Monotone approximation of aggregation operators using least squares splines

The need for monotone approximation of scattered data often arises in many problems of regression, when the monotonicity is semantically important. One such domain is fuzzy set theory, where membership functions and aggregation operators are order preserving. Least squares polynomial splines provide great flexbility when modeling non-linear functions, but may fail to be monotone. Linear restrictions on spline coefficients provide necessary and sufficient conditions for spline monotonicity. The basis for splines is selected in such a way that these restrictions take an especially simple form. The resulting non-negative least squares problem can be solved by a variety of standard proven techniques. Additional interpolation requirements can also be imposed in the same framework. The method is applied to fuzzy systems, where membership functions and aggregation operators are constructed from empirical data.

Least squares splines with free knots: global optimization approach

Splines with free knots have been extensively studied in regard to calculating the optimal knot positions. The dependence of the accuracy of approximation on the knot distribution is highly nonlinear, and optimisation techniques face a difficult problem of multiple local minima. The domain of the problem is a simplex, which adds to the complexity. We have applied a recently developed cutting angle method of deterministic global optimisation, which allows one to solve a wide class of optimisation problems on a simplex. The results of the cutting angle method are subsequently improved by local discrete gradient method. The resulting algorithm is sufficiently fast and guarantees that the global minimum has been reached. The results of numerical experiments are presented.

Legal professional privilege and the foreign lawyer in Australia

Legal professional privilege is very important to lawyers and clients alike. It has evolved within the common law world over a period of centuries. In a domestic Australian context the test to establish what attracts advice privilege has become reasonably well settled. However, the increasingly international character of commerce has revealed new challenges. Is the current test appropriate to determine whether advice given outside Australia by a foreign lawyer is privileged? This article considers that question in detail. After examining the historical development of legal professional privilege, the article discusses Kennedy v Wallace (2004) 208 ALR 424 (at first instance) and Kennedy v Wallace (2004) 142 FeR 185 (on appeal). The article concludes that the current test is both capable and appropriate if properly applied.

Encouraging critical reflections on privilege in social work and the human services

Critical reflection is promoted by many progressive social work writers as a process for facilitating practitioners' capacity to reflect upon their complicity in dominant power relations. However. the critical social work literature tends to focus attention on those who are disadvantaged. oppressed and excluded. Those who are privileged in relation to gender. class. race and sexuality etc are often ignored. Given that the flipside of oppression and social exclusion is privilege. the lack of critical reflection on the privileged side of social  divisions allows members of dominant groups to reinforce their dominance. This article interrogates the concept of privilege and examines how it is internalised in the psyches of members of dominant groups. After exploring the potential to undo privilege from within. the article encourages social work educators to engage in critical reflections about privilege when teaching social work students about social injustice and oppression.

The cost of storing checkpoints to multiple volatile storage locations using at-least-k semantics

Using the volatile memory of other computers within a system to store checkpoints is an alternative to the traditional approach of using stable storage. The objective of this study is to develop a storage mechanism using at-least-k delivery semantics. This semantics allows data to be saved to a minimum number of computers simultaneously using group communications, without requiring that each group computer successfully acknowledge the receipt. The new storage mechanism is implemented in the GENESIS checkpointing facility v2.0. The results showed that at-least-k storage mechanisms provide low storage latency times; however, the incurred execution overheads on the applications executing within the system are higher than that when using remote stable storage to store checkpoints.

Undoing men's privilege and advancing gender equality in public sector institutions

Discrimination against women in public sector organisations has been the focus of considerable research in recent years. While much of this literature acknowledges the structural basis of gender inequality, strategies for change are often focused on anti-discrimination policies, equal employment opportunities and diversity management. Discriminatory behaviour is often individualised in these interventions and the larger systems of dominance and subordination are ignored. The flipside of gender discrimination, we argue, is the privileging of men. The lack of critical interrogation of men's privilege allows men to reinforce their dominance. In this paper we offer an account of gender inequalities and injustices in public sector institutions in terms of privilege. The paper draws on critical scholarship on men and masculinities and an emergent scholarship on men's involvement in the gender relations of workplaces and organisations, to offer both a general account of privilege and an application of this framework to the arena of public sector institutions and workplaces in general.

Shape preserving approximation using least squares splines

Least squares polynomial splines are an effective tool for data fitting, but they may fail to preserve essential properties of the underlying function, such as monotonicity or convexity. The shape restrictions are translated into linear inequality conditions on spline coefficients. The basis functions are selected in such a way that these conditions take a simple form, and the problem becomes non-negative least squares problem, for which effecitive and robust methods of solution exist. Multidimensional monotone approximation is achieved by using tensor-product splines with the appropriate restrictions. Additional inter polation conditions can also be introduced. The conversion formulas to traditional B-spline representation are provided.

Should partial least squares be used for analysing psychological constructs?

This paper critically examines an analytical tool - partial least squares regression, or P LS - that is increasingly being used in the academic business literature to validate measures of psychological constructs, and to test hypotheses based on these. The paper provides a contextual and historical review of the resurgence of P LS, and explores several of the claims made by its developers and supporters when it was first promoted in the 1980s, and, more recently, when it reappeared in the information systems literature. Many claims appear plausible but rest on non-mainstream uses of terms and concepts taken from the psychometric field. The paper also canvasses why P LS is a poor analytical tool for research that involves psychological constructs.

The impact of ownership structure on corporate debt policy : two stage least square simultaneous model approach for post crisis period : evidence from Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange

Ownership concentration as a governance mechanism has received considerable attention among academician, practitioners as well as policy makers because large-block shareholders are increasingly active in their demands that corporations adopt effective governance mechanisms to control managerial decisions, which include corporate debt policy. Earlier study on the agency model of the firm widely recognizes that the managerial ownership and external debt play an important role in mitigating agency conflicts and enhancing firm value. They also found that increase in the external monitors, for example the institutional investors, can actually play a useful role in limiting agency problems in the firm. This paper, using 100 Composite Index companies from Brusa Malaysia between 1998 to 2002 explores the impact of institutional holdings on managerial ownership and debt policy in an integrated framework by using a simultaneous equations estimation procedure (2SLS). The findings show that there is a significant impact of institutional ownership which serves effective control mechanism on managerial ownership and corporate debt policy as hypothesized. Findings of such evidence suggest that institutional holding thus have played an important role in managers' strategic management decision and reduce agency conflict. In addition, corporate debt policy too is governed by managerial ownership and exhibited a negative relation.

Are exports and imports cointegrated? Evidence from 22 least developed countries

The aim of this article is to investigate whether there is a long-run relationship (cointegration) between exports and imports for 22 least developed countries (LDCs). This is an important issue, for evidence of cointegration will ensure that trade imbalances are sustainable. The article explores this issue using the bounds testing approach to cointegration. The results indicate that exports and imports are cointegrated only for six out of the 22 countries, and the coefficient on exports is less than one.

Partial least squares and principal components analysis of wine vintage by high performance liquid chromatography with chemiluminescence detection

HPLC with acidic potassium permanganate chemiluminescence detection was employed to analyse 17 Cabernet Sauvignon wines across a range of vintages (1971–2003). Partial least squares regression analysis and principal components analysis was used in order to investigate the relationship between wine composition and vintage. Tartaric acid, vanillic acid, catechin, sinapic acid, ethyl gallate, myricetin, procyanadin B and resveratrol were found to be important components in terms of differences between the vintages.