Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simultaneous Abstract and Concrete Reinforcement Learning

Suppose an agent builds a policy that satisfactorily solves a decision problem; suppose further that some aspects of this policy are abstracted and used as start- ing point in a new, different decision problem. How can the agent accrue the benefits of the abstract pol- icy in the new concrete problem? In this paper we pro- pose a framework for simultaneous reinforcement learn- ing, where the abstract policy helps start up the pol- icy for the concrete problem, and both policies are re- fined through exploration. We report experiments that demonstrate that our framework is effective in speeding up policy construction for practical problems. and uses as much prior knowledge and experiments as possi- ble. In this paper we propose a framework for simultaneous reinforcement learning of the abstract and the concrete poli- cies that does just that. In doing so, we bypass some of the difficulties of rein- forcement learning, namely the slow convergence to optimal policy and the inability to reuse previously acquired knowl- edge. The prior knowledge for the second problem is exactly the abstract policy. We explore the intuition that generaliza- tion from closely related, but solved, problems can produce policies that make good decisions in many states of a new unsolved problem. At the same time, we avoid the possible bad performance of a known policy in a new problem, by applying reinforcement learning as much as possible. Our experiments show that such a framework produces excellent results. An abstract policy can offer effective guid- ance and benefit from exploration; moreover, learning in the abstract level converges faster than in the concrete level. The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 reviews basic concepts of Markov decision processes and reinforcement learning, including Relationally Factored MDP, the basis for the concepts of abstract states and abstract actions. Section 3 discusses abstract policies, how to induce and use them. Sec- tion 4 presents our proposals for knowledge transfer from a source concrete problem to a target one, and for learning simultaneously in abstract and concrete levels. Section 5 re- ports experiments that validate our proposals, and Section 6 summarizes our conclusions.
How brand personality and failure-type shape consumer forgiveness

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the impact of an overlooked variable, brand personality, as a basis for brand forgiveness and recovery following brand failures.Design/methodology/approachData were collected via three on-line surveys using Amazon Mechanical Turk, including a total of 475 respondents (125, 113 and 237) and using a 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial design.FindingsResults show that a brand’s dominant personality (warm vs competent) elicits different expectations regarding brand performance, and that surprisingly, consumers more readily forgive, rather than censure, brand failures which violate their expectations. Further, this effect exists independent of the consumer’s relationship with the brand. These findings occur across different brands (both fictitious and real), manipulations of brand personality and brand failure-type and indices for brand forgiveness. Results indicate the interactive effect of brand personality and failure-type was mediated by brand credibility, while consumers’ desire to re-evaluate the brand served as a moderator.Practical implicationsThis research demonstrates that while brand failures are largely considered from a negative perspective, brand personality can serve to bolster consumer perceptions of brands post-failure. Further, and separate from strong consumer-brand relationships, brand personality serves as an important signal for consumer expectations and plays a pivotal role in post-failure forgiveness and behavioral intentions.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by introducing and testing the role brand personality plays, independent of an existing and strong consumer-brand relationship, in consumer response to brand failure. Further, the mediator of and a moderator for this effect are identified.
U.S. livestock production and factor demand: a multiproduct dynamic dual approach

There is a need for modeling livestock production and factor use incorporating the interlinked dynamics of breeding herd adjustments in a theoretically consistent manner. Therefore, a multiple input-multiple output theoretical model is developed based on the adjustment cost hypothesis of production relationship involving sluggish adjustments of quasi-fixed inputs. Employing the results of intertemporal analogue of Hotelling's lemma, a system of equations of optimal output supply, variable input demand, and quasi-fixed inputs (livestock breeding herds) investment is derived. Various issues like aggregation, expectation formation, and nonjointness in implementing this theoretical model are appraised. ;A normalized quadratic value function is used to implement the proposed theoretical model. Beef, milk, pork, chicken, turkey, eggs, sheep and lambs, and wool (including mohair) are the eight outputs considered. The five variable inputs included in the empirical model are labor (numeraire), operating capital, grain feed, high protein feed, and hay. Various stocks of breeding herds like beef cows, dairy cows, sows, chicken layers, turkey breeder hens, and ewes (including Angora goats) are treated as appropriate nonallocatable quasi-fixed inputs. Stock of durable capital used in livestock production is also included in the list of quasi-fixed inputs studied. Sector-level aggregate data for the sample period 1950-1987 are used in the estimation. All parametric restrictions implied by the underlying theory of producer behavior (homogeneity, symmetry, and convexity) are maintained throughout the analysis. ;The estimated model is subjected to a series of tests of hypotheses on the structure of dynamics of the livestock breeding herds. Nonjointness in production of some outputs is also tested. Results indicate the validity of the present approach in capturing the interlinkages that exist among the dynamics of these breeding herds. The nature and magnitude of such linkages are assessed by means of the coefficients of dynamic adjustments matrix. The important distinction of short run versus long run in responses for simulated external economic stimuli like changes in relative prices is accounted for in the elasticities calculation. In general, the reported elasticities compare favorably with similar estimates from other studies. ;The present modeling effort does have few restrictive assumptions like static price expectation formation and a simple linear first order differential equation for approximating the dynamics of herd building. Nevertheless, it amply demonstrates that the theoretical requirements of economic modeling can be fully and meaningfully incorporated in practical applications for realistic results.
Wage Inequality in Advanced Countries: Technology, Trade, Institutions and Social Norms

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the recent literature on increasing wage inequality in some advanced countries in the last decades. I first summarize the basic facts describing the dynamics of wage inequality and the evolution of technology, trade, and labor market institutions in recent decades. Second, I critically review the different explanations, emphasizing their theoretical mechanisms and empirical relevance. The goal is to update existing surveys with the most recent works and to focus on some new explanations that have not yet received sufficient attention in the literature. Both exogenous and endogenous SBTC explanations are reviewed, and some of the main criticisms of these approaches are discussed. The trade channel is recently experiencing a revival, after having been downplayed in the 1990s. I will review the recent theoretical and empirical contributions on the effects of international competition, outsourcing and offshoring on the wage structure. The institutional change explanation has been partially abandoned in recent years, especially on theoretical grounds. I will review its strenghts and weaknesses and discuss some directions for future research.Finally, I introduce a source of inequality that has received little attention in the current debate. I explore the role of social customs and norms in shaping the wage distribution.
Ethics and Altruism Altruism in humans : an evolutionary approach

Altruism was originally defi ned as a cooperative act infl icting a cost to the donor and only giving a benefi t to the recipient. However, no study has ever conclusively demonstrated the existence of altruistic behaviours that do not give any short-or long-term benefi ts to donors. Th erefore, the term altruism is generally used for costly behaviours that may potentially also be benefi cial for the donor. In accordance with this broader defi nition, two main concepts have been traditionally proposed to explain the evolution of altruism: inclusive fi tness (Hamilton, 1964) and reciprocal altruism (Trivers, 1971). Altruism among kin evolves through kin selection (Hamilton, 1964), as donors may gain inclusive fi tness benefi ts by helping their relatives. Regardless to the genetic relationship between two interactants, reciprocal altruism may become evolutionarily stable when individuals alternatively or simultaneously act as a donor or recipient of the altruistic behaviour, thus balancing the costs and benefi ts of the exchange over time. Since Hamilton and Trivers seminal papers, additional theories or factors favouring altruism have been proposed (reviewed in Kappeler & van Schaik, 2006; Nowak 2006), including indirect reciprocity, multi-level selection, and reputation. Th e concept of indirect reciprocity applies to interactions where the donor of the altruistic act may receive benefi ts from the former recipient diff erent from those given, or where the benefi t is returned by a third party. Reputation may be one of such benefi ts: individuals may act altruistically (e.g. through public donations to charities) to improve their reputation within the group and/ or to signal potential mates or competitors that they may successfully aff ord the cost of altruism (Milinski et al., 2002; Roberts, 1998). Multi-level selection suggests that groups composed of all altruistic members should be more cohesive and have a greater average fi tness than groups composed of a mixture of altruists and defectors (i.e. individuals who rarely or never act altruistically despite benefi ting from the altruism of others) and their proportion should thus increase within a population over time. All the theories proposed so far share the same prerequisites to reduce the risk of defection and for altruism to become evolutionarily stable: animals need to recognize and repeatedly interact with the same subjects over a given period of time, remember the type of interactions they had in the past, and modify their behaviour accordingly. Th ere is increasing evidence …
Tri-Mode Heterogeneous Integrated Beam-Switching/Van Atta/Phase-Conjugating Array Using Synthesized Transmission Lines

With the aid of tri-operational mode synthesized transmission lines, an innovative heterogeneous integrated phased array having the functions of beam-switching and retrodirection in three individual bands is proposed and demonstrated. The key innovation is the array feeding network, capable of automatically reconfiguring its topology into three states without applying any active switch. In the low band, the feeding circuit, and hence, the entire system function as a beam-switching array using the Butler matrix for communication and positioning. In the mid and high bands, the integrated array rearranges its feeding network into pairs of isolated delay lines and becomes a Van Atta array and a phase-conjugating array, respectively, to re-radiate the signals to the direction of arrival. The core building blocks are the three-channel selector, tri-mode coupler, and diplexer, all realized by synthesized transmission lines with rigorous design formulae. The operational principle is first introduced, followed by the design and implementation of the key components. A phase compensation scheme is discussed to complete the tri-mode array design. This unique concept is experimentally verified using the radiation characteristics of the integrated array at the end of this paper.
Structural Change and Curriculum Reform in an Australian Education System

The economy of Australia, reflecting current diffi­ culties evident in the operation of the global economy, is in recession . "The Lucky Country" has become "The Unlucky Country," so our politicians would have us bel ieve as they seek to locate the origins of the country's economic malaise on forces substantially outside the control of policymakers and their steward­ ship of the national economy. The natural resource en­ dowments of Australia fuel the popular bel ief held by its citizenry that we should be doing a lot better with respect to the reduction of a large balance-of-payments deficit , reducing the rates of inflation and interest down to levels comparable with those of our major competitors, and reversing trends in fal l ing productiv­ ity and rising unemployment. The dilemma of fulfill­ ing public expectations for the maintenance of high standards of living and adequate social service provi­ sions, while concurrently reducing costs, places politi­ cians and their economic advisers in a "no win" posi­ tion with the public at large. The largest budget allocations for provision of health , education and social welfare services have seemingly taken the brunt of the push for cost efficiencies and the pruning back of public expenditure. An offshoot of the redistri­ bution of resources in l ine with revamped federal policies has been that associated responses in the contemporary social and economic climate have en­ couraged education to be redefined in instrumental terms inter alia to better serve the needs of the labour market. Following the exploration of some conceptual and philosophical issues surrounding the work of schools in general and curriculum issues at the national level in particular, the focus of this article moves to a consideration of recent deep seated change in the educa­ tion system of Western Australia. The degree of implementation effectiveness concerning some far­ reaching curriculum and structural reforms at the State level , and the consequences of the latter for system managers , teachers , school administrators , students and their parents , are also reviewed . The ar­ ticle concludes with a consideration of the current sta­ tus of some of the State's educational reforms within the national context, and the lessons to be learned from the implementation of large scale structural reform within a compressed time scale .
Enhancing Information Acquisition in Game Agents

Significant enhancements in the capabilities of software agents can result through improving how they acquire information. Decision making depends on getting the right information, but the issue of what actually constitutes the right information is complex. This paper outlines important characteristics of information acquisition in agents and suggests how to improve the effectiveness of information acquisition in agents in virtual worlds. By taking an affordance oriented approach it is possible to identify information resources that are efficient. reusable and weI/matched to the capabilities of game agents.
Choosing Sample Size for Knowledge Tracing Models

An important question in the practical application of Bayesian knowledge tracing models is determining how much data is needed to infer parameters accurately. If training data is inadequate, even a perfect inference algorithm will produce parameters with poor predictive power. In this work, we describe an empirical study using synthetic data that provides estimates of the accuracy of inferred parameters based on factors such as the number of students used to train the model, and the values of the underlying generating parameters. We find that the standard deviation of the error is roughly proportional to 1/ √ n where n is the sample size, and that model parameters near 0 and 1 are easier to learn accurately.
Reconstruction of radio map from sparse RSS data by discontinuity preserving smoothing

In Wi-Fi based location fingerprinting, the cost of constructing a radio map is high due to the calibration of measured RSS data at a large number of RPs and the update of database. Interpolating a coarse radio map into a dense one may reduce the cost. An interpolated radio map, however, has low accuracy, especially at space discontinuity such as a wall. We present a method of constructing a high-density radio map which preserves the discontinuity of RSS by localized smoothing in accordance with the layout of a building. Experimental results show that the radio map by discontinuity preserving smoothing has higher accuracy than conventional interpolating methods. With sampling density ≥ 35%, the performance is close to a genuine full density radio map. With sampling density > 60%, the performance is even better than the original full density map.
Implicit and Explicit Self-Esteem in the Context of Internet Addiction

Previous research has repeatedly found that people suffering from some clinical disorders (e.g., bulimia nervosa, depression) possess low explicit (i.e., conscious, deliberate) self-esteem while at the same time displaying high implicit (i.e., unconscious, automatic) self-esteem. This phenomenon has been termed damaged self-esteem and was proposed to be an indicator of psychological distress. Although Internet addiction has been found to be associated with low levels of explicit self-esteem, as well as with high levels of psychological distress, its relation to implicit self-esteem has, to our knowledge, not been investigated thus far. We therefore hypothesized that the phenomenon of damaged self-esteem could also be found amongst people suffering from Internet addiction, and conducted two studies using the Initial Preference Task as a measure of implicit self-esteem. As expected, we found that individuals scoring high on Internet addiction possess low explicit and high implicit self-esteem. This effect was, however, only found for the first name initial of the Initial Preference Task, leading to the conclusion that first and last name initials might tap into different parts of implicit self-esteem.
Are Offshore Firms Worth More

We examine how firms' reliance on Offshore Financial Centers (OFCs), either by registering or setting up subsidiaries in OFCs, affects their financial performance. Using multilevel mixed (fixed and random) effects regressions, we provide evidence that is consistent with the agency costs of tax avoidance. Information asymmetry and lax legal environments in OFCs offset tax benefits, especially for firms directly registered in OFCs. Firms directly registered in OFCs are valued 14% lower than onshore firms, while firms with subsidiaries in OFCs enjoy an 11% higher valuation than onshore firms. However, it appears that investors do not fully appreciate the extent of the agency costs due to increased information asymmetry of firms that set up subsidiaries in OFCs. We argue that the assessment of firm value must encompass the registration status of its subsidiaries rather than the parent company's origin.
How Does Mobile Context Affect People's Web Search Behavior?: A Diary Study of Mobile Information Needs and Search Behaviors

Mobile devices have become popular to access the information on-the-move. However, the physical restrictions of mobile devices such as display size and input capabilities and the changes of users' contexts may affect the users' information needs and search behaviors. In order to design a new search service which takes mobile users' situation into consideration, it is essential to understand search behaviors of mobile users in detail. In this work, we conducted a diary study using 26 participants in Japan, focusing on how mobile context affects users' information needs and search behaviors. In particular, we focus on detailed behaviors when users failed to find the information they needed. Our main findings include that user's search behaviors were affected not only by the information needs but also the place where the searches were conducted, which might be an important cue to design future mobile search services and applications.
Evaluation Of Low Cost Wireless Network Protocol For Rural Villages Based On 802.11KT MAC Protocol

KT MAC protocol is a modified wireless network protocol independent on topology of nodes that aims to provide low-cost broadband wireless network for rural regions. Nodes in this protocol communicate using long-distance point to- point wireless links that are established using antenna. For the rural areas like villages, 802.11 MAC protocol plays a important role for networking because of its cost, which is very low as compared to the other networking. Moreover the MAC protocol provides higher rate of data transfer. This paper is subjected to comprehensive performance analysis between IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol and our modified MAC 802.11KT protocol with AODV routing protocol in random topology using Network Simulator-2(NS- 2). Various important performance metric such as Total packet generated, Total packet received Total dropped packets, Average end to end delay, Packet Delivery Ratio Vs. Mobility of node are investigated. Protocols are simulated using NS-2 simulator. It is observed that modified MAC 802.11KT protocol outperform IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol and it is suitable as low cost wireless network protocol for rural villages.
Internal models differentially implicated in audiovisual perception of non-native vowel contrasts

This study investigates neural processes underlying audiovisual perception of a non-native vowel contrast using fMRI. Eight native Japanese and eight native English speakers participated in the study. The two-alternative forced choice task was to identify which vowel was present in the CVC English word presented under audiovisual (AV) and audio only (AO) conditions. Three sessions were conducted with different vowel contrasts; two native contrasts for Japanese ([o-e)], [o-i]), and one nonnative ([o-U]). A block design was employed. Significantly greater activity between the native Japanese group and the native English group for the contrast of AV-AO for the non-native session minus the native sessions occurs in the cerebellum. A decrease in activity occurs in the left transverse temporal gyrus. Increased activity in the cerebellum is consistent with the hypothesis that audiovisual non-native phonetic perception utilizes internal models to a greater extent than audio processing alone or to audiovisual processing of native contrasts. Decreases of activity in the right transverse temporal gyrus suggests that multisensory integration may involve higher order mapping of phonetic categories.