368,431 research outputs found
A Tutorial on Bayesian Nonparametric Models
A key problem in statistical modeling is model selection, how to choose a
model at an appropriate level of complexity. This problem appears in many
settings, most prominently in choosing the number ofclusters in mixture models
or the number of factors in factor analysis. In this tutorial we describe
Bayesian nonparametric methods, a class of methods that side-steps this issue
by allowing the data to determine the complexity of the model. This tutorial is
a high-level introduction to Bayesian nonparametric methods and contains
several examples of their application.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figure
Relating emotional intelligence to academic achievement among university students in Barbados
This study investigated the relationships between emotional intelligence and academic
achievement among 151 undergraduate psychology students at The University of the
West Indies (UWI), Barbados, making use of Barchard (2001)âs Emotional Intelligence
Scale and an Academic Achievement Scale. Findings revealed significant positive
correlations between academic achievement and six of the emotional intelligence
components, and a negative correlation with negative expressivity. The emotional
intelligence components also jointly contributed 48% of the variance in academic
achievement. Attending to emotions was the best predictor of academic achievement
while positive expressivity, negative expressivity and empathic concern were other
significant predictors. Emotion-based decision-making, responsive joy and responsive
distress did not make any significant relative contribution to academic achievement,
indicating that academic achievement is only partially predicted by emotional
intelligence. These results were discussed in the context of the influence of emotional
intelligence on university studentsâ academic achievement.peer-reviewe
Multi-layer Architecture For Storing Visual Data Based on WCF and Microsoft SQL Server Database
In this paper we present a novel architecture for storing visual data.
Effective storing, browsing and searching collections of images is one of the
most important challenges of computer science. The design of architecture for
storing such data requires a set of tools and frameworks such as SQL database
management systems and service-oriented frameworks. The proposed solution is
based on a multi-layer architecture, which allows to replace any component
without recompilation of other components. The approach contains five
components, i.e. Model, Base Engine, Concrete Engine, CBIR service and
Presentation. They were based on two well-known design patterns: Dependency
Injection and Inverse of Control. For experimental purposes we implemented the
SURF local interest point detector as a feature extractor and -means
clustering as indexer. The presented architecture is intended for content-based
retrieval systems simulation purposes as well as for real-world CBIR tasks.Comment: Accepted for the 14th International Conference on Artificial
Intelligence and Soft Computing, ICAISC, June 14-18, 2015, Zakopane, Polan
The role of trait emotional intelligence and social and emotional skills in studentsâ emotional and behavioural strengths and difficulties : a study of Greek adolescentsâ perceptions
The emergence of the Trait Emotional Intelligence construct shifted the interest in
personality research to the investigation of the effect of global personality characteristics
on behaviour. A second body of research in applied settings, the Social and Emotional
Learning movement, emphasized the cultivation of emotional and social skills for
positive relationships in a school environment. In this paper we investigate the role of
both personality traits and social and emotional skills, in the occurrence of emotional and
behavioural strengths and difficulties, according to adolescent studentsâ self-perceptions.
Five hundred and fifty-nine students from state secondary schools in Greece, aged 12-14
years old, completed The Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Adolescent Short
Form, The Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters, and The Strengths and
Difficulties Questionnaire. It was found that students with higher Trait Emotional
Intelligence and stronger social and emotional skills were less likely to present
emotional, conduct, hyperactivity and peer difficulties and more likely to present
prosocial behaviour. Gender was a significant factor for emotional difficulties and grade
for peer difficulties. The paper describes the underlying mechanisms of studentsâ
emotional and behavioural strengths and difficulties, and provides practical implications
for educators to improve the quality of studentsâ lives in schools.peer-reviewe
Neurophysiological Responses to Different Product Experiences
It is well known that the evaluation of a product from the shelf considers the simultaneous cerebral and emotional evaluation of
the different qualities of the product such as its colour, the eventual images shown, and the envelopeâs texture (hereafter all
included in the term âproduct experienceâ). However, the measurement of cerebral and emotional reactions during the interaction
with food products has not been investigated in depth in specialized literature. (e aim of this paper was to investigate
such reactions by the EEG and the autonomic activities, as elicited by the cross-sensory interaction (sight and touch) across several
different products. In addition, we investigated whether (i) the brand (Major Brand or Private Label), (ii) the familiarity (Foreign
or Local Brand), and (iii) the hedonic value of products (Comfort Food or Daily Food) influenced the reaction of a group of
volunteers during their interaction with the products. Results showed statistically significantly higher tendency of cerebral
approach (as indexed by EEG frontal alpha asymmetry) in response to comfort food during the visual exploration and the visual
and tactile exploration phases. Furthermore, for the same index, a higher tendency of approach has been found toward foreign
food products in comparison with local food products during the visual and tactile exploration phase. Finally, the same
comparison performed on a different index (EEG frontal theta) showed higher mental effort during the interaction with foreign
products during the visual exploration and the visual and tactile exploration phases. Results from the present study could deepen
the knowledge on the neurophysiological response to food products characterized by different nature in terms of hedonic value
familiarity; moreover, they could have implications for food marketers and finally lead to further study on how people make food
choices through the interactions with their commercial envelope
Antismoking campaignsâ perception and gender differences: a comparison among EEG Indices
Human factorsâ aim is to understand and evaluate the interactions between people and tasks, technologies, and environment. Among human factors, it is possible then to include the subjective reaction to external stimuli, due to individualâs characteristics and states of mind. These processes are also involved in the perception of antismoking public service announcements (PSAs), the main tool for governments to contrast the first cause of preventable deaths in the world: tobacco addiction. In the light of that, in the present article, it has been investigated through the comparison of different electroencephalographic (EEG) indices a typical item known to be able of influencing PSA perception, that is gender. In order to investigate the neurophysiological underpinnings of such different perception, we tested two PSAs: one with a female character and one with a male character. Furthermore, the experimental sample was divided into men and women, as well as smokers and nonsmokers. The employed EEG indices were the mental engagement (ME: the ratio between beta activity and the sum of alpha and theta activity); the approach/withdrawal (AW: the frontal alpha asymmetry in the alpha band); and the frontal theta activity and the spectral asymmetry index (SASI: the ratio between beta minus theta and beta plus theta). Results suggested that the ME and the AW presented an opposite trend, with smokers showing higher ME and lower AW than nonsmokers. The ME and the frontal theta also evidenced a statistically significant interaction between the kind of the PSA and the gender of the observers; specifically, women showed higher ME and frontal theta activity for the male character PSA. This study then supports the usefulness of the ME and frontal theta for purposes of PSAs targeting on the basis of gender issues and of the ME and the AW and for purposes of PSAs targeting on the basis of smoking habits
Image and interpretation using artificial intelligence to read ancient Roman texts
The ink and stylus tablets discovered at the Roman Fort of Vindolanda are a unique resource for scholars of ancient history. However, the stylus tablets have proved particularly difficult to read. This paper describes a system that assists expert papyrologists in the interpretation of the Vindolanda writing tablets. A model-based approach is taken that relies on models of the written form of characters, and statistical modelling of language, to produce plausible interpretations of the documents. Fusion of the contributions from the language, character, and image feature models is achieved by utilizing the GRAVA agent architecture that uses Minimum Description Length as the basis for information fusion across semantic levels. A system is developed that reads in image data and outputs plausible interpretations of the Vindolanda tablets
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