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In this paper, we develop estimators of the finite population variance using the information on the study variable’s first and second raw moments under stratified random sampling. In addition, both combined and separate estimators are also developed for estimating the population variance using supplementary information on a study variable and one or two auxiliary variables. The proposed estimators are compared with the existing estimators in terms of absolute bias and relative efficiency. Based on simulated and empirical studies, it is found that the proposed estimators may outperform the existing estimators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several attitude scales have been developed to measure students' attitudes toward computer programming, including the prominent one developed by Cetin and Ozden. The development of these scales stemmed from the elusive nature of attitude and the lack of specific constructs to measure attitude. These instruments measure students' attitudes based on one‐dimensional perspective, thus, making it difficult to interpret the meaning of some attitude evaluations such as the meaning of neutral points in a 10‐point scale (for example). Objectives: The computer programming attitude scale was modified to measure ambivalence. The study also investigate attitude differences across demographic variables and used these variables to predict ambivalence. Methods: The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, the instrument was validated using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. In the second phase, the revised scale was administered to another 547 students in four research universities for empirical investigation. Results: Results show that the instrument is valid and suitable for measuring students' programming attitudes. Participants' attitudes skewed toward the negative attitude dimension. Lastly, we found that both attitude and ambivalence are factors of programming experience. Conclusions: We discussed the findings, recommend the instrument to programming tutors, and strongly emphasise the evaluation of students' ambivalent attitudes. Lay Description: What is currently known: There are numerous scales developed to measure students' attitude toward computer programming, such as the computer programming attitude scale (CPAS).The development of these inventories stemmed from the elusive nature of attitude and the lack of specific construct to measure attitude.These instruments measure students' attitude based on one dimensional perspective, thus, making it difficult to interpret the meaning of some attitude evaluations such as the meaning of neutral points in a 10‐point scale (for example). What this paper adds: The present research brings a novel approach to instrument development by acknowledging the presence of attitude toward computer programming.This novel approach advances the knowledge of instrument development in the field of attitude measurement by introducing a paradigm shift from conventional attitude evaluation to a more diverse approach.The study has introduced new items to the existing CPAS, and subsequently, indicates the possibility of validating an attitude inventory using data obtained from ambivalence evaluation.By using this instrument, students' attitude is measured accurately rather than adopting the conventional measures that ignored the presence of negative and positive evaluations. Implication to practitioners: Through the findings of the study, computer science and programming educators would come to know that many positive and negative attitude elements are occasionally subsumed toward an attitude object, thereby leading to an ambivalence attitude.The instrument can be used by the practitioners to accurately measure students' positive and negative attitude toward programming across all levels of education.Using the instrument, practitioners can predict the identified attitude using wide range of variables such as gender, age, computational thinking skills, programming proficiency levels, among others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the paper is to apply the Slutsky equation to the Bass diffusion model to examine the price and income elasticities of hotel demand in different tourist destinations including cultural, commercial, and coastal cities. The sample was a set of 120 points by ex-post data from the Smith Travel Research in Vietnam. Findings indicate the price in a leisure destination in the beginning of the tourist area life cycle is inelastic, whereas the prices in the business and culture destinations at the end of the cycle are elastic. This study identifies the hidden cost when demand increases in the three destinations, ultimately allowing hoteliers to effectively strategize when making price changes within their industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A decade after the publication of seminal papers on personal carbon trading (PCT), few empirical studies on its implementation exist. Investigating how to design, set up and implement a PCT scheme for a community or country raises several difficulties. For instance, it is unclear how to introduce a reduction rate of CO2 allowances to ensure a steady decrease in CO2 emissions from households. Computational approaches have been introduced to address these challenges of PCT by providing an opportunity to test counterfactual scenarios. Among the benefits of an agent-based modeling approach (ABM) is the potential to directly address dynamic developments and introduce counterfactual situations. In this paper, we review existing modeling approaches and present an ABM for PCT. With simulations of an artificial population of 1000 and 30,000 agents, we address questions on the price and reduction rate of allowances. A key contribution of our model is the inclusion of an adaptive reduction rate, which reduces the yearly allocated amount of allowances depending on a set CO2 abatement target. The results confirm that increased emissions targets are related to higher allowance prices and a higher proportion of buying households. Our analysis also suggests a significant path dependence in the dynamics of allowance prices and availability, but that adaptive reduction rates have little impact on outcomes other than the price. We discuss data availability and computational challenges to modeling a PCT scheme with an ABM. Ideal data to populate an ABM on PCT are not available due to the lack of real-world implementations of a PCT. Nonetheless, meaningful insights about the dynamics and the focal variables in a PCT scheme can be generated by the exploratory use of an ABM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this article is to analyze the distinctive characteristics of research production in the field of communication in Latin American scientific communication journals. Meta-research is necessary because it allows re-evaluating the field and offers new horizons in knowledge production. Two studies were conducted: 1) Bibliometric analysis of 116 journals in eight databases and 24 publications in the Web of Science and Scopus; 2) Content analysis including that of 407 articles over a period of 10 years (2009--2018). The findings demonstrate a research trend in the Latin American region toward international standards, evidenced by a preponderance of empirical over essay studies. Universities in the region published most of the journals in the field and circulation was predominantly biannual. Contrary to expectations, the most widely disseminated topic was health communication, partly owing to a large sample of Brazilian journals. Within the empirical research, the qualitative approach was predominant. The interview was the most widely used research method in the region. Finally, the most used theories were agenda setting and framing. Imminent challenges arise, i.e., to strengthen indigenous theoretical production and to position the region's themes and reflection more decisively in knowledge production at a global level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jurisprudential accounts of judicial decision-making encompass a conceptual account of how judges decide cases and a normative account of how judges should decide cases. This paper explores the conceptual and normative dimensions of theories of adjudication and argues that these theories must be held to empirical scrutiny. The conceptual dimension of theories of adjudication clarifies what is necessarily true about judicial decision-making. The normative dimension of theories of adjudication explains how judges legitimately exercise judicial power through adjudication. In this paper, it is argued that empirical insights may shed light on the plausibility of the legitimacy claims of theories of adjudication, given the fact that these normative claims build on the descriptive dimension of these theories. Hart and Dworkin's theories of adjudication are discussed to illustrate a narrow and wide conception of legitimacy in the context of judicial decision-making. The last part of this paper explores how empirical research based on interviews may be helpful to assess the conceptual and normative claims of Hart and Dworkin's theories of adjudication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on empirical research that examines the mentoring experiences of minoritized postdocs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, the researchers conceptualized a framework to cultivate inclusive, supportive, and mutually beneficial mentoring relationships among faculty mentors or Principal Investigators (PIs) and postdocs. The paper begins with an introduction to the STEM postdoc landscape, reviews relevant literature, and leverages data from 31 STEM postdocs at a research-intensive university in the southeast United States to introduce a conceptual framework that sheds light on and expands our understanding of STEM faculty-postdoc mentoring. The paper concludes with practical implications for improving STEM postdoc mentoring in research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to develop a K function method for analyzing distributions of polygon‐like entities in the real world by extending Ripley's K function method. Many empirical studies using the K function method assume that entities are represented by points. If entities are small enough in comparison with a study area, this approximation may be acceptable. If not, polygon‐like entities may not be approximated by points. To deal with polygon‐like entities, this paper develops a K function method for analyzing distributions of polygons. First, the paper shows a method for extending the local K function of points to that of polygons. Second, the paper compares the result obtained from the K function of polygons with that of the points representing the polygons and shows a distinctive difference. Third, the paper formulates the cross K function method of polygons to analyze the relationship between two distributions of polygons of different kinds. Fourth, the paper implements the methods in GIS. Last, the paper applies the cross K function method of polygons to actual distributions of buildings of different uses in Aoyama, Tokyo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper confronts psychoanalytic dream theories with the findings of empirical dream research. It summarizes the discussion in psychoanalysis around the function of dreams (e.g. as the guardian of sleep), wish-fullfilment or compensation, whether there is a difference between latent and manifest content, etc. In empirical dream research some of these questions have been investigated and the results can provide clarifications for psychoanalytic theorizing. The paper provides an overview of empirical dream research and its findings, as well as of clinical dream research in psychoanalysis, which was mainly conducted in German-speaking countries. The results are used to discuss the major questions in psychoanalytic dream theories and points out some developments in contemporary approaches which have been influenced by these insights. As a conclusion the paper attempts to formulate a revised theory of dreaming and its functions, which combines psychoanalytic thinking with research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topic: Currently, research into the key elements and role of peer support in the aftermath of victimization is limited. This study reviews the types of evidence available, clarifying key concepts in the literature, examining how research is conducted and identifying key characteristics or factors related to peer support in the aftermath of a victimization experience. Method: A scoping review was performed for peer-reviewed papers using predefined search terms. Studies addressing peer support among victims and survivors of crime, traffic accidents, calamities, suicide, and veterans were included. Selection was based on title and abstract and resulted in 16 papers eligible for review. An inductive thematic analysis was used to synthesize data and findings. Findings: Empirical studies into the key elements and role of peer support in the aftermath of victimization are limited in availability and scattered in terms of approach to research (e.g., methodology, type of respondents, type of peer support) and focus (such as focus on effects on mental health and well-being, on key elements or an evaluation of a support program). Studies mainly have an explorative and interpretative character. Key elements, operationalizations, positive outcomes and negative outcomes of peer support are discussed. Conclusion and discussion: The currently available knowledge on peer support in the aftermath of victimization lacks four points: cross-cultural studies, lived experiences as empirical findings, a variety of victimization events and longitudinal studies. Moreover, it is argued that future research should be improved by adopting a contextual and narrative approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature of neuroimaging meta‐analysis has been thriving for over a decade. A majority of them were coordinate‐based meta‐analyses, particularly the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) approach. A meta‐evaluation of these meta‐analyses was performed to qualitatively evaluate their design and reporting standards. The publications listed from the BrainMap website were screened. Six hundred and three ALE papers published during 2010–2019 were included and analysed. For reporting standards, most of the ALE papers reported their total number of Papers involved and mentioned the inclusion/exclusion criteria on Paper selection. However, most papers did not describe how data redundancy was avoided when multiple related Experiments were reported within one paper. The most prevalent repeated‐measures correction methods were voxel‐level FDR (54.4%) and cluster‐level FWE (33.8%), with the latter quickly replacing the former since 2016. For study characteristics, sample size in terms of number of Papers included per ALE paper and number of Experiments per analysis seemed to be stable over the decade. One‐fifth of the surveyed ALE papers failed to meet the recommendation of having >17 Experiments per analysis. For data sharing, most of them did not provide input and output data. In conclusion, the field has matured well in terms of rising dominance of cluster‐level FWE correction, and slightly improved reporting on elimination of data redundancy and providing input data. The provision of Data and Code availability statements and flow chart of literature screening process, as well as data submission to BrainMap, should be more encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science and technology and skills have increasingly become the driving force to lead the development of knowledge economy. With the changes in the demand for knowledge workers and the location of enterprises, a new type of innovation space—innovation districts—has emerged. Countries have begun to identify and nurture innovation districts. Therefore, how to accurately identify innovation districts in cities has become an important research topic. The existing research on identifying innovation districts is mainly based on a qualitative description method at the element level. However, whether there are other potential innovation districts in urban space can be identified by quantitative identification. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to establish an innovation district identification framework and a case study of the framework. The identification framework includes spatial identification and factor identification. In spatial identification, the identification index system is constructed based on the spatial location, range limit, and the surrounding area of innovative assets. In factor identification, the identification index system is constructed based on innovative assets, physical assets, and network assets, and Kendall Square and Boston innovation districts are used as the reference basis to determine whether the identified districts meet the standards of the constructed innovation districts. In empirical case research, spatial identification identified the Gaoxin South District (GXSD) spatial range. In factor identification, it was found that GXSD does not fully meet the standard of innovation district identification. This paper argues that the framework is essential for urban managers, planners, and urban designers to identify and evaluate high-quality innovation districts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents some improved estimators of population mean using auxiliary variables in Ranked Set Sampling. We have derived the expressions for bias and mean square errors up to the first order of approximation and shown that the proposed estimators under optimum conditions are more efficient than other estimators taken in this paper. In an attempt to verify the efficiencies of proposed estimators, theoretical results are supported by empirical study and simulation study for which we have considered two populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial globalisation has given issuers more freedom to carry out jurisdiction shopping. As a policy response, a growing number of stock markets have introduced the dual-class share structure to enhance global competitiveness. However, does the dual-class share structure help stock markets attract issuers? It is a question rarely examined empirically in existing scholarly work. This paper explores the practices of three jurisdictions with global financial centres, ie the US, China and Hong Kong, to narrow the research gap. Based on hand-collected data, it explains the infrequent listings with the dual-class share structure in China and Hong Kong in the post-reform era in two ways: low demand due to the use of substitutes; and limited allowance caused by the harsh ex ante regulation, and is the first comparative quantitative study in this field. Drawing on the empirical lessons, this paper recommends that China relax its ex ante regulation and suggests the wider community consider the necessity of introducing the dual-class share structure and the balance they aim to achieve between investor protection and market openness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both the transformation from innovation systems to innovation ecosystems and university reforms in such a context require a renewed understanding of the nature of universities and their roles in society. While the recent flourishing concepts about new models of universities suggest that the notion of an entrepreneurial university needs to be replaced by a more suitable concept to capture the unprecedented changes in universities in the societal transformation, the features of a new model of university described by these concepts can hardly fit into a consistent framework. This paper responds to this research gap by integrating both conceptual and empirical literature about the transformations or reforms of universities, mainly in the European context. Our major research findings are as follows. First, we identified characteristics of an ideal-type university in innovation ecosystems, named a sustainable entrepreneurial university (SEU), in comparison with those of an entrepreneurial university. Second, we elaborated on three emerging roles of the SEU in innovation ecosystems. Third, we found that while a transition from entrepreneurial universities to SEUs can be seen in European university reforms, the paces of the transformations vary. At the end of the paper, we discuss the scholarly and policy implications of our research findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) clubs are gaining momentum as a means for engaging students in STEM-related activities. Despite this growth, there have been limited attempts to examine the conditions that inform practice in these informal educational spaces. This paper addresses that gap through a comprehensive literature review of empirical and practitioner publications, with a focus on synthesising the approaches that support STEM clubs to be effective learning environments. In total, 33 papers were included in this review. Through a rigorous literature review process, the research team identified a number of key focus areas that support the achievement of learning outcomes and programme sustainability. These focus areas are grouped into three key themes – club management, environment, and program evaluation – that STEM club practitioners should attend to in order to ensure a well-informed approach. Within in each theme a number of sub-dimensions were identified, which provide practical insights and lived examples of how these conditions can be enacted within STEM clubs in ways that speak to quality. The evidence-based findings presented in this paper can be used by practitioners to guide STEM club practice. Further, the paper identifies where research is required to explore contemporary practice in informal education settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noncoaxiality is critical for predicting accurately the constitutive relationships of soils. Although the noncoaxiality of sand and clay has been studied extensively, such information for residual soil is far from sufficient. The mechanical behavior of residual soil differs from that of sedimentary soil, thus the applicability of the existing results is yet to be confirmed. This paper reports systematic undrained hollow-cylinder torsional shear tests performed on specimens of natural granite residual soil (GRS). The tests involve shear paths of monotonic shear with fixed principal-stress direction (fixed-α) as well as rotation of the principal-stress direction at constant deviator stress (α-rotation). The results show that the noncoaxial behavior of GRS depends on the principal-stress direction as well as the deviator stress. In the fixed-α tests, the soil tends to become more coaxial when approaching an ultimate state. The higher deviator stress during the α-rotation tests results in reduced noncoaxiality, but no obvious reduction in noncoaxiality is induced by α-rotation. This paper correlates soil's inherent anisotropy with its noncoaxial behavior. For sand, the initial and maximum noncoaxiality degree correlate well with the initial anisotropy, and two corresponding empirical relationships are proposed. However, they do not apply to natural GRS and soft clay. The ultimate noncoaxiality degree correlates poorly with the inherent anisotropy because of the damage to the latter. For GRS, the inherent anisotropy declines when soil particles rearrange during shear, which damages the bridge-form iron-bearing minerals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In its "deliberative turn," the field of science and technology studies (STS) has strongly advocated opening up decision-making processes around science and technology to more perspectives and knowledges. While the theory of democracy underpinning this is rarely explicitly addressed, the language and ideas used are often drawn from deliberative democracy. Using the case of synthetic biology and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), this paper looks at challenges of public engagement and finds parallels in long-standing critiques of deliberative democracy. The paper suggests that STS scholars explore other theories of decision-making and explores what an RRI grounded in agonistic pluralism might entail. An agonistic RRI could develop empirical research around questions of power relations in contemporary science and technology, seek to facilitate the formation of political publics around relevant issues, and frame different actors' stances as adversarial positions on a political field rather than "equally valid" perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper suggests a class of modified exponential estimators for estimating the population mean of the study variable by using the information on the auxiliary variable under two situations: i) when information on the study variable and the auxiliary variable is available; ii) when there is non-response on the study as well as on auxiliary variable. Various estimators are obtained from the proposed class of estimators. The expressions for the bias and mean square errors (MSE) of the proposed estimator are derived up to the first degree of approximation. Theoretical comparisons are made with existing estimators and conditions are developed, under which proposed estimators are efficient. Also, these theoretical findings are supported by the simulation and empirical study by considering three real data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prompted by recent shocks and stresses to health systems globally, various studies have emerged on health system resilience. Our aim is to describe how health system resilience is operationalised within empirical studies and previous reviews. We compare these to the core conceptualisations and characteristics of resilience in a broader set of domains (specifically, engineering, socio-ecological, organisational and community resilience concepts), and trace the different schools, concepts and applications of resilience across the health literature. Methods: We searched the Pubmed database for concepts related to 'resilience' and 'health systems'. Two separate analyses were conducted for included studies: a total of n = 87 empirical studies on health system resilience were characterised according to part of health systems covered, type of threat, resilience phase, resilience paradigm, and approaches to building resilience; and a total of n = 30 reviews received full-text review and characterised according to type of review, resilience concepts identified in the review, and theoretical framework or underlying resilience conceptualisation. Results: The intersection of health and resilience clearly has gained importance in the academic discourse with most papers published since 2018 in a variety of journals and in response to external threats, or in reference to more frequent hospital crisis management. Most studies focus on either resilience of health systems generally (and thereby responding to an external shock or stress), or on resilience within hospitals (and thereby to regular shocks and operations). Less attention has been given to community-based and primary care, whether formal or informal. While most publications do not make the research paradigm explicit, 'resilience engineering' is the most prominent one, followed by 'community resilience' and 'organisational resilience'. The social-ecological systems roots of resilience find the least application, confirming our findings of the limited application of the concept of transformation in the health resilience literature. Conclusions: Our review shows that the field is fragmented, especially in the use of resilience paradigms and approaches from non-health resilience domains, and the health system settings in which these are used. This fragmentation and siloed approach can be problematic given the connections within and between the complex and adaptive health systems, ranging from community actors to local, regional, or national public health organisations to secondary care. Without a comprehensive definition and framework that captures these interdependencies, operationalising, measuring and improving resilience remains challenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of the cross-border inland port linking southern Thailand and northern Malaysia has experienced notable expansion over time, mostly driven by economic development and the substantial increase in export demand from the far east market. Currently, there are ongoing development activities for the establishment of two additional inland ports at the Malaysian border. The current capacity of the Padang Besar Cargo Terminal (PBCT), an inland port, is insufficient to satisfy the demand. The Thai government has recently unveiled a series of new projects and enhancements to logistical infrastructures in the southern part of Thailand, which are indicative of the potential for economic growth in the area. The necessity to perform this study arises from the current advancements and the absence of empirical investigation into the parameters associated with the sustainability of a cross-border inland port. This study aims to examine the various difficulties and aspects that can potentially affect the long-term sustainability of a transnational inland port. It will explore the challenges, critical success factors, and impacts associated with cross-border inland ports. Upon the culmination of the investigation, a conceptual framework for cross-border inland ports is put out, alongside a comprehensive evaluation of its potential effects. This study takes a mixed methodology approach, utilizing interviews, on-site observations, desk research, and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) for data collecting and analysis. The findings of the study brought attention to the three fundamental elements of the framework, namely challenges, critical success factors, and impacts. Additionally, the responsibilities played by stakeholders were identified, along with a proposed strategy for establishing a sustainable cross-border inland port. This paper also provides an analysis of the impact assessment of a cross-border inland port, focusing on the three pillars of sustainability: people, planet, and profit. The research is expected to offer significant insights that can be utilized for strategic planning and decision-making by the relevant governing body and operators of inland ports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An effective dead-time control strategy for the three-phase dual active bridge (3P-DAB) converter of a distribution system is studied to reduce the switching losses of power switches and improve the under-light-load power conversion efficiency. Because of the advantages of a dual-active bridge converter, such as an inherent zero-voltage switching (ZVS) capability without any additional resonant tank and a seamless bi-directional power transition, this is an attractive topology for bi-directional application. The 3P-DAB converter is apt for high-power applications such as aircraft due to an interleaved structure, which can reduce conduction losses. However, the design of the dead time depends on engineering experience and empirical methods. In order to overcome the conventional practicality of the dead-time design method, the effective control of dead time is proposed based on the theoretical analysis. In this paper, the overall explanation of the 3P-DAB converter is shown with operation principles. In addition, the dead-time effect of the 3P-DAB converter is examined and the practical variable dead-time control strategy is studied. Finally, experimental results validate the proposed variable dead-time control strategy using a 25 kW prototype 3P-DAB converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the tremendous development of artificial intelligence (AI)‐based mobile apps, they suffer from quality issues. Data‐driven AI software poses challenges for maintenance and quality assurance. Metamorphic testing has been successfully adopted to AI software. However, most previous studies require testers to manually identify metamorphic relations in an ad hoc and arbitrary manner, thereby encountering difficulties in reflecting real‐world usage scenarios. Previous work showed that information available in user reviews is effective for maintenance and testing tasks. Yet, there is a lack of studies leveraging reviews to facilitate AI function maintenance and testing activities. This paper proposes METUR, a novel approach to supporting maintenance and testing for AI functions based on reviews. Firstly, METUR automatically classifies reviews that can be exploited for supporting AI function maintenance and evolution activities. Then, it identifies test contexts from reviews in the usage scenario category. METUR instantiates the metamorphic relation pattern for deriving concrete metamorphic relations based on test contexts. The follow‐up test dataset is constructed for conducting metamorphic testing. Empirical studies on plant identification apps indicate that METUR effectively categorizes reviews that are related to AI functions. METUR is feasible and effective in detecting inconsistent behaviors by using the metamorphic relations constructed based on reviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research works have proven that duplicate bug reports can provide helpful information to assist developers in software tasks such as fault localization and program fixing, while thoroughly reading duplicate bug reports is time‐consuming and inefficient. Summarization is a possible solution for gaining essential information quickly. However, there are many challenges when applying existing summarizing techniques on duplicate bug reports. Duplicate bug reports describe the same problem from different views and vary in quality, content, and writing style. Moreover, the code snippet understanding and the semantic gap between natural and programming languages make the summary generation even more difficult. Thus, in this paper, we want to investigate whether the state‐of‐the‐art summarization approaches can overcome the resistance and generate an effective summary for duplicate bug reports. We collected more than 8,000 groups of duplicate reports from GitHub and labeled 60 groups with 149 reports manually for the evaluation. Results showed that although the existing summarization approaches can work on duplicate bug reports, there are significant differences between them when it comes to code snippet summarization. Moreover, several methods can be very sluggish for summarizing long bug reports. Our study provides insights and guidelines for choosing proper summarization approaches in different scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-performance computing systems conduct extensive logging of resource usage data and system logs, and parsing these data is an often advocated basis for failure diagnosis. Major page faults are known to be one of the most common cause of performance problems in large cluster systems. We conduct an empirical study of major page faults on two large cluster systems. We set up three regression algorithms including the LASSO, Ridge and Elastic Net regression techniques. To the best of our knowledge, there is no work that studied different regression models to diagnose major page faults in a large cluster system. In this paper, we (a) propose an approach for diagnosing major page faults, and (b) evaluate the LASSO, Ridge and Elastic Net regression algorithms on real resource use data and system logs. As part of our contributions, we (a) compare the accuracy of the three regression algorithms, (b) identify the resource use counters which are correlated to major page faults and the system events which are correlated to page fault events, and (c) provide insights into major page faults and page fault events. Our work highlights empirical observations that could facilitate better handling of node failures in cluster systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the ways in which women victim/survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and other human rights abuses in Colombia are co-facilitating repair and regeneration in their wider social ecologies – including their families, communities, built and natural environments – through their physical and emotional work. I begin by exploring the concept of co-facilitation which is used in socio-ecological resilience literature to designate the process through which individuals and communities cooperate with their social ecologies to make positive development possible after stressful/traumatic experiences despite systemic inequality and oppression. Using empirical data and following a growing corpus of literature which recognises that during war people are not only harmed but also build life alongside violence, I argue that victim/survivors and women-led organizations cooperate to co-facilitate positive change in women's lives and their communities. The paper concludes by reflecting on the role of these organizations as central resources in women's lives and the need to strengthen them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fast-food industry has grown in popularity in the last few decades around the world. In Vietnam, the demand for fast food is increasing. Moreover, fast-food restaurants are popular in Vietnam, especially in Da Nang. The purpose of this research is to use the DINESERV scale to evaluate the factors that impact customer satisfaction in fast-food restaurants in Da Nang. A total of 184 respondents of a university in Da Nang, Vietnam from an online survey were used to assess customer satisfaction in fast-food restaurants. The findings revealed that food quality is not a significant influence on customer satisfaction but service quality, price and physical environment have positive impacts. This paper provides potential ways for restaurateurs to improve customer satisfaction by improving their understanding of the roles of the price, service quality, and physical environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shunt defects are often detected in solar panels intended for photovoltaic applications. However, existing nondestructive detection technologies have certain inherent drawbacks depending on the application scenario. In this context, this paper reports a comprehensive empirical investigation into lock-in thermography (LIT) and its applicability to diagnosing shunt defects in copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar modules. LIT was compared with biased thermography, and its distinctive attributes were elucidated. The comparison results demonstrate the superior capabilities of LIT at enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio, improving the visibility, resolution, and quantification of defects, and highlighting the usefulness of LIT for advanced defect analysis. We explored scenarios in which biased thermography could be appropriate despite its inherent limitations and identified conditions under which it might be preferred. The complex thermal behavior of different types of defects under various voltage conditions was analyzed, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of their behavior. Thus, integrating experimental results and theoretical understanding, we provide valuable insights and scientific guidelines for photovoltaic research. Our findings could help enhance the efficiency of defect detection in CIGS modules, highlighting the critical role of optimized thermographic techniques in developing photovoltaic technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides empirical evidence about the close relationship between two education systems' orientations and priorities and teacher identities. Based on the Dialogical-Self Theory (DST), it identifies different schoolteacher identities and shows that these teacher identities are non-uniformly distributed across two education systems. Forty Catalan and forty Peruvian schoolteachers (eighty in total) provided information about their positions and I-positions concerning teaching via a written survey. The data were analysed using qualitative and quantitative procedures. The findings show three types of teacher identities: an educator and a learning guide, an instructor teaching, and a collaborative innovator. The results further demonstrate that most of the Peruvian schoolteachers assumed the teacher identity as an instructor teaching. In contrast, the Catalan schoolteachers assumed two teacher identities: an educator and a learning guide, and a collaborative innovator. We conclude by suggesting some implications for educational policy, teacher education and school organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public environmental satisfaction is related to the healthy living standard of human beings and sustainable development of an economic society. In the context of the continuous updating of Internet technologies, it is necessary to study the correlation between Internet use and public environmental satisfaction, but few studies have focused on the effect of the orientation of Internet use on public environmental satisfaction, and its mediating mechanisms. This study considered survey data from the China Social Survey 2019 which were conducted in a sample of 5,112 residents, SPSS 16.0 and ordinary least squares regression model was used to analyze the relationship between orientation of Internet use, government trust and public environmental satisfaction. The results showed politically-oriented Internet use was positively correlated with public environmental satisfaction, and entertainment-oriented Internet use did not correlate with public environmental satisfaction. Furthermore, government trust partially mediated the relation between politically-oriented Internet use and public environmental satisfaction. Several implication policies are suggested for improving public environmental satisfaction. This study takes into account individual initiative and government's control of information during Internet use, emphasizes the impact of different individual Internet use preferences on environmental satisfaction in the web environment with strong government control. By incorporating individual factors at the micro level and social factors at the macro level, this paper is in order to improve public environmental satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical likelihood has been widely used in survival data analysis recently. In this paper, we combine Bayesian idea with empirical likelihood and develop a Bayesian empirical likelihood method to analyze current status data based on the linear regression model. By constructing unbiased transformation of current status data, we derive an empirical log-likelihood function. The normal prior distribution and a Metro-Hastings method are presented to make Bayesian posterior inference. The theoretical properties of the estimators are proposed. Extensive simulation studies indicate that Bayesian empirical likelihood method performs much better than the empirical likelihood method in terms of coverage probability. Finally, we apply two real data to illustrate the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic and social transformation of rural areas, coupled with the decline of family-based elderly care and increasing health risks, necessitates in-depth research on the effectiveness of informal care for rural elderly adults. Utilizing 10-year, four-period follow-up data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) between 2008 and 2018, this study empirically examines the changing trends and heterogeneity of informal care. In addition, this paper identifies factors impacting on the satisfaction of rural informal care services, providing a comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness of these services for different segments of the rural elderly adults. The results indicate that the changing trends of informal care for rural elderly adults follows a differential pattern, with over 60% relying on their children, and 7.79% to 13.27% on their spouses. Only a small fraction of elderly individuals relies on institutional care and market-oriented care, with percentages below 2% and 3%, respectively. While over 95% of rural elderly adults express satisfaction with their informal care services, less than 50% are fully satisfied, and the proportion of dissatisfied elderly adults is increasing annually. Key variables impacting on the effectiveness of informal care services include marital status, health status, living arrangement, care intensity, care expenditures, pension insurance, and daily community care support. Policy options such as financial support for informal care, enhancement of the old-age security system, and the establishment socialized formal care can help alleviate the burden of informal care for rural elderly adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of urbanization, demand for housing is increasing day by day in India. Traditional clay brick leads to resource scarcity and environmental pollution. To overwhelmed this problem, manufacturing of bricks was done using the waste of thermal power plants like Fly Ash along with Sand and Cement (FAS-C Brick) as key ingredients. Fly ash is an Industrial by-product of thermal power plant. An experimental study of mix-design was carried out to increase the quality of the FAS-C brick. This paper attempt to formulate the mix design of fly ash based brick by process planning. Laboratory tests were conducted to determine the compressive strength and water absorption of the bricks. The main objective of the research study was to design the Fly Ash, Sand, Cement (FAS-C) brick and find the compressive strength using different mix design methods as a part of quality improvement process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article Quenched large deviation principle for words in a letter sequence, Probab. Theory Relat. Fields 148, no. 3/4 (2010), 403–456 we derived a quenched large deviation principle for the empirical process of words obtained by cutting an i.i.d. sequence of letters according to an independent renewal process. We derived a representation of the associated rate function for stationary word processes in terms of certain specific relative entropies. Our proof of this representation is correct when the mean word length is finite, but is flawed when the mean word length is infinite. In this paper we fix the flaw in the proof. Along the way we derive new representations of the rate function that are interesting in their own right. A key ingredient in the proof is the observation that if the rate function in the annealed large deviation principle is finite at a stationary word process, then the letters in the tail of the long words in this process are typical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hub location problem is one of the challenging subjects in location theory. This problem can benefit transportation, telecommunication or delivery systems, in which hub nodes are responsible for receiving, collecting and delivering commodities. This paper discusses the multiple allocation hub maximal covering problem (MAHMCP). In this problem, the flow of an origin–destination pair is transferred via multiple hubs such that the total flow covered by located hubs is maximized. We present a new model for the MAHMCP, which has a significantly smaller number of binary variables compared to previous models. The proposed model is theoretically stronger than past models, and an empirical study using the Australia Post (AP) dataset demonstrates its effectiveness. Our experiments show that the new formulation provides high-quality solutions and fast run times for instances up to 100 nodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guido Löhr's recent article makes several insightful and productive suggestions about how to proceed with the empirical study of collective action. However, their critique of the conclusions drawn in Gomez-Lavin & Rachar (2022) is undermined by some issues with the interpretation of the debate and paper. This discussion article clears up those issues, presents new findings from experiments developed in response to Löhr's critiques, reflects on the role of experimental research in the development and refinement of philosophical theories, and adds to Löhr's suggestions about the path forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-hailing services have disrupted how, when, and where people travel in cities. This paper characterizes the attributes of the supply of e-hailing markets that is reflective of the labor characteristics of the drivers (contractors). Based on a clustering analysis of the observed behavior of an e-hailing company's drivers over a month, the analysis identifies three major groups of drivers: (i) part-time drivers working flexible hours, (ii) part-time drivers working in the evenings, and (iii) full-time drivers. The clustering results of the e-hailing market supply is verified to have consistent characteristics over different days. The results of the clustering method are demonstrated to be effective for prediction of supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conceptual design synthesis, which focuses on generating solution alternatives, has a significant impact on the cost and quality of the final product. The development of radically new and significantly better solutions requires generation and exploration of a large solution space. Most of the existing literature on conceptual design synthesis of mechanical devices: (1) is on synthesising device concepts for a single relation of 'converting one input set to another output set'—this is called single-state design synthesis (SSDS); and (2) primarily employs 'composition of building blocks' as the approach for the synthesis of concepts. Multiple-state design synthesis (MSDS), on the other hand, refers to synthesising device concepts for more than one relation between an input set and an output set. Since not much literature is available on studies of MSDS, it is essential to understand how and how well designers currently carry out MSDS. This knowledge can be used as a benchmark and a source of knowledge for developing a prescriptive support to improve MSDS. Therefore, the objective of the work presented in this paper is to obtain a better understanding of this process by carrying out empirical studies on multiple-state synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various methods of analysis are available to analyze production data in order to estimate the intrinsic features of the well and the reservoir condition in the current state. The parameter estimated from all of these analyses when performed separately often demonstrate poor agreement because each of them was developed using different assumptions. This paper discusses the most common analysis methods that can be performed in combination on production data including empirical decline curve analyzing method, analytical type curves analysis, and the flowing material balancing technique that can actually be used for calculating reservoir or well properties including original oil in place (OOIP), ultimate oil recovery (EUR), drainage area (A), skin factor (S), and well permeability(K). These techniques applied on Mshrif formation/Buzurgan oil field to estimate the above parameters by the three methods. These methods have the advantage of being able to predict and analyze using flow rate and well flowing pressure without needing to shut in the well to predict average pressure of reservoir that is essential in most estimations. The result showed that both analytical Blasingame type curve method and flowing material balance gave analogous estimations but didn't agree with Arp's empirical method estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considered the problem of outlier detection in a repeated measure design (RMD) using the Estimate distance and the Liu and Weng's residual methods. The comparative performance of the two methods in identifying outlier in a RMD was evaluated through empirical and simulation studies. For the empirical study, two types of outliers (outliers I and II) were randomly introduced into the real‐life dataset from physiological research at a time. The results obtained revealed that the Liu and Weng's Residual and Estimate Distance tests correctly detected the outlier I randomly introduced into all the subjects at a time. However, the Liu and Weng's Residual test was only able to correctly detect the outlier II in subjects 1, 4 and 6 while the Estimate distance test could not detect the outlier II in any of the subject. In the simulation study, random samples of size 105, 120, 135, and 150 with a corresponding number of subjects (k = 7, 8, 9, 10), respectively, were generated from a multivariate normal distribution. Two types of outliers (outliers I and II) were randomly introduced into the simulated datasets. The results of the simulation study indicated that the Liu and Weng's residual and Estimate distance methods correctly detected the outlier I randomly introduced into the simulated data for all the sample sizes considered. However, the Liu and Weng's Residual test outperformed the Estimate distance test in detecting the outlier II. Thus, the Liu and Weng's Residual proved to be more powerful than the Estimate Distance test in identifying outlier in a RMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initial value problems can be solved efficiently by means of Runge–Kutta algorithms with adaptive step size control. Diagonally implicit Runge–Kutta (DIRK) methods are the most popular class among the diverse family of Runge–Kutta algorithms. In this paper, the novel class of low‐order explicit last‐stage diagonally implicit Runge–Kutta (ELDIRK) methods are explored, which combine implicit schemes with an additional explicit evaluation as an explicit last stage. ELDIRK Butcher tableaus are used to control embedded RK methods to obtain solutions of different orders. The lower‐order solution is obtained by classical implicit RK stages and the higher‐order solution is obtained by additional explicit evaluation. As a result, a significant reduction in computational cost is achieved by skipping the iterative solution of nonlinear systems for the additional step. The examination of the heat problem and the use of the innovative Butcher tableau in the finite‐element method are the main contributions of this work. Thus, it is possible to establish adaptive step size control for the new low‐order embedded methods based on an empirical method for error estimation. Two‐dimensional simulations are used to show an appropriate algorithm for the ELDIRK schemes. The new Runge–Kutta schemes' predictions of higher‐order convergence are confirmed, and their successful outcomes are illustrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of the study is due to the problem that is typical for different types of structures of screw press zeer corps, namely, determining the optimal gap for oil yield, which has practical and economic feasibility. In this regard, this study is aimed at analysing the existing types of zeer corps, identifying their advantages and disadvantages to find methods to improve their design and increase oil yield. The leading methods for solving this problem are empirical research methods, which allow comprehensively considering the existing types of structures based on observation and, through comparison and experiment, to find a rational solution to the problem. The paper analyses the features of technical means for oil separation in presses and extruders, substantiates the practicality of the existing design and indicates the complexity or simplicity of designs in the scientific literature. The need to supplement the existing terms for various designs of the oil separator bodies and possible ways to improve the process of oil separation into different fractions are identified. Experimental studies were carried out with a set of semi-hulls of the zeer sections with different gaps. This made it possible to identify a smaller percentage of cake shedding through the zeer sections, with a corresponding reduction in the gap. The results of oil yield were obtained depending on the established gap in the semihulls of the slotted elements of the zeer camera and the heating temperature of the hulls. A decrease in the percentage of shedding with a decrease in the gap in the zeer camera was found. The studied design of the zeer camera type confirmed the versatility and simplicity of its design, which facilitates its maintenance and replacement. For each processed tonne of seeds, due to the increase in the amount of oil squeezed out, the profit of a farmer or enterprise that improves twin-screw extruders by adjusting the gaps as follows will increase accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncertainty is a key feature of philosophising with children. It is central to the theory and methodology of philosophical inquiry and the educational assumptions underlying it. Uncertainty also presents a specific challenge for pupils and teachers undertaking philosophical inquiry in the classroom, because mainstream education is mostly based on certainty: reduction of complexity in view of assessment, a focus on students giving the right answers, standardized skills and competencies. This paper presents empirical research, reporting the reflections of primary school children and teachers on their experiences with philosophical inquiry in the classroom. It revisits the opportunities and challenges presented by philosophising with children in mainstream education and discusses the implications for teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restrictions imposed by the COVID‐19 pandemic have forced many to seek alternative means of training and learning, which ended up with increasing investment in the notion of the metaverse. Metaverse is envisioned as the next iteration of the Internet in which the virtual and the real world are blended to materialize a highly immersive experience. Not surprisingly, perhaps, next‐generation training and education systems are concerned with methods to integrate themselves into metaverse environments. In particular, participants are looking for more interactive and flexible training while maintaining a degree of educational content and high quality for their training plans and interactive workflows. In this paper, we conducted research to explore the role of metaverse in employee training. To this end, we utilized a variant of PlaySAFe (i.e., a 3D game) to investigate its metaverse adoption and usage. A qualitative design was adopted, using semistructured interviews to explore practitioners' experiences using the new version of PlaySAFe. After having it played in an industrial setting, we interviewed a group of software practitioners to compare the actual and expected features. This research has explored the pros and cons of using the current technologies for the practical groundwork of SAFe training. Findings from this research suggest that the metaverse holds the potential to deliver improved practical alignment in training and education programs, but that at the present time, practitioners expect more metaverse compatible features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an emerging shift in human–computer interaction (HCI) research from things to events and towards time and temporality as a design material, which is made even more urgent by the unique time of the COVID-19 period. This paper pushes this shift forwards by investigating factors and the way that these shape online media multitasking behaviour over time during COVID-19. We model the factors along the WHAT and HOW dimensions of the HCI-over-Time model (HCIoT) with self-report data from 117 university students and objective behavioural data from 40 university students, who participated in an online course over 2 weeks during COVID-19. The results indicated a pervasiveness of media multitasking behaviour over time in an online course, driven by individual factors and enhanced by their mutual fit. Based on interpretation of our data, we suggest conceptualizing the COVID-19 period as the larger temporal environment in the HCIoT model. The discussion further explains how the broader idea of human–computer-environment fit is significant to understand HCIoT through an interaction lens. We discuss methodological issues related to differentiating between self-report and behavioural measures when applying the HCIoT model. The conclusion supports the feasibility and significance of conceptualizing media multitasking during COVID-19 as temporal HCI and of further developing and operationalizing the HCIoT model by using both behavioural and self-report measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health significance of walking has become increasingly prominent. To better understand how factors influence behavior is a necessary basis for effective behavioral intervention. In view of the complexity of human behavior, this paper explores the influencing factors of pedestrian walking and their influencing mechanism under different behavioral purposes from the socio-ecological perspective, based on the empirical data of Shenzhen. The analysis reveals that: factors in each dimension interact to have a joint influence on walking activities, among which the influences of behavioral habit, physical environment, and policy environment are more prominent; the differentiation of influencing factors under different behavioral purposes is relatively obvious in physical environment dimension; the comprehensive performance of factors is more prominent in physical environment dimension, which is effective, especially under the intervention of policy environment factors; behavioral intervention practices should be integrated with the respective characteristics of behavior psychology, social environment, physical environment, and policy environment, so as to maximize the intervention effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]