University of Maryland, College Park

About: University of Maryland, College Park is a education organization based out in College Park, Maryland, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Galaxy. The organization has 60446 authors who have published 155900 publications receiving 7273683 citations. The organization is also known as: The University of Maryland & College Park.

Orienting in a defensive world: Mammalian modifications of our evolutionary heritage. A Polyvagal Theory

Abstract: The vagus, the 10th cranial nerve, contains pathways that contribute to the regulation of the internal viscera, including the heart. Vagal efferent fibers do not originate in a common brainstem structure. The Polyvagal Theory is introduced to explain the different functions of the two primary medullary source nuclei of the vagus: the nucleus ambiguus (NA) and the dorsal motor nucleus (DMNX). Although vagal pathways from both nuclei terminate on the sinoatrial node, it is argued that the fibers originating in NA are uniquely responsible for respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). Divergent shifts in RSA and heart rate are explained by independent actions of DMNX and NA. The theory emphasizes a phylogenetic perspective and speculates that mammalian, but not reptilian, brainstem organization is characterized by a ventral vagal complex (including NA) related to processes associated with attention, motion, emotion, and communication. Various clinical disorders, such as sudden infant death syndrome and asthma, may be related to the competition between DMNX and NA.

A survey of consensus problems in multi-agent coordination

Abstract: As a distributed solution to multi-agent coordination, consensus or agreement problems have been studied extensively in the literature. This paper provides a survey of consensus problems in multi-agent cooperative control with the goal of promoting research in this area. Theoretical results regarding consensus seeking under both time-invariant and dynamically changing information exchange topologies are summarized. Applications of consensus protocols to multiagent coordination are investigated. Future research directions and open problems are also proposed.

A longitudinal investigation of personal computers in homes: adoption determinants and emerging challenges

Abstract: While technology adoption in the workplace has been studied extensively, drivers of adoption in homes have been largely overlooked. This paper presents the results of a nation-wide, two-wave, longitudinal investigation of the factors driving personal computer (PC) adoption in American homes. The findings revealed that the decisions driving adoption and non-adoption were significantly different. Adopters were driven by utilitarian outcomes, hedonic outcomes (i.e., fun), and social outcomes (i.e., status) from adoption. Non-adopters, on the other hand, were influenced primarily by rapid changes in technology and the consequent fear of obsolescence. A second wave of data collection conducted six months after the initial survey indicated an asymmetrical relationship between intent and behavior, with those who did not intend to adopt a PC following more closely with their intent than those who intended to adopt one. We present important implications for research on adoption of technologies in homes and the workplace, and also discuss challenges facing the PC industry.

A Comparative Study of Texture Measures for Terrain Classification

Abstract: Three standard approaches to automatic texture classification make use of features based on the Fourier power spectrum, on second-order gray level statistics, and on first-order statistics of gray level differences, respectively. Feature sets of these types, all designed analogously, were used to classify two sets of terrain samples. It was found that the Fourier features generally performed more poorly, while the other feature sets all performned comparably.