scholarly journals Collective learning from individual experiences and information transfer during group foraging

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (151) ◽  
pp. 20180803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Falcón-Cortés ◽  
Denis Boyer ◽  
Gabriel Ramos-Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Information Transfer ◽  
Collective Motion ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Collective Learning ◽  
Complex Environments ◽  
Uncertain Environments ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Current State ◽  
Individual Memory ◽  
State Of The Environment

Living in groups brings benefits to many animals, such as protection against predators and an improved capacity for sensing and making decisions while searching for resources in uncertain environments. A body of studies has shown how collective behaviours within animal groups on the move can be useful for pooling information about the current state of the environment. The effects of interactions on collective motion have been mostly studied in models of agents with no memory. Thus, whether coordinated behaviours can emerge from individuals with memory and different foraging experiences is still poorly understood. By means of an agent-based model, we quantify how individual memory and information fluxes can contribute to improving the foraging success of a group in complex environments. In this context, we define collective learning as a coordinated change of behaviour within a group resulting from individual experiences and information transfer. We show that an initially scattered population of foragers visiting dispersed resources can gradually achieve cohesion and become selectively localized in space around the most salient resource sites. Coordination is lost when memory or information transfer among individuals is suppressed. The present modelling framework provides predictions for empirical studies of collective learning and could also find applications in swarm robotics and motivate new search algorithms based on reinforcement.

scholarly journals Behavior Identification and Prediction for a Probabilistic Risk Framework

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasprit S. Gill ◽  
Pierluigi Pisu ◽  
Venkat N. Krovi ◽  
Matthias J. Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Autonomous Vehicles ◽  
Adaptive Estimation ◽  
Autonomous Vehicle ◽  
Search Space ◽  
Complex Environments ◽  
Current State ◽  
Risk Framework ◽  
Detailed Simulation ◽  
The Right ◽  
State Of The Environment

Abstract Operation in a real world traffic requires the ability to plan motion in complex environments (multiple moving participants) from autonomous vehicles. Navigation through such environments necessitates the provision of the right search space for the trajectory or maneuver planners so that the safest motion for the ego vehicle can be identified. Analyzing risks based on the predicted trajectories of all traffic participants (given the current state of the environment and its participants) aids in the proper formulation of this search space. This study introduces a fresh taxonomy of safety and risk that an autonomous vehicle should be capable of handling. It formulates a reference system architecture for implementation as well as describes a novel way of identifying and predicting the behaviors of other traffic participants utilizing classic Multi Model Adaptive Estimation (MMAE). Detailed simulation results and a discussion about the associated tuning of the implemented model conclude this work.

scholarly journals Active control of liquid film flows: beyond reduced-order models

2021 ◽  
Vol 104 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-287
Author(s):  
Radu Cimpeanu ◽  
Susana N. Gomes ◽  
Demetrios T. Papageorgiou
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Film ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Analytical Models ◽  
Feedback Controls ◽  
Reduced Order ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Active Feedback ◽  
Feedback Strategies ◽  
Set Up

AbstractThe ability to robustly and efficiently control the dynamics of nonlinear systems lies at the heart of many current technological challenges, ranging from drug delivery systems to ensuring flight safety. Most such scenarios are too complex to tackle directly, and reduced-order modelling is used in order to create viable representations of the target systems. The simplified setting allows for the development of rigorous control theoretical approaches, but the propagation of their effects back up the hierarchy and into real-world systems remains a significant challenge. Using the canonical set-up of a liquid film falling down an inclined plane under the action of active feedback controls in the form of blowing and suction, we develop a multi-level modelling framework containing both analytical models and direct numerical simulations acting as an in silico experimental platform. Constructing strategies at the inexpensive lower levels in the hierarchy, we find that offline control transfer is not viable; however, analytically informed feedback strategies show excellent potential, even far beyond the anticipated range of applicability of the models. The detailed effects of the controls in terms of stability and treatment of nonlinearity are examined in detail in order to gain understanding of the information transfer inside the flows, which can aid transition towards other control-rich frameworks and applications.

scholarly journals Empirical studies of collaborative information seeking: a review of methodological issues

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Hertzum ◽  
Preben Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Information Seeking ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Statistical Testing ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Current State ◽  
Lab Experiments ◽  
Major Implication ◽  
Collaborative Information Seeking ◽  
Study Setting

Purpose Information seeking is often performed in collaborative contexts. The research into such collaborative information seeking (CIS) has been proceeding since the 1990s but lacks methodological discussions. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and discuss methodological issues in existing CIS studies. Design/methodology/approach The authors systematically review 69 empirical CIS studies. Findings The review shows that the most common methods of data collection are lab experiments (43 percent), observation (19 percent) and surveys (16 percent), that the most common methods of data analysis are description (33 percent), statistical testing (29 percent) and content analysis (19 percent) and that CIS studies involve a fairly even mix of novice, intermediate and specialist participants. However, the authors also find that CIS research is dominated by exploratory studies, leaves it largely unexplored in what ways the findings of a study may be specific to the particular study setting, appears to assign primacy to precision at the expense of generalizability, struggles with investigating how CIS activities extend over time and provides data about behavior to a larger extent than about reasons, experiences and especially outcomes. Research limitations/implications The major implication of this review is its identification of the need for a shared model to which individual CIS studies can contribute in a cumulative manner. To support the development of such a model, the authors discuss a model of the core CIS process and a model of the factors that trigger CIS. Originality/value This study assesses the current state of CIS research, provides guidance for future CIS studies and aims to inspire further methodological discussion.

scholarly journals Imitating a Safe Human Driver Behaviour in Roundabouts Through Deep Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-88
Author(s):  
A. S. J. Cervera ◽  
F. J. Alonso ◽  
F. S. García ◽  
A. D. Alvarez
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Deep Learning ◽  
Autonomous Vehicles ◽  
Autonomous Vehicle ◽  
Driver Behaviour ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Current State ◽  
Surrounding Environment ◽  
Human Driver ◽  
State Of The Environment

Roundabouts provide safe and fast circulation as well as many environmental advantages, but drivers adopting unsafe behaviours while circulating through them may cause safety issues, provoking accidents. In this paper we propose a way of training an autonomous vehicle in order to behave in a human and safe way when entering a roundabout. By placing a number of cameras in our vehicle and processing their video feeds through a series of algorithms, including Machine Learning, we can build a representation of the state of the surrounding environment. Then, we use another set of Deep Learning algorithms to analyze the data and determine the safest way of circulating through a roundabout given the current state of the environment, including nearby vehicles with their estimated positions, speeds and accelerations. By watching multiple attempts of a human entering a roundabout with both safe and unsafe behaviours, our second set of algorithms can learn to mimic the human’s good attempts and act in the same way as him, which is key to a safe implementation of autonomous vehicles. This work details the series of steps that we took, from building the representation of our environment to acting according to it in order to attain safe entry into single lane roundabouts.

scholarly journals Modelling of framework materials at multiple scales: current practices and open questions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Fraux ◽  
Siwar Chibani ◽  
François-Xavier Coudert
Keyword(s):  
Atomistic Simulation ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Computational Point ◽  
Framework Materials ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Current State ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
The Family

The last decade has seen an explosion of the family of framework materials and their study, both from the experimental and computational point of view. We propose here a short highlight of the current state of methodologies for modelling framework materials at multiple scales, putting together a brief review of new methods and recent endeavours in this area, as well as outlining some of the open challenges in this field. We will detail advances in atomistic simulation methods, the development of materials databases, and the growing use of machine learning for properties prediction.

Game-based Intervention Reporting Guidelines (GAMING): A Review on the Conceptual Ambiguity Surrounding Gamification and Serious Games in Healthcare (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Warsinsky ◽  
Manuel Schmidt-Kraepelin ◽  
Sascha Rank ◽  
Scott Thiebes ◽  
Ali Sunyaev
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Healthcare Research ◽  
Reporting Guidelines ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Current State ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Intervention Reporting

BACKGROUND In healthcare, using game-based intervention approaches to increase motivation, engagement, and overall sustainability of health behaviors is steadily becoming more common. The most prevailing approaches for such game-based interventions in healthcare research are gamification and serious games. Various researchers have discussed substantial conceptual differences between these two concepts, supported by empirical studies showing differences in the effects on specific health behaviors. However, researchers also frequently report cases where terms related to these two concepts are used ambiguously or even interchangeably. It remains unclear to which extent existing healthcare research explicitly distinguishes between gamification and serious games and whether it draws on existing conceptual considerations in order to do so. OBJECTIVE Our study aims to address this lack of knowledge by capturing the current state of conceptualizations of gamification and serious games in healthcare research. Furthermore, we provide tools for researchers to disambiguate reporting on game-based interventions. METHODS We employed a 2-step research approach. First, we conducted a systematic literature review of 206 studies published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research and its sister journals containing terms related to either gamification, serious games, or both. We analyzed their conceptualizations of gamification and serious games, as well as distinctions between the two concepts. Second, based on the literature review findings, we developed a set of guidelines for researchers reporting on game-based interventions and evaluated them with a group of 7 experts from the field. RESULTS Our results show that less than half of concept mentions are accompanied by an explicit definition. For the distinction between the two concepts, we identified 4 common approaches: implicit distinction, synonymous use of terms, serious games as gamified systems, and distinction based on the full game dimension. Our Game-based Intervention Reporting Guidelines (GAMING) consist of 25 items grouped into 4 topics: (1) Conceptual Focus, (2) Contribution, (3) Mindfulness about Related Concepts, and (4) Individual Concept Definitions. CONCLUSIONS Conceptualizations of gamification and serious games in healthcare literature are strongly heterogeneous, leading to conceptual ambiguity. Following the GAMING guidelines can support authors in rigorous reporting on study results of game-based interventions.

A Context-Based and Policy-Driven Method to Design and Develop Composite Web Services

2010 ◽  
pp. 310-328
Author(s):  
Zakaria Maamar ◽  
Djamal Benslimane
Keyword(s):  
Web Services ◽  
User Needs ◽  
Design And Development ◽  
Graphical Notation ◽  
Current State ◽  
Behavior Specification ◽  
Composite Web Services ◽  
Composition Operations ◽  
State Of The Environment ◽  
Development Methods

Web services are nowadays attracting the attention of both academia and industry. However, a very little has so far been accomplished in terms of design and development methods that assist those who are responsible for specifying and running applications based on Web services. For this purpose, we developed CP4WS that stands for Context and Policy for Web Services. CP4WS is a context-based and policy-driven method for designing and developing composite Web services. Policies manage various aspects related to Web services like participation in composition and adjustment due to changes in the environment, and context provides the necessary information that enables for instance to trigger the appropriate policies and to regulate the interactions between Web services according to the current state of the environment. CP4WS consists of several steps such as user needs identification and Web services behavior specification. Each step has a specific graphical notation that facilitates the representation, description, and validation of the composition operations of Web services. A running scenario that illustrates the use of CP4WS is presented in the article as well.

SUPPORTING DECISION-MAKING IN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING WITH PROCESS SIMULATION AND EMPIRICAL STUDIES

2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (05) ◽  
pp. 531-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
IOANA RUS ◽  
MICHAEL HALLING ◽  
STEFAN BIFFL
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Software Engineering ◽  
Process Simulation ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Empirical Knowledge ◽  
Simulation Techniques ◽  
Current State ◽  
Parameter Variations ◽  
Support Decision Making

Decision-making is a complex and important task in software engineering. The current state-of-the-practice is rather non-systematic as it typically relies upon personal judgment and experience without using explicit models. Empirical studies can help but they are costly to conduct and, to some extent, context dependent. Typically it is not efficient or even possible to conduct empirical studies for a large number of context parameter variations. Process simulation offers decision support as well, but currently suffers from a lack of empirical knowledge on the determinants of underlying system dynamics. In this paper we present an assessment of empirical knowledge and simulation techniques for the area of quality assurance planning. There is a strong interdependency between process simulation and empirical models for decision-making in this area: (a) profound empirical knowledge enables process simulation to support decision-making, and (b) the analysis of simulation results can point out situations and factors for which conducting empirical studies would be most worthwhile. This paper discusses critically some of the most important challenges for decision-making in the area of quality assurance planning.

The State of the Law on Euthanasia in Kenya

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Moni Wekesa ◽  
Martin Awori
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Case Law ◽  
The State ◽  
Right To Die ◽  
Criminal Offence ◽  
Dual Effect ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Law ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
The Right

The general position of the law on euthanasia worldwide is that all states recognise their duty to preserve life. Courts in various jurisdictions have refused to interpret the 'right to life' or the 'right to dignity' to also include the 'right to die'. Instead, they have held that the state has a duty to protect life. Three categories can however be noted. At one extreme are those countries that have totally criminalised any appearance of euthanasia. In the middle are countries that prohibit what appears to be active euthanasia while at the same time tolerating 'dual-effect' treatment and withdrawal of artificial feeding. At the other extreme are countries that allow euthanasia. Even in this last category of countries, there are stringent guidelines embedded in the law to prevent a situation of 'free for all'. Anecdotal evidence, some empirical studies and case law seem to suggest that euthanasia goes on in many countries irrespective of the law. Euthanasia is a criminal offence in Kenya. However, there have been no empirical studies to ascertain whether euthanasia goes on in spite of the law. This article surveys the current state of the practice of euthanasia globally and narrows down to elaborate on the state of affairs in Kenya.

DECISION PRINCIPLES FOR ASCENT SUPPORTS IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieter Schlagbauer ◽  
Christian Hofstadler ◽  
Cornelia Ninaus
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Construction Sites ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Current State ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
A Site ◽  
Economic Comparison

Ladders are the ascent system most commonly used to scale up a building, due to the low initial costs compared to other ascent equipment. The insufficiency of this approach is shown in an economic comparison of ladders, stair towers, and scaffoldings with integrated ascent support. Based on empirical studies, cost data and the current state of scientific knowledge, the ascent support with the highest economic value can be determined by considering safety, cost, time, stress, physical stress and strain, and frequency of use. A survey evaluated vertical transport routes, the ascent systems ladders, stair towers, and scaffoldings with integrated ladders. The findings indicate that from an economic point of view, ladders should be used only on construction sites where less than 54 ascents were performed each day. This leads to the assumption that for typical construction sites, with at least 6 ascents per person per day and a site usage for a period longer than one week, the operation of ladders is uneconomical.

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