Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender, assets, and agricultural development programs: A conceptual framework:

Being able to access, control, and own productive assets such as land, labor, finance, and social capital enables people to create stable and productive lives. Yet relatively little is known about how agricultural development programs can most effectively deliver these outcomes of well-being, empowerment, and higher income in a way that acknowledges differential access to and control over assets by men and women. After reviewing the literature on gender and assets, this paper offers a conceptual framework for understanding the gendered pathways through which asset accumulation occurs, including attention to not only menâ€™s and womenâ€™s assets but also those they share in joint control and ownership. Unlike previous frameworks, this model depicts the gendered dimensions of each component of the pathway in recognition of the evidence that men and women not only control, own, or dispose of assets in different ways, but also access, control, and own different kinds of assets. The framework generates gender-specific hypotheses that can be tested empirically: i) Different types of assets enable different livelihoods, with a greater stock and diversity of assets being associated with more diverse livelihoods and better well-being outcomes; ii) Men and women use different types of assets to cope with different types of shocks; iii) Interventions that increase menâ€™s and womenâ€™s stock of a particular asset improve the bargaining power of the individual(s) who control that asset; and iv) Interventions and policies that reduce the gender gap in assets are better able to achieve development outcomes related to food security, health, and nutrition and other aspects of well-being related to agency and empowerment. The implications of these gender differences for designing agricultural development interventions to increase asset growth and returns to assets as well as for value chain development are discussed. Based on this analysis, additional gaps in knowledge and possible investigations to address them are identified.
Optimal Monetary Policy in Open versus Closed Economies: An Integrated Approach

In Clarida et al. (1999; hereafter CGG), we presented a normative analysis of monetary policy within a simple optimization-based closedeconomy framework. We derived the optimal policy rule and, among other things, characterized the gains from commitment. Also, we made precise the implications for the kind of instrument feedback rule that a central bank should follow in practice. In this paper we show how our analysis extends to the case of a small open economy. Openness complicates the problem of monetary management to the extent the central bank must take into account the impact of the exchange rate on real activity and inflation. How to factor the exchange rate into the overall design of monetary policy accordingly becomes a central consideration. Here we show that, under certain conditions, the monetary-policy design problem for the small open economy is isomorphic to the problem of the closed economy that we considered earlier. Hence, all our qualitative results for the closed economy carry over to this case. Openness does affect the parameters of the model, suggesting quantitative implications. Though the general form of the optimal interest-rate feedback rule remains the same as in the closedeconomy case, for example, how aggressively a central bank should adjust the interest rate in response to inflationary pressures depends on the degree of openness. In addition, openness gives rise to an important distinction between domestic inflation and consumer price inflation (as defined by the CPI). To the extent that there is perfect exchange-rate pass-through, we find that the central bank should target domestic inflation and allow the exchange rate to float, despite the impact of the resulting exchangerate variability on the CPI (Kosuki Aoki, 1999; Gali and Tommaso Monacelli, 2000).
A pattern language for decentralized coordination and negotiation protocols

Currently negotiation covers a huge and unstructured domain of negotiation and coordination protocols and associated strategies. Researchers and practitioners like system engineers have almost no support in discussing protocol solutions to frequently occurring negotiation problems and in designing and implementing successful protocols and associated negotiation media. In this paper we introduce a pattern language for negotiation protocol solutions and introduce an online pattern library with a first collection of protocol patterns. The patterns are written from the point of view of a system engineer, but draw on the results of other disciplines such as social choice theory, mechanism design theory or group decision and negotiation theory. Our goal is to enable an interdisciplinary and efficient communication process about successful protocol designs for the most diverse negotiation and coordination situations and to support system engineers in their design decision.
Search advertising using web relevance feedback

The business of Web search, a $10 billion industry, relies heavily on sponsored search, whereas a few carefully-selected paid advertisements are displayed alongside algorithmic search results. A key technical challenge in sponsored search is to select ads that are relevant for the user's query. Identifying relevant ads is challenging because queries are usually very short, and because users, consciously or not, choose terms intended to lead to optimal Web search results and not to optimal ads. Furthermore, the ads themselves are short and usually formulated to capture the reader's attention rather than to facilitate query matching. Traditionally, matching of ads to queries employed standard information retrieval techniques using the bag of words approach. Here we propose to go beyond the bag of words, and augment both queries and ads with additional knowledge-rich features. We use Web search results initially returned for the query to create a pool of relevant documents. Classifying these documents with respect to an external taxonomy and identifying salient named entities give rise to two new feature types. Empirical evaluation based on over 9,000 query-ad pairwise judgments confirms that using augmented queries produces highly relevant ads. Our methodology also relaxes the requirement for each ad to explicitly specify the exhaustive list of queries ("bid phrases") that can trigger it.
Tracking the evolution of community structures in time-evolving social networks

In real-world social networks, there is increasing interest in tracking the evolution of groups of users. Existing approaches track evolving communities, in a time-sequential way, by comparing communities in terms of nodes using a similarity measure such as the Jaccard or a modified Jaccard measure. The measure allows the use of a one-to-one comparison in order to match communities. However, tracking a given community based on this measure alone may, at the end of its lifespan yield a community that does not share any node with the community initially observed. In this paper we present a novel approach for modeling and detecting the evolution of communities. In our model, we first build a matrix that counts the number of nodes shared between two communities. The individual rows of the obtained matrix are then used to represent nodes shared by a community with all other communities over time. This effectively captures the trace of the communities that should be compared over the period of observation. We then propose a new similarity measure, named mutual transition, for tracking the communities and rules for capturing significant transition events a community can undergo. The proposed approach is general in the sense that it can be applied to different social networks. To demonstrate the suitability of the proposed method, we conducted experiments on real data extracted from the DBLP, Autonomous System and YELP.
Consensus Conditions of Multi-Agent Systems With Time-Varying Topologies and Stochastic Communication Noises

This paper investigates the average-consensus problem of first-order discrete-time multi-agent networks in uncertain communication environments. Each agent can only use its own and neighbors' information to design its control input. To attenuate the communication noises, a distributed stochastic approximation type protocol is used. By using probability limit theory and algebraic graph theory, consensus conditions for this kind of protocols are obtained: (A) For the case of fixed topologies, a necessary and sufficient condition for mean square average-consensus is given, which is also sufficient for almost sure consensus. (B) For the case of time-varying topologies, sufficient conditions for mean square average-consensus and almost sure consensus are given, respectively. Especially, if the network switches between jointly-containing-spanning-tree, instantaneously balanced graphs, then the designed protocol can guarantee that each individual state converges, both almost surely and in mean square, to a common random variable, whose expectation is right the average of the initial states of the whole system, and whose variance describes the static maximum mean square error between each individual state and the average of the initial states of the whole system.
ARABIC TEXT SUMMARIZATION USING AGGREGATE SIMILARITY

This paper proposes an Arabic text summarization approach based on an aggregate similarity method which is originally proposed for the Korean language text. The proposed approach depends mainly on nouns as indicators of the importance of the sentences. Hence, the noun extraction process is the main process in the proposed approach. To do summarization of a given document, the document is segmented into sentences and then the sentences are tokenized into words. The noun extraction process is performed using fourteen noun extraction rules that are used as indication for the distinction of nouns from other non noun words. In the next step the frequencies for each noun in each sentence and in the whole document are computed and the sentence similarity between the noun frequency in the sentence and the document is calculated using the Inner Product measure. The summation of all similarities of every sentence represents an Aggregate similarity; the sentences that have the highest value of similarity are selected as the summary where the number of sentences that are selected is determined by a user defined threshold value. To evaluate the proposed approach, a dataset of fifty documents is used and the performance of the approach is evaluated using the Recall and Precision measures. The results obtained were 62% for Precision, 70 % for Recall, and 14% for the compression rate. As a conclusion, the result is acceptable according to the nature of the Arabic language which has rich vocabulary and complex grammar rules.
Professional development and reform in science education: The role of teachers' practical knowledge

In this article, professional development in the context of the current reforms in science education is discussed from the perspective of developing teachers' practical knowledge. It is argued that reform efforts in the past have often been unsuccessful because they failed to take teachers' existing knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes into account. Teachers' practical knowledge is conceptualized as action-oriented and person-bound. As it is constructed by teachers in the context of their work, practical knowledge integrates experiential knowledge, formal knowledge, and personal beliefs. To capture this complex type of knowledge, multimethod designs are necessary. On the basis of a literature review, it is concluded that long-term professional development programs are needed to achieve lasting changes in teachers' practical knowledge. In particular, the following strategies are potentially powerful: (a) learning in networks, (b) peer coaching, (c) collaborative action research, and (d) the use of cases. In any case, it is recommended that teachers' practical knowledge be investigated at the start of a reform project, and that changes in this knowledge be monitored throughout the project. In that way, the reform project may benefit from teachers' expertise. Moreover, this makes it possible to adjust the reform so as to enhance the chances of a successful implementation. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 137–158, 2001
National Identification, Endorsement of Acculturation Ideologies and Prejudice: The Impact of the Perceived Threat of Immigration

This paper examines how the perceived threat of immigration affects the links between national identification, endorsement of assimilation or multiculturalism, and prejudice against immigrants in France. One hundred thirty-five French undergraduates completed a questionnaire measuring these factors. Path analysis showed that higher national identification increased perception of immigrants as a threat, which in turn predicted increased endorsement of assimilation for immigrants. The link between endorsement of assimilation and prejudice was not significant. In contrast, lower national identification decreased perception of immigrants as a threat and, in turn, increased endorsement of multiculturalism and reduced levels of prejudice. An alternative model specifying perception of threat as an outcome of preferences for multiculturalism or assimilation did not fit the data well. Results suggest that perceived threat from immigration is the key factor that guides the preferences of the majority group for acculturation ideologies and, through these preferences, shapes intergroup attitudes.
HEARING WITH YOUR BODY: THE INFLUENCE OF WHOLE-BODY VIBRATIONS ON LOUDNESS PERCEPTION

Knowledge of the interaction of the tactile and auditory sense is necessary for e.g. creating virtual environments or product design. In every day life auditory perception is often coupled to tactile perception. Just think of someone knocking on a door, driving a car or of the bass felt in the stomach during a rock concert. In this study, the influence of vertical whole-body vibrations on loudness perception is investigated. To present the whole-body vibrations, an electrodynamic shaker and chair system is used. The auditory stimulus is presented diotically through a pair of closed dynamic headphones. The vibration reproduction system was individually calibrated for each of the test persons. Then, the individual perception thresholds for whole-body vibrations have been measured. To mask possible sound generated by the vibration reproduction system, pink noise was played back through the headphones. A loudness matching experiment with 10 test persons was carried out. In this experiment, an acoustic stimulus was presented first without tactile stimulation and then together with a vibratory stimulus. The test persons' task was to adjust the level of the acoustic stimulus which was played simultaneously with a vibratory stimulus until it was perceived as equally loud as the acoustic stimulus without tactile stimulation. The loudness matching experiments were carried out for four sinusoidal tones. The frequencies 10, 20, 63 and 200 Hz were chosen to stimulate different tactile receptors. Three different vibration levels (4, 8 and 12 dB above individual vibration threshold) were used to study the influence of the vibration amplitude. The statistic analysis of the results indicates that whole-body vibrations have a significant influence on loudness perception. If an acoustic stimulus is accompanied by a vibratory stimulus, the level of the acoustic stimulus is on average perceived one decibel higher. Surprisingly, this effect is independent of the vibration level.
Dis/ability labels and emergent bilingual children: current research and new possibilities to grow as bilingual and biliterate learners

ABSTRACT Children who learn at the crossroads of multiple identities are at risk of experiencing inequality at multiple levels. Intersectionality frameworks have illuminated the relationship between cultural and language differences and dis/abilities, but they can also help us surface the effects dis/ability labels have on language choices for emergent bilingual (EB) children. With the primary objective of assisting the field of Bilingual Special Education (BiSPED), and related fields, move forward, this narrative literature review addresses: (1) How does a dis/ability label impact EBs’ opportunities to become fully bilingual/biliterate in their two languages? (2) What does existing research tell us about the learning of bilingual children with dis/abilities in bilingual programs? Findings show that emergent bilinguals have fewer opportunities than their peers to learn in bilingual programs when they have dis/abilities, even though research suggests they can learn bilingually at no additional cost. Implications for researchers and educators are discussed.
Time, pattern, and heterochrony: a study of hyperphalangy in the dolphin embryo flipper

SUMMARY The forelimb of whales and dolphins is a flipper that shows hyperphalangy (numerous finger bones). Hyperphalangy is also present in marine reptiles, including ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. The developmental basis of hyper‐phalangy is unclear. Kükenthal suggested that phalanx anlagen split into three pieces during cetacean development, thereby multiplying the ancestral number. Alternatively, Holder suggested that apical ectodermal ridge (AER)‐directed limb outgrowth might be prolonged by a timing shift (heterochrony), leading to terminal addition of extra phalanges. We prepared a series of whole mounted and serially sectioned embryonic flipper buds of the spotted dolphin Stenella attenuata. This cetacean shows marked hyperphalangy on digits II and III. We confirm previous reports that the proximodistal laying down of phalanges is prolonged in digits II and III. Histology showed that the apical ectoderm was thickened into a cap. There was a weak ridge‐like structure in some embryos. The cap or ridge formed part of a bud‐like mass that persisted on digits II and III at stages when it had disappeared from other digits. Thus the dolphin differs from other mammals in showing a second period of limb outgrowth during which localized hyperphalangy develops. New phalanges only formed at the tip of the digits. These findings are consistent with a model in which heterochrony leads to the terminal addition of new phalanges. Our results are more easily reconciled with the progress zone model than one in which the AER is involved in the expansion of a prepattern. We suggest that patterning mechanisms with a temporal component (i.e., the “progress zone” mechanism) are potential targets for heterochrony during limb evolution.
The development of affective and cognitive striatal neurobiology and connectivity during adolescence

Adolescence is characterized by heightened reward-drive and sensation seeking behavior. Current neurodevelopmental theories hypothesize that this behavior is driven by the development of the brain’s dopaminergic reward system and a developmental imbalance in the influence of the reward system on behavior relative to in cognitive control systems. The striatum is an ideal target for investigating these hypotheses because it is a central hub of the dopaminergic reward system, receives inputs affective and cognitive control systems, and functions to influence action selection. Current evidence for the development of striatal dopaminergic neurobiology during adolescence has been limited to animal models of adolescence due to limitations on the available techniques to assess striatal dopaminergic neurobiology in vivo in the human adolescent. Studies 1 and 2 of this dissertation assess this limitation by assessing a novel tissue property that has been linked multiple aspects of striatal dopamine neurobiology: tissue iron. We first use two MRI metrics sensitive to tissue iron concentration to investigate age-related differences in striatal tissue iron in a developmental sample spanning from adolescence to adulthood (ages 12 – 30) and then conduct a combined PET/MRI experiment in an adult sample (ages 18 - 30) to evaluate the relationship between striatal tissue iron concentration and indices of dopamine neurobiology. We find age-related increases in striatal tissue iron throughout adolescence and a positive association between an MR metric of tissue iron concentration and a PET metric of dopamine concentration in the aspect of the striatum most strongly associated with reward processing, the ventral striatum. Finally, study 3 assesses the hypothesis that there is a developmental imbalance between the influence of affective reward systems and cognitive control systems of behavior during adolescence by investigating corticostriatal connectivity. Specifically, we identify areas of the striatum that integrate corticostriatal projections for brain areas involved affect and cognitive control and investigate age-related differences in the balance of these inputs. We find that the relative integrity of affective projections, in relation to projections from cognitive control systems, decreases with age and is positively associated with an index of reward-driven behavior.
Higgs-Mediated e -> mu transitions in II Higgs doublet Model and Supersymmetry

We study the phenomenology of the e-mu lepton flavour violation (LFV) in a general two Higgs Doublet Model (2HDM) including the supersymmetric case. We compute the decay rate expressions of mu -> e gamma, mu -> eee, and mu -> e conversion in nuclei at two loop level. In particular, it is shown that mu -> e gamma is generally the most sensitive channel to probe Higgs-mediated LFV. The correlations among the decay rates of the above processes are also discussed.
Validation of the chinese version of the oral health impact profile for TMDs (OHIP- TMDs-C)

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the the Chinese version of the Oral Health Impact Profile for TMDs (OHIP-TMDs-C). Study Design: The OHIP-TMDs was initially translated and cross-culturally adapted to Chinese following international guidelines; then subsequently validated for the psychometric characteristics of reliability and validity. In total, 156 participants with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) were recruited to complete the questionnaire. The reliability of the OHIP-TMDs-C was evaluated using internal consistency and test-retest methods. The validity of the OHIP-TMDs-C was analysed by construct validity and convergent validity. Construct validity was determined based on factor analysis, and convergent validity by analyzing the correlation between OHIP-TMDs-C subscale scores and the global rating of oral health question. Results: Cronbach’s alpha value (internal reliability) for the total OHIP-TMDs-C score was 0.917 and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) value (test–retest reliability) was 0.899. Construct validity was determined by factor analysis, extracting five factors, accounting for 78.6% of the variance. All items had factor loadings above 0.40. In terms of convergent validity, the OHIP-TMDs-C subscale was significant correlated to the global oral health rating. Conclusions: The results suggest that the OHIP-TMDs-C has good reliability and validity and thus may be used as a valuable instrument for patients with TMDs in China. Key words:Validation, TMDs, quality of life, questionnaire.
Real-time keystone correction for hand-held projectors with an RGBD camera

This paper introduces a novel and simple approach to realtime continuous keystone correction for hand-held projectors. An RGBD camera is attached to the projector to form a projector-RGBD-camera system. The system is first calibrated in an offline stage. At run-time, we then estimate the relative pose between the projector and the screen using the RGBD camera, which lets us correct the keystone distortion by warping the projected image accordingly. Experimental results show that our method outperforms existing techniques in terms of both accuracy and efficiency.