Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhancing predictive performance of vulnerability to poverty estimates

This paper analyzes two modifications to a simple measure of vulnerability as expected poverty. Firstly, in order to model income we use distributional regression which relates each parameter of the conditional income distribution to the covariates. Secondly, instead of defining a household as vulnerable if its probability of being poor in the next period is larger than 0.5, we construct a vulnerability line as vulnerability threshold. For this purpose, we employ the receiver operating characteristic considering prerequisites in terms of the true positive rate. Using long-term panel data from Germany, we build both mean and distributional regression models with the established 0.5 probability cutoff and our defined vulnerability line. Predictive performance is assessed by proper scoring rules. We find that our new cutoff method considerably increases predictive performance while placing the income regression model into the distributional regression framework improves predictions for some years.
Facilitating new forms of discourse for learning and teaching: harnessing the power of Web 2.0 practices

When asked what they would find most helpful to enable them to use technologies more in their teaching, most teachers say ‘give me examples, in my subject area’ and ‘point me to relevant people I can discuss these issues with’. Web 2.0 technologies – with their emphasis on sharing, networking and user production – seem to offer a potential solution. However uptake and use of Web 2.0 sites such as blogs, social networking and wikis by teachers for sharing and discussing practice has being marginal so far. This paper focuses on work we are undertaking as part of the Open University Learning Design Initiative (http://ouldi.open.ac.uk) and the Hewlett‐funded Olnet initiative (http://olnet.org). A key focus of our work is the development of tools, methods and approaches to support the design of innovative learning activities and open educational resources. In this paper I want to focus on one strand of our work; namely, how to leverage technologies to promote better sharing and discussion of learning and teaching ideas and designs.
Foundations of Problem Based Learning

Acknowledgements Prologue Part 1 Conceptual frames 1. Delineating core concepts of problem-based learning 2. A brief history of problem-based learning 3. Problem-based learning and theories of learning 4. Curricula models 5. Cultural contexts of academe Part 2 Recurring themes 6. What is a problem? 7. Learning teams 8. The role of students 9. The role of tutor 10. Staff support and development 11. Assessing problem-based learning Part 3 Broadening horizons 12. Embracing culture and diversity 13. Programme evaluation 14. Sustaining problem-based learning curricula Epilogue: Future imperative? Glossary Bibliography Index
The Role Of Content Background Knowledge On Translation

The purpose of this study is to explore ways to provide effective as well as practical teaching tools that can be utilized in translation courses for undergraduate students. The present study specifically focuses on the effect of having access to background information of the translation. One group was aimed to participate in the research. First, this group was given some sentences to translate from English into Turkish without acquiring them with background information. Then the same group was supplied with necessary background information. Outputs of the two phases were compared to assess the impact of background information. The results showed that 69 percent of the subjects could not interpret the sentences they were given before they acquired content background knowledge. However, they were successful at the second parts of the sentences in which the subjects try to translate the same sentences after having been given content background information. This percentage confirms the relationship between content background knowledge and translation.
Sequential decoding — the computation problem

Sequential decoding is a technique for encoding and decoding at moderate cost with a decoding reliability which approximates that of the optimum, and expensive, maximum-likelihood decoder. The several known sequential decoding algorithms enjoy a cost advantage over the maximum-likelihood decoder because they allow the level of the channel noise to regulate the level of the decoding computation. Since the average level of the required decoding computation for sequential decoders is small for source rates below a rate R comp , such a decoder can be realized for these rates with a relatively small logic unit and a buffer. The logic unit is normally designed to handle computation rates which are less than two or three times the average computation rate; the buffer serves to store data during those noisy periods when the required computation rate exceeds the computation rate of the logic unit. If the periods of high computation, which are caused by noise, are too frequent or too long, the buffer, which is necessarily finite in capacity, will fill and overflow. Since data are lost during an overflow, continuity in the decoding process cannot be maintained. The decoder, then, cannot continue to decode without error. For this reason, buffer overflow is an important event. In addition, since errors in the absence of overflow are much less frequent than are overflows themselves, the overflow event is of primary concern in the design of a sequential decoder. This paper presents some recent analytical results concerning the probability of a buffer overflow. In particular, it is shown that this probability is relatively insensitive to both the buffer capacity and the maximum speed of the logic unit for moderate capacities and speeds. By contrast, it is shown that the overflow probability decreases rapidly with a decrease in the source
AFFECTS THE ACCEPTANCE OF MOBILE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS

The rising need of mobility and convenience in payment processes has even forced traditional banking institutions to establish mobile payment (MP) applications in Germany. However, the breakthrough of this promising technology has not yet been realized. This raises the question about the negative effects of barriers, such as the companies’ storage and usage of personal data resulting in consumers’ privacy concerns. As research on MP calls for the integration of new models, this study aims to be the first to establish an APCO-model for the field of MP, thereby filling an essential research gap. Consequently, our model empirically validates privacy concerns and investigates its antecedents and predictive power to explain the intention to use MP systems. We additionally examined the barely studied effects of privacy concerns on risks as well as benefits. To give target-oriented recommendations, we included the theory of the diffusion of innovation and the factor “gadget loving” in our model. The results of our investigation underline the vital role of privacy concerns in the acceptance of MP and imply recommendations for the design of further research as well as an appropriate marketing communication of MP solutions.
Microeconometrics Using Stata

An outstanding introduction to microeconometrics and how to do microeconometric research using Stata, this book covers topics often left out of microeconometrics textbooks and omitted from basic introductions to Stata. Cameron and Trivedi provide the most complete and up-to-date survey of microeconometric methods available in Stata. They begin by introducing simulation methods and then use them to illustrate features of the estimators and tests described in the rest of the book. They address each topic with an in-depth Stata example and demonstrate how to use Statas programming features to implement methods for which Stata does not have a specific command. Multi/Card Deck Copy
Gestures, referents, and anaphoric linkage in learner varieties

This paper discusses how the gestural modality can contribute to our understanding of anaphoric linkage in learner varieties, focusing on gestural anaphoric linkage marking the introduction, maintenance, and shift of reference in story retellings by learners of French and Swedish. The comparison of gestural anaphoric linkage in native and non-native varieties reveals what appears to be a particular learner variety of gestural cohesion, which closely reflects the characteristics of anaphoric linkage in learners' speech. Specifically, particular forms co-occur with anaphoric gestures depending on the information organisation in discourse. The typical nominal over-marking of maintained referents or topic elements in speech is mirrored by gestural (over-)marking of the same items. The paper discusses two ways in which this finding may further the understanding of anaphoric over-explicitness of learner varieties. An addressee-based communicative perspective on anaphoric linkage highlights how over-marking in gesture and speech may be related to issues of hyper-clarity and ambiguity. An alternative speaker-based perspective is also explored in which anaphoric over-marking is seen as related to L2 speech planning. (Less)
Robust control of uncertain time delay systems

The paper considers the robust stability and control of uncertain delay systems. Sufficient stability conditions are derived by using a small /spl mu/ theorem. It is then shown that the existing results in the literature are much more conservative than this condition. Furthermore, robust control of uncertain delay systems can be studied by combining this stability criterion and the standard /spl mu/ synthesis techniques.
The GH-2004 project : ethnicity does not affect the response of IGF-I and procollagen III N-terminal propeptide to the administration of exogenous growth hormone ( GH ) in amateur athletes

Context: There is widespread anecdotal evidence that growth hormone (GH) is misused by athletes for its anabolic and lipolytic properties, despite its use being prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). A method based on the measurement of IGF-I and procollagen III N-terminal propeptide (P-III-NP) has been proposed to detect exogenously administered GH. As previous studies involved mainly Caucasian athletes, it is important to assess whether there are ethnic differences in the response of these markers to rhGH. Objective: To examine the change in serum IGF-I and P-III-NP and GH-2000 score in response to rhGH in non-Caucasian amateur athletes. Design: Double blind placebo controlled rhGH administration study. Setting: Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility, Southampton General Hospital Subjects: 31 male and 13 female amateur athletes of different ethnicities. Intervention: Treatment with placebo or 0.1 IU/kg/day (low dose) or 0.2 IU/kg/day (high dose) rhGH for 28 days. Blood was collected at baseline, weekly during treatment and on days 35, 42, and 84 during the wash-out period. Serum IGF-I was measured by the DSL5600 ACTIVE ® IGF-I IRMA and P-III-NP was measured by a two-stage sandwich RIA (CIS
The Role of VR as a New Game Changer in Computational Design Education

With the rapid advances in technology, virtual reality(VR) re-emerged as an affordable technology providing new potentials for virtual learning environments(VLE). Within the scope of this study, firstly a general perspective on potentials of VR to create an appropriate VLE is put forward regarding the potentials related with learning modalities. Then, VR as a VLE in architectural education is discussed and utilization of VR is revisited considering the fundamentals of education as how to enhance skills regarding creativity, furnish students to adopt future skills and how VR can be used to enhance design understanding as well as space perception and spatial relations. It is deliberated that instead of mirroring the real spaces, allowing students to understand the virtuality with its own constituents will broaden the understanding of space, spatial relations, scale, motion, and time both in physical and virtual. The dichotomy between physical and virtual materiality, the potentials and pitfalls in the process of transformation from real/physical to virtual virtual to real/physical are discussed in relation with the student projects designed in the scope of Digital Design Studio course in Middle East Technical University. It is also shown that VR stimulates different learning modalities especially kinesthetic modality and helping students to develop creativity and metacognition about space and spatial relations.
Student Use of Mobile Devices in University Lectures.

Mobile devices are increasingly used by students in university lectures. This has resulted in controversy and the banning of mobile devices in some lectures. Although there has been some research into how students use laptop computers in lectures, there has been little investigation into the wider use of mobile devices. This study was designed to investigate which mobile devices students use, what they use them for and the duration of each activity within 1 hour lectures. Students in six cross faculty core classes (n=74 students total) at Bond University responded to a survey asking them to document and comment on their mobile device use over the previous hour at the end of their lecture. A focus group of students who had not been surveyed was conducted to cross-validate the survey results. The key results were that 66% of students responding to the survey reported using a mobile device in the lecture. Of this group, 45% used a mobile phone and 38% a laptop. The most common activity was typing notes on a laptop, followed by accessing lecture slides. The vast majority of mobile device usage was on task and related to the lecture .
The Impacts of System and Human Factors on Online Learning Systems Use and Learner Satisfaction.

Success in an online learning environment is tied to both human and system factors. This study illuminates the unique contributions of human factors (comfort with online learning, self-management of learning, and perceived Web self-efficacy) to online learning system success, which is measured in terms of usage and satisfaction. The research model was tested employing SEM on a sample of 674 college students enrolled in at least one online course. The factors of comfort with online learning and perceived Web self-efficacy were significant predictors of satisfaction. Comfort with online learning was significant in predicting usage. The impact of demographic variables was examined.
PATTERNS OF BRACHIOPOD SHELL ENCRUSTATION : A COMPARISON OF TROPICAL ( UBATUBA BAY , BRAZIL ) AND POLAR ( ADMIRALTY BAY , ANTARCTICA ) ENVIRONMENTS

1Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Brasil. 2Departamento de Geologia Sedimentar e Ambiental, Programa de Pós-graduação, Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil. 3Departamento de Oceanografia Biológica, IO, Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil. 4Department of Geosciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA. 5Bio-increments Group, Institute for Geology and Paleontology, J.W. Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Emergence of Diversity in a Group of Identical Bio-Robots

Learning capabilities, often guided by competition/cooperation, play a fundamental and ubiquitous role in living beings. Moreover, several behaviours, such as feeding and courtship, involve environmental exploration and exploitation, including local competition, and lead to a global benefit for the colony. This can be considered as a form of global cooperation, even if the individual agent is not aware of the overall effect. This paper aims to demonstrate that identical biorobots, endowed with simple neural controllers, can evolve diversified behaviours and roles when competing for the same resources in the same arena. These behaviours also produce a benefit in terms of time and energy spent by the whole group. The robots are tasked with a classical foraging task structured through the cyclic activation of resources. The result is that each individual robot, while competing to reach the maximum number of available targets, tends to prefer a specific sequence of subtasks. This indirectly leads to the global result of task partitioning whereby the cumulative energy spent, in terms of the overall travelled distance and the time needed to complete the task, tends to be minimized. A series of simulation experiments is conducted using different numbers of robots and scenarios: the common emergent result obtained is the role-specialization of each robot. The description of the neural controller and the specialization mechanisms are reported in detail and discussed.
The Background Structure of Entrepreneurial Team and Strategic Investment Decisions: A Collective Psychological Capital Perspective

Drawing from the perspective of collective psychological capital, this study analyzes the internal mechanism of how top management structure influences R&D, and marketing investment decisions. Utilizing a sample of 346 Chinese listed companies in high-tech industries from 2012 to 2017, we examine the relationship between the proportion of entrepreneurial team with technology, marketing-related background, and R&D marketing expenditure. The empirical results show the proportion of entrepreneurial team with the technological background is positively related to R&D expenditure and negatively related to marketing expenditure. On the contrary, we also find that the proportion of entrepreneurial team with a marketing background is a negative correlation with R&D expenditure and positive correlation with marketing expenditure. Our study has expanded the perspective and scope of the research on the antecedents of strategic investment decisions, and the practical implications are discussed.
Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance Across Gender Groups of the 15-Item Geriatric Depression Scale Among Chinese Elders

The 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) is widely used to screen depression among elders. But the factor structure of the Chinese version GDS-15 remains unclear. This study was conducted to determine the best-fit factor structure of GDS-15 and to assess measurement invariance across gender groups in a sample of Chinese elders recruited from Mainland China (final sample N = 2428). The best-fit factor structure was examined by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Multigroup CFA was utilized to test the measurement invariance across genders of the factor structure. The results of CFA revealed that a three-factor model, including life satisfaction (four items), general depressive affect (seven items), and withdrawal (three items), fits the structure of the GDS-15 best. Measurement invariance across genders was supported, fully assuming different degrees of invariance.
Self-Concept and Physical Activity: Differences Between High School and University Students in Spain and Portugal

The period of adolescence stands out as a critical and decisive phase, first because it leaves its mark on personality development, which is affected by psychosocial factors, and second because the healthy lifestyle habits acquired during this stage form a foundation for adulthood. The objective of the present study was first to evaluate the levels of participation in physical activities (PA) and of self-concept in high school and university students, and second to find relationships between these psycho-physical variables. Four hundred and forty adolescents ranging in age from 16 to 20 years, from Spain and Portugal, participated in this study (cross-sectional design). The IPAQ and Self-Concept Form-5 questionnaires were used. The results demonstrated some differences; the Portuguese university students had lower scores in the academic, emotional and physical dimensions and vigorous PA but higher sitting time, walking and moderate PA compared to Portuguese high school students. In addition, Spanish university students had lower self-concept scores although higher practice of PA and lower sitting time than Spanish high school students (p < 0.05). On the other hand, a positive relationship was found between different dimensions of self-concept and levels of PA, while the relationship between these dimensions and the time the adolescent spent sitting was negative. In conclusion, the university students have lower scores of self-concept dimensions (in general), and the practice of PA is higher in Spanish university students, confirming the clear presence of differences between both educational stages. The relationship between the dimensions of self-concept in general and the level of PA was positive (following the contributions of Marsh).
The Effects of Planning and Handwriting Style on Quantity Measures in Secondary School Children’s Writing

The study aimed to evaluate the proposer, translator, editor, and transcriber process model of writing in the context of secondary school children. Eighty-three children completed written texts under conditions that facilitated the proposer and placed resource demands on the transcriber. It was found that the number of words, lexical richness, and the number of sentences were affected by transcription resource demands, while the number of sentences was increased when the proposer was facilitated. There were also by-gender interactions that indicated male writers and female writers completed the tasks to different product levels. The discussion proposes that future developments of the model take into account a more direct interaction between the transcriber and translation level processes when considering this age group.
Gene Targets in Ocular Pathogenic Escherichia coli for Mitigation of Biofilm Formation to Overcome Antibiotic Resistance

The present work is an attempt to establish the functionality of genes involved in biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance in an ocular strain of Escherichia coli (L-1216/2010) which was isolated and characterized from the Vitreous fluid of a patient with Endophthalmitis. For this purpose, seven separate gene-specific knockout mutants were generated by homologous recombination in ocular E. coli. The genes that were mutated included three transmembrane genes ytfR (ABC transporter ATP-binding protein), mdtO (multidrug efflux system) and tolA (inner membrane protein), ryfA coding for non-coding RNA and three metabolic genes mhpA (3-3-hydroxyphenylpropionate 1,2-dioxygenase), mhpB (2,3-di hydroxyphenylpropionate 1,2-dioxygenase), and bdcR (regulatory gene of bdcA). Mutants were validated by sequencing and Reverse transcription-PCR and monitored for biofilm formation by XTT method and confocal microscopy. The antibiotic susceptibility of the mutants was also ascertained. The results indicated that biofilm formation was inhibited in five mutants (ΔbdcR, ΔmhpA, ΔmhpB, ΔryfA, and ΔtolA) and the thickness of biofilm reduced from 17.2 μm in the wildtype to 1.5 to 4.8 μm in the mutants. Mutants ΔytfR and ΔmdtO retained the potential to form biofilm. Complementation of the mutants with the wild type gene restored biofilm formation potential in all mutants except in ΔmhpB. The 5 mutants which lost their ability to form biofilm (ΔbdcR, ΔmhpA, ΔmhpB, ΔtolA, and ΔryfA) did not exhibit any change in their susceptibility to Ceftazidime, Cefuroxime, Ciprofloxacin, Gentamicin, Cefotaxime, Sulfamethoxazole, Imipenem, Erythromycin, and Streptomycin in the planktonic phase compared to wild type ocular E. coli. But ΔmdtO was the only mutant with altered MIC to Sulfamethoxazole, Imipenem, Erythromycin, and Streptomycin both in the planktonic and biofilm phase. This is the first report demonstrating the involvement of the metabolic genes mhpA and mhpB and bdcR (regulatory gene of bdcA) in biofilm formation in ocular E. coli. In addition we provide evidence that tolA and ryfA are required for biofilm formation while ytfR and mdtO are not required. Mitigation of biofilm formation to overcome antibiotic resistance could be achieved by targeting the genes bdcR, mhpA, mhpB, ryfA, and tolA.