Sobolev tests of goodness of fit of distributions on compact Riemannian manifolds

Classes of coordinate-invariant omnibus goodness-of-fit tests on compact Riemannian manifolds are proposed. The tests are based on Gin\'{e}'s Sobolev tests of uniformity. A condition for consistency is given. The tests are illustrated by an example on the rotation group $\mathit{SO}(3)$.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/009053605000000697 in the Annals of Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

A Circular Statistical Method for Extracting Rotation Measures

We propose a new method for the extraction of Rotation Measure from spectral polarization data. The method is based on maximum likelihood analysis and takes into account the circular nature of the polarization data. The method is unbiased and statistically more efficient than the standard $\chi^2$ procedure. We also find that the method is computationally much faster than the standard $\chi^2$ procedure if the number of data points are very large.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure

Classification of certain 6-manifolds

In (13) Wall classified up to diffeomorphism, PL-homeomorphism, topological homeomorphism, and homotopy equivalence all closed, oriented, 1-connected smooth (or PL) 6-manifolds with torsion-free homology and vanishing second Stiefel-Whitney class. This paper extends these classifications to all closed, oriented, 1-connected topological 6-manifolds with torsion-free homology. The method differs from that of (13) but uses two special cases of Wall's classificatio

Towards a value-centric approach to education: Implications of changing practices in construction project management

This article explores two interdependent subjects underpinning how the built environment is produced: value and integrated teamwork. The concept of value is defined as the relationship between benefits received and costs incurred. Value thereby derives from the values of the judge and in multi-stakeholder construction projects, understanding each membera??s unique value proposition is complex, forming a catalyst for integrated teamwork and interdisciplinary ways of working. These subjects are reviewed in relation to the changes occurring in practice and how they can help inform new approaches to the education of built environment professionals, giving specific attention to construction project management education. In exploring these themes, the authors first review related project management research, before focusing on construction and current trends in practice. The paper then summarises research aimed at developing better theories of value and advancing integrated teamwork in construction. A framework aimed at facilitating a move to an educational model that encompasses a value-based and multidisciplinary approach is presented, followed by discussion and future work

Knowledge Representation for Web Navigation

Representations of domain knowledge range from those that are ontologically formal, semantically rich to those that are ontologically informal and semantically weak. Representations of knowledge are important in many tasks, one of which is the support of travel around information spaces through the identification and linking of concepts in a field. In this paper we explore how representations of ontologically informal, semantically weak domain knowledge as captured by the Simple Knowledge Organisation System (SKOS) can enable a system to take advantage of the large number of existing ontological representations to support semantic linking of Web based information and thus facilitate information travel

Document Navigation: Ontology or Knowledge Organization System?

Bioinformatics relies heavily on web resources for information gathering. Ontologies are being developed to fill the background knowledge needed to drive Semantic Web applications. This paper discusses how formal ontologies are not always suited for document navigation on the web. Converting ontologies into a model with looser semantics, allows cheap and rapid generation of useful knowledge systems. The message is that ontologies are not the only knowledge artefact needed; vocabularies and other classification schemes with weaker semantics have their role and are the best solution in certain circumstances

How did they get here from there? Detecting changes of direction in terrestrial ranging

Efficient exploitation of large-scale space is crucial to many species of animal, but the difficulties of studying how animals decide on travel routes in natural environments have hampered scientific understanding of environmental cognition. Field experiments allow researchers to define travel goals for their subjects, but practical difficulties restrict large-scale studies. In contrast, data on natural travel patterns are abundant and easy to record, but hard to interpret without circularity and subjectivity when making inferences about when and why an animal began heading to a particular location. We present a method of determining objectively the point at which an animal’s travel path becomes directed at a location, for instance a distant feeding site, based on the statistical characteristics of its route. We evaluate this method and illustrate how it can be tailored to particular problems, using data that is (a) synthetic; (b) from baboons, where travel is from a single sleeping site in an overlapping home range, and (c) from chimpanzees, where sleeping sites are unlimited within a large territory. We suggest that this ‘change- point test’ might usefully become a routine first step in interpreting the decision- making behind animal travel under natural conditions