Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Business games and governance : A case for public intervention in industry ?

Government and business interact in various ways in the economy; this paper marks an attempt at a positive treatment of the policy issue. The starting point is the firm, as elementary unit of manufacturing production. The end result is some superior socio-economic outcome, revealing a development process under way. As the attainment of the end result mobilizes a large number of economic agents beside the firm, a formal depiction of the economy is required. The deliberate actions undertaken by the public sector as part of the strategy are referred to as ‘industrial policy’. Those that relate to individual acts by the firms are called ‘business plans’. The original setting is that of an ArrowDebreu economy. Critical departures from the standard assumptions of the reference model invite the parallel recourse to a game-theoretic approach in a partial equilibrium setting. Several classes of non-cooperative games and related equilibria are reviewed, up to the general form of dynamic games of imperfect information. The informational content of a game receives special attention: jointly observable signals are shown to enhance the potential outcome of a game of imperfect information, and the paper concludes with the broad specifications of a public communication device to circumvent data constraints.
Automatic Registration and Calibration for Efficient Surface Light Field Acquisition

This paper presents a novel protocol for the acquisition of surface light fields which is designed to deal with delicate objects that might not be touched or moved. This constraint is particularly important when art pieces are involved. Our protocol enables the automatic reconstruction of a model from many range images and the automatic registration of many pictures with the acquired geometry. A structured light pattern is first used to project a parameterization over the analyzed surface. Each surface point hit by this parameterization is uniquely identified, independently of the chosen viewpoint, and the problem of finding point-point and point-pixel correspondences is then immediately solved. These correspondences are finally used to perform the registrations and camera calibrations that provide the data to be used by a surface light field renderer.
Minimizing the detection error of cognitive radio networks using particle swarm optimization

Weighting the coefficients vector is the principal factor influencing the detection performance of cognitive radio networks that uses soft-detection fusion (SDF) based cooperative spectrum sensing. Maximal ratio combining- (MRC-), equal gain combining- (EGC-) and continuous genetic algorithm- (CGA-) based SDF are well suited for optimizing the detection performance and thus ensure safe access of spectrum by CR users. However the mentioned methods suffer from slow convergence and/or sub-optimality. In this paper, the use of particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm under MINI-MAX criterion is proposed to optimize the weighting coefficients vector so that the total probability of decision error is minimized. The performance of the PSO-based proposed method is examined and compared with GA-based technique as well as other conventional SDF schemes through computer simulations. Numerical results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Exploring cues and rhythm for designing multimodal tools to support mobile users in wayfinding

In recent navigation HCI studies, the shift from investigating map-based mobile applications towards supporting mobile users' wayfinding tasks with multimodal navigation aids is apparent. While there have been many studies of navigation design guidelines for using maps or speech- or tactile-based guidance in mobile devices, in this paper we propose an initial study of multimodal navigation design utilising the theory of designing episodes of motion originating from urban planning. The implications of designing cues and providing rhythm, as the theory of episodes of motions suggests, are explored, with pedestrians as the subjects using wayfinding tasks in an urban area. The main contributions of this paper are in investigating the design principles, evaluating them in the context of mobile wayfinding tasks, and reflecting upon the results in terms of users' wayfinding behaviour. It is concluded that by designing predictive clues and rhythm into mobile multimodal navigation applications, we can improve navigation aids for users.
Computer Vision for Interactive Computer Graphics

Vision can be a powerful interface device for computers because of its potential for sensing body position, head orientation, direction of gaze, pointing commands, and gestures. Such unencumbered interaction can make computers easier to use. We describe vision algorithms for interactive graphics and present vision-controlled graphics applications using these algorithms. Some applications employ an artificial retina chip for image detection or preprocessing.
Event-triggered consensus control for a class of discrete-time stochastic multi-agent systems

This paper is concerned with the event-triggered consensus control problem for a class of discrete-time stochastic multi-agent systems. The purpose of the problem under consideration is to design both the output feedback controller and the threshold of the triggering condition such that the closed-loop system achieves the desired consensus in probability. By employing a discrete-time version of the input-to-state stability in probability (ISSiP), some sufficient conditions on event-triggered control protocol are derived under which the consensus in probability is reached. Then, both the controller parameter and the triggering threshold are obtained in terms of the solution to certain matrix inequalities. Finally, a simulation example is utilized to illustrate the usefulness of the proposed control protocol.
The (non)realization of unstressed elements in children's utterances: evidence for a rhythmic constraint

ABSTRACT In this study it is argued that the omission of closed class morphemes and of unstressed syllables within words is related to their common characteristic, viz. that they are unstressed, rhythmically weak parts of utterances. Several strands of evidence indicate that it is unlikely that children are unable to perceive these elements in the input speech. The pattern of (non)realization of unstressed syllables within content words and the class of determiners, was analysed in two Dutch children from 1;6 to 2;11. It appeared that polysyllabic words were quite generally truncated in such a way that they fitted a trochaic (strong-weak) pattern, particularly in the early samples. Some observations with respect to the (non)realization of determiners are suggestive of an influence of an SW-constraint on the realization of noun phrases. These findings support the hypothesis that in the course of utterance preparation, words and phrases are mapped onto S(W) templates. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the dissolution of the SW-constraint coincides with the acquisition of specific aspects of stress assignment in Dutch, such as quantity sensitivity.
Compensating for Type-I errors in video quality assessment

This paper analyzes the impact on compensating for Type-I errors in video quality assessment. A Type-I error is to incorrectly conclude that there is an effect. The risk increases with the number of comparisons that are performed in statistical tests. Type-I errors are an issue often neglected in Quality of Experience and video quality assessment analysis. Examples are given for the analysis of subjective experiments and the evaluation of objective metrics by correlation.
Using Hy+ for network management and distributed debugging

A network manager managing a computer network or a programmer attempting to understand and debug a distributed program both must deal with large volumes of data. Visualization is widely believed to help in these and similar tasks. We contend that visualization is indeed useful, but only if accompanied of the following facilities: abstraction, filtering, and layout control. The Hy+ visualization system and GraphLog query language provide these facilities. They support not just a fixed way of visualizing data, but visualizations that can be specified and manipulated through declarative queries, like data are manipulated in a database. In this paper we show how the Hy+/GraphLog system can be used by network managers or distributed debuggers to meet their information manipulation and visualization goals.With the aid of this system, a network manager can specify network management functions as declarative data manipulation statements (GraphLog queries), for example, to define alerts. The manager can also filter network management information and control the layout and aspect of the resulting visualizations.In the same way, the Hy+/GraphLog system can be used for debugging of distributed and parallel applications by specifying normal or abnormal patterns that the programmer is looking for as declarative GraphLog queries and manipulating the resulting visualizations to understand the behavior of the program.
“I Can't Do It by Myself”: An IPA of Clients Seeking Psychotherapy for Their MMORPG Addiction

The addiction to Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) is a contemporary phenomenon which emerges against the background of the dissolution of traditional communities. The individuals who participate in these games seek sociability and find a variety of options to partake in social life online. For a number of players, their engagement may take on addictive qualities, as characterised by symptoms similar to substance-related addictions. These symptoms include craving, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms as well as significant impairments in different areas of the individuals’ lives. The aim of this chapter is to provide a qualitative account of how the fascination with playing MMORPGs can turn into addiction as experienced by clients seeking help in a specialized outpatient treatment centre in Germany. Moreover, it addresses their therapy motivation as indicated by their contemplation about and preparation for action. Five clients are interviewed and the results are analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Implications are discussed.
Why Gender in Wildlife Conservation? Notes from the Peruvian Amazon

The connections between gender and wildlife use are diverse and depend on particular economic, cultural and ethnic contexts. Challenging the common exclusion of women from wildlife conservation, this article shows the important role played by gender even in situations where women are not direct users of wildlife. Women productive and reproduc- tive unpaid work and their participation in decision-making have a direct impact in wildlife use by: 1) making male labour available to hunt or fish at times when seasonal demand for labour in agriculture peaks and 2) reducing monetary cost of family reproduction and generating alternative sources of income and supporting food production, all which might reduce pressure on wildlife. Gender also shapes different perceptions and attitudes related to wildlife, and when embedded in par- ticular ethnic views, gender also affect use of natural spaces and wildlife species. Using interdisciplinary and applied an- thropology perspectives, findings from field research conducted in the North Eastern Peruvian Amazon are used to define the role of gender in wildlife use and derive some implications for conservation interventions in this region.
Weighting for Godot: Learning Heuristics for GSAT

We investigate an improvement to GSAT which associates a weight with each clause. GSAT moves to assignments maximizing the weight of satisfied clauses and this weight is incremented when GSAT moves to an assignment in which this clause is unsatisfied. We present results showing that this algorithm and its variants outperform one of the best known modifications of GSAT to date using two metrics: number of solved problems on a single try, and minimum mean number of flips to solve a test suite of problems.
Racial Influence on Automated Perceptions of Emotions

The practical applications of artificial intelligence are expanding into various elements of society, leading to a growing interest in the potential biases of such algorithms. Facial analysis, one application of artificial intelligence, is increasingly used in real-word situations. For example, some organizations tell candidates to answer predefined questions in a recorded video and use facial recognition to analyze the potential applicant faces. In addition, some companies are developing facial recognition software to scan the faces in crowds and assess threats, specifically mentioning doubt and anger as emotions that indicate threats. This study provides evidence that facial recognition software interprets emotions differently based on the person’s race. Using a publically available data set of professional basketball players’ pictures, I compare the emotional analysis from two different facial recognition services, Face and Microsoft's Face API. Both services interpret black players as having more negative emotions than white players; however, there are two different mechanisms. Face consistently interprets black players as angrier than white players, even controlling for their degree of smiling. Microsoft registers contempt instead of anger, and it interprets black players as more contemptuous when their facial expressions are ambiguous. As the players’ smile widens, the disparity disappears. This finding has implications for individuals, organizations, and society, and it contributes to the growing literature of bias and/or disparate impact in AI.
A new control access solution for a multi-provider wireless environment

The fundamental goal in future 4G mobile multi-service networks is to provide an efficient mobile computing environment which enables a user with its portable computer equipped with multiple wireless access interfaces to seamlessly move between different providers’ networks. Besides seamless roaming, a key consideration is also devoted to quality-of-service provision. In this article, we propose a model and architectural framework for supporting end-to-end QoS in the context of interconnected multiprovider wireless systems. The proposed integrated COPS-based management and RADIUS-based control access architecture will allow providers to offer multimedia services while optimizing the use of underlying network resources. We suggest new concepts and protocols to provide solutions to the challenges and describe an ongoing research project named MMQoS to build such future networks.
Variation in carbon content of tropical tree species from Ghana

Most research on the carbon content of trees has focused on temperate tree species with little information existing for tropical tree species. Questions remain regarding how much carbon can be sequestered by various tree species and in different forest climatic zones. This study was designed to investigate the variation in carbon content of selected tropical tree species and compare the carbon content of Khaya spp from two ecozones in Ghana. Two to three individuals of 18 tree species were randomly selected and harvested from 12-year-old and 7-year-old plantations in Ghana. The diameter at breast height (dbh at 1.3 m above ground) and length of the main stem were measured. A 2-cm thick wood disc was cut from the bottom, middle and top positions of the main stem of each tree, and used to estimate wood density and carbon concentration. Estimates of tree stem carbon were computed using tree stem volumes, density and carbon concentration. Allometric equations developed for mixed plantation stands for the wet evergreen forest verified the expected strong relationship between tree stem volumes and dbh (r>0.93) and between volumes and dbh×height (r>0.97). Carbon concentration, wood density and carbon content differed significantly among tree species. Carbon concentration of the tree species ranged from 46.3 to 48.9 %. Volume for the 12-year-old trees varied widely among species, from 0.01 m to 1.04 m. Wood densities differed among tree species and 17 the three stem positions. Differences in wood density at the three positions on the stem were independent of tree species. Wood density was highly variable among species, ranging from 0.27 g cm to 0.76 g cm. Species specific knowledge of wood density was much more important than knowledge of carbon concentration for ensuring accurate conversion of allometric volume estimates to tree carbon content. Significant differences in wood density did exist among Khaya spp from wet and moist semi-deciduous ecozones, suggesting climatic factors may also need to be considered. This study has provided baseline species-level information that will be useful for carbon accounting and development of carbon sequestration strategies in Ghana and other tropical African countries.
Single-Lane Roundabout Manager under Fully Automated Vehicle Environment

In the advent of new automation and communication technologies, the introduction of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) can make efficient use of the space on our road networks. Since roundabouts suffer from lower efficiencies when traffic flows are unbalanced and unfamiliar drivers are present, CAVs have the potential to improve traffic operations, reducing lost time and inefficiency in gap-usage. The aim of this research is to take advantage of those recently available technologies to design a traffic management system for roundabouts. Such a system can provide CAVs with optimal trajectories to negotiate the roundabout, maximizing throughput and minimizing control delay. The rule-based Roundabout Manager algorithm developed considers the roundabout as a whole system, assessing the priority of incoming vehicles on a first-come-first-served scheduling to solve conflicts. The management system takes into consideration the geometry of the roundabout, including the flared entries and exits and the location of conflict sections based on merging trajectories of vehicles in negotiating the roundabout. To illustrate the operation of the algorithm, a total of 15 undersaturated demand scenarios with 10 replications per scenario were simulated. From the results, it can be concluded that the system can reduce control delay for medium demand scenarios, maximizing the throughput for all demand scenarios. The Roundabout Manager can work in real time providing optimized trajectories in less than 0.02 s at any traffic flow rate simulated.
Dynamic Brain Connectivity Patterns in Conscious and Unconscious Brain

Brain functional connectivity undergoes dynamic changes from the awake to unconscious states. However, how the dynamics of functional connectivity patterns are linked to consciousness at the behavioral level remains elusive. Here we acquired resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) data during wakefulness and graded levels of consciousness in rats. Data were analyzed using a dynamic approach combining the sliding-window method and k-means clustering. Our results demonstrate that whole-brain networks contain several quasi-stable patterns that dynamically recurred from the awake state into anesthetized states. Remarkably, two brain connectivity states with distinct spatial similarity to the structure of anatomical connectivity were strongly biased toward high and low consciousness levels, respectively. These results provide compelling neuroimaging evidence linking the dynamics of whole-brain functional connectivity patterns and states of consciousness at the behavioral level. Conflict of interest none.
The Character of Physical Education Teachers and Mass Media on Knowledge and Student Attitudes about HIV/AIDS

More than 50% of AIDS cases occur at the age of adolescence to adulthood. Therefore early knowledge should be given to prevent HIV/AIDS. The objectives of this study were to know the effect of roles of physical education teacher toward the students knowledge, to know the roles of mass media to students knowledge, to know the roles of physical education teacher toward students’ attitude, the roles of mass media to students’ attitude, students’ knowledge to students’ attitude in understanding prevention and danger of HIV/AIDS in Grobogan District. The population of this study was the whole students in Grade, i.e. 11 State Senior High Schools in Grobogan District or 3,397 students. The instruments used to collect data are questionnaires. The technique of data analysis that used was related to respondent description and description of research variables. (1) The roles of physical education teachers had no significant effect toward the students’ knowledge, (2) The roles of mass media had positive and significant effect toward students’ knowledge, (3) The roles of physical education teachers had positive and significant effect toward students’ attitude, (4) The role of the mass media proved to have no significant effect toward students' attitudes, (5) Students’ knowledge had positive and significant effect e toward students’ attitude; variable of students’ knowledge could not mediate the effect of physical education teacher toward students’ attitude on HIV/AIDS; and (7) Students’ knowledge could mediate the effect of physical education teacher toward students’ attitude on HIV/AIDS.
Chirped multilayer quantum-dot mode-locked lasers with dual-wavelength and ground-state lasing emissions

Abstract. Monolithic passively mode-locked lasers are investigated based on chirped multilayer InAs/InGaAs quantum-dot (QD) structure. The forward and backward tracings of light–current characteristics show two kinks and two hysteresis loops. The optical spectra reveal two lasing wavelengths around 1273 and 1230 nm, which are identified as two ground-state emissions of two differently chirped QD layers. The corresponding radio-frequency (RF) spectra of high-speed detector reveal two RF peaks at 16.21 and 16.03 GHz, which are attributed to fundamental mode-locking of two respective wavelengths. The laser pulses are confirmed by optical autocorrelator to exhibit dual-wavelength mode-locking. The pulsed characteristics of two lasing wavelengths are also discussed in terms of operating conditions.
On the Impact Significance of Metamodel Evolution in MDE

Harnessing metamodels to engineer application domains is at the core of Model-Driven Engineering. A large number of artifacts pursuing a common scope are defined starting from metamodels which represent the nucleus of an ecosystem. Analogously to any software artifact, metamodels are equally prone to evolution. However, changing a metamodel might affect the components of the ecosystem. In fact, when a metamodel undergoes modifications, the related artifacts might require to be consistently adapted in order to recovery their validity. This is an intrinsically difficult process. It requires different techniques for each specific kind of artifact and can easily lead to inconsistencies and irremediable information erosion, if based on spontaneous and individual skills. This paper discusses the problem of identifying, predicting and evaluating the significance of the metamodel change impact over the existing artifacts. The approach is agnostic of the adaptation technique and formalizes the whole ecosystem and the relatedness of the involved artifacts in terms of megamodels. This allows developers i) to establish relationships between the metamodel and its related artifacts, and ii) to automatically identify those elements within the various artifacts affected by the metamodel changes. The approach can be considered as preparatory to any systematic adaptation process.