Elaboration on Two Points Raised in ``Classifier Technology and the Illusion of Progress''

Comment: Elaboration on Two Points Raised in ``Classifier Technology and the Illusion of Progress'' [math.ST/0606441]Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/088342306000000033 in the Statistical Science (http://www.imstat.org/sts/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Knowledge-based control for robot self-localization

Autonomous robot systems are being proposed for a variety of missions including the Mars rover/sample return mission. Prior to any other mission objectives being met, an autonomous robot must be able to determine its own location. This will be especially challenging because location sensors like GPS, which are available on Earth, will not be useful, nor will INS sensors because their drift is too large. Another approach to self-localization is required. In this paper, we describe a novel approach to localization by applying a problem solving methodology. The term 'problem solving' implies a computational technique based on logical representational and control steps. In this research, these steps are derived from observing experts solving localization problems. The objective is not specifically to simulate human expertise but rather to apply its techniques where appropriate for computational systems. In doing this, we describe a model for solving the problem and a system built on that model, called localization control and logic expert (LOCALE), which is a demonstration of concept for the approach and the model. The results of this work represent the first successful solution to high-level control aspects of the localization problem

Error Analysis and Correction for Weighted A*'s Suboptimality (Extended Version)

Weighted A* (wA*) is a widely used algorithm for rapidly, but suboptimally, solving planning and search problems. The cost of the solution it produces is guaranteed to be at most W times the optimal solution cost, where W is the weight wA* uses in prioritizing open nodes. W is therefore a suboptimality bound for the solution produced by wA*. There is broad consensus that this bound is not very accurate, that the actual suboptimality of wA*'s solution is often much less than W times optimal. However, there is very little published evidence supporting that view, and no existing explanation of why W is a poor bound. This paper fills in these gaps in the literature. We begin with a large-scale experiment demonstrating that, across a wide variety of domains and heuristics for those domains, W is indeed very often far from the true suboptimality of wA*'s solution. We then analytically identify the potential sources of error. Finally, we present a practical method for correcting for two of these sources of error and experimentally show that the correction frequently eliminates much of the error.Comment: Published as a short paper in the 12th Annual Symposium on Combinatorial Search, SoCS 201

Lies From the Space Gods

This thesis is a collection of poems written over the course of four years at The Ohio State University. The work is Inspired by Marty McConnell, Anne Carson, and many others. The poems deal with queerness, girlhood, and the body and push the images to a very surreal and eerie edge.No embargoAcademic Major: Englis

Gottessymbol und soziale Struktur

to be adde

The Evolution of Wildland Fire Risk Management

Wildland Fire risk management has long been a topic of much discussion. In the past we have focused on immediate danger and how to mitigate it, recently we have started to look at risk with a long-term view. Throughout this paper we will discuss the history of wildland fire, wildland fire policy, and how we got to where we are today. We will also look at how the two different styles of risk management and how we need to use them in a complementary fashion to provide safety to our firefighters, public, and the natural resources that we are protecting

Physical Therapy Alumni Survey

This alumni survey on which this independent study is based was developed and distributed by the University of North Dakota Department of Physical Therapy (UND-PT) as an outcomes assessment tool for program evaluation. The results will be used by the faculty to determine the answer to these three research questions: who are the UND-PT alumni as related to their practice patterns, what is the future of physical therapy as a profession, and how effective is the UND-PT program in educating proficient entry-level therapists. With this information, the department will be able to make curriculum modifications and be better prepared to meet the needs of future physical therapy education. This self study will also be used, in part, to meet accreditation standards set by the Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), as the program is up for reaccreditation in 2003. The survey was sent to 942 alumni of the UND-PT program spanning from its first graduating class in 1970n to the class of 1998. It was a voluntary survey which consisted of six sections of questions which directly related to the three research questions previously mentioned. The data were analyzed and the results are depicted within this independent study. There were 592 surveys returned for a response rate of 63%. Of these respondents, 72% were female. Forty-four percent hold a Master\u27s degree or higher. Approximately 37% have some type of specialty certification. Although 42 states employ UND-PT alumni, over 50% of them are employed in the upper Midwest. The majority of the alumni work in hospital settings, are salaried employees, and treat mostly the orthopedic population. Forty-nine percent are APT A members. Within their own facilities, respondents foresee changes in the number of personnel, either an increase (most prevalent among responses) or a decrease of PTs and PTAs on staff, as well as a department or facility expansion within the next five years. Within the profession in general, respondents foresee a decrease in the number of job openings, a decrease in third-party reimbursements, and diversification within the field. The alumni reported being satisfied with their education. Ninety-eight percent of them rated the academic and clinical preparation that they received within the UND-PT program as being good to excellent. The information collected through this alumni survey will be valuable to the UND-PT Department, filling a vital piece of the whole within program evaluation and development. Current curriculum may be retained or discarded as a result. As an outcomes assessment, this process is multidimensional and ongoing

Front-to-End Bidirectional Heuristic Search with Near-Optimal Node Expansions

It is well-known that any admissible unidirectional heuristic search algorithm must expand all states whose $f$-value is smaller than the optimal solution cost when using a consistent heuristic. Such states are called "surely expanded" (s.e.). A recent study characterized s.e. pairs of states for bidirectional search with consistent heuristics: if a pair of states is s.e. then at least one of the two states must be expanded. This paper derives a lower bound, VC, on the minimum number of expansions required to cover all s.e. pairs, and present a new admissible front-to-end bidirectional heuristic search algorithm, Near-Optimal Bidirectional Search (NBS), that is guaranteed to do no more than 2VC expansions. We further prove that no admissible front-to-end algorithm has a worst case better than 2VC. Experimental results show that NBS competes with or outperforms existing bidirectional search algorithms, and often outperforms A* as well.Comment: Accepted to IJCAI 2017. Camera ready version with new timing result