Recent development in XML-IR

The Web is characterized by a huge amount of heterogeneous data sources, which have different media support and format representation. Because XML can represent files of different formats, it can play an important role in IR since it is becoming a standard form for data representation and exchange over the Web. Under this assumption, the problem of querying heterogeneous sources can be reduced to the problem of querying XML data sources. This paper shows the influence of XML on the IR techniques and methodologies during the last five years through serving over 400 papers published in different conferences and journals

Analytical and finite-element study of optimal strain distribution in various beam shapes for energy harvesting applications

Due to the increasing demand for harvesting energy from environmental vibration, for use in self-powered electronic applications, cantilever-based vibration energy harvesting has attracted great interest from various parties and become one of the most common approaches to convert redundant mechanical energy into electrical energy. As the output voltage produces from a piezoelectric material depends greatly on the geometric shape and the size of the beam, there is a need to model and compare the performance of cantilever beams of differing geometries. This paper presents the study of strain distribution in various shapes of cantilever beams, including a convex and concave edge profile elliptical beams that have been overseen in most of the prior literature. Both analytical and finite element models are derived and the resultant strain distributions in the beam are computed based on MATLAB solver and ANSYS finite element analysis tools. An optimum geometry for a vibration-based energy harvester system is verified. Lastly, experimental results comparing the power density for a triangular and rectangular piezoelectric beams are also presented to validate the finding of the study and the claim as suggested in the literature is verified

Creating an Understanding of Data Literacy for a Data-driven Society

Society has become increasingly reliant on data, making it necessary to ensure that all citizens are equipped with the skills needed to be data literate. We argue that the foundations for a data literate society begin by acquiring key data literacy competences in school. However, as yet there is no clear definition of what these should be. This paper explores the different perspectives currently offered on both data and statistical literacy and then critically examines to what extent these address the data literacy needs of citizens in today’s society. We survey existing approaches to teaching data literacy in schools, to identify how data literacy is interpreted in practice. Based on these analyses, we propose a definition of data literacy that is focused on employing an inquiry-based approach to using data to understand real world phenomena. The contribution of this paper is the creation of a common foundation for teaching and learning data literacy skills

Early Aspects at ICSE 2007: Workshop on Aspect-Oriented Requirements Engineering and Architecture Design

The “Early Aspects @ ICSE’07” is the 11th workshop in the series of Early Aspects workshops [1] which focuses on aspect identification during the requirements engineering and architecture derivation activities. The specific aim of the present workshop is twofold: (a) to initiate creation of an Early Aspects application demonstration and comparisons benchmark; and (b) to solicit submission of new research

Formal Analysis of Linear Control Systems using Theorem Proving

Control systems are an integral part of almost every engineering and physical system and thus their accurate analysis is of utmost importance. Traditionally, control systems are analyzed using paper-and-pencil proof and computer simulation methods, however, both of these methods cannot provide accurate analysis due to their inherent limitations. Model checking has been widely used to analyze control systems but the continuous nature of their environment and physical components cannot be truly captured by a state-transition system in this technique. To overcome these limitations, we propose to use higher-order-logic theorem proving for analyzing linear control systems based on a formalized theory of the Laplace transform method. For this purpose, we have formalized the foundations of linear control system analysis in higher-order logic so that a linear control system can be readily modeled and analyzed. The paper presents a new formalization of the Laplace transform and the formal verification of its properties that are frequently used in the transfer function based analysis to judge the frequency response, gain margin and phase margin, and stability of a linear control system. We also formalize the active realizations of various controllers, like Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID), Proportional-Integral (PI), Proportional-Derivative (PD), and various active and passive compensators, like lead, lag and lag-lead. For illustration, we present a formal analysis of an unmanned free-swimming submersible vehicle using the HOL Light theorem prover.Comment: International Conference on Formal Engineering Method

Building Bridges Instead of Walls: Engaging Young Children in Critical Literacy Read Alouds

Situated in the months after the 2016 United States presidential election, this qualitative case study illuminates third-grade children’s sense-making about the GOP Administration’s proposed border wall with Mexico. In light of these present-day politics, close analysis of how young children discuss social issues remains critical, particularly for social studies educators. Looking across fifteen book discussions, we zero in on three whole-class conversations about (im)migration beginning with initial read alouds through the final debrief wherein children conversed with a local university anthropologist about the clandestine migration of individuals across the U.S.’s southern border. During initial discussions, children in the Midwestern school demonstrated their frustration towards racist laws of the mid-1900s. Others responded with empathy or made personal connections to their own family heritage. In the findings, we note a clear progression in how children understood (im)migration issues as evidenced by how their questions and curiosities shifted in later lessons. We highlight how, when children are encouraged to engage with social topics, they can act as critical consumers and position themselves as politically active and engaged citizens

GRANAT/WATCH catalogue of cosmic gamma-ray bursts: December 1989 to September 1994

We present the catalogue of gamma-ray bursts observed with the WATCH all-sky monitor on board the GRANAT satellite during the period December 1989 to September 1994. The cosmic origin of 95 bursts comprising the catalogue is confirmed either by their localization with WATCH or by their detection with other GRB experiments. For each burst its time history and information on its intensity in the two energy ranges 8-20 keV and 20-60 keV are presented. Most events show hardening of the energy spectrum near the burst peak. In part of the bursts an X-ray precursor or a tail is seen at 8-20 keV. We have determined the celestial positions of the sources of 47 bursts. Their localization regions (at 3-sigma confidence level) are equivalent in area to circles with radii ranging from 0.2 to 1.6 deg. The burst sources appear isotropically distributed on the sky on large angular scales.Comment: 18 pages (including 3 tables and 7 figures), LaTeX, l-aa style. Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics Suppl. Serie

Autosomal recessive primary microcephaly: an analysis of locus heterogeneity and phenotypic variation

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Locus heterogeneity is well established in autosomal recessive primary microcephaly (MCPH) and to date five loci have been mapped. However, the relative contributions of these loci have not been assessed and genotype-phenotype correlations have not been investigated. DESIGN: A study population of 56 consanguineous families resident in or originating from northern Pakistan was ascertained and assessed by the authors. A panel of microsatellite markers spanning each of the MCPH loci was designed, against which the families were genotyped. RESULTS: The head circumference of the 131 affected subjects ranged from 4 to 14 SD below the mean, but there was little intrafamilial variation among affecteds (± 1 SD). MCPH5 was the most prevalent, with 24/56 families consistent with linkage; 2/56 families were compatible with linkage to MCPH1, 10/56 to MCPH2, 2/56 to MCPH3, none to MCPH4, and 18/56 did not segregate with any of the loci. CONCLUSIONS: MCPH5 is the most common locus in this population. On clinical grounds alone, the phenotype of families linked to each MCPH locus could not be distinguished. We have also shown that further MCPH loci await discovery with a number of families as yet unlinked

Interplay between Zeeman interaction and spin-orbit coupling in a two-dimensional semiconductor system

We analyse the interplay between Dresselhaus, Bychkov-Rashba, and Zeeman interactions in a two-dimensional semiconductor quantum system under the action of a magnetic field. When a vertical magnetic field is considered, we predict that the interplay results in an effective cyclotron frequency that depends on a spin-dependent contribution. For in-plane magnetic fields, we found that the interplay induces an anisotropic effective gyromagnetic factor that depends on the orientation of the applied field as well as on the orientation of the electron momentum.Comment: 5 page