Framing higher education: questions and responses in the British Social Attitudes survey, 1983-2010

This is the final version of the article. Available from Taylor & Francis (Routledge) via the DOI in this record.This article focuses on questions and attitudes towards higher education in the British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey series. First, we analyse the changing BSA questions (1983-2010) in the context of key policy reports. Our results show that changes in the framing of higher education questions correspond with changes in the macro-discourse of higher education policies. Second, we focus on the 2010 BSA survey responses to investigate how attitudes towards higher education are related to respondents' characteristics. Respondents' socio-economic position predicts attitudes towards higher education. Graduates and professionals are most likely to support a reduction in higher education opportunities, but those who have so far benefitted least from higher education are supportive of expansion. One interpretation - with potential implications for social mobility - is that those who have already benefited from higher education are most inclined to pull the ladder up behind them

Neural Attentive Session-based Recommendation

Given e-commerce scenarios that user profiles are invisible, session-based recommendation is proposed to generate recommendation results from short sessions. Previous work only considers the user's sequential behavior in the current session, whereas the user's main purpose in the current session is not emphasized. In this paper, we propose a novel neural networks framework, i.e., Neural Attentive Recommendation Machine (NARM), to tackle this problem. Specifically, we explore a hybrid encoder with an attention mechanism to model the user's sequential behavior and capture the user's main purpose in the current session, which are combined as a unified session representation later. We then compute the recommendation scores for each candidate item with a bi-linear matching scheme based on this unified session representation. We train NARM by jointly learning the item and session representations as well as their matchings. We carried out extensive experiments on two benchmark datasets. Our experimental results show that NARM outperforms state-of-the-art baselines on both datasets. Furthermore, we also find that NARM achieves a significant improvement on long sessions, which demonstrates its advantages in modeling the user's sequential behavior and main purpose simultaneously.Comment: Proceedings of the 2017 ACM on Conference on Information and Knowledge Management. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1511.06939, arXiv:1606.08117 by other author

Terahertz Computed Tomography of NASA Thermal Protection System Materials

A terahertz axial computed tomography system has been developed that uses time domain measurements in order to form cross-sectional image slices and three-dimensional volume renderings of terahertz-transparent materials. The system can inspect samples as large as 0.0283 cubic meters (1 cubic foot) with no safety concerns as for x-ray computed tomography. In this study, the system is evaluated for its ability to detect and characterize flat bottom holes, drilled holes, and embedded voids in foam materials utilized as thermal protection on the external fuel tanks for the Space Shuttle. X-ray micro-computed tomography was also performed on the samples to compare against the terahertz computed tomography results and better define embedded voids. Limits of detectability based on depth and size for the samples used in this study are loosely defined. Image sharpness and morphology characterization ability for terahertz computed tomography are qualitatively described

Coast and City, It Matters Where You Live: How Geography Shapes Progression to Higher Education in England

This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this recordData Availability Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the UK Data Service using the following DOIs: http://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-7104-6 (accessed on 29 October 2023), http://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-8189-1 (accessed on 29 October 2023), http://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-5545-8 (accessed on 29 October 2023)Progression to higher education in England varies markedly by region, with lower rates of participation outside of London. While some previous studies have explored challenges in accessing higher education in rural and coastal areas, there is a lack of research which considers both individual-level and geographic effects in relation to regional variations in HE progression. In this study, using multivariate regression analysis, we examine whether regional differences in transition to higher education can be explained by the rural/coastal nature of the geographic area in which young people grow up, by area-level deprivation, or by the characteristics of young people living within these regions. The analysis uses the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England, a representative cohort study. These data have been linked to information on the proximity to the coast. Consistent with other work, we find that individual differences and area-level deprivation predict HE aspirations and progression. The newly introduced coastal/rural indicator also predicts HE aspirations and progression, but this is mitigated by the inclusion of individual differences and area-level deprivation. However, we find that unexplained regional differences persist. In particular, the South West of England emerges as a regional cold spot for HE. Consequently, policy makers should consider the role that regional dynamics may have in influencing the choices and constraints faced by young people. The approach may also be applicable to understanding inequalities in progression to HE in other countries

Investigating the imagination of possible and 'like-to-avoid' selves among higher education students from different socioeconomic backgrounds at a selective english university

This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this recordAccess to and participation in higher education (HE) remains unequal, with social background continuing to influence decisions and experiences. In this paper, we undertake a proof-of-concept design to apply the theory of 'possible selves', as adapted by Harrison and published in Social Sciences (2018), to university students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. In 2019, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 first-year students, from different socioeconomic backgrounds, currently studying at a selective English university. We applied a deductive analysis based on Harrison's adaptation of the 'possible selves' model originally put forward by Markus and Nurius in the 1980s. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds had a clear drive to 'avoid' future selves that would emerge without HE. Across all socioeconomic groups, we found a strong sense of agency, and a strong personal belief in success. Overall, our study shows that the model of possible selves is useful for understanding personalised and individualised student experiences, and the interrelation between social structure (socioeconomic condition) and agency. The model also offers a new way for practitioners to plan interventions for enhancing equity in HE access and participation.University of Exeter Centre for Social Mobilit

APLIKASI E-TILANG KENDARAAN BERMOTOR BERBASIS ANDROID DI POLSEK SUKOMORO

Sistem tilang selama ini masih menggunakan media kertas yang berwarna merah dan biru. Sidang yang dilakukan di pengadilan tidak terlepas dari oknum calo dan oknum pengadilan yang meminta pemungutan liar terhadap pelanggaran yang telah dilakukan pelanggar lalu lintas. Pelanggaran dalam berkendara di Nganjuk saat ini masih banyak pengendara yang mengabaikan peraturan lalu lintas, sehingga kasus pelanggaran dan resiko kecelakaan yang tinggi maka harus dilakukan tindakan lebih lanjut. Berbagai jenis teknologi semakin berkembang dan tidak terhitung jumlahkanya akan sangat mudah ditemukan pada era modern saat ini salah satunya Android. Saat ini hampir semua orang memiliki Android yang difungsikan sebagai alat komunikasi. Tilang yang dilakukan kepolisian sangat sering jumpai di jalan raya. Hampir setiap hari di setiap daerah tilang kendaraan selalu dilakukan. Tilang yang yang dilakukan dengan cara manual di masa digital seperti ini kurang efektif dijalankan. Tilang secara manual memerlukan waktu yang banyak untuk mendata ulang serta data tersebut sampai kejaksaan. Oleh karena itu, diperlukan system berbasis Android yang dapat mempermudah apparat kepolisian untuk mendata pelanggaran yang terjadi di jalan raya oleh pengendara kendaraan bermotor khususnya di kota Nganjuk. Pengujian aplikasi e-tilang ini dilakukan dengan menggunakan pengujian black box dan memberikan hasil yang sesuai dengan perancangan system

Nonequilibrium spectral diffusion due to laser heating in stimulated photon echo spectroscopy of low temperature glasses

A quantitative theory is developed, which accounts for heating artifacts in three-pulse photon echo (3PE) experiments. The heat diffusion equation is solved and the average value of the temperature in the focal volume of the laser is determined as a function of the 3PE waiting time. This temperature is used in the framework of nonequilibrium spectral diffusion theory to calculate the effective homogeneous linewidth of an ensemble of probe molecules embedded in an amorphous host. The theory fits recently observed plateaus and bumps without introducing a gap in the distribution function of flip rates of the two-level systems or any other major modification of the standard tunneling model.Comment: 10 pages, Revtex, 6 eps-figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.