Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Data Dissemination Protocols for Road Traffic Collecting Application in a Vehicular Ad hoc Network

Providing real-time road traffic information to drivers is a critical step to improve road traffic efficiency by allowing appropriate routes to be chosen. In a Vehicular Ad hoc Network (VANET), a query message can be disseminated along several road paths for collecting road traffic information. While several VANET protocols have been proposed to accomplish such task, they were evaluated in different settings, environments, and a limited scale. To gain better insights for actual deployment, it is necessary to explore their relative performance advantages and limitations. In this paper, we compare Slotted 1 persistence, Efficient Directional Broadcast (EDB), Data dissemination pRotocol In VEhicular networks (DRIVE), and Road Traffic Collecting (RTC) protocols under a large scale city networks, high vehicle density, multiple query sessions, and the presence of interfering background traffic. The evaluation focuses on the average percentage of targeted road segment coverage, the total number of transmitted messages, and the completion delay time. The results show that EDB outperforms other protocols in terms of the road segment coverage with highest number of transmitted messages while RTC yields a lower number of transmitted messages with less road segment coverage. However, EDB requires road-side units at every intersection and its performance dramatically drops under the failure of road-side units.
A Survey on Multi-camera Image Quality Measures Analysis

Most important measures in image research is the analysis of image quality. Quality analysis of images plays very important role in generation of multi viewed images and for the automatic image development in near future. Image quality measure can be performed by two ways subjective and objective. There are various subjective & objectives quality analysis technics are emerged in past year but these are applicable on single camera images. In multi camera images very less research is carried out for the quality analysis. Multi image is nothing but combining multiple images or events into single image. In multi camera images the quality is depend on various factors like configuration, calibration, features of different cameras used to take the images. In multi camera images we can find two types of distortions like photometric and geometric. This paper deals with the various methods and their results to achieve the quality of multi camera images. Here main focus is on the methods like PSNR, MSSIM & VIF and the results of these methods is compared with MIVQM Multi camera image Vision with quality measure (MIVQM) is calculated by combining indices like spatial motion, luminance and contrast and edge based arrangement. The result and comparison with the other measures, like Peak Signal-to Noise Ratio (PSNR), Mean Structural Similarity (SSIM), and Visual Information Fidelity (VIF) prove that MIVQM surpass other measure to capture the quality of images from multi camera system.
Data acquisition and modeling for learning and reasoning in probabilistic logic environment

Deriving knowledge from real-world systems is a complex task, targeted by many scientic elds. Such systems can be viewed as collections of highly detailed data elements and interactions between them. The more details the data include the more accurate the system representation is but the higher the computational requirements become. Using abstractions to summarize details is a well-known technique. Ab- straction often leads to an accurate model of a system but, in other cases, introduces inaccuracies that we want to quantify. In this paper we propose an approach based on dierent levels of abstraction to de- ne dierent representational models for a system. We use probabilities to quantify the inaccuracies that are introduced during the abstraction process. Such models then are used for reasoning and learning in a prob- abilistic environment. We use three example datasets (a small and simple social network, a probabilistic dictionary of approximately 300 words and a real biological neural network) to support our abstraction approach in probabilistic context. The environment we use is ProbLog - a small but powerful probabilistic extension of Prolog.
State-space Modelling of Replicated Dynamic Genetic Networks

The genomic reality is highly complex and dynamic. Recent developments of high-throughput technologies have enabled researchers to measure the RNA abundance of thousands of genes simultaneously. The challenge is to unravel from such measurements genomic interactions and key biological features of cellular systems. Two common problems are the high-dimensionality of the system and the spurious correlations induced by unmeasured intermediate substrates. Furthermore most currently available models cannot deal with biological replicates. Our goal is to devise a method for inferring large transcriptional or gene regulatory networks from high-throughput data sources such as gene expression microarrays with potentially hidden states, such as unmeasured transcription
Exploring the Influence of Zimbabwean Teachers' and Learners' Attitudes Towards English on Language Use in Primary Classrooms

This study uses a postcolonial sociocultural theoretical framework to investigate the influence of teachers’ and learners’ attitudes towards the national language-in-education policy of using English as medium of instruction on language use in primary classrooms in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe national language-in-education policy requires use of learners’ mother tongue as medium of instruction in the first three years of primary education (grades 1-3) with English being taught as a subject. From grade four onwards, English becomes the medium of instruction although the majority of learners at primary school level have limited competence in the language. Methodology: Within the overall postcolonial sociocultural framework, the study utilises an interpretive methodology to explore primary teachers’ and learners’ attitudes towards English. Interviews and lesson observations are used to collect data from fourteen teachers and thirty six learners from five schools in the Harare Region of Zimbabwe. Findings: Findings are derived from a thematic analysis of interview and observation data. The study establishes that: i)While most teachers share the same home language as the learners they teach, because of language-in-education policy, they may/do not feel that they can call upon their knowledge of these learners’ home language to support them with their learning. ii)Teachers and learners are in favour of using English as medium of instruction because they perceive that parents are in favour of using English. iii)Teachers and learners do not consider Shona a suitable vehicle for teaching and learning because tests are administered in English and Shona is perceived to lack the necessary technical terms needed to express concepts tested in examinations. In addition teachers and learners are reluctant to use Shona as medium of instruction because learners have limited competence in the variety of Shona used in schools. iv)Although there is widespread support for English-only policies for communication in classrooms there is minimal adherence to the policies by both teachers and learners in all schools. v)Code-switching by teachers and learners occurs frequently in classes despite official opposition. Conclusions, Contributions and Recommendations: The study concludes by suggesting grounds for re-thinking the language-in-education policy framework in Zimbabwe in order to allow for the complementary use of English and learners’ mother tongue at primary school level so that learning opportunities for learners with limited competence in English are maximised. The study makes a contribution to theory by showing that postcolonial sociocultural theory can be used successfully to explore how the historical context can help to unravel some of the contradictions that manifest themselves in contexts where English is used as medium of instruction alongside other languages.
Monitoring in survival analysis and rare event simulation

Monte Carlo methods are a fundamental tool in many areas of statistics. In this thesis, we will examine these methods, especially for rare event simulation. We are mainly interested in the computation of multivariate normal probabilities and in constructing hitting thresholds in survival analysis models. Firstly, we develop an algorithm for computing high dimensional normal probabilities. These kinds of probabilities are a fundamental tool in many statistical applications. The new algorithm exploits the diagonalisation of the covariance matrix and uses various variance reduction techniques. Its performance is evaluated via a simulation study. The new method is designed for computing small exceedance probabilities. Secondly, we introduce a new omnibus cumulative sum chart for monitoring in survival analysis models. By omnibus we mean that it is able to detect any change. This chart exploits the absolute differences between the Kaplan-Meier estimator and the in-control distribution over specific time intervals. A simulation study is presented that evaluates the performance of our proposed chart and compares it to existing methods. Thirdly, we apply the method of adaptive multilevel splitting for the estimation of hitting probabilities and hitting thresholds for the survival analysis cumulative sum charts. Simulation results are presented evaluating the benefits of adaptive multilevel splitting. Finally, we extend the idea of adaptive multilevel splitting by estimating not just a hitting probability, but the whole distribution function up to a certain point. A theoretical result is proved that is used to construct confidence bands for the
A Protocol for Efficient Bi-directional Connectivity between Ad Hoc Networks and Internet

The integration of infrastructure networks and ad hoc mobile networks can be used to eliminate dead zones in wireless LANs and cellular networks, and can also be used to extend the coverage of wireless networks. Earlier approaches for the integrated networks either provided only unidirectional global connectivity for ad hoc hosts or caused high overhead and packet delay for bi-directional connections. In this paper, a protocol for integrating mobile IP and enhanced DSDV (EDSDV) is proposed to provide bi-directional Internet connectivity for ad hoc hosts. A detailed performance comparison is conducted between the proposed approach with a leading integration approach based on different network sizes, mobility of ad hoc hosts and other network parameters. The experimental results show that the proposed approach has smaller overhead for bi-directional connectivity and shorter average packet delay compared to the leading integration approach.
Study and Comparison of Radio Wave Propagation Model for Different Antenna

— The performance of different mobile network technologies can be evaluated using system level simulations. The radio wave propagation model also known as path loss model plays a very significant role in planning of any wireless communication systems. In this work, COST 231 radio propagation model is studied for the Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks using different antenna systems. A comparison is made between different antenna systems for finding the path-losses. Different COST 231 radio propagation model based terrains has been studied and compared, such as, urban, suburban area under micro and macro level.
Website usability in the design thinking methodic

The article presents the Design Thinking methodic as a modern approach of business problems solving by understanding users needs and looking for the best solutions to meet their requirements. The main goal of the Design Thinking is creating solutions which integrate human needs, business requirements and technological opportunities. The publication includes characteristics of the Design Thinking methodic, individual elements and steps of performing. The different phases of the methodic were described in the article on the example of the innovative usability deployment to existing website. Application of the Design Thinking methodic in the areas of both business and entertainment can greatly lead to the improvement of the quality of websites and various interactive services.
Supervised Learning for Controlled Dynamical System Learning

We develop a framework for reducing the identification of controlled dynamical systems to solving a small set of supervised learning problems. We do this by adapting the two-stage regression framework proposed in (Hefny et. al. 2015) to controlled systems, which are more subtle than uncontrolled systems since they require a state representation that tolerates changes in the action policy. We then use the proposed framework to develop a non-parametric controlled system identification method that approximates the Hilbert-Space Embedding of a PSR (HSE-PSR) using random Fourier features, resulting in significant gains in learning speed. We also propose an iterative procedure for improving model parameters given an initial estimate. We report promising results on multiple experiments.
The analysis of contextual variables affecting the efficiency of fiscal rules in the EU

Fiscal rules are among the cornerstones of macroeconomic policies in the European Union, both on the national and the supranational level. The importance of enacting and conducting the fiscal rules has become apparent after the expansion of public debts and budget deficits in the period of the global financial crisis. Besides the supranational rules, governments impose national fiscal rules in order to fulfill the convergence criteria for public debt and the budget deficit. Still, there is an open question on their influence on other economic parameters. This paper examines contextual variables that influenced the efficiency of implementing fiscal rules in 28 European Union countries. We observe the period of the last financial crisis and its aftermath when most of the countries introduced new or adjusted existing national fiscal rules, using two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The main goal of the paper is to study the impact of contextual variables on fiscal rules’ efficiency scores. In the first stage, we specify the DEA model to estimate the relative efficiency for each observed country in each year in the period from 2008 to 2016. After that, in the second stage, the efficiency scores are regressed on several contextual variables to observe the factors that explicate the variation in DEA-efficiency.
Sectoral Labor Mobility and Optimal Monetary Policy

How should central banks optimally aggregate sectoral inflation rates in the presence of imperfect labor mobility across sectors? We study this issue in a two-sector New-Keynesian model and show that a lower degree of sectoral labor mobility, ceteris paribus, increases the optimal weight on inflation in a sector that would otherwise receive a lower weight. We analytically and numerically find that, with limited labor mobility, adjustment to asymmetric shocks cannot fully occur through the reallocation of labor, thus putting more pressure on wages, causing inefficient movements in relative prices, and creating scope for central bank’ s intervention. These findings challenge standard central banks’ practice of computing sectoral inflation weights based solely on sector size and unveil a significant role for the degree of sectoral labor mobility to play in the optimal computation. In an extended estimated model of the US economy, featuring customary frictions and shocks, the estimated inflation weights imply a decrease in welfare up to 10% relative to the case of optimal weights.
Teachers’ Declared Beliefs and Actual Classroom Practices: A Case Study with Five EFL Teachers

The correlation between teachers’ beliefs and their actual classroom application have a critical impact on grammar teaching; therefore, a descriptive analysis of these two terms can provide the necessary information about how to improve teaching and learning process in an effective manner and help teachers eliminate the problems in English grammar teaching. This study aims to analyze the beliefs and practices of EFL teachers in grammar teaching in general and to see the effects of their professional backgrounds or school environment on their beliefs. It also aims to show the reflection of their declared beliefs on their real classroom practices. The data is collected by utilizing a beliefs questionnaire (open-ended questions), initial interview adapted by Mohammed (2006) and by designing an original classroom observation sheet for five EFL teachers with different qualities. Their answers were scrutinized and analyzed by using content analysis to see the differences between their declared and actual classroom practices. All differences were endorsed and compared in a table. Accordingly, there occurred some discrepancies between their declared beliefs and actual classroom performances in terms of grammar teaching.
Analysing Engineering Knowledge in CAD-Models and Spread Sheets Using Graph Theory and Filtering

As the era of Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) and design automation has evolved a big effort has been put to automate CAD-models to quick and accurately respond to changes of customer specifications. The automated knowledge in these KBE-systems is represented as sets of rules, sets that are continuously growing. Parallel to KBE-systems knowledge is also automated in spread sheets (were the cells can be viewed as rules in a KBE system). These spread sheets also tend to grow in number and complexity. The vision of reusing corporate knowledge through automating it in computer systems are now threaten by the fact that the complexity makes it hard to grasp and manage what was automated. Complexity management and graph theory are scientific fields addressing these types of problems. This paper describes how engineering knowledge stored in CAD-models and spread sheets can be analysed through the application of graph theory, visualization and filtering. Information models of CAD-models and spread sheets are developed and applied to a real industrial case to generate and analyse the content.
Planning, Delivering, and Evaluating an Extension In-Service Training Program for Developing Local Food Systems: Lessons Learned

The social movement focused on re-localizing food systems is oriented toward recreating relationships between producers, consumers, and other community stakeholders. Sustaining community efforts to build local food systems requires preparation of county Extension educators to understand how food supply chains function as systems, facilitate community partnerships, and create equitable access to locally produced food. This paper shares how North Carolina Cooperative Extension designed, delivered, and evaluated a local foods in-service training on these three topics, as well as shares lessons learned through the process. The implications of this study are helpful for Extension educators planning, delivering, and evaluating in-service training programs that support development of local food systems.
Advances in Computers, Volume 69: Architectural Advances

The series covers new developments in computer technology. Most chapters present an overview of a current subfield within computers, with many citations, and often include new developments in the field by the authors of the individual chapters. Topics include hardware, software, theoretical underpinnings of computing, and novel applications of computers. This current volume emphasizes architectural advances and includes five chapters on hardware development, games for mobile devices such as cell phones, and open source software development.The book series is a valuable addition to university courses that emphasize the topics under discussion in that particular volume as well as belonging on the bookshelf of industrial practitioners who need to implement many of the technologies that are described. - Current information on power requirements for new processors- Development of games for devices with limited screen sizes (e.g. cellular telephones)- Open source software development- Multicore processors
Polymerization Shrinkage Stresses of Different Flowable and Universal Bulk-Fill Composites

Objective: To analyze and compare the shrinkage stress properties of flowable and universal bulk-fill resin composites over five minutes after photopolymerization. Materials and Methods: Eleven resin composites, seven flowable and four universals, were tested (n=5). Two glass cylinders were affixed end-to-end in a vertical position on an INSTRON universal testing machine, leaving a 1mm gap between them. Each resin was injected until filling the gap and photopolymerized for 20s. The force curve was recorded over 5 minutes after photopolymerization. The stress values were calculated in MPa at 20s, 60s, 180s, and 300s. Statistical analysis using ANOVA and All-Pairs Tukey-Kramer Test (JMP Pro 12.0. SAS, Cary, NC) were done to compare the polymerization shrinkage stresses among the groups at α = 0.05. Results: All the resins showed a continuous increase in shrinkage stress up to the 300 seconds, following photopolymerization. Three flowable composites Dentex, G¬aenial Universal, and Prime-Dent Flow, obtained the highest shrinkage stresses, while another flowable resin SureFil SDR demonstrated the lowest shrinkage stress from all the materials tested. In general, universal composites demonstrated lower shrinkage stress values than the flowable composites. Conclusions: In general, flowable resin composites presented higher shrinkage stresses compared to universal composites. Clinical Bulk-fill resin composites are widely used clinically, yet little information regarding the polymerization shrinkage stresses produced by these materials is available.
Trade Blocs and Trade Wars During the Interwar Period

What precisely were the causes and consequences of the trade wars in the 1930s? Were there perhaps deeper forces at work in reorienting global trade prior to the outbreak of World War II? And what lessons may this particular historical episode provide for the present day? To answer these questions, we distinguish between long-run secular trends in the period from 1920 to 1939 related to the formation of trade blocs (in particular, the British Commonwealth) and short-run disruptions associated with the trade wars of the 1930s (in particular, large and widespread declines in bilateral trade, the narrowing of trade imbalances, and sharp drops in average traded distances). We argue that the trade wars mainly served to intensify pre-existing efforts towards the formation of trade blocs which dated from at least 1920. More speculatively, we argue that the trade wars of the present day may serve a similar purpose as those in the 1930s, that is, the intensification of China- and US-centric trade blocs.
Multimodal Visual Search using CBIR system on Mobile Device

In this paper, it describe the content based image retrieval system based on three major types of visual information color, texture and shape, and their distances to the origin in a three dimensional space for the retrieval. It also describes a multimodal interactive image search system using mobile devices. This system useful for users who already have pictures in their minds but have no precise descriptions or names to address them. By describing it using speech and then refining the recognized query by interactively composing a visual query using exemplary images, the user can easily find the desired images through a few natural multimodal interactions with their mobile device.