Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transitions in Public Library Management: From the International Perspective of Strategy, Organizational Structure, and Operations

ABSTRACT The objective of this research is to elucidate changes in strategy, organization, and operations in the field of public library management. It uses research methods based on detailed case analysis. This research focuses on cases involving U.S. public libraries and the Tokyo Metropolitan Library in Japan from the 1960s to the 2010s. It analyzes documents related to strategic management, organization, and operations collected through surveys and interviews with library directors and managers. This research illustrates (1) 11 core operations of public libraries, (2) transitions of basic organizational structures, (3) elements that cause differences between the U.S. and Japanese public libraries, and (4) primary elements that have impacts on public library management.
Optimum spatial-temporal equalization for diversity receiving systems with co-channel interference

We investigate optimum spatial-temporal equalization for diversity receiving systems with co-channel interference. We first present the structure of the optimum spatial-temporal decision-feedback equalizer and linear equalizer, and derive closed-form expressions for the equalizer parameters and mean-square-error (MSE) for one-antenna systems. Then, we generalize the results to multiple-antenna systems through a single channel equivalent model. Finally, we obtain the general configuration of the minimum MSE spatial temporal equalizer for bandlimited systems, and show its application by a simulation example.
Automatic and accurate registration of VHR optical and SAR images using a quadtree structure

In this article, we combined intensity- and feature-based similarity measures to co-register very-high-resolution (VHR) optical and SAR images. The global translation difference between optical and SAR images is minimized by applying a mutual information (MI) intensity-based similarity measure from coarsest to finest pyramid images constructed from the images in order. Matching points are then extracted considering the spatial distance and gradient orientation of linear features extracted from each image. To increase the reliability of the registration result, a quadtree-based structure is constructed (1) to mask out regions from the similarity measurement such as dense urban or heterogeneous areas, which can cause large differences in geometric and radiometric properties in two images; and (2) to extract evenly distributed and precise matching points by considering regional properties of the study site. To evaluate the proposed method’s generalization, various VHR optical and SAR sensors are used and compounded to construct the study sites. Evenly distributed matching points across the whole image were extracted, and reliable registration results by a non-linear transformation constructed from the points were derived from the proposed method.
An effective estimation of distribution algorithm for the flexible job-shop scheduling problem with fuzzy processing time

Considering the fuzzy nature of the data in real-world scheduling, an effective estimation of distribution algorithm (EDA) is proposed to solve the flexible job-shop scheduling problem with fuzzy processing time. A probability model is presented to describe the probability distribution of the solution space. A mechanism is provided to update the probability model with the elite individuals. By sampling the probability model, new individuals can be generated among the search region with promising solutions. Moreover, a left-shift scheme is employed for improving schedule solution when idle time exists on the machine. In addition, some fuzzy number operations are used to calculate scheduling objective value. The influence of parameter setting is investigated based on the Taguchi method of design of experiment, and a suitable parameter setting is suggested. Numerical testing results and comparisons with some existing algorithms are provided, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed EDA.
Toward the convergence: robot and lobster perspectives of tracking odors to their source in the turbulent marine environment

Biomimetic robots are often used as platforms to evaluate specific hypotheses of animal problem solving, or as existence proofs of solutions. A closely allied application of biomimetic systems is the search for constraints on problems for which human experience of the physical world (i.e., through scale mismatch or inadequate sense organs) does not provide a basis for the formulation of well constrained hypotheses. Our investigations of chemo-orientation to turbulent odor sources with Robolobster pursues both of these ends. Parallel tests with Robolobster and with real lobsters under the same conditions allow us to exclude certain chemo-orientation hypotheses, such as concentration-gradient tracking, and to statistically describe potential guidance signals available to lobsters tracking in a turbulent plume. In this paper we analyze the input-output behavior of a lobster and our robot under the same conditions to determine the extent to which the robot's purely chemotactic algorithm might be incorporated in the lobster. We suggest other chemo-orientation strategies that we believe contribute to the differences between robot and lobster behavior in terms of the alternative strategies available to the American lobster.
Discrete-time saturating systems with EPM method

This paper suggests a compensator design method for discrete-time control systems with saturation nonlinearities to cope with the reset windup phenomena. The proposed ARW (anti-reset windup) method is motivated by the concept of the equilibrium point. The design parameter of the ARW scheme is derived explicitly by minimizing a reasonable performance index. The resulting dynamics of the compensated controller exhibits the reduced model form of the unsaturated system which can be obtained by the singular perturbational model reduction method. An example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. <<ETX>>
The Impact of Automation on Job Requirements and Qualifications for Catalogers and Reference Librarians in Academic Libraries

The purpose of this study is to trace the impact of automation on job requirements and qualifications of catalogers and reference librarians in academic libraries by comparing and analyzing job advertisements from 1971 to 1990. Four periods were identified to reflect the influence of each important library automation development on job descriptions. Chi-square tests were used to see whether there are significant differences between catalog librarians and reference librarians with regard to duties and qualifications in each period; and whether there are significant differences in professional duties and qualifications for catalog librarians and reference librarians over the periods. With the development of automation in libraries, the requirements of previous work experiences for catalogers and reference librarians have become more similar, increasing needs for computer skills can be found in both groups, and a shortage of catalogers and greater demand for reference librarians have led to more entry-level positions being posted in both groups. There still remain differences between catalogers and reference librarians in major responsibilities and knowledge or skills needed.
Adult learners in the workplace: online learning and communities of practice

Seven in‐employment postgraduate Master's level students in an e‐learning unit participated in this research, designed to identify tensions between participation in a community of learning that was part of their studies, and participation in the communities of practice that they were engaged in at their workplaces. It was hypothesised that participation in both these forms of community in their different contexts may enhance each other, or could potentially have a disrupting effect on each. The research employed an interviewing technique. The students' perceptions of the impact of participation in the one form of community on their participation in the other was mixed, with some suggesting that it was enhancing, and others suggesting the contrary, or that there was no impact. The findings indicate that the enhancing effect of participation in communities of learning relevant to a learner's workplace community of practice occur when the learning tasks are designed to enable negotiation of tasks and collaboration with learners who have similar workplace issues.
An investigation into the role of implicit knowledge in adult second language acquisition

This thesis investigates the role of implicit knowledge in second language acquisition, presenting five experiments and related simulations based on artificial grammar learning. It examines whether second language learners can acquire implicit knowledge of noun–verb agreement. In addition it tests whether their ability to do so is influenced by the number of words that intervene between the relevant noun and the finite verb in the input sentences, as this affects performance in artificial grammar learning, the serial response time task and the statistical learning paradigm. Experimental participants were exposed to a modified version of Persian or Basque while performing a memory task. Next, two grammaticality judgement tests (one timed and one untimed) and a sentence correction task assessed whether the participants had acquired either the target noun–verb agreement or pairs of adjacent words that appeared frequently in the learning items. Performance reflecting implicit and explicit knowledge was distinguished according to three criteria based on R. Ellis (2005) and according to the assumption that the former is not under conscious control. Participants’ performance suggested that they had implicit knowledge of the adjacent word pairs. Similarly, the results indicated that they had implicit knowledge of subject–verb agreement when a single word intervened between the subject and the verb, but not with two intervening words. Connectionist simulations supported the results and indicated that performance was unlikely to improve if more exposure were given. Although the influence of additional factors is discussed, the results generally supported the view that an increase in the number of intervening words reduces learning outcome. The intriguing similarity between the results of this thesis
A hybrid system for two-dimensional image recognition

In this paper, after briefly considering the reasons that prevented the development of hybrid systems for signal processing (SP), we point out the requirements for their future exploitation. The need for a better knowledge of different approaches in the scientific community and the definition of methodologies for designing hybrid systems are highlighted as two key points. Then we suggest that the well-known "task-structure analysis" design technique should be modified to make it suitable for hybrid systems. The proposed modification is based on the main need to choose the roles of different approaches and the mechanisms to integrate them. As an example we describe the design of a hybrid system for two-dimensional (2-D) image recognition; the system is based on the integration of a numerical, a symbolic, and a connectionist approach. We detail the integration of the symbolic and connectionist approaches to the generation of the models of the objects to be recognized. We describe the main problems involved and the solutions adopted. In particularly, we exploit the synergistic aspects of the two approaches in order to overcome the bottleneck of knowledge acquisition. Finally, we report experimental results on two applications to show some advantages of the proposed hybrid system.
A Note on the Variational Model of Language Acquisition (C. D. Yang, Knowledge and Learning in Natural Language)

Modern linguistic theory attempts to explain why language acquisition is possible despite the fact that relevant experience available to children is severely limited ("Plato's problem," e.g. Chomsky (1986: xxv)). The proposed answer postulates that a human child is genetically equipped with Universal Grammar (UG), which narrowly constrains the space of hypotheses to entertain. Under the principles-and-parameters approach to UG (Chomsky (1981)), UG consists of (i) a number of principles that specify the properties to be satisfied by any language, and (ii) a small number of parameters that sharply restrict the range of possible cross-linguistic variation. The major task for modern linguistic theory, then, is to reveal the exact nature of such principles and parameters. In contrast, the theory of language acquisition aims to answer a broader question of how language is acquired. The answer should contain (at least) the specifications of (1) and (2), in addition to the specification of the initial state (UG). (1) The learning algorithm L, which maps the initial state So to the terminal state ST on the basis of linguistic experience E.
Performance analysis of multiple reject ARQ theme at RLC layer in 3G

In this paper, we analyze the ARQ mechanism at RLC (radio link control) layer in a UMTS WCDMA system in detail and get good throughput and waiting time approximations. The ARQ method proposed in WCDMA belongs to multiple reject (MR) ARQ methods that outperforms the normal Go-back-N and selective repeat methods especially under inferior conditions of wireless communications. According to 3GPP specifications, the traffic rate varies from 3.4 kbit/s to 2 Mbit/s, and may be asymmetrical between uplink and downlink. To reach the peak or near-peak throughput, different parameters should be used with different traffic types and different directions. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the performance of MR and study how the parameters affect the performance. We have also implemented the whole protocol stack on a hardware platform and done many experiments under different SNR channels. Based on the analysis and experiments, we can give good advice on timer control and buffer control of RLC layer in 3G.
Data transmission via erasure type channels protected by linear codes

The paper is concerned with data transmission via channels composed of a memoryless binary symmetric channel and the erasure channel of Peter Elias. Channels of this type play an important role in modelling different types of networks especially wireless networks, and have been investigated using, amongst others, the theory of Markov chains. Channel Capacities and network flows have been determined. The authors focus their interest on some aspects of coding theory. They assume the data transmission to be protected by a linear code, a CRC for example, and determine the probability of undetected error of the code. They then consider redundant transmission via two or more channels with bit inversion, and calculate the probability of undetected error. They prove some inequalities that are useful instruments to estimate the rate of transmission errors and to determine safety integrity levels according to the standards. Finally the authors apply their results to Bluetooth channels suffering from different types of noise.
Time-Sharing Visual and Auditory Tracking Tasks

Multiple resource theory suggests that distributing demands over separate resources will reduce resource competition and improve time-sharing efficiency. A recent hypothesis however suggests that the benefits of utilizing separate resources for the time-shared tasks may be mitigated if the two tasks are integrated. The present experiment examined the benefits of distributing the input demands of two tracking tasks as a function of task integrality. Visual and auditory compensatory tracking tasks were used. Timesharing two tracking tasks with the same order of control is said to be more integrated than with different orders of control. Results show that presenting the two tracking signals in two input modalities did not improve time-sharing efficiency. This was attributed to the difficulty insensitivity phenomenon. Whether utilizing the same control dynamics between the time-shared tasks could generate an integrality effect was unclear from the present data. A continuous auditory task that could offer comparable spatial information as the visual counterpart was proposed to be valuable for studying attentional processes, information display alternatives, and workload assessment.
Working Environment and the Research Productivity of Doctoral Students in Management

The authors examined the influence of creative personality and creative working environment on the research productivity of doctoral students in business. Students in management doctoral programs (N = 200) participated in an online survey. The results show that faculty support was positively associated with research productivity. Among demographic predictors, doctoral candidacy and years in one's present program were also positively associated with research productivity. The emergence of faculty support as the only significant environmental predictor of research productivity highlights the unique importance of faculty support, encouragement, and mentoring in developing the research potential of doctoral management students.
Understanding changes in teachers' ICT practices: a longitudinal perspective

With the introduction of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) into schools came the expectation that teachers would adopt ICT and change their practices in particular ways. Research indicates that teachers have not changed in the ways expected. Suggested in this paper is that limitations in current research methodologies documenting change in teachers' practices are restricting thorough examination of change in teachers' practices mediated by ICT. This paper reports on the design of a study aimed at investigating teachers' practices from an alternative position from the current research. The research design is a grounded, longitudinal, qualitative study using assorted analysis for the collection and interpretation of the data. This involves a combination of secondary analysis of archive data and collection and analysis of primary data. Participants were able to retrospectively describe and understand their own archived and new data, in interviews and observations. This paper focuses on ways this research design supported examining teachers' practices as including a number of dimensions and the way these dimensions were influenced by the context in which they were situated. Also, the ways this research design provided a means for examining the changes that developed from the teachers' own narratives. This gave some insight into the ways the teachers' understood the changes in their own practices. Examining change from this perspective supports understanding of how and why changes in teaching practices mediated by ICT occur or don't occur. It also contributes to examining the bigger phenomenon of ICT and the long‐term impact it is having on teaching practices.
Study of strategies used in online searching: 2. Positional Logic — an example of the importance of selecting the right Boolean operator

In online searching, the positional logic capability has made it possible to combine terms together in any order, in a word, fragment, phrase, link, sentence, or citation relationship. The advantages and disadvantages of the strategies that can be employed are reviewed. This Boolean operator capability can permit a reduced number of search statements and should therefore make search time shorter. It is also possible to include the truncation symbol in the search statement, allowing even wider selection on one input. A study was made of alternative ways that a positional statement can be formulated. Searches for material on the topic of ‘micro‐wave integrated circuits’ were carried out with the aim of finding the most economical way of generating the maximum number of relevant items while still keeping the noise level to a minimum. It was found that the ideal method for one database was not valid for another file.
Estimation of the tire cornering stiffness and its application to active car steering

Active steering systems can help the driver to master critical driving situations, for example aquaplaning and /spl mu/-split braking. In these situations it is likely that the tires reach their performance limits, where nonlinear effects like saturation play an important role. Tires are the part in vehicle dynamics afflicted with the highest degree of nonlinearity due to saturation-and uncertainty-due to weather conditions. Therefore, active steering systems have to be designed considering the uncertain and nonlinear tire characteristics which are determined by the road-tire-contact. This paper demonstrates how an important tire parameter, the cornering stiffness, can be estimated by measurement of dynamic vehicle parameters like lateral accelerations and yaw rate. This parameter indicates whether the saturation region of the tire is reached or not. Based on the estimate of the tire the robust decoupling control law by Ackermann (1996) for active front steering is extended.
Event Internal Pluractionality in Modern Hebrew: A Semantic Analysis of One Verbal Reduplication Pattern

This paper examines the semantic effect of reduplication in a subclass of piel verbs in Modern Hebrew, namely quadrilateral reduplicated roots (QRR). It is observed that the verbs in this class share many properties with pluractional verbs cross-linguistically, and consequently, that a pluractionality-based analysis of this verb class is more productive than its characterization as expressing 'iteration' or 'repetition', suggested in the past. More specifically, it is proposed that the verbs in the QRR class express event internal pluractionality, in the original sense proposed by Cusic 1981, which was more formally captured in Wood 2007 and in Tovena & Kihm 2008 as involving a groupification operation on a plurality of subevents. This proposal is motivated by the observation that the QRR verbs denote events which are possibly telic, which can distribute over time and space, but not over participants, and whose subevents must be temporally close to each other. Empirically, these properties have been reported to characterize event internal pluractionals in a variety of languages. Theoretically, they are compatible with a view of such pluractionals as yielding grouped, singular events (following Wood's and Tovena & Kihm's view). The examination of the Hebrew data contributes to the cross linguistic and theoretical research of pluractionality by supporting certain theories over others (e.g. Wood's 2007 and Tovena & Kihm's 2008 view of event internal pluractionality, over Lasersohn's 1995 view), by questioning existing views about pluractionality (e.g. van Geenhoven's 2004 claim that pluractionality inherently leads to atelicity) and by highlighting some of the open issues and unanswered questions that the study of pluractionality faces.
Structural and functional complexity: an informational approach

This paper establishes some definitions of entropy and information in the context of biological complexity. It is a trial on unifying ideas from Shanon's information theory and thermodynamics, providing a coherent set of definitions, in order to help out in the understanding of biological complexity. The main contribution is a precise definition of complexity, distinguishing structural complexity from functional complexity. >