Enhancing fuzzy inference system based criterion-referenced assessment with an application

An important and difficult issue in designing a Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) is the specification of fuzzy sets, and fuzzy rules. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how an additional qualitative information, i.e., monotonicity property, can be exploited and extended to be part of an FIS designing procedure (i.e., fuzzy sets and fuzzy rules design). In this paper, the FIS is employed as an alternative to the use of addition in aggregating the scores from test items/tasks in a Criterion-Referenced Assessment (CRA) model. In order to preserve the monotonicity property, the sufficient conditions of the FIS is proposed. Our proposed FIS based CRA procedure can be viewed as an enhancement for the FIS based CRA procedure, where monotonicity property is preserved. We demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approach with a case study related to a laboratory project assessment task at a university, and the results indicate the usefulness of the proposed approach in the CRA domain.

A critical evaluation and comparison of two formative measures of system quality using criterion variables

Evaluating the validity of formative variables has presented ongoing challenges for researchers. In this paper we use global criterion measures to compare and critically evaluate two alternative formative measures of System Quality. One model is based on the ISO-9126 software quality standard, and the other is based on a leading information systems research model. We find that despite both models having a strong provenance, many of the items appear to be non-significant in our study. We examine the implications of this by evaluating the quality of the criterion variables we used, and the performance of PLS when evaluating formative models with a large number of items. We find that our respondents had difficulty distinguishing between global criterion variables measuring different aspects of overall System Quality. Also, because formative indicators “compete with one another” in PLS, it may be difficult to develop a set of measures which are all significant for a complex formative construct with a broad scope and a large number of items. Overall, we suggest that there is cautious evidence that both sets of measures are valid and largely equivalent, although questions still remain about the measures, the use of criterion variables, and the use of PLS for this type of model evaluation.

Incremental criterion prediction of personality facets over factors: obtaining unbiased estimates and confidence intervals

 Many researchers have argued that higher order models of personality such as the Five Factor Model are insufficient, and that facet-level analysis is required to better understand criteria such as well-being, job performance, and personality disorders. However, common methods in the extant literature used to estimate the incremental prediction of facets over factors have several shortcomings. This paper delineates these shortcomings by evaluating alternative methods using statistical theory, simulation, and an empirical example. We recommend using differences between Olkin-Pratt adjusted r-squared for factor versus facet regression models to estimate the incremental prediction of facets and present a method for obtaining confidence intervals for such estimates using double adjusted-. r-squared bootstrapping. We also provide an R package that implements the proposed methods.

An enhanced stability criterion for time-delay systems via a new bounding technique

In the past few years, a great deal of effort has been devoted to improve delay-dependent conditions for stability of linear systems with an interval time-varying delay. To reduce conservatism of stability conditions, in the framework of the Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional (LKF) method, the bounding technique plays a key role. In this paper, a new bounding technique based on a new integral inequality is proposed. By employing the newly bounding technique proposed in this paper, an enhanced stability criterion for a class of linear systems with an interval time-varying delay is derived. The effectiveness and a significant improvement of the obtained results are shown by numerical examples.

Pair trading in Bovespa with a quantitative approach: cointegration, Ornstein-Uhlenbeck equation and Kelly criterion.

Pair trading is an old and well-known technique among traders. In this paper, we discuss an important element not commonly debated in Brazil: the cointegration between pairs, which would guarantee the spread stability. We run the Dickey-Fuller test to check cointegration, and then compare the results with non-cointegrated pairs. We found that the Sharpe ratio of cointegrated pairs is greater than the non-cointegrated. We also use the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck equation in order to calculate the half-life of the pairs. Again, this improves their performance. Last, we use the leverage suggested by Kelly Formula, once again improving the results.

Is there a general criterion for dynamic efficiency?

This paper analyses an overlapping generations model with absolute bequest motive. It is shown that the widely accepted criterion to verify dynamic efficiency does not apply to this case. In our model the social planner maximizes welfare by choosing a capital stock larger than the golden role and a real rate of interest smaller than the rate of growth of the economy.

Physiological response of American bullfrog tadpoles to stressor conditions of capture and hypoxia

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Test-day milk yield as a selection criterion for dairy buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis Artiodactyla, Bovidae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Genetic parameters for an alternative criterion to improve productive longevity of Nellore cows

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Physical resistance as a criterion in the selection of foraging material by Acromyrmex subterraneus brunneus Forel, 1911 (Hym., Formicidae)

Leaf-cutting ants forage on a wide variety of plant species using the physical and chemical characteristics of the plants as a selection criterion. In order to determine the influence of the physical factor on the selection of foraging material, inert materials such as floral sponge, polystyrene, plastic and clay, which possess different degrees of physical resistance to cutting, were offered simultaneously to five Acromyrmex subterraneus brunneus colonies, and assessed 12 and 24 h after foraging. No substrate selectivity was observed during foraging. Physical resistance was used as a decision criterion for the incorporation or return of the foraged material. This fact suggests the existence of a second time of selection of the foraged material inside the colony during cultivation of the symbiontic fungus.