bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Antidiskriminierungsengagierte Schülerinnen und Schüler mit Einem Türkischen Hintergrund an Berliner Schulen: Intersektionen von Geschlechterkonzeptionen, Rassismuskritik, und Diversitätsverständnissen
Authors: Eggers Maureen Maisha
Published: August 2013

In diesem Beitrag diskutiere ich die schulische Situation von Jugendlichen

mit einem türkischen Hintergrund im Kontext ihrer (Selbst-) Einordnung als

People of Color bzw. als rassistisch markierte Subjekte. Insbesondere in

einer Gesellschaft die auch stark von der Post-9/11 medialen Berichterstattung

geprägt ist, ist die starke Rassifizierung von Jugendlichen of Color mit

einem türkischen Hintergrund zunehmend deutlich geworden. Diese

Erfahrungen der Rassifizierung führen bei antidiskriminierungsengagierte

Jugendlichen mit einem türkischen Hintergrund, in vielen Fällen, zu Solidarisierungen

mit Schwarzen (Deutschen) Jugendlichen. Rassismuserfah -

rungen vereinen damit gewissermaßen antidiskriminierungsengagierte

Jugendliche of Color. Die Praxis dieser Jugendlichen of Color, betrachte ich

vor dem Hintergrund der offiziellen Diversitätsbekundungen von Berliner

Schulen. Dabei fällt auf, dass Diversität als neues Label offenbar nicht zu

einer Verminderung ihrer Diskriminierung führt. Es geht mir darum, die

anhaltende soziale Ungleichheit, die sich in Bildungsinstitutionen in der Alltagspraxis

beständig aktualisiert zu konkretisieren. Ich beziehe mich auf rassismuskritische

Thematisierungen von hierarchisierter Differenz durch

Schülerinnen of Color. Es handelt sich hierbei um Jugendliche, die sich ganz

bewusst im Sinne einer Antidiskriminierungsarbeit an ihrer Schule

engagieren. Sie lenken durch ihre hegemoniekritischen Diskussionen den

Blick auf vorhandene Formate, Inhalte und Barrieren der Thematisierung

von Heterogenität, sowie auf die diskursiven Intersektionen von Ausschlüssen

an (Berliner) Schulen. Diversität scheint hier als Begriff—auf dem

ersten Blick—gut geeignet, um Fragen der Benachteiligung und der strukturellen

Diskriminierung, die in enger Wechselwirkung mit Heterogenität

bestehen, wahrnehmbar zu machen. Dass solche Bekenntnisse nicht eine

automatische Lösung bedeuten, sondern sogar zu einem Bestandteil des Problems werden können ist eine zentrale Argumentation dieses Beitrags. In

Anknüpfung an dieser Kritik argumentiere ich, dass Diversität als neues

bzw. als neoliberalistisches Label ein oberflächliches Verständnis von Toleranz

und Akzeptanz eingefasst ist, und dass durch ihre plakative Ausrichtung

das Ziel der Gleichstellung als erreicht gefeiert wird, obwohl die Hierarchien

weiterhin fest an ihrem Platz bleiben.
Tooth Size Discrepancies among Different Malocclusions in a Bangladeshi Orthodontic population
Authors: Hyder Md Liakat Ali , Mamun MSA , Hossain MZ
Published: August 2013

Objectives: To identify the possible sex differences in anterior, posterior, and overall tooth size ratios and to evaluate whether any differences exist in tooth size ratios and distribution of subjects with clinically significant tooth size discrepancies among Angle class I, class II, & class III malocclusion groups in Bangladeshi Orthodontic population. Materials and Methods: Each malocclusion group comprised 40 subjects (20 males and 20 females).The mesiodistal width from first molar to first molar were measured on each pretreatment cast to the nearest 0.01mm using digital calipers, and the anterior, posterior and overall ratios were calculated. Students t-test, Wilcoxon nonparametric test, analysis of variance, and x2-test were performed for statistical analysis. Results: No statistically significant differences in anterior, posterior, or overall ratios were found among the malocclusion groups. No significant sex differences were found in anterior, posterior, or overall ratio in any group, Significant anterior and overall tooth size discrepancies outside 2 SD from the Bolton's means were found in 31% and11.6% of all malocclusion subjects respectively. Conclusion: Bolton's values can be used with confidence for the Bangladeshi orthodontic population. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjodfo.v2i2.16158 Ban J Orthod & Dentofac Orthop, April 2012; Vol-2, No.2, 8-17
A Comparative Study of Arch Widths of Bangladeshi Subject with Normal Occlusion and Class II Division 1 Malocclusion
Authors: Islam MM , Hossain MZ
Published: August 2013

Aim: To evaluate possible differences of the upper and lower dental arches width among youths with Class I,normal occlusion and Class II, division 1 malocclusion. Materials and Methods: The evaluation was conducted on 100 pairs of dental casts of Bangladeshi youths with permanent dentition, 50 with Class I, normal occlusion (22 males and 28 females) at the mean age of 19±3 years and 50 with Class II, division 1, malocclusion (18 males and 32 females ) at the mean age of 20±4 years. The group with Class II malocclusion was divided into two categories: Class II without dental crowding and Class II with dental crowding. A comparison was made between the intercanine inter first premolar and intermolar widths of both dental arches. Results: Subjects with Class II, division, 1 malocclusion when compared with Class I normal occlusion presented (a) in the upper dental arch , smaller intermolar, interpremolar and intercanine width. (b) in the lower dental arch , smaller intermolar width. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjodfo.v2i2.16159 Ban J Orthod & Dentofac Orthop, April 2012; Vol-2, No.2, 18-23
Changes in soft tissue profile during the treatment of Class III malocclusion treated with Class III activator
Authors: Mamun MSA , Hyder MLA , Hossain MZ
Published: August 2013

Objective: This longitudinal retrospective cephalometric study was undertaken in an attempt to evaluate the effect of Class III activator on the soft tissue structures in subjects with skeletal Class III. Methods: The material consisted of cephalometric films of 26 Class III patients (13females and 13 males, with a mean age of 13.58±4.38 years). Each treated patient was matched before treatment with Class III subject for sex and age. Differences at T1 and T2 were examined using paired t-test. Results: After treatment the patients' soft tissue profile improved significantly compare with before treatment. Conclusion: Soft tissue changes were found in patients treated by Class III activator in skeletal Class III patients. Clinical relevance: Class III activator may be an efficient method to improving soft tissue facial profile in Skeletal Class III malocclusion. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjodfo.v2i2.16160 Ban J Orthod & Dentofac Orthop, April 2012; Vol-2, No.2, 24-29
Successful orthodontic treatment of Class II division 1 malocclusion in a non growing patient : A case report
Authors: Ali MW , Hossain MZ
Published: August 2013

Aim & objectives of the present case report was to evaluate the management of skeletal Class II division 1 malocclusion in non growing patient with extraction of upper first premolars. Clinical and cephalometric evaluation revealed skeletal Class II division 1 malocclusion with severe maxillary incisor proclination, convex profile, average mandibular plane angle, incompetent lips, increased overjet and overbite. After extraction of upper 1st premolars, canine retraction was done which was followed by retraction of severely proclined upper anterior teeth by judicious control of third order bend in rectangular stainless steel arch wire with V loop . For anchorage management, intra oral anchorage with tip back & toe in bends in stainless steel arch wire was satisfactory. Following treatment marked improvement in patients smile, facial profile and lip competence were achieved and there was a remarkable increase in the patients confidence and quality of life. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjodfo.v2i2.16165 Ban J Orthod & Dentofac Orthop, April 2012; Vol-2, No.2, 41-45
Bangladesh Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics Official Publication of Bangladesh Orthodontic Society.
Authors: Hossain Md Zakir
Published: August 2013

Abstract not found DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjodfo.v2i2.16168 Ban J Orthod & Dentofac Orthop, April 2012; Vol-2, No.2
Uncarilic Acid and Secouncarilic Acid, Two New Triterpenoids from Uucaria sessilifructus
Authors: Zhang Mao-Juan , Liu Bing , Liao Shang-Gao , Xu You-Kai , Feng De-Qiang , Ji Kai-Long , Li Yan
Published: August 2013

Two new compounds, the 6-oxo oleanane-type triterpenoid uncarilic acid, and its 5,6-secotriterpenoid derivative, secouncarilic acid, were isolated from the hooks and stems of Uucaria sessilifructus together with seven known ursane-type triterpenoids. Uncarilic acid is the second 6-oxo oleanane-type triterpenoid ever reported, while secouncarilic acid is the first oleanane-type 5,6-secotriterpenoid. A plausible biosynthetic pathway from uncarilic acid to secouncarilic acid was also postulated. The inhibitory activities of all the nine compounds against LPS-induced nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 macrophages were evaluated.
Leg Edema Quantification for Heart Failure Patients via 3D Imaging
Authors: Hayn Dieter , Fruhwald Friedrich , Riedel Arthur , Falgenhauer Markus , Schreier Günter
Published: August 2013

Heart failure is a common cardiac disease in elderly patients. After discharge, approximately 50% of all patients are readmitted to a hospital within six months. Recent studies show that home monitoring of heart failure patients can reduce the number of readmissions. Still, a large number of false positive alarms as well as underdiagnoses in other cases require more accurate alarm generation algorithms. New low-cost sensors for leg edema detection could be the missing link to help home monitoring to its breakthrough. We evaluated a 3D camera-based measurement setup in order to geometrically detect and quantify leg edemas. 3D images of legs were taken and geometric parameters were extracted semi-automatically from the images. Intra-subject variability for five healthy subjects was evaluated. Thereafter, correlation of 3D parameters with body weight and leg circumference was assessed during a clinical study at the Medical University of Graz. Strong correlation was found in between both reference values and instep height, while correlation in between curvature of the lower leg and references was very low. We conclude that 3D imaging might be a useful and cost-effective extension of home monitoring for heart failure patients, though further (prospective) studies are needed.
Seed‐mediated connectivity among fragmented populations of Quercus castanea (Fagaceae) in a Mexican landscape
Authors: Herrera‐Arroyo M. Luisa , Sork Victoria L. , González‐Rodríguez Antonio , Rocha‐Ramírez Víctor , Vega Ernesto , Oyama Ken
Published: August 2013

• Premise of study: Anthropogenic fragmentation is an ongoing process in many forested areas that may create loss of connectivity among tree populations and constitutes a serious threat to ecological and genetic processes. We tested the central hypothesis that seed dispersal mitigates the impact of fragmentation by comparing connectivity and genetic diversity of adult vs. seedling populations in recently fragmented populations of the Mexican red oak Quercus castanea.

• Methods: Adult individuals, established before fragmentation, and seedlings, established after fragmentation, were sampled at 33 forest fragments of variable size (0.2 to 294 ha) within the Cuitzeo basin, Michoacán state, and genotyped using seven highly polymorphic chloroplast microsatellite markers (cpSSRs). To test whether seed dispersal retains connectivity among fragmented populations, we compared genetic diversity and connectivity networks between adults and progeny and determined the effect of fragment size on these values.

• Key results: Seventy haplotypes were identified, 63 in the adults and 60 in the seedlings, with average within‐population diversity (hS) values of 0.624 in the adults and 0.630 in the seedlings. A positive correlation of genetic diversity values with fragment size was found in the seedling populations but not in the adult populations. The network connectivity analysis revealed lower connectivity among seedling populations than among adults. The number of connections (edges) as well as other network properties, such as betweenness centrality, node degree and closeness, were significantly lower in the seedlings network.

• Conclusions: Habitat fragmentation in this landscape is disrupting seed‐dispersal‐mediated genetic connectivity among extant populations.
Anatomical and physical changes in leaves during the production of tamales
Authors: Angeles Guillermo , Lascurain Maite , Davalos‐Sotelo Raymundo , Zarate‐Morales Reyna Paula , Ortega‐Escalona Fernando
Published: August 2013

• Premise of the study: Tamale preparation has a long tradition in Mexico. To understand which material properties have been considered important for this purpose throughout the years, a study was conducted of the anatomical, chemical, and mechanical properties of the leaves of four plant species used in tamale preparation in Veracruz, Mexico: Calathea misantlensis, Canna indica, Musa paradisiaca, and Oreopanax capitatus.

• Methods: Four cooking treatments were considered: fresh (F), roasted (soasado, R), steamed (S), and roasted plus steamed (R/S). Chemical, anatomical, and mechanical analyses were conducted before and after each treatment. Leaf samples were tested for tensile strength at both parallel and perpendicular orientation relative to the fibers.

• Key results: Musa paradisiaca had the highest proportion of cellulose, while the remaining species shared similar lower proportions. Leaves were stronger and stiffer in the longitudinal direction of the fibers. Musa paradisiaca leaves had higher values of mechanical strength than the other species. The cooking process that most affected the mechanical properties was steaming.

• Conclusions: The chemical constituents of the leaves are closely correlated with their physical properties. The treatment that caused the greatest decrease in leaf physical integrity was steaming, while the combination of roasting and steaming showed similar results to those of steaming alone. No evident anatomical changes are produced by any of the treatments. This is one of the few studies comparing physical, chemical, and anatomical characteristics of leaves used for human consumption, before and after cooking.
Intraspecies variation in cotton border cell production: Rhizosphere microbiome implications
Authors: Curlango‐Rivera Gilberto , Huskey David A. , Mostafa Ayman , Kessler John O. , Xiong Zhongguo , Hawes Martha C.
Published: August 2013

• Premise of the study: Border cells, which separate from the root cap, can comprise >90% of carbon‐based exudates released into the rhizosphere, but may not provide a general source of nutrients for soil microorganisms. Instead, this population of specialized cells appears to function in defense of the root tip by an extracellular trapping process similar to that of mammalian white blood cells. Border cell production is tightly regulated, and direct tests of their impact on crop production have been hindered by lack of intraspecies variation.

• Methods: Border cell number, viability, and clumping were compared among 22 cotton cultivars. Slime layer “extracellular trap” production by border cells in response to copper chloride, an elicitor of plant defenses, was compared in two cultivars with divergent border cell production. Trapping of bacteria by border cells in these lines also was measured.

• Key results: Emerging roots of some cultivars produced more than 20000 border cells per root, a 100% increase over previously reported values for this species. No differences in border cell morphology, viability, or clumping were found. Copper chloride‐induced extracellular trap formation by border cells from a cultivar that produced 27921 ± 2111 cells per root was similar to that of cells from a cultivar with 10002 ± 614 cells, but bacterial trapping was reduced.

• Conclusions: Intraspecific variation in border cell production provides a tool to measure their impact on plant development in the laboratory, greenhouse, and field. Further research is needed to determine the basis for this variation, and its impact on rhizosphere community structure.
Nonlinear is Essential, Linearization is Not Enough, Visualization is Absolutely Necessary
Authors: West Beverly
Published: August 2013

Linear differential equations have been well understood for some time and are an important tool for studying the nonlinear systems that most frequently arise in mathematical models of real world systems. Nonlinear systems do not usually have formula solutions, but with graphics, we can see the behaviors of the solutions and thereby “understand” the differential equations. Dynamic and interactive presentations provide students with a streamlined route to understanding these behaviors, resulting in immense power and efficiency that was not previously available at the undergraduate level.
Supporting the Development of College-Level Students’ Conceptions of Statistical Inference
Authors: Meletiou-Mavrotheris Maria
Published: August 2013

The transition from descriptive to inferential statistics is a known area of difficulty for students taking introductory statistics courses. This chapter shares the experiences from a teaching experiment in a college-level introductory statistics classroom that implemented an informal, data-driven approach to statistical inference using the dynamic statistics software Fathom© as an investigation tool. Findings from the study indicate that the informal inferences on which instruction focused in the first part of the course helped students develop understandings of fundamental aspects of inferential and argumentative reasoning that served as foundations for the formal study of inferential statistics in the latter part of the course. The affordances offered by the tool for delving deeply into the data to make sense of the situation at hand were instrumental in supporting student understanding of both informal and formal inferential statistics.
String Art and Linear Iterative Systems
Authors: Habre Samer
Published: August 2013

String art dates back to the 19th century when it was initially invented to ease the delivery of some mathematical ideas. Since then, the art has evolved and so has its use in mathematics. In this chapter, the authors see how some of the phase portraits for 2 x 2 linear homogeneous iterative systems exhibit some artistic behavior that resembles this form of art. The investigation gives a sufficient condition for the solutions of such systems to form closed cycles. However, in other situations the cycles formed are infinite, producing some fascinating examples of string art.
Utilizing Augmented Reality in Library Information Search
Authors: Gibson Robert
Published: August 2013

A cross-disciplinary academic team at Emporia State University is currently in the process of developing and utilizing a mobile-based augmented reality application in the context of library information search. Specifically, the team is researching the use of mobile applications that can generate multi-sensory information retrieval relative to archives and special collections. Using this application, student and faculty researchers can physically point their mobile devices at an archival object that has been specifically marked with a photo-generated “tag” and, using specially designed software, access videos, photos, music, text, and other data that is germane to the object. This allows the archivist to preserve the object behind protective glass or other physical barriers, while allowing the information seeker to learn more about the object using embedded multimedia. This minimizes the potential for damage while providing extra dimensions of information. Of the many virtualizations currently under development are videos related to a rare novel and music compositions relative to rare sheet music – both currently housed within Special Collections at Emporia State University.
Visualization of High-Level Associations from Twitter Data
Authors: Cagliero Luca , Mahoto Naeem A.
Published: August 2013

The Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery (KDD) process focuses on extracting useful information from large datasets. To support analysts in making decisions, a relevant research effort has been devoted to visualizing the extracted data mining models effectively. A particular attention has been paid to the discovery of strong association rules from textual data coming from social networks, which represent potentially relevant correlations among document terms. However, state-of-the-art rule visualization tools do not allow experts to visualize data correlations at different abstraction levels. Hence, the effectiveness of the proposed approaches is limited, especially when dealing with fairly sparse data. This chapter presents Twitter Generalized Rule Visualizer (TGRV), a novel text mining and visualization tool. It aims at supporting analysts in looking into the results of the generalized association rule mining process from textual data coming from Twitter supplied with WordNet taxonomies. Taxonomies are used for aggregating document terms into higher-level concepts. Generalized rules represent high-level associations among document terms. By exploiting taxonomy-based models, experts may look into the discovered data correlations from different perspectives and figure out interesting knowledge. Changing the perspective from which data correlations are visualized is shown to improve the readability and the usability of the generated rule-based model. The experimental results show the applicability and the usefulness of the proposed visualization tool on real textual data coming from Twitter. The visualized data correlations are shown to be valuable for advanced analysis, such as topic trend and user behavior analysis.
Evaluating a Technique for Improving Letter Memory in At-Risk Kindergarten Students
Authors: Stockdale Carol
Published: August 2013

This chapter focuses on a process for improving letter naming. Numerous studies have established the correlation between fluent letter naming and reading in young children (Badian, 2000; Catts, 2001; Faust, Dimitrovsky, & Shacht, 2003; Terepocki, Kruk, & Willows, 2002; Mann & Foy, 2003). Two schools using the same reading program were selected for the study. The 125 kindergarten children attending these schools were screened for letter naming fluency. The low scoring individuals in each school were randomly assigned either to a treatment or control group for the study. Pretesting addressed rapid letter recall, color naming, object naming, and receptive vocabulary. The children in the treatment groups received twelve twenty-minute instructional sessions teaching the children to attend to the distinctive features (unique parts) of each letter. The students in the treatment groups made significant gains in letter naming speed and accuracy compared to the control groups. Receptive language scores improved. Other measures had no significant correlation with letter naming proficiency in posttests.
A New Fuzzy Geometrical Approach to Classify Defects in Composite Materials
Authors: Cacciola Matteo , Calcagno Salvatore , La Foresta Fabio , Versaci Mario
Published: August 2013

It is well known that in the Non Destructive Testing/Evaluation (NDT/E) context, Ultrasonic Echoes (UEs) and Tests (UTs) are intensively exploited to identify and characterize defects in the Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP). This paper examines the localization and the classification of defects in this material from a fuzzy geometrical point of view. In particular, starting from an experimental campaign of measurements carried out in our Lab (Laboratory of Electrical Engineering & Non-Destructive Tests and Evaluations, “Mediterranea” University of Reggio Calabria), fuzzy subsethood calculus is taken into account to translate the characterization of a defect in CFRP into a sort of “fuzzy distance” among UEs. Finally, the floor is open for any questions related to the comparison with a higher computational complexity heuristic technique.
Measuring and Analyzing Power Quality in Electric Traction Systems
Authors: Mariscotti Andrea
Published: August 2013

Power Quality phenomena in a broad sense, stationary and transient, are considered focusing on railway applications: dc and ac traction lines are considered, identifying the main sources (fixed, like substations, and moving, like vehicles), their characteristic emissions, how they propagate and combine along the traction lines and back to the three-phase ac supply lines. The analysis covers the railway standards applicable to the traction line and the industrial standards applicable to the ac feeding lines. The peculiarity of railway applications, that is the presence of moving distorting loads interconnected by a non-ideal transmission line and characterized by variable operating conditions and by the superposition of multiple sources with different dynamics, requires specific processing, analysis and visualization methods, that are addressed by means of examples based on real data.
Antenna Calibration Methods for Antenna Factor Measurements
Authors: Mescia L. , Losito O. , Castrovilla V. , Bia P. , Prudenzano F.
Published: August 2013

In the fields of electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic compatibility, it is important to measure the strength of the electric field originating from electric devices. For this purpose, knowledge of the antenna factor of a receiving antenna is necessary. According to international standards, the accurate measurement of the antenna factor involves the use of calibration test sites characterized by very large sizes of both the ground plane and the empty space volume above it. As a consequence, these setup conditions make the antenna factor measurements quite expensive for the customer. In this paper, the authors discuss the well know antenna-based and site-based methods as well as recently measurement method called Antenna Impedance Method as able to obtain the free-space antenna factor. Moreover, the authors investigate on the suitability of semi-anechoic chamber for reliable antenna factor calibrations. In particular, the experimental measurements of the antenna factor obtained by using the antenna impedance method were compared with Standard Field Method and the data provided by the manufacturer of three antennas (Biconical, Log-periodic and Horn antenna) founding an agreement with the international standard ANSI C63.5-2006.
An Exploratory Investigation of the Relationship between Disengagement, Exhaustion and Turnover Intention among IT Professionals Employed at a University
Authors: Ford Valerie F. , Swayze Susan , Burley Diana L.
Published: August 2013

Employee turnover among information technology (IT) professionals continues to be a major issue for the IT field (Armstrong & Riemenschneider, 2011; Carayon, Schoepke, Hoonakker, Haims, & Brunette, 2006; Moore, 2000a; Rigas, 2009). One reason for turnover among IT professionals is burnout that may result in turnover (Armstrong & Riemenschneider, 2011; Kalimo & Toppinen, 1995; McGee, 1996; Moore, 2000a). Using the Job Demands-Resources Model of Burnout as a conceptual framework, this non-experimental survey research study quantifies the relationships between exhaustion, disengagement, and turnover intention among IT professionals employed at a university located in a major metropolitan area. The online survey consisted of two survey instruments—the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) that measures the burnout dimensions of exhaustion and disengagement and the Michigan Organizational Assessment Questionnaire Job Satisfaction Subscale (MOAQ-JSS) that measures turnover intention. Exhaustion and disengagement were both significantly related to the two-item turnover measure. A stepwise regression model including exhaustion and disengagement explained 53% of the variance in turnover intention. Disengagement contributed significantly to the prediction of turnover intention after considering exhaustion in the regression model suggesting a unique contribution of the variable to the prediction of turnover intention. These findings underscore the importance of examining each dimension of burnout separately when predicting turnover intention among IT professionals.
On The Potential Integration of an Ontology-Based Data Access Approach in NoSQL Stores
Authors: Curé Oliver , Kerdjoudj Fadhela , Faye David , Le Duc Chan , Lamolle Myriam
Published: August 2013

NoSQL stores are emerging as an efficient alternative to relational database management systems in the context of big data. Many actors in this domain consider that to gain a wider adoption, several extensions have to be integrated. Some of them focus on the ways of proposing more schemas, supporting adapted declarative query languages and providing integrity constraints in order to control data consistency and enhance data quality. The authors consider that these issues can be dealt with in the context of Ontology Based Data Access (OBDA). OBDA is a new data management paradigm that exploits the semantic knowledge represented in ontologies when querying data stored in a database. They provide a proof of concept of OBDA's ability to tackle these three issues in a social application related to the medical domain.
A Comparison of Opportunistic Connection Datasets
Authors: Vieira Pedro , Costa António , Macedo Joaquim
Published: August 2013

Opportunistic networking differs from conventional architectures in the lack of existing network infrastructure, which can cause intermittent connectivity or increased communication delay between nodes. From a message routing perspective, solving these problems require a different set of techniques than those used in more traditional network schemes. Forwarding algorithms in these scenarios aim to improve performance metrics such as message delivery ratio and message delay time, while trying to keep the number of message copies small. A common approach used for testing the performance of opportunistic protocols relies on existing opportunistic contact traces. These datasets are widely available on the Internet, and provide a convenient way of simulating realistic usage scenarios. As such, studying the contact patterns between nodes can lead to useful observations to take into account in future experiments. This paper presents the results of a study on four different datasets. First, the authors describe the main characteristics of each trace. Then, they propose a graphical representation of the contact behavior for each pair of nodes. Further analysis of the results in terms of connectivity distribution among nodes reveals that contacts follow a roughly lognormal distribution and that there is a small group of nodes in each set which is seemingly much more popular than the rest. Finally, the authors introduce a temporal analysis that was made over the duration of each collection experiment. It was noticeable that individual nodes have repetitive contact patterns over time, apart from some observed cyclic variation over time (namely on weekends). By modeling the data traces as time-varying graphs, a performance decrease was observed with the absence of the most popular nodes.
An Alternative Approach for Evaluating the Binormal ROC Curve
Authors: Amala R. , Vardhan R. Vishnu
Published: August 2013

In recent years the ROC curve analysis has got its attention in almost all diversified fields. Basing on the data pattern and its distribution various forms of ROC models have been derived. In this paper, the authors have assumed that the data of two populations (healthy and diseased) follows normal distribution, it is one of the most commonly used forms under parametric approach. The present paper focuses on providing an alternative approach for the tradeoff plot of ROC curve and the computation of AUC using a special function of sigmoid shape called Error function. It is assumed that the test scores of particular biomarker are normally distributed. The entire work has been carried out for providing a new approach for the construction of Binormal ROC curve, which makes use of Error function which can be called as ErROC curve. The summary measure AUC of the resulting ErROC curve has been estimated and defined as ErAUC. The authors have also focused on deriving the expression for obtaining the optimal cut-off point. The new ErROC curve model will provide the true positive rate value at each and every point of false positive rate unlike conventional Binormal ROC model.
Use of Mobile Device Apps in Product Design
Authors: Page Tom
Published: August 2013

This research provides an exploration into the influence of mobile apps and mobile devices on the design of products. It forms the initial part of a longitudinal study on the use smartphone applications in product design. The research provides a review of how mobile device design has changed as well as the usage of mobile devices. The primary data was collected by using a structured questionnaire targeted at different stakeholders such as sales, developers and users. The research reviewed the design of the mobile phone as the product in question. Findings show that mobile apps have had an influence on the design of products however; technology has driven this change, not apps themselves. The research contributes to the understanding of the relation between product design and usage of complementary products.
Numerical Modeling of Buried Pipe under Wheel Loads Using FLAC 3D
Authors: Niroumand Hamed , Kassim Khairul Anuar , Adhami Behnam
Published: August 2013

A steel pipe is buried at a shallow depth beneath a roadway. The behavior of steel pipe during wheel load was studied in this paper by FLAC 3D. An analysis is needed to evaluate the effect of wheel loading on the road surface deflection and pipe deformation. The top of the pipe is 1.5m beneath the road surface. The pipe has an outer diameter of 4m and is 0.12m thick. The pipe excavation is 15m wide and 6m depth. The steel pipe is placed on a 0.4m thick layer of soil backfill, and then soil is compacted around the steel pipe. The wheel load is increased during failure occurs in the soil. Soil backfill behavior has been considered with Mohr-Coulomb Model in analysis. The analysis defines the failure load and the resulting soil and pipe displacement.
Seismic Ground Response Analysis of Some Typical Sites of Guwahati City
Authors: Kumar Shiv Shankar , Krishna A. Murali
Published: August 2013

In this study, one dimensional equivalent–linear ground response analyses were performed for some typical sites in the Guwahati city, India. Six bore locations covering about 250 km2 area of the city were considered for the analyses. As the strong motion significantly influences the ground response, seven different recorded ground motions, varying in magnitude (6.1 to 8.1) and other ground motion parameters, were adopted. Seismic site analyses were carried out for all layers of borelogs using all the seven earthquakes. Results are presented in terms of surface acceleration histories, strain and shear stress ratio variation, response spectrum, Fourier amplitude ratio versus frequency. The results indicate that accelerations were amplified the most at the surface level. The range of peak ground acceleration (PGA) values obtained at the ground surface is about 0.2 g to 0.79 for a range of PGA considered at bedrock level (rigid half space at bottom of borelog) of 0.1 g to 0.34 g. The Fourier amplifications of ground motion at surface are in the range of 4.14 – 8.99 for a frequency band of 1.75 Hz to 3.13 Hz. The maximum spectral acceleration at six locations varies in the range of 1.0 g – 4.71 g for all the seven earthquakes. The study clearly demonstrated the role for site effect and the type of ground motion on the ground response. For a given earthquake motion, amplification factors at surface level change by almost about 20% to 70% depending on local site conditions.
Predicting Diabetes amongst Native American Elders
Authors: Upadhyaya S. , Farahmand K. , Baker-Demaray T.
Published: August 2013

One in three Americans will be diabetic by 2050, and the rate of diabetes is disproportionately high among Native Americans, especially among Native elders age 55 and older. Early identification and prevention strategies have been regarded as the cornerstone of preventative medicine. The objective of the authors’ research was to identify factors related to diabetes and their interactions specifically among Native elders and develop a simple prediction model which can be used by healthcare professionals while interacting with Native elders in remote or rural areas. Data from a survey of 18,078 Native American elders was used in their study. After eliminating outliers using Pearson’s residuals and Cook’s distance, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.7812 for men and 0.7230 for women. The results from the authors’ analysis provide additional perspective on how diabetes affects Native elders thus helping healthcare providers and policy makers when dealing with these community members.
Impact and Interaction of Determinants on Innovation as a Competence
Authors: Waychal Pradeep , Mohanty R.P.
Published: August 2013

This paper posits that “innovation as a competence” depends on individuals and consists of appraisable competencies such as: visioning, ability to generate ideas, internal and external networking, ownership to the organization, stretch mindset, focus on tasks and decision making. Further, these competencies are associated with gender, age and reading scores of an individual and have interaction effect on each other. An empirical model to analyze the impact of the determinants on innovation as a competence and their interactions is constructed and the analysis suggests significant differentiating determinants and fair degree of interaction amongst some of them. The empirical study has been carried out in a midsize Indian information technology company. The findings may facilitate human resource development in information technology organizations, where innovations are considered to be the hallmark for long term growth and sustenance.
A State-Based Intention Driven Declarative Process Model
Authors: Soffer Pnina
Published: August 2013

Declarative process models support process flexibility, whose importance has been widely recognized, particularly for organizations that face frequent changes and variable stimuli from their environment. However, the currently dominant declarative approaches lack expressiveness for addressing the process context (namely, environment effects) and leading its execution towards a goal. This paper proposes a declarative model which addresses activities as well as states, external events, and goals. The model is based on the Generic Process Model (GPM), extended by a notion of activity, which includes a state change aspect and an intentional aspect. The achievement of the intention of an activity may depend on events in the environment and is hence not certain. The paper provides a formalization of the model and describes an execution mechanism. It emphasizes the usefulness of specifying the intentional aspect of activities, by using it as a basis for semantic validation of the model at design time and for a planning module that can guide execution at runtime. These are illustrated by an example from the medical domain.
Process Evolution in a Distributed Process Execution Environment
Authors: Hens Pieter , Snoeck Monique , Poels Geert , De Backer Manu
Published: August 2013

To allow the distribution of control and visibility of cross-organizational process models and increase availability and performance of the processes, a process model can be fragmented into logically different parts and distributed in the enterprise architecture. Fragmentation algorithms and execution environments which connect the fragmented process model parts together, recreating the original process execution semantics, have been proposed in earlier work. However, a critical challenge that is left open is the ability of the distributed process execution environment to respond effectively to process changes. In this paper, the authors describe the difficulties, advantages and issues of process model change support in a fragmented and distributed environment. Moreover, the authors propose a system which tackles the identified issues and allows the propagation and coordination of process changes at runtime in the distributed process execution architecture.
E-CARe
Authors: Ben Cheikh Ansem , Front Agnès , Giraudin Jean-Pierre , Coulondre Stéphane
Published: August 2013

Ubiquity in Information Systems (ISs) is a new requirement widely expressed by customers and users due to emerging and evolving communication and mobile technologies. Each IS should support a set of mobile applications used either to interact smartly with the changing environment, to provide adaptive services to customers or both. Designing ISs with highly technological risks requires a precise and appropriate development process. However, such processes fail to consider ubiquitous requirements throughout the development process. This paper tries to solve this issue by proposing a process for identifying and modeling ubiquitous requirements that can be integrated into an existing IS engineering process. This process, called E-CARe, focuses on adapting to the surrounding context; this requires detailed specification and analysis work by a context designer. E-CARe uses an event-driven logic, as dynamicity and reactivity are the major properties required from ubiquitous applications. A Model-Driven Engineering (MDE) approach is used to automate specification work. In order to test the process, a case study from the intelligent transport domain is applied as an illustration.
Meta Heuristic Approach for Automatic Forecasting Model Selection
Authors: Babu Shoban , Shah Mitul
Published: August 2013

Selection of appropriate forecasting models with their optimized parameters for a given business scenario is a challenging task and requires reasonable expert knowledge and experience. The problem of selecting the best forecasting model becomes computationally complex when the business needs forecasts on thousands of time series at a given time period. Many a times business users are interested in adapting the best parameter settings of proven forecasting models of the past and use them for further predictions. This approach facilitates the users to identify the forecasting model with a parameter value which minimizes the average of forecast errors across all the time series. This paper proposes a genetic algorithm based solution approach which simultaneously suggests the suitable forecasting model and its best parameter(s) value which minimizes the average mean absolute percentage error of all the time series. This approach is tested on randomly generated data sets and the results are compared with few randomly selected samples. For a fair comparison the samples are tested in SAS 9.1 and the results are compared with sample results which used GA suggested forecasting model and parameter values.
Universal Access to Health Services Through the Digital Terrestrial Television
Authors: Dragoni Aldo Franco
Published: August 2013

The Western World has almost completed the transition toward the Digital Television (DTV), and in particular toward the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT). In every home there is at least one decoder for the DTT. Some of them have a modem, to connect to a telephonic return line, and a Smart Card reader, both required by the “Pay TV” channels. Since those readers are compatible with the Governmental Smart Cards, a new access for the masses to secure and confidential digital services is nowadays available in our Information Society. “T-Government” defines the set of services provided by Governments or private entities via DTT. “Multimedia Home Platform” is the standard for DTT applications. A Local Health will be no more justified for offering services only through the Web disregarding both the broadcast and the return channels of the DTT since by doing so it would contribute to deepen the “digital divide” between skilled (young) people and unskilled (elder) people. The author defines a scenario for providing such T-Health Services both for patients (T-monitoring health parameters) and healthy citizens. These latter will have a bunch of services over DTT, not only informative or interactive applications on the Set top Box, but also transactional services through the secure return channel. However, much effort has to be spent to guarantee the usability of that new interface which is quite different from that of a Web application. The author designed, tested and redesigned a suite of DTT applications as a “proof of concept” to show the potential of this new platform for health information services. DTT may represent a real contribution to bring social healthcare and wellness.
Over-Fitting and Error Detection for Online Role Mining
Authors: Chu Victor W. , Wong Raymond K. , Chi Chi-Hung
Published: August 2013

Recent research has attempted to use role-based approaches to recommend mobile services to other members among the same group in a context dependent manner. However, the traditional role mining approaches originated from the domain of security control tend to be rigid and may not be able to capture human behaviors adequately. In particular, during the course of role mining process, these approaches easily result in over-fitting, i.e., too many roles with slightly different service consumption patterns are found. As a result, they fail to reveal the true common preferences within the user community. This paper proposes an online role mining algorithm with a residual term and an error term, that automatically group users according to their interests and habits without losing sight of their individual preferences and random errors. Moreover, to resolve the over-fitting problem, the authors relax the role definition in role mining mechanism by introducing quasi-roles based on the concept of quasi-bicliques. Most importantly, the new concept allows us to propose a monitoring framework to detect and correct over-fitting in online role mining such that recommendations can be made based on the latest and genuine common preferences. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a new area in service recommendation that is yet to be fully explored.
Generic and Specific Compatibility Criteria for Web Service Composition
Authors: Klai Kais , Tata Samir , Ochi Hanen
Published: August 2013

For automatically composing Web services in a correct manner, information about their behaviors (an abstract model) has to be published in a repository. This abstract model must be sufficient to decide whether two, or more, services are compatible (the composition is possible) is possible without including any additional information that can be used to disclose the privacy of these services. The compatibility between two Web services can be based either on some generic properties (e.g. deadlock freeness of the composite Web service) or on a specific property expressed with a formal logic. In this paper, the authors address this problem by considering these two kinds of compatibility criteria. The first criterion is defined by different variants of the well-known soundness property on open workflow nets. These properties guarantee the absence of livelocks, deadlocks and other anomalies that can be formulated without domain knowledge. The second criterion is defined by the designer formally by using the Linear Temporal Logic. The proposed approach addresses the automatic abstraction of Web services and the checking of their compatibility using their abstract models only. To abstract Web services, the authors use the symbolic observation graph (SOG) approach that preserves necessary information for service composition and hides private information. The authors show how the SOG can be adapted and used so that the verification of generic and specific compatibility criteria can be performed on the composition of the abstract models of Web services instead of the original composite service.