Introduction Universal primary education in South Asia: A right that remains elusive

South Asia, with a quarter of the world’s population, has at least a quarter of the world’s children who should be in primary school but are not. As a region, South Asia will almost certainly fall short of achieving the second EFA goal by 2015: full access to, and completion of, primary education. What can be done now to improve the prospects of achieving the goal as soon after 2015 as possible and to lay a solid foundation for doing so?     

Hybrid E‐Learning Acceptance Model: Learner Perceptions

E‐learning tools and technologies have been used to supplement conventional courses in higher education institutions creating a “hybrid” e‐learning module that aims to enhance the learning experiences of students. Few studies have addressed the acceptance of hybrid e‐learning by learners and the factors affecting the learners’ satisfaction with these tools. This study assesses hybrid e‐learning acceptance by learners using three critical success factors: instructor characteristics, information technology infrastructure, and organizational and technical support. Structural equation modeling was applied to examine and validate the hypothesized relationships among the three factors and their effects on learners’ acceptance of hybrid e‐learning. A total of 538 usable responses from university students were used to validate the proposed research model. The influence of the three factors on learners’ decision to accept hybrid e‐learning was empirically examined. The results show that all three factors significantly and directly impacted the learners’ acceptance of hybrid e‐learning courses. Information technology infrastructure and organizational support were proven to be key determinants of the instructor characteristics as a critical success factor of hybrid e‐learning acceptance by learners. Implications of this work for higher education institutions, researchers, and instructors are described.     

Does HCV Patients Who Have BCL2 43Ala Genotype and Normal GH1 Levels Can Achieve Response to IFN Based Therapy?

The main objective of the current study is to examine the role of the statistical relation between BCL2 gene (Ala43Thr) single nucleotide polymorphism and growth hormone (GH1) levels in Egyptian HCV genotype-4 patients before and after treatment with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin. Eighty patients with HCV genotype-4 and 40 healthy volunteers as controls were enrolled in the prospective study. Gene polymorphism of BCL2 (Ala43Thr) using PCR-RFLP technique and GH1 concentrations using ELISA procedure were measured for all patients and controls. The present study resulted that Responder HCV genotype-4 Patients, with BCL2 43Ala genotype, have high significant increase in pre-treatment GH1 levels (>1 ng/ml); which represent normal levels, as compared to non-responders pre-treatment GH1 levels (<1 ng/ml); which represent low concentrations. We concluded that HCV genotype-4 patients who have normal GH1 concentrations and BCL-2 43Ala genotype can successfully achieve response to interferon based therapy.     

Values—— A study of teacher and student perceptions in four countries

The study aimed to assess and compare the values prevalent among the students and teachers of Universities in Bangladesh, Japan, USA and Germany. The sample consisted of 480 students and 236 teachers. The sample included 120 undergraduate students Japan; 120 undergraduate students from Bangladesh; 120 undergraduate students from USA, and 120 undergraduate students from Germany. The faculty sample included 60 teachers from Japan, 60 teachers from Bangladesh; 60 teachers from USA, and 56 teachers from Germany. To identify the value preferences of the individuals a list of 10 values, pro-social, achievement, power over others, security, self direction, otherworldliness, fatalism, narcissism, inner directed, and conservative, based on previous values studies by Singh and Parek were prepared. The first five values were identified in previous studies as functional （Singh, 1975） and other five were identified as dysfunctional （Parek, 1988） in the context of national development of Asian cultures. The results revealed that Bangladeshi students held stronger preferences for values identified as functional values than for those identified as dysfunctional. Japanese students indicated stronger preferences for the values identified as functional values except narcissism. The American students indicated a preference for three of the five values identified as functional but also ranked narcissism and other worldliness as third and fifth preferred values respectively. German student showed a preference for functional values, except narcissism which they also ranked as third. Bangladeshi teachers＇ preferences for functional values were higher than dysfunctional values. Japanese teachers indicated a preference for functional values except narcissism. American teachers preferred functional values except other worldliness. German teachers＇ value preferences were also functional, except for narcissism which they ranked as fifth. Students and teachers in the four countries sampled indicate preferences for values identified as functional with few exceptions. This research suggests that value preferences among university students and teachers are more similar than different, suggesting a homogenizing effect （Boli, 2005） on human values.     

Can Cartoons Influence Americans' Attitudes Toward Bailouts?

According to Moral Politics Theory (Lakoff, 1996, 2004, 2006, 2008), a portion of the U.S. population is biconceptual. These citizens subscribe to both the strict-father and nurturant-parent model in their reasoning about ideal families and therefore possess more flexible political attitudes that can shift depending on what family model is brought to the fore of their reasoning through the language used in public discourse. The present study examined whether visual issue framings in terms of a strict-father and nurturant-parent model result in short-term framing effects. Participants were exposed to strict-father and nurturant-parent framings of the issue of bailouts. The results showed that strict-father and nurturant-parent framings led to framing effects and that biconceptuals were susceptible to framings in terms of both models. Furthermore, the author demonstrated that presenting strict fathers with an antibailout argument framed in terms of strict-father values pushed them toward even stronger stances in line with their preheld beliefs (although see Chong & Druckman, 2007; Converse, 1974; Judd & Krosnick, 1982; Payne, 1951; Wehling, 2013; Wehling, Feinberg, Saslow, Melvaer, & Lakoff, 2014). In addition, the results confirmed that subtle changes in visual metaphoric constructions can exert an influence over people's political attitudes.     

Leaderless consensus control of nonlinear multi-agent systems under directed topologies subject to input saturation using adaptive event-triggered mechanism

This paper deals with the leaderless consensus controller design for nonlinear multi-agent systems (MASs) subject to the input saturation nonlinearity by using an event-triggered (ET) mechanism. An adaptive ET scheme has been established with variable threshold parameter for attaining an efficient control bandwidth. Linear parameter varying (LPV) formulation and region of stability investigation for dealing with the inherent nonlinearity and input saturation, respectively, are focused in the study. A consensus controller design condition has been formulated to ensure the regional stability, to determine the consensus protocol gains, to choose the parameters of ET mechanism, and to select an appropriate adaptation law for ET control. Elimination of Zeno behavior, based on nonlinearity bounds, for the adaptive ET mechanism has been ensured through a rigorous analysis. In contrast to excising methods, a directed communication topology, adaptive ET mechanism, and removal of Zeno behavior as well as elimination of the windup effect of saturation have been considered in our work. A simulation study has been provided for six robotic agents and comparison results with the existing method are revealed.     

Optimal non-parametric tuning of PID controllers based on classification of shapes of oscillations in modified relay feedback test

In this work, tuning rules of the PID controller have been developed by categorizing a system's response into distinct classes. The classes are formed using the shapes of the test oscillations induced by the system under the Modified Relay Feedback Test (MRFT) produced by specific system models. It is proposed that a physical system can be categorized into one of the proposed classes and thus the tuning rules for a particular class can apply to any kind of system from this class. The idea of producing tuning rules that are based on the shape of the oscillations induced in the loop containing the process comes from the observations that oscillatory responses of physical systems reveal just a few different shapes depending on system dynamics. For applying the developed optimal tuning rules for an arbitrary system, first, certain system characteristics are determined using a priori knowledge of the class model. Then the system's response with the application of the MRFT is examined to classify the oscillation waveform/shape. In this work, such classification is carried out using a cross-correlation algorithm. Finally, a class tuning rules are applied.     

A genetically modified fuzzy linear discriminant analysis for face recognition

This paper addresses the face recognition problem through a modification of the Fuzzy Fisherface classification method. In conventional methods, the relationship of each face to a class is assumed to be crisp. The Fuzzy Fisherface method introduces a gradual level of assignment of each face pattern to a class, using a membership grading based upon the K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) algorithm. This method was further modified by incorporating the membership grade of each face pattern into the calculation of the between-class and within-class scatter matrices, termed as Complete Fuzzy LDA (CFLDA). The present work aims at improving the assignment of class membership by improving the parameters of the membership functions. A genetic algorithm is employed to optimize these parameters by searching the parameter space. Furthermore, the genetic algorithm is used to find the optimal number of nearest neighbors to be considered during the training phase. The experiments were performed on the Olivetti Research Laboratory (ORL) face image database and the results show consistent improvement in the recognition rate when compared to the results from other techniques applied on the same database and reported in literature.     

Reaching for the “cloud”: How SMEs can manage

Cloud computing is an emerging new computing paradigm for delivering computing services. The approach relies on a number of existing technologies e.g., the Internet, virtualization and grid computing. However, the provision of this service in a pay-as-you-go way through the popular medium of the Internet renders this computing service approach unique compared with currently available computing service modalities. This article highlights some aspects of this uniqueness and also explores some of the concerns that might be preventing some companies from adopting it. Notwithstanding these concerns, it is argued in this article that cloud computing is likely to prove commercially viable for many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) due to its flexibility and pay-as-you-go cost structure, particularly in the current climate of economic difficulties. A case study of a cloud experience by a British SME is also presented in this study in order to further highlight the perceived values of cloud computing in terms of cost and efficiency for real small enterprises.     

Quantitative Assessment of Expression of Lactate Dehydrogenase and its Isoforms 3 and 4 may Serve as Useful Indicators of Progression of Gallbladder Cancer: A Pilot Study

We have studied the expression of lactate dehydrogenase and its isoforms in gall bladder cancer, cholelithiasis and chronic cholecystitis. Quantitative and qualitative assays of lactate dehydrogenase and its various isoforms were carried out in the blood sera of patients and healthy controls along with parallel estimation of various liver function test enzymes. Statistical analysis was done using the software Graph Pad Prism. Significantly high expression of lactate dehydrogenase along with alkaline phosphatase and total bilirubin (P ≤ 0.05) was observed in all the three clinical conditions as compared to controls. LDH showed an increasing trend from stage I to stage IV of GBC indicating a significant positive association with the disease progression. The levels of LDH 3 and 4 isoforms appeared significantly more elevated in GBC than cholelithiasis or chronic cholecystitis. We suggest that a careful estimation of total LDH and its isoforms 3 and 4 alone or along with alkaline phosphatase and total bilirubin during different clinical stages, like chronic cholecystitis, cholelithiasis and GBC, may prove to be a potentially useful biomarker in the prognostic management of gall bladder diseases, specifically GBC.