Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Factors considered and ignored in plural acquisition: Frequency rules?

abstract Several models of regularities behind plural overgeneralization patterns of four-year-old monolingual Germans and bi-/multilingual children acquiring German were empirically examined within the framework of single- and dual-route models. The factors taken into account were frequency, cue validity, productivity, and iconicity of plural allomorphs. In this large-scale cross-sectional study, the results of 893 children tested with a modified, validated version of the speech and language screening MSS and of 476 children tested with a validated language test SETK 3-5 were analyzed. For all overgeneralization models, paired groups of expected and not expected answers were compared in the Wilcoxon test. At the early stages of plural acquisition the frequency of plural allomorphs and the simplest phonetic–phonologically based regularities seem to be the crucial factors recognized by children acquiring German. Gender-based plural allomorph frequency was associated with advanced German skills. These findings support the single-route theory with its emphasis on the influence of input characteristics on children’s error patterns. No evidence was found for a default status of -s or any other plural marker, and hence for the dual-route theory.
A first study on neural net based generation of prosodic and spectral information for Mandarin text-to-speech

A neural-network-based approach to generating prosodic and spectral information of syllables for Mandarin text-to-speech synthesis is studied. Some contextual features are first extracted from a given input text by text analysis and taken as input signals for synthesis. Then, six multilayer perceptrons are employed to generate pause duration, syllable duration, and pitch mean and shape of one- and two-syllable synthesis units, several reproduction templates of proper size are first generated for each synthesis unit of syllable approach. The objective is to generate spectral patterns of the syllable that can be directly concatenated to synthesize natural speech without further modification. The validity of this novel approach was examined by simulation using a database of sentential utterances recorded from TV news, reported by a single female announcer. Experimental results confirmed that this is a promising approach for Mandarin text-to-speech synthesis. <<ETX>>
Open Access to Federally Funded Research--The Time is Now

Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) recently introduced the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006. This bill would require major federal agencies to make all peer-reviewed manuscripts resulting from their funded research openly accessible in digital repositories within six months of publication. Specific provisions of the bill call for agencies that have extramural research budgets over 100 million dollars to develop public access policies. Those policies would obligate researchers employed or funded by the agencies to submit electronic copies of their final peer-reviewed manuscripts for deposit in stable digital repositories maintained or approved by the government. Public access would be provided to manuscripts as soon as practical within six months of publication in peer-reviewed journals. Publishers would have the option to replace an author’s manuscript with the final published version of the article at any point. The bill exempts classified research, works that generate revenue or royalties for authors, and patentable discoveries.
The Effects of Genre-based Instruction on ESP Learners’ Reading Comprehension

Despite the important role the genre-based instruction as a novice approach to teaching at tertiary level, little research has been done on its application in ESP learners’ reading comprehension. Furthermore, the actual implementation of this approach and its outcomes on enhancing learners’ reading comprehension have not yet been fully explored, this study aimed to investigate the effects of genre-based instruction on ESP learners’ reading comprehension. The participants of the study included 116 junior and senior B.S students (both males and females) at Islamic Azad University of Kurdistan, majoring in biology. Participants were randomly assigned into 2 groups of control and experimental. The instructors taught the experimental group (genre-group) based on the genre and the control group (non-genre-group) based on the traditional method of teaching ESP, prevailing in Iranian universities. To meet the aim of the study, the instructors administered one 30-item proficiency test of English and two 30-item standard tests of English reading comprehension to the participants. The results of the reading comprehension test, analyzed through a t-test and independent samples test suggested teaching based on genre had a significant role in enhancing ESP learners’ reading comprehension ability and the descriptive and inferential statistics showed learners improved significantly in reading comprehension compared with that of non-genre-group.
A multi-model filter for mobile terminal location tracking

Mobile terminal location is an important area of research because of its application in location-sensitive browsing and resource allocation. This paper presents a method for reducing the error in mobile terminal location estimation. A model-based dynamic filter is presented which uses an accurate model of mobile terminal motion to combine information from location measurements made at different time instances to create an improved location estimate. The model of mobile terminal motion has a kinematic state space model describing the physical rules governing terminal motion and a control model that describes the human control input into the motion process. The dependency between the terminal location and the control decisions is used to derive a new dynamic filter. This filter provides better accuracy than previously known location techniques and is robust to variations in the mobile terminal motion.
Crosstalk Between Proximal and Distal Action Effects During Tool Use

When using a tool, proximal action effects (e.g., the hand movement on a digitizer tablet) and distal action effects (e.g., the cursor movement on a display) often do not correspond to or are even in conflict with each other. In the experiments reported here, we examined the role of proximal and distal action effects in a closed loop task of sensorimotor control. Different gain factors perturbed the relation between hand movements on the digitizer tablet and cursor movements on a display. In the experiments, the covert hand movement was held constant, while the cursor amplitude on the display was shorter, equal, or longer, and vice versa in the other condition. When participants were asked to replicate the hand movement without visual feedback, hand amplitudes varied in accordance with the displayed amplitudes. Adding a second transformation (Experiment 1: 90°-rotation of visual feedback, Experiment 2: 180°-rotation of visual feedback) reduced these aftereffects only when the discrepancy between hand move.
Using energy dynamics to explore the process of making sense and the role of multiple selves in the teaching and learning of mathematics

This is an enquiry into what is beneath energy dynamics (in a psychological sense) experienced in teaching and learning and how these dynamics can be manipulated. It draws on ideas from disparate fields such as psychology, art and literature, to develop an integrated explanatory framework. This is then probed and refined in a mathematics education context. This thesis explores being in, and manipulating an emotional state and its associated energy. It enquires into how the aesthetic nature of emotions interrelates with intensity of emotions experienced as felt arousal. Based on the conjecture that being in a state is the result of having made sense of some input that triggers one into that state, the question ‘how did I get into that state’ is asked. It explores what happens in the process of making sense and the virtual places where grouped and accumulated past experiences are stored as Multiple Selves. In this process the roles and existence of assumptions, expectations, disturbances, foci of attention, being in an inappropriate Self or being in a ‘fitting’ Self, and experiencing flow is explored. Significant consequences for teaching and learning are investigated, including the notion of developing mathematical thinking. Juxtaposing and transposing all these ideas offers a complex metaphorical model, a multi-layered, multi-faceted framework that can be used in the analysis of teaching and learning in general. It also offers a structure and direction for developing and analysing task design in particular. It presents a tool to manipulate emotional and cognitive states, to recognize and possibly understand strange behaviour within students and oneself. This thesis uses phenomenological philosophical methods and a pragmatic way of working within the Discipline of Noticing. What is offered is an articulation of the integrated sense I have made, in the expectation of affording possibilities for readers to notice energy dynamics within themselves and offering a framework for doing so.
Editor's comments: a critical look at the use of PLS-SEM in MIS quarterly

Wold’s (1974; 1982) partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) ap-proach and the advanced PLS-SEM algorithms by Lohmoller (Lohmoller 1989) have enjoyed steady popularity as a key multivariate analysis methods in management infor-mation systems (MIS) research (Gefen et al. 2011). Chin’s (1998b) scholarly work and technology acceptance model (TAM) applications (e.g., Gefen and Straub 1997) are milestones that helped to reify PLS-SEM in MIS research. In light of the proliferation of SEM techniques, Gefen et al. (2011), updating Gefen et al. (2000), presented a compre-hensive, organized, and contemporary summary of the minimum reporting requirements for SEM applications. Such guidelines are of crucial importance for advancing research for several reasons. First, researchers wishing to apply findings from prior studies or wanting to contribute to original research must comprehend other researchers’ decisions in order to under-stand the robustness of their findings. Likewise, when studies arrive at significantly different results, the natural course is to attempt explaining the differences in terms of the theory or concept employed, the empirical data used, and how the research method was applied. A lack of clarity on these issues, including the methodological applications, contradicts the goals of such studies (Jackson et al. 2009). Even worse, the misapplication of a technique may result in misinterpretations of empirical outcomes and, hence, false conclusions. Against this background, rigorous research has a long-standing tradition of critically reviewing prior practices of reporting standards and research method use (e.g., Boudreau et al. 2001). While the use of covariance-based SEM (CB-SEM) techniques has been well documented across disciplines (e.g., Medsker et al. 1994; Shook et al. 2004; Steenkamp and Baumgartner 2000), few reviews to date have investigated usage practices specific to PLS-SEM (see, however, Gefen et al. 2000). Previous reviews of such research practices were restricted to strategic management (Hulland 1999) and, more recently, marketing (Hair et al. 2012; Henseler et al. 2009), and accounting (Lee et al. 2011). The question arises as to how authors publishing in top IS journals such as MIS Quarterly have used PLS-SEM thus far, given the SEM recommendations of Gefen et al. (2011). By relating Gefen et al.’s (2011) reporting guidelines to actual practice, we attempt to identify potential problematic areas in PLS-SEM use, problems which may explain some of the criticism of how it has been applied (e.g., Marcoulides et al. 2009; Marcoulides and Saunders 2006). By reviewing previous PLS-SEM research in MIS Quarterly, we can hopefully increase awareness of established reporting standards. The results allow researchers to further improve the already good reporting practices that have been established in MIS Quarterly and other top journals and thus could become blueprints for conducting PLS-SEM analysis in other disciplines such as strategic management and marketing.
Test-effort dependent software reliability measurement

Software reliability growth models are developed here in order to relate software reliability to the effect of the test-effort spent on software testing. These models are based on non-homogeneous Poisson processes (NHPPs) which describe a software error detection phenomenon. The test-effort functions are expressed by exponential and Rayleigh curves. The estimators for the test-effort parameters are given by the method of least-squares, and those for the reliability growth parameters in the NHPP models by the method of maximum-likelihood. Using actual test data, software reliability analyses are illustrated.
Examining the 21st Century Classroom: Developing an Innovation Configuration Map

Despite it being the second decade of the 21st century, there still exists a range of definitions of what a 21st century learning environment is. This can be troublesome for teacher educators as we strive to prepare teachers for environments we can't clearly describe. In order to describe a 21st century learning environment, we developed an IC Map based on the Concerns-Based Adoption Model of Change (CBAM). Results indicate that 21st century skills can be manifested in the learning environment through content-based and project-based approaches, but of equal importance is having a 21st Century Ecology. Implications of this study extend to teachers, teacher educators, and school administration.
Real Time Considerations For DFT Algorithms

A recent research and development effort at Emerson Electric's Electronics and Space Division has been concerned with the development of a new type of modular reconfigurable signal processor called the Distributed Signal Processor (DSP). Such a processor would be capable of processing several different types of sensors simultaneously by operating in a multiple instruction, multiple data stream (MIMD) mode. This MIMD architecture would allow for the development of both general purpose and highly algorithm-specific processor modules which could be coupled together in varying numbers depending on the processing requirements. In addition, the processors should be dynamically reconfigurable to allow a degree of flexibility in the processor as the mission needs change and to provide a measure of fault tolerance.
Reuse of ideas and concepts for creative stimuli in engineering design

Creative idea generation is essential to novel concept development and ultimately innovation. The following paper describes an extensive industry-based study investigating the use of creative stimuli during a brainstorming session at the conceptual stages of design. A new approach to retrieving creative stimuli referred to as ‘Sweeper’ is proposed, which sources stimuli internal to a company's information repository. This creative stimuli tool is then compared to other creative stimuli tools using objective, industrially grounded performance criteria. This study provides an arguably much needed real, industrially-based experiment regarding brainstorming. The results and observations suggest that having a guided approach to sourcing creative stimuli is very beneficial. The use of the TRIZ contradiction matrix and inventive principles is also shown to be a good example of a guided approach in terms of increasing creative performance. However, the Sweeper tool using internally sourced stimuli provides a method that is useful and more a practical alternative, as it is based firmly in the domain of activity.
GIS and Multicriteria Decision Analysis

PRELIMINARIES. Geographical Data, Information, and Decision Making. Introduction to GIS. Introduction to Multicriteria Decision Analysis. SPATIAL MULTICRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS. Evaluation Criteria. Decision Alternatives and Constraints. Criterion Weighing. Decision Rules. Sensitivity Analysis. MULTICRITERIA-SPATIAL DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS. Spatial Decision Support Systems. MC-SDSS: Case Studies. Glossary. Selected Bibliography. Indexes.
Extracting dose and focus from critical dimension data: optimizing the inverse solution

We present a summary of various methods for inverting top and bottom critical dimension (CD) data to extract dose and focus information. We explain analytical, numerical, and library inversion techniques in detail, and explore their relative merits for the purposes of online and offline focus monitoring use models. We also detail the modeling requirements associated with each inversion technique, and -- for cases where the model form is flexible -- present a cross-validation methodology for optimizing the response model to fit experimental data. We present modeling and inversion results from seven exemplary photolithography processes, and study the results from each methodology in detail. While each method has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, we show that the library method represents the optimum choice to satisfy a variety of use models while minimizing cost.
Genetic forecasting algorithm with financial applications

A new forecasting algorithm using features of genetic algorithms (GAs) is proposed. The algorithm combines the powerful search of GAs and their capability to learn pattern relationships of past data in order to forecast future values. The genetic forecasting algorithm consists of two steps: forecasting and learning. GAs are used in the forecasting step to estimate parameters of the problem domain. Pattern learning is taken into account in the algorithm to capture the pattern relationships of learning data. The results of the algorithm are examined by applying them in two financial problem domains: commercial bank deposit and bankruptcy prediction.
Hamming Product Code Based Multiple Bit Error Correction Coding Scheme Using Keyboard Scan Based Decoding for on Chip Interconnects Links

In this paper, we present multiple bit error correction coding scheme using extended Hamming product code combined with type II HARQ and keyboard scan based error flipping to correct multiple bit errors for on chip interconnect. The keyboard scan based error flipping reduces the hardware complexity of the decoder compared to the existing three stages iterative decoding method for on chip interconnects. The proposed method of decoding achieves 86% of reduction in area and 23% of reduction in decoder delay with only small increase in residual flit error rate compared to the existing three stage iterative decoding scheme for multiple bit error correction. The proposed code also achieves excellent improvement in residual flit error rate and up to 66% of links power consumption compared to the other error control schemes. The low complexity and excellent residual flit error rate make the proposed code suitable for on chip interconnection links.
Using virtual learning environments and computer-mediated communication to enhance the lexical competence of pre-service English teachers: a quantitative and qualitative study

This article reports on a quasi-experimental investigation with a pre-test/post-test control group design carried out in the second semester of the academic year 2006–2007 with Spanish pre-service English teachers at the University of Jaén in Spain. Its aim was to determine whether the use of virtual learning environments (VLE) and computer-mediated communication (CMC) within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) could improve the teacher trainees' lexical competence. After outlining the rationale of the initiative, grounded on previous research outcomes and on the novelty of the experience, this article describes the actual project and study. It outlines the semantic fields, lexical aspects, vocabulary learning strategies, and activity types on which the project has focused and goes on to describe the research design and procedure of the investigation. It subsequently presents and discusses the results yielded by the latter. The limitations of the study, together with the lines for future research and the consequences which the project has had, are broached in the final section of the article.
TRIS(2-(AMINOMETHYL)PYRIDINE)IRON(II): A NEW SPIN-STATE EQUILIBRIUM IN SOLUTION

The complex tris(2-(aminomethyl)pyridine)iron(II), Fe(AMP)32+, is the first iron(I1) system in which the high-spin form is labile that exhibits observable magnetic isomerism. Stable solutions of this complex are obtained in acetonitrile/water, methanol/water, and water solvent systems provided that there is an excess of free 2-(aminomethyl)pyridine, that the solution is at pH 8-9, and that no molecular oxygen is present. The interpretation of the solution magnetic moment measurements by the Evans method, EPR, and UV-visible absorption spectra as a function of temperature allows us to describe the spin equilibrium as Fe(AMP)32+ (t2;, 'AlE) s Fe(AMP),2+ (t 2: e: , 5A,). The 'A, ground state has g = 2.01 and is separated from the 5E state by d = 850 cm-'. Both 5E and 'A, result from the splitting of the 2T2E octahedral level, and d measures the degree of axial distortion. The separation between 'A, and 'E at 300 K is 1100 cm-'. The thermodynamic parameters for this equilibrium are AH = 5.1 A 0.4 kcal/mol and LLS = 17 f 2 cal/(K mol) in the acetonitrile solvent system. Lower values for these parameters were found in the more polar solvents. Visible and ultraviolet absorption spectra show two intense charge-transfer bands and two weak shoulders, probably associated with d-d transitions. Ligand field parameters for these complexes have been estimated on the basis of the spectral assignments as Ahs = 13 700 cm-I, AIS = 18 700 cm-l, B (Racah parameter) = 750-800 cm-l, and, T (the mean electron pairing energy) = 16 100 cm-I.
Assessing Teachers' Testing Skills in ELT and Enhancing Their Professional Development through Distance Learning on the Net.

This paper discusses what teachers of English do to test their learners with specific test samples used to assess students' language skills, and suggests practical solutions on this issue. It also proposes a distance learning course in ‘testing and assessment’ for teachers’ professional development on the Internet, which will enable them to exchange ideas and find solutions to problems.
X2R: a fast rule generator

Although they can learn from raw data, many concept learning algorithms require that the training data contain only discrete data. However, real world problems contain, more often than not, both numeric and discrete data. So before these algorithms can be applied, data discretization (quantization) is needed. This paper introduces X2R, a simple and fast algorithm that can be applied to both numeric and discrete data, and generate rules from datasets, like season-classification and golf-playing that contain continuous and/or discrete data. The empirical results demonstrate that X2R can effectively generate rules from the raw data and perform better than some of its peers in terms of the quality of rules and time complexities.