30,488 research outputs found
On Gravity localization under Lorentz Violation in warped scenario
Recently Rizzo studied the Lorentz Invariance Violation (LIV) in a brane
scenario with one extra dimension where he found a non-zero mass for the
four-dimensional graviton. This leads to the conclusion that five-dimensional
models with LIV are not phenomenologically viable. In this work we re-examine
the issue of Lorentz Invariance Violation in the context of higher dimensional
theories. We show that a six-dimensional geometry describing a string-like
defect with a bulk-dependent cosmological constant can yield a massless 4D
graviton, if we allow the cosmological constant variation along the bulk, and
thus can provides a phenomenologically viable solution for the gauge hierarchy
problem.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures. To appear in Physics Letters
Employee Training and Wage Compression in Britain
We use linked data for 1,460 workplaces and 19,853 employees from the Workplace Employee Relations Survey 1998 to analyse the incidence and duration of employee training in Britain. We find training to be positively associated with having a recognised vocational qualification and current union membership. Whilst being non-white, shorter current job tenure, and part-time or fixed-term employment statuses are all associated with less training. Furthermore, in line with recent non-competitive training models, higher levels of wage compression (measured in absolute or relative terms) are positively related to training.training; wage compression; performance
Efficient Learning and Evaluation of Complex Concepts in Inductive Logic Programming
Inductive Logic Programming (ILP) is a subfield of Machine Learning with foundations in logic
programming. In ILP, logic programming, a subset of first-order logic, is used as a uniform
representation language for the problem specification and induced theories. ILP has been
successfully applied to many real-world problems, especially in the biological domain (e.g. drug
design, protein structure prediction), where relational information is of particular importance.
The expressiveness of logic programs grants flexibility in specifying the learning task and understandability
to the induced theories. However, this flexibility comes at a high computational
cost, constraining the applicability of ILP systems. Constructing and evaluating complex concepts
remain two of the main issues that prevent ILP systems from tackling many learning
problems. These learning problems are interesting both from a research perspective, as they
raise the standards for ILP systems, and from an application perspective, where these target
concepts naturally occur in many real-world applications. Such complex concepts cannot
be constructed or evaluated by parallelizing existing top-down ILP systems or improving the
underlying Prolog engine. Novel search strategies and cover algorithms are needed.
The main focus of this thesis is on how to efficiently construct and evaluate complex hypotheses
in an ILP setting. In order to construct such hypotheses we investigate two approaches.
The first, the Top Directed Hypothesis Derivation framework, implemented in the ILP system
TopLog, involves the use of a top theory to constrain the hypothesis space. In the second approach
we revisit the bottom-up search strategy of Golem, lifting its restriction on determinate
clauses which had rendered Golem inapplicable to many key areas. These developments led to
the bottom-up ILP system ProGolem. A challenge that arises with a bottom-up approach is the
coverage computation of long, non-determinate, clauses. Prolog’s SLD-resolution is no longer
adequate. We developed a new, Prolog-based, theta-subsumption engine which is significantly
more efficient than SLD-resolution in computing the coverage of such complex clauses.
We provide evidence that ProGolem achieves the goal of learning complex concepts by presenting
a protein-hexose binding prediction application. The theory ProGolem induced has
a statistically significant better predictive accuracy than that of other learners. More importantly,
the biological insights ProGolem’s theory provided were judged by domain experts to
be relevant and, in some cases, novel
Employee Training, Wage Dispersion and Equality in Britain
We use British household panel data to explore the wage returns to training incidence and intensity (duration) for 6924 employees. We find these returns differ greatly depending on the nature of the training (general or specific); who funds the training (employee or employer); and the skill levels of the recipient (white or blue collar). Using decomposition analysis, we further conclude that training is positively associated with wage dispersion in Britain and a virtuous circle of wage gains but only for white-collar employees.Training, wage compression, performance
Legal theory and epistemic values: against authoritarian interpretivism
In his new book, R. Dworkin advocates the unity of values thesis. He wants to circumscribe morality as a proper epistemological domain which is methodologically different from scientific inquiry. The epistemological independence of morality is supposed to be a consequence of the irreducible fact/value dichotomy. This paper sustains that unity of values thesis is methodologically correct; all moral reasoning must be a constructive interpretation of its meaning. However, that author fails to recognize that not every axiological interpretation implies moral consequences. From H. Putnam’s pragmatic realism, this paper intends to demonstrate that much of scientific inquiry relies on values interpretation, and that this kind of reasoning is morally neutral. Finally, it should be clear that epistemological choices in legal positivism – e.g. the decision on which aspects of social interaction are theoretically relevant – should not disturb the soundness of its argument nor should it be read as if it had moral implications. This paper concludes that positivist theories cannot be ruled out. Since the choice between descriptive and interpretative models requires a circular justification, legal theory is itself an activity governed by epistemic values interpretation. Likewise natural sciences, it can only be understood from an internal perspective. Accordingly, inclusive positivism holds the advantage of being more consilient than interpretivism, which is arguably parochial
Six Pillars of Effective Dropout Prevention and Recovery: An Assessment of Current State Policy and How to Improve it
This report identifies six model policy elements that frame a sound legislative strategy for dropout prevention and recovery, and it assesses the extent to which recent state policy aligns with these model elements. Overall, 36 states and the District of Columbia have enacted new dropout legislation since 2002. While some states have moved toward adopting comprehensive dropout prevention and recovery policies, nearly all of them have a long way to go. Nearly one-third of the nation—14 states—have enacted no new laws aimed at increasing graduation rates in the past eight years
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