A Learning Algorithm based on High School Teaching Wisdom

A learning algorithm based on primary school teaching and learning is presented. The methodology is to continuously evaluate a student and to give them training on the examples for which they repeatedly fail, until, they can correctly answer all types of questions. This incremental learning procedure produces better learning curves by demanding the student to optimally dedicate their learning time on the failed examples. When used in machine learning, the algorithm is found to train a machine on a data with maximum variance in the feature space so that the generalization ability of the network improves. The algorithm has interesting applications in data mining, model evaluations and rare objects discovery

Non Timber Forest Products and Biodiversity Conservation - A Study of Tribals in a Protected Area in India

This study analyses the economics of Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) and the economic values appropriated by tribals in a protected area in India. Using primary data covering a cross section of tribals in the Nagarhole National Park (NNP), South India the stud y notes that the economic values appropriated by the tribals are quite high. Even after including external costs (i.e. wildlife damages costs and defensive expenditures to protect against wildlife attacks) the Net Present Value of NTFP benefits derived by the tribal households was over Rs 30,378 per household (at 12% discount rate for cash flows summed over 25 years). Interestingly when the external costs borne by third parties (i.e., coffee growers) are taken into account the net NTFP benefits turned negative. In other words, although from the NTFP extractors viewpoint NTFP extraction is a viable activity, from the society's viewpoint this is not so. The estimated net NTFP benefits from NNP after including the external costs borne by NTFP extractors was estimated at between USD 33.5 to 167.5 per ha per year using alternate assumptions regarding the park's catchment area. The tribals have a positive attitude towards biodiversity conservation. Asked to justify and rank the reasons why biodiversity needs to be conserved, the tribals emphasized its livelihood and ecosystem fun ctions. Using contingent valuation method, the study notes that those with income from coffee estates and forest employment, and those residing in the core zone of the national park are less willing to accept compensation and relocate outside the national park. The study suggests improving the incentive structure in order to obtain the support and participation of tribals in biodiversity conservation strategies.Non Timber Forest Products, Biodiversity Conservation, Net Present Values, External Costs, Contingent Valuation Method, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

THE ECONOMICS OF BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION-A STUDY IN A COFFEE GROWING REGION OF INDIA

This paper analyses the economics of biodiversity conservation in the context of a tropical ecosystem in India, where coffee is the main competitor for land use.Using primary data covering a cross section of coffee growers,the study notes that the opportunity costs of biodiversity conservation in terms of coffee benefits foregone are quite high.Even after including external costs due to wild life damages and defensive expenditures to protect against wild life, the NPVs and IRRs from coffee for all land holding groups were high.The study notes that the external costs accounted for between 7 to 15% of the total discounted costs of coffee cultivation, and smaller holdings proportionately incurred higher external costs as compared to larger holdings. The study also notes high transaction costs incurred by the growers to claim compensation for wild life damages. Notwithstanding these disincentives, the study notes that the local community were willing to pay in terms of time for participatory biodiversity conservation, and they preferred a decentralised government institution for this purpose.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Water productivity in agriculture: a review of empirical evidence for selected Asian countries and India

In the context of the growing demand for water and the emerging water crisis, this paper examines the prospects for improving water use efficiency in agriculture that will help water savings and also increase crop yields per unit of water input. Evidences from experimental or farmer participatory trials in a cross section of regions, countries, sites in Asia and the Indo-Gangetic plains suggest that alternate agronomic and crop management practices such as zero-tillage, bed planting, non-puddled rice culture and laser leveling can result in water savings and also improve rice and wheat yields per unit of water input.Length: pp.214-225Irrigation efficiencyWater productivityRiceWheat

Utilization of trawl bycatch in Gujarat (India)

Bycatch from trawlers forms a signifi cant quantity of the total marine fi sh landings along the northwest coast of India, particularly in the state of Gujarat, which contributes about 23 percent of the total marine fi sh landings in the country. This paper discusses the composition of this bycatch, its signifi cance in terms of nutritional value, its present utilization pattern and the scope for improvement

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever

The Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne infectious viral disease in the family Bunyaviridae. The disease was first characterized in the Crimea in 1944 and given the name Crimean hemorrhagic fever. CCHF was then later recognized in 1969 as the cause of illness in the Congo, thus resulting in the current name of the disease. CCHF causes severe viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks (CDC, 2014)

SOCIAL MEDIA: THE IMPACT ON SPIRITUAL FORMATION AMONG GENERATION Z FRESHMAN COLLEGE STUDENTS

The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of social media on the spiritual formation of Generation Z freshmen college students. Social media app usage has become prevalent within society, and Gen Z members are the first to grow up their entire lives with Internet access. Christian universities must understand the impact of social media apps on incoming freshman students, as they develop spiritual formation strategies aimed at the college population. In addition, the students’ own perceptions of how they are being impacted is important to identify, in order for them to make the necessary changes towards spiritual growth. The data collection instrument used was an online survey, distributed via email to freshmen students. Out of 300 eligible freshmen students, 134 completed the survey. The survey asked questions about spiritual formation activities and social media app usage. Data analysis of the survey is reported in the results portion of this study. The findings of this study were that social media technology has altered the spiritual formation process of Gen Z students at the university, as they are not able to be fully present during spiritual formation activities, with Bible reading, quiet time, and prayer life being significantly impacted by these apps. Additionally, the social media app Instagram was found to have the greatest impact on student spiritual formation, over the three other most popular apps (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter) at the time of this study

Success Experiences of Hispanic Nursing Students Who Persisted and Graduated after Academic Failure

Twenty percent of Hispanic nursing students at a west coast university are being dismissed from the nursing program due to repeated failures in nursing courses. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of Hispanic nursing students\u27 experiences of successfully completing a nursing program, earning a baccalaureate of science degree, and passing the state licensing examination for registered nurses despite having failed a nursing course and having been placed on academic probation. Guided by Tinto\u27s theory of academic integration, a descriptive phenomenological design was used to explore Hispanic nursing graduates\u27 success experiences. Purposive sampling was used to select a representative sample of 6 Hispanic registered nurses who achieved success after academic failure in the nursing program. Data were collected through 5 face-to-face interviews and 1 telephone interview. Giorgi\u27s steps for data analysis were used to create a meaning structure of the success experience. Findings from analysis of the data revealed that the general structure of the phenomenon of achieving academic success is a process that occurs in 3 distinct successive stages: despair, self-reflection, and change. During the self-reflection stage, a pivotal turning point was the recapture of the dream to become a nurse. These findings lead to the preparation of a professional development workshop that may acquaint educators with the stages of the success journey for students such as these, and may equip educators with knowledge and skills to intervene to support students through the stages of the success journey. Positive social change may result from educators effectively guiding nursing students to achieve their academic goals and successfully graduate from a nursing program

The Projection Problem for Predicates of Taste

Utterances of simple sentences containing taste predicates (e.g. "delicious", "fun", "frightening") typically imply that the speaker has had a particular sort of first-hand experience with the object of predication. For example, an utterance of "The carrot cake is delicious" would typically imply that the speaker had actually tasted the cake in question, and is not, for example, merely basing her judgment on the testimony of others. According to one approach, this 'acquaintance inference' is essentially an implicature, one generated by the Maxim of Quality together with a certain principle concerning the epistemology of taste (Ninan 2014). We first discuss some problems for this approach, problems that arise in connection with disjunction and generalized quantifiers. Then, after stating a conjecture concerning which operators 'obviate' the acquaintance inference and which do not, we build on Anand and Korotkova 2018 and Willer and Kennedy Forthcoming by developing a theory that treats the acquaintance requirement as a presupposition, albeit one that can be obviated by certain operators