Using environmental predictive settlement choice models as input data for settlement pattern simulations

Scientific Conference (2020)

Inductive models of archaeological site locations have been successfully used for predicting archaeological potential of places in landscapes. These models are mostly based on currently observable ... [more ▼]

Inductive models of archaeological site locations have been successfully used for predicting archaeological potential of places in landscapes. These models are mostly based on currently observable environmental information. To reduce environmental determinism and increase both explanatory and predictive power several variables like visibility of locations have been interpreted as social factors of settlement locations. In the current paper we explore the possibilities of using inductive environmental models as input to simulation models. Although similar to models created for predictive purposes they need to be designed with different considerations. We present a study where we use inductive models of archaeological site locations to describe the spatial configuration of space environmentally suitable for residence. To do so we develop a conceptual agent-based model of residential choice based on discrete choice theory and theories of residential choice used in multiple fields from archaeology to contemporary urban studies. We discuss the role of environmental influences as perceived in archaeological data and how they relate to social influences and historical processes leading to emergence of settlement patterns. We argue that spatial structures of the inductive models of specific settlement patterns can inform us about the causal processes behind them when experimented with agent-based simulations. We present case study using inductive models of settlement locations from different periods of the Stone Age of Estonia. The differences of inductive settlement choice models and the ways of comparing them are discussed. The spatial configurations of the models of economic modes have different structures. For example region where settlements of water connected hunter-gatherers can be found has a different spatial structure than that of early agrarian communities. Those differences give insights on socioeconomic histories and can be used in explaining settlement pattern formation processes. [less ▲]

Using FileMaker Pro to get the most from your corpus data

Scientific Conference (2014, June 21)

This presentation provides a basic introduction to the database programme FileMaker Pro. I will use examples from my research for which I used Corpus Query Language in Sketch Engine to retrieve importance ... [more ▼]

This presentation provides a basic introduction to the database programme FileMaker Pro. I will use examples from my research for which I used Corpus Query Language in Sketch Engine to retrieve importance markers from BASE lectures which I then stored and annotated with FileMaker Pro. Although this programme is mainly used by businesses and so probably less familiar to corpus researchers than, for example, Access, it offers many features which greatly facilitate and speed up the processing of corpus data for research or materials development. Corpus concordances can be imported into a FileMaker database, where you can give them multiple tags and quickly and easily generate quantified instances from your corpus using any tag or a combination of tags. For example, the programme allowed me to classify concordances of importance markers into lexicogrammatical patterns, interactive and textual orientation types, component parts (e.g. verbs, Subjects), discipline, study level, co-occurring discourse markers etc. In this way, it took only a few seconds to generate and quantify instances of importance markers which, for instance, have the pattern ‘V clause’, contain ‘remember’ and co-occur with the discourse marker ‘but’. The programme thus allows you to examine and quantify the same data in a variety of ways and to retrieve only those instances you are interested in. This has considerable potential for facilitating the retrieval of corpus evidence for materials design and research. [less ▲]

Using Game Theory to configure P2P SIP

in Lecture Notes in Computer Science (2009)

Using global team science to identify genetic parkinson's disease worldwide

in Annals of Neurology (2019)

Large multicenter approaches are necessary to systematically and uniformly characterize patients with genetic neurologic conditions and to eventually establish sizable clinical trial-ready cohorts.

Using GPS and Gravity to Infer Ice Mass Changes in Greenland

in EOS (2000), 81(37), 421-427

Using Heterogeneous Multilevel Swarms of UAVs and High-Level Data Fusion to Support Situation Management in Surveillance Scenarios

in 2016 IEEE International Conference on Multisensor Fusion and Integration for Intelligent Systems, MFI 2016 (2016, September 19)

The development and usage of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) quickly increased in the last decades, mainly for military purposes. This technology is also now of high interest in non-military contexts like ... [more ▼]

The development and usage of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) quickly increased in the last decades, mainly for military purposes. This technology is also now of high interest in non-military contexts like logistics, environmental studies and different areas of civil protection. While the technology for operating a single UAV is rather mature, additional efforts are still necessary for using UAVs in fleets (or swarms). The Aid to SItuation Management based on MUltimodal, MUltiUAVs, MUltilevel acquisition Techniques (ASIMUT) project which is supported by the European Defence Agency (EDA) aims at investigating and demonstrating dedicated surveillance services based on fleets of UAVs. The aim is to enhance the situation awareness of an operator and to decrease his workload by providing support for the detection of threats based on multi-sensor multi-source data fusion. The operator is also supported by the combination of information delivered by the heterogeneous swarms of UAVs and by additional information extracted from intelligence databases. As a result, a distributed surveillance system increasing detection, high-level data fusion capabilities and UAV autonomy is proposed. [less ▲]

Using High-Content Screening to Generate Single-Cell Gene-Corrected Patient-Derived iPS Clones Reveals Excess Alpha-Synuclein with Familial Parkinson's Disease Point Mutation A30P.

in Cells (2020), 9(9),

The generation of isogenic induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines using CRISPR-Cas9 technology is a technically challenging, time-consuming process with variable efficiency. Here we use fluorescence ... [more ▼]

The generation of isogenic induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines using CRISPR-Cas9 technology is a technically challenging, time-consuming process with variable efficiency. Here we use fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) to sort biallelic CRISPR-Cas9 edited single-cell iPSC clones into high-throughput 96-well microtiter plates. We used high-content screening (HCS) technology and generated an in-house developed algorithm to select the correctly edited isogenic clones for continued expansion and validation. In our model we have gene-corrected the iPSCs of a Parkinson's disease (PD) patient carrying the autosomal dominantly inherited heterozygous c.88G>C mutation in the SNCA gene, which leads to the pathogenic p.A30P form of the alpha-synuclein protein. Undertaking a PCR restriction-digest mediated clonal selection strategy prior to sequencing, we were able to post-sort validate each isogenic clone using a quadruple screening strategy prior to generating footprint-free isogenic iPSC lines, retaining a normal molecular karyotype, pluripotency and three germ-layer differentiation potential. Directed differentiation into midbrain dopaminergic neurons revealed that SNCA expression is reduced in the gene-corrected clones, which was validated by a reduction at the alpha-synuclein protein level. The generation of single-cell isogenic clones facilitates new insights in the role of alpha-synuclein in PD and furthermore is applicable across patient-derived disease models. [less ▲]

Using Hypothetical Vacancies in Factorial Surveys to Study Employers' Hiring Decisions – A Valid Approach?

Presentation (2019, July 18)

Factorial survey experiments are increasingly employed by scholars interested in understanding the general mechanisms underlying employers' hiring decisions in relation to specific applicant ... [more ▼]

Factorial survey experiments are increasingly employed by scholars interested in understanding the general mechanisms underlying employers' hiring decisions in relation to specific applicant characteristics. Usually, a sample of human resource professionals is asked to rate the hiring chances of hypothetical applicants for a hypothetical job. However, using hypothetical job descriptions for the evaluation of applicants in factorial surveys may reduce the internal and external validity of the results. For example, employers might apply different evaluation standards when assessing the quality of applicant profiles for a hypothetical job (put less/more weight on certain characteristics) because it is difficult to put themselves in the actual hiring situation – affecting the internal validity. In this paper, we contextualize prior factorial survey experiments by examining whether there is a difference in employers' hiring intentions when confronted with real versus hypothetical hiring problems. Despite the growing number of factorial surveys and the potential implications for the validity of these data, this question has been widely neglected so far. We employ a factorial survey experiment among recruiters in different occupational sectors in Luxembourg. Recruiters evaluate the hiring chances of several profiles of hypothetical applicants with varying characteristics either referring to a real vacancy in their company or to a hypothetical (but similar) job type. Preliminary findings suggest no differences in employers hiring decisions based on the type of evaluation used in the factorial survey. The results partly contradict previous findings from pretest data which showed significant differences between the average hiring chances in the two groups. By examining the internal validity of presenting hypothetical vacancies, this study contributes to methodological research on factorial surveys as well as to the literature studying employers' hiring decisions. [less ▲]

Using interactive items in arithmetic problems to help Grade 3 students shift from intuitive to arithmetic-based strategies and create mental representation.

Poster (2016, July 29)

In 2014, 32% of Grade 3 students in fundamental schools in Luxembourg failed to attain the minimum required skill level in mathematics; rising from 30% of students in 2015, as measured by the Ep.Stan ... [more ▼]

In 2014, 32% of Grade 3 students in fundamental schools in Luxembourg failed to attain the minimum required skill level in mathematics; rising from 30% of students in 2015, as measured by the Ep.Stan examination, a standardized assessment of students at national level. These results have been rather stable since 2011, suggesting that almost 1 in 3 students in grade 3 do not possess the mathematical skills they would need to successfully progress in school. Most students in this bottom tier of performance in mathematics are also found to have low scores in reading skills in the German language (these students also tend to be recent arrivals with a low socio-economic profile) (Martin et al 2014), which as we will see has a compounding effect on their mathematics performance. At the beginning of grade 3 in the fundamental schools in Luxembourg, students begin to delve into the skills needed to solve arithmetic wording problems. That students encounter more barriers to perform highly in the resolution of arithmetic wording problems than in those problems presented in a numeric form is however a well-known fact (Reusser 1990). The needed skills are not only mathematical, but well-developed skills in reading the language are needed, to solve an arithmetic wording problem (LeBlanc & Weber-Russel 1996). Both conditions do not allow the low performing students, who also perform less well in Ep.Stan, to succeed. The purpose of this PhD study will be to measure the impact on the test results from Ep. Stan of the grade 3 students by letting students learn on wording problems that require intuitive strategies at first, up to those needing a more arithmetic strategy through interactive animated items in the digital learning environment MathemaTIC. [less ▲]

Using judge biographies together with the CJEU's archives

Presentation (2020, February 20)