Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CMIP5 models' shortwave cloud radiative response and climate sensitivity linked to the climatological Hadley cell extent

This study analyzes Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) model output to examine the covariability of interannual Southern Hemisphere Hadley cell (HC) edge latitude shifts and shortwave cloud radiative effect (SWCRE). In control climate runs, during years when the HC edge is anomalously poleward, most models substantially reduce the shortwave radiation reflected by clouds in the lower midlatitude region (LML; ∼28°S–∼48°S), although no such reduction is seen in observations. These biases in HC‐SWCRE covariability are linked to biases in the climatological HC extent. Notably, models with excessively equatorward climatological HC extents have weaker climatological LML subsidence and exhibit larger increases in LML subsidence with poleward HC edge expansion. This behavior, based on control climate interannual variability, has important implications for the CO2‐forced model response. In 4×CO2‐forced runs, models with excessively equatorward climatological HC extents produce stronger SW cloud radiative warming in the LML region and tend to have larger climate sensitivity values than models with more realistic climatological HC extents.
True HDR camera with bilateral filter based tone mapping

HDR video acquisition and processing are quite challenging tasks from the point of both computational complexity and algorithm design. In this paper, we present a real-time HDR processing system evaluated on a custom hardware camera platform. We exploited well known state of the art algorithms for HDR acquisition from sequence of multiexposure frames and real-time tone-mapping. We also present modifications of the algorithms enabling efficient implementation on FPGA platform and real-time performance. The main focus of the paper is on acceleration of Durand local tone-mapping operator involving real-time bilateral filter. The proposed solution is compared to existing research results in terms of speed, resource consumptions, and numerical accuracy.
Environmental Volunteering: motivations, modes and outcomes

Abstract Volunteers play a key role in natural resource management: their commitment, time and labour constitute a major contribution towards managing environments in Australia and throughout the world. From the point of view of environmental managers, much interest has focused on defining tasks suitable to volunteers. However, we argue that an improved understanding of what motivates volunteers is required to sustain volunteer commitments to environmental management in the long term. This is particularly important given that multiple government programs rely heavily on volunteers in Australia, a phenomenon also noted in the UK, Canada, and the USA. Whilst there is considerable research on volunteering in other sectors (e.g. health), there has been relatively little attention paid to understanding environmental volunteering. Drawing on the literature from other sectors and environmental volunteering where available, we present a set of six broad motivations underpinning environmental volunteers and five different modes through which environmental volunteering is manifested. We developed and refined the sets of motivations and modes through a pilot study involving interviews with volunteers and their coordinators from environmental groups in Sydney and Bass Coast. The pilot study data emphasise the importance of promoting community education as a major focus of environmental volunteer groups and demonstrate concerns over the fine line between supporting and abusing volunteers, given their role in delivering environmental outcomes.
Anomaly Detection through Spatio-temporal Context Modeling in Crowded Scenes

A novel statistical framework for modeling the intrinsic structure of crowded scenes and detecting abnormal activities is presented in this paper. The proposed framework essentially turns the anomaly detection process into two parts, namely, motion pattern representation and crowded context modeling. During the first stage, we averagely divide the spatiotemporal volume into atomic blocks. Considering the fact that mutual interference of several human body parts potentially happen in the same block, we propose an atomic motion pattern representation using the Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) to distinguish the motions inside each block in a refined way. Usual motion patterns can thus be defined as a certain type of steady motion activities appearing at specific scene positions. During the second stage, we further use the Markov Random Field (MRF) model to characterize the joint label distributions over all the adjacent local motion patterns inside the same crowded scene, aiming at modeling the severely occluded situations in a crowded scene accurately. By combining the determinations from the two stages, a weighted scheme is proposed to automatically detect anomaly events from crowded scenes. The experimental results on several different outdoor and indoor crowded scenes illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Extrusion vs. accretion at the frictional–viscous décollement transition in experimental thrust wedges: the role of convergence velocity

In many cases, thrust wedges accreted at shallow crustal levels show an across‐strike rheological variability along the basal décollement, notably from brittle to ductile behaviour. In this paper, we illustrate the results of sandbox analogue modelling research devoted to studying the influence of convergence velocity on wedge architecture when laterally juxtaposed frictional and viscous materials occur along the basal décollement of accreting thrust wedges. Our results show that slow convergence favours a near symmetrical distribution of thrust vergence within wedge sectors accreted above viscous décollement material, whereas fast convergence favours vergence asymmetry. In particular, at fast convergence rates the hinterlandward extrusion of viscous décollement material at the toe of the frictional wedge is favoured and contributed to accommodate a significant amount of the total contraction.
Smooth Optimization Approach for Sparse Covariance Selection

In this paper we first study a smooth optimization approach for solving a class of nonsmooth strictly concave maximization problems whose objective functions admit smooth convex minimization reformulations. In particular, we apply Nesterov's smooth optimization technique [Y. E. Nesterov, Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR, 269 (1983), pp. 543-547; Y. E. Nesterov, Math. Programming, 103 (2005), pp. 127-152] to their dual counterparts that are smooth convex problems. It is shown that the resulting approach has ${\cal O}(1/{\sqrt{\epsilon}})$ iteration complexity for finding an $\epsilon$-optimal solution to both primal and dual problems. We then discuss the application of this approach to sparse covariance selection that is approximately solved as an $l_1$-norm penalized maximum likelihood estimation problem, and also propose a variant of this approach which has substantially outperformed the latter one in our computational experiments. We finally compare the performance of these approaches with other first-order methods, namely, Nesterov's ${\cal O}(1/\epsilon)$ smooth approximation scheme and block-coordinate descent method studied in [A. d'Aspremont, O. Banerjee, and L. El Ghaoui, SIAM J. Matrix Anal. Appl. , 30 (2008), pp. 56-66; J. Friedman, T. Hastie, and R. Tibshirani, Biostatistics, 9 (2008), pp. 432-441] for sparse covariance selection on a set of randomly generated instances. It shows that our smooth optimization approach substantially outperforms the first method above, and moreover, its variant substantially outperforms both methods above.
Heterogeneity and prediction of hemodynamic responses to dobutamine in patients with septic shock

Objective:To establish the heterogeneity of hemodynamic responses to dobutamine in patients with septic shock and to identify the predictive factors of these hemodynamic responses. Design:Prospective study. Setting and Patients:A total of 12 patients with septic shock in a tertiary medical intensive care unit. Interventions:A 20-min dobutamine infusion at 5 &mgr;g·kg−1·min−1 with subsequent increments to 8, 12.6, and 20 &mgr;g·kg−1·min−1, on two consecutive days. Responses were dichotomized into changes in heart rate (HR) or stroke volume index (SVI) of >10% and ≤10% at the maximal dobutamine infusion. Measurements and Main Results:No differences were found in survival, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, maximal dobutamine doses, or pharmacokinetics of dobutamine between HR and SVI groups. In &Dgr;HR > 10% vs. &Dgr;HR ≤ 10%, baseline HR was lower, and baseline mixed venous oxygen tension and saturation were higher. During dobutamine infusion, mean arterial pressure decreased in &Dgr;HR > 10%. Cardiac index and the systemic oxygen delivery index increased and the systemic vascular resistance index decreased at unchanged SVI. Pressure work index increased and the ratio of the diastolic to systolic aortic pressure time indices decreased but not to <0.6. In &Dgr;HR ≤ 10%, systemic vascular resistance index and the ratio of the diastolic to systolic aortic pressure time indices decreased (but remained >0.6) without changes in SVI or cardiac index. Baseline hemodynamic and metabolic variables did not differ between SVI groups. In &Dgr;SVI > 10%, cardiac index increased with dobutamine, but Pao2 and the systemic oxygen delivery index decreased. In &Dgr;SVI ≤ 10%, HR and the systemic oxygen delivery index increased; mean arterial pressure, left ventricular stroke work index, systemic vascular resistance index, and the ratio of the diastolic to systolic aortic pressure time indices decreased. Conclusions:Patients with a positive chronotropic response to dobutamine had lower baseline HR values, and a chronotropic rather than inotropic response predicted an increase in cardiac index and systemic oxygen delivery index. Incremental dosages of dobutamine did not compromise indirectly measured myocardial oxygen balance.
Contested Concepts in Cognitive Social Science

Concepts and categories are of critical concern to the social sciences, where there is often significant lack of consensus about the proper definition or application of a concept. It has been suggested that such conflict results from the nature of the concepts in question (for example, democracy, art, science, or feminism) themselves; concepts which provoke such arguments are said to be “essentially contested. ” (Gallie 1956) By applying the results of cognitive science, particularly cognitive linguistics, to these concepts, we discover that they are characterized by oversimplified or clustered idealized cognitive models and belief systems which extend and instantiate these models into the full-fledged concepts used in social science discourse. These extensions may be either principled, based on independently existing belief systems, or ad hoc, based on belief systems specific to the concept in question. This analysis has serious consequences for the social sciences. The objectivist paradigm (Lakoff 1987) which underlies classical social science can not accommodate such cognitively-based concepts. Efforts by social scientists to sharpen conceptual discrimination are similarly flawed by this paradigm. A cognitively-based social science would more accurately reflect the actual processes by which people understand concepts.
Medical Relabeling in Gamblers Anonymous

A 12-monthparticipant observation study of two Gamblers Anonymous (GA) groups in South Wales was prompted by concern with the increasing emphasis placed by professional and academic investigators upon a medical understanding of gambling. Such an understanding attributes little to the capacity of individuals apart from the ability to lose control of themselves through the contraction of a disease commonly described as "compulsive gambling. " Through the collection of information from GA meetings, personal interviews, and other informal gatherings, it is concluded that two broad consequences arise from encountering fellow sufferers: an acceptance of the state of their condition (diseased) or a rejection of such a diagnosis (in spite of mirror-image selves) but with the knowledge that they are returning to the "outside" world with a reconstituted self-image and its consequential meaning. Those individuals who concede to the diagnosis must commit themselves to a recovery program that will never ultimately achieve what it suggests. A commitment is required not to their own rehabilitation but to the will of GA, a force that relies on the power of group persuasion for its very continuance. These are the driving elements behind such a self-help group, as well as a professed desire to help individuals shed themselves of an invisible disease that has in fact been constructed by the larger society, and which is shared by those individuals or groups of individuals who do not conform or appear to threaten such norms. A passage through the stages of the medical model is outlined and the reader can identify with several important roles within this journey in search of a new self a self portrayed by GA members as an "ideal type, " one for which they all apparently strive.
Opportunities for Foreign Language Learning and Use within a Learner's Informal Social Networks

Despite widespread acknowledgement of the importance of the social dimensions of second language acquisition, there has been little research on second language (L2) use and learning in the social networks of foreign language learners. This study examines the language use of a student of Japanese in Australia in two informal conversations he had with native speakers of Japanese who were part of his social network. Utilising activity theory and a conversation analytic approach to language alternation, the analysis reveals that it is not always easy for this learner to create opportunities to use Japanese due to diverse social factors. One of the major factors is a contradiction that emerges between the socialising activity and the language learning activity in which this learner and his Japanese friends are engaged in their conversations. However, this study demonstrates that the same learner sometimes succeeds in gaining access to exposure to L2 as a speaker as well as a listener and, as a consequence, access to L2 learning opportunities. This access seems to be enabled by, amongst other things, an indication of his own strong preference for L2 and his proactive move to introduce appropriate subtopics.
The effect of brand personality and brand identification on brand loyalty: Applying the theory of social identification

This study investigated the effect of brand personality on brand asset management by using the concept of consumers' identification with a brand. The focus was on one important type of high-technology product, the cellular phone. The authors develop a conceptual framework to explain the effect of brand identification on brand loyalty. The important variables of this framework include the attractiveness of the brand personality, the distinctiveness of the brand personality, the self-expressive value of the brand personality, positive word-of-mouth reports of the brand, and brand loyalty. The empirical results indicated that there are positive relationships between attractiveness, distinctiveness, and self-expressive value of brand personality. These relationships had a statistically significant effect on consumers' identification with a brand. Furthermore, brand identification had a direct effect on word-of-mouth reports and an indirect effect on brand loyalty. The theoretical and managerial implications of the empirical results are presented, and suggestions are made regarding both the limitations of the present study and future directions for research.
Should I stay or should I go? Exploring the decision to join, maintain, or cancel a fitness membership

This study examined reasons why people join, maintain, and cancel a fitness membership by following 26 new members to a Canadian fitness centre over a one-year period. Participants were interviewed at three different time points (i.e. new membership purchase, six-month follow-up, and one-year renewal decision). Notable reasons to join included being a role model for children, improving health, and organisation reputation. Reasons to maintain membership included health-related goals, service quality, and organisational culture values. The study found that only 50% renewed their membership after the year. Notable reasons to cancel the membership included the cost, lack of time, interest in other physical activity classes like yoga, outdoor exercise and, most prominently, changes to the family dynamic. The paper discusses the controllable and uncontrollable factors associated with membership maintenance, including service quality, organisational culture, and psychological aspects of the theory of planned behaviour to better understand a person's decision to join, maintain, or cancel membership.
FROM SUPPORT TO MUTINY: SHIFTING LEGITIMACY JUDGMENTS AND EMOTIONAL REACTIONS IMPACTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RADICAL CHANGE

Based on a three-year inductive study of one organization's implementation of radical organizational change, we examine the critical role played by middle managers' judgments of the legitimacy of their top managers as change agents. Our analysis revealed middle managers' shifting judgments of the change agents' legitimacy that arose with their emotional reactions and produced rising resistance to the change effort. Our inductive model illustrates the dynamic, relational, and iterative relationships among change recipients' legitimacy judgments of change agents and arising emotional reactions in various phases of planned change, which explain recipients' emergent resistance to the change effort. Our model allows us to contribute to theory on radical organizational change, resistance to change, and legitimacy judgments.
Comprehensive review of neurophysiologic basis and diagnostic interventions in managing chronic spinal pain.

BACKGROUND Understanding the neurophysiological basis of chronic spinal pain and diagnostic interventional techniques is crucial in the proper diagnosis and management of chronic spinal pain. Central to the understanding of the structural basis of chronic spinal pain is the provision of physical diagnosis and validation of patient symptomatology. It has been shown that history, physical examination, imaging, and nerve conduction studies in non-radicular or discogenic pain are unable to diagnose the precise cause in 85% of the patients. In contrast, controlled diagnostic blocks have been shown to determine the cause of pain in as many as 85% of the patients. OBJECTIVE To provide evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for diagnostic interventional techniques. DESIGN Best evidence synthesis. METHODS Strength of evidence was assessed by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) criteria utilizing 5 levels of evidence ranging from Level I to III with 3 subcategories in Level II. DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA Diagnostic criteria established by systematic reviews were utilized with controlled diagnostic blocks. Diagnostic criteria included at least 80% pain relief with controlled local anesthetic blocks with the ability to perform multiple maneuvers which were painful prior to the diagnostic blocks for facet joint and sacroiliac joint blocks, whereas for provocation discography, the criteria included concordant pain upon stimulation of the target disc with 2 adjacent discs producing no pain at all. RESULTS The indicated level of evidence for diagnostic lumbar, cervical, and thoracic facet joint nerve blocks is Level I or II-1. The indicated evidence is Level II-2 for lumbar and cervical discography, whereas it is Level II-3 for thoracic provocation discography. The evidence for diagnostic sacroiliac joint nerve blocks is Level II-2. Level of evidence for selective nerve root blocks for diagnostic purposes is Level II-3. LIMITATIONS Limitations of this guideline preparation include a continued paucity of literature and conflicts in preparation of systematic reviews and guidelines. CONCLUSION These guidelines include the evaluation of evidence for diagnostic interventional procedures in managing chronic spinal pain and recommendations. However, these guidelines do not constitute inflexible treatment recommendations. These guidelines also do not represent a "standard of care. "
Institutional explanations for managers’ attitudes towards telehomeworking

Building on recent research that stresses the important role of managers in the adoption process of telehomeworking, or telecommuting, this study examines the influence of the institutional context on managers’ attitude formation. Drawing on large-scale survey data from 96 CEOs and 380 HR managers in Dutch organizations, we show that normative and mimetic pressures affect managers’ beliefs, which are reflected in their perceptions of the relative (dis)advantage of telehomeworking. We also find that the perceived improvements of work outcomes and perceived social costs/benefits vary among managers from different ‘occupational communities’. CEOs’ beliefs are more susceptible to mimetic pressures, while HR managers’ attitudes towards telehomeworking are positively fed by pressures from their occupational community. These findings support the view that current debates on work—life initiatives’ diffusion and organizational changes in relation to these initiatives should pay much more attention to the importance of the institutional environment and managers’ subcultures.
Moral distress related to ethical dilemmas among Spanish podiatrists

Objectives To describe the distress experienced by Spanish podiatrists related to ethical dilemmas, organisational matters, and lack of resources. Design A 2008 email survey of a representative sample of 485 Spanish podiatrists presenting statements about different ethical dilemmas, values and goals at the workplace. Results The response rate was 44.8%. Of all the respondents, 57% described sometimes having to act against their own conscience as distressing. Time constraints is the main cause of moral distress (67%) and 58% of respondents said that they found it distressing that patients have long waits for treatment. Distress related to inadequate treatment due to economical constraints or ineffectiveness was described by 60% of the podiatrists. Another 51% reported that time spent on administration and documentation is distressing. Female doctors experienced more distress than their male colleagues. Last, 36% of respondents reported that their workplace lacked strategies for dealing with ethical dilemmas. Conclusion These study results identify moral distress among Spanish podiatrists mainly related to time constraints, patient demands and lack of resources. Moral distress varies with sex and age. Organisational strategies such as moral deliberation and responsive evaluation offer the potential to address moral distress.
The changing context for sign bilingual education programs: issues in language and the development of literacy

Abstract The widespread implementation of newborn hearing screening and advances in amplification technologies (including cochlear implants) have fundamentally changed the educational landscape for deaf learners. These changes are discussed in terms of their impact on sign bilingual education programs with a focus on the relationships between language and the development of literacy and the changing role of signed language in this process.