University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee

About: University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee is a education organization based out in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Gravitational wave. The organization has 11839 authors who have published 28034 publications receiving 936438 citations. The organization is also known as: UWM & University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

A Theoretical Approach to Web Design in E-Commerce: A Belief Reinforcement Model

Abstract: Effective website design plays a critical role in attracting and maintaining customers' interest. Despite the importance of websites as the major and, at times, sole channel of communication in e-business, little theoretical knowledge is available about how websites may influence online shoppers' attitudes and behavior. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework for measuring the impact of Web-design elements on the beliefs and behavior of Web customers. In developing the theoretical model (called the belief reinforcement model, or BRM), we synthesize the theory of planned behavior with theories in social psychology, consumer behavior, and management to categorize Web-design elements and conceptualize the salient aspects of Web shoppers' behavior. The empirical examination of BRM indicates that various categories of Web-design elements reinforce Web customers' beliefs, which in turn positively impact attitudinal constructs that lead to changes in their purchase intentions. BRM and its results provide an initial guideline for a rigorous approach to designing websites for e-business and testing their effectiveness before their full deployment.

Image processing and analysis methods for the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study

Abstract: The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study is an ongoing, nationwide study of the effects of environmental influences on behavioral and brain development in adolescents. The ABCD Study is a collaborative effort, including a Coordinating Center, 21 data acquisition sites across the United States, and a Data Analysis and Informatics Center (DAIC). The main objective of the study is to recruit and assess over eleven thousand 9-10-year-olds and follow them over the course of 10 years to characterize normative brain and cognitive development, the many factors that influence brain development, and the effects of those factors on mental health and other outcomes. The study employs state-of-the-art multimodal brain imaging, cognitive and clinical assessments, bioassays, and careful assessment of substance use, environment, psychopathological symptoms, and social functioning. The data will provide a resource of unprecedented scale and depth for studying typical and atypical development. Here, we describe the baseline neuroimaging processing and subject-level analysis methods used by the ABCD DAIC in the centralized processing and extraction of neuroanatomical and functional imaging phenotypes. Neuroimaging processing and analyses include modality-specific corrections for distortions and motion, brain segmentation and cortical surface reconstruction derived from structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI), analysis of brain microstructure using diffusion MRI (dMRI), task-related analysis of functional MRI (fMRI), and functional connectivity analysis of resting-state fMRI.

Decision Theory as Philosophy

Abstract: 1. Confidence 2. Evidence 3. The Bayesian challenge 4. Rational belief 5. The Bayesian Canon 6. Decision theory as epistemology.

The Rate of Binary Black Hole Mergers Inferred from Advanced LIGO Observations Surrounding GW150914

Abstract: A transient gravitational-wave signal, GW150914, was identified in the twin Advanced LIGO detectors on September 14, 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC. To assess the implications of this discovery, the detectors remained in operation with unchanged configurations over a period of 39 d around the time of the signal. At the detection statistic threshold corresponding to that observed for GW150914, our search of the 16 days of simultaneous two-detector observational data is estimated to have a false alarm rate (FAR) of < 4.9 × 10^(−6) yr^(−1), yielding a p-value for GW150914 of < 2 × 10^(−7). Parameter estimation followup on this trigger identifies its source as a binary black hole (BBH) merger with component masses (m_1, m_2) = (36^(+5)_(−4), 29^(+4)_(−4)) M_⊙ at redshift z = 0.09^(+0.03)_(−0.04) (median and 90\% credible range). Here we report on the constraints these observations place on the rate of BBH coalescences. Considering only GW150914, assuming that all BBHs in the Universe have the same masses and spins as this event, imposing a search FAR threshold of 1 per 100 years, and assuming that the BBH merger rate is constant in the comoving frame, we infer a 90% credible range of merger rates between 2--53 Gpc^(−3) yr^(−1) (comoving frame). Incorporating all search triggers that pass a much lower threshold while accounting for the uncertainty in the astrophysical origin of each trigger, we estimate a higher rate, ranging from 13--600 Gpc^(−3) yr^(−1) depending on assumptions about the BBH mass distribution. All together, our various rate estimates fall in the conservative range 2--600 Gpc^(−3) yr^(−1).

The Impact of Gender Stereotyped Evaluations on Support for Women Candidates

Abstract: In 2009, women are still dramatically underrepresented in elected office in the United States. Though the reasons for this are complex, public attitudes toward this situation are no doubt of importance. While a number of scholars have demonstrated that women candidates do not suffer at the ballot box because of their sex, we should not assume that this means that voter attitudes about gender are irrelevant to politics. Indeed, individual attitudes towards women’s representation in government and a desire for greater descriptive representation of women may shape attitudes and behaviors in situations when people are faced with a woman candidate. This project provides a more complete understanding of the determinants of the public’s desire (or lack thereof) to see more women in elective office and support them in different circumstances. The primary mechanism proposed to explain these attitudes is gender stereotypes. Gender stereotypes about the abilities and traits of political women and men are clear and well documented and could easily serve to shape an individual’s evaluations about the appropriate level and place for women in office. Drawing on an original survey of 1039 U.S. adults, and evaluating both issue and trait stereotypes, I demonstrate the ways in which sex stereotypes do and do not influence public willingness to support women in various electoral situations.