Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Short Studies 2008. Adventures In Diamond Strategies Of Change(S), Rudolf Kaehr

Rudolf Kaehr

Modular Bolognese Paradoxes of postmodern education. A Tale of Fishes, Birds and Diamonds in Second-Order Epistemology Why it is useless to write about the mono-contexturality of alphabetism and digitalism Chez Maxime's Human rights in a polycontextural world Primary Thoughts to a Manifesto for Awareness Fashion Marketing Which Equality? How equal are equal human beings? Generalized Diamonds From monosemic to tectonic complementarity Diamond Disremption Diamond interpretation of the kenomic succession operation Diamond Web2.0? How social is social networking? Web Mobility Web computing between semiotic and kenomic spaces Double Cross Playing Diamonds Understanding interactivity in/between bigraphs and diamonds Morphogrammatics of Change A …

Perspectives On Social Cognition, Leslie Marsh, Christian Onof

Leslie Marsh

No longer is sociality the preserve of the social sciences, or ‘‘culture’’ the preserve of the humanities or anthropology. By the same token, cognition is no longer the sole preserve of the cognitive sciences. Social cognition (SC) or, sociocognition if you like, is thus a kaleidoscope of research projects that has seen exponential growth over the past 30 or so years. That so many disciplines now invoke the term ‘‘social cognition,’’ shouldn’t tempt one into thinking that they are all denoting the same idea. On the contrary, with such methodologically and perspectivally diverse interests involved, there is every chance that …

Perspectives On Social Cognition, Leslie Marsh, Christian Onof

Leslie Marsh

No longer is sociality the preserve of the social sciences, or ‘‘culture’’ the preserve of the humanities or anthropology. By the same token, cognition is no longer the sole preserve of the cognitive sciences. Social cognition (SC) or, sociocognition if you like, is thus a kaleidoscope of research projects that has seen exponential growth over the past 30 or so years. That so many disciplines now invoke the term ‘‘social cognition,’’ shouldn’t tempt one into thinking that they are all denoting the same idea. On the contrary, with such methodologically and perspectivally diverse interests involved, there is every chance that …

A Practical Approach To Robotic Design For The Darpa Urban Challenge, Benjamin J. Patz, Yiannis Papelis, Remo Pillat, Gary Stein, Don Harper

VMASC Publications

This article presents a practical approach to engineering a robot to effectively navigate in an urban environment. Inherent in this approach is the use of relatively simple sensors, actuators, and processors to generate robot vision, intelligence, and planning. Sensor data are fused from multiple low-cost, two-dimensional laser scanners With an innovative rotational mount to provide three-dimensional coverage with image processing using both range and intensity data. Information is combined With Doppler radar returns to yield a world view processed by a context-based reasoning control system to yield tactical mission commands forwarded to traditional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control loops. As an example …

Referring Expression Generation Challenge 2008 Dit System Descriptions (Dit-Fbi, Dit-Tvas, Dit-Cbsr, Dit-Rbr, Dit-Fbi-Cbsr, Dit-Tvas-Rbr), John D. Kelleher, Brian Mac Namee

Conference papers

This papers desibes a set of systems developed at DIT for the Referring Expression Generation challenage at INLG 2008.In Proceedings of the 5th International Natural Language Generation Conference (INLG-08)

Lightweight Objective Quality Of Voice Estimation Through Machine Learning, Daniel Riordan

Theses

Communication systems are undergoing constant and rapid innovation, both at the design stage and in the field. This in turn has led to an inereasing need for fast, efficient, portable and economic methods for the testing of these systems. For voice carrying communication systems the quality of the transmitted voice that the system produces is a large factor in the overall performance rating of the system. This measure is known as the ‘Quality of Voice’ (QoV) and can be evaluated either subjectively or objectively.

Speech quality is a complex subjective phenomenon that can be best quantified by subjective testing. A …

Object Detection And Classification With Applications To Skin Cancer Screening, Jonathan Blackledge, Dmitryi Dubovitskiy

Articles

This paper discusses a new approach to the processes of object detection, recognition and classification in a digital image. The classification method is based on the application of a set of features which include fractal parameters such as the Lacunarity and Fractal Dimension. Thus, the approach used, incorporates the characterisation of an object in terms of its texture.

The principal issues associated with object recognition are presented which includes two novel fast segmentation algorithms for which C++ code is provided. The self-learning procedure for designing a decision making engine using fuzzy logic and membership function theory is also presented and …

A Translation Mechanism For Recommendations, Pierpaolo Dondio, Luca Longo, Stephen Barrett

Conference papers

An important class of distributed Trust-based solutions is based on the information sharing. A basic requirement of such systems is the ability of participating agents to effectively communicate, receiving and sending messages that can be interpreted correctly. Unfortunately, in open systems it is not possible to postulate a common agreement about the representation of a rating, its semantic meaning and cognitive and computational mechanisms behind a trust-rating formation. Social scientists agree to consider unqualified trust values not transferable, but a more pragmatic approach would conclude that qualified trust judgments are worth being transferred as far as decisions taken considering others’ …

Enhancing Recursive Supervised Learning Using Clustering And Combinatorial Optimization (Rsl-Cc), Kiruthika Ramanathan, Sheng Uei Guan

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The use of a team of weak learners to learn a dataset has been shown better than the use of one single strong learner. In fact, the idea is so successful that boosting, an algorithm combining several weak learners for supervised learning, has been considered to be one of the best off-the-shelf classifiers. However, some problems still remain, including determining the optimal number of weak learners and the overfitting of data. In an earlier work, we developed the RPHP algorithm which solves both these problems by using a combination of genetic algorithm, weak learner and pattern distributor. In this paper, …

Classification Of Non-Heat Generating Outdoor Objects In Thermal Scenes For Autonomous Robots, William L. Fehlman

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

We have designed and implemented a physics-based adaptive Bayesian pattern classification model that uses a passive thermal infrared imaging system to automatically characterize non-heat generating objects in unstructured outdoor environments for mobile robots. In the context of this research, non-heat generating objects are defined as objects that are not a source for their own emission of thermal energy, and so exclude people, animals, vehicles, etc. The resulting classification model complements an autonomous bot's situational awareness by providing the ability to classify smaller structures commonly found in the immediate operational environment. Since GPS depends on the availability of satellites and onboard …

Medical Language Processing For Patient Diagnosis Using Text Classification And Negation Labelling, Brian Mac Namee, John D. Kelleher, Sarah Jane Delany

Conference papers

This paper describes the approach of the DIT AIGroup to the i2b2 Obesity Challenge to build a system to diagnose obesity and related co-morbidities from narrative, unstructured patient records. Based on experimental results a system was developed which used knowledge-light text classification using decision trees, and negation labelling.

Thermal Roots Of Correlation-Based Complexity, Philip Fraundorf

Physics Faculty Works

Bayesian maxent lets one integrate thermal physics and information theory points of view in the quantitative study of complex systems. Since net surprisal (a free energy analog for measuring “departures from expected”) allows one to place second law constraints on mutual information (a multimoment measure of correlations), it makes a quantitative case for the role of reversible thermalization in the natural history of invention, and suggests multiscale strategies to monitor standing crop as well. It prompts one to track evolved complexity starting from live astrophysically observed processes, rather than only from evidence of past events. Various gradients and boundaries that …

The Oil Drilling Model And Iterative Deepening Genetic Annealing Algorithm For The Traveling Salesman Problem, Hoong Chuin Lau, Fei Xiao

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this work, we liken the solving of combinatorial optimization problems under a prescribed computational budget as hunting for oil in an unexplored ground. Using this generic model, we instantiate an iterative deepening genetic annealing (IDGA) algorithm, which is a variant of memetic algorithms. Computational results on the traveling salesman problem show that IDGA is more effective than standard genetic algorithms or simulated annealing algorithms or a straightforward hybrid of them. Our model is readily applicable to solve other combinatorial optimization problems.

Brain Bases Of Individual Differences In Cognition, Chantel Prat, Marcel Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

A Decrease In Brain Activation Associated With Driving When Listening To Someone Speak, Marcel Just, Timothy Keller, Jacquelyn Cynkar

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Fmri Investigation Of Working Memory For Faces In Autism: Visual Coding And Underconnectivity With Frontal Areas, Hideya Koshino, Rajesh Kana, Timothy Keller, Vladimir Cherkassky, Nancy Minshew, Marcel Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Mobile Manipulators For Assisted Living In Residential Settings, Patrick Deegan, Roderic Grupen, Allen Hanson, Emily Horrell, Shichao Ou, Edward Riseman, Shiraj Sen, Byan Thibodeau, Adam Williams, Dan Xie

Roderic Grupen

We describe a methodology for creating new technologies for assisted living in residential environments. The number of eldercare clients is expected to grow dramatically over the next decade as the baby boom generation approaches 65 years of age. The UMass/Smith ASSIST framework aims to alleviate the strain on centralized medical providers and community services as their clientele grow, reduce the delays in service, support independent living, and therefore, improve the quality of life for the up-coming elder population. We propose a closed loop methodology wherein innovative technical systems are field tested in assisted care facilities and analyzed by social scientists …

Using Fmri Brain Activation To Identify Cognitive States Associated With Perception Of Tools And Dwellings, Svetlana V. Shinkareva, Robert A. Mason, Vicente L. Malave, Wei Wang, Tom M. Mitchell, Marcel Adam Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Modifying The Brain Activation Of Poor Readers During Sentence Comprehension With Extended Remedial Instruction: A Longitudinal Study Of Neuroplasticity, Ann Meyler, Timothy A. Keller, Vladimir L. Cherkassky, John D. E. Gabrieli, Marcel Adam Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

What Brain Imaging Can Tell Us About Embodied Meaning, Marcel Adam Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Theory Of Mind Disruption And Recruitment Of The Right Hemisphere During Narrative Comprehension In Autism, Robert A. Mason, Diane L. Williams, Rajesh K. Kana, Nancy J. Minshew, Marcel Adam Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Predicting Human Brain Activity Associated With The Meanings Of Nouns, Tom M. Mitchell, Svetlana V. Shinkareva, Andrew Carlson, Kai-Min Chang, Vicente L. Malave, Robert A. Mason, Marcel Adam Just

Marcel Adam Just

No abstract provided.

Thermal Roots Of Correlation-Based Complexity, Philip Fraundorf

Phil Fraundorf

A Unified Framework For Solving Multiagent Task Assignment Problems, Kevin Cousin

Theses and Dissertations

Multiagent task assignment problem descriptors do not fully represent the complex interactions in a multiagent domain, and algorithmic solutions vary widely depending on how the domain is represented. This issue is compounded as related research fields contain descriptors that similarly describe multiagent task assignment problems, including complex domain interactions, but generally do not provide the mechanisms needed to solve the multiagent aspect of task assignment. This research presents a unified approach to representing and solving the multiagent task assignment problem for complex problem domains. Ideas central to multiagent task allocation, project scheduling, constraint satisfaction, and coalition formation are combined to …

A Hybrid Multi-Robot Control Architecture, Daylond J. Hooper

Theses and Dissertations

Multi-robot systems provide system redundancy and enhanced capability versus single robot systems. Implementations of these systems are varied, each with specific design approaches geared towards an application domain. Some traditional single robot control architectures have been expanded for multi-robot systems, but these expansions predominantly focus on the addition of communication capabilities. Both design approaches are application specific and limit the generalizability of the system. This work presents a redesign of a common single robot architecture in order to provide a more sophisticated multi-robot system. The single robot architecture chosen for application is the Three Layer Architecture (TLA). The primary strength …

Tuning Tabu Search Strategies Via Visual Diagnosis, Steven Halim, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

While designing working metaheuristics can be straightforward, tuning them to solve the underlying combinatorial optimization problem well can be tricky. Several tuning methods have been proposed but they do not address the new aspect of our proposed classification of the metaheuristic tuning problem: tuning search strategies. We propose a tuning methodology based on Visual Diagnosis and a generic tool called Visualizer for Metaheuristics Development Framework(V-MDF) to address specifically the problem of tuning search (particularly Tabu Search) strategies. Under V-MDF, we propose the use of a Distance Radar visualizer where the human and computer can collaborate to diagnose the occurrence of …

Designing The Market Game For A Commodity Trading Simulation, Shih-Fen Cheng

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we propose to design a market game that (a) can be used in modeling and studying commodity trading scenarios, and (b) can be used in capturing human traders' behaviors. Specifically, we demonstrate the usefulness of this commodity trading game in a single-commodity futures trading scenario. A pilot experiment was run with a mixture of human traders and an autonomous agent that emulates the aggregatedmarket condition, with the assumption that this autonomous agent would hint each of its action through a public announcement. We show that the information collected from this simulation can be used to extract the …

Multi-Period Combinatorial Auction Mechanism For Distributed Resource Allocation And Scheduling, Hoong Chuin Lau, Shih-Fen Cheng, Thin Yin Leong, Jong Han Park, Zhengyi Zhao

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We consider the problem of resource allocation and scheduling where information and decisions are decentralized, and our goal is to propose a market mechanism that allows resources from a central resource pool to be allocated to distributed decision makers (agents) that seek to optimize their respective scheduling goals. We propose a generic combinatorial auction mechanism that allows agents to competitively bid for the resources needed in a multi-period setting, regardless of the respective scheduling problem faced by the agent, and show how agents can design optimal bidding strategies to respond to price adjustment strategies from the auctioneer. We apply our …

The Price Of Stability In Selfish Scheduling Games, Lucas Agussurja, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Game theory has gained popularity as an approach to analysing and understanding distributed systems with selfinterested agents. Central to game theory is the concept of Nash equilibrium as a stable state (solution) of the system, which comes with a price - the loss in efficiency. The quantification of the efficiency loss is one of the main research concerns. In this paper, we study the quality and computational characteristic of the best Nash equilibrium in two selfish scheduling models: the congestion model and the sequencing model. In particular, we present the following results: (1) In the congestion model: first, the best …

Temporal Factors To Evaluate Trustworthiness Of Virtual Identities, Luca Longo, Pierpaolo Dondio, Stephen Barrett

Conference papers

In this paper we investigate how temporal factors (i.e. factors computed by considering only the time-distribution of interactions) can be used as an evidence of an entity’s trustworthiness. While reputation and direct experience are the two most widely used sources of trust in applications, we believe that new sources of evidence and new applications should be investigated [1]. Moreover, while these two classical techniques are based on evaluating the outcomes of interactions (direct or indirect), temporal factors are based on quantitative analysis, representing an alternative way of assessing trust. Our presumption is that, even with this limited information, temporal factors …