Lesser or just different? Capturing children''s voices in consumer research

Child research has been conducted 'on' rather than 'with' children, and has often used parental proxies or opinion to account for the views of the child. Due to this the voice of the child has been unheard. Once access and ethical concerns have been addressed the adult researcher then has to decide which role to take when conducting research with children. Children are largely seen in one of three ways, and each perspective has an impact on the role the adult researcher could adopt. The first claims that children are entirely different from adults, and fosters the notion that they are unreliable and contaminated data sources. The second perspective views children as being entirely the same as adults, and the third views children as being similar to adults but as having different (although not necessarily inferior) competencies. The latter perspective has received most support and is the favoured view of the child respondent

Single-Step Quantum Search Using Problem Structure

The structure of satisfiability problems is used to improve search algorithms for quantum computers and reduce their required coherence times by using only a single coherent evaluation of problem properties. The structure of random k-SAT allows determining the asymptotic average behavior of these algorithms, showing they improve on quantum algorithms, such as amplitude amplification, that ignore detailed problem structure but remain exponential for hard problem instances. Compared to good classical methods, the algorithm performs better, on average, for weakly and highly constrained problems but worse for hard cases. The analytic techniques introduced here also apply to other quantum algorithms, supplementing the limited evaluation possible with classical simulations and showing how quantum computing can use ensemble properties of NP search problems.Comment: 39 pages, 12 figures. Revision describes further improvement with multiple steps (section 7). See also http://www.parc.xerox.com/dynamics/www/quantum.htm

Using spatio-temporal continuity constraints to enhance visual tracking of moving objects

We present a framework for annotating dynamic scenes involving occlusion and other uncertainties. Our system comprises an object tracker, an object classifier and an algorithm for reasoning about spatio-temporal continuity. The principle behind the object tracking and classifier modules is to reduce error by increasing ambiguity (by merging objects in close proximity and presenting multiple hypotheses). The reasoning engine resolves error, ambiguity and occlusion to produce a most likely hypothesis, which is consistent with global spatio-temporal continuity constraints. The system results in improved annotation over frame-by-frame methods. It has been implemented and applied to the analysis of a team sports video

Enhanced tracking and recognition of moving objects by reasoning about spatio-temporal continuity.

A framework for the logical and statistical analysis and annotation of dynamic scenes containing occlusion and other uncertainties is presented. This framework consists of three elements; an object tracker module, an object recognition/classification module and a logical consistency, ambiguity and error reasoning engine. The principle behind the object tracker and object recognition modules is to reduce error by increasing ambiguity (by merging objects in close proximity and presenting multiple hypotheses). The reasoning engine deals with error, ambiguity and occlusion in a unified framework to produce a hypothesis that satisfies fundamental constraints on the spatio-temporal continuity of objects. Our algorithm finds a globally consistent model of an extended video sequence that is maximally supported by a voting function based on the output of a statistical classifier. The system results in an annotation that is significantly more accurate than what would be obtained by frame-by-frame evaluation of the classifier output. The framework has been implemented and applied successfully to the analysis of team sports with a single camera. Key words: Visua

Effects of Corn and Selected Weed Species on Feeding Behavior of the Stalk Borer, \u3ci\u3ePapaipema Nebris\u3c/i\u3e (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Experiments were conducted in an outdoor insectary to examine behavioral interactions between fifth instar stalk borers, Papaiperna nebris, and potential host plant species. Plants tested included 6- and 8-leaf stage corn, Zea mays, and ten weed species (six broadleaf and four grass) commonly associated with corn production in southern Wisconsin. Broadleaf plants found to be acceptable hosts included Ambrosia trifida, Arnaranthus retroflexus, Rumex crispus, and Chenopodium album; Asclepias syriaca and Abutilon theophrasti were not acceptable as host plants. Corn and the other grass species (Agropyron repens, Bromus inermis, Dactylis glomerata, and Setaria faberi) were found to be acceptable hosts. All acceptable plants also supported larval development to the pupal stage, though on 6-leaf stage corn and the small-stemmed grasses the majority of larvae dispersed before completing development. Larvae developing on corn, A. triftda, and A. retroflexus pupated within the plant stem, whereas larvae developing on the other plants pupated in the soil near the plant on which they fed. Stalk borer larvae required substantially less time to bore into corn stalks than into the stems of the broadleaf plants. In a limited preference experiment, corn was clearly preferred as a host plant over the three broadleaf and one small-stemmed grass species tested

Survival, Development and Population Dynamics of \u3ci\u3eEmpoasca Fabae\u3c/i\u3e (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) on Three Legume Hosts

Survival and development of potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae, nymphs were measured on alfalfa (Medicago sativa), birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), and red clover (Trifolium pratense). Survival was not significantly different among host plants (mean = 62%). There was no interaction between sex and host plant for developmental time. Males developed significantly faster than females. Developmental time was fastest on alfalfa, intermediate on trefoil, and slowest on red clover. Plots of alfalfa, trefoil, and red clover were planted to compare the seasonal abundance of the potato leafhopper in the three forages. Nymphs were more abundant in trefoil than in alfalfa and red clover late in July, but no differences occurred on the other sample dates. At their peak, adults were more abundant in alfalfa than in trefoil and red clover

Screen Barriers for Reducing Interplot Movement of Three Adult Plant Bug (Hemiptera: Miridae) Species in Small Plot Experiments

Fiberglass screen barriers 1.2 m high were erected around small (7.3 x 3.7 m) plots of birdsfoot trefoil, Lotus corniculatus, to study the effectiveness of screen barriers in reducing adult plant bug migration into small field plots. Screened and unscreened (control) plots were sprayed with an insecticide at the onset of the experiment, and subsequent adult mirid migration into these trefoil plots was measured by sweep net samples during the following 24 day period. Combined adult Adelphocoris lineolatus, Lygus lineolaris, and Plagiognathus chrysanthemi densities were significantly lower in screened versus unscreened plots with 37070, 28010, and 23070 fewer adults at 7, 17, and 24 days, respectively, following insecticide application. Although these barriers were inexpensive and simple to construct, we conclude that they were not practical and effective enough for reducing adult mirid migration in small plot experiments of this type

A List of Wisconsin Springtails With New Records and Annotations (Hexapoda: Parainsecta: Collembola)

Twenty Collembola species new to Wisconsin were collected from soil at two agricultural sites in southern Wisconsin, including an undescribed species of Isotomidae. The state faunal list now contains 52 species representing seven families

A maximum-likelihood method for improving faint source flux and color estimates

Flux estimates for faint sources or transients are systematically biased high because there are far more truly faint sources than bright. Corrections which account for this effect are presented as a function of signal-to-noise ratio and the (true) slope of the faint-source number-flux relation. The corrections depend on the source being originally identified in the image in which it is being photometered. If a source has been identified in other data, the corrections are different; a prescription for calculating the corrections is presented. Implications of these corrections for analyses of surveys are discussed; the most important is that sources identified at signal-to-noise ratios of four or less are practically useless.Comment: 9 pp., accepted for publication in PAS

A measurement of the dark energy equation of state with 40 strong lenses

Problems with the cosmological constant model of dark energy motivate the investigation of alternative scenarios. I make the first measurement of the dark energy equation of state using the hierarchical strong lensing time delay likelihood provided by TDCOSMO. I find that the combination of seven TDCOSMO lenses and 33 SLACS lenses is only able to provide an upper bound on the dark energy equation of state, $w < -1.75$, which nevertheless implies the presence of a phantom dark energy component. When the strong lensing time delay data is combined with a collection of cosmic microwave background, baryon acoustic oscillation and Type Ia supernova data, I find that the equation of state remains consistent with a cosmological constant.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure