A Probabilistic Interpretation of Sampling Theory of Graph Signals

We give a probabilistic interpretation of sampling theory of graph signals. To do this, we first define a generative model for the data using a pairwise Gaussian random field (GRF) which depends on the graph. We show that, under certain conditions, reconstructing a graph signal from a subset of its samples by least squares is equivalent to performing MAP inference on an approximation of this GRF which has a low rank covariance matrix. We then show that a sampling set of given size with the largest associated cut-off frequency, which is optimal from a sampling theoretic point of view, minimizes the worst case predictive covariance of the MAP estimate on the GRF. This interpretation also gives an intuitive explanation for the superior performance of the sampling theoretic approach to active semi-supervised classification.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, To appear in International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing (ICASSP) 201

Bayesian Semi-supervised Learning with Graph Gaussian Processes

We propose a data-efficient Gaussian process-based Bayesian approach to the semi-supervised learning problem on graphs. The proposed model shows extremely competitive performance when compared to the state-of-the-art graph neural networks on semi-supervised learning benchmark experiments, and outperforms the neural networks in active learning experiments where labels are scarce. Furthermore, the model does not require a validation data set for early stopping to control over-fitting. Our model can be viewed as an instance of empirical distribution regression weighted locally by network connectivity. We further motivate the intuitive construction of the model with a Bayesian linear model interpretation where the node features are filtered by an operator related to the graph Laplacian. The method can be easily implemented by adapting off-the-shelf scalable variational inference algorithms for Gaussian processes.Comment: To appear in NIPS 2018 Fixed an error in Figure 2. The previous arxiv version contains two identical sub-figure

Two Fallacies In Approching The Current Crisis

Present study aims to reveal a few of the main perceptions and assumptions concerning economic activity, with implications in the nowadays’ crisis. The most important current anti-crisis views on causes of the crisis are synthesized and critically reviewed. Methodologically, their interpretation is made by the effects in practice, alleging a wide interdisciplinary approach, consistent with the requirements of the European concept of knowledge society. Thus, ideas are brought in the economic analysis in a heterodox approach, trying to go beyond certain standard economic routines and into modelling. The model comes from an approach on the material-immaterial difference and has an answer to the dilemma consumption vs. economizing. There result prerequisites for economic analysis, as well as conclusions in a pro-active approach of the matter, which are generally applicable to the crisis management at macroeconomic level, but with implications at the level of individual economic agent, too.economic crises, sustainable development, immaterial economy, productivity

International Public Health Research Involving Interpreters: a Case Study from Bangladesh

Background: Cross-cultural and international research are important components of public health research, but the challenges of language barriers and working with interpreters are often overlooked, particularly in the case of qualitative research. Methods: A case-study approach was used to explore experiences of working with an interpreter in Bangladesh as part of a research project investigating women's experiences of emergency obstetric care. The case study: Data from the researcher's field notes provided evidence of experiences in working with an interpreter and show how the model of interviewing was adapted over time to give a more active role to the interpreter. The advantages of a more active role were increased rapport and "flow" in interviews. The disadvantages included reduced control from the researcher's perspective. Some tensions between the researcher and interpreter remained hard to overcome, irrespective of the model used. Independent transcription and translation of the interviews also raised questions around accuracy in translation. Conclusion: The issues examined in this case study have broader implications for public health research. Further work is needed in three areas: 1) developing effective relationships with interpreters; 2) the impact of the interpreter on the research process; and 3) the accuracy of the translation and level of analysis needed in any specific public health research. Finally, this paper highlights the importance to authors of reflecting on the potential impact of translation and interpretation on the research process when disseminating their research

Desirable typologies of organizational culture in quality management implementation. Communicational findings

The authors of this article present the findings of a longitudinal research carried out in the years 2007 and 2008 in a production and service company active in the food & beverages industry. The goal of the research was to identify the one model of organizational culture perceived by the employees as the most appropriate for an efficient implementation of a quality management system. The research method used was the enquiry based on the questionnaire. The methodological means chosen was the Culture Type Identification Questionnaire developed by Charles Handy (1983) based on the typology elaborated by Roger Harrison. The analysis and interpretation of the obtained data converge towards the more general thesis according to which the diagnosis of the pre-existing culture type in a changing organization, correlated with the identification of the model the employees strive for, facilitates the process of adopting a new attitudinal, cognitive and behavioral pattern, in a relatively homogeneous and tension-free approach. Specifically, the research has confirmed the hypothesis according to which the type of task-oriented culture is more appropriate with the quality management desiderata, and the transition from an entrepreneurial culture to a quality-oriented corporative one strongly depends on what the employees perceive as being the real and the ideal state, and not on a formal infusion of values, norms, principles, policies or organizational strategies.organizational culture, communication, quality management, Charles Handy's typology, human resources, behavior, organizational change.

Embodied Resource Flows and Product Flows: Combining the Absorbing Markov Chain with the Input-Output Model

We develop the absorbing Markov chain (AMC) for describing in detail the network of paths through an industrial system taken by an embodied resource from extraction through intermediate products and finally consumer products.  We refer to this as a resource-specific network. This work builds on a recent literature in industrial ecology that uses an AMC to quantify the number of times a resource passes through a recycling sector before ending up in a landfill.  Our objective is to incorporate into that analysis an input-output (IO) table so that the resource paths explicitly take account of the interdependence of sectors through their reliance on intermediate products.  This feature makes it possible to track multiple resources simultaneously and consistently and to represent both resources and products in mixed units. Hypothetical scenarios about technological changes and changes in consumer demand are analyzed using an IO model, and model solutions generate the AMC database. A numerical example is provided.  AMC analysis describes the resource-specific networks using matrices that are derived not from the Leontief inverse but from a generalized variant of the Ghosh inverse matrix.  The Leontief inverse and especially the Ghosh inverse (although often not identified as such) have been used extensively to analyze ecological systems, and this paper extends these approaches for use in studying material cycles in industrial systems.  Constructing the AMC formalizes the resource-specific network analysis and generalizes the content and interpretation of the Ghosh matrix.  Path-based analyses derived from AMC theory are discussed in relation to the set of techniques called Structural Path Analysis (SPA). The paper concludes by identifying the three most critical enhancements to the IO model needed for analyzing material cycles: the simultaneous incorporation of waste-processing sectors, stock and flow relationships, and international trade.  The idea is to implement an AMC after each model extension. The modeling framework is intended for analyses such as: tracking a resource extracted in one region to landfills in other regions, evaluating ways to intensify secondary recovery at key junctures in-between.  There are other ways, of course, to approach such an analysis, but the combination of an extended IO model and an AMC, representing both resources and products in mixed units, provides a comprehensive, systematic and standardized approach that includes many features that are valued in industrial ecology and builds directly on a number of active research programs.

Teaching Substantive Environmental Law and Practice Skills Through Interest Group Role-Playing

Most law students take their first introductory course in environmental law during their second year of law school. The traditional first-year curriculum does little to prepare students for the complex statutory and regulatory models for most environmental regulation. Law students at the end of their first year often have had little exposure to statutory interpretation. Further, they often have no exposure to administrative law and regulatory implementation. These students may expect statutes to provide clear statements of rules rather than guidelines for administrative rulemaking. They also tend to view the lawmaking and interpretive process through the traditional lens of congressional legislation and common-law-style judicial interpretation in a bipolar scheme of implementation--where the regulatory agencies and the regulated industries are the only players. In fact, environmental regulatory programs constantly evolve through a complex interaction of legislative amendment, administrative rulemaking, and judicial interpretation. Influencing these programs are the multipolar interaction of regulated industries, environmental groups, state agencies, and federal regulators. Law students accustomed to the bipolar model of common-law legal development and who expect statutory law to consist of a simple reading of clear statutory texts can find this interest group pluralist model of law development bewildering. One way to help give context to this complex interaction is to place students in the roles of the various advocates and decision-makers in the environmental law processes. Assigning students to adopt the perspective of various distinct players in the regulatory process, such as agency lawyer, industry lawyer, and environmental NGO lawyer, helps make this complex interaction more accessible to students. This also provides an introduction into the skills of statutory interpretation and regulatory implementation. At Pace Law School, we have had considerable success integrating this approach into an Environmental Law Skills course. This course combines a comprehensive study of the Clean Water Act (CWA) regulatory program with skills-based exercises in administrative rulemaking, judicial review, regulatory permitting, negotiation, and enforcement. The course was added to the curriculum in the 1990s in response to the growing recognition by the legal academy that the traditional case-oriented method of instruction failed to result in law graduates with basic competencies expected of lawyers. The course has been refined over the years to incorporate the Carnegie Report\u27s more recent critiques: the legal education\u27s failure to foster students\u27 development of their professional identities and their understanding of lawyers\u27 role in representing clients. By integrating role-playing, problem solving, and doctrinal instruction, the course seeks to engage students in active learning and professional identity development. The course also seeks to implement recommendations for the improvement of legal instruction contained in Professor Stuckey\u27s influential 2007 report, Best Practices for Legal Education. In particular, the course seeks to “teach doctrine, theory, and practice as part of a unified, coordinated program of instruction” as recommended in that report