Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The SETT Framework: Critical Areas To Consider When Making Informed Assistive Technology Decisions.

As the language of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, P.L. 101-476) regarding assistive technology becomes widely known, much attention is being focused on school districts and the procedures and practices which school personnel use in arriving at decisions regarding the provision of assistive technology devices and services. Which students need assistive technology? What kind of technology is needed? Who is involved in making these decisions? What sort of data should be gathered to aid in the decisionmaking process? Much discussion has been generated about each of these questions. Though there are few quick and easy answers to any of these questions, the first three are generally addressed in some way by a combination of federal law and best practices in fields related to assistive technology. The answer to the fourth question is evolving and is the subject of this discussion.
USE OF LIGHTWEIGHT AGGREGATE CONCRETE GIVES A CHEAPER BRIDGE

The Rugsundet Bridge is part of the mainland connection to the island Bremanger in Sogn & Fjordane County in the western part of Norway. The bridge crosses the strait between Kolset on the mainland and Krakevik on the Rugsund island. The bridge was originally designed as a 3-span free cantilever bridge, total length 311 m, with a main span of 172 m, assuming normal density concrete C55 in all parts of the bridge. When checking the original design calculations and drawings on behalf of the owner, The Public Roads Authority, the first author proposed a redesign of the bridge introducing use of lightweight aggregate (LWA) concrete LC60 in part of the superstructure. A preliminary cost comparison between the two alternatives showed that the LWA concrete alternative was at least 7% cheaper than the original design. The Public Roads Department therefore decided to put both alternatives on tender. When the tenders were evaluated, the results showed that the LWA concrete alternative was 15 % cheaper than the ND concrete design, and therefore was chosen for construction. (A) For the covering abstract see ITRD E123363.
Considerations about the inclusion of long-term temporary correlations and self-similar patterns in IEEE 802.3-2005 network models

The foundation of a research project about a model of computer networks with media access control mechanism based on the IEEE standard 802.3-2005 is presented. The model draws from the theory of self-similar sets for establishing the impact level that the long range temporary correlations have on the performance of such networks. A new method for the estimation of self-similar levels based on a variation of the Whittle estimator is postulated-
Advanced Islanded-Mode Control of Microgrids

This thesis is focused on modeling, control, stability, and power management of electronically-interfaced distributed energy resource (DER) units for microgrids. Voltage amplitude and frequency regulation in an islanded microgrid is one of the main control requirements. To that end, first a mathematical model is developed for an islanded DER system and then, based on the developed model, amplitude and frequency control schemes are proposed for (i) balanced and linear loads and (ii) unbalanced and nonlinear loads. The proposed control strategy for unbalanced and nonlinear loads, utilizes repetitive control scheme to reject the effects of unbalanced and/or distorted load currents. Moreover, a new approach is proposed to maintain the effectiveness of the repetitive control under variable-frequency operational scenarios. The thesis also presents an adaptive feedforward compensation strategy to enhance the stability and robustness of the droop-controlled microgrids to droop coefficients and network uncertainties. The proposed feedforward strategy preserves the steady-state characteristics that the conventional droop control strategy exhibits and, therefore, does not compromise the steady-state power shares of the DER systems or the voltage/frequency regulation of the microgrid. Finally, a unified control strategy is proposed to enable islanded and grid-connected operation of DER systems, with no need to detect the microgrid mode of operation or to switch between different controllers, simplifying the control of the host microgrid. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategies are demonstrated through time-domain simulation studies conducted in the PSCAD/EMTDC software environment.
Gender differences in airways diseases

The worldwide clinical data show gender differences in the morbidity and mortality rates of some airway diseases, such as asthma, CF or COPD. For unknown reasons women exhibit a higher risk factor to develop and have worse clinical evolution in some inflammatory lung diseases. Understanding the reasons underlying this gender disparity renewed the researcher’s interest in this multifactorial process in which psychological, genetics and sex hormones play important key roles. This article, review the related scientific data to better understand the mechanisms behind gender disparities in some airway diseases, which could be a useful tool for earlier diagnosis, improving therapeutics interventions and better outcome in some respiratory diseases.
An Extended Model of Adoption of Technology in Households: A Model Test on People Using A Mobile Phone

Individual adoption of technology has been studied extensively in the workplace (Brown & Venkatesh, 2005). Far less attention has been paid to adoption of technology in the household (Brown & Venkatesh, 2005). Obviously, mobile phone is now integrated into our daily life. Indeed, according to the more recent forecast of Gartner Research, 986 millions of mobile phones have been sold throughout the world in 2006 (Ouellet, 2006). And, as the tendency is showing up, mobile phone use will be continuously increasing in the future. The purpose of this study is then to investigate who uses a mobile phone, and why? In other
Thermometry based on Whispering Gallery Mode resonators

Whispering gallery (WG) mode resonators were studied since 1980s for precision clock oscillators and for cavity quantum electrodynamics studies. They are a kind of stable, high Q, microwave resonators where a symmetric dielectric medium, such as a cylinder or a disk, is suspended in the centre of a metal cavity. A coaxial cable or a waveguide are used to couple the EM field in the microwave region and thus to excite the system resonant frequencies. WG modes are resonant modes of higher-order azimuthal number (m) having most of the EM energy concentrated on the dielectric surface. Within the temperature range of -196 °C to 500 °C the most commonly used industrial thermometer is platinum resistance thermometer (PRT) with the uncertainties of 10 mK. The PRT offers high accuracy, low drift, a wide operating range; however, it is very sensitive to mechanical shock in handing and shipping. Besides, an AC resistance bridge which is typically required as a readout device for PRT is very expensive. Accordingly, there is a great need for a stability-improved, resistant to mechanical shock, potential lower uncertainty and cost-effective industrial thermometer. WGMR thermometer (WGMRT) is a new kind of thermometer which offers greater vibration immunity, improved stability, smaller uncertainty in temperature measurement and potential lower cost than platinum resistance thermometry. An innovative sapphire whispering gallery thermometer (SWGT) was first explored at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2007 by Strouse [1] with the uncertainty less than 10 mK. Five WGMs with nominal resonant frequencies ranging from 14.4 GHz to 19.1 GHz and with Q-factors, respectively, ranging from 20,000 to 90,000 were measured within the temperature range of 0 °C to 100 °C. The accuracies of his WGMTs were in the range of ± 0.02 °C and ice point repeatability was better than 2 mK. The thesis reports the tests performed on several WGMR thermometers which have different shapes of crystals to evaluate their stability, resolution and repeatability in the temperature range of -40 °C to 85°C. Thermal cycle experimental results IV showed a Q in excess of 100000 for the mode with the highest azimuthal number, making it possible to achieve a potential temperature resolution of 0.1 mK. Besides, different specimens of crystals with the same nominal specification and reassemble for the same specimen were both tested to check the reproducibility of the thermometer. The birefringence of the sapphire was also studied to make an innovative thermometer. The ratios of two doublet frequencies are sensitive to the temperature-dependent birefringence of the crystal and relatively insensitive to surface contamination and changes in the shape of the cavity. Besides, it can have an external shape that closely approximates the shape of conventional platinum resistance thermometers
Demand-side innovation policies in Korea

The aim of Korea’s New Technology Purchasing Assurance Programme for public procurement of SME technology products is to stimulate more active technology development. This chapter describes Korea’s experience in this area, with particular attention to modifications made to deal with the weaknesses of an earlier version of the programme. It also describes the measures taken for procurement-conditioned R&D by SMEs and the efforts made to improve the programme’s effectiveness.
The Role of Information and Communications Technology Inputs

The impact of recent advances in information technology on output and productivity growth has been one of the key research questions in the past few years. A consensus has emerged that the use of information and communications technology (ICT) capital has had a significant impact on aggregate economy-wide labour productivity growth through the capital deepening channel in the United States in the 1990s (see the discussion and references in the papers below). Evidence is also emerging of a delayed but nonetheless significant impact in European and other OECD economies. These findings have stimulated additional research using microeconomic data focusing on both the industry or company level.
Web designers' power struggle strategies and management innovation

In marketing, different forms of power struggle, tension, anti-consumption and resistance have emerged as catalyst to change and innovation. The partaking, co-creation, co-production literatures underline the emergence of external agents as critical for change. This study examines the case of power struggle faced by web-designers‟ resulting in the establishment of new practices that have the potential to alter change at field level. The analysis of 21 in-depth interviews of web designers in the USA, via grounded theory, reveals three phases of tensions between web designers and clients. We illustrate how tensions and power struggle regarding social cues inclusion in web design are discursively constructed via web designers‟ subjective positive resistance. We found that discursive power strategies practices that leverage noninstitutionalized actors‟ knowledge as response to tensions are not outright refusals but positive willingness to participate in the exploration of alternative, proactive solution for web development leading to new practices that re-shape change at field level.
Low Birth Weight Trends in OECD Countries, 2000-2015: Economic and Health System Conditionings

Background: Low birth weight rates are increasing in developed countries. However, little is known of economic or organization factors influencing this increase. This study aims to ascertain the 21st century relationships between the contextual country factors and low birth weight rates.Methods: We analyse trends of low birth weight rates in OECD countries. Data from 2000 to 2015 were obtained from the OECD data base. Their relationships with demographic and economic variables, health habits, woman-related preventive measures, health care system organization and funding, health care work force and obstetric care were analysed using random-effects linear regression.Results: Low birth weight rates are higher in Southern Europe and lower in Northern Europe. Low birth weight rates escalated about 20% in Southern Europe and to less extent in Easter Europe and Asian/Oceanian countries, while remained stable in America, Central Europe and Northern Europe. Investment in health care, private health system coverage, ratios of paediatricians and obstetricians, average length of admission due to pregnancy or birth and Caesarean section rate were associated with higher low birth weight rates. Factors associated with lower low birth weight rates were health care coverage, public health system coverage, hospitals per million inhabitants, and ratios of health care workers, physicians, midwives and nurses.Conclusions: Low birth weight rates are higher and are stepping faster in Southern Europe than in other developed countries. Many factors on health care system organization and funding as well as rations of health care workers were associated with low birth weight rates.
Flight Attendant Fatigue

The Departments of Transportation and Treasury and Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill (House Rpt. 108-671) included a directive to the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a study of flight attendant fatigue. The NASA Ames Research Center Fatigue Countermeasures Group (FCG) was contracted by CAMI to conduct the study. To meet the goals of the study, this report contains a literature review on fatigue as potentially experienced by flight attendants, an evaluation of currently used (actual vs. scheduled) flight attendant duty schedules, and a comparison of these schedules to the current CFRs. The report additionally reviews fatigue-related incident/accident information from the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) and the NTSB database. One report section describes the application of three different performance and fatigue models to assess how flight attendant duty schedules contribute to increased levels of fatigue and predicted changes in performance. The report concludes with 6 recommendations concerning issues that require further evaluation, including: (1) Survey of Field Operations. To assess the frequency with which fatigue is experienced, the situations in which it appears, and the consequences that follow; (2) Focused Study of Incident Reports. To better understand details of the incidents; (3) Field Research on the Effects of Fatigue. To explore physiological and neuropsychological effects of fatigue, sleepiness, circadian factors, and rest schedules on flight attendants; (4) Validation of Models for Assessing FA Fatigue. An important step to understanding whether and how models could be used in conjunction with field operations; (5) International Carrier Policies and Practices Review. To learn how other countries address these issues and with what results; and (6) Training. FAs could benefit from information on fatigue, its causes and consequences, its interaction with circadian disruption, and how and when to employ countermeasures (e.g., scheduled naps, physical activity, social interaction, caffeine).
Comparison of EEG-EMG time delays calculated by phase estimates and inverse FFT

Currently, many studies have focused on the magnitude of coherence with less emphasis on the time delay, or have mostly used only one method to establish the temporal relationship between the sensorimotor cortex and the peripheral muscles. Here, the time delays using inverse Fast Fourier transformation (IFFT), least squares regression analysis (LSR), weighted least squares regression analysis (WLSR), maximum coherence (MAX-COH) and mean of significant coherences (MEAN-COH) methods in the same subjects are compared to clarify the best method(s) for electroencephalography (EEG)- electromyography (EMG) temporal analysis. EEG activity and surface EMG activity from the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle of the right hand were recorded in eight normal subjects during a weak contraction task. The current source density (CSD) reference method was estimated and used in the phase and temporal analysis. For the EEG and EMG time delay in the same subjects, MAX-COH, MEAN-COH and LSR methods are found to produce time delays that were nearer to those using transcranial stimulation compared to IFFT and WLSR methods. Therefore, the former three are more suitable compare to the latter two methods in the study of time delay between the EEG and EMG signals.
Implementation and evaluation of an INS system using a three degrees of freedom MEMS accelerometer

Abstract : Position determination is one the most important aspects of navigation for an autonomous vehicle and can be accomplished through a variety of methods. Advances in Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, improved accuracy by a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), wider coverage, easy integration and low cost, make GPS the most preferable alternative for the navigation of autonomous vehicles. However, an autonomous vehicle must be able to navigate and determine its position on earth without external navigation aids such as GPS, Loran and Transit. A method of inertial navigation, called dead reckoning where the robot calculates its position from a known reference position through using laser range finders, gyros, shaft encoders and accelerometers becomes more important for navigation with no external aids. This thesis examines the navigation ability for robots using a three degree of freedom accelerometer, which can sense the instantaneous accelerations in three dimensions. Tests and results of the accelerometer as an inertial system for a mobile robot are implemented in 1-D and 2-D. The results demonstrated that Crossbow MEMS accelerometer can be used for a distance of 10 meters for mobile robot navigation with different levels of errors according to the path followed in 2-D.
Multiestimation-based adaptive control of robotic manipulators with applications to master slave tandems

A multiestimation-based adaptive controller is designed for robotic manipulators. Multiestimation based techniques can improve the transient response of adaptive systems by switching between the various estimation schemes. The switching process is subject to a minimum dwell or residence time in order to guarantee stability. Then, the multiestimation scheme is applied to the teleoperation of robotic manipulators. The robots are controlled by using an impedance type control, which is a typical architecture of control in teleoperation processes.
A Case Study of the Integration of 21st Century Technology within the Place-Based, Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound (ELOB) Approach to Education

This education specialist paper (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Research Projects at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Instructional Technology Education Specialist Research Papers by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@georgiasouthern.edu. Recommended Citation Stratton, Tammy M. , "A Case Study of the Integration of 21st Century Technology within the Place-Based, Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound (ELOB) Approach to Education" (2014). Instructional Technology Education Specialist Research Papers. 16. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/edu-papers/16 CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac. uk
What brings contracting back in-house? A synthesis of international evidence

Contracting back-in has received growing scholarly attention, but there is little empirical consensus in the literature as to what drives governments to bring previously contracted work back in-house and to what extent. This study performs a meta-analysis to synthesize 332 effect sizes from 16 existing studies concerning the antecedents of contracting back-in across different countries. The analysis indicates that contracting back-in is a market management strategy driven by low levels of market competition, high proportions of for-profit contractors, insufficient cost savings, and inadequate contract management. Meanwhile, contracting back-in is a political move shaped by left-wing political ideology and employee opposition to outsourcing. Environmental factors including unemployment rate, population size, and population density also play a role. This study provides empirical generalizations of previous results and contributes a more coherent knowledge base for future studies. Points for practitioners Our analysis indicates that contracting back-in is driven by a mix of both pragmatic and political factors, but pragmatic factors related to contracting management complexity shape contracting back-in in a more forceful way. Our findings also suggest that factors pushing governments to contract out do not necessarily have an impact on contracting back-in. Government decisions to contract out and contract back-in may be based on different considerations.
Study Progress of Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS): A Literature Analysis

Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (IAHS), as a new type of heritage, has received extensive attention from the international scientific communities. With the increase of IAHS research, reviews on it have been conducted by many scholars. However, visualized research to show future research trends of IAHS are lacking. Therefore, using metrology analysis methods, this study aims at presenting the progress of research and the general development trends of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) in the world from 2006 to 2020 to provide ideas for the development of countries or regions in the future. This study mapped 292 literatures from Web of Science core collections from 2006 to 2020 by CiteSpace software. The results show that research on IAHS from 2006 to 2020 experienced two stages: the fluctuating increase stage, and the steady growth stage. Author groups from China, Italy, the USA, Japan, etc., contributed many papers on IAHS. Institutions including the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Florence and the University of Padua in Italy, etc., have a relatively high influence on international IAHS research. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment is the most cited journal. Agricultural Heritage Systems, regeneration, agriculture, agroforestry, dry-stone wall, social capital, instability, and agricultural biodiversity have been hotspots in the past 15 years. The research themes mainly focus on GIAHS, tourism, livelihood assets, and direct georeferencing. Authors in different regions concern different research themes. In the future, the fields of applications and microscopic views, social sciences, applications of standardized quantitative research methods, and broadened international cooperation should be paid more attention.