Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Promoting School-Centered Professional Development through Teaching Portfolios

This article presents a case study in which teaching portfolios evolved as a mechanism to promote school-centered professional development in an urban elementary school. Data were primarily derived from open-ended interviews with the principal, staff developer, and teachers, complemented by other relevant documentation. This study examines the impact of the portfolio project on professional learning and professional collaboration. The data reveal that a wide range of conditions contributed to professional learning and collaboration through teaching portfolios. These conditions can be categorized into three groups: (a)conditions supporting both professional learning and professional collaboration in general, (b) conditions more specifically supporting professional learning, and (c) conditions more specifically supporting professional collaboration. The article discusses both methodology and results in the context of recent theoretical frameworks. In addition, it suggests directions for future research, theory, and practice related to school-centered professional development for teachers.
Development of Fuzzy Neural Networks: Current Framework and Trends

Fuzzy systems have been demonstrated their ability to solve different kinds of problems in classification, modeling control and in a considerable number of industry applications. It has been shown as a powerful methodology for dealing with imprecision and nonlinearity efficiently (Wang, 1994). However, one of the shortcomings of fuzzy logic is the lack of learning and adaptation capabilities. As we know, neural network (NN) is one of the important technologies towards realizing artificial intelligence and machine learning. Many types of neural networks with different learning algorithms have been designed and developed (Deng et al., 2002; Levin & Narendra, 1996; Narendra P Huang et al., 2004; Jang, 1993; Juang L Leng et al., 2004; Lin L Qiao & Wang, 2008). The technology of FNNs combines the profound learning capability of neural networks with the mechanism of explicit and easily interpretable knowledge presentation provided by fuzzy logic. In a word, FNN is able to represent meaningful real-world concepts in
Sustainable household waste management improvement in Dhaka city, Bangladesh

The objective of this study is to conduct an economic study to identify the factors which affect households’ solid waste generation, households’ willingness to pay to improve the solid waste management and households’ recycling behaviour in Dhaka City. The results showed that the waste generation of the households in Dhaka City was significantly affected by household size, income and concern about the environment. The results showed that the aggregate value of WTP of the respondents in Dhaka City was 7.6 million Taka (USD 0.1 million). Another logistic regression model was used to identify the factors which affect households’ recycling behaviour. The results showed that environmental consciousness, the availability of storage space, and age (25 to 35), are significant positive predictors of recycling behaviour. Another variable INCOME 2 (TK3,000 to TK15,000) is also positively correlated with recycling.
Role of genus Cassia in combating malnutrition in Sahariya dominated Sheopur Kalan Region of Madhya Pradesh

The devastating condition of malnutrition prevails in Madhya Pradesh. Wild edible plants on their nutritional grounds can serve as novel potential source of food to the tribals suffering from malnutrition. Four species of Cassia were evaluated for their nutritional status and compared to the RDA value for further recommendation as food source. The comparison of various nutritional parameters of four species of Cassia genus was done to establish their potential to fight against conditions like malnutrition. Different parts of four different species of genus Cassia were selected for investigation on account of their edibility. The study reveals that, the flowers of C. fistula contain 88.64 % of moisture and 23.75% of total lipids. The leaves of C. tora contain 20.25% of total proteins, 2.7% of calcium and 3.24% of nitrogen. Seeds of C. occidentalis possess 6.4% of potassium while the seeds of C. hirsuta possess 65.45% of total carbohydrates and 1.75% of sodium.
Service Quality on Budgeted Hotel in Tamil Nadu

The importance of service quality has been recognized in this article, there are many researchers have addressed the structure and antecedents of the concept for the hotel industry. The dimensions of service quality are inevitable for the managers in the hotel industry as these identify the bundles of service attributes consumers find important. Therefore, this article aims to measure the dimensions of service quality from the customers’ perspective of budgeted hotels in Tamil Nadu based on the SERVQUAL model. The sample size is divided on the basis of citied which has International airport in Tamil Nadu. As a result of it Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Trichy has been selected for this study. Out if 123 top rated budgeted hotels in Tamil Nadu, 20 hotels has been i.e. five budgeted hotels from each cites were selected for the purpose of the study. The study is based on the primary data collected from the respondents with the help of a questionnaire to measure the expectation and perception of service quality dimensions of budgeted hotels. Data analysis has been done using SPSS software and factor analysis has been conducted to measure the differences among the factors affecting service quality expectations and perceptions. To measure the service quality gap, five dimensions related to hotel industry were identified. The analysis shows that the service quality of the budgeted hotels is highly dependent on the physical appearance, interior design, quality of food, behavior of the employees, security system, and customized services given to individual customers.
Visualization of space competition and plume formation with complex potentials for multiple source flows: Some examples and novel application to Chao lava flow (Chile)

Fluid displacement in a continuum pressured by a variable constellation of source flows can be visualized as solutions of line integrals. The algorithms are based on complex potentials that provide exact solutions of the Navier-Stokes equation and allow users to specify both the location and flux strength of multiple sources. If relative strength and positioning of the sources are varied, a wide range of flow patterns and particle paths can be traced. Time-dependent variations in the strength of the sources can account for transient-flow problems. A further expansion is superposition of a background flow, which displaces the particle paths issued from the sources into concentrated plumes. The outlined modeling technique for visualization of multiple plume displacements is potentially relevant for a wide spectrum of practical situations. Detailed applications are possible, such as time tracking of groundwater-plume migration from a series of pollution sources, tracking of salt-feeder-stock flow and suture zone formation when salt issued from the stocks coalesces into a salt canopy, and designing of optimal spacing and relative pressure strength of multiple water injection wells in field-development plans for hydrocarbon production. Further applications are highlighted in the main text, including a simulation of geometrical features exposed in the Chao coulee (Chilean Andes).
Implementation of 16 * 16 Quantization Table Steganography on Gray Scale Images

: Steganography is defined as an art of concealed data sharing for communication that prevents the detection of hidden messages. This paper presents a steganographic method based on modification of JPEG quantization table. Modified Discrete Cosine Transform (MDCT) is implemented based on transform domain technique. The proposed work hides the secret message inside an image using Modified Discrete Cosine Transform (MDCT). In this paper, the image is divided into non-overlapping blocks of 16*16 so as to embed secret information. The secret message is hidden inside an image which forms a stego image. The stego image is a combination of secret message and the cover image. Here four grayscale images have been considered and these images have been compared on the basis of three performance parameters such as capacity, PSNR, MSE.
Timing and mechanisms of basement uplift and exhumation in the Colorado Plateau-Basin and Range transition zone, Virgin Mountain anticline, Nevada-Arizona

Structural, stratigraphic, and thermochronologic studies provide insight into the formation of basement-cored uplifts within the Colorado Plateau–Basin and Range transition zone in the Lake Mead region. Basement lithologic contacts, foliations, and ductile shear zones preserved in the core of the Virgin Mountain anticline parallel the trend of the anticline and are commonly reactivated by brittle fault zones, implying that basement anisotropy exerted a strong infl uence on the uplift geometry of the anticline. Potassium feldspar 40 Ar/ 39 Ar thermochronology indicates that basement rocks cooled from ≥250–325 °C to ≤150 °C in the Mesoproterozoic and remained at shallow crustal levels (<5–7 km) until they were exhumed to the surface. Apatite fi ssion-track ages and track length measurements reveal a transition from slow cooling beginning at 30–26 Ma to rapid cooling at ca. 17 Ma, which we interpret to mark the change from regional post-Laramide denudational cooling to rapid extension-driven exhumational cooling by ca. 17 Ma. Middle Miocene conglomerates (ca. 16–11 Ma) fl anking the anticline contain locally derived basement clasts with ca. 20 Ma apatite fi ssiontrack ages, implying rapid exhumation rates of ≥500 m m.y. –1 . The apparently complex geometry of the anticline resulted from the superposition of fiprocesses , including isostatic footwall uplift and extension-perpendicular shortening, on a previously tectonized and strongly anisotropic crust. A low-relief basement-cored uplift may have formed during the Late Cretaceous–early Tertiary Laramide orogeny; however, the bulk of uplift, exhumation, and deformation of the Virgin Mountain anticline occurred during middle Miocene crustal extension.
Towards The Roadmap of Defect Predictors & Its Diagnostics

Data mining and efficient knowledge discovery in database have been attracting a significant amount of research, industry attention in mostly all the fields. The paper discusses about "Bug prediction": an essential phase in the process of bug triaging and fixing process. Bug prediction solutions have been proposed. The demonstration of their effectiveness however faces number of issues including bug triaging, inappropriate evaluation measures: likelihood, precision and recall values. The major drawback of bug prediction technique is unsatisfactory prediction resulting in least accuracy and conspicuous bug report. With the new advancement, machine learning classifiers have proved and emerged as a trusted way to predict the introduction of bugs in changes made to sources. The demerits of existing classifier based prediction techniques are insufficient data and slow performance. The objective is to reach optimal classification performance with naive bayes accompanied with svm (support vector machine) classifiers and substantial feature extraction, further analyzing its performance on the basis of its evaluation measures-"likelihood, precision and recall value, f- measure". The evaluation result show that proposed approach can achieve better search results than existing search programs . the work will help in precise and relevant prediction of bug reports and will help in diagnostics of mislabeling of bug reports.
Review on Swarm Intelligence Routing Protocol in Vehicular Ad-hoc Network

: Vehicular Ad-hoc networks are likely to become most relevant form of mobile Ad-hoc network. There are various challenges are faced in Ad-hoc environment. There are number of issues with Vehicular Ad-hoc networks like security, congestion, intelligence system. While working with Vehicular Ad-hoc network the Geographic selection is also a problem. Review work trying to represent to solution for same problem. In Vehicular Ad-hoc networks topology of network change very often. There core implementation of efficient routing protocol is very important problem. In many studies specific Ad-hoc protocol are used in Vehicular Ad-hoc networks scenarios like AODV, DSDV etc. but they have a poor performance. The main goal of this paper is to discuss the issues related to finding path between the communication end points, what is aggravated through the vehicle mobility.
On the quasi-likelihood estimation for random coefficient autoregressions

We examine the Gaussian quasi-maximum likelihood estimator (QMLE) for random coefficient autoregressions. Consistency and asymptotic normality are established for general random coefficients and general correlation structure between these coefficients and the noise. In particular, the obtained results apply even if the stationary solution has infinite absolute mean or infinite variance. Next an application to the integer-valued times series modelling is given which provides a novel alternative for traditional INAR-like models for these series.
On the empirical content of the formal-informal labor market segmentation hypothesis

In this paper we pursue three objectives. First, we compare the wage-distributions in the informal and formal sectors for a group of workers employed in the Brazilian Construction Sector. The empirical regularities we encounter are not, however, specific to this particular group of workers. Indeed, similar resulta are also observed for several other homogeneous groups. Second, we investigate how observed differences in means, variances, and quantiles should be interpreted. Finally, we describe three models for the formal-informal segmentation of the labor market, analyse their consistency with the observed regularities, and discuss how these regularities should be interpreted in the context of each individual model. We conclude that the observed regularities are consistent with a wide range of models, although their interpretation varies remarkably depending on the model we are considering.
A novel addressable switching micro corner cube array for free-space optical applications

We report on a novel addressable switching micro corner cube array for wide free-space optical applications. The corner cube, composed of three mutually orthogonal reflective surfaces, may reflect incident light beam at any angle to its incoming direction. The use of the reflective corner cube array is equivalent to an integration of a lens and a well-aligned mirror array in an appropriate optical configuration. Critical alignment problems can be greatly alleviated. Incorporated with a grating and other optical components, the corner cube is preset to maintain reflective light to its incoming direction, or allowed to provide actuation on one of the reflective planes, causing destruction of its three mutually orthogonal planes for free-space wavelength selection or intensity variation.
Identifying Program Characteristics for Preparing Pre-Service Teachers for Diversity

Background/Context Educating pre-service teachers to develop multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills for teaching diverse students is a major responsibility of teacher education program coordinators and teacher educators. Numerous studies have discussed and explored the characteristics of teacher preparation that improve pre-service teachers’ competency to teach diverse students. However, only a few empirical studies have examined the relationship between preparation characteristics and pre-service teachers’ multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills. Research Questions The study answered two research questions: 1) How do the initial level and change in pre-service teachers’ beliefs about diversity in personal and professional contexts differ by their background characteristics? and 2) What characteristics of teacher preparation for diversity reported by pre-service teachers are associated with positive changes in their beliefs about diversity in personal and professional contexts, controlling for their background characteristics? Participants The participants were 243 pre-service teachers enrolled in eight sections in a diversity course and accompanied field experience component in a teacher education program in a Midwest Research I university. Research Design Pre- and post-surveys were conducted to examine: 1) pre-service teachers’ background characteristics (gender, socioeconomic status, class standing, hometown location, and prior exposure to diversity), 2) beliefs about diversity in personal and professional contexts, and 3) four characteristics of teacher preparation for diversity: classroom as a learning community; instructor modeling constructivist and culturally-responsive teaching; field experience for understanding diverse students; and opportunity for reflection. Findings The study found that three characteristics of teacher preparation for diversity reported by pre-service teachers: 1) classroom as a learning community, 2) instructor modeling constructivist and culturally-responsive teaching, and 3) field experience for understanding diverse students were significantly associated with positive changes in pre-service teachers’ beliefs about diversity in both personal and professional contexts. Conclusions/Recommendations Creating a sense of community in classrooms, and modeling constructivist and culturally responsive teaching are likely to promote positive beliefs about diversity among pre-service teachers. In addition, field experiences should promote pre-service teachers’ interactions with people from diverse backgrounds, assign a mentor to support their learning experience and promote self reflection, and provide opportunities to understand the connection with diversity coursework.
Kinematic distances of pre-main-sequence stars in the Lupus star-forming region

Abstract To reliably determine the main physical parameters (masses and ages) of young stars, we must know their distances. While the average distance to nearby star-forming regions (<300 pc) is often known, the distances to individual stars are usually unknown. Individual distances to members of young moving groups can be derived from their radial velocities and proper motions using the convergent-point strategy. We investigate the kinematic properties of the Lupus moving group with the primary objective of deriving individual distances to all group members.
Explaining English Middle Sentences Kabyong

The current paper attempts to account for the formation of English middle sentences. Discussing a set of previous analyses on the construction under investigation we show, following the assumptions of Oosten(1986) and Iwata(1999), that English middle constructions should be divided into two types: generic middle constructions and non-generic middle ones. The distinction is shown to be closely related with the tense aspect of the verbs: the structural subject in the former is interpreted as generic with the present tense, while the latter can take past tense and progressive aspect with a non-generic subject. Other thematic roles than Agent can be realized as the structural subjects. In the generic interpretation, the intrinsic property of the plays the role of cause and is primary responsible for the event denoted by middle verb. In the nongeneric interpretation, on the other hand, a specific event plays the part of cause and thus can take the past tense. Middle verbs are lexically derived from a set of activity or accomplishment verbs that carry [-state, +process] aspect features. After derivations, the verbs in the generic interpretation possess [+state, +process, +repetition] aspect feature, and those of the non-generic one, [-state, +process, -repetition]. Another contrast lies in the definiteness of the subjects: the generic interpretation involves an indefinite/generic subject and the non-generic one needs a definite/non-generic subject.
Gaze interaction enhances problem solving: Effects of dwell-time based, gaze-augmented, and mouse interaction on problem-solving strategies and user experience

It is still unknown whether the very application of gaze for interaction has effects on cognitive strategies users employ and how these effects materialize. We conducted a between-subject experiment in which thirty-six participants interacted with a computerized problem-solving game using one of three interaction modalities: dwell-time, gaze-augmented interaction, and the conventional mouse. We observed how using each of the modalities affected performance, problem solving strategies, and user experience. Users with gaze-augmented interaction outperformed the other groups on several problem-solving measures, committed fewer errors, were more immersed, and had a better user experience. The results give insights to the cognitive processes during interaction using gaze and have implications on the design of eye-tracking interfaces.
The paleoclimatic record provided by eolian deposition in the deep sea: The geologic history of wind

The mineral component of pelagic sediment is brought to the deep sea by transport in the wind. Extraction and analysis of this dust allows estimation of the past aridity of the eolian source region, via flux determinations, and of the intensity of the transporting winds, from grain size data. These two parameters, the grain size and mass flux of dust, vary independently. There are three significant sources of modern dust, eastern and central Asia, northwest Africa, and Arabia, all in the northern hemisphere. As the rainfall associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone is an effective barrier to southerly transport of dust, the northern hemisphere is an order of magnitude more “dusty” than is the southern, an asymmetry that has characterized most of the Cenozoic. Eolian flux data show that most of the northern hemisphere was more arid during glacial maxima, with 3 to 5 times as much dust transported during glacial stages than during interglacials; only northwestern South America varied in the opposite sense. The periodicity of Quaternary variation in both eolian flux and eolian grain size data is strongly influenced by the Milankovitch cycles of orbital variability. Wind intensities vary on a shorter time scale than the general 100-kyr cycles of glaciation and general aridity. Eolian grain sizes display forcing at precessional (19 and 23 kyr), tilt (41 kyr), and at approximately 30 kyr periodicities. As a result the generalization that winds are uniformly stronger during glacial times is not valid. Whole-Cenozoic records show that the largest change in dust flux, an order of magnitude increase, occurred in the northern hemisphere and reflects continental drying associated with the late Pliocene onset of northern hemisphere glaciation. Southern hemisphere eolian records show no sign of paleoclimatic changes in the late Pliocene. The most important change in Cenozoic atmospheric circulation was a severalfold reduction in wind intensity that occurred at the time of the Paleocene-Eocene boundary. Before then, latest Cretaceous and Paleocene winds were essentially as strong as those of the late Cenozoic. This shift appears to be one of several climatic responses to a change in the nature and amount of global heat transport at about 55 Ma.