Weigh-in-Motion: Lightweight Real-Time Identification of Gbps Wireless Traffic

Distinguishing between wireless and wired traffic in a network middlebox is an essential ingredient for numerous applications including security monitoring and quality-of-service (QoS) provisioning. The majority of existing approaches have exploited the greater delay statistics, such as round-trip-time and inter-packet arrival time, observed in wireless traffic to infer whether the traffic is originated from Ethernet (i.e., wired) or Wi-Fi (i.e., wireless) based on the assumption that the capacity of the wireless link is much slower than that of the wired link. However, this underlying assumption is no longer valid due to increases in wireless data rates over Gbps enabled by recent Wi-Fi technologies such as 802.11ac/ax. In this paper, we revisit the problem of identifying Wi-Fi traffic in network middleboxes as the wireless link capacity approaches the capacity of the wired. We present Weigh-in-Motion, a lightweight online detection scheme, that analyzes the traffic patterns observed at the middleboxes and infers whether the traffic is originated from high-speed Wi-Fi devices. To this end, we introduce the concept of ACKBunch that captures the unique characteristics of high-speed Wi-Fi, which is further utilized to distinguish whether the observed traffic is originated from a wired or wireless device. The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is evaluated via extensive real experiments, demonstrating its capability of accurately identifying wireless traffic from/to Gigabit 802.11 devices.

Teacher Training and Online Teaching

The WL profession currently does not have a framework to guide pre-service education programs related to online and/or remote instruction. While the ACTFL/CAEP standards affirm that teachers should be able to use technology and adapt and create instructional materials for use in communication, there is an underlying assumption that the technology will be integrated to supplement rather than supplant instruction. The focus, then, remains on in-class, on-campus experiences for learners and educators. This chapter provides a rationale for including online pedagogy in teacher preparation programs, explores current frameworks for online teaching (TPACK, Community of Inquiry, Pyramid Model, ADDIE), and proposes six considerations for integrating online language teaching as a foundational component of preservice preparation.

Discussion of Cuffless Blood Pressure Prediction Using Plethysmograph Based on a Longitudinal Experiment: Is the Individual Model Necessary?

Using the Plethysmograph (PPG) signal to estimate blood pressure (BP) is attractive given the convenience and possibility of continuous measurement. However, due to the personal differences and the insufficiency of data, the dilemma between the accuracy for a small dataset and the robustness as a general method remains. To this end, we scrutinized the whole pipeline from the feature selection to regression model construction based on a one-month experiment with 11 subjects. By constructing the explanatory features consisting of five general PPG waveform features that do not require the identification of dicrotic notch and diastolic peak and the heart rate, three regression models, which are partial least square, local weighted partial least square, and Gaussian Process model, were built to reflect the underlying assumption about the nature of the fitting problem. By comparing the regression models, it can be confirmed that an individual Gaussian Process model attains the best results with 5.1 mmHg and 4.6 mmHg mean absolute error for SBP and DBP and 6.2 mmHg and 5.4 mmHg standard deviation for SBP and DBP. Moreover, the results of the individual models are significantly better than the generalized model built with the data of all subjects.

Analytical Solution of a New SEIR Model Based on Latent Period-Infectious Period Chronological Order

The Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered (SIR) and SIR derived epidemic models have been commonly used to analyze the spread of infectious diseases. The underlying assumption in these models, such as Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered (SEIR) model, is that the change in variables E, I or R at time t is dependent on a fraction of E and I at time t. This means that after exposed on a day, this individual may become contagious or even recover on the same day. However, the real situation is different: an exposed individual will become infectious after a latent period (l) and then recover after an infectious period (i). In this study, we proposed a new SEIR model based on the latent period-infectious period chronological order (Liu X., Results Phys. 2021; 20:103712). An analytical solution to equations of this new SEIR model was derived. From this new SEIR model, we obtained a propagated curve of infectious cases under conditions l>i. Similar propagated epidemic curves were reported in literature. However, the conventional SEIR model failed to simulate the propagated epidemic curves under the same conditions. For l<i, the new SEIR models generated bell-shaped curves for infectious cases, and the curve is near symmetrical to the vertical line passing the curve peak. This characteristic can be found in many epidemic curves of daily COVID-19 cases reported from different countries. However, the curve generated from the conventional SEIR model is a right-skewed bell-shaped curve. An example for applying the analytical solution of the new SEIR model equations to simulate the reported daily COVID-19 cases was also given in this paper.

The Church as a Court

The Church in the New Testament is described with various images, and this article argues that one image that is implicitly present in the New Testament is the Church as a “court” or a “community of trial.” First, this can be argued because the God of the Bible – YHWH - is Creator, King, and Judge. That means that YHWH’s community is responsible, per YHWH’s revelation, to maintain the purity of its members in all aspects of life. Second, in the New Testament, we find examples where the Church functions as a court. However, the question is, does the biblical requirement for “two or three witnesses” also support the claim that the Church should function as a court? The purpose of this article is to identify places where the biblical command about “two or three witnesses appear,” to trace its development and to see what role and place it plays in the Church. By doing so, we would demonstrate that the presence of this stipulation in the New Testament is additional proof that we should sometimes view the Church as a “court.” The first part of the article explains that the context for the concept of witness is the Mosaic covenant and underlying assumption that governs the command about “two and three witnesses.” The second part analyzes the appearance of “two or three witnesses” in the Old Testament. In the third part, we will argue that the Church is truly a community of trial. We will so argue by observing selected examples from the New Testament where the Church functions as a court, and by tracking the development of the requirement about “two or three witnesses” in the New Testament. Based on this research, we will end by offering a reflection and a conclusion.

Towards a higher order thinking skills-oriented translation competence model

This article aims at exploring translation competence (TC) from the perspective of higher-order thinking skills (HOTS), and developing a HOTS-oriented TC model accordingly. The underlying assumption is that the translation competence needed to solve ill-structured translation problems is highly integrated HOTS in essence. Based on this assumption, a framework for HOTS-oriented TC is presented, using features from the PACTE group’s TC model, and combining it with HOTS-specific features. Subsequently, a HOTS-oriented TC model is constructed, which consists of three interrelated parts: HOTS (i.e., translation problem-solving ability, translation decision-making ability, translation creative-thinking ability, and translation critical thinking ability); translation knowledge, and translation thinking dispositions. Additionally, two other assumptions are made as scaffolding to support our HOTS-oriented TC model. Finally, implications for TC studies and translation pedagogy are provided.

Tipping pro-environmental norm diffusion at scale: opportunities and limitations

Rapid and comprehensive social change is required to mitigate pressing environmental issues such as climate change. Social tipping interventions have been proposed as a policy tool for creating this kind of change. Social tipping means that a small minority committed to a target behaviour can create a self-reinforcing dynamic, which establishes the target behaviour as a social norm. The possibility of achieving the large-scale diffusion of pro-environmental norms and related behaviours with an intervention delimited in size and time is tempting. Yet, the canonical model of tipping, the coordination game, may evoke overly optimistic expectations regarding the potential of tipping, due to the underlying assumption of homogenous preferences. Relaxing this assumption, we devise a threshold model of tipping pro-environmental norm diffusion. The model suggests that depending on the distribution of social preferences in a population, and the individual cost of adopting a given pro-environmental behaviour, the same intervention can activate tipping, have little effect, or produce a backlash. Favourable to tip pro-environmental norms are widespread advantageous inequity aversion and low adoption costs. Adverse are widespread self-regarding preferences or disadvantageous inequity aversion, and high costs. We discuss the policy implications of these findings and suggest suitable intervention strategies for different contexts.

Public Architecture in Ancient Mesoamerica

The study of temple-pyramids and other public buildings has long been an important focus in Mesoamerican archaeology. Scholars generally use the term public architecture to refer to structures for use, visitations, and gatherings beyond individual households, but the term public needs to be examined more critically. Public buildings are tied to the formation and transformation of the public sphere, a social field shaped in specific historical contexts that enables and restrains the political action of people. Traditional studies commonly viewed public buildings as reflections of society, political organization, or worldviews. Investigations before the 1960s often focused on the descriptions of public buildings or used them to define cultural areas and traditions. The rise of processual archaeology in the 1960s and 1970s encouraged researchers to examine social processes through the analysis of buildings. Some scholars assumed that the size of public buildings and the labor investments in their constructions reflected the levels of political centralization. At the same time, the symbolic aspect of buildings continued to be an important theme in Mesoamerican archaeology. The underlying assumption was that public buildings, through their shapes and orientations, or associated images and texts, represented worldviews or cosmologies. While these approaches continue to be common, various Mesoamerican archaeologists have begun to examine the recursive processes in which buildings shaped, and were shaped by, society. In this framework, some scholars focus on people’s actions and perceptions, whereas others view buildings as active agents in social processes. Sensory perceptions, particularly visibility, are examined as critical media, through which the recursive relations between buildings and people unfolded. Construction events are also viewed as critical processes, in which collective identities and social relations are created, negotiated, and transformed. The meanings of buildings still represent an important focus, but instead of searching for fixed, homogeneous meanings, the new theoretical perspectives have urged scholars to analyze how diverse groups negotiated multiple meanings. In the early 21st century, public buildings at archaeological sites continue to be a subject of negotiation among diverse groups, including the governments, descendant communities, archaeologists, developers, and the general public.

Teachers’ and students’ perceptions of motivational teaching strategies in an Indonesian high school context

<p>The purpose of this multiple case study is to explore teachers’ and learners’ perceptions of motivational strategies. This study addresses three questions: How do teachers perceive the use of motivational teaching strategies; how do teachers implement these strategies; and how do learners’ report the impact of these strategies on their motivation. The findings of this study help teachers of English understand the effectiveness of strategies that motivate their students and the impact of implementing these strategies in their teaching. The data for this case study research were obtained from schools in a small town in West Sumatra, Indonesia. This study is underpinned by Dörnyei's (2001) work on Motivational Teaching Strategies. He identified a total of 102 such strategies, which he grouped into four phases: creating motivational components; generating students’ motivation; maintaining motivation; and encouraging positive retrospective self-evaluation. These phases build on each other so that student motivation is created, generated, maintained and encouraged (Dörnyei, 2001). The underlying assumption of this framework is that teachers’ behaviours and beliefs have a direct influence on learners. This qualitative research uses case study methodology in order to contextualise the research within the real life environment of an Indonesian secondary classroom (Yin, 2003). Additionally, this approach allows different data collection techniques (Yin, 2009). These include semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, stimulated recalls, and focus group interviews. The findings indicate that the implementation of Dörnyei’s (2001) framework, motivational teaching practice (MTP), and Hall and Kidman’s (2004) teaching and learning map (T-L map) are complementary. The findings reveal two groups of motivational components. The first is the teachers’ rapport with students, including the encouragement given to students and the building of trust and respect with the students. The second relates to the teacher’s planning decisions such as the selection of classroom activities, the way feedback is given, the management of the classroom, and the choice of learning resources. The findings also suggested that the appropriate use of L1 is a motivational teaching strategy. It is unique to this study that L1 not only promotes L2 learning but also influences students’ motivation. These findings suggest that teachers of English in an Indonesian high school context can influence their students’ motivation by understanding the impact of motivational teaching strategies on students' learning and behaviour. The teachers themselves play a very important role in motivating their students.</p>