Quiz Games as a model for Information Hiding

We present a general computation model inspired in the notion of information hiding in software engineering. This model has the form of a game which we call quiz game. It allows in a uniform way to prove exponential lower bounds for several complexity problems of elimination theory.Comment: 46 pages, to appear in Journal of Complexit

On the Computational Complexity of Information Hiding

In this work we study the intrinsic complexity of elimination algorithms in effective algebraic geometry and we focus our attention to elimination algorithms produced within the object–oriented paradigm. To this end, we describe a new computation model called quiz game (introduced in [1]) which models the notions of information hiding (due to Parnas, see [2]) and non–functional requirements (e.g. robustness) among other important concepts in software engineering. This characteristic distinguish our model from classical computation models such as the Turing machine or algebraic models. We illustrate our computation model with a non–trivial complexity lower bound for the identity function of polynomials. We show that any object–oriented (and robust) implementation of the identity function of polynomials is necessarily inefficient compared with a trivial implementation of this function. This result shows an existing synergy between Software Engineering and Algebraic Complexity Theory.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativa (SADIO

Hiding an Inconvenient Truth: Lies and Vagueness (Revision of DP 2008-107)

When truth conflicts with efficiency, can verbal communication destroy efficiency? Or are lies or vagueness used to hide inconvenient truths? We consider a sequential 2-player public good game in which the leader has private information about the value of the public good. This value can be low, high, or intermediate, with the latter case giving rise to a prisoners dilemma. Without verbal communication, efficiency is achieved, with contributions for high or intermediate values. When verbal com- munication is added, the leader has an incentive to hide the precise truth when the value is intermediate. We show experimentally that, when communication about the value must be precise, the leader frequently lies, preserving efficiency by exaggerating. When communication can be vague, the leader turns to vague messages when the value is intermediate, but not when it is high. Thus, she implicitly reveals all values. Inter- estingly, efficiency is still preserved, since the follower ignores messages altogether and does not seem to realize that vague messages hide inconvenient truths.Communication;Efficiency;Lying;Public Goods.

Online cake instructor

This thesis will be an e-learning website about making cakes. Users will learn how to make a cake in a virtual environment by following the instructions and interacting with the surroundings, instead of learning from text statements. “Simulation” will be a focus in this thesis. Users will go through the cooking process by using virtual tools and a virtual oven. The final goal of the online courses is that users should use those virtual materials and tools correctly without a cue. Still images, videos, 3D models, and animations will be used to simulate the whole process. As an e-learning material, there will be two sections, instruction mode and quiz mode, in this website. When people practice in the virtual kitchen and make a mistake, there will be instant feedback will be given in the form of suggestions. Regarding the technology issues, I want to explore the usability of 3D technology in e-learning material design. In my opinion, 3D technology, which is usually used to simulate the reality in computer graphics arts, should bring the advantages of e-learning materials, simulation, and virtual experience, into full play. In addition, programming in e-learning material design plays an important role. How to use it to judge users’ “mistakes,” give them rapid feedback, and make the cake-making process smooth are other challenges in this thesis. The URL: http://www.yushiu.com.tw/cake/index.htm

Growing Independence: Making Practice Collaborative, Flexible, and Meaningful

The concept of practice, from a middle school student’s perspective, is mundane, redundant, perhaps yawn-inducing. This essay explains a first-hand account of an educator moving to a proficiency-based learning format and discovering how student proficiency does not often improve without engaging and flexible practice opportunities. Using middle level concepts and brain-based research, changes in the educator’s practice came to accommodate the needs of students and take away the stigma of practice as being boring or repetitive. The essay includes examples of learning targets, in-class activities, and curriculum structures

Lying About What you Know or About What you Do? (replaces CentER DP 2010-033)

We compare communication about private information to communication about actions in a one- shot 2-person public good game with private information. The informed player, who knows the exact return from contributing and whose contribution is unobserved, can send a message about the return or her contribution. Theoretically, messages can elicit the uninformed player's contribution, and allow the informed player to free-ride. The exact language used is not expected to matter. Experimentally, however, we find that free-riding depends on the language: the informed player free-rides less, and thereby lies less frequently, when she talks about her contribution than when she talks about the return. Further experimental evidence indicates that it is the promise component in messages about the contribution that leads to less free-riding and less lying.Information transmission;lying;communication;experiment

On the Computational Complexity of Information Hiding

In this work we study the intrinsic complexity of elimination algorithms in effective algebraic geometry and we focus our attention to elimination algorithms produced within the object–oriented paradigm. To this end, we describe a new computation model called quiz game (introduced in [1]) which models the notions of information hiding (due to Parnas, see [2]) and non–functional requirements (e.g. robustness) among other important concepts in software engineering. This characteristic distinguish our model from classical computation models such as the Turing machine or algebraic models. We illustrate our computation model with a non–trivial complexity lower bound for the identity function of polynomials. We show that any object–oriented (and robust) implementation of the identity function of polynomials is necessarily inefficient compared with a trivial implementation of this function. This result shows an existing synergy between Software Engineering and Algebraic Complexity Theory.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativa (SADIO

A Comparative Study Of Ethical Values Of Business Students: American Vs. Middle Eastern Cultures

Business schools must prepare students to face the world and yet maintain strong ethical convictions. The question of ethics in the business environment is not exclusive to the United States. Ethical business behavior is a multinational issue, and all business schools world-wide must deal with this issue. However, cultural differences often define acceptable ethical behavior. For example, the acceptable amount of a “token” gift from one party to another is an ethical issue. Some American businesses do not even allow employees to accept gifts from clients, while within other businesses, both National and International, it is an acceptable tradition. Bribery of foreign officials during the 1970’s addressed this issue of what is acceptable in the form of gifts and/or payments between public officials when they initiated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, which prohibits the “paying, offering, promising to pay (or authorizing to pay or offer) money or anything of value…..to corrupt payments to a foreign official, a foreign political party or party official, or any candidate for foreign political office” (usdoj.gov). Ethical situations involving foreign officials and diplomats in other countries can also affect business transactions, which may ultimately be controlled by graduates from business schools in our colleges and universities. Consequently, the question is “What are the differences in ethical perceptions and values between cultures?” Once this question is addressed, business professors can adapt their teaching methods to help shape and mold the ethical values of business students. In a search for the answer to these ethical questions between cultures, the authors representing two universities, decided to conduct a small research sample on their business students. One of the colleges is a small public university located in the Southeastern United States, and the other is a university located in the Middle Eastern country of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A small sample of students from selected business classes of each school were given a 16 question ethics quiz which had been taken from The Wall Street Journal.  The questions ranged from personal use of company e-mail on the job to whether or not the individuals had lied about sick days or had taken credit for another’s work. The authors hoped to determine whether there were any significant differences between the answers given from the two schools pertaining to these types of ethical issues and to learn to what extent the different cultures had in shaping the ideas of these future business professionals