Inconsistency Issues Research Articles

Registry Metadata Quality Assessment by the Example of re3data.org Schema

Nowadays, research data repositories (RDR) have become progressively widespread all over the world. To expand repository services and build up inbound linking strategy, organizations list their repositories with so called Global Registries. Accordingly, such registries should be carefully described by the related data. In this study, we explore the metadata schema of re3data.org . We collect and analyze descriptions from the listed repositories, and come up with some suggestions concerning possible improvements to the metadata schema. To accomplish this, we develop a crawler program, which collects necessary data from the re3data.org . Based on the analysis results, we have identified two issues that required elements is missing, one issue that required element value is missing when the corresponding property is applied, five inconsistency issues with re3data controlled vocabulary, six issues with undescribed optional elements, and two inconsistency issues between the elements and their attributes which do not pair with. We believe this discussion can facilitate improvements to the existing re3data.org schema and further help researchers who analyze data repository trends. URL: http://ijkcdt.net/xml/10971/10971.pdf

Network-wide on-line travel time estimation with inconsistent data from multiple sensor systems under network uncertainty

ABSTRACTThis paper proposes a new modeling approach for network-wide on-line travel time estimation with inconsistent data from multiple sensor systems. It makes full use of both the available data from multiple sensor systems (on-line data) and historical data (off-line data). The first- and second-order statistical properties of the on-line data are investigated together with the data inconsistency issue to estimate network-wide travel times. The proposed model is formulated as a generalized least squares problem with non-linear constraints. A solution algorithm based on the penalty function method is adopted to solve the proposed model, whose application is illustrated by numerical examples using a local road network in Hong Kong.

Positive Trend in the Antarctic Sea Ice Cover and Associated Changes in Surface Temperature.

The Antarctic sea ice extent has been slowly increasing contrary to expected trends due to global warming and results from coupled climate models. After a record high extent in 2012 the extent was even higher in 2014 when the magnitude exceeded 20×106 km2 for the first time during the satellite era. The positive trend is confirmed with a newly reprocessed sea ice data that addressed inconsistency issues in the time series. The variability in sea ice extent and ice area was studied alongside surface ice temperature for the 34-year period starting 1981 and the result of the analysis show a strong correlation of -0.94 during the growth season and -0.86 during the melt season. The correlation coefficients are even stronger with a one-month lag in surface temperature at -0.96 during the growth season and -0.98 during the melt season suggesting that the trend in sea ice cover is strongly influenced by the trend in surface temperature. The correlation with atmospheric circulation as represented by the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index appears to be relatively weak. A case study comparing the record high in 2014 with a relatively low ice extent in 2015 also shows strong sensitivity to changes in surface temperature. The results suggest that the positive trend is a consequence of the spatial variability of global trends in surface temperature and that the ability of current climate models to forecast sea ice trend can be improved through better performance in reproducing observed surface temperatures in the Antarctic region.

ПОДХОД К СОГЛАСОВАНИЮ ЦЕЛЕЙ И ПОКАЗАТЕЛЕЙ ДЛЯ РАЗЛИЧНЫХ ПЕРИОДОВ ПЛАНИРОВАНИЯ НА МАШИНОСТРОИТЕЛЬНОМ ПРЕДПРИЯТИИ

Today there is an inconsistency issue between tak-ing the management decisions and the required production condition at machine-building enterprises, including high production costs, long period of a production cycle and the operational delays. For solving the problem the author of the work has investigated production and management at machine-building enterprise on the basis of system analysis. The approach for coordinating purposes and indicators at the strategic, tactical and operational level of management at machine-building enterprise is offered. The proposed technical solutions are introduced in CJSC CC Bryansk Engineering Plant and universal theu can be applied at all machine-building enterprises of the country.

Heterogeneous autoregressive model with structural break using nearest neighbor truncation volatility estimators for DAX.

High frequency financial data modelling has become one of the important research areas in the field of financial econometrics. However, the possible structural break in volatile financial time series often trigger inconsistency issue in volatility estimation. In this study, we propose a structural break heavy-tailed heterogeneous autoregressive (HAR) volatility econometric model with the enhancement of jump-robust estimators. The breakpoints in the volatility are captured by dummy variables after the detection by Bai–Perron sequential multi breakpoints procedure. In order to further deal with possible abrupt jump in the volatility, the jump-robust volatility estimators are composed by using the nearest neighbor truncation approach, namely the minimum and median realized volatility. Under the structural break improvements in both the models and volatility estimators, the empirical findings show that the modified HAR model provides the best performing in-sample and out-of-sample forecast evaluations as compared with the standard HAR models. Accurate volatility forecasts have direct influential to the application of risk management and investment portfolio analysis.

Perioperative blood transfusion and the clinical outcomes of patients undergoing cholangiocarcinoma surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Several studies have reported different results on the association between perioperative blood transfusion (PBT) and clinical outcomes for patients undergoing cholangiocarcinoma surgery. So far, no systematic review and meta-analysis have focused on this inconsistent issue. Therefore, we carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the association between PBT and the clinical outcomes of cholangiocarcinoma surgery patients. EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched from their inception to 6 April 2016 to evaluate the relationship between PBT and clinical outcomes for patients undergoing cholangiocarcinoma surgery. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated using the Cochrane Collaboration's RevMan 5.3 software. A total of 10 studies (1719 patients) were included in the meta-analysis. Pooled analysis showed that PBT was associated with worse 5-year survival rate (HR=1.67, 95% CI=1.41-1.98, P<0.0001) and median overall survival (OS) (HR=1.45, 95% CI=1.14-1.83, P=0.002) in the patients who underwent cholangiocarcinoma surgery. Subgroup analysis showed that intraoperative blood transfusion was also associated with worse 5-year survival rate (HR=1.95, 95% CI=1.49-2.57, P<0.00001). Intraoperative blood transfusion is associated with poor OS for patients undergoing cholangiocarcinoma surgery because it will increase the risk of death. Postoperative blood transfusion may not be associated with OS. In addition, the relationship between PBT and the postoperative complication rate of cholangiocarcinoma surgery is still unclear.

Node-Splitting Generalized Linear Mixed Models for Evaluation of Inconsistency in Network Meta-Analysis.

Network meta-analysis for multiple treatment comparisons has been a major development in evidence synthesis methodology. The validity of a network meta-analysis, however, can be threatened by inconsistency in evidence within the network. One particular issue of inconsistency is how to directly evaluate the inconsistency between direct and indirect evidence with regard to the effects difference between two treatments. A Bayesian node-splitting model was first proposed and a similar frequentist side-splitting model has been put forward recently. Yet, assigning the inconsistency parameter to one or the other of the two treatments or splitting the parameter symmetrically between the two treatments can yield different results when multi-arm trials are involved in the evaluation. We aimed to show that a side-splitting model can be viewed as a special case of design-by-treatment interaction model, and different parameterizations correspond to different design-by-treatment interactions. We demonstrated how to evaluate the side-splitting model using the arm-based generalized linear mixed model, and an example data set was used to compare results from the arm-based models with those from the contrast-based models. The three parameterizations of side-splitting make slightly different assumptions: the symmetrical method assumes that both treatments in a treatment contrast contribute to inconsistency between direct and indirect evidence, whereas the other two parameterizations assume that only one of the two treatments contributes to this inconsistency. With this understanding in mind, meta-analysts can then make a choice about how to implement the side-splitting method for their analysis.

PAIRWISE COMPARISON MATRIX IN MULTIPLE CRITERIA DECISION MAKING

The measurement scales, consistency index, inconsistency issues, missing judgment estimation and priority derivation methods have been extensively studied in the pairwise comparison matrix (PCM). Various approaches have been proposed to handle these problems, and made great contributions to the decision making. This paper reviews the literature of the main developments of the PCM. There are plenty of literature related to these issues, thus we mainly focus on the literature published in 37 peer reviewed international journals from 2010 to 2015 (searched via ISI Web of science). We attempt to analyze and classify these literatures so as to find the current hot research topics and research techniques in the PCM, and point out the future directions on the PCM. It is hoped that this paper will provide a comprehensive literature review on PCM, and act as informative summary of the main developments of the PCM for the researchers for their future research.

The Biotechnology of Ugba, a Nigerian Traditional Fermented Food Condiment.

Legumes and oil bean seeds used for the production of condiments in Africa are inedible in their natural state; they contain some anti-nutritional factors especially undigestible oligosaccharides and phytate. Fermentation impact desirable changes by reducing anti-nutritional factors and increasing digestibility. Ugba is an alkaline fermented African oil bean cotyledon (Pentaclethra macrophylla) produced by the Ibos and other ethnic groups in southern Nigeria. Seen as a family business in many homes, its preparation is in accordance with handed-down tradition from previous generations and serves as a cheap source of plant protein. Its consumption as a native salad is made possible by fermentation of the cotyledon for 2–5 days, but could also serve as a soup flavoring agent when fermentation last for 6–10 days. The fermentation process involved is usually natural with an attendant issue of product safety, quality and inconsistency. The production of this condiment is on a small scale and the equipment used are very rudimentary, devoid of good manufacturing procedures that call to question the issue of microbial safety. This paper therefore reviews the production process and the spectrum of microbial composition involved during fermentation. In addition, potential spoilage agents, nutritional and biochemical changes during production are examined. Furthermore, information that can support development of starter cultures for controlled fermentation process in order to guarantee microbiological safety, quality and improved shelf life are also discussed.

Believing Selves and Cognitive Dissonance: Connecting Individual and Society via “Belief”

“Belief” as an analytical tool and critical category of investigation for the study of religion has been a resurging topic of interest. This article discusses the problems of language and practice in the discussion of “belief” and proceeds to map a few of the emergent frameworks, proposed within the past decade, for investigating “belief”. The issue of inconsistency, however, continues to remain a perennial issue that has not been adequately explained. This article argues for the utility and value of the “believing selves” framework, in conjunction with revisionist theories of cognitive dissonance, to advance the claim that beliefs are representations, as well as functions, of cultural history which bind individual and society.

A Survey on Cross Browser Inconsistencies in Web Application

Because of the advancement of Web technologies and the inconsistency of Web standards to be consistent with every single technology evolution, Web developers are been faced with certain challenges. It become difficult for them to keep track of their applications that are been correctly rendered across wide range of browsers and platforms. To find out cross-browser inconsistency, developers keep checking that every document produced by the application is appropriately passed across all useful browser-platform combinations. But this requires more time and results are error-prone. The existing cross-browser compatibility testing tools speed up this process by automating the rendering of a Web document in multiple browsers and platforms, and using either image analysis or Document Object Model (DOM) analysis to feature out cross-browser inconsistency. This paper comprises the problem of cross-browser inconsistent testing of the modern web applications as a functional accuracy check of web application’s behaviour with various web browsers and present a solution for it. Also, reasons of cross-browser inconsistency issues and solutions to them are been presented in the paper.

Prior inconsistency issues in forensic history taking

Prior inconsistency issues in forensic history taking

Digital Forensic Investigations: Issues of Intangibility, Complications and Inconsistencies in Cyber-crimes

The use of the Internet and computing resources as vital business tools continue to gain prominence day-by-day. Computing resources are utilized to create innovative and value-added products and services. Associated with this trend is the extent of cyber-crimes committed against or using computers. Experts anticipate that the extent and severity of cyber-attacks have increased in recent times and are likely to explode, unless some mitigation measures are instituted to curb the menace. As a response to the growth of cyber-crimes, the field of digital forensics has emerged. Digital forensic investigations have evolved with the passage of time and it’s impacted by many externalities. A number of key challenges ought to be addressed, such as the intangibility, complications and inconsistencies associated with the investigations and presentation of prosecutorial artefacts. The digital evidence is usually intangible in nature, such as an electronic pulse or magnetic charge. The question is how can the intangibility of computer crime complicate the digital forensic investigations? To what extent can inconsistencies during the investigation mar the permissibility or admissibility of the evidence? This study is an experimentally exploratory set-up with virtual systems subjected to some malware exploits. Using live response tools, we collected data and analyzed the payloads and the infected systems. Utilizing triage information, memory and disk images were collected for analysis. We also carried out reverse engineering to decompose the payload. The study unearthed the digital truth about malwares and cyber-criminal activities, whilst benchmarking with standard procedures for presenting court admissible digital evidence. The timelines of activities on infected systems were reconstructed. The study demonstrated that externalities of intangibility, complications and inconsistencies can easily mar digital forensic investigations or even bring the entire process to an abrupt end. Further studies would be carried out to demonstrate other ways perpetrators use in concealing valuable digital evidence in a cyber-crime.

Scientific author names: errors, corrections, and identity profiles.

Authorship problems are deep-rooted in the field of science communication. Some of these relate to lack of specific journal instructions. For decades, experts in journal editing and publishing have been exploring the authorship criteria and contributions deserving either co-authorship or acknowledgment. The issue of inconsistencies of listing and abbreviating author names has come to the fore lately. There are reports on the difficulties of figuring out Chinese surnames and given names of South Indians in scholarly articles. However, it seems that problems with correct listing and abbreviating author names are global. This article presents an example of swapping second (father’s) name with surname in a ‘predatory’ journal, where numerous instances of incorrectly identifying and crediting authors passed unnoticed for the journal editors, and no correction has been published. Possible solutions are discussed in relation to identifying author profiles and adjusting editorial policies to the emerging problems. Correcting mistakes with author names post-publication and integrating with the Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) platform are among them.

Target Level and Variability Trade-Offs

Kydland and Prescott (1977) observe that optimal policy proves time inconsistent because of rational expectations. This paper shows that the issue of time inconsistency also arises from fewer policy instruments than targets. Fewer instruments, as is well known, lead to the issue of target controllability (Tinbergen, 1963). Accordingly, this paper investigates these two long-standing policy issues -- target controllability and time inconsistency, using the hybrid new-Keynesian model (Clarida et al., 1999). This paper finds that to address the time inconsistency issue, policy makers must first address target controllability, and that a proper target level trade-off solves target controllability, whereas a proper relative weight between target stabilizations achieves optimal target variability trade-off and solves time inconsistency. Other main results include the following. This paper derives a necessary and sufficient condition for joint asymptotic controllability of target values. The condition, which we call the long-run target level trade-off equation, is identical under commitment and under discretion. When the time-inconsistency problem does not exist, the central bank must make the same target variability trade-offs as society desires.

A Document-Driven Method for Certifying Scientific Computing Software for Use in Nuclear Safety Analysis

This paper presents a documentation and development method to facilitate the certification of scientific computing software used in the safety analysis of nuclear facilities. To study the problems faced during quality assurance and certification activities, a case study was performed on legacy software used for thermal analysis of a fuelpin in a nuclear reactor. Although no errors were uncovered in the code, 27 issues of incompleteness and inconsistency were found with the documentation. This work proposes that software documentation follow a rational process, which includes a software requirements specification following a template that is reusable, maintainable, and understandable. To develop the design and implementation, this paper suggests literate programming as an alternative to traditional structured programming. Literate programming allows for documenting of numerical algorithms and code together in what is termed the literate programmer’s manual. This manual is developed with explicit traceability to the software requirements specification. The traceability between the theory, numerical algorithms, and implementation facilitates achieving completeness and consistency, as well as simplifies the process of verification and the associated certification.

MUC: Updating cloud applications dynamically via multi-version execution

Cloud applications usually need to provide service continuously, however, updating them to fix bugs or add new features will interrupt the service. Conventional Dynamic Software Updating (DSU) systems try to update applications while running, but they are hardly able to consider the communication of the application to be updated with other programs, and could then lead to some inconsistency. Therefore, the DSU systems could not be directly applied into cloud where one application normally interacts with the other side.We propose an improved DSU system to update cloud applications dynamically, and utilize the multi-version execution approach to handle the inconsistent issue. When a new update arrives, instead of updating the application to the new version, we fork a new process of the old version and dynamically update it to the new version, then make these two versions run concurrently until the update finishes. To show the feasibility of the proposed solution, a prototype system called MUC (Multi-version execution for Updating of Cloud) is implemented on Linux, and MUC is applied to update three cloud applications, Redis, Memcached, and Icecast.

A plea for complex categories in ontologies

This paper investigates an issue at the interface between language and ontology. It is argued that the phenomenon of 'inherent polysemy' observed in lexical semantics for nouns such as book or country actually is a deeper phenomenon grounded on specific ontological relations involving the entities referred to. It is shown that this phenomenon emerges not only in language but also in most available ontologies. Beyond the 'dot types' used in some linguistic theories to account for logical polysemy, it is proposed to introduce 'complex categories' in ontologies in order to solve incoherence and inconsistency issues appearing when this phenomenon is not acknowledged and to characterize complex categories on the basis of formal ontology relations.

Using Generalized Linear Mixed Models to Evaluate Inconsistency within a Network Meta-Analysis

BackgroundNetwork meta-analysis compares multiple treatments by incorporating direct and indirect evidence into a general statistical framework. One issue with the validity of network meta-analysis is inconsistency between direct and indirect evidence within a loop formed by three treatments. Recently, the inconsistency issue has been explored further and a complex design-by-treatment interaction model proposed. ObjectiveThe aim of this article was to show how to evaluate the design-by-treatment interaction model using the generalized linear mixed model. MethodsWe proposed an arm-based approach to evaluating the design-by-treatment inconsistency, which is flexible in modeling different types of outcome variables. We used the smoking cessation data to compare results from our arm-based approach with those from the standard contrast-based approach. ResultsBecause the contrast-based approach requires transformation of data, our example showed that such a transformation may yield biases in the treatment effect and inconsistency evaluation, when event rates were low in some treatments. We also compared contrast-based and arm-based models in the evaluation of design inconsistency when different heterogeneity variances were estimated, and the arm-based model yielded more accurate results. ConclusionsBecause some statistical software commands can detect the collinearity among variables and automatically remove the redundant ones, we can use this advantage to help with placing the inconsistency parameters. This could be very useful for a network meta-analysis involving many designs and treatments.

Discrete-time behavioral portfolio selection under cumulative prospect theory

We formulate and study three multi-period behavioral portfolio selection models under cumulative prospect theory: (i) S-shaped utility maximization without probability weighting in a market with one risky asset; (ii) S-shaped utility maximization without probability weighting in a market with multiple risky assets which follow a joint elliptical distribution; and (iii) S-shaped utility maximization with inverse-S-shaped probability weighting in a market with one risky asset. For the first two time consistent models, we identify the well-posedness conditions and derive the semi-analytical optimal policies. For the third time inconsistent model, we assume that the investor is aware of the time inconsistency but is unable to commit to his initial plan of action. Then, we reformulate the model into an intrapersonal game model and derive the semi-analytical subgame perfect Nash equilibrium (time consistent) policy under well-posedness condition. All the three policies take a piecewise linear feedback form. Our analysis of the three models not only partially explains the well documented phenomena of non-participation puzzle and horizon effect, but also extends the two fund separation theorem into multi-period S-shaped utility setting and pushes forward the study on time inconsistency issue incurred by probability weighting.