The main idea of this thesis is to de ne and formulate the role of bias estimation in multitarget{multisensor scenarios as a general framework for various measurement types. After a brief introduction of the work that has been done in this thesis, three main contributions are explained in detail, which exercise the novel ideas. Starting with radar measurements, a new bias estimation method that can estimate o set and scaling biases in large network of radars is proposed. Further, Cram er{Rao Lower Bound is calculated for the bias estimation algorithm to show the theoretical accuracy that can be achieved by the proposed method. In practice, communication loss is also part of the distributed systems, which sometimes can not be avoided. A novel technique is also developed to accompany the proposed bias estimation method in this thesis to compensate for communication loss at di erent rates by the use of tracklets. Next, bearing{only measurements are considered. Biases in this type of measurement can be di cult to tackle because the measurement noise and systematic biases are normally larger than in radar measurements. In addition, target observability is sensitive to sensor{target alignment and can vary over time. In a multitarget{ multisensor bearing{only scenario with biases, a new model is proposed for the biases that is decoupled form the bearing{only measurements. These decoupled bias measurements then are used in a maximum likelihood batch estimator to estimate the biases and then be used for compensation. The thesis is then expanded by applying bias estimation algorithms into video sensor measurements. Video sensor measurements are increasingly implemented in distributed systems because of their economical bene ts. However, geo{location and geo{registration of the targets must be considered in such systems. In last part of the thesis, a new approach proposed for modeling and estimation of biases in a two video sensor platform which can be used as a standalone algorithm. The proposed algorithm can estimate the gimbal elevation and azimuth biases e ectively. It is worth noting that in all parts of the thesis, simulation results of various scenarios with di erent parameter settings are presented to support the ideas, the accuracy, mathematical modelings and proposed algorithms. These results show that the bias estimation methods that have been conducted in this thesis are viable and can handle larger biases and measurement errors than previously proposed methods. Finally, the thesis conclude with suggestions for future research in three main directions. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Own Group Recognition Bias (OGRB) is a robust phenomenon defined by being better able to recognize individuals from one's own ethnic group compared to other groups. A number of researchers agree that this bias is a function of perceptual and social contact. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the role of contact in the OGRB, particularly in its social dimension, and to understand more broadly how a set of social and cognitive components can act on face recognition. This work was based on two main approaches. The first was to assess the effects of social and cognitive components on the ability of European observers to recognize European and North-African faces. Specifically, I investigated contact patterns, prejudice, interaction anxiety and visual strategies in the context of the OGRB. To this end, I first created and tested scales to measure aspects of social contact, and prejudice towards North-African individuals. The social contact investigation was of three major sub-components of contact, including contact avoidance. The prejudice scale contained two attitudinal components, with items assessing ethnic prejudice and affective states. Then, I set up an experimental protocol using an eye-tracker and physiological measures to assess the impact of different components such as contact, intergroup anxiety, visual strategies and prejudice on face recognition. The main objective of this first part of the thesis was to determine the multiple interdependent effects between cognitive and social elements on intergroup face recognition abilities. The results of the experimental protocol confirmed the existence of an OGRB in European participants towards North-African individuals; however, the impact of social variables on face recognition was not conclusive. The study of visual strategies, however, showed clearer results. In a second part of my thesis, I addressed the notion of within-group variability and how this component can be integrated with the different elements mentioned above. First, I conducted a systematic review of the notion of 'phenotypicality bias', which is defined as the activation of prejudice based on perceived typicality of an ethnicity. This review highlighted an underdeveloped body of work that challenges the conception of the ethnic group as a homogeneous entity. In a second phase, I tested a set of protocols on the representation and perception of within-group variability for stimuli from African, European and North-African groups. This work allowed me to highlight elements perceived as typical of a given group and to create and validate standardised photographic material with different levels of perceived ethnic typicality. Finally, I manipulated this ethnic typicality in a final experimental face recognition protocol in order to assess its impact on the OGRB. The results of this last study also confirm an OGRB for African and North-African stimuli in a European population. The impact of within-group variability on recognition was relatively clear, especially for ethnic other-group faces.

Own Group Recognition Bias (OGRB) is a robust phenomenon defined by being better able to recognize individuals from one's own ethnic group compared to other groups. A number of researchers agree that this bias is a function of perceptual and social contact. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the role of contact in the OGRB, particularly in its social dimension, and to understand more broadly how a set of social and cognitive components can act on face recognition. This work was based on two main approaches. The first was to assess the effects of social and cognitive components on the ability of European observers to recognize European and North-African faces. Specifically, I investigated contact patterns, prejudice, interaction anxiety and visual strategies in the context of the OGRB. To this end, I first created and tested scales to measure aspects of social contact, and prejudice towards North-African individuals. The social contact investigation was of three major sub-components of contact, including contact avoidance. The prejudice scale contained two attitudinal components, with items assessing ethnic prejudice and affective states. Then, I set up an experimental protocol using an eye-tracker and physiological measures to assess the impact of different components such as contact, intergroup anxiety, visual strategies and prejudice on face recognition. The main objective of this first part of the thesis was to determine the multiple interdependent effects between cognitive and social elements on intergroup face recognition abilities. The results of the experimental protocol confirmed the existence of an OGRB in European participants towards North-African individuals; however, the impact of social variables on face recognition was not conclusive. The study of visual strategies, however, showed clearer results. In a second part of my thesis, I addressed the notion of within-group variability and how this component can be integrated with the different elements mentioned above. First, I conducted a systematic review of the notion of 'phenotypicality bias', which is defined as the activation of prejudice based on perceived typicality of an ethnicity. This review highlighted an underdeveloped body of work that challenges the conception of the ethnic group as a homogeneous entity. In a second phase, I tested a set of protocols on the representation and perception of within-group variability for stimuli from African, European and North-African groups. This work allowed me to highlight elements perceived as typical of a given group and to create and validate standardised photographic material with different levels of perceived ethnic typicality. Finally, I manipulated this ethnic typicality in a final experimental face recognition protocol in order to assess its impact on the OGRB. The results of this last study also confirm an OGRB for African and North-African stimuli in a European population. The impact of within-group variability on recognition was relatively clear, especially for ethnic other-group faces.

Note:

Diversity efforts have a long history on college campuses but faculty diversity efforts have experienced limited success (Smith, Turner, Osei-Kofi & Richards, 2004; Turner, 2002). While there is an abundance of literature exploring the challenges in achieving faculty diversity, there have been very few empirical studies exploring the actual search process. The limited research available regarding race suggests that traditional search processes do not result in hiring applicants of color (Smith et al., 2004) but there is no research that identifies factors that might be addressed to produce a more equitable search process. The purpose of this study is to identify which factors come into play when reviewing a vita. Of particular interest is the influence applicant race, as indicated by applicant name, has on the evaluation of the curriculum vita. A national sample was identified using the membership list of the Council of Industrial Engineering Academic Department Heads. A between subjects design was utilized. Participants were sent the curriculum vita of a Black applicant or a White applicant, a brief survey questionnaire and a self-addressed stamped envelope. All responses were anonymous. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance to determine if there is variance in responses to survey items based on applicant race. Demographic characteristics of the participants influenced the evaluation of the fictitious candidate. Participate age and participant race influenced candidate evaluation. There was evidence of same-race rating effect in which Black participants favored the Black applicant and White participants favored the White applicant. Findings suggest applicant race does influence the evaluation of a curriculum vita when the eligibility criteria is valued by the evaluator and candidate qualifications are ambigious. / Ph. D.

As we scale down each process generation the degree of control we have on device parameters decreases. We are left to contend with a great deal of variability in process and environmental parameters. Process variation impacts dopant concentration, channel length, oxide thickness and other device parameters. Temperature variation too affects several parameters, amongst them are the threshold voltage and carrier mobility. All of these variations can either be margined for during design or compensated for dynamically. In this paper the technique of adaptive body bias is successfully applied to compensate for the variation in design so that the circuit operates at no more than 10 percent of the optimal pvt (process voltage temperature) point while minimizing leakage. / text

Orthographically-projected biological motion point-light displays generally contain no information about their in-depth orientation, yet observers consistently prefer the facing-the-viewer (FTV) interpretation (Vanrie, Dekeyser and Verfaillie, 2004). This bias has been attributed to the social relevance of such stimuli (Brooks et al., 2008) although local stimulus properties appear to influence the bias (Schouten, Troje and Verfaillie, 2011). In the present study we investigated the cause of the FTV bias. In Experiment 1 we compared FTV bias for various configurations of stick-figures and depth ambiguous human silhouettes. The FTV bias was not present for silhouettes, but was strongly elicited for most stick-figures. We concluded that local attitude assignments for intrinsic structures of stick-figures are subject to inferences about the flexion of body surfaces, and that a visual bias that assumes surfaces to be convex drives the FTV bias. In Experiment 2 we manipulated silhouettes to permit local attitude assignments by using point-lights on emphasized flexion points. As predicted, the inclusion of intrinsic structures produced FTV bias for silhouettes. The results help to unify various findings regarding the FTV bias. We conclude that the FTV bias emerges during the 2 ½-D sketch stage of visual processing (Marr and Nishihara, 1978). / Thesis (Master, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2013-08-08 19:06:06.84

Synonymous codon usage bias has been extensively studied in Bacteria and Eukaryotes and yet there has been little investigation in the third domain of life, the Archaea. In this thesis I therefore examine the coding sequences of nearly 70 species of Archaea to explore patterns of codon bias. Heterogeneity in codon usage among genes was initially explored for a single species, Methanococcus maripaludis, where patterns were explained by a single major trend associated with expression level and attributed to natural selection. Unlike the bacterium Escherichia coli, selection was largely restricted to two-fold degenerate sites. Analyses of patterns of codon usage bias within genomes were extended to the other species of Archaea, where variation was more commonly explained by heterogeneity in G+C content and asymmetric base composition. By comparison with bacterial genomes, far fewer trends were found to be associated with expression level, implying a reduced prevalence of translational selection among Archaea. The strength of selected codon usage bias (S) was estimated for 67 species of Archaea, and revealed that natural selection has had less impact in shaping patterns of codon usage across Archaea than across many species of Bacteria. Variation in S was explained by the combined effects of growth rate and optimal growth temperature, with species growing at high temperatures exhibiting weaker than expected selection given growth rate. Such a relationship is expected if temperature kinetically modulates growth rate via its impact upon translation elongation, since rapid elongation rates at high temperatures reduce the selective benefit of optimal codon usage for the efficiency of translation. Consistent with this, growth temperature is negatively correlated with minimal generation time, and numbers of rRNA operons and tRNA genes are reduced at high growth temperatures. The large fraction of thermophilic Archaea relative to Bacteria account for the lower values of S observed. Two major trends were found to describe variation in codon usage among archaeal genomes; the first was attributed to GC3s and the second was associated with arginine codon usage and was linked both with growth temperature and the genome-wide excess of G over C content. The latter is unlikely to reflect thermophilic adaptation since the codon primarily underlying the trend appears to be selectively disfavoured. No correlations were observed with genome wide GC3s and optimal growth temperature and neither was GC3s associated with aerobiosis. The identities of optimal codons were explored and found to be invariant across U and C-ending two-fold degenerate amino acid groups. The identity of optimal codons and anticodons across four and six-fold degenerate amino acid groups was found to vary with mutational bias. As was first observed in M. maripaludis, selected codon usage bias was consistently greater across two-fold relative to four-fold degenerate amino acid groups across Archaea. This broad pattern could reflect ancestral patterns of optimal codon divergence, prevalent among four-fold but not two-fold degenerate amino acid groups. Consistent with this, the strength of selected codon usage bias was found to be reduced following the divergence of optimal codons, and implies that optimal codon divergence typically proceeds following the relaxation of selection. Finally, a method was developed to partition the strength of selection (S) into separate components reflecting selection for translational efficiency (Seff) and selection for translational accuracy (Sacc) by comparing the codon usage across conserved and nonconserved amino acid residues. While estimates of Sacc are somewhat sensitive to the designation of conserved sites, a general pattern emerged whereby accuracy-selected codon usage bias was consistently strongest across a subset of the most highly conserved sites. Several estimates of Sacc were consistently higher than the 95% range of null values regardless of the dataset, providing evidence for accuracy-selected codon usage bias in these species.

Thesis advisor: David L. Blustein / This study focused on the assessment of counselor perceptions of prostitution and the examination of how perceptions influence counselors' clinical judgments. The preliminary study involved the development of Counselor Perceptions of Prostitution Scale (CPPS) designed to assess counselors' attitudes towards prostitution. The items developed based on the debate in the literature between those who view prostitution as social oppression and inherently traumatizing, and those who believe that prostitution is a self-determined career path were administered to seventy-two counselors-in-training. The measure demonstrated high internal consistency reliability (α = 0.87), had a significant negative correlation (r = -.68) with the Attitudes towards Prostitution Scale (ATPS) and exploratory factor analysis yielded a unidimensional scale. In the final study, three brief clinical vignettes were used to manipulate the variable of client's engagement in prostitution. Each vignette comprised of a client seeking services for depression while engaging in prostitution, selling marijuana, or working in a department store. One hundred and ninety-eight mental health providers rated their empathy, attribution of responsibility for the cause of and solution to the problem, assessment of client's functioning, and willingness to work with the client in response to the vignette assigned. They also completed CPPS and ATPS. Data was analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and canonical correlation analysis (CCA). Overall, results of the MANOVA revealed that empathy was the most significant contributor to the difference between conditions. Contrary to prediction, there was no difference in empathy for the client engaging in prostitution versus the client working overtime at the department store. However, counselors' demonstrated lower levels of empathy for the client selling marijuana. The CCA revealed that in response to the prostitution vignette, counselors who viewed prostitution as inherently traumatizing and also held accurate beliefs about prostitution were likely to be more empathic and attribute less personal responsibility to the client for solving her own problems. Limitations of this study and implications for counselor practice, education, and future research are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology.

Previous research shows that social biases, such as pro-White racial bias, can influence a person's decisions and behaviors (Correll et al. 2007; Mekawi & Bresin, 2015). Studies also suggest that social biases may influence basic functions like visual perception (Cesario & Navarrete, 2014); however, few studies have examined the relationship between visual perceptions and threat (Cesario, Placks, Hagiwara, Navarrete, & Higgins, 2010; Todd, Thiem, & Neel, 2016). The current research aims to investigate whether implicit pro-White preference can influence basic functions like visual perception. A secondary aim of this study is to examine the role of threat in this relationship. To test, White male and female participants (N= 29) were asked to complete distance estimates to either a Black or White male experimenter. It was hypothesized that participants would judge the distance to the Black confederate as closer compared to those who estimate the distance to a White confederate. The results marginally supported the idea that participants’ distance judgements were influenced by the experimenter’s race, such that the Black experimenter was viewed as closer when compared to the White experimenter. However, results showed that implicit racial attitudes did not influence distance estimations, but explicit bias did. Fully powered follow-up studies will be conducted to further examine these hypotheses and investigate whether a type one error was present.