ppxscal/embedding_network huggingface dataset:
An empirical analysis of value function-based and policy search reinforcement learning
Authors: Shivaram Kalyanakrishnan, Peter Stone
Venue: Proceedings of The 8th International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems - Volume 2 (2009)

In several agent-oriented scenarios in the real world, an autonomous agent that is situated in an unknown environment must learn through a process of trial and error to take actions that result in long-term benefit. Reinforcement Learning (or sequential decision making) is a paradigm well-suited to this requirement. Value function-based methods and policy search methods are contrasting approaches to solve reinforcement learning tasks. While both classes of methods benefit from independent theoretical analyses, these often fail to extend to the practical situations in which the methods are deployed. We conduct an empirical study to examine the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches by introducing a suite of test domains that can be varied for problem size, stochasticity, function approximation, and partial observability. Our results indicate clear patterns in the domain characteristics for which each class of methods excels. We investigate whether their strengths can be combined, and develop an approach to achieve that purpose. The effectiveness of this approach is also demonstrated on the challenging benchmark task of robot soccer Keepaway. We highlight several lines of inquiry that emanate from this study.
Automatic Generation of Courseware Reflecting Author's Instructional Strategy
Authors: Tomoko Kojiri, Yuji Kanematsu, Toyohide Watanabe
Venue: Proceeding of the 2005 conference on Towards Sustainable and Scalable Educational Innovations Informed by the Learning Sciences: Sharing Good Practices of Research, Experimentation and Innovation (2005)

Our objective is to construct a system that automatically generates courseware within a given section, based on an author's instructional strategy. In our approach, an author's instructional strategies are described as rules for generating courseware. The system determines appropriate teaching materials and the order of displaying them by applying these rules to a database comprising teaching materials. The experimental results reveal that the prototype system can generate the same courseware as what an author has generated manually.
Lyapunov function method for investigation of stability of stochastic ito random-structure systems with impulse markov switchings. II. First-approximation stability of stochastic impulse systems with markov parameters
Authors: T. O. Lukashiv, I. V. Yurchenko, V. K. Yasinsky
Venue: Cybernetics and Systems Analysis (2009)

The asymptotic stochastic stability in the large and asymptotic p-stability in the large are investigated with the help of the Lyapunov functions and an infinitesimal operator over solutions to a system (to calculate this operator, it suffices to know only the coefficients of the system). The stability under persistent disturbances is considered.
Real World Adobe InDesign CS3, 1st edition
Authors: Olav Martin Kvern, David Blatner
Venue:  (2007)

Adobe InDesign is no longer the industry newcomerits a full-fledged, sophisticated program, tightly integrated with the other Adobe industry leading graphics and Web programs. Its the essential tool for anyone doing page layout and design. With the release of InDesign CS3part of Adobes perfectly synchronized, tightly integrated Creative Suite 3 (which now includes Photoshop CS3, Illustrator CS3, Dreamweaver CS3, and Flash CS3 Professional in the Design Premium and Web Premium packages)it takes its place in the design firmament! Real World Adobe InDesign CS3 offers industrial-strength and time-saving techniques for design professionals who need to start laying out, proofing, and printing pages with InDesign CS3, without missing a beat (or a deadline!) in their fast-paced production cycles. Design pros will find everything they need here to successfully master InDesigns advanced page layout tools, manage color, snippets, and use the program more efficiently. Theyll also find complete coverage of essential features in InDesign CS3, including new gradient feather, directional feather, and bevel and emboss effects; improved transparency controls; improved long document support; expanded Find/Change; and an even more flexible and customizable user interface.
On the formalization of invariant mappings for metaphor interpretation
Authors: Rodrigo Agerri, John Barnden, Mark Lee, Alan Wallington
Venue: Proceedings of the 45th Annual Meeting of the ACL on Interactive Poster and Demonstration Sessions (2007)

In this paper we provide a formalization of a set of default rules that we claim are required for the transfer of information such as causation, event rate and duration in the interpretation of metaphor. Such rules are domain-independent and are identified as invariant adjuncts to any conceptual metaphor. We also show a way of embedding the invariant mappings in a semantic framework.
Computer-Aided Design of User Interfaces V: Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Computer-Aided Design of User Interfaces CADUI '06 (6-8 June 2006, Bucharest, Romania) v. 5, 1st edition
Authors: Galle Calvary, Galle Calvary, Costin Pribeanu, Giuseppe Santucci, Jean Vanderdonckt
Venue:  (2007)

This book gathers the latest experience of experts, research teams and leading organizations involved in computer-aided design of user interfaces of interactive applications. This area investigates how it is desirable and possible to support, to facilitate and to speed up the development life cycle of any interactive system: requirements engineering, early-stage design, detailed design, development, deployment, evaluation and maintenance. In particular, it stresses how the design activity could be better understood for different types of advanced interactive systems such as context-aware systems, multimodal applications, multi-platform systems, pervasive computing, ubiquitous computing and multi-device environments.
A New Role of Lifelong Learning Support System
Authors: Wei Zhou, Takami Yasuda, Shigeki Yokoi
Venue: Proceeding of the 2005 conference on Towards Sustainable and Scalable Educational Innovations Informed by the Learning Sciences: Sharing Good Practices of Research, Experimentation and Innovation (2005)

Lifelong learning is one of the most important education policies in Japan. Recently, the web-based Lifelong Learning Support System (LLSS), developed by the Lifelong Learning Promotion Center (LLPC), has been widely used in local governments. We analyzed existing LLSS and classified it into two roles according to the types of information and functions it provided: “information provider” and “resource provider.” Further, we focused on a new role for LLSS, “program provider.” To clarify LLSS's new role, we proposed a system that easily helps develop programs and guide learners to participate in lifelong learning activities.
Does distributed development affect software quality? An empirical case study of Windows Vista
Authors: Christian Bird, Nachiappan Nagappan, Premkumar Devanbu, Harald Gall, Brendan Murphy
Venue: Proceedings of the 2009 IEEE 31st International Conference on Software Engineering (2009)

It is widely believed that distributed software development is riskier and more challenging than collocated development. Prior literature on distributed development in software engineering and other fields discuss various challenges, including cultural barriers, expertise transfer difficulties, and communication and coordination overhead. We evaluate this conventional belief by examining the overall development of Windows Vista and comparing the post-release failures of components that were developed in a distributed fashion with those that were developed by collocated teams. We found a negligible difference in failures. This difference becomes even less significant when controlling for the number of developers working on a binary. We also examine component characteristics such as code churn, complexity, dependency information, and test code coverage and find very little difference between distributed and collocated components to investigate if less complex components are more distributed. Further, we examine the software process and phenomena that occurred during the Vista development cycle and present ways in which the development process utilized may be insensitive to geography by mitigating the difficulties introduced in prior work in this area.
A Multi-Agent Framework for Storage and Retrieval of Documents from Distributed XML Collections
Authors: Jakub Gieryluk, Radosław Katarzyniak, Przemysław Maciejczyk, Magdalena Sendal, Grzegorz Skorupa
Venue: Proceedings of the Third KES International Symposium on Agent and Multi-Agent Systems: Technologies and Applications (2009)

A distributed and dynamic multi-agent system for integrated performing of gathering, processing, and retrieval of highly heterogeneous XML documents' collections is presented. Collections of XML documents are assumed to be distributed among nodes of a network. The management process consists of a few steps: documents in each node are clustered, clusters' representatives are computed and stored in metadata repository, queries are confronted with metadata repository, distributed retrieval is carried out over relevant clusters, retrieval results are integrated and final answer is presented to an end user. Major functions of such strategy were designed and implemented on JADE platform. Actual implementations of the proposed multi-agent system can vary, depending on applied models of XML documents' clustering, indexing and retrieval.
FOOD: An Intermediate Model for Automated Refactoring
Authors: Nicolas Juillerat, Béat Hirsbrunner
Venue: Proceeding of the 2006 conference on New Trends in Software Methodologies, Tools and Techniques: Proceedings of the fifth SoMeT_06 (2006)

As big software projects grow, there is an increasing need of cleaning up or restructuring the existing code. This problem can be addressed by using refactorings, which are small semantics-preserving code transformations. Many refactorings have been automated in existing development environments to help the developer in this process. Most implementations are currently based on the abstract syntax tree. Unfortunately, this model, which was first designed for the compilation process, does not provide all the abstractions that are required for complex refactorings such as extracting a method. In this paper, the FOOD model is introduced and described. Based entirely on graphs, this model is targeted to the implementation of complex code transformations by providing the necessary abstractions. The “extract method” refactoring is applied on the FOOD model as a concrete example. Then a comparison with existing models such as abstract syntax trees is made.
Generalized hypertree decompositions: NP-hardness and tractable variants
Authors: Georg Gottlob, Zoltán Miklós, Thomas Schwentick
Venue: Journal of the ACM (JACM) (2009)

The generalized hypertree width GHW(H) of a hypergraph H is a measure of its cyclicity. Classes of conjunctive queries or constraint satisfaction problems whose associated hypergraphs have bounded GHW are known to be solvable in polynomial time. However, it has been an open problem for several years if for a fixed constant k and input hypergraph H it can be determined in polynomial time whether GHW(H) &le; k. Here, this problem is settled by proving that even for k &equals; 3 the problem is already NP-hard. On the way to this result, another long standing open problem, originally raised by Goodman and Shmueli [1984] in the context of join optimization is solved. It is proven that determining whether a hypergraph H admits a tree projection with respect to a hypergraph G is NP-complete. Our intractability results on generalized hypertree width motivate further research on more restrictive tractable hypergraph decomposition methods that approximate generalized hypertree decomposition (GHD). We show that each such method is dominated by a tractable decomposition method definable through a function that associates a set of partial edges to a hypergraph. By using one particular such function, we define the new Component Hypertree Decomposition method, which is tractable and strictly more general than other approximations to GHD published so far.
OVM: an ontology for vulnerability management
Authors: Ju An Wang, Minzhe Guo
Venue: Proceedings of the 5th Annual Workshop on Cyber Security and Information Intelligence Research: Cyber Security and Information Intelligence Challenges and Strategies (2009)

In order to reach the goals of the Information Security Automation Program (ISAP) [1], we propose an ontological approach to capturing and utilizing the fundamental concepts in information security and their relationship, retrieving vulnerability data and reasoning about the cause and impact of vulnerabilities. Our ontology for vulnerability management (OVM) has been populated with all vulnerabilities in NVD [2] with additional inference rules, knowledge representation, and data-mining mechanisms. With the seamless integration of common vulnerabilities and their related concepts such as attacks and countermeasures, OVM provides a promising pathway to making ISAP successful.
Return performance volatility and adaptation in an automated technical analysis approach to portfolio management
Authors: Adam Ghandar, Zbigniew Michalewicz, Ralf Zurbruegg
Venue: International Journal of Intelligent Systems in Accounting and Finance Management (2009)

This paper discusses the design of a quantitative computational intelligence portfolio management system and evaluates the advantages of some adaptive mechanisms to enable the system to adjust its management approach as market conditions change. A detailed analysis of the performance of the system outside is also provided. It is found that an adaptive methodology where trading rules are able to adjust to market conditions performs better, having greater excess returns and lower volatility than a fixed rule approach. We consider several performance metrics, including portfolio alpha and information content. Copyright &copy; 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Design of an active power filter using adaptive tabu search
Authors: T. Narongrit, K.-L. Areerak, A. Srikaew
Venue: Proceedings of the 8th WSEAS international conference on Artificial intelligence, knowledge engineering and data bases (2009)

This paper deals with a design of active power filters using an artificial intelligence method called the adaptive tabu search. The simulation results show that the proposed method can efficiently minim?ze %THD of the currents at a PCC point. Moreover, this approach is convenient and flexible for electrical power engineers to design an active power filter with good performances.
Two-layer optimisation policy for improvement of application performance and resource utilisation in grid environments
Authors: Li Chunlin, Li Layuan
Venue: International Journal of Systems Science (2009)

The main contribution of this article is to propose a two-layer optimisation policy for improvement of application performance and resource utilisation in grid environments. We exploit the coupling of application layer and fabric layer of grid architecture for resource scheduling in grid computing environment. The objectives of the individual grid applications at the application layer, and individual grid resources at the fabric layer are likely to be in conflict. Interplay of application layer and fabric layer strives to find an optimal balance between application performance and resource utilisation. The two-layer optimisation model attempts to maximise the aggregate grid user utilities and revenues of resource provider. The article uses the Lagrangian method that leads to a decomposition of the utility maximisation problem into two smaller subproblems, each of which may be solved independently. This article presents a two-layer optimisation grid scheduling algorithm. The simulation studies show how the performance of two-layer optimisation algorithm is affected by the change of different environment parameters.
Final Cut Pro Workflows: The Independent Studio Handbook
Authors: Jason Osder, Robbie Carman
Venue:  (2007)

Today's digital production tools empower the small team to produce multimedia projects that formerly required large teams. Orchestrating a production requires more than proficiency with the postproduction tools. Final Cut Pro Workflows: The Independent Studio Handbook offers a cookbook of postproduction workflows that teams can follow to deliver an array of products to their clients. It describes appropriate postproduction workflows, team roles and responsibilities, and required equipment for some of the most common media productions.Combining the wisdom of traditional roles and responsibilities with an understanding of how FCP facilitates a new flexibility where these roles/responsibilities can be redistributed, this book sheds light on workflow processes and responsibilities, and includes 7 real-world workflows from a diverse range of projects:* Money-Saving Digital Video Archive* Long-Form Documentary with Mixed Sources* Web-Based Viewing and Ordering System* 30-Second Spot for Broadcast* Multi-Part TV Series with Multiple Editors* DVD Educational Supplement* Music Video with Multi-Cam Editing and Multiple OutputsWritten with a unique iconography to better convey key points and applicable to all levels of FCP users, Final Cut Pro Workflows: The Independent Studio Handbook is a vital reference tool for every postproduction house. * Real-world workflows and case studies provide blueprints that readers can follow to efficiently coordinate multimedia projects * Clearly defines team member responsibilities and details their roles in efficient postproduction workflows* Provides technical and administrative direction that smoothes the way to expanding a studio's postproduction repertoire
The Acceptance of Domestic Ambient Intelligence Appliances by Prospective Users
Authors: Somaya Ben Allouch, Jan A. Dijk, Oscar Peters
Venue: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Pervasive Computing (2009)

Ambient intelligence (AmI) is a growing interdisciplinary area where the focus is shifted towards users instead of merely emphasizing the technological opportunities of AmI. Different methods are employed to understand the adoption of AmI appliances by users. However, these are often small-scale methods that are focused on specific subgroups. Large scale quantitative studies to understand the adoption of AmI appliances are scarce. In this study, a questionnaire was designed to examine how the Dutch people (n = 1221) perceive AmI appliances for domestic settings. Findings show that intention to adopt AmI appliances was low and that respondents had a negative to neutral attitude towards AmI appliances. On the basis of structural equation analysis, results suggest that adoption of AmI appliances could be explained by outcome expectancies of AmI appliances. The potential implications of the findings are discussed.
A neural network-based biomarker association information extraction approach for cancer classification
Authors: Hong-Qiang Wang, Hau-San Wong, Hailong Zhu, Timothy T. C. Yip
Venue: Journal of Biomedical Informatics (2009)

A number of different approaches based on high-throughput data have been developed for cancer classification. However, these methods often ignore the underlying correlation between the expression levels of different biomarkers which are related to cancer. From a biological viewpoint, the modeling of these abnormal associations between biomarkers will play an important role in cancer classification. In this paper, we propose an approach based on the concept of Biomarker Association Networks (BAN) for cancer classification. The BAN is modeled as a neural network, which can capture the associations between the biomarkers by minimizing an energy function. Based on the BAN, a new cancer classification approach is developed. We validate the proposed approach on four publicly available biomarker expression datasets. The derived Biomarker Association Networks are observed to be significantly different for different cancer classes, which help reveal the underlying deviant biomarker association patterns responsible for different cancer types. Extensive comparisons show the superior performance of the BAN-based classification approach over several conventional classification methods.
Using Graph Transformations in Distributed Adaptive Design System
Authors: Leszek Kotulski, Barbara Strug
Venue: Proceedings of the International Conference on Computer Vision and Graphics: Revised Papers (2008)

In this paper a graph transformation using the parallel derivation approach is used to model the process of distribution and adaptation for computer aided design. It is based on earlier research in formal language theory, especially graph grammars, and distributed models. The motivation for the ideas presented here is given and some possible ways of application are described. The application of this idea by the graph distribution toolkit proposed as a multi-agent framework is also considered. The approach is illustrated by an example from the domain of flat layout design.
Learning by local kernel polarization
Authors: Tinghua Wang, Shengfeng Tian, Houkuan Huang, Dayong Deng
Venue: Neurocomputing (2009)

The problem of evaluating the quality of a kernel function for a classification task is considered. Drawn from physics, kernel polarization was introduced as an effective measure for selecting kernel parameters, which was previously done mostly by exhaustive search. However, it only takes between-class separability into account but neglects the preservation of within-class local structure. The 'globality' of the kernel polarization may leave less degree of freedom for increasing separability. In this paper, we propose a new quality measure called local kernel polarization, which is a localized variant of kernel polarization. Local kernel polarization can preserve the local structure of the data of the same class so the data can be embedded more appropriately. This quality measure is demonstrated with some UCI machine learning benchmark examples.
Research on Variable Step-Size Blind Equalization Algorithm Based on Normalized RBF Neural Network in Underwater Acoustic Communication
Authors: Xiaoling Ning, Zhong Liu, Yasong Luo
Venue: Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on Neural Networks: Advances in Neural Networks - Part III (2009)

In this paper, based on constant modulus algorithm (CMA), variable step-size blind equalization algorithm based on normalized radial basis function (RBF) neural network is proposed, considering blind equalization can equalize nonlinear characteristic of underwater acoustic channel without training sequence and RBF neural network is a nonlinear system with excellent approximation characteristic and performance of equalizing nonlinear channel. The algorithm is emulated in SIMULINK and verified its feasibility and performance using data of lake testing. Simulation and testing results show that variable step-size blind equalization algorithm based on normalized RBF neural network is better than classical BP algorithm and RBF algorithm in convergence rate and equalization performance.