Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How much and what kind of teaching is there in elementary education in India? Evidence from three states

This study focuses on the link between teachers' 'time-on-task' (TOT) and the nature of tasks in classrooms. This study, carried out with concurrence from Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), is built upon the independent study commissioned by MHRD to explore teacher attendance rates in schools. This study ventures beyond the quantitative dimensions of teacher attendance (physical presence) to look at the 'time-on-task' (TOT) and nature of tasks, that is, the quantity and quality of teacher presence and interaction. Most specifically, it will provide insight into the work environment of teachers who are the key to service delivery and suggest implications for both policy and program interventions to empower teachers and introduce more accountability into the system. The McKinsey and Company study (Barber & Mourshed, 2007) identified three things that matter most: (1) getting the right people to become teachers; (2) developing them into effective instructors; and (3) ensuring that the system is able to deliver the best possible instruction for every child. In the present study, the attempt is to see whether the teachers are 'effective instructors' and the system is delivering the best to its children. The study aims to find out the factors that facilitate improved quality of instructional time on the one hand, and what it means to the whole process of improving learning levels on the other. In addition, there is an effort to understand the characteristics of various enabling inputs
Trust in online medical tourism information: having cosmetic surgery in South Korea

Medical tourism continues to expand globally. Many consumers have to rely heavily on online information, given geographical distances and unfamiliarity of a different healthcare system. Yet the quality of information is mixed at best. Few studies have examined factors that can impact trust in healthcare websites, organizations and doctors. In light of the popularity in having a cosmetic surgery in South Korea, we conducted lab experiments using 80 business school students in Bangkok, Thailand. Given the uncertainty of information accuracy and credibility, medical tourists are strongly influenced by social influence, especially by those close to them. Social influence also affects their trust in cosmetic surgery hospitals, doctors, and websites. Furthermore, certain website features and self-efficacy of online searching influence the trust in hospitals, doctors, and websites.
Localization of Sodium Channels in Intercalated Disks Modulates Cardiac Conduction

Abstract— It is well known that the sodium current (INa) and the degree of gap-junctional electrical coupling are the key determinants of action potential (AP) conduction in cardiac tissue. Immunohistochemical studies have shown that sodium channels (NaChs) are preferentially located in intercalated disks (IDs). Using dual immunocytochemical staining, we confirmed the colocalization of NaChs with connexin43 in cultures of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes. In mathematical simulations of conduction using the Luo-Rudy dynamic model of the ventricular AP, we assessed the hypothesis that conduction could be modulated by the preferential localization of NaChs in IDs. Localization of INa at the ID caused a large negative potential in the intercellular cleft, which influenced conduction in two opposing ways, depending on the degree of electrical coupling: (1) for normal and moderately reduced coupling, the negative cleft potential led to a large overshoot of the transmembrane potential resulting in a decreased driving force for INa itself (self-attenuation), which slowed conduction; (2) for greatly reduced coupling (<10%), the negative cleft potential induced by INa in the prejunctional membrane led to suprathreshold depolarization of the postjunctional membrane, which facilitated and accelerated conduction. When cleft potential effects were not incorporated, conduction was not significantly affected by the ID localization of INa. By enhancing conduction through the establishment of cleft potentials, the localization of NaChs in IDs might protect the myocardium from conduction block, very slow conduction, and microreentry under conditions of greatly reduced coupling. Conversely, by supporting moderately slow conduction, this mechanism could also promote arrhythmias.
On the Effectiveness of Test Extraction without Overhead

Developers write and execute ad-hoc tests as they implement software. While these tests reflect important insights of the developers (e.g., which parts of the software need testing and what inputs should be used), they are usually not persistent and are easily forgotten. They cannot always be re-executed automatically, for example to debug or to test for regressions. Several methods that make such test cases persistent and automatically executable have been proposed. They rely on capturing state and/or events at runtime and thus induce significant overhead or require specialized hardware. In previous work we proposed a method that, in the event of a failure, extracts test cases solely from the state at the time of the failure (and not from before the failure). We call this method "failure-state extraction". Capturing the state only at the moment of failure reduces the run-time overhead to zero, but comes at a cost: state extracted in this way cannot always be used to reproduce the failure. This paper provides an experimental evaluation of failure-state extraction. The results show that the method is highly effective: in the experiment, 90% of all failures were reproducible using failure-state extraction and thus could be extracted without run-time overhead.
Measuring Integrated Rural Tourism

Abstract If the concept of integrated rural tourism, as developed in the SPRITE (Supporting and Promoting Integrated Tourism in Europe's Lagging Rural Regions) project, is to be used as an operational tool to assess the all-round value of tourism in rural areas, there needs to be a means of measuring the value of tourism, and changes in it. Statistical, ‘objective’ methods of achieving this are critiqued. This paper describes the development of an alternative methodology for assessing the changes in the value of tourism witnessed by different groups of stakeholders in the study areas across Europe between 1992 and 2002. The methodology allows for a holistic view of the extent to which rural tourism is integrated into the local economies and cultures. Differences in perceptions regarding change in the value of tourism between actor groups and countries are noted. Illustrative examples are given of specific events and forms of rural tourism that are perceived as being of high value. It is concluded that while tourism is now better integrated than it was ten years ago, further improvements can be made in identifiable areas and dimensions and for particular actor groups.
National culture, trust and internet privacy concerns

A major inhibitor to e-commerce stems from the reluctance consumers have to complete transactions because of concern over the use of private information divulged in online transaction processing. Because e-commerce occurs in a global environment, cultural factors are likely to have a significant impact on this concern. Building on work done in the area of culture and privacy, and also trust and privacy, we explore the three way relationship between culture, privacy and trust. Better, more appropriate, and contemporary measures of culture have recently been espoused, and a better understanding and articulation of internet users information privacy concern has been developed. We present the results of an exploratory study that builds on the work of Milberg, Gefen, and Bellman to better understand and test the effect that national culture has on trust and internet privacy.
The changing wealth of nations : measuring sustainable development in the new millennium

This book is about development and measuring development progress. While precise definitions may vary, development is, at heart, a process of building wealth, the produced, natural, human, and institutional capital which is the source of income and wellbeing. A key finding is that it is intangible wealth, human and institutional capital, which dominates the wealth of all countries, rising as a share of the total as countries climb the development ladder. The book is divided into two parts. The first part provides the big picture of changes in wealth by income group and geographic region, with a focus on natural capital because it is especially important for low-income developing countries. The second part presents case studies that illustrate particular aspects of wealth accounting, including accounting for climate change, the role of intangible capital in growth and development, measuring human capital, and the use of wealth accounting to improve transparency and governance in resource-rich economies. The final chapter reports on the implementation of wealth accounting by countries. The appendixes provide the full wealth accounts for individual countries and for aggregations by income group and geographic region.
On the Planning Crisis : Systems Analysis of the 'First an d Second Generations '

First, his attitude should be somewha t detached from the problem at hand : he should try to be rational, objective and scientific in attacking his problems . Secondly, he is characterized by th e attempt to grasp the whole of the syste m rather than someone who undertake s piecemeal improvement. And . becaus e the whole system has many facets an d because the problems of planning are not the responsibility of any single discipline, the approach of the system s analyst and designer must necessarily b e interdisciplinary. Some systems designers like to call themselves generalists i n contrast to the specialist of a singl e
Men’s Health-Risk and Protective Behaviors: The Effects of Masculinity and Masculine Norms

Previous research has examined men’s health in relation to women’s functioning and compared morbidity and mortality rates among specific subgroups of men using demographic features. More recent research expands these approaches by also examining how men’s thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors influence health-related attitudes and behaviors. The endorsement and internalization of masculinity is generally associated with more negative health behaviors and engagement in fewer health-protective behaviors. However, research to date does not offer a clear and consistent conceptualization of those specific masculine norms that might facilitate or act as a barrier to men adopting healthier behaviors. The current study examines data from 376 men between the ages of 18 and 25 to determine whether health-risk and protective behaviors are predicted by specific masculine norms, when controlling for demographic variables. Findings suggest men’s endorsement of specific masculine norms predicted more health-protective than health-risk behaviors, although the proportion of the variance explained by specific masculine norms was higher for health-risk behaviors than health-protective behaviors. Demographic variables also predicted both health-risk and protective factors. Results from the current study are presented within the context of two previous studies (Levant & Wimer, 2014; Levant, Wimer, & Williams, 2011), highlighting both similarities and additional contributions. Results provide a strong rationale for considering the influence of masculine norms on men's health behaviors, especially within the context of health promotion, prevention, and intervention programs by healthcare providers and clinicians.
A PROBABILISTIC TECHNIQUE FOR FINDING ALMOST-PERIODS IN ADDITIVE COMBINATORICS

We introduce a new probabilistic technique for finding ‘almost-periods’ of convolutions of subsets of finite groups. This allows us to give probabilistic proofs of two classical results in additive combinatorics: Roth’s theorem on three-term arithmetic progressions and the existence of long arithmetic progressions in sumsets A +B in Zp. The bounds we obtain for these results are not the best ones known—these being established using Fourier analysis—but they are of a somewhat comparable quality, which is unusual for a method that is completely combinatorial. Furthermore, we are able to find long arithmetic progressions in sets A + B even when both A and B have density close to 1/ log p, which is much sparser than has previously been possible.
Anisometropia is independently associated with both spherical and cylindrical ametropia.

PURPOSE To explore the associations between anisometropia and spherical ametropia, astigmatism, age, and sex. METHOD Associations between the prevalence and magnitude of anisometropia with age, sex, spherical power, and cylindrical power, were assessed in a group of 90,884 subjects attending optometry practices in the United Kingdom. Logistic regression models were used to assess the independent contribution of each explanatory variable. RESULTS Logistic regression analyses that included all subjects or just those aged 20 to 40 years showed that spherical ametropia and astigmatism were independently associated with anisometropia (myopes, P < 1.0E-61; hyperopes, P < 1.0E-11). Anisometropia was relatively stable between the ages of 20 and 40 years, but then became more common with age, in myopes from the age of 40 years onward (P < 0.003) and in hyperopes from the age of 70 years onward (P < 1.0E-6). Sex was not associated with anisometropia to a clinically significant extent. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study to show an independent association between anisometropia and both spherical ametropia and astigmatism. The results also suggest that the previously noted increased prevalence of anisometropia with age occurs later in hyperopes than in myopes, once other covariates have been controlled for. However, it could not be ruled out that this latter effect was due to clinical selection bias in our sample. The findings suggest that research projects involving the recruitment of highly ametropic subjects, such as those investigating the genetics of refractive error, may benefit by avoiding the use of stringent inclusion criteria for anisometropia, because otherwise a large proportion of the relevant population will be excluded.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa ExoT inhibits in vitro lung epithelial wound repair

The nosocomial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes clinical infection in the setting of pre‐existing epithelial tissue damage, an association that is mirrored by the increased ability of P. aeruginosa to bind, invade and damage injured epithelial cells in vitro. In this study, we report that P. aeruginosa inhibits the process of epithelial wound repair in vitro through the type III‐secreted bacterial protein ExoT, a GTPase‐activating protein (GAP) for Rho family GTPases. This inhibition primarily targets cells at the edge of the wound, and causes actin cytoskeleton collapse, cell rounding and cell detachment. ExoT‐dependent inhibition of wound repair is mediated through the GAP activity of this bacterial protein, as mutations in ExoT that alter the conserved arginine (R149) within the GAP domain abolish the ability of P. aeruginosa to inhibit wound closure. Because ExoT can also inhibit P. aeruginosa internalization by phagocytes and epithelial cells, this protein may contribute to the in vivo virulence of P. aeruginosa by allowing organisms both to overcome local host defences, such as an intact epithelial barrier, and to evade phagocytosis by immune effector cells.
How often do they meet? Genetic similarity between European populations of a potential disease vector Culex pipiens

Background : Species in the Culex pipiens complex are common almost all over the world and represent important vectors for many serious zoonotic diseases. Even if, at the moment, many of the pathogens potentially transmitted by Cx. pipiens are not a problem in northern Europe, they may, with increasing temperatures and changing ecosystems caused by climate change, move northward in the future. Therefore, the question whether or not the Cx. pipiens populations in northern Europe will be competent vectors for them is of high importance. One way to estimate the similarity and the rate of contact between European Cx. pipiens populations is to look at the gene exchange between these populations. Methods : To test the genetic diversity and degree of differentiation between European Cx. pipiens populations, we used eight microsatellite markers in 10 mosquito populations originating from northern, central, and southern Europe. Results : We found that three of the analyzed populations were very different from the rest of the populations and they also greatly differed from each other. When these three populations were removed, the variance among the rest of the populations was low, suggesting an extensive historic gene flow between many European Cx. pipiens populations. Conclusions : This suggests that infectious diseases spread by this species may not be associated with a certain vector genotype but rather with suitable environmental conditions. Consequently, we would expect these pathogens to disperse northward with favorable climatic parameters.
The Andromeda Stream

Abstract The existence of a stream of tidally stripped stars from the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy demonstrates that the Milky Way is still in the process of accreting mass. More recently, an extensive stream of stars has been uncovered in the halo of the Andromeda galaxy (M31), revealing that it too is cannibalising a small companion. This paper reports the recent observations of this stream, determining its spatial and kinematic properties, and tracing its three-dimensional structure, as well as describing future observations and what we may learn about the Andromeda galaxy from this giant tidal stream.
Role of volcanic forcing on future global carbon cycle

Abstract. Using a fully coupled global climate-carbon cycle model, we assess the potential role of volcanic eruptions on future projection of climate change and its associated carbon cycle feedback. The volcanic-like forcings are applied together with a business-as-usual IPCC-A2 carbon emissions scenario. We show that very large volcanic eruptions similar to Tambora lead to short-term substantial global cooling. However, over a long period, smaller eruptions similar to Pinatubo in amplitude, but set to occur frequently, would have a stronger impact on future climate change. In a scenario where the volcanic external forcings are prescribed with a five-year frequency, the induced cooling immediately lower the global temperature by more than one degree before it returns to the warming trend. Therefore, the climate change is approximately delayed by several decades, and by the end of the 21st century, the warming is still below two degrees when compared to the present day period. Our climate-carbon feedback analysis shows that future volcanic eruptions induce positive feedbacks (i.e., more carbon sink) on both the terrestrial and oceanic carbon cycle. The feedback signal on the ocean is consistently smaller than the terrestrial counterpart and the feedback strength is proportionally related to the frequency of the volcanic eruption events. The cooler climate reduces the terrestrial heterotrophic respiration in the northern high latitude and increases net primary production in the tropics, which contributes to more than 45 % increase in accumulated carbon uptake over land. The increased solubility of CO2 gas in seawater associated with cooler SST is offset by a reduced CO2 partial pressure gradient between the ocean and the atmosphere, which results in small changes in net ocean carbon uptake. Similarly, there is nearly no change in the seawater buffer capacity simulated between the different volcanic scenarios. Our study shows that even in the relatively extreme scenario where large volcanic eruptions occur every five-years period, the induced cooling leads to a reduction of 46 ppmv atmospheric CO2 concentration as compared to the reference projection of 878 ppmv, at the end of the 21st century.
Diffusion Approximation and Homogenization of the Semiconductor Boltzmann Equation

This paper deals with the diffusion approximation of the Boltzmann equation for semiconductors in the presence of spatially oscillating electrostatic potential. When the oscillation period is of the same order of magnitude as the mean free path, the asymptotics leads to the drift-diffusion equation with a homogenized electrostatic potential and a diffusion matrix involving the small-scale information. The convergence is proven rigorously for Boltzmann statistics, while it is incomplete for Fermi--Dirac statistics.
DETERMINANTS OF JOB SATISFACTION AMONG CHINESE OFF FARM MIGRANTS

This study examines the effect of own income versus reference group income and the subjective factors considered important in a job for a sample of off farm migrants in China. We find that own income has a positive effect on job satisfaction while the effect of reference group income is gender specific. We find evidence that males experience a tunnelling effect (higher income coworkers increase their job satisfaction) while females experience a jealousy effect (higher income co-workers lower their job satisfaction). We explain this result in terms of men reacting more strongly in competitive environments and that in China males have better prospects for promotion. We find that compared with employees in western countries, off farm migrants in China place much more emphasis on income and less importance on collegiality and job stability. When we regress job satisfaction on the factors which off farm migrants considered very important in their job, most have a negative effect on job satisfaction, which reflects lower levels of job satisfaction among off farm migrants than previous studies suggest is the case for urban residents in China or employees in western countries.
NITROGEN CYCLING AT TREELINE: LATITUDINAL AND ELEVATIONAL PATTERNS ACROSS THE BOREAL LANDSCAPE A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE By

We studied spatial and temporal patterns of soil nitrogen pools and fluxes at treeline and forested sites within three Alaskan mountain ranges along a latitudinal transect of 785 km during 20012002. We measured soil temperatures, pools of soil mineral (ammonium and nitrate) and organic (amino acid and microbial biomass) nitrogen, in situ rates of net mineralization, net nitrification, and net amino acid production, conducted a decomposition experiment at all sites using common litter, and studied soil carbon turnover in a laboratory incubation experiment. Soils at treeline were colder than forested soils, particularly during fall and over winter, and had reduced rates of nitrogen cycling and litter decomposition relative to soils in forested stands. During incubation, treeline soils had lower respiration rates per unit carbon, suggesting lower soil organic matter quality relative to forested soils. 70% of annual net nitrogen mineralization occurred from August — May, suggesting that fall and winter are critical periods for soil nitrogen transformations in forested and treeline ecosystems. Among mountain ranges, nitrogen pools and fluxes were similar, despite variation in growing season length and mean annual temperatures. Soil moisture and organic matter quality may have stronger effects on variation in nitrogen cycling than temperature at our sites.