Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The processing of compound words in English: Effects of word length on eye movements during reading

Two experiments are reported which investigated morphological processing in English using bilexemic compound words. Long and short compound words were presented in neutral sentences and eye movements were recorded while participants read the sentences to investigate the time course of compound word recognition. In Experiment 1, the frequency of the beginning lexeme was manipulated in addition to word length while in Experiment 2 rated frequency was manipulated. These experiments represented attempts to extend Bertram and Hyönä's (2003) work with Finnish compounds to English and to test the parallel dual-route model of compound processing. Predictions from this model would be that only long compound words should demonstrate a beginning lexeme frequency effect and short compound words should show an earlier effect of whole-word frequency. Contrary to this, short compound words did show a large beginning lexeme frequency effect as well as whole word frequency effects. These results will be problematic for parallel dual – route models to explain.
Case study: using MOOCs for conventional college coursework

In Spring 2013 San José State University (SJSU) launched SJSU Plus: three college courses required for most students to graduate, which used massive open online course provider Udacity’s platform, attracting over 15,000 students. Retention and success (pass/fail) and online support were tested using an augmented online learning environment (AOLE) on a subset of 213 students; about one-half matriculated. SJSU faculty created the course content, collaborating with Udacity to develop video instruction, quizzes, and interactive elements. Course log-ins and progression data were combined with surveys and focus groups, with students, faculty, support staff, coordinators, and program leaders as subjects. Logit models used contingency table-tested potential success predictors on all students and five subgroups. Student effort was the strongest success indicator, suggesting criticality of early and consistent student engagement. No statistically significant relationships with student characteristics were found. AOLE support effectiveness was compromised with staff time consumed by the least prepared students.
Basic Concepts of Probability and Statistics

Preface Part I. Probability: 1. Probability models 2. Sampling 3. Product models 4. Conditional probability 5. Random variables 6. Special distributions 7. Multivariate distributions Part II. Statistics. Introduction to Statistics: 8. Estimation 9. Estimation in measurement and sampling models 10. Optimum methods of estimation 11. Tests of significance 12. Tests for comparative experiments 13. Concept of power Tables Selected answers to problems Index Example index.
Optimal Internet Worm Treatment Strategy Based on the Two‐Factor Model

The security threat posed by worms has steadily increased in recent years. This paper discusses the application of the optimal and sub‐optimal Internet worm control via Pontryagin's maximum principle. To this end, a control variable representing the optimal treatment strategy for infectious hosts is introduced into the two‐factor worm model. The numerical optimal control laws are implemented by the multiple shooting method and the sub‐optimal solution is computed using genetic algorithms. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed optimal and sub‐optimal strategies. It also provides a theoretical interpretation of the practical experience that the maximum implementation of treatment in the early stage is critically important in controlling outbreaks of Internet worms. Furthermore, our results show that the proposed sub‐optimal control can lead to performance close to the optimal control, but with much simpler strategies for long periods of time in practical use.
Open access initiatives adoption by Nigerian academics

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine Nigerian academics' adoption of open access initiatives as authors and readers of scholarly resources. The study was necessitated by the growing need to have the number of Nigerian scholarly publications increased on the internet and accessible to scholars around the world through the use of open access initiatives.Design/methodology/approach – Academics of two first generation Nigerian universities selected using convenient sampling technique were surveyed using the questionnaire to find out the extent of their awareness and use of open access initiatives as authors and readers of scholarly works. Two hundred and fifty questionnaire copies were distributed in the two universities out of which 189 copies were returned, while 180 copies were found to be useable for the study.Findings – It was revealed that the respondents were aware of the pre‐print and open access journal initiatives than the post‐print initiative. In terms of the use of open access initia.
Science Communication and the Swedish Acrylamide "Alarm"

On April 24, 2002 the Swedish National Food Administration along with a group of researchers at the University of Stockholm raised an alarm regarding potential health risks associated with eating fried and baked foods such as potatoes and bread. Scientists had found high levels of acrylamide (up to 500 times more acrylamide than that allowed in drinking water by the World Health Organisation), a substance widely believed to cause cancer, in cooked high starch foods. The outcomes of this "alarm" were immediate. In Sweden sales of chips fell by 30-50 percent over a 3-day period following the press conference, and share prices among several fried food manufacturers fell substantially, as stock analysts were fearful that consumption of fried foods would decrease significantly. Four days after the press conference, however, consumers began eating fried food as normal and a number of researchers and journalists in Sweden and elsewhere took the view that the alarm had been both exaggerated and ill placed. In this study, I evaluate the science communication process associated with the scare, based on a content analysis of a select group of Swedish broad sheets from just previous to the April 2002 press conference to the present time (December 2002). In addition, the study is based on interviews with the various Swedish regulators involved in the process itself (in particular at the Swedish National Food Administration) as well as with the scientists responsible for the study at Stockholm University and relevant journalists and politicians.
Online Students' Technology Skills and Attitudes toward Online Instruction

Learner analysis and needs assessments are basic elements of all instructional design models and are of concern to those designing distance education courses. This investigation surveyed 249 geographically dispersed online students' computer skills and attitudes toward Internet-delivered instruction. Results were assessed by demographics. Results revealed higher self-reported computer skills for participants with greater computer use and exposure, however, a number of skills commonly incorporated into Internet-aided instruction were rated lower. Attitudes toward Internet-aided instruction were generally positive, with the most favorable reported by older students, graduate students, and females. Implications for Internet-aided course design are presented.
Effects of Information Search Tasks on the Comprehension of Instructional Text

Two experiments investigated the effects of information search tasks on university students' comprehension of a scientific text. In both experiments, undergraduate students read a 2,000-word introductory text on atomic models; then they searched through the text to answer a series of high-level or low-level questions. Finally, they wrote a 1-page summary of the text. In Experiment 1, high-level questions promoted a review-and-integrate search pattern, whereas low-level questions triggered a locate-and-memorize pattern. Moreover, the students tended to include information relevant to the search questions in their summaries. In Experiment 2, a structured overview (table of contents) increased the initial (presearch) study time and facilitated information localization but did not influence the summary. Again, students included question-relevant materials in their summaries. We conclude that text processing can be successfully guided toward deeper levels of comprehension by means of appropriate task settings and presentation formats.
Root Mean Square Value of the Electromyographic Signal in the Isometric Torque of the Quadriceps, Hamstrings and Brachial Biceps Muscles in Female Subjects

Background: The surface electromyography (EMG) is a technique to capture and measure electrical activity and muscle action potential. It is applied to specify the production of force and to analyze muscle fatigue. The Root Mean Square (RMS) value has been used to quantify the electric signal because it reflects the physiological activity
Reading strategy in Hong Kong school-aged children: development of word- and character-level processing

Abstract This study investigated the developmental trend of reading processing of Chinese two-character compound words in normal primary school-aged readers in Hong Kong. As the component characters of a Chinese multi-character compound word could be viewed as single morphemes, it was hypothesized that a compound word could be read as a meaningful whole, its component characters, or both. Previous studies (Zhang and Peng, 1992; Peng et al., 1999; etc.) showed that adults used both whole-word-level and character-level processing for reading Chinese multi-character words and there were interaction effects between word and component character frequencies. In the present study, subjects were asked to read aloud two-character words that were controlled for word and component character frequencies according to grades. The results suggested that word-level and component-character-level reading processing were developed in children as early as grade one. Lower graders tended to use the component-character-level reading processing when reading Chinese compound words, while higher graders tended to read words as whole units.
Traits, Predictors, and Consequences of Facebook Self-Presentation

With Mowen’s Meta-theoretic Model of Motivation (3M Model) as a theoretical framework, this article examines the hierarchical trait predictors and consequence of one’s perceived ability to modify self-presentation on Facebook (Facebook self-presentation). The study identifies several hierarchical routes to Facebook self-presentation (e.g., agreeableness, need to belong, online public self-consciousness, Facebook self-presentation, or conscientiousness self-efficacy, Internet self-efficacy, Facebook self-presentation). Facebook self-presentation is also significantly correlated with its outcome variable of Facebook intensity. Theoretical implications are provided.
Comparative Analysis of Time-Space Prism Vertices for Out-of-Home Activity Engagement on Working and Nonworking Days

Out-of-home activities are engaged within time – space prisms, but the prisms themselves are unobservable. In this paper, stochastic frontier models with observed departure and arrival times as dependent variables are formulated to locate time – space prism vertices. Two possible distributions often used in frontier models for one-sided disturbance terms, the half-normal distribution and exponential distribution, are examined better to represent observed behavior. The locations of morning prism origin vertices and evening prism terminal vertices on working days and nonworking days are estimated with an empirical dataset obtained in southeast Florida. The results suggest that the exponential distribution has a better goodness of fit, but the coefficient estimates of explanatory variables are similar between models with the two distributions, suggesting that the model parameter estimates are robust regardless of the assumptions regarding the distribution of the one-sided random disturbance. It is found that the average heights of the morning prism before work and the evening prism after work on working days are estimated at about 2.5 hours and about 3 hours, respectively. It is also found that part-time workers have prism heights that are on average larger by half an hour than those of full-time workers on working days, and smaller by 1.5 hours on nonworking days.
Establishing sense and reference in discourse comprehension

In this event-related brain potentials (ERP) study, we explored the possibility to selectively track referential ambiguity during spoken discourse comprehension. Earlier ERP research has shown that referentially ambiguous nouns (e.g., “the girl” in a two-girl context) elicit a frontal, sustained negative shift relative to unambiguous control words. In the current study, we examined whether this ERP effect reflects ‘deep’ situation model ambiguity or ‘superficial’ textbase ambiguity. We contrasted these different interpretations by investigating whether a discourse-level semantic manipulation that prevents referential ambiguity also averts the elicitation of a referentially induced ERP effect. We compared ERPs elicited by nouns that were referentially non-ambiguous but were associated with two discourse entities (e.g., “the girl” with two girls introduced in the context, but one of which has died or left the scene), with referentially ambiguous and nonambiguous control words. While temporally referentially ambiguous nouns elicited a frontal negative shift compared to control words, the ‘double bound’ but referentially non-ambiguous nouns did not. These results suggest that it is possible to selectively track referential ambiguity with ERPs at the level that is most relevant to discourse comprehension, the situation model. 2.
Critical approaches to accessibility for technology‐enhanced learning

In recent years there has been a push towards accessibility in technology? enhanced learning (TEL) across all levels of education. However, accessibility represents a shifting frontier. As technology evolves, so too do issues of equality and access. Here key developments in accessibility discourse and research are reviewed to demonstrate the value of attending to accessibility’s cutting edge in mainstream TEL practice.
The effects of L1 and L2 e-glosses on incidental vocabulary learning of junior high-school English students*

Abstract While researchers have examined the effectiveness of various online gloss types on incidental L2 vocabulary learning, little research on online gloss languages has been conducted. Previous attempts which compared the effects of L1 and L2 glosses have reported mixed results. To fill the gaps, this study examined the effectiveness of Chinese and English e-glosses on incidental English vocabulary learning on a less-researched student group in CALL – junior high-school English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students. Seventy-eight students with Chinese as their first language read two online passages with either Chinese (L1) or English (L2) glosses. They were divided into four treatment groups: (1) high-proficiency students receiving L1 gloss before L2 gloss (n = 19), (2) high-proficiency students receiving L2 gloss before L1 gloss (n = 19), (3) low-proficiency students receiving L1 gloss before L2 gloss (n = 20), and (4) low-proficiency students receiving L2 gloss before L1 gloss (n = 20). After reading, the students were assessed with a vocabulary test which contained a definition-supply part and a cloze part serving as both post-tests and delayed post-tests. Repeated-measures analyses of variance were utilized to analyze the score data. Significant differences were found not only among the four groups but also between the two post-tests. Overall the high proficiency groups performed better in the post-tests, but the high proficiency group who received English glosses remembered more words in the delayed post-test than the high proficiency group who received Chinese glosses. The results show that as learners’ proficiency increases, they may be able to make better use of the L2 conceptual links for word retention and learning. The conclusions support the usefulness of both Chinese and English e-glosses which should be selected based on learners’ proficiency level.
Design of wide-band CMOS VCO for multiband wireless LAN applications

In this paper, a general design methodology of low-voltage wide-band voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) suitable for wireless LAN (WLAN) application is described. The applications of high-quality passives for the resonator are introduced: 1) a single-loop horseshoe inductor with Q > 20 between 2 and 5 GHz for good phase noise performance; and 2) accumulation MOS (AMOS) varactors with C/sub max//C/sub min/ ratio of 6 to provide wide-band tuning capability at low-voltage supply. The adverse effect of AMOS varactors due to high sensitivity is examined. Amendment using bandswitching topology is suggested, and a phase noise improvement of 7 dB is measured to prove the concept. The measured VCO operates on a 1-V supply with a wide tuning range of 58.7% between 3.0 and 5.6 GHz when tuned between /spl plusmn/0.7 V. The phase noise is -120 dBc/Hz at 3.0 GHz, and -114.5 dBc/Hz at 5.6 GHz, with the nominal power dissipation between 2 and 3 mW across the whole tuning range. The best phase noise at 1-MHz offset is -124 dBc/Hz at the frequency of 3 GHz, a supply voltage of 1.4 V, and power dissipation of 8.4 mW. When the supply is reduced to 0.83 V, the VCO dissipates less than 1 mW at 5.6 GHz. Using this design methodology, the feasibility of generating two local oscillator frequencies (2.4-GHz ISM and 5-GHz U-NII) for WLAN transceiver using a single VCO with only one monolithic inductor is demonstrated. The VCO is fabricated in a 0.13-/spl mu/m partially depleted silicon-on-insulator CMOS process.
Determination of force and flux linkage characteristics of radial active magnetic bearings

The current and position dependence force and flux linkage characteristics of the studied radial active bearings are determined by the finite element computations in the entire operating range. Based on results of the performed computations the considerable impact of magnetic nonlinearities and cross coupling effects on properties of radial active magnetic bearings is established. The obtained characteristics are incorporated into the dynamic mathematical model, which is based on the current and position dependent radial forces and partial derivatives of flux linkages.
Living with hearing loss: psychosocial impact and the role of social support

Background: Hearing loss is one of the most common diseases affecting older occupying the 10th place among the diseases with greatest influence in human life conditions, and in Portugal it is considered the 5th main cause of suffering in this population. Objectives: The present study was designed to evaluate the psychosocial impact (daily activities, social activities, general emotional state) of this disease as a function of the hearing loss degree (mild, moderate or severe)On the other hand, considering the protector role that social support (instrumental and informational) can play in chronic diseases, we analyzed the moderation role of variable in the relation between hearing loss and negative emotional symptoms (anxiety, depression and stress). Methods: One hundred and ten patients with a hearing loss diagnosed, with a mean age of 70 years old (SD=7.89) participated in the study. Self report measures of social support and emotional distress were administered and sociodemographic characteristics were collected. Results: In general, the results showed that hearing loss has a negative role in daily and social activities as well as in the general emotional state of these patients. Nevertheless, for negative emotional states such as anxiety, depression and stress, the instrumental support had a buffering effect, since independently from the hearing loss degree, higher social support was associated with lower levels of anxiety, depression and stress. Conclusions: Overall, the results contribute to enhance the protective role that social support might have in chronic diseases and particularly in hearing loss.
Real-Time 3D Reconstruction Using a Kinect Sensor

Nowadays, in the robotics industry, the point cloud processing gets more and more well-known due to the launching of Microsoft Kinect device in 2011. This paper aims to compare the methods for 3D reconstruction using a Kinect sensor and to rebuild a detailed model from an indoor scene in order to use it in a CAD application. The acquisition system allows the user to rotate around the target area and see a continuously updated 3D model of the desired object. For creating the final model, different viewpoints must be acquired and fused together in a single representation.
To Reuse or Not To Reuse

This book gives you the tools to start quantifying the benefits obtained from developing and using reusable software. Poulin argues that ”business decisions drive reuse. ”Thus, to encourage management support for reuse and measure the degree to which software is being reused, a metric must be available that is + uniformly understood across different software systems, + practical enough to start and maintain measurement through different stages of the software life cycle, and + able to collect data simply. Poulin presents a variety of metrics drawn from papers and economic models. He does a good job of pointing out the lack of clear definitions in many of the published experience reports that address what should be measured as reuse. Unless this is first clearly defined, the figures reported are useless. Poulin includes his own metrics suite-the “Reuse Metric Starter Set”(or Poulin and Caruso Reuse and Return on Investment Metric$-that you can use to quantify software reuse. He also proposes some specific figures for use with this suite, including newcode error rate, cost of fixing an error, relative cost for writing reusable software, relative cost for using reusable software, and cost for new code.
Acoustic performance of three stethoscope chest pieces

This study compared the spectral response of three different stethoscope chest pieces (Tycos Harvey, Littmann Classic II, Tollot Dual Head) to both pink noise and normal human breath sounds recorded from the chest wall of 12 subjects breathing at an average peak inspiratory flow rate of 1.5 L/s. The sound data was subjected to fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm analysis. The pink noise data showed frequency accentuation between 100 and 1250 Hz occurred with all the chest pieces but was most prominent with the Littmann and least with the Tycos Harvey chest piece. Inspiratory breath sound analysis showed that the peak intensity (PI) recorded using the Littmann chest piece was highest and the Tollot lowest, whilst the frequency at maximum power (F/sub max/) recorded using the Tycos Harvey chest piece was highest and the Tollot lowest. There was no difference in the frequency (F/sub 50/) and band width at half power during inspiration between the three chest pieces. All parameters measured during inspiration were significantly different from that measured during expiration, except for F/sub 50/. This study demonstrates that the acoustic performance of stethoscope chest pieces is different, with the Littmann displaying the highest gain in intensity at adventitial sound frequencies and appears most suitable for lung sound auscultation in the clinical setting. However, the superior F/sub max/ of the Tycos Harvey chest piece suggests superior diaphragmatic auscultation of high frequency sounds such as wheezes.