Spatial ecological complexity measures in GRASS GIS

Good estimates of ecosystem complexity are essential for a number of ecological tasks: from biodiversity estimation, to forest structure variable retrieval, to feature extraction by edge detection and generation of multifractal surface as neutral models for e.g. feature change assessment. Hence, measuring ecological complexity over space becomes crucial in macroecology and geography. Many geospatial tools have been advocated in spatial ecology to estimate ecosystem complexity and its changes over space and time. Among these tools, free and open source options especially offer opportunities to guarantee the robustness of algorithms and reproducibility. In this paper we will summarize the most straightforward measures of spatial complexity available in the Free and Open Source Software GRASS GIS, relating them to key ecological patterns and processes.

Encouraging majority support for immigrant access to health services:multiple categorization and social identity complexity as antecedents of health equality

Health disparities between groups remain even after accounting for established causes such as structural and economic factors. The present research tested, for the first time, whether multiple social categorization processes can explain enhanced support for immigrant health (measured by respondents’ behavioral intention to support immigrants’ vaccination against A H1N1 disease by cutting regional public funds). Moreover, the mediating role of individualization and the moderating role of social identity complexity were tested. Findings showed that multiple versus single categorization of immigrants lead to support their right to health and confirmed the moderated mediation hypothesis. The potential in developing this sort of social cognitive intervention to address health disparities is discussed.

Multiple roles for executive control in belief-desire reasoning:distinct neural networks are recruited for self perspective inhibition and complexity of reasoning

Belief-desire reasoning is a core component of 'Theory of Mind' (ToM), which can be used to explain and predict the behaviour of agents. Neuroimaging studies reliably identify a network of brain regions comprising a 'standard' network for ToM, including temporoparietal junction and medial prefrontal cortex. Whilst considerable experimental evidence suggests that executive control (EC) may support a functioning ToM, co-ordination of neural systems for ToM and EC is poorly understood. We report here use of a novel task in which psychologically relevant ToM parameters (true versus false belief; approach versus avoidance desire) were manipulated orthogonally. The valence of these parameters not only modulated brain activity in the 'standard' ToM network but also in EC regions. Varying the valence of both beliefs and desires recruits anterior cingulate cortex, suggesting a shared inhibitory component associated with negatively valenced mental state concepts. Varying the valence of beliefs additionally draws on ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, reflecting the need to inhibit self perspective. These data provide the first evidence that separate functional and neural systems for EC may be recruited in the service of different aspects of ToM.

Institutional complexity in Thai state-owned enterprises:the implementation of performance measurement systems

This study explores institutional complexity in Thai State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). In doing so, a qualitative approach has been employed in this study in order to identify institutional logics in the field of Thai SOEs and to understand organisational and individual perceptions of institutional complexity in the implementation of performance measurement systems (PMS) and how they respond to the complexity. To achieve this goal, two Thai SOEs were studied, both of which faced challenges in the implementation of Economic Value Management (EVM) and Balance Scorecard (BSC) as well as difficulties in linking their individual BSC and incentive systems. The qualitative data were collected from semi-structured interviews and document reviews. The empirical aspects of this study reveal that the institutional logics in the field of Thai SOEs are the logic of bureaucracy, commercial operations, social activities, seniority and unity. Regarding the multiple institutional logics embedded, SOEs experienced the institutional complexity in the implementation of PMS. The results suggest that the organisations have decoupled the EVM and loosely coupled the BSC from organisational practices to cope with institutional complexity and conflict institutional demands. Also, the evidence shows that the institutional logics influence SOEs’ actions towards resisting changes incentive systems and the relationship between individual BSC and incentives.

Úton egy fenntartható gazdasági paradigma felé – A komplexitás befogadása a hálózati elméleteken keresztül (Towards a sustainable economic paradigm – Acceptance of the complexity through network theories)

Mára elkerülhetetlennek tűnik a gondolati váltás a gazdaságtudományok területén annak érdekében, hogy közelebb kerüljünk a hármas (gazdasági, társadalmi, környezeti) válságot előidéző problémák megoldásaihoz. A szerzők cikkükben amellett érvelnek, hogy a komplexitás befogadása kezdeti törekvésként értelmezhető azon az úton, amely a mindennapokban érzékelhető társadalmi és ökológiai problémák megoldásához vezet. Már léteznek olyan gazdaság- és vállalatelméletek, amelyek kezdik megkérdőjelezni az eddigi főáramú koncepciókat, és készek arra, hogy elveiket, elméleteiket a működési környezet bonyolultságát elfogadva alakítsák ki, és így találjanak mindennapos megoldásokat a gazdasági működésben. Ilyen például – a cikkben szereplő – IMP (Industrial Marketing and Purchasing) csoport hálózatelmélete. A szerzők azt kívánják bemutatni, hogy az ilyen hálózatelméletek alkalmasak arra, hogy a vállalatközi szférán túl is befolyásolják azt, ahogyan a vállalatok döntéseiket meghozzák és kapcsolataikat kezelik. ______ Today, it seems inevitable change of thought in the field of economics in order to get closer to solutions of problems which induced the triple (economic, social, environmental) crisis. In their article, the authors argue that the reception of complexity can be interpreted as an initial effort on the path that leads to the solutions of the everyday perceived social and ecological problems. The authors aim to present that the IMP (Industrial Marketing and Purchasing) group network theory is able to influence beyond the sphere of inter-company, that companies take their decisions and their relationships are treated.

Clash of identities in South Florida: An examination of the complexity of racial and national identity and their impact on ethnic solidarity between black Americans and Jamaicans

Immigrants from the West Indies and other nations challenge the simple United States dichotomy of blacks versus whites. Many apparently black Caribbean immigrants proclaim that they did not know they were “black” until they arrived in the U.S. They seek to maintain their national identity and resist identity and solidarity with Black Americans. In response, many Black Americans respond that the immigrants are simply being naive, that U.S. society demands simple racial identity. Regardless of one's self-identity and personal history, in the U.S., if you look black, you are black, was their thinking. ^ This study examines the contemporary struggle of identity and solidarity among and between Black Americans and Jamaicans living in South Florida (Broward and Miami-Dade counties). Even though the primary focus of this study is to examine the relationship between Black Americans and Jamaicans, other West Indian nationals will be addressed more generally. The primary research problem of this study is to determine why the existence of common ancestry and physical traits are insufficient for an assumption of ethnic solidarity between Black Americans and Jamaicans. ^ In examining this problem, I felt that depth rather than breadth would provide insight into the current state of polarization between Black Americans and Jamaicans. To this end, a qualitative study was designed. A non-random snowball sample consisting of forty-seven informants was selected for this study. Realizing that such a technique presents problems with generalizations beyond the sample, this approach was, nonetheless, the most suitable for the current research problem. One of the initial challenges of this research was the use of the label “black” in discussing Caribbean immigrants. Unlike America, where distinctions based on skin color were at the bedrock of America's formation, this was not the case in the Caribbean. In the Caribbean skin color was an important marker as an indicator of class, rather than of race. Therefore, I refrained from using the label, “black Jamaicans,” but rather used Jamaicans throughout. ^

Improving novice analyst performance in modeling the sequence diagram in systems analysis: A cognitive complexity approach

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has quickly become the industry standard for object-oriented software development. It is being widely used in organizations and institutions around the world. However, UML is often found to be too complex for novice systems analysts. Although prior research has identified difficulties novice analysts encounter in learning UML, no viable solution has been proposed to address these difficulties. Sequence-diagram modeling, in particular, has largely been overlooked. The sequence diagram models the behavioral aspects of an object-oriented software system in terms of interactions among its building blocks, i.e. objects and classes. It is one of the most commonly-used UML diagrams in practice. However, there has been little research on sequence-diagram modeling. The current literature scarcely provides effective guidelines for developing a sequence diagram. Such guidelines will be greatly beneficial to novice analysts who, unlike experienced systems analysts, do not possess relevant prior experience to easily learn how to develop a sequence diagram. There is the need for an effective sequence-diagram modeling technique for novices. This dissertation reports a research study that identified novice difficulties in modeling a sequence diagram and proposed a technique called CHOP (CHunking, Ordering, Patterning), which was designed to reduce the cognitive load by addressing the cognitive complexity of sequence-diagram modeling. The CHOP technique was evaluated in a controlled experiment against a technique recommended in a well-known textbook, which was found to be representative of approaches provided in many textbooks as well as practitioner literatures. The results indicated that novice analysts were able to perform better using the CHOP technique. This outcome seems have been enabled by pattern-based heuristics provided by the technique. Meanwhile, novice analysts rated the CHOP technique more useful although not significantly easier to use than the control technique. The study established that the CHOP technique is an effective sequence-diagram modeling technique for novice analysts.

The impact of institutional complexity and top management characteristics on executive compensation and firm performance

While most studies take a dyadic view when examining the environmental difference between the home country of a multinational enterprise (MNE) and a particular foreign country, they ignore that an MNE is managing a network of subsidiaries embedded in diverse environments. Additionally, neither the impacts of global environments on top executives nor the effects of top executives’ capabilities to handle institutional complexity are fully explored. Thus, using a three-essay format, this dissertation tried to fill these gaps by addressing the effects of institutional complexity and top management characteristics on top executive compensation and firm performance. ^ Essay 1 investigated the impact of an MNE’s institutional complexity, or the diversity of national institutions facing an MNE’s network of subsidiaries, on the top management team (TMT) compensation. This essay proposed that greater political and cultural complexity leads to not only greater TMT total compensation but also to a greater portion of TMT compensation linked with long-term performance. The arguments are supported in this essay by using an unbalanced panel dataset including 296 U.S. firms with 1,340 observations. ^ Essay 2 explored TMT social capital and its moderating role on value creation and appropriation by the chief executive officer (CEO). Using a sample with 548 U.S. firms and 2,010 observations, it found that greater TMT social capital does facilitate the effects of CEO intellectual capital and social capital on firm growth. Finally, essay 3 examined the performance implications for the fit between managerial information-processing capabilities and institutional complexity. It proposed that institutional complexity is associated with the needs of information-processing. On the other hand, smaller TMT turnover and larger TMT size reflect larger managerial information-processing capabilities. Consequently, superior performance is achieved by the match among institutional complexity, TMT turnover, and TMT size. All hypotheses in essay 3 are supported in a sample of 301 U.S. firms and 1,404 observations. ^ To conclude, this dissertation advances and extends our knowledge on the roles of institutional environments and top executives on firm performance and top executive compensation.^

Joint-specific changes in locomotor complexity in the absence of muscle atrophy following incomplete spinal cord injury

ackground Following incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI), descending drive is impaired, possibly leading to a decrease in the complexity of gait. To test the hypothesis that iSCI impairs gait coordination and decreases locomotor complexity, we collected 3D joint angle kinematics and muscle parameters of rats with a sham or an incomplete spinal cord injury. Methods 12 adult, female, Long-Evans rats, 6 sham and 6 mild-moderate T8 iSCI, were tested 4 weeks following injury. The Basso Beattie Bresnahan locomotor score was used to verify injury severity. Animals had reflective markers placed on the bony prominences of their limb joints and were filmed in 3D while walking on a treadmill. Joint angles and segment motion were analyzed quantitatively, and complexity of joint angle trajectory and overall gait were calculated using permutation entropy and principal component analysis, respectively. Following treadmill testing, the animals were euthanized and hindlimb muscles removed. Excised muscles were tested for mass, density, fiber length, pennation angle, and relaxed sarcomere length. Results Muscle parameters were similar between groups with no evidence of muscle atrophy. The animals showed overextension of the ankle, which was compensated for by a decreased range of motion at the knee. Left-right coordination was altered, leading to left and right knee movements that are entirely out of phase, with one joint moving while the other is stationary. Movement patterns remained symmetric. Permutation entropy measures indicated changes in complexity on a joint specific basis, with the largest changes at the ankle. No significant difference was seen using principal component analysis. Rats were able to achieve stable weight bearing locomotion at reasonable speeds on the treadmill despite these deficiencies. Conclusions Decrease in supraspinal control following iSCI causes a loss of complexity of ankle kinematics. This loss can be entirely due to loss of supraspinal control in the absence of muscle atrophy and may be quantified using permutation entropy. Joint-specific differences in kinematic complexity may be attributed to different sources of motor control. This work indicates the importance of the ankle for rehabilitation interventions following spinal cord injury.

Improving Novice Analyst Performance in Modeling the Sequence Diagram in Systems Analysis: A Cognitive Complexity Approach

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) has quickly become the industry standard for object-oriented software development. It is being widely used in organizations and institutions around the world. However, UML is often found to be too complex for novice systems analysts. Although prior research has identified difficulties novice analysts encounter in learning UML, no viable solution has been proposed to address these difficulties. Sequence-diagram modeling, in particular, has largely been overlooked. The sequence diagram models the behavioral aspects of an object-oriented software system in terms of interactions among its building blocks, i.e. objects and classes. It is one of the most commonly-used UML diagrams in practice. However, there has been little research on sequence-diagram modeling. The current literature scarcely provides effective guidelines for developing a sequence diagram. Such guidelines will be greatly beneficial to novice analysts who, unlike experienced systems analysts, do not possess relevant prior experience to easily learn how to develop a sequence diagram. There is the need for an effective sequence-diagram modeling technique for novices. This dissertation reports a research study that identified novice difficulties in modeling a sequence diagram and proposed a technique called CHOP (CHunking, Ordering, Patterning), which was designed to reduce the cognitive load by addressing the cognitive complexity of sequence-diagram modeling. The CHOP technique was evaluated in a controlled experiment against a technique recommended in a well-known textbook, which was found to be representative of approaches provided in many textbooks as well as practitioner literatures. The results indicated that novice analysts were able to perform better using the CHOP technique. This outcome seems have been enabled by pattern-based heuristics provided by the technique. Meanwhile, novice analysts rated the CHOP technique more useful although not significantly easier to use than the control technique. The study established that the CHOP technique is an effective sequence-diagram modeling technique for novice analysts.

Simulation-based education : Understanding the sociocultural complexity of a surgical training “Boot Camp”

Acknowledgements We acknowledge, with thanks the contributions, of the following people who co-designed Boot Camp: Angus JM Watson (Highland Surgical Research Unit, NHSH & UoS), Morag E Hogg (NHSH Raigmore Hospital) and Ailsa Armstrong (NHSH). We also thank Angus JM Watson and Morag E Hogg for helping with the preparation of the funding application which supported this work. Funding Our thanks to the Clinical Skills Managed Educational Network (CSMEN) of Scotland for funding this research.

Low-complexity BCH codes with optimized interleavers for DQPSK systems with laser phase noise

The presence of high phase noise in addition to additive white Gaussian noise in coherent optical systems affects the performance of forward error correction (FEC) schemes. In this paper, we propose a simple scheme for such systems, using block interleavers and binary Bose–Chaudhuri–Hocquenghem (BCH) codes. The block interleavers are specifically optimized for differential quadrature phase shift keying modulation. We propose a method for selecting BCH codes that, together with the interleavers, achieve a target post-FEC bit error rate (BER). This combination of interleavers and BCH codes has very low implementation complexity. In addition, our approach is straightforward, requiring only short pre-FEC simulations to parameterize a model, based on which we select codes analytically. We aim to correct a pre-FEC BER of around (Formula presented.). We evaluate the accuracy of our approach using numerical simulations. For a target post-FEC BER of (Formula presented.), codes selected using our method result in BERs around 3(Formula presented.) target and achieve the target with around 0.2 dB extra signal-to-noise ratio.

Kerr-induced nonlinearity reduction in coherent optical OFDM by low complexity support vector machine regression-based equalization

We experimentally demonstrate 7-dB reduction of nonlinearity penalty in 40-Gb/s CO-OFDM at 2000-km using support vector machine regression-based equalization. Simulation in WDM-CO-OFDM shows up to 12-dB enhancement in Q-factor compared to linear equalization.

Investigating optical complexity of the phase transition in the intensity of a fibre laser radiation

Fibre lasers have been shown to manifest a laminar-to-turbulent transition when increasing its pump power. In order to study the dynamical complexity of this transition we use advanced statistical tools of time-series analysis. We apply ordinal analysis and the horizontal visibility graph to the experimentally measured laser output intensity. This reveal the presence of temporal correlations during the transition from the laminar to the turbulent lasing regimes. Both methods allow us to unveil coherent structures with well defined time-scales and strong correlations both, in the timing of the laser pulses and in their peak intensities.