Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Choice, Competition and Equity: Lessons from Research in the UK.

This paper evaluates the recent education reforms in the United Kingdom (UK) in terms of their contribution to the esta'plishment of an equitable system of education income distribution. The UK education market as it exists today was set in motion by a package of reforms introduced as a result of the 1988 Education Reform Act. That legislation was designed to deregulate both the demand and supply sides of state-provided education--to empower the customers and to make schools more responsive to consumer demand. This case study of three adjacent local education agencies (LEAS) in London obtained data from interviews with: 130 parents in the process of deciding on a secondary school for their children; and key informants in 15 schools, including administrators, teachers, union representatives, and bursars. Four key findings emerged: (1) the market is a middle-class mode of social engagement; (2) parental choice of school is classand race-informed; (3) schools are increasingly oriented toward meeting the perceived demands of middle-class parents; and (4) the cumulative impact of the first three findings is the "de-comprehensivisation of secondary schooling. " Across schools, there is an intensification of status hierarchies, provisional differentiation, and segregation within the state system. Choice, however regulated, is not the solution to inequity. From a needs-based perspective, pr.macy should be given to establishing comprehensive pupil intakes, to allocating resources in ways that will facilitate the realization of children's learning potentials, and to making schools responsive to the values and cultures of the children who attend them. (LMI) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Choice, competition and equity: lessons from research in tii UK. By Sharon Gewirtz, Richard Bowe and Stephen Ball Paper prepared for the symposium, 'Lessons in School Reform from Great Britain? The Politics of Education Policy Appropriation and Transfer', Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association, New Orleans, 6 April 1994. BEST COPY AVAILABLE U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Once or F CluCOOnsl Research and impeoverrient EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This doc,rnenl has been reproduced as receoved rrOr. the person or 0,glinilat.0n orig.natmg 1 n M.nor changes have been made lo 'eD,OCIUCi,an raldy Points of new Or 010 005 staled fethqikitt. _ mem do . 01 . 6COSSarily represent Ott c,k, OE RI posiliOn or policy -PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATE L HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC). " Choice, competition and equity: lessons from research in t14,
EVALUATION OF BLOOD VESSEL STIFFNESS INDEX USING OPTICAL RECORDING WITH A SMART PHONE

In this study, we acquired video images from the index finger of subjects using white light emitting diode (WLED) of a smart phone as light source and a camera as optical detector on a frame-by-frame basis, converted the acquired images into red, green and blue (RGB) formats and detected the images in the form of photoplethysmography (PPG) waveforms through real-time video signal processing. Through utilization of secondary derivative photoplethysmography (SDPTG), a PPG second order differential form, the parameters used to monitor arterial stiffness of b/a ratio, d/a ratio and Aging Index (AI) were calculated. From the results of correlation analysis between the value calculated from smart phone and the value calculated by reference equipment, statistically significant results of b/a ratio (r=0.919, p<0.001), d/a ratio (r=0.889, p<0.001) and AI (r=0.938, p<0.001) were obtained. Based on this, we carried out evaluation on the arterial stiffness such as arteriosclerosis using optical devices of smart phones.
Wear behavior of as‐cast and heat treated triple particle size SiC reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the wear behavior of as‐cast (AC) and heat treated (HT) triple particle size (TPS) silicon carbide (SiC) reinforced aluminum alloy‐based metal matrix composites (SiCp/Al‐MMC). Design/methodology/approach – Al‐MMCs were prepared using 20 vol.% SiC reinforcement into aluminum metal matrix and developed using a stir casting process. Stir casting is a primary process of composite production whereby the reinforcement ingredient material is incorporated into the molten metal by stirring. The TPS composite consist of SiC of three different sizes viz., coarse, intermediate, and fine. The solution heat treatment was done on AC composite at 540°C for 4 h followed by precipitation treatment. The wear test was carried out using a pin‐on‐disc type tribo‐test machine under dry sliding condition. A mathematical analysis was also done for power factor values based on wear and friction results. The wear morphology of the damaged surface was also studied using optical microsco.
Sparse Fast Fourier Transform and its application in intelligent diagnosis system of train rolling bearing

Healthy status monitoring of train bearing online is very meaningful work. But as traditional diagnosis system does, performing Fourier spectrum with the datum from more than 200 bearings in a marshalling train is an enormous challenge. Here a healthy status monitoring system of train rolling bearing based on Sparse Fast Fourier Transform (SFFT) is proposed. The monitoring system consists two sequential parts. First, extract fault features based on SFFT spectrum and other time-domain parameters. According to train bearing working environment, altogether 7 fault features are extracted in this paper. Another part is constructing a classifier based on BP neural network. Experimental results show that the system proposed here achieves gratifying results comparing with traditional fault diagnosis system
Effectiveness and reliability analysis of emergency measures for flood prevention

During flood events emergency measures are used to prevent breaches in flood defences. However, there is still limited insight in their reliability and effectiveness. The objective of this paper is to develop a method to determine the reliability and effectiveness of emergency measures for flood defences. The investigation is focused on measures that prevent breaching of a flood defence in a river system; measures to limit and/or close breaches are beyond the scope. To determine the failure probability of flood defences with emergency measures two assessments are made: 1) the reliability of implantation of emergency measures is determined and 2) the effect of the implemented emergency measures on the reliability of the flood defence. For an emergency measure to function correctly three phases need to be passed successfully: ‘Detection’, where weak spots in the flood defence are detected, ‘Placement’, where emergency measures are built on time, and 'Construction’, which is the successful functioning of the emergency measures. The reliability of ‘Detection’ and ‘Placement’ depends on human and organizational reliability and the feasibility of complete placement of the measures within the available time. The reliability of the ‘Construction’ concerns the structural performance of the emergency measure. For a case study along a part of a river in the Netherlands a failure probability of emergency measures for the piping failure mechanism is estimated to be 1/3 per event. The human / organizational reliability during ‘Detection’ and ‘Placement’ proved to be dominant. When translated to dike ring level the failure probability is reduced with about a factor 2. This is largely explained by the length effect: with increasing amounts of weak spots in a flood defence the contribution of emergency measures will decrease.
An Ecohydrology approach to the Danube River, and the “enviroGRIDS” project

Abstract The paper presents a review of research performed on the Danube River, Danube Delta and Black Sea area, carried out since 1990 by the National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management (NIHWM), Bucharest, and other institutes, and indicates how the main concepts and principles of Ecohydrology are being used and implemented. A closer view is given to the large scale research project entitled: “Building Capacity for a Black Sea Catchment Observation and Assessment System supporting sustainable Development”, known as “EnviroGRIDS”. Somes of these ideas and principles of Ecohydrology were applied to the activities developed under the project. The paper gives an idea of a compatibility of the research and activities being undertaken with Ecohydrology theory and methods, and presents the way this can serve good management practices and sustainable river basin development.
Knitted Complex Networks

To a considerable extent, the continuing importance and popularity of complex networks as models of real-world structures has been motivated by scale free degree distributions as well as the respectively implied hubs. Being related to sequential connections of edges in networks, paths represent another important, dual pattern of connectivity (or motif) in complex networks (e.g., paths are related to important concepts such as betweeness centrality). The present work proposes a new supercategory of complex networks which are organized and/or constructed in terms of paths. Two specific network classes are proposed and characterized: (i) PA networks, obtained by star-path transforming Barabasi-Albert networks; and (ii) PN networks, built by performing progressive paths involving all nodes without repetition. Such new networks are important not only from their potential to provide theoretical insights, but also as putative models of real-world structures. The connectivity structure of these two models is investigated comparatively to four traditional complex networks models (Erdos-Renyi, Barabasi-Albert, Watts-Strogatz and a geographical model). A series of interesting results are described, including the corroboration of the distinct nature of the two proposed models and the importance of considering a comprehensive set of measurements and multivariated statistical methods for the characterization of complex networks.
Archéologie et anthropologie de la nécropole du Néolithique moyen de Barmaz (Valais, Suisse)

La necropole de Barmaz, bien connue depuis les annees cinquante par les travaux de M. -R. Sauter, fait ici l'objet d'une reevaluation qui integre les resultats des fouilles recentes et qui tient compte des acquis methodologiques dans les domaines de l'archeologie et de l'anthropologie. L'ensemble funeraire reunit 59 tombes, ou ont ete inhumes 70 individus au moins. L'etude des pratiques funeraires, appuyee par des comparaisons avec des sites fouilles recemment, apporte des elements nouveaux sur le fonctionnement de ce cimetiere de type Chamblandes. Quant a l'anthropologie, elle se concentre sur la recherche d'affinites entre individus ou entre populations par l'etude de la biometrie et des traits non-metriques (dentaires et crâniens).
The Pragma-Ideological Implications of Using Reported Speech: The Case of Reporting on the Al-Aqsa Intifada

From a systemic linguistics perspective, this paper investigates, via a corpus discourse analysis of news stories, the news reporters’ purposes and intentions of using direct and/or indirect quotations (henceforth DQs & IQs) in news reporting. By randomly selecting and analysing a number of news stories taken from two leading American and two leading British newspapers, reporting the same two incidents of killing resulting from the al-Aqsa Intifada, this study reveals the following: 1. DQs are used to add some flavour, vividness and a sense of immediacy and authority to the news story that can be manipulated in such a way as to achieve a variety of certain socio-political ends, e.g. to make a mere viewpoint seem authoritative rather than personal (in our case the newsmaker’s). 2. DQs function as a distancing and a disowning device, i.e. absolving the journalist/the news reporter from endorsement of what the source, i.e. the newsmaker, has said. 3. DQs are also used to show that what is reported is an unconvertible fact, despite the fact that a news reporter may take sides by selecting quotations, and may thus exhibit a biased and prejudiced position. As for the use of IQs, this study also reveals the following: 1. They show the subjective perspective of the news reporter, since he/she merely paraphrases and gives a summary of the content of what has been recorded, written or uttered by the newsmaker. <<<2. They indicate the political bias and prejudice of the news reporter. 3. They sometimes present an ambiguous account of what has been recorded, written or uttered by the newsmaker, since the news reporter only presents an interpretation, as in the cases of free direct & indirect quotations (henceforth FDQs & FIQs). However, IQs, and to a lesser extent DQs, can also serve the news reporter, by means of manipulating the pragma-linguistic functions of the reporting/projecting verbs, in assessing and evaluating both the socio-political stance and status of the newsmaker, in addition to exposing the political bias of the news reporter him-/herself.
Measuring sustainable economic development through a multidimensional Gini index

This paper analyse the evolution of the sustainable economic development inequality in Italy as regard the efforts made by each administrative Regions as a response to the main EU policies issued in the environmental and energy sector. To this scope, a multidimensional generalization of the Gini index has been performed, taking into account two different dimensions (energy and environment), in a time period six years long (2008-2013). The multidimensional Gini results confirm the positive effect recorded by such kind of EU policies in determining a reduction in the inequality levels among the Italian Regions. A counterfactual analysis further underlined the relevant role played by the energetic dimension against the environmental one in strengthening Regions performances.
A Monte Carlo simulation of magnetic field line tracing in the solar wind

It is well known that the structure of magnetic field lines in solar wind can be influenced by the presence of the magnetohydrodynamic turbulence. We have developed a Monte Carlo simulation which traces the magnetic field lines in the heliosphere, including the effects of magnetic turbulence. These effects are modelled by random operators which are proportional to the square root of the magnetic field line diffusion coefficient. The modelling of the random terms is explained, in detail, in the case of numerical integration by discrete steps. Furthermore, a proper evaluation of the diffusion coefficient is obtained by a numerical simulation of transport in anisotropic magnetic turbulence. The scaling of the fluctuation level and of the correlation lengths with the distance from the Sun are also taken into account. As a consequence, plasma transport across the average magnetic field direction is obtained. An application to the propagation of energetic particles from corotating interacting regions to high heliographic latitudes is considered.
The population structure and dynamics of Macrozamia riedlei within the Perth region

Macrozamia riedlei is a long lived, large seeded member of the cycad family, common to the Jarrah forest and Banksia woodlands within the Perth region of Western Australia. Because of the large size of the seeds (up to 50mm), it is believed that large bodied herbivores are required to act as dispersal agents. Currently, the Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is considered to be the primary dispersal agent for M. riedlei. Due to anthropogenic activities, much of the habitat of M.riedlei is becoming fragmented primarily through agricultural and residential land clearing. This leads to the potential restriction of long distance dispersal of seed, required for healthy gene flow and the ability for range expansion in the face of an uncertain climatic future. The aims of this study were to investigate the current population structure of M. riedlei at three locations within the Perth region and to identify dispersal agents and the distance they can disperse seeds. The sites chosen were Avon Valley, Sawyers Valley and Kings Park; these three sites were chosen since they present a gradient in emu population density, from abundant at Avon Valley to absent for a century at Kings Park. To ascertain how these three populations of M. riedlei were currently structured, all plants in replicate 50x50m plots were recorded at each site and the data used to analyse the demographic and spatial structure of each population. Because of the gradient in emu population density, it was hypothesised that the spatial and demographic structure would differ at each site, due to the availability of emus to disperse the seeds of M. riedlei. The three study sites were shown to be very similar in population structure despite the difference in emu numbers. It was also found that the Australia Raven (Corvis coronoides) was capable of dispersing the seeds of M. riedlei over distances of up to 390m, indicating that ravens are able to act as suitable dispersers of M.riedlei seeds and in the absence of emus maybe considered as a key dispersal agent.
Research on Mortgage-Backed Securitization Structure

Asset securitization is an important way to improve bank asset liability structure, and can offer investors financial tools with high yields. Owing to the rapid and stable development of the financial market, the large-scale asset securitization age is on the way. To establish a complete and reasonable mortgage-backed securitization structuring model, this paper firstly introduced a method to estimate the repayment default rate based on distributional robust optimization. Then it improved a credit rating system by containing an option on the mortgage market value. Finally it proposed to use the dynamic programming model to structure the mortgage-backed securities. It is supposed to make a contribution to the financial innovation in China and put forward fresh ideals.
Capital Structure and Investment Efficiency: Empirical Evidence from Companies Listed in Tehran Stock Exchange

The main purpose of this study is investigating the relationship between capital structure and investment efficiency. The sample of this study, includes 87 companies listed in the Tehran Stock Exchange during the period 2009 to 2013 and for processing and testing hypothesis, Estimated Generalized Least Squares (EGLS) method is used. Study results show that capital structure (leverage) has a negative and significant impact on the investment efficiency.
The effectiveness of regular physical education program on obesity among elementary school students in Iran

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of regular physical education (PE) on obesity among Iranian elementary school. A quasi experimental design was for this study. Two Schools, boys and girls, in Tehran were randomly selected. 50 obese students selected from each school according purposive sampling method and divided randomly to experimental and control groups. Before starting the experiment student’s BMI were measured as a pretest. Regular physical education program three times a week for 12 session were done. After the last session student’s BMI were measured again as a post test data. Our findings showed the significantly differences between before and after physical education training in all of the quantitative parameters including weight and measures BMI in both genders. However, there were no significantly differences between weight and measured BMI between boys and girls after physical education training, but these parameters showed significantly changes in every group individually. Although measured BMI showed significantly differences after physical education program in both genders but the BMI percentile not change significantly. Our results suggested that friendly physical education programs at schools are effective on control weight.
TEMPERATURE OF GASES IN A TRACE OF WATER DROPLETS DURING THEIR MOTION IN A FLAME

The paper experimentally investigates the integral characteristics of the processes involved in the reduction of gas temperature by injecting the aerosol flow of water droplets into a counter flow of combustion products (period of steady low gas temperature Tg’ compared to the initial Tg, range of temperature decrease (ΔTg=Tg-Tg’), rate of temperature recovery, the geometric dimensions of the temperature traces and their lifetime). We use the following recording devices: fast-response thermocouples (heat inertia less than 0.1 s), a multichannel recorder, a high-speed video camera (up to 105 frames per second), as well as a cross-correlation hardware and software package (with optical methods for recording the front and trace of the aerosol). The temperature trace of an aerosol is defined as the area with the temperature Tg’ lower than the initial Tg by at least 10 K. We determine how the following group of factors affects the characteristics of temperature traces of water droplets: size (0.04-0.4 mm) and concentrations (3·10-5- 11·10-5 m3 of droplet/m3 of gas) of droplets in a pulse, the initial temperature of water (280-340 K), the duration of a pulse (1-5 s), the temperature (350- 950 K) and velocities (0.5-5 m/s) of combustion products. The temperature in a trace of water droplets during their motion in a flame can be reduced due to rapid vaporization or heat exchange between the gases and water. The conditions are identified, under which the low temperature of gases in a trace of droplet aerosol can be preserved for a long time (20–30 s). Finally, we forecast the parameters of temperature traces under the conditions of actual fires with combustion product temperatures over 1000 K.
FULL PHONETIC COMPLEMENTATION, SEMANTIC CLASSIFIERS, AND SEMANTIC DETERMINATIVES IN ANCIENT MAYAN HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING

Abstract This paper discusses a little understood spelling practice of Mayan hieroglyphic writing, the use of full phonetic complementation of logograms, and some implications derived from this practice, particularly when compared with similar practices in other logosyllabic scripts from around the world (e.g., Egyptian and Luvian), which suggest that such practice existed in association with semantic classifiers. Also, a preliminary distinction between two types of semantograms is made: semantic classifiers and semantic determinatives. Previous discussions of both types of signs are reviewed, and it is proposed that the two are more widespread and important in Mayan writing than previously thought. The implications of these results are clear: Mayanists, particularly epigraphers, need to pay more attention to this distinction in their decipherment efforts, as well as in any future philological and paleographic endeavors. The paper concludes with a proposal for the interrelationship between the stylistic evolution of graphemes and the development of semantic classifiers and determinatives.