ppxscal/embedding_network huggingface dataset:
Multimedia tool set for teaching ergonomic analysis skills
Authors: J. Ockerman, C. Thompson
Venue: Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference on 1995. Proceedings., 1995 vol 1. - Volume 01 (1995)

Ergonomics remains an important issue in industry today. Preventing and solving harmful ergonomic situations in the workplace can lead to greater productivity, profit, and employee moral. Currently, the School of Continuing Education at the Georgia Institute of Technology presents a week long course in ergonomics for industry personnel. This course covers basic ergonomic topics, including anthropometric charts, data on human limitations, and the principles of workplace design, and how to conduct a survey of the workplace for harmful ergonomic activities. An important aspect of this course is learning to apply the basic ergonomic data while conducting a survey, that is, using the knowledge of human abilities and limitations to identify harmful ergonomic activities that are present while a worker is doing his or her job. We have proposed, built, and evaluated a prototype multimedia instructional system, called ErgoTrainer. ErgoTrainer aids students, both students taking classes like the one taught at Georgia Tech and students learning on their own, in gaining basic ergonomic knowledge and learning the skill of job surveillance. The evaluation was successful and the results were positive.
The New Mexico Tech Master of Science teaching program: an exemplary model of inquiry-based learning
Authors: V. R. Perry
Venue: Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference, 2001. on 31st Annual - Volume 01 (2001)

The Master of Science Teaching Program offered by New Mexico Tech provides high quality science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET) content-based, hands-on, experiential learning for practicing K-12 educators and is taught by graduate faculty of the discipline departments. To facilitate transfer of knowledge and skills to K-12 students, the program requires teacher participants to develop inquiry-based curriculum for their respective classrooms and laboratories from what they experience as they pursue a graduate degree in science teaching. Opportunities beyond the traditional curriculum are also available. A research internship component provides active research involvement by teacher participants at various research centers of excellence. International projects take teachers abroad to study science and engineering related to global environmental issues while integrating an intercultural component into the educational experience. Curriculum development and implementation originating from these experiences allow teachers to open the world to their K-12 students, offering them a comprehensive understanding of complex diversity issues worldwide. Elevating K-12 teaching to this level is an increasingly important aspect of education as we move toward a more global society.
Effects of Antenatal Care Services on Birthweight: Importance of Model Specification and Empirical Procedure Used in Estimating the Marginal Productivity of Health Inputs
Authors: Yusuf Celik, Mustafa Z. Younis
Venue: Journal of Medical Systems (2007)

This paper is an attempt to examine the effects of antenatal care (ANC) utilization on birthweight. The analysis is based on the data collected from ever-married women by Turkey Demographic and Health Survey 1998 (TDHS). Cost-effectiveness based health sector reform requires careful estimation of costs and productivity of health interventions as well as the substitution possibility among health inputs. If the parameters of production function are known, policy makers can estimate the health outcome effects of various input-mix. Two-stage least squares (TSLS) and ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation procedures are used in this paper to estimate the effect of health care input, namely antenatal care visits, on birthweight. Since the utilization of medical care itself may be dependent on women's expectation about the pregnancy outcome, the parameters estimated through OLS may underestimate the true productivity of the input. The estimated functions indicate that antenatal care, woman's health status, and birth order are significant determinants in birthweight. The TSLS estimate of marginal productivity of ANC visits was about four times the marginal productivity estimate in the OLS model. The sensitivity of the parameter estimates to model specifications and empirical procedures followed demonstrates the importance of selecting the right model from both theoretical and empirical point of view.
Automatic analysis of document sentiment
Authors: Lillian Lee
Venue:  (2006)

Sentiment analysis, which deals with the computational treatment of opinion, sentiment, and subjectivity in text, has attracted a great deal of attention. Potential applications include question-answering systems that address opinions as opposed to facts and business intelligence systems that analyze user feedback. The research issues raised by such applications are often quite challenging compared to fact-based analysis. This thesis presents several sentiment analysis tasks to illustrate the new challenges and opportunities. In particular, we describe how we modeled different types of relations in approaching several sentiment analysis problems; our models can have implications outside this area as well. One task is polarity classification, where we classify a movie review as "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" from textual information alone. We consider a number of approaches, including one that applies text categorization techniques to just the subjective portions of the document. Extracting these portions can be a hard problem in itself; we describe an approach based on efficient techniques for finding minimum cuts in graphs that incorporate sentence-level relations. The second task, which can be viewed as a non-standard multi-class classification task, is the rating-inference problem, where one must determine the reviewer's evaluation with respect to a multi-point scale (e.g. one to five "stars"). We apply a meta-algorithm; based on a metric-labeling formulation of the problem, that explicitly exploits relations between classes. A different type of relationship between text units is considered in the third task, where we investigate whether one can determine from the transcripts of U.S. Congressional floor debates whether the speeches represent support of or opposition to proposed legislation. In particular, we exploit the fact that these speeches occur as part of a discussion. We find that the incorporation of information regarding relationships between discourse segments yields substantial improvements over classifying speeches in isolation. Lastly, we introduce and discuss a sentiment analysis problem arising in Web-search applications: given documents on the same focused topic, we wish to rank the subjective documents before objective ones. We present early results with unsupervised approaches that do not assume prior linguistic or domain-specific knowledge.
Effects of a computer-assisted language intervention in a rural nevada center
Authors: Steven Harlow
Venue:  (2006)

The principle question investigated in this research was whether a computer-assisted language intervention, Fast ForWord (FFW), enhanced the language skills of a group of children who completed the program at a rural Nevada center. Previous studies of such computer-based interventions to improve language and learning difficulties in children have generated conflicting results. This study compared language scores measured by the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Third Edition (CELF-3). This test was administered before and after FFW intervention in a sample of 58 children. CELF-3 scores after FFW were adjusted by subtracting expected age-specific changes from the posttest scores. This adjustment was designed to remove any test-retest effect. The main findings of this study were an increase of adjusted posttest scores compared with pretest scores from 90.1 to 98.5 in the Receptive domain and 93.4 to 102.6 in the Expressive domain of the CELF-3 test. These are gains of 8.3 and 9.2 points, respectively. These differences were each significant at the p < .01 level using a t-test for comparison of independent samples. A subgroup analysis was also performed to determine if children who were initially referred to the clinic with a prior diagnosis of language and or learning impairment differed from those non-diagnosed on CELF-3 scores after FFW. Both receptive and expressive domains were not different on CELF-3 score changes for either group. The results of this study have implications for further research of FFW and the types of settings and subjects who may benefit from this intervention.
Mapaci: A Real Time e-Health Application to Assist Throat Complaint Patients
Authors: Jesus Bobadilla, Pedro Gomez, Juan I. Godino
Venue: Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Internet and Web Applications and Services (2007)

This paper describes the fundamentals of a complete e-Health Web cooperative information system combining the following features: a research and development platform for telemedicine and patient screening including new voice processing algorithms and a communications framework. The main goals and design decisions, related to architectural analysis of this information system oriented to voice pathology are pointed out. A methodology to handle patients' voice samples, enabling real-time remote capture, transmission, storage and processing is documented. These features allow to define a complete information system including database recruiting as well as cooperative diagnose. Hints on the use of the Java Media Framework© (JMF) technology and the use of different protocols to implement synchronous services, including audioconferencing and videoconferencing are documented. The preliminary results show the feasibility of the design. Expected benefits are among others an improvement in the knowledge of voice pathology evolution, and the remote screening of large population sectors
Low frequency mobility effects on MESFET device
Authors: J. Rodriguez-Tellez, N. Ali, T. Fernandez, A. Mediavilla
Venue: Proceedings of the The 8th International Conference on Communication Systems - Volume 02 (2002)

In a previous paper [2001] the observed differences between the static and dynamic IV characteristics of a MESFET were attributed to electric field and frequency effects. In this paper, such dependencies have been accounted for via the mobility figure. The results show a strong relationship between the mobility figure and both the frequency and the electric field (gate voltage).
Capstone design course in chemical engineering
Authors: G. Maffia
Venue: Proceedings of the Frontiers in Education Conference,1997. on 27th Annual Conference. Teaching and Learning in an Era of Change. - Volume 01 (1997)

The capstone course in chemical engineering at Widener University is divided into two semesters. In the fall semester, students experience the application of chemical engineering principles to the development, design, operation and evaluation of all major process equipment. Two in-class examinations are given during the term and a common project is assigned to all students. Students are allowed to work in small teams, although each student must submit a separate project report. In doing so, students also gain exposure to industrial computing tools. The course is taught in a state-of-the-art computer classroom in which each student has his or her own computer station which is part of a LAN that serves the school of engineering. In the second semester, students randomly pick a technology out of an envelope. The course requirements are for students to provide a process design package for a world scale manufacturing facility by the end of the semester. Such a document is often called a "black book" in industry. Students are also required to present and defend their design. Feedback from the students has been positive and they exhibit pride and ownership in their work. There are no tests given. Some suggestions on milestones are provided in the course syllabus and the professor works closely with students as they proceed with the design. About midway through the semester, the students give a short, five slide presentation on the status of their process design to the full faculty and fellow students. A final presentation is due at the end of the course in which the students describe their results. The ACM Portal is published by the Association for Computing Machinery. Copyright © 2010 ACM, Inc. Terms of Usage Privacy Policy Code of Ethics Contact Us Useful downloads: Adobe Acrobat QuickTime Windows Media Player Real Player
Stochastic discourse modeling in spoken dialogue systems using semantic dependency graphs
Authors: Jui-Feng Yeh, Chung-Hsien Wu, Mao-Zhu Yang
Venue: Proceedings of the COLING/ACL on Main conference poster sessions (2006)

This investigation proposes an approach to modeling the discourse of spoken dialogue using semantic dependency graphs. By characterizing the discourse as a sequence of speech acts, discourse modeling becomes the identification of the speech act sequence. A statistical approach is adopted to model the relations between words in the user's utterance using the semantic dependency graphs. Dependency relation between the headword and other words in a sentence is detected using the semantic dependency grammar. In order to evaluate the proposed method, a dialogue system for medical service is developed. Experimental results show that the rates for speech act detection and task-completion are 95.6% and 85.24%, respectively, and the average number of turns of each dialogue is 8.3. Compared with the Bayes' classifier and the Partial-Pattern Tree based approaches, we obtain 14.9% and 12.47% improvements in accuracy for speech act identification, respectively.
A Positive Semidefinite Approximation of the Symmetric Traveling Salesman Polytope
Authors: Ellen Veomett
Venue: Discrete Computational Geometry (2007)

For a convex body B in a vector space V, we construct its approximation Pk, k =1 , 2, . . ., using an intersection of a cone of positive semidefinite quadratic forms with an affine subspace. We show that Pk is contained in B for each k. When B is the Symmetric Traveling Salesman Polytope on n cities Tn, we show that the scaling of Pk by n/k + O(1/n) contains Tn for $k \leq \lfloor n/2 \rfloor$. Membership for Pk is computable in time polynomial in n (of degree linear in k). We also discuss facets of Tn that lie on the boundary of Pk and we use eigenvalues to evaluate our bounds.
An integrated user environment for scientific cluster computing
Authors: Niclas Andersson, Peter Kjellström
Venue: Proceedings of the 5th annual Linux Showcase & Conference - Volume 5 (2001)

We provide an integrated environment to the users of clusters for scientific computation. The environment simplifies the overall usage of the system and makes it easier for new users to learn and start using the system. It is an attempt to integrate the various pieces of software that comprise the user environment of an open-source based Linux cluster without introducing limiting constraints. We target this environment towards users who consume the system's volatile resources (CPU time and network bandwidth) to do research in physics, chemistry, and other application areas. It does not require any additional code in the application as long as the used communication paradigm is supported on the system. Instead, researchers with own code find it easy to build and run their program. This work also extends into the realms of system administration, where tools and the configuration of the system make it feasible to provide more informative services to users. This environment is currently in use on two clusters which are used extensively for research in physics and chemistry.
Extraction and tracking of the eyelids
Authors: M. Pardas
Venue: Proceedings of the Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, 2000. on IEEE International Conference - Volume 04 (2000)

Facial analysis is used in a number of applications like face recognition systems, human-computer interaction through head movements or facial expressions, or model based coding. In all these applications a very precise extraction of the feature points corresponding to the eyes is necessary. In this paper we present a method for automatic extraction and tracking of the eyelids. First the images are filtered in order to enhance the interesting features. Then a dynamic programming algorithm is applied to extract the precise shape of the eyelids. Although restrictions are applied on the possible shapes, they are not modeled as ellipse arcs. This allows extracting the corner of the eyes with higher precision. Once the eyelids are extracted for the first image, a new robust tracking algorithm based on snakes is applied to track them along the sequence, which allows large motion of the eyes and rotation and zooming of the head.
Short time correlator delay estimation in the presence of interfering sources
Authors: B. L. F. Daku
Venue: Proceedings of the Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, 1996. on Conference Proceedings., 1996 IEEE International Conference - Volume 06 (1996)

Time delay estimation is a complicated problem if the delay is time-varying as a result of contact motion. This delay estimation is further complicated if multipath and interfering sources are present. This paper describes an algorithm based on the superposition of short time cross-correlations of the received signals at two sonobuoys. The advantage of this algorithm is that it can be used to significantly reduce the interference due to other sources and multipath. A parallel search based implementation is briefly described which reduces the search time and is conducive to VLSI implementation. A linear time-varying delay is assumed to simplify the presentation, though the algorithm can be implemented for a non-linear time-varying delay by increasing the number of search variables.
An improved code rate search scheme for adaptive multicode CDMA
Authors: Y. Cai, Ho. Pkm, W. C. Wong
Venue: Proceedings of the The 8th International Conference on Communication Systems - Volume 02 (2002)

This paper presents an improved scheme to maximize system throughput through joint rate and power adaptation with perfect channel information in a multicode CDMA system. By specifying suitable boundary conditions, the search range can be narrowed down thereby significantly improving search complexity.
Recognition of spectrally degraded speech in noise with nonlinear amplitude mapping
Authors: Qian-Jie Fu
Venue: Proceedings of the Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, 1999. on 1999 IEEE International Conference - Volume 01 (1999)

The present study measured phoneme recognition as a function of the signal-to-noise level under conditions of spectral smearing and nonlinear amplitude mapping. Speech sounds were divided into 16 analysis bands. The envelope was extracted from each band by half-wave rectification and low-pass filtering and was then distorted by a power-law transformation whose exponents varied from a strongly compressive (p=0.3) to a strongly expanded value (p=3.0). This distorted envelope was used to modulate a noise which was spectrally limited by the same analysis filters. Results showed that phoneme recognition scores in a quiet condition were reduced only slightly with either expanded or compressed amplitude mapping. As the level of background noise was increased, performance deteriorated more rapidly for both compressed and linear mapping than for the expanded mapping. These results indicate that, although an expansive amplitude mapping may slightly reduce performance in quiet conditions, it may be beneficial in noisy listening conditions.
Applying GCMAC to predistortion in GSM base stations
Authors: J. J. Murillo-Fuentes
Venue: Proceedings of the Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, 1999. on 1999 IEEE International Conference - Volume 05 (1999)

Predistortion in GSM has been introduced to deal with saturation in amplifcation at base transceiver stations (BTS). This paper will focus on the elements and architectures in signal predistortion for one carrier and multicarrier modulations. The GCMAC neural network has been introduced as predistorter to provide the design with adaptive, digital and practical features. The results show how the predistortion architectures proposed allows working in saturation regimen. This point is important since it gives flexibility in reassignment of cells by increasing the coverage when necessary. It also improves amplification characteristics avoiding co-channel interference, aging, intermodulation distortion, etc.
Statistical Fatigue and Residual Strength Analysis of New/Aging Aircraft Structure
Authors: Scott Fawaz, Borje Andersson
Venue: Proceedings of the HPCMP Users Group Conference (2006)

The structural integrity of both military and civilian transport aircraft fleets is governed by Department of Defense and Federal Aviation Administration regulations, respectively, dictating use of fracture mechanics techniques to determine the durability and damage tolerance of the aircraft structure. Driven by economic pressures, both fighter and transport aircraft are remaining in service longer than their original design lifetimes. Maintaining mission readiness and ensuring the safety of the flying public is of utmost concern and the responsibility of the aircraft manufacturers, aircraft operators, and airworthiness authorities. In general, a fracture mechanics based crack growth prediction model is just another tool in the designer and maintainer's toolbox to safely and efficiently manufacture and operate the aircraft. Furthermore, state-of-the-art fatigue life prediction algorithms may only consider simple, well-behaved structural cracking problems. Unfortunately, all modern aircraft are complex assemblies with diverse materials and joining methods. As a result, mission planners and combat leaders are forced to maintain the old paradigm of over-conservative fatigue life predictions and find-it and fix-it corrosion control programs. As a result, the main outcome of our Challenge Project is better fleet management through more robust fatigue life predictions in both peace- and war-time.
A design of lossy and lossless scalable audio coding
Authors: T. Moriya
Venue: Proceedings of the Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, 2000. on IEEE International Conference - Volume 02 (2000)

This paper proposes a lossless audio coding scheme making use of high-compression lossy coding such as the ISO/IEC MPEG-4 audio standard. The encoding process consists of lossy compression, bit slice lossless data conversion, and lossless coding. The lossy compression significantly reduces the amplitude of the error signal between the input signal and the reconstructed signal. In addition, bit slice data conversion makes the lossless coding more efficient. As a result of preliminary experiment, a total file size can be reduced to 70-50% of the original size, which is significantly more efficient than conventional universal lossless coding schemes such as "gzip". The resultant compressed data is useful for various applications, since it has bit rate scalability and can be used as a highly compressed signal as well as a lossless signal.