Generalized Hamming Distance

Many problems in information retrieval and related fields depend on a reliable measure of the distance or similarity between objects that, most frequently, are represented as vectors. This paper considers vectors of bits. Such data structures implement entities as diverse as bitmaps that indicate the occurrences of terms and bitstrings indicating the presence of edges in images. For such applications, a popular distance measure is the Hamming distance. The value of the Hamming distance for information retrieval applications is limited by the fact that it counts only exact matches, whereas in information retrieval, corresponding bits that are close by can still be considered to be almost identical. We define a Generalized Hamming distance that extends the Hamming concept to give partial credit for near misses, and suggest a dynamic programming algorithm that permits it to be computed efficiently. We envision many uses for such a measure. In this paper we define and prove some basic properties of the Generalized Hamming distance, and illustrate its use in the area of object recognition. We evaluate our implementation in a series of experiments, using autonomous robots to test the measure's effectiveness in relating similar bitstrings.     

硅酸盐-盐（硫酸盐）流体不混溶：蒙古南部Mushugai-Khuduk含火成碳酸岩杂岩体矿物中的熔体包裹体研究

Crystalline and melt inclusions were studied in garnet, diopside, potassium feldspar, and sphene from the garnet syenite porphyry of the carbonatite-bearing complex Mushugai-Khuduk, southern Mongolia. Phlogopite, clinopyroxene, albite, potassium feldspar, sphene, wollastonite, magnetite, Ca and Sr sulfates, fluorite, and apatite were identified among the crystalline inclusions. The melt inclusions were homogenized at 1010℃～1080℃ and analyzed on an electron microprobe. Silicate, salt, and combined silicate-salt melt inclusions were found. Silicate melts show considerable variations in SiO2 concentration （56 to 66wt% ）, high Na2O ＋ K20 （up to 17wt% ）, and elevated Zr, F, and Cl contents. In terms of bulk rock chemistry, the silicate melts are alkali syenites. During thermometric experiments, salt melt inclusions quenched into homogeneous glasses of predominantly sulfate compositions containing no more than 1.3wt% SiO2. These melts are enriched in alkalis, Ba, Sr, P, F, and Cl. The investigation of the silicate and salt melt inclusions in minerals of the garnet syenite porphyries indicate that these rocks were formed under influence of the processes of crystallization differentiation and magma separation into immiscible silicate and salt （sulfate）liquids.     

A relevance feedback mechanism for cluster-based retrieval

Contextual document clustering is a novel approach which uses information theoretic measures to cluster semantically related documents bound together by an implicit set of concepts or themes of narrow specificity. It facilitates cluster-based retrieval by assessing the similarity between a query and the cluster themes’ probability distribution. In this paper, we assess a relevance feedback mechanism, based on query refinement, that modifies the query’s probability distribution using a small number of documents that have been judged relevant to the query. We demonstrate that by providing only one relevance judgment, a performance improvement of 33% was obtained.     

The effects of adult literacy on earnings and employment

This paper provides evidence of the effects of adult literacy on individuals’ income and employability in Brazil based on information obtained from the monthly employment survey (PME). The OLS results indicate that after controlling for observable characteristics, there is a 21.25% increase in wages for individuals who become literate; however, there is no significant impact on employability. Moreover, the findings show an 8.1% increase in the probability of being employed in the formal sector. We also explore the longitudinal structure of the dataset to control for unobservable fixed characteristics of individuals. The fixed-effects estimators show smaller effects compared to the OLS estimators. We find that literacy has a 4.4% effect on wages and a 4.3% impact on the probability of being formally employed. The effects are significantly different from zero.     

Mandatory provisioning of digital public services as a feasible service delivery strategy: Evidence from Italian local governments

Several governments are actively encouraging their administrations to deliver public services exclusively through digital channels. This strategy consists of putting in place a series of complex and specific actions that bring into play numerous actors, to ensure that users are willing to accept digital channels and that weaker users are not disadvantaged. Although this strategy is being increasingly adopted in various countries, scholars have scarcely begun to explore its logic. This research explores how to define a service delivery strategy that forces users to adopt digital channels. Four in-depth case studies have been conducted on Italian local governments that started delivering their non-educational school services through digital channels alone. We found that a mandatory service delivery strategy is feasible when the starting point is to understand the users' characteristics, skills and behaviours and, as a consequence, whether they perceive the service as complex and/or ambiguous. With this in mind, public organisations can select the proper mix of channels for each category of users and combine their change in approach with behavioural-type interventions, i.e. by creating the right conditions to modify the users' behaviour.