Expert systems relations in space applications

The problem of expert systems relations as they pertain to space applications is discussed. First, these systems are categorized and the relationships between them are analyzed. Then, the expert systems cooperation paradigm is proposed. This paradigm addresses various types of communication and coordination issues in an attempt to create a general model applicable in a number of situations

Spousal Risk Preferences and Household Investment Decisions

Most adults are married, plan for retirement with their spouse, and pool assets to a significant degree. How then are each individual’s risk preferences combined in choosing the portfolio that represents for them the optimal tradeoff between risk and return? There are two pathways through which marriage could amplify the expression of individual risk preferences at the household level. First, if people choose spouses in part based on their appetite for risk, or another characteristic correlated with risk tolerance, then there could be polarization of household level risk preferences towards extremes. Second, spouses may strategically adjust their decisions to compensate for their spouse’s preferences. Is an only mildly risk averse person that is married to someone that is nearly risk neutral motivated to choose a very low risk low return asset allocation to compensate for their spouse’s risky behavior? In this paper we explore the influence of marriage on the expression of individual risk preferences by examining both sorting in the marriage market and strategic decision making. Using data from the Health and Retirement Survey we find a positive correlation between the risk preferences of spouses. We also develop a theoretical model that determines optimal investment allocations conditional on own and spousal risk tolerance. Optimal asset allocations from this model are compared to a naïve model that only includes own risk tolerance. In related research the explanatory power of the naïve and spousal models are evaluated for prediction ability based on actual asset allocation decisions for couples using the HRS data.Households, Risk, Investing, Consumer/Household Economics,

Assessment of the Angolan (CHERRT) Mobile Laboratory Curriculum for Disaster and Pandemic Response

Introduction: As of April 5, 2020, the World Health Organization reported over one million confirmed cases and more than 62,000 confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths affecting 204 countries/ regions. The lack of COVID-19 testing capacity threatens the ability of both the United States (US) and low middle income countries (LMIC) to respond to this growing threat, The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness through participant self-assessment of a rapid response team (RRT) mobile laboratory curriculumMethods: We conducted a pre and post survey for the purpose of a process improvement assessment in Angola, involving 32 individuals. The survey was performed before and after a 14-day training workshop held in Luanda, Angola, in December 2019. A paired t-test was used to identify any significant change on six 7-point Likert scale questions with α< 0.05 (95% confidence interval).Results: All six of the questions –  1) “I feel confident managing a real laboratory sample test for Ebola or other highly contagious sample;” 2) “I feel safe working in the lab environment during a real scenario;” 3) “I feel as if I can appropriately manage a potentially highly contagious laboratory sample;” 4)“I feel that I can interpret a positive or negative sample during a suspected contagious outbreak;” 5) “I understand basic Biobubble/mobile laboratory concepts and procedures;” and 6) “I understand polymerase chain reaction (PCR) principles” – showed statistical significant change pre and post training. Additionally, the final two questions – “I can more effectively perform my role/position because of the training I received during this course;” and “This training was valuable”  – received high scores on the Likert scale.Conclusion: This Angolan RRT mobile laboratory training curriculum provides the nation of Angola with the confidence to rapidly respond and test at the national level a highly infectious contagion in the region and perform on-scene diagnostics. This mobile RRT laboratory provides a mobile and rapid diagnostic resource when epidemic/pandemic resource allocation may need to be prioritized based on confirmed disease prevalence

The Effect of Intragroup Communication on Preference Shifts in Groups

We use a laboratory gift-exchange game to examine decisions made by groups under three different procedures that dictate how group members interact and reach decisions in comparison to individuals acting alone. We find that group decisions do deviate from those of individuals, but the direction and magnitude of gift exchange depend critically on the procedure. This suggests that no general statements can be made concerning the propensity of groups to exhibit reciprocal or other-regarding behavior relative to individuals. The rules governing how group members can express their preferences and expectations to other group members are critical for determining group outcomes.group behavior, teams, decision making, social preferences

A Spatial Analysis of Farm Payment Recipients Using the FSA 1614 Dataset

We report results from preliminary analysis of the recently constructed dataset from the Farm Service Agency, FSA 1614. FSA 1614 provides the location of the farm and the farm payment recipient for all Title I payments. This makes it possible to analyze the spatial dispersion between landowner and farm more precisely than previously possible. A discussion of what research questions could be informed through the use of this data is provided. We find that a significant percentage of payments are sent to individuals that are likely to be absentee landowners, although this value is much smaller when looking at the total value of payments. These national results are compared to four corn belt states.Agricultural Finance,

Examining Spillover Effects from Teach For America Corps Members in Miami-Dade County Public Schools

Despite a large body of evidence documenting the effectiveness of Teach For America (TFA) corps members at raising the math test scores of their students, little is known about the program's impact at the school level. TFA's recent placement strategy in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), where large numbers of TFA corps members are placed as clusters into a targeted set of disadvantaged schools, provides an opportunity to evaluate the impact of the TFA program on broader school performance. This study examines whether the influx of TFA corps members led to a spillover effect on other teachers' performance. We find that many of the schools chosen to participate in the cluster strategy experienced large subsequent gains in math achievement. These gains were driven in part by the composition effect of having larger numbers of effective TFA corps members. However, we do not find any evidence that the clustering strategy led to any spillover effect on school-wide performance. In other words, our estimates suggest that extra student gains for TFA corps members under the clustering strategy would be equivalent to the gains that would result from an alternate placement strategy where corps members were evenly distributed across schools

Intelligent Data Reduction (IDARE)

A description of the Intelligent Data Reduction (IDARE) expert system and an IDARE user's manual are given. IDARE is a data reduction system with the addition of a user profile infrastructure. The system was tested on a nickel-cadmium battery testbed. Information is given on installing, loading, maintaining the IDARE system

The Philosophy of Pain - Introduction

Over recent decades, pain has received increasing attention as – with ever greater sophistication and rigour – theorists have tried to answer the deep and difficult questions it poses. What is pain’s nature? What is its point? In what sense is it bad? The papers collected in this volume are a contribution to that effort ..

Information technology as an aid to teaching algebra

This project was concerned-with teaching algebra novices, all girls aged 13 or 14 years, to solve algebra word problems using an electronic spreadsheet. It was based on the realisation that a spreadsheet cell provides a suitable cognitive model for an algebraic variable and that the manipulation of a spreadsheet is essentially based on the construction of algebraic expressions. The main objectives were to test the effectiveness of spreadsheet use on the ability to construct algebraic expressions and to examine the effect of manipulating problem contexts (abstract vs. concrete) on this ability. Other objectives were to determine the relationship between general numerical ability, attitude to mathematics, attitude to computers and the experimental treatments. The particular skill taught was the construction of algebraic expressions to represent relational propositions from verbally stated problems. Problems from current textbooks and examination papers (Intermediate Certificate Syllabus B) were used in the instruction. A pretest - posttest control group design was used. Seventy three volunteers were recruited and received approximately eight hours of Instruction in a reasonably natural school setting. There were two treatment groups. One group worked on abstract (numerical) problems and the other group worked on mathematically identical problems set in concrete contexts which were familiar and relevant. Both treatment groups made considerable gains between pretest and posttest. The abstract group performed significantly better than the concrete group on the total posttest (p < .01), on its abstract subsection (p < .01) and on its concrete subsection (p < .05). Attitude to mathematics was also found to have a significant Interaction with the treatment (p <. 05). Those with a positive attitude to mathematics learned more from abstract problems, but the difference was much less for those with a negative attitude. Neither numerical ability or attitude to computers had any significant effect