Cyclic transfers in school timetabling

In this paper we propose a neighbourhood structure based on sequential/cyclic moves and a cyclic transfer algorithm for the high school timetabling problem. This method enables execution of complex moves for improving an existing solution, while dealing with the challenge of exploring the neighbourhood efficiently. An improvement graph is used in which certain negative cycles correspond to the neighbours; these cycles are explored using a recursive method. We address the problem of applying large neighbourhood structure methods on problems where the cost function is not exactly the sum of independent cost functions, as it is in the set partitioning problem. For computational experiments we use four real world data sets for high school timetabling in the Netherlands and England.We present results of the cyclic transfer algorithm with different settings on these data sets. The costs decrease by 8–28% if we use the cyclic transfers for local optimization compared to our initial solutions. The quality of the best initial solutions are comparable to the solutions found in practice by timetablers

Cyclic transfers in school timetabling

In this paper we propose a neighbourhood structure based\ud on sequential/cyclic moves and a Cyclic Transfer algorithm for the high school timetabling problem. This method enables execution of complex moves for improving an existing solution, while dealing with the challenge of exploring the neighbourhood efficiently. An improvement graph is used in which certain negative cycles correspond to the neighbours; these cycles are explored using a recursive method. We address the problem of applying large neighbourhood structure methods on problems where the cost function is not exactly the sum of independent cost functions, as it is in the set partitioning problem. For computational experiments we use four real world datasets for high school timetabling in the Netherlands and England. We present results of the cyclic transfer algorithm with different settings on these datasets. The costs decrease by 8% to 28% if we use the cyclic transfers for local optimization compared to our initial solutions. The quality of the best initial solutions are comparable to the solutions found in practice by timetablers

Cranial and post cranial metric sex estimation in modern Thai and Native American individuals

Historically, metric and morphological standards used in forensic anthropology and bioarcheology were derived from individuals of European and African descent and ancient Native Americans. However, it is unlikely that these standards can be accurately applied to modern Asian populations. Due to different population histories, it is hypothesized that ancient Native American and modern Thai individuals are metrically distinct. This study investigates the metric differences in sexual dimorphism between 102 Native American (American Museum of Natural History) and 100 modern Thai (Khon Kaen University) individuals 17 to 96 years of age. A total of 28 cranial, 9 mandibular and 58 postcranial measurements were compared between Native American and Thai individuals. Subsequently, select measurements were tested in Spradley and Jantz's (2011) American Black and White sex estimation equations to see how equations derived from non-Asian populations perform on Native American and Thai individuals and to ascertain if population differences exist in the expression of sexual dimorphism. Lastly, population-specific logistic regression equations were developed for both sample populations. Using logistic regression equations and discriminant function analyses - quasi-ordinary least squares, the Native American and Thai groups are significantly different in the expression of sexual dimorphism. Further, Spradley and Jantz's (2011) equations often fail to correctly classify Native American and Thai individuals. In particular, the equations derived from American Black and White individuals frequently classified modern Thai and Native American males as females. Conversely, three American White equations and eight American Black equations classified more females as males for both populations. Therefore, the metric sex estimation methods developed on non-Asian populations do not adequately classify Native American and Thai individuals. The application of sex estimation methods developed on non-Asian populations results in reduced discriminatory power because Native Americans and Thais are less sexually dimorphic than African and European American individuals. The equations developed on the modern Thai sample correctly classified 71.1 - 96.0% of the individuals, while those developed on the Native American samples correctly 78.1 - 97.8%

The civilizing process in London’s Old Bailey

The jury trial is a critical point where the state and its citizens come together to define the limits of acceptable behavior. Here we present a large-scale quantitative analysis of trial transcripts from the Old Bailey that reveal a major transition in the nature of this defining moment. By coarse-graining the spoken word testimony into synonym sets and dividing the trials based on indictment, we demonstrate the emergence of semantically distinct violent and nonviolent trial genres. We show that although in the late 18th century the semantic content of trials for violent offenses is functionally indistinguishable from that for nonviolent ones, a long-term, secular trend drives the system toward increasingly clear distinctions between violent and nonviolent acts. We separate this process into the shifting patterns that drive it, determine the relative effects of bureaucratic change and broader cultural shifts, and identify the synonym sets most responsible for the eventual genre distinguishability. This work provides a new window onto the cultural and institutional changes that accompany the monopolization of violence by the state, described in qualitative historical analysis as the civilizing process

The Effect of Mulch, Pruning and Plant Density on Some Traits of Related to Production in Pepino

Pepino (Solanum muricatum) a new vegetable crops, is from Solanaceae family and cultivated as annual crops. In order to investigate the effects of mulch, pruning and plant density on some traits of related to production in Pepino, an experiment was conducted based on a randomized complete design with five replications at the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad greenhouse during 2009-2010. Traits such as leaf area, number of panicles per plant, number of fruits per plant, fruit length, fruit diameter and fruit weight. Treatment included: 3 levels of mulch (rice straw mulch, wood chips mulch and control), 3 levels of prune (two peduncular, 3 peduncular and controls) and 2 levels of plant density (3.3 and 4.3 plants per m2). The results indicated that the effect of mulch in all of the traits was significant (p≤0.01). Wood chips mulch in all of the traits was better than rice straw and control. Pruning was significant in all of the traits. The number of panicles and the number of fruits per plant were higher in tree peduncular but increasing the number of fruits was associated with a reduction in size. Interaction between mulch and pruning was significant in all of the traits. Plant density applied had significant effects on traits related to fruit

On Mean Dependency Distance as a Metric of Translation Quality Assessment

This paper has adopted a quantitative approach to carry out a linguistic study, within the theoretical framework of dependency grammar. Translation is a process where source language and target language interact with each other. The present study aims at exploring the feasibility of mean dependency distance as a metric for automated translation quality assessment. The current research hypothesized that different levels of translation are significantly different in the aspect of mean dependency distance. Data of this study were based on the written translation in Parallel Corpus of Chinese EFL Learners which was composed of translations from Chinese EFL learners in various topic. The translations were human-scored to determine the levels of translation, according to which the translations were categorized. Our results indicated that: (1) senior students perform better in translation than junior students, and mean dependency distance of translations from senior group is significantly shorter than the junior; (2) high quality translations yield shorter mean dependency distance than the low quality translations; (3) mean dependency distance of translations is moderately correlated with the human score. The resultant implication suggests the potential for mean dependency distance in differentiating translations of different quality

Mathematical Models for the Comparison of Teaching Strategies in Primary School

Starting from the considerations on modern school of some important scholars, which highlight the complexity of the school system, an analytical path is outlined to identify the best strategies by means of a mathematical model. The method followed is the analytical hierarchical one of Saaty that starts from the investigation of the various objectives, criteria and strategies, and indicates procedures to assign qualitative judgments and to transform them into numerical scores. In particular the AHP procedure is applied to find the degree of effectiveness of various strategies for teaching English, in relation to possible contexts that may arise

Los Angeles County Arts Commission Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative Literature Review

This literature review is intended to investigate and provide background information on how others have addressed the question of improving "diversity in cultural organizations, in the areas of their leadership, staffing, programming and audience composition", both through academic research and practitioner experience. The literature lends these concepts into a division by slightly different categories, as follows: Boards of Directors in Arts and Culture Organizations The Arts and Culture Workforce Audiences and ProgrammingAudiences and programming are closely intertwined in the literature, and thus are combined in this report. Culturally specific arts organizations and their potential contribution to diversity, cultural equity and inclusion in the arts ecology emerged as a potentially powerful but not yet fully understood set of actors, so this topic was added as a fourth section in this report: Culturally Specific Arts OrganizationsThe report begins with a background discussion on diversity, cultural equity and inclusion in arts and culture, and it concludes with a series of broad lessons that emerged from the literature that apply to all four of the areas identified by the Board of Supervisors in their motion

Keyon College Bulletin 1950 Catalogue

https://digital.kenyon.edu/coursecatalogs/1134/thumbnail.jp

Regulatory and Financial Influence of Federal Government Activities on Local Economies: A Three Essay Approach

This dissertation examines the effects of federal government activities on local economies. Three research questions are addressed: How do federal environmental regulations influence local economic growth?, What regional factors influence the spatial distribution of federal conservation programs?, and How does location-based federal funding effect economic resilience within the targeted region? Regional economic analysis, spatial analysis, and spatial econometric techniques are implemented to answer these questions. The first essay examines the effects of the air pollution standards on county level economic growth. The results illustrate, in the long run, the impacted regions have adapted to the changes in the pollution standards. To meet these abatement standards, regions are becoming less dependent upon the manufacturing industry and other polluting industries, and diversifying their industry portfolio. The second essay identifies regional determinants of participation in federal conservation programs in West Virginia. These results indicate that Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) is strategically targeting areas to promote efficient farm management techniques and to protect stream water quality. Access to information and nearby resources, such as an NRCS field office, also has a significant effect on conservation practice adoption. The third essay evaluates the significance of Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) project investments on local economic resilience. Our analysis also evaluates characteristics to identify local or regional policy strategies to further promote resilience throughout the Appalachian region. ARC project investments are positively related to economic resilience and are most beneficial as a regional cooperative policy strategy approach