Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reducing address translation overheads with virtual caching

This dissertation research addresses overheads in supporting virtual memory, especially virtual-to-physical address translation overheads (i.e., performance, power, and energy) via a Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB). To overcome the overheads, we revisit virtually indexed, virtually tagged caches. In practice, they have not been common in commercial microarchitecture designs, and the crux of the problem is the complications of dealing with virtual address synonyms. This thesis makes novel, empirical observations, based on real world applications, that show temporal properties of synonym accesses. By exploiting these observations, we propose a practical virtual cache design with dynamic synonym remapping (VC-DSR), which effectively reduces the design complications of virtual caches. The proposed approach (1) dynamically decides a unique virtual page number for all the synonymous virtual pages that map to the same physical page and (2) uses this unique page number to place and look up data in the virtual caches, while data from the physical page resides in the virtual caches. Accesses to this unique page number proceed without any intervention. Accesses to other synonymous pages are dynamically detected, and remapped to the corresponding unique virtual page number to correctly access data in the cache. Such remapping operations are rare, due to the temporal properties of synonyms, allowing our proposal to achieve most of the benefits (i.e., performance, power, and energy) of virtual caches, without software involvement. We evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed virtual cache design by integrating it into modern CPUs as well as GPUs in heterogeneous systems. For the proposed L1 virtual cache of CPUs, the experimental results show that our proposal saves about 92% of dynamic
Modelling interface standards battles : A retroductive system dynamics approach

Competition between technology standards for market share is a complicated phenomenon where a large number of factors have an impact on the outcome according to the literature. Inevitably studying their influence, for example the timing of market entry, is a challenge. The generic simulation model presented here builds on previous work and is applied to four cases of standard competition from the literature. Following a retroductive research design, reproducing the results of each case the model provides support for the soundness of the underlying theoretical framework used to analyse the case studies. It thus increases the confidence in its validity and provides a formal basis for further empirical and theoretical work.
Bitcoin as an example of cryptocurrency – current state and perspectives

The idea of anonymous digital money existing outside of traditional banking system lasts at least 40 years. It appeared as soon as technological solutions, which such a system requires, became available. The article analyses the genesis of the crypto-currencies and technological solutions implemented into the Bitcoin digital currency. The article shows current state of the Bitcoin market and changes in its price, market capitalisation and number of transactions during last decade of operations of the crypto-currency market. Although there are difficulties in using Bitcoins, which include technical background and resulting from the high volatility of prices of this currency, the continuing upward trend of the Bitcoin price and the average daily number of transactions shows that interest in this currency is growing. Bitcoin features that attract new users are a large dose of anonymity, security of funds guaranteed by the extremely high computing power of the Bitcoin network, the speed of transactions and their low cost associated with the exclusion of a financial intermediary. The features of this money and data from the market allow to expect that Bitcoin will gain more individual and institutional users.
Sources Of Missed Understanding: A Framework For Diagnosing Comprehension Breakdown

iv LIST OF TABLES . ix LIST OF FIGURES . x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . 1 Statement of the Problem . 2 Research Purpose and Questions . 7 Defining Terms . 10 Significance . 13 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . 16 Outside the Scope of the Study . 17 Theoretical Foundations . 22 How We Comprehend in the Head, During Reading . 26 Comprehension Instruction . 31 Content Approaches . 31 Strategies Approaches . 37 Comparing Content and Strategies Approaches . 46 Instructional Choices and Adaptive Instruction . 50 Reading Comprehension Assessment . 52 Recent Developments in Reading Comprehension Assessment . 52 Formative Classroom Assessment During Authentic Learning . 56 Determining What to Assess: Sources of Comprehension Breakdown . 55
A tale of two Italies: ‘access-orders’ and the Italian regional divide

ABSTRACT This paper uses the ‘access orders’ paradigm developed by North, Wallis, and Weingast [(2009). Violence and social order: A conceptual framework for interpreting recorded human history. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press] to analyse the case of the Italian North–South economic divide. In line with their framework, we collect and discuss several social and political indicators over the long-run, at the regional level. Firstly we looked at data on the pre-conditions for the establishment of an open-access order, such as murders per capita (a proxy for control over violence), voting turnout and referendums participation (proxies for political legitimacy), and the impersonality of exchange. We then showed evidence of different access orders in the North and in the South, using the information on human capital formation, women participation in the labour market, and referendum results. On the basis of this evidence, we argue that, despite being part of the same State and subject to the same formal institutions, the North of the country progressively developed into an open-access order, while the South remained a form of limited access order. Institutional differences are linked to specific aspects of the economic performance of the two areas, thus the ‘access order’ paradigm appears to be an effective conceptual scheme to explain the North–South economic divide.
The Prevalence of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Federal Prison Inmates

THE PREVALENCE OF POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AMONG FEDERAL PRISON INMATES By Robert K. Guthrie Epidemiological studies concerning the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have identified lifetime rates for males ranging from 0.5% to 6%. By contrast, studies of prison inmates have identified lifetime prevalence rates for PTSD ranging from 2.3% to 13%. The central hypothesis of this study stated that prevalence rates for incarcerated males are higher than previously identified. In the study, 100 federal inmates were assessed for PTSD using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale-DX (CAPS-DX), the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic ScaleTM (PDSTM), and the Keane Scale from the MMPI-2. Using the CAPS-DX as the official diagnostic instrument, a lifetime prevalence rate of 30% and a current prevalence rate of 14% were identified. Both rates were significantly higher than previously identified rates. Corrections psychologists were unaware of the presence of all but one PTSD case identified in the study. The PDSTM was identified as an effective screening instrument for use with federal inmates, and a previously determined cut-off score of 24 on the Keane Scale was confirmed as useful with this population. All three instruments, the CAPS-DX, PDSTM, and Keane Scale agreed on nine of 14 diagnoses for current PTSD. The current research confirmed previous research indicating that the number of potentially traumatic events experienced by an individual is associated with increased levels of PTSD symptomatology. Although it had been hypothesized that African-Americans and Hispanics would have higher rates of PTSD than Caucasians, just the opposite was found. Incarceration itself was identified as a traumatic stressor that can precipitate PTSD symptomatology. However, most of the identified PTSD cases were not the result of a discrete stressor, but of multiple stressors. The study’s efficacy was limited by the sample’s lack of representativeness of both the site and the federal inmate population as a whole. This resulted from the unrepresentative racial composition of the research site and the diminished participation of AfricanAmerican inmates. This diminished participation may have resulted, in part, from the racial dissimilarity of the investigator. A study involving a greater number of participants,
When There Is No Magic Bullet: An Interlocking Approach of Managing E-Books

ABSTRACT This conference report describes the challenges arising from the growth of the e-book market and explores how a mix of proprietary and open source systems can be used to manage e-book collections. The author uses an analogy of building with Legos to evoke an interlocking approach to e-book management. The discussion addresses functionality and pain points of mainstream, commercial systems and explores the ways that open source tools can be used alongside traditional software to create a more full-featured environment.
Investigating comparative genocide teaching in two high school classrooms

ABSTRACT This exploratory case study examined how two teachers used a comparative approach to teach genocide histories in a Holocaust Literature elective course. Through interviews and observations, we studied how the teachers guided students in comparing genocides as well as how they used survivor testimonies in their instruction. We found that teachers engaged in three types of comparison throughout the unit under study: defining genocide as the basis of comparison, discussing similarities and differences, and expanding students’ knowledge of genocide beyond the Holocaust. The teachers set up their classrooms as safe places for learning about genocide as difficult history, yet they did not shield their students from its horrors. Additionally, they encouraged their students to take action against genocide outside of the classroom. This study adds to the limited empirical research on teaching comparative genocide and has implications for curriculum design and teacher education.
Stakeholders’ Attributions of Whistleblowers: The Effects of Complicity and Motives on Perceptions of Likeability, Credibility, and Legitimacy

Organizational wrongdoing remains a persistent, prevalent problem, one that leads to exponentially more injuries, deaths, and cost than street crime in the United States each year. Whistleblowing has become one of the primary ways in which wrongdoing is exposed and investigated, but without support from key stakeholders, whistleblowing may not affect constructive change. This study used an attribution theory framework to explore relationships between stakeholders’ perceptions of different types of whistleblowers. Specifically, we varied whistleblowers’ motives (altruistic and selfish) and involvement in wrongdoing (complicit or innocence) to test their effects on stakeholders’ intentions to ostracize the whistleblower and their perceptions of the whistleblower’s likeability, legitimacy, and three dimensions of credibility (goodwill, trustworthiness, and competence). Respondents were composed of two stakeholder groups, fraternity and sorority members and university alumni. Results indicate that both stakeholder groups found the innocent whistleblower more likeable and credible than the complicit whistleblower, while the fraternity/sorority respondents found the altruistic whistleblowers more likeable, credible, and legitimate, than their selfish counterparts. The article concludes with implications of the findings for whistleblowers, and limitations and directions for future research.
Investigation of the effect of articulatory-based second language production learning on speech perception

The effect of second language production training on perception has been previously explored, but it remains unclear whether such training by itself influences the perception of speech sounds. In previous work participants heard the correct pronunciation of the target while simultaneously undergoing production training, making it unclear what component of improvement was due to the production training alone. In the current study we have therefore modified our electromagnetic articulometer-based training system, which provides estimates of learner-specific head-corrected tongue positions for a target utterance in real time, to eliminate simultaneous presentation of audio stimuli. Japanese learners of the American English vowel /ae/ performed ABX perceptual testing on this vowel before and after the visually presented articulatory-based pronunciation training. We examined whether or not the production-driven pronunciation improvement also induces a change in the perception of the second language sounds.
Futuremaking and digital engagement: from everyday interests to educational trajectories

ABSTRACT In this article, we explore and discuss how educational trajectories relate to the overall learning lives of students. Sociocultural studies have examined the use of artifacts, cultural resources, and literacy practices as part of human development over time. Our interest is in how digital technologies create new possibilities for futuremaking in the intersection between formal and informal ways of learning. We will provide personal narratives of three young people who are deeply engaged in creative activities involving new technology: gaming, k-pop, and Lego robotics. The analysis shows how digital technologies and media practices become resources when young people are creating futures for themselves.
Fundamental approach to exchange rate modeling: Toward an augmented theory of purchasing power parity

In this dissertation, I test the homogeneity and symmetry conditions of PPP by applying the Johansen multivariate cointegration methodology to quarterly data for six countries. I perform the tests in the framework of both a traditional version and an augmented version of PPP. The results of tests on the traditional version of PPP reveal that in all cases the theoretical PPP-vector [1, 1,-1] is not contained in the cointegrating space. This finding is consistent with that of existing literature and indicates the empirical failure of the homogeneity and symmetry conditions of PPP. However, when the traditional PPP is augmented with several non-price variables (real interest rate differential, relative growth rate of real GDP, relative current account balance as a percentage of GDP, and relative terms of trade), the theoretical PPP-vector [1, 1, —1] exists in all the instances except Germany. The fact that the theoretical PPP-vector exists in the augmented model but not in the traditional model indicates that the empirical failure of the PPP is caused by misspecification as a result of missing variables. The true relationship between exchange rates and prices, i.e., the homogeneity and symmetry conditions of PPP, is revealed once those ‘missing variables’ are added to the model. One potential reason for the failure to find the theoretical PPP-vector [1, 1, —1] in the case of Germany is the structural break caused by monetary reunification between Eastern and Western Germany in 1992.
Employees reactance and survival strategies in an underperforming Zimbabwean parastatal

This research is an analysis of employees’ survival strategies in an under-performing Zimbabwean parastatal. It argues that employees’ survival strategies may evidence failure of an organisation to accommodate changing realities under conditions of distress. The prevailing economic conditions in Zimbabwe may discourage employees from switching jobs even though they are not paid by their employer so that they pursue compensatory actions to survive. This study is based on qualitative research conducted among employees in a Zimbabwean parastatal, which has been struck in perennial performance challenges resulting in its failure to consistently fulfil its obligations to employees as evidenced by delays in salary payments, acute shortages of tools and poor labour relations in general. Employees have resultantly resorted to alternative survival means, such as theft, fabricating leave, moonlighting, including refusal to leave company’s accommodation facilities. They perceive that management is ignorant of their plights, and their interests in formal collective job actions are eroded as they seem to be flogging a dead horse. These employees’ survival strategies are believed to drain the entity’s depreciating resources, with the further milking likely to have ruinous consequences. Most of these strategies are pursued in subtle and unobservable ways to evade immediate management action. Key words: Employees’ reactance, employees’ survival strategies, parastatal.
Job Demands and Work Engagement: Call for More Urgent Empirical Attention

The current paper aimed to drive the attention of employee wellbeing scholars on the concept of job demands. The author has worked to indicate that there has been a significant amount of attention paid to elements that could enhance individual psychological wellbeing at work, famously known as engagement. However, not equitable scholarly attention has been paid to the factors that act as depleting factors of psychological resourcefulness of individuals thus, resulting in decreasing employees` work engagement. Through performing critical review of promising literature on the topic, the current paper has underlined that job demands have a major role in deciding upon the level of engagement of an employee at work wherein, workload and emotional demands are the most critical ones. The paper has concluded by welcoming aspiring scholars on the topic to further study to help practitioners understand the consequences of job demands and how to go about avoiding them to ensure healthy levels of employees` work engagement.
Reference Signal Effects on Task Discrimination Algorithms for EEG-based BCIs

The reference signal in EEG recordings can affect features such as signal energy, phase synchrony and coherence, acquired from the EEG data [1–3]. In this study we investigate the influence of referencing methods on the performance of task discrimination techniques used in BCIs. Together with more commonly used referencing methods we also consider the reference electrode standardization technique developed by Yao [4]. We perform tests on simulated as well as real EEG data. In particular, we use band power estimates, the method of common spatial patterns, and the phase-locking value, to determine the influence of the various referencing possibilities on classification rates for the discrimination of motor imagery tasks. The results obtained suggest that the phase synchronization measure is more sensitive to the choice of reference when compared to the band power estimates and the method of CSP. For the phase synchronization measure, references that attempt to reproduce a zero reference scalp voltage give the best performance.
Centering communities, constellations and networks of practice to improve youth post-school outcomes through PROMISE

BACKGROUND: Communities of practice continue to gain in popularity across industry sectors as a method for improving organizational performance and a multi-faceted typology has emerged over time. However, the extant literature has little to say regarding how multiple communities, constellations and networks of practice can form around a central problem in an attempt to address a broad systemic issue. OBJECTIVE: This article explores the contemporary challenges and limitations of the community of practice model and describes the approach one state took in employing a multi-faceted ‘Center of Practice’ to address the poor post-school outcomes of youth with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI). CONCLUSION: The NYS PROMISE Center of Practice is described, as are perspectives on essential core elements, and propositions for consideration when implementing large systems level Centers of Practice to address challenges and limitations described in the literature with communities of practice. Lessons learned and implications for future research end this article.
Reinforcement learning and reward estimation for dialogue policy optimisation

Modelling dialogue management as a reinforcement learning task enables a system to learn to act optimally by maximising a reward function. This reward function is designed to induce the system behaviour required for goal-oriented applications, which usually means fulfilling the user’s goal as efficiently as possible. However, in real-world spoken dialogue systems, the reward is hard to measure, because the goal of the conversation is often known only to the user. Certainly, the system can ask the user if the goal has been satisfied, but this can be intrusive. Furthermore, in practice, the reliability of the user’s response has been found to be highly variable. In addition, due to the sparsity of the reward signal and the large search space, reinforcement learning-based dialogue policy optimisation is often slow. This thesis presents several approaches to address these problems. To better evaluate a dialogue for policy optimisation, two methods are proposed. First, a recurrent neural network-based predictor pre-trained from off-line data is proposed to estimate task success during subsequent on-line dialogue policy learning to avoid noisy user ratings and problems related to not knowing the user’s goal. Second, an on-line learning framework is described where a dialogue policy is jointly trained alongside a reward function modelled as a Gaussian process with active learning. This mitigates the noisiness of user ratings and minimises user intrusion. It is shown that both off-line and on-line methods achieve practical policy learning in real-world applications, while the latter provides a more general joint learning system directly from users. To enhance the policy learning speed, the use of reward shaping is explored and shown to be effective and complementary to the core policy learning algorithm.
Design of a Bin-picking System for Large Objects with High Clutter and Occlusion

DESIGN OF A BIN-PICKING SYSTEM FOR LARGE OBJECTS WITH HIGH CLUTTER AND OCCLUSION David Jacob Kennedy Weales Advisor: University of Guelph, 2018 Professor M. Moussa This thesis presents a bin-picking system designed for large objects in bins with high clutter and occlusion. This system includes an end effector design as well as simple vision algorithms for grasping and recognition. The system overcomes vision sensor errors and uncertainty by using an innovative gripper that is both compliant and dynamic. The system was extensively tested on industrial parts in a simulated industrial environment. Results show that the system is effective at grasping objects, but has some issues recognizing and determining the pose of objects. This system was tested at a reduced speed for safety reasons, but could be capable of meeting manufacturing cycle times with some improvements. Dedication To my mother, who I miss dearly.
Advancing Dispute Resolution by Understanding the Sources of Conflict: Toward an Integrated Framework

Organizational leaders, public policymakers, dispute resolution professionals, and scholars have developed diverse methods for resolving workplace conflict. But inadequate recognition has been given to the idea that the effectiveness of a dispute resolution method depends on its fit with the source of a particular conflict. Consequently, it is essential to better understand where conflict comes from and how this affects dispute resolution. To these ends, this article uniquely integrates scholarship from multiple disciplines to develop a multidimensional framework to conceptualize the sources of conflict. This framework provides an important foundation for theorizing and identifying effective dispute resolution methods. Such methods are increasingly important as the changing world of work raises new issues, conflicts, and institutions.