306 research outputs found
Self-adaptation made easy with Blockchains
This position paper describes how blockchains facilitate the implementation of distributed self-adaptive systems. We demonstrate how the master/slave decentralised control pattern for self-adaptive systems, integrated with a permissioned blockchain, can protect nodes of a network against attacks by continuously adapting the membership of an access control list. Whenever malicious behaviour is detected, consensus on an updated access control list is reached, and that node is removed from the network. Using a smart home, as an example, we demonstrate that a permissioned blockchain is able to maintain a consistent view of a network of Internet of Things (IoT) devices in the presence of malicious nodes
Quantity and quality of empathic responding by autistic and non-autistic adolescent girls and boys
Empathy evokes support for the person in distress, and thus strengthening social cohesion. The question is to what extent
empathic reactions can be observed in autistic adolescents and autistic girls in particular, since there is evidence that
they have better social skills than boys, which might hinder their recognition as autistic. We examined 193 adolescents
(autistic/non-autistic boys/girls) during an in vivo task in which the experimenter hurt herself. In line with our predictions,
no group or gender differences appeared related to their attention for the event; yet autistic girls and boys showed
less visible emotional arousal, indicative of less affective empathy. Autistic girls and boys reacted by comforting the
experimenter equally often as their non-autistic peers, but autistic boys seemed to address the problem more often than
any other group; while girls (autistic and non-autistic) more often addressed the emotion of the person in need. Our
findings highlight that empathic behaviour – to some extent – seems similar between autistic and non-autistic boys and
girls. However, differences exist, in terms of expressed emotional arousal and gender-specific comforting styles. Autistic
girls’ higher levels of emotion-focused comforting could be explained by well-developed social skills, camouflaging, or
emotional investment in relationships with others
Efficient Monte Carlo algorithm and high-precision results for percolation
We present a new Monte Carlo algorithm for studying site or bond percolation
on any lattice. The algorithm allows us to calculate quantities such as the
cluster size distribution or spanning probability over the entire range of site
or bond occupation probabilities from zero to one in a single run which takes
an amount of time scaling linearly with the number of sites on the lattice. We
use our algorithm to determine that the percolation transition occurs at
occupation probability 0.59274621(13) for site percolation on the square
lattice and to provide clear numerical confirmation of the conjectured
4/3-power stretched-exponential tails in the spanning probability functions.Comment: 8 pages, including 3 postscript figures, minor corrections in this
version, plus updated figures for the position of the percolation transitio
Chatbot Theory: A naĂŻve and elementary theory for dialogue management
Due to the increasing interested and use of chatbot, its properties and operation possibilities shall be proper realized matching both safety and security issues as well as present the several uses and compositions that this technology supports. This paper focus is on dialogue management since it is considered the core of a chatbot. The dialogue manager is responsible to, more than to transform an input sentence into an output one, hold the illusion of a human conversation. In this sense, it is presented an inceptive theoretical framework through a formal way for chatbots that can be used as a reference to explore, compose, build and discuss chatbots. The discussion is performed mostly on ELIZA since, due to its historical records, it can be considered an important reference chatbot, nevertheless, the proposed theory is compatible with the most recent technologies such those using machine and deep learning. The paper then presents some sketchy instances in order to explore the support provided by the theory.This paper has been supported by COMPETE: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-0070 43 and FCT – Fundação
para a CiĂŞncia e Tecnologia - Project UID/CEC/ 00319/2013
Staircase polygons: moments of diagonal lengths and column heights
We consider staircase polygons, counted by perimeter and sums of k-th powers
of their diagonal lengths, k being a positive integer. We derive limit
distributions for these parameters in the limit of large perimeter and compare
the results to Monte-Carlo simulations of self-avoiding polygons. We also
analyse staircase polygons, counted by width and sums of powers of their column
heights, and we apply our methods to related models of directed walks.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures; to appear in proceedings of Counting Complexity:
An International Workshop On Statistical Mechanics And Combinatorics, 10-15
July 2005, Queensland, Australi
Digital Technology Use and Mental Health Consultations:Survey of the Views and Experiences of Clinicians and Young People
BackgroundDigital technologies play an increasingly important role in the lives of young people and have important effects on their mental health.
ObjectiveWe aimed to explore 3 key areas of the intersection between digital technology and mental health: the views and experiences of young people and clinicians about digital technology and mental health; implementation and barriers to the UK national guidance recommendation—that the discussion of digital technology use should form a core part of mental health assessment; and how digital technology might be used to support existing consultations.
MethodsTwo cross-sectional web-based surveys were conducted in 2020 between June and December, with mental health clinicians (n=99) and young people (n=320). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the proportions. Multilinear regression was used to explore how the answers varied by gender, sexuality, and age. Thematic analysis was used to explore the contents of the extended free-text answers. Anxiety was measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-7 (GAD-7).
ResultsDigital technology use was ubiquitous among young people, with positive and negative aspects acknowledged by both clinicians and young people. Negative experiences were common (131/284, 46.1%) and were associated with increased anxiety levels among young people (GAD-7 3.29; 95% CI 1.97-4.61; P<.001). Although the discussion of digital technology use was regarded as important by clinicians and acceptable by young people, less than half of clinicians (42/85, 49.4%) routinely asked about the use of digital technology and over a third of young people (48/121, 39.6%) who had received mental health care had never been asked about their digital technology use. The conversations were often experienced as unhelpful. Helpful conversations were characterized by greater depth and exploration of how an individual’s digital technology use related to mental health. Despite most clinicians (59/83, 71.1%) wanting training, very few (21/86, 24.4%) reported receiving training. Clinicians were open to viewing mental health data from apps or social media to help with consultations. Although young people were generally, in theory, comfortable sharing such data with health professionals, when presented with a binary choice, most reported not wanting to share social media (84/117, 71.8%) or app data (67/118, 56.8%) during consultations.
ConclusionsDigital technology use was common, and negative experiences were frequent and associated with anxiety. Over a third of young people were not asked about their digital technology use during mental health consultations, and potentially valuable information about relevant negative experiences on the web was not being captured during consultations. Clinicians would benefit from having access to training to support these discussions with young people. Although young people recognized that app data could be helpful to clinicians, they appeared hesitant to share their own data. This finding suggests that data sharing has barriers that need to be further explored
Microscopic models for fractionalized phases in strongly correlated systems
We construct explicit examples of microscopic models that stabilize a variety
of fractionalized phases of strongly correlated systems in spatial dimension
bigger than one, and in zero external magnetic field. These include models of
charge fractionalization in boson-only systems, and various kinds of
spin-charge separation in electronic systems. We determine the excitation
spectrum and show the consistency with that expected from field theoretic
descriptions of fractionalization. Our results are further substantiated by
direct numerical calculation of the phase diagram of one of the models.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Two-Dimensional Quantum XY Model with Ring Exchange and External Field
We present the zero-temperature phase diagram of a square lattice quantum
spin 1/2 XY model with four-site ring exchange in a uniform external magnetic
field. Using quantum Monte Carlo techniques, we identify various quantum phase
transitions between the XY-order, striped or valence bond solid, staggered Neel
antiferromagnet and fully polarized ground states of the model. We find no
evidence for a quantum spin liquid phase.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
A fast Monte Carlo algorithm for site or bond percolation
We describe in detail a new and highly efficient algorithm for studying site
or bond percolation on any lattice. The algorithm can measure an observable
quantity in a percolation system for all values of the site or bond occupation
probability from zero to one in an amount of time which scales linearly with
the size of the system. We demonstrate our algorithm by using it to investigate
a number of issues in percolation theory, including the position of the
percolation transition for site percolation on the square lattice, the
stretched exponential behavior of spanning probabilities away from the critical
point, and the size of the giant component for site percolation on random
graphs.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures. Corrections and some additional material in
this version. Accompanying material can be found on the web at
http://www.santafe.edu/~mark/percolation
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