3,377 research outputs found
Are forecasting models usable for policy analysis?
In this article, Christopher A. Sims argues the answer to his title is yes. Sims explains that any decisionmaking model must incorporate some identifying assumptions to enable it to forecast the effects of alternative decisions. He argues that although all identifying assumptions in econometric policymaking models are of uncertain validity, those incorporated in vector autoregression (VAR) forecasting models have the advantage of allowing their uncertainty to be measured. Sims concludes by demonstrating a method for identifying a small macroeconomic VAR model so that it can be used to analyze monetary policyForecasting ; Economic policy
Facing the Future: the Changing Shape of Academic Skills Support at Bournemouth University
This paper explores the potential impact of changes to higher education in England on student expectations, engagement, lifestyles and diversity, and outlines implications for the development of digital literacy within academic skills support at Bournemouth University (BU). We will investigate how tackling resource constraints with organisational change can also enable efficient, centralised provision of support materials that utilise networks to overcome the risk of fragmented support for digital literacy. We will also look at how changing delivery modes for support can accommodate changing student lifestyles whilst tackling a weakness of centralised support for digital literacy: that it can become detached from the student’s subject-focused academic practice. Finally we will explore how involving students in developing support can help us to face changes to student expectations and engagement whilst ensuring that materials are authentic and speak to learners in their own voice
A short investigation of the effect of an energy harvesting backpack on the human gait
Exploiting human motion for the purpose of energy harvesting has been a popular idea for some time. Many of the approaches proposed can be uncomfortable or they impose a significant burden on the person's gait. In the current paper a hardware in-the-loop simulator of an energy harvesting backpack is employed in order to investigate the effect of a suspended-load backpack on the human gait. The idea is based on the energy produced by a suspended-load which moves vertically on a backpack while a person walks. The energy created from such a linear system can be maximised when it resonates with the walking frequency of the person. However, such a configuration can also cause great forces to be applied on the back of the user. The system which is presented here consists of a mass attached on a rucksack, which is controlled by a motor in order to simulate the suspended-load backpack. The advantage of this setup is the ability to test different settings, regarding the spring stiffness or the damping coefficient, of the backpack harvester, and study their effect on the energy harvesting potential, as well as on the human gait. The present contribution describes the preliminary results and analysis of the testing of the system with the help of nine male volunteers who carried it on a treadmill
sj-docx-1-pib-10.1177_09544054211037493 – Supplemental material for Dynamic modelling of a servo self-pierce riveting (SPR) process
Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-pib-10.1177_09544054211037493 for Dynamic modelling of a servo self-pierce riveting (SPR) process by Daniel Tang, Mike Evans, Paul Briskham, Luca Susmel and Neil Sims in Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture</p
Dissimilarity is used as evidence of category membership in multidimensional perceptual categorization: a test of the similarity-dissimilarity generalized context model
In exemplar models of categorization, the similarity between an exemplar and category members constitutes evidence that the exemplar belongs to the category. We test the possibility that the dissimilarity to members of competing categories also contributes to this evidence. Data were collected from two 2-dimensional perceptual categorization experiments, one with lines varying in orientation and length and the other with coloured patches varying in saturation and brightness. Model fits of the similarity-dissimilarity generalized context model were used to compare a model where only similarity was used with a model where both similarity and dissimilarity were used. For the majority of participants the similarity-dissimilarity model provided both a significantly better fit and better generalization, suggesting that people do also use dissimilarity as evidence
Maximizing Research Impact Through Institutional and National Open-Access Self-Archiving Mandates
No research institution can afford all the journals its researchers may need, so all articles are losing research impact (usage and citations). Articles made “Open Access,” (OA) by self-archiving them on the web are cited twice as much, but only 15% of articles are being spontaneously self-archived. The only institutions approaching 100% self-archiving are those that mandate it. Surveys show that 95% of authors will comply with a self-archiving mandate; the actual expe-rience of institutions with mandates has confirmed this. What institutions and funders need to mandate is that (1) immediately upon acceptance for publication, (2) the author’s final draft must be (3) deposited into the Institutional Repository. Only the depositing needs to be mandated; set-ting access privileges to the full-text as either OA or Restricted Access (RA) can be left up to the author. For articles published in the 93% of journals that have already endorsed self-archiving, access can be set as OA immediately; for the remaining 7%, authors can email the eprint in re-sponse to individual email requests automatically forwarded by the Repository
Methadone maintenance outcome as a function of detoxification phobia
tag=1 data=Methadone maintenance outcome as a function of detoxification phobia.
tag=2 data=Milby, Jesse B.%Hohmann, Ann A.%Gentile, Mary%Huggins, Norman%Sims, Mary Kaye%McLellan, Thomas%Woody, George%Haas, Neil
tag=3 data=American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol 151 no. 7, p. 1031-1037.
tag=6 data=^d ^mJuly ^y1994
tag=8 data=DRUGS
tag=9 data=METHADONE
tag=15 data=JO
The design of a myoelectrically controlled hand with multiple actuators for five-year old children
Myoelectric prosthetics are complex functional devices that can improve significantly a person’s quality of life. This paper describes the development of a myoelectrically controlled prosthetic hand for a five-year old child. A key consideration in the design of upper-body prostheses is to use information from studies highlighting the main causes of rejection. These studies emphasize that in order to reduce rejection, it is necessary to include the opinions of the users in the design process. Additional constraints are introduced due to the small size and mass of a five-year old child’s hand compared to that of an adult. The main points of the final design are detailed, including the areas where these constraints were overcome. Modularity was used throughout the design; it allows the hand to be configured for the individual user, and also helps to reduce the potential cost of the hand. The final design has three actuators controlled individually through the use of a master-slave microchip combination. This design has a final mass of 105.8g and produces a pinching force of 4.35 N
Gaiman, Neil
A brief description of the main characteristics of the works for children of the British author Neil Gaiman, the themes he privileges in his stories, the way he portrays children and the relationship between children and adults
Jere Nash Interview with Neil McMillen (Part 1 of 2)
Interview conducted by author Jere Nash with University of Southern Mississippi history professor Neil R. McMillen in the process of writing Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976-2006. Topics dicussed include race and politics in Mississippi; southern historians including Dewey Grantham, C. Vann Woodward, Numan V. Bartley, John Boles; segregation in Mississippi and resistance to change; genesis of McMillin\u27s book Dark Journey; fifteenth Freedom Summer reunion at Millsaps and Tougaloo; John Ditmer; contributing to A History of Mississippi edited by Richard Aubrey McLemore and reaction by the public and University of Southern Mississippi officials; hiring of African American faculty at USM; M.M. Roberts; and William D. McCain
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