Modeling Human Ad Hoc Coordination

Whether in groups of humans or groups of computer agents, collaboration is most effective between individuals who have the ability to coordinate on a joint strategy for collective action. However, in general a rational actor will only intend to coordinate if that actor believes the other group members have the same intention. This circular dependence makes rational coordination difficult in uncertain environments if communication between actors is unreliable and no prior agreements have been made. An important normative question with regard to coordination in these ad hoc settings is therefore how one can come to believe that other actors will coordinate, and with regard to systems involving humans, an important empirical question is how humans arrive at these expectations. We introduce an exact algorithm for computing the infinitely recursive hierarchy of graded beliefs required for rational coordination in uncertain environments, and we introduce a novel mechanism for multiagent coordination that uses it. Our algorithm is valid in any environment with a finite state space, and extensions to certain countably infinite state spaces are likely possible. We test our mechanism for multiagent coordination as a model for human decisions in a simple coordination game using existing experimental data. We then explore via simulations whether modeling humans in this way may improve human-agent collaboration.Comment: AAAI 201

Research challenges in nanosatellite-DTN networks

Current approaches based on classical satellite communications, aimed at bringing Internet connectivity to remote and underdeveloped areas, are too expensive and impractical. Nanosatellites architectures with DTN protocol have been proposed as a cost-effective solution to extend the network access in rural and remote areas. In order to guarantee a good service and a large coverage in rural areas, it is necessary to deploy a good number of nanosatellites; consequentially, for reliability and load balancing purposes, is also needed a large number of ground stations (or hot spots) connected on the Internet. During a data connection, a server on the Internet that wants to reply to the user on rural area, has many hot spot alternatives to whom it can deliver data. Different hot spots can send data to final destination with different delivery delay depending on the number, position and buffer occupancy of satellites with which it comes into contact. The problem of choosing the optimal hot spot becomes important because a wrong choice could lead a high delivery delay

Modeling human ad hoc coordination

Whether in groups of humans or groups of computer agents, collaboration is most effective between individuals who have the ability to coordinate on a joint strategy for collective action. However, in general a rational actor will only intend to coordinate if that actor believes the other group members have the same intention. This circular dependence makes rational coordination difficult in uncertain environments if communication between actors is unreliable and no prior agreements have been made. An important normative question with regard to coordination in these ad hoc settings is therefore how one can come to believe that other actors will coordinate, and with regard to systems involving humans, an important empirical question is how humans arrive at these expectations. We introduce an exact algorithm for computing the infinitely recursive hierarchy of graded beliefs required for rational coordination in uncertain environments, and we introduce a novel mechanism for multiagent coordination that uses it. Our algorithm is valid in any environment with a finite state space, and extensions to certain countably infinite state spaces are likely possible. We test our mechanism for multiagent coordination as a model for human decisions in a simple coordination game using existing experimental data. We then explore via simulations whether modeling humans in this way may improve human-Agent collaboration

Antigen-Presenting Cells in Essential Fatty Acid—Deficient Murine Epidermis: Keratinocytes Bearing Class II (Ia) Antigens May Potentiate the Accessory Cell Function of Langerhans Cells

Essential fatty acid deficiency (EFAD) is a useful model for studying the role of (n-6) fatty acid metabolism in normal physiology. Because cutaneous manifestations are among the earliest signs of EFAD and because abnormalities in the distribution and function of tissue macrophages have been documented in EFAD rodents, we studied the distribution and function of Class II MHC (Ia) antigen-bearing cells in EFAD CS7B1/6 mouse epidermis. Immunofluorescence studies revealed 1.9–9.6 (mean ± SEM = 5.2 ± 2.6) times more class II MHC (Ia) antigen-bearing epidermal cells in suspensions prepared from EFAD as compared to normal skin. Analysis of epidermal sheets demonstrated similar numbers of dendritic Ia+ and NLDC145+ cells in EFAD and normal epidermis, however. This discrepancy occurred because some keratinocytes in EFAD epidermal sheets expressed class II MHC (Ia) antigens, whereas keratinocytes in normal mouse epidermis did not. Two-color flow cytometry confirmed that all Ia+ cells in normal epidermis are Langerhans (Ia+ NLDC145+) cells, whereas Ia+ cells in EFAD epidermis are comprised of Langerhans cells and a subpopulation of keratinocytes (Ia+ NLDC145-. Similar levels of Ia antigens were expressed on EFAD and normal Langerhans cells. EFAD and normal epidermal cells were also compared in several in vitro assays of accessory cell function. Epidermal cells prepared from EFAD C57B1/6 mice present the protein antigen DNP-Ova to primed helper T cells more effectively than epidermal cells prepared from normal animals. EFAD epidermal cells are also more potent stimulators of T cells in primary and secondary allogeneic mixed lymphocyte-epidermal cell reactions than normal epidermal cells. The functional differences between EFAD and normal epidermal cells do not appear to result from increased cytokine release or decreased prostaglandin production by EFAD epidermal cells. In view of these findings and the observation that the antigen-presenting cell activity of EFAD epidermal cells correlates with the number of Ia+ keratinocytes in epidermal cell preparations, Ia+ keratinocytes (in the presenceof Langerhans cells) may potentiate cutaneous immune responses in vitro and perhaps in vivo as well. these results also suggest that (n-6) fatty acids or metabolites of (n-6) fatty acids are involved in regulating the expression of class II MHC (Ia) antigens by keratinocytes in vivo

The uniting of Europe and the foundation of EU studies: revisiting the neofunctionalism of Ernst B. Haas

This article suggests that the neofunctionalist theoretical legacy left by Ernst B. Haas is somewhat richer and more prescient than many contemporary discussants allow. The article develops an argument for routine and detailed re-reading of the corpus of neofunctionalist work (and that of Haas in particular), not only to disabuse contemporary students and scholars of the normally static and stylized reading that discussion of the theory provokes, but also to suggest that the conceptual repertoire of neofunctionalism is able to speak directly to current EU studies and comparative regionalism. Neofunctionalism is situated in its social scientific context before the theory's supposed erroneous reliance on the concept of 'spillover' is discussed critically. A case is then made for viewing Haas's neofunctionalism as a dynamic theory that not only corresponded to established social scientific norms, but did so in ways that were consistent with disciplinary openness and pluralism

Routine dynamics in action: replication and transformation

Contains an Open Access chapter.This book explores central themes in the enactment and coordination of organizational routines, including replication and transfer, ecologies and interdependence, action and the generation of novelty and technology and sociomateriality.

MLP: a MATLAB toolbox for rapid and reliable auditory threshold estimation

In this paper, we present MLP, a MATLAB toolbox enabling auditory thresholds estimation via the adaptive Maximum Likelihood procedure proposed by David Green (1990, 1993). This adaptive procedure is particularly appealing for those psychologists that need to estimate thresholds with a good degree of accuracy and in a short time. Together with a description of the toolbox, the current text provides an introduction to the threshold estimation theory and a theoretical explanation of the maximum likelihood adaptive procedure. MLP comes with a graphical interface and it is provided with several built-in, classic psychoacoustics experiments ready to use at a mouse click

Modelling Realistic User Behaviour in Information Systems Simulations as Fuzzing Aspects

In this paper we contend that the engineering of information systems is hampered by a paucity of tools to tractably model, simulate and predict the impact of realistic user behaviours on the emergent properties of the wider socio-technical system, evidenced by the plethora of case studies of system failure in the literature. We address this gap by presenting a novel approach that models ideal user behaviour as workflows, and introduces irregularities in that behaviour as aspects which fuzz the model. We demonstrate the success of this approach through a case study of software development workflows, showing that the introduction of realistic user behaviour to idealised workflows better simulates outcomes reported in the empirical software engineering literature

Identification of hip fracture patients from radiographs using Fourier analysis of the trabecular structure: a cross-sectional study

Peer reviewedPublisher PD