Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of peer interaction facilitated by computer-mediated conferencing on learning outcomes

Social interaction has always been a defining characteristic of education, training, and more generally of learning. Interaction with others offers the potential for collaboration, negotiation of meaning, mutually shared knowledge, and the joint construction of solutions that otherwise could not be produced alone. Computer-mediated conferencing (CMC) gives designers and instructors of distance education programs the potential to design courses incorporating interaction among class members. While many studies report the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating CMC into the design of distance education, few studies report whether achievement of effective learning outcomes were facilitated by peer interaction. Consequently, many researchers suggest our pervasive adoption of CMC has far outpaced our understanding of what makes peer interaction good and when peer interaction is good. This study addressed that concern and tested a model of five variables—learner characteristics (measured by self-construal), teaching style, task design, course requirements, and prior CMC experience—and their impact upon peer interaction and learning outcomes. The model was derived from an extensive review of the literature and tested with structural equation modeling. Adjustments were made to the original five-construct model based on theory and developments in the research process. A simplified three-construct model and two-construct model revealed the significant effect of peer interaction on learning outcomes. The two-construct model of peer interaction in an online course was a better fit to the data. The two-construct model showed a path coefficient of . 66 from peer interaction to learning outcomes. This finding indicated that for every one standard deviation increase in peer interaction, there was a . 66 standard deviation change in learning outcomes—a large, strong effect. The variables, teaching style and prior CMC experience, plus peer interaction accounted for 65% of the variance in learning outcomes. When peer interaction was temporarily dropped from the two-construct model, teaching style and prior CMC experience accounted for only 29% of the variance in learning outcomes. While the literature has pointed to and suggested this relationship, this study has been able to show (a) the relationship between peer interaction and learning outcomes and (b) its significance.
Agent Based Cooperative Theory Formation in Pure Mathematics

The HR program, Colton et al. (1999), performs theory formation in domains of pure mathematics. Given only minimal information about a domain, it invents concepts, make conjectures, proves theorems and finds counterexamples to false conjectures. We present here a multi-agent version of HR which may provide a model for how individual mathematicians perform separate investigations but communicate their results to the mathematical community, learning from others as they do. We detail the exhaustive categorisation problem to which we have applied a multi-agent approach.
FROM THE PERIPHERY TO THE CENTER: AN EMOTIONAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL

of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Arts in Mass Communication FROM THE PERIPHERY TO THE CENTER: AN EMOTIONAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE ELABORATION LIKELIHOOD MODEL By Ajatshatru Singh May 2003 Chair: Jon Morris Major Department: Mass Communication Most theories of attitude change and persuasion are concerned with taking a cognitive route to long-term persuasion and a longer-lasting attitude change. The Elaboration Likelihood Model is one such theory. This theory emphasizes that cognition is the central factor in the route to attitude change and shows that emotion is an aspect, albeit a less important one, in the process of attitude change. This study tries to establish emotion at the center of the attitude change process by examining spontaneous reactions to two car advertisements and then linking these reactions to purchase intentions to make its case for emotion. The results of this study show that emotion is an important factor in the process of attitude change and that it may play a more central role in this process than has been previously shown.
AIDA

We present AIDA, a framework and online tool for entity detection and disambiguation. Given a natural-language text or a Web table, we map mentions of ambiguous names onto canonical entities like people or places, registered in a knowledge base like DBpedia, Freebase, or YAGO. AIDA is a robust framework centred around collective disambiguation exploiting the prominence of entities, similarity between the context of the mention and its candidates, and the coherence among candidate entities for all mentions. We have developed a Web-based online interface for AIDA where different formats of inputs can be processed on the fly, returning proper entities and showing intermediate steps of the disambiguation process.
Anatomical Posterior Cruciate Ligament Transplantation

Background Although current techniques of posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction may successfully stabilize the posterior cruciate ligament-deficient knee, no studies have demonstrated restoration of intact-knee kinematics. Hypothesis Posterior cruciate ligament transplantation will successfully restore posterior stability and kinematics to the posterior cruciate ligament-deficient knee. Study Design Controlled laboratory study. Methods Seven pairs (donor/recipient) of size-matched cadaveric knees underwent a novel technique for posterior cruciate ligament transplantation. The grafts were fixed at the femoral origin and tibial insertion using an inlay technique with rigid fixation. The knees were tested in the intact (intact group), posterior cruciate ligament-deficient (deficient group), and posterior cruciate ligament-transplanted (transplant group) states. A 3-dimensional electromagnetic tracking system during an active knee extension and passive knee flexion maneuver was used to quantify kinematics, specifically looking at femoral rollback. KT ligament arthrometry was used to quantify posterior stability at the quadriceps neutral angle (70°). Results For femoral rollback, the intact versus deficient groups was significantly different (P = .045) as was deficient versus transplant groups (P = .008) but not intact versus transplant groups. Similar differences were noted with the measurements of posterior stability (P < .001). Total posterior laxity between the intact versus deficient groups was significantly different (means, 1.32 mm vs 11.1 mm; P < .0001), as was deficient versus transplant groups (means, 11.1 mm vs 2.04 mm; P< .126) but not intact versus transplant groups. Conclusion In a posterior cruciate ligament-deficient cadaveric model, we demonstrated the technical feasibility and efficacy of posterior cruciate ligament transplantation for restoring femoral rollback and posterior stability at the quadriceps neutral angle. Clinical Relevance Future studies in posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction should not only address stability but also restoration of normal knee kinematics in assessing the success of a given technique.
Mechanical analysis of transversal iliac fracture stabilization using dynamic compression plate or screws and PMM in polyurethane bone model

Pelvic fractures correspond to 20 to 30 % of the fractures observed in dogs. Complete fractures, especially with bone axis deviation should be surgically treated. The mechanical study of surgical techniques is of utmost importance to assess the best way of treating these injuries. This study compared, biomechanically, the use of a dynamic compression plate (DCP) and screws (group 1) or screws and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) (group 2) to stabilize an iliac fracture using a static test. Sixteen canine synthetic hemi-pelvises (test specimens) with a transverse iliac osteotomy were used. After fixation with implants, a load was applied to the acetabulum until failure. Group 1 maximal compressive load was 133.9±18.60 N, displacement at yield 21.10±3.59mm and stiffness 125.22±12.25N/mm. Group 2 maximal compressive load was 183.50±27.38N, displacement at yield 16.66±5.42mm and stiffness 215.68±33.34N/mm. The stabilization with polymethylmethacrylate was stronger than dynamic compression plate since it resisted a greater load in all test specimens.
The Interactive Effects of Gender and Mentoring on Career Attainment: Making the Case for Female Lawyers

The moderating effects of biological gender on the relationships between mentoring and career attainment were explored among legal professionals. Research results indicated that male and female lawyers were equally likely to have senior male mentors. However, senior male mentors were associated with higher career attainment only for female lawyers. Compared to male lawyers with senior male mentors, female lawyers with senior male mentors had higher compensation, higher career progress satisfaction, and were more likely to be partners or senior executives. The authors highlight the importance of simultaneously considering mentor gender and position, when studying the role of mentoring and gender in career attainment, contributing to the literature on the career development of women in the legal profession and in male-dominated professions, in general.
Exploring the Relative Relevance of Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Emotional Intelligence

The present study examines the predictive ability of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) and Emotional Intelligence (EI) with regard to organizationally relevant criterion variables including Job Satisfaction, Personal Effectiveness, Reputational Effectiveness, General Health, Career Orientation, Perceived Job Mobility, Turnover Intention, Organizational Commitment, Vertical Trust, Work Recognition, Organizational Productivity, and Organizational Effectiveness. Sample consisted of middle level executives (N=250) of two wheelermanufacturing motorbike organizations. Results of the study, based on multiple regression analyses suggested that compared to EI, OCB was found to be relatively a more powerful predictor of organizationally relevant criterion variables in Indian work context. The implications of results are discussed toward a possibility and importance of increasing the OCB and EI among employees from a strategic human resource development view to provide a competitive edge in changing work scenario.
PREDICTING STUDENTS' ACHIEVEMENT IN FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING USING STUDY HABIT AND ATTITUDE SCORES

This study investigated relationship between students’ study habit, attitude and academic achievement in financial accounting. A sample of four hundred students randomly selected from the senior secondary school two classes in eight secondary schools in Ijebu-North area of Ogun State, Nigeria was used for the study. Three instruments were administered to collect data. They are students’ attitude scale (SAS), Study Habit Questionnaire (SHQ) and the Accounting Performance Test (APT). Data was analyzed using Pearson Product Moment correlation and multiple regression analyses. The findings from the study revealed that there was significant positive correlation between students’ study habit and attitude. A significant relationship was recorded between students’ study habit, attitude and achievement in financial accounting. Study habit and attitude jointly accounted for 79.5% of the total variance observed in the students’ achievement in Financial Accounting. It is evident from the findings that there is need for concerted effort by teachers, counselors and parents to advice the students’ on the need to have positive attitude towards school subjects and also to encourage their wards to study hard in other to be successful in their educational pursuit.
Path Stitching: Internet-Wide Path and Delay Estimation from Existing Measurements

Many measurement systems have been proposed in recent years to shed light on the internal performance of the Internet. Their common goal is to allow distributed applications to improve end-user experience. A common hurdle they face is the need to deploy yet another measurement infrastructure. In this work, we demonstrate that without any new measurement infrastructure or active probing we obtain composite performance estimates from AS-by-AS segments and the estimates are as good as (or even better than) those from existing estimation methodologies that use on-demand, customized active probing. The main contribution of this paper is an estimation algorithm that breaks down measurement data into segments, identifies relevant segments efficiently, and, by carefully stitching segments together, produces delay and path estimates between any two end points. Fittingly, we call our algorithm path stitching. Our results show remarkably good accuracy: error in delay is below 20 ms in 80% of end-to-end paths.
On the accuracy of forecasting telephone usage demand

This paper examines the accuracy of telephone-usage-demand forecasts produced by three state-of-the-art forecasting techniques: Box-Jenkins, Akaike state space, and an autoregressive spectrum estimation. The study considers 35 actual monthly demand time series and 300 simulated realizations. Principal results are that: (1) correct identification of the nonstationary behavior of telephone demand is crucial to forecast performance, (2) overparameterization or underparameterization of the stationary aspects of a process has little or no impact on the accuracy of the forecast, and (3) forecasts based on the naive random-walk method compare favorably to those produced by sophisticated techniques. Also, strengths and weaknesses of the investigated techniques are revealed through data analysis. It is further argued that the traditional method for assessing the accuracy of the usage forecast based on average busy season quantities is biased towards underforecasting.
Preventive antibiotics for infections in acute stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE To provide a systematic overview and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials evaluating preventive antibiotics in patients with acute stroke. DATA SOURCES The MEDLINE (1966-February 2009) and Cochrane databases and reference lists of retrieved articles. STUDY SELECTION Randomized controlled trials on preventive antibiotic treatment in stroke. For inclusion, at least case fatality or infection rate had to be recorded. DATA EXTRACTION Each study was scored for methodological key issues and appraised by the Jadad scale. We extracted the data using a predetermined protocol and included all patients who were randomized or who started therapy in an intent-to-treat analysis. DATA SYNTHESIS We identified 4 randomized clinical trials including 426 patients; 94% had ischemic stroke. Study interventions were fluoroquinolones in 2 and tetracycline or a combination of beta-lactam antibiotic with beta-lactamase inhibitor in 1. Therapy was started within 24 hours of stroke onset. Duration of therapy varied between 3 and 5 days. The methodological quality ranged from 2 to 5 on the Jadad scale, and studies were subject to potential bias. The proportion of patients with infection was significantly smaller in the antibiotic group than in the placebo/control group (32 of 136 [23.5%] vs 53 of 139 [38.1%] patients). The pooled odds ratio for infection was 0.44 (95% confidence interval, 0.23-0.86). Ten of 210 patients (4.8%) in the antibiotic group died, compared with 13 of 216 (6.0%) in the placebo/control group. The pooled odds ratio for mortality was 0.63 (95% confidence interval, 0.22-1.78). No major harm or toxicity was reported. CONCLUSIONS In adults with acute stroke, preventive antibiotics reduced the risk of infection, but did not reduce mortality. The observed effect warrants evaluation of preventive antibiotics in large stroke trials.
Expression Patterns and Regulatory Functions of MicroRNAs During the Initiation of Primordial Follicle Development in the Neonatal Mouse Ovary1

ABSTRACT The initiation of primordial follicle development is essential for female fertility, but the signals that trigger this process are poorly understood. Given the potentially important roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the ovary, we aimed to study the expression patterns and regulatory functions of miRNAs during the initiation of primordial follicle development. Expression patterns of miRNA in the neonatal mouse ovary were profiled by microarray, and 24 miRNAs whose abundances differed significantly between ovaries from 3- and 5-day-old mice were identified. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed that 48 signal transduction pathways are modulated by the up-regulated miRNAs and 29 pathways are modulated by the down-regulated miRNAs (P-value and false discovery rate < 0.001). A miRNA-mRNA regulatory network was established for TGF-beta signaling pathway-related genes. Among the miRNAs involved in this pathway, miR-145 was chosen for further analysis. Down-regulation of miR-145 using an antagomir (AT) decreased the proportion and number of the primordial follicles and increased that of the growing follicles in the cultured ovaries (P < 0.05). The mean oocyte diameter in the primordial follicles was significantly greater in the AT group relative to the AT-negative control group (P < 0.05), whereas the mean oocyte diameter in growing follicles was smaller in the AT group than in the AT-negative control group. In addition, we confirmed that miR-145 targets Tgfbr2. The miR-145 AT caused an increase in TGFBR2 expression and activation of Smad signaling but did not affect the p38 MAPK or JNK pathway. These data suggest that miRNAs and the signaling pathways they modulate are involved in the initiation of primordial follicle development, and miR-145 targets Tgfbr2 to regulate the initiation of primordial follicle development and maintain primordial follicle quiescence.
Concurrent Validity of the 2005 Strong Interest Inventory: An Examination of Gender and Major Field of Study

This is the first article evaluating the concurrent validity of the 2005 Strong Interest Inventory (SII). The Basic Interest Scales (BISs) were substantially revised to reflect the changing workplace, so such an update is particularly important. Concurrent validity of the 41 content scales in the SII was examined for differentiating 31 college majors in a national college sample of 1,403 women and 469 men. Using discriminant analyses, three sets of content scales were used to predict major field of study. These were six General Occupational Scales, five Personal Style Scales, and 30 BISs. Each set of scales showed substantial concurrent validity in differentiating college major for women and men. The most specific scales, the BISs, were the most predictive of major, with hit rates 6 times greater than chance. Results clearly supported the concurrent validity and counseling utility of the content scales of the SII.
Farmer Acceptance of Genetically Modified seeds in Germany: Results of a Cluster Analysis

Discussion on plant genetic engineering has experienced increasing momentum with the introduction of Genetically Modified (GM) corn in Germany and other European countries. This paper determines the various groups of German farmers, their attitudes and expected decisions on the use of GM foods using cluster analysis of 370 German farm managers. The results of cluster analysis indicate five main farmer groups who differ in terms of certain demographic characteristics and attitudes towards GM adoption. The study proposes tailored communication and risk management as an important measure that can be used by the biotechnology advocates to improve the level of acceptance.
The Impact of Investment Policy in a Changing Global Economy: a Review of the Literature

Evidence shows that foreign direct investment can provide many benefits to host countries, including productivity improvements, better jobs, and knowledge transfer. Further, it can serve as a vehicle for transformation of domestic production and better integration with global value chains. Nonetheless, these benefits are not automatic. Investment policies are required to maximize the potential gains of foreign direct investment. One challenge is that there are different kinds of foreign direct investment, and each may have different economic, social, and environmental impacts. However, the literature analyzing foreign direct investment often tends to swing from an extremely case-specific focus — analyzing experiences in one particular country in a single sector during a given period — to lumping together the analysis as if it was a homogenous phenomenon. Investment policy formulation requires a framework sophisticated enough to differentiate between the various kinds of foreign direct investment, as well as potential challenges and benefits for development. It must also be simple enough to enable governments to organize and prioritize the multiple and complex variables affecting the maximization of investment benefits. This paper presents an overview of the literature on the impact of foreign direct investment. The paper argues that a logical framework is needed to organize existing evidence from research to fill gaps in the literature and make existing evidence more useful in targeting policy making.
Parents' use of conventional and unconventional labels in conversations with their preschoolers*

ABSTRACT Parents' use of conventional versus unconventional labels with their two- (n=12), three- (n=12) and four-year-old children (n=12) was assessed as they talked about objects that were either known or unknown to them. For known objects, parents provided typical conventional labels casually during the conversation. For unknown objects, parents were less likely to use typical nouns as labels and marked their labels with additional information suggesting that the labels might be unconventional. Parents marked potentially unconventional labels by providing explicit statements of ignorance and paralinguistic cues of uncertainty. These patterns were strongest when the unknown objects were manufactured as opposed to homemade, possibly because manufactured objects are supposed to have conventional names that parents were unable to provide. Parents' marking of unconventional labels may help children recognize when new word forms should be treated with caution and guide their learning accordingly.
Sleep of patients with schizophrenia: On and off melatonin treatment

Objectives A summary of the main findings in the field of melatonin treatment will be given in order to get a better understanding of its workings and its possible clinical application in patients with schizophrenia. Methods The authors conducted an extensive literature review, using, among others, PubMed and the internet. Results It was shown in many investigations (e.g., Kumar et al., 2007) that in patients with schizophrenia the melatonin level is decreased in both drug free patients and after neuroleptic treatment and the circadian rhythm as well as the rest activity cycle are altered. It was found that melatonin restores the functional efficiency of REM sleep in patients with schizophrenia (Rotenberg, 2007). Conclusion In patients with schizophrenia who are characterized by REM sleep insufficiency, melatonin may help to restore the quality of REM sleep (Rotenberg, 2007).