Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Open University ’ s repository of research publications and other research outputs The Challenge of Software Complexity Conference Item

Given the interdisciplinary nature of complex network studies, there is a practical need for dialogue between theorists proposing graph measurements and those seeking to apply them into a domain. We consider this in the domain of software complexity by highlighting the distinctive nature of networks representing software's internal structure and also by describing the application of one such proposal, the offdiagonal complexity, against two examples of software. The results showed the promise of using complex networks to measure software complexity but also demonstrated the confounding effects of size. Based on that application we make proposals to improve the dialogue between theory and experiment. Software's importance and the need to measure complexity Today's society is heavily dependant on software. It runs our computers, our phones and the internet, while managing economies and communications. This pervasiveness means that any improvement in understanding software has a potentially enormous payback from better project management, control of costs and increased quality. Past practice of software development could be seen as a chimera of art-form and engineering with success or failure in projects seemingly dependent on anecdotal wisdoms. While a comprehensive theoretical framework seems elusive, current and future practice has become increasingly evidence-based and draws from a wide range of disciplines such as psychology, sociology, data-mining and complexity theories. That software is complex is also largely self-evident. Brooks (1987) (of “The Mythical Man-Month” fame) argues that complexity is one of the fundamental essences associated with software. As such, understanding this inherent property would make great inroads into understanding software overall. While there are several viewpoints into software such as its cognitive, computational, problem or solution complexity (Cardoso et al. 2000), this paper focuses on the structural complexity of the code, arguing that it provides the most direct understanding of the product. Software as a complex network The variety of coding languages, styles and paradigms makes processing and quantifying code hard to generalise. One solution is to abstract the code into a network graph, with vertices representing a chosen unit of code and edges representing an arbitrary relationship between those units. By representing the interconnections between collaborating modules, objects, classes, methods, and subroutines with a network graph, software becomes another domain capable of investigation with the interdisciplinary toolset of complex networks. The basic technique is well established (Myers 2003; Valverde & Solé 2003) and while more recent developments have for instance considered graphing the entire socio-technical system (Bird et al. 2009), obtaining a measurement that represents the complexity of source code's basic structure and that can be connected to software development practice remains desirable.
The Arabidopsis thaliana Med25 mediator subunit integrates environmental cues to control plant development

Development in plants is controlled by abiotic environmental cues such as day length, light quality, temperature, drought, and salinity. These signals are sensed by a variety of systems and transmitted by different signal transduction pathways. Ultimately, these pathways are integrated to control expression of specific target genes, which encode proteins that regulate development and differentiation. The molecular mechanisms for such integration have remained elusive. We here show that a linear 130-amino-acids-long sequence in the Med25 subunit of the Arabidopsis thaliana Mediator is a common target for the drought response element binding protein 2A, zinc finger homeodomain 1, and Myb-like transcription factors which are involved in different stress response pathways. In addition, our results show that Med25 together with drought response element binding protein 2A also function in repression of PhyB-mediated light signaling and thus integrate signals from different regulatory pathways.
Cyberstalking versus off-line stalking in a forensic sample

There is relatively little empirical research into cyberstalking and most published research reports data from samples of cyberstalking victims. The current study aimed to fill a gap in the literature by comparing 36 cyberstalking offenders with an age and gender matched sample of 36 off-line stalkers (average age 37 years, 94% male) to investigate differences in demographic, clinical and behavioural characteristics. Non-parametric analyses showed few between-group differences, although cyberstalkers were more likely to be ex-intimate partners (75% vs. 47%, χ2 = 5.84, p = .02, φ = .28) and less likely to approach their victims (56% vs. 78%, χ2 = 4.00, p = .05, φ = −.24). The majority of cyberstalkers also used off-line stalking tactics. Examination of specific cyberstalking behaviours suggested that cyberstalkers with different motivations used the Internet in distinct ways. These results support broad conclusions from previous research indicating that there are relatively few differences between cyberstalkers and off-line stalkers. Once the motivation of the stalker is considered, treatment and management strategies for cyberstalking and off-line stalking are likely to be similar.
Vision-based Detection of Kerbs and Steps

A key component of a technological aid for the partially sighted (TAPS) is a system to detect kerbs and steps. In this paper, a vision-based kerb detection system is described which uses the Hough Transform to find clusters of parallel lines in the image as evidence for a kerb. This is combined with a stereo vision-based obstacle detection algorithm. Experiments show that kerb regions are identified correctly from the images. An error analysis of the obstacle detection algorithm enables the kerb height, and its uncertainty, to be determined.
Interactive Small-Step Algorithms I: Axiomatization

In earlier work, the Abstract State Machine Thesis -- that arbitrary algorithms are behaviorally equivalent to abstract state machines -- was established for several classes of algorithms, including ordinary, interactive, small-step algorithms. This was accomplished on the basis of axiomatizations of these classes of algorithms. Here we extend the axiomatization and, in a companion paper, the proof, to cover interactive small-step algorithms that are not necessarily ordinary. This means that the algorithms (1) can complete a step without necessarily waiting for replies to all queries from that step and (2) can use not only the environment's replies but also the order in which the replies were received.
The intonation of polar questions in Italian: Where is the rise?

Earlier studies on Standard Italian describe polar questions as being characterised by a terminal rise, as opposed to a terminal fall for statements, where a low/falling accentual movement precedes the terminal part of the contour in both sentence types. The same is generally claimed for the Northern and Central Italian varieties (including Florentine, i.e. the variety from which Standard Italian stems), whereas Southern accents are characterised by an accentual rise followed by a terminal fall, being therefore the primary cue for question in non-terminal position. However, a closer look at the existing literature on regional Italian question intonation reveals that such a geographical distribution of intonational features across Italian accents is not that clear-cut. A reason for this discrepancy might be the different speaking styles – here intended as the broad spontaneous vs. read distinction – of the spoken productions analysed. The aim of this paper is to call into question the claim that a terminal rise preceded by an accentual low/fall is the most widespread intonational feature for marking questioning across Italian accents. The goal is to provide a clearer picture of question intonation in Italian by looking at the distribution of the rise as either on terminal or non-terminal position across a large number of varieties, where speech materials have been elicited with the same methodology, and they are therefore homogeneous with respect to speaking style. Intonation analysis has been carried out on spontaneous yes–no questions extracted from the Map Task dialogues collected in the CLIPS national corpus (Corpora e Lessici di Italiano Parlato e Scritto – Corpora and Lexicons of Spoken and Written Italian) covering 15 varieties of Italian. Results of this analysis on the Northern, Central, and Southern polar questions reveals that the accentual rise prevails, and that the distribution of the rise across varieties is independent of the geography.
Lingering Illness or Sudden Death? Pre-Exit Employment Developments in German Establishments

Using a large administrative dataset for Germany, this paper compares employment developments in exiting and surviving establishments. For both West and East Germany we find a clear "shadow of death" effect reflecting lingering illness: establishments shrink dramatically already several years before closure, employment growth rates differ strongly between exiting and surviving establishments, and this difference becomes stronger as exit approaches. We further show that prior to exit the workforce becomes on average more skilled, more female and older in exiting compared to surviving establishments. These effects are more clearly visible in West than in East Germany. Our results also hold when applying a matching approach.
Co-occurrence of an osteogenesis imperfecta-like phenotype and congenital diaphragmatic hernia in a kitten.

A rare case of the co-occurrence of an osteogenesis imperfecta-like phenotype and congenital diaphragmatic hernia is reported in a male, mixed-breed kitten with a clinical history of dyspnea, dehydration, sternal recumbency and stupor. The animal presented moderate bone deformity of the fore and hind limbs, muscle atrophy, and cervical and thoracic lordosis. The radiological examination and necropsy revealed diffuse and intense radiolucency throughout the skeleton, curved or fractured bones, very thin cortical long bones, an intensely extended medullary canal and left diaphragmatic hernia with an aperture without bleeding or scarring. Microscopically, some long bones and vertebral bodies had lessdifferentiated cartilaginous epiphysis, predominantly attached to the epiphyseal plate and with absence of secondary ossification centers or incipient formation. The trabeculae were thin, few, surrounded by abundant cartilaginous tissue and coated with a layer of bulky cuboidal osteoblasts. The cortical long bones, vertebrae, skull and ribs were thin and discontinuous. Based on the clinical, radiological, macroscopic and microscopic findings, a diagnosis of osteogenesis imperfecta and congenital diaphragmatic hernia was confirmed. To the best of our knowledge, this report is the first case of OI associated with congenital diaphragmatic hernia in an animal.
Linguistic and cultural strategies in ELT dictionaries

There are three main types of ELT dictionaries: monolingual, bilingual, and bilingualized. Each type of dictionary, while having its own advantages, also hinders the learning of English as a foreign language and culture in so far as it is written from a homogenizing (linguistic- and culture-centric) perspective. This paper presents a new type of dictionary that tries to overcome the linguistic and cultural limitations of its predecessors. This is achieved by means of a series of strategies that have to do with localization, delocalization, globalization, and glocalization of language and/or culture. It is hoped that the presentation of the linguistic and cultural strategies underlying this new kind of dictionary will (1) help the ELT community to improve students’ linguistic and cultural competencies, (2) help teachers evaluate the efficacy of different ELT dictionaries, and (3) promote the creation of more effective ELT dictionaries.
Operation of a titanium nitride superconducting microresonator detector in the nonlinear regime

If driven sufficiently strongly, superconducting microresonators exhibit nonlinear behavior including response bifurcation. This behavior can arise from a variety of physical mechanisms including heating effects, grain boundaries or weak links, vortex penetration, or through the intrinsic nonlinearity of the kinetic inductance. Although microresonators used for photon detection are usually driven fairly hard in order to optimize their sensitivity, most experiments to date have not explored detector performance beyond the onset of bifurcation. Here, we present measurements of a lumped-element superconducting microresonator designed for use as a far-infrared detector and operated deep into the nonlinear regime. The 1? GHz resonator was fabricated from a 22? nm thick titanium nitride film with a critical temperature of 2? K and a normal-state resistivity of 100? cm. We measured the response of the device when illuminated with 6.4 pW optical loading using microwave readout powers that ranged from the low-power, linear regime to 18 dB beyond the onset of bifurcation. Over this entire range, the nonlinear behavior is well described by a nonlinear kinetic inductance. The best noise-equivalent power of 2×10? 16? W/Hz1/2 at 10 Hz was measured at the highest readout power, and represents a ? 10 fold improvement compared with operating below the onset of bifurcation.
H19-Promoter-Targeted Therapy Combined with Gemcitabine in the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is the eighth cancer leading cause of cancer-related death in the world and has a 5-year survival rate of 1–4% only. Gemcitabine is a first line agent for advanced pancreatic therapy; however, its efficacy is limited by its poor intracellular metabolism and chemoresistance. Studies have been conducted in an effort to improve gemcitabine treatment results by adding other chemotherapeutic agents, but none of them showed any significant advantage over gemcitabine monotherapy. We found that 85% of human pancreatic tumors analyzed by in situ hybridization analyses showed moderated to strong expression of the H19 gene. We designed a preclinical study combining gemcitabine treatment and a DNA-based therapy for pancreatic cancer using a non viral vector BC-819 (also known as DTA-H19), expressing the diphtheria toxin A chain under the control of the H19 gene regulatory sequences. The experiments conducted either in an orthotopic and heterotopic pancreatic carcinoma animal model showed better antitumor activity following the sequential administration of the vector BC-819 and gemcitabine as compared to the effect of each of them alone. The results presented in the current study indicate that treatment with BC-819 in combination with gemcitabine might be a viable new therapeutic option for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.
The conditioning of textual responses using "extrinsic" reinforcers.

Six 4-year-old Ss were presented with a textual program consisting of 26 words arranged so the word stimuli were gradually combined into sentences and then short "stories. " Three Ss were given the No-Reinforcement condition first, and only social reinforcers were presented. They were switched to the Reinforcement condition as soon as they requested discontinuance of the activity. The other three Ss were given Reinforcement-No Reinforcement-Reinforcement treatments. The No-Reinforcement treatment in this case lasted until S requested discontinuance of the activity. The reinforcers were mixed edibles and trinkets, as well as tokens backed up by small plastic toys on a 1:24 ratio. The unit of response was the number of new texts acquired as a result of each of the 45-min experimental sessions. It was demonstrated that the program, procedure, and reinforcement conditions produced curves which are analogous to those produced in common operant-conditioning procedures. The results indicate that other operant principles may be studied in this significant area of human behavior, with important practical consequences.
Introducing e-portfolios to pre-service teachers as tools for reflection and growth: lessons learnt

E-portfolios are being introduced into initial teacher education programmes internationally to help pre-service teachers build records of their learning journeys and develop into reflective practitioners; to allow them to assemble collections of evidence of their achievements against graduate standards, which can function as digital CVs; and to facilitate the seeding of personal learning networks that will support lifelong learning after graduation. Despite certain tensions between these aims, the potential benefits of e-portfolios make them an increasingly popular choice in teacher education. In this article, we discuss the introduction of Wi-Fi-based e-portfolios into a Master of Teaching programme at an Australian university. These served primarily as developmental e-portfolios, or personal learning environments (PLEs), and were designed to place particular emphasis on reflective practice. We describe how the e-portfolios were perceived and used by pre-service teachers in the first year of their implementation, and indicate the challenges and limitations encountered. Lessons learnt from the implementation are outlined and recommendations are proposed.
Performance and Mastery Orientation of High School and University/College Students

This investigation assesses performance and mastery orientation from a Rasch perspective among high school and university students and provides a complementary approach to the factor analytic methods typical in goal theory research. Data shows that both school and university students are high in mastery orientation relative to performance orientation, and there is broad agreement for the separation of performance and mastery orientation. However, there are fewer school—university differences on performance orientation than mastery orientation, with university students more mastery oriented than high school students. Although performance orientation holds up well from a psychometric perspective, data indicates that for both school and university samples, mastery orientation items do not adequately differentiate high— from low—mastery-oriented students. Finally, the Rasch approach suggests that for both school and university students, there may exist a hierarchical structure to performance and mastery orientation. Implications for goal theory and the measurement of goal orientations are discussed.
Functional coding of video using a shape-adaptive DCT algorithm and an object-based motion prediction toolbox

This paper presents an object-based layered video coding scheme which achieves very high compression efficiency along with the provision for advanced content-based functionalities, e.g., content-based scalability or content-based access and manipulation of video data. In a first step, a video sequence is segmented into several arbitrarily shaped "object layers. " To achieve the desired content-based functionalities, a baseline shape-adaptive discrete cosine transform (DCT) coding algorithm is introduced which can be seen as an extension of conventional block-based DCT coding schemes (e.g., H.261, H.263, MPEG-1, or MPEG-2) toward coding of arbitrarily shaped image content. In order to increase compression efficiency, the baseline object-based layered approach can be extended with an object-based motion prediction toolbox. Using this toolbox, the coding scheme can potentially select specific prediction techniques for every object layer to be coded. To illustrate the concept, an extension of the baseline shape-adaptive DCT algorithm with a technique for global background motion estimation and compensation is described which significantly improves the compression efficiency of suitable video sequences compared to standard MPEG coding schemes.
Organizational Innovation Climate and Creative Outcomes: Exploring the Moderating Effect of Time Pressure

Time pressure, one of the factors of organizational innovation climate, has an inconsistent effect on employee creativity. Based on the interactional approach, this study attempted to describe time pressure as a moderator. Data were collected from two surveys of R&D employees at Taiwanese national research institutions in 2007 and 2009. The results showed that time pressure moderated the relationship between organizational innovation climate and creative outcomes. As most theorists had predicted, in a strong organizational innovation climate, time pressure hindered creative outcomes. However, as many practitioners advocate, time pressure enhanced creative outcomes in a weak organizational innovation climate. The implications in a time pressure/organizational innovation climate matrix are discussed.
The Impact on Family Functioning of Social Media Use by Depressed Adolescents: A Qualitative Analysis of the Family Options Study

Background Adolescent depression is a prevalent mental health problem, which can have a major impact on family cohesion. In such circumstances, excessive use of the Internet by adolescents may exacerbate family conflict and lack of cohesion. The current study aims to explore these patterns within an intervention study for depressed adolescents. Method The current study draws upon data collected from parents within the family options randomized controlled trial that examined family based interventions for adolescent depression (12–18 years old) in Melbourne, Australia (2012–2014). Inclusion in the trial required adolescents to meet diagnostic criteria for a major depressive disorder via the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Childhood Disorders. The transcripts of sessions were examined using qualitative thematic analysis. The transcribed sessions consisted of 56 h of recordings in total from 39 parents who took part in the interventions. Results The thematic analysis explored parental perceptions of their adolescent’s use of social media (SM) and access to Internet content, focusing on the possible relationship between adolescent Internet use and the adolescent’s depressive disorder. Two overarching themes emerged as follows: the sense of loss of parental control over the family environment and parents’ perceived inability to protect their adolescent from material encountered on the Internet and social interactions via SM. Conclusion Parents within the context of family based treatments felt that prolonged exposure to SM exposed their already vulnerable child to additional stressors and risks. The thematic analysis uncovered a sense of parental despair and lack of control, which is consistent with their perception of SM and the Internet as relentless and threatening to their parental authority and family cohesion.
Neuroimaging Studies of Reading Development and Reading Disability

Converging evidence from a number of neuroimaging studies, including our own, suggest that fluent word identification in reading is related to the functional integrity of two left hemisphere posterior systems: a temporo–parietal system and a ventral occipito–temporal system. These posterior systems are functionally disrupted in developmental dyslexia. Reading disabled, relative to nonimpaired, readers demonstrate heightened reliance on both inferior frontal and right hemisphere posterior regions, presumably in compensation for the LH posterior difficulties. We propose a neurobiological account suggesting that for normally developing readers the temporo–parietal system predominates at first, and is associated with aspects of processing critical in learning to integrate orthography with phonological and lexical–semantic features of printed words. The occipito–temporal system, by contrast, constitutes a fast, late–developing, word–identification system that underlies fluent word recognition in skilled readers.