Fuzzy-Weighted Ranked Set Sampling Method

Sampling method plays an important role for data collection in a scientific research. Ranked set sampling (RSS), which was first introduced by McIntyre, is an advanced method to obtain data for getting information and inference about the population of interest. The main impact of RSS is to use the ranking information of the units in the sampling mechanism. Even though most of theoretical inferences are made based on exact measurement of the variable of interest, the ranking process is done with an expert judgment or concomitant variable (without exact measurement) in practice. Because of the ambiguity in discriminating the rank of one unit with another, ranking the units could not be perfect, and it may cause uncertainty. There are some studies focused on the modeling of this uncertainty with a probabilistic perspective in the literature. In this chapter, another perspective, a fuzzy-set-inspired approach, for the uncertainty in the ranking mechanism of RSS is introduced.

Combining Clustering and Regression Models for Recommending Researchers

Due to the increase in scientific production, especially in recent years, management and decision support challenge also increase significantly. The task of recommending researchers, for example, to a project is not simple. Even with the proper amount of data, ranking and recommending researchers becomes a challenging process. Despite the different methods, what can happen is that the datasets of an institution or research areas do not have a ranking value, that is, a value that can be used to assess the position of a researcher. Even having a necessary dataset, there is no ranking information for these researchers, and this process of obtaining data for training a model can be costly. We propose to use clustering techniques to support the ranking process, reducing the human effort to obtain examples for models training. Then, we used this dataset to train the regression models and Mean Squared Error (MSE) and Normalized Discounted Cumulative Gain (nDCG) to evaluate them. Tests demonstrate that our solution can support the researchers' recommendation process in an adaptive process to the needs of an organization.

Hey, Google, is it what the Holocaust looked like?

By filtering and ranking information, search engines shape how individuals perceive both the present and past events. However, these information curation mechanisms are prone to malperformance that can misinform their users. In this article, we examine how search malperformance can influence representation of traumatic past by investigating image search outputs of six search engines in relation to the Holocaust in English and Russian. Our findings indicate that besides two common themes - commemoration and liberation of camps - there is substantial variation in visual representation of the Holocaust between search engines and languages. We also observe several instances of search malperformance, including content propagating antisemitism and Holocaust denial, misattributed images, and disproportionate visibility of specific Holocaust aspects that might result in its distorted perception by the public.

Does the Food Safety Ranking System Act as a Nudge?

Public health safety is of concern to authorities across the globe, and inspector's food hygiene ranking system has been introduced in many countries. Mandatory disclosure of hygiene ranking information was introduced to empower consumers to make informed decisions regarding foodborne risks. Evaluating available research on public perception and attitude towards such rankings, it seems that the food safety rankings may prompt hygiene compliance by the food business operators and may act as a nudge for consumers to avoid outlets, though with certain caveats. Significant assessment of the scheme remains to be carried out for the ranking system to be an effective nudge for sustainable consumer protection. The public health authorities and organisations need to consider several real-world cognitive and behavioural constraints.

Estimation of ordinal population with multi-observer ranked set samples using ties information

In many surveys, we often deal with situations where measuring the study variable is expensive; however, there are easy-to-measure characteristics which can be used as ranking information to obtain more representative samples from the population. Ranked set sampling is successfully employed in these cases as an alternative to commonly used simple random sampling. When the data is ordinal categorical, it is common to apply the ordinal logistic regression approach to ranked set sampling data for the estimation of parameters. This technique first depends on the information of training data. Besides, one is not capable of using the ranking information in the estimation process. In this paper, we propose a ranked set sampling scheme in which ranking information from multiple sources can be combined and incorporated efficiently into both data collection and estimation. The ranked set sampling data is used for non-parametric and maximum likelihood estimation of ordinal categorical population. Through extensive simulation studies, the performance of estimators is evaluated. The methods are finally applied to analyze bone disorder data and obesity data.

Value aspect in forming the foundations of information culture in preschoolers

The purpose of the research described in the article is to consider the values and imperatives that underlie the formation of the information culture of preschool children. The research methods were the study and analysis of psychological, pedagogical and philosophical literature, forecasting and reflection. Based on the results of the study, the concept of antifragile education was proposed, its methodological basis, principles and rules were determined. The practical significance of the results obtained lies in determining the components of the formation of the value basis of the preschool information culture preconditions: cognitive (the process of cognition of adequate actions in the digital space in the process of self-realization; the ability to select criteria for ranking information; awareness in the field of digital space threats that contradict imperatives and impede self-realization), behavioral with sufficient emotional and volitional reinforcement (to plan and perform a conscious system of actions), motivational and value (a conscious system of actions for self-realization in accordance with imperatives). The study revealed that the issue of personal self-identification in the redundant digital space has not been sufficiently studied. It is necessary to introduce the principles of antifragile education and continue the awareness and development of the components of the formation of the value basis of the preconditions of the information culture of preschoolers. The concept of antifragile education can form the basis of the work of teachers, starting from the level of preschool education, and the spiritual and moral values that form the basis of the concept can be very important for parents of preschoolers. For the first time, a concept is proposed that is designed to form and maintain imperatives in children, allowing for self-identification and spiritual and moral self-realization in the context of the formation of information culture of preschoolers. As the conclusions, the use of digital technologies in education was noted, and at the same time the issue of introducing the principles of antifragile education for the spiritual and creative self-realization of the individual in the new global international digital space of human life is being actualized.

Judgment Post-stratified Assessment Combining Ranking Information from Multiple Sources, with a Field Phenotyping Example

This paper presents novel estimators for a judgment post-stratified (JPS) sample, which combine the ranking information from different methods or rankers. A JPS sample divides the units in the original simple random sample (SRS) into several ranking groups based on the relative positions (ranks) of the units in their individual small comparison sets. Ranks in the comparison sets may be assigned with several different ranking procedures. When considered separately, each ranking method leads to a different JPS sample estimator of the population mean or total. Here we introduce equally or unequally weighted estimators, which combine the ranking information from multiple sources. The unequal weights utilize the standard errors of the individual ranking methods estimators. The weighted estimators provide a substantial improvement over an SRS estimator and a JPS estimator based on a single ranking method. The new estimators are applied to crop establishment phenotypic data from an agricultural field experiment.Supplementary materials accompanying this paper appear online.

Can Grades Move the Big Fish? The Consequences of Receiving Report Cards for Frame-of-Reference Effects on Academic Self-Concept

Equally able students have lower academic self-concepts in high-achieving classes—a phenomenon known as the big fish little pond effect (BFLPE). School grades have been speculated to contribute to the BFLPE as they provide relative class ranking information and increase competition. However, empirical evidence for this assumption is not conclusive as it stems from correlational studies. Our sample comprised 9,104 Swedish elementary school students from the 1970s, a time period in which Swedish municipalities were free to decide to abolish grading. We found the frame-of-reference effect not to differ between nongraded and graded students. In line with the evolutionary basis of the BFLPE, these results suggest that students engage in social comparisons independent of whether or not they are graded.

The Marketing Implications of Up-and-Coming Sports and of Official International Sports Rating Systems

To effectively market the major international sports, those sports are identified along with their special characteristics. Further, widely available official ranking information about the best nations and individuals at those sports are located so that the special features of each ranking system can be creatively used to arouse spectator and sponsor interest. The three primary sources of recognition are identified: the International Olympic Committee, which recognizes 122 sports; SportAccord (also known as GAISF), which recognizes those plus another 21 sports; while Wikipedia lists those plus another 26 widely played sports for a total of 169. The immense popularity of the up-and-coming e-sports (electronic sports) strongly suggest opportunities for marketing. The 108 sports with ratings systems are covered in the sequence—36 object sports, 59 independent sports, 9 combat sports, and 4 mind sports—followed by the special implications that present themselves for effective marketing. Marketing guidance is then presented for the 61 sports without a rating system. Links to all 169 sports are identified, providing a wealth of individual and team information along with the official ratings. References, internet links, and definitions of all key terms are listed at the end of this chapter.