Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The widening gap between Malaysia’s international tourism brand and domestic multicultural policy

ABSTRACT Malaysia’s international image boasts harmonious multiculturalism amongst Malay, Chinese, Indian and Indigenous ethnolinguistic groups, alluring tourists and investors worldwide. Campaigns such as Malaysia, Truly Asia promise a rich and diverse cultural experience, and the government’s international investment arm describes Malaysians as Western-leaning. On the other hand, Malaysian laws, policies and subsequent scholarship show that Malaysian society is hierarchised by ethnicity and language. Through a lens of critical multiculturalism, this paper reflects on a mismatch between Malaysia’s international image and domestic policy. We argue that Malaysia’s international image has likely never been accurate and instead caters towards Western values. Rather than all ethnicities being equal, Malaysia is an ethnocratic state that has codified the supremacy of being Malay. We suggest that the gap between this international image and domestic multicultural experience may only be widening with a resurgence of Islamisation in Malaysian politics and society.
Computer Vision and Image Understanding Left/right Hand Segmentation in Egocentric Videos

Wearable cameras allow people to record their daily activities from a user-centered (First Person Vision) perspective. Due to their favorable location, wearable cameras frequently capture the hands of the user, and may thus represent a promising user-machine interaction tool for different applications. Exis-tent First Person Vision methods handle hand segmentation as a background-foreground problem, ignoring two important facts: i) hands are not a single " skin-like " moving element, but a pair of interacting cooperative entities, ii) close hand interactions may lead to hand-to-hand occlusions and, as a consequence , create a single hand-like segment. These facts complicate a proper understanding of hand movements and interactions. Our approach extends traditional background-foreground strategies, by including a hand-identification step (left-right) based on a Maxwell distribution of angle and position. Hand-to-hand occlusions are addressed by exploiting temporal superpixels. The experimental results show that, in addition to a reliable left/right hand-segmentation, our approach considerably improves the traditional background-foreground hand-segmentation.
Ilf3 and NF90 associate with the axonal targeting element of Tau mRNA

In neurons, the selective translocation of Tau mRNA toward axons is due to the presence of a nucleotide sequence located in its 3′ untranslated region and serving as axonal targeting element. Using this RNA sequence as a probe by a Northwestern approach, we have detected several proteins that interact with the targeting RNA element and could potentially be involved in Tau mRNA translocation, translation halting, and/or stabilization. Among them, two proteins were identified as the interleukin enhancer binding factor 3 (Ilf3) and NF90, two isoforms derived from a single gene product through alternative splicing. Each protein comprises two double‐stranded RNA binding motifs that can interact with the predicted stem‐loop secondary structure of the axonal targeting element. Specific antibodies raised against common or specific peptide sequences showed that both Ilf3 and NF90 are polymorphic proteins that are detected in neuronal nuclei and cell bodies, as well as in the proximal neuritic segments. This observation favors the idea that Ilf3 and NF90 are part of a protein complex that escorts Tau mRNA toward the axon.
Estimation of the likelihood of capacitive coupling noise

The corruption of signals due to capacitive and inductive coupling of interconnects has become a significant problem in the design of deep submicron circuits (DSM). In this paper, a probabilistic approach is described which allows for a quantitative means to prioritize nets based on the likelihood of the reported noise violation. We derive upper bounds on the probability that the total noise injected on a given victim net by a specific set of aggressors exceeds a threshold. This bound is then used to determine a lower bound on the expected number of clock cycles (ENC) before the first violation occurs on a given net. Nets can be prioritized based on the ENC. We demonstrate the utility of this approach through experiments carried out on a large industrial processor design using a state-of-the-art industrial noise analysis tool. A significant and interesting result of this work is that a substantial portion (25%) of the nets were found to have an ENC of more than five years. If five years is deemed to be sufficiently long time, then these could be eliminated from further consideration.
Translanguaging: Definitions, Implications, and Further Needs in Burgeoning Inquiry

The term translanguaging has appeared with growing frequency in research about the education of linguistic minority students. Amid increasing application of the term, concern emerges regarding the consistency of its definitions and characterizations, specifically with respect to the term’s social justice implications, which risk dilution. Early instances (Garcia, 2007, 2009a) position the term as both a pedagogical strategy for supporting multilingual learners and a critique of existing conceptualizations of language and bilingualism that have historically marginalized particular speech communities. In this review of recent literature, I analyze 53 texts published between 1996 and 2014 for their definitions, exemplifications, and attributed implications of translanguaging, as an ontological perspective on language and as a set of teaching practices. In the review, I find that although the term has largely maintained its sociolinguistic critique, its ties to critical pedagogy appear only sporadically. I close this review by proposing avenues for new research.
On Space-Time Capacity Limits in Mobile and Delay Tolerant Networks

We investigate the fundamental capacity limits of space-time journeys of information in mobile and Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs), where information is either transmitted or carried by mobile nodes, using store-carry-forward routing. We define the capacity of a journey (i.e., a path in space and time, from a source to a destination) as the maximum amount of data that can be transferred from the source to the destination in the given journey. Combining a stochastic model (conveying all possible journeys) and an analysis of the durations of the nodes' encounters, we study the properties of journeys that maximize the space-time information propagation capacity, in bit-meters per second. More specifically, we provide theoretical lower and upper bounds on the information propagation speed, as a function of the journey capacity. In the particular case of random way-point-like models (i.e., when nodes move for a distance of the order of the network domain size before changing direction), we show that, for relatively large journey capacities, the information propagation speed is of the same order as the mobile node speed. This implies that, surprisingly, in sparse but large-scale mobile DTNs, the space-time information propagation capacity in bit-meters per second remains proportional to the mobile node speed and to the size of the transported data bundles, when the bundles are relatively large. We also verify that all our analytical bounds are accurate in several simulation scenarios.
Exploring the Strategies of Addressing Pertinent Forms of Corruption and Accountability in Selected African Countries

ABSTRACT With corruption levels reaching unfathomable levels in some African countries, it is critical that research that avails plausible strategic recommendations is conducted. This is to give hope that these countries public civil service will be effective and efficient. The aim of this paper is, through a review of literature, to discuss the plausible and pragmatic recommendation that can be to mitigate, reduce or annihilate states of corruption significantly. Although the paper has discussed the manifestations of only four types of corruption, that is, political corruption, gender based corruption, white-collar corruption and tax evasion, it has come with the following possible intervention/strategies to curb corruption: Instituting and strengthening public watch dog; Instituting and strengthening corruption awareness sessions and programs; enforcing public accountability in service delivery; Instituting the office of the ombudsman; and training of law enforcement officers.
Computational Studies of Lobed Forced Mixer Flows

Full Navier Stokes Analyses have been conducted for the flows behind the trailing edge of a lobed forced mixer. The governing equations are derived from the time-dependent compressible Navier-Stokes equations and discretized in the finite-difference form. A simple two-layer eddy viscosity model has also been used to account for the turbulence. Computed results are compared with some of the velocity measurements using a laser-Doppler anemometer (Yu and Yip (1997)). In general, good agreement can be obtained in the streamwise mean velocity distribution but the decay of the streamwise circulation is underpredicted. Some suggestions to the discrepancy are proposed.
Study of Radio Frequency Synchronized Switch for TD-SCDMA Repeater Station

This paper reports the radio frequency synchronized switch for TD-SCDMA repeater station. The key technologies including the two diodes series connection, the deep bias voltage and the quarter wavelength impedance converter are utilized in this design. The design output on isolation is 50dB, insertion loss is less than 1.5dB and the input or output power handling is 5W on frequency of 2010MHz to 2025MHz. In comparison to the previously reported PIN diode switches, this design achieves superiority of the power handling and the isolation performance.
Mining Bodily Patterns of Affective Experience during Learning

We investigated 28 learners’ postural patterns associated with naturally occurring episodes of boredom, flow/engagement, confusion, frustration, and delight during a tutoring session with AutoTutor, a dialoguebased intelligent tutoring system. Training and validation data were collected in a learning session with AutoTutor, after which the learners’ affective states (i.e., emotions) were rated by the learner, a peer, and two trained judges. An automated body pressure measurement system was used to capture the pressure exerted by the learner on the seat and back of a chair during the tutoring session. We extracted 16 posture-related features that focused on the pressure exerted along with the magnitude and direction of changes in pressure during emotional experiences. Binary logistic regression models yielded medium sized effects in discriminating the affective states from neutral. An analysis of the parameters of the models indicated that the affective states were manifested by three unique postural configurations and a general increase in movement (when compared to neutral).
Expert Perspectives on the Future of Physical Education in Higher Education

ABSTRACT Despite physical education teacher education/physical education sport pedagogy’s (PETE/PESP’s) significant strides in the past century, there are concerns about its future. Grounded in participatory research, and through an interview-Delphi method, this study purposefully sampled five male PETE/PESP scholars’ expert critiques of current threats, projections of probable and preferable futures, and recommendations for transformation. Data were analyzed through an interpretive approach. Findings included: (a) limitations in physical education policy, teacher preparation, and status as key threats; (b) more of the same conflicts in the probable future and increased cooperation regarding conflicts in the preferable future; and (c) proactively revising the subdisciplinary framework and doctoral studies as transformative recommendations. We interpret issues critiqued as threatening PETE/PESP’s future, and projections of the probable future, as reflective of neoliberal rationality that has renormalized academic work in de-democratizing ways. We interpret that projections of preferable futures and transformative recommendations call for a re-emphasis on ethical academic attitudes to resist neoliberalization and reclaim democracy.
A comparison of university student and community gamblers: Motivations, impulsivity, and gambling cognitions

Background and aims: The present study tested whether the associations among motivational, cognitive, and personality correlates of problem gambling severity differed across university student gamblers (n = 123) and gamblers in the general adult community (n = 113). Methods: The participants completed a survey that included standardized measures of gambling motivation, gambling related cognitions, and impulsivity. The survey also asked participants to report the forms of gambling in which they engaged to test whether gambling involvement (number of different forms of gambling) was related to problem gambling severity. After completing the survey, participants played roulette online to examine whether betting patterns adhered to the gambler’s fallacy. Results: Gambling involvement was significantly related to problem gambling severity for the community sample but not for the student sample. A logistic regression analysis that tested the involvement, motivation, impulsivity and cognitive correlates showed that money motivation and gambling related cognitions were the only significant independent predictors of gambling severity. Adherence to the gambler’s fallacy was stronger for students than for the community sample, and was associated with gambling related cognitions. Discussion: The motivational, impulsivity and cognitive, and correlates of problem gambling function similarly in university student gamblers and in gamblers from the general adult community. Interventions for both groups should focus on the financial and cognitive supports of problem gambling.
‘Pure water’ in Niamey, Niger: the backstory of sachet water in a landscape of waste

Abstract This article examines the commodity chain and value chain of half-litre water bags (referred to as ‘pure water’ or ‘sachet water’) in Niamey, Niger. We begin with a focus on the discarded bag and work backwards through the commodity chain to consumers, vendors and finally producers of ‘pure water’ to reveal the underlying power structures, cultural perceptions and assumptions that ultimately resulted in the discarded bag and landscapes of waste. We assert that the economic value of the plastic bag, largely assigned during the stages of its production, is based on four characteristics: the label, the temperature of the water, the time of year it is sold, and the apparent ‘purity’ of the water. We further demonstrate how characteristics of economic value are steeped in cultural perceptions and social relationships in Niamey. Using interviews with agents and actors at all levels of the commodity chain, we reveal how this local, hybrid system is connected to and affected by larger, global economic and political forces. Résumé Cet article examine la chaîne de produits de base et la chaîne de valeur des sacs d'eau (appelée « eau pure » ou « eau en sachet ») de 50cl à Niamey (Niger). Les auteurs commencent par s'intéresser au sac usagé avant de remonter la chaîne des produits de base jusqu'aux consommateurs, puis aux fournisseurs et enfin aux fabricants d’« eau pure » pour révéler les structures de pouvoir, les perceptions culturelles et les prémisses sous-jacents qui aboutissent au sac usagé et aux paysages de déchets. Les auteurs arguent que la valeur économique du sac plastique, essentiellement attribuée au cours des étapes de sa fabrication, repose sur quatre caractéristiques : l’étiquette, la température de l'eau, la période de l'année où l'eau est vendue et la « pureté » apparente de l'eau. Ils démontrent par ailleurs comment ces caractéristiques de valeur économique sont enracinées dans les perceptions culturelles et les rapports sociaux à Niamey. À partir d'entretiens avec des agents et des acteurs à tous les niveaux de la chaîne des produits de base, les auteurs révèlent comment ce système hybride local est lié à, et affecté par, des forces politiques et économiques globales plus importantes.
Evaluation of Cardiac Function Index as Measured by Transpulmonary Thermodilution as an Indicator of Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction in Cardiogenic Shock

Introduction. The PiCCO transpulmonary thermodilution technique provides two indices of cardiac systolic function, the cardiac function index (CFI) and the global ejection fraction (GEF). Both appear to be correlated with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) measured by echocardiography in patients with circulatory failure, especially in septic shock. The aim of the present study was to test the reliability of CFI as an indicator of LVEF in patients with cardiogenic shock. Methods. In thirty-five patients with cardiogenic shock, we performed (i) simultaneous measurements of echocardiography LVEF and cardiac function index assessed by transpulmonary thermodilution (n = 72) and (ii) transpulmonary thermodilution before/after increasing inotropic agents (n = 18). Results. Mean LVEF was 31% (+/−11.7), CFI 3/min (+/−1), and GEF 14.2% (+/−6). CFI and GEF were both positively correlated with LVEF (P < 0.0001, r 2 = 0.27). CFI and GEF were significantly increased with inotropic infusion (resp., P = 0.005, P = 0.007). A cardiac function index <3.47/min predicted a left ventricular ejection fraction ≤35% (sensitivity 81.1% and specificity 63%). In patients with right ventricular dysfunction, CFI was not correlated with LVEF. Conclusion. CFI is correlated with LVEF provided that patient does not present severe right ventricular dysfunction. Thus, the PiCCO transpulmonary thermodilution technique is useful for the monitoring of inotropic therapy during cardiogenic shock.
Instructional Design Practitioners in Malaysia: Skills and Issues

The purpose of this research is to determine the knowledge and skills possessed by instructional design (ID) practitioners in Malaysia. As ID is a relatively new field in the country and there seems to be an absence of any studies on its community of practice, the main objective of this research is to discover the tasks and activities performed by ID practitioners in educational and corporate organizations as suggested by the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction. This includes finding out the ID models applied in the course of their work. This research also attempts to identify the barriers and issues as to why some ID tasks and activities are rarely or never conducted. The methodology employed in this descriptive study was a survey questionnaire sent to 30 instructional designers nationwide. The results showed that majority of the tasks and activities are carried out frequently enough but omissions do occur due to reasons such as it being out of job scope, the decision was already made at a higher level, and the lack of knowledge and skills. Further investigations of a qualitative manner should be conducted to achieve a more in-depth understanding of ID practices in Malaysia. Keywords—instructional design, ID competencies, ID models, IBSTPI
Annexin A2 is regulated by ovarian cancer-peritoneal cell interactions and promotes metastasis

Our recent research identified the protein annexin A2 to be regulated by ovarian cancer-peritoneal cell interactions. This study investigated the role of annexin A2 in ovarian cancer metastasis and its potential utility as a novel therapeutic target, using in vitro and in vivo ovarian cancer models. Annexin A2 expression was examined by qRT-PCR and western blotting in ovarian cancer cell lines and immunohistochemistry in serous ovarian carcinoma tissues. Annexin A2 siRNAs were used to evaluate the effects of annexin A2 suppression on ovarian cancer cell adhesion, motility, and invasion. Furthermore, annexin A2 neutralizing antibodies were used to examine the role of annexin A2 in tumor invasion and metastasis in vivo using a chick chorioallantoic membrane assay and an intraperitoneal xenograft mouse model. Strong annexin A2 immunostaining was observed in 90% (38/42) of the serous ovarian cancer cells and was significantly increased in the cancer-associated stroma compared to non-malignant ovarian tissues. Annexin A2 siRNA significantly inhibited the motility and invasion of serous ovarian cancer cells and adhesion to the peritoneal cells. Annexin A2 neutralizing antibodies significantly inhibited OV-90 cell motility and invasion in vitro and in vivo using the chick chorioallantoic membrane assay. The growth of SKOV-3 cells and their peritoneal dissemination in nude mice was significantly inhibited by annexin A2 neutralizing antibodies. Annexin A2 plays a critical role in ovarian cancer metastasis and is therefore a potential novel therapeutic target against ovarian cancer.
2-Norm Error Bounds and Estimates for Lanczos Approximations to Linear Systems and Rational Matrix Functions

The Lanczos process constructs a sequence of orthonormal vectors $v_m$ spanning a nested sequence of Krylov subspaces generated by a hermitian matrix $A$ and some starting vector $b$. In this paper we show how to cheaply recover a secondary Lanczos process starting at an arbitrary Lanczos vector $v_m$. This secondary process is then used to efficiently obtain computable error estimates and error bounds for the Lanczos approximations to the action of a rational matrix function on a vector. This includes, as a special case, the Lanczos approximation to the solution of a linear system $Ax = b$. Our approach uses the relation between the Lanczos process and quadrature as developed by Golub and Meurant. It is different from methods known so far because of its use of the secondary Lanczos process. With our approach, it is now possible in particular to efficiently obtain upper bounds for the error in the 2-norm, provided a lower bound on the smallest eigenvalue of $A$ is known. This holds in particular for a lar.
Tracing Networks of Knowledge in the Digital Age

The emergence of new digital technologies has allowed the study of human behaviour at a scale and at level of granularity that were unthinkable just a decade ago. In particular, by analysing the digital traces left by people interacting in the online and offline worlds, we are able to trace the spreading of knowledge and ideas at both local and global scales. In this article we will discuss how these digital traces can be used to map knowledge across the world, outlining both the limitations and the challenges in performing this type of analysis. We will focus on data collected from social media platforms, large-scale digital repositories and mobile data. Finally, we will provide an overview of the tools that are available to scholars and practitioners for understanding these processes using these emerging forms of data.
'Follow the moon' development: writing a systematic literature review on global software engineering education

This presentation reflects on method and practice in Computer Science Education Research, through introducing the process of conducting a Systematic Literature Review. While Systematic Literature Reviews are an established research method within the Software Engineering discipline, they are a relatively unfamiliar research approach within Computer Science Education. Yet research disciplines can be strengthened by borrowing and adapting methods from other fields. I reflect on the rationale and underlying philosophy behind Systematic Reviews, and the implications for conducting a rigorous study and the quality of the resulting outputs. This chronicle of the journey of an ITiCSE working group, outlines the process we adopted and reflects on the methodological and logistical challenges we had to overcome in producing a review titled Challenges and Recommendations for the Design and Conduct of Global Software Engineering Courses. I conclude by discussing how systematic literature reviews can be adapted to an undergraduate teaching setting.