Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The New Politics, Culture Wars, and The Authoritarian-Libertarian Value Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies

The plurality of conflicting worldviews that are now found in the Western advanced industrial democracies has created values and belief systems that are markedly at odds with each other, which in turn has projected a whole new set of new politics or culture war issues onto the political agenda. The authors have empirically identified an authoritarian-libertarian dimension of value change that captures an important dimension of this shift. They demonstrate that the shift from authoritarian to libertarian values is related to (a) growing levels of social and political alienation along a number of key attitudinal dimensions; (b) a dramatic shift in positions on the key culture wars issues; and (c) higher participatory levels and more assertive modes of political involvement, yielding asymmetric mobilization around the culture wars issues. The study is based on the 1990 wave of the World Values Survey in the 12 largest and most affluent Western nations.
Is Green the New Black? Reflections on a Green Commodity Discourse

This article examines the global sustainability movement through the lens of a green commodity discourse as introduced by Prothero and Fitchett. The current wave of sustainability efforts and initiatives is different from the previous incarnations in that it is more global and systems oriented. The authors submit that a green commodity discourse has begun to move the sustainability discourse away from the bonds of the dominant social paradigm (DSP) and toward a more holistic and global perspective. The authors conclude that a new typology that delineates consumption from citizenry will better encapsulate the values and behaviors of green consumers. This new typology allows for better representation of those consumers who are choosing to live a greener lifestyle on a grander scale. These new green citizens reflect more the sustainability ideas and efforts discussed here and seen worldwide.
Gender, work orientations and job satisfaction

This article studies the gender gap in job satisfaction and argues that the observed gender difference is a consequence of the heterogeneity in work orientations between men and women. Using data from the 2006 Skills Survey, the analysis yields three major findings. The first shows that women, either in full-time or part-time employment, report significantly higher levels of job satisfaction than men. Secondly, work orientations are closely associated with one’s job satisfaction and their relationships vary significantly across men, women full-time and part-time workers. Finally and most importantly, the observed gender satisfaction differential is eliminated once work orientations are taken into consideration.
Low dose adrenocorticotropic hormone test and adrenal insufficiency in critically ill acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients

Context: Prevalence of adrenal insufficiency (AI) is not uncommon in HIV infected population. However, AI is rarely diagnosed in clinical practice because many patients have non-specific symptoms and signs. Critical illness in such patients further complicates the evaluation of adrenal function. A 1μgm ACTH test can be used for diagnosis, since it results in more physiological levels of ACTH. A serum cortisol of <18 μg/dL, 30 or 60-minutes after ACTH test has been accepted as indicative of AI, but many experts advocate the normal cortisol response should exceed 25 μg/dL, in critically ill patients. Aim: To determine the prevalence of AI in critically ill AIDS patients, by using 1 μg ACTH test and also, to compare the diagnostic criteria for adrenal insufficiency between cortisol response of <18 μg/dL and <25 μg/dL. Settings and Design: This prospective study was done in the Department of Medicine. Materials and Methods: After taking blood for basal plasma cortisol from AIDS affected fifty adult men and women aged over 18 yrs, 1 μg ACTH was given intravenously, and blood samples were again collected at 30 and 60 minutes for plasma cortisol estimation. Statistical analysis: It was done by Mann-Whitney test. Results: Prevalence of AI was 74% (37 patients) and 92% (46 patients), when the peak stimulated cortisol level of <18 μg/dL and <25 μg/dL, respectively, was used. Conclusion: AI is more prevalent in critically ill AIDS patients. Hence, this test can be performed for early intervention and better management.
Switching Strategies of Collision Avoidance and Tracking Control for Vehicles Based on Non-cooperative Game and Model Predictive Control

This paper proposes two kinds of switching strategies for a vehicle to avoid colliding with another vehicle and to track to a given reference trajectory. From a pursuit-evasion game, we can lead the collision avoidance procedure based on a so-called backward reachable set And, to achieve the trajectory tracking, we employ a model predictive control. The switching strategies unify the collision avoidance and the model predictive control methods. Here, the switching structure may lead to chattering. So, the strategy that we propose finally has a hysteresis to adjust a frequency of the chattering. In a numerical verification, we illustrate some simulation results when the proposed algorithms are used.
Hybrid Invariance in Bipedal Robots with Series Compliant Actuators

Stable walking motions in bipedal robots can be modeled as asymptotically stable periodic orbits in nonlinear systems with impulse effects. The method of hybrid zero dynamics, previously used to analyze planar walking in bipeds with one degree of underactuation, is extended to address the increased degrees of underactuation and the additional impact invariance conditions that arise when actuator dynamics are explicitly modeled. The resultant controller is parameterized and includes a discrete feedback in the parameters that is active only in the instantaneous double support phase. The controller design method is illustrated on a five-link planar walker with series compliant actuation, that is, a robot where a compliant element has been deliberately inserted between each actuated joint and its corresponding motor in order to increase the overall energy efficiency of locomotion
Accessibility as a Service: Augmenting Multimedia Content with Sign Language Video Tracks

In this paper we explore the concept of “accessibility as a service” by proposing a cloud computing service to help deaf people to access digital contents. The proposed service automatically generates and embeds a sign language video track into multimedia contents. The service organizes the collaboration of sign language experts to dynamically adjust the system that runs on a cloud computing infrastructure. As a case study, we made an implementation of the service for providing support for the Brazilian Sign Language (LIBRAS) and some preliminary tests with Brazilian deaf users to evaluate the proposed solution
Making transmission schedules immune to topology changes in multi-hop packet radio networks

A time-slot allocation algorithm called PRS which schedules transmissions independently of the network topology changes is presented. This makes it suitable for scheduling the transmissions in time division multiple access (TDMA) or code division multiple access (CDMA) systems with frequently and unpredictably changing topology. The algorithm guarantees correct operation under any frequency of change, and to the best of the authors' knowledge, it is the only solution for robust scheduled access when no continuous update is feasible and a guaranteed delay is required even under heavy loads. <<ETX>>
Digital subthreshold logic design - motivation and challenges

Wide utilization of portable battery-operated devices in modern applications triggers a demand for ultra low-power designs. Many circuit techniques have been successfully applied to reduce both dynamic and leakage components of power. Recently, digital subthreshold circuit design has become a very promising method for ultra-low power applications. Circuits operating in the subthreshold region utilize a supply voltage (VDD) that is close to or even less than the threshold voltages of the transistors. This low VDD operation results in ultra low-power dissipation of the circuit, but significantly increases the circuit¿s propagation delay. In this paper a review of the advantages of the subthreshold circuits compared to the conventional strong inversion circuits is presented. Design challenges in advanced sub-micron technologies are presented through simulation results in 90 nm and 65 nm processes.
Development of an All-Purpose Free Photogrammetric Tool

Abstract. Photogrammetry is currently facing some challenges and changes mainly related to automation, ubiquitous processing and variety of applications. Within an ISPRS Scientific Initiative a team of researchers from USAL, UCLM, FBK and UNIBO have developed an open photogrammetric tool, called GRAPHOS (inteGRAted PHOtogrammetric Suite). GRAPHOS allows to obtain dense and metric 3D point clouds from terrestrial and UAV images. It encloses robust photogrammetric and computer vision algorithms with the following aims: (i) increase automation, allowing to get dense 3D point clouds through a friendly and easy-to-use interface; (ii) increase flexibility, working with any type of images, scenarios and cameras; (iii) improve quality, guaranteeing high accuracy and resolution; (iv) preserve photogrammetric reliability and repeatability. Last but not least, GRAPHOS has also an educational component reinforced with some didactical explanations about algorithms and their performance. The developments were carried out at different levels: GUI realization, image pre-processing, photogrammetric processing with weight parameters, dataset creation and system evaluation. The paper will present in detail the developments of GRAPHOS with all its photogrammetric components and the evaluation analyses based on various image datasets. GRAPHOS is distributed for free for research and educational needs.
Genetic Algorithm Aided Design of Near-Capacity Irregular Variable Length Codes

In this paper we demonstrate that our ability to match the Extrinsic Information Transfer (EXIT) function of an Irregular Variable Length Code (IrVLC) to that of a serially-concatenated inner code depends on the availability of a suite of component Variable Length Error Correction (VLEC) codebooks having a wide variety of inverted EXIT function shapes. We also show that the inverted EXIT function shape of a VLEC codebook depends on its coding rate and Error Correction Capability (ECC). This motivates the design of a Genetic Algorithm (GA) that searches the large VLEC parameter space to find codebooks having specific coding rates, ECCs and, hence, EXIT function shapes. The employment of this GA therefore facilitates the design of component VLEC codebook suites without the manual trial-and-error that is required when employing the state-of- the-art Heuristic Algorithm (HA) used as our bench marker, which cannot design component codebooks having specific EXIT function shapes.
Analyzing count variables in individuals and groups: Single level and multilevel models

We address two challenges in data analysis of group research. First, data may be clustered (i.e., responses of individual group members are correlated). Second, some dependent variables may consist of integer counts of number of occurrences of an event. Familiar ANOVA and regression models provide nonoptimal analyses in both cases. Standard multilevel (mixed) models yield accurate inference for clustered normally distributed data. Generalized linear models (GLMs), specifically Poisson regression and related models, yield accurate inference for nonclustered count data. New generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) integrate GLMs with multilevel models, addressing both challenges and yielding accurate inferences for grouped count outcomes. To provide the necessary background for understanding GLMMs, we first introduce GLMs, with detailed coverage in an example of Poisson regression. We then introduce multilevel models. Finally, we develop GLMMs and illustrate in an example their application to clustered count data. Group research may benefit from the flexibility provided by GLMMs.
An exploration of strategic sustainability business initiatives Small firms are not little big firms A study of Corporate Social Responsibility in Swedish Small-and Medium-Sized Enterprises By : Elin

The perspective of the business sector is crucial in advancing efforts for the sustainability of socialecological systems. This paper reports an exploration performed around sustainability related business initiatives. The point of departure is a literature review where sustainability is portrayed as a business mega-trend. Interestingly, out of a series of semi-structured interviews, the response from the business sector appears to be mainly through reactive initiatives. Furthermore, the business sector is struggling to develop business models where the value, generated by sustainability initiatives, can be tangibly evaluated and appropriated today. Among other aspects to be advanced, there is a need for evaluation instruments which provide guiding information for individual business action, where future performance and capacity to create value are bridged with present sustainability initiatives. With this in mind an exploration of sustainability performance as an element that could contribute with providing useful information to evaluate business initiatives was advanced in the discussion section of this paper. Word Count : 16 168 Words.
A convergence of key‐value storage systems from clouds to supercomputers

This paper presents a convergence of distributed key‐value storage systems in clouds and supercomputers. It specifically presents ZHT, a zero‐hop distributed key‐value store system, which has been tuned for the requirements of high‐end computing systems. ZHT aims to be a building block for future distributed systems, such as parallel and distributed file systems, distributed job management systems, and parallel programming systems. ZHT has some important properties, such as being lightweight, dynamically allowing nodes join and leave, fault tolerant through replication, persistent, scalable, and supporting unconventional operations such as append, compare and swap, callback in addition to the traditional insert/lookup/remove. We have evaluated ZHT's performance under a variety of systems, ranging from a Linux cluster with 64 nodes, an Amazon EC2 virtual cluster up to 96 nodes, to an IBM Blue Gene/P supercomputer with 8K nodes. We compared ZHT against other key‐value stores and found it offers superior performance for the features and portability it supports. This paper also presents several real systems that have adopted ZHT, namely, FusionFS (a distributed file system), IStore (a storage system with erasure coding), MATRIX (distributed scheduling), Slurm++ (distributed HPC job launch), Fabriq (distributed message queue management); all of these real systems have been simplified because of key‐value storage systems and have been shown to outperform other leading systems by orders of magnitude in some cases. It is important to highlight that some of these systems are rooted in HPC systems from supercomputers, while others are rooted in clouds and ad hoc distributed systems; through our work, we have shown how versatile key‐value storage systems can be in such a variety of environments. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prefrontal - Hippocampal Interaction: An Integrative Review and Model of the Think/No-Think Task with Implications for Psychiatric Conditions

Being able to dynamically control accessibility to memories enables humans to flexibly adapt to their environment. When this control fails we become acutely aware of emotionally painful reminders of past events. Individuals suffering from some psychiatric conditions are plagued by intrusive, uncontrollable thoughts and ruminations of such memories. To gain a better understanding of this pathos, it is first essential to investigate the neural pathways that allow for control over memory accessibility in the non-psychiatric brain. To do so, a review of the neuroimaging Think/ No-Think literature is used to provide possible brain regions that contribute to the control over memory accessibility. Using these results combined with literature from comparative anatomy/neurology, a neuroanatomical model is derived that provides more specific neural detail than currently in the literature. This model highlights the importance of PFC – hippocampal interaction and the possible mechanisms by which control over memory accessibility is achieved. By understanding these details, future directions for targeting research on psychiatric conditions will hopefully be achieved.
Contour Estimation in Synthetic and Real Weld Defect Images based on Maximum Likelihood

This paper describes a novel method for automatic estimation of the contours of weld defect in radiography images. Generally, the contour detection is the first operation which we apply in the visual recognition system. Our approach can be described as a region based maximum likelihood formulation of parametric deformable contours. This formulation provides robustness against the poor image quality, and allows simultaneous estimation of the contour parameters together with other parameters of the model. Implementation is performed by a deterministic iterative algorithm with minimal user intervention. Results testify for the very good performance of the approach especially in synthetic weld defect images. Keywords—Contour, gaussian, likelihood, rayleigh.
Distributional versus singular approaches to probability and errors in probabilistic reasoning

Four experiments examined differences in probabilistic reasoning as a function of whether problems were presented in a frequentist or case-specific form. The experiments demonstrated that these different forms influence the likelihood of Ss committing the conjunction and disjunction fallacies. The authors contend that these 2 forms elicit different approaches to probability. Frequency problems, it is argued, elicit a distributional approach in which probabilities are equated with relative frequencies, whereas case-specific problems elicit a singular approach in which probabilities are equated with the propensities or causal forces operating in an individual case
Observing the Smart TV-Viewing Experience by a Diary-Based Observation Method

This study aims to observe user’s experience longitudinally in a natural context of use by using DRM (Day Reconstruction Method). DRM is an observation technique that periodically surveys user’s experience and evaluates it systemically. In addition to emotions collected by existing DRM, we also investigated contextual information using structured questionnaires. Each questionnaire was conducted for one episode which is composed of specific actions that are taken, context of each episode, and detailed description of mood and emotion at that time of episode occurrence with detailed reason. For a case study, DRM for the smart TV-viewing was conducted. As a result, users showed different TV-viewing behaviors depending on the day of the week. DRM also showed that users typically did not use the majority of the technical functions provided by the modern TV sets popularly used today. Moreover, we figured out that many secondary activities were conducted concurrently together with TV-viewing. The study suggested that a diary-based observation technique proposed in this paper can be used to analyze the context efficiently and quantitatively without bias.
Prevalence and Sociodemographic Correlates of Mental Health Problems Among Emergency Department Patients With High-Risk and Dependent Alcohol Use Patterns

Objective: This study reports the prevalence of co-occurring mental health problems in a large convenience sample of emergency department (ED) patients with high-risk or dependent alcohol use patterns, as well as investigates associations between sociodemographic variables with co-occurring alcohol and mental health problems. Methods: Health educators screened adult patients from 12 large Southern California hospital ED/trauma units, collecting data about alcohol use behavior, sociodemographic data, and past 30-day problems with depression, anxiety, and cognitive function. Participants (N = 1,369) scored within either high-risk (hazardous, nondependent) or severe-risk (likely dependent) alcohol use categories. Analyses examined associations between age, sex, annual family income, employment status, and race/ethnicity with past 30-day mental health problems. Results: Overall, prevalence rates of 65%, 67%, and 50% were found for past 30-day problems with depression, anxiety, and cognitive function, respectively. Lower age was associated with anxiety problems only. Female gender was strongly associated with depression and anxiety. Higher income was associated with anxiety; lower income was associated with cognitive function problems. Employment status was strongly associated with all three mental health problems, with the unemployed having about double the risk of the employed. Race was associated with both depression and anxiety. Conclusions: Results suggest that emergency department patients with high-risk drinking patterns experience high rates of depression, anxiety, and cognitive function problems. Vulnerable groups may be identified based on sociodemographic characteristics. Incorporating standardized screening for mental health problems in the emergency department may be appropriate, especially among those presenting with alcohol-related problems.
Integrating Verbs, Situation Schemas, and Thematic Role Concepts

Linguistic and psycholinguistic theories differ with regard to the conceptual content of verbs' thematic roles. In Experiments 1 and 2, single-word priming was used to demonstrate that verbs immediately activate knowledge of typical agents (arresting-cop), patients (arresting-criminal), and instruments (stirred-spoon), but not locations (swam-ocean). Experiment 3 illustrated that verbs prime features common to their patients (manipulating-naive). Experiment 4, a cross-modal sentence priming study, showed that the activation of agent and patient thematic role concepts is modulated by syntactic cues. Using an integrative account of the processing of words, thematic roles, and schemas, we conclude that this type of detailed world knowledge is tied tightly to on-line thematic role assignment, and thus should be considered as part of thematic role knowledge.
Violence, U.S.A

Violence in America today is more than the society wishes to tolerate, but should be considered historically and cross culturally. Labor and other riots in the nineteenth and twenti eth centuries were probably more destructive than current disturb ances. America is not a "sick" society but does have violence within an essentially nonviolent culture. The fear of being victimized from crimes of violence is real but greater than statistics on victimization indicate. To riot is a violation of the law and partially a reflection of inadequate response from government and other agencies to legitimate grievance and dissent. To resort to violence is a sign of despair and a failure to have alternative avenues of expression. A subculture of violence exists in many cities and is generated from the value system associated with the poor, the deprived, the residents of segrega tion. Dispersal of the population from this subculture is the major solution for its elimination. The task of a democracy is to guarantee the right to dissent, to respond to protest, and to fortify freedom while maintaining social control.