scholarly journals How To Find The Right Subdivision Into Tariff Classes

1975 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Schmitter ◽  
E. Straub
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
Statistical Criterion ◽  
Loss Ratio ◽  
Expected Loss ◽  
Type B ◽  
Insurance Portfolio ◽  
The Right ◽  
Number Of Classes ◽  
Vague Statement ◽  
Better Than

By intuition, the subdivision of an insurance portfolio into a number of classes is said to be good if it reflects the heterogeneity of the portfolio in an efficient way. To illustrate this rather vague statement we take the following very simple example:The portfolio consists of 20 independent risks, 10 of them producing an expected loss ratio of say 30% each (type A risks) and 80% each (type B risks) respectively.This “natural” subdivision is certainly better than, for instance, no subdivision at all;or, the finest possible subdivision with 20 classes consisting of only 1 risk each (because there is no point in differentiating between risks of the same type);or, 5 classes each containing two A- and two B-risks (here the number of classes is unnecessarily high and the heterogeneity has been completely wiped out; statistics based on this subdivision would even make us believe that the portfolio is totally homogeneous).As a matter of fact, the above “natural” subdivision is—of course!—the best of all subdivisions, it is the optimal subdivision in this case.In practice, however, as we all know, it is not easy to find the optimal subdivision. For one thing, the inherent structure or “natural” subdivision is not known a priori and secondly, for many different reasons, we can only choose from a limited number of subdivisions and not from all theoretically possible solutions. Note that even with only 20 risks there are 58.1012 possibilities of subdividing the portfolio. Thus, in practice, there is only a relatively small number of admissible subdivisions and the optimal one may not be among them, but we still need some sort of statistical criterion to choose the best one from these admissible subdivisions.

Finding the Right Problems: Some HREM Applications to Interfaces

1984 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 376-379
Author(s):  
D. Cherns
Keyword(s):  
Grain Boundaries ◽  
High Resolution Electron Microscopy ◽  
Boundary Structure ◽  
Atomic Structures ◽  
Grain Boundary Structure ◽  
Resolution Electron ◽  
Point To Point ◽  
The Right ◽  
New Generation ◽  
Better Than

The use of high resolution electron microscopy (HREM) to determine the atomic structure of grain boundaries and interfaces is a topic of great current interest. Grain boundary structure has been considered for many years as central to an understanding of the mechanical and transport properties of materials. Some more recent attention has focussed on the atomic structures of metalsemiconductor interfaces which are believed to control electrical properties of contacts. The atomic structures of interfaces in semiconductor or metal multilayers is an area of growing interest for understanding the unusual electrical or mechanical properties which these new materials possess. However, although the point-to-point resolutions of currently available HREMs, ∼2-3Å, appear sufficient to solve many of these problems, few atomic models of grain boundaries and interfaces have been derived. Moreover, with a new generation of 300-400kV instruments promising resolutions in the 1.6-2.0 Å range, and resolutions better than 1.5Å expected from specialist instruments, it is an appropriate time to consider the usefulness of HREM for interface studies.

Biomechanical characteristics of allogeneic cortical bone pins designed for fracture fixation

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (02) ◽  
pp. 140-146
Author(s):  
M. R. Edwards ◽  
S. P. James ◽  
W. S. Dernell ◽  
R. J. Scott ◽  
A. M. Bachand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Cortical Bone ◽  
Fracture Fixation ◽  
Impact Testing ◽  
Left Tibia ◽  
Four Point Bending ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Right ◽  
Biomechanical Comparison ◽  
Better Than

SummaryThe biomechanical characteristics of 1.2 mm diameter allogeneic cortical bone pins harvested from the canine tibia were evaluated and compared to 1.1 mm diameter stainless steel pins and 1.3 mm diameter polydioxanone (PDS) pins using impact testing and four-point bending. The biomechanical performance of allogeneic cortical bone pins using impact testing was uniform with no significant differences between sites, side, and gender. In four-point bending, cortical bone pins harvested from the left tibia (204.8 ± 77.4 N/mm) were significantly stiffer than the right tibia (123.7 ± 54.4 N/mm, P=0.0001). The site of bone pin harvest also had a significant effect on stiffness, but this was dependent on interactions with gender and side. Site C in male dogs had the highest mean stiffness in the left tibia (224.4 ± 40.4 N/mm), but lowest stiffness in the right tibia (84.9 ± 24.2 N/mm). Site A in female dogs had the highest mean stiffness in the left tibia (344.9 ± 117.4 N/mm), but lowest stiffness in the right tibia (60.8 ± 3.7 N/mm). The raw and adjusted bending properties of 1.2 mm cortical bone pins were significantly better than 1.3 mm PDS pins, but significantly worse than 1.1 mm stainless steel pins (P<0.0001). In conclusion, cortical bone pins may be suitable as an implant for fracture fixation based on initial biomechanical comparison to stainless steel and PDS pins used in clinical practice.

From Isovist to Spatial Perception: Wayfinding in Historic Quarter

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih-Hung Chen ◽  
Ting-Ju Lin ◽  
Chih-Yu Chen
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Spatial Perception ◽  
Publishing House ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Relative Area ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Historical District ◽  
International Publishing ◽  
A Priori Analysis ◽  
Better Than

Based on the assumption that human behaviours are mainly affected by physical and animate environments, this empirical research takes the changeful and complex historical district in Tainan to observe wayfinding behaviours. An a priori analysis of the isovist fields is conducted to identify spatial characteristics. Three measures, the relative area, convexity, and circularity, are applied to scrutinize the possible stopping points, change of speed, and route choices. Accordingly, an experiment is carried out to observe spatial behaviours and different influences of social stimuli. Results show that social interactions afford groups and pairs to perform better than individual observers in wayfinding.© 2016. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies, Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, MalaysiaKeywords: wayfinding; isovist; spatial perception and social stimuli; historic quarter

scholarly journals Skill and strategic control

Synthese ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Fridland
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Mental Imagery ◽  
Sports Psychology ◽  
Mental Practice ◽  
Strategic Control ◽  
Cognitive Representations ◽  
Personal Level ◽  
The Right ◽  
Better Than

AbstractThis paper provides an account of the strategic control involved in skilled action. When I discuss strategic control, I have in mind the practical goals, plans, and strategies that skilled agents use in order to specify, structure, and organize their skilled actions, which they have learned through practice. The idea is that skilled agents are better than novices not only at implementing the intentions that they have but also at forming the right intentions. More specifically, skilled agents are able formulate and modify, adjust and adapt their practical intentions in ways that are appropriate, effective, and flexible given their overall goals. Further, to specify the kind of action plans that are involved in strategic control, I’ll rely on empirical evidence concerning mental practice and mental imagery from sports psychology as well as evidence highlighting the systematic differences in the cognitive representations of skills between experts and non-experts. I’ll claim that, together, this evidence suggests that the intentions that structure skilled actions are practical and not theoretical, that is, that they are perceptual and motor and not abstract, amodal, or linguistic. Importantly, despite their grounded nature, these plans are still personal-level, deliberate, rational states. That is, the practical intentions used to specify and structure skilled actions are best conceived of as higher-order, motor-modal structures, which can be manipulated and used by the agent for the purpose of reasoning, deliberation, decision-making and, of course, the actual online structuring and organizing of action.

On Fourier Series in Eigenfunctions of Elliptic Boundary Value Problems

2003 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-410
Author(s):  
M. S. Agranovich ◽  
B. A. Amosov
Keyword(s):  
Fourier Series ◽  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Fourier Coefficients ◽  
Elliptic Boundary ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Adjoint Problem ◽  
Elliptic Boundary Value ◽  
Right Hand ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Right

Abstract We consider a general elliptic formally self-adjoint problem in a bounded domain with homogeneous boundary conditions under the assumption that the boundary and coefficients are infinitely smooth. The operator in 𝐿2(Ω) corresponding to this problem has an orthonormal basis {𝑢𝑙} of eigenfunctions, which are infinitely smooth in . However, the system {𝑢𝑙} is not a basis in Sobolev spaces 𝐻𝑡 (Ω) of high order. We note and discuss the following possibility: for an arbitrarily large 𝑡, for each function 𝑢 ∈ 𝐻𝑡 (Ω) one can explicitly construct a function 𝑢0 ∈ 𝐻𝑡 (Ω) such that the Fourier series of the difference 𝑢 – 𝑢0 in the functions 𝑢𝑙 converges to this difference in 𝐻𝑡 (Ω). Moreover, the function 𝑢(𝑥) is viewed as a solution of the corresponding nonhomogeneous elliptic problem and is not assumed to be known a priori; only the right-hand sides of the elliptic equation and the boundary conditions for 𝑢 are assumed to be given. These data are also sufficient for the computation of the Fourier coefficients of 𝑢 – 𝑢0. The function 𝑢0 is obtained by applying some linear operator to these right-hand sides.

The Right to Be Right: Civil-Military Relations and the Iraq Surge Decision

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 87-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter D. Feaver
Keyword(s):  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Military Commanders ◽  
The Right ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military ◽  
President Bush ◽  
Primary Problem ◽  
Better Than

President George W. Bush's Iraq surge decision in late 2006 is an interesting case for civil-military relations theory, in particular, the debate between professional supremacists and civilian supremacists over how much to defer to the military on decisions during war. The professional supremacists argue that the primary problem for civil-military relations during war is ensuring the military an adequate voice and keeping civilians from micromanaging and mismanaging matters. Civilian supremacists, in contrast, argue that the primary problem is ensuring that well-informed civilian strategic guidance is authoritatively directing key decisions, even when the military disagrees with that direction. A close reading of the available evidence—both in published accounts and in new, not-for-attribution interviews with the key players—shows that the surge decision vindicates neither camp. If President Bush had followed the professional supremacists, there would have been no surge because his key military commanders were recommending against that option. If Bush had followed the civilian supremacists to the letter, however, there might have been a revolt of the generals, causing the domestic political props under the surge to collapse. Instead, Bush's hybrid approach worked better than either ideal type would have.

scholarly journals Sensorimotor priors in nonstationary environments

2013 ◽  
Vol 109 (5) ◽  
pp. 1259-1267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devika Narain ◽  
Robert J. van Beers ◽  
Jeroen B. J. Smeets ◽  
Eli Brenner
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Variables ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Systematic Change ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
Environmental Variance ◽  
Adaptive Models ◽  
Priori Information ◽  
Human Nervous System ◽  
Better Than

In the course of its interaction with the world, the human nervous system must constantly estimate various variables in the surrounding environment. Past research indicates that environmental variables may be represented as probabilistic distributions of a priori information (priors). Priors for environmental variables that do not change much over time have been widely studied. Little is known, however, about how priors develop in environments with nonstationary statistics. We examine whether humans change their reliance on the prior based on recent changes in environmental variance. Through experimentation, we obtain an online estimate of the human sensorimotor prior (prediction) and then compare it to similar online predictions made by various nonadaptive and adaptive models. Simulations show that models that rapidly adapt to nonstationary components in the environments predict the stimuli better than models that do not take the changing statistics of the environment into consideration. We found that adaptive models best predict participants' responses in most cases. However, we find no support for the idea that this is a consequence of increased reliance on recent experience just after the occurrence of a systematic change in the environment.

scholarly journals When brain damage “improves” perception: neglect patients can localize motion-shifted probes better than controls

2015 ◽  
Vol 114 (6) ◽  
pp. 3351-3358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania de Vito ◽  
Marine Lunven ◽  
Clémence Bourlon ◽  
Christophe Duret ◽  
Patrick Cavanagh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Visual Fields ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Stimulus Motion ◽  
Attentional Processes ◽  
Position Shift ◽  
The Right ◽  
High Level ◽  
Better Than

When we look at bars flashed against a moving background, we see them displaced in the direction of the upcoming motion (flash-grab illusion). It is still debated whether these motion-induced position shifts are low-level, reflexive consequences of stimulus motion or high-level compensation engaged only when the stimulus is tracked with attention. To investigate whether attention is a causal factor for this striking illusory position shift, we evaluated the flash-grab illusion in six patients with damaged attentional networks in the right hemisphere and signs of left visual neglect and six age-matched controls. With stimuli in the top, right, and bottom visual fields, neglect patients experienced the same amount of illusion as controls. However, patients showed no significant shift when the test was presented in their left hemifield, despite having equally precise judgments. Thus, paradoxically, neglect patients perceived the position of the flash more veridically in their neglected hemifield. These results suggest that impaired attentional processes can reduce the interaction between a moving background and a superimposed stationary flash, and indicate that attention is a critical factor in generating the illusory motion-induced shifts of location.

Artificial neural network-based seismic detector

1995 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 308-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Wang ◽  
Ta-Liang Teng
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Artificial Neural Network ◽  
Input Data ◽  
Seismic Event ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Type B ◽  
Earthquake Detection ◽  
Seismic Event Detection ◽  
Artificial Neural ◽  
Better Than

Abstract An artificial neural network-based pattern classification system is applied to seismic event detection. We have designed two types of Artificial Neural Detector (AND) for real-time earthquake detection. Type A artificial neural detector (AND-A) uses the recursive STA/LTA time series as input data, and type B (AND-B) uses moving window spectrograms as input data to detect earthquake signals. The two AND's are trained under supervised learning by using a set of seismic recordings, and then the trained AND's are applied to another set of recordings for testing. Results show that the accuracy of the artificial neural network-based seismic detectors is better than that of the conventional algorithms solely based on the STA/LTA threshold. This is especially true for signals with either low signal-to-noise ratio or spikelike noises.

scholarly journals Realism and Knowledge First. Interview with Timothy Williamson

2022 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-204
Author(s):  
I. E. Pris
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
Gettier Problem ◽  
Traditional Epistemology ◽  
Timothy Williamson ◽  
Skeptical Problem ◽  
Ill Posed ◽  
The Right ◽  
Metaphysical Realist ◽  
First Interview ◽  
The Gettier Problem

The renowned British philosopher Timothy Williamson talks about his philosophical views and main lines of research. Williamson is a metaphysical realist in a broad sense. Fir him there are true or false answers to questions about all aspects of reality. Classical logic is a universal true theory. Knowledge-first epistemology is an alternative to the traditional belief-first epistemology. The former takes the concept of knowledge as a basic concept, explaining other epistemic concepts, including belief, in its terms, whereas the latter does the opposite. Knowledge, not truth, is the fundamental epistemic good. The Gettier problem and the skeptical problem that arise within traditional epistemology are ill posed and therefore cannot be solved. Hybrid epistemological theories do not satisfy the principles of simplicity and beauty and are refuted by counter-examples. Epistemic contextualism is problematic, and relativism violates the semantics of the phenomena being explained. Knowledge does not entail knowledge about knowledge. Knowledge-how is a kind of knowledge-that. The distinction between a priori and a posteriori is superficial, and there are no analytical truths. The concept of qualia is unhelpful for solving the problems related to consciousness. The so-called “hard problem” of consciousness points to an area of conceptual confusions in which we do not know how to reason properly. Speculative metaphysics is quite a respectable enterprise. But progress in metaphysics is not automatic; it requires the right methodology.

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