Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing Outcomes: Evaluation of a Social Competency Program for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The current study examines the effectiveness of a Social Competency Program, implemented by a local agency specializing in autism diagnosis and treatment, with regard to the development of social skills among children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. This study, conducted using archival data from a local community agency, used a within-subjects, repeated measures research design to determine if the Social Competency Program enhanced the overall social performance of enrolled participants, as measured by clinician-completed rating scales. The study also examined the relationship between program effectiveness and variables including age and gender. The results did not support the program’s ability to improve social functioning or any variation in effectiveness based on age. Limitations in program evaluation procedures may, however, have affected these outcomes. In addition, analyses exploring the impact of gender could not be conducted because of a limited number of female participants. Overall, this study can be conceptualized as a preliminary measure, as well as a useful tool in guiding future program evaluation, development, and modification.
Flooding attacks detection in MANETs

Flooding attacks are well-known security threats that can lead to a denial of service (DoS) in computer networks. These attacks consist of an excessive traffic generation, by which an attacker aim to disrupt or interrupt some services in the network. The impact of flooding attacks is not just about some nodes, it can be also the whole network. Many routing protocols are vulnerable to these attacks, especially those using reactive mechanism of route discovery, like AODV. In this paper, we propose a statistical approach to defense against RREQ flooding attacks in MANETs. Our detection mechanism can be applied on AODV-based ad hoc networks. Simulation results prove that these attacks can be detected with a low rate of false alerts.
The Trouble With Black Boys… and Other Reflections on Race, Equity, and the Future of Public Education

The Author. Introduction. Part One: The Student Experience. 1. Joaquin's Dilemma: Understanding the Link Between Racial Identity and School-Related Behaviors. 2. The Trouble with Black Boys: The Impact of Social and Cultural Forces on the Academic Achievement of African American Males. 3. And What Will Become of Children Like Miguel Fernandez? / Y Que Pasara Con Jovenes Como Miguel Fernandez? Education, Immigration, and the Future of Latinos in the United States. 4. How Listening to Students Can Help Schools to Improve. Part Two: The Search for Equity. 5. Latino Youth: Immigration, Education, and the Future. 6. Preventing and Producing Violence: A Critical Analysis of Responses to School Violence. 7. Schools, Prisons, and Social Implications of Punishment: Rethinking Disciplinary Practices. 8. Racial Politics and the Elusive Quest for Excellence and Equity in Education. Part Three: The Schools We Need. 9. Reclaiming the Promise of Public Education With Alan Blankstein. 10. Standards for What? Accountability for Whom? Rethinking Standards-Based Reform in Public Education. 11. Racial Isolation, Poverty, and the Limits of Local Control as a Means for Holding Public Schools Accountable. 12. Transforming Urban Schools Through Investments in Social Capital. Notes and References. Epilogue: Joaquin's Dilemma Revisited. Index.
The Johnson-Lindenstrauss Transform: An Empirical Study

The Johnson-Lindenstrauss Lemma states that a set of n points may be embedded in a space of dimension O(log n/e2) while preserving all pairwise distances within a factor of (1 + e) with high probability. It has inspired a number of proofs that extend the result, simplify it, and improve the efficiency of computing the resulting embedding. The lemma is a critical tool in the realm of dimensionality reduction and high dimensional approximate computational geometry. It is also employed for data mining in domains that analyze intrinsically high dimensional objects such as images and text. However, while algorithms performing the dimensionality reduction have become increasingly sophisticated, there is little understanding of the behavior of these embeddings in practice. In this paper, we present the first comprehensive study of the empirical behavior of algorithms for dimensionality reduction based on the JL Lemma. Our study answers a number of important questions about the quality of the embeddings and the performance of algorithms used to compute them. Among our key results: (i) Determining a likely range for the big-Oh constant in practice for the dimension of the target space, and demonstrating the accuracy of the predicted bounds. (ii) Finding 'best in class' algorithms over wide ranges of data size and source dimensionality, and showing that these depend heavily on parameters of the data as well its sparsity. (iii) Developing the best implementation for each method, making use of non-standard optimized code for key subroutines. (iv) Identifying critical computational bottlenecks that can spur further theoretical study of efficient algorithms.
Bully Perpetration and Self-Esteem: Examining the Relation Over Time

School-aged youth face a number of academic and behavioral challenges within the educational environment, including bullying involvement. Unfortunately, bullying has been linked to a number of detrimental psychosocial outcomes. Scholars have attempted to establish predictive profiles for youth involved in bullying. These profiles include bully perpetrators, where it has been argued that self-esteem is predictive of bullying behaviors. To address this association, the current study examined the relation between self-esteem and bully perpetration among 971 middle school youth through a longitudinal structural equation model. A three-step confirmatory factor analytic procedure determined that bully perpetration and self-esteem were metrically invariant and stable over time. The structural model suggested that bully perpetration at Time 1 predicted bully perpetration at Time 2, and self-esteem at Time 1 predicted self-esteem at Time 2. However, self-esteem at Time 1 did not predict bully perpetration at Time 2, and bully perpetration at Time 1 did not predict self-esteem at Time 2. These results suggest that students who engage in bully perpetration do not have higher or lower levels of self-esteem when compared with their peers who do not engage in bullying. Future research should continue to examine predictive factors associated with bully perpetration.
Supersymmetric black rings and three-charge supertubes

We present supergravity solutions for $1/8$-supersymmetric black supertubes with three charges and three dipoles. Their reduction to five dimensions yields supersymmetric black rings with regular horizons and two independent angular momenta. The general solution contains seven independent parameters and provides the first example of nonuniqueness of supersymmetric black holes. In ten dimensions, the solutions can be realized as D1-D5-P black supertubes. We also present a worldvolume construction of a supertube that exhibits three dipoles explicitly. This description allows an arbitrary cross section but captures only one of the angular momenta.
Reliable and High-Performance Hardware Architectures for the Advanced Encryption Standard/Galois Counter Mode

The high level of security and the fast hardware and software implementations of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) have made it the first choice for many critical applications. Since its acceptance as the adopted symmetric-key algorithm, the AES has been utilized in various security-constrained applications, many of which are power and resource constrained and require reliable and efficient hardware implementations. In this thesis, first, we investigate the AES algorithm from the concurrent fault detection point of view. We note that in addition to the efficiency requirements of the AES, it must be reliable against transient and permanent internal faults or malicious faults aiming at revealing the secret key. This reliability analysis and proposing efficient and effective fault detection schemes are essential because fault attacks have become a serious concern in cryptographic applications. Therefore, we propose, design, and implement various novel concurrent fault detection schemes for different AES hardware architectures. These include different structure-dependent and independent approaches for detecting single and multiple stuck-at faults using single and multi-bit signatures. The recently standardized authentication mode of the AES, i.e., Galois/Counter Mode (GCM), is also considered in this thesis. We propose efficient architectures for the AESGCM algorithm. In this regard, we investigate the AES algorithm and we propose lowcomplexity and low-power hardware implementations for it, emphasizing on its nonlinear transformation, i.e., SubByes (S-boxes). We present new formulations for this transformation and through exhaustive hardware implementations, we show that the proposed architectures outperform their counterparts in terms of efficiency. Moreover, we present parallel, high-performance new schemes for the hardware implementations of the GCM to improve its throughput and reduce its latency. The performance of the proposed efficient architectures for the AES-GCM and their fault detection approaches are benchmarked using application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) hardware platforms. Our comparison results show that the proposed hardware architectures outperform their existing counterparts in terms of efficiency and fault detection capability.
What is coordination theory

The primary purpose of this paper is to stimulate discussion about a research agenda for a newinterdisciplinary field. This field--the study of coordination--draws upon a variety of differentdisciplines including computer science, organization theory, management science, economics, andpsychology. Work in this new area will include developing a body of scientific theory, which we willcall "coordination theory," about how the activities of separate actors can be coordinated. Oneimportant use for coordination theory will be in developing and using computer and communicationsystems to help people coordinate their activities in new ways. We will call these systems"coordination technology. "
Evidence for a Recent Dike Injection in Northern California Using Gravity and Seismicity

In the year 2000, an anomalous sequence of off-fault seismicity was detected near Lake Pillsbury in northern California. The seismicity was interpreted by Hayes et al. (2005, 2006) to be associated with a dike injection. I completed a gravity survey over the location of the seismicity and used that data in gravity modeling, to test the hypothesis that the seismicity was directly linked to the intrusion of a dike. A symmetrical, negative gravity anomaly of maximum amplitude 3 mGal and approximate width 5 km was detected directly above the location of the seismicity. The results of the gravity modeling suggest that the negative anomaly is generated by two zones where density has been reduced, as a result of rock fracturing open in response to the intrusion of the dike. The two fractured regions used in the gravity models are consistent with seismicity patterns and coulomb stress models and therefore provide additional support for the dike injection hypothesis.
Kepuasan dan Loyalitas Siswa dan Orang Tua Terhadap Penggunaan Layanan Online Berdasarkan Kualitas Pelayanan dan Kualitas Tampilan Laman (Web) di SMK Negeri 1 Kota Bogor

Proses pembelajaran pada pendidikan menengah dan kejuruan di SMK Negeri 1 Kota Bogor telah memanfaatkan keberadaan website sekolah yang bertujuan untuk meningkatkan efisiensi dan efektivitas pembelajaran. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah menganalisis dan menjelaskan pengaruh kualitas pelayanan, kualitas produk (tampilan laman) terhadap kepuasan dan loyalitas siswa dan orang tua. Sampel dalam penelitian ini sejumlah 290 orang siswa dan 290 orang tua siswa SMK Negeri 1 Kota Bogor. Teknik pengambilan sampel menggunakan non probability sampling, metode pengumpulan data dengan kuesioner, dan analisis data menggunakan software SmartPLS 3.2. 0. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat pengaruh yang signifikan antara kualitas pelayanan terhadap kepuasan dan loyalitas siswa, kualitas produk terhadap kepuasan dan loyalitas siswa, serta kualitas pelayanan terhadap kepuasan orang tua. Sedangkan pengaruh kualitas pelayanan terhadap loyalitas orang tua tidak signifikan.
Two Types of Alpha Satellite DNA in Distinct Chromosomal Locations in Azara's Owl Monkey

Alpha satellite DNA is a repetitive sequence known to be a major DNA component of centromeres in primates (order Primates). New World monkeys form one major taxon (parvorder Platyrrhini) of primates, and their alpha satellite DNA is known to comprise repeat units of around 340 bp. In one species (Azara's owl monkey Aotus azarae) of this taxon, we identified two types of alpha satellite DNA consisting of 185- and 344-bp repeat units that we designated as OwlAlp1 and OwlAlp2, respectively. OwlAlp2 exhibits similarity throughout its entire sequence to the alpha satellite DNA of other New World monkeys. The chromosomal locations of the two types of sequence are markedly distinct: OwlAlp1 was observed at the centromeric constrictions, whereas OwlAlp2 was found in the pericentric regions. From these results, we inferred that OwlAlp1 was derived from OwlAlp2 and rapidly replaced OwlAlp2 as the principal alpha satellite DNA on a short time scale at the speciation level. A less likely alternative explanation is also discussed.
A BIOLOGICALLY INSPIRED FRONT END FOR AUDIO SIGNAL PROCESSING USING PROGRAMMABLE ANALOG CIRCUITRY

To my wife Meadow. Thank you for giving me up to long hours and late nights in lab. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my parents for their continued love and support throughout all my life and all my academic endeavors. Without them, I would not have made it this far. I would especially like to thank Dr. Paul Hasler, my advisor. He has been a constant source of help in my academic endeavors and has prepared me well for my future career. who are the other members of my thesis committee. They have helped to give me great ideas and new ways to approach my research. has been wonderful. Thank you for all the help in understanding difficult concepts, help in debugging circuits, and the friendships we have formed. I would like to extend a special thanks to Analog Devices, with which a valuable internship was available through the Georgia Tech Analog Consortium. Without my wife, Meadow, I certainly would have had a much harder time making it through this academic journey. She has been the best friend anyone could ever imagine and a constant source of strength.
Rational Partisan Theory, Uncertainty, and Spatial Voting: Evidence for the Bank of England's MPC

The transparency and openness of the monetary policymaking process at the Bank of England has provided very detailed information on both the decisions of individual members of the Monetary Policy Committee and the information on which they are based. In this paper we consider this decision making process in the context of a model in which inflation forecast targeting is used but there is heterogeneity among the members of the committee. We find that rational partisan theory can explain spatial voting behaviour under forecast uncertainty about the output gap. Internally generated forecasts of output and market generated expectations of medium term inflation provide the best description of discrete changes in interest rates, in combination with uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment. There is also a role for developments in asset housing and labour markets. Further, spatial voting patterns clearly differentiates between internal and externally appointed members of the Monetary Policy Committee. The results have important implications for committee design and the conduct of monetary policy.
Certified But Not Qualified? EFL Pre-service Teachers in Liminality

ABSTRACT Research on novice ESL/EFL teachers’ identity development often characterizes the teaching practicum/internship as a boundary-crossing period in which pre-service teachers move out of the sheltered environment of education to become in-service teachers in real classrooms. Nevertheless, many prospective teachers experience a prolonged pre-service period in which an examination-based selection mechanism is used to gatekeep teacherdom. Through the lens of liminality, the study explores the experiences of two Taiwanese pre-service secondary EFL teachers during a period filled with high-stakes recruitment examinations. By examining how the two participants negotiate their identities and learn about the profession amid the disheartening challenges and learning opportunities they face during liminality, the study gives voice to pre-service teachers caught in between institutional structures and allows them to articulate their struggles as well as their sense of agency in pursuing a teaching career. The findings yield practical implications for EFL teacher education and the examination-based selection mechanism.
Tightness Results for Local Consistency Relaxations in Continuous MRFs

Finding the MAP assignment in graphical models is a challenging task that generally requires approximations. One popular approximation approach is to use linear programming relaxations that enforce local consistency. While these are commonly used for discrete variable models, they are much less understood for models with continuous variables. Here we define local consistency relaxations of MAP for continuous pairwise Markov Random Fields (MRFs), and analyze their properties. We begin by providing a characterization of models for which this relaxation is tight. These turn out to be models that can be reparameterized as a sum of local convex functions. We also provide a simple formulation of this relaxation for Gaussian MRFs. Next, we show how the above insights can be used to obtain optimality certificates for loopy belief propagation (LBP) in such models. Specifically, we show that the messages of LBP can be used to calculate upper and lower bounds on the MAP value, and that these bounds coincide at convergence, yielding a natural stopping criterion which was not previously available. Finally, our results illustrate a close connection between local consistency relaxations of MAP and LBP. They demonstrate that in the continuous case, whenever LBP is provably optimal so is the local consistency relaxation.
Anisotropic weak turbulence of Alfvén waves in collisionless astrophysical plasmas

The evolution of the Alfven turbulence due to three-wave interactions is discussed using kinetic theory for a collisionless, thermal plasma. There are three low-frequency modes, analogous to the three modes of compressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). When only Alfven waves are considered, the known anisotropy of turbulence in incompressible MHD theory is reproduced. Inclusion of a fast mode wave leads to the separation of turbulence into two regimes: small wave numbers where three-wave processes involving a fast mode are dominant, and large wave numbers where the three Alfven wave process is dominant. Possible application of the anisotropic Alfven turbulence to the interstellar medium and dissipation of magnetic energy in magnetars are discussed.
Effect of market type in continuous environments: The need for intermediaries

Much research on automated market design has focused on auction mechanisms that require both a centralised auctioneer and strategic behaviour of individuals to achieve competitive outcomes. This new research investigates the performance of several market types in terms of global efficiency and individual trader outcomes in a continuous environment. It is argued that under these conditions a quotedriven intermediary market can overcome the limitations of auction approaches. Moreover, such a market obviates the need for strategic behaviour in individual traders thus simplifying their design. Simple adaptive approaches to marketmaking are shown to be sufficient to obtain competitive outcomes in a relatively stable continuous trading environment.
Recurrent Support Vector Machines For Slot Tagging In Spoken Language Understanding

We propose recurrent support vector machine ( RSVM ) for slot tagging. This model is a combination of the recurrent neural network ( RNN ) and the structured support vector machine. RNN extracts features from the input sequence. The structured support vector machine uses a sequence-level discriminative objective function. The proposed model therefore combines the sequence representation capability of an RNN with the sequence-level discriminative objective. We have observed new state-of-the-art results on two benchmark datasets and one private dataset. RSVM obtained statistical signiﬁcant 4% and 2% relative average F1 score improvement on ATIS dataset and Chunking dataset, respectively. Out of eight domains in Cortana live log dataset, RSVM achieved F1 score improvement on seven domains. Experiments also show that RSVM significantly speeds up the model training by skipping the weight updating for non-support vector training samples, compared against training using RNN with CRF or minimum cross-entropy objectives.
How Parenting Behaviors Influence Weight and Health Status of African American Adolescents

This quantitative secondary data analysis sought to investigate the relationship between parenting styles and practices of African American mothers and fathers residing both inside and outside of the home on the weight status (as measured by BMI percentile) of their adolescent children. Findings indicate variables beyond parenting practices, such as urban/rural residence, must be considered to explain weight status among adolescents. Procedures Secondary analysis of archival data (NLSY97): The sample consisted of African American adolescents and their parents. Of adolescents (n = 325), with girls making up 51% (n = 165) of the sample and boys making up 49% (n = 160).