Some shortcomings of long-term working memory

Within the framework of their long-term working memory theory, Ericsson and Kintsch (1995) propose that experts rapidly store information in long-term memory through two mechanisms: elaboration of long-term memory patterns and schemas and use of retrieval structures. They use chess players’ memory as one of their most compelling sources of empirical evidence. In this paper, I show that evidence from chess memory, far from supporting their theory, limits its generality. Evidence from other domains reviewed by Ericsson and Kintsch, such as medical expertise, is not as strong as claimed, and sometimes contradicts the theory outright. I argue that Ericsson and Kintsch’s concept of retrieval structure conflates three different types of memory structures that possess quite different properties. One of these types of structures—generic, general-purpose retrieval structures—has a narrower use than proposed by Ericsson and Kintsch: it applies only in domains where there is a conscious, deliberate intent by individuals to improve their memory. Other mechanisms, including specific retrieval structures, exist that permit a rapid encoding into long-term memory under other circumstances

The Italian Business Cycle; Coincident and Leading Indicators and Some Stylized Facts

This paper analyses the business cycle properties of 183 time series relevant to the Italian economy, including real, monetary and international variables. We propose new monthly coincident and leading composite indicators for the Italian business cycle; the leading indicator anticipates the turning points of the coincident indicator on average by six months. On the methodological side, the study provides a scheme for constructing cyclical indicators on a sound statistical basis through iterative steps, combining the use of traditional NBER methods with that of more recent techniques of cyclical analysis. A number of stylized facts of the Italian business cycle emerge. Among them, money and financial variables are found to lead the cycle, chronologically, by an average of between one year and sixteen months. There is also strong evidence of synchronization of international cycles, with the US and UK cycles leading the Italian cycle by two to three quarters. The main linking channel seems to be trade, with Italian exports to EU countries leading the cycle by six months on average.business cycles, cyclical indicators, leading indicators, Italian stylized fact

INTEGRATING MULTIBAND PHOTOGRAMMETRY, SCANNING, AND GPR FOR BUILT HERITAGE SURVEYS: THE FAÇADES OF CASTELLO DEL VALENTINO

The conservation of built heritage is a complex process that necessitates co-operative efforts. Holistic, integrated documentation constitutes a crucial step towards conservation by contributing to diagnosis and by extension to the effective decision-making about the required preventive and restorative interventions. It involves the recording of interdisciplinary data to produce objective diagnostical conclusions concerning the state of preservation. Although the developments in close-range sensing techniques allow increasingly accurate and rich data recording for heritage building condition surveys, the problem of combining them (to allow integrated processing) often remains unsolved. This is particularly true when surveys include vastly heterogenous documentation data. This work aims to discuss methodologies and implications of such integrations through a monumental heritage survey case—the Castello del Valentino in Turin (Italy). Visible-spectrum and infrared imagery is combined with photogrammetric techniques, terrestrial LiDAR, and microwave measurements conducted on the historical façades’ surfaces, to examine the comprehensiveness of the data fusion results, as well as conclusions that can be drawn regarding previous interventions and the current condition of the monument

A case-based reasoning (CBR) approach to software reusability, 1994

Software reuse is an attractive approach to improving software development productivity. In this thesis, a Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) software reusability environment is developed, driven by object-oriented modelling techniques. This research discusses various aspects of the classification and retrieval mechanisms necessary to facilitate the reuse of software components. The facet classification scheme breaks down information into different categories, and this makes it possible to consider information about several different aspects or properties of the components. Facet represents the information most important with respect to reuse. Component specifications will be translated into a specification representing the facets in the classification scheme. The retrieval of software components is based on signature matching between the signatures of goal specifications and those of reusable components. The retrieval mechanism is supported by the CBR system ESTEEM