Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Linking Situational Constraints to Customer Satisfaction in a Service Environment

Cet article examine les rapports entre la satisfaction de la clientele et les contraintes relevant des situations techniques et sociales. A cette fin, une enquete de terrain fut realisee aupres d’un echantillon de 57 managers et 835 clients d’organisations de service. On a recense les contraintes sociales et techniques vecues par les managers. La satisfaction des clients a egalement ete mesuree avec plusieurs aspects des services. En general, l’absence de situation contraignante dans les organisations de service etait en relation positive avec la satisfaction de la clientele. Les resultats montrent aussi que la seule contribution des contraintes techniques a la satisfaction des clients etait superieure a celle des contraintes sociales. Nous signalons des implications manageriales et des orientations pour les futures recherches portant sur les relations entre les contraintes et la satisfaction des clients. This paper aims to test the links of social and technical situational constraints to customer satisfaction with services. To this end, a field survey study was conducted using a sample of 57 managers and 835 customers of service organisations. We studied social and technical constraints perceived by managers. Customer satisfaction with several service attributes was also measured. In general, a lack of situational constraints in service organisations was positively associated with customer satisfaction. The results also showed that the unique contribution of technical constraints to customer satisfaction was greater than that of social constraints. We point out managerial implications and future directions for research on constraints–customer satisfaction relationships.
Learning Coefficient of Generalization Error in Bayesian Estimation and Vandermonde Matrix-Type Singularity

The term algebraic statistics arises from the study of probabilistic models and techniques for statistical inference using methods from algebra and geometry (Sturmfels, 2009). The purpose of our study is to consider the generalization error and stochastic complexity in learning theory by using the log-canonical threshold in algebraic geometry. Such thresholds correspond to the main term of the generalization error in Bayesian estimation, which is called a learning coefficient (Watanabe, 2001a, 2001b). The learning coefficient serves to measure the learning efficiencies in hierarchical learning models. In this letter, we consider learning coefficients for Vandermonde matrix-type singularities, by using a new approach: focusing on the generators of the ideal, which defines singularities. We give tight new bound values of learning coefficients for the Vandermonde matrix-type singularities and the explicit values with certain conditions. By applying our results, we can show the learning coefficients of three-layered neural networks and normal mixture models.
Swivel: Improving Embeddings by Noticing What's Missing

We present Submatrix-wise Vector Embedding Learner (Swivel), a method for generating low-dimensional feature embeddings from a feature co-occurrence matrix. Swivel performs approximate factorization of the point-wise mutual information matrix via stochastic gradient descent. It uses a piecewise loss with special handling for unobserved co-occurrences, and thus makes use of all the information in the matrix. While this requires computation proportional to the size of the entire matrix, we make use of vectorized multiplication to process thousands of rows and columns at once to compute millions of predicted values. Furthermore, we partition the matrix into shards in order to parallelize the computation across many nodes. This approach results in more accurate embeddings than can be achieved with methods that consider only observed co-occurrences, and can scale to much larger corpora than can be handled with sampling methods.
The Administrator as Trustee of the Public Interest

Recent articles in Administration & Society have probed the question of administrative discretion, with most advocating an expanded sphere of responsibility for the administrator. This article argues that calls for greater discretion are useful from a normative viewpoint, but that administrative practice is constrained by the relationship between the administrator and the governing body. A typology of discretion is offered which distinguishes between normative theory and descriptive theory, or theory-in-use. An examination is made of the literature and practice of local administration as a locus for evaluating how administrators determine their sphere of discretion in daily practice.
Processing of color, form and disparity information in visual areas VP and V2 of ventral extrastriate cortex in the macaque monkey

The responses of single cells to light bars of different orientation, direction of motion, speed, binocular disparity, and wavelength were systematically analyzed in areas V2 and VP of ventral extrastriate visual cortex in the macaque monkey. Selectivity for each of these parameters was assessed quantitatively using computer-controlled procedures. In both VP and V2 (both representing the superior contralateral quadrant), more than half of the cells studied were selective for stimulus color and more than half for stimulus orientation. In contrast, only a small minority of the VP and V2 cells were selective for the direction of stimulus motion. Comparison with reports of single-unit properties in dorsal extrastriate cortex suggests there are no major differences in the incidence of orientation, direction, and color selectivity between ventral and dorsal subdivisions of V2. Between V3 and VP, though, there are marked differences: Color-selective cells are much less common in V3 than VP, whereas direction-selective cells are more common in V3. This dorsoventral difference in the distribution of neuronal response properties suggests a significant asymmetry in the way visual information is processed in upper and lower parts of the visual field. The properties of cells in VP suggest that it plays an important role in both form and color vision, similar to that attributed to area V4.
Non-Newtonian viscosity of interacting Brownian particles: comparison of theory and data

A recently developed first-principles approach to the non-linear rheology of dense colloidal suspensions is evaluated and its results compared to those from simulations of sheared systems close to their glass transitions. The predicted scenario of a universal transition of the structural dynamics between yielding of glasses and non-Newtonian (shear-thinning) fluid flow appears well obeyed, and calculations within simplified models rationalize the data over variations in shear rate and viscosity of up to three decades.
Genotypic Characterization of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Isolates from Different Sources in the North-West Province, South Africa, Using Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus PCR Analysis

In many developing countries, proper hygiene is not strictly implemented when animals are slaughtered and meat products become contaminated. Contaminated meat may contain Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 that could cause diseases in humans if these food products are consumed undercooked. In the present study, a total of 94 confirmed E. coli O157:H7 isolates were subjected to the enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) typing to generate genetic fingerprints. The ERIC fragments were resolved by electrophoresis on 2% (w/v) agarose gels. The presence, absence and intensity of band data were obtained, exported to Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Office 2003) and used to generate a data matrix. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) and complete linkage algorithms were used to analyze the percentage of similarity and matrix data. Relationships between the various profiles and/or lanes were expressed as dendrograms. Data from groups of related lanes were compiled and reported on cluster tables. ERIC fragments ranged from one to 15 per isolate, and their sizes varied from 0.25 to 0.771 kb. A large proportion of the isolates produced an ERIC banding pattern with three duplets ranging in sizes from 0.408 to 0.628 kb. Eight major clusters (I–VIII) were identified. Overall, the remarkable similarities (72% to 91%) between the ERIC profiles for the isolate from animal species and their corresponding food products indicated some form of contamination, which may not exclude those at the level of the abattoirs. These results reveal that ERIC PCR analysis can be reliable in comparing the genetic profiles of E. coli O157:H7 from different sources in the North-West Province of South Africa.
The Self-Practice of Sport Psychologists: Do They Practice What They Preach?

The maturation processes of applied sport psychologists have received little research attention despite trainees and practitioners having often reported experiencing challenging circumstances when working with clients. Within clinical psychology literature the self-practice of cognitive techniques, alongside self-reflection, has been advocated as a means of addressing such circumstances, and as a significant source of experiential learning. The present study sought to identify the possible types of, and purposes for, self-practice among twelve UK-based sport psychology practitioners. Thematic analysis of semistructured interviews indicated all participants engaged in self-practice for reasons such as managing the self, enhancing understanding of intervention, and legitimising intervention. Some participants also described limitations to self-practice. Subsequently, three overriding themes emerged from analysis: a) the professional practice swamp, b) approaches to, and purposes for, self-practice, and, c) limitations of self-practice. It is concluded that self-practice may provide a means of better understanding self-as-person and self-as practitioner, and the interplay between both, and is recommended as part of on-going practitioner maturation.
Perception Representations of Identity and Expression in Face fMRI-Adaptation Reveals Dissociable Neural

[PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , May 10, 2005; 102 (19): 6996-7001. PNAS M. A. Pinsk, K. DeSimone, T. Moore, C. G. Gross and S. Kastner study Representations of faces and body parts in macaque temporal cortex: A functional MRI [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , November 22, 2005; 65 (10): 1620-1625. Neurology R. L. Hefter, D. S. Manoach and J. J.S. Barton disorders Perception of facial expression and facial identity in subjects with social developmental [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , February 1, 2006; 95 (2): 995-1007. J Neurophysiol R. Sayres and K. Grill-Spector Object-Selective Cortex Exhibits Performance-Independent Repetition Suppression [PDF] [Full Text] [Abstract] , April 1, 2006; 16 (4): 574-586. Cereb Cortex C. Schiltz, B. Sorger, R. Caldara, F. Ahmed, E. Mayer, R. Goebel and B. Rossion Response to Individual Faces in the Right Middle Fusiform Gyrus Impaired Face Discrimination in Acquired Prosopagnosia Is Associated with Abnormal
Fear Spots in Relation to Microlevel Physical Cues: Exploring the Overlooked

Individuals experience fear of victimization at many levels from the macroscale fears associated with a country or city to the microscale fears associated with proximate features. This article describes microlevel features associated with fear spots. Respondents were interviewed about their fear of victimization in relation to eight outdoor areas that varied in the degree to which the areas offered prospect, concealment, and ease of escape. The results showed significantly higher levels of fear associated with low prospect, high concealment, and blocked escape. The fears may well be associated with the perceived exposure to risk and loss of control. Knowledge of such cues to fear can be used in fear reduction programs—in particular, situation fear reduction strategies.
The MATISSE Trial–A Critique

U.K. national guidelines for the treatment of schizophrenia recommend art therapy among other approaches. However, a recent major trial called MATISSE (Multicenter evaluation of Art Therapy in Schizophrenia: Systematic Evaluation) suggests that art therapy may not be helpful. The purpose of the present study was to explore reasons for the MATISSE trial findings. A critical review of the MATISSE trial drawing on six papers reporting on the trial and its processes was performed. The MATISSE trial appeared to have weak conceptualization of the mechanisms for change, lack of piloting, incomplete process and subgroup analyses, and inappropriate assumptions about the generalizability of findings. The MATISSE trial’s conclusion that art therapy is of no value to people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia is unwarranted. More account should be taken of extant quality guidelines for complex interventions, including proposed change mechanisms, piloting, process analyses, variations in practice and contexts, and the effect of randomization on generalizability.
Effect of short-term escitalopram treatment on neural activation during emotional processing

Recent functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) imaging studies have revealed that subchronic medication with escitalopram leads to significant reduction in both amygdala and medial frontal gyrus reactivity during processing of emotional faces, suggesting that escitalopram may have a distinguishable modulatory effect on neural activation as compared with other serotonin-selective antidepressants. In this fMRI study we aimed to explore whether short-term medication with escitalopram in healthy volunteers is associated with reduced neural response to emotional processing, and whether this effect is predicted by drug plasma concentration. The neural response to fearful and happy faces was measured before and on day 7 of treatment with escitalopram (10mg) in 15 healthy volunteers and compared with those in a control unmedicated group (n=14). Significantly reduced activation to fearful, but not to happy facial expressions was observed in the bilateral amygdala, cingulate and right medial frontal gyrus following escitalopram medication. This effect was not correlated with plasma drug concentration. In accordance with previous data, we showed that escitalopram exerts its rapid direct effect on emotional processing via attenuation of neural activation in pathways involving medial frontal gyrus and amygdala, an effect that seems to be distinguishable from that of other SSRIs.
Hardware/Software Codesign for a Fuzzy Autonomous Road-Following System

In this research, a fuzzy logic controller is designed for vision-based autonomous road-following. Because of its high-speed response, portability, and flexibility, a field programmable gate array is applied to implement this control system. Furthermore, a novel hardware/software partitioning method using the genetic algorithm is developed. This method is capable of finding the tradeoff among several evaluation factors under conditions of hard constraints. A small-scaled intelligent vehicle, which is capable of autonomous road-following is built and the proposed controller is tested in the real-world environment. Experiments of hardware implementation and codesign implementation are presented and compared.
A G ] 7 A pr 2 00 0 Ray Singer Analytic Torsion of CY Manifolds II

In this paper we construct the analogue of Dedekind eta function for odd dimensional CY manifolds. We use the theory of determinant line bundles. We constructed a canonical holomorphic section η N of some power of the determinant line bundle on the moduli space of odd dimensional CY manifolds. According to Viehweg the moduli space of moduli space of polarized odd dimensional CY manifolds M(M) is quasi projective. According to a Theorem due to Hironaka we can find a projective smooth variety M(M) such that M(M)\ M(M) = D∞ is a divisor of normal crossings. We also showed by using Mum-ford's theory of metrics with logarithmic growths that the determinant line bundle can be canonically prolonged to M(M). We also showed that there exists section η of some power of the determinant line bundle which vanishes on D∞ and has a Quillen norm the Ray Singer Analytic Torsion. This section is that analogue of the Dedekind eta Function η. 1. Introduction. 1.1. Analytic Torsion of Elliptic Curves and Kronocker's Limit Formula. In case of elliptic curves the exponential of Ray Singer analytic torsion is the Quillen norm of a non vanishing section of the determinant line bundle. Kronecker limit formula states that the Ray Singer analytic torsion is exactly the Quillen norm of the Dedekind eta function η. One of the versions of the proof of the Kronecker limit formula is based on the facts that log of the regularized determinant of the flat metric on the elliptic curve is the potential for the Poincare metrics and this determinant is bounded as a function on the moduli space. For this proof of the Kronecker limit formula see [18]. Kronecker limit formula can be interpreted as the existence of a section η 24 of some power of the determinant line bundle whose Quillen norm is exactly the 24 th power of the Ray Singer Analytic torsion.
Large-Scale Preparation and Function of Porcine Hepatocyte Spheroids

To obtain a large number of porcine hepatocyte aggregates (spheroids) that have great potential in a bioartificial liver (BAL), we performed spheroid formation at a high cell density in a 1-L-scale spinner flask fitted with a silicon tubing apparatus for oxygen supply. We thereby obtained, within 24 hours, approximately fifty times more porcine hepatocyte spheroids as compared with the results of previous reports. The amount obtained corresponds to 2.5×109 cells and to roughly one-sixth of the cell number required for a BAL for a human patient. When we cultured spheroids continuously in suspension, they expressed three times more albumin secretion and twice the ammonium removal as compared with conventional monolayers during 10 days culture. Collagen gel entrapment of spheroids particularly lowered albumin secretion. We therefore conclude that the supension culture vessel of porcine hepatocyte spheroids is one of the most promising module types.
Language Model Rest Costs and Space-Efficient Storage

Approximate search algorithms, such as cube pruning in syntactic machine translation, rely on the language model to estimate probabilities of sentence fragments. We contribute two changes that trade between accuracy of these estimates and memory, holding sentence-level scores constant. Common practice uses lower-order entries in an N-gram model to score the first few words of a fragment; this violates assumptions made by common smoothing strategies, including Kneser-Ney. Instead, we use a unigram model to score the first word, a bigram for the second, etc. This improves search at the expense of memory. Conversely, we show how to save memory by collapsing probability and backoff into a single value without changing sentence-level scores, at the expense of less accurate estimates for sentence fragments. These changes can be stacked, achieving better estimates with unchanged memory usage. In order to interpret changes in search accuracy, we adjust the pop limit so that accuracy is unchanged and report the change in CPU time. In a German-English Moses system with target-side syntax, improved estimates yielded a 63% reduction in CPU time; for a Hiero-style version, the reduction is 21%. The compressed language model uses 26% less RAM while equivalent search quality takes 27% more CPU. Source code is released as part of KenLM.
A unified approach to eliminate memory accesses early

This paper introduces the notion of silent loads to classify load accesses that can be satisfied by already available values of the physical register file and proposes a new architectural concept to exploit such loads. The paper then unifies different approaches of eliminating memory accesses early by contributing with a new architectural scheme. We show that our unified approach covers previously proposed techniques of exploiting forwarded and small-value loads in addition to silent loads. Forwarded loads obtain values through load-to-load and store-to-load forwarding whereas small-value loads return small values that can be coded with 8 bits or less. We find that 22%, 31% and 24% of all dynamic loads are forwarded, small-value and silent, respectively. We demonstrate that the prevalence of such loads is mostly inherent in applications. We establish that a hypothetical scheme that encompasses all the categories can eliminate as many as 42% of all dynamic loads and about 18% of all committed stores. Finally, we contribute with a new architectural technique to implement the unified scheme. We show that our proposed scheme reduces execution time to provide noticeable speedup and reduces overall energy dissipation with very low area overhead.
The effects of private equity and buy-outs on HRM in the UK and the Netherlands

Regulatory authorities, politicians and trade unions across Europe have recently accused private equity institutions of improving the performance of buy-outs merely by reducing employment costs with negative implications for jobs, working conditions and training investments. These claims are assessed by analysing high commitment management practices and changes in these practices in private-equity backed and non-private equity backed buy-outs in the UK and the Netherlands using a large-scale representative sample that combines both questionnaire and archival data. We find that both private equity backed buy-outs compared to non-private equity backed buy-outs, and Dutch buy-outs compared to UK buy-outs, are less likely to report introducing new high commitment management practices but do not on average reduce high commitment management practices. The findings suggest private equity backed buy-outs represent only a limited adaptation of the European social model.
Japan's Dual Civil Society: Members Without Advocates

Japan's Dual Civil Society: Members Without Advocates. By Robert Pekkanen. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2006. 280p. $65.00 cloth, $24.95 paper. How does a state regulate or promote civil society? Does a non-Western, industrialized state play a different role in this regard than that of advanced industrialized states in the West? How does an unconventional form of civil society affect polity? Robert Pekkanen's book touches on these and other questions of great interest to the field of comparative politics.
Expanding the Family Economic Stress Model: Insights From a Mixed‐Methods Approach

The current study used a mixed-methods approach to examine how low-income mothers managed their household economies, their experiences of economic pressure, and the consequences for family and child functioning. Qualitative analyses (N = 32 families) revealed that experiences of economic pressure were associated with an inability to afford both basic needs and some modest but highly valued “extras. ” To meet demands, mothers reported using a variety of strategies, including instrumental support from friends and family members and other financial strategies. Results from the quantitative analyses (N= 516 families; 800 children, ages 6 – 15) were generally consistent with patterns observed in the qualitative analyses and extended the findings to include effects on parenting practices and children’s behavioral functioning.