263,383 research outputs found
Tensor Decompositions for Signal Processing Applications From Two-way to Multiway Component Analysis
The widespread use of multi-sensor technology and the emergence of big
datasets has highlighted the limitations of standard flat-view matrix models
and the necessity to move towards more versatile data analysis tools. We show
that higher-order tensors (i.e., multiway arrays) enable such a fundamental
paradigm shift towards models that are essentially polynomial and whose
uniqueness, unlike the matrix methods, is guaranteed under verymild and natural
conditions. Benefiting fromthe power ofmultilinear algebra as theirmathematical
backbone, data analysis techniques using tensor decompositions are shown to
have great flexibility in the choice of constraints that match data properties,
and to find more general latent components in the data than matrix-based
methods. A comprehensive introduction to tensor decompositions is provided from
a signal processing perspective, starting from the algebraic foundations, via
basic Canonical Polyadic and Tucker models, through to advanced cause-effect
and multi-view data analysis schemes. We show that tensor decompositions enable
natural generalizations of some commonly used signal processing paradigms, such
as canonical correlation and subspace techniques, signal separation, linear
regression, feature extraction and classification. We also cover computational
aspects, and point out how ideas from compressed sensing and scientific
computing may be used for addressing the otherwise unmanageable storage and
manipulation problems associated with big datasets. The concepts are supported
by illustrative real world case studies illuminating the benefits of the tensor
framework, as efficient and promising tools for modern signal processing, data
analysis and machine learning applications; these benefits also extend to
vector/matrix data through tensorization. Keywords: ICA, NMF, CPD, Tucker
decomposition, HOSVD, tensor networks, Tensor Train
Time-dependent opportunities in energy business : a comparative study of locally available renewable and conventional fuels
This work investigates and compares energy-related, private business strategies, potentially interesting for investors willing to exploit either local biomass sources or strategic conventional fuels. Two distinct fuels and related power-production technologies are compared as a case study, in terms of economic efficiency: the biomass of cotton stalks and the natural gas. The carbon capture and storage option are also investigated for power plants based on both fuel types. The model used in this study investigates important economic aspects using a "real options" method instead of traditional Discounted Cash Flow techniques, as it might handle in a more effective way the problems arising from the stochastic nature of significant cash flow contributors' evolution like electricity, fuel and CO(2) allowance prices. The capital costs have also a functional relationship with time, thus providing an additional reason for implementing, "real options" as well as the learning-curves technique. The methodology as well as the results presented in this work, may lead to interesting conclusions and affect potential private investment strategies and future decision making. This study indicates that both technologies lead to positive investment yields, with the natural gas being more profitable for the case study examined, while the carbon capture and storage does not seem to be cost efficient with the current CO(2) allowance prices. Furthermore, low interest rates might encourage potential investors to wait before actualising their business plans while higher interest rates favor immediate investment decisions. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
ScratchMaths: evaluation report and executive summary
Since 2014, computing has been part of the primary curriculum. āScratchā is frequently used by schools, and the EEF funded this trial to test whether the platform could be used to improve pupilsā computational thinking skills, and whether this in turn could have a positive impact on Key Stage 2 maths attainment. Good computational thinking skills mean pupils can use problem solving methods that involve expressing problems and their solutions in ways that a computer could execute ā for example, recognising patterns. Previous research has shown that pupils with better computational thinking skills do better in maths.
The study found a positive impact on computational thinking skills at the end of Year 5 ā particularly for pupils who have ever been eligible for free school meals. However, there was no evidence of an impact on Key Stage 2 maths attainment when pupils were tested at the end of Year 6.
Many of the schools in the trial did not fully implement ScratchMaths, particularly in Year 6, where teachers expressed concerns about the pressure of Key Stage 2 SATs. But there was no evidence that schools which did implement the programme had better maths results.
Schools may be interested in ScratchMaths as an affordable way to cover aspects of the primary computing curriculum in maths lessons without any adverse effect on core maths outcomes. This trial, however, did not provide evidence that ScratchMaths is an effective way to improve maths outcomes
Neural population coding: combining insights from microscopic and mass signals
Behavior relies on the distributed and coordinated activity of neural populations. Population activity can be measured using multi-neuron recordings and neuroimaging. Neural recordings reveal how the heterogeneity, sparseness, timing, and correlation of population activity shape information processing in local networks, whereas neuroimaging shows how long-range coupling and brain states impact on local activity and perception. To obtain an integrated perspective on neural information processing we need to combine knowledge from both levels of investigation. We review recent progress of how neural recordings, neuroimaging, and computational approaches begin to elucidate how interactions between local neural population activity and large-scale dynamics shape the structure and coding capacity of local information representations, make them state-dependent, and control distributed populations that collectively shape behavior
Computational Controversy
Climate change, vaccination, abortion, Trump: Many topics are surrounded by
fierce controversies. The nature of such heated debates and their elements have
been studied extensively in the social science literature. More recently,
various computational approaches to controversy analysis have appeared, using
new data sources such as Wikipedia, which help us now better understand these
phenomena. However, compared to what social sciences have discovered about such
debates, the existing computational approaches mostly focus on just a few of
the many important aspects around the concept of controversies. In order to
link the two strands, we provide and evaluate here a controversy model that is
both, rooted in the findings of the social science literature and at the same
time strongly linked to computational methods. We show how this model can lead
to computational controversy analytics that have full coverage over all the
crucial aspects that make up a controversy.Comment: In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Social
Informatics (SocInfo) 201
What are the main drivers of the Bitcoin price? Evidence from wavelet coherence analysis
Bitcoin has emerged as a fascinating phenomenon of the financial markets.
Without any central authority issuing the currency, it has been associated with
controversy ever since its popularity and public interest reached high levels.
Here, we contribute to the discussion by examining potential drivers of Bitcoin
prices ranging from fundamental to speculative and technical sources as well as
a potential influence of the Chinese market. The evolution of the relationships
is examined in both time and frequency domains utilizing the continuous
wavelets framework so that we comment on development of the interconnections in
time but we can also distinguish between short-term and long-term connections.Comment: 19 pages, 5 figure
Random-set methods identify distinct aspects of the enrichment signal in gene-set analysis
A prespecified set of genes may be enriched, to varying degrees, for genes
that have altered expression levels relative to two or more states of a cell.
Knowing the enrichment of gene sets defined by functional categories, such as
gene ontology (GO) annotations, is valuable for analyzing the biological
signals in microarray expression data. A common approach to measuring
enrichment is by cross-classifying genes according to membership in a
functional category and membership on a selected list of significantly altered
genes. A small Fisher's exact test -value, for example, in this
table is indicative of enrichment. Other category analysis methods retain the
quantitative gene-level scores and measure significance by referring a
category-level statistic to a permutation distribution associated with the
original differential expression problem. We describe a class of random-set
scoring methods that measure distinct components of the enrichment signal. The
class includes Fisher's test based on selected genes and also tests that
average gene-level evidence across the category. Averaging and selection
methods are compared empirically using Affymetrix data on expression in
nasopharyngeal cancer tissue, and theoretically using a location model of
differential expression. We find that each method has a domain of superiority
in the state space of enrichment problems, and that both methods have benefits
in practice. Our analysis also addresses two problems related to
multiple-category inference, namely, that equally enriched categories are not
detected with equal probability if they are of different sizes, and also that
there is dependence among category statistics owing to shared genes. Random-set
enrichment calculations do not require Monte Carlo for implementation. They are
made available in the R package allez.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/07-AOAS104 in the Annals of
Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
- ā¦