nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Face alignment by robust discriminative Hough voting
Venue: Pattern Recognit.

This paper presents a novel Hough voting based approach for face alignment under the extended exemplar based Constrained Local Models (CLMs) framework. The main idea of the proposed method is to use very few stable facial points, i.e. anchor points, to help reduce the ambiguity encountered when localizing other less stable facial points by Hough voting. A less studied limitation of Hough voting based methods, however, is that their performance is typically sensitive to the quality of anchor points, especially when only very few (e.g. one pair of) anchor points are used. In this paper, we mainly focus on this issue and our major contributions are three fold: (1) We first propose a novel method to evaluate the goodness of anchor points based on the diagnosis of resulted distribution of their votings for other facial points; (2) To deal with the remaining small localization errors, an enhanced RANSAC method is presented, in which a sampling strategy is adopted to soften the range of possible locations of the chosen anchor points, and the top ranking exemplars are then selected based on a newly proposed cost sensitive discriminative objective; (3) Finally, both global voting priors and local evidence are fused under a weighted least square framework. Experiments on several challenging datasets, including LFW, LFPW, HELEN and IBUG, demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms many state of the art CLM methods. We also show that the performance of the proposed system can be further boosted by exploring the deep CNN technique in the RANSAC step. HighlightsExtending the range of traditional CLM framework by including the nonparametric (exemplar based) shape models.Incorporating the prior knowledge of very few anchor points into the task of face alignment, while being robust against localization errors of anchor points.Exploiting the power of discriminative learning under the generative exemplar based CLM.Promising results on four challenging databases, i.e. LFW, LFPW, HELEN and IBUG.Exploring the deep CNN technique in the RANSAC step to further boost the performance of the proposed system.
Building an urban 'renaissance' fragmented services and the production of inequality in Greater Downtown Detroit
Venue: Journal of housing and the built environment HBE

Downtown Detroit has been undergoing a renaissance in recent years which is in stark contrast to the economic and social situation in much of the rest of the city. This renaissance has been taking place despite the city's ability to provide good municipal services such as streetlights, security, public space and transport. This article focuses on how four areas which constitute part of Greater Downtown Detroit have relied on different combinations of actors to create and provide the services and amenities deemed necessary for capital investment and middle class consumption. Each area has its own initiatives and actors who implement them, further fragmenting the city between its core and periphery. Renewed public spaces, private police forces and resident initiatives in middle class neighborhoods have been created to serve specific needs of the small areas they serve. Rather than being unique, Detroit is an extreme example of fragmented and polarized urbanism which is part and parcel of contemporary cities. We argue that rather than passively reflecting existing socio spatial divides, these private initiatives in Greater Downtown Detroit actively contribute to the production of sociospatial inequalities across the city.
Addressing structural violence through US reconciliation commissions: The case study of Greensboro, NC and Detroit, MI

of oppression and continued social, economic, and political marginalization are increasingly turning toward truth and reconciliation commissions (TRC) to address and remedy persistent inequality. While modeled after the international truth movement, TRCs in the United States are often not state sanctioned and characterized by fundamental differences that beg the question: How are peace and justice dialectically linked to, and flow from geographic specific understandings of violence? Drawing from the TRC experiences of Greensboro (NC) and Detroit (MI) this paper examines the way communities that were burdened with a history of violence are turning toward TRCs as viable vehicles for addressing violence and inequality in contemporary US society. This paper furthers our understanding of the geographic ruptures violence creates in communities and the often hidden realities that the legacy and memory of violence has for oppressed people in the United States.
BASICS INEQUALITY
Venue: Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race

In light of 2014 2016 media coverage about the inadequate water and sanitation services for households in places like Flint and Detroit, Michigan and the Central Valley of California, this paper asks whether places with majority non White residents in the United States disproportionately lack access to these most basic of services. Investigating this issue through the combined lenses of structural racism, environmental justice, and the human right to water and sanitation, we analyze U.S. Census American Community Survey household data at the county level. Our findings indicate strong White versus non White racial effects at the national and county levels (R2 0.0462, P 0.05) When the non White population is broken down into racial categories, places with higher percentages of American Indians and Alaska Native households are significantly associated with lack of access to complete plumbing facilities. Lacking access to complete plumbing does correlate with lower educational attainment and higher percentages of unemployment, and less robustly, it also correlates positively with median household income. The implication is the existence of a pattern of structural environmental racism in terms of the practical accessibility of water and sanitation infrastructure. We suspect, however, that the U.S. Census, while considered the most comprehensive national data source on this issue right now, significantly undercounts those lacking access to water and sanitation services. We argue that better data will be essential in order to carry out a more in depth analysis of water access conditions and to develop strategies that address this issue of growing importance.
Sources of social support associated with health and quality of life: a cross sectional study among Canadian and Latin American older adults
Venue: BMJ Open

To examine whether the association between emotional support and indicators of health and quality of life differs between Canadian and Latin American older adults.  Social support from friends, family members, children and partner was measured with a previously validated social network and support scale (IMIAS SNSS) Low social support was defined as ranking in the lowest site specific quartile. Prevalence ratios (PR) of good health, depression and good quality of life were estimated with Poisson regression models, adjusting for age, gender, education, income and disability in activities of daily living.  Manizales in Colombia and Natal in Brazil.  1600 community dwelling adults aged 65 74 years, n=400 at each site. Outcome measures Likert scale question on self rated health, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale and 10 point analogical quality of life (QoL) scale.  Relationships between social support and study outcomes differed between Canadian and Latin American older adults. Among Canadians, those without a partner had a lower prevalence of good health (PR=0.90; 95% CI 0.82 to 0.98) and those with high support from friends had a higher prevalence of good health (PR=1.09; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.18) Among Latin Americans, depression was lower among those with high levels of support from family (PR=0.63; 95% CI 0.48 to 0.83) children (PR=0.60; 95% CI 0.45 to 0.80) and partner (PR=0.57; 95% CI 0.31 to 0.77) good QoL was associated with high levels of support from children (PR=1.54; 95% CI 1.20 to 1.99) and partner (PR=1.31; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.67)  Among older adults, different sources of support were relevant to health across societies. Support from friends and having a partner were related to good health in Canada, whereas in Latin America, support from family, children and partner were associated with less depression and better QoL.
The Impact of Comorbidities, Depression, and Substance Use Problems on Quality of Life Among Older Adults Living With HIV
Venue: AIDS and Behavior

Older adults living with HIV (OALWH) comprise a growing population with a range of complex and interconnecting medical and psychosocial needs. Based on the biopsychosocial model with its emphasis on a holistic approach to various aspects of people's lives, the current study explored associations between physical health, psychological health, substance use, and overall quality of life. Drawing on data from 114 substance using OALWH (aged 50 or older) we employed linear regression to show associations between the number of current comorbid health conditions on quality of life, over and above depression, substance use problems, and demographic characteristics (age, race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, education, and relationship status) In both bivariate and multivariable contexts, the number of comorbid conditions was associated with reduced quality of life. Depression and substance use were also negatively associated with quality of life. These findings indicate that clinical and supportive care for OALWH, particularly when related to mental health and substance use, should also include an integrated focus on the comparatively high number of current comorbid conditions that often accompany, and potentially complicate, HIV treatment and quality of life.
Exploring the Development of Professional Identity with Newly Qualified Social Workers

This paper discusses the experiences of newly qualified social workers as part of a research project exploring professional identity. Drawing on literature in this area and a subset of data from a larger study involving Australian practitioners, it is argued that while several studies explore experiences of identity, the phenomenon remains under researched, especially in Australia. Seventeen people participated in three in depth, semistructured interviews across a 12 month period. A subset of the data explores how participants were actively motivated and benefitted from reflecting on their identities through the research process. Findings indicate newly qualified social workers appreciate meaningful opportunities to critically reflect upon their social work identities. It is concluded that further research is needed, to understand the identities and needs of newly qualified social workers in Australia.
Consumption of sugar sweetened beverages, artificially sweetened beverages, and fruit juice and incidence of type 2 diabetes: systematic review, meta analysis, and estimation of population attributable fraction
Venue: British Journal of Sports Medicine

To examine the prospective associations between consumption of sugar sweetened beverages, artificially sweetened beverages, and fruit juice with type 2 diabetes before and after adjustment for adiposity, and to estimate the population attributable fraction for type 2 diabetes from consumption of sugar sweetened beverages in the United States and United Kingdom. Design Systematic review and meta analysis. Data sources and eligibility PubMed, Embase, Ovid, and Web of Knowledge for prospective studies of adults without diabetes, published until February 2014. The population attributable fraction was estimated in national surveys in the USA, 2009 10 (n=4729 representing 189.1 million adults without diabetes) and the UK, 2008 12 (n=1932 representing 44.7 million) Synthesis methods Random effects meta analysis and survey analysis for population attributable fraction associated with consumption of sugar sweetened beverages.  Prespecified information was extracted from 17 cohorts (38 253 cases/10 126 754 person years) Higher consumption of sugar sweetened beverages was associated with a greater incidence of type 2 diabetes, by 18% per one serving/day (95% confidence interval 9% to 28% I2 for heterogeneity=89% and 13% (6% to 21% I2=79% before and after adjustment for adiposity; for artificially sweetened beverages, 25% (18% to 33% I2=70% and 8% (2% to 15% I2=64% and for fruit juice, 5% 1% to 11% I2=58% and 7% (1% to 14% I2=51% Potential sources of heterogeneity or bias were not evident for sugar sweetened beverages. For artificially sweetened beverages, publication bias and residual confounding were indicated. For fruit juice the finding was non significant in studies ascertaining type 2 diabetes objectively (P for heterogeneity=0.008) Under specified assumptions for population attributable fraction, of 20.9 million events of type 2 diabetes predicted to occur over 10 years in the USA (absolute event rate 11.0% 1.8 million would be attributable to consumption of sugar sweetened beverages (population attributable fraction 8.7% 95% confidence interval 3.9% to 12.9% and of 2.6 million events in the UK (absolute event rate 5.8% 79 000 would be attributable to consumption of sugar sweetened beverages (population attributable fraction 3.6% 1.7% to 5.6% Conclusions Habitual consumption of sugar sweetened beverages was associated with a greater incidence of type 2 diabetes, independently of adiposity. Although artificially sweetened beverages and fruit juice also showd positive associations with incidence of type 2 diabetes, the findings were likely to involve bias. None the less, both artificially sweetened beverages and fruit juice were unlikely to be healthy alternatives to sugar sweetened beverages for the prevention of type 2 diabetes. Under assumption of causality, consumption of sugar sweetened beverages over years may be related to a substantial number of cases of new onset diabetes.
Delivering a shared library management system for Wales

A case study of the Wales Higher Education Libraries Forum (WHELF) project to procure and implement a shared library management system (LMS) for all universities in Wales, together with the National Health Service Libraries in Wales and the National Library of Wales. In particular, the purpose of this paper is to explore the drivers to this collaboration, outline the benefits achieved and the framework to realise further benefits.  Case study review of the process, together with a review of literature on consortia and LMSs. Findings WHELF has developed into a more mature consortium through procuring and implementing a shared LMS. The process has delivered tangible benefits and is driving more work to realise further benefits.  As the WHELF Shared LMS project is only nearing the end of the implementation phase, many of the anticipated operational benefits cannot be reported.  Useful case study for other consortia or potential consortia.  WHELF is in vanguard of consortia developments in the UK, and this is the first case study of the project.
RFID Based Library Management System: The Benefits and Challenges

Library is a place where knowledge resides, in the form of books, journals, and audio visuals such as CDs and DVDs. The management and maintenance of a library is a very crucial and time consuming task. Since long, libraries have been using Barcode technology for the maintenance of books and other documents available for the customer. But the Barcode technology has its own limitation regarding the time consumed and security. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology is one of the latest technologies being used by libraries. RFID technology does not require line of sight to detect the target and hence it makes detecting documents (digital or print) easier and quick. RFID based Library Management System comes with many benefits, but cost is a big challenge for its adoption. This paper discusses RFID based Library Management System, with its various benefits and challenges. This paper was presented at the 19th Nirma International Conference on Management (NICOM 2016) on the theme of "Empowering Trade, Industry and Society in challenging and competitive Environment" organized by the Institute of Management, Nirma University (IMNU) Ahmedabad, India during Jan. 7 9, 2016. Paper is uploaded with the permission of IMNU and its contents may be cited with its source for academic purpose such as the brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non commercial uses as permitted by copyright law. However, the copyright of this paper remains with (IMNU) and its permission is necessary for any commercial use.
Big Data for Social Transportation
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems

Big data for social transportation brings us unprecedented opportunities for resolving transportation problems for which traditional approaches are not competent and for building the next generation intelligent transportation systems. Although social data have been applied for transportation analysis, there are still many challenges. First, social data evolve with time and contain abundant information, posing a crucial need for data collection and cleaning. Meanwhile, each type of data has specific advantages and limitations for social transportation, and one data type alone is not capable of describing the overall state of a transportation system. Systematic data fusing approaches or frameworks for combining social signal data with different features, structures, resolutions, and precision are needed. Second, data processing and mining techniques, such as natural language processing and analysis of streaming data, require further revolutions in effective utilization of real time traffic information. Third, social data are connected to cyber and physical spaces. To address practical problems in social transportation, a suite of schemes are demanded for realizing big data in social transportation systems, such as crowdsourcing, visual analysis, and task based services. In this paper, we overview data sources, analytical approaches, and application systems for social transportation, and we also suggest a few future research directions for this new social transportation field.
Talent management a critical investigation in the Thai hospitality industry

Talent is considered to be one of the main drivers of business success, and the ability to manage talent effectively has become critical in the current business environment. However, there is lack of clarity about the concept of talent in different industry contexts. Also, the hospitality industry is customer oriented and reliant on low skilled workers, and being able to define and manage talent effectively would help the industry to sustain competitiveness. Therefore, this research investigated the application of the concept of talent and talent management within the Thai hospitality industry, and specifically how talent is defined and managed in this industry. The research was also undertaken within the context of the introduction of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) which was anticipated to lead increased competition for talented workers. The research used qualitative research methods to get an in depth understanding of the subject matter. In total 38 semi structured interviews were conducted at the management level. Data from the interviews is supplemented by documentation and observations; and this ensured triangulation of the responses and thus increased validity of the research. This research uncovered that the concept of talent was widely applied amongst the participating hotels. Generally, talent is defined as high potential or high performance; and the qualities of talented workers include capability, competence, loyalty, and contribution. Also, talent referred to key positions that is, 'talent' is a term related to some workers rather than all workers in the organisation. Moreover, talent was more an acquired rather than natural ability; and this depended on the organisation's context and the ability of the individual to transfer previous experiences to 'fit' with the current environment or situation. Regarding the management of talent, this research identified two main challenges that have to be overcome the recruitment and retention of talent. The participants indicated that they mainly use both intrinsic and extrinsic approaches to combat these challenges. Consequently, HR activities (especially recruitment and development) are linked to talent retention; with the ultimate goal being to help retain the best talent in the organisation. The implications of these research findings are that organisations need to pay more attention to the recruitment and retention of talent through 'building good relationships and talent pipelines' among workers and making employees feel at home within organisations. This fits in with the Thai culture which is based on the idea of the 'collective society' This will help organisations understand the art of winning the 'war for talent
A review on the distribution of Hg in the environment and its human health impacts.
Venue: Journal of hazardous materials

Exposure to mercury is a silent threat to the environment and human life. It has the potential to harm almost every organ and body system. Mercury compounds are classified in different chemical types such as elemental, inorganic, and organic forms. The most significant source of ingestion related mercury exposure in humans and animals is the consumption of fish. Long term exposure to mercury compounds from different sources (e.g. water, food, soil, and air) can lead to toxic effects on skin, cardiovascular, pulmonary, urinary, gastrointestinal, and neurological systems. Mercury toxicity is found to pose more significant health hazards to certain occupational groups (e.g. goldminers and dental personnel) Because continuous exposure to mercury can be dangerous, it is desirable to re evaluate the current reference (risk free) values. This paper reviews the route of Hg exposure to humans, its human health impacts, the associated risk assessment, and treatment based on the recent findings from various studies.
Equity in the Turkish education system: A multilevel analysis of social background influences on the mathematics performance of 15 year old students

This paper aims to discover the level of equity in the Turkish education system using maths outcomes of 15 year old students in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) exam. In order to do that, associations between various social background variables and student performance are analysed via multilevel models. Female pupils, students from lower socio economic backgrounds and students from eastern regions are all found to be disadvantaged in terms of maths outcomes. The biggest gap between students in Turkey is due to school types. The difference between selective academic schools and other types of schools is more than 100 points, which is equal to the difference between almost four grade years. However, the positive effect of attending selective academic schools is smaller for girls. Further investigations indicate that, in the Turkish education system, school type at secondary level represents the effects of socio economic background and educational and physical resources at school in addition to previous achievements of pupils. Results of the analyses show that it is very hard to claim that the education system in Turkey is operating in a way that mitigates existing inequalities in the society. To the contrary, there are indications that the Turkish education system itself reproduces inequalities.