Direct Requests Research Articles

Performance Modeling Analysis of D-MSMR-CARQ with Relay Selection in Wireless Sensor Networks

Reliable and efficient real-time transmission is an important and challenging issue for wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Truncated retransmission times and relay selection can effectively reduce transmission delay and improve system throughput. A new direct multisource multirelay cooperative automatic repeat request (D-MSMR-CARQ) protocol based on truncation with two relay selection methods in WSNs is analytically analyzed in this paper. Firstly, based on two different relay selection methods under the maximum ratio combining (MRC), the discrete time Markov chain (DTMC) model of D-MSMR-CARQ protocol and state space is established. Secondly, for each D-MSMR-CARQ protocol based on different relay selection method, we obtain the closed-form expressions of the system average transmission delay and the expressions of the system throughput through state transition probabilities. Finally, numerical results reveal that the first relay selection method outperforms the second relay selection method on the average transmission delay performance for the proposed protocol. More specifically, the delay performance of the proposed protocol can be improved by 13% compared with the nondirect-link protocol when the channel environment is the same; the proposed protocol improves the throughput performance by 47% compared with the nondirect protocol when the channel environment is harsh under the same simulation parameters. Furthermore, the optimal number of source nodes and relay nodes is determined.

THE EFFECT OF PUBLIC POLICY ON THE DEMAND FOR HIGHER EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN: CASE OF COVID-19

Purpose of the study: This research was conducted in the peak days of the Covid-19 pandemic. The intention was to know the effect of public policy of online classes on demand for higher studies.
 Methodology: The data was collected online through Google forms via direct requests in different students groups. The probability that a student will continue studies if online classes were continued was the dependent variable and hence a "1" response and a "0" response otherwise, so logistic regression was applied.
 Main Findings: If there is a preparedness problem for online classes, there would be a decrease in another admission, while ease of adaptability will increase admissions. A unit increase in tuition fees significantly negatively affects the probability of admissions in the online system. A male student, a day scholar student, has more probability of continuing studies in the online system. 
 Applications of this study: This study is very fruitful in devising educational policy and government guidance. Online classes were a new thing for the majority of the students and institutions, and our results can be of great help in the future course of action.
 Novelty/Originality of this study: The study developed a perceptive questionnaire about online classes, and it was found to be reliable based on Cronbach alpha value of .82. We run Principal Component Analysis on a reliable scale and three components were extracted in the process i.e. ease of adaptability, system-related and preparedness problem.

Request Strategies as Seen in the Movie <em>Silver Linings Playbook<em>

This research aimed to investigate the types of request strategies used by the characters in the movie Silver Linings Playbook (2012). It also identified the types of request goals made by the characters. The data were taken from dialogues in the movie, which contained request utterances. The data were then classified into nine strategy types of request according to Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984), followed by the classification of the data into four types of request goals according to the theory proposed by Blum-Kulka et al. (1985, as cited in Forgas, 1985, p. 118). The result showed that 202 request strategies were made by the characters. The most frequently used request strategy found in the movie was a direct request, which was mood derivable with 111 occurrences (54.9%). Meanwhile, for request goals, requests for action was the most frequently implored type by the characters, and it was dominated by mood derivable strategy with 103 occurrences (64.8%).

Effect of obligation to help on positive affect: Comparing Japan, Romania, and the United States.

Culture shapes the experience of obligation. Comparing participants from three countries with different cultural backgrounds, this study investigated the effect of obligation to help on positive affect and satisfaction of basic psychological needs. Adult participants from Japan, Romania, and the United States recalled either a situation in which they helped spontaneously, without being directly requested to do so (agentic help), or a situation in which they felt obligated to respond to a direct request for help (obligated help). The results revealed that obligation reduced benefactors' positive affect, but less so in Japan. The effect of obligation on satisfaction of basic psychological needs did not differ by culture. The results suggest that obligation to help may have less detrimental effects on positive affect in countries such as Japan, where social expectations to help are more fully internalized.

REQUEST STRATEGIES AS SEEN IN THE MOVIE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

This research aimed to investigate the types of request strategies used by the characters in the movie Silver Linings Playbook (2012). It also identified the types of request goals made by the characters. The data were taken from dialogues in the movie, which contained request utterances. The data were then classified into nine strategy types of request according to Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (1984), followed by the classification of the data into four types of request goals according to the theory proposed by Blum-Kulka et al. (1985, as cited in Forgas, 1985, p. 118). The result showed that 202 request strategies were made by the characters. The most frequently used request strategy found in the movie was a direct request, which was mood derivable with 111 occurrences (54.9%). Meanwhile, for request goals, requests for action was the most frequently implored type by the characters, and it was dominated by mood derivable strategy with 103 occurrences (64.8%).

Information films as rhetorical responses during the COVID-19 crisis

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Norwegian health authorities provided citizens with advice, information about the disease and recommendations to take the COVID-19 vaccine. One of their tools was information videos shared on their official Facebook pages. Through the lens of the rhetorical situation, this article investigates these videos’ role as part of the Norwegian health authorities’ rhetorical response. During a constantly changing pandemic, governments continuously meet new challenges and must adjust their strategies. The various phases of the pandemic and the different rhetorical situations require different responses. We examine how the Norwegian health authorities use information videos to respond to these varying rhetorical situations during the COVID-19 pandemic and what characterizes their visual rhetoric. We show that during a lasting crisis such as the corona pandemic, different phases recur, allowing us to establish some general rhetorical situations. The responses to the situations are part of an ongoing process of rhetoric on the COVID-19 pandemic. Our analyses find that informative videos often use graphic imagery, are longer and use a direct address from authorities to citizen and thus serve a directive function. Persuasive videos are shorter, have less direct voice-over and tend to serve a more expressive function. Still, despite their variation in content and form, the videos share one type of main rhetorical strategy that we call invitation to appreciate. The main appeal in most of the videos is somewhere in-between deference and participation, or sometimes both at the same time. Instead of direct requests, they camouflage the direct appeal for compliance with the measures through filmic strategies in order not to compel acceptance but to invite appreciation. The videos present the citizens with scenarios and position them as apparently free to decide for themselves. In this way the rhetoric of the information films works as invitations to appreciate and adopt certain attitudes and behaviours.

178 Suspected Cauda Equina Syndrome in a District General Hospital

Abstract Introduction Cauda Equina Syndrome (CES) is rare but when the diagnosis is delayed patient morbidity is significant. Recently, NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries have updated their red flags on CES to be more explicit enabling earlier referral and diagnosis. A joint project between Orthopaedics and Radiology departments aimed to assess the current pathway of Cauda Equina Investigation at a District General Hospital. Method Data was collected from the local Radiology database for requests between July 2017 and August 2018. This included both direct requests to assess for CES and implied. Raw data revealed a potential of 600 patients, of which we have analysed 332 patients met the eligibility criteria. Results Only 58 patients had a documented complete bladder function assessment, of those 33% had incomplete or partial bladder emptying. Time to MRI scan ranged from 50mins – 23 hours & 52 mins. 47% had negative scans with CES or Cord compromise on MRI scan was demonstrated on 9%. 23 patients were transferred urgently to the receiving tertiary centre. Conclusions We found that nearly 90% of patients were being incompletely assessed and time to scan ranged significantly. We are producing a trust wide suspected CES pathway to improve patient assessment.

Robots Asking for Favors: The Effects of Directness and Familiarity on Persuasive HRI

As robots work in increasingly collaborative settings with humans, scenarios will arise where robots need to successfully request favors to be effective. Communication directness and familiarity have been shown to be important factors to persuasion. However, these two critical factors have not yet been jointly investigated in human-robot interaction (HRI). This letter explores how they can be used by social robots to request favors from people. We present a social HRI study that uniquely investigates the effects of a robot's communication directness and its familiarity on persuasiveness, trustworthiness, and a person's willingness to help the robot. In the study, we present participants with scenarios where two different robots (one familiar, one unfamiliar) ask participants for favors using either direct or indirect requests. Our results show that a familiar robot is more persuasive, trustworthy, and people are more willing to help it. Furthermore, indirect requests are perceived to be more trustworthy and encourage greater willingness to help than direct requests, regardless of the robot's familiarity. Further discussions of these results highlight key considerations for collaborative social robots, particularly when robots request assistance or favors from people.

Acts of Requesting as Realized by English for Specific Purposes Students

The success of language learners’ intercultural communication highly depends on their acquisition of not only grammatical knowledge but also pragmatic aspects of the target language. However, research examining English for specific purposes (ESP) learners’ request realization, as a crucial indicator of pragmatic competence, still remains a paucity of evidence. Addressing this issue, the present study aims to examine English for specific purposes (ESP) students’ most frequently used request strategy and their reasons behind the selected strategy. To this end, 36 ESP students of a public university in Surakarta Indonesia were involved in a descriptive qualitative study. A set of Discourse Completion Test (DCT), role-play, and semi-structured interview were employed as a means of data collection. The data were analyzed based on Blum-Kulka and Olshtain’s Cross-Cultural Study of Speech Act Realization Patterns (CCSARP) and followed by thematic content analysis for the interview responses. The results depicted that conventionally indirect requests were the most frequently used strategy by the students than other strategies, i.e. direct request, and non-conventionally indirect request. The semi-structured interview further revealed that cultural factors, degree of politeness, and social distance among the interlocutors became the primary reasons for the students’ massive selection of conventionally indirect strategies. These results offer fruitful insights for English language teaching stakeholders as an effort to equip ESP students with satisfactory pragmatic and cross-cultural knowledge.Keywords: acts of requesting, pragmatics, request strategies,

A Study on the Direct Court Request for a warrant by Police

검사독점적 영장청구제도는 무소불위의 권력을 지닌 검찰의 부정부패를 야기하고 검찰수사의중립성과 공정성을 저해하고 있다. 검찰은 경찰이 신청한 각종 영장을 합리적인 이유없이 특정세력을 위해서 기각함으로써 실체적 진실발견이 저해되고 있다. 이에 검찰을 견제하고 실체적 진실을 발견하기 위한 한 방편으로 경찰에게도 법원에 대한 직접적인 영장청구권을 인정할 수 있는방안을 모색하였다. 1990년대부터 최근까지 발표된 여러 논문 등 각종 문헌과 통계, 언론의 내용등을 조사하였다. 검사독점적 영장청구제도는 타당성이 없으며, 인권보호의 실효성도 담보하지못하며, 헌법상 영장주의의 본질은 법원에 의한 통제이지 검찰에 의한 통제가 아님을 밝혀내었다. 그리고, 경찰의 영장청구권 독립을 위한 이론을 살펴보았다. 경찰에게 영장청구권을 부여하는가장 바람직한 방법은 헌법의 개정이나, 현실적 어려움이 있다면 특별검사법이나 군사법원법 사례를 참고해 형사소송법에 관련 규정을 삽입함으로써 또는 ‘검·경 영장신청 협의체’를 구성해, 경찰에게도 법원에 대한 직접적인 영장청구권을 부여할 수 있다. 입법기술상의 가능성이 곧바로제도화의 필연성으로 이어지는 것이 아니라는 점에서 다음 세가지의 조건을 충족한 경우에 그도입을 진지하게 고민해야 한다. 첫째 국민적 승인 내지는 위임이다. 둘째 연방제 수준의 자치경찰제의 안착이다. 셋째 국가수사본부의 사건관할 축소와 정치적 독립성·중립성의 확보이다.

We Can Move Mountains: Engaging in State-Level Policy Work

An increasing number of academic researchers are becoming involved in state-level policy work as a result of existing local partnerships or direct requests by agency directors or elected officials. Most faculty and policymakers do not receive any training in doing such collaborative work and, for each party in the partnership, it can often seem like landing on another planet or, at the very least, visiting a foreign country, with different jargon, players, and stakes. This essay provides a brief guide to navigating the world of state-level partnerships in policymaking.

Moscow International University Ranking: critical review and geopolitical effects

The Moscow International University Ranking (MosIUR) is a global university ranking launched in 2017 with the intention of evaluating universities by considering three essential dimensions (education, research, and knowledge transfer). This ranking was designed and developed by the Russian Union of Rectors following a direct request from President Vladimir Putin. The objective of this work is to perform a threefold analysis of this ranking. First, a methodological analysis is carried out, focused on describing the nature of the indicators and sources employed. Second, a geopolitical analysis aims to determine how countries are represented in this new global ranking. Third, a webometric analysis is done, focused on the online visibility of the ranking. The results reveal MosIUR to be a ranking with an outstanding number of webometric indicators and clearly oriented towards transference to society. However, some methodological concerns arise regarding a few metrics. The geopolitical position of developed countries is similar to that in other global rankings, but slight differences emerge, such as the stronger presence of Russian universities. The cybermetric analysis confirms that, despite being international, this ranking is strongly limited to Russia. It can be concluded that, except for the palpable predominance of the USA, each ranking tends to place universities from their own country in a better position. The creation of MosIUR by the Russian government can thus be perceived as a political strategy to improve the reputation of Russian universities, increase funding, and accelerate their transformation into world-class universities.

What are the most common reasons for return of ethics submissions? An audit of an Australian health service ethics committee

One of the key criticisms of the ethical review process is the time taken to decision, and associated resource use. A key source of delay is that most submissions are required to respond to at least one request for further information or clarification from the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). This study audited the request letters of a single Australian public health HREC using content analysis. Twenty-four submissions were analysed, including 355 individual request elements. Most submissions received a single request letter. There was a mean number of 14.2 (SD = 5.5) elements per letter for the first request and a mean of 2.1 (SD = 1.2) for subsequent requests. Administrative errors were the most common source of request for further information, occurring in all submissions. The second most common theme was the content of the Participant Information and Consent Form, occurring in 79% of submissions. Other common themes, present in over 50% of submissions, concerned: data collection and study procedures; general ethical considerations; recruitment and consent; site, setting or patient pool; research design and methodology; and data management and security. In terms of the general purpose of the HREC comments, 44% were direct corrections or specific requests for changes, 42% were asking for more information or clarification of existing information, and 14% were the HREC expressing concerns about an element of the study, without directly suggesting a change. Overall, the study provides some evidence to show that the quality of the submission (ensuring correct attachments, up to date documents, clear information etc.) could account for a significant proportion of the burden and delay associated with ethical review.

Советская модерность в представлениях сельского населения СССР второй половины 1940-х — начала 1950-х гг. по источникам личного происхождения

The author analyzes the content of collective social ideas of peasantry against the background of the recently ended Great Patriotic War and transition to peaceful life. The restart of mobilization model of economy and realization of a series of administrative campaigns in the USSR (fighting violations of the agricultural cooperative codex and labor absenteeism) mediated the emergence of new opportunities for social integration. The authorities virtually authorized the creation of official channels for citizens’ appeals. These administrative campaigns to activate the socio-political interaction stimulated the process of verbalization of hopes and aspirations of the Soviet peasantry and objectively contributed to the emergence of modernization attitudes in the minds of rural population. In this regard, the complaints, sent by the rural population to the Council for Kolkhozes Affairs, and direct requests and decisions of general meetings of collective farmers, which followed the Decree of June 2, 1948, should be considered as a most important source for studying representations of the realities and prospects for the development of industrial civilization in the USSR, as seen by the rural population. Complaints about administrative arbitrariness and failures in social policy are private provenance sources. They present a wide range of assessments of the real state of the kolkhozes system and offer desirable, from their point of view, changes in peasants’ social status and position. The article is to provide a source-based analysis of the Soviet modernity as a certain socio-cultural construct reflecting the system of social preferences and aspirations of the post-war Soviet society. The author comes to the conclusion that, despite the increased tax burden, disenfranchisement, and hunger strikes, the end of the war and transition to the peaceful life factored in the dissemination of ideas about modernity in the consciousness of the rural population. These were mostly imaginary cultural and ideological prospects for building a socialist future: introduction of guaranteed wages, realization of the right to rest, social security, and protection from administrative arbitrariness. The peasant vision of the Soviet industrialism included ideas about agricultural technology rationalization and dissemination of scientific knowledge; removal of discriminatory restrictions on the legal status of the rural population; growth of social security and material well-being of the collective farmers.

Perceptions of Feedback among Russian Adolescents

Despite the obvious significance of the feedback phenomenon for school practice, there is a lack of valid analysis of students’ perception of feedback. This article explores how Russian adolescents conceptualize and perceive feedback as an educational tool. Descriptive research was conducted using an anonymous survey based on a questionnaire composed of open-ended questions. Seven hundred and three adolescents from large cities of Russia were asked questions about how they understood “feedback”, what kind of feedback they would like to receive, and what kind of feedback they actually received from teachers. This was followed by a field study that involved an overt observation and analysis of feedback manifestations in a secondary school program for gifted students (n = 140). Most senior students understand the range of problems associated with feedback, yet they perceive feedback itself as a resource to be used by the teacher, not by themselves. In their beliefs about feedback, adolescents intuitively rely on either “behavioral” or “existential” perspective. In the former case, feedback is perceived only as an external stimulus and the resulting response. In the latter, students regard feedback as a tool for dialogue, support, engaged communication, relationship development, and direct or indirect request for evaluation or assistance. The more complex interpretation may stem from students’ prior participation in situations of assistance and cooperation as well as their perceived need for a dialogue with the teacher or tutor.Since the sample was unrepresentative, the conclusions made in this study should be deemed preliminary. Nevertheless, they allow designing further research of feedback literaсу in Russia’s school education.

A Review of Unsolicited Comments on the CAHPS 5.0 Health Plan Survey.

The CAHPS Health Plan Survey (CAHPS 5.0) collects invaluable information regarding consumer experiences with their health plans, and these data inform healthcare policies at both the state and federal levels. The purpose of this paper was to explore unsolicited comments provided on the CAHPS 5.0 survey of one state's Medicaid program. Secondary data analysis was conducted of unsolicited, written comments received from Medicaid recipients who completed the CAHPS 5.0 adult or child postal survey between 2016 and 2018. The majority of unsolicited comments were moderately or very negative in attitude (or tone) for adult and child surveys. Analysis of unsolicited comments yielded 3 themes: positive experiences with Medicaid, limitations of coverage, and direct requests for assistance. Providing space for Medicaid patients to share comments and receiving further guidance for content analysis would provide valuable context for interpreting overall survey results. Comments may also help Medicaid program administrators respond to the frequently complex and challenging experiences of navigating a continually evolving state health insurance program by the most vulnerable populations.

Design and Implementation of a Video/Voice Process System for Recognizing Vehicle Parts Based on Artificial Intelligence.

With the recent development of artificial intelligence along with information and communications infrastructure, a new paradigm of online services is being developed. Whereas in the past a service system could only exchange information of the service provider at the request of the user, information can now be provided by automatically analyzing a particular need, even without a direct user request. This also holds for online platforms of used-vehicle sales. In the past, consumers needed to inconveniently determine and classify the quality of information through static data provided by service and information providers. As a result, this service field has been harmful to consumers owing to such problems as false sales, fraud, and exaggerated advertising. Despite significant efforts of platform providers, there are limited human resources for censoring the vast amounts of data uploaded by sellers. Therefore, in this study, an algorithm called YOLOv3+MSSIM Type 2 for automatically censoring the data of used-vehicle sales on an online platform was developed. To this end, an artificial intelligence system that can automatically analyze an object in a vehicle video uploaded by a seller, and an artificial intelligence system that can filter the vehicle-specific terms and profanity from the seller’s video presentation, were also developed. As a result of evaluating the developed system, the average execution speed of the proposed YOLOv3+MSSIM Type 2 algorithm was 78.6 ms faster than that of the pure YOLOv3 algorithm, and the average frame rate per second was improved by 40.22 fps. In addition, the average GPU utilization rate was improved by 23.05%, proving the efficiency.

Non-native EFL teachers’ email productionand perceptions of e-(im)politeness

AbstractThe present study investigates the nature of email requests to faculty produced by non-native speaker (NNS) teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL), the importance attached by these teachers to linguistic forms designed to achieve email politeness and status-congruence, and the extent to which perceptions and evaluations by the NNS teachers and native-speaker (NS) lecturers might differ with regard to these emails. The study found that the non-native speaker teachers (NNSTs) evidenced a developed sense of sociopragmatic knowledge in high imposition L2 requests for action, and employed politeness strategies that were indicative of a concern to maintain social and face relationships in virtual consultations. It is argued that despite their advanced English language proficiency, the teachers’ reliance on directness, excessive formality, and lengthy grounders could still put them out-of-status and render their emails as pragmatically inappropriate. The study further confirmed significant differences in how the two groups perceive appropriateness and politeness in direct and unmodified student email requests to faculty. Overall, while the NSs judged the emails primarily according to their content and, to a lesser extent, according to their form and framing devices, the NNSTs focused almost exclusively on form and framing devices (in/formality, in/directness, nature and extent of mitigation, opening/closing moves, forms of address).

Beyond the Words: Comparing Interpersonal Engagement Between Maternal and Paternal Infant-Directed Speech Acts.

The present study investigates the way infants express their emotions in relation to parental feelings between maternal and paternal questions and direct requests. We therefore compared interpersonal engagement accompanying parental questions and direct requests between infant–mother and infant–father interactions. We video-recorded spontaneous communication between 11 infant–mother and 11 infant–father dyads—from the 2nd to the 6th month—in their home. The main results of this study are summarized as follows: (a) there are similarities in the way preverbal infants use their affections in spontaneous interactions with their mothers and fathers to express signs of sensitivity in sharing knowledge through questions and direct requests; and (b) the developmental trajectories of face-to-face emotional coordination in the course of parental questions descend in a similar way for both parents across the age range of this study. Regarding the developmental trajectories of emotional non-coordination, there is evidence of a linear trend in terms of age difference between the parents’ gender with fathers showing the steeper slope. The results are discussed in relation to the theory of intersubjectivity.

Comments vs. One-Click Reactions: Seeking and Perceiving Social Support on Social Network Sites

ABSTRACT Balancing the needs of support seeking and self-presentation becomes an important question to investigate on social network sites (SNSs). This study examined 1) how support seekers can effectively elicit support on SNSs and 2) if they perceive a textual comment and a one-click reaction (e.g., Like, Love) differently on supportiveness. Our results showed that mixed-valenced support-seeking posts received more comments and one-click reactions than posts that only contain negative content. Posts that involved direct requests for support were more successful in eliciting comments than posts that indirectly sought support. Further, support seekers perceived textual comments as more supportive than one-click reactions.