Launching new educational provision in China

Services are dominant entity in the global economy nowadays. Previous research has largely concentrated on new physical product launch. This research study generalizes and extends the current new product launch literature review by focusing on new service launch. Rather than focus primarily on a developed market, this project focuses on an international market. Thus, this research study addresses the research question: What are the successful strategic and tactical launch decisions for the launch of new educational provision in China? The research identifies the successful service launch strategies and understanding the nature of a proficient service launch strategy in the international market. To expand the previous research heavily focused on financial services that are standardized and mass-produced, an in-depth study of new service launch in complicated services featuring a high degree of complexity and customization was conducted. This study integrates empirical data with theoretical concepts from various disciplines (e.g., services marketing, new service development, international services and education marketing) to encourage a new perspective to the research of new international service launch for an improved understanding of launching new educational provision in China. The study uses a multiple case research strategy where empirical data was collected in three transnational higher education institutions (TEIs). Challenging extant research that has focused on a manager’s perspective, this current research focuses on the dual perspectives of TEIs and students, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the complicated phenomenon of launching new educational provision in China. In a practical sense, it provides greater insight into understanding what contributes to successful international service launch and in effect, attaining the goal of improving launch success rates by allowing foreign institutions interested in launching new educational provision in China to refine their launch decisions for new TNE offerings. Any reader wishing to understand more about the workings of the TNE marketplace in China, the management practices and managerial directions therein would benefit from this detailed research project

A low profile radiating element with nearly hemispheric coverage for satellite communications on-the-move hybrid array antenna

A novel design solution of a dual-linearly polarised Ku-band low-profile radiating element for low elevation angle coverage (down to 10° above horizon) is presented. Such an element is suitable for full-duplex Satellite Communications On-The-Move (SCOTM) hybrid scanned phased array antenna applications. Standard designed radiating elements for array applications with low profile physical structure suffer poor low elevation angle coverage as the element pattern reduces by sine of the elevation angle. The element design demonstrated in this paper features unique louvered array element geometry incorporating a spatial “ray bending” lens facilitates the shaping of the element pattern to increase gain at low elevation angles. Preliminary modelling results using ray tracing analysis shows that the desired low angle coverage can be achieved. Currently in progress full 3D electromagnetic simulations which include the interaction between the basic radiator and the spatial lens indicates that using an ideal tilted element with novel louvered reflector in addition with proposed lens, low angular coverage can potentially be realised in a low profile structure

A new low profile antenna with improved performance for satellite on-the-move communications

A novel design solution for a low-profile fullduplex Satellite-On-The-Move Communications hybrid scanned phased array antenna for low elevation angle coverage (down to 10°) is described. The antenna is operated at Ku-Band. The unique louvered array element geometry in combination with a spatial filter/ “ray bending” lens facilitates the shaping of the element pattern to increase gain at low elevation angles. Preliminary modelling results using simple ray-tracing and 3D E simulation indicate that the desired low angle coverage can be achieved

Affective factors in Foreign Language Teaching: Enlightenment From Dead Poets Society

The focus of foreign language teaching has been changed from the teacher-centered model to the student-centered model. The traditional duck-feeding model of teaching cannot meet the requirements of the new era for it fails to activate students’ affect in learning. Since students’ affective factors exert a great impact on foreign language teaching, how to effectively motivate students becomes our primary focus. This study aims to comprehensively investigate how affective factors may influence foreign language learning by taking American film Dead Poets Society as an example. Besides, it intends to provide some pedagogical implications for educators by analyzing Keating’s teaching mode in Dead Poets Society. In the film, Keating is dedicated to the cultivation of the students’ independent thinking and innovative ability over the teaching process. Through affective interaction with students, Keating finds a suitable way to achieve their self-actualization. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Krashen’s affective filter hypothesis, and non-intelligence theory, Keating’s teaching mode can effectively help students build up self-confidence and seek their self -actualization. As is generally recognized that affective factors like motivation, self-confidence, anxiety and inhibition play important roles in language learning. Keating’s success can have some enlightenment for foreign language teaching as well. We hold that foreign language teachers should motivate students to seek self-actualization, relieve their anxiety and build up their self-confidence, love and respect them, which can contribute to enhancing of teaching effects ultimately

Target-Aware Spatio-Temporal Reasoning via Answering Questions in Dynamics Audio-Visual Scenarios

Audio-visual question answering (AVQA) is a challenging task that requires multistep spatio-temporal reasoning over multimodal contexts. Recent works rely on elaborate target-agnostic parsing of audio-visual scenes for spatial grounding while mistreating audio and video as separate entities for temporal grounding. This paper proposes a new target-aware joint spatio-temporal grounding network for AVQA. It consists of two key components: the target-aware spatial grounding module (TSG) and the single-stream joint audio-visual temporal grounding module (JTG). The TSG can focus on audio-visual cues relevant to the query subject by utilizing explicit semantics from the question. Unlike previous two-stream temporal grounding modules that required an additional audio-visual fusion module, JTG incorporates audio-visual fusion and question-aware temporal grounding into one module with a simpler single-stream architecture. The temporal synchronization between audio and video in the JTG is facilitated by our proposed cross-modal synchrony loss (CSL). Extensive experiments verified the effectiveness of our proposed method over existing state-of-the-art methods.Comment: Accepted to EMNLP 2023 Finding

A condition-based opportunistic maintenance policy integrated with energy efficiency for two-component parallel systems

Purpose: In order to improve the energy utilization and achieve sustainable development, this paper integrates energy efficiency into condition-based maintenance(CBM) decision-making for two-component parallel systems. The objective is to obtain the optimal maintenance policy by minimizing total cost. Design/methodology/approach: Based on energy efficiency, the paper considers the economic dependence between the two components to take opportunistic maintenance. Specifically, the objective function consists of traditional maintenance cost and energy cost incurred by energy consumption of components. In order to assess the performance of the proposed new maintenance policy, the paper uses Monte-Carlo method to evaluate the total cost and find the optimal maintenance policy. Findings: Simulation results indicate that the new maintenance policy is superior to the classical condition-based opportunistic maintenance policy in terms of total economic costs. Originality/value: For two-component parallel systems, previous researches usually simply establish a condition-based opportunistic maintenance model based on real deterioration data, but ignore energy consumption, energy efficiency (EE) and their contributions of sustainable development. This paper creatively takes energy efficiency into condition-based maintenance(CBM) decision-making process, and proposes a new condition-based opportunistic maintenance policy by using energy efficiency indicator(EEI).Peer Reviewe

Feasibility of Minimally Invasive Fiber Based Evaluation of Chondrodystrophoid Canine Intervertebral Disc by Reflectance Spectroscopy

The objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using a fiber-needle spectroscopy sensor to analyze the changes of tissue compositions involved in the chondrodystrophoid condition of the canine intervertebral disc. Reflectance spectrum of single fiber reflectance spectroscopy is expected to provide information of scattering and absorption compositions of tissue in proximity to the fiber-tip. The reflectance spectrum model of single fiber reflectance spectroscopy has been validated by Intralipid and polystyrene phantoms studies. Preliminary measurements on cadaveric canine intervertebral discs indicated significant reduction of scattering constituents and possible diminishment of water content after percutaneous laser disc ablation (PLDA). Cadaveric measurements revealed that the calcified discs have higher scattering amplitude and lower scattering power than normal discs. And when using scattering amplitude to differentiate the normal and calcified discs, 99.28% area under curve has been achieved according to Receiving Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. Although the water content could not be quantitatively calculated, the absorption from water is observed in the reflectance spectrum. Intralipid phantom study and cadaveric measurements reveal that fiber-needle based sensing configuration may be feasible for integrating the evaluation of calcification and water content into the work-flow of Ho:YAG laser disc ablation for pre-operative in-line detection and post-operative evaluation of therapeutic interventions regarding the chondrodystrophic disc.School of Electrical & Computer Engineerin

Structural Basis Of Epigenetic Regulation And Protein Scaffolding In Development And Diseases

Protein X-ray crystallography is a powerful approach for elucidating protein structure and function. The high-resolution data generated by X-ray allow us to visualize protein structures in a three-dimensional (3D) space, which is vital for our understanding of the protein intra- and intermolecular interactions that explain the mechanisms of various biological events. More importantly, such information can provide a structural basis for developing new methods and strategies of targeted drug discovery. In this dissertation, by using X-ray crystallography as the primary approach, we have performed the structural and functional studies of SMYD2 and NHERF1 and have determined their mechanisms of action in epigenetic regulation and protein scaffolding, respectively. Primarily identified as a histone lysine methyltransferase, SMYD2 has been shown to be play important roles in muscle development and tumorigenesis. In addition to histone substrate, SMYD2 can also methylate non-histone proteins including p53, retinoblastoma tumor suppressor and estrogen receptor alpha. However, there are still many gaps in knowledge regarding the mechanisms underlying the activity regulation and substrate recognition of SMYD2. In this dissertation, we solved the crystal structures of SMYD2 with two different cofactors. Both cofactor-bound SMYD2 structures have a two-lobed structure with the active site partially blocked by a domain at the C-terminus (CTD). Although the two structures are highly superimposable, detailed structural analysis revealed the significantly different CTD conformations, suggesting the CTD flexibility that may be involved in the regulation of SMYD2 histone methyltransferase activity. In addition, the structural similarity between the CTD and the tetratricopeptide repeats (TPR) suggests a possible mechanism for the Hsp90-mediated SMYD activity enhancement. Based on such knowledge, we then employed the co-crystallization approach to study the mechanisms for the substrate recognition. We have successfully co-crystallized SMYD2 with a non-histone substrate, estrogen receptor alpha (ERα). The complex structure revealed that ERα peptide binds SMYD2 in a U-shaped conformation with the binding specificity determined predominantly by residues C-terminal to the target lysine. The structure also showed that the broad specificity of SMYD2 is achieved by multiple molecular mechanisms such as distinct peptide binding modes and the intrinsic dynamics of peptide ligands. Interestingly, a novel potentially SMYD2-specific PEG binding site is identified in the CTD, implicating possible functions in additional substrate binding or protein-protein interactions. The formation of CXCR2—NHERF1—PLCβmacromolecular complex plays vital roles in both inflammation and pancreatic cancers. In neutrophils, this NHERF1-mediated macromolecular complex is essential in intracellular calcium mobilization and neutrophil migration. In pancreatic cancer cells, this complex regulates tumor proliferation and invasion. Therefore, targeting this NHERF1-mediated macromolecular complex will have great clinical importance. The second objective of this dissertation is to provide the structural basis for the formation of this NHERF1-mediated macromolecular complex. To achieve this, we first solved the complex structures of the NHERF1 PDZ1 domain with the C-terminal sequence of CXCR2 in two different crystal forms. Although the superposition revealed a high degree of overall structural similarity, distinct conformations were observed between the two forms in substrate-binding pocket and bound peptide. These conformational differences indicated that the flexibility of the ligand-binding pocket might be required for diverse peptide recognition. The structural comparison also reveals that the intrinsic dynamics of the peptide ligand may allow the PDZ1 domain for interactions with different peptide recognition residues. The interactions between NHERF1 and the CXCR2 downstream effector PLCβ3 have been studied using the same strategy as mentioned above. The structural studies of the PDZ1—PLCβ3 complex allowed us to identify the determinants of the PDZ1 binding specificity. We also showed that PLCβ3 can bind PDZ2 in pancreatic cancer cells, consistent with the observation that the peptide binding pocket of these PDZ domains are highly structurally conserved. In summary, the studies preformed in this dissertation have revealed new insights into the mechanisms behind the lysine methylation machinery and protein scaffolding which are central to many biological processes and diseases. Such findings will be of great benefit in the development of alternative therapeutic strategies and drug design

Structured Neural-PI Control with End-to-End Stability and Output Tracking Guarantees

We study the optimal control of multiple-input and multiple-output dynamical systems via the design of neural network-based controllers with stability and output tracking guarantees. While neural network-based nonlinear controllers have shown superior performance in various applications, their lack of provable guarantees has restricted their adoption in high-stake real-world applications. This paper bridges the gap between neural network-based controllers and the need for stabilization guarantees. Using equilibrium-independent passivity, a property present in a wide range of physical systems, we propose neural Proportional-Integral (PI) controllers that have provable guarantees of stability and zero steady-state output tracking error. The key structure is the strict monotonicity on proportional and integral terms, which is parameterized as gradients of strictly convex neural networks (SCNN). We construct SCNN with tunable softplus-$\beta$ activations, which yields universal approximation capability and is also useful in incorporating communication constraints. In addition, the SCNNs serve as Lyapunov functions, giving us end-to-end performance guarantees. Experiments on traffic and power networks demonstrate that the proposed approach improves both transient and steady-state performances, while unstructured neural networks lead to unstable behaviors.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2206.0026