Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bayesian Simultaneous Intervals for Small Areas: An Application to Variation in Maps

Bayesian inference about small areas is of considerable current interest, and simultaneous intervals for the parameters for the areas are needed because these parameters are correlated. This is not usually pursued because with many areas the problem becomes difficult. We describe a method for finding simultaneous credible intervals for a relatively large number of parameters, each corresponding to a single area. Our method is model based, it uses a hierarchical Bayesian model, and it starts with either the $100(1-\alpha)$\% (e.g., $\alpha=.05$ for 95\%) credible interval or highest posterior density (HPD) interval for each area. As in the construction of the HPD interval, our method is the result of the solution of two simultaneous equations, an equation that accounts for the probability content, $100(1-\alpha)$\% of all the intervals combined, and an equation that contains an optimality condition like the ``equal ordinates'' condition in the HPD interval. We compare our method with one based on a nonparametric method, which as expected under a parametric model, does not perform as well as ours, but is a good competitor. We illustrate our method and compare it with the nonparametric method using an example on disease mapping which utilizes a standard Poisson regression model.
COST AND BENEFIT ASSESSMENTS OF IT SYSTEMS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

This paper describes five case studies in which four IT evaluation methods have been used to complete a cost and benefit assessment of different IT investments in companies from the Danish construction industry. It also compares the usage of the framework Measuring the Benefits of IT Innovations, which also has been used on a few English case studies. The evaluated IT investments in the Danish case studies are (1) upgrading to AutoCAD 2000, (2) implementation of Documentum WorkSpace, (3) a strategy for usage of project webs, (4) choosing between two project webs and (5) implementation of a CITRIX application. In the English case studies the following IT investments were evaluated; (1) implementation of DOCS Open and (2) implementing a company wide Intranet. The experiences of completing the five case studies in Denmark have been that Net present Value in most cases produced a negative output whereas the methods Information Economics and Measuring the Benefits of IT Innovation showed a more positive output. The last method Critical Success Factors was found to be less useful because of the format of the output. Completing the IT evaluations revealed that two major activities are difficult to complete. First it was found difficult to identify the benefits and second, the estimates of the benefits’ value were generally considered as very uncertain.
An improved minimum generation error based model adaptation for HMM-based speech synthesis

A minimum generation error (MGE) criterion had been proposed for model training in HMM-based speech synthesis. In this paper, we apply the MGE criterion to model adaptation for HMM-based speech synthesis, and introduce an MGE linear regression (MGELR) based model adaptation algorithm, where the regression matrices used to transform source models are optimized so as to minimize the generation errors of adaptation data. In addition, we incorporate the recent improvements of MGE criterion into MGELR-based model adaptation, including state alignment under MGE criterion and using a log spectral distortion (LSD) instead of Euclidean distance for spectral distortion measure. From the experimental results, the adaptation performance was improved after incorporating these two techniques, and the formal listening tests showed that the quality and speaker similarity of synthesized speech after MGELRbased adaptation were significantly improved over the original MLLR-based adaptation. Index Terms: Speech synthesis, HMM, speaker adaptation, minimum generation error, linear regression
Maximum acceptable weight of lift reflects peak lumbosacral extension moments in a functional capacity evaluation test using free style, stoop and squat lifting

It is unclear whether the maximum acceptable weight of lift (MAWL), a common psychophysical method, reflects joint kinetics when different lifting techniques are employed. In a within-participants study (n = 12), participants performed three lifting techniques – free style, stoop and squat lifting from knee to waist level – using the same dynamic functional capacity evaluation lifting test to assess MAWL and to calculate low back and knee kinetics. We assessed which knee and back kinetic parameters increased with the load mass lifted, and whether the magnitudes of the kinetic parameters were consistent across techniques when lifting MAWL. MAWL was significantly different between techniques (p = 0.03). The peak lumbosacral extension moment met both criteria: it had the highest association with the load masses lifted (r > 0.9) and was most consistent between the three techniques when lifting MAWL (ICC = 0.87). In conclusion, MAWL reflects the lumbosacral extension moment across free style, stoop and squat lifting in healthy young males, but the relation between the load mass lifted and lumbosacral extension moment is different between techniques. Practitioner Summary: Tests of maximum acceptable weight of lift (MAWL) from knee to waist height are used to assess work capacity of individuals with low-back disorders. This article shows that the MAWL reflects the lumbosacral extension moment across free style, stoop and squat lifting in healthy young males, but the relation between the load mass lifted and lumbosacral extension moment is different between techniques. This suggests that standardisation of lifting technique used in tests of the MAWL would be indicated if the aim is to assess the capacity of the low back.
Mobile emitter geolocation and tracking using correlated time difference of arrival measurements

This paper presents an effective recursive tracking method for the single mobile emitter using correlated TDOA measurements. In multiple-sensor environment the time difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements are correlated. We consider only the case of single emitter tracking without data association issues, e.g., no missed detection or false measurements. We describe a scenario of three static receivers with synchronous TDOA measurements. In this situation, the TDOA measurements are correlated. We propose a de-correlated TDOA measurement structure for optimal estimation. Each TDOA measurement defines a hyperbola-like region, representing possible emitter locations. This likelihood function is approximated via Gaussian mixture, making the algorithm a dynamic bank of variable number of Kalman filters. The performance is evaluated using Monte Carlo simulations, and compared with the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB).
The Relationship between Authority Leadership and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Role of Traditionality in Chinese Context

Drawing on a sample set of supervisor-subordinate dyads from Mainland China, the mediating and moderating effects of traditionality on relationships between Authority leadership and Organization Citizenship Behavior was examined. We found that traditionality is not only mediation but also moderation of the positively relationship between Authority leadership and Organization Citizenship Behavior. Implications for management theory and practice are discussed. It has important theoretical and practical significance for Chinese leadership research and practice. Implications and future research directions are discussed.
The dialectics of historical empathy as a reflection of historical thinking in South African classrooms

The research explores the understanding of the concept Historical empathy as conceptualised by the two teachers sampled in this study. The article analyses the pedagogical practices of two Grade 12 History teachers who used the theme of the Vietnam War of 1954 to 1975, also known as the Second Indochina War, and in Vietnam as the Resistance War Against America or simply the American War, was a conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This is one of the new themes included in the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) to cultivate tenets of Historical empathy in their classrooms. The research utilises a qualitative research paradigm to enable the researchers to interview teachers at their schools and observe them interacting with the phenomenon being investigated in their natural environment in the classrooms. The article uses the dual theoretical framework designed by Barton and Levstik (2004) which embodies both elements of affective and cognitive domains to evaluate the perspectives of two teachers and their pedagogical practices in the classroom. According to the findings, both teachers used suitable and relevant primary and secondary sources during the lesson presentations. Teachers demonstrated characteristics of emotional and cognitive empathy during the interviews and these divergent elements were displayed during the teaching of the Vietnam War. Quite often learners were encouraged by one teacher to sympathise and align with the victims of the war which is caused by their past agony and psychological trauma resulting from the experiences of their communities during the apartheid government and this demonstrated shared normalcy. The second teacher empathised with the Vietnamese soldiers and saw them as gallant soldiers against the strong US troops rather than as victims thereby displaying some elements of cognitive Historical empathy.
Novel Genes Affecting the Interaction between the Cabbage Whitefly and Arabidopsis Uncovered by Genome-Wide Association Mapping

Plants have evolved a variety of ways to defend themselves against biotic attackers. This has resulted in the presence of substantial variation in defense mechanisms among plants, even within a species. Genome-wide association (GWA) mapping is a useful tool to study the genetic architecture of traits, but has so far only had limited exploitation in studies of plant defense. Here, we study the genetic architecture of defense against the phloem-feeding insect cabbage whitefly (Aleyrodes proletella) in Arabidopsis thaliana. We determined whitefly performance, i.e. the survival and reproduction of whitefly females, on 360 worldwide selected natural accessions and subsequently performed GWA mapping using 214,051 SNPs. Substantial variation for whitefly adult survival and oviposition rate (number of eggs laid per female per day) was observed between the accessions. We identified 39 candidate SNPs for either whitefly adult survival or oviposition rate, all with relatively small effects, underpinning the complex architecture of defense traits. Among the corresponding candidate genes, i.e. genes in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with candidate SNPs, none have previously been identified as a gene playing a role in the interaction between plants and phloem-feeding insects. Whitefly performance on knock-out mutants of a number of candidate genes was significantly affected, validating the potential of GWA mapping for novel gene discovery in plant-insect interactions. Our results show that GWA analysis is a very useful tool to gain insight into the genetic architecture of plant defense against herbivorous insects, i.e. we identified and validated several genes affecting whitefly performance that have not previously been related to plant defense against herbivorous insects.
Economic Growth, Foreign Direct Investment and CO 2 Emissions in China: A Panel Granger Causality Analysis

Using a sample of province-level panel data, this paper investigates the Granger causality associations among economic growth (GDP), foreign direct investment (FDI) and CO2 emissions in China. By applying the bootstrap Granger panel causality approach (Konya, 2006), we consider both cross-sectional dependence and homogeneity of different regions in China. The empirical results support that the causality direction not only works in a single direction either from GDP to FDI (in Yunnan) or from FDI to GDP (in Beijing, Neimenggu, Jilin, Shanxi and Gansu), but it also works in both directions (in Henan). Moreover, we document that GDP is Granger-causing CO2 emissions in Neimenggu, Hubei, Guangxi and Gansu while there is bidirectional causality between these two variables in Shanxi. In the end, we identify the unidirectional causality from FDI to CO2 emissions in Beijing, Henan, Guizhou and Shanxi, and the bidirectional causality between FDI and CO2 emissions in Neimenggu.
SAR Speckle Reduction Based on Nonlocal Means Method

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images are inherently affected by speckle noise, which is due to the coherent nature of the scattering phenomenon. This paper presents a novel SAR speckle reduction method base on nonlocal means (NLM) filter. NLM is applied to remove additive noise after taking the logarithm of the original speckle noise. The proposed method can preserve edges and protect more fine details. Results on real speckle SAR images are given. We have also compared our method with some related methods.
A comprehensive signature analysis scheme for oscillation-test

A low-cost and comprehensive built-in self-test (BIST) methodology for analog and mixed-signal circuits is described. We implement a time-division multiplexing (TDM) comparator to analyze the response of a circuit under test with minimum hardware overhead. The TDM comparator scheme is an effective signature analyzer for on-chip analog response compaction and pass/fail decision. We apply this scheme to an oscillation-test environment and implement a low-cost and comprehensive vectorless BIST methodology for high fault and yield coverage. Our scheme allows a tolerance in the output response, a feature necessary for analog circuits. Both oscillation frequency and oscillation amplitude are measured indirectly to increase the fault coverage. We provide a theoretical analysis of the oscillation that explains why the amplitude measurement is essential. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme can significantly reduce test time of the oscillation-test while achieving higher fault coverage.
Coordinating human and machine intelligence to classify microblog communications in crises

An emerging paradigm for the processing of data streams involves human and machine computation working together, allowing human intelligence to process large-scale data. We apply this approach to the classification of crisis-related messages in microblog streams. We begin by describing the platform AIDR (Artificial Intelligence for Disaster Response), which collects human annotations over time to create and maintain automatic supervised classifiers for social media messages. Next, we study two significant challenges in its design: (1) identifying which elements must be labeled by humans, and (2) determining when to ask for such annotations to be done. The first challenge is selecting the items to be labeled by crowdsourcing workers to maximize the productivity of their work. The second challenge is to schedule the work in order to reliably maintain high classification accuracy over time. We provide and validate answers to these challenges by extensive experimentation on realworld datasets.
A Data Intensive Multi-chunk Ensemble Technique to Classify Stream Data Using MapReduce Framework

We propose a data intensive and distributed multichunk ensemble classifier based data mining technique to classify data streams. In our approach, we combine r most recent consecutive data chunks with data chunks in the current ensemble and generate a new ensemble using this data for training. By introducing this multi-chunk ensemble technique in a Map-Reduce framework and considering the concept-drift of the data, we significantly reduce the running time and classification error compared to different ensemble approaches. We have empirically proved its effectiveness over other state-of-the-art stream classification techniques on synthetic data and real world botnet traffic.
ASSESSING LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION JOURNALS : ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVES

This article continues the discussion of how best to assess the quality of academic journals dedicated to logistics and transportation. It describes the multiple criteria and methods to evaluate these journals and analyzes how these different criteria relate to each other. The goal is to help authors, members of editorial review boards and editors to understand the limitations of various methods and the compare journals across a wide range of measures. There are potential weaknesses associated with perceptual methodologies that should be taken into account in future perceptual surveys. Including more journals in the survey will help make comparisons more accurate and attract more attention and more submissions to a greater number of publications. All methods suffer from some kind of weakness, which suggests the need to use multiple methods and employ some of the tactics suggested in this article in future surveys.
The Impact of Public School Enrolment on Child Labor in Punjab, Pakistan

This paper investigates the causal impact of public school enrolment on child labor. Our main hypothesis is as follows: Is school enrolment a substitute for child labor? Recognizing that schooling and work choices are jointly determined by parents in a utility maximizing framework, the study applies an instrumental variable solution to the problem of simultaneity. This approach entails using the receipt of free textbooks and access to a public primary facility as instruments for public school enrolment. Using data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey for 2007/08, our working sample consists of children between 5 and 14 years of age, which makes up 25 percent of the surveyed population. The results suggest that public school enrolment can be used as a substitute for child labor. On average, a 1 percentage point increase in a household’s enrolment ratio has the potential to reduce the number of hours of paid labor by almost 5 percentage points, ceteris paribus. This substitutability is highest among poor, urban, male children. Moreover, the incidence of child labor is higher among larger poor families.
Spectral subtraction using elliptic integral for multiplication factor

Spectral subtraction(SS) has been used for speech recognition in noisy environments. The maximum likelihood of noise mixed speech is analytically studied, which leads to the refor-malization of SS. — Not only the subtraction factor used in conventional SS, but also a novel multiplication factor with elliptic integrals is used. This new SS method can be used alone or together with the conventional SS. The speech recognition experiments use a principal microphone and a reference micro-phone. The experiments suggest the effectiveness of the mixed method.
Automatically Harvesting and Ontologizing Semantic Relations

With the advent of the Web and the explosion of available textual data, it is key for modern natural language processing systems to access, represent and reason over large amounts of knowledge in semantic repositories. Separately, the knowledge representation and natural language processing communities have been developing representations/engines for reasoning over knowledge and algorithms for automatically harvesting knowledge from textual data, respectively. There is a pressing need for collaboration between the two communities to provide large-scale robust reasoning capabilities for knowledge rich applications like question answering. In this chapter, we propose one small step by presenting algorithms for harvesting semantic relations from text and then automatically linking the knowledge into existing semantic repositories. Experimental results show better than state of the art performance on both relation harvesting and ontologizing tasks.
Research on Building Polygon Map Generalization Algorithm

Generalization of the building polygon maps is a challenging problem within the world range. The paper discusses the automatic generalization algorithm of urban building polygon in GIS environment. The main research focuses on the rectangular adjustment of building polygon, partial concave and convex simplification of the large polygon, partial exaggeration of the small polygon and polygon cluster aggregation. In the practical development, we sort the different building polygon by its shape and characteristic, and simplify it with different methods. The experiment proves that the building polygon simplification products a reasonable result through this algorithm and the morph feature of block has been well preserved.
TEI HORSEing Around

The Text Encoding Initiative’s typed segment-boundary delimiter method is only one of several proposed mechanisms for handling overlap in TEI documents. HORSE (aka CLIX) defines a method by which an XML element is used normally when possible and as an improved version of the typed segment-boundary delimiter method when an overlap problem is encountered. A significant portion of the rules necessary for validation of HORSE markup can be expressed using Schematron. This, combined with an utter hack that can “HORSEify” the declaration of elements in a TEI Relax NG grammar, can provide a potential significant step forward in handling overlap in TEI documents. TEI HORSEing Around Table of
Register allocation for embedded systems to simultaneously reduce energy and temperature on registers

Energy and thermal issues are two important concerns for embedded system design. Diminished energy dissipation leads to a longer battery life, while reduced temperature hotspots decelerate the physical failure mechanisms. The instruction fetch logic associated with register access has a significant contribution towards the total energy consumption. Meanwhile, the register file has also been previously shown to exhibit the highest temperature compared to the rest of the components in an embedded processor. Therefore, the optimization of energy and the resolution of the thermal issue for register accesses are of great significance. In this article, register allocation techniques are studied to simultaneously reduce energy consumption and heat buildup on register accesses for embedded systems. Contrary to prevailing intuition, we observe that optimizing energy and optimizing temperature on register accesses conflict with each other. We introduce a rotator hardware in the instruction decoder to facilitate a balanced solution for the two conflicting objectives. Algorithms for register allocation and refinement are proposed based on the access patterns and the effects of the rotator. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithms obtain notable improvements of energy and peak temperature for embedded applications.