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Genetic Algorithms for Scheduling Examinations
No full textThe range of problems to which genetic algorithms have been applied is quite broad. Timetable scheduling is a complex optimization problem. The purpose is to solve this problem by using genetic algorithms. There are two implementations for this problem: the first one solves the complete issue, and the second one divides the problem into two phases and solves the second phase. The results show that the second implementation has better solutions than the first one
Unveiling Polaronic Effects on Carrier Transport in BiOBr, BiOI, and BiOBr−BiOI Heterostructures
No full textBismuth oxyhalides (BiOX; X = Br, I) are semiconductors with attractive electronic and optical properties. However, charge transport in these ionic compounds is predominantly dominated by polaron formation, which is still insufficiently understood. Herein, we employ density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) to investigate polaronic effects on carrier transport in BiOBr, BiOI, and their BiOBr–BiOI heterostructure. We compute a comprehensive set of transport-relevant properties, including band structures, effective masses, dielectric constants, phonon dispersions, electron–phonon coupling strengths, and both polaronic and total carrier mobilities. The results show that all systems exhibit anisotropically large polaron behavior arising from intermediate coupling between carriers and longitudinal optical phonon modes. Electron polarons show high mobility along the [100] and [010] directions, while hole polarons preferentially move along the layered [001] axis. In the BiOBr–BiOI heterostructure, both electron and hole mobilities are relatively reduced due to stronger electron–phonon coupling induced by interfacial dipole fields. By incorporating various carrier scattering mechanisms, including acoustic deformation potential, ionized impurities, and large polarons, we calculate carrier mobilities in close agreement with available experimental data of BiOI. Our study provides detailed insight into polaron-assisted charge transport in bismuth oxyhalides and their heterostructures, offering guidance for the design of efficient optoelectronic and energy devices
Rural policing: Perspectives of international police leaders
No full textRural societies commonly face geographical isolation and a lack of resources, both of which impact policing practices in such communities. This collection addresses a gap in the literature on rural police leadership with a truly international perspective.Data gathered through interviews with senior police officers illustrates their leadership challenges, including those around the prevention and reduction of crime, engagement and policing of diverse communities and the growing role of technology. The authors of this volume draw out the key themes of these practitioner voices, highlighting both best practice in police leadership and future directions for criminal justice practice, policy and research
The effect of different cattle marketing alternatives on the eating quality of beef
No full textEating quality is becoming progressively important in the competitive protein marketplace as consumers are increasingly educated and meticulous in their selection [1] particularly with animal welfare credentials. Beef saleyards are a favoured marketing method in the Australian supply chain offering producers the ability to sell varying numbers and classes of cattle, contract agents to sell cattle on their behalf and providing competitive pricing [2]. However concerns regarding the impact of increased stressors and stimulation in the selling environment on eating quality and production has led to a higher proportion of cattle being sold through more direct pathways such as direct consignment [3]. Acute and chronic production stress has been found to adversely impact meat quality attributes including tenderness and ultimate pH [4, 5]. There is evidence that a resting or refeeding period prior to slaughter may assist is dissipating adverse eating quality effects caused by stress exposure throughout the supply chain [6]. The objective was to quantify the eating quality impact of alternative cattle marketing practices between four different saleyard treatments compared to direct consignment control cattle
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Association Between Childhood Maltreatment and Adult Depression
No full textIntroduction: Childhood maltreatment (CM) and depression are serious global issues with high prevalence and lifelong impacts on physical and mental health. CM has been proposed as a modifiable risk factor for depression that, if prevented, may contribute to a reduction in the global incidence of depressive disorders. Despite this, there is a paucity of reviews examining the strength of the association between these variables. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the empirical evidence and determine if CM is supported as a preventable risk factor for depression. Methods: A search was performed in July 2024 for all peer-reviewed journal articles written in English examining the relationship between CM and adult depression in the electronic databases EBSCOhost, Proquest, and Embase. Studies were included in this review if they measured maltreatment before 18 years of age as the independent variable and adult depression as the dependent variable. Studies were excluded if the outcome variable was grouped with comorbidity and if they did not report primary quantitative data. A total of 77 studies with 516,302 participants met the inclusion criteria for review. Results: A random-effects meta-analysis was used to generate a pooled odds ratio from 87 effect estimates and demonstrated that individuals with a history of any CM are 2.5 times more likely to experience adult depression (OR=2.49 [95% CI: 2.25–2.76]). This increase in odds remained regardless of how the primary studies screened for depression. Conclusions: These findings confirmed the strong association between the experience of CM and adult depression. High heterogeneity in the meta-analytic results also suggested that further research is required that applies consistent adjustments for comorbidities and confounding factors and examines the temporal relationship between the variables to establish causality
Introduction - Philippine Conglomerates and Inclusive Development: Tracking a Unique Trajectory in Asia
No full textHigher Degree by Research: Factors for Indigenous Student Success
No full textThis open access book provides insights from Indigenous higher degree research (HDR) students on supervision practices in an Australian context. It examines findings from qualitative studies conducted with Indigenous HDR students from different academic disciplines, enrolled higher education institutions across Australia, and supervisors of Indigenous HDR students. Six types of data and their thematic analyses are presented, to understand the needs and experiences of both Indigenous HDR students and supervisors of Indigenous HDR students. This book also unpacks assumptions and commonly held beliefs about Indigenous HDR students, and shares what Indigenous HDRs report they need to experience success in higher education. It reports the experiences of supervisors of Indigenous HDR students, and explore further opportunities which enhance the higher education experiences of Indigenous HDR students. This book also suggests how successful relationships between Indigenous HDR students, and their supervisors may be fostered, and aims to be a useful resource for Indigenous peoples wishing to pursue higher education, and HDR supervisors in countries with Indigenous populations
Local composition derivative pattern for palmprint recognition
No full textPalmprint is a reliable and unique biometric trait with high acceptability. In this paper, we propose a new Local Composition Derivative Pattern (LCDP) for palmprint recognition. LCDP extracts first order derivative information of images along radial and directional directions which can capture more detailed information than the non-directional local binary pattern (LBP). Different from LBP encoding just the binary result of the radial derivative among central pixel and local neighbors by using a simple threshold function with static threshold value, the LCDP extracts discriminative local information by composition of both radial and directional derivatives information by using a threshold function with dynamic threshold value which obtains by first-order derivative information among local neighbors. Experimental evaluation through palmprint recognition on the Hong Kong Polytechnic University 2D_3D_palmprint database demonstrates the LCDP performs much better than LBP for palmprint identification
Gamma oscillations as correlates of depression: updating Fitzgerald and Watson (2018)
No full textDepression remains one of the most common and debilitating neuropsychiatric conditions, with little consistency in treatment efficacy. Some of the lack of success in developing effective treatments has been the absence of a reliable biomarker of depression, despite many attempts. One such potential biomarker is the electrical activity of the brain that occurs in the gamma band (30–200Hz). To evaluate the state of research into gamma as a biomarker of depression, a review of recent research literature was conducted. A total of 31 relevant papers was identified, 22 of which used resting-state studies, and nine included a stimulus-task. These studies were examined here in terms of their definition of gamma, sample sizes, research focus, brain region examined, and EEG methodologies used. Due to the range of methodologies, some inconsistent results emerged but several valuable findings remained, including that depressed patients usually had higher gamma power than their healthy controls (HC), that the imposition of a perceptual task into the research protocol also introduced a strong element of confound to the results, and that studies that sought to evaluate the role of gamma in treatment were yet to be established as reliable. Key issues for future research are discussed, and the potential for gamma as a biomarker of depression is evaluated as emerging
Advancing Language Teacher Agency Research: An Introduction
No full textLanguage teachers at all career stages must navigate their way through complex social, cultural, political, and institutional environments in their work. Given that education and language education are politicized activities, (Ndhlovu & Ndhlovu-Gatsheni, 2024; Pennycook, 2001), and that pedagogy, along with teacher knowledge and practice, is highly situated (Cross 2010; Johnson, 2009), understanding teacher agency and its enactment or constraints is complex and multifaceted. The primary aim of this edited volume is to investigate the ways in which language teachers develop, assert, and exercise agency, or even find their agency constrained, across diverse contexts.In the face of increasing diversity and deeply entrenched monolingual-centric ideologies and assumptions (Cross et al., 2022; Veliz & Chen, 2024; Veliz et al., 2023), it is imperative to examine the contextual, institutional, systemic, and ideological forces that shape language teacher education and, more specifically, language teacher agency. Notably, the movement of people and complex linguistic and cultural practices within and across nations challenges us as academics and educators to move beyond epistemological racism (Pennycook, 2022) or mono-epistemic understandings of language and language use (Ndhlovu, 2015). These limited perspectives isolate notions of language and identity within geographic, linguistic, or social silos, ignoring the lived experience of language teachers and learners (Heugh et al., 2021; Ndhlovu & Ndhlovu-Gatsheni, 2024; Ndhlovu, 2015; Veliz et al., 2025). Furthermore, while much of the recent scholarly work on language teacher agency has focused on contexts where English either is a medium of instruction or the dominant additional language, we advocate for amplifying the voices and 2agentic experiences of teachers, students, and educators of languages other than English as a decolonial, social justice act.In response to these challenges, a key focus in this volume is to broaden the scope of language teacher agency research through different theoretical and methodological lenses which contribute to a more inclusive understanding of agency for teachers of languages in diverse contexts. Additionally, this volume also seeks to address reflections from Tao and Gao (2021) around the lack of methodological diversity that has broadly underpinned language teacher agency research to date. Through the chapters in this volume, we aim to diversify the theoretical and methodological approaches to research, fostering more holistic understandings of language teacher agency