Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DESIGN OF A WIDE BAND EIGHT-WAY COMPACT SIW POWER COMBINER FED BY A LOW LOSS GCPW- TO-SIW TRANSITION

Ultra wideband components have been developed using SIW technology. The various newly developed components include a GCPW transition, Y and T-junctions. The GCPW transition covers over 10GHz bandwidth with less than 0.4dB insertion loss. The optimized T and Y-junctions have relatively wide bandwidths of greater than 40% that have less than 0.6dB insertion loss. The developed transition was utilized to design an X-band eight-way power divider that demonstrated excellent performance over a 4GHz bandwidth with less than §4 - and §0:9dB phase and amplitude imbalance, respectively. Theoretical and experimental results are presented and compared with previously designed SIW power dividers. The developed SIW power divider has a low proflle and is particularly suitable for circuits' integration.
A UNIFIED INTERPRETATION OF EMOTION AND MOTIVATION *

My purpose here is to show that emotional and motivational phenomena can be validly and profitably described, studied, and interpreted in terms of a common set of neuropsychological concepts. The idea is not new. Customarily, no distinction is made between “motivational” brain and “emotional” or “visceral” brain; the neural structures that are involved in what are called emotional actions, such as escape and avoidance (fear), hostile attack (anger), attachment to objects and places (love), expansive approach (joy), and timid withdrawal (depression), are the same as those involved in so-called motivational actions, such as eating, drinking, copulating, and caring for the offspring. Further, emotions (e.g., fear, anger, love) have frequently been postulated a\ disrupters of motivated behavior. And motives (e.g. hunger, sex, maternal concern) are widely recognized as contributors to emotional responses. But, apart from some broad earlier formulations (e.g., Duffy, 1941 & 1962: Leeper, 1948 & 1965; McDougall, 1912), no detailed integration of the two concepts within a single neuropsychological schema has 70 far been advanced. The present attempt revts on the emerging view of motivation as being linked as much to environmental incentive stimuli as to internal organismic conditions. I start, therefore, with a tentative formulation of the nature of emotional-motivational processes, a formulation in which the focal concept is that of “central motive state” (CMS). This will be followed by qections dealing with the implications of this formulation for certain traditional problems of emotion and for future research.
The ‘Third Wave’: education and the ideology of parentocracy

In this paper it will be argued that we are entering a ‘third wave’ in the socio‐historical development of British education and that similar trends are also evident in the USA, Australia and New Zealand. The ‘first wave’ can be characterised by the rise of mass schooling for the working classes in the late nineteenth century. The ‘second wave’ involved a shift from the provision of education based upon what Dewey called the “feudal dogma of social predestination” to one organised on the basis of individual merit and achievement. What is distinct about the ‘third wave’ is the move towards a system whereby the education a child receives must conform to the wealth and wishes of parents rather than the abilities and efforts of pupils. In other words, we have witnessed a shift away from the ‘ideology of meritocracy’ to what I will call the ‘ideology of parentocracy’. This paper will consider the evidence to support this conclusion and examine its sociological significance.
Community Detection via Random and Adaptive Sampling

In this paper, we consider networks consisting of a finite number of non-overlapping communities. To extract these communities, the interaction between pairs of nodes may be sampled from a large available data set, which allows a given node pair to be sampled several times. When a node pair is sampled, the observed outcome is a binary random variable, equal to 1 if nodes interact and to 0 otherwise. The outcome is more likely to be positive if nodes belong to the same communities. For a given budget of node pair samples or observations, we wish to jointly design a sampling strategy (the sequence of sampled node pairs) and a clustering algorithm that recover the hidden communities with the highest possible accuracy. We consider both non-adaptive and adaptive sampling strategies, and for both classes of strategies, we derive fundamental performance limits satisfied by any sampling and clustering algorithm. In particular, we provide necessary conditions for the existence of algorithms recovering the communities accurately as the network size grows large. We also devise simple algorithms that accurately reconstruct the communities when this is at all possible, hence proving that the proposed necessary conditions for accurate community detection are also sufficient. The classical problem of community detection in the stochastic block model can be seen as a particular instance of the problems consider here. But our framework covers more general scenarios where the sequence of sampled node pairs can be designed in an adaptive manner. The paper provides new results for the stochastic block model, and extends the analysis to the case of adaptive sampling.
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in New Hampshire

This evaluation report presents outcomes for the first cohort of 28 early childhood education programs and K—12 schools involved in implementing schoolwide positive behavior support as part of a statewide systems change initiative that began in New Hampshire in 2002. Results indicate that the overwhelming majority of schools were able to implement schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports with fidelity within 2 years and to sustain implementation over the course of the following year. Implementation resulted in a reduction of 6,010 office discipline referrals and 1,032 suspensions, with middle and high schools experiencing the most benefit. These reductions helped recover 864 days of teaching, 1,701 days of learning, and 571 days of leadership. Implementation was associated with academic gains in math for the vast majority of schools who implemented with fidelity. Improvements in reading/language arts were less pervasive. Recommendations for policy, practice, and research are discussed.
The Effects of Vitamin E on the Liver Integrity of Mice Fed with Acrylamide Diet

Background and Objectives: Acrylamide is a monomer which is formed in foodstuffs containing carbohydrates altered to asparagine during thermal processing. Vitamin E is a component in human diet considered as the most effective lipid-soluble antioxidant found in the biological system. It prevents initiation of oxidative tissue damage. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of vitamin E on hepatic biochemical and histological integrity in male mice fed with acrylamide. Materials and Methods: Twenty-eight adult male mice were randomly divided into four groups comprised of seven mice each. The first group served as control fed on ad-libitum diet; second group received 10 mg/kg/day acrylamide in drinking water; in third group, 100 mg/kg/day vitamin E was injected intraperitoneal, and fourth received a combination of acrylamide/vitamin E for 35 days. After cutting liver, liver injury was assessed by hematoxylin and eosin, and reticulin staining. Results: Following acrylamide consumption, the serum levels of liver enzymes significantly in creased and light microscopy showed lymphocytes infiltration, inflammation of portal space and central vein, apoptosis, chromatolysis and fibrous expansion in some portal areas in acrylamidetreated mice. There was a statistically considerable difference between biochemical parameters, index apoptosis and histological features when the acrylamide plus vitamin E-treated group was compared with acrylamide-treated group. Conclusion: Acrylamide induced disturbance in hepatocytes activity and increased the serum levels of liver and structural changes in the liver. Administration of vitamin E significantly reduced the increased level of serum aminotransferase and the pathological changes, also effectively suppressed the acrylamide–induced liver injury.
Personality Structure and the New Fifth Edition of the 16PF

The purposes of the present article were to describe briefly the development of the new fifth edition of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) and to present a check of the factor structure of this new edition. Since its initial publication in 1949, the 16PF has undergone four revisions (1956, 1962, 1968, and 1993). The latest revision (resulting in the 16PF fifth edition) was begun in 1988 with the goals of updating and improving item content, standardizing on a current population sample, and generally refining the test. Items were selected in a four-stage iterative process, beginning with an item pool containing the best items from all five current forms of the 16PF (Forms A, B, C, D, and CAQ Part 1). Specific item criteria are described. Factor analyses of the new items and scales are described and show strong support for the validity of the factor structure of the fifth edition and for its continuity with earlier versions.
Are you as good as me at telling a story? Individual differences in interpersonal reality monitoring

We tested whether someone's ability to tell a good story, in terms of the Reality Monitoring (RM) tool, affects the way s/he judges the stories told by others. Forty participants (undergraduate students) wrote down two statements – one about activities they did 30 minutes ago, and the other about a past event. Subsequently, they rated the quality of a target statement written by someone else. We found that the tendency to provide a not so detailed or a very detailed statement was stable across the two statements the participants wrote. Furthermore, this tendency affected how they judged the target statements: The richer a participant's statements were compared to the target statement, the more critical the participant was in judging the target statement. These findings imply that RM is subject to biases which are related to individual differences. We discuss the implications of these findings for applying the RM lie detection tool in the field.
Inform or Not? An Exploratory Study of Motivations in Mothers for the Information Given to Their Toddlers before Immunisation

Toddlers experience stress and express distress during routine paediatric examinations with immunisation. Adjustment to this situation is important, as distress and pain are interrelated. A negative experience of immunisation of their child, moreover, is often mentioned by parents as a reason for refusing routine vaccinations. This paper focuses on the motivation by the mother to inform her child of the immunisation to come and on the associations between information, maternal behaviour, and toddler distress during the examination. Research took place in a private paediatrician practice. The sample comprised 41 mother–child dyads (24 girls, 17 boys; mean age 22.7 months, standard deviation 4.7 months). Mothers were interviewed about the information they gave to the child before the examination. Their answers were coded for motives using content analysis. The entire examination was then video-recorded and the films coded for maternal verbal behaviour (stress-promoting and coping-promoting comments) and toddlers’ expressed distress. The information given varied, with 10 toddlers (24%) receiving no information, 10 (24%) being informed of the visit to the doctor and 21 (52%) being also informed about the immunisation. Motives for informing the child consisted mainly of “anticipatory” (to not surprise the child) and “relational” (to communicate openly) arguments; motives for not informing were mainly based on “rational” (the child is too young) arguments. Analyses show that information was not directly associated with child distress. Stress-promoting comments of the mother were associated with child distress, but only if the child was informed. Maternal behaviour during the examination and information may thus mediate the effect of the maternal motivation on the child's distress. Taking into account not only what the mother does during the examination, but also what she intends to do may help practitioners coach mothers to help their child.
“There is Life after Breast Cancer”: Nine Vignettes Exploring Dragon Boat Racing for Breast Cancer Survivors

The following representations are about lived experiences with dragon boat racing (DBR) for breast cancer survivors. DBR is a leisure pursuit focused on life after medical treatment for breast cancer. Previous research focused on physiological benefits of DBR and overlooked the broader health implications of this leisure pursuit. Data were collected through active interviews with twelve participants. Using creative analytic practice, the collection of stories included in this text reveal DBR experiences from a survivor's standpoint. The stories disclose changes to a sense of self, personal identity, and health and well-being. The use of short stories contributes to the dialogue of creative analytic practice within leisure studies.
Using fNIRS to Characterize Human Perception of TTS System Quality, Comprehension, and Fluency: Preliminary Findings

The quality of synthesized speech signals from different Text-to-Speech (TTS) systems is traditionally evaluated using subjective tests based on user ratings. Subjective testing, however, is challenging due to the variability and complexity of human perception. As such, recently there has been a shift towards exploring new objective techniques to evaluate the quality of TTS systems. In this paper, we describe our initial effort of characterizing human TTS quality perception via neurophysiological insights obtained from a neuroimaging technology called functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS). This approach allowed for a link between the human decision making process and the quality of different TTS systems to be established. We showed signiﬁcant correlations be-tween perceived quality and several fNIRS features re-lated to cerebral haemodynamics. These preliminary re-sults have helped establish the potential of fNIRS as an important tool for evaluating the quality of TTS systems.
Multi-Object Tracking and Identification over Sets

The ability for an autonomous agent or robot to track and identify potentially multiple objects in a dynamic environment is essential for many applications, such as automated surveillance, traffic monitoring, human-robot interaction, etc. The main challenge is due to the noisy and incomplete perception including inevitable false negative and false positive errors from a low-level detector. In this paper, we propose a novel multi-object tracking and identification over sets approach to address this challenge. We define joint states and observations both as finite sets, and develop motion and observation functions accordingly. The object identification problem is then formulated and solved by using expectation-maximization methods. The set formulation enables us to avoid directly performing observation-to-object association. We empirically confirm that the overall algorithm outperforms the state-of-the-art in a popular PETS dataset.
Adult learning principles in designing learning activities for teacher development

The research reported in this paper is an investigation of the application of adult learning principles in designing learning activities for teachers’ life-long development. The exploration is illustrated by qualitative data from a case study of adult educators’ and adult learners’ insights and experiences of a teacher development course organised by a Greek university. Analysis focuses on the andragogical notion of design, i.e. selecting the combination of learning units and learning formats that most effectively accomplish the objectives of a programme. Findings of the study are somehow optimistic in that they do indicate, however imperfectly, that adult learning principles might be further applied in designing learning activities for teacher development, and make some tentative recommendations for Greece and elsewhere.
Longitudinal studies at the country level as a new approach to educational effectiveness: explaining change in reading achievement (PIRLS) by change in age, socio‐economic status and class size

This article investigates the effect of change in average age, socio‐economic status (SES) and class size upon the change in average reading achievement between the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2001 and PIRLS 2006 at the country level. First, we consider the effect of age upon reading achievement. We use regression–discontinuity to analyze the effects of age and schooling upon reading achievement. A tentative correction for age differences yields a new ranking of countries with regard to their corrected average achievement in PIRLS 2006. Second, in order to facilitate cross‐country comparisons in respect of educational equity, we construct internationally acceptable SES indices for PIRLS 2001 and PIRLS 2006. Third, we investigate the effects of change in class size, age and SES upon the change in reading achievement through regressions. We find that the change in reading achievement at the country level can be partially explained by the change in age but not by the change in SE.
Patterns of stability and continuity in attention across early infancy

Abstract Models of stability and continuity in infant development are examined and illustrated in a short-term longitudinal study of infant attention in several tasks. Four approaches to quantifying infant attention are described: habituation, recovery, duration, and brief exposure. With respect to stability and continuity, four possible patterns of development obtain: stability and continuity, stability and discontinuity, instability and continuity, and instability and discontinuity. Instability and discontinuity patterns are the most prominent descriptions of development of attention in infancy, but all four possible patterns of development are in evidence, andeven in the first months of life, even within a single domain of infant development.
Encounters With the Dominant Culture: Voices of Indigenous Students in Mainstream Higher Education

Students from minority and non-dominant backgrounds often have negative experiences when dealing with higher education systems. In this study we explored Indigenous student's experiences in mainstream higher education. Interviews were conducted with 34 participants, systematically selected from a listing of 110 past and present students, about their experiences in mainstream higher education. Participants included people who had successfully completed programs at Curtin University of Technology, those who did not complete courses, and those who were participating in bridging courses at the Centre for Aboriginal Studies (CAS). The qualitative data were analysed for unique and recurring themes using content analyses. The data showed that subtle and overt forms of racism impact on students' experiences in mainstream education. Participants mentioned issues associated with conflicts between indigenous and mainstream cultural values that are reflected in course content and levels of support across schools. The CAS was highlighted as a context for the strengthening of cultural identities, providing emotional and tangible support, and providing a link between the community and the university. Efforts aimed at strengthening of cultural identities need to be supported and the diversity of Aboriginal people must be acknowledged. Research and interventions challenging mainstream norms and structures that maintain social inequality are required. The challenges to affirmative action need to be located in their proper historical context.
The Governance of Risk Management: The Importance of Directors’ Independence and Financial Knowledge

We test the effects of the independence and financial knowledge of directors on risk management and firm value in the gold mining industry. Our original hand‐collected database on directors’ financial education, accounting background, and financial experience allows us to measure the effect of financial knowledge on risk management activities. We show that directors’ financial knowledge increases firm value through the risk management channel. This effect is strengthened by the independence of the directors on the board and on the audit committee. Extending the dimension of education, we show that, following unexpected shocks to gold prices, firms with financially educated directors are more effective in hedging than average firms in the industry. Firms that hedge more also attracts highly educated directors on their board and audit committee. As a policy implication, our results suggest adding the experience and education dimensions to the 2002 Sarbanes–Oxley Act and New York Stock Exchange requirements for better governance.
Milliarcsecond angular resolution of reddened stellar sources in the vicinity of the Galactic center - II. Additional observations

Context. Interstellar extinction in the inner regions of the Galactic bulge amounts to tens of magnitudes at visual wavelengths. As a consequence, the majority of sources in that area are poorly studied and large numbers of potentially interesting sources such as late-type giants with circumstellar shells, stellar masers and infrared stars, remain excluded from the typical investigations that are carried out in less problematic regions. Also undetected are a large numbers of binaries. Aims. We present lunar occultation (LO) observations obtained in August 2006 with the recently demonstrated burst mode of the ISAAC instrument at the ESO VLT. The results presented here follow the previously reported observations carried out in March 2006 on a similar but unrelated set of sources. By observing LO events in this region, we gain the means to investigate at least a selected number of sources with an unprecedented combination of sensitivity and angular resolution. Methods. The LO technique permits milliarcsecond resolution with a sensitivity of K ≈ 12 mag at a very large telescope. We used the opportunity of a favorable passage of the Moon over a crowded region in the general direction of the Galactic center to observe 78 LO events of heavily reddened stellar sources. Results. We detected six new binary and one triple star, with typical projected separation of ≈0. �� 01. We also detected the compact circumstellar emission around one maser and one central star of a planetary nebula. We measured the diameter and/or circumstellar shell of two carbon stars and other IR sources. Conclusions. We used the upper limits on the size of about 60 unresolved or marginally resolved sources to confirm the performance of the method. In agreement with our previous result, we conclude that lunar occultations in fast read-out mode on a detector subwindow at an 8 m-class telescope can achieve an angular resolution close to 0. 001 with a sensitivity K ≈ 12 mag.