1,787 research outputs found
Balanced budget multiplier with indirect taxes under imperfect competition
This paper presents two counter-examples to the Keynesian features attributed to imperfect competition in general equilibrium models. In particular, by considering indirect tax rates, a non positive and monotonically non-increasing relationship between the magnitude of both the balanced budget and welfare multipliers and market-power is obtained.
Urban Data in the primary classroom: bringing data literacy to the UK curriculum
As data becomes established as part of everyday life, the ability for the average citizen to have some level of data literacy is increasingly important. This paper describes an approach to teaching data skills in schools using real life, complex, urban data sets collected as part of a smart city project. The approach is founded on the premise that young learners have the ability to work with complex data sets if they are supported in the right way and if the tasks are grounded in a real life context. Narrative principles are used to frame the task, to assist interpretation and tell stories from data and to structure queries of datasets. An inquiry-based methodology organises the activities. This paper describes the initial trial in a UK primary school in which twelve students aged 9-10 years learnt about home energy consumption and the generation of solar energy from home solar PV, by interpreting existing visualisations of smart meter data and data obtained from aerial survey. Additional trials are scheduled with older learners which will evaluate learners on more challenging data handling tasks. The trials are informing the development of the Urban Data School, a web-based platform designed to support teaching data skills in schools in order to improve data literacy among school leavers
Trajectory Synthesis for Fisher Information Maximization
Estimation of model parameters in a dynamic system can be significantly
improved with the choice of experimental trajectory. For general, nonlinear
dynamic systems, finding globally "best" trajectories is typically not
feasible; however, given an initial estimate of the model parameters and an
initial trajectory, we present a continuous-time optimization method that
produces a locally optimal trajectory for parameter estimation in the presence
of measurement noise. The optimization algorithm is formulated to find system
trajectories that improve a norm on the Fisher information matrix. A
double-pendulum cart apparatus is used to numerically and experimentally
validate this technique. In simulation, the optimized trajectory increases the
minimum eigenvalue of the Fisher information matrix by three orders of
magnitude compared to the initial trajectory. Experimental results show that
this optimized trajectory translates to an order of magnitude improvement in
the parameter estimate error in practice.Comment: 12 page
Creating an Understanding of Data Literacy for a Data-driven Society
Society has become increasingly reliant on data, making it necessary to ensure that all citizens are equipped with the skills needed to be data literate. We argue that the foundations for a data literate society begin by acquiring key data literacy competences in school. However, as yet there is no clear definition of what these should be. This paper explores the different perspectives currently offered on both data and statistical literacy and then critically examines to what extent these address the data literacy needs of citizens in today’s society. We survey existing approaches to teaching data literacy in schools, to identify how data literacy is interpreted in practice. Based on these analyses, we propose a definition of data literacy that is focused on employing an inquiry-based approach to using data to understand real world phenomena. The contribution of this paper is the creation of a common foundation for teaching and learning data literacy skills
Prediction-based classification for longitudinal biomarkers
Assessment of circulating CD4 count change over time in HIV-infected subjects
on antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a central component of disease monitoring.
The increasing number of HIV-infected subjects starting therapy and the limited
capacity to support CD4 count testing within resource-limited settings have
fueled interest in identifying correlates of CD4 count change such as total
lymphocyte count, among others. The application of modeling techniques will be
essential to this endeavor due to the typically nonlinear CD4 trajectory over
time and the multiple input variables necessary for capturing CD4 variability.
We propose a prediction-based classification approach that involves first stage
modeling and subsequent classification based on clinically meaningful
thresholds. This approach draws on existing analytical methods described in the
receiver operating characteristic curve literature while presenting an
extension for handling a continuous outcome. Application of this method to an
independent test sample results in greater than 98% positive predictive value
for CD4 count change. The prediction algorithm is derived based on a cohort of
HIV-1 infected individuals from the Royal Free Hospital, London who
were followed for up to three years from initiation of ART. A test sample
comprised of individuals from Philadelphia and followed for a similar
length of time is used for validation. Results suggest that this approach may
be a useful tool for prioritizing limited laboratory resources for CD4 testing
after subjects start antiretroviral therapy.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/10-AOAS326 the Annals of
Applied Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aoas/) by the Institute of
Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org
Metodología de la Atención Primaria Orientada a la Comunidad (APOC). Elementos para su práctica
Podríamos definir la APOC como "la práctica de la atención primaria con responsabilidad poblacional, orientada a la mejora de la salud de una comunidad definida, basada en la identificación de las necesidades de salud y las acciones de atención correspondientes, con la participación de la comunidad y con la coordinación de todos los servicios implicados en la salud o en sus determinantes". Se trata de un proceso en el que los servicios de atención primaria se responsabilizan de la salude todos los miembros de la comunidad y no tan sólo de los usuarios de los servicios. Esta característica le atribuye una diferencia fundamental con los servicios tradicionales, orientados básicamente a la curación y tratamiento de síntomas y enfermedades de la población que demanda servicios, por lo que la APOC se convierte en una alternativa consistente para la re-orientación de los servicios con el objetivo de mejorar la salud de la población en su conjunto. Las acciones en la APOC, integran las propias de la atención primaria con otras de salud pública a nivel local. Los elementos necesarios para que un servicio de atención primaria de salud pueda aplicar la metodología APOC son básicamente: una comunidad definida; una práctica de atención primaria integral y con responsabilidad longitudinal y de coordinación; unos servicios de salud accesibles y próximos a la comunidad; la orientación a la comunidad en su conjunto y no sólo a la demandante de servicios; la participación de la comunidad con el objetivo de alcanzar la toma de responsabilidad en la promoción y el mantenimiento de su propia salud; un equipo de trabajo multidisciplinario; y un equipo con capacidad de movilizarse fuera del centro de salud para reconocer el entorno del individuo y de las familias. El ciclo metodológico de la APOC comprende las etapas denominadas como: examen preliminar de la comunidad, priorización de los problemas de salud, diagnostico comunitario del problema(s) seleccionado(s), planificación, implementación y evaluación de la intervención comunitaria, y re-examen de la situación inicial. Se recomienda el uso de métodos de asesoría rápida para la primera etapa del proceso y como criterios principales para priorizar el problema(s) sobre el que se va a intervenir: la importancia de dicho problema, así como la factibilidad y la efectividad de las alternativas de intervención posibles. Para la planificación de las etapas posteriores, la metodología más recomendable será la que permita adaptarse a los ritmos propios del trabajo con la comunidad con las incertidumbres y cambios que la participación comunitaria conlleva
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