ppxscal/embedding_network huggingface dataset:
How Much Does the Market Value an Improvement in a Product Attribute?
Authors: Elie Ofek, V. Srinivasan
Venue: Marketing Science (2002)

A firm contemplating improvements to its product attributes would be interested in the dollar value the market attaches to any potential product modification. In this paper, we derive a measure of market value such that the comparison of the measure against the incremental unit cost of the attribute improvement is key in deciding whether or not the attribute improvement is profitable. Competition from other brands, the potential for market expansion, and heterogeneity in customer preference structures are explicitly modeled using the multinomial logit framework. The analysis yields a closed form expression for the market's value for an attribute improvement (MVAI). A key result we obtain is that customers should be differentially weighted based on their probability of purchasing the firm's product. In particular, customers who exhibit a very high or very low probability of choosing the firm's product should receive less weight in detemining MVAI. Because the probability of choice varies across products, the answer to the question of how much the market values an improvement depends on which firm is asking the question. It is shown that customers whose utilities have a greater random component should be weighted less. Furthermore, the measure developed is robust to the influence of outliers in the sample. An empirical illustration of the MVAI measure in the context of a new product development study is provided. The study illustrates the advantages of the proposed measure over currently used approaches and explores the possibility of competitive price reactions.
A 2D addressing mode for multimedia applications
Authors: Georgi Kuzmanov, Stamatis Vassiliadis, Jos T. J. van Eijndhoven
Venue: Embedded processor design challenges: systems, architectures, modeling, and simulation-SAMOS (2002)

This paper discusses architectural solutions that deal with the high data throughput and the high computational power - two crucial performance requirements of MPEG standards. To increase the data throughput, we define a new data storage facility with a specific data organization and a new addressing mode. More specifically, we introduce an addressing function and refer to it as two-dimensional block addressing. Furthermore, we propose such an addressing approach, as an architectural feature and we believe it has useful properties that may position it as a basic addressing mode in future multimedia architectures. In addition, we propose an instruction set extension, utilizing the advantages of this addressing mode, as means of improving the computational power of a general-purpose super-scalar processor. To illustrate this concept, we have implemented a new instruction "ACcepted Quality" as a dedicated systolic structure. This instruction supports the corresponding function "ACQ" as defined in the Verification Model of MPEG-4. Its FPGA realization suggests 62 ns operating latency. Utilizing this result, we have made performance evaluations with a benchmark software (MPEG-4 shape encoder) using a cycle-accurate simulator. The simulation results indicate that the performance is increased by up to 10%. The introduced approach can be utilized by data encoding tools, which are based on block division of data. These tools are an essential part of many recent and up coming visual data compression standards like MPEG-4.
Evaluation of flexible queries: the quantified statement case
Authors: Patrick Bosc, Ludovic Liétard, Olivier Pivert
Venue: Technologies for constructing intelligent systems: Tasks (2002)

Many propositions to extend database management systems have been made in the last decade. Some of them aim to support a wider range of queries involving fuzzy predicates expressing preferences and this paper focuses on the evaluation of a particular subset of queries, namely those using fuzzy quantified statements. More precisely, we consider the queries calling on a partitioning where a linguistic quantifier appears in the set-oriented condition. This condition is expressed by a quantified statement of type "Q X are A" and its degree of truth is assumed to be computed via the Sugeno fuzzy integral. This paper proposes algorithms to evaluate such queries and the main objective is to reduce processing time by saving data access. Heuristics are integrated into the algorithms in order to conclude on the result without accessing all elements of the referential.
Searching for an Agent Who May OR May Not Want to be Found
Authors: Steve Alpern, Shmuel Gal
Venue: Operations Research (2002)

There is an extensive theory regarding optimal continuous path search for a mobile or immobile "target." The traditional theory assumes that the target is one of three types: (i) an object with a known distribution of paths, (ii) a mobile or immobile hider who wants to avoid or delay capture, or (iii) a rendezvouser who wants to find the searcher. This paper introduces a new type of search problem by assuming that aims of the target are not known to the searcher. The target may be either a type (iii) cooperator (with a known cooperation probabilityc) or a type (ii) evader. This formulation models search problems like that for a lost teenager who may be a "runaway," or a lost intelligence agent who may be a defector. In any given search context, it produces a continuum of search problems G( c), 0Â = cÂ =Â 1, linking a zero-sum searchgame (withc = 0) to a rendezvous problem (withc = 1). These models thus provide a theoretical bridge between two previously distinct parts of search theory, namely searchgames and rendezvous search.
Elucidative program tutorials
Authors: Thomas Vestdam
Venue: Nordic Journal of Computing (2002)

In this paper we present a tool for creating elucidative program tutorials. An elucidative program tutorial explains a program through textual explanations that address relevant places in a program by using hyperlinks or by in-lining fragments of the program in the tutorial text. We present a means for specifying the fragments of a program that are to be in-lined in the tutorial text. These in-line fragments are defined by addressing named syntactical elements, such as classes and methods, but it is also possible to address individual code lines. The fragment specifications help maintaining consistency between the program tutorial and the program. The tool also detects when a program tutorial is addressing program fragments that do not exist. The program tutorials are presented in a web-browser where navigation is provided to other documents such as reference manuals, other tutorials, and to presentations of source code fragments in their original context. We have produced three example program tutorials in order to get some experience with the tool, and we see potential in using the tool to produce program tutorials for frameworks, libraries, and for use in educational contexts.
Fast SOLA-Based Time Scale Modification Using Envelope Matching
Authors: Peter H. W. Wong, Oscar C. Au
Venue: Journal of VLSI Signal Processing Systems (2003)

Time scale modification (TSM) of speech and audio signals is very useful in many applications such as MPEG-4 and fast/slow browsing of pre-recorded materials. Synchronized Overlap-and-Add (SOLA) is a time-domain TSM algorithm known to achieve good speech and audio quality. One problem of SOLA is that it requires a large amount of computation in the search of the best matching point between the analysis and synthesis frames. In this paper, we propose two algorithms, envelope-matching TSM (EM-TSM) and modified EM-TSM (MEM-TSM), to simplify the computation with negligible perceptual quality degradation. In EM-TSM, 1-bit sign information is used in the search to substitute the full-precision signal samples used in SOLA. Three additional computation reduction measures, namely simplified formulation, recursive computation and search-point reduction, are applied to achieve significant computation reduction. In MEM-TSM, we reduce the computation of EM-TSM further by introducing zero-crossing point reduction and predictive search skipping. We also improve the quality of the time-scaled signals by introducing multiple-candidate re-examination, and frame-size modification. Simulation results show that the proposed MEM-TSM can achieve computational reduction factors as large as 300 with very good perceptual quality of time-scaled speech and audio.
Pictorial Depth Cues for Outdoor Augmented Reality
Authors: Jason Wither, Tobias Hollerer
Venue: Proceedings of the Ninth IEEE International Symposium on Wearable Computers (2005)

This paper presents and evaluates a set of pictorial depth cues for far-field outdoor mobile augmented reality (AR). We examine the problem of accurately placing virtual annotations at physical target points from a static point of view. While it is easy to line up annotations with a target point's projection in the view plane, finding the correct distance for the annotation is difficult if the target point is not represented in an environment model. We have found that AR depth cues, such as vertical and horizontal shadow planes, a small top-down map, or color encodings of relative depth, have a positive impact on a user's ability to align a 3D cursor with physical objects at various distances. These cues aid the user's depth perception and estimation by providing information about the 3D cursor's distance and its relationship in 3- space to any features that may already have been annotated. We conducted a user study that measures the effects of different depth cues for both absolute 3D cursor placement as well as placement relative to a small number of marked reference points, whose distances are known. Our study provides insight about mobile AR users' ability to judge distances both absolutely and relatively, and we identify techniques that successfully enhance their performance.
Diffusion pattern of the use of genomic databases and analysis of biological sequences from 1970-2003: Bibliographic record analysis of 12 journals
Authors: Aviv Shachak
Venue: Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology (2006)

In recent years there has been an explosion of biological data stored in large central databases, tools to handle the data, and educational programs to train scientists in using bioinformatics resources. Still, the diffusion of bioinformatics within the biological community has yet to be extensively studied. In this study, the diffusion of two bioinformatics-related practices&mdash;using genomic databases and analyzing DNA and protein sequences&mdash;was investigated by analyzing MEDLINE records of 12 journals, representing various fields of biology. The diffusion of these practices between 1970 and 2003 follows an S-shaped curve typical of many innovations, beginning with slow growth, followed by a period of rapid linear growth, and finally reaching saturation. Similar diffusion patterns were found for both the use of genomic databases and biological sequence analysis, indicating the strong relationship between these practices. This study presents the surge in the use of genomic databases and analysis of biological sequences and proposes that these practices are fully diffused within the biological community. Extrapolating from these results, it suggests that taking a diffusion of innovations approach may be useful for researchers as well as for providers of bioinformatics applications and support services. &copy; 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
How do we judge the acceptability of spatial terms?
Authors: Takatsugu Kojima, Takashi Kusumi
Venue: Proceedings of the 2005 International Conference on Cyberworlds (2005)

One very important point that must be studied to understand language and action control is how humans understand the spatial relationships between objects using spatial terms. Previous studies have reported that an extra object (a distractor), other than the reference and located objects influences the apprehension of spatial terms. This study examined whether the texture pattern of the distractor influences the degree of the distraction effect and how we apprehend a spatial term when there is a distractor in an observed scene experimentally. The results showed that the texture pattern of the distractor has a limited effect on the degree of the distraction effect and that the distractor can be recognized as a reference object or a trigger that activates the possible application of other spatial terms and may cause the distraction effect.
Local and Global Feature Selection for On-line Signature Verification
Authors: Jonas Richiardi, Hamed Ketabdar, Andrzej Drygajlo
Venue: Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition (2005)

In this paper we propose a methodology for selecting the most discriminative features in a set for online signature verification. We expose the difference in the definition of class between signature verification and other pattern recognition tasks, and extend the classical Fisher ratio to make it more robust to the small sample sizes typically found when dealing with global features and client enrollment time constraints for signature verification systems. We apply our methodology to global and local features extracted from a 50-users database, and find that our criterion agrees better with classifier error rates for local features than for global features. We discuss the possibility of performing feature selection without having forgery data available.
An Effective Resource Description Based Approach to Find Similar Peers
Authors: Xing Zhu, Dingyi Han, Weibin Zhu, Yong Yu
Venue: Proceedings of the Fifth IEEE International Conference on Peer-to-Peer Computing (2005)

In text document sharing Peer-to-Peer (P2P) applications, similar peers are peers which share documents about the same topic. Finding similar peers can benefit document retrieval in P2P systems. In this paper, we suggested an effective resource description based approach to find similar peers. By combining the topic model (an extension of language model) technique and fuzzy set theory, we solve the key problems about resource description generation and peer similarity calculation. Experiments performed on the standard data sets prove that our approach is effective. Especially, comparing with the traditional approach, experimental results in the simulated P2P environment manifest that our approach works much better when only local information is available.
An analysis of citizen informational privacy in democratic societies for the cyber-age
Authors: Joseph Margolis
Venue:  (2005)

New technologies challenge our traditional notion of a right to privacy. This is especially the case because these technologies negate spatial, temporal, physical, and visual conditions that previously allowed for the protection of this right. With the state of advanced evolution of information technologies, the lack of an explicit statement of what information privacy rights are and the current spurious marketing practices of information technology professionals, and the invasions into personal privacy more intensive and extensive than any historical period, citizens' privacy rights will continue to remain unprotected. Cases in computer and information ethics illustrate violations of this right by states and businesses. Political society is a common good for citizens because it secures the good of justice and the social bases of individual self-respect. Privacy is an individual good for citizens because it occasions the exercise of moral responsibility and development over a complete life. Hence, informational privacy is fundamental to functional democracies in the 21st century. The main focus in this dissertation is to illustrate the unsoundness of reducing privacy to a property right. It further addresses the feasibility of developing a definition which pays due heed to both the expectation of informational privacy by analytically identifying the necessary and sufficient conditions of this right.
Efficient Broadcasting and Gathering in Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks
Authors: Melih Onus, Andrea Richa, Kishore Kothapalli, Christian Scheideler
Venue: Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Parallel Architectures,Algorithms and Networks (2005)

This paper considers the problem of broadcasting and information gathering in wireless ad-hoc networks, i.e. in wireless networks without any infrastructure in addition to the mobile hosts. Broadcasting is the problem of sending a packet from a source node in the network to all other nodes in the network. Information gathering is the problem of sending one packet each from a subset of the nodes to a single sink node in the network. Most of the proposed theoretical wireless network models oversimplify wireless communication properties. We will use a model that takes into account that nodes have different transmission and interference ranges, and we propose algorithms in this model that achieve a high time and work-efficiency. We present algorithms for broadcasting a single or multiple message(s), and for information gathering. Our algorithms have the advantage that they are very simple and self-stabilizing, and would therefore even work in a dynamic environment. Also, our algorithms require only a constant amount of storage at any host. Thus, our algorithms can be used in wireless systems with very simple devices, such as sensors.
Dynamic Routing of Restorable QoS Connections in MPLS Networks
Authors: Gustav Rosenbaum, Chun Tung Chou, Sanjay Jha
Venue: Proceedings of the The IEEE Conference on Local Computer Networks 30th Anniversary (2005)

In this paper we consider dynamic routing of restorable Quality of Service (QoS) connections in multi-protocol label switched (MPLS) networks under a single link failure model. To route a restorable QoS connection, two link disjoint label switched paths from the ingress to the egress node need to be computed such that both paths comply with the QoS constraints. When looking at QoS constraints like bandwidth guarantee and end-to-end delay bound, the current approach described in the literature converts the end-to-end delay bound into an effective bandwidth in a pre-processing step before computing two link disjoint bandwidth guaranteed paths. We argue that the current approach results in poor network performance and suggest a new approach that exploits the dependency between the end-to-end delay, chosen path and provisioned bandwidth. Thus, the two link disjoint paths are computed dynamically with their respective bandwidths so that they meet both the bandwidth guarantee and the end-to-end delay bound. In this paper, we present a new generic algorithm and two new linear programming formulations that implement the new approach. The two linear programming formulations are not intended to be used in a production environment due to their extensive running times, up to 2.5 minutes on average per request, but rather to benchmark approximation algorithms that in turn can be used in production. Furthermore our experiments show that the network performance improvement when exploiting the dependency between end-to-end delay, chosen path and provisioned bandwidth is substantial.
Working capital decisions: a case study in GPSS
Authors: Fernando Alvarez de Lugo, William L. Roach
Venue: ACM SIGSIM Simulation Digest (1977)

One of the first models for short-term financing decisions was constructed by A. A. Robicheck, D. Teichroew, and J. M. Jones. Their approach was to use a first order autoregressive process for generating monthly sales. The sales process in conjunction with various ordering rules, credit terms, etc., drives the accounting model of the firm. Various strategies for short term financing (mixes of installment financing, commercial paper and bank borrowing) are implemented, and the distribution of financing costs is tabulated for the various strategies.
George B. Dantzig: a legendary life in mathematical programming
Authors: Richard W. Cottle
Venue: Mathematical Programming: Series A and B (2006)

Mathematical programming owes much to George B. Dantzig who passed away on May 13, 2005 at the age of 90. This article is a tribute to this legendary pioneer and a very brief review of his extensive and enduring contributions to our field.
Fast Optical Character Recognition through Glyph Hashing for Document Conversion
Authors: Kumar Chellapilla, Patrice Simard, Radoslav Nickolov
Venue: Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition (2005)

This paper proposes a glyph hashing approach to optical character recognition with applications in document conversion. The viability and efficiency of the approach is tested through its implementation in a print driver on 68,987 PDF documents containing 1.15 billion characters. Results indicate that a hash table with (a) 3.2 million hashes is sufficient to represent all characters from these documents, and (b) 480 fonts are sufficient to cover over 90% of these documents. Glyph recognizing experiments indicate that 80% of unique character glyphs and over 96% of all characters from unseen documents can be found in a hash table built using all 68,987 documents. The hashing approach is used to not only recognize the character codes but also, size, style (bold, italic, etc), and font name. We found that the hashing approach can scale to hundreds of fonts and thousands of characters per font. Further, it is extremely fast and can recognize over 100,000 characters per second. Owing to its speed, such a hashing approach can complement any existing OCR system by acting as a pre-filter to produce a 4-5 times speedup during document conversion.
Vision-based localization, map building and obstacle reconstruction in ground plane environments
Authors: Hassan Hajjdiab
Venue:  (2004)

The work described in this thesis develops the theory of 3D obstacle reconstruction and map building problems in the context of a robot, or a team of robots, equipped with one camera mounted on board. The study is composed of many problems representing the different phases of actions taken by the robot. This thesis first studies the problem of image matching for wide baseline images taken by moving robots. The ground plane is detected and the inter-image homography induced by the ground plane is calculated. A novel technique for ground plane matching is introduced using the overhead view transformation. The thesis then studies the simultaneous localization and map building (SLAM) problem for a team of robots collaborating in the same work site. A vision-based technique is introduced in this thesis to solve the SLAM problem. The third problem studied in this thesis is the 3D obstacle reconstruction of the obstacles lying on the ground surface. In this thesis a Geometric/Variational level set method is proposed to reconstruct the obstacles detected by the robots.
The discrete event simulation computer - DESC
Authors: Meir Barel
Venue: ACM SIGSIM Simulation Digest (1984)

Simulation of large models on digital computers is often limited by the high computational expenses. The Discrete Event Simulation Computer (DESC) reported here improves simulation performance through an exploitation of parallelism inherent in simulation, with regard to list processing, random number generation, statistical analysis and program control. The DESC consists of a set of nodes that communicate via FIFO-buffered channels (i.e. do not share memory among nodes). In order to achieve high system throughput dedicated hardware modules were developed; this includes new concepts for a list processor and a hardware random number generator for uniform deviates.The implementation of simulation languages such as SIMULA, SIMSCRIPT or GPSS is conceptually straightforward. We chose SIMULA as the frame language concept. Metrics applicable to simulation throughput and simulation costs are defined and compared with the CD CYBER 175.