Reordering in statistical machine translation

PhDMachine translation is a challenging task that its difficulties arise from several characteristics of natural language. The main focus of this work is on reordering as one of the major problems in MT and statistical MT, which is the method investigated in this research. The reordering problem in SMT originates from the fact that not all the words in a sentence can be consecutively translated. This means words must be skipped and be translated out of their order in the source sentence to produce a fluent and grammatically correct sentence in the target language. The main reason that reordering is needed is the fundamental word order differences between languages. Therefore, reordering becomes a more dominant issue, the more source and target languages are structurally different. The aim of this thesis is to study the reordering phenomenon by proposing new methods of dealing with reordering in SMT decoders and evaluating the effectiveness of the methods and the importance of reordering in the context of natural language processing tasks. In other words, we propose novel ways of performing the decoding to improve the reordering capabilities of the SMT decoder and in addition we explore the effect of improving the reordering on the quality of specific NLP tasks, namely named entity recognition and cross-lingual text association. Meanwhile, we go beyond reordering in text association and present a method to perform cross-lingual text fragment alignment, based on models of divergence from randomness. The main contribution of this thesis is a novel method named dynamic distortion, which is designed to improve the ability of the phrase-based decoder in performing reordering by adjusting the distortion parameter based on the translation context. The model employs a discriminative reordering model, which is combining several fea- 2 tures including lexical and syntactic, to predict the necessary distortion limit for each sentence and each hypothesis expansion. The discriminative reordering model is also integrated into the decoder as an extra feature. The method achieves substantial improvements over the baseline without increase in the decoding time by avoiding reordering in unnecessary positions. Another novel method is also presented to extend the phrase-based decoder to dynamically chunk, reorder, and apply phrase translations in tandem. Words inside the chunks are moved together to enable the decoder to make long-distance reorderings to capture the word order differences between languages with different sentence structures. Another aspect of this work is the task-based evaluation of the reordering methods and other translation algorithms used in the phrase-based SMT systems. With more successful SMT systems, performing multi-lingual and cross-lingual tasks through translating becomes more feasible. We have devised a method to evaluate the performance of state-of-the art named entity recognisers on the text translated by a SMT decoder. Specifically, we investigated the effect of word reordering and incorporating reordering models in improving the quality of named entity extraction. In addition to empirically investigating the effect of translation in the context of crosslingual document association, we have described a text fragment alignment algorithm to find sections of the two documents in different languages, that are content-wise related. The algorithm uses similarity measures based on divergence from randomness and word-based translation models to perform text fragment alignment on a collection of documents in two different languages. All the methods proposed in this thesis are extensively empirically examined. We have tested all the algorithms on common translation collections used in different evaluation campaigns. Well known automatic evaluation metrics are used to compare the suggested methods to a state-of-the art baseline and results are analysed and discussed

The relevancy of the US dollar peg to the economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC)

Nominal exchange rate stability has long been considered as a policy choice for many oil-exporting economies, including the GCC countries. The main motives for such policy choices include the desire to import credibility to domestic currencies, stabilize oil revenues and in turn government revenues (given their role in fiscal budget of these oil-based economies) and to avoid Dutch disease, particularly for those countries which have been trying to promote their non-oil exports. Recently however, with respect to the GCC countries, the advantages of exchange rate stability/peg have been overshadowed by adverse domestic and global developments. The recent surge in the GCC countries’ inflation rates that coincided with depreciation of the currencies of these countries due to the depreciation of the US dollar, has led to increasing public pressure for an upward revaluation or even a de-peg from the US dollar to an exchange rate regime that will ensure higher price stability. Accordingly, this thesis was put forth to provide a scientific opinion of the viability of the existing US dollar peg in the GCC countries, by focusing on the link between changes in exchange rate and inflation. To this end, the study attempted to assess the risk to the domestic inflation rates of the GCC countries arising from fluctuations of the US dollar against the currencies of the major trading partners of these economies. Based on a thorough review of the relevant literature, some empirical estimations were carried out using some econometric methods, and it was discovered that the amount of pass-through or impact from changes in exchange rates to inflation rates in the GCC economies is incomplete and moderate, with an average of around 23% in the long-run. Furthermore, an average long-run pass-through of around 23% does not signify a high risk from fluctuations in the foreign exchange market for domestic prices in the GCC countries. In other words, the volatility of exchange rates of the currencies of the GCC countries does not necessitate the adjustment of the money supply in these economies. These findings lent further support to the relevancy of the existing fixed exchange rate regime for maintaining stable inflation in the economies of the GCC countries. The findings were also supported by the performance of the GCC economies over the past two decades, despite some periods of dollar fluctuations. A retrospective analysis indicates that on average, inflation has been stable in the region over the past two decades. The study provided evidence for the important role of the fiscal policies of the GCC countries in affecting the recent impact from exchange rate to inflation rate in these economies, which suggests that these policies form a key macroeconomic tool in these countries, particularly ii given the lost independence of the monetary policy under the existing pegged exchange rate regimes. Moreover, the study suggests lowering the influence of fiscal policies on the link between exchange rate and domestic prices, or inflation in general, in the GCC countries by pursuing gradual steps toward domestic development in the economy, particularly given the limited absorptive capacity of these economies due to the shortage in supply bottleneck. The study was also extended to identify the potential alternative exchange rate regime if the GCC changed their focus from inflation to other, evolving, national objectives like international competitiveness. Based on the existing literature and the optimum currency theory, the study suggests that the GCC countries should consider moving gradually from their current single peg toward a more flexible exchange rate in order to avoid abrupt change that would disturb the existing market credibility. As an initial step, the study recommends moving toward a basket peg of two currencies, namely the US dollar and the Euro, that account for a large share of the GCC economies’ international trade and non-trade financial transactions. Finally, the study also concluded that an upward revaluation as a remedy for the recent inflationary development is an unsatisfactory solution, particularly if the same set of circumstances continued into the future. If this was the case, then the process would have to be repeated again, thus triggering the possibility of speculation attack

Assessing Training Needs of School Principals in Al Ain – United Arab Emirates (Some Lessons from Literature and the Field)

This study examines the characteristics of school leadership professional development programs through conducting a training needs assessment utilizing a questionnaire on school principals in Al-Ain Educational zone during 2010-2011. The study employs two research paradigms that are quantitative and qualitative, where multiple-choice items and open-ended questions are combined in a questionnaire used to collect data. The sample included 50 female and male school principals out of 114 school principals in Al Ain zone, presenting cycle one (Grade 1-5), two (Grade 6-9) and three (Grade 10 – 12), including common schools (school that cover two cycles or more). The study found out that the assessment of school principals of the training needs are high in the six clusters, leading strategically, leading the community, leading people, leading teaching and learning, leading the organization and finally the self-management ; where leading teaching and learning, leading strategically mean represent the highest in compared to the other clusters. Besides, among the suggesting regarding the improvement of professional development programs, 16 school principals (representing 32% of the sample) emphasized the need of conducting training needs assessment as prior to planning for PD programs. The research provide recommendations regarding the construction of development activities that target school leadership

Different perspectives of dynamics in comminution processes

The performance of a comminution and classification process depends on the design and configuration of each process unit, the configuration of the plant, the design of the control and physical properties of the incoming feed. Comminution processes should be designed to have a stable and efficient production over a wide range of conditions. However, demands from the management, operational cost, investment, maintenance or any other related field can result in process alterations that are not beneficial for the stability of the circuit and, therefore, utilization and efficiency of the production. Furthermore, advanced process control and optimization rely heavily on understanding the dynamic behaviour of the process in achieving a more stable and consequently efficient process. This review aims to explore different dynamic aspects from particle, bulk, unit and process perspectives, their origin, and what consequences they may have on the operation. The aim is to illustrate a holistic view of process dynamics that should be considered when evaluating circuit performances and identifying risk zones that affect the process, considering the state-state performance and dynamic behaviour. Based on that, several dynamic related issues were formulated and ranked by experts within the field to get a subjective perspective. Issues such as process control design and configuration, ore variability, segregation and upstream disturbances ranked high in possible gains for comminution processes

The effect of boldenone anabolic steroid, and endurance and resistance training on liver damage markers in rats

Background: This study aimed at investigating the effect of boldenone, and endurance and resistance training on liver damage in rats. Materials and Methods: In this study, 70 male Wistar rats aged 12 weeks (weight, 228±7 g) were randomly divided into 10 equal groups: control, sham, boldenone (2 mg/kg), boldenone (5 mg/kg), resistance training, resistance training-boldenone (2 mg/kg), resistance training-boldenone (5 mg/kg), endurance training, endurance training-boldenone (2 mg/kg) and endurance training-boldenone (5 mg/kg) groups. The resistance training program included an 8-week climb from the ladder, three times a week and each session 3 sets with 5 repetitions and the endurance training program was 8-week running on treadmills, 3 days a week, every day 30 minutes at a speed of 12 meters per minute. The injection was performed in the biceps femoris muscle once a week. After anesthesia, autopsy was performed and the liver tissue was isolated for histological studies. Results: The most liver tissue damage was observed in the boldenone group without training; so that the vacuolar degeneration more than 66 and the presence of 1-3 necrotic cells was very important. In resistance training and high-dose boldenone resistance training, liver damage was also observed as vacuolar degeneration. In the endurance training-boldenone inflammation group, increased kupffer cells and mild vacuolar degeneration were observed. Histological studies showed that endurance training reduced the vacuolar degeneration and inflammation and did not increase kupffer cells. Conclusion: It seems that boldenone can cause damage to liver and endurance training compared with resistance training may cause more reduction in liver damage, especially reduction in the vacuolar degeneration and inflammation induced by boldenone

Structural changes of cardiac tissue in response to boldenone supplementation with or without alcoholic extract of jujuba fruit during resistance training in male Wistar rats

Background: Abuse of anabolic androgenic steroids has been linked to a variety of different cardiovascular side effects. The use of medicinal herbs has been shown to reduce disease and cardiovascular disorders. This study aimed at examining the structural changes of the cardiac tissue in response to boldenone supplementation along with the alcoholic extract of jujuba during resistance training in male Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 30 male Wistar rats aged 8-12 weeks (weight 202±9.34 g) were randomly divided into five groups: control, boldenone, extract of iujuba+boldenone, boldenone+resistance training and boldenone+resistance training+extract of jujuba. The resistance training program included climbing the ladder for 8 weeks, 3 days a week, 1 session training in a day and each session consisted of the 3 sets and 5 repetitions. Injection was conducted in depth in the hamstring once a week, on an appointed day. After anesthesia, autopsy was performed and the cardiac tissue was isolated. Results: The results showed that boldenone caused tissue damage, hyperemia, abnormal cytoplasm and unclear and dispersed nuclei. In the boldenone+resistance training group, the heart tissue had high levels of hyperemia and the muscle cells were a little abnormal. In the boldenone+jujube group, appearance of the tissue was normal and a restorative effect was evident in the tissue. Conclusion: It seems that boldenone can cause structural damage to the heart tissue and the resistance training along with the jujube extract can reduce some of the cardiovascular disorders (necrosis and inflammation) caused by the use of anabolic steroids

The relationship between the healthy work environment and intention to stay among nurses working in public hospitals in Muscat, Oman

Background: Staffing shortages are affecting an increasing number of health services globally. Predictions suggest that the shortages will worsen in the future. There is a broad consensus that leaders at all levels must do more to support and develop current employees. In Oman, published data suggests there is an ~ 30% shortfall in the required number of nurses to meet the population health demand. More attention is being given, to explore the factors associated with intention to leave. There is a scarcity of research to inform why nurses decide to stay. Understanding the factors that predict nurses’ intention to stay would help organisations plan retention strategies more effectively. Aim: This thesis reports a PhD study that aimed to; explore the concept of a healthy work environment, review the literature pertaining to intention to stay/leave and the healthy work environment and finally it investigated the relationship between intention to stay and the healthy work environment among nurses working in three public hospitals in Muscat, Oman. Methods: A multi-method, multi-phased, study consisting of a concept analysis using Walker and Avant’s framework was used to define the concept of the healthy work environment (HWE) and identify its attributes (phase one); a systematic review to identify, select, quality assess, extract and synthesise the findings reported in published papers which examined the relationship between the work environment and nurses’ intention to stay (ITS) in the acute healthcare setting (phase two), two steps of piloting including assessment of potential tools and evaluation of their clarity, suitability and acceptability to be used in the Omani healthcare setting. Finally, a cross-sectional survey to investigate the impact between the healthy work environment and other independent variables on the nurses’ intention to stay using path analysis. Results: Five attributes of the healthy work environment were identified from the literature and were used to define the concept and build the study’s conceptual framework relating to intention to stay. In the systematic review, four main categories were identified that related to intention to stay: individual indicators (personal and professional), organisation/profile, work environment, and patient related. Several work environment variables were identified in the review and were significantly associated with nurses’ intention to stay, such as leadership practice, empowerment, nursing workload and team interaction. Based on the reviews’ findings and the previous intention to stay’s framework, a proposed framework was developed and tested. The final model explained 63% of the variance in regard to intention to stay and furthermore showed that organisation commitment, nurses’ satisfaction, and healthy work environment’ attributes have a substantial effect on nurses' intention to stay. Leadership and empowerment had the strongest impact on intention to stay among the HWE’s subscales. Nurses’ satisfaction and organisation commitment were indirectly associated to intention to stay through the nursing profession characteristics. Discussion: Based on the results from the PhD study, a number of issues were identified including the role of leadership, empowerment and team working, global nursing workforce initiatives to ‘fill the gap’ as well as public and professional perceptions of nursing. Several issues related to Oman and the International nursing workforce shortage were discussed. Recommendations include a need to share, customise and utilise International initiatives which embrace the retention of nurses’ and enhance role empowerment, such as Magnet accreditation. Further recommendations were provided relating to future research. Conclusion: With current and projected nursing workforce shortages, there is a need to retain nurses in healthcare organisations. Although, improved salary payments are likely to assist organisations attract talented nurses, organisations need to do more than that, to retain them. The factors that attract nurses are not necessarily the factors that will retain them. Establishing and maintaining a healthy work environment, where nurses are allowed to practice independently and grow professionally, will enhance intention to stay and therefore are recommended as a worthwhile investment

A Computational Study on the Configurational Behaviors of Dihalodiazenes and their Analogues Containing P and As Atoms

In this research, we report the results of DFT calculations using xc-hybrid functional, B3LYP and employ NBO interpretation to investigate the stereoelectronic effects. Electrostatic and steric impacts on the conformational properties of 1,2-difluorodiazene (1), 1,2-dichlorodiazene (2) and 1,2-dibromodiazene (3) are also studied. Factors determining the thermodynamically stable molecular structure of 1,2-dihalodiazenes and their analogues containing P and As atom are discussed, and the energetic effects of intra-molecular hyperconjugations and steric repulsion in each molecular system are theoretically estimated using NBO theory. The Energy components calculated help us to justify the conformational behaviour of our target compounds. One of the interesting features extracted from NBO analysis is that dissociation energies are controlled by the stabilization energies associated with electron delocalizations in these compounds. The main parameter considered in this study is the Gibbs free energy estimated for cis and trans configurations of compounds and for the cis-to-trans conversion through rotation and inversion mechanisms