2,059 research outputs found
Gap bootstrap methods for massive data sets with an application to transportation engineering
In this paper we describe two bootstrap methods for massive data sets. Naive
applications of common resampling methodology are often impractical for massive
data sets due to computational burden and due to complex patterns of
inhomogeneity. In contrast, the proposed methods exploit certain structural
properties of a large class of massive data sets to break up the original
problem into a set of simpler subproblems, solve each subproblem separately
where the data exhibit approximate uniformity and where computational
complexity can be reduced to a manageable level, and then combine the results
through certain analytical considerations. The validity of the proposed methods
is proved and their finite sample properties are studied through a moderately
large simulation study. The methodology is illustrated with a real data example
from Transportation Engineering, which motivated the development of the
proposed methods.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/12-AOAS587 the Annals of
Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
Reemployment Incentives for Unemployment Insurance Beneficiaries: Results from the Washington Reemployment Bonus Experiment
Unemployment insurance is intended to reduce hardship by providing labor force members with partial wage replacement during periods of involuntary unemployment. However, in performing this income maintenance function, unemployment insurance may prolong spells of unemployment. Evidence from a field experiment conducted in Illinois in 1984 suggested that offering unemployment insurance claimants a modest cash bonus for rapid reemployment would increase the speed of return to work and reduce program costs. In 1988 a similar experiment, examining several different bonus offers, was conducted in Washington State. Evidence from the Washington experiment indicates that bonus offers do change job seeking behavior, but that only relatively generous bonus offers about six times the weekly benefit amount should be expected to significantly change the behavior of persons eligible for unemployment benefits.unemployment, insurance, bonus, experiment, Washington, O'Leary
Prosecutorial Misconduct in Closing Argument: The Role of Intent in Appellate Review
This article is the first of two articles that discuss the concern of prosecutorial misconduct. This article focuses improper prosecutorial argument in the 1990s. The article examines a California Supreme Court reversal of a murder conviction and death sentence due to misconduct during the prosecutor’s closing argument. The article then discusses forty-five federal appellate court opinions addressing the issue of prosecutorial misconduct
Prosecutorial Misconduct in Closing Argument: The Role of Intent in Appellate Review
This article is the first of two articles that discuss the concern of prosecutorial misconduct. This article focuses improper prosecutorial argument in the 1990s. The article examines a California Supreme Court reversal of a murder conviction and death sentence due to misconduct during the prosecutor’s closing argument. The article then discusses forty-five federal appellate court opinions addressing the issue of prosecutorial misconduct
Stacked clusters of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules
Clusters of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules are modelled
using explicit all-atom potentials using a rigid body approximation. The PAH's
considered range from pyrene (C10H8) to circumcoronene (C54H18), and clusters
containing between 2 and 32 molecules are investigated. In addition to the
usual repulsion-dispersion interactions, electrostatic point-charge
interactions are incorporated, as obtained from density functional theory
calculations. The general electrostatic distribution in neutral or singly
charged PAH's is reproduced well using a fluctuating charges analysis, which
provides an adequate description of the multipolar distribution. Global
optimization is performed using a variety of methods, including basin-hopping
and parallel tempering Monte Carlo. We find evidence that stacking the PAH
molecules generally yields the most stable motif. A structural transition
between one-dimensional stacks and three-dimensional shapes built from mutiple
stacks is observed at larger sizes, and the threshold for this transition
increases with the size of the monomer. Larger aggregates seem to evolve toward
the packing observed for benzene in bulk.Difficulties met in optimizing these
clusters are analysed in terms of the strong anisotropy of the molecules. We
also discuss segregation in heterogeneous clusters and vibrational properties
in the context of astrophysical observations.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure
Theoretical study of the finite temperature spectroscopy in van der Waals clusters. III Solvated Chromophore as an effective diatomics
The absorption spectroscopy of calcium-doped argon clusters is described in
terms of an effective diatomics molecule Ca-(Ar_n), in the framework of
semiclassical vertical transitions. We show how, upon choosing a suitable
reaction coordinate, the effective finite-temperature equilibrium properties
can be obtained for the ground- and excited-surfaces from the potential of mean
force (PMF). An extension of the recent multiple range random-walk method is
used to calculate the PMF over continuous intervals of distances. The
absorption spectra calculated using this single-coordinate description are
found to be in good agreement with the spectra obtained from high-statistics
Monte Carlo data, in various situations. For CaAr, we compare the
performances of two different choices of the reaction coordinate. For CaAr_37,
the method is seen to be accurate enough to distinguish between different
low-energy structures. Finally, the idea of casting the initial many-body
problem into a single degree of freedom problem is tested on the spectroscopy
of calcium in bulk solid argon.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure
Theoretical study of finite temperature spectroscopy in van der Waals clusters. II Time-dependent absorption spectra
Using approximate partition functions and a master equation approach, we
investigate the statistical relaxation toward equilibrium in selected CaAr
clusters. The Gaussian theory of absorption (previous article) is employed to
calculate the average photoabsorption intensity associated with the 4s^2->
4s^14p^1 transition of calcium as a function of time during relaxation. In
CaAr_6 and CaAr_10 simple relaxation is observed with a single time scale.
CaAr_13 exhibits much slower dynamics and the relaxation occurs over two
distinct time scales. CaAr_37 shows much slower relaxation with multiple
transients, reminiscent of glassy behavior due to competition between different
low-energy structures. We interpret these results in terms of the underlying
potential energy surfaces for these clusters.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure
pyUserCalc: A Revised Jupyter Notebook Calculator for Uranium-Series Disequilibria in Basalts
Meaningful analysis of uranium-series isotopic disequilibria in basaltic lavas relies on the use of complex forward numerical models like dynamic melting (McKenzie, 1985, https://doi.org/10.1016/0012- 821x(85)90001-9) and equilibrium porous flow (Spiegelman & Elliott, 1993, https://doi.org/10.1016/0012- 821x(93)90155-3). Historically, such models have either been solved analytically for simplified scenarios, such as constant melting rate or constant solid/melt trace element partitioning throughout the melting process, or have relied on incremental or numerical calculators with limited power to solve problems and/or restricted availability. The most public numerical solution to reactive porous flow, UserCalc (Spiegelman, 2000, https:// doi.org/10.1029/1999gc000030) was maintained on a private institutional server for nearly two decades, but that approach has been unsustainable in light of modern security concerns. Here, we present a more long-lasting solution to the problems of availability, model sophistication and flexibility, and long-term access in the form of a cloud-hosted, publicly available Jupyter notebook. Similar to UserCalc, the new notebook calculates U-series disequilibria during time-dependent, equilibrium partial melting in a one-dimensional porous flow regime where mass is conserved. In addition, we also provide a new disequilibrium transport model which has the same melt transport model as UserCalc, but approximates rate-limited diffusive exchange of nuclides between solid and melt using linear kinetics. The degree of disequilibrium during transport is controlled by a Damköhler number, allowing the full spectrum of equilibration models from complete fractional melting (Da = 0 ) to equilibrium transport (Da = ∞)
Response to the Letter to the Editor
This paper has attracted interest around the world from the media (both TV
and newspapers). In addition, we have received letters, emails and telephone
calls. One of our favorites was a voicemail message asking us to return a call
to Australia at which point we would learn who really killed JFK. We welcome
the opportunity to respond to the letter to the editor from Mr. Fiorentino. Mr.
Fiorentino claims that our ``statement relating to the likelihood of a second
assassin based on the premise of three or more separate bullets is demonstrably
false.'' In response we would like to simply quote from page 327 of Gerald
Posner's book Case Closed, one of the most well known works supporting the
single assassin theory: ``If Connally was hit by another bullet, it had to be
fired from a second shooter, since the Warren Commission's own reconstructions
showed that Oswald could not have operated the bolt and refired in 1.4
seconds.'' Mr. Fiorentino also claims that the ``second fatal flaw is the use
of a rather uncomplicated formula based on Bayes Theorem.'' Let denote the
evidence and denote the theory that there were just two bullets (and hence
a single shooter). We used Bayes Theorem to hypothetically calculate
from and the prior probability . In order to make ten
times more likely than , the ratio of the prior probabilities
[i.e., ] would have to be greater than 15. Thus, we again
conclude that this casts serious doubt on Dr. Guinn's conclusion that the
evidence supported just two bullets. Sadly, this is far from the first time
that probability has been misunderstood and/or misapplied in a case of public
interest. A notable British example is the Clark case. See Nobles and Schiff
(2005) for details. Finally, we welcome and, in fact, encourage members of the
scientific community to provide alternative analyses of the data.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/07-AOAS154 the Annals of
Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
Chemical and forensic analysis of JFK assassination bullet lots: Is a second shooter possible?
The assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) traumatized the
nation. In this paper we show that evidence used to rule out a second assassin
is fundamentally flawed. This paper discusses new compositional analyses of
bullets reportedly to have been derived from the same batch as those used in
the assassination. The new analyses show that the bullet fragments involved in
the assassination are not nearly as rare as previously reported. In particular,
the new test results are compared to key bullet composition testimony presented
before the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA). Matches of bullets
within the same box of bullets are shown to be much more likely than indicated
in the House Select Committee on Assassinations' testimony. Additionally, we
show that one of the ten test bullets is considered a match to one or more
assassination fragments. This finding means that the bullet fragments from the
assassination that match could have come from three or more separate bullets.
Finally, this paper presents a case for reanalyzing the assassination bullet
fragments and conducting the necessary supporting scientific studies. These
analyses will shed light on whether the five bullet fragments constitute three
or more separate bullets. If the assassination fragments are derived from three
or more separate bullets, then a second assassin is likely, as the additional
bullet would not easily be attributable to the main suspect, Mr. Oswald, under
widely accepted shooting scenarios [see Posner (1993), Case Closed, Bantam, New
York].Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/07-AOAS119 the Annals of
Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
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