Improving the Interpretation of Random Effects Regression Results

Mummolo and Peterson improve the use and interpretation of fixed-effects models by pointing out that unit intercepts fundamentally reduce the amount of variation of variables in fixed-effects models. Along a similar vein, we make two claims in the context of random effects models. First, we show that potentially large reductions in variation, in this case caused by quasi-demeaning, also occur in models using random effects. Second, in many instances, what authors claim to be a random effects model is actually a pooled model after the quasi-demeaning process, affecting how we should interpret the model. A literature review of random effects models in top journals suggests that both points are currently not well understood. To better help users interested in improving their interpretation of random effects models, we provide Stata and R programs to easily obtain post-estimation quasi-demeaned variables.

Nanotechnology Applications Towards Sustainable Road Surface Maintenance and Effective Asset Protection, Generating Rapid Employment Opportunities in a Post COVID-19 Era

: Nanotechnology options to road surface maintenance offers several advantages compared to traditionally used materials. The small particle sizer of hydrophobic Nano-Silane modified Nano-Polymers (NSNP) enables these nanotechnology products to deeply penetrate existing road surfaces, sealing micro-cracks and render surfacings to be water-resistant for extended periods of time. In comparison, traditionally used products contain minimum partial sizes of about 1 – 5 microns, that provide a superficial protection that wears off in a relatively short period of time. These traditional products are often associated with vehicle contamination while drying and requires the re-instatement of road markings. None of these disadvantages are associated with applicable NSNP technologies that are quick drying, with no vehicle contamination risks and is equivalent to a “clear-seal” requiring no reinstatement of road markings. In a similar vein, pot-hole repairs can be done using applicable, easy to use, pre-packed and treated pot-hole repair kits that are water-repellent and quick-drying at a fraction of the costs of conventional cold-mix products. Resurfacing using NME binder slurries can be done labour-intensively on a pre-treated NSNP surfacing, restoring cracked surfacing and providing a water-resistant long-lasting protective layer without the removal of existing cracked areas. The implementation of nanotechnology solutions for road surface maintenance operations is directly associated with ease of use, labour-intensive operations, prevention of considerable deterioration in riding quality due to removal and manual re-instatement of cracked surfaces, time and cost savings and a reduction in the risk of water damage to the sub-structure. TRANSLATE with x English ArabicHebrewPolish BulgarianHindiPortuguese CatalanHmong DawRomanian Chinese SimplifiedHungarianRussian Chinese TraditionalIndonesianSlovak CzechItalianSlovenian DanishJapaneseSpanish DutchKlingonSwedish EnglishKoreanThai EstonianLatvianTurkish FinnishLithuanianUkrainian FrenchMalayUrdu GermanMalteseVietnamese GreekNorwegianWelsh Haitian CreolePersian TRANSLATE with COPY THE URL BELOW Back EMBED THE SNIPPET BELOW IN YOUR SITE Enable collaborative features and customize widget: Bing Webmaster Portal Back

Comparative Performance Analysis of Selected Routing Algorithms by Load Variation of 2-Dimensional Mesh Topology Based Network-On-Chip

Network-on-Chip (NoC) has been proposed as a viable solution to the communication challenges on System-on-Chips (SoCs). As the communication paradigm of SoC, NoCs performance depends mainly on the type of routing algorithm chosen. In this paper different categories of routing algorithms were compared. These include XY routing, OE turn model adaptive routing, DyAD routing and Age-Aware adaptive routing. By varying the load at different Packet Injection Rate (PIR) under random traffic pattern, comparison was conducted using a 4 × 4 mesh topology. The Noxim simulator, a cycle accurate systemC based simulator was employed. The packets were modeled as a Poisson distribution; first-in-first-out (FIFO) input buffer channel with a depth of five (5) flits and a flit size of 32 bits; and a packet size of 3 flits respectively. The simulation time was 10,000 cycles. The findings showed that the XY routing algorithm performed better when the PIR is low. In a similar vein, the DyAD routing and Age-aware algorithms performed better when the load i.e. PIR is high.

Pre-Service English Teachers’ Professional Identity Development: A Case Study

<p>The present study was conducted to investigate the development of the professional identity of Indonesian pre-service teachers of English as they served as lecturer assistants through a qualitative case study. The participants of the study were five lecturer assistants and five students taught by the lecturer assistants at an English Education major in the first semester of the 2020/2021 academic year. The method employed was conducting online semi-structured interviews. Through Thematic Analysis, the study found that the lecturer assistant participants trained their communication skills with their students by experiencing teaching firsthand. It was also found that the experience of being lecturer assistants facilitated the assistant participants to realise the importance of building rapport with their students and have more insights into the teaching profession. In a similar vein, the student participants also agreed that their lecturer assistant had successfully, albeit gradually, built rapport with them. The assistant participants were also reported to have better classroom management as the semester progressed. Based on the findings, possible implications and contributions were stated with possible limitations and suggested directions for future studies in the field of teacher professional identity development.</p>

Students' Learning Experiences with the Web 2.0 Tool MyPortfolio: a Case Study of One High School Classroom

<p>Portfolio learning has been utilised in education for many years and a natural development in today's digital environment has been the move from paper to electronic portfolios (e-portfolios). The development of e-portfolios in New Zealand has also been driven by two forces- the emerging view that e-portfolios can be an effective way to support constructivist approaches to learning and help develop students into 'lifelong learners' ; and the beliefs about today's digital environment and the way in which students should and do operate within this. In many ways, e-portfolio research is a relatively young field of study and much of the research that has been conducted has occurred in the tertiary environment and related to the perceptions of the instructor or technologist. In an attempt to add depth to current e-portfolio research, this study made use of a mixed-methods, descriptive case study approach in order to focus on the perceptions of a group of high school students and the way in which they experienced using the e-portfolio application MyPortfolio for the first time. Key findings of this study focus on the way in which students experienced using MyPortfolio and the fact that although it is often claimed that e-portfolio tools can be effective in helping developing reflective thinking in students, overall, the students in this study predominately saw MyPortfolio as a tool to organise and process knowledge rather than something that could help them to engage in 'deep learning'. The experiences and perceptions of the students in this study also challenged ideas about how much students want to use ICT within the school environment and this study suggests that increased use of ICT can lead to students missing the social interaction that usually occurs within the classroom. In a similar vein, the students in this study also challenged the idea of the 'digital native' and their experiences suggest that, as with any area of learning, students' skills with using ICT varied greatly. The way that the students in this study made use of MyPortfolio also demonstrates the fact that although e-portfolio tools such as MyPortfolio offer students the opportunity to engage in reflective learning, they do not necessarily undertake this naturally. Finally, the findings of this study highlight the role of the teacher in supporting effective use of ICT for learning.</p>

Students' Learning Experiences with the Web 2.0 Tool MyPortfolio: a Case Study of One High School Classroom

<p>Portfolio learning has been utilised in education for many years and a natural development in today's digital environment has been the move from paper to electronic portfolios (e-portfolios). The development of e-portfolios in New Zealand has also been driven by two forces- the emerging view that e-portfolios can be an effective way to support constructivist approaches to learning and help develop students into 'lifelong learners' ; and the beliefs about today's digital environment and the way in which students should and do operate within this. In many ways, e-portfolio research is a relatively young field of study and much of the research that has been conducted has occurred in the tertiary environment and related to the perceptions of the instructor or technologist. In an attempt to add depth to current e-portfolio research, this study made use of a mixed-methods, descriptive case study approach in order to focus on the perceptions of a group of high school students and the way in which they experienced using the e-portfolio application MyPortfolio for the first time. Key findings of this study focus on the way in which students experienced using MyPortfolio and the fact that although it is often claimed that e-portfolio tools can be effective in helping developing reflective thinking in students, overall, the students in this study predominately saw MyPortfolio as a tool to organise and process knowledge rather than something that could help them to engage in 'deep learning'. The experiences and perceptions of the students in this study also challenged ideas about how much students want to use ICT within the school environment and this study suggests that increased use of ICT can lead to students missing the social interaction that usually occurs within the classroom. In a similar vein, the students in this study also challenged the idea of the 'digital native' and their experiences suggest that, as with any area of learning, students' skills with using ICT varied greatly. The way that the students in this study made use of MyPortfolio also demonstrates the fact that although e-portfolio tools such as MyPortfolio offer students the opportunity to engage in reflective learning, they do not necessarily undertake this naturally. Finally, the findings of this study highlight the role of the teacher in supporting effective use of ICT for learning.</p>

Humans perseverate on punishment avoidance goals in multigoal reinforcement learning

Managing multiple goals is essential to adaptation, yet we are only beginning to understand computations by which we navigate the resource-demands entailed in so doing. Here, we sought to elucidate how humans balance reward seeking and punishment avoidance goals, and relate this to variation in its expression within anxious individuals. To do so, we developed a novel multigoal pursuit task that includes trial-specific instructed goals to either pursue reward (without risk of punishment) or avoid punishment (without the opportunity for reward). We constructed a computational model of multigoal pursuit to quantify the degree to which participants could disengage from the pursuit goals when instructed to, as well as devote less model-based resources towards goals that were less abundant. In general, participants (n=192) were less flexible in avoiding punishment than in pursuing reward. Thus, when instructed to pursue reward, participants often persisted in avoiding features that had previously been associated with punishment, even though at decision time these features were unambiguously benign. In a similar vein, participants showed no significant downregulation of avoidance when punishment avoidance goals were less abundant in the task. Importantly, individuals with chronic worry had particular difficulty disengaging from punishment avoidance under an instructed reward seeking goal. Taken together, the findings demonstrate that people avoid punishment less flexibly than they pursue reward, a difference that is more pronounced in individuals with chronic worry.

The EBV-Encoded Oncoprotein, LMP1, Recruits and Transforms Fibroblasts via an ERK-MAPK-Dependent Mechanism

Latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), the major oncoprotein encoded by Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), is expressed at widely variable levels in undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) biopsies, fueling intense debate in the field as to the importance of this oncogenic protein in disease pathogenesis. LMP1-positive NPCs are reportedly more aggressive, and in a similar vein, the presence of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) surrounding “nests” of tumour cells in NPC serve as indicators of poor prognosis. However, there is currently no evidence linking LMP1 expression and the presence of CAFs in NPC. In this study, we demonstrate the ability of LMP1 to recruit fibroblasts in vitro in an ERK-MAPK-dependent mechanism, along with enhanced viability, invasiveness and transformation to a myofibroblast-like phenotype. Taken together, these findings support a putative role for LMP1 in recruiting CAFs to the tumour microenvironment in NPC, ultimately contributing to metastatic disease.

The Sea Was Ever a Sertão: Terra Incognita in Moby-Dick and Grande sertão: veredas

In this article, I read João Guimarães Rosa’s Grande sertão: veredas as an extended contemplation of the Brazilian backlands region known as the sertão, comparing it with Herman Melville’s timeless novel Moby-Dick; or, the Whale, which I read in a similar vein (but with regard to the sea). In this analysis, sea and sertão overlap and become largely interchangeable. In doing so, I also comment on the importance of the way in which we conceive of nature in general, and of the sea and the sertão specifically. The article employs Jedediah Purdy’s idea of the environmental imagination and Steven Vogel’s concept of humility before nature as they relate to perceptions of the environment (and the world) through a literary lens. In short, my focus is on exploring how literary representations of nature can condition readers’ attitudes and behaviors toward it. After detailing the similarities between both narrators’ perceptions and descriptions of sea/sertão as incomprehensible spaces that invite narrators (and readers) to self-discovery, I discuss the potential effects these narratives can have in shaping readers’ perceptions of the environment and their relation to the world in which they live.

Understanding students as hosts: moving beyond sightseeing

Purpose Neither visitors of visiting friends and relatives (VFR) travel nor hosts are homogeneous segments (Griffin & Guttenberg, 2020). For this reason, this study aims to address students as hosts of VFR travel and analyzes differences in the visitor and the host segment. As a result, marketing implications for destination marketing organizations that seek to realize the potential of the student VFR segment arise. Design/methodology/approach This research project adopts a multi-method approach to derive a deeper empirical understanding of visitors’ behaviors and the role of students hosting friends and relatives (SHFR). The quantitative study aims to reveal the relevance and differences between visits to friends (VF) and visits to relatives (VR), whereas the qualitative study elaborates on the findings of the quantitative study and seeks to understand the role and experiences of students as hosts. Findings The findings reveal that VR and VF travelers vary in terms of their expenditure. Hosts’ spending depends on visitors’ budgets; in general, both their direct and indirect (when relatives pay) spending increases when they have visitors. Furthermore, the data identify two distinct hosting styles: functional hosting is concerned with providing outstanding hospitality based on a more traditional, guest-oriented understanding of the role, whereas integrative hosting blurs the lines between hospitality and lifestyle based on a more modern, host-oriented understanding of the role. Research limitations/implications Regarding limitations, this study did not differentiate between students who were simultaneously locals and students who resided in the city only for study purposes. In a similar vein, the cultural background of the students was not considered in the research. Finally, the differences between VF and VR could further be explored in a quantitative follow-up study and in testing for significant differences in SHFR spending behaviors. Further research could examine whether domestic travelers, travelers with cultural proximity and/or short-distance VFR travelers are more likely to visit after COVID-19 as suggested by Backer and Ritchie (2017) in the case of crises and disaster. Practical implications Students as hosts differ from other hosts in VFR travel in their reluctance to embrace conventional tourism products. This study found that place attachment makes hosts of VFR travelers passionate ambassadors and advertisers for the destinations; destination marketing organizations (DMOs) could support this already positive image by providing and supporting students with more detailed information about their cities and the opportunities they offer. Results are of particular relevance because the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing DMOs to develop destination strategies that incorporate social-distancing and avoid crowded places. Social implications When students take their friends out to events and nightclubs, they contribute significantly to experiences that go beyond typical tourism activities such as sightseeing and shopping. By offering special discounts to visitors who come with their hosts, DMOs could help visitors delve more deeply into city life and thereby reduce the likeliness of crowded city centers. Considering the findings relating to the social and emotional qualities of VFR travel, DMO marketing to VFR travelers could benefit from promoting socio-cultural spaces and offerings that value groups’ social ties (e.g. family prices for families with adult children) or alumni status. Originality/value According to the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first which analyzes both, visitors and hosts of VFR travel using a two methods approach. Very recently, Griffin and Guttenberg (2020) miss VFR research focusing on the heterogeneity of the segment, and Backer et al. (2020) claim for more VFR research on the role of hosts carried out outside of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the USA. To the authors’ best knowledge, this study is the first which delivers empirical insights on SHFR in Central Europe.