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Communication Failures (communication + failure)
Selected AbstractsDistributed parallel compilation of MSBNsCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 12 2009Xiangdong An Abstract Multiply sectioned Bayesian networks (MSBNs) support multiagent probabilistic inference in distributed large problem domains. Inference with MSBNs can be performed using their compiled representations. The compilation involves moralization and triangulation of a set of local graphical structures. Privacy of agents may prevent us from compiling MSBNs at a central location. In earlier work, agents performed compilation sequentially via a depth-first traversal of the hypertree that organizes local subnets, where communication failure between any two agents would crush the whole work. In this paper, we present an asynchronous compilation method by which multiple agents compile MSBNs in full parallel. Compared with the traversal compilation, the asynchronous one is robust, self-adaptive, and fault-tolerant. Experiments show that both methods provide similar quality compilation to simple MSBNs, but the asynchronous one provides much higher quality compilation to complex MSBNs. Empirical study also indicates that the asynchronous one is consistently faster than the traversal one. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Michael Polanyi, Tacit Cognitive RelativistTHE HEYTHROP JOURNAL, Issue 4 2001Struan Jacobs Celebrated as a theorist of science, and a source of stimulating ideas for theologians and philosophers of religion, Michael Polanyi explicitly denied cognitive relativism. Yet cognitive relativism, this paper suggests, is implied by Polanyi's account of conceptual frameworks and intellectual controversies. In ,The Stability of Beliefs' (1952) Polanyi understands conceptual frameworks (science, psychoanalysis, Azande witchcraft, Marxism) as embedded in, and as expressed in the use of, their own languages. The language-with-theory limits the range of discussable subjects, interprets relevant facts in its own terms, permits only certain questions to be asked, with answers to these questions serving to confirm the framework. In Polanyi's masterwork, Personal Knowledge (1958), these ideas inform his discussion of controversies over scientific frameworks and frameworks vying to become part of science. In each controversy, frameworks are logically disconnected, Polanyi foreshadowing the incommensurability thesis I argue that Polanyi's ideas satisfy recognised criteria of cognitive relativism. Perception is undetermined by objects and conditioned by language. Empirical propositions, in Polanyi's view, are accepted as true only within a conceptual framework. Polanyi regards supporters of logically disconnected frameworks as thinking differently, living in different worlds, speaking different languages and as experiencing communication failure. There is no framework-independent argument or evidence to distinguish any framework as the best available approximation to the truth. Frameworks are logically disconnected and incommensurable. [source] Spousal Abuse Among Immigrants From Ethiopia in IsraelJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 5 2006Lea Kacen This ethnographic study obtains first-hand information on spousal abuse from Ethiopian immigrants in Israel. Data include 23 interviews with male and female immigrants of various ages and 10 professionals who worked with this community as well as observations and documents. The findings, verified by participants, show that during cultural transition, the immigrants' code of honor, traditional conflict-solving institutions, and family role distribution disintegrate. This situation, exacerbated by economic distress, proved conducive to women's abuse. Lack of cultural sensitivity displayed by social services actually encouraged women to behave abusively toward their husbands and destroy their families. Discussion focuses on communication failures in spousal-abuse discourse between immigrants from Ethiopia and absorbing society, originating in differences in values, behavior, social representations, and insensitive culture theories. [source] A method for measuring the evolution of a topic on the Web: The case of "informetrics"JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 9 2009Judit Bar-Ilan The universe of information has been enriched by the creation of the World Wide Web, which has become an indispensible source for research. Since this source is growing at an enormous speed, an in-depth look of its performance to create a method for its evaluation has become necessary; however, growth is not the only process that influences the evolution of the Web. During their lifetime, Web pages may change their content and links to/from other Web pages, be duplicated or moved to a different URL, be removed from the Web either temporarily or permanently, and be temporarily inaccessible due to server and/or communication failures. To obtain a better understanding of these processes, we developed a method for tracking topics on the Web for long periods of time, without the need to employ a crawler and relying only on publicly available resources. The multiple data-collection methods used allow us to discover new pages related to the topic, to identify changes to existing pages, and to detect previously existing pages that have been removed or whose content is not relevant anymore to the specified topic. The method is demonstrated through monitoring Web pages that contain the term "informetrics" for a period of 8 years. The data-collection method also allowed us to analyze the dynamic changes in search engine coverage, illustrated here on Google,the search engine used for the longest period of time for data collection in this project. [source] The Scottish Audit of Surgical Mortality: a review of areas of concern related to anaesthesia over 10 yearsANAESTHESIA, Issue 12 2009H. J. McFarlane Summary The Scottish Audit of Surgical Mortality is a voluntary, peer reviewed, critical event analysis of patients who die under the care of consultant surgeons in acute hospitals in Scotland. The anaesthetic contribution to surgical mortality over a 10-year period from 1996 was reviewed. The total number of deaths was 44 230 or 1.5% of all admissions. Forty thousand, eight hundred and ninety-six deaths (92%) were audited. Deaths after elective surgery declined over 10 years. Over 80% of deaths followed emergency admission. The number of deaths where an anaesthetist was present was 16 981 or 0.6% of all admissions. Anaesthetic areas of concern were identified in 8% of deaths. Of these, 43% were related to pre-operative assessment. Anaesthesia also played a part in a further 18% of deaths where decision making was shared with the surgical team. Of these, 41% were related to access to critical care. A further 24% related to communication failures, principally when the operation should not have been done or was unnecessary. [source] Government report highlights management and communication failures at STFCASTRONOMY & GEOPHYSICS, Issue 3 2008Article first published online: 13 MAY 200 The report of the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Select Committee sets out in robust, plain language, a damning summary of the Science and Technology Facilities Council's handling of its funding problems over the past few months, highlighting "a poorly conceived delivery plan, lamentable communication and poor leadership, as well as major senior management misjudgements". [source] Causes of near misses in critical care of neonates and childrenACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 3 2008O Tourgeman-Bashkin Abstract Aim: The primary goal of this study was to examine the nature and causes of medical errors known as almost adverse events (AAEs) and potential adverse events (PAEs) in intensive care units. Methods: Observations were conducted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in a large hospital in Israel. The AAEs and PAEs were classified into three main categories: environmental, system and human factors. Data encoding and analysis was based on a Bayesian model previously developed to analyse causes of traffic accidents, and the categories were based on systems and ergonomics approaches. Results: ,Workload' (a system factor) was the main cause of AAEs and ,communication failures' (a human factor) was the second main cause of AAEs. Among the environmental factors, ,failures in medical devices' was the most cited cause of AAEs. Environmental factors accounted for most of PAEs and among them ,form failures' was the most ,AAE'-prone factor. Conclusions: Environmental factors (mainly ,failures in medical device') and system factors (mainly ,workload') accounted for most of AAEs in the intensive care units studied. The systems and the ergonomics approaches to error analysis can be useful in creating a comprehensive error management programme in order to minimize the gap between work demands and individual capabilities. [source] | ||||||||||||||||