Input window size and neural network predictors

Neural network approaches to time series prediction are briefly discussed, and the need to specify an appropriately sized input window identified. Relevant theoretical results from dynamic systems theory are briefly introduced, and heuristics for finding the correct embedding dimension, and hence window size, are discussed. The method is applied to two time series and the resulting generalisation performance of the trained feedforward neural network predictors is analysed. It is shown that the heuristics can provide useful information in defining the appropriate network architectur

Notes from and beyond my Conference Reading

In introducing his most recent book, Back to the War (2005), Frank Davey reflects on the epistemological difficulties of contemporary poetry, and how his poems have become collections of irreconcilable propositions, or series of irreconcilable paragraphs themselves constructed of non sequiturs and abruptly changed viewpoints, or sets of multiple choice statements. His poetics in the past decade have become based on the concept of the proposition, specifically the proposition that language is for the most part propositional - offering more or less plausible constructions that are always alternative to other more or less plausible constructions

Global and Feature Based Gender Classification of Faces: A Comparison of Human Performance and Computational Models

Original paper can be found at: http://eproceedings.worldscinet.com/9789812701886/9789812701886_0036.html Copyright World Scientific Publishing Company. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/9789812701886_0036Most computational models for gender classification use global information (the full face image) giving equal weight to the whole face area irrespective of the importance of the internal features. Here, we use a global and feature based representation of face images that includes both global and featural information. We use dimensionality reduction techniques and a support vector machine classifier and show that this method performs better than either global or feature based representations alone.Peer reviewe

High Performance Associative Memories and Structured Weight Dilution

Copyright SpringerThe consequences of two techniques for symmetrically diluting the weights of the standard Hopfield architecture associative memory model, trained using a non-Hebbian learning rule, are examined. This paper reports experimental investigations into the effect of dilution on factors such as: pattern stability and attractor performance. It is concluded that these networks maintain a reasonable level of performance at fairly high dilution rates

Poetry beyond Illocution

Visual and conceptual poetry became significant practices in Canada in the late 1950s and 1960s as part of a dissatisfaction with what Antony Easthope in 1986 would call a moribund “bourgeois poetic discourse,” “the poetry of the ‘single voice.’” The latter, however, would continue to survive in school anthologies and arts council policies as a protected form, while the new non-discursive poetries found most of their audiences in art galleries, libraries, music clubs, on the internet, and as often through international presentation as Canadian. The result has been a rich accumulation of visual and conceptual poetry, with its own major figures, that is little understood or studied nationally and often better known and appreciated outside of Canada than within

A comparison of the performance of humans and computational models in the classification of facial expression

Recognizing expressions are a key part of human social interaction, and processing of facial expression information is largely automatic for humans, but it is a non-trivial task for a computational system. In the first part of the experiment, we develop computational models capable of differentiating between two human facial expressions. We perform pre-processing by Gabor filters and dimensionality reduction using the methods: Principal Component Analysis, and Curvilinear Component Analysis. Subsequently the faces are classified using a Support Vector Machines. We also asked human subjects to classify these images and then we compared the performance of the humans and the computational models. The main result is that for the Gabor pre-processed model, the probability that an individual face was classified in the given class by the computational model is inversely proportional to the reaction time for the human subjects

A neural network model of visual object recognition impairment after brain damage

Dysfunction of the visual object recognition system in humans is briefly discussed and a basic connectionist model of visual object recognition is introduced. Experimentation in which two variants of this model are lesioned is undertaken. The results suggest that the well documented phenomenon of superordinate preservation is model independent. Differential category specific recognition deficits are also observed in this model, however these are sensitive to each particular variant

The Role of Global and Feature Based Information in Gender Classification of Faces: A Comparison of Human Performance and Computational Models

Peer reviewe

Variation in pH, volatile fatty acid concentration and proportions of the individual acids within the rumen of the dairy cow : a thesis ... M. Agr. Sc.

An increased interest in rumen physiology and metabolism has resulted in the accumulation of a mass of data on the subject over the last two decades but information, particularly on quantitative aspects, is far from complete. It is now well established that the main non-nitrogenous end- products of rumen fermentation, the volatile fatty acids (VFA) acetic, propionic and butyric play a major part in the energy metabolism of the ruminant. They provide the major energy source for the animal and the amounts and proportions of the acids absorbed influence the efficiency with which the diet is used for fattening and can affect the milk composition of the lactating cow. Thus a knowledge of the type of fermentation produced is necessary, as a contribution to the assessment of the nutritive value of feedstuffs and the efficiency with which they are converted to animal products. The results obtained by different investigators are seldom strictly comparable as the pattern of rumen fermentation and the concentration and proportions of the VFA s may be considerably modified by factors other than the composition of the diet. Such factors are the level of intake, the feeding regime and sampling techniques adopted. [From Introduction

Gender classification of face images: the role of global and feature-based information

Peer reviewe