Reviewerly/exHarmony huggingface dataset:
A/synchronous telecollaborative digital media projects: comparative effects on learners’ macro-and micro-level oral proficiency and intercultural competence

AbstractBeing described as two sides of one coin, language and culture are increasingly recommended to be inseparably addressed. Thanks to technological advances, this is now more feasible than before. In response, this study examined the comparative effects of synchronous and asynchronous telecollaborative digital media projects (DMPs) on learners’ macro-and micro-level oral proficiency and intercultural competence. Telecollaboration took place between Egyptian TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) student-teachers (N = 56, randomly selected) and a convenient sample of English natives (N = 28) at Michigan State University in the US. Each group was randomly assigned to two groups: synchronous and asynchronous. The concurrent triangulation mixed-method design was followed to collect and analyze both quantitative and qualitative data. The study concluded that synchronous and asynchronous telecollaborative DMPs yielded improvements in all micro-and macro-level oral proficiency skills except discourse management, which did not only improve among the synchronous participants but also retreated among the asynchronous ones. Also, synchronous telecollaborators outperformed the asynchronous ones in all macro-and micro-level skills except vocabulary and grammar. Besides, despite improvement after telecollaboration, none of the four groups outdid the others either in overall or factor-level intercultural competence. Qualitative findings revealed that TEFL participants appreciated telecollaboration and DMP generation and exchange activities, whereas they were dissatisfied with the inadequate and unequal opportunities for interaction with the natives, native speakers being too natural, and being restricted to single-mode interaction. However, they reported a number of linguistic, cultural, and emotional gains from these experiences.Keywords: Synchronous and asynchronoustelecollaborationdigital media projectsmacro-and micro-level oral proficiencyintercultural competence Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Ethical approvalBoth the TEFL and native participants in the current study were volunteers. An informed consent form was filled out by them prior to participating in the study and after explaining the treatment procedures in detail. The participants’ anonymity was also assured. There are no essential conflicts of interest. The study protocol was reviewed by the IRB (Institutional Review Board) at Michigan State University (MSU) and, consequently, has been approved (MSU study IRB approval ID: STUDY00007691).
Mapping romance fraud research – a systematic review

Purpose This paper aims to systematically review over two decades of academic articles on romance fraud to provide a holistic insight into this crime and identify literature gaps. Design/methodology/approach More than two decades of peer-reviewed academic journal articles from 2000 to 2023 were systematically reviewed using multiple search engines and databases for relevant papers, identified through searches of paper titles, keywords, abstracts and primary texts. Findings The findings reveal 10 themes: i) the definitions and terminology of romance fraud; ii) romance fraud’s impact on victims; iii) the profile of romance fraud criminals and victims; iv) romance fraud methods and techniques; v) why victims become susceptible to romance fraud; vi) the psychology of romance fraud criminals; vii) the links between romance fraud and other crimes; viii) the challenges of investigating romance fraud; ix) preventing romance fraud and protecting victims; and x) how romance fraud victims can be supported. Practical implications The paper reveals implications regarding the future direction of policy and strategy to address the pervasive low reporting rates and narratives of shame bound with victims of this crime. Originality/value Romance fraud is a serious crime against individuals with impacts beyond financial losses. Still, this fraud type is under-researched, and the literature lacks a holistic view of this crime. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic literature review providing a holistic view of romance fraud. It combines evidence across the academic landscape to reveal the breadth and depth of the current work concerning romance fraud and identify gaps in the understanding of this fraud crime.
Deep Learning Techniques for Liver Tumor Recognition in Ultrasound Images

Cancer is one of the most severe diseases nowadays. Thus, tumor detection in a non-invasive and accurate manner is a challenging subject. Among these tumors, liver cancer is one of the most dangerous, being very common. Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent malignant liver tumor. The golden standard for diagnosing HCC is mainly the biopsy, however invasive and risky, leading to infections, respectively to the spreading of the tumor through the body. We conceive computerized techniques for abdominal tumor recognition within medical images. Formerly, traditional, texture-based methods were involved for this purpose. Both classical texture analysis methods, as well as advanced, original texture analysis techniques, based on superior order statistics, were involved. The superior order Gray Level Cooccurrence Matrix (GLCM), as well as the Textural Microstructure Cooccurrence Matrices (TMCM) were employed and assessed. Recently, deep learning techniques based on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), their fusions with the conventional techniques, as well as their combinations among themselves, were assessed in the approached field. We present the most relevant aspects of this study in the current paper.
Analysis of the Content of the Kazakhstan Segment of YouTube

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Disclosure StatementThere are no relevant financial or non-financial competing interests to report.Additional informationNotes on contributorsAltynay AigelovaAltynay Aigelova is a Doctoral Student of the Department of Printing and Publishing at the L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan. Her research focuses on a role of the digital media and Internet platforms.Assima IshanovaAssima Ishanova is a Full Doctor of Philology, Professor of the Department of Printing and Publishing at the L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan. Her research focuses on a modern mass media, cultural memory and literary games.Ainur SuleimenovaAinur Suleimenova is a Doctoral Student of the Department of Journalism and Communication Management at the A. Baitursynov Kostanay Regional University, Kostanay, Republic of Kazakhstan. Her research focuses on a documentary films, media criticism in blogs and Internet space.
Academic Community and Practitioner Perceptions on Information Technology Competencies: A Gap Analysis

Academic institutions must be able to adapt to rapid technological advancements and bridge the continuous skill gap between industry expectations and student academic preparation. This study aimed to analyze and present an updated view of the essential IT competencies perceived by IT practitioners and highlight the skills gap between the perceptions of industry practitioners and the academic community. The study utilized quantitative and qualitative research to determine the most relevant competencies according to IT practitioners and academicians. The findings revealed that competencies in microprocessors, semiconductors, embedded systems, mobile and wireless computing, and robotics were perceived as somewhat important/important by IT practitioners. However, IT faculty members perceived these competencies as very important/important. These findings suggest that there is a gap between the acquired competencies in the university and the competencies needed by the industry. Further, the analysis of the competencies in the different IT jobs revealed the competencies perceived by the IT practitioners vary depending on the specific IT job. This research brings insights into the relevant competencies of the IT workforce and how to improve the IT curriculum to produce professionals who meet industry demands.
Blockchain-Based Educational Certificates: A Proposal

The development of science and technology is very fast and even increases year by year, especially in the education system. However, in practice, a lot of learning systems continue to employ traditional methods and thus, learning becomes a less active process. Thanks to the technological improvements that have taken place over time, the concept of Blockchain could be integrated in the educational sector. Although mainly used for digital currencies, it seems that it could significantly impact healthcare, pharmaceutical industry/drug supply chain management, and now, the educational sector. Hence, Blockchain is used by the majority of current systems as a secure mechanism for confirming and transferring student data, academic credentials, and databases of educational organizations. Thanks to Blockchain, which gives students a powerful tool to manage and share their learning success, employers can rely on trustworthy, realistic representations of students’ potential based on academic achievement (trusted verification). This chapter aims to define the concept of Blockchain, both in general terms and within the educational system. It also aims to carry out a case study among students and establish correlations between their answers.
An Examination of the Opportunities and Challenges of Conversational Artificial Intelligence in Small and Medium Enterprises

This study aims to examine the potential benefits and challenges associated with conversational artificial intelligence (CAI) implementation within small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The study employs a comprehensive literature review and thematic analysis as the primary data collection and interpretation methods. CAI technologies are examined, including chatbots, virtual assistants, and automated response systems. These technologies offer SMEs opportunities to automate customer service operations, gain valuable customer insights, and enhance operational efficiency. However, their integration also presents technical difficulties, financial constraints, data privacy and security concerns, and inherent CAI limitations. The study results provide a nuanced understanding of CAI’s role in SMEs, offering insights into practical applications, potential benefits, and hurdles. The findings highlight SMEs’ need to strategically approach AI implementation, balancing the potential benefits and associated challenges. The key conclusion drawn from this study is that the strategic and well-planned adoption of CAI can significantly benefit SMEs. However, it should be viewed as an augmentation of existing operations rather than a complete replacement. This study also identifies the need for future research, particularly empirical studies examining the implementation of CAI in SMEs and exploring its long-term impacts and ethical implications.
Investigating job Burnout determinants influencing teaching employees in private educational institutions

Job Burnout among the teaching employees in private educational institutions has become a big issue in today’s scenario. Job stress, job satisfaction, hectic time schedule, work life balance, organization commitment factors are becoming more prevalent among employee’s decision to burnout the present job or the company. Educational institutions are not having focused strategies to retaining the employees as they are in the process of having turnover intention which lead to burnout. Investigating the relationships between job burnout, job stress, work engagement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment among faculty members at private educational institutions in India is the main objective of this study. The present study conducted through primary data by preparing the suitable questionnaire and collected the responses from 171 teaching employees of different private educational institutions in India. This study analysed the data by different tools and techniques like average, mean, correlation and regression. The findings revealed a significant association between burnout and workplace stress, as well as between job satisfaction, work engagement, and job stress. Burnout and job satisfaction were found to be significantly associated. The results demonstrate the importance of these factors in connection to job commitment and burnout. The implication of the study focuses on management must devote a lot of efforts in assessing their physical and mental working conditions in order to give services with the highest level of quality in education institutes.
Quantum Honeypots

Quantum computation offers unique properties that cannot be paralleled by conventional computers. In particular, reading qubits may change their state and thus signal the presence of an intruder. This paper develops a proof-of-concept for a quantum honeypot that allows the detection of intruders on reading. The idea is to place quantum sentinels within all resources offered within the honeypot. Additional to classical honeypots, honeypots with quantum sentinels can trace the reading activity of the intruder within any resource. Sentinels can be set to be either visible and accessible to the intruder or hidden and unknown to intruders. Catching the intruder using quantum sentinels has a low theoretical probability per sentinel, but the probability can be increased arbitrarily higher by adding more sentinels. The main contributions of this paper are that the monitoring of the intruder can be carried out at the level of the information unit, such as the bit, and quantum monitoring activity is fully hidden from the intruder. Practical experiments, as performed in this research, show that the error rate of quantum computers has to be considerably reduced before implementations of this concept are feasible.
Design and Implementation of Enabling SQL–Query Processing for Ethereum-Based Blockchain Systems

A blockchain is designed to establish consistent and reliable agreements in an untrusted and decentralized environment. In addition, the blockchain enables transaction processing and the creation of smart contracts. It empowers end users to execute contracts without any intermediate entities. However, there are some issues when it comes to retrieving information, such as the state and history of smart contracts and regular transactions in the blockchain. For example, in a smart contract, user-defined data structures can be used to recall the state of the smart contract for a range query, which can decrease the general performance. In addition, an external database can be required to retrieve regular transactions for range queries, which increases management costs. To achieve this, we propose a new scheme that enables SQL query operations to retrieve a smart contract and regular transaction information within the blockchain system. To achieve this, we combine an embedded relational database with an Ethereum-based blockchain system to provide the SQL query. It enables range queries on smart contracts without requiring user-defined data structures and decreases management costs for regular transactions without any external database. We implement the proposed blockchain system on quorum, which is an Ethereum-based blockchain system. Also, we evaluate the proposed system using a synthetic benchmark. The performance of retrieving smart contract data is improved by up to approximately 22×, with low memory usage compared with the existing system. Moreover, the proposed system demonstrates a similar search performance to the existing system, even when considering external databases in regular transactions.
All the World’s a Stage: Examining the Actors That Influence the Development of Primary Pre-Service Teacher Digital Competence in the Republic of Ireland

In accordance with contemporary educational policy, changes have been made to the requirements of initial teacher education (ITE) with the aim of promoting the development of digital competence among pre-service teachers (PSTs). This paper explores what it means for a primary PST to develop digital competence and posits that programmes of ITE should develop the digital teaching competence of PSTs, alongside positive attitudes toward digital technology use. This is a complex and under-researched process involving multiple actors, including higher education institution tutors, school placement tutors, and cooperating teachers. This research gap is addressed within this paper by examining these actors and unpacking the key issues which may prevent PSTs from developing and enacting digital teaching competence. It appears there is a lack of alignment across these actors, which may negatively impact the digital competence of PSTs. Consequently, we propose that the conceptualization of digital competence across programmes of ITE needs to be brought into alignment. Actions including the establishment of a shared vision of pedagogical use of digital technology, formal induction, and ongoing transformative professional learning for all actors across a programme of ITE are proposed if PSTs are to be enabled to develop the digital competence required by policy.
Decentralized Multi-Layered Architecture to Strengthen the Security in the Internet of Things Environment Using Blockchain Technology

Smart devices are connected to IoT networks and the security risks are substantial. Using blockchain technology, which is decentralized and distributed, 5G-enabled IoT networks might be able to tackle security issues. In order to simplify the implementation and security of IoT networks, we propose a multi-level blockchain security model. As part of the multi-level architecture, the communication between levels is facilitated by clustering. IoT networks define unknown clusters with applications that utilize the evolutionary computation method coupled with anatomy simulation and genetic methodologies. Authentication and authorization are performed locally by the super node. The super node and relevant base stations can communicate using local private blockchain implementations. A blockchain improves security and enhances trustworthiness by providing network authentication and credibility assurance. The proposed model is developed using the open-source Hyperledger Fabric blockchain platform. Stations communicate securely using a global blockchain. Compared to the earlier reported clustering algorithms, simulations demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed algorithm. In comparison with the global blockchain, the lightweight blockchain is more suitable for balancing network throughput and latency.
Image embedding and user multi-preference modeling for data collection sampling

Abstract This work proposes an end-to-end user-centric sampling method aimed at selecting the images from an image collection that are able to maximize the information perceived by a given user. As main contributions, we first introduce novel metrics that assess the amount of perceived information retained by the user when experiencing a set of images. Given the actual information present in a set of images, which is the volume spanned by the set in the corresponding latent space, we show how to take into account the user’s preferences in such a volume calculation to build a user-centric metric for the perceived information. Finally, we propose a sampling strategy seeking the minimum set of images that maximize the information perceived by a given user. Experiments using the coco dataset show the ability of the proposed approach to accurately integrate user preference while keeping a reasonable diversity in the sampled image set.
Introducing Virtual Reality and Emerging Technologies in a Teacher Training STEM Course

In recent years, the adoption of emerging technologies in education (ETE) has significantly grown. However, the effective integration of these technologies remains challenging as many educators have not been afforded the professional/career readiness to properly acknowledge and use them as educational tools. Although the STEM approach has gained prominence in science education, it still requires proper teacher readiness for successful implementation. In this study, with design-based research and mixed-method approaches, a ten-session program for prospective teachers was developed and evaluated to foster the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively integrate different technological resources in STEM education. The program aims to bridge the gap between technology and pedagogy, empowering educators to maximize the use of ETE to enrich learning experiences. The main conclusions emphasize the significance of technology-centric education for future educators, stressing the necessity for teacher training programs that align technological potential with practical classroom applications. Integrating emerging technologies supports contemporary pedagogical approaches like STEM education, promoting active student participation and problem-solving skills. To fully harness emerging technologies’ potential, educators need training and support. Developing comprehensive training pathways for these technologies is vital to narrow the gap between technology and effective educational integration.
Optimized design and application research of smart interactive screen for wireless networks based on federated learning

Abstract The rapid development of infinite networks and information technology has promoted the wide deployment and rapid growth of intelligent interactive devices. However, at the same time, touch interaction technology also faces many challenges such as lack of precision. This study combines federated learning with LayerGesture technology to optimize and design a touch interaction system with higher interaction accuracy and applies it to practice. The analysis results show that with the increase in the number of iterations of the federated model, the accuracy of the human–computer recognition interaction and the amount of information contained in it increases, and the accuracy curve reaches stability at about 2800 times and is at the optimal interaction adaptation. At this point, the loss function also decreases gradually, while the loss factor tends to 0, which verifies the stability of the optimized model. According to the participants’ interaction experience and experimental results, the optimized LayerGesture technique of the federated learning model has an average correctness rate of 90.4% and the lowest average selection time, while the average selection time of LayerGesture in the interaction area at the edge of the screen is 2510 ms and the average correctness rate is 93.60%, which is better than the Shift technique. In addition, the subjective survey results indicated that more participants favored the optimized LayerGesture technique. In summary, this paper’s joint learning algorithm contributes to the recognition effectiveness and efficiency of intelligent interactive systems.
Smart Contracts, Blockchain Technology and the Formulation of a Proposal for Their Application in Public Administration

The study focuses on smart contracts, emphasizing the opportunities provided by blockchain technology. The main research method used is an examination of relevant domestic and foreign sources on the topic, such as studies and legislation. In addition, we formulate a proposal on how smart contracts and blockchain technology could be applied in public administration, focusing on the real estate registration procedure.