Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use and Adaptation of Written Language to the Conditions of Computer-Mediated Communication

The purpose of the present study is to investigate how written language is used and adapted to suit the conditions of four modes of computer-mediated communication (CMC). Texts from email, web chat, instant messaging and mobile text messaging (SMS) have been analyzed. The general human ability to adapt is deemed to underlie linguistic adaptation. A linguistic adaptivity theory is proposed here. It is proposed that three interdependent variables influence language use: synchronicity, means of expression and situation. Two modes of CMC are synchronous (web chat and instant messaging), and two are asynchronous (email and SMS). These are all tertiary means of expression, written and transmitted by electronic means. Production and perception conditions, such as text input technique, limited message size, as well as situational parameters such as relationship between communicators, goal of interaction are found to influence message composition. The dissertation challenges popular assumptions that language is deteriorating because of increased use in CMC. It is argued that language use in different modes of CMC are variants, or repertoires, like any other variants. Contrary to popular assumptions, results show that language use is adapted creatively and is well suited the particular modes of CMC. A number of linguistic features are shown to be characteristic of the modes of CMC investigated in the present study. Strategies such as syntactical and lexical reductions are employed to reduce time, effort and space. These techniques often appear to serve multifunctional purposes, by expressing interpersonal intimacy by the choice of words and phrases, while reducing keystrokes. This clearly indicates linguistic awareness. Texts in email, web chat, instant messaging and SMS are found to contain unconventional and not yet established abbreviations based on Swedish as well as words from other languages, unconventional or spoken-like spelling, unconventional use of punctuation and use of non-alphabetical graphical means (emoticons, asterisks). Thus, written language is found to have been developed and enhanced to suit the conditions of computer-mediated communication.
Modeling, Analysis and Validation of a Small Airplane Flight Dynamics

Motivated by the problem of airplane modeling and simulation, this work presents a complete process of building a low cost, high fidelity simulation platform for airplane motion starting from scratch. It includes modeling, simulation and flight-testing for model validation. The six DoF nonlinear simulation model of a small commercial off-theshelf radio-controlled fixed wing airplane is presented. It includes experimental measurements of geometric and inertia model, wind tunnel testing and modeling of the propulsion system, Datcom estimation of the aerodynamic model, and experimental identification of control surfaces actuator model. Whenever possible, some of these models are validated either experimentally or by comparison with available literatures. The proposed procedure to build the airplane model is used to simulate the flight dynamics of the studied airplane. Then, flight-testing of the studied airplane is performed and used to validate the longitudinal motion of the developed flight simulation model. The proposed technique was found to be robust for modeling and simulation of the airplane motion. It also gives very promising results to test the flight dynamics of the airplane and design a reliable flight control system.
Redesign of Computer Games towards Serious Motion- Sensing Games for Children with Limited Physical Skills: A Developer Perspective

The paper presents an approach from a developer perspective how to redesign computer games to ensure the children with limited physical skills the possibility to play on the one hand for the sake of the play itself, and on the other – for using the play as a functional tool for cognitive and physical skills improvement. We present several successful steps for accessibility features support, speed and difficulty adaptation, ethics, as well as the qualitative evaluation of a prototype rehabgame by an expert control panel.
Working with Tweets: The Effectiveness of Lean Communication in Collaborative Problem-Solving

Among social network sites and tools, Twitter and other microblogging tools are characterized by their particularly "lean" communication form, based on quick and short messages, particularly appealing for personal use by the so called "generation Y". In this paper we investigate whether lean communication and particularly Twitter can be used as a tool for teamwork in organizations. Therefore, our research question is focused on whether Twitter could represent a viable communication tool in the future enterprise for collaborative problem solving. More specifically, whether the 140 characters limit would actually make a difference. To answer this research question, we propose here a comparative study of Twitter, a well-known SNS for microblogging, and Skype, a typical communication platform for individuals and organizations. The laboratory experiment method was selected in order to conduct a rigorous comparison with welldefined measurements. Different teams of the same size carry out a well structured problemsolving task communicating via Twitter or Skype. Comparative group performance is measured in terms of task completion time. Our results show that the lower volume of information exchanged via Twitter does not negatively affect group performance: Twitter teams are just as effective as Skype teams. These results can be partly explained in terms of media richness theory, but more interestingly they may be related to the different group dynamics within teams using different systems, and to further dimensions of investigation including the subjects, the task, the technological features and the organizational coordination modes, disclosing new paths for further research. This paper is the outcome of a joint effort from the three authors, who worked in close collaboration. In particular, sections 1, 6 and 7 are to be attributed to Andrea Pontiggia; sections 2 and 3 to Daniela Isari; and sections 4 and 5 to Francesco Virili. 2
Evolving modular neural networks which generalise well

In dealing with complex problems, a monolithic neural network often becomes too large and complex to design and manage. The only practical way is to design modular neural network systems consisting of simple modules. While there has been a lot of work on combining different modules in a modular system in the fields of neural networks, statistics and machine learning, little work has been done on how to design those modules automatically and how to exploit the interaction between individual module design and module combination. This paper proposes an evolutionary approach to designing modular neural networks. The approach addresses the issue of automatic determination of the number of individual modules and the exploitation of the interaction between individual module design and module combination. The relationship among different modules is considered during the module design. This is quite different from the conventional approach where the module design is separated from the module combination. Experimental results on some benchmark problems are presented and discussed in this paper.
Types for Correct Concurrent API Usage

This thesis represents an attempt to improve the state of the art in our ability to understand and check object protocols, with a particular emphasis on concurrent programs. Object protocols are the patterns of use imposed on clients of APIs in object-oriented programs. We show through an empirical study of open-source object- oriented programs that object protocols are quite common. We then present "Sync-or-Swim;' a methodology and suite of accompanying tools for checking at compile- time that object protocols are used and implemented correctly. This methodology is based upon the existing access permissions method of alias control, which is here extended to be sound in the face of shared-memory concurrency. The analysis is formalized as a type system for an object-oriented calculus, and then proven to be free from false-negatives using a proof of type safety. The type system is extended with parametric polymorphism, or "generics," in order to increase its ability to check commonly occurring patterns. An implementation of the approach, a static analysis for programs written in the Java programming language, is presented. This implementation was used to perform a series of case studies whose goal was to evaluate the ease of use, expressiveness and ability to verify commonly occurring patterns. These case studies are presented. Next, an approach and an associated tool for inferring access permission annotations is presented. This inference tool can reduce the burden of using our protocol-checking approach by automatically inferring the required typing annotations. This inference is built upon a system of probabilistic constraints, which allows the easy encoding of heuristics. Finally, an optimization of software transactional memory runtimes is presented. This optimization is enabled by the typing annotations required to use the concurrent protocol checker and can remove some of the overhead typically associated with transactional memory systems. As a result of the work presented in this thesis, it is possible to guarantee the absence of certain API usage errors even in concurrent programs, and to do so with a low burden on programmers. By adhering to such an approach, programmers can produce more reliable software.
Design of an early support tool for building services design: A design tool study

There is a need for Dutch design support tools for building services that can be used in early design stages. TNO Building and Construction Research has therefore initiated the research project described here. The project will result in guidelines for design support tools for early design of building services in the Netherlands. These tools should make it possible to quickly compare alternative conceptual design solutions and to visualize possible consequences of the underlying design decisions
An overview of H.264/MPEG-4 Part 10

The video coding standards to date have not been able to address all the needs required by varying bit rates of different applications and the at the same time meeting the quality requirements. An emerging video coding standard named H.264 or MPEG-4 part 10 aims at coding video sequences at approximately half the bit rate compared to MPEG-2 at the same quality. It also aims at having significant improvements in coding efficiency, error robustness and network friendliness. It makes use of better prediction methods for Intra (I), Predictive (P) and Bi-predictive (B) frames. All these features along with others such as CABAC (Context Based Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding) have resulted in having a 2:1 coding gain over MPEG-2 at the cost of increased complexity.
Learning Styles as a Fundamental Improvement Factor of Learning Quality

This study made a fundamental consent: that all learning and teaching styles are key factors in setting up programs that will advance the quality of the learning process. In this context, the aim of this study was to establish the basic principles, concepts, criteria and specifications of learning quality based on Kolb’s model of learning styles, which , it has been assumed, not only has a diagnostic application, but it also has a practical utility. The proposed approach to the improvement of the quality of the learning process, having considered all learning styles of those educated (i.e. all learners), sought to compile an individualized learning method through a clear acknowledgment of the goals and the results of learning in the frame of a holistic approach; this approach combines the goals, the context, the methodology, the evaluation and the progress of those educated.
Measurement and adaptive suppression of acoustic feedback in hearing aids

The authors describe a technique for making in situ measurements of the acoustic feedback path transfer function and present results demonstrating the effect of changes in the acoustic environment on this transfer function. Three methods of feedback suppression are explored: time-varying delay, adaptive inverse filtering, and adaptive feedback cancellation. It is concluded that the latter approach is the most successful, increasing the maximum gain the hearing aid can deliver without acoustic feedback by 6-10 dB. This increased gain can provide a benefit for moderately-impaired listeners. <<ETX>>
Is there a bilingual disadvantage for word segmentation? A computational modeling approach

Abstract Since there are no systematic pauses delimiting words in speech, the problem of word segmentation is formidable even for monolingual infants. We use computational modeling to assess whether word segmentation is substantially harder in a bilingual than a monolingual setting. Seven algorithms representing different cognitive approaches to segmentation are applied to transcriptions of naturalistic input to young children, carefully processed to generate perfectly matched monolingual and bilingual corpora. We vary the overlap in phonology and lexicon experienced by modeling exposure to languages that are more similar (Catalan and Spanish) or more different (English and Spanish). We find that the greatest variation in performance is due to different segmentation algorithms and the second greatest to language, with bilingualism having effects that are smaller than both algorithm and language effects. Implications of these computational results for experimental and modeling approaches to language acquisition are discussed.
Social Media Discourse

Social media have risen in line with developments in Web technologies that have shaped—and have been shaped by—the emergence of the so-called Web 2.0. After a brief introduction to key factors shaping discourse and interaction on social media, this article provides an overview of recent research relevant to the study of four key areas: forms, meanings, and functions of social media texts; conversation and interactivity; multilingualism in global social media platforms; and stories told on social media. Keywords: computer-mediated communication; language and social interaction; social media
Knowledge Management performance measurement: measures, approaches, trends and future directions

This paper presents a review on Knowledge Management (KM) performance measurement in the past two decades. Various tools and techniques that have been developed are discussed and presented chronologically to show how KM performance measurement has changed during this period. Each tool and technique is evaluated and classified based on the types of measures and approaches used. This paper also proposes six new categories: traditional, advanced, deterministic, stochastic, general result oriented, and specific result oriented, to complement the previous classification schemes. Future research directions for KM performance measurement are identified and presented in a holistic framework to act as a guideline for new researchers who wish to embark on this field.
Synchronizing Time Servers

This work may not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part for any commercial purpose. Permission to copy in whole or in part without payment of fee is granted for nonprofit educational and research purposes provided that all such whole or partial copies include the following: a notice that such copying is by permission of the Systems Research Center of Digital Equipment Corporation in Palo Alto, California; an acknowledgement of the authors and individual contributors to the work; and all applicable portions of the copyright notice. Copying, reproducing or republishing for any other purpose shall require a license with payment of fee to the Systems Research Center. All rights reserved. A time service in a distributed system may be used both for multiprocess synchronization and for simply finding out what time it is. For synchronization , the time provided by different servers should be closely synchronized. For telling time, the time provided by each server should be a close approximation to Universal Time (the international time standard). Algorithms are presented for implementing a fault-tolerant time service that meets both requirements. Capsule Review Users of electronic mail are not surprised to see messages that are time-stamped after they were received. The naive blame the probably non-existent operator, " who didn't get the time right. " The wary know that many computer systems go for long periods without stopping; during those periods adjustments are difficult or impossible because almost all time-dependent processes (for example, file systems, mailers, audit trails, backup mechanisms, etc.) assume that the time provided by the local operating system is increasing smoothly. Hence a good time service not only must be close to the real time, but also must increase and maintain only a bounded rate of change. For some applications (for example, distributed data bases), there is a third requirement: the times maintained by various processors within a network must be very close to each other. This requirement is so stringent that it is not enough simply to ensure that the time provided by each processor is within a certain limit of the real time. Resynchronizations with the real time must therefore be coordinated. The final requirement of a good time service is that the resynchronization protocol must allow a certain number of faulty links or faulty processors since network protocols ought to work in the presence of partial failures. Previous authors have presented algorithms that …
ICT support for students’ collaboration in problem and project based learning

This paper reports and analyses quantitative and qualitative data from a study, which seeks a better understanding of how students use various technologies to support their project collaboration activities in a problem and project based learning environment. More generally the aim of the study, and the present paper, is to shed light on students’ technology practices within higher education – particularly in relation to problem and project based learning. The reasons for undertaking these studies are that we aim to develop a mobile application to support the students’ problem and project based learning. The methods are an online survey, narrative reflections, observations and interviews. The analysis reports the differences in collaboration practices of students with different levels of experiences with the pedagogy and students from different faculties at Aalborg University. The results show students in problem and project based learning environment use several tools to support their group work and they have potential to adopt mobile technology to enhance their group work collaboration. Additionally, the results also lead to discussions about how to provide a better group working
Metaheuristics meet metamodels : a modeling language and a product line architecture for route optimization systems

Puranen, Tuukka Metaheuristics Meet Metamodels. A Modeling Language and a Product Line Architecture for Route Optimization Systems. Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, 2011, 270 p. (Jyväskylä Studies in Computing ISSN 1456-5390; 134) ISBN 978-951-39-4440-7 (nid.) ISBN 978-951-39-4441-4 (PDF) Finnish summary Diss. Transportation is an important human activity, and moving goods, information, and people is crucial to the functioning of our society. Computer-aided planning of these operations is being applied into practice and its benefits are evident. However, we do not yet fully know how to make software that can be applied cost effectively to solve today’s heterogeneous set of routing problems. More specifically, we do not know how to manage the complexity of addressing the relevant aspects in logistic planning and solving the variety of different problem types arising in real-world routing. This inhibits the application of the latest results in operations research to real-world practice, which in turn prevents logistic operators benefiting from the most recent advances in computer-aided planning. This thesis presents one approach for unifying routing problems and examines techniques for managing the inherent complexity of the domain. We suggest the construction of a higher-level model of vehicle routing and the application of model-driven software engineering practices for achieving an effective and systematic engineering approach for implementing vehicle routing systems. In this thesis, we construct one higher-level model and present an implementation of such a model and the adjoining combinatorial optimization system. We argue that this approach allows a structured, unified view on vehicle routing models and metaheuristic optimization methods as well as decreases the effort needed in adapting the optimization system to different situations within the heterogeneous domain of vehicle routing. To validate our approach, a theoretical examination of the properties of the developed higher-level model is presented. The model is shown to be compatible with the state-of-the-art solution methodology. In addition, a number of routing problems from real-life cases and scientific benchmarks are modeled and solved using the developed system.
A review of therapeutic agents and contact lens wear.

BACKGROUND The complex interaction between contact lens wear and therapeutic drug use can account for physical and physiological changes in contact lens tolerance as well as changes in lens appearance. METHODS/RESULTS Selected therapeutic drug issues are reviewed and recommendations are provided to assist clinicians in choosing management strategies for lens and therapeutic agent selection. CONCLUSIONS The efficacy of drug absorption, whether from topical application or systemic secretion into the tear film, depends on the nature and water content of the polymer, lens thickness, drug and tear volume, and on adnexal and environmental factors. The "reservoir effect" of drug absorption in hydrogel lenses has led to its application as a method of enhanced drug delivery to the cornea and anterior segment. This same property, however, can also lead to excessive contact time between drug and cornea, leading to exacerbation of topical drug side effects and toxicity reactions with some therapeutic agents. Systemic medications used concurrently with contact lenses may have adverse effects on the blink mechanism and associated contact lens metabolism as well as on aqueous tear production, with resulting dry eye symptomatology.
Heuristic approach experience in solving mathematical problems

Application of procedural knowledge in solving mathematical problems requires a deep understanding of the problem posed. Heuristic approach is introduced as a tool to develop students’ mathematical thinking skills. Students who have strong belief of applying heuristics approach show better experience in identifying a mathematical problem. They also show inclination in the progress of mathematical understanding which is developed through multiple strategies employed in solving mathematical problems. Thus, their effort of employing heuristics fosters strong belief on their ability in solving mathematical problems. Nevertheless, how students apply heuristic approaches successfully in solving mathematical problem is rarely focused in the teaching and learning of mathematics. This paper reports a study that investigated students’ ability to develop understanding of a given mathematical problems. Their ability was observed from their work in solving the problem. Also, the participants were interviewed to examine their reflections of employing heuristics approach in the process of problem solving. Their reflections were then be related to the approaches utilized in the problem solving process. The investigation provides an insight on the mechanism of the application of heuristic approach.