51 research outputs found
Biologically inspired learning in a layered neural net
A feed-forward neural net with adaptable synaptic weights and fixed, zero or
non-zero threshold potentials is studied, in the presence of a global feedback
signal that can only have two values, depending on whether the output of the
network in reaction to its input is right or wrong.
It is found, on the basis of four biologically motivated assumptions, that
only two forms of learning are possible, Hebbian and Anti-Hebbian learning.
Hebbian learning should take place when the output is right, while there should
be Anti-Hebbian learning when the output is wrong.
For the Anti-Hebbian part of the learning rule a particular choice is made,
which guarantees an adequate average neuronal activity without the need of
introducing, by hand, control mechanisms like extremal dynamics. A network with
realistic, i.e., non-zero threshold potentials is shown to perform its task of
realizing the desired input-output relations best if it is sufficiently
diluted, i.e. if only a relatively low fraction of all possible synaptic
connections is realized
Asymmetric response of forest and grassy biomes to climate variability across the African Humid Period : influenced by anthropogenic disturbance?
A comprehensive understanding of the relationship between land cover, climate change and disturbance dynamics is needed to inform scenarios of vegetation change on the African continent. Although significant advances have been made, large uncertainties exist in projections of future biodiversity and ecosystem change for the world's largest tropical landmass. To better illustrate the effects of climateâdisturbanceâecosystem interactions on continentalâscale vegetation change, we apply a novel statistical multivariate envelope approach to subfossil pollen data and climate model outputs (TraCEâ21ka). We target paleoenvironmental records across continental Africa, from the African Humid Period (AHP: ca 14 700â5500 yr BP) â an interval of spatially and temporally variable hydroclimatic conditions â until recent times, to improve our understanding of overarching vegetation trends and to compare changes between forest and grassy biomes (savanna and grassland). Our results suggest that although climate variability was the dominant driver of change, forest and grassy biomes responded asymmetrically: 1) the climatic envelope of grassy biomes expanded, or persisted in increasingly diverse climatic conditions, during the second half of the AHP whilst that of forest did not; 2) forest retreat occurred much more slowly during the mid to late Holocene compared to the early AHP forest expansion; and 3) as forest and grassy biomes diverged during the second half of the AHP, their ecological relationship (envelope overlap) fundamentally changed. Based on these asymmetries and associated changes in human land use, we propose and discuss three hypotheses about the influence of anthropogenic disturbance on continentalâscale vegetation change
Negotiating License and Limits: expertise and innovation in Djenne's building trade
During a masonâs apprenticeship in DjennĂ©, the young man acquires not only technical skills, but also appropriate social knowledge and a bodily comportment. Together, these inform his professional performance as a craftsman. Recognised masters of the trade creatively innovate in a manner that effectively expands the discursive boundaries of tradition and what is popularly accepted as âauthenticâ DjennĂ© architecture. Based on ethnographic work amongst DjennĂ©âs masons, this paper explores the complex construction of âexpert statusâ, and the negotiation of license and limits for innovation in this internationally renowned and protected historic urban context
- âŠ