Recognizing Text Genres with Simple Metrics Using Discriminant Analysis

A simple method for categorizing texts into predetermined text genre categories using the statistical standard technique of discriminant analysis is demonstrated with application to the Brown corpus. Discriminant analysis makes it possible use a large number of parameters that may be specific for a certain corpus or information stream, and combine them into a small number of functions, with the parameters weighted on basis of how useful they are for discriminating text genres. An application to information retrieval is discussed.Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX, In proceedings of COLING 9

Cutting words: Priming self-objectification increases the intention to pursue cosmetic surgery

We examined whether subtle exposure to sexually objectifying cues increases women’s intentions to have cosmetic surgery. Undergraduate women (N = 116) were randomly assigned to a condition in which they unscrambled sentences containing words associated with sexual objectification, non-self-objectifying physicality, or neutral content. Following a manipulation check of these primes, participants reported their body shame and intentions to have cosmetic surgery in the future. Results revealed that priming a state of self-objectification, compared to the two non-self-objectifying conditions, increased both body shame and intentions to have cosmetic surgery. In a mediational model, the link between self-objectification and intentions to have cosmetic surgery was partially mediated by body shame. Controlling for other key intrapersonal and social motives linked to interest in cosmetic surgery did not alter these patterns. These findings highlight the potential for the consumption of cosmetic surgery to stand as another harmful micro-level consequence of self-objectification that may be perpetuated via subtle exposure to sexually objectifying words, even in the absence of visual depictions or more explicit encounters of sexual objectification

An extensible benchmark and tooling for comparing reverse engineering approaches

Various tools exist to reverse engineer software source code and generate design information, such as UML projections. Each has specific strengths and weaknesses, however no standardised benchmark exists that can be used to evaluate and compare their performance and effectiveness in a systematic manner. To facilitate such comparison in this paper we introduce the Reverse Engineering to Design Benchmark (RED-BM), which consists of a comprehensive set of Java-based targets for reverse engineering and a formal set of performance measures with which tools and approaches can be analysed and ranked. When used to evaluate 12 industry standard tools performance figures range from 8.82\% to 100\% demonstrating the ability of the benchmark to differentiate between tools. To aid the comparison, analysis and further use of reverse engineering XMI output we have developed a parser which can interpret the XMI output format of the most commonly used reverse engineering applications, and is used in a number of tools

Optical flow versus retinal flow as sources of information for flight guidance

The appropriate description is considered of visual information for flight guidance, optical flow vs. retinal flow. Most descriptions in the psychological literature are based on the optical flow. However, human eyes move and this movement complicates the issues at stake, particularly when movement of the observer is involved. The question addressed is whether an observer, whose eyes register only retinal flow, use information in optical flow. It is suggested that the observer cannot and does not reconstruct the image in optical flow; instead they use retinal flow. Retinal array is defined as the projections of a three space onto a point and beyond to a movable, nearly hemispheric sensing device, like the retina. Optical array is defined as the projection of a three space environment to a point within that space. And flow is defined as global motion as a field of vectors, best placed on a spherical projection surface. Specifically, flow is the mapping of the field of changes in position of corresponding points on objects in three space onto a point, where that point has moved in position

On the efficacy of cinema, or what the visual system did not evolve to do

Spatial displays, and a constraint that they do not place on the use of spatial instruments are discussed. Much of the work done in visual perception by psychologists and by computer scientists has concerned displays that show the motion of rigid objects. Typically, if one assumes that objects are rigid, one can then proceed to understand how the constant shape of the object can be perceived (or computed) as it moves through space. The author maintains that photographs and cinema are visual displays that are also powerful forms of art. Their efficacy, in part, stems from the fact that, although viewpoint is constrained when composing them, it is not nearly so constrained when viewing them. It is obvious, according to the author, that human visual systems did not evolve to watch movies or look at photographs. Thus, what photographs and movies present must be allowed in the rule-governed system under which vision evolved. Machine-vision algorithms, to be applicable to human vision, should show the same types of tolerance

If the tide is rising, who pays for the ark?

Two common goals of this meeting are to arrest the effects of sea level rise and other phenomena caused by Greenhouse Gases from anthropogenic sources ("GHG",) and to mitigate the effects. The fundamental questions are: (1) how to get there and (2) who should shoulder the cost? Given Washington gridlock, states, NGO's and citizens such as the Inupiat of the Village of Kivalina have turned to the courts for solutions. Current actions for public nuisance seek (1) to reduce and eventually eliminate GHG emissions, (2) damages for health effects and property damage—plus hundreds of millions in dollars spent to prepare for the foregoing. The U.S. Court of Appeals just upheld the action against the generators of some 10% of the CO2 emissions from human activities in the U.S., clearing the way for a trial featuring the state of the art scientific linkage between GHG production and the effects of global warming. Climate change impacts on coastal regions manifest most prominently through sea level rise and its impacts: beach erosion, loss of private and public structures, relocation costs, loss of use and accompanying revenues (e.g. tourism), beach replenishment and armoring costs, impacts of flooding during high water events, and loss of tax base. Other effects may include enhanced storm frequency and intensity, increased insurance risks and costs, impacts to water supplies, fires and biological changes through invasions or local extinctions (IPCC AR4, 2007; Okmyung, et al., 2007). There is an increasing urgency for federal and state governments to focus on the local and regional levels and consistently provide the information, tools, and methods necessary for adaptation. Calls for action at all levels acknowledge that a viable response must engage federal, state and local expertise, perspectives, and resources in a coordinated and collaborative effort. A workshop held in December 2000 on coastal inundation and sea level rise proposes a shared framework that can help guide where investments should be made to enable states and local governments to assess impacts and initiate adaptation strategies over the next decade. (PDF contains 5 pages

Testing uniformity on high-dimensional spheres against monotone rotationally symmetric alternatives

We consider the problem of testing uniformity on high-dimensional unit spheres. We are primarily interested in non-null issues. We show that rotationally symmetric alternatives lead to two Local Asymptotic Normality (LAN) structures. The first one is for fixed modal location $\theta$ and allows to derive locally asymptotically most powerful tests under specified $\theta$. The second one, that addresses the Fisher-von Mises-Langevin (FvML) case, relates to the unspecified-$\theta$ problem and shows that the high-dimensional Rayleigh test is locally asymptotically most powerful invariant. Under mild assumptions, we derive the asymptotic non-null distribution of this test, which allows to extend away from the FvML case the asymptotic powers obtained there from Le Cam's third lemma. Throughout, we allow the dimension $p$ to go to infinity in an arbitrary way as a function of the sample size $n$. Some of our results also strengthen the local optimality properties of the Rayleigh test in low dimensions. We perform a Monte Carlo study to illustrate our asymptotic results. Finally, we treat an application related to testing for sphericity in high dimensions

Cutting carbon, not the economy

A drastic change in the way we produce and consume energy is necessary to contain the risk of global environmental catastrophe. For its part, the EU has set agreed to a greenhouse gas reduction target of 80-95 percent by 2050, compared to 1990. However, with the current fuel mix, even the most ambitious improvements on incumbent technologies are unlikely to be sufficient for reaching the reduction targets. Meeting the targets requires low-carbon transition. However, the process of transition will likely be littered with market failures. Hundreds of more-or-less proven low-carbon technologies are competing for market share in the low-carbon system. In order to bring about the transition to a low-carbon energy and transport system at the lowest cost, policymakers should rely as much as possible on private action to choose, develop, and deploy low-carbon technologies. For those market failures that might only be overcome with technology-specific measures, governments should set up a transparent and predictable mechanism for selecting technologies. This Policy Contribution largely draws on research conducted for The great transformation: decarbonising Europeâ??s energy and transport systems. The research leading to these results has received funding from the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH). The views expressed in this publication are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FCH.