Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
STAFF DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND EFFECTIVE JOB PERFORMANCE IN RIVERS STATE UNIVERSTIES

Staff performance in Nigerian universities has been a great source of concern to the government and stakeholders in education. Despite improved academic and professional qualification of staff and massive government investment in educational sectors, the university education system has failed to produce people who can contribute in solving the problems of the 21st-century society. It is against this backdrop that this study was undertaken to examine the impact of staff development strategies on employees' job effectiveness in Rivers State universities. The scope of the study covered the two state-owned universities, namely, Rivers State University and Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, from 2015-2020. The study was guided by four research objectives and four corresponding research questions. The research adopted the Human Capital theory. A descriptive research design was employed for the study. The population of this study consisted of 2700 teaching and non-teaching staff in Rivers State universities. A sample size of 350 was used for the study through the aid of the Taro Yamane formula.Data were obtained through primary and secondary sources. The secondary sources were obtained from journal publications, textbooks and university bulletins, while primary data were obtained from the researchers’ observation and study’s questionnaire titled ‘Staff Development Strategies for Effective Job Performance Questionnaire (SDSEJPQ)’. Data collected from the respondents were analysed using Percentages, Means and Standard Deviations. Some of the findings revealed that staff training on ICT, coaching, inservice training, and staff induction enhanced staff effective in Rivers State universities; there is no substitute for human resource development and training since it enhances job effectiveness and efficiency in the educational system. In fact, it would be unproductive to select the best employees with high qualifications without training them adequately because it will hinder the university from meeting its educational goals. The study performance recommended, among other things, that the universities leaderships should strengthen staff training on ICT, coaching, in-service training, and staff induction by formulating a robust policy to enhance employee development. This will enable the staff to handle challenges and become more competent in solving complicated office tasks that may arise.
Technical Report: Towards Unied Authorization for Android ?

Android applications that manage sensitive data such as email and les downloaded from cloud storage services need to protect their data from malware installed on the phone. While prior security analyses have focused on protecting system data such as GPS locations from malware, not much attention has been given to the protection of ap- plication data. We show that many popular commercial applications in- correctly use Android authorization mechanisms leading to attacks that steal sensitive data. We argue that formal verication of application be- haviors can reveal such errors and we present a formal model in ProVerif that accounts for a variety of Android authorization mechanisms and system services. We write models for seven popular applications and an- alyze them with ProVerif to point out attacks. As a countermeasure, we propose Authzoid, a sample standalone application that lets applications dene authorization policies and enforces them on their behalf.
Input-series and output-series connected modular single-switch flyback converter operating in the discontinuous conduction mode

This study proposes a modular isolated dc–dc converter, based on the input-series and output-series connection of flyback converters operating in discontinuous conduction mode, as an alternative to provide higher voltage capability for medium-voltage applications (1–10 kV), from low-voltage semiconductors and passive components. The proposed architecture allows the modular system to operate with a simplified control scheme thanks to an intrinsic voltage-balancing mechanism. The voltage-balancing mechanism is investigated by theoretical analysis, both for steady-state and dynamic operations. A small-signal ac modelling of the architecture is developed to design the total output-voltage controller. To experimentally verify the proposed technique, a laboratory prototype system with three single-switch flyback converters, with 3 kW output power, 600 V dc input and output voltages, and 40 kHz of switching frequency was built.
Manual Traffic Control for Planned Special Events and Emergencies

Manual traffic control is a common intersection control strategy in which trained personnel, typically police law enforcement officers, allocate intersection right-of-way to approaching vehicles. Manual intersection control is a key part of managing traffic during emergencies and planned special events. Despite the long history of manual traffic control throughout the world and its assumed effectiveness, there have been no quantitative, systematic studies of when, where, and how it should be used or compared to traditional traffic control devices. The goal of this research was to quantify the effect of manual traffic control on intersection operations and to develop a quantitative model to describe the decision-making of police officers directing traffic for special events and emergencies. This was accomplished by collecting video data of police officers directing traffic at several special events in Baton Rouge, LA and Miami Gardens, FL. These data were used to develop a discrete choice model (logit model) capable of estimating police officer’s choice probabilities on a second-by-second basis. This model was able to be programmed into a microscopic traffic simulation software system to serve as the signal controller for the study intersections, effectively simulating the primary control decision activities of the police officer directing traffic. The research findings suggested police officers irrespective of their location, tended to direct traffic in a similar fashion; extending green time for high demand directions while avoiding gaps in the traffic stream.
Automated Wheelchair using Android Technology

The motivation behind ANDROWHEEL project is to build an automated wheelchair that helps the physically disabled peoples. Many wheelchairs are available with various running technologies, but the cost is very high and it is not much effective. Mostly, the idea of building ANDROWHEEL is to overcome some disadvantages of the existing systems. The wheelchair is controlled with the help of an android mobile application. The purpose of selecting the android platform is that nowadays android mobile phones are commonly used. The user has to first get connected with the wheelchair with the help of application. The user then has the GUI to control the wheelchair. This system allows the user to robustly interact with the wheelchair at different levels of the control(left, right, forward, backward and stop) and sensing. The other components that are required in the system are microcontroller, motor and sensors. The sensors are used for the obstacle detection. The main motive is to let the system be more simple and efficient. The proposed system will be efficient in terms of cost and in terms of response time also.
Lost in translation? The role of supervisors in lean production

Lean production is commonly associated with a small number of hierarchical layers – the lean organization is supposedly a flat one. The belief that ‘flatter is better’ appears to have become a truism in many academic and managerial circles. However, several empirical studies point to a completely different conclusion – namely that the prototypical supervisory hierarchy under lean production is characterized by narrow spans of control. This article reviews the empirical literature on the lean supervisors, and based on that, offers a functional analysis of the prototypical supervisory hierarchy. Findings suggest that narrow control spans support core practices of lean production, such as just-in-time, multi-skilling and, particularly, continuous improvement. Managers who implement lean production are discouraged from simultaneously pursuing de-layering of the supervisory hierarchy. Alternatively, they need to develop functional equivalents to fulfil ‘supervisory’ functions.
Organization of Retinal Microvessels: Assessment Using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

Background: The vast majority of oxygen required for outer retinal layer, including photoreceptors is provided by choriocapillaris with a little support of deep retinal capillaris. This organization may differ between individuals depending on the variability in photoreceptor density. Based on these, we evaluated the changes and interaction between the retinal capillary networks—organization of retinal microvessels—using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) considering ocular perfusion pressure (OPP) and diurnal variations. Methods: Forty eyes of 40 healthy volunteers formed the sample for this cross-sectional study. Mean arterial pressure (mAP), OPP, and OCTA measures were noted at two different time points on a single day. Results: The mAP, OPP, superficial capillary plexus (SCP), deep capillary plexus (DCP), and choriocapillaris (CC) perfusion values showed no diurnal change (p>0.05). When compared the mAP and OPP with the SCP, DCP, and CC perfusion measurements, there was no significant relation between them (p>0.05). There was a significant moderate positive correlation between DCP and CC values in both morning and afternoon (r=0.422; p=0.007, r=0.493; p=0.001, respectively). Conclusion: The DCP and CC perfusion values show a significant moderate positive correlation. This correlation may suggest the role of DCP in the maintenance of oxygen homeostasis in outer retinal layers.
Quality of Life in Patients with Stoma

Objective: To determine the quality of life of patients with stoma at tertiary care Hospital. Methodology: This prospective study has been conducted at the general surgery department, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital Islamabad (PIMS). The study was conducted from September 2019 to February 2020. All the patients having age more than 12 years, underwent intestinal stoma formation and either gender were included for study. Patients were interviewed regarding their routine activities after stoma and the impact of it on their social life including working status, sexual activities and life satisfaction. All the information of patients including demographic data was documented via self-derived proforma. Analysis of data was done by SPSS version 20. Results: Total 46 patients were studied having a stoma and were interviewed regarding their quality of life. The patient's mean age was 44.93+6.78 years. Out of all 34.8% were working currently and rest of the patients were still on bed rest. 34.8% were satisfied with sexual life. 71.7% were depressed after stoma surgery and 52.2% were hopeful about their future. 63% were socialised with peoples as before, 58.7% replied that stoma has affected their recreational activities and 52.2% answered that they can’t travel in any way. However according to overall satisfaction, 32.6% of patients were disagreeing, 34.8% were agreeing and 30.4% were undecided. Conclusion: It was concluded that almost half of the patients were satisfied and they are performing social and daily life activities however almost half of the patients needed psychological, financial, and relative support. Key words: Stoma, Quality of life
Results on Mean Time-to-First-Slip for First-Order Zero-Crossing Digital Phase-Locked Loops Using MarkofI Chains and Simulations

A measure for the reliability of phase-locked loops (PLL) in synchronization systems is the mean timc-to-first-slip. The solution for the first-order analog PLL can be calculated by solving the Fokker-Planck equation, whereas for the zero-crossing digital phase-locked loop an analytical expression is not known. In this paper the mean number of steps to first cycle slip is numerically calculated as a function of the signal-to-noise ratio for various loop gains. For this purpose the Chapman-KolmogorofF equation of a Markoff chain model is used. The results are compared to those of the analog PLL, and similarities are pointed out. Based on the analytical results for the analog PLL, an approximation formula for the mean number of steps to first slip is given. Übersicht: Ein Maß für die Zuverlässigkeit von Phasenregelkreisen (PLL) zur Taktund Trägersynchronisatipn ist die mittlere Zeit bis zu einem 2 -Phasensprung. Während für den analogen PLL I.Ordnung die Berechnung durch Lösen der Fokker-Planck-Gleichung erfolgt, ist für den digitalen Nulldurchgangs-Phasenregelkreis keine analytische Lösung bekannt. Hier wird durch Auswerten der ChapmanKolmogoroff-Gleichung eines Markoff-Ketten-Modells die mittlere Taktanzahl bis zu einem Phasensprung für verschiedene Kreisverstärkungen abhängig vom S/N-Verhältnis numerisch berechnet. Die Ergebnisse werden mit denen des analogen PLL verglichen und Ähnlichkeiten werden aufgezeigt. Abschließend wird eine Näherungsformel angegeben, die eine Abschätzung der mittleren Taktanzahl auf der Basis des analytischen Ergebnisses des analogen PLL ermöglicht. Für die Dokumentation: Synchronisation / Digitaler PLL / Markoff-Prozeß / Phasensprunghäufigkeit
Engineering Document Summarization Using Sentence Representations Generated by Bidirectional Language Model

In this study, the extractive summarization using sentence embeddings generated by the finetuned BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) models and the K-Means clustering method has been investigated. To show how the BERT model can capture the knowledge in specific domains like engineering design and what it can produce after being finetuned based on domain-specific datasets, several BERT models are trained, and the sentence embeddings extracted from the finetuned models are used to generate summaries of a set of papers. Different evaluation methods are then applied to measure the quality of summarization results. Both the automatic evaluation method like Recall-Oriented Understudy for Gisting Evaluation (ROUGE) and the statistical evaluation method are used for the comparison study. The results indicate that the BERT model finetuned with a larger dataset can generate summaries with more domain terminologies than the pretrained BERT model. Moreover, the summaries generated by BERT models have more contents overlapping with original documents than those obtained through other popular non-BERT-based models. It can be concluded that the contextualized representations generated by BERT-based models can capture information in text and have better performance in applications like text summarizations after being trained by domain-specific datasets.
Analysis of Advanced Management of Curbside Parking

This paper analyzes drivers’ search behavior for parking in a stylized setting where an attraction (destination) is located on a long one-way street and on-street parking spaces are scattered around the destination; drivers are assumed to find a parking space that minimizes their walking time to the destination. Analytical models were established to describe the search outcomes and compare the impacts of parking information and reservation services. An agent-based simulation experiment was then conducted to verify the results drawn from the analytical models. Results show that, compared with the status quo, the reservation service can improve the performance of the parking system, while providing information may not. The former is proved to be a better policy than the latter for the parking competition setting and search behaviors considered in this paper.
Prevención del ahogamiento en la legislación española de piscinas

Antecedentes: Las lesiones en el medio acuático guardan relación con el cumplimiento efectivo de las disposiciones legales que regulan las piscinas. Objetivos: Identificar las medidas de seguridad frente al riesgo de ahogamiento previstas en la legislación sanitaria española de piscinas y proponer soluciones normativas para orientar los esfuerzos preventivos. Método: Diseño descriptivo basado en el análisis documental de los 17 reglamentos sanitarios de piscinas de las Comunidades Autónomas de España. Se seleccionaron los preceptos normativos relativos a la protección y prevención frente al riesgo de ahogamiento, categorizados en cuatro sectores de actuación: Diseño de la zona de baño, especificaciones técnicas, servicio de salvamento acuático y normas para usuarios. Resultados: Hallamos una gran variabilidad de requerimientos normativos susceptibles de mejoras. Faltan estándares de seguridad en las tomas de recirculación de agua del vaso para evitar el atrapamiento del bañista. Se prestó poca atención a la provisión de medios y condiciones de prestación del servicio de salvamento acuático. El papel de los adultos en la custodia y supervisión de menores durante el baño tiene una mención laxa en las normas. El régimen interno de uso de las piscinas adolece de normas desagregadas por grupos vulnerables con mayor predisposición a sufrir ahogamientos. Conclusiones: La prevención del ahogamiento demanda un enfoque multidimensional que introduzca cambios en las disposiciones normativas, adecuándolas a sus fines para aumentar los niveles de seguridad en las piscinas. Nuestros hallazgos son válidos para encauzar los esfuerzos a nivel legislativo para reducir el impacto de los ahogamientos.
Unconventional elastomeric microsystems: fabrication and application

Elastomer-based microsystems hold great promise for a diverse range of applications such as rapid prototyping of lab-on-a-chip device, soft-MEMS, and soft-robotics. For better performance in such applications, unconventional elastomeric structures in terms of size, shape, and patterning trajectory, have been intensely sought after in microtechnology but their realization has been a continuous challenge. Here, as my dissertation work, I present new microfabrication schemes which enable the realizations of unconventional PDMS structures, and their applications, which will enrich the field of soft-microsystems. First, I present a new fabrication scheme for the realization of cylindrical microfluidic (MF) channels with 3D trajectories based on shaping, bonding, and assembly of sucrose fibers. Due to the high water-solubility of the sucrose templates, the scheme is a simple and environment-friendly. Also, it is cleanroom-free and cost-effective. Despite its simplicity, it enables the realization of essential 3D MF channel architectures such as highly curved MF channels, internal loops, and proper end-to-side junctions. It can, also, realize tapered junctions and stenosis which can benefit vaso-mimetic lab-on-a-chip applications. Secondly, as a practical application of the sucrose-based MF channel, I report the implementation of the bokeh-effect-based microfluidic microscopy scheme for point-of-care health monitoring in highly resource-limited environment. For this work, I integrated a single polymer microlens over the sucrose-templated MF channel and retrieved magnified intrachannel images with a commercial, off-the-shelf camera. The bokeh microscope exhibited 10∼40 in magnification and 67∼252 μm of field-of-view extent, confirming their utility for point-of-care monitoring of micro-scale objects in MF channels
Carpool services for ride‐sharing platforms: Price and welfare implications

There has been rapid growth in on‐demand ride‐hailing platforms that serve as an intermediary to match individual service providers (drivers) with consumer demand (riders). Several major players of this market have introduced carpool services that allow passengers heading toward the same direction to share a ride at a discounted fare. In this article, we develop an analytical model to study the pricing issues of ride‐sharing platforms in the presence of carpool services, and their economical and social implications. We show that the carpool service should be provided when its quality and/or the pooling efficiency is high. When the platform finds it optimal to offer the carpool service option, the platform achieves a larger market coverage and the riders are able to enjoy more affordable rides without compromising on service quality. Our analysis reveals that the provision of carpool services benefits the platform and the riders in general, but may hurt the drivers.
Modelling the determinants influencing the need of computer simulation framework in improving the closing of final account in construction projects

Construction industry operates at many levels with a wide range of sizes and types of organizations. It has project-based structure, where multiple organizations collaborate for individual projects and the collaboration is essentially measured by how effective the communication channels were managed at all the stages of the construction projects. Consequently logistics of inter-organisation communication offers strategic scope for construction industry. Information Communication Technology (ICT) is increasingly being used for communication in the construction industry, but for effective use of ICT, construction organizations have to strategically plan and implement its use at all the levels i.e., at application level, system level and business level. Therefore, understanding individual acceptance and use of ICT is one of the most mature streams of information systems research. In ICT system research, numerous theories are use to understand user's adoption of new technologies. Various model were developed including the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. This paper composes a new theoretical framework to identify the factors of the acceptance and need of Computer Simulation Framework and Guidelines in Improving the Closing of Final Account in Construction Projects-as an ICT application in a users context. The proposed model incorporates eight constructs: Perfomance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Facilitating Conditions (FC), Social Influences (SI) and Behavioral intention (BI). Individual differences; age, gender, education, income and experience are moderating the effects of this constructs on behavioral intention and technology use. It is anticipated that the finding reported in this paper could assist the planning of future strategies and guidelines for the betterment of construction projects in Malaysia.