30472 research outputs found
Sort by
Fostering intergenerational harmony: can good quality contact between older and younger employees reduce workplace conflict?
Get PDFThis study examines how workplace conflict between multi-generational co-workers arises and can be reduced. Utilizing social categorization and intergroup contact theories, we hypothesized that good quality contact between older and younger employees decreases task and relationship conflict by reducing perceived age discrimination (PAD), above and beyond trust as a typical social exchange mechanism prevalent in relationships between co-workers. Furthermore, we predicted that task interdependence would exacerbate the relationships between PAD with task and relationship conflict. We applied structural equation modelling using a sample of 567 older and younger British employees to test our hypotheses while controlling for trust as an alternative mechanism. In line with our predictions, we found that good quality contact between older and younger employees reduced employees' PAD, which in turn reduced task conflict and relationship conflict (above and beyond trust as a control mechanism). The indirect effects of intergroup con-tact on workplace conflict via PAD were further enhanced when cross-age co-workers were highly interdependent in conducting their work tasks. Our findings suggest that organizations should create practices to improve cross-age contact in the workplace
How important are good method names in neural code generation? A model robustness perspective
Get PDFPre-trained code generation models (PCGMs) have been widely applied in neural code generation, which can generate executable code from functional descriptions in natural languages, possibly together with signatures. Despite substantial performance improvement of PCGMs, the role of method names in neural code generation has not been thoroughly investigated. In this article, we study and demonstrate the potential of benefiting from method names to enhance the performance of PCGMs from a model robustness perspective. Specifically, we propose a novel approach, named neuRAl coDe generAtor Robustifier (RADAR). RADAR consists of two components: RADAR-Attack and RADAR-Defense. The former attacks a PCGM by generating adversarial method names as part of the input, which are semantic and visual similar to the original input but may trick the PCGM to generate completely unrelated code snippets. As a countermeasure to such attacks, RADAR-Defense synthesizes a new method name from the functional description and supplies it to the PCGM. Evaluation results show that RADAR-Attack can reduce the CodeBLEU of generated code by 19.72% to 38.74% in three state-of-the-art PCGMs (i.e., CodeGPT, PLBART, and CodeT5) in the fine-tuning code generation task and reduce the Pass@1 of generated code by 32.28% to 44.42% in three state-of-the-art PCGMs (i.e., Replit, CodeGen, and CodeT5+) in the zero-shot code generation task. Moreover, RADAR-Defense is able to reinstate the performance of PCGMs with synthesized method names. These results highlight the importance of good method names in neural code generation and implicate the benefits of studying model robustness in software engineering
Judgements of co-identification
Get PDFA popular way for irrealists to explain co-identification—thinking and talking ‘about the same thing’ when there is no such thing—is by appeal to causal, historical or informational chains, networks or practices. Recently, however, this approach has come under attack by philosophers who contend that it cannot provide necessary and/or sufficient conditions for co-identification. In this paper I defend the approach against these objections. My claim is not that the appeal to such practices can provide necessary and sufficient conditions for co-identification, but rather that it is a mistake to seek these in the first place
Multi-scale anisotropy in NE China: evidence for localized mantle upwelling
Get PDFIt is commonly proposed that the subduction of the Pacific plate has been responsible for widespread Holocene intraplate volcanism across NE China and the Korean Peninsula. Yet, how this process drives volcanism and even if it plays a critical role remains a topic of vigorous debate. In this study, using seismic data from four networks across NE China and northern Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), we analyze shear wave splitting in converted P to S-waves at the Moho (Pms), S-waves from the subducted slab interface (local S), and SKS phases. The Pms phases show a relatively weak crustal anisotropy (<0.25 s), with fast polarization directions aligned sub-parallel to major tectonic features. For the local S and SKS phases, fast polarization directions show significant lateral variations. We further perform a quantitative inversion to show that the depth of the anisotropy is ~150 km, thus driven by flow within the asthenosphere associated with Pacific subduction. However, the presence of many null SKS splitting phases, together with scattered local S anisotropy across a wide range of incidence angles suggests a localized region of vertical flow directly beneath Changbaishan volcano. Such patterns correspond well to regional upper-mantle seismic velocity structure, and suggest that a localized upwelling with a relatively deep origin drives volcanism in the Changbaishan region. Furthermore, we infer that this mantle upwelling is deflected to the SW beneath Changbaishan and spreads asymmetrically at the base of the lithosphere, possibly because of the long history of volcanism in the region
The preparatory activation of guidance templates for visual search and of target templates in non-search tasks
Get PDFRepresentations of task-relevant object attributes (attentional templates) control the adaptive selectivity of visual processing. Previous studies have demonstrated that templates involved in the guidance of attention during visual search are activated in a preparatory fashion prior to the arrival of visual search displays. The current study investigated whether such proactive mechanisms are also triggered in non-search tasks, where attentional templates do not mediate the guidance of attention towards targets amongst distractors but are still necessary for subsequent target recognition processes. Participants either searched for colour-defined targets among multiple distractors or performed two other non-search tasks where imperative stimuli appeared without competing distractors (a colour-based Go / NoGo task, and a shape discrimination task where target colour was constant and could thus be ignored). Preparatory activation of colour-selective templates was tracked by measuring N2pc components (markers of attention allocation) to task-irrelevant colour singleton probes flashed every 200 ms during the interval between target displays. As expected, N2pcs were triggered by target-coloured probes in the search task, indicating that a corresponding guidance template was triggered proactively. Critically, clear probe N2pcs were also observed in the Go / NoGo task, and even in the shape discrimination task in an attenuated fashion. These findings demonstrate that the preparatory activation of feature-selective attentional task settings is not uniquely associated with the guidance of visual search but is also present in other types of visual selection tasks where guidance is not required
Opposite size illusions for inverted faces and letters
Get PDFWords are the primary means by which we communicate meaning and ideas, while faces provide important social cues. Studying visual illusions involving faces and words can elucidate the hierarchical processing of information as different regions of the brain are specialised for face recognition and word processing. A size illusion has previously been demonstrated for faces, whereby an inverted face is perceived as larger than the same stimulus upright. Here, two experiments replicate the face size illusion, and investigate whether the illusion is also present for individual letters (Experiment 1), and visual words and pseudowords (Experiment 2). Results confirm a robust size Illusion for faces. Letters, words and pseudowords and unfamiliar letters all show a reverse size illusion, as we previously demonstrated for human bodies. Overall, results indicate the illusion occurs in early perceptual stages upstream of semantic processing. Results are consistent with the idea of a general-purpose mechanism that encodes curvilinear shapes found in both scripts and our environment. Word and face perception rely on specialised, independent cognitive processes. The underestimation of the size of upright stimuli is specific to faces. Opposite size illusions may reflect differences in how size information is encoded and represented in stimulus-specialised neural networks, resulting in contrasting perceptual effects. Though words and faces differ visually, there is both symmetry and asymmetry in how the brain ‘reads’ them
Enhancing test reuse with GUI events deduplication and adaptive semantic matching
No full textDevelopers typically employ Graphical User Interface (GUI) testing to ensure the expected behavior of applications, but they face the challenge of designing appropriate test cases with functional features. Recently, researchers have proposed several test reuse methods based on semantic matching to alleviate the burden. However, the limited text semantic information and semantic matching rules between events severely limit the existing test reuse methods. In this paper, we propose TREADROID (Test Reuse EnhAncer for anDROID applications), a framework that combines GUI events deduplication with the adaptive semantic matching strategy to enhance the usability of the reused tests. Considering the connection between widget attribute texts, we categorize attributes and measure widget similarity based on the same corresponding attributes as well as across attributes in the same group. In addition, we propose a deduplication strategy for GUI events to reduce the redundancy caused by reusing a test with unique functionality. To further bridge the semantic gap, we design a two-stage adaptive matching strategy to search for the target test with functionality closer to that of the source test. Experimental evaluation against the baseline methods on 25 applications demonstrates that: (i) the adaptive semantic matching strategy overall improves the performance of widget mapping; (ii) GUI events deduplication dramatically increases the precision of events on average, even reaching 100% for multiple tests; (iii) TREADROID can significantly reduce the manual effort of creating tests for similar applications
The end of which war? Uncomfortable legal and historical comparisons and diagnoses
No full textThis chapter, written from a legal and historical perspective, contains the following. First, since the war started in 2014 with the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia, some of the complex issues surrounding the history and fate of the peninsula are dissected. Second, an international law perspective is explored. Third, since Kant is so often presented as delusionary, his excoriation of British
colonialism is referred to; he would write the same for Russian colonialism. Fourth, it is shown that Putin’s own mind-set and ideology are crucial to the decision carried out on 24 February 2022. Fifth, in considering Russia’s relations with and attitudes to Ukraine over centuries, there is much to be learnt from an
examination of England’s, then Britain’s, bloody relations with Ireland
Petitions and petitioning in Europe and North America: from the late medieval period to the present
Get PDFBook synopsis: Throughout history, across very different types of state and society, petitions and petitioning have been ubiquitous practices and the interaction between petitioners and authority has been a crucial dynamic in exercising and contesting power. Consolidating and advancing a rapidly expanding field of research across history, law, and the social sciences, Petitions and Petitioning in Europe and North America is the first study of these venerable practices from their development in the late medieval period to the emergence of e-petitions in the twenty-first century. With a broad focus on Europe and North America, this ambitious volume breaks new ground by examining the concept, history, and practice of petitions and petitioning across chronological and geographical boundaries, opening up this important topic using an interdisciplinary approach across the humanities and social sciences
Data sources:
Access Repository Dashboard
Do you manage Birkbeck Institutional Research Online? Access insider analytics, issue reports and manage access to outputs from your repository in the CORE Repository Dashboard!