Reviews

Danny Saunders and Nina Smalley (eds.), The International Simulation and Gaming Research Yearbook — Volume 8: Simulations and Games for Transition and Change, London: Kogan Page, 2000. ISBN: 0–7494–3397–3. Hardback, viii+271 pages, £40.00

Personality-based recommendation: human curiosity applied to recommendation systems using implicit information from social networks

Tesis por compendioEn el día a día, las personas suelen confiar en recomendaciones, tradicionalmente aportadas por otras personas (familia, amigos, etc.) para sus decisiones más variadas. En el mundo digital esto no es diferente, dado que los sistemas de recomendación están presentes en todas partes y de modo transparente. El principal objetivo de estos sistemas es el de ayudar en el proceso de toma de decisiones, generando recomendaciones de su interés y basadas en sus gustos. Dichas recomendaciones van desde productos en sitios web de comercio electrónico, como libros o lugares a visitar, además de qué comer o cuánto tiempo uno debe caminar al día para tener una vida sana, con quién salir o a quién seguir en las redes sociales. Esta es un área en ascensión. Por un lado, tenemos cada vez más usuarios en internet cuya vida está digitalizada, dado que lo que se hace en el "mundo real" está representado en cierto modo en el "mundo digital". Por otro lado, sufrimos una sobrecarga de información, que puede mitigarse mediante el uso de un sistema de recomendación. Sin embargo, estos sistemas también enfrentan algunos problemas, como el problema del arranque en frío y su necesidad de ser cada vez más "humanos", "personalizados" y "precisos" para satisfacer las exigencias de usuarios y empresas. En este desafiante escenario, los sistemas de recomendación basados en la personalidad se están estudiando cada vez más, ya que son capaces de enfrentar esos problemas. Algunos proyectos recientes proponen el uso de la personalidad humana en los recomendadores, ya sea en su conjunto o individualmente por rasgos. Esta tesis está dedicada a este nuevo área de recomendación basada en la personalidad, centrándose en uno de sus rasgos más importantes, la curiosidad. Además, para explotar la información ya existente en internet, obtendremos de forma implícita información de las redes sociales. Por lo tanto, este trabajo tiene como objetivo proporcionar una mejor experiencia al usuario final a través de un nuevo enfoque que ofrece una alternativa a algunos de los retos identificados en los sistemas de recomendación basados en la personalidad. Entre estas mejoras, el uso de las redes sociales para alimentar los sistemas de recomendación reduce el problema del arranque en frío y, al mismo tiempo, proporciona datos valiosos para la predicción de la personalidad humana. Por otro lado, la curiosidad no ha sido utilizada por ninguno de los sistemas de recomendación estudiados; casi todos han usado la personalidad general de un individuo a través de los Cinco Grandes rasgos de la personalidad. Sin embargo, los estudios psicológicos confirman que la curiosidad es un rasgo relevante en el proceso de elegir un item, cuestión directamente relacionada con los sistemas de recomendación. En resumen, creemos que un sistema de recomendación que mida implícitamente la curiosidad y la utilice en el proceso de recomendar nuevos ítems, especialmente en el sector turístico, podría claramente mejorar la capacidad de estos sistemas en términos de precisión, serendipidad y novedad, permitiendo a los usuarios obtener niveles positivos de satisfacción con las recomendaciones. Esta tesis realiza un estudio exhaustivo del estado del arte, donde destacamos trabajos sobre sistemas de recomendación, la personalidad humana desde el punto de vista de la psicología tradicional y positiva y finalmente cómo se combinan ambos aspectos. Luego, desarrollamos una aplicación en línea capaz de extraer implícitamente información del perfil de usuario en una red social, generando predicciones de uno o más rasgos de su personalidad. Finalmente, desarrollamos el sistema CURUMIM, capaz de generar recomendaciones en línea con diferentes propiedades, combinando la curiosidad y algunas características sociodemográficas (como el nivel de educación) extraídas de Facebook. El sistema ha sido probado y evaluado en el contexto turístico por usuarios rEn el dia a dia, les persones solen confiar en recomanacions, tradicionalment aportades per altres persones (família, amics, etc.) per a les seues decisions més variades. En el món digital això no és diferent, atès que els sistemes de recomanació estan presents a tot arreu i de manera transparent. El principal objectiu d'aquests sistemes és el d'ajudar en el procés de presa de decisions, generant recomanacions del seu interès i basades en els seus gustos. Aquestes recomanacions van des de productes en pàgines web de comerç electrònic, com a llibres o llocs a visitar, a més de què menjar o quant temps una persona ha de caminar al dia per a tindre una vida sana, amb qui eixir o a qui seguir en les xarxes socials. Aquesta és una àrea en ascensió. D'una banda, tenim cada vegada més usuaris en internet la vida de les quals està digitalitzada, atès que el que es fa en el "món real" està representat en certa manera en el "món digital". D'altra banda, patim una sobrecàrrega d'informació, que pot mitigar-se mitjançant l'ús d'un sistema de recomanació. No obstant això, aquests sistemes també enfronten alguns problemes, com el problema de l'arrencada en fred i la seua necessitat de ser cada vegada més "humans", "personalitzats" i "precisos" per a satisfer les exigències d'usuaris i empreses. En aquest desafiador escenari, els sistemes de recomanació basats en la personalitat s'estan estudiant cada vegada més, ja que són capaços d'enfrontar eixos problemes. Alguns projectes recents proposen l'ús de la personalitat humana en els recomendadors, ja siga en el seu conjunt o individualment per trets. Aquesta tesi està dedicada a aquest nou àrea de recomanació basada en la personalitat, centrant-se en un dels seus trets més importants, la curiositat. A més, per a explotar la informació ja existent en internet, obtindrem de forma implícita informació de les xarxes socials. Per tant, aquest treball té com a objectiu proporcionar una millor experiència a l'usuari final a través d'un nou enfocament que ofereix una alternativa a alguns dels reptes identificats en els sistemes de recomanació basats en la personalitat. Entre aquestes millores, l'ús de les xarxes socials per a alimentar els sistemes de recomanació redueix el problema de l'arrencada en fred i, al mateix temps, proporciona dades valuoses per a la predicció de la personalitat humana. D'altra banda, la curiositat no ha sigut utilitzada per cap dels sistemes de recomanació estudiats; quasi tots han usat la personalitat general d'un individu a través dels Cinc Grans trets de la personalitat. No obstant això, els estudis psicològics confirmen que la curiositat és un tret rellevant en el procés de triar un item, qüestió directament relacionada amb els sistemes de recomanació. En resum, creiem que un sistema de recomanació que mesure implícitament la curiositat i la utilitze en el procés de recomanar nous ítems, especialment en el sector turístic, podria clarament millorar la capacitat d'aquests sistemes en termes de precisió, sorpresa i novetat, permetent als usuaris obtindre nivells positius de satisfacció amb les recomanacions. Aquesta tesi realitza un estudi exhaustiu de l'estat de l'art, on destaquem treballs sobre sistemes de recomanació, la personalitat humana des del punt de vista de la psicologia tradicional i positiva i finalment com es combinen tots dos aspectes. Després, desenvolupem una aplicació en línia capaç d'extraure implícitament informació del perfil d'usuari en una xarxa social, generant prediccions d'un o més trets de la seua personalitat. Finalment, desenvolupem el sistema CURUMIM, capaç de generar recomanacions en línia amb diferents propietats, combinant la curiositat i algunes característiques sociodemogràfiques (com el nivell d'educació) extretes de Facebook. El sistema ha sigut provat i avaluat en el context turístic per usuaris reals. Els resultats demostren la seua capacitat perIn daily life, people usually rely on recommendations, traditionally given by other people (family, friends, etc.) for their most varied decisions. In the digital world, this is not different, given that recommender systems are present everywhere in such a way that we no longer realize. The main goal of these systems is to assist users in the decision-making process, generating recommendations that are of their interest and based on their tastes. These recommendations range from products in e-commerce websites, like books to read or places to visit to what to eat or how long one should walk a day to have a healthy life, who to date or who one should follow on social networks. And this is an increasing area. On the one hand, we have more and more users on the internet whose life is somewhat digitized, given than what one does in the "real world" is represented in a certain way in the "digital world". On the other hand, we suffer from information overload, which can be mitigated by the use of recommendation systems. However, these systems also face some problems, such as the cold start problem and their need to be more and more "human", "personalised" and "precise" in order to meet the yearning of users and companies. In this challenging scenario, personality-based recommender systems are being increasingly studied, since they are able to face these problems. Some recent projects have proposed the use of the human personality in recommenders, whether as a whole or individually by facet in order to meet those demands. Therefore, this thesis is devoted to this new area of personality-based recommendation, focusing on one of its most important traits, the curiosity. Additionally, in order to exploit the information already present on the internet, we will implicitly obtain information from social networks. Thus, this work aims to build a better experience for the end user through a new approach that offers an option for some of the gaps identified in personality-based recommendation systems. Among these gap improvements, the use of social networks to feed the recommender systems soften the cold start problem and, at the same time, it provides valuable data for the prediction of the human personality. Another found gap is that the curiosity was not used by any of the studied recommender systems; almost all of them have used the overall personality of an individual through the Big Five personality traits. However, psychological studies confirm that the curiosity is a relevant trait in the process of choosing an item, which is directly related to recommendation systems. In summary, we believe that a recommendation system that implicitly measures the curiosity and uses it in the process of recommending new items, especially in the tourism sector, could clearly improve the capacity of these systems in terms of accuracy, serendipity and novelty, allowing users to obtain positive levels of satisfaction with the recommendations. This thesis begins with an exhaustive study of the state of the art, where we highlight works about recommender systems, the human personality from the point of view of traditional and positive psychology and how these aspects are combined. Then, we develop an online application capable of implicitly extracting information from the user profile in a social network, thus generating predictions of one or more personality traits. Finally, we develop the CURUMIM system, able to generate online recommendations with different properties, combining the curiosity and some sociodemographic characteristics (such as level of education) extracted from Facebook. The system is tested and assessed within the tourism context by real users. The results demonstrate its ability to generate novel and serendipitous recommendations, while maintaining a good level of accuracy, independently of the degree of curiosity of the users.Menk Dos Santos, A. (2018). Personality-based recommendation: human curiosity applied to recommendation systems using implicit information from social networks [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/114798TESISCompendi

The Playing Field: Attitudes, Activities, and the Conflation of Play and Games

Many philosophers have attempted to describe the nature of play and games. In doing so, they have come to a number of similar conclusions. Some authors speak of play and games interchangeably, while others regard them as two distinct phenomena. However, even some of those who attempted to distinguish games from play provided ambiguous or otherwise confusing descriptions. The end result has been a tendency to conflate the two entities. This conflation is so commonplace that we regularly speak of participating in all and any games as “playing games.” In this paper I address the issue of play-game conflation and show that it comes in many forms. I begin by citing examples of this problem that are found in the writings of Johan Huizinga (Homo Ludens), Roger Caillois (Man, Play and Games), and Bernard Suits (The Grasshopper). All three authors, albeit in different ways, provide analyses of games and play and the relationship between them. Huizinga and Caillois so conflate play and games that they frequently use the two terms synonymously or move from play to games and back again without any mention of possible differences. Suits, on the other hand, tries to determine the distinct features of the two but still leaves important metaphysical questions unanswered. After analyzing the work of the three authors, the second section of my paper includes a clarification of the elements that appear to generate the conflation. I will explain that fundamental category confusions make the play-game distinction opaque. This confusion has to do with a failure to distinguish intentional acts from intentional objects. Related to this is a failure to clarify differences between game and play acts, on one hand, and game objects from their play counterparts, on the other. The third section includes an explanation of the basic causes of confusions discussed in the first two sections. I argue that a high degree of compatibility can be mistaken for identity. I also argue that well-constructed games are idealized conventions. Because they are ideal, they are powerful play attractors. This helps to explain the frequent conjunction of play and games and the mistaken assumption that the two are always (or nearly always) found together

More than just a simple twist of fate: Serendipitous relations in developmental science

Unexpected, non-normative events are key influences on human development across the life span. Despite this importance, little is known about how an individual may capitalize on unexpected events and transform them into opportunities for sustained positive development. In this article, to address this theoretical lacuna, I introduce the concept of serendipitous relations - mutually beneficial, adaptive developmental regulations brought about by the time-extended coaction of intentional self-regulatory actions and unexpected non-normative life events. I enumerate five specific intentional self-regulatory serendipitous actions hypothesized to lead to serendipitous relations. Using developmental theory, life examples, and examples from the literature, I hypothesize that serendipitous relations brought about by effective use of serendipitous actions may be important sources of adaptive development. I conclude by offering specific suggestions for future research on serendipitous relations across the life span

Setting the Trade Policy Agenda: What Roles for Economists?

Economists have influenced the trade policy agenda for establishing multilateral trade rules, disciplines and procedures and for negotiating MFN and preferential reductions in trade barriers and subsidies, in addition to affecting the agenda for unilateral policy reform. These roles are considered in turn, before focusing on the economists' contribution though quantifying the extent and effects of existing trade distortions and alternative reform initiatives. Many trade distortions remain, however, so the paper then looks at where trade economists' efforts in agenda-setting need to be focused in the years ahead.International Relations/Trade,

Setting the trade policy agenda : What roles for Economists?

Economists have influenced the trade policy agenda for establishing multilateral trade rules, disciplines, and procedures, and for negotiating most-favored nation and preferential reductions in trade barriers and subsidies, in addition to affecting the agenda for unilateral policy reform. These roles are considered in turn, before focusing on the economists'contribution through quantifying the extent and effects of existing trade distortions and alternative reform initiatives. Many trade distortions remain, however, sothe author looks at where trade economists'efforts in agenda-setting need to be focused in the years ahead.TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Trade Policy,Trade and Services

Utah Science Vol. 46 No. 2, Summer 1985

39 IRRIGATION\u27S DEVELOPMENT AND PATTERNS OF LIFE IN UTAH C. S. Peterson Early water development exerted a major influence on life in Utah. 44 GROUND COVERS W. A. Varga Versatile and attractive ground covers can solve several landscape problems. 48 BIG GAME ON PRIVATE LANDS: WHO BENEFITS (OR LOSES)? D. B. Nielsen, D. D. Lytle, and F. Wagstaff Landowners derive some economic benefits from big game, but it appears that the costs of damage due to deer and elk exceed income from leasing of hunting rights. 52 FACTORS AFFECTING THE QUALITY OF ALFALFA HAY D. W. James, P. V. Fonnesbeck, R. C. Lamb, and D. H. Clark Top-notch management from planting through harvest is required for maximum yields of high-quality alfalfa. 54 SURGE FLOW: S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G IRRIGATION WATER New irrigation technology developed at Utah State University can substantially improve irrigation efficiency. 58 AN ECONOMIC OVERVIEW OF UTAH AGRICULTURE D.B.SnyderandJ.C.Andersen In spite of recent economic problems, agriculture plays an important role in the state\u27s economy. 64 UTAH\u27S FOOD BALANCE D. B. Snyder Utah\u27s gross farm income could more than double if most of the food consumed in the state was produced in the state

Teaching Time Savers: A Recommendation for Recommendations

I admit it — I enjoy writing recommendation letters for my students. I likelearning about their hopes and dreams, where they have been and where they want to go. A recommendation letter is an opportunity to remind myself how much my students can grow while they are in college, and how much I have grown as an instructor, advisor, and mentor