Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physicists Get INSPIREd: INSPIRE Project and Grid Applications

INSPIRE is the new high-energy physics scientific information system developed by CERN, DESY, Fermilab and SLAC. INSPIRE combines the curated and trusted contents of SPIRES database with Invenio digital library technology. INSPIRE contains the entire HEP literature with about one million records and in addition to becoming the reference HEP scientific information platform, it aims to provide new kinds of data mining services and metrics to assess the impact of articles and authors. Grid and cloud computing provide new opportunities to offer better services in areas that require large CPU and storage resources including document Optical Character Recognition (OCR) processing, full-text indexing of articles and improved metrics. D4Science-II is a European project that develops and operates an e-Infrastructure supporting Virtual Research Environments (VREs). It develops an enabling technology (gCube) which implements a mechanism for facilitating the interoperation of its e-Infrastructure with other autonomously running data e-Infrastructures. As a result, this creates the core of an e-Infrastructure ecosystem. INSPIRE is one of the e-Infrastructures participating in D4Science-II project. In the context of the D4Science-II project, the INSPIRE e-Infrastructure makes available some of its resources and services to other members of the resulting ecosystem. Moreover, it benefits from the ecosystem via a dedicated Virtual Organization giving access to an array of resources ranging from computing and storage resources of grid infrastructures to data and services.
Increasing self-efficacy in learning to program: Exploring the benefits of explicit instruction for problem solving

The difficulty of learning to program has long been identified amongst novices. This study explored the benefits of teaching a problem solving strategy by comparing students’ perceptions and attitudes towards problem solving before and after the strategy was implemented in secondary schools. Based on self-efficacy theory, students’ problem solving self-efficacy as well as teachers’ self-efficacy were investigated, showing that both students’ and teachers’ self-efficacy may have benefited from the explicit instruction. This would imply that teaching problem solving explicitly should be encouraged to increase self-efficacy to program.
Feedback Controller Design for a Buck Converter Through Evolutionary Algorithms

Abstract This paper suggests a systematic design procedure for the feedback controller employed for the output voltage regulation of a buck type DC-DC converter using evolutionary algorithms, namely genetic algorithm, differential evolution and artificial immune system. Computer simulation results supported by experimental evidence clearly demonstrate that the controllers estimated through evolutionary algorithms are capable of delivering enhanced output voltage regulation under different types of load and supply disturbances.
Children Solving Problems

1. Why Children's Problem-Solving Is Interesting 2. A Historical Perspective on Children's Problem-Solving: Inference and the Development of Logic 3. Conceptual Tools for Solving Problems: Inherent Skills and Information 4. Working through a Problem and Discovering New Strategies 5. The Social Context of Children's Problem-Solving 6. Conclusions Notes Suggested Reading Credits Index
Evidence-Based Corrections: Identifying What Works

Relatively few policy decisions regarding corrections use scientific evidence to assist in making informed decisions. This article emphasizes the importance of using evidence-based corrections if we are to be successful in reducing crime in the community. As an example of how scientific information can be used to make decisions, an assessment technique designed by University of Maryland researchers is used to assess the effectiveness of correctional strategies, interventions, and programs. This technique uses a two-step procedure for drawing conclusions about what works in crime prevention. Studies within each area (e.g., drug treatment, cognitive skills programs, educational programs) are assessed for scientific rigor. The scientific rigor score and the direction and significance of the results are used to draw conclusions about what works, what doesn't, what is promising, and what we don't know. The assessment technique is described and summaries of the findings from this assessment are presented.
[What Makes Happy Doctors? Job Satisfaction of General Practitioners in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania - a Representative Cross-sectional Study].

AIM Studies provide evidence for the importance of general practitioners (GPs) job satisfaction for a secure and high quality health care provision. This study focuses on job satisfaction of GPs in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (MV), a rural area threatened by a lack of GPs. We investigate how satisfied GPs are with their job and which factors influence their job satisfaction. METHODS All 1 133 GPs working in MV in December 2011 were asked to complete a 57-item-questionnaire. The response rate reached 50.1%. RESULTS The sample is representative for GPs in MV. Levels of job satisfaction are high and correlate with age and sex: females and GPs below 50 years of age are more satisfied. Factors contributing to high job satisfaction include a good doctor-patient relationship, fair pay, and the variety of reasons for doctor-patient consultations in primary care. Although all GPs were dissatisfied with bureaucracy, this factor has little impact on GPs' overall job satisfaction. CONCLUSION In light of the imminent lack of GPs, in future it will be important to improve factors that have been demonstrated to increase job satisfaction.
Undergraduate physics course innovations and their impact on student learning

This paper presents results of an NSF project in which the goal is to provide a synthesis of research on instructional innovations that have been implemented in undergraduate courses in physics. The research questions guiding the project are: What constitutes the range of principal course innovations that are being implemented in undergraduate physics courses? What are the effects of these course innovations on student learning? The paper describes: (1) the literature search procedures used to gather over 400 innovation‐related journal articles, (2) the procedures followed to analyze the studies within these articles, (3) the characteristics of the studies reported, and (4) the results from synthesizing the quantitative results of those studies that met our criteria for inclusion.
Speculative Design and Technological Fluency

This article presents speculative design as a means to technological fluency. We identify six areas of connection between speculative design and technological fluency and elaborate on them through an evaluation of speculative design projects. Next, we outline the application of a speculative design approach to technological fluency by providing examples from recent and ongoing technological fluency programs. We conclude by using a speculative design approach to extend the idea of technological fluency in new directions, broadening common understandings of the development of technology and adding a dimension of criticality.
Standards-comparing, contrasting ISO 9001 and the SEI capability maturity model

The Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institutes's (SEI's) five-level framework for engineering practices in a successful software development organization and the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 9000 series of standards, which describes the key requirements for companies and organizations doing business in the European Community, are reviewed. The origins of the models are discussed, and the two models are compared and contrasted. >
Wiki work: can using wikis enhance student collaboration for group assignment tasks?

Dissatisfaction with the quality of student group work, in terms of content and process, from both academics and students, is a constant challenge to the development of appropriate teaching, learning and assessment strategies. Developments in Web 2.0 technology could potentially offer a solution. This paper explores the experience of full‐time undergraduate students using a wiki to support group assessments. The results suggest that student preference for traditional face‐to‐face co‐operative working is a key limiting factor to the effective introduction of on‐line tools. The paper questions whether wikis can enhance the experience of collaborative working in the absence of strategies for developing students’ collaboration skills and without addressing their motivation to use wikis.
The Reference Interview as Partnership: An Examination of Librarian, Library User, and Social Interaction

SUMMARY The reflections penned in this article began as a single paragraph contributed several years ago to Charles Anderson's “The Exchange,” a column in RQ (now Reference & User Services Quarterly) (Anderson, 1995). I elaborated upon the concept through further reflection and augmented the ideas through a literature review. These ideas are meant to spark interest among library school students, new reference librarians, and veteran reference librarians who perhaps need new reason to show up with a positive attitude at that next reference shift. The thesis is that this moment in time within a given reference interview occurs only once, regardless of how many times a librarian has heard the question. We as librarians must always be alert to respond appropriately to the distinct contributions that the given library user brings to that question. In the process, we are equals in that the librarian knows more of the research technique to uncover the appropriate sources, but the library user knows more of what his specific slant on the topic will be. We would be wise to stay diligent, to listen well, and to take nothing for granted. The reference interview then becomes a lively, energetic, and stimulating discussion meant to lead to library research at its best.
Face Spoofing Detection Using Local Graph Structure

Face spoofing attack is one of the recent security traits that face recognition systems are proven to be vulnerable to. The spoofing occurs when an attacker bypass the authentication scheme by presenting a copy of the face image for a valid user. Therefore, it's very easy to perform face recognition spoofing attack with compare to other biometrics. This paper, addresses the problem of detecting imposter face image from live image. In practically, we address this problem from texture analysis point of view because the printed face usually has less quality defect that can be observed by extracting texture features. We adopt Local graph structure LGS to extract the features. Moreover, LGS is based on applying a dominant graph into the input image and it's proved to be a powerful texture operator. Finally, extensive experimental analysis on NUAA showed an encouraging performance. Index Terms - Local Graph Structure, image processing, pattern recognition, face recognition, face spoofing.
Online contextmapping; using the opportunities of Web 2.0 for the contextmapping procedure

This study examines the use of online tools to conduct generative research. We focus on the contextmapping procedure, which consists of several stages: the preparation stage, the sensitisation stage, the session stage, the analysis stage, and the communication stage. In the preparation stage, the target group and the aim of the study are defined. In the sensitisation stage, participants are introduced to the topic under study. In the session stage, participants are encouraged to create several collages and discuss these in a group. The resulting discussions are then analysed and communicated to designers to serve as input for design concepts. A platform to conduct a contextmapping study online was created and a comparative study of the online and face-to-face method was set up. In both methods participants were highly motivated to contribute and experts on the topic rated the collected data in the online study similar in richness to the data collected in the face-to-face setting. It is shown that the topics of interest, which emerged from analysis of the collected data, were very similar for the online and the face-to-face study. The online contextmapping procedure is a promising addition to the current methodology.
Managing distributed manufacturing knowledge through multi-perspective modelling for semantic web applications

The development and maintenance of semantic web (SW) means that collaborative manufacturing systems are faced with increasing challenges caused by the growing difficulty in managing distributed manufacturing knowledge. This paper presents a multi-perspective modelling approach to systematically manage distributed manufacturing knowledge on the SW. Considering knowledge engineering as a cyclic and constructive modelling process, a multi-perspective knowledge modelling process is proposed to evolve along knowledge elicitation, engineering modelling, UML-based object modelling, OWL-based ontology modelling, knowledge formalisation and OWL-QL assisted knowledge verification activities. The proposed approach is viewed as a promising knowledge management method that facilitates the implementation of computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) in distributed manufacturing for SW applications by integrating the industrial, UML enabled software engineering techniques into recent ontology-based knowledge engineering process. The feasibility of knowledge management through multi-perspective modelling is manifested using the manufacturing ontology for manufacturing electronic connectors.
How Many Interviews Are Enough?

Guidelines for determining nonprobabilistic sample sizes are virtually nonexistent. Purposive samples are the most commonly used form of nonprobabilistic sampling, and their size typically relies on the concept of “saturation,” or the point at which no new information or themes are observed in the data. Although the idea of saturation is helpful at the conceptual level, it provides little practical guidance for estimating sample sizes, prior to data collection, necessary for conducting quality research. Using data from a study involving sixty in-depth interviews with women in two West African countries, the authors systematically document the degree of data saturation and variability over the course of thematic analysis. They operationalize saturation and make evidence-based recommendations regarding nonprobabilistic sample sizes for interviews. Based on the data set, they found that saturation occurred within the first twelve interviews, although basic elements for metathemes were present as early as six interviews. Variability within the data followed similar patterns.
H∞ State Feedback Control for Switched Linear Systems: Application to an Engine Air Path System

Abstract This paper presents the results of an engine air-path H ∞ state feedback switched linear controller. The main advantage of this approach is that controller gains are calculated offline, with the robust specifications allowing fast calculation and is cost-effective in calculation and resources. The air-path system dynamics are governed by the Saint-Venant equations, difficult to handle in control synthesis due to its nonlinear properties (states - control inputs coupling, nonlinear functions). To employ advanced control techniques, a switched linear state space representation is proposed. The model is simplified considering that slow dynamics are quite constant. The proposed approach provides a robust state feedback control toward perturbations (model error, unmodeled dynamics…) by considering these disturbances as unknown inputs.
Basic limitations on waveforms achievable in single-ended switching-mode tuned (Class E) power amplifiers

The class-E switching-mode tuned power RF amplifier achieves high efficiency (ideally 100%) even if the switching times of the active device are appreciable fractions of the period of the output waveform, by shaping the switch voltage and current waveforms so that the voltage and current transitions are displaced in time from each other. As a second-order factor, nonideal waveform shaping results in power dissipation. That dissipation could be minimized if the nonideal voltage and current waveforms could be made to have zero values at the times the switch is turned on and off. This paper shows that no configuration of linear circuit elements can provide zero voltage and zero current at both transitions of the switch, if nonzero output power is to be delivered to a load. Therefore, a jump of current and/or voltage must be tolerated at the switch turn-off and/or turn-on; the minimum jump magnitude is derived. That jump imposes a lower bound on the power dissipation, determined by the degree of nonideality of the waveform shaping. Also derived is a new general equation for the output power of a single-ended switching-mode tuned power amplifier.
Comparison of Two Versions of KHLAT for Improvement Strategies

Objectives: The purpose of the study is 1) to improve the previously developed KHLAT(Korean Health Literacy Assessment Tool) by testing two versions of KHLAT and 2) to develop guidelines to the grade range for KHLAT. Methods: The two versions of KHLAT(2) KHLAT(4) were administered to students from 1st grade to 12th grade in Busan. Data on 2673 participants were analyzed. Comparisons were made according to the grade range in REALM and the Korean grade range. Results: Both versions showed the increase of scores as the grade level increases. Female scored higher than male. However, the mean score (39.16) of KHLAT(2) was higher than that (29.6) of KHLAT(4). This result might be due to more specified responses of KHLAT(4). This difference was more clearly shown when the REALM grade range and Korean grade range were compared. The mean scores of KHLAT were lower than the means scores of the REALM in USA. Conclusions: The guidelines which were based on Korean school grad range were more suitable for Koreans.
A Viterbi algorithm with soft-decision outputs and its applications

The Viterbi algorithm (VA) is modified to deliver the most likely path sequence in a finite-state Markov chain, as well as either the a posteriori probability for each bit or a reliability value. With this reliability indicator the modified VA produces soft decisions to be used in the decoding of outer codes. The inner software output Viterbi algorithm (SOVA) accepts and delivers soft sample values and can be regraded as a device for improving the signal-to-noise ratio, similar to an FM demodulator. Several applications are investigated to show the gain over the conventional hard-deciding VA, including concatenated convolutional codes, concatenation of trellis-coded modulation with convolutional FEC (forward error correcting) codes, and coded Viterbi equalization. For these applications additional gains of 1-4 dB as compared to the classical hard-deciding algorithms were found. For comparison, the more complex symbol-to-symbol MAP, whose optimal a posteriori probabilities can be transformed into soft outputs, was investigated. <<ETX>>
Use of Multiple Documents as Evidence with Decreased Adding in a Japanese Question-answering System

We propose a new method of using multiple documents as evidence with decreased adding to improve the performance of question-answering systems.Sometimes, the answer to a question may be found in multiple documents.In such cases, using multiple documents to predict answers may generate better answers than using a single document.Our method therefore uses information from multiple documents, adding the scores of candidate answers extracted from various documents.However, because simply adding the scores can degrade the performance of question-answering systems, we add the scores with progressively decreasing weights to reduce the negative effect of simple adding.We carried out experiments using the Question-Answering Challenge (QAC) test collection.The results showed that our method produced a statistically significant improvement, with the degree of improvement ranging fro 0.05 to 0.14. These results, and the fact that our method is simple and easy to use, indicate its potential feasibility and utility in question-answering systems.Experiments comparing our decreased adding method with several previously proposed methods that use multiple documents showed that our method was more effective than these other methods.
A modified reachability tree approach to analysis of unbounded Petri nets

Reachability trees, especially the corresponding Karp-Miller's finite reachability trees generated for Petri nets are fundamental for systematically investigating many characteristics such as boundedness, liveness, and performance of systems modeled by Petri nets. However, too much information is lost in a FRT to render it useful for many applications. In this paper, modified reachability trees (MRT) of Petri nets are introduced that extend the capability of Karp-Miller's FRTs in solving the liveness, deadlock, and reachability problems, and in defining or determining possible firing sequences. The finiteness of MRT is proved and several examples are presented to illustrate the advantages of MRT over FRT.
Image and video compression for HDR content

High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology can offer high levels of immersion with a dynamic range meeting and exceeding that of the Human Visual System (HVS). A primary drawback with HDR images and video is that memory and bandwidth requirements are significantly higher than for conventional images and video. Many bits can be wasted coding redundant imperceptible information. The challenge is therefore to develop means for efficiently compressing HDR imagery to a manageable bit rate without compromising perceptual quality. In this paper, we build on previous work of ours and propose a compression method for both HDR images and video, based on an HVS optimised wavelet subband weighting method. The method has been fully integrated into a JPEG 2000 codec for HDR image compression and implemented as a pre-processing step for HDR video coding (an H.264 codec is used as the host codec for video compression). Experimental results indicate that the proposed method outperforms previous approaches and operates in accordance with characteristics of the HVS, tested objectively using a HDR Visible Difference Predictor (VDP). Aiming to further improve the compression performance of our method, we additionally present the results of a psychophysical experiment, carried out with the aid of a high dynamic range display, to determine the difference in the noise visibility threshold between HDR and Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) luminance edge masking. Our findings show that noise has increased visibility on the bright side of a luminance edge. Masking is more consistent on the darker side of the edge.
Fault modeling and reliability evaluations using artificial neural networks

In this paper, we present a generalized Markov reliability and fault-tolerant model (including the effects of permanent fault, transient fault and intermittent fault) for reliability evaluations based on the neural network techniques. The desired reliability of the system under design is fed to the neural network and when the neural network converges the parameters of the design are extracted from the weights of the neural network. We also obtained the simulation results which are in agreement with the classical analysis.