Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Game-Based Socio-Emotional Skills Assessment: A Comparison Across Three Cultures

Hall of Heroes, a digital game, was used to compare social and emotional skills of 63 adolescent female students matched for age across Malaysia, South Africa, and the United States. Participants were assessed on six social and emotional competencies during game play, namely impulse control, cooperation, communication, social initiation, empathy, and emotional regulation and assigned to high, average, and low categories. Chi-square and odds ratio analyses revealed novel, significant correlations between various social and emotional skills for all cultures, suggesting similarities in socio-emotional development. In view of the increasing cross-cultural compositions of classrooms, these results may be beneficial to educators and school administrators.
On the Fulde-Ferrell State in Spatially Isotropic Superconductors

Effects of superconducting fluctuations on the Fulde–Ferrell (FF) state are discussed in a spatially isotropic three-dimensional superconductor under a magnetic field. For this system, Shimahara recently showed that within the phenomenological Ginzburg–Landau theory, the long-range order of the FF state is suppressed by the phase fluctuation of the superconducting order parameter [H. Shimahara: J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 67 (1998) 1872; Physica B 259–261 (1999) 492]. In this letter, we investigate this instability of the FF state against superconducting fluctuations from the microscopic viewpoint, employing the theory developed by Nozieres and Schmitt-Rink in the BCS-BEC crossover field. Besides the absence of the second-order phase transition associated with the FF state, we show that even if the pairing interaction is weak, the shift of the chemical potential from the Fermi energy due to the fluctuations is crucial near the critical magnetic field of the FF state obtained within the mean-field theory.
P‐31: Theory and Application of Paired Comparison Methods in Display and Lighting Preference Study

Paired comparison methodology is currently widely used in different fields, including display and lighting research. There are various approaches proposed for the calculation of z‐score and error‐bars. This paper summarizes and compares those approaches, on the respect of theory basis, calculation complexity, and performances. Especially it was proved in our study that generalized linear model, with proper observation distribution setting, provides the result derived from either traditional Thurstone Model or maximum likelihood estimation model.
A Directory Infrastructure to Support Mobile Services

Traditional Voice-over-IP applications such as Microsoft NetMeeting assume that the user is on a machine with a fixed IP address. If, however, the user connects to the Internet, via a wireless network, on a handheld device, his IP address frequently changes as he moves from one subnet to another. In such a situation, we need a service that can be queried for the most current IP address of a person whom we wish to contact. In this project, we design and implement such a directory service. The service authenticates all callers and callees, is robust against most host failure, and scales to several thousand registered users.
Storage Business Models: Lessons for Electricity from Cloud Data, Frozen Food and Natural Gas

The aim of this paper is to evaluate different well-established non-electric storage markets (cloud data, frozen food and natural gas) in order to identify relevant lessons for electrical energy storage (EES) connected to electricity distribution networks. The case studies that have been evaluated are Google Drive (cloud storage), Oakland International (frozen food storage) and Centrica Storage (gas storage). A specific business model methodology has been selected for comparing the different business model components across these sectors. The methodology (following Johnson et al., 2008) refers to key interconnected components: customer value proposition, the revenue formula, key resources and key processes. The evaluation of the three case studies suggests that well-developed business models already exist in growing and mature storage markets. Regulation plays also an important role across the different storage markets and business model components, however its importance varies depending on the type of market. Innovation in storage business models is also observed (technological and contractual) which should also be facilitated in EES. Innovation helps move storage markets towards more sustainable business models.
The Relationship of Game Elements, Fun and Flow

In recent years, gamification is being received attentions as a marketing solution to attract voluntary participation from users. Gamification is believed to help people get experience about fun by using elements of game mechanism. This solution has the purpose to attract voluntary participation from users and reach the state of flow. This study, therefore, attempts to define the elements of game mechanism in gamification and to know how each game element affects types of fun. In addition, we investigate how each type of fun affects the flow and propose more effective elements of game mechanism to not only game developers but marketing managers as well.
Factors Affecting University Choice: A Study on University Freshman Students

Bu calisma ogrencilerin universite tercih donemlerinde secimlerini etkileyen faktorleri arastirmak amaciyla gerceklestirilmistir. Arastirma verileri, bu calisma kapsaminda arastirmacilar tarafindan gelistirilen olcegin, Turkiye’nin kuzey-batisinda yer alan iki farkli devlet universitesinde 1. sinifta ogrenim gormekte olan 630 ogrenciye uygulanmasi ile elde edilmistir. Bu calismada nicel arastirma yontemlerinden betimsel tarama modeli kullanilmistir. Arastirmada kullanilan “Universite Tercihlerini Etkileyen Faktorler Olcegi”ne iliskin yapilan acimlayici faktor analizi sonuclarina gore olcegin alti alt-boyuttan olustugu ve toplam varyansin % 59.58’ini acikladigi belirlenmistir. Arastirma sonucunda, ogrencilerin universite tercihlerini etkileyen en onemli faktorlerin “gelecek kariyer beklentileri” ve “universitelerin egitim kalitesi ve populerligi” oldugu ortaya cikmistir. Ote yandan “sehrin tanidik olmasi ve sehirde tanidiklarin olmasi” altboyutunun universite tercihlerinde en az etkili altboyut oldugu sonucunda ulasilmistir. Ayrica, sosyo-ekonomik acidan ‘dusuk’ grupta olan ogrencilerin “universitelerin egitim kalitesi ve populerligi”ne diger ogrencilerden daha az onem verdigi gorulmustur. Son olarak, onemli oldugu dusunulen bir diger sonuc ise; ogrencilerin universite giris sinavi puanlari arttikca, universite tercihlerinde etkili olan ozellikleri daha az onemsemeleri olmustur.
A linearised theory of parachute opening dynamics

The inflation of a parachute encompasses problems of aerodynamics, dynamics, and elasticity. The most noticeable effects of the interaction of the events are the opening force and the filling time. Attempts to analyse the opening process and to predict the opening force date back to 1927. Since then a considerable number of methods have been published. Some of them are primarily analytical, others more empirical, and several deal with isolated problems. The earliest and most analytically oriented studies are by Scheube and O'Hara.
AN EVALUATION OF MUTATION OPERATORS FOR EQUIVALENT MUTANTS

Software testing allows programmers to determine the quality of the software. Mutation testing is a branch of software testing which does more than this. It helps determine whether the test cases that have been created, effectively detect all the possible faults in the software. This allows the development of better test sets, thus, ensuring that maximum software quality is achieved. This may seem very inviting to software testers, but there is a major issue being faced which has hindered the widespread use of mutation testing. Mutation testing works by seeding faults in the software program. Various mutation operators are used to create these faulty programs. These programs are called mutants. The mutants depict software faults that may be caused by programmers while writing the software. Test cases are then executed on these mutants to determine if they have been killed or not. Test sets that kill all the mutants are considered to be good as they successfully detect all the possible program faults. Sometimes, it is difficult to kill all the mutants. The reason is that some of the mutants, although syntactically different than the original program, are still semantically the same. Any test case will not be able to differentiate between the original program and the mutant. Such mutants are called equivalent mutants. This thesis targets this issue by determining which mutation operators create mutants, which are more probable to create equivalent mutants. A tool called MuJava is used for this purpose. An empirical analysis has been carried out for this purpose, which helps determine which mutation operators develop more equivalent mutants.
Decision Making under Uncertainty: a rational approach to Kriegspiel

Kriegspiel is an heterodox Chess variation in which the players have incomplete information because they are not informed of their opponent’s position and moves. In fact, each player knows the position of his own pieces, but he can only guess the position of enemy pieces. Each player tries to guess the position of the opponent’s pieces as the game progresses by trying moves that can be either legal or illegal with respect to the real situation: a referee accepts legal moves and rejects illegal ones; the la ter are useful to gain insight about the situation. This means that players have to play in a context of uncertainty and partial information. We know of no past attempts to build Kriegspiel playing programs. This paper describes the design of a program which plays a class of Kriegspiel positions using a knowledge base which implements a “rational approach”. The program we have developed integrates two different notions of rationality introduced by Simon: the substantive and the procedural rationality [Sim76,Sim78]. The interesting part of such an experience is how the procedural rational approach can incorporate results obtained with substantive rationality, whereas the two approaches are usually considered alternative.
Expertise in Aviation

This chapter makes the distinction between the experience of aviation professionals, often quantified in terms of hours of flight time, or flight qualifications, and expertise, as revealed by high proficiency at aviation tasks. Very high proficiency defines the expert. Challenge results because of the difficulty in measuring such proficiency, particularly beyond the student pilot level, and in air traffic control. The chapter also reviews the literature that examines the relation between experience, differences in cognitive ability, and the expertise of aviation professionals as pertains to controlling the aircraft, navigating, and communicating, as well as pertains to non-technical skills manifest by both pilots and air traffic controllers: situation awareness, decision making, task management and crew resource management. It is concluded that experience is only loosely coupled with proficiency in these areas.
Realism and simulator sickness in a fixed-base ship simulator

Kotilainen, Ilkka Realism and Simulator Sickness in a Fixed-Base Ship Simulator Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, 2018, 69 p. Cognitive Science, Master’s Thesis Supervisor: Kujala, Tuomo The aim of this study was to examine simulator realism and effect of simulator sickness in a fixed-base ship simulator. The importance of the study is refelected on the usage of a simulator as a research or training tool where simulator realism and simulator sickness may have a significant effect on the results. Literature of previous research findings on simulator realism and validity evaluation as well as simulator sickness was reviewed. The quasi-experimental study was conducted with convenience sampling and a counterbalanced within-subject design. Thirty-two participants steered a ship simulator in calm and storm weather conditions for five minutes in total. After the experiment, participants filled a closed type Likert questionnaire with questions on background demographics and statements of the simulator experience and Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ). The data was analyzed to find common explaining factors, associations as well as statistically significant differences of simulator realism and simulator sickness. A positive correlation was found between experience of realism, enjoyment and interest components. Increase of enjoyment and interest was measured together with the increase of experienced realism. Participants indicated mild to severe symptoms of simulator sickness during the experiment. Components realism, interest as well as enjoyment and SSQ total score had no statistically significant associations with background variables of age, experience in real-world maritime or in computer games. Also experience of realism and SSQ total score had no statistically significant associations with calm and storm weather conditions. Based on the results the fixed-base ship simulator was qualitatively evaluated as having a moderate physical and behavioral realism. Reliability of the experimental setup, internal consistency of the SSQ scale and validity of the extracted components are discussed as having a possible effect for the research results. Future research is encouraged with larger sample size with a study of user motivation of simulator usage, behavioral validity and simulator sickness with different simulator platforms and experimental designs.
On the complementation of start, begin and continue in spoken academic American English

The main goal of this article is to present the results of a linguistic inquiry into the syntax of start, begin and continue in contemporary spoken academic American English. The main goal of the study was to determine the frequency of occurrence of these verbs and their preferred non-finite complements – the gerund form and the present infinitive form – in that variety of English. The incidence of start, begin and continue was investigated in both small and large lectures in the MICASE corpus. The precepts of corpus linguistics have together served as the major methodological tool. The audience targeted here includes theoretical and applied linguists interested in English linguistics as well as students of the discipline and scholars of related fields.
Language acquisition in young AAC system users: issues and directions for future research

This paper explores three questions regarding the development of language in young children with severe speech impairments who require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The first question relates to how the process of language learning through augmented modes unfolds. In attempting to address this question, two issues are discussed: (1) the need for developing a methodology to describe this unfolding and (2) the impact of voice output communication aids (VOCAs) with prestored messages on this unfolding. The second question relates to the theoretical constructs underlying this process. An example of applying a model of normal language acquisition in conjunction with Vygotsky's construct of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) to the longitudinal study of language acquisition in a child is provided. The final question pertains to the conditions that may best facilitate the language acquisition process. One particular natural context, that of interactive storybook reading, is examined as a .
Problem Structuring Aids for Quantitative Estimation

An important part of decision making in many contexts is the estimation of numerical values for uncertain quantities, such as the projected costs of a development project or the number of people who use illegal drugs. In previous research, estimation accuracy for such quantities was found to be improved by algorithmic decomposition. The present study examines (a) the estimation performance of individuals using extended algorithms in which component estimates are produced by multiple methods, and (b) the effectiveness of algorithms produced by individuals after receiving training in algorithmic decomposition. The extended algorithm approach yielded some improvement in estimation performance. Subjects trained in algorithmic decomposition were able to produce algorithms, the effectiveness of which were dependent upon the presence of misinformation about components of the quantity to be estimated. The results are discussed in terms of the information processing demands imposed by detailed problem structuring.
Sketchmate: A Computer-Aided Sketching and Simulation Tool for Teaching Graph Algorithms

In this dissertation, we developed and tested a sketching, visualization, and simulation tool called Sketchmate for demonstrating graph algorithms commonly taught in undergraduate computer science courses. For this research, we chose to focus on shortest path and network flow algorithms. Two versions of this tool have been implemented: 1) an instructor tool that supports computer-aided manual simulations of algorithms that augment traditional whiteboard presentations, allowing lectures to be more dynamic and interactive, and 2) a student tool that supports computer-aided manual practice of algorithms that enables students to work through homework problems more quickly while providing detailed incremental feedback about their performance and about how to solve a problem when they get stuck. Previous algorithm simulation systems have essentially forced instructors to narrate an algorithm as though they were describing an automated set of slides. In contrast, our tool allows instructors to manually manipulate attributes of a graph as they demonstrate an algorithm. A set of experiments was conducted using the tools. The results for the student tool showed that there was no statistically significant difference in test score improvement between Sketchmate and paper and pencil students, although they did show that Sketchmate students scored roughly one letter grade higher than paper and pencil students. Based on survey data, the students preferred using the tool to using paper and pencil. The results of the experiment involving the instructor tool showed that although there was no statistically significant difference in learning between Sketchmate and the whiteboard, both the instructor and the students preferred a Sketchmate lecture to a whiteboard lecture.
Online technology issues in communication teaching

Although the use of online technology tools to support learning has been advocated for good academic and pedagogical reasons, the issue is that students do not readily or always have a good experience with it. Previous research on this subject concluded that a comparison of online and traditional essay submissions revealed lower online use than expected, lower preference for online submission, and lower quality online work. It is not clear whether this finding is consistent over time, is related to the student experience, and to previously unexplored issues. This led to the speculation that students needed better preparation and a fuller, more integrated, and longer-term experience to assess their use of online technology in a blended learning environment. This study examines student experience in two offerings of the same communication course to assess the nature and use of online and traditional submission modes, and to explore the issues relating to online technology. Using discrete and overlapping data from two cohorts, this study combines textual analysis and survey results to analyze and discuss the emergent issues.
Applied Interpreting Studies at the core of teaching the instructors: a proposal of solutions

Firstly this paper aims to bring the need to educate student interpreters’ instructors to the forefront of research: It advocates a subfield within Interpreting Studies that could be called Applied Interpreting Studies, modelled upon Applied Linguistics, which focuses on trying to resolve language-based problems that people encounter in the real world (Grabe 2002: 9). Secondly it suggest ways to approach the design of teaching interpreting didactics by presenting a pilot program that took place at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, USA in the Fall of 2009. Rather than propose a prescriptive model for teaching teachers of interpreting a spectrum of practicable, modifiable solutions is offered. Following Daniel Gile’s statement in the conclusion of his article Teaching Conference Interpreting (Tennent 2005:149), I believe that, as he put it, “It is best to keep one’s mind open to a wide range of possibilities, including methods that deviate considerably from the ones advocated most often in the literature. ”
Cell-Net: Embryonic Cell Counting and Centroid Localization via Residual Incremental Atrous Pyramid and Progressive Upsampling Convolution

In-vitro fertilization (IVF), as the most common fertility treatment, has never reached its maximum potentials. Systematic selection of embryos with the highest implementation potentials is a necessary step toward enhancing the effectiveness of IVF. Embryonic cell numbers and their developmental rate are believed to correlate with the embryo’s implantation potentials. In this paper, we propose an automatic framework based on a deep convolutional neural network to take on the challenging task of automatic counting and centroid localization of embryonic cells (blastomeres) in microscopic human embryo images. In particular, the cell counting task is reformulated as an end-to-end regression problem that is based on a shape-aware Gaussian dot annotation to map the input image into an output density map. The proposed Cell-Net system incorporates two novel components, residual incremental Atrous pyramid, and progressive up-sampling convolution. The residual incremental Atrous pyramid enables the network to extract rich global contextual information without raising the ‘grinding’ issue. Progressive up-sampling convolution gradually reconstructs a high-resolution feature map by taking into account short- and long-range dependencies. The experimental results confirm that the proposed framework is capable of predicting the cell-stage and detecting blastomeres in embryo images of 1–8 cell by mean accuracies of 86.1% and 95.1%, respectively.