations such that the key is recalled by providing its associated value. While CAM recall is traditionally performed using recurrent neural network models, we show how to solve this problem using adiabatic quantum optimization. Our approach maps the recurrent neural network to a commercially available quantum processing unit by taking advantage of the common underlying Ising spin model. We then assess the accuracy of the quantum processor to store key-value associations by quantifying recall performance against an ensemble of problem sets. We observe that different learning rules from the neural network community influence recallmore » accuracy but performance appears to be limited by potential noise in the processor. The strong connection established between quantum processors and neural network problems supports the growing intersection of these two ideas.« less

  10. Robot, computer problem solving system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Becker, J. D.; Merriam, E. W.

    1973-01-01

    The TENEX computer system, the ARPA network, and computer language design technology was applied to support the complex system programs. By combining the pragmatic and theoretical aspects of robot development, an approach is created which is grounded in realism, but which also has at its disposal the power that comes from looking at complex problems from an abstract analytical point of view.

  11. Abstract Linguistic Structure Correlates with Temporal Activity during Naturalistic Comprehension

    PubMed Central

    Brennan, Jonathan R.; Stabler, Edward P.; Van Wagenen, Sarah E.; Luh, Wen-Ming; Hale, John T.

    2016-01-01

    Neurolinguistic accounts of sentence comprehension identify a network of relevant brain regions, but do not detail the information flowing through them. We investigate syntactic information. Does brain activity implicate a computation over hierarchical grammars or does it simply reflect linear order, as in a Markov chain? To address this question, we quantify the cognitive states implied by alternative parsing models. We compare processing-complexity predictions from these states against fMRI timecourses from regions that have been implicated in sentence comprehension. We find that hierarchical grammars independently predict timecourses from left anterior and posterior temporal lobe. Markov models are predictive in these regions and across a broader network that includes the inferior frontal gyrus. These results suggest that while linear effects are wide-spread across the language network, certain areas in the left temporal lobe deal with abstract, hierarchical syntactic representations. PMID:27208858

  12. A taxonomy of inductive problems.

    PubMed

    Kemp, Charles; Jern, Alan

    2014-02-01

    Inductive inferences about objects, features, categories, and relations have been studied for many years, but there are few attempts to chart the range of inductive problems that humans are able to solve. We present a taxonomy of inductive problems that helps to clarify the relationships between familiar inductive problems such as generalization, categorization, and identification, and that introduces new inductive problems for psychological investigation. Our taxonomy is founded on the idea that semantic knowledge is organized into systems of objects, features, categories, and relations, and we attempt to characterize all of the inductive problems that can arise when these systems are partially observed. Recent studies have begun to address some of the new problems in our taxonomy, and future work should aim to develop unified theories of inductive reasoning that explain how people solve all of the problems in the taxonomy.

  13. Journal article overlap among Index Medicus, Science Citation Index, Biological Abstracts, and Chemical Abstracts.

    PubMed Central

    Poyer, R K

    1984-01-01

    Journal article overlap is defined as the same journal article being indexed by two or more services. Using journal references from seventy dissertations written in the preclinical sciences, the extent of journal article overlap among Index Medicus, Science Citation Index, Biological Abstracts, and Chemical Abstracts was examined. Of the 7,969 journal references cited, 92% were indexed by at least two of these services; 591 articles were covered by only one of the services, and 55 articles were not indexed. A discussion of the advantages and costs of journal article overlap is presented. PMID:6388693

  14. Mathematical Abstraction: Constructing Concept of Parallel Coordinates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nurhasanah, F.; Kusumah, Y. S.; Sabandar, J.; Suryadi, D.

    2017-09-01

    Mathematical abstraction is an important process in teaching and learning mathematics so pre-service mathematics teachers need to understand and experience this process. One of the theoretical-methodological frameworks for studying this process is Abstraction in Context (AiC). Based on this framework, abstraction process comprises of observable epistemic actions, Recognition, Building-With, Construction, and Consolidation called as RBC + C model. This study investigates and analyzes how pre-service mathematics teachers constructed and consolidated concept of Parallel Coordinates in a group discussion. It uses AiC framework for analyzing mathematical abstraction of a group of pre-service teachers consisted of four students in learning Parallel Coordinates concepts. The data were collected through video recording, students’ worksheet, test, and field notes. The result shows that the students’ prior knowledge related to concept of the Cartesian coordinate has significant role in the process of constructing Parallel Coordinates concept as a new knowledge. The consolidation process is influenced by the social interaction between group members. The abstraction process taken place in this group were dominated by empirical abstraction that emphasizes on the aspect of identifying characteristic of manipulated or imagined object during the process of recognizing and building-with.

  15. A model for addressing navigation limitations and metacognitive constraints in hypermedia training systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Freedman, Glenn B.

    1990-01-01

    A model for addressing navigation limitations and metacognitive constraints in hypermedia training systems is presented in the form of the viewgraphs. The following subject areas are covered: samples of software and people problems; system design; and hypermedia training system.

  16. Oncology trial abstracts showed suboptimal improvement in reporting: a comparative before-and-after evaluation using CONSORT for Abstract guidelines.

    PubMed

    Ghimire, Saurav; Kyung, Eunjung; Lee, Heeyoung; Kim, Eunyoung

    2014-06-01

    The aims of this study were to evaluate the quality of randomized controlled trial (RCT) abstracts published in the field of oncology and identify characteristics associated with better reporting quality. All phase III trials published during 2005-2007 [before Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT)] and 2010-2012 (after CONSORT) were searched electronically in MEDLINE/PubMed and retrieved for review using an 18-point overall quality score (OQS) for reporting based on the CONSORT for Abstract guidelines. Descriptive statistics followed by multivariate linear regression were used to identify features associated with improved reporting quality. The mean OQS was 8.2 (range: 5-13; 95% confidence interval (CI): 8.0, 8.3) and 9.9 (range: 5-18; 95% CI: 9.7, 10.2) in the pre- and post-CONSORT periods, respectively. The method for random sequence generation, allocation concealment, blinding details, and funding sources were missing in pre-CONSORT abstracts and insufficiently reported (<20%) in post-CONSORT abstracts. A high impact factor (P < 0.001) and the journal of publication (P < 0.001) were independent factors that were significantly associated with higher reporting quality on multivariate analysis. The reporting quality of RCT abstracts in oncology showed suboptimal improvement over time. Thus, stricter adherence to the CONSORT for Abstract guidelines is needed to improve the reporting quality of RCT abstracts published in oncology. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Image Coding Based on Address Vector Quantization.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Feng, Yushu

    Image coding is finding increased application in teleconferencing, archiving, and remote sensing. This thesis investigates the potential of Vector Quantization (VQ), a relatively new source coding technique, for compression of monochromatic and color images. Extensions of the Vector Quantization technique to the Address Vector Quantization method have been investigated. In Vector Quantization, the image data to be encoded are first processed to yield a set of vectors. A codeword from the codebook which best matches the input image vector is then selected. Compression is achieved by replacing the image vector with the index of the code-word which produced the best match, the index is sent to the channel. Reconstruction of the image is done by using a table lookup technique, where the label is simply used as an address for a table containing the representative vectors. A code-book of representative vectors (codewords) is generated using an iterative clustering algorithm such as K-means, or the generalized Lloyd algorithm. A review of different Vector Quantization techniques are given in chapter 1. Chapter 2 gives an overview of codebook design methods including the Kohonen neural network to design codebook. During the encoding process, the correlation of the address is considered and Address Vector Quantization is developed for color image and monochrome image coding. Address VQ which includes static and dynamic processes is introduced in chapter 3. In order to overcome the problems in Hierarchical VQ, Multi-layer Address Vector Quantization is proposed in chapter 4. This approach gives the same performance as that of the normal VQ scheme but the bit rate is about 1/2 to 1/3 as that of the normal VQ method. In chapter 5, a Dynamic Finite State VQ based on a probability transition matrix to select the best subcodebook to encode the image is developed. In chapter 6, a new adaptive vector quantization scheme, suitable for color video coding, called "A Self -Organizing

  18. Universal Design Problem Solving

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sterling, Mary C.

    2004-01-01

    Universal design is made up of four elements: accessibility, adaptability, aesthetics, and affordability. This article addresses the concept of universal design problem solving through experiential learning for an interior design studio course in postsecondary education. Students' experiences with clients over age 55 promoted an understanding of…

  19. Use of Representation Mapping to Capture Abstraction in Problem Solving in Different Courses in Chemistry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sevian, H.; Bernholt, S.; Szteinberg, G. A.; Auguste, S.; Pérez, L. C.

    2015-01-01

    A perspective is presented on how the representation mapping framework by Hahn and Chater (1998) may be used to characterize reasoning during problem solving in chemistry. To provide examples for testing the framework, an exploratory study was conducted with students and professors from three different courses in the middle of the undergraduate…

  20. Interactional Metadiscourse in Research Article Abstracts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gillaerts, Paul; Van de Velde, Freek

    2010-01-01

    This paper deals with interpersonality in research article abstracts analysed in terms of interactional metadiscourse. The evolution in the distribution of three prominent interactional markers comprised in Hyland's (2005a) model, viz. hedges, boosters and attitude markers, is investigated in three decades of abstract writing in the field of…

  1. Sixth SIAM conference on applied linear algebra: Final program and abstracts. Final technical report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    NONE

    1997-12-31

    Linear algebra plays a central role in mathematics and applications. The analysis and solution of problems from an amazingly wide variety of disciplines depend on the theory and computational techniques of linear algebra. In turn, the diversity of disciplines depending on linear algebra also serves to focus and shape its development. Some problems have special properties (numerical, structural) that can be exploited. Some are simply so large that conventional approaches are impractical. New computer architectures motivate new algorithms, and fresh ways to look at old ones. The pervasive nature of linear algebra in analyzing and solving problems means that peoplemore » from a wide spectrum--universities, industrial and government laboratories, financial institutions, and many others--share an interest in current developments in linear algebra. This conference aims to bring them together for their mutual benefit. Abstracts of papers presented are included.« less

  2. Emerging Infections Program Efforts to Address Health Equity

    PubMed Central

    Vugia, Duc J.; Bennett, Nancy M.; Moore, Matthew R.

    2015-01-01

    The Emerging Infections Program (EIP), a collaboration between (currently) 10 state health departments, their academic center partners, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was established in 1995. The EIP performs active, population-based surveillance for important infectious diseases, addresses new problems as they arise, emphasizes projects that lead to prevention, and develops and evaluates public health practices. The EIP has increasingly addressed the health equity challenges posed by Healthy People 2020. These challenges include objectives to increase the proportion of Healthy People–specified conditions for which national data are available by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status as a step toward first recognizing and subsequently eliminating health inequities. EIP has made substantial progress in moving from an initial focus on monitoring social determinants exclusively through collecting and analyzing data by race/ethnicity to identifying and piloting ways to conduct population-based surveillance by using area-based socioeconomic status measures. PMID:26291875

  3. Abstraction in Mathematics and Mathematics Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mitchelmore, Michael; White, Paul

    2004-01-01

    It is claimed that, since mathematics is essentially a self-contained system, mathematical objects may best be described as "abstract-apart." On the other hand, fundamental mathematical ideas are closely related to the real world and their learning involves empirical concepts. These concepts may be called "abstract-general" because they embody…

  4. Dissertation Abstracts in Mathematics Education, 1983.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Suydam, Marilyn N., Comp.

    The dissertation abstracts in this compilation all appeared in "Dissertation Abstracts International" in 1983. The 300 dissertations cited in the annual listing of research in the July 1984 issue of the "Journal for Research in Mathematics Education" are included, as well as 55 dissertations which were located but could not be…

  5. Field methods in medical record abstraction: assessing the properties of comparative effectiveness estimates.

    PubMed

    Cook, Elizabeth A; Schneider, Kathleen M; Robinson, Jennifer; Wilwert, June; Chrischilles, Elizabeth; Pendergast, Jane; Brooks, John

    2014-09-15

    Comparative effectiveness studies using Medicare claims data are vulnerable to treatment selection biases and supplemental data from a sample of patients has been recommended for examining the magnitude of this bias. Previous research using nationwide Medicare claims data has typically relied on the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) for supplemental data. Because many important clinical variables for our specific research question are not available in the MCBS, we collected medical record data from a subsample of patients to assess the validity of assumptions and to aid in the interpretation of our estimates. This paper seeks to describe and document the process used to collect and validate this supplemental information. Medicare claims data files for all patients with fee-for-service Medicare benefits who had an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in 2007 or 2008 were obtained. Medical records were obtained and abstracted for a stratified subsample of 1,601 of these patients, using strata defined by claims-based measures of physician prescribing practices and drug treatment combinations. The abstraction tool was developed collaboratively by study clinicians and researchers, leveraging important elements from previously validated tools. Records for 2,707 AMI patients were requested from the admitting hospitals and 1,751 were received for an overall response rate of 65%; 1,601 cases were abstracted by trained personnel at a contracted firm. Data were collected with overall 96% inter-abstractor agreement across all variables. Some non-response bias was detected at the patient and facility level. Although Medicare claims data are a potentially powerful resource for conducting comparative effectiveness analyses, observational databases are vulnerable to treatment selection biases. This study demonstrates that it is feasible to abstract medical records for Medicare patients nationwide and collect high quality data, to design the sampling purposively to address

  6. The Role of Violence Against Women Act in Addressing Intimate Partner Violence: A Public Health Issue

    PubMed Central

    Modi, Monica N.; Palmer, Sheallah

    2014-01-01

    Abstract Intimate partner violence (IPV) is defined as violence committed by a current or former boyfriend or girlfriend, spouse or ex-spouse. Each year, 1.3 to 5.3 million women in the United States experience IPV. The large number of individuals affected, the enormous healthcare costs, and the need for a multidisciplinary approach make IPV an important healthcare issue. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) addresses domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. It emphasizes development of coordinated community care among law enforcement, prosecutors, victim services, and attorneys. VAWA was not reauthorized in 2012 because it lacked bipartisan support. VAWA 2013 contains much needed new provisions for Native Americans; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gay, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals; and victims of human trafficking but does not address the large amount of intimate partner violence in America's immigrant population. There are important remaining issues regarding intimate partner violence that need to be addressed by future legislation. This review examines the role of legislation and addresses proposals for helping victims of IPV. PMID:24299159

  7. High-performance parallel analysis of coupled problems for aircraft propulsion

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Felippa, C. A.; Farhat, C.; Lanteri, S.; Gumaste, U.; Ronaghi, M.

    1994-01-01

    Applications are described of high-performance parallel, computation for the analysis of complete jet engines, considering its multi-discipline coupled problem. The coupled problem involves interaction of structures with gas dynamics, heat conduction and heat transfer in aircraft engines. The methodology issues addressed include: consistent discrete formulation of coupled problems with emphasis on coupling phenomena; effect of partitioning strategies, augmentation and temporal solution procedures; sensitivity of response to problem parameters; and methods for interfacing multiscale discretizations in different single fields. The computer implementation issues addressed include: parallel treatment of coupled systems; domain decomposition and mesh partitioning strategies; data representation in object-oriented form and mapping to hardware driven representation, and tradeoff studies between partitioning schemes and fully coupled treatment.

  8. The checkpoint ordering problem

    PubMed Central

    Hungerländer, P.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract We suggest a new variant of a row layout problem: Find an ordering of n departments with given lengths such that the total weighted sum of their distances to a given checkpoint is minimized. The Checkpoint Ordering Problem (COP) is both of theoretical and practical interest. It has several applications and is conceptually related to some well-studied combinatorial optimization problems, namely the Single-Row Facility Layout Problem, the Linear Ordering Problem and a variant of parallel machine scheduling. In this paper we study the complexity of the (COP) and its special cases. The general version of the (COP) with an arbitrary but fixed number of checkpoints is NP-hard in the weak sense. We propose both a dynamic programming algorithm and an integer linear programming approach for the (COP) . Our computational experiments indicate that the (COP) is hard to solve in practice. While the run time of the dynamic programming algorithm strongly depends on the length of the departments, the integer linear programming approach is able to solve instances with up to 25 departments to optimality. PMID:29170574

  9. Automated Assume-Guarantee Reasoning by Abstraction Refinement

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pasareanu, Corina S.; Giannakopoulous, Dimitra; Glannakopoulou, Dimitra

    2008-01-01

    Current automated approaches for compositional model checking in the assume-guarantee style are based on learning of assumptions as deterministic automata. We propose an alternative approach based on abstraction refinement. Our new method computes the assumptions for the assume-guarantee rules as conservative and not necessarily deterministic abstractions of some of the components, and refines those abstractions using counter-examples obtained from model checking them together with the other components. Our approach also exploits the alphabets of the interfaces between components and performs iterative refinement of those alphabets as well as of the abstractions. We show experimentally that our preliminary implementation of the proposed alternative achieves similar or better performance than a previous learning-based implementation.

  10. Spontaneous gestures influence strategy choices in problem solving.

    PubMed

    Alibali, Martha W; Spencer, Robert C; Knox, Lucy; Kita, Sotaro

    2011-09-01

    Do gestures merely reflect problem-solving processes, or do they play a functional role in problem solving? We hypothesized that gestures highlight and structure perceptual-motor information, and thereby make such information more likely to be used in problem solving. Participants in two experiments solved problems requiring the prediction of gear movement, either with gesture allowed or with gesture prohibited. Such problems can be correctly solved using either a perceptual-motor strategy (simulation of gear movements) or an abstract strategy (the parity strategy). Participants in the gesture-allowed condition were more likely to use perceptual-motor strategies than were participants in the gesture-prohibited condition. Gesture promoted use of perceptual-motor strategies both for participants who talked aloud while solving the problems (Experiment 1) and for participants who solved the problems silently (Experiment 2). Thus, spontaneous gestures influence strategy choices in problem solving.

  11. Concrete Model Checking with Abstract Matching and Refinement

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pasareanu Corina S.; Peianek Radek; Visser, Willem

    2005-01-01

    We propose an abstraction-based model checking method which relies on refinement of an under-approximation of the feasible behaviors of the system under analysis. The method preserves errors to safety properties, since all analyzed behaviors are feasible by definition. The method does not require an abstract transition relation to he generated, but instead executes the concrete transitions while storing abstract versions of the concrete states, as specified by a set of abstraction predicates. For each explored transition. the method checks, with the help of a theorem prover, whether there is any loss of precision introduced by abstraction. The results of these checks are used to decide termination or to refine the abstraction, by generating new abstraction predicates. If the (possibly infinite) concrete system under analysis has a finite bisimulation quotient, then the method is guaranteed to eventually explore an equivalent finite bisimilar structure. We illustrate the application of the approach for checking concurrent programs. We also show how a lightweight variant can be used for efficient software testing.

  12. Addressing Bullying Problems in Irish Schools and in Cyberspace: A Challenge for School Management

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Corcoran, Lucie; Mc Guckin, Conor

    2014-01-01

    Background: School management, in Ireland and also internationally, are currently faced with the problem of peer aggression among students both in a traditional school context and in a cyber context. Although Irish school principals are obliged to implement policy and procedures to counter bullying among students, there is a need for guidance that…

  13. URISA Address Standard

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) standard for addresses. The document covers thoroughfare, landmark, and postal addresses within the United States, including its outlying territories and possessions.

  14. Defense Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR). Volume 1. Army Abstracts of Phase 1 Awards 1993

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1993-01-01

    glass phase transformations, will identify characteristic signatures associated with film formation. Phase I technical objectives include the analysis...Fast, Highly Sensitive, Rugged, Miniature Spectroradiometer Based on a TeO2 Acousto-optic Tunable Filter (AOTF) Abstract: Brimrose proposes to research...this problem. The use of poltruded glass fiber reinforcing elements containing recycled plastic in their matrices will also be examined as this will

  15. High-Level Data-Abstraction System

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fishwick, P. A.

    1986-01-01

    Communication with data-base processor flexible and efficient. High Level Data Abstraction (HILDA) system is three-layer system supporting data-abstraction features of Intel data-base processor (DBP). Purpose of HILDA establishment of flexible method of efficiently communicating with DBP. Power of HILDA lies in its extensibility with regard to syntax and semantic changes. HILDA's high-level query language readily modified. Offers powerful potential to computer sites where DBP attached to DEC VAX-series computer. HILDA system written in Pascal and FORTRAN 77 for interactive execution.

  16. Students' Perception of Interdisciplinary, Problem-Based Learning in a Food Biotechnology Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ng, Betsy L. L.; Yap, Kueh C.; Hoh, Yin K.

    2011-01-01

    Abstract: Students' perception of 8 criteria (rationale of the problem; interdisciplinary learning; facilitator asked essential questions; learner's skills; assessments; facilitation procedures; team's use of resources [team collaboration], and facilitator within a problem-based learning context) were assessed for a food biotechnology course that…

  17. 1989 Teacher of the Year: Address Delivered at GCSS Annual Convention, November, 1989.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bicouvaris, Mary V.

    1990-01-01

    The 1989 Teacher of the Year, Mary V. Bicouvaris discusses social studies education, public education, and teachers. Stresses the importance of geographic and international education and addresses the problems of falling test scores, use of illegal drugs, teenage pregnancies, and school dropouts. (RW)

  18. Addressing dual agency: getting specific about the expectations of professionalism.

    PubMed

    Tilburt, Jon C

    2014-01-01

    Professionalism requires that physicians uphold the best interests of patients while simultaneously insuring just use of health care resources. Current articulations of these obligations like the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation's Physician Charter do not reconcile how these obligations fit together when they conflict. This is the problem of dual agency. The most common ways of dealing with dual agency: "bunkering"--physicians act as though societal cost issues are not their problem; "bailing"--physicians assume that they are merely agents of society and deliver care typically based on a strongly consequentialist public health ethic; or "balancing"--a vaguely specified attempt to uphold both patient welfare and societal need for judicious resource use simultaneously--all fail. Here I propose how the problem of dual agency might begin to be addressed with rigor and consistency. Without dealing with the dual agency problem and getting more specific about how to reconcile its norms when they conflict, the expectations of professionalism risk being written off as cute, nonbinding aphorisms from the medical profession.

  19. Two heads are better than one: Australian tobacco control experts' and mental health change champions' consensus on addressing the problem of high smoking rates among people with mental illness.

    PubMed

    Rowley, Della; Lawn, Sharon; Coveney, John

    2016-04-01

    Objective The aims of the present study were to explore the beliefs of Australian experts in tobacco control and change champions working in mental health and tobacco cessation, and to identify measures for addressing the problem of high smoking rates for people with mental illness. Methods Qualitative interviews were undertaken to explore participants' views, and the Delphi technique was used to achieve consensus on ways in which the problem would be best addressed. Results This consensus centred on the need for leadership within the mental health system. The problem was reconceptualised from being solely the responsibility of the mental health sector into an issue that requires the combined resources of a partnership and shared leadership between government and non-government services, public health leaders, policy makers and people with mental illness and their families. Conclusions Collaboration would raise the priority of the issue, reduce the debilitating effect of stigma and discrimination within the mental health sector and would place smoking reduction firmly on the political and public agenda. A recovery-orientated focus would increase the skill base and be inclusive of workers, families and carers of people with mental illness who face smoking issues on a daily basis. Reconceptualising this as an issue that would benefit from cooperation and partnerships would disrupt the notion that the problem is solely the responsibility of the mental health sector. What is known about the topic? Rates of smoking have remained high for people with mental illness despite population-wide public health strategies successfully reducing smoking rates in the general population. For people with mental illness, the benefits of quitting smoking for both their mental and physical health are overshadowed by concerns about the complexity of their needs. There is a lack of knowledge about how smoking cessation support can be improved to increase success rates in smokers with

  20. Questions Addressed to V.V. Putin during an Internet Conference on Careers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Agranovich, M.; Zair-Bek, S.; Seliverstova, I.; Shishmakova, E.

    2007-01-01

    On instructions from the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, the Federal Institute for the Development of Education prepared an analytical report on the topic "Questions Addressed to Russian President V.V. Putin During an Internet Conference on 6 July 2006 on the Problems of "Career"." That document presents an…

  1. Conference Abstracts: AEDS '82.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 1982

    1982-01-01

    Abstracts from nine selected papers presented at the 1982 Association for Educational Data Systems (AEDS) conference are provided. Copies of conference proceedings may be obtained for fifteen dollars from the Association. (MP)

  2. Dynamic Flow Management Problems in Air Transportation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Patterson, Sarah Stock

    1997-01-01

    In 1995, over six hundred thousand licensed pilots flew nearly thirty-five million flights into over eighteen thousand U.S. airports, logging more than 519 billion passenger miles. Since demand for air travel has increased by more than 50% in the last decade while capacity has stagnated, congestion is a problem of undeniable practical significance. In this thesis, we will develop optimization techniques that reduce the impact of congestion on the national airspace. We start by determining the optimal release times for flights into the airspace and the optimal speed adjustment while airborne taking into account the capacitated airspace. This is called the Air Traffic Flow Management Problem (TFMP). We address the complexity, showing that it is NP-hard. We build an integer programming formulation that is quite strong as some of the proposed inequalities are facet defining for the convex hull of solutions. For practical problems, the solutions of the LP relaxation of the TFMP are very often integral. In essence, we reduce the problem to efficiently solving large scale linear programming problems. Thus, the computation times are reasonably small for large scale, practical problems involving thousands of flights. Next, we address the problem of determining how to reroute aircraft in the airspace system when faced with dynamically changing weather conditions. This is called the Air Traffic Flow Management Rerouting Problem (TFMRP) We present an integrated mathematical programming approach for the TFMRP, which utilizes several methodologies, in order to minimize delay costs. In order to address the high dimensionality, we present an aggregate model, in which we formulate the TFMRP as a multicommodity, integer, dynamic network flow problem with certain side constraints. Using Lagrangian relaxation, we generate aggregate flows that are decomposed into a collection of flight paths using a randomized rounding heuristic. This collection of paths is used in a packing integer

  3. A Radio Model: A Community Strategy To Address the Problems and Needs of Mexican American Women Farmworkers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lopez-Trevino, Maria Elena

    Interviews with 60 Mexican-American female farmworkers in the Coachella Valley (California) identified their major problems, needs, and suggestions of topics to be presented in a community-based educational radio program. Two major problems identified by these women were low wages and occupational exposure to pesticides. Contrary to cultural…

  4. Third LDEF Post-Retrieval Symposium Abstracts

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Levine, Arlene S. (Compiler)

    1993-01-01

    This volume is a compilation of abstracts submitted to the Third Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) Post-Retrieval Symposium. The abstracts represent the data analysis of the 57 experiments flown on the LDEF. The experiments include materials, coatings, thermal systems, power and propulsion, science (cosmic ray, interstellar gas, heavy ions, micrometeoroid, etc.), electronics, optics, and life science.

  5. User-Extensible Graphics Using Abstract Structure,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1987-08-01

    Flex 6 The Algol68 model of the graphical abstract structure 5 The creation of a PictureDefinition 6 The making of a picture from a PictureDefinition 7...data together with the operations that can be performed on that data. i 7! ś I _ § 4, The Alqol68 model of the graphical abstract structure Every

  6. Promoting Health by Addressing Basic Needs: Effect of Problem Resolution on Contacting Health Referrals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thompson, Tess; Kreuter, Matthew W.; Boyum, Sonia

    2016-01-01

    Members of vulnerable populations have heightened needs for health services. One advantage of integrating health risk assessment and referrals into social service assistance systems such as 2-1-1 is that such systems help callers resolve problems in other areas (e.g., housing). Callers to 2-1-1 in Missouri (N = 1,090) with at least one behavioral…

  7. Application of an engineering problem-solving methodology to address persistent problems in patient safety: a case study on retained surgical sponges after surgery.

    PubMed

    Anderson, Devon E; Watts, Bradley V

    2013-09-01

    Despite innumerable attempts to eliminate the postoperative retention of surgical sponges, the medical error persists in operating rooms worldwide and places significant burden on patient safety, quality of care, financial resources, and hospital/physician reputation. The failure of countless solutions, from new sponge counting methods to radio labeled sponges, to truly eliminate the event in the operating room requires that the emerging field of health-care delivery science find innovative ways to approach the problem. Accordingly, the VA National Center for Patient Safety formed a unique collaboration with a team at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College to evaluate the retention of surgical sponges after surgery and find a solution. The team used an engineering problem solving methodology to develop the best solution. To make the operating room a safe environment for patients, the team identified a need to make the sponge itself safe for use as opposed to resolving the relatively innocuous counting methods. In evaluation of this case study, the need for systematic engineering evaluation to resolve problems in health-care delivery becomes clear.

  8. Requisite for Honing the Problem Solving Skill of Early Adolescents in the Digital Era

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sumitha, S.; Jose, Rexlin

    2016-01-01

    Problems can be the cause of stress, tension, emotional instability and physical strain. Especially, adolescents should have the skill of solving a problem in order to reach his/her desired ambitions in life. The problem solving skill requires some abstract thinking to arrive at a clear solution. Problem solving ability helps them to meet their…

  9. Abstraction networks for terminologies: Supporting management of "big knowledge".

    PubMed

    Halper, Michael; Gu, Huanying; Perl, Yehoshua; Ochs, Christopher

    2015-05-01

    Terminologies and terminological systems have assumed important roles in many medical information processing environments, giving rise to the "big knowledge" challenge when terminological content comprises tens of thousands to millions of concepts arranged in a tangled web of relationships. Use and maintenance of knowledge structures on that scale can be daunting. The notion of abstraction network is presented as a means of facilitating the usability, comprehensibility, visualization, and quality assurance of terminologies. An abstraction network overlays a terminology's underlying network structure at a higher level of abstraction. In particular, it provides a more compact view of the terminology's content, avoiding the display of minutiae. General abstraction network characteristics are discussed. Moreover, the notion of meta-abstraction network, existing at an even higher level of abstraction than a typical abstraction network, is described for cases where even the abstraction network itself represents a case of "big knowledge." Various features in the design of abstraction networks are demonstrated in a methodological survey of some existing abstraction networks previously developed and deployed for a variety of terminologies. The applicability of the general abstraction-network framework is shown through use-cases of various terminologies, including the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine - Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT), the Medical Entities Dictionary (MED), and the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS). Important characteristics of the surveyed abstraction networks are provided, e.g., the magnitude of the respective size reduction referred to as the abstraction ratio. Specific benefits of these alternative terminology-network views, particularly their use in terminology quality assurance, are discussed. Examples of meta-abstraction networks are presented. The "big knowledge" challenge constitutes the use and maintenance of terminological structures that

  10. The role of research-article writing motivation and self-regulatory strategies in explaining research-article abstract writing ability.

    PubMed

    Lin, Ming-Chia; Cheng, Yuh-Show; Lin, Sieh-Hwa; Hsieh, Pei-Jung

    2015-04-01

    The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of research-article writing motivation and use of self-regulatory writing strategies in explaining second language (L2) research-article abstract writing ability, alongside the L2 literacy effect. Four measures were administered: a L2 literacy test, a research abstract performance assessment, and inventories of writing motivation and strategy. Participants were L2 graduate students in Taiwan (N=185; M age=25.8 yr., SD=4.5, range=22-53). Results of structural equation modeling showed a direct effect of motivation on research-article writing ability, but no direct effect of strategy or indirect effect of motivation via strategy on research-article writing ability, with L2 literacy controlled. The findings suggest research-article writing instruction should address writing motivation, besides L2 literacy.

  11. How does tunneling contribute to counterintuitive H-abstraction reactivity of nonheme Fe(IV)O oxidants with alkanes?

    PubMed

    Mandal, Debasish; Ramanan, Rajeev; Usharani, Dandamudi; Janardanan, Deepa; Wang, Binju; Shaik, Sason

    2015-01-21

    This article addresses the intriguing hydrogen-abstraction (H-abstraction) and oxygen-transfer (O-transfer) reactivity of a series of nonheme [Fe(IV)(O)(TMC)(Lax)](z+) complexes, with a tetramethyl cyclam ligand and a variable axial ligand (Lax), toward three substrates: 1,4-cyclohexadiene, 9,10-dihydroanthracene, and triphenyl phosphine. Experimentally, O-transfer-reactivity follows the relative electrophilicity of the complexes, whereas the corresponding H-abstraction-reactivity generally increases as the axial ligand becomes a better electron donor, hence exhibiting an antielectrophilic trend. Our theoretical results show that the antielectrophilic trend in H-abstraction is affected by tunneling contributions. Room-temperature tunneling increases with increase of the electron donation power of the axial-ligand, and this reverses the natural electrophilic trend, as revealed through calculations without tunneling, and leads to the observed antielectrophilic trend. By contrast, O-transfer-reactivity, not being subject to tunneling, retains an electrophilic-dependent reactivity trend, as revealed experimentally and computationally. Tunneling-corrected kinetic-isotope effect (KIE) calculations matched the experimental KIE values only if all of the H-abstraction reactions proceeded on the quintet state (S = 2) surface. As such, the present results corroborate the initially predicted two-state reactivity (TSR) scenario for these reactions. The increase of tunneling with the electron-releasing power of the axial ligand, and the reversal of the "natural" reactivity pattern, support the "tunneling control" hypothesis (Schreiner et al., ref 19). Should these predictions be corroborated, the entire field of C-H bond activation in bioinorganic chemistry would lay open to reinvestigation.

  12. An extended abstract: A heuristic repair method for constraint-satisfaction and scheduling problems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Minton, Steven; Johnston, Mark D.; Philips, Andrew B.; Laird, Philip

    1992-01-01

    The work described in this paper was inspired by a surprisingly effective neural network developed for scheduling astronomical observations on the Hubble Space Telescope. Our heuristic constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) method was distilled from an analysis of the network. In the process of carrying out the analysis, we discovered that the effectiveness of the network has little to do with its connectionist implementation. Furthermore, the ideas employed in the network can be implemented very efficiently within a symbolic CSP framework. The symbolic implementation is extremely simple. It also has the advantage that several different search strategies can be employed, although we have found that hill-climbing methods are particularly well-suited for the applications that we have investigated. We begin the paper with a brief review of the neural network. Following this, we describe our symbolic method for heuristic repair.

  13. Full journal publication of abstracts presented at the Nordic Congress of General Practice in 2009 and 2011.

    PubMed

    Waldorff, Frans Boch; Petersen, Kristine; Vinther, Siri; Sandholdt, Håkon; Siersma, Volkert; Andersen, John Sahl

    2017-03-01

    To determine the overall publication rates for abstracts presented at two consecutive Nordic Congresses of General Practice and to evaluate determinants for these publication rates. Prospective study. MEDLINE (PubMed) and Google Scholar were searched for relevant publications from 1 January 2009 up until 31 August 2014. Abstracts accepted for oral or poster presentation were identified from the original congress booklets from the Nordic Congresses of General Practice in 2009 and 2011. Based on PubMed and Google Scholar searches, we subsequently identified full journal publications within a 36-month follow-up from both congresses. In cases of doubt, the first author was contacted directly. Full journal publication within 36 months after the congress. A total of 200 abstracts were analyzed. Of these, 85 (42.5%) were identified with a full publication within 36 months after the congress. More abstracts from the 2011 congress were published compared to the 2009 congress odds ratio (OR) 1.97, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.10; 3.50). Abstracts accepted for oral presentation were more often published OR 1.94, 95% CI (1.08; 3.50) than accepted poster abstracts. In the multivariate analysis, a university affiliation for both first and last author increased the probability for publication OR 4.23, 95% CI (1.71; 10.42), as well as more than two authors. An optimal number, based on the highest OR, seems to be 3-4 authors with OR 2.43, 95% CI (1.07; 5.54). Qualitative studies were published at the same frequency as quantitative studies OR 1.36, 95% CI (0.57; 3.24). Less than half of the abstracts accepted for oral or poster presentation at two consecutive Nordic Congresses of General Practice were published as full text articles within 36 months. Key points Congress abstracts accepted for Nordic Congress of General Practice are not indexed in international search databases. Less than half of the abstracts accepted for oral or poster presentation at two consecutive Nordic

  14. Class and Home Problems: Humidification, a True "Home" Problem for p. Chemical Engineer

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Condoret, Jean-Stephane

    2012-01-01

    The problem of maintaining hygrothermal comfort in a house is addressed using the chemical engineer's toolbox. A simple dynamic modelling proved to give a good description of the humidification of the house in winter, using a domestic humidifier. Parameters of the model were identified from a simple experiment. Surprising results, especially…

  15. EPA Announces Collaborative Innovative Research in Mass. and New York to Address State Environmental Issues

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced research projects addressing priority environmental and human health problems in 14 states through partnerships between EPA’s research office, regional offices, and states.

  16. Abstracts of SIG Sessions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Proceedings of the ASIS Annual Meeting, 1997

    1997-01-01

    Presents abstracts of SIG Sessions. Highlights include digital collections; information retrieval methods; public interest/fair use; classification and indexing; electronic publication; funding; globalization; information technology projects; interface design; networking in developing countries; metadata; multilingual databases; networked…

  17. Scientist-Centered Workflow Abstractions via Generic Actors, Workflow Templates, and Context-Awareness for Groundwater Modeling and Analysis

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chin, George; Sivaramakrishnan, Chandrika; Critchlow, Terence J.

    2011-07-04

    A drawback of existing scientific workflow systems is the lack of support to domain scientists in designing and executing their own scientific workflows. Many domain scientists avoid developing and using workflows because the basic objects of workflows are too low-level and high-level tools and mechanisms to aid in workflow construction and use are largely unavailable. In our research, we are prototyping higher-level abstractions and tools to better support scientists in their workflow activities. Specifically, we are developing generic actors that provide abstract interfaces to specific functionality, workflow templates that encapsulate workflow and data patterns that can be reused and adaptedmore » by scientists, and context-awareness mechanisms to gather contextual information from the workflow environment on behalf of the scientist. To evaluate these scientist-centered abstractions on real problems, we apply them to construct and execute scientific workflows in the specific domain area of groundwater modeling and analysis.« less

  18. A Generalized Orienteering Problem for Optimal Search and Interdiction Planning

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-09-01

    NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA DISSERTATION A GENERALIZED ORIENTEERING PROBLEM FOR OPTIMAL SEARCH AND INTERDICTION PLANNING by Jesse...provision of law, no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently...16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: a . REPORT b. ABSTRACT c. THIS PAGE 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT 18. NUMBER OF PAGES 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON 19b

  19. Processing emotion from abstract art in frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Miriam H; Carton, Amelia M; Hardy, Christopher J; Golden, Hannah L; Clark, Camilla N; Fletcher, Phillip D; Jaisin, Kankamol; Marshall, Charles R; Henley, Susie M D; Rohrer, Jonathan D; Crutch, Sebastian J; Warren, Jason D

    2016-01-29

    art may signal emotions independently of a biological or social carrier: it might therefore constitute a test case for defining brain mechanisms of generic emotion decoding and the impact of disease states on those mechanisms. This is potentially of particular relevance to diseases in the frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) spectrum. These diseases are often led by emotional impairment despite retained or enhanced artistic interest in at least some patients. However, the processing of emotion from art has not been studied systematically in FTLD. Here we addressed this issue using a novel emotional valence matching task on abstract paintings in patients representing major syndromes of FTLD (behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, n=11; sematic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA), n=7; nonfluent variant primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA), n=6) relative to healthy older individuals (n=39). Performance on art emotion valence matching was compared between groups taking account of perceptual matching performance and assessed in relation to facial emotion matching using customised control tasks. Neuroanatomical correlates of art emotion processing were assessed using voxel-based morphometry of patients' brain MR images. All patient groups had a deficit of art emotion processing relative to healthy controls; there were no significant interactions between syndromic group and emotion modality. Poorer art emotion valence matching performance was associated with reduced grey matter volume in right lateral occopitotemporal cortex in proximity to regions previously implicated in the processing of dynamic visual signals. Our findings suggest that abstract art may be a useful model system for investigating mechanisms of generic emotion decoding and aesthetic processing in neurodegenerative diseases. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  20. Addressing Criticisms of Large-Scale Marine Protected Areas

    PubMed Central

    Ban, Natalie C; Fernandez, Miriam; Friedlander, Alan M; García-Borboroglu, Pablo; Golbuu, Yimnang; Guidetti, Paolo; Harris, Jean M; Hawkins, Julie P; Langlois, Tim; McCauley, Douglas J; Pikitch, Ellen K; Richmond, Robert H; Roberts, Callum M

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Designated large-scale marine protected areas (LSMPAs, 100,000 or more square kilometers) constitute over two-thirds of the approximately 6.6% of the ocean and approximately 14.5% of the exclusive economic zones within marine protected areas. Although LSMPAs have received support among scientists and conservation bodies for wilderness protection, regional ecological connectivity, and improving resilience to climate change, there are also concerns. We identified 10 common criticisms of LSMPAs along three themes: (1) placement, governance, and management; (2) political expediency; and (3) social–ecological value and cost. Through critical evaluation of scientific evidence, we discuss the value, achievements, challenges, and potential of LSMPAs in these arenas. We conclude that although some criticisms are valid and need addressing, none pertain exclusively to LSMPAs, and many involve challenges ubiquitous in management. We argue that LSMPAs are an important component of a diversified management portfolio that tempers potential losses, hedges against uncertainty, and enhances the probability of achieving sustainably managed oceans. PMID:29731514