Hampshire College

About: Hampshire College is a education organization based out in Amherst Center, Massachusetts, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Genetic programming & Population. The organization has 461 authors who have published 998 publications receiving 40827 citations.

Content design issues in adaptive hyperbooks

Abstract: We explore the design issues of adaptive hyperbooks in relation to how using hypermedia technology changes the nature of the traditional book. To address some of these issues we have developed and tested MetaLinks, an authoring tool and web server for adaptive hyperbooks. The system is designed to: 1) support inquiry, exploratory, or curiosity-driven learning in richly interconnected material; 2) support the construction and conceptualisation of content through three "epistemic" forms: narrative, network, and hierarchy, and 3) ameliorate a number of usability issues: disorientation, cognitive overload, poor narrative flow, and poor conceptual flow. These goals are achieved through a number of interface and adaptive features, including "narrative smoothing", "custom depth control", and "thematic links".

Word count as a traditional programming benchmark problem for genetic programming

Abstract: The Unix utility program wc, which stands for "word count," takes any number of files and prints the number of newlines, words, and characters in each of the files. We show that genetic programming can find programs that replicate the core functionality of the wc utility, and propose this problem as a "traditional programming" benchmark for genetic programming systems. This "wc problem" features key elements of programming tasks that often confront human programmers, including requirements for multiple data types, a large instruction set, control flow, and multiple outputs. Furthermore, it mimics the behavior of a real-world utility program, showing that genetic programming can automatically synthesize programs with general utility. We suggest statistical procedures that should be used to compare performances of different systems on traditional programming problems such as the wc problem, and present the results of a short experiment using the problem. Finally, we give a short analysis of evolved solution programs, showing how they make use of traditional programming concepts.

Effects of the Strong Hearts, Healthy Communities Intervention on Functional Fitness of Rural Women.

Abstract: PURPOSE The purposes of these analyses were to determine whether Strong Hearts, Healthy Communities (SHHC), a multilevel, cardiovascular disease risk reduction program for overweight, sedentary rural women aged 40 or older, led to improved functional fitness, and if changes in fitness accounted for weight loss associated with program participation. METHODS Sixteen rural communities were randomized to receive the SHHC intervention or a control program. Both programs involved groups of 12-16 participants. The SHHC program met 1 hour twice a week for 24 weeks where participants engaged in aerobic exercise and progressive strength training. Program content addressed diet and social and environmental influences on heart-healthy behavior. The control group met 1 hour each month for 6 months, covering current dietary and physical activity recommendations. Objective measures of functional fitness included the 30-second arm curl, 30-second chair stand, and 2-minute step test. Self-reported functional fitness was measured by the Physical Functioning Subscale of the MOS Short Form-36 (SF-36 PF). FINDINGS The SHHC program was associated with increased strength and endurance, as represented by greater improvement in the chair stand and step test; and with increased physical function, as represented by the SF-36 PF. Adjustment for change in aerobic endurance, as measured by the step test, accounted for two-thirds of the intervention effect on weight loss at the end of the intervention. CONCLUSIONS SHHC participants experienced improved performance on objective measures of functional fitness and self-reported measures of physical function, and changes in weight were partially accounted for by changes in aerobic fitness.

Identifying and Separating Pandora Moth Outbreaks and Climate from A 1500-Year Ponderosa Pine Chronology from Central Oregon

Abstract: We reconstruct pandora moth (Coloradia pandora Blake) outbreaks and climate from a 1572-year (435–2006 CE) ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) chronology from a lava flow in central Oregon. We took samples from 128 living trees and remnant logs and crossdated the samples using skeleton plots and COFECHA for quality control. After cutting out and removing those time periods from the chronology during which insects become the main limiting factor to growth, we examine the response of tree rings to climate. Evidence of species longevity (up to 877 years), presence of periodic pandora moth defoliations (13 total), and a significant relationship with the Palmer Drought Severity Index were observed (R2 = 0.34, p < 0.001). Suppressions related to pandora moth outbreaks were recorded back to 618 CE, with a mean return interval of 104 years. Previous-fall to current-spring PDSI was reconstructed over 1376 years (630–2006 CE), where the most prolonged drought periods were 1136–1166 CE and the ...

"We Are Masters at Childhood": Time and Agency in Poetry by, for, and about Children

Abstract: This essay considers a selection of poetry by, for, and about children in order to explore representations of time and agency. Reading poems across contexts of writers’ age-related social positions and audiences can illuminate poets’ strategies for representing children’s agency in and over time, since representations of time are infused with adult-child power relations. Only poems written by young people conveyed a conception of temporal agency that encompassed characters’ experiences of time as children. The essay concludes by proposing a notion of children’s temporal standpoints that incorporates agency at the levels of action and social role.