Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Identifying points of interest by self-tuning clustering

Deducing trip related information from web-scale datasets has received very large amounts of attention recently. Identifying points of interest (POIs) in geo-tagged photos is one of these problems. The problem can be viewed as a standard clustering problem of partitioning two dimensional objects. In this work, we study spectral clustering which is the first attempt for the POIs identification. However, there is no unified approach to assign the clustering parameters; especially the features of POIs are immensely varying in different metropolitans and locations. To address this, we are intent to study a self-tuning technique which can properly assign the parameters for the clustering needed. Besides geographical information, web photos inherently store rich information. These information are mutually influenced each others and should be taken into trip related mining tasks. To address this, we study reinforcement which constructs the relationship over multiple sources by iterative learning. At last, we thoroughly demonstrate our findings by web scale datasets collected from Flickr.
Taming Eastern Nationalism: Tracing the Ideational Background of Double Standards of Post-Cold War Minority Protection

This article uses the logic of explanatory emancipation to criticize post-Cold War minority politics. The main argument is that the ideational background of the double standards of minority protection originates from a contested dichotomy of nationalism that divides nationalisms into Eastern ethnic/malignant nationalism and Western civic/benign nationalism. After presenting the theoretical tradition of the ‘Kohn dichotomy’, the article traces its use in post-Cold War academic and official policy papers. Through intertextual analysis, this article shows how the old theoretical tradition was recycled into a new context to dispel post-Cold War confusion. This article presents a Critical Realist view on how ideas and theories can be treated as parts of the causal analysis of social practices. With explicitly causal language, identifying possible forms for emancipatory action is easier than with constitutive analyses.
Three Drinking-Water–Associated Cryptosporidiosis Outbreaks, Northern Ireland

Three recent drinking-water–associated cryptosporidiosis outbreaks in Northern Ireland were investigated by using genotyping and subgenotyping tools. One Cryptosporidium parvum outbreak was caused by the bovine genotype, and two were caused by the human genotype. Subgenotyping analyses indicate that two predominant subgenotypes were associated with these outbreaks and had been circulating in the community.
"Fitting In" or "Standing Out": Working-Class Students in UK Higher Education.

Drawing on case studies of 27 working-class students across four UK higher education institutions, this article attempts to develop a multilayered, sociological understanding of student identities that draws together social and academic aspects. Working with a concept of student identity that combines the more specific notion of learner identity with more general understandings of how students are positioned in relation to their discipline, their peer group and the wider university, the article examines the influence of widely differing academic places and spaces on student identities. Differences between institutions are conceptualised in terms of institutional habitus, and the article explores how the four different institutional habituses result in a range of experiences of fitting in and standing out in higher education. For some this involves combining a sense of belonging in both middle-class higher education and working-class homes, while others only partially absorb a sense of themselves as students.
E-Healthcare and Knowledge-Intensive Website: An Empirical Study of National Cancer Center (NCC), South Korea

The fact that the patient satisfaction with primary care clinical practices and physician-patient communications has been decreased gradually has brought a new opportunity to online channel as a supplementary service to provide additional information. In this study, we adopted ExpectationConfirmation Theory (ECT) to examine the process of cognitive knowledge expectation-confirmation of e-healthcare users and recommended the attributes of “knowledge-intensive website”. An empirical study was conducted at the National Cancer Center (NCC), South Korea by evaluating its official website. The results indicated that all of our hypotheses were accepted: both pre-knowledge expectations and perceived performance (information quality, information presentation, and website attractiveness) positively influenced knowledge confirmation; knowledge confirmation had a positive and significant effect on perceived usefulness (post-expectations); and together with pre-expectations, both of these variables influenced user satisfaction. Discussion and implications for future research were also provided.
An agent-oriented approach to change propagation in software evolution

Software maintenance and evolution are inevitable activities since almost all software that is useful and successful stimulates user-generated requests for change and improvements. One of the most critical problems in software maintenance and evolution is to maintain consistency between software artefacts by propagating changes correctly. Although many approaches have been proposed, automated change propagation is still a significant technical challenge in software engineering. In this paper we present a novel, agent-oriented approach to deal with change propagation in evolving software systems that are developed using the Prometheus methodology. A meta-model with a set of the object constraint language (OCL) rules forms the basis of the proposed framework. The underlying change propagation mechanism of our framework is based on the well-known Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) agent architecture. Traceability information and design heuristics are also incorporated into the framework to facilitate the change propagation process.
Racial Disparity in Natural Language Processing: A Case Study of Social Media African-American English

We highlight an important frontier in algorithmic fairness: disparity in the quality of natural language processing algorithms when applied to language from authors of different social groups. For example, current systems sometimes analyze the language of females and minorities more poorly than they do of whites and males. We conduct an empirical analysis of racial disparity in language identification for tweets written in African-American English, and discuss implications of disparity in NLP.
The Parent–Peer Interface

The purpose of this study was to determine whether inductive parenting is capable of reducing delinquent peer influence. This hypothesis was tested using the first four waves (1976–1979) and all 1,725 (918 boys and 807 girls) members of the National Youth Survey (NYS). Inductive parenting was scored from 6 dichotomous items completed by a parent at Wave 1. Peer influence and selection were based on measures of peer and own delinquency completed by adolescent members of the NYS. As predicted, the pathway from inductive parenting to peer influence was significant and the pathway from inductive parenting to peer selection was not, although the two pathways were not significantly different from one another. These results suggest that inductive parenting exerts a small but potentially important effect on peer influence and may be one way of preventing the proactive or instrumental criminality believed to be transmitted through the peer influence process.
Knowledge, practice, and the shaping of early childhood professionalism

This article argues for an early childhood professionalism based upon notions of professional community and professional knowledge. Professionalism is conceived here as shaped by the relation between the social and the epistemic, with certain types of professional knowledge given precedence in accordance with the involvement of different organisations, institutions and public bodies. It is argued that shared processes that recognise the validity of certain types of knowledge for practice are required in order to advance early childhood professionalism, and that this requires forms of sociality that are derived from disciplinary communities but are often adopted, and adapted, by professionalised occupations. Drawing primarily on English examples, but with reference to other European countries, the development of the types of professional community that could advance professionalism is seen as challenged by the fragmented nature of the early childhood workforce, organisational diversity and the role of government.
Statistical-Based Image and Video Segmentation Using Mean Shift and Motion Field

Mean shift is robust in the applications of image and video segmentation according to its adaptive mode seeking property. Many image segmentation schemes suffer from the over-segmentation. In this thesis, a novel joint spatial-range mean shift based segmentation by using the spatial information: the mean shift convergence frequency and positions is proposed. This method could largely remove and properly merge the oversegmented regions. Segmented images were evaluated and the corresponding results are discussed. Because of the temporally consistent property of the spatial information from the mean shift filter, the proposed image segmentation method is applied in the video processing. The foreground object extraction method based on the frame-by-frame mean shift segmentation as well as the optical flow and higher order statistics motion detection is described. Different pixel-based motion detection schemes for local motion and global motion are applied and then extended to the region level through segmented regions. Optical flow region linking and foreground object estimation and tracking were investigated as well.
Impact factors analysis of residential buildings' energy consumption in Huainan

In order to understand the energy consumption condition and the influencing factor of Huainan residential building, the present situation of this city energy consumption has been understood through questionnaire survey, as well as the major effective factor of this city year energy consumption has been find through the relevance analysis and the multiple regression analysis in this article. Meanwhile the multi-dimensional statistics linear regression mode of Huainan residential building year energy consumption has been constructed through above statistical method, the results indicated that the family yearly income and the construction type is biggest influencing factor to the residential building year energy consumption.
Put Three and Three Together

Community detection has arisen as one of the most relevant topics in the field of graph data mining due to its applications in many fields such as biology, social networks, or network traffic analysis. Although the existing metrics used to quantify the quality of a community work well in general, under some circumstances, they fail at correctly capturing such notion. The main reason is that these metrics consider the internal community edges as a set, but ignore how these actually connect the vertices of the community. We propose the Weighted Community Clustering (WCC), which is a new community metric that takes the triangle instead of the edge as the minimal structural motif indicating the presence of a strong relation in a graph. We theoretically analyse WCC in depth and formally prove, by means of a set of properties, that the maximization of WCC guarantees communities with cohesion and structure. In addition, we propose Scalable Community Detection (SCD), a community detection algorithm based on WCC, which is designed to be fast and scalable on SMP machines, showing experimentally that WCC correctly captures the concept of community in social networks using real datasets. Finally, using ground-truth data, we show that SCD provides better quality than the best disjoint community detection algorithms of the state of the art while performing faster.
Anxiety, expertise, and visual search strategy in karate.

The effects of anxiety and expertise on visual search strategy in karate were examined. Expert and novice karate performers moved in response to taped karate offensive sequences presented under low (LA) and high anxiety (HA). Expert performers exhibited superior anticipation under LA and HA. No differences were observed between groups in number of fixations, mean fixation duration, or total number of fixation locations per trial. Participants displayed scan paths ascending and descending the centerline of the body, with primary fixations on head and chest regions. Participants demonstrated better performance under HA than under LA. Anxiety had a significant effect on search strategy, highlighted by changes in mean fixation duration and an increase in number of fixations and total number of fixation locations per trial. Increased search activity was more pronounced in novices, with fixations moving from central to peripheral body locations. These changes in search strategy with anxiety might be caused by p.
Modeling mouse, human, and discipline: Epistemic scaffolds in animal behavior genetics

Animal models of human disorders are a ubiquitous feature of contemporary biomedical research, but how is their value and role in understanding human disorders established? This article examines the dynamics of building up (and sometimes knocking down) claims about what a model can demonstrate in the field of animal behavior genetics. Drawing on long-standing analogies that describe scientific knowledge production as a process of construction, I introduce the metaphor of an ‘epistemic scaffold’ to illuminate how scientists create and contest claims about the utility of animal models. The flexible, temporary nature of scaffolding draws attention to the processes of building up claims to increasingly risky heights and reconfiguring the evidence supporting particular models by including or excluding particular facts and claims. As researchers include or exclude observations from epistemic scaffolds, to contest or build up different links, they gradually frame human disorders. Negotiations over how much to claim about the utility of animal models also reflect larger tensions in the discipline concerning what animal studies reveal about human disorders.
Video Game Design for Older Adults

Video games are increasingly used as tools in therapeutic interventions, both for younger and older adults. However, relatively little is known about video game usability for older adults, and age-related changes may affect some older players’ capacity to benefit from video games. We examined video recordings and open-ended questionnaire responses of 56 older adults taking part in a video game-based cognitive intervention study. Usability findings and recommendations for inclusive video game design for older adults are discussed.
The development of pre-service teachers subject knowledge during a post-graduate physical education teacher education programme

This study is concerned with the development of subject knowledge in pre-service teachers of secondary physical education (PE) during their one year Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) course. It investigates the knowledge bases for teaching which pre-service teachers recognised, developed and prioritised, as well as the key influences that impacted on their subject knowledge development. Adopting an interpretive methodology informed by constructivist grounded theory, the study employed interviews, lesson observations and post-lesson reflections as principal research methods. Pre-service teachers were seen to make wide-ranging progress in their subject knowledge, including the development of content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, knowledge of curriculum and knowledge of pupils. Through this they advanced their view of the nature of PE and how they wanted to teach it. The research highlights, that the process of knowledge development in PETE is socially constructed and complex. Much of the pre-service teachers development was influenced by various communities of practice, particularly their school placements PE departments, but also their University-based learning community. Of these, the legitimised practices within the PE departments were found to be especially important to pre-service teachers development. University-based learning was credited by pre-service teachers with enhancing their holistic understanding of the learning process, developing those aspects of critical pedagogy that were under-developed in schools. The impact of different subject knowledge profiles and the consequences of knowledge deficits are identified. This raises questions about the role and development of subject knowledge within PETE and calls for a re-vitalised debate on the nature of the knowledge in PE. Framed within an ever-changing policy landscape is the need for enhanced and stable partnerships that promote shared visions of PETE, an essential part of which is the need to collaboratively design and evaluate explicit knowledge development pathways which allow pre-service teachers to fulfil their potential and genuinely decide how they want to teach PE.
Influence of Pilates Mat and Apparatus Exercises on Pain and Balance of Businesswomen with Chronic Low Back Pain

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of mat Pilates and apparatus Pilates on pain and static balance of businesswomen with chronic back pain. [Subjects and Methods] Participants were randomly allocated to Pilates mat exercises (PME) or Pilates apparatus exercise (PAE), and performed the appropriate Pilates exercises 3 days per week for 8 weeks. In order to measure the improvement in the participants’ static balance ability as a result of the exercise, the sway length and sway velocity of the subjects were measured before and after the experiment while the subjects stood on a Balance Performance Monitor (BPM) facing the front wall for 30 seconds with their eyes open. The visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to measure the degree of pain. [Results] The VAS score, sway length, and sway velocity of both groups decreased significantly after the experiment, but the PME group showed a greater decrease than the PAE group. [Conclusion] PME showed greater improvement in pain level and balance compared with PAE in this research. Since the subjects of this study were patients with low back pain, PME is assumed to have been more suitable and effective because it uses body weight to strengthen core muscles rather than heavier apparatuses as in PAE.
Media and Nationalism

As divisive political ideologies in the era of globalizatin, contemporary nationalisms differ considerably from the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century nationalisms. They are fueled by the worldwide antinomy between the global and the local. Because nationalism is rooted deeply in different political cultures, nationalist biases affect the way journalists and media organizations select and present news stories about national collective identities and the national “others. ” However, it is legitimate to expect that supranational developments will redirect selection criteria of news coverage toward a less parochial and more responsible attitude on the part of the press. In this article, an effort is made to examine the positions of fourteen leading Greek newspapers, taking as a point of departure an earlier study on the Macedonian question and expanding it to include the interim accord between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. It is argued that in comparison to the past, we see an important alteration of the normative framing of the articles, from an ethnocentric to a polycentric approach. However, an analysis of the results also demonstrates that this shift does not reflect a deeper and permanent change in the nationalistic attitude of the Greek newspapers on the Macedonian question.
Three-Dimensional Mapping of mRNA Export through the Nuclear Pore Complex

The locations of transcription and translation of mRNA in eukaryotic cells are spatially separated by the nuclear envelope (NE). Plenty of nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) embedded in the NE function as the major gateway for the export of transcribed mRNAs from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Whereas the NPC, perhaps one of the largest protein complexes, provides a relatively large channel for macromolecules to selectively pass through it in inherently three-dimensional (3D) movements, this channel is nonetheless below the diffraction limit of conventional light microscopy. A full understanding of the mRNA export mechanism urgently requires real-time mapping of the 3D dynamics of mRNA in the NPC of live cells with innovative imaging techniques breaking the diffraction limit of conventional light microscopy. Recently, super-resolution fluorescence microscopy and single-particle tracking (SPT) techniques have been applied to the study of nuclear export of mRNA in live cells. In this review, we emphasize the necessity of 3D mapping techniques in the study of mRNA export, briefly summarize the feasibility of current 3D imaging approaches, and highlight the new features of mRNA nuclear export elucidated with a newly developed 3D imaging approach combining SPT-based super-resolution imaging and 2D-to-3D deconvolution algorithms.
Treatment efficacy of virtual reality distraction in the reduction of pain and anxiety during cystoscopy.

OBJECTIVE Assessment of virtual reality (VR) distraction for alleviating pain and anxiety during flexible cystoscopy. Cystoscopy is a common ambulatory procedure performed in Urology and can be associated with moderate pain and anxiety. Sophisticated distraction techniques are not used with cystoscopy and VR has not been studied for this procedure. We designed a prospective, randomized, controlled trial assessing the efficacy of VR for alleviating pain and anxiety during flexible cystoscopy. METHODS Adult men referred for cystoscopy were randomized into a control or VR group. Subjects were given preprocedure and postprocedure questionnaires addressing anxiety, pain, and time spent thinking about pain. Vitals signs and galvanic skin monitors were used as objective measures. The control group underwent routine cystoscopy and the VR group underwent cystoscopy with VR. Physicians answered a postprocedure questionnaire assessing the difficulty of the exam. All questionnaires used a visual analog score for assessment. RESULTS 23 patients enrolled in the control group and 22 in the VR group. Mean scores and Student's t-test were employed to analyze the data. No data endpoints showed a statistically significant difference between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS We concluded no benefit to VR distraction mitigating pain in male patients during cystoscopy.