Reconsideration of dimensions and curve fitting practice in economics ellaborating on Georgescu-Roegen’s economic methodology

This paper is to examine the proper use of dimensions and curve fitting practices elaborating on Georgescu-Roegen’s economic methodology in relation to the three main concerns of his epistemological orientation. Section 2 introduces two critical issues in relation to dimensions and curve fitting practices in economics in view of Georgescu-Roegen’s economic methodology. Section 3 deals with the logarithmic function (ln z) and shows that z must be a dimensionless pure number, otherwise it is nonsensical. Several unfortunate examples of this analytical error are presented including macroeconomic data analysis conducted by a representative figure in this field. Section 4 deals with the standard Cobb-Douglas function. It is shown that the operational meaning cannot be obtained for capital or labor within the Cobb-Douglas function. Section 4 also deals with economists "curve fitting fetishism". Section 5 concludes thispaper with several epistemological issues in relation to dimensions and curve fitting practices in economics.

Consumer populations and nutritional transition in Spain in the 20th century: a methodology for their reconstruction

One feature of the modern nutrition transition is the growing consumption of animal proteins. The most common approach in the quantitative analysis of this change used to be the study of averages of food consumption. But this kind of analysis seems to be incomplete without the knowledge of the number of consumers. Data about consumers are not usually published in historical statistics. This article introduces a methodological approach for reconstructing consumer populations. This methodology is based on some assumptions about the diffusion process of foodstuffs and the modeling of consumption patterns with a log-normal distribution. This estimating process is illustrated with the specific case of milk consumption in Spain between 1925 and 1981. These results fit quite well with other data and indirect sources available showing that this dietary change was a slow and late process. The reconstruction of consumer population could shed a new light in the study of nutritional transitions.

Quantitation of HIV-1 RNA Viral Load Using NASBA Methodology and Comparison with other Surrogate Markers for Disease Progression

In this study, HIV-1 viral load quantitation determined by Nucleic Acid Sequence Based Amplification (NASBA) was compared with other surrogate disease progression markers (antigen p24, CD4/CD8 cell counts and b-2 microglobulin) in 540 patients followed up at São Paulo, SP, Brazil. HIV-1 RNA detection was statistically associated with the presence of antigen p24, but the viral RNA was also detected in 68% of the antigen p24 negative samples, confirming that NASBA is much more sensitive than the determination of antigen p24. Regarding other surrogate markers, no statistically significant association with the detection of viral RNA was found. The reproducibility of this viral load assay was assessed by 14 runs of the same sample, using different reagents batches. Viral load values in this sample ranged from 5.83 to 6.27 log (CV = 36 %), less than the range (0.5 log) established to the determination of significant viral load changes.

Turnaround across diverse global supply chains using shared metrics and change methodology: The Case of Amer Sports Corporation

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to document the outcome of a global three-year long supply chain improvement initiative at a multi-national producer of branded sporting goods that is transforming from a holding structure to an integrated company. The case company is comprised of seven internationally well-known sport brands, which form a diverse set of independent sub-cases, on which the same supply chain metrics and change project approach was applied to improve supply chain performance. Design/methodology/approach - By using in-depth case study and statistical analysis the paper analyzes across the brands how supply chain complexity (SKU count), supply chain type (make or buy) and seasonality affect completeness and punctuality of deliveries, and inventory as the change project progresses. Findings - Results show that reduction in supply chain complexity improves delivery performance, but has no impact on inventory. Supply chain type has no impact on service level, but brands with in-house production are better in improving inventory than those with outsourced production. Non-seasonal business units improve service faster than seasonal ones, yet there is no impact on inventory. Research limitations/implications - The longitudinal data used for the analysis is biased with the general business trend, yet the rich data from different cases and three-years of data collection enables generalizations to a certain level. Practical implications - The in-depth case study serves as an example for other companies on how to initiate a supply chain improvement project across business units with tangible results. Originality/value - The seven sub-cases with their different characteristics on which the same improvement initiative was applied sets a unique ground for longitudinal analysis to study supply chain complexity, type and seasonality.

Evolutionary ecology of learning: insights from fruit flies

Ecologically and evolutionarily oriented research on learning has traditionally been carried out on vertebrates and bees. While less sophisticated than those animals, fruit flies (Drosophila) are capable of several forms of learning, and have an advantage of a short generation time, which makes them an ideal system for experimental evolution studies. This review summarizes the insights into evolutionary questions about learning gained in the last decade from evolutionary experiments on Drosophila. These experiments demonstrate that Drosophila have the genetic potential to evolve substantially improved learning performance in ecologically relevant learning tasks. In at least one set of selected populations the improved learning generalized to another task than that used to impose selection, involving a different behavior, different stimuli, and a different sensory channel for the aversive reinforcement. This improvement in learning ability was associated with reduction in other fitness-related traits, such as larval competitive ability and lifespan, pointing out to evolutionary trade-offs of improved learning. These trade-offs were confirmed by other evolutionary experiments where reduction in learning performance was observed as a correlated response to selection for tolerance to larval nutritional stress or for delayed aging. Such trade-offs could be one reason why fruit flies have not fully used up their evolutionary potential for learning ability. Finally, another evolutionary experiment with Drosophila provided the first direct evidence for the long-standing ideas that learning can under some circumstances accelerate and in other slow down genetically-based evolutionary change. These results demonstrate the usefulness of fruit flies as a model system to address evolutionary questions about learning.

Northern Ireland Speech and Language Therapy Task Force report (PDF 1,016 KB)

Speech and Language task force report

Performance on a Virtual Reality Angled Laparoscope Task Correlates with Spatial Ability of Trainees

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether trainees' performance on a virtual reality angled laparoscope navigation task correlates with scores obtained on a validated conventional test of spatial ability. 56 participants of a surgery workshop performed an angled laparoscope navigation task on the Xitact LS 500 virtual reality Simulator. Performance parameters were correlated with the score of a validated paper-and-pencil test of spatial ability. Performance at the conventional spatial ability test significantly correlated with performance at the virtual reality task for overall task score (p < 0.001), task completion time (p < 0.001) and economy of movement (p = 0.035), not for endoscope travel speed (p = 0.947). In conclusion, trainees' performance in a standardized virtual reality camera navigation task correlates with their innate spatial ability. This VR session holds potential to serve as an assessment tool for trainees.

Activity in inferior parietal and medial prefrontal cortex signals the accumulation of evidence in a probability learning task.

In an uncertain environment, probabilities are key to predicting future events and making adaptive choices. However, little is known about how humans learn such probabilities and where and how they are encoded in the brain, especially when they concern more than two outcomes. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), young adults learned the probabilities of uncertain stimuli through repetitive sampling. Stimuli represented payoffs and participants had to predict their occurrence to maximize their earnings. Choices indicated loss and risk aversion but unbiased estimation of probabilities. BOLD response in medial prefrontal cortex and angular gyri increased linearly with the probability of the currently observed stimulus, untainted by its value. Connectivity analyses during rest and task revealed that these regions belonged to the default mode network. The activation of past outcomes in memory is evoked as a possible mechanism to explain the engagement of the default mode network in probability learning. A BOLD response relating to value was detected only at decision time, mainly in striatum. It is concluded that activity in inferior parietal and medial prefrontal cortex reflects the amount of evidence accumulated in favor of competing and uncertain outcomes.

Aplicación de la ingeniería del software sobre la herramienta MATE : application controller

Este proyecto tiene como objetivo crear y aplicar una metodología a una aplicación llamada MATE que fue creada en en el año 2003 por Anna Sikora para su tesis doctoral. Se trata de dotar el proyecto MATE de las herramientas necesarias para garantizar su evolución. La metodología creada consta de la especificación de un entorno de trabajo y una serie de documentos que detallan los procesos relativos al desarrollo de MATE. Además se han creado algunas nuevas características que hacen de MATE una herramienta más completa y cómoda.

A methodology to event reconstruction from trace images

The widespread use of digital imaging devices for surveillance (CCTV) and entertainment (e.g., mobile phones, compact cameras) has increased the number of images recorded and opportunities to consider the images as traces or documentation of criminal activity. The forensic science literature focuses almost exclusively on technical issues and evidence assessment [1]. Earlier steps in the investigation phase have been neglected and must be considered. This article is the first comprehensive description of a methodology to event reconstruction using images. This formal methodology was conceptualised from practical experiences and applied to different contexts and case studies to test and refine it. Based on this practical analysis, we propose a systematic approach that includes a preliminary analysis followed by four main steps. These steps form a sequence for which the results from each step rely on the previous step. However, the methodology is not linear, but it is a cyclic, iterative progression for obtaining knowledge about an event. The preliminary analysis is a pre-evaluation phase, wherein potential relevance of images is assessed. In the first step, images are detected and collected as pertinent trace material; the second step involves organising and assessing their quality and informative potential. The third step includes reconstruction using clues about space, time and actions. Finally, in the fourth step, the images are evaluated and selected as evidence. These steps are described and illustrated using practical examples. The paper outlines how images elicit information about persons, objects, space, time and actions throughout the investigation process to reconstruct an event step by step. We emphasise the hypothetico-deductive reasoning framework, which demonstrates the contribution of images to generating, refining or eliminating propositions or hypotheses. This methodology provides a sound basis for extending image use as evidence and, more generally, as clues in investigation and crime reconstruction processes.

Strategic Task Force on Alcohol - Interim Report

The Commission on Liquor Licensing was established by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform in November 2000 to review the Liquor Licensing system in Ireland. The Commission published an Interim Report with a set of recommendations1, one of which was the establishment of a task force. A High Level Inter-DepartmentalWorking Group considered the report and certain actions were agreed by different Government Departments.The Department of Health and Children agreed to establish a Strategic Task Force on Alcohol. This is their interim report.    

Age differences in the EEG N2 and P3 components during an interference task

The age-related increase in interference susceptibility has been well documented and largely attributed to a deficit in inhibition. In the present study, event-related potentials were used to investigate EEG correlates of inhibitory processing in an interference "Arrow" task. A specific interest was addressed to theN2 and P3 components that respectively refers to conflict monitoring and to efficiency of inhibition processes (Anguera et al,. 2011). Younger (N=10, Mage=24.6) and older (N=10, Mage=65.5) participants were invited to perform a task consisting in deciding, as fast and accurately as possible, whether an arrow presented on a computer screen points to the left or the right, irrespective of its position on the screen (left, middle or right). Responses were provided by key-presses using the left and right indexes. Three conditions were considered: congruent (arrow pointing to the same direction as that of the side of the screen on which it appears), incongruent (arrow pointing to the opposite direction), and neutral (arrow presented at the center of the screen). A total of 56 trials per conditions were performed. Behaviorally, the results showed that in the incongruent condition the percent of correct responses significantly decreased in both groups. After adjustment with simple RT (additional control task), the increased RTs obtained in the old group were significantly more pronounced in the incongruent condition. With respect to electrophysiological data, results showed that frontal site (Fz), the N2 amplitude was significantly larger for the younger as compared to the older (- 2.55 μV vs. -0.62 μV respectively) whatever the condition. At central site (Cz), the P3 amplitude significantly decreased in the older compared to the younger in the incongruent condition only. Our findings suggest that the increased RTs observed in older participants during the incongruent condition is more specifically linked to late cognitive resources involved in inhibiting prepotent response tendencies rather than associated with earlier stages of treatment dedicated to conflict monitoring.