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This thesis demonstrates how architecture and space can emerge from lines and be constructed on a larger scale using iteratively built web structures. Following a volumetric approach, spaces are able to stay within a vague metric, existing between the current paradigm of solid and void, without occupying either of these states. The project follows the development of a tool, which enables a user to define spaces using a digital interface, which guide the iterative algorithm towards the desired outcome. The resulting web acts as a polyadic object, where the visual and the structural layer are one and the same, and the creation of the web is pulled between the constant negotiation of the structural and the spatial. Creating a web structure using an algorithm is a process of finding ways to gain control and delegating order. The presented methods include graph structures to aid computer comprehension and the manipulation of randomness to deal with problematic areas. Lastly a secondary interface is introduced, where users can directly define behaviour within a cartesian proxy space. Using volumes as carriers of intent, formal expressions are declared. The second step describes the process of materialising the aforementioned web structure into physical matter, where a web exists inside its boundaries. This starts with the creation of a machine, which creates copies of the digital edges in real space and continues with built web prototypes that test the spatial and structural qualities in their physical form. In that way, the project holds a conversation of losing control and order by delegating choice to chance, and the process of regaining both through rules and boundaries., Adam Geraia, BSc., Masterarbeit Universität Innsbruck 2023

Este trabajo es una defensa de las competencias del derecho privado para contribuir en la redistribución del ingreso. En particular, se centra en la crítica de arbitrariedad. Las posiciones más tradicionales acusan al derecho privado redistributivo de ser arbitrario en, al menos, dos sentidos. Primero, el derecho privado redistributivo es ilegítimo, ya que traslada a los particulares una carga que es esencialmente colectiva. Segundo, estas normas llevan a resultados distributivos aleatorios. Argumentaré que la crítica de ilegitimidad descansa sobre una concepción equivocada del derecho privado, como distributivamente neutral y ajeno a las políticas públicas, y una noción muy cuestionable de lo que cuenta como una «respuesta colectiva» a un problema social. A su turno, respecto de la aleatoriedad, mostraré que toda objeción que pueda presentarse contra la arbitrariedad distributiva del derecho privado es aplicable con igual fuerza al derecho tributario y el gasto público. Por lo tanto, si ambos instrumentos comparten los mismos defectos, entonces, ¿por qué sería el derecho tributario y el gasto público siempre mejor para redistribuir recursos? Más sensato es reconocer que la tarea redistributiva debe ser llevada a cabo mediante una combinación de reglas de derecho público y de derecho privado, aprovechando sus fortalezas relativas, y evitando sus debilidades, en diferentes contextos., This paper offers a defense of the ability of private law to contribute to the redistribution of income. In particular, it focuses on the criticism of arbitrariness. The most traditional views criticize redistributive private law as being arbitrary in at least two senses. First, such views claim that redistributive private law is illegitimate, since it places on individuals a burden that is essentially collective. Second, the views state that these norms lead to random distributive outcomes. I will argue that the illegitimacy objection rests on a misconception of private law as distributionally neutral and unrelated to public policy, and a highly questionable notion of what counts as a ‘collective response’ to a social problem. Regarding randomness, I will demonstrate that any objection that can be raised against the distributive arbitrariness of private law is applicable with equal force to tax law and public spending. Then, if both instruments share the same flaws, why would tax law and public spending always be better at redistributing? It would be more sensible to acknowledge that the redistributive task should be carried out through a combination of public law and private law rules, leveraging their relative strengths and avoiding their weaknesses, in different contexts.

Randomness is a fundamental property of human behavior. It occurs both in the form of intrinsic random variability, say when repetitions of a task yield slightly different behavioral outcomes, or in the form of explicit randomness, say when a person tries to avoid being predicted in a game of rock, paper and scissors. Randomness has frequently been studied using random sequence generation tasks (RSG). A key finding has been that humans are poor at deliberately producing random behavior. At the same time, it has been shown that people might be better randomizers if randomness is only an implicit (rather than an explicit) requirement of the task. We therefore hypothesized that randomization performance might vary with the exact instructions with which randomness is elicited. To test this, we acquired data from a large online sample (n = 388), where every participant made 1,000 binary choices based on one of the following instructions: choose either randomly, freely, irregularly, according to an imaginary coin toss or perform a perceptual guessing task. Our results show significant differences in randomness between the conditions as quantified by conditional entropy and estimated Markov order. The randomization scores were highest in the conditions where people were asked to be irregular or mentally simulate a random event (coin toss) thus yielding recommendations for future studies on randomization behavior., Peer Reviewed

Biomaterials & Tissue Biomechanics

We present a new test of non-randomness that tests both the lower and the upper critical limit of a chi 2-statistic. While checking the upper critical value has been employed by other tests, we argue that also the lower critical value should be examined for non-randomness. To this end, we prepare a binary sequence where all possible bit strings of a certain length occurs the same number of times and demonstrate that such sequences pass a well-known suite of tests for non-randomness. We show that such sequences can be compressed, and therefore are somewhat predictable and thus not fully random. The presented test can detect such non-randomness, and its novelty rests on analysing fixed-length bit string frequencies that lie closer to the a priori probabilities than could be expected by chance alone., QC 20230309

// F - E- G // // F - E- G // is the title of my independent degree project, for the Master program New Performative Practices at Stockholm University of the Arts. The project was intended as a means for presenting and understanding my artistic practice and its various aspects. It was a public presentation in the university’s theatre hall. The format chosen was a 50 minute solo performance with a 10 minute participatory section at the beginning of the show. I was the performer, as well as the music and recordings' editor, text writer, and project coordinator in collaboration with SKH's producer and staff. My aim with the project was to fit together the various themes and practices that I had been exploring during the two years of the course: a somatic sci-fi based practice, clown technique, the use of voice, the relationship of the performer to the audience, finding honesty and repeatability in performance, the use of chance and randomness in creation and performing, the use of language in guiding others toward physical and personal insights and experiences, what kind of social impact performance art can have, Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as a choice of life and, finally, reconnecting to my ageing dancing body. I call the method chosen to explore these various interests and curiosities a personal-experiential method: the ideas were tried out physically and concretely, over a span of time that allowed for reflection and introspection. The outcome of the project was rich in personal learnings and challenges, as well as a milestone in my development as an artist and a person. I hope it served as a moment of poetry and enjoyment to those who visited and participated in the performances: that they might recognise themselves in similar situations and feelings and that they might be either relieved or comforted or somehow get the chance to witness their experience through the dramaturgy of the performance. For more on the project please find an brief expansion on this

// F - E- G // // F - E- G // is the title of my independent degree project, for the Master program New Performative Practices at Stockholm University of the Arts. The project was intended as a means for presenting and understanding my artistic practice and its various aspects. It was a public presentation in the university’s theatre hall. The format chosen was a 50 minute solo performance with a 10 minute participatory section at the beginning of the show. I was the performer, as well as the music and recordings' editor, text writer, and project coordinator in collaboration with SKH's producer and staff. My aim with the project was to fit together the various themes and practices that I had been exploring during the two years of the course: a somatic sci-fi based practice, clown technique, the use of voice, the relationship of the performer to the audience, finding honesty and repeatability in performance, the use of chance and randomness in creation and performing, the use of language in guiding others toward physical and personal insights and experiences, what kind of social impact performance art can have, Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as a choice of life and, finally, reconnecting to my ageing dancing body. I call the method chosen to explore these various interests and curiosities a personal-experiential method: the ideas were tried out physically and concretely, over a span of time that allowed for reflection and introspection. The outcome of the project was rich in personal learnings and challenges, as well as a milestone in my development as an artist and a person. I hope it served as a moment of poetry and enjoyment to those who visited and participated in the performances: that they might recognise themselves in similar situations and feelings and that they might be either relieved or comforted or somehow get the chance to witness their experience through the dramaturgy of the performance. For more on the project please find an brief expansion on this

This thesis demonstrates how architecture and space can emerge from lines and be constructed on a larger scale using iteratively built web structures. Following a volumetric approach, spaces are able to stay within a vague metric, existing between the current paradigm of solid and void, without occupying either of these states. The project follows the development of a tool, which enables a user to define spaces using a digital interface, which guide the iterative algorithm towards the desired outcome. The resulting web acts as a polyadic object, where the visual and the structural layer are one and the same, and the creation of the web is pulled between the constant negotiation of the structural and the spatial. Creating a web structure using an algorithm is a process of finding ways to gain control and delegating order. The presented methods include graph structures to aid computer comprehension and the manipulation of randomness to deal with problematic areas. Lastly a secondary interface is introduced, where users can directly define behaviour within a cartesian proxy space. Using volumes as carriers of intent, formal expressions are declared. The second step describes the process of materialising the aforementioned web structure into physical matter, where a web exists inside its boundaries. This starts with the creation of a machine, which creates copies of the digital edges in real space and continues with built web prototypes that test the spatial and structural qualities in their physical form. In that way, the project holds a conversation of losing control and order by delegating choice to chance, and the process of regaining both through rules and boundaries., Masterarbeit Universität Innsbruck 2023

The discussion addresses a host of issues pertaining to various intersections between creativity and translation. Embracing the inevitable vagueness of the concepts, the speakers outline several clusters of topics, including the unpredictability of translation success (Susan Bassnett), critique of instrumentalism in translation (Lawrence Venuti) and the definition of the notion of creative subtitles (Jan Pedersen). The speakers also take positions on such complex and sometimes inherently contradictory issues as functional approaches to translation, source and target text, translation process, the pros and cons of new technologies in current translation practice and the lack of a true transdisciplinary dialogue felt in today’ s translation studies. The last point hints at a problem the discipline has been facing for a while: although the field has (for the most part) been incorporating inspiration from other research areas, disciplines for which translation is crucial (as a means of acquiring research corpora, disseminating results, etc.) still tend to overlook the translational character of their work. “Translation and creativity in the 21st century” springs from a roundtable that took place at Translation, Interpreting and Culture 2: Rehumanising Translation Studies (TIC 2) conference held on 22–24 September 2021 in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. TIC 2 was the second in the series of translation and interpreting studies conferences organized by scholars and professionals affiliated with several Slovak and European institutions. The 2021 organizational team was managed by Associate Professor Martin Djovčoš (Matej Bel University).

Binary PN-sequences generated by LFSRs exhibit good statistical properties; however, due to their intrinsic linearity, they are not suitable for cryptographic applications. In order to break such a linearity, several approaches can be implemented. For example, one can interleave several PN-sequences to increase the linear complexity. In this work, we present a deep randomness study of the resultant sequences of interleaving binary PN-sequences coming from different characteristic polynomials with the same degree. We analyze the period and the linear complexity, as well as many other important cryptographic properties of such sequences.

Keystream sequences should look as random as possible, i.e., should present no logical pattern to be exploited in cryptographic attacks. The generalized self-shrinking generator, a sequence generator based on irregular decimation, produces a family of sequences with good cryptographic properties. In this work, we display a detailed analysis on the randomness of the sequences resulting from the concatenation of elements of this family. We apply the most important batteries of statistical and graphical tests providing powerful results and a new method to construct sequences with good cryptographic properties.

Binary PN-sequences generated by LFSRs exhibit good statistical properties; however, due to their intrinsic linearity, they are not suitable for cryptographic applications. In order to break such a linearity, several approaches can be implemented. For example, one can interleave several PN-sequences to increase the linear complexity. In this work, we present a deep randomness study of the resultant sequences of interleaving binary PN-sequences coming from different characteristic polynomials with the same degree. We analyze the period and the linear complexity, as well as many other important cryptographic properties of such sequences.

Keystream sequences should look as random as possible, i.e. should present no logical pattern to be exploited in cryptographic attacks. The generalized self-shrinking generator, a sequence generator based on irregular decimation, produces a family of sequences with good cryptographic properties. In this work, we display a detailed analysis on the randomness of the sequences resulting from the concatenation of elements of this family. We apply the most important batteries of statistical and graphical tests providing powerful results and a new method to construct sequences with good cryptographic properties.

Nowadays, contextuality is the hottest topic of quantum foundations and, especially, foundations of quantum information theory. This notion is characterized by the huge diversity of approaches and interpretations. One of the strongest trends in contextual research is to identify contextuality with Bell test contextuality (BTC). In this paper, we criticize the BTC approach. It can be compared with an attempt to identify the complex and theoretically nontrivial notion of randomness with a test for randomness (or a batch of tests, as the NIST test). We advertise Bohr contextuality taking into account all experimental conditions (context). In the simplest case, the measurement context of an observable A is reduced to joint measurement with a compatible observable B. The latter definition was originally considered by Bell in relation to his inequality. We call it joint measurement contextuality (JMC). Although JMC is based on the use of counterfactuals, by considering it within the general Bohr's framework, it is possible to handle JMC on physical grounds. We suggest (similarly to randomness) to certify JMC in experimental data with Bell tests, but only certify and not reduce.

The article studies the interest that produced the existence of agrarian communities in the concept of social history in Marx and Marxism. It argues that Marx elaborated a system of categories such as primary and secondary formation, archaic community and rural community for the materialistic understanding of the different types of community present throughout the multiple and random courses of human history., El articulo estudia el interés que produjo la existencia de las comunidades agrarias en el concepto de historia social en Marx y el marxismo. Plantea que Marx elaboro un sistema propio de categorías como la formación primaria y secundaria, comunidad arcaica y comunidad rural para la comprensión materialista de los distintos tipos de comunidad presentes a lo largo de los múltiples y aleatorios cursos de la historia humana.

Binary PN-sequences generated by LFSRs exhibit good statistical properties; however, due to their intrinsic linearity, they are not suitable for cryptographic applications. In order to break such a linearity, several approaches can be implemented. For example, one can interleave several PN-sequences to increase the linear complexity. In this work, we present a deep randomness study of the resultant sequences of interleaving binary PN-sequences coming from different characteristic polynomials with the same degree. We analyze the period and the linear complexity, as well as many other important cryptographic properties of such sequences.

Keystream sequences should look as random as possible, i.e. should present no logical pattern to be exploited in cryptographic attacks. The generalized self-shrinking generator, a sequence generator based on irregular decimation, produces a family of sequences with good cryptographic properties. In this work, we display a detailed analysis on the randomness of the sequences resulting from the concatenation of elements of this family. We apply the most important batteries of statistical and graphical tests providing powerful results and a new method to construct sequences with good cryptographic properties.

Bei Lebensdauerversuchen wird oft die Weibullverteilung mit drittem Parameter angesetzt. Sie verspricht eine anfänglich absolute Fehlerfreiheit bis t = L_0; diese Zusage kennzeichnet deterministisches Verhalten. Erst im Anschluß an diese erste Phase erlaubt sie zufälliges Versagen; das ist stochastisches Geschehen. Dieses Modell mit zwei aufeinander folgenden Abschnitten von unvereinbar gegensätzlicher Natur paßt nicht zur Vorstellung eines kontinuierlich fortschreitenden Abnutzungs, Ermüdungs oder Verschleißprozesses, solange keine äußeren Einflüsse auf ihn einwirken. An Stelle dieses in sich widersprüchlichen Modells werden Varianten zur Weibullverteilung von durchgängig stochastischer Natur vorgeschlagen und untersucht, die mit verminderter Versagenswahrscheinlichkeit starten, bevor sie zu normalem Weibull-Verhalten übergehen. [Die englische Version dieser Publikation finden sie unter https://doi.org/10.15488/11469]

For service life tests, a shifted Weibull distribution, also known as the translated or three-parameter Weibull distribution, is commonly used. The shifted Weibull distribution promises completely fault-free operation until time t = L_0, meaning that the process is deterministic in the early stage. Only after this phase does the distribution allow random behavior, i.e. from the time t = L_0 on, the process is stochastic. This model, which is based on two consecutive time periods of quite different nature, is at odds with the idea of a continuously progressing fatigue, wear, or decay process as long as there are no influences from outside. To replace this arguably inconsistent model, variants of the Weibull distribution of purely stochastic nature are proposed and investigated that start with a reduced probability of failure before transitioning to normal Weibull behavior. [The german version of this paper can be found under https://doi.org/10.15488/11468]

Modeling the behavior of complex systems that operate in real environments, deal with physical elements, or interact with humans is a challenging task. It involves the explicit representation of aspects of behavioral uncertainty that are inherent in the system, but generally neglected in software models. In this paper, we focus on the explicit representation of the behavior of objects of complex systems, considering their motivations, randomness, and the different types of underlying uncertainty that affect their actions. We show how such uncertain behaviors can be effectively modeled in UML and OCL, and how the specifications produced can be used to simulate and analyze these systems.

Regression testing is an essential part of developing and maintaining software. It helps verify that changes to the software have not introduced any new bugs, and that the functionality still works as intended. However, for this verification to be valid, the executed tests must be assumed to be deterministic, i.e. produce the same output under the same circumstances. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. A test that exhibits non-deterministic behavior is said to be flaky. Flaky tests can severely inhibit the benefits of regression testing, as developers must figure out whether a failing test is due to a bug in the system under test (SUT) or test flakiness. Moreover, the non-deterministic nature of flaky tests poses several problems. Not only are the failures difficult to reproduce and debug, but developers are more likely to ignore the outcome of flaky tests, potentially leading to overlooked bugs in the SUT. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the applicability of execution tracing techniques as a means of providing root cause analysis for flaky tests in the randomness and network categories. This involved reproducing and studying flakiness, as well as implementing and evaluating a prototype with the ability to analyze runtime behavior in flaky tests. To gain a better understanding of reproducibility and common traits among flaky tests in the selected categories, a pre-study was conducted. Based on the outcome of the pre-study and findings in related literature, the network category was dropped entirely, and two techniques were chosen to be implemented. The implementation process resulted in the FlakyPy tool, a plugin for pytest that provides root cause analysis aimed at randomness flakiness. When run against a dataset of 22 flaky tests, the tool was able to identify potential root causes in 15 of these. This serves as an indication that execution tracing has the potential of detecting possible root causes in flaky randomness tests in Python. However, m

Considering the status given to the human embryo within the sexual reproduction techniques, and the contemporary studies on the anthropology of parentage, this article addresses three fundamental research areas. First, it analyzes the constructs and representations that the contemporary world outlines regarding the human embryo figure, particularly highli-ghting the relationship between these representations and the idea of the individual, constructed by neoliberal societies. Second, it aims to observe the ways offered by the embryonic and fetal lives to reconsider the oppositions established by anthropology in a disciplinary manner, to make a distinction between relational societies and societies structured by indivi-duals. Third, it shows the importance of the cosmological and transcendent dimension to understand, in a non-naturalized manner, the acquisition of societal ways of existence of the individuals., Tomando en cuenta el estatus concedido al embrión humano al interior de los estudios contemporáneos de la antropología del parentesco, el presente artículo aborda tres áreas fundamentales de indagación. En primer lugar, se analizan las repre-sentaciones que el mundo actual esboza en lo relativo a la figura del embrión a partir de la observación de la relación que estas representaciones guardan con la idea de individuo construida por las sociedades neoliberales. En segundo lugar, se observa la manera en que la vida embrionaria y fetal se esboza para reconsiderar las oposiciones clásicas realizadas por la antropología entre sociedades relacionales y sociedades conformadas por individuos. En tercer lugar, se evidencia la relevan-cia que posee la dimensión cosmológica y trascendental para comprender de un modo no naturalizado la existencia social de la persona humana, relativizando de esta manera la distinción entre sociedades relacionales y sociedades de individuos.

Elements of randomness are a common factor inmodern digital games, from simple rolls of a die tocomplex AI systems. These elements have an impacton how the player experiences a game. We believe thatexploring the field of luck analysis can benefit designersthrough an developed understanding of how such elementsaffect players. The developers of the digital card gameSlay the Spire has released 77 millions of instances ofplay and sample of these are explored in this study. Withthe use of data mining, data clustering and correlationanalysis the effect of elements of randomness present inSlay the Spire are analyzed. In conclusion, three playerskill groups were identified with the use of clustering:Winners, Low skill losers and High skill losers. Weobserved that people who succeeded in beating the game,had an increased amount of randomness in the formof cards by a factor of 1.82. Showing that more skilledplayers do not shy away from randomness but insteadembrace it more than lower skilled players.

With today’s focus on Continuous Integration, test cases are used to ensure the software’s reliability when integrating and developing code. Test cases that behave in an undeterministic manner are known as flaky tests, which threatens the software’s reliability. Because of flaky test’s undeterministic nature, they can be troublesome to detect and correct. This is causing companies to spend great amount of resources on flaky tests since they can reduce the quality of their products and services. The aim of this thesis was to develop a usable tool that can automatically detect flakiness in the Randomness category. This was done by initially locating and rerunning flaky tests found in public Git repositories. By scanning the resulting pytest logs from the tests that manifested flaky behaviour, noting indicators of how flakiness manifests in the Randomness category. From these findings we determined tracing to be a viable option of detecting Randomness as a cause of flakiness. The findings were implemented into our proposed tool FlakyReporter, which reruns flaky tests to determine if they pertain to the Randomness category. Our FlakyReporter tool was found to accurately categorise flaky tests into the Randomness category when tested against 25 different flaky tests. This indicates the viability of utilizing tracing as a method of categorizing flakiness.

Elements of randomness are a common factor inmodern digital games, from simple rolls of a die tocomplex AI systems. These elements have an impacton how the player experiences a game. We believe thatexploring the field of luck analysis can benefit designersthrough an developed understanding of how such elementsaffect players. The developers of the digital card gameSlay the Spire has released 77 millions of instances ofplay and sample of these are explored in this study. Withthe use of data mining, data clustering and correlationanalysis the effect of elements of randomness present inSlay the Spire are analyzed. In conclusion, three playerskill groups were identified with the use of clustering:Winners, Low skill losers and High skill losers. Weobserved that people who succeeded in beating the game,had an increased amount of randomness in the formof cards by a factor of 1.82. Showing that more skilledplayers do not shy away from randomness but insteadembrace it more than lower skilled players.

With today’s focus on Continuous Integration, test cases are used to ensure the software’s reliability when integrating and developing code. Test cases that behave in an undeterministic manner are known as flaky tests, which threatens the software’s reliability. Because of flaky test’s undeterministic nature, they can be troublesome to detect and correct. This is causing companies to spend great amount of resources on flaky tests since they can reduce the quality of their products and services. The aim of this thesis was to develop a usable tool that can automatically detect flakiness in the Randomness category. This was done by initially locating and rerunning flaky tests found in public Git repositories. By scanning the resulting pytest logs from the tests that manifested flaky behaviour, noting indicators of how flakiness manifests in the Randomness category. From these findings we determined tracing to be a viable option of detecting Randomness as a cause of flakiness. The findings were implemented into our proposed tool FlakyReporter, which reruns flaky tests to determine if they pertain to the Randomness category. Our FlakyReporter tool was found to accurately categorise flaky tests into the Randomness category when tested against 25 different flaky tests. This indicates the viability of utilizing tracing as a method of categorizing flakiness.

For service life tests, a shifted Weibull distribution, also known as the translated or three-parameter Weibull distribution, is commonly used. The shifted Weibull distribution promises completely fault-free operation until time t = L_0, meaning that the process is deterministic in the early stage. Only after this phase does the distribution allow random behavior, i.e. from the time t = L_0 on, the process is stochastic. This model, which is based on two consecutive time periods of quite different nature, is at odds with the idea of a continuously progressing fatigue, wear, or decay process as long as there are no influences from outside. To replace this arguably inconsistent model, variants of the Weibull distribution of purely stochastic nature are proposed and investigated that start with a reduced probability of failure before transitioning to normal Weibull behavior. [The german version of this paper can be found under https://doi.org/10.15488/11468]

Bei Lebensdauerversuchen wird oft die Weibullverteilung mit drittem Parameter angesetzt. Sie verspricht eine anfänglich absolute Fehlerfreiheit bis t = L_0; diese Zusage kennzeichnet deterministisches Verhalten. Erst im Anschluß an diese erste Phase erlaubt sie zufälliges Versagen; das ist stochastisches Geschehen. Dieses Modell mit zwei aufeinander folgenden Abschnitten von unvereinbar gegensätzlicher Natur paßt nicht zur Vorstellung eines kontinuierlich fortschreitenden Abnutzungs, Ermüdungs oder Verschleißprozesses, solange keine äußeren Einflüsse auf ihn einwirken. An Stelle dieses in sich widersprüchlichen Modells werden Varianten zur Weibullverteilung von durchgängig stochastischer Natur vorgeschlagen und untersucht, die mit verminderter Versagenswahrscheinlichkeit starten, bevor sie zu normalem Weibull-Verhalten übergehen. [Die englische Version dieser Publikation finden sie unter https://doi.org/10.15488/11469]

Fast multi-scale neighbor embedding (f-ms-NE) is an algorithm that maps high-dimensional data to a low-dimensional space by preserving the multi-scale data neighborhoods. To lower its time complexity, f-ms-NE uses random subsamplings to estimate the data properties at multiple scales. To improve this estimation and study the f-ms-NE sensitivity to randomness, this paper generalizes the f-ms-NE cost function by averaging several subsamplings. Experiments reveal that this can slightly improve the quality of the embeddings while maintaining reasonable computation times. Codes are available at "https://github.com/cdebodt/Fast_Multi-scale_NE".

Multidimensional scaling is a statistical process that aims to embed high-dimensional data into a lower-dimensional, more manageable space. Common MDS algorithms tend to have some limitations when facing large data sets due to their high time and spatial complexities. This paper attempts to tackle the problem by using a stochastic approach to MDS which uses gradient descent to optimise a loss function defined on randomly designated quartets of points. This method mitigates the quadratic memory usage by computing distances on the fly, and has iterations in O(N) time complexity, with N samples. Experiments show that the proposed method provides competitive results in reasonable time. Public codes are available at "https://github.com/PierreLambert3/SQuaD-MDS.git".

Modeling the behavior of complex systems that operate in real environments, deal with physical elements, or interact with humans is a challenging task. It involves the explicit representation of aspects of behavioral uncertainty that are inherent in the system, but generally neglected in software models. In this paper, we focus on the explicit representation of the behavior of objects of complex systems, considering their motivations, randomness, and the different types of underlying uncertainty that affect their actions. We show how such uncertain behaviors can be effectively modeled in UML and OCL, and how the specifications produced can be used to simulate and analyze these systems.

Regression testing is an essential part of developing and maintaining software. It helps verify that changes to the software have not introduced any new bugs, and that the functionality still works as intended. However, for this verification to be valid, the executed tests must be assumed to be deterministic, i.e. produce the same output under the same circumstances. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. A test that exhibits non-deterministic behavior is said to be flaky. Flaky tests can severely inhibit the benefits of regression testing, as developers must figure out whether a failing test is due to a bug in the system under test (SUT) or test flakiness. Moreover, the non-deterministic nature of flaky tests poses several problems. Not only are the failures difficult to reproduce and debug, but developers are more likely to ignore the outcome of flaky tests, potentially leading to overlooked bugs in the SUT. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the applicability of execution tracing techniques as a means of providing root cause analysis for flaky tests in the randomness and network categories. This involved reproducing and studying flakiness, as well as implementing and evaluating a prototype with the ability to analyze runtime behavior in flaky tests. To gain a better understanding of reproducibility and common traits among flaky tests in the selected categories, a pre-study was conducted. Based on the outcome of the pre-study and findings in related literature, the network category was dropped entirely, and two techniques were chosen to be implemented. The implementation process resulted in the FlakyPy tool, a plugin for pytest that provides root cause analysis aimed at randomness flakiness. When run against a dataset of 22 flaky tests, the tool was able to identify potential root causes in 15 of these. This serves as an indication that execution tracing has the potential of detecting possible root causes in flaky randomness tests in Python. However, m

The captain of a transport space-vessel has been murdered by one of his crew-mates. Stranded in deep-space with no way to call for help, you must find out who the killer is to save yourself and the rest of the crew. The killer's identity is random on each play-through, and must be discovered by gathering clues and paying attention to details.

Many sociological theories make critically different macropredictions when their microassumptions are implemented stochastically rather than deterministically. Deviations from individuals’ behavioral patterns described by microtheories can spark cascades that change macrooutcomes, even when deviations are rare and random. With two experiments, we empirically tested whether macrophenomena can be critically shaped by random deviations. Ninety-six percent of participants’ decisions were in line with a deterministic theory of bounded rationality. Despite this impressive microlevel accuracy, the deterministic model failed to predict the observed macrooutcomes. However, a stochastic version of the same microtheory largely improved macropredictions. The stochastic model also correctly predicted the conditions under which deviations mattered. Results also supported the hypothesis that nonrandom deviations can result in fundamentally different macrooutcomes than random deviations. In conclusion, we echo the warning that deterministic microtheories can be misleading. Our findings show that taking into account deviations in sociological theories can improve explanations and predictions., Values Technology and Innovation

The objective of this article is to describe the creative possibilities that the exquisite corpse technique offers to the field of musical composition. The exquisite corpse is a physical / psychic automatism technique that, by means of randomness, allows the construction of works among several participants. The application of techniques of this nature, within the musical composition, as well as any discipline, not only helps us to deal with the creative blocks so recurrent in our compositional practice, but also contributes to a free, collaborative and unpredictable creative process giving rise to the creation of new creation alternatives within the scope of musical composition. A field, that of musical composition through the use of automatist creative techniques such as the exquisite corpse, which is worth exploiting even more., El objetivo de este artículo es describir las posibilidades creativas que la técnica del cadáver exquisito ofrece al ámbito de la composición musical. El cadáver exquisito es una técnica de automatismo físico/psíquico que, por medio de la aleatoriedad, permite construir obras entre varios participantes. La aplicación de técnicas de esta naturaleza, dentro de la composición musical, así como de cualquier disciplina, no sólo nos ayuda a lidiar contra los bloqueos creativos tan recurrentes en nuestra práctica compositiva, sino que, coadyuva en un proceso creativo libre, colaborativo e impredecible dando origen a la creación de nuevas alternativas de creación dentro del ámbito de la composición musical. Un campo, el de la composición musical a través del uso de técnicas creativas automatistas como el cadáver exquisito, digno de explotar todavía más.

Are there physical laws, rather than conventions like diplomacy, that determine when war will break out and how severe it will be? On the eve of World War II, L. F. Richardson discovered a curious pattern: Major wars are rare and minor wars are common to such a predictable degree that the size-frequency offset can be plotted with a straight line. Complex-systems theorists have since confirmed those findings and tested them with computer models. Yet none of the research has fully synthesized this law-like observation with the established theoretical approaches in international relations that would apply, such as power transition theory. This dissertation examines the distribution of nations’ latent war-making capabilities in the form of total energy production and compares it with annual war deaths worldwide, using both real-world and computer-generated data, to fill a significant theoretical gap: What do relative energy production levels tell us, at the systemic level, about the potential use of military force? Is the distribution of material capability self-correcting, and does this explain the tradeoff between the frequency and size of wars?

Simplicity is a fundamental tenet of cognition intended to cope with a complex and intricate world. Based on the writings of the German philosopher Hans Vaihinger, this article introduces a wide-ranging simplification scheme denoted the “as if” heuristic. Following this heuristic, much of our productive and constructive thoughts about the world, specifically in science, are based on idealized fictitious assumptions. Although descriptions of the world as portrayed by psychological models and theories may contain fictitious elements (antithetical or at least indifferent to the search for truth), they afford a simplification tool that facilitates our comprehension of a complex and obscured world. Numerous examples from the psychological literature in which the “as if” heuristic is apparent are presented. Specifically, we analyze the implications of exploiting the heuristic for the development of psychological constructs, theory building, and the foundations of psychological measurement. While highlighting the gains acquired from the use of the “as if” heuristic, we also discuss its possible pitfalls if not properly used. Keywords: 2 system, cognition, general intelligence, Gestalt Psychology, information, paradigm, perception, principle, randomness, simplicity, cognition, fictions, heuristic, models, simplification, validity

Many sociological theories make critically different macropredictions when their microassumptions are implemented stochastically rather than deterministically. Deviations from individuals’ behavioral patterns described by microtheories can spark cascades that change macrooutcomes, even when deviations are rare and random. With two experiments, we empirically tested whether macrophenomena can be critically shaped by random deviations. Ninety-six percent of participants’ decisions were in line with a deterministic theory of bounded rationality. Despite this impressive microlevel accuracy, the deterministic model failed to predict the observed macrooutcomes. However, a stochastic version of the same microtheory largely improved macropredictions. The stochastic model also correctly predicted the conditions under which deviations mattered. Results also supported the hypothesis that nonrandom deviations can result in fundamentally different macrooutcomes than random deviations. In conclusion, we echo the warning that deterministic microtheories can be misleading. Our findings show that taking into account deviations in sociological theories can improve explanations and predictions., Values Technology and Innovation

Binary sequences produced by a generator should appear as random as possible, that is, have no logical pattern to be used in cryptographic applications. In this paper, we give a detailed analysis of the randomness of a family of binary sequences obtained from generalized self-shrinking generator, an element in the class of decimation-based sequence generators. We have applied the most important batteries of statistical tests to the sequence resulting from the concatenation of the family of generalized sequences obtained from a PN-sequence. This complete study provides good results and allow us to construct a new binary sequence with good cryptographic properties from a family of generalized self-shrunken sequences.

Understanding how environmental variability (or randomness) affects evolution is of fundamental importance for biology. The presence of temporal or spatial variability significantly affects the competition dynamics in populations, and gives rise to some counterintuitive observations. In this paper, we consider both birth-death (BD) or death-birth (DB) Moran processes, which are set up on a circular or a complete graph. We investigate spatial and temporal variability affecting division and/or death parameters. Assuming that mutant and wild-type fitness parameters are drawn from an identical distribution, we study mutant fixation probability and timing. We demonstrate that temporal and spatial types of variability possess fundamentally different properties. Under temporal randomness, in a completely mixed system, minority mutants experience (i) higher than neutral fixation probability and a higher mean conditional fixation time, if the division rates are affected by randomness and (ii) lower fixation probability and lower mean conditional fixation time if the death rates are affected. Once spatial restrictions are imposed, however, these effects completely disappear, and mutants in a circular graph experience neutral dynamics, but only for the DB update rule in case (i) and for the BD rule in case (ii) above. In contrast to this, in the case of spatially variable environment, both for BD/DB processes, both for complete/circular graph and both for division/death rates affected, minority mutants experience a higher than neutral probability of fixation. Fixation time, however, is increased by randomness on a circle, while it decreases for complete graphs under random division rates. A basic difference between temporal and spatial kinds of variability is the types of correlations that occur in the system. Under temporal randomness, mutants are spatially correlated with each other (they simply have equal fitness values at a given moment of time; the same holds for wild-typ

Background. Being able to trust cryptographic algorithms is a crucial part of society today, because of all the information that is gathered by companies all over the world. With this thesis, we want to help both Promestra AB and potential future customers to evaluate if you can trust their random number generator. Objectives. The main objective for the study is to compare the random number generator in Promestra security with the help of the test suite made by the NationalInstitute of Standards and Technology. The comparison will be made with other random number generators such as Mersenne Twister, Blum-Blum-Schub and more. Methods. The selected method in this study was to gather a total of 100 million bits of each random number generator and use these in the National Institute ofStandards and Technology test suite for 100 tests to get a fair evaluation of the algorithms. The test suite provides a statistical summary which was then analyzed. Results. The results show how many iterations out of 100 that have passed and also the distribution between the results. The obtained results show that there are some random number generators that have been tested that clearly struggles in many of the tests. It also shows that half of the tested generators passed all of the tests. Conclusions. Promestra security and Blum-Blum-Schub is close to passing all the tests, but in the end, they cannot be considered to be the preferable random number generator. The five that passed and seem to have no clear limitations are:Random.org, Micali-Schnorr, Linear-Congruential, CryptGenRandom, and MersenneTwister.

Functional connectivity is one of the most widely used tools for investigating brain changes due to schizophrenia. Previous studies have identified abnormal functional connectivity in schizophrenia patients at the resting state brain network level. This study tests the existence of functional connectivity effects at whole brain and domain levels. Domain level refers to the integration of data from several brain networks grouped by their functional relationship. Data integration provides more consistent and accurate information compared to an individual brain network. This work considers two domain level measures: functional connectivity strength and randomness. The first measure is simply an average of connectivities within the domain. The second measure assesses the unpredictability and lack of pattern of functional connectivity within the domain. Domains with less random connectivity have higher chance of exhibiting a biologically meaningful connectivity pattern. Consistent with prior observations, individuals with schizophrenia showed aberrant domain connectivity strength between subcortical, cerebellar, and sensorial brain areas. Compared to healthy volunteers, functional connectivity between cognitive and default mode domains showed less randomness, while connectivity between default mode-sensorial areas showed more randomness in schizophrenia patients. These differences in connectivity patterns suggest deleterious rewiring trade-offs among important brain networks.

RESUMEN Este trabajo tiene el objetivo de analizar el comportamiento del precio de los activos bursátiles para examinar sus posibilidades de predicción mediante modelos matemáticos. En él, a través de modelos ARIMA aplicados por medio del software R, se va a tratar de comprobar o desmentir la hipótesis del mercado eficiente y el paseo aleatorio, y a la par que se va a evaluar la utilidad de ARIMA para la predicción. Para el estudio se analizarán dos índices: el estadounidense S&P 500 y el español IBEX 35. Palabras Clave: “Predicción”, “R”, “ARIMA”, “Series Temporales”, “Mercado Bursátil”, “Tendencia”, “Inversión”, “Aleatoriedad”., The main purpose of this work is to analyze the behaviour of stock assets prices, to check their posibilities of being predicted by mathematical models. In it, usig ARIMA models in the R software, is going to be tried to prove or to reject the hypotesis of the market efficiency and the random walk, and, meanwhile, is going to be examined the capability of prediction of ARIMA. In the study two indexes are going to be analyzed: The american S&P 500 and the spanish IBEX 35 Key Words: “Prediction”, “R”, “ARIMA”, “Time Series”, “Stock Market”, “Trend”, “Investment”, “Randomness”., LABURPENA Proiektu honen helburua burtsa-aktiboen salneurrien ibilkera aztertzea da, haien iragarpen posibilitateak aztertzeko eredu matematikoen bitartez. Honetan, ARIMA ereduen bidez R softwaren bitartez erabilitakoak, eraginkor merkatuaren eta zorizko pasatzearen hipotesiak baieztatzen edo ezeztatzen saiatuko da, eta era berean ARIMA-ren iragartzeko utilitatea ebaluatuko da. Azterlanarako bi indize aztertuko dira: estutubatuarra S&P 500 eta espaniarra IBEX 35. Hitz Gakoak: “Iragarpena”, “R”, “ARIMA”, “Demborazko Saila”, “Burtsa Merkatua”, “Joera”, “Ibertsio”, “Auzazkotasun”

Alison y Peter Smithson en su Diagram of Appreciated Unit (1954) presentan un dibujo sin escala, sin localización, sin límites. Esta es la culminación de su ciudad entendida como tejido relacional. No dibujan ningún objeto sino relaciones de asociación entre distintos entornos y personas. De hecho, este posicionamiento a favor de un espacio relacional abstracto frente al de la composición formal provocará constante fricción entre las sucesivas generaciones desde los años 50 y 70 hasta el momento actual. En paralelo, los Smithson, al reducir la arquitectura a la calle, reclaman un papel más activo de esta en la construcción de lo social. La arquitectura debe construir los lugares en los que las personas puedan encontrarse, celebrar la cotidianeidad de sus vidas, en donde manifestarse individual y colectivamente. Son, precisamente, esta incorporación de lo público y del pensamiento inclusivo a la arquitectura, por un parte, y del entendimiento de esta como máquina relacional y posibilitadora de situaciones, por otra, los dos aspectos que confieren a su trabajo máxima actualidad. Este artículo indaga en las claves que determinan la formulación de ambos postulados a través de su gran herramienta epistemológica: sus dibujos., Alison and Peter Smithson in their Diagram of Appreciated Unit (1954) present a drawing without scale, without location, without limits. This is the culmination of their city understood as a relational fabric. They do not draw any object but associational relationships between different environments and people. In fact, this positioning in favour of an abstract relational space as opposed to that of formal composition will generate a constant friction between generations from the 50s and 70s up to the present time. In parallel, the Smithson, by reducing the architecture to the street, claim a more active role in the construction of the social. Architecture must build the places where people can meet, celebrate the ordinariness of their lives, where they perform individually and collectively. This incorporation of the public and inclusive thinking into architecture, on the one hand, and the understanding of it as a relational machine and enabler of situations, on the other, are the two aspects that make the work of the Smithson highly relevant today. This article investigates the keys that determine the formulation of both postulates through their great epistemological tool: their drawings.

We analyze the impact of the most recent global financial crisis (GFC) on the seven most important Latin American stock markets. Our mean-variance analysis shows that the markets are significantly less volatile and, in general, investors prefer to invest in the post-GFC period. Our results from the Hurst exponent and runs and variance-ratio tests show that the randomness and efficiency have been improved after the GFC. The stochastic dominance test shows that the markets are efficient, there is no arbitrage opportunity due to the GFC in our studying period, and, in general, investors prefer investing in the post-GFC period. The results confirm that the 2008 global financial crisis does have some positive impacts on Latin American stock markets. Our findings provide important information for investors and market regulators in their decision making in investment and setting regulations., Este trabajo analiza el impacto de la crisis financiera global del 2008 en siete mercados accionarios latinoamericanos. Usando diversas técnicas, se demuestra que los mercados son menos volátiles, más eficientes, que no hay oportunidades de arbitraje y que los inversionistas prefieren invertir en el periodo posterior a la crisis. Nuestros hallazgos proveen información importante para inversionistas y reguladores.