WorldWideScience

Sample records for expert testimony

  1. Robust Trust in Expert Testimony

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Dahlman

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The standard of proof in criminal trials should require that the evidence presented by the prosecution is robust. This requirement of robustness says that it must be unlikely that additional information would change the probability that the defendant is guilty. Robustness is difficult for a judge to estimate, as it requires the judge to assess the possible effect of information that the he or she does not have. This article is concerned with expert witnesses and proposes a method for reviewing the robustness of expert testimony. According to the proposed method, the robustness of expert testimony is estimated with regard to competence, motivation, external strength, internal strength and relevance. The danger of trusting non-robust expert testimony is illustrated with an analysis of the Thomas Quick Case, a Swedish legal scandal where a patient at a mental institution was wrongfully convicted for eight murders.

  2. False confessions, expert testimony, and admissibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Clarence; Weiss, Kenneth J; Pouncey, Claire

    2010-01-01

    The confession of a criminal defendant serves as a prosecutor's most compelling piece of evidence during trial. Courts must preserve a defendant's constitutional right to a fair trial while upholding the judicial interests of presenting competent and reliable evidence to the jury. When a defendant seeks to challenge the validity of that confession through expert testimony, the prosecution often contests the admissibility of the expert's opinion. Depending on the content and methodology of the expert's opinion, testimony addressing the phenomenon of false confessions may or may not be admissible. This article outlines the scientific and epistemological bases of expert testimony on false confession, notes the obstacles facing its admissibility, and provides guidance to the expert in formulating opinions that will reach the judge or jury. We review the 2006 New Jersey Superior Court decision in State of New Jersey v. George King to illustrate what is involved in the admissibility of false-confession testimony and use the case as a starting point in developing a best-practice approach to working in this area.

  3. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) and expert testimony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulich, Ronald; Maciewicz, Raymond; Scrivani, Steven J

    2009-03-01

    Medical experts frequently use imaging studies to illustrate points in their court testimony. This article reviews how these studies impact the credibility of expert testimony with judges and juries. The apparent "objective" evidence provided by such imaging studies can lend strong credence to a judge's or jury's appraisal of medical expert's testimony. However, as the court usually has no specialized scientific expertise, the use of complex images as part of courtroom testimony also has the potential to mislead or at least inappropriately bias the weight given to expert evidence. Recent advances in brain imaging may profoundly impact forensic expert testimony. Functional magnetic resonance imaging and other physiologic imaging techniques currently allow visualization of the activation pattern of brain regions associated with a wide variety of cognitive and behavioral tasks, and more recently, pain. While functional imaging technology has a valuable role in brain research and clinical investigation, it is important to emphasize that the use of imaging studies in forensic matters requires a careful scientific foundation and a rigorous legal assessment.

  4. 29 CFR 18.703 - Bases of opinion testimony by experts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Bases of opinion testimony by experts. The facts or data in the particular case upon which an expert... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Bases of opinion testimony by experts. 18.703 Section 18.703 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS...

  5. Expert testimony influences juror decisions in criminal trials involving recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khurshid, Ayesha; Jacquin, Kristine M

    2013-01-01

    We examined the impact of expert witness orientation (researcher or clinical practitioner) and type of testimony (testimony for the prosecution, defense, both prosecution and defense, or no testimony) on mock jurors' decisions in a sexual abuse trial. Participants acted as mock jurors on a sexual abuse criminal trial based on recovered memory that included expert witness testimony. Results showed that expert witness testimony provided by a researcher did not impact mock jurors' guilt ratings any differently than the expert witness testimony provided by a clinical practitioner. However, type of testimony had a significant effect on jurors' guilt ratings such that jurors who read only defense or only prosecution testimony made decisions favoring the relevant side.

  6. The effects of rational and experiential information processing of expert testimony in death penalty cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krauss, Daniel A; Lieberman, Joel D; Olson, Jodi

    2004-01-01

    Past research examining the effects of actuarial and clinical expert testimony on defendants' dangerousness in Texas death penalty sentencing has found that jurors are more influenced by less scientific pure clinical expert testimony and less influenced by more scientific actuarial expert testimony (Krauss & Lee, 2003; Krauss & Sales, 2001). By applying cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST) to juror decision-making, the present study was undertaken in an attempt to offer a theoretical rationale for these findings. Based on past CEST research, 163 mock jurors were either directed into a rational mode or experiential mode of processing. Consistent with CEST and inconsistent with previous research using the same stimulus materials, results demonstrate that jurors in a rational mode of processing more heavily weighted actuarial expert testimony in their dangerousness assessments, while those jurors in the experiential condition were more influenced by clinical expert testimony. The policy implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. Ethical Issues in Expert Opinions and Testimony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weed, Roger O.

    2000-01-01

    This article provides an overview of ethical issues in private for-profit practice, with particular focus on expert testimony, using examples from a sample of claims filed with the National Association of Rehabilitation Professionals in the Private Sector and malpractice insurance companies. Complaints most frequently involve issues related to…

  8. Does company compliance with RS-17 influence the characterization of a casual nexus in expert testimony?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuela Ribeiro

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To examine whether company compliance with RS-17 influences the characterization of the casual nexus in physical therapists' expert reports of cumulative trauma disorders in the labor court of Pernambuco, Brazil. Method: The sample was composed of seven physical therapists who provided expert testimony regarding cumulative trauma disorder cases in the labor court of Pernambuco, Brazil. Data collection was performed across two stages. In the first stage, the experts answered a sociodemographic survey and requested the identification numbers of recent cases where expert testimony was provided to characterize the causal nexus. In the second stage, the researchers went to the labor court to collect expert testimony data. These experts indicated that of 75 total cases, 31% (N=23 of the companies fulfilled RS-17, whereas 69% (N=52 did not comply with the law. Results: Among the organizations that complied with legislation, 30% of the analyzed expert testimonies showed a positive causal nexus. However, of the companies that did not comply with RS-17, 71% of the expert testimonies revealed a causal nexus. These results indicate that the breach of the law increases the probability that a causal nexus will be determined by 54.8%. Conclusion: The results showed that failure to comply with RS-17 significantly increases the probability that a causal nexus will be determined in physical therapists' expert testimony of cumulative trauma disorders.

  9. The impact of Daubert on the admissibility of forensic anthropology expert testimony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesciotto, Kate M

    2015-05-01

    Forensic anthropologists anticipated a significant impact from the 1993 Supreme Court Daubert decision, which addressed the standard of admissibility for expert testimony. In response, many forensic articles cited Daubert in the search for objective techniques or a critique of established subjective methods. This study examines challenges to forensic anthropological expert testimony to evaluate whether Daubert has actually affected the admissibility of such testimony. Thirty cases were identified that addressed the admissibility of the testimony, including 14 cases prior to Daubert and 16 after Daubert. Examination of these cases indicates that post-Daubert cases do not result in more exclusions. Yet, this lack of exclusions may instead be viewed as a manifestation of the field's overall surge toward more objective and quantifiable techniques in a self-regulating response to Daubert. © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  10. Educating Jurors about Forensic Evidence: Using an Expert Witness and Judicial Instructions to Mitigate the Impact of Invalid Forensic Science Testimony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eastwood, Joseph; Caldwell, Jiana

    2015-11-01

    Invalid expert witness testimony that overstated the precision and accuracy of forensic science procedures has been highlighted as a common factor in many wrongful conviction cases. This study assessed the ability of an opposing expert witness and judicial instructions to mitigate the impact of invalid forensic science testimony. Participants (N = 155) acted as mock jurors in a sexual assault trial that contained both invalid forensic testimony regarding hair comparison evidence, and countering testimony from either a defense expert witness or judicial instructions. Results showed that the defense expert witness was successful in educating jurors regarding limitations in the initial expert's conclusions, leading to a greater number of not-guilty verdicts. The judicial instructions were shown to have no impact on verdict decisions. These findings suggest that providing opposing expert witnesses may be an effective safeguard against invalid forensic testimony in criminal trials. © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  11. The Growing Admissibility of Expert Testimony by Clinical Social Workers on Competence to Stand Trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegel, David M.

    2008-01-01

    Expert testimony by clinical social workers concerning a criminal defendant's competence to stand trial has increasingly been admitted in certain state courts over the past two decades, yet most state laws still require that court-appointed competence evaluators be psychiatrists or psychologists. Pressure to admit social workers' testimony will…

  12. The presentation of expert testimony via live audio-visual communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, R D

    1991-01-01

    As part of a national effort to improve efficiency in court procedures, the American Bar Association has recommended, on the basis of a number of pilot studies, increased use of current audio-visual technology, such as telephone and live video communication, to eliminate delays caused by unavailability of participants in both civil and criminal procedures. Although these recommendations were made to facilitate court proceedings, and for the convenience of attorneys and judges, they also have the potential to save significant time for clinical expert witnesses as well. The author reviews the studies of telephone testimony that were done by the American Bar Association and other legal research groups, as well as the experience in one state forensic evaluation and treatment center. He also reviewed the case law on the issue of remote testimony. He then presents data from a national survey of state attorneys general concerning the admissibility of testimony via audio-visual means, including video depositions. Finally, he concludes that the option to testify by telephone provides a significant savings in precious clinical time for forensic clinicians in public facilities, and urges that such clinicians work actively to convince courts and/or legislatures in states that do not permit such testimony (currently the majority), to consider accepting it, to improve the effective use of scarce clinical resources in public facilities.

  13. Undermining Reasonableness: Expert Testimony in a Case Involving a Battered Woman Who Kills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terrance, Cheryl; Matheson, Kimberly

    2003-01-01

    Student participants (N = 316) viewed a videotaped simulated case involving a woman who had entered a self-defense plea in the shooting death of her abusive husband. As successful claims of self-defense rest on the portrayal of a defendant who has responded reasonably to his/her situation, the implications of various forms of expert testimony in…

  14. On the "general acceptance" of eyewitness testimony research. A new survey of the experts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kassin, S M; Tubb, V A; Hosch, H M; Memon, A

    2001-05-01

    In light of recent advances, this study updated a prior survey of eyewitness experts (S. M. Kassin, P. C. Ellsworth, & V. L. Smith, 1989). Sixty-four psychologists were asked about their courtroom experiences and opinions on 30 eyewitness phenomena. By an agreement rate of at least 80%, there was a strong consensus that the following phenomena are sufficiently reliable to present in court: the wording of questions, lineup instructions, confidence malleability, mug-shot-induced bias, postevent information, child witness suggestibility, attitudes and expectations, hypnotic suggestibility, alcoholic intoxication, the crossrace bias, weapon focus, the accuracy-confidence correlation, the forgetting curve, exposure time, presentation format, and unconscious transference. Results also indicate that these experts set high standards before agreeing to testify. Despite limitations, these results should help to shape expert testimony so that it more accurately represents opinions in the scientific community.

  15. Individual versus group decision making: Jurors' reliance on central and peripheral information to evaluate expert testimony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salerno, Jessica M; Bottoms, Bette L; Peter-Hagene, Liana C

    2017-01-01

    To investigate dual-process persuasion theories in the context of group decision making, we studied low and high need-for-cognition (NFC) participants within a mock trial study. Participants considered plaintiff and defense expert scientific testimony that varied in argument strength. All participants heard a cross-examination of the experts focusing on peripheral information (e.g., credentials) about the expert, but half were randomly assigned to also hear central information highlighting flaws in the expert's message (e.g., quality of the research presented by the expert). Participants rendered pre- and post-group-deliberation verdicts, which were considered "scientifically accurate" if the verdicts reflected the strong (versus weak) expert message, and "scientifically inaccurate" if they reflected the weak (versus strong) expert message. For individual participants, we replicated studies testing classic persuasion theories: Factors promoting reliance on central information (i.e., central cross-examination, high NFC) improved verdict accuracy because they sensitized individual participants to the quality discrepancy between the experts' messages. Interestingly, however, at the group level, the more that scientifically accurate mock jurors discussed peripheral (versus central) information about the experts, the more likely their group was to reach the scientifically accurate verdict. When participants were arguing for the scientifically accurate verdict consistent with the strong expert message, peripheral comments increased their persuasiveness, which made the group more likely to reach the more scientifically accurate verdict.

  16. 29 CFR 18.701 - Opinion testimony by lay witnesses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Opinion testimony by lay witnesses. 18.701 Section 18.701 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS... Opinion testimony by lay witnesses. If the witness is not testifying as an expert, the witness' testimony...

  17. Expert medical testimony for your injured patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, Gerald J

    2013-10-01

    Many injured patients sustain some type of loss. If someone else is responsible for the injury, the injured patient can pursue compensation for this loss. In the course of treating an injured patient, you may be asked to participate in the legal process to resolve such claims. The basic components of a personal injury claim are reviewed. An overview of the legal process will help clarify your role in the legal process. Enhanced understanding will allow you to provide important medical testimony for your injured patient.

  18. Influences of credibility of testimony and strength of statistical evidence on children’s and adolescents’ reasoning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kail, Robert V.

    2013-01-01

    According to dual-process models that include analytic and heuristic modes of processing, analytic processing is often expected to become more common with development. Consistent with this view, on reasoning problems, adolescents are more likely than children to select alternatives that are backed by statistical evidence. It is shown here that this pattern depends on the quality of the statistical evidence and the quality of the testimonial that is the typical alternative to statistical evidence. In Experiment 1, 9- and 13-year-olds (N = 64) were presented with scenarios in which solid statistical evidence was contrasted with casual or expert testimonial evidence. When testimony was casual, children relied on it but adolescents did not; when testimony was expert, both children and adolescents relied on it. In Experiment 2, 9- and 13-year-olds (N = 83) were presented with scenarios in which casual testimonial evidence was contrasted with weak or strong statistical evidence. When statistical evidence was weak, children and adolescents relied on both testimonial and statistical evidence; when statistical evidence was strong, most children and adolescents relied on it. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for dual-process accounts of cognitive development. PMID:23735681

  19. Influences of credibility of testimony and strength of statistical evidence on children's and adolescents' reasoning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kail, Robert V

    2013-11-01

    According to dual-process models that include analytic and heuristic modes of processing, analytic processing is often expected to become more common with development. Consistent with this view, on reasoning problems, adolescents are more likely than children to select alternatives that are backed by statistical evidence. It is shown here that this pattern depends on the quality of the statistical evidence and the quality of the testimonial that is the typical alternative to statistical evidence. In Experiment 1, 9- and 13-year-olds (N=64) were presented with scenarios in which solid statistical evidence was contrasted with casual or expert testimonial evidence. When testimony was casual, children relied on it but adolescents did not; when testimony was expert, both children and adolescents relied on it. In Experiment 2, 9- and 13-year-olds (N=83) were presented with scenarios in which casual testimonial evidence was contrasted with weak or strong statistical evidence. When statistical evidence was weak, children and adolescents relied on both testimonial and statistical evidence; when statistical evidence was strong, most children and adolescents relied on it. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for dual-process accounts of cognitive development. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Poor Agreement Among Expert Witnesses in Bile Duct Injury Malpractice Litigation An Expert Panel Survey

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Reuver, Philip R.; Dijkgraaf, Marcel G. W.; Gevers, Sjef K. M.; Gouma, Dirk J.

    2008-01-01

    Objective: To determine the inter-rater agreement of expert witness testimonies in bile duct injury malpractice litigation. Background Data: Malpractice litigation is an increasing concern in modem surgical practice. As most of the lawyers are not educated in medicine, expert witnesses are asked to

  1. Poor agreement among expert witnesses in bile duct injury malpractice litigation: an expert panel survey.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reuver, P.R. de; Dijkgraaf, M.G.; Gevers, S.K.; Gouma, D.J.; Bleichrodt, R.P.; Cuesta, M.A.; Erp, W.F. van; Gerritsen, J.; Hesselink, E.J.; Laarhoven, C.J.H.M. van; Lange, J. de; Obertop, H.; Stassen, L.P.; Terpstra, O.T.; Tilanus, H.W.; Vroonhoven, T.J.; Wit, L. de

    2008-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To determine the inter-rater agreement of expert witness testimonies in bile duct injury malpractice litigation. BACKGROUND DATA: Malpractice litigation is an increasing concern in modern surgical practice. As most of the lawyers are not educated in medicine, expert witnesses are asked to

  2. The shifting landscape of latent print testimony: an american perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heidi Eldridge

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Friction ridge comparison testimony in the United States has long been characterized by speaking in absolutes: fingerprints are unique, the Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation, and Verification methodology has a zero-error rate, and the testimony presented by the expert should be regarded as an incontrovertible fact. Once the National Research Council released their watershed report in 2009, questioning and criticizing these clear overstatements of the strength of the evidence, many commentators and professional organizations recommended that the friction ridge community rethink the way their evidence was presented in reports and in court. Yet, change has been slow to come. While some agencies have begun a shift in the way they present their findings, many others still testify the same way they always have. This paper presents the historical context of where American friction ridge testimony has been, lays out the arguments for why it needs to change, describes some recent efforts to improve, and highlights some likely directions for the future of friction ridge reporting and testimony in the United States.

  3. The rational thinking of expert opinion and communicating in courtroom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bing Li

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Since the past half century, expert testimony has played an increasingly important role in Chinese litigation. As the amount of expert testimony has grown, the issues about its admissibility and scientific foundation related to evidence are becoming to be questioned commonly. Since eighteenth central committee (China adopted the decision of the Central Committee of China on several important issues in promoting the legal system, the evidence was redefined to become the predominance in the whole proceeding. This article reviews the expert knowledge implicit in the opinions. It argues that the expert opinions ask judges to be aware of the role of communicationg between participants. Expert opinion is not only gained from laboratory, but also socially constructed in the rational expression and communication, which requir us think logically in terms of legal perceptions of science and expert knowledge in the empirical world.

  4. Guidelines for the ethical use of neuroimages in medical testimony: report of a multidisciplinary consensus conference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meltzer, C C; Sze, G; Rommelfanger, K S; Kinlaw, K; Banja, J D; Wolpe, P R

    2014-04-01

    With rapid advances in neuroimaging technology, there is growing concern over potential misuse of neuroradiologic imaging data in legal matters. On December 7 and 8, 2012, a multidisciplinary consensus conference, Use and Abuse of Neuroimaging in the Courtroom, was held at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Through this interactive forum, a highly select group of experts-including neuroradiologists, neurologists, forensic psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, neuroscientists, legal scholars, imaging statisticians, judges, practicing attorneys, and neuroethicists-discussed the complex issues involved in the use of neuroimaging data entered into legal evidence and for associated expert testimony. The specific contexts of criminal cases, child abuse, and head trauma were especially considered. The purpose of the conference was to inform the development of guidelines on expert testimony for the American Society of Neuroradiology and to provide principles for courts on the ethical use of neuroimaging data as evidence. This report summarizes the conference and resulting recommendations.

  5. The Tobacco Deposition and Trial Testimony Archive (DATTA) project: origins, aims, and methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Ronald M; Douglas, Clifford E; Beasley, John K

    2006-12-01

    Research on previously secret tobacco industry documents has grown substantially during the past decade, since these documents first became available as the result of private and governmental litigation and investigations by the US Congress and the US Food and Drug Administration. Complementary research on tobacco litigation testimony is now being conducted through the Tobacco Deposition and Trial Testimony Archive (DATTA) project. We obtained transcripts of depositions and trial testimony, deposition and trial exhibits, expert reports, and other litigation documents from law firms, court reporter firms, individual lawyers and witnesses, tobacco company websites, and other sources. As of 3 March 2006, the publicly available collection of DATTA (http://tobaccodocuments.org/datta) contained 4850 transcripts of depositions and trial testimony, including a total of about 820,000 transcript pages. Transcripts covered testimony from 1957 to 2005 (85% were for testimony from 1990 to 2005) given by more than 1500 witnesses in a total of 232 lawsuits. Twelve research teams were established to study the transcripts, with each team covering a particular topic (for example, the health consequences of tobacco use, addiction and pharmacology, tobacco advertising and promotion, tobacco-product design and manufacture, economic impact of tobacco use, youth initiation of tobacco use, and public understanding of the risks of tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke). The teams used qualitative research methods to analyse the documents, and their initial findings are published throughout this journal supplement.

  6. The Cognitive Management of E-Testimony

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saul Traiger

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores the the justificatory status of etestimony, the electronic transmission of testimony through such electronic media as e-mail, the web, instant messaging, and file-sharing. I argue that e-testimony introduces complexities in justification and cognitive management generally which should be of special interest to epistemologists and cognitive scientists. In contrast to ordinary non-technology mediated testimony, e-testimony is an impoverished stimulus. Users have to assess the epistemic and non-epistemic risks of accessing e-testimony with very little supporting information. This raises the cognitive overhead of such judgments. The paper explores mechanisms for reducing this cognitive overhead and more effectively managing e-testimony, including automated filtering and automated censorship of the incoming e-testimony stream. It is argued that such solutions may not reduce cognitive load, since epistemic responsibility still resides with the individual recipient of e-testimony.

  7. Testimonial a influencer marketing

    OpenAIRE

    Kúdelková, Andrea

    2017-01-01

    The topic of the diploma thesis is testimonial and influencer marketing. The aim of this work is to find out whether influencer increases the likelihood of purchasing a healthy nutritional product for Slovak women aged 20-40 years, and also whether Peter Sagana as a testimonial enhances brand credibility. The theoretical part deals with general communication and presentation of testimonial and marketing influence, their categories and examples. The practical part of the thesis is set into the...

  8. Psychological aspects of old men testimony

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brkić Snežana

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Aging does not exclude some person s potential witness, but it is factor which can exert influence on tactics of examination of witness. it also influences the evaluation of testimony. Therefore, it is important to know the specific psychological functions of old men, which are in relation with testimony. The most important psychological functions are perception and memory. There are some negative subjective factors by aging as: weakening of sensul sensitivity, weakening of memory, reducing of intelligence, decelerating of psychomotor functions and negative influence of emotional and motivating process on perception. However, we must know that there are some individual differences between old people. Therefore, we should not deny the aged as a witness. The judge must always check the sensual sensitivity of witness, by putting the questions, by court's experiment or by psychological expert opinion. We must also take into consideration the specific features of the aged, when we interrogate them as a witness. In this sense, we can give some recommendations in regard to place, time and manner of their interrogation. That treatment has to enable the accurate and complete statement, from one side, and it also has to disable the harmful effect of criminal procedure to witness, psyche, from the other side.

  9. The Weight of a Woman's Testimony

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abbas Mohammad Elsiddik

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This research attempts to provide a fresh evaluation of a testimony in general and an evaluation of the weight of woman's testimony in particular. By using an empirical methodology, the research responds to the equality issue between women and men as competent witnesses, as Western jurisprudence claims, and the issue of non-equality between women and men as competent witnesses, as Islamic Sharia scholars claim. This study found numerous results, one of which was that womanhood affects a woman's ability to bear in mind a witnessed fact. Therefore, womanhood should be dealt with as a discrediting her testimony factor. Another result was that woman's testimony is admissible, even if she was alone; because womanhood is a factor relating to the weight of a testimony not a stipulation for the admissibility of testimony. Moreover, the research classified testimony in regard to its weight into two kinds. The first kind is Attestation, which always requires corroboration from a man or woman to renders it admissible as evidence. The second kind is Testimony, which does not generally require corroboration, even if the witness is a woman. However, corroboration may be necessary if the testimony has been affected by any discrediting factor regardless the sex of the witness. One more result of the research was that corroboration for testimony is affected by womanhood in certain cases, can be attained by summoning another woman as a witness, inferring factual presumptions, or examining the surrounding circumstances.

  10. PUBLIK FIGUR DALAM IKLAN TESTIMONIAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deddi Duto Hartanto

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available Testimonial advertising seemingly identical with famous figure such as artist%2C sportmen or others. They are all branded as "public figure" because they are well known by public. A lot of advertising creators using public figure in order to gain a high brand awareness. Is the use of public figure in testimonial advertising more profitable? Is their able quite representative for the products they represent ? Abstract in Bahasa Indonesia : Iklan testimonial identik dengan tokoh terkenal%2C baik itu artis%2C tokoh masyarakat%2C olahragawan%2C atau yang lainnya. Semuanya di cap sebagai "publik figur%2C" karena sudah dikenal masyarakat.Banyak kreator iklan menggunakan publik figur dengan harapan dapat mencapai brand awareness yang tinggi. Apakah penggunaan publik figur dalam iklan testimonial lebih menguntungkan ?%2C Apakah peran publik figur (sudah mewakili produk yang dibawakan?. testimonial advertising%2C public figure

  11. Forensic Memories: After Testimony

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bøndergaard, Johanne Helbo

    2014-01-01

    of writing that might in fact come “after” testimony. In this paper I attempt to describe a mode of writing in contemporary literature on memory and history, which allows later generations to address historical events to which they did not bear witness, challenging the testimonial mode while bearing its...... strategies and strengths in mind - “after” in both senses of the word. The central argument is that just as the legal concept of testimony was introduced into the cultural sphere to describe a particular genre or mode of writing, the legal concept of forensics will serve as a useful term for describing...

  12. 48 CFR 1252.242-71 - Contractor testimony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contractor testimony. 1252... Contractor testimony. As prescribed in (TAR) 48 CFR 1242.7000(b), insert the following clause: Contractor Testimony (OCT 1994) All requests for the testimony of the Contractor or its employees, and any intention to...

  13. Epistemic merit, autonomy, and testimony

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesús VEGA ENCABO

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, it is argued that both the informer and the hearer in a testimonial situation deserve epistemic merit insofar as they contribute to the collaborative achievement of sharing knowledge. The paper introduces a distinction between the ideals of self-sufficiency and epistemic autonomy. The autonomous exercise of our epistemic agency is very often carried out under strong conditions of epistemic dependence. Testimony exhibits a kind of social dependence that does not threaten the autonomy of the subjects that need to consider their own epistemic capacities. When involved in a testimonial situation, both speaker and hearer declare, at least implicitly, the standings they occupy in an epistemic space and are obliged to recognise certain epistemic requirements.

  14. Addressing challenges to MMPI-2-RF-based testimony: questions and answers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben-Porath, Yossef S

    2012-11-01

    Introduction of a new version of a psychological test brings with it challenges that can be accentuated by the adversarial nature of the legal process. In the case of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF), these challenges can be addressed by becoming familiar with the rationale for and the methods used in revising the inventory, the information contained in the test manuals, and the growing peer-reviewed literature on the test. Potential challenges to MMPI-2-RF-based testimony are identified in this article and discussed in question and answer format. The questions guiding this discussion are based on the Daubert factors, established in 1993 by the US Supreme Court as criteria for gauging the scientific validity of proffered expert testimony. The answers to these questions apply more broadly to testimony in depositions, pre-trial hearings, and at trial. Consideration of the MMPI-2-RF in light of the Daubert factors indicates that the instrument has been subjected to extensive empirical testing and that a substantial peer-reviewed literature is available to guide and support its use. Information about the known and potential rate of error associated with MMPI-2-RF scores is available, and standard procedures for administration, scoring, and interpretation of the inventory are detailed in the test administration manual. Indicators of MMPI-2-RF acceptance can be cited, and criticisms of the MMPI-2-RF can be addressed with information available in the test documents and an extensive, modern, and actively growing peer-reviewed literature.

  15. Potential reduced exposure products (PREPs) in industry trial testimony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wayne, Geoffrey Ferris

    2006-12-01

    To identify patterns in trial testimony that may reflect on the intentions or expectations of tobacco manufacturers with regard to the introduction of potential reduced exposure products (PREPs). Research was conducted using the Deposition and Trial Testimony Archive (DATTA) collection of trial testimony and depositions housed online at Tobacco Documents Online (www.tobaccodocuments.org). Relevant testimony was identified through full-text searches of terms indicating PREPs or harm reduction strategies. The role and function of PREPs in testimony were classified according to common and contrasting themes. These were analysed in the context of broader trial arguments and against changes in time period and the market. Analysis of testimony suggests that the failure of PREPs in the market tempered initial industry enthusiasm and made protection of the conventional cigarette market its major priority. The "breakthrough" character of PREPs has been de-emphasised, with trial arguments instead positioning PREPs as simply another choice for consumers. This framework legitimises the sale of conventional brands, and shifts the responsibility for adoption of safer products from the manufacturer to the consumer. Likewise, testimony has abandoned earlier dramatic health claims made with regard to PREPs, which had undermined industry arguments regarding efforts to reduce harm in conventional products. More recent testimony advocates the broad acceptance of independent guidelines that would validate use of health claims and enable the industry to market PREPs to consumers. Trial testimony reflects the changing role and positioning of PREPs by the tobacco industry. The findings are of particular importance with regard to future evaluation and potential regulation of reduced harm products.

  16. Meanings & motives. Experts debating tobacco addiction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mars, Sarah G; Ling, Pamela M

    2008-10-01

    Over the last 50 years, tobacco has been excluded from and then included in the category of addictive substances. We investigated influences on these opposing definitions and their application in expert witness testimony in litigation in the 1990s and 2000s. A scientist with ties to the tobacco industry influenced the selection of a definition of addiction that led to the classification of tobacco as a "habituation" in the 1964 Surgeon General's Advisory Committee report. Tobacco was later defined as addictive in the 1988 surgeon general's report. Expert witnesses for tobacco companies used the 1964 report's definition until Philip Morris Tobacco Company publicly changed its position in 1997 to agree that nicotine was addictive. Expert witnesses for plaintiffs suing the tobacco industry used the 1988 report's definition, arguing that new definitions were superior because of scientific advance. Both sides viewed addiction as an objective entity that could be defined more or less accurately.

  17. The physician expert witness and the U.S. Supreme court--an epidemiologic approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norton, Martin L

    2002-01-01

    It is a fact of life that the physician is occasionally called upon to provide Expert Witness evidence. This is clearly distinct from evidence of a participatory nature where the physician is a party to the act by virtue of the doctor-patient relationship. The purpose of this presentation is to alert the physician to new criteria, imposed by the court, for acceptance of Expert Testimony. Prior to March 23, 1999, expert witness testimony fell into three categories, Scientific, technical, and other specialized knowledge. Scientific knowledge included the conclusions that could be subjected to analysis of a statistical nature, or could be validated by methodology such as epidemiologic criteria. Technical knowledge was based on factors such as mechanical or stress analysis utilized in engineering. Other "specialized knowledge" could be based on experiential data and information not necessarily subject to epidemiologic or other scientific analysis. Therefore, the physician presented his reasoning often based on years of professional practice and publication in journals of clinical practice. On March 23rd 1999, the Supreme Court of the United States changed the criteria for all categories stating that there is "no relevant distinction between 'scientific' knowledge' and 'technical' or 'other specialized knowledge' in Federal Rule of Evidence 702. This momentous decision [Kumho Tire Co. v. Carmichael, (97-1709), 131 F.3d 1433) reversed.] referred back to a previous case [Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Inc., 509 US. 579,589], which established four criteria based on methods of analysis for t he courts, and was now extended for all expert evidence. Thus the area of expert witness evidence was changed by this momentous act placing the judge as arbiter of all expert evidence, including that of the physician. This paper will offer a brief review and an analysis of the significance of this for the professional involved in the legal system as an expert witness.

  18. 37 CFR 104.22 - Demand for testimony or production of documents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 37 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Demand for testimony or... Documents in Legal Proceedings § 104.22 Demand for testimony or production of documents. (a) Whenever a demand for testimony or for the production of documents is made upon an employee, the employee shall...

  19. Forensic neuropsychology and expert witness testimony: An overview of forensic practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonard, Elizabeth L

    2015-01-01

    Neuropsychologists are frequently asked to serve as expert witnesses in an increasing number of legal contexts for civil and criminal proceedings. The skills required to practice forensic neuropsychology expand upon the knowledge, skills, and abilities developed by clinical neuropsychologists. Forensic neuropsychologists acquire expertise in understanding the roles and various functions of the legal system, as well as their role in addressing psycholegal questions to assist fact finders in making legal decisions. The required skills and the unique circumstances for clinical neuropsychologists pursing forensic work are reviewed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and gender: The Testimony of Mrs Konile revisited

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandiswa L. Kobe

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This article draws on a well-known narration of the Gugulethu Seven incident from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC proceedings with specific reference to testimonies of the mothers of the Gugulethu Seven. The article focuses on Mrs Konile’s testimony as a case study: Testimony of a black woman whose son was murdered by the apartheid government’s security forces. During the TRC hearings, Mrs Konile ‘failed’ to effectively narrate her story, which resulted in her testimony being dismissed as being incoherent. This article examines the underlying attributes of Mrs Konile’s testimony and revisits why she was considered ‘incapable’ of articulating her experience in a convincing manner. The analysis aims to acknowledge, identify and give insights about this woman’s testimony from an African women theologian viewpoint (specifically with references to the Isixhosa religious cultural background.

  1. 29 CFR 1977.11 - Testimony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) DISCRIMINATION AGAINST EMPLOYEES EXERCISING RIGHTS UNDER THE WILLIAMS-STEIGER OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT... Act is also prohibited by section 11(c). This protection would of course not be limited to testimony...

  2. Trauma, memory, testimony: phenomenological, psychological, and ethical perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Welz

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available How can severely traumatized persons re-present the past and its impact on the present if (due to blackout, repression, or dissociation they could not witness what they went through, or can hardly recall it? Drawing on Holocaust testimonies, this article explores the crisis of witnessing constituted by the Shoah and, more generally, problems of integrating and communicating traumatic experiences. Phenomenological, psychological, and ethical perspectives contribute to a systematic investigation of the relation between trauma, memory and testimony. I will argue that preserving personal continuity across the gap between past and present presupposes not only an ‘inner witness’ – which can, according to a long philosophical tradition, be identified with a person’s conscience – but also a social context in which one is addressed and can respond. An attentive listener can bear witness to the witness by accepting the assignation of responsibility implied in testimonial interaction, and thereby support the dialogic restitution of memory and identity.

  3. 6 CFR 5.45 - Procedure when testimony or production of documents is sought; general.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 6 Domestic Security 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Procedure when testimony or production of... Procedure when testimony or production of documents is sought; general. (a) If official information is... requiring oral testimony, and identification of potentially relevant documents. (c) The appropriate...

  4. 7 CFR 900.40 - Written testimony and USDA data request requirements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... and Nut Marketing Agreements and Marketing Orders § 900.40 Written testimony and USDA data request... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Written testimony and USDA data request requirements...) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements and Orders; Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts), DEPARTMENT OF...

  5. What defines an Expert? - Uncertainty in the interpretation of seismic data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bond, C. E.

    2008-12-01

    Studies focusing on the elicitation of information from experts are concentrated primarily in economics and world markets, medical practice and expert witness testimonies. Expert elicitation theory has been applied in the natural sciences, most notably in the prediction of fluid flow in hydrological studies. In the geological sciences expert elicitation has been limited to theoretical analysis with studies focusing on the elicitation element, gaining expert opinion rather than necessarily understanding the basis behind the expert view. In these cases experts are defined in a traditional sense, based for example on: standing in the field, no. of years of experience, no. of peer reviewed publications, the experts position in a company hierarchy or academia. Here traditional indicators of expertise have been compared for significance on affective seismic interpretation. Polytomous regression analysis has been used to assess the relative significance of length and type of experience on the outcome of a seismic interpretation exercise. Following the initial analysis the techniques used by participants to interpret the seismic image were added as additional variables to the analysis. Specific technical skills and techniques were found to be more important for the affective geological interpretation of seismic data than the traditional indicators of expertise. The results of a seismic interpretation exercise, the techniques used to interpret the seismic and the participant's prior experience have been combined and analysed to answer the question - who is and what defines an expert?

  6. 6 CFR 5.44 - Testimony and production of documents prohibited unless approved by appropriate Department...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 6 Domestic Security 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Testimony and production of documents prohibited... in Litigation § 5.44 Testimony and production of documents prohibited unless approved by appropriate... or request, including in connection with any litigation, provide oral or written testimony by...

  7. 49 CFR 835.10 - Testimony in Federal, State, or local criminal investigations and other proceedings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Testimony in Federal, State, or local criminal investigations and other proceedings. 835.10 Section 835.10 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD TESTIMONY OF BOARD EMPLOYEES § 835.10 Testimony in Federal, State, or local crimina...

  8. [The Testimony. Contributions to the Construction of Historical Memory].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roldán, Ismael

    2013-06-01

    Testimony is a complex act that contributes significantly to the elaboration of mourning, both individually and on a collective level. This is the central idea that is discussed in the text, using as a basis, the results of research conducted as a pilot intervention in the year 2010 for Visible Victims Foundation, and was then replicated in four other regions. In 1998 the National Liberation Army attacked the pipeline OCENSA causing severe damage to the people of Machuca (Segovia, Antioquia). In 2010 the psychologist Ligia Rascovsky implemented an intervention strategy to support the construction of individual and collective memory among survivors of the attack, who, in addition to serious injuries, suffered physical and psychosocial after effects such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The results of this work are used to understand the relevance of the testimony in the psychosocial recovery processes, which is a major challenge for Colombian society today. The type of study was psychosocial intervention in 43 adults of both sexes, Machuca residents who were affected by the bombing, and agreed to voluntarily participate in designed workshops. The workshops followed experiential type techniques (psychodrama, psycho-fantasies, etc.), in which the purpose was to identify the damage by developing testimonial memory of what happened. The workshops express the emotions of grief, recognize the injustice of suffering, fight memory defense that justifies violence and raising awareness of human rights. It also facilitated the process of dignity, empowerment and security in personal and collective reconstruction. In expressing their memoirs thus, they could be free from fear and gain more confidence in themselves as individuals and as a social group, as seen in the formation of individual leadership. These results are the basis of the discussion presented. In this context it has been found that the testimonial narrative is an instrument of personal and social healing

  9. 40 CFR 1611.9 - Testimony in Federal, State, or local criminal investigations and other proceedings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Testimony in Federal, State, or local criminal investigations and other proceedings. 1611.9 Section 1611.9 Protection of Environment CHEMICAL SAFETY AND HAZARD INVESTIGATION BOARD TESTIMONY BY EMPLOYEES IN LEGAL PROCEEDINGS § 1611.9 Testimony in Federal, State, or local criminal...

  10. Social media patient testimonials in implant dentistry: information or misinformation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Adrian; McGrath, Colman; Mattheos, Nikos

    2017-07-01

    This study aims to assess the educational value of YouTube patient testimonial videos in implant dentistry and qualitatively analyse the themes mentioned. Videos were sampled consecutively on YouTube, using the keywords "dental implant patients' testimonials experience," sorted "by relevance." Patient testimonials on dental implant treatment were examined. Inaudible or non-English videos were excluded. Four calibrated investigators scored the videos for educational content, using a matrix derived from the European Association for Osseointegration information booklet, and demographic details were recorded. Data were analysed qualitatively through inductive thematic analysis. A total of 202 videos were analysed (48 exclusions). Inter-examiner reliability was fair to moderate for informative statements and poor to substantial for misleading statements. A mean of 1.8 informative statements were made per video, compared with misleading, 0.5. Many topics were rarely mentioned, with 19/30 themes appearing fewer than 5% of videos. Patients often informed that implants could improve aesthetics and function, but were misleading on aspects of pain control. Some statements may heighten expectations or imply permanency of treatment. Balanced presentation in YouTube testimonials may be limited by bias of clinician-uploaded content. Greater magnitude and breadth of information would improve educational value. Many important parameters of implant therapy were overlooked, whilst information was often potentially misleading. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Expert Testimony, "Regular People," and Public Values: Arguing Common Sense at a Death Penalty Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chappell, Virginia A.

    1995-01-01

    Presents a case study of a particular courtroom case dealing with the death penalty. Analyzes the processes and communications of the trial jury. Discusses the interplay of common-sense and expert claims at three crucial stages of the trial. (HB)

  12. Suicide voices: testimonies of trauma in the French workplace.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waters, Sarah

    2017-03-01

    Workplace suicide has become an urgent social concern internationally with rising numbers of employees choosing to kill themselves in the face of extreme pressures at work. Yet, research on this phenomenon is hampered by fragmentary statistical data and the sheer contentiousness of this issue. This paper presents the preliminary findings of a research project on workplace suicides in France, where there has been a 'suicide epidemic' across a wide range of companies. I draw on an analysis of suicide letters linked to 23 suicide cases across three French companies during the period 2005-2015. My methodological approach is informed by the work of suicide sociologist, Jack D Douglas, who emphasised the importance of narrative, testimony and voice to our understanding of the causes of suicide. Douglas argued that an analysis of the 'social meanings' of suicide should start with a consideration of the motivations attributed to self-killing by suicidal individuals themselves and those close to them. Why does work or conditions of work push some individuals to take their own lives? What can the 'suicide voices' articulated in recent testimonies tell us about the causes of workplace suicide? In this paper, I treat suicide letters as a unique mode of testimony that can reveal some of the profound effects of workplace transformations on subjective, intimate and lived experiences of work. By examining French suicide testimonies, my aim is to deepen our understanding of the nature and causes of suicide in today's globalised workplaces. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  13. 37 CFR 205.23 - Scope of testimony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ..., reasons, mental processes, analyses, or conclusions of that employee in the performance of his or her..., mental processes, analyses, or conclusions of that Office employee in performing the function. (4) In... AND PROCEDURES LEGAL PROCESSES Testimony By Employees and Production of Documents in Legal Proceedings...

  14. Using Testimonial Response to Frame the Challenges and Possibilities of Risky Historical Texts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damico, James; Apol, Laura

    2008-01-01

    Literature that vividly and explicitly describes (often in the form of testimonies from one or more characters) traumatic and/or catastrophic events of human history poses particular challenges for readers. This article proposes testimonial response as one approach to responding to these "risky historical texts." By way of introducing "testimonial…

  15. 78 FR 9336 - Production of FHFA Records, Information, and Employee Testimony in Legal Proceedings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-08

    ... timely notice and centralized, objective decision making. The United States Supreme Court upheld this..., Information, and Employee Testimony in Legal Proceedings AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance Agency. ACTION... (FHFA) proposes a regulation governing the production of FHFA records, information or employee testimony...

  16. Atom and the fault: experts, earthquakes, and nuclear power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meehan, R.L.

    1984-01-01

    A narrative account of the geology expert's role in an environmental controversy focuses on the problem of siting nuclear power plants near geologic faults and the conflicting testimony delivered by equally sincere consultants. The author examines the problem of faults and their significance to reactor safety, and concludes that part of the controversy and regulatory indecision are due to the lack of an accepted scientific standard for risk. He explores the historical and social role of the principal professional groups (geologists and engineers) in the debate, and concludes that concerns at some sites were warranted. Scientific advocacy, he feels, serves a useful function in the hearing process, and that the representation for intervenors has been generally good. 18 references, 10 figures

  17. Service to the South African society through prophetic testimony as a liturgical act

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ben J. de Klerk

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available It is suggested that a clear prophetic voice of the congregational gathering could change the society to which the congregants belong. The problem is that this prophetic voice seems to have disappeared in many cases. A solution might be found if the point of view is taken that the prophetic voice in the congregational gathering is heard in the liturgical acts or rites. In the science of Liturgy attention must be given to the revitalisation of the gift of prophesy. In this article the prophetic testimony of the Old Testament prophets and of the Prophet, Jesus Christ, were used as sources. Following in the footsteps of Brueggemann, an effort will be made to establish in relevant scripture passages what the attitude and practise of prophetic testimony should be. The possibility of rendering service through prophetic testimony as a liturgical act in the South African society is wide open. Prophetic testimony serves to criticise the dominant perception in order to dismantle it, but is also serves to energise persons and communities by its promise of another time and situation towards which the community of faith could move.

  18. Theatre of testimony : an investigation in devising asylum

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Maedza, P.

    2013-01-01

    The use of testimonies in performance is enjoying increased artistic and critical popularity on contemporary world stages and has a long and rich tradition on South African stages. Both internationally and locally, emerging and established playwrights working on migration and refugee issues are

  19. Testimony and Narrative as a Political Relation: The Question of Ethical Judgment in Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adami, Rebecca; Hållander, Marie

    2015-01-01

    In this article, we explore the role of film in educational settings and argue that testimony and narrative are dependent upon each other for developing ethical judgments. We use the film "12 Angry Men" to enhance our thesis that the emotional response that sometimes is intended in using film as testimonies in classrooms requires a…

  20. The nature of expertise in fingerprint matching: experts can do a lot with a little.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew B Thompson

    Full Text Available Expert decision making often seems impressive, even miraculous. People with genuine expertise in a particular domain can perform quickly and accurately, and with little information. In the series of experiments presented here, we manipulate the amount of "information" available to a group of experts whose job it is to identify the source of crime scene fingerprints. In Experiment 1, we reduced the amount of information available to experts by inverting fingerprint pairs and adding visual noise. There was no evidence for an inversion effect-experts were just as accurate for inverted prints as they were for upright prints-but expert performance with artificially noisy prints was impressive. In Experiment 2, we separated matching and nonmatching print pairs in time. Experts were conservative, but they were still able to discriminate pairs of fingerprints that were separated by five-seconds, even though the task was quite different from their everyday experience. In Experiment 3, we separated the print pairs further in time to test the long-term memory of experts compared to novices. Long-term recognition memory for experts and novices was the same, with both performing around chance. In Experiment 4, we presented pairs of fingerprints quickly to experts and novices in a matching task. Experts were more accurate than novices, particularly for similar nonmatching pairs, and experts were generally more accurate when they had more time. It is clear that experts can match prints accurately when there is reduced visual information, reduced opportunity for direct comparison, and reduced time to engage in deliberate reasoning. These findings suggest that non-analytic processing accounts for a substantial portion of the variance in expert fingerprint matching accuracy. Our conclusion is at odds with general wisdom in fingerprint identification practice and formal training, and at odds with the claims and explanations that are offered in court during expert

  1. The nature of expertise in fingerprint matching: experts can do a lot with a little.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Matthew B; Tangen, Jason M

    2014-01-01

    Expert decision making often seems impressive, even miraculous. People with genuine expertise in a particular domain can perform quickly and accurately, and with little information. In the series of experiments presented here, we manipulate the amount of "information" available to a group of experts whose job it is to identify the source of crime scene fingerprints. In Experiment 1, we reduced the amount of information available to experts by inverting fingerprint pairs and adding visual noise. There was no evidence for an inversion effect-experts were just as accurate for inverted prints as they were for upright prints-but expert performance with artificially noisy prints was impressive. In Experiment 2, we separated matching and nonmatching print pairs in time. Experts were conservative, but they were still able to discriminate pairs of fingerprints that were separated by five-seconds, even though the task was quite different from their everyday experience. In Experiment 3, we separated the print pairs further in time to test the long-term memory of experts compared to novices. Long-term recognition memory for experts and novices was the same, with both performing around chance. In Experiment 4, we presented pairs of fingerprints quickly to experts and novices in a matching task. Experts were more accurate than novices, particularly for similar nonmatching pairs, and experts were generally more accurate when they had more time. It is clear that experts can match prints accurately when there is reduced visual information, reduced opportunity for direct comparison, and reduced time to engage in deliberate reasoning. These findings suggest that non-analytic processing accounts for a substantial portion of the variance in expert fingerprint matching accuracy. Our conclusion is at odds with general wisdom in fingerprint identification practice and formal training, and at odds with the claims and explanations that are offered in court during expert testimony.

  2. Testimony, Documentary, Fiction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Hans Lauge

    2017-01-01

    to the memory of the Civil War and Francoist repression: the detective plot, the divided plotline between present and past, and metafictional reflections. But what role did it actually play in the development of the case of the stolen children? This paper studies the relation between different social discourses...... (testimony, fiction, investigative journalism, historiography) and different media (printed books, TV, cinema and theatre) in the development of the case, and explores the specific relation between documentary and fiction in this context. The article follows a line of dialogic interaction between social......This paper examines the remedialisation of the abduction of the children of “rojas” by the Francoist regime. In 2006 the Spanish author Benjamin Prado published Mala gente que camina, a novel that shares most of the characteristics of the fiction published after the turn of the millennium dedicated...

  3. From Empathy to Critical Reflection: The Use of Testimonies in The Training of Holocaust Educators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bornstein, Lilach Naishtat; Naveh, Eyal

    2018-01-01

    How can we bridge the emotional and cognitive study of Holocaust testimonies in Israel? Can empathy be used as a stepping stone to critical reflection? And how can teachers address the manipulative popular interpretation of these testimonies in Israel, which seemingly place them beyond critical reflection? We examine these questions through an…

  4. Children's Causal Inferences from Conflicting Testimony and Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bridgers, Sophie; Buchsbaum, Daphna; Seiver, Elizabeth; Griffiths, Thomas L.; Gopnik, Alison

    2016-01-01

    Preschoolers use both direct observation of statistical data and informant testimony to learn causal relationships. Can children integrate information from these sources, especially when source reliability is uncertain? We investigate how children handle a conflict between what they hear and what they see. In Experiment 1, 4-year-olds were…

  5. 49 CFR 511.35 - Testimony upon oral examination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... sealed envelope on the party conducting the examination. That party shall transmit the envelope to the... envelope endorsed with the title and docket number of the action and marked “Testimony of [name of witness... the examination shall pay for the transcription. (g) Failure to attend or to serve subpoena; expenses...

  6. Remembering to Forget: Testimony, Collective Memory and the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Specifically, how does a text such as Antjie Krog\\'s Country of My Skull, which seeks to straddle the divide of personal, individualised memory and collective memory, contribute to this process in post-apartheid South Africa? Drawing on the proliferation of testimonies which emerged from the Truth Commission, in this text ...

  7. The impossible testimony: Celan in Derrida

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Forster

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Having as background the events associated to the genocide of the Jews in the Second World War, we will try to analyze the possibility conditions of the historical memory in general, and the testimony to events such as the holocaust, in particular. Following the French philosopher Jacques Derrida’s argument line, we will search in Paul Celan’s poetical work, the necessary elements to overcome the hurdles that hinder our understanding of the existence of revolting event

  8. O LOCAL DO TESTEMUNHOTHE PLACE OF TESTIMONY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Márcio Seligmann-Silva

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available O texto divide-se em quatro partes. Na primeira, apresenta-se uma  análise do conceito de testemunho, pensado em termos etimológicos, e de seu  significado como categoria que significa uma relação particular com o “real”.  Na segunda parte, estuda-se a relação do testemunho com as modalidades de  escritas do Eu, com ênfase nos conceitos de diário e autobiografia. Em um  terceiro momento, apresenta-se o significado político do testemunho, como  instrumento de construção de uma memória contra o esquecimento e de um  “trabalho de memória” com relação aos traumas sociais. Na quarta parte,  estuda-se a situação sui generis do Brasil, onde ainda não se conseguiu  instituir uma prática do testemunho e da sua recepção, com relação à ditadura  civil-militar de 1964-1985. Este artigo retoma a fala do autor no “I Congresso Internacional da Cátedra Jorge de Sena  - Andanças Prodigiosas da Literatura”, realizado na Faculdade de Letras da  Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, em outubro de 2009, bem como, em  determinados momentos, partes de outros artigos dedicados à questão do  testemunho que escreveu nos últimos anos. Palavras-Chave:  Testemunho. Memória. Trauma. Ditadura brasileira. Abstract This text has four  parts. 1 First it focuses on the concept of testimony, analyzing its etymology  and meaning as a special category that implies a singular relation with the  “real”. 2 It also discusses the relationship between the testimony and others  modalities of the writing in first person with emphasis on the concepts of  diary and autobiography. 3 After that, the text presents the political meaning  of the testimony, that works as a means of construction of a memory against the  oblivion as well as a “work of memory” concerning social traumas. 4 The last  section is dedicated to the study of the singular position of Brazil as a  country in Latin America that has not been able to

  9. Production Conditions of a kidnapping-testimonial literature boom in Colombia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen Lorena Romero Leal

    2017-01-01

    Alvaro Uribe, a period in which the farc became the enemy of the nation; therefore, the testimony denouncing their crimes echoed massively in privately owned media and in general in Colombian public opinion.

  10. 75 FR 13306 - Copyright Royalty Judges’ Authority to Subpoena a Nonparticipant to Appear and Give Testimony or...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-19

    .... 1305 (Office of Personnel Management & Merit Systems Protection Board may ``subpena witnesses and... or the vice chairman, the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of all documentary... the attendance and testimony of a witness, versus the mere authority to subpoena documentary...

  11. On the importance of considering heterogeneity in witnesses' competence levels when reconstructing crimes from multiple witness testimonies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waubert de Puiseau, Berenike; Greving, Sven; Aßfalg, André; Musch, Jochen

    2017-09-01

    Aggregating information across multiple testimonies may improve crime reconstructions. However, different aggregation methods are available, and research on which method is best suited for aggregating multiple observations is lacking. Furthermore, little is known about how variance in the accuracy of individual testimonies impacts the performance of competing aggregation procedures. We investigated the superiority of aggregation-based crime reconstructions involving multiple individual testimonies and whether this superiority varied as a function of the number of witnesses and the degree of heterogeneity in witnesses' ability to accurately report their observations. Moreover, we examined whether heterogeneity in competence levels differentially affected the relative accuracy of two aggregation procedures: a simple majority rule, which ignores individual differences, and the more complex general Condorcet model (Romney et al., Am Anthropol 88(2):313-338, 1986; Batchelder and Romney, Psychometrika 53(1):71-92, 1988), which takes into account differences in competence between individuals. 121 participants viewed a simulated crime and subsequently answered 128 true/false questions about the crime. We experimentally generated groups of witnesses with homogeneous or heterogeneous competences. Both the majority rule and the general Condorcet model provided more accurate reconstructions of the observed crime than individual testimonies. The superiority of aggregated crime reconstructions involving multiple individual testimonies increased with an increasing number of witnesses. Crime reconstructions were most accurate when competences were heterogeneous and aggregation was based on the general Condorcet model. We argue that a formal aggregation should be considered more often when eyewitness testimonies have to be assessed and that the general Condorcet model provides a good framework for such aggregations.

  12. Transitivity And The Narrator's Role In Selected TRC Testimonies

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Information Technology

    how the different narrators' roles and perspectives on the events shape their ... injustices committed in the past (Truth and Reconciliation of South Africa Report, Vol. ..... testimony, and CDS answers some additional questions from commissioners at .... self-explanatory: CDS construes the police as active participants bent on ...

  13. Conversion and the Real: The (Im)Possibility of Testimonial Representation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sremac, Srdjan

    Although the spiritual vibration of conversion can be felt (by the curious outsider) through what conversion performers say in their testimonial discourse, what transforms the convert 'on stage' into a 'new being' and what is 'the real' ( le réel ) in conversion performance remain unclear. An important question in this connection is, What is 'real' in a conversion representation, both with respect to the convert's interaction with the audience and to the construction of social reality? Following Lacan's tripartite register of the imaginary, the symbolic, and the real, in this essay I argue that through testimonial discourse converts construct social reality as an answer to the impossibility of 'the real' in their performative discursive practice. In the first part, I question the constructed nature of testimonial representations-as well as some academic knowledge production that has governed conversion research in the last few decades-and how these representations encourage 'outsiders' to read the narrative repertoire as a negation or mirroring 'the real' of the conversion experience. In the second part, I apply Roland Barthes' analytic reflections on photography to conversion research, especially the notions of the studium (the common ground of cultural meanings) and the punctum (a personal experience that inspires private meaning). This brings me to a number of theorists (mostly never used in the field of religious conversion)-Jacques Lacan, Roland Barthes, and Slavoj Žižek-who are important to the perspective that is developed in this essay.

  14. I've Got a Testimony: James Baldwin and the Broken Silences of Black Queer Men

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    McKinley E Melton

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available James Baldwin writes within and against the testimonial tradition emerging from the Black Church, challenging the institution’s refusal to acknowledge the voices and experiences of black queer men. Baldwin’s autobiographical novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, creates a space for Baldwin’s testimony to be expressed, and also lays the foundation for a tradition of black queer artists to follow. In the contemporary moment, poet Danez Smith inhabits Baldwin’s legacy, offering continuing critiques of the rigidity of conservative Christian ideologies, while publishing and performing poetry that gives voice to their own experiences, and those of the black queer community at large. These testimonies ultimately function as a means of rhetorical resistance, which not only articulates black queer lives and identities, but affirms them.

  15. Testimony from a former safeguards inspector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richter, R.

    1981-01-01

    Testimony by a former inspector relates the ineffectiveness and deficiencies of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards inspections to Iraq's controversial nuclear program. He notes that all Iraqi inspections since 1976 were conducted by Soviet and Hungarian nationals and that the procedures require prior notice, limited authority, and other loopholes that permit numerous opportunities for materials to be diverted to facilities not subject to inspection. Granting that IAEA inspections are essential, he urges removing some of the constraints that permit noncooperating nations to thwart the intent of the Non-Proliferation Treaty

  16. 26 CFR 301.7456-1 - Administration of oaths and procurement of testimony; production of records of foreign...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Actions by the United States § 301.7456-1 Administration of oaths and procurement of testimony; production... 26 Internal Revenue 18 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Administration of oaths and procurement of testimony; production of records of foreign corporations, foreign trusts or estates and nonresident alien...

  17. 25 CFR 516.2 - When may a person to whom this part applies give testimony, make a statement or submit to interview?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... testimony, make a statement or submit to interview? 516.2 Section 516.2 Indians NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING... whom this part applies give testimony, make a statement or submit to interview? (a) No person to whom... regulation, shall provide testimony, make a statement or submit to interview. (b) Whenever a subpoena...

  18. Evaluation of a Drowning Prevention Program Based on Testimonial Videos: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Jiabin; Pang, Shulan; Schwebel, David C

    2016-06-01

    Unintentional drowning is the most common cause of childhood death in rural China. Global intervention efforts offer mixed results regarding the efficacy of educational programs. Using a randomized controlled design, we evaluated a testimonial-based intervention to reduce drowning risk among 280 3rd- and 4th-grade rural Chinese children. Children were randomly assigned to view either testimonials on drowning risk (intervention) or dog-bite risk (control). Safety knowledge and perceived vulnerability were measured by self-report questionnaires, and simulated behaviors in and near water were assessed with a culturally appropriate dollhouse task. Children in the intervention group had improved children's safety knowledge and simulated behaviors but not perceived vulnerability compared with controls. The testimonial-based intervention's efficacy appears promising, as it improved safety knowledge and simulated risk behaviors with water among rural Chinese children. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  19. DO TESTIMONIES OF TRAUMATIC EVENTS DIFFER DEPENDING ON THE INTERVIEWER?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ulrike Ehlert

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available While differences in witness narratives due to different interviewers may have implications for their credibility in court, this study considers how investigative interviews by different parties to the proceedings, as well as the gender and nationality of interviewers, can influence the testimony of witnesses in court who share comparable traumatic experiences. The foundation of the analysis was answers given to judges, prosecutors, civil party lawyers and defence lawyers in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC located in Phnom Penh. Transcribed testimonies of 24 victim witnesses and civil parties which were translated from Khmer into English were analysed using a computer-based text analysis program, the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC. Results showed that when answering questions by females, witnesses used significantly more cognitive process words. When interviewed by international rather than by Cambodian parties to the proceeding witness accounts were composed of significantly more verbal expressions of affective processes and of perceptual processes. Furthermore, witnesses used most cognitive and affective process words during the interview by civil party lawyers and defence lawyers. These results may be due to a prior supportive relationship between civil parties and their lawyers and due to a more interrogative question style by the defence lawyers, who attempt to undermine the credibility of the interviewed witnesses. Data shows that LIWC analysis is an appropriate method to examine witness accounts and, therefore, contributes to a better understanding of the complex relationship between testimony in events under litigation and credibility.

  20. Legal Professionals' Knowledge of Eyewitness Testimony in China: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lina Jiang

    Full Text Available To examine legal professionals' knowledge of a wide range of factors that affect eyewitness accuracy in China.A total of 812 participants, including 210 judges, 244 prosecutors, 202 police officers, and 156 defense attorneys, were asked to respond to 12 statements about eyewitness testimony and 3 basic demographic questions (i.e., gender, age, and prior experience.Although the judges and the defense attorneys had a somewhat higher number of correct responses than the other two groups, all groups showed limited knowledge of eyewitness testimony. In addition, the participants' responses to only four items (i.e., weapon focus, attitude and expectations, child suggestibility, and the impact of stress were roughly unanimous within the four legal professional groups. Legal professionals' gender showed no significant correlations with their knowledge of eyewitness testimony. Prior experiences were significantly and negatively correlated with the item on the knowledge of forgetting curve among judges but positively correlated with two items (i.e., attitudes and exposure time among defense attorneys and with 4 statements (i.e., the knowledge of attitudes and expectations, impact of stress, child witness accuracy, and exposure time among prosecutors.The findings suggest that knowledge of the factors that influence eyewitness accuracy must be more effectively communicated to legal professionals in the future.

  1. Bill W. goes to Hollywood: the rise and fall of recovering addiction experts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Claire

    2011-06-01

    Although historians of addiction have long debated whether an oral culture of "sharing" or "Big Book"-based reading practices are foundational to 12-step recovery culture, the role other types of media have played in the development of contemporary recovery discourse has remained largely unexplored. This essay compares the production, reception and formal elements of the films The Lost Weekend and Smash Up in relation to the popularization of the disease concept of alcoholism. Through an analysis of archival sources, addiction narratives, and nascent alcoholism research, this paper argues that, by emphasizing the importance of popular representations of alcoholics above scientific inquiry, early recovering "experts" successfully promulgated the disease concept of alcoholism, but the testimonials of later recovering alcoholics became relegated to the sphere of popular culture.

  2. 20 CFR 403.125 - How will we handle requests for records, information, or testimony involving SSA's Office of the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ...' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION TESTIMONY BY EMPLOYEES AND THE PRODUCTION OF RECORDS AND INFORMATION IN LEGAL PROCEEDINGS § 403.125 How will we handle requests for records, information, or testimony... Security Administration, 300 Altmeyer Building, 6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235-6401. ...

  3. War in Colombia testimonial literature: between memory, culture, violence and literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Eduardo Suárez Gómez

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Colombia may be characterized as a society ruled over by “a routinization of war and oblivion”. When memories about violent events succeed in articulate themselves and transcend the private space, they are not necessarily incorporated to national memory through “memory policies” in transitional processes. These memories are “deposited” rather than discussed. Testimonial literature is one of those “deposits”. There are times when certain topics, witnesses, authors and narrative treatments attain an unexpected relevance. Such a relevance follows national factors, like the dynamics of conflict and society in Colombia and abroad, such as a “turn to past”. When making a survey across the development of the testimonial genre from mid-20th century Violence up to our times, the gravitation of several cultures of memory is made evident in a society where oblivion appears to prevail.

  4. Suicide and parasuicide in ancient personal testimonies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Hooff, A J

    1993-01-01

    Attitudes toward suicide have not always been the same as they are today, and understanding the ideas of other cultures and times could enable us to reexamine contemporary conceptions of self-killing. Greek and Roman personal testimonies were examined to investigate the thesis that ancients did not see suicide as caused by psychic or emotional forces. Indeed, though the documents of antiquity give us a closer look into personal motives, they demonstrate that even would-be self-killers themselves wished to regard suicide as a rational act of volition.

  5. Criminal profiling as expert witness evidence: The implications of the profiler validity research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kocsis, Richard N; Palermo, George B

    The use and development of the investigative tool colloquially known as criminal profiling has steadily increased over the past five decades throughout the world. Coupled with this growth has been a diversification in the suggested range of applications for this technique. Possibly the most notable of these has been the attempted transition of the technique from a tool intended to assist police investigations into a form of expert witness evidence admissible in legal proceedings. Whilst case law in various jurisdictions has considered with mutual disinclination the evidentiary admissibility of criminal profiling, a disjunction has evolved between these judicial examinations and the scientifically vetted research testing the accuracy (i.e., validity) of the technique. This article offers an analysis of the research directly testing the validity of the criminal profiling technique and the extant legal principles considering its evidentiary admissibility. This analysis reveals that research findings concerning the validity of criminal profiling are surprisingly compatible with the extant legal principles. The overall conclusion is that a discrete form of crime behavioural analysis is supported by the profiler validity research and could be regarded as potentially admissible expert witness evidence. Finally, a number of theoretical connections are also identified concerning the skills and qualifications of individuals who may feasibly provide such expert testimony. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Children's Lies and Their Detection: Implications for Child Witness Testimony

    Science.gov (United States)

    Talwar, Victoria; Crossman, Angela M.

    2012-01-01

    The veracity of child witness testimony is central to the justice system where there are serious consequences for the child, the accused, and society. Thus, it is important to examine how children's lie-telling abilities develop and the factors that can influence their truthfulness. The current review examines children's lie-telling ability in…

  7. A HOLISTIC MODEL FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE TESTIMONY (HELPT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio L. Manzanero

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available A proposed protocol for evaluating the statements and identifications made by the potential victims of crimes is presented in this paper. The protocol, called HELPT, is part of a holistic approach to evaluating the testimony that takes into account all of the possible factors of influence: encoding, retention and recovery. Among these factors, the following will be relevant: a the ability of victims to testify, as well as cognitive processes of attention, perception, memory and language; b the specific characteristics of the offence; c the history of the event and its consequences; d other factors that might affect the quality and accuracy of the statements and identifications, such as the number of times the victim had to tell what happened, the methods used to obtain the story and possibilities of suggestion. The method includes specific procedures for exhaustive analysis of the testimonies and for the formulation and testing of hypotheses (Scott & Manzanero, 2015, the evaluation of the competence to testify (Contreras, Silva, & Manzanero, 2015 and the obtaining of statements (González, Muñoz, Sotoca, & Manzanero, 2013.

  8. 36 CFR 1012.2 - What is the Presidio Trust's policy on granting requests for employee testimony or Presidio Trust...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What is the Presidio Trust's policy on granting requests for employee testimony or Presidio Trust records? 1012.2 Section 1012.2 Parks, Forests, and Public Property PRESIDIO TRUST LEGAL PROCESS: TESTIMONY BY EMPLOYEES AND PRODUCTION OF RECORDS General Information § 1012.2 What...

  9. Effect evaluation of a road safety education program based on victim testimonials in high schools in Belgium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuenen, Ariane; Brijs, Kris; Brijs, Tom; Van Vlierden, Karin; Daniels, Stijn; Wets, Geert

    2016-09-01

    For several decades policy makers worldwide have experimented with testimonials as a strategy to promote road safety supportive views in a wide variety of target populations such as recidivists and students. In its basic format, a (relative of) a victim or an offender brings a personal testimonial of what it is to experience a traffic accident. The underlying idea is that such a testimonial will emotionally affect participants, thereby stimulating them to cognitively reflect upon their own behavior and responsibility as a road user. Unfortunately, empirical literature on the effectiveness of this strategy is rather scarce and inconsistent. This study investigated the effect of a large-scale program with victim testimonials for high schools in Belgium on five socio-cognitive and behavioral variables drawn from the Theory of Planned Behavior (i.e., attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, behavioral intention and behavior). Moreover, this study investigated program effects on participants' cognitive and emotional estate and whether this influences the program's impact on socio-cognitive and behavioral variables. Our test sample included 1362 students, who were assigned to a baseline - follow-up group and a post-test - follow-up group. We questioned both groups, a first time (just before or after session attendance) on paper, and a second time (two months after session attendance) online. Results indicate the program had, both immediate and two months after attendance, small to medium positive effects on most socio-cognitive and behavioral variables. However, effects depended on participants' demographic profile, their baseline values on the socio-cognitive and behavioral variables, and the degree to which they were cognitively/emotionally affected by the program. We discuss the practical implications of these findings and formulate recommendations for the development of future interventions based on victim testimonials. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd

  10. Index of Reports and Testimony: Fiscal Year 1991.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-12-01

    74FS, Apr. 24 U.S.-Mexico Trade: Some U.S. Wood Furniture Firms Relocated From Los Angeles Area to Mexico GAO NSIAD-91-191 Apr. 24 El Comercio Entre U.S...Testimony: Fiscal Year 1991 El Comercio Entry Los EE. UU. y Mexico: Informacion acerca de la reglamentacion ambiental y su cumplimiento GAO NSIAi)-91-227SV...Considerations GAO/RCED-91-240 Sept. 17 Air Traffic Control: FAA’s Transition of Communications System to Digital Technology GAO/IMTEC-91-77FS Sept. 26

  11. The Voice of the Innocent: Propaganda and Childhood Testimonies of War

    Science.gov (United States)

    de La Ferrière, Alexis Artaud

    2014-01-01

    Childhood testimonies have become a familiar component of war reporting and peace advocacy through the publication of children's drawings, oral descriptions of wartime trauma and wartime writing. While such practices have the merit of publicising children's experiences, it is also the case that the selection and distribution of these materials is…

  12. 36 CFR 1251.6 - How does the General Counsel determine whether to comply with a demand for records or testimony?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... determine whether to comply with a demand for records or testimony? 1251.6 Section 1251.6 Parks, Forests... § 1251.6 How does the General Counsel determine whether to comply with a demand for records or testimony? The General Counsel may consider the following factors in determining whether or not to grant an...

  13. Efficacy of Web-Based Collection of Strength-Based Testimonials for Text Message Extension of Youth Suicide Prevention Program: Randomized Controlled Experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiha, Phyo; Pisani, Anthony R; Gurditta, Kunali; Cherry, Erin; Peterson, Derick R; Kautz, Henry; Wyman, Peter A

    2016-11-09

    Equipping members of a target population to deliver effective public health messaging to peers is an established approach in health promotion. The Sources of Strength program has demonstrated the promise of this approach for "upstream" youth suicide prevention. Text messaging is a well-established medium for promoting behavior change and is the dominant communication medium for youth. In order for peer 'opinion leader' programs like Sources of Strength to use scalable, wide-reaching media such as text messaging to spread peer-to-peer messages, they need techniques for assisting peer opinion leaders in creating effective testimonials to engage peers and match program goals. We developed a Web interface, called Stories of Personal Resilience in Managing Emotions (StoryPRIME), which helps peer opinion leaders write effective, short-form messages that can be delivered to the target population in youth suicide prevention program like Sources of Strength. To determine the efficacy of StoryPRIME, a Web-based interface for remotely eliciting high school peer leaders, and helping them produce high-quality, personal testimonials for use in a text messaging extension of an evidence-based, peer-led suicide prevention program. In a double-blind randomized controlled experiment, 36 high school students wrote testimonials with or without eliciting from the StoryPRIME interface. The interface was created in the context of Sources of Strength-an evidence-based youth suicide prevention program-and 24 ninth graders rated these testimonials on relatability, usefulness/relevance, intrigue, and likability. Testimonials written with the StoryPRIME interface were rated as more relatable, useful/relevant, intriguing, and likable than testimonials written without StoryPRIME, P=.054. StoryPRIME is a promising way to elicit high-quality, personal testimonials from youth for prevention programs that draw on members of a target population to spread public health messages. ©Phyo Thiha, Anthony

  14. Testimony before the US-China Economic Security Review Commission: China's Agriculture Policy and US Access to China's Market

    OpenAIRE

    Dermot J. Hayes

    2013-01-01

    Testimony before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission on April 25, 2013, by Dermot Hayes, professor of Economics and Finance, Iowa State University. Testimony covers impacts on food demand from China's rising incomes and urbanization; the viability of China's attempt to remain self-sufficient in meat and key staple crop production under inherent supply constraints, and the possible technological- and policy-based measures they may pursue in regard of such constraints; and, the...

  15. Kumho, Daubert, and the nature of scientific inquiry: implications for forensic anthropology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grivas, Christopher R; Komar, Debra A

    2008-07-01

    In the last 15 years, the US Supreme Court has implemented major changes concerning the admittance of expert testimony. In 1993, Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals superseded the Frye ruling in federal courts and established judges, not the scientific community, as the gatekeepers regarding the credibility of scientific evidence. In 1999, a lesser-known but equally important decision, Kumho Tire v. Carmichael, ruled that technical expert testimony needed to employ the same rigor as outlined in Daubert, but experts can develop theories based on observations and apply such theories to the case before the court. Anthropology has never been defined as a hard science. Yet, many recent publications have modified existing techniques to meet the Daubert criteria, while none have discussed the significance of Kumho to anthropological testimony. This paper examines the impact of Daubert and Kumho on forensic anthropology and illustrates areas of anthropological testimony best admitted under Kumho's guidance.

  16. "It Was the Best Decision of My Life": a thematic content analysis of former medical tourists' patient testimonials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hohm, Carly; Snyder, Jeremy

    2015-01-22

    Medical tourism is international travel with the intention of receiving medical care. Medical tourists travel for many reasons, including cost savings, limited domestic access to specific treatments, and interest in accessing unproven interventions. Medical tourism poses new health and safety risks to patients, including dangers associated with travel following surgery, difficulty assessing the quality of care abroad, and complications in continuity of care. Online resources are important to the decision-making of potential medical tourists and the websites of medical tourism facilitation companies (companies that may or may not be affiliated with a clinic abroad and help patients plan their travel) are an important source of online information for these individuals. These websites fail to address the risks associated with medical tourism, which can undermine the informed decision-making of potential medical tourists. Less is known about patient testimonials on these websites, which can be a particularly powerful influence on decision-making. A thematic content analysis was conducted of patient testimonials hosted on the YouTube channels of four medical tourism facilitation companies. Five videos per company were viewed. The content of these videos was analyzed and themes identified and counted for each video. Ten main themes were identified. These themes were then grouped into three main categories: facilitator characteristics (e.g., mentions of the facilitator by name, reference to the price of the treatment or to cost savings); service characteristics (e.g., the quality and availability of the surgeon, the quality and friendliness of the support staff); and referrals (e.g., referrals to other potential medical tourists). These testimonials were found either not to mention risks associated with medical tourism or to claim that these risks can be effectively managed through the use of the facilitation company. The failure fully to address the risks of medical

  17. Expert Systems: What Is an Expert System?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duval, Beverly K.; Main, Linda

    1994-01-01

    Describes expert systems and discusses their use in libraries. Highlights include parts of an expert system; expert system shells; an example of how to build an expert system; a bibliography of 34 sources of information on expert systems in libraries; and a list of 10 expert system shells used in libraries. (Contains five references.) (LRW)

  18. Speciality of psychological processes in relation to children testimony

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brkić Snežana S.

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Witnesses are important and very frequent sources of evidence in criminal trial. The correct estimate the credibility of witneses is of great significance. Therefore the judge must obtain some psychological knowledge. He must know some essential things about psychological processes and psychological features which are in relation to witness testimony. The author brings into focus such processes as. Memory, thinking, speech and emphasizes the speciality of those psychological processes by children. The author also point to some psychological features of children witnesses as suggestibility.

  19. NRC testimony before the Subcommittee on Nuclear Regulation of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, United States Senate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1977-10-01

    NRC staff testimony before the U.S. Senate's Subcommittee on Nuclear Regulation, Committee on Environment and Public, is presented. The testimony pertains to the staff's role in the licensing process affecting the Virginia Electric and Power Company's North Anna nuclear plant. It explains the steps taken since 1973, and particularly since formation of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in January 1975, to improve the timeliness of submission of information from the staff to the Commission licensing boards

  20. Drawing trauma: the therapeutic potential of witnessing the child's visual testimony of war.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farley, Lisa; Mishra Tarc, Aparna

    2014-10-01

    Countertransference plays an often neglected role in witnessing children's testimony of war and trauma. A dual notion of countertransference, based on the work of Winnicott and Klein, is offered that involves both internal conflict related to early life experience and socially mediated notions of childhood, war, and trauma circulating in a given time and place. A drawing by a thirteen-year-old boy living in the refugee camps in Darfur is used to show how countertransference affects our interpretation of the image, even while its symbolization in language establishes the conditions for a potentially therapeutic response. It is argued that a psychoanalytic reading can supplement the "legal-conscious terminology" in which the Darfur archive has been predominantly framed (Felman 2002, p. 5). This expanded view of witnessing involves reading the child's testimony both for the history of violence it conveys and for the social and emotional histories it calls up in the witness as the ground and possibility of justice. © 2014 by the American Psychoanalytic Association.

  1. A full-text english database of testimonies of those exposed to radiation near the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, Kazakhstan

    OpenAIRE

    Matsuo, Masatsugu; Kawano, Noriyuki; Hirabayashi, Kyoko; Tooka, Yasuyuki; Apsalikov, Kazbek Negamatovich; Hoshi, Masaharu

    2004-01-01

    The present paper is a sequel to the initial report (Kawano et al 2003a) of the project for a full-text Japanese database of the testimonies of those exposed to radiation near the nuclear test site of Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. 139 testimonies were gathered in four villages near Semipalatinsk in 2002. We translated them into English from Russian and Kazakh, and created a full-text database by using a Latin script text retrieval program, TERESA. The present paper attempts at essentially the sa...

  2. From early detection to rehabilitation in the community: reading beyond the blog testimonies of survivors' quality of life and prostate cancer representation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zanchetta, Margareth Santos; Cognet, Marguerite; Lam-Kin-Teng, Mary Rachel; Dumitriu, Marie Elisabeth; Renaud, Lise; Rhéaume, Jacques

    2016-12-16

    Survivors' testimonies can reveal much about men's experiences of prostate cancer and impacts on their quality of life (QOL) during the clinical trajectory of the disease. These survivors' shared thoughts and views were hypothesized to reflect salient features of their lived social representation of prostate cancer. We explored the content of testimonies posted by men to a public blog hosted by a French national prostate cancer patients' association. The study question, "What do French bloggers' testimonies reveal about their lived experiences with prostate cancer, especially regarding their quality of life in community settings, that underpin their social representation of prostate cancer?" guided the exploration and analysis of the textual data. The aims were to better understand men's experiences and predominant thoughts and views, to elucidate patients' behaviours, and to enlighten medical policy and practice. Explore issues of QOL as reported by French prostate cancer survivors in a public blog by: (a) identifying the salient aspects and issues of the experience of living with prostate cancer from the perspective of survivors; and (b) analyzing the content in the posted testimonies regarding perceived and lived impacts of prostate cancer on QOL. A critical ethnographic study guided the selection of textual data from 196 male bloggers' testimonies about prostate cancer posted in the period from 2008 to 2013. Media content analysis method was undertaken on blog testimonies, framed by a multidimensional conceptual framework of QOL. Testimonies focused mainly on medical care and rehabilitation, recovery, health education and self-care, as well as on a global vision of prostate cancer and its impacts on personal views of manhood and masculinity. The language used indicated that political, educative and compassionate discourses were intertwined to create a complex representation of the experience and effects of prostate cancer; this multi-faceted representation can

  3. CBO Testimony: The Ability of the U.S. Military to Sustain an Occupation in Iraq

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Holtz-Eakin, Douglas

    2003-01-01

    .... This testimony describes the results of that work. In performing its analysis, CBO made no assumptions about how long the occupation might last or about the size of the force that might be necessary...

  4. The presentation of forensic psychiatric evidence in court.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutheil, T G

    2000-01-01

    After defining the role of expert witness, the article reviews the basics of courtroom testimony under the rubrics of (a) truth (presenting under oath only that testimony that one can "swear to," to a reasonable degree of medical certainty); (b) testing (including both psychological testing and tests to assess admissibility standards); and (c) theater (including elements of drama, solemnity, and ritual as well as persuasiveness to the "audience"). Pathways to effectiveness are discussed, including use of visual materials, adjustment of language level for the jury's comprehension and attention to the narrative dimension of the case. Areas of excluded testimony are identified, such as the "ultimate issue" in the case, comments on credibility of other witnesses and comments on the legal process itself. Pitfalls that lie on the path to effectiveness are described, including narcissistic arrogance, anger, and using testimony in a personal crusade; means of avoiding these pitfalls are noted. The author concludes that effective courtroom testimony fulfills expert witness functions necessary to the legal system.

  5. Optimizing the Presentation of Mental Health Information in Social Media: The Effects of Health Testimonials and Platform on Source Perceptions, Message Processing, and Health Outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quintero Johnson, Jessie M; Yilmaz, Gamze; Najarian, Kristy

    2017-09-01

    Using social media for the purpose of disseminating mental health information is a critical area of scientific inquiry for health communication professionals. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the presence of a first-person testimonial in educational mental health information placed in Facebook and Twitter messages influenced college students' (N = 257) source perceptions, information processing, cognitive elaboration, health information recall, beliefs, and behavioral intentions. Results show that exposure to social media messages that featured mental health information embedded with a testimonial predicted less source homophily and more critical thoughts about the social media source, less systematic message processing, and less cognitive elaboration. Health information recall was significantly impacted by both the social media platform and message content such that participants in the testimonial condition on Facebook were more likely to recall the health facts in those messages whereas participants who viewed the testimonial in Twitter were less likely to recall the facts in those tweets. Compared to those who read Facebook messages, participants who read Twitter messages reported higher levels of systematic message processing. These findings suggest that the integration of health testimonials into social media messages might inadvertently provoke psychological resistance to mental health information, thereby reducing the persuasive impact of those messages.

  6. 15 CFR 15.13 - Demand for testimony or production of documents: Department policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ...; (d) To avoid spending the time and money of the United States for private purposes; (e) To preserve... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Demand for testimony or production of documents: Department policy. 15.13 Section 15.13 Commerce and Foreign Trade Office of the Secretary of...

  7. Price competition between an expert and a non-expert

    OpenAIRE

    Bouckaert, J.M.C.; Degryse, H.A.

    1998-01-01

    This paper characterizes price competition between an expert and a non-expert. In contrast with the expert, the non-expert’s repair technology is not always successful. Consumers visit the expert after experiencing an unsuccessful match at the non-expert. This re-entry affects the behaviour of both sellers. For low enough probability of successful repair at the non-expert, all consumers first visit the non-expert, and a ‘timid-pricing’ equilibrium results. If the non-expert’s repair technolog...

  8. 78 FR 72850 - Production of Nonpublic Records and Testimony of OPIC Employees in Legal Proceedings

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-04

    ... of Nonpublic Records and Testimony of OPIC Employees in Legal Proceedings AGENCY: Overseas Private...; a major increase in costs or prices; or significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or on the ability of United State based companies to compete with...

  9. Climate Testimonies and Climate-crisis Narratives. Inuit Delegated to Speak on Behalf of the Climate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjørst, Lill Rastad

    2012-01-01

    challenges the use of climate testimonies in the international climatechange debate. Specifically, what is drawn upon in these personal experiences with the environment, and how is it useful in a public, political, or scientific context? In the conclusion of this article, it is argued that dominant climate...

  10. Trust in Testimony about Strangers: Young Children Prefer Reliable Informants Who Make Positive Attributions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boseovski, Janet J.

    2012-01-01

    Young children have been described as critical consumers of information, particularly in the domain of language learning. Indeed, children are more likely to learn novel words from people with accurate histories of object labeling than with inaccurate ones. But what happens when informant testimony conflicts with a tendency to see the world in a…

  11. NESSUS/EXPERT - An expert system for probabilistic structural analysis methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millwater, H.; Palmer, K.; Fink, P.

    1988-01-01

    An expert system (NESSUS/EXPERT) is presented which provides assistance in using probabilistic structural analysis methods. NESSUS/EXPERT is an interactive menu-driven expert system that provides information to assist in the use of the probabilistic finite element code NESSUS/FEM and the fast probability integrator. NESSUS/EXPERT was developed with a combination of FORTRAN and CLIPS, a C language expert system tool, to exploit the strengths of each language.

  12. CBO Testimony: Statement of Robert F. Hale, Assistant Director, National Security Division, Congressional Budget Office

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Hale, Robert F

    1991-01-01

    .... This testimony, by Robert F. Hale, Congressional Budget Office, covers the following topics: Socioeconomic Backgrounds of Enlisted Recruits, Racial Mix of Enlisted Recruits, Shifts in Recruiting during the 1980s, Altering the Composition of the Military: Reserve Mobilization and Conscription, and Should the Social Composition of the Military be a Concern?

  13. Expert systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haldy, P.A.

    1988-01-01

    The definitions of the terms 'artificial intelligence' and 'expert systems', the methodology, areas of employment and limits of expert systems are discussed. The operation of an expert system is described, especially the presentation and organization of knowledge as well as interference and control. Methods and tools for expert system development are presented and their application in nuclear energy are briefly addressed. 7 figs., 2 tabs., 6 refs

  14. Meeting a Forensic Podiatry Admissibility Challenge: A Daubert Case Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nirenberg, Michael

    2016-05-01

    This article is an introduction to the United States Supreme Court's standard of admissibility of forensic evidence and testimony at trial, known as the Daubert standard, with emphasis on how this standard applies to the field of forensic podiatry. The author, a forensic podiatrist, provided law enforcement with evidence tying a bloody sock-clad footprint found at the scene of a homicide to the suspect. In 2014, the author testified at a pretrial hearing, known as "a Daubert hearing," to address the admissibility of this evidence in court. This was the first instance of forensic podiatry being the primary subject of a Daubert hearing. The hearing resulted in the court ordering this evidence admissible. The expert's testimony contributed to the suspect's conviction. This article serves as a reference for forensic podiatrists and experts in similar fields that involve impression evidence, providing evidentiary standards and their impact on expert evidence and testimony. © 2016 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  15. Natural Conversations as a Source of False Memories in Children: Implications for the Testimony of Young Witnesses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Principe, Gabrielle F.; Schindewolf, Erica

    2012-01-01

    Research on factors that can affect the accuracy of children’s autobiographical remembering has important implications for understanding the abilities of young witnesses to provide legal testimony. In this article, we review our own recent research on one factor that has much potential to induce errors in children’s event recall, namely natural memory sharing conversations with peers and parents. Our studies provide compelling evidence that not only can the content of conversations about the past intrude into later memory but that such exchanges can prompt the generation of entirely false narratives that are more detailed than true accounts of experienced events. Further, our work show that deeper and more creative participation in memory sharing dialogues can boost the damaging effects of conversationally conveyed misinformation. Implications of this collection of findings for children’s testimony are discussed. PMID:23129880

  16. Expert Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Lucas, P.J.F.

    2005-01-01

    Expert systems mimic the problem-solving activity of human experts in specialized domains by capturing and representing expert knowledge. Expert systems include a knowledge base, an inference engine that derives conclusions from the knowledge, and a user interface. Knowledge may be stored as if-then rules, orusing other formalisms such as frames and predicate logic. Uncertain knowledge may be represented using certainty factors, Bayesian networks, Dempster-Shafer belief functions, or fuzzy se...

  17. 32 CFR 725.4 - Definitions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... restrict. (3) Characterization of expected testimony by a requester as fact, opinion, or expert is not... FOR LITIGATION PURPOSES AND TESTIMONY BY DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY PERSONNEL § 725.4 Definitions. (a... subject matter of the request, will act as determining authority. In all other cases, the responsibility...

  18. Testimonies of precognition and encounters with psychiatry in letters to J. B. Priestley.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Katy

    2014-12-01

    Using letters sent to British playwright J. B. Priestley in 1963, this paper explores the intersection between patient-focused history of psychiatry and the history of parapsychology in everyday life. Priestley's study of precognition lay outside the main currents of parapsychology, and his status as a storyteller encouraged confidences about anomalous temporal experience and mental illness. Drawing on virtue epistemology, I explore the regulation of subjectivity operated by Priestley in establishing the credibility of his correspondents in relation to their gender and mental health, and investigate the possibility of testimonial justice for these witnesses. Priestley's ambivalent approach to madness in relation to visions of the future is related to the longer history of prophecy and madness. Letters from the television audience reveal a variety of attitudes towards the compatibility of precognition with modern theories of the mind, show the flexibility of precognition in relation to mental distress, and record a range of responses from medical and therapeutic practitioners. Testimonial justice for those whose experience of precognition intersects with psychiatric care entails a full acknowledgement of the tensions and complicities between these two domains as they are experienced by the witness, and an explicit statement of the hearer's orientation to those domains. Copyright © 2014 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  19. Expert - Non-expert differences in visual behaviour during alpine slalom skiing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Decroix, Marjolein; Wazir, Mohd Rozilee Wazir Norjali; Zeuwts, Linus; Deconinck, Frederik F J A; Lenoir, Matthieu; Vansteenkiste, Pieter

    2017-10-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate visual behaviour of expert and non-expert ski athletes during an alpine slalom. Fourteen non-experts and five expert slalom skiers completed an alpine slalom course in an indoor ski slope while wearing a head-mounted eye tracking device. Experts completed the slalom clearly faster than non-experts, but no significant difference was found in timing and position of the turn initiation. Although both groups already looked at future obstacles approximately 0,5s before passing the upcoming pole, the higher speed of experts implied that they shifted gaze spatially earlier in the bend than non-experts. Furthermore, experts focussed more on the second next pole while non-expert slalom skiers looked more to the snow surface immediately in front of their body. No difference was found in the fixation frequency, average fixation duration, and quiet eye duration between both groups. These results suggest that experts focus on the timing of their actions while non-experts still need to pay attention to the execution of these actions. These results also might suggest that ski trainers should instruct non-experts and experts to focus on the next pole and, shift their gaze to the second next pole shortly before reaching it. Based on the current study it seems unadvisable to instruct slalom skiers to look several poles ahead during the actual slalom. However, future research should test if these results still hold on a real outdoor slope, including multiple vertical gates. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Posthumous Testimony for Dr. Leo Gross and his Family / Restoration of the 'Lost' Biography of a Physician Victim of the Holocaust

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hildebrandt, Sabine; Von Villiez, Anna; Seidelman, William E

    At a time when the last direct witnesses of the Holocaust are passing, new approaches to the restoration of 'lost' biographies of victims need to be considered. This investigation describes the potential of an international collaboration including surviving family members. Archival documents discovered in Jerusalem in 1983 concerned a discussion on the cancellation of a medical licence for a German Jewish physician, Dr. Leo Gross of Kolberg, who had been disenfranchised from medical practice under Nazi law. After applying for a medical licence during a 1935 visit to Palestine, Gross remigrated to Germany, where he was imprisoned in a concentration camp. No further information was found until 2014, when a group of scholars linked a variety of archival and internet-accessible sources and located a nephew of Gross. The nephew's testimony, cross-referenced against data from other sources, enabled the reconstruction of the 'lost' biography of his uncle and family, in fact a posthumous testimony. The resulting narrative places Dr. Leo Gross within his professional and social network, and serves his commemoration within this context of family and community. The restored biography of Dr. Leo Gross presents an exemplary case study for the future of Holocaust testimony.

  1. Archiveras anarquistas: Corporal Testimony in the Work of Diamela Eltit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Megan Corbin

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: There exists a constant within the trajectory of Diamela Eltit’s contributions to New Chilean Fiction: the turn to the body’s revelatory capacity as a corporal archive of human existence. Simultaneously exploring and rejecting the confines of the traditional testimonial reliance on language, Eltit moves the reader to a re-consideration of the truth-telling function of the biological materiality of the body, placing imperfect corporalities on display as a means of speaking, even where the voice itself may falter.  This essay locates Eltit’s move to the corporal within the trajectory of feminist criticism, the traumatic realities of the Chilean dictatorship and post-dictatorship periods, and the search for the recuperation of those bodily knowledges represented by the disappeared.  Next, it turns to Eltit’s Impuesto a la carne as her most recent re-visioning of the importance of corporal textualities, whether or not the subject-matter of the body’s denunciation is connected to the dictatorship.  Lastly, this essay reconsiders the rejective power of the traditional archive, analyzing the effect set models have on those who seek to tell their stories outside of the traditional testimonial model. I argue that the case of Diamela Eltit is an example of the way writers and producers of cultural texts which actively inscribe alternative memories of the past are resisting the authoritative power of the archive and subversively inscribing narrative memory onto bodily materialities, re-orienting the view of the corporal from an evidentiary showing to an active process of re-telling the past. Eltit’s novels, inscribed with her corporal textual model, give voice to survivors, articulating an alternate historical model for the archive, embracing the biological and making it speak against the rigid abuses of authoritarianism.

  2. Demystifying the Courtroom: Everything the Veterinary Pathologist Needs to Know About Testifying in an Animal Cruelty Case.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frederickson, Reese

    2016-09-01

    When veterinary pathologists testify as expert witnesses in animal cruelty trials, they may find themselves in an intimidating and unfamiliar environment. The legal rules are clouded in mystery, the lawyers dwell on mundane details, and the witness's words are extracted with precision by a verbal scalpel. An unprepared expert witness can feel ungrounded and stripped of confidence. The goal of this article is to lift the veil of mystery and give the veterinary pathologist the tools to be a knowledgeable and confident expert witness before and during testimony. This article discusses the types of expert witnesses, disclosure requirements and the importance of a good report, the legal basics of expert testimony, and how to be an effective expert witness. The article references Minnesota law; however, the laws are similar in most jurisdictions and based on the same constitutional requirements, and the concepts presented are applicable in nearly every courtroom.(1). © The Author(s) 2016.

  3. Bleeding Mud: The Testimonial Poetry of Hurricane Mitch in Nicaragua

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erin S Finzer

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Beginning with Rubén Darío, Nicaragua has long prided itself in being a country of poets. During the Sandinista Revolution, popular poetry workshops dispatched by Minister of Culture Ernesto Cardenal taught peasants and soldiers to write poetry about everyday life and to use poetry as a way to work through trauma from the civil war. When Hurricane Mitch--one of the first superstorms that heralded climate change--brought extreme flooding to Nicaragua in 1998, poetry again served as a way for victims to process the devastation. Examining testimonial poetry from Hurricane Mitch, this article shows how the mud and despair of this environmental disaster function as palimpsests of conquest and imperial oppression.

  4. Expert ease

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1984-04-01

    Expert-ease allows the most inexperienced of computer users to build an expert system in a matter of hours. It is nothing more or less than a computer based problem-solving system. It allows the expert to preserve his or her knowledge in the form of rules, which can be applied to problems put to the system by the non-expert. The crucial piece of software at the heart of Expert-Ease extracts rules from data, and is called the analogue concept learning system. It was developed by Intelligent Terminals Ltd. and supplied to Export Software International to be incorporated into a commercially attractive package for business users. The resulting product runs on the Act Sirius and the IBM PC and compatibles. It is a well conceived and polished product with a popular appeal that should ensure widespread acceptance even at a cost of >1500 plus vat.

  5. Expert System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hildebrandt, Thomas Troels; Cattani, Gian Luca

    2016-01-01

    An expert system is a computer system for inferring knowledge from a knowledge base, typically by using a set of inference rules. When the concept of expert systems was introduced at Stanford University in the early 1970s, the knowledge base was an unstructured set of facts. Today the knowledge b...... for the application of expert systems, but also raises issues regarding privacy and legal liability....

  6. Breaking the School-to-Prison Pipeline for Students with Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Council on Disability, 2015

    2015-01-01

    In conjunction with its fall quarterly meeting, NCD convened a stakeholder forum in Atlanta in October 2014 to receive testimony on the role of special education in the School-to-Prison Pipeline. The findings and recommendations in this report are based upon the culmination of that testimony, interviews with experts, and review of available…

  7. EXPERT SYSTEMS

    OpenAIRE

    Georgiana Marin; Mihai Catalin Andrei

    2011-01-01

    In recent decades IT and computer systems have evolved rapidly in economic informatics field. The goal is to create user friendly information systems that respond promptly and accurately to requests. Informatics systems evolved into decision assisted systems, and such systems are converted, based on gained experience, in expert systems for creative problem solving that an organization is facing. Expert systems are aimed at rebuilding human reasoning on the expertise obtained from experts, sto...

  8. Expert and competent non-expert visual cues during simulated diagnosis in intensive care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCormack, Clare; Wiggins, Mark W; Loveday, Thomas; Festa, Marino

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the information acquisition strategies of expert and competent non-expert intensive care physicians during two simulated diagnostic scenarios involving respiratory distress in an infant. Specifically, the information acquisition performance of six experts and 12 competent non-experts was examined using an eye-tracker during the initial 90 s of the assessment of the patient. The results indicated that, in comparison to competent non-experts, experts recorded longer mean fixations, irrespective of the scenario. When the dwell times were examined against specific areas of interest, the results revealed that competent non-experts recorded greater overall dwell times on the nurse, where experts recorded relatively greater dwell times on the head and face of the manikin. In the context of the scenarios, experts recorded differential dwell times, spending relatively more time on the head and face during the seizure scenario than during the coughing scenario. The differences evident between experts and competent non-experts were interpreted as evidence of the relative availability of task-specific cues or heuristics in memory that might direct the process of information acquisition amongst expert physicians. The implications are discussed for the training and assessment of diagnostic skills.

  9. Expert and Competent Non-Expert Visual Cues during Simulated Diagnosis in Intensive Care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clare eMcCormack

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to examine the information acquisition strategies of expert and competent non-expert intensive care physicians during two simulated diagnostic scenarios involving respiratory distress in an infant. Specifically, the information acquisition performance of six experts and 12 competent non-experts was examined using an eye tracker during the initial 90 seconds of the assessment of the patient. The results indicated that, in comparison to competent non-experts, experts recorded longer mean fixations, irrespective of the scenario. When the dwell times were examined against specific areas of interest, the results revealed that competent non-experts recorded greater overall dwell times on the nurse, where experts recorded relatively greater dwell times on the head and face of the manikin. In the context of the scenarios, experts recorded differential dwell times, spending relatively more time on the head and face during the seizure scenario than during the coughing scenario. The differences evident between experts and competent non-experts were interpreted as evidence of the relative availability of task-specific cues or heuristics in memory that might direct the process of information acquisition amongst expert physicians. The implications are discussed for the training and assessment of diagnostic skills.

  10. Plutonium - the ultrapoison? An expert's opinion about an expert opinion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stoll, W.; Becker, K.

    1989-01-01

    In an expert opinion written by Professor H. Kuni, Marburg, for the North Rhine-Westphalian state government, plutonium is called by far the most dangerous element in the Periodic Table. The Marburg medical expert holds that even improved legal instruments are unable to warrant effective protection of the workers handling this material, in the light of the present standards of industrial safety, because of radiological conditions and measuring problems with plutonium isotopes. In this article by an internationally renowned expert in the field, the ideas expressed in the expert opinion about the toxicity of plutonium, the cause-and-effect relationship in radiation damage by plutonium, and recent findings about the toxicity are subjected to a critical review. On the basis of results of radiation protection and of case studies, the statements in the expert opinion are contrasted with facts which make them appear in a very different light. (orig./RB) [de

  11. Expert status and performance.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark A Burgman

    Full Text Available Expert judgements are essential when time and resources are stretched or we face novel dilemmas requiring fast solutions. Good advice can save lives and large sums of money. Typically, experts are defined by their qualifications, track record and experience. The social expectation hypothesis argues that more highly regarded and more experienced experts will give better advice. We asked experts to predict how they will perform, and how their peers will perform, on sets of questions. The results indicate that the way experts regard each other is consistent, but unfortunately, ranks are a poor guide to actual performance. Expert advice will be more accurate if technical decisions routinely use broadly-defined expert groups, structured question protocols and feedback.

  12. Using a Health Message with a Testimonial to Motivate Colon Cancer Screening: Associations with Perceived Identification and Vividness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dillard, Amanda J.; Main, Jackie L.

    2013-01-01

    Research suggests that testimonials, or first-person narratives, influence health behavior and health-related decision making, but few studies have examined conceptual factors that may be responsible for these effects. In the current study, older adults who were due for colorectal cancer screening read a message about screening that included a…

  13. Medical Expert Systems Survey

    OpenAIRE

    Abu-Nasser, Bassem S.

    2017-01-01

    International audience; There is an increased interest in the area of Artificial Intelligence in general and expert systems in particular. Expert systems are rapidly growing technology. Expert systems are a branch of Artificial Intelligence which is having a great impact on many fields of human life. Expert systems use human expert knowledge to solve complex problems in many fields such as Health, science, engineering, business, and weather forecasting. Organizations employing the technology ...

  14. Inter-expert and intra-expert reliability in sleep spindle scoring

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wendt, Sabrina Lyngbye; Welinder, Peter; Sørensen, Helge Bjarup Dissing

    2015-01-01

    Objectives To measure the inter-expert and intra-expert agreement in sleep spindle scoring, and to quantify how many experts are needed to build a reliable dataset of sleep spindle scorings. Methods The EEG dataset was comprised of 400 randomly selected 115 s segments of stage 2 sleep from 110...... with higher reliability than the estimation of spindle duration. Reliability of sleep spindle scoring can be improved by using qualitative confidence scores, rather than a dichotomous yes/no scoring system. Conclusions We estimate that 2–3 experts are needed to build a spindle scoring dataset...... with ‘substantial’ reliability (κ: 0.61–0.8), and 4 or more experts are needed to build a dataset with ‘almost perfect’ reliability (κ: 0.81–1). Significance Spindle scoring is a critical part of sleep staging, and spindles are believed to play an important role in development, aging, and diseases of the nervous...

  15. Medico-legal and legal-penal aspects of expert opinions and adjudication in cases of intoxications with intoxicating agents and ethanol-like intoxicants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monika Ćwiklińska

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The available legal regulations in Poland do not define the concentration thresholds enabling to differentiate between the states of “after-use” versus “under the influence” of a drug, as it is in the case of alcohol. The aim of the study was to analyse jurisdiction in cases regarding the evaluation of the effects of intoxicating agents and ethanol-like intoxicants and to identify ambiguities and gaps in the applicable regulations leading to problems in preparing expert opinions. Material and methods: The material included the opinions of experts in the field of toxicology and forensic medicine made by the Department of Forensic Medicine in Lublin in the years 2009–2011 and records obtained in the process of inquiry from the regional prosecutor’s offices and courts in 52 cases. Results : Amongst 52 cases in which the ordered toxicology examinations demonstrated the presence of intoxicating agents in drivers’ blood (tetrahydrocannabinols in 39 and amphetamine in 21 cases in 2 cases petty offence proceedings were instituted (Art. 87 of the Petty Offence Code although high concentrations of xenobiotics indicated the state of being “under the influence” of a narcotic drug (Art. 178a of the Penal Code. Three cases were discontinued despite expert opinions that the drivers were at least in the after-narcotic use state. In only 3 cases were witnesses asked to provide testimony about the circumstances of the driver’s conduct. Conclusions : The analysis has demonstrated that judicial bodies expect forensic expertise based exclusively on toxicological examination results; when expert findings are inconclusive, they only administer litigations opportunistically applying the principle of the presumption of innocence understood literally. Considering the above, threshold values of “use” and “influence” of the most commonly detected drugs should be urgently determined.

  16. A testimony to Muzil: Hervé Guibert, Foucault, and the medical gaze.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rendell, Joanne

    2004-01-01

    Testimony to Muzil: Hervé Guibert, Michel Foucault, and the "Medical Gaze" examines the fictional/autobiographical AIDS writings of the French writer Hervé Guibert. Locating Guibert's writings alongside the work of his friend Michel Foucault, the article explores how they echo Foucault's evolving notions of the "medical gaze." The article also explores how Guilbert's narrators and Guibert himself (as writer) resist and challenge the medical gaze; a gaze which particularly in the era of AIDS has subjected, objectified, and even sometimes punished the body of the gay man. It is argued that these resistances to the gaze offer a literary extension to Foucault's later work on power and resistance strategies.

  17. Analysis of the origin and importance of acetone and isopropanol levels in the blood of the deceased for medico-legal testimony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borowska-Solonynko, A; Siwińska-Ziółkowska, A; Piotrkowicz, M; Wysmołek, M; Demkow, M

    2014-01-01

    The aim of the study was to analyze the incidence of acetone and isopropanol in the blood of the deceased, and to assess cases in which the compounds have been detected with a focus on their origin and usefulness for medico-legal testimony. The study material consisted of results of tests detecting ethyl alcohol and reports of autopsies performed at the Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, from January 2008 to April 2009 - a total of 2,475 cases. The test group proper (group B) comprised only those cases in which acetone was detected in blood, either with or without isopropanol [n = 202 (8.2%)]. The blood levels of isopropanol varied depending on the cause of death. The need for differentiating the origin of isopropanol in the case of its presence in the blood of the deceased was pointed out. The results of the present study show that the differentiation should be based on the isopropanol and acetone concentration ratio, as isopropanol concentration alone is not sufficient for preparing expert opinions. Even high concentrations of isopropanol, when accompanied by even higher concentrations of acetone, imply that isopropanol could have been formed as a result of acetone transformations. Isopropanol concentrations exceeding acetone levels strongly point to the exogenous origin of isopropanol, particularly when high levels of ethanol are concurrently detected.

  18. Real time expert systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asami, Tohru; Hashimoto, Kazuo; Yamamoto, Seiichi

    1992-01-01

    Recently, aiming at the application to the plant control for nuclear reactors and traffic and communication control, the research and the practical use of the expert system suitable to real time processing have become conspicuous. In this report, the condition for the required function to control the object that dynamically changes within a limited time is presented, and the technical difference between the real time expert system developed so as to satisfy it and the expert system of conventional type is explained with the actual examples and from theoretical aspect. The expert system of conventional type has the technical base in the problem-solving equipment originating in STRIPS. The real time expert system is applied to the fields accompanied by surveillance and control, to which conventional expert system is hard to be applied. The requirement for the real time expert system, the example of the real time expert system, and as the techniques of realizing real time processing, the realization of interruption processing, dispersion processing, and the mechanism of maintaining the consistency of knowledge are explained. (K.I.)

  19. Integrating Postsecondary Education Interventions to Help Low-Income Students Succeed. Testimony of Alexander Mayer, Deputy Director, Postsecondary Education, MDRC, Before the California State Assembly Higher Education Committee and the Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayer, Alexander

    2018-01-01

    This document presents the testimony of MDRC's Alex Mayer, the Deputy Director for Postsecondary Education at MDRC. The three points that Alex Mayer emphasizes in this testimony before the California State Assembly Higher Education Committee and the Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance on integrating postsecondary education interventions to…

  20. The role of tobacco advertising and promotion: themes employed in litigation by tobacco industry witnesses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldberg, Marvin E; Davis, Ronald M; O'Keefe, Anne Marie

    2006-12-01

    To identify key themes related to tobacco advertising and promotion in testimony provided by tobacco industry-affiliated witnesses in tobacco litigation, and to present countervailing evidence and arguments. Themes in industry testimony were identified by review of transcripts of testimony in the Tobacco Deposition and Trial Testimony Archive (http://tobaccodocuments.org/datta) from a sample of defence witnesses, including three academic expert witnesses, six senior executives of tobacco companies, and one industry advertising consultant. Counterarguments to the themes embodied in defence testimony were based on information from peer-reviewed literature, advertising trade publications, government reports, tobacco industry documents, and testimony provided by expert witnesses testifying for plaintiffs. Five major themes employed by defence witnesses were identified: (1) tobacco advertising has a relatively weak "share of voice" in the marketing environment and is a weak force in affecting smoking behaviour; (2) tobacco advertising and promotion do not create new smokers, expand markets, or increase total tobacco consumption; (3) the tobacco industry does not target, study, or track youth smoking; (4) tobacco advertising and promotion do not cause smoking initiation by youth; and (5) tobacco companies and the industry adhere closely to relevant laws, regulations, and industry voluntary codes. Substantial evidence exists in rebuttal to these arguments. Tobacco industry-affiliated witnesses have marshalled many arguments to deny the adverse effects of tobacco marketing activities and to portray tobacco companies as responsible corporate citizens. Effective rebuttals to these arguments exist, and plaintiffs' attorneys have, with varying degrees of success, presented them to judges and juries.

  1. Inaccuracy of age assessment from images of postpubescent subjects in cases of alleged child pornography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenbloom, Arlan L

    2013-03-01

    Despite frequent medical expert testimony authoritatively stating that images of individuals who are postpubescent indicate age less than 18 and therefore, child pornography, developmental experts have noted that a scientific basis for such estimation is lacking. In fact, recent studies have demonstrated a high degree of inaccuracy in such estimates, and that the stage of breast development often used as indicative of age under 18 years is present in a substantial percentage of adult women. Ten images of adult women from legitimate pornographic sites promoting youthful images were shown to 16 pediatric endocrinologists expert in evaluating maturation, who determined whether or not the individuals represented were under 18 years of age. They also provided information about what features were most important in their evaluations. Sixty-nine percent of the 160 estimates were that the images represented females under 18 years of age. There was wide variability in the designation of importance of the various features of maturation in reaching conclusions, with breast development and facial appearance considered most important. This study confirms that medical testimony, even by experts in adolescent development, can deem images of adult women selected for their youthful appearance to be under age 18 two thirds of the time. Thus, important as prosecuting users of child pornographic material may be, justice requires the avoidance of testimony that is not scientifically based.

  2. LTDNA evidence on trial

    OpenAIRE

    Roberts, Paul

    2016-01-01

    Adopting the interpretative/hermeneutical method typical of much legal scholarship, this article considers two sets of issues pertaining to LTDNA profiles as evidence in criminal proceedings. The section titled Expert Evidence as Forensic Epistemic Warrant addresses some rather large questions about the epistemic status and probative value of expert testimony in general. It sketches a theoretical model of expert evidence, highlighting five essential criteria: (1) expert competence; (2) discip...

  3. Online-Expert: An Expert System for Online Database Selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zahir, Sajjad; Chang, Chew Lik

    1992-01-01

    Describes the design and development of a prototype expert system called ONLINE-EXPERT that helps users select online databases and vendors that meet users' needs. Search strategies are discussed; knowledge acquisition and knowledge bases are described; and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a decision analysis technique that ranks databases,…

  4. Being an expert

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brechet, Y.; Musseau, O.; Bruna, G.; Sperandio, M.; Roulleaux-Dugage, M.; Andrieux, S.; Metteau, L.

    2014-01-01

    This series of short articles are dedicated to the role of the expert in the enterprise. There is an important difference between a scientific counsellor and an expert, the expert, recognized by his peers, can speak publicly in his field of expertise but has a duty of transparency while the job of a scientific counsellor requires confidentiality. The making and the use of an expert in an enterprise requires a dedicated organization. The organization of the expertise in 5 enterprises in nuclear industry are considered: CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), IRSN (Institute of Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety), AREVA, ANDRA (National Radioactive Waste Management Agency) and EDF (Electricity of France)

  5. Memory and testimony in Primo Levi: the Babel of the concentration camps

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Coira

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Memory as a problem and the subject of theoretical inquiry, although early onset in civilization that we call western, has gained an important place in the concerns of historians, philosophers, psychologists, and literary critics, with all the ethical implications, political and aesthetic that entails. In this context, special dimensions such problematic charged when what is narrated, analyzes, represents or attempts to explain what are the collective traumatic events. In this paper, we focus on some aspects of testimonial texts and essays of Primo Levi (1919-1987, which estimates as unavoidable regarding the aforementioned issues. These texts are: Se questo è un uomo (1947, La tregua (1963 and I sommersi e i salvati (1986.

  6. Influences of credibility of testimony and strength of statistical evidence on children’s and adolescents’ reasoning

    OpenAIRE

    Kail, Robert V.

    2013-01-01

    According to dual-process models that include analytic and heuristic modes of processing, analytic processing is often expected to become more common with development. Consistent with this view, on reasoning problems, adolescents are more likely than children to select alternatives that are backed by statistical evidence. It is shown here that this pattern depends on the quality of the statistical evidence and the quality of the testimonial that is the typical alternative to statistical evide...

  7. System Experts and Decision Making Experts in Transdisciplinary Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mieg, Harald A.

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: This paper aims at a better understanding of expert roles in transdisciplinary projects. Thus, the main purpose is the analysis of the roles of experts in transdisciplinary projects. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis of the ETH-UNS case studies from the point of view of the psychology of expertise and the sociology of professions…

  8. 39 CFR 230.17 - If an attempt is made to compel production of reports and records during the employee's testimony...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false If an attempt is made to compel production of reports and records during the employee's testimony, what is an Office of Inspector General employee... Information Act and shall be handled pursuant to 39 CFR 230.5. ...

  9. Desegregation of Public Schools. Testimony before the Subcommittee on Separation of Powers, Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynolds, William Bradford

    This testimony was delivered by William Bradford Reynolds, the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, before the Subcommttee on Separation of Powers, Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate. Reynold states that compulsory busing of students is not an acceptable remedy to achieve racial balance. He emphasizes the…

  10. BETWEEN PSYCHOANALYSIS AND TESTIMONIAL SPACE: THE ANALYST AS A WITNESS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gondar, Jô

    2017-04-01

    The aim of this article is to think of the place of the witness as a third place that the analyst, in the clinical space of trauma, is able to sustain. According to Ferenczi, in traumatic dreams a third is already being summoned. It is not the witness of the realm of law, nor the place of the father or the symbolic law. This is a third space that can be called potential, interstitial space, indeterminate and formless, where something that at first would be incommunicable circulates and gradually takes shape. This space allows and supports the literalness of a testimonial narrative, its hesitations, paradoxes and silences. More than a trauma theory, the notion of a potential space would be the great contribution of psychoanalysis to the treatment of trauma survivors, establishing the difference between the task of a psychoanalyst and the one of a truth commission.

  11. Expert auditors’ services classification

    OpenAIRE

    Jolanta Wisniewska

    2013-01-01

    The profession of an expert auditor is a public trust occupation with a distinctive feature of taking responsibility for actions in the public interest. The main responsibility of expert auditors is performing financial auditing; however, expert auditors are prepared to carry out different tasks which encompass a wide plethora of financial and auditing services for different kinds of institutions and companies. The aim of the article is first of all the description of expert auditors’ service...

  12. Understanding narrative effects in physical activity promotion: the influence of breast cancer survivor testimony on exercise beliefs, self-efficacy, and intention in breast cancer patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falzon, Charlène; Radel, Rémi; Cantor, Ambre; d'Arripe-Longueville, Fabienne

    2015-03-01

    Research in health communication has shown that narratives contribute more positively to changing health behaviors than informational messages. The main purposes of this study were to examine and to compare the effects of two messages promoting physical activity, one narrative and the other informational, on the perceptions and behavioral intentions of cancer patients. A total of 158 women with breast cancer, undergoing chemotherapy and sedentary, were assigned to read the testimony of a breast cancer survivor who had been physically active during and after treatment (TE group), a content-equivalent message composed of expert recommendations about physical activity in breast cancer patients (RE group), or no message (control group). Source trust was higher in TE group than RE group (p Exercise self-efficacy and exercise intention were higher in TE group than RE and control groups (p exercise benefits (p exercise risks (p exercise self-efficacy, and beliefs about exercise benefits and risks mediated the relationship between the message and exercise intention. The results suggest that narratives may be more effective in improving perceived physical abilities and involvement in physical activity, whereas informational messages seem to be more appropriate to convey the benefits and the absence of risks related to physical activity.

  13. Compensation of Environmental Natural Underground Cavities in Environmental Licensing: The Hollow of Fixing the Possibility of Testimony for Impacts of Irreversible Developments in Underground Cavities Degree of Relevance Average

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dioclides José Maria

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to analyze the Decree. 99.556 of 10.1º.1990 with the wording given by Decree. 6640, of 11.07.2008 dealing on protection of speleological heritage. The hypothesis is application of compensatory measure of permanent preservation cavities testimony in irreversible impacts of projects of medium significance level of underground cavities. By qualitative method and bibliographic research, it presented considerations about the possibility of preserving permanently underground cavities testimony by project impacts on medium relevance degree of natural underground cavities.

  14. Adversarial Allegiance: The Devil is in the Evidence Details, Not Just on the Witness Stand

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAuliff, Bradley D.; Arter, Jeana L.

    2016-01-01

    This study examined the potential influence of adversarial allegiance on expert testimony in a simulated child sexual abuse case. A national sample of 100 witness suggestibility experts reviewed a police interview of an alleged 5 year-old female victim. Retaining party (prosecution, defense) and interview suggestibility (low, high) varied across experts. Experts were very willing to testify, but more so for the prosecution than the defense when interview suggestibility was low and vice versa when interview suggestibility was high. Experts' anticipated testimony focused more on pro-defense aspects of the police interview and child's memory overall (negativity bias), but favored retaining party only when interview suggestibility was low. Unlike prosecution-retained experts who shifted their focus from pro-defense aspects of the case in the high suggestibility interview to pro-prosecution aspects in the low suggestibility interview, defense experts did not. Blind raters' perceptions of expert focus mirrored those findings. Despite an initial bias toward retaining party, experts' evaluations of child victim accuracy and interview quality were lower in the high versus low interview suggestibility condition only. Our data suggest that adversarial allegiance exists, that it can (but not always) influence how experts process evidence, and that it may be more likely in cases involving evidence that is not blatantly flawed. Defense experts may evaluate this type of evidence more negatively than prosecution experts due to negativity bias and positive testing strategies associated with confirmation bias. PMID:27243362

  15. Adversarial allegiance: The devil is in the evidence details, not just on the witness stand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAuliff, Bradley D; Arter, Jeana L

    2016-10-01

    This study examined the potential influence of adversarial allegiance on expert testimony in a simulated child sexual abuse case. A national sample of 100 witness suggestibility experts reviewed a police interview of an alleged 5-year-old female victim. Retaining party (prosecution, defense) and interview suggestibility (low, high) varied across experts. Experts were very willing to testify, but more so for the prosecution than the defense when interview suggestibility was low and vice versa when interview suggestibility was high. Experts' anticipated testimony focused more on prodefense aspects of the police interview and child's memory overall (negativity bias), but favored retaining party only when interview suggestibility was low. Prosecution-retained experts shifted their focus from prodefense aspects of the case in the high suggestibility interview to proprosecution aspects in the low suggestibility interview; defense experts did not. Blind raters' perceptions of expert focus mirrored those findings. Despite an initial bias toward retaining party, experts' evaluations of child victim accuracy and police interview quality were lower in the high versus low interview suggestibility condition only. Our data suggest that adversarial allegiance exists, that it can (but not always) influence how experts process evidence, and that it may be more likely in cases involving evidence that is not blatantly flawed. Defense experts may evaluate this type of evidence more negatively than prosecution experts because of negativity bias and positive testing strategies associated with confirmation bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Delegating Decisions to Experts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hao; Suen, Wing

    2004-01-01

    We present a model of delegation with self-interested and privately informed experts. A team of experts with extreme but opposite biases is acceptable to a wide range of decision makers with diverse preferences, but the value of expertise from such a team is low. A decision maker wants to appoint experts who are less partisan than he is in order…

  17. Forensic Accounting and Auditing: Compared and Contrasted to Traditional Accounting and Auditing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Dahli

    2008-01-01

    Forensic versus traditional accounting and auditing are compared and contrasted. Evidence gathering is detailed. Forensic science and fraud symptoms are explained. Criminalists, expert testimony and corporate governance are presented.

  18. Application of expert systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Basden, A

    1983-11-01

    This article seeks to bring together a number of issues relevant to the application of expert systems by discussing their advantages and limitations, their roles and benefits, and the influence that real-life applications might have on the design of expert systems software. Part of the expert systems strategy of one major chemical company is outlined. Because it was in constructing one particular expert system that many of these issues became important this system is described briefly at the start of the paper and used to illustrate much of the later discussion. It is of the plausible-inference type and has application in the field of materials engineering. 22 references.

  19. LTDNA Evidence on Trial

    OpenAIRE

    Paul Roberts; Paul Roberts; Paul Roberts

    2016-01-01

    Adopting the interpretative/hermeneutical method typical of much legal scholarship, this article considers two sets of issues pertaining to LTDNA profiles as evidence in criminal proceedings. Section 1 addresses some rather large questions about the epistemic status and probative value of expert testimony in general. It sketches a theoretical model of expert evidence, highlighting five essential criteria: (1) expert competence; (2) disciplinary domain; (3) methodological validity; (4) materia...

  20. Counselor Expert System | Debretsion | Zede Journal

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    An expert system plays an important role on alleviating primarily shortage of experts in a specific area of interest. With the help of an expert system, personnel with little expertise can solve problems that require expert knowledge. In this paper all major aspects of an expert system development have been presented.

  1. Analysis of errors in forensic science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mingxiao Du

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Reliability of expert testimony is one of the foundations of judicial justice. Both expert bias and scientific errors affect the reliability of expert opinion, which in turn affects the trustworthiness of the findings of fact in legal proceedings. Expert bias can be eliminated by replacing experts; however, it may be more difficult to eliminate scientific errors. From the perspective of statistics, errors in operation of forensic science include systematic errors, random errors, and gross errors. In general, process repetition and abiding by the standard ISO/IEC:17025: 2005, general requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories, during operation are common measures used to reduce errors that originate from experts and equipment, respectively. For example, to reduce gross errors, the laboratory can ensure that a test is repeated several times by different experts. In applying for forensic principles and methods, the Federal Rules of Evidence 702 mandate that judges consider factors such as peer review, to ensure the reliability of the expert testimony. As the scientific principles and methods may not undergo professional review by specialists in a certain field, peer review serves as an exclusive standard. This study also examines two types of statistical errors. As false-positive errors involve a higher possibility of an unfair decision-making, they should receive more attention than false-negative errors.

  2. Expert Panel Elicitation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jensen, M. [Swedish Radiation Protection Authority, Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of Waste Management and Environmental Protection; Hora, S.C. [Univ. of Hawaii, Hilo, HI (United States)

    2005-09-15

    Scientists are now frequently in a situation where data cannot be easily assessed, since they may have conflicting or uncertain sources. While expert judgment reflects private choices, it is possible both reduce the personal aspect as well as in crease confidence in the judgments by using formal protocols for choice and elicitation of experts. A full-scale elicitation made on seismicity following glaciation, now in its late phase and presented here in a preliminary form, illustrates the value of the technique and some essential issues in connection with the decision to launch such a project. The results show an unusual low variation between the experts.

  3. Dissociative identity disorder: Medicolegal challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farrell, Helen M

    2011-01-01

    Persons with dissociative identity disorder (DID) often present in the criminal justice system rather than the mental health system and perplex experts in both professions. DID is a controversial diagnosis with important medicolegal implications. Defendants have claimed that they committed serious crimes, including rape or murder, while they were in a dissociated state. Asserting that their alter personality committed the bad act, defendants have pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI). In such instances, forensic experts are asked to assess the defendant for DID and provide testimony in court. Debate continues over whether DID truly exists, whether expert testimony should be allowed into evidence, and whether it should exculpate defendants for their criminal acts. This article reviews historical and theoretical perspectives on DID, presents cases that illustrate the legal implications and controversies of raising an insanity defense based on multiple personalities, and examines the role of forensic experts asked to comment on DID with the goal of assisting clinicians in the medicolegal assessment of DID in relation to crimes.

  4. 39 CFR 230.24 - How is a demand for employee documents or testimony made to the Office of Inspector General?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How is a demand for employee documents or testimony made to the Office of Inspector General? 230.24 Section 230.24 Postal Service UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL Rules Governing Compliance With Subpoenas, Summonses, and Court Orders by Postal...

  5. Sleep-spindle detection: crowdsourcing and evaluating performance of experts, non-experts and automated methods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Warby, Simon C.; Wendt, Sabrina Lyngbye; Welinder, Peter

    2014-01-01

    to crowdsource spindle identification by human experts and non-experts, and we compared their performance with that of automated detection algorithms in data from middle- to older-aged subjects from the general population. We also refined methods for forming group consensus and evaluating the performance...... of event detectors in physiological data such as electroencephalographic recordings from polysomnography. Compared to the expert group consensus gold standard, the highest performance was by individual experts and the non-expert group consensus, followed by automated spindle detectors. This analysis showed...... that crowdsourcing the scoring of sleep data is an efficient method to collect large data sets, even for difficult tasks such as spindle identification. Further refinements to spindle detection algorithms are needed for middle- to older-aged subjects....

  6. Surgical experts: born or made?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadideen, Hazim; Alvand, Abtin; Saadeddin, Munir; Kneebone, Roger

    2013-01-01

    The concept of surgical expertise and the processes involved in its development are topical, and there is a constant drive to identify reliable measures of expert performance in surgery. This review explores the notion of whether surgical experts are "born" or "made", with reference to educational theory and pertinent literature. Peer-reviewed publications, books, and online resources on surgical education, expertise and training were reviewed. Important themes and aspects of expertise acquisition were identified in order to better understand the concept of a surgical expert. The definition of surgical expertise and several important aspects of its development are highlighted. Innate talent plays an important role, but is insufficient on its own to produce a surgical expert. Multiple theories that explore motor skill acquisition and memory are relevant, and Ericsson's theory of the development of competence followed by deliberate self-practice has been especially influential. Psychomotor and non-technical skills are necessary for progression in the current climate in light of our training curricula; surgical experts are adaptive experts who excel in these. The literature suggests that surgical expertise is reached through practice; surgical experts are made, not born. A deeper understanding of the nature of expert performance and its development will ensure that surgical education training programmes are of the highest possible quality. Surgical educators should aim to develop an expertise-based approach, with expert performance as the benchmark. Copyright © 2013 Surgical Associates Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Law for nuclear experts only

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wagner, H [Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe G.m.b.H. (Germany, F.R.)

    1980-02-01

    The Federal Ministry of the Interior is preparing an ordinance on expert consultants under the Atomic Energy Act which, among other topics, is to include legal norms for the criteria to be met by experts in terms of non-partisanship, training, capabilities, technical equipment and cooperation in expert organizations of members of various scientific and technical disciplines. A summary of general criteria relating to the qualification, selection and status of experts called in by the legislative and executive branches and by courts of law, which could be organized as a series of guidelines without any original qualities of legal norms, could be recommended in view of the increasing quantitative and qualitative importance of experts. However, passing an ordinance merely fixing and putting into concrete terms the image of an 'expert under the Atomic Energy Act' is intolerable, because the status of scientific and technical experts by far extends beyond the field of nuclear law in our industrial society characterized by a far reaching division of labor. Weak points in the organization of expert services are not confined to technology or nuclear power. Separate rules establishing legal norms are not convincing also for reasons of technology policy and legal policy as well as for those of social psychology and practice.

  8. Expert Systems for the Analytical Laboratory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Monchy, Allan R.; And Others

    1988-01-01

    Discusses two computer problem solving programs: rule-based expert systems and decision analysis expert systems. Explores the application of expert systems to automated chemical analyses. Presents six factors to consider before using expert systems. (MVL)

  9. Expert system application for prioritizing preventive actions for shift work: shift expert.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esen, Hatice; Hatipoğlu, Tuğçen; Cihan, Ahmet; Fiğlali, Nilgün

    2017-09-19

    Shift patterns, work hours, work arrangements and worker motivations have increasingly become key factors for job performance. The main objective of this article is to design an expert system that identifies the negative effects of shift work and prioritizes mitigation efforts according to their importance in preventing these negative effects. The proposed expert system will be referred to as the shift expert. A thorough literature review is conducted to determine the effects of shift work on workers. Our work indicates that shift work is linked to demographic variables, sleepiness and fatigue, health and well-being, and social and domestic conditions. These parameters constitute the sections of a questionnaire designed to focus on 26 important issues related to shift work. The shift expert is then constructed to provide prevention advice at the individual and organizational levels, and it prioritizes this advice using a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process model, which considers comparison matrices provided by users during the prioritization process. An empirical study of 61 workers working on three rotating shifts is performed. After administering the questionnaires, the collected data are analyzed statistically, and then the shift expert produces individual and organizational recommendations for these workers.

  10. Print Advertising of Educational Services: an investigation on the impact of the pictures facilities and testimonial about attitudes

    OpenAIRE

    Ayrosa, Eduardo André Teixeira; Facó, Marcos Henrique

    2010-01-01

    Just like other services organizations, some higher education institutions have invested in printed advertising to attract applicants. The services management literature suggests that using stimuli such as pictures of the facilities and alumni testimonials may help to turn tangible the offer of services so strongly intangible as higher education. In the present work, the impact of two different types of cue on prospects' attitudes is investigated. The cue paradigm (Olson & Jacoby 1972) has be...

  11. Usurping the Apocryphal: Antonio Muñoz Molina's Cosmopolitan Memory of Max Aub's Rhetoric of Testimony

    OpenAIRE

    Aguirre Oteiza, Daniel

    2017-01-01

    This paper focuses on a recent gesture by the Spanish novelist and public intellectual Antonio Muñoz Molina to publicly recuperate Aub’s testimony of uprootedness in France, Algeria, and Mexico, a gesture that relies on the concept of cosmopolitan memory as it has been developed in Holocaust studies. I critique Muñoz Molina’s use of the Holocaust as a template for a transnational cultural history based on a supposedly shared Jewish past. Muñoz Molina generalizes on two levels: he turns Aub in...

  12. Experts in science and society

    CERN Document Server

    Gigerenzer, Gerd

    2004-01-01

    In today's complex world, we have come to rely increasingly on those who have expertise in specific areas and can bring their knowledge to bear on crucial social, political and scientific questions. Taking the viewpoint that experts are consulted when there is something important at stake for an individual, a group, or society at large, Experts in Science and Society explores expertise as a relational concept. How do experts balance their commitment to science with that to society? How does a society actually determine that a person has expertise? What personal traits are valued in an expert? From where does the expert derive authority? What makes new forms of expertise emerge? These and related questions are addressed from a wide range of areas in order to be inclusive, as well as to demonstrate similarities across areas. Likewise, in order to be culturally comparative, this volume includes examples and discussions of experts in different countries and even in different time periods. The topics include the r...

  13. Expert system in PNC, 5

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tobita, Yoshimasa; Yamaguchi, Takashi; Matsumoto, Mitsuo; Ono, Kiyoshi.

    1990-01-01

    The computer code system which can evaluate the mass balance and cycle cost in nuclear fuel cycle has been developing a PNC using an artificial intelligence technique. This system is composed of the expert system, data base and analysis codes. The expert system is the most important one in the system and the content of the expert system is explained in this paper. The expert system has the three functions. The first is the function of understanding the meaning of user's questions by natural language, the second is the function of selecting the best way to solve the problem given by the user using the knowledge which is already installed in the system, and the last is the function of answering the questions. The knowledge of the experts installed in the expert system is represented by the frame-type rules. Therefore, the knowledge will be simply added to the system, and consequently the system will be easily extended. (author)

  14. Experts on public trial

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blok, Anders

    2007-01-01

    a case study of the May 2003 Danish consensus conference on environmental economics as a policy tool, the article reflects on the politics of expert authority permeating practices of public participation. Adopting concepts from the sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK), the conference is seen......-than-successful defense in the citizen perspective. Further, consensus conferences are viewed alternatively as "expert dissent conferences," serving to disclose a multiplicity of expert commitments. From this perspective, some challenges for democratizing expertise through future exercises in public participation...

  15. Reflection group on 'Expert Culture'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eggermont, G.

    2000-01-01

    As part of SCK-CEN's social sciences and humanities programme, a reflection group on 'Expert Culture' was established. The objectives of the reflection group are: (1) to clarify the role of SCK-CEN experts; (2) to clarify the new role of expertise in the evolving context of risk society; (3) to confront external views and internal SCK-CEN experiences on expert culture; (4) to improve trust building of experts and credibility of SCK-CEN as a nuclear actor in society; (5) to develop a draft for a deontological code; (6) to integrate the approach in training on assertivity and communication; (7) to create an output for a topical day on the subject of expert culture. The programme, achievements and perspectives of the refection group are summarised

  16. PSG-EXPERT. An expert system for the diagnosis of sleep disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fred, A; Filipe, J; Partinen, M; Paiva, T

    2000-01-01

    This paper describes PSG-EXPERT, an expert system in the domain of sleep disorders exploring polysomnographic data. The developed software tool is addressed from two points of view: (1)--as an integrated environment for the development of diagnosis-oriented expert systems; (2)--as an auxiliary diagnosis tool in the particular domain of sleep disorders. Developed over a Windows platform, this software tool extends one of the most popular shells--CLIPS (C Language Integrated Production System) with the following features: backward chaining engine; graph-based explanation facilities; knowledge editor including a fuzzy fact editor and a rules editor, with facts-rules integrity checking; belief revision mechanism; built-in case generator and validation module. It therefore provides graphical support for knowledge acquisition, edition, explanation and validation. From an application domain point of view, PSG-Expert is an auxiliary diagnosis system for sleep disorders based on polysomnographic data, that aims at assisting the medical expert in his diagnosis task by providing automatic analysis of polysomnographic data, summarising the results of this analysis in terms of a report of major findings and possible diagnosis consistent with the polysomnographic data. Sleep disorders classification follows the International Classification of Sleep Disorders. Major features of the system include: browsing on patients data records; structured navigation on Sleep Disorders descriptions according to ASDA definitions; internet links to related pages; diagnosis consistent with polysomnographic data; graphical user-interface including graph-based explanatory facilities; uncertainty modelling and belief revision; production of reports; connection to remote databases.

  17. Expert Systems: An Overview for Teacher-Librarians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orwig, Gary; Barron, Ann

    1992-01-01

    Provides an overview of expert systems for teacher librarians. Highlights include artificial intelligence and expert systems; the development of the MYCIN medical expert system; rule-based expert systems; the use of expert system shells to develop a specific system; and how to select an appropriate application for an expert system. (11 references)…

  18. Accuracy and interobserver agreement between MR-non-expert radiologists and MR-experts in reading MRI for suspected appendicitis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leeuwenburgh, Marjolein M.N., E-mail: m.m.leeuwenburgh@amc.uva.nl [Department of Surgery, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam (Netherlands); Department of Radiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam (Netherlands); Wiarda, Bart M. [Department of Radiology, Alkmaar Medical Center, Alkmaar (Netherlands); Jensch, Sebastiaan [Department of Radiology, Sint Lucas Andreas Hospital, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Wouter van Es, H. [Department of Radiology, Sint Antonius Hospital, Nieuwegein (Netherlands); Stockmann, Hein B.A.C. [Department of Surgery, Kennemer Gasthuis, Haarlem (Netherlands); Gratama, Jan Willem C. [Department of Radiology, Gelre Hospitals, Apeldoorn (Netherlands); Cobben, Lodewijk P.J. [Department of Radiology, Haaglanden Medical Center, Leidschendam (Netherlands); Bossuyt, Patrick M.M. [Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam (Netherlands); Boermeester, Marja A. [Department of Surgery, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam (Netherlands); Stoker, Jaap [Department of Radiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    2014-01-15

    Objective: To compare accuracy and interobserver agreement between radiologists with limited experience in the evaluation of abdominal MRI (non-experts), and radiologists with longer MR reading experience (experts), in reading MRI in patients with suspected appendicitis. Methods: MR imaging was performed in 223 adult patients with suspected appendicitis and read independently by two members of a team of eight MR-inexperienced radiologists, who were trained with 100 MR examinations previous to this study (non-expert reading). Expert reading was performed by two radiologists with a larger abdominal MR experience (>500 examinations) in consensus. A final diagnosis was assigned after three months based on all available information, except MRI findings. We estimated MRI sensitivity and specificity for appendicitis and for all urgent diagnoses separately. Interobserver agreement was evaluated using kappa statistics. Results: Urgent diagnoses were assigned to 147 of 223 patients; 117 had appendicitis. Sensitivity for appendicitis was 0.89 by MR-non-expert radiologists and 0.97 in MR-expert reading (p = 0.01). Specificity was 0.83 for MR-non-experts versus 0.93 for MR-expert reading (p = 0.002). MR-experts and MR-non-experts agreed on appendicitis in 89% of cases (kappa 0.78). Accuracy in detecting urgent diagnoses was significantly lower in MR-non-experts compared to MR-expert reading: sensitivity 0.84 versus 0.95 (p < 0.001) and specificity 0.71 versus 0.82 (p = 0.03), respectively. Agreement on urgent diagnoses was 83% (kappa 0.63). Conclusion: MR-non-experts have sufficient sensitivity in reading MRI in patients with suspected appendicitis, with good agreement with MR-expert reading, but accuracy of MR-expert reading was higher.

  19. Accuracy and interobserver agreement between MR-non-expert radiologists and MR-experts in reading MRI for suspected appendicitis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leeuwenburgh, Marjolein M.N.; Wiarda, Bart M.; Jensch, Sebastiaan; Wouter van Es, H.; Stockmann, Hein B.A.C.; Gratama, Jan Willem C.; Cobben, Lodewijk P.J.; Bossuyt, Patrick M.M.; Boermeester, Marja A.; Stoker, Jaap

    2014-01-01

    Objective: To compare accuracy and interobserver agreement between radiologists with limited experience in the evaluation of abdominal MRI (non-experts), and radiologists with longer MR reading experience (experts), in reading MRI in patients with suspected appendicitis. Methods: MR imaging was performed in 223 adult patients with suspected appendicitis and read independently by two members of a team of eight MR-inexperienced radiologists, who were trained with 100 MR examinations previous to this study (non-expert reading). Expert reading was performed by two radiologists with a larger abdominal MR experience (>500 examinations) in consensus. A final diagnosis was assigned after three months based on all available information, except MRI findings. We estimated MRI sensitivity and specificity for appendicitis and for all urgent diagnoses separately. Interobserver agreement was evaluated using kappa statistics. Results: Urgent diagnoses were assigned to 147 of 223 patients; 117 had appendicitis. Sensitivity for appendicitis was 0.89 by MR-non-expert radiologists and 0.97 in MR-expert reading (p = 0.01). Specificity was 0.83 for MR-non-experts versus 0.93 for MR-expert reading (p = 0.002). MR-experts and MR-non-experts agreed on appendicitis in 89% of cases (kappa 0.78). Accuracy in detecting urgent diagnoses was significantly lower in MR-non-experts compared to MR-expert reading: sensitivity 0.84 versus 0.95 (p < 0.001) and specificity 0.71 versus 0.82 (p = 0.03), respectively. Agreement on urgent diagnoses was 83% (kappa 0.63). Conclusion: MR-non-experts have sufficient sensitivity in reading MRI in patients with suspected appendicitis, with good agreement with MR-expert reading, but accuracy of MR-expert reading was higher

  20. Dangerous Liaisons? Psychiatry and Law in the Court of Protection—Expert Discourses of ‘Insight’ (and ‘Compliance’)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    A finding that ‘P’ (as the person who is subject to Court of Protection proceedings is known) lacks mental capacity is the trigger for exposing them to decision-making by others and the powers of the Court of Protection (CoP) which, in the words of Justice Hedley, can be ‘invasive and draconian’ (Hedley J in PC v City of York Council cited in [2013] EWCA Civ 478 [13]). Whilst the law asserts the upper hand in the assessment of mental capacity for persons who come before the CoP, it is the discipline of psychiatry, which dominates expert witness testimony in these proceedings. There are a number of implications of allowing psychiatry to dominate this terrain, not least that, as will be argued in this article, clinical discourse, which makes reference to non-statutory terminology such as ‘lack of insight’ and ‘non-compliance’ are imported into the business of capacity assessment. This terminology, if used lazily and without clear reference to the statutory criteria, has the potential to muddy the waters of assessing P’s capacity. At its worst, it can mask value judgements, which threaten to undermine the law’s ‘autonomy promoting’ provisions set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Whilst it is not intended to discredit ‘insight’ as a concept in psychiatry, this article concludes that it has a proper context and that in the mental capacity context, decision-makers, lawyers, and advocates should exercise careful scrutiny of its use, and CoP judgments should carefully interrogate the language imported by expert witnesses. PMID:28007808

  1. Intelligent programs-expert systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gledhill, V X

    1982-01-01

    In recent years, computer scientists have developed what are called expert systems. These programs have three fundamental components: a knowledge base, which changes with experience; an inference engine which enables the program to make decisions; and an interface that allows the program to communicate with the person using the system. Expert systems have been developed successfully in areas such as medical diagnosis, geology, and computer maintenance. This paper describes the evolution and basic principles of expert systems and give some examples of their use.

  2. A demonstration of expert systems applications in transportation engineering : volume I, transportation engineers and expert systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1987-01-01

    Expert systems, a branch of artificial-intelligence studies, is introduced with a view to its relevance in transportation engineering. Knowledge engineering, the process of building expert systems or transferring knowledge from human experts to compu...

  3. TU Delft expert judgment data base

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cooke, Roger M.; Goossens, Louis L.H.J.

    2008-01-01

    We review the applications of structured expert judgment uncertainty quantification using the 'classical model' developed at the Delft University of Technology over the last 17 years [Cooke RM. Experts in uncertainty. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1991; Expert judgment study on atmospheric dispersion and deposition. Report Faculty of Technical Mathematics and Informatics No.01-81, Delft University of Technology; 1991]. These involve 45 expert panels, performed under contract with problem owners who reviewed and approved the results. With a few exceptions, all these applications involved the use of seed variables; that is, variables from the experts' area of expertise for which the true values are available post hoc. Seed variables are used to (1) measure expert performance, (2) enable performance-based weighted combination of experts' distributions, and (3) evaluate and hopefully validate the resulting combination or 'decision maker'. This article reviews the classical model for structured expert judgment and the performance measures, reviews applications, comparing performance-based decision makers with 'equal weight' decision makers, and collects some lessons learned

  4. Expert system technology for the military

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Franklin, J.E.; Carmody, C.L.; Buteau, B.L.; Keller, K.; Levitt, T.S.

    1988-01-01

    This paper is concerned with the applications of expert systems to complex military problems. A brief description of needs for expert systems in the military arena is given. A short tutorial on some of the elements of an expert system is found in Appendix I. An important aspect of expert systems concerns using uncertain information and ill-defined procedures. Many of the general techniques of dealing with uncertainty are described in Appendix II. These techniques include Bayesian certainty factors, Dempster-Shafer theory of uncertainty, and Zadeh's fuzzy set theory. The major portion of the paper addresses specific expert system examples such as resource allocation, identification of radar images, maintenance and troubleshooting of electronic equipment, and the interpretation and understanding of radar images. Extensions of expert systems to incorporate learning are examined in the context of military intelligence to determine the disposition, location, and intention of the adversary. The final application involves the use of distributed communicating cooperating expert systems for battle management. Finally, the future of expert systems and their evolving capabilities are discussed

  5. Medicolegal affairs. International Academy of Cytology Task Force summary. Diagnostic Cytology Towards the 21st Century: An International Expert Conference and Tutorial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frable, W J; Austin, R M; Greening, S E; Collins, R J; Hillman, R L; Kobler, T P; Koss, L G; Mitchell, H; Perey, R; Rosenthal, D L; Sidoti, M S; Somrak, T M

    1998-01-01

    Increasing litigation over alleged false negative cervical cytologic (CC) smears threatens the viability of this test for cervical cancer detection. The problem appears to be largely American but is beginning to appear in some other countries. In the vast majority of cases there is either a settlement or jury verdict for the plaintiff based largely on the testimony of expert witnesses. Cases are judged on an individual basis without significant consideration of the general performance of the CC smear in laboratories operating in compliance with a wide array of laboratory regulations and with documented and comprehensive quality control practices in place. It is acknowledged that there are problem laboratories and cytology practitioners. There is an emerging issue of automated preparation and screening devices and issues of informed patient consent. Cytology professionals have done an extraordinary and commendable job of educating the public about the benefits of the CC smear. We have been less successful and conscientious about explaining and defining the limitations of the CC test. There is a need for public and professional education as to the benefits and limitations of the CC smear for cervical cancer detection. The process suggested is to work with women's groups, public health agencies, government agencies, and state and national legislatures and to coordinate professional committees working on liability issues. Contextual information could be included with the CC smear report to indicate that a negative report confers a low probability of developing cervical cancer. It is suggested that appropriate language and a menu of statements be developed. Increased efforts should be directed to physician education with respect to informed consent concerning the benefits and limitations of CC smear testing and the application of new technology to improve smear accuracy. The process should include development of appropriate statements on the use of alternative

  6. Expert systems: A 5-year perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacAllister, D.J.; Day, R.; McCormack, M.D.

    1996-01-01

    This paper gives an overview of a major integrated oil company's experience with artificial intelligence (AI) over the last 5 years, with an emphasis on expert systems. The authors chronicle the development of an AI group, including details on development tool selection, project selection strategies, potential pitfalls, and descriptions of several completed expert systems. Small expert systems produced by teams of petroleum technology experts and experienced expert system developers that are focused in well-defined technical areas have produced substantial benefits and accelerated petroleum technology transfer

  7. Computer Based Expert Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parry, James D.; Ferrara, Joseph M.

    1985-01-01

    Claims knowledge-based expert computer systems can meet needs of rural schools for affordable expert advice and support and will play an important role in the future of rural education. Describes potential applications in prediction, interpretation, diagnosis, remediation, planning, monitoring, and instruction. (NEC)

  8. [Deontology of the medical expert].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raszeja, S

    1995-09-01

    The authority of prosecuting organ to choose the expert, set his task and verify the following opinion is defined. The qualities of the medical expert and his duties are described, referring to: -his expertise; -his morality; -his ability to issue an independent (objective) opinion. Detailed rules, which can be ascribed to a specific medical expert's deontological code, are listed and explained.

  9. Understanding Cancer Prognosis

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Book Legislative Activities Hearings & Testimonies Current Congress Legislative History Committees of ... Oncologist Anthony L. Back, M.D., a national expert on doctor-patient communications, talks with one of his patients about what ...

  10. Expert systems: An overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Verdejo, F.

    1985-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to introduce readers to the basic principles of rule-based expert systems. Four topics are discussed in subsequent sections: (1) Definition; (2) Structure of an expert system; (3) State of the art and (4) Impact and future research. (orig.)

  11. Preserving experience through expert systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jelinek, J.B.; Weidman, S.H.

    1989-01-01

    Expert systems technology, one of the branches in the field of computerized artificial intelligence, has existed for >30 yr but only recently has been made available on commercially standard hardware and software platforms. An expert system can be defined as any method of encoding knowledge by representing that knowledge as a collection of facts or objects. Decisions are made by the expert program by obtaining data about the problem or situation and correlating encoded facts (knowledge) to the data until a conclusion can be reached. Such conclusions can be relayed to the end user as expert advice. Realizing the potential of this technology, General Electric (GE) Nuclear Energy (GENE) has initiated a development program in expert systems applications; this technology offers the potential for packaging, distributing, and preserving nuclear experience in a software form. The paper discusses application fields, effective applications, and knowledge acquisition and knowledge verification

  12. Operational expert system applications in Canada

    CERN Document Server

    Suen, Ching Y

    1992-01-01

    This book is part of a new series on operational expert systems worldwide. Expert systems are now widely used in different parts of the world for various applications. The past four years have witnessed a steady growth in the development and deployment of expert systems in Canada. Research in this field has also gained considerable momentum during the past few years. However, the field of expert systems is still young in Canada. This book contains 13 chapters contributed by 31 experts from both universities and industries across Canada covering a wide range of applications related to electric

  13. The same difference: Jesusa Palancares and Poppie Nongena’s testimonies of oppression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Wenzel

    1994-05-01

    Full Text Available Two women's texts from postcolonial countries, Mexico and South Africa, on different continents show surprising correspondences in subject matter and style. Elena Poniatowska’s Hasta no verte Jesús mío (Till I meet you, my Jesus and Elsa Joubert's Die swerfjare van Poppie Nongena (The journey of Poppie Nongena examples of testimonial writing, both address issues of gender and politics in an innovative way. They combine autobiography and biography to render a dramatic account of social injustice despite their disparate backgrounds/cultures and subtle differences in style. In comparison, the texts not only affirm the validity of women’s writing and contribute to its enrichment, but also constitute a valuable contribution towards the formulation of a general feminist aesthetics. In fact, they illustrate conclusively that comparative literature fulfils a vital function in the exploration and interpretation of women's literature from different cultures.

  14. Expert Systems as Tools for Technical Communicators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grider, Daryl A.

    1994-01-01

    Discusses expertise, what an expert system is, what an expert system shell is, what expert systems can and cannot do, knowledge engineering and technical communicators, and planning and managing expert system projects. (SR)

  15. An expert system for uranium exploration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chhipa, V.K.; Sengupta, M.

    1989-01-01

    Artificial intelligence is an emerging technology in the field of computer application. Expert systems have been developed to imitate human intelligence and reasoning process. Expert systems have much scope of application in the decision making process in mineral exploration as such decisions are highly subjective and expert opinions are very helpful. This paper presents a small expert system to analyze the reasoning process in exploring for uranium deposits in sandstone

  16. Expert software for accident identification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dobnikar, M.; Nemec, T.; Muehleisen, A.

    2003-01-01

    Each type of an accident in a Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) causes immediately after the start of the accident variations of physical parameters that are typical for that type of the accident thus enabling its identification. Examples of these parameter are: decrease of reactor coolant system pressure, increase of radiation level in the containment, increase of pressure in the containment. An expert software enabling a fast preliminary identification of the type of the accident in Krsko NPP has been developed. As input data selected typical parameters from Emergency Response Data System (ERDS) of the Krsko NPP are used. Based on these parameters the expert software identifies the type of the accident and also provides the user with appropriate references (past analyses and other documentation of such an accident). The expert software is to be used as a support tool by an expert team that forms in case of an emergency at Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration (SNSA) with the task to determine the cause of the accident, its most probable scenario and the source term. The expert software should provide initial identification of the event, while the final one is still to be made after appropriate assessment of the event by the expert group considering possibility of non-typical events, multiple causes, initial conditions, influences of operators' actions etc. The expert software can be also used as an educational/training tool and even as a simple database of available accident analyses. (author)

  17. BWR recirculation pump diagnostic expert system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chiang, S.C.; Morimoto, C.N.; Torres, M.R.

    2004-01-01

    At General Electric (GE), an on-line expert system to support maintenance decisions for BWR recirculation pumps for nuclear power plants has been developed. This diagnostic expert system is an interactive on-line system that furnishes diagnostic information concerning BWR recirculation pump operational problems. It effectively provides the recirculation pump diagnostic expertise in the plant control room continuously 24 hours a day. The expert system is interfaced to an on-line monitoring system, which uses existing plant sensors to acquire non-safety related data in real time. The expert system correlates and evaluates process data and vibration data by applying expert rules to determine the condition of a BWR recirculation pump system by applying knowledge based rules. Any diagnosis will be automatically displayed, indicating which pump may have a problem, the category of the problem, and the degree of concern expressed by the validity index and color hierarchy. The rules incorporate the expert knowledge from various technical sources such as plant experience, engineering principles, and published reports. These rules are installed in IF-THEN formats and the resulting truth values are also expressed in fuzzy terms and a certainty factor called a validity index. This GE Recirculation Pump Expert System uses industry-standard software, hardware, and network access to provide flexible interfaces with other possible data acquisition systems. Gensym G2 Real-Time Expert System is used for the expert shell and provides the graphical user interface, knowledge base, and inference engine capabilities. (author)

  18. Trendwatch combining expert opinion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hendrix, E.M.T.; Kornelis, M.; Pegge, S.M.; Galen, van M.A.

    2006-01-01

    In this study, focus is on a systematic way to detect future changes in trends that may effect the dynamics in the agro-food sector, and on the combination of opinions of experts. For the combination of expert opinions, the usefulness of multilevel models is investigated. Bayesian data analysis is

  19. Mapping on complex neutrosophic soft expert sets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Quran, Ashraf; Hassan, Nasruddin

    2018-04-01

    We introduce the mapping on complex neutrosophic soft expert sets. Further, we investigated the basic operations and other related properties of complex neutrosophic soft expert image and complex neutrosophic soft expert inverse image of complex neutrosophic soft expert sets.

  20. Expert Judgement Assessment & SCENT Ontological Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NICHERSU Iulian

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to provide insights in the starting point of the Horizon 2020 ECfunded project SCENT (Smart Toolbox for Εngaging Citizens into a People-Centric Observation Web Citizen Observatory (CO in terms of existing infrastructure, existing monitoring systems and some discussion on the existing legal and administrative framework that relate to flood monitoring and management in the area of Danube Delta. The methodology used in this approach is based on expert judgement and ontological analysis, using the information collected from the identified end-users of the SCENT toolbox. In this type of analysis the stages of flood monitoring and management that the experts are involved in are detailed. This is done through an Expert Judgement Assessment analysis. The latter is complemented by a set of Key Performance Indicators that the stakeholders have assessed and/or proposed for the evaluation of the SCENT demonstrations, for the impact of the project and finally for SCENT toolbox performance and usefulness. The second part of the study presents an analysis that attempts to map the interactions between different organizations and components of the existing monitoring systems in the Danube Delta case study. Expert Judgement (EJ allows to gain information from specialists in a specific field through a consultation process with one or more experts that have experience in similar and complementary topics. Expert judgment, expert estimates, or expert opinion are all terms that refer to the contents of the problem; estimates, outcomes, predictions, uncertainties, and their corresponding assumptions and conditions are all examples of expert judgment. Expert Judgement is affected by the process used to gather it. On the other hand, the ontological analysis comes to complete this study, by organizing and presenting the connections behind the flood management and land use systems in the three phases of the flood event.

  1. A law for nuclear experts only

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wagner, H.

    1980-01-01

    The Federal Ministry of the Interior is preparing an ordinance on expert consultants under the Atomic Energy Act which, among other topics, is to include legal norms for the criteria to be met by experts in terms of non-partisanship, training, capabilities, technical equipment and cooperation in expert organizations of members of various scientific and technical disciplines. A summary of general criteria relating to the qualification, selection and status of experts called in by the legislative and executive branches and by courts of law, which could be organized as a series of guidelines without any original qualities of legal norms, could be recommended in view of the increasing quantitative and qualitative importance of experts. However, passing an ordinance merely fixing and putting into concrete terms the image of an 'expert under the Atomic Energy Act' is intolerable, because the status of scientific and technical experts by far extends beyond the field of nuclear law in our industrial society characterized by a far reaching division of labor. Weak points in the organization of expert services are not confined to technology or nuclear power. Separate rules establishing legal norms are not convincing also for reasons of technology policy and legal policy as well as for those of social psychology and practice. (orig.) 891 HP/orig. 892 MKO [de

  2. Operational expert system applications in Europe

    CERN Document Server

    Zarri, Gian Piero

    1992-01-01

    Operational Expert System Applications in Europe describes the representative case studies of the operational expert systems (ESs) that are used in Europe.This compilation provides examples of operational ES that are realized in 10 different European countries, including countries not usually examined in the standard reviews of the field.This book discusses the decision support system using several artificial intelligence tools; expert systems for fault diagnosis on computerized numerical control (CNC) machines; and expert consultation system for personal portfolio management. The failure prob

  3. An inter-observer agreement study of autofluorescence endoscopy in Barrett's esophagus among expert and non-expert endoscopists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mannath, J; Subramanian, V; Telakis, E; Lau, K; Ramappa, V; Wireko, M; Kaye, P V; Ragunath, K

    2013-02-01

    Autofluorescence imaging (AFI), which is a "red flag" technique during Barrett's surveillance, is associated with significant false positive results. The aim of this study was to assess the inter-observer agreement (IOA) in identifying AFI-positive lesions and to assess the overall accuracy of AFI. Anonymized AFI and high resolution white light (HRE) images were prospectively collected. The AFI images were presented in random order, followed by corresponding AFI + HRE images. Three AFI experts and 3 AFI non-experts scored images after a training presentation. The IOA was calculated using kappa and accuracy was calculated with histology as gold standard. Seventy-four sets of images were prospectively collected from 63 patients (48 males, mean age 69 years). The IOA for number of AF positive lesions was fair when AFI images were presented. This improved to moderate with corresponding AFI and HRE images [experts 0.57 (0.44-0.70), non-experts 0.47 (0.35-0.62)]. The IOA for the site of AF lesion was moderate for experts and fair for non-experts using AF images, which improved to substantial for experts [κ = 0.62 (0.50-0.72)] but remained at fair for non-experts [κ = 0.28 (0.18-0.37)] with AFI + HRE. Among experts, the accuracy of identifying dysplasia was 0.76 (0.7-0.81) using AFI images and 0.85 (0.79-0.89) using AFI + HRE images. The accuracy was 0.69 (0.62-0.74) with AFI images alone and 0.75 (0.70-0.80) using AFI + HRE among non-experts. The IOA for AF positive lesions is fair to moderate using AFI images which improved with addition of HRE. The overall accuracy of identifying dysplasia was modest, and was better when AFI and HRE images were combined.

  4. Testimony, Memory and Solidarity across National Borders: Paul Ricoeur and Transnational Feminism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth Purcell

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available In many ways, globalization created the problem of representation for feminist solidarity across the borders of the nation state. This problem is one of presenting a cohesive identity for representation in the transnational public sphere. This paper proposes a solution to this problem of a cohesive identity for women’s representation by drawing on the work of Paul Ricœur. What these women seem to have in common are shared political aims, but they have no basis for those aims. This paper provides a basis for these aims by turning to Ricœur’s work on collective memory from Memory, History, Forgetting. The paper concludes that it is the shared testimony through narrative hospitality, which can provide a foundation for a social bond for those with common political aims. More specifically, this common knowledge provides a justification for the representation of women and their allies in the transnational public sphere.

  5. In aftermath of financial investigation Phoenix VA employee demoted after her testimony

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robbins RA

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available No abstract available. Article truncated after 150 words. A previous Southwest Journal of Pulmonary and Critical Care Journal editorial commented on fiscal mismanagement at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA Medical Center in Phoenix (1. Now Paula Pedene, the former Phoenix VA public affairs officer, claims she was demoted for testimony she gave to the VA Inspector General’s Office (OIG regarding that investigation (2. In 2011, the OIG investigated the Phoenix VA for excess spending on private care of patients (3. The report blamed systemic failures for controls so weak that $56 million in medical fees were paid during 2010 without adequate review. The report particularly focused on one clinician assigned by the Chief of Staff to review hundreds of requests per week and the intensive care unit physicians for transferring patients to chronic ventilator units (1,3. After the investigation, the director and one of the associate directors left the VA and the chief of staff was promoted …

  6. Expert system application education project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzelez, Avelino J.; Ragusa, James M.

    1988-01-01

    Artificial intelligence (AI) technology, and in particular expert systems, has shown potential applicability in many areas of operation at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). In an era of limited resources, the early identification of good expert system applications, and their segregation from inappropriate ones can result in a more efficient use of available NASA resources. On the other hand, the education of students in a highly technical area such as AI requires an extensive hands-on effort. The nature of expert systems is such that proper sample applications for the educational process are difficult to find. A pilot project between NASA-KSC and the University of Central Florida which was designed to simultaneously address the needs of both institutions at a minimum cost. This project, referred to as Expert Systems Prototype Training Project (ESPTP), provided NASA with relatively inexpensive development of initial prototype versions of certain applications. University students likewise benefit by having expertise on a non-trivial problem accessible to them at no cost. Such expertise is indispensible in a hands-on training approach to developing expert systems.

  7. The sensitivity of computed tomography (CT) scans in detecting trauma: are CT scans reliable enough for courtroom testimony?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molina, D Kimberley; Nichols, Joanna J; Dimaio, Vincent J M

    2007-09-01

    Rapid and accurate recognition of traumatic injuries is extremely important in emergency room and surgical settings. Emergency departments depend on computed tomography (CT) scans to provide rapid, accurate injury assessment. We conducted an analysis of all traumatic deaths autopsied at the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office in which perimortem medical imaging (CT scan) was performed to assess the reliability of the CT scan in detecting trauma with sufficient accuracy for courtroom testimony. Cases were included in the study if an autopsy was conducted, a CT scan was performed within 24 hours before death, and there was no surgical intervention. Analysis was performed to assess the correlation between the autopsy and CT scan results. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were defined for the CT scan based on the autopsy results. The sensitivity of the CT scan ranged from 0% for cerebral lacerations, cervical vertebral body fractures, cardiac injury, and hollow viscus injury to 75% for liver injury. This study reveals that CT scans are an inadequate detection tool for forensic pathologists, where a definitive diagnosis is required, because they have a low level of accuracy in detecting traumatic injuries. CT scans may be adequate for clinicians in the emergency room setting, but are inadequate for courtroom testimony. If the evidence of trauma is based solely on CT scan reports, there is a high possibility of erroneous accusations, indictments, and convictions.

  8. The First Expert CAI System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feurzeig, Wallace

    1984-01-01

    The first expert instructional system, the Socratic System, was developed in 1964. One of the earliest applications of this system was in the area of differential diagnosis in clinical medicine. The power of the underlying instructional paradigm was demonstrated and the potential of the approach for valuably supplementing medical instruction was recognized. Twenty years later, despite further educationally significant advances in expert systems technology and enormous reductions in the cost of computers, expert instructional methods have found very little application in medical schools.

  9. Expert robots in nuclear plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Byrd, J.S.; Fisher, J.J.; DeVries, K.R.; Martin, T.P.

    1987-01-01

    Expert robots enhance a safety and operations in nuclear plants. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Savannah River Laboratory, is developing expert mobile robots for deployment in nuclear applications at the Savannah River Plant. Knowledge-based expert systems are being evaluated to simplify operator control, to assist in navigation and manipulation functions, and to analyze sensory information. Development work using two research vehicles is underway to demonstrate semiautonomous, intelligence, expert robot system operation in process areas. A description of the mechanical equipment, control systems, and operating modes is presented, including the integration of onboard sensors. A control hierarchy that uses modest computational methods is being used to allow mobile robots to autonomously navigate and perform tasks in known environments without the need for large computer systems

  10. Expert robots in nuclear plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Byrd, J.S.; Fisher, J.J.; DeVries, K.R.; Martin, T.P.

    1987-01-01

    Expert robots will enhance safety and operations in nuclear plants. E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Savannah River Laboratory, is developing expert mobile robots for deployment in nuclear applications at the Savannah River Plant. Knowledge-based expert systems are being evaluated to simplify operator control, to assist in navigation and manipulation functions, and to analyze sensory information. Development work using two research vehicles is underway to demonstrate semiautonomous, intelligent, expert robot system operation in process areas. A description of the mechanical equipment, control systems, and operating modes is presented, including the integration of onboard sensors. A control hierarchy that uses modest computational methods is being used to allow mobile robots to autonomously navigate and perform tasks in known environments without the need for large computer systems

  11. Forensic Linguistics: The Linguistic Analyst and Expert Witness of Language Evidence in Criminal Trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, Sherilynn Nidever

    Forensic linguistics (FL) provides consultation to lawyers through the analysis of language evidence during the pre-trial investigation. Evidence commonly analyzed by linguists in criminal cases includes transcripts of police interviews and language crimes (such as bribery) and anonymous or questioned texts. Forensic linguistic testimony is rarely…

  12. Expert database system for quality control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Anne J.; Li, Zhi-Cheng

    1993-09-01

    There are more competitors today. Markets are not homogeneous they are fragmented into increasingly focused niches requiring greater flexibility in the product mix shorter manufacturing production runs and above allhigher quality. In this paper the author identified a real-time expert system as a way to improve plantwide quality management. The quality control expert database system (QCEDS) by integrating knowledge of experts in operations quality management and computer systems use all information relevant to quality managementfacts as well as rulesto determine if a product meets quality standards. Keywords: expert system quality control data base

  13. Expert systems in process control systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wittig, T.

    1987-01-01

    To illustrate where the fundamental difference between expert systems in classical diagnosis and in industrial control lie, the work of process control instrumentation is used as an example for the job of expert systems. Starting from the general process of problem-solving, two classes of expert systems can be defined accordingly. (orig.) [de

  14. Use of expert judgement in NUREG-1150

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ortiz, N.R.; Wheeler, T.A.; Breeding, R.J.; Hora, S.; Meyer, M.A.; Kenney, R.L.

    1991-01-01

    The explicit expert judgment process used in NUREG-1150, 'Severe Accident Risks: An Assessment for Five US Nuclear Plants', is discussed in this paper. The main steps of the process are described, including selection of issues and experts, elicitation training, presentation of issues to the experts, preparation of issue analyses by the experts, discussion of issue analyses and elicitation, and recomposition and aggregation of results. To demonstrate the application of the expert judgment process to NUREG-1150, two issues are summarized: one from the accident frequency analysis, and one from the accident progression analysis. Recommendations and insights are provided to improve the use of explicit expert judgment in complex technical issues. (orig.)

  15. Expert Evidence and International Criminal Justice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Appazov, Artur

    The book is a comprehensive narration of the use of expertise in international criminal trials offering reflection on standards concerning the quality and presentation of expert evidence. It analyzes and critiques the rules governing expert evidence in international criminal trials...... and the strategies employed by counsel and courts relying upon expert evidence and challenges that courts face determining its reliability. In particular, the author considers how the procedural and evidentiary architecture of international criminal courts and tribunals influences the courts' ability to meaningfully...... incorporate expert evidence into the rational fact-finding process. The book provides analysis of the unique properties of expert evidence as compared with other forms of evidence and the challenges that these properties present for fact-finding in international criminal trials. It draws conclusions about...

  16. Testimony presented to the House Science and Technology Committee, 18 June 1981, Washington, DC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richmond, C.R.

    1981-10-01

    This report is the text of invited testimony given by the author before the House Science and Technology Committee. This Congressional hearing on Societal Risks of Energy Systems reflects the growing interest on the part of Congress, the public, the scientific community, and other groups on this extremely important topic of Risk Analysis. This presentation will contain information on the emergence of an interdisciplinary professional field of risk analysis, including the recently formed Society for Risk Analysis. I will also discuss in some detail various risk analysis programs now in progress at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and other research institutions. Also included will be some general philosophy concerning risks from energy-producing systems and my perspective on the needs for further developments in the field of risk analysis

  17. Inductive acquisition of expert knowledge

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muggleton, S.H.

    1986-01-01

    Expert systems divide neatly into two categories: those in which (1) the expert decisions result in changes to some external environment (control systems), and (2) the expert decisions merely seek to describe the environment (classification systems). Both the explanation of computer-based reasoning and the bottleneck (Feigenbaum, 1979) of knowledge acquisition are major issues in expert-systems research. The author contributed to these areas of research in two ways: 1. He implemented an expert-system shell, the Mugol environment, which facilitates knowledge acquisition by inductive inference and provides automatic explanation of run-time reasoning on demand. RuleMaster, a commercial version of this environment, was used to advantage industrially in the construction and testing of two large classification systems. 2. He investigated a new techniques called 'sequence induction' that can be used in construction of control systems. Sequence induction is based on theoretical work in grammatical learning. He improved existing grammatical learning algorithms as well as suggesting and theoretically characterizing new ones. These algorithms were successfully applied to acquisition of knowledge for a diverse set of control systems, including inductive construction of robot plans and chess end-gam strategies.

  18. ALICE Expert System

    CERN Document Server

    Ionita, C

    2014-01-01

    The ALICE experiment at CERN employs a number of human operators (shifters), who have to make sure that the experiment is always in a state compatible with taking Physics data. Given the complexity of the system and the myriad of errors that can arise, this is not always a trivial task. The aim of this paper is to describe an expert system that is capable of assisting human shifters in the ALICE control room. The system diagnoses potential issues and attempts to make smart recommendations for troubleshooting. At its core, a Prolog engine infers whether a Physics or a technical run can be started based on the current state of the underlying sub-systems. A separate C++ component queries certain SMI objects and stores their state as facts in a Prolog knowledge base. By mining the data stored in dierent system logs, the expert system can also diagnose errors arising during a run. Currently the system is used by the on-call experts for faster response times, but we expect it to be adopted as a standard tool by reg...

  19. Expert system in PNC, 6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsubota, Koji

    1990-01-01

    The application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a tool for mineral exploration started only a decade ago. The systems that have been reported are in the most cases the expert systems that can simulate the decision of the experts or help numerical calculation for more reasonable and/or fast decision making. PNC started the development of the expert system for uranium exploration in 1983. Since then, KOGITO, a expert system to find the favorability of the target area, has been developed. Two years ago, the second generation development, Intelligent Research Environment and Support System, IRESS was initiated aiming at the establishment of a total support system for a project evaluation. We will review our effort for development of our system and introduce the application of the Data directed Numerical method as a new tool to Ahnemland area in Australia. (author)

  20. Basic science budget and SSC. Hearing before the Subcommittee on Energy Research and Development of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundredth Congress, Second Session, April 12, 1988

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1988-01-01

    Numerous witnesses present testimony and documents in the review of the Department of Energy's funding request for the Superconducting Super Collider accelerator and basic sciences. Information is provided by scientific and technical experts, federal and state officials, and academic institutions

  1. Partners for development: Expert assistant in Malaysia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Daud, A.H.

    1996-01-01

    This report reviews the expert assignments received by Malaysia under the TC programme over the 1980-95 time period. It provides data about the type of assignments and expert services, the institutions receiving the experts, and duration of the assignment. Also reviewed is the process of requesting and implementing an expert assignment in Malaysia, as well as the country's related objectives and plans

  2. Expert system technology for nondestructive waste assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Becker, G.K.; Determan, J.C.

    1998-01-01

    Nondestructive assay waste characterization data generated for use in the National TRU Program must be of known and demonstrable quality. Each measurement is required to receive an independent technical review by a qualified expert. An expert system prototype has been developed to automate waste NDA data review of a passive/active neutron drum counter system. The expert system is designed to yield a confidence rating regarding measurement validity. Expert system rules are derived from data in a process involving data clustering, fuzzy logic, and genetic algorithms. Expert system performance is assessed against confidence assignments elicited from waste NDA domain experts. Performance levels varied for the active, passive shielded, and passive system assay modes of the drum counter system, ranging from 78% to 94% correct classifications

  3. Contextual Factors for Finding Similar Experts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hofmann, Katja; Balog, Krisztian; Bogers, Toine

    2010-01-01

    -seeking models, are rarely taken into account. In this article, we extend content-based expert-finding approaches with contextual factors that have been found to influence human expert finding. We focus on a task of science communicators in a knowledge-intensive environment, the task of finding similar experts......, given an example expert. Our approach combines expertise-seeking and retrieval research. First, we conduct a user study to identify contextual factors that may play a role in the studied task and environment. Then, we design expert retrieval models to capture these factors. We combine these with content......-based retrieval models and evaluate them in a retrieval experiment. Our main finding is that while content-based features are the most important, human participants also take contextual factors into account, such as media experience and organizational structure. We develop two principled ways of modeling...

  4. Expert system aids transport regulation users

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheshire, R.D.; Straw, R.J.

    1990-01-01

    During late 1984 the IAEA Regulations were identified as an area of application for an expert system adviser which could offer many advantages. Over the following year some simple tests were carried out to examine its feasibility, but TRANAID did not get underway until 1986 when British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL) Corporate Management services were engaged on the product. By this time a greater choice of suitable software, in the form of expert system shells, had become available. After a number of trial systems the shell Leonardo was finally adopted for the final system. In order for TRANAID to emulate the expert it was necessary to spend time extracting and documenting the expert knowledge. This was a matter of investigating how the regulations are used and was achieved by a series of meetings including opportunity for the computer specialists to interview the regulations experts. There are several benefits in having an expert system advisor in this area. It is useful to both experienced and inexperienced users of regulations. For those who are learning to use the regulations it is an excellent training aid. For those who know the regulations but use them infrequently it can save time and provide a valuable reassurance. The adviser has enabled the expert user's know how to be captured and to be made widely available to those with less experience. (author)

  5. Cooperative expert system reasoning for waste remediations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bohn, S.J.; Pennock, K.A.; Franklin, A.L.

    1991-12-01

    The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is facing a large task in completing Remedial Investigations and Feasibility Studies (RI/FS) for hazardous waste sites across the nation. One of the primary objectives of an RI/FS is the specification of viable sequences of technology treatment trains which can provide implementable site solutions. We present a methodology which integrates expert system technology within an object-oriented framework to create a cooperative reasoning system designed to provide a comprehensive list of these implementable solutions. The system accomplishes its goal of specifying technology trains by utilizing a ''team'' of expert system objects. The system distributes the problem solving among the individual expert objects, and then coordinates the combination of individual decisions into a joint solution. Each expert object possesses the knowledge of an expert in a particular technology. An expert object can examine the parameters and characteristics of the waste site, seek information and support from other expert objects, and then make decisions concerning its own applicability. This methodology has at least two primary benefits. First, the creation of multiple expert objects provides a more direct mapping from the actual process to a software system, making the system easier to build. Second, the distribution of the inferencing among a number of loosely connected expert objects allows for a more robust and maintainable final product

  6. Fire Effects, Education, and Expert Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert E. Martin

    1987-01-01

    Predicting the effects of fires in the year 2000 and beyond will be enhanced by the use of expert systems. Although our predictions may have broad confidence limits, expert systems should help us to improve the predictions and to focus on the areas where improved knowledge is most needed. The knowledge of experts can be incorporated into previously existing knowledge...

  7. Hierarchical Model of Assessing and Selecting Experts

    OpenAIRE

    Chernysheva, Tatiana Yurievna; Korchuganova, Mariya Anatolievna; Borisov, V. V.; Minkov, S. L.

    2016-01-01

    Revealing experts' competences is a multi-objective issue. Authors of the paper deal with competence assessing methods of experts seen as objects, and criteria of qualities. An analytic hierarchy process of assessing and ranking experts is offered, which is based on paired comparison matrices and scores, quality parameters are taken into account as well. Calculation and assessment of experts is given as an example.

  8. Ask-the-expert: Active Learning Based Knowledge Discovery Using the Expert

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Kamalika; Avrekh, Ilya; Matthews, Bryan; Sharma, Manali; Oza, Nikunj

    2017-01-01

    Often the manual review of large data sets, either for purposes of labeling unlabeled instances or for classifying meaningful results from uninteresting (but statistically significant) ones is extremely resource intensive, especially in terms of subject matter expert (SME) time. Use of active learning has been shown to diminish this review time significantly. However, since active learning is an iterative process of learning a classifier based on a small number of SME-provided labels at each iteration, the lack of an enabling tool can hinder the process of adoption of these technologies in real-life, in spite of their labor-saving potential. In this demo we present ASK-the-Expert, an interactive tool that allows SMEs to review instances from a data set and provide labels within a single framework. ASK-the-Expert is powered by an active learning algorithm for training a classifier in the backend. We demonstrate this system in the context of an aviation safety application, but the tool can be adopted to work as a simple review and labeling tool as well, without the use of active learning.

  9. Experts' perceptions on the entrepreneurial framework conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Correia, Aldina; e Silva, Eliana Costa; Lopes, I. Cristina; Braga, Alexandra; Braga, Vitor

    2017-11-01

    The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor is a large scale database for internationally comparative entrepreneurship. This database includes information of more than 100 countries concerning several aspects of entrepreneurship activities, perceptions, conditions, national and regional policy, among others, in two main sources of primary data: the Adult Population Survey and the National Expert Survey. In the present work the National Expert Survey datasets for 2011, 2012 and 2013 are analyzed with the purpose of studying the effects of different type of entrepreneurship expert specialization on the perceptions about the Entrepreneurial Framework Conditions (EFCs). The results of the multivariate analysis of variance for the 2013 data show significant differences of the entrepreneurship experts when compared the 2011 and 2012 surveys. For the 2013 data entrepreneur experts are less favorable then most of the other experts to the EFCs.

  10. Expert systems in clinical microbiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winstanley, Trevor; Courvalin, Patrice

    2011-07-01

    This review aims to discuss expert systems in general and how they may be used in medicine as a whole and clinical microbiology in particular (with the aid of interpretive reading). It considers rule-based systems, pattern-based systems, and data mining and introduces neural nets. A variety of noncommercial systems is described, and the central role played by the EUCAST is stressed. The need for expert rules in the environment of reset EUCAST breakpoints is also questioned. Commercial automated systems with on-board expert systems are considered, with emphasis being placed on the "big three": Vitek 2, BD Phoenix, and MicroScan. By necessity and in places, the review becomes a general review of automated system performances for the detection of specific resistance mechanisms rather than focusing solely on expert systems. Published performance evaluations of each system are drawn together and commented on critically.

  11. Expert opinion vs. empirical evidence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herman, Rod A; Raybould, Alan

    2014-01-01

    Expert opinion is often sought by government regulatory agencies when there is insufficient empirical evidence to judge the safety implications of a course of action. However, it can be reckless to continue following expert opinion when a preponderance of evidence is amassed that conflicts with this opinion. Factual evidence should always trump opinion in prioritizing the information that is used to guide regulatory policy. Evidence-based medicine has seen a dramatic upturn in recent years spurred by examples where evidence indicated that certain treatments recommended by expert opinions increased death rates. We suggest that scientific evidence should also take priority over expert opinion in the regulation of genetically modified crops (GM). Examples of regulatory data requirements that are not justified based on the mass of evidence are described, and it is suggested that expertise in risk assessment should guide evidence-based regulation of GM crops. PMID:24637724

  12. Credibility assessment of testimonies provided by victims with intellectual disabilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio L. MANZANERO

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available One of the main obstacles in the way of access to justice for the victims with intellectual disability comes from the stereotypes referred to their ability to produce a statement at police legal procedures, with the consequence that some consider their statements less reliable than the rest of the victims, and others considerate their statements more reliable given their inability to create complex lies. This article reviews three of the most recent studies done by the UCM group of Psychology of Testimony, with the objective of analyzing the role of experience and intuition in the evaluation of credibility in people with intellectual disability (ID, and also it aims to prove whether the credibility analysis procedures such as Reality Monitoring (RM and Statement Validity Assessment (SVA would be valid procedures to discriminate between real and false statements within these collectives. From the results of these studies, it can be deducted that experience may not seem to be enough in order to discriminate between real and simulated victims, but analyzing the characteristics of the statements as the only indicator doesn’t seem to be enough either. As an alternative, the general procedure HELPT is proposed for the evaluation of credibility of people with ID.

  13. Expert systems in clinical practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Renaud-Salis, J.L.

    1987-01-01

    The first expert systems prototypes intended for advising physicians on diagnosis or therapy selection have been designed more than ten years ago. However, a few of them are already in use in clinical practice after years of research and development efforts. The capabilities of these systems to reason symbolically and to mimic the hypothetico-deductive processes used by physicians distinguishes them from conventional computer programs. Their power comes from their knowledge-base which embeds a large quantity of high-level, specialized knowledge captured from medical experts. Common methods for knowledge representation include production rules and frames. These methods also provide a mean for organizing and structuring the knowledge according to hierarchical or causal links. The best expert-systems perform at the level of the experts. They are easy to learn and use, and can communicate with the user in pseudo-natural language. Moreover they are able to explain their line of reasoning. These capabilities make them potentially useful, usable and acceptable by physicians. However if the problems related to difficulties and costs in building expert-systems are on the way to be solved within the next few years, forensic and ethical issues should have to be addressed before one can envisage their routine use in clinical practice [fr

  14. Expert Witness

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Adele

    formal rules of evidence apply) to help it understand the issues of a case and ... statements on medical expert witness by professional representative bodies in .... determining the size of the financial settlement that may have to be made to the.

  15. Expert system for estimating LWR plutonium production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sandquist, G.M.

    1988-01-01

    An Artificial Intelligence-Expert System called APES (Analysis of Proliferation by Expert System) has been developed and tested to permit a non proliferation expert to evaluate the capability and capacity of a specified LWR reactor and PUREX reprocessing system for producing and separating plutonium even when system information may be limited and uncertain. APES employs an expert system coded in LISP and based upon an HP-RL (Hewlett Packard-Representational Language) Expert System Shell. The user I/O interface communicates with a blackboard and the knowledge base which contains the quantitative models required to describe the reactor, selected fission product production and radioactive decay processes, Purex reprocessing and ancillary knowledge

  16. Expert Systems in Reference Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roysdon, Christine, Ed.; White, Howard D., Ed.

    1989-01-01

    Eleven articles introduce expert systems applications in library and information science, and present design and implementation issues of system development for reference services. Topics covered include knowledge based systems, prototype development, the use of artificial intelligence to remedy current system inadequacies, and an expert system to…

  17. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the expert and non-expert opinion in fire risk in buildings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanea, D.M.; Jagtman, H.M.; Alphen, L.L.M.M. van; Ale, B.J.M.

    2010-01-01

    Expert judgment procedure is a method very often used in the area of risk assessments of complex systems or processes to fill in quantitative data. Although it has been proved to be a very reliable source of information when no other data are available, the choice of experts is always questioned. When the available data are limited, the seed questions cover only partially the domains of expertise, which may cause problems. Expertise is assessed not covering the full object of study but only those topics for which seed questions can be formulated. The commonly used quantitative analysis of an expert judgment exercise is combined with a qualitative analysis. The latter adds more insights to the relation between the assessor's field and statistical knowledge and their performance in an expert judgment. In addition the qualitative analysis identifies different types of seed questions. Three groups of assessors with different levels of statistical and domain knowledge are studied. The quantitative analysis shows no differences between field experts and non-experts and no differences between having advanced statistical knowledge or not. The qualitative analysis supports these findings. In addition it is found that especially technical questions are answered with larger intervals. Precaution is required when using seed questions for which the real value can be calculated, which was the case for one of the seed questions.

  18. 20 CFR 405.10 - Medical and Vocational Expert System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Medical and Vocational Expert System. 405.10... Vocational Expert System. (a) General. The Medical and Vocational Expert System is comprised of the Medical... Vocational Expert System. (3) Experts who provide evidence at your request. Experts whom you ask to provide...

  19. ALICE Expert System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ionita, C; Carena, F

    2014-01-01

    The ALICE experiment at CERN employs a number of human operators (shifters), who have to make sure that the experiment is always in a state compatible with taking Physics data. Given the complexity of the system and the myriad of errors that can arise, this is not always a trivial task. The aim of this paper is to describe an expert system that is capable of assisting human shifters in the ALICE control room. The system diagnoses potential issues and attempts to make smart recommendations for troubleshooting. At its core, a Prolog engine infers whether a Physics or a technical run can be started based on the current state of the underlying sub-systems. A separate C++ component queries certain SMI objects and stores their state as facts in a Prolog knowledge base. By mining the data stored in different system logs, the expert system can also diagnose errors arising during a run. Currently the system is used by the on-call experts for faster response times, but we expect it to be adopted as a standard tool by regular shifters during the next data taking period

  20. An expert system for turbogenerator diagnostics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bessenyei, Z.; Tomcsanyi, T.; Toth, Z.; Laczay, I.

    1992-01-01

    In 1990, an expert system for turbo-generator diagnostics (EST-D) was installed at the 3rd and 4th units of the Paks NPP (Hungary). The expert system is strongly integrated to the ARGUS II vibration monitoring and diagnostics system. The system works on IBM PC AT. The VEIKI's and the NPP's human experts were interviewed to fill up the knowledgebase. The system is able to identify 13 different faults of the parts of a turbogenerator. The knowledgebase consists of ca 200 rules. The rules were built in and the system was verified and validated using a model of the turbines and using the experiences gathered with ARGUS II during the last 3 years. The maintenance personnel is authorized to modify and/or extend the knowledgebase. The input data for evaluation come from measured vibration patterns produced by the ARGUS II system, database of events, and maintenance data input by the maintenance personnel. The expert system is based on the modified GENESYS 2.1 shell (developed by SZAMALK, Hungary). Some limitations from PC application were eliminated, and a new, independent explanation module and man-machine interface were developed. Using this man-machine interface, one of the basic goals of the expert system developments was achieved: the human experts contribution is not necessary for diagnoses. The operator of the diagnostics system is able to produce the reports of diagnoses. Of course the interface allows the human experts to see the diagnoses through. It should be mentioned, at the beginning of 1991, we installed a similar expert system at the 1st 1000 MW WWER type unit of the Kalinin NPP (Soviet Union). In this paper, the operation of the EST-D, the man-machine interface and the operational experiences of the first 4 months work are explained. 2 refs., 14 figs

  1. Between memory and silence, the late testimony of a deported homosexual

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcelo Spitzner

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-7917.2014v19n2p61 This article focuses on the biography of Rudolf Brazda, written by Jean-Luc Schwab. This biography narrates the life and, especially, the deportation of Rudolf Bradzda to the concentration camp of Buchenwald, due to his homosexuality. Brazda was the last pink triangle, title given to homosexuals who were deported to Nazi concentration camps, and one of the few who managed to leave his testimony recorded, even though the writing of another. Thus, I seek in theoretical reflections on history, memory and modernity, a way to point out that narratives such as Brazda’s are delayed or difficult to enter in the collective memory and, therefore, narrate them is configured as struggles against oblivion, silencing and it is a reconstitution of the limits of the historical narrative. Through this text, I propose that history is not made of lines but of wrinkles, the temporality must constantly be revised and that the objective image of collective experience that sustained modernity must be shaken and other genealogies of human experience must be build.

  2. Artificial Intelligence: The Expert Way.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bitter, Gary G.

    1989-01-01

    Discussion of artificial intelligence (AI) and expert systems focuses on their use in education. Characteristics of good expert systems are explained; computer software programs that contain applications of AI are described, highlighting one used to help educators identify learning-disabled students; and the future of AI is discussed. (LRW)

  3. Mind the Gaps: Expert and Non-Expert Differences in Conceptualising the Geological Subsurface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, H.; Stewart, I. S.; Stokes, A.; Pahl, S.

    2017-12-01

    In communicating geoscience topics, emphasis is often given to approaches such as the use of narrative to make a message engaging and reducing the use of jargon to ensure that it is understood by as wide a group of people as possible. Whilst these are undeniably important techniques to promote effective communication, an aspect of geoscience communication that is often overlooked is the publics' conceptual frameworks about core geoscience concepts. The consideration of different conceptual frameworks fits with the need to ensure that the framing is appropriate for the message, but it extends beyond simple framing into more complicated issues of addressing and incorporating pre- and mis-conceptions in geoscience. In a study examining expert and non-expert cognitive (mental) models of the geological subsurface in south-west England, several gaps were found between the fundamental ways that experts and non-experts conceptualise this invisible realm. Of these, three gaps were considered to be particularly important and common to many participants: the use of spatial reasoning; the application of surface experiences to subsurface processes; and the connection between the surface and subsurface. This paper will examine the evidence for these three important conceptual gaps between specialists and non-specialists and will address how this type of cognitive study can help improve effective geoscience communication.

  4. Key attributes of expert NRL referees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Gavin; O'Connor, Donna

    2017-05-01

    Experiential knowledge of elite National Rugby League (NRL) referees was investigated to determine the key attributes contributing to expert officiating performance. Fourteen current first-grade NRL referees were asked to identify the key attributes they believed contributed to their expert refereeing performance. The modified Delphi method involved a 3-round process of an initial semi-structured interview followed by 2 questionnaires to reach consensus of opinion. The data revealed 25 attributes that were rated as most important that underpin expert NRL refereeing performance. Results illustrate the significance of the cognitive category, with the top 6 ranked attributes all cognitive skills. Of these, the referees ranked decision-making accuracy as the most important attribute, followed by reading the game, communication, game understanding, game management and knowledge of the rules. Player rapport, positioning and teamwork were the top ranked game skill attributes underpinning performance excellence. Expert referees also highlighted a number of psychological attributes (e.g., concentration, composure and mental toughness) that were significant to performance. There were only 2 physiological attributes (fitness, aerobic endurance) that were identified as significant to elite officiating performance. In summary, expert consensus was attained which successfully provided a hierarchy of the most significant attributes of expert NRL refereeing performance.

  5. Expert judgement models in quantitative risk assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rosqvist, T. [VTT Automation, Helsinki (Finland); Tuominen, R. [VTT Automation, Tampere (Finland)

    1999-12-01

    Expert judgement is a valuable source of information in risk management. Especially, risk-based decision making relies significantly on quantitative risk assessment, which requires numerical data describing the initiator event frequencies and conditional probabilities in the risk model. This data is seldom found in databases and has to be elicited from qualified experts. In this report, we discuss some modelling approaches to expert judgement in risk modelling. A classical and a Bayesian expert model is presented and applied to real case expert judgement data. The cornerstone in the models is the log-normal distribution, which is argued to be a satisfactory choice for modelling degree-of-belief type probability distributions with respect to the unknown parameters in a risk model. Expert judgements are qualified according to bias, dispersion, and dependency, which are treated differently in the classical and Bayesian approaches. The differences are pointed out and related to the application task. Differences in the results obtained from the different approaches, as applied to real case expert judgement data, are discussed. Also, the role of a degree-of-belief type probability in risk decision making is discussed.

  6. Expert judgement models in quantitative risk assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosqvist, T.; Tuominen, R.

    1999-01-01

    Expert judgement is a valuable source of information in risk management. Especially, risk-based decision making relies significantly on quantitative risk assessment, which requires numerical data describing the initiator event frequencies and conditional probabilities in the risk model. This data is seldom found in databases and has to be elicited from qualified experts. In this report, we discuss some modelling approaches to expert judgement in risk modelling. A classical and a Bayesian expert model is presented and applied to real case expert judgement data. The cornerstone in the models is the log-normal distribution, which is argued to be a satisfactory choice for modelling degree-of-belief type probability distributions with respect to the unknown parameters in a risk model. Expert judgements are qualified according to bias, dispersion, and dependency, which are treated differently in the classical and Bayesian approaches. The differences are pointed out and related to the application task. Differences in the results obtained from the different approaches, as applied to real case expert judgement data, are discussed. Also, the role of a degree-of-belief type probability in risk decision making is discussed

  7. Expert systems and nuclear safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beltracchi, L.

    1990-01-01

    The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Electric Power Research Institute have initiated a broad-based exploration of means to evaluate the potential applications of expert systems in the nuclear industry. This exploratory effort will assess the use of expert systems to augment the diagnostic and decision-making capabilities of personnel with the goal of enhancing productivity, reliability, and performance. The initial research effort is the development and documentation of guidelines for verifying and validating (V and V) expert systems. An initial application of expert systems in the nuclear industry is to aid operations and maintenance personnel in decision-making tasks. The scope of the decision aiding covers all types of cognitive behavior consisting of skill, rule, and knowledge-based behavior. For example, procedure trackers were designed and tested to support rule-based behavior. Further, these systems automate many of the tedious, error-prone human monitoring tasks, thereby reducing the potential for human error. The paper version of the procedure contains the knowledge base and the rules and thus serves as the basis of the design verification of the procedure tracker. Person-in-the-loop tests serve as the basis for the validation of a procedure tracker. When conducting validation tests, it is important to ascertain that the human retains the locus of control in the use of the expert system

  8. Expert systems: an alternative paradigm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coombs, M.; Alty, J.

    1984-01-01

    There has recently been a significant effort by the AI community to interest industry in the potential of expert systems. However, this has resulted in far fewer substantial applications projects than might be expected. This article argues that this is because human experts are rarely required to perform the role that computer-based experts are programmed to adopt. Instead of being called in to answer well-defined problems, they are more often asked to assist other experts to extend and refine their understanding of a problem area at the junction of their two domains of knowledge. This more properly involves educational rather than problem-solving skills. An alternative approach to expert system design is proposed based upon guided discovery learning. The user is provided with a supportive environment for a particular class of problem, the system predominantly acting as an adviser rather than directing the interaction. The environment includes a database of domain knowledge, a set of procedures for its application to a concrete problem, and an intelligent machine-based adviser to judge the user's effectiveness and advise on strategy. The procedures focus upon the use of user generated explanations both to promote the application of domain knowledge and to expose understanding difficulties. Simple database PROLOG is being used as the subject material for the prototype system which is known as MINDPAD. 30 references.

  9. Paradigms and building tools for real-time expert systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Behrens, U.; Flasinski, M.; Hagge, L.; Ohrenberg, K.

    1994-01-01

    An expert system is a software which can simulate the problem solving behavior of a human expert. The rule-based paradigm is chosen to describe the different aspects involved in expert system development. Differences between expert systems and common procedural or object-oriented programs are investigated. Expert system shells are introduced as a building tool for expert systems, together with some guidelines on the evaluation of such shells. A discussion of special needs for real-time expert system development concludes the paper

  10. 44 CFR 68.9 - Admissible evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 44 Emergency Management and Assistance 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Admissible evidence. 68.9 Section 68.9 Emergency Management and Assistance FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF... admissible. (b) Documentary and oral evidence shall be admissible. (c) Admissibility of non-expert testimony...

  11. ART-Ada: An Ada-based expert system tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, S. Daniel; Allen, Bradley P.

    1991-01-01

    The Department of Defense mandate to standardize on Ada as the language for software systems development has resulted in increased interest in making expert systems technology readily available in Ada environments. NASA's Space Station Freedom is an example of the large Ada software development projects that will require expert systems in the 1990's. Another large scale application that can benefit from Ada based expert system tool technology is the Pilot's Associate (PA) expert system project for military combat aircraft. Automated Reasoning Tool (ART) Ada, an Ada Expert system tool is described. ART-Ada allow applications of a C-based expert system tool called ART-IM to be deployed in various Ada environments. ART-Ada is being used to implement several prototype expert systems for NASA's Space Station Freedom Program and the U.S. Air Force.

  12. Methodology toward second generation expert systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dormoy, J.L.

    1989-01-01

    So-called First Generation Expert Systems were aimed at capturing the expert's know-how. Though providing remarkable achievements, this first wave did not give the expected outcome. A new generation is getting out from the laboratories. Instead of remaining at a shallow level of knowledge - that is the unmotivated reasoning processes expressed by an expert when he is forced to tell them - one attempts to re-build this level of knowledge from the first principles which constitute the basis of an expert's knowledge. These systems are called deep knowledge-based, or second generation expert systems. Discussion in the three first parts rests on two examples: A first generation and a half system for process control in nuclear powers plants, than the system EXTRA for alarm processing in nuclear plants, wherein fonctional knowledge is explicitely represented. We show how deep knowledge can be implemented, and the advantages that can be expected from this methodology. Qualitative Physics is discussed in the next part. Future research developments as well as potential payoffs are mentioned [fr

  13. Expert PLSQL Practices

    CERN Document Server

    Beresniewicz, John

    2011-01-01

    Expert PL/SQL Practices is a book of collected wisdom on PL/SQL programming from some of the best and the brightest in the field. Each chapter is a deep-dive into a specific problem, technology, or feature set that you'll face as a PL/SQL programmer. Each author has chosen their topic out of the strong belief that what they share can make a positive difference in the quality and scalability of code that you write. The path to mastery begins with syntax and the mechanics of writing statements to make things happen. If you've reached that point with PL/SQL, then let the authors of Expert PL/SQL

  14. Expert systems for superalloy studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Workman, Gary L.; Kaukler, William F.

    1990-01-01

    There are many areas in science and engineering which require knowledge of an extremely complex foundation of experimental results in order to design methodologies for developing new materials or products. Superalloys are an area which fit well into this discussion in the sense that they are complex combinations of elements which exhibit certain characteristics. Obviously the use of superalloys in high performance, high temperature systems such as the Space Shuttle Main Engine is of interest to NASA. The superalloy manufacturing process is complex and the implementation of an expert system within the design process requires some thought as to how and where it should be implemented. A major motivation is to develop a methodology to assist metallurgists in the design of superalloy materials using current expert systems technology. Hydrogen embrittlement is disasterous to rocket engines and the heuristics can be very complex. Attacking this problem as one module in the overall design process represents a significant step forward. In order to describe the objectives of the first phase implementation, the expert system was designated Hydrogen Environment Embrittlement Expert System (HEEES).

  15. Expert systems as decision tools

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scott, C.K.

    1989-01-01

    The feasibility of using expert systems as an aid in regulatory compliance functions has been investigated. A literature review was carried out to identify applications of expert systems to regulatory affairs. A bibliography of the small literature on such applications was prepared. A prototype system, ARIES, was developed to demonstrate the use of an expert system as an aid to a Project Officer in assuring compliance with licence requirements. The system runs on a personal computer with a graphical interface. Extensive use is made of hypertext to link interrelated rules and requirements as well as to provide an explanation facility. Based on the performance of ARIES the development of a field version is recommended

  16. From expert witness to defendant: abolition of expert witness protection and its implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendelson, Danuta

    2012-12-01

    In Jones v Kaney [2011] 2 AC 398, the United Kingdom Supreme Court held that in England and Wales (but not in Scotland), clients can sue expert witnesses in negligence and/or contract for work performed under their retainer, whether in civil or criminal trials. The duties of expert witnesses in England are regulated by the Civil Procedure Rules and Protocols; the former also regulate the conduct of cases involving expert opinions. The legal context that led to the litigation is examined in the light of these rules, in particular, the nature of the allegations against Dr Kaney, a psychologist retained to provide psychiatric opinion. Jones v Kaney, as a decision of the United Kingdom Supreme Court, is not a binding precedent in Australia. However, unlike statutory enactments, common law judgments are retrospective in their operation, which means that health care practitioners who follow a generally accepted practice today may still be sued for damages by their patients or clients in the future. By definition, the future, including the refusal by the Australian High Court to follow Kaney's abolition of expert witnesses' immunity from suit for breach of duty to their clients, cannot be predicted with certainty. Consequently, health care practitioners in Australia and other countries should be aware of the case, its jurisprudential and practical ramifications.

  17. Expert system for fast reactor diagnostic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parcy, J.P.

    1982-09-01

    A general description of expert systems is given. The operation of a fast reactor is reviewed. The expert system to the diagnosis of breakdowns limited to the reactor core. The structure of the system is described: specification of the diagnostics; structure of the data bank and evaluation of the rules; specification of the prediagnostics and evaluation; explanation of the diagnostics; time evolution of the system; comparison with other expert systems. Applications to some cases of faults are finally presented [fr

  18. Sherlock Holmes: an expert's view of expertise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    André, Didierjean; Fernand, Gobet

    2008-02-01

    In recent years, there has been an intense research effort to understand the cognitive processes and structures underlying expert behaviour. Work in different fields, including scientific domains, sports, games and mnemonics, has shown that there are vast differences in perceptual abilities between experts and novices, and that these differences may underpin other cognitive differences in learning, memory and problem solving. In this article, we evaluate the progress made in the last years through the eyes of an outstanding, albeit fictional, expert: Sherlock Holmes. We first use the Sherlock Holmes character to illustrate expert processes as described by current research and theories. In particular, the role of perception, as well as the nature and influence of expert knowledge, are all present in the description of Conan Doyle's hero. In the second part of the article, we discuss a number of issues that current research on expertise has barely addressed. These gaps include, for example, several forms of reasoning, the influence of emotions on cognition, and the effect of age on experts' knowledge and cognitive processes. Thus, although nearly 120-year-old, Conan Doyle's books show remarkable illustrations of expert behaviour, including the coverage of themes that have mostly been overlooked by current research.

  19. 21 CFR 516.141 - Qualified expert panels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... choose members for the qualified expert panel in accordance with selection criteria listed in paragraph... whether the proposed qualified expert panel meets the selection criteria prior to the panel beginning its... Committee Act, as amended, 5 U.S.C. App. (b) Criteria for the selection of a qualified expert panel. (1) A...

  20. Differentiating Experts' Anticipatory Skills in Beach Volleyball

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canal-Bruland, Rouwen; Mooren, Merel; Savelsbergh, Geert J. P.

    2011-01-01

    In this study, we examined how perceptual-motor expertise and watching experience contribute to anticipating the outcome of opponents' attacking actions in beach volleyball. To this end, we invited 8 expert beach volleyball players, 8 expert coaches, 8 expert referees, and 8 control participants with no beach volleyball experience to watch videos…

  1. Measuring the Effectiveness of Gamesourcing Expert Oil Painting Annotations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M.C. Traub (Myriam); J.R. van Ossenbruggen (Jacco); J. He (Jiyin); L. Hardman (Lynda); M. de Rijke (Maarten); T Kentner; A.P. de Vries (Arjen); F.M.G. de Jong (Franciska); C. Zhai (ChengXiang ); K. Hofmann (Katja); K. Radinsky

    2014-01-01

    htmlabstractTasks that require users to have expert knowledge are diffi- cult to crowdsource. They are mostly too complex to be carried out by non-experts and the available experts in the crowd are difficult to target. Adapting an expert task into a non-expert user task, thereby enabling the

  2. Reducing the Number of Uninsured Children: Outreach and Enrollment Efforts. Testimony of Donna Cohen Ross, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, before the Senate Finance Committee.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Donna Cohen

    This testimony of Donna Cohen Ross describes the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' work to reduce the number of uninsured children. The Center specializes in programs and policies affecting low- and moderate-income families, including issues related to health coverage for the uninsured. It works with many groups on strategies to identify…

  3. [Telemedicine correlation in retinopathy of prematurity between experts and non-expert observers].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ossandón, D; Zanolli, M; López, J P; Stevenson, R; Agurto, R; Cartes, C

    2015-01-01

    To study the correlation between expert and non-expert observers in the reporting images for the diagnosis of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in a telemedicine setting. A cross-sectional, multicenter study, consisting of 25 sets of images of patients screened for ROP. They were evaluated by two experts in ROP and 1 non-expert and classified according to telemedicine classification, zone, stage, plus disease and Ells referral criteria. The telemedicine classification was: no ROP, mild ROP, type 2 ROP, or ROP that requires treatment. Ells referral criteria is defined as the presence at least one of the following: ROP in zone I, Stage 3 in zone I or II, or plus+ For statistical analysis, SPSS 16.0 was used. For correlation, Kappa value was performed. There was a high correlation between observers for the assessment of ROP stage (0.75; 0.54-0.88) plus disease (0.85; 0.71-0.92), and Ells criteria (0.89; 0.83-1.0). However, inter-observer values were low for zone (0.41; 0.27-0.54) and telemedicine classification (0.43; 0.33-0.6). When evaluating telemedicine images by examiners with different levels of expertise in ROP, the Ells criteria gave the best correlation. In addition, stage of disease and plus disease have good correlation among observers. In contrast, the correlation between observers was low for zone and telemedicine classification. Copyright © 2014 Sociedad Española de Oftalmología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  4. Expert system for liquid low-level waste management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferrada, J.J.

    1992-01-01

    An expert system prototype has been developed to support system analysis activities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for waste management tasks. This expert system will aid in prioritizing radioactive waste streams for treatment and disposal by evaluating the severity and treatability of the problem as well as the final waste form. The objectives of the expert system development included: (1) collecting information on process treatment technologies for liquid low-level waste (LLLW) that can be incorporated in the knowledge base of the expert system, and (2) producing a prototype that suggests processes and disposal technologies for the ORNL LLLW system. The concept under which the expert system has been designed is integration of knowledge. There are many sources of knowledge (data bases, text files, simulation programs, etc.) that an expert would regularly consult in order to solve a problem of liquid waste management. The expert would normally know how to extract the information from these different sources of knowledge. The general scope of this project would be to include as much pertinent information as possible within the boundaries of the expert system. As a result, the user, who may not be an expert in every aspect of liquid waste management, may be able to apply the content of the information to a specific waste problem. This paper gives the methodological steps to develop the expert system under this general framework

  5. Reflection group on 'Expert Culture'

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eggermont, G

    2000-07-01

    As part of SCK-CEN's social sciences and humanities programme, a reflection group on 'Expert Culture' was established. The objectives of the reflection group are: (1) to clarify the role of SCK-CEN experts; (2) to clarify the new role of expertise in the evolving context of risk society; (3) to confront external views and internal SCK-CEN experiences on expert culture; (4) to improve trust building of experts and credibility of SCK-CEN as a nuclear actor in society; (5) to develop a draft for a deontological code; (6) to integrate the approach in training on assertivity and communication; (7) to create an output for a topical day on the subject of expert culture. The programme, achievements and perspectives of the refection group are summarised.

  6. Expert Systems for auditing management information systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gheroghe Popescu

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available Expert systems are built with the help of: specialised programming languages or expert system generators (shell. But this structure was reached after tens of years of work and research, because expert systems are nothing but pragmatic capitalisation of the results of research carried out in artificial intelligence and theory of knowledge.

  7. Expert Cold Structure Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atkins, T.; Demuysere, P.

    2011-05-01

    The EXPERT Program is funded by ESA. The objective of the EXPERT mission is to perform a sub-orbital flight during which measurements of critical aero- thermodynamic phenomena will be obtained by using state-of-the-art instrumentation. As part of the EXPERT Flight Segment, the responsibility of the Cold Structure Development Design, Manufacturing and Validation was committed to the Belgian industrial team SONACA/SABCA. The EXPERT Cold Structure includes the Launcher Adapter, the Bottom Panel, the Upper Panel, two Cross Panels and the Parachute Bay. An additional Launcher Adapter was manufactured for the separation tests. The selected assembly definition and manufacturing technologies ( machined parts and sandwich panels) were dictated classically by the mass and stiffness, but also by the CoG location and the sensitive separation interface. Used as support for the various on-board equipment, the Cold Structure is fixed to but thermally uncoupled from the PM 1000 thermal shield. It is protect on its bottom panel by a thermal blanket. As it is a protoflight, analysis was the main tool for the verification. Low level stiffness and modal analysis tests have also been performed on the Cold Structure equipped with its ballast. It allowed to complete its qualification and to prepare SONACA/SABCA support for the system dynamic tests foreseen in 2011. The structure was finally coated with a thermal control black painting and delivered on time to Thales Alenia Space-Italy end of March 201.

  8. Mobilizing Conflict Testimony: A Lens of Mobility for the Study of Documentary Practices in the Kashmir Conflict

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Max Kramer

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available In this paper I introduce a lens of mobility for the study of documentary film practices and gender in zones of conflict. By drawing on my qualitative research regarding the practice of the independent filmmaker Iffat Fatima, I will argue that a lens of mobility helps to grasp highly mobile media practices both conceptually and methodologically. Through a lens of mobility, my focus lies on the potential of documentary film to open the imaginative boundaries of conflict zones and to politically and emotionally mobilize the testimony offered from everyday life in a highly militarized zone. This specifically requires the tracing of moments of political mobilization beyond cognitive questions of conflicting narratives and representations.

  9. Expert judgment for nuclear energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Young Sung; Lee, Sun Ho; Lee, Byong Whi

    2000-01-01

    Public perception on nuclear energy is much influenced by subjective impressions mostly formed through sensational and dramatic news of mass media or anti-nuclear groups. However, nuclear experts, those who have more relevant knowledge and information about nuclear energy, may have reasonable opinion based on scientific facts or inferences. Thus their opinion and consensus should be examined and taken into account during the process of nuclear energy policy formulation. For the purpose of eliciting experts' opinion, the web-based on-line survey system (eBOSS) was developed. Using the survey system, experts' views on nuclear energy were tallied, analyzed and compared with the public's. Based on the survey results, the paper suggests some recommendations about the future direction of the public information program in Korea

  10. 77 FR 45354 - Notification of Single Source Cooperative Agreement Award for Project Hope

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-31

    ... outreach activities that ensured optimal awareness, engagement and discussion by a wide audience of expert...--frequently cited in congressional testimony and the news media--and has a wide-ranging audience that includes... this award, ASPR will capitalize on Project Hope's extensive experience in producing and marketing...

  11. Psychiatric, Psychological and “Witchcraft” Defences to Murder in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Expert psychiatric testimony may be relevant in certain instances of homicide especially murder. However, the exposure of most psychiatric trainees may be inadequate in relation to the range of psychological defences available to an offender accused of homicide. Aim: To describe the psychiatric and ...

  12. Waste disposal experts meet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1959-01-15

    Problems connected with the disposal into the sea of radioactive wastes from peaceful uses of atomic energy are being examined by a panel of experts, convened by the International Atomic Energy Agency. These experts from eight different countries held a first meeting at IAEA headquarters in Vienna from 4-9 December 1958, under the chairmanship of Dr. Harry Brynielsson, Director General of the Swedish Atomic Energy Company. The countries represented are: Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States. The group will meet again in 1959. (author)

  13. Enhancing Transparency in Multidisciplinary Expert Communication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hukki, Kristiina; Pulkkinen, Urho

    2003-01-01

    Faced with problems of public acceptance most nuclear waste management organisations now acknowledge the importance of transparency in their pursuit of solutions for high-level nuclear waste disposal. To make progress the implementing organizations need the trust of other stakeholders in the decision-making process. For such trust these outside stakeholders need knowledge on the grounds for the judgments and decisions made in different scientific and technical disciplines. Transparency is, however, at least as important for the multidisciplinary expert communication itself. As a matter of fact, the transparency of the internal expert interaction processes is a prerequisite for the true transparency of the communication between the implementer and the external stakeholder groups. The introduced conceptual framework has been developed for the identification of the requirements of safety-informed communication in multidisciplinary expert work in nuclear waste management. The framework offers a common thinking model and common concepts which can be utilized in the development of the communication practices. The basis of the framework is on the possibility to understand the safety-critical significance of one's work. The transparency of communication is, for its part, based on making explicit the relevant knowledge necessary for gaining the understanding. This supplementary knowledge, which is related to the substance issues but is not scientific-technical by nature, enhances the experts' awareness of the context of their own contribution and of the background of the other experts' contributions. The common conceptualization and modelling of the knowledge-related dependencies between the tasks make it possible to realize the significance of the supplementary knowledge for transparent communication in actual situations. They also facilitate the recognition of the need for different types of supplementary knowledge in the interfaces between the tasks. By enhancing mutual

  14. Classification of health webpages as expert and non expert with a reduced set of cross-language features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grabar, Natalia; Krivine, Sonia; Jaulent, Marie-Christine

    2007-10-11

    Making the distinction between expert and non expert health documents can help users to select the information which is more suitable for them, according to whether they are familiar or not with medical terminology. This issue is particularly important for the information retrieval area. In our work we address this purpose through stylistic corpus analysis and the application of machine learning algorithms. Our hypothesis is that this distinction can be performed on the basis of a small number of features and that such features can be language and domain independent. The used features were acquired in source corpus (Russian language, diabetes topic) and then tested on target (French language, pneumology topic) and source corpora. These cross-language features show 90% precision and 93% recall with non expert documents in source language; and 85% precision and 74% recall with expert documents in target language.

  15. The Repercussion of the False Memories Syndrome in the Eyewitness Testimony: an Analysis of Decisions from the Rio Grande do Sul State Court

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Flaviane Baldasso

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available False memories are distortions of memory that can impact decisively on the evaluation of a criminal event of interest to the criminal system. Despite the growing interest in the subject, few empirical works have explored the practical consequences of the phenomenon. Along with, the question is if it is possible to measure the repercussion for our criminal proceedings, as well if the theses concerning false memories have been accepted by the Judiciary and in which cases. The present article intends to analyze the repercussion of the phenomenon of false memories, in terms of testimonial evidence, from 437 judgments of the Court of Justice of Rio Grande do Sul. Using the content analysis methodology of Lawrence Bardin, we explored the types of crimes in which the false memories argument has been used, if the hypothesis of this distortion has sensitized the judges, as well as if the analyzes of the judges have been supported in the bibliographical production on the psychology of the testimony. From the numbers raised, it was possible to perceive a considerable increase in the invocation of the argument of the False Memories, but this has not been reversed in the promotion of freedom in the scope of the gaucho penal process.

  16. Earthquakes and Tectonics Expert Judgment Elicitation Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coppersmith, K.J.; Perman, R.C.; Youngs, R.R.

    1993-02-01

    This report summarizes the results of the Earthquakes and Tectonics Expert Judgement Excitation Project sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The objectives of this study were two-fold: (1) to demonstrate methods for the excitation of expert judgement, and (2) to quantify the uncertainties associated with earthquake and tectonics issues for use in the EPRI-HLW performance assessment. Specifically, the technical issue considered is the probability of differential fault displacement through the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. For this study, a strategy for quantifying uncertainties was developed that relies on the judgements of multiple experts. A panel of seven geologists and seismologists was assembled to quantify the uncertainties associated with earthquake and tectonics issues for the performance assessment model. A series of technical workshops focusing on these issues were conducted. Finally, each expert was individually interviewed in order to elicit his judgement regarding the technical issues and to provide the technical basis for his assessment. This report summarizes the methodologies used to elicit the judgements of the earthquakes and tectonics experts (termed ''specialists''), and summarizes the technical assessments made by the expert panel

  17. Expert judgement in performance assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilmot, R.D.; Galson, D.A.

    2000-01-01

    This report is a pilot study that systematically describes the various types of expert judgement that are made throughout the development of a PA, and summarizes existing tools and practices for dealing with expert judgements. The report also includes recommendations for further work in the area of expert judgement. Expert judgements can be classified in a number of ways, including classification according to why the judgements are made and according to how the judgements are made. In terms of why judgements are made, there is a broad distinction between: Judgements concerning data that are made because alternatives are not feasible; and Judgements about the conduct of a PA that are made because there are no alternative approaches for making the decision. In the case of how judgements are made, the report distinguishes between non-elicited judgements made by individuals, non-elicited judgements made by groups, and elicited judgements made by individuals or groups. These types of judgement can generally be distinguished by the extent of the associated documentation, and hence their traceability. Tools for assessing judgements vary depending on the type of judgements being examined. Key tools are peer review, an appropriate QA regime, documentation, and elicitation. Dialogue with stake holders is also identified as important in establishing whether judgements are justified in the context in which they are used. The PA process comprises a number of stages, from establishing the assessment context, through site selection and repository design, to scenario and model development and parametrisation. The report discusses how judgements are used in each of these stages, and identifies which of the tools and procedures for assessing judgements are most appropriate at each stage. Recommendations for further work include the conduct of a trial expert elicitation to gain experience in the advantages and disadvantages of this technique, the development of guidance for peer

  18. Expert judgement in performance assessment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilmot, R.D.; Galson, D.A. [Galson Sciences Ltd, Oakham (United Kingdom)

    2000-01-01

    This report is a pilot study that systematically describes the various types of expert judgement that are made throughout the development of a PA, and summarizes existing tools and practices for dealing with expert judgements. The report also includes recommendations for further work in the area of expert judgement. Expert judgements can be classified in a number of ways, including classification according to why the judgements are made and according to how the judgements are made. In terms of why judgements are made, there is a broad distinction between: Judgements concerning data that are made because alternatives are not feasible; and Judgements about the conduct of a PA that are made because there are no alternative approaches for making the decision. In the case of how judgements are made, the report distinguishes between non-elicited judgements made by individuals, non-elicited judgements made by groups, and elicited judgements made by individuals or groups. These types of judgement can generally be distinguished by the extent of the associated documentation, and hence their traceability. Tools for assessing judgements vary depending on the type of judgements being examined. Key tools are peer review, an appropriate QA regime, documentation, and elicitation. Dialogue with stake holders is also identified as important in establishing whether judgements are justified in the context in which they are used. The PA process comprises a number of stages, from establishing the assessment context, through site selection and repository design, to scenario and model development and parametrisation. The report discusses how judgements are used in each of these stages, and identifies which of the tools and procedures for assessing judgements are most appropriate at each stage. Recommendations for further work include the conduct of a trial expert elicitation to gain experience in the advantages and disadvantages of this technique, the development of guidance for peer

  19. Liquid low level waste management expert system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferrada, J.J.; Abraham, T.J.; Jackson, J.R.

    1991-01-01

    An expert system has been developed as part of a new initiative for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) systems analysis program. This expert system will aid in prioritizing radioactive waste streams for treatment and disposal by evaluating the severity and treatability of the problem, as well as the final waste form. The objectives of the expert system development included: (1) collecting information on process treatment technologies for liquid low-level waste (LLLW) that can be incorporated in the knowledge base of the expert system, and (2) producing a prototype that suggests processes and disposal technologies for the ORNL LLLW system. 4 refs., 9 figs

  20. 40 CFR 194.26 - Expert judgment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... CFR PART 191 DISPOSAL REGULATIONS Compliance Certification and Re-certification General Requirements... experts (by name and employer) involved in any expert judgment elicitation processes used to support the... judgment elicitation processes and the reasoning behind those results. Documentation of interviews used to...

  1. A method for using expert judgement in PSA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pulkkinen, U.; Holmberg, J.

    1997-03-01

    The report discusses an expert judgement methodology development for applications at all levels of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA). The main applications are expected to be at PSA-levels 1 and 2. The method consists of several phases, including the selection and training of the experts, elicitation of experts' judgements, probabilistic modeling and combination of experts' judgements and documentation of the judgement process. The expert training and elicitation process is rather similar to that applied in the NUREG-1150 study. The combination of experts judgements is based on a Bayesian framework utilizing hierarchic models. The posterior distributions of the variables under analysis can be interpreted as a Bayesian counterpart of the combined or aggregated (consensus) distributions, and they are determined by applying Markov chain Monte-Carlo methods. The properties of the method are illustrated by some simple examples. The method is tested in a case study belonging to the benchmark exercise on the use of expert judgement in level 2 PSA, organized as a concerted action of European Commission Fourth Framework Programme on Nuclear Fission Safety. (14 refs.)

  2. The recourse to experts. Political reasons and uses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dumoulin, L.; La Branche, St.; Robert, C.; Warin, Ph.

    2005-01-01

    The need of reliable knowledge is necessary to draw adequate public policies. The role of experts is more and more important in any field, the expert brings his own specialized knowledge to the political world, he can define looming threads, can predict catastrophes, can highlight the long-term responsibility of particular choices but he can also contribute to the drawing of adequate solutions. The limit of expert's power lays in his ability to make a synthesis of plural knowledge. This book presents the role and weight of experts in our society from justice to economics via natural risks. A lot of examples of public policies based on expert valuation is given, in particular the recourse to experts of the European Union when it was to deal with the upgrading of nuclear safety standard in eastern countries. (A.C.)

  3. Expert system characteristics and potential applications in safeguards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chapman, L.D.

    1986-01-01

    The general growth of expert, knowledge-based (KB) or rule based systems will significantly increase in the next three to five years. Improvements in computer hardware (speed, reduced size, power) and software (rule based, data based, user interfaces) in recent years are providing the foundations for the growth of expert systems. A byproduct of this growth will undoubtedly be the application of expert systems to various safeguards problems. Characteristics of these expert systems will involve 1) multiple rules governing an outcome, 2) confidence factors on individual variables and rule sets, 3) priority, cost, and risk based rule sets, and 4) the reasoning behind the advice or decision given by the expert system. This paper presents characteristics, structures, and examples of simple rule based systems. Potential application areas for these expert systems may include training, operations, management, designs, evaluations, and specific hardware operation

  4. A Phenomenology of Expert Musicianship

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Høffding, Simon

    This dissertation develops a phenomenology of expert musicianship through an interdisciplinary approach that integrates qualitative interviews with the Danish String Quartet with philosophical analyses drawing on ideas and theses found in phenomenology, philosophy of mind, cognitive science...... and psychology of music. The dissertation is structured through the asking, analyzing and answering of three primary questions, namely: 1) What is it like to be an expert? 2) What is the general phenomenology of expert musicianship? 3) What happens to the self in deep musical absorption? The first question...... targets a central debate in philosophy and psychology on whether reflection is conducive for, or detrimental to, skillful performance. My analyses show that the concepts assumed in the literature on this question are poorly defined and gloss over more important features of expertise. The second question...

  5. EPRI expert system activities for nuclear utility industry application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naser, J.A.

    1990-01-01

    This paper reports on expert systems which have reached a level of maturity where they offer considerable benefits for the nuclear utility industry. The ability of expert systems to enhance expertise makes them an important tool for the nuclear utility industry in the areas of engineering, operations and maintenance. Benefits of expert system applications include comprehensive and consistent reasoning, reduction of time required for activities, retention of human expertise and ability to utilize multiple experts knowledge for an activity. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has been performing four basic activities to help the nuclear industry take advantage of this expert system technology. The first is the development of expert system building tools which are tailored to nuclear utility industry applications. The second is the development of expert system applications. The third is work in developing a methodology for verification and validation of expert systems. The last is technology transfer activities to help the nuclear utility industry benefit from expert systems. The purpose of this paper is to describe the EPRI activities

  6. Hierarchical Model of Assessing and Selecting Experts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chernysheva, T. Y.; Korchuganova, M. A.; Borisov, V. V.; Min'kov, S. L.

    2016-04-01

    Revealing experts’ competences is a multi-objective issue. Authors of the paper deal with competence assessing methods of experts seen as objects, and criteria of qualities. An analytic hierarchy process of assessing and ranking experts is offered, which is based on paired comparison matrices and scores, quality parameters are taken into account as well. Calculation and assessment of experts is given as an example.

  7. Counseling, Artificial Intelligence, and Expert Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Illovsky, Michael E.

    1994-01-01

    Considers the use of artificial intelligence and expert systems in counseling. Limitations are explored; candidates for counseling versus those for expert systems are discussed; programming considerations are reviewed; and techniques for dealing with rational, nonrational, and irrational thoughts and feelings are described. (Contains 46…

  8. Italy Seen Through the Eyes of Anselmo Adorno. A Testimony of the Middle Ages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beatrice Borghi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Anselmo Adorno was one of the most prominent and influential men of Western Europe in the late Middle Ages in the area between Flanders, the Duchy of Burgundy and Scotland. Negotiator, wise, magistrate, Anselmo left us the journey report Itinerarium Terrae Sanctae Anselmi Adorni, written by his son Giovanni, a source of extraordinary wealth for the details and descriptions of places, customs and customs of the peoples of the eastern Mediterranean. Of particular interest is also the description of the cities, the urban and rural landscape, the routes that Adorno travelled in his journey between 1470 and 1471. The article will therefore take the moves from this precious testimony to describe the Italy visited by the pilgrim of Bruges, including Genoa, a family town of Rome, Brindisi and the Apulian cities of Naples, and the route that from the eternal city led to Venice, Cologne and finally to the West Flanders.

  9. (Imposibilidades del sujeto testimonial: aproximaciones interdisciplinarias a la memoria de lo traumático

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Cabrera

    Full Text Available Resumen Este artículo tiene como objetivo general promover la reflexión interdisciplinaria, considerando aportes del psicoanálisis y de la historia, acerca de la transmisión de la memoria, en sus dimensiones individuales y colectivas, de acontecimientos traumáticos vinculados a la transgresión de los derechos humanos en el contexto de regímenes autoritarios, desde la perspectiva del sujeto del testimonio. El principal supuesto es que el sujeto testimonial configura discursos que articulan tanto dimensiones representables como irrepresentables de la experiencia mediante la palabra. Así, interesa preguntarse por la posibilidad de que el testimonio presente en su propia organización discursiva esta dimensión que se resiste a la articulación narrativa, cuestión que permite considerar la forma y la función que adquiere lo irrepresentable en los procesos de transmisión de la memoria histórica ligada a los traumas colectivos.

  10. VALIDITY AND CREDIBILITY OF A CHILD’S TESTIMONY OF SEXUAL ABUSE: A CASE REPORT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonina Argo

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available The allegation by a child victim of sexual abuse is, in many cases, the most important evidence of wrongdoing, especially in absence of medical or physical evidence or confessions of guilt. The Rorschach inkblot test is a projective personality assessment technique used to evaluate child witnesses. We report a case of three girls allegedly abused by the father, in which the psychometric evaluation with the Rorschach test did not give credibility to the testimony of the children. When interrogating a minor, it is very difficult to distinguish between a true and a lie. Indeed, many different elements can affect the dialogue, such as the child’s age, the events being discussed, interrogation environment, factors linked to the interviewer, etc. Therefore, it is possible errors of evaluation, misunderstandings or confusion happen frequently. The aim of this case report is to highlight that employment of methodologies and criteria recognised by the scientific community could simplify the acquisition and assessment of information from a minor.

  11. Medical Physics expert and competence in radiation protection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vano, E.; Lamn, I. N.; Guerra, A. del; Van Kleffens, H. J.

    2003-01-01

    The Council Directive 97/43/EURATOM on health protection of individuals against the dangers of ionizing radiation in relation to medical exposure, defines the Medical Physical Expert as an expert in radiation physics or radiation technology applied to exposure, within the scope of the Directive, whose training and competence to act is recognized by the competent authorities; and who, as appropriate, acts or gives advice on patient dosimetry, on the development and use of complex techniques and equipment, on optimization, on quality assurance, including quality control, and on other matters relating to radiation protection, concerning exposure within the scope of this Directive. As a consequence, it might be implied that his competence in radiation protection should also cover the staff and the public. In fact, the training programmes of medical physics experts include all the aspects concerning these topics. Some confusion could arise in the medical area when the Qualified Expert defined in the Council Directive 96/29/Euratom laying down basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionizing radiation is considered. The Qualified Expert is defined as a person having the knowledge and training needed to carry out physical, technical or radiochemical tests enabling doses to be assessed, and to give advice in order to ensure effective protection of individuals and the correct operation of protective equipment, whose capacity to act a qualified expert is recognized by the competent authorities. A qualified expert may be assigned the technical responsibility for the tasks of radiation protection of workers and members of the public. In Europe, the Qualified Expert is acting at present in the Medical Area in countries where there are not enough Medical Physics Experts or in countries where this role was established before the publication of the Council Directive 97/43/EURATOM. Now, the coherent

  12. Expectations of emotions during testimony: the role of communicator and perceiver characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bederian-Gardner, Daniel; Goldfarb, Deborah

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated the influence of communicator (child victim) and perceiver (adult participant) characteristics on expectations about witnesses' emotional displays during testimony. In total, 191 adults were asked whether or not they expected child victims who were testifying about sexual abuse to display sadness, fear, anger, disgust, happiness, or a neutral demeanor, and how intensely the adults expected each emotion to be displayed. In describing the victims, child age (5 vs. 13 years old) and child gender (female vs. male) were factorially combined as within-subject factors. Results included that victim gender predicted expectations of fear, and victim age predicted expectations of anger and disgust. There was a significant interaction of victim age and victim gender for expectations of sadness. Of participants who expected multiple emotions, a combination of negative and neutral emotions was expected more from 13-year-old female victims than from 5-year-old female victims. Child victim empathy predicted ratings of how intensely sad and fearful the child victim would look. Implications of these findings for psychological research and the legal system are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  13. Nickel Hydrogen Battery Expert System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Yvette B.; Mccall, Kurt E.

    1992-01-01

    The Nickel Cadmium Battery Expert System-2, or 'NICBES-2', which was used by the NASA HST six-battery testbed, was subsequently converted into the Nickel Hydrogen Battery Expert System, or 'NICHES'. Accounts are presently given of this conversion process and future uses being contemplated for NICHES. NICHES will calculate orbital summary data at the end of each orbit, and store these files for trend analyses and rules-generation.

  14. PTSD as a criminal defense: a review of case law.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berger, Omri; McNiel, Dale E; Binder, Renée L

    2012-01-01

    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been offered as a basis for criminal defenses, including insanity, unconsciousness, self-defense, diminished capacity, and sentencing mitigation. Examination of case law (e.g., appellate decisions) involving PTSD reveals that when offered as a criminal defense, PTSD has received mixed treatment in the judicial system. Courts have often recognized testimony about PTSD as scientifically reliable. In addition, PTSD has been recognized by appellate courts in U.S. jurisdictions as a valid basis for insanity, unconsciousness, and self-defense. However, the courts have not always found the presentation of PTSD testimony to be relevant, admissible, or compelling in such cases, particularly when expert testimony failed to show how PTSD met the standard for the given defense. In cases that did not meet the standard for one of the complete defenses, PTSD has been presented as a partial defense or mitigating circumstance, again with mixed success.

  15. Safety Tips from the Expert Witness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Gary R.

    1995-01-01

    Many physical educators and coaches use the potential for liability to guide their decisions about conducting activities. By understanding expert witnesses' roles in negligence actions, surer planning, teaching, and coaching are possible. The paper describes issues that expert witnesses examine in negligence actions against physical educators,…

  16. Forensic human identification in the United States and Canada: a review of the law, admissible techniques, and the legal implications of their application in forensic cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holobinko, Anastasia

    2012-10-10

    Forensic human identification techniques are successful if they lead to positive personal identification. However, the strongest personal identification is of no use in the prosecution--or vindication--of an accused if the associated evidence and testimony is ruled inadmissible in a court of law. This review examines the U.S. and Canadian legal rulings regarding the admissibility of expert evidence and testimony, and subsequently explores four established methods of human identification (i.e., DNA profiling, forensic anthropology, forensic radiography, forensic odontology) and one complementary technique useful in determining identity, and the legal implications of their application in forensic cases. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Influence of Professional Affiliation on Expert's View on Welfare Measures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dam Otten, Nina; Rousing, Tine; Forkman, Björn

    2017-01-01

    are not balanced in numbers of experts. At two time points (2012 and 2016), dairy cattle and swine experts from four different stakeholder groups, namely researchers (RES), production advisors (CONS), practicing veterinarians (VET) and animal welfare control officers (AWC) were asked to weigh eight different...... between expert groups among swine experts. Inter-expert differences were more pronounced for both species. The results highlight the challenges of using expert weightings in aggregated welfare assessment models, as the choice of expert affiliation may play a confounding role in the final aggregation due...

  18. Expert tool use

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thorndahl, Kathrine Liedtke; Ravn, Susanne

    2017-01-01

    on a case study of elite rope skipping, we argue that the phenomenological concept of incorporation does not suffice to adequately describe how expert tool users feel when interacting with their tools. By analyzing a combination of insights gained from participant observation of 11 elite rope skippers......According to some phenomenologists, a tool can be experienced as incorporated when, as a result of habitual use or deliberate practice, someone is able to manipulate it without conscious effort. In this article, we specifically focus on the experience of expertise tool use in elite sport. Based...... and autoethnographic material from one former elite skipper, we take some initial steps toward the development of a more nuanced understanding of the concept of incorporation; one that is able to accommodate the experiences of expert tool users. In sum, our analyses indicate that the possibility for experiencing...

  19. Information Retrieval Diary of an Expert Technical Translator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cremmins, Edward T.

    1984-01-01

    Recommends use of entries from the information retrieval diary of Ted Crump, expert technical translator at the National Institute of Health, in the construction of computer models showing how expert translators solve problems of ambiguity in language. Expert and inexpert translation systems, eponyms, abbreviations, and alphabetic solutions are…

  20. Influenza Pandemic: Gaps in Pandemic Planning and Preparedness Need to Be Addressed. Testimony before the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives. GAO-09-909T

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinhardt, Bernice

    2009-01-01

    As the current H1N1 outbreak underscores, an influenza pandemic remains a real threat to our nation. Over the past 3 years, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a body of work, consisting of 12 reports and 4 testimonies, to help the nation better prepare for a possible pandemic. In February 2009, GAO synthesized the results of…

  1. A demonstration of expert systems applications in transportation engineering : volume III, evaluation of the prototype expert system TRANZ.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1990-01-01

    The validation and evaluation of an expert system for traffic control in highway work zones (TRANZ) is described. The stages in the evaluation process consisted of the following: revisit the experts, selectively distribute copies of TRANZ with docume...

  2. A brief history and technical review of the expert system research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Haocheng

    2017-09-01

    The expert system is a computer system that emulates the decision-making ability of a human expert, which aims to solve complex problems by reasoning knowledge. It is an important branch of artificial intelligence. In this paper, firstly, we briefly introduce the development and basic structure of the expert system. Then, from the perspective of the enabling technology, we classify the current expert systems and elaborate four expert systems: The Rule-Based Expert System, the Framework-Based Expert System, the Fuzzy Logic-Based Expert System and the Expert System Based on Neural Network.

  3. Expert opinion vs. empirical evidence

    OpenAIRE

    Herman, Rod A; Raybould, Alan

    2014-01-01

    Expert opinion is often sought by government regulatory agencies when there is insufficient empirical evidence to judge the safety implications of a course of action. However, it can be reckless to continue following expert opinion when a preponderance of evidence is amassed that conflicts with this opinion. Factual evidence should always trump opinion in prioritizing the information that is used to guide regulatory policy. Evidence-based medicine has seen a dramatic upturn in recent years sp...

  4. System and method for creating expert systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Peter M. (Inventor); Luczak, Edward C. (Inventor)

    1998-01-01

    A system and method provides for the creation of a highly graphical expert system without the need for programming in code. An expert system is created by initially building a data interface, defining appropriate Mission, User-Defined, Inferred, and externally-generated GenSAA (EGG) data variables whose data values will be updated and input into the expert system. Next, rules of the expert system are created by building appropriate conditions of the rules which must be satisfied and then by building appropriate actions of rules which are to be executed upon corresponding conditions being satisfied. Finally, an appropriate user interface is built which can be highly graphical in nature and which can include appropriate message display and/or modification of display characteristics of a graphical display object, to visually alert a user of the expert system of varying data values, upon conditions of a created rule being satisfied. The data interface building, rule building, and user interface building are done in an efficient manner and can be created without the need for programming in code.

  5. 38 CFR 14.810 - Fees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ..., opinion or policy matters, the requester shall pay to the government a fee calculated to reimburse the... witness and attendance at trial. (2) All costs for documents necessary for such expert testimony shall be... expenses prescribed for attendance by the applicable rule of court. If no such fee is prescribed, the...

  6. Expert systems for plant operations training and assistance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pack, R.W.; Lazar, P.M.; Schmidt, R.V.; Gaddy, C.D.

    1988-01-01

    The project described in this paper explored the use of expert systems for plant operations training and assistance. Three computer technologies were reviewed: computer-aided instruction, expert systems, and expert training systems (ETS). The technology of CAI has been developed since the early 1960s, and a wide range of applications are available commercially today. Expert systems have been developed primarily as job performance aids, and the number of commercial applications is increasing. A fully developed ETS has models of the trainer and trainee, in addition to a knowledge base

  7. Handbook of VLSI chip design and expert systems

    CERN Document Server

    Schwarz, A F

    1993-01-01

    Handbook of VLSI Chip Design and Expert Systems provides information pertinent to the fundamental aspects of expert systems, which provides a knowledge-based approach to problem solving. This book discusses the use of expert systems in every possible subtask of VLSI chip design as well as in the interrelations between the subtasks.Organized into nine chapters, this book begins with an overview of design automation, which can be identified as Computer-Aided Design of Circuits and Systems (CADCAS). This text then presents the progress in artificial intelligence, with emphasis on expert systems.

  8. Use of expert systems in nuclear safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-02-01

    One dominant aspect of improvement in safe nuclear power plant operation is the very high speed in the development and introduction of computer technologies. This development commenced recently when advanced control technology was incorporated into the nuclear industry. This led to an increasing implementation of information displays, annunciator windows and other devices inside the control room, eventually overburdening the control room operator with detailed information. Expert systems are a further step in this direction being designed to apply large knowledge bases to solve practical problems. These ''intelligent'' systems have to incorporate enough knowledge to reach expert levels of importance and represent a very advanced man-machine interface. The aims of the Technical Committee were addressed by the three Working Groups and summarized in Sections 2, 3 and 4 of this report. Section 2 summarizes the results and discussions on the current capabilities of expert systems and identifies features for the future development and use of Expert Systems in Nuclear Power Plants. Section 3 provides an overview of the discussions and investigations into the current status of Expert Systems in NPPs. This section develops a method for assessing the overall benefit of different applications and recommends a broad strategy for priority developments of Expert Systems in NPPs. Section 4 assesses the overall use of PSA type studies in Expert Systems in NPPs and identifies specific features to be adopted in the design of these systems in future applications. The conclusions of the three Working Groups are presented in Section 5. The 15 papers presented at the meeting formed the Annex of this document. A separate abstract was prepared for each of these papers. Refs, figs, tabs and pictures

  9. WINE ADVISOR EXPERT SYSTEM USING DECISION RULES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dinuca Elena Claudia

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available In this article I focus on developing an expert system for advising the choice of wine that best matches a specific occasion. An expert system is a computer application that performs a task that would be performed by a human expert. The implementation is done using Delphi programming language. I used to represent the knowledge bases a set of rules. The rules are of type IF THEN ELSE rules, decision rules based on different important wine features.

  10. Aviation security : TSA is increasing procurement and deployment of the advanced imaging technology, but challenges to this effort and other areas of aviation security remain : testimony before the Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructur

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-17

    The attempted bombing of Northwest flight 253 highlighted the importance of detecting improvised explosive devices on passengers. This testimony focuses on (1) the Transportation Security Administrations (TSA) efforts to procure and deploy advance...

  11. Industrial disasters - the expert systems solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sachs, P.

    1986-01-01

    Six mistakes by the operators led to the accident at the Cherobyl nuclear reactor. These have been studied. It is suggested that an expert systems approach could prevent similar accidents. The expert system is a new approach to software programming where programs are required to perform intelligent analyses of complex situations. It separates the knowledge of a problem from the procedural code that performs the decision. An expert system will evaluate data and indicate a priority on alarms in real time. Now software systems can detect the cause of a problem in a process plant and present their findings to the operators in the control room. This should enable operators to make the correct decisions as they will know which underlying process faults are causing the alarms to operate. The Chernobyl post-mortem meeting made 13 proposals for improving safety. Two in particular are noted as relevant to expert advice systems; international collaboration on man-reactor relationships and a conference to explore the balance of automation and human action to minimise operating errors. (U.K.)

  12. Expert Systems: A Challenge for the Reading Profession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balajthy, Ernest

    The expert systems are designed to imitate the reasoning of a human expert in a content area field. Designed to be advisors, these software systems combine the content area knowledge and decision-making ability of an expert with the user's understanding and knowledge of particular circumstances. The reading diagnosis system, the RD2P System…

  13. Innovation on Energy Power Technology (22)Challenge to Development of Expert System stored Knowledge of Expert Power Network Operators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakaguchi, Hideharu

    Do you remember an expert system? I think there are various impressions about the system. For example, some might say “It reminds me of old days”. On the other hand, some might say “It was really troublesome”. About 25 years ago, from late 1980s to the middle of 1990s, when the Showa era was about to change into the Heisei Era, artificial intelligence boomed. Research and development for an expert system which was equipped with expertise and worked as smart as expert, was advanced in various fields. Our company also picked up the system as the new system which covered weak point of conventional computer technology. We started research and development in 1984, and installed an expert system in a SCADA system, which started operating in March 1990 in the Fukuoka Integrated Control Center. In this essay, as an electric power engineer who involved in development at that time, I introduce the situation and travail story about developing an expert system which support restorative actions from the outage and overload condition of power networks.

  14. Expert Systems Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duda, Richard O.; Shortliffe, Edward H.

    1983-01-01

    Discusses a class of artificial intelligence computer programs (often called "expert systems" because they address problems normally thought to require human specialists for their solution) intended to serve as consultants for decision making. Also discusses accomplishments (including information systematization in medical diagnosis and…

  15. A fuzzy expert system based on relations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hall, L.O.; Kandel, A.

    1986-01-01

    The Fuzzy Expert System (FESS) is an expert system which makes use of the theory of fuzzy relations to perform inference. Relations are very general and can be used for any application, which only requires different types of relations be implemented and used. The incorporation of fuzzy reasoning techniques enables the expert system to deal with imprecision in a well-founded manner. The knowledge is represented in relational frames. FESS may operate in either a forward chaining or backward chaining manner. It uses primarily implication and factual relations. A unique methodology for combination of evidence has been developed. It makes uses of a blackboard for communication between the various knowledge sources which may operate in parallel. The expert system has been designed in such a manner that it may be used for diverse applications

  16. Cataloging Expert Systems: Optimism and Frustrated Reality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olmstadt, William J.

    2000-01-01

    Discusses artificial intelligence and attempts to catalog expert systems. Topics include the nature of expertise; examples of cataloging expert systems; barriers to implementation; and problems, including total automation, cataloging expertise, priorities, and system design. (LRW)

  17. Expert witness and Jungian archetypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lallave, Juan Antonio; Gutheil, Thomas Gordon

    2012-01-01

    Jung's theories of archetype, shadow, and the personal and collective unconscious provide a postmodern framework in which to consider the role of the expert witness in judicial proceedings. Archetypal themes, motifs, and influences help to illuminate the shadow of the judicial system and projections and behaviors among the cast of the court in pursuing justice. This article speaks to archetypal influences and dialectical tensions encountered by the expert witness in this judicial drama. The archetype of Justice is born from the human need for order and relational fairness in a world of chaos. The persona of justice is the promise of truth in the drama. The shadow of justice is untruth, the need to win by any means. The dynamics of the trickster archetype serve and promote injustice. These influences are examined by means of a case example. This approach will deepen understanding of court proceedings and the role of the expert witness in the heroic quest for justice. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Expert music performance: cognitive, neural, and developmental bases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Rachel M; Zatorre, Robert J; Penhune, Virginia B

    2015-01-01

    In this chapter, we explore what happens in the brain of an expert musician during performance. Understanding expert music performance is interesting to cognitive neuroscientists not only because it tests the limits of human memory and movement, but also because studying expert musicianship can help us understand skilled human behavior in general. In this chapter, we outline important facets of our current understanding of the cognitive and neural basis for music performance, and developmental factors that may underlie musical ability. We address three main questions. (1) What is expert performance? (2) How do musicians achieve expert-level performance? (3) How does expert performance come about? We address the first question by describing musicians' ability to remember, plan, execute, and monitor their performances in order to perform music accurately and expressively. We address the second question by reviewing evidence for possible cognitive and neural mechanisms that may underlie or contribute to expert music performance, including the integration of sound and movement, feedforward and feedback motor control processes, expectancy, and imagery. We further discuss how neural circuits in auditory, motor, parietal, subcortical, and frontal cortex all contribute to different facets of musical expertise. Finally, we address the third question by reviewing evidence for the heritability of musical expertise and for how expertise develops through training and practice. We end by discussing outlooks for future work. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Expert system for accelerator single-freedom nonlinear components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Sheng; Xie Xi; Liu Chunliang

    1995-01-01

    An expert system by Arity Prolog is developed for accelerator single-freedom nonlinear components. It automatically yields any order approximate analytical solutions for various accelerator single-freedom nonlinear components. As an example, the eighth order approximate analytical solution is derived by this expert system for a general accelerator single-freedom nonlinear component, showing that the design of the expert system is successful

  20. Forensic Impact of the Child Sexual Abuse Medical Examination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers, John E. B.

    1998-01-01

    This commentary on an article (EC 619 279) about research issues at the interface of medicine and law concerning medical evaluation for child sexual abuse focuses on empirically testable questions: (1) the medical history--its accuracy, interviewing issues, and elicitation and preservation of verbal evidence of abuse; and, (2) expert testimony.…

  1. Teenage Prostitution and Child Pornography. Hearings before the Subcommittee on Select Education of the Committee on Education and Labor. House of Representatives, Ninety-Seventh Congress, Second Session (April 23 and June 24, 1982).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House Committee on Education and Labor.

    This document contains the transcript of hearings on teenage prostitution and child pornography. The first day of the hearings focuses on the testimony of six witnesses who are experts in dealing with and combatting sexual abuse of children. Their remarks to the committee are transcribed and copies of their prepared statements are provided…

  2. Hunger in America: Hearings on Hunger and Related Nutritional Issues, before the Subcommittee on Nutrition and Investigations of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, United States Senate, and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, United States Senate. One Hundredth Congress, Second Session (Cedar Rapids, Iowa, January 30, 1988; Washington, D.C., March 1 and 28, 1988).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

    This report presents the testimony of numerous expert witnesses who appeared at three hearings on the following topics: (1) Hunger and Related Nutritional Issues; (2) U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Assistance Programs; and (3) Domestic Hunger and Related Nutritional Issues. The following major issues were discussed: (1) the number of…

  3. Expert systems for assisting in design reviews

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brtis, J.S.; Johnson, W.J.; Weber, N.; Naser, J.

    1990-01-01

    This paper discusses Sargent and Lundy's (S and L's) use of expert system technologies to computerize the procedures used for engineering design reviews. This paper discusses expert systems and the advantages that result from using them to computerize the decision-making process. This paper also discusses the design review expert systems that S and L has developed to perform fire protection and ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) design reviews, and is currently developing for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to perform 10 CFR 50.59 safety reviews

  4. Expert systems and computer based industrial systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dunand, R.

    1989-01-01

    Framentec is the artificial intelligence subsidiary of FRAMATOME. It is involved in expert-system activities of Shells, developments, methodology and software for maintenance (Maintex) and consulting and methodology. Specific applications in the nuclear field are presented. The first is an expert system to assist in the piping support design prototype, the second is an expert system that assists an ultrasonic testing operator in determining the nature of a welding defect and the third is a welding machine diagnosis advisor. Maintex is a software tool to provide assistance in the repair of complex industrial equipment. (author)

  5. An expert system for dispersion model interpretation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skyllingstad, E.D.; Ramsdell, J.V.

    1988-10-01

    A prototype expert system designed to diagnose dispersion model uncertainty is described in this paper with application to a puff transport model. The system obtains qualitative information from the model user and through an expert-derived knowledge base, performs a rating of the current simulation. These results can then be used in combination with dispersion model output for deciding appropriate evacuation measures. Ultimately, the goal of this work is to develop an expert system that may be operated accurately by an individual uneducated in meteorology or dispersion modeling. 5 refs., 3 figs

  6. Lay understanding of forensic statistics: Evaluation of random match probabilities, likelihood ratios, and verbal equivalents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, William C; Newman, Eryn J

    2015-08-01

    Forensic scientists have come under increasing pressure to quantify the strength of their evidence, but it is not clear which of several possible formats for presenting quantitative conclusions will be easiest for lay people, such as jurors, to understand. This experiment examined the way that people recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk (n = 541) responded to 2 types of forensic evidence--a DNA comparison and a shoeprint comparison--when an expert explained the strength of this evidence 3 different ways: using random match probabilities (RMPs), likelihood ratios (LRs), or verbal equivalents of likelihood ratios (VEs). We found that verdicts were sensitive to the strength of DNA evidence regardless of how the expert explained it, but verdicts were sensitive to the strength of shoeprint evidence only when the expert used RMPs. The weight given to DNA evidence was consistent with the predictions of a Bayesian network model that incorporated the perceived risk of a false match from 3 causes (coincidence, a laboratory error, and a frame-up), but shoeprint evidence was undervalued relative to the same Bayesian model. Fallacious interpretations of the expert's testimony (consistent with the source probability error and the defense attorney's fallacy) were common and were associated with the weight given to the evidence and verdicts. The findings indicate that perceptions of forensic science evidence are shaped by prior beliefs and expectations as well as expert testimony and consequently that the best way to characterize and explain forensic evidence may vary across forensic disciplines. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  7. MARBLE: A system for executing expert systems in parallel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myers, Leonard; Johnson, Coe; Johnson, Dean

    1990-01-01

    This paper details the MARBLE 2.0 system which provides a parallel environment for cooperating expert systems. The work has been done in conjunction with the development of an intelligent computer-aided design system, ICADS, by the CAD Research Unit of the Design Institute at California Polytechnic State University. MARBLE (Multiple Accessed Rete Blackboard Linked Experts) is a system of C Language Production Systems (CLIPS) expert system tool. A copied blackboard is used for communication between the shells to establish an architecture which supports cooperating expert systems that execute in parallel. The design of MARBLE is simple, but it provides support for a rich variety of configurations, while making it relatively easy to demonstrate the correctness of its parallel execution features. In its most elementary configuration, individual CLIPS expert systems execute on their own processors and communicate with each other through a modified blackboard. Control of the system as a whole, and specifically of writing to the blackboard is provided by one of the CLIPS expert systems, an expert control system.

  8. Digital and multimedia forensics justified: An appraisal on professional policy and legislation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popejoy, Amy Lynnette

    Recent progress in professional policy and legislation at the federal level in the field of forensic science constructs a transformation of new outcomes for future experts. An exploratory and descriptive qualitative methodology was used to critique and examine Digital and Multimedia Science (DMS) as a justified forensic discipline. Chapter I summarizes Recommendations 1, 2, and 10 of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Report 2009 regarding disparities and challenges facing the forensic science community. Chapter I also delivers the overall foundation and framework of this thesis, specifically how it relates to DMS. Chapter II expands on Recommendation 1: "The Promotion and Development of Forensic Science," and focuses chronologically on professional policy and legislative advances through 2014. Chapter III addresses Recommendation 2: "The Standardization of Terminology in Reporting and Testimony," and the issues of legal language and terminology, model laboratory reports, and expert testimony concerning DMS case law. Chapter IV analyzes Recommendation 10: "Insufficient Education and Training," identifying legal awareness for the digital and multimedia examiner to understand the role of the expert witness, the attorney, the judge and the admission of forensic science evidence in litigation in our criminal justice system. Finally, Chapter V studies three DME specific laboratories at the Texas state, county, and city level, concentrating on current practice and procedure.

  9. A fala fora de lugar: testemunho, resto, tempo e linguagem em Ricardo Piglia The speech misplaced: testimony, remnants, time and language in Ricardo Piglia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafaela Scardino

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Um pensamento dedicado ao problema do testemunho defronta, não raro, questões relacionadas, intrinsecamente, a tempo e linguagem. Tais questões surgem no debate como conceitos de larga abordagem, uma vez que acompanham, por milênios, o desenvolvimento das meditações humanas. Giorgio Agamben, em parte significativa de sua obra, insere, no debate acerca do testemunho, um relevante ponto de discussão: o resto. Buscando refletir sobre esses aspectos, em especial sobre testemunho, resto, tempo e linguagem, propomo-nos a analisar o romance A cidade ausente, de Ricardo Piglia, de modo a investigar, na narrativa do escritor argentino, os mecanismos textuais que interrogam as possibilidades (e impossibilidades de constituição da experiência na contemporaneidade.Un pensamiento dedicado al problema del testimonio enfrenta, a menudo, problemas relacionados al tiempo y el lenguaje. Estas cuestiones surgen en el debate como conceptos de largo enfoque, una vez que acompañan el desarrollo de las meditaciones humanas. Giorgio Agamben, en importante parte de su obra, inserta en el debate sobre el testigo, un punto relevante de la discusión: el resto. Buscando reflexionar sobre estos aspectos, especialmente sobre el testimonio, el resto, el tiempo y el lenguaje, nos proponemos analizar la novela La ciudad ausente, de Ricardo Piglia, de modo a investigar, en la narrativa del escritor argentino, los mecanismos textuales que cuestionan las posibilidades (e imposibilidades de la constitución de la experiencia en la contemporaneidad.A thought devoted to the problem of testimony is often obliged to face questions related to time and language. Such issues arise in the debate as concepts of a broader approach, since they are attached to the development of human meditations. Giorgio Agamben, in a significant part of his work, inserts, in the debate about testimony, a relevant point of discussion: the remnant. Seeking to on these aspects, particularly on

  10. GOTRES: an expert system for fault detection and analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chung, D.T.; Modarres, M.

    1989-01-01

    This paper describes a deep-knowledge expert system shell for diagnosing faults in process operations. The expert program shell is called GOTRES (GOal TRee Expert System) and uses a goal tree-success tree deep-knowledge structure to model its knowledge-base. To demonstrate GOTRES, we have built an on-line fault diagnosis expert system for an experimental nuclear reactor facility using this shell. The expert system is capable of diagnosing fault conditions using system goal tree as well as utilizing accumulated operating knowledge to predict plant causal and temporal behaviours. The GOTRES shell has also been used for root-cause detection and analysis in a nuclear plant. (author)

  11. Adaptability of expert visual anticipation in baseball batting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Sean; Fadde, Peter J; Harbaugh, Allen G

    2017-09-01

    By manipulating stimulus variation in terms of opponent pitcher actions, this study investigated the capability of expert (n = 30) and near-expert (n = 95) professional baseball batters to adapt anticipation skill when using the video simulation temporal occlusion paradigm. Participants watched in-game footage of two pitchers, one after the other, that was temporally occluded at ball release and various points during ball flight. They were required to make a written prediction of pitch types and locations. Per cent accuracy was calculated for pitch type, for pitch location, and for type and location combined. Results indicated that experts and near-experts could adapt their anticipation to predict above guessing level across both pitchers, but adaptation to the left-handed pitcher was poorer than the right-handed pitcher. Small-to-moderate effect sizes were found in terms of superior adaptation by experts over near-experts at the ball release and early ball flight occlusion conditions. The findings of this study extend theoretical and applied knowledge of expertise in striking sports. Practical application of the instruments and findings are discussed in terms of applied researchers, practitioners and high-performance staff in professional sporting organisations.

  12. Expert finding by the Dempster‐Shafer theory for evidence combination

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Torkzadeh mahani, N.; Dehghani, M.; Mirian, M.S.; Shakery, A.; Taheri, K.

    The expertise of human experts can be formally extracted from their written documents, research projects, and everyday activities. The process whereby experts are recognized according to their activities is called expert finding. In this paper, we propose an approach to identify the experts in a

  13. Prediction of response to antiretroviral therapy by human experts and by the EuResist data-driven expert system (the EVE study).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zazzi, M; Kaiser, R; Sönnerborg, A; Struck, D; Altmann, A; Prosperi, M; Rosen-Zvi, M; Petroczi, A; Peres, Y; Schülter, E; Boucher, C A; Brun-Vezinet, F; Harrigan, P R; Morris, L; Obermeier, M; Perno, C-F; Phanuphak, P; Pillay, D; Shafer, R W; Vandamme, A-M; van Laethem, K; Wensing, A M J; Lengauer, T; Incardona, F

    2011-04-01

    The EuResist expert system is a novel data-driven online system for computing the probability of 8-week success for any given pair of HIV-1 genotype and combination antiretroviral therapy regimen plus optional patient information. The objective of this study was to compare the EuResist system vs. human experts (EVE) for the ability to predict response to treatment. The EuResist system was compared with 10 HIV-1 drug resistance experts for the ability to predict 8-week response to 25 treatment cases derived from the EuResist database validation data set. All current and past patient data were made available to simulate clinical practice. The experts were asked to provide a qualitative and quantitative estimate of the probability of treatment success. There were 15 treatment successes and 10 treatment failures. In the classification task, the number of mislabelled cases was six for EuResist and 6-13 for the human experts [mean±standard deviation (SD) 9.1±1.9]. The accuracy of EuResist was higher than the average for the experts (0.76 vs. 0.64, respectively). The quantitative estimates computed by EuResist were significantly correlated (Pearson r=0.695, Pexperts. However, the agreement among experts was only moderate (for the classification task, inter-rater κ=0.355; for the quantitative estimation, mean±SD coefficient of variation=55.9±22.4%). With this limited data set, the EuResist engine performed comparably to or better than human experts. The system warrants further investigation as a treatment-decision support tool in clinical practice. © 2010 British HIV Association.

  14. Expert Systems as a Mindtool To Facilitate Mental Model Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason-Mason, Susan Dale; Tessmer, Martin A.

    2000-01-01

    This exploratory study investigated whether the process of constructing an expert system model promotes the formation of expert-like mental models. Discusses expert systems as mindtools, expert systems as learning tools, the assessment of mental models, results of pretests and posttests, and future research. (Contains 56 references.) (Author/LRW)

  15. Risks, doubt, scientific and technical expert appraisement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Decrop, G.

    1993-01-01

    In complex systems which compose modern societies, expert report is going to take an increasing place. In its usual definition, expert is justified by a superior authority, his knowledge comes from experience, he is present as a third party where he has to work. It is often forgotten two other important points, connected with the situation: it is a tangling of technical or natural systems with a social system and above all there is a risk of uncertainty. Then, the job of expert is different from scientific work done in laboratories and different from operational work done by engineers

  16. Computers start to think with expert systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1983-03-21

    A growing number of professionals-notably in oil and mineral exploration, plasma research, medicine, VLSI circuit design, drug design and robotics-are beginning to use computerised expert systems. A computer program uses knowledge and inference procedures to solve problems which are sufficiently difficult to require significant human expertise for their solution. The facts constitute a body of information that is widely shared, publicly available and generally agreed upon by experts in the field. The heuristics are mostly private, and little discussed, rules of good judgement (rules of plausible reasoning, rules of good guessing, etc.) that characterise expert-level decision making in the field.

  17. Children's Memory for Their Mother's Murder: Accuracy, Suggestibility, and Resistance to Suggestion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McWilliams, Kelly; Narr, Rachel; Goodman, Gail S; Ruiz, Sandra; Mendoza, Macaria

    2013-01-31

    From its inception, child eyewitness memory research has been guided by dramatic legal cases that turn on the testimony of children. Decades of scientific research reveal that, under many conditions, children can provide veracious accounts of traumatic experiences. Scientific studies also document factors that lead children to make false statements. In this paper we describe a legal case in which children testified about their mother's murder. We discuss factors that may have influenced the accuracy of the children's eyewitness memory. Children's suggestibility and resistance to suggestion are illustrated. Expert testimony, based on scientific research, can aid the trier of fact when children provide crucial evidence in criminal investigations and courtroom trials about tragic events.

  18. CHOOZ-A expert assessment program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bouat, M.; Godin, R.

    1993-01-01

    CHOOZ-A Nuclear Power Plant, the first French-Belgian PWR unit (300 MWe) was definitively shut down at the end of October 1991, after 24 years in operation. Since summer 1991, the steering committee of the French (EDF) Lifetime Project has initiated a large inquiry to the different technical specialists of EDF and external organizations, trying to define a wide expert assessment program on this plant. The aim is to improve the knowledge of aging mechanisms such as those observed on the 52 PWR French nuclear power plants (900 and 1,300 MWe), and contribute to the validation of non-destructive in-service testing methods. This paper presents the retained CHOOZ-A expert assessment program and technical lines followed during its set up. First major project stages are described, then technical choices are explained, and at last the final program is presented with the specific content of each expert assessment. The definitive program is scheduled for a three year period starting at the moment of final shutdown license acquisition, with a provisional total budget of more than US $10 million

  19. A theory of expert leadership (TEL) in psychiatry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodall, Amanda H

    2016-06-01

    Leaders' technical competence - 'expert knowledge' - has been shown in many settings to be associated with better organizational performance. In universities, for example, there is longitudinal evidence that research-focused scholars make the best leaders; results from a hospital study show that doctors instead of professional managers are most closely associated with the best performing institutions. To explain these patterns, and raise hypotheses, a theory of expert leadership (TEL) has been developed that might explain these patterns. In this paper the framework for expert leadership is applied to psychiatry. The TEL proposes that psychiatric leaders, as opposed to non-expert managers, improve organizational performance through several channels. First, experts' knowledge influences organizational strategy. Second, having been 'one of them', a psychiatrist understands how to create the optimal work environment for psychiatric teams, through appropriate goal-setting, evaluation and support. These factors are positively associated with workers' wellbeing and performance. Third, exceptional psychiatrist-leaders are likely to set high standards for hiring. Fourth, leaders' credibility extends their influence among core workers, and also signals organizational priorities to stakeholders. Finally, a necessary prerequisite of TEL is that expert leaders have direct executive power inclusive of budgetary and strategic oversight. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

  20. Model of critical diagnostic reasoning: achieving expert clinician performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harjai, Prashant Kumar; Tiwari, Ruby

    2009-01-01

    Diagnostic reasoning refers to the analytical processes used to determine patient health problems. While the education curriculum and health care system focus on training nurse clinicians to accurately recognize and rescue clinical situations, assessments of non-expert nurses have yielded less than satisfactory data on diagnostic competency. The contrast between the expert and non-expert nurse clinician raises the important question of how differences in thinking may contribute to a large divergence in accurate diagnostic reasoning. This article recognizes superior organization of one's knowledge base, using prototypes, and quick retrieval of pertinent information, using similarity recognition as two reasons for the expert's superior diagnostic performance. A model of critical diagnostic reasoning, using prototypes and similarity recognition, is proposed and elucidated using case studies. This model serves as a starting point toward bridging the gap between clinical data and accurate problem identification, verification, and management while providing a structure for a knowledge exchange between expert and non-expert clinicians.

  1. Tropospheric ozone. Formation, properties, effects. Expert opinion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elstner, E.F.

    1996-01-01

    The formation and dispersion of tropospheric ozone are discussed only marginally in this expert opinion; the key interest is in the effects of ground level ozone on plants, animals, and humans. The expert opinion is based on an analysis of the available scientific publications. (orig./MG) [de

  2. The assessment of argumentation from expert opinion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wagemans, J.H.M.

    2011-01-01

    In this contribution, I will develop a comprehensive tool for the reconstruction and evaluation of argumentation from expert opinion. This is done by analyzing and then combining two dialectical accounts of this type of argumentation. Walton’s account of the ‘appeal to expert opinion’ provides a

  3. The need for tort reform as part of health care reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thornton, Tiffany; Saha, Subrata

    2008-01-01

    There is no doubt about the need for tort reform. The current state of the legal system imposes great costs on the U.S. health care system and society in general-an astounding $865 billion each year. Physicians are forced to practice defensive medicine to protect themselves from litigation. Caps on non-economic damages have helped reduce malpractice insurance rates and encouraged young physicians to pursue specialties such as obstetrics. Collective insurance pools and national insurance programs for physicians and hospitals are some options that other countries employ to reduce malpractice rates. Regulation of expert testimony by medical societies would curb false or biased testimony. Other recommendations to improve the tort system include establishing expert health courts similar to those that currently exist for tax and patent law, using mediation, creating patient compensation funds, making acknowledgment of errors inadmissible in court, providing certificates of merit or pretrial screening panels to confirm the validity of lawsuits, and developing treatment contracts. Clearly some action must be taken to amend our current wasteful tort system.

  4. Jess, the Java expert system shell

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Friedman-Hill, E.J.

    1997-11-01

    This report describes Jess, a clone of the popular CLIPS expert system shell written entirely in Java. Jess supports the development of rule-based expert systems which can be tightly coupled to code written in the powerful, portable Java language. The syntax of the Jess language is discussed, and a comprehensive list of supported functions is presented. A guide to extending Jess by writing Java code is also included.

  5. A new Expert Finding model based on Term Correlation Matrix

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ehsan Pornour

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Due to the enormous volume of unstructured information available on the Web and inside organization, finding an answer to the knowledge need in a short time is difficult. For this reason, beside Search Engines which don’t consider users individual characteristics, Recommender systems were created which use user’s previous activities and other individual characteristics to help users find needed knowledge. Recommender systems usage is increasing every day. Expert finder systems also by introducing expert people instead of recommending information to users have provided this facility for users to ask their questions form experts. Having relation with experts not only causes information transition, but also with transferring experiences and inception causes knowledge transition. In this paper we used university professors academic resume as expert people profile and then proposed a new expert finding model that recommends experts to users query. We used Term Correlation Matrix, Vector Space Model and PageRank algorithm and proposed a new hybrid model which outperforms conventional methods. This model can be used in internet environment, organizations and universities that experts have resume dataset.

  6. Sources of correlation between experts: Empirical results from two extremes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meyer, M.A.; Booker, J.M.

    1987-04-01

    Through two studies, this report seeks to identify the sources of correlation, or dependence, between experts' estimates. Expert estimates are relied upon as sources of data whenever experimental data is lacking, such as in risk analyses and reliability assessments. Correlation between experts is a problem in the elicitation and subsequent use of subjective estimates. Until now, there have been no data confirming sources of correlation, although the experts' background is commonly speculated to be one. Two different populations of experts were administered questions in their areas of expertise. Data on their professional backgrounds and means of solving the questions were elicited using techniques from educational psychology and ethnography. The results from both studies indicate that the way in which an expert solves the problem is the major source of correlation. The experts' background can not be shown to be an important source of correlation nor to influence his choice of method for problem solution. From these results, some recommendations are given for the elicitation and use of expert opinion

  7. Survey of Opinions on the Primacy of "g" and Social Consequences of Ability Testing: A Comparison of Expert and Non-Expert Views

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeve, Charlie L.; Charles, Jennifer E.

    2008-01-01

    The current study examines the views of experts in the science of mental abilities about the primacy and uniqueness of "g" and the social implications of ability testing, and compares their responses to the views of a group of non-expert psychologists. Results indicate expert consensus that "g" is an important, non-trivial determinant (or at least…

  8. Expert system to control a fusion energy experiment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, R.R.; Canales, T.; Lager, D.

    1986-01-01

    This paper describes a system that automates neutral beam source conditioning. The system achieves this with artificial intelligence techniques by encoding the behavior of several experts as a set of if-then rules in an expert system. One of the functions of the expert system is to control an adaptive controller that, in turn, controls the neutral beam source. The architecture of the system is presented followed by a description of its performance.

  9. Expert system to control a fusion energy experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, R.R.; Canales, T.; Lager, D.

    1986-01-01

    This paper describes a system that automates neutral beam source conditioning. The system achieves this with artificial intelligence techniques by encoding the behavior of several experts as a set of if-then rules in an expert system. One of the functions of the expert system is to control an adaptive controller that, in turn, controls the neutral beam source. The architecture of the system is presented followed by a description of its performance

  10. Expert views on societal responses to different applications of nanotechnology: a comparative analysis of experts in countries with different economic and regulatory environments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gupta, Nidhi, E-mail: guptanidhi12@gmail.com; Fischer, Arnout R. H., E-mail: arnout.fischer@wur.nl [Wageningen University, Marketing and Consumer Behaviour Group (Netherlands); George, Saji, E-mail: saji_george@nyp.gov.sg [Nanyang Polytechnic, Centre for Sustainable Nanotechnology, School of Chemical and Life Sciences (Singapore); Frewer, Lynn J., E-mail: lynn.frewer@newcastle.ac.uk [Newcastle University, School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (United Kingdom)

    2013-08-15

    The introduction of different applications of nanotechnology will be informed by expert views regarding which (types of) application will be most societally acceptable. Previous research in Northern Europe has indicated that experts believe that various factors will be influential, predominant among these being public perceptions of benefit, need and consumer concern about contact with nanomaterials. These factors are thought by experts to differentiate societal acceptance and rejection of nanotechnology applications. This research utilises a larger sample of experts (N = 67) drawn from Northern America, Europe, Australasia, India and Singapore to examine differences in expert opinion regarding societal acceptance of different applications of nanotechnology within different technological environments, consumer cultures and regulatory regimes. Perceived risk and consumer concerns regarding contact with nano-particles are thought by all experts to drive rejection, and perceived benefits to influence acceptance, independent of country. Encapsulation and delivery of nutrients in food was thought to be the most likely to raise societal concerns, while targeted drug delivery was thought most likely to be accepted. Lack of differentiation between countries suggests that expert views regarding social acceptance may be homogenous, independent of local contextual factors.

  11. Expert views on societal responses to different applications of nanotechnology: a comparative analysis of experts in countries with different economic and regulatory environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gupta, Nidhi; Fischer, Arnout R. H.; George, Saji; Frewer, Lynn J.

    2013-01-01

    The introduction of different applications of nanotechnology will be informed by expert views regarding which (types of) application will be most societally acceptable. Previous research in Northern Europe has indicated that experts believe that various factors will be influential, predominant among these being public perceptions of benefit, need and consumer concern about contact with nanomaterials. These factors are thought by experts to differentiate societal acceptance and rejection of nanotechnology applications. This research utilises a larger sample of experts (N = 67) drawn from Northern America, Europe, Australasia, India and Singapore to examine differences in expert opinion regarding societal acceptance of different applications of nanotechnology within different technological environments, consumer cultures and regulatory regimes. Perceived risk and consumer concerns regarding contact with nano-particles are thought by all experts to drive rejection, and perceived benefits to influence acceptance, independent of country. Encapsulation and delivery of nutrients in food was thought to be the most likely to raise societal concerns, while targeted drug delivery was thought most likely to be accepted. Lack of differentiation between countries suggests that expert views regarding social acceptance may be homogenous, independent of local contextual factors

  12. The microcomputer-based expert system in CAD-PV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Y.; Qin, S.

    1987-01-01

    As a branch of artificial intelligence, expert system has been revealed day after day in more and more engineering scopes since the successful applications of MYCIN in diagnosis and DENDRAL in the molecular structure of organic compounds etc.. But in the design scope of pressure vessel, as we know, only a few papers have so far been published with respect to the expert system. The necessity and feasibility of accompanying CAD-PV with expert system attracted more scholars to engage in. Although many countries, including China, have regularized the design standards or codes for pressure vessel, but of which no one can solve all of the problems concerning the various practical occasions and experiences. In general, the more domain knowledges a design engineer possesses of, the better decision will be made by him. By virtue of the expert system any less experienced engineer could make the optimum decision in design as well as a skilled senior engineer in addition to the application of design code. It is the due significance for developing high level expert system as an intelligence assistant in the plan option of CAD-PV. In this paper we attempt to introduce a specified software JACKPV used in the design procedure of jacketed pressure vessel as an intelligence front in CAD-PV. JACKPV consists of the function of expert system based on the personal computer IBM-PC/XT with the language PASCAL in its program. It was proved that an ordinary CAD software could be effectively improved while equipped with expert system. (orig.)

  13. Expert systems for real-time monitoring and fault diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, S. J.; Caglayan, A. K.

    1989-01-01

    Methods for building real-time onboard expert systems were investigated, and the use of expert systems technology was demonstrated in improving the performance of current real-time onboard monitoring and fault diagnosis applications. The potential applications of the proposed research include an expert system environment allowing the integration of expert systems into conventional time-critical application solutions, a grammar for describing the discrete event behavior of monitoring and fault diagnosis systems, and their applications to new real-time hardware fault diagnosis and monitoring systems for aircraft.

  14. An examination of expert systems activities within the nuclear industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernard, J.A.; Washio, Takashi.

    1988-01-01

    This paper provides an overview of a detailed evaluation that the authors recently completed on expert systems applications within the nuclear industry. That evaluation examined the motivation for utilizing expert systems, identified the areas to which they were being applied, and provided an assessment of their utility. Listed here are some of the salient findings of that report. (1) Utilities are developing their own artificial intelligence tools rather than using commercial products. (2) Few expert systems are being developed for the express purpose of capturing human expertise. (3) A number of successful expert systems have been developed to assist in plant design, management, and maintenance scheduling. (4) Interactive diagnostic systems are being developed for the analysis of physical processes that vary slowly. (5) Real-time diagnostic expert systems are currently at the cutting edge of the technology. (6) Operator adviser and emergency response expert systems constitute ∼25% of the total. (7) Research on the use of expert systems for reactor control is quite active. (8) Too few quantitative evaluations of the benefits of expert systems to reactor operators have been performed. The operator's need is for timely, factual information on plant status. Hence, the true challenge to expert systems is real-time diagnostics

  15. USING EXPERT OPINION IN HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT: A GUIDELINE REVIEW.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunger, Theresa; Schnell-Inderst, Petra; Sahakyan, Narine; Siebert, Uwe

    2016-01-01

    External experts can be consulted at different stages of an HTA. When using vague information sources, it is particularly important to plan, analyze, and report the information processing in a standardized and transparent way. Our objective was to search and analyze recommendations regarding where and how to include expert data in HTA. We performed a systematic database search and screened the Internet pages of seventy-seven HTA organizations for guidelines, recommendations, and methods papers that address the inclusion of experts in HTA. Relevant documents were downloaded, and information was extracted in a standard form. Results were merged in tables and narrative evidence synthesis. From twenty-two HTA organizations, we included forty-two documents that consider the use of expert opinion in HTA. Nearly all documents mention experts in the step of preparation of the evidence report. Six documents address their role for priority setting of topics, fifteen for scoping, twelve for the appraisal of evidence and results, another twelve documents mention experts when considering the dissemination of HTA results. During the assessment step, experts are most often asked to amend the literature search or to provide expertise for special data analyses. Another issue for external experts is to appraise the HTA results and refer them back to a clinical and social context. Little is reported on methods of expert elicitation when their input substitutes study data. Despite existing recommendations on the use of expert opinion in HTA, common standards for elicitation are scarce in HTA guidelines.

  16. Concept of expert system for modal split in transportation planning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Popović Maja M.

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to develop a concept of expert system based on the survey of experts' opinions and their experience concerning relations in modal split, on the basis of parameters of transport system demand and transport supply, defined through PT travel time and city size, i.e. mean trip length. This expert system could be of use both to experts and less experienced planners who could apply the knowledge contained in this expert system for further improvement, on operational as well as on strategic level.

  17. An hierarchical approach to performance evaluation of expert systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dominick, Wayne D. (Editor); Kavi, Srinu

    1985-01-01

    The number and size of expert systems is growing rapidly. Formal evaluation of these systems - which is not performed for many systems - increases the acceptability by the user community and hence their success. Hierarchical evaluation that had been conducted for computer systems is applied for expert system performance evaluation. Expert systems are also evaluated by treating them as software systems (or programs). This paper reports many of the basic concepts and ideas in the Performance Evaluation of Expert Systems Study being conducted at the University of Southwestern Louisiana.

  18. Expert system aided operator's mental activities training

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gieci, A.; Macko, J.; Mosny, J.; Gese, A.

    1994-01-01

    The operator's mental activity is the most important part of his work. A processing of a large amount of the information by the operator is possible only if he/she possesses appropriate cognitive skills. To facilitate the novice's acquisition of the experienced operator's cognitive skills of the decision-making process a special type of the expert system was developed. The cognitive engineering's models and problem-solving methodology constitutes the basis of this expert system. The article gives an account of the prototype of the mentioned expert system developed to aid the whole mental activity of the nuclear power plant operator during his decision-making process. (author). 6 refs, 6 figs

  19. EXPERT SYSTEMS - DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURAL INSURANCE TOOL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    NAN Anca-Petruţa

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Because of the fact that specialty agricultural assistance is not always available when the farmers need it, we identified expert systems as a strong instrument with an extended potential in agriculture. This started to grow in scale recently, including all socially-economic activity fields, having the role of collecting data regarding different aspects from human experts with the purpose of assisting the user in the necessary steps for solving problems, at the performance level of the expert, making his acquired knowledge and experience available. We opted for a general presentation of the expert systems as well as their necessity, because, the solution to develop the agricultural system can come from artificial intelligence by implementing the expert systems in the field of agricultural insurance, promoting existing insurance products, farmers finding options in depending on their necessities and possibilities. The objective of this article consists of collecting data about different aspects about specific areas of interest of agricultural insurance, preparing the database, a conceptual presentation of a pilot version which will become constantly richer depending on the answers received from agricultural producers, with the clearest exposure of knowledgebase possible. We can justify picking this theme with the fact that even while agricultural insurance plays a very important role in agricultural development, the registered result got from them are modest, reason why solutions need to be found in the scope of developing the agricultural sector. The importance of this consists in the proposal of an immediate viable solution to correspond with the current necessities of agricultural producers and in the proposal of an innovative solution, namely the implementation of expert system in agricultural insurance as a way of promoting insurance products. Our research, even though it treats the subject at an conceptual level, it wants to undertake an

  20. Toward the Development of Expert Assessment Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasselbring, Ted S.

    1986-01-01

    The potential application of "expert systems" to the diagnosis and assessment of special-needs children is examined and existing prototype systems are reviewed. The future of this artificial intelligence technology is discussed in relation to emerging development tools designed for the creation of expert systems by the lay public. (Author)

  1. Expert group formation using facility location analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Neshati, M.; Beigy, H.; Hiemstra, Djoerd

    In this paper, we propose an optimization framework to retrieve an optimal group of experts to perform a multi-aspect task. While a diverse set of skills are needed to perform a multi-aspect task, the group of assigned experts should be able to collectively cover all these required skills. We

  2. Expert group formation using facility location analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Neshati, Mahmood; Beigy, Hamid; Hiemstra, Djoerd

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we propose an optimization framework to retrieve an optimal group of experts to perform a multi-aspect task. While a diverse set of skills are needed to perform a multi-aspect task, the group of assigned experts should be able to collectively cover all these required skills. We

  3. Experts' meeting: Maintenance '83

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1983-01-01

    The brochure presents, in full wording, 20 papers read at the experts' meeting ''Maintenance '83'' in Wiesbaden. Most of the papers discuss reliability data (acquisition, evaluation, processing) of nearly all fields of industry. (RW) [de

  4. Criteria for the CAREM reactor's expert system design conduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Furman, A.; Delgado, R.

    1990-01-01

    The present work describes the analysis made to start with the development of an Expert System for the CAREM (SE) reactor's conduction. The following tasks are presented: a) purpose of the Expert System; b) Decision Making structure; c) Architecture of the Expert System; d) Description of Subsystems and e) Licensing. (Author) [es

  5. Contemporary Expert Debates on the SCO-Related Issues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igor Evgen'evich Denisov

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Since its establishment the SCO has always attracted a lot of expert attention. The SCO Forum was founded in 2006 to bring together for annual debates experts from all member-states. Within this format in-depth discussions took place in April 2016 in Dushanbe, which hosted this year conference of the SCO Forum. Participating experts and officials reviewed problems of security, economic cooperation (including transport and water-energy issues and SCO enlargement, the latter being one of the most debatable. Experts presented some new thesis on all these problems, in particular on the enlargement issue. These new thesis are summed up in this article. Besides, the SCO Forum this year had many statements on the organization approaching a sort of new phase in its development. This line of discussions may lead in the future to even more active debates on SCO's role in the world. This article puts emphasis on the new elements of these debates and reviews major experts' attitudes within this line of discussion on the SCO being in front of a new stage of development.

  6. Group prioritisation with unknown expert weights in incomplete linguistic context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Dong; Cheng, Faxin; Zhou, Zhili; Wang, Juan

    2017-09-01

    In this paper, we study a group prioritisation problem in situations when the expert weights are completely unknown and their judgement preferences are linguistic and incomplete. Starting from the theory of relative entropy (RE) and multiplicative consistency, an optimisation model is provided for deriving an individual priority vector without estimating the missing value(s) of an incomplete linguistic preference relation. In order to address the unknown expert weights in the group aggregating process, we define two new kinds of expert weight indicators based on RE: proximity entropy weight and similarity entropy weight. Furthermore, a dynamic-adjusting algorithm (DAA) is proposed to obtain an objective expert weight vector and capture the dynamic properties involved in it. Unlike the extant literature of group prioritisation, the proposed RE approach does not require pre-allocation of expert weights and can solve incomplete preference relations. An interesting finding is that once all the experts express their preference relations, the final expert weight vector derived from the DAA is fixed irrespective of the initial settings of expert weights. Finally, an application example is conducted to validate the effectiveness and robustness of the RE approach.

  7. Expert Review of Pedagogical Activities at Therapeutic Recreation Camps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiselev, N. N.; Kiseleva, E. V.

    2015-01-01

    An analysis of pedagogical expert reviews at children's therapeutic recreation camps in Novosibirsk Region shows that it is necessary to implement an expert review system that plays a supporting and developmental role. Such a system should allow teams of teachers to submit their work to expert review and to move forward by reflecting on their…

  8. People vs. Collins: Statistics as a Two-Edged Sword

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGivney-Burelle, Jean; McGivney, Katherine; McGivney, Ray

    2006-01-01

    Real-life applications of the use (and misuse) of mathematics invariably pique students' interest. This article describes a legal case in California that occurred in the 1960s in which a couple was convicted of robbery, in part, based on the expert testimony of a statistics instructor. On appeal, the judge noted several mathematical errors in this…

  9. A Pharmacist’s Reflection: Living a week, when death’s four seconds away

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard Wenzel, PharmD, CPPS

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Conflict of Interest I declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the author or members of his immediate family have in any product or service discussed in the manuscript, including grants (pending or received, employment, gifts, stock holdings or options, honoraria, consultancies, expert testimony, patents and royalties.   Type: Commentary

  10. Cooperating expert systems for space station power distribution management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nguyen, T.A.; Chiou, W.C.

    1986-01-01

    In a complex system such as the manned Space Station, it is deemed necessary that many expert systems must perform tasks in a concurrent and cooperative manner. An important question to arise is: what cooperative-task-performing models are appropriate for multiple expert systems to jointly perform tasks. The solution to this question will provide a crucial automation design criteria for the Space Station complex systems architecture. Based on a client/server model for performing tasks, the authors have developed a system that acts as a front-end to support loosely-coupled communications between expert systems running on multiple Symbolics machines. As an example, they use the two ART*-based expert systems to demonstrate the concept of parallel symbolic manipulation for power distribution management and dynamic load planner/scheduler in the simulated Space Station environment. This on-going work will also explore other cooperative-task-performing models as alternatives which can evaluate inter and intra expert system communication mechanisms. It will serve as a testbed and a bench-marking tool for other Space Station expert subsystem communication and information exchange

  11. Cooperating Expert Systems For Space Station Power Distribution Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, T. A.; Chiou, W. C.

    1987-02-01

    In a complex system such as the manned Space Station, it is deem necessary that many expert systems must perform tasks in a concurrent and cooperative manner. An important question arise is: what cooperative-task-performing models are appropriate for multiple expert systems to jointly perform tasks. The solution to this question will provide a crucial automation design criteria for the Space Station complex systems architecture. Based on a client/server model for performing tasks, we have developed a system that acts as a front-end to support loosely-coupled communications between expert systems running on multiple Symbolics machines. As an example, we use two ART*-based expert systems to demonstrate the concept of parallel symbolic manipulation for power distribution management and dynamic load planner/scheduler in the simulated Space Station environment. This on-going work will also explore other cooperative-task-performing models as alternatives which can evaluate inter and intra expert system communication mechanisms. It will be served as a testbed and a bench-marking tool for other Space Station expert subsystem communication and information exchange.

  12. Expert systems to assist plant operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumoto, Yoshihiro; Mori, Nobuyuki; Wada, Norio

    1985-01-01

    Large-scale real-time process control systems, such as those for electric power dispatching, large thermal and nuclear power stations, steel mill plants and manufacturing automation systems, need expert systems to assist operator's decision. The expert systems newly developed to fulfill the requirement are founded on OKBS (object oriented knowledge based system). OKBS provides various object types: fuzzy logic type, production rule type, frame type, state transition type, abstract data type and input/output transformation type. (author)

  13. Recruiting experts for technical assistance rogramme

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1974-01-01

    One of the objectives of the IAEA is the provision of technical assistance to its Member States to carry out their peaceful nuclear activities more efficiently and safely. This involves looking for and supplying experts, equipment and fellowships. Since 1958 the Agency has provided the services of more than 1800 experts valued at $11.5 million, 4300 fellowships valued at $14.3 million, and equipment worth $10.8 million. The efficiency of the programme can only be increased by a more prompt consideration of proposals forwarded by the Agency, and the continuing co-operation from national Governments and private institutions. The IAEA recruits an average of 200 experts a year to implement its Regular Technical Assistance Programme. These projects are financed by voluntary contributions from Member States, and by the United Nations Development Programme for those projects for which the IAEA is the executing agency

  14. An Expert System for Designing Fire Prescriptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elizabeth Reinhardt

    1987-01-01

    Managers use prescribed fire to accomplish a variety of resource objectives. The knowledge needed to design successful prescriptions is both quantitative and qualitative. Some of it is available through publications and computer programs, but much of the knowledge of expert practitioners has never been collected or published. An expert system being developed at the,...

  15. The vulcain N expert fire system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roche, A.

    1989-03-01

    The Institute for Nuclear Safety and Protection (IPSN) has begun work on an expert system to aid in the diagnosis of fire hazards in nuclear installations. This system is called Vulcain N and is designed as a support tool for the analyses carried out by the IPSN. Vulcain N, is based on the Vulcain expert system already developed by Bertin for its own needs and incorporates the specific rules and know-how of the IPSN experts. The development of Vulcain N began in October 1986 with the drawing up of the technical specifications, and should be completed by the end of 1988. Vulcain N brings together knowledge from a number of different domains: the locations of the combustible materials, the thermal characteristics of the combustible materials and of the walls of the room, the ventilation conditions and, finally, knowledge of fire experts concerning the development of fire. The latter covers four levels of expert knowledge: standards and their associated calculations, the simplified physics of the fire enabling more precise values to be obtained for the figures given by the standards, the rules and knowledge which enables a certain number of deductions to be made concerning the development of the fire, and a numerical simulation code which can be used to monitor the variation of certain characteristic parameters with time. For a given fire out-break scenario, Vulcain N performs diagnosis of different aspects: development of fire, effect of ventilation, emergency action possibilities, propagation hazards, etc. Owing to its flexibility, it can be used in the analysis of fire hazards to simulate a number of possible scenarios and to very rapidly deduce the essential, predominant factors. It will also be used to assist in drafting emergency procedures for application in facilities with nuclear hazards

  16. Expert knowledge as defined by the X-Ray Ordinance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-01-01

    The radiation protection officer or any person responsible for radiation safety have to give proof of their expert knowledge in accordance with sections 3, 4 of the X-Ray Ordinance. Proof of expert knowledge has to be furnished within the procedure of appointment (sec. 13, sub-sec. (3) X-Ray Ordinance). The directive defines the scope of the expert knowledge required, and the scope of expert knowledge persons must have, or acquire, who are responsible for radiation protection within the preview of sec. 23, no. 2, 4 and sec. 29, sub-sec. 1, no. 3 of the X-Ray Ordinance. (orig./HP) [de

  17. Expert Panel Elicitation of Seismicity Following Glaciation in Sweden

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hora, Stephen; Jensen, Mikael

    2005-12-01

    The Swedish Radiation Protection Authority, the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate and the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company have jointly carried out a project on expert panel elicitation on the issue of glacial induced Swedish earthquakes. Following a broad nomination procedure, 5 experts were chosen by a selection committee of 4 professors within Earth sciences disciplines. The 5 experts presented judgments about the frequency of earthquakes greater the magnitude 6 within 10 km for two Swedish sites, Oskarshamn and Forsmark, in connection with a glaciation cycle. The experts' median value vas 0,1 earthquakes for one glaciation cycle

  18. Expert Panel Elicitation of Seismicity Following Glaciation in Sweden

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hora, Stephen; Jensen, Mikael (eds.)

    2005-12-15

    The Swedish Radiation Protection Authority, the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate and the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company have jointly carried out a project on expert panel elicitation on the issue of glacial induced Swedish earthquakes. Following a broad nomination procedure, 5 experts were chosen by a selection committee of 4 professors within Earth sciences disciplines. The 5 experts presented judgments about the frequency of earthquakes greater the magnitude 6 within 10 km for two Swedish sites, Oskarshamn and Forsmark, in connection with a glaciation cycle. The experts' median value vas 0,1 earthquakes for one glaciation cycle.

  19. Estimating Production Potentials: Expert Bias in Applied Decision Making

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matthews, L.J.; Burggraf, L.K.; Reece, W.J.

    1998-01-01

    A study was conducted to evaluate how workers predict manufacturing production potentials given positively and negatively framed information. Findings indicate the existence of a bias toward positive information and suggest that this bias may be reduced with experience but is never the less maintained. Experts err in the same way non experts do in differentially processing negative and positive information. Additionally, both experts and non experts tend to overestimate production potentials in a positive direction. The authors propose that these biases should be addressed with further research including cross domain analyses and consideration in training, workplace design, and human performance modeling

  20. Propulsive efficiency and non- expert swimmers performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiago Barbosa

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Propulsive efficiency is one of the most interesting issues for competitive swimming researchers, has it presents significant relationships with the swimmer’s biophysical behavior and his/her performance. Although propulsive efficiency is a variable that has been quite studied in elite swimmers, there is no research on this issue in young and non-expert swimmers. Thus, the aim of this study was to: (i estimate the propulsive efficiency on non-expert swimmers; (ii identify biomechanical and anthropometrical parameters that are associated with propulsive efficiency; (iii identify the association between the propulsive efficiency and swim performance. Twenty-eight non-expert swimmers participated on this study. It was assessed the propulsive efficiency, biomechanical and anthropometrical parameters, as well as, the swim performance. The propulsive efficiency of non-expert swimmers is lower than data reported in the literature to higher competitive levels swimmers and there are no significant differences between boys and girls. It was also noted that several biomechanical and anthropometrical parameters, as well as, the swim performance are associated with the propulsive efficiency.

  1. The Study of Expert System Utilization for the Accelerator Operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Budi-Santosa; Slamet-Santosa; Subari-Santosa

    2000-01-01

    The utilization of expert system in the accelerator laboratory has been studied. The study covers the utilization of expert system in the setting up experiment (tuning parameter), controlling system, safety or warning system. The results study shows, that using the expert system in the accelerator would be easy to operate the accelerator for user and operator. Increasing the skill of expert system could be updated without logical mechanism modification. (author)

  2. Education Financial Management: Weak Internal Controls Led to Instances of Fraud and Other Improper Payments. Testimony before the Subcommittee on Select Education, Committee on Education and the Workforce, House of Representatives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calbom, Linda

    This testimony summarizes a report generated by the U.S. General Accounting Office concerned with internal control problems found in the U.S. Department of Education. Significant internal control weaknesses in the U.S. Department of Education's payment processes and poor physical control over its computer assets made the department vulnerable to…

  3. Requirements to obtain the recognition of radiological protection experts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arguelles, R.; Villarroel, R.; Senderos, V.; Campos, R.; Pinos, M.; Ponjuan, G.; Franco, P.; Rueda, D.

    2003-01-01

    The scope of this paper is to summarize the general requirements related to education, training and skill of the individual to obtain the recognition of radiological protection experts on ionizing radiation (experts on radiological protection- RP). There has been established two levels according to the grade of responsibility: Qualified expert provided with a diploma given by de Nuclear Safety Council. Technician expert on radiological protection whose certification is made by the Qualified expert that supervise their work. To obtain the diploma of qualified expert is required an official degree, a title of Architecture, Engineering or equivalent in case of no national degrees; specific training on radiological protection (300 hours) and the knowledge on safety and radiological protection of the facilities to be supervised. Three years of experience on radiological protection must be proved. To get the recognition of technician expert on radiological protection is required Formacion Profesional de Grado Superior or equivalent and specific training on safety and radiological protection. Knowledge on basis and principles of radiological protection are required. According to the type of the facilities to be supervised there are two models: A model: to deal with facilities included in RD 1836/1999 (nuclear and radioactive facilities). B model: to deal with medical X rays facilities approved under RD 1891/1991 three months of experience on the selected model must be proved. (Author)

  4. USING OF SOFTWARE FOR ESTIMATION OF EXPERT COMPETENCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oleg N. Velichko

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The features of estimation of expert’s competence in the field of higher education are considered, got with a help, both universal statistical software and special software. The comparative analysis of quantitative estimation of expert’s competence is conducted, that showed possibility of forming of the most competent group of experts for realization of necessary group expert estimation in the field of higher education. An analysis showed the high degree of coincidence of results that allow declining less competent experts

  5. Use of expert systems in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uhrig, R.E.

    1989-01-01

    The application of technologies, particularly expert systems, to the control room activities in a nuclear power plant has the potential to reduce operator error and increase plant safety, reliability, and efficiency. Furthermore, there are a large number of nonoperating activities (testing, routine maintenance, outage planning, equipment diagnostics, and fuel management) in which expert systems can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of overall plant and corporate operations. This document presents a number of potential applications of expert systems in the nuclear power field. 36 refs., 2 tabs

  6. A lesson for the future of our science my testimony on Lord Patrick M S Blackett

    CERN Document Server

    Zichichi, Antonio

    2016-01-01

    This unique volume contains a tribute to Lord Patrick M S Blackett through the testimony of Professor Antonino Zichichi, who was one of Blackett's pupils in the experiment at the Sphinx Observatory, Europe's highest lab (3580 meters a.s.l.), at Jungfraujoch. The book presents an overview of Blackett's most significant discoveries, such as the so called "vacuum polarization" effect, the first example of "virtual physics" and the "strange particles", that opened a new horizon towards the existence of the subnuclear universe. After discussing the profound implications of Blackett's pioneering contributions to Subnuclear Physics, the book also recalls his deep interest in the promotion of scientific culture. Blackett was firmly convinced that physicists must be engaged directly to let the people outside our labs know what the role of science is in the progress of our civilisation. In particular, according to Blackett and his friend Bertrand Russell, the Manhattan Project was the example of how the new frontiers o...

  7. Expert system for transuranic waste assay

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zoolalian, M.L.; Gibbs, A.; Kuhns, J.D.

    1989-01-01

    Transuranic wastes are generated at the Savannah River Site (SRS) as a result of routine production of nuclear materials. These wastes contain Pu-238 and Pu-239 and are placed into lined 55-gallon waste drums. The drums are placed on monitored storage pads pending shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. A passive-active neutron (PAN) assay system is used to determine the mass of the radioactive material within the waste drums. Assay results are used to classify the wastes as either low-level or transuranic (TRU). During assays, the PAN assay system communicates with an IBM-AT computer. A Fortran computer program, called NEUT, controls and performs all data analyses. Unassisted, the NEUT program cannot adequately interpret assay results. To eliminate this limitation, an expert system shell was used to write a new algorithm, called the Transuranic Expert System (TRUX), to drive the NEUT program and add decision making capabilities for analysis of the assay results. The TRUX knowledge base was formulated by consulting with human experts in the field of neutron assay, by direct experimentation on the PAN assay system, and by observing operations on a daily basis. TRUX, with its improved ability to interpret assay results, has eliminated the need for close supervision by a human expert, allowing skilled technicians to operate the PAN assay system. 4 refs., 1 fig., 4 tabs.

  8. Expert system for transuranic waste assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zoolalian, M.L.; Gibbs, A.; Kuhns, J.D.

    1989-01-01

    Transuranic wastes are generated at the Savannah River Site (SRS) as a result of routine production of nuclear materials. These wastes contain Pu-238 and Pu-239 and are placed into lined 55-gallon waste drums. The drums are placed on monitored storage pads pending shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. A passive-active neutron (PAN) assay system is used to determine the mass of the radioactive material within the waste drums. Assay results are used to classify the wastes as either low-level or transuranic (TRU). During assays, the PAN assay system communicates with an IBM-AT computer. A Fortran computer program, called NEUT, controls and performs all data analyses. Unassisted, the NEUT program cannot adequately interpret assay results. To eliminate this limitation, an expert system shell was used to write a new algorithm, called the Transuranic Expert System (TRUX), to drive the NEUT program and add decision making capabilities for analysis of the assay results. The TRUX knowledge base was formulated by consulting with human experts in the field of neutron assay, by direct experimentation on the PAN assay system, and by observing operations on a daily basis. TRUX, with its improved ability to interpret assay results, has eliminated the need for close supervision by a human expert, allowing skilled technicians to operate the PAN assay system. 4 refs., 1 fig., 4 tabs

  9. Diagnosis - Using automatic test equipment and artificial intelligence expert systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramsey, J. E., Jr.

    Three expert systems (ATEOPS, ATEFEXPERS, and ATEFATLAS), which were created to direct automatic test equipment (ATE), are reviewed. The purpose of the project was to develop an expert system to troubleshoot the converter-programmer power supply card for the F-15 aircraft and have that expert system direct the automatic test equipment. Each expert system uses a different knowledge base or inference engine, basing the testing on the circuit schematic, test requirements document, or ATLAS code. Implementing generalized modules allows the expert systems to be used for any different unit under test. Using converted ATLAS to LISP code allows the expert system to direct any ATE using ATLAS. The constraint propagated frame system allows for the expansion of control by creating the ATLAS code, checking the code for good software engineering techniques, directing the ATE, and changing the test sequence as needed (planning).

  10. Expert systems - basic principles and possible applications in nuclear energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cain, D.G.; Schmidt, F.

    1987-01-01

    One of the primary goals of the application of mathematical methods and computational techniques in reactor physics is the effective and accurate solution of the neutron diffusion equation under various conditions. To reach this goal still requires much skill, experience, knowledge and imagination as can be seen from various contributions at this and other conferences. Experts are necessary. Will expert systems replace them. We shall discuss this question by describing the basic principles of problem solving by expert systems as compared to problem solving by mathematical and computational methods. From this we shall identify areas of possible applications of the new techniques in nuclear energy and develop some thoughts on present limitations. As a result we conclude that expert systems will not be able to replace experts as long as the experts use the systems to improve their own expertise

  11. THE ARCHITECTURE OF MULTI-COMPONENT DISTRIBUTED HYBRID EXPERT TRAINING SYSTEM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Оleh Shevchuk

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper reports on the design of a multi-component architecture of distributed hybrid expert training system that can be used for the study of knowledge base of both internal and external expert systems and artificial intelligence systems that are distributed on Internet servers and other computer networks. Expert training system is based on three groups of basic principles: cybernetic, reflecting experience of previous research of systems of artificial intelligence, expert training systems; pedagogical, determining the principles, on which pedagogical design and use of expert training systems are based; psychological, determining preconditious and understanding of pupils psychics, on which the processes of design and use of expert training systems in professional training of future specialists are based.It accounts for the efficient training through the distributed knowledge via the Internet, which greatly increases the didactic capabilities of the system.

  12. A study on expert system applications for nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huh, Young Hwan; Kim, Yeong Jin; Park, Nam Seog; Dong, In Sook; Choi, In Seon

    1987-12-01

    The application of artificial intelligence techniques to nuclear power plants such as expert systems is rapidly emerging. expert systems can contribute significantly to the availability and the improved operation and safety of nuclear power plants. The objective of the project is to develop an expert system in a selected application area in the nuclear power plants. This project will last for 3 years. The first year's tasks are: - Information collection and literature survey on expert systems. - Analysis of several applicable areas for applying AI technologies to the nuclear power plants. - Conceptual design of a few selected domains. - Selection of hardware and software tools for the development of the expert system

  13. Environmental policy. 2000 environmental expert opinion of the Council of Experimental Experts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-05-01

    The reorientation of energy policy is a key issue. The Council of Environmental Experts considers the further use of atomic energy to be irresponsible and recommends a new orientation. Recommendations are made on ecology-centered taxation. Critical comments are made in the context of conservation of nature, where many species of plants and animals still continue to be endangered. The conservation programme of the Federal government, which also comprises a system of large, interconnected biotopes on 10% of Germany's total surface, is approved, and the potential contribution of sustainable agricultural and forestry policy is discussed in a separate chapter. Further subjects discussed are recycling and waste management, protection of water and soil, air pollution abatement, health protection and genetic engineering. The environmental aspects of Eastern European states becoming EC members are gone into in particular. The network of Europen Environmental Councils, for which the German Council of Environmental Experts currently acts as a coordinator, makes intensive efforts to improve environmental counselling in these states [de

  14. Scientific evidence and the toxic tort. A socio-legal study of the issues, expert evidence and judgement in Reay and Hope v. British Nuclear Fuels plc

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harrison, R.J.

    1999-01-01

    Providing a socio-legal analysis of the issues, expert evidence and judgment in Reay and Hope v BNFL plc., the thesis offers an insight into the complexity of the toxic tort. Starting with an overview of the history of Sellafield, the thesis reflects on the scientific and epidemiological concerns surrounding the link between childhood cancer and nuclear installations. Drawing on scientific knowledge and epistemological considerations, the thesis moves on to the difficulties of verifying causation in science and the problems of establishing causation in law. Outlining the role of the expert witness and scientific expert evidence, the thesis proceeds with a case analysis, before broaching the thorny issue of judicial decision making and in particular, the difference between the 'discovery' and 'justification' process. Moving on to the Judgment in Reay and Hope, attention is given to the potential application of probability theory to the judicial decision making process. Lasting just short of one hundred days and including the testimony of numerous scientific experts, Reay and Hope marked new ground in a number of ways; it was the first personal injury claim to test the concept of genetic damage from radiation; the only time that a Queen's Bench Division Judge had been allocated a full-time judicial assistant, and one of the first trials to endorse a satellite video link for examination of international expert witnesses. As far as judicial management is concerned, the case was a forerunner in having Counsels' Opening Statements in writing in advance of the trial, as well as having written daily submissions of key issues from plaintiffs and defendants upon conclusion of oral evidence. The circumstances that led to the trial relate to events in excess of thirty to forty years ago when the fathers of Dorothy Reay and Vivien Hope were employed by the Defendants and their predecessors (the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority) as fitters for the Sellafield Plant

  15. Scientific evidence and the toxic tort. A socio-legal study of the issues, expert evidence and judgement in Reay and Hope v. British Nuclear Fuels plc

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harrison, R.J

    1999-07-01

    Providing a socio-legal analysis of the issues, expert evidence and judgment in Reay and Hope v BNFL plc., the thesis offers an insight into the complexity of the toxic tort. Starting with an overview of the history of Sellafield, the thesis reflects on the scientific and epidemiological concerns surrounding the link between childhood cancer and nuclear installations. Drawing on scientific knowledge and epistemological considerations, the thesis moves on to the difficulties of verifying causation in science and the problems of establishing causation in law. Outlining the role of the expert witness and scientific expert evidence, the thesis proceeds with a case analysis, before broaching the thorny issue of judicial decision making and in particular, the difference between the 'discovery' and 'justification' process. Moving on to the Judgment in Reay and Hope, attention is given to the potential application of probability theory to the judicial decision making process. Lasting just short of one hundred days and including the testimony of numerous scientific experts, Reay and Hope marked new ground in a number of ways; it was the first personal injury claim to test the concept of genetic damage from radiation; the only time that a Queen's Bench Division Judge had been allocated a full-time judicial assistant, and one of the first trials to endorse a satellite video link for examination of international expert witnesses. As far as judicial management is concerned, the case was a forerunner in having Counsels' Opening Statements in writing in advance of the trial, as well as having written daily submissions of key issues from plaintiffs and defendants upon conclusion of oral evidence. The circumstances that led to the trial relate to events in excess of thirty to forty years ago when the fathers of Dorothy Reay and Vivien Hope were employed by the Defendants and their predecessors (the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority) as fitters for

  16. Auditory memory function in expert chess players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fattahi, Fariba; Geshani, Ahmad; Jafari, Zahra; Jalaie, Shohreh; Salman Mahini, Mona

    2015-01-01

    Chess is a game that involves many aspects of high level cognition such as memory, attention, focus and problem solving. Long term practice of chess can improve cognition performances and behavioral skills. Auditory memory, as a kind of memory, can be influenced by strengthening processes following long term chess playing like other behavioral skills because of common processing pathways in the brain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the auditory memory function of expert chess players using the Persian version of dichotic auditory-verbal memory test. The Persian version of dichotic auditory-verbal memory test was performed for 30 expert chess players aged 20-35 years and 30 non chess players who were matched by different conditions; the participants in both groups were randomly selected. The performance of the two groups was compared by independent samples t-test using SPSS version 21. The mean score of dichotic auditory-verbal memory test between the two groups, expert chess players and non-chess players, revealed a significant difference (p≤ 0.001). The difference between the ears scores for expert chess players (p= 0.023) and non-chess players (p= 0.013) was significant. Gender had no effect on the test results. Auditory memory function in expert chess players was significantly better compared to non-chess players. It seems that increased auditory memory function is related to strengthening cognitive performances due to playing chess for a long time.

  17. The neural organization of perception in chess experts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krawczyk, Daniel C; Boggan, Amy L; McClelland, M Michelle; Bartlett, James C

    2011-07-20

    The human visual system responds to expertise, and it has been suggested that regions that process faces also process other objects of expertise including chess boards by experts. We tested whether chess and face processing overlap in brain activity using fMRI. Chess experts and novices exhibited face selective areas, but these regions showed no selectivity to chess configurations relative to other stimuli. We next compared neural responses to chess and to scrambled chess displays to isolate areas relevant to expertise. Areas within the posterior cingulate, orbitofrontal cortex, and right temporal cortex were active in this comparison in experts over novices. We also compared chess and face responses within the posterior cingulate and found this area responsive to chess only in experts. These findings indicate that the configurations in chess are not strongly processed by face-selective regions that are selective for faces in individuals who have expertise in both domains. Further, the area most consistently involved in chess did not show overlap with faces. Overall, these results suggest that expert visual processing may be similar at the level of recognition, but need not show the same neural correlates. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Estimating unknown parameters in haemophilia using expert judgement elicitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, K; Lewandowski, D; Janssen, M P

    2013-09-01

    The increasing attention to healthcare costs and treatment efficiency has led to an increasing demand for quantitative data concerning patient and treatment characteristics in haemophilia. However, most of these data are difficult to obtain. The aim of this study was to use expert judgement elicitation (EJE) to estimate currently unavailable key parameters for treatment models in severe haemophilia A. Using a formal expert elicitation procedure, 19 international experts provided information on (i) natural bleeding frequency according to age and onset of bleeding, (ii) treatment of bleeds, (iii) time needed to control bleeding after starting secondary prophylaxis, (iv) dose requirements for secondary prophylaxis according to onset of bleeding, and (v) life-expectancy. For each parameter experts provided their quantitative estimates (median, P10, P90), which were combined using a graphical method. In addition, information was obtained concerning key decision parameters of haemophilia treatment. There was most agreement between experts regarding bleeding frequencies for patients treated on demand with an average onset of joint bleeding (1.7 years): median 12 joint bleeds per year (95% confidence interval 0.9-36) for patients ≤ 18, and 11 (0.8-61) for adult patients. Less agreement was observed concerning estimated effective dose for secondary prophylaxis in adults: median 2000 IU every other day The majority (63%) of experts expected that a single minor joint bleed could cause irreversible damage, and would accept up to three minor joint bleeds or one trauma related joint bleed annually on prophylaxis. Expert judgement elicitation allowed structured capturing of quantitative expert estimates. It generated novel data to be used in computer modelling, clinical care, and trial design. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Computer-assisted expert case definition in electronic health records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Alexander M; Zhou, Xiaofeng; Ananthakrishnan, Ashwin N; Weiss, Lisa S; Shen, Rongjun; Sobel, Rachel E; Bate, Andrew; Reynolds, Robert F

    2016-02-01

    To describe how computer-assisted presentation of case data can lead experts to infer machine-implementable rules for case definition in electronic health records. As an illustration the technique has been applied to obtain a definition of acute liver dysfunction (ALD) in persons with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The technique consists of repeatedly sampling new batches of case candidates from an enriched pool of persons meeting presumed minimal inclusion criteria, classifying the candidates by a machine-implementable candidate rule and by a human expert, and then updating the rule so that it captures new distinctions introduced by the expert. Iteration continues until an update results in an acceptably small number of changes to form a final case definition. The technique was applied to structured data and terms derived by natural language processing from text records in 29,336 adults with IBD. Over three rounds the technique led to rules with increasing predictive value, as the experts identified exceptions, and increasing sensitivity, as the experts identified missing inclusion criteria. In the final rule inclusion and exclusion terms were often keyed to an ALD onset date. When compared against clinical review in an independent test round, the derived final case definition had a sensitivity of 92% and a positive predictive value of 79%. An iterative technique of machine-supported expert review can yield a case definition that accommodates available data, incorporates pre-existing medical knowledge, is transparent and is open to continuous improvement. The expert updates to rules may be informative in themselves. In this limited setting, the final case definition for ALD performed better than previous, published attempts using expert definitions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Topics in expert system design methodologies and tools

    CERN Document Server

    Tasso, C

    1989-01-01

    Expert Systems are so far the most promising achievement of artificial intelligence research. Decision making, planning, design, control, supervision and diagnosis are areas where they are showing great potential. However, the establishment of expert system technology and its actual industrial impact are still limited by the lack of a sound, general and reliable design and construction methodology.This book has a dual purpose: to offer concrete guidelines and tools to the designers of expert systems, and to promote basic and applied research on methodologies and tools. It is a coordinated coll

  1. An expert system in medical diagnosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raboanary, R.; Raoelina Andriambololona; Soffer, J.; Raboanary, J.

    2001-01-01

    Health problem is still a crucial one in some countries. It is so important that it becomes a major handicap in economic and social development. In order to solve this problem, we have conceived an expert system that we called MITSABO, which means TO HEAL, to help the physicians to diagnose tropical diseases. It is clear that by extending the data base and the knowledge base, we can extend the application of the software to more general areas. In our expert system, we used the concept of 'self organization' of neural network based on the determination of the eigenvalues and the eigenvectors associated to the correlation matrix XX t . The projection of the data on the two first eigenvectors gives a classification of the diseases which is used to get a first approach in the diagnosis of the patient. This diagnosis is improved by using an expert system which is built from the knowledge base.

  2. Testimony presented to the Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Environment and the Atmosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richmond, C.R.

    1976-03-01

    This report contains the basis for oral testimony to the House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Environment and the Atmosphere in November 1975. The subject of the hearings was ''Effects and Costs of Long-term Exposure to Low Levels of Manmade Pollutants'' and the purpose of the hearings was to increase the awareness of low-level pollution and its impacts on human health, agriculture and climate. This report contains information related to impacts of low-level pollutants on human health. I have attempted to point out the major adverse health effects (e.g., carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic) that may result from chronic exposure to low-level pollutants. Also addressed are important questions such as what do we know about dose-response relations for chronic exposure to pollutants and how can we establish comparisons with knowledge obtained from exposure to ionizing radiations. The report also considers the wisdom of extrapolating from health effects data obtained from acute, high-level exposures to chronic, low-level exposure conditions. Lastly, a few examples of the societal costs related to low-level pollutant exposure are presented

  3. Analysis of core damage frequency from internal events: Expert judgment elicitation. Part 1: Expert panel results. Part 2: Project staff results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wheeler, T A; Cramond, W R [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM (United States); Hora, S C [University of Hawii at Hilo (United States); Unwin, S D [Brookhaven National Laboratory (United States)

    1989-04-01

    Quantitative modeling techniques have limitations as to the resolution of important issues in probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). Not all issues can be resolved via the existing set of methods such as fault trees, event trees, statistical analyses, data collection, and computer simulation. Therefore, an expert judgment process was developed to address issues perceived as important to risk in the NUREG-1150 analysis but which could not be resolved with existing techniques. This process was applied to several issues that could significantly affect the internal event core damage frequencies of the PRAs performed on six light water reactors. Detailed descriptions of these issues and the results of the expert judgment elicitation are reported here, as well as an explanation of the methodology used and the procedure followed in performing the overall elicitation task. The process is time-consuming and expensive. However, the results are very useful, and represent an improvement over the draft NUREG-1150 analysis in the areas of expert selection, elicitation training, issue selection and presentation, elicitation of judgment and aggregation of results. The results are presented in two parts. Part documents the expert panel elicitations, where the most important issues were presented to a panel of experts convened from throughout the nuclear power risk assessment community. Part 2 documents the process by which the project staff performed expert judgment on other important issues, using the project staff as panel members. (author)

  4. Comparison of a new expert elicitation model with the Classical Model, equal weights and single experts, using a cross-validation technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Flandoli, F. [Dip.to di Matematica Applicata, Universita di Pisa, Pisa (Italy); Giorgi, E. [Dip.to di Matematica Applicata, Universita di Pisa, Pisa (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Pisa, via della Faggiola 32, 56126 Pisa (Italy); Aspinall, W.P. [Dept. of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, and Aspinall and Associates, Tisbury (United Kingdom); Neri, A., E-mail: neri@pi.ingv.it [Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Pisa, via della Faggiola 32, 56126 Pisa (Italy)

    2011-10-15

    The problem of ranking and weighting experts' performances when quantitative judgments are being elicited for decision support is considered. A new scoring model, the Expected Relative Frequency model, is presented, based on the closeness between central values provided by the expert and known values used for calibration. Using responses from experts in five different elicitation datasets, a cross-validation technique is used to compare this new approach with the Cooke Classical Model, the Equal Weights model, and individual experts. The analysis is performed using alternative reward schemes designed to capture proficiency either in quantifying uncertainty, or in estimating true central values. Results show that although there is only a limited probability that one approach is consistently better than another, the Cooke Classical Model is generally the most suitable for assessing uncertainties, whereas the new ERF model should be preferred if the goal is central value estimation accuracy. - Highlights: > A new expert elicitation model, named Expected Relative Frequency (ERF), is presented. > A cross-validation approach to evaluate the performance of different elicitation models is applied. > The new ERF model shows the best performance with respect to the point-wise estimates.

  5. Advisory expert system for test rig operator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zielczynski, P.

    1994-01-01

    The advisory expert system MAESTRO (Modular Advisory Expert System for Test Rig Operator) has been designed to guide the operator of large experimental installation during start-up, steady state and shut down. The installation is located in the research reactor MARIA in the Institute of Atomic Energy in Swierk, Poland. The system acquires and analyses on line signals from installation and performs two tasks in real time: leading the operator and monitoring of the installation (including signal validation). Systems tasks, architecture and knowledge representation concepts are described. The system is based on expert systems techniques what makes in phases of continuous change of process parameters and it has been achieved by special knowledge representation allowing its dynamical modification. (author). 147 refs, 42 figs, 5 tab

  6. An expert system approach for safety diagnosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erdmann, R.C.; Sun, B.K.H.

    1988-01-01

    An expert system was developed with the intent to provide real-time information about an accident to an operator who is in the process of diagnosing and bringing that accident under control. Explicit use was made of probabilistic risk analysis techniques and plant accident response information in constructing this system. The expert system developed contains 70 logic rules and provides contextual messages during simulated accident sequences and logic sequence information on the entire sequence in graphical form for accident diagnosis. The present analysis focuses on integrated control system-related transients with Babcock and Wilcox-type reactors. While the system developed here is limited in extent and was built for a composite reactor, it demonstrates that an expert system may enhance the operator's capability in the control room

  7. An expert system for diesel generator diagnostics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bley, D.C.; Read, J.W.; Kaplan, S.; Liming, J.K.; Brosee, N.M.; Hanley, D.W.

    1987-01-01

    The idea of developing artificial intelligence (AI) systems to capture the knowledge of human experts is receiving much attention these days. The idea is even more attractive when important expertise resides within a single individual, especially one who is nearing retirement and who has not otherwise recorded or passed along his important knowledge and thought processes. The diesel generators at Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station have performed exceptionally well, primarily due to the care and attention of one man. Therefore, the authors are constructing an expert system for the diagnosis of diesel generator problems at Pilgrim. This paper includes a description of the expert system design and operation, examples from the knowledge base, and sample diagnoses, so the reader can observe the process in action

  8. Bioethics for Technical Experts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asano, Shigetaka

    Along with rapidly expanding applications of life science and technology, technical experts have been implicated more and more often with ethical, social, and legal problems than before. It should be noted that in this background there are scientific and social uncertainty elements which are inevitable during the progress of life science in addition to the historically-established social unreliability to scientists and engineers. In order to solve these problems, therefore, we should establish the social governance with ‘relief’ and ‘reliance’ which enables for both citizens and engineers to share the awareness of the issues, to design social orders and criterions based on hypothetical sense of values for bioethics, to carry out practical use management of each subject carefully, and to improve the sense of values from hypothetical to universal. Concerning these measures, the technical experts can learn many things from the present performance in the medical field.

  9. The Most Quoted Danish Economic Expert and the Welfare State

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Poul Thøis

    It is well-known that economic experts (as well as other experts) are biased. However, it is not normally demonstrated systematically. By identifying and analyzing the viewpoints of the most quoted Danish expert on five characteristic debates bias is demonstrated. The character of the bias...

  10. Rational consensus under uncertainty: Expert judgment in the EC-USNRC uncertainty study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cooke, R.; Kraan, B.; Goossens, L.

    1999-01-01

    Governmental bodies are confronted with the problem of achieving rational consensus in the face of substantial uncertainties. The area of accident consequence management for nuclear power plants affords a good example. Decisions with regard to evacuation, decontamination, and food bans must be taken on the basis of predictions of environmental transport of radioactive material, contamination through the food chain, cancer induction, and the like. These predictions use mathematical models containing scores of uncertain parameters. Decision makers want to take, and want to be perceived to take, these decisions in a rational manner. The question is, how can this be accomplished in the face of large uncertainties? Indeed, the very presence of uncertainty poses a threat to rational consensus. Decision makers will necessarily base their actions on the judgments of experts. The experts, however, will not agree among themselves, as otherwise we would not speak of large uncertainties. Any given expert's viewpoint will be favorable to the interests of some stakeholders, and hostile to the interests of others. If a decision maker bases his/her actions on the views of one single expert, then (s)he is invariably open to charges of partiality toward the interests favored by this viewpoint. An appeal to 'impartial' or 'disinterested' experts will fail for two reasons. First, experts have interests; they have jobs, mortgages and professional reputations. Second, even if expert interests could somehow be quarantined, even then the experts would disagree. Expert disagreement is not explained by diverging interests, and consensus cannot be reached by shielding the decision process from expert interests. If rational consensus requires expert agreement, then rational consensus is simply not possible in the face of uncertainty. If rational consensus under uncertainty is to be achieved, then evidently the views of a diverse set of experts must be taken into account. The question is how

  11. Application of expert systems in damage assessment of reinforced concrete structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fazel Zarandi, M. H.; Sobhani, J.

    2003-01-01

    Expert systems are receiving great attentions in construction industry to support decision making processes in diagnostics, design, repair and rehabilitation of the structures. Although several expert systems have been examined in engineering since the 1970's, their applications in construction industry are rate. This was largely due to the lack of expert system tools available to represent the domain knowledge. Lack of flexibility, applicability, and robustness of the classical models, have forced the scientists to discover the ability of the expert systems in problem solving of civil engineering. This paper present an expert system for diagnosis the deterioration of concrete structures. This expert system emphasizes on cracking distress in reinforced concrete elements. A case study has been presented to examine and evaluate the proposed expert system. The system demonstrates a straightforward method for diagnosing the cause of reinforced concrete elements cracking

  12. Expert system based radionuclide identification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aarnio, P.A.; Ala-Heikkil, J.J.; Hakulinen, T.T.; Nikkinen, M.T.

    1998-01-01

    An expert system coupled with the gamma spectrum analysis system SAMPO has been developed for automating the qualitative identification of radionuclides as well as for determining the quantitative parameters of the spectrum components. The program is written in C-language and runs in various environments ranging from PCs to UNIX workstations. The expert system utilizes a complete gamma library with over 2600 nuclides and 80,000 lines, and a rule base of about fifty criteria including energies, relative peak intensities, genesis modes, half lives, parent-daughter relationships, etc. The rule base is furthermore extensible by the user. This is not an original contribution but a somewhat updated version of papers and reports previously published elsewhere. (author)

  13. Identifying a Computer Forensics Expert: A Study to Measure the Characteristics of Forensic Computer Examiners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gregory H. Carlton

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The usage of digital evidence from electronic devices has been rapidly expanding within litigation, and along with this increased usage, the reliance upon forensic computer examiners to acquire, analyze, and report upon this evidence is also rapidly growing. This growing demand for forensic computer examiners raises questions concerning the selection of individuals qualified to perform this work. While courts have mechanisms for qualifying witnesses that provide testimony based on scientific data, such as digital data, the qualifying criteria covers a wide variety of characteristics including, education, experience, training, professional certifications, or other special skills. In this study, we compare task performance responses from forensic computer examiners with an expert review panel and measure the relationship with the characteristics of the examiners to their quality responses. The results of this analysis provide insight into identifying forensic computer examiners that provide high-quality responses. /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

  14. An Embedded Rule-Based Diagnostic Expert System in Ada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Robert E.; Liberman, Eugene M.

    1992-01-01

    Ada is becoming an increasingly popular programming language for large Government-funded software projects. Ada with it portability, transportability, and maintainability lends itself well to today's complex programming environment. In addition, expert systems have also assumed a growing role in providing human-like reasoning capability expertise for computer systems. The integration is discussed of expert system technology with Ada programming language, especially a rule-based expert system using an ART-Ada (Automated Reasoning Tool for Ada) system shell. NASA Lewis was chosen as a beta test site for ART-Ada. The test was conducted by implementing the existing Autonomous Power EXpert System (APEX), a Lisp-based power expert system, in ART-Ada. Three components, the rule-based expert systems, a graphics user interface, and communications software make up SMART-Ada (Systems fault Management with ART-Ada). The rules were written in the ART-Ada development environment and converted to Ada source code. The graphics interface was developed with the Transportable Application Environment (TAE) Plus, which generates Ada source code to control graphics images. SMART-Ada communicates with a remote host to obtain either simulated or real data. The Ada source code generated with ART-Ada, TAE Plus, and communications code was incorporated into an Ada expert system that reads the data from a power distribution test bed, applies the rule to determine a fault, if one exists, and graphically displays it on the screen. The main objective, to conduct a beta test on the ART-Ada rule-based expert system shell, was achieved. The system is operational. New Ada tools will assist in future successful projects. ART-Ada is one such tool and is a viable alternative to the straight Ada code when an application requires a rule-based or knowledge-based approach.

  15. Novel shifts in memory research and their impact on the legal process: introduction to the special issue on memory formation and suggestibility in the legal process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otgaar, Henry; Sauerland, Melanie; Petrila, John P

    2013-01-01

    The functioning and frailties of memory are frequently at the centerpiece of much expert testimony about the reliability of eyewitness accounts. Although we have much knowledge about how false memories and suggestibility can affect testimonies, the contributions in this special issue show that when using a sound theoretical framework, novel directions in this field can surface. The papers in this issue can broadly be divided into contributions that are related to: (1) the exact determinants of false memory and suggestibility; (2) new paradigms in legal psychology; (3) positive consequences of memory illusions; and (4) developmental false memory research. Collectively, these contributions have the potential to provide novel shifts in memory research and push this field beyond its current boundaries. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  16. Expert Graphics System Research in the Department of the Navy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duff, Jon M.

    1987-01-01

    Presents current trends in the development of expert systems within the Department of the Navy, particularly research into expert graphics systems intended to support the Authoring Instructional Methods (AIM) research project. Defines artificial intelligence and expert systems. Discusses the operations and functions of the Navy's intelligent…

  17. Expert System for ASIC Imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Shri N.; Arshak, Khalil I.; McDonnell, Pearse; Boyce, Conor; Duggan, Andrew

    1989-07-01

    With the developments in the techniques of artificial intelligence over the last few years, development of advisory, scheduling and similar class of problems has become very convenient using tools such as PROLOG. In this paper an expert system has been described which helps lithographers and process engineers in several ways. The methodology used is to model each work station according to its input, output and control parameters, combine these work stations in a logical sequence based on past experience and work out process schedule for a job. In addition, all the requirements vis-a-vis a particular job parameters are converted into decision rules. One example is the exposure time, develop time for a wafer with different feature sizes would be different. This expert system has been written in Turbo Prolog. By building up a large number of rules, one can tune the program to any facility and use it for as diverse applications as advisory help, trouble shooting etc. Leitner (1) has described an advisory expert system that is being used at National Semiconductor. This system is quite different from the one being reported in the present paper. The approach is quite different for one. There is stress on job flow and process for another.

  18. Problematic Aspects of the Use of Expert Systems in Law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marius Kalinauskas

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Summary. The usage of expert systems in law brings many problematic questions. Complexity and intricacy of law, combined with limited possibilities of information technologies makes it difficult to create flawlessly working expert systems. In this article the author analyses problematic aspects related to expert system usage in law. Comparisons of various research are made according to analysis of scientific articles. The author analyses practical difficulties of legal norm representation, creation of expert knowledge ontology, expert systems liability issues. Legal responsibility of expert system developers, users, and owners are also covered in this paper. Creation of legal ontologies is a complicated process because of the nature of the subject itself and the complexity and quantity of knowledge which must be represented in order to have fully functional legal expert system. Legal information basically consists of legal norms, doctrine, precedents and expert knowledge. All of these areas have specific representation issues, but the most difficult part is to make ontology and representation of expert knowledge. Different experts may have distinct points of view in some similar cases. Human decisions are made not only by applying certain rules to the problem decision pattern. Providence, analytical skills and critical thinking is required in legal professional work. Human reasoning and decision-making is not only based on symbolic values, it also consists of intermediate symbolic assumptions. So the question is: is it possible to give a clear structure to something which has no permanent state? The other problem which is analyzed in this article is artificial reasoning methods, which are basically different forms of pattern recognition with some specific methods applied to them. The second part of the paper analyses the liability of expert systems. Nowadays expert systems can’t be legally responsible for their decisions. They lack

  19. Problematic Aspects of the Use of Expert Systems in Law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marius Kalinauskas

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The usage of expert systems in law brings many problematic questions. Complexity and intricacy of law, combined with limited possibilities of information technologies makes it difficult to create flawlessly working expert systems. In this article the author analyses problematic aspects related to expert system usage in law. Comparisons of various research are made according to analysis of scientific articles. The author analyses practical difficulties of legal norm representation, creation of expert knowledge ontology, expert systems liability issues. Legal responsibility of expert system developers, users, and owners are also covered in this paper. Creation of legal ontologies is a complicated process because of the nature of the subject itself and the complexity and quantity of knowledge which must be represented in order to have fully functional legal expert system. Legal information basically consists of legal norms, doctrine, precedents and expert knowledge. All of these areas have specific representation issues, but the most difficult part is to make ontology and representation of expert knowledge. Different experts may have distinct points of view in some similar cases. Human decisions are made not only by applying certain rules to the problem decision pattern. Providence, analytical skills and critical thinking is required in legal professional work. Human reasoning and decision-making is not only based on symbolic values, it also consists of intermediate symbolic assumptions. So the question is: is it possible to give a clear structure to something which has no permanent state? The other problem which is analyzed in this article is artificial reasoning methods, which are basically different forms of pattern recognition with some specific methods applied to them. The second part of the paper analyses the liability of expert systems. Nowadays expert systems can’t be legally responsible for their decisions. They lack intellectual

  20. Expert System Applications for the Electric Power Industry: Proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-06-01

    A conference on Expert System Applications for the Electric Power Industry was held in Boston on September 8--11, 1991 to provide a forum for technology transfer, technical information exchange, and education. The conference was attended by more than 150 representatives of electric utilities, equipment manufacturers, engineering consulting organizations, universities, national laboratories, and government agencies. The meeting included a keynote address, 70 papers, and 18 expert system demonstrations. Sessions covered expert systems in power system planning operations, fossil power plant applications, nuclear power plant applications, and intelligent user interfaces. The presentations showed how expert systems can provide immediate benefits to the electric power industry in many applications. Individual papers are indexed separately

  1. Expert elicitation and the problem of detecting undeclared activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pilat, Joseph F.; Sylvester, Kori Budlong; Stanbro, William D.

    2002-01-01

    Measures applicable to the detection of undeclared activities are not well established, and their effectiveness is uncertain. To detect clandestine paths, the IAEA is still developing processes and procedures. As the Agency gains experience with new measures and with integrated safeguards, dealing with such problems may become more experience-based and perhaps more closely parallel the process with current safeguards where detection probabilities for the measures to be utilized on declared paths are well characterized. Whether or not this point will be reached for undeclared and mixed paths, the only tool that appears suitable at present for the purpose of generating a reasonable detection probability that can over time be tested against reality and, if necessary, adjusted is formal expert judgment, or expert elicitation. Formal expert elicitation is a structured process that makes use of people knowledgeable in certain areas to make assessments. To provide a 'proof of principle' of this methodology for presentation to the Agency, experts in nuclear technology, nonproliferation, safeguards and open source information, as well as in formal expert elicitation processes, engaged in three illustrative expert elicitations on assessing information analysis as a means to detect undeclared activities. These elicitations were successful. This paper will discuss the process of and issues raised by the elicitations.

  2. Beyond K's Specter: Chang-rae Lee’s A Gesture Life, Comfort Women Testimonies, and Asian American Transnational Aesthetics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Belinda Kong

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available This essay argues that Chang-rae Lee’s novel A Gesture Life exemplifies both the conceptual gains and the potential pitfalls of current Asian American literature’s transnationalism. The first section of the essay discusses the interlocking of psychoanalytic theory and political philosophy, specifically Freud’s uncanny and Arendt’s banality of evil, in Lee’s portrait of the psychology of criminal repression. The second section juxtaposes Lee’s novel against real-life comfort women’s survivor testimonies to probe broader questions of historical memory, politicized historiography, and the modes of circulation and authority in contemporary international comfort women discourse. The final section, which recontextualizes Lee’s novel within current debates in Asian and Asian American Studies, argues against a paradigm of alterity vis-à-vis the comfort women and proposes instead a transnational aesthetic premised on the human.

  3. AN EXPERT SYSTEM USED IN DESIGN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hüdayim BAŞAK

    2001-03-01

    Full Text Available In this work, an expert system used in computer aided design has been developed. In the developed program, the features which are used in the models prepared by a feature based design program are evaluated by the expert system module and are used in part modeling after determining of their compatibilty according to the rules. This program, particulary for those who do not know or know very little manufacturing stages, accomplishes the duty of informing and directing them. The program developed warns the user for design mistakes made during modeling.

  4. The Management and Security Expert (MASE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Mark D.; Barr, Stanley J.; Gryphon, Coranth D.; Keegan, Jeff; Kniker, Catherine A.; Krolak, Patrick D.

    1991-01-01

    The Management and Security Expert (MASE) is a distributed expert system that monitors the operating systems and applications of a network. It is capable of gleaning the information provided by the different operating systems in order to optimize hardware and software performance; recognize potential hardware and/or software failure, and either repair the problem before it becomes an emergency, or notify the systems manager of the problem; and monitor applications and known security holes for indications of an intruder or virus. MASE can eradicate much of the guess work of system management.

  5. A statistical modeling approach to build expert credit risk rating systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Waagepetersen, Rasmus

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents an efficient method for extracting expert knowledge when building a credit risk rating system. Experts are asked to rate a sample of counterparty cases according to creditworthiness. Next, a statistical model is used to capture the relation between the characteristics...... of a counterparty and the expert rating. For any counterparty the model can identify the rating, which would be agreed upon by the majority of experts. Furthermore, the model can quantify the concurrence among experts. The approach is illustrated by a case study regarding the construction of an application score...

  6. Expert system for web based collaborative CAE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Liang; Lin, Zusheng

    2006-11-01

    An expert system for web based collaborative CAE was developed based on knowledge engineering, relational database and commercial FEA (Finite element analysis) software. The architecture of the system was illustrated. In this system, the experts' experiences, theories and typical examples and other related knowledge, which will be used in the stage of pre-process in FEA, were categorized into analysis process and object knowledge. Then, the integrated knowledge model based on object-oriented method and rule based method was described. The integrated reasoning process based on CBR (case based reasoning) and rule based reasoning was presented. Finally, the analysis process of this expert system in web based CAE application was illustrated, and an analysis example of a machine tool's column was illustrated to prove the validity of the system.

  7. An Analysis of the Working Memories of Expert Sport Instructors

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCullick, Bryan; Schempp, Paul; Hsu, Shan-Hui; Jung, Jin Hong; Vickers, Brad; Schuknecht, Greg

    2006-01-01

    A distinguishing characteristic of expert teachers appears to be an excellent memory (Berliner, 1986; Tan, 1997). Possessing an excellent memory aids experts in building a substantial knowledge base relative to teaching and learning. Despite its importance, the memory skills of expert teachers have yet to be investigated. Therefore, the purpose of…

  8. Computers Simulate Human Experts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Steven K.

    1983-01-01

    Discusses recent progress in artificial intelligence in such narrowly defined areas as medical and electronic diagnosis. Also discusses use of expert systems, man-machine communication problems, novel programing environments (including comments on LISP and LISP machines), and types of knowledge used (factual, heuristic, and meta-knowledge). (JN)

  9. Acquisition of Expert/Non-Expert Vocabulary from Reformulations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antoine, Edwige; Grabar, Natalia

    2017-01-01

    Technical medical terms are complicated to be correctly understood by non-experts. Vocabulary, associating technical terms with layman expressions, can help in increasing the readability of technical texts and their understanding. The purpose of our work is to build this kind of vocabulary. We propose to exploit the notion of reformulation following two methods: extraction of abbreviations and of reformulations with specific markers. The segments associated thanks to these methods are aligned with medical terminologies. Our results allow to cover over 9,000 medical terms and show precision of extractions between 0.24 and 0.98. The results and analyzed and compared with the existing work.

  10. L’évaluation des experts dans les organisations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pierre Mirralès

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available L’avènement des nouvelles technologies et le développement de la société de connaissance n’ont fait qu’amplifier le rôle central de l’expert dans l’organisation. Plus que tout autre individu évoluant dans un milieu professionnel, son évaluation s’avère incontournable et cruciale. Du point de vue managérial pourtant, cette nécessaire évaluation génère très souvent de nombreuses frustrations de l’ensemble des parties prenantes. Notre travail de recherche s’attache à comprendre et à apporter des éléments de réponse à une évaluation des experts qui soit acceptable par eux –mêmes, par les dirigeants de l’organisation et par les autres parties prenantes (Etat, clients, actionnaires, fournisseurs…. Il met en évidence deux grandes modalités de l’évaluation : l’évaluation contrôle et l’évaluation régulation, pour lesquelles les réactions des experts sont diamétralement opposées. Notre méthodologie de recherche utilise des études de cas entreprises auprès d’une trentaine d’experts de deux secteurs d’activité différents.The advent of new technologies and the development of the Knowledge society have increased the central role of experts in organizations. More than any other professional individual, his evaluation is crucial. From the managerial point of view however, this evaluation often creates frustration of many stakeholders. This article tries to understand the process and develop a method which is acceptable to the management of the organization but also for other stakeholders (State, clients, shareholders, suppliers…. The article highlights two methods of evaluation: the control and regulation methods, for which the reactions of the experts are completely opposed. The methodology is based on case studies of firms with some 30 experts in two sectors of activity.

  11. An investigation into the use of ''expert systems'' for system-wide diagnostics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Booth, A.W.; Carroll, J.T.

    1987-01-01

    This paper has explained how expert systems function and how they might be used to provide a FASTBUS system-wide diagnostic program. The authors propose that the system be used to diagnose the FASTBUS system at FERMILAB's CDF experiment. There are many important areas which have not been addressed in great detail in this paper (such as the roles of the knowledge engineer and the expert during the knowledge acquisition phase), but the central idea of the embodiment of an expert skill in a computer is clear. Development of a system-wide diagnostic program requires building knowledge from all our system experts, into the system. To expand the expert system beyond its network diagnostic ability, to include finding faulty modules would be worthwhile. Having an ''intelligent'' assistant who is on shift 24 hours each day would relieve the ''real'' experts from laborious, time-consuming and sometimes repetitive tasks undertaken during the debugging process. The system could also provide a testbed for evaluation and comparison when considering future expert-system applications such as ''run-control'' and ''data analysis''. In the context of a system-wide diagnostic program, an ''expert system'' is not intended to replace human experts but simply to help them. It is envisaged that there will always be important interaction between the human expert and the ''expert system''. The incremental development of the ''expert system'' should ensure that it is useful in the short term (by debugging to the S.I./segment level for example), and even more useful in the medium to longer term as it acquires more and more knowledge and the ability to debug to the module level. Expert systems exist and are working successfully in many problem domains. See the bibliography for examples of ''expert systems'' built in the high energy physics environment

  12. Water Sensation During Passive Propulsion for Expert and Nonexpert Swimmers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusanagi, Kenta; Sato, Daisuke; Hashimoto, Yasuhiro; Yamada, Norimasa

    2017-06-01

    This study determined whether expert swimmers, compared with nonexperts, have superior movement perception and physical sensations of propulsion in water. Expert (national level competitors, n = 10) and nonexpert (able to swim 50 m in > 3 styles, n = 10) swimmers estimated distance traveled in water with their eyes closed. Both groups indicated their subjective physical sensations in the water. For each of two trials, two-dimensional coordinates were obtained from video recordings using the two-dimensional direct linear transformation method for calculating changes in speed. The mean absolute error of the difference between the actual and estimated distance traveled in the water was significantly lower for expert swimmers (0.90 ± 0.71 meters) compared with nonexpert swimmers (3.85 ± 0.84 m). Expert swimmers described the sensation of propulsion in water in cutaneous terms as the "sense of flow" and sensation of "skin resistance." Therefore, expert swimmers appear to have a superior sense of distance during their movement in the water compared with that of nonexpert swimmers. In addition, expert swimmers may have a better perception of movement in water. We propose that expert swimmers integrate sensations and proprioceptive senses, enabling them to better perceive and estimate distance moved through water.

  13. Telecontrol - Expert systems. Real-time monitoring and remote diagnostic

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lam, A.

    1996-09-01

    The role of expert systems in programming simple and complex tasks in utilities companies was discussed with examples from B.C. Hydro, where expert systems have been used in such diverse applications as an in-house programmable logic controller (PLC) training course, and a machine audit on a 150 MW steam turbine generating unit at their Burrard Thermal Generating Plant. The PLC tutoring program uses expert system technology for the air blast circuit breakers` air drier system, for individualized on-site training. The steam turbine audits (an eight-month long project) were performed remotely by dialing an on-site computer configured with customized expert software. Details of these, and other potential applications, such as transformer monitoring and diagnostics, circuit breaker performance analysis, and information management, were described.

  14. [Development of expert diagnostic system for common respiratory diseases].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Wei-hua; Chen, You-ling; Yan, Zheng

    2014-03-01

    To develop an internet-based expert diagnostic system for common respiratory diseases. SaaS system was used to build architecture; pattern of forward reasoning was applied for inference engine design; ASP.NET with C# from the tool pack of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 was used for website-interview medical expert system.The database of the system was constructed with Microsoft SQL Server 2005. The developed expert system contained large data memory and high efficient function of data interview and data analysis for diagnosis of various diseases.The users were able to perform this system to obtain diagnosis for common respiratory diseases via internet. The developed expert system may be used for internet-based diagnosis of various respiratory diseases,particularly in telemedicine setting.

  15. THE EFFECT OF MODERATE AND HIGH-INTENSITY FATIGUE ON GROUNDSTROKE ACCURACY IN EXPERT AND NON-EXPERT TENNIS PLAYERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark Lyons

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Exploring the effects of fatigue on skilled performance in tennis presents a significant challenge to the researcher with respect to ecological validity. This study examined the effects of moderate and high-intensity fatigue on groundstroke accuracy in expert and non-expert tennis players. The research also explored whether the effects of fatigue are the same regardless of gender and player's achievement motivation characteristics. 13 expert (7 male, 6 female and 17 non-expert (13 male, 4 female tennis players participated in the study. Groundstroke accuracy was assessed using the modified Loughborough Tennis Skills Test. Fatigue was induced using the Loughborough Intermittent Tennis Test with moderate (70% and high-intensities (90% set as a percentage of peak heart rate (attained during a tennis-specific maximal hitting sprint test. Ratings of perceived exertion were used as an adjunct to the monitoring of heart rate. Achievement goal indicators for each player were assessed using the 2 x 2 Achievement Goals Questionnaire for Sport in an effort to examine if this personality characteristic provides insight into how players perform under moderate and high-intensity fatigue conditions. A series of mixed ANOVA's revealed significant fatigue effects on groundstroke accuracy regardless of expertise. The expert players however, maintained better groundstroke accuracy across all conditions compared to the novice players. Nevertheless, in both groups, performance following high-intensity fatigue deteriorated compared to performance at rest and performance while moderately fatigued. Groundstroke accuracy under moderate levels of fatigue was equivalent to that at rest. Fatigue effects were also similar regardless of gender. No fatigue by expertise, or fatigue by gender interactions were found. Fatigue effects were also equivalent regardless of player's achievement goal indicators. Future research is required to explore the effects of fatigue on

  16. Expert systems for C3I. Volume 1. A user's introduction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clapp, J. A.; Hockett, S. M.; Prelle, M. J.; Tallant, A. M.; Triant, D. D.

    1985-10-01

    There has been a tremendous burgeoning of interest in artificial intelligence (AI) over the last few years. Investments of commercial and government sponsors reflect a widespread belief that AI is now ready for practical applications. The area of AI currently receiving the greatest attention and investment is expert system technology. Most major high tech corporations have begun to develop expert systems, and many software houses specializing in expert system tools and applications have recently appeared. The defense community is one of the heaviest investors in expert system technology, and within this community one of the application areas receiving greatest attention is C3I. Many ESD programs are now beginning to ask whether expert system applications for C3I are ready for incorporation into ESD-developed systems, and, if so, what are the potential benefits and risks of doing so. This report was prepared to help ESD and MITRE personnel working on acquisition programs to address these issues and to gain a better understanding of what expert systems are all about. The primary intention of this report is to investigate what expert systems are and the advances that are being made in expert system technology for C3I applications. The report begins with a brief tutorial on expert systems, emphasizing how they differ from conventional software systems and what they are best at doing.

  17. Uncertainty in geological linework: communicating the expert's tacit model to the data user(s) by expert elicitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawley, Russell; Barron, Mark; Lark, Murray

    2015-04-01

    At BGS, expert elicitation has been used to evaluate uncertainty of surveyed boundaries in several, common, geological scenarios. As a result, a 'collective' understanding of the issues surrounding each scenario has emerged. The work has provoked wider debate in three key areas: a) what can we do to resolve those scenarios where a 'consensus' of understanding cannot be achieved b) what does it mean for survey practices and subsequent use of maps in 3D models c) how do we communicate the 'collective' understanding of geological mapping (with or without consensus for specific scenarios). Previous work elicited expert judgement for uncertainty in six contrasting mapping scenarios. In five cases it was possible to arrive at a consensus model; in a sixth case experts with different experience (length of service, academic background) took very different views of the nature of the mapping problem. The scenario concerned identification of the boundary between two contrasting tills (one derived from Triassic source materials being red in colour; the other, derived from Jurassic materials being grey in colour). Initial debate during the elicitation identified that the colour contrast should provide some degree of confidence in locating the boundary via traditional auger-traverse survey methods. However, as the elicitation progressed, it became clear that the complexities of the relationship between the two Tills were not uniformly understood across the experts and the panel could not agree a consensus regarding the spatial uncertainty of the boundary. The elicitation process allowed a significant degree of structured knowledge-exchange between experts of differing backgrounds and was successful in identifying a measure of uncertainty for what was considered a contentious scenario. However, the findings have significant implications for a boundary-scenario that is widely mapped across the central regions of Great Britain. We will discuss our experience of the use of

  18. The Development of Russian-Chinese Expert Contacts on International Relations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan A. Safranchuk

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: This article is devoted to the contacts of Russian and Chinese experts on international relations and to the visit of MGIMO-University delegation to Beijing in June 2015. The article studies the major tracks of expert dialogue between Russian and Chinese experts on contemporary international affairs: the situation in the Near and Middle East, the developments in Eurasia, the major regional conflicts. The particular attention in the Russian-Chinese expert debates is devoted to the topic of Eurasia and the perspective for agreed implementation of Russia-sponsored Eurasian Economic Union and China-sponsored Economic belt of Silk Road. The article dwells upon the key issues in the Russian-Chinese dialogue on the Eurasian affairs. Additionally the article unveils the proposals by the US experts, concerning the development of Russian-Chinese dialogue on these matters. In 2015 the US experts developed new ideas on the regional issues in Eurasia, they offer to coordinate the Chinese project Economic belt of Silk Road and the US project of New Silk Road. In 2015 the historical topic gained momentum in the Russian-Chinese expert debates. Now Russia and China jointly oppose the attempts of some countries to revisit the results of World War II. However while Russia and China are both committed to the traditional interpretations of World war II and resist any revisionism of those results, still the Chinese experts argue in favor of greater appreciation of the role and contribution by China to the victory over fascism and militarism in World war II. The article also overviews interesting discussions between Russian and Chinese experts on the reform of global governance and the formation of the new world order.

  19. Feed type based expert systems in mineral processing plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jamsa-Jounela, S.-L.; Laine, S.; Laurila, H.

    1999-01-01

    Artificial Intelligence includes excellent tools for the control and supervision of industrial processes. Several thousand industrial applications have been reported worldwide. Recently, the designers of the AI systems have begun to hybridize the intelligent techniques, expert systems, fuzzy logic and neural networks, to enhance the capability of the AI systems. Expert systems have proved to be ideal candidates especially for the control of mineral processes. As successful case projects, expert system based on on-line classification of the feed type is described in this paper. The essential feature of this expert system is the classification of different feed types and their distinct control strategies at the plant. In addition to the classification, the expert system has a database containing information about how to handle the determined feed type. This self-learning database scans historical process data to suggest the best treatment for the ore type under processing. The system has been tested in two concentrators, the Outokumpu Finnmines Oy, Hitura mine and Outokumpu Chrome Oy, Kemi mine. (author)

  20. Expert systems applied to two problems in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, K.Y.

    1988-01-01

    This dissertation describes two prototype expert systems applied to two problems in nuclear power plants. One problem is spare parts inventory control, and the other one is radionuclide release from containment during severe accident. The expert system for spare parts inventory control can handle spare parts requirements not only in corrective, preventive, or predictive maintenance, but also when failure rates of components or parts are updated by new data. Costs and benefits of spare parts inventory acquisition are evaluated with qualitative attributes such as spare part availability to provide the inventory manager with an improved basis for decision making. The expert system is implemented with Intelligence/Compiler on an IBM-AT. The other expert system for radionuclide release from containment can estimate magnitude, type, location, and time of release of radioactive materials from containment during a severe accident nearly on line, based on the actual measured physical parameters such as temperature and pressure inside the containment. The expert system has a function to check the validation of sensor data. The expert system is implemented with KEE on a Symbolics LISP machine

  1. Expert systems for assisting the analysis of hazards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Evrard, J.M.; Martinez, J.M.; Souchet, Y.

    1990-01-01

    The advantage of applying expert systems in the analysis of safety in the operation of nuclear power plants is discussed. Expert systems apply a method based on a common representation of nuclear power plants. The main steps of the method are summarized. The applications given concern in the following fields: the analysis of hazards in the electric power supplies of a gas-graphite power plant; the evaluation of the availability of safety procedures in a PWR power plant; the search for the sources of leakage in a PWR power plant. The analysis shows that expert systems are a powerful tool in the study of safety of nuclear power plants [fr

  2. An expert system for spare parts inventory control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, K.Y.; Chen, P.Y.C.; Okrent, D.

    1987-01-01

    This paper describes an expert system which can handle spare part requirements not only in corrective maintenance (CM) or preventive maintenance (PM), but also when failure rates of components or parts are updated by new data or by predictive maintenance (PDM), and which can also decide optimum stocking level of each spare part. This expert system provides a maintenance (or inventory) manager with an improved basis for decision making in the maintenance related to spare parts. The definitions of PM and PDM from NUREG-1212 (USNRC 1986) are used herein. This expert system used Intellignece/Compiler (Intelligence Ware, 1986) as a language/tool in the IBM-PC

  3. REXS : A financial risk diagnostic expert system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W. Richter

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available

    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Artificial intelligence techniques are rapidly emerging as important contributors to more effective management. One of the greatest growth areas probably lies in the use of Expert System methodology for supporting managerial decision processes.
    Existing Decision Support Systems often attempt to apply analytical techniques in combination with traditional data access and retrieval functions. One of the problems usually encountered while developing such decision support systems is the need to transform an unstructured problem environment into a structured analytical model. Using an expert system approach to strategic decision making in such unstructured problem environments may provide significant advantages.
    The financial Risk diagnostic EXpert System (REXS concentrates on Financial Risk Analysis. Based on a Forecasting Model the system will, with the support of several expert system knowledge bases, attempt to evaluate the financial risk of a business and provide guidelines for improvement.

    AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Tegnieke gebaseer op Kunsmatige Intelligensie toon tans die belofte om belangrike bydraes te maak tot meerBestaande Besluitsteunstelsels poog dikwels om analitiese tegnieke en lradisionele datatoegang- en onttrekkingsfunksies te kombineer. Een van die probleme wat gewoonlik ondervind word gedurende die ontwikkeling van '0 besluitsteunstelsel bestaan uit die behoefte om 'n ongestruktueerde probleemomgewing te transformeer na 'n gestruktueerde analitiese model. 'n Ekspertstelselbenadering lot strategiese besluitneming in 'n ongeSlruktureerde probleemomgewing mag betekenisvolle voordele inhou.
    Die "financial Risk diagnostic EXpert System (REXS" konsentreer op fmansiele risiko-analise. Uitgaande vanaf 'n Vooruitskattingsmode~ en deur gebruik te maak van verskeie ekspertstelselkennisbasisse, poog die stelsel om die fmansiele risiko van 'n onderneming te evalueer en riglyne vir moontlike verbetering

  4. Not All Flavor Expertise Is Equal: The Language of Wine and Coffee Experts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majid, Asifa

    2016-01-01

    People in Western cultures are poor at naming smells and flavors. However, for wine and coffee experts, describing smells and flavors is part of their daily routine. So are experts better than lay people at conveying smells and flavors in language? If smells and flavors are more easily linguistically expressed by experts, or more “codable”, then experts should be better than novices at describing smells and flavors. If experts are indeed better, we can also ask how general this advantage is: do experts show higher codability only for smells and flavors they are expert in (i.e., wine experts for wine and coffee experts for coffee) or is their linguistic dexterity more general? To address these questions, wine experts, coffee experts, and novices were asked to describe the smell and flavor of wines, coffees, everyday odors, and basic tastes. The resulting descriptions were compared on a number of measures. We found expertise endows a modest advantage in smell and flavor naming. Wine experts showed more consistency in how they described wine smells and flavors than coffee experts, and novices; but coffee experts were not more consistent for coffee descriptions. Neither expert group was any more accurate at identifying everyday smells or tastes. Interestingly, both wine and coffee experts tended to use more source-based terms (e.g., vanilla) in descriptions of their own area of expertise whereas novices tended to use more evaluative terms (e.g., nice). However, the overall linguistic strategies for both groups were en par. To conclude, experts only have a limited, domain-specific advantage when communicating about smells and flavors. The ability to communicate about smells and flavors is a matter not only of perceptual training, but specific linguistic training too. PMID:27322035

  5. The technical qualified expert on radiation protection in Spain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marco Arboli, M.; Rodriguez Suarez, M.

    2002-01-01

    Education and training is considered an important tool for promoting safety culture and improving the level of competence of workers. In the different disciplines involved in Radiation Protection (PR), training programmes are being revised to ensure effective protection of individuals. In the European Union framework, the new normative and its adaptation in the Member States, as well as the past actions in each country, make the community to conclude that harmonization of educational programmes and European recognition of the qualification must be reached. An important point of these actions is the definition of the European Qualified Expert. Article 38 of the EURATOM Basic Safety Standards imposes requirements on training and education of the qualified experts and their exchange within the European Union. Since then, there has been many initiatives to seek to harmonization of the qualified expert requirements. In the Spanish education system, there has been a standard training and competent authority recognition of the high level qualified experts on radiation protection since 1986, whose programme is continuously being updating and improving. Taking into account the European actions to define the qualified expert training requirements, it has been designed an educational course for the Technical Qualified Expert on Radiation Protection. This pilot course has being carried out during May, 2002. The results of this project is shown in this paper. (Author)

  6. Expert systems intelligent tutoring systems and the power industry: A future scenario

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bloom, C.P.; Bullemer, P.T.; Cochran, E.L.

    1990-01-01

    One use to which fielded expert systems have been put is the training of less experienced personnel. However, since expert systems are not developed for the purpose of training, their knowledge contains gaps, particularly in the areas of explanation and reasoning-essential components of expertise. The incidental learning that results from interacting with an expert system produces a memorization of the expert system's procedures without an understanding of the logic behind those procedures. Although learning without comprehension can provide adequate task performance, it affords inadequate transfer or generalization of knowledge, producing task-specific learning. In other words, the expert system user performs the task like an expert, but has not really become an expert. To become an expert, specialized training is required. This training could be provided by professional educators, or, in the future, by artificial intelligence programs, called intelligent tutoring systems, specifically designed for training

  7. Cornell Mixing Zone Expert System

    Science.gov (United States)

    This page provides an overview Cornell Mixing Zone Expert System water quality modeling and decision support system designed for environmental impact assessment of mixing zones resulting from wastewater discharge from point sources

  8. Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Harold O.; Burford, Anna Marie

    1990-01-01

    Delineates artificial intelligence/expert systems (AI/ES) concepts; provides an exposition of some business application areas; relates progress; and creates an awareness of the benefits, limitations, and reservations of AI/ES. (Author)

  9. Expert and novice categorization of introductory physics problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolf, Steven Frederick

    Since it was first published 30 years ago, Chi et al.'s seminal paper on expert and novice categorization of introductory problems led to a plethora of follow-up studies within and outside of the area of physics [Chi et al. Cognitive Science 5, 121 -- 152 (1981)]. These studies frequently encompass "card-sorting" exercises whereby the participants group problems. The study firmly established the paradigm that novices categorize physics problems by "surface features" (e.g. "incline," "pendulum," "projectile motion,"... ), while experts use "deep structure" (e.g. "energy conservation," "Newton 2,"... ). While this technique certainly allows insights into problem solving approaches, simple descriptive statistics more often than not fail to find significant differences between experts and novices. In most experiments, the clean-cut outcome of the original study cannot be reproduced. Given the widespread implications of the original study, the frequent failure to reproduce its findings warrants a closer look. We developed a less subjective statistical analysis method for the card sorting outcome and studied how the "successful" outcome of the experiment depends on the choice of the original card set. Thus, in a first step, we are moving beyond descriptive statistics, and develop a novel microscopic approach that takes into account the individual identity of the cards and uses graph theory and models to visualize, analyze, and interpret problem categorization experiments. These graphs are compared macroscopically, using standard graph theoretic statistics, and microscopically, using a distance metric that we have developed. This macroscopic sorting behavior is described using our Cognitive Categorization Model. The microscopic comparison allows us to visualize our sorters using Principal Components Analysis and compare the expert sorters to the novice sorters as a group. In the second step, we ask the question: Which properties of problems are most important in problem

  10. Bad nature, bad nurture, and testimony regarding MAOA and SLC6A4 genotyping at murder trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernet, William; Vnencak-Jones, Cindy L; Farahany, Nita; Montgomery, Stephen A

    2007-11-01

    Recent research-in which subjects were studied longitudinally from childhood until adulthood-has started to clarify how a child's environment and genetic makeup interact to create a violent adolescent or adult. For example, male subjects who were born with a particular allele of the monoamine oxidase A gene and also were maltreated as children had a much greater likelihood of manifesting violent antisocial behavior as adolescents and adults. Also, individuals who were born with particular alleles of the serotonin transporter gene and also experienced multiple stressful life events were more likely to manifest serious depression and suicidality. This research raises the question of whether testimony regarding a defendant's genotype, exposure to child maltreatment, and experience of unusual stress is appropriate to present during the guilt or penalty phases of criminal trials, especially when capital punishment is a consideration. The authors present their experience in genotyping criminal defendants and presenting genetic information at criminal trials.

  11. Hybrid expert system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsoukalas, L.; Ikonomopoulos, A.; Uhrig, R.E.

    1991-01-01

    This paper presents a methodology that couples rule-based expert systems using fuzzy logic, to pre-trained artificial neutral networks (ANN) for the purpose of transient identification in Nuclear Power Plants (NPP). In order to provide timely concise, and task-specific information about the may aspects of the transient and to determine the state of the system based on the interpretation of potentially noisy data a model-referenced approach is utilized. In it, the expert system performs the basic interpretation and processing of the model data, and pre-trained ANNs provide the model. having access to a set of neural networks that typify general categories of transients, the rule based system is able to perform identification functions. Membership functions - condensing information about a transient in a form convenient for a rule-based identification system characterizing a transient - are the output of neural computations. This allows the identification function to be performed with a speed comparable to or faster than that of the temporal evolution of the system. Simulator data form major secondary system pipe rupture is used to demonstrate the methodology. The results indicate excellent noise-tolerance for ANN's and suggest a new method for transient identification within the framework of Fuzzy Logic

  12. Expert system for USNRC emergency response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sebo, D.E.; Bray, M.A.; King, M.A.

    1986-01-01

    The Reactor Safety Assessment System (RSAS) is an expert system under development for the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC). RSAS is intended for use at the NRC's Operations Center in the event of a serious incident at a licensed nuclear power plant. RSAS is a situation assessment expert system which uses plant parametric data to generate conclusions for use by the NRC Reactor Safety Team. RSAS uses multiple rule bases and plant specific setpoint files in order to be applicable to all licensed power plants. RSAS currently covers several generic reactor types and power plants within those classes

  13. A computerized expert system for mammography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jackson, V.P.; Dines, K.A.; Bassett, L.W.

    1988-01-01

    The authors have developed a computer-based expert system to aid in the interpretation of mammograms, breast sonograms, and clinical findings. The radiologist enters clinical and image data into the artificial intelligence system and receives a prediction of the etiology of lesions seen on breast imaging studies. This prototype interactive system has undergone preliminary clinical testing and evaluation. Ultimately, a more refined and complex system will be of value in mammography education, for general radiologists without ready access to mammography experts, for paramedical personnel, and for all mammographers in need of a breast imaging database and reporting systems

  14. Expert System Techniques and Applications in AEC-Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Tom

    This part of a book presents expert system techniques applicable to building design and construction, and it reports and evaluates on systems developed in thar domain.......This part of a book presents expert system techniques applicable to building design and construction, and it reports and evaluates on systems developed in thar domain....

  15. Expert systems development: some problems, motives and issues in an exploratory study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mehdi Sagheb-Tehrani.

    1993-10-01

    Even though expert systems (ES) have been in use since the early eighties, there is a remarkable lack of a strong theoretical base for handling expert systems development problems. There is a requirement in the ES field for theories or explanatory models to formulate propositions, to conduct research and interpret findings in a coherent way. This work presents an exploratory investigation designed to identify some problems, motives and issues associated with developing expert systems. Totally, twenty-five expert systems were developed by various organizations which participated in the study. The study attempts to provide evidence that either supports or refutes the anecdotes, gossips and speculations currently being spread through the academic journals dealing with the expert systems development in organizations. This study provides evidence that knowledge acquisition is indeed the bottleneck of expert systems development. It also points out that most expert systems are still in the prototype stage, and that current expert systems are mostly used for aiding the decision making of less skilled domain personnel and to a lesser extent for advice to experts. The rationale behind these uses seems to be the search by organizations for better decision making in the hope of improving competitiveness. A conceptual model of expert systems development is introduced based upon theoretical studies and the findings of this study from which some hypotheses are drawn. The main objective of the model is to contribute to a larger theoretical framework. Another aim is to create a broader theoretical framework for expert systems development in order to implement such systems more successfully. The results of the study confirm that the linkages of various concepts involved in the expert systems development process are very important for the design of a successful expert system project

  16. L'œuvre d'art en tant que témoignage: les artistes confrontés à la guerre La obra de arte como testimonio: los artistas frente a la guerra Art work as a testimony: artists facing the war

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dolores Fernández Martínez

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Este artículo surge como respuesta a la pregunta de si el arte puede ser considerado fuente testimonial como lo son los documentos escritos que habitualmente tienen en cuenta los historiadores para sus estudios. Pero este tema en arte es complejo. Tenemos el ejemplo universal de Goya, dando testimonio de lo que vio durante la guerra de la independencia, y tenemos distintos dibujos realizados por judíos en los campos de exterminio nazis o de artistas españoles republicanos en los campos de concentración franceses. Pero también está el ejemplo de Picasso cuando pinta « Guernica ». ¿Hasta qué punto este ejemplo, que responde a los anhelos de un pueblo, puede considerarse testimonio? Es indudable que el tema es interesante tratarlo en estos momentos en que asistimos a un gran debate en torno a la memoria histórica, tanto en España como en otros países europeos, y surgen artistas jóvenes que tratan la guerra civil española o el franquismo sin haberlo vividoThis article springs off as an answer to the question of whether we can consider art, as a testimonial source like the written documents that historians use to manage for their studies? But this issue, related to art, is rather complex. We have the universal example of Goya, giving testimony of what he saw during independence war, and we have several drawings made by jews at the Nazis extermination camps or those of republican Spanish artists at the French concentration camps. But there is also the example of Picasso painting « Guernica ». To what extent this example, that portraits the yearnings of people, can be considered testimonial? Undoubtedly this is an interesting subject nowadays, with the ongoing debate about historical memory that is tacking place in Spain and in some other European countries, and the new young artists that make the Spanish civil war or Franco’s regime their subject without having lived them

  17. An expert system technology for work authorization information systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Munchausen, J.H.; Glazer, K.A.

    1988-01-01

    This paper describes the effort by Southern California Edison Company (SCE) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to develop an expert systems work station designed to support the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The expert systems work station utilizes IntelliCorp KEE (Knowledge Engineering Environment) and EPRI-IntelliCorp PLEXSYS (PLant EXpert SYStem) technology, and SCE Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P and ID's) and host-based computer applications to assist plant operations and maintenance personnel in the development of safety tagout boundaries. Of significance in this venture is the merging of conventional computer applications technology with expert systems technology. The EPRI PLEXSYS work station will act as a front-end for the SONGS Tagout Administration and Generation System (TAGS), a conventional CICS/COBOL mainframe computer application

  18. ["An Italian Court recognizes the occupational origin of a trigeminal neuroma in a mobile telephone user: a case-study of the complex relationships between science and laws"].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lagorio, Susanna; Vecchia, P

    2011-01-01

    Scientific knowledge is essential for the resolution of disputes in law and administrative applications (such as toxic tort litigation and workers' compensation) and provides essential input for public policy decisions. There are no socially agreed-upon rules for the application of this knowledge except in the law. On a practical level, the legal system lacks the ability to assess the validity of scientific knowledge that can be used as evidence and therefore relies heavily on expert opinion. A key issue is how to ensure that professionals in any field provide judges with sound advice, based on relevant and reliable scientific evidence. The search for solutions to this problem seems particularly urgent in Italy, a country where a number of unprecedented verdicts of guilt have been pronounced in trials involving personal injuries from exposure to electromagnetic fields. An Italian Court has recently recognized the occupational origin of a trigeminal neuroma in a mobile telephone user, and ordered the Italian Workers' Compensation Authority (INAIL) to award the applicant compensation for a high degree (80%) of permanent disability. We describe and discuss the salient aspects of this sentence as a case-study in the framework of the use (and misuse) of scientific evidence in toxic-tort litigations. Based on the motivations of the verdict, it appears that the judge relied on seriously flawed expert testimonies. The "experts" who served in this particular trial were clearly inexperienced in forensic epidemiology in general, as well as in the topic at hand. Selective overviews of scientific evidence concerning cancer risks from mobile phone use were provided, along with misleading interpretations of findings from relevant epidemiologic studies (including the dismissal of the Interphone study results on the grounds of purported bias resulting from industry funding). The necessary requirements to proceed to causal inferences at individual level were not taken into account

  19. An Accurate and Impartial Expert Assignment Method for Scientific Project Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mingliang Yue

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: This paper proposes an expert assignment method for scientific project review that considers both accuracy and impartiality. As impartial and accurate peer review is extremely important to ensure the quality and feasibility of scientific projects, enhanced methods for managing the process are needed. Design/methodology/approach: To ensure both accuracy and impartiality, we design four criteria, the reviewers’ fitness degree, research intensity, academic association, and potential conflict of interest, to express the characteristics of an appropriate peer review expert. We first formalize the expert assignment problem as an optimization problem based on the designed criteria, and then propose a randomized algorithm to solve the expert assignment problem of identifying reviewer adequacy. Findings: Simulation results show that the proposed method is quite accurate and impartial during expert assignment. Research limitations: Although the criteria used in this paper can properly show the characteristics of a good and appropriate peer review expert, more criteria/conditions can be included in the proposed scheme to further enhance accuracy and impartiality of the expert assignment. Practical implications: The proposed method can help project funding agencies (e.g. the National Natural Science Foundation of China find better experts for project peer review. Originality/value: To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first publication that proposes an algorithm that applies an impartial approach to the project review expert assignment process. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

  20. Prioritizing risks via several expert perspectives with application to runway safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rogerson, Ellen C.; Lambert, James H.

    2012-01-01

    Factor hierarchies have been widely used in the literature to represent the view of an expert of what factors most contribute to reliability or safety. The methods for rating and aggregating the influences across a set of expert-elicited factors to risk or reliability are well known as multiple criteria decision analysis. This paper describes a method for distinguishing levels of risk across a set of locations via the use of multiple factor hierarchies. The method avoids averaging across experts and is thus useful for situations where experts disagree and where an absence of expert consensus on the causative or contributing factors is important information for risk management. A case study demonstrates using seven expert perspectives on the airport-specific factors that can contribute to runway incursions. The results are described for eighty towered airports in the US. The expert perspectives include differing relative emphases across the following set of factors: airport geometry, operations, weather, geography, and days since last safety review. Future work is suggested to include human factors issues as pilot-and-controller communications styles at airports. - Highlights: ► We examine influential factors in seven expert perspectives on the problem domain. ► We assess eighty US airports with qualitative measurement scales for each risk factor. ► Results show robustness and sensitivity of the risk index to expert perspective. ► We examine factors of several types including runway geometry, operations, weather, and geography.

  1. Eliciting and communicating expert judgments: methodology and application to nuclear safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winterfeldt, D. von; Commission of the European Communities, Ispra

    1989-01-01

    Expert judgment has always been used informally in the analysis of complex engineering problems. Increasingly, however, the use of expert judgment has been formalized by eliciting judgments in an explicit, documented and often quantitative way. In nuclear safety studies the need for formal elicitation of expert judgments arises because of the lack of data and experiences, the need to adapt model results to the specific circumstances of a plant, and the large uncertainties surrounding the events and quantities that characterize an accident sequence. The recognition of the need for a formal elicitation of expert judgments has led to one of the most extensive expert elicitation processes to date in the context of the NUREG 1150 study. About 30 safety issues were quantified using expert judgments about probabilities of various uncertain events and quantities, ranging from the failure of a check valve in the cooling system to the pressure built up due to hydrogen production to release fractions of various radionuclides. In total, some 1000 probability distributions were elicited from some 50 experts. This paper first motivates the use of formal expert elicitation in complex engineering studies and describes the methodology of formal expert elicitation. Subsequently, it describes the overall approach of NUREG 1150 and provides an example of the elicitation of the probability of a bypass failure in a pressurized water reactor. The paper ends by discussing some lessons learned, problems encountered and by providing some recommendations

  2. Impact of education with authorized technical experts on colorectal laparoscopic skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwata, Takashi; Kurita, Nobuhiro; Nishioka, Masanori; Morimoto, Shinya; Yoshikawa, Kozo; Higashijima, Jun; Nakao, Toshihiro; Komatsu, Masato; Shimada, Mitsuo

    2012-01-01

    Laparoscopic skills training is becoming the standard for educating surgical residents. Because of the specific procedure which differs from that of open surgery, it is imperative to establish a unique training system to promote efficiency of learning laparoscopic skills. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of learning laparoscopic skills with or without authorized experts of JSES. Among 71 patients who underwent laparoscopic colectomy from 2004 to 2009, 30 patients who underwent operation in introduction era without a technical expert (2004-2006), 17 patients who underwent operation in late period of introduction era without a technical expert (2006-2008), 12 patients who underwent operation by resident with technical expert (2008-2009) and 12 patients who underwent operation by technical expert, were investigated. Operative time, amount of blood loss, intra- and post-operative complications and conversion to open surgery were investigated. Operative time: 477:333:262:220 minutes (early period:late period:resident:expert), amount of blood loss: 494:73:21:20mL and complications: ileus: 0:1:0:0, leakage: 1:1:3:0, neurological disturbance: 2:1:0:0. Instruction by authorized technical experts of JSES is helpful to avoid pitfalls which are not seen in open surgery without an expert.

  3. Tools and technologies for expert systems: A human factors perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajaram, Navaratna S.

    1987-01-01

    It is widely recognized that technologies based on artificial intelligence (AI), especially expert systems, can make significant contributions to the productivity and effectiveness of operations of information and knowledge intensive organizations such as NASA. At the same time, these being relatively new technologies, there is the problem of transfering technology to key personnel of such organizations. The problems of examining the potential of expert systems and of technology transfer is addressed in the context of human factors applications. One of the topics of interest was the investigation of the potential use of expert system building tools, particularly NEXPERT as a technology transfer medium. Two basic conclusions were reached in this regard. First, NEXPERT is an excellent tool for rapid prototyping of experimental expert systems, but not ideal as a delivery vehicle. Therefore, it is not a substitute for general purpose system implementation languages such a LISP or C. This assertion probably holds for nearly all such tools on the market today. Second, an effective technology transfer mechanism is to formulate and implement expert systems for problems which members of the organization in question can relate to. For this purpose, the LIghting EnGineering Expert (LIEGE) was implemented using NEXPERT as the tool for technology transfer and to illustrate the value of expert systems to the activities of the Man-System Division.

  4. Expert2OWL: A Methodology for Pattern-Based Ontology Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tahar, Kais; Xu, Jie; Herre, Heinrich

    2017-01-01

    The formalization of expert knowledge enables a broad spectrum of applications employing ontologies as underlying technology. These include eLearning, Semantic Web and expert systems. However, the manual construction of such ontologies is time-consuming and thus expensive. Moreover, experts are often unfamiliar with the syntax and semantics of formal ontology languages such as OWL and usually have no experience in developing formal ontologies. To overcome these barriers, we developed a new method and tool, called Expert2OWL that provides efficient features to support the construction of OWL ontologies using GFO (General Formal Ontology) as a top-level ontology. This method allows a close and effective collaboration between ontologists and domain experts. Essentially, this tool integrates Excel spreadsheets as part of a pattern-based ontology development and refinement process. Expert2OWL enables us to expedite the development process and modularize the resulting ontologies. We applied this method in the field of Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) and used Expert2OWL to automatically generate an accurate Chinese Herbology ontology (CHO). The expressivity of CHO was tested and evaluated using ontology query languages SPARQL and DL. CHO shows promising results and can generate answers to important scientific questions such as which Chinese herbal formulas contain which substances, which substances treat which diseases, and which ones are the most frequently used in CHM.

  5. Report on the combined meeting of the core confinement and internal transport barrier expert group, confinement database and modeling expert group and edge pedestal expert group, 12-16 April 1999, Garching

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janeschitz, G.; Connor, J.W.; Cordey, G.; Kardaun, O.; Mukhovatov, V.; Stambaugh, R.; Ryter, F.; Wakatani, M.

    1999-01-01

    This contribution to the ITER EDA Newsletter reports on the combined meeting of the core confinement and internal transport barrier expert group, confinement database and modeling expert group and edge pedestal expert group in Garching, Germany. This is the first workshop of its kind after the re-organisation of the expert groups. The new scheme of the meetings, namely to permit more interaction between groups by arranging them at the same time and location turned out to be very successful. The main issues discussed were for the Confinement Database: merging of edge pedestal and confinement data, improvement of the density- and magnetic shape parameters, addition of new dedicated threshold data, the effect of different divertors in JET; for the H-Mode Power Threshold Database: assembly of a new version of the database with about 650 time points from 10 tokamaks; for the 1-D Modelling Workshop: management of the database after the re-organisation of the Joint Central Team an ongoing efforts in plasma transport modelling; for the newly formed pedestal group: issues of the H-mode shear layer at the plasma edge. There was also an executive summary given of a recent USA workshop on internal transport barriers and regimes with weak or negative magnetic shear

  6. The Finishing Touch: Anatomy of Expert Lesson Closures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webster, Collin A.; Connolly, Graeme; Schempp, Paul G.

    2009-01-01

    Background: Based on the idea that students remember best what is presented last, the lesson closure is commonly identified as an important component of effective teaching and has recently surfaced as a routine practice of expert teachers in sport. Despite its link to both effective and expert instruction, the lesson closure has seen scarce…

  7. Relationships between the operator's radiation protection expert and the radiation protection expert belonging to an external company

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gravelotte, D.

    2008-01-01

    The radiation protection expert (PCR in French for Personne Competente en Radioprotection) is a central actor in the organization of radioprotection. Such a person is required within radioprotection departments of basic nuclear installations as well in external companies intervening in these installations. After having recalled that relationship between these both experts is promoted by the legal framework, the author describes how this relationship is planned in the Paluel French nuclear power station. He indicates the type of data and information concerning the power station activities which are exchanged between them. He also presents the actions which have been defined to promote this relationship

  8. Processes in construction of failure management expert systems from device design information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malin, Jane T.; Lance, Nick

    1987-01-01

    This paper analyzes the tasks and problem solving methods used by an engineer in constructing a failure management expert system from design information about the device to te diagnosed. An expert test engineer developed a trouble-shooting expert system based on device design information and experience with similar devices, rather than on specific expert knowledge gained from operating the device or troubleshooting its failures. The construction of the expert system was intensively observed and analyzed. This paper characterizes the knowledge, tasks, methods, and design decisions involved in constructing this type of expert system, and makes recommendations concerning tools for aiding and automating construction of such systems.

  9. Expert Coaching in Weight Loss: Retrospective Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kushner, Robert F; Hill, James O; Lindquist, Richard; Brunning, Scott; Margulies, Amy

    2018-01-01

    Background Providing coaches as part of a weight management program is a common practice to increase participant engagement and weight loss success. Understanding coach and participant interactions and how these interactions impact weight loss success needs to be further explored for coaching best practices. Objective The purpose of this study was to analyze the coach and participant interaction in a 6-month weight loss intervention administered by Retrofit, a personalized weight management and Web-based disease prevention solution. The study specifically examined the association between different methods of coach-participant interaction and weight loss and tried to understand the level of coaching impact on weight loss outcome. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed using 1432 participants enrolled from 2011 to 2016 in the Retrofit weight loss program. Participants were males and females aged 18 years or older with a baseline body mass index of ≥25 kg/m², who also provided at least one weight measurement beyond baseline. First, a detailed analysis of different coach-participant interaction was performed using both intent-to-treat and completer populations. Next, a multiple regression analysis was performed using all measures associated with coach-participant interactions involving expert coaching sessions, live weekly expert-led Web-based classes, and electronic messaging and feedback. Finally, 3 significant predictors (Pcoaching session attendance (Pcoaching sessions, attending 60% of live weekly Web-based classes, and receiving a minimum of 1 food log feedback day per week were associated with clinically significant weight loss. Conclusions Participant’s one-on-one expert coaching session attendance, live weekly expert-led interactive Web-based class attendance, and the number of food log feedback days per week from expert coach were significant predictors of weight loss in a 6-month intervention. PMID:29535082

  10. What is an expert? A systems perspective on expertise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caley, Michael Julian; O'Leary, Rebecca A; Fisher, Rebecca; Low-Choy, Samantha; Johnson, Sandra; Mengersen, Kerrie

    2014-01-01

    Expert knowledge is a valuable source of information with a wide range of research applications. Despite the recent advances in defining expert knowledge, little attention has been given to how to view expertise as a system of interacting contributory factors for quantifying an individual's expertise. We present a systems approach to expertise that accounts for many contributing factors and their inter-relationships and allows quantification of an individual's expertise. A Bayesian network (BN) was chosen for this purpose. For illustration, we focused on taxonomic expertise. The model structure was developed in consultation with taxonomists. The relative importance of the factors within the network was determined by a second set of taxonomists (supra-experts) who also provided validation of the model structure. Model performance was assessed by applying the model to hypothetical career states of taxonomists designed to incorporate known differences in career states for model testing. The resulting BN model consisted of 18 primary nodes feeding through one to three higher-order nodes before converging on the target node (Taxonomic Expert). There was strong consistency among node weights provided by the supra-experts for some nodes, but not others. The higher-order nodes, “Quality of work” and “Total productivity”, had the greatest weights. Sensitivity analysis indicated that although some factors had stronger influence in the outer nodes of the network, there was relatively equal influence of the factors leading directly into the target node. Despite the differences in the node weights provided by our supra-experts, there was good agreement among assessments of our hypothetical experts that accurately reflected differences we had specified. This systems approach provides a way of assessing the overall level of expertise of individuals, accounting for multiple contributory factors, and their interactions. Our approach is adaptable to other situations where it

  11. COMPETENCE APPROACH TO TRAINING OF EXPERTS IN RADIATION HYGIENE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. B. Baltrukova

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Modification of attitude to labor in the society, in professional communities and among people is necessary for further development of society and national economy. This goal may be achieved if the system of professional training is modified: switched to competence approach which should include training of experts, including those in radiation hygiene, with a set of general cultural and professional competences. The system of future experts training should be based on traditions of domestic and international education; it should use modern forms of active and interactive education (computer simulations, business games and role-playing, analysis of concrete situations, portfolio, psychological and other trainings, remote education, etc. It should consider actuality of knowledge and skills and develop independence and responsibility that will enable the young expert to be competitive at the modern labor market and to meet employers’ expectations. Under the new federal educational standard on radiation hygiene accepted in 2014 at present primary specialization in radiation hygiene takes place in internship. At training of experts the new standard provides great use of on-the-job training, independent work, scientific and practical work. Employers should play an important role in training of experts.

  12. Does expert perceptual anticipation transfer to a dissimilar domain?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Sean; McLaren, Michelle; Appleby, Brendyn; Rosalie, Simon M

    2015-06-01

    The purpose of this experiment was to extend theoretical understanding of transfer of learning by investigating whether expert perceptual anticipation skill transfers to a dissimilar domain. The capability of expert and near-expert rugby players as well as novices to anticipate skill type within rugby (learning sport) was first examined using a temporal occlusion paradigm. Participants watched video footage of an opponent performing rugby skill types that were temporally occluded at different points in the opponent's action and then made a written prediction. Thereafter, the capability of participants to transfer their anticipation skill to predict pitch type in baseball (transfer sport) was examined. Participants watched video footage of a pitcher throwing different pitch types that were temporally occluded and made a written prediction. Results indicated that expert and near-expert rugby players anticipated significantly better than novices across all occlusion conditions. However, none of the skill groups were able to transfer anticipation skill to predict pitch type in baseball. The findings of this paper, along with existing literature, support the theoretical prediction that transfer of perceptual anticipation is expertise dependent and restricted to similar domains. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Considerations in development of expert systems for real-time space applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murugesan, S.

    1988-01-01

    Over the years, demand on space systems has increased tremendously and this trend will continue for the near future. Enhanced capabilities of space systems, however, can only be met with increased complexity and sophistication of onboard and ground systems. Artificial Intelligence and expert system techniques have great potential in space applications. Expert systems could facilitate autonomous decision making, improve in-orbit fault diagnosis and repair, enhance performance and reduce reliance on ground support. However, real-time expert systems, unlike conventional off-line consultative systems, have to satisfy certain special stringent requirements before they could be used for onboard space applications. Challenging and interesting new environments are faced while developing expert system space applications. This paper discusses the special characteristics, requirements and typical life cycle issues for onboard expert systems. Further, it also describes considerations in design, development, and implementation which are particularly important to real-time expert systems for space applications.

  14. AN EXPERT SYSTEM FOR SUPPORTING THE PRODUCTION OF PLEASURE BOATS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomasz GONCIARZ

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Expert systems can be defined as computer programs, whose main task is to simulate a human expert, usually in a narrow field of expertise. Possible applications of modern information technology are very extensive, ranging from medicine, geology and technology to applications in the field of economic and financial decision support. The purpose of this paper is to present the practical application of an expert system that supports the process of managing the production of yachts and has a high suitability for use in this application. Using the expert system described in the paper reduces the time during the design and production preparation process.

  15. Building reactor operator sustain expert system with C language integrated production system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ouyang Qin; Hu Shouyin; Wang Ruipian

    2002-01-01

    The development of the reactor operator sustain expert system is introduced, the capability of building reactor operator sustain expert system is discussed with C Language Integrated Production System (Clips), and a simple antitype of expert system is illustrated. The limitation of building reactor operator sustain expert system with Clips is also discussed

  16. Quality dependent fusion of intramodal and multimodal biometric experts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kittler, J.; Poh, N.; Fatukasi, O.; Messer, K.; Kryszczuk, K.; Richiardi, J.; Drygajlo, A.

    2007-04-01

    We address the problem of score level fusion of intramodal and multimodal experts in the context of biometric identity verification. We investigate the merits of confidence based weighting of component experts. In contrast to the conventional approach where confidence values are derived from scores, we use instead raw measures of biometric data quality to control the influence of each expert on the final fused score. We show that quality based fusion gives better performance than quality free fusion. The use of quality weighted scores as features in the definition of the fusion functions leads to further improvements. We demonstrate that the achievable performance gain is also affected by the choice of fusion architecture. The evaluation of the proposed methodology involves 6 face and one speech verification experts. It is carried out on the XM2VTS data base.

  17. The Song of Disappearance: Memory, History, and Testimony in the Poetry of Antonio Gamoneda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Aguirre-Oteiza

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available This essay explores Antonio Gamoneda’s poetry as an Adornian form of testimony. With its enigmatic foregrounding of lies, the book-length poem Descripción de la mentira ‘Description of the Lie’ can be read as a “contradictory testimony” in which the act and memory of witnessing go, as it were, underground—only to resurface, rife with loss, years after Spain’s transition from dictatorship to democracy. Yet the abstruse character of this poetic writing prevents readers from drawing straightforward political truths about Spanish history from the poem. Losses are inscribed in the text catachrestically, as they truly are: losses. Gamoneda’s poetry has been read amid changing representations of Spain’s recent past, and thus contrastingly seen as an “undecipherable symbolic code” and as “realm of memory.” This reading, which draws on Holocaust studies, allows for a redefinition of the fraught place of modern poetry in the field of Hispanic cultural studies. Examining Descripción de la mentira within the context of the debate about historical memory in Spain sheds light on the theoretical difficulties that dominant aesthetic tendencies encounter in the study of how Spanish poets of recent decades try to establish a dialogue with the reader regarding society, memory, and reality.

  18. Knowledge Representation Using Multilevel Flow Model in Expert System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Wenlin; Yang, Ming

    2015-01-01

    As for the knowledge representation, of course, there are a great many methods available for knowledge representation. These include frames, causal models, and many others. This paper presents a novel method called Multilevel Flow Model (MFM), which is used for knowledge representation in G2 expert system. Knowledge representation plays a vital role in constructing knowledge bases. Moreover, it also has impact on building of generic fault model as well as knowledge bases. The MFM is particularly useful to describe system knowledge concisely as domain map in expert system when domain experts are not available

  19. Expert system for nuclear power plant feedwater system diagnosis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meguro, R.; Kinoshita, Y.; Sato, T.; Yokota, Y.; Yokota, M.

    1987-01-01

    The Expert System for Nuclear Power Plant Feedwater System Diagnosis has been developed to assist maintenance engineers in nuclear power plants. This system adopts the latest process computer TOSBAC G8050 and the expert system developing tool TDES2, and has a large scale knowledge base which consists of the expert knowledge and experience of engineers in many fields. The man-machine system, which has been developed exclusively for diagnosis, improves the man-machine interface and realizes the graphic displays of diagnostic process and path, stores diagnostic results and searches past reference

  20. A Belief Rule-Based Expert System to Diagnose Influenza

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hossain, Mohammad Shahadat; Khalid, Md. Saifuddin; Akter, Shamima

    2014-01-01

    , development and application of an expert system to diagnose influenza under uncertainty. The recently developed generic belief rule-based inference methodology by using the evidential reasoning (RIMER) approach is employed to develop this expert system, termed as Belief Rule Based Expert System (BRBES......). The RIMER approach can handle different types of uncertainties, both in knowledge representation, and in inference procedures. The knowledge-base of this system was constructed by using records of the real patient data along with in consultation with the Influenza specialists of Bangladesh. Practical case...

  1. Knowledge Representation Using Multilevel Flow Model in Expert System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Wenlin; Yang, Ming [Harbin Engineering University, Harbin (China)

    2015-05-15

    As for the knowledge representation, of course, there are a great many methods available for knowledge representation. These include frames, causal models, and many others. This paper presents a novel method called Multilevel Flow Model (MFM), which is used for knowledge representation in G2 expert system. Knowledge representation plays a vital role in constructing knowledge bases. Moreover, it also has impact on building of generic fault model as well as knowledge bases. The MFM is particularly useful to describe system knowledge concisely as domain map in expert system when domain experts are not available.

  2. Component aging evaluation with expert systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiesemann, J.S.; Maguire, H.T. Jr.

    1988-01-01

    The age degradation of components involves a complex relationship between a variety of variables. These relationships are typically modeled using probabilistic and deterministic analyses. These methods depend upon a formal understanding of the underlying degradation mechanisms and a database of experience which allows statistical analyses to extract numerical trends. At present, not all age degradation mechanisms are adequately modeled and available data for age degradation is in most cases insufficient. In addition, these methods tend to focus upon answers to isolated questions (e.g., What is the component failure rate?) rather than the more pertinent questions concerning operations and maintenance (e.g., should the component be replaced at the next outage). Fortunately, knowledge in the form of personal experience does exist which allows plant personnel to make decisions concerning operations and maintenance. This knowledge can be modeled using expert systems. This paper discusses CAGES (Component Aging Expert System). It combines expert rules (heuristics), probabilistic models, and deterministic models to make evaluations of component aging; predict the implications for component life extension, operational readiness, maintenance effectiveness, and safety, and make recommendations for maintenance and operation

  3. Expert judgement combination using moment methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wisse, Bram; Bedford, Tim; Quigley, John

    2008-01-01

    Moment methods have been employed in decision analysis, partly to avoid the computational burden that decision models involving continuous probability distributions can suffer from. In the Bayes linear (BL) methodology prior judgements about uncertain quantities are specified using expectation (rather than probability) as the fundamental notion. BL provides a strong foundation for moment methods, rooted in work of De Finetti and Goldstein. The main objective of this paper is to discuss in what way expert assessments of moments can be combined, in a non-Bayesian way, to construct a prior assessment. We show that the linear pool can be justified in an analogous but technically different way to linear pools for probability assessments, and that this linear pool has a very convenient property: a linear pool of experts' assessments of moments is coherent if each of the experts has given coherent assessments. To determine the weights of the linear pool we give a method of performance based weighting analogous to Cooke's classical model and explore its properties. Finally, we compare its performance with the classical model on data gathered in applications of the classical model

  4. Domestic violence: the role of the mental health expert.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Packer, I K

    1990-01-01

    Mental health experts are often called upon to testify in trials of battered woman who have killed their husbands. Such experts have an important role to play in educating both the public and the legal profession about the Battered Woman Syndrome.

  5. Expert Systems: An Introduction -46 ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Research Scientist in the. Knowledge Based. Computer Systems Group at NeST. He is one of the ... Expert systems encode human expertise in limited domains ... answers questions the user has and provides an explanation of its reasoning.

  6. A Study on Satellite Diagnostic Expert Systems Using Case-Based Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Young-Tack Park

    1997-06-01

    Full Text Available Many research works are on going to monitor and diagnose diverse malfunctions of satellite systems as the complexity and number of satellites increase. Currently, many works on monitoring and diagnosis are carried out by human experts but there are needs to automate much of the routine works of them. Hence, it is necessary to study on using expert systems which can assist human experts routine work by doing automatically, thereby allow human experts devote their expertise more critical and important areas of monitoring and diagnosis. In this paper, we are employing artificial intelligence techniques to model human experts' knowledge and inference the constructed knowledge. Especially, case-based approaches are used to construct a knowledge base to model human expert capabilities which use previous typical exemplars. We have designed and implemented a prototype case-based system for diagnosing satellite malfunctions using cases. Our system remembers typical failure cases and diagnoses a current malfunction by indexing the case base. Diverse methods are used to build a more user friendly interface which allows human experts can build a knowledge base in as easy way.

  7. Operation and maintenance support expert systems for BWR nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyazawa, Tatsuo; Hayakawa, Hiroyasu; Fukutomi, Shigeki

    1990-01-01

    Toshiba has been developing expert systems for operation and maintenance support in BWRs. These expert systems are designed to be integrated with conventional plant monitoring systems, and maintenance management systems to provide both comprehensive and powerful support capabilities. Some of these expert systems are already being used on a trial basis both within Toshiba and in electric power utility companies. This paper describes expert systems for the support of plant and equipment monitoring, maintenance scheduling, and maintenance work procedure planning. (author)

  8. Adaptive capture of expert knowledge

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barrett, C.L.; Jones, R.D. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States); Hand, Un Kyong [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)]|[US Navy (United States)

    1995-05-01

    A method is introduced that can directly acquire knowledge-engineered, rule-based logic in an adaptive network. This adaptive representation of the rule system can then replace the rule system in simulated intelligent agents and thereby permit further performance-based adaptation of the rule system. The approach described provides both weight-fitting network adaptation and potentially powerful rule mutation and selection mechanisms. Nonlinear terms are generated implicitly in the mutation process through the emergent interaction of multiple linear terms. By this method it is possible to acquire nonlinear relations that exist in the training data without addition of hidden layers or imposition of explicit nonlinear terms in the network. We smoothed and captured a set of expert rules with an adaptive network. The motivation for this was to (1) realize a speed advantage over traditional rule-based simulations; (2) have variability in the intelligent objects not possible by rule-based systems but provided by adaptive systems: and (3) maintain the understandability of rule-based simulations. A set of binary rules was smoothed and converted into a simple set of arithmetic statements, where continuous, non-binary rules are permitted. A neural network, called the expert network, was developed to capture this rule set, which it was able to do with zero error. The expert network is also capable of learning a nonmonotonic term without a hidden layer. The trained network in feedforward operation is fast running, compact, and traceable to the rule base.

  9. Experts and novices use the same factors--but differently--to evaluate pearl quality.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusuke Tani

    Full Text Available Well-trained experts in pearl grading have been thought to evaluate pearls according to their glossiness, interference color, and shape. However, the characteristics of their evaluations are not fully understood. Using pearl grading experiments, we investigate the consistency of novice (i.e., without knowledge of pearl grading and expert participants' pearl grading skill and then compare the novices' grading with that of experts; furthermore, we discuss the relationship between grading, interference color, and glossiness. We found that novices' grading was significantly less concordant with experts average grading than was experts' grading; more than half of novices graded pearls the opposite of how experts graded those same pearls. However, while experts graded pearls more consistently than novices did, novices' consistency was relatively high. We also found differences between the groups in regression analyses that used interference color and glossiness as explanatory variables and were conducted for each trial. Although the regression coefficient was significant in 60% of novices' trials, there were fewer significant trials for the experts (20%. This indicates that novices can also make use of these two factors, but that their usage is simpler than that of the experts. These results suggest that experts and novices share some values about pearls but that the evaluation method is elaborated for experts.

  10. Science Communication in the Post-Expert Digital Age

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luers, A.

    2014-12-01

    The digital age has given rise to a post-expert world, which is poses challenges for science communication. Mass communication is shifting from a "broadcast" to "conversation" model, while audiences increasingly are finding information with search tools that create personalized filters showing only news they want to see. Such changes dilute expert voices and strengthen insular "tribal" discourse. We argue that these changes in communication pose particular challenges for science communication around politically charged issues such as climate change, because they create mini-echo chambers that can feed cultural wars. To overcome these challenges the scientific community must rethink how we engage the public. In the post-expert world, we need to shift our mindset from reporting the facts to joining diverse conversations.

  11. Anticipation and visual search behaviour in expert soccer goalkeepers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Savelsbergh, G.J.P.; van der Kamp, J.; Williams, A.M.; Ward, P.

    2005-01-01

    A novel methodological approach is presented to examine the visual search behaviours employed by expert goalkeepers during simulated penalty kick situations in soccer. Expert soccer goalkeepers were classified as successful or unsuccessful based on their performance on a film-based test of

  12. Combining SKU-level sales forecasts from models and experts

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ph.H.B.F. Franses (Philip Hans); R. Legerstee (Rianne)

    2009-01-01

    textabstractWe study the performance of SKU-level sales forecasts which linearly combine statistical model forecasts and expert forecasts. Using a large and unique database containing model forecasts for monthly sales of various pharmaceutical products and forecasts given by about fifty experts, we

  13. Supporting experts to handle tweet collections about significant events

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hürriyetoglu, Ali; Oostdijk, Nelleke; Basar, Erkan; van den Bosch, A.; Frasincar, F.; Ittoo, A.; Nguyen, L.; Metais, E.

    2017-01-01

    We introduce Relevancer that processes a tweet set and enables generating an automatic classifier from it. Relevancer satisfies information needs of experts during significant events. Enabling experts to combine automatic procedures with expertise is the main contribution of our approach and the

  14. Experts' Views Regarding the Conceptualization of Narcissism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ackerman, Robert A; Hands, Aaron J; Donnellan, M Brent; Hopwood, Christopher J; Witt, Edward A

    2017-06-01

    There is debate over the definition of narcissism across social/personality and clinical psychology. The current article aims to quantify the level of disagreement by measuring experts' opinions concerning the attributes most central to narcissism. Accordingly, we developed a comprehensive list of attributes associated with narcissism and had 49 self-identified experts (among them 17 women, 23 psychologists from clinical psychology and 22 from social/personality psychology) rate these characteristics and provide their opinions on several issues related to the conceptualization of narcissism. Experts generally believe that the grandiose features of narcissism are more central than the vulnerable features. However, differences between clinical and social/personality psychologists were evident, especially regarding the relevance of self-esteem. Given the results, we suggest that researchers specify the kind of narcissism being assessed in a given study and consider using assessments of the full range of narcissistic features in future research to provide a more comprehensive perspective on the construct.

  15. Expert views on societal responses to different applications of nanotechnology: a comparative analysis of experts in countries with different economic and regulatory environments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gupta, N.; Fischer, A.R.H.; George, S.; Frewer, L.J.

    2013-01-01

    The introduction of different applications of nanotechnology will be informed by expert views regarding which (types of) application will be most societally acceptable. Previous research in Northern Europe has indicated that experts believe that various factors will be influential, predominant among

  16. An expert panel approach to support risk-informed decision making

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pulkkinen, U.; Simola, K.

    2000-01-01

    The report describes the expert panel methodology developed for supporting risk-informed decision making. The aim of an expert panel is to achieve a balanced utilisation of information and expertise from several disciplines in decision-making including probabilistic safety assessment as one decision criterion. We also summarise the application of the methodology in the STUK's RI-ISI (Risk-Informed In-Service Inspection) pilot study, where the expert panel approach was used to combine the deterministic information on degradation mechanisms and probabilistic information on pipe break consequences. The expert panel served both as a critical review of the preliminary results and as a decision support for the final definition of risk categories of piping. (orig.)

  17. An expert system for improving nuclear emergency response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salame-Alfie, A.; Goldbogen, G.C.; Ryan, R.M.; Wallace, W.A.; Yeater, M.L.

    1987-01-01

    The accidents at TMI-2 and Chernobyl have produced initiatives aimed at improving nuclear plant emergency response capabilities. Among them are the development of emergency response facilities with capabilities for the acquisition, processing, and diagnosis of data which are needed to help coordinate plant operations, engineering support and management under emergency conditions. An effort in this direction prompted the development of an expert system. EP (EMERGENCY PLANNER) is a prototype expert system that is intended to help coordinate the overall management during emergency conditions. The EP system was built using the GEN-X expert system shell. GEN-X has a variety of knowledge representation mechanisms including AND/OR trees, Decision trees, and IF/THEN tables, and runs on an IBM PC-XT or AT computer or compatible. Among the main features, EP is portable, modular, user friendly, can interact with external programs and interrogate data bases. The knowledge base is made of New York State (NYS) Procedures for Emergency Classification, NYS Radiological Emergency Preparedness Plan (REPP) and knowledge from experts of the NYS Radiological Emergency Preparedness Group and the Office of Radiological Health and Chemistry of the New York Power Authority (NYPA)

  18. Clinical practice guidelines as learned treatises: understanding their use as evidence in the courtroom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Recupero, Patricia R

    2008-01-01

    It is important for forensic experts to understand how clinical practice guidelines may enter the courtroom, what role they may play in a trial, and how they relate to expert testimony. Guidelines enter the record in several different ways and in several types of cases, typically with the assistance of an expert witness. A common vehicle for their introduction is the learned-treatise exception to the hearsay rule. Case law before and after Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. helps to elucidate the scrutiny that courts may direct toward medical texts proffered as evidence. This article discusses the implications of different rules and relevant case law for the forensic psychiatrist. The discussion notes important considerations for the expert witness, such as how guidelines may affect the expert's role, concerns about the reliability and relevance of scientific evidence, and questions about whether guidelines will be used for inculpatory or exculpatory purposes in medical malpractice trials.

  19. Introducing Managers to Expert Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finlay, Paul N.; And Others

    1991-01-01

    Describes a short course to expose managers to expert systems, consisting of (1) introductory lecture; (2) supervised computer tutorial; (3) lecture and discussion about knowledge structuring and modeling; and (4) small group work on a case study using computers. (SK)

  20. A Fuzzy Rule-Based Expert System for Evaluating Intellectual Capital

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Hossein Fazel Zarandi

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A fuzzy rule-based expert system is developed for evaluating intellectual capital. A fuzzy linguistic approach assists managers to understand and evaluate the level of each intellectual capital item. The proposed fuzzy rule-based expert system applies fuzzy linguistic variables to express the level of qualitative evaluation and criteria of experts. Feasibility of the proposed model is demonstrated by the result of intellectual capital performance evaluation for a sample company.