Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploration of Institutional Theory in One California Central District Office That Shapes College Preparedness and Enrollment.

To impact college enrollment rates, and subsequently college attainment throughout the United States, particularly among low socioeconomic status students, college enrollment outcomes must become a priority at the state, district, and school levels. Central school district offices across the United States face demands by educators and policymakers to ensure that students are prepared for college. The way in which central district offices respond will likely be influenced by the availability of resources. Drawing on institutional theory, this exploratory case study examines how one central district office’s funding practices and resource allocations influence college preparedness and enrollment in California. The researchers interviewed central district leaders and high school administrators (N = 10) to explore their perceptions of financial strategies and barriers that impact college preparation and enrollment rates, particularly in California, a state that ranks 40th in college enrollment. The analysis illustrates the resource challenges from the perspective of school administrators that interfere with preparing students for college, such as a limited authority to use site-level funds to hire qualified teachers to meet the instructional needs of their students. Further findings revealed that despite fiscal resources dedicated from this central district office to remove funding barriers that typically interfere with low-income and minority students’ access to college, districts must move beyond the core curriculum to ensure that students are ready for
Practical logic : curriculum structures in an adult education program

This case study examines influences on the selection and delivery of knowledge in the employment preparation provision of a trade union in British Columbia. Bernstein's theories of curricular code and Bourdieu's perspectives on social and cultural capital are used to analyse data collected by interviews, observation, and documentary analysis. The emergent themes are organisational structure, pedagogic practice, diversity and difference, and the good employee ideal, with each of these demonstrating the tension between the philosophical orientation of the organisation, as a representative of the labour movement, and the demands of the funding and policy structures within which it operates. Analysis illustrates the way curriculum is shaped by forces external to the immediate educational setting, the most pervasive being the requirement to function as an effective means of transferring cultural and social capital to unemployed people. The possibility of using employment preparation as a mechanism to achieve progressive ends is severely limited by the need to acknowledge the priorities of funders, administrators, learners, and the neo-liberal backdrop against which the programs operate. The study implies approaches to curriculum emphasising decisions taken by instructors and learners mask wider structural influences on knowledge formation, and more research on the sociology of knowledge in adult education is called for.
Human Interaction Recognition Using Spatio-Temporal Words

This paper proposes a hierarchical approach for recognizing person-to-person interaction in indoor scenario from a single view,which is based on spatial-temporal feature extraction and representation.The dense space-time interest points detected from videos are divided into two sets exclusively according to the history information along the evolvement and the connectivity of the two human silhouettes.Then K-means clustering performs on points in the training set and learns the spatial-temporal codebook.For a given set of interest points,a spatial-temporal word is built by allowing each point to vote softly into the few centers nearest to it and accumulating the scores of all the points.The Conditional Random Field (CRF) whose inputs are the spatial-temporal words is used to modeling the primitive actions for each person,and common sense domain knowledge and first order logic production rules with weights are employed to learn the structure and the parameters of Markov Logic Network (MLN). The MLN can naturally integrate common sense reasoning with uncertain analysis,which is capable to deal with the uncertainty produced by CRF.Experiment results on the interaction dataset are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and the robustness.
Comparative Study on Method for Determining Optimal Number of Clusters Based on Affinity Propagation Clustering

It is crucial to determine optimal number of clusters for the quality of clustering in cluster analysis.Based on Affinity Propagation clustering algorithm,a method for determining optimal number of clusters was proposed to analyze the clustering validity and determine optimal number of clusters by using six clustering validity index.These clustering validity indexes were analyzed concretely and the method of using IGP index to determine optimal number of clusters was improved.In connection with eight datasets,the performances of these indexes were compared by simulation experiments.The results of analysis and experiments show that IGP index is the best to determine optimal number of clusters based on Affinity Propagation clustering.
Validity and reliability of the Persian version of the confusion assessment method for intensive care units

Background & Aim: Delirium is prevalent in the intensive care unit, especially among mechanically-ventilated patients. Delirium is associated with a significant increase in adverse outcomes but it usually remains undiagnosed, making it necessary to develop and validate diagnostic tools. This study determined the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the Confusion Assessment Method for Intensive Care Units in Iran. Methods & Materials: This cross-sectional study was conducted in open-heart intensive care unit of three university hospitals of Tehran, Iran. After piloting the translated confusion assessment method for intensive care units on 10 patients and refining the translated scale accordingly, 40 ventilated patients were consecutively selected and screened for delirium by two independent evaluators, and one psychiatrist. Inter-rater reliability between the two evaluators was assessed by the Kappa coefficient. Validity indices (i.e., sensitivity and specificity) of the Persian-CAM-ICU and 95% confidence intervals were calculated, given the psychiatrists’ diagnosis as the reference standard. Data were analyzed in Stata software (v. 11). Results: Of 40 selected patients, CAM-ICU detected delirium in 30%. The Persian-CAM-ICU had a sensitivity and specificity of 75% and 96%, and a positive and negative predictive value of 92% and 85%, respectively. Youden’s J statistic of the scale was 71%. Each of the four domains of the CAM-ICU showed a sensitivity and specificity of more than 69% and 90%, respectively, suggesting acceptable construct validity. There was good agreement between the two evaluators in terms of delirium diagnosis with the Persian-CAM-ICU (kappa coefficient = 0.74, P<0.0001). Conclusion: The Persian version of the CAM_ICU is an effective, valid and reliable diagnostic tool in critically ill ICU patients. Application of the scale is recommended for the prompt diagnosis and prevent potential delirium in ventilated patients.
Automatic Domain-Specific Term Extraction and Its Application in Text Classification

A statistical method based on information entropy is proposed for domain-specific term extraction from domain comparative corpora.It takes into account the distribution of a candidate word among domains and within a certain domain.Normalization step is added into the extraction process to cope with unbalanced corpora.The proposed method characterizes attributes of domain-specific term more precisely and more effectively than previous term extraction approaches.Domain-specific terms are applied in text classification as the feature space.Experimental results indicate that it achieves better performance than traditional feature selection methods.
The face of memory: experiential avoidance and facial expressions during the retrieval of autobiographical memories

ABSTRACT Experiential avoidance refers to attempts to control or suppress unwanted thoughts, feelings and emotions. We investigated whether experiential avoidance is associated with fewer facial expressions during autobiographical retrieval (i.e. retrieval of memory for personal information). We invited participants to retrieve autobiographical memories, and recall was analysed by a facial analysis software that detects and classifies emotional expressions. Participants were divided into high vs. low experiential avoidance. Analysis showed fewer emotional facial expressions in participants with high experiential avoidance than in those with low experiential avoidance during autobiographical retrieval. This low emotional expression can be regarded as an attempt by individuals with high experiential avoidance to avoid communicating the emotional load to others. This low emotional expression can be also regarded as an attempt by individuals with high experiential avoidance to control or suppress the internal events that contribute to the appearance or persistence of unwanted emotional states during retrieval.
Co-clustering de courbes fonctionnelles multivariées

La croissance exponentielle des objets connectes presents maintenant dans tous les aspects de la vie quotidienne entraine une collecte de donnees a haute frequence pour un meme individu. Ces objets facilitent aussi la collecte de plusieurs variables simultanement pour un meme individu, entrainant des besoins croissants de methodes pour resumer et interpreter ces donnees fonctionnelles multivariees. Ce travail propose une nouvelle methode de co-clustering fonctionnelle de facon a faciliter la mise en evidence de groupes d'individus et de variables se ressemblant au sein de bases de donnees multivariees. Cette methode s'appuie sur un modele a blocs latents fonctionnels et l'inference du modele est faite a l'aide d'un algorithme SEM-Gibbs. L'efficacite de ce modele sera testee sur un exemple de suivi de consommation electrique et de temperature au sein de maisons intelligentes connectees.
The legal conceptualisation of investment securities in the Nigerian Capital Market : challenges and opportunities

----------------------------------------------------------------------7 Declaration -------------------------------------------------------------------8 Copyright Statement -------------------------------------------------------9 Dedication --------------------------------------------------------------------10 Acknowledgment ------------------------------------------------------------11 List of Figures ------------------------------------------------------------------12 Table of Statutes --------------------------------------------------------------15 Table of Cases -----------------------------------------------------------------19 List of Abbreviation -----------------------------------------------------------22 Chapter 1: General Introduction -----------------------------------------23 1.1 Background ----------------------------------------------------------------23 1.2 Statement of Problem ---------------------------------------------------25 1.3 Research Questions ------------------------------------------------------25 1.4 Aim of Research ----------------------------------------------------------26 1.5 Objective ----------------------------------------------------------------------26 1.6 Focus of Research -----------------------------------------------------------27 1.7 Research Methodology --------------------------------------------------27 1.8 Contribution --------------------------------------------------------------------29 1.9 Why Nigeria? -------------------------------------------------------------------30 1.10 Challenges to the Research -------------------------------------------31 1.11 Structure of Thesis -------------------------------------------------------31
Diversity in Estimates of the Impact of Intellectual Capital on Firm Performance Created by Varied Adoptions of VAIC Method

Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC) method has become the most efficient method for measuring intellectual capital (IC). However, there are inconsistencies in the mechanism of adopting the VAIC method to measure IC, thus questioning the robustness of established relationships between IC and firm performance. Therefore, this study attempts to examine the diversity in estimates of the impact of IC on firm performance as a result of adopting the VAIC method in a diverse manner. The study also proposes a modification to the basic VAIC method to eliminate its key limitation. Findings of the study indicate that there are differences in the estimates of the impact of IC on firm performance as a result of varied VAIC adoptions. The proposed modification to the basic VAIC method incorporates theoretically agreed value compositions of IC (human capital, structural capital and relational capital) replacing traditional value compositions (human capital and structural capital) in the basic VAIC method.
Modeling and Verification of Real-time Interaction for IEC 61850 Intelligent Electronic Device

Real-time interaction of IEC 61850 intelligent electronic device(IED)is the key to successful implementation of the distributed function.To overcome the complexity and difficulty in validating existing formal methods of modeling real-time procedure,IEC 61850 IED real-time interactive process modeling and verification method based on timed behavior trees(BTs)is put forward.Firstly,the timed BT model is obtained by introducing a real-time system model and communication sequential process(CSP)communication channels into the old BT model.Secondly,based on timed BT,the substation timing protection and overcurrent protection interaction process of IED is taken as an example for modeling.Finally,the reachability of the proposed model is validated and analyzed by using process analysis toolkit(PAT),and the time of the messages is calculated.The results show that,the proposed method is able to complete modeling and verification of the real-time properties of interactive process of IEC 6850 IED,and discover real-time interaction defects.
STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP INVOLVEMENT AND STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION AMONG PARASTATALS IN KENYA

Purpose: The study sought investigate the influence of strategic leadership involvement on strategy implementation among parastatals in Kenya. Methods: The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The study targeted all the 187 parastatals in Kenya. The study used primary data collected using structured questionnaires. The inquiry used Statistical Package for Social Sciences in analyzing the data. Bot descriptive and inferential statistics were generated. Multiple linear regression was used to show the relationship between the variables. Results: The study found that strategic communication had a positive and significant influence on strategy implementation in parastatals in Kenya. Similarly, cultivation of effective organizational culture and emphasis on balanced organizational controls positively and significantly influenced the level of strategy implementation among parastatals in Kenya. The study therefore concluded that if the parastatals were to implement the laid down strategies, their leaderships had to be involved actively in the strategic processes. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommends that effective communications systems need to be put in place by the parastatals’ leaders to ensure adequate and continuous communication of the parastatals’ strategies to all stakeholders. The study also recommends strict enforcement of change management strategies in the parastatals to allow increased adaptability to necessary changes needed in achieving the parastatals’ objectives. The study further recommends that the leaders of parastatal should put equal weight on both financial and strategic controls, conduct regular evaluation and review of control systems so as to make them adaptive for different strategies. Keywords: Strategic leadership involvement, strategic communication, organisational culture, balanced organizational controls, strategy implementation, parastatals
On Wireless Sensor Networks: Architectures,Information Dissemination Protocols,Applications

In recent years, many research in fields of data dissemination protocol to mobile sinks for wireless sensor networks have been published. The communication or message passing process must be designed to conserve the limited energy resources of the sensors.Clustering in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) and wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is an important method to ease topology management and routing in such networks. Once the clusters are formed, the leaders (coordinators) of the clusters may be used to form a backbone for efficient routing and communication purposes. A set of clusters may also provide the underlying physical structure for multicast communication for a higher level group communication module which may effectively be used for fault tolerance and key management for security purposes. Clustering sensors into groups, so that sensors communicate information only to clusterheads and then the clusterheads communicate the aggregated information to the processing center, may save energy.
Managing news nerds: strategizing about institutional change in the news industry

ABSTRACT Technological developments, along with associated economic realities and social changes, continue to disrupt current practices of the news media industry, which creates substantial impacts on news firm management strategy and performance. This research is an exploratory step in understanding the strategies related to institutional change within the context of the news media industry, specifically as related to change in the journalist profession and the rise of news nerds. Using semi-structured interviews with 20 news editors and managers across 17 news firms (global and local within the United States), I examine patterns of strategies and how they relate to institutional change within the journalist profession and the news media industry more broadly. The findings from this research answer questions about the strategies that drive rapid institutional change in the journalist profession.
UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE, RISK AVOIDANCE AND PERCEIVED RISK: A CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE OF INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS

Risk serves as an important aspect that can change the decision making of individuals, especially if it is related to investment decision making. The effects of risk on investment decision making have been extensively discussed in the literature but little of it assessed the dominance of various risk-related factors in investment decision making by individuals. In order to make up for this lack, this research studies the impact of risk avoidance, uncertainty avoidance and perceived risk on the investment intentions of individual investors in Pakistan and relate it to Hofstede’s cultural dimension. The data was collected from individual investors and after screening, a sample of 548 was found useable for further analysis. Using SEM-PLS, it was found that risk avoidance and uncertainty avoidance significantly influence the investment intention of individual investors. On the other hand perceived risk does not influence the investment intentions of individual investors. In the evaluation of dominating factors, it was found that risk avoidance is the most significant and the strongest factor that influences the individual investors’ investment intentions. This paper suggests that investment managers should work on strategies to change the risk avoidance behaviour of investors. Moreover, findings suggest that the cultural aspect is more important, and the level of risk avoidance should be kept in mind while offering stocks in the market. The Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan can prepare risk-adjusted products to enhance the level of intentions among the individual investors in Pakistan.
Job insecurity and performance over time: the critical role of job insecurity duration

PurposeResearch on the relationship between job insecurity and job performance has thus far yielded inconclusive results. The purpose of this paper is to offer a more dynamic perspective on the effects of job insecurity on job performance.Design/methodology/approachDrawing from cognitive appraisal theory, research on critical life events, and stress reactions as well as more general theorizing around the role of time, this paper proposes that individuals’ job performance reactions to job insecurity will be dynamic over time.FindingsAdopting a person-centered perspective, this paper suggests that there are seven subpopulations that differ in their intra-individual job performance change patterns over time.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper presents potential predictors of subpopulation membership and presents an agenda for future research.Originality/valueWe contribute to the literature by introducing a dynamic perspective to the study of job performance in the context of job insecurity. Delineating a set of open questions that follow from the presented theoretical arguments, the authors also hope to stimulate future research in the context of job insecurity and job performance.
Reconsidering Collective Efficacy: The Roles of Perceptions of Community and Strong Social Ties

Collective efficacy is an often–studied concept, yet theoretical differences and confusing terminology lead to an inability to translate the concept across disciplines. Utilizing a nationally representative sample, this study employs structural equation modeling combined with a series of hierarchical models to test the hypotheses that the focal independent variables of neighborhood perceptions, strong social ties, and civic engagement as a proxy for weak social ties are each positively associated with collective efficacy while controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Findings show that all the focal independent variables were positively associated with collective efficacy. The full model accounts for nearly half the variance in collective efficacy. These results support other, recent research findings that the collective efficacy measure is more highly associated with respondent perceptions of the community and strong social ties than originally theorized.
Emergency Nurses’ Perceptions of Supportive Behaviors and Burdens in Providing End-Of-Life Care

The high mortality rate in the Emergency Department (ED) is consistent with the high demand for the end of life (EOL) care. However, ED work system required to live-saving quickly and precisely. It affects the quality of EOL care. The purpose of this study was to determine nurses’ perceptions in ED related to supportive behaviors (SB) and burdens in providing EOL care to dying patients. The descriptive-quantitative method was used with a cross-sectional approach in 50 nurses Emergency Department at one of the tertiary hospitals in Indonesia. The samples were chosen using the total sampling technique. Data collection used emergency nurse perceptions of end of life care questionnaire. Data were analyzed using univariate analysis in the form of distribution, frequency, and mean. The result of the study showed that the three largest obstacles in EOL care were: ED nurses’ work loads (mean=10.626), intra-family disagreements (mean=9.802), and deal with angry of family members (mean=9.472). The three largest supportive behaviors were teaching families how to act (mean=11.962), allowing family members adequate time with the patient after a patient died (mean=11.09), and good collaboration from health professionals (mean=10.886). According to this research, further studies are needed to minimize obstacles and improve supportive behaviors related to the nurse’s workload, the provision of spiritual teams, special training for the nurse and the provision of special rooms for EOL patients and their families.