Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Advancing project management in learning organizations

Effective project managers are required to have both “hard” technical skills to help control the iron triangle of time, cost and functional scope as well as relationship management skills to work effectively with people and get the best out of them. This paper argues that project managers also need a third skill: we refer to it as tapping into the power lines. This is a skill beyond the management of schedules, budgets and milestones, beyond leading project teams or managing suppliers and users, and even beyond what is commonly regarded as managing a project's senior stakeholders. The hypothesis, based on data gathered from three case studies, is that there is a need for project managers to be skilled in managing at the third dimension in large organizations; to understand the need for, have the ability, and be willing, to “tap into the power grid” of influence that surrounds all projects, particularly in large organizations. Without third dimension skills, project managers and their organizations will find delivering successful project increasingly more difficult. The second part of this paper will discuss how project managers might achieve competence in managing the third dimension both through individual effort and with the support of the learning organization.
Evaluating Nearest Neighbours in Avalanche Forecasting - A Qualitative Approach to Assessing Information Content

Nearest neighbours (NN) approaches are a statistically-based pattern classification technique used extensively for computer-assisted decision making in tasks such as ski area and winter road management and backcountry avalanche forecasting. The essential hypothesis behind NN assumes that the available data (normally current meteorological and snowpack data) usefully select similar avalanche conditions from the past which are thus of interest to the forecaster. Most evaluations of NN rely on verification schemes based on avalanche events and delivering summary statistics of performance in the form of contingency tables. We argue that such approaches, whilst useful, oversimplify NN's information output, and present a complementary approach to verification. Over two winters qualitative information was reported by forecasters, describing meteorological conditions, snowpack conditions, snow stability and related information. These information were entered in a web log, where forecasters could quickly and easily enter their assessment of the current situation. Using these data we have reevaluated the quality of information delivered by NN, by comparing NN forecasts with randomly generated forecasts. Our results suggest that, although the performance of NN may appear good when measured by summary statistics, the usefulness of the information presented to the forecaster may often be low with the events selected by NN as 'examples' not corresponding to the general avalanche situation - e.g. NN selects single, skier triggered avalanches though on the forecast day large natural avalanches occurred. These findings demonstrate that, firstly, our previous evaluation approaches insufficiently described the information content that we wished to evaluate and secondly, suggest weaknesses in the NN approach. While NN demonstrates considerable skill in selecting similar weather patterns, it has considerably less skill in selecting similar snowpack and stability patterns. Finally, forecasters reported that filling in web logs was itself a useful process and led to more self reflection in their decision making process.
Self-Regulation of Practice Behavior Among Elite Youth Soccer Players: An Exploratory Observation Study

This study aimed to measure behavioral correlates of self-regulation in elite youth soccer players. Behaviors regarded as indicative of self-regulated learning were identified by interviewing six expert youth soccer coaches. These behaviors were observed during practice of eight elite youth soccer players aged 15–17 years, and linked with self-reported self-regulated learning scores to describe behavioral correlates of self-regulation. Results indicated that self-regulated learning is reflected in taking responsibility for learning and that players’ practice environment plays a significant role. This study highlights the importance of measuring overt behavior to gain a complete impression of youth soccer players’ self-regulated learning skills.
Unified non-volatile memory and NAND flash memory architecture in smartphones

I/O is becoming one of major performance bottlenecks in NAND-flash-based smartphones. Novel NVMs (nonvolatile memories), such as PCM (Phase Change Memory) and STT-RAM (Spin-Transfer Torque Random Access Memory), can provide fast read/write operations. In this paper, we propose an unified NVM/flash architecture to improve the I/O performance. A transparent scheme, vFlash (Virtualized Flash), is also proposed to manage the unified architecture. Within vFlash, inter-app technique is proposed to optimize the application performance by exploiting the historic locality of applications. Since vFlash is on the bottom of the I/O stack, the application features will be lost. Therefore, we also propose a cross-layer technique to transfer the application information from the application layer to the vFlash layer. The proposed scheme is evaluated based on a real Android platform, and the experimental results show that the read and write performance for the proposed scheme is 2.45 times and 3.37 times better than that of the stock Android 4.2 system, respectively.
Money‐Laundering: Pavlov's Dog and Beyond

This article examines the phenomenon of money-laundering as a form of criminal money-management. It elaborates some of the pitfalls of the official approach as set out by the Financial Action Task Force report and the lost opportunities concerning understanding of the cross-border money-flows in north-western Europe. It describes the relationship between crime-money and the upperworld, questions the magnitude of the supposed financial infiltration and gives an example of a positive use of criminal funds. The final section discusses the role of the financial investigator.
Retaining Mexican American Special Education Teachers in Texas

Although there have been numerous studies addressing factors that cause special education teachers to leave the classroom, few have focused on factors that contribute to teachers remaining in the field for 5 years or more. This study examines the factors that contribute to the retention of Mexican American special education teachers in the lower Rio Grande Valley, geographically located in the southernmost region of Texas. Aunque han habido estudios numerosos que señalan factores que causan que maestros de educación especial abandonen el salón de clase, muy pocos han enfocado en los factores que contribuyen a que los maestros continúen en el campo por más de cinco años. Este estudio examina los factores que contribuyen a la retención de maestros de educación especial México-americanos en la parte baja del Valle del Río Grande, el cual esta geográficamente localizado en la región más sur de Texas.
Invariant Common Spatial Patterns: Alleviating Nonstationarities in Brain-Computer Interfacing

Brain-Computer Interfaces can suffer from a large variance of the subject conditions within and across sessions. For example vigilance fluctuations in the individual, variable task involvement, workload etc. alter the characteristics of EEG signals and thus challenge a stable BCI operation. In the present work we aim to define features based on a variant of the common spatial patterns (CSP) algorithm that are constructed invariant with respect to such nonstationarities. We enforce invariance properties by adding terms to the denominator of a Rayleigh coefficient representation of CSP such as disturbance covariance matrices from fluctuations in visual processing. In this manner physiological prior knowledge can be used to shape the classification engine for BCI. As a proof of concept we present a BCI classifier that is robust to changes in the level of parietal α-activity. In other words, the EEG decoding still works when there are lapses in vigilance.
Regression analysis using dependent Polya trees

Many commonly used models for linear regression analysis force overly simplistic shape and scale constraints on the residual structure of data. We propose a semiparametric Bayesian model for regression analysis that produces data‐driven inference by using a new type of dependent Polya tree prior to model arbitrary residual distributions that are allowed to evolve across increasing levels of an ordinal covariate (e.g., time, in repeated measurement studies). By modeling residual distributions at consecutive covariate levels or time points using separate, but dependent Polya tree priors, distributional information is pooled while allowing for broad pliability to accommodate many types of changing residual distributions. We can use the proposed dependent residual structure in a wide range of regression settings, including fixed‐effects and mixed‐effects linear and nonlinear models for cross‐sectional, prospective, and repeated measurement data. A simulation study illustrates the flexibility of our novel semiparametric regression model to accurately capture evolving residual distributions. In an application to immune development data on immunoglobulin G antibodies in children, our new model outperforms several contemporary semiparametric regression models based on a predictive model selection criterion. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Role of Personality in the Initiation of Communication Situations

Whereas a small number of studies have focused on the impact of extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism on the way people communicate, little is known about how the big five personality traits relate to individual differences in the specific types of communication- related situations selected in daily life. For a period of five days, people were asked to report on the types of conversations they initiated earlier that day (N = 168). Multilevel negative binomial regression analysis showed that the specific types of conversations initiated in daily life can be predicted by individual differences in extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. As such, the results show that individual differences in personality are not only reflected in the way people behave once they communicate, but also in the situations that people report to select in daily life.
The communication complexity of distributed task allocation

We consider a distributed task allocation problem in which <i>m</i> players must divide a set of <i>n</i> tasks between them. Each player <i>i</i> receives as input a set <i>X<sub>i</sub></i> of tasks such that the union of all input sets covers the task set. The goal is for each player to output a subset <i>Y<sub>i</sub></i> ⊆ <i>X<sub>i</sub></i>, such that the outputs (<i>Y<sub>1</sub></i>,.,<i>Y<sub>m</sub></i>) form a partition of the set of tasks. The problem can be viewed as a distributed one-shot variant of the well-known <i>k</i>-server problem, and we also show that it is closely related to the problem of finding a rooted spanning tree in directed broadcast networks. We study the communication complexity and round complexity of the task allocation problem. We begin with the classical two-player communication model, and show that the randomized communication complexity of task allocation is Ω(<i>n</i>), even when the set of tasks is known to the players in advance. For the multi-player setting with <i>m</i> = <i>O</i>(<i>n</i>) we give two upper bounds in the shared-blackboard model of communication. We show that the problem can be solved in <i>O</i>(log <i>n</i>) rounds and <i>O</i>(<i>n</i> log <i>n</i>) total bits for arbitrary inputs; moreover, if for any set <i>X</i> of tasks, there are at least α|<i>X</i>| players that have at least one task from <i>X</i> in their inputs, then <i>O</i>((1/α + log <i>m</i>)log <i>n</i>) rounds suffice even if each player can only write <i>O</i>(log <i>n</i>) bits on the blackboard in each round. Finally, we extend our results to the case where the players communicate over an arbitrary directed communication graph instead of a shared blackboard. As an application of these results, we also consider the related problem of constructing a directed spanning tree in strongly-connected directed networks and we show lower and upper bounds for that problem.
Affect and Stereotypic Thinking: A Test of the Mood-and-General-Knowledge Model

Happy, sad, or neutral participants evaluated the likelihood of a suspect’s guilt. The suspect’s membership was or was not stereotypically associated with the misconduct of which he was accused. Participants also were provided with specific case information that varied in its implications (ambiguous implying either the suspect’s guilt or innocence). The results show that when stereotypes clearly contradict specific information, happy people rely on the latter and no longer use stereotypes. The general assumption of a greater reliance on stereotypes under happiness was found to be restricted to “slight inconsistency. ” Overall, this study supports the mood-and-general-knowledge (MAGK) model. In contrast, even though sadness decreases reliance on stereotypes, it does not increase careful processing of incoming information, as is generally assumed in the literature.
ORIGINAL RESEARCH PREVALENCE AND RISK INDICATORS OF CHRONIC PAIN IN A RURAL COMMUNITY IN SOUTH AFRICA

Background: Despite the acknowledgement that chronic pain may be a problem for adults in rural settings, there is a lack of epidemiological investigations on its occurrence in rural South Africa. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of chronic pain among adults in a rural community in South Africa and characterize the localization, severity, risk indicators and responses of pain sufferers. Methods: Cross-sectional analytical study using face-to-face interviews. Interviews elicited information on socio-demographic characteristics, general health status and presence of pain. Among those reporting pain, the duration, frequency, severity, activity limitation and impact was determined. Univariate statistics were used to describe the prevalence of chronic pain while bivariable χ2 tests and multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship of socio-demographic characteristics and reported health status with chronic pain. Results: A total of 394 adults were interviewed representing a response rate of 92.8%. Of these, 169 (42.9%; 95% CI: 37.4%-47.1%) reported suffering from chronic pain. The common sites were the back, knee, ankles, head and shoulders. The median pain score was 6 on a scale of 0-10 (IQR= 5-8) and the median number of sites of pain was 1 (IQR= 1-2). The type of pain slightly varied with age with younger adults reporting more back pain and headaches while older people reported more joint pain. Female gender (adjusted odds-ratio AOR= 2.2, 95% CI: 1.9-2.8) and being older than 50 years (AOR= 3.1, 95% CI:2.7-3.9) were identified as risk indicators for chronic pain in the sample. Respondents reported that they self-treated (88.3%); consulted with a doctor or nurse (74.3%); traditional-healer (24.5%) and spiritual-healer (4%). Most respondents (63.4%) reported only transient relief of their pain. Conclusions: Chronic pain is an important health problem in the surveyed community. Further comparative studies on the relationship with risk factors are needed meanwhile interventions targeting females and the elderly are recommended.
Dynamic Insurance with Private Information and Balanced Budgets

This paper studies a dynamic insurance problem with bilateral asymmetric information and balanced budgets. There are two infinitely-lived agents in our model, both risk averse, and each has an i.i. d. random endowment stream which is unobservable to the other. In each period, each agent must have a non-negative consumption and together they must consume the entire aggregate endowment. Dynamic incentive compatibility in the Nash sense is defined. We give sufficient and necessary conditions for the existence of a constrained efficient contract. We show that a constrained efficient contract can be characterized in a Bellman equation. We demonstrate that the long-run distribution of expected utilities of each agent is not degenerate. We also develop an algorithm for computing the efficient contract and, in a numerical example, we find that the consumption processes of the agents form stationary Markov chains.
From Side Show to Centre Stage: Civil Conflict after the Cold War

The end of US-Soviet rivalry has given civil war a more prominent place in international politics, as well as in scholarship. The commonly held view that the world is currently in an era of more and increasingly savage civil conflict is, in part, a matter of increased attention to a problem that has long been with us. This article reviews recent research on the incidence of internal conflict. It finds that this literature calls into question assumptions of simple causal relationships between democratization, natural resources, ethnicity, and/or inequality and civil war. The most important area of consensus is that civil war, typical of weak states, is a problem of underdevelopment as well as politics.
Harmonic study for MDF industries: A case study

In recent years, with the increase of nonlinear loads drawing Nonsinusoidal currents, power quality distortion has become a serious problem in electrical power systems. Distortions in voltage and current wave-shapes can upset end-use equipment and cause other problems. Harmonics are a particularly common type of distortion that repeats every cycle. Poor power quality may cause many problems, such as the nonlinearity, instability and unbalance of electric network. Also, power quality problem will decrease life time of electrical instrumentation. In this paper, effects of harmonic distortion on the performance of the transformers, cables and induction motors have been studied. Then after theoretical study, harmonic and several power quality indices have been measured in a Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) factory. The measurements show that harmonic distortion will decrease the life time of transformer and motors and also, will increase the losses and temperature of these equipments.
1-D memristor-based cellular automaton for pseudo-random number generation

Cellular Automata (CAs) is a well-known parallel, bio-inspired, computational model. It is based on the capability of simpler, locally interacting units, i.e. the CAs cells, to evolve in time, giving rise to emergent computation, suitable to model physical system behavior, prediction of natural phenomena and multi-dimensional problem solutions. Moreover, at the same time CAs constitute a promising computing platform, beyond the von Neumann architecture. In this paper, a memristor device is considered to be the basic module of a CA cell circuit implementation, performing as a combined memory and processing element to implement CA-based circuits, able to model sufficiently systems and applications as mentioned above, targeting tentatively to a more energy efficient design compared to the conventional electronics. In particular and as a proof of concept, the results of elementary CAs modeling and simulation for the generation of pseudo-random numbers are presented using a 1-D memristor-based CAs array to illustrate the robustness and the efficacy of the proposed computing approach.
Complete Genome Sequence of Burkholderia cenocepacia CR318, a Phosphate-Solubilizing Bacterium Isolated from Corn Root

ABSTRACT Here, we report the complete genome sequence of the phosphate-solubilizing bacterium Burkholderia cenocepacia CR318, consisting of three circular chromosomes of 3,511,146 bp, 3,097,552 bp, and 1,056,069 bp. The data presented will facilitate further insight into the mechanisms of phosphate solubilization and its application for agricultural and ecological sustainability.
Sequencing and Optimization Within an Embodied Task Dynamic Model

A model of gestural sequencing in speech is proposed that aspires to producing biologically plausible fluent and efficient movement in generating an utterance. We have previously proposed a modification of the well-known task dynamic implementation of articulatory phonology such that any given articulatory movement can be associated with a quantification of effort (Simko & Cummins, 2010). To this we add a quantitative cost that decreases as speech gestures become more precise, and hence intelligible, and a third cost component that places a premium on the duration of an utterance. Together, these three cost elements allow us to derive algorithmically optimal sequences of gestures and dynamical parameters for generating articulator movement. We show that the optimized movement displays many timing characteristics that are representative of real speech movement, capturing subtle details of relative timing between gestures. Optimal movement sequences also display invariances in timing that suggest syllable-level coordination for CV sequences. We explore the behavior of the model as prosodic context is manipulated in two dimensions: clarity of articulation and speech rate. Smooth, fluid, and efficient movements result.
Prosecutorial Discretion and the Imposition of Mandatory Minimum Sentences

In Pennsylvania, the imposition of mandatory minimum sentences presents an important opportunity to examine relatively “pure” prosecutorial discretion over sentencing outcomes. The authors present a multilevel analysis of the prosecutorial decision to apply a mandatory minimum among mandatory-eligible offenders sentenced for drug crimes or as repeat, “three-strikes” offenders. They find that prosecutors' decisions to apply the mandatory minimum are significantly affected by the type and characteristics of offenses and guideline sentence recommendations, prior record, mode of conviction, and gender. They also find that Hispanic males are more likely to receive mandatory minimums and that Black–White differences in mandatory application increase with county percentage Black. The authors frame and interpret their analysis and findings in light of the uncertainty reduction theory of prosecutorial discretion, the view of courts as communities, and an integrative focal concerns perspective on criminal justice decision-making.
Poly (A) Binding Protein Cytoplasmic 1 Is a Novel Co-Regulator of the Androgen Receptor

The androgen receptor (AR) is a member of the steroid receptor superfamily that regulates gene expression in a ligand-dependent manner. The NTD of the AR plays a key role in AR transactivation including androgen-independent activation of the AR in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) cells. We recently reported that amino acids (a.a.) 50-250 of the NTD are capable of modulating AR nucleocytoplasmic trafficking. To further explore the mechanism associated with a.a. 50-250, GFP pull-down assays were performed in C4-2 CRPC cells transfected with GFP tagged a.a. 50-250 of the AR. Mass spectrometry analysis of the pulled down proteins identified poly (A) binding protein cytoplasmic 1 (PABPC1) interaction with this region of the AR. In silico analysis of gene expression data revealed PABPC1 up-regulation in prostate cancer tissue specimens and this up-regulation correlates to increased disease recurrence. Co-immunoprecipitation assays confirmed the association of PABPC1 with a.a. 50-250 of the NTD of the AR. Knockdown of PABPC1 decreased nuclear AR protein levels and inhibited androgen activation of the AR target PSA in LNCaP and C4-2 cells. Additionally, knockdown of PABPC1 inhibited transactivation of the PSA promoter by NAR (AR lacking the LBD) and attenuated proliferation of AR-positive prostate cancer cells. These findings suggest that PABPC1 is a novel co-regulator of the AR and may be a potential target for blocking activation of the AR in CRPC.