Yet another induction algorithm

Inducing general functions from specific training examples is a central problem in the machine learning. Using sets of If-then rules is the most expressive and readable manner. To find If-then rules, many induction algorithms such as ID3, AQ, CN2 and their variants, were proposed. Sequential covering is the kernel technique of them. To avoid testing all possible selectors, Entropy gain is used to select the best attribute in ID3. Constraint of the size of star was introduced in AQ and beam search was adopted in CN2. These methods speed up their induction algorithms but many good selectors are filtered out. In this work, we introduce a new induction algorithm that is based on enumeration of all possible selectors. Contrary to the previous works, we use pruning power to reduce irrelative selectors. But we can guarantee that no good selectors are filtered out. Comparing with other techniques, the experiment results demonstrate
that the rules produced by our induction algorithm have high consistency and simplicity.

Reducing the bandwidth requirements of P2P keyword indexing

This paper describes the design and evaluation of a federated, peer-to-peer indexing system, which can be used to integrate the resources of local systems into a globally addressable index using a distributed hash table. The salient feature of the indexing systems design is the efficient dissemination of term-document indices using a combination of duplicate elimination, leaf set forwarding and conventional techniques such as aggressive index pruning, index compression, and batching. Together these indexing strategies help to reduce the number of RPC operations required to locate the nodes responsible for a section of the index, as well as the bandwidth utilization and the latency of the indexing service. Using empirical observation we evaluate the performance benefits of these cumulative optimizations and show that these design trade-offs can significantly improve indexing performance when using a distributed hash table.

Knowledge extraction from a mixed transfer function artificial neural network

One of the main problems with Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) is that their results are not intuitively clear. For example, commonly used hidden neurons with sigmoid activation function can approximate any continuous function, including linear functions, but the coefficients (weights) of this approximation are rather meaningless. To address this problem, current paper presents a novel kind of a neural network that uses transfer functions of various complexities in contrast to mono-transfer functions used in sigmoid and hyperbolic tangent networks. The presence of transfer functions of various complexities in a Mixed Transfer Functions Artificial Neural Network (MTFANN) allow easy conversion of the full model into user-friendly equation format (similar to that of linear regression) without any pruning or simplification of the model. At the same time, MTFANN maintains similar generalization ability to mono-transfer function networks in a global optimization context. The performance and knowledge extraction of MTFANN were evaluated on a realistic simulation of the Puma 560 robot arm and compared to sigmoid, hyperbolic tangent, linear and sinusoidal networks.

Concept learning of text documents

Concept learning of text documents can be viewed as the problem of acquiring the definition of a general category of documents. To definite the category of a text document, the Conjunctive of keywords is usually be used. These keywords should be fewer and comprehensible. A naïve method is enumerating all combinations of keywords to extract suitable ones. However, because of the enormous number of keyword combinations, it is impossible to extract the most relevant keywords to describe the categories of documents by enumerating all possible combinations of keywords. Many heuristic methods are proposed, such as GA-base, immune based algorithm. In this work, we introduce pruning power technique and propose a robust enumeration-based concept learning algorithm. Experimental results show that the rules produce by our approach has more comprehensible and simplicity than by other methods.

Performance analysis of algorithms for frequent pattern generation

Data mining refers to extracting or "mining" knowledge from large amounts of data. It is also called a method of "knowledge presentation" where visualization and knowledge representation techniques are used to present the mined knowledge to the user. Efficient algorithms to mine frequent patterns are crucial to many tasks in data mining. Since the Apriori algorithm was proposed in 1994, there have been several methods proposed to improve its performance. However, most still adopt its candidate set generation-and-test approach. In addition, many methods do not generate all frequent patterns, making them inadequate to derive association rules. The Pattern Decomposition (PD) algorithm that can significantly reduce the size of the dataset on each pass makes it more efficient to mine all frequent patterns in a large dataset. This algorithm avoids the costly process of candidate set generation and saves a large amount of counting time to evaluate support with reduced datasets. In this paper, some existing frequent pattern generation algorithms are explored and their comparisons are discussed. The results show that the PD algorithm outperforms an improved version of Apriori named Direct Count of candidates & Prune transactions (DCP) by one order of magnitude and is faster than an improved FP-tree named as Predictive Item Pruning (PIP). Further, PD is also more scalable than both DCP and PIP.

On the size of training set and the benefit from ensemble

In this paper, the impact of the size of the training set on the benefit from ensemble, i.e. the gains obtained by employing ensemble learning paradigms, is empirically studied. Experiments on Bagged/ Boosted J4.8 decision trees with/without pruning show that enlarging the training set tends to improve the benefit from Boosting but does not significantly impact the benefit from Bagging. This phenomenon is then explained from the view of bias-variance reduction. Moreover, it is shown that even for Boosting, the benefit does not always increase consistently along with the increase of the training set size since single learners sometimes may learn relatively more from additional training data that are randomly provided than ensembles do. Furthermore, it is observed that the benefit from ensemble of unpruned decision trees is usually bigger than that from ensemble of pruned decision trees. This phenomenon is then explained from the view of error-ambiguity balance.

Automatic pattern-taxonomy extraction for web mining

In this paper, we propose a model for discovering frequent sequential patterns, phrases, which can be used as profile descriptors of documents. It is indubitable that we can obtain numerous phrases using data mining algorithms. However, it is difficult to use these phrases effectively for answering what users want. Therefore, we present a pattern taxonomy extraction model which performs the task of extracting descriptive frequent sequential patterns by pruning the meaningless ones. The model then is extended and tested by applying it to the information filtering system. The results of the experiment show that pattern-based methods outperform the keyword-based methods. The results also indicate that removal of meaningless patterns not only reduces the cost of computation but also improves the effectiveness of the system.

Surviving suppression : no detectable impacts of Class A foam on soil invertebrates and some Australian native plants

Firefighting foams (Class A foams) are an effective and widespread firefighting tool which are frequently used in environmentally sensitive areas. Firefighting foams are known to be ecologically damaging in aquatic environments, however their impacts at the plant species or ecosystem level are relatively unknown. Reports of shoot damage to plants, suppressed flowering, and changes in plant community composition suggested that the ecological damage caused by their use may be unacceptable. However, applications of foam to seedlings of some Australian plant species from representative and widespread families, showed no detectable impacts on a range of vegetative growth characteristics. Application of 1.0% foam to heathland soils showed no detectable impacts on soil invertebrate Orders sampled over several months. The results are encouraging for the continued use of Class A foam as a fire suppression technique.

The global corporate curriculum and the young cyberflâneur as global citizen

Contents: Introduction: youth, mobility, and identity / Nadine Dolby and Fazal Rizvi -- New times, new identities -- The global corporate curriculum and the young cyberfleneur as global citizen / Jane Kenway and Elizabeth Bullen -- Shoot the elephant: antagonistic identities, neo-marxist nostalgia, and the remorselessly vanishing past / Cameron McCarthy and Jennifer Logue -- New textual worlds: young people and computer games / Catherine Beavis -- Diasporic youth: rethinking borders and boundaries in the new modernity -- Consuming difference: stylish hybridity, diasporic identity, and the politics of culture / Michael Giardina -- Diasporan moves: African Canadian youth and identity formation / Jennifer Kelly -- Popular culture and recognition: narratives of youth and Latinidad / Angharad Valdivia -- Mobile students in liquid modernity: negotiating the politics of transnational identities / Parlo Singh and Catherine Doherty -- Youth and the global context: transforming us where we live -- The children of liberalization: youth agency and globalization in India / Ritty Lukose -- Youth cultures of consumption in Johannesburg / Sarah Nuttall -- Identities for neoliberal times: constructing enterprising selves in an American suburb / Peter Demerath and Jill Lynch -- Disciplining "Generation M": the paradox of creating a "local" national identity in an era of "global" flows / Aaron Koh -- Marginalization, identity formation, and empowerment: youth's struggles for self and social justice / David Quijada.

Studies of the biology of four species of Dicranoloma

Populations of Dicranoloma billardierei (Brid) Par., D. dicarpum (Nees.) Par., D. menziesii (Tayl.) Par. and D. platycaulon (C. Muell) Dix, from two pockets of cool temperate rainforest within the Yarra Ranges National Park (Cement Creek and Myrtle Loop), were sampled for a period of two years to establish their reproductive biology. The population dynamics within quadrats of D. billardierei, D. menziesii and D. platycaulon at Cement Creek also was investigated over a two year period, through the seasonal recording of shoot loss and/or gain, The four species of Dicranoloma were dioicous and sexually dimorphic, with dwarf males epiphytic on the female plants. Antheridia were initiated before archegonia and required ca, 6 months to reach maturity, compared with 1 to 2 months for archegonia. More archegonia than antheridia occurred per inflorescence and were more variable Fertilization occurred during winter in D. billardierei and summer/ autumn in D. menziesii and D. platycaulon. The duration of the sporophyte cycle of D. menziesii was 12 months, shorter than that of D. billardierei and D. platycaulon which lasted for a period of 18 months to 2 years. In the latter two species an overlap of sporophyte generations occurred. This was particularly pronounced in D. billardierei as sporophytes remained in the swollen venter maturation stage for a period of 6 months. The duration of the sporophyte cycle could not be ascertained as few fruiting stems of D. dicarpum were found. All four species of Dicranoloma regenerated from fragments cultured in the laboratory, and only two of the species showed evidence of production of asexual propagules in the field. Dicranoloma dicarpum was found to produce gemmae, an observation which had not been recorded before, and most of the leaves on stems of D. platycaulon had detached subulas. Shoot loss was minimal in all four species, and when it did occur, (eg D. billardierei) it was attributed to disturbance by animals. Within quadrats there was an increase in shoot density which resulted from the development of innovation(s) and/or side branches rather than from the recruitment of new plants from spores or the regeneration of asexual propagules. The four species of Dicranoloma investigated were robust, perennial mosses and formed an important component of the bryophytes found within the study area. Dicranoloma menziesii was the predominant species establishing on a variety of substrata, particularly as an epiphyte on Nothofagus cunninghamii The other species were more selective in their choice of substratum. Dicranoloma platycaulon was found exclusively on the trunks of myrtle beech and D. billardierei on fallen logs and exposed roots. Dicranoloma dicarpum which was not common, grew as an epiphyte on myrtle beech and on rocks.

Reducing the bandwidth requirements of P2P keyword indexing

This paper describes the design and evaluation of a peer-to-peer indexing system to integrate the resources of local document database systems into a globally addressable index using a distributed hash table. The salient feature of the indexing systems design is the efficient dissemination of term-document indices using a combination of duplicate elimination, ring based forwarding and conventional techniques such as aggressive index pruning, and batching. Together these indexing strategies help to reduce, the number of RPC operations required to locate the nodes responsible for a section of the index, the bandwidth utilization and the latency of the indexing service.

Game situation information in video-based perceptual decision making : the influence of criticality of decisions

This study examined the effects of game situation information, manipulated in terms of time and score, on decisions made in a video-based perceptual test in basketball. The participants were undergraduate university students (n=159) who viewed 21 offensive basketball plays, under two test conditions (low decision criticality; high decision criticality). To manipulate the conditions, prior to each clip, the
participants were presented with a description of the remaining time and score differential. High decision criticality situations were characterised by a remaining time of 60 seconds or less and score differentials of 2 points or less. Low decision criticality situations were characterised by remaining time of 5 minutes or more and score differentials of 5 points or more. The participants indicated their decision (pass, shoot, dribble) after the visual display had been occluded for each clip. The results indicated that decision profiles differed under the low and high decision criticality conditions. More pass decisions were made under high decision criticality situations and more shoot decisions under low decision criticality situations. These variations differed according to the type of main sport played but not for the basketball competition level. It was concluded that game situation information does influence decision making and should be considered in video-based testing and training.

The sexualised body : the cyborg

The word cyborg was created through an amalgamation of the terms cybernetics and organism. The expression was coined during a 1960s NASA conference to describe the internal technological modification of the body. This new term resonated within popular culture and was quickly embraced by science fiction, where the cyborg became a popular character. The image of the cyborg is often hyper-physical and hyper-sexual. The super sexualised woman who can shoot bullets from her breasts is a popular comic book cyborg representation. The Replicants from Riddley Scott’s Blade Runner are other examples of hyper human, super sexualised cyborgs. Increasingly, the future of our physicality is one that is intertwined with technology. Although the image of the cyborg is often exaggerated, it holds within it real future possibilities. This paper argues that cultural anxieties, in relation to the impact of technology on our bodies, can be identified through the cyborg image.

The imagined body – the cyborg

During a NASA conference in the 1960s, the term cyborg was created through an amalgamation of the terms ‘cybernetics’ and ‘organism’. Coined by concert pianist Manfred Clynes and research colleague Nathan Kline to describe the internal technological modification of the body. This new term resonated within popular culture and was quickly embraced by science fiction where the cyborg became a popular character. The image of the cyborg is often hyper-physical and hyper-sexual. The super sexualised woman who can shoot bullets from her breasts is a popular comic book cyborg representation. The Replicants from Riddley Scott’s Blade Runner and Arnold Schwaznegger’s role the Terminator are other examples where the technological and physical combination produces a terrifying hyper humans. Increasingly the future of our physicality is one that is intertwined with technology. Although the image of the cyborg is often an exaggerated character it holds within it real future possibilities. Consider the portable arm wrist communicator from the scifi classic Star Trek. The watch phone communication device was once an object of the imagination but now a reality in the personal mobile phone. This paper argues that through imagined imagery of the cyborg, future possibilities can be seen.

One example of the image of the cyborg representing possible human futures is the performance work Cyborpyg. Cyborpyg is a 40-minute contemporary dance work that integrates three dimensional (3D) animation and video media within the performance. Projected 3D animated prosthetic limbs appear to extend the dancers from within. These digital limbs integrate with dancer’s bodies transforming them into cyborgs. The animations are an extreme form of aesthetic modification reflecting the possible consequences of the integration of technology within the body. Cyborpyg also explores both utopic and dystipic themes within the cyborg paradigm. The dancing hybrid bodies perform magical feats not possible with an unmodified body. Feet twist into talons and flippers, eyes extend from the head, arms transform into robotic attachments. The dancer’s bodies also appear trapped in an unrelenting environment with prosthesis that appear to torture and inflict serious harm. This paper explores the idea that the imagined image of the cyborg reflects future possibilities for the human physicality.

Soccer stinger (suspense) SFX

A sound designed stinger featuring a suspense heartbeat to a penalty kick with a goal and crowd cheers with vuvuzelas.