General Expectation Research Articles

Use of Personal Learning Environments in English Learning: An Example of Anadolu University Open Education Faculty

İnternet, eğitim alanında giderek önem kazanan eğitim teknolojilerinin önünü açarak, öğrenme sorumluluğunu öğrenciye bırakmıştır. Bu sürecin devamında, Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamları, öğrencilerin çevrimiçi platformlarda kendi öğrenmelerini organize etmelerinde aktif rollerini desteklemek adına önem kazanmıştır. Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamları, öğrenmenin kişisel boyutta yapılandırıldığı, planlandığı, paylaşıldığı ve yaşam boyu arşivlendiği platformlardır. Web 2.0 araçlarıyla oluşturulan bu ortamlar bireyselleştirilmiş izlencelerin tasarımına izin veren ve çevrimiçi katılımlı, bireysel ve grup etkinliklerini teşvik eden yapısıyla Açık ve Uzaktan Öğrenmeyi desteklemektedir. Bu çalışmada, kampüs dışında eğitim gören uzaktan öğrenenlerin yabancı dil olarak İngilizce öğrenmelerine yönelik oluşturdukları Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamları incelenmiştir. Bu bağlamda, bu çalışmanın temel amacı açık ve uzaktan öğrenme çerçevesinde Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamlarının İngilizce öğrenmede nasıl etkili, verimli ve çekici şekilde geliştirilebileceğine yönelik alan uzmanlarının ve uzaktan öğrenenlerin görüşlerini almaktır. Çalışma, tasarım tabanlı araştırmanın geliştirme döngüleri çerçevesinde yapılandırılmıştır. 2016-2017 Güz Döneminde (Mart-Eylül 2017) gerçekleştirilmiş olan araştırmanın katılımcılarını uzaktan öğrenenler ve alan uzmanları oluşturmaktadır. Tasarım tabanlı araştırma sürecinde nitel veriler toplanmış ve analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonunda, Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamlarına ilişkin bir tasarım çerçevesi önerisinde bulunulmuştur. Araştırma sorularına bağlı olarak ulaşılan verilere göre, Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamı, açık ve uzaktan öğrenme bağlamında kişisel öğrenme deneyimini destekleyen, tasarlanan ortamın benimsenmesini sağlayan ve İngilizce öğrenmeye yönelik genel beklentiyi karşılayan bir ortamdır. Ancak, öğrenmedeki bireysel farklılıklar nedeniyle her bir Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamı bireysel öğrenme gereksinime yönelik olarak oluşturulduğundan kişiye özgü olarak değerlendirilmelidir.

The effects of open government data: Some stylised facts

There is a general expectation that open government data (OGD) can lead to the generation of value for government, business, and society. However, there appears to be a lack of scholarly literature that empirically validates what this value is or how it emerges. This paper addresses this concern by exploring what empirical evidence currently exists about the effects stemming from OGD in the case literature. Through the use of a literature review, 17 papers capturing empirical evidence were identified and, from these papers, a systematic collection of statements was extracted from which 173 were retained to construct what we term nine stylised facts. The identified stylised facts depicting features and correlations provide some insights into the de facto positive, negative and/or inconclusive effects relating to OGD as opposed to simply opinions and beliefs.

The thermodynamics of cognition: A mathematical treatment

There is a general expectation that the laws of classical physics must apply to biology, particularly the neural system. The evoked cycle represents the brain's energy/information exchange with the physical environment through stimulus. Therefore, the thermodynamics of emotions might elucidate the neurological origin of intellectual evolution, and explain the psychological and health consequences of positive and negative emotional states based on their energy profiles. We utilized the Carnot cycle and Landauer's principle to analyze the energetic consequences of the brain's resting and evoked states during and after various cognitive states. Namely, positive emotional states can be represented by the reversed Carnot cycle, whereas negative emotional reactions trigger the Carnot cycle. The two conditions have contrasting energetic and entropic aftereffects with consequences for mental energy. The mathematics of the Carnot and reversed Carnot cycles, which can explain recent findings in human psychology, might be constructive in the scientific endeavor in turning psychology into hard science.

Savremeno poslovno komuniciranje sa stanovišta menadžmenta

It has been for a long time that communication occupies a significant amount of time in managerial practice, and, consequently, it becomes an inevitable topic in recently conducted studies in the filed of management. There is a general expectation that clear and effective communication in organizations represents a crucial resource to achieve organizational aims. It is easier, however, to say this than apply to the real organizational context. The main objective of this paper is to point out the importance of communication in contemporary business. The largest part of this paper considers the role of managers in terms of their duties in the filed of communication. The paper indicates that various professional skills, including communicative competence, managers might learn and practice in order to take effectively part in any form of communication within an organization.

Ergodicity of Sublinear Markovian Semigroups

In this paper, we study the ergodicity of invariant sublinear expectation of sublinear Markovian semigroup. For this, we first develop an ergodic theory of an expectation-preserving map on a sublinear expectation space. Ergodicity is defined as any invariant set either has $0$ capacity itself or its complement has $0$ capacity. We prove, under a general sublinear expectation space setting, the equivalent relation between ergodicity and the corresponding transformation operator having simple eigenvalue $1$, and also with Birkhoff type strong law of large numbers if the sublinear expectation is regular. For sublinear Markov process, we prove that its ergodicity is equivalent to the Markovian semigroup having eigenvalue $1$ and it is simple in the space of bounded measurable functions. As an example we show that $G$-Brownian motion $\{B_t\}_{t\geq 0}$ on the unit circle has an invariant expectation and is ergodic if and only if ${\mathbb E}(-(B_1)^2)<0$. Moreover, it is also proved in this case that the invariant expectation is regular and the canonical stationary process has no mean-uncertainty under the invariant expectation.

Interplay between CO Disproportionation and Oxidation: On the Origin of the CO Reaction Onset on Atomic Layer Deposition-Grown Pt/ZrO2 Model Catalysts.

Pt/ZrO2 model catalysts were prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and examined at mbar pressure by operando sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy and near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS) combined with differentially pumped mass spectrometry (MS). ALD enables creating model systems ranging from Pt nanoparticles to bulk-like thin films. Polarization-dependent SFG of CO adsorption reveals both the adsorption configuration and the Pt particle morphology. By combining experimental data with ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we show that the CO reaction onset is determined by a delicate balance between CO disproportionation (Boudouard reaction) and oxidation. CO disproportionation occurs on low-coordinated Pt sites, but only at high CO coverages and when the remaining C atom is stabilized by a favorable coordination. Thus, under the current conditions, initial CO oxidation is found to be strongly influenced by the removal of carbon deposits formed through disproportionation mechanisms rather than being determined by the CO and oxygen inherent activity. Accordingly, at variance with the general expectation, rough Pt nanoparticles are seemingly less active than smoother Pt films. The applied approach enables bridging both the “materials and pressure gaps”.

EVOLUTION OF FOOD CONSUMPTION PATTERNS AT GLOBAL LEVEL OVER THE LAST FIVE DECADES

The promotion of healthy diets and lifestyles plays an important role in increasing the quality of life, in increasing the life expectancy of the population, in reducing the general morbidity and mortality. The agriculture and food industry sectors have a decisive importance in ensuring the supply of food goods, but equally important are other economic factors that condition the food consumption (population income level, price level, volume and quality of food service supply, habits / opportunities of consumption, preferences and believes, cultural traditions and so on). This article presents some of the main changes registered by the food consumption patterns at global level during the last half of the century. The main chapters of the food consumption patterns considered are the following: the evolution of energetic expression of food consumption, trends in fat consumption, consumption of animal products tendencies, availability and consumption of fish, availability and consumption of fruits and vegetables, the evolution and forecasting of prices. In the concluding chapter is presented also the general expectation regarding food availability and consumption until 2030. The data used here are published by different specialized international institutions like FAO, WHO, WTO or others.

Effects of environmental heterogeneity on phenotypic variation of the endemic plant Lilium pomponium in the Maritime and Ligurian Alps

Geographical limits of species’ distributions are assumed to be coincident with ecological margins, although this assumption might not always be true. Indeed, harsh environments such as Alpine and Mediterranean ecosystems may favour high phenotypic variability among populations, especially those in peripheral sites. Floral traits are often found to be less variable and less affected by environmental heterogeneity than vegetative traits because variation in the former may have negative effects on fitness. For this reason, it is important to quantify variation in floral traits and plant fecundity in study range limits. The objective of the study is to examine phenotypic variation and differences in reproduction in endemic Lilium pomponium in the Maritime and Ligurian Alps in relation to environmental variation across its distribution range. In this species, marginal climatic populations occur both in the peripheral and central geographical locations of the distribution range; hence, geographical and ecological gradients are not concordant. Floral trait variation is related to local environmental conditions with an array of interactions among resource availability, potential pollen limitation and population size that are differentially related to floral traits. Contrary to the general expectation, all central and peripheral populations had similar, moderate seed production with each group limited by different factors acting on different stages of the life-history strategy. Our results are in line with the idea that general expectations are confirmed only when its assumptions are met and that the differences in pollination environment along an environmental gradient may not be the main determinant of the distribution limit.

Outlining Policy and Assessing Success of Policy

Government policy operates in response to the demands of society. Policy success, the general expectation of any policy-maker, is claimed commonly in political life. That is a general goal for any government in order to prove effectiveness and efficiency in its actions. However, the outcome of policies usually lies somewhere between success and failure. This is because of the three dimensions of policy success and their contradictions. Whilst policy learning is concerned as a tool to assess how policies are working and to move policy toward the achievement of desired goals. The case of banning plastic bags in Australia is an ideal example to investigate how a policy can be successful at different levels

Molecular phylogeny of the phytoparasitic mite family Phytoptidae (Acariformes: Eriophyoidea) identified the female genitalic anatomy as a major macroevolutionary factor and revealed multiple origins of gall induction.

Phytoptidae s.str. is a lineage of eriophyoid mites associated with angiosperms. Based on representative taxon sampling and four gene markers (COI, HSP70, 18S, and 28S), we inferred the molecular phylogeny of this group and performed comparative analyses of cuticle-lined female internal genitalia. Although basal relationships were unclear, several well supported clades were recovered. These clades were supported by geography, host associations, and female genital anatomy, but contradicted the current morphology-based systematics. The monophyly of each of five conventional supraspecific groupings (Fragariocoptes, Phytoptus, Phytoptinae, Sierraphytoptinae, and Sierraphytoptini) is rejected based on a series of statistical tests. Additionally, four morphological characters (the absence of tibial solenidion φ and opisthosomal seta c1, presence of telosomal pseudotagma, and 'morphotype') were found to be homoplasies that cannot be used to confidently delimit supraspecific lineages of phytoptids. However, our molecular topology was highly congruent with female genital characters. Eight molecular clades were unambiguously supported by the shapes and topography of the spermathecal apparatus and genital apodemes. This suggests that the female genital anatomy could be an important factor affecting cladogenesis in Phytoptidae, a conclusion contrasting with the general expectation that host characteristics should be a major macroevolutionary force influencing the evolution of host-specific symbionts. Indeed, despite the high host-specificity, there were no apparent cophylogenetic patterns. Furthermore, we show that gall-inducing ability evolved multiple times in phytoptids. Because gall formation creates nearly instantaneous niche partitioning and the potential loss or reduction of gene flow, we hypothesize that it could be an important evolutionary factor affecting speciation within different host-associated clades of phytoptid mites.

Can extended phenology in wheat cultivar mixtures mitigate post-anthesis water stress?

Wheat cultivar mixtures have a well-explored potential for improving crop diversity, yield stability, and agronomic features. However, it is unclear whether heterogeneity of phenological traits in such mixtures may help to cope with increasing environmental stresses and uncertainties. To investigate the option of using wheat cultivar mixtures with different ripening patterns for mitigating the adverse effects of post-anthesis water stress, a two-year field experiment was conducted during 2014−15 and 2015−16 growing seasons at the research field of School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Iran. The factorial experiment was a Randomized Complete Block Design with 3 replicates, in which 15 mixture treatments including monocultures and every 11 possible mixtures of four early- to middle-ripening wheat cultivars were grown under two normal and post-anthesis deficit-irrigation conditions. The results indicated that under the stressful conditions, heterogeneity in the ripening pattern of mixtures was diminished. Consequently, dissimilarities in grain yields as well as various agronomic characteristics of mixture treatments were also lessened. Although cultivar mixtures showed some casual beneficial effects, such advantages were not consistent across all conditions. Besides, cultivar mixtures could not mitigate the post-anthesis water stress significantly. However, only when the total averaged values of Susceptibility Index across the two seasons were assessed, a tendency for decreasing SI (up to 5.9 %) was observed in response to the extended phenology, which may suggest further studies for investigating the cultivar mixtures in long-term cropping systems. Despite the general expectation for beneficial ecological services from cultivar mixtures, in many cases there were disadvantageous blends, which led to a considerable reduction in grain yield and water productivity in single growing seasons. Therefore, it is suggested that unless the performance, and preferably the involved mechanisms of cultivar mixtures are fully understood, use of blends as an alternative for conventional high-input wheat cropping systems may lead to adverse results.

Sperm and alternative reproductive tactics: a review of existing theory and empirical data.

Males that exhibit alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) often differ in the risk of sperm competition and the energetic trade-offs they experience. The resulting patterns of selection could lead to between-tactic differences in ejaculate traits. Despite extensive research on male ARTs, there is no comprehensive review of whether and what differences in sperm traits exist between male ARTs. We review existing theory on ejaculate evolution relevant to ARTs and then conduct a comprehensive vote-counting review of the empirical data comparing sperm traits between males adopting ARTs. Despite the general expectation that sneaker males should produce sperm that are more competitive (e.g. higher quality or performance), we find that existing theory does not predict explicitly how males adopting ARTs should differ in sperm traits. The majority of studies find no significant difference in sperm performance traits between dominant and sneaker males. However, when there is a difference, sneaker males tend to have higher sperm performance trait values than dominant males. We propose ways that future theoretical and empirical research can improve our understanding of the evolution of ejaculate traits in ARTs. We then highlight how studying ejaculate traits in species with ARTs will improve our broader knowledge of ejaculate evolution. This article is part of the theme issue 'Fifty years of sperm competition'.

An empirical study on anthropomorphism and engagement with disembodied AIs and consumers' re‐use behavior

AbstractThe integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the human race has gradually become a norm. AI entails technology assemblages such as machine learning, natural language processing, and reasoning. The influence of AI systems has intensified in consumers' daily lives. Many consumers have interacted with the notions of AI through advertisements or having personal experiences. Many consumers are curious about the use of AI. This paper reports three studies conducted to determine whether anthropomorphism (ANTH) and engagement play a role in consumers' intention to re‐use a voice assistant (VA; a machine‐learning AI). The second study will determine if ANTH and engagement play a role when consumers are using the VAs for different activities (task completion vs. information gathering). In addition, in Study 2, actual re‐use behavior was also tested in the model, which encouraged a stronger overall model fit. The results show that in general effort expectation (EE) has a strong positive impact on consumers' usage experience of the VA. However, between the two types of activities, EE has a stronger impact on consumers' usage experience for information‐gathering activities, whereas performance expectation has a stronger impact on usage experience when consumers use the VA for task‐completion purposes. The third study used internet usage experience as a moderating variable to determine the boundaries of the mediating effects in the study. The results show that the mediators yield results similar to prior studies.

Inexact SARAH algorithm for stochastic optimization

We develop and analyse a variant of the SARAH algorithm, which does not require computation of the exact gradient. Thus this new method can be applied to general expectation minimization problems rather than only finite sum problems. While the original SARAH algorithm, as well as its predecessor, SVRG, requires an exact gradient computation on each outer iteration, the inexact variant of SARAH (iSARAH), which we develop here, requires only stochastic gradient computed on a mini-batch of sufficient size. The proposed method combines variance reduction via sample size selection and iterative stochastic gradient updates. We analyse the convergence rate of the algorithms for strongly convex and non-strongly convex cases, under smooth assumption with appropriate mini-batch size selected for each case. We show that with an additional, reasonable, assumption iSARAH achieves the best-known complexity among stochastic methods in the case of non-strongly convex stochastic functions.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INDIVIDUALISTIC VALUES AND OPTIMISM: A STUDY OF THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION IN BULGARIA

Aim. A quantitative study on generational differences showed a decrease in optimism among the young generation (Karaivanova, 2016). The present work aims to study in detail the relationship between individualistic values, self-esteem, and optimism among the Millennial generation. Optimism is a general expectation for positive results and positive events in life (Radoslavova &amp; Velichkov, 2005).&#x0D; Method. A sample of 204 respondents from 20 to 35 years old voluntarily filled in a survey containing scales measuring individualistic values, self-esteem, and optimism. The relationship between these variables was tested using regression and mediation analyses. The results were processed using the statistical software SPSS, version 22.0.0.0, and the lavaan application in R Studio.&#x0D; Results. The theoretical model created and tested in this study proved to have good explanatory power for the dependent variable optimism explaining one-third of its variance and gives significant clarity on the relationship between individualistic values, self-esteem, and optimism for the young generation in Bulgaria.&#x0D; Conclusion. Individualistic values turned out to predict self-esteem. The more individualistic a person is, the higher they perceive their competences and social image. At the same time, being individualistic, i.e. being open for change and following one’s own interests does not make young people look more optimistically towards the future and believe in the solution of every problem they encounter. Individualistic values have a positive mediated effect on optimism with self-esteem as a mediator. Having strong self-confidence makes young people have positive expectations for the future.

Research on a Shared Bicycle Deposit Management System Based on Blockchain Technology

As a green travel mode, bike sharing is developing rapidly across China. At present, charging deposits from users is the common operation mode adopted by shared bicycle enterprises. The large number of shared bicycle enterprises generates fierce market competition, and the eliminated enterprises always refuse to return user deposits. Even regular running enterprises still have trouble with the immediate return of deposits. This situation severely affects the reputation of shared bicycle enterprises, and concerns have been shared widely across the society. Meanwhile, there is a general expectation among users that their deposits could be refunded timely and a broad appeal for technical management to resolve this problem. This article uses blockchain technology to reform the current management mode for shared bicycle deposits and constructs a decentralized, user information and deposit visualized, and multidimensional supervised management system. The proposed management system makes the real-time flow direction supervision of user deposits to be realized. Furthermore, a smart contract of shared bicycle deposits with punishment mechanism is also designed. Finally, the differences between the proposed deposit management mode and the current deposit management mode are analyzed, and a simulation experiment is conducted. In the simulation experiment, the deposit theft rate of our deposit management system is 0%, which is far better than the two existing bike deposit management systems. The results show that the outstanding advantages of the proposed deposit management mode, which include improving deposit supervision and guaranteeing user deposit security, are also conducted. This article has made effective technical management exploration to reduce deposit management risks and improve deposit management institutions for shared bicycles. It has important practical reference value for accelerating the sustainable development of shared bicycle enterprises.

International optimism: Correlates and consequences of dispositional optimism across 61 countries.

The current exploratory study sought to examine dispositional optimism, or the general expectation for positive outcomes, around the world. Dispositional optimism and possible correlates were assessed across 61 countries (N=15,185; mean age=21.92; 77% female). Mean-level differences in optimism were computed along with their relationships with individual and country-level variables. Worldwide, mean optimism levels were above the midpoint of the scale. Perhaps surprisingly, country-level optimism was negatively related to gross domestic product per capita, population density, and democratic norms and positively related to income inequality and perceived corruption. However, country-level optimism was positively related to projected economic improvement. Individual-level optimism was positively related to individual well-being within every country, although this relationship was less strong in countries with challenging economic and social circumstances. While individuals around the world are generally optimistic, societal characteristics appear to affect the degree to which their optimism is associated with psychological well-being, sometimes in seemingly anomalous ways.

Thresholds for ecological responses to global change do not emerge from empirical data.

To understand ecosystem responses to anthropogenic global change, a prevailing framework is the definition of threshold levels of pressure, above which response magnitudes and their variances increase disproportionately. However, we lack systematic quantitative evidence as to whether empirical data allow definition of such thresholds. Here, we summarize 36 meta-analyses measuring more than 4,600 global change impacts on natural communities. We find that threshold transgressions were rarely detectable, either within or across meta-analyses. Instead, ecological responses were characterized mostly by progressively increasing magnitude and variance when pressure increased. Sensitivity analyses with modelled data revealed that minor variances in the response are sufficient to preclude the detection of thresholds from data, even if they are present. The simulations reinforced our contention that global change biology needs to abandon the general expectation that system properties allow defining thresholds as a way to manage nature under global change. Rather, highly variable responses, even under weak pressures, suggest that 'safe-operating spaces' are unlikely to be quantifiable.

What exactly is missing here? The sensory processing of unpredictable omissions is modulated by the specificity of expected action-effects.

We select our actions according to the desired outcomes; for instance, piano players press certain keys to generate specific musical notes. It is well-described that the omission of a predicted action-effect may elicit prediction error signals in the brain, but what happens in the case of simultaneous effector-specific (by contrast to effector-unspecific) predictions? To answer this question, we asked participants to press left and right keys to generate tones A and B; based on the action-effect association, the tones' identity was either predictable or unpredictable, while rarely, the expected input was omitted. Crucially, the data show that omissions following hand-specific associations reliably elicited a late omission N1 (oN1) component, by contrast to the hand-unspecific associations, where the late oN1 was rather weak. An additional condition where both key-presses generated a unique tone was implemented. Here, rare omissions of the expected tone generated both early and late oN1 responses, by contrast to the condition in which two simultaneous action-effect representations had to be maintained, where only late oN1 responses were elicited. Finally, omission P3 (oP3) responses were strongly elicited for all omission types without differences, indicating that a general expectation based on a tone presentation (rather than which tone), is likely indexed at this stage. The present results emphasize the top-down effects of action intention on the sensory processing of omissions, where unspecific (vs. specific) and multiple (vs. single) action-effect representations are associated with processing costs at the early sensory levels.

Beyond Victim Blaming: Students’ Perceptions of Bystanders Who Fail to Intervene

ABSTRACT Bystander intervention education has been a common feature on college campuses for more than a decade. Although research has explored the degree to which bystander training influences students’ attitudes toward sexual assault, their perceptions of their own efficacy to intervene, and their intentions to help others, very little is known about how such training impacts students’ perceptions of bystanders who knowingly fail to intervene. In other words, what impact is bystander education having on broader expectations for bystander behaviors? This research addresses this question using in-depth interview data from 51 college students. Results suggest that although students report a general expectation that bystanders should intervene in sexually threatening situations, intrapersonal, microsystem, exosystem, and macrosystem factors, nonetheless, interact with one another to excuse or justify nonintervention by bystanders. Implications for campus programming are discussed.