Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interactive Whiteboards in Mathematics Teaching: A Literature Review

An interactive whiteboard (IWB) is a relatively new tool that provides interesting affordances in the classroom environment, such as multiple visualization and multimedia presentation and ability for movement and animation. These affordances make IWBs an innovative tool with high potential for mathematics instructional environments. IWBs can be used to focus on the development of specific mathematical concepts and to improve mathematical knowledge and understanding. The aim of this paper is to review the existing literature upon the use of interactive whiteboards (IWBs) in mathematics classrooms. The reviewed studies offer a wide view of IWBs’ affordances, of the more interesting didactic practices, and of the difficulties of embedding this new technology in the classroom. The capabilities of IWBs to enhance the quality of interaction, and, consequently, to improve conceptual mathematical understanding are broadly recognized. Despite these capabilities, evidence from the studies points to a certain inertia on the part of many teachers to do anything else than use IWBs as large-scale visual blackboards or presentation tools. The emerging view of how to attempt to overcome these obstacles is that there is need for greater attention to the pedagogy associated with IWB use and, more specifically, to stimulate the design of new kinds of learning environments.
Hydrogenated In-doped ZnO Thin Films for the New Anode Material of Organic Light Emitting Devices : Synthesis and Application Test

Transparent In-doped (1 at.%) zinc oxide (IZO) thin films are deposited by pulsed DC magnetron sputtering with H 2 mixed Ar atmosphere on glass substrate without any heating process. Even at room temperature, highly c-axis oriented IZO thin films were grown in perpendicular to the substrate. The hydrogenated IZO (IZO:H) film isolated in H 2 atmosphere for 30 min exhibited an average optical transmittance higher than 85% and low electrical resistivity of less than 2.7 x 10 -3 Ω·cm. These values are comparable with those of commercially available ITO. Each of the IZO films was used as an anode contact to fabricate organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and the device performances studied. At the current density of 1 x 10 3 A/m 2 , the OLEDs with IZO:H (H 2 ) anode show excellent efficiency (11 V drive voltage) and a good brightness (8000 cd/m 2 ) of the light emitted from the devices, which are as good as the control device built on a commercial ITO anode.
Model predictive control for power fluctuation supression in hybrid wind/PV/battery systems

A hybrid energy system, the combination of wind turbines, PV panels and battery storage with effective control mechanism, represents a promising solution to the power fluctuation problem when integrating renewable energy resources (RES) into conventional power systems. This paper proposes a model predictive control (MPC)-based algorithm for battery management in a hybrid wind/PV/battery system to suppress the short-term power fluctuation on the ‘minute’ scale. A case study with data collected from a practical hybrid system setup is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm together with a Monte Carlo simulation-based sensitivity analysis. In addition to illustrating the complementarity between the fluctuations of wind power and PV power, the results prove the proposed MPC algorithm is effective in fluctuation suppression but sensitive to factors such as forecast accuracy and the desired range of power fluctuation.
Loading Rate Effect on the Double-K Fracture Parameters of Concrete

This work studies the effect of the loading rate on the double-K fracture parameters in concrete. These are the crack initiation toughness K! " ! "! and the unstable toughness K! " ! ", which mark the two main stages of crack propagation and are calculated from a load-crack mouth opening curve, P-wM. However, the original methodology does not take into account the influence of the load velocity, which may not be negligible for certain testing configurations adopted to avoid an excessive test duration. The double-K method includes a third parameter, the cohesive toughness K! " ! , that relates K! " ! "! and K! " ! " by integrating the cohesive stresses in the fracture process zone. In this paper, the influence of the loading rate is introduced in the method through K! " ! by including in the softening law a viscous factor, function of the crack opening velocity. The idea arises from the viscous-cohesive approach implemented in a numerical model successfully used in a previous work (Engineering Fracture Mechanics 82:195-208, 2012). Rate-dependent double-K parameters are computed from P-wM curves obtained with the numerical model, analysing a wide range of specimens and crack opening rates. R-curves are also obtained. The results show that double-K parameters increase with the loading rate. The rate dependence is slightly greater for large specimens, which amplifies the size effect.
High intraspecific karyological conservation in four species of Gymnotus (Pisces: Gymnotiformes) from Southeastern Brazilian basins

SUMMARYFour species of the genus Gymnotus from Southeastern Brazilian basins were extensively studied in relation to their karyology. A high intraspecific conservatism was detected and the cytotypes were species-specific, in relation to diploid number, NOR-bearing chromosomes and C-band pattern. No geographic chromosome races were found. The differences detected in the distribution of NOR associated heterochromatin were considered as a good evidence of the heterochromatin loss that seems to have occurred in the evolutionary story of this group of fishes. Gymnotus is a complex of species which the variation is still poor understood. The cytogenetic data here described allowed the reinterpretation of previous karyological data already available in literature and is an attempt to contribute to a better understanding of this group of Neotropical freshwater fishes.
The Expression of Modality in Spanish Sign Language

The aim of this paper is to analyse the expression of modality in Spanish Sign Language (Lengua de Signos Española: LSE) from a functional perspective. In order to do this, different semantic values associated with modality (volitive, epistemic, deontic, etc.) will be considered in order to determine the linguistic forms used for their expression in LSE. This language does not have bound morphological formatives with a modal value. Consequently, modality is expressed through lexical means: verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. This extensive group of markers express a wide range of modal contents with full communicative efficiency. Our study highlights the fact that the crosslinguistic generalisations made about modality in oral languages are also valid for LSE, which supports the idea that oral and sign languages are fully comparable. Finally, it should be pointed out that the procedures for expression in LSE differ from those described for other sign languages, particularly as regards the role played by iconicity.
Context and concepts in mobile learning

This reflective paper discusses the contextual and situated character of concepts in mobile learning. It aims at challenging current conceptualizations of mobile learning by utilizing ideas from pragmatist and socio-cultural perspectives. This challenge includes a framework that embraces a distinction between interactional and transactional world-views. The paper suggests a dynamic non-dualistic view of mobile learning. This view includes examples of concepts that might be appropriate for conceptualizations of mobile learning.
The impact of the budget deficit on the currency and inflation in the transition economies

This article investigates the causal linkage between budget deficit, monetary mass and inflation in the transition economies. It is focused on the impact of public expenditures growth on money supply growth, and it does not take in account the amount of budget deficit. We test the new hypothesis that inflation is primarily attributable to public finances imbalances. In our model, the money supply growth is function of budget deficit and GDP growth rate; and inflation is a function of money supply growth and budget deficits. We find a positive relationship between monetary financing of government deficits and money base growth in the case of Albania, Bulgaria, and Romania; public finance imbalances are the main cause of money creation and inflation in these countries.
Real Exchange Rate Behavior : Evidence From Malaysia , Singapore , and Thailand Kit

In this paper, the mean reversion behavior of CPI-based real exchange rates in US dollar is investigated for three Southeast Asian economies: Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Using linear and non-linear unit root tests to detect possible endogenous break(s), real exchange rates for currencies of the three countries are examined for the long-run purchasing power parity (PPP) during the period of January 1980 to December 2014. Results show that structural breaks mostly occur in two periods: 1985 and 1997/1998, and that, the evidences for the PPP hypothesis are relatively mixed for these three countries. Results obtained from all test fail to provide sufficient evidences for the non-linear adjustment of real exchange rates towards PPP. The misalignment in exchange rates cannot be found during the study period due to a relatively high persistency of real exchange rates (half-life > three years) found for all the three countries. Moreover, Engle-Granger procedure and Johansen multivariate cointegration methods are also carried out. The results indicate that a stronger evidence of PPP exists for the three countries relative to the USA after allowing for the presence of structural break(s), implying that the three Asian countries were affected by global financial crises during the study period. In brief, the findings reveal that misalignment in the three Southeast Asia economies is relatively slow; both exchange rates and price levels of these countries converge in the long run.
Intra-Abdominal Hypertension - An Intensive Care Perspective

Introduction: Intra-abdominal hypertension is now well recognized in intensive care patients. In- creasing knowledge of the incidence, causes, patho- physiology and outcome of intra-abdominal hyper- tension has resulted in earlier and more definitive management of the condition in the last decade. Although these advances appear to have improved outcome, many issues remain controversial. Methods: A literature review of relevant pa- pers was conducted. Conclusions: The incidence of intra-abdomi- nal hypertension varies widely depending on the intra-abdominal pressure used to define the condi- tion and the sub-group investigated. Monitoring intra-abdominal pressure by measuring urinary bladder pressure is simple and sufficiently accurate.
Beyond a Definition

More than three decades of mentoring research has yet to converge on a unifying definition of mentoring; this is unsurprising given the diversity of relationships classified as mentoring. This article advances beyond a definition toward a common framework for specifying mentoring models. Sixteen design elements were identified from the literature and tested through specification of two different mentoring models from higher education contexts. This framework provides researchers and practitioners with a detailed yet concise method of communicating exactly what they mean when using the word mentoring; it may also act as a useful set of prompts for educators designing new mentoring interventions.
US Narrow Money for the Twenty-First Century

US Narrow Money for the Twenty-First Century This study focuses on sweep programs in establishing conceptually appropriate and reliable measures of narrow money. We propose the aggregates M1RS = M1 + holdings of funds swept in retail sweep programs, and M1S = M1RS + holdings of funds swept in commercial demand deposit sweep programs. Based upon quarterly observations from 1959:1-2002:4, cointegration tests indicate the existence of long-run relationships between the velocity of M1S and the corresponding opportunity cost of holding money, using either short-term or long-term interest rates. Tests find weaker evidence for M1RS, and little support for MZM. Donald H. Dutkowsky: Professor, Department of Economics, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Syracuse NY 13244. Phone 1-315-443-1918, Fax 1315-443-3717, E-mail dondutk@maxwell.syr. edu. Barry Z. Cynamon: Undergraduate Student, Department of Economics, Washington University in St. Louis, Campus Box 1208, St. Louis MO 63130-4899. Phone 1-314-935-5670, Fax 1-314-935-4156, E-mail bcynamon@artsci.wustl. edu. Barry E. Jones: Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Binghamton University, Binghamton NY 13902-6000. Phone 1-607-777-4795, Fax 1 607-777-2681, E-mail bjones@binghamton.edu.
Natural language processing system for business intelligence

The ongoing information explosion has a particular impact on business areas, involving corporate strategy and business decision-making. Business intelligence tools aim to help users to understand market trends, which is critical for their day-to-day operations. For example, it is a typical business intelligence task to effectively obtain accurate and relevant information about the competitor’s activity in the same industry sector. This thesis presents research on a natural language processing system, which aims to address the problem of information overload in the business domain. It uses document filtering, information extraction, and supervised and semisupervised learning. Input to the system includes news documents from on-line news websites and company press pages. We first demonstrate that a combination of NLP techniques and frequent sequential pattern mining can be used for finding patterns from unstructured natural-language text, i.e., news articles. The patterns relate to a specific domain of news. Evaluation results show that scenario-based summarization can filter out irrelevant documents and also extract important sentences from relevant documents as summaries for pre-defined scenarios in a specific domain. For document-level filtering, this method achieves very high precision, while keeping quite high recall in our study. Next, we present experiments with supervised learning for labelling businessnews documents with multiple industry sectors. The main contribution
Singular Perturbation Approach to Pulse-Width Modulated Control in Nonlinear Dynamical Systems

The problem of robust controller design under PWM feedback is discussed in terms of Filippov’s average model where control variable is a duty ratio function. The proposed controller is an extension of PI/PID control scheme under PWM feedback. The presented design methodology guarantees desired output transient performance indices by inducing of two-timescale motions in the closed-loop system. Stability conditions imposed on the fast and slow modes and sufficiently large mode separation rate between fast and slow modes can ensure that the full-order closed-loop nonlinear system achieves the desired properties in such a way that the output transient performances are desired and insensitive to external disturbances and plant’s parameter variations. The method of singular perturbations is used throughout the paper in order to get explicit expressions for evaluation of the controller parameters. Simulation results of tracking control for magnetic levitation system are presented as an example of the application for the discussed PWM control design methodology.
A Frequency Hopping Method to Detect Replay Attacks

The application of information technology in network control systems introduces the potential threats to the future industrial control system. The malicious attacks undermine the security of network control system, which could cause a huge economic loss. This thesis studies a particular cyber attack called the replay attack, which is motivated by the Stuxnet worm allegedly used against the nuclear facilities in Iran. For replay attack, this thesis injects the narrow-band signal into control signal and adopts the spectrum estimation approach to test the estimation residue. In order to protect the information of the injected signal from knowing by attackers, the frequency hopping technology is employed to encrypt the frequency of the narrow-band signal. The detection method proposed in the thesis is illustrated and examined by the simulation studies, and it shows the good detection rate and security.
Aerosol and cloud feedbacks on surface energy balance over selected regions of the Indian subcontinent

We investigate aerosol and cloud forcing on the surface energy balance over selected regions in India. Four regions were selected with different surface characteristics and have considerable differences in the long-term trends and seasonal distribution of clouds and aerosols. These regions are described as (1) northern semiarid, (2) humid subtropical, (3) populated central peninsula, and (4) northeast monsoon impacted. Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) data and Climate Forecast System Reanalysis version 2 (CFSR) data are used in this study. An intercomparison of cloud fractions from both data sets shows that CFSR systematically underestimates high-cloud fraction during premonsoon and monsoon seasons. However, there are fewer low-cloud fraction biases. The positive temporal trend over 31years (1979-2009) from MERRA in high clouds is greater than that of low clouds. This is due to positive anomalies in the cloud ice and supercooled liquid water content in MERRA. Biases in the radiative fluxes and surface fluxes show a strong relationship (correlations exceeding 0.8) with cloud fraction biases, more so for the high clouds. During the premonsoon season, aerosol forcing causes a change in surface shortwave radiation of -24.5, -25, -19, and -16Wm -2 over regions 1 -4, respectively. The corresponding longwave radiation decrease is -9.8, -6.8, -4.5, and -1.9Wm -2 over these same regions, respectively. The maximum surface shortwave reduction due to clouds, which is observed during the monsoon season, is -86, -113, -101, and -97Wm -2 for these same regions, respectively. A decreasing trend in the boundary layer height is noticed both in MERRA and CFSR. The variation in the Bowen ratio and its relation to aerosol and cloud effect anomalies are also discussed.
Are Genetically Engineered Crops Safe or Dangerous

Genetically modified crops have the potential to solve many of the World’s hunger and malnutrition problems. They also protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides and herbicides. Yet, there are many challenges ahead for governments, especially in the areas of safety testing, regulation, international policy and food labeling. Many people feel that genetic engineering is the hope of the future. The current uses of GE focus on increasing production by addressing such issues as insect and weed control, but additional applications are being explored. It is believed that GE methods will allow for more rapid adaptation to climate change and plants with increased drought and salt tolerance are in development. The number of acres planted in GE crops has increased dramatically since their introduction in 1996. Opponents to GE crops have pointed out that highly publicized efforts to help farmers in developing countries and the world’s poor have not come into production. Every technology comes with potential risks and these risks must be evaluated. Genetic engineering of food and fiber products is inherently unpredictable and dangerous for humans, for animals, the environment and for the future of sustainable and organic agriculture. The hazards of GE crops falls mainly into two categories : human health hazards and environmental hazards . A brief look at the already proven and likely hazards of GE products provides a convincing arguments for why we need a global moratorium on all GE foods and crops. This article shows the work for deep debate on benefits and risks of Biotech-crops for human health, ecosystems and biodiversity.
Organizational impacts of collaborative information technologies: Case studies and empirical evidence

Our research focuses on information technology (IT) enabled collaboration systems. We refer to these systems as Collaborative Information Technologies (CITs). Traditional collaboration systems were designed to improve performance of group members or teams by supporting communications and the flow of information. However, modern day CITs have the capabilities to support not only communication and information flow, but also the computing needs of teams/groups engaged in accomplishing tasks/projects. There are many CIT options that organizations can deploy to support team work with varying degrees of virtuality. While some of these technologies have been around for decades (for example, audio conferencing, video conferencing, proprietary groupware, group support systems etc.), others became popular more with the commercialization of the Internet (email, intranets, extranets, web conferencing, data conferencing etc.). Although most CITs support limited functionality for collaboration, integrated e-collaboration tools are beginning to emerge to support a range of functionality required in collaborative efforts [Munkvold and Zigurs 2005]. In recent years, the increasing popularity of CITs has triggered a large number of research investigations and the trend continues to grow. Much of this research has focused on groups as the unit of analysis. There have been only a few large scale organizational level studies exploring CITs. Moreover, for the most part, these studies have investigated specific/individual CITs despite the notion that most collaborative efforts should typically be supported by multiple tools. Some studies exploring adoption of multiple CITs have been undertaken [see Bayo-Moriones and Lera-Lopez 2007; Bajwa et al. 2008]. However, to our knowledge there are no large scale organizational level empirical studies exploring CIT impacts. Here we describe our efforts to explore post adoption impacts of CITs at the organization level.
Preliminary results on the phytophagous insect fauna on Onopordum acanthium (Asteraceae) in Bulgaria

SUMMARY The Scotch thistle, Onopordum acanthium (Asteraceae) has the Eurasian origin and represents an invasive weed in the USA and Australia. It is a serious problem in pastures, along roadsides, rangeland, etc. The weed is very common in Bulgaria and in 2009-2010 several sites with large populations of O. acanthium have been located. The weekly surveys of some of the sites, mainly in the region of Plovdiv, revealed a significant diversity of phytophagous insect species, some of which had very high population density. More than 30 species have already been identified and observations on the phenology and biology of some of them have been conducted. For some of the species, such as endophagous Larinus latus, Lixus cardui, Eublemma amoena, Trichosirocalus briesei, or ectophagous Cassida rubiginosa etc. found during our surveys, there are reports in the literature describing them as having been already introduced as successful biocontrol agents in Australia. Endophagous species like lepidopteran Myelois circumvoluta and Pyroderces argyrogrammos which feed on the stems and the head, and the tephritid flies Tephritis postica and Chaetostomella cylindrica which feed on the capitula, seem quite destructive for the weed, but need to be further studied regarding host specificity. Species like Vanessa cardui and Brachycaudus cardui were found regularly, but in low population density, mainly due to the high rate of parasitism.