Verification of unsupervised neural networks

Neural networks are at the forefront of machine learning being responsible for achievements such as AlphaGo. As they are being deployed in more and more environments - even in safety-critical ones such as health care - we are naturally interested in assuring their reliability. However, the discovery of so-called adver- sarial attacks for supervised neural networks demonstrated that tiny distortions in the input space can lead to misclassifications and thus, to potentially catas- trophic errors: Patients could be diagnosed wrongly, or a car might confuse stop signs and traffic lights. Thus, ideally, we would like to guarantee that these types of attacks cannot occur. In this thesis we extend the research on reliable neural networks to the realm of unsupervised learning. This includes defining proper notions of reliability, as well as analyzing and adapting unsupervised neural networks with respect to this notion. Our definitions of reliability depend on the underlying neural networks and the problems they are meant to solve. However, in all our cases, we aim for guarantees on a continuous input space containing infinitely many points. Therefore we extend the traditional setting of testing against a finite dataset such that we require specialized tools to actually check a given network for reliability. We will demonstrate how we can leverage neural network verification for these purposes. Using neural network verification, however, entails a major challenge: It does not scale up to large networks. To overcome this limitation, we design a novel training procedure yielding networks that are both more reliable according to our definition as well as more amenable for neural network verification. By exploiting the piecewise affine structure of our networks, we can locally simplify them and thus decrease verification runtime significantly. We also take a per- spective that complements a neural network’s training by exploring how we can repair non-reliable neural network ensembles. With this thesis, we paradigmatically show the necessity and the complications of unsupervised neural network verification. It aims to pave the way for more research to come and towards a safe usage of these simple-to-build yet difficult-to-understand models given by unsupervised neural networks

China's Technology Subsidies - Much ado about nothing?

This study investigates the allocation and effect of technology subsidies on R&D activities and technology acquisitions of Chinese domestic firms. We exploit novel firm data which includes information on subsidies, R&D, patents, trade, and balance sheet indicators. Conditional difference-in-difference estimation confirms that the innovation policy of China s government follows a picking-the-winner strategy. Technology subsidies are allocated to minority state-owned and privately owned firms which have high-tech inventions, high profitability, and compete with foreign firms in domestic industries. However, we find almost no evidence which confirms that technology subsidies incentivize an increase in R&D intensity or technology acquisition. There is weak evidence for a positive effect of consecutive treatments

Technological Capabilities of Chinese Enterprises: Who is Going to Compete Abroad?

The objective of this study is to investigate the relation between increasing Chinese high-tech exports and the technological capabilities of Chinese companies. China s recent innovation policy provides substantial incentives for companies to pursue technological upgrading and internationalization strategies. For our analysis, we extend models of New New Trade Theory to include the aspect of the technological capabilities of companies. We use the share of international patent applications as a proxy for exports and find that companies with higher total factor productivity and more valuable technology, as measured with citations received, are more likely to go international. Considering the implications of transport cost, we find that companies located in China s coastal region are more likely to export. We do not find evidence that the inclination to export is dominated by policy considerations

In-house R&D and External Knowledge Acquisition What Makes Chinese Firms Productive?

This paper analyses the influence of in-house R&D and external knowledge acquisition on the total factor productivity (TFP) of listed Chinese firms for the time period 2001-2010. We find a quantitatively important positive effect of in-house R&D. The achieved level of technological sophistication of Chinese firms is sufficient to benefit from R&D collaboration with domestic partners. We do not find a significant effect for employing inventors with access to international knowledge or for collaborating with international partners. International knowledge acquisition is only effective if conducted via joint ventures, i.e. if it is supported by a deep organizational relationship

Relações entre coparentalidade, funcionamento familiar e estilos parentais em uma perspectiva intergeracional

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, Florianópolis, 2014.As mudanças na sociedade nas últimas décadas têm implicado em mudanças na configuração, na dinâmica familiar e nos papéis sociais de seus membros. Frente a estas mudanças, há um interesse crescente na temática da criação dos filhos. Percebe-se um movimento das pesquisas científicas de ampliação do foco: de relações diádicas, em geral mãe-criança, para interações triádicas ou mais amplas, ao incluir subsistemas familiares nas investigações. Na temática da criação dos filhos emerge, deste movimento, o conceito de coparentalidade. A relação coparental é compreendida como um subsistema familiar autônomo, triádico, produto da inter-relação entre dois adultos na condução e satisfação das necessidades das crianças. A presente tese teve por objetivo ampliar a compreensão da coparentalidade buscando identificar as relações desta com o funcionamento familiar em uma perspectiva intergeracional. Trata-se de um estudo exploratório descritivo e correlacional do qual participaram doze famílias biparentais com pelo menos uma criança de cinco a sete anos de idade. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: um questionário sociodemográfico; a Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES IV), para avaliar funcionamento familiar atual; o Questionário de Dimensões e Estilos Parentais (QDEP), que avalia os estilos parentais atuais; a Escala de Lembranças sobre Práticas Parentais/Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran (EMBU), para identificar as dimensões das práticas parentais recebidas pelos pais na sua infância e adolescência; e a Escala de Relação Coparental (ERC), para avaliar a coparentalidade. Foi também realizada uma entrevista semi-estruturada com construção do Genograma Familiar, além do uso do Diário de Campo. Os dados quantitativos foram submetidos ao pacote estatístico Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 18.0) e analisados de forma descritiva e correlacional. Os dados qualitativos da entrevista e do genograma foram utilizados com intuito de integrar as análises. O conjunto dos resultados permitiu um delineamento das diversas relações entre o cuidado recebido na infância, funcionamento familiar atual, estilos parentais e coparentalidade; e evidenciou a recursividade destas relações. A vivência de práticas parentais com predominância de calor emocional na infância se mostrou relacionada ao funcionamento familiar atual e estilos parentais mais apropriados. Em contrapartida, o histórico dos pais de superproteção materna na infância se relacionou a maior rigidez e menor flexibilidade no funcionamento familiar atual; e apresentou implicações negativas, diretas e indiretas, para a coparentalidade e estilos parentais. Os fatores da coparentalidade apresentaram relações com as experiências de cuidado recebido nas famílias de origem, com o funcionamento familiar atual e com os estilos parentais. O objetivo de ampliar a compreensão da coparentalidade, em uma perspectiva relacional sistêmica, foi atingido, e as implicações teóricas e práticas deste estudo podem contribuir para o incremento da pesquisa e da intervenção na educação de crianças e convivência familiar.Abstract : Changes in society over the past decades have resulted in changes in the configuration, family dynamics and social roles of its members. Faced with these changes there is a growing interest in the subject of parenting. There is a movement of scientific research to expand the focus: from dyadic relationships in general mother-child one´s, to triadic interactions or wider, to include family-subsystems themes. In child rearing theme emerges the concept of coparenting. The coparental relationship is understood as an autonomous triadic family subsystem, product of the inter-relationship between two adults in lead and satisfying the children needs. This study aimed to increase understanding of coparenting to identify its relations with family functioning in an intergenerational perspective. It is an exploratory, descriptive and correlational study with a sample of twelve families (mother and father), parents of a child between five to seven years old. Instruments were a sociodemographic questionnaire, Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES IV), to assess family functioning; Dimensions Questionnaire and Parenting Styles (QDEP ), a parenting styles scale; Scale Memories of Parental Practices/Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran (EMBU), to identify the dimensions of parenting received by parents in childhood and adolescence; and Scale Coparental Relationship (ERC), to assess coparenting. It was also performed a semi-structured interview to construct the family genogram, and a field journal. Quantitative data were submitted to the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 18.0) and analyzed in a descriptive and correlational form. Qualitative interview data and genogram were used aiming to integrate the analysis. The results allowed an outline of the relationships between the care received in the parent s childhood, current family functioning, parenting styles and co-parenting; and showed these recursive relationships. The experience of parenting with a predominance of emotional warmth in childhood was related to the current family functioning and healthier parenting styles. In contrast, the parent s historical of maternal overprotection in childhood was related to greater rigidity and less flexibility in current family functioning; and showed negative, direct and indirect implications for coparenting and parenting styles. The coparenting factors presented relationships with the experiences of care received in families of origin, with the current family functioning and parenting styles. The thesis extends the understanding of coparenting in a systemic relational perspective, and the theoretical and practical implications of this study contribute to the research and intervention in children rearing and family life

O psicólogo na atenção básica: uma incursão pelas políticas públicas de saúde brasileiras

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, Florianópolis, 2009.Esta pesquisa buscou ampliar a compreensão da inserção dos psicólogos no Sistema Único de Saúde através da análise das políticas públicas, visando reunir subsídios para as discussões do papel do psicólogo e conquista de espaço no primeiro nível de atenção. Utilizou-se o método de pesquisa documental com objetivo de identificar em que medida e de que forma as Políticas Públicas de Saúde e de Saúde Mental contemplam a atuação do psicólogo na Atenção Básica à Saúde no Brasil. Para tanto, buscou-se caracterizar, através das políticas públicas de saúde atuais, o modelo de atenção preconizado e em quais locais e níveis de atenção o psicólogo é incluído. Foram utilizados documentos oficiais disponíveis no site do Ministério da Saúde Governo Federal. A primeira etapa de seleção totalizou 964 documentos. Na segunda etapa, através da leitura e busca de palavras-chave, foram selecionados 113 documentos. Estes foram então classificados em sete categorias temáticas, sendo selecionados, nesta etapa, apenas os documentos pertencentes à categoria "diretrizes" (65 documentos). Na quarta etapa, foram selecionados, pelo critério de relevância, os documentos com conteúdo relacionado ao tema de pesquisa (50 documentos). Para análise do conteúdo, foram utilizados os documentos que respondiam ao problema de pesquisa (24 documentos). De forma geral, constatou-se que as políticas públicas tratam da inclusão do profissional de psicologia nas equipes de saúde em um número reduzido de documentos (14 dos 964 pesquisados) e que nestes há uma prevalência de inclusão nos níveis secundário e terciário de atenção. No modelo de atenção preconizado, a relação que o profissional de psicologia estabelece com a Atenção Básica, segundo os documentos, se dá através do modelo de apoio matricial às equipes de saúde da família. Entretanto, identificou-se que este se configura em atuação de nível secundário. Assim, concluiu-se que a configuração das políticas públicas de saúde, em si, não favorece a efetivação de uma atuação do psicólogo condizente às demandas da atenção básica. Ressalta-se a necessidade da presença do profissional de psicologia nos três níveis de atenção. Entende-se que sistema de saúde deveria contar com psicólogos nas Unidades Locais de Saúde, inserido nas equipes de saúde da família, desenvolvendo um trabalho interdisciplinar voltado à atenção integral à saúde; e psicólogos especialistas locados nos núcleos e centros de níveis secundário e terciário

The contribution of the middle cerebral artery and callosal artery to the vascularisation of the Facies convexa of the brain in horses with reference to the equine-specific cartographic pattern of the neopallium

Background: The extremely complex surface architecture of the equine brain does not allow a uniform transfer of anatomical data from other mammalian species, e.g., dog or cat. Rather, a special approach is required to elucidate the equine-specific patterns of cerebral vascular ramifications. Therefore, a novel cartographic system was applied. Prior attention was paid to the A. cerebri media (MCA) and to the A. corporis callosi (CA), as they spread over the widest part of the neopallium’s Facies convexa (i.e. the lateral and dorsal surface), thus being of particular interest in terms of surgical treatment of trauma of the skull and brain. Materials and methods: The brains of 17 adult warmblood horses were studied. The neopallium’s Facies convexa was subdivided into 15 sectors clearly delineated by the primary sulci and by related auxiliary lines. The courses and destinations of main branches (= branches of 1st or 2nd order, with a minimum calibre of 0.75 mm) of MCA and CA were topographically analysed by means of superimposed graphical sketches. Results: The MCA had six main branches (numbered in rostrocaudal direction); the CA had seven main branches. The main branches of the MCA spread over the widest part of the Facies convexa, but never reached the rostral pole and the caudal pole of the neopallium. Clearly, the main branches of CA proceeded from the hemisphere’s medial side across the Margo dorsalis cerebri, thus supplying rostrodorsal and dorsal sectors of the Facies convexa. Conclusions: The topographical analysis of the vascular ramification patterns (regions of residence) in combination with the cartographic system of sectors of the neopallium respected the equine-specific surface architecture. It highlighted the distinct vascular supply areas and the particular multiple-supply situations especially in sectors presumably related to the equine area motorica