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Constructing piecewise quadratic Lyapunov functions with linear programming for continuous-time switched and conewise linear systems
No full textIn this paper, we present a method for constructing continuous piecewise quadratic (CPQ) Lyapunov functions for continuous time switched and conewise linear systems using linear programming (LP). Key in our approach is the formulation of effective sufficient conditions for the copositivity of matrices via diagonal dominance. This formulation consists of linear constraints and can be expressed as an LP. It is shown that the sufficient conditions are also necessary conditions for the existence of a Lyapunov function, given a sufficiently refined CPQ function. We provide an in-depth comparison between our new method and other computational methods in the literature, and provide extensive numerical experiments on various switched and conewise linear systems. In particular, we show that the proposed method is the most accurate of the LP-based methods for constructing Lyapunov functions and is a numerically competitive alternative to LMI-based methods.</p
Precision measurement of neutrino oscillation parameters with 10 years of data from the NOvA experiment
No full textThis Letter reports measurements of muon-neutrino disappearance and electron-neutrino appearance and the corresponding antineutrino processes between the two NOvA detectors in the NuMI neutrino beam. These measurements use a dataset with double the neutrino mode beam exposure that was previously analyzed, along with improved simulation and analysis techniques. A joint fit to these samples in the three-flavor paradigm results in the most precise single-experiment constraint on the atmospheric neutrino mass splitting, Δm322=2.431-0.034+0.036(-2.479-0.036+0.036)×10-3 eV2 if the mass ordering is normal (inverted). In both orderings, a region close to maximal mixing with sin2θ23=0.55-0.06+0.02 is preferred. The NOvA data show a mild preference for the normal mass ordering with a Bayes factor of 2.4 (corresponding to 70% of the posterior probability), indicating that the normal ordering is 2.4 times more probable than the inverted ordering. When incorporating a 2D Δm322-sin22θ13 constraint based on Daya Bay data, this preference strengthens to a Bayes factor of 6.6 (87%).</p
The impact of media coverage of sexual violence on women’s work decisions in rural Bangladesh
No full textPerceived fear of sexual violence can negatively impact women’s labour supply decisions, especially in cultures that value female chastity and stigmatise victims. We show that a one-standard-deviation increase in media reports of subdistrict-level sexual assaults in rural Bangladesh is associated with a 3.8 to 4.3% decline in women’s paid employment. Women reduce self-employment activities in favour of unpaid labour, which has implications for their income, consumption, and autonomy. Evidence suggests that these results may be driven by an increase in fear of potential victimisation. Media reports of sexual assaults by alleged perpetrators holding positions of power (politicians and government officials) and groups drive the estimated association. The association is also higher for conservative households. Besides their labour supply, females also respond by taking more safety precautions.</p
Exploration of the formation and impact of non-cognitive skills : aspirations and non-cognitive skills evidence from Ethiopia and Indonesia
No full textThe three chapters of this thesis explore the psychological aspects of poverty by examining the formation and the impact of aspirations and socioemotional skills in the context of developing countries.In Chapter One, I explore whether having a higher level of aspirations builds resilience against economic shocks by using a triple differences-in-differences strategy. Focusing on the rural farmer households in Ethiopia, I investigate whether higher levels of aspirations play a role in maintaining households’ welfare and impact their coping mechanisms following a drought shock. I find that whilst higher aspirations aid in maintaining the level of household expenditure, this comes at the cost of children’s schooling as they spend more time conducting household chores with strong heterogeneity across wealth groups.Chapter Two examines the relationship between socioemotional skills and aspirations formation using evidence from over 50,000 students in Indonesia. The study explores the direct and indirect impacts of a socioemotional skills intervention on aspirations. Whilst the intent-to-treat (ITT) effect of the randomised controlled trial (RCT) showed no direct effect on aspirations, we observe some indirect effect of the RCT on aspirations through mediation analysis: the intervention raised aspirations indirectly by strengthening certain socioemotional skills such as learning orientation. Thus, although the RCT did not directly impact aspirations (perhaps due to compliance issues), the results suggest that successful socioemotional skills intervention have the capacity to also raise aspirations.Chapter Three explores the impact of a supplementary feeding program (PMT) that was conducted in Indonesia between 1998 and 2000 as a response to the Asian Financial Crisis on long-term outcomes including cognitive and non-cognitive skills using the panel dataset from the Indonesian Family Life Survey. Using communitylevel data on when PMT was available, I estimate the intent-to-treat effect of the PMT on the long-term outcomes 15 years after the PMT was introduced. The results show limited effects of the nutritional program on non-cognitive skills, (which may be due to the lack of resources and take-up) but showed to improve cognitive skills for those from poorer households.These three chapters break new ground in understanding the psychological aspects of poverty, showing the limitations of large-scale programs in raising aspirations and its importance in new spheres of development, such as climate resilience.</p
Automatic pose estimation in newborn infants: lessons from the Baby Grow study
No full textAdvances in computational techniques—particularly machine learning—have expanded opportunities to analyse early infant motor repertoires, especially in naturalistic settings. The aim of this study was to evaluate the strengths, limitations, and performance of state-of-the-art pose estimation algorithms in challenging, home-based video conditions. We analysed 22 videos recorded by parents using mobile phones from eight newborns in the Baby Grow study, at 2, 4, and 8 weeks of age. The videos varied in clothing (common onesie, babygrow, vest), background (grey, black, coloured), lighting (with/without shadows), and camera angles (top, front, bottom). From these, 2,640 frames were extracted and manually annotated to serve as ground truth. We tested demo versions of MediaPipe, OpenPose, PCT, RTMpose, Sapiens, and VitPose, and evaluated performance using object keypoint similarity (OKS), percentage of correct keypoints (PCKh), speed, and accuracy. RTMpose showed the highest overall accuracy, while MediaPipe had the fastest processing speed. However, when balancing speed and accuracy at ratios of 70:30, 50:50, and 30:70, MediaPipe’s speed compensated for its lower accuracy, making it a strong candidate for practical applications. Model performance varied under different environmental conditions, with RTMpose, Sapiens, and VitPose being the most robust. As infant movement research increasingly shifts to real-world environments, selecting appropriate models and ensuring video quality are essential. Our findings show that (1) new models outperform legacy tools like OpenPose, and (2) video context and model selection significantly affect pose estimation accuracy.</p
Doubtful Knowledge: Skepticism and the Birth of Political Economy
No full textNo description supplied</p
Sterba on Divine Commands and Fairness
No full textJames Sterba has recently argued against Divine Command Theory (DCT). Sterba also offers, as a preferable alternative to DCT, a metaethical account which he has developed over a number of years (culminating in Sterba’s 2013 book), which attempts to ground ethics in rationality. Both his case against DCT and his alternative metaethical theory are worth considering, but in this paper I will argue that both fail. This is not of course to say that DCT is either true or the most promising account of metaethics, or that the project of trying to ground ethics on rationality is a dead-end. I do conclude, however, that Sterba’s own unique approach, which involves trying to derive morality from rationality by appeal to a non-question-begging requirement, is doomed to failure, and also that his new arguments against DCT are ineffective.</p
Clinicians’ views and attitudes towards perioperative or surgical risk prediction calculators: a systematic thematic synthesis
No full textBackgroundSurgical-and-Perioperative Risk Prediction Calculators (SPRPCs) help predict patients’ safety outcomes for proposed surgical procedures. These evidence-based assessments can inform shared decision-making between patients and providers – improving patient safety, satisfaction and care. However, evidence persistently indicates low use of SPRPCs in surgical care. We reviewed qualitative literature to explore surgeons’ and anaesthetists’ attitudes and perceptions of features of SPRPCs, facilitators, barriers and complexity influencing their adoption.MethodA systematic literature search was performed across three bibliographic databases. A two-stage screening process was performed using pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Joanna Biggs Institute (JBI) checklist was used to critically assess quality. Qualitative data from included studies were analysed using thematic synthesis.ResultsFour qualitative and two mixed-methods paper were included, reporting data from 72 clinicians in total. Three studies focused on orthopaedic surgery SPRPCs, two on the Surgical Perioperative Assessment System tool and one on post-anaesthetic care unit hypotension prediction. Six facilitator, and four barrier, themes were identified. SPRPCs were seen as valuable in lowering patients’ risk of harm and supporting: informed consent discussions, declining surgery, and staff communication. These benefits were contingent on SPRPCs being transparent, accurate and integrated with care pathways. Conversely, some argued SPRPCs do not change clinical decisions, pose a threat to autonomy and patient-centred care and open the clinician to legal liability.ConclusionsSPRPCs are underutilised when developed without consideration of clinicians’ needs and workflow. Findings highlight the importance of clinicians’ involvement in SPRPC design. Further research would support improvements in their clinical adoption.</p
Attention and physiological responses to task-irrelevant sounds in misophonia
No full textNo description supplied</p
Exploring the heterogeneous impacts of Indonesia’s conditional cash transfer scheme (PKH) on maternal health care utilisation using instrumental causal forests
No full textThis paper uses instrumental causal forests, a novel machine learning method, to explore the treatment effect heterogeneity of Indonesia’s conditional cash transfer scheme on maternal health care utilisation. Using randomised programme assignment as an instrument for enrollment in the scheme, we estimate conditional local average treatment effects for four key outcomes: good assisted delivery, delivery in a health care facility, pre-natal visits, and post-natal visits. We find significant treatment effect heterogeneity by supply-side characteristics, even though supply-side readiness was taken into account during programme development. Mothers in areas with more doctors, nurses, and delivery assistants were more likely to benefit from the programme, in terms of increased rates of good assisted delivery outcome. We also find large differences in benefits according to indicators of household poverty and survey wave, reflecting the possible impact of changes in programme design in its later years. The impact on post-natal visits in 2013 displayed the largest heterogeneity among all outcomes, with some women
less
likely to attend post-natal check-ups after receiving the cash transfer in the long term.</p