The Uncertain generalized probabilistic weighted average and its application in the theory of expertons

A new model for dealing with decision making under risk by considering subjective and objective information in the same formulation is here presented. The uncertain probabilistic weighted average (UPWA) is also presented. Its main advantage is that it unifies the probability and the weighted average in the same formulation and considering the degree of importance that each case has in the analysis. Moreover, it is able to deal with uncertain environments represented in the form of interval numbers. We study some of its main properties and particular cases. The applicability of the UPWA is also studied and it is seen that it is very broad because all the previous studies that use the probability or the weighted average can be revised with this new approach. Focus is placed on a multi-person decision making problem regarding the selection of strategies by using the theory of expertons.

The social disembedding of business theory and practice. A (neo-)institutional analysis of the homo economicus and corporate social responsibility, and the inherent responsibility of business scholars

Aim Structure of the Thesis In the first article, I focus on the context in which the Homo Economicus was constructed - i.e., the conception of economic actors as fully rational, informed, egocentric, and profit-maximizing. I argue that the Homo Economicus theory was developed in a specific societal context with specific (partly tacit) values and norms. These norms have implicitly influenced the behavior of economic actors and have framed the interpretation of the Homo Economicus. Different factors however have weakened this implicit influence of the broader societal values and norms on economic actors. The result is an unbridled interpretation and application of the values and norms of the Homo Economicus in the business environment, and perhaps also in the broader society. In the second article, I show that the morality of many economic actors relies on isomorphism, i.e., the attempt to fit into the group by adopting the moral norms surrounding them. In consequence, if the norms prevailing in a specific group or context (such as a specific region or a specific industry) change, it can be expected that actors with an 'isomorphism morality' will also adapt their ethical thinking and their behavior -for the 'better' or for the 'worse'. The article further describes the process through which corporations could emancipate from the ethical norms prevailing in the broader society, and therefore develop an institution with specific norms and values. These norms mainly rely on mainstream business theories praising the economic actor's self-interest and neglecting moral reasoning. Moreover, because of isomorphism morality, many economic actors have changed their perception of ethics, and have abandoned the values prevailing in the broader society in order to adopt those of the economic theory. Finally, isomorphism morality also implies that these economic actors will change their morality again if the institutional context changes. The third article highlights the role and responsibility of business scholars in promoting a systematic reflection and self-critique of the business system and develops alternative models to fill the moral void of the business institution and its inherent legitimacy crisis. Indeed, the current business institution relies on assumptions such as scientific neutrality and specialization, which seem at least partly challenged by two factors. First, self-fulfilling prophecy provides scholars with an important (even if sometimes undesired) normative influence over practical life. Second, the increasing complexity of today's (socio-political) world and interactions between the different elements constituting our society question the strong specialization of science. For instance, economic theories are not unrelated to psychology or sociology, and economic actors influence socio-political structures and processes, e.g., through lobbying (Dobbs, 2006; Rondinelli, 2002), or through marketing which changes not only the way we consume, but more generally tries to instill a specific lifestyle (Cova, 2004; M. K. Hogg & Michell, 1996; McCracken, 1988; Muniz & O'Guinn, 2001). In consequence, business scholars are key actors in shaping both tomorrow's economic world and its broader context. A greater awareness of this influence might be a first step toward an increased feeling of civic responsibility and accountability for the models and theories developed or taught in business schools.

Graph theory reveals dysconnected hubs in 22q11DS and altered nodal efficiency in patients with hallucinations.

Schizophrenia is postulated to be the prototypical dysconnection disorder, in which hallucinations are the core symptom. Due to high heterogeneity in methodology across studies and the clinical phenotype, it remains unclear whether the structural brain dysconnection is global or focal and if clinical symptoms result from this dysconnection. In the present work, we attempt to clarify this issue by studying a population considered as a homogeneous genetic sub-type of schizophrenia, namely the 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS). Cerebral MRIs were acquired for 46 patients and 48 age and gender matched controls (aged 6-26, respectively mean age = 15.20 ± 4.53 and 15.28 ± 4.35 years old). Using the Connectome mapper pipeline (connectomics.org) that combines structural and diffusion MRI, we created a whole brain network for each individual. Graph theory was used to quantify the global and local properties of the brain network organization for each participant. A global degree loss of 6% was found in patients' networks along with an increased Characteristic Path Length. After identifying and comparing hubs, a significant loss of degree in patients' hubs was found in 58% of the hubs. Based on Allen's brain network model for hallucinations, we explored the association between local efficiency and symptom severity. Negative correlations were found in the Broca's area (p < 0.004), the Wernicke area (p < 0.023) and a positive correlation was found in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) (p < 0.014). In line with the dysconnection findings in schizophrenia, our results provide preliminary evidence for a targeted alteration in the brain network hubs' organization in individuals with a genetic risk for schizophrenia. The study of specific disorganization in language, speech and thought regulation networks sharing similar network properties may help to understand their role in the hallucination mechanism.

Iowa DOT Library Services, Collection, & Technology Assessment, TR-670, 2014

Assesses the impact of library services on research projects, proposes methods to improve the impact of library services on research projects, assesses current library technology systems and proposes upgrades, assesses current library collection infrastructure and propose upgrades, especially in regards to collection damage from water or fire; ascertains patron interest in mobile technologies and suggest development based on interest.

La salut reproductiva de la dona immigrant: una anàlisi des de la influència cultural

El progressiu increment del flux migratori en els darrers anys a Catalunya genera un major percentatge de dones en estat fèrtil que requereixen d’una atenció vinculada a la seva salut reproductiva. D’aquesta manera, els professionals sanitaris es veuen sotmesos a treballar sota una diversitat cultural que moltes vegades genera un “xoc intercultural” dificultant la relació assistencial entre professional i usuari. Per aquest motiu, el següent estudi pretén donar una aproximació de la influència cultural de la dona immigrant (marroquina i subsahariana) en quatre àmbits: embaràs, part, post-part i maternitat.Hipòtesis: S’identifiquen necessitats bàsiques assistencials no resoltes satisfactòriament en el grup de dones immigrants (marroquines i subsaharianes) en el període del part, puerperi immediat i intermedi, a més d’un impacte intercultural associat.Objectiu principal: Conèixer les vivències, percepcions i conductes de les dones marroquines i subsaharianes en l’embaràs, el part, el post-part, la maternitat dins el seu marc cultural i com influeixen en l’atenció sanitària del nostre país.Material i mètodes: S’ha realitzat un estudi de disseny mixt. Per una banda s’ha disposat d’una metodologia qualitativa descriptiva que utilitza la teoria fonamentada “Grounded Theory” com a instrument metodològic, i per l’altra, s’ha optat per una metodologia quantitativa per analitzar les dades clíniques i epidemiològiques de gestants immigrants que havien donat a llum al Servei d’Obstetrícia-Sala de Parts de l’Hospital Sta. Caterina (Girona), durant el període comprès entre el mes de novembre de 2012 i gener de 2013.La recollida de dades s’ha realitzat sota una entrevista semiestructurada i una observació participant com a instruments qualitatius, i el suport del “carnet de l’embaràs” i la “història obstètrica” de cada dona per elaborar l’estudi quantitatiu. Pel que fa a l’anàlisi de les dades en l’estudi qualitatiu s’ha seguit el procés analític plantejat per la Teoria fonamentada i en el cas de l’estudi quantitatiu, s’ha comptatamb el suport d’una tesi doctoral per comparar els resultats amb els de les dones autòctones, dels quals fa referència la tesi.Resultats: En l’estudi qualitatiu, s’han trobat especificitats culturals en relació a la percepció del part, desenvolupament del part ( a nivell conductual), implicació en el post-part, valoració de l’atenció sanitària rebuda i el concepte de maternitat. Pel que fa a l’estudi quantitatiu comparatiu, s’han indentificat diferències entre el col·lectiu de la mostra estudiada i les dones autòctones referent als antecedents obstètrics i paritat, al control gestacional i al desenvolupament del part ( a nivell fisiològic)

Multi-Purpose ESS/ITS Data Collection Sites, SPR72-00-0003-042, 2014

This document presents the results of a state-of-practice survey of transportation agencies that are installing intelligent transportation sensors (ITS) and other devices along with their environmental sensing stations (ESS) also referred to as roadway weather information system (RWIS) assets.

Planning under partial observability by classical replanning: theory and experiments

Planning with partial observability can be formulated as a non-deterministic search problem in belief space. The problem is harder than classical planning as keeping track of beliefs is harder than keeping track of states, and searching for action policies is harder than searching for action sequences. In this work, we develop a framework for partial observability that avoids these limitations and leads to a planner that scales up to larger problems. For this, the class of problems is restricted to those in which 1) the non-unary clauses representing the uncertainty about the initial situation are nvariant, and 2) variables that are hidden in the initial situation do not appear in the body of conditional effects, which are all assumed to be deterministic. We show that such problems can be translated in linear time into equivalent fully observable non-deterministic planning problems, and that an slight extension of this translation renders the problem solvable by means of classical planners. The whole approach is sound and complete provided that in addition, the state-space is connected. Experiments are also reported.

Consumer Advisory: Debt Collections & Debt Collection Scams, February 2015

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division receives hundreds of calls and consumer complaints every year. Follow these tips to avoid unexpected expense and disappointments. This record is about: Tax Time Scams & Tips

Issue review : court debt collection.

This issue review provides background regarding the collection of outstanding court debt and highlights changes made in Senate File 2428, Delinquent Debt Collection Act, beginning in fiscal year 2009.

Isozymic variability in a Brazilian collection of annatto (Bixa orellana L.)

The objectives of this work were to optimize the isozyme electrophoresis technique for Bixa orellana, and use isozyme markers for a preliminary survey on the genetic variability in Brazilian annatto germplasm accessions. Collection consisted of seed samples from sixty open pollinated trees, representing two Northern and four Southern geographic provenances. The extraction, electrophoresis, and interpretation of annatto isozymes are described. Three out of the twenty-one identified isozyme loci were polymorphic in the collection. The percentage of polymorphic loci (P = 21.05) and the expected heterozygosity in annatto (H T = 0.064) were low, compared to other tropical woody species. A UPGMA phenogram, constructed with Nei's genetic distances, clearly separated the germplasm provenant from North and Central Brazil. Variability was significantly higher among the accessions from Maranhão. A sharp genetic differentiation was detected between accessions from Maranhão and Pará States, despite their geographical proximity. The distinctive isozyme polymorphism, observed in the accessions from Maranhão, together with reports on local morphological heterogeneity in annatto fruit shape, color, and pubescence, calls for more detailed genetic and taxonomic investigation.

Machine learning for spatial environmental data. Theory, applications and software

The book presents the state of the art in machine learning algorithms (artificial neural networks of different architectures, support vector machines, etc.) as applied to the classification and mapping of spatially distributed environmental data. Basic geostatistical algorithms are presented as well. New trends in machine learning and their application to spatial data are given, and real case studies based on environmental and pollution data are carried out. The book provides a CD-ROM with the Machine Learning Office software, including sample sets of data, that will allow both students and researchers to put the concepts rapidly to practice.