An information foraging theory based user study of an adaptive user interaction framework for content-based image retrieval

This paper presents the design and results of a task-based user study, based on Information Foraging Theory, on a novel user interaction framework - uInteract - for content-based image retrieval (CBIR). The framework includes a four-factor user interaction model and an interactive interface. The user study involves three focused evaluations, 12 simulated real life search tasks with different complexity levels, 12 comparative systems and 50 subjects. Information Foraging Theory is applied to the user study design and the quantitative data analysis. The systematic findings have not only shown how effective and easy to use the uInteract framework is, but also illustrate the value of Information Foraging Theory for interpreting user interaction with CBIR. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

On a Variational Approach to some Quasilinear Problems

We prove some multiplicity results concerning quasilinear elliptic equations with natural growth conditions. Techniques of nonsmooth critical point theory are employed.

Spontaneous order and social norms. Hayek’s theory of socio-cultural evolution

Hayek’s theory of socio-cultural evolution is a generalization of his theory on spontaneous market order. Hayek explains both the emergence of market and social institutions serving as a social basis for that order within the framework of a unified evolutionary logic. This logic interprets the emergence and survival of spontaneous order and group-level rules of conduct as an unintended consequence of human action. In order to explain the emergence of social norms exclusively on the basis of methodological individualism, one would have to give up an exclusively evolutionary explanation of these norms. Since Hayek applies the invisible-hand explanation to the investigation of social norms, he combines the position of methodological individualism with functionalist-evolutionary arguments in his analysis. Hayek’s theory of socio-cultural evolution represents a theory in the framework of which methodological individualism and functionalism do not crowd out but complement each other.

Spontaneous order and social norms. Hayek’s theory of socio-cultural evolution

Hayek's theory of socio-cultural evolution is a generalization of his theory on spontaneous market order. Hayek explains both the emergence of market and social institutions serving as a social basis for that order within the framework of a unified evolutionary logic. This logic interprets the emergence and survival of spontaneous order and group-level rules of conduct as an unintended consequence of human action. In order to explain the emergence of social norms exclusively on the basis of methodological individualism, one would have to give up an exclusively evolutionary explanation of these norms. Since Hayek applies the invisiblehand explanation to the investigation of social norms, he combines the position of methodological individualism with functionalist-evolutionary arguments in his analysis. Hayek's theory of socio-cultural evolution represents a theory in the framework of which methodological individualism and functionalism do not crowd out but complement each other.

On the fundamentals of research and development (R&D) spillovers in competitive markets

Rivals may voluntarily share Research and Development (R&D) results even in the absence of any binding agreements or collusion. In a model where rival firms engage in non-cooperative independent R&D process, we used optimization and game theory analysis to study the equilibrium strategy of the firms. Our work showed that, while minimal spillover is always equilibrium, there may be another equilibrium where firms may reciprocally choose high, sometimes perfect, spillover rates. The incentive for sharing R&D output is based on firms' expectations of learning from their rivals' R&D progress in the future. This leads to strategic complementarities between the firms' choices of spillover rates and thus policy implication follows. ^ Public research agencies can contribute more to social welfare by providing research as public goods. In a non-cooperative public-private research relationship where parallel R&D is conducted, by making its R&D results accessible, the public research agency can stimulate private spillovers, even if there exists rivalry among the private firms who can benefit from such spillovers. ^

Police is Dead: On the Birth of Economism

Police is Dead is an historiographic analysis whose objective is to change the terms by which contemporary humanist scholarship assesses the phenomenon currently termed neoliberalism. It proceeds by building an archeology of legal thought in the United States that spans the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. My approach assumes that the decline of certain paradigms of political consciousness set historical conditions that enable the emergence of what is to follow. The particular historical form of political consciousness I seek to reintroduce to the present is what I call “police:” a counter-liberal way of understanding social relations that I claim has particular visibility within a legal archive, but that has been largely ignored by humanist theory on account of two tendencies: first, an over-valuation of liberalism as Western history’s master signifier; and second, inconsistent and selective attention to law as a cultural artifact. The first part of my dissertation reconstructs an anatomy of police through close studies of court opinions, legal treatises, and legal scholarship. I focus in particular on juridical descriptions of intimate relationality—which police configured as a public phenomenon—and slave society apologetics, which projected the notion of community as an affective and embodied structure. The second part of this dissertation demonstrates that the dissolution of police was critical to emergence of a paradigm I call economism: an originally progressive economic framework for understanding social relations that I argue developed at the nexus of law and economics at the turn of the twentieth century. Economism is a way of understanding sociality that collapses ontological distinctions between formally distinct political subjects—i.e., the state, the individual, the collective—by reducing them to the perspective of economic force. Insofar as it was taken up and reoriented by neoliberal theory, this paradigm has become a hegemonic form of political consciousness. This project concludes by encouraging a disarticulation of economism—insofar as it is a form of knowledge—from neoliberalism as its contemporary doctrinal manifestation. I suggest that this is one way progressive scholarship can think about moving forward in the development of economic knowledge, rather than desiring to move backwards to a time before the rise of neoliberalism. Disciplinarily, I aim to show that understanding the legal historiography informing our present moment is crucial to this task.

Narrative Deliberation? On Storytelling as a Necessary Component of Public Deliberation

This paper deals with the place of narrative, that is, storytelling, in public deliberation. A distinction is made between weak and strong conceptions of narrative. According to the weak one, storytelling is but one rhetorical device among others with which social actors produce and convey meaning. In contrast, the strong conception holds that narrative is necessary to communicate, and argue, about topics such as the human experience of time, collective identities and the moral and ethical validity of values. The upshot of this idea is that storytelling should be a necessary component of any ideal of public deliberation. Contrary to recent work by deliberative theorists, who tend to adopt the weak conception of narrative, the author argues for embracing the strong one. The main contention of this article is that stories not only have a legitimate place in deliberation, but are even necessary to formulate certain arguments in the fi rst place; for instance, arguments drawing on historical experience. This claim, namely that narrative is constitutive of certain arguments, in the sense that, without it, said reasons cannot be articulated, is illustrated by deliberative theory’s own narrative underpinnings. Finally, certain possible objections against the strong conception of narrative are dispelled.

The influence of balanced and imbalanced resource supply on biodiversity – functioning relationship across ecosystems

Numerous studies show that increasing species richness leads to higher ecosystem productivity. This effect is often attributed to more efficient portioning of multiple resources in communities with higher numbers of competing species, indicating the role of resource supply and stoichiometry for biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships. Here, we merged theory on ecological stoichiometry with a framework of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning to understand how resource use transfers into primary production. We applied a structural equation model to define patterns of diversity-productivity relationships with respect to available resources. Meta-analysis was used to summarize the findings across ecosystem types ranging from aquatic ecosystems to grasslands and forests. As hypothesized, resource supply increased realized productivity and richness, but we found significant differences between ecosystems and study types. Increased richness was associated with increased productivity, although this effect was not seen in experiments. More even communities had lower productivity, indicating that biomass production is often maintained by a few dominant species, and reduced dominance generally reduced ecosystem productivity. This synthesis, which integrates observational and experimental studies in a variety of ecosystems and geographical regions, exposes common patterns and differences in biodiversity-functioning relationships, and increases the mechanistic understanding of changes in ecosystems productivity.

The influence of balanced and imbalanced resource supply on biodiversity – functioning relationship across ecosystems

Numerous studies show that increasing species richness leads to higher ecosystem productivity. This effect is often attributed to more efficient portioning of multiple resources in communities with higher numbers of competing species, indicating the role of resource supply and stoichiometry for biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships. Here, we merged theory on ecological stoichiometry with a framework of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning to understand how resource use transfers into primary production. We applied a structural equation model to define patterns of diversity-productivity relationships with respect to available resources. Meta-analysis was used to summarize the findings across ecosystem types ranging from aquatic ecosystems to grasslands and forests. As hypothesized, resource supply increased realized productivity and richness, but we found significant differences between ecosystems and study types. Increased richness was associated with increased productivity, although this effect was not seen in experiments. More even communities had lower productivity, indicating that biomass production is often maintained by a few dominant species, and reduced dominance generally reduced ecosystem productivity. This synthesis, which integrates observational and experimental studies in a variety of ecosystems and geographical regions, exposes common patterns and differences in biodiversity-functioning relationships, and increases the mechanistic understanding of changes in ecosystems productivity.

A ciência-ação: fundamentos filosóficos e relevância para a enfermagem

ENDERS,Bertha Cruz, FERREIRA,Priscila Brigolini Porfírio, MONTEIRO, Akemi Iwata.A ciencia-açao: fundamentos filosoficos e relevancia para a enfermagem. Revista Texto Contexto em Enfermagem, Florianópolis, v.19, n.1,p.161-7.Jan/Mar.2010.

Transformer les pratiques professionnelles vis-à-vis des personnes prestataires de l’aide sociale : développement participatif et évaluation d’une formation continue en cabinet dentaire

L’objectif de la présente thèse est de générer des connaissances sur les contributions possibles d’une formation continue à l’évolution des perspectives et pratiques des professionnels de la santé buccodentaire. Prônant une approche centrée sur le patient, la formation vise à sensibiliser les professionnels à la pauvreté et à encourager des pratiques qui se veulent inclusives et qui tiennent compte du contexte social des patients. L’évaluation de la formation s’inscrit dans le contexte d’une recherche-action participative de développement d’outils éducatifs et de transfert des connaissances sur la pauvreté. Cette recherche-action aspire à contribuer à la lutte contre les iniquités sociales de santé et d’accès aux soins au Québec; elle reflète une préoccupation pour une plus grande justice sociale ainsi qu’une prise de position pour une santé publique critique fondée sur une « science des solutions » (Potvin, 2013). Quatre articles scientifiques, ancrés dans une philosophie constructiviste et dans les concepts et principes de l’apprentissage transformationnel (Mezirow, 1991), constituent le cœur de cette thèse. Le premier article présente une revue critique de la littérature portant sur l’enseignement de l’approche de soins centrés sur le patient. Prenant appui sur le concept d’une « épistémologie partagée », des principes éducatifs porteurs d’une transformation de perspective à l’égard de la relation professionnel-patient ont été identifiés et analysés. Le deuxième article de thèse s’inscrit dans le cadre du développement participatif d’outils de formation sur la pauvreté et illustre le processus de co-construction d’un scénario de court-métrage social réaliste portant sur la pauvreté et l’accès aux soins. L’article décrit et apporte une réflexion, notamment sur la dimension de co-formation entre les différents acteurs des milieux académique, professionnel et citoyen qui ont constitué le collectif À l’écoute les uns des autres. Nous y découvrons la force du croisement des savoirs pour générer des prises de conscience sur soi et sur ses préjugés. Les outils développés par le collectif ont été intégrés à une formation continue axée sur la réflexion critique et l’apprentissage transformationnel, et conçue pour être livrée en cabinet dentaire privé. Les deux derniers articles de thèse présentent les résultats d’une étude de cas instrumentale évaluative centrée sur cette formation continue et visant donc à répondre à l’objectif premier de cette thèse. Le premier consiste en une analyse des transformations de perspectives et d’action au sein d’une équipe de 15 professionnels dentaires ayant participé à la formation continue sur une période de trois mois. L’article décrit, entre autres, une plus grande ouverture, chez certains participants, sur les causes structurelles de la pauvreté et une plus grande sensibilité au vécu au quotidien des personnes prestataires de l’aide sociale. L’article comprend également une exploration des effets paradoxaux dans l’apprentissage, notamment le renforcement, chez certains, de perceptions négatives à l’égard des personnes prestataires de l’aide sociale. Le quatrième article fait état de barrières idéologiques contraignant la transformation des pratiques professionnelles : 1) l’identification à l’idéologie du marché privé comme véhicule d’organisation des soins; 2) l’attachement au concept d’égalité dans les pratiques, au détriment de l’équité; 3) la prédominance du modèle biomédical, contraignant l’adoption de pratiques centrées sur la personne et 4) la catégorisation sociale des personnes prestataires de l’aide sociale. L’analyse des perceptions, mais aussi de l’expérience vécue de ces barrières démontre comment des facteurs systémiques et sociaux influent sur le rapport entre professionnel dentaire et personne prestataire de l’aide sociale. Les conséquences pour la recherche, l’éducation dentaire, le transfert des connaissances, ainsi que pour la régulation professionnelle et les politiques de santé buccodentaire, sont examinées à partir de cette perspective.

A ciência-ação: fundamentos filosóficos e relevância para a enfermagem

A prática de enfermagem envolve o enfermeiro da clínica como agente de deliberação e ação, confrontando situações do cotidiano e assumindo, através de conhecimento científico, experiências anteriores ou por conceitos próprios e intuitivos, formas específicas de ver e agir na prática. O agir constitui fonte de conhecimento passível de acesso por métodos de investigação interpretativos. O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar, analiticamente, a filosofia da Ciência-Ação em sua relação com a construção do conhecimento na enfermagem. Explica-se a Ciência-Ação como método inovador de inquérito e a sua tradição filosófica na abordagem nas ciências sociais, e se discute a sua articulação com a proposta epistemológica da enfermagem. Sugere-se a adoção dessa vertente em estudos de enfermagem, pelo seu enfoque na reflexão sobre as ações do enfermeiro e na prática como fonte de conhecimento. Conclui-se que a Ciência-Ação possui potencial para o avanço da teoria específica da prática da enfermagem, do conhecimento próprio da enfermagem

A ciência-ação: fundamentos filosóficos e relevância para a enfermagem

ENDERS,Bertha Cruz, FERREIRA,Priscila Brigolini Porfírio, MONTEIRO, Akemi Iwata.A ciencia-açao: fundamentos filosoficos e relevancia para a enfermagem. Revista Texto Contexto em Enfermagem, Florianópolis, v.19, n.1,p.161-7.Jan/Mar.2010.

Ionospheric Turbulence Near the Upper Hybrid Layer: Theory and Experiment

The thesis presents experimental results, simulations, and theory on turbulence excited in magnetized plasmas near the ionosphere’s upper hybrid layer. The results include: The first experimental observations of super small striations (SSS) excited by the High-Frequency Auroral Research Project (HAARP) The first detection of high-frequency (HF) waves from the HAARP transmitter over a distance of 16x10^3 km The first simulations indicating that upper hybrid (UH) turbulence excites electron Bernstein waves associated with all nearby gyroharmonics Simulation results that indicate that the resulting bulk electron heating near the upper hybrid (UH) resonance is caused primarily by electron Bernstein waves parametrically excited near the first gyroharmonic. On the experimental side we present two sets of experiments performed at the HAARP heating facility in Alaska. In the first set of experiments, we present the first detection of super-small (cm scale) striations (SSS) at the HAARP facility. We detected density structures smaller than 30 cm for the first time through a combination of satellite and ground based measurements. In the second set of experiments, we present the results of a novel diagnostic implemented by the Ukrainian Antarctic Station (UAS) in Verdansky. The technique allowed the detection of the HAARP signal at a distance of nearly 16 Mm, and established that the HAARP signal was injected into the ionospheric waveguide by direct scattering off of dekameter-scale density structures induced by the heater. On the theoretical side, we present results of Vlasov simulations near the upper hybrid layer. These results are consistent with the bulk heating required by previous work on the theory of the formation of descending artificial ionospheric layers (DIALs), and with the new observations of DIALs at HAARP’s upgraded effective radiated power (ERP). The simulations that frequency sweeps, and demonstrate that the heating changes from a bulk heating between gyroharmonics, to a tail acceleration as the pump frequency is swept through the fourth gyroharmonic. These simulations are in good agreement with experiments. We also incorporate test particle simulations that isolate the effects of specific wave modes on heating, and we find important contributions from both electron Bernstein waves and upper hybrid waves, the former of which have not yet been detected by experiments, and have not been previously explored as a driver of heating. In presenting these results, we analyzed data from HAARP diagnostics and assisted in planning the second round of experiments. We integrated the data into a picture of experiments that demonstrated the detection of SSS, hysteresis effects in simulated electromagnetic emission (SEE) features, and the direct scattering of the HF pump into the ionospheric waveguide. We performed simulations and analyzed simulation data to build the understanding of collisionless heating near the upper hybrid layer, and we used these simulations to show that bulk electron heating at the upper hybrid layer is possible, which is required by current theories of DAIL formation. We wrote a test particle simulation to isolate the effects of electron Bernstein waves and upper hybrid layers on collisionless heating, and integrated this code to work with both the output of Vlasov simulations and the input for simulations of DAIL formation.

Intensive care survivors’ experiences of ward-based care: Meleis’ theory of nursing transitions and role development among critical care outreach services.

Aims and objectives. To explore the psychosocial needs of patients discharged from intensive care, the extent to which they are captured using existing theory on transitions in care and the potential role development of critical care outreach, follow-up and liaison services. Background. Intensive care patients are at an increased risk of adverse events, deterioration or death following ward transfer. Nurse-led critical care outreach, follow-up or liaison services have been adopted internationally to prevent these potentially avoidable sequelae. The need to provide patients with psychosocial support during the transition to ward-based care has also been identified, but the evidence base for role development is currently limited. Design and methods. Twenty participants were invited to discuss their experiences of ward-based care as part of a broader study on recovery following prolonged critical illness. Psychosocial distress was a prominent feature of their accounts, prompting secondary data analysis using Meleis et al.’s mid-range theory on experiencing transitions. Results. Participants described a sense of disconnection in relation to profound debilitation and dependency and were often distressed by a perceived lack of understanding, indifference or insensitivity among ward staff to their basic care needs. Negotiating the transition between dependence and independence was identified as a significant source of distress following ward transfer. Participants varied in the extent to which they were able to express their needs and negotiate recovery within professionally mediated boundaries. Conclusion. These data provide new insights into the putative origins of the psychosocial distress that patients experience following ward transfer. Relevance to clinical practice. Meleis et al.’s work has resonance in terms of explicating intensive care patients’ experiences of psychosocial distress throughout the transition to general ward–based care, such that the future role development of critical care outreach, follow-up and liaison services may be more theoretically informed.