Sample records for draw inferences based

  1. Genie Inference Engine Rule Writer’s Guide.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1987-08-01

    33 APPENDIX D. Animal Bootstrap File.............................................................. 39...APPENDIX E. Sample Run of Animal Identification Expert System.......................... 43 APPENDIX F. Numeric Test Knowledge Base...and other data s.tructures stored in the knowledge base (KB), queries the user for input, and draws conclusions. Genie (GENeric Inference Engine) is

  2. The Importance of Statistical Modeling in Data Analysis and Inference

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rollins, Derrick, Sr.

    2017-01-01

    Statistical inference simply means to draw a conclusion based on information that comes from data. Error bars are the most commonly used tool for data analysis and inference in chemical engineering data studies. This work demonstrates, using common types of data collection studies, the importance of specifying the statistical model for sound…

  3. Propensity Score-Based Methods versus MTE-Based Methods in Causal Inference: Identification, Estimation, and Application

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhou, Xiang; Xie, Yu

    2016-01-01

    Since the seminal introduction of the propensity score (PS) by Rosenbaum and Rubin, PS-based methods have been widely used for drawing causal inferences in the behavioral and social sciences. However, the PS approach depends on the ignorability assumption: there are no unobserved confounders once observed covariates are taken into account. For…

  4. Training for Fostering Knowledge Co-Construction from Collaborative Inference-Drawing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Deiglmayr, Anne; Spada, Hans

    2011-01-01

    Groups typically have difficulties drawing inferences that integrate individuals' unique information (collaborative inferences) and thus yield a true assembly bonus. An experiment with 36 dyads of university-level students in four training conditions showed, particularly in untrained dyads, that collaborative inferences were less likely to be…

  5. Online Emotional Inferences in Written and Auditory Texts: A Study with Children and Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Diergarten, Anna Katharina; Nieding, Gerhild

    2016-01-01

    Emotional inferences are conclusions that a reader draws about the emotional state of a story's protagonist. In this study, we examined whether children and adults draw emotional inferences while reading short stories or listening to an aural presentation of short stories. We used an online method that assesses inferences during reading with a…

  6. Inference Processing in Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome: Relationship with Theory of Mind Abilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Le Sourn-Bissaoui, Sandrine; Caillies, Stephanie; Gierski, Fabien; Motte, Jacques

    2009-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the role of theory of mind competence in inference processing in adolescents with Asperger syndrome (AS). We sought to pinpoint the level at which AS individuals experience difficulty drawing inferences and identify the factors that account for their inference-drawing problems. We hypothesized that this…

  7. Perceived Arousal, Focus of Attention, and Avoidance Behavior

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carver, Charles S.; Blaney, Paul H.

    1977-01-01

    Attribution theory holds that perceived arousal may cause a person to draw an inference about his emotions and base his subsequent behavior on that inference. Recent research suggests, however, that this account does not entirely explain the influence of false arousal feedback on simultaneously occurring avoidance behavior. Proposes a behavior…

  8. A Drawing Task to Assess Emotion Inference in Language-Impaired Children.

    PubMed

    Vendeville, Nathalie; Blanc, Nathalie; Brechet, Claire

    2015-10-01

    Studies investigating the ability of children with language impairment (LI) to infer emotions rely on verbal responses (which can be challenging for these children) and/or the selection of a card representing an emotion (which limits the response range). In contrast, a drawing task might allow a broad spectrum of responses without involving language. This study used a drawing task to compare the ability to make emotional inferences in children with and without LI. Twenty-two children with LI and 22 typically developing children ages 6 to 10 years were assessed in school during 3 sessions. They were asked to listen to audio stories. At specific moments, the experimenter stopped the recording and asked children to complete the drawing of a face to depict the emotion felt by the story's character. Three adult study-blind judges were subsequently asked to evaluate the expressiveness of the drawings. Children with LI had more difficulty than typically developing children making emotional inferences. Children with LI also made more errors of different valence than their typically developing peers. Our findings confirm that children with LI show difficulty in producing emotional inferences, even when performing a drawing task--a relatively language-free response mode.

  9. Knowledge-Based Inferences across the Hemispheres: Domain Makes a Difference

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shears, Connie; Hawkins, Amanda; Varner, Andria; Lewis, Lindsey; Heatley, Jennifer; Twachtmann, Lisa

    2008-01-01

    Language comprehension occurs when the left-hemisphere (LH) and the right-hemisphere (RH) share information derived from discourse [Beeman, M. J., Bowden, E. M., & Gernsbacher, M. A. (2000). Right and left hemisphere cooperation for drawing predictive and coherence inferences during normal story comprehension. "Brain and Language, 71", 310-336].…

  10. Cognitive Demand Differences in Causal Inferences: Characters' Plans Are More Difficult to Comprehend than Physical Causation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shears, Connie; Miller, Vanessa; Ball, Megan; Hawkins, Amanda; Griggs, Janna; Varner, Andria

    2007-01-01

    Readers may draw knowledge-based inferences to connect sentences in text differently depending on the knowledge domain being accessed. Most prior research has focused on the direction of the causal explanation (predictive vs. backward) without regard to the knowledge domain drawn on to support comprehension. We suggest that less cognitive effort…

  11. Students' Informal Inference about the Binomial Distribution of "Bunny Hops": A Dialogic Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kazak, Sibel; Fujita, Taro; Wegerif, Rupert

    2016-01-01

    The study explores the development of 11-year-old students' informal inference about random bunny hops through student talk and use of computer simulation tools. Our aim in this paper is to draw on dialogic theory to explain how students make shifts in perspective, from intuition-based reasoning to more powerful, formal ways of using probabilistic…

  12. 49 CFR 511.44 - Expert witnesses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... peculiar knowlege concerning the matter of science or skill to which his or her testimony relates and from which he or she may draw inferences based upon hypothetically stated facts or from facts involving...

  13. 49 CFR 511.44 - Expert witnesses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... peculiar knowlege concerning the matter of science or skill to which his or her testimony relates and from which he or she may draw inferences based upon hypothetically stated facts or from facts involving...

  14. 49 CFR 511.44 - Expert witnesses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... peculiar knowlege concerning the matter of science or skill to which his or her testimony relates and from which he or she may draw inferences based upon hypothetically stated facts or from facts involving...

  15. 49 CFR 511.44 - Expert witnesses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... peculiar knowlege concerning the matter of science or skill to which his or her testimony relates and from which he or she may draw inferences based upon hypothetically stated facts or from facts involving...

  16. 49 CFR 511.44 - Expert witnesses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... peculiar knowlege concerning the matter of science or skill to which his or her testimony relates and from which he or she may draw inferences based upon hypothetically stated facts or from facts involving...

  17. Illusory inferences from a disjunction of conditionals: a new mental models account.

    PubMed

    Barrouillet, P; Lecas, J F

    2000-08-14

    (Johnson-Laird, P.N., & Savary, F. (1999, Illusory inferences: a novel class of erroneous deductions. Cognition, 71, 191-229.) have recently presented a mental models account, based on the so-called principle of truth, for the occurrence of inferences that are compelling but invalid. This article presents an alternative account of the illusory inferences resulting from a disjunction of conditionals. In accordance with our modified theory of mental models of the conditional, we show that the way individuals represent conditionals leads them to misinterpret the locus of the disjunction and prevents them from drawing conclusions from a false conditional, thus accounting for the compelling character of the illusory inference.

  18. 40 CFR 22.4 - Powers and duties of the Environmental Appeals Board, Regional Judicial Officer and Presiding...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... sanctions may include drawing adverse inferences against a party, striking a party's pleadings or other... affirmations and take affidavits; (4) Examine witnesses and receive documentary or other evidence; (5) Order a..., and failing the production thereof without good cause being shown, draw adverse inferences against...

  19. 48 CFR 6101.21 - Hearing procedures [Rule 21].

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... determination of the amount of recovery, if any, for other proceedings. (5) Before the hearing begins, the Board... the record the inferences it draws from the witness's refusal to testify under oath or affirmation... and, in the event of continued refusal, the Board may state for the record the inferences it draws...

  20. 40 CFR 22.4 - Powers and duties of the Environmental Appeals Board, Regional Judicial Officer and Presiding...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... sanctions may include drawing adverse inferences against a party, striking a party's pleadings or other... affirmations and take affidavits; (4) Examine witnesses and receive documentary or other evidence; (5) Order a..., and failing the production thereof without good cause being shown, draw adverse inferences against...

  1. A Drawing Task to Assess Emotion Inference in Language-Impaired Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vendeville, Nathalie; Blanc, Nathalie; Brechet, Claire

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: Studies investigating the ability of children with language impairment (LI) to infer emotions rely on verbal responses (which can be challenging for these children) and/or the selection of a card representing an emotion (which limits the response range). In contrast, a drawing task might allow a broad spectrum of responses without…

  2. Sixth-grade students' reasoning on the order relation of integers as influenced by prior experience: an inferentialist analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schindler, Maike; Hußmann, Stephan; Nilsson, Per; Bakker, Arthur

    2017-12-01

    Negative numbers are among the first formalizations students encounter in their mathematics learning that clearly differ from out-of-school experiences. What has not sufficiently been addressed in previous research is the question of how students draw on their prior experiences when reasoning on negative numbers and how they infer from these experiences. This article presents results from an empirical study investigating sixth-grade students' reasoning and inferring from school-based and out-of-school experiences. In particular, it addresses the order relation, which deals with students' very first encounters with negative numbers. Here, students can reason in different ways, depending on the experiences they draw on. We study how students reason before a lesson series and how their reasoning is influenced through this lesson series where the number line and the context debts-and-assets are predominant. For grasping the reasoning's inferential and social nature and conducting in-depth analyses of two students' reasoning, we use an epistemological framework that is based on the philosophical theory of inferentialism. The results illustrate how the students infer their reasoning from out-of-school and from school-based experiences both before and after the lesson series. They reveal interesting phenomena not previously analyzed in the research on the order relation for integers.

  3. A Bayesian Perspective on Methodologies for Drawing Causal Inferences in Experimental and Non-Experimental Settings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaplan, David

    2010-01-01

    In recent years, attention in the education community has focused on the need for evidenced-based research, particularly educational policies and interventions that rest on "scientifically based research". The emphasis on scientifically based research in education has led to a corresponding increase in studies designed to provide strong warrants…

  4. Object-oriented feature-tracking algorithms for SAR images of the marginal ice zone

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Daida, Jason; Samadani, Ramin; Vesecky, John F.

    1990-01-01

    An unsupervised method that chooses and applies the most appropriate tracking algorithm from among different sea-ice tracking algorithms is reported. In contrast to current unsupervised methods, this method chooses and applies an algorithm by partially examining a sequential image pair to draw inferences about what was examined. Based on these inferences the reported method subsequently chooses which algorithm to apply to specific areas of the image pair where that algorithm should work best.

  5. Variation in reaction norms: Statistical considerations and biological interpretation.

    PubMed

    Morrissey, Michael B; Liefting, Maartje

    2016-09-01

    Analysis of reaction norms, the functions by which the phenotype produced by a given genotype depends on the environment, is critical to studying many aspects of phenotypic evolution. Different techniques are available for quantifying different aspects of reaction norm variation. We examine what biological inferences can be drawn from some of the more readily applicable analyses for studying reaction norms. We adopt a strongly biologically motivated view, but draw on statistical theory to highlight strengths and drawbacks of different techniques. In particular, consideration of some formal statistical theory leads to revision of some recently, and forcefully, advocated opinions on reaction norm analysis. We clarify what simple analysis of the slope between mean phenotype in two environments can tell us about reaction norms, explore the conditions under which polynomial regression can provide robust inferences about reaction norm shape, and explore how different existing approaches may be used to draw inferences about variation in reaction norm shape. We show how mixed model-based approaches can provide more robust inferences than more commonly used multistep statistical approaches, and derive new metrics of the relative importance of variation in reaction norm intercepts, slopes, and curvatures. © 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  6. Cortical Bases of Elementary Deductive Reasoning: Inference, Memory, and Metadeduction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reverberi, Carlo; Shallice, Tim; D'Agostini, Serena; Skrap, Miran; Bonatti, Luca L.

    2009-01-01

    Elementary deduction is the ability of unreflectively drawing conclusions from explicit or implicit premises, on the basis of their logical forms. This ability is involved in many aspects of human cognition and interactions. To date, limited evidence exists on its cortical bases. We propose a model of elementary deduction in which logical…

  7. Classification-based reasoning

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gomez, Fernando; Segami, Carlos

    1991-01-01

    A representation formalism for N-ary relations, quantification, and definition of concepts is described. Three types of conditions are associated with the concepts: (1) necessary and sufficient properties, (2) contingent properties, and (3) necessary properties. Also explained is how complex chains of inferences can be accomplished by representing existentially quantified sentences, and concepts denoted by restrictive relative clauses as classification hierarchies. The representation structures that make possible the inferences are explained first, followed by the reasoning algorithms that draw the inferences from the knowledge structures. All the ideas explained have been implemented and are part of the information retrieval component of a program called Snowy. An appendix contains a brief session with the program.

  8. Factorial Structure of the Family Values Scale from a Multilevel-Multicultural Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Byrne, Barbara M.; van de Vijver, Fons J. R.

    2014-01-01

    In cross-cultural research, there is a tendency for researchers to draw inferences at the country level based on individual-level data. Such action implicitly and often mistakenly assumes that both the measuring instrument and its underlying construct(s) are operating equivalently across both levels. Based on responses from 5,482 college students…

  9. Qualifications and Skills: The Organisational Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dafou, Efthimia

    2009-01-01

    This paper portrays the inferences that employers in Greece draw from particular aspects of study programmes, as recorded on educational qualifications. Based on semi-structured interviews with human resource managers in 37 industrial and service organisations and general directors of careers offices in eight higher education institutions, and…

  10. Evolving approaches toward science based forest management.

    Treesearch

    Robert C. Szaro; Charles E. Peterson

    2004-01-01

    The sale, scope, and complexity of natural resource and environmental issues have dramatically increased, yet the urgency to solve these issues often requires immediate information that spans disciplinary boundaries, synthesizes material from a variety of sources, draws inferences, and identifies levels of confidence. Although science information and knowledge are only...

  11. Willpower and Personal Rules.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Benabou, Roland; Tirole, Jean

    2004-01-01

    We develop a theory of internal commitments or "personal rules" based on self-reputation over one's willpower, which transforms lapses into precedents that undermine future self-restraint. The foundation for this mechanism is the imperfect recall of past motives and feelings, leading people to draw inferences from their past actions. The degree of…

  12. Authentic Practices as Contexts for Learning to Draw Inferences beyond Correlated Data

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dierdorp, Adri; Bakker, Arthur; Eijkelhof, Harrie; van Maanen, Jan

    2011-01-01

    To support 11th-grade students' informal inferential reasoning, a teaching and learning strategy was designed based on authentic practices in which professionals use correlation or linear regression. These practices included identifying suitable physical training programmes, dyke monitoring, and the calibration of measurement instruments. The…

  13. Drawing causal inferences using propensity scores: a practical guide for community psychologists.

    PubMed

    Lanza, Stephanie T; Moore, Julia E; Butera, Nicole M

    2013-12-01

    Confounding present in observational data impede community psychologists' ability to draw causal inferences. This paper describes propensity score methods as a conceptually straightforward approach to drawing causal inferences from observational data. A step-by-step demonstration of three propensity score methods-weighting, matching, and subclassification-is presented in the context of an empirical examination of the causal effect of preschool experiences (Head Start vs. parental care) on reading development in kindergarten. Although the unadjusted population estimate indicated that children with parental care had substantially higher reading scores than children who attended Head Start, all propensity score adjustments reduce the size of this overall causal effect by more than half. The causal effect was also defined and estimated among children who attended Head Start. Results provide no evidence for improved reading if those children had instead received parental care. We carefully define different causal effects and discuss their respective policy implications, summarize advantages and limitations of each propensity score method, and provide SAS and R syntax so that community psychologists may conduct causal inference in their own research.

  14. Drawing Causal Inferences Using Propensity Scores: A Practical Guide for Community Psychologists

    PubMed Central

    Lanza, Stephanie T.; Moore, Julia E.; Butera, Nicole M.

    2014-01-01

    Confounding present in observational data impede community psychologists’ ability to draw causal inferences. This paper describes propensity score methods as a conceptually straightforward approach to drawing causal inferences from observational data. A step-by-step demonstration of three propensity score methods – weighting, matching, and subclassification – is presented in the context of an empirical examination of the causal effect of preschool experiences (Head Start vs. parental care) on reading development in kindergarten. Although the unadjusted population estimate indicated that children with parental care had substantially higher reading scores than children who attended Head Start, all propensity score adjustments reduce the size of this overall causal effect by more than half. The causal effect was also defined and estimated among children who attended Head Start. Results provide no evidence for improved reading if those children had instead received parental care. We carefully define different causal effects and discuss their respective policy implications, summarize advantages and limitations of each propensity score method, and provide SAS and R syntax so that community psychologists may conduct causal inference in their own research. PMID:24185755

  15. Causal Inference in Retrospective Studies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holland, Paul W.; Rubin, Donald B.

    1988-01-01

    The problem of drawing causal inferences from retrospective case-controlled studies is considered. A model for causal inference in prospective studies is applied to retrospective studies. Limitations of case-controlled studies are formulated concerning relevant parameters that can be estimated in such studies. A coffee-drinking/myocardial…

  16. Are great apes able to reason from multi-item samples to populations of food items?

    PubMed

    Eckert, Johanna; Rakoczy, Hannes; Call, Josep

    2017-10-01

    Inductive learning from limited observations is a cognitive capacity of fundamental importance. In humans, it is underwritten by our intuitive statistics, the ability to draw systematic inferences from populations to randomly drawn samples and vice versa. According to recent research in cognitive development, human intuitive statistics develops early in infancy. Recent work in comparative psychology has produced first evidence for analogous cognitive capacities in great apes who flexibly drew inferences from populations to samples. In the present study, we investigated whether great apes (Pongo abelii, Pan troglodytes, Pan paniscus, Gorilla gorilla) also draw inductive inferences in the opposite direction, from samples to populations. In two experiments, apes saw an experimenter randomly drawing one multi-item sample from each of two populations of food items. The populations differed in their proportion of preferred to neutral items (24:6 vs. 6:24) but apes saw only the distribution of food items in the samples that reflected the distribution of the respective populations (e.g., 4:1 vs. 1:4). Based on this observation they were then allowed to choose between the two populations. Results show that apes seemed to make inferences from samples to populations and thus chose the population from which the more favorable (4:1) sample was drawn in Experiment 1. In this experiment, the more attractive sample not only contained proportionally but also absolutely more preferred food items than the less attractive sample. Experiment 2, however, revealed that when absolute and relative frequencies were disentangled, apes performed at chance level. Whether these limitations in apes' performance reflect true limits of cognitive competence or merely performance limitations due to accessory task demands is still an open question. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Selection of species and sampling areas: The importance of inference

    Treesearch

    Paul Stephen Corn

    2009-01-01

    Inductive inference, the process of drawing general conclusions from specific observations, is fundamental to the scientific method. Platt (1964) termed conclusions obtained through rigorous application of the scientific method as "strong inference" and noted the following basic steps: generating alternative hypotheses; devising experiments, the...

  18. Text Dependent Questions and the CCSS

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aspen Institute, 2012

    2012-01-01

    An effective text dependent question first and foremost embraces the key principle of close reading embedded in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Anchor Reading Standards by asking students to provide evidence from complex text and draw inferences based on what the text explicitly says (Standards 1 and 10). A close look at the intervening…

  19. Test of the hopelessness theory of depression: drawing negative inference from negative life events.

    PubMed

    Kapçi, E G

    1998-04-01

    The hopelessness theory of depression, i.e., that drawing negative inference from the occurrence of negative life events culminates in depression, was examined. A total of 34 dysphoric and 36 nondepressed undergraduate students participated in a two-stage prospective study lasting three months. The subjects completed the Beck Depression Inventory and Hopelessness Scale at both sessions and the Life Events Experience List at the second session. It is concluded that the inference of negative characteristics about the self from negative life events, coupled with the experience of negative life events contributes to the development of depression through hopelessness. The findings are discussed in relation to the Abramson, et al. hopelessness model of depression.

  20. Quantitative studies of bird movement: A methodological review

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Nichols, J.D.; Kaiser, A.

    1999-01-01

    The past several years have seen the development of a number of statistical models and methods for drawing inferences about bird movement using data from marked individuals. It can be difficult to keep up with this rapid development of new methods, so our purpose here is to categorize and review methods for drawing inferences about avian movement. We also outline recommendations about future work, dealing both with methodological developments and with studies directed at hypotheses about bird movement of interest from conservation, management, or ecological perspectives.

  1. Quantitative studies of bird movement: a methodological review

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Nichols, J.D.; Kaiser, A.

    1999-01-01

    The past several years have seen development of a number of statistical models and methods for drawing inferences about bird movement using data from marked individuals. It can be difficult to keep up with this rapid development of new methods, so our purpose here is to categorize and review methods for drawing inferences about avian movement. We also outline recommendations about future work dealing both with methods development and actual studies directed at hypotheses about bird movement of interest from conservation, management, or ecological perspectives.

  2. Naive Theories of Intelligence and the Role of Processing Fluency in Perceived Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miele, David B.; Molden, Daniel C.

    2010-01-01

    Previous research overwhelmingly suggests that feelings of ease people experience while processing information lead them to infer that their comprehension is high, whereas feelings of difficulty lead them to infer that their comprehension is low. However, the inferences people draw from their experiences of processing fluency should also vary in…

  3. Grammatical gender and inferences about biological properties in german-speaking children.

    PubMed

    Saalbach, Henrik; Imai, Mutsumi; Schalk, Lennart

    2012-01-01

    In German, nouns are assigned to one of the three gender classes. For most animal names, however, the assignment is independent of the referent's biological sex. We examined whether German-speaking children understand this independence of grammar from semantics or whether they assume that grammatical gender is mapped onto biological sex when drawing inferences about sex-specific biological properties of animals. Two cross-linguistic studies comparing German-speaking and Japanese-speaking preschoolers were conducted. The results suggest that German-speaking children utilize grammatical gender as a cue for inferences about sex-specific properties of animals. Further, we found that Japanese- and German-speaking children recruit different resources when drawing inferences about sex-specific properties: Whereas Japanese children paralleled their pattern of inference about properties common to all animals, German children relied on the grammatical gender class of the animal. Implications of these findings for studying the relation between language and thought are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  4. Tallying Differences between Demographic Subgroups from Multiple Institutions: The Practical Utility of Nonparametric Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yorke, Mantz

    2017-01-01

    When analysing course-level data by subgroups based upon some demographic characteristics, the numbers in analytical cells are often too small to allow inferences to be drawn that might help in the enhancement of practices. However, relatively simple analyses can provide useful pointers. This article draws upon a study involving a partnership with…

  5. Preschool Center Care Quality Effects on Academic Achievement: An Instrumental Variables Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Auger, Anamarie; Farkas, George; Burchinal, Margaret R.; Duncan, Greg J.; Vandell, Deborah Lowe

    2014-01-01

    Much of child care research has focused on the effects of the quality of care in early childhood settings on children's school readiness skills. Although researchers increased the statistical rigor of their approaches over the past 15 years, researchers' ability to draw causal inferences has been limited because the studies are based on…

  6. Investigating Young Children's Human Figure Drawings Using Rasch Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Campbell, Claire; Bond, Trevor

    2017-01-01

    The Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test (GHDT) is a non-verbal assessment designed to infer young children's levels of intellectual development and understanding via the collection of three human figure drawings (HFDs)--one each of a man, a woman and a self-portrait. This paper presents findings from a research project that applied the Rasch model for…

  7. Diversity-based reasoning in children.

    PubMed

    Heit, E; Hahn, U

    2001-12-01

    One of the hallmarks of inductive reasoning by adults is the diversity effect, namely that people draw stronger inferences from a diverse set of evidence than from a more homogenous set of evidence. However, past developmental work has not found consistent diversity effects with children age 9 and younger. We report robust sensitivity to diversity in children as young as 5, using everyday stimuli such as pictures of objects with people. Experiment 1 showed the basic diversity effect in 5- to 9-year-olds. Experiment 2 showed that, like adults, children restrict their use of diversity information when making inferences about remote categories. Experiment 3 used other stimulus sets to overcome an alternate explanation in terms of sample size rather than diversity effects. Finally, Experiment 4 showed that children more readily draw on diversity when reasoning about objects and their relations with people than when reasoning about objects' internal, hidden properties, thus partially explaining the negative findings of previous work. Relations to cross-cultural work and models of induction are discussed. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

  8. Context Based Inferences in Research Methodology: The Role of Culture in Justifying Knowledge Claims

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Evers, Colin W.; Mason, Mark

    2011-01-01

    Drawing on work in epistemology and the philosophy of science, this paper seeks to provide very general reasons for why a comparative perspective needs to be applied to the inferential procedures of research methodologies where these concern the issue of justifying knowledge claims. In particular, the paper explores the role of culture on a number…

  9. Exploration

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Wilburn, D.R.

    2000-01-01

    This summary of international nonfuel mineral exploration activities for 1999 draws upon available data from literature, industry and US Geological Survey (USGS) specialists. The report documents data on exploration budgets by region and commodity and identifies significant mineral discoveries and exploration target areas. It also discusses government programs affecting the mineral exploration industry. And it presents inferences and observations on mineral industry direction based on these data and discussions.

  10. Inference as Prediction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Watson, Jane

    2007-01-01

    Inference, or decision making, is seen in curriculum documents as the final step in a statistical investigation. For a formal statistical enquiry this may be associated with sophisticated tests involving probability distributions. For young students without the mathematical background to perform such tests, it is still possible to draw informal…

  11. Development from Grades V through XI of Children's Ability to Make Correct Causal Inferences.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Benjamin; Tuddenham, Read D.

    1979-01-01

    Unless sensitized to avoid them, Ss (regardless of grade) tended to draw overly sweeping inferences, perhaps because of a need for closure. Older Ss, however, were more successful at suspending judgment when no definite conclusion was justified. (Author/DLS)

  12. Doubly robust nonparametric inference on the average treatment effect.

    PubMed

    Benkeser, D; Carone, M; Laan, M J Van Der; Gilbert, P B

    2017-12-01

    Doubly robust estimators are widely used to draw inference about the average effect of a treatment. Such estimators are consistent for the effect of interest if either one of two nuisance parameters is consistently estimated. However, if flexible, data-adaptive estimators of these nuisance parameters are used, double robustness does not readily extend to inference. We present a general theoretical study of the behaviour of doubly robust estimators of an average treatment effect when one of the nuisance parameters is inconsistently estimated. We contrast different methods for constructing such estimators and investigate the extent to which they may be modified to also allow doubly robust inference. We find that while targeted minimum loss-based estimation can be used to solve this problem very naturally, common alternative frameworks appear to be inappropriate for this purpose. We provide a theoretical study and a numerical evaluation of the alternatives considered. Our simulations highlight the need for and usefulness of these approaches in practice, while our theoretical developments have broad implications for the construction of estimators that permit doubly robust inference in other problems.

  13. How to Learn the Natural Numbers: Inductive Inference and the Acquisition of Number Concepts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Margolis, Eric; Laurence, Stephen

    2008-01-01

    Theories of number concepts often suppose that the natural numbers are acquired as children learn to count and as they draw an induction based on their interpretation of the first few count words. In a bold critique of this general approach, Rips, Asmuth, Bloomfield [Rips, L., Asmuth, J. & Bloomfield, A. (2006). Giving the boot to the bootstrap:…

  14. Anticipation in Real-World Scenes: The Role of Visual Context and Visual Memory.

    PubMed

    Coco, Moreno I; Keller, Frank; Malcolm, George L

    2016-11-01

    The human sentence processor is able to make rapid predictions about upcoming linguistic input. For example, upon hearing the verb eat, anticipatory eye-movements are launched toward edible objects in a visual scene (Altmann & Kamide, 1999). However, the cognitive mechanisms that underlie anticipation remain to be elucidated in ecologically valid contexts. Previous research has, in fact, mainly used clip-art scenes and object arrays, raising the possibility that anticipatory eye-movements are limited to displays containing a small number of objects in a visually impoverished context. In Experiment 1, we confirm that anticipation effects occur in real-world scenes and investigate the mechanisms that underlie such anticipation. In particular, we demonstrate that real-world scenes provide contextual information that anticipation can draw on: When the target object is not present in the scene, participants infer and fixate regions that are contextually appropriate (e.g., a table upon hearing eat). Experiment 2 investigates whether such contextual inference requires the co-presence of the scene, or whether memory representations can be utilized instead. The same real-world scenes as in Experiment 1 are presented to participants, but the scene disappears before the sentence is heard. We find that anticipation occurs even when the screen is blank, including when contextual inference is required. We conclude that anticipatory language processing is able to draw upon global scene representations (such as scene type) to make contextual inferences. These findings are compatible with theories assuming contextual guidance, but posit a challenge for theories assuming object-based visual indices. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  15. Enhancing the Teaching and Learning of Mathematical Visual Images

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Quinnell, Lorna

    2014-01-01

    The importance of mathematical visual images is indicated by the introductory paragraph in the Statistics and Probability content strand of the Australian Curriculum, which draws attention to the importance of learners developing skills to analyse and draw inferences from data and "represent, summarise and interpret data and undertake…

  16. Thinking Fast and Slow about Causality: Response to Palinkas

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marsh, Jeanne C.

    2014-01-01

    Larry Palinkas advances the developing science of social work by providing an explanation of how social science research methods, both qualitative and quantitative, can improve our capacity to draw casual inferences. Understanding causal relations and making causal inferences--with the promise of being able to predict and control outcomes--is…

  17. Why environmental scientists are becoming Bayesians

    Treesearch

    James S. Clark

    2005-01-01

    Advances in computational statistics provide a general framework for the high dimensional models typically needed for ecological inference and prediction. Hierarchical Bayes (HB) represents a modelling structure with capacity to exploit diverse sources of information, to accommodate influences that are unknown (or unknowable), and to draw inference on large numbers of...

  18. Sample Size and Correlational Inference

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Richard B.; Doherty, Michael E.; Friedrich, Jeff C.

    2008-01-01

    In 4 studies, the authors examined the hypothesis that the structure of the informational environment makes small samples more informative than large ones for drawing inferences about population correlations. The specific purpose of the studies was to test predictions arising from the signal detection simulations of R. B. Anderson, M. E. Doherty,…

  19. Importance of the nature of comparison conditions for testing theory-based interventions: reply.

    PubMed

    Michie, Susan; Prestwich, Andrew; de Bruin, Marijn

    2010-09-01

    The nature of comparison conditions is a much overlooked feature of designing and interpreting the results of randomized controlled trials, as outlined by Williams (see record 2010-18776-001). We agree that understanding the components and mechanisms of the comparison condition is necessary for making inferences about both intervention effectiveness (whether the intervention worked and which components may have contributed to such an effect) and about theoretical mediators (how it worked). The extent to which one can draw strong inferences regarding the efficacy and mechanisms of an intervention over the comparison is conditional upon a number of key points. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. The rationality of prejudices.

    PubMed

    Chadefaux, Thomas; Helbing, Dirk

    2012-01-01

    We model an N-player repeated prisoner's dilemma in which players are given traits (e.g., height, age, wealth) which, we assume, affect their behavior. The relationship between traits and behavior is unknown to other players. We then analyze the performance of "prejudiced" strategies--strategies that draw inferences based on the observation of some or all of these traits, and extrapolate the inferred behavior to other carriers of these traits. Such prejudiced strategies have the advantage of learning rapidly, and hence of being well adapted to rapidly changing conditions that might result, for example, from high migration or birth rates. We find that they perform remarkably well, and even systematically outperform both Tit-For-Tat and ALLD when the population changes rapidly.

  1. Mendelian Randomization.

    PubMed

    Grover, Sandeep; Del Greco M, Fabiola; Stein, Catherine M; Ziegler, Andreas

    2017-01-01

    Confounding and reverse causality have prevented us from drawing meaningful clinical interpretation even in well-powered observational studies. Confounding may be attributed to our inability to randomize the exposure variable in observational studies. Mendelian randomization (MR) is one approach to overcome confounding. It utilizes one or more genetic polymorphisms as a proxy for the exposure variable of interest. Polymorphisms are randomly distributed in a population, they are static throughout an individual's lifetime, and may thus help in inferring directionality in exposure-outcome associations. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) or meta-analyses of GWAS are characterized by large sample sizes and the availability of many single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), making GWAS-based MR an attractive approach. GWAS-based MR comes with specific challenges, including multiple causality. Despite shortcomings, it still remains one of the most powerful techniques for inferring causality.With MR still an evolving concept with complex statistical challenges, the literature is relatively scarce in terms of providing working examples incorporating real datasets. In this chapter, we provide a step-by-step guide for causal inference based on the principles of MR with a real dataset using both individual and summary data from unrelated individuals. We suggest best possible practices and give recommendations based on the current literature.

  2. RELATING ACCUMULATOR MODEL PARAMETERS AND NEURAL DYNAMICS

    PubMed Central

    Purcell, Braden A.; Palmeri, Thomas J.

    2016-01-01

    Accumulator models explain decision-making as an accumulation of evidence to a response threshold. Specific model parameters are associated with specific model mechanisms, such as the time when accumulation begins, the average rate of evidence accumulation, and the threshold. These mechanisms determine both the within-trial dynamics of evidence accumulation and the predicted behavior. Cognitive modelers usually infer what mechanisms vary during decision-making by seeing what parameters vary when a model is fitted to observed behavior. The recent identification of neural activity with evidence accumulation suggests that it may be possible to directly infer what mechanisms vary from an analysis of how neural dynamics vary. However, evidence accumulation is often noisy, and noise complicates the relationship between accumulator dynamics and the underlying mechanisms leading to those dynamics. To understand what kinds of inferences can be made about decision-making mechanisms based on measures of neural dynamics, we measured simulated accumulator model dynamics while systematically varying model parameters. In some cases, decision- making mechanisms can be directly inferred from dynamics, allowing us to distinguish between models that make identical behavioral predictions. In other cases, however, different parameterized mechanisms produce surprisingly similar dynamics, limiting the inferences that can be made based on measuring dynamics alone. Analyzing neural dynamics can provide a powerful tool to resolve model mimicry at the behavioral level, but we caution against drawing inferences based solely on neural analyses. Instead, simultaneous modeling of behavior and neural dynamics provides the most powerful approach to understand decision-making and likely other aspects of cognition and perception. PMID:28392584

  3. MAVEN-SA: Model-Based Automated Visualization for Enhanced Situation Awareness

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-11-01

    34 methods. But historically, as arts evolve, these how to methods become systematized and codified (e.g. the development and refinement of color theory ...schema (as necessary) 3. Draw inferences from new knowledge to support decision making process 33 Visual language theory suggests that humans process...informed by theories of learning. Over the years, many types of software have been developed to support student learning. The various types of

  4. The influence of cognitive ability and instructional set on causal conditional inference.

    PubMed

    Evans, Jonathan St B T; Handley, Simon J; Neilens, Helen; Over, David

    2010-05-01

    We report a large study in which participants are invited to draw inferences from causal conditional sentences with varying degrees of believability. General intelligence was measured, and participants were split into groups of high and low ability. Under strict deductive-reasoning instructions, it was observed that higher ability participants were significantly less influenced by prior belief than were those of lower ability. This effect disappeared, however, when pragmatic reasoning instructions were employed in a separate group. These findings are in accord with dual-process theories of reasoning. We also took detailed measures of beliefs in the conditional sentences used for the reasoning tasks. Statistical modelling showed that it is not belief in the conditional statement per se that is the causal factor, but rather correlates of it. Two different models of belief-based reasoning were found to fit the data according to the kind of instructions and the type of inference under consideration.

  5. Enhancing Transparency and Control When Drawing Data-Driven Inferences About Individuals.

    PubMed

    Chen, Daizhuo; Fraiberger, Samuel P; Moakler, Robert; Provost, Foster

    2017-09-01

    Recent studies show the remarkable power of fine-grained information disclosed by users on social network sites to infer users' personal characteristics via predictive modeling. Similar fine-grained data are being used successfully in other commercial applications. In response, attention is turning increasingly to the transparency that organizations provide to users as to what inferences are drawn and why, as well as to what sort of control users can be given over inferences that are drawn about them. In this article, we focus on inferences about personal characteristics based on information disclosed by users' online actions. As a use case, we explore personal inferences that are made possible from "Likes" on Facebook. We first present a means for providing transparency into the information responsible for inferences drawn by data-driven models. We then introduce the "cloaking device"-a mechanism for users to inhibit the use of particular pieces of information in inference. Using these analytical tools we ask two main questions: (1) How much information must users cloak to significantly affect inferences about their personal traits? We find that usually users must cloak only a small portion of their actions to inhibit inference. We also find that, encouragingly, false-positive inferences are significantly easier to cloak than true-positive inferences. (2) Can firms change their modeling behavior to make cloaking more difficult? The answer is a definitive yes. We demonstrate a simple modeling change that requires users to cloak substantially more information to affect the inferences drawn. The upshot is that organizations can provide transparency and control even into complicated, predictive model-driven inferences, but they also can make control easier or harder for their users.

  6. Enhancing Transparency and Control When Drawing Data-Driven Inferences About Individuals

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Daizhuo; Fraiberger, Samuel P.; Moakler, Robert; Provost, Foster

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Recent studies show the remarkable power of fine-grained information disclosed by users on social network sites to infer users' personal characteristics via predictive modeling. Similar fine-grained data are being used successfully in other commercial applications. In response, attention is turning increasingly to the transparency that organizations provide to users as to what inferences are drawn and why, as well as to what sort of control users can be given over inferences that are drawn about them. In this article, we focus on inferences about personal characteristics based on information disclosed by users' online actions. As a use case, we explore personal inferences that are made possible from “Likes” on Facebook. We first present a means for providing transparency into the information responsible for inferences drawn by data-driven models. We then introduce the “cloaking device”—a mechanism for users to inhibit the use of particular pieces of information in inference. Using these analytical tools we ask two main questions: (1) How much information must users cloak to significantly affect inferences about their personal traits? We find that usually users must cloak only a small portion of their actions to inhibit inference. We also find that, encouragingly, false-positive inferences are significantly easier to cloak than true-positive inferences. (2) Can firms change their modeling behavior to make cloaking more difficult? The answer is a definitive yes. We demonstrate a simple modeling change that requires users to cloak substantially more information to affect the inferences drawn. The upshot is that organizations can provide transparency and control even into complicated, predictive model-driven inferences, but they also can make control easier or harder for their users. PMID:28933942

  7. Methodological Limitations of the Application of Expert Systems Methodology in Reading.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Willson, Victor L.

    Methodological deficiencies inherent in expert-novice reading research make it impossible to draw inferences about curriculum change. First, comparisons of intact groups are often used as a basis for making causal inferences about how observed characteristics affect behaviors. While comparing different groups is not by itself a useless activity,…

  8. Fairness heuristics and substitutability effects: inferring the fairness of outcomes, procedures, and interpersonal treatment when employees lack clear information.

    PubMed

    Qin, Xin; Ren, Run; Zhang, Zhi-Xue; Johnson, Russell E

    2015-05-01

    Employees routinely make judgments of 3 kinds of justice (i.e., distributive, procedural, and interactional), yet they may lack clear information to do so. This research examines how justice judgments are formed when clear information about certain types of justice is unavailable or ambiguous. Drawing from fairness heuristic theory, as well as more general theories of cognitive heuristics, we predict that when information for 1 type of justice is unclear (i.e., low in justice clarity), people infer its fairness based on other types of justice with clear information (i.e., high in justice clarity). Results across 3 studies employing different designs (correlational vs. experimental), samples (employees vs. students), and measures (proxy vs. direct) provided support for the proposed substitutability effects, especially when inferences were based on clear interactional justice information. Moreover, we found that substitutability effects were more likely to occur when employees had high (vs. low) need for cognitive closure. We conclude by discussing the theoretical contributions and practical implications of our findings. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  9. Inferring a District-Based Hierarchical Structure of Social Contacts from Census Data

    PubMed Central

    Yu, Zhiwen; Liu, Jiming; Zhu, Xianjun

    2015-01-01

    Researchers have recently paid attention to social contact patterns among individuals due to their useful applications in such areas as epidemic evaluation and control, public health decisions, chronic disease research and social network research. Although some studies have estimated social contact patterns from social networks and surveys, few have considered how to infer the hierarchical structure of social contacts directly from census data. In this paper, we focus on inferring an individual’s social contact patterns from detailed census data, and generate various types of social contact patterns such as hierarchical-district-structure-based, cross-district and age-district-based patterns. We evaluate newly generated contact patterns derived from detailed 2011 Hong Kong census data by incorporating them into a model and simulation of the 2009 Hong Kong H1N1 epidemic. We then compare the newly generated social contact patterns with the mixing patterns that are often used in the literature, and draw the following conclusions. First, the generation of social contact patterns based on a hierarchical district structure allows for simulations at different district levels. Second, the newly generated social contact patterns reflect individuals social contacts. Third, the newly generated social contact patterns improve the accuracy of the SEIR-based epidemic model. PMID:25679787

  10. Drawing Some Evaluation Patterns Inferred from the Biblical Gideon's Passage

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fernandez-Cano, Antonio

    2010-01-01

    This article provides an interpretation of a biblical text about the judge Gideon. It uses the hermeneutic method of research to draw some evaluation patterns from this case study relating to the analysis of needs, the declaration of aims, the context and circumstances of evaluation, the agents involved, the recruitment process, the assessment of…

  11. On the Accuracy of Language Trees

    PubMed Central

    Pompei, Simone; Loreto, Vittorio; Tria, Francesca

    2011-01-01

    Historical linguistics aims at inferring the most likely language phylogenetic tree starting from information concerning the evolutionary relatedness of languages. The available information are typically lists of homologous (lexical, phonological, syntactic) features or characters for many different languages: a set of parallel corpora whose compilation represents a paramount achievement in linguistics. From this perspective the reconstruction of language trees is an example of inverse problems: starting from present, incomplete and often noisy, information, one aims at inferring the most likely past evolutionary history. A fundamental issue in inverse problems is the evaluation of the inference made. A standard way of dealing with this question is to generate data with artificial models in order to have full access to the evolutionary process one is going to infer. This procedure presents an intrinsic limitation: when dealing with real data sets, one typically does not know which model of evolution is the most suitable for them. A possible way out is to compare algorithmic inference with expert classifications. This is the point of view we take here by conducting a thorough survey of the accuracy of reconstruction methods as compared with the Ethnologue expert classifications. We focus in particular on state-of-the-art distance-based methods for phylogeny reconstruction using worldwide linguistic databases. In order to assess the accuracy of the inferred trees we introduce and characterize two generalizations of standard definitions of distances between trees. Based on these scores we quantify the relative performances of the distance-based algorithms considered. Further we quantify how the completeness and the coverage of the available databases affect the accuracy of the reconstruction. Finally we draw some conclusions about where the accuracy of the reconstructions in historical linguistics stands and about the leading directions to improve it. PMID:21674034

  12. Intracranial EEG correlates of implicit relational inference within the hippocampus.

    PubMed

    Reber, T P; Do Lam, A T A; Axmacher, N; Elger, C E; Helmstaedter, C; Henke, K; Fell, J

    2016-01-01

    Drawing inferences from past experiences enables adaptive behavior in future situations. Inference has been shown to depend on hippocampal processes. Usually, inference is considered a deliberate and effortful mental act which happens during retrieval, and requires the focus of our awareness. Recent fMRI studies hint at the possibility that some forms of hippocampus-dependent inference can also occur during encoding and possibly also outside of awareness. Here, we sought to further explore the feasibility of hippocampal implicit inference, and specifically address the temporal evolution of implicit inference using intracranial EEG. Presurgical epilepsy patients with hippocampal depth electrodes viewed a sequence of word pairs, and judged the semantic fit between two words in each pair. Some of the word pairs entailed a common word (e.g., "winter-red," "red-cat") such that an indirect relation was established in following word pairs (e.g., "winter-cat"). The behavioral results suggested that drawing inference implicitly from past experience is feasible because indirect relations seemed to foster "fit" judgments while the absence of indirect relations fostered "do not fit" judgments, even though the participants were unaware of the indirect relations. A event-related potential (ERP) difference emerging 400 ms post-stimulus was evident in the hippocampus during encoding, suggesting that indirect relations were already established automatically during encoding of the overlapping word pairs. Further ERP differences emerged later post-stimulus (1,500 ms), were modulated by the participants' responses and were evident during encoding and test. Furthermore, response-locked ERP effects were evident at test. These ERP effects could hence be a correlate of the interaction of implicit memory with decision-making. Together, the data map out a time-course in which the hippocampus automatically integrates memories from discrete but related episodes to implicitly influence future decision making. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Generating Inferences from Written and Spoken Language: A Comparison of Children with Visual Impairment and Children with Sight

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edmonds, Caroline J.; Pring, Linda

    2006-01-01

    The two experiments reported here investigated the ability of sighted children and children with visual impairment to comprehend text and, in particular, to draw inferences both while reading and while listening. Children were assigned into "comprehension skill" groups, depending on the degree to which their reading comprehension skill was in line…

  14. Inferring cognition from action: does martyrdom imply its motive?

    PubMed

    Weiss, David J; Weiss, Jie

    2014-08-01

    Drawing inferences about the decision utilities of suicide terrorists from their final action is tempting, but hazardous. Direct elicitation of those utilities would be more informative, but is infeasible. Substituting examination of archival materials for elicitation makes the assumption that leaders and bombers have similar utilities. Insight regarding the beliefs of terrorist leaders might be available from observations of recruitment strategies.

  15. Inference of gene regulatory networks from time series by Tsallis entropy

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background The inference of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) from large-scale expression profiles is one of the most challenging problems of Systems Biology nowadays. Many techniques and models have been proposed for this task. However, it is not generally possible to recover the original topology with great accuracy, mainly due to the short time series data in face of the high complexity of the networks and the intrinsic noise of the expression measurements. In order to improve the accuracy of GRNs inference methods based on entropy (mutual information), a new criterion function is here proposed. Results In this paper we introduce the use of generalized entropy proposed by Tsallis, for the inference of GRNs from time series expression profiles. The inference process is based on a feature selection approach and the conditional entropy is applied as criterion function. In order to assess the proposed methodology, the algorithm is applied to recover the network topology from temporal expressions generated by an artificial gene network (AGN) model as well as from the DREAM challenge. The adopted AGN is based on theoretical models of complex networks and its gene transference function is obtained from random drawing on the set of possible Boolean functions, thus creating its dynamics. On the other hand, DREAM time series data presents variation of network size and its topologies are based on real networks. The dynamics are generated by continuous differential equations with noise and perturbation. By adopting both data sources, it is possible to estimate the average quality of the inference with respect to different network topologies, transfer functions and network sizes. Conclusions A remarkable improvement of accuracy was observed in the experimental results by reducing the number of false connections in the inferred topology by the non-Shannon entropy. The obtained best free parameter of the Tsallis entropy was on average in the range 2.5 ≤ q ≤ 3.5 (hence, subextensive entropy), which opens new perspectives for GRNs inference methods based on information theory and for investigation of the nonextensivity of such networks. The inference algorithm and criterion function proposed here were implemented and included in the DimReduction software, which is freely available at http://sourceforge.net/projects/dimreduction and http://code.google.com/p/dimreduction/. PMID:21545720

  16. Inferences about landbird abundance from count data: recent advances and future directions

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Nichols, J.D.; Thomas, L.; Conn, P.B.; Thomson, David L.; Cooch, Evan G.; Conroy, Michael J.

    2009-01-01

    We summarize results of a November 2006 workshop dealing with recent research on the estimation of landbird abundance from count data. Our conceptual framework includes a decomposition of the probability of detecting a bird potentially exposed to sampling efforts into four separate probabilities. Primary inference methods are described and include distance sampling, multiple observers, time of detection, and repeated counts. The detection parameters estimated by these different approaches differ, leading to different interpretations of resulting estimates of density and abundance. Simultaneous use of combinations of these different inference approaches can not only lead to increased precision but also provides the ability to decompose components of the detection process. Recent efforts to test the efficacy of these different approaches using natural systems and a new bird radio test system provide sobering conclusions about the ability of observers to detect and localize birds in auditory surveys. Recent research is reported on efforts to deal with such potential sources of error as bird misclassification, measurement error, and density gradients. Methods for inference about spatial and temporal variation in avian abundance are outlined. Discussion topics include opinions about the need to estimate detection probability when drawing inference about avian abundance, methodological recommendations based on the current state of knowledge and suggestions for future research.

  17. Model-based Bayesian inference for ROC data analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lei, Tianhu; Bae, K. Ty

    2013-03-01

    This paper presents a study of model-based Bayesian inference to Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) data. The model is a simple version of general non-linear regression model. Different from Dorfman model, it uses a probit link function with a covariate variable having zero-one two values to express binormal distributions in a single formula. Model also includes a scale parameter. Bayesian inference is implemented by Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method carried out by Bayesian analysis Using Gibbs Sampling (BUGS). Contrast to the classical statistical theory, Bayesian approach considers model parameters as random variables characterized by prior distributions. With substantial amount of simulated samples generated by sampling algorithm, posterior distributions of parameters as well as parameters themselves can be accurately estimated. MCMC-based BUGS adopts Adaptive Rejection Sampling (ARS) protocol which requires the probability density function (pdf) which samples are drawing from be log concave with respect to the targeted parameters. Our study corrects a common misconception and proves that pdf of this regression model is log concave with respect to its scale parameter. Therefore, ARS's requirement is satisfied and a Gaussian prior which is conjugate and possesses many analytic and computational advantages is assigned to the scale parameter. A cohort of 20 simulated data sets and 20 simulations from each data set are used in our study. Output analysis and convergence diagnostics for MCMC method are assessed by CODA package. Models and methods by using continuous Gaussian prior and discrete categorical prior are compared. Intensive simulations and performance measures are given to illustrate our practice in the framework of model-based Bayesian inference using MCMC method.

  18. Do US Black Women Experience Stress-Related Accelerated Biological Aging?

    PubMed Central

    Hicken, Margaret T.; Pearson, Jay A.; Seashols, Sarah J.; Brown, Kelly L.; Cruz, Tracey Dawson

    2010-01-01

    We hypothesize that black women experience accelerated biological aging in response to repeated or prolonged adaptation to subjective and objective stressors. Drawing on stress physiology and ethnographic, social science, and public health literature, we lay out the rationale for this hypothesis. We also perform a first population-based test of its plausibility, focusing on telomere length, a biomeasure of aging that may be shortened by stressors. Analyzing data from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN), we estimate that at ages 49–55, black women are 7.5 years biologically “older” than white women. Indicators of perceived stress and poverty account for 27% of this difference. Data limitations preclude assessing objective stressors and also result in imprecise estimates, limiting our ability to draw firm inferences. Further investigation of black-white differences in telomere length using large-population-based samples of broad age range and with detailed measures of environmental stressors is merited. PMID:20436780

  19. 7 CFR 1.328 - Sanctions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ..., or a request for admission, the ALJ may: (1) Draw an inference in favor of the requesting party with...; or (5) Request that the Attorney General petition an appropriate district court for an order to...

  20. The double slit experiment and the time reversed fire alarm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Halabi, Tarek

    2011-03-01

    When both slits of the double slit experiment are open, closing one paradoxically increases the detection rate at some points on the detection screen. Feynman famously warned that temptation to "understand" such a puzzling feature only draws us into blind alleys. Nevertheless, we gain insight into this feature by drawing an analogy between the double slit experiment and a time reversed fire alarm. Much as closing the slit increases probability of a future detection, ruling out fire drill scenarios, having heard the fire alarm, increases probability of a past fire (using Bayesian inference). Classically, Bayesian inference is associated with computing probabilities of past events. We therefore identify this feature of the double slit experiment with a time reversed thermodynamic arrow. We believe that much of the enigma of quantum mechanics is simply due to some variation of time's arrow.

  1. Network inference using informative priors.

    PubMed

    Mukherjee, Sach; Speed, Terence P

    2008-09-23

    Recent years have seen much interest in the study of systems characterized by multiple interacting components. A class of statistical models called graphical models, in which graphs are used to represent probabilistic relationships between variables, provides a framework for formal inference regarding such systems. In many settings, the object of inference is the network structure itself. This problem of "network inference" is well known to be a challenging one. However, in scientific settings there is very often existing information regarding network connectivity. A natural idea then is to take account of such information during inference. This article addresses the question of incorporating prior information into network inference. We focus on directed models called Bayesian networks, and use Markov chain Monte Carlo to draw samples from posterior distributions over network structures. We introduce prior distributions on graphs capable of capturing information regarding network features including edges, classes of edges, degree distributions, and sparsity. We illustrate our approach in the context of systems biology, applying our methods to network inference in cancer signaling.

  2. 4 CFR 21.7 - Hearings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... may draw an inference unfavorable to the party for whom the witness would have testified. (g) If a hearing is held, each party shall file comments with GAO within 5 days after the hearing was held or as...

  3. 13 CFR 127.402 - How will SBA conduct an examination?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ....402 How will SBA conduct an examination? (a) Notification. No less than 5 business days before... and information related to the concern's EDWOSB or WOSB eligibility. SBA may draw an adverse inference...

  4. 28 CFR 76.26 - Sanctions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ..., or a request for admission the Judge may, as appropriate under law: (1) Draw an inference in favor of... pleadings or other submissions of the party failing to comply with such order; and (5) Permit the requesting...

  5. 4 CFR 21.7 - Hearings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... may draw an inference unfavorable to the party for whom the witness would have testified. (g) If a hearing is held, each party shall file comments with GAO within 5 days after the hearing was held or as...

  6. What does convergent evolution mean? The interpretation of convergence and its implications in the search for limits to evolution

    PubMed Central

    Stayton, C. Tristan

    2015-01-01

    Convergent evolution is central to the study of life's evolutionary history. Researchers have documented the ubiquity of convergence and have used this ubiquity to make inferences about the nature of limits on evolution. However, these inferences are compromised by unrecognized inconsistencies in the definitions, measures, significance tests and inferred causes of convergent evolution. I review these inconsistencies and provide recommendations for standardizing studies of convergence. A fundamental dichotomy exists between definitions that describe convergence as a pattern and those that describe it as a pattern caused by a particular process. When this distinction is not acknowledged it becomes easy to assume that a pattern of convergence indicates that a particular process has been active, leading researchers away from alternative explanations. Convergence is not necessarily caused by limits to evolution, either adaptation or constraint; even substantial amounts of convergent evolution can be generated by a purely stochastic process. In the absence of null models, long lists of examples of convergent events do not necessarily indicate that convergence or any evolutionary process is ubiquitous throughout the history of life. Pattern-based definitions of convergence, coupled with quantitative measures and null models, must be applied before drawing inferences regarding large-scale limits to evolution. PMID:26640646

  7. Reflective Random Indexing and indirect inference: a scalable method for discovery of implicit connections.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Trevor; Schvaneveldt, Roger; Widdows, Dominic

    2010-04-01

    The discovery of implicit connections between terms that do not occur together in any scientific document underlies the model of literature-based knowledge discovery first proposed by Swanson. Corpus-derived statistical models of semantic distance such as Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) have been evaluated previously as methods for the discovery of such implicit connections. However, LSA in particular is dependent on a computationally demanding method of dimension reduction as a means to obtain meaningful indirect inference, limiting its ability to scale to large text corpora. In this paper, we evaluate the ability of Random Indexing (RI), a scalable distributional model of word associations, to draw meaningful implicit relationships between terms in general and biomedical language. Proponents of this method have achieved comparable performance to LSA on several cognitive tasks while using a simpler and less computationally demanding method of dimension reduction than LSA employs. In this paper, we demonstrate that the original implementation of RI is ineffective at inferring meaningful indirect connections, and evaluate Reflective Random Indexing (RRI), an iterative variant of the method that is better able to perform indirect inference. RRI is shown to lead to more clearly related indirect connections and to outperform existing RI implementations in the prediction of future direct co-occurrence in the MEDLINE corpus. 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Constraints on Generality (COG): A Proposed Addition to All Empirical Papers.

    PubMed

    Simons, Daniel J; Shoda, Yuichi; Lindsay, D Stephen

    2017-11-01

    Psychological scientists draw inferences about populations based on samples-of people, situations, and stimuli-from those populations. Yet, few papers identify their target populations, and even fewer justify how or why the tested samples are representative of broader populations. A cumulative science depends on accurately characterizing the generality of findings, but current publishing standards do not require authors to constrain their inferences, leaving readers to assume the broadest possible generalizations. We propose that the discussion section of all primary research articles specify Constraints on Generality (i.e., a "COG" statement) that identify and justify target populations for the reported findings. Explicitly defining the target populations will help other researchers to sample from the same populations when conducting a direct replication, and it could encourage follow-up studies that test the boundary conditions of the original finding. Universal adoption of COG statements would change publishing incentives to favor a more cumulative science.

  9. Modeling the Round Earth through Diagrams

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Padalkar, Shamin; Ramadas, Jayashree

    Earlier studies have found that students, including adults, have problems understanding the scientifically accepted model of the Sun-Earth-Moon system and explaining day-to-day astronomical phenomena based on it. We have been examining such problems in the context of recent research on visual-spatial reasoning. Working with middle school students in India, we have developed a pedagogical sequence to build the mental model of the Earth and tried it in three schools for socially and educationally disadvantaged students. This pedagogy was developed on the basis of (1) a reading of current research in imagery and visual-spatial reasoning and (2) students' difficulties identified during the course of pretests and interviews. Visual-spatial tools such as concrete (physical) models, gestures, and diagrams are used extensively in the teaching sequence. The building of a mental model is continually integrated with drawing inferences to understand and explain everyday phenomena. The focus of this article is inferences drawn with diagrams.

  10. Social perception in adults with Parkinson's disease.

    PubMed

    Pell, Marc D; Monetta, Laura; Rothermich, Kathrin; Kotz, Sonja A; Cheang, Henry S; McDonald, Skye

    2014-11-01

    Our study assessed how nondemented patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) interpret the affective and mental states of others from spoken language (adopt a "theory of mind") in ecologically valid social contexts. A secondary goal was to examine the relationship between emotion processing, mentalizing, and executive functions in PD during interpersonal communication. Fifteen adults with PD and 16 healthy adults completed The Awareness of Social Inference Test, a standardized tool comprised of videotaped vignettes of everyday social interactions (McDonald, Flanagan, Rollins, & Kinch, 2003). Individual subtests assessed participants' ability to recognize basic emotions and to infer speaker intentions (sincerity, lies, sarcasm) from verbal and nonverbal cues, and to judge speaker knowledge, beliefs, and feelings. A comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation was also conducted. Patients with mild-moderate PD were impaired in the ability to infer "enriched" social intentions, such as sarcasm or lies, from nonliteral remarks; in contrast, adults with and without PD showed a similar capacity to recognize emotions and social intentions meant to be literal. In the PD group, difficulties using theory of mind to draw complex social inferences were significantly correlated with limitations in working memory and executive functioning. In early PD, functional compromise of the frontal-striatal-dorsal system yields impairments in social perception and understanding nonliteral speaker intentions that draw upon cognitive theory of mind. Deficits in social perception in PD are exacerbated by a decline in executive resources, which could hamper the strategic deployment of attention to multiple information sources necessary to infer social intentions. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  11. Metacognitive inferences from other people's memory performance.

    PubMed

    Smith, Robert W; Schwarz, Norbert

    2016-09-01

    Three studies show that people draw metacognitive inferences about events from how well others remember the event. Given that memory fades over time, detailed accounts of distant events suggest that the event must have been particularly memorable, for example, because it was extreme. Accordingly, participants inferred that a physical assault (Study 1) or a poor restaurant experience (Studies 2-3) were more extreme when they were well remembered one year rather than one week later. These inferences influence behavioral intentions. For example, participants recommended a more severe punishment for a well-remembered distant rather than recent assault (Study 1). These metacognitive inferences are eliminated when people attribute the reporter's good memory to an irrelevant cause (e.g., photographic memory), thus undermining the informational value of memory performance (Study 3). These studies illuminate how people use lay theories of memory to learn from others' memory performance about characteristics of the world. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  12. The Russo-Williamson Theses in the social sciences: causal inference drawing on two types of evidence.

    PubMed

    Claveau, François

    2012-12-01

    This article examines two theses formulated by Russo and Williamson (2007) in their study of causal inference in the health sciences. The two theses are assessed against evidence from a specific case in the social sciences, i.e., research on the institutional determinants of the aggregate unemployment rate. The first Russo-Williamson Thesis is that a causal claim can only be established when it is jointly supported by difference-making and mechanistic evidence. This thesis is shown not to hold. While researchers in my case study draw extensively on both types of evidence, one causal claim out of the three analyzed is established even though it is exclusively supported by mechanistic evidence. The second Russo-Williamson Thesis is that standard accounts of causality fail to handle the dualist epistemology highlighted in the first Thesis. I argue that a counterfactual-manipulationist account of causality--which is endorsed by many philosophers as well as many social scientists--can perfectly make sense of the typical strategy in my case study to draw on both difference-making and mechanistic evidence; it is just an instance of the common strategy of increasing evidential variety. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. The perception of rational, goal-directed action in nonhuman primates.

    PubMed

    Wood, Justin N; Glynn, David D; Phillips, Brenda C; Hauser, Marc D

    2007-09-07

    Humans are capable of making inferences about other individuals' intentions and goals by evaluating their actions in relation to the constraints imposed by the environment. This capacity enables humans to go beyond the surface appearance of behavior to draw inferences about an individual's mental states. Presently unclear is whether this capacity is uniquely human or is shared with other animals. We show that cotton-top tamarins, rhesus macaques, and chimpanzees all make spontaneous inferences about a human experimenter's goal by attending to the environmental constraints that guide rational action. These findings rule out simple associative accounts of action perception and show that our capacity to infer rational, goal-directed action likely arose at least as far back as the New World monkeys, some 40 million years ago.

  14. Network inference using informative priors

    PubMed Central

    Mukherjee, Sach; Speed, Terence P.

    2008-01-01

    Recent years have seen much interest in the study of systems characterized by multiple interacting components. A class of statistical models called graphical models, in which graphs are used to represent probabilistic relationships between variables, provides a framework for formal inference regarding such systems. In many settings, the object of inference is the network structure itself. This problem of “network inference” is well known to be a challenging one. However, in scientific settings there is very often existing information regarding network connectivity. A natural idea then is to take account of such information during inference. This article addresses the question of incorporating prior information into network inference. We focus on directed models called Bayesian networks, and use Markov chain Monte Carlo to draw samples from posterior distributions over network structures. We introduce prior distributions on graphs capable of capturing information regarding network features including edges, classes of edges, degree distributions, and sparsity. We illustrate our approach in the context of systems biology, applying our methods to network inference in cancer signaling. PMID:18799736

  15. Structural interpretation in composite systems using powder X-ray diffraction: applications of error propagation to the pair distribution function.

    PubMed

    Moore, Michael D; Shi, Zhenqi; Wildfong, Peter L D

    2010-12-01

    To develop a method for drawing statistical inferences from differences between multiple experimental pair distribution function (PDF) transforms of powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) data. The appropriate treatment of initial PXRD error estimates using traditional error propagation algorithms was tested using Monte Carlo simulations on amorphous ketoconazole. An amorphous felodipine:polyvinyl pyrrolidone:vinyl acetate (PVPva) physical mixture was prepared to define an error threshold. Co-solidified products of felodipine:PVPva and terfenadine:PVPva were prepared using a melt-quench method and subsequently analyzed using PXRD and PDF. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used as an additional characterization method. The appropriate manipulation of initial PXRD error estimates through the PDF transform were confirmed using the Monte Carlo simulations for amorphous ketoconazole. The felodipine:PVPva physical mixture PDF analysis determined ±3σ to be an appropriate error threshold. Using the PDF and error propagation principles, the felodipine:PVPva co-solidified product was determined to be completely miscible, and the terfenadine:PVPva co-solidified product, although having appearances of an amorphous molecular solid dispersion by DSC, was determined to be phase-separated. Statistically based inferences were successfully drawn from PDF transforms of PXRD patterns obtained from composite systems. The principles applied herein may be universally adapted to many different systems and provide a fundamentally sound basis for drawing structural conclusions from PDF studies.

  16. The Marginal Costs of Instruction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoenack, Stephen A.; And Others

    1986-01-01

    A study of instructional costs in a large university focuses on graduate education, draws inferences about the economic costs of incremental or marginal enrollments, and examines how the costs facing faculty differ from those incurred by the administration and the state legislature. (MSE)

  17. USE OF SCALE INVARIANCE IN EVALUATING JUDGEMENT INDICATORS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Indicators are used to draw conclusions about ecological endpoints when these endpoints cannot be measured directly. In many cases, inference about an endpoint are only possible because assumptions have been made about the relationship between indicator and endpoint; we refer to ...

  18. Using interviews to understand the assignment mechanism in a nonexperimental study: the case of eighth grade algebra.

    PubMed

    Rickles, Jordan H

    2011-10-01

    Many inquiries regarding the causal effects of policies or programs are based on research designs where the treatment assignment process is unknown, and thus valid inferences depend on tenuous assumptions about the assignment mechanism. This article draws attention to the importance of understanding the assignment mechanism in policy and program evaluation studies, and illustrates how information collected through interviews can develop a richer understanding of the assignment mechanism. Focusing on the issue of student assignment to algebra in 8th grade, I show how a preliminary data collection effort aimed at understanding the assignment mechanism is particularly beneficial in multisite observational studies in education. The findings, based on ten interviews and administrative data from a large school district, draw attention to the often ignored heterogeneity in the assignment mechanism across schools. These findings likely extend beyond the current research project in question to related educational policy issues such as ability grouping, tracking, differential course taking, and curricular intensity, as well as other social programs in which the assignment mechanism can differ across sites.

  19. Fine-scale population dynamics in a marine fish species inferred from dynamic state-space models.

    PubMed

    Rogers, Lauren A; Storvik, Geir O; Knutsen, Halvor; Olsen, Esben M; Stenseth, Nils C

    2017-07-01

    Identifying the spatial scale of population structuring is critical for the conservation of natural populations and for drawing accurate ecological inferences. However, population studies often use spatially aggregated data to draw inferences about population trends and drivers, potentially masking ecologically relevant population sub-structure and dynamics. The goals of this study were to investigate how population dynamics models with and without spatial structure affect inferences on population trends and the identification of intrinsic drivers of population dynamics (e.g. density dependence). Specifically, we developed dynamic, age-structured, state-space models to test different hypotheses regarding the spatial structure of a population complex of coastal Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Data were from a 93-year survey of juvenile (age 0 and 1) cod sampled along >200 km of the Norwegian Skagerrak coast. We compared two models: one which assumes all sampled cod belong to one larger population, and a second which assumes that each fjord contains a unique population with locally determined dynamics. Using the best supported model, we then reconstructed the historical spatial and temporal dynamics of Skagerrak coastal cod. Cross-validation showed that the spatially structured model with local dynamics had better predictive ability. Furthermore, posterior predictive checks showed that a model which assumes one homogeneous population failed to capture the spatial correlation pattern present in the survey data. The spatially structured model indicated that population trends differed markedly among fjords, as did estimates of population parameters including density-dependent survival. Recent biomass was estimated to be at a near-record low all along the coast, but the finer scale model indicated that the decline occurred at different times in different regions. Warm temperatures were associated with poor recruitment, but local changes in habitat and fishing pressure may have played a role in driving local dynamics. More generally, we demonstrated how state-space models can be used to test evidence for population spatial structure based on survey time-series data. Our study shows the importance of considering spatially structured dynamics, as the inferences from such an approach can lead to a different ecological understanding of the drivers of population declines, and fundamentally different management actions to restore populations. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.

  20. Computational Neuropsychology and Bayesian Inference.

    PubMed

    Parr, Thomas; Rees, Geraint; Friston, Karl J

    2018-01-01

    Computational theories of brain function have become very influential in neuroscience. They have facilitated the growth of formal approaches to disease, particularly in psychiatric research. In this paper, we provide a narrative review of the body of computational research addressing neuropsychological syndromes, and focus on those that employ Bayesian frameworks. Bayesian approaches to understanding brain function formulate perception and action as inferential processes. These inferences combine 'prior' beliefs with a generative (predictive) model to explain the causes of sensations. Under this view, neuropsychological deficits can be thought of as false inferences that arise due to aberrant prior beliefs (that are poor fits to the real world). This draws upon the notion of a Bayes optimal pathology - optimal inference with suboptimal priors - and provides a means for computational phenotyping. In principle, any given neuropsychological disorder could be characterized by the set of prior beliefs that would make a patient's behavior appear Bayes optimal. We start with an overview of some key theoretical constructs and use these to motivate a form of computational neuropsychology that relates anatomical structures in the brain to the computations they perform. Throughout, we draw upon computational accounts of neuropsychological syndromes. These are selected to emphasize the key features of a Bayesian approach, and the possible types of pathological prior that may be present. They range from visual neglect through hallucinations to autism. Through these illustrative examples, we review the use of Bayesian approaches to understand the link between biology and computation that is at the heart of neuropsychology.

  1. Computational Neuropsychology and Bayesian Inference

    PubMed Central

    Parr, Thomas; Rees, Geraint; Friston, Karl J.

    2018-01-01

    Computational theories of brain function have become very influential in neuroscience. They have facilitated the growth of formal approaches to disease, particularly in psychiatric research. In this paper, we provide a narrative review of the body of computational research addressing neuropsychological syndromes, and focus on those that employ Bayesian frameworks. Bayesian approaches to understanding brain function formulate perception and action as inferential processes. These inferences combine ‘prior’ beliefs with a generative (predictive) model to explain the causes of sensations. Under this view, neuropsychological deficits can be thought of as false inferences that arise due to aberrant prior beliefs (that are poor fits to the real world). This draws upon the notion of a Bayes optimal pathology – optimal inference with suboptimal priors – and provides a means for computational phenotyping. In principle, any given neuropsychological disorder could be characterized by the set of prior beliefs that would make a patient’s behavior appear Bayes optimal. We start with an overview of some key theoretical constructs and use these to motivate a form of computational neuropsychology that relates anatomical structures in the brain to the computations they perform. Throughout, we draw upon computational accounts of neuropsychological syndromes. These are selected to emphasize the key features of a Bayesian approach, and the possible types of pathological prior that may be present. They range from visual neglect through hallucinations to autism. Through these illustrative examples, we review the use of Bayesian approaches to understand the link between biology and computation that is at the heart of neuropsychology. PMID:29527157

  2. Improving Perception to Make Distant Connections Closer

    PubMed Central

    Goldstone, Robert L.; Landy, David; Brunel, Lionel C.

    2011-01-01

    One of the challenges for perceptually grounded accounts of high-level cognition is to explain how people make connections and draw inferences between situations that superficially have little in common. Evidence suggests that people draw these connections even without having explicit, verbalizable knowledge of their bases. Instead, the connections are based on sub-symbolic representations that are grounded in perception, action, and space. One reason why people are able to spontaneously see relations between situations that initially appear to be unrelated is that their eventual perceptions are not restricted to initial appearances. Training and strategic deployment allow our perceptual processes to deliver outputs that would have otherwise required abstract or formal reasoning. Even without people having any privileged access to the internal operations of perceptual modules, these modules can be systematically altered so as to better serve our high-level reasoning needs. Moreover, perceptually based processes can be altered in a number of ways to closely approximate formally sanctioned computations. To be concrete about mechanisms of perceptual change, we present 21 illustrations of ways in which we alter, adjust, and augment our perceptual systems with the intention of having them better satisfy our needs. PMID:22207861

  3. Causal inference and longitudinal data: a case study of religion and mental health.

    PubMed

    VanderWeele, Tyler J; Jackson, John W; Li, Shanshan

    2016-11-01

    We provide an introduction to causal inference with longitudinal data and discuss the complexities of analysis and interpretation when exposures can vary over time. We consider what types of causal questions can be addressed with the standard regression-based analyses and what types of covariate control and control for the prior values of outcome and exposure must be made to reason about causal effects. We also consider newer classes of causal models, including marginal structural models, that can assess questions of the joint effects of time-varying exposures and can take into account feedback between the exposure and outcome over time. Such feedback renders cross-sectional data ineffective for drawing inferences about causation. The challenges are illustrated by analyses concerning potential effects of religious service attendance on depression, in which there may in fact be effects in both directions with service attendance preventing the subsequent depression, but depression itself leading to lower levels of the subsequent religious service attendance. Longitudinal designs, with careful control for prior exposures, outcomes, and confounders, and suitable methodology, will strengthen research on mental health, religion and health, and in the biomedical and social sciences generally.

  4. Background music as a quasi clock in retrospective duration judgments.

    PubMed

    Bailey, Nicole; Areni, Charles S

    2006-04-01

    The segmentation-change model of time perception proposes that individuals engaged in cognitive tasks during a given interval of time retrospectively estimate duration by recalling events that occurred during the interval and inferring each event's duration. Previous research suggests that individuals can recall the number of songs heard during an interval and infer the length of each song, exactly the conditions that foster estimates of duration based on the segmentation-change model. The results of a laboratory experiment indicated that subjects who solved word-search puzzles for 20 min. estimated the duration of the interval to be longer when 8 short songs (<3 min.) as opposed to 4 long songs (6+ min.) were played in the background, regardless of whether the musical format was Contemporary Dance or New Age. Assuming each song represented a distinct segment in memory, these results are consistent with the segmentation-change model. These results suggest that background music may not always reduce estimates of duration by drawing attention away from the passage of time. Instead, background music may actually expand the subjective length of an interval by creating accessible traces in memory, which are retrospectively used to infer duration.

  5. Intelligent Diagnostic Assistant for Complicated Skin Diseases through C5's Algorithm.

    PubMed

    Jeddi, Fatemeh Rangraz; Arabfard, Masoud; Kermany, Zahra Arab

    2017-09-01

    Intelligent Diagnostic Assistant can be used for complicated diagnosis of skin diseases, which are among the most common causes of disability. The aim of this study was to design and implement a computerized intelligent diagnostic assistant for complicated skin diseases through C5's Algorithm. An applied-developmental study was done in 2015. Knowledge base was developed based on interviews with dermatologists through questionnaires and checklists. Knowledge representation was obtained from the train data in the database using Excel Microsoft Office. Clementine Software and C5's Algorithms were applied to draw the decision tree. Analysis of test accuracy was performed based on rules extracted using inference chains. The rules extracted from the decision tree were entered into the CLIPS programming environment and the intelligent diagnostic assistant was designed then. The rules were defined using forward chaining inference technique and were entered into Clips programming environment as RULE. The accuracy and error rates obtained in the training phase from the decision tree were 99.56% and 0.44%, respectively. The accuracy of the decision tree was 98% and the error was 2% in the test phase. Intelligent diagnostic assistant can be used as a reliable system with high accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and agreement.

  6. 5 CFR 890.1031 - Grounds for suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Grounds for suspension. 890.1031 Section 890.1031 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS.... The suspending official may draw reasonable inferences from the nature of the alleged misconduct and...

  7. 5 CFR 890.1031 - Grounds for suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Grounds for suspension. 890.1031 Section 890.1031 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS.... The suspending official may draw reasonable inferences from the nature of the alleged misconduct and...

  8. Young children's racial awareness and affect and their perceptions about mothers' racial affect in a multiracial context.

    PubMed

    Lam, Virginia; Guerrero, Silvia; Damree, Natasha; Enesco, Ileana

    2011-11-01

    There is a substantial literature documenting pre-schoolers' racial awareness and affect from multiracial societies in North America and a fast-growing body of work from societies that are or were once more racially homogeneous. However, studies in Britain, a racially diverse society, on this developmental period have been curiously rare. This study examined racial awareness and affect of 125 White, Black, and Asian 3--to 5-year-olds in London. Children were tested on cognitive level, person description and classification, race labelling and matching, self-categorization and asked about their racial preference and rejection and inferences about their mothers' preference and rejection. Children were least likely to use race versus other categorical cues to spontaneously describe or classify others, even though the majority correctly sorted others by race labels, matched them to drawings, and categorized themselves by race. With age and increasing cognitive level, children described and categorized others by race more and improved in race matching. White children from age 4 preferred White peers and inferred that their mothers would prefer White children at age 5. Children's own preference and inference about mothers are related. Children did not show race-based rejection, but boys inferred that their mothers would prefer White children and reject Black children. The findings are discussed in relation to racial salience between contexts, previous research, and theories. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

  9. Causation in risk assessment and management: models, inference, biases, and a microbial risk-benefit case study.

    PubMed

    Cox, L A; Ricci, P F

    2005-04-01

    Causal inference of exposure-response relations from data is a challenging aspect of risk assessment with important implications for public and private risk management. Such inference, which is fundamentally empirical and based on exposure (or dose)-response models, seldom arises from a single set of data; rather, it requires integrating heterogeneous information from diverse sources and disciplines including epidemiology, toxicology, and cell and molecular biology. The causal aspects we discuss focus on these three aspects: drawing sound inferences about causal relations from one or more observational studies; addressing and resolving biases that can affect a single multivariate empirical exposure-response study; and applying the results from these considerations to the microbiological risk management of human health risks and benefits of a ban on antibiotic use in animals, in the context of banning enrofloxacin or macrolides, antibiotics used against bacterial illnesses in poultry, and the effects of such bans on changing the risk of human food-borne campylobacteriosis infections. The purposes of this paper are to describe novel causal methods for assessing empirical causation and inference; exemplify how to deal with biases that routinely arise in multivariate exposure- or dose-response modeling; and provide a simplified discussion of a case study of causal inference using microbial risk analysis as an example. The case study supports the conclusion that the human health benefits from a ban are unlikely to be greater than the excess human health risks that it could create, even when accounting for uncertainty. We conclude that quantitative causal analysis of risks is a preferable to qualitative assessments because it does not involve unjustified loss of information and is sound under the inferential use of risk results by management.

  10. Affective expressions in groups and inferences about members' relational well-being: The effects of socially engaging and disengaging emotions.

    PubMed

    Rothman, Naomi B; Magee, Joe C

    2016-01-01

    Our findings draw attention to the interpersonal communication function of a relatively unexplored dimension of emotions-the level of social engagement versus disengagement. In four experiments, regardless of valence and target group gender, observers infer greater relational well-being (more cohesiveness and less conflict) between group members from socially engaging (sadness and appreciation) versus disengaging (anger and pride) emotion expressions. Supporting our argument that social (dis)engagement is a critical dimension communicated by these emotions, we demonstrate (1) that inferences about group members' self-interest mediate the effect of socially engaging emotions on cohesiveness and (2) that the influence of socially disengaging emotion expressions on inferences of conflict is attenuated when groups have collectivistic norms (i.e., members value a high level of social engagement). Furthermore, we show an important downstream consequence of these inferences of relational well-being: Groups that seem less cohesive because of their members' proud (versus appreciative) expressions are also expected to have worse task performance.

  11. Comparing hospital costs: what is gained by accounting for more than a case-mix index?

    PubMed

    Hvenegaard, Anne; Street, Andrew; Sørensen, Torben Højmark; Gyrd-Hansen, Dorte

    2009-08-01

    We explore what effect controlling for various patient characteristics beyond a case-mix index (DRG) has on inferences drawn about the relative cost performance of hospital departments. We estimate fixed effect cost models in which 3754 patients are clustered within six Danish vascular departments. We compare a basic model including a DRG index only with models also including age and gender, health related characteristics, such as smoking status, diabetes, and American Society of Anesthesiogists score (ASA-score), and socioeconomic characteristics such as income, employment and whether the patient lives alone. We find that the DRG index is a robust and important explanatory factor and adding other routinely collected characteristics such as age and gender and other health related or socioeconomic characteristics do not seem to alter the results significantly. The results are more sensitive to choice of functional form, i.e. in particular to whether costs are log transformed. Our results suggest that the routinely collected characteristics such as DRG index, age and gender are sufficient when drawing inferences about relative cost performance. Adding health related or socioeconomic patient characteristics only slightly improves our model in terms of explanatory power but not when drawing inferences about relative performance. The results are, however, sensitive to whether costs are log transformed.

  12. Utilitarian Moral Judgment Exclusively Coheres with Inference from Is to Ought

    PubMed Central

    Elqayam, Shira; Wilkinson, Meredith R.; Thompson, Valerie A.; Over, David E.; Evans, Jonathan St. B. T.

    2017-01-01

    Faced with moral choice, people either judge according to pre-existing obligations (deontological judgment), or by taking into account the consequences of their actions (utilitarian judgment). We propose that the latter coheres with a more general cognitive mechanism – deontic introduction, the tendency to infer normative (‘deontic’) conclusions from descriptive premises (is-ought inference). Participants were presented with vignettes that allowed either deontological or utilitarian choice, and asked to draw a range of deontic conclusions, as well as judge the overall moral rightness of each choice separately. We predicted and found a selective defeasibility pattern, in which manipulations that suppressed deontic introduction also suppressed utilitarian moral judgment, but had little effect on deontological moral judgment. Thus, deontic introduction coheres with utilitarian moral judgment almost exclusively. We suggest a family of norm-generating informal inferences, in which normative conclusions are drawn from descriptive (although value-laden) premises. This family includes deontic introduction and utilitarian moral judgment as well as other informal inferences. We conclude with a call for greater integration of research in moral judgment and research into deontic reasoning and informal inference. PMID:28690572

  13. 5 CFR 1201.43 - Sanctions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Sanctions. 1201.43 Section 1201.43 Administrative Personnel MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURES PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES... fails to comply with an order, the judge may: (1) Draw an inference in favor of the requesting party...

  14. 5 CFR 1201.43 - Sanctions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Sanctions. 1201.43 Section 1201.43 Administrative Personnel MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURES PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES... fails to comply with an order, the judge may: (1) Draw an inference in favor of the requesting party...

  15. PROCESS TRANSFER FUNCTIONS TO RELATE STREAM ECOLOGICAL CONDITION METRICS TO NITRATE RETENTION

    EPA Science Inventory

    Ecologists have developed hydrological metrics to characterize the nutrient processing capability of streams. In most cases these are used qualitatively to draw inferences on ecological function. In this work, several of these metrics have been integrated in a nonsteady state adv...

  16. Australian Curriculum Linked Lessons: Statistics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Day, Lorraine

    2014-01-01

    Students recognise and analyse data and draw inferences. They represent, summarise and interpret data and undertake purposeful investigations involving the collection and interpretation of data… They develop an increasingly sophisticated ability to critically evaluate chance and data concepts and make reasoned judgments and decisions, as well as…

  17. The t-test: An Influential Inferential Tool in Chaplaincy and Other Healthcare Research.

    PubMed

    Jankowski, Katherine R B; Flannelly, Kevin J; Flannelly, Laura T

    2018-01-01

    The t-test developed by William S. Gosset (also known as Student's t-test and the two-sample t-test) is commonly used to compare one sample mean on a measure with another sample mean on the same measure. The outcome of the t-test is used to draw inferences about how different the samples are from each other. It is probably one of the most frequently relied upon statistics in inferential research. It is easy to use: a researcher can calculate the statistic with three simple tools: paper, pen, and a calculator. A computer program can quickly calculate the t-test for large samples. The ease of use can result in the misuse of the t-test. This article discusses the development of the original t-test, basic principles of the t-test, two additional types of t-tests (the one-sample t-test and the paired t-test), and recommendations about what to consider when using the t-test to draw inferences in research.

  18. Probability Distributions for Random Quantum Operations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schultz, Kevin

    Motivated by uncertainty quantification and inference of quantum information systems, in this work we draw connections between the notions of random quantum states and operations in quantum information with probability distributions commonly encountered in the field of orientation statistics. This approach identifies natural sample spaces and probability distributions upon these spaces that can be used in the analysis, simulation, and inference of quantum information systems. The theory of exponential families on Stiefel manifolds provides the appropriate generalization to the classical case. Furthermore, this viewpoint motivates a number of additional questions into the convex geometry of quantum operations relative to both the differential geometry of Stiefel manifolds as well as the information geometry of exponential families defined upon them. In particular, we draw on results from convex geometry to characterize which quantum operations can be represented as the average of a random quantum operation. This project was supported by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity via Department of Interior National Business Center Contract Number 2012-12050800010.

  19. The researcher and the consultant: from testing to probability statements.

    PubMed

    Hamra, Ghassan B; Stang, Andreas; Poole, Charles

    2015-09-01

    In the first instalment of this series, Stang and Poole provided an overview of Fisher significance testing (ST), Neyman-Pearson null hypothesis testing (NHT), and their unfortunate and unintended offspring, null hypothesis significance testing. In addition to elucidating the distinction between the first two and the evolution of the third, the authors alluded to alternative models of statistical inference; namely, Bayesian statistics. Bayesian inference has experienced a revival in recent decades, with many researchers advocating for its use as both a complement and an alternative to NHT and ST. This article will continue in the direction of the first instalment, providing practicing researchers with an introduction to Bayesian inference. Our work will draw on the examples and discussion of the previous dialogue.

  20. A Foreign Object Damage Event Detector Data Fusion System for Turbofan Engines

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Turso, James A.; Litt, Jonathan S.

    2004-01-01

    A Data Fusion System designed to provide a reliable assessment of the occurrence of Foreign Object Damage (FOD) in a turbofan engine is presented. The FOD-event feature level fusion scheme combines knowledge of shifts in engine gas path performance obtained using a Kalman filter, with bearing accelerometer signal features extracted via wavelet analysis, to positively identify a FOD event. A fuzzy inference system provides basic probability assignments (bpa) based on features extracted from the gas path analysis and bearing accelerometers to a fusion algorithm based on the Dempster-Shafer-Yager Theory of Evidence. Details are provided on the wavelet transforms used to extract the foreign object strike features from the noisy data and on the Kalman filter-based gas path analysis. The system is demonstrated using a turbofan engine combined-effects model (CEM), providing both gas path and rotor dynamic structural response, and is suitable for rapid-prototyping of control and diagnostic systems. The fusion of the disparate data can provide significantly more reliable detection of a FOD event than the use of either method alone. The use of fuzzy inference techniques combined with Dempster-Shafer-Yager Theory of Evidence provides a theoretical justification for drawing conclusions based on imprecise or incomplete data.

  1. Causal inference with missing exposure information: Methods and applications to an obstetric study.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Zhiwei; Liu, Wei; Zhang, Bo; Tang, Li; Zhang, Jun

    2016-10-01

    Causal inference in observational studies is frequently challenged by the occurrence of missing data, in addition to confounding. Motivated by the Consortium on Safe Labor, a large observational study of obstetric labor practice and birth outcomes, this article focuses on the problem of missing exposure information in a causal analysis of observational data. This problem can be approached from different angles (i.e. missing covariates and causal inference), and useful methods can be obtained by drawing upon the available techniques and insights in both areas. In this article, we describe and compare a collection of methods based on different modeling assumptions, under standard assumptions for missing data (i.e. missing-at-random and positivity) and for causal inference with complete data (i.e. no unmeasured confounding and another positivity assumption). These methods involve three models: one for treatment assignment, one for the dependence of outcome on treatment and covariates, and one for the missing data mechanism. In general, consistent estimation of causal quantities requires correct specification of at least two of the three models, although there may be some flexibility as to which two models need to be correct. Such flexibility is afforded by doubly robust estimators adapted from the missing covariates literature and the literature on causal inference with complete data, and by a newly developed triply robust estimator that is consistent if any two of the three models are correct. The methods are applied to the Consortium on Safe Labor data and compared in a simulation study mimicking the Consortium on Safe Labor. © The Author(s) 2013.

  2. Top-down attention based on object representation and incremental memory for knowledge building and inference.

    PubMed

    Kim, Bumhwi; Ban, Sang-Woo; Lee, Minho

    2013-10-01

    Humans can efficiently perceive arbitrary visual objects based on an incremental learning mechanism with selective attention. This paper proposes a new task specific top-down attention model to locate a target object based on its form and color representation along with a bottom-up saliency based on relativity of primitive visual features and some memory modules. In the proposed model top-down bias signals corresponding to the target form and color features are generated, which draw the preferential attention to the desired object by the proposed selective attention model in concomitance with the bottom-up saliency process. The object form and color representation and memory modules have an incremental learning mechanism together with a proper object feature representation scheme. The proposed model includes a Growing Fuzzy Topology Adaptive Resonance Theory (GFTART) network which plays two important roles in object color and form biased attention; one is to incrementally learn and memorize color and form features of various objects, and the other is to generate a top-down bias signal to localize a target object by focusing on the candidate local areas. Moreover, the GFTART network can be utilized for knowledge inference which enables the perception of new unknown objects on the basis of the object form and color features stored in the memory during training. Experimental results show that the proposed model is successful in focusing on the specified target objects, in addition to the incremental representation and memorization of various objects in natural scenes. In addition, the proposed model properly infers new unknown objects based on the form and color features of previously trained objects. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. 14 CFR 1264.128 - Sanctions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2011-01-01 2010-01-01 true Sanctions. 1264.128 Section 1264.128 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAM FRAUD CIVIL... for admission, the presiding officer may— (1) Draw an inference in favor of the requesting party with...

  4. 5 CFR 185.131 - Sanctions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Sanctions. 185.131 Section 185.131 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS PROGRAM FRAUD CIVIL REMEDIES... admission, the ALJ may (1) Draw an inference in favor of the requesting party with regard to the information...

  5. Mystery Boxes: Helping Children Improve Their Reasoning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rule, Audrey C.

    2007-01-01

    This guest editorial describes ways teachers can use guessing games about an unknown item in a "mystery box" to help children improve their abilities to listen to others, recall information, ask purposeful questions, classify items by class, make inferences, synthesize information, and draw conclusions. The author presents information…

  6. Barriers to Implementing Treatment Integrity Procedures: Survey of Treatment Outcome Researchers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perepletchikova, Francheska; Hilt, Lori M.; Chereji, Elizabeth; Kazdin, Alan E.

    2009-01-01

    Treatment integrity refers to implementing interventions as intended. Treatment integrity is critically important for experimental validity and for drawing valid inferences regarding the relationship between treatment and outcome. Yet, it is rarely adequately addressed in psychotherapy research. The authors examined barriers to treatment integrity…

  7. How Knowledge Powers Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lemov, Doug

    2017-01-01

    Recent research shows that reading comprehension relies heavily on prior knowledge. Far more than generic "reading skills" like drawing inferences, making predictions, and knowing the function of subheads, how well students learn from a nonfiction text depends on their background knowledge of the text's subject matter. And in a cyclical…

  8. Multilingualism and Web Advertising: Addressing French-Speaking Consumers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Elizabeth

    2011-01-01

    Drawing inferences from both quantitative and qualitative data, this study examines the extent to which American companies tailor their Web advertising for global audiences with a particular focus on French-speaking consumers in North America, Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and French Polynesia. Explored from a sociolinguistic and social semiotic…

  9. Improving Student Comprehension Skills through Instructional Strategies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sharp, Patricia; Ashby, Doris

    This report intends to describe a program designed to enhance reading comprehension. Reading comprehension relies on skills that enable students to remember facts, draw out main ideas, make inferences, and relate reading to personal experiences. The focus group consisted of middle and high school students in a metropolitan area in northern…

  10. Scale of association: hierarchical linear models and the measurement of ecological systems

    Treesearch

    Sean M. McMahon; Jeffrey M. Diez

    2007-01-01

    A fundamental challenge to understanding patterns in ecological systems lies in employing methods that can analyse, test and draw inference from measured associations between variables across scales. Hierarchical linear models (HLM) use advanced estimation algorithms to measure regression relationships and variance-covariance parameters in hierarchically structured...

  11. 42 CFR 1005.14 - Sanctions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 42 Public Health 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Sanctions. 1005.14 Section 1005.14 Public Health... this part, drawing negative factual inferences or treating such refusal as an admission by deeming the... the proceedings; (5) Dismissal of the action; (6) Entering a decision by default; and (7) Refusing to...

  12. 28 CFR 541.5 - Discipline process.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Discipline process. 541.5 Section 541.5... AND SPECIAL HOUSING UNITS Inmate Discipline Program § 541.5 Discipline process. (a) Incident report... the discipline process, but that your silence may be used to draw an adverse inference against you at...

  13. Arbitrary Metrics in Psychology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blanton, Hart; Jaccard, James

    2006-01-01

    Many psychological tests have arbitrary metrics but are appropriate for testing psychological theories. Metric arbitrariness is a concern, however, when researchers wish to draw inferences about the true, absolute standing of a group or individual on the latent psychological dimension being measured. The authors illustrate this in the context of 2…

  14. Using Panorama Theater To Teach Middle School Social Studies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chilcoat, George W.

    1995-01-01

    Describes how use of panorama theater to teach middle school social studies can aid in teaching the academic skills of defining a problem, locating and collecting data, organizing and designing tasks, drawing inferences, creating and building interpretations, revising and editing, and interpreting data. Presents a classroom example of a panorama…

  15. Neuroimaging Research: from Null-Hypothesis Falsification to Out-Of-Sample Generalization

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bzdok, Danilo; Varoquaux, Gaël; Thirion, Bertrand

    2017-01-01

    Brain-imaging technology has boosted the quantification of neurobiological phenomena underlying human mental operations and their disturbances. Since its inception, drawing inference on neurophysiological effects hinged on classical statistical methods, especially, the general linear model. The tens of thousands of variables per brain scan were…

  16. Errors of Inference in Structural Equation Modeling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCoach, D. Betsy; Black, Anne C.; O'Connell, Ann A.

    2007-01-01

    Although structural equation modeling (SEM) is one of the most comprehensive and flexible approaches to data analysis currently available, it is nonetheless prone to researcher misuse and misconceptions. This article offers a brief overview of the unique capabilities of SEM and discusses common sources of user error in drawing conclusions from…

  17. Wyoming Geology and Geography, Unit I.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Robinson, Terry

    This unit on the geology and geography of Wyoming for elementary school students provides activities for map and globe skills. Goals include reading and interpreting maps and globes, interpreting map symbols, comparing maps and drawing inferences, and understanding time and chronology. Outlines and charts are provided for Wyoming geology and…

  18. Persuading and Dissuading by Conditional Argument

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thompson, V.A.; Evans, J.St.B.T.; Handley, S.J.

    2005-01-01

    Informal reasoning typically draws on a wider range of inferential behaviour than is measured by traditional inference tasks. In this paper, we developed several tasks to study informal reasoning with two novel types of conditional statements: Persuasions (e.g., if the Kyoto accord is ratified, greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced) and…

  19. Basic Inferences of Scientific Reasoning, Argumentation, and Discovery

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lawson, Anton E.

    2010-01-01

    Helping students better understand how scientists reason and argue to draw scientific conclusions has long been viewed as a critical component of scientific literacy, thus remains a central goal of science instruction. However, differences of opinion persist regarding the nature of scientific reasoning, argumentation, and discovery. Accordingly,…

  20. Historical Experiments and Physics Teaching: adding considerations from a Bibliographic Review and the Cultural History of Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jardim, W. T.; Guerra, A.

    2017-12-01

    In this paper, a discussion about the purposes of historical experiments in science teaching found in the literature will be presented. As a starting point, we carried out a bibliographic review, on the websites of six relevant periodicals for the area of Science Teaching and, especially for Physics Teaching. The search was based, at first, on works published between the years 2001 and 2016, from terms like "historical experiments", "museums" and "experience". Thereon, due to the large number of publications found, a screening process was developed based on the analysis of titles, abstracts, keywords and, whether necessary, the whole text, aiming to identify which searches emphasize working with historical experiments in Physics teaching, from a theoretical perspective or based on manipulation of a replica of historical apparatus. The selected proposals were arranged in categories adapted from the work of Heering and Höttecke (2014) which allowed us to draw a parallel between the national and international publication that presented resembling scopes. Furthermore, the analysis of the results leads us to infer that, in general, extralab factors, inherent to science, when not neglected, are placed in a peripheral perspective. Thus, we draw theoretical considerations based on Historians of Science, which develop their researches based on the bias of the Cultural History of Science, seeking to add reflections to what has been developed about historical experiments in teaching up to now.

  1. Kernel canonical-correlation Granger causality for multiple time series

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Guorong; Duan, Xujun; Liao, Wei; Gao, Qing; Chen, Huafu

    2011-04-01

    Canonical-correlation analysis as a multivariate statistical technique has been applied to multivariate Granger causality analysis to infer information flow in complex systems. It shows unique appeal and great superiority over the traditional vector autoregressive method, due to the simplified procedure that detects causal interaction between multiple time series, and the avoidance of potential model estimation problems. However, it is limited to the linear case. Here, we extend the framework of canonical correlation to include the estimation of multivariate nonlinear Granger causality for drawing inference about directed interaction. Its feasibility and effectiveness are verified on simulated data.

  2. Influence function for robust phylogenetic reconstructions.

    PubMed

    Bar-Hen, Avner; Mariadassou, Mahendra; Poursat, Marie-Anne; Vandenkoornhuyse, Philippe

    2008-05-01

    Based on the computation of the influence function, a tool to measure the impact of each piece of sampled data on the statistical inference of a parameter, we propose to analyze the support of the maximum-likelihood (ML) tree for each site. We provide a new tool for filtering data sets (nucleotides, amino acids, and others) in the context of ML phylogenetic reconstructions. Because different sites support different phylogenic topologies in different ways, outlier sites, that is, sites with a very negative influence value, are important: they can drastically change the topology resulting from the statistical inference. Therefore, these outlier sites must be clearly identified and their effects accounted for before drawing biological conclusions from the inferred tree. A matrix containing 158 fungal terminals all belonging to Chytridiomycota, Zygomycota, and Glomeromycota is analyzed. We show that removing the strongest outlier from the analysis strikingly modifies the ML topology, with a loss of as many as 20% of the internal nodes. As a result, estimating the topology on the filtered data set results in a topology with enhanced bootstrap support. From this analysis, the polyphyletic status of the fungal phyla Chytridiomycota and Zygomycota is reinforced, suggesting the necessity of revisiting the systematics of these fungal groups. We show the ability of influence function to produce new evolution hypotheses.

  3. Social cognitive conflict resolution: Contributions of domain general and domain specific neural systems

    PubMed Central

    Zaki, Jamil; Hennigan, Kelly; Weber, Jochen; Ochsner, Kevin N.

    2010-01-01

    Cognitive control mechanisms allow individuals to behave adaptively in the face of complex and sometimes conflicting information. While the neural bases of these control mechanisms have been examined in many contexts, almost no attention has been paid to their role in resolving conflicts between competing social cues, which is surprising, given that cognitive conflicts are part of many social interactions. Evidence about the neural processing of social information suggests that two systems—the mirror neuron system (MNS) and mental state attribution system (MSAS)—are specialized for processing nonverbal and contextual social cues, respectively. This could support a model of social cognitive conflict resolution in which competition between social cues would recruit domain-general cognitive control mechanisms, which in turn would bias processing towards the MNS or MSAS. Such biasing could also alter social behaviors, such as inferences made about the internal states of others. We tested this model by scanning participants using fMRI while they drew inferences about social targets' emotional states based on congruent or incongruent nonverbal and contextual social cues. Conflicts between social cues recruited the anterior cingulate and lateral prefrontal cortex, brain areas associated with domain-general control processes. This activation was accompanied by biasing of neural activity towards areas in the MNS or MSAS, which tracked, respectively, with perceivers' behavioral reliance on nonverbal or contextual cues when drawing inferences about targets' emotions. Together, these data provide evidence about both domain general and domain specific mechanisms involved in resolving social cognitive conflicts. PMID:20573895

  4. Inferring common cognitive mechanisms from brain blood-flow lateralization data: a new methodology for fTCD analysis.

    PubMed

    Meyer, Georg F; Spray, Amy; Fairlie, Jo E; Uomini, Natalie T

    2014-01-01

    Current neuroimaging techniques with high spatial resolution constrain participant motion so that many natural tasks cannot be carried out. The aim of this paper is to show how a time-locked correlation-analysis of cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) lateralization data, obtained with functional TransCranial Doppler (fTCD) ultrasound, can be used to infer cerebral activation patterns across tasks. In a first experiment we demonstrate that the proposed analysis method results in data that are comparable with the standard Lateralization Index (LI) for within-task comparisons of CBFV patterns, recorded during cued word generation (CWG) at two difficulty levels. In the main experiment we demonstrate that the proposed analysis method shows correlated blood-flow patterns for two different cognitive tasks that are known to draw on common brain areas, CWG, and Music Synthesis. We show that CBFV patterns for Music and CWG are correlated only for participants with prior musical training. CBFV patterns for tasks that draw on distinct brain areas, the Tower of London and CWG, are not correlated. The proposed methodology extends conventional fTCD analysis by including temporal information in the analysis of cerebral blood-flow patterns to provide a robust, non-invasive method to infer whether common brain areas are used in different cognitive tasks. It complements conventional high resolution imaging techniques.

  5. Reading Processing Skills among EFL Learners in Different Proficiency Levels

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dhanapala, Kusumi Vasantha; Yamada, Jun

    2015-01-01

    This study aims to understand how EFL learners in different reading proficiency levels comprehend L2 texts, using five-component skills involving measures of (1) vocabulary knowledge, (2) drawing inferences and predictions, (3) knowledge of text structure and discourse organization, (4) identifying the main idea and summarizing skills, and (5)…

  6. Innovative Mixed-Methods Research: Moving beyond Design Technicalities to Epistemological and Methodological Realizations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Riazi, A. Mehdi

    2016-01-01

    Mixed-methods research (MMR), as an inter-discourse (quantitative and qualitative) methodology, can provide applied linguistics researchers the opportunity to draw on and integrate the strengths of the two research methodological approaches in favour of making more rigorous inferences about research problems. In this article, the argument is made…

  7. Attendance and Exam Performance at University: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Allen, David O.; Webber, Don J.

    2010-01-01

    The link between absenteeism and students' academic performance at university is perpetually a hot topic for teaching academics. Most studies suggest the effect is negative, although the strength of this effect is in dispute. The issue is complicated further when researchers draw their inferences from different angles, such as the removal of a…

  8. Art History and Archaeology: A Symbiotic Relationship.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Labadie, John Antoine; Labadie, Joseph Henry

    The way archaeologists use tools and draw inferences about them to disembed meaning from artworks is examined. The prehistoric rock paintings of the Lower Pecos River (Texas) are used to illustrate these ideas. An overview of this rock art, specifically the Amistad reservoir, is provided. The deductions of archaeologists about the semi-nomadic…

  9. Assessing Clark's nutcracker seed-caching flights using maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA of whitebark pine

    Treesearch

    Bryce A. Richardson; Ned B. Klopfenstein; Steven J. Brunsfeld

    2002-01-01

    Maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA haplotypes in whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.) were used to examine the maternal genetic structure at three hierarchical spatial scales: fine scale, coarse scale, and interpopulation. These data were used to draw inferences into Clark’s nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana Wilson)...

  10. A Novel Method for Assigning R, S Labels to Enantiomers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huheey, James E.

    1986-01-01

    Discusses ways of teaching students about how to assign R (rectus) and S (sinister) labels to enantiomers by using their hands as models. The chirality of the human hands follows the Cahn-Ingold-Prelog Rules for assigning enantiomers and infers the correct chirality of molecules shown in two-dimensional drawings. (TW)

  11. Bayesian statistics: estimating plant demographic parameters

    Treesearch

    James S. Clark; Michael Lavine

    2001-01-01

    There are times when external information should be brought tobear on an ecological analysis. experiments are never conducted in a knowledge-free context. The inference we draw from an observation may depend on everything else we know about the process. Bayesian analysis is a method that brings outside evidence into the analysis of experimental and observational data...

  12. Thinking Games: Book 1. Occasional Papers 15.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Valerie; Bereiter, Carl

    This book lists procedures, materials, special problems, and variations for playing 54 games designed to help children use their thinking abilities in play. The games presented were designed primarily for use in school with children aged 5-9. They give practice in such skills as planning, drawing inferences, seeing things from other points of…

  13. English and Film: Connecting Children to the World

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reid, Mark

    2015-01-01

    This paper explores the processes behind drawing different kinds of inference from a single short film. It examines the range knowledge that groups of viewers are able to derive from listening to film sound, and from summarizing the work of a whole film, using the concepts of "aesthetic" and "efferent" reading set out by Louise…

  14. The Effect of the Government-Subsidized Student Loan Program on College Students in China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cheng, Baoyan

    2011-01-01

    Using an original dataset collected at a Chinese university and adopting a difference-in-differences research design, this study draws causal inferences regarding the effect of the Government-Subsidized Student Loan Program (GSSLP) on financially needy students at Chinese higher education institutions. Specifically, this study finds that the…

  15. Words Are Not Enough: How Preschoolers' Integration of Perspective and Emotion Informs Their Referential Understanding

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Graham, Susan A.; San Juan, Valerie; Khu, Melanie

    2017-01-01

    When linguistic information alone does not clarify a speaker's intended meaning, skilled communicators can draw on a variety of cues to infer communicative intent. In this paper, we review research examining the developmental emergence of preschoolers' sensitivity to a communicative partner's perspective. We focus particularly on preschoolers'…

  16. Using Informal Inferential Reasoning to Develop Formal Concepts: Analyzing an Activity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weinberg, Aaron; Wiesner, Emilie; Pfaff, Thomas J.

    2010-01-01

    Inferential reasoning is a central component of statistics. Researchers have suggested that students should develop an informal understanding of the ideas that underlie inference before learning the concepts formally. This paper presents a hands-on activity that is designed to help students in an introductory statistics course draw informal…

  17. The Costs of Supervised Classification: The Effect of Learning Task on Conceptual Flexibility

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoffman, Aaron B.; Rehder, Bob

    2010-01-01

    Research has shown that learning a concept via standard supervised classification leads to a focus on diagnostic features, whereas learning by inferring missing features promotes the acquisition of within-category information. Accordingly, we predicted that classification learning would produce a deficit in people's ability to draw "novel…

  18. The Effects of Translanguaging on the Bi-Literate Inferencing Strategies of Fourth Grade Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mgijima, Vukile Desmond; Makalela, Leketi

    2016-01-01

    Previous research suggests that enhanced cognitive and metacognitive skills are achieved when translanguaging techniques are applied in a multilingual classroom. This paper presents findings on the effects of translanguaging techniques on teaching grade 4 learners how to apply relevant background knowledge when drawing inferences during reading.…

  19. Interfering with free recall of words: Detrimental effects of phonological competition.

    PubMed

    Fernandes, Myra A; Wammes, Jeffrey D; Priselac, Sandra; Moscovitch, Morris

    2016-09-01

    We examined the effect of different distracting tasks, performed concurrently during memory retrieval, on recall of a list of words. By manipulating the type of material and processing (semantic, orthographic, and phonological) required in the distracting task, and comparing the magnitude of memory interference produced, we aimed to infer the kind of representation upon which retrieval of words depends. In Experiment 1, identifying odd digits concurrently during free recall disrupted memory, relative to a full attention condition, when the numbers were presented orthographically (e.g. nineteen), but not numerically (e.g. 19). In Experiment 2, a distracting task that required phonological-based decisions to either word or picture material produced large, but equivalent effects on recall of words. In Experiment 3, phonological-based decisions to pictures in a distracting task disrupted recall more than when the same pictures required semantically-based size estimations. In Experiment 4, a distracting task that required syllable decisions to line drawings interfered significantly with recall, while an equally difficult semantically-based color-decision task about the same line drawings, did not. Together, these experiments demonstrate that the degree of memory interference experienced during recall of words depends primarily on whether the distracting task competes for phonological representations or processes, and less on competition for semantic or orthographic or material-specific representations or processes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Research designs and making causal inferences from health care studies.

    PubMed

    Flannelly, Kevin J; Jankowski, Katherine R B

    2014-01-01

    This article summarizes the major types of research designs used in healthcare research, including experimental, quasi-experimental, and observational studies. Observational studies are divided into survey studies (descriptive and correlational studies), case-studies and analytic studies, the last of which are commonly used in epidemiology: case-control, retrospective cohort, and prospective cohort studies. Similarities and differences among the research designs are described and the relative strength of evidence they provide is discussed. Emphasis is placed on five criteria for drawing causal inferences that are derived from the writings of the philosopher John Stuart Mill, especially his methods or canons. The application of the criteria to experimentation is explained. Particular attention is given to the degree to which different designs meet the five criteria for making causal inferences. Examples of specific studies that have used various designs in chaplaincy research are provided.

  1. Thermal Infrared Imaging-Based Computational Psychophysiology for Psychometrics.

    PubMed

    Cardone, Daniela; Pinti, Paola; Merla, Arcangelo

    2015-01-01

    Thermal infrared imaging has been proposed as a potential system for the computational assessment of human autonomic nervous activity and psychophysiological states in a contactless and noninvasive way. Through bioheat modeling of facial thermal imagery, several vital signs can be extracted, including localized blood perfusion, cardiac pulse, breath rate, and sudomotor response, since all these parameters impact the cutaneous temperature. The obtained physiological information could then be used to draw inferences about a variety of psychophysiological or affective states, as proved by the increasing number of psychophysiological studies using thermal infrared imaging. This paper presents therefore a review of the principal achievements of thermal infrared imaging in computational physiology with regard to its capability of monitoring psychophysiological activity.

  2. Semantically-based priors and nuanced knowledge core for Big Data, Social AI, and language understanding.

    PubMed

    Olsher, Daniel

    2014-10-01

    Noise-resistant and nuanced, COGBASE makes 10 million pieces of commonsense data and a host of novel reasoning algorithms available via a family of semantically-driven prior probability distributions. Machine learning, Big Data, natural language understanding/processing, and social AI can draw on COGBASE to determine lexical semantics, infer goals and interests, simulate emotion and affect, calculate document gists and topic models, and link commonsense knowledge to domain models and social, spatial, cultural, and psychological data. COGBASE is especially ideal for social Big Data, which tends to involve highly implicit contexts, cognitive artifacts, difficult-to-parse texts, and deep domain knowledge dependencies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. The Role of Innate Immunity in Conditioning Mosquito Susceptibility to West Nile Virus

    PubMed Central

    Prasad, Abhishek N.; Brackney, Doug. E.; Ebel, Gregory D.

    2013-01-01

    Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) represent an emerging threat to human and livestock health globally. In particular, those transmitted by mosquitoes present the greatest challenges to disease control efforts. An understanding of the molecular basis for mosquito innate immunity to arbovirus infection is therefore critical to investigations regarding arbovirus evolution, virus-vector ecology, and mosquito vector competence. In this review, we discuss the current state of understanding regarding mosquito innate immunity to West Nile virus. We draw from the literature with respect to other virus-vector pairings to attempt to draw inferences to gaps in our knowledge about West Nile virus and relevant vectors. PMID:24351797

  4. Logic programming and metadata specifications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lopez, Antonio M., Jr.; Saacks, Marguerite E.

    1992-01-01

    Artificial intelligence (AI) ideas and techniques are critical to the development of intelligent information systems that will be used to collect, manipulate, and retrieve the vast amounts of space data produced by 'Missions to Planet Earth.' Natural language processing, inference, and expert systems are at the core of this space application of AI. This paper presents logic programming as an AI tool that can support inference (the ability to draw conclusions from a set of complicated and interrelated facts). It reports on the use of logic programming in the study of metadata specifications for a small problem domain of airborne sensors, and the dataset characteristics and pointers that are needed for data access.

  5. A Proposal to Develop Interactive Classification Technology

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    deBessonet, Cary

    1998-01-01

    Research for the first year was oriented towards: 1) the design of an interactive classification tool (ICT); and 2) the development of an appropriate theory of inference for use in ICT technology. The general objective was to develop a theory of classification that could accommodate a diverse array of objects, including events and their constituent objects. Throughout this report, the term "object" is to be interpreted in a broad sense to cover any kind of object, including living beings, non-living physical things, events, even ideas and concepts. The idea was to produce a theory that could serve as the uniting fabric of a base technology capable of being implemented in a variety of automated systems. The decision was made to employ two technologies under development by the principal investigator, namely, SMS (Symbolic Manipulation System) and SL (Symbolic Language) [see debessonet, 1991, for detailed descriptions of SMS and SL]. The plan was to enhance and modify these technologies for use in an ICT environment. As a means of giving focus and direction to the proposed research, the investigators decided to design an interactive, classificatory tool for use in building accessible knowledge bases for selected domains. Accordingly, the proposed research was divisible into tasks that included: 1) the design of technology for classifying domain objects and for building knowledge bases from the results automatically; 2) the development of a scheme of inference capable of drawing upon previously processed classificatory schemes and knowledge bases; and 3) the design of a query/ search module for accessing the knowledge bases built by the inclusive system. The interactive tool for classifying domain objects was to be designed initially for textual corpora with a view to having the technology eventually be used in robots to build sentential knowledge bases that would be supported by inference engines specially designed for the natural or man-made environments in which the robots would be called upon to operate.

  6. Cognitive neuropsychology and its vicissitudes: The fate of Caramazza's axioms.

    PubMed

    Shallice, Tim

    2015-01-01

    Cognitive neuropsychology is characterized as the discipline in which one draws conclusions about the organization of the normal cognitive systems from the behaviour of brain-damaged individuals. In a series of papers, Caramazza, later in collaboration with McCloskey, put forward four assumptions as the bridge principles for making such inferences. Four potential pitfalls, one for each axiom, are discussed with respect to the use of single-case methods. Two of the pitfalls also apply to case series and group study procedures, and the other two are held to be indirectly testable or avoidable. Moreover, four other pitfalls are held to apply to case series or group study methods. It is held that inferences from single-case procedures may profitably be supported or rejected using case series/group study methods, but also that analogous support needs to be given in the other direction for functionally based case series or group studies. It is argued that at least six types of neuropsychological method are valuable for extrapolation to theories of the normal cognitive system but that the single- or multiple-case study remains a critical part of cognitive neuropsychology's methods.

  7. Reasoning on the Basis of Fantasy Content: Two Studies with High-Functioning Autistic Adolescents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morsanyi, Kinga; Handley, Simon J.

    2012-01-01

    Reasoning about problems with empirically false content can be hard, as the inferences that people draw are heavily influenced by their background knowledge. However, presenting empirically false premises in a fantasy context helps children and adolescents to disregard their beliefs, and to reason on the basis of the premises. The aim of the…

  8. Metaphor as a Methodological Tool: Identifying Teachers' Social Justice Dispositions across Diverse Secondary School Settings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mills, Carmen; Molla, Tebeje; Gale, Trevor; Cross, Russell; Parker, Stephen; Smith, Catherine

    2017-01-01

    This article investigates the social justice dispositions of teachers and principals in secondary schools as inferred from their metaphoric expressions. Drawing on a Bourdieuian account of disposition, our focus is the use of metaphor as a methodological tool to identify and reveal these otherwise latent forces within our data. Our analysis shows…

  9. Changes in Visual/Spatial and Analytic Strategy Use in Organic Chemistry with the Development of Expertise

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vlacholia, Maria; Vosniadou, Stella; Roussos, Petros; Salta, Katerina; Kazi, Smaragda; Sigalas, Michael; Tzougraki, Chryssa

    2017-01-01

    We present two studies that investigated the adoption of visual/spatial and analytic strategies by individuals at different levels of expertise in the area of organic chemistry, using the Visual Analytic Chemistry Task (VACT). The VACT allows the direct detection of analytic strategy use without drawing inferences about underlying mental…

  10. Responses on a Lateralized Lexical Decision Task Relate to both Reading Times and Comprehension

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Michael, Mary

    2009-01-01

    Research over the last few years has shown that the dominance of the left hemisphere in language processing is less complete than previously thought [Beeman, M. (1993). "Semantic processing in the right hemisphere may contribute to drawing inferences from discourse." "Brain and Language," 44, 80-120; Faust, M., & Chiarello, C. (1998). "Sentence…

  11. Spatial Reasoning with External Visualizations: What Matters Is What You See, Not whether You Interact

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keehner, Madeleine; Hegarty, Mary; Cohen, Cheryl; Khooshabeh, Peter; Montello, Daniel R.

    2008-01-01

    Three experiments examined the effects of interactive visualizations and spatial abilities on a task requiring participants to infer and draw cross sections of a three-dimensional (3D) object. The experiments manipulated whether participants could interactively control a virtual 3D visualization of the object while performing the task, and…

  12. Exploration

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Wilburn, D.R.; Porter, K.E.

    1999-01-01

    This summary of international nonfuel mineral exploration activities for 1998 draws on available data from literature, industry and US Geological Survey (USGS) specialists. Data on exploration budgets by region and commodity are reported, significant mineral discoveries and exploration target areas are identified and government programs affecting the mineral exploration industry are discussed. Inferences and observations on mineral industry direction are drawn from these data and discussions.

  13. Exploration

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Wilburn, D.R.

    1998-01-01

    This summary of international nonfuel mineral exploration activities for 1997 draws upon available data from literature, industry and US Geological Sulvey (USGS) specialists. Data on exploration budgets by region and commodity are reported, significant mineral discoveries and exploration target areas are identified and government programs affecting the mineral exploration industry are discussed. Inferences and observations on mineral industry direction are drawn from these data and discussions.

  14. The impact of representation format and task instruction on student understanding in science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stephenson, Susan Raatz

    The purpose of this study is to examine how representation format and task instructions impact student learning in a science domain. Learning outcomes were assessed via measures of mental model, declarative knowledge, and knowledge inference. Students were asked to use one of two forms of representation, either drawing or writing, during study of a science text. Further, instructions (summarize vs. explain) were varied to determine if students' intended use of the presentation influenced learning. Thus, this study used a 2 (drawing vs. writing) X 2 (summarize vs. explain) between-subjects design. Drawing was hypothesized to require integration across learning materials regardless of task instructions, because drawings (by definition) require learners to integrate new information into a visual representation. Learning outcomes associated with writing were hypothesized to depend upon task instructions: when asked to summarize, writing should result in reproduction of text; when asked to explain, writing should emphasize integration processes. Because integration processes require connecting and analyzing new and prior information, it also was predicted that drawing (across both conditions of task instructions) and writing (when combined the explain task instructions only) would result in increased metacognitive monitoring. Metacognitive monitoring was assessed indirectly via responses to metacognitive prompts interspersed throughout the study.

  15. Active interoceptive inference and the emotional brain

    PubMed Central

    Friston, Karl J.

    2016-01-01

    We review a recent shift in conceptions of interoception and its relationship to hierarchical inference in the brain. The notion of interoceptive inference means that bodily states are regulated by autonomic reflexes that are enslaved by descending predictions from deep generative models of our internal and external milieu. This re-conceptualization illuminates several issues in cognitive and clinical neuroscience with implications for experiences of selfhood and emotion. We first contextualize interoception in terms of active (Bayesian) inference in the brain, highlighting its enactivist (embodied) aspects. We then consider the key role of uncertainty or precision and how this might translate into neuromodulation. We next examine the implications for understanding the functional anatomy of the emotional brain, surveying recent observations on agranular cortex. Finally, we turn to theoretical issues, namely, the role of interoception in shaping a sense of embodied self and feelings. We will draw links between physiological homoeostasis and allostasis, early cybernetic ideas of predictive control and hierarchical generative models in predictive processing. The explanatory scope of interoceptive inference ranges from explanations for autism and depression, through to consciousness. We offer a brief survey of these exciting developments. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Interoception beyond homeostasis: affect, cognition and mental health’. PMID:28080966

  16. Four Methods for Analyzing Partial Interval Recording Data, with Application to Single-Case Research.

    PubMed

    Pustejovsky, James E; Swan, Daniel M

    2015-01-01

    Partial interval recording (PIR) is a procedure for collecting measurements during direct observation of behavior. It is used in several areas of educational and psychological research, particularly in connection with single-case research. Measurements collected using partial interval recording suffer from construct invalidity because they are not readily interpretable in terms of the underlying characteristics of the behavior. Using an alternating renewal process model for the behavior under observation, we demonstrate that ignoring the construct invalidity of PIR data can produce misleading inferences, such as inferring that an intervention reduces the prevalence of an undesirable behavior when in fact it has the opposite effect. We then propose four different methods for analyzing PIR summary measurements, each of which can be used to draw inferences about interpretable behavioral parameters. We demonstrate the methods by applying them to data from two single-case studies of problem behavior.

  17. Inferring Functional Neural Connectivity with Phase Synchronization Analysis: A Review of Methodology

    PubMed Central

    Sun, Junfeng; Li, Zhijun; Tong, Shanbao

    2012-01-01

    Functional neural connectivity is drawing increasing attention in neuroscience research. To infer functional connectivity from observed neural signals, various methods have been proposed. Among them, phase synchronization analysis is an important and effective one which examines the relationship of instantaneous phase between neural signals but neglecting the influence of their amplitudes. In this paper, we review the advances in methodologies of phase synchronization analysis. In particular, we discuss the definitions of instantaneous phase, the indexes of phase synchronization and their significance test, the issues that may affect the detection of phase synchronization and the extensions of phase synchronization analysis. In practice, phase synchronization analysis may be affected by observational noise, insufficient samples of the signals, volume conduction, and reference in recording neural signals. We make comments and suggestions on these issues so as to better apply phase synchronization analysis to inferring functional connectivity from neural signals. PMID:22577470

  18. Evidence of a transnational arts and health practice methodology? A contextual framing for comparative community-based participatory arts practice in the UK and Mexico

    PubMed Central

    Raw, Anni; Mantecón, Ana Rosas

    2014-01-01

    Background This paper draws on new research exploring community-based, participatory arts practice in Northern England and Mexico City to discuss contextual influences on artists’ practice, and whether a common practice model can be identified. The international comparison is used to interrogate whether such a practice model is transnational, displaying shared characteristics that transcend contextual differences. Methods The study used multi-site ethnography to investigate the participatory practice of more than 40 artists. Participant observation and extended individual and group dialogues provided data on practice in a diverse range of art forms and settings, analysed using open coding and grounded theory principles. Results Findings locate differences in practitioners’ motivations, and perceptions of the work’s function; however, key similarities emerge across both sites, in practitioners’ workshop methodologies and crucially in their creative strategies for catalysing change. A model is presented distilling the key elements of a common practice methodology, found across the study and across art forms. Conclusions The discussion notes where divergences echo nationalities of contributors, drawing inferences about the level of influence of national context in this work, and concludes with the implications of these findings for potential international collaboration, to face challenges within the community arts and health sector globally. PMID:25729411

  19. The Influence of Motion Cues on Driver-Vehicle Performance in a Simulator

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Repa, B. S.; Leucht, P. M.; Wierwille, W. W.

    1981-01-01

    Four different motion base configurations were studied on driving simulator. Differently responding vehicles were simulated on each motion configurations and the effects of the vehicle characteristics on driver vehicle system performance, driver control activity, and driver opinion ratings of vehicle performance during driving are compared for different motion configurations. Data show that: (1)) the effects of changes in vehicle characteristics on the different objective and subjective measures of driver vehicle performance are not disguised by the lack of physical motion; (2) fixed base simulator can be used to draw inferences despite the lack of motion; (3) the presence of motion tends to reduce path keeping errors and driver control activity; (4) roll and yaw motions are recommended because of their marked influence on driver vehicle performance (5) the importance of motion increases as the driving maneuvers become more extreme.

  20. Computer Assisted Multi-Center Creation of Medical Knowledge Bases

    PubMed Central

    Giuse, Nunzia Bettinsoli; Giuse, Dario A.; Miller, Randolph A.

    1988-01-01

    Computer programs which support different aspects of medical care have been developed in recent years. Their capabilities range from diagnosis to medical imaging, and include hospital management systems and therapy prescription. In spite of their diversity these systems have one commonality: their reliance on a large body of medical knowledge in computer-readable form. This knowledge enables such programs to draw inferences, validate hypotheses, and in general to perform their intended task. As has been clear to developers of such systems, however, the creation and maintenance of medical knowledge bases are very expensive. Practical and economical difficulties encountered during this long-term process have discouraged most attempts. This paper discusses knowledge base creation and maintenance, with special emphasis on medical applications. We first describe the methods currently used and their limitations. We then present our recent work on developing tools and methodologies which will assist in the process of creating a medical knowledge base. We focus, in particular, on the possibility of multi-center creation of the knowledge base.

  1. A normative inference approach for optimal sample sizes in decisions from experience

    PubMed Central

    Ostwald, Dirk; Starke, Ludger; Hertwig, Ralph

    2015-01-01

    “Decisions from experience” (DFE) refers to a body of work that emerged in research on behavioral decision making over the last decade. One of the major experimental paradigms employed to study experience-based choice is the “sampling paradigm,” which serves as a model of decision making under limited knowledge about the statistical structure of the world. In this paradigm respondents are presented with two payoff distributions, which, in contrast to standard approaches in behavioral economics, are specified not in terms of explicit outcome-probability information, but by the opportunity to sample outcomes from each distribution without economic consequences. Participants are encouraged to explore the distributions until they feel confident enough to decide from which they would prefer to draw from in a final trial involving real monetary payoffs. One commonly employed measure to characterize the behavior of participants in the sampling paradigm is the sample size, that is, the number of outcome draws which participants choose to obtain from each distribution prior to terminating sampling. A natural question that arises in this context concerns the “optimal” sample size, which could be used as a normative benchmark to evaluate human sampling behavior in DFE. In this theoretical study, we relate the DFE sampling paradigm to the classical statistical decision theoretic literature and, under a probabilistic inference assumption, evaluate optimal sample sizes for DFE. In our treatment we go beyond analytically established results by showing how the classical statistical decision theoretic framework can be used to derive optimal sample sizes under arbitrary, but numerically evaluable, constraints. Finally, we critically evaluate the value of deriving optimal sample sizes under this framework as testable predictions for the experimental study of sampling behavior in DFE. PMID:26441720

  2. Using the Coefficient of Confidence to Make the Philosophical Switch from a Posteriori to a Priori Inferential Statistics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trafimow, David

    2017-01-01

    There has been much controversy over the null hypothesis significance testing procedure, with much of the criticism centered on the problem of inverse inference. Specifically, p gives the probability of the finding (or one more extreme) given the null hypothesis, whereas the null hypothesis significance testing procedure involves drawing a…

  3. 40 CFR 305.4 - Powers and duties of the Review Officer and the Presiding Officer; disqualification.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... service of documentation requirements contained in § 305.5(b)(2). The Review Officer shall exercise all... documentary or other evidence; (5) Order a party, or an officer or agent thereof, for good cause, upon motion... production thereof without good cause being shown, draw adverse inferences against that party; (6) Admit or...

  4. Sixth-Grade Students' Reasoning on the Order Relation of Integers as Influenced by Prior Experience: An Inferentialist Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schindler, Maike; Hußmann, Stephan; Nilsson, Per; Bakker, Arthur

    2017-01-01

    Negative numbers are among the first formalizations students encounter in their mathematics learning that clearly differ from out-of-school experiences. What has not sufficiently been addressed in previous research is the question of how students draw on their prior experiences when reasoning on negative numbers and how they infer from these…

  5. Reflections Stimulated by the Comments of Shadish (2010) and West and Thoemmes (2010)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rubin, Donald B.

    2010-01-01

    This article offers reflections on the development of the Rubin causal model (RCM), which were stimulated by the impressive discussions of the RCM and Campbell's superb contributions to the practical problems of drawing causal inferences written by Will Shadish (2010) and Steve West and Felix Thoemmes (2010). It is not a rejoinder in any real…

  6. Inferring Learning from Big Data: The Importance of a Transdisciplinary and Multidimensional Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lodge, Jason M.; Alhadad, Sakinah S. J.; Lewis, Melinda J.; Gaševic, Dragan

    2017-01-01

    The use of big data in higher education has evolved rapidly with a focus on the practical application of new tools and methods for supporting learning. In this paper, we depart from the core emphasis on application and delve into a mostly neglected aspect of the big data conversation in higher education. Drawing on developments in cognate…

  7. An NCME Instructional Module on Item-Fit Statistics for Item Response Theory Models

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ames, Allison J.; Penfield, Randall D.

    2015-01-01

    Drawing valid inferences from item response theory (IRT) models is contingent upon a good fit of the data to the model. Violations of model-data fit have numerous consequences, limiting the usefulness and applicability of the model. This instructional module provides an overview of methods used for evaluating the fit of IRT models. Upon completing…

  8. Gate-Keeping and the Ambiguities in the Nature of "Informed Consent" in Confucian Societies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Katyal, Kokila Roy

    2011-01-01

    Scholars of international and comparative education have long endorsed the importance of context in conducting research. In this paper, I expand upon the theme to argue that just as educational policies and practices may be compromised in the process of transfer, so too may the research methodology used to draw inferences fail to resonate from one…

  9. Competence Assessment of Students with Special Educational Needs--Identification of Appropriate Testing Accommodations

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Südkamp, Anna; Pohl, Steffi; Weinert, Sabine

    2015-01-01

    Including students with special educational needs in learning (SEN-L) is a challenge for large-scale assessments. In order to draw inferences with respect to students with SEN-L and to compare their scores to students in general education, one needs to assure that the measurement model is reliable and that the same construct is measured for…

  10. Pre-treatment analysis of woody vegetation composition and structure on the hardwood ecosystem experiment research units

    Treesearch

    Michael R. Saunders; Justin E. Arseneault

    2013-01-01

    In long-term, large-scale forest management studies, documentation of pre-treatment differences among and variability within experimental units is critical for drawing the proper inferences from imposed treatments. We compared pre-treatment overstory and large shrub communities (diameters at breast height >1.5 cm) for the 9 research cores with the Hardwood Ecosystem...

  11. Methodological Challenges in the Analysis of MOOC Data for Exploring the Relationship between Discussion Forum Views and Learning Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bergner, Yoav; Kerr, Deirdre; Pritchard, David E.

    2015-01-01

    Determining how learners use MOOCs effectively is critical to providing feedback to instructors, schools, and policy-makers on this highly scalable technology. However, drawing inferences about student learning outcomes in MOOCs has proven to be quite difficult due to large amounts of missing data (of various kinds) and to the diverse population…

  12. Thermal Infrared Imaging-Based Computational Psychophysiology for Psychometrics

    PubMed Central

    Cardone, Daniela; Pinti, Paola; Merla, Arcangelo

    2015-01-01

    Thermal infrared imaging has been proposed as a potential system for the computational assessment of human autonomic nervous activity and psychophysiological states in a contactless and noninvasive way. Through bioheat modeling of facial thermal imagery, several vital signs can be extracted, including localized blood perfusion, cardiac pulse, breath rate, and sudomotor response, since all these parameters impact the cutaneous temperature. The obtained physiological information could then be used to draw inferences about a variety of psychophysiological or affective states, as proved by the increasing number of psychophysiological studies using thermal infrared imaging. This paper presents therefore a review of the principal achievements of thermal infrared imaging in computational physiology with regard to its capability of monitoring psychophysiological activity. PMID:26339284

  13. Agile science: creating useful products for behavior change in the real world.

    PubMed

    Hekler, Eric B; Klasnja, Predrag; Riley, William T; Buman, Matthew P; Huberty, Jennifer; Rivera, Daniel E; Martin, Cesar A

    2016-06-01

    Evidence-based practice is important for behavioral interventions but there is debate on how best to support real-world behavior change. The purpose of this paper is to define products and a preliminary process for efficiently and adaptively creating and curating a knowledge base for behavior change for real-world implementation. We look to evidence-based practice suggestions and draw parallels to software development. We argue to target three products: (1) the smallest, meaningful, self-contained, and repurposable behavior change modules of an intervention; (2) "computational models" that define the interaction between modules, individuals, and context; and (3) "personalization" algorithms, which are decision rules for intervention adaptation. The "agile science" process includes a generation phase whereby contender operational definitions and constructs of the three products are created and assessed for feasibility and an evaluation phase, whereby effect size estimates/casual inferences are created. The process emphasizes early-and-often sharing. If correct, agile science could enable a more robust knowledge base for behavior change.

  14. 42 CFR 423.2010 - When CMS, the IRE, or Part D plan sponsors may participate in an ALJ hearing.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... Part D plan sponsor to participate must be made within 5 calendar days of receipt of the notice of hearing. (2) Within 5 calendar days of receipt of a request to participate in a non-expedited hearing, the... the timeframe designated by the ALJ. (g) The ALJ cannot draw any adverse inferences if CMS, the IRE...

  15. 42 CFR 423.2010 - When CMS, the IRE, or Part D plan sponsors may participate in an ALJ hearing.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... Part D plan sponsor to participate must be made within 5 calendar days of receipt of the notice of hearing. (2) Within 5 calendar days of receipt of a request to participate in a non-expedited hearing, the... the timeframe designated by the ALJ. (g) The ALJ cannot draw any adverse inferences if CMS, the IRE...

  16. Why the Kantian ideal survives medical learning curves, and why it matters.

    PubMed

    Brecher, B

    2006-09-01

    The "Kantian ideal" is often misunderstood as invoking individual autonomy rather than rational self legislation. Le Morvan and Stock's otherwise insightful discussion of "Medical learning curves and the Kantian ideal"--for example--draws the mistaken inference that that ideal is inconsistent with the realities of medical practice. But it is not. Rationally to be a patient entails accepting its necessary conditions.

  17. Assimilating multi-source uncertainties of a parsimonious conceptual hydrological model using hierarchical Bayesian modeling

    Treesearch

    Wei Wu; James Clark; James Vose

    2010-01-01

    Hierarchical Bayesian (HB) modeling allows for multiple sources of uncertainty by factoring complex relationships into conditional distributions that can be used to draw inference and make predictions. We applied an HB model to estimate the parameters and state variables of a parsimonious hydrological model – GR4J – by coherently assimilating the uncertainties from the...

  18. A bayesian translational framework for knowledge propagation, discovery, and integration under specific contexts.

    PubMed

    Deng, Michelle; Zollanvari, Amin; Alterovitz, Gil

    2012-01-01

    The immense corpus of biomedical literature existing today poses challenges in information search and integration. Many links between pieces of knowledge occur or are significant only under certain contexts-rather than under the entire corpus. This study proposes using networks of ontology concepts, linked based on their co-occurrences in annotations of abstracts of biomedical literature and descriptions of experiments, to draw conclusions based on context-specific queries and to better integrate existing knowledge. In particular, a Bayesian network framework is constructed to allow for the linking of related terms from two biomedical ontologies under the queried context concept. Edges in such a Bayesian network allow associations between biomedical concepts to be quantified and inference to be made about the existence of some concepts given prior information about others. This approach could potentially be a powerful inferential tool for context-specific queries, applicable to ontologies in other fields as well.

  19. A Bayesian Translational Framework for Knowledge Propagation, Discovery, and Integration Under Specific Contexts

    PubMed Central

    Deng, Michelle; Zollanvari, Amin; Alterovitz, Gil

    2012-01-01

    The immense corpus of biomedical literature existing today poses challenges in information search and integration. Many links between pieces of knowledge occur or are significant only under certain contexts—rather than under the entire corpus. This study proposes using networks of ontology concepts, linked based on their co-occurrences in annotations of abstracts of biomedical literature and descriptions of experiments, to draw conclusions based on context-specific queries and to better integrate existing knowledge. In particular, a Bayesian network framework is constructed to allow for the linking of related terms from two biomedical ontologies under the queried context concept. Edges in such a Bayesian network allow associations between biomedical concepts to be quantified and inference to be made about the existence of some concepts given prior information about others. This approach could potentially be a powerful inferential tool for context-specific queries, applicable to ontologies in other fields as well. PMID:22779044

  20. The Centipede Genus Scolopendra in Mainland Southeast Asia: Molecular Phylogenetics, Geometric Morphometrics and External Morphology as Tools for Species Delimitation

    PubMed Central

    Siriwut, Warut; Edgecombe, Gregory D.; Sutcharit, Chirasak; Panha, Somsak

    2015-01-01

    Seven Scolopendra species from the Southeast Asian mainland delimited based on standard external morphological characters represent monophyletic groups in phylogenetic trees inferred from concatenated sequences of three gene fragments (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1, 16S rRNA and 28S rRNA) using Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. Geometric morphometric description of shape variation in the cephalic plate, forcipular coxosternite, and tergite of the ultimate leg-bearing segment provides additional criteria for distinguishing species. Colouration patterns in some Scolopendra species show a high degree of fit to phylogenetic trees at the population level. The most densely sampled species, Scolopendra dehaani Brandt, 1840, has three subclades with allopatric distributions in mainland SE Asia. The molecular phylogeny of S. pinguis Pocock, 1891, indicated ontogenetic colour variation among its populations. The taxonomic validation of S. dawydoffi Kronmüller, 2012, S. japonica Koch, 1878, and S. dehaani Brandt, 1840, each a former subspecies of S. subspinipes Leach, 1814 sensu Lewis, 2010, as full species was supported by molecular information and additional morphological data. Species delimitation in these taxonomically challenging animals is facilitated by an integrative approach that draws on both morphology and molecular phylogeny. PMID:26270342

  1. Time-dependent summary receiver operating characteristics for meta-analysis of prognostic studies.

    PubMed

    Hattori, Satoshi; Zhou, Xiao-Hua

    2016-11-20

    Prognostic studies are widely conducted to examine whether biomarkers are associated with patient's prognoses and play important roles in medical decisions. Because findings from one prognostic study may be very limited, meta-analyses may be useful to obtain sound evidence. However, prognostic studies are often analyzed by relying on a study-specific cut-off value, which can lead to difficulty in applying the standard meta-analysis techniques. In this paper, we propose two methods to estimate a time-dependent version of the summary receiver operating characteristics curve for meta-analyses of prognostic studies with a right-censored time-to-event outcome. We introduce a bivariate normal model for the pair of time-dependent sensitivity and specificity and propose a method to form inferences based on summary statistics reported in published papers. This method provides a valid inference asymptotically. In addition, we consider a bivariate binomial model. To draw inferences from this bivariate binomial model, we introduce a multiple imputation method. The multiple imputation is found to be approximately proper multiple imputation, and thus the standard Rubin's variance formula is justified from a Bayesian view point. Our simulation study and application to a real dataset revealed that both methods work well with a moderate or large number of studies and the bivariate binomial model coupled with the multiple imputation outperforms the bivariate normal model with a small number of studies. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Morphological Awareness in Literacy Acquisition of Chinese Second Graders: A Path Analysis.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Haomin

    2016-02-01

    The present study tested a path diagram regarding the contribution of morphological awareness (MA) to early literacy acquisition among Chinese-speaking second graders ([Formula: see text]). Three facets of MA were addressed, namely derivational awareness, compound awareness and compound structure awareness. The model aimed to test a theory of causal order among measures of MA and literacy outcomes. Drawing upon multivariate path analysis, direct and indirect effects of MA were analyzed to identify their role in literacy performance among young children. Results revealed that all three facets of MA made significant contributions to lexical inference ability. In addition, compound awareness showed a unique and significant contribution to vocabulary knowledge. It was also observed that lexical inference ability had a mediating effect predictive of both vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Moreover, vocabulary knowledge mediated the effect of MA on reading comprehension. However, no significant contribution of MA to reading comprehension was found after controlling for lexical inference ability and vocabulary knowledge.

  3. All giraffes have female-specific properties: influence of grammatical gender on deductive reasoning about sex-specific properties in German speakers.

    PubMed

    Imai, Mutsumi; Schalk, Lennart; Saalbach, Henrik; Okada, Hiroyuki

    2014-04-01

    Grammatical gender is independent of biological sex for the majority of animal names (e.g., any giraffe, be it male or female, is grammatically treated as feminine). However, there is apparent semantic motivation for grammatical gender classes, especially in mapping human terms to gender. This research investigated whether this motivation affects deductive inference in native German speakers. We compared German with Japanese speakers (a language without grammatical gender) when making inferences about sex-specific biological properties. We found that German speakers tended to erroneously draw inferences when the sex in the premise and grammatical gender of the target animal agreed. An over-generalization of the grammar-semantics mapping was found even when the sex of the target was explicitly indicated. However, these effects occurred only when gender-marking articles accompanied the nouns. These results suggest that German speakers project sex-specific biological properties onto gender-marking articles but not onto conceptual representations of animals per se. Copyright © 2013 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  4. Impact of Ice Ages on the genetic structure of trees and shrubs.

    PubMed Central

    Lascoux, Martin; Palmé, Anna E; Cheddadi, Rachid; Latta, Robert G

    2004-01-01

    Data on the genetic structure of tree and shrub populations on the continental scale have accumulated dramatically over the past decade. However, our ability to make inferences on the impact of the last ice age still depends crucially on the availability of informative palaeoecological data. This is well illustrated by the results from a recent project, during which new pollen fossil maps were established and the variation in chloroplast DNA was studied in 22 European species of trees and shrubs. Species exhibit very different levels of genetic variation between and within populations, and obviously went through very different histories after Ice Ages. However, when palaeoecological data are non-informative, inferences on past history are difficult to draw from entirely genetic data. On the other hand, as illustrated by a study in ponderosa pine, when we can infer the species' history with some certainty, coalescent simulations can be used and new hypotheses can be tested. PMID:15101576

  5. Phylogeography Takes a Relaxed Random Walk in Continuous Space and Time

    PubMed Central

    Lemey, Philippe; Rambaut, Andrew; Welch, John J.; Suchard, Marc A.

    2010-01-01

    Research aimed at understanding the geographic context of evolutionary histories is burgeoning across biological disciplines. Recent endeavors attempt to interpret contemporaneous genetic variation in the light of increasingly detailed geographical and environmental observations. Such interest has promoted the development of phylogeographic inference techniques that explicitly aim to integrate such heterogeneous data. One promising development involves reconstructing phylogeographic history on a continuous landscape. Here, we present a Bayesian statistical approach to infer continuous phylogeographic diffusion using random walk models while simultaneously reconstructing the evolutionary history in time from molecular sequence data. Moreover, by accommodating branch-specific variation in dispersal rates, we relax the most restrictive assumption of the standard Brownian diffusion process and demonstrate increased statistical efficiency in spatial reconstructions of overdispersed random walks by analyzing both simulated and real viral genetic data. We further illustrate how drawing inference about summary statistics from a fully specified stochastic process over both sequence evolution and spatial movement reveals important characteristics of a rabies epidemic. Together with recent advances in discrete phylogeographic inference, the continuous model developments furnish a flexible statistical framework for biogeographical reconstructions that is easily expanded upon to accommodate various landscape genetic features. PMID:20203288

  6. Social Cognition as Reinforcement Learning: Feedback Modulates Emotion Inference.

    PubMed

    Zaki, Jamil; Kallman, Seth; Wimmer, G Elliott; Ochsner, Kevin; Shohamy, Daphna

    2016-09-01

    Neuroscientific studies of social cognition typically employ paradigms in which perceivers draw single-shot inferences about the internal states of strangers. Real-world social inference features much different parameters: People often encounter and learn about particular social targets (e.g., friends) over time and receive feedback about whether their inferences are correct or incorrect. Here, we examined this process and, more broadly, the intersection between social cognition and reinforcement learning. Perceivers were scanned using fMRI while repeatedly encountering three social targets who produced conflicting visual and verbal emotional cues. Perceivers guessed how targets felt and received feedback about whether they had guessed correctly. Visual cues reliably predicted one target's emotion, verbal cues predicted a second target's emotion, and neither reliably predicted the third target's emotion. Perceivers successfully used this information to update their judgments over time. Furthermore, trial-by-trial learning signals-estimated using two reinforcement learning models-tracked activity in ventral striatum and ventromedial pFC, structures associated with reinforcement learning, and regions associated with updating social impressions, including TPJ. These data suggest that learning about others' emotions, like other forms of feedback learning, relies on domain-general reinforcement mechanisms as well as domain-specific social information processing.

  7. Memory-Based Simple Heuristics as Attribute Substitution: Competitive Tests of Binary Choice Inference Models.

    PubMed

    Honda, Hidehito; Matsuka, Toshihiko; Ueda, Kazuhiro

    2017-05-01

    Some researchers on binary choice inference have argued that people make inferences based on simple heuristics, such as recognition, fluency, or familiarity. Others have argued that people make inferences based on available knowledge. To examine the boundary between heuristic and knowledge usage, we examine binary choice inference processes in terms of attribute substitution in heuristic use (Kahneman & Frederick, 2005). In this framework, it is predicted that people will rely on heuristic or knowledge-based inference depending on the subjective difficulty of the inference task. We conducted competitive tests of binary choice inference models representing simple heuristics (fluency and familiarity heuristics) and knowledge-based inference models. We found that a simple heuristic model (especially a familiarity heuristic model) explained inference patterns for subjectively difficult inference tasks, and that a knowledge-based inference model explained subjectively easy inference tasks. These results were consistent with the predictions of the attribute substitution framework. Issues on usage of simple heuristics and psychological processes are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  8. Self-organizing maps for learning the edit costs in graph matching.

    PubMed

    Neuhaus, Michel; Bunke, Horst

    2005-06-01

    Although graph matching and graph edit distance computation have become areas of intensive research recently, the automatic inference of the cost of edit operations has remained an open problem. In the present paper, we address the issue of learning graph edit distance cost functions for numerically labeled graphs from a corpus of sample graphs. We propose a system of self-organizing maps (SOMs) that represent the distance measuring spaces of node and edge labels. Our learning process is based on the concept of self-organization. It adapts the edit costs in such a way that the similarity of graphs from the same class is increased, whereas the similarity of graphs from different classes decreases. The learning procedure is demonstrated on two different applications involving line drawing graphs and graphs representing diatoms, respectively.

  9. Anisotropy of the permittivity field inferred from aspect-sensitive radar echoes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Waterman, A. T.

    1984-01-01

    An attempt is made to draw some quantitative conclusions regarding the anisotropy of the clear-air back-scattering mechanism based on the measured variation of echo power with zenith angle. The measurements were made by the SOUSY group of the Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy at Lindau, FRG. They installed their 47-MHz transmitter and antenna feed in the 300-meter diameter reflector at Arecibo. The resulting 1.7-degree beam was stepped successively through seven 1.7-degree intervals from 1.7 to 11.7 degrees in zenith angle, obtaining about four minutes of data at each setting. This procedure was carried out in an eastward pointing azimuth and in a northward pointing azimuth, the entire set of measurements consuming an hour and twenty minutes. Range resolution was 150 meters.

  10. The late Pleistocene colonization of South America: an interdisciplinary perspective.

    PubMed

    Rothhammer, Francisco; Dillehay, Tom D

    2009-09-01

    In this article, we briefly review scenarios for the first peopling of the New World, including the Clovis First/Single Origin, Tripartite, and Dual Migration models. We then discuss bioanthropological, molecular genetic, archaeological and biogeographic evidence for the peopling of the continent. To conclude, we draw on different lines of evidence to make inferences concerning the timing, direction, and type of early human dispersion in South America.

  11. Should Security Researchers Experiment More and Draw More Inferences?

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-08-01

    knowledge would be enormous. To obtain a large and representative sample of keystroke-dynamics research papers, we consulted the IEEE Xplore database... IEEE Xplore are similar to those published elsewhere), these confidence intervals estimate the re- gions where those true percentages would lie with 95...of articles and conference pro- ceedings published by the IEEE , to which our university maintains a subscription. We conducted two keyword searches for

  12. Characterizing the impact of diffusive and advective soil gas transport on the measurement and interpretation of the isotopic signal of soil respiration

    Treesearch

    Zachary E. Kayler; Elizabeth W. Sulzman; William D. Rugh; Alan C. Mix; Barbara J. Bond

    2010-01-01

    By measuring the isotopic signature of soil respiration, we seek to learn the isotopic composition of the carbon respired in the soil (δ13CR-S) so that we may draw inferences about ecosystem processes. Requisite to this goal is the need to understand how (δ13CR-S) is affected by...

  13. Into the Black Box: Using Data Mining of In-Game Actions to Draw Inferences from Educational Technology about Students' Math Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kerr, Deirdre Song

    2014-01-01

    Educational video games have the potential to be used as assessments of student understanding of complex concepts. However, the interpretation of the rich stream of complex data that results from the tracking of in-game actions is so difficult that it is one of the most serious blockades to the use of educational video games or simulations to…

  14. Why the Kantian ideal survives medical learning curves, and why it matters

    PubMed Central

    Brecher, B

    2006-01-01

    The “Kantian ideal” is often misunderstood as invoking individual autonomy rather than rational self legislation. Le Morvan and Stock's otherwise insightful discussion of “Medical learning curves and the Kantian ideal”—for example—draws the mistaken inference that that ideal is inconsistent with the realities of medical practice. But it is not. Rationally to be a patient entails accepting its necessary conditions. PMID:16943330

  15. Assessment of the Principal Needs of the Spanish Speaking in Chicago. Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations. Volume I of a Two-Volume Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vasquez Associates Ltd., Milwaukee, WI.

    The main portion of this study is devoted to the determination of needs for health, education and social welfare services of the Spanish speaking in Chicago, and to draw inferences about the degree to which Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) funds and services in Chicago are reaching this specific minority and the extent to which…

  16. Inferentialism as an alternative to socioconstructivism in mathematics education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Noorloos, Ruben; Taylor, Samuel D.; Bakker, Arthur; Derry, Jan

    2017-12-01

    The purpose of this article is to draw the attention of mathematics education researchers to a relatively new semantic theory called inferentialism, as developed by the philosopher Robert Brandom. Inferentialism is a semantic theory which explains concept formation in terms of the inferences individuals make in the context of an intersubjective practice of acknowledging, attributing, and challenging one another's commitments. The article argues that inferentialism can help to overcome certain problems that have plagued the various forms of constructivism, and socioconstructivism in particular. Despite the range of socioconstructivist positions on offer, there is reason to think that versions of these problems will continue to haunt socioconstructivism. The problems are that socioconstructivists (i) have not come to a satisfactory resolution of the social-individual dichotomy, (ii) are still threatened by relativism, and (iii) have been vague in their characterization of what construction is. We first present these problems; then we introduce inferentialism, and finally we show how inferentialism can help to overcome the problems. We argue that inferentialism (i) contains a powerful conception of norms that can overcome the social-individual dichotomy, (ii) draws attention to the reality that constrains our inferences, and (iii) develops a clearer conception of learning in terms of the mastering of webs of reasons. Inferentialism therefore represents a powerful alternative theoretical framework to socioconstructivism.

  17. 13. Photocopy of engineering drawing (original drawing,(original drawing, #MH 10460086, ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    13. Photocopy of engineering drawing (original drawing,(original drawing, #MH 104-600-86, dated October 31, 1995, and drawn by W. Robinson, is located in the Mountain Home Air Force Base Civil Engineering archives. This 1995 drawing is a copy of drawing #MH 104-600-06, dated December 21, 1955, entitled "Repair Exterior Siding Elev. & Exterior Painting. Bldg. 611," also located in the Mountain Home Air Force Base Civil Engineering archives). FAC 611. - Mountain Home Air Force Base, Base Chapel, 350 Willow Street, Cantonment Area, Mountain Home, Elmore County, ID

  18. Mental Models of Invisible Logical Networks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sanderson, P.

    1984-01-01

    Subjects were required to discover the structure of a logical network whose links were invisible. Network structure had to be inferred from the behavior of the components after a failure. It was hypothesized that since such failure diagnosis tasks often draw on spatial processes, a good deal of spatial complexity in the network should affect network discovery. Results show that the ability to discover the linkages in the network is directly related to the spatial complexity of the pathway described by the linkages. This effect was generally independent of the amount of evidence available to subjects about the existence of the link. These results raise the question of whether inferences about spatially complex pathways were simply not made, or whether they were made but not retained because of a high load on memory resources.

  19. Inference on cancer screening exam accuracy using population-level administrative data.

    PubMed

    Jiang, H; Brown, P E; Walter, S D

    2016-01-15

    This paper develops a model for cancer screening and cancer incidence data, accommodating the partially unobserved disease status, clustered data structures, general covariate effects, and dependence between exams. The true unobserved cancer and detection status of screening participants are treated as latent variables, and a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm is used to estimate the Bayesian posterior distributions of the diagnostic error rates and disease prevalence. We show how the Bayesian approach can be used to draw inferences about screening exam properties and disease prevalence while allowing for the possibility of conditional dependence between two exams. The techniques are applied to the estimation of the diagnostic accuracy of mammography and clinical breast examination using data from the Ontario Breast Screening Program in Canada. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Comment on "Ducklings imprint on the relational concept of 'same or different'".

    PubMed

    Hupé, Jean-Michel

    2017-02-24

    Martinho and Kacelnik's (Reports, 15 July 2016, p. 286) finding that mallard ducklings can deal with abstract concepts is important for understanding the evolution of cognition. However, a statistically more robust analysis of the data calls their conclusions into question. This example brings to light the risk of drawing too strong an inference by relying solely on P values. Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  1. Contradictory genetic make-up of Dutch harbour porpoises: Response to van der Plas-Duivesteijn et al.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kopps, Anna M.; Palsbøll, Per J.

    2016-02-01

    The assessment of the status of endangered species or populations typically draw generously on the plethora of population genetic software available to detect population genetic structuring. However, despite the many available analytical approaches, population genetic inference methods [of neutral genetic variation] essentially capture three basic processes; migration, random genetic drift and mutation. Consequently, different analytical approaches essentially capture the same basic process, and should yield consistent results.

  2. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of War Department Theater in ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of War Department Theater in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General)STRUCTURAL - FOUNDATIONS - MacDill Air Force Base, Base Theater, 2420 Florida Keys Avenue, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  3. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of War Department Theater in ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of War Department Theater in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) EXTERIOR ELEVATIONS - MacDill Air Force Base, Base Theater, 2420 Florida Keys Avenue, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  4. Increased scientific rigor will improve reliability of research and effectiveness of management

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sells, Sarah N.; Bassing, Sarah B.; Barker, Kristin J.; Forshee, Shannon C.; Keever, Allison; Goerz, James W.; Mitchell, Michael S.

    2018-01-01

    Rigorous science that produces reliable knowledge is critical to wildlife management because it increases accurate understanding of the natural world and informs management decisions effectively. Application of a rigorous scientific method based on hypothesis testing minimizes unreliable knowledge produced by research. To evaluate the prevalence of scientific rigor in wildlife research, we examined 24 issues of the Journal of Wildlife Management from August 2013 through July 2016. We found 43.9% of studies did not state or imply a priori hypotheses, which are necessary to produce reliable knowledge. We posit that this is due, at least in part, to a lack of common understanding of what rigorous science entails, how it produces more reliable knowledge than other forms of interpreting observations, and how research should be designed to maximize inferential strength and usefulness of application. Current primary literature does not provide succinct explanations of the logic behind a rigorous scientific method or readily applicable guidance for employing it, particularly in wildlife biology; we therefore synthesized an overview of the history, philosophy, and logic that define scientific rigor for biological studies. A rigorous scientific method includes 1) generating a research question from theory and prior observations, 2) developing hypotheses (i.e., plausible biological answers to the question), 3) formulating predictions (i.e., facts that must be true if the hypothesis is true), 4) designing and implementing research to collect data potentially consistent with predictions, 5) evaluating whether predictions are consistent with collected data, and 6) drawing inferences based on the evaluation. Explicitly testing a priori hypotheses reduces overall uncertainty by reducing the number of plausible biological explanations to only those that are logically well supported. Such research also draws inferences that are robust to idiosyncratic observations and unavoidable human biases. Offering only post hoc interpretations of statistical patterns (i.e., a posteriorihypotheses) adds to uncertainty because it increases the number of plausible biological explanations without determining which have the greatest support. Further, post hocinterpretations are strongly subject to human biases. Testing hypotheses maximizes the credibility of research findings, makes the strongest contributions to theory and management, and improves reproducibility of research. Management decisions based on rigorous research are most likely to result in effective conservation of wildlife resources. 

  5. Assessing perceptions of oral health related quality of life in dental implant patients. Experience of a tertiary care center in India.

    PubMed

    Paul S, Arun; Simon S, Sibu; Kumar, Saurabh; Chacko, Rabin K

    2018-01-01

    Patients perception of treatment outcomes are invaluable assessment tools and are effective indicators for future prognosis. Various tools of measurement have been used to assess the same. The oral health impact profile questionnaire (OHIP 14) has been effectively used to evaluate the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) with regards to individual perceptions. This study was conducted to assess OHRQoL in patients who have had dental implants to replace missing teeth in the Department of Dental Surgery, Unit 1, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Vellore, TN, India by using the OHIP 14 questionnaire. A total of 107 patients who had treatment with dental implants were sent a modified form of the OHIP 14 questionnaire. An attempt was made to draw an inference by correlating scores of the OHIP 14 with data pertaining to key independent variables. Gamma regression was applied to the results as the outcome score distribution was skewed. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS Version 21.0. The mean score for the OHIP 14 was 16.82 with the highest score of 30 for a total score of 70. OHIP 14 scores were higher in patients with implant-supported fixed dental prosthesis as compared to patients with single implant supported crowns (P = 0.0069). Patients with no complaints scored 9% lesser than those who reported complaints (P = 0.0438). Assessing quality of life with regards to specific treatment interventions may help to draw critical inferences that determine overall success. Results from the study enabled us to delineate and appreciate the success imparted by esthetics and function from the general well being imparted by treatment with dental implants. Social media could be used to positively improve responses in questionnaire based studies. Future studies using implant specific OHRQoL questionnaire may help to elicit unbiased patient perception in dental implant patients.

  6. Conceptual and methodological challenges to measuring political commitment to respond to HIV

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Researchers have long recognized the importance of a central government’s political “commitment” in order to mount an effective response to HIV. The concept of political commitment remains ill-defined, however, and little guidance has been given on how to measure this construct and its relationship with HIV-related outcomes. Several countries have experienced declines in HIV infection rates, but conceptual difficulties arise in linking these declines to political commitment as opposed to underlying social and behavioural factors. Methods This paper first presents a critical review of the literature on existing efforts to conceptualize and measure political commitment to respond to HIV and the linkages between political commitment and HIV-related outcomes. Based on the elements identified in this review, the paper then develops and presents a framework to assist researchers in making choices about how to assess a government's level of political commitment to respond to HIV and how to link political commitment to HIV-related outcomes. Results The review of existing studies identifies three components of commitment (expressed, institutional and budgetary commitment) as different dimensions along which commitment can be measured. The review also identifies normative and ideological aspects of commitment and a set of variables that mediate and moderate political commitment that need to be accounted for in order to draw valid inferences about the relationship between political commitment and HIV-related outcomes. The framework summarizes a set of steps that researchers can follow in order to assess a government's level of commitment to respond to HIV and suggests ways to apply the framework to country cases. Conclusions Whereas existing studies have adopted a limited and often ambiguous conception of political commitment, we argue that conceiving of political commitment along a greater number of dimensions will allow researchers to draw a more complete picture of political commitment to respond to HIV that avoids making invalid inferences about the relationship between political commitment and HIV outcomes. PMID:21968231

  7. Migrants from central and eastern Europe: local geographies.

    PubMed

    Bauere, Viktorija; Densham, Paul; Millar, Jane; Salt, John

    2007-01-01

    This article seeks to develop our geographical knowledge of labour migration into the UK by adopting a local authority approach, using data from the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS) for the period May 2004-December 2006. WRS enables us to view at local level the distribution of new national groups (based on citizenship not country of birth as in the Census) and to identify some of the major characteristics of the new flows at local level, including nationality, industry, hours worked and hourly pay. The data allow only a partial view of the picture of immigration from the eight accession states and there are dangers in drawing detailed inferences about local situations. However, it appears that there are distinct geographies associated with this group of immigrants as a whole, with different national groups and in their economic characteristics.

  8. Distinguishing the cognitive processes of mindfulness: Developing a standardised mindfulness technique for use in longitudinal randomised control trials.

    PubMed

    Isbel, Ben; Summers, Mathew J

    2017-07-01

    A capacity model of mindfulness is adopted to differentiate the cognitive faculty of mindfulness from the metacognitive processes required to cultivate this faculty in mindfulness training. The model provides an explanatory framework incorporating both the developmental progression from focussed attention to open monitoring styles of mindfulness practice, along with the development of equanimity and insight. A standardised technique for activating these processes without the addition of secondary components is then introduced. Mindfulness-based interventions currently available for use in randomised control trials introduce components ancillary to the cognitive processes of mindfulness, limiting their ability to draw clear causative inferences. The standardised technique presented here does not introduce such ancillary factors, rendering it a valuable tool with which to investigate the processes activated in mindfulness practice. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Qualitative Discovery in Medical Databases

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Maluf, David A.

    2000-01-01

    Implication rules have been used in uncertainty reasoning systems to confirm and draw hypotheses or conclusions. However a major bottleneck in developing such systems lies in the elicitation of these rules. This paper empirically examines the performance of evidential inferencing with implication networks generated using a rule induction tool called KAT. KAT utilizes an algorithm for the statistical analysis of empirical case data, and hence reduces the knowledge engineering efforts and biases in subjective implication certainty assignment. The paper describes several experiments in which real-world diagnostic problems were investigated; namely, medical diagnostics. In particular, it attempts to show that: (1) with a limited number of case samples, KAT is capable of inducing implication networks useful for making evidential inferences based on partial observations, and (2) observation driven by a network entropy optimization mechanism is effective in reducing the uncertainty of predicted events.

  10. Critical Thinking Skills of an Eighth Grade Male Student with High Mathematical Ability in Solving Problem

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ismail

    2018-01-01

    This study aims to describe student’s critical thinking skill of grade VIII in solving mathematical problem. A qualitative research was conducted to a male student with high mathematical ability. Student’s critical thinking skill was obtained from a depth task-based interview. The result show that male student’s critical thinking skill of the student as follows. In understanding the problem, the student did categorization, significance decoding, and meaning clarification. In devising a plan he examined his ideas, detected his argument, analyzed his argument and evaluated his argument. During the implementation phase, the skill that appeared were analyzing of the argument and inference skill such as drawing conclusion, deliver alternative thinking, and problem solving skills. At last, in rechecking all the measures, they did self-correcting and self-examination.

  11. Building human resources capability in health care: a global analysis of best practice--Part III.

    PubMed

    Zairi, M

    1998-01-01

    This is the last part of a series of three papers which discussed very comprehensively best practice applications in human resource management by drawing special inferences to the healthcare context. It emerged from parts I and II that high performing organisations plan and intend to build sustainable capability through a systematic consideration of the human element as the key asset and through a continuous process of training, developing, empowering and engaging people in all aspects of organisational excellence. Part III brings this debate to a close by demonstrating what brings about organisational excellence and proposes a road map for effective human resource development and management, based on world class standards. Healthcare human resource professionals can now rise to the challenge and plan ahead for building organisational capability and sustainable performance.

  12. non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and occupation in Sweden: a registry based analysis.

    PubMed Central

    Linet, M S; Malker, H S; McLaughlin, J K; Weiner, J A; Blot, W J; Ericsson, J L; Fraumeni, J F

    1993-01-01

    Incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in different employment categories was evaluated from the Swedish Cancer-Environment Registry, which links cancer incidence during 1961 to 1979 with occupational information from the 1960 census. New associations were found for men employed in shoemaking and shoe repair, porcelain and earthenware industries, education, and other white collar occupations. Several findings supported associations found in other countries, including excesses among woodworkers, furniture makers, electric power plant workers, farmers, dairy workers, lorry drivers, and other land transport workers. Risks were not increased among chemists, chemical or rubber manufacturing workers, or petrochemical refinery workers. Caution must be used in drawing causal inferences from these linked registry data because information on exposure and duration of employment is not available. Nevertheless, this study has suggested new clues to possible occupational determinants of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. PMID:8431395

  13. Interpreting Signal Amplitudes in Surface Electromyography Studies in Sport and Rehabilitation Sciences

    PubMed Central

    Vigotsky, Andrew D.; Halperin, Israel; Lehman, Gregory J.; Trajano, Gabriel S.; Vieira, Taian M.

    2018-01-01

    Surface electromyography (sEMG) is a popular research tool in sport and rehabilitation sciences. Common study designs include the comparison of sEMG amplitudes collected from different muscles as participants perform various exercises and techniques under different loads. Based on such comparisons, researchers attempt to draw conclusions concerning the neuro- and electrophysiological underpinning of force production and hypothesize about possible longitudinal adaptations, such as strength and hypertrophy. However, such conclusions are frequently unsubstantiated and unwarranted. Hence, the goal of this review is to discuss what can and cannot be inferred from comparative research designs as it pertains to both the acute and longitudinal outcomes. General methodological recommendations are made, gaps in the literature are identified, and lines for future research to help improve the applicability of sEMG are suggested. PMID:29354060

  14. Climate Driven Life Histories: The Case of the Mediterranean Storm Petrel

    PubMed Central

    Soldatini, Cecilia; Albores-Barajas, Yuri Vladimir; Massa, Bruno; Gimenez, Olivier

    2014-01-01

    Seabirds are affected by changes in the marine ecosystem. The influence of climatic factors on marine food webs can be reflected in long-term seabird population changes. We modelled the survival and recruitment of the Mediterranean storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis) using a 21-year mark-recapture dataset involving almost 5000 birds. We demonstrated a strong influence of prebreeding climatic conditions on recruitment age and of rainfall and breeding period conditions on juvenile survival. The results suggest that the juvenile survival rate of the Mediterranean subspecies may not be negatively affected by the predicted features of climate change, i.e., warmer summers and lower rainfall. Based on considerations of winter conditions in different parts of the Mediterranean, we were able to draw inferences about the wintering areas of the species for the first time. PMID:24728099

  15. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of War Department Theater in ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of War Department Theater in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) FIRST FLOOR AND CEILING PLAN - MacDill Air Force Base, Base Theater, 2420 Florida Keys Avenue, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  16. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of War Department Theater in ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of War Department Theater in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) FLOOR PLAN AND BENCH DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Base Theater, 2420 Florida Keys Avenue, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  17. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of MacDill Field in possession ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of MacDill Field in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1952 architectural drawings by Strategic Air Command, MacDill Air Force Base) BASE LAYOUT, 1952 - MacDill Air Force Base, Bounded by City of Tampa North, Tampa Bay South, Old Tampa Bay West, & Hillsborough Bay East, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  18. Inferring animal social networks and leadership: applications for passive monitoring arrays.

    PubMed

    Jacoby, David M P; Papastamatiou, Yannis P; Freeman, Robin

    2016-11-01

    Analyses of animal social networks have frequently benefited from techniques derived from other disciplines. Recently, machine learning algorithms have been adopted to infer social associations from time-series data gathered using remote, telemetry systems situated at provisioning sites. We adapt and modify existing inference methods to reveal the underlying social structure of wide-ranging marine predators moving through spatial arrays of passive acoustic receivers. From six months of tracking data for grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) at Palmyra atoll in the Pacific Ocean, we demonstrate that some individuals emerge as leaders within the population and that this behavioural coordination is predicted by both sex and the duration of co-occurrences between conspecifics. In doing so, we provide the first evidence of long-term, spatially extensive social processes in wild sharks. To achieve these results, we interrogate simulated and real tracking data with the explicit purpose of drawing attention to the key considerations in the use and interpretation of inference methods and their impact on resultant social structure. We provide a modified translation of the GMMEvents method for R, including new analyses quantifying the directionality and duration of social events with the aim of encouraging the careful use of these methods more widely in less tractable social animal systems but where passive telemetry is already widespread. © 2016 The Authors.

  19. Inferring animal social networks and leadership: applications for passive monitoring arrays

    PubMed Central

    Papastamatiou, Yannis P.; Freeman, Robin

    2016-01-01

    Analyses of animal social networks have frequently benefited from techniques derived from other disciplines. Recently, machine learning algorithms have been adopted to infer social associations from time-series data gathered using remote, telemetry systems situated at provisioning sites. We adapt and modify existing inference methods to reveal the underlying social structure of wide-ranging marine predators moving through spatial arrays of passive acoustic receivers. From six months of tracking data for grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) at Palmyra atoll in the Pacific Ocean, we demonstrate that some individuals emerge as leaders within the population and that this behavioural coordination is predicted by both sex and the duration of co-occurrences between conspecifics. In doing so, we provide the first evidence of long-term, spatially extensive social processes in wild sharks. To achieve these results, we interrogate simulated and real tracking data with the explicit purpose of drawing attention to the key considerations in the use and interpretation of inference methods and their impact on resultant social structure. We provide a modified translation of the GMMEvents method for R, including new analyses quantifying the directionality and duration of social events with the aim of encouraging the careful use of these methods more widely in less tractable social animal systems but where passive telemetry is already widespread. PMID:27881803

  20. A Bayesian Approach to the Paleomagnetic Conglomerate Test

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heslop, David; Roberts, Andrew P.

    2018-02-01

    The conglomerate test has served the paleomagnetic community for over 60 years as a means to detect remagnetizations. The test states that if a suite of clasts within a bed have uniformly random paleomagnetic directions, then the conglomerate cannot have experienced a pervasive event that remagnetized the clasts in the same direction. The current form of the conglomerate test is based on null hypothesis testing, which results in a binary "pass" (uniformly random directions) or "fail" (nonrandom directions) outcome. We have recast the conglomerate test in a Bayesian framework with the aim of providing more information concerning the level of support a given data set provides for a hypothesis of uniformly random paleomagnetic directions. Using this approach, we place the conglomerate test in a fully probabilistic framework that allows for inconclusive results when insufficient information is available to draw firm conclusions concerning the randomness or nonrandomness of directions. With our method, sample sets larger than those typically employed in paleomagnetism may be required to achieve strong support for a hypothesis of random directions. Given the potentially detrimental effect of unrecognized remagnetizations on paleomagnetic reconstructions, it is important to provide a means to draw statistically robust data-driven inferences. Our Bayesian analysis provides a means to do this for the conglomerate test.

  1. The role of familiarity in binary choice inferences.

    PubMed

    Honda, Hidehito; Abe, Keiga; Matsuka, Toshihiko; Yamagishi, Kimihiko

    2011-07-01

    In research on the recognition heuristic (Goldstein & Gigerenzer, Psychological Review, 109, 75-90, 2002), knowledge of recognized objects has been categorized as "recognized" or "unrecognized" without regard to the degree of familiarity of the recognized object. In the present article, we propose a new inference model--familiarity-based inference. We hypothesize that when subjective knowledge levels (familiarity) of recognized objects differ, the degree of familiarity of recognized objects will influence inferences. Specifically, people are predicted to infer that the more familiar object in a pair of two objects has a higher criterion value on the to-be-judged dimension. In two experiments, using a binary choice task, we examined inferences about populations in a pair of two cities. Results support predictions of familiarity-based inference. Participants inferred that the more familiar city in a pair was more populous. Statistical modeling showed that individual differences in familiarity-based inference lie in the sensitivity to differences in familiarity. In addition, we found that familiarity-based inference can be generally regarded as an ecologically rational inference. Furthermore, when cue knowledge about the inference criterion was available, participants made inferences based on the cue knowledge about population instead of familiarity. Implications of the role of familiarity in psychological processes are discussed.

  2. Analyzing the Effect of Spinning Process Variables on Draw Frame Blended Cotton Mélange Yarn Quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ray, Suchibrata; Ghosh, Anindya; Banerjee, Debamalya

    2018-06-01

    An investigation has been made to study the effect of important spinning process variables namely shade depth, ring frame spindle speed and yarn twist multiplier (TM) on various yarn quality parameters like unevenness, strength, imperfection, elongation at break and hairiness index of draw frame blended cotton mélange yarn. Three factors Box and Behnken design of experiment has been used to conduct the study. The quadratic regression model is used to device the statistical inferences about sensitivity of the yarn quality parameters to the different process variables. The response surfaces are constructed for depicting the geometric representation of yarn quality parameters plotted as a function of process variables. Analysis of the results show that yarn strength of draw frame blended cotton mélange yarn is significantly affected by shade depth and TM. Yarn unevenness is affected by shade depth and ring frame spindle speed. Yarn imperfection level is mainly influenced by the shade depth and spindle speed. The shade depth and yarn TM have shown significant impact on yarn hairiness index.

  3. Analyzing the Effect of Spinning Process Variables on Draw Frame Blended Cotton Mélange Yarn Quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ray, Suchibrata; Ghosh, Anindya; Banerjee, Debamalya

    2017-12-01

    An investigation has been made to study the effect of important spinning process variables namely shade depth, ring frame spindle speed and yarn twist multiplier (TM) on various yarn quality parameters like unevenness, strength, imperfection, elongation at break and hairiness index of draw frame blended cotton mélange yarn. Three factors Box and Behnken design of experiment has been used to conduct the study. The quadratic regression model is used to device the statistical inferences about sensitivity of the yarn quality parameters to the different process variables. The response surfaces are constructed for depicting the geometric representation of yarn quality parameters plotted as a function of process variables. Analysis of the results show that yarn strength of draw frame blended cotton mélange yarn is significantly affected by shade depth and TM. Yarn unevenness is affected by shade depth and ring frame spindle speed. Yarn imperfection level is mainly influenced by the shade depth and spindle speed. The shade depth and yarn TM have shown significant impact on yarn hairiness index.

  4. Conflicting Epistemologies and Inference in Coupled Human and Natural Systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garcia, M. E.

    2017-12-01

    Last year, I presented a model that projects per capita water consumption based on changes in price, population, building codes, and water stress salience. This model applied methods from hydrological science and engineering to relationships both within and beyond their traditional scope. Epistemologically, the development of mathematical models of natural or engineered systems is objectivist while research examining relationships between observations, perceptions and action is commonly constructivist or subjectivist. Drawing on multiple epistemologies is common in, and perhaps central to, the growing fields of coupled human and natural systems, and socio-hydrology. Critically, these philosophical perspectives vary in their view of the nature of the system as mechanistic, adaptive or constructed, and the split between aleatory and epistemic uncertainty. Interdisciplinary research is commonly cited as a way to address the critical and domain crossing challenge of sustainability as synthesis across perspectives can offer a more comprehensive view of system dynamics. However, combining methods and concepts from multiple ontologies and epistemologies can introduce contradictions into the logic of inference. These contractions challenge the evaluation of research products and the implications for practical application of research findings are not fully understood. Reflections on the evaluation, application, and generalization of the water consumption model described above are used to ground these broader questions and offer thoughts on the way forward.

  5. Cytoprophet: a Cytoscape plug-in for protein and domain interaction networks inference.

    PubMed

    Morcos, Faruck; Lamanna, Charles; Sikora, Marcin; Izaguirre, Jesús

    2008-10-01

    Cytoprophet is a software tool that allows prediction and visualization of protein and domain interaction networks. It is implemented as a plug-in of Cytoscape, an open source software framework for analysis and visualization of molecular networks. Cytoprophet implements three algorithms that predict new potential physical interactions using the domain composition of proteins and experimental assays. The algorithms for protein and domain interaction inference include maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) using expectation maximization (EM); the set cover approach maximum specificity set cover (MSSC) and the sum-product algorithm (SPA). After accepting an input set of proteins with Uniprot ID/Accession numbers and a selected prediction algorithm, Cytoprophet draws a network of potential interactions with probability scores and GO distances as edge attributes. A network of domain interactions between the domains of the initial protein list can also be generated. Cytoprophet was designed to take advantage of the visual capabilities of Cytoscape and be simple to use. An example of inference in a signaling network of myxobacterium Myxococcus xanthus is presented and available at Cytoprophet's website. http://cytoprophet.cse.nd.edu.

  6. Fast and flexible selection with a single switch.

    PubMed

    Broderick, Tamara; MacKay, David J C

    2009-10-22

    Selection methods that require only a single-switch input, such as a button click or blink, are potentially useful for individuals with motor impairments, mobile technology users, and individuals wishing to transmit information securely. We present a single-switch selection method, "Nomon," that is general and efficient. Existing single-switch selection methods require selectable options to be arranged in ways that limit potential applications. By contrast, traditional operating systems, web browsers, and free-form applications (such as drawing) place options at arbitrary points on the screen. Nomon, however, has the flexibility to select any point on a screen. Nomon adapts automatically to an individual's clicking ability; it allows a person who clicks precisely to make a selection quickly and allows a person who clicks imprecisely more time to make a selection without error. Nomon reaps gains in information rate by allowing the specification of beliefs (priors) about option selection probabilities and by avoiding tree-based selection schemes in favor of direct (posterior) inference. We have developed both a Nomon-based writing application and a drawing application. To evaluate Nomon's performance, we compared the writing application with a popular existing method for single-switch writing (row-column scanning). Novice users wrote 35% faster with the Nomon interface than with the scanning interface. An experienced user (author TB, with 10 hours practice) wrote at speeds of 9.3 words per minute with Nomon, using 1.2 clicks per character and making no errors in the final text.

  7. A likelihood-based biostatistical model for analyzing consumer movement in simultaneous choice experiments.

    PubMed

    Zeilinger, Adam R; Olson, Dawn M; Andow, David A

    2014-08-01

    Consumer feeding preference among resource choices has critical implications for basic ecological and evolutionary processes, and can be highly relevant to applied problems such as ecological risk assessment and invasion biology. Within consumer choice experiments, also known as feeding preference or cafeteria experiments, measures of relative consumption and measures of consumer movement can provide distinct and complementary insights into the strength, causes, and consequences of preference. Despite the distinct value of inferring preference from measures of consumer movement, rigorous and biologically relevant analytical methods are lacking. We describe a simple, likelihood-based, biostatistical model for analyzing the transient dynamics of consumer movement in a paired-choice experiment. With experimental data consisting of repeated discrete measures of consumer location, the model can be used to estimate constant consumer attraction and leaving rates for two food choices, and differences in choice-specific attraction and leaving rates can be tested using model selection. The model enables calculation of transient and equilibrial probabilities of consumer-resource association, which could be incorporated into larger scale movement models. We explore the effect of experimental design on parameter estimation through stochastic simulation and describe methods to check that data meet model assumptions. Using a dataset of modest sample size, we illustrate the use of the model to draw inferences on consumer preference as well as underlying behavioral mechanisms. Finally, we include a user's guide and computer code scripts in R to facilitate use of the model by other researchers.

  8. Memory-Based Simple Heuristics as Attribute Substitution: Competitive Tests of Binary Choice Inference Models

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Honda, Hidehito; Matsuka, Toshihiko; Ueda, Kazuhiro

    2017-01-01

    Some researchers on binary choice inference have argued that people make inferences based on simple heuristics, such as recognition, fluency, or familiarity. Others have argued that people make inferences based on available knowledge. To examine the boundary between heuristic and knowledge usage, we examine binary choice inference processes in…

  9. Estimating and Identifying Unspecified Correlation Structure for Longitudinal Data

    PubMed Central

    Hu, Jianhua; Wang, Peng; Qu, Annie

    2014-01-01

    Identifying correlation structure is important to achieving estimation efficiency in analyzing longitudinal data, and is also crucial for drawing valid statistical inference for large size clustered data. In this paper, we propose a nonparametric method to estimate the correlation structure, which is applicable for discrete longitudinal data. We utilize eigenvector-based basis matrices to approximate the inverse of the empirical correlation matrix and determine the number of basis matrices via model selection. A penalized objective function based on the difference between the empirical and model approximation of the correlation matrices is adopted to select an informative structure for the correlation matrix. The eigenvector representation of the correlation estimation is capable of reducing the risk of model misspecification, and also provides useful information on the specific within-cluster correlation pattern of the data. We show that the proposed method possesses the oracle property and selects the true correlation structure consistently. The proposed method is illustrated through simulations and two data examples on air pollution and sonar signal studies. PMID:26361433

  10. Choosing face: The curse of self in profile image selection.

    PubMed

    White, David; Sutherland, Clare A M; Burton, Amy L

    2017-01-01

    People draw automatic social inferences from photos of unfamiliar faces and these first impressions are associated with important real-world outcomes. Here we examine the effect of selecting online profile images on first impressions. We model the process of profile image selection by asking participants to indicate the likelihood that images of their own face ("self-selection") and of an unfamiliar face ("other-selection") would be used as profile images on key social networking sites. Across two large Internet-based studies (n = 610), in line with predictions, image selections accentuated favorable social impressions and these impressions were aligned to the social context of the networking sites. However, contrary to predictions based on people's general expertise in self-presentation, other-selected images conferred more favorable impressions than self-selected images. We conclude that people make suboptimal choices when selecting their own profile pictures, such that self-perception places important limits on facial first impressions formed by others. These results underscore the dynamic nature of person perception in real-world contexts.

  11. Using Quantitative Literacy to Enhance Critical Thinking Skills in Undergraduate Nursing Students.

    PubMed

    Asknes, Edna

    2017-04-01

    Critical thinking and quantitative literacy (QL) are similarly grounded: both focus on analyzing and evaluating evidence, identifying implications and consequences, drawing inferences, and communicating information. This teaching strategy was based on those commonalities and was designed so that undergraduate nursing students would enhance their critical thinking skills as they used their QL skills. QL skills are most effective when taught, learned, and used to solve significant, pertinent problems. Using the principles of learner-centered, team-based learning, QL was integrated into the curriculum of the Maternal-Newborn Nursing course at an urban community college with a diverse student population. Students were engaged and demonstrated enhanced and ongoing development of their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. They also reported a better understanding of data interpretation and use. The positive outcome of this project revealed further opportunities for incorporating QL into nursing curricula and highlighted the need for research on the use of QL in nursing education. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(4):240-242.]. Copyright 2017, SLACK Incorporated.

  12. Assessing the use of multiple sources in student essays.

    PubMed

    Hastings, Peter; Hughes, Simon; Magliano, Joseph P; Goldman, Susan R; Lawless, Kimberly

    2012-09-01

    The present study explored different approaches for automatically scoring student essays that were written on the basis of multiple texts. Specifically, these approaches were developed to classify whether or not important elements of the texts were present in the essays. The first was a simple pattern-matching approach called "multi-word" that allowed for flexible matching of words and phrases in the sentences. The second technique was latent semantic analysis (LSA), which was used to compare student sentences to original source sentences using its high-dimensional vector-based representation. Finally, the third was a machine-learning technique, support vector machines, which learned a classification scheme from the corpus. The results of the study suggested that the LSA-based system was superior for detecting the presence of explicit content from the texts, but the multi-word pattern-matching approach was better for detecting inferences outside or across texts. These results suggest that the best approach for analyzing essays of this nature should draw upon multiple natural language processing approaches.

  13. From brain topography to brain topology: relevance of graph theory to functional neuroscience.

    PubMed

    Minati, Ludovico; Varotto, Giulia; D'Incerti, Ludovico; Panzica, Ferruccio; Chan, Dennis

    2013-07-10

    Although several brain regions show significant specialization, higher functions such as cross-modal information integration, abstract reasoning and conscious awareness are viewed as emerging from interactions across distributed functional networks. Analytical approaches capable of capturing the properties of such networks can therefore enhance our ability to make inferences from functional MRI, electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography data. Graph theory is a branch of mathematics that focuses on the formal modelling of networks and offers a wide range of theoretical tools to quantify specific features of network architecture (topology) that can provide information complementing the anatomical localization of areas responding to given stimuli or tasks (topography). Explicit modelling of the architecture of axonal connections and interactions among areas can furthermore reveal peculiar topological properties that are conserved across diverse biological networks, and highly sensitive to disease states. The field is evolving rapidly, partly fuelled by computational developments that enable the study of connectivity at fine anatomical detail and the simultaneous interactions among multiple regions. Recent publications in this area have shown that graph-based modelling can enhance our ability to draw causal inferences from functional MRI experiments, and support the early detection of disconnection and the modelling of pathology spread in neurodegenerative disease, particularly Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, neurophysiological studies have shown that network topology has a profound link to epileptogenesis and that connectivity indices derived from graph models aid in modelling the onset and spread of seizures. Graph-based analyses may therefore significantly help understand the bases of a range of neurological conditions. This review is designed to provide an overview of graph-based analyses of brain connectivity and their relevance to disease aimed principally at general neuroscientists and clinicians.

  14. The early emergence and puzzling decline of relational reasoning: Effects of knowledge and search on inferring abstract concepts.

    PubMed

    Walker, Caren M; Bridgers, Sophie; Gopnik, Alison

    2016-11-01

    We explore the developmental trajectory and underlying mechanisms of abstract relational reasoning. We describe a surprising developmental pattern: Younger learners are better than older ones at inferring abstract causal relations. Walker and Gopnik (2014) demonstrated that toddlers are able to infer that an effect was caused by a relation between two objects (whether they are the same or different), rather than by individual kinds of objects. While these findings are consistent with evidence that infants recognize same-different relations, they contrast with a large literature suggesting that older children tend to have difficulty inferring these relations. Why might this be? In Experiment 1a, we demonstrate that while younger children (18-30-month-olds) have no difficulty learning these relational concepts, older children (36-48-month-olds) fail to draw this abstract inference. Experiment 1b replicates the finding with 18-30-month-olds using a more demanding intervention task. Experiment 2 tests whether this difference in performance might be because older children have developed the general hypothesis that individual kinds of objects are causal - the high initial probability of this alternative hypothesis might override the data that favors the relational hypothesis. Providing additional information falsifying the alternative hypothesis improves older children's performance. Finally, Experiment 3 demonstrates that prompting for explanations during learning also improves performance, even without any additional information. These findings are discussed in light of recent computational and algorithmic theories of learning. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Both sides now: the chemistry of clouds

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

    Schwartz, S.E.

    1984-01-01

    Two complementary approaches to the study of the oxidation of SO/sub 2/ and NO/sub x/ to sulfuric and nitric acids as it occurs in liquid-water clouds are presented. The first approach relies upon laboratory determination of fundamental physical and chemical properties and evaluation of rates of dissolution and reaction for representative reagent concentrations and physical situations. The second approach consists of measuring concentrations of relevant reagent and product species and other pertinent quantities in and about clouds and of drawing inferences from these measurements about the rate and extent of processes responsible for establishing cloudwater composition. Based on laboratory studiesmore » the following inferences may be drawn: aqueous-phase oxidation of SO/sub 2/ by H/sub 2/O/sub 2/ or O/sub 3/ is sufficiently rapid to contribute to cloudwater acidity for representative concentrations of these oxidants; however, the rate of the O/sub 3/ reaction decreases strongly with decreasing pH and is of relatively little importance below about pH 4.5. Despite strong thermochemical driving force for oxidation of NO/sub 2/ to nitric acid in cloudwater, this reaction appears to be negligibly slow for representative concentrations of NO/sub 2/, largely because of the low Henry's law solubility of this species in water. These inferences gain support from field measurements of the composition of liquid water stratiform clouds at various locations in the eastern United States, which indicate that the fractional uptake of SO/sub 2/ (as SO/sub 4//sup =/) by cloudwater is frequently high, whereas a corresponding high fractional uptake of NO/sub x/ as NO/sub 3//sup -/ is never observed. A mutual exclusivity of gaseous SO/sub 2/ and dissolved H/sub 2/O/sub 2/ in clouds supports the inference that reaction of these species in clouds is rapid and represents a major process for cloudwater acidification. 143 references, 35 figures, 2 tables.« less

  16. Quantifying temporal change in biodiversity: challenges and opportunities

    PubMed Central

    Dornelas, Maria; Magurran, Anne E.; Buckland, Stephen T.; Chao, Anne; Chazdon, Robin L.; Colwell, Robert K.; Curtis, Tom; Gaston, Kevin J.; Gotelli, Nicholas J.; Kosnik, Matthew A.; McGill, Brian; McCune, Jenny L.; Morlon, Hélène; Mumby, Peter J.; Øvreås, Lise; Studeny, Angelika; Vellend, Mark

    2013-01-01

    Growing concern about biodiversity loss underscores the need to quantify and understand temporal change. Here, we review the opportunities presented by biodiversity time series, and address three related issues: (i) recognizing the characteristics of temporal data; (ii) selecting appropriate statistical procedures for analysing temporal data; and (iii) inferring and forecasting biodiversity change. With regard to the first issue, we draw attention to defining characteristics of biodiversity time series—lack of physical boundaries, uni-dimensionality, autocorrelation and directionality—that inform the choice of analytic methods. Second, we explore methods of quantifying change in biodiversity at different timescales, noting that autocorrelation can be viewed as a feature that sheds light on the underlying structure of temporal change. Finally, we address the transition from inferring to forecasting biodiversity change, highlighting potential pitfalls associated with phase-shifts and novel conditions. PMID:23097514

  17. Words are not enough: how preschoolers' integration of perspective and emotion informs their referential understanding.

    PubMed

    Graham, Susan A; San Juan, Valerie; Khu, Melanie

    2017-05-01

    When linguistic information alone does not clarify a speaker's intended meaning, skilled communicators can draw on a variety of cues to infer communicative intent. In this paper, we review research examining the developmental emergence of preschoolers' sensitivity to a communicative partner's perspective. We focus particularly on preschoolers' tendency to use cues both within the communicative context (i.e. a speaker's visual access to information) and within the speech signal itself (i.e. emotional prosody) to make on-line inferences about communicative intent. Our review demonstrates that preschoolers' ability to use visual and emotional cues of perspective to guide language interpretation is not uniform across tasks, is sometimes related to theory of mind and executive function skills, and, at certain points of development, is only revealed by implicit measures of language processing.

  18. Drawing-to-Learn: A Framework for Using Drawings to Promote Model-Based Reasoning in Biology

    PubMed Central

    Quillin, Kim; Thomas, Stephen

    2015-01-01

    The drawing of visual representations is important for learners and scientists alike, such as the drawing of models to enable visual model-based reasoning. Yet few biology instructors recognize drawing as a teachable science process skill, as reflected by its absence in the Vision and Change report’s Modeling and Simulation core competency. Further, the diffuse research on drawing can be difficult to access, synthesize, and apply to classroom practice. We have created a framework of drawing-to-learn that defines drawing, categorizes the reasons for using drawing in the biology classroom, and outlines a number of interventions that can help instructors create an environment conducive to student drawing in general and visual model-based reasoning in particular. The suggested interventions are organized to address elements of affect, visual literacy, and visual model-based reasoning, with specific examples cited for each. Further, a Blooming tool for drawing exercises is provided, as are suggestions to help instructors address possible barriers to implementing and assessing drawing-to-learn in the classroom. Overall, the goal of the framework is to increase the visibility of drawing as a skill in biology and to promote the research and implementation of best practices. PMID:25713094

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

    Allen, J; Velsko, S

    This report explores the question of whether meaningful conclusions can be drawn regarding the transmission relationship between two microbial samples on the basis of differences observed between the two sample's respective genomes. Unlike similar forensic applications using human DNA, the rapid rate of microbial genome evolution combined with the dynamics of infectious disease require a shift in thinking on what it means for two samples to 'match' in support of a forensic hypothesis. Previous outbreaks for SARS-CoV, FMDV and HIV were examined to investigate the question of how microbial sequence data can be used to draw inferences that link twomore » infected individuals by direct transmission. The results are counter intuitive with respect to human DNA forensic applications in that some genetic change rather than exact matching improve confidence in inferring direct transmission links, however, too much genetic change poses challenges, which can weaken confidence in inferred links. High rates of infection coupled with relatively weak selective pressure observed in the SARS-CoV and FMDV data lead to fairly low confidence for direct transmission links. Confidence values for forensic hypotheses increased when testing for the possibility that samples are separated by at most a few intermediate hosts. Moreover, the observed outbreak conditions support the potential to provide high confidence values for hypothesis that exclude direct transmission links. Transmission inferences are based on the total number of observed or inferred genetic changes separating two sequences rather than uniquely weighing the importance of any one genetic mismatch. Thus, inferences are surprisingly robust in the presence of sequencing errors provided the error rates are randomly distributed across all samples in the reference outbreak database and the novel sequence samples in question. When the number of observed nucleotide mutations are limited due to characteristics of the outbreak or the availability of only partial rather than whole genome sequencing, indel information was shown to have the potential to improve performance but only for select outbreak conditions. In examined HIV transmission cases, extended evolution proved to be the limiting factor in assigning high confidence to transmission links, however, the potential to correct for extended evolution not associated with transmission events is demonstrated. Outbreak specific conditions such as selective pressure (in the form of varying mutation rate), are shown to impact the strength of inference made and a Monte Carlo simulation tool is introduced, which is used to provide upper and lower bounds on the confidence values associated with a forensic hypothesis.« less

  20. R2R--software to speed the depiction of aesthetic consensus RNA secondary structures.

    PubMed

    Weinberg, Zasha; Breaker, Ronald R

    2011-01-04

    With continuing identification of novel structured noncoding RNAs, there is an increasing need to create schematic diagrams showing the consensus features of these molecules. RNA structural diagrams are typically made either with general-purpose drawing programs like Adobe Illustrator, or with automated or interactive programs specific to RNA. Unfortunately, the use of applications like Illustrator is extremely time consuming, while existing RNA-specific programs produce figures that are useful, but usually not of the same aesthetic quality as those produced at great cost in Illustrator. Additionally, most existing RNA-specific applications are designed for drawing single RNA molecules, not consensus diagrams. We created R2R, a computer program that facilitates the generation of aesthetic and readable drawings of RNA consensus diagrams in a fraction of the time required with general-purpose drawing programs. Since the inference of a consensus RNA structure typically requires a multiple-sequence alignment, the R2R user annotates the alignment with commands directing the layout and annotation of the RNA. R2R creates SVG or PDF output that can be imported into Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape or CorelDRAW. R2R can be used to create consensus sequence and secondary structure models for novel RNA structures or to revise models when new representatives for known RNA classes become available. Although R2R does not currently have a graphical user interface, it has proven useful in our efforts to create 100 schematic models of distinct noncoding RNA classes. R2R makes it possible to obtain high-quality drawings of the consensus sequence and structural models of many diverse RNA structures with a more practical amount of effort. R2R software is available at http://breaker.research.yale.edu/R2R and as an Additional file.

  1. Inference methods for spatial variation in species richness and community composition when not all species are detected

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Nichols, J.D.; Boulinier, T.; Hines, J.E.; Pollock, K.H.; Sauer, J.R.

    1998-01-01

    Inferences about spatial variation in species richness and community composition are important both to ecological hypotheses about the structure and function of communities and to community-level conservation and management. Few sampling programs for animal communities provide censuses, and usually some species present. We present estimators useful for drawing inferences about comparative species richness and composition between different sampling locations when not all species are detected in sampling efforts. Based on capture-recapture models using the robust design, our methods estimate relative species richness, proportion of species in one location that are also found in another, and number of species found in one location but not in another. The methods use data on the presence or absence of each species at different sampling occasions (or locations) to estimate the number of species not detected at any occasions (or locations). This approach permits estimation of the number of species in the sampled community and in subsets of the community useful for estimating the fraction of species shared by two communities. We provide an illustration of our estimation methods by comparing bird species richness and composition in two locations sampled by routes of the North American Breeding Bird Survey. In this example analysis, the two locations (an associated bird communities) represented different levels of urbanization. Estimates of relative richness, proportion of shared species, and number of species present on one route but not the other indicated that the route with the smaller fraction of urban area had greater richness and a larer number of species that were not found on the more urban route than vice versa. We developed a software package, COMDYN, for computing estimates based on the methods. Because these estimation methods explicitly deal with sampling in which not all species are detected, we recommend their use for addressing questions about species richness and community composition.

  2. A case study analysing the process of analogy-based learning in a teaching unit about simple electric circuits

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Paatz, Roland; Ryder, James; Schwedes, Hannelore; Scott, Philip

    2004-09-01

    The purpose of this case study is to analyse the learning processes of a 16-year-old student as she learns about simple electric circuits in response to an analogy-based teaching sequence. Analogical thinking processes are modelled by a sequence of four steps according to Gentner's structure mapping theory (activate base domain, postulate local matches, connect them to a global match, draw candidate inferences). We consider whether Gentner's theory can be used to account for the details of this specific teaching/learning context. The case study involved video-taping teaching and learning activities in a 10th-grade high school course in Germany. Teaching used water flow through pipes as an analogy for electrical circuits. Using Gentner's theory, relational nets were created from the student's statements at different stages of her learning. Overall, these nets reflect the four steps outlined earlier. We also consider to what extent the learning processes revealed by this case study are different from previous analyses of contexts in which no analogical knowledge is available.

  3. Comparison of satellite-derived dynamical quantities for the stratosphere of the Southern Hemisphere

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Miles, Thomas (Editor); Oneill, Alan (Editor)

    1989-01-01

    As part of the international Middle Atmosphere Program (MAP), a project was instituted to study the dynamics of the Middle Atmosphere in the Southern Hemisphere (MASH). A pre-MASH workshop was held with two aims: comparison of Southern Hemisphere dynamical quantities derived from various archives of satellite data; and assessing the impact of different base-level height information on such derived quantities. The dynamical quantities examined included geopotential height, zonal wind, potential vorticity, eddy heat and momentum fluxes, and Eliassen-Palm fluxes. It was found that while there was usually qualitative agreement between the different sets of fields, substantial quantitative differences were evident, particularly in high latitudes. The fidelity of the base-level analysis was found to be of prime importance in calculating derived quantities - especially the Eliassen-Palm flux divergence and potential vorticity. Improvements in base-level analyses are recommended. In particular, quality controls should be introduced to remove spurious localized features from analyses, and information from all Antarctic radiosondes should be utilized where possible. Caution in drawing quantitative inferences from satellite data for the middle atmosphere of the Southern Hemisphere is advised.

  4. Design-based and model-based inference in surveys of freshwater mollusks

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Dorazio, R.M.

    1999-01-01

    Well-known concepts in statistical inference and sampling theory are used to develop recommendations for planning and analyzing the results of quantitative surveys of freshwater mollusks. Two methods of inference commonly used in survey sampling (design-based and model-based) are described and illustrated using examples relevant in surveys of freshwater mollusks. The particular objectives of a survey and the type of information observed in each unit of sampling can be used to help select the sampling design and the method of inference. For example, the mean density of a sparsely distributed population of mollusks can be estimated with higher precision by using model-based inference or by using design-based inference with adaptive cluster sampling than by using design-based inference with conventional sampling. More experience with quantitative surveys of natural assemblages of freshwater mollusks is needed to determine the actual benefits of different sampling designs and inferential procedures.

  5. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Signal & Ordnance Warehouse ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Signal & Ordnance Warehouse in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General)TRUSS DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Signal & Ordnance Warehouse, 7620 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  6. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Photographic Laboratory Building in ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Photographic Laboratory Building in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1939 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) PLANS - MacDill Air Force Base, Photographic Laboratory, 7718 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  7. 14. Photocopy of engineering drawing (original drawing, #MH 10460086, dated ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    14. Photocopy of engineering drawing (original drawing, #MH 104-600-86, dated October 31, 1995, and drawn by W. Robinson, is located in the Mountain Home Air Force Base Civil Engineering archives). - Mountain Home Air Force Base, Base Chapel, 350 Willow Street, Cantonment Area, Mountain Home, Elmore County, ID

  8. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Theater886 Seats in possession ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Theater-886 Seats in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1947 architectural drawings by Department of the Army, Office of the Chief Engineers, Director of Military Construction Engineering Division, Washington, D.C.) FIRST FLOOR PLAN, ROOF PLAN, AND DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Base Theater, 2420 Florida Keys Avenue, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  9. Children's Category-Based Inferences Affect Classification

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ross, Brian H.; Gelman, Susan A.; Rosengren, Karl S.

    2005-01-01

    Children learn many new categories and make inferences about these categories. Much work has examined how children make inferences on the basis of category knowledge. However, inferences may also affect what is learned about a category. Four experiments examine whether category-based inferences during category learning influence category knowledge…

  10. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Signal & Ordnance Warehouse ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Signal & Ordnance Warehouse in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) SECTIONS AND DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Signal & Ordnance Warehouse, 7620 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  11. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Q.M. Warehouse & Commissary ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Q.M. Warehouse & Commissary in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) END ELEVATION AND SECTIONS - MacDill Air Force Base, Quartermaster Warehouse & Commissary, 7621 Hillsborough Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  12. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Photographic Laboratory Building in ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Photographic Laboratory Building in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1939 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) MAIN ENTRANCE DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Photographic Laboratory, 7718 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  13. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of PaintOil & Dope Building ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Paint-Oil & Dope Building in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Paint, Oil & Dope Building, 7716 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  14. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Q.M. Warehouse & Commissary ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Q.M. Warehouse & Commissary in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) SECTIONS AND DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Quartermaster Warehouse & Commissary, 7621 Hillsborough Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  15. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of PaintOil & Dope Building ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Paint-Oil & Dope Building in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) PLAN AND ELEVATIONS - MacDill Air Force Base, Paint, Oil & Dope Building, 7716 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  16. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Signal & Ordnance Warehouse ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Signal & Ordnance Warehouse in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) PLANS, ELEVATIONS, SECTIONS AND DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Signal & Ordnance Warehouse, 7620 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  17. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Q.M. Warehouse & Commissary ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Q.M. Warehouse & Commissary in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) FRONT AND REAR ELEVATIONS - MacDill Air Force Base, Quartermaster Warehouse & Commissary, 7621 Hillsborough Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  18. Beyond Description in Interpersonal Construct Validation: Methodological Advances in the Circumplex Structural Summary Approach.

    PubMed

    Zimmermann, Johannes; Wright, Aidan G C

    2017-01-01

    The interpersonal circumplex is a well-established structural model that organizes interpersonal functioning within the two-dimensional space marked by dominance and affiliation. The structural summary method (SSM) was developed to evaluate the interpersonal nature of other constructs and measures outside the interpersonal circumplex. To date, this method has been primarily descriptive, providing no way to draw inferences when comparing SSM parameters across constructs or groups. We describe a newly developed resampling-based method for deriving confidence intervals, which allows for SSM parameter comparisons. In a series of five studies, we evaluated the accuracy of the approach across a wide range of possible sample sizes and parameter values, and demonstrated its utility for posing theoretical questions on the interpersonal nature of relevant constructs (e.g., personality disorders) using real-world data. As a result, the SSM is strengthened for its intended purpose of construct evaluation and theory building. © The Author(s) 2015.

  19. Precipitation in a boiling soup: is microphysics driving the statistical properties of intense turbulent convection?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parodi, A.; von Hardenberg, J.; Provenzale, A.

    2012-04-01

    Intense precipitation events are often associated with strong convective phenomena in the atmosphere. A deeper understanding of how microphysics affects the spatial and temporal variability of convective processes is relevant for many hydro-meteorological applications, such as the estimation of rainfall using remote sensing techniques and the ability to predict severe precipitation processes. In this paper, high-resolution simulations (0.1-1 km) of an atmosphere in radiative-convective equilibrium are performed using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model by prescribing different microphysical parameterizations. The dependence of fine-scale spatio-temporal properties of convective structures on microphysical details are investigated and the simulation results are compared with the known properties of radar maps of precipitation fields. We analyze and discuss similarities and differences and, based also on previous results on the dependence of precipitation statistics on the raindrop terminal velocity, try to draw some general inferences.

  20. Spatial Point Pattern Analysis of Neurons Using Ripley's K-Function in 3D

    PubMed Central

    Jafari-Mamaghani, Mehrdad; Andersson, Mikael; Krieger, Patrik

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to apply a non-parametric statistical tool, Ripley's K-function, to analyze the 3-dimensional distribution of pyramidal neurons. Ripley's K-function is a widely used tool in spatial point pattern analysis. There are several approaches in 2D domains in which this function is executed and analyzed. Drawing consistent inferences on the underlying 3D point pattern distributions in various applications is of great importance as the acquisition of 3D biological data now poses lesser of a challenge due to technological progress. As of now, most of the applications of Ripley's K-function in 3D domains do not focus on the phenomenon of edge correction, which is discussed thoroughly in this paper. The main goal is to extend the theoretical and practical utilization of Ripley's K-function and corresponding tests based on bootstrap resampling from 2D to 3D domains. PMID:20577588

  1. Nystagmus Assessments Documented by Emergency Physicians in Acute Dizziness Presentations: A Target for Decision Support?

    PubMed Central

    Kerber, Kevin A.; Morgenstern, Lewis B.; Meurer, William J.; McLaughlin, Thomas; Hall, Pamela A.; Forman, Jane; Fendrick, A. Mark; Newman-Toker, David E.

    2011-01-01

    Objectives Dizziness is a common presenting complaint to the emergency department (ED), and emergency physicians (EPs) consider these presentations a priority for decision support. Assessing for nystagmus and defining its features are important steps for any acute dizziness decision algorithm. The authors sought to describe nystagmus documentation in routine ED care to determine if nystagmus assessments might be an important target in decision support efforts. Methods Medical records from ED visits for dizziness were captured as part of a surveillance study embedded within an ongoing population-based cohort study. Visits with documentation of a nystagmus assessment were reviewed and coded for presence or absence of nystagmus, ability to draw a meaningful inference from the description, and coherence with the final EP diagnosis when a peripheral vestibular diagnosis was made. Results Of 1,091 visits for dizziness, 887 (81.3%) documented a nystagmus assessment. Nystagmus was present in 185 out of 887 (20.9%) visits. When nystagmus was present, no further characteristics were recorded in 48 of the 185 visits (26%). The documentation of nystagmus (including all descriptors recorded) enabled a meaningful inference about the localization or cause in only 10 of the 185 (5.4%) visits. The nystagmus description conflicted with the EP diagnosis in 113 (80.7%) of the 140 visits that received a peripheral vestibular diagnosis. Conclusions Nystagmus assessments are frequently documented in acute dizziness presentations, but details do not generally enable a meaningful inference. Recorded descriptions usually conflict with the diagnosis when a peripheral vestibular diagnosis is rendered. Nystagmus assessments might be an important target in developing decision support for dizziness presentations. PMID:21676060

  2. Personality inferences drawn about abusive mothers.

    PubMed

    Davidson, W B; Jennings, C

    1995-10-01

    This study investigated the personality inferences people draw about abusive mothers by having 287 subjects view videotapes of four female targets engaged in social discourse with other adults. Some subjects were primed beforehand to believe that the female targets had physically abused or neglected their child and other subjects viewed the tapes without being primed. Afterward, all subjects rated the targets' personalities using 17 bipolar trait scales and estimating the likelihood of six social behaviors. Analyses compared the ratings of the two types of abuse groups (physical abuse and neglect) with each other and with the unprimed control group. Analysis showed that ratings of one or both of the abuse groups differed from those of the control group on 10 of the 17 trait dimensions and four of six social behaviors. Implications are drawn about the social forces experienced by abusive mothers and the possible role of such forces in therapeutic change.

  3. Affective cognition: Exploring lay theories of emotion.

    PubMed

    Ong, Desmond C; Zaki, Jamil; Goodman, Noah D

    2015-10-01

    Humans skillfully reason about others' emotions, a phenomenon we term affective cognition. Despite its importance, few formal, quantitative theories have described the mechanisms supporting this phenomenon. We propose that affective cognition involves applying domain-general reasoning processes to domain-specific content knowledge. Observers' knowledge about emotions is represented in rich and coherent lay theories, which comprise consistent relationships between situations, emotions, and behaviors. Observers utilize this knowledge in deciphering social agents' behavior and signals (e.g., facial expressions), in a manner similar to rational inference in other domains. We construct a computational model of a lay theory of emotion, drawing on tools from Bayesian statistics, and test this model across four experiments in which observers drew inferences about others' emotions in a simple gambling paradigm. This work makes two main contributions. First, the model accurately captures observers' flexible but consistent reasoning about the ways that events and others' emotional responses to those events relate to each other. Second, our work models the problem of emotional cue integration-reasoning about others' emotion from multiple emotional cues-as rational inference via Bayes' rule, and we show that this model tightly tracks human observers' empirical judgments. Our results reveal a deep structural relationship between affective cognition and other forms of inference, and suggest wide-ranging applications to basic psychological theory and psychiatry. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Learning history and cholinergic modulation in the dorsal hippocampus are necessary for rats to infer the status of a hidden event.

    PubMed

    Fast, Cynthia D; Flesher, M Melissa; Nocera, Nathanial A; Fanselow, Michael S; Blaisdell, Aaron P

    2016-06-01

    Identifying statistical patterns between environmental stimuli enables organisms to respond adaptively when cues are later observed. However, stimuli are often obscured from detection, necessitating behavior under conditions of ambiguity. Considerable evidence indicates decisions under ambiguity rely on inference processes that draw on past experiences to generate predictions under novel conditions. Despite the high demand for this process and the observation that it deteriorates disproportionately with age, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. We developed a rodent model of decision-making during ambiguity to examine features of experience that contribute to inference. Rats learned either a simple (positive patterning) or complex (negative patterning) instrumental discrimination between the illumination of one or two lights. During test, only one light was lit while the other relevant light was blocked from physical detection (covered by an opaque shield, rendering its status ambiguous). We found experience with the complex negative patterning discrimination was necessary for rats to behave sensitively to the ambiguous test situation. These rats behaved as if they inferred the presence of the hidden light, responding differently than when the light was explicitly absent (uncovered and unlit). Differential expression profiles of the immediate early gene cFos indicated hippocampal involvement in the inference process while localized microinfusions of the muscarinic antagonist, scopolamine, into the dorsal hippocampus caused rats to behave as if only one light was present. That is, blocking cholinergic modulation prevented the rat from inferring the presence of the hidden light. Collectively, these results suggest cholinergic modulation mediates recruitment of hippocampal processes related to past experiences and transfer of these processes to make decisions during ambiguous situations. Our results correspond with correlations observed between human brain function and inference abilities, suggesting our experiments may inform interventions to alleviate or prevent cognitive dysfunction. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. 15. Photocopy of drawing (1958 architectural drawing by Ralph M. ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    15. Photocopy of drawing (1958 architectural drawing by Ralph M. Parsons Company. Original drawing in possession of Vandenberg Air Force Base Civil Engineering Office). SITE PLAN FOR POINT ARGUELLO LAUNCH COMPLEX 1 (SLC-3) SHOWING POTENTIAL SITES OF FUTURE PADS. - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  6. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Double N.C.O. Quarters in ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Double N.C.O. Quarters in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1939 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) INTERIOR DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Double Non-Commissioned Officers' Quarters, 7418 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  7. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Armament & Instrument Inspection ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Armament & Instrument Inspection and Adjustment Bldg. in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1941 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) ELEVATIONS AND DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Armament & Instrument Inspection & Adjustment Building, 7807 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  8. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Q.M. Gas & Oil ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Q.M. Gas & Oil House in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) ELEVATIONS AND DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Quartermaster Gas & Oil House, 8103 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  9. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Armament & Instrument Inspection ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Armament & Instrument Inspection and Adjustment Bldg. in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1941 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) ELEVATIONS AND SECTIONS - MacDill Air Force Base, Armament & Instrument Inspection & Adjustment Building, 7807 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  10. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Double N.C.O. Quarters in ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Double N.C.O. Quarters in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1939 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) ELEVATIONS AND SECTION - MacDill Air Force Base, Double Non-Commissioned Officers' Quarters, 7418 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  11. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Fire and Guard House ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Fire and Guard House with Communication Center in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) ELEVATIONS AND SECTIONS - MacDill Air Force Base, Fire & Guard House, 2709 Florida Keys Avenue, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  12. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Photographic Laboratory Building in ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Photographic Laboratory Building in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1939 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) FRONT AND RIGHT SIDE ELEVATIONS AND SECTIONS - MacDill Air Force Base, Photographic Laboratory, 7718 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  13. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Fire and Guard House ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Fire and Guard House with Communication Center in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) EXTERIOR AND MISCELLANEOUS DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Fire & Guard House, 2709 Florida Keys Avenue, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  14. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Photographic Laboratory Building in ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Photographic Laboratory Building in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1939 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) REAR AND LEFT SIDE ELEVATIONS AND SECTIONS - MacDill Air Force Base, Photographic Laboratory, 7718 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  15. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Fire and Guard House ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Fire and Guard House with Communication Center in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) FRONT ELEVATION DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Fire & Guard House, 2709 Florida Keys Avenue, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  16. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Sewage Treatment Plant ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Sewage Treatment Plant - No. 1 Pump House in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) ELEVATIONS, SECTIONS, AND DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Pump House No. 1, Hillsborough Garden Drive & Tampa Boulevard, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  17. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Q.M. Warehouse & Commissary ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Q.M. Warehouse & Commissary in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) FIRST FLOOR PLAN AND DOOR DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Quartermaster Warehouse & Commissary, 7621 Hillsborough Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  18. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Q.M. Warehouse in possession ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Q.M. Warehouse in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) PLANS, ELEVATIONS, SECTIONS, AND ELECTRICAL DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Quartermaster Warehouse, 7605 Hillsborough Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  19. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Sewage Treatment Plant ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Sewage Treatment Plant - No. 1 Pump House in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) FLOOR PLANS AND SECTIONS - MacDill Air Force Base, Pump House No. 1, Hillsborough Garden Drive & Tampa Boulevard, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  20. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Fire and Guard House ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Fire and Guard House with Communication Center in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) CELL BLOCK DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Fire & Guard House, 2709 Florida Keys Avenue, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  1. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of MacDill Field in possession ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of MacDill Field in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; site plan dated December, 1942) BASE LAYOUT, DECEMBER 1942 - MacDill Air Force Base, Bounded by City of Tampa North, Tampa Bay South, Old Tampa Bay West, & Hillsborough Bay East, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  2. Schematic drawings of facial expressions for emotion recognition and interpretation by preschool-aged children.

    PubMed

    MacDonald, P M; Kirkpatrick, S W; Sullivan, L A

    1996-11-01

    Schematic drawings of facial expressions were evaluated as a possible assessment tool for research on emotion recognition and interpretation involving young children. A subset of Ekman and Friesen's (1976) Pictures of Facial Affect was used as the standard for comparison. Preschool children (N = 138) were shown drawing and photographs in two context conditions for six emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise). The overall correlation between accuracy for the photographs and drawings was .677. A significant difference was found for the stimulus condition (photographs vs. drawings) but not for the administration condition (label-based vs. context-based). Children were significantly more accurate in interpreting drawings than photographs and tended to be more accurate in identifying facial expressions in the label-based administration condition for both photographs and drawings than in the context-based administration condition.

  3. False Belief vs. False Photographs: A Test of Theory of Mind or Working Memory?

    PubMed

    Callejas, Alicia; Shulman, Gordon L; Corbetta, Maurizio

    2011-01-01

    Theory of mind (ToM), the ability to reason about other people's thoughts and beliefs, has been traditionally studied in behavioral and neuroimaging experiments by comparing performance in "false belief" and "false photograph" (control) stories. However, some evidence suggests that these stories are not matched in difficulty, complicating the interpretation of results. Here, we more fully evaluated the relative difficulty of comprehending these stories and drawing inferences from them. Subjects read false belief and false photograph stories followed by comprehension questions that probed true ("reality" questions) or false beliefs ("representation" questions) appropriate to the stories. Stories and comprehension questions were read and answered, respectively, more slowly in the false photograph than false belief conditions, indicating their greater difficulty. Interestingly, accuracy on representation questions for false photograph stories was significantly lower than for all other conditions and correlated positively with participants' working memory span scores. These results suggest that drawing representational inferences from false photo stories is particularly difficult and places heavy demands on working memory. Extensive naturalistic practice with ToM reasoning may enable a more flexible and efficient mental representation of false belief stories, resulting in lower memory load requirements. An important implication of these results is that the differential modulation of right temporal-parietal junction (RTPJ) during ToM and "false photo" control conditions may reflect the documented negative correlation of RTPJ activity with working memory load rather than a specialized involvement in ToM processes.

  4. Doubt and fear of self in bulimia nervosa.

    PubMed

    Wilson, Samantha; Aardema, Frederick; O'Connor, Kieron

    2017-12-01

    Several overlapping cognitive processes have been identified in eating disorders (EDs) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Drawing from the OCD literature, the present study examined whether bulimia nervosa (BN) is associated with a maladaptive inductive reasoning style characterized by the over-investment in possibility-based (as opposed to reality-based) information. Women with BN (n = 25) and healthy controls (HC; n = 24) completed the Inference Processes Task (IPT), an ecological inductive reasoning task previously validated in OCD samples. Participants also completed the Fear of Self Questionnaire (FSQ) that evaluates investment in a feared possible identity. Significant differences on the IPT indicate that the BN group was more influenced by possibility-based information throughout the task than the HC group (F[5.44, 255.78] = 6.94, p > .001). It was also found that the BN group scored significantly higher on the FSQ than the HC group (t[29.98] = 8.4, p > .001), replicating previous findings. Finally, scores on the IPT were significantly correlated with measures of symptom severity. These findings suggest that BN may be associated with maladaptive inductive reasoning processes characterized by over-investment in possibility-based feared outcomes and identities. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Armament & Instrument Inspection ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Armament & Instrument Inspection and Adjustment Bldg. in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1941 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) FIRST FLOOR PLAN, SECTIONS, AND DETAILS - MacDill Air Force Base, Armament & Instrument Inspection & Adjustment Building, 7807 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  6. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Double N.C.O. Quarters in ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Double N.C.O. Quarters in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1939 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) FIRST AND SECOND FLOOR PLANS - MacDill Air Force Base, Double Non-Commissioned Officers' Quarters, 7418 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  7. Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Fire and Guard House ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original drawing of Fire and Guard House with Communication Center in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1940 architectural drawings by Construction Division, Office of the Quartermaster General) FIRST AND SECOND FLOOR AND ROOF PLANS - MacDill Air Force Base, Fire & Guard House, 2709 Florida Keys Avenue, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  8. 21. Photocopy of engineering drawing, April 10, 1958 (original drawing ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    21. Photocopy of engineering drawing, April 10, 1958 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering Vault). READINESS CREW BUILDING, RAMP DETAILS - Fairchild Air Force Base, Bomber Alert Facility, 803G South Taxi Way, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  9. 25. Photocopy of engineering drawing, January, 1988 (original drawing located ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    25. Photocopy of engineering drawing, January, 1988 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering Vault). EXTERIOR ELEVATIONS (northeast and southeast) - Fairchild Air Force Base, Bomber Alert Facility, 803G South Taxi Way, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  10. 26. Photocopy of engineering drawing, March 3, 1988 (original drawing ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    26. Photocopy of engineering drawing, March 3, 1988 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering Vault). EXTERIOR ELEVATIONS (southwest and northwest) - Fairchild Air Force Base, Bomber Alert Facility, 803G South Taxi Way, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  11. 20. Photocopy of engineering drawing, April 10, 1958 (original drawing ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    20. Photocopy of engineering drawing, April 10, 1958 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering Vault). READINESS CREW BUILDING, ELEVATIONS - Fairchild Air Force Base, Bomber Alert Facility, 803G South Taxi Way, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  12. Nonlinear mixed effects dose response modeling in high throughput drug screens: application to melanoma cell line analysis.

    PubMed

    Ding, Kuan-Fu; Petricoin, Emanuel F; Finlay, Darren; Yin, Hongwei; Hendricks, William P D; Sereduk, Chris; Kiefer, Jeffrey; Sekulic, Aleksandar; LoRusso, Patricia M; Vuori, Kristiina; Trent, Jeffrey M; Schork, Nicholas J

    2018-01-12

    Cancer cell lines are often used in high throughput drug screens (HTS) to explore the relationship between cell line characteristics and responsiveness to different therapies. Many current analysis methods infer relationships by focusing on one aspect of cell line drug-specific dose-response curves (DRCs), the concentration causing 50% inhibition of a phenotypic endpoint (IC 50 ). Such methods may overlook DRC features and do not simultaneously leverage information about drug response patterns across cell lines, potentially increasing false positive and negative rates in drug response associations. We consider the application of two methods, each rooted in nonlinear mixed effects (NLME) models, that test the relationship relationships between estimated cell line DRCs and factors that might mitigate response. Both methods leverage estimation and testing techniques that consider the simultaneous analysis of different cell lines to draw inferences about any one cell line. One of the methods is designed to provide an omnibus test of the differences between cell line DRCs that is not focused on any one aspect of the DRC (such as the IC 50 value). We simulated different settings and compared the different methods on the simulated data. We also compared the proposed methods against traditional IC 50 -based methods using 40 melanoma cell lines whose transcriptomes, proteomes, and, importantly, BRAF and related mutation profiles were available. Ultimately, we find that the NLME-based methods are more robust, powerful and, for the omnibus test, more flexible, than traditional methods. Their application to the melanoma cell lines reveals insights into factors that may be clinically useful.

  13. 23. Photocopy of engineering drawing, April 10, 1958 (original drawing ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    23. Photocopy of engineering drawing, April 10, 1958 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering Vault). READINESS CREW BUILDING, UPPER FLOOR PLANS - Fairchild Air Force Base, Bomber Alert Facility, 803G South Taxi Way, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  14. 22. Photocopy of engineering drawing, April 10, 1958 (original drawing ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    22. Photocopy of engineering drawing, April 10, 1958 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering Vault). READINESS CREW BUILDING, LOWER FLOOR PLANS - Fairchild Air Force Base, Bomber Alert Facility, 803G South Taxi Way, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  15. Understanding Elementary Astronomy by Making Drawing-Based Models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Joolingen, W. R.; Aukes, Annika V. A.; Gijlers, H.; Bollen, L.

    2015-04-01

    Modeling is an important approach in the teaching and learning of science. In this study, we attempt to bring modeling within the reach of young children by creating the SimSketch modeling system, which is based on freehand drawings that can be turned into simulations. This system was used by 247 children (ages ranging from 7 to 15) to create a drawing-based model of the solar system. The results show that children in the target age group are capable of creating a drawing-based model of the solar system and can use it to show the situations in which eclipses occur. Structural equation modeling predicting post-test knowledge scores based on learners' pre-test knowledge scores, the quality of their drawings and motivational aspects yielded some evidence that such drawing contributes to learning. Consequences for using modeling with young children are considered.

  16. How to select combination operators for fuzzy expert systems using CRI

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Turksen, I. B.; Tian, Y.

    1992-01-01

    A method to select combination operators for fuzzy expert systems using the Compositional Rule of Inference (CRI) is proposed. First, fuzzy inference processes based on CRI are classified into three categories in terms of their inference results: the Expansion Type Inference, the Reduction Type Inference, and Other Type Inferences. Further, implication operators under Sup-T composition are classified as the Expansion Type Operator, the Reduction Type Operator, and the Other Type Operators. Finally, the combination of rules or their consequences is investigated for inference processes based on CRI.

  17. 24. Photocopy of engineering drawing, August 17, 1965 (original drawing ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    24. Photocopy of engineering drawing, August 17, 1965 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering Vault). 2080 READINESS CREW, COVERED WALKWAYS, PLAN AND DETAILS - Fairchild Air Force Base, Bomber Alert Facility, 803G South Taxi Way, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  18. 28. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    28. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering vault). ENGINE TEST CELL BUILDING. AIR COOLED TEST STAND. - Fairchild Air Force Base, Engine Test Cell Building, Near intersection of Arnold Street & George Avenue, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  19. Photocopy of engineering drawing dated June 30, 1944. (Original drawing ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of engineering drawing dated June 30, 1944. (Original drawing located in Command Historian's Archives, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Port Hueneme, California. SITE PLAN OF ROOSEVELT BASE, JUNE 30, 1944 - Roosevelt Base, Bounded by Ocean Boulevard, Pennsylvania Avenue, Richardson Avenue, & Idaho Street, Long Beach, Los Angeles County, CA

  20. Web-based healthcare hand drawing management system.

    PubMed

    Hsieh, Sheau-Ling; Weng, Yung-Ching; Chen, Chi-Huang; Hsu, Kai-Ping; Lin, Jeng-Wei; Lai, Feipei

    2010-01-01

    The paper addresses Medical Hand Drawing Management System architecture and implementation. In the system, we developed four modules: hand drawing management module; patient medical records query module; hand drawing editing and upload module; hand drawing query module. The system adapts windows-based applications and encompasses web pages by ASP.NET hosting mechanism under web services platforms. The hand drawings implemented as files are stored in a FTP server. The file names with associated data, e.g. patient identification, drawing physician, access rights, etc. are reposited in a database. The modules can be conveniently embedded, integrated into any system. Therefore, the system possesses the hand drawing features to support daily medical operations, effectively improve healthcare qualities as well. Moreover, the system includes the printing capability to achieve a complete, computerized medical document process. In summary, the system allows web-based applications to facilitate the graphic processes for healthcare operations.

  1. Drawing-to-learn: a framework for using drawings to promote model-based reasoning in biology.

    PubMed

    Quillin, Kim; Thomas, Stephen

    2015-03-02

    The drawing of visual representations is important for learners and scientists alike, such as the drawing of models to enable visual model-based reasoning. Yet few biology instructors recognize drawing as a teachable science process skill, as reflected by its absence in the Vision and Change report's Modeling and Simulation core competency. Further, the diffuse research on drawing can be difficult to access, synthesize, and apply to classroom practice. We have created a framework of drawing-to-learn that defines drawing, categorizes the reasons for using drawing in the biology classroom, and outlines a number of interventions that can help instructors create an environment conducive to student drawing in general and visual model-based reasoning in particular. The suggested interventions are organized to address elements of affect, visual literacy, and visual model-based reasoning, with specific examples cited for each. Further, a Blooming tool for drawing exercises is provided, as are suggestions to help instructors address possible barriers to implementing and assessing drawing-to-learn in the classroom. Overall, the goal of the framework is to increase the visibility of drawing as a skill in biology and to promote the research and implementation of best practices. © 2015 K. Quillin and S. Thomas. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2015 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

  2. Evaluating the privacy properties of telephone metadata.

    PubMed

    Mayer, Jonathan; Mutchler, Patrick; Mitchell, John C

    2016-05-17

    Since 2013, a stream of disclosures has prompted reconsideration of surveillance law and policy. One of the most controversial principles, both in the United States and abroad, is that communications metadata receives substantially less protection than communications content. Several nations currently collect telephone metadata in bulk, including on their own citizens. In this paper, we attempt to shed light on the privacy properties of telephone metadata. Using a crowdsourcing methodology, we demonstrate that telephone metadata is densely interconnected, can trivially be reidentified, and can be used to draw sensitive inferences.

  3. Atomic hydrogen and diatomic titanium-monoxide molecular spectroscopy in laser-induced plasma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parigger, Christian G.; Woods, Alexander C.

    2017-03-01

    This article gives a brief review of experimental studies of hydrogen Balmer series emission spectra. Ongoing research aims to evaluate early plasma evolution following optical breakdown in laboratory air. Of interest is as well laser ablation of metallic titanium and characterization of plasma evolution. Emission of titanium monoxide is discussed together with modeling of diatomic spectra to infer temperature. The behavior of titanium particles in plasma draws research interests ranging from the modeling of stellar atmospheres to the enhancement of thin film production via pulsed laser deposition.

  4. Non-manipulation quantitative designs.

    PubMed

    Rumrill, Phillip D

    2004-01-01

    The article describes non-manipulation quantitative designs of two types, correlational and causal comparative studies. Both of these designs are characterized by the absence of random assignment of research participants to conditions or groups and non-manipulation of the independent variable. Without random selection or manipulation of the independent variable, no attempt is made to draw causal inferences regarding relationships between independent and dependent variables. Nonetheless, non-manipulation studies play an important role in rehabilitation research, as described in this article. Examples from the contemporary rehabilitation literature are included. Copyright 2004 IOS Press

  5. Evaluating the privacy properties of telephone metadata

    PubMed Central

    Mayer, Jonathan; Mutchler, Patrick; Mitchell, John C.

    2016-01-01

    Since 2013, a stream of disclosures has prompted reconsideration of surveillance law and policy. One of the most controversial principles, both in the United States and abroad, is that communications metadata receives substantially less protection than communications content. Several nations currently collect telephone metadata in bulk, including on their own citizens. In this paper, we attempt to shed light on the privacy properties of telephone metadata. Using a crowdsourcing methodology, we demonstrate that telephone metadata is densely interconnected, can trivially be reidentified, and can be used to draw sensitive inferences. PMID:27185922

  6. Gravity fields of the terrestrial planets - Long-wavelength anomalies and tectonics

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Phillips, R. J.; Lambeck, K.

    1980-01-01

    The paper discusses the gravity and topography data available for four terrestrial planets (earth, moon, Mars, and Venus), with particular emphasis on drawing inferences regarding the relationship of long-wavelength anomalies to tectonics. The discussion covers statistical analyses of global planetary gravity fields, relationship of gravity anomalies to elastic and viscoelastic models, relationship of gravity anomalies to convection models, finite strength, and isostasy (or the state of isostatic compensation). The cases of the earth and the moon are discussed in some detail. A summary of comparative planetology is presented.

  7. Grain optical properties

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hanner, Martha

    1988-01-01

    The optical properties of small grains provide the link between the infrared observations presented in Chapter 1 and the dust composition described in Chapter 3. In this session, the optical properties were discussed from the viewpoint of modeling the emission from the dust coma and the scattering in order to draw inference about the dust size distribution and composition. The optical properties are applied to the analysis of the infrared data in several ways, and these different uses should be kept in mind when judging the validity of the methods for applying optical constants to real grains.

  8. 25. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    25. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering vault). ENGINE TEST CELL BUILDING. ELEVATIONS, RIGHT AND LEFT PORTIONS, TEST CELLS 5-12. - Fairchild Air Force Base, Engine Test Cell Building, Near intersection of Arnold Street & George Avenue, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  9. 24. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    24. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering vault). ENGINE TEST CELL BUILDING. ELEVATIONS, CENTRAL PORTION AND TEST CELLS 1-4. - Fairchild Air Force Base, Engine Test Cell Building, Near intersection of Arnold Street & George Avenue, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  10. 26. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    26. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering vault). ENGINE TEST CELL BUILDING. CROSS-SECTION, CENTRAL PORTION AND TEST CELLS 1-4. - Fairchild Air Force Base, Engine Test Cell Building, Near intersection of Arnold Street & George Avenue, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  11. 29. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    29. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering vault). ENGINE TEST CELL BUILDING. 19508 RENOVATION OF FIRST FLOOR, CENTRAL PORTION. - Fairchild Air Force Base, Engine Test Cell Building, Near intersection of Arnold Street & George Avenue, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  12. Minimally inconsistent reasoning in Semantic Web.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Xiaowang

    2017-01-01

    Reasoning with inconsistencies is an important issue for Semantic Web as imperfect information is unavoidable in real applications. For this, different paraconsistent approaches, due to their capacity to draw as nontrivial conclusions by tolerating inconsistencies, have been proposed to reason with inconsistent description logic knowledge bases. However, existing paraconsistent approaches are often criticized for being too skeptical. To this end, this paper presents a non-monotonic paraconsistent version of description logic reasoning, called minimally inconsistent reasoning, where inconsistencies tolerated in the reasoning are minimized so that more reasonable conclusions can be inferred. Some desirable properties are studied, which shows that the new semantics inherits advantages of both non-monotonic reasoning and paraconsistent reasoning. A complete and sound tableau-based algorithm, called multi-valued tableaux, is developed to capture the minimally inconsistent reasoning. In fact, the tableaux algorithm is designed, as a framework for multi-valued DL, to allow for different underlying paraconsistent semantics, with the mere difference in the clash conditions. Finally, the complexity of minimally inconsistent description logic reasoning is shown on the same level as the (classical) description logic reasoning.

  13. Minimally inconsistent reasoning in Semantic Web

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Xiaowang

    2017-01-01

    Reasoning with inconsistencies is an important issue for Semantic Web as imperfect information is unavoidable in real applications. For this, different paraconsistent approaches, due to their capacity to draw as nontrivial conclusions by tolerating inconsistencies, have been proposed to reason with inconsistent description logic knowledge bases. However, existing paraconsistent approaches are often criticized for being too skeptical. To this end, this paper presents a non-monotonic paraconsistent version of description logic reasoning, called minimally inconsistent reasoning, where inconsistencies tolerated in the reasoning are minimized so that more reasonable conclusions can be inferred. Some desirable properties are studied, which shows that the new semantics inherits advantages of both non-monotonic reasoning and paraconsistent reasoning. A complete and sound tableau-based algorithm, called multi-valued tableaux, is developed to capture the minimally inconsistent reasoning. In fact, the tableaux algorithm is designed, as a framework for multi-valued DL, to allow for different underlying paraconsistent semantics, with the mere difference in the clash conditions. Finally, the complexity of minimally inconsistent description logic reasoning is shown on the same level as the (classical) description logic reasoning. PMID:28750030

  14. Toward a closer integration of magnetospheric research: Magnetospheric currents inferred from ground-based magnetic data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Akasofu, S.-I.; Kamide, Y.

    1998-07-01

    A new approach is needed to advance magnetospheric physics in the future to achieve a much closer integration than in the past among satellite-based researchers, ground-based researchers, and theorists/modelers. Specifically, we must find efficient ways to combine two-dimensional ground-based data and single points satellite-based data to infer three-dimensional aspects of magnetospheric disturbances. For this particular integration purpose, we propose a new project. It is designed to determine the currents on the magnetospheric equatorial plane from the ionospheric current distribution which has become available by inverting ground-based magnetic data from an extensive, systematic network of observations, combined with ground-based radar measurements of ionospheric parameters, and satellite observations of auroras, electric fields, and currents. The inversion method is based on the KRM/AMIE algorithms. In the first part of the paper, we extensively review the reliability and accuracy of the KRM and AMIE algorithms and conclude that the ionospheric quantities thus obtained are accurate enough for the next step. In the second part, the ionospheric current distribution thus obtained is projected onto the equatorial plane. This process requires a close cooperation with modelers in determining an accurate configuration of the magnetospheric field lines. If we succeed in this projection, we should be able to study the changing distribution of the currents in a vast region of the magnetospheric equatorial plane for extended periods with a time resolution of about 5 min. This process requires a model of the magnetosphere for the different phases of the magnetospheric substorm. Satellite-based observations are needed to calibrate the projection results. Agreements and disagreements thus obtained will be crucial for theoretical studies of magnetospheric plasma convection and dynamics, particularly in studying substorms. Nothing is easy in these procedures. However, unless we can overcome the associated difficulties, we may not be able to make distinct progresses. We believe that the proposed project is one way to draw the three groups closer together in advancing magnetospheric physics in the future. It is important to note that the proposed project has become possible because ground-based space physics has made a major advance during the last decade.

  15. A prior-based integrative framework for functional transcriptional regulatory network inference

    PubMed Central

    Siahpirani, Alireza F.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Transcriptional regulatory networks specify regulatory proteins controlling the context-specific expression levels of genes. Inference of genome-wide regulatory networks is central to understanding gene regulation, but remains an open challenge. Expression-based network inference is among the most popular methods to infer regulatory networks, however, networks inferred from such methods have low overlap with experimentally derived (e.g. ChIP-chip and transcription factor (TF) knockouts) networks. Currently we have a limited understanding of this discrepancy. To address this gap, we first develop a regulatory network inference algorithm, based on probabilistic graphical models, to integrate expression with auxiliary datasets supporting a regulatory edge. Second, we comprehensively analyze our and other state-of-the-art methods on different expression perturbation datasets. Networks inferred by integrating sequence-specific motifs with expression have substantially greater agreement with experimentally derived networks, while remaining more predictive of expression than motif-based networks. Our analysis suggests natural genetic variation as the most informative perturbation for network inference, and, identifies core TFs whose targets are predictable from expression. Multiple reasons make the identification of targets of other TFs difficult, including network architecture and insufficient variation of TF mRNA level. Finally, we demonstrate the utility of our inference algorithm to infer stress-specific regulatory networks and for regulator prioritization. PMID:27794550

  16. What impact do assumptions about missing data have on conclusions? A practical sensitivity analysis for a cancer survival registry.

    PubMed

    Smuk, M; Carpenter, J R; Morris, T P

    2017-02-06

    Within epidemiological and clinical research, missing data are a common issue and often over looked in publications. When the issue of missing observations is addressed it is usually assumed that the missing data are 'missing at random' (MAR). This assumption should be checked for plausibility, however it is untestable, thus inferences should be assessed for robustness to departures from missing at random. We highlight the method of pattern mixture sensitivity analysis after multiple imputation using colorectal cancer data as an example. We focus on the Dukes' stage variable which has the highest proportion of missing observations. First, we find the probability of being in each Dukes' stage given the MAR imputed dataset. We use these probabilities in a questionnaire to elicit prior beliefs from experts on what they believe the probability would be in the missing data. The questionnaire responses are then used in a Dirichlet draw to create a Bayesian 'missing not at random' (MNAR) prior to impute the missing observations. The model of interest is applied and inferences are compared to those from the MAR imputed data. The inferences were largely insensitive to departure from MAR. Inferences under MNAR suggested a smaller association between Dukes' stage and death, though the association remained positive and with similarly low p values. We conclude by discussing the positives and negatives of our method and highlight the importance of making people aware of the need to test the MAR assumption.

  17. An investigation of reasoning by analogy in schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder

    PubMed Central

    Krawczyk, Daniel C.; Kandalaft, Michelle R.; Didehbani, Nyaz; Allen, Tandra T.; McClelland, M. Michelle; Tamminga, Carol A.; Chapman, Sandra B.

    2014-01-01

    Relational reasoning ability relies upon by both cognitive and social factors. We compared analogical reasoning performance in healthy controls (HC) to performance in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and individuals with schizophrenia (SZ). The experimental task required participants to find correspondences between drawings of scenes. Participants were asked to infer which item within one scene best matched a relational item within the second scene. We varied relational complexity, presence of distraction, and type of objects in the analogies (living or non-living items). We hypothesized that the cognitive differences present in SZ would reduce relational inferences relative to ASD and HC. We also hypothesized that both SZ and ASD would show lower performance on living item problems relative to HC due to lower social function scores. Overall accuracy was higher for HC relative to SZ, consistent with prior research. Across groups, higher relational complexity reduced analogical responding, as did the presence of non-living items. Separate group analyses revealed that the ASD group was less accurate at making relational inferences in problems that involved mainly non-living items and when distractors were present. The SZ group showed differences in problem type similar to the ASD group. Additionally, we found significant correlations between social cognitive ability and analogical reasoning, particularly for the SZ group. These results indicate that differences in cognitive and social abilities impact the ability to infer analogical correspondences along with numbers of relational elements and types of objects present in the problems. PMID:25191240

  18. R2R - software to speed the depiction of aesthetic consensus RNA secondary structures

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background With continuing identification of novel structured noncoding RNAs, there is an increasing need to create schematic diagrams showing the consensus features of these molecules. RNA structural diagrams are typically made either with general-purpose drawing programs like Adobe Illustrator, or with automated or interactive programs specific to RNA. Unfortunately, the use of applications like Illustrator is extremely time consuming, while existing RNA-specific programs produce figures that are useful, but usually not of the same aesthetic quality as those produced at great cost in Illustrator. Additionally, most existing RNA-specific applications are designed for drawing single RNA molecules, not consensus diagrams. Results We created R2R, a computer program that facilitates the generation of aesthetic and readable drawings of RNA consensus diagrams in a fraction of the time required with general-purpose drawing programs. Since the inference of a consensus RNA structure typically requires a multiple-sequence alignment, the R2R user annotates the alignment with commands directing the layout and annotation of the RNA. R2R creates SVG or PDF output that can be imported into Adobe Illustrator, Inkscape or CorelDRAW. R2R can be used to create consensus sequence and secondary structure models for novel RNA structures or to revise models when new representatives for known RNA classes become available. Although R2R does not currently have a graphical user interface, it has proven useful in our efforts to create 100 schematic models of distinct noncoding RNA classes. Conclusions R2R makes it possible to obtain high-quality drawings of the consensus sequence and structural models of many diverse RNA structures with a more practical amount of effort. R2R software is available at http://breaker.research.yale.edu/R2R and as an Additional file. PMID:21205310

  19. A new theory of phylogeny inference through construction of multidimensional vector space.

    PubMed

    Kitazoe, Y; Kurihara, Y; Narita, Y; Okuhara, Y; Tominaga, A; Suzuki, T

    2001-05-01

    Here, a new theory of molecular phylogeny is developed in a multidimensional vector space (MVS). The molecular evolution is represented as a successive splitting of branch vectors in the MVS. The end points of these vectors are the extant species and indicate the specific directions reflected by their individual histories of evolution in the past. This representation makes it possible to infer the phylogeny (evolutionary histories) from the spatial positions of the end points. Search vectors are introduced to draw out the groups of species distributed around them. These groups are classified according to the nearby order of branches with them. A law of physics is applied to determine the species positions in the MVS. The species are regarded as the particles moving in time according to the equation of motion, finally falling into the lowest-energy state in spite of their randomly distributed initial condition. This falling into the ground state results in the construction of an MVS in which the relative distances between two particles are equal to the substitution distances. The species positions are obtained prior to the phylogeny inference. Therefore, as the number of species increases, the species vectors can be more specific in an MVS of a larger size, such that the vector analysis gives a more stable and reliable topology. The efficacy of the present method was examined by using computer simulations of molecular evolution in which all the branch- and end-point sequences of the trees are known in advance. In the phylogeny inference from the end points with 100 multiple data sets, the present method consistently reconstructed the correct topologies, in contrast to standard methods. In applications to 185 vertebrates in the alpha-hemoglobin, the vector analysis drew out the two lineage groups of birds and mammals. A core member of the mammalian radiation appeared at the base of the mammalian lineage. Squamates were isolated from the bird lineage to compose the outgroup, while the other living reptilians were directly coupled with birds without forming any sister groups. This result is in contrast to the morphological phylogeny and is also different from those of recent molecular analyses.

  20. Human brain lesion-deficit inference remapped.

    PubMed

    Mah, Yee-Haur; Husain, Masud; Rees, Geraint; Nachev, Parashkev

    2014-09-01

    Our knowledge of the anatomical organization of the human brain in health and disease draws heavily on the study of patients with focal brain lesions. Historically the first method of mapping brain function, it is still potentially the most powerful, establishing the necessity of any putative neural substrate for a given function or deficit. Great inferential power, however, carries a crucial vulnerability: without stronger alternatives any consistent error cannot be easily detected. A hitherto unexamined source of such error is the structure of the high-dimensional distribution of patterns of focal damage, especially in ischaemic injury-the commonest aetiology in lesion-deficit studies-where the anatomy is naturally shaped by the architecture of the vascular tree. This distribution is so complex that analysis of lesion data sets of conventional size cannot illuminate its structure, leaving us in the dark about the presence or absence of such error. To examine this crucial question we assembled the largest known set of focal brain lesions (n = 581), derived from unselected patients with acute ischaemic injury (mean age = 62.3 years, standard deviation = 17.8, male:female ratio = 0.547), visualized with diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, and processed with validated automated lesion segmentation routines. High-dimensional analysis of this data revealed a hidden bias within the multivariate patterns of damage that will consistently distort lesion-deficit maps, displacing inferred critical regions from their true locations, in a manner opaque to replication. Quantifying the size of this mislocalization demonstrates that past lesion-deficit relationships estimated with conventional inferential methodology are likely to be significantly displaced, by a magnitude dependent on the unknown underlying lesion-deficit relationship itself. Past studies therefore cannot be retrospectively corrected, except by new knowledge that would render them redundant. Positively, we show that novel machine learning techniques employing high-dimensional inference can nonetheless accurately converge on the true locus. We conclude that current inferences about human brain function and deficits based on lesion mapping must be re-evaluated with methodology that adequately captures the high-dimensional structure of lesion data. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.

  1. 21. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    21. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering vault). ENGINE TEST CELL BUILDING. SECOND FLOOR PLAN, RIGHT AND LEFT END PORTIONS, TEST CELLS 5-12. - Fairchild Air Force Base, Engine Test Cell Building, Near intersection of Arnold Street & George Avenue, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  2. 18. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    18. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering vault). ENGINE TEST CELL BUILDING. FIRST FLOOR PLAN, CENTRAL PORTION AND TEST CELLS 1-4. - Fairchild Air Force Base, Engine Test Cell Building, Near intersection of Arnold Street & George Avenue, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  3. 27. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    27. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering vault). ENGINE TEST CELL BUILDING. CROSS-SECTION, RIGHT AND LEFT END PORTIONS, TEST CELLS 5-12. - Fairchild Air Force Base, Engine Test Cell Building, Near intersection of Arnold Street & George Avenue, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  4. 22. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    22. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering vault). ENGINE TEST CELL BUILDING. THIRD FLOOR AND ROOF PLAN, CENTRAL PORTION AND TEST CELLS 1-4. - Fairchild Air Force Base, Engine Test Cell Building, Near intersection of Arnold Street & George Avenue, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  5. 16. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    16. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering vault). ENGINE TEST CELL BUILDING. BASEMENT FLOOR PLAN, CENTRAL PORTION AND TEST CELLS 1-4. - Fairchild Air Force Base, Engine Test Cell Building, Near intersection of Arnold Street & George Avenue, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  6. 17. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    17. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering vault). ENGINE TEST CELL BUILDING. BASEMENT FLOOR PLAN, RIGHT AND LEFT END PORTIONS, TEST CELLS 5-12. - Fairchild Air Force Base, Engine Test Cell Building, Near intersection of Arnold Street & George Avenue, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  7. 20. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    20. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering vault). ENGINE TEST CELL BUILDING. SECOND FLOOR PLAN, CENTRAL PORTION AND TEST CELLS 1-4. - Fairchild Air Force Base, Engine Test Cell Building, Near intersection of Arnold Street & George Avenue, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  8. 19. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    19. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering vault). ENGINE TEST CELL BUILDING. FIRST FLOOR PLAN, RIGHT AND LEFT END PORTIONS, TEST CELLS 5-12. - Fairchild Air Force Base, Engine Test Cell Building, Near intersection of Arnold Street & George Avenue, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  9. Profile-Based LC-MS Data Alignment—A Bayesian Approach

    PubMed Central

    Tsai, Tsung-Heng; Tadesse, Mahlet G.; Wang, Yue; Ressom, Habtom W.

    2014-01-01

    A Bayesian alignment model (BAM) is proposed for alignment of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) data. BAM belongs to the category of profile-based approaches, which are composed of two major components: a prototype function and a set of mapping functions. Appropriate estimation of these functions is crucial for good alignment results. BAM uses Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods to draw inference on the model parameters and improves on existing MCMC-based alignment methods through 1) the implementation of an efficient MCMC sampler and 2) an adaptive selection of knots. A block Metropolis-Hastings algorithm that mitigates the problem of the MCMC sampler getting stuck at local modes of the posterior distribution is used for the update of the mapping function coefficients. In addition, a stochastic search variable selection (SSVS) methodology is used to determine the number and positions of knots. We applied BAM to a simulated data set, an LC-MS proteomic data set, and two LC-MS metabolomic data sets, and compared its performance with the Bayesian hierarchical curve registration (BHCR) model, the dynamic time-warping (DTW) model, and the continuous profile model (CPM). The advantage of applying appropriate profile-based retention time correction prior to performing a feature-based approach is also demonstrated through the metabolomic data sets. PMID:23929872

  10. Stimulating Scientific Reasoning with Drawing-Based Modeling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heijnes, Dewi; van Joolingen, Wouter; Leenaars, Frank

    2018-01-01

    We investigate the way students' reasoning about evolution can be supported by drawing-based modeling. We modified the drawing-based modeling tool SimSketch to allow for modeling evolutionary processes. In three iterations of development and testing, students in lower secondary education worked on creating an evolutionary model. After each…

  11. Icons improve older and younger adults' comprehension of medication information.

    PubMed

    Morrow, D G; Hier, C M; Menard, W E; Leirer, V O

    1998-07-01

    We examined whether timeline icons improved older and younger adults' comprehension of medication information. In Experiment 1, comprehension of instructions with the icon (icon/text format) and without the icon (text-only format) was assessed by questions about information that was (a) implicit in the text but depicted explicitly by the icon (total dose in a 24 hour period), (b) stated and depicted in the icon/text condition (medication dose and times), and (c) stated but not depicted by the icon (e.g., side effects). In a separate task, participants also recalled medication instructions (with or without the icon) after a study period. We found that questions about dose and time information were answered more quickly and accurately when the icon was present in the instructions. Notably, icon benefits were greater for information that was implicit rather than stated in the text. This finding suggests that icons can improve older and younger adults' comprehension by reducing the need to draw some inferences. The icon also reduced effective study time (study time per item recalled). In Experiment 2, icon benefits did not occur for a less integrated version of the timeline icon that, like the text, required participants to integrate dose and time information in order to identify the total daily dose. The integrated version of the icon again improved comprehension, as in Experiment 1, as well as drawing inferences from memory. These findings show that integrated timeline icons improved comprehension primarily by aiding the integration of dose and time information. These findings are discussed in terms of a situation model approach to comprehension.

  12. 1. Photocopy of drawing 1958 architectural drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    1. Photocopy of drawing 1958 architectural drawing by the Ralph Parsons Company in possession of Vandenberg Air Force Base Civil Engineering Office) FLOOR PLANS, ELEVATIONS, AND DETAILS FOR TRAFFIC CHECK HOUSE (BLDG. 759), AND THEODOLITE SHELTERS, SHEET A9 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Traffic Check House, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  13. Judging Drawing Abilities of Hong Kong Chinese Gifted Students: Could Nonexperts Make Expert-Like Judgments?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chan, David W.; Chan, Lai-kwan; Chau, Amethyst

    2009-01-01

    Two drawings based on tasks originally used in Clark's Drawing Abilities Test from each of 297 Chinese students were first evaluated independently by two Chinese visual artists as below average, average, and above average in drawing abilities. Based on these judges' verbalization to make explicit their implicit criteria for judgments, a set of…

  14. 23. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    23. Photocopy of engineering drawing, May, 1941 (original drawing located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Civil Engineering Building, Civil Engineering vault). ENGINE TEST CELL BUILDING. THIRD FLOOR AND ROOF PLAN, RIGHT AND LEFT END PORTIONS, TEST CELLS 5-12. - Fairchild Air Force Base, Engine Test Cell Building, Near intersection of Arnold Street & George Avenue, Spokane, Spokane County, WA

  15. Analogical and Category-Based Inference: A Theoretical Integration with Bayesian Causal Models

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holyoak, Keith J.; Lee, Hee Seung; Lu, Hongjing

    2010-01-01

    A fundamental issue for theories of human induction is to specify constraints on potential inferences. For inferences based on shared category membership, an analogy, and/or a relational schema, it appears that the basic goal of induction is to make accurate and goal-relevant inferences that are sensitive to uncertainty. People can use source…

  16. Children Reading to Dogs: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

    PubMed

    Hall, Sophie Susannah; Gee, Nancy R; Mills, Daniel Simon

    2016-01-01

    Despite growing interest in the value of human-animal interactions (HAI) to human mental and physical health the quality of the evidence on which postulated benefits from animals to human psychological health are based is often unclear. To date there exist no systematic reviews on the effects of HAI in educational settings specifically focussing on the perceived benefits to children of reading to dogs. With rising popularity and implementation of these programmes in schools, it is essential that the evidence base exploring the pedagogic value of these initiatives is well documented. Using PRISMA guidelines we systematically investigated the literature reporting the pedagogic effects of reading to dogs. Because research in this area is in the early stages of scientific enquiry we adopted broad inclusion criteria, accepting all reports which discussed measurable effects related to the topic that were written in English. Multiple online databases were searched during January-March 2015; grey literature searches were also conducted. The search results which met the inclusion criteria were evaluated, and discussed, in relation to the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine levels of evidence; 27 papers were classified as Level 5, 13 as Level 4, 7 as Level 2c and 1 as Level 2b. The evidence suggests that reading to a dog may have a beneficial effect on a number of behavioural processes which contribute to a positive effect on the environment in which reading is practiced, leading to improved reading performance. However, the evidence base on which these inferences are made is of low quality. There is a clear need for the use of higher quality research methodologies and the inclusion of appropriate controls in order to draw causal inferences on whether or how reading to dogs may benefit children's reading practices. The mechanisms for any effect remain a matter of conjecture.

  17. Children Reading to Dogs: A Systematic Review of the Literature

    PubMed Central

    Hall, Sophie Susannah; Gee, Nancy R.; Mills, Daniel Simon

    2016-01-01

    Background Despite growing interest in the value of human-animal interactions (HAI) to human mental and physical health the quality of the evidence on which postulated benefits from animals to human psychological health are based is often unclear. To date there exist no systematic reviews on the effects of HAI in educational settings specifically focussing on the perceived benefits to children of reading to dogs. With rising popularity and implementation of these programmes in schools, it is essential that the evidence base exploring the pedagogic value of these initiatives is well documented. Methods Using PRISMA guidelines we systematically investigated the literature reporting the pedagogic effects of reading to dogs. Because research in this area is in the early stages of scientific enquiry we adopted broad inclusion criteria, accepting all reports which discussed measurable effects related to the topic that were written in English. Multiple online databases were searched during January-March 2015; grey literature searches were also conducted. The search results which met the inclusion criteria were evaluated, and discussed, in relation to the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine levels of evidence; 27 papers were classified as Level 5, 13 as Level 4, 7 as Level 2c and 1 as Level 2b. Conclusion The evidence suggests that reading to a dog may have a beneficial effect on a number of behavioural processes which contribute to a positive effect on the environment in which reading is practiced, leading to improved reading performance. However, the evidence base on which these inferences are made is of low quality. There is a clear need for the use of higher quality research methodologies and the inclusion of appropriate controls in order to draw causal inferences on whether or how reading to dogs may benefit children’s reading practices. The mechanisms for any effect remain a matter of conjecture. PMID:26901412

  18. Training Inference Making Skills Using a Situation Model Approach Improves Reading Comprehension

    PubMed Central

    Bos, Lisanne T.; De Koning, Bjorn B.; Wassenburg, Stephanie I.; van der Schoot, Menno

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to enhance third and fourth graders’ text comprehension at the situation model level. Therefore, we tested a reading strategy training developed to target inference making skills, which are widely considered to be pivotal to situation model construction. The training was grounded in contemporary literature on situation model-based inference making and addressed the source (text-based versus knowledge-based), type (necessary versus unnecessary for (re-)establishing coherence), and depth of an inference (making single lexical inferences versus combining multiple lexical inferences), as well as the type of searching strategy (forward versus backward). Results indicated that, compared to a control group (n = 51), children who followed the experimental training (n = 67) improved their inference making skills supportive to situation model construction. Importantly, our training also resulted in increased levels of general reading comprehension and motivation. In sum, this study showed that a ‘level of text representation’-approach can provide a useful framework to teach inference making skills to third and fourth graders. PMID:26913014

  19. It's all about balance: propensity score matching in the context of complex survey data.

    PubMed

    Lenis, David; Nguyen, Trang Quynh; Dong, Nianbo; Stuart, Elizabeth A

    2017-12-27

    Many research studies aim to draw causal inferences using data from large, nationally representative survey samples, and many of these studies use propensity score matching to make those causal inferences as rigorous as possible given the non-experimental nature of the data. However, very few applied studies are careful about incorporating the survey design with the propensity score analysis, which may mean that the results do not generate population inferences. This may be because few methodological studies examine how to best combine these methods. Furthermore, even fewer of them investigate different non-response mechanisms. This study examines methods for handling survey weights in propensity score matching analyses of survey data under different non-response mechanisms. Our main conclusions are: (i) whether the survey weights are incorporated in the estimation of the propensity score does not impact estimation of the population treatment effect, as long as good population treated-comparison balance is achieved on confounders, (ii) survey weights must be used in the outcome analysis, and (iii) the transferring of survey weights (i.e., assigning the weights of the treated units to the comparison units matched to them) can be beneficial under certain non-response mechanisms. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  20. Emotional speech comprehension in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders.

    PubMed

    Le Sourn-Bissaoui, Sandrine; Aguert, Marc; Girard, Pauline; Chevreuil, Claire; Laval, Virginie

    2013-01-01

    We examined the understanding of emotional speech by children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We predicted that they would have difficulty understanding emotional speech, not because of an emotional prosody processing impairment but because of problems drawing appropriate inferences, especially in multiple-cue environments. Twenty-six children and adolescents with ASD and 26 typically developing controls performed a computerized task featuring emotional prosody, either embedded in a discrepant context or without any context at all. They must identify the speaker's feeling. When the prosody was the sole cue, participants with ASD performed just as well as controls, relying on this cue to infer the speaker's intention. When the prosody was embedded in a discrepant context, both ASD and TD participants exhibited a contextual bias and a negativity bias. However ASD participants relied less on the emotional prosody than the controls when it was positive. We discuss these findings with respect to executive function and intermodal processing. After reading this article, the reader should be able to (1) describe the ASD participants pragmatic impairments, (2) explain why ASD participants did not have an emotional prosody processing impairment, and (3) explain why ASD participants had difficulty inferring the speaker's intention from emotional prosody in a discrepant situation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Leveraging scientific credibility about Arctic sea ice trends in a polarized political environment.

    PubMed

    Jamieson, Kathleen Hall; Hardy, Bruce W

    2014-09-16

    This work argues that, in a polarized environment, scientists can minimize the likelihood that the audience's biased processing will lead to rejection of their message if they not only eschew advocacy but also, convey that they are sharers of knowledge faithful to science's way of knowing and respectful of the audience's intelligence; the sources on which they rely are well-regarded by both conservatives and liberals; and the message explains how the scientist arrived at the offered conclusion, is conveyed in a visual form that involves the audience in drawing its own conclusions, and capsulizes key inferences in an illustrative analogy. A pilot experiment raises the possibility that such a leveraging-involving-visualizing-analogizing message structure can increase acceptance of the scientific claims about the downward cross-decade trend in Arctic sea ice extent and elicit inferences consistent with the scientific consensus on climate change among conservatives exposed to misleadingly selective data in a partisan news source.

  2. The HCUP SID Imputation Project: Improving Statistical Inferences for Health Disparities Research by Imputing Missing Race Data.

    PubMed

    Ma, Yan; Zhang, Wei; Lyman, Stephen; Huang, Yihe

    2018-06-01

    To identify the most appropriate imputation method for missing data in the HCUP State Inpatient Databases (SID) and assess the impact of different missing data methods on racial disparities research. HCUP SID. A novel simulation study compared four imputation methods (random draw, hot deck, joint multiple imputation [MI], conditional MI) for missing values for multiple variables, including race, gender, admission source, median household income, and total charges. The simulation was built on real data from the SID to retain their hierarchical data structures and missing data patterns. Additional predictive information from the U.S. Census and American Hospital Association (AHA) database was incorporated into the imputation. Conditional MI prediction was equivalent or superior to the best performing alternatives for all missing data structures and substantially outperformed each of the alternatives in various scenarios. Conditional MI substantially improved statistical inferences for racial health disparities research with the SID. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

  3. Leveraging scientific credibility about Arctic sea ice trends in a polarized political environment

    PubMed Central

    Hall Jamieson, Kathleen; Hardy, Bruce W.

    2014-01-01

    This work argues that, in a polarized environment, scientists can minimize the likelihood that the audience’s biased processing will lead to rejection of their message if they not only eschew advocacy but also, convey that they are sharers of knowledge faithful to science’s way of knowing and respectful of the audience’s intelligence; the sources on which they rely are well-regarded by both conservatives and liberals; and the message explains how the scientist arrived at the offered conclusion, is conveyed in a visual form that involves the audience in drawing its own conclusions, and capsulizes key inferences in an illustrative analogy. A pilot experiment raises the possibility that such a leveraging–involving–visualizing–analogizing message structure can increase acceptance of the scientific claims about the downward cross-decade trend in Arctic sea ice extent and elicit inferences consistent with the scientific consensus on climate change among conservatives exposed to misleadingly selective data in a partisan news source. PMID:25225380

  4. Bacterial growth laws reflect the evolutionary importance of energy efficiency.

    PubMed

    Maitra, Arijit; Dill, Ken A

    2015-01-13

    We are interested in the balance of energy and protein synthesis in bacterial growth. How has evolution optimized this balance? We describe an analytical model that leverages extensive literature data on growth laws to infer the underlying fitness landscape and to draw inferences about what evolution has optimized in Escherichia coli. Is E. coli optimized for growth speed, energy efficiency, or some other property? Experimental data show that at its replication speed limit, E. coli produces about four mass equivalents of nonribosomal proteins for every mass equivalent of ribosomes. This ratio can be explained if the cell's fitness function is the the energy efficiency of cells under fast growth conditions, indicating a tradeoff between the high energy costs of ribosomes under fast growth and the high energy costs of turning over nonribosomal proteins under slow growth. This model gives insight into some of the complex nonlinear relationships between energy utilization and ribosomal and nonribosomal production as a function of cell growth conditions.

  5. First impressions: making up your mind after a 100-ms exposure to a face.

    PubMed

    Willis, Janine; Todorov, Alexander

    2006-07-01

    People often draw trait inferences from the facial appearance of other people. We investigated the minimal conditions under which people make such inferences. In five experiments, each focusing on a specific trait judgment, we manipulated the exposure time of unfamiliar faces. Judgments made after a 100-ms exposure correlated highly with judgments made in the absence of time constraints, suggesting that this exposure time was sufficient for participants to form an impression. In fact, for all judgments-attractiveness, likeability, trustworthiness, competence, and aggressiveness-increased exposure time did not significantly increase the correlations. When exposure time increased from 100 to 500 ms, participants' judgments became more negative, response times for judgments decreased, and confidence in judgments increased. When exposure time increased from 500 to 1,000 ms, trait judgments and response times did not change significantly (with one exception), but confidence increased for some of the judgments; this result suggests that additional time may simply boost confidence in judgments. However, increased exposure time led to more differentiated person impressions.

  6. Philosophy and the practice of Bayesian statistics

    PubMed Central

    Gelman, Andrew; Shalizi, Cosma Rohilla

    2015-01-01

    A substantial school in the philosophy of science identifies Bayesian inference with inductive inference and even rationality as such, and seems to be strengthened by the rise and practical success of Bayesian statistics. We argue that the most successful forms of Bayesian statistics do not actually support that particular philosophy but rather accord much better with sophisticated forms of hypothetico-deductivism. We examine the actual role played by prior distributions in Bayesian models, and the crucial aspects of model checking and model revision, which fall outside the scope of Bayesian confirmation theory. We draw on the literature on the consistency of Bayesian updating and also on our experience of applied work in social science. Clarity about these matters should benefit not just philosophy of science, but also statistical practice. At best, the inductivist view has encouraged researchers to fit and compare models without checking them; at worst, theorists have actively discouraged practitioners from performing model checking because it does not fit into their framework. PMID:22364575

  7. Philosophy and the practice of Bayesian statistics.

    PubMed

    Gelman, Andrew; Shalizi, Cosma Rohilla

    2013-02-01

    A substantial school in the philosophy of science identifies Bayesian inference with inductive inference and even rationality as such, and seems to be strengthened by the rise and practical success of Bayesian statistics. We argue that the most successful forms of Bayesian statistics do not actually support that particular philosophy but rather accord much better with sophisticated forms of hypothetico-deductivism. We examine the actual role played by prior distributions in Bayesian models, and the crucial aspects of model checking and model revision, which fall outside the scope of Bayesian confirmation theory. We draw on the literature on the consistency of Bayesian updating and also on our experience of applied work in social science. Clarity about these matters should benefit not just philosophy of science, but also statistical practice. At best, the inductivist view has encouraged researchers to fit and compare models without checking them; at worst, theorists have actively discouraged practitioners from performing model checking because it does not fit into their framework. © 2012 The British Psychological Society.

  8. The intersection between Descriptivism and Meliorism in reasoning research: further proposals in support of 'soft normativism'.

    PubMed

    Stupple, Edward J N; Ball, Linden J

    2014-01-01

    The rationality paradox centers on the observation that people are highly intelligent, yet show evidence of errors and biases in their thinking when measured against normative standards. Elqayam and Evans' (2011) reject normative standards in the psychological study of thinking, reasoning and deciding in favor of a 'value-free' descriptive approach to studying high-level cognition. In reviewing Elqayam and Evans' (2011) position, we defend an alternative to descriptivism in the form of 'soft normativism,' which allows for normative evaluations alongside the pursuit of descriptive research goals. We propose that normative theories have considerable value provided that researchers: (1) are alert to the philosophical quagmire of strong relativism; (2) are mindful of the biases that can arise from utilizing normative benchmarks; and (3) engage in a focused analysis of the processing approach adopted by individual reasoners. We address the controversial 'is-ought' inference in this context and appeal to a 'bridging solution' to this contested inference that is based on the concept of 'informal reflective equilibrium.' Furthermore, we draw on Elqayam and Evans' (2011) recognition of a role for normative benchmarks in research programs that are devised to enhance reasoning performance and we argue that such Meliorist research programs have a valuable reciprocal relationship with descriptivist accounts of reasoning. In sum, we believe that descriptions of reasoning processes are fundamentally enriched by evaluations of reasoning quality, and argue that if such standards are discarded altogether then our explanations and descriptions of reasoning processes are severely undermined.

  9. A second look at the colors of the dinosaurs.

    PubMed

    Turner, Derek D

    2016-02-01

    In earlier work, I predicted that we would probably not be able to determine the colors of the dinosaurs. I lost this epistemic bet against science in dramatic fashion when scientists discovered that it is possible to draw inferences about dinosaur coloration based on the microstructure of fossil feathers (Vinther et al., 2008). This paper is an exercise in philosophical error analysis. I examine this episode with two questions in mind. First, does this case lend any support to epistemic optimism about historical science? Second, under what conditions is it rational to make predictions about what questions scientists will or will not be able answer? In reply to the first question, I argue that the recent work on the colors of the dinosaurs matters less to the debate about the epistemology of historical science than it might seem. In reply to the second question, I argue that it is difficult to specify a policy that would rule out the failed bet without also being too conservative. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Radiation breakage of DNA: a model based on random-walk chromatin structure

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ponomarev, A. L.; Sachs, R. K.

    2001-01-01

    Monte Carlo computer software, called DNAbreak, has recently been developed to analyze observed non-random clustering of DNA double strand breaks in chromatin after exposure to densely ionizing radiation. The software models coarse-grained configurations of chromatin and radiation tracks, small-scale details being suppressed in order to obtain statistical results for larger scales, up to the size of a whole chromosome. We here give an analytic counterpart of the numerical model, useful for benchmarks, for elucidating the numerical results, for analyzing the assumptions of a more general but less mechanistic "randomly-located-clusters" formalism, and, potentially, for speeding up the calculations. The equations characterize multi-track DNA fragment-size distributions in terms of one-track action; an important step in extrapolating high-dose laboratory results to the much lower doses of main interest in environmental or occupational risk estimation. The approach can utilize the experimental information on DNA fragment-size distributions to draw inferences about large-scale chromatin geometry during cell-cycle interphase.

  11. A SPECTRAL GRAPH APPROACH TO DISCOVERING GENETIC ANCESTRY1

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Ann B.; Luca, Diana; Roeder, Kathryn

    2010-01-01

    Mapping human genetic variation is fundamentally interesting in fields such as anthropology and forensic inference. At the same time, patterns of genetic diversity confound efforts to determine the genetic basis of complex disease. Due to technological advances, it is now possible to measure hundreds of thousands of genetic variants per individual across the genome. Principal component analysis (PCA) is routinely used to summarize the genetic similarity between subjects. The eigenvectors are interpreted as dimensions of ancestry. We build on this idea using a spectral graph approach. In the process we draw on connections between multidimensional scaling and spectral kernel methods. Our approach, based on a spectral embedding derived from the normalized Laplacian of a graph, can produce more meaningful delineation of ancestry than by using PCA. The method is stable to outliers and can more easily incorporate different similarity measures of genetic data than PCA. We illustrate a new algorithm for genetic clustering and association analysis on a large, genetically heterogeneous sample. PMID:20689656

  12. Where is the "meta" in animal metacognition?

    PubMed

    Kornell, Nate

    2014-05-01

    Apes, dolphins, and some monkeys seem to have metacognitive abilities: They can accurately evaluate the likelihood that their response in cognitive task was (or will be) correct. These certainty judgments are seen as significant because they imply that animals can evaluate internal cognitive states, which may entail meaningful self-reflection. But little research has investigated what is being reflected upon: Researchers have assumed that when animals make metacognitive judgments they evaluate internal memory strength. Yet decades of research have demonstrated that humans cannot directly evaluate internal memory strength. Instead, they make certainty judgments by drawing inferences from cues they can evaluate, such as familiarity and ease of processing. It seems likely that animals do the same, but this hypothesis has not been tested. I suggest two strategies for investigating the internal cues that underlie animal metacognitive judgments. It is possible that animals, like humans, are capable of making certainty judgments based on internal cues without awareness or meaningful self-reflection. ©2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  13. Kinetics of cell division in epidermal maintenance

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klein, Allon M.; Doupé, David P.; Jones, Phillip H.; Simons, Benjamin D.

    2007-08-01

    The rules governing cell division and differentiation are central to understanding the mechanisms of development, aging, and cancer. By utilizing inducible genetic labeling, recent studies have shown that the clonal population in transgenic mouse epidermis can be tracked in vivo. Drawing on these results, we explain how clonal fate data may be used to infer the rules of cell division and differentiation underlying the maintenance of adult murine tail-skin. We show that the rates of cell division and differentiation may be evaluated by considering the long-time and short-time clone fate data, and that the data is consistent with cells dividing independently rather than synchronously. Motivated by these findings, we consider a mechanism for cancer onset based closely on the model for normal adult skin. By analyzing the expected changes to clonal fate in cancer emerging from a simple two-stage mutation, we propose that clonal fate data may provide a novel method for studying the earliest stages of the disease.

  14. An Evaluation of Teaching-Learning of Drawing at School of Applied Arts, Takoradi Polytechnic

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ofori-Anyinam, Sampong; Andrews, Amoako-Temeng; Ankrah, Owusu-Ansah

    2016-01-01

    Drawing is described as the bases of all art work when an art idea is conceived. It can only materialize into concrete form when it has gone through a process of designing which basically involves drawing. The ability of an artist to draw is very paramount in the art profession. The bases for selecting students to pursue an art programme is their…

  15. Some evidentiary considerations for physician billing.

    PubMed

    Rooks, Franklin J

    2011-01-01

    In a criminal prosecution for medical billing fraud alleging up-coding and overbilling, the government's evidence may encompass the practice's entire billings and draw inferences from them. In addition, fraud may be demonstrated through statistical analysis comparing a physician's billings relative to other providers of the same specialty. The Federal Rules of Evidence govern the admissibility of evidence during a trial, to provide fairness for both the prosecution and the defense. Physicians and practice managers should be well versed in the billing requirements and particularly careful when CPT codes are expressed in terms of "required times" as opposed to "typical times."

  16. This photocopy of an engineering drawing shows the floor plan ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    This photocopy of an engineering drawing shows the floor plan of the Liner Lab, including room functions. Austin, Field & Fry, Architects Engineers, 22311 West Third Street, Los Angeles 57, California: Edwards Test Station Complex Phase II, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Edwards Air Force Base, Edwards, California: "Liner Laboratory, Floor Plan and Schedules," drawing no. E33/4-2, 26 June 1962. California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Plant Engineering: engineering drawings of structures at JPL Edwards Facility. Drawings on file at JPL Plant Engineering, Pasadena, California. California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Plant Engineering: engineering drawings of structures at JPL Edwards Facility. Drawings on file at JPL Plant Engineering, Pasadena, California - Jet Propulsion Laboratory Edwards Facility, Liner Laboratory, Edwards Air Force Base, Boron, Kern County, CA

  17. Algorithm Optimally Orders Forward-Chaining Inference Rules

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    James, Mark

    2008-01-01

    People typically develop knowledge bases in a somewhat ad hoc manner by incrementally adding rules with no specific organization. This often results in a very inefficient execution of those rules since they are so often order sensitive. This is relevant to tasks like Deep Space Network in that it allows the knowledge base to be incrementally developed and have it automatically ordered for efficiency. Although data flow analysis was first developed for use in compilers for producing optimal code sequences, its usefulness is now recognized in many software systems including knowledge-based systems. However, this approach for exhaustively computing data-flow information cannot directly be applied to inference systems because of the ubiquitous execution of the rules. An algorithm is presented that efficiently performs a complete producer/consumer analysis for each antecedent and consequence clause in a knowledge base to optimally order the rules to minimize inference cycles. An algorithm was developed that optimally orders a knowledge base composed of forwarding chaining inference rules such that independent inference cycle executions are minimized, thus, resulting in significantly faster execution. This algorithm was integrated into the JPL tool Spacecraft Health Inference Engine (SHINE) for verification and it resulted in a significant reduction in inference cycles for what was previously considered an ordered knowledge base. For a knowledge base that is completely unordered, then the improvement is much greater.

  18. Phylogenic inference using alignment-free methods for applications in microbial community surveys using 16s rRNA gene

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    The diversity of microbiota is best explored by understanding the phylogenetic structure of the microbial communities. Traditionally, sequence alignment has been used for phylogenetic inference. However, alignment-based approaches come with significant challenges and limitations when massive amounts of data are analyzed. In the recent decade, alignment-free approaches have enabled genome-scale phylogenetic inference. Here we evaluate three alignment-free methods: ACS, CVTree, and Kr for phylogenetic inference with 16s rRNA gene data. We use a taxonomic gold standard to compare the accuracy of alignment-free phylogenetic inference with that of common microbiome-wide phylogenetic inference pipelines based on PyNAST and MUSCLE alignments with FastTree and RAxML. We re-simulate fecal communities from Human Microbiome Project data to evaluate the performance of the methods on datasets with properties of real data. Our comparisons show that alignment-free methods are not inferior to alignment-based methods in giving accurate and robust phylogenic trees. Moreover, consensus ensembles of alignment-free phylogenies are superior to those built from alignment-based methods in their ability to highlight community differences in low power settings. In addition, the overall running times of alignment-based and alignment-free phylogenetic inference are comparable. Taken together our empirical results suggest that alignment-free methods provide a viable approach for microbiome-wide phylogenetic inference. PMID:29136663

  19. Anchoring quartet-based phylogenetic distances and applications to species tree reconstruction.

    PubMed

    Sayyari, Erfan; Mirarab, Siavash

    2016-11-11

    Inferring species trees from gene trees using the coalescent-based summary methods has been the subject of much attention, yet new scalable and accurate methods are needed. We introduce DISTIQUE, a new statistically consistent summary method for inferring species trees from gene trees under the coalescent model. We generalize our results to arbitrary phylogenetic inference problems; we show that two arbitrarily chosen leaves, called anchors, can be used to estimate relative distances between all other pairs of leaves by inferring relevant quartet trees. This results in a family of distance-based tree inference methods, with running times ranging between quadratic to quartic in the number of leaves. We show in simulated studies that DISTIQUE has comparable accuracy to leading coalescent-based summary methods and reduced running times.

  20. The influence of aging on outgroup stereotypes: the mediating role of cognitive and motivational facets of deficient flexibility.

    PubMed

    Czarnek, Gabriela; Kossowska, Malgorzata; Sedek, Grzegorz

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: The current study was designed to examine previously reported findings about age-related changes in drawing stereotypic inferences; specifically, that older adults are more likely than younger adults to stereotype outgroup members. The study replicates previous research and extends it by exploring the cognitive and motivational facets of deficient flexibility underlying this effect and comparing stereotypes towards ingroup and outgroup members. In the experiment, younger and older adults read stories that allowed for stereotypic inferences. They also completed the Trail Making Test (TMT) and Need for Closure Scale (NFC) as cognitive and motivational measures of deficient flexibility. The results of the experiment revealed that, compared to younger participants, older adults were more likely to rely upon stereotypic inferences when they read a story about outgroup members; however, there were no age-group differences in using stereotypes when they read a story about ingroup members. In addition, the findings showed that making more stereotypical inferences by older versus younger adults in relation to outgroup members was mediated by cognitive (TMT) and motivational (NFC) facets of deficient flexibility. A major implication of these findings is that both cognitive and motivational facets of deficient flexibility contribute to the reliance of older adults on stereotypes compared with younger adults. However, this is only true when older adults process information about outgroup members, but not about ingroup members. Thus, the current research goes beyond previous results by providing direct evidence that ingroup-outgroup perception contributes to stereotyping among older participants.

  1. Predicting Adverse Drug Effects from Literature- and Database-Mined Assertions.

    PubMed

    La, Mary K; Sedykh, Alexander; Fourches, Denis; Muratov, Eugene; Tropsha, Alexander

    2018-06-06

    Given that adverse drug effects (ADEs) have led to post-market patient harm and subsequent drug withdrawal, failure of candidate agents in the drug development process, and other negative outcomes, it is essential to attempt to forecast ADEs and other relevant drug-target-effect relationships as early as possible. Current pharmacologic data sources, providing multiple complementary perspectives on the drug-target-effect paradigm, can be integrated to facilitate the inference of relationships between these entities. This study aims to identify both existing and unknown relationships between chemicals (C), protein targets (T), and ADEs (E) based on evidence in the literature. Cheminformatics and data mining approaches were employed to integrate and analyze publicly available clinical pharmacology data and literature assertions interrelating drugs, targets, and ADEs. Based on these assertions, a C-T-E relationship knowledge base was developed. Known pairwise relationships between chemicals, targets, and ADEs were collected from several pharmacological and biomedical data sources. These relationships were curated and integrated according to Swanson's paradigm to form C-T-E triangles. Missing C-E edges were then inferred as C-E relationships. Unreported associations between drugs, targets, and ADEs were inferred, and inferences were prioritized as testable hypotheses. Several C-E inferences, including testosterone → myocardial infarction, were identified using inferences based on the literature sources published prior to confirmatory case reports. Timestamping approaches confirmed the predictive ability of this inference strategy on a larger scale. The presented workflow, based on free-access databases and an association-based inference scheme, provided novel C-E relationships that have been validated post hoc in case reports. With refinement of prioritization schemes for the generated C-E inferences, this workflow may provide an effective computational method for the early detection of potential drug candidate ADEs that can be followed by targeted experimental investigations.

  2. Nuclear Forensic Inferences Using Iterative Multidimensional Statistics

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

    Robel, M; Kristo, M J; Heller, M A

    2009-06-09

    Nuclear forensics involves the analysis of interdicted nuclear material for specific material characteristics (referred to as 'signatures') that imply specific geographical locations, production processes, culprit intentions, etc. Predictive signatures rely on expert knowledge of physics, chemistry, and engineering to develop inferences from these material characteristics. Comparative signatures, on the other hand, rely on comparison of the material characteristics of the interdicted sample (the 'questioned sample' in FBI parlance) with those of a set of known samples. In the ideal case, the set of known samples would be a comprehensive nuclear forensics database, a database which does not currently exist. Inmore » fact, our ability to analyze interdicted samples and produce an extensive list of precise materials characteristics far exceeds our ability to interpret the results. Therefore, as we seek to develop the extensive databases necessary for nuclear forensics, we must also develop the methods necessary to produce the necessary inferences from comparison of our analytical results with these large, multidimensional sets of data. In the work reported here, we used a large, multidimensional dataset of results from quality control analyses of uranium ore concentrate (UOC, sometimes called 'yellowcake'). We have found that traditional multidimensional techniques, such as principal components analysis (PCA), are especially useful for understanding such datasets and drawing relevant conclusions. In particular, we have developed an iterative partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) procedure that has proven especially adept at identifying the production location of unknown UOC samples. By removing classes which fell far outside the initial decision boundary, and then rebuilding the PLS-DA model, we have consistently produced better and more definitive attributions than with a single pass classification approach. Performance of the iterative PLS-DA method compared favorably to that of classification and regression tree (CART) and k nearest neighbor (KNN) algorithms, with the best combination of accuracy and robustness, as tested by classifying samples measured independently in our laboratories against the vendor QC based reference set.« less

  3. Meta-learning framework applied in bioinformatics inference system design.

    PubMed

    Arredondo, Tomás; Ormazábal, Wladimir

    2015-01-01

    This paper describes a meta-learner inference system development framework which is applied and tested in the implementation of bioinformatic inference systems. These inference systems are used for the systematic classification of the best candidates for inclusion in bacterial metabolic pathway maps. This meta-learner-based approach utilises a workflow where the user provides feedback with final classification decisions which are stored in conjunction with analysed genetic sequences for periodic inference system training. The inference systems were trained and tested with three different data sets related to the bacterial degradation of aromatic compounds. The analysis of the meta-learner-based framework involved contrasting several different optimisation methods with various different parameters. The obtained inference systems were also contrasted with other standard classification methods with accurate prediction capabilities observed.

  4. Working from Memory: Artists and Actors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hurwitz, Al

    2004-01-01

    In this article, the author discusses the art of memory-based drawing. Memory-based drawing represents but one part of a broad range of activities used in drawing instruction. Other sources involve the use of fantasy, doodling, problem-solving, and illustrating. Other ways of working from one's personal history involve keeping illustrated…

  5. 17. Photocopy of copy of drawing of Hangar 1301, dated ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    17. Photocopy of copy of drawing of Hangar 1301, dated June 15, 1944. Copy of drawing stored at 436 Civil Engineer Squadron, Design Management Element Cece, 600 8th Street, Dover Air Force Base, DE - Dover Air Force Base, Hangar No. 1301, Dover, Kent County, DE

  6. Consumer psychology: categorization, inferences, affect, and persuasion.

    PubMed

    Loken, Barbara

    2006-01-01

    This chapter reviews research on consumer psychology with emphasis on the topics of categorization, inferences, affect, and persuasion. The chapter reviews theory-based empirical research during the period 1994-2004. Research on categorization includes empirical research on brand categories, goals as organizing frameworks and motivational bases for judgments, and self-based processing. Research on inferences includes numerous types of inferences that are cognitively and/or experienced based. Research on affect includes the effects of mood on processing and cognitive and noncognitive bases for attitudes and intentions. Research on persuasion focuses heavily on the moderating role of elaboration and dual-process models, and includes research on attitude strength responses, advertising responses, and negative versus positive evaluative dimensions.

  7. 180. Photocopy of drawing (1965 mechanical drawing by Koebig & ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    180. Photocopy of drawing (1965 mechanical drawing by Koebig & Koebig, Inc.) AIR CONDITIONING FOR THE MST, SHEET M-6 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  8. 20. Photocopy of drawing (1961 mechanical drawing by Kaiser Engineers) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    20. Photocopy of drawing (1961 mechanical drawing by Kaiser Engineers) ELECTRICAL LAYOUTS FOR VEHICLE SUPPORT BUILDING, SHEET E-2 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Vehicle Support Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  9. Abnormal agency experiences in schizophrenia patients: Examining the role of psychotic symptoms and familial risk.

    PubMed

    Prikken, Merel; van der Weiden, Anouk; Renes, Robert A; Koevoets, Martijn G J C; Heering, Henriette D; Kahn, René S; Aarts, Henk; van Haren, Neeltje E M

    2017-04-01

    Experiencing self-agency over one's own action outcomes is essential for social functioning. Recent research revealed that patients with schizophrenia do not use implicitly available information about their action-outcomes (i.e., prime-based agency inference) to arrive at self-agency experiences. Here, we examined whether this is related to symptoms and/or familial risk to develop the disease. Fifty-four patients, 54 controls, and 19 unaffected (and unrelated) siblings performed an agency inference task, in which experienced agency was measured over action-outcomes that matched or mismatched outcome-primes that were presented before action performance. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Comprehensive Assessment of Symptoms and History (CASH) were administered to assess psychopathology. Impairments in prime-based inferences did not differ between patients with symptoms of over- and underattribution. However, patients with agency underattribution symptoms reported significantly lower overall self-agency experiences. Siblings displayed stronger prime-based agency inferences than patients, but weaker prime-based inferences than healthy controls. However, these differences were not statistically significant. Findings suggest that impairments in prime-based agency inferences may be a trait characteristic of schizophrenia. Moreover, this study may stimulate further research on the familial basis and the clinical relevance of impairments in implicit agency inferences. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Efficient probabilistic inference in generic neural networks trained with non-probabilistic feedback.

    PubMed

    Orhan, A Emin; Ma, Wei Ji

    2017-07-26

    Animals perform near-optimal probabilistic inference in a wide range of psychophysical tasks. Probabilistic inference requires trial-to-trial representation of the uncertainties associated with task variables and subsequent use of this representation. Previous work has implemented such computations using neural networks with hand-crafted and task-dependent operations. We show that generic neural networks trained with a simple error-based learning rule perform near-optimal probabilistic inference in nine common psychophysical tasks. In a probabilistic categorization task, error-based learning in a generic network simultaneously explains a monkey's learning curve and the evolution of qualitative aspects of its choice behavior. In all tasks, the number of neurons required for a given level of performance grows sublinearly with the input population size, a substantial improvement on previous implementations of probabilistic inference. The trained networks develop a novel sparsity-based probabilistic population code. Our results suggest that probabilistic inference emerges naturally in generic neural networks trained with error-based learning rules.Behavioural tasks often require probability distributions to be inferred about task specific variables. Here, the authors demonstrate that generic neural networks can be trained using a simple error-based learning rule to perform such probabilistic computations efficiently without any need for task specific operations.

  11. "Magnitude-based inference": a statistical review.

    PubMed

    Welsh, Alan H; Knight, Emma J

    2015-04-01

    We consider "magnitude-based inference" and its interpretation by examining in detail its use in the problem of comparing two means. We extract from the spreadsheets, which are provided to users of the analysis (http://www.sportsci.org/), a precise description of how "magnitude-based inference" is implemented. We compare the implemented version of the method with general descriptions of it and interpret the method in familiar statistical terms. We show that "magnitude-based inference" is not a progressive improvement on modern statistics. The additional probabilities introduced are not directly related to the confidence interval but, rather, are interpretable either as P values for two different nonstandard tests (for different null hypotheses) or as approximate Bayesian calculations, which also lead to a type of test. We also discuss sample size calculations associated with "magnitude-based inference" and show that the substantial reduction in sample sizes claimed for the method (30% of the sample size obtained from standard frequentist calculations) is not justifiable so the sample size calculations should not be used. Rather than using "magnitude-based inference," a better solution is to be realistic about the limitations of the data and use either confidence intervals or a fully Bayesian analysis.

  12. The Act and Artifact of Drawing(s): Observing Geometric Thinking with, in, and through Children's Drawings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thom, Jennifer S.; McGarvey, Lynn M.

    2015-01-01

    In mathematics education, as in other domains, drawing serves as means to access, assess, and attend to children's understanding. While theoretical accounts of drawings are often based on developmental stage theories, we examine insights gained by considering children's geometric thinking and reasoning from embodied cognitive perspectives. We ask,…

  13. Impaired self-agency inferences in schizophrenia: The role of cognitive capacity and causal reasoning style.

    PubMed

    Prikken, M; van der Weiden, A; Kahn, R S; Aarts, H; van Haren, N E M

    2018-01-01

    The sense of self-agency, i.e., experiencing oneself as the cause of one's own actions, is impaired in patients with schizophrenia. Normally, inferences of self-agency are enhanced when actual outcomes match with pre-activated outcome information, where this pre-activation can result from explicitly set goals (i.e., goal-based route) or implicitly primed outcome information (i.e., prime-based route). Previous research suggests that patients show specific impairments in the prime-based route, implicating that they do not rely on matches between implicitly available outcome information and actual action-outcomes when inferring self-agency. The question remains: Why? Here, we examine whether neurocognitive functioning and self-serving bias (SSB) may explain abnormalities in patients' agency inferences. Thirty-six patients and 36 healthy controls performed a commonly used agency inference task to measure goal- and prime-based self-agency inferences. Neurocognitive functioning was assessed with the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) and the SSB was assessed with the Internal Personal and Situational Attributions Questionnaire. Results showed a substantial smaller effect of primed outcome information on agency experiences in patients compared with healthy controls. Whereas patients and controls differed on BACS and marginally on SSB scores, these differences were not related to patients' impairments in prime-based agency inferences. Patients showed impairments in prime-based agency inferences, thereby replicating previous studies. This finding could not be explained by cognitive dysfunction or SSB. Results are discussed in the context of the recent surge to understand and examine deficits in agency experiences in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  14. 5. PHOTOCOPY OF DRAWING (1975 ELECTRICAL DRAWING BY THE STRATEGIC ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    5. PHOTOCOPY OF DRAWING (1975 ELECTRICAL DRAWING BY THE STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND, USAF) ELECTRICAL PLANS FOR BUILDING 768, SHEET 7 OF 8 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Entry Control Point, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  15. 18. Photocopy of drawing (1961 architectural drawing by Kaiser Engineers) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    18. Photocopy of drawing (1961 architectural drawing by Kaiser Engineers) FLOOR PLAN, ELEVATIONS, AND SCHEDULE FOR VEHICLE SUPPORT BUILDING, SHEET A-1 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Vehicle Support Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  16. 19. Photocopy of drawing (1961 piping drawing by Kaiser Engineers) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    19. Photocopy of drawing (1961 piping drawing by Kaiser Engineers) PIPING PLANS AND DETAILS FOR VEHICLE SUPPORT BUILDING, SHEET P-1 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Vehicle Support Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  17. 154. Photocopy of drawing (1963 structural drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    154. Photocopy of drawing (1963 structural drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) STRUCTURAL PLANS FOR MST STATION 30, SHEET S84 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  18. 225. Photocopy of drawing (1967 structural drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    225. Photocopy of drawing (1967 structural drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) WIND DEFLECTOR FOR THE UMBILICAL MAST, SHEET S122 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  19. 158. Photocopy of drawing (1963 structural drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    158. Photocopy of drawing (1963 structural drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) FRAMING PLANS FOR MST STATION 124, SHEET S94 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  20. 183. Photocopy of drawing (1965 mechanical drawing by Koebig & ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    183. Photocopy of drawing (1965 mechanical drawing by Koebig & Koebig, Inc.) GASEOUS NITROGEN PURGE SYSTEM FOR THE MST, SHEET M-2 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  1. Genetic network inference as a series of discrimination tasks.

    PubMed

    Kimura, Shuhei; Nakayama, Satoshi; Hatakeyama, Mariko

    2009-04-01

    Genetic network inference methods based on sets of differential equations generally require a great deal of time, as the equations must be solved many times. To reduce the computational cost, researchers have proposed other methods for inferring genetic networks by solving sets of differential equations only a few times, or even without solving them at all. When we try to obtain reasonable network models using these methods, however, we must estimate the time derivatives of the gene expression levels with great precision. In this study, we propose a new method to overcome the drawbacks of inference methods based on sets of differential equations. Our method infers genetic networks by obtaining classifiers capable of predicting the signs of the derivatives of the gene expression levels. For this purpose, we defined a genetic network inference problem as a series of discrimination tasks, then solved the defined series of discrimination tasks with a linear programming machine. Our experimental results demonstrated that the proposed method is capable of correctly inferring genetic networks, and doing so more than 500 times faster than the other inference methods based on sets of differential equations. Next, we applied our method to actual expression data of the bacterial SOS DNA repair system. And finally, we demonstrated that our approach relates to the inference method based on the S-system model. Though our method provides no estimation of the kinetic parameters, it should be useful for researchers interested only in the network structure of a target system. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

  2. The Role of Probability-Based Inference in an Intelligent Tutoring System.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mislevy, Robert J.; Gitomer, Drew H.

    Probability-based inference in complex networks of interdependent variables is an active topic in statistical research, spurred by such diverse applications as forecasting, pedigree analysis, troubleshooting, and medical diagnosis. This paper concerns the role of Bayesian inference networks for updating student models in intelligent tutoring…

  3. Dewey's Concept of Experience for Inquiry-Based Landscape Drawing during Field Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tillmann, Alexander; Albrecht, Volker; Wunderlich, Jürgen

    2017-01-01

    The epistemological and educational philosophy of John Dewey is used as a theoretical basis to analyze processes of knowledge construction during geographical field studies. The experience of landscape drawing as a method of inquiry and a starting point for research-based learning is empirically evaluated. The basic drawing skills are acquired…

  4. Photocopy of drawing (original blueprint of Special Type Service Station ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original blueprint of Special Type Service Station in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1941 architectural drawings by Standard Oil Company Engineering Department of Louisville, KY) ELEVATIONS & SECTION - MacDill Air Force Base, Service Station, 7303 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  5. Photocopy of drawing (original blueprint of Special Type Service Station ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original blueprint of Special Type Service Station in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1941 architectural drawings by Standard Oil Company Engineering Department of Louisville, KY) PLAN - MacDill Air Force Base, Service Station, 7303 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  6. Photocopy of drawing (original blueprint of Special Type Service Station ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photocopy of drawing (original blueprint of Special Type Service Station in possession of MacDill Air Force Base, Civil Engineering, Tampa, Florida; 1941 architectural drawings by Standard Oil Company Engineering Department of Louisville, KY) SITE PLAN - MacDill Air Force Base, Service Station, 7303 Hanger Loop Drive, Tampa, Hillsborough County, FL

  7. Ensemble stacking mitigates biases in inference of synaptic connectivity.

    PubMed

    Chambers, Brendan; Levy, Maayan; Dechery, Joseph B; MacLean, Jason N

    2018-01-01

    A promising alternative to directly measuring the anatomical connections in a neuronal population is inferring the connections from the activity. We employ simulated spiking neuronal networks to compare and contrast commonly used inference methods that identify likely excitatory synaptic connections using statistical regularities in spike timing. We find that simple adjustments to standard algorithms improve inference accuracy: A signing procedure improves the power of unsigned mutual-information-based approaches and a correction that accounts for differences in mean and variance of background timing relationships, such as those expected to be induced by heterogeneous firing rates, increases the sensitivity of frequency-based methods. We also find that different inference methods reveal distinct subsets of the synaptic network and each method exhibits different biases in the accurate detection of reciprocity and local clustering. To correct for errors and biases specific to single inference algorithms, we combine methods into an ensemble. Ensemble predictions, generated as a linear combination of multiple inference algorithms, are more sensitive than the best individual measures alone, and are more faithful to ground-truth statistics of connectivity, mitigating biases specific to single inference methods. These weightings generalize across simulated datasets, emphasizing the potential for the broad utility of ensemble-based approaches.

  8. 8. PHOTOCOPY OF DRAWING (1975 ELECTRICAL DRAWING BY THE RALPH ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    8. PHOTOCOPY OF DRAWING (1975 ELECTRICAL DRAWING BY THE RALPH M. PARSONS COMPANY) ELECTRICAL PLAN AND DETAILS FOR BUILDING 762-A, SHEET E4 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Technical Support Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  9. 160. Photocopy of drawing (1967 electrical drawing by Koebig & ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    160. Photocopy of drawing (1967 electrical drawing by Koebig & Koebig, Inc.) MST MODIFICATION AND REFURBISHMENT; ELECTRICAL MODIFICATIONS OF LAUNCH DECK, SHEET E-3 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 West, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  10. 153. Photocopy of drawing (1963 structural drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    153. Photocopy of drawing (1963 structural drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) PLANS, ELEVATIONS, AND DETAILS FOR MST STATION 3, SHEET A20 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  11. 156. Photocopy of drawing (1963 architectural drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    156. Photocopy of drawing (1963 architectural drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) PLAN AND DETAILS FOR MST STATION 85.5, SHEET A29 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  12. 167. Photocopy of drawing (1979 piping drawing by StearnsRoger Incorporated) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    167. Photocopy of drawing (1979 piping drawing by Stearns-Roger Incorporated) HELIUM AND NITROGEN PUMPING SYSTEMS PIPING PLAN, SHEET 511-P8 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 West, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  13. 166. Photocopy of drawing (1979 piping drawing by StearnsRoger Incorporated) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    166. Photocopy of drawing (1979 piping drawing by Stearns-Roger Incorporated) HELIUM AND NITROGEN PUMPING SYSTEMS FLOW DIAGRAM, SHEET 511-P6 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 West, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  14. Assessing neural activity related to decision-making through flexible odds ratio curves and their derivatives.

    PubMed

    Roca-Pardiñas, Javier; Cadarso-Suárez, Carmen; Pardo-Vazquez, Jose L; Leboran, Victor; Molenberghs, Geert; Faes, Christel; Acuña, Carlos

    2011-06-30

    It is well established that neural activity is stochastically modulated over time. Therefore, direct comparisons across experimental conditions and determination of change points or maximum firing rates are not straightforward. This study sought to compare temporal firing probability curves that may vary across groups defined by different experimental conditions. Odds-ratio (OR) curves were used as a measure of comparison, and the main goal was to provide a global test to detect significant differences of such curves through the study of their derivatives. An algorithm is proposed that enables ORs based on generalized additive models, including factor-by-curve-type interactions to be flexibly estimated. Bootstrap methods were used to draw inferences from the derivatives curves, and binning techniques were applied to speed up computation in the estimation and testing processes. A simulation study was conducted to assess the validity of these bootstrap-based tests. This methodology was applied to study premotor ventral cortex neural activity associated with decision-making. The proposed statistical procedures proved very useful in revealing the neural activity correlates of decision-making in a visual discrimination task. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  15. Goal-directed decision making as probabilistic inference: A computational framework and potential neural correlates

    PubMed Central

    Solway, A.; Botvinick, M.

    2013-01-01

    Recent work has given rise to the view that reward-based decision making is governed by two key controllers: a habit system, which stores stimulus-response associations shaped by past reward, and a goal-oriented system that selects actions based on their anticipated outcomes. The current literature provides a rich body of computational theory addressing habit formation, centering on temporal-difference learning mechanisms. Less progress has been made toward formalizing the processes involved in goal-directed decision making. We draw on recent work in cognitive neuroscience, animal conditioning, cognitive and developmental psychology and machine learning, to outline a new theory of goal-directed decision making. Our basic proposal is that the brain, within an identifiable network of cortical and subcortical structures, implements a probabilistic generative model of reward, and that goal-directed decision making is effected through Bayesian inversion of this model. We present a set of simulations implementing the account, which address benchmark behavioral and neuroscientific findings, and which give rise to a set of testable predictions. We also discuss the relationship between the proposed framework and other models of decision making, including recent models of perceptual choice, to which our theory bears a direct connection. PMID:22229491

  16. Cupreoboletus (Boletaceae, Boletineae), a new monotypic genus segregated from Boletus sect. Luridi to reassign the Mediterranean species B. poikilochromus.

    PubMed

    Gelardi, Matteo; Simonini, Giampaolo; Ercole, Enrico; Davoli, Paolo; Vizzini, Alfredo

    2015-01-01

    Cupreoboletus is erected as a new monospecific genus of Boletaceae to accommodate the thermophilic southern European species Boletus poikilochromus, characterized by discoloration toward copper-red tints overall, hymenophore forming tiny crystals on drying, a pervasive and long lasting sweet odor and presence of pseudocystidia. Macro- and microscopic descriptions of the species based on re-examination of the type material and recent Italian collections including additional topotypical samples are provided and accompanied by photos and line drawings of the main anatomical structures. In addition, an epitype specimen is selected. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred from multigene molecular analysis based on partial sequences of the nuc rDNA 28S D1/D2 (28S) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions and genes for ribosomal RNA polymerase II subunits 1 (rpb1) and 2 (rpb2) and translation-elongation factor 1-α (tef1α). Ecological context, geographical range and delimitation from closely allied taxa also were elucidated. B. martaluciae is treated as a synonym of C. poikilochromus according to the morphological and molecular comparative study. © 2015 by The Mycological Society of America.

  17. How Is Emergent Writing Based on Drawing? Analyses of Children's Products and Their Sorting by Children and Mothers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Levin, Iris; Bus, Adriana G.

    2003-01-01

    Compared 28- to 53-month-olds' writing and drawing. Scores on a writing scale composed of graphic, "writing-like," and symbolic schemes improved with age. Recognition of drawings as drawings preceded recognition of writings as writings. Writing and drawing scores were substantially correlated, even with age partialed out, suggesting that…

  18. This photocopy of an engineering drawing shows the BakerPerkins 150gallon ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    This photocopy of an engineering drawing shows the Baker-Perkins 150-gallon mixer installation in the building. Austin, Field & Fry, Architects Engineers, 22311 West Third Street, Los Angeles 57, California: Edwards Test Station Complex, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Edwards Air Force Base, Edwards, California: "150 Gallon Mixer System Bldg. E-34, Plans, Sections & Details," drawing no. E34/6-0, 10 July 1963. California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Plant Engineering: engineering drawings of structures at JPL Edwards Facility. Drawings on file at JPL Plant Engineering, Pasadena, California - Jet Propulsion Laboratory Edwards Facility, Mixer, Edwards Air Force Base, Boron, Kern County, CA

  19. Inter-Individual Variability in High-Throughput Risk ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    We incorporate realistic human variability into an open-source high-throughput (HT) toxicokinetics (TK) modeling framework for use in a next-generation risk prioritization approach. Risk prioritization involves rapid triage of thousands of environmental chemicals, most which have little or no existing TK data. Chemicals are prioritized based on model estimates of hazard and exposure, to decide which chemicals should be first in line for further study. Hazard may be estimated with in vitro HT screening assays, e.g., U.S. EPA’s ToxCast program. Bioactive ToxCast concentrations can be extrapolated to doses that produce equivalent concentrations in body tissues using a reverse TK approach in which generic TK models are parameterized with 1) chemical-specific parameters derived from in vitro measurements and predicted from chemical structure; and 2) with physiological parameters for a virtual population. Here we draw physiological parameters from realistic estimates of distributions of demographic and anthropometric quantities in the modern U.S. population, based on the most recent CDC NHANES data. A Monte Carlo approach, accounting for the correlation structure in physiological parameters, is used to estimate ToxCast equivalent doses for the most sensitive portion of the population. To quantify risk, ToxCast equivalent doses are compared to estimates of exposure rates based on Bayesian inferences drawn from NHANES urinary analyte biomonitoring data. The inclusion

  20. Game Theory of Mind

    PubMed Central

    Yoshida, Wako; Dolan, Ray J.; Friston, Karl J.

    2008-01-01

    This paper introduces a model of ‘theory of mind’, namely, how we represent the intentions and goals of others to optimise our mutual interactions. We draw on ideas from optimum control and game theory to provide a ‘game theory of mind’. First, we consider the representations of goals in terms of value functions that are prescribed by utility or rewards. Critically, the joint value functions and ensuing behaviour are optimised recursively, under the assumption that I represent your value function, your representation of mine, your representation of my representation of yours, and so on ad infinitum. However, if we assume that the degree of recursion is bounded, then players need to estimate the opponent's degree of recursion (i.e., sophistication) to respond optimally. This induces a problem of inferring the opponent's sophistication, given behavioural exchanges. We show it is possible to deduce whether players make inferences about each other and quantify their sophistication on the basis of choices in sequential games. This rests on comparing generative models of choices with, and without, inference. Model comparison is demonstrated using simulated and real data from a ‘stag-hunt’. Finally, we note that exactly the same sophisticated behaviour can be achieved by optimising the utility function itself (through prosocial utility), producing unsophisticated but apparently altruistic agents. This may be relevant ethologically in hierarchal game theory and coevolution. PMID:19112488

  1. Effective network inference through multivariate information transfer estimation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dahlqvist, Carl-Henrik; Gnabo, Jean-Yves

    2018-06-01

    Network representation has steadily gained in popularity over the past decades. In many disciplines such as finance, genetics, neuroscience or human travel to cite a few, the network may not directly be observable and needs to be inferred from time-series data, leading to the issue of separating direct interactions between two entities forming the network from indirect interactions coming through its remaining part. Drawing on recent contributions proposing strategies to deal with this problem such as the so-called "global silencing" approach of Barzel and Barabasi or "network deconvolution" of Feizi et al. (2013), we propose a novel methodology to infer an effective network structure from multivariate conditional information transfers. Its core principal is to test the information transfer between two nodes through a step-wise approach by conditioning the transfer for each pair on a specific set of relevant nodes as identified by our algorithm from the rest of the network. The methodology is model free and can be applied to high-dimensional networks with both inter-lag and intra-lag relationships. It outperforms state-of-the-art approaches for eliminating the redundancies and more generally retrieving simulated artificial networks in our Monte-Carlo experiments. We apply the method to stock market data at different frequencies (15 min, 1 h, 1 day) to retrieve the network of US largest financial institutions and then document how bank's centrality measurements relate to bank's systemic vulnerability.

  2. 2. Photocopy of drawing (1976 structural and electrical drawing by ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    2. Photocopy of drawing (1976 structural and electrical drawing by the Strategic Air Command, USAF) SITE PLAN, STRUCTURAL AND ELECTRICAL FOR RELOCATING WAREHOUSE, SHEET 1 OF 1 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Storage Shed, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  3. 261. Photocopy of drawing (1976 electrical drawing by the Space ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    261. Photocopy of drawing (1976 electrical drawing by the Space and Missile Test Center, VAFB, USAF) FLOODLIGHT PLAN FOR LAUNCH PAD AREA, SHEET E9 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  4. 17. Photocopy of drawing (1961 civil engineering drawing by Kaiser ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    17. Photocopy of drawing (1961 civil engineering drawing by Kaiser Engineers) SITE PLAN, PLOT PLAN, AND LOCATION MAP FOR VEHICLE SUPPORT BUILDING, SHEET C-1 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Vehicle Support Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  5. 157. Photocopy of drawing (1963 structural drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    157. Photocopy of drawing (1963 structural drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) PLANS, SECTIONS, AND DETAILS FOR MST STATION 85.5, SHEET S90 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  6. 173. Photocopy of drawing (1963 piping drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    173. Photocopy of drawing (1963 piping drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) COMPRESSED AIR AND WATER SYSTEM SCHEMATIC FOR THE MST, SHEET P38 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  7. 152. Photocopy of drawing (1963 structural drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    152. Photocopy of drawing (1963 structural drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) STRUCTURAL DETAILS FOR MST STATIONS 21, 30, 39, AND 48, SHEET S98 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  8. 266. Photocopy of drawing (1979 piping drawing by StearnsRoger Incorporated) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    266. Photocopy of drawing (1979 piping drawing by Stearns-Roger Incorporated) PIPING PLAN FOR HELIUM AND NITROGEN PUMPING SYSTEMS, SHEET 501-P17 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  9. 224. Photocopy of drawing (1963 structural drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    224. Photocopy of drawing (1963 structural drawing by General Dynamics/Astronautics) UMBILICAL MAST WIND DEFLECTOR REQUIRED FOR 206 PROGRAM, PAD, SHEET S-101 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  10. 180. Photocopy of drawing (1972 piping drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    180. Photocopy of drawing (1972 piping drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) LIQUID OXYGEN FLOW DIAGRAM FOR THE LSB (BLDG. 770), SHEET P-2 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 West, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  11. 179. Photocopy of drawing (1972 piping drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    179. Photocopy of drawing (1972 piping drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) LIQUID OXYGEN STORAGE PLAN FOR THE LSB (BLDG. 770), SHEET P-7 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 West, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  12. 256. Photocopy of drawing (1975 piping drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    256. Photocopy of drawing (1975 piping drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) LIQUID OXYGEN FLOW DIAGRAM FOR THE LSB AREA, SHEET P-2 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  13. 115. Photocopy of drawing (1964 architectural drawing by Koebig & ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    115. Photocopy of drawing (1964 architectural drawing by Koebig & Koebig Inc.) ADDITION TO LAUNCH OPERATIONS BUILDING, POINT ARGUELLO LAUNCH COMPLEX ONE, SECTIONS AND ELEVATIONS, SHEET A-2 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Operations Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  14. 243. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    243. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) WATER SYSTEMS FLOW DIAGRAM FOR THE LSB, SHEET P6 OF 36 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  15. 238. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    238. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) NITROGEN FLOW DIAGRAM FOR THE LSB, SHEET P3 OF 36 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  16. 240. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    240. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) HELIUM FLOW DIAGRAM FOR THE LSB, SHEET P4 OF 36 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  17. 265. Photocopy of drawing (1979 piping drawing by StearnsRoger Incorporated) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    265. Photocopy of drawing (1979 piping drawing by Stearns-Roger Incorporated) FLOW DIAGRAM FOR HELIUM AND NITROGEN PUMPING SYSTEMS, SHEET 501-P16 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  18. Bayesian Inference for Functional Dynamics Exploring in fMRI Data.

    PubMed

    Guo, Xuan; Liu, Bing; Chen, Le; Chen, Guantao; Pan, Yi; Zhang, Jing

    2016-01-01

    This paper aims to review state-of-the-art Bayesian-inference-based methods applied to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Particularly, we focus on one specific long-standing challenge in the computational modeling of fMRI datasets: how to effectively explore typical functional interactions from fMRI time series and the corresponding boundaries of temporal segments. Bayesian inference is a method of statistical inference which has been shown to be a powerful tool to encode dependence relationships among the variables with uncertainty. Here we provide an introduction to a group of Bayesian-inference-based methods for fMRI data analysis, which were designed to detect magnitude or functional connectivity change points and to infer their functional interaction patterns based on corresponding temporal boundaries. We also provide a comparison of three popular Bayesian models, that is, Bayesian Magnitude Change Point Model (BMCPM), Bayesian Connectivity Change Point Model (BCCPM), and Dynamic Bayesian Variable Partition Model (DBVPM), and give a summary of their applications. We envision that more delicate Bayesian inference models will be emerging and play increasingly important roles in modeling brain functions in the years to come.

  19. Lung sounds: how doctors draw crackles and wheeze.

    PubMed

    Scott, Gregory; Presswood, Edward J; Makubate, Boikanyo; Cross, Frank

    2013-12-01

    The content of medical records is a potential source of miscommunication between clinicians. Doctors' written entries have been criticised for their illegibility and ambiguity, but no studies have examined doctors' drawings that are commonly used for recording auscultation findings. To compare doctors' drawings of auscultation findings, based on identical clinical information. Doctors at the Royal London Hospital and a group of London based general practitioners (GPs) documented a respiratory examination with a drawing of the auscultation findings of bilateral mid and lower zone wheeze and right lower zone crackles. The graphical properties of each drawing were examined and the use of written captions and labels recorded. Drawings were classified into styles according to the use of symbols (defined as discrete characters or icons) and shading (cross-hatching, speckling or darkening) to depict the auscultation findings. The study was conducted between September and November 2011. Sixty-nine hospital doctors and 13 GPs participated. Ten drawing styles were identified from 78 completed drawings. Ten distinct symbols and a range of shading techniques were used. The most frequent style (21% of drawings) combined 'X' symbols representing crackles with musical notes for wheeze. There was inconsistency of representation across the drawings. Forty-seven (60%) drawings used an 'X' symbol exclusively to represent crackles, but six (8%) used 'X' only to represent wheeze, and 10 (13%) used 'X' to represent both findings. 91% of participants included captions or labels with their drawing. There was wide variation in doctors' drawings of identical auscultation findings, and inconsistency in the meaning of symbols both between and within drawings. Doctors risk incorrectly interpreting each other's drawings when they are not effectively labelled. We recommend doctors consider using a written description instead, or draw different findings with distinct symbols or shading, labelling all findings clearly.

  20. mtDNA variation predicts population size in humans and reveals a major Southern Asian chapter in human prehistory.

    PubMed

    Atkinson, Quentin D; Gray, Russell D; Drummond, Alexei J

    2008-02-01

    The relative timing and size of regional human population growth following our expansion from Africa remain unknown. Human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diversity carries a legacy of our population history. Given a set of sequences, we can use coalescent theory to estimate past population size through time and draw inferences about human population history. However, recent work has challenged the validity of using mtDNA diversity to infer species population sizes. Here we use Bayesian coalescent inference methods, together with a global data set of 357 human mtDNA coding-region sequences, to infer human population sizes through time across 8 major geographic regions. Our estimates of relative population sizes show remarkable concordance with the contemporary regional distribution of humans across Africa, Eurasia, and the Americas, indicating that mtDNA diversity is a good predictor of population size in humans. Plots of population size through time show slow growth in sub-Saharan Africa beginning 143-193 kya, followed by a rapid expansion into Eurasia after the emergence of the first non-African mtDNA lineages 50-70 kya. Outside Africa, the earliest and fastest growth is inferred in Southern Asia approximately 52 kya, followed by a succession of growth phases in Northern and Central Asia (approximately 49 kya), Australia (approximately 48 kya), Europe (approximately 42 kya), the Middle East and North Africa (approximately 40 kya), New Guinea (approximately 39 kya), the Americas (approximately 18 kya), and a second expansion in Europe (approximately 10-15 kya). Comparisons of relative regional population sizes through time suggest that between approximately 45 and 20 kya most of humanity lived in Southern Asia. These findings not only support the use of mtDNA data for estimating human population size but also provide a unique picture of human prehistory and demonstrate the importance of Southern Asia to our recent evolutionary past.

  1. 4. PHOTOCOPY OF DRAWING (1976 STRUCTURAL AND ELECTRICAL DRAWING BY ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    4. PHOTOCOPY OF DRAWING (1976 STRUCTURAL AND ELECTRICAL DRAWING BY THE SPACE AND MISSILE TEST CENTER, VAFB, USAF) STRUCTURAL AND ELECTRICAL DIAGRAM FOR EQUIPMENT STORAGE BUILDING, SHEET S-26 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Storage Shed, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  2. 6. Photocopy of drawing (1976 structural drawing by the Space ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    6. Photocopy of drawing (1976 structural drawing by the Space and Missile Test Center, VAFB, USAF) FLOOR PLAN, ELEVATIONS, SECTIONS, AND DETAILS FOR THE PYROTEST AND STORAGE BUILDING, SHEET S22 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Pyrotechnic Shed, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  3. 168. Photocopy of drawing (1979 civil engineering drawing by the ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    168. Photocopy of drawing (1979 civil engineering drawing by the Space and Missile Test Center, USAF) NITROGEN AND HELIUM PUMPING SYSTEM INSTALLATION SITE PLAN, SHEET 511-C-1 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 West, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  4. 198. Photocopy of drawing (1976 structural drawing by the Space ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    198. Photocopy of drawing (1976 structural drawing by the Space and Missile Test Center, VAFB, USAF) FIRE RESISTIVE COATING PLAN AND ELEVATION FOR THE MST, SHEET S25 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  5. 273. Photocopy of drawing (1976 structural drawing by the Space ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    273. Photocopy of drawing (1976 structural drawing by the Space and Missile Test Center, VAFB, USAF) PLANS, ELEVATIONS, AND DETAILS OF THE CAMERA TOWERS, SHEET S20 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  6. 199. Photocopy of drawing (1976 structural drawing by the Space ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    199. Photocopy of drawing (1976 structural drawing by the Space and Missile Test Center, VAFB, USAF) STRUCTURAL DETAILS FOR THE MST STAND-TALKERS SHELTER, SHEET S24 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  7. 200. Photocopy of drawing (1976 mechanical drawing by StearnsRoger Incorporated) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    200. Photocopy of drawing (1976 mechanical drawing by Stearns-Roger Incorporated) GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM MODIFICATIONS, AIR-CONDITIONING DUCTING FOR THE MST, GENERAL ARRANGEMENT, SHEET 501-M2 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  8. 277. Photocopy of drawing (1979 structural drawing by StearnsRoger Incorporated) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    277. Photocopy of drawing (1979 structural drawing by Stearns-Roger Incorporated) PLANS AND SECTIONS FOR THE TIROS AND NOAA THEODOLITE STATION, SHEET 511-S-62 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  9. 263. Photocopy of drawing (1977 piping drawing by StearnsRoger Incorporated) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    263. Photocopy of drawing (1977 piping drawing by Stearns-Roger Incorporated) NOAA MODIFICATION, SECTIONS FOR NITROGEN SUPPLY CABINET FOR INERTIAL MEASUREMENT UNIT, SHEET 501-P8 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  10. Photographic copy of original construction drawing, Elevations Architectural, drawing No. ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    Photographic copy of original construction drawing, Elevations Architectural, drawing No. 60-02-66 SF/5/1871, Wilcox, Erickson, Vogelbach and Baumann, New York, 1 May, 1959, on file Selfridge Base Museum. - Selfridge Field, Building No. 1031, West of Doolittle Avenue between B & C Streets, Mount Clemens, Macomb County, MI

  11. 21. Photocopy of drawing (1977 structural drawing by StearnsRoger Incorporated) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    21. Photocopy of drawing (1977 structural drawing by Stearns-Roger Incorporated) TWO-TON CAPACITY BRIDGE CRANE PLANS AND SECTIONS FOR VEHICLE SUPPORT BUILDING, SHEET 511-533 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Vehicle Support Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  12. 188. Photocopy of drawing (1975 demolition drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    188. Photocopy of drawing (1975 demolition drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) DEMOLITION AND REMOVAL PLANS FOR MST STATION 39, 48, 55.5, AD 63, SHEET D-6 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  13. 269. Photocopy of drawing (1981 piping drawing by StearnsRoger Incorporated) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    269. Photocopy of drawing (1981 piping drawing by Stearns-Roger Incorporated) ATLAS H CONVERSION; PLANS, SECTIONS, AND DETAILS FOR FUEL AND NITROGEN PIPING, SHEET 517-P3 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  14. 257. Photocopy of drawing (1975 piping drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    257. Photocopy of drawing (1975 piping drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) PARTIAL PIPING PLAN OF THE LIQUID OXYGEN STORAGE AREA FOR THE LSB, SHEET P-5 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  15. 233. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    233. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) PLAN FOR THE LIQUID OXYGEN CONTROL ROOM FOR THE LSB, SHEET P16 OF 36 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  16. 234. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    234. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) BOOSTER LIQUID OXYGEN SYSTEM FLOW DIAGRAM FOR THE LSB, SHEET P2 OF 36 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  17. 113. Photocopy of drawing (1964 civil engineering drawing by Koebig ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    113. Photocopy of drawing (1964 civil engineering drawing by Koebig & Koebig Inc.) ADDITION TO LAUNCH OPERATIONS BUILDING, POINT ARGUELLO LAUNCH COMPLEX ONE, GRADING AND UTILITY PLAN, SHEET C3 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Operations Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  18. 116. Photocopy of drawing (1964 mechanical drawing by Koebig & ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    116. Photocopy of drawing (1964 mechanical drawing by Koebig & Koebig Inc.) ADDITION TO LAUNCH OPERATIONS BUILDING, POINT ARGUELLO LAUNCH COMPLEX ONE, FLOW SHEET 1 AND PIPING PLANS, SHEET M-2 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Operations Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  19. 117. Photocopy of drawing (1964 mechanical drawing by Koebig & ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    117. Photocopy of drawing (1964 mechanical drawing by Koebig & Koebig Inc.) ADDITION TO LAUNCH OPERATIONS BUILDING; POINT ARGUELLO LAUNCH COMPLEX ONE; ABBREVIATIONS, SYMBOLS, AND SCHEDULES; SHEET M-1 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Operations Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  20. 114. Photocopy of drawing (1964 architectural drawing by Koebig & ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    114. Photocopy of drawing (1964 architectural drawing by Koebig & Koebig Inc.) ADDITION TO LAUNCH OPERATIONS BUILDING; POINT ARGUELLO LAUNCH COMPLEX ONE; FLOOR PLANS, SECTIONS, AND DETAILS; SHEET A-1 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Operations Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  1. 241. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    241. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) VEHICLE SERVICING SYSTEMS FLOW DIAGRAM FOR THE LSB, SHEET P5 OF 36 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  2. 237. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    237. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) BOOSTER FUEL SYSTEM FLOW DIAGRAM FOR THE LSB, SHEET P1 OF 36 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  3. Action understanding as inverse planning.

    PubMed

    Baker, Chris L; Saxe, Rebecca; Tenenbaum, Joshua B

    2009-12-01

    Humans are adept at inferring the mental states underlying other agents' actions, such as goals, beliefs, desires, emotions and other thoughts. We propose a computational framework based on Bayesian inverse planning for modeling human action understanding. The framework represents an intuitive theory of intentional agents' behavior based on the principle of rationality: the expectation that agents will plan approximately rationally to achieve their goals, given their beliefs about the world. The mental states that caused an agent's behavior are inferred by inverting this model of rational planning using Bayesian inference, integrating the likelihood of the observed actions with the prior over mental states. This approach formalizes in precise probabilistic terms the essence of previous qualitative approaches to action understanding based on an "intentional stance" [Dennett, D. C. (1987). The intentional stance. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press] or a "teleological stance" [Gergely, G., Nádasdy, Z., Csibra, G., & Biró, S. (1995). Taking the intentional stance at 12 months of age. Cognition, 56, 165-193]. In three psychophysical experiments using animated stimuli of agents moving in simple mazes, we assess how well different inverse planning models based on different goal priors can predict human goal inferences. The results provide quantitative evidence for an approximately rational inference mechanism in human goal inference within our simplified stimulus paradigm, and for the flexible nature of goal representations that human observers can adopt. We discuss the implications of our experimental results for human action understanding in real-world contexts, and suggest how our framework might be extended to capture other kinds of mental state inferences, such as inferences about beliefs, or inferring whether an entity is an intentional agent.

  4. 30. "CONSTRUCTION PHASING, STATION '50' AREA." Specifications No. ENG043535775, Drawing ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    30. "CONSTRUCTION PHASING, STATION '50' AREA." Specifications No. ENG-04-353-57-75, Drawing No. AF-4502-19, sheet 4 of 5, D.O. Series No. AF 1439/26. Stamped: RECORD DRAWING - AS CONSTRUCTED. Below stamp: Contract no. 5296, Date: 10 NOV. 59. - Edwards Air Force Base, South Base Sled Track, Edwards Air Force Base, North of Avenue B, between 100th & 140th Streets East, Lancaster, Los Angeles County, CA

  5. Differentiable cortical networks for inferences concerning people’s intentions versus physical causality

    PubMed Central

    Mason, Robert A.; Just, Marcel Adam

    2010-01-01

    Cortical activity associated with generating an inference was measured using fMRI. Participants read three-sentence passages that differed in whether or not an inference needed to be drawn to understand them. The inference was based on either a protagonist’s intention or a physical consequence of a character’s action. Activation was expected in Theory of Mind brain regions for the passages based on protagonists’ intentions but not for the physical consequence passages. The activation measured in the right temporo-parietal junction was greater in the intentional passages than in the consequence passages, consistent with predictions from a Theory of Mind perspective. In contrast, there was increased occipital activation in the physical inference passages. For both types of passage, the cortical activity related to the reading of the critical inference sentence demonstrated a recruitment of a common inference cortical network. This general inference-related activation appeared bilaterally in the language processing areas (the inferior frontal gyrus, the temporal gyrus, and the angular gyrus), as well as in the medial to superior frontal gyrus, which has been found to be active in Theory of Mind tasks. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that component areas of the discourse processing network are recruited as needed based on the nature of the inference. A Protagonist monitoring and synthesis network is proposed as a more accurate account for Theory of Mind activation during narrative comprehension. PMID:21229617

  6. Five Misunderstandings About Cultural Evolution.

    PubMed

    Henrich, Joseph; Boyd, Robert; Richerson, Peter J

    2008-06-01

    Recent debates about memetics have revealed some widespread misunderstandings about Darwinian approaches to cultural evolution. Drawing from these debates, this paper disputes five common claims: (1) mental representations are rarely discrete, and therefore models that assume discrete, gene-like particles (i.e., replicators) are useless; (2) replicators are necessary for cumulative, adaptive evolution; (3) content-dependent psychological biases are the only important processes that affect the spread of cultural representations; (4) the "cultural fitness" of a mental representation can be inferred from its successful transmission; and (5) selective forces only matter if the sources of variation are random. We close by sketching the outlines of a unified evolutionary science of culture.

  7. Sea surface mean square slope from Ku-band backscatter data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jackson, F. C.; Walton, W. T.; Hines, D. E.; Walter, B. A.; Peng, C. Y.

    1992-01-01

    A surface mean-square-slope parameter analysis is conducted for 14-GHz airborne radar altimeter near-nadir, quasi-specular backscatter data, which in raw form obtained by least-squares fitting of an optical scattering model to the return waveform show an approximately linear dependence over the 7-15 m/sec wind speed range. Slope data are used to draw inferences on the structure of the high-wavenumber portion of the spectrum. A directionally-integrated model height spectrum that encompasses wind speed-dependent k exp -5/2 and classical Phillips k exp -3 power laws subranges in the range of gravity waves is supported by the data.

  8. An Empirical Analysis of the Default Rate of Informal Lending—Evidence from Yiwu, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lu, Wei; Yu, Xiaobo; Du, Juan; Ji, Feng

    This study empirically analyzes the underlying factors contributing to the default rate of informal lending. This paper adopts snowball sampling interview to collect data and uses the logistic regression model to explore the specific factors. The results of these analyses validate the explanation of how the informal lending differs from the commercial loan. Factors that contribute to the default rate have particular attributes, while sharing some similarities with commercial bank or FICO credit scoring Index. Finally, our concluding remarks draw some inferences from empirical analysis and speculate as to what this may imply for the role of formal and informal financial sectors.

  9. Conceptual influences on category-based induction

    PubMed Central

    Gelman, Susan A.; Davidson, Natalie S.

    2013-01-01

    One important function of categories is to permit rich inductive inferences. Prior work shows that children use category labels to guide their inductive inferences. However, there are competing theories to explain this phenomenon, differing in the roles attributed to conceptual information versus perceptual similarity. Seven experiments with 4- to 5-year-old children and adults (N = 344) test these theories by teaching categories for which category membership and perceptual similarity are in conflict, and varying the conceptual basis of the novel categories. Results indicate that for non-natural kind categories that have little conceptual coherence, children make inferences based on perceptual similarity, whereas adults make inferences based on category membership. In contrast, for basic- and ontological-level categories that have a principled conceptual basis, children and adults alike make use of category membership more than perceptual similarity as the basis of their inferences. These findings provide evidence in favor of the role of conceptual information in preschoolers’ inferences, and further demonstrate that labeled categories are not all equivalent; they differ in their inductive potential. PMID:23517863

  10. New developments of a knowledge based system (VEG) for inferring vegetation characteristics

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kimes, D. S.; Harrison, P. A.; Harrison, P. R.

    1992-01-01

    An extraction technique for inferring physical and biological surface properties of vegetation using nadir and/or directional reflectance data as input has been developed. A knowledge-based system (VEG) accepts spectral data of an unknown target as input, determines the best strategy for inferring the desired vegetation characteristic, applies the strategy to the target data, and provides a rigorous estimate of the accuracy of the inference. Progress in developing the system is presented. VEG combines methods from remote sensing and artificial intelligence, and integrates input spectral measurements with diverse knowledge bases. VEG has been developed to (1) infer spectral hemispherical reflectance from any combination of nadir and/or off-nadir view angles; (2) test and develop new extraction techniques on an internal spectral database; (3) browse, plot, or analyze directional reflectance data in the system's spectral database; (4) discriminate between user-defined vegetation classes using spectral and directional reflectance relationships; and (5) infer unknown view angles from known view angles (known as view angle extension).

  11. Connectivity inference from neural recording data: Challenges, mathematical bases and research directions.

    PubMed

    Magrans de Abril, Ildefons; Yoshimoto, Junichiro; Doya, Kenji

    2018-06-01

    This article presents a review of computational methods for connectivity inference from neural activity data derived from multi-electrode recordings or fluorescence imaging. We first identify biophysical and technical challenges in connectivity inference along the data processing pipeline. We then review connectivity inference methods based on two major mathematical foundations, namely, descriptive model-free approaches and generative model-based approaches. We investigate representative studies in both categories and clarify which challenges have been addressed by which method. We further identify critical open issues and possible research directions. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  12. Subtracting "ought" from "is": descriptivism versus normativism in the study of human thinking.

    PubMed

    Elqayam, Shira; Evans, Jonathan St B T

    2011-10-01

    We propose a critique of normativism, defined as the idea that human thinking reflects a normative system against which it should be measured and judged. We analyze the methodological problems associated with normativism, proposing that it invites the controversial "is-ought" inference, much contested in the philosophical literature. This problem is triggered when there are competing normative accounts (the arbitration problem), as empirical evidence can help arbitrate between descriptive theories, but not between normative systems. Drawing on linguistics as a model, we propose that a clear distinction between normative systems and competence theories is essential, arguing that equating them invites an "is-ought" inference: to wit, supporting normative "ought" theories with empirical "is" evidence. We analyze in detail two research programmes with normativist features - Oaksford and Chater's rational analysis and Stanovich and West's individual differences approach - demonstrating how, in each case, equating norm and competence leads to an is-ought inference. Normativism triggers a host of research biases in the psychology of reasoning and decision making: focusing on untrained participants and novel problems, analyzing psychological processes in terms of their normative correlates, and neglecting philosophically significant paradigms when they do not supply clear standards for normative judgement. For example, in a dual-process framework, normativism can lead to a fallacious "ought-is" inference, in which normative responses are taken as diagnostic of analytic reasoning. We propose that little can be gained from normativism that cannot be achieved by descriptivist computational-level analysis, illustrating our position with Hypothetical Thinking Theory and the theory of the suppositional conditional. We conclude that descriptivism is a viable option, and that theories of higher mental processing would be better off freed from normative considerations.

  13. What does Medicaid expansion mean for cancer screening and prevention? Results from a randomized trial on the impacts of acquiring Medicaid coverage.

    PubMed

    Wright, Bill J; Conlin, Alison K; Allen, Heidi L; Tsui, Jennifer; Carlson, Matthew J; Li, Hsin Fang

    2016-03-01

    The Oregon Medicaid lottery provided a unique opportunity to assess the causal impacts of health insurance on cancer screening rates within the framework of a randomized controlled trial. Prior studies regarding the impacts of health insurance have almost always been limited to observational evidence, which cannot be used to make causal inferences. The authors prospectively followed a representative panel of 16,204 individuals from the Oregon Medicaid lottery reservation list, collecting data before and after the Medicaid lottery drawings. The study panel was divided into 2 groups: a treatment group of individuals who were selected in the Medicaid lottery (6254 individuals) and a control group who were not (9950 individuals). The authors also created an elevated risk subpanel based on family cancer histories. One year after the lottery drawings, differences in cancer screening rates, preventive behaviors, and health status were compared between the study groups. Medicaid coverage resulted in significantly higher rates of several common cancer screenings, especially among women, as well as better primary care connections and self-reported health outcomes. There was little evidence found that acquiring Medicaid increased the adoption of preventive health behaviors that might reduce cancer risk. Medicaid coverage did not appear to directly impact lifestyle choices that might reduce cancer risk, but it did provide access to important care and screenings that could help to detect cancers earlier. These findings could have long-term population health implications for states considering or pursuing Medicaid expansion. Cancer 2016;122:791-797. © 2015 American Cancer Society. © 2015 American Cancer Society.

  14. Causal inferences on the effectiveness of complex social programs: Navigating assumptions, sources of complexity and evaluation design challenges.

    PubMed

    Chatterji, Madhabi

    2016-12-01

    This paper explores avenues for navigating evaluation design challenges posed by complex social programs (CSPs) and their environments when conducting studies that call for generalizable, causal inferences on the intervention's effectiveness. A definition is provided of a CSP drawing on examples from different fields, and an evaluation case is analyzed in depth to derive seven (7) major sources of complexity that typify CSPs, threatening assumptions of textbook-recommended experimental designs for performing impact evaluations. Theoretically-supported, alternative methodological strategies are discussed to navigate assumptions and counter the design challenges posed by the complex configurations and ecology of CSPs. Specific recommendations include: sequential refinement of the evaluation design through systems thinking, systems-informed logic modeling; and use of extended term, mixed methods (ETMM) approaches with exploratory and confirmatory phases of the evaluation. In the proposed approach, logic models are refined through direct induction and interactions with stakeholders. To better guide assumption evaluation, question-framing, and selection of appropriate methodological strategies, a multiphase evaluation design is recommended. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Adult Age Differences in Categorization and Multiple-Cue Judgment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mata, Rui; von Helversen, Bettina; Karlsson, Linnea; Cupper, Lutz

    2012-01-01

    We often need to infer unknown properties of objects from observable ones, just like detectives must infer guilt from observable clues and behavior. But how do inferential processes change with age? We examined young and older adults' reliance on rule-based and similarity-based processes in an inference task that can be considered either a…

  16. The intersection between Descriptivism and Meliorism in reasoning research: further proposals in support of ‘soft normativism’

    PubMed Central

    Stupple, Edward J. N.; Ball, Linden J.

    2014-01-01

    The rationality paradox centers on the observation that people are highly intelligent, yet show evidence of errors and biases in their thinking when measured against normative standards. Elqayam and Evans’ (2011) reject normative standards in the psychological study of thinking, reasoning and deciding in favor of a ‘value-free’ descriptive approach to studying high-level cognition. In reviewing Elqayam and Evans’ (2011) position, we defend an alternative to descriptivism in the form of ‘soft normativism,’ which allows for normative evaluations alongside the pursuit of descriptive research goals. We propose that normative theories have considerable value provided that researchers: (1) are alert to the philosophical quagmire of strong relativism; (2) are mindful of the biases that can arise from utilizing normative benchmarks; and (3) engage in a focused analysis of the processing approach adopted by individual reasoners. We address the controversial ‘is–ought’ inference in this context and appeal to a ‘bridging solution’ to this contested inference that is based on the concept of ‘informal reflective equilibrium.’ Furthermore, we draw on Elqayam and Evans’ (2011) recognition of a role for normative benchmarks in research programs that are devised to enhance reasoning performance and we argue that such Meliorist research programs have a valuable reciprocal relationship with descriptivist accounts of reasoning. In sum, we believe that descriptions of reasoning processes are fundamentally enriched by evaluations of reasoning quality, and argue that if such standards are discarded altogether then our explanations and descriptions of reasoning processes are severely undermined. PMID:25414687

  17. 8. Photographic copy of original construction drawing, dated August 10, ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    8. Photographic copy of original construction drawing, dated August 10, 1976, Civil Engineering, Selfridge Air National Guard Base, in possession of Selfridge Base Museum, Mt. Clemens, Michigan, ALTER AIRCRAFT SHELTERS, FLOOR PLAN BUILDING NO. 21, DRAWINGS SLF-210-163. - Selfridge Field, Building Nos. 20 & 21, East Ramp south of intersection of Wilbur Wright & Birch Streets, Mount Clemens, Macomb County, MI

  18. Older age relates to worsening of fine motor skills: a population-based study of middle-aged and elderly persons.

    PubMed

    Hoogendam, Yoo Young; van der Lijn, Fedde; Vernooij, Meike W; Hofman, Albert; Niessen, Wiro J; van der Lugt, Aad; Ikram, M Arfan; van der Geest, Jos N

    2014-01-01

    In a population-based study of 1,912 community-dwelling persons of 45 years and older, we investigated the relation between age and fine motor skills using the Archimedes spiral-drawing test. Also, we studied the effect of brain volume on fine motor skills. Participants were required to trace a template of a spiral on an electronic drawing board. Clinical scores from this test were obtained by visual assessment of the drawings. Quantitative measures were objectively determined from the recorded data of the drawings. As tremor is known to occur increasingly with advancing age, we also rated drawings to assess presence of tremor. We found presence of a tremor in 1.3% of the drawings. In the group without tremor, we found that older age was related to worse fine motor skills. Additionally, participants over the age of 75 showed increasing deviations from the template when drawing the spiral. Larger cerebral volume and smaller white matter lesion volume were related to better spiral-drawing performance, whereas cerebellar volume was not related to spiral-drawing performance. Older age is related to worse fine motor skills, which can be captured by clinical scoring or quantitative measures of the Archimedes spiral-drawing test. Persons with a tremor performed worse on almost all measures of the spiral-drawing test. Furthermore, larger cerebral volume is related to better fine motor skills.

  19. 28. "CONSTRUCTION PHASING, STATION '0' AREA." Specifications No. OC15775, Drawing ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    28. "CONSTRUCTION PHASING, STATION '0' AREA." Specifications No. OC1-57-75, Drawing No. AF-45-02-19, sheet 3 of 5, D.O. Series No. AF 1439/25, Rev. B. Stamped: RECORD DRAWING - AS CONSTRUCTED. Below stamp: Contract no. 5296 Rev. B, Date: 11/13/59. - Edwards Air Force Base, South Base Sled Track, Edwards Air Force Base, North of Avenue B, between 100th & 140th Streets East, Lancaster, Los Angeles County, CA

  20. 214. Photocopy of drawing (1983 electrical drawing by StearnsRoger Incorporated) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    214. Photocopy of drawing (1983 electrical drawing by Stearns-Roger Incorporated) ATLAS H CONVERSION, ELECTRICAL LAN FOR RELOCATION OF THE ERECTION WINCH TO MST STATION 124, SHEET 517-E21 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  1. 3. PHOTOCOPY OF DRAWING (1976 CIVIL ENGINEERING DRAWING BY THE ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    3. PHOTOCOPY OF DRAWING (1976 CIVIL ENGINEERING DRAWING BY THE SPACE AND MISSILE TEST CENTER, VAFB, USAF) PARTIAL SITE PLAN, EQUIPMENT STORAGE BUILDING, PARKING AREA OVERLAY, AND NEW ROAD, SHEET C4 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Storage Shed, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  2. 264. Photocopy of drawing (1977 piping drawing by the Space ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    264. Photocopy of drawing (1977 piping drawing by the Space and Missile Test Center, VAFB, USAF) NITROGEN AND HELIUM PUMPING SYSTEMS INSTALLATION SITE PLAN AND DETAILS, SHEET 3 OF 9 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  3. 259. Photocopy of drawing (1976 piping drawing by the Space ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    259. Photocopy of drawing (1976 piping drawing by the Space and Missile Test Center, VAFB, USAF) PLANS, SECTIONS, AND DETAILS OF THE DELUGE WATER SYSTEM FOR THE FLAME BUCKET, SHEET P-17 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  4. 181. Photocopy of drawing (1973 architectural drawing by the Space ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    181. Photocopy of drawing (1973 architectural drawing by the Space and Missile Test Center, VAFB, USAF) SITE PLAN, SECTIONS, AND DETAILS FOR THE FUEL TANK RETAINING WALL, SHEET 27A OF 53 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 West, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  5. 13. Photographic copy of original construction drawing, Platform PlanArchitectural, Drawing ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    13. Photographic copy of original construction drawing, Platform Plan-Architectural, Drawing No. 60-02-66 SF 5/1869, Wilcox, Erickson, Vogelbach and Baumann, New York, 1 May, 1959, on file Selfridge Base Museum. - Selfridge Field, Building No. 1031, West of Doolittle Avenue between B & C Streets, Mount Clemens, Macomb County, MI

  6. 14. Photographic copy of original construction drawing, ElevationsArchitectural, Drawing No. ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    14. Photographic copy of original construction drawing, Elevations-Architectural, Drawing No. 60-02-66 SF 5/1871, Wilcox, Erickson, Vogelbach and Bauman, New York, 1 May, 1959, on file Selfridge Base Museum. - Selfridge Field, Building No. 1031, West of Doolittle Avenue between B & C Streets, Mount Clemens, Macomb County, MI

  7. 8. Photographic copy of construction drawing 1976 (original drawing located ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    8. Photographic copy of construction drawing 1976 (original drawing located in Building 301, Offutt AFB, Bellevue, Nebraska). Floor plan of entire building. - Offutt Air Force Base, Looking Glass Airborne Command Post, Aerospace Ground Equipment (AGE) Storage Facility, Far Northwest end of Project Looking Glass Historic District, Bellevue, Sarpy County, NE

  8. 202. Photocopy of drawing (1976 piping drawing by StearnsRoger Incorporated) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    202. Photocopy of drawing (1976 piping drawing by Stearns-Roger Incorporated) HIGH PRESSURE GASEOUS NITROGEN AND HELIUM LINES FOR THE PAYLOAD PRESSURIZATION UNIT IN THE MST, SHEET 501-P2 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  9. 235. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    235. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) PLAN FOR THE FUEL, HELIUM, AND NITROGEN STORAGE AREA FOR THE LSB, SHEET P13 OF 36 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  10. 262. Photocopy of drawing (1976 piping drawing by StearnsRoger Incorporated) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    262. Photocopy of drawing (1976 piping drawing by Stearns-Roger Incorporated) GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM MODIFICATIONS, PAYLOAD PRESSURIZATION UNIT HIGH PRESSURE GASEOUS NITROGEN AND HELIUM LINES FOR LSB, SHEET 501-P3 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  11. 236. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    236. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) SECTIONS AND DETAILS FOR THE FUEL, HELIUM, AND NITROGEN STORAGE AREA FOR THE LSB, SHEET P14 OF 36 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  12. 268. Photocopy of drawing (1981 piping drawing by StearnsRoger Incorporated) ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    268. Photocopy of drawing (1981 piping drawing by Stearns-Roger Incorporated) ATLAS H CONVERSION; PLANS, SECTIONS, AND DETAILS FOR THE LIQUID OXYGEN PIPING AND THRUST SECTION HEATER DUCT, SHEET 517-P2 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  13. 232. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    232. Photocopy of drawing (1958 piping drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) PLAN FOR THE LIQUID AND GASEOUS OXYGEN STORAGE AREA IN THE LSB, SHEET P17 OF 36 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 East, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  14. 182. Photocopy of drawing (1972 piping drawing by the Ralph ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    182. Photocopy of drawing (1972 piping drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) PLAN FOR THE LIQUID NITROGEN STORAGE AND BOOSTER CONTROL ROOM FOR THE LSB (BLDG. 770), SHEET P-12 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Pad 3 West, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  15. 119. Photocopy of drawing (1959 civil engineering drawing by the ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    119. Photocopy of drawing (1959 civil engineering drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) PLOT PLAN AND PROFILE LINES OF WAVE GUIDE ENCLOSURE AND CABLE TRAY INSTALLATION FOR LAUNCH OPERATIONS BUILDING, SHEET C41 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Operations Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  16. 120. Photocopy of drawing (1958 civil engineering drawing by the ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    120. Photocopy of drawing (1958 civil engineering drawing by the Ralph M. Parsons Company) STRUCTURAL DETAILS OF WAVE GUIDE ENCLOSURE AND CABLE TRAY INSTALLATION FOR LAUNCH OPERATIONS BUILDING, SHEET C42 - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Launch Operations Building, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  17. Drawings as Spaces for Intellectual Play

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wood, Elizabeth; Hall, Emese

    2011-01-01

    The aims of this article are to explore the links between drawing and playing and to conceptualise drawings as spaces for intellectual play. The empirical research that supports this position is based on an interpretivist study involving 14 children aged four-six in a primary school in England. Over a one-year period, 882 drawings were collected…

  18. Graph Drawing Aesthetics-Created by Users, Not Algorithms.

    PubMed

    Purchase, H C; Pilcher, C; Plimmer, B

    2012-01-01

    Prior empirical work on layout aesthetics for graph drawing algorithms has concentrated on the interpretation of existing graph drawings. We report on experiments which focus on the creation and layout of graph drawings: participants were asked to draw graphs based on adjacency lists, and to lay them out "nicely." Two interaction methods were used for creating the drawings: a sketch interface which allows for easy, natural hand movements, and a formal point-and-click interface similar to a typical graph editing system. We find, in common with many other studies, that removing edge crossings is the most significant aesthetic, but also discover that aligning nodes and edges to an underlying grid is important. We observe that the aesthetics favored by participants during creation of a graph drawing are often not evident in the final product and that the participants did not make a clear distinction between the processes of creation and layout. Our results suggest that graph drawing systems should integrate automatic layout with the user's manual editing process, and provide facilities to support grid-based graph creation.

  19. General Metropolis-Hastings jump diffusions for automatic target recognition in infrared scenes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lanterman, Aaron D.; Miller, Michael I.; Snyder, Donald L.

    1997-04-01

    To locate and recognize ground-based targets in forward- looking IR (FLIR) images, 3D faceted models with associated pose parameters are formulated to accommodate the variability found in FLIR imagery. Taking a Bayesian approach, scenes are simulated from the emissive characteristics of the CAD models and compared with the collected data by a likelihood function based on sensor statistics. This likelihood is combined with a prior distribution defined over the set of possible scenes to form a posterior distribution. To accommodate scenes with variable numbers of targets, the posterior distribution is defined over parameter vectors of varying dimension. An inference algorithm based on Metropolis-Hastings jump- diffusion processes empirically samples from the posterior distribution, generating configurations of templates and transformations that match the collected sensor data with high probability. The jumps accommodate the addition and deletion of targets and the estimation of target identities; diffusions refine the hypotheses by drifting along the gradient of the posterior distribution with respect to the orientation and position parameters. Previous results on jumps strategies analogous to the Metropolis acceptance/rejection algorithm, with proposals drawn from the prior and accepted based on the likelihood, are extended to encompass general Metropolis-Hastings proposal densities. In particular, the algorithm proposes moves by drawing from the posterior distribution over computationally tractible subsets of the parameter space. The algorithm is illustrated by an implementation on a Silicon Graphics Onyx/Reality Engine.

  20. Fundamentals and Recent Developments in Approximate Bayesian Computation

    PubMed Central

    Lintusaari, Jarno; Gutmann, Michael U.; Dutta, Ritabrata; Kaski, Samuel; Corander, Jukka

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Bayesian inference plays an important role in phylogenetics, evolutionary biology, and in many other branches of science. It provides a principled framework for dealing with uncertainty and quantifying how it changes in the light of new evidence. For many complex models and inference problems, however, only approximate quantitative answers are obtainable. Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) refers to a family of algorithms for approximate inference that makes a minimal set of assumptions by only requiring that sampling from a model is possible. We explain here the fundamentals of ABC, review the classical algorithms, and highlight recent developments. [ABC; approximate Bayesian computation; Bayesian inference; likelihood-free inference; phylogenetics; simulator-based models; stochastic simulation models; tree-based models.] PMID:28175922

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