Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Educating Reflective Learner Centered Designers

In this paper we discuss a multi-disciplinary course for educating reflective designers of technology-enhanced learning environments. The course supports the coordination of students in two disciplines, human-computer interaction and instructional systems design. Through the multidisciplinary teaming and an ontology of design processes, students in the course are encouraged to develop reflective practice as educational designers. Learner-centered design of technology-enhanced educational environments (learning technology design, or LT design for short) requires both a focus on the learning goals for the design, and the ability to connect learning goals to their implementation in interfaces. While the ends, learning, may be relatively clear, it requires special expertise to develop the means for supporting learning through technologies. Early proponents of learner-centered design (Soloway et al.) were cross-trained individuals with a background in both computer science and education. The TRAILS project (http://www.trails-project.org) has as its aim producing more such individuals who can successfully integrate usability and interface design with educational theory and practice to produce effective learning environments (see DiGiano et. al., 2005.) In this paper, we first discuss our goals for the Penn State TRAILS course, including a blend of both learning design and interaction design. We then discuss our pedagogical strategy for this goal, namely using reflective practice of design methods in an interdisciplinary context. We then describe the course in detail, including our teaming strategy, projects and assignments to promote student reflection and practice of various design methods, and an ontology of design methods used to help students compare and contrast various learning and interaction design methodologies.
Low cycle fatigue of surface mounted chip carrier/printed wiring board joints

Chip-barrier/printed-wiring-board joints have been tested isothermally, at 35 degrees C, in shear. The joints were subjected to fully reversed cycling with fixed plastic displacement limit. The fatigue life was correlated with this displacement by a pseudo Coffin-Manson law. The fatigue life was defined in terms of 25%, 50%, 90%, and 100% drop in the load required to produce a given displacement. The resistance of each of 22 joints was also measured and the fatigue life, N/sub f/, defined in terms of the first joint to increase by 0.02%, 0.05%, 0.1%, 1%, 10%, 100%, and 10*. The results were found to be in general agreement with those obtained previously on single, larger, solder joints. Some variations were noted in the Coffin-Manson exponent, depending on how the displacement and fatigue lives were defined. This is discussed along with a model describing the process of joint failure. A set of displacement versus fatigue life curves which can be used to estimate the joint life on the basis of a variety of criteria is provided. <<ETX>>
Preserving subsegmental variation in modeling word segmentation (or, the raising of baby Mondegreen)

Many computational models have been developed to show how infants break apart utterances into words prior to building a vocabulary—the “word segmentation task. ” Most models assume that infants, upon hearing an utterance, represent this input as a string of segments. One type of model uses statistical cues calculated from the distribution of segments within the child-directed speech to locate those points most likely to contain word boundaries. However, these models have been tested in relatively few languages, with little attention paid to how different phonological structures may affect the relative effectiveness of particular statistical heuristics. This dissertation addresses this issue by comparing the performance of two classes of distribution-based statistical cues on a corpus of Modern Greek, a language with a phonotactic structure significantly different from that of English, and shows how these differences change the relative effectiveness of these cues. Another fundamental issue critically examined in this dissertation is the practice of representing input as a string of segments. Such a representation implicitly assumes complete certainty as to the phonemic identity of each segment. This runs counter both to standard practice in automatic speech recognition (where “hard decisions” are eschewed) and, more crucially, overestimates the ability of infants to parse and identify those segments from the spoken input. If even adult native speakers (with the benefit of higher-level linguistic knowledge, such as a
Fault modelling and fault equivalence in CMOS technology

The need of greater confidence for fault coverage of test sequences for VLSI circuits has led to the proposal of more accurate fault models and test pattern generation tools. Such improvement induces a large increase in fault list to be considered and CPU time to generate test. The authors propose a complete methodology to obtain a minimal set of faults. This methodology is based upon theoretical basis allowing the determination of the equivalence and dominance of non-classical CMOS faults. <<ETX>>
Cochlear implant sound coding with across-frequency delays

The experiments described in this thesis investigate the temporal relationship between frequency bands in a cochlear implant sound processor. Initial studies were of cochlea-based traveling wave delays for cochlear implant sound processing strategies. These were later broadened into studies of an ensemble of across-frequency delays. Before incorporating cochlear delays into a cochlear implant processor, a set of suitable delays was determined with a psychoacoustic calibration to pitch perception, since normal cochlear delays are a function of frequency. The first experiment assessed the perception of pitch evoked by electrical stimuli from cochlear implant electrodes. Six cochlear implant users with acoustic hearing in their non-implanted ears were recruited for this, since they were able to compare electric stimuli to acoustic tones. Traveling wave delays were then computed for each subject using the frequencies matched to their electrodes. These were similar across subjects, ranging over 0-6 milliseconds along the electrode array. The next experiment applied the calibrated delays to the ACE strategy filter outputs before maxima selection. The effects upon speech perception in noise were assessed with cochlear implant users, and a small but significant improvement was observed. A subsequent sensitivity analysis indicated that accurate calibration of the delays might not be necessary after all; instead, a range of across-frequency delays might be similarly beneficial. A computational investigation was performed next, where a corpus of recorded speech was passed through the ACE cochlear implant sound processing strategy in order to determine how across-frequency delays altered the patterns of stimulation. A range of of delay vectors were used in combination with a number of processing parameter sets and noise levels. The results showed that additional stimuli from broadband sounds (such as the glottal pulses of vowels) are selected when frequency bands are desynchronized with across-frequency delays. Background noise contains fewer dominant impulses than a single talker and so is not enhanced in this way.
Sequential 3D diagnostic ultrasound using the Stradx system

Sequential Conventional Conventional visualisation visualisation (x,y,z, x y z reconstruction Transmitter Magnetic field Probe Regular voxel array Voxel) α,β,γ Receiver This tutorial will cover: Calibration (temporal and spatial). Reslicing and volume rendering. Panoramic imaging (real time). Segmentation and volume estimation. Correcting probe pressure artefacts.
Using new technology to improve reliability of an industrial cable distribution system

The service history of medium-voltage power cables on the US plant sites of a major industrial manufacturer from 1961 through 1990 is summarized. In past years, this company tended to be reactive, using specifications, diagnostic testing and maintenance practices to manage the reliability of their cable distribution systems. Several technologies in insulation systems, terminations, splices, and installation techniques, introduced in recent years, have allowed a more proactive stance to be taken. In addition, because of some specific failure problems, a highly qualified in-house team has been formed to evaluate existing and future technologies and insulation materials to assure a reliable cable system. A brief review is presented of the new technology, reliability programs, and the accelerated cable life test. <<ETX>>
Disparity Map Estimation using Gabor Wavelet under Radiometric Changes

Stereo correspondence refers to the problem of finding the matching pixels of a 3D world point in the stereo image pairs captured at different viewpoint using two cameras. Subsequently, the obtained disparity map finds application in object detection, augmented reality and robotics. In recent years, a large number of algorithms have been developed to compute accurate disparity map. Many existing disparity map estimation methods are based on the brightness constancy assumption. Unfortunately, any lighting variations within the scene violate this assumption. In this paper, a disparity map estimation method using Gabor wavelet is proposed. The performance of the proposed method is appraised under varying synthetic illumination change and real radiometric variations. Experimental results under non-ideal radiometric conditions illustrate that the proposed method respond to the changes in the illumination and radiometric variations.
Digital halftoning using a blue noise mask

A new digital halftoning algorithm in which the halftoning algorithm is achieved by a pixelwise comparison of the gray scale image against a non-image array, the blue noise mask, is proposed. The blue noise mask is constructed such that when thresholded at any level, the resulting binary pattern has the correct first order statistics, and also its power spectrum has blue noise (high frequency) characteristics which are visually pleasing. The construction of the blue noise mask is described and experimental results are shown. Results from a psychovisual study are provided where subjects rated halftoned images that have the same first order but different second order statistics. <<ETX>>
Discovery of causality and acausality from temporal sequential data

In this thesis, we present a solution to the problem of discovering rules from sequential data. As part of the solution, the Temporal Investigation Method for Enregistered Record Sequences (TIMERS) and its implementation, the TimeSleuth software, are introduced. TIMERS uses the passage of time between attribute observations as justification for judging the causality of a rule set. Given a sorted sequence of input data records, and assuming that the effects take time to manifest themselves, we merge the input records to bring potential causes and effects together in the same record. Three tests are performed using three different assumptions on the nature of the relationship: instantaneous, causal, or acausal. The temporal reversibility of a relationship in time is used to judge the relationship as potentially acausal, while reversibility is considered as evidence for judging the relationship as potentially causal. To visualise the attributes' influence on each other, the thesis introduces dependence diagrams, which are graphs that connect condition attributes to decision attributes. We performed a series of comparisons between TIMERS and other causality discoverers, and also experimented with both synthetic and real temporal data for the discovery of temporal rules. The results show an improvement in the quality of the rules discovered with TIMERS.
Chapter 4 Weaving the Threads of Experience into Human Information Interaction (HII): Probing User Experience (UX) for New Directions in Information Behaviour

Information behaviour has evolved to focus on the dynamic human information interactions (HII) between systems and users, to develop models that encompass user behaviour, cognition and affect, and to understand the ways in which context and tasks motivate information needs and shape information seeking and use. In recent years, user experience (UX) has gained prominence in human–computer interaction (HCI) and may provide further enrichment and new directions in the design and development of HII theories, methodologies, systems and services. This chapter seeks to provide an overview of UX, and to explore the intersection between HII and UX, specifically with respect to the shared emphasis on context, needs and sense making. The overarching aim is to provide new directions for information behaviour by proposing that we view HII through a UX lens as we strive to holistically conceptualize, evaluate and design for human information experiences. Taking a UX approach allows us to imagine information interactions as rich and varied narratives, and to explore information seeking and use as processes within, as well as outcomes and predictors of human experiences.
Motion recovery from image sequences using First-order optical flow information

A closed-form solution for motion estimation from first-order flow in two 'distinct' image regions is described. Uniqueness is guaranteed when these correspond to surface patches with different normal vectors. given an image sequence, the authors show how the image many be segmented into regions with the necessary properties, optical flow is computed for these regions, and motion parameters are computed. The method can be applied to arbitrary scenes and camera motion. The authors explain why it is more robust than other techniques that require the knowledge of the full flow or information up to the second-order terms of it. Experimental results are presented to support the theoretical derivations. <<ETX>>
Generalization by weight-elimination applied to currency exchange rate prediction

The authors focus on the minimal network strategy. The underlying hypothesis is that if several nets fit the data equally well, the simplest one will on average provide the best generalization. Inspired by the information theoretic idea of minimum description length, a term is added to the backpropagation cost function that penalizes network complexity. The authors give the details of the procedure, called weight-elimination, describe its dynamics, and clarify the meaning of the parameters involved. From a Bayesian perspective, the complexity term can be usefully interpreted as an assumption about prior distribution of the weights. This procedure was used to predict currency exchange rates. <<ETX>>
New Approach to Spatial Analysis in Cama

Purpose – Available literature claims that location is a key attribute in the housing market. However, the impact of this attribute is difficult to measure and the traditional hedonic approach using subjective assessments is problematic. This paper seeks to explore trend surface analysis technique, attempting to provide an alternative way to measure location values.Design/methodology/approach – TSA works in a similar way to other response surface methods but it is implemented directly in regression models, using a set of combinations of the co‐ordinates of properties in several power degrees. It can also be implemented in artificial neural networks, taking advantage of the neural ability in non‐linear domains. This work presents a comparison between traditional regression approach, error modelling, response surfaces, and TSA. ANN is also used to estimate some models, comparing their results. The objective is to verify the behaviour of TSA in hedonic models. A case study was carried using data of over 30,0.
Benchmark characterization

The design of experimental systems usually employ some form of simulation. The inputs to the simulation are typically standard benchmarks. This paper presents a method for finding a cost-effective design for each benchmark. This method is called benchmark characterization. Benchmark characterization is possible in part due to the advent of high-performance architecture-independent compiler technology. To demonstrate the method, seven benchmarks are characterized. Five of the benchmarks are from the SPEC benchmark set (gcc, espresso, spice, li and matrix300) and two are popular synthetic benchmarks (dhrystone and whetstone). Benchmark characteristics are reported for the processor, memory system, and operating system. <<ETX>>
Object detection and classification using matched filtering and higher-order statistics

Summary form only given. If a known object is corrupted by additive white Gaussian noise, then the matched filter maximizes the output signal-to-noise ratio. The main drawback of the matched filter in two dimensions is its sensitivity to object shifts, rotation,, and scaling, especially in the presence of additive colored Gaussian noise of unknown covariance. These problems have been overcome by using higher-order statistics (HOS). The zero lag of the triple correlation of the matched filter output has been computed and compared with zero. Since the triple correlation of a Gaussian process is zero, it has been shown that this statistic will peak if the object is present. A detection algorithm that exploits all the output samples of a single matched filter has been developed. Rotation and scaling invariance have been incorporated by transforming the Cartesian coordinates of the image and the templates into log-polar coordinates. <<ETX>>
Schema matching technique for heterogeneous web database

The Search engine, as one of the most popular approaches of information finding tools, has been developed for finding information from internet user. In the web search, the information is in unstructured and structured format. Structured format is in the form of semantic and schema heterogeneity. Several shortcomings are associated with existing Web database in relation to the schema. In the commercial world, the various schemas matching techniques are developed. Though they are helpful in searching information up to some extent, but still they are semi-automatic and require various steps to achieve its objective. The purpose of schema matching is to automatically recognize similar elements of the assorted schemas and generate mapping expression to formulate on a single schema. We can handle the problem by two things such as: a. We construct either name of schema element and structure of the schema or formal ontology and mapping process. b. Searching mechanisms are used to narrow down our search and display the list of matched documents. Formal ontology and Mapping Process are needed for schema matching. In this context an Instance Based search system is proposed for finding more accurate data. In order to implement the transformation code, different kind of language (HTML, XML, RDF) is already used. This paper addresses the heterogeneity problems between the schemas. The problem is tackled by developing mapping language, which is able to handle with schema heterogeneity problems. These mapping strategies constraints are expressed by the language such as the source to target and target dependencies. It displays the list of matched documents through which user can get an accurate and effective information from the raised query.
Improvement of soft error rate in MOS SRAMs

I n t r o d u c t i o n Recently, the access time of VLSI CMOS SRAMS’. ’. ~ has come to the level of ECL RAMs. The a-particle induced soft error ia the SRAMs with high resistive load cell has been a serious problem, b c cause the soft error rate (SER) abruptly increases at the short cycle time ‘. ‘. Although the SER is reduced by the increme of the capacitance in storage nodes, the scaled amnll cell area limits the increase of the capacitance. This paper proposes two unique improvement techniques with no extra ailicon area, and the SER is improved by 2 orders of magnitude.
Separated estimation of wave parameters and spectral parameters by maximum likelihood

Parametric array processing methods are investigated. A conventional model of the sensor outputs is used: delayed signals are disturbed by sensor noise. Normal distributions of Fourier-transformed array outputs are applied for both, conditional and unconditional maximum likelihood estimates of the wave parameters, e.g. bearings and ranges, the spectral matrix of the signals and the spectral power of noise. We show that both methods allow to separate algorithmically the estimation of the wave parameters from that of the spectral parameters. We indicate iterative procedures for the estimates. Results of numerical experiments are presented which show that estimates of wave parameters and of spectral parameters can be significantly correlated for sources close together.
Image Processing of Product Surface Defect Using Scilab

— The defect is an imperfection that impairs worth or utility. The defects show some disorder of the product and it is opposite the standard or criteria that have been stated. In order to define the defect, some techniques are being used. One of the technique is using image processing. The image will be captured by the camera and the image appear will be imported to the Scilab software to read it. Otherwise, the image will be translated into histogram graph to show the frequency (pixel) and grayscale value of the defect.Index Terms— Defect image, surface defect, grayscale image, Scilab software, histogram graph
Numerical Modeling of Water Flow in Expansive Soils with Simplified Description of Soil Deformation

Abstract In this paper we describe a numerical model of transient water flow in unsaturated expansive soils and the resulting soil volume change. The unsaturated flow equation is solved in a 2D domain using a finite-volume method and an explicit time discretization scheme. Strains in the soil mass are calculated by two simplified approaches, assuming that the strain state is either 1D (in the vertical direction only) or 2D with equal strains in horizontal and vertical directions. The model is applied to two cases described in the literature, in which the strains were computed from the solution of the stress equilibrium equation. It is shown that the simplified methods give results which are reasonably close to the more complex approach based on the equilibrium equations. The proposed model can be used to predict time-varying soil shrinkage and swelling caused by natural and anthropogenic factors.
Development and validation of a green RP-HPLC method for the analysis of rosuvastatin: a step towards making liquid chromatography environmentally benign

Abstract The purpose of this study was to formulate and validate a new green high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC)-UV method for quick quantification of rosuvastatin calcium (ROC) in standard drugs. The results showed a combination of ethanol:methanol:ethyl acetate (6:3:1 v/v) at a rate of 1.0 ml/min to be the best for identifying ROC and its separation from its breakdown products. The identification of ROC was achieved using a NUCLEODUR 150 mm×4.6 mm RP C8 column packed using 5 μm filler as the stationary phase and detection was performed at 254 nm. The technique developed was checked for linearity, selectivity, accuracy, precision, robustness and sensitivity as well as specificity. The usefulness of the proposed process was confirmed by analyzing ROC in a prepared self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) and over-the-counter products. The amount of ROC in SNEDDS was found to be 98.38%. The HPLC-UV system we developed effectively determined the ROC peak along with its breakdown products which confirmed the stability-indicating property of the projected system. The system could also be used to compare the solubility of rosuvastatin nanoparticles in standard drugs. These outcomes indicated that the developed HPLC could be effectively used for the regular investigation of ROC in standard drugs, various pharmaceutical formulations and drug release samples.