Across three experiments, we assessed how location and color information contributes to the identification of an object whose image has been degraded, making its identity ambiguous. In Experiment 1, some of the target objects had fixed locations within the scene. We found that subjects used this location information during search and later to identify the blurred target objects. In Experiment 2, we tested whether location and color information can be combined to identify degraded objects, and results were inconclusive. In Experiment 3, both the location and color of each object was variable but statistically predictive of the object's identity. We found that subjects used both sources of information-color and location - equally when identifying the blurred image of the object. Overall, these findings suggest that location information may be as determining as intrinsic feature information to identify objects when the objects' intrinsic features are degraded. / by Derrick Schlangen. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

A avaliação de recursos minerais necessita da delimitação prévia de domínios estacionários para cálculo dos volumes do depósito mineral. O conhecimento a respeito dos processos geológicos de formação do depósito são traduzidos em modelos geológicos, essenciais para o planejamento da produção e à tomada de decisões a respeito da tecnologia e os recursos a empregados no empreendimento. A indústria mineral, normalmente, considera a incerteza dos teores na avaliação de recursos, entretanto a incerteza relacionada ao modelo geológico geralmente não é avaliada. Essa incerteza está relacionada a localização do limite entre domínios geológicos, e é uma da principal fonte de incerteza do empreendimento mineral. A incerteza do modelo geológico deve ser avaliada devido o potencial impacto no volume de recursos do depósito, e consequentemente na lucratividade do empreendimento. Esta dissertação busca avaliar a incerteza associada ao modelo geológico, através de três metodologias que possibilitam construir múltiplas realizações para domínios geológicos. Um banco de dados real com alta complexidade é utilizado na construção dos estudos de caso de cada metodologias e os resultados comparados com o modelo determinístico utilizado como referência. Dentre os métodos, a metodologia do parâmetro da incerteza C representou melhor a incerteza volumétrica, e portanto, foi selecionado para gerar o modelo geológico final, e demonstrar a importância da avaliação da incerteza na construção de modelos geológicos. / The evaluation of mineral resources requires the prior delimitation of a stationary domain geologically controlled. The knowledge about the ore genesis and geological processes involved are translated into geological models, essential for planning the production and decision-making regarding the technology and resources applied in the enterprise. The mineral industry usually considers the grade uncertainty in the evaluation of resources, however the uncertainty related to the geological model is generally under evaluated. This uncertainty related to the location of the boundary between geological domains is the great source of uncertainty in the mineral enterprise. The geological model uncertainty should be assessed due to the potential impact on the volume of deposit, and consequently the profitability of the enterprise. This dissertation evaluates the uncertainty associated to the geological model, through three methodologies that generate multiple realizations for geological domains. A real database with high geological complexity is used in the construction of the case studies for each methodology and the results compared to the deterministic model used as a benchmark. Among the methods, the uncertainty calculation methodology C was selected to generate the final geological model, and to demonstrate the importance of uncertainty evaluation in the construction of geological models.

Studiens syfte var att undersöka vilken inlärningsmetod som ledde till snabbast inlärning av substantiv, explicit eller implicita metoder. Hypotesen var att explicita metoder skulle vara överlägset sett till antalet inlärda substantiv över en begränsad tid. Deltagarna i undersökningen var 46 vuxna elever i svenska som andraspråk på grundläggande vuxenutbildning. Ordinlärningen bestod av ett häfte i pappersform innehållande 40 målord lika fördelade på en implicit och en explicit inlärningsdel. Tre versioner av häftet konstruerades för att kontrollera för att deltagarnas prestationer var beroende av inlärningsmetod inte av deras ordförråd eller i vilken ordning inlärningsdelarna gjordes. Direkt efter inlärningen genomfördes ett test i ordkunskap. Resultatet bekräftade hypotesen då deltagarna testade bättre på de substantiv de hade mött i den explicita inlärningsdelen oavsett vilket häfte de hade arbetat med. Resultatet bidrog med kunskap kring hur effektiv undervisning kring inlärning av substantiv kan bedrivas.

Denna studie syftar till att jämföra behärskning av attributiv kongruens i nominalfraser i plural och nominalfraser med genitivattribut utifrån andraspråksinlärares två skriftliga produktioner. I undersökningen har 20 vuxna inlärare av svenska på sfi kurs D medverkat genom att skriva en lucktest och en uppsats samt en grammatikenkät. I grammatikenkäten framkommer informanternas metalingvistiska kompetens, det vill säga deras explicita hänvisningar till de grammatiska reglerna av de analyserade strukturerna. Vissa faktorer som daglig exponering av svenska och motivation kan påverka inlärning av ett andraspråk och detta har även beaktats i denna studie.  Genom en jämförande analys på de två strukturerna visar studien att antalet förekomster av attributiv kongruens beträffande pluralformer är högre än vid genitivkonstruktioner i de två skriftliga produktionerna, lucktesten och uppsatsen. Informanterna verkar därmed ha goda grammatiska kunskaper angående pluralkongruens, men sämre kännedom om genitivkongruens, med några få undantag som även anger korrekta hänvisningar till genitivkongruens. Enligt denna undersökning har daglig exponeringstid av svenska utanför skolans domäner inte inverkat på informanternas behärskning av samtliga strukturer i deras skriftliga produktioner. Ett faktum är också att de flesta informanter visar hög motivation för att lära sig mer svensk grammatik.

Stereotype threat is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when individuals become aware that their behavior could potentially confirm a negative stereotype. Though stereotype threat is a widely studied phenomenon in social psychology, there has been relatively little scholarship on it in philosophy, despite its relevance to issues such as implicit cognition, epistemic injustice, and diversity in philosophy. However, most psychological research on stereotype threat discusses the phenomenon by using an overly narrow picture of it, which focuses on one of its effects: the ability to hinder performance. As a result, almost all philosophical work on stereotype threat is solely focused on issues of performance too. Social psychologists know that stereotype threat has additional effects, such as negatively impacting individuals’ motivation, interests, long-term health, and even their sense of self, but these other effects are often downplayed, or even forgotten about. Therefore, the “standard picture” of stereotype threat needs to be expanded, in order to better understand the theoretical aspects of the phenomenon, and to develop broader, more effective interventions. This dissertation develops such an “expanded picture” of stereotype threat, which emphasizes how the phenomenon can negatively impact both self-identity and epistemic agency. In doing so, I explore the nature of stereotypes more generally and argue that they undermine groups’ moral status and contribute to what is called “ontic injustice.” I also show how stereotype threat harms members of socially subordinated groups by way of coercing their self-identity and undermining their epistemic agency, which I argue is a form of epistemic injustice. Lastly, I analyze the expanded picture’s implications for addressing the low proportion of women in professional philosophy. I critically engage recent arguments that these low numbers simply reflect different interests women have, which if innate or benign, would require no intervention. My expanded picture shows the mistakes in this sort of reasoning, which is also present in discussions on the underrepresentation of women in science. The expanded picture of stereotype threat that this dissertation develops is not only practically important, but also advances key philosophical debates in social epistemology, applied ethics, and social metaphysics.

Cette thèse porte sur la co-construction de la signification en interaction et les manifestations des processus interprétatifs des participants. En s’intéressant au processus d’explicitation, c’est-à-dire le processus par lequel un contenu informationnel devient explicite dans la conversation, elle propose une étude pluridimensionnelle de la séquence conversationnelle en jeu dans ce processus. La co-construction de la signification est ici abordée comme relevant d’une transformation informationnelle et de l’inférence.Nos analyses ont porté sur un corpus de français parlé en interaction, en contexte de repas et apéritifs entre amis. A partir d’une collection de séquences d’explicitation, définies comme des configurations dans lesquelles une inférence estsoumise à validation, ce travail propose une analyse multidimensionnelle, portant un double regard sur les données : celui de l’analyse conversationnelle et celui d’une modélisation de la pratique d’explicitation. Ainsi, nous proposons de parcourir cettepratique selon trois axes d’analyse : (a) une analyse séquentielle, s’intéressant au déploiement de la séquence d’explicitation et des éléments la composant, (b) une analyse reposant sur une modélisation de la gestion informationnelle dans cetteséquence, et (c) une analyse des formats linguistiques employés pour l’exhibition du processus inférentiel. Un des enjeux de ce travail l’élaboration d’un modèle conversationnaliste pour la gestion informationnelle et son application à l’analyse desdonnées de langue parlée en interaction. / This dissertation deals with the co-construction of meaning in interaction and the ways in which conversationalists exhibit their interpretative processes. The focus of this study is the process of explicitation, i.e. the process through which an informational content becomes explicit in conversation. By offering a multi-level analysis of conversational sequences engaged in this practice, the study approaches the co-construction of meaning from the point of view of informational transformation and inference.The analyses presented here have been conducted on a corpus of spoken French in interaction, within the setting of informal encounters between friends around a meal or a drink. The explicitation sequence is defined as a conversational pattern where an inference is being submitted for confirmation. Starting from a collection of these sequences, this study offers a twofold approach: that of conversation analysis, and that of modeling of the conversational sequence. The practice of making a content explicit is here being explored according to three analytical lines: (a) the sequential analysis, focusing on the deployment of the explicitation sequence and its components; (b) the analysis according to a device elaborated by means of modeling information management in these sequences; and (c) the analysis of the linguistic designs used when exhibiting the inference. One of themain challenges of the present study is that of a proposition of a conversationalist model, dealing with information management and its enforcement through analysis of talk in interaction.

The implicit-solvent model uses continuum electrostatic theory to represent the salt solution around dissolved biomolecules, leading to a coupled system of the Poisson-Boltzmann and Poisson equations. This thesis uses the implicit-solvent model to study solvation, binding and adsorption of proteins. We developed an implicit-solvent model solver that uses the boundary element method (BEM), called PyGBe. BEM numerically solves integral equations along the biomolecule-solvent interface only, therefore, it does not need to discretize the entire domain. PyGBe accelerates the BEM with a treecode algorithm and runs on graphic processing units. We performed extensive verification and validation of the code, comparing it with experimental observations, analytical solutions, and other numerical tools. Our results suggest that a BEM approach is more appropriate than volumetric based methods, like finite-difference or finite-element, for high accuracy calculations. We also discussed the effect of features like solvent-filled cavities and Stern layers in the implicit-solvent model, and realized that they become relevant in binding energy calculations. The application that drove this work was nano-scale biosensors-- devices designed to detect biomolecules. Biosensors are built with a functionalized layer of ligand molecules, to which the target molecule binds when it is detected. With our code, we performed a study of the orientation of proteins near charged surfaces, and investigated the ideal conditions for ligand molecule adsorption. Using immunoglobulin G as a test case, we found out that low salt concentration in the solvent and high positive surface charge density leads to favorable orientations of the ligand molecule for biosensing applications. We also studied the plasmonic response of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) biosensors. LSPR biosensors monitor the plasmon resonance frequency of metallic nanoparticles, which shifts when a target molecule binds to a ligand molecule. Electrostatics is a valid approximation to the LSPR biosensor optical phenomenon in the long-wavelength limit, and BEM was able to reproduce the shift in the plasmon resonance frequency as proteins approach the nanoparticle.

Previamente à cada estimativa ou simulação geoestatística os domínios geológicos do depósito devem ser modelados, o que tradicionalmente é feito de forma manual por um geomodelador, em um processo laborioso, demorado e subjetivo. Por essa razão novas técnicas conhecidas como métodos implícitos veem surgindo. Essas técnicas fornecem algoritmos que substituem o processo de digitalização manual dos métodos explícitos por alguma forma de procedimento automático. Essa dissertação visita alguns métodos implícitos bem estabelecidos com atenção especial à modelagem geológica implícita com funções distância assinalada. Um estudo de caso em um banco de dados real é apresentado e a aplicabilidade do método discutida. Embora não substitua por completo um geomodelador experiente, o método provou ser capaz de gerar modelos geológicos semi-automáticos realistas a partir dos dados amostrais, e se mostra útil principalmente nas fases iniciais da pesquisa mineral. / Prior to every geostatistical estimation or simulation study there is a need for delimiting the geologic domains of the deposit, which is traditionally done manually by a geomodeler in a laborious, time consuming and subjective process. For this reason, novel techniques referred to as implicit modelling have appeared. These techniques provide algorithms that replace the manual digitization process of the traditional methods by some form of automatic procedure. This dissertation covers a few well established implicit methods currently available with special attention to the signed distance function methodology. A case study based on a real dataset was performed and its applicability discussed. Although it did not replace an experienced geomodeler, the method proved to be capable in creating semi-automatic geological models from the sampling data, especially in the early stages of exploration.

National libraries hold large, valuable repositories of often unique materials. How can we ensure that the knowledge is accessible without endangering the materials that hold the knowledge? Digital preservation is meant to solve this problem. With more and more material being accessible digitally, users are expected to do more and more of the finding on their own, instead of being guided by librarians. What kind of knowledge do the librarians have, that cannot be mediated through a system? How is the knowledge of experienced librarians passed on to new librarians? What is the difference between physical and digital materials? I have interviewed senior and junior librarians of Det Kongelige Bibliotek in Copenhagen, Nasjonalbiblioteket in Oslo, the National Library in Helsinki, and Kungliga Biblioteket in Stockholm to learn about their journey to knowledge of their collections. These collections are meant to function as a national memory. In discussing the how they learned, I compare this with how this knowledge is being passed on, preserving the nation's memory. I conclude that the focus on digitization of the collections is risking to close off the regions of the closed stacks even more, as librarians are either not allocated the time to do research, or not replaced when they retire. For the memory of the nation, and for the progress of knowledge, it is important to have staff trained in research, and also to have time allotted to pursue the advancement of their fields.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-05-12Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:48:40Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 denadai_d_me_sjrp.pdf: 370065 bytes, checksum: 6db2aacdc27e3eb4ca5f48d683ca1d56 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Neste trabalho provamos a existência de controle aproximado para certos sistemas não-lineares de equaçõ es diferenciais ordinárias de entrada e saída únicas e múltiplas. Utilizamos como técnica funções ou aplicações implícitas globais. / In this work we prove the existence of approximate control for certain nonlinear sys-tems of ordinary differential equations of single-input single-output and multi-input multi-output. We use global implicit functions or mappings.