Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experiential ethics education for IT professionals

This chapter presents a new approach to IT ethics education that may be used by teachers in academic institutions, employees responsible for promoting ethics in organisations and individuals wanting to pursue their own professional development. Experiential ethics education emphasises deep learning that prompts a changed experience of ethics. We first consider how this approach complements other ways of engaging in ethics education. We then explore what it means to strive for experiential change and offer a model which may be useful in pursuing IT professional ethics education in this way.
Arts in Education: The Impact of the Arts Integration Program and Lessons Learned

Author(s): Miller, Joyce Ann; Bogatova, Tania | Abstract: Erie Arts a Culture (formerly ArtsErie), in partnership with the Union City Area School District, Crawford Central School District, Penncrest School District and Edinboro University in Pennsylvania received Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination Grant from the U.S. Department of Education in 2010. This grant provided the opportunity to design and implement Arts Integration: From Vision to Implementation,a four-year project that integrated dance, music, visual arts, and drama into existing curriculum. Arts Integrationprovided professional development for classroom teachers and teaching artists and established avenues for their collaboration to design and implement arts-integrated classroom-based learning through an artist-in-residence experience. The purpose of the project was to improve lesson planning and the quality of teaching; student engagement in the learning process and their learning habits associated with the arts; and ultimately, students’ achievement in math and reading. This project reached approximately 900 students annually in participating schools. Student data presented were collected only for students in participating and control classrooms, whose teachers agreed to be included in the evaluation. Included participating, or treatment, classrooms were selected from three schools that experienced arts-integrated learning. Included control classrooms were selected from two schools of similar demographic composition, where the project was not implemented. The data were collected from 54 treatment and 50 control classrooms. The total number of students in treatment classrooms was 969, and, in control classrooms, 962 students. The total of 35 participating classroom teachers, 32 control classroom teachers, and 16 teaching artists participated in the evaluation part of the project. Arts Integrationproduced a number of positive outcomes for the participating students, as well as teachers and teaching artists, who participated in the program. This evaluation documented a number of positive outcomes related to quality of teaching, student engagement and learning habits. At the same time, because the program was time-limited and the level of exposure for individual students was not long-term, the impact of arts-integration on student achievement in math and reading could not be definitively determined. This article provides a number of recommendations that would enhance the design and implementation of similar arts-integration programs, as well as offers lessons learned with respect to its evaluation.
Computer education and computer use by preschool educators

Researchers have found that teachers seldom use computers in the preschool classroom. However, little research has examined why preschool teachers elect not to use computers. This case study focused on identifying whether community colleges that prepare teachers for early childhood education include in their curriculum how teachers can effectively integrate the use of computers into preschool classrooms. The conceptual framework was based on the works of Piaget, Bronfenbrenner, and Vygotsky. Data included 15 interviews with Head Start teachers in one location in a western U.S. state, 5 interviews with faculty at one community college, and a review of that community college’s catalog course descriptions in its child development program. Data analysis included the identification of patterns and themes, as well as reviews by peer debriefers. Results indicated that the community college offered no classes that taught preschool education students how to incorporate computers into teaching young children. In addition, community college faculty did not model the integration of technology in a manner that teachers could apply or adapt to their preschool classrooms. Preschool teachers also indicated they would have preferred to have technology instruction integrated into their educational programs. Further, preschool teachers expressed interest in learning how to integrate technology into their classrooms if coursework were offered by local community colleges. This study contributed to positive social change by providing community college administrators with information they can use to plan early childhood education programs that better prepare teachers to maximize students’ learning opportunities.
FPGA accelerator for floating-point matrix multiplication

This study treats architecture and implementation of a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) accelerator for doubleprecision floating-point matrix multiplication. The architecture is oriented towards minimising resource utilisation and maximising clock frequency. It employs the block matrix multiplication algorithm which returns the result blocks to the host processor as soon as they are computed. This avoids output buffering and simplifies placement and routing on the chip. The authors show that such architecture is especially well suited for full-duplex communication links between the accelerator and the host processor. The architecture requires the result blocks to be accumulated by the host processor; however, the authors show that typically more than 99% of all arithmetic operations are performed by the accelerator. The implementation focuses on efficient use of embedded FPGA resources, in order to allow for a large number of processing elements (PEs). Each PE uses eight Virtex-6 DSP blocks. Both adders and multipliers are deeply pipelined and use several FPGA-specific techniques to achieve small area size and high clock frequency. Finally, the authors quantify the performance of accelerator implemented in Xilinx Virtex-6 FPGA, with 252 PEs running at 403 MHz (achieving 203.1 Giga FLOPS (GFLOPS)), by comparing it to double-precision matrix multiplication function from MKL, ACML, GotoBLAS and ATLAS libraries executing on Intel Core2Quad and AMD Phenom X4 microprocessors running at 2.8 GHz. The accelerator performs 4.5 times faster than the fastest processor/library pair.
Arsenic Exposure and Calpain-10 Polymorphisms Impair the Function of Pancreatic Beta-Cells in Humans: A Pilot Study of Risk Factors for T2DM

The incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is increasing worldwide and diverse environmental and genetic risk factors are well recognized. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the calpain-10 gene (CAPN-10), which encodes a protein involved in the secretion and action of insulin, and chronic exposure to inorganic arsenic (iAs) through drinking water have been independently associated with an increase in the risk for T2DM. In the present work we evaluated if CAPN-10 SNPs and iAs exposure jointly contribute to the outcome of T2DM. Insulin secretion (beta-cell function) and insulin sensitivity were evaluated indirectly through validated indexes (HOMA2) in subjects with and without T2DM who have been exposed to a gradient of iAs in their drinking water in northern Mexico. The results were analyzed taking into account the presence of the risk factor SNPs SNP-43 and -44 in CAPN-10. Subjects with T2DM had significantly lower beta-cell function and insulin sensitivity. An inverse association was found between beta-cell function and iAs exposure, the association being more pronounced in subjects with T2DM. Subjects without T2DM who were carriers of the at-risk genotype SNP-43 or -44, also had significantly lower beta-cell function. The association of SNP-43 with beta-cell function was dependent on iAs exposure, age, gender and BMI, whereas the association with SNP-44 was independent of all of these factors. Chronic exposure to iAs seems to be a risk factor for T2DM in humans through the reduction of beta-cell function, with an enhanced effect seen in the presence of the at-risk genotype of SNP-43 in CAPN-10. Carriers of CAPN-10 SNP-44 have also shown reduced beta-cell function.
Accurate and Economical Detection of ALK Positive Lung Adenocarcinoma with Semiquantitative Immunohistochemical Screening

Right detection of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene rearrangement is pivotal to selection of patients with lung adenocarcinoma for ALK-targeted therapy. We explored the potential of combination of immunohistochemistry (IHC) screening and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) as an affordable practice. We analyzed 410 unselected lung adenocarcinomas by ALK IHC (D5F3 clone) and FISH. Some equivocal cases were further analyzed by RT-PCR. The EGFR mutation was detected by pyrosequencing assay. In total 368 cases which got all IHC, FISH, EGFR mutation results were eligible for analysis. Cases were evaluated as IHC score 3+ (n = 26), score 2+ (n = 9), score 1+ (n = 51), and score 0 (n = 282), respectively. 23 of 26 IHC 3+ and 5 of 9 IHC 2+ cases were FISH positive, whereas 3 of 26 IHC 3+, 4 of 9 IHC 2+ and all 333 IHC 1+/0 cases were FISH negative. If considering FISH as the standard, the sensitivity and specificity of ALK IHC 3+/2+ as ALK positive were 100% and 97.9%, respectively. Three IHC 3+ cases reported as FISH “negative” were actually ALK positive confirmed by ALK RT-PCR or re-detected. Based on the final classify, ALK IHC 3+/2+ was 100% sensitive and 98.8% specific. However, FISH was 90.3% sensitive and 100% specific. IHC 2+ was regarded as equivocal and need to be confirmed by FISH or RT-PCR. In the 368 cases, 8.4% cases had ALK positive, 52.2% cases had EGFR mutation, and only one case had a coexisting. Manually semiquantitative ALK IHC (primary antibody D5F3 coupled with secondary DAKO Envision system) used as the initial screening combined with auxiliary FISH confirmation is a reliable, economical approach to identify ALK positive lung adenocarcinoma. The IHC can find some ALK positive cases which would be missed by FISH only.
Asymptotic Distribution Theory for Break Point Estimators in Models Estimated via 2SLS

In this article, we present a limiting distribution theory for the break point estimator in a linear regression model with multiple structural breaks obtained by minimizing a Two Stage Least Squares (2SLS) objective function. Our analysis covers both the case in which the reduced form for the endogenous regressors is stable and the case in which it is unstable with multiple structural breaks. For stable reduced forms, we present a limiting distribution theory under two different scenarios: in the case where the parameter change is of fixed magnitude, it is shown that the resulting distribution depends on the distribution of the data and is not of much practical use for inference; in the case where the magnitude of the parameter change shrinks with the sample size, it is shown that the resulting distribution can be used to construct approximate large sample confidence intervals for the break points. For unstable reduced forms, we consider the case where the magnitudes of the parameter changes in both the equation of interest and the reduced forms shrink with the sample size at potentially different rates and not necessarily the same locations in the sample. The resulting limiting distribution theory can be used to construct approximate large sample confidence intervals for the break points. Its usefulness is illustrated via an application to the New Keynesian Phillips curve.
Clustering Coefficients for Weighted Networks ∗ †

The clustering coefficient has been used successfully to summarise important features of unweighted, undirected networks across a wide range of applications. Recently, a number of authors have extended this concept to the case of networks with non-negatively weighted edges. After reviewing various alternatives, we focus on a definition due to Zhang and Horvath that can be traced back to earlier work of Grindrod. We give a natural and transparent derivation of this clustering coefficient and then analyse its properties. One attraction of this version is that it deals directly with weighted edges and avoids the need to discretise, that is, to round weights up to 1 or down to 0. This has the advantages of (a) retaining all edge weight information, and (b) eliminating the requirement for an arbitrary cutoff level. Further, the extended definition is much less likely to break down due to a ‘divide-by-zero’. Using our new derivation and focussing on some special cases allows us to gain insights into the typical behaviour of this measure. We then illustrate the idea by computing the generalised clustering coefficients, along with the corresponding weighted degrees, for pairwise correlation gene expression data arising from microarray experiments. We find that the weighted clustering and degree distributions reveal global topological differences between normal and tumour networks.
Generation of Weighting Triangles Associated with Aggregation Functions

In this work, we present several ways to obtain different types of weighting triangles, due to these types characterize some interesting properties of Extended Ordered Weighted Averaging operators, EOWA, and Extended Quasi-linear Weighted Mean, EQLWM, as well as of their reverse functions. We show that any quantifier determines an EOWA operator which is also an Extended Aggregation Function, EAF, i.e., the weighting triangle generated by a quantifier is always regular. Moreover, we present different results about generation of weighting triangles by means of sequences and fractal structures. Finally, we introduce a degree of orness of a weighting triangle associated with an EOWA operator. After that, we mention some results on each class of triangle, considering each one of these triangles as triangles associated with their corresponding EOWA operator, and we calculate the ornessof some interesting examples.
Nanowire waveguide made from extremely anisotropic metamaterials

modes and closed-form expressions for the energy flow will be obtained. Possible zero net-energy flow modes will also be discussed. The situation for trapping light is presented in Sec. III. In Sec. IV, we propose the realization of nanowires made of indefinite index medium, which is confirmed in finite-difference time-domain simulations. We conclude in Sec. V with possible applications for these anisotropic nanowires.
The Rise of Programming and the Stalled Gender Revolution

Despite remarkable progress toward gender equality over the past half-century, the stalled convergence in the gender wage gap after the mid-1990s remains a puzzle. This study provides new insights into this puzzle by conducting the first large-scale investigation of the uneven impact of the rise of programming in the labor market for men and women since the mid-1990s. We argue that the increasing reliance on programming has favored men’s economic status relative to women’s and therefore may help explain the slow convergence of the gender wage gap. We differentiate between two effects: (1) the composition effect, wherein men experience a greater employment growth in programming-intensive occupations relative to women, and (2) the price effect, wherein the wage returns to programming intensity increase more for men than women. Our empirical analysis documents a strong relationship between the rise of programming and the slow convergence of the gender wage gap among college graduates. Counterfactual simulations indicate that the absence of the composition and price effects would have reduced the gender wage gap over the past two decades by an additional 14.70 percent. These findings call attention to the role gender institutions play in shaping the uneven labor market impact of technological change.
Observations of the companion to the pulsar PSR B1718-19 - The role of tidal circularisation

We present optical and infrared observations taken with the Very Large Telescope of the eclipsing binary pulsar system PSR B1718-19. The candidate companion of the pulsar, identified earlier in Hubble Space Telescope observations, has been detected in all three bands, R , I , and J . These detections allowed us to derive constraints on temperature, radius, and mass, pointing to a companion that has expanded to a radius between one of a main sequence star and one at the Roche-limit. We focus on the role of tidal circularisation in the system, which will have transformed the initially eccentric orbit expected from formation scenarios into the nearly circular orbit presently observed. Based on simple energy balance arguments, we are able to draw a picture of the companion's evolution resulting from the energy deposition in the star due to circularisation. In this picture, our measurement of the companion's parameters is consistent with the expected initial eccentricity. However, with the present understanding of tidal dissipation, it remains difficult to account for the short time in which the system was circularised.
Learning communities or support groups: The use of student cohorts in doctoral educational leadership programs

LEARNING COMMUNITIES OR SUPPORT GROUPS: THE USE OF STUDENT COHORTS IN DOCTORAL EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS By Christy J. Brown, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2011 Major Director: Whitney Sherman, Ph.D. Department of Educational Leadership School of Education This mixed-method study explored how students in a doctoral educational leadership cohort at one university used the cohort structure as a learning community or as a method of social support. Survey data were collected from 45 past and present cohort students and qualitative data were collected from three focus groups of 15 participants total. The survey measured four factors: General Cohort Experience, Trust Within the Cohort, Network, and Community of Learners. Quantitatively, one cohort was found to be significantly different from the others in terms of Trust Within the Cohort; and the 60 hour cohorts were found to be more satisfied with the cohort experience than the 48 hour doctoral cohorts at the university studied. The theme of trust and support from and to fellow members both during and after the cohort had dissolved was a strong recurrent theme in this study. Cohort members felt that they developed and strengthened their skills professionally as a result of participating in the cohort; however, they first had to develop a sense of community and trust with their fellow members in order to learn from them.
Feedback‐Seeking Behavior in Language Learning: Basic Components and Motivational Antecedents

This study investigated the concept of corrective feedback in second language learning as a learning resource, recasting it as feedback-seeking behavior. Dweck's (1999) mindsets, Korn and Elliot's (2016) achievement goals, and Ashford's (1986) model of feedback-seeking behavior were re-operationalized in the context of language learning. Questionnaire data from 287 college students studying foreign languages in the United States confirmed that learners make calculated decisions regarding whether to seek feedback, by what method, and from what source, based on their own perceptions of the costs and values associated with different feedback-seeking strategies, which are, in turn, largely predicted by the learners? language mindsets and achievement goals. Learners with a growth language mindset and development-approach goals sought feedback using both monitoring and inquiry methods and from teachers and others. Learners with a fixed language mindset and demonstration goals sought feedback only by method of inquiry but from different sources depending on the valence (approach vs. avoidance) of their goals.
Cumulative gravitational lensing in Newtonian perturbations of Friedman—Robertson—Walker cosmologies

It is a common assumption amongst astronomers that, in the determination of the distances of remote sources from their apparent brightness, the cumulative gravitational lensing due to the matter in all the galaxies is the same, on average, as if the matter were uniformly distributed throughout the cosmos. The validity of this assumption is considered here by way of general Newtonian perturbations of Friedman–Robertson–Walker cosmologies. The analysis is carried out in synchronous gauge, with particular attention given to an additional gauge condition that must be imposed. The mean correction to the apparent magnitude–redshift relation is obtained for an arbitrary mean–density perturbation. In the case of a zero–mean–density perturbation, when the intergalactic matter has a dust equation of state, then there is indeed a zero–mean first–order correction to the apparent magnitude–redshift relation for all redshifts. Point particle and Swiss cheese models are considered as particular cases.
Adam Smith on the cyclicity of the rise and fall of civilization

As a historical framework, Adam Smith used the four-stages theory of social development, which was included in a broader one, namely, the history of civilization. First, in narrating history, Smith criticized the perspective of the historical cycle of the rise and fall of civilization adopted by Machiavelli and other writers. On that occasion, he inquired into the unique mechanism and development of the modern European civilization through comparing it with the ancient classical civilization and the uncivilized feudal past. Furthermore, Smith attributed the unique mechanism of the modern civilization to some important aspects of it: the invention of fi re-arms (the military revolution), the production system based on the division of labor without slavery, and the establishment of absolute power. For Smith, the system of natural liberty suited modern civilization in which many governments were not republican. However, he regarded republican self-government as indicating the progress of society. In the long run, Smith recognized the contradictions and ambivalence in the modern civilization.
Illumination: a directional filter of texture?

M.J. Chantler, G.T. Russell, & L.M. Linnett.Department of Computing and Electrical EngineeringHeriot-Watt University, Riccarton Edinburgh EH14 4ASe-mail mjc@cee.hw. ac.ukThis paper uses theory, simulation, and laboratory experiment, to show that directionalillumination, used during the image acquisition process, acts as a directional filter of threedimensional texture. It is shown that the directional characteristics of image texture are notintrinsic to the physical texture being imaged, as they are affected by the direction of theillumination. This result has important implications for texture classification schemes: as manyuse directional characteristics for discrimination purposes. Variation of illuminant direction isshown to significantly affect a common texture measure : the Laws' L5E5 operator [1].