Given the current popularization of computer programming and the trends of informatization and digitization, colleges have actively responded by making programming lessons compulsory for students of all disciplines. However, students from different ethnic groups often have different learning responses to such lessons due to their respective cultural backgrounds, the environment in which they grew up, and their consideration for future employment. In this study, an AI-assisted programming module was developed and used to compare the differences between multi-ethnic college students in (...) terms of their theoretical and actual learning expectancy, motivation, and effectiveness. The module conducted analysis through the deep learning network and examined the relevant processes that the students underwent during programming lessons, as well as the types of errors they had committed. Their learning motivation for and actual learning performance in programming were then examined based on the cognitive learning theory. The results of the experiment, which involved 96 multi-ethnic college students, indicated that the two groups had dissimilar theoretical performance in terms of their expectancy and motivation for learning programming. The indigenous students’ main concern was whether programming would affect their families or tribes, and this concern affected and was reflected in their learning outcomes. In contrast, the learning motivation and goals of Han Chinese students were driven by the cognition of the value of programming to themselves. The research findings can contribute toward the cognition and understanding of multi-ethnic students when learning computer programming and development of the appropriate teaching methods, and serve as a reference for subsequent research on integrating multiculturalism into computer programming lessons. (shrink)

According to the dual-system theories, the decisions in an ultimatum game are governed by the automatic System 1 and the controlled System 2. The former drives the preference for fairness, whereas the latter drives the self-interest motive. However, the association between the contributions of the two systems in UG and the cognitive process needs more direct evidence. In the present study, we used the process dissociation procedure to estimate the contributions of the two systems and recorded participants eye movements to (...) examine the cognitive processes underlying UG decisions. Results showed that the estimated contributions of the two systems are uncorrelated and that they demonstrate a dissociated pattern of associations with third variables, such as reaction time and mean fixation duration. Furthermore, the relative time advantage and the transitions between the two payoffs can predict the final UG decisions. Our findings provide evidence for the independent contributions of preference for fairness and self-interest maximizing inclinations to UG and shed light on the underlying processes. (shrink)

In this paper, we propose an empirically based Monte Carlo bus-network model as a test bed to simulate intervention strategies to overcome the inefficiencies of bus bunching. The EMB model is an agent-based model which utilizes the positional and temporal data of the buses obtained from the Global Positioning System to constitute a set of empirical velocity distributions of the buses and a set of exponential distributions of interarrival time of passengers at the bus stops. Monte Carlo sampling is then (...) performed on these two derived probability distributions to yield the stochastic dynamics of both the buses’ motion and passengers’ arrival. Our EMB model is generic and can be applied to any real-world bus network system. In particular, we have validated the model against the Nanyang Technological University’s Shuttle Bus System by demonstrating its accuracy in capturing the bunching dynamics of the shuttle buses. Furthermore, we have analyzed the efficacy of three intervention strategies: holding, no-boarding, and centralized-pulsing, against bus bunching by incorporating the rule set of these strategies into the model. Under the scenario where the buses have the same velocity, we found that all three strategies improve both the waiting and travelling times of the commuters. However, when the buses have different velocities, only the centralized-pulsing scheme consistently outperforms the control scenario where the buses periodically bunch together. (shrink)

In English, a non-wh-question may have a disjunctive phrase explicitly providing the choices that the question ranges over. For example, in (1), the disjunction or not indicates that the the choice is between the positive and the negative polarity for the relevant proposition, as spelled out in the yes/no (yn)-question reading (2) and in the answers (2a,b). Another example is (3). The disjunction in (3) can be understood as providing the choices that the question ranges over, hence giving rise to (...) the alternative (alt-)reading in (4) and eliciting the answers in (4a,b). (Cf. Karttunen (1977) and Higginbotham (1993) for the semantics of yn/alt-questions). (shrink)

This paper aims at investigating the dynamic characteristics of a microring driven by dual arch electrodes because they are basic elements of microelectrostatic motors. The dual arch electrodes surround the periphery of the microring and are arranged symmetrically to the center of the ring. The electrodes are fixed while the microring is flexible. The electrostatic force will deform the microring, while the deflection of the microring changes the gap between the microring and the electrodes, thereby changing the electrostatic force. Therefore, (...) this is an electromechanical coupling effect. The nonlinear partial-differential equation that governs the motion of the microring is derived based on thin shell theory. Then, based on the assumption of small deflection, the nonlinear governing equation is linearized by truncating the higher-order terms of the Taylor series expansion of the nonlinear electrostatic force. After that, the linearized governing equation is discretized into a set of ordinary differential equations using Galerkin method in which the mode shape functions of the ring are adopted. The influences of the structural damping of the microring and the span of the arch electrodes on the forced response and dynamical stabilities of the microring are investigated. The results show that the damping ratio has a great influence on the system instability during high-frequency excitation. The unstable region of the system can increase with the increase of the electrode span; the response amplitude can also be increased within a certain range. (shrink)

The spread of epidemics, especially COVID-19, is having a significant impact on the world. If an epidemic is not properly controlled at the beginning, it is likely to spread rapidly and widely through the coexistence relationship between natural and social systems. A university community is a special, micro-self-organized social system that is densely populated. However, university authorities in such an environment seem to be less cautious in the defence of an epidemic. Currently, there is almost no quantitative research on epidemic (...) spreading and response strategies in universities. In this paper, a case study of a university community is considered for a simulation of an infection evolving after an epidemic outbreak based on the method of system dynamics of the three stages. The results show the following: By improving the speed of the initial emergency response, the total number of patients can be effectively controlled. A quarantine policy helps to slow down the evolution of infection. The higher the isolation ratio, the higher the cost; therefore, the isolation ratio should be optimized. It is important to make emergency plans for controlling epidemic spreading and carry out emergency drills and assessments regularly. According to the results of this study, we suggest an emergency management framework for public health events in university communities. (shrink)

Preposed negation yes/no (yn)-questions like Doesn''t Johndrink? necessarily carry the implicature that the speaker thinks Johndrinks, whereas non-preposed negation yn-questions like DoesJohn not drink? do not necessarily trigger this implicature. Furthermore,preposed negation yn-questions have a reading ``double-checking'''' pand a reading ``double-checking'''' p, as in Isn''t Jane comingtoo? and in Isn''t Jane coming either? respectively. We present otheryn-questions that raise parallel implicatures and argue that, in allthe cases, the presence of an epistemic conversational operator VERUMderives the existence and content of the (...) implicature as well as thep/ p-ambiguity. (shrink)

This paper presents the observation that negative non-wh-questions with inverted negation do not have an alternative (alt-)question reading. In English, a simple question like (1) has two possible readings: a yes-no (yn-)question reading, paraphrased in (1a), and an alt-question reading, disambiguated in (1b). Under the yn-question reading, the question can be answered as in (2); under the alt-question reading, acceptable answers are (3).

A number of studies in the extant literature report findings that suggest asymmetry in the way reflexive and pronoun anaphors are interpreted in the early stages of processing: that pronouns are less sensitive to structural constraints, as formulated by Binding Theory, than reflexives, in the initial antecedent retrieval process. However, in previous visual world paradigm eye-tracking studies, these conclusions were based on sentences that placed the critical anaphors within picture noun phrases or prepositional phrases, which have independently been shown not (...) to neatly conform to the Binding Theory principles. We present results from a visual world paradigm eye-tracking experiment that show that when critical anaphors are placed in the indirect object position immediately following a verb as a recipient argument, pronoun and reflexive processing are equally sensitive to structural constraints. (shrink)

Physicians play a substantial role in facilitating communication regarding life-supporting treatment decision-making including do-not-resuscitate in the intensive care units. Physician-related fact...

In practical application studies of glider formations, ocean currents are a major influencing factor in their path planning. The purpose of this paper is to solve the path planning problem of glider formations in time-varying ocean currents and establish gliders, glider formation, and ocean current models based on existing data. The Doc-CNN architecture is tailored to conform to the operation and environment characteristics of gliders in practical application. After experiments, the algorithm of the improved architecture can be used in the (...) path planning task of glider formation. The algorithm architecture is compared and tested on two datasets, grid maps and ocean maps. Doc-CNN has an advantage over architecture without being tailored to glider characteristics and makes full use of known global information and local information collected by gliders themselves. The results show that the path planning problem of glider formation in ocean currents can be solved by using Doc-CNN. (shrink)

We proposed a model to examine the relationship among different types of weight-related stigmas and their relationship to quality of life. We recruited 430 dyads of elementary school children [mean age = 10.07 years; nboy = 241 ; noverweight = 138 ] and their parents. Parents completed QoL instruments about their children assessing generic QoL and weight-related QoL. Children completed QoL instruments assessing generic QoL and weight-related QoL and stigma scales assessing experienced weight stigma, weight-related self-stigma, and perceived weight stigma. (...) Experienced weight stigma was significantly associated with perceived weight stigma, and in turn, perceived weight stigma was significantly associated with weight-related self-stigma. However, experienced weight stigma was not directly associated with weight-related self-stigma. In addition, experienced stigma was negatively associated with both child-rated and parent-rated QoL. Perceived weight stigma was associated only with parent-rated weight-related QoL but not child-rated QoL. Self-stigma was associated with child-rated QoL but not parent-rated QoL. Moreover, perceived weight stigma and weight-related self-stigma were significant mediators in the association between body weight and children's QoL; experienced weight stigma was not a significant mediator. The study findings can be used to inform healthcare providers about the relationship among different types of stigmas and their influence on child-rated and parent-rated QoL and help them develop interventions to address the global trend of overweight/obesity in youth and pediatric populations. (shrink)

Using electromagnetic levitation in combination with the oscillating drop technique and drop calorimeter method, the surface tensions and specific heats of undercooled liquid Co-10 wt% Mo, Co-26.3 wt% Mo, and Co-37.6 wt% Mo alloys were measured. The containerless state during levitation produces substantial undercoolings up to 223 K , 213 K and 110 K respectively for these three alloys. In their respective undercooling ranges, the surface tensions were determined to be 1895 m 0.31, 1932 m 0.33, and 1989 m 0.34 (...) mN m m 1 . According to the Butler equation, the surface tensions of these three Co-Mo alloys were also calculated, and the results agree well with the experimental data. The specific heats of these three alloys are determined to be 41.85, 43.75 and 44.92 J mol m 1 K m 1 . Based on the determined surface tensions and specific heats, the changes in thermodynamics functions such as enthalpy, entropy and Gibbs free energy are predicted. Furthermore, the crystal nucleation, dendrite growth and Marangoni convection of undercooled Co-Mo alloys are investigated in the light of these measured thermophysical properties. (shrink)

This study aimed to advance our understanding of 5-year-olds’ behavioral difficulties by modeling and testing both mediational protective and risk pathways simultaneously. Drawing on two national samples from different Western European countries—the United Kingdom and Germany, the proposed model considered observed sensitive parental interactive behaviors and tested child vocabulary as protective pathways connecting parental education with children’s behavioral outcomes; the risk pathways focused on negative parental disciplinary practices linking parental education, parental distress, and children’s difficult temperament to children’s behavioral difficulties. (...) Further, the tested model controlled for families’ income as well as children’s sex and formal child care attendance. Children with comparatively higher educated parents experienced more sensitive interactive behavior, had more advanced vocabulary, and exhibited fewer behavioral difficulties. Children with a comparatively higher level of difficult temperament or with parents who suffered from distress tended to experience more negative disciplinary behavior and exhibited more behavioral difficulties. Additionally, children’s vocabulary skills served as a mechanism mediating the association between parental education and children’s behavioral difficulties. Overall, we found similar patterns of results across the United Kingdom and Germany with both protective and risk pathways contributing simultaneously to children’s behavioral development. The findings suggest that promoting parents’ sensitive interactive behaviors, favorable disciplinary practices, and child’s vocabulary skills have potential for preventing early behavioral difficulties. (shrink)

Internet of thing building sensors can capture several types of building operations, performances, and conditions and send them to a central dashboard to analyze data to support decision-making. Traditionally, laptops and cell phones are the majority of Internet-connected devices. IoT tracking allows customers to close the distance between devices and enterprises by collecting and analyzing various IoT data through connected devices, customers, and applications on the network. There is a lack of requirements for IoT edge applications security and approval. There (...) are no best practices regarding operations focused on IoT incidents. IoT elements are not covered by audit and logging requirements. In this article, a big data analytics-based customer operation system analyzes the operation. With the exponential rise in data usage, the explosive development in the IoT devices reflects the ideal overlap of big data growth with IoT. Big data analytics continuously evolving network raises trivial questions about the performance, distribution of data, analysis, and protection of data collection. IoT modifies almost all the construction industry characteristics. Human-centered artificial intelligence is described as systems that always improve because of human input while also delivering an effective experience between the human and the robotic. The IoT is the key factor that ensures greater building performance. It was the first evolution of technology in a long time to turn genuine inventions into an industry that depended heavily on paper and manual processes. The benefits of the IoT in construction are now quite obviously much heavier than those of current manual processes. As a result, more construction companies explore and incorporate IoT strategies to address their productivity challenges, increasing efficiencies and profits. The simulation analysis shows that the proposed BDA-CO model enhances the trust score of 98.5%, accuracy detection ratio of 93.4%, probability ratio of 97.6%, and security ratio of 98.7% and reduces the false negative ratio of 21.3%, response time of 10.5%, delay rate of 19.9%, and packet loss ratio of 15.4% when compared to other existing techniques. (shrink)

A growing amount of research has shown associations between sexually dimorphic vocal traits and physiological conditions related to reproductive advantage. This paper presented a review of the literature on the relationship between sexually dimorphic vocal traits and sex hormones, body size, and physique. Those physiological conditions are important in reproductive success and mate selection. Regarding sex hormones, there are associations between sex-specific hormones and sexually dimorphic vocal traits; about body size, formant frequencies are more reliable predictors of human body size (...) than pitch/fundamental frequency; with regard to the physique, there is a possible but still controversial association between human voice and strength and combat power, while pitch is more often used as a signal of aggressive intent in conflict. Future research should consider demographic, cross-cultural, cognitive interaction, and emotional motivation influences, in order to more accurately assess the relationship between voice and physiology. Moreover, neurological studies were recommended to gain a deeper understanding of the evolutionary origins and adaptive functions of voice modulation. (shrink)

China is experiencing high social inequality accompanying influential education reforms. The Independent Freshmen Admission policy was one of the multiple strategies in higher education reforms in China against the social context of high social inequality and the expansion of higher education. By comparing students admitted through IFA with those admitted by the National College Entrance Examination, we examined how family advantages contributed to higher education inequality in terms of educational opportunity, process, and results. Using data from an elite university in (...) Beijing, we found that: Family advantages improved a student’s likelihood of being admitted through IFA, exhibiting opportunity inequality. No significant difference in academic grades existed between the students admitted through IFA and NCEE. In comprehensive quality, however, those recruited through IFA performed significantly better than those admitted through NCEE. Family social capital not only increased the likelihood of students being admitted through IFA but also, through direct and indirect effects, increased their comprehensive quality performance in terms of receiving student association and social practice awards. (shrink)

Many neuroanatomical alterations have been detected in patients with tinnitus in previous studies. However, little is known about the morphological and structural covariance network changes before and after long-term sound therapy. This study aimed to explore alterations in brain anatomical and SCN changes in patients with idiopathic tinnitus using voxel-based morphometry analysis 24 weeks before and after sound therapy. Thirty-three tinnitus patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging scans at baseline and after 24 weeks of sound therapy. Twenty-six age- and sex-matched healthy (...) control individuals also underwent two scans over a 24-week interval; 3.0T MRI and high-resolution 3D structural images were acquired with a 3D-BRAVO pulse sequence. Structural image data preprocessing was performed using the VBM8 toolbox. The Tinnitus Handicap Inventory score was assessed for the severity of tinnitus before and after treatment. Two-way mixed model analysis of variance and post hoc analyses were performed to determine differences between the two groups and between the two scans. Student-Newman-Keuls tests were used in the post hoc analysis. Interaction effects between the two groups and the two scans demonstrated significantly different gray matter volume in the right parahippocampus gyrus, right caudate, left superior temporal gyrus, left cuneus gyrus, and right calcarine gyrus; we found significantly decreased GM volume in the above five brain regions among the tinnitus patients before sound therapy compared to that in the HC group. The 24-week sound therapy group demonstrated significantly greater brain volume compared with the baseline group among these brain regions. We did not find significant differences in brain regions between the 24-week sound therapy and HC groups. The SCN results showed that the left superior temporal gyrus and left rolandic operculum were significantly different in nodal efficiency, nodal degree centrality, and nodal betweenness centrality after FDR correction. This study characterized the effect of sound therapy on brain GM volume, especially in the left superior temporal lobe. Notably, sound therapy had a normalizing effect on tinnitus patients. (shrink)

In the process of rapid urbanization, urban heat island effect has been showing more and more significant impacts on human well-being. Therefore, a more detailed understanding of the impact of three-dimensional building morphology on UHI effect across a continuum of spatial scales will be necessary to guide and improve the human settlement.This study selected 31 provincial capital cities of mainland China to analyze the impacts of the 3D building morphology, including the number, area, height, volume, and the surface area of (...) the buildings, on the land surface temperature. By exploring how the influence of 3D building morphology on LST changes with the increase of spatial scale, this study finally recognized which 3D building morphology index is the most significant index affecting LST in different cities, and which spatial scale these 3D building morphology indexes have the most significant impact on LST. The results showed that the building area is the most important 3D building morphology parameter affecting the LST, while the building height has the slightest influence on the LST. These effects are more significant in the spatial scale of 150 m–540 m, and the spatial scale increases with the increase of building areas in developed cities. These results highlight the necessity of considering fine-grained management in the governance and alleviating of the urban thermal environment through urban planning and urban renewal strategies. (shrink)

The present study examined the behavioral effects of the first-person possessive pronoun. In each trial, a noun was presented to participants after visual presentation of a possessive pronoun “wo de” or “ta de” , which formed ownership. Half participants were assigned to contextual encoding condition in which they were required to judge whether they liked the item expressed by a noun from the first or third-person perspective. The rest were assigned to perceptual encoding condition in which they were asked to (...) judge what color the noun was. A subsequent recall test was performed. The results showed that there were significant memory and response advantages for nouns in “my” ownership under both conditions. The results were discussed with reference to self-specificity and other effects in the current study. (shrink)

The self-reference effect refers to better memory for self-relevant than for other-relevant information. Generally, the SRE is found in conditions in which links between the stimuli and the self are forged in the encoding phase. To investigate the possibility that such conditions are not prerequisites for the SRE, this research developed two conditions by using two recognition tasks involving abstract geometric shapes. One was the cue-in-encoding condition in which self- and other-cues were presented to construct links with AGSs during the (...) encoding phase, and the other was the cue-in-retrieval condition in which self- and other-cues were presented to construct links with AGSs during the retrieval phase. The SRE was found in both conditions. The findings reveal that self-cues merely presented during the retrieval phase are sufficient to induce the SRE. Links between the stimuli and the self constructed during the encoding phase may not be necessary prerequisites for the SRE. (shrink)

Modern schooling in Korea, which was officially established by law in 1949, is well known for its function as an engine of economic success in modern Korea. Although this fact seems to be world-wid...

In the history of Chinese and European philosophy, metaphysics has played an outstanding role: it is a theoretical framework which provides the basis for a philosophical understanding of the world and the self. A theory of the self is well integrated in a metaphysical understanding of the totality of nature as a dynamic process of continuous changes. According to this view, the purpose of existence can be conceived of as the development and realization of the full potential given to the (...) individual by its nature. In regard to human nature specifically, this idea of self-realization includes the development of all cognitive faculties as well as of the moral character. Metaphysics has, however, suffered a loss of importance in current debates, especially in ethics. As a result, we observe the emergence of such philosophical views as moral skepticism and even nihilism. The consequence of this tendency has been the renunciation of a claim to understanding and to providing a solid ground for ethics. Yet an intercultural dialogue can provide us with some hope as the consolidation of debates on crucial topics of our traditions might indeed serve as the basis for a more powerful philosophy in the future. (shrink)