534 research outputs found
Design Guidelines for Agent Based Model Visualization
In the field of agent-based modeling (ABM), visualizations play an important role in identifying, communicating and understanding important behavior of the modeled phenomenon. However, many modelers tend to create ineffective visualizations of Agent Based Models (ABM) due to lack of experience with visual design. This paper provides ABM visualization design guidelines in order to improve visual design with ABM toolkits. These guidelines will assist the modeler in creating clear and understandable ABM visualizations. We begin by introducing a non-hierarchical categorization of ABM visualizations. This categorization serves as a starting point in the creation of an ABM visualization. We go on to present well-known design techniques in the context of ABM visualization. These techniques are based on Gestalt psychology, semiology of graphics, and scientific visualization. They improve the visualization design by facilitating specific tasks, and providing a common language to critique visualizations through the use of visual variables. Subsequently, we discuss the application of these design techniques to simplify, emphasize and explain an ABM visualization. Finally, we illustrate these guidelines using a simple redesign of a NetLogo ABM visualization. These guidelines can be used to inform the development of design tools that assist users in the creation of ABM visualizations.Visualization, Design, Graphics, Guidelines, Communication, Agent-Based Modeling
El autoritarismo de derecha, la orientación a la dominancia social, la empatÃa, y la orientación hacia los valores materiales como predictores del prejuicio intergrupal en Argentina
The study of individual differences in prejudice has received significant attention in the psychological literature. However, very little research has been published on Latin American countries. To address this gap, 300 residents from the general population in Mar del Plata, Argentina, were surveyed. The main objective of the study was to assess the contributions of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), social dominance orientation (SDO), empathy, and materialistic value orientation (MVO) to the prediction of ethnic prejudice, heterosexism, hostile sexism, and benevolent sexism after controlling for impression management and socio demographic factors. Multiple regression analyses identified RWA as the most relevant variable predicting intergroup prejudice; as it contributed to the prediction of all dependent variables. The contributions of SDO, empathy, and MVO depended on the specific type of prejudice assessed. SDO and empathy made a significant statistical contribution to the prediction of ethnic prejudice and heterosexism; while a materialistic value orientation contributed only to the prediction of hostile sexism.El estudio de las diferencias individuales en el prejuicio ha recibido mucha atención en la literatura psicológica. Sin embargo, han sido muy pocas las publicaciones de investigaciones en Latinoamérica. Objetivo : evaluar las contribuciones del autoritarismo de derecha (RWA), la orientación a la dominancia social (SDO), la empatÃa, y la orientación hacia valores materiales (MVO) a la predicción del prejuicio étnico, el heterosexismo, el sexismo hostil, y el sexismo benevolente luego de controlar para el manejo de impresión y los factores socio-demográficos. Método: fueron encuestados 300 participantes en Mar del Plata, Argentina, con edad entre 19 y 71 años, a través de las Escalas de Autoritarismo de Derecha, Escala de Valores Materiales, y Actitudes hacia la Homosexualidad. Resultados: Los análisis de regresión múltiple identificaron al RWA como la variable más importante en la predicción de prejuicio intergrupal; ya que aportó a la predicción de todas las variables dependientes. Las contribuciones de SDO, empatÃa, y MVO dependieron del prejuicio evaluado. La SDO y la empatÃa aportaron estadÃsticamente a la predicción del prejuicio étnico y el heterosexismo; mientras que la orientación hacia los valores materiales solamente a la predicción del sexismo hostil.Fil: DÃaz Lázaro, Carlos. Walden University; Estados UnidosFil: Castañeiras, Claudia Elena. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Ledesma, Ruben Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientÃficas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Verdinelli, Susana. Walden University; Estados UnidosFil: Rand, Avonelle. Walden University; Estados Unido
Analysis of rolling group therapy data using conditionally autoregressive priors
Group therapy is a central treatment modality for behavioral health disorders
such as alcohol and other drug use (AOD) and depression. Group therapy is often
delivered under a rolling (or open) admissions policy, where new clients are
continuously enrolled into a group as space permits. Rolling admissions
policies result in a complex correlation structure among client outcomes.
Despite the ubiquity of rolling admissions in practice, little guidance on the
analysis of such data is available. We discuss the limitations of previously
proposed approaches in the context of a study that delivered group cognitive
behavioral therapy for depression to clients in residential substance abuse
treatment. We improve upon previous rolling group analytic approaches by fully
modeling the interrelatedness of client depressive symptom scores using a
hierarchical Bayesian model that assumes a conditionally autoregressive prior
for session-level random effects. We demonstrate improved performance using our
method for estimating the variance of model parameters and the enhanced ability
to learn about the complex correlation structure among participants in rolling
therapy groups. Our approach broadly applies to any group therapy setting where
groups have changing client composition. It will lead to more efficient
analyses of client-level data and improve the group therapy research
community's ability to understand how the dynamics of rolling groups lead to
client outcomes.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/10-AOAS434 the Annals of
Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
Chandra Observation of the Edge-on Galaxy NGC 3556 (M 108): Violent Galactic Disk-halo Interaction Revealed
We present a 60 ks Chandra ACIS-S observation of the isolated edge-on spiral
NGC 3556, together with a multiwavelength analysis of various discrete X-ray
sources and diffuse X-ray features. Among 33 discrete X-ray sources detected
within the I_B = 25 mag per square arcsec isophote ellipse of the galaxy, we
identify a candidate for the galactic nucleus, an ultraluminous X-ray source
that might be an accreting intermediate-mass black hole, a possible X-ray
binary with a radio counterpart, and two radio-bright giant HII regions. We
detect large amounts of extraplanar diffuse X-ray emission, which extends about
10 kpc radially in the disk and >~ 4 kpc away from the galactic plane. The
diffuse X-ray emission exhibits significant substructures, possibly
representing various blown-out superbubbles or chimneys of hot gas heated in
massive star forming regions. This X-ray-emitting gas has temperatures in the
range of ~ 2-7 x 10^6 K and has a total cooling rate of ~ 2 x 10^40 erg/s. The
energy can be easily supplied by supernova blast-waves in the galaxy. These
results demonstrate NGC 3556 as being a galaxy undergoing vigorous disk-halo
interaction. The halo in NGC 3556 is considerably less extended, however, than
that of NGC 4631, in spite of many similarities between the two galaxies. This
may be due to the fact that NGC 3556 is isolated whereas NGC 4631 is
interacting. Thus NGC 3556 presents a more pristine environment for studying
the disk-halo interaction.Comment: 30 pages, 12 figures. To appear in ApJ. Please see
http://www.astro.umass.edu/~wqd/papers/n3556/n3556.pdf for a high resolution
versio
Mortality Rate of Bullous Pemphigoid in a US Medical Center
All patients at the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals with a new diagnosis of bullous pemphigoid (BP) between May 1, 1997 and September 1, 2002 were included in this study. The age at onset, date of death or date of last follow-up visit, mode of treatment, co-morbidities, and initial and follow-up hospitalizations were noted. Thirty-eight new patients were identified and complete follow-up data were obtained on 37 of the patients. Patients were followed a minimum of 1 y or until the time of death. The mean duration of follow-up was 20 mo. Kaplan–Meier analysis of our population indicated a 1-y survival probability of 88.96% (standard error 5.21%), with a 95% confidence interval (75.6%, 94.2%). This survival rate was considerably higher than that recently reported in several studies from Europe (29%–41% first year mortality). Although the age at onset and co-morbidities of our patients were similar to those in the European studies, the rate of hospitalization of our patients was much lower than that of patients from Europe (1.5 d per patient vs 11–25 d per patient). This study suggests that differences in practice patterns may be an important factor in the reduced mortality rate in US BP patients compared with Europe
Reply to Crawford et al.: Why Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) Is an Ethical Solution for Stray Cat Management
The recently published article, ‘A Case of Letting the Cat out of the Bag—Why Trap-Neuter-Return Is Not an Ethical Solution for Stray Cat (Felis catus) Management,’ by Crawford et al. warrants rebuttal. The case presented in the paper, opposing the initiation of TNR trials in Australia, ignores peer-reviewed evidence which substantiates the effectiveness of TNR at reducing unowned urban cat numbers. In addition, the paper’s authors offer a number of unrealistic recommendations, which are little more than a rebranding of the failed status quo. Urban stray cats have long been considered a problem across Australia. Current practice calls for the trapping and killing of thousands of healthy urban stray cats and kittens each year with no apparent effect on the total population. In contrast, the literature offers numerous examples, including two recent studies in Australia, of reductions in urban stray cat numbers where TNR has been implemented. TNR has also been associated with reduced feline intake and euthanasia at shelters, which improves both animal welfare and the well-being of shelter staff. A large-scale trial of TNR in an urban Australian context is scientifically justified and long overdue
The Origin of the Dust Arch in the Halo of NGC 4631: An Expanding Superbubble?
We study the nature and the origin of the dust arch in the halo of the
edge-on galaxy NGC 4631 detected by Neininger & Dumke (1999). We present CO
observations made using the new On-The-Fly mapping mode with the FCRAO 14m
telescope, and find no evidence for CO emission associated with the dust arch.
Our examination of previously published HI data shows that if previous
assumptions about the dust temperature and gas/dust ratio are correct, then
there must be molecular gas associated with the arch, below our detection
threshold. If this is true, then the molecular mass associated with the dust
arch is between 1.5 x 10^8 M(sun)and 9.7 x 10^8 M(sun), and likely towards the
low end of the range. A consequence of this is that the maximum allowed value
for the CO-to-H_2 conversion factor is 6.5 times the Galactic value, but most
likely closer to the Galactic value. The kinematics of the HI apparently
associated with the dust arch reveal that the gas here is not part of an
expanding shell or outflow, but is instead two separate features (a tidal arm
and a plume of HI sticking out into the halo) which are seen projected together
and appear as a shell. Thus there is no connection between the dust "arch" and
the hot X-ray emitting gas that appears to surround the galaxy Wang et al.
(2001).Comment: 14 pages, including 4 figures. Accepted by A.J. for March 200
Recommended from our members
Dissociating Confidence and Accuracy: Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Shows Origins of the Subjective Memory Experience
Successful memory typically implies both objective accuracy and subjective confidence, but there are instances when confidence and accuracy diverge. This dissociation suggests that there may be distinct neural patterns of activation related to confidence and accuracy. We used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the encoding of novel face–name associations, assessed with a postscan memory test that included objective measures of accuracy and subjective measures of confidence. We showed specific neural activity in the left inferior prefrontal cortex associated with trials when subjects expressed high confidence that they had chosen the correct name for the face and made a correct identification. Moreover, we found that this region was also associated with imparting high confidence when subjects chose the incorrect name. However, medial temporal lobe regions showed activity only for high-confidence correct trials. Many functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have shown that the medial temporal lobe and left prefrontal regions are particularly important for the successful formation of memories by using a combination of subjective and objective measures. Our findings suggest that these regions may be differentially involved in the objective and subjective components of memory and that the origins of confidence–accuracy dissociations may be related to incomplete activation of the neural pattern seen in successful encoding. These findings may also aid understanding of eyewitness misidentifications and memory distortions.Psycholog
CHANG-ES VI: Probing Supernova Energy Deposition in Spiral Galaxies Through Multi-Wavelength Relationships
How a galaxy regulates its SNe energy into different
interstellar/circumgalactic medium components strongly affects galaxy
evolution. Based on the JVLA D-configuration C- (6 GHz) and L-band (1.6 GHz)
continuum observations, we perform statistical analysis comparing
multi-wavelength properties of the CHANG-ES galaxies. The high-quality JVLA
data and edge-on orientation enable us for the first time to include the halo
into the energy budget for a complete radio-flux-limited sample. We find tight
correlations of with the mid-IR-based SFR. The normalization of
our relation is 2-3 times of
those obtained for face-on galaxies, probably a result of enhanced IR
extinction at high inclination. We also find tight correlations between and the SNe energy injection rate , indicating
the energy loss via synchrotron radio continuum accounts for of
, comparable to the energy contained in CR electrons. The
integrated C-to-L-band spectral index is for non-AGN
galaxies, indicating a dominance by the diffuse synchrotron component. The
low-scatter /
relationships have super-linear logarithmic slopes at in L-band
(/) while consistent with linear in C-band
(/). The super-linearity could be naturally
reproduced with non-calorimeter models for galaxy disks. Using Chandra halo
X-ray measurements, we find sub-linear relations.
These results indicate that the observed radio halo of a starburst galaxy is
close to electron calorimeter, and a galaxy with higher SFR tends to distribute
an increased fraction of SNe energy into radio emission (than X-ray).Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, MNRAS in pres
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