Internal Context Research Articles

Endocrine flexibility.

Endocrine flexibility.

RGB-D Image Semantic Segmentation Based on Multi-Modal Adaptive Convolution

With the availability of consumer RGB-D sensors, lots of research uses both color information and depth information for semantic segmentation. However, most previous studies simply fuse RGB features and depth features with equal-weight concatenating or summing, which may fail to effectively use complementary information between RGB information and depth information. On the other hand, previous works construct multi-scale representation by utilizing multi-scale convolution kernel with the fixed-parameter, which may lead to parameter redundancy and fail to perform online self-adaption. To effectively utilize the internal context information of multi-modal features, an RGB-D image semantic segmentation network is proposed by introducing a multi-modal adaptive convolution module. The multi-scale adaptive convolution kernel is generated dynamically, and the context information of multi-modal features is embedded into the multi-scale convolution filters effectively. Compared with the traditional multi-scale convolution kernel, proposed method has higher computational efficiency and better accuracy. Experimental results on the public RGB-D indoor semantic segmentation datasets SUN RGB-D and NYU Depth v2 show that the pixel accuracy, mean pixel accuracy, and mean IoU of proposed method is 82.5%, 62.0%, 50.6% and 77.1%, 64.2%, 50.8% Respectively, which outperforms all existing RGB-D semantic segmentation methods.

Dynamics and Sustainability of Environmental Conservation at Adiwiyata School in Malang

Environmental damages in Indonesia, in the past few decades, have been increasing as well as worrying. One of the responses emerged in dealing with these problems is to intensify environmental education. Internalization of environmental education within school curricula, in Indonesia, is executed through the Adiwiyata program. This study aims to describe the achievements, obstacles, and sustainability of Adiwiyata school’s contributions to environmental conservation in Malang City. This research is a descriptive research. The research location is at SMAN 2 Malang City which has the status as an independent Adiwiyata school since 2017. Data collection was carried out by interview, observation and literature study methods. The results of the study indicate that environmental conservation is carried out not only in the internal context of the school. Environmental conservation is mainly focused on the sustainability of Brantas watershed. External parties involved in this project consist of the non-profit organization JKPKA, civil society, and stakeholders. There are several obstacles faced during the implementation of environmental conservation which are dominantly derived from the technical realm, namely parents’ permitting issue and the locations. Strengthening of shared perceptions is indeed taken by the school to maintain the sustainability of environmental education.

A systematic review of information practices research

PurposeThis systematic literature review aims to elaborate the research progress of information practices to help other researchers attain a more holistic and comprehensive understanding of the field.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a systematic review protocol, 123 research articles from nine academic databases were included in the analysis.FindingsFour separate results can be outlined. First, practice theory, social constructionist theory and activity theory are often used as the theoretical basis for the study of information practices. Second, people will engage in specific information practice activities in different external and internal contexts. The external contexts include social and needs contexts. The internal contexts include information source horizons, user's affection and user's cognition. Third, the existing information practice models can be divided into static and dynamic types. These models mainly reflected activities and influencing factors of information practices. Fourth, qualitative methods were the most used in information practice research.Research limitations/implicationsThe field of information practices is a vast, expanding research field. This research will focus only on a specific section, namely concepts, activities, contexts and models. Researchers could contribute to exploring the concepts, components and mechanisms of information practices by combining theories from various disciplines, such as sociology and behavioral science.Originality/valueThis is the first study to reveal the general picture of information practices. It also elaborates the characteristics of people's information practices and shows the potential development direction for future research.

Continual Learning Electrical Conduction in Resistive‐Switching‐Memory Materials

AbstractThe authors apply the concept of continual learning to modeling conductive‐filament growth in resistive‐switching materials (RSM). The approach permits computation of compliance current without knowing the geometries of conductive filaments and switching behaviors. This avoids the need to retrain the entire dataset when additional compliance currents are considered and is thus ideal for resistive switching (RS) thin films, doped layers, and other material systems. Computation of compliance current is consistent with experimental data for a wide range of parameters and learning tasks and demonstrates switching behavior not captured by traditional models. Lesion calculations elucidate the brain‐inspired‐modification‐facilitated increase in compliance‐current‐computation‐accuracy. A state‐of‐the‐art performance on challenging compliance‐current learning tasks without storing data is achieved (“brain inspired replay (BIR) – gating based on internal context (Gat)” method, ≈89%; above a benchmark of ≈50% for synaptic‐intelligence (SI)/elastic‐weight‐consolidation (EWC) methods), and it provides a novel model for computing compliance current based on replay of the brain. This intuitive approach combined with a simple solver tool, allows researchers with little computation experience to perform realistic and accurate modeling.

Language, Culture, and Ecology: An Exploration of Language Ecology in Pragmatics

This paper discussed the relationship between language, ecology, and culture, and claimed that the study of linguistic communication as pragmatics should not be confined to the traditional context, but should focus on a broader ecological environment. It analyzed the context of practical communication from the perspective of language ecology beginning with the discussion of the ecological crisis in communication and found that language, like plants and animals in nature, needed the support of the external environment with certain “soil fertility”. This paper classified ecological context into two types: internal ecological context (psychological-cognitive context) and external ecological context (natural environment and social environment). Based on this classification, the ecological context of pragmatics was further divided into environment-friendly context, addressee-friendly context, and speaker-friendly ecological context. This paper was an exploratory analysis of language ecology in pragmatics, aiming at helping communicative participants find their ecological niche and adopt appropriate strategies to maintain the ecological balance in pragmatic communication.

The “Word” and “Deed”: Toward a History of the Academic Relationship Between Aleksei Leont’ev and Lev Vygotskii

ABSTRACT The article presents a comprehensive analysis of the academic relationship between two leading Russian psychologists, Aleksei Leont’ev and Lev Vygotskii. The initial relationship between the teacher (Vygotskii) and the attentive student and follower (Leont’ev) changed, such that the two scholars eventually sought to differentiate themselves from each other and to seek out and defend their own approaches. The author describes how the psychological ideas of these two scholars changed over time. The two scholars pursued different approaches to the problem of activity and personality over their careers. The article devotes particular attention to the academic work of Leont’ev, which was produced under socialism and thus was subjected to certain ideological pressures. Leont’ev, the founder of activity theory, came to realize that personality needed to be studied across its moral and value dimensions despite working in an environment that frowned upon this approach. Other Soviet scholars gave no place for moral principles, since a person was equated to being a “product.” By citing specific works by Leont’ev, the author shows how the ideas of the “leader of Marxist psychology” evolved and sheds light on the internal context of his scientific investigations. We see that he eventually resolved a question of fundamental disagreement with Vygotskii concerning the problem of experiences and activity. During the last years of his life, Aleksei Leont’ev approached the late Vygotskii in his views, taking the side of his teacher, old friend and, at the same time, main internal opponent, which is not all that uncommon a phenomenon in academic circles. This can be seen by the fact that two years before his death (in 1977), Leont’ev actually resolved a fundamental disagreement he had with Vygotskii concerning the problem of experiences and activity.

Media Development and Digital Evaluation Training to Improve High School Teacher Competence in the Industrial Revolution 4.0 Era in Sawahlunto City, Sumatera Barat

Learning is a process of interaction between teachers and students that considers various internal and external aspects. In the internal context, the learning process needs to change regarding the industrial revolution 4.0 which has an impact on all aspects. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic also demands many changes in the presentation of learning. Middle school teachers in Sawahlunto City have minimal knowledge about media development and digital evaluation. In connection with this, it is necessary to conduct training to increase teacher competence in the field of media and digital evaluation. The training method is online and offline with a total of 30 training participants. The training is carried out through presentations by resource persons, then practice and assistance in developing media and digital evaluations. In the final stage, training evaluation activities are carried out. Training Outcomes The trainees have competence in designing and developing digital evaluations. Regarding the process in the implementation of the training, the participants were very satisfied with the average score of the questionnaire at 4.54 (scale 1-5). The follow-up to the implementation of the training was the formation of a teacher working group and coordination through whatsApp groups to follow up on the training that had been carried out.

Legislatively mandated implementation of medications for opioid use disorders in jails: A qualitative study of clinical, correctional, and jail administrator perspectives

BackgroundIndividuals with legal involvement and opioid use disorders (OUD) are at an increased risk of overdose and premature death. Yet, few correctional systems provide all FDA approved medications for OUD (MOUD) to all qualifying incarcerated individuals. We report on the implementation of MOUD in seven Massachusetts’ jails following a state legislative mandate to provide access to all FDA-approved MOUD and to connect with treatment upon release. Methods/participantsBased on the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, and Sustainment framework, 61 clinical, corrections, and senior jail administrators participated in semi-structured interviews and focus groups between December 2019 and January 2020. Qualitative analyses focused on external and internal contexts and bridging factors. FindingsParticipants detailed how the outer context (i.e., legislative mandate) drove acceptance of MOUD and assisted with continuity of care. Salient inner context factors included decision-making around administration of agonist medications, staff perceptions and training, and changes to infrastructure and daily routines. Leadership was critical in flattening standard hierarchies and advocating for flexibility. System-based characteristics of incarcerated individuals, specifically those who were pre-sentenced, presented challenges with treatment initiation. Inter- and intra-agency bridging factors reduced duplication of effort and led to quick, innovative solutions. ConclusionsImplementation of MOUD in jails requires collaboration with and reliance on external agencies. Preparation for implementation should involve systematic reviews of available resources and connections. Implementation requires flexibility from institutional systems that are inherently rigid. Accordingly, leaders and policymakers must recognize the cultural shift inherent in such programs and allow for resources and education to assure program success.

Understanding Marketing Responses to a Tax on Sugary Drinks: A Qualitative Interview Study in the United Kingdom, 2019.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that countries implement fiscal policies to reduce the health impacts of sugary drinks. Few studies have fully examined the responses of industry to these policies, and whether they support or undermine health benefits of sugary drinks taxes. We aimed to explore the changes that sugary drinks companies may make to their marketing, and underlying decision-making processes, in response to such a tax. Following introduction of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) in 2018, we undertook one-to-one semi-structured interviews with UK stakeholders with experience of the strategic decision-making or marketing of soft drinks companies. We purposively recruited interviewees using seed and snowball sampling. We conducted telephone interviews with 6 representatives from each of industry, academia and civil society (total n=18), which were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Four transcripts were double-coded, three were excluded from initial coding to allow comparison; and findings were checked by interviewees. Themes were organised into a theoretical framework that reveals a cyclical, iterative and ongoing process of soft drinks company marketing decision-making, which was accelerated by the SDIL. Decisions about marketing affect a product's position, or niche, in the market and were primarily intended to maintain profits. A product's position is enacted through various marketing activities including reformulation and price variation, and non-marketing activities like lobbying. A soft drinks company's selection of marketing activities appeared to be influenced by their internal context, such as brand strength, and external context, such as consumer trends and policy. For example, a company with low brand strength and an awareness of trends for reducing sugar consumption may be more likely to reformulate to lower-sugar alternatives. The theoretical framework suggests that marketing responses following the SDIL were coordinated and context-dependent, potentially explaining observed heterogeneity in responses across the industry.

Classifying Conduct Disorder Using a Biopsychosocial Model and Machine Learning Method

BackgroundConduct disorder (CD) is a common syndrome with far-reaching effects. Risk factors for the development of CD span social, psychological, and biological domains. Researchers note that predictive models of CD are limited if the focus is on a single risk factor or even a single domain. Machine learning methods are optimized for the extraction of trends across multidomain data but have yet to be implemented in predicting the development of CD. MethodsSocial (e.g., family, income), psychological (e.g., psychiatric, neuropsychological), and biological (e.g., resting-state graph metrics) risk factors were measured using data from the baseline visit of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study when youth were 9 to 10 years old (N = 2368). Applying a feed-forward neural network machine learning method, risk factors were used to predict CD diagnoses 2 years later. ResultsA model with factors that included social, psychological, and biological domains outperformed models representing factors within any single domain, predicting the presence of a CD diagnosis with 91.18% accuracy. Within each domain, certain factors stood out in terms of their relationship to CD (social: lower parental monitoring, more aggression in the household, lower income; psychological: greater attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms, worse crystallized cognition and card sorting performance; biological: disruptions in the topology of subcortical and frontoparietal networks). ConclusionsThe development of an accurate, sensitive, and specific predictive model of CD has the potential to aid in prevention and intervention efforts. Key risk factors for CD appear best characterized as reflecting unpredictable, impulsive, deprived, and emotional external and internal contexts.

Adaptive Learning through Temporal Dynamics of State Representation.

People adjust their learning rate rationally according to local environmental statistics and calibrate such adjustments based on the broader statistical context. To date, no theory has captured the observed range of adaptive learning behaviors or the complexity of its neural correlates. Here, we attempt to do so using a neural network model that learns to map an internal context representation onto a behavioral response via supervised learning. The network shifts its internal context on receiving supervised signals that are mismatched to its output, thereby changing the "state" to which feedback is associated. A key feature of the model is that such state transitions can either increase learning or decrease learning depending on the duration over which the new state is maintained. Sustained state transitions that occur after changepoints facilitate faster learning and mimic network reset phenomena observed in the brain during rapid learning. In contrast, state transitions after one-off outlier events are short lived, thereby limiting the impact of outlying observations on future behavior. State transitions in our model provide the first mechanistic interpretation for bidirectional learning signals, such as the P300, that relate to learning differentially according to the source of surprising events and may also shed light on discrepant observations regarding the relationship between transient pupil dilations and learning. Together, our results demonstrate that dynamic latent state representations can afford normative inference and provide a coherent framework for understanding neural signatures of adaptive learning across different statistical environments.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT How humans adjust their sensitivity to new information in a changing world has remained largely an open question. Bridging insights from normative accounts of adaptive learning and theories of latent state representation, here we propose a feedforward neural network model that adjusts its learning rate online by controlling the speed of transitioning its internal state representations. Our model proposes a mechanistic framework for explaining learning under different statistical contexts, explains previously observed behavior and brain signals, and makes testable predictions for future experimental studies.

Contextual factors related to the execution of knowledge strategies in intellectual disabilities organizations

AbstractThe sharing and application of knowledge in intellectual disabilities care are vital and challenging. Therefore, organizations providing care and support for people with intellectual disabilities use strategies to stimulate these processes. To optimize these strategies, we investigated the contextual factors that influence their execution. We conducted individual, in‐depth, semi‐structured interviews with 11 CEOs of organizations providing care for people with intellectual disabilities in the Netherlands. A thematic data analysis was conducted in which a deductive approach was followed by a bottom‐up clustering. We thus identified factors related to both the internal and the external context. The internal context involves persons within the organization and the organizational structures. The external context involves the organization's socio‐political environment and collaborative partnerships. We concluded that the execution of strategies to improve the sharing and application of knowledge is influenced by contextual factors which appear to be interconnected. These contextual factors point to the key role played by care professionals.

Assessing Firm Readiness to Adopt Cluster-Based Innovative Projects: A Segmentation Analysis

As innovation has garnered substantial attention on corporate success and sustainability, organizations must evaluate internal contexts to determine potential innovative practices and benefits. Firms need to investigate the determining factors of innovation preparedness as organizational innovation practices are catalyzed through internal elements. This study evaluates small and medium firms’ readiness to adopt and execute collaborative innovative projects within a future cluster and its impacts on organizational advantages, intentions, and attributes. Thereby, three dimensions were considered in examining organizational preparedness, namely, climate, culture, and motivation. A total of 70 firms operating in the labeled agri-food sector in Morocco were interviewed and homogenously classified using integrated hierarchical and non-hierarchical algorithms, following a segmentation approach. Three segments were identified, stressing the degree of organizational readiness to undertake innovative projects within future service clusters. The segments varied according to the firm’s sub-sector, experience, and resources. Considering the association of readiness with benefits and practical aims, the results broaden firm preparedness understanding to adopt innovative projects. The results also illustrate the relevance of adapting both innovative and beneficial project arrangements for firms with minor to moderate experience while addressing current issues across different segments.

Reflections on the Failure of the Egyptian Revolution

: Between January 2011 and July 2013, Egypt underwent a revolutionary period. While the roots and sequences of the Egyptian revolution have been studied comprehensively, much less has been said about the reasons behind the revolution’s defeat. The reason is twofold. On the one hand, scholars prevalently have explored democratization’s failure. On the other hand, the way in which Egyptian events were understood logically prevented the possibility of analyzing the 2011–2013 situation as an example of a failed revolution. By showing that the emergence of democracy was the most unlikely outcome and adopting an inter-social approach, the present article deals with the failure of social revolution in Egypt. In particular, it argues that the interaction between worldwide ideologies, epochal intellectual currents and (supposedly) successful contemporary revolutions on the one hand, and an internal context shaped by the legacies of Nasserism, the peculiar fate of the communist left and the institutional environment on the other, negatively affected the capacity of the subaltern classes even to outline an alternative political system. The non-emergence of popular bodies rendered unlikely the collapse of state apparatuses, making it impossible for revolutionaries to take power by extra-constitutional means and determining the defeat of the revolution.

Організаційна культура та її важливість в секторі державного управління

The article analyzes the results of the studies by domestic as well as foreign scientists concerning the importance of organizational culture for the public administration sector. The links of organizational culture are distinguished, which indicates its indissolubility with the processes of both the organization’s activities and the effectiveness. Culture helps to overcome the organizational ambiguity of employee behavior and contributes to their effective behavior. The main characteristics inherent in organizational and corporate cultures are disclosed. It is determined that the difference between organizational culture and corporate culture relates to so-called «politics», that is, in the way public officials interact with politics and society as a whole. It is proved that most cultural studies focus on private organizations, and only a small number of them pay attention to the public sector. It is noted that any study of the organizational culture of the public sector should take into account its external context, that is, its relationship with politics and society as a whole. The external context may relate to the attitude of public officials to politics, relations of public officials with citizens and civil society. In the internal context, the ratios of public officials may differ in specific characteristics, such as distance from power, avoidance of uncertainty, leadership in decision-making and employee preferences. Attention is focused on the parameters of organizational culture, various points of view of scientists are analyzed. The profiles of organizational culture, serving to the quantifying purposes, are characterized

The application of translation strategies and predicate transformations in teaching written translation

The aim of the article was to investigate the impact of context and instructions on the situation during written translation. In particular, the objective was to clarify two aspects: pragmatic (preservation of the pragmatics of the original in the translation, taking into account the task) and syntactic (the impact of changing the syntax on the correctness of the translation). The following methods were used: contextual discourse analysis, description, classification, observation. Experimental research has shown that when translated without context or situation, the translator can only rely on prior knowledge and internal context. At the same time, situational awareness to better understand the meaning of what is being said than the context of the passage, except for sentences that are highly dependent on the context of the passage. It turned out that the syntax change is not an indicator of the correctness of the translation and does not depend on the context or situation, but on the peculiarities of a particular sentence and the preferences of the translator. Context-based translation has been shown to broaden the variability of lexical units, allow more frequent use of concretization and generalization strategies, and change syntax more boldly. When analyzing the translation strategies in texts of different genres, it was found that the use of translation strategies depends not only on the type of text, but also on the preferences of the translator. The conclusions presented in the article can be used to build theoretical models, to carry out future experimental research to study the translation process or directly in the practice of teaching translation. In addition, the constructed and grounded method of experimental study of translation can be studied in more detail in future works, supplemented and expanded, with the participation of texts from various scientific subjects (natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, etc.). It will also be effective during the practical application of the scientific, journalistic, artistic, official-business styles and their sub-styles, as well as for various target audiences.

Sistemas de Gestão da Qualidade: estudo de correlação entre liderança e maturidade

abstract: Leadership is a key element of quality management, and, as such, it has been identified as an influential factor in the maturity of quality management systems (QMSs). Some of the previous studies on the relationship between leadership styles and QMS performance have argued that no universal best leadership style exists, stressing that leadership practices should be appropriate to the context. Thus, this research aims to further explore this relationship by considering the QMS context, namely the practitioners' leadership profile and the QMS maturity. Accordingly, the primary objectives of this study are 1) to understand if a leadership style is predominant depending on the QMS maturity and 2) to understand the relationship between the leadership practices of different styles and the dimensions of the QMS maturity. An exploratory quantitative study was developed in companies located in Portugal through a survey based on the maturity model developed by Nascimento et al. (2016) and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire®-5X Short Leader Form MLQ of Avolio and Bass (1995). The diagnosis disclosed that only 32% of the sample had a QMS with higher maturity levels (4 and 5, a scale of 1 to 5). The results highlighted that no single leadership style dominates a specific maturity level. Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was demonstrated between several practices of transformational and transactional leadership styles and the dimensions of QMS maturity. As a practical contribution, a guideline was provided with some examples of leadership practices and their impacts on the specific dimensions of QMS maturity. Some steps were also proposed to enable organisations to develop a tailored programme to foster leadership practices suitable to the internal context and promote QMS maturity.

Few-Shot Object Detection With Self-Adaptive Global Similarity and Two-Way Foreground Stimulator in Remote Sensing Images

Few-shot object detection aims to localize and recognize potential objects of interest only by using a few annotated data, and it is beneficial for remote sensing images (RSIs) based applications such as urban monitoring. Previous RSIs-based few-shot object detection works often try to convert the support images from class-agnostic features to class-specific vectors, and then perform feature attention operations on query image features to be tested. However, such methods still face two critical challenges: 1) They ignore the spatial similarity of support-query features, which is indispensable for RSIs detection; 2) They perform the feature attention operation in a unidirectional manner, which means that the learned support- query relations are asymmetric. In this paper, to address the challenges above, we design a few-shot object detector, which can quickly and accurately generalize to unseen categories with only a small amount of data. The proposed approach contains two components: 1) the self-adaptive global similarity module that preserves the internal context information to calculate the similarity map between the objects in support and query images, and 2) the two-way foreground stimulator module that can apply the similarity map to the detailed embeddings of support and query images at the same time to make full use of support information, further strengthening the foreground objects and weakening the unconcerned samples. Experiments are conducted on DIOR and NWPU VHR-10 datasets and their results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method compared with several state-of-the-art methods.

Https://habibiaislamicus.com/index.php/hirj/article/view/123

The Qur'anic sage is the source of knowledge and wisdom, and the ocean is endless. If you dive into the book, many facts and interpretations come to light in the form of words and expressions. The word truth should be researched from any point of view in the Qur'anic context. The real and additional meaning is determined by the internal and external contexts. Therefore, in the following research, the opinions of the commentators regarding the meanings of the word truth mentioned in the Quran will be mentioned.