Sensitivity and Bias within the Binary Signal Detection Theory, BSDT

Similar to classic Signal Detection Theory (SDT), recent optimal Binary Signal Detection Theory (BSDT) and based on it Neural Network Assembly Memory Model (NNAMM) can successfully reproduce Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves although BSDT/NNAMM parameters (intensity of cue and neuron threshold) and classic SDT parameters (perception distance and response bias) are essentially different. In present work BSDT/NNAMM optimal likelihood and posterior probabilities are analytically analyzed and used to generate ROCs and modified (posterior) mROCs, optimal overall likelihood and posterior. It is shown that for the description of basic discrimination experiments in psychophysics within the BSDT a ‘neural space’ can be introduced where sensory stimuli as neural codes are represented and decision processes are defined, the BSDT’s isobias curves can simultaneously be interpreted as universal psychometric functions satisfying the Neyman-Pearson objective, the just noticeable difference (jnd) can be defined and interpreted as an atom of experience, and near-neutral values of biases are observers’ natural choice. The uniformity or no-priming hypotheses, concerning the ‘in-mind’ distribution of false-alarm probabilities during ROC or overall probability estimations, is introduced. The BSDT’s and classic SDT’s sensitivity, bias, their ROC and decision spaces are compared.

Informational masking of monaural target speech by a single contralateral formant

Recent research suggests that the ability of an extraneous formant to impair intelligibility depends on the variation of its frequency contour. This idea was explored using a method that ensures interference cannot occur through energetic masking. Three-formant (F1+F2+F3) analogues of natural sentences were synthesized using a monotonous periodic source. Target formants were presented monaurally, with the target ear assigned randomly on each trial. A competitor for F2 (F2C) was presented contralaterally; listeners must reject F2C to optimize recognition. In experiment 1, F2Cs with various frequency and amplitude contours were used. F2Cs with time-varying frequency contours were effective competitors; constant-frequency F2Cs had far less impact. To a lesser extent, amplitude contour also influenced competitor impact; this effect was additive. In experiment 2, F2Cs were created by inverting the F2 frequency contour about its geometric mean and varying its depth of variation over a range from constant to twice the original (0%-200%). The impact on intelligibility was least for constant F2Cs and increased up to ∼100% depth, but little thereafter. The effect of an extraneous formant depends primarily on its frequency contour; interference increases as the depth of variation is increased until the range exceeds that typical for F2 in natural speech.

Acoustic source characteristics, across-formant integration, and speech intelligibility under competitive conditions

An important aspect of speech perception is the ability to group or select formants using cues in the acoustic source characteristics-for example, fundamental frequency (F0) differences between formants promote their segregation. This study explored the role of more radical differences in source characteristics. Three-formant (F1+F2+F3) synthetic speech analogues were derived from natural sentences. In Experiment 1, F1+F3 were generated by passing a harmonic glottal source (F0 = 140 Hz) through second-order resonators (H1+H3); in Experiment 2, F1+F3 were tonal (sine-wave) analogues (T1+T3). F2 could take either form (H2 or T2). In some conditions, the target formants were presented alone, either monaurally or dichotically (left ear = F1+F3; right ear = F2). In others, they were accompanied by a competitor for F2 (F1+F2C+F3; F2), which listeners must reject to optimize recognition. Competitors (H2C or T2C) were created using the time-reversed frequency and amplitude contours of F2. Dichotic presentation of F2 and F2C ensured that the impact of the competitor arose primarily through informational masking. In the absence of F2C, the effect of a source mismatch between F1+F3 and F2 was relatively modest. When F2C was present, intelligibility was lowest when F2 was tonal and F2C was harmonic, irrespective of which type matched F1+F3. This finding suggests that source type and context, rather than similarity, govern the phonetic contribution of a formant. It is proposed that wideband harmonic analogues are more effective informational maskers than narrowband tonal analogues, and so become dominant in across-frequency integration of phonetic information when placed in competition.

Informational masking of monaural target speech by a single contralateral formant

Recent research suggests that the ability of an extraneous formant to impair intelligibility depends on the variation of its frequency contour. This idea was explored using a method that ensures interference occurs only through informational masking. Three-formant analogues of sentences were synthesized using a monotonous periodic source (F0 = 140 Hz). Target formants were presented monaurally; the target ear was assigned randomly on each trial. A competitor for F2 (F2C) was presented contralaterally; listeners must reject F2C to optimize recognition. In experiment 1, F2Cs with various frequency and amplitude contours were used. F2Cs with time-varying frequency contours were effective competitors; constant-frequency F2Cs had far less impact. Amplitude contour also influenced competitor impact; this effect was additive. In experiment 2, F2Cs were created by inverting the F2 frequency contour about its geometric mean and varying its depth of variation over a range from constant to twice the original (0–200%). The impact on intelligibility was least for constant F2Cs and increased up to ~100% depth, but little thereafter. The effect of an extraneous formant depends primarily on its frequency contour; interference increases as the depth of variation is increased until the range exceeds that typical for F2 in natural speech.

Effective forms of market orientation across the business cycle:a longitudinal analysis of business-to-business firms

Macroeconomic developments, such as the business cycle, have a remarkable influence on firms and their performance. In business-to-business (B-to-B) markets characterized by a strong emphasis on long-term customer relationships, market orientation (MO) provides a particularly important safeguard for firms against fluctuating market forces. Using panel data from an economic upturn and downturn, we examine the effectiveness of different forms of MO (i.e., customer orientation, competitor orientation, interfunctional coordination, and their combinations) on firm performance in B-to-B firms. Our findings suggest that the impact of MO increases especially during a downturn, with interfunctional coordination clearly boosting firm performance and, conversely, competitor orientation becoming even detrimental. The findings further indicate that both the role of MO and its most effective forms vary across industry sectors, MO having a particularly strong impact on performance among B-to-B service firms. The findings of our study provide guidelines for executives to better manage performance across the business cycle and tailor their investments in MO more effectively, according to the firm's specific industry sector.

Developmental dissociation of analytical and holistic object recognition in adolescence

Previous research (e.g., Jüttner et al, 2013, Developmental Psychology, 49, 161-176) has shown that object recognition may develop well into late childhood and adolescence. The present study extends that research and reveals novel di erences in holistic and analytic recognition performance in 7-11 year olds compared to that seen in adults. We interpret our data within Hummel’s hybrid model of object recognition (Hummel, 2001, Visual Cognition, 8, 489-517) that proposes two parallel routes for recognition (analytic vs. holistic) modulated by attention. Using a repetition-priming paradigm, we found in Experiment 1 that children showed no holistic priming, but only analytic priming. Given that holistic priming might be thought to be more ‘primitive’, we confirmed in Experiment 2 that our surprising finding was not because children’s analytic recognition was merely a result of name repetition. Our results suggest a developmental primacy of analytic object recognition. By contrast, holistic object recognition skills appear to emerge with a much more protracted trajectory extending into late adolescence

Marketing és vállalatközi kapcsolatok - Kutatócsoport zárótanulmány

Tanulmányunkban a Marketing és Vállalatközi kapcsolatok kutatócsoport 2011-ben készült műhelytanulmányainak legfontosabb eredményeit mutatjuk be. Kutatásaink központi témája a vállalati versenyképesség, illetve annak vizsgálata, hogy a vállalatok tevékenységének egyes területei hogyan járulnak hozzá a vállalatok versenyképességének növeléséhez. Elemzéseink a Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem Vállalatgazdaságtan Intézete Versenyképesség Kutató Központja által vezetett „Versenyben a világgal” kutatási program nagyszabású kérdőíves felmérésén alapulnak, amely során 300 vállalat vezetőit kérdeztek meg 2009-ben. Eredményeink közül kiemeljük, hogy a piacorientáció szintje a vizsgált vállalati körben az átlagosnál valamivel jobb, azonban a marketingkoncepció jobb megvalósítása érdekében a vállalatoknak a versenytárs-orientációjukat kellene elsősorban erősíteniük. Fontos következtetése a kutatásnak a vezető vállalatok gyakorlatának feltérképezése, e kategóriát egy összetett teljesítménymutató alapján alakítottunk ki. Eredményeink szerint a vezető vállalatok a piacorientáció mértékében, a márkázásban, a disztribúció kiterjedtségében, valamint változatosságában, a marketing erőforrásokban és képességekben és a vállalati hálózatban betöltött pozíció terén erősebbek az átlagosan teljesítőktől és/vagy a lemaradóktól. ----- Abstract: In this research paper we present the most important results of the research papers prepared by the research group „Marketing and Interfirm Relationship” in 2011. The central theme of our research papers is corporate competitiveness. We investigate the ways the different activities of firms contribute to the increase of their competiveness. Our analyses are based on a large scale survey carried out by the Competitiveness Research Center of Corvinus University Of Budapest, in which 300 company executives were surveyed in 2009. Among our results we highlight that market orientation of Hungarian firms is little above the average in our sample, however a better implementation of the marketing concept would require a stronger emphasis on competitor orientation. An important conclusion of our research is the description of the practice of leading companies, a category created in terms of a complex performance measurement. Our results suggest that leading companies show a higher level of market orientation, a more sophisticated branding practice, a more extended distribution system with a higher degree of variablity, stronger marketing resources and capabilities and a stronger position in the firm’s network than companies with average performance and/or laggards.

Creative Techniques in the Framework of Market and Evolution

This paper tries to reframe the man-machine problem, which has frequently changed throughout history. Originally, a machine was a helper of man, but later became its competitor and substitute. As a consequence of this, man has been pushed out of production and possibly, out of life itself. For today, nearly all the man’s functions – except for consumption and creativity – can be furnished by machines. Creativity should have a special place because it is the last “shelter” of man in the conflict with machine. Almost every other faculty of man has more or less been simulated by technology. There are some key questions to be answered: Whom do the creative techniques serve? Is the target group the men or machines?

Characterization, sources, and transformations of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in Florida coastal Everglades (FCE)

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is one of the largest carbon reservoirs on this planet and is present in aquatic environments as a highly complex mixture of organic compounds. The Florida coastal Everglades (FCE) is one of the largest wetlands in the world. DOM in this system is an important biogeochemical component as most of the nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) are in organic forms. Achieving a better understanding of DOM dynamics in large coastal wetlands is critical, and a particularly important issue in the context of Everglades restoration. In this work, the environmental dynamics of surface water DOM on spatial and temporal scales was investigated. In addition, photo- and bio-reactivity of this DOM was determined, surface-to-groundwater exchange of DOM was investigated, and the size distribution of freshwater DOM in Everglades was assessed. The data show that DOM dynamics in this ecosystem are controlled by both hydrological and ecological drivers and are clearly different on spatial scales and variable seasonally. The DOM reactivity data, modeled with a multi-pool first order degradation kinetics model, found that fluorescent DOM in FCE is generally photo-reactive and bio-refractory. Yet the sequential degradation proved a “priming effect” of sunlight on the bacterial uptake and reworking of this subtropical wetland DOM. Interestingly, specific PARAFAC components were found to have different photo- and bio-degradation rates, suggesting a highly heterogeneous nature of fluorophores associated with the DOM. Surface-to-groundwater exchange of DOM was observed in different regions of the system, and compositional differences were associated with source and photo-reactivity. Lastly, the high degree of heterogeneity of DOM associated fluorophores suggested based on the degradation studies was confirmed through the EEM-PARAFAC analysis of DOM along a molecular size continuum, suggesting that the fluorescence characteristics of DOM are highly controlled by different size fractions and as such can exhibit significant differences in reactivity.

Raising Cane in the 'Glades: The Global Sugar Trade and the Transformation of Florida

Over the last century, the Everglades underwent a metaphorical and ecological transition from impenetrable swamp to endangered wetland. At the heart of this transformation lies the Florida sugar industry, which by the 1990s was at the center of the political storm over the multi-billion dollar ecological “restoration” of the Everglades. Raising Cane in the ’Glades is the first study to situate the environmental transformation of the Everglades within the economic and historical geography of global sugar production and trade. Using, among other sources, interviews, government and corporate documents, and recently declassified U.S. State Department memoranda, Gail M. Hollander demonstrates that the development of Florida’s sugar region was the outcome of pitched battles reaching the highest political offices in the U.S. and in countries around the world, especially Cuba—which emerges in her narrative as a model, a competitor, and the regional “other” to Florida’s “self.” Spanning the period from the age of empire to the era of globalization, the book shows how the “sugar question”—a label nineteenth-century economists coined for intense international debates on sugar production and trade—emerges repeatedly in new guises. Hollander uses the sugar question as a thread to stitch together past and present, local and global, in explaining Everglades transformation.

Crayfish assemblage shifts in a large drought-prone wetland: the roles of hydrology and competition

1. Faster growing, larger and/or more aggressive crayfish species are predicted to dominate permanent waterbodies. We tested this prediction using a 9 year dataset for two species of crayfish (Procambarus alleni and Procambarus fallax) co-existing in a sub-tropical flowing slough in southern Florida. Using a series of laboratory and mesocosm experiments we also compared life history traits and performance of the respective species to test mechanisms that could explain dominance shifts in the local crayfish assemblages. 2. Over the 9-year period, P. alleni densities were the greatest in shallower, shorterhydroperiod areas bordering the slough, while P. fallax densities were higher in deeper, longer-hydroperiod central areas. These areas were separated by 0.8–2 km of continuous wetland with no apparent barriers to movement between them. 3. Density of P. fallax was not strongly affected by any measures of hydrological variation, while P. alleni density increased with more severe drought conditions. Following the strongest droughts, P. alleni colonized areas in the centre of the slough where they had been absent or scarce in wetter years. 4. We conducted experiments to compare growth rates, drought tolerance, and competitive dominance of these species. P. alleni survived drought conditions better, had higher growth rates, and was the dominant competitor for space and food. While drought probably limits P. fallax in the drier slough habitats, neither drought sensitivity nor interspecific competition with P. fallax can explain decreases of P. alleni with wetter conditions. 5. Our results indicate that a competition-colonization tradeoff cannot explain the crayfish compositional dynamics in this wetland because P. alleni is both the best competitor and the best at surviving in and colonizing areas with the strongest droughts. Future attention should focus on the potential for selective effects of predators that co-vary with hydrology. 6. The traits (large size, fast growth, competitive dominance) exhibited by P. alleni, which is absent in long-hydroperiod wetlands, are those exhibited by dominant crayfish in permanent lakes and streams containing fish. Although these traits make crayfish less vulnerable to fish in some lakes and streams, life-history models of community structure across permanence gradients suggest the opposite traits should be favoured for co-existence with fish.

Dynamic modeling and analysis of single-stage boost inverters under normal and abnormal conditions

Inverters play key roles in connecting sustainable energy (SE) sources to the local loads and the ac grid. Although there has been a rapid expansion in the use of renewable sources in recent years, fundamental research, on the design of inverters that are specialized for use in these systems, is still needed. Recent advances in power electronics have led to proposing new topologies and switching patterns for single-stage power conversion, which are appropriate for SE sources and energy storage devices. The current source inverter (CSI) topology, along with a newly proposed switching pattern, is capable of converting the low dc voltage to the line ac in only one stage. Simple implementation and high reliability, together with the potential advantages of higher efficiency and lower cost, turns the so-called, single-stage boost inverter (SSBI), into a viable competitor to the existing SE-based power conversion technologies.^ The dynamic model is one of the most essential requirements for performance analysis and control design of any engineering system. Thus, in order to have satisfactory operation, it is necessary to derive a dynamic model for the SSBI system. However, because of the switching behavior and nonlinear elements involved, analysis of the SSBI is a complicated task.^ This research applies the state-space averaging technique to the SSBI to develop the state-space-averaged model of the SSBI under stand-alone and grid-connected modes of operation. Then, a small-signal model is derived by means of the perturbation and linearization method. An experimental hardware set-up, including a laboratory-scaled prototype SSBI, is built and the validity of the obtained models is verified through simulation and experiments. Finally, an eigenvalue sensitivity analysis is performed to investigate the stability and dynamic behavior of the SSBI system over a typical range of operation. ^

Marketing A Hospitality Program And Its Product

In his dialogue entitled - Marketing A Hospitality Program and Its Product - Jürgen Chopard, Dr. es Sciences (Economics) Director, Centre International de Glion, Glion, Switzerland, Dr. Chopard initially offers: “The recruitment of qualified personnel is extremely difficult in an industry with a poor image; where career paths are not well defined. The author discusses the employment of marketing management techniques to improve the positioning of hospitality education and create a more attractive perception of the hotel industry.” As outlined in the above paragraph, Dr. Chopard vectors-in on marketing strategies from two standpoints; the educational side with its focus on curriculum, and the larger, industry side with its emphasis on public perception and service. These are not necessarily, nor should they be viewed as disparate elements. “ Although some professionals may see schools of hospitality education catering to two markets, students on one hand and industry on the other, in fact, their needs should be viewed as the same and hence a single market,” Dr. Chopard says to bolster his assertion. “The marketing concept is a management orientation that holds that the key task of the organization is to determine the needs and wants of target markets and to adapt the organization to delivering the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than its competitor,” the author confides, with an attribution. From these information/definition leanings, Dr. Chopard continues on a path that promotes the Centre International de Glion, Glion, Switzerland, which he is affiliated with. Why, because they endorse the same principles he is explaining to you. That’s not a bad thing. Essentially, what Dr. Chopard wants you to know is, education and business management are synonymous and therefore should share the same marketing designs and goals. “It is hard to believe that as critically important a sector as education does not use for its own management the techniques which it teaches and which have largely been proved in other fields,” the author provides as counterpoint. Since pedagogical needs so closely relate to the more pragmatic needs of the industry in general, these elements should seek to compliment and engage each other, in fact, collaboration is imperative, Dr. Chopard expresses a priori. “The cooperation of future employers is indispensable in the preparation of the product, so that it is capable of providing the expected services. The need for close relations between training establishments and the hotel and catering industry seems obvious,” Dr. Chopard says. The author reveals some flaws in hospitality marketing strategy, and then contrasts these against how a successful strategy could/should be implemented.

Constructing threat: How Americans identify economic competitors

China's emergence as an economic powerhouse has often been portrayed as threatening to America's economic strength and to its very identity as "the global hegemon." The media's alarmist response to an economic competitor is familiar to those who remember US-Japanese relations in the 1980s. In order to better understand the basis of American threat perception, this study explores the independent and interactive impact of three variables (perceptions of the Other's capabilities, perceptions of the Other as a threat versus as an opportunity, and perceptions of the Other's political culture) on attitudes toward two different economic competitors (Japan 1977-1995 and China 1985-2011). Utilizing four methods (historical process tracing, public polling data analysis, social scientific experimentation, and content analysis), this study demonstrates that increases in the Other's economic capabilities have a much smaller impact on attitudes than is commonly believed. It further shows that while perceptions of threat/opportunity played a significant role in shaping attitudinal response toward Japan, perceptions of political culture are the most important factor driving attitudes toward China today. This study contributes to a better understanding of how states react to threats and construct negative images of their economic rivals. It also helps to explain the current Sino-American relationship and enables better predictions as to its potential future course. Finally, these findings contribute to cultural explanations of the democratic peace phenomenon and provide a boundary condition (political culture) for the liberal proposition that opportunity ameliorates conflict in the economic realm.^

Net Bet Debt

The prospective high returns from gaming operations have introduced the Internet as a new competitor to the hotel and travel industry. With the dawn of the new millennium, am epidemic of gamblers has infected the virtual world and raised leagal problems yet to be solved.