2,230 research outputs found
Fairness-Aware Ranking in Search & Recommendation Systems with Application to LinkedIn Talent Search
We present a framework for quantifying and mitigating algorithmic bias in
mechanisms designed for ranking individuals, typically used as part of
web-scale search and recommendation systems. We first propose complementary
measures to quantify bias with respect to protected attributes such as gender
and age. We then present algorithms for computing fairness-aware re-ranking of
results. For a given search or recommendation task, our algorithms seek to
achieve a desired distribution of top ranked results with respect to one or
more protected attributes. We show that such a framework can be tailored to
achieve fairness criteria such as equality of opportunity and demographic
parity depending on the choice of the desired distribution. We evaluate the
proposed algorithms via extensive simulations over different parameter choices,
and study the effect of fairness-aware ranking on both bias and utility
measures. We finally present the online A/B testing results from applying our
framework towards representative ranking in LinkedIn Talent Search, and discuss
the lessons learned in practice. Our approach resulted in tremendous
improvement in the fairness metrics (nearly three fold increase in the number
of search queries with representative results) without affecting the business
metrics, which paved the way for deployment to 100% of LinkedIn Recruiter users
worldwide. Ours is the first large-scale deployed framework for ensuring
fairness in the hiring domain, with the potential positive impact for more than
630M LinkedIn members.Comment: This paper has been accepted for publication at ACM KDD 201
Hybridization between wild and cultivated potato species in the Peruvian Andes and biosafety implications for deployment of GM potatoes
The nature and extent of past and current hybridization between cultivated potato and wild relatives in nature is of interest to crop evolutionists, taxonomists, breeders and recently to molecular biologists because of the possibilities of inverse gene flow in the deployment of genetically-modified (GM) crops. This research proves that natural hybridization occurs in areas of potato diversity in the Andes, the possibilities for survival of these new hybrids, and shows a possible way forward in case of GM potatoes should prove advantageous in such areas
12CO and 13CO J=3-2 observations toward N11 in the Large Magellanic Cloud
After 30 Doradus, N11 is the second largest and brightest nebula in the LMC.
This large nebula has several OB associations with bright nebulae at its
surroundings. N11 was previously mapped at the lowest rotational transitions of
CO (J=1--0 and 2--1), and in some particular regions pointings of the
CO J=1--0 and 2--1 lines were also performed. Using ASTE we mapped the
whole extension of the N11 nebula in the CO J=3--2 line, and three
sub-regions in the CO J=3--2 line. The regions mapped in the CO
J=3--2 were selected based on that they may be exposed to the radiation at
different ways: a region lying over the nebula related to the OB association
LH10 (N11B), another one that it is associated with the southern part of the
nebula related to the OB association LH13 (N11D), and finally a farther area at
the southwest without any embedded OB association (N11I). We found that the
morphology of the molecular clouds lying in each region shows some signatures
that could be explained by the expansion of the nebulae and the action of the
radiation. Fragmentation generated in a molecular shell due to the expansion of
the N11 nebula is suggested. The integrated line ratios CO/CO
show evidences of selective photodissociation of the CO, and probably
other mechanisms such as chemical fractionation. The CO contribution to the
continuum at 870 m was directly derived. The distribution of the
integrated line ratios CO J=3--2/2--1 show hints of stellar feedback in
N11B and N11D. The ratio between the virial and LTE mass (M/M) is higher than unity in all analyzed molecular clumps, which suggests
that the clumps are not gravitationally bounded and may be supported by
external pressure. A non-LTE analysis suggests that we are mapping gas with
densities about a few 10 cm.Comment: Accepted to be published in A&A. Figures were degrade
The molecular environment of the pillar-like features in the HII region G46.5-0.2
At the interface of HII regions and molecular gas peculiar structures appear,
some of them with pillar-like shapes. Understanding their origin is important
for characterizing triggered star formation and the impact of massive stars on
the interstellar medium. In order to study the molecular environment and the
influence of the radiation on two pillar-like features related to the HII
region G46.5-0.2, we performed molecular line observations with the Atacama
Submillimeter Telescope Experiment, and spectroscopic optical observations with
the Isaac Newton Telescope. From the optical observations we identified the
star that is exciting the HII region as a spectral type O4-6. The molecular
data allowed us to study the structure of the pillars and a HCO+ cloud lying
between them. In this HCO+ cloud, which have not any well defined 12CO
counterpart, we found direct evidence of star formation: two molecular outflows
and two associated near-IR nebulosities. The outflows axis orientation is
perpendicular to the direction of the radiation flow from the HII region.
Several Class I sources are also embedded in this HCO+ cloud, showing that it
is usual that the YSOs form large associations occupying a cavity bounded by
pillars. On the other hand, it was confirmed that the RDI process is not
occurring in one of the pillar tips.Comment: Accepted in MNRAS (2017 June 13
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