Mrs. Alice Palmatier to Mr. Meredith (1 October 1962)

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/mercorr_pro/1305/thumbnail.jp

Machine Learning Applications using SciKit-Learn and TensorFlow

Machine learning (ML) is a powerful tool with vast applications in pattern-recognition and identification tasks. Our goal was to explore different applications of machine learning and develop a working understanding of the processes required for the effective application of ML models to problem-solving. Using SciKit-Learn for traditional ML models and TensorFlow for neural networks, existing techniques were explored for two major categories of ML tasks: Regression and Classification modeling. This knowledge was then applied in a biomedical engineering pilot research study (in collaboration with Dr. Brooke Odle, Engineering) analyzing manual patient-handling tasks using data from inertial measuring units (IMUs) and force plates. These tasks are linked to low-back pain and injury in caregivers. The use of IMUs in biomedical engineering enables flexible and mobile data collection both within and outside the laboratory. However, the force plates which are used for measuring the ground reaction forces (GRFs) are not as amenable to being transported for data collection outside the lab. Thus, our proof-of-concept study aims to develop and validate an artificial neural network (ANN) that estimates the ground reaction forces resulting from tasks performed by participants which simulate those that might be performed by a caregiver performing patient-handling tasks. Using data obtained from two subjects, a neural network was constructed and optimized. This model achieved a score of 0.9263 (92.63%), indicating that GRFs can be reasonably estimated with the use of an ANN. Future work would include expanding the study to involve more participants and include a wider variety of tasks, thereby improving the capacity of the ANN to generalize to fit more scenarios

Influence of COMT genotype and affective distractors on the processing of self-generated thought

The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) enzyme is a major determinant of prefrontal dopamine levels. The Val158Met polymorphism affects COMT enzymatic activity and has been associated with variation in executive function and affective processing. This study investigated the effect of COMT genotype on the flexible modulation of the balance between processing self-generated and processing stimulus-oriented information, in the presence or absence of affective distractors. Analyses included 124 healthy adult participants, who were also assessed on standard working memory (WM) tasks. Relative to Val carriers, Met homozygotes made fewer errors when selecting and manipulating self-generated thoughts. This effect was partly accounted for by an association between COMT genotype and visuospatial WM performance. We also observed a complex interaction between the influence of affective distractors, genotype and sex on task accuracy: male, but not female, participants showed sensitivity to the affective distractors that was dependent on COMT genotype. This was not accounted for by WM performance. This study provides novel evidence of the role of dopaminergic genetic variation on the ability to select and manipulate self-generated thoughts. The results also suggest sexually dimorphic effects of COMT genotype on the influence of affective distractors on executive function

Disentangling the Effect of Services on B2B Firm Value: Trade-Offs of Sales, Profits, and Earnings Volatility

In the face of declining business and growing pressures from low-cost competitors, many business-to-business (B2B) manufacturers have moved from their previously successful product-centric strategies to more service-oriented business models. Yet despite their substantial investments in services, firms fail to understand the performance ramifications of these offerings. With a longitudinal data set (2001–2016) of 227 B2B manufacturers listed in the S&P 1500 index, this study disentangles the simultaneous effects of financial-based mechanisms that link the service ratio (i.e., share of a firm’s revenue generated from selling services) to firm value. The findings reveal significant trade-offs across these mechanisms. Although the service ratio monotonously boosts sales growth, it has U-shaped curvilinear relationships with profitability and earnings volatility. These effects also depend on industry- and firm-level factors. Industry maturity positively moderates the effects of the service ratio on sales growth and profitability. However, business scope has an adverse effect on the service ratio–profitability relationship. Finally, industry turbulence negatively moderates the effect of services on earnings volatility.acceptedVersion2, Forfatterversjo

Sustainability as corporate culture of a brand for superior performance

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in the Journal of World Business. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2012 Elsevier B.V.Sustainability research highlights new challenges and opportunities for businesses. This paper reviews the literature to understand the ability of sustainable green initiatives when practiced as a corporate culture to individually create new opportunities for operations, management and marketing. According to current research, business opportunities exclusively available to different functions of a firm can drive its performance. The role of marketing in the achievement of superior performance by virtue of sustainability practices is also explained by the existing literature. Branding literature, however, fails to explain the influence of a brand on sustainability-driven opportunities available to a firm for superior performance. The objective of this study is to explore if a brand can strengthen the ability of sustainability-based green initiatives of managers to drive opportunities available to a firm for superior performance. A conceptual framework grounded in the triple bottom line theory is presented based on the assumption that brand as a stimulating factor can accelerate the conversion of opportunities available to a business into superior performance. Academic and managerial perspectives have been used to draw upon the implications of the model. Both practitioners and academic researchers will benefit from future research on this topic

Occasion-setting by drug states: Functional equivalence following similar training history

Three experiments examined whether a drug state serving as a positive feature for pairings between a discrete conditional stimulus (CS, 15-s light or 15-s noise) and sucrose could transfer facilitative control to a CS with which it had never been presented. To do so, a CS was paired with a sucrose reward in the nicotine (0.4 mg/kg), amphetamine (AMP, 1 mg/kg), or chlordiazepoxide (CDP, 5 mg/ kg) drug state; in separate saline sessions the CS was presented but was not followed by any reward. All three drug states facilitated responding to a discrete CS; previous studies found that this facilitation did not depend on direct associations between the drug state and sucrose. When a second discrimination was trained (e.g., CDP: light-sucrose and nicotine: noise-sucrose) the drug states facilitated responding to the CS trained in that state (nicotine: noise) as well as the CS normally presented in the other drug state (e.g., nicotine: light). A novel drug state (e.g., amphetamine) did not affect responding to either CS, indicating that the originally trained drug states had acquired functional similarity based on learning history. Also, a novel or ambiguous CS did not evoke responding in the previously trained drug state, indicating that both the features (drug states) and target conditional stimuli had to be trained in discriminations before transfer could occur

Occasion-setting by drug states: Functional equivalence following similar training history

Three experiments examined whether a drug state serving as a positive feature for pairings between a discrete conditional stimulus (CS, 15-s light or 15-s noise) and sucrose could transfer facilitative control to a CS with which it had never been presented. To do so, a CS was paired with a sucrose reward in the nicotine (0.4 mg/kg), amphetamine (AMP, 1 mg/kg), or chlordiazepoxide (CDP, 5 mg/ kg) drug state; in separate saline sessions the CS was presented but was not followed by any reward. All three drug states facilitated responding to a discrete CS; previous studies found that this facilitation did not depend on direct associations between the drug state and sucrose. When a second discrimination was trained (e.g., CDP: light-sucrose and nicotine: noise-sucrose) the drug states facilitated responding to the CS trained in that state (nicotine: noise) as well as the CS normally presented in the other drug state (e.g., nicotine: light). A novel drug state (e.g., amphetamine) did not affect responding to either CS, indicating that the originally trained drug states had acquired functional similarity based on learning history. Also, a novel or ambiguous CS did not evoke responding in the previously trained drug state, indicating that both the features (drug states) and target conditional stimuli had to be trained in discriminations before transfer could occur

Addressing the Barriers to Bicycling: A Bike Access Program in Lewiston and Auburn, ME

Efforts by municipalities and advocacy groups to encourage biking for transportation and recreation has been associated with improvements in emissions reductions, economic development, public health, and social equity (Gardner and Gaegauf 2014, 2013). The aim of this project was to identify barriers to biking in the towns of Lewiston and Auburn. Given this aim, the primary objective was to determine a strategy to overcome these barriers in the form of a bike access program. There are many methods that support biking as a viable form of transportation, including bicycling infrastructure (parking and bike lanes), promotional events, and educational initiatives. The primary focus of our group, however, was to determine the viability of some form of a “bike access” program in Lewiston and Auburn. In order to determine what an equitable bike access program might look like, we sought community feedback from local businesses and residents through interviews and surveys, discussed the project with government officials in both Lewiston and Auburn, consulted operators of other bike access programs in Maine and across the US, and identified some local leaders to champion this program. Such conversations and outreach provided a thorough understanding of the primary barriers to bicycling, the specific locations where people want access to bikes, and the existing bicycling culture of town. Additionally, our conversations with traditional bikeshare operators and other Maine bike access programs helped us gain a better understanding of the costs of these programs, as well as the logistics of implementation and maintenance. Our findings indicated a large interest in bicycling for both recreational and transportation purposes, as well as general interest in a program that would allow for greater access to bikes in the downtown Lewiston and Auburn areas. From an economic and equity standpoint, we found that a traditional ‘bikeshare’ program would be too costly and too much of an infrastructural investment. Rather, our outreach and research lead us to conclude that a ‘bike library’ or other type of public bike access program would be more effective at promoting ridership. A bike access program also serves as a proof of concept. If such a program is successful for a pilot period, perhaps it will generate support for a more comprehensive bikeshare program in the future. For the time being, energy and funding should be concentrated on developing and implementing a bike access program. We recommend developing bike access programs out of the public libraries at both Lewiston and Auburn, in which users can check out a bicycle for free, and in exchange for collateral that they will get back at the end of their rental. While users are free to take the bikes wherever they wish, we also recommend establishing a safe route that leads cyclists on low-stress paths away from car traffic where they are supported with signage and infrastructure. Such a route enables users to freely travel between the two libraries, thereby gaining confidence travelling on a bicycle. Encouraging bicycle transportation on one specific route is likely to result in a a significantly safer bicycling environment due to the phenomenon of “Safety in Numbers” (Jacobsen, 2003). Once this route is established and the program gains some visibility and credibility in the community, there is the possibility that this could extend to other venues. In its initial implementation, though, we suggest starting with just two locations with a protected “safe route”