237,998 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Evaluating the resilience and security of boundaryless, evolving socio-technical Systems of Systems
REFORMING THE DELIVERY OF PUBLIC DENTAL SERVICES IN IRELAND: POTENTIAL COST IMPLICATIONS. ESRI RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 80 APRIL 2019
This report details the results of an analysis of the potential cost implications of
proposed changes to aspects of the model of delivery of publicly-financed dental
services in Ireland, as set out in the new National Oral Health Policy (Department
of Health, 2018b). Currently, dental services in Ireland are financed and delivered
in a mixed public-private system, with most individuals paying out-of-pocket fees
to independent dental practitioners. The public system currently finances the
delivery of dental healthcare services to adult medical cardholders via the Dental
Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS); to non-medical cardholder eligible adults via
the Treatment Benefit Scheme (TBS); and to children and adults requiring special
and complex care via the Public Dental Service (PDS). This report deals with
proposed changes to the delivery of preventive dental healthcare services under
the DTSS and PDS
Surprising comparative properties of monetary models : results from a new model database
In this paper we investigate the comparative properties of empirically-estimated monetary models of the U.S. economy using a new database of models designed for such investigations. We focus on three representative models due to Christiano, Eichenbaum, Evans (2005), Smets and Wouters (2007) and Taylor (1993a). Although these models differ in terms of structure, estimation method, sample period, and data vintage, we find surprisingly similar economic impacts of unanticipated changes in the federal funds rate. However, optimized monetary policy rules differ across models and lack robustness. Model averaging offers an effective strategy for improving the robustness of policy rules
Dropout Model Evaluation in MOOCs
The field of learning analytics needs to adopt a more rigorous approach for
predictive model evaluation that matches the complex practice of
model-building. In this work, we present a procedure to statistically test
hypotheses about model performance which goes beyond the state-of-the-practice
in the community to analyze both algorithms and feature extraction methods from
raw data. We apply this method to a series of algorithms and feature sets
derived from a large sample of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). While a
complete comparison of all potential modeling approaches is beyond the scope of
this paper, we show that this approach reveals a large gap in dropout
prediction performance between forum-, assignment-, and clickstream-based
feature extraction methods, where the latter is significantly better than the
former two, which are in turn indistinguishable from one another. This work has
methodological implications for evaluating predictive or AI-based models of
student success, and practical implications for the design and targeting of
at-risk student models and interventions
Recommended from our members
Enhancing Fault / Intrusion Tolerance through Design and Configuration Diversity
Fault/intrusion tolerance is usually the only viable way of improving the system dependability and security in the presence of continuously evolving threats. Many of the solutions in the literature concern a specific snapshot in the production or deployment of a fault-tolerant system and no immediate considerations are made about how the system should evolve to deal with novel threats. In this paper we outline and evaluate a set of operating systems’ and applications’ reconfiguration rules which can be used to modify the state of a system replica prior to deployment or in between recoveries, and hence increase the replicas chance of a longer intrusion-free operation
Recommended from our members
Lessons Learned and Next Steps in Energy Efficiency Measurement and Attribution: Energy Savings, Net to Gross, Non-Energy Benefits, and Persistence of Energy Efficiency Behavior
This white paper examines four topics addressing evaluation, measurement, and attribution of direct and indirect effects to energy efficiency and behavioral programs: Estimates of program savings (gross); Net savings derivation through free ridership / net to gross analyses; Indirect non-energy benefits / impacts (e.g., comfort, convenience, emissions, jobs); and, Persistence of savings
The Evaluation of Route Guidance Systems
BACKGROUND
We were commissioned by the Transport and Road Research Laboratory to:
"collaborate with the German government and their representatives who are responsible for conducting the LISB trial in Berlin in order to produce an agreed methodology, which is acceptable in both Germany and the UK, for assessing the automatic route guidance systems which will be provided in Berlin and London." The brief suggested a number of aspects to be included, and required detailed proposals, timescales and costs for implementation in London.
1.1.2 The background to the brief lies in decisions to introduce pilot automatic route guidance systems in the two cities. The principles of the systems are similar, and have been described in detail elsewhere (Jeffery, 1987). In brief, they involve :
(i) a central computer which retains information on a specified road network, which is updated using real time information from the equipment users;
(ii) infra red beacons at selected junctions which transmit information to equipped vehicles and receive information from those vehicles;
(iii) in-vehicle equipment which includes a dead-reckoning system for position finding, a device for requesting guidance and specifying the destination, a micro-computer which selects the optimal route, and a display which indicates when a turn is required on the main network, and the compass direction and distance to the final destination;
iv) transmission from the equipped vehicles of origin, requested destination, links used since passing the last beacon and, for each link, the time of entry and departure and time spent delayed.
It is this travel time information which is used to update the central computer's knowledge of the best routes.
(Continues..
Why do I like people like me?
In many dimensions the ability to assess knowledge depends critically on the observer's
own knowledge of that dimension. Building on this feature, this paper offers both
theoretical and empirical evidence showing that, in those tasks where multidisciplinary
knowledge is required, evaluations exhibit a similar-to-me effect: candidates who excel
in the same dimensions as the evaluator tend to be ranked relatively higher. It is also
shown that, if races or genders differ in their distribution of ability, group discrimination
will arise unless evaluators (i) are well informed about the extent of intergroup
differences and (ii) they may condition their assessments on candidates' group
belonging
- …