Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
VLSI System For Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Processing

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is a radar system that processes the return signal to achieve the effect of having a larger aperture than the one provided by the physical dimensions of its antenna. The processing consists of a weighted summation of regularly spaced samples from the signal history, hence of logic for the arithmetic and storage for the signal history. LSI and VLSI technology offer some beautiful ways to implement this computation in chips in which the storage and logic functions are commingled. The SAR problem discussed in this paper is based on actual requirements set forth by NASA for a spaceborne application. The requirements for high resolution and high quality necessitate a data sampling rate of 7.5 MHz . For each data value 1,025 4-bit complex multiply+add operations are needed, which is equivalent to 7.7 GHz complex multiply+add operation rate. Since this rate is much too high for general purpose systems, a special-purpose device was sought. This paper discusses two architectures based on parallel operation of 1,025 identical cells, each of which is capable of performing arithmetic, storage, and several control operations. The operation rate in each device is only 7.5 MHz, which is quite manageable, especially with the help of a substantial degree of pipelining. A computational-mathematical analysis is used as a primary tool for evaluating the design and some of its tradeoffs. Two different approaches are discussed and compared; both are based on having 1,025 identical cells working in parallel, but differ in their dual approaches to the flow of data. The mathematics require a relative-motion of the data with respect to some (relatively) constant sets of coefficients. In one approach the coefficients are held stationary in space, and the data flows past them; in the other, the data is held and the coefficients flow past. The paper discusses the architecture, both approaches, some of the control issues, and most important, some aspects of the methodology of the design.
Stock Market Response to Acquisitions and Alliances in the European Telecom Industry: An Information Asymmetry Perspective

This paper investigates two kinds of strategic combinations carried out by the European telecom operators between 1986 and 2001: acquisitions, on the one hand, and strategic alliances, on the other. The aim of the paper is twofold. First, it analyzes the behavior adopted by these companies to adapt to an environment that, after the processes of globalization and privatization presents a clearly different structure. Second, it focuses on the effect that internationalization and diversification could exert over the returns obtained by the European telecom firms involved in acquisitions and alliances, differentiating when such strategic combinations are more profitable for the shareholders of the firms that carry them out.
Pointing Device Performance for Laptop Computers

In this study, we compared the performance of: stick point, touch pad, and trackball pointing devices integrated with laptop computers. Sixteen subjects performed three tasks: point and click, text selection, and box sizing, using all three pointing devices. Performance was measured using time and error data, along with subjective preference and ergonomic discomfort ratings. The time, error, and subjective preference data indicate that the stick point performed consistently worse than the other two devices. The touch pad and trackball had similar performance with a slight advantage to the trackball because it had better error performance. The results indicate that the stick point is not as well suited for a laptop input device as is the touch pad and trackball.
Museos sociales: Perfiles museísticos en Twitter y Facebook 2012-2013

The results of a study on the development of a museum-2.0 or social museums and the communication between these organizations and their virtual visitors are presented. We based it on an analysis of the social media profiles of major museums and art centers in San Francisco, London and Madrid. Tracking and monitoring of these profiles was performed from December 2012 to December 2013. In this study, not only is it important how many followers or how many profiles are used in online media communication, but also the communication and curatorial strategies that these institutions apply. We explore the possible development of dialogue spaces, interaction, participation and creation that move toward the idea of a complete virtual and social museum.
When the Book is Better than the Movie: How Contrasting Video Cases Influence Text Learning

Video usage in educational contexts is on the rise. We examined 3 alternative theories about cognitive mechanisms of learning and their implications for instructional design when video is employed to enhance text-based learning. Hypothesis-testing procedures followed a falsificationist approach, grounded in philosophy of science literature. Undergraduate students acquired learning-science concepts through web-based activities that involved studying reading material. Participants contrasted video cases before reading in one experimental condition, and after reading in another. Participants in a control condition read the same texts but saw no video cases. Recall results after a 2-day delay favored the instructional design in which video cases were contrasted after reading a text, consistent with a schema-elaboration hypothesis.
HLMdiag: A Suite of Diagnostics for Hierarchical Linear Models in R

Over the last twenty years there have been numerous developments in diagnostic pro- cedures for hierarchical linear models; however, these procedures are not widely imple- mented in statistical software packages, and those packages that do contain a complete framework for model assessment are not open source. The lack of availability of diagnostic procedures for hierarchical linear models has limited their adoption in statistical practice. The R package HLMdiag provides diagnostic tools targeting all aspects and levels of continuous response hierarchical linear models with strictly nested dependence structures fit using the lmer() function in the lme4 package. In this paper we discuss the tools implemented in HLMdiag for both residual and influence analysis.
Legal evidence and advanced computing techniques for combatting crime: an overview

Surprisingly, evidence used to be a Cinderella until the late 1990s in ‘AI & Law’ (artificial intelligence for law), itself a burgeoning domain already in the 1980s. It was not until the 2000s that models of reasoning about legal evidence started to feature prominently. In so doing, it became vulnerable to the controversy about ‘probabilities in law’ among legal theorists; hence, the importance of developing models of plausibility (i.e. ranking alternative accounts) as opposed to strong commitment to probabilistic models of determination of guilt. Probabilistic models however potentially have a role in helping a prosecutor decide whether to prosecute. Moreover, they are quite useful in models supporting police investigation or helping with police intelligence. This is especially the case of data mining, a class of techniques which has been applied to legal databases as well as to law enforcement. Success was achieved especially in unravelling networks and in detecting fraud. We survey these classes of tools.
Cluster Search Engine Results with Crowd Intelligence

Most Web users today rely heavily on search engines to gather information. To achieve better search results, some algorithms such as PageRank have been developed. However, most Web search engines employ keyword-based search and thus have some natural weaknesses. Among these problems, a well-known one is that it is very difficult for search engines to infer semantics from user queries and returned results. Hence, despite of efforts of ranking search results, users may still have to navigate through a huge amount of Web pages to locate the desired resources. In this research, the researchers developed a clustering-based methodology to improve the performance of search engines. Instead of extracting features used for clustering from the returned documents, the proposed method extracts features from the delicious service, which is actually a tag provider service. By utilizing such information, the resulting system can benefit from crowd intelligence. The obtained information is then used for enhancing the performance of the ordinary k-means algorithm to achieve better clustering results.
Effects of selection techniques and array sizes on short-term visual memory

The present research examined the effects of message selection techniques and array sizes on short-term visual memory. Specifically, this study investigated whether there are short-term visual memory differences between direct selection and the row-column scanning in normally developing 4-year-old children. Results suggested a significant difference in favor of direct selection over scanning for the array with 40 symbols. The other purpose of this investigation was to determine whether differences existed as a function of the number of symbols available on the communication aid. The effect of array size upon memory did reveal a significant difference between the array with 30 symbols and the array with 40 symbols.
Open educational practices in higher education: institutional adoption and challenges

Open educational resources and open education practices have the potential to lower costs and increase participation in higher education. One hundred and ten individuals from higher education institutions around the world participated in a survey aimed at identifying the extent to which higher education institutions are currently implementing open educational resources and open educational practices. The study explores the drivers and challenges faced by institutions considering the implementation of collaborative assessment and accreditation services for courses based on open educational resources, such as the Open Educational Resource University concept. Differences between institutions that are participating in the Open Educational Resources University and non-members are examined. Results from the study indicate that although higher education institutions are aware of, and interested in, open educational resources and open educational practices, there are a number of challenges that need to be overcome to achieve their potential.
Dinosaur or dynamo? The future for the subject specialist reference librarian

Whether a reference librarian needs a good subject background to provide a quality service, or can rely upon generic professional skills, is an old debate. However it is sharpened once again by the emerging changes in reference services in the digital environment, in particular sophisticated end‐user access to information resources. Already in recent years subject expertise, which is not the same as subject knowledge, has been somewhat overshadowed in the recruitment and training of librarians by requirements for advanced technological and other, for example training, skills. However amongst the wide range of skills and knowledge required by current practice in reference, and especially for the future roles envisaged for librarians, are an understanding of specific client needs and information sources, which constitute the traditional strengths of subject specialists.
Improved solid-phase microextraction extraction procedure to detect trace-level epichlorohydrin in municipal water systems by HS-SPME-GC/MS

Epichlorohydrin (ECH) is toxic to humans via multiple routes and is a potential carcinogen. The accurate measurement of ECH at trace level (<0.1 μg/L) is still an obstacle hindering the monitoring and regulation of municipal water systems. In this study, an improved headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) procedure is developed and optimized to extract and enrich ECH with high sensitivity, accuracy, and precision. A total 17.4-time enhancement in extraction efficiency is achieved compared with the default condition. Specifically, the AC/PDMS/DVB fiber offered a 4.4-time enhancement comparing with the PDMS/DVB fiber. The effects of different mineral salts in SPME were studied and it was found that an addition of 3 g Na₂SO₄ in the SPME head achieved an additional 3.3-time increase. The pattern how sodium sulfate enhanced ECH extraction by salting out is discussed. The optimization of extraction conditions (pH = 7, 35°C, and 20 min extraction duration) brought another 1.2 times further. Combined with gas chromatography with mass spectrometry, the optimized method exhibits curve linearity in the range of 0.02–1.00 μg/L with an R2 of 0.998. The limit of detection, precision, and accuracy of the method are 0.006 μg/L, 2.6%–5.3%, and −3.5% to −2.0%, respectively. The recovery of ECH spiking in tap water and surface water was investigated, with recovery rates of 88.0%–116% and 72.5%–108%, respectively. Adhering to the requirements of existing water quality regulations, our method shows a high potential to be applied in drinking water quality monitoring and water treatment process assessment.
Robust topologies for optimal power distribution in passive, fiber optic local communication networks

A mathematical model for power distribution that allows computation of the minimum power delivered between any transmitter-receiver pair is described for five robust topologies. A description of the network components is given. The mathematical model is analyzed in order to determine general desirable and undesirable characteristics for the topologies. Samples of both qualitative and quantitative results of this model are given. The results show that of the robust topologies studied, the fully connected mesh, with the appropriate number of nodes, provides the best power distribution and therefore supports the most users. Mathematical analysis proves that within the class of topologies described by circulant, symmetric matrices, the fully connected mesh performs best. <<ETX>>
Wide-area IP multicast traffic characterization

IP multicast is gaining acceptance among service providers as the protocols and infrastructure mature. However, characteristics of multicast traffic remain poorly understood. Using passive OC-12 monitors, we observed multicast traffic on links connecting aggregated customers and peer networks to our native multicast backbone network. We first refined existing traffic flow profiling methodologies via an exploration of temporal differences in multicast packet trains. Based on this framework, we collected multicast flow traces from four geographically dispersed nodes in the Worldcom vBNS network over a one-month period. We present multicast-specific traffic characteristics including packet and flow sizes, fragmentation, sources per group, and address space distribution. Analysis reveals results contrary to prevailing wisdom, including a preponderance of single-packet flows; a highly variable packet size distribution, with many large packets and strong modes; the existence of fragmented multicast traffic; and an insignificant number of simultaneous multiple-source groups. Based on our analysis, we recommend policies for deployment and improvements to protocol implementations.
The Conformational Free Energy of Carbohydrates

1. Abstract Although free energy calculations have been extensively employed to explore the conformational space of proteins, to date carbohydrates have received considerably less attention. This review provides a survey of recent computational free energy studies of the preferred conformations and characteristic dynamics of carbohydrate molecules in solution. The article comprises a motivation for employing expensive free energy calculations for carbohydrates, an outline of the principal computational methods and techniques employed for free energy determinations, together with a summary of the development of the field in recent years and the principal findings to date. Finally, possible future directions in free energy investigations of this type are discussed.
Jumping the hurdles: challenges of staff development delivered in a blended learning environment

When the University of Glamorgan embarked upon an ambitious e‐learning development project, it quickly became clear that before teaching online, academic staff would need a training programme, which could introduce them to the pedagogy associated with this very different form of teaching and learning. This paper addresses the challenges for the staff development process when delivered in a blended learning environment. The paper is presented in three sections, the first outlines the development process of an e‐learning initiative, the second examines the model of teaching and learning, and the final section outlines the challenges to change encountered along the way. The paper concludes that a blended learning environment lends itself well to staff development for e‐learning initiatives. The authors also explore future developments including further module and course development inspired by this successful model.
High-dynamic range video acquisition with a multiview camera

We propose a new methodology to acquire HDR video content for autostereoscopic displays by adapting and augmenting an eight view video camera with standard sensors. To augment the intensity capacity of the sensors, we combine images taken at dierent exposures. Since the exposure has to be the same for all objectives of our camera, we x the exposure variation by applying neutral density lters on each objective. Such an approach has two advantages: several exposures are known for each video frame and we do not need to worry about synchronization. For each pixel of each view, an HDR value is computed by a weighted average function applied to the values of matching pixels from all views. The building of the pixel match list is simplied by the property of our camera which has eight aligned, equally distributed objectives. At each frame, this results in an individual HDR image for each view while only one exposition per view was taken. The nal eight HDR images are tone-mapped and interleaved for autostereoscopic display.
A SMT-based methodology for monitoring of security-aware workflows

Run-time monitors are crucial to the development of security-aware workflow management systems, which are at the heart of modern e-services and need to mediate access to their resources by imposing authorisation constraints (e.g., separation of duty). In this paper, we propose a new methodology to build run-time monitors capable of ensuring the successful termination of workflows subject to authorisation constraints. The methodology is based on state-of-the-art satisfiability modulo theories techniques.
The Current Budget Environment and Its Impact on Libraries, Publishers and Vendors

ABSTRACT The economic downturn and continuing budget concerns have libraries, publishers, and vendors making strategic changes as they seek to provide a high-level of services at a time when uncertainty continues to dominate planning and development. Creative thinking has become the norm as organizations seek to challenge long-held views and uncover and implement needed changes. Librarians, publishers, and vendors have all experienced a period of assessment, strategic review, and reaction as a result of the continued evolution from a print-based model to one dominated by electronic dissemination of scholarly information and the new role eBooks promise to play. This article addresses some of the important actions taken by librarians, publishers and vendors to cope with changes forced by both the economy and budget pressures, by the continued migration of scholarly resources to electronic formats, and by current and planned eBook activities and new eBooks models. It explores patterns in library content selection and spending trends, publisher prices and pricing models, as well as vendor strategies and challenges.
3D visual mechinism by neural networkings

There are some computer vision systems that are available on a market but those are quite far from a real usage of our daily life in a sense of security guard or in a sense of a usage of recognition of a target object behaviour. Because those surroundings' sensing might need to recognize a detail description of an object, like "the distance to an object" and "an object detail figure" and "its figure of edging", which are not possible to have a clear picture of the mechanisms of them with the present recognition system. So for doing this, here studies on mechanisms of how a pair of human eyes can recognize a distance apart, an object edging, and an object in order to get basic essences of vision mechanisms. And those basic mechanisms of object recognition are simplified and are extended logically for applying to a computer vision system. Some of the results of these studies are introduced on this paper.
The Role of Teacher's Initiation in Online Pedagogy

Purpose – The author redesigned a course titled “Applied Information Technology: Networking” and applied online collaborative learning (CL) with initiation and self‐regulated learning (SRL) to improve students’ involvement in this course in an environment that is full of free online games, shopping websites, and social networking websites. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential effects of online CL with initiation and SRL on students’ involvement.Design/methodology/approach – This study designed an intervention of online CL with initiation and SRL to improve students’ involvement and their learning in a blended course. It is believed that this article is important to the computing field and could provide insight for teachers to design their online courses and teaching methods.Findings – The author in this study adopted SRL in the implementation of online CL with initiation, and explored their effects on improving students’ involvement. The results of this empirical study report that the eff.
What does the Tablet PC mean to you? A phenomenological research

The goal of this study is to gain a detailed understanding of the experience of instructors who have been using Tablet PCs (TPCs) for their teaching practice. The study examines the lived experience of 28 faculty members from a College of Engineering which is promoting the diffusion of TPCs in the classroom. Phenomenology was adopted to answer the question ‘What is it like to use a TPC to teach a course? ’ Written applications, one-on-one interviews, classroom observations, and an online discussion board are the data sources. From the iterative process of qualitative data analysis, four common themes emerged in terms of converting to digital resources, teaching by handwriting on the screen, becoming comfortable with technology, and human enjoyment of using the TPC.
Spatial models, prepositions, and verb‐aspect markers

This study explored the importance of grammatical morphemes for constructing spatially organized situation models. In particular, it examined how readers infer location in spatial models from prepositions and verb‐aspect markers. Experiment 1 found that when these morphemes combine to describe the situation in progress (John was walking through the kitchen toward the bedroom), readers locate the moving entity, or figure, on the path with the specific location specified by the path or source preposition (e.g., walking out of vs. walking through). When the morphemes describe the situation as completed (John walked through the kitchen into the bedroom), readers locate the figure at or inside the goal. Simple past tense sentences with walked to describe location less precisely than do other constructions, with readers locating the figure on the path or at the goal (Experiment 1). However, walked to sentences clearly describe goal locations when they are changed from simple past to present perfect tense (has w.