Improving flexibility and efficiency by adding parallelism to genetic algorithms

In this paper we develop a study on several types of parallel genetic algorithms (PGAs). Our motivation is to bring some uniformity to the proposal, comparison, and knowledge exchange among the traditionally opposite kinds of serial and parallel GAs. We comparatively analyze the properties of steady-state, generational, and cellular genetic algorithms. Afterwards, this study is extended to consider a distributed model consisting in a ring of GA islands. The analyzed features are the time complexity, selection pressure, schema processing rates, efficacy in finding an optimum, efficiency, speedup, and resistance to scalability. Besides that, we briefly discuss how the migration policy affects the search. Also, some of the search properties of cellular GAs are investigated. The selected benchmark is a representative subset of problems containing real world difficulties. We often conclude that parallel GAs are numerically better and faster than equivalent sequential GAs. Our aim is to shed some light on the advantages and drawbacks of various sequential and parallel GAs to help researchers using them in the very diverse application fields of the evolutionary computation.     

解码理论在日语听力理解中的运用

在日语学习中,因受语言环境和学习方法的限制,听力被认为是提高日语水平和成绩的一大难关。作者遵循听觉系统中听力的解码理论,以一年一度的国际日本语能力测试题为例,提出并具体分析了提高日语听力的三种模式———预测法、捕捉法和贯穿法,并指出运用这些技巧时应注意的几个问题。期望学习者能克服心理障碍,讲究科学的方法,把这些模式积极运用到平时的训练和测试中去,以此来提高日语听力水平和成绩。     

Evaluating DISCOVER's Effectiveness in Enhancing College Students' Social Cognitive Career Development

College students (20 women, 14 men) seeking career counseling services at a university career center participated in this exploratory investigation. A 2 (DISCOVER treatment) × 2 (counseling treatment) research design was used to evaluate the individual and combined effects of DISCOVER (ACT, 1998) and counseling on participants' career decision‐making self‐efficacy and career decision‐making attributional style. Findings revealed a significant effect of the use of DISCOVER on participants' career decision‐making self‐efficacy and their sense of control over the career decision‐making process. Results are discussed regarding the implications for career counseling and ideas for further research in this domain.     

Residual analysis for spatial point processes (with discussion)

Summary.  We define residuals for point process models fitted to spatial point pattern data, and we propose diagnostic plots based on them. The residuals apply to any point process model that has a conditional intensity; the model may exhibit spatial heterogeneity, interpoint interaction and dependence on spatial covariates. Some existing ad hoc methods for model checking (quadrat counts, scan statistic, kernel smoothed intensity and Berman's diagnostic) are recovered as special cases. Diagnostic tools are developed systematically, by using an analogy between our spatial residuals and the usual residuals for (non-spatial) generalized linear models. The conditional intensity λ plays the role of the mean response. This makes it possible to adapt existing knowledge about model validation for generalized linear models to the spatial point process context, giving recommendations for diagnostic plots. A plot of smoothed residuals against spatial location, or against a spatial covariate, is effective in diagnosing spatial trend or co-variate effects. Q – Q -plots of the residuals are effective in diagnosing interpoint interaction.     

Benchmark Analysis: Shopping with Proper Confidence

We discuss the issue of using benchmark doses for quantifying (excess) risk associated with exposure to environmental hazards. The paradigm of low-dose risk estimation in dose-response modeling is used as the primary application scenario. Emphasis is placed on making simultaneous inferences on benchmark doses when data are in the form of proportions, although the concepts translate easily to other forms of outcome data.     

对新时期高校政治辅导员的角色认识

从高等学校思想政治工作的现实意义出发,结合目前高校人才培养的新内涵,对政治辅导员的角色进行了定位,即思想政治素质提高的导师;大学生文明修身的引路人;大学生未来职业生涯的设计师;大学生择业创业的导师;大学校园文化的引导者和创造者以及大学生心理健康的培育者。