Data-driven stochastic inversion via functional quantization

In this paper, we propose a new methodology for solving stochastic inversion problems through computer experiments, the stochasticity being driven by a functional random variables. This study is motivated by an automotive application. In this context, the simulator code takes a double set of simulation inputs: deterministic control variables and functional uncertain variables. This framework is characterized by two features. The first one is the high computational cost of simulations. The second is that the probability distribution of the functional input is only known through a finite set of realizations. In our context, the inversion problem is formulated by considering the expectation over the functional random variable. We aim at solving this problem by evaluating the model on a design, whose adaptive construction combines the so-called stepwise uncertainty reduction methodology with a strategy for an efficient expectation estimation. Two greedy strategies are introduced to sequentially estimate the expectation over the functional uncertain variable by adaptively selecting curves from the initial set of realizations. Both of these strategies consider functional principal component analysis as a dimensionality reduction technique assuming that the realizations of the functional input are independent realizations of the same continuous stochastic process. The first strategy is based on a greedy approach for functional data-driven quantization, while the second one is linked to the notion of space-filling design. Functional PCA is used as an intermediate step. For each point of the design built in the reduced space, we select the corresponding curve from the sample of available curves, thus guaranteeing the robustness of the procedure to dimension reduction. The whole methodology is illustrated and calibrated on an analytical example. It is then applied on the automotive industrial test case where we aim at identifying the set of control parameters leading to meet the pollutant emission standards of a vehicle.     

Sylvanian families: The production and consumption of a rural community

Concepts relating to consumer behaviour are brought together with notions of the idyllic English rural community to begin examining the importance of material culture in the formation of attitudes towards the English village. The resulting commodification of rurality is examined with the help of case studies of producers and consumers of Sylvania, a ‘collectable toy’.     

Childhood Ethics: An ontological advancement for childhood studies

We describe an ontological approach to childhood studies that we refer to as Childhood Ethics. This involves an interdisciplinary hermeneutic orientation towards examining the morally meaningful dimensions of matters that affect young people. We draw on our empirical research with young people from 3- to 17-years old, examining their experiences in a diversity of contexts and geographical settings. Our investigations challenge dominant binary conceptions of young people along lines of decisional in/capacity and im/maturity. We argue for a view of children as active agents with meaningful relational engagements and participation interests and capacities and outline corresponding implications for research and practice.     

Optimal Treatment Schedule in Insect Pest Control in Viticulture

A model for the control of the European grapevine moth Lobesia botrana includes two control methods: insecticides and mating disruption. It yields the combination and schedule of application that minimize cost and losses due to the pest. A simulation is presented for an experimental situation.     

Optimal detection of Fechner-asymmetry

We consider a general class of skewed univariate densities introduced by Fechner [1897. Kollectivmasslehre. Engleman, Leipzig], and derive optimal testing procedures for the null hypothesis of symmetry within that class. Locally and asymptotically optimal (in the Le Cam sense) tests are obtained, both for the case of symmetry with respect to a specified location as for the case of symmetry with respect to some unspecified location. Signed-rank based versions of these tests are also provided. The efficiency properties of the proposed procedures are investigated by a derivation of their asymptotic relative efficiencies with respect to the corresponding Gaussian parametric tests based on the traditional Pearson–Fisher coefficient of skewness. Small-sample performances under several types of asymmetry are investigated via simulations.     

Scriptes de la démocratie : les sténographes et rédacteurs des débats (1848-2005)

The history and sociology of a special group of civil servants are presented, namely: stenographers in parliament, an occupation closely tied to the history of parliamentary government in most democracies. During the xixth century, French stenographers proposed their services to legislative bodies. They tested and validated their theoretical systems and know-how while promising to contribute to a much higher public good: the publication of parliamentary proceedings, a necessity for defining and developing democracy. Following a system for recording proceedings that was close to the British liberal model, a corps of stenographers was established in 1848, and then again under the Third Republic-without interruption up till 2004. The duty of these civil servants was to produce the full, official account of parliamentary proceedings, which would serve as proof for the press and for history. Based on original material drawn from sociology and history, this inquiry seeks to see how institutions are shaped, produced and reproduced through the knowledge and deeds that incarnate values and shape institutions. Besides the publication of parliamentary proceedings, the technical, material and social conditions are discussed that led the National Assembly to become a political institution.     

Further Evidence for Infants' Preference for Prosocial Over Antisocial Behaviors

This study extends the findings that young infants prefer prosocial to antisocial others (Hamlin & Wynn, Cognitive Development 2011, 26, 30; Hamlin, Wynn, & Bloom, Nature 2007, 450, 557) to older infants (12–24 and 24–36 months) with a novel display. We presented infants with short cartoons in which a character (the “Protoganist”) engaged in a ball play with two others, one acting prosocially (the “Giver”), and the other antisocially (the “Keeper”). Afterward, infants were presented with the Giver and the Keeper characters and encouraged to reach for the one of their choices. We found that infants exhibited robust choice for the Giver. In addition, infants' preference for the Giver persisted despite changes in facial features (dark skin, scrambled face). These findings provide further evidence for infant's preference for prosociality.     

On a measure of information gain for regression models in survival analysis

Papers dealing with measures of predictive power in survival analysis have seen their independence of censoring, or their estimates being unbiased under censoring, as the most important property. We argue that this property has been wrongly understood. Discussing the so-called measure of information gain, we point out that we cannot have unbiased estimates if all values, greater than a given time τ, are censored. This is due to the fact that censoring before τ has a different effect than censoring after τ. Such τ is often introduced by design of a study. Independence can only be achieved under the assumption of the model being valid after τ, which is impossible to verify. But if one is willing to make such an assumption, we suggest using multiple imputation to obtain a consistent estimate. We further show that censoring has different effects on the estimation of the measure for the Cox model than for parametric models, and we discuss them separately. We also give some warnings about the usage of the measure, especially when it comes to comparing essentially different models.