10302 Abstracts Collection -- Learning paradigms in dynamic environments

From 25.07. to 30.07.2010, the Dagstuhl Seminar 10302 ``Learning paradigms in dynamic environments \u27\u27 was held in Schloss Dagstuhl~--~Leibniz Center for Informatics. During the seminar, several participants presented their current research, and ongoing work and open problems were discussed. Abstracts of the presentations given during the seminar as well as abstracts of seminar results and ideas are put together in this paper. The first section describes the seminar topics and goals in general. Links to extended abstracts or full papers are provided, if available

A flexible object orientated design approach for the realisation of assistive technology

This thesis contributes to a growing body of research conducted by the Interactive Systems Research Group (ISRG) at Nottingham Trent University within the fields of accessibility and accessible technologies. Core to this research is the exploration of how interactive technologies can be developed and applied as platforms for education, rehabilitation and social inclusion. To this end the group has been actively evolving the User Sensitive and Inclusive Design (USID) methodology for the design, development and evaluation of accessible software and related technologies. This thesis contributes to the further development of the USID method with a focus on its application for the design of assistive technology

From metaheuristics to learnheuristics: Applications to logistics, finance, and computing

Un gran nombre de processos de presa de decisions en sectors estratègics com el transport i la producció representen problemes NP-difícils. Sovint, aquests processos es caracteritzen per alts nivells d'incertesa i dinamisme. Les metaheurístiques són mètodes populars per a resoldre problemes d'optimització difícils en temps de càlcul raonables. No obstant això, sovint assumeixen que els inputs, les funcions objectiu, i les restriccions són deterministes i conegudes. Aquests constitueixen supòsits forts que obliguen a treballar amb problemes simplificats. Com a conseqüència, les solucions poden conduir a resultats pobres. Les simheurístiques integren la simulació a les metaheurístiques per resoldre problemes estocàstics d'una manera natural. Anàlogament, les learnheurístiques combinen l'estadística amb les metaheurístiques per fer front a problemes en entorns dinàmics, en què els inputs poden dependre de l'estructura de la solució. En aquest context, les principals contribucions d'aquesta tesi són: el disseny de les learnheurístiques, una classificació dels treballs que combinen l'estadística / l'aprenentatge automàtic i les metaheurístiques, i diverses aplicacions en transport, producció, finances i computació.Un gran número de procesos de toma de decisiones en sectores estratégicos como el transporte y la producción representan problemas NP-difíciles. Frecuentemente, estos problemas se caracterizan por altos niveles de incertidumbre y dinamismo. Las metaheurísticas son métodos populares para resolver problemas difíciles de optimización de manera rápida. Sin embargo, suelen asumir que los inputs, las funciones objetivo y las restricciones son deterministas y se conocen de antemano. Estas fuertes suposiciones conducen a trabajar con problemas simplificados. Como consecuencia, las soluciones obtenidas pueden tener un pobre rendimiento. Las simheurísticas integran simulación en metaheurísticas para resolver problemas estocásticos de una manera natural. De manera similar, las learnheurísticas combinan aprendizaje estadístico y metaheurísticas para abordar problemas en entornos dinámicos, donde los inputs pueden depender de la estructura de la solución. En este contexto, las principales aportaciones de esta tesis son: el diseño de las learnheurísticas, una clasificación de trabajos que combinan estadística / aprendizaje automático y metaheurísticas, y varias aplicaciones en transporte, producción, finanzas y computación.A large number of decision-making processes in strategic sectors such as transport and production involve NP-hard problems, which are frequently characterized by high levels of uncertainty and dynamism. Metaheuristics have become the predominant method for solving challenging optimization problems in reasonable computing times. However, they frequently assume that inputs, objective functions and constraints are deterministic and known in advance. These strong assumptions lead to work on oversimplified problems, and the solutions may demonstrate poor performance when implemented. Simheuristics, in turn, integrate simulation into metaheuristics as a way to naturally solve stochastic problems, and, in a similar fashion, learnheuristics combine statistical learning and metaheuristics to tackle problems in dynamic environments, where inputs may depend on the structure of the solution. The main contributions of this thesis include (i) a design for learnheuristics; (ii) a classification of works that hybridize statistical and machine learning and metaheuristics; and (iii) several applications for the fields of transport, production, finance and computing

Data bases and data base systems related to NASA's aerospace program. A bibliography with indexes

This bibliography lists 1778 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system, 1975 through 1980

Research in Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials, 1990

The Structural Dynamics and Materials (SDM) Conference was held on April 2 to 4, 1990 in Long Beach, California. This publication is a compilation of presentations of the work-in-progress sessions and does not contain papers from the regular sessions since those papers are published by AIAA in the conference proceedings

A multi-modal corpus approach to the analysis of backchanneling behaviour

Current methodologies in corpus linguistics have revolutionised the way we look at language. They allow us to make objective observations about written and spoken language in use. However, most corpora are limited in scope because they are unable to capture language and communication beyond the word. This is problematic given that interaction is in fact multi-modal, as meaning is constructed through the interplay of text, gesture and prosody; a combination of verbal and non-verbal characteristics. This thesis outlines, then utilises, a multi-modal approach to corpus linguistics, and examines how such can be used to facilitate our explorations of backchanneling phenomena in conversation, such as gestural and verbal signals of active listenership. Backchannels have been seen as being highly conventionalised, they differ considerably in form, function, interlocutor and location (in context and co-text). Therefore their relevance at any given time in a given conversation is highly conditional. The thesis provides an in-depth investigation of the use of, and the relationship between, spoken and non-verbal forms of this behaviour, focusing on a particular sub-set of gestural forms: head nods. This investigation is undertaken by analysing the patterned use of specific forms and functions of backchannels within and across sentence boundaries, as evidenced in a five-hour sub-corpus of dyadic multi-modal conversational episodes, taken from the Nottingham Multi-Modal Corpus (NMMC). The results from this investigation reveal 22 key findings regarding the collaborative and cooperative nature of backchannels, which function to both support and extend what is already known about such behaviours. Using these findings, the thesis presents an adapted pragmatic-functional linguistic coding matrix for the classification and examination of backchanneling phenomena. This fuses the different, dynamic properties of spoken and non-verbal forms of this behaviour into a single, integrated conceptual model, in order to provide the foundations, a theoretical point-of-entry, for future research of this nature

Towards a critical understanding of community anchors and a community sector theory and practice

This thesis seeks to support the longer-term development of the community sector in Scotland, the United Kingdom (UK) and further afield, through consideration of a community sector theory and practice (CSTP): where, such a theory and practice is assumed to involve elements of both theorising as to actual, developing practices and theorising as to the impact of the broader workings of society (structure) on the forming and performing of such practices. The thesis focuses on a particular model and narrative of a community organisation as a ‘community anchor’: where, such an organisation is understood to be community-based and led, and to undertake a multi-purpose role across a range of local development, service provision and advocacy. The term community anchor has been/is active within policy-making, namely that of the New Labour UK Government (1997-2010) and, currently, SNP Scottish Government (2007-present). Within Scotland, the Scottish Community Alliance (SCA) has positioned a community anchor narrative within a particular narrative of community empowerment; the latter rooted in themes of community ownership and enterprise, local democracy, and local economic and social development (Pearce, 2003). This community anchor/community empowerment narrative (CACE) can be understood as one particular strand of a wider CSTP, a ‘CACE within a CSTP’ (CACE/CSTP) in fact, such that a CACE too can be supported and informed through theorising on practice and structural context. The thesis works to strengthen theoretical understanding and development relating to a CACE/CSTP, and then to draw from this to inform, interpret and analyse an empirical inquiry, using a qualitative and critical case-study research methodology, of three community anchor organisations and their respective communities – one from each of urban, rural and remote island contexts. Theoretical discussion that supports an understanding of a CSTP is developed through consideration of theorising on: post-1945 political economic trends in relation to public policy, particularly urban public policy, in the UK and currently as a dominant neo-liberalism, although as distinctive variants within policy-making in England and Scotland; the practices of community development and social enterprise, in particular relative to social structure and inequality; and, social structure and agency, through use of structuration theory (Giddens, 1984). The understanding of a CACE is deepened through consideration of: policy-making on community anchors within Scottish and English policy-making contexts; matters and issues of practice for community anchors – in particular as being ‘community-led’, developing ‘sustainable independence’ and undertaking a diverse, multi-purpose role; the role of the community sector and its development as part of the social economy; and the wider political economic dynamics of the nation state (Giddens, 1984; Pearce: 1993, 2003; Harvey, 2009 [1973]). The empirical inquiry, and the related interpretation and analysis, explore the three case-studies, and illustrate and develop theoretical understandings of a CACE/CSTP and a CSTP, more generally. In focusing on practice, the complexities of community-led practices, organisational independence (sustainable independence) from the state, and the integration of the breadth of working of a community anchor are considered both as activities on-the-ground and in relation to the state and market. In focusing on political economy, the complexity of the community sector’s relationship with the state and the market is explored. It is recognised that the sector will find itself undertaking a ‘community management’ role, seeking to limit social and economic crises, in response to neo-liberal economic and social marginalisation of many communities. Yet, such recognition can support the community sector in continuing with aspirations for a ‘community ownership’ and in seeking alternatives in relation to local economic and social development, service provision, political advocacy and policy-making. The resulting articulation of a CACE/CSTP can be used to inform a developing community sector research agenda(s) for both ‘the research community’ and community sector, and to inform and support discussions of policy and practice within community sector and wider policy-making