General Trajectory Research Articles

Myth-Science and the Fictioning of Reality

Abstract In what follows I put forward an idea of contemporary art practice as a form of myth-science, itself defined as a kind of fictioning of reality. The article draws on and develops ideas first put forward in O’Sullivan 2014. The term mythscience is borrowed from Sun Ra and Afrofuturism more generally (see Kodwo Eshun’s discussion, “Synthesizing the Omniverse”, in Eshun 1998, 154-163). The artist Mike Kelley, in an essay on Olaf Fahlstrom (Kelley 1995), links the term more particularly to expanded contemporary art practice. Most of what follows has been developed in relation to the collaborative ‘performance fiction’ Plastique Fantastique (and especially in conversation with David Burrows) and thus, in acknowledgement of this parallel research programme, interspersed throughout the text are images from our practice and, in particular, a performance itself titled ‘Myth-Science’. “Myth-Science” was performed in 2014 at the “Webewoche” exhibition/event, Stroom den Haag, The Hague and at the “Schizo-Culture” exhibition/event, Space Gallery, London (see http://www. plastiquefantastique.org/performance25.html). Plastique Fantastique, for this performance, involved myself and Burrows alongside Alex Marzeta and Harriet Skully. I hope that this local ‘scene’ might resonate on a more global level, but also that my comments will not be read as being solely tethered to this particular collaboration (indeed, my article intends the mapping of a more general trajectory in art). The article ends with a brief Coda on Felix Guattari’s concept – from Schizoanalytic Cartographies – of ‘fabulous images’ that offers another inflection on my theme. ...theres some thing in us it dont have no name... it aint us but yet its in us... (Russell Hoban, Riddly Walker)

Vocabulary and Reading Performances of Redesignated Fluent English Proficient Students

In this article, the researchers examined general vocabulary, academic vocabulary, and reading comprehension growth trajectories of adolescent redesignated fluent English proficient (RFEP) students using individual growth modeling analysis. The sample included 1,226 sixth‐ to eighth‐grade RFEP students from six middle schools in an urban school district in California. Students completed up to four waves of reading‐related measures during a 2‐year time period. Findings indicate that (a) students’ scores on vocabulary and reading assessments were positively correlated with their years since redesignation and (b) students on average showed growth over time on all outcomes and the rate of growth did not differ by their years since redesignation. The results suggest that recently redesignated students may need sustained support to ensure continued progress in their English language development.

From knowledge to action: Bridging the gaps toward effective incorporation of Landscape Character Assessment approach in land-use planning and management in Israel

Although Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) has gained a significant recognition around the globe, the understanding of the challenges faced by planners and decision- makers in incorporating LCA processes and outputs in land-use planning remains insufficient. This paper presents a snapshot of the barriers to effective LCA-based land-use planning in Israel, with regard to four distinct phases of the process: (a) the knowledge development phase, i.e., the formulation of a credible LCA approach; (b) the approach adoption phase, i.e., the willingness to incorporate LCA processes and outputs into land-use planning; (c) the knowledge transfer phase, i.e., the actual incorporation of LCA outputs into land-use planning; and (d) the application management phase, i.e., the transition of LCA- based plans into action. To investigate the barriers, the study combines a literature review with thematic analysis of eight Israeli LCA-based land-use plans from all planning levels, and individual in-depth interviews with 35 senior planners and decision makers involved in the design and implementation of these plans. The study reveals that within the general trajectory of mainstreaming LCA approach in Israel over the past two and a half decades, significant gaps exist between LCA knowledge, LCA-based land-use planning, and on- ground action and results. The extent of the gaps differs across plans and planning scales. The gaps are rooted in the complexity of the LCA approach; language barriers; scientific and technical limitations; inconsistency and subjectivity; different academic, planning, and decision-making traditions; limited institutional capacity; vagueness and over-flexibility of approved LCA-based planning principles and instructions; and lack of sufficient involvement by stakeholders. This paper offers suggestions as to how these gaps might be bridged in the Israeli context. In conclusion, the study recommends the following: developing a legally binding, generic, credible, and continuously updated LCA-based planning guide, that should be written in the native language; establishing a national and comprehensive free-access online information center for sharing LCA knowledge; strengthening of institutional capacities at all planning levels; enhancing planners' and consultants' LCA skills; and inclusion of all affected stakeholders in the process.Broadening the understanding of the obstacles and solutions to effective application of LCA processes and outputs in land-use planning and management practices can contribute to operationalizing this approach in various contexts and eventually, advance the reduction of anthropogenic pressures on valuable landscapes.

Mobility and the making of the neoliberal “creative city”: The streetcar as a creative city project?

In recent years, there has been a remarkable rebirth of the streetcar in cities throughout the United States, with dozens of projects under consideration, in planning and construction, or already completed in cities throughout the country. Building on transport geography research on the streetcar, urban studies contributions on neoliberal urbanization and the creative city, and insights from the new mobilities paradigm, this paper sets out to investigate the broad political−economic logic driving this nationwide development trend. Based predominantly on a qualitative content analysis of selected project documents from 12 streetcar projects, I find that the reemergence of these streetcar projects in recent years reflects and is embedded in the general trajectory of neoliberal urbanization and can more precisely be understood as a creative city development tool.

Social stratification of general psychopathology trajectories and young adult social outcomes: A second-order growth mixture analysis over the early life course

BackgroundResearch has documented heterogeneous developmental trajectories of specific symptoms, such as anxiety and depression, in late childhood and adolescence. Few studies, however, have examined the heterogeneity of general psychopathology (GPP) trajectories considering symptoms of anxiety, depression, and hostility in adolescence simultaneously. Identifying antecedents for distinct trajectory groups of GPP, and their respective consequences, may provide insight into the etiological underpinnings of social antecedents of different symptoms and inform the targets and timing of intervention. MethodsEuropean American target adolescents (N=444, 53% female) evaluated three domain specific symptoms (i.e., symptoms of anxiety, depression, and hostility) as well as psychosocial risks and social consequences over 10 years (from 1990 [Wave 2] to 2001 [Wave 13]). First- and second-order growth mixture models (SOGMMs) were used to identify trajectories of GPP and specific symptoms from mid-adolescence through young adulthood, as well as their predictors and consequences. ResultsA three-class model consisting of high and escalating (10.1%), high and decreasing (23.2%), and consistently low (66.7%) GPP emerged as the preferred solution. More predictors and outcomes were associated with membership in both the high and escalating and the high and declining classes of GPP compared to corresponding classes of the specific symptoms trajectories. LimitationsSelf-reported information regarding three symptoms may be a source of bias within the current study. ConclusionOur findings suggest that unified interventions and/or prevention efforts are needed to not only assess specific symptoms, but also to treat GPP in adolescence.

Corporate Law after Brexit

Assuming a ‘hard Brexit,’ the article seeks to analyse the impact of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union on corporate law in the UK and at EU level, focusing on general trajectories, cross-border corporate mobility and cross-border restructuring.

Optimized Engagement Across Life Domains in Adult Development: Balancing Diversity and Interdomain Consequences

Adaptive life-span development involves individuals’ simultaneous coordination of motivational engagement across multiple domains of life. The present study tests this proposition using data from the Midlife in the United States National Longitudinal Study of Health and Well-Being (MIDUS I and II). Results from multilevel model analyses indicate that participants’ engagement with, perceived control over, and reported quality in the domains of work, health, and family relationships follow general trajectories across adulthood that reflect age-graded and socially structured opportunities. Furthermore, individuals adaptively managed their engagement across these central domains of adulthood, in that cross-domain associations were positive or at least nondetrimental.

Self-organizing trajectories

Trajectories and parameterized curves are data types of growing importance. Many measures for such data have been proposed in order to provide analogues to the mean and variance of vectors. We identify a counterintuitive oscillating behavior of dynamic time warp-based averages on certain data sets. We present an algorithm that combines ideas from both self-organizing maps and dynamic time warping that avoids these oscillations and hence promises more representative curve averages. These improvements also allow for accurate estimation of the piece-wise variance for a set of general N-dimensional trajectories. The run-time performance is demonstrated on movement data from rowing, where we are able to provide performance feedback in real-time to users in a simulator.

Skill and motor control: intelligence all the way down

When reflecting on the nature of skilled action, it is easy to fall into familiar dichotomies such that one construes the flexibility and intelligence of skill at the level of intentional states while characterizing the automatic motor processes that constitute motor skill execution as learned but fixed, invariant, bottom-up, brute-causal responses. In this essay, I will argue that this picture of skilled, automatic, motor processes is overly simplistic. Specifically, I will argue that an adequate account of the learned motor routines that constitute embodied skills cannot be given in a purely bottom-up, brute-causal fashion. Rather, motor control is intelligent all the way down. To establish this, I will first review two recent accounts of skill, Stanley and Krakauer (Front Hum Neurosci, 2013. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2013.0050) and Papineau (R Inst Philos Suppl 73:175–196, 2013), which characterize the automatic motor control responsible for the fine-grained movements constitutive of motor skill as brute, low-level phenomena. I will then isolate five key features that should apply to skilled motor control, if these accounts are correct. Together, the accounts posit that motor control is: (1) ballistic, (2) invariant, (3) independent of general action trajectories, (4) Insensitive to semantic content, and (5) independent of personal-level intentions. In the final section of this paper, I will appeal to optimal control theory for empirical evidence to challenge the commitment to skilled action as qualified by the above features.

Conceptual directions of improvement quality of integrative interaction of the Jordan basin countries

The article analyzes the characteristics of integrative interaction of the countries of the Jordan Basin. Special attention is paid to the development of regional integration as a key aspect of the formation of a stable union on the banks of the Jordan River. The basic conceptual directions of improvement of the integrative interaction of the Jordan basin countries are highlighted within the framework of regional and trans-regional integration. A phased plan to improve integrative interaction with the description of the actions of each of the states is submitted. The general trajectory of the integrative interaction of the Jordan Basin countries allowing for the socio-economic development, political and cultural cooperation is proposed.

Offense Trajectories, the Unfolding of Sexual and Non-Sexual Criminal Activity, and Sex Offense Characteristics of Adolescent Sex Offenders.

The current study examines offending trajectories of adolescent sexual offenders (ASOs). Until recently, classification frameworks have not been designed to account for the heterogeneity of offending patterns in adolescence, how these are associated with the unfolding of sexual and non-sexual criminal activity, and whether and to what extent they are related to the characteristics of sex offenses in adolescence. The current study takes a longitudinal view of offending in adolescence by examining retrospective longitudinal data of 217 ASOs referred for treatment to a clinical service between 2001 and 2009 in Australia. General offending trajectories in adolescence were examined using semi-parametric group-based modeling, and compared according to non-violent non-sexual, violent-non-sexual, and sex offending criminal activity parameters (e.g., participation, onset, frequency, specialization/versatility) and the characteristics of the referral sexual offense. The results show distinct differences in the unfolding of sexual and non-sexual criminal activity along different offending trajectories of ASOs, and further, that these trajectories were differentially associated with the characteristics of the sexual offenses they committed.

Constrained pathways to a creative urban economy

Creative (knowledge-intensive) occupations are now widely seen as a basis for urban economic prosperity. Yet the transitional pathways from a city’s current economy to a more creative economy are often difficult to discern or to navigate. Here we use a network perspective of occupational interdependencies to address questions of urban transitions to a creative economy. This perspective allows us to assess alternative pathways and to compare cities with regard to their progress along these pathways. We find that US urban areas follow a general trajectory towards a creative economy that requires them to increasingly specialise, not only in creative occupations, but also in non-creative ones – presumably because certain non-creative occupations complement the tasks performed by related creative occupations. This creates a pull towards non-creative occupations that becomes ever stronger as a city moves more towards a creative economy. All in all, cities with the most creative economies must undergo an overall diversification of specialised occupations, with a greater diversification rate for creative occupations, and maintain those creative specialisations despite the pull towards a non-creative economy.

Course, Predictors, and Outcomes of Depressed Mood in a Cohort of Norwegian Adolescents Followed From Age 13 Into Adulthood Age 30

This study used latent growth modeling to examine continuity and changes in depressed mood, predictors, and outcomes in a cohort of Norwegian adolescents followed from age 13 into adulthood age 30. First, the average development of depressed mood can be described by a slight increase in adolescence followed by a decrease in emerging adulthood. There were considerable individual differences in baseline level and rate of change in depressed mood, especially among females. Second, relationship with parents was associated with the stability component of depressed mood for both genders, as were father’s education for males. Third, a general trajectory of increasing levels of depressed mood was associated with lower probability of achievement of adulthood milestones and lower income and occupational status at age 30. Finally, both high levels of depressed mood at baseline and an increasing trajectory of depressed mood were associated with lower levels of life satisfaction at age 30.

PENALIZED SPLINE: A GENERAL ROBUST TRAJECTORY MODEL FOR ZIYUAN-3 SATELLITE

Abstract. Owing to the dynamic imaging system, the trajectory model plays a very important role in the geometric processing of high resolution satellite imagery. However, establishing a trajectory model is difficult when only discrete and noisy data are available. In this manuscript, we proposed a general robust trajectory model, the penalized spline model, which could fit trajectory data well and smooth noise. The penalized parameter λ controlling the smooth and fitting accuracy could be estimated by generalized cross-validation. Five other trajectory models, including third-order polynomials, Chebyshev polynomials, linear interpolation, Lagrange interpolation and cubic spline, are compared with the penalized spline model. Both the sophisticated ephemeris and on-board ephemeris are used to compare the orbit models. The penalized spline model could smooth part of noise, and accuracy would decrease as the orbit length increases. The band-to-band misregistration of ZiYuan-3 Dengfeng and Faizabad multispectral images is used to evaluate the proposed method. With the Dengfeng dataset, the third-order polynomials and Chebyshev approximation could not model the oscillation, and introduce misregistration of 0.57 pixels misregistration in across-track direction and 0.33 pixels in along-track direction. With the Faizabad dataset, the linear interpolation, Lagrange interpolation and cubic spline model suffer from noise, introducing larger misregistration than the approximation models. Experimental results suggest the penalized spline model could model the oscillation and smooth noise.

PENALIZED SPLINE: A GENERAL ROBUST TRAJECTORY MODEL FOR ZIYUAN-3 SATELLITE

Owing to the dynamic imaging system, the trajectory model plays a very important role in the geometric processing of high resolution satellite imagery. However, establishing a trajectory model is difficult when only discrete and noisy data are available. In this manuscript, we proposed a general robust trajectory model, the penalized spline model, which could fit trajectory data well and smooth noise. The penalized parameter λ controlling the smooth and fitting accuracy could be estimated by generalized cross-validation. Five other trajectory models, including third-order polynomials, Chebyshev polynomials, linear interpolation, Lagrange interpolation and cubic spline, are compared with the penalized spline model. Both the sophisticated ephemeris and on-board ephemeris are used to compare the orbit models. The penalized spline model could smooth part of noise, and accuracy would decrease as the orbit length increases. The band-to-band misregistration of ZiYuan-3 Dengfeng and Faizabad multispectral images is used to evaluate the proposed method. With the Dengfeng dataset, the third-order polynomials and Chebyshev approximation could not model the oscillation, and introduce misregistration of 0.57 pixels misregistration in across-track direction and 0.33 pixels in along-track direction. With the Faizabad dataset, the linear interpolation, Lagrange interpolation and cubic spline model suffer from noise, introducing larger misregistration than the approximation models. Experimental results suggest the penalized spline model could model the oscillation and smooth noise.

Япония и Россия в объятиях пространства и времени

A Japanologist with encyclopedic worldview reflects on a monograph ‘Russia-Japan Relations. Parallel History’ summarizing the results of three-year project carried out by an international team headed by Anatoly Torkunov and Makoto Iokibe on parallel history of Russia and Japan. The study showed that Russian-Japanese relations were the product of general historical development trajectory. At the beginning of the modernization process (second half of 19th century), both countries belonged to the group of countries with “catching-up” modernization pattern. In the course of modernization, in both countries, the political landscape of the world has been radically revised. This is evident from totally transformed concept of chronotope. In Japan, the beginning of the revision process dates back to the Meiji period, in Russia, the most noticeable changes occur as the result of the second revolution of 1917: the “pre-revolution” period was declared defective, “post-revolutionary” period was acknowledged to become the “beginning of a new era.” However, in spite of the change of the ruling elite, notions of public space have not undergone radical changes. After searching of the first post-revolutionary years, concern about the “gathering lands” and expansion (both in the form of a direct connection, or in the form of the creation of buffer zones) again became one of the main priorities of the Soviet state. As for Japan, the reforms there were interpreted as a return to the ideal standards of antiquity. The spatial concept has been revised: instead of the previous closed public space appeared the idea of expanding space. As in Japan, and the Soviet leadership put utopian goal, which led to the dominance of force in politics, the primacy of metaphoric (poetic) language description, pragmatic deficit, lowering the competence and efficiency of decisions. Both countries have positioned themselves as the bearers of “light,” which should be translated to the external world using coercive methods. In this regard, the metaphor of the “struggle” belonged to a prominent place in the linguistic picture of the world. A characteristic feature of the political culture of the two countries was the anthropomorphism of the state. In Japan, it took the form of kokutai (“state body”). In the USSR, the state inevitably was displayed by Stalin’s figure. In both countries, the State appealed to human emotions. One of the key emotions was a sort of “being insulted” by the outer world.

The Proximal Trajectory Algorithm in SVM Cross Validation.

We propose a bilevel cross-validation scheme for support vector machine (SVM) model selection based on the construction of the entire regularization path. Since such path is a particular case of the more general proximal trajectory concept from nonsmooth optimization, we propose for its construction an algorithm based on solving a finite number of structured linear programs. Our methodology, differently from other approaches, works directly on the primal form of SVM. Numerical results are presented on binary data sets drawn from literature.

The Launching and Ensnaring Effects of Construing a Traumatic Event as Central to One's Identity and Life Story

SummaryConstruing a traumatic event as central to one's life story and identity is associated with posttraumatic stress. The longitudinal relationship between centrality of event and trajectories of posttraumatic stress was examined. Data from ministerial employees were collected 10 months, 2 years, and 3 years after the 2011 Oslo bombing (N = 259). Using structural equation modeling, the launch and the snare hypotheses were tested. Support for the launch hypothesis was found; higher levels of event centrality 10 months after the attack were associated with higher levels of posttraumatic stress across time. Support for the snare hypothesis was also found; higher levels of centrality 10 months and 2 years after the bombing were related to higher levels of posttraumatic stress, beyond what could be anticipated based on the individual's general trajectory. This suggests that event centrality can influence the overall trajectory, and may also have additional time‐specific effects on posttraumatic stress.Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

What can Neighbourhood Density effects tell us about word learning? Insights from a connectionist model of vocabulary development.

In this paper, we investigate the effect of neighbourhood density (ND) on vocabulary size in a computational model of vocabulary development. A word has a high ND if there are many words phonologically similar to it. High ND words are more easily learned by infants of all abilities (e.g. Storkel, 2009; Stokes, 2014). We present a neural network model that learns general phonotactic patterns in the exposure language, as well as specific word forms and, crucially, mappings between word meanings and word forms. The network is faster at learning frequent words, and words containing high-probability phoneme sequences, as human word learners are, but, independently of this, the network is also faster at learning words with high ND, and, when its capacity is reduced, it learns high ND words in preference to other words, similarly to late talkers. We analyze the model and propose a novel explanation of the ND effect, in which word meanings play an important role in generating word-specific biases on general phonological trajectories. This explanation leads to a new prediction about the origin of the ND effect in infants.

The Development of Body Structure Knowledge in Infancy.

Although we know much about the development of face processing, we know considerably less about the development of body knowledge-despite bodies also being significant sources of social information. One set of studies indicated that body structure knowledge is poor during the 1st year of life and spawned a model that posits that, unlike the development of face knowledge, which benefits from innate propensities and dedicated learning mechanisms, the development of body knowledge relies on general learning mechanisms and develops slowly. In this article, we review studies on infants' knowledge about the structure of bodies and their processing of gender and emotion that paint a different picture. Although questions remain, a general social cognition system likely engenders similar trajectories of development of knowledge about faces and bodies, and may equip developing infants with the capacity to obtain socially critical information from many sources.