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The current investigation aimed to explore how and to what extent technology tools and web-delivered language learning platforms impact the academic performance of English language learners (ELLs) at the tertiary level. The study used a quantitative experimental research method employing a single-group pre-test and post-test design. A total of N=525 undergraduate computer science students partook in this research. The participants enrolled in their first semester at the Faculty of Information Technology in a private sector university in Lahore, Pakistan, were selected using a simple random sampling technique. The data were gathered in two phases: a pre-test was administered in the first week, and a post-test was conducted in the sixteenth week. The Reading Comprehension and Use of English assessments adapted from ETS TOEIC -- a credible instrument in terms of validity and reliability -- were used for this purpose. The investigators applied frequency analysis in the form of percentages to get various descriptive statistics. They utilised Spearman's rank-ordered correlation and Kruskal-Wallis H tests to verify the findings of the descriptive statistics, address the research question and respond to the statistical hypotheses. Despite diverse linguistic and technological barriers, the results revealed a positive impact of technology tools on ELLs' academic performance. The study proposed that taking undergraduates from other disciplines and exploring other variables affecting ELLs' performance and confidence need further consideration.

Advances in connectivity, communication, computation, and algorithms are driving a revolution that will bring economic and social benefits through smart technologies of the Industry 4.0 era. At the same time, attackers are targeting this expanded cyberspace to exploit it. Therefore, many cyberattacks are reported each year at an increasing rate. Traditional security devices such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDSs), intrusion prevention systems (IPSs), anti-viruses, and the like, often cannot detect sophisticated cyberattacks. The security information and event management (SIEM) system has proven to be a very effective security tool for detecting and mitigating such cyberattacks. A SIEM system provides a holistic view of the security status of a corporate network by analyzing log data from various network devices. The correlation engine is the most important module of the SIEM system. In this study, we propose the optimized correlator (OC), a novel correlation engine that replaces the traditional regex matching sub-module with a novel high-performance multiple regex matching library called "Hyperscan" for parallel log data scanning to improve the performance of the SIEM system. Log files of 102 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB, and 1024 MB, generated from log data received from various devices in the network, are input into the OC and simple event correlator (SEC) for applying correlation rules. The results indicate that OC is 21 times faster than SEC in real-time response and 2.5 times more efficient in execution time. Furthermore, OC can detect multi-layered attacks successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphology plays a crucial role in defining the optical, electronic, and mechanical properties of halide perovskite microcrystals. Therefore, developing strategies that offer precise control over crystal morphology during the growth process is highly desirable. This work presents a simple scheme to simultaneously grow distinct geometries of cesium lead bromide (CsPbBr3) microcrystals, including microrods (MR), microplates (MP), and microspheres (MS), in a single chemical vapor deposition (CVD) experiment. By strategically adjusting precursor evaporation temperatures, flux density, and the substrate temperature, we surpass previous techniques by achieving simultaneous yet selective growth of multiple CsPbBr3 geometries at distinct positions on the same substrate. This fine growth control is attributed to the synergistic variation in fluid flow dynamics, precursor substrate distance, and temperature across the substrate, offering regions suitable for the growth of different morphologies. Pertinently, perovskite MR are grown at the top, while MP and MS are observed at the center and bottom regions of the substrate, respectively. Structural analysis reveals high crystallinity and an orthorhombic phase of the as-grown perovskite microcrystals, while persistent photonic lasing manifests their nonlinear optical characteristics, underpinning their potential application for next-generation photonic and optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous literature presents a gap to study the mediating mechanism in the relationship between use of social media to perform a job and employees’ productivity. Based on the transactional stress and coping model, we conducted the present research to assess the serial mediation of information overload and ambiguity intolerance for this relationship. Using adapted research questionnaires, we used an online data collection technique to collect data from a sample of 232 employees working with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). Results obtained through structural equation modeling, indicate significant serial mediation of information overload and ambiguity intolerance in the relationship between use of social media and overall employees’ productivity. We also found that use of social media is positively related to information overload and ambiguity intolerance and negatively related to employees’ overall productivity. The study has contributed to the literature by identifying situational, psychological, and behavioral consequences of use of social media at work. Research has discussed several implications for organizations and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 21st century, researchers have been exploring different designs, performance characteristics, charging–discharging regions, and regenerative braking aspects of electric vehicles. However, there has been a major gap in the multimodal analysis of the accelerating pedal drive for electric vehicles; therefore, herein, a novel analytical model of a mimicked foot pedaling control of an electric vehicle is developed by cascading five sub-models (i.e., foot pedal, resistive potentiometer, 555 timer, buck converter, and the permanent magnet DC motor) to synthesize the overall third-order transfer function of the system. MATLAB is utilized to comprehensively analyze the transient and steady-state characteristics of the developed model by considering the pedaling force, four different materials (i.e., aluminum, brass, carbon fiber, and polyamide 6), the potentiometer's resistance, and the mechanical and electrical attributes of the motor. The results highlight that the linear pedaling drive is possible by considering the polyamide 6 material's pedaling properties of 0.25 kg mass and 2.679 Ns/m damping coefficient. Furthermore, at a lesser potentiometer track length (around 10 cm) and equivalent inertia of 5 Kgm2, the motor generates the regulated angular velocity, thereby minimizing the transient characteristics of the accelerating pedal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nb-modified lead-free ceramics (K0.48Bi0.52)(Mg0.02Ti0.98−xNbx)O3, (KBT-BMTNbx with x = 0.00 − 0.05) were synthesized by a conventional solid-state reaction route followed by furnace cooling. The effects of Nb-doping on the structural properties and electrical properties of KBT-BMTNbx ceramics have been investigated. The X-ray diffraction pattern indicates a mixed tetragonal and cubic phase for the pure KBT-BMTNbx ceramics. Therefore, a large piezoelectric actuator coefficient d33* ≈ 700 pm/V, piezoelectric sensor coefficient (d33 ≈ 133 pC/N) along with remnant polarization (Pr ≈ 17.5 µC/cm2), maximum electromechanical strain ≈ 0.35% and maximum temperature (Tm ≈ 336 ºC) were obtained for KBT-BMTNbx. However, with Nb-doping, a compositionally driven phase transformation occurred from mixed rhombohedral and tetragonal phases to cubic phase. Because of the excess Nb-doping in the KBT-BMT ceramics, the grain size suddenly decreased, as a result, the long-range ferroelectric phase was converted into a short-range relaxor phase. Hence, a low dielectric loss tanδ ≈ 0.02 was achieved at x = 0.02 composition. This superior dielectric performance is correlated to the crystal structure morphotropic phase boundary, optimum grain size (≈ 2 μm), maximum lattice distortion, and soft-ferroelectric effect induced by the donor doping. The main aim of recent research is to investigate Pr, d33, d33*, Smax, and reduced tanδ for practical applications in the real world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]