Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analytic Cognitive Task Allocation: a decision model for cognitive task allocation

This paper introduces Analytic Cognitive Task Allocation (Analytic CTA) as a decision model for cognitive task allocation. Analytic CTA can support system designers systematically analyse alternative allocation choices, evaluate them through criterion-based quantitative judgements and integrate partial judgements towards a final allocation decision. Analytic CTA was applied in the design of cognitive task allocation by testing three hypotheses. The hypotheses postulated that Analytic CTA can effectively support system designers in three ways: (a) in the identification of task requirements; (b) in the definition of design trade-offs between human allocation and automation; and (c) in the derivation of the allocation decision. Two groups of system designers allocated cognitive functions from three task scenarios in production planning and control. The experimental group, which was supported by the decision model, made allocation decisions which expressed weak preference for either human allocation or automation, consistent with the experimental tasks which had been selected as to elicit weak preferences. The control group relied on the early selection of an automation technology as the means of structuring the design problem. This involved reducing the task to a version suitable for automation, introduced a pro-automation bias and resulted in allocation decisions expressing strong preference for automation. These results were found in support of the experimental hypotheses.
Determining a Vertical Scale for Graphical Representations of Three-Dimensional Surfaces

AbstractThe selection of a vertical scale in the production of block diagrams or three-dimensional views is a decision which can have a great effect on the map reader's perception of the information presented. Advice available in the cartographic literature is extremely subjective and refers mainly to physical data. In the absence of suitable guidelines for statistical mapping, an experimental technique is presented which utilises the power of automated cartography in determining a scale which can be applied to all types of three-dimensional surfaces.
Structure-mapping: Directions from simulation to theory

The theory of mind debate has reached a “hybrid consensus” concerning the status of theory theory and simulation theory. Extant hybrid models either specify co-dependency and implementation relations, or distribute mentalizing tasks according to folk-psychological categories. By relying on a nondevelopmental framework these models fail to capture the central connection between simulation and theory. I propose a “dynamic” hybrid that is informed by recent work on the nature of similarity cognition. I claim that Gentner's model of structure-mapping allows us to understand simulation as a process in which psychological representations are aligned, causing the spontaneous abstraction of theoretical generalizations about the psychological domain.
Channel estimation and prediction for adaptive OFDM downlinks [vehicular applications]

Channel estimation and prediction algorithms are developed and evaluated for use in broadband adaptive OFDM downlinks over fading channels for vehicular users. Accurate channel estimation may be obtained by using a combined pilot-aided and decision-directed approach based on Kalman filtering and prediction. The correlation properties of the channel in both time and space are taken into account. Kalman performance at much lower computational complexity is attained with recently developed constant gain adaptation laws. We present and evaluate a state-space realization of such an adaptation law, with computational complexity of the order of the square of the number of parallel tracked pilot subcarriers. In an adaptive OFDM system, prediction of the channel power a few milliseconds ahead are also required. Frequency-domain channel estimates can be transformed to the time domain, and used as regressors in channel predictors based on linear regression. We also make a preliminary evaluation of the direct use of complex channel prediction in the frequency domain for channel power prediction.
Repetitive Control Meets Continuous Zero Phase Error Tracking Controller for Precise Tracking of B-Spline Trajectories

In this paper, a novel repetitive control scheme is presented and discussed, based on the so-called B-spline filters. These dynamic filters are able to generate a B-spline trajectory if they are fed with the sequence of control points defining the curve. Therefore, they are ideal tools for generating online reference signals with the prescribed level of smoothness for driving dynamic systems, possibly together with a feedforward compensator. In particular, a continuous zero phase error tracking controller (ZPETC) can be used for tracking control of nonminimum phase systems but because of its open-loop nature it cannot guarantee the robustness with respect to modeling errors and exogenous disturbances. For this reason, ZPETC and trajectory generator have been embedded in a repetitive control scheme that allows to nullify interpolation errors even in nonideal conditions, provided that the desired reference trajectory and the disturbances are periodic. This paper is based on the results presented in the conference paper [L. Biagiotti, F. Califano, and C. Melchiorri, “Repetitive control of non-minimum phase systems along b-spline trajectories,” in Proc. IEEE 55th Conf. Decis. Control, 2016, pp. 5496–5501. ], where asymptotic stability of the overall control scheme has been proved mathematically, but extends such results with an experimental validation based on a nonminimum phase system. Different models of the same physical system have been identified and used in the implementation of this model-based control scheme, allowing a real evaluation of the relationship between control system performance and model accuracy.
ELECTRONIC SOURCES AS INPUT TO GRE® READING COMPREHENSION ITEM DEVELOPMENT: SOURCEFINDER PROTOTYPE EVALUATION

This evaluation study compares the performance of a prototype tool called SourceFinder against the performance of highly trained human test developers. SourceFinder — a specialized search engine developed to locate source material for Graduate Record Examinations (GRE®) reading comprehension passages — employs a variety of shallow linguistic features to model the search criteria employed by expert test developers, to automate the source selection process, and to reduce source-processing time. The current evaluation provides detailed information about the aspects of source variation that are not well modeled by the current prototype. Approaches for enhancing performance in identified areas are discussed. The present study also provides a more explicit description of the source selection task, and a rich data set for developing a less subjective, more explicit definition of the types of documents preferred by test developers.
The INCASS Project Approach towards Automated Visual Inspection of Vessels

Ship accidents and near misses, with the corresponding risk of crew and passengers’ injuries and fatalities, environmental pollution, damage or total loss of the ship and its equipment, can be frequently attributed to the failure of structures and machinery. In order to enhance ships safety and avoid unexpected service disruptions, the INCASS project pursues the integration in a Decision Support System of inspection data collection approaches using robots and specific sensors, together with a risk evaluation, analysis and management framework comprising ship structures, machinery and equipment. This paper focuses on one of these robotic platforms, and on a set of inspection data processing tools, developed within the framework of the INCASS project. We first describe a multi-rotor based aerial platform which is used to collect images from the surfaces under inspection, either focusing on providing access to remote areas or for broader and intensified data acquisition. Next, we introduce an image stitching software aiming at enhancing the presentation of the visual data collected. Finally, we focus on defect detection with a lightweight image saliency-based detector tuned for detecting generic defects, what can be useful to either guide the image capture onto relevant areas from the inspection point of view or to guide specific crack and corrosion detectors, also developed within the context of the INCASS project. Copyright © XXXX CEA.
Strong Convergence Rates of the Product-limit Estimator for Left Truncated and Right Censored Data under Association

Non-parametric estimation of a survival function from left truncated data subject to right censoring has been extensively studied in the literature. It is commonly assumed in such studies that the lifetime variables are a sample of independent and identically distributed random variables from the target population. This assumption is often prone to failure in practical studies. For instance, when recruited subjects are all from the same institute or the same geographical region. To the best of our knowledge, there is no study in the past literature addressing such situations. In this article, we study large and small sample behavior of Tsai-Jewell-Wang estimator under positive and negative association.
ENS0 Bred Vectors in Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere General Circulation Models

The breeding method has been implemented in the NASA Seasonal-to-Interannual Prediction Project (NSIPP) Coupled General Circulation Model (CGCM) with the goal of improving operational seasonal to interannual climate predictions through ensemble forecasting and data assimilation. The coupled instability as cap'tured by the breeding method is the first attempt to isolate the evolving ENSO instability and its corresponding global atmospheric response in a filly coupled ocean-atmosphere GCM. Our results show that the growth rate of the coupled bred vectors (BV) peaks at about 3 months before a background ENSO event. The dominant growing BV modes are reminiscent of the background ENSO anomalies and show a strong tropical response with wind/SST/thermocline interrelated in a manner similar to the background ENSO mode. They exhibit larger amplitudes in the eastern tropical Pacific, reflecting the natural dynamical sensitivity associated with the presence of the shallow thermocline. Moreover, the extratropical perturbations associated with these coupled BV modes reveal the variations related to the atmospheric teleconnection patterns associated with background ENSO variability, e.g. over the North Pacific and North America. A similar experiment was carried out with the NCEP/CFS03 CGCM. Comparisons between bred vectors from the NSIPP CGCM and NCEP/CFS03 CGCM demonstrate the robustness of the results. Our results strongly suggest that the breeding method can serve as a natural filter to identify the slowly varying, coupled instabilities in a coupled GCM, which can be used to construct ensemble perturbations for ensemble forecasts and to estimate the coupled background error covariance for coupled data assimilation.
El plagio y su impacto a nivel académico y profesional

En la actualidad el plagio es un serio problema a nivel mundial, que atenta contra los derechos de autor y que es eticamente reprochable. En el presente articulo se explicara el concepto de plagio, los diferentes tipos de plagio existentes, para luego analizar el impacto que este tiene a nivel academico y profesional. Se presentaran algunos casos de plagio a nivel mundial y nacional para dar una idea de la gravedad de este problema y lo comun que se esta volviendo. Si bien existen leyes que protegen los derechos de autor, el plagio no se encuentra debidamente tipificado como un delito en todos los paises, lo cual hace que muchas veces se queden impunes muchos de estos hechos. Se debe mejorar la educacion en cuanto al plagio para asi ayudar a prevenirlo en el futuro.
Putting Case-Based Instruction Into Context: Examples From Legal and Medical Education

Recently, educational theorists have begun to emphasize the importance of situating instruction in meaningful contexts in order to recreate some of the advantages of apprenticeship learning. Cognitive apprenticeship and anchored instruction are two approaches to instruction that provide guidance for teaching in contextualized ways. Cognitive apprenticeship emphasizes the social context of instruction and draws its inspiration from traditional apprenticeships. Anchored instruction provides a model for creating problem contexts that enables students to see the utility of knowledge and to understand the conditions for its use. Together, these two complementary approaches provide a framework for thinking about apprenticeship learning and how it might be transferred to the classroom. Interestingly, authors who have written about cognitive apprenticeships and anchored instruction have made only passing reference to the case method of legal and business education and the problem-based learning approach to medical education, two well-established methods of instruction that are also based on apprenticeship learning and the study of authentic problems or cases. The detailed description of these two approaches to instruction in this article provides a rich source of information about how to create contextualized learning environments in school settings, and demonstrates that case-based instruction can take on different forms and be used in different domains. Each approach is evaluated employing a framework synthesized from cognitive apprenticeship and anchored instruction; the results of this analysis are used to suggest research questions for case-based instruction as it is currently practiced and areas in which further research is needed to refine educational theories.
2014-142 Commodity Price Correlation and Time varying Hedge Ratios Amine

This paper examines the price volatility and hedging behavior of commodity futures indices and stock market indices. We investigate the weekly hedging strategies generated by return-based and range-based asymmetric dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) processes. The hedging performances of short and long hedgers are estimated with a semi-variance, low partial moment and conditional value-at-risk. The empirical results show that range-based DCC model outperforms return-based DCC model for most cases.
Guaranteed passive balancing transformations for model order reduction

The major concerns in state-of-the-art model reduction algorithms are: achieving accurate models of sufficiently small size, numerically stable and efficient generation of the models, and preservation of system properties such as passivity. Algorithms such as PRIMA generate guaranteed-passive models, for systems with special internal structure, using numerically stable and efficient Krylov-subspace iterations. Truncated balanced realization (TBR) algorithms, as used to date in the design automation community, can achieve smaller models with better error control, but do not necessarily preserve passivity. In this paper we show how to construct TBR-like methods that guarantee passive reduced models and in addition are applicable to state-space systems with arbitrary internal structure.
An Integrative View of Knowledge Processes and a Learning Culture for Ambidexterity: Toward Improved Organizational Performance in the Banking Sector

Banks are the backbone of the financial sector and catalysts in the economic development of any country. Current changes in their global business ecosystem make knowledge of about the fund-supplying and fund-demanding parties of the society a key resource for the fulfillment of banks’ investment and saving functions. This paper addresses the relationship between the performance and a learning culture that is supported by knowledge processes within the organization. Given the relevance of this subject for organizations from most knowledge-intensive domains, this research has focused on the Spanish banking sector. Using a structural equation model, feedback received from 215 employees from 142 individual branches from a major banking institution in Spain is studied. The results of the data analysis show that in addition to maximizing on what is already known about the customer base, employees’ learning about the potential new stakeholders and also about the internal strategies, tools, and techniques is directly related to the bank's performance, which, in turn, influences the economic recovery and socio-economic development. Results support that an active pursuit of learning within the context of the organization is required for banks to remain competitive in the dynamic, global business ecosystem, where international, national, and local banking sectors operate.
Making Small Talk — Audio MP3 Files Made More Portable

A recent article by Merry and Orsmond (2008) in this journal has highlighted the provision of student feedback as audio MP3 files. The authors report positive student engagement with this mode of feedback delivery, but highlight one drawback as being large file sizes (up to 11Mb) that under certain circumstances prohibit sending by email. In some cases feedback had to be sent to students on CD. The authors speculate that adjusting recording parameters may be one way of overcoming this problem but were wary to do should the lower quality detract from the student listening experience. The authors used Audacity software (audacity.sourceforge.net) to record the files and Switch (nch.com.au/switch) to convert the recorded files to MP3. We have used the most recent version of Audacity (version 1.2.
Combining Information Structure and Centering-based Models of Salience for Resolving Intersentential Pronominal Anaphora

In many approaches for resolving intersentential pronominal anaphora the degree of salience of entities determines their accessibility in the addressee’s discourse model. Degree of salience is identified by the degree of givenness of entities in the addressee’s cognitive model, so that given/known entities have highest degree of salience. The most given entities are chosen as antecedents of pronouns. à and Vrbovà (1982), who suggest that entities in the focal part of an utterance in Information Structure (IS) terms have highest degree of salience. These entities often correspond to new information. Analysing Danish discourse we have found that these apparently contrasting interpretations of salience are both valid, but in different contexts. We propose a model of accessibility where salience is by default connected with givenness, but where this default can be explicitly overruled in contexts where the speaker explicitly marks entities as salient by ISrelated devices. These explicitly marked focal entities have highest degree of salience. A tentative list of the IS-related devices and contexts in which the shift of attentional focus is explicitly marked in Danish is proposed, based on naturally occurring discourse and
Comparing Electronic Dictionary Functions and Use

The aim of this study is to review general findings about the changing use of electronic dictionaries (EDs) by Japanese college students of English as a foreign language. Subjective survey feedback from students using such computerized dictionaries is reviewed, and records of their objective performance on various vocabulary lookup and learning tasks are compared. This study presents a descriptive survey of Japanese freshmen students' use of various electronic dictionaries, a brief survey of graduate students' use of online dictionary, reading and vocabulary sites, and a comparison with other research studies investigating learners' degree of use of EDs. Many overall trends are clearly discernable by comparing these findings that can help us improve language learning by means of more precise and effective guidance and recommendations concerning the use of EDs. Based on these findings, practical recommendations for improving both vocabulary learning and systematic strategy training in the effective use of electronic dictionaries are given. Finally, suggestions for further research are provided to help raise learners' awareness of various useful functions within their EDs. In this paper, research done over the years on EDs relative to their impact on second language vocabulary acquisition will be discussed first. Next, a two-part study of graduate versus undergraduate Japanese college students' use of EDs will be discussed, together with outcome and implications. Finally, suggestions for further research will be offered.
For Whom the Bell Tolls: Imagining Accidents and the Development of Crisis Simulation in Organizations

This article explores how organizations can prepare for crisis events by training crisis management teams (CMTs) using real-time, simulated crises. The article focuses on the impact of such training on the performance of CMTs and the manner in which such training can improve the capability of the organization to deal with adverse events. The article argues that effective learning from crisis is an important factor in shaping the processes by which organizations can prevent crises from incubating. By simulating crisis events based on an external audit of the organization’s vulnerabilities, it is possible to surface many of the assumptions and beliefs that are held concerning the organization’s procedures and protocols. It also explores how crises incubate and subsequently evolve. This allows for an examination of how the organization can move toward the creation of a crisis-prepared culture. The article reports the findings of ongoing ethnographic research with a number of companies.
Personal Values, Attitudes and Travel Intentions Towards Cycling and Walking, and Actual Behavior

Personal values are psychological factors scarcely presented in travel behavior studies, despite their importance in determining life choices, decisions and actions. This paper contributes to filling this gap. The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of personal values on attitudes, intentions and current cycling and walking. Data regarding personal values, attitudes, intentions and current use of cycling and walking were collected through a web-based survey. Pearson correlations, independent sample non-parametric tests and hierarchical regressions have been used to analyze the information. Reasonably weak but statistically significant direct and indirect effects have been identified between personal values and attitudes towards cycling and walking, intentions and current walking and cycling. Openness to change and self-transcendence values are associated to cycling and walking. Actions to encourage those personal values are needed to improve sustainable transport and mobility.
THE INTONATION OF THAI EMOTIONAL SPEECH

This paper studies the acoustics of Thai intonation in four types of emotional speech; anger, surprise, happiness and sadness. The subjects are radio performers, one male and one female aged 30 40 years. The results confirm that the speaking rate, average pitch, and pitch range of the intonation as well as amplitude of the utterance varies according to the type of emotion involved. Anger and surprise are in agreement with Luksaneeyanawin (1983). Anger and sadness are in agreement with Cahn (1988). The pitch for the male speaker shows two separated registers; anger, surprise and happiness are separate in a higher pitch level whereas neutral speech and sadness employ a lower pitch level. Thus, the overall pitch range for all emotional types combined for the male speaker is broader than that of the female speaker. However, when considered separately, the pitch range for each emotional type is quite comparable between male and female speakers. The Highs and Lows of the intonation vary greatly among utterances of the same emotional type unlike the intonation of Thai declarative sentences without emotion superimposed where the Highs and Lows are clearly rule-governed. Nevertheless, the results of this study have implications for speech technology. Sentences can be manipulated in the dimensions of time, fundamental frequency and fundamental frequency range as well as amplitude contour according to the emotional type targeted for vividness and naturalness.