Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Antecedents and consequences of self-congruity: replication and extension

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to propose and empirically test a framework encompassing self-congruity with its antecedents and consequences. This study also aims to test the mediating role of perceived value and its dimensions.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire-based survey was conducted using a purposive sampling technique. In total, 310 useable responses were collected and data were analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling.FindingsA majority of hypotheses were supported. Avoidance of similarity and status consumption positively influenced self-congruity, replicating an earlier study. Self-congruity positively influenced overall perceived value and its dimensions, as well as revisit intention. Overall perceived value and its dimensions positively influenced revisit intention. Finally, overall perceived value and its dimensions were found to have a mediating effect on the relationship between self-congruity and revisit intention.Originality/valueThis study provides empirical evidence for the antecedents and consequences of self-congruity with a service and expands understanding of the mediating role of overall perceived value and its dimensions in predicting intention.
Disclosure and identity experiences of adults abandoned as babies: A qualitative study

Abstract There is intense debate regarding the disclosure experience of those children born from new technologies, surrogacy or adoption, yet no single study of those adopted after being abandoned as infants. This qualitative study examined disclosure for adult survivors of abandonment. Sixteen interviews were recorded and coded. A deductive approach to thematic analysis was used to create higher order themes and sub-themes. Findings are centred around the experience of disclosure, the process of disclosure specifically exploring the role of half-truths and finally the impact of disclosure on the search for identity and self. Disclosure was often delayed with traumatic effect. Adoption disclosure was separated from abandonment disclosure. Abandonment facts were often discovered at life event moments—weddings, death of an adoptive parent or the birth of a baby. Abandoned babies, as adults, often resorted to press/media to track their original circumstances, to seek out relatives and finders. Such searches were emotion filled, at high personal cost and often with dead-end consequences. Naming (e.g. after a railway station or shop name) was often linked to place or person surrounding the abandonment circumstances and this amplified the pain when discovered. Most had a clear concept of their mother, yet none had contemplated or hankered after their father. These rare insights have implications for future research and policy.
Creating La Vie littéraire au Québec in the Digital Era

Presenting the work that, for nearly thirty years, our team conducted on “La vie litteraire au Quebec” (a series of volumes published on literary life in Quebec) is an opportunity to observe the practical aspects of the introduction of digital tools in a history of literature/cultural history research. In this paper, we discuss the modalities of the digital turn undertaken five years ago in our team as we emphasize the epistemological bases of our project and the resulting structure of the books. This turn was part of the modernization of the team’s tools and working methods, of course, but we want to focus here on the behind-the-scene and self-reflexive aspects of this digital shift, through the examination of three of its most qualitative results. The first one is the improvement of the observations that digitalization allows, thanks to the increasing quantity of material that it is now possible to consider and study; the second one is the possibility to initiate an efficient collective upstream work that enables deeper analyses; the third one is the ability to store, transfer and recycle data, which participates in a crucial and often under-estimated way in the advancement of scientific work. We finally hope that our discussion will contribute to a better understanding of what is at stake with digital data – far from a genuine digital “revolution,” it seems to us that digitalization in the history of literature is just the next step in the continuity of the Annales School.
A phrase-level machine translation approach for disfluency detection using weighted finite state transducers

We propose a novel algorithm to detect disﬂuency in speech by reformulating the problem as phrase-level statistical machine translation using weighted ﬁnite state transducers. We approach the task as translation of noisy speech to clean speech. We simplify our translation framework such that it does not require fertility and alignment models. We tested our model on the Switch-board disﬂuency-annotated corpus. Using an optimized decoder that is developed for phrase-based translation at IBM, we are able to detect repeats, repairs and ﬁlled pauses for more than a thousand sentences in less than a second with encouraging results
A Q-band (40–45 GHz) 16-element phased-array transmitter in 0.18-μm SiGe BiCMOS technology

A 16-element phased-array transmitter based on 4-bit RF phase shifters is designed in 0.18-mum SiGe BiCMOS technology for Q-band applications. The phased-array shows 12.5plusmn1. 5 dB of power gain per channel at 42.5 GHz for all phase states and the 3-dB gain bandwidth is 40-45.6 GHz. The input and output return loss is less than -10 dB at 37.5-50 GHz. The transmitter also results in les8.8deg of RMS phase error and les1.2 dB of RMS gain error for all phase states at 30-50 GHz. The maximum saturated output power is -2.5plusmn1. 5 dBm per channel at 42.5 GHz. The RMS gain variation and RMS phase mismatch between all 16 channels is les0.5 dB and les4.5deg, respectively. The chip consumes 720 mA from a 5 V supply voltage and overall chip size is 2.6times3. 2 mm2. To our knowledge, this is the first implementation of a 16-element phased array on a silicon chip with the RF phase shifting architecture at any frequency.
A Global Perspective on Drinking-Water and Sanitation Classification: An Evaluation of Census Content

Following the recent expiry of the United Nations’ 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), new international development agenda covering 2030 water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) targets have been proposed, which imply new demands on data sources for monitoring relevant progress. This study evaluates drinking-water and sanitation classification systems from national census questionnaire content, based upon the most recent international policy changes, to examine national population census’s ability to capture drinking-water and sanitation availability, safety, accessibility, and sustainability. In total, 247 censuses from 83 low income and lower-middle income countries were assessed using a scoring system, intended to assess harmonised water supply and sanitation classification systems for each census relative to the typology needed to monitor the proposed post-2015 indicators of WASH targets. The results signal a lack of international harmonisation and standardisation in census categorisation systems, especially concerning safety, accessibility, and sustainability of services in current census content. This suggests further refinements and harmonisation of future census content may be necessary to reflect ambitions for post-2015 monitoring.
MATS: a Bayesian framework for flexible detection of differential alternative splicing from RNA-Seq data

Ultra-deep RNA sequencing has become a powerful approach for genome-wide analysis of pre-mRNA alternative splicing. We develop MATS (multivariate analysis of transcript splicing), a Bayesian statistical framework for flexible hypothesis testing of differential alternative splicing patterns on RNA-Seq data. MATS uses a multivariate uniform prior to model the between-sample correlation in exon splicing patterns, and a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method coupled with a simulation-based adaptive sampling procedure to calculate the P-value and false discovery rate (FDR) of differential alternative splicing. Importantly, the MATS approach is applicable to almost any type of null hypotheses of interest, providing the flexibility to identify differential alternative splicing events that match a given user-defined pattern. We evaluated the performance of MATS using simulated and real RNA-Seq data sets. In the RNA-Seq analysis of alternative splicing events regulated by the epithelial-specific splicing factor ESRP1, we obtained a high RT–PCR validation rate of 86% for differential exon skipping events with a MATS FDR of <10%. Additionally, over the full list of RT–PCR tested exons, the MATS FDR estimates matched well with the experimental validation rate. Our results demonstrate that MATS is an effective and flexible approach for detecting differential alternative splicing from RNA-Seq data.
Information Architecture for Healthcare Organizations: the case of a NHS Hospital in UK

Healthcare organizations are known for their complex and intense information environment. Healthcare information is facilitated via heterogeneous information systems or paper-based sources. Access to the right information under increasing time pressure is extremely challenging. This paper proposes an information architecture for healthcare organizations. It facilitates the provision of the right information to the right person in the right place and time tailored to their requirements. It adapts an abductive reasoning research approach. Organizational semiotics serves as its theoretical underpinning, guiding the data collection process through direct observation in the ophthalmology outpatient clinics of a UK hospital. It results the norm and information objects that form the information architecture. This is modeled by Archimate. The contribution of the information architecture can be seen from organizational, social and technical perspective. It clearly shows how information is facilitated within a healthcare organization, reducing duplicated data entry, and guiding the future technological implementation.
Mobile web browsing: usability study

The mobile phones are increasingly used to access different kind of information other than just to make voice calls. However, browsing large web pages which is not adapted for small-screen viewing is still very inconvenient. Web browsers are emerging which try to solve the interaction problems that occur when small-screen devices are used to access web pages designed for large screen viewing. This paper presents the results of the usability study in which users' mobile web browsing experience was evaluated in comparison to desktop Web browsing. The results indicate the users' performance was poor on mobile browser as users expected similar experience as on desktop; however for some users familiarity of web on desktop helped instead to navigate easily on mobile browser. The main problem participants had was difficulty of locating the content in long narrow page, which in turn caused extensive scrolling. This research suggests some improvement for mobile web browser and important consideration in designing mobile friendly websites that could help limit a lot of scrolling and increase the readability.
Rate-distortion theory for Gaussian multiterminal source coding systems with several side informations at the decoder

In this paper, we consider the separate coding problem for L+1 correlated Gaussian memoryless sources. We deal with the case where L sources work as partial side information at the decoder for the reconstruction of the remaining source. The determination problem of the rate-distortion region for this system is the so-called many-help-one problem and it has been known as a highly challenging problem for almost 20 years. In this paper, we give a partial solution to this problem. We determine the rate-distortion region in the case where the L sources working as partial side information are conditionally independent if the remaining source we wish to reconstruct is given. The additive white Gaussian noise CEO problem is a special case of this. We also discuss the relation of the result previous results of ours
Videogame control device impact on the play experience

New types of control devices for videogames have emerged and expanded the demographics of the game playing public, yet little is known about which populations of gamers prefer which style of interaction and why. This paper presents data from a study that seeks to clarify the influence the control interface has on the play experience. Three commercial control devices were categorised using an existing typology, according to how the interface maps physical control inputs with the virtual gameplay actions. The devices were then used in a within-groups experimental design aimed at measuring differences in play experience across 64 participants. Descriptive analysis is undertaken on the performance, play experience and preference results for each device. Potential explanations for these results are discussed, as well as the direction of future work.
Lost in translation: investigating the ambiguity of availability cues in an online media space

In this paper we present a longitudinal study of an online media space addressing the question of how availability is managed in an interaction-intensive organization. We relied on three different data collection techniques and analysed our data in relation to three different work modes. During this study we participated in an online media space, for approximately six months making spot checks and observing the population from which ten subjects were selected for interviews. Our results show how techniques and strategies for availability management are developed and continuously adapted to a shared common ground. Further, our results show how having the communication channel open, and regulating availability on a social level instead of on a solely technical level, has the advantage of better coping with the ever-changing dynamics in group works. Finally, we show that there exists an ambiguity of availability cues in online media spaces that is smoothly handled by individuals.
Character Strengths as a Pathway to Obtaining and Maintaining Employment for Job Seekers with Disabilities: A Model for Building Job Seeker Hope and Self-Efficacy

Americans with disabilities experience low rates of employment and are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than their non-disabled peers. Job seekers with disabilities face a myriad of external barriers to employment: 1) lower education/skill attainment, 2) complex public benefit rules, 3) limited access to reliable transportation, 4) lack of work-related supports, and 5) persistent employer-bias. These challenges are compounded by internal barriers: 1) diminished self-efficacy and hope, 2) social role devaluation, and 3) extrinsic work motivations. Several theories within positive psychology offer new pathways to employment for people with disabilities. One such theory is character strengths. Character strengths offer a framework for understanding who we are at our core and how to leverage our strengths to improve outcomes in multiple areas of life. Research on character has led to the design of interventions to build hope and self-efficacy, and to foster goal achievement. This paper will review research on character strengths as a facilitator of employment for job seekers with disabilities and provide an outline for integrating character-based positive interventions into a national employment program for people with acquired physical disabilities.
If diversity is a problem could e-learning be part of the solution?: a case study

Diversity of students enrolling on Computing degrees is becoming increasingly important in higher education with the number of mature students noticeably increasing and the expectations for learning and teaching gradually changing. This year, the UK government has issued two policy documents; the first will in uence the make-up of the student body in the future, the second is pushing for a unified e-learning strategy within all education sectors which is driven by user needs and not by the technologies. This paper presents a study of two focus groups in a Computing department in a UK university, and discusses the needs of two diverse student groups, traditional and mature students. It is argued that if e-learning is to be driven by the needs of the users, then diversity should be a driving force behind the use of e-learning technology. Further, we suggest that participatory design would be extremely beneficial in developing effective e-learning.
Visualizing Uncertainty in the Prediction of Academic Risk

This work proposes a generic visual representation to help relevant decision-makers to effectively address the inherent uncertainty present in the prediction of academic risk based on historical data. The three main sources of uncertainty in this type of prediction are visualized: the model predictive power, the data consistency and the case completeness of the historic dataset. To demonstrate the proposed visualization technique, it is instantiated in a real-world scenario where the risk to fail at least one course in an academic semester is predicted and presented in a student-counseling system. This work also proposes how this visualization technique can be evaluated and applied to other Visual Learning Analytics tools.
A Novel High Content Imaging-Based Screen Identifies the Anti-Helminthic Niclosamide as an Inhibitor of Lysosome Anterograde Trafficking and Prostate Cancer Cell Invasion

Lysosome trafficking plays a significant role in tumor invasion, a key event for the development of metastasis. Previous studies from our laboratory have demonstrated that the anterograde (outward) movement of lysosomes to the cell surface in response to certain tumor microenvironment stimulus, such as hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) or acidic extracellular pH (pHe), increases cathepsin B secretion and tumor cell invasion. Anterograde lysosome trafficking depends on sodium-proton exchanger activity and can be reversed by blocking these ion pumps with Troglitazone or EIPA. Since these drugs cannot be advanced into the clinic due to toxicity, we have designed a high-content assay to discover drugs that block peripheral lysosome trafficking with the goal of identifying novel drugs that inhibit tumor cell invasion. An automated high-content imaging system (Cellomics) was used to measure the position of lysosomes relative to the nucleus. Among a total of 2210 repurposed and natural product drugs screened, 18 “hits” were identified. One of the compounds identified as an anterograde lysosome trafficking inhibitor was niclosamide, a marketed human anti-helminthic drug. Further studies revealed that niclosamide blocked acidic pHe, HGF, and epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced anterograde lysosome redistribution, protease secretion, motility, and invasion of DU145 castrate resistant prostate cancer cells at clinically relevant concentrations. In an effort to identify the mechanism by which niclosamide prevented anterograde lysosome movement, we found that this drug exhibited no significant effect on the level of ATP, microtubules or actin filaments, and had minimal effect on the PI3K and MAPK pathways. Niclosamide collapsed intralysosomal pH without disruption of the lysosome membrane, while bafilomycin, an agent that impairs lysosome acidification, was also found to induce JLA in our model. Taken together, these data suggest that niclosamide promotes juxtanuclear lysosome aggregation (JLA) via modulation of pathways involved in lysosome acidification. In conclusion, we have designed a validated reproducible high-content assay to screen for drugs that inhibit lysosome trafficking and reduce tumor invasion and we summarize the action of one of these drugs.
Improved Poisson Matting for a Real Time Tele-presence System Using GPU

In this paper, an improved Poisson matting method is proposed to segment participants in real-time at a tele-presence session from their background. In order to improve the matting process, we introduce the concept of color distance and extend the standard Poisson matting using patch matching. The idea of patch based matching algorithm, which is widely used in texture synthesis is adopted here to estimate the foreground and background color more precisely in complex scenes. A set of experimental results demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the proposed method. We also present a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) implementation of the algorithm capable of an average speed-up of 25 times compared to its CPU implementation.
Pinpointing Learning Moments; A finer grain P(J) model

Educational data mining and knowledge engineering methods have led to increasingly precise models of students’ knowledge as they use intelligent tutoring systems. The first stage in this progression was the development of Bayes Nets and Bayesian frameworks that could infer the probability that a student knew a specific skill at a specific time from their pattern of correct responses and non-correct responses (e.g. errors and hint requests) up until that time [cf. 2, 4, 5].
Conceptualisation of child neglect: A Ghanaian practice narrative

Child neglect incidents are the most frequent cases reported to the Department of Social Welfare in Ghana. Therefore, an effective approach to inform practice decisions to curb the numbers is of great importance. Using a qualitative research design, 28 Practitioners’ and parents’ narratives on the perception and causes of child neglect were explored. The study revealed that there is a convergence and divergence of views on how child neglect is conceptualised. The findings suggest the need for practitioners to intensify awareness on some of Ghana’s cultural practices, such as inheritance expectations, that hinder better outcomes for children.
Uncertain Graph Processing through Representative Instances and Sparsification

Data in several applications can be represented as an uncertain graph, whose edges are labeled with a probability of existence. Currently, most query and mining tasks on uncertain graphs are based on Monte-Carlo sampling, which is rather time consuming for the large uncertain graphs commonly found in practice (e.g., social networks). To overcome the high cost, in this doctoral work we propose two approaches. The first extracts deterministic representative instances that capture structural properties of the uncertain graph. The query and mining tasks can then be efficiently processed using deterministic algorithms on these representatives. The second approach sparsifies the uncertain graph (i.e., reduces the number of its edges) and redistributes its probabilities, minimizing the information loss. Then, Monte-Carlo sampling applied to the reduced graph becomes much more efficient.