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Reflecting on reflection: scale extension and a comparison of undergraduate business students in the United States and the United Kingdom
In the Peltier, Hay, and Drago (2005) article entitled âThe Reflective Learning Continuum: Reflecting on Reflection,â a reflective learning continuum was conceptualized and tested. This is a follow-up article based on three extensions: (1) determine whether the continuum could be expanded, (2) further validating the continuum using additional schools, and (3) determining whether the continuum could also be applied to undergraduate business education. The findings from a study of U.S. and UK students show that the revised scale is valid and reliable and that U.S. students in the sample universities rated their educational experience higher and were more likely to use reflective thinking practices
Robust Computer Algebra, Theorem Proving, and Oracle AI
In the context of superintelligent AI systems, the term "oracle" has two
meanings. One refers to modular systems queried for domain-specific tasks.
Another usage, referring to a class of systems which may be useful for
addressing the value alignment and AI control problems, is a superintelligent
AI system that only answers questions. The aim of this manuscript is to survey
contemporary research problems related to oracles which align with long-term
research goals of AI safety. We examine existing question answering systems and
argue that their high degree of architectural heterogeneity makes them poor
candidates for rigorous analysis as oracles. On the other hand, we identify
computer algebra systems (CASs) as being primitive examples of domain-specific
oracles for mathematics and argue that efforts to integrate computer algebra
systems with theorem provers, systems which have largely been developed
independent of one another, provide a concrete set of problems related to the
notion of provable safety that has emerged in the AI safety community. We
review approaches to interfacing CASs with theorem provers, describe
well-defined architectural deficiencies that have been identified with CASs,
and suggest possible lines of research and practical software projects for
scientists interested in AI safety.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure
Evolutionary strategy search algorithm for fast block motion estimation
The evolutionary strategy search (ESS) algorithm is a novel method for implementing fast block motion estimation (ME) using evolutionary
strategy (ES). ESS uses a combination of ideas based on existing search strategies and employs a novel (1ĂŸsl) ES implementation. It is essentially a succession of random searches, but by controlling the placement and distribution of these searches in a simple way, it proves
possible to achieve comparable motion vector accuracy to the more established ME strategies, but with enhanced convergence speed
National and Regional Estimates of the Prevalence of Opiate and/or Crack Cocaine use 2008-09: A summary of key findings
<p>This report summarises the results of a follow-up study
to a three year project to estimate the prevalence of
âproblem drug useâ (defined as use of opiates and/or
crack cocaine) nationally (England only), regionally and
locally. The follow-up was carried out two years after the
final sweep of the original project, so could therefore
be considered as âsweep 5â. An overview of the national
and regional estimates are presented in this report, as are
comparisons with the estimates produced by the third
(2006-07) sweep of the study. Estimates for 2007-08 are
not available as a study was not commissioned for that
year.</p>
<p>Information about the number of people who use illicit
drugs such as heroin, other opiates or crack cocaine
is key to formulating effective policies for tackling
drug-related harm as these drugs are associated with
the highest levels of harm. It also helps inform service
provision at the local level and provides a context
in which to understand the population impact of
interventions to reduce drug-related harm.</p>
<p>Direct enumeration of those engaged in a largely covert
activity such as the use of class A drugs is difficult
and standard household survey techniques tend to
underestimate the extent of such activity. Indirect
techniques making use of various data sources offer a
more reliable way of calculating prevalence estimates for
the use of opiates and/or crack cocaine. The estimates
presented in this report are derived using two indirect
measurement techniques: the capture-recapture
method (CRC ); and the multiple indicator (MIM ) method.
These methods are described in detail in Hay et al., 2006
and Hay et al., 2007a. Methodological developments
throughout the course of the previous three sweeps are
discussed elsewhere (Hay et al., 2007b, Hay et al., 2008).
The individuals covered by this study were people aged
15 to 64 and resident in each DAT area, and known to
be using heroin, methadone, other opiate drugs or
crack cocaine.</p>
The Drosophila DIAP1 protein is required to prevent accumulation of a continuously generated, processed form of the apical caspase DRONC
Although loss of the inhibitor of apoptosis (LAP) protein DIAP1 has been shown to result in caspase activation and spontaneous cell death in Drosophila cells and embryos, the point at which DIAP1 normally functions to inhibit caspase activation is unknown. Depletion of the DIAP1 protein in Drosophila S2 cells or the Sf-IAP protein in Spodoptera frugiperda Sf21 cells by RNA interference (RNAi) or cycloheximide treatment resulted in rapid and widespread caspase-dependent apoptosis. Co-silencing of dronc or dark largely suppressed this apoptosis, indicating that DIAP1 is normally required to inhibit an activity dependent on these proteins. Silencing of dronc also inhibited DRICE processing following stimulation of apoptosis, demonstrating that DRONC functions as an apical caspase in S2 cells. Silencing of diap1 or treatment with UV light induced DRONC processing, which occurred in two steps. The first step appeared to occur continuously even in the absence of an apoptotic signal and to be dependent on DARK because full-length DRONC accumulated when dark was silenced in non-apoptotic cells. In addition, treatment with the proteasome inhibitor MG132 resulted in accumulation of this initially processed form of DRONC, but not full-length DRONC, in non-apoptotic cells. The second step in DRONC processing was observed only in apoptotic cells. These results indicate that the initial step in DRONC processing occurs continuously via a DARK-dependent mechanism in Drosophila cells and that DIAP1 is required to prevent excess accumulation of this first form of processed DRONC, presumably through its ability to act as a ubiquitin-protein ligase
ICF core sets for low back pain: do they include what matters to patients?
To investigate whether the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for low back pain encompass the key functional problems of patients
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