cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Turn-Taking and Affirmative Cue Words in Task-Oriented Dialogue
Creators: name: Gravano, Agustin
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2009
Subjects: Computer science

description: As interactive voice response systems spread at a rapid pace, providing an increasingly more complex functionality, it is becoming clear that the challenges of such systems are not solely associated to their synthesis and recognition capabilities. Rather, issues such as the coordination of turn exchanges between system and user, or the correct generation and understanding of words that may convey multiple meanings, appear to play an important role in system usability. This thesis explores those two issues in the Columbia Games Corpus, a collection of spontaneous task-oriented dialogues in Standard American English. We provide evidence of the existence of seven turn-yielding cues -- prosodic, acoustic and syntactic events strongly associated with conversational turn endings -- and show that the likelihood of a turn-taking attempt from the interlocutor increases linearly with the number of cues conjointly displayed by the speaker. We present similar results related to six backchannel-inviting cues -- events that invite the interlocutor to produce a short utterance conveying continued attention. Additionally, we describe a series of studies of affirmative cue words -- a family of cue words such as 'okay' or 'alright' that speakers use frequently in conversation for several purposes: for acknowledging what the interlocutor has said, or for cueing the start of a new topic, among others. We find differences in the acoustic/prosodic realization of such functions, but observe that contextual information figures prominently in human disambiguation of these words. We also conduct machine learning experiments to explore the automatic classification of affirmative cue words. Finally, we examine a novel measure of speaker entrainment related to the usage of these words, showing its association with task success and dialogue coordination.
Is foreign direct investment a channel of knowledge spillovers? Evidence from Japan's FDI in the U.S.
Creators: name: Branstetter, Lee
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2000
Subjects: Economics
Commerce

description: Recent empirical work has examined the extent to which international trade fosters international "spillovers" of technological information. FDI is an alternate, potentially equally important channel for the mediation of such knowledge spillovers. I introduce a framework for measuring international knowledge spillovers at the firm level, and I use this framework to directly test the hypothesis that FDI is a channel of knowledge spillovers for Japanese multinationals undertaking direct investments in the United States. Using an original firm-level data set on Japanese firms' FDI and innovative activity, I find evidence that FDI increases the flow of knowledge spillovers both from and to the investing Japanese firms.
Equation of state modeling of phase behaviour of bitumen/co2/propane mixtures
Creators: name: Modaresghazani, Jafar
Publisher: name: University of Calgary
Year: 2009

description: Bibliography: p. 98-104
description: Among the various methods for modelling the phase behaviour of crude oils, the equation of state (EoS) approach is the most commonly used. To employ an EoS, the critical properties, acentric factor, molecular weight, and binary interaction parameters of the constituent components are required to characterize the fluid. For conventional oils, techniques such as distillation can be used to generate a true boiling point (TBP) curve which can be cut into pseudo-components. However, with heavy oils, less than 50% of the oil cannot be distilled and some extrapolation methods are required to complete the TBP. The objective of this thesis is to test different extrapolation techniques against a relatively comprehensive data set. The data set included vapour-liquid (VL), liquid-liquid (LL), and vapour-liquid-liquid (VLL) phase boundaries for mixtures of propane, carbon dioxide and Athabasca bitumen. Some data on phase volumes and compositions were also collected. Asphaltene precipitation data were also available for n-heptane diluted Athabasca bitumen. Simulated distillation data for the maltenes were used to characterize the distillable fraction of the bitumen. The non-distillable fraction was characterized using two different methods: I. Model A: the distillation data for maltenes was linearly extrapolated to an assumed end point; 2. Model B: the linear extrapolation was stopped at the end of the maltene and the asphaltene TBP were determined based on a Gamma distribution of their assumed molar mass distribution and well-established property estimation correlations. Each characterization, including critical properties determined from correlations, was input into the Peng-Robinson EoS. The binary interaction parameters between the solvent and each bitumen pseudo-component were adjusted to fit experimental saturation pressure data using a regression program. The sensitivity of the model to the assumed TBP end point and assumed molar mass distribution was examined to determine the optimum characterization. The sensitivity to the number of pseudocomponents in the characterization was also assessed. Both models provided good fits of the saturation pressures at the L/VL and LL/VLL boundaries. Both models were able to provide a qualitatively accurate prediction of the extended phase diagrams of the binary mixtures of propane/bitumen and carbon dioxide/bitumen including L, LL, VLL, and VL regions. However, only Model B correctly predicted the LL and VLL regions of the ternary mixtures of propane, carbon dioxide, and bitumen. While both models could be tuned to match the onset of asphaltene precipitation from n-heptane diluted bitumen, they significantly underestimated the yield at high dilutions.
A Note on the (Mis)Use of National Accounts for Estimation of Household Final Consumption Expenditures for Poverty Measures
Creators: name: Havinga, Ivo
name: Kamanou, Gisele
name: Vu, Viet
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2009
Subjects: Economics

description: This chapter addresses the question whether the national accounts concept of final household consumption (expenditures) can be used to supplement household survey data for the purpose of poverty measures. We reinforce some of the views expressed by many authors quoted in this note, that the national accounts estimate of household final consumption, as used in the current procedures to estimate poverty, is not appropriate. We also try to clarify some misconceptions of the national accounts procedures and methods of estimation of final household consumption, and suggest ways for supplementing household surveys with individual consumption of government and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs) and other components from national accounts not generally captured through household surveys1. Likewise, some suggestions are made to guide future work on the harmonisation of household income and expenditure surveys for their use in national accounts compilations and poverty measures.
Nonequilibrium Zaklan model on Apollonian Networks
Creators: name: Lima, F. W. S.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The Zaklan model had been proposed and studied recently using the equilibrium Ising model on Square Lattices (SL) by Zaklan et al (2008), near the critica temperature of the Ising model presenting a well-defined phase transition; but on normal and modified Apollonian networks (ANs), Andrade et al. (2005, 2009) studied the equilibrium Ising model. They showed the equilibrium Ising model not to present on ANs a phase transition of the type for the 2D Ising model. Here, using agent-based Monte-Carlo simulations, we study the Zaklan model with the well-known majority-vote model (MVM) with noise and apply it to tax evasion on ANs, to show that differently from the Ising model the MVM on ANs presents a well defined phase transition. To control the tax evasion in the economics model proposed by Zaklan et al, MVM is applied in the neighborhood of the critical noise $q_{c}$ to the Zaklan model. Here we show that the Zaklan model is robust because this can be studied besides using equilibrium dynamics of Ising model also through the nonequilibrium MVM and on various topologies giving the same behavior regardless of dynamic or topology used here.
description: 11 pages, 6 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1204.0386 and arXiv:0910.1964
Magnetic field and convection in the cool supergiant Betelgeuse
Creators: name: Petit, P.
name: Aurière, M.
name: Konstantinova-Antova, R.
name: Morgenthaler, A.
name: Perrin, G.
name: Roudier, T.
name: Donati, J. -F.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We present the outcome of a highly-sensitive search for magnetic fields on the cool supergiant Betelgeuse. A time-series of six circularly-polarized spectra was obtained using the NARVAL spectropolarimeter at Télescope Bernard Lyot (Pic du Midi Observatory), between 2010 March and April. Zeeman signatures were repeatedly detected in cross-correlation profiles, corresponding to a longitudinal component of about 1 G. The time-series unveils a smooth increase of the longitudinal field from 0.5 to 1.5 G, correlated with radial velocity fluctuations. We observe a strong asymmetry of Stokes V signatures, also varying in correlation with the radial velocity. The Stokes V line profiles are red-shifted by about 9 km/s with respect to the Stokes I profiles, suggesting that the observed magnetic elements may be concentrated in the sinking components of the convective flows.
description: Submitted to Lecture Notes in Physics (CNRS astronomy school : "From solar environment to stellar environment")
Open Economies and Patterns of Trade
Creators: name: Ocampo, Jose A.
name: Rada, Codrina
name: Taylor, Lance
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2009
Subjects: Economics

description: This chapter takes up the relationship between foreign trade and growth in developing countries in the latter part of the twentieth century. Regional diversity was again the rule, with changing patterns of trade accompanying structural transformation. Fast-growing regions generally recorded increases in shares of manufactured exports with mid and high technological content, the most impressive being the Tigers and, in its speed of transformation, China. Recently in some countries, economic growth has been associated with specialization in dynamic services such as information and communications technologies, with India standing out in this regard. In the slow-growing regions on the other hand, trade diversification and technological upgrading were far less evident. The slow growers were also subject to terms-of-trade and other external shocks.
Macroeconomic Policy Choices
Creators: name: Ocampo, Jose A.
name: Rada, Codrina
name: Taylor, Lance
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2009
Subjects: Economics

description: What options do the economic authorities in developing economies have for policy formation, at the macro and sectoral levels? Limits on policy maneuverability vary greatly across economies. In this chapter, we try to sort out the possibilities regarding macroeconomic regulation and then take up growth and sectoral policy in Chapter 8. We start by looking at how private and government net borrowing flows and current account balances interact in the short to medium run. Some algebraic back-up is provided in Appendix 7.1, which deals with gap models, relationships between flow and stock variables, and theories of the exchange rate. Macroeconomic policy packages appropriate to combinations of financial stages and binding gaps are reviewed. The discussion then turns to capital management techniques, including controlling international flows and regulating domestic financial markets, and central issues of financial development. The chapter closes with considerations regarding
Women's higher education in Japan: Family background, economic factors, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Law
Creators: name: Edwards, Linda N.
name: Pasquale, Margaret
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2002
Subjects: Economics
Commerce

description: Since the mid-1980s there has been a striking increase in the propensity of young Japanese women to attend four-year universities. During this same period, the Japanese Diet, in 1985, passed the Equal Employment Opportunity Law, which focused on improving women's access to career employment. This paper uses micro data from the Japanese Panel Survey on Consumers (JPSC) to investigate the importance of socioeconomic and demographic factors, as well as the EEO Law, in determining the higher education decisions of young women in Japan. We find that one of the most important factors for determining whether or not a young woman attends university is whether or not her mother attended university. Other important factors we identify include whether or not her father attended university, whether or not the young woman attended juku in high school, family income, and attendance at private secondary school. Data limitations prevent drawing strong conclusions about the role of the passage of the EEO Law, but our results suggest that the passage of the law was associated with an increase in the propensity of young women to choose university over junior college.
Stability and change in embedded relationships: Broken ties in Japanese automotive keiretsu
Creators: name: Ahmadjian, Christina L.
name: Robbins, Gregory E.
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2005
Subjects: Commerce

description: This study examines how destabilizing pressures interact with embedded exchange relationships in an analysis of broken ties between Japanese auto manufacturers and their suppliers. While functional, political and social pressures all led to broken ties, their effect differed depending on the nature of the tie. We define two types of embeddedness, relational and normative, and argue that while political and social pressures lead to breakage of normatively embedded ties, relationally embedded ties are robust to these pressures. In contrast, functional pressures, specifically, performance, lead to breakage of relationally embedded ties. Our theory and empirical findings have implications for the study of networks and embeddedness and for research on institutional change in business systems.
The Yen and Japan's Economy, 1985-2007
Creators: name: Obstfeld, Maurice
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2009
Subjects: Commerce

description: In the late 1980s, Japan’s economy embarked on a period of rapid escalation in the prices of shares and real estate. This “bubble economy” was followed by a collapse in asset prices, a reduced pace of real economic growth, banking problems, and deflation. Nearly two decades after the demise of the bubble economy, the prognosis for Japanese growth remains uncertain amid a turbulent global economic outlook. Japan’s experience carries lessons for those hoping to understand and contain the current financial crisis originating in the United States housing market.
Metamorphic Runtime Checking of Non-Testable Programs
Creators: name: Murphy, Christian
name: Kaiser, Gail E.
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2009
Subjects: Computer science

description: Challenges arise in assuring the quality of applications that do not have test oracles, i.e., for which it is impossible to know what the correct output should be for arbitrary input. Metamorphic testing has been shown to be a simple yet effective technique in addressing the quality assurance of these "non-testable programs". In metamorphic testing, if test input x produces output f(x), specified "metamorphic properties" are used to create a transformation function t, which can be applied to the input to produce t(x); this transformation then allows the output f(t(x)) to be predicted based on the already-known value of f(x). If the output is not as expected, then a defect must exist. Previously we investigated the effectiveness of testing based on metamorphic properties of the entire application. Here, we improve upon that work by presenting a new technique called Metamorphic Runtime Checking, a testing approach that automatically conducts metamorphic testing of individual functions during the program's execution. We also describe an implementation framework called Columbus, and discuss the results of empirical studies that demonstrate that checking the metamorphic properties of individual functions increases the effectiveness of the approach in detecting defects, with minimal performance impact.
Hearing the spivakian subaltern speak in the works of Kamila Shamsie
Creators: name: Mader, Allison
Publisher: name: University of Calgary
Year: 2009

description: Bibliography: p. 147-150
description: This project examines the role of the Spivakian subaltern within the works of Kamila Shamsie and argues that in writing strategies of resistance that include but do not speak for subaltern women, Shams1e utilizes a fictional environment to illuminate potential methods of bridging the gap between privileged and subaltern communities. My purpose is not to disprove or discredit Spivak's theories; rather, my objective is to identify and examine closely where her theory comes from, how she has shaped it, and, most importantly, where we might take it. It is important not only to locate Spivak's work among that of other influential and foundational postcolonial theorists-particularly Frantz Fanon, Edward Said, and Homi K. Bhabha-but it is also useful to continue to probe Spivak's own theory of the subaltern, which has, in a way, become itself canonized. In my thesis, I examine Spivak's concept of the subaltern and how it has both evolved and stagnated over time. Ultimately, I argue that in order to remain relevant and useful, subaltern theory must tum to recent works of creative fiction and the resistant strategies posed therein. In my thesis, I use three of Kamila Shamsie' s texts-In the City by the Sea, Salt and Saffron, and Kartography to illustrate how, with careful attention to Spivak' s theoretical concept, as well as economics and global politics, creative fiction can be read to find useful and effective strategies of resistance.
Exchange rate fluctuations, financing constraints, hedging, and exports: Evidence from firm level data
Creators: name: Ryoo, Heajin
name: Dekle, Robert
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2002
Subjects: Economics
Commerce

description: An important puzzle in international macroeconomics is the exchange rate disconnect puzzle. Nominal exchange rates seem to be unrelated to other macroeconomic variables, for example, export quantities. This paper uses Japanese firm level data to examine whether exchange rate fluctuations are strongly related to the export quantities of firms. We build a simultaneous nonlinear structural model with external financing costs, and estimate the model on 14 separate Japanese 4 digit level industries. We find that export volumes at the firm level are significantly affected by exchange rate fluctuations. We find higher elasticit ies of exports with respect to exchange rates than in previous work. Our results cast some doubt on the prevailing wisdom that exchange rates have no effect on trade. Finally, we find in our data that financing constraints play an important role in affecting the sensitivity of exports to exchange rate fluctuations. Firms that are less financially constrained-for example, keiretsu firms-tend to have lower exchange rate elasticities, which is consistent with our model.
Synthetic reverberating activity patterns embedded in networks of cortical neurons
Creators: name: Vardi, Roni
name: Wallach, Avner
name: Kopelowitz, Evi
name: Abeles, Moshe
name: Marom, Shimon
name: Kanter, Ido
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Neurons and Cognition (q-bio.NC)
subject: Chaotic Dynamics (nlin.CD)
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Synthetic reverberating activity patterns are experimentally generated by stimulation of a subset of neurons embedded in a spontaneously active network of cortical cells in-vitro. The neurons are artificially connected by means of conditional stimulation matrix, forming a synthetic local circuit with a predefined programmable connectivity and time-delays. Possible uses of this experimental design are demonstrated, analyzing the sensitivity of these deterministic activity patterns to transmission delays and to the nature of ongoing network dynamics.
description: 8 pages, 5 figures
ICOM Palmyra-Talk at the ICOM General Conference (Kyoto, Japan, 2019)
Creators: name: Rindi Nuzzolo, Carlo
Publisher: name: Monash University
Year: 2019
Subjects: subject: 210108 Historical Archaeology (incl. Industrial Archaeology)
subject: FOS: History and archaeology
subject: 210102 Archaeological Science
subject: 210199 Archaeology not elsewhere classified
subject: 219999 History and Archaeology not elsewhere classified
subject: 210105 Archaeology of Europe, the Mediterranean and the Levant
subject: Archaeology
subject: 200299 Cultural Studies not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Other humanities
subject: 210202 Heritage and Cultural Conservation
subject: FOS: Media and communications
subject: Digital Humanities
subject: History
subject: 210204 Museum Studies
subject: Uncategorized
subject: 130205 Humanities and Social Sciences Curriculum and Pedagogy (excl. Economics, Business and Management)
subject: FOS: Educational sciences
subject: 89999 Information and Computing Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences
subject: 169999 Studies in Human Society not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: 180116 International Law (excl. International Trade Law)
subject: FOS: Law
subject: 180110 Criminal Law and Procedure
subject: 189999 Law and Legal Studies not elsewhere classified
subject: 180119 Law and Society

description: Keynote Speech at the ICOM Palmyra-Talk, ICOM General Conference, Museums as Cultural Hubs: The Future of Tradition
Wednesday, September 4, 2019 13:30 – 14:30, ICC - Kyoto International Conference Center, Room „Sakura”.
The ICOM Palmyra Talks are a series of events organized by ICOM Austria to raise public awareness on the importance of protecting archaeological sites, fighting against illicit trafficking and trading of cultural objects to save our common heritage. The special ICOM Palmyra Talk on the occasion of the ICOM General Conference in Kyoto presents a groundbreaking new online-platform initiated by the British Museum to detect and recover looted artefacts.
Lecture: “Circulating Artefacts: An online platform against the looting and sale of illicit antiquities”
Dr. Carlo Rindi Nuzzolo, Lead Curator: Circulating Artefacts, Department of Egypt and Sudan, The British Museum
The “Circulating Artefacts Project” is a key initiative of the British Museum against the looting and trafficking of illicit antiquities. Heritage professionals, collectors, art dealers, law enforcement agencies and anyone else can have antiquities appraised for possible signs of illicit provenance, enabling the detection and recovery of countless looted artefacts that would otherwise go unnoticed. Within a year of the project’s inception, over 50.000 antiquities have been identified and tracked.

http://icom-oesterreich.at/kalender/icom-palmyra-talk-icom-gc-kyoto
Main elasmobranch bycatch species reported by fishing method and vessel class
Creators: name: Puentes, Vladimir
name: Barragán-Barrera, Dalia C.
name: Bohrer Do Amaral, Karina
name: Escobar, Fabian D.
name: Zapata, Luis A.
name: Zambrano, Emiliano
name: Barreto, Carlos G.
name: Tavera, José
name: Polo, Carlos J.
name: Altamar, Jairo
name: Moreno, Angelica S.
name: Benavides, Ivan F.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Bycatch
Elasmobranch
Purse seine fishery
Colombian Pacific Ocean

description: Purse seine elasmobranch bycatch species by fishing method and vessel class in the Colombian Pacific Ocean
Standard/school English as a second dialect : perspectives from four British Columbia school districts
Creators: name: Campbell, Heather Louise
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2011

description: Children of First Nations, Métis and Inuit heritage who speak a dialect of English that differs from the standard language of instruction in school may encounter communication and academic challenges (Ball, 2007). “Standard English as a Second Dialect” programs (SESD) have been developed in part to respond to these challenges. Recent research by Battisti, Friesen and Krauth (2009) has shown that supplementary funding for SESD under the ESL policy framework has had positive effects on the reading scores of Aboriginal children, but the specific programs and services that are contributing to this improvement are unknown. This qualitative study investigated current practices regarding SESD assessment and implementation of SESD programs in four British Columbia school districts (both rural and urban). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with several speech-language pathologists (SLPs), resource teachers and other educators or administrators who were involved in their district’s SESD programs. These data were interpreted using a method called constant comparative analysis to identify key themes within a qualitative research paradigm. Perspectives of the participants were that the current Ministry of Education policy and guidelines are unclear. Individual participants have interpreted the guidelines differently leading to very different SESD programs in the districts consulted for this study. Approaches to SESD service delivery mentioned by participants ranged from teaching code-switching to highlighting relationships with students, parents and elders. Participant comments revealed that they have considerable knowledge regarding the essential aspects of ESD service delivery and how the link between language, culture and identity affects their ESD programming and goals. However, there also appears to be a strong need for more research on First Nations English dialects and their impact on education and education practices.
Evania appendigaster
Creators: name: Madl, Michael
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Evaniidae
Evania
Evania appendigaster

description: Evania appendigaster (LINNAEUS, 1758)
Evania appendigaster (LINNAEUS, 1758): BENOIT 1950: 267 (Djibouti, Obock).
Evania appendigaster (LINNAEUS, 1758): DEANS 2005: 27 (world cat.).
D i s t r i b u t i o n: Djibouti, Obock.
Evania appendigaster, which is known from all zoogeographical regions, is a synantropic species parasitizing the American cockroach Periplaneta americana (LINNAEUS, 1758) (Blattodea: Blattidae).
description: Published as part of Madl, Michael, 2018, A preliminary catalogue of the Hymenoptera (Insecta) of the Republic of Djibouti, pp. 907-967 in Linzer biologische Beiträge 50 (2) on pages 908-909, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3776452
The influence of stream-derived detritus subsidies on lake benthic community composition and trophic interactions
Creators: name: Klemmer, Amanda Jeanne
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2011

description: Cross-ecosystem subsidies are important for the structure and functioning of communities within many ecosystems. Increases in subsidies have been modeled to increase trophic cascade strength within recipient systems, because of the donor-controlled addition of a resource. Streams receive high inputs of detrital subsidies and what is not processed within the system is transported downstream. Therefore, streams that flow into lakes have the potential to provide large amounts of detritus to lakes compared to the transfer of detritus from forested lake edges. I hypothesized that streams would increase detritus standing stocks around stream mouths in lakes, that streams would affect the benthic invertebrate community composition, and that those effects would change with distance from the lake shore. To test this I conducted a survey of detritus standing stocks and benthic invertebrate communities at six stream/lake interface and six forest/lake interface sites within two lakes. I found that streams and distance into lakes affected detritus standing stocks, but the effect was only seen when individual pairings of stream and forest sites were examined. I also found that headwater streams significantly altered invertebrate community composition in the lake littoral zone, even up to a distance of 27 meters into the lakes, with some taxa only found at stream/lake interfaces. These results suggest that streams alter the amount of basal resources through subsidies and contribute to whole lake biodiversity. My second hypothesis was that increased detritus in lakes would increase trophic cascade strength. To test this hypothesis, I conducted an in-lake cage experiment in which I manipulated detritus standing stocks (5 densities) and presence of a top-predator (trout). I found that increasing subsidies altered strength of trophic cascades. But unexpectedly, low detritus treatments experienced the strongest positive effect on algal biomass. At intermediate detritus levels there was a switch in the indirect effects of predators, and at the highest detritus densities predators had a negative indirect effect on algal biomass. These results provide evidence that along a gradient of detritus subsidies, trophic cascade strength experiences threshold responses in where predators may have strong, but opposite indirect effects on primary production.
Changing Japanese corporate governance
Creators: name: Ahmadjian, Christina L.
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2001
Subjects: Economics
Commerce

description: This paper examines the rhetoric and reality of corporate governance reform in post-bubble Japan. I argue that the process of corporate governance reform in Japan is neither one of convergence to a "global standard" nor one of inertia, and rather reflects the theme of permeable insulation taken up by other contributors to this volume. Japanese firms are increasingly adopting practices long associated with U.S. corporate governance: small boards, independent directors, and stock options. While these changes have attracted much publicity, they signify relatively little for corporate governance. Boards remain insider-dominated, and the authority of boards of directors vis a vis the CEO has been unchanged. Despite the spread of stock options, executive compensation is only minimally tied to the stock market, and disclosure of executive pay remains far from transparent.
Realizing a variable isotropic depolarizer
Creators: name: Shaham, A.
name: Eisenberg, H. S.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We demonstrate an isotropic depolarizing channel with a controllable degree of depolarization. The depolarizer is composed of four birefringent crystals and half-wave plates. Quantum process tomography results of the depolarization effect on single photons agree well with the theoretical prediction. This depolarizer can be used to test quantum communication protocols with photons.
description: 4 pages, 4 figures
Errors in estimated gestational ages reduce the likelihood of health facility deliveries: results from an observational cohort study in Zanzibar
Creators: name: Abdalla, Omar
name: Hedt, Kaya
name: Hedt-Gauthier, Bethany
name: Tibaijuka, Jalia
name: Mitchell, Marc
name: Layer, Erica
name: Hofmann, Rachel
name: Marealle, Stella
name: Fulcher, Isabel
Publisher: name: Springer Nature
Year: 2020

description:
Background Most maternal health programs in low- and middle- income countries estimate gestational age to provide appropriate antenatal care at the correct times throughout the pregnancy. Although various gestational dating methods have been validated in research studies, the performance of these methods has not been evaluated on a larger scale, such as within health systems. The objective of this research was to investigate the magnitude and impact of errors in estimated delivery dates on health facility delivery among women enrolled in a maternal health program in Zanzibar. Methods This study included 4225 women who were enrolled in the Safer Deliveries program and delivered before May 31, 2017. The exposure of interest was error in estimated delivery date categorized as: severe overestimate, when estimated delivery date (EDD) was 36 days or more after the actual delivery date (ADD); moderate overestimate, when EDD was 15 to 35 days after ADD; accurate, when EDD was 6 days before to 14 days after ADD; and underestimate, when EDD was 7 days or more before ADD. We used Chi-squared tests to identify factors associated with errors in estimated delivery dates. We performed logistic regression to assess the impact of errors in estimated delivery dates on health facility delivery adjusting for age, district of residence, HIV status, and occurrence of past home delivery. Results In our data, 28% of the estimated delivery dates were a severe overestimate, 23% moderate overestimate, 41% accurate, and 8% underestimate. Compared to women with an accurate delivery date, women with a moderate or severe overestimate were significantly less likely to deliver in a health facility (OR = 0.71, 95% CI: [0.59, 0.86]; OR = 0.74, 95% CI: [0.61, 0.91]). When adjusting for multiple confounders, women with moderate overestimates were significantly less likely to deliver in a health facility (AOR = 0.76, 95% CI: [0.61, 0.93]); the result moved slightly towards null for women with severe overestimates (AOR = 0.84, 95% CI: [0.69, 1.03]). Conclusions The overestimation of women’s EDDs reduces the likelihood of health facility delivery. To address this, maternal health programs should improve estimation of EDD or attempt to curb the effect of these errors within their programs.
Observational test of inflation in loop quantum cosmology
Creators: name: Bojowald, Martin
name: Calcagni, Gianluca
name: Tsujikawa, Shinji
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study in detail the power spectra of scalar and tensor perturbations generated during inflation in loop quantum cosmology (LQC). After clarifying in a novel quantitative way how inverse-volume corrections arise in inhomogeneous settings, we show that they can generate large running spectral indices, which generally lead to an enhancement of power at large scales. We provide explicit formulae for the scalar/tensor power spectra under the slow-roll approximation, by taking into account corrections of order higher than the runnings. Via a standard analysis, we place observational bounds on the inverse-volume quantum correction δ~ a^{- σ} (σ>0, $a$ is the scale factor) and the slow-roll parameter ε_V for power-law potentials as well as exponential potentials by using the data of WMAP 7yr combined with other observations. We derive the constraints on δfor two pivot wavenumbers k_0 for several values of δ. The quadratic potential can be compatible with the data even in the presence of the LQC corrections, but the quartic potential is in tension with observations. We also find that the upper bounds on δ(k_0) for given σand k_0 are insensitive to the choice of the inflaton potentials.
description: 1+37 pages, 6 figures, 1 table. v2: minor improvements in the text, references added
Instability of the origami of a ferrofluid drop in a magnetic field
Creators: name: Jamin, Timothée
name: Py, Charlotte
name: Falcon, Eric
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Fluid Dynamics (physics.flu-dyn)
subject: Classical Physics (physics.class-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Capillary origami is the wrapping of an usual fluid drop by a planar elastic membrane due to the interplay between capillary and elastic forces. Here, we use a drop of magnetic fluid whose shape is known to strongly depend on an applied magnetic field. We study the quasi-static and dynamical behaviors of such a magnetic capillary origami. We report the observation of an overturning instability that the origami undergoes at a critical magnetic field. This instability is triggered by an interplay between magnetic and gravitational energies in agreement with the theory presented here. Additional effects of elasticity and capillarity on this instability are also discussed.
description: in press in PRL (2011)
title: Using Pavlovian Sign-Tracking to Increase Self-Control in Rats
Creators: name: Mahmoudi, Saba
Publisher: name: Utah State University
Year: 2023

description: Impulsivity is correlated with various maladaptive behaviors (e.g., gambling and substance-used disorders), therefore many studies have been designed to find methods to reduce impulsive choice. Although these procedures (e.g., delay fading and delay-exposure training) are effective, they involve extended training durations. One method that has not yet been explored in promoting self-control is Pavlovian conditioning. During Pavlovian conditioning, a localized conditioned stimulus (CS) that signals an imminent food delivery can (a) evoke sign-tracking behavior (i.e., attraction to, and physically interacting with the CS) and (b) function as a conditioned reinforcer (i.e., the subject will work to access the CS). This experiment aimed to assess if Pavlovian training could decrease impulsive choice in rats by (a) attracting them to the “self-control” alternative (a larger-later reward) and (b) providing access to the CS following a self-control choice. Forty male Long-Evans rats were randomly assigned to complete Pavlovian or unpaired training with a lever-CS. During a subsequent impulsive-choice test phase, pressing the same lever produced the larger-later reward in which rats had continued access to the lever. Pavlovian-trained rats demonstrated significantly more sign-tracking to the lever-CS and more self-control choices.
Understanding the experience of exiting homelessness among women without children
Creators: name: Osuji, Joseph
Publisher: name: University of Calgary
Year: 2009

description: Bibliography: p. 185-217
description: The issue of homelessness has come to the fore front of social ills plaguing the Canadian society. There is an overwhelming consensus among researchers and social scientists that the numbers of the homeless are on the increase, their average age is dropping, and more women and family units are becoming part of this population. Although it has been observed that women experience homelessness in ways that are vastly different from men, they are generally underrepresented in published literature on homelessness. The few studies that have focused on homeless women often study those with children and rarely explore the meaning of the exiting experience from homelessness among them, especially those without children. The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of the lived experience of exiting homelessness among women without children. Convenience and snow ball sampling techniques were used to recruit 12 women exiting homelessness in Calgary and who lived in transitional type accommodations. The texts resulting from audio-taped interviews, participant observations, and reflective journal entries by the researcher constituted data for analysis. Gadamerian hermeneutics informed the interpretive method used for data analysis. An overall meaning of the experience of exiting homelessness among women without children that emerged from the study was that the experience represented a journey through loosing oneself, self discovery, and hopefulness. The findings yielded 5 subthemes that supported the overall meaning and described the journey through exiting homelessness; (1) loss of self at home: the trigger, (2) Non-feeling of 'at-homeness': dissociation, (3) Disconnection and aloneness: homelessness, (4) Simulating home, transitional shelter living, and (5) Finding oneself: hopefulness. These findings suggest that exiting homelessness for women was not a journey in search of a house; rather it was a journey in search of hope, and connection with the self and others. The study is significant in that it validated narratives and literature indicating that exiting the homelessness situation is not just about finding a home, it is about assisting the homeless reconnect with themselves, rediscover personal identities, and find hope. This perspective suggests a new approach for nursing practice, and possibilities for further research, and public policy reviews.
Is Domestic Debt the Answer to Debt Crises?
Creators: name: Panizza, Ugo
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2007
Subjects: Managerial economics
Economics

description: Analysis of public debt in developing countries has traditionally focused on external debt. However, in recent years several countries have looked increasingly to domestic sources when expanding their net borrowing or adopted aggressive policies aimed at retiring public external debt and substituting it with domestically issued debt. Some countries are even building up domestic fiscal liabilities with the objective of sterilizing enlarged aid inflows. This chapter asks what possible challenges and opportunities might be arising from these new developments in sovereign debt management.
Scanning tunneling spectroscopy of superconducting LiFeAs single crystals: Evidence for two nodeless energy gaps and coupling to a bosonic mode
Creators: name: Chi, Shun
name: Grothe, S.
name: Liang, Ruixing
name: Dosanjh, P.
name: Hardy, W. N.
name: Burke, S. A.
name: Bonn, D. A.
name: Pennec, Y.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Superconductivity (cond-mat.supr-con)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The superconducting compound, LiFeAs, is studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. A gap map of the unreconstructed surface indicates a high degree of homogeneity in this system. Spectra at 2 K show two nodeless superconducting gaps with $Δ_1=5.3\pm0.1$ meV and $Δ_2=2.5\pm0.2$ meV. The gaps close as the temperature is increased to the bulk $T_c$ indicating that the surface accurately represents the bulk. A dip-hump structure is observed below $T_c$ with an energy scale consistent with a magnetic resonance recently reported by inelastic neutron scattering.
On packing measures and a theorem of Besicovitch
Creators: name: García, Ignacio
name: Shmerkin, Pablo
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2012
Subjects: subject: Classical Analysis and ODEs (math.CA)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 28A78, 28A80

description: Besicovitch showed that if a set is null for the Hausdorff measure associated to a given dimension function, then it is still null for the Hausdorff measure corresponding to a smaller dimension function. We prove that this is not true for packing measures. Moreover, we consider the corresponding questions for sets of non-$σ$-finite packing measure, and for pre-packing measure instead of packing measure.
description: 10 pages, no figures
Single-cell profiling reveal types of interstitial cells in human and rat bladder
Creators: name: Yang, Zhenxing
name: Gao, Ye
name: Liu, Peilin
name: Jia, Weisheng
name: Fang, Zhenqiang
name: Zhong, Jiangfan
name: Zhang, Yuanyuan
name: Li, Longkun
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2020
Subjects: classificationCode: 310199
subject: Biochemistry and cell biology not elsewhere classified

description: Supplementary materials for unpublished paper "Single-cell profiling reveal types of interstitial cells in human and rat bladder".
Techniques and tools for testing graphical user interfaces
Creators: name: Ganov, Svetoslav Radoslavov
name: 0000-0002-7846-9795
Publisher: name: The University of Texas at Austin
Year: 2022
Subjects: GUI testing
Software testing
Software verification
Android UI automation
Alloy modeling
Incremental multi-solver
Domain-specific constraint solvers
Symbolic widgets
Symbolic execution
GUI event-flow analysis
GUI data-flow analysis
Android application model

description: Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) are an abstraction to facilitate human-computer interaction by presenting virtual objects, widgets, via which a program visualizes its internal state and receives user inputs. GUIs are the dominant human-computer interaction paradigm. Hence, validating their correctness is important. One way to test a GUI is to simulate user actions in the form of data inputs (e.g typing) and event sequences (e.g scrolling), leading to a two-dimensional combinatorial explosion. We developed Barad, a GUI testing framework that uniformly addresses event-flow and data-flow in GUI applications. We consider only events with listeners, pruning regions of the event input space and we introduce symbolic widgets, allowing us to obtain data inputs, pruning regions of the data input space. Barad generates fewer tests and improves coverage compared to traditional GUI testing techniques. Android, an operating system powering smartphones, TVs, cars, is an active area for GUI testing research. We developed a generic Android GUI testing framework with extendability in mind from the ground up. We also implemented SMART, a test tool on top of this framework, that introduces a novel mechanism for taking shortcuts in the application state-space, leverages the Android application model for efficient application traversal, and employs efficient application resetting. These techniques achieve significant speed-up. Also, SMART reaches higher branch coverage faster compared to Android Monkey. In addition to generating test inputs, an oracle is required to validate correct GUI behavior. We envision using declarative specifications, written in the Alloy modeling language, for generating GUI oracles. To enable efficient analysis of Alloy models over datatypes common to GUI applications (integers, Strings), we present an approach of using domain specific constraint solvers to significantly speed-up the Alloy Analyzer's backend.