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Ballistic photon models of radiative transfer in discrete absorbing random media have demonstrated deviations from the Beer-Lambert-Bouguer law of exponential attenuation. A number of theoretical constructs to quantify the deviation from the Beer-Lambert-Bouguer law have appeared in the literature, several of which rely principally on a statistical measure related to the statistics of the absorber spatial positions alone. Here, we utilize a simple computational model to explore the interplay between the geometric size of the absorbing obstacles and the statistics governing the placement of the absorbers in the volume. We find that a description of the volume that depends on particle size and the spatial statistics of absorbers is not sufficient to fully characterize deviations from the Beer-Lambert-Bouguer law. Implications for future further theoretical and computational explorations of the problem are explored. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Group work is widely used in tertiary institutions due to the considerable advantages of collaborative learning. Previous studies indicated that the group diversity had positive influence on the group work achievement. Therefore, how to achieve diversity within a group effectively and automatically is an interesting question. In this paper we propose a novel clustering-based grouping model. The proposed technique first employs balanced K-means algorithm to divide the students into several size-balanced clusters, such that the students within the same cluster are more similar (in some sense) to each other than to those in other clusters, then adopts one-sample-each-cluster strategy to construct the groups. We evaluated the proposed technique based on two small-scale case studies. The result observed may indicate that the clustering-based grouping model is feasible and effective. © 2014 IEEE.

Due to the complex causality of failure and the special characteristics of test cases, the faults in GUI (Graphic User Interface) applications are difficult to localize. This paper adapts feature selection algorithms to localize GUI-related faults in a given program. Features are defined as the subsequences of events executed. By employing statistical feature ranking techniques, the events can be ranked by the suspiciousness of events being responsible to exhibit faulty behavior. The features defined in a given source code implementing (event handle) the underlying event are then ranked in suspiciousness order. The evaluation of the proposed technique based on some open source Java projects verified the effectiveness of this feature selection based fault localization technique for GUI applications. © 2014 IEEE.

The authors explore how the relationship between part-time master of business administration (MBA) students and their employers changes as students proceed through their MBA program by examining the degree to which students are integrated into their employer organizations. Significant positive relationships observed between students’ progress through their MBA program and the integration factors of coworker support and future prospects with their employers suggest that an MBA education can have a positive effect on employee–employer integration levels. Consequently, in addition to increasing business knowledge and skills, an MBA degree appears to assist with integrating employees and employers. © 2014, Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Gossip is often portrayed as a trivial and even destructive behavior at work. This paper integrates previous studies on gossip using a multilevel evolutionary framework and proposes a few empirical propositions to develop a more balanced view on gossip as a medium of informal communication in organizations.

Daniel 11 is considered an exceptional Biblical text because of its interest in and accuracy about historical and political events in the Hellenistic world. A recent theory suggests that the author was a former Seleucid scribe; another theory posits the use of a Ptolemaic propaganda document. The approach here will be inductive, reading out from the text to adduce evidence that the author of Daniel 11 either used or reflected the attitudes of Ptolemaic narrative, not necessarily because he was pro-Ptolemaic but because it suited his anti-Antiochene purpose. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Purpose - This paper aims to explore Web 2.0 technologies usage and trends in the top 100 US academic libraries as exemplified through the academic library websites. Design/methodology/approach - The top 100 universities were selected from the US News & World Report's (USNWR) 2013 ranked list's top 100 of the best colleges in the USA. Content analysis was used in terms of quantitative approach. A checklist was developed as the main research instrument based on other checklists and questionnaires. Each of the selected university library websites was visited within a period of two weeks to explore implementation and usage of web tools, including SNS, blog, RSS, wikis, podcast/vodcast, and social bookmarking/tagging. Findings - All 100 academic libraries had a social media presence on Facebook and Twitter, making SNS the most widely applied Web 2.0 tool. The wild was the least applied Web 2.0 technology, with a 34 percent participation rate. Blog was the second most popular tool with a 99 percent participation rate, followed by RSS and IM/Chat with 97 percent and 91 percent respectively. The vodcast and podcast had 47 percent and 46 percent participation rates respectively, while social bookmarking/tagging were also used by 39 percent of the academic libraries. Research limitations/implications - This study is completely based on publicly available data regarding usage of Web 2.0 applications. Web 2.0 tools used on library intranets were not analyzed for this study. Outcomes suggest that academic libraries are increasingly using Web 2.0 applications to promote themselves, enhance library services, and highlight resources to patrons. Originality/value - This is the first research that draws an overall picture of the usage and trends of Web 2.0 applications in the top 100 US academic libraries. This study demonstrates some noticeable patterns regarding usage, trends, and adoption which are relevant to how Web 2.0 applications are perceived and used within academic libraries. The study provides academic libraries with helpful information to better meet their user needs by effectively applying Web 2.0. Additionally, library managers, librarians and other libraries may also find this research beneficial as they plan to deploy Web 2.0.

Although social data has been investigated and discussed regarding its impact on indexing and retrieval performance on the web, there has been little research conducted on storing or linking social data and identifying bibliographic relationships among social data for further use of social data. In this paper, we discuss our work in progress that aims to develop a social metadata repository which would be an important implication for making social data more valuable and reusable for searching and retrieval. We describe FRBR (Functional Requirements of Bibliographic Records) conceptual model's Entity-Relationship (ER) view on bibliographic relationships and demonstrate how social metadata are encoded in RDA (Resource Description and Access) and how the implicit bibliographic relationships of social data are explicitly represented as RDF (Resource Description Framework) triples (Subject - Predicates - Objects) with links to external sources. We believe that the shareable and linked metadata repository of social data is remarkably significant, not only because it supports the accessibility to related documents, but also because it is clarifying the implicit semantic relationships among social data.

This article discusses the briefly significant Qadariyya movement during the Umayyad period, with an emphasis on how the movement and its adherents were treated in later sources. The article examines the doctrine of human free will advocated by the Qadariyya, exploring the impetus behind their theological viewpoints and the doctrinal complications that accompanied human free will. It also addresses the debate about the origins of both the doctrine and the movement, and the significance of accusations of Christian roots. The article discusses the views ascribed to prominent Qadari leaders, including Maʿbad al-Juhanī and Ghaylān al-Dimashqī, as well as the systematic persecution of the Qadariyya, led by al-Awzāʿī. It also examines the politicization of the Qadariyya and their entanglement with Yazīd (III) b. al-Walīd’s rebellion during the third fitna. Finally, the article addresses the eclipse of the Qadariyya by the Muʿtazilites.