Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The (Non)-linguistic Effects of Motion Event Typology

This study tests the hypothesis of linguistic relativity along two lines of research: a) how L2 learners of Chinese and English, respectively, syntactically package semantic components for caused motion (cause, manner, path) in an experimental situation in which they are asked to describe video clips showing caused motion events to an imagery addressee, and b) how monolingual native speakers of Chinese and English judge the similarity between caused motion scenes while viewing them. Our results regarding a) show that Chinese learners of English acclimate to the target pattern of organizing particularly dense caused motion information very rapidly, and English learners of Chinese also arrived at an inter–language showing considerable resemblance to the target system rather than traces of the L1 influence. Our findings regarding b) reveal that despite striking differences between Chinese and English in L1 motion descriptions, native speakers show an identical tendency to prefer the path–match alternate over the manner– match alternate. Overall, these observations suggest that language–specific constraints can be largely shaken off when encoding caused motion in a non– native language, and linguistic and non-linguistic representations of caused motion may be dissociable from each other.
Alcohol consumption increases bias to shoot at Middle Eastern but not White targets

Alcohol has been implicated in intergroup aggression and hostility. The effect of consuming alcohol relative to a placebo on hostile cognitive biases toward a social category typically stereotyped as threatening and hostile (i.e., Middle Eastern men) was tested. Undergraduates (N = 81) consumed either an intoxicating dose of alcohol (BrAC = .05% by vol.) or placebo. Then, they played a shooter game in which they were asked to shoot at targets holding guns, but not at targets holding harmless objects. Half of the targets were White and half were Middle Eastern. As predicted, alcohol consumption, relative to a placebo, increased participants’ bias to shoot Middle Eastern targets, but did not affect the shooter bias against White targets. Findings suggest that alcohol may heighten aggressive biases toward outgroups stereotyped as threatening and hostile.
A Family of Simple Non-Parametric Kernel Learning Algorithms

Previous studies of Non-Parametric Kernel Learning (NPKL) usually formulate the learning task as a Semi-Definite Programming (SDP) problem that is often solved by some general purpose SDP solvers. However, for N data examples, the time complexity of NPKL using a standard interior-point SDP solver could be as high as O(N6.5), which prohibits NPKL methods applicable to real applications, even for data sets of moderate size. In this paper, we present a family of efficient NPKL algorithms, termed "SimpleNPKL", which can learn non-parametric kernels from a large set of pairwise constraints efficiently. In particular, we propose two efficient SimpleNPKL algorithms. One is SimpleNPKL algorithm with linear loss, which enjoys a closed-form solution that can be efficiently computed by the Lanczos sparse eigen decomposition technique. Another one is SimpleNPKL algorithm with other loss functions (including square hinge loss, hinge loss, square loss) that can be re-formulated as a saddle-point optimization problem, which can be further resolved by a fast iterative algorithm. In contrast to the previous NPKL approaches, our empirical results show that the proposed new technique, maintaining the same accuracy, is significantly more efficient and scalable. Finally, we also demonstrate that the proposed new technique is also applicable to speed up many kernel learning tasks, including colored maximum variance unfolding, minimum volume embedding, and structure preserving embedding.
A Genetic Algorithm for the Bi-Level Topological Design of Local Area Networks

Local access networks (LAN) are commonly used as communication infrastructures which meet the demand of a set of users in the local environment. Usually these networks consist of several LAN segments connected by bridges. The topological LAN design bi-level problem consists on assigning users to clusters and the union of clusters by bridges in order to obtain a minimum response time network with minimum connection cost. Therefore, the decision of optimally assigning users to clusters will be made by the leader and the follower will make the decision of connecting all the clusters while forming a spanning tree. In this paper, we propose a genetic algorithm for solving the bi-level topological design of a Local Access Network. Our solution method considers the Stackelberg equilibrium to solve the bi-level problem. The Stackelberg-Genetic algorithm procedure deals with the fact that the follower’s problem cannot be optimally solved in a straightforward manner. The computational results obtained from two different sets of instances show that the performance of the developed algorithm is efficient and that it is more suitable for solving the bi-level problem than a previous Nash-Genetic approach.
Emotional brain-computer interfaces

Research in Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) has significantly increased during the last few years. In addition to their initial role as assisting devices for the physically challenged, BCIs are now proposed for a wider range of applications. As in any HCI application, BCIs can also benefit from adapting their operation to the emotional state of the user. BCIs have the advantage of having access to brain activity which can provide significant insight into the user's emotional state. This information can be utilized in two manners. 1) Knowledge of the influence of the emotional state on brain activity patterns can allow the BCI to adapt its recognition algorithms, so that the intention of the user is still correctly interpreted in spite of signal deviations induced by the subject's emotional state. 2) The ability to recognize emotions can be used in BCIs to provide the user with more natural ways of controlling the BCI through affective modulation. Thus, controlling a BCI by recollecting a pleasant memory can be possible and can potentially lead to higher information transfer rates. These two approaches of emotion utilization in BCI are elaborated in detail in this paper in the framework of non-invasive EEG based BCIs.
A more biologically plausible learning rule for neural networks.

Many recent studies have used artificial neural network algorithms to model how the brain might process information. However, back-propagation learning, the method that is generally used to train these networks, is distinctly "unbiological. " We describe here a more biologically plausible learning rule, using reinforcement learning, which we have applied to the problem of how area 7a in the posterior parietal cortex of monkeys might represent visual space in head-centered coordinates. The network behaves similarly to networks trained by using back-propagation and to neurons recorded in area 7a. These results show that a neural network does not require back propagation to acquire biologically interesting properties.
Internationalization at a Distance

This article explores how part-time students in an online international management course perceived various features of the course-learning design and whether international perspectives were built into their learning experiences. The focus of the study was on cross-cultural differences across groups of learners in the United Kingdom, in other European countries, and in Russia and studying the course in different languages. Using a mixed-method approach, the study’s results challenge the distinction between “internationalization at home” and “internationalization away” perspectives on curricula, due to growing numbers of students studying online from their home countries. Study participants reported high degrees of engagement with international perspectives, but their experience can be best described as “internationalization at a distance,” where traditional campus-based acculturation effects were not observed. The article concludes with a discussion of opportunities for management educators to develop a “glocal” approach to online course curriculum design, intentionally blending global perspectives with locally relevant knowledge and managerial skills.
Contribution of respiratory pathogens to influenza-like illness consultations

SUMMARY Influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) are caused by several respiratory pathogens. These pathogens show weak to strong seasonal activity implying seasonality in ILI consultations. In this paper, the contribution of pathogens to seasonality of ILI consultations was statistically modelled. Virological count data were first smoothed using modulation models for seasonal time series. Second, Poisson regression was used regressing ILI consultation counts on the smoothed time series. Using ratios of the estimated regression parameters, relative measures of the underreporting of pathogens were obtained. Influenza viruses A and B, parainfluenza virus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) significantly contributed to explain the seasonal variation in ILI consultations. We also found that RSV was the least and influenza virus A is the most underreported pathogen in Belgian laboratory surveillance. The proposed methods and results are helpful in interpreting the data of clinical and laboratory surveillance, which are the essential parts of influenza surveillance.
Factors influencing the adoption of e-learning websites: an empirical study

The growth of the Internet has altered the way individuals learn. The recent advent of e-learning technology has made training, teaching and learning on the Internet more feasible. The new challenge for Internet education providers is attracting potential learners to use an e-learning website. This study develops a technology usage model for an e-learning website to generate several predictions about users’ intentions and actual usage. The data obtained from our experiment strongly support our hypothesis. Findings indicate that perceptions of relative advantage and compatibility are significantly related to users’ intentions; furthermore, users’ intention is significantly related to actual usage of the e-learning website. This study also found that different acceptance models applied to learners who already had previous e-learning experience and those who had never previously used e-learning. For users with prior e-learning experiences, compatibility and result demonstrability have a significant, direct effect on use intentions. However, for users with no previous experience of using e-learning, compatibility, image and relative advantage have a significant, direct effect on user intentions. The study provides a more rounded, albeit partial, view of the online e-learning user and helps improve understanding of e-learning user acceptance behavior on the Web. Those interested in promoting web learning may find these results helpful in guiding their efforts.
Mind the Emotional Gap: The Impact of Emotional Costs on Student Learning Outcomes

Abstract Purpose This paper makes a significant contribution to the growing field of digital inequality research by developing an operational definition of emotional costs. To examine this understudied aspect of digital inequalities, we build on Van Dijk’s concept of mental access. We define emotional costs as anxiety toward using information and communication technologies instigated by a lack of prior technology experience and limited computer access. Methodology/approach We examined the influence of emotional costs on lower-income students’ technology efficacy, academic efficacy, and computer application proficiency in the context of a computing intervention. Specifically, we examined the relationship between home and school computer usage with self-perceived technology efficacy, computer application proficiency, and academic efficacy. Data from surveys of 972 students were analyzed in order to better understand the importance of technology access on our outcome variables. We also investigated the possible mediation effects of emotional costs on our outcome variables. Findings The results revealed that home computer usage was a determinant of students’ self-perceived technology efficacy while shared school access was not. After conducting mediation tests, the results further indicated that emotional costs mediate the effects of home computer usage on technology efficacy. Originality/value We conclude that emotional costs might help explain why access inequalities lead to skill inequalities in the context of computing interventions and offer a replicable operational definition for future studies.
Validity Research on Teacher Evaluation Systems Based on the Framework for Teaching

After decades of disinterest, evaluation of the performance of elementary and secondary teachers in the United States has become a important educational policy issue. The US Federal government has made teacher evaluation a focus of its Race to the Top grant program for states, and part of its Teacher Incentive Fund grant program for states and districts. To receive funds, potential grantees must show they are taking performance evaluation seriously as a strategy to improve the effectiveness of the teacher workforce and to hold teachers accountable for performance. Several large US cities, including New York, Chicago, and Washington DC have also been trying to use teacher evaluation as a strategy to improve instruction, often beginning by identifying weak teachers for remediation or termination. At the same time, reformers from outside the government have also made teacher evaluation an issue. For example, the New Teacher Project's report, The Widget Effect, documented for the public the fact well known to both district leaders and researchers that performance evaluation ratings to fail to differentiate much among teachers, with few rated in the lower categories policy circles, and along with other critiques of what has been taken as typical practice 1 1 The conventional description of teacher evaluation in the US has been that a principal or assistant principal makes one classroom observation per year and either fills out a checklist or takes note and composes a brief narrative, then makes a final overall rating of satisfactory or unsatisfactory that goes into a teacher's file and, if satisfactory, is then forgotten. and suggestions for improvement by reformers (e. 3 More rigorous assessment of teaching has also been promoted by the movement to " professionalize " teaching in the US. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification assessments, the Educational Testing Service's PRAXIS III observation-based assessment for new teacher licensure, and the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium's standards for teacher licensure are results of this movement. Among the common themes inthese assessments are a view of teaching as a complex activity not well captured by checklists and brief observations, and requiring the application of professional judgment to assess (Porter, Youngs and Odden, 2001). Another product of the professionalization movement has been Charlotte Danielson's Framework for Teaching (Danielson, 1996). Since its introduction, the Framework for Teaching has, by merit and by default, become part of the
An Interactive Tutorial for Teaching Statistical Power

This paper describes an interactive Web-based tutorial that supplements instruction on statistical power. This freely available tutorial provides several interactive exercises that guide students as they draw multiple samples from various populations and compare results for populations with differing parameters (for example, small standard deviation versus large standard deviation). The tutorial assignment includes diagnostic multiple-choice questions with feedback addressing misconceptions, and follow-up questions suitable for grading. The sampling exercises utilize an interactive Java applet that graphically demonstrates relationships between statistical power and effect size, null and alternative populations and sampling distributions, and Type I and II error rates. The applet allows students to manipulate the mean and standard deviation of populations, sample sizes, and Type I error rate. Students (n = 84) enrolled in introductory and intermediate statistics courses overwhelmingly rated the tutorial as clear, useful, easy to use, and they reported increased comfort with the topic of statistical power after using the tutorial. Students who used the tutorial outperformed those who did not use the tutorial on a final exam question measuring knowledge of the factors influencing statistical power.
Effect of semiconductor devices' output parasitic capacitance on zero-current clamping phenomenon in PWM-VSI drives

In voltage source inverter drives (VSI), in order to avoid a shoot through in DC link due to the finite turn on and turn off times of the semiconductor devices a dead-time is inserted. Even though this dead-time is imperative it causes several aberrations in the output current waveform. Not only it gives rise to odd order harmonics but also it influences zero-current clamping. This paper investigates zero-current clamping phenomenon in a generic sense where output parasitic capacitance is in existence. The effects on voltage, power and torque due to the output parasitic capacitance is discussed. Simulations are carried out under practical conditions and results are presented. Results verify the credibility of the analysis.
MetaML : Multi-Stage Programming with Explicit

We introduce MetaML, a practically-motivated, statically-typed multi-stage programming language. MetaML allows the programmer to construct, combine, and execute code fragments in a type-safe manner. Code fragments can contain free variables, but we ensure that the language obeys the static-scoping principle. MetaML performs type-checking for all stages once and for all before the execution of the rst stage. From a software engineering point of view, this means that our programs never generate untypable programs. A thesis of this paper is that multi-stage languages are useful as programming languages in their own right, that they supply a sound basis for high-level program generation technology, and that they should support features that make it possible for programmers to write staged computations without signiicantly changing their normal programming style. To illustrate this we provide a simple three stage example, and an extended two-stage example elaborating a number of practical issues. The design of MetaML was based on two main principles that we identiied as fundamental for high-level program generation, namely, cross-stage persistence and cross-stage safety. We present these principles, explain the technical problems they give rise to, and how we deal with these problems in our implementation.
Predicting Drug Responsiveness in Human Cancers Using Genetically Engineered Mice

Purpose: To use genetically engineered mouse models (GEMM) and orthotopic syngeneic murine transplants (OST) to develop gene expression-based predictors of response to anticancer drugs in human tumors. These mouse models offer advantages including precise genetics and an intact microenvironment/immune system. Experimental Design: We examined the efficacy of 4 chemotherapeutic or targeted anticancer drugs, alone and in combination, using mouse models representing 3 distinct breast cancer subtypes: Basal-like (C3(1)-T-antigen GEMM), Luminal B (MMTV-Neu GEMM), and Claudin-low (T11/TP53−/− OST). We expression-profiled tumors to develop signatures that corresponded to treatment and response, and then tested their predictive potential using human patient data. Results: Although a single agent exhibited exceptional efficacy (i.e., lapatinib in the Neu-driven model), generally single-agent activity was modest, whereas some combination therapies were more active and life prolonging. Through analysis of RNA expression in this large set of chemotherapy-treated murine tumors, we identified a pair of gene expression signatures that predicted pathologic complete response to neoadjuvant anthracycline/taxane therapy in human patients with breast cancer. Conclusions: These results show that murine-derived gene signatures can predict response even after accounting for common clinical variables and other predictive genomic signatures, suggesting that mice can be used to identify new biomarkers for human patients with cancer. Clin Cancer Res; 19(17); 4889–99. ©2013 AACR.
DEFORMATION OF OUTER REPRESENTATIONS OF GALOIS GROUP

To a hyperbolic smooth curve defined over a number-field one naturally associates an "anabelian" representation of the absolute Galois group of the base field landing in outer automorphism group of the algebraic fundamental group. In this paper, we introduce several deformation problems for Lie-algebra versions of the above representation and show that, this way we get a richer structure than those coming from deformations of "abelian" Galois representations induced by the Tate module of associated Jacobian variety. We develop an arithmetic deformation theory of graded Lie algebras with finite dimensional graded components to serve our purpose.
An Assessment of Perceived Stress , Resilience and Mental Health of Adolescents Living in Border Areas

This study was carried out to find out the level of perceived stress, resilience and mental health of adolescents living at international border in Jammu and Kashmir, India. Further an attempt was made to explore the relationship between these variables. A random sample of 100 adolescents in the age group 13-18 years was drawn from villages falling within five kilometers from the actual border. Data was obtained through administering Perceived Stress Scale, Resilience Scale, and Mental Health Inventory. Sample was dichotomized using median values for perceived stress and resilience. Difference in mental health of participants with low and high resilience was analyzed using t test. Pearson’s correlation revealed negative meaningful correlation between perceived stress and mental health. However, positive correlation became evident between perceived stress and anxiety as well as psychological distress. Resilience and mental health was also related signifying better mental health in resilient adolescents in border areas. Positive correlation was observed in resilience and general positive affect, emotional ties, and psychological well being. Negative association was found in resilience and loss of emotional control. Steps should be taken to build up resilience to enhance mental health of adolescents living with great stress in border areas.