Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Output consensus for heterogeneous multiagent systems with Markovian switching network topologies

This paper investigates the output consensus problem of heterogeneous continuous‐time multiagent systems under randomly switching communication topologies. The switching mechanism is governed by a time‐homogeneous Markov process, whose states correspond to all possible communication topologies among agents. A novel dynamic consensus controller is proposed. The controller gains are designed based on the information of the expectation graph and the solutions to regulator equations. Furthermore, a necessary and sufficient condition is presented for output consensus of the controlled multiagent system in mean square sense. Finally, a simulation example is provided to corroborate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.
THE IMPACT OF THE RELIABILITY OF THE ACCOUNTING INFORMATION SYSTEM UPON THE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE VIA THE MEDIATING ROLE OF THE QUALITY OF FINANCIAL REPORTING

This study aims to examine the relationships of the reliability of the Accounting Information System (AIS) based on the implementation of SysTrust's framework (principles and criteria) as an internal control method to the business performance and the mediating role of the quality of financial reporting in this relationship among Jordanian public listed companies. – Based on the literature review and contingency theory; an integrated conceptual framework was developed to guide this study. The study's conceptual framework consists of three major constructs: the reliability of AIS was conceptualized and measured by the SysTrust's framework (principles and criteria) the business performance was measured by the financial and non-financial indicators and the quality of financial reporting was conceptualized and measured by the IASB's framework fundamental qualitative characteristics. A total of 239 responses were obtained through a self-administered questionnaire from PLCs in the Amman stock market. The empirical findings of the study suggest that the reliability of the AIS is based on the implementation of SysTrust’s framework has a significant and positive relation to business performance and the quality of financial reporting significantly mediate the relationship.
The sociology of reproduction and the psychosociality of transformation: transitional space, object relations and les 'miraculés' in higher

Introduction In this contribution to the symposium we consider particular interdisciplinary ‘psychosocial’ frameworks, which can help illuminate the experiences of nontraditional learners in higher education. We want to build theories of change and transitional processes in less reductive, more interdisciplinary ways. To this end we connect the object relations school of psychoanalysis, and ideas of transitional space, with Bourdieu’s sociological perspectives. This is part of a wider search to build holistic understanding of the lived, embodied, affective as well as cognitive experiences of students. In doing so, the paper straddles the sociology of social reproduction and psychosocial perspectives on learners’ experiences of change.
Classification and Data Analysis for Modeling Selected Colon Diseases

Nowadays analyzing the vast amount of data, including medical ones, whose numbers are growing at a rapid rate, it becomes a very important task. Therefore, it is needed to find new tools, which will be helpful during the process of extracting knowledge, not only visible and obvious from data but also the hidden one. This is extremely important in medicine, where the users still do not know the causes of the emergence and treatment of many diseases. The emergence of methods that would help physicians to make proper decisions, to expand possibilities of proper diagnoses and contribute to development medicine, in a modern, automated way. In this paper, a method of constructing a classification model for ulcerative colitis, in which the process of formation is not fully known and understandable, is presented.
How can Blackboard assist in Assessment and Facilitation of Knowledge Exchange

In the age of Internet, students become acquainted with World Wide Web as an alternative information resource and method of displaying information, opposed to hardcopies of data. This paper examines the use of such an e-learning tool as an alternative approach to traditional support materials and assessment. The e-learning tool used in question is Blackboard. Blackboard is an electronic medium that enables academics to provide a fully and integrated electronic resource locally and remotely for students studying the course. Blackboard can be more than a tool for posting lecture notes and posting announcements. Blackboard has the potential to become an integrated component of a module both in terms of; disseminating and facilitating the learning of course material and theory, an alternative and novel method of assessment. In addition the tool provides the means for the academic to monitor the student learning outside the classroom. This paper presents the results of applying such an e-learning tool over a three academic cohorts to support learning, teaching and assessment of a network programming module. The results include the analysis of the summative results (pass rates) of the assessments and the students’ formative reflection and review of the module and Blackboard. The paper will finally conclude with the academics reflections of Blackboard and how Blackboard can form a pivotal role in a module in terms of learning, outcomes and analysis of academic performance of the students.
The Wave of the Intensity of Abuses Experienced by Women in Kerala

Kerala the God’s own country has always blessed with many advantages and one of the most advanced States in India with respect to development indexes. ‘Kerala Model’ development was much talked about in India and outside more importantly from its political angle. The strength in the family is great factor in Kerala ‘. Every Keralite takes pride and becomes exuberantly vocal in discourses on ‘family’ as a value. The value of a women and importance of her role in family is highly discussed in the society. Women, victims of violence and exploitation by patriarchal forms of religious, social, political, economic and cultural devolutions, today are being organized by themselves to protect their rights and preserve their survival and sustenance. They face specific forms of violence – rape and other forms of sexual abuse, female foeticides, dowry deaths, wife - beating, wife burning and so on. Such violence and the continued sense of insecurity keep them bound to their home, economically exploited and socially suppressed. In the ongoing struggles against violence on women in family, society and State, we recognize that State is one of the main sources of violence and stands behind the violence committed by men against women in family, the workplace and the neighborhood. Keywords : Violence, Crimes, female foeticide
Trade Liberalization and Growth: The Ghanaian Experience

This paper examined the impact of trade liberalization policy adopted as part of the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) on growth rate of real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Ghana. The paper used the Autoregressive Distributed Lag approach to estimate the long run and short run parameters for the specified model. Using trade openness as a proxy for liberalization, the study found a positive and significant relationship between trade liberalization and real GDP growth in the long-run in Ghana. Capital stock and population were found to have positive impacts on real GDP growth in both the long-run and short run while Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) was found to have a negative impact on real GDP growth. Inflation though showed a positive relationship with real GDP growth, it was insignificant. The main value of this study is the identification of other key macroeconomic variables that affect the real GDP growth of Ghana. Keywords: GDP growth, trade liberalization, ARDL, Openness, Ghana
Firm heterogeneity and exports in the Netherlands: Identifying export potential beyond firm productivity

ABSTRACT According to the Melitz [2003. ‘The Impact of Trade on Intra-Industry Reallocations and Aggregate Industry Productivity. ’ Econometrica 71: 1695–1725] model, potential exporters have to be sufficiently productive to overcome the entry costs of foreign markets. Once firms pass this productivity threshold, they all export. However, empirical evidence indicates that a substantial share of highly productive top-performing firms does not export. In this paper, we focus specifically on this group of high-performing non-exporters and identify the factors that prevent them from successfully exporting. We employ a large Dutch administrative dataset containing both small and large firms in services and manufacturing for the period 2010–2016. Our main findings are two-fold. First, controlling for high productivity identifies other factors that need to be fulfilled for exporting firms. Firm size, import status, and foreign ownership are important determinants of a firm’s future export activity. Second, firm location is crucial. A location in more peripheral areas increases the probability that high-productive firms do not export, whereas a location close to the border increases export probabilities.
East European “BigBang” Revisiting East Asia? Why Chinese “Gradual Transition” Can End Up with “Shock Therapy”

Polish and Russian “shock therapy” policies in 1990 and 1992 respectively were in fact forced deregulation packages aimed at preventing total macroeconomic and institutional collapse. Some important features of these packages were contrary to neo-classical prescriptions, since the “shock therapists” operated in unprecedented setting of imploding “command economy”. This setting as such never was a subject of neo-liberal theoreticians before it became empirical reality. Marxist-Leninist single party-state regimes are prone to macroeconomic implosion, since the socio-economic actors they create during forced “transition to market” prefer neither “plan” nor “market”, but a grey “no-man’s land” between the two. This position allows them to “privatize the profits” and to “nationalize the costs”, contributing to accumulation of tremendous macroeconomic imbalances on the aggregate systemic level. It also creates socio-economic, political and institutional impasse of financial deleveraging, which may eventually turn into a forced “big-bang” package amidst systemic implosion. Chinese “gradual transition” – with all singularities – still fits quite well into this dynamic empirical pattern. Sharp decline in the Chinese growth rate since spring 2013 was a man-made phenomenon. The leadership intends to deregulate interest rates and upgrade financial discipline of scared investors, making them to withdraw money from the state and non-state assets. The overall systemic setting increases the chances of financial deleveraging in China to turn eventually into a forced “big-bang” upheaval.
Model-Based Transmission Control

This article presents an overview of model-based transmission control. The transmission is an integral part of the automotive powertrain and connects the engine to the vehicle via the driveline. Just as for the internal combustion engine, traditional transmission control has been conducted with extensive calibrations. This is mainly due to the lack of precise models and low cost sensors that can enable real-time model-based feedback control. However the calibration-based approach is facing more challenges as the recent trend in transmission systems has driven up the time and cost associated with the calibration process. Recently, eight and nine speed transmissions have been introduced. The increasing number of different types of transmissions and the gear ratios can drastically increase the burden for control calibration. This calls for control-oriented model development and model-based control. Transmission control is mainly concerned with the transmission shift scheduling and gear ratio shift control. This shift scheduling determines when to shift and which gear to shift.
Konstruktionsgrammatik, regler og funktionsbaseret struktur i neurokognitiv belysning

This paper outlines a unified understanding of the grammar-lexicon contrast and its neurocognitive underpinning, which builds on and integrates three recent theories: 1) a functional linguistic theory of the grammar-lexicon contrast; 2) a functional theory of neural structure; 3) a theory of procedural and declarative memory. The proposed model is contrasted with Generative Grammar and in particular with Construction Grammar.
Priority to Unemployed Immigrants? A Causal Machine Learning Evaluation of Training in Belgium

Based on administrative data of unemployed in Belgium, we estimate the labour market effects of three training programmes at various aggregation levels using Modified Causal Forests, a causal machine learning estimator. While all programmes have positive effects after the lock-in period, we find substantial heterogeneity across programmes and unemployed. Simulations show that “black-box” rules that reassign unemployed to programmes that maximise estimated individual gains can considerably improve effectiveness: up to 20% more (less) time spent in (un)employment within a 30 months window. A shallow policy tree delivers a simple rule that realizes about 70% of this gain.
Graph Databases: New Opportunities for Connected Data

Discover how graph databases can help you manage and query highly connected data. With this practical book, youll learn how to design and implement a graph database that brings the power of graphs to bear on a broad range of problem domains. Whether you want to speed up your response to user queries or build a database that can adapt as your business evolves, this book shows you how to apply the schema-free graph model to real-world problems.This second edition includes new code samples and diagrams, using the latest Neo4j syntax, as well as information on new functionality. Learn how different organizations are using graph databases to outperform their competitors. With this books data modeling, query, and code examples, youll quickly be able to implement your own solution.Model data with the Cypher query language and property graph modelLearn best practices and common pitfalls when modeling with graphsPlan and implement a graph database solution in test-driven fashionExplore real-world examples to learn how and why organizations use a graph databaseUnderstand common patterns and components of graph database architectureUse analytical techniques and algorithms to mine graph database information
Infrared and visible fusion face recognition based on NSCT domain

Visible face recognition systems, being vulnerable to illumination, expression, and pose, can not achieve robust performance in unconstrained situations. Meanwhile, near infrared face images, being light- independent, can avoid or limit the drawbacks of face recognition in visible light, but its main challenges are low resolution and signal noise ratio (SNR). Therefore, near infrared and visible fusion face recognition has become an important direction in the field of unconstrained face recognition research. In this paper, a novel fusion algorithm in non-subsampled contourlet transform (NSCT) domain is proposed for Infrared and visible face fusion recognition. Firstly, NSCT is used respectively to process the infrared and visible face images, which exploits the image information at multiple scales, orientations, and frequency bands. Then, to exploit the effective discriminant feature and balance the power of high-low frequency band of NSCT coefficients, the local Gabor binary pattern (LGBP) and Local Binary Pattern (LBP) are applied respectively in different frequency parts to obtain the robust representation of infrared and visible face images. Finally, the score-level fusion is used to fuse the all the features for final classification. The visible and near infrared face recognition is tested on HITSZ Lab2 visible and near infrared face database. Experiments results show that the proposed method extracts the complementary features of near-infrared and visible-light images and improves the robustness of unconstrained face recognition.
Who Believes in Conspiracy Theories in Venezuela?

Conspiracy theories are central to political discourse in Venezuela and are widely supported. In the Americas Barometer Venezuela survey from 2016 to 2017, 54 percent of respondents expressed agreement for at least one of three political conspiracy narratives unsupported by evidence. Political loyalties to Chavismo or to the anti-Chavista opposition drive much conspiracy theory belief, but not all. Politically motivated reasoning pushes some citizens toward a given conspiracy narrative but others away. Other factors that are distinct from political loyalties, including low education levels, predispositions toward Manichaeanism and fatalism, and belief in the supernatural are associated with conspiracism. This article presents new data on conspiracy theory beliefs in Venezuela as well as analysis of its individual-level correlates, then discusses how the current Venezuelan political environment fosters conspiracy and what changes might mitigate this phenomenon. Resumen Las teorias de conspiracion son fundamentales para el discurso politico en Venezuela y son ampliamente apoyadas. En la encuesta de Venezuela del Barometro de las Americas de 2016 a 2017, el 54 por ciento de los encuestados expreso su acuerdo con al menos una de las tres narrativas presentadas de conspiracion politica que no estaban respaldadas por evidencia. Las lealtades politicas al chavismo o a la oposicion anti-chavista impulsan muchas creencias de las teorias de la conspiracion, pero no todas. El razonamiento motivado politicamente empuja a algunos ciudadanos a una narrativa de conspiracion dada, pero a otros a alejarse. Otros factores que son distintos de las lealtades politicas, como los bajos niveles de educacion, las predisposiciones hacia el maniqueismo y el fatalismo, y la creencia en lo sobrenatural estan asociados con el conspiracismo. Este articulo presenta datos sobre las creencias de la teoria de la conspiracion en Venezuela, asi como el analisis de sus correlatos a nivel individual, luego analiza como el entorno politico venezolano fomenta la conspiracion y que cambios podrian mitigar este fenomeno.
Ground response curve of deep circular tunnel in rock mass exhibiting Hoek–Brown strain-softening behaviour considering the dead weight loading

Abstract In definition of the ground response curve for a tunnel, convergences of side wall, roof and floor may be different, because of the weight of the failed or plastic rock mass. In this paper, an analytical-numerical solution of the ground response curve for a tunnel excavated in an elastoplastic strain-softening rock mass considering the gravitational loading. In the proposed method, Hoek–Brown yield criterion and Mohr-Coulomb plastic potential function are used for the ground medium. The gravity loading is considered as a radial body force being applied to the ground medium. Two flexible and inflexible lining theories are introduced for the analysis of concrete lining. The derived differential equations cannot be integrated analytically; thus, they are solved by invoking finite difference approximations. Several illustrative examples are given to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method and to examine the effects of the gravity loading. The results obtained by the proposed method show that the gravity loads may affect the tunnel convergence, especially when the plastic region is wide.
Stilisierung von Renderings mit Hilfe von handgemalten Vorlagen

One of the greatest goals in computer graphics is the aesthetic representation of objects. In addition to conventional methods, another field focuses on non-photorealistic renderings. The so-called example-based rendering is an area where users can transfer their art style to a pre-computed 3D rendering, using a hand-painted template. There are some algorithms that already provide impressive results, but their problem is that most of these procedures count as offline methods and are not able to produce results in real-time. For this reason, this work show a method that satisfies this condition. In addition, the influence of the run-time reduction on the results is investigated. Requirements are defined, to which the method and its results are examined. Other methods in this field are referenced and compared with their results.
Comparative Analysis of Routing Protocols in Wireless Networks

: Mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) Is constructed by means of best mobile nodes. Since such self-distributed networks do not require pre-existing base stations, they're predicted to use to various conditions which include military affairs and rescue paintings in disaster web sites. In MANETs there is no path from source to destination for finding path from source to destination using routing protocols. AODV routing protocol is an On-demand distance vector. The AODV protocol builds routes between nodes only if they are requested by source nodes. DSDV is a table-driven routing protocol. Routing information is distributed between nodes by sending full dumps infrequently and smaller incremental updates more frequency. DSR is an On-demand distance vector. Network nodes cooperate to forward packets for each other to allow communication over multiple "hops" between nodes not directly within wireless.
Fine-grained User Preference Modeling Based on Tag Networks

【Abstract】Aiming at the existing problems in the process of extracting user preferences,a new approach that to organize user generated tags by constructing site level and user level tag networks on the basis of social network analysis is proposed. Then,topic based tag documents and topic based user networks are formed. A fine grained user preference model is formed by computing the similarity between them. The experimental results show that the model is scientific. 【Keywords】Tag network Fine grained preference Preference modeling
The impact of project risk management maturity on performance: Complexity as a moderating variable

This study examines the utility of project risk management maturity (PRMM) for project-based organizations across different domains. The relationship between organization-level PRMM and firm’s performance is studied. Two alternatives of theoretical model are developed on the basis of an extensive literature review. The first model (i.e. traditional model) posits a direct positive relationship between PRMM and organizational performance. The second model suggests that the relation between the two key variables is positively moderated by the average level of “complexity” of projects which are typically performed by respective organizations. A cross-sectional, self-administrated survey is carried out with targeted respondents of senior members representing their respective organizations in construction, ICT, and telco industries in Indonesia (distributed = 651, response rate = 21.5%, final sample size = 100). The result suggests that, in general, the utility of PRMM is observable across organizations—but its efficacy diminishes for organizations with lower level of “project complexity. ” This study provides an empirical support to the moderation model. The finding contributes to theoretical refinement on studies pertinent to project risk maturity. From a practical perspective, the result highlights the importance of contextual variables (in this case, project complexity) when designing organizational maturity.