Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A typology of the interaction of focus structure and syntax

The study of differences and similarities among human languages has a long and venerable history, and most of the concern has been with, first, the morphological properties of languages, and then, more recently, with their syntactic properties. Inspired by Prague School work on communicative dynamism (e.g. Mathesius 1928, 1929; Firbas 1964, 1966; Sgall, et al, 1986), there has emerged in the last few years an interest in classifying the way languages grammatically organize the expression of the various information statuses that elements within a sentence may have, e.g. Dik (1989), Bearth (1992), Vallduví (1992), Lambrecht (1994). This grammatical organization of information is known as focus structure, and languages show striking differences in this aspect of grammar. É. Kiss (1987, 1994) and Vallduví (1992) have noted some typological differences among languages with respect to focus structure. The purpose of this paper is to examine the way that typological differences with respect to focus structure interact with certain syntactic features in languages. It will be seen that rigidity vs. flexibility of focus structure interacts in interesting ways with rigidity vs. flexibility in the syntax and that these two properties generate four attested language types. We begin by sketching briefly the theory of focus structure from Lambrecht (1994) in the next section. In section 3 we turn to the actual typology itself, and concluding remarks are presented in section 4.
Microsoft Live Meeting 2007: Web Conferencing System for Virtual Classrooms

Web conferencing, a technology once available only to companies with larger budgets, is now becoming more mainstream due to advances in technology and fierce market competition. In all educational settings (face-to-face, hybrid, and distance learning), this technology has the potential to engage learners and improve learning. However, how does a school choose from the burgeoning array of Web conferencing tools and applications that are offered? And a software solution is chosen, how can Web conferencing be used to enhance student learning? These questions are addressed in this article, which includes comprehensive information about a powerful Web conferencing system, Microsoft Live Meeting 2007.
Home Bias, Exchange Rate Disconnect, and Optimal Exchange Rate Policy

This paper examines how much the central bank should adjust the interest rate in response to real exchange rate fluctuations. The paper first demonstrates in a two-country Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) model, that the home bias in consumption is important to duplicate the exchange rate volatility and exchange rate disconnect documented in the data. When home bias is high, the shock to Uncovered Interest-rate Parity (UIP) can substantially drive up exchange rate volatility while leaving the volatility of real macroeconomic variables, such as GDP, almost untouched. The model predicts the volatility of the real exchange rate relative to that of GDP increases with the extent of home bias. This relation is strongly supported by the data. Then a second-order accurate solution method is employed to solve the model and compare the conditional welfare under different policy regimes. The results suggest that the monetary authority should not seek to vigorously stabilize exchange rate fluctuations. In particular, when the central bank does not take a strong stance against the inflation rate, exchange rate stabilization may induce substantial welfare loss. The model also suggests no welfare gain from the international monetary cooperation, which extends Obstfeld and Rogoff's (2002) findings to a DSGE model.
Optimal Design of Event Lists (ODELs) Phase 2: Does List Length Impact Performance

This report documents the second study on the optimal design of event lists (ODELs). This study investigated the impact of event list length on user performance in searching for information. Participants searched for information in each of four different lists, each with a different length: 5 items, 15 items, 25 items, and 35 items. Researchers measured task completion time, accuracy, subjective ratings, and rankings. The shortest list (5 items) led to significantly slower response rates. The slower response rates appear to be due to the time it took users to scroll through the table. Participants made significantly more errors on the longer lists than on the shorter lists. Subjective data mirrored the performance data. Users preferred the mid-size lists (15 items and 25 items) and rated them higher than the longest list (35 items) and shortest list (5 items). Based on the results of this ODELs study, the authors would recommend a list size of 15 or 25 items over a list size of 5 or 35 items if speed and accuracy are important to the task.
Investigation of responsivity and noise in a direct-coupled photodetector-preamplifier for facsimile cameras

The direct-coupled (DC) mode of detector operation is evaluated for use in a facsimile camera. Photodiode-preamplifier sensitivity is described in terms of photodiode responsivity and possible noise sources resulting from the photodiode and preamplifier. Responsivity and noise limitations are experimentally verified and used to predict photodiode-preamplifier sensitivity under a wide range of operating conditions. Results demonstrate that the DC mode offers advantages in sensitivity and reduced mechanical complexity for facsimile cameras over the more common technique of chopping the radiation and ac amplifying the resultant signal.
O Que os Países escutam: Analisando a Rede de Gêneros Musicais ao Redor do Mundo

Plataformas de streaming de música são cada vez mais populares, facilitando o acesso ao conteúdo musical. Esse efeito amplia o alcance de diferentes estilos musicais, incrementando a diversidade de gêneros musicais escutados nos diferentes países do mundo. A fim de melhor entender essa diversidade, neste artigo foi construída e analisada uma rede complexa de artistas, gêneros musicais e países utilizando dados do Spotify. Como resultado, além de identificar comunidades de países com gêneros musicais semelhantes, nós mostramos como a diversidade de gêneros influencia a estrutura da rede considerada. Nós também classificamos os gêneros musicais mais comumente escutados utilizando métricas de centralidade e analisamos como ocorre a difusão de gêneros ao longo do tempo, incluindo um estudo de caso sobre música viral.
Optimizing on multiple constrained QoS multicast routing algorithms based on GA

With the rapid development of Intemet, mobile networks and high-performance networking technology, multiple constrained QoS multicast routing optimization in networks with uncertain parameters has become a very important research issue in the areas of networks and distributed systems. It is also a challenging and hard problem to the next generation Intemet and high-performance networks, and has attracted the interests of many people. This paper discusses the multiple constrained QoS multicast routing problem, which may deal with the delay, delay jitter, bandwidth and packet loss metrics, and describes a network model for researching the routing problem. The paper mainly presents multiple constrained QoS multicast routing algorithm (MCQMRA), a QoS multicast routing policy for Intemet, mobile network or other high-performance networks, which is based on the genetic algorithm (GA) and can provide QoS-sensitive paths in a scalable and flexible wayin the network environment with uncertain parameters. The MCQMRA can also optimize the network resources such as bandwidth, delay, packet loss metrics and can converge to the optimal or near-optimal solution within few iterations, even for the network environment with uncertain parameters. Simulation results show that MCQMRA is an available approach to QoS multicast routing decision.
How children learn language

Why children learn language - the role of language in human societies how children learn language - the teaching of language by parents and other adults how children learn language - children's active role in their learning of communication and language a review of children's knowledge and skills in the early stages of the language learning process language development - the specific language skills children acquire in the period from birth to three years what can go wrong in the language learning process and what it means for educators and families.
ESTIMATION DE LA PRIME DE RISQUE ET DE LA DYNAMIQUE DU MODELE DE COX, INGERSOLL ET ROSS

This article presents a detailed estimation of the spot interest rate parameters. This one is assumed to follow the « squared root » process introduced by Cox, Ingersoll and Ross [1985]. Empirical investigations on three months Treasury bills rate are provided. Cox, Ingersoll and Ross [1985] form of risk premium is not checked by the data.
Visual Analytics in Europe

With significant funding by national governments and the European Union, numerous novel visual analytics research initiatives are underway in Europe. One of these initiatives is the EU Coordination Action, a consortium that unites leading European visual analytics researchers and diverse strategic national research initiatives. Visual analytics groups in Europe specialize in explorative analysis and visualization of large information spaces from diverse data sources, such as multidimensional, textual, multimedia, web, and geographic data. Recently, the research groups have successfully created research partnerships, secured public funding, and established industry partnerships for meeting real-world challenges.
Pruning the Boosting Ensemble of Decision Trees

We propose to use variable selection methods based on penalized regression for pruning decision tree ensembles. Pruning methods based on LASSO and SCAD are compared with the cluster pruning method. Comparative studies are performed on some artificial datasets and real datasets. According to the results of comparative studies, the proposed methods based on penalized regression reduce the size of boosting ensembles without decreasing accuracy significantly and have better performance than the cluster pruning method. In terms of classification noise, the proposed pruning methods can mitigate the weakness of AdaBoost to some degree.
Improving the Effectiveness of Machine-Assisted Annotation

Improving the Effectiveness of Machine-Assisted Annotation Paul Felt Department of Computer Science, BYU Master of Science Annotated textual corpora are an essential language resource, facilitating manual search and discovery as well as supporting supervised Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques designed to accomplishing a variety of useful tasks. However, manual annotation of large textual corpora can be cost-prohibitive, especially for rare and under-resourced languages. For this reason, developers of annotated corpora often attempt to reduce annotation cost by offering annotators various forms of machine assistance intended to increase annotator speed and accuracy. This thesis contributes to the field of annotated corpus development by providing tools and methodologies for empirically evaluating the effectiveness of machine assistance techniques. This allows developers of annotated corpora to improve annotator efficiency by choosing to employ only machine assistance techniques that make a measurable, positive difference. We validate our tools andmethodologies using a concrete example. First we present CCASH, a platform for machine-assisted online linguistic annotation capable of recording detailed annotator performance statistics. We employ CCASH to collect data detailing the performance of annotators engaged in syriac morphological analysis in the presence of two machine assistance techniques: pre-annotation and correction propagation. We conduct a preliminary analysis of the data using the traditional approach of comparing mean data values. We then demonstrate a Bayesian analysis of the data that yields deeper insights into our data. Pre-annotation is shown to increase annotator accuracy when pre-annotations are at least 60% accurate, and annotator speed when pre-annotations are at least 80% accurate. Correction propagation’s effect on accuracy is minor. The Bayesian analysis indicates that correction propagation has a positive effect on annotator speed after accounting for the effects of the particular visual mechanism we employed to implement it.
The Role of Perceptual Load in Orientation Perception, Visual Masking and Contextual Integration

Previous research of the effects of perceptual load on visual processing demonstrates reduced perceptual sensitivity and reduced neural activity for task-irrelevant stimuli under high compared to low perceptual load. However, the precise underlying mechanisms for reduced processing remain unclear. The present thesis approaches this question by assessing the interactions between low level visual stimuli and their visual context under different levels of perceptual load. The results from Chapter 2 demonstrate that perceptual load modulates visual perception of orientation not only by reducing overall signal gain but also by broadening the orientation tuning profile. These findings suggest that perceptual load not only reduces the signal strength but also reduces the extent to which the signal is discriminated from noise; thus altering the strength of contextual interaction. Chapter 3 further demonstrates the role of perceptual load in contextual interactions by establishing the effects of load on the tilt-illusion, which is thought to rely purely on interactions among orientations. The results show that high perceptual load increases the impact of context (leading to greater tilt-illusion) for subthreshold context presentation, which precludes top-down suppression of the task-irrelevant context. Chapters 4 to 5 further establish reduced efficiency of separating signal from noise with higher perceptual load, found when signal and noise are presented successively (as in backward masking). The time course of perceptual load effects shows a distinct pattern of both, more effective and longer lasting masking under high compared to low load. This pattern evolves rapidly for pattern masking which indicates low-level integration and demonstrates an early locus for the effects of load. It also persists at later periods for metacontrast and object substitution masking where the stimulus and mask do not spatially overlap, indicating load effects at later processing stages. Together, the results provide mechanistic explanations for reduced perception under high perceptual load.
Evaluating OpenFlow in libNetVirt

LibNetVirt, the library presented and evaluated here, proposes an architecture for a network virtualization abstraction. Network virtualization has been an important research topic for many years but still suffers from the lack of an abstraction level like the one present in virtualization of computing and storage. LibNetVirt is deployed as a library, similar to libvirt in computer virtualization, with a unified interface towards the underlying network specific drivers. The architecture allows management tools to be independent of the underlying technologies. In addition, it enables programmatic and on-demand creation of virtual networks. We have evaluated libNetVirt in an OpenFlow-enabled network in three different tests: the setup time of a flow, the behavior of the system under a Denial of Service attack and the packet losses in high rate UDP flows.
MAPPING THE TERRITORY. E-LEARNING OPTIONS FOR TEACHERS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The teachers literacy in the field of e-learning represents a current challenge within the framework of knowledge based society. The use of new technologies in education tackles the very core of teaching and learning, the issue of knowledge and skills transfer from teachers to learners. In this context it is truly important to design and implement specific strategies for the in-service teacher training which should encompass their competitiveness in the field of e-learning. In Romania, this area of teacher training is expanding, while the tools that support this development are multiplying. In fact, many projects are financed through the European Social Fund (especially Operational Program Human Resources Development) to provide teachers with opportunities for continuing professional development, and many of these projects are offering blended learning programs. Our paper focuses on identifying the delivery methods proposed by these programs (face to face, self-paced e-learning through multimedia content, synchronous and asynchronous collaborative activities, etc.), as well as the tools used (forums, webinars, etc.), and analyze their correlation with characteristics of the target group (level: pre-school primary, secondary, domain, etc). The methodology approach is that of an exploratory analysis of project websites, leading to an inventory of learning tools and a mapping of characteristics which allowed us to draw up correlations between different variables. The conclusion of the paper presents some of the vulnerabilities of the current developments (such as lack of coverage in specific areas). The main result of the investigation is sketching a map of the present state of the art in the field of teachers’ professional development and inferring some of the implications in the years to come.
Decision Analysis: State of the Field.

Abstract : This article, written for the non-decision analyst, describes what decision analysis is, what it can and cannot do, why one should care to do this, and how one does it. In the process, we also hope to dispel some myths: decision analysis is a tool of operations research and management science; some analyses are objective and value-free; it would be desirable to have 'objective, value- free' analyses; decision analysis solves decision problems; some decision problems are too difficult for decision analysis; decision analysis and decision theory are the same thing. To accomplish these purposes, we set the stage by describing the decision environment. Then the article presents an overview of decision analysis and provides additional sources for its foundations, procedures, history, and applications.
Exploration visuelle de graphes multi-couches basée sur un degré d'intérêt

Presentation pour l'atelier VIF d'EGC 2017 (Atelier Visualisation d'informations, interaction et fouille de donnees). Il s'agit de la mise en forme d'une version exploratoire de l'algorithme "Degree of Interest" adaptable aux graphes dynamiques et multicouches.
Difference Between Artificial Intelligence and Traditional Methods

The domain of artificial intelligence (AI) is wide. Originally AI was defined as the discipline of computers that show intelligent human behavior. Now AI also refers to computer systems that show complex behavior similar to living systems like swarms, ant colonies, microbiology, and neural systems. There is a distinction between “‘strong” AI—computer functions that really have strong similarities with intelligent human reasoning and show some kind of self awareness—and “weak” AI—computer applications that deal with limited application areas and contain some practical knowledge and seem to have some intelligent features, such as expert systems and heuristic search algorithms. The focus of engineering applications of AI such as the ones considered in this circular is more on weak AI. However, it should be noted that the boundaries between strong and weak AI are not sharp and often AI systems move from one type to the other. A general distinction between “ordinary” computer systems and AI is the complexity of the AI computer systems.
Voltage Control Strategy for Direct-drive Robots Driven by Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors

Torque control strategy is a common strategy to control robotic manipulators. However, it becomes complex duo to manipulator dynamics. In addition, position control of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSMs) is a complicated control. Therefore, tracking control of robots driven by PMSMs is a challenging problem. This article presents a novel tracking control of electrically driven robots which is free from manipulator model. The proposed control law is simple but robust against uncertainties associated with manipulator dynamics. The novelty is the developing of voltage control strategy for the direct-drive robots driven by PMSMs. In addition, a state-space model is obtained for the robotic system including the direct-drive robot manipulator and the PMSMs. Then, the proposed approach is verified by stability analysis. A comparative study through simulations shows the superiority of the voltage control strategy to the torque control strategy.
Service Brokering in Cloud Computing

Abstract With the expanding cloud computing market new business models take form, and the focus in the market is on differentiation and adapting to the escalating demands of the customers. To satisfy the business segment of the market the offering of some quality of service (QoS) measures and guarantees is paramount. The next generation of brokers will be the QoS-aware brokers with cloud connectivity. This thesis regards the decisions of a combined broker and carrier in a cloud computing ecosystem. Such a broker has to make decisions on the composition of his customer portfolio, where to deploy services, and how to provide the network connectivity to these services, while ensuring compliance with the customers' requested QoS. In this thesis, three mixed integer programming (MIP) models, a link-flow model (LFM), path-flow model (PFM) and a mapping model, are presented; considering latency, availability, routing of the traffic, provisioning of backup paths, and the provider placement of each service; in order to select a customer portfolio and maximise profits. The PFM and the mapping model use pre-generation of paths and mappings, respectively. Three heuristic column generation methods for the mapping model are presented, in an attempt to provide fewer but potentially equally good columns as the pre-generation. Both C++ and the Mosel programming language have been used for implementing the MIP models, pre-generation methods, and column generation methods. The six resulting solution models are tested using five constructed test instances with one varying scaling parameter. Some test cases have proven to be too hard to solve, requiring restrictions to the number of columns pre-generated to obtain comparable results. The solutions obtained from the tests show that the different solution methods have different applicabilities, the column generation methods or an implementation of the mapping model with restricted pre-generating for large problem instances seem to be the best suited for solving the presented problem. The scaling parameter used has its expected effect. Some of the solution methods presented provide optimal solutions and some provide good heuristic solutions to the test instances used.
Information perspective on turbulence

Turbulence is a complex system. Information theory, and the more recently developed computational mechanics, provide quantitative tools for quantifying this ``complexity" in terms of predictability. This thesis is concerned with using these tools with experimental turbulence data. The focus will be on two-dimensional turbulence, but other (mostly turbulent) systems are treated as well. The role of information theory in physical systems in general will also be discussed. This framework is general and easily applicable to almost any other kind of system, as will be shown.