Accounting for measurement errors when harmonising incongruent soil data − a case study

Soil Research ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (8) ◽  
pp. 793
Author(s):  
D. M. Crawford ◽  
S. Norng ◽  
M. Kitching ◽  
N. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Errors ◽  
Complete Information ◽  
Sufficient Information ◽  
Precision Data ◽  
External Sources ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
Predicted Values ◽  
Different Sources ◽  
Do So

When collating soil data from different sources, the data should be congruent. Ordinary linear regression (OLR) has often been used to harmonise incongruent data. To do so, one of the sources is nominated as the reference and so is assumed to provide data that are determined without error despite evidence to the contrary. Alternative approaches that can handle errors in both variables, such as constructing a maximum likelihood functional relationship (MLFR), are seldom used. Two scenarios compared these two approaches using soil organic carbon data determined by the Walkley and Black method or the Dumas method. An inter-laboratory proficiency program provided data to represent an ideal scenario of complete information on precision, i.e. a mean and standard error of multiple determinations for each method as applied to each soil sample. In this scenario, it was found that the recovery of carbon was not consistent between laboratories or methods, nor was the precision of determinations consistent. Importantly, the precision data showed how neither method had an advantage and so could serve as a reference. Unfortunately, soil researchers are more likely to be trying to harmonise data from single determinations and have no data on the precision of either method. This second scenario was explored using legacy data and new data from re-analysis of 116 archived soil samples, with precision data from different external sources. Here the OLR regression coefficients were found to be much less accurate than those from using the MLFR harmonisation model. We concluded from these scenarios, that MLFR should be used to harmonise incongruent data when data on measurement errors are available. MLFR gave different predicted values to OLR while accounting for measurement errors in both variables. Where sufficient information on precision is lacking, OLR yields similar results and so may be an easier but less rigorous option. However, more research is needed to establish when OLR can be used versus when MLFR should be used.

Scales and Units

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn M. de Luna
Keyword(s):  
Language Change ◽  
Historical Linguistics ◽  
Bantu Languages ◽  
The North ◽  
First Case ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
River Region ◽  
History Of ◽  
Alternative Approaches

This chapter uses two case studies to explore how historians study language movement and change through comparative historical linguistics. The first case study stands as a short chapter in the larger history of the expansion of Bantu languages across eastern, central, and southern Africa. It focuses on the expansion of proto-Kafue, ca. 950–1250, from a linguistic homeland in the middle Kafue River region to lands beyond the Lukanga swamps to the north and the Zambezi River to the south. This expansion was made possible by a dramatic reconfiguration of ties of kinship. The second case study explores linguistic evidence for ridicule along the Lozi-Botatwe frontier in the mid- to late 19th century. Significantly, the units and scales of language movement and change in precolonial periods rendered visible through comparative historical linguistics bring to our attention alternative approaches to language change and movement in contemporary Africa.

A Problem in the Making: How Firms Formulate Sharable Problems for Open Innovation Contests

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin W. Wallin ◽  
Georg von Krogh ◽  
Jan Henrik Sieg
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Problem Formulation ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Monetary Reward ◽  
Technical Innovation ◽  
Prior Work ◽  
Exploratory Case Study ◽  
External Sources

Crowdsourcing in the form of innovation contests stimulates knowledge creation external to the firm by distributing technical, innovation-related problems to external solvers and by proposing a fixed monetary reward for solutions. While prior work demonstrates that innovation contests can generate solutions of value to the firm, little is known about how problems are formulated for such contests. We investigate problem formulation in a multiple exploratory case study of seven firms and inductively develop a theoretical framework that explains the mechanisms of formulating sharable problems for innovation contests. The chapter contributes to the literatures on crowdsourcing and open innovation by providing a rare account of the intra-organizational implications of engaging in innovation contests and by providing initial clues to problem formulation—a critical antecedent to firms’ ability to leverage external sources of innovation.

scholarly journals How to measure uncertainty in uncertainty sampling for active learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vu-Linh Nguyen ◽  
Mohammad Hossein Shaker ◽  
Eyke Hüllermeier
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
Sampling Strategies ◽  
Total Uncertainty ◽  
Uncertainty Sampling ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
Active Learner ◽  
Probabilistic Nature ◽  
Different Sources

AbstractVarious strategies for active learning have been proposed in the machine learning literature. In uncertainty sampling, which is among the most popular approaches, the active learner sequentially queries the label of those instances for which its current prediction is maximally uncertain. The predictions as well as the measures used to quantify the degree of uncertainty, such as entropy, are traditionally of a probabilistic nature. Yet, alternative approaches to capturing uncertainty in machine learning, alongside with corresponding uncertainty measures, have been proposed in recent years. In particular, some of these measures seek to distinguish different sources and to separate different types of uncertainty, such as the reducible (epistemic) and the irreducible (aleatoric) part of the total uncertainty in a prediction. The goal of this paper is to elaborate on the usefulness of such measures for uncertainty sampling, and to compare their performance in active learning. To this end, we instantiate uncertainty sampling with different measures, analyze the properties of the sampling strategies thus obtained, and compare them in an experimental study.

scholarly journals Analysis of the System of Controlling Paid Parking Zones

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4211
Author(s):  
Maciej Kozłowski ◽  
Andrzej Czerepicki ◽  
Piotr Jaskowski ◽  
Kamil Aniszewski
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Measurement Errors ◽  
Fundamental Problem ◽  
Urban Traffic ◽  
Statistical Dependence ◽  
Actual State ◽  
Event Time ◽  
Operational Data

Urban traffic can be curbed in various ways, for instance, by introducing paid unguarded parking zones (PUPZ). The operational functionality of this system depends on whether or not the various system features used to document parking cases function properly, including those which enable positioning of vehicles parked in the PUPZ, recognition of plate numbers, event time recording, and the correct anonymisation of persons and other vehicles. The most fundamental problem of this system is its reliability, understood as the conformity of control results with the actual state of matters. This characteristic can be studied empirically, and this article addresses the methodology proposed for such an examination, discussed against a case study. The authors have analysed the statistical dependence of the e-control system’s measurement errors based on operational data. The results of this analysis confirm the rationale behind the deployment of the e-control system under the implementation of the smart city concept in Warsaw.

scholarly journals Model-Based Probabilistic Inversion Using Magnetic Data: A Case Study on the Kevitsa Deposit

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Nilgün Güdük ◽  
Miguel de la Varga ◽  
Janne Kaukolinna ◽  
Florian Wellmann
Keyword(s):  
Structural Parameters ◽  
Rock Properties ◽  
Magnetic Data ◽  
Geological Model ◽  
Borehole Data ◽  
Likelihood Functions ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Geophysical Information ◽  
Different Sources

Structural geological models are widely used to represent relevant geological interfaces and property distributions in the subsurface. Considering the inherent uncertainty of these models, the non-uniqueness of geophysical inverse problems, and the growing availability of data, there is a need for methods that integrate different types of data consistently and consider the uncertainties quantitatively. Probabilistic inference provides a suitable tool for this purpose. Using a Bayesian framework, geological modeling can be considered as an integral part of the inversion and thereby naturally constrain geophysical inversion procedures. This integration prevents geologically unrealistic results and provides the opportunity to include geological and geophysical information in the inversion. This information can be from different sources and is added to the framework through likelihood functions. We applied this methodology to the structurally complex Kevitsa deposit in Finland. We started with an interpretation-based 3D geological model and defined the uncertainties in our geological model through probability density functions. Airborne magnetic data and geological interpretations of borehole data were used to define geophysical and geological likelihoods, respectively. The geophysical data were linked to the uncertain structural parameters through the rock properties. The result of the inverse problem was an ensemble of realized models. These structural models and their uncertainties are visualized using information entropy, which allows for quantitative analysis. Our results show that with our methodology, we can use well-defined likelihood functions to add meaningful information to our initial model without requiring a computationally-heavy full grid inversion, discrepancies between model and data are spotted more easily, and the complementary strength of different types of data can be integrated into one framework.

scholarly journals Enacting alternatives to nationalist essentialising in language learning: Students’ voices

2021 ◽  
pp. 001458582098650
Author(s):  
Gloria De Vincenti ◽  
Angela Giovanangeli
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Innovative Teaching ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Alternative Approaches

Researchers examining nationalistic conceptions of language learning argue that nationalist essentialism often shapes the way languages are taught by educators and understood by learners. While numerous studies focus on how frameworks informed by Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and intercultural education offer alternative approaches to national stereotyping, these studies tend to focus on theoretical approaches, teacher perspectives or innovative teaching and learning resources. The literature to date, however, does not provide case studies on student responses to activities designed by the teacher to open up the classroom with opportunities that move beyond essentialist representations. This article responds to the need for such scholarship and presents a case study involving a focus group with tertiary students in an Italian language and culture subject. It reveals some of the ways in which students enacted and reflected upon alternatives to nationalist essentialising as a result of language learning activities that had been informed by the discursive processes of CDA. The findings suggest that students demonstrated skills and attitudes such as curiosity, subjectivities and connections with broader social contexts. Some of the data also indicates student engagement in critical inquiry and their potential for social agency.

scholarly journals Unequal chances: ex ante fairness and individual control

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leticia Micheli ◽  
Nickolas Gagnon
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Control ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Financial Outcomes ◽  
Individual Control ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Different Sources ◽  
Do So

AbstractUnequal financial outcomes often originate from unequal chances. Yet, compared to outcomes, little is known about how individuals perceive unequal distributions of chances. We investigate empirically the role of different sources of unequal chances in shaping inequality perceptions. Importantly, we do so from an ex ante perspective—i.e., before the chances are realized—which has rarely been explored. In an online survey, we asked uninvolved respondents to evaluate ex ante the fairness of unequal allocations of chances. We varied the source of inequality of chances, using a comprehensive range of factors which resemble several real world situations. Respondents also evaluated how much control individuals hold over the distribution of chances. Results show that different sources generate different ex ante perception of fairness. That is, unequal chances based on socioeconomic and biological factors, such as gender, family income and ethnicity, are evaluated to be unfair relative to the same chances based on effort, knowledge, and benevolence. Results also show that, for most individuals, there is a positive correlation between perceived control of a factor and fairness of unequal chances based on that factor. Luck appears to be an exception to this correlation, ranking as high in fairness as effort, knowledge, and benevolence, but similarly low in individual control as ethnicity, family income, and gender.

Socio-Semantic Processes in Social Actors Representation: A Case Study of “Ya-Sin”

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-169
Author(s):  
Roghayeh Farsi
Keyword(s):  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Academic Field ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Linear Nature ◽  
Do So ◽  
Semantic Processes

AbstractThe academic field of Qurʾānic Studies employs a wide range of approaches, each one of which helps to open up a new perspective on the Qurʾānic text. The Holy Book was revealed to guide people; it is thus of relevance to all aspects of people’s lives. This article focuses on the way social actors are represented in one Meccansūra, entitled “Ya-Sin”, and employs a case-study approach to do so. The analysis carried out includes the socio-semantic processes that thesūrauses in order to represent social actors either by behavior (action) or meaning (reflection), and it also analyzes the actors as they are represented in processes such as activation and passivation. The methodology adopted is eclectic and analytic. It is a hybrid of Swales’ move analysis, El-Awa’s identification of shift-markers, and Halliday’s and Van Leeuwen’s theories of social actor representation. This study shows how such an analysis can contribute to understanding the apparently fragmented and non-linear nature of “Ya-Sin”.

scholarly journals Success Drivers for Implementing Circular Economy: A Case Study from the Building Sector in Colombia

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1350
Author(s):  
Luz Elba Torres-Guevara ◽  
Vanessa Prieto-Sandoval ◽  
Andres Mejia-Villa
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Direct Communication ◽  
Management Commitment ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Large Building ◽  
Do So

This paper contributes to the circular economy (CE) literature by investigating the drivers of success of the CE implementation in the construction sector and how those drivers can complement any implementation process in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). To do so, we analyzed the case of TECMO Estructuras Metálicas, using the methodology proposed by Jaca and colleagues to implement the CE in SMEs. It is a Colombian company with more than five decades of experience in the manufacture and installation of steel and aluminum structures for small and large building and infrastructure projects. The data were collected between August 2019 and November 2020 through direct communication with the company via workshops, meetings, and company reports. This research found that five drivers are relevant for implementing CE in the construction sector: fertile ecosystem, management commitment, identification of valuable materials, green teams, and CE intermediaries. Moreover, this study also contributes to teaching the implementation of the CE in companies, since it shows that through the methodology presented, implementation projects can be developed in postgraduate classes.

scholarly journals Local industrial strategy and skills policy in England: Assessing the linkages and limitations – a case study of the Sheffield City Deal

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 857-872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Sissons ◽  
Katy Jones
Keyword(s):  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Innovation Policy ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Local Growth ◽  
Potential Growth ◽  
Economic Development Policy ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Do So

This paper examines changes in local economic development policy which occurred between 2010 and 2015, with a focus on the relationship between industrial strategy and skills policy. Under the Coalition Government, Local Enterprise Partnerships were established and tasked with facilitating local growth, and to do so many identified a set of (potential) growth sectors for industrial strategy to support. These sectors tended to be drawn from a relatively narrow range of industries which therefore often excluded a large proportion of the local economy. An important focus of the support for growth sectors for many has been through an ambition to influence the local skills system. Skills policy more broadly has been an important dimension of devolution, and a number of City Deals have included elements of skills policy. Echoing previous national policy however, the focus of local concerns with skills under devolution has been framed largely with reference to skills gaps and shortages. While specific skills gaps and shortages can be identified, this paper questions whether this default position is reflected widely, and as such, if a narrow focus on skills supply is a sufficient approach. It is argued that to support local growth across a broad base, greater attention needs to be paid to stimulating employer demand for skills through better integrating industrial and innovation policy with skills policymaking across a wider section of the local economy. To support these arguments we present a case study of the Sheffield City Deal.

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