424 research outputs found
From Scalability to Subsidiarity in Addressing Online Harm
Large social media platforms are generally designed for scalability—the ambition to increase in size without a fundamental change in form. This means that to address harm among users, they favor automated moderation wherever possible and typically apply a uniform set of rules. This article contrasts scalability with restorative and transformative justice approaches to harm, which are usually context-sensitive, relational, and individualized. We argue that subsidiarity—the principle that local social units should have meaningful autonomy within larger systems—might foster the balance between context and scale that is needed for improving responses to harm
Search for d^* Dibaryon by Double-radiative Capture on Pionic Deuterium
We report a search for d^* dibaryon production by double-radiative capture on
pionic deuterium. The experiment was conducted at the TRIUMF cyclotron using
the RMC cylindrical pair spectrometer, and detected gamma-ray coincidences
following pion stops in liquid deuterium. We found no evidence for narrow
dibaryons, and obtained a branching ratio upper limit, BR < 6.7 times 10^{-6}
(90% C.L.), for narrow d^* production in the mass range from 1920 to 1980 MeV.
Replaced with Physics Letter B accepted version and corrected normalization.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Test of isospin symmetry via low energy H(,) charge exchange
We report measurements of the differential cross
sections at six momenta (104-143 MeV/c) and four angles (0-40 deg) by detection
of -ray pairs from decays using the TRIUMF
RMC spectrometer. This region exhibits a vanishing zero-degree cross section
from destructive interference between s-- and p--waves, thus yielding special
sensitivity to pion-nucleon dynamics and isospin symmetry breaking. Our data
and previous data do not agree, with important implications for earlier claims
of large isospin violating effects in low energy pion-nucleon interactions.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Deep Eyes: Binocular Depth-from-Focus on Focal Stack Pairs
Human visual system relies on both binocular stereo cues and monocular
focusness cues to gain effective 3D perception. In computer vision, the two
problems are traditionally solved in separate tracks. In this paper, we present
a unified learning-based technique that simultaneously uses both types of cues
for depth inference. Specifically, we use a pair of focal stacks as input to
emulate human perception. We first construct a comprehensive focal stack
training dataset synthesized by depth-guided light field rendering. We then
construct three individual networks: a Focus-Net to extract depth from a single
focal stack, a EDoF-Net to obtain the extended depth of field (EDoF) image from
the focal stack, and a Stereo-Net to conduct stereo matching. We show how to
integrate them into a unified BDfF-Net to obtain high-quality depth maps.
Comprehensive experiments show that our approach outperforms the
state-of-the-art in both accuracy and speed and effectively emulates human
vision systems
“Success was Actually Having Learned:” University Student Perceptions of Ungrading
A large body of evidence shows that many ungrading practices are as good or better than conventional approaches at supporting learning outcomes. Much of the research on student perceptions of ungrading, however, is based on individual case studies which, although informative, are often anecdotal, not systematically implemented, and tend to emphasize the instructor’s perspectives. Building on this literature, we offer a systematic study that asks: how do students perceive pedagogical practices designed by instructors to support an ungrading strategy? To answer this question, we conducted a survey of students across a range of disciplines and a variety of ungrading approaches to assess how they perceive their learning experiences in these courses as compared to others. Findings indicate that students generally perceive that ungrading practices improve their relationship with their instructor; enhance their engagement, agency, enjoyment, and interest; foster their intrinsic motivation and focus on learning; and facilitate their creativity. While many students reported reduced stress, others reported that the unfamiliarity and uncertainty of ungrading increased their stress. Gaining a better understanding of how students react to these pedagogical techniques can help instructors improve their practices
Ortho-para transition rate in -molecular hydrogen and the proton's induced pseudoscalar coupling
We report a measurement of the ortho-para transition rate in the pp
molecule. The experiment was conducted at TRIUMF via the measurement of the
time dependence of the 5.2 MeV neutrons from muon capture in liquid hydrogen.
The measurement yielded an ortho-para rate s that is substantially larger than the
earlier result of Bardin {\it et al.} We discuss the striking implications for
the proton's induced pseudoscalar coupling .Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Single view reflectance capture using multiplexed scattering and time-of-flight imaging
This paper introduces the concept of time-of-flight reflectance estimation, and demonstrates a new technique that allows a camera to rapidly acquire reflectance properties of objects from a single view-point, over relatively long distances and without encircling equipment. We measure material properties by indirectly illuminating an object by a laser source, and observing its reflected light indirectly using a time-of-flight camera. The configuration collectively acquires dense angular, but low spatial sampling, within a limited solid angle range - all from a single viewpoint. Our ultra-fast imaging approach captures space-time "streak images" that can separate out different bounces of light based on path length. Entanglements arise in the streak images mixing signals from multiple paths if they have the same total path length. We show how reflectances can be recovered by solving for a linear system of equations and assuming parametric material models; fitting to lower dimensional reflectance models enables us to disentangle measurements.
We demonstrate proof-of-concept results of parametric reflectance models for homogeneous and discretized heterogeneous patches, both using simulation and experimental hardware. As compared to lengthy or highly calibrated BRDF acquisition techniques, we demonstrate a device that can rapidly, on the order of seconds, capture meaningful reflectance information. We expect hardware advances to improve the portability and speed of this device.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award CCF-0644175)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award CCF-0811680)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award IIS-1011919)Intel Corporation (PhD Fellowship)Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (Research Fellowship
Double radiative pion capture on hydrogen and deuterium and the nucleon's pion cloud
We report measurements of double radiative capture in pionic hydrogen and
pionic deuterium. The measurements were performed with the RMC spectrometer at
the TRIUMF cyclotron by recording photon pairs from pion stops in liquid
hydrogen and deuterium targets. We obtained absolute branching ratios of for hydrogen and for deuterium, and
relative branching ratios of double radiative capture to single radiative
capture of for hydrogen
and for
deuterium. For hydrogen, the measured branching ratio and photon energy-angle
distributions are in fair agreement with a reaction mechanism involving the
annihilation of the incident on the cloud of the target proton.
For deuterium, the measured branching ratio and energy-angle distributions are
qualitatively consistent with simple arguments for the expected role of the
spectator neutron. A comparison between our hydrogen and deuterium data and
earlier beryllium and carbon data reveals substantial changes in the relative
branching ratios and the energy-angle distributions and is in agreement with
the expected evolution of the reaction dynamics from an annihilation process in
S-state capture to a bremsstrahlung process in P-state capture. Lastly, we
comment on the relevance of the double radiative process to the investigation
of the charged pion polarizability and the in-medium pion field.Comment: 44 pages, 7 tables, 13 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
The CAST Time Projection Chamber
One of the three X-ray detectors of the CAST experiment searching for solar
axions is a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) with a multi-wire proportional
counter (MWPC) as a readout structure. Its design has been optimized to provide
high sensitivity to the detection of the low intensity X-ray signal expected in
the CAST experiment. A low hardware threshold of 0.8 keV is safely set during
normal data taking periods, and the overall efficiency for the detection of
photons coming from conversion of solar axions is 62 %. Shielding has been
installed around the detector, lowering the background level to 4.10 x 10^-5
counts/cm^2/s/keV between 1 and 10 keV. During phase I of the CAST experiment
the TPC has provided robust and stable operation, thus contributing with a
competitive result to the overall CAST limit on axion-photon coupling and mass.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures and images, submitted to New Journal of Physic
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