Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rethinking sexual agency: proposing a multicomponent model based on young people’s life stories

ABSTRACT Sexual health policies explicitly aim to encourage young people to take responsibility for their sexuality to prevent adverse outcomes such as unintended pregnancies, STIs and sexual assault. In Europe and North America, ‘choice’ has become a central concept in sexual and reproductive health policy making. However, the concept of choice is not unproblematic, not least because the cultural emphasis on individual responsibility obscures structural limitations and inequalities, and mutual responsibility between partners. Moreover, studies on the life stories of young people show how agency is forged and expressed within a social context and is manifested through responsiveness to others. This raises the question of how we can conceptualise sexual agency in a way that includes this sociality. How can we rethink sexual agency beyond autonomy? This article explores these issues using data from four separate research projects that shared the aim of exploring young people’s sexual agency in different areas. Drawing on findings from these studies, it advances a multicomponent model of sexual agency that connects individual choice to the social, moral and narrative context which young people navigate.
Syntactic Segmentation and Labeling of Digitized Pages from Technical Journals

A method for extracting alternating horizontal and vertical projection profiles are from nested sub-blocks of scanned page images of technical documents is discussed. The thresholded profile strings are parsed using the compiler utilities Lex and Yacc. The significant document components are demarcated and identified by the recursive application of block grammars. Backtracking for error recovery and branch and bound for maximum-area labeling are implemented with Unix Shell programs. Results of the segmentation and labeling process are stored in a labeled x-y tree. It is shown that families of technical documents that share the same layout conventions can be readily analyzed. Results from experiments in which more than 20 types of document entities were identified in sample pages from two journals are presented. >
Improvement of remote sensing multispectral image classification by using Independent Component Analysis

This paper deals with the application of Independent Component Analysis (ICA) as a solution to Blind Source Separation (BSS), in order to pre-process remote sensing multispectral images before we classify them. We analyze the structure of the considered data, and especially show that each recorded image corresponding to a spectral band may be seen as an observation consisting of a mixture (linear combination) of source images. The latter images correspond to the abundances of the pure elements (endmembers) in the pixels. Using BSS methods, one can hope to reduce the mixing effect in these observations, which then allows better recognition of the classes constituting the observed scene. Based on this approach, we create new images (i.e. at least partly separated images) by using ICA, starting from HRV SPOT images. These images are then used as inputs of a supervised classifier integrating textural information. The separated image classification results show a clear improvement compared to classification of initial images. This show the contribution of ICA as an attractive pre-processing for classification of multispectral remote sensing imagery.
Using compression for source-based classification of text

This thesis addresses the problem of source based text classification. In a nutshell, this problem involves classifying documents according to “where they came from” instead of the usual “what they contain”. Viewed from a machine learning perspective, this can be looked upon as a learning problem and can be classified into two categories: supervised and unsupervised learning. In the former case, the classifier is presented with known examples of documents and their sources during the training phase. In the testing phase, the classifier is given a document whose source is unknown, and the goal of the classifier is to find the most likely one from the category of known sources. In the latter case, the classifier is just presented with samples of text, and its goal is to detect regularities in the data set. One such goal could be a clustering of the documents based on common authorship. In order to perform these classification tasks, we intend to use compression as the underlying technique. Compression can be viewed as a predict-encode process where the prediction of upcoming tokens is done by adaptively building a model from the text seen so far. This source modelling feature of compression algorithms allows for classification by purely statistical means. Thesis Supervisor: Shafi Goldwasser Title: RSA Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
Relationships between Annual Cycles of Testosterone, Corticosterone, and Body Condition in Male Red‐Spotted Garter Snakes, Thamnophis sirtalis concinnus

Over a 2‐yr period, we investigated the annual cycles of plasma testosterone and corticosterone and the relationships between these hormones and body condition in a wild population of male red‐spotted garter snakes, Thamnophis sirtalis concinnus. In the 10 mo that were sampled, a peak in testosterone was observed in late summer during gametogenesis and declining through the spring breeding period. Corticosterone and testosterone cycles were positively correlated, in contrast to many vertebrates, suggesting the lack of a direct negative interaction between the two hormones. Body condition, defined as the residual of the regression of mass on snout‐vent length, also cycled annually, with individuals being more robust during the summer than during the spring or fall. Individuals with a positive body condition had significantly lower plasma levels of corticosterone than did individuals with a negative body condition, supporting the energetic role of glucocorticoids. There was no relationship between body condition and testosterone. This study suggests that annual cycles of testosterone, corticosterone, and body condition can be associated with one another, and considering all three simultaneously is necessary to understand their control and function.
Chasing concepts during design: A photo shoot from the field of architecture

This paper examines the role of design concepts in a modus operandi as opposed to a modus operatum, which is how their generation, as it unfolds over time, is perceived by someone involved in designing instead of with the hindsight of being finished. To this end, the interactive activation and competition model, commonly used to model the retrieval of information from stored knowledge of individual exemplars, is applied in the context of architectural design. Parsing the data of an architect's think-aloud protocol through this model at successive points in the design process results in a photo shoot of a design concept “under construction. ” This allows for the start of appreciating and accounting for the highly elusive character of concepts during design.
Adaptive LASSO based on joint M-estimation of regression and scale

The adaptive Lasso (Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator) obtains oracle variable selection property by using cleverly chosen adaptive weights for regression coefficients in the ℓ1-penalty. In this paper, in the spirit of M-estimation of regression, we propose a class of adaptive M-Lasso estimates of regression and scale as solutions to generalized zero subgradient equations. The defining estimating equations depend on a differentiable convex loss function and choosing the LS-loss function yields the standard adaptive Lasso estimate and the associated scale statistic. An efficient algorithm, a generalization of the cyclic coordinate descent algorithm, is developed for computing the proposed M-Lasso estimates. We also propose adaptive M-Lasso estimate of regression with preliminary scale estimate that uses a highly-robust bounded loss function. A unique feature of the paper is that we consider complex-valued measurements and regression parameter. Consistent variable selection property of the adaptive M-Lasso estimates are illustrated with a simulation study.
Constraints for automated generating Chinese metaphors

The research of metaphor is an increasing important field in cognitive science. Metaphors influence our life as a kind of thinking. They involve the comparison of target and source situations. In this paper, we concern mainly with linguistic metaphors and highlight the cognitive meaning of metaphors. First, we put forward the grammar of Chinese metaphors. Our syntactical rules handle the grammatical forms of metaphors we intend to generate and interpret. Then the constraints for Chinese metaphors generation are proposed. According to the grammar and the constraints, we construct a system of Chinese metaphor generation.
Design of solids with free-form surfaces

We propose a unified method of generating a wide range of three dimensional objects from polyhedra to solids with free-form surfaces. Modeling systems for polyhedra and systems for free-form surfaces have been developed independently in the past because of the difference in their underlying theory and practices. However, this is not desirable for a designer. So in this paper, we have shown a method in which a wide range of shapes are generated in one system by using local modifications. Local modifications are procedures used to change the shape of solids locally. The construction and the modification of three dimensional shapes by these procedures are natural and easy for a designer in many cases. The implementation of these procedures in a computer is easy and their execution does not require much time. Our method to construct a solid with free-form surfaces consists of following three phases. 1) A solid which serves as a basis of free-form shape design is generated by local modifications. Edges of this solid are straight lines but its faces are not necessarily flat planes. 2) From this model, a curve model which adequately represents the characteristics of a free-form shape is generated. 3) Surface equations interpolating over the curve model are generated. We have made a geometric modeling system MODIF. Using this system, a complicated solid with free-form surfaces can be designed easily. MODIF can generate color shaded pictures and cutter path data for making a real object model by NC machining tool.
Real-time Detection and Sorting of News on Microblogging Platforms

Due to the increasing popularity of microblogging platforms (e.g., Twitter), detecting realtime news from microblogs (e.g., tweets) has recently drawn a lot of attention. Most of the previous work on this subject detect news by analyzing propagation patterns of microblogs. This approach has two limitations: (i) many non-news microblogs (e.g. marketing activities) have propagation patterns similar to news microblogs and therefore they can be falsely reported as news; (ii) using propagation patterns to identify news involves a time delay until the pattern is formed, therefore news are not detected in real time. We propose an alternative approach, which, motivated by the necessity of real-time detection of news, does not rely on propagation of posts. Moreover, we propose a real-time sorting strategy that orders the detected news microblogs using a translational approach. An experimental evaluation on a large-scale microblogging dataset demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach.
Webvise: Browser and Proxy Support for Open Hypermedia Structuring Mechanisms on the WWW

This paper discusses how to augment the WWW with an open hypermedia service (Webvise) that provides structures such as contexts, links, annotations, and guided tours stored in hypermedia databases external to the Web pages. This includes the ability for users collaboratively to create links from parts of HTML Web pages they do not own and support for creating links to parts of Web pages without writing HTML target tags. The method for locating parts of Web pages can locate parts of pages across frame hierarchies and it is also supports certain repairs of links that breaks due to modified Web pages. Support for providing links to/from parts of non-HTML data, such as sound and movie will be possible via interfaces to plug-ins and Java based media players. The hypermedia structures are stored in a hypermedia database, developed from the Devise Hypermedia framework, and the service is available on the Web via an ordinary URL. The best user interface for creating and manipulating the structures is currently provided for the Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x browser through COM integration that utilize the Explorers DOM representation of Webpages. But the structures can also be manipulated and used via special Java applets and a pure proxy server solution is provided for users who only need to browse the structures. A user can create and use the external structures as "transparency" layers on top of arbitrary Web pages, the user can switch between viewing pages with one or more layers (contexts) of structures or without any external structures imposed on them.
Engineering is indeed in a crisis

The IEEE defines software engineering as, "The application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software; that is, the application of engineering to software. " As software is the result of software engineering, if software is in crisis then software engineering itself is in crisis. We argue that software engineering is indeed in crisis, as it has failed to significantly mitigate the "software crisis" of the 1980s which was characterized by over-budget and over-time projects of low quality. Additionally, as the problems of software are fundamentally insoluble using the techniques of engineering, software engineering will continue to resemble a craft more than an engineering discipline and we can expect no significant change from the current state of the industry.
WPress: An Application-Driven Performance Benchmark for Cloud-Based Virtual Machines

Approaching a comprehensive performance benchmark for on-line transaction processing (OLTP) applications in a cloud environment is a challenging task. Fundamental features of clouds, such as the pay-as-you-go pricing model and unknown underlying configuration of the system, are contrary to the basic assumptions of available benchmarks such as TPC-W or RUBiS. In this paper, we introduce a systematic performance benchmark approach for OLTP applications on public clouds that use virtual machines(VMs). We propose WPress benchmark, which is based on the widespread blogging software, WordPress, as a representative OLTP application and implement an open source workload generator. Furthermore, we utilize a CPU micro-benchmark to investigate CPU performance of cloud-based VMs in greater detail. Average response time and total VM cost are the performance metrics measured by WPress. We evaluate small and large instance types of three real-life cloud providers, Amazon EC2, Microsoft Azure and Rackspace cloud. Results imply that Rackspace cloud has better average response times and total VM cost on small instances. However, Microsoft Azure is preferable for large instance type.
Classical Conditioning of Feeding in Aplysia: I. Behavioral Analysis

A training protocol was developed to classically condition feeding behavior in Aplysia californica using tactile stimulation of the lips as the conditional stimulus (CS) and food as the unconditional stimulus (US). Paired training induced a greater increase in the number of bites to the CS than unpaired training or US-only stimulation. Memory for classical conditioning was retained for at least 24 hr. The organization of the reinforcement pathway that supports classical conditioning was analyzed in additional behavioral experiments. No evidence was found for the contribution to appetitive reinforcement of US-mediating pathways originating in the lips of the animals. Bilateral lesions of the anterior branch of the esophageal nerve, which innervates parts of the foregut, however, were found to attenuate classical conditioning. Thus, it appears likely that reinforcement during appetitive classical conditioning of feeding was mediated by afferent pathways that originate in the foregut. The companion paper (Lechner et al., 2000) describes two neurophysiological correlates of the classical conditioning.
Does Teacher Motivation Lead to Student Motivation? The Mediating Role of Teaching Behavior

Masood Nawaz Kalyar - PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Management, Lyallpur Business School, GC University Faisalabad (Pakistan). E-mail: masoodnawaz@gcuf.edu. pkBashir Ahmad - PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Management, Lyallpur Business School, GC University Faisalabad (Pakistan). E-mail: bashirmba84@gmail.com Hadiqa Kalyar - MPhil Education, Independent Researcher (Pakistan). E‑mail: kalyar_h@yahoo.comThe overarching purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of teacher motivation on teaching behavior and student motivation. The notion of teacher motivation refers to teachers’ interests, self-efficacy, and mastery goals orientation. Teaching behavior comprises of mastery-oriented and cognitively activating instructional practices, however, student motivation represents students’ interest in subject matter and student mastery-goals orientation. Data were collected from students (n = 434) from public sector elementary schools located in Punjab province of Pakistan, where students were nested within teachers (n = 89). Considering the multilevel nature of the data, multilevel analysis was used to test the hypothesized relationship between the constructs. The findings suggest that all facets of teacher motivation are antecedents of instructional practices as well as student motivation. Being a component of teaching behavior, instructional practices (only mastery-oriented) have strong positive links with student motivation suggesting that mastery oriented instructional practices involve a caring attitude towards students’ interests and learning which in turn result in enhanced motivation among students. Moreover, beyond the direct positive association between teacher motivation and student motivation, mastery-oriented instructional practices also mediate the effect of teacher motivation.
Evaluating the performance of commonly used gas analysers for methane eddy covariance flux measurements: the InGOS inter-comparison field experiment

The performance of eight fast-response methane (CH4) gas analysers suitable for eddy covariance flux mea- surements were tested at a grassland site near the Cabauw tall tower (Netherlands) during June 2012. The instruments were positioned close to each other in order to minimise the effect of varying turbulent conditions. The moderate CH4 fluxes observed at the location, of the order of 25 nmol m 2 s 1 , provided a suitable signal for testing the instruments' perfor- mance. Generally, all analysers tested were able to quantify the concentration fluctuations at the frequency range relevant for turbulent exchange and were able to deliver high-quality data. The tested cavity ringdown spectrometer (CRDS) in- struments from Picarro, models G2311-f and G1301-f, were superior to other CH4 analysers with respect to instrumen- tal noise. As an open-path instrument susceptible to the ef- fects of rain, the LI-COR LI-7700 achieved lower data cover- age and also required larger density corrections; however, the system is especially useful for remote sites that are restricted in power availability. In this study the open-path LI-7700 re- sults were compromised due to a data acquisition problem in our data-logging setup. Some of the older closed-path anal-
of Geometric Distortion Compensation in FishEye Cameras

The majority of computer vision applications assume the pin-hole camera model. However, most optics will introduce some undesirable effects, rendering the assumption of the pin-hole camera model invalid. This is particularly evident in cameras with wide fields-of-view. The aim of distortion correction is, therefore, to transform the distorted view of wide-angle cameras to the pin-hole perspective view. Fish-eye cameras are those with “super-wide” fields-of-view, e.g. those cameras with fields-of-view of up to 180 degrees. However, these lenses exhibit severe forms of distortion. The most evident of these is radial distortion, but several other distortions, such as uneven illumination and inaccurate estimation of the centre of distortion, should also be considered when using a fish-eye camera. In this paper, we review and discuss methods of correcting radial and other distortions for fish-eye cameras and illustrate the effect of these methods on a test image exhibiting multiple types of distortion.
Data Scheduling in VANETs : A Review

Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks (VANETs), a special kind of Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks (MANETs), where wirelessequipped (road) vehicles form a network without any additional infrastructure. Due to the fast growing number of vehicles and saturation of the transportation infrastructure traffic congestion, accidents and transportation delays become unavoidable. Several measures are implemented in order to solve these problems and construction of more and better roads and highways and to develop safety applications like accident notification, traffic congestion warning and traffic congestion avoidance that lead to a significant reduction of critical traffic events. These applications utilize a variety of data obtained from the host vehicle, the road and surrounding vehicles. The information must be transmitted immediately with high reliability and low delay. In this paper, we survey data scheduling approaches available to schedule the necessary data considering vehicle to vehicle, infrastructure to vehicle or vehicle to infrastructure communication.
Design of a GaN-based microinverter for photovoltaic systems

Photovoltaic (PV) systems based on microinverters harvest more sun energy than traditional central or string inverters because shading of a PV panel within an array affects only that panel. However, cost is still an issue when competing not only with fossil-based energy sources but also with central or string inverters. The main cost of a microinverter is most likely not related to the semiconductor devices but to the heat management elements. Increasing efficiency should reduce heat removal requirements and thus lowering costs to a level where grid parity could be reached. Gallium nitride (GaN) transistors are wide bandgap devices with lower switching losses than silicon (Si) devices, and thus, reduced heat management requirements. A complete design of a dual-stage microinverter based entirely on GaN technology and a comparison with a silicon design are presented to evaluate the impact on system efficiency. Experimental results from a 200W prototype demonstrate the benefits of the proposed GaN-based design, in particular, a 4% improvement in the efficiency representing 8W of less dissipated heat in the active devices when the converter operates at 200W.
Finally “Changing Lenses”? State-Level Determinants of Restorative Justice Laws

This article presents a mixed methods study exploring a legislative trend toward the use of restorative justice practices in correctional settings. Results indicate that the percentage of Black residents in a state, the percentage of female legislators in a state legislature, and a state’s incarceration rates are predictive of more supportive restorative justice policy adoptions at the state level, while controlling for other explanations. The study weighs political and economic considerations in the adoption of policies with the potential to reduce overincarceration and suggests that at least some contemporary criminal justice police making is motivated by changing constructions of justice.