Scaling connectionist compositional representations

The Recursive Auto-Associative Memory (RAAM) has come to dominate connectionist investigations into representing compositional structure. Although an adequate model when dealing with limited data, the capacity of RAAM to scale-up to real-world tasks has been frequently questioned. RAAM networks are difficult to train (due to the moving target effect) and as such training times can be lengthy. Investigations into RAAM have produced many variants in an attempt to overcome such limitations. We outline how one such model ((S)RAAM) is able to quickly produce context-sensitive representations that may be used to aid a deterministic parsing process. By substituting a symbolic stack in an existing hybrid parser, we show that (S)RAAM is more than capable of encoding the real-world data sets employed. We conclude by suggesting that models such as (S)RAAM offer valuable insights into the features of connectionist compositional representations.

A new sliding mode-based learning control scheme

 A new sliding mode-based learning control scheme for a class of SISO dynamic systems is developed in this paper. It is seen that, based on the most recent information on the closed-loop stability, a recursive learning chattering-free sliding mode controller can be designed to drive the closed-loop dynamics to reach the sliding mode surface in a finite time, on which the desired closed-loop dynamics with the zero-error convergence can be achieved.

Tree façades : generative modelling with an axial branch rewriting system

The methods and algorithms of generative modelling can be improved when representing organic structures by the study of computational models of natural processes and their application to architectural design. In this paper, we present a study of the generation of branching structures and their application to the development of façade support systems. We investigate two types of branching structures, a recursive bifurcation model and an axial tree based L-system for the generation of façades. The aim of the paper is to capture not only the form but also the underlying principles of biomimicry found in branching. This is then tested, by their application to develop experimental façade support systems. The developed algorithms implement parametric variations for façade generation based on natural tree-like branching. The benefits of such a model are: ease of structural optimization, variations of support and digital fabrication of façade components.

A new design of sliding mode control systems

A new sliding mode control technique for a class of SISO dynamic systems is presented in this chapter. It is seen that the stability status of the closed-loop system is first checked, based on the approximation of the most recent information of the first-order derivative of the Lyapunov function of the closed-loop system, an intelligent sliding mode controller can then be designed with the following intelligent features: (i) If the closed-loop system is stable, the correction term in the controller will continuously adjust control signal to drive the closed-loop trajectory to reach the sliding mode surface in a finite time and the desired closed-loop dynamics with the zero-error convergence can then be achieved on the sliding mode surface. (ii) If, however, the closed-loop system is unstable, the correction term is capable of modifying the control signal to continuously reduce the value of the derivative of the Lyapunov function from the positive to the negative and then drives the closed-loop trajectory to reach the sliding mode surface and ensures that the desired closed-loop dynamics can be obtained on the sliding mode surface. The main advantages of this new sliding mode control technique over the conventional one are that no chattering occurs in the sliding mode control system because of the recursive learning control structure; the system uncertainties are embedded in the Lipschitz-like condition and thus, no priori information on the upper and/or the lower bounds of the unknown system parameters and uncertain system dynamics is required for the controller design; the zero-error convergence can be achieved after the closed-loop dynamics reaches the sliding mode surface and remains on it. The performance for controlling a third-order linear system is evaluated in the simulation section to show the effectiveness and efficiency of the new sliding mode control technique.

Integrated modelling of cost-effective siting and operation of flow-control infrastructure for river ecosystem conservation

Wetland and floodplain ecosystems along many regulated rivers are highly stressed, primarily due to a lack of environmental flows of appropriate magnitude, frequency, duration, and timing to support ecological functions. In the absence of increased environmental flows, the ecological health of river ecosystems can be enhanced by the operation of existing and new flow-control infrastructure (weirs and regulators) to return more natural environmental flow regimes to specific areas. However, determining the optimal investment and operation strategies over time is a complex task due to several factors including the multiple environmental values attached to wetlands, spatial and temporal heterogeneity and dependencies, nonlinearity, and time-dependent decisions. This makes for a very large number of decision variables over a long planning horizon. The focus of this paper is the development of a nonlinear integer programming model that accommodates these complexities. The mathematical objective aims to return the natural flow regime of key components of river ecosystems in terms of flood timing, flood duration, and interflood period. We applied a 2-stage recursive heuristic using tabu search to solve the model and tested it on the entire South Australian River Murray floodplain. We conclude that modern meta-heuristics can be used to solve the very complex nonlinear problems with spatial and temporal dependencies typical of environmental flow allocation in regulated river ecosystems. The model has been used to inform the investment in, and operation of, flow-control infrastructure in the South Australian River Murray.

Continuous corrosion rate measurement by noise resistance calculation

A commonly employed method of corrosion rate measurement is to determine the electrochemical impedance of the corroding material. One technique for estimating the impedance is the noise impedance calculation. While it has been shown to yield useful results, there are a number of problems that require attention. This paper identifies some of those problems-specifically, those of detrending and resolution-and provides a solution that allows continuous, time-varying noise resistance and noise impedance calculations to be performed with known time, frequency, and magnitude resolutions. Applications to synthetic and experimental data are included as illustrations

Adaptive fast finite-time multiple-surface sliding control for a class of uncertain non-linear systems

This paper concerns the adaptive fast finite-time multiple-surface sliding control (AFFTMSSC) problem for a class of high-order uncertain non-linear systems of which the upper bounds of the system uncertainties are unknown. By using the fast control Lyapunov function and the method of so-called adding a power integrator merging with adaptive technique, a recursive design procedure is provided, which guarantees the fast finite-time stability of the closed-loop system. Further, it is proved that the control input is bounded.

Elaborative relational structures in the research prose of sociology : an intercultural study

This paper investigates elaborative relational structures utilised by native English speaking and native Polish speaking scholars in sociology research articles written in English. The examined texts have been produced in American, Australian and Polish academic discourse communities. The study utilised the framework of the analysis of the rhetorical structure of tests (FARS) as an analytical tool (Golebiowski 2009, 2011). The following types of elaboration relations are discussed : amplification, extension, reformulation, explanation, instantiation and addition. Elaboration is analysed with respect to its textual function, frequency of employment, hierarchical location, recursiveness, discoursal prominence and explicitness. The elaborative systems in the examined texts are shown to be complex, with pervasive presence of multi-stage recursive structures. It is suggested that elaborativeness may be a general characteristic of the style of writing sociology, which, as a relatively new discipline, requires establishing of wide grounds for the proposed claims, where writers persuade their readers not only of the specific claims of their text, but also of frameworks of thought in which the claims are placed. It is hypothesized that the similarities in the elaborativeness across texts result from the shared stylistic conventions and traditions of the disciplinary research community of sociology, while differences in the mode of employment of elaboration relations are attributed to cultural norms and conventions as well as educational systems prevailing within the discourse communities constituting the social contexts of the studied texts.
Golebiowski, Z. (2011). Scholarly criticism across discourse communities. In Salager-Meyer, Françoise and Lewin, Beverly A. (eds), Crossed words : Criticism in scholarly writing, pp. 203-224, Peter Lang International Academic Publishers, Berlin, Germany.
Golebiowski Z. (2009). The use of contrastive strategies in a sociology research paper: A cross-cultural study. In Suomela-Salmi, Eija and Dervin, Fred (eds), Cross-linguistic and cross-cultural perspectives on academic discourse, pp. 165-186, John Benjamins Publishing Company, Philadelphia.

Inclusion in participatory research: what were the whitefellas doing in an Aboriginal health project?

Health research in indigenous communities, like many interactions between such communities and white-dominated institutions, has a chequered history leading to a three-fold decrement: suspicion and resistance to research that is seen as coming from outside of the community; a shortage of research generators and leaders within the community; and cumulative gaps in the research evidence base, both in terms of coverage of topics and in terms of meeting the priorities of the community.

Additionally, these decrements have been mistakenly located as problems being caused from within the community, rather than recognising that these are outcomes of wider contextual, historical and institutional factors and failings. Good research, as culturally appropriate, inclusive of community voices and meeting the needs and priorities of the community, is necessary in an increasingly evidence-based-practice culture within policy and health settings. Culturally safe research with and for indigenous communities has the potential to be empowering, and to bring community voices, views and experiences into the influential realm of'evidence.

This process of developing safe, appropriate and inclusive research is not straightforward: the decrements are recursive, with a shortage of connections between the community, its priorities and research. However, as the Healing Stories project that we discuss here has shown, it is possible to develop culturally safe participatory research by working with Elders from within the community and with leaders from within white institutions, in a spirit of reconciliation. The methods and findings of Healing Stories have been reported elsewhere, with an emphasis on the voices from the community; this chapter explores some of the 'behind the scenes' processes, from the perspective of the white researchers working from within white- dominated institutions.

After briefly describing the Healing Stories project, this chapter reflects on three parts of the participatory research process: getting started, leading together, and working together. The first of these considers laying the foundations for participatory research, working with Elders and leaders, and planning for inclusion, examining participatory research as a recognisable research design, with potential for rigour, cultural safety and inclusion. The second explores developing participatory methods, working with communities, and opportunities and choices for inclusion. The third examines the process of being participatory, working together and engaging in inclusion across the long-term commitment to the project.

Is there an app for that? Looking at possibilities and challenges of digital tools for literacy education

 Portable electronic devices such as the iPad are increasingly taking a place in contemporary childhood experiences including those of schooling (O'Mara & Laidlaw, 2011). As digital media theorists suggest, such new tools invite both "hope and fear" (Gee and Hayes, 2011, p.4), consistent with literacy innovations across history. In both Canada and Australia, educational stakeholders are looking to touch screen devices as having much promise, particularly within literacy education. This paper presentation examines the possibilities as well as the challenges and imagines the future of such digital tools within literacy education, looking at experiences and perspectives in Canada and Australia.
We take a qualitative ecological mode of inquiry approach to our data collection and analysis, drawing on complexity thinking (Davis & Sumara, 2006) to bring our multiple points of view together as diversely positioned educators. Within our individual sites, each author has collected data as a part of longer-term research projects. In this paper presentation we compare and contrast these data sets, attending to significant intersections and juxtaposing issues of culture and globalization. Within this mode of inquiry we value the particularity of the individual contexts, and locate them alongside one another in a larger bricolage (Johnson, 2010).
We examined observational data, documents and artifacts using Freebody and Luke's (1990) four resources model and the further adaptions of this model (see e.g. Luke & Freebody, 1999) to understand how touch screen devices are being used and positioned as literacy tools. We have engaged in collaborative data analysis, often working 'together' using digital tools ourselves to enable collective conversations. For example, we have used Facetime on iPads and laptops, Skype and email to facilitate collective analyses. We applied iterative and recursive analyses to uncover reoccurring themes both within and across sites and artifacts.
As our paper will elaborate, mobile touch screen devices such as iPads are widely being taken up in educational settings, and regarded as having the possibility to shift teaching and learning in new directions, as "paradigm breakers" (p. 4, Gov't of AB, 2011). As personal, mobile devices, these tools present challenges that require educators to think differently about learning and teaching. Our paper also addresses the opportunities and affordances that iPads might offer to learners, as having the potential for students to engage in playful exploration, and in the role of designers, creators, and producers, rather than as passive recipients.

Disparities in pediatric leukemia early survival in Argentina: a population-based study

To identify disparities-using recursive partitioning (RP)-in early survival for children with leukemias treated in Argentina, and to depict the main characteristics of the most vulnerable groups.

Continuous finite-time state feedback stabilizers for some nonlinear stochastic systems

This paper is concerned with the problem of finite-time stabilization for some nonlinear stochastic systems. Based on the stochastic Lyapunov theorem on finite-time stability that has been established by the authors in the paper, it is proven that Euler-type stochastic nonlinear systems can be finite-time stabilized via a family of continuous feedback controllers. Using the technique of adding a power integrator, a continuous, global state feedback controller is constructed to stabilize in finite time a large class of two-dimensional lower-triangular stochastic nonlinear systems. Also, for a class of three-dimensional lower-triangular stochastic nonlinear systems, a recursive design scheme of finite-time stabilization is given by developing the technique of adding a power integrator and constructing a continuous feedback controller. Finally, a simulation example is given to illustrate the theoretical results. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Least squares learning and the US Treasury bill rate

Understanding how agents formulate their expectations about Fed behavior is important for market participants because they can potentially use this information to make more accurate estimates of stock and bond prices. Although it is commonly assumed that agents learn over time, there is scant empirical evidence in support of this assumption. Thus, in this paper we test if the forecast of the three month T-bill rate in the Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) is consistent with least squares learning when there are discrete shifts in monetary policy. We first derive the mean, variance and autocovariances of the forecast errors from a recursive least squares learning algorithm when there are breaks in the structure of the model. We then apply the Bai and Perron (1998) test for structural change to a forecasting model for the three month T-bill rate in order to identify changes in monetary policy. Having identified the policy regimes, we then estimate the implied biases in the interest rate forecasts within each regime. We find that when the forecast errors from the SPF are corrected for the biases due to shifts in policy, the forecasts are consistent with least squares learning. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.