An Artificial Synaptic Plasticity Mechanism for Classical Conditioning with Neural Networks

We present an artificial synaptic plasticity (ASP) mechanism that allows artificial systems to make associations between environmental stimuli and learn new skills at runtime. ASP builds on the classical neural network for simulating associative learning, which is induced through a conditioning-like procedure. Experiments in a simulated mobile robot demonstrate that ASP has successfully generated conditioned responses. The robot has learned during environmental exploration to use sensors added after training, improving its object-avoidance capabilities

The Rise of the Iron Ladies: Female Leadership in Democracies (1960-2015)

Since Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the first female prime minister in 1960, there has been a gradual increase in the number of women entering top political office. In 2013, there was a peak of 14 women leading democracies. However, most previous research used case studies and did not focus specifically on female leaders coming to power in democracies. This thesis investigates two aspects of female leadership in democracies: first, what common characteristics can be identified in the countries where women enter top office, and second, what do female leaders look like compared to their male counterparts? The data indicates that female leaders are more likely to achieve power in democracies in which women have had the right to vote for a longer period of time and in which the executive is a powerful presidency. Female leaders are also more likely to be in power in countries with lower female enrollment in secondary education, where women have had the right to vote for longer a longer period, where there was a recent conflict, in which there is a dual executive, and in which the executive is a powerful presidency. This presents an interesting difference between women coming to power and staying in power. Compared to similar male leaders, the women who come to power are less likely to have children and more likely to have family ties to power. Compared to subsequent female leaders, first female leaders tend to have less prior political experience and are less likely to have experience at lower levels of government. The results have positive implications for the emergence of female leadership in democracies

Examining Difference in Social Perceptions between Women Using Hormonal Contraceptives and Naturally Cycling Women

The term “stress” refers to a person’s psychological and physiological response to the demands and pressures of the world around them (Farlex, 2021). Past research has shown that stress can have negative side effects on a person’s well-being (Aneshensel et al., 1991; Wunsch et al., 2017; Michie, 2002). Although people experience stress, some people perceive more stress than others. Perceptions are important because the way one understands certain conditions can elicit distinct emotional and physiological responses (Kemeny, 2003). An important factor that has not received a lot of attention is women’s use of hormonal contraceptives. In the United States, 24.4% of women aged 15-49 are currently using hormonal contraceptives and of those women 14% are using oral contraceptives (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Past research has begun to link hormonal contraceptive use to changes in women’s physiological processes unrelated to reproductive function. One particular study examined the differences in the salivary cortisol response to psychosocial stress by comparing women who were using hormonal contraceptives to women who were naturally cycling (Roche et al., 2013). One limitation of this prior research is that it considered all oral contraceptive users as a single group. In my research I broke down oral contraceptive users into four distinct groups based on the type of progestin, also known as generation of progestin, the oral contraceptive contains. This led me to my current research question: Is there a difference in perceived stress levels among women taking one of the four generations of contraceptive pills and naturally cycling women? Women were directed to an online study and completed an informed consent. Then they completed a variety of measures. The specific stress index I used is the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) which is a 10-item questionnaire that is widely used to assess stress levels in people 12 years and older (Cohen et al., 1983). To test my hypothesis if there is a difference in stress levels between the women taking one of the four generations of contraceptive pills compared to the naturally cycling women. I used a one-way ANOVA test to look at the differences in the means between the five groups. My one-way ANOVA test did not find differences between the groups, F(4,600) = 1.22, p = .301. Although my results were not significant past research has shown that hormonal contraceptives can have mental and physical effects on women