scholarly journals Auditory Psychophysics in Birds: the Effects of Unique Noise on Sensitivity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alan J. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Frequency Discrimination ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Common Noise ◽  
Extraneous Noise ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Masking Noise ◽  
Operant Procedure ◽  
Data Group ◽  
Measures Of Performance ◽  
The Ideal

<p>The performances of observers in auditory experiments are likely to be affected by extraneous noise from physiological or neurological sources and also by decision noise. Attempts have been made to measure the characteristics of this noise, in particular its level relative to that of masking noise provided by the experimenter. This study investigated an alternative approach, a method of analysis which seeks to reduce the effects of extraneous noise on measures derived from experimental data. Group-Operating-Characteristic (GOC) analysis was described by Watson (1963) and investigated by Boven (1976). Boven distinguished between common and unique noise. GOC analysis seeks to reduce the effects of unique noise. In the analysis, ratings of the same stimulus on different occasions are sunned. The cumulative frequency distributions of the resulting variable define a GOC curve. This curve is analogous to an ROC curve, but since the effects of unique noise tend to be averaged out during the summation, the GOC is less influenced by extraneous noise. The amount of improvement depends on the relative variance of the unique and common noise (k). Higher levels of unique noise lead to greater improvement. In this study four frequency discrimination experiments were carried out with pigeons as observers, using a three-key operant procedure. In other experiments, computer-simulated observers were used. The first two pigeon experiments, and the simulations, were based on known distributions of common noise. The ROCs for the constructed distributions provided a standard with which the GOC curve could be compared. In all cases the analysis led to improvements in the measures of performance and increased the match of the experimental results and the ideal ROC. The amount of improvement, as well as reflecting the level of unique noise, depended on the number of response categories. With smaller numbers of categories, improvement was reduced and k was underestimated. Since the pigeon observers made only "yes" or "no" responses, the results for the pigeon experiments were compared with the results of simulations with known distributions in order to obtain more accurate estimates of k. The third and fourth pigeon experiments involved frequency discrimination tasks with a standard of 450 Hz and comparison frequencies of 500, 600, 700, 800 and 900 Hz, and 650 Hz, respectively. With the multiple comparison frequencies the results were very variable. This was due to the small number of trials for each frequency and the small number of replications. The results obtained with one comparison frequency were more orderly but, like those of the previous experiment, were impossible to distinguish from those which would be expected if there was no common noise. A final set of experiments was based on a hardware simulation. Signals first used in the fourth pigeon experiment were processed by a system made up of a filter, a zero-axis crossing detector and a simulated observer. The results of these experiments were compatible with the possibility that the amount of unique noise in the pigeon experiments overwhelmed any evidence of common noise.</p>

scholarly journals Auditory Psychophysics in Birds: the Effects of Unique Noise on Sensitivity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alan J. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Frequency Discrimination ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Common Noise ◽  
Extraneous Noise ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Masking Noise ◽  
Operant Procedure ◽  
Data Group ◽  
Measures Of Performance ◽  
The Ideal

<p>The performances of observers in auditory experiments are likely to be affected by extraneous noise from physiological or neurological sources and also by decision noise. Attempts have been made to measure the characteristics of this noise, in particular its level relative to that of masking noise provided by the experimenter. This study investigated an alternative approach, a method of analysis which seeks to reduce the effects of extraneous noise on measures derived from experimental data. Group-Operating-Characteristic (GOC) analysis was described by Watson (1963) and investigated by Boven (1976). Boven distinguished between common and unique noise. GOC analysis seeks to reduce the effects of unique noise. In the analysis, ratings of the same stimulus on different occasions are sunned. The cumulative frequency distributions of the resulting variable define a GOC curve. This curve is analogous to an ROC curve, but since the effects of unique noise tend to be averaged out during the summation, the GOC is less influenced by extraneous noise. The amount of improvement depends on the relative variance of the unique and common noise (k). Higher levels of unique noise lead to greater improvement. In this study four frequency discrimination experiments were carried out with pigeons as observers, using a three-key operant procedure. In other experiments, computer-simulated observers were used. The first two pigeon experiments, and the simulations, were based on known distributions of common noise. The ROCs for the constructed distributions provided a standard with which the GOC curve could be compared. In all cases the analysis led to improvements in the measures of performance and increased the match of the experimental results and the ideal ROC. The amount of improvement, as well as reflecting the level of unique noise, depended on the number of response categories. With smaller numbers of categories, improvement was reduced and k was underestimated. Since the pigeon observers made only "yes" or "no" responses, the results for the pigeon experiments were compared with the results of simulations with known distributions in order to obtain more accurate estimates of k. The third and fourth pigeon experiments involved frequency discrimination tasks with a standard of 450 Hz and comparison frequencies of 500, 600, 700, 800 and 900 Hz, and 650 Hz, respectively. With the multiple comparison frequencies the results were very variable. This was due to the small number of trials for each frequency and the small number of replications. The results obtained with one comparison frequency were more orderly but, like those of the previous experiment, were impossible to distinguish from those which would be expected if there was no common noise. A final set of experiments was based on a hardware simulation. Signals first used in the fourth pigeon experiment were processed by a system made up of a filter, a zero-axis crossing detector and a simulated observer. The results of these experiments were compatible with the possibility that the amount of unique noise in the pigeon experiments overwhelmed any evidence of common noise.</p>

Methodological Challenges in Retrospective Evaluation of Mental Health Court Effectiveness

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-105
Author(s):  
Kort C. Prince ◽  
Jeremiah W. Jaggers ◽  
Allyn Walker ◽  
Jess Shade ◽  
Erin B. Worwood
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Mental Health Courts ◽  
Retrospective Evaluation ◽  
Group Design ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Problem Solving Courts ◽  
Ideal Approach ◽  
The Ideal

Mental Health Courts (MHCs) are problem-solving courts that have been implemented throughout the United States. One critical component of MHCs is determining their effectiveness and limitations. However, unique challenges are encountered when evaluating MHCs. One major challenge, and the focus of this paper, is identifying an adequate control group. The ideal approach to determining efficacy is using a controlled group design whereby participants are randomized to treatment or control conditions. However, this approach is not possible when conducting retrospective evaluation of court data. In addition, a specific set of ethical and logistical issues arise. Propensity score matching (PSM) provides an alternative approach for comparing groups when randomization is not possible. PSM works by first identifying the characteristics that make a person likely to be in treatment. We describe our attempts to use PSM in a MHC evaluation. Specific challenges with PSM are discussed and recommendations are made for use of PSM with MHCs.

scholarly journals Strategies of space occupation by anchovy and sardine in the southern Benguela: the role of stock size and intra-species competition

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 645-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Barange ◽  
Janet C. Coetzee ◽  
Nandipha M. Twatwa
Keyword(s):  
Relative Increase ◽  
High Density ◽  
High Biomass ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Stock Size ◽  
Indicator Variables ◽  
Space Occupation ◽  
Very High ◽  
The Ideal

Abstract Strategies of space occupation by anchovy and sardine populations in the southern Benguela during cruises in 1994 (low biomass) and 2001 (high biomass) are investigated using geostatistical tools. The spatial expansion of anchovy and sardine during the high-density year resulted in an increase in the number and density of hotspots and, in the case of anchovy, a relative increase in the contribution of mid- to high-density intervals to the overall survey biomass. Variogram autocorrelation ranges were larger in the high-biomass year. Otherwise, similarities and differences in the strategies of space occupation between anchovy and sardine are consistent between years of low and high biomass, and are therefore density-independent. Variograms of indicator variables revealed comparable structures for both species and years, with autocorrelation ranges of 30 nautical miles for the smallest indicator (0.1 g m−2) and 10 miles for the largest (100 g m−2), reflecting intrinsic spatial structures independent of stock size. The ideal survey inter-transect distance, defined as the autocorrelation range of the highest density indicator, was not influenced by the expanded distribution of both species. Cumulative frequency distributions and cross-variograms revealed differences in space occupancy between both species. Despite the areal expansion, and in contrast to anchovy, a significant portion of the sardine biomass continued to be contributed by a few very high-density areas with little spatial structure, as indicated by large nugget effects in the variograms and lack of transitions in the cross-variograms. Both species were spatially segregated in the low-biomass year, but overlapped extensively in the high-biomass year.

scholarly journals Applicability of the Tanaka-Johnston method for the estimation of the mesiodistal diameter of canines and premolars in patients of 12-18 years old

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Laura Pereda Vázquez ◽  
Oscar Ameneiros Narciandi ◽  
Aracelys Soto Rico
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Test ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Female Sex ◽  
Facial Pattern ◽  
Lower Incisors ◽  
The Ideal

The Tanaka-Johnston method is used worldwide to predict the diameter of canines and premolars not erupted for the convenience of not needing boards or x-rays for use. However, in recent years researchers from several countries have shown that when used in a different population for which it was designed, it can overestimate or underestimate the values. In Cuba, where the facial pattern of the population differs from the ideal for this method, it has been highly used, but there are very few studies where the reliability or accuracy of the predictions of the same is validated. Therefore, the objective of this research is to determine the applicability of the Tanaka-Johnston method for estimating the mesiodistal diameter of canines and premolars in patients aged 12-18 years. A descriptive and cross-cutting study was conducted from June 2019 to January 2020 with a population of 140 patients of both sexes between 12 and 18 years of age from Cuba. Measurements were made of the mesiodistal widths of the lower incisors, all canines, and premolars. Frequency distributions were made to the variables studied and the results were presented in statistical tables. The t-Student statistical test was used to verify significant differences. The main results obtained were that the Tanaka-Johnston method tends to overestimate the values for the female sex and underestimate them for the male, both between 0.2 and 0.3 mm, but this difference is not significant. It is concluded that the Tanaka-Johnston method can be applied in the population studied for the prediction of the mesiodistal width of unerupted canines and premolars.

scholarly journals Prescribing Institutions Without Ideal Theory

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wiens
Keyword(s):  
Failure Analysis ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Ideal Theory ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Institutional Failure ◽  
Causal Processes ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Principles Of Justice ◽  
Basic Intuition ◽  
The Ideal

It is conventional wisdom among political philosophers that ideal principles of justice must guide our attempts to design institutions to avert actual injustice. Call this the ideal guidance approach. I argue that this view is misguided— ideal principles of justice are not appropriate "guiding principles" that actual institutions must aim to realize, even if only approximately. Fortunately, the conventional wisdom is also avoidable. In this paper, I develop an alternative approach to institutional design, which I call institutional failure analysis. The basic intuition of this approach is that our moral assessment of institutional proposals is most effective when we proceed from a detailed understanding of the causal processes generating problematic social outcomes. Failure analysis takes the institutional primary design task to be obviating or averting institutional failures. Consequently, failure analysis enables theorists to prescribe more effective solutions to actual injustice because its focuses on understanding the injustice, rather than specifying an ideal of justice.

scholarly journals Measurement of the proton scalar polarizabilities at MAMI

2019 ◽  
Vol 199 ◽  
pp. 05020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edoardo Mornacchi
Keyword(s):  
Cross Section ◽  
High Precision Measurement ◽  
Unpolarized Cross Section ◽  
Beam Asymmetry ◽  
Fundamental Properties ◽  
Structure And Dynamics ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Using Data ◽  
First Time ◽  
Data Group

The electric (αE1) and magnetic (βM1) scalar polarizabilities describe the response of the nucleon to an applied electric or magnetic field. They are not only fundamental properties related to the internal structure and dynamics of the nucleon, but they are important also in other areas of physics, such as atomic structure. The values of αE1 and βM1 quoted by the Particle Data Group were determined using data on the unpolarized differential cross-section of the Compton scattering $\gamma p \to \gamma p$. The measurement of the beam asymmetry Σ3, provides an alternative approach to the extraction of the scalar polarizabilities, with different sensitivity and systematics compared to the unpolarized crosssection. This asymmetry was measured recently for the first time below the pion photoproduction threshold by the A2 Collaboration with the Crystal Ball/TAPS experiment at MAMI (Mainz, Germany). A new high precision measurement of both a unpolarized cross-section and beam asymmetry Σ3a is ongoing at MAMI and the polarizabilities αE1 and βM1 will be extracted with unprecedented precision.

scholarly journals AMARTYA SEN’S CRITIQUE OF THE RAWLSIAN THEORY OF JUSTICE: AN ANALYSIS

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 10-20
Author(s):  
Dr. Partha Protim Borthakur
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Analytical Methods ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
The Political ◽  
Theory Of Justice ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Theories Of Justice ◽  
Secondary All ◽  
The Ideal

Purpose: The present paper tries to cross-examine Sen’s notion of justice and to find a midway between the ideal and non-ideal theorizing of justice. Besides, searching for reconciliation between Rawls and Sen, the present paper also attempts to go beyond Sen, while critically engaging with his idea of justice. Methodology: This study has applied qualitative method; however, both the historical and analytical methods are employed for reaching out the conclusive findings of the study. As the sources of this paper are basically secondary, all necessary and relevant materials are collected from a range of related books, articles, journals, newspapers, and reports of various seminars and conferences that fall within the domain of the study area. Main Findings: While analyzing Sen’s critique of Rawlsian theory, the study finds that the Rawlsian theory cannot be discarded only as a theory that formulates ideal justice and is not redundant. The study while revisiting Sen’s notion finds that there is also a possibility of reconciliation between ideal and non-ideal theorizing of justice. Application: This study will be useful in understanding the debate between ideal versus non-ideal theories of justice that has lately been haunting the political philosophy. Besides, it will also be useful in searching for reconciliation between Rawls’ and Sen’s paradigms of justice and thereby offering a conception of justice that is reasonable and true in assessing issues of justice in the present scenario. Novelty/ Originality: Revisiting Sen’s notion of justice and analyzing such dimensions of politics, the study will benefit the reader to evaluate the debate between ideal versus non-ideal theorizing of justice. Moreover, by searching for a possibility between Rawls and Sen, the study will contribute towards developing an alternative approach and understanding of justice.

Soft Evaluation

2011 ◽  
pp. 136-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ala Abu-Samaha
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Soft Systems Methodology ◽  
It Projects ◽  
Systems Methodology ◽  
Soft Systems ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Measurement Of Success ◽  
The Right ◽  
Measures Of Performance

In this chapter, the author describes an alternative approach to evaluating Information Technology (IT) projects, which involves developing a holistic view of IT interventions. The main methodological problem in evaluating any intervention is to choose the right indicators for the measurement of success or lack of it. These indicators will obviously be linked to the aims but will also be relevant to the objectives chosen to achieve these aims. Acknowledging the difficulty of choosing appropriate measures of performance, the author proposes the use of Soft Evaluation. The approach used brings together formal work in evaluation with a qualitative process of investigation based on Soft Systems Methodology in order to allow us to make judgements about the outcomes of an implementation in a systemic manner and from a number of different viewpoints or perspectives.

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