Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploration of Photometric Stereo Technology Applies to 3D Model Reconstruction

An efficient method has been presented to achieve an accurate dense 3D reconstruction of objects using photometric stereo technology. The task of recovering three-dimensional geometry from two dimensional views of a scene is called 3D reconstruction. Photometric Stereo is a powerful image based 3D reconstruction technique that has recently been used to obtain very high quality reconstructions. The Photometric Stereo (PS) technique uses several images of the same surface taken from the same viewpoint but under illuminations with different directions. The illumination conditions refer to the light source direction and intensity, and reflectance properties mean what type of surface is under consideration i.e. Lambertian or non-Lambertian. The algorithm has been tested on synthetic as well as real datasets and very encouraging results have been obtained.
Contact Linguistics: Bilingual encounters and grammatical outcomes

The aim of this book is to demonstrate that all language contact phenomena are governed by the same set of underlying principles. The theoretical framework which Carol Myers-Scotton employs is the Matrix Language Frame model (MLF), which was first proposed in Myers-Scotton (1993a/1997). Central to the MLF is the distinction between Matrix Language and Embedded Language; this develops the idea of asymmetry between participating languages prevalent in the literature on codeswitching (cf. Sridhar and Sridhar 1980, Joshi 1985, Bokamba 1988) whilst treating the Matrix and Embedded Languages as abstract linguistic systems rather than actual languages. It is the Matrix Language which contributes structure (morpheme order) and “critical system morphemes,” that is, “system morphemes which have grammatical relations external to their head constituent (i.e. which participate in the sentence’s thematic role grid)” (p. 59). The Embedded Language contributes other morphemes, most notably content words. The development of the MLF was motivated by codeswitching data (chapters 3 and 4), but in this volume Myers-Scotton applies the MLF to language phenomena. In chapter 5 she discusses convergence (whereby one language or variety adopts certain features of another language or variety) and attrition (whereby a language or variety loses certain grammatical distinctions), and in chapter 6 she discusses lexical borrowing, creole formation, and split or mixed languages (in which the lexicon is derived primarily from one source and the morphosyntactic frame from another). Myers-Scotton
Speech recognition using time-warping neural networks

The author proposes a time-warping neural network (TWNN) for phoneme-based speech recognition. The TWNN is designed to accept phonemes with arbitrary duration, whereas conventional phoneme recognition networks have a fixed-length input window. The purpose of this network is to cope with not only variability of phoneme duration but also time warping in a phoneme. The proposed network is composed of several time-warping units which each have a time-warping function. The TWNN is characterized by time-warping functions embedded between the input layer and the first hidden layer in the network. The proposed network demonstrates higher phoneme recognition accuracy than a baseline recognizer based on conventional feedforward neural networks and linear time alignment. The recognition accuracy is even higher than that achieved with discrete hidden Markov models. <<ETX>>
Evolving walking robots for global task based design

The paper proposes an original method for the design of complex mechatronic systems such as locomotion systems. A modular approach is used in the hardware and software design of these robotic systems. The objective of the design process is to find the optimal combination of hardware and software components to achieve a locomotion task in a complex environment. For this we use an evolutionary algorithm, integrating a dynamic simulation of the mobile robot in its environment. A hybrid encoding allows us to evolve the robot structure and its control system simultaneously. Specialized genetic operators have been designed to manipulate this encoding and to adapt their action to the evolving population. The robot performances are evaluated through a simulation in which all criteria are computed and exploited in real time. The process is illustrated through a set of design examples. An improvement of computing time using a hierarchical evaluation is analyzed.
Tourenplaner für die Traildevils iOS App

Ausgangslage: Ein zentrales Produkt der Frontline Media GmbH ist die Traildevils Website, eine Online Community Site fur Mountain Biker. Um die Attraktivitat zu steigern, wurde bereits im Herbstsemester 2016/17 ein Prototyp als native iOS Applikation entwickelt, welche nun durch einen Tourenplaner erweitert werden soll. Ziel der aktuellen Arbeit ist die Validierung eines Interaktionskonzeptes fur die mobile Tourenplanung mit Fokus auf intuitive Bedienung. Vorgehen und Technologien: In einer ersten Phase wurden Wireframes auf Papier gezeichnet und anschliessend mithilfe des Online Dienstes «Proto.io» zu einem klickbaren Prototyp umgewandelt. So konnten Ideen und Konzepte fur die Umsetzung mit dem Praxispartner diskutiert und festgelegt werden. Zeitgleich wurden Experimente zur Minimierung weiterer Risiken gemacht, z.B. das Verschieben von Wegpunkten oder die Verarbeitung einer Antwort des Routing Dienstes. Die erarbeiteten Konzepte wurden in einem zweiten Schritt implementiert und mit mehreren Personen der Zielgruppe validiert. Es stellte sich heraus, dass verschiedene Interaktionen mit der Karte und der Tour entweder nicht entdeckt wurden oder zu Problemen fuhrten. Es zeigte sich zudem, dass der eingesetzte Geocoder teilweise zu wenig oder ungenaue Ergebnisse lieferte. Ein weiterer Usability Test sollte die Anpassungen wiederum validieren. Der zweite Test bestatigte, dass sowohl iOS als auch Android Benutzer eine Tour effizient und problemlos planen konnen. Ergebnis: Am Ende dieser Arbeit kann ein intuitiver Tourenplaner mit validiertem Interaktionskonzept vorgewiesen werden. Weitere Funktionen zur Erweiterung der Tourenplanung konnten zudem implementiert werden, darunter die Anzeige von Zusatzinformationen, wie z.B. ein Hohenprofil oder das Einfugen, Andern, Verschieben und Loschen von Wegpunkten einer Tour. Als Nebenprodukt der Bachelorarbeit konnten zwei Swift Frameworks fur GraphHopper entwickelt werden, welche nun auch auf der offiziellen Website verlinkt sind. Auf Basis der Tests hat der Auftraggeber bestatigt, dass mit dem aktuellen Tourenplaner nicht nur das Interaktionskonzept erfolgreich entwickelt und validiert werden konnte, sondern die Software eine Reife aufweist, dass die unveranderte Nutzung in der zukunftigen Traildevils App geplant ist. Da sich die Bachelorarbeit auf den Tourenplaner konzentriert hat, ist vor der Publikation der App noch Fleissarbeit notwendig. Insbesondere mussen Benutzeran- und abmeldung sowie Likes, Checkin oder Kommentare implementiert werden.
Value locality and speculative execution

pipelined memory subsystem which allows any number of nonblocking misses (this is more aggressive than the actual 21164 and will tend to understate the benefits of value predictionbased speculation). Second, in order to allow value prediction-based speculation to occur, we must verify predictions by comparing the predicted value to the actual value computed by the ALU. This comparison requires an extra stage before writeback. The third modification, the addition of the reissue buffer, allows us to buffer instruction dispatch groups that contain value-predicted instructions. With this feature, we are able to redispatch instructions when a misprediction occurs with only a single-cycle penalty. Figure 2-1. PPC 620 and 620+ Block Diagram. Buffer sizes shown as (620/620+). LSU SCFX RS (2/4) Comp Unit (16/32) Fetch/Dispatch Unit
Book Review - Supporting Students in Open and Distance Learning

The Open and Distance Learning (ODL) system has come a long way, emerging as an acceptable mode of extending the outreach of educational opportunities globally, ranging from China with the world’s largest population to Tuvalu with a population of only 11,000. In terms of geographic area, Sharma (1997) reported that ODL institutions are operating in countries large and small, the largest being Russia, to Israel, one of the smallest. In terms of population, Costa Rica boasts of one of the smallest populations served by ODL, whereas China’s ODL system undoubtedly serves the largest. Owing to the diverse nature of demographic variables in terms of placement, job, socio-economic conditions, open university students often find it inconvenient to be physically present in a classroom setting for face-to-face instruction at stipulated times and places. However, to help overcome barriers of time and space, students studying using the distance mode, nonetheless require periodic guidance as well as counseling on academic and non-academic matters. In addition to print materials, students also require administrative, academic and library support services. Quite simply, effective student support helps to increase student retention (Brindley, 1985; Hara and Kling, 1999) and is clearly an indicator of success for any educational institution.
Specification Languages: Understanding Their Role in Simulation Model Development

Current software specification techniques and specification languages are reviewed, emphasizing research activities in software specification languages. Alternate software life cycle models are described and compared to a simulation life cycle model. The importance of constructing a model specification before creating a programmed model is emphasized. Disadvantages in using simulation programming languages as model specification languages are discussed. The multiple uses which are made of a model specification are presented; these uses correspond to the alternate uses made of a requirements specification for general software. To evaluate where specification tools for general software will be effective for simulation modeling, both areas where the simulation life cycle corresponds to a general software life cycle and areas in which they differ are characterized. Important
Final report for AOARD grant \#FA2386-11-1-4070, formal system verification — extension

The AOARD project #FA2386-11-1-4070 aims at providing a provably correct initialiser of componentised systems. Taking as input a description of the desired components and the desired authorised communication between them, the initialiser sets up the system and provides a proof that the resulting concrete machine state of the system matches the desired authority state. Within the scope of this project, we provide (1) a formal specification of the initialiser, in terms of the steps needed to create the components and their communication channels; and (2) substantial progress towards a formal proof that this specification is correct in that it either fails safely or produces the desired state. This document is the final report of the project, presenting its scientific outcomes. Namely, we have completed the initialiser specification, we have created a verification framework enabling modular reasoning and proofs about the initialiser, and we have progressed substantially on the proof itself, demonstrating that such proofs are feasible.
Corpus, collocation, and lexical sets

This paper is a progress report on a research path I first outlined in my contribution to “Words in Context: A Tribute to John Sinclair on his Retirement” (Heffer and Sauntson, 2000). Therefore, I first summarize that paper here, in order to provide the relevant background. The second half of the current paper consists of some further manual analyses, exploring various parameters and procedures that might assist in the design of an automated computational process for the identification of lexical sets. The automation itself is beyond the scope of the current paper.
State transition storyboards: A tool for designing the Goldstone solar system radar data acquisition system user interface software

Effective user interface design in software systems is a complex task that takes place without adequate modeling tools. By combining state transition diagrams and the storyboard technique of filmmakers, State Transition Storyboards were developed to provide a detailed modeling technique for the Goldstone Solar System Radar Data Acquisition System human-machine interface. Illustrations are included with a description of the modeling technique.
Analysis of Intel IA-64 Processor Support for a Secure Virtual Machine Monitor

Abstract : This thesis explores the Intel IA-64 architecture's capability to support a secure virtual machine monitor. The major mission of a virtual machine monitor is to provide an execution environment identical to the real machine environment for virtual machines. A VMM duplicates the real resources of a processor for virtual machines while making a virtual machine think that it is running on a real machine. As a result, a virtual machine monitor allows multiple virtual machines to run concurrently on the same machine. A secure VMM on the Intel IA-64 architecture would offer several benefits. A secure VMM would ensure that security policy is enforced by constraining information flow between the supported virtual machines. This would provide PC users with a more secure environment in which to run COTS operating systems. The Intel IA-64 architecture was analyzed to determine if it is virtualizable. Three types of virtual machine monitors and their hardware requirements have been defined. The IA-64 architecture was mapped to these hardware requirements. Analysis showed that the IA-64 architecture meets three main hardware requirements. However, IA-64 instruction set contains 18 sensitive unprivileged instructions. These instructions prevent the IA-64 architecture from being used for a Type I VMM. Several virtualization techniques used in some architectures are discussed to determine if these techniques could be applicable to virtualization of the IA-64 architecture.
ComponentJ: The Reference Manual

This document describes ComponentJ, a component-oriented language in the JVM that can create and manipulate components through expecific architectural constructions. The language ensures consistency of both static and dynamic compositions. We introduce the usage of ComponentJ by means of small examples. Next, we show the syntax of the language and detail some of the examples distributed with the compiler.
Accuracy of logistic models and receiver operating characteristic curves

The accuracy of prediction is a commonly studied topic in modern statistics. The performance of a predictor is becoming increasingly more important as real-life decisions axe made on the basis of prediction. In this thesis we investigate the prediction accuracy of logistic models from two different approaches. Logistic regression is often used to discriminate between two groups or populations based on a number of covariates. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve is a commonly used tool (especially in medical statistics) to assess the performance Of such a score or test. By using the same data to fit the logistic regression and calculate the ROC curve we overestimate the performance that the score would give if validated on a sample of future cases. This overestimation is studied and we propose a correction for the ROC curve and the area under the curve. The methods axe illustrated through way of two medical examples and a simulation study, and we show that the overestimation can be quite substantial for small sample sizes. The idea of shrinkage pertains to the notion that by including some prior information about the data under study we can improve prediction. Until now, the study of shrinkage has almost exclusively been concentrated on continuous measurements. We propose a methodology to study shrinkage for logistic regression modelling of categorical data with a binary response. Categorical data with a large number of levels is often grouped for modelling purposes, which discards useful information about the data. By using this information we can apply Bayesian methods to update model parameters and show through examples and simulations that in some circumstances the updated estimates are better predictors than the model.
Freshman Withdrawal from College: An Empirical Examination of the Usefulness of “Autopsy Studies”

“Autopsy studies” are investigations in which students are asked at their time of withdrawal from college why they are leaving. Some authors (2, 4) have questioned the usefulness of these studies, noting that withdrawing students may tend to downplay their true problems and overemphasize more socially desirable reasons for leaving. Moreover, previous “autopsy studies” have not used any comparison groups to check to see whether continuing students had the same difficulties as withdrawers but chose to remain in college. The present study rectifies these two major problems of “autopsy studies” by interviewing withdrawers at least several months after withdrawal and by comparing their responses on a follow-up questionnaire with the responses of a random sample of continuers. The results do, indeed, indicate that continuers have significantly more problems in a number of areas than do the withdrawers but choose not to withdraw despite these problems.
Restructuring Science Education: The Importance of Theories and Their Development

The purpose of this book is to demonstrate how the history and philosophy of science can be applied by teachers and curriculum writers to the effective teaching of science. The author provides a conceptual foundation for an alternative approach to science education. The book is divided into four parts: an overview of existing curricula; teaching and learning practices; an historical context of the changes that have taken place in the history and philosophy of science; and the practical application of the tenets of the history and philosophy of science to modern theories of learning and teaching.
Vers une théorisation du discours séducteur

Dans l’histoire des relations humaines, la seduction occupe une place fondamentale, car elle est a l’origine d’un type de rapport a l’autre plus « doux » par rapport a la violence physique qu’elle a parfois remplacee. Cette introduction offre une tentative de theorisation du discours seducteur, a entendre ici au sens large, depuis les relations de desir jusqu’aux differentes formes de seduction politique, publicitaire, litteraire ou ideologique, afin d’en mettre en lumiere les ressorts linguistiques, stylistiques, cognitifs et pragmatiques. Cette strategie d’influence semble inherente a tout discours. Dans sa version la plus extreme, la seduction vise a sortir le lecteur/l’auditeur « hors de son soi » (se) pour le conduire (ducere) sur un autre chemin. Cet article explore dans quelle mesure la seduction conserve une partie de la « violence » dont elle est l’heritiere. Fruits du travail mene au sein d’un seminaire soutenu par l’Institut Universitaire de France sur la « seduction du discours » organise en 2015 et 2016 au LERMA (Aix-Marseille Universite), les differents articles de ce dossier revelent les masques linguistiques et les strategies discursives de la seduction dans des corpus varies et selon des perspectives multiples.
Neural networks and child language development: a simulation using a modular neural network architecture

A modular architecture comprising neural networks that employ both supervised and unsupervised learning strategies to learn complex patterns is presented for simulating child language development during infancy, particularly 9-24 months. It is argued that in order to simulate aspects of human learning, particularly the uniquely human language learning, it is important to use a modular architecture: an architecture that can realistically simulate the effects of the environment, through supervised learning networks, and the effects of self-learning or 'innate development', through unsupervised networks. We present ACCLAIM-a modular neural network architecture which synthesises two Kohonen maps, two Hebbian connection based networks and two backpropagation networks. ACCLAIM was used to simulate the learning of concepts, words, conceptual relations, semantic relations and simple word-order rules, mimicking two crucial phases of a child's language development, that is one-word and two-word language. ACCLAIM can produce child-like one-word and two-word sentences. The training data used for the simulation was taken from two major longitudinal studies of child language development.
Verified network configuration

This thesis describes general concepts of network management and the prototype implementation of a network management system software. The aim of the project Verinec (Verified Network Configuration) is to improve security and reliability in large, heterogeneous networks, while at the same time facilitate their administration. The main issue addressed by this work is how to avoid operator mistakes. Using a centralised database of the entire network and services configuration, Verinec can validate correctness before configuring any devices. The concept of unit testing used in software development is extended to network configuration. A network simulator is used to run the unit tests against the configuration to ensure operationability of the configuration to deploy. The configuration is described with the markup language XML. It is abstracted from specific implementations of devices or services. Various devices implement the same network services. The concepts remain the same, but configuration syntax varies. The abstracted configuration is optimised to support a broad range of implementations. As an example, the Packet Filter of a Cisco Appliance can do about the same as the Netfilter framework on Linux. But one specifies rules as parameters to the iptables application, whilst the other uses IOS script. XML technologies are used to translate the abstracted configuration into implementationspecific formats. The translated configuration is automatically distributed. There is no gap between network planning and network configuration. This avoids introducing errors when applying the tested configuration to the actual network devices. Verinec uses existing remote administration protocols to distribute configuration, eliminating the need for another configuration protocol and configuration daemons which need to be installed on the managed devices. The aspect of topology discovery and configuration import is also discussed. Network sniffers can be used to detect what devices exist in the network, followed by trace tools like traceroute to gather information about intermediary routers. Port mapping determines the services running on the devices, often along with information about which implementation is running. Configuration can be read from files, program output or remote configuration protocols such as SNMP. Importing the setup of an existing network is relevant when introducing a new network management system into an existing network. This thesis was written in the Verinec project, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The project is joint work with Dominik Jungo. He focussed on testing the configuration with a network simulator, while my part was translating and distributing the configuration. We developed a prototype application in Java to explore and test our ideas. It is licensed under the GNU Public Licence and all code is available online at http://verinec.sourceforge. net.