Learning activation functions from data using cubic spline interpolation

Neural networks require a careful design in order to perform properly on a given task. In particular, selecting a good activation function (possibly in a data-dependent fashion) is a crucial step, which remains an open problem in the research community. Despite a large amount of investigations, most current implementations simply select one fixed function from a small set of candidates, which is not adapted during training, and is shared among all neurons throughout the different layers. However, neither two of these assumptions can be supposed optimal in practice. In this paper, we present a principled way to have data-dependent adaptation of the activation functions, which is performed independently for each neuron. This is achieved by leveraging over past and present advances on cubic spline interpolation, allowing for local adaptation of the functions around their regions of use. The resulting algorithm is relatively cheap to implement, and overfitting is counterbalanced by the inclusion of a novel damping criterion, which penalizes unwanted oscillations from a predefined shape. Experimental results validate the proposal over two well-known benchmarks.Comment: Submitted to the 27th Italian Workshop on Neural Networks (WIRN 2017

How do gender quotas affect workplace relationships? Complementary evidence from a representative survey and labor market experiments

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from INFORMS via the DOI in this recordGender quotas are frequently proposed to address persistent gender imbalances in managerial roles. However, it is unclear how quotas for female managers affect organizations and whether quotas improve or damage relationships between managers and their subordinates. We conduct a representative survey to study opinions on quotas for female managers and, based upon the survey, design a novel set of experiments to investigate how quotas influence wage setting and effort provision. Our findings reveal that both opinions about gender quotas and workplace behavior crucially depend on the workplace environment. In our survey, we observe that approval for gender quotas is low if women are not disadvantaged in the manager-selection process, regardless of whether there are gender differences in performance. Complementing this evidence, we observe in our experiments that quotas lead to lower effort levels and lower wages in such environments. By contrast, in environments in which women are disadvantaged in the selection process, we observe a higher approval of quotas as well as higher effort levels and higher wages. These findings are consistent with the concept of meritocracy and suggest that it is important to evaluate the perception of gender disadvantages in the workplace environment before implementing quotas.Australian Research Council (ARC)Swedish Research Counci

El ejercicio de la patria potestad en nuestro ordenamiento jurídico y su beneficio en la protección de los menores de edad en el distrito de José Leonardo Ortiz

En la presente investigación el problema se denominó “el ejercicio de la patria potestad en nuestro ordenamiento jurídico y su beneficio en la protección de los menores de edad en el distrito de José Leonardo Ortiz”, siendo el objetivo general “Proponer lineamientos, soluciones y un proyecto ley, en lo que respecta a las facultades que conciernen al estado y a las instituciones encargadas de cumplir con el rol de protección hacia el menor en cuanto no se les afecte sus derechos. La hipótesis fue que el problema adolecía de incumplimientos, empirismos aplicativos, y que están relacionados causalmente y se explican por el hecho de que no se cumplan con algunos parámetros establecidas en la protección del menor en base a la cual tienen las instituciones como funciones primordiales a la protección y afectación del menor y que es necesario realizarlo a fin de solucionar el problema planteado.Se empleó un enfoque cuantitativo y cualitativo; tuvo un carácter descriptivo - propositivo. Se aplicó la técnica del análisis documental y la técnica de la encuesta. Se llegó a la conclusión de que “el ejercicio de la patria potestad en nuestro ordenamiento jurídico y su beneficio en la protección de los menores de edad” se ve afectada por incumplimientos, y empirismos aplicativos, que están relacionados causalmente y que se explica por el hecho de que no se conocía o no se han aplicado bien las normas y planteamientos teóricos, especialmente en algún concepto básicos para el buen ejercicio de la patria potestad; así mismo de cumplir con el rol fundamental del estado de supervisión a las instituciones encargadas de velar por el interés superior del niño en cuanto a sus derechos no sean afectados.TesisCiencias jurídica

Do Financial Incentives Encourage Women to Apply for a Tech Job? Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment

This is the final version. Available from the American Economic Association via the DOI in this recordWe conduct a natural field experiment to test whether offering financial incentives encourages more female job seekers to complete their applications for a tech job. All eligible applicants for the job were invited to perform an online skill assessment. We randomized whether or not they were offered an incentive of up to $10 for completing the assessment. We find no significant effect of the incentive for female applicants (or male applicants).Australian Research Council (ARC

Leader Identity and Coordination

This paper examines policy effectiveness as a function of leader identity. We experimentally vary leader religious identity in a coordination game implemented in India, andfocus upon citizen reactions to leader identity, controlling for leader actions. We find that minorityleaders improve coordination, while majority leaders do not. Alternative treatment arms reveal that affirmative action for minorities reverses this result, while intergroup contact improves the effectiveness of leaders of both identities. We also find that minority leaders are less effective in towns with a history of intergroup conflict. Our results demonstrate that leader and policy effectiveness depend upon citizen reactions, conditioned by social identity and past conflict

Preliminary Design and Numerical Analysis of a Scrap Tires Pyrolysis System

Abstract A plant prototype for whole scrap tires disposal and the consequent syngas production via pyrolysis has been developed. A numerical analysis on the innovative pyrolysis reactor, constituted by an autoclave closing device and an explosion-proof water system has been carried out. The aim of this analysis is to investigate the fluid-dynamics in the pyrolysis chamber and model the syngas production. The simulations, performed in the pre-realization system phase, have allowed to determine: i) the flow field of the fluid within the reactor, so as to optimize the geometry (e.g. size, vacuum system, water tank); ii) the temperature range, in order to determine the correct placement of thermocouples within reactor and prevent overheating that could compromise the safety of the system; iii) the pressure range, necessary to avoid the eventual flooding of the tires themselves. Thanks to these results, the test bench has been built at the CURTI S.p.A laboratory and experimental analysis has been performed. The experimental data are acquired and then elaborated, as shown in the paper

Zoo visitor effect on mammal behaviour: Does noise matter?

The zoo visitor effect is the change in animal behaviour and physiology in response to the presence of a viewing public. It is thought to result from, amongst other things, visitor generated sound (i.e., noise), but this hypothesis has never been explicitly tested. We tested this hypothesis through observations on the behaviour and enclosure use of 12 mammal species held in 12 separate enclosures at the Belo Horizonte Zoo when exposed to different sound pressure levels (i.e., noise) from the visiting public. Noise pollution levels were significantly higher with the public present and increased with increasing audience size. Species that are more popular suffered greater noise pollution from the zoo visitors. No overall effects on behaviour were found in relation to noise levels, however, analysis of behaviour at the individual level found some significant differences. Notably, half of the individuals increased their vigilance behaviour with increasing sound levels and approximately one-third of individuals increased their movements. These results show that zoo visitors have a negative welfare impact on individual zoo-housed mammals, especially groups of noisy visitors where levels were recorded outside of the recommended limits for human well-being (>70 dB(A)). Thus, zoos need to address this issue, probably, through a combination of visitor education campaigns and acoustic modification to enclosures

Avaliação do isolamento sonoro aéreo de elementos de vedação na construção civil

This article presents a comparative analysis of sound insulation from airborne noise provided by conventional partition systems or industrialized panels used in construction. The analysis was based on an experiment on the sound insulation provided by the panels, and on a literature review, , aiming to obtain equations that could be use for different panel typologies.. These equations could be use to predict the sound insulation of single and double leaf panels, either with or without infill.Neste trabalho é apresentada uma análise do isolamento sonoro do ruído aéreo entre elementos de vedação utilizados na construção civil, sendo esses sistemas convencionais ou painéis industrializados. Esta análise é feita a partir de um estudo experimental do isolamento sonoro dos painéis e por um procedimento analítico, baseado em revisão bibliográfica, visando expressões que atendam às diferentes tipologias de painéis de vedação. O resultado é a possibilidade de utilização de algumas expressões para prever o isolamento sonoro de painéis de vedação maciços, duplos com camada de ar interna ou sanduíches