Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING TO FACILITATE EXPATRIATE ADJUSTMENT: IT WORKS !

Purpose – The paper examines what are the effects of the different types of cross‐cultural training (CCT) on expatriates' adjustment and whether prior international experience (IE) and cultural distance (CD) have a moderator effect on the effectiveness of CCT.Design/methodology/approach – In a quantitative approach the paper examines the effect of four different types of CCT on the three facets of expatriates' adjustment, on a sample consisting of 54 French, 53 German, 60 Korean and 57 Scandinavian managers expatriated to India. The paper then examines the moderator effect of IE and of CD on CCT's effectiveness.Findings – CCT accelerates expatriates’ adjustment. The type of CCT received matters. IE and CD have a moderator effect.Practical implications – Implications for practice are identified.Originality/value – The paper demonstrated the effectiveness of different kinds of CCT and the moderator effects of IE and CD.
Author ' s personal copy Interference-based forgetting in verbal short-term memory

This article presents four experiments that tested predictions of SOB (Serial Order in a Box), an interference-based theory of short-term memory. Central to SOB is the concept of novelty-sensitive encoding, which holds that items are encoded to the extent that they differ from already-encoded information. On the additional assumption that distractors are encoded into memory in the same manner as list items, the theory predicts differential effects of interfering activity based on the similarity structure of distractors. Consistent with predictions, three experiments showed that overt articulation of distractors in between recalls of list items did not affect forgetting when the same distractor was repeated multiple times, whereas forgetting was observed if several different distractors were articulated within the same time span. A fourth experiment showed that the absence of forgetting with repeated articulations of the same item was not due to compensatory attentional refreshing of memory traces. The data support the notion that forgetting from short-term memory arises from interference and are difficult to reconcile with temporal
TastyBeats: Celebrating Heart Rate Data with a Drinkable Spectacle

Visualizing heart rate on screen has become popular to measure physical activity performance and progress towards set health goals. However, we believe that this prevalent method of visualizing data often reduces the interaction to only reading of information. In response, we propose a new way of visualizing heart rate data through a public interactive water fountain installation we call, TastyBeats. TastyBeats engages participants in a fluidic spectacle by creating a personalized sports drink representing their heart rate data while serving the additional purpose of replenishing lost energy during physical activity. We present findings and three design strategies from the three exhibitions of this work to inform designers interested in using drinkable fluids to support the physical activity experience. Ultimately, with our work we aim to expand our understanding of the potential of interactive technology to support the energy-cycle when being physically active.
The Case for a Local Tier in the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things, characterized by hardware heterogeneity, siloed hardware and software platforms that stifle interoperation, and systems that are distributed by nature, represents a challenging domain for application developers. Many industrial and academic efforts have produced tools seeking to remedy this situation, but they typically operate at a low level of abstraction centered on individual devices or give developers little control over the deployment and execution of their applications. Most IoT development frameworks are designed around the notion of integrating connected edge devices with cloud-based services, ignoring an intermediate collection of local resources, such as workstations and servers, that can help satisfy many applications’ requirements while also protecting user privacy by keeping sensitive data off of the cloud. We propose a distributed IoT runtime system to assist developers in the creation, deployment, and management of their applications. This system is intended to incorporate edge devices, local resources, and cloud servers while also giving developers precise control over where and how their software is executed. We motivate our system through a case study accompanied by microbenchmarks, present a preliminary system design, and discuss the issues raised by our proposal.
An intelligent credit forecasting system using supervised nonlinear dimensionality reductions

Kernel classifiers (such as support vector machines) have been successfully applied in numerous areas, and have demonstrated excellent performance. However, due to the high dimensionality and nonlinear distribution of financial input data in credit rating forecasting, finding a suitable low dimensional subspace by nonlinear dimensionality reductions is a key step to improve classifier performance. By integrating supervised kernel locality preserving projections (SKLPP) with kernel classifiers, this study develops a novel forecasting system for credit ratings. SKLPP is employed to gain a perfect approximation of data manifold and simultaneously preserve local within-class geometric structures according to prior class-label information. Empirical results indicate that, compared with other dimensionality reduction methods, the performance improvement owing to SKLPP is significant. Moreover, the proposed hybrid classifier outperforms other conventional classifiers. Keywords—Kernel Locality Preserving Projections, Subspace Analysis, Dimensionality Reduction, Credit Rating
Design and Analysis of Transmit/Receive Switch in Triple-Well CMOS for MIMO Wireless Systems

This paper presents the design and analysis of an RF transmit/receive switch in CMOS for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless systems. First, both full-range and abridged quad-pole quad-throw (4P4T) switch architectures for MIMO systems with four antenna elements are comparatively studied. The full-range 4P4T switch is selected for circuit implementation because of its more switching states and lower insertion loss. The series connection and body-floating techniques are then employed in the circuit design to achieve an acceptable performance. Fabricated in 0.12-mum triple-well CMOS with an effective die area 0.35times0. 19 mm2, the 4P4T switch exhibits less than 2.7-dB insertion loss and higher than 20-dB isolation over the frequency range from 2 to 10 GHz. It also attains measured power-handling capability more than 25 dBm at 2.4 and 5.8 GHz
SPIRIT: a highly robust combinational test generation algorithm

In this paper we present a robust test generation algorithm for combinational circuits based on the Boolean satisfiability method called SPIRIT. We elaborate some well-known techniques as well as presenting new techniques that improve the performance and robustness of test generation algorithms. As a result, SPIRIT achieves 100% fault efficiency for a full scan version of the ITC'99 benchmark circuits in a reasonable amount of time.
The Importance of Sound for Cognitive Sequencing Abilities

Sound is inherently a temporal and sequential signal. Experience with sound therefore may help bootstrap—that is, provide a kind of “scaffolding” for—the development of general cognitive abilities related to representing temporal or sequential patterns. Accordingly, the absence of sound early in development may result in disturbances to these sequencing skills. In support of this hypothesis, we present two types of findings. First, normal-hearing adults do best on sequencing tasks when the sense of hearing, rather than sight, can be used. Second, recent findings suggest that deaf children have disturbances on exactly these same kinds of tasks that involve learning and manipulation of serial-order information. We suggest that sound provides an “auditory scaffolding” for time and serial-order behavior, possibly mediated through neural connections between the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain. Under conditions of auditory deprivation, auditory scaffolding is absent, resulting in neural reorganization and a disturbance to cognitive sequencing abilities.
The Hrp65 self-interaction is mediated by an evolutionarily conserved domain and is required for nuclear import of Hrp65 isoforms that lack a nuclear localization signal

Hrp65, an evolutionary conserved RNA-binding protein from the midge Chironomus tentans, has a conserved DBHS (Drosophila behavior, human splicing) domain that is also present in several mammalian proteins. In a yeast two-hybrid screening we found that Hrp65 can interact with itself. Here we confirm the Hrp65 self-interaction by in vitro pull-down experiments and map the sequences responsible for the interaction to a region that we refer to as the protein-binding domain located within the DBHS domain. We also show that the protein-binding domains of Drosophila NonA and human PSF, two other proteins with conserved DBHS domains, bind to Hrp65 in the yeast two-hybrid system. These observations indicate that the protein-binding domain can mediate homodimerization of Hrp65 as well as heterodimerization between different DBHS-containing proteins. Moreover, analyses of recombinant Hrp65 by gel-filtration chromatography show that Hrp65 can not only dimerize but also oligomerize into complexes of at least three to six molecules. Furthermore, we have analyzed the functional significance of the Hrp65 self-interaction in cotransfection assays, and our results suggest that the interaction between different Hrp65 isoforms is crucial for their intracellular localization.
SWITCHING TS FUZZY MODEL-BASED GUARANTEED COST CONTROL FOR TWO-WHEELED MOBILE ROBOTS

Based on the switching Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy control theorem, this study investigates the position control for a developed differential-drive two-wheeled mobile robot (TWMR). The developed TWMR is introduced, followed by a description of the kinematic equations of the TWMR, which are represented by exact T-S fuzzy systems. The uncontrollable problem of the derived T-S fuzzy model is avoided by considering the switching section mechanism. The switching T-S fuzzy model is synthesized by a switching parallel distributed compensation. Moreover, a guaranteed cost control issue is considered to obtain proper control signals and improve state responses for the developed TWMR. A feasible controller is obtained by solving the derived linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Finally, the proposed control law is implemented on the developed TWMR, demonstrating the effectiveness of the control design.
An ExpSpace Tableau-based Algorithm for SHOIQ

In this work, we propose an ExpSpace tableau-based algorithm for deciding consistency of a knowledge base in the description logic SHOIQ. The construction of this algorithm is founded on the standard tableau-based method for SHOIQ and the technique used for designing a NExpTime algorithm for the two-variable fragment of first-order logic with counting quantifiers C^2.
Implicit search trails for video recommendation

In this demo paper we demonstrate our approach and system for using implicit actions involved in video search to provide recommendations to users. The goal of this system is to improve the quality of the results that users find, and in doing so, help users to explore a large and difficult information space and help them consider search options that they may not have considered otherwise. Results of a user evaluation show that this approach achieves all of these goals.
*WINNER* Little Suzie: Exploring Game Mechanics as a Narrative Device

Won best undergraduate poster for Computer Science. This poster shows Little Suzie, a game I made for an honors directed study using the Unity game engine. Little Suzie is a top-down perspective action game in which the player’s goal is to defend an avatar named Suzie from waves of oncoming enemies, and is aimed at conveying feelings of guilt and loss to the player. The goal is to present an anti-narrative so that the player will infer a narrative from the mechanics. Storytelling in games often remains separate from the mechanics, and is presented using methods which have been established in media such as film, novels, and music. Because of this, the use of mechanics as a narrative device has not been explored as thoroughly as elements from other media. The focus of this project has been to remove the storytelling aspect and provide a narrative through the mechanics alone. Much of the potential of video games as an artistic medium stems from their interactive nature, which is not taken advantage of when the mechanics are treated as being separate from the narrative.
Demosaicing and Denoising on Simulated Light Field Images

Light field cameras use an array of microlens to capture the 4D radiance of as scene. Standard image processing techniques with light field data do not utilize all four dimensions to demosaic or denoise captured images. In this paper, we formulate demosaicing as an optimization problem and enforce a TV-prior on different dimensions of the light field. We apply our method on simulated light field data created from 3D virtual scenes. Because our data is simulated, we can use ground truth images to evaluate the effectiveness of our method. For certain combinations of dimensions, we achieve better overall PSNR values than the standard demosaicing technique described in Malvar et al. [1]. Despite the improvement in PSNR, we introduce more color artifacts in areas of high frequency in the image. Our method also improves PNSR values for scenes with low illumination levels.
Analytical one parameter method for PID motion controller settings

In this paper analytical expressions for PID-controllers settings for electromechanical motion systems are presented. It will be shown that by an adequate frequency domain oriented parametrization, the parameters of a PID-controller are analytically dependent on one variable only, the cross-over frequency of the open loop transfer function. Analytical expressions are derived that relate the cross-over frequency clearly to the performance criteria for the closed loop system. In this paper the latter is shown in detail for servo problems. The effectiveness of the outlined approach is demonstrated by experimental results that were obtained from a two DOF tilting mirror system.
R-TTT module with modified residual signal for improving multichannel audio signal accuracy

Spatial audio coding is a technique that capable of representing multichannel audio signals as a lower number of audio channels accompanied by spatial parameters and residual signal which will be useful for recreating the original multi-channel audio signals. Moving Picture Expert Group (MPEG) Surround, an international standard developed based on spatial audio coding, specifies Reverse Two-To-Three (R-TTT) module to extend stereo audio, consisted of left and right channels, into three audio channels: left, centre, and right channels based on Channel Prediction Coefficient (CPC) as spatial parameter and residual signal. In this paper, a modified residual signal is proposed to provide a better audio waveform reconstruction in the decoder side by minimising distortion caused by quantisation of CPC. Our experiments show that the waveform accuracy in terms of Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) gets improved as high as 11 dB while the subjective test shows that the proposed method does not reduce perceptual quality, in terms of Subjective Difference Grade (SDG) score, of the reconstructed audio signals.
Systematic integration of flowgraph- and module-level parallelism in implementation of DSP applications on multiprocessor systems-on-chip

Increasing use of multiprocessor system-on-chip (MPSoC) technology is an important trend in the design and implementation of signal processing systems. However, the design of efficient DSP software for MPSoC platforms involves complex inter-related steps, including data decomposition, memory management, and inter-task and inter-thread synchronization. These design steps are challenging, especially under strict constraints on performance and power consumption, and tight time to market pressures. To facilitate these steps, we have developed a new dataflow based design flow within the targeted dataflow interchange format (TDIF) design tool. Our new MPSoC-oriented design flow, called TDIF-PPG, is geared towards analysis and mapping of embedded DSP applications on MPSoCs. An important feature of TDIF-PPG is its capability to integrate graph level parallelism for DSP system flowgraphs and actor level parallelism for DSP functional modules into the application mapping processing. Here, graph level parallelism is exposed by the dataflow graph application representation in TDIF, and actor level parallelism is modeled by a novel model for multiprocessor dataflow graph implementation that we call the parallel processing group (PPG) model. We demonstrate our approach through actor and subsystem design for software defined radio.
Practical Exploit Generation for Intent Message Vulnerabilities in Android

Android's Inter-Component Communication (ICC) mechanism strongly relies on Intent messages. Unfortunately, due to the lack of message origin verification in Intents, application security completely relies on the programmer's skill and attention. In this paper, we advance the state of the art by developing a method to automatically detect potential vulnerabilities and, most importantly, demonstrate whether they can be exploited or not. To this end, we adopt a formal approach to automatically produce malicious payloads that can trigger dangerous behavior in vulnerable applications. We test our methods on a representative sample of applications, and we find that 29 out of 64 tested applications are potentially vulnerable, while 26 of them are automatically proven to be exploitable.
Lossless Microarray Image Compression using Region Based Predictors

Microarray image technology is a powerful tool for monitoring the expression of thousands of genes simultaneously. Each microarray experiment produces large amount of image data, hence efficient compression routines that exploit microarray image structures are required. In this paper we introduce a lossless image compression method which segments the pixels of the image into three categories of background, foreground, and spot edges. The segmentation is performed by finding a threshold value which minimizes the weighted sum of the standard deviations of the foreground and background pixels. Each segment of the image is compressed using a separate predictor. The results of the implementation of the method show its superiority compared to the well-known microarray compression schemes as well as to the general lossless image compression standards.
A Comprehensive Performance Evaluation of a Novel Framework Against Free Riding in Peer-to-Peer Networks

Peer-to-peer computing paradigm has attracted a significant amount of interest as a popular and successful alternative to traditional client-server paradigm for resource sharing and content distribution. However, the existence of high degrees of free riding may be an important threat against the proper operation and high-performance of P2P networks. In this report, we propose a distributed framework to reduce the degree of free riding and its adverse affects on P2P networks. Our solution primarily focuses on locating free riders and taking counter-actions against them. As part of our solution, we propose an approach in which each peer monitors its neighbors, makes decisions if they are free riders or not, and takes appropriate actions if it decides that one of the neighbors is a free rider. To be able to identify the peers as free riders, we define sample free riding types and describe how they are related with the protocol messages of existing P2P protocols such as Gnutella. As a result, we employ sample formulas to determine if a neighboring peer exhibits any kind of free riding or not. Furthermore, we present example counter action schemes that can be applied to neighbors that are detected as free riders. We then combine the mechanisms to detect free riders and the actions that can be taken against them into a practical framework that can be used in an unstructured P2P network. Unlike other distributed mechanisms against free riding, our framework does not require any permanent identification of peers or security infrastructures for maintaining a global reputation system. In the work, we also discuss the probable attacks to the proposed framework and their effects on it. We also performed a sample implementation of the proposed framework as part of a simulation model, and conducted extensive simulation tests. Our simulations results show that by reducing the amount of free riding in a P2P network, we can accomplish an increase in the performance of the P2P networks for contributor peers.
Scribe : Dazhen Pan Lecture 2 : Probabilistically Checkable Proofs and the Long Code 1 Probabilistically checkable proofs

A languageL is in NP if there is a Turing machine which can verify, in polynomial time, if a string x is in L, given that the Turing machine is provided with a good “witness string” w. Hence, NP can be viewed as the class of languages which have an interactive proof system in which there is a polynomial time verifier V (Turing machine) and an infinitely powerful prover P (an oracle) who, on in put x, provides V with a proofπ to convinceV thatx ∈ L. Henceforth, verifiers implicitly are polynomial time Turing machines. Ifx ∈ L, then there will be a proof π for whichV accepts. This means that the proof system is complete. If x / ∈ L, then the prover will not be able to fool V into acceptingx. This means that the proof system issound. A good example is a proof system for the satisfiability problem. Given a boolean formula φ, the prover can giveV a truth assignment a, andV only needs to verify that φ is evaluated to TRUE under a. In this scheme, V has to read the entire proof to be convinced that φ is satisfiable. If verifiers are only allowed to read a small piece of the proof, is it possible to design a proof system so that we can be fairly confident (with a certain threshold on error probability) that the verification is correct? The idea that a prover can convince someone the validity of a statement without that someone reading the entire proof has numerous practical and theoretical implications and applications, especially in the area of cryptography and security. Zero-knowledge proofs [12], for instance, is a perfect example of this theme. The reader is referred to [11] for a sample discussion of these ideas. Lov ász [16] gave an introduction with interesting every-day’s examples on this topic. Going back to the possibility of the verifier reading a small piece (a few bits) from the proof, yet being fairly convinced that a fact is true. By “fairly convinced” we mean that, if x ∈ L, then the verifier accepts with high probability (completeness), and if x / ∈ L, then the probability that the verifier accepts x is bounded by some small soundness probability s < 1. The probability is taken over random choices V made, assuming there is some internal random source. Hence, V now becomes a probabilistic Turing machine. We formalize these ideas with a probabilistically checkable proof (PCP) system. A proof is a binary string. An (r, q)-restricted verifierV is a probabilistic polynomial time verifier which uses at most r random bits and query the proof in at most q places ( q bits). Bothr andq are functions of the input size. Given a proofπ, a random stringR, and an inputx, let V π(x;R) be the output of V on x, which is 1 if V accepts and0 if V rejectsx. Define the acceptance probability of V given the proofπ as follows.