10,791 research outputs found

    Offline and Online Models for Learning Pairwise Relations in Data

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    Pairwise relations between data points are essential for numerous machine learning algorithms. Many representation learning methods consider pairwise relations to identify the latent features and patterns in the data. This thesis, investigates learning of pairwise relations from two different perspectives: offline learning and online learning.The first part of the thesis focuses on offline learning by starting with an investigation of the performance modeling of a synchronization method in concurrent programming using a Markov chain whose state transition matrix models pairwise relations between involved cores in a computer process.Then the thesis focuses on a particular pairwise distance measure, the minimax distance, and explores memory-efficient approaches to computing this distance by proposing a hierarchical representation of the data with a linear memory requirement with respect to the number of data points, from which the exact pairwise minimax distances can be derived in a memory-efficient manner. Then, a memory-efficient sampling method is proposed that follows the aforementioned hierarchical representation of the data and samples the data points in a way that the minimax distances between all data points are maximally preserved. Finally, the thesis proposes a practical non-parametric clustering of vehicle motion trajectories to annotate traffic scenarios based on transitive relations between trajectories in an embedded space.The second part of the thesis takes an online learning perspective, and starts by presenting an online learning method for identifying bottlenecks in a road network by extracting the minimax path, where bottlenecks are considered as road segments with the highest cost, e.g., in the sense of travel time. Inspired by real-world road networks, the thesis assumes a stochastic traffic environment in which the road-specific probability distribution of travel time is unknown. Therefore, it needs to learn the parameters of the probability distribution through observations by modeling the bottleneck identification task as a combinatorial semi-bandit problem. The proposed approach takes into account the prior knowledge and follows a Bayesian approach to update the parameters. Moreover, it develops a combinatorial variant of Thompson Sampling and derives an upper bound for the corresponding Bayesian regret. Furthermore, the thesis proposes an approximate algorithm to address the respective computational intractability issue.Finally, the thesis considers contextual information of road network segments by extending the proposed model to a contextual combinatorial semi-bandit framework and investigates and develops various algorithms for this contextual combinatorial setting

    Spiritual connectedness through prayer as a mediator of the relationship between Indigenous language use and positive mental health

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    Objective: The objective of this study is to understand how Indigenous language and spirituality revitalization efforts may affect mental health within Indigenous communities. Although Indigenous communities experience disproportionate rates of mental health problems, research supporting language and spirituality’s role in improving mental health is under-researched and poorly understood. Method: Data for this study are from a Community-based Participatory Research Project involving five Anishinaabe tribes in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Participants were sampled from clinic records of adults with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, living on or near the reservation, and self-identifying as American Indian (mean age = 46.3; n = 191). Result: Structural equation modeling illustrates that language use in the home is associated with positive mental health through spiritual connectedness. Conclusion: Results support tribal community expressions of the positive effects of cultural involvement for Indigenous wellbeing, and improve what is known about the interconnectedness of language and spirituality.Sociolog

    Radical Left Parties and the Role of Euroscepticism

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    Globalization has shifted the political competition landscape in Western Europe. Extensive research has studied the impact of this on the radical right, yet little attention has been paid to the radical left. This dissertation, comprised of three papers, analyses the impact of the increased European integration emphasis on the radical left. My first paper analyses whether there is a beneficial policy position for the radical left on European integration. The chapter finds that there is an electoral benefit to a Eurosceptic position for radical left parties but also shows that this benefit is constrained when a Eurosceptic competitor, i.e. radical right party, enters the party system. My second paper follows from this and examines an alternative approach for the radical left on European integration. While the benefit of a Eurosceptic position can be constrained, blurring the position on European integration can help avoid losing pro-EU voters. The chapter finds that position blurring on EU integration is beneficial when there is electorate polarization but harmful when the electorate is in consensus on EU integration. When there is consensus, radical left parties benefit from a clear position on EU integration. My third paper is co-authored with Royce Carroll and zooms into the findings of the first two chapters by examining the demand side of Euroscepticism. The paper finds that European integration is an important issue for vote choice of the electorate. The results of the chapter show that the more Eurosceptic voters are, the higher their propensity to vote for a radical left party becomes. These three papers demonstrate how the issue of European integration is in the centre of radical left strategy from a supply and demand side perspective. This thesis contributes to the literature by providing a detailed understanding of the success of small parties beyond their issue ownership

    MUFFLE: Multi-Modal Fake News Influence Estimator on Twitter

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    To alleviate the impact of fake news on our society, predicting the popularity of fake news posts on social media is a crucial problem worthy of study. However, most related studies on fake news emphasize detection only. In this paper, we focus on the issue of fake news influence prediction, i.e., inferring how popular a fake news post might become on social platforms. To achieve our goal, we propose a comprehensive framework, MUFFLE, which captures multi-modal dynamics by encoding the representation of news-related social networks, user characteristics, and content in text. The attention mechanism developed in the model can provide explainability for social or psychological analysis. To examine the effectiveness of MUFFLE, we conducted extensive experiments on real-world datasets. The experimental results show that our proposed method outperforms both state-of-the-art methods of popularity prediction and machine-based baselines in top-k NDCG and hit rate. Through the experiments, we also analyze the feature importance for predicting fake news influence via the explainability provided by MUFFLE

    The determinants of value addition: a crtitical analysis of global software engineering industry in Sri Lanka

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    It was evident through the literature that the perceived value delivery of the global software engineering industry is low due to various facts. Therefore, this research concerns global software product companies in Sri Lanka to explore the software engineering methods and practices in increasing the value addition. The overall aim of the study is to identify the key determinants for value addition in the global software engineering industry and critically evaluate the impact of them for the software product companies to help maximise the value addition to ultimately assure the sustainability of the industry. An exploratory research approach was used initially since findings would emerge while the study unfolds. Mixed method was employed as the literature itself was inadequate to investigate the problem effectively to formulate the research framework. Twenty-three face-to-face online interviews were conducted with the subject matter experts covering all the disciplines from the targeted organisations which was combined with the literature findings as well as the outcomes of the market research outcomes conducted by both government and nongovernment institutes. Data from the interviews were analysed using NVivo 12. The findings of the existing literature were verified through the exploratory study and the outcomes were used to formulate the questionnaire for the public survey. 371 responses were considered after cleansing the total responses received for the data analysis through SPSS 21 with alpha level 0.05. Internal consistency test was done before the descriptive analysis. After assuring the reliability of the dataset, the correlation test, multiple regression test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) test were carried out to fulfil the requirements of meeting the research objectives. Five determinants for value addition were identified along with the key themes for each area. They are staffing, delivery process, use of tools, governance, and technology infrastructure. The cross-functional and self-organised teams built around the value streams, employing a properly interconnected software delivery process with the right governance in the delivery pipelines, selection of tools and providing the right infrastructure increases the value delivery. Moreover, the constraints for value addition are poor interconnection in the internal processes, rigid functional hierarchies, inaccurate selections and uses of tools, inflexible team arrangements and inadequate focus for the technology infrastructure. The findings add to the existing body of knowledge on increasing the value addition by employing effective processes, practices and tools and the impacts of inaccurate applications the same in the global software engineering industry

    Modeling Uncertainty for Reliable Probabilistic Modeling in Deep Learning and Beyond

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    [ES] Esta tesis se enmarca en la intersección entre las técnicas modernas de Machine Learning, como las Redes Neuronales Profundas, y el modelado probabilístico confiable. En muchas aplicaciones, no solo nos importa la predicción hecha por un modelo (por ejemplo esta imagen de pulmón presenta cáncer) sino también la confianza que tiene el modelo para hacer esta predicción (por ejemplo esta imagen de pulmón presenta cáncer con 67% probabilidad). En tales aplicaciones, el modelo ayuda al tomador de decisiones (en este caso un médico) a tomar la decisión final. Como consecuencia, es necesario que las probabilidades proporcionadas por un modelo reflejen las proporciones reales presentes en el conjunto al que se ha asignado dichas probabilidades; de lo contrario, el modelo es inútil en la práctica. Cuando esto sucede, decimos que un modelo está perfectamente calibrado. En esta tesis se exploran tres vias para proveer modelos más calibrados. Primero se muestra como calibrar modelos de manera implicita, que son descalibrados por técnicas de aumentación de datos. Se introduce una función de coste que resuelve esta descalibración tomando como partida las ideas derivadas de la toma de decisiones con la regla de Bayes. Segundo, se muestra como calibrar modelos utilizando una etapa de post calibración implementada con una red neuronal Bayesiana. Finalmente, y en base a las limitaciones estudiadas en la red neuronal Bayesiana, que hipotetizamos que se basan en un prior mispecificado, se introduce un nuevo proceso estocástico que sirve como distribución a priori en un problema de inferencia Bayesiana.[CA] Aquesta tesi s'emmarca en la intersecció entre les tècniques modernes de Machine Learning, com ara les Xarxes Neuronals Profundes, i el modelatge probabilístic fiable. En moltes aplicacions, no només ens importa la predicció feta per un model (per ejemplem aquesta imatge de pulmó presenta càncer) sinó també la confiança que té el model per fer aquesta predicció (per exemple aquesta imatge de pulmó presenta càncer amb 67% probabilitat). En aquestes aplicacions, el model ajuda el prenedor de decisions (en aquest cas un metge) a prendre la decisió final. Com a conseqüència, cal que les probabilitats proporcionades per un model reflecteixin les proporcions reals presents en el conjunt a què s'han assignat aquestes probabilitats; altrament, el model és inútil a la pràctica. Quan això passa, diem que un model està perfectament calibrat. En aquesta tesi s'exploren tres vies per proveir models més calibrats. Primer es mostra com calibrar models de manera implícita, que són descalibrats per tècniques d'augmentació de dades. S'introdueix una funció de cost que resol aquesta descalibració prenent com a partida les idees derivades de la presa de decisions amb la regla de Bayes. Segon, es mostra com calibrar models utilitzant una etapa de post calibratge implementada amb una xarxa neuronal Bayesiana. Finalment, i segons les limitacions estudiades a la xarxa neuronal Bayesiana, que es basen en un prior mispecificat, s'introdueix un nou procés estocàstic que serveix com a distribució a priori en un problema d'inferència Bayesiana.[EN] This thesis is framed at the intersection between modern Machine Learning techniques, such as Deep Neural Networks, and reliable probabilistic modeling. In many machine learning applications, we do not only care about the prediction made by a model (e.g. this lung image presents cancer) but also in how confident is the model in making this prediction (e.g. this lung image presents cancer with 67% probability). In such applications, the model assists the decision-maker (in this case a doctor) towards making the final decision. As a consequence, one needs that the probabilities provided by a model reflects the true underlying set of outcomes, otherwise the model is useless in practice. When this happens, we say that a model is perfectly calibrated. In this thesis three ways are explored to provide more calibrated models. First, it is shown how to calibrate models implicitly, which are decalibrated by data augmentation techniques. A cost function is introduced that solves this decalibration taking as a starting point the ideas derived from decision making with Bayes' rule. Second, it shows how to calibrate models using a post-calibration stage implemented with a Bayesian neural network. Finally, and based on the limitations studied in the Bayesian neural network, which we hypothesize that came from a mispecified prior, a new stochastic process is introduced that serves as a priori distribution in a Bayesian inference problem.Maroñas Molano, J. (2022). Modeling Uncertainty for Reliable Probabilistic Modeling in Deep Learning and Beyond [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/181582TESI

    From wallet to mobile: exploring how mobile payments create customer value in the service experience

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    This study explores how mobile proximity payments (MPP) (e.g., Apple Pay) create customer value in the service experience compared to traditional payment methods (e.g. cash and card). The main objectives were firstly to understand how customer value manifests as an outcome in the MPP service experience, and secondly to understand how the customer activities in the process of using MPP create customer value. To achieve these objectives a conceptual framework is built upon the Grönroos-Voima Value Model (Grönroos and Voima, 2013), and uses the Theory of Consumption Value (Sheth et al., 1991) to determine the customer value constructs for MPP, which is complimented with Script theory (Abelson, 1981) to determine the value creating activities the consumer does in the process of paying with MPP. The study uses a sequential exploratory mixed methods design, wherein the first qualitative stage uses two methods, self-observations (n=200) and semi-structured interviews (n=18). The subsequent second quantitative stage uses an online survey (n=441) and Structural Equation Modelling analysis to further examine the relationships and effect between the value creating activities and customer value constructs identified in stage one. The academic contributions include the development of a model of mobile payment services value creation in the service experience, introducing the concept of in-use barriers which occur after adoption and constrains the consumers existing use of MPP, and revealing the importance of the mobile in-hand momentary condition as an antecedent state. Additionally, the customer value perspective of this thesis demonstrates an alternative to the dominant Information Technology approaches to researching mobile payments and broadens the view of technology from purely an object a user interacts with to an object that is immersed in consumers’ daily life

    Influence of Inter-Jet Spacing on the Diesel Spray Formation and Combustion

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    [ES] La creciente aversión pública contra los motores de combustión interna ha llevado a un fuerte deseo de cambio hacia fuentes de energía renovables y más limpias. Sin embargo, todavía es difícil reemplazar los combustibles líquidos derivados del petróleo como fuente primaria de energía, principalmente debido a su gran disponibilidad, confiabilidad, y asequibilidad. Por lo tanto, la comunidad científica debe mantener los esfuerzos para aumentar la eficiencia de estos motores en beneficio de la sociedad. Con respecto a los motores diésel, una técnica implementada ha sido aumentar el número de orificios de salida del inyector y reducir sus diámetros, mejorando el proceso de mezcla aire/combustible. Sin embargo, a medida que aumenta el número de orificios en la boquilla, también aumenta la proximidad entre ellos, lo que lleva a una reducción en el espacio disponible para que cada chorro se desarrolle sin interactuar con los chorros adyacentes. Esta interacción podría afectar el evento de combustión y sus implicaciones no se han definido por completo. De esta manera, la presente tesis tuvo como objetivo analizar la influencia del espaciamiento entre chorros en el desarrollo de la inyección, y mejorar la metodología empleada en el instituto para estudiar el chorro en inyectores multi-orificios, teniendo en cuenta las interacciones entre chorros. Con este objetivo, Continental fabricó dos inyectores diésel idénticos excepto por la distribución geométrica de los orificios de salida de cada boquilla, ya que se destinaron específicamente a estudiar la influencia del espaciamiento entre chorros en el evento de inyección. Concretamente, el primer inyector permitió estudiar, durante el mismo evento de inyección, el desarrollo de un chorro aislado en un lado de la boquilla y, en la cara opuesta, cinco chorros con un espaciamiento entre ellos de 30°. Por otro lado, el segundo inyector tiene dos distribuciones de orificios adicionales, por lo que un total de tres configuraciones de espaciado entre chorros (30° - 36° - 45°) fueron comparadas con el rendimiento del chorro aislado (espaciado = 120°). Además, se probaron con éxito una nueva ventana óptica y un espejo de cerámica de alta temperatura. Con respecto al retraso de la ignición, los chorros con chorros vecinos tendieron a tener valores de retraso de la ignición iguales o ligeramente inferiores a los del chorro aislado en condiciones pobres de contorno (baja presión del raíl, temperatura, o densidad de la cámara). Por otro lado, el efecto contrario se observó al aumentar los valores de las condiciones de contorno, con valores de retraso de la ignición iguales o más altos para los chorros con chorros vecinos. No obstante, no se observó una tendencia clara, con interacciones complejas y múltiples factores afectando simultáneamente el evento de ignición. Sobre la longitud de levantamiento de llama, los resultados mostraron que al alcanzar cierta proximidad entre los chorros, la interacción entre ellos se convierte en un factor predominante en su comportamiento, y dicha longitud se reduce considerablemente. Por otro lado, a medida que aumentaba el espaciado entre chorros, la longitud se aproximaba gradualmente a la obtenida con el chorro aislado. En cuanto a la formación de hollín, los chorros con menor espaciado con sus chorros vecinos (30° y 36°) generalmente tuvieron mayor espesor óptico KL y valores máximos de masa de hollín para una condición de contorno dada, en comparación con el desarrollo del chorro aislado. Estas tendencias están en línea con los resultados de la longitud de levantamiento de llama observados, en los que los chorros estrechamente espaciados tuevieron una longitud más corta debido (posiblemente) al englobamiento de gases calientes. Esta reducción deterioraría el proceso de mezcla de aire/combustible y, en consecuencia, la combustión ocurriría en condiciones de mezcla más ricas que son propicias para la formación de hollín.[CA] La creixent aversió pública contra els motors de combustió interna ha portat a un fort desig de canvi cap a fonts d'energia renovables i més netes. Tot i aixó, encara és difícil substituir els combustibles líquids derivats del petroli com a font primària d'energia, principalment per la seva gran disponibilitat, seguretat, i assequibilitat. Per tant, la comunitat científica ha de mantenir la investigació per tal d'augmentar l'eficiència d'aquests motors en benefici de la societat. Pel que fa als motors dièsel, una tècnica implementada ha estat augmentar el nombre d'orificis de sortida de l'injector i reduir els seus diàmetres, millorant el procés de barreja aire/combustible. No obstant això, a mesura que augmenta el nombre d'orificis a la tovera, també augmenta la proximitat entre ells, fet que porta a una reducció a l'espai disponible perquè cada raig es desenvolupi sense interactuar amb els dolls adjacents. Aquesta interacció podria afectar l'esdeveniment de la combustió i les seves implicacions no s'han definit del tot. D'aquesta manera, aquesta tesi va tenir com a objectiu analitzar la influència de l'espaiament entre dolls en el desenvolupament de la injecció, i millorar la metodologia emprada a l'institut per a estudiar els esdeveniments d'injecció d'injectors de múltiples orificis, tenint en compte les interaccions entre dolls. Amb aquest objectiu, Continental va fabricar dos injectors dièsel amb idèntic disseny intern excepte per la distribució geomètrica dels orificis de sortida de cada tovera, ja que es van destinar específicament a estudiar la influència de l'espaiament entre dolls a l'esdeveniment d'injecció. Concretament, el primer injector va permetre estudiar, durant el mateix esdeveniment d'injecció, el desenvolupament d'un raig solitari en un costat del tovera i, a la cara oposada, cinc raigs amb un espai entre ells de 30°. D'altra banda, el segon injector té dues distribucions d'orificis addicionals, aconseguint que un total de tres configuracions d'espaiat entre dolls (30°-36°-45°) es compararen amb el rendiment del raig solitari (espaiat = 120°). A més, es van provar amb èxit una nova finestra òptica i un mirall de ceràmica d'alta temperatura. Pel que fa al retard de la ignició, els dolls amb dolls adjacents van tendir a tenir valors de retard de la ignició iguals o lleugerament inferiors als del raig solitari en condicions pobres de contorn (baixa pressió del rail, temperatura, o densitat de la càmera). D'altra banda, l'efecte contrari es va observar augmentant els valors de les condicions de contorn, amb valors de retard de la ignició iguals o més alts per als dolls amb dolls adjacents. Tot i això, no es va apreciar un efecte constant, amb interaccions complexes i múltiples factors afectant simultàniament l'esdeveniment d'ignició. Sobre la longitud d'aixecament de flama, els resultats van mostrar que en assolir certa proximitat entre els dolls, la interacció entre ells es converteix en un factor predominant en el seu comportament, reduint-se considerablement aquesta longitud. D'altra banda, a mesura que augmentava l'espaiat entre dolls, la longitud s'aproximava gradualment a l'obtinguda amb el raig solitari. Quant a la formació de sutge, els raigs amb menor espaiat amb els seus raigs adjacents (30° i 36°) generalment van tenir més gruix òptic KL i valors màxims de massa de sutge per a una condició de contorn donada, en comparació amb el desenvolupament del raig solitari. Aquestes tendències estan aliniades amb els resultats de la longitud d'aixecament de flama observats, en què els dolls estretament espaiats van tenir una longitud més curta degut (possiblement) a l'englobament de gasos calents. Aquesta reducció deterioraria el procés de barreja d'aire/combustible i, en per tant, la combustió ocorreria en condicions de mescla més riques que són propícies per a la formació de sutge.[EN] The growing public aversion to internal combustion engines has led to a strong desire to shift towards renewable and cleaner energy sources. However, it is still hard to replace petroleum-derived liquid fuels as the primary energy source, mainly due to their plenty of availability, reliability, and affordability. Then, efforts have to come from the research community to increase the efficiency of these engines for the benefit of society. Regarding diesel engines, one implemented technique has been to increase the number of outlet holes of the injector and reduce their diameters, enhancing the air/fuel mixing process. Nevertheless, as the number of holes in the nozzle increases, so does the proximity between them, leading to a reduction in the space available for each jet to develop without interacting with the neighbor sprays. This interaction could affect the combustion event, and its implications have not been entirely defined. Thus, the present thesis aimed to analyze the influence of inter-jet spacing on the injection development and enhance the methodology employed in the institute to study injection events of multi-holes injectors, accounting for the interactions between jets. To this end, two diesel injectors with six outlet orifices were manufactured by Continental with identical design, except for the geometric distribution of the outlet holes of each nozzle, as they were specifically allocated to study the influence of inter-jet spacing on the injection event. Concretely, the first injector allowed the study of the development of an isolated spray on one side and a spray with an inter-jet spacing of 30° on the other side during the same injection event. Moreover, the second injector has two additional orifices distributions, so a total of three inter-jet spacing configurations (30°- 36° - 45°) were compared to the performance of the isolated spray (spacing = 120°). Additionally, a novel optical window and high-temperature ceramic mirror were successfully tested. Regarding the ignition delay, sprays with neighbor jets tended to have equal or slightly smaller ignition delay values under poor mixing and ignition conditions (low rail pressure, chamber temperature, or chamber density conditions). On the other hand, the opposite effect was generally observed as the boundary conditions were overall increased, with equal or higher ignition delay values within sprays with neighbor jets, compared to that of the isolated spray. Nonetheless, no clear trend was defined, with complex interactions and multiple factors simultaneously affecting the ignition event. On the lift-off length, the results showed that after certain proximity between sprays is reached, the interaction between the jets becomes a predominant factor in their behavior, and the lift-off length is considerably reduced. Moreover, as the inter-jet spacing increases, the performance gradually approaches that obtained from the isolated spray. Respecting the soot formation, the sprays with closely spaced neighbor jets (30° and 36°) generally had higher optical thickness KL and peak soot mass values for a given boundary condition when compared to the development of the isolated spray. These trends are in line with the lift-off length results observed, in which the closely spaced jets had a shorter lift-off length due to (plausibly) hot gases re-entrainment. This shortening would deteriorate the air/fuel mixing process and, consequently, combustion happens in richer mixture conditions that are suitable for soot formation.I want to express my gratitude to Generalitat Valenciana and European Social Fund for the financial support provided through the research grant (ACIF/2018/122)Montiel Prieto, TE. (2022). Influence of Inter-Jet Spacing on the Diesel Spray Formation and Combustion [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/181608TESI
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