In order to understand and create human-level intelligence I have developed the Polyscheme cognitive architecture to build systems that combine several representation and inference schemes when they think. Polyscheme is based on three principles. First, different (aspects of) situations that…

I propose a common framework that combines three different paradigms in machine learning: generative, discriminative and imitative learning. A generative probabilistic distribution is a principled way to model many machine learning and machine perception problems. Therein, one provides domain specific…

Chapter one is titled "Social Capital and Group Banking." Lending to the poor is costly due to high screening, monitoring, and enforcement costs. Group lending advocates believe individuals are able to select creditworthy peers, monitor the use of loan proceeds,…

Creating common ground in a community of people who do not all know each other is a chicken-and-egg problem: members do not share enough common ground to support the kinds of conversations that help build it. "Folk Computing" technology is…

The objective of the experiments described in this thesis is to perform a detailed spectroscopic study of the dynamics on the A and X state surfaces of 13C2H2 in order to further understand the acetylene - vinylidene isomerization process in…

Cartilage functions as a load bearing and friction reducing material in synovial joints and it is constantly exposed to in vivo loading which is coupled to electromechanical and physicochemical forces. The swelling pressure of cartilage originates from proteoglycans containing negatively…

Chapter 1. Molybdenum Dinitrogen Chemistry: Formation and Reactivity of (Ar[tBu]N)3MoN2- A collection of (Ar[tBu]N)3MoN2- compounds, supported with Na+, K+, Mg2+ and Ca2+ have been prepared through a variety of synthetic routes. In several experiments, N2 was replaced with other small…

Le contexte culturel particulier à la Chine influe sur le choix du mode de résolution des différends commerciaux comportant un lien d'extranéité. Plusieurs mécanismes de préventions des litiges sont utilisés en Chine. La conciliation et médiation sont issues d'une tradition…

his dissertation analyzes how local knowledge improves environmental decisions. The premise is that controlling pollution and addressing public health disparities are not problems that professionals alone can solve. Concerned lay publics, especially low-income populations and people of color that experience…

El Centro Cultural Metropolitano (CCM) es una institución cultural pública creada con el objetivo de promocionar el encuentro entre las diversas culturas para la construcción permanente de la identidad, el conocimiento, valoración y conservación de los patrimonios; ubicada en una…