Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Rethinking Social Work's Role in Public Assistance

This article presents an argument for revisiting social work's relationship to public assistance in the wake of 10 years of welfare reform. Three case studies drawn from a mixed-method study of the quality of life of former TANF recipients illustrate the range, depth and complexity of the needs of persons while they are on the welfare rolls, transitioning off and living without cash relief. The article briefly traces the history of social work's commitment to and provision of social services for this population and argues that it may be time to revisit the profession's role in public assistance. In light of history and a review of welfare "leaver" studies and the authors' research, the article suggests interventions that could improve service to the poor, both on and off cash relief. The role of social work in advocating for changes in welfare policy, program and practice contexts is also discussed.
Speech synthesis systems: disadvantages and limitations

The present speech synthesis systems can be successfully used for a wide range of diverse purposes. However, there are serious and important limitations in using various synthesizers. Many of these problems can be identified and resolved. The aim of this paper is to pre-sent the current state of development of speech synthesis systems and to examine their drawbacks and limitations. The paper dis-cusses the current classification, construction and functioning of speech synthesis systems, which gives an insight into synthesizers implemented so far. The analysis of disadvantages and limitations of speech synthesis systems focuses on identification of weak points of these systems, namely: the impact of emotions and prosody, spontaneous speech in terms of naturalness and intelligibility, preprocessing and text analysis, problem of ambiguity, natural sounding, adaptation to the situation, variety of systems, sparsely spoken languages, speech synthesis for older people, and some other minor limitations. Solving these problems stimulates further development of speech synthesis domain.
Clinical Decision Making About Psychopathy and Violence Risk Assessment in Public Sector Mental Health Settings

Although there has been extensive research on psychopathy, it is unknown how, or whether, clinicians in public sector mental health settings consider the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL) for assessing violence risk. Mental health clinicians (N = 135) from 4 facilities were interviewed by using multiple methods for collecting data on decision making. Participants considered clinical information most often when assessing violence risk, indicating that these data were most readily available. Clinicians perceived formal testing results (e.g., PCL) to be least available and considered testing least often, especially if clinicians had less clinical experience. Participants did not explicitly report using the PCL but did implicitly rely on psychopathy factors when assessing violence risk. Clinicians in crisis settings reported less availability of historical data typically needed for the PCL. The data point to specifi c ways to improve the clinical practice of violence risk assessment in public mental health settings.
Investigating the effects of an ACT-based mobile application on stress, anxiety, and burnout in the workplace

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a third-generation therapy that teaches individuals to accept their internal thoughts and feelings instead of modifying or challenging them. The main aim of ACT is to encourage individuals to develop cognitive flexibility when faced with challenging situations. ACTcompanion® application is based on the principles of ACT. The app has a number of exercises to help develop skills that would benefit the user in effective coping during stressful times. I used a single subject A-B-A design with 10 participants to examine the effectiveness of the ACTcompanion® app in reducing stress, anxiety, and burnout at workplaces. Most participants showed a noticeable decrease in their daily anxiety levels. Participants also showed improvements in their level of stress, mindfulness, exhaustion, affect, and depression. Overall, the results of the current study support the ACTcompanion® app as a good option for reducing anxiety and improving wellbeing in the workplace.
Diversity at the Water–Metal Interface: Metal, Water Thickness, and Confinement Effects

The structure and properties of water films in contact with metal surfaces are crucial to understand the chemical and electrochemical processes involved in energy-related technologies. The nature of thin water films on Pd, Pt, and Ru has been investigated by first-principles molecular dynamics to assess how the chemistry at the water–metal surface is responsible for the diversity in the behavior of the water layers closer to the metal. The characteristics of liquid water: the radial distribution functions, coordination, and fragment speciation appear only for unconfined water layers of a minimum of 1.4 nm thick. In addition, the water layer is denser in the region closest to the metal for Pd and Pt, where seven- and five-membered ring motifs appear. These patterns are identical to those identified by scanning tunneling microscopy for isolated water bilayers. On Ru densification at the interface is not observed, water dissociates, and protons and hydroxyl groups are locked at the surface. Therefore, the acid–base properties in the area close to the metal are not perturbed, in agreement with experiments, and the bulk water resembles an electric double layer. Confinement affects water making it closer to ice for both structural and dynamic properties, thus being responsible for the higher viscosity experimentally found at the nanoscale. All these contributions modify the solvation of reactants and products at the water–metal interface and will affect the catalytic and electrocatalytic properties of the surface.
Spring School on Language, Music, and Cognition

The interdisciplinary spring school “Language, music, and cognition: Organizing events in time” was held from February 26 to March 2, 2018 at the Institute of Musicology of the University of Cologne. Language, speech, and music as events in time were explored from different perspectives including evolutionary biology, social cognition, developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience of speech, language, and communication, as well as computational and biological approaches to language and music. There were 10 lectures, 4 workshops, and 1 student poster session. Overall, the spring school investigated language and music as neurocognitive systems and focused on a mechanistic approach exploring the neural substrates underlying musical, linguistic, social, and emotional processes and behaviors. In particular, researchers approached questions concerning cognitive processes, computational procedures, and neural mechanisms underlying the temporal organization of language and music, mainly from two perspectives: one was concerned with syntax or structural representations of language and music as neurocognitive systems (i.e., an intrapersonal perspective), while the other emphasized social interaction and emotions in their communicative function (i.e., an interpersonal perspective). The spring school not only acted as a platform for knowledge transfer and exchange but also generated a number of important research questions as challenges for future investigations.
Is electronic cash possible

Cash-like payments in electronic commerce and at the traditional point of sale are expected to be beneficial, e.g., because of privacy protection, low transaction costs, and irrevocability. Therefore, we discuss how to design electronic cash in a way that it both mirrors the most important characteristics of raditional cash, but also fulfils the expectations which arise towards electronic means of payment. We analyse the problems and trade-offs between the different characteristics to be implemented. This analysis is based on a user survey and a review of existing technologies for electronic payment systems. Finally we argue why existing systems do not fulfil the critical requirements, and point out future work towards electronic cash which will meet more requirements.
Power Systems Transient Stability - A Grand Computing Challenge

Real-time or faster-than-real-time power system transient stability simulations will have signi cant impact on the future design and operations of both individual electrical utility companies and large interconnected power systems. Su ciently fast transient stability simulation implementations may signi cantly improve power system reliability which, in turn, will positively a ect electrical utility company pro ts, environmental impact, and customer satisfaction. Past research into techniques to enhance the performance of transient stability simulations has included both concurrent processing and better algorithms, however, there are still considerable areas for research into this problem. The scope of real-time or faster-than-real-time transient stability analysis places this application in the category of being a grand computing challenge that could bene t from future tera op (trillion oating-point operations per second) supercomputers. This paper describes various research areas that are of interest to the computational science academic community that o er promise to improve the quality and performance of power system transient stability simulations. Many of the research areas o er competitive alternatives for performance improvements; consequently, a parallel transient stability testbed at the Northeast Parallel Architectures Center (NPAC) at Syracuse University is proposed. We believe that it is possible to develop scalable transient stability algorithms using both concurrent computers and more e cient algorithms that could o er speedups of 100 on 32-processor distributed-memory multicomputers when compared to sequential codes such as the EPRI-Extended Transient/Mid-Term Stability Program. Even greater speedups would be possible on multicomputers with more processors.
Text categorization and similarity analysis: similarity measure, literature review

1. Introduction Figure 1 shows a situation that has become increasingly common. With document organisation like this it is almost impossible to find the file that you want, and definitely not quickly. Document classification and provenance has become an important area of computer science as the amount of digital information is growing significantly. Organisations are storing documents on computers rather than in paper form. Software is now required that will show the similarities between documents (i.e. document classification) and to point out duplicates and possibly the history of each document (i.e. provenance). Poor organisation is common and leads to situations like above. There exists a number of software solutions in this area designed to make document organisation as simple as possible. I'm doing my project with Pingar who are a company based in Auckland who aim to help organise the growing amount of unstructured digital data. This reports analyses the existing literature in this area with the aim to determine what already exists and how my project will be different from existing solutions. Most computer users end up with a number of copies of documents for a variety of reasons. Three main reasons were identified by Karlson et al. [1]: 2 1. Content preservation: People tend to make copies to back up their work and save different versions
Validación de la Escala de Motivación Lectora en Estudiantes Chilenos de Enseñanza Básica

Few instruments have been suitably translated and validated for measuring motivational aspects linked to reading in the Spanish-speaking world. The present study was aimed at psychometrically validating the Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, and Mazzoni's Motivation to Read Survey (MTS; 1996), which comprises 2 subscales: reader's self-concept and value of reading. A convenience sampling process was used to recruit 698 Chilean 3 rd , 4 th , and 5 th graders attending 4 subsidized and private schools in the Metropolitan Region of Chile; 53% of them were boys and 47% were girls. The scale was translated using the back translation method. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), expert rater, and construct validity analyses were performed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Results show that the Spanish version of the MTS is a reliable and valid instrument that can be used for research and instructional purposes, allowing researchers and teachers to delve deeper into reading motivation in Spanish-speaking children.
Data Stream Management Issues { A Survey

Traditional databases store sets of relatively static records with no pre-defined notion of time, unless timestamp attributes are explicitly added. While this model adequately represents commercial catalogues or repositories of personal information, many current and emerging applications require support for on-line analysis of rapidly changing data streams. Limitations of traditional DBMSs in supporting streaming applications have been recognized, prompting research to augment existing technologies and build new systems to manage streaming data. The purpose of this paper is to review recent work in data stream management systems, with an emphasis on data models, continuous query languages, and query evaluation and optimization techniques. We also give examples of streaming queries in various applications and review related work in modeling lists and sequences.
The coverage problem in three-dimensional wireless sensor networks

One of the fundamental issues in sensor networks is the coverage problem, which reflects how well a sensor network is monitored or tracked by sensors. In this paper, we formulate this problem as a decision problem, whose goal is to determine whether every point in the service area of the sensor network is covered by at least /spl alpha/ sensors, where /spl alpha/ is a given parameter and the sensing regions of the sensors are modeled by balls (not necessarily of the same radius). This problem in a 2D space is solved in (C. F. Huang et al, ACM Int'l W'kshop on Wireless Sensor Networks and App., p.115-12 1, 2003) with an efficient polynomial-time algorithm (in terms of the number of sensors). In this paper, we show that tackling this problem in a 3D space is still feasible within polynomial time. The proposed solution can be easily translated into an efficient polynomial-time distributed protocol.
A set-theoretic approach to database searching and clustering

MOTIVATION In this paper, we introduce an iterative method of database searching and apply it to design a database clustering algorithm applicable to an entire protein database. The clustering procedure relies on the quality of the database searching routine and further improves its results based on a set-theoretic analysis of a highly redundant yet efficient to generate cluster system. RESULTS Overall, we achieve unambiguous assignment of 80% of SWISS-PROT sequences to non-overlapping sequence clusters in an entirely automatic fashion. Our results are compared to an expert-generated clustering for validation. The database searching method is fast and the clustering technique does not require time-consuming all-against-all comparison. This allows for fast clustering of large amounts of sequences. AVAILABILITY The resulting clustering for the PIR1 (Release 51) and SWISS-PROT (Release 34) databases is available over the Internet from http://www.dkfz-heidelberg.de/tbi/services/modest/b rowsesysters.pl. CONTACT a.krause@dkfz-heidelberg.de; m.vingron@dkfz-heidelberg.de
Closed Loop Nonlinear System Identification Applied to Gas Turbine Analytics

Intelligent engine condition monitoring and early fault detection is becoming a necessity for modern gas turbines to achieve availability and reliability requirements. Degradation or failure of critical control components negatively affects reliability and safety as well as the ability to perform condition monitoring of the engine. Model-based approaches for analytics and condition monitoring show great promise with advances in remote connectivity and available computational power. Development of diagnostics for analytics requires focus on the target machine as well as the integrity of measurement and actuation systems to correctly identify and classify degradation indicators that discriminate between actuation and measurement faults from deterioration in machine performance. In this paper, a method is proposed to use data obtained in closed-loop operation to identify system models that separate the dynamic responses and non-linear characteristics for use in analytics. This is demonstrated on high-fidelity simulation data from a Taurus™ 60 gas turbine generator. The system is modeled with a feedback connection of a known controller in series with a block Hammerstein system.Copyright © 2014 by ASME and Solar Turbines Incorporated
CMOS hall sensor using dynamic quadrature offset cancellation

The zero-level stability, reliability and as well as the reproducibility of magnetic Hall sensors can be drastically spoiled by the offset voltage and its production spread. However, all these negative factors could be reduced using a single Hall plate and chopper stabilized amplifier stage which contains switching means for periodic permutation of the supply and output contact pairs. The present work describes the design and layout of a chopper-based monolithic single plate digital Hall sensor with a dynamic offset cancellation technique and some signal condition process
Men’s Voices: Masculinities, Companion Animals, and Intimate Relationships

Companion animals are increasingly becoming part of our families, and the majority of homes in North America now include at least one companion animal (American Pet Products Association, 2018; Oliveira, 2014). One body of research has shown that both men and women have close relationships with companion animals (Irvine, 2013; Prato-Previde et al., 2006; Ramirez, 2006; Sanders, 1993), while another body of research shows that companion animals are the targets of threats and harm in connection to IPV perpetrated by men (Ascione et al., 2007; Barrett et al., 2017; Flynn, 2000a; Simmons & Lehmann, 2007). Most of the research at the intersection of IPV and animal abuse has used the perspective of the women survivors in the abusive relationships. This perspective is essential to establish effective programs and services for survivors of IPV, to understand the impacts of the abuse of a companion animal on their human companions, and to begin to understand the complexity of relationships with IPV. However, it is one perspective – the perspective of the abuser in the relationship is generally missing in this literature. The current study addresses this gap in the literature through focusing on the men’s perspective. Active interviews were conducted with 21 men, eight of whom had no reported perpetration of IPV recruited from the community, and thirteen who had been abusive towards an intimate partner and who were incarcerated or court-mandated participants in a domestic violence intervention program. Relationships with companion animals fell along a continuum with disinterest in the pet at one end and a cherished family member at the other. There was no discernable difference in how the companion animals were conceptualized between men who had been abusive towards an intimate partner and those with no reported abuse. Relationships with animals were characterized by unconditional love, loyalty, and trust, contrary to how most
Endosomal Phosphoinositides and Human Diseases

Phosphoinositides (PIs) are lipid second messengers implicated in signal transduction and membrane trafficking. Seven distinct PIs can be synthesized by phosphorylation of the inositol ring of phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns), and their metabolism is accurately regulated by PI kinases and phosphatases. Two of the PIs, PtdIns3P and PtdIns(3,5)P2, are present on intracellular endosomal compartments, and several studies suggest that they have a role in membrane remodeling and trafficking. We refer to them as ‘endosomal PIs’. An increasing number of human genetic diseases including myopathy and neuropathies are associated to mutations in enzymes regulating the turnover of these endosomal PIs. The PtdIns3P and PtdIns(3,5)P2 3‐phosphatase myotubularin gene is mutated in X‐linked centronuclear myopathy, whereas its homologs MTMR2 and MTMR13 and the PtdIns(3,5)P2 5‐phosphatase SAC3/FIG4 are implicated in Charcot–Marie–Tooth peripheral neuropathies. Mutations in the gene encoding the PtdIns3P 5‐kinase PIP5K3/PIKfyve have been found in patients affected with François–Neetens fleck corneal dystrophy. This review presents the roles of the endosomal PIs and their regulators and proposes defects of membrane remodeling as a common pathological mechanism for the corresponding diseases.
Complex Genetic Interactions in a Quantitative Trait Locus

Whether in natural populations or between two unrelated members of a species, most phenotypic variation is quantitative. To analyze such quantitative traits, one must first map the underlying quantitative trait loci. Next, and far more difficult, one must identify the quantitative trait genes (QTGs), characterize QTG interactions, and identify the phenotypically relevant polymorphisms to determine how QTGs contribute to phenotype. In this work, we analyzed three Saccharomyces cerevisiae high-temperature growth (Htg) QTGs (MKT1, END3, and RHO2). We observed a high level of genetic interactions among QTGs and strain background. Interestingly, while the MKT1 and END3 coding polymorphisms contribute to phenotype, it is the RHO2 3′UTR polymorphisms that are phenotypically relevant. Reciprocal hemizygosity analysis of the Htg QTGs in hybrids between S288c and ten unrelated S. cerevisiae strains reveals that the contributions of the Htg QTGs are not conserved in nine other hybrids, which has implications for QTG identification by marker-trait association. Our findings demonstrate the variety and complexity of QTG contributions to phenotype, the impact of genetic background, and the value of quantitative genetic studies in S. cerevisiae.
A Study on the Word-formation of Chinese Coordinative Compound Words Denoting Kinship

In Chinese, compound words denoting kinship are frequently used. This paper classifies such words into two categories: coordinative and non-coordinative. Each type has subcategories. Under the framework of Distributed Morphology, this paper focuses on the coordinative compound words. They consist of two roots which finally form a NP with the category-giving morpheme. Besides, there are some idioms and infrequent uses which can be explained in the Encyclopedia.
Plasmonics: Localization and guiding of electromagnetic energy in metal/dielectric structures

We review the basic physics of surface-plasmon excitations occurring at metal/dielectric interfaces with special emphasis on the possibility of using such excitations for the localization of electromagnetic energy in one, two, and three dimensions, in a context of applications in sensing and waveguiding for functional photonic devices. Localized plasmon resonances occurring in metallic nanoparticles are discussed both for single particles and particle ensembles, focusing on the generation of confined light fields enabling enhancement of Raman-scattering and nonlinear processes. We then survey the basic properties of interface plasmons propagating along flat boundaries of thin metallic films, with applications for waveguiding along patterned films, stripes, and nanowires. Interactions between plasmonic structures and optically active media are also discussed.