On Hamilton decompositions of infinite circulant graphs

The natural infinite analogue of a (finite) Hamilton cycle is a two-way-infinite Hamilton path (connected spanning 2-valent subgraph). Although it is known that every connected 2k-valent infinite circulant graph has a two-way-infinite Hamilton path, there exist many such graphs that do not have a decomposition into k edge-disjoint two-way-infinite Hamilton paths. This contrasts with the finite case where it is conjectured that every 2k-valent connected circulant graph has a decomposition into k edge-disjoint Hamilton cycles. We settle the problem of decomposing 2k-valent infinite circulant graphs into k edge-disjoint two-way-infinite Hamilton paths for k=2, in many cases when k=3, and in many other cases including where the connection set is ±{1,2,...,k} or ±{1,2,...,k - 1, 1,2,...,k + 1}

Effects of social skill training for high -functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorder

The purpose of the study was to investigate the efficacy of using the SCORE Skills Strategy to teach high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorder five social skills that are needed to work in cooperative groups. Ten male subjects ranging in age from 12 to 17, participated in a 10-week evening program. The subjects were in grades 6 through 11, and spent 17% to 100% of their school day in general education classes. The effects of the intervention were evaluated using a multiple-baseline across-skills and a multiple probe design. Data were collected to answer seven research questions related to subjects\u27 abilities to learn and use the SCORE Skills, subjects\u27 perceptions about group work, subjects\u27 perceptions about the SCORE Skills Strategy, parents\u27 perceptions about their adolescents\u27 social competence, and parents\u27 perceptions of the SCORE Skills Strategy. The results indicate that all of the subjects made significant gains in the performance of the five social skills after training. The multiple probe design results provide evidence that the subjects\u27 changes in performance occurred only after training had been completed on each skill and that they were able to generalize the use of the skills across novel situations. The subjects\u27 satisfaction with the social skills group was very positive. A successful social skills training program should result in the subjects becoming more skilled and their improved skills being noticeable to others. The parents were generally satisfied that the SCORE Skills program benefited their adolescent, although their ratings on social competence were not statistically significant. The subjects demonstrated significant gains in the performance of the social skills within the class environment, but the generalization factor of skill mastery was not noticeable to their parents. The results of this research indicate that the SCORE Skills Strategy is a viable social skill curriculum to use with high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and that consumer satisfaction is high resulting in a positive experience for the subjects and their parents. The results further indicate the importance for additional intervention for generalization of skills

Perception in real and artificial insects: a robotic investigation of cricket phonotaxis

The aim of this thesis is to investigate a methodology for studying percep¬ tual systems by building artificial ones. It is proposed that useful results can be obtained from detailed robotic modelling of specific sensorimotor mechanisms in lower animals. By looking at the sensory control of behaviour in simple biological organisms, and in working robots, it is argued that proper appreciation of the physical interaction of the system with the environment and the task is essential for discovering how perceptual mechanisms function. Although links to biology, and concern with perceptual competence, are fields of growing interest in Artificial Intelligence, much of the current research fails to adequately address these issues, as the model systems being built do not represent real sensorimotor problems.By analyzing what is required for a model of a system to contribute to ex¬ plaining that system, a particular approach to modeling perceptual systems is suggested. This involves choosing an appropriate target system to model, building a system that validly represents the target with respect to a particular hypothesis, and properly evaluating the behaviour of the model system to draw conclusions about the target. The viability and potential contribution of this approach is demonstrated in the design, implementation and evaluation of a mobile robot model of a hypothesised mechanism for phonotaxis in the cricket.The result is a robot that successfully locates a specific sound source under a variety of conditions, with a range of behaviour that resembles the cricket in many ways. This provides some support for the hypothesis that the neural mechanism for phonotaxis in crickets does not involve separate processing for recognition and location of the signal, as is generally supposed. It also shows the importance of un¬ derstanding the physical interaction of the system's structure with its environment in devising and implementing perceptual systems. Both these results vindicate the proposed methodology

A study of nine non-voluntary male alcoholics admitted to the Washingtonian Hospital, 1948

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University, 1949. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive