Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Behaviorial Finance: Past Battles and Future Engagements

Market efficiency is at the center of the battle of standard finance versus behavioral finance versus investment professionals. But the battle is not joined because the term “market efficiency” has two meanings. One meaning is that investors cannot systematically beat the market. The other is that security prices are rational. Rational prices reflect only utilitarian characteristics, such as risk, not value-expressive characteristics, such as sentiment. Behavioral finance has shown, however, that value-expressive characteristics matter in both investor choices and asset prices. Therefore, the discipline of finance would do well to accept the first meaning of market efficiency and reject the notion that security prices are rational. We could then stop fighting the market efficiency battle and focus on exploring (1) asset-pricing models that reflect both value-expressive and utilitarian characteristics and (2) the benefits, both utilitarian and value expressive, that investment professionals provide to inve.
Investigation of effective strategies for developing creative science thinking

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of the creative inquiry-based science teaching on students’ creative science thinking and science inquiry performance. A quasi-experimental design consisting one experimental group (N = 20) and one comparison group (N = 24) with pretest and post-test was conducted. The framework of the intervention focused on potential strategies such as promoting divergent and convergent thinking and providing an open, inquiry-based learning environment that are recommended by the literature. Results revealed that the experimental group students outperformed their counterparts in the comparison group on the performances of science inquiry and convergent thinking. Additional qualitative data analyses from classroom observations and case teacher interviews identified supportive teaching strategies (e.g. facilitating associative thinking, sharing impressive ideas, encouraging evidence-based conclusions, and reviewing and commenting on group presentations) for developing students’ creative science thinking.
Comparison of circulating concentrations of reproductive hormones in boars of lines selected for size of testes or number of ovulations and embryonal survival to concentrations in respective control lines.

The objectives of this study were to determine whether circulating concentrations of genadotropins and gonadal hormones of boars were altered as a result of selection of pigs for size of testes or for embryonal survival and(or) number of ovulations. Included in Exp. 1 and 2 were boars with the greatest estimated paired weight of testes (TS) and boars from a control (C) line. Concentrations of FSH were similar (P > .10) in boars from the TS and C lines. In Exp. 3, 4, and 5, circulating concentrations of FSH and 17 beta-estradiol (E2) were evaluated in neonates, during pubertal development, and in mature boars of lines selected for an index of number of ovulations and embryonal survival (I), and data were compared to those for boars from a respective C line. Concentrations of E2 were not different in boars from the I line and those from the C line during the early neonatal period but were greater (P < .05) in boars of the C line than in those from the I line during pubertal development. Concentrations of FSH were greater (P < .05) in mature boars from the I line than in those from the C line. In summary, selection for size of testes did not influence circulating concentrations of FSH in mature boars. The secretory pattern of E2 in boars before puberty changed as a result of selection for embryonal survival and number of ovulations in females of the I line, and the different patterns of circulating E2 early in life may result in enhanced circulating concentrations of FSH in adult boars of the I line compared with boars of the C line.
Blind Frequency Hopping Spectrum Estimation: A Bayesian Approach

Frequency hopping signals have been widely employed in wireless networks due to its robustness in anti-jamming and interference. In the scenario of coexistent networks, however, each user inevitably receives multiple unknown frequency hopping signals from different networks. In wireless networks with energy constraint, conventional re-transmission strategy is not affordable if collision happens. This paper considers the blind frequency hopping signal estimation problem in energy-constraint wireless senor networks, where re-transmission can be avoided due to the capability of robust spectrum estimation. We develop a novel high-resolution time-frequency representation by exploiting sparsity to allow signal sampled with sub-Nyquist ratio and achieve robust estimation performance. In our work, this problem is formulated in a probabilistic framework to induce sparsity statistically. Apart from sparsity, the piecewise smoothness in time-frequency domain is further leveraged with a clustering alike procedure by exerting a dependent Dirichlet process prior over the variance parametric space in an integrated manner. Results of numerical experiments show that the proposed algorithm can achieve superior performance particularly in sub-Nyquist sampling and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) scenarios compared with other recently reported ones.
Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Associated Antigen 4 Polymorphisms and Asthma Risk: A Meta-Analysis

Background A number of studies assessed the association of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) gene polymorphisms with asthma in different populations. However, the results were contradictory. We performed a meta-analysis to examine the association between CTLA-4 polymorphisms and asthma susceptibility. Methods Pubmed, EMBASE, HuGE Navigator, and Wanfang Database were searched. Data were extracted independently by two reviewers. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of associations. Results Seventeen studies involving 6378 cases and 8674 controls were included. Significant association between +49 A/G polymorphism and asthma was observed for AA vs. AG+GG (OR = 1.18, 95% CI 1.01–1.37, P = 0.04). There were no significant associations between −318 C/T, −1147 C/T, CT60 A/G, −1722 C/T, or rs926169 polymorphisms and asthma risk. Conclusions This meta-analysis suggested that the +49 A/G polymorphism in CTLA-4 was a risk factor for asthma.
Condom use and the accuracy of AIDS knowledge in Côte d'Ivoire.

CONTEXT Condom use remains low in Côte d'Ivoire, despite an increasing prevalence of HIV and widespread awareness of how the virus is transmitted. Information is needed about characteristics that predict condom use and about the role of AIDS knowledge and sex differences in the use of condoms. METHODS Data from the 1994 Côte d'Ivoire Demographic and Health Survey were analyzed for respondents who had had sex in the two months before the survey. Logistic regressions were performed separately by sex to determine whether the accuracy of men's and women's knowledge about AIDS predicted condom use at their most recent sexual intercourse. RESULTS Accuracy of knowledge about AIDS did not significantly predict condom use. For male respondents, the odds of condom use at last intercourse were significantly lower among those aged 35 or older than among those aged 15-19 (odds ratios, 0.3-0.5). The odds were also lower among married men (0.4) and those who reported friends, family or neighbors as their only source of AIDS knowledge (0.5). Compared with uneducated men, men with secondary or higher education were significantly more likely to report condom use (1.7). Among women, those aged 25 or older had significantly lower odds of condom use at last intercourse than those aged 15-19 (0.2-0.6). The odds of use were significantly reduced among women who were married (0.2) and those who had learned about AIDS from family, friends or neighbors or from television or radio (0.3-0.6); however, the odds were significantly higher for women with secondary or higher education than for uneducated women (2.2). CONCLUSION The level of accuracy of AIDS knowledge did not predict the likelihood of recent condom use in this sample. Efforts to increase educational attainment in Côte d'Ivoire may be more effective in increasing condom use than a focus on improving the accuracy of AIDS knowledge.
Prolactin Regulates Tuberoinfundibular Dopamine Neuron Discharge Pattern: Novel Feedback Control Mechanisms in the Lactotrophic Axis

Balance in the body's hormonal axes depends on feedback onto neuroendocrine hypothalamic neurons. This phenomenon involves transcriptional and biosynthetic effects, yet less is known about the potential rapid modulation of electrical properties. Here, we investigated this issue in the lactotrophic axis, in which the pituitary hormone prolactin is tonically inhibited by tuberoinfundibular dopamine (TIDA) neurons located in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus. Whole-cell recordings were performed on slices of the rat hypothalamus. In the presence of prolactin, spontaneously oscillating TIDA cells depolarized, switched from phasic to tonic discharge, and exhibited broadened action potentials. The underlying prolactin-induced current is composed of separate low- and high-voltage components that include the activation of a transient receptor potential-like current and the inhibition of a Ca2+-dependent BK-type K+ current, respectively, as revealed by ion substitution experiments and pharmacological manipulation. The two components of the prolactin-induced current appear to be mediated through distinct signaling pathways as the high-voltage component is abolished by the phosphoinositide 3-kinase blocker wortmannin, whereas the low-voltage component is not. This first description of the central electrophysiological actions of prolactin suggests a novel feedback mechanism. By simultaneously enhancing the discharge and spike duration of TIDA cells, increased serum prolactin can promote dopamine release to limit its own secretion with implications for the control of lactation, sexual libido, fertility, and body weight.
A micro-organizational model for supporting knowledge migration

One of an organization's assets is the knowledge it has for carrying out its activities in an acceptable way. However, due to the constantly changing environment in which it operates, its knowledge must evolve in order for it to survive and to stay competitive. For this reason, it is inappropriate to hard-code organizational knowledge into a computer-based organizational support system. Supporting the evolution of organizational knowledge, in general, is a very difficult problem because the domain knowledge needed to support it is open-ended. However, certain forms of organizational knowledge evolution, where the knowledge needed for the evolution already exists in some form in the organization, can be supported. We call this type of knowledge evolution knowledge migration. To evolve, in this case, is to recognize the need for change, and to rearrange or acquire the knowledge (possibly located in several different locations). In this paper, we discuss an approach for supporting this type of knowledge evolution.
Effect of 8 weeks of pre-season training on body composition, physical fitness, anaerobic capacity, and isokinetic muscle strength in male and female collegiate taekwondo athletes

The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of 8 weeks pre-season training on body composition, physical fitness, anaerobic capacity, and isokinetic strength in collegiate taekwondo athletes. Thirty-four collegiate athletes (male: 22, female: 12) participated. Body composition, bone mineral density, physical fitness, anaerobic capacity, and isokinetic muscle strength were tested. After statistical analysis was performed the results indicated that there were significant decreases in body weight, percent body fat, and fat tissue after 8 weeks of pre-season training. Bone mineral density increased significantly only in males. There were significant improvements in the 50 m shuttle run and 20 m multistage endurance run in both males and females. The sit & reach test and standing long jump were not significantly changed after 8 weeks. Relative peak power and anaerobic capacity were significantly improved in males. Significant increases in angular velocity were observed for knee extension at both % BW 60°/sec and 180°/sec in both males and females. A significant increase in angular velocity was seen for right knee flexion at % BW 60°/sec for males, but it decreased at % BW 180°/sec for both males and females. In conclusion, this study suggests that 8 weeks of pre-season training has a positive effect on body composition, physical fitness, anaerobic capacity, isokinetic muscular strength, and endurance. Nevertheless, an exercise approach with the goal of increasing lean tissue, and improving power in knee flexors and flexibility of athletes, should be included in the training program.
Cepheid distances from the SpectroPhoto-Interferometry of Pulsating Stars (SPIPS) - Application to the prototypes δ Cephei and η Aquilae

Context. The parallax of pulsation, and its implementations such as the Baade-Wesselink method and the infrared surface brightness technique, is an elegant method to determine distances of pulsating stars in a quasi-geometrical way. However, these classical implementations in general only use a subset of the available observational data. Aims. Freedman & Madore (2010, ApJ, 719, 335) suggested a more physical approach in the implementation of the parallax of pulsation in order to treat all available data. We present a global and model-based parallax-of-pulsation method that enables including any type of observational data in a consistent model fit, the SpectroPhoto-Interferometric modeling of Pulsating Stars (SPIPS). Methods. We implemented a simple model consisting of a pulsating sphere with a varying e ective temperature and a combination of atmospheric model grids to globally fit radial velocities, spectroscopic data, and interferometric angular diameters. We also parametrized (and adjusted) the reddening and the contribution of the circumstellar envelopes in the near-infrared photometric and interferometric measurements. Results. We show the successful application of the method to two stars: Cep and Aql. The agreement of all data fitted by a single model confirms the validity of the method. Derived parameters are compatible with publish values, but with a higher level of confidence. Conclusions. The SPIPS algorithm combines all the available observables (radial velocimetry, interferometry, and photometry) to estimate the physical parameters of the star (ratio distance/p-factor, Te , presence of infrared excess, color excess, etc). The statistical precision is improved (compared to other methods) thanks to the large number of data taken into account, the accuracy is improved by using consistent physical modeling and the reliability of the derived parameters is strengthened thanks to the redundancy in the data.
Strategic Decision Making in Microfinance Organizations: Stakeholder Perspective

Abstract Micro finance organizations have been increasing dramatically worldwide. This increment calls attention for these organizations to making strategic decisions which will enable them compete. We examine and discuss the roles that micro finance stakeholders in boards can play in the process of making these decisions. We combine board, strategic decision making and stakeholders’ literature in order to show how micro finance stakeholders’ representation in boards can be advantageous to these organizations, specifically in strategic decision making process. Future empirical research on stakeholders and strategic decisions in Microfinance organizations is identified and encouraged. Key Words : Microfinance Organizations, Stakeholders, Boards, Strategic decision making process Introduction Micro finance organizations (MFOs) deal with the provision of loans and other financial services to the low income people. These organizations have evolved as a result of the efforts of committed individuals and development agencies to reduce poverty by promoting self-employment and entrepreneurship. Over the last decade these organizations have increased dramatically and this has led the industry to be very competitive (Rock, Otero et al. 1998; McIntosh and Wydick 2004; Hartaska 2005). With
INCREMENTAL SVDD TRAINING : IMPROVING EFFICIENCY OF BACKGROUND MODELING IN VIDEOS

Tracking moving objects in videos with quasi-stationary backgrounds is one of the most important and challenging tasks in video processing applications. In order to detect moving foreground regions in such videos the background and its changes should be modeled to help detecting moving regions of interest. Support Vector Data Descriptors (SVDD) can be employed in order to analytically model the background and explicitly account for its inherent changes. The major draw back of the SVDD modeling is the issue of training of the SVDD which is a quadratic programming (QP) problem. In this paper we propose a method to efficiently train the SVDD’s. The advantages of our technique are its low memory requirement and its efficiency in terms of speed. The proposed method runs in constant time with respect to the size of the training data set since its retraining is performed only on the support vector working set.
The development of trust and social capital in rural Uganda: An experimental approach

Trust is important for development but can be hard to build. In this paper, we report on experiments designed to understand the determinants of trust in villages in eastern Uganda, and in particular whether trust can be `built´ by offering insurance to people as a protection against the possibility that the trust they offer will not be reciprocated. We find, firstly, that the effects of income and wealth on trust are ambiguous: trust is higher in the richer than the poorer village, but once association and female education are added as explanatory variables, the wealth effect disappears. Secondly, although the offer of insurance is taken up by a majority of players, this is in most cases not an `effective demand´ in the sense of incentivising higher levels of trust. Effective demand for insurance, defined in this way, however responds positively to high levels of risk efficacy, microfinance membership and female education. Insurance offered in this form, therefore, is on its own apparently not a reliable technology for building trust; but its effectiveness as a trust-building instrument appears to increase if certain complementary institutions are in position.
Emotionally Crafted Experiences: Layering Literacies in Minecraft

Digital literacies play a foundational role in the rhythm and pattern of our lives, yet debates continue about how to harness them for educational purposes. In an effort to humanize digital literacies, this column provides a venue for research and practical applications that depict technology use as part of the fabric of being human. This particular article, “Emotionally Crafted Experiences: Layering Literacies in Minecraft,” focuses on the ways that emotion transcends the screen and helps students layer their meaning making. As such, the Digital Literacy column will help educators reconceptualize the ways that children learn with technology, media, and new communication systems. It honors educator success stories and burning questions and issues, and it reimagines literacy futures.
Why and when do people hide knowledge?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine why and when employees hide knowledge. Individuals may tend to hide knowledge when they have strong psychological ownership feelings over knowledge. Therefore, this research builds and tests a theoretical model linking knowledge‐based psychological ownership with knowledge hiding via territoriality.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from knowledge workers in China via a three‐wave web‐based survey. The final sample was 190 cases. Hierarchical regression models and a bootstrapping approach were used to test the hypotheses.Findings – The results show that knowledge‐based psychological ownership positively affects knowledge hiding. Territoriality fully mediates the link between knowledge‐based psychological ownership and knowledge hiding. Moreover, organization‐based psychological ownership moderates the positive link between territoriality and knowledge hiding. Specifically, territoriality will mediate the indirect effect of knowledge‐based ps.
A decade of E-learning policy in higher education in the United Kingdom: a critical analysis

Both as discourse and as practice, e-learning in Higher Education (HE) is shaped by many factors, the most critical of which are the political motivations driving its adoption. In this dissertation I attest that e-learning policies relevant to HE issued by government departments and non-departmental public bodies in the United Kingdom (UK) between 2003 and 2013 were predominantly underpinned by neoliberal ideology. The enquiry is grounded in the Critical research paradigm’s intention to expose, critique, and ultimately overcome sources of oppression. Thirteen policy texts were analysed via two critical lenses. First, via thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke 2006) of the corpus I identified recurring themes. These were then clustered around a trilogy of master narratives: Marketisation, Instrumentality, and Modernisation. Through an ideology critique of these master narratives, I uncovered and unpacked the motivations underpinning claims made in relation to e-learning. My second mode of analysis was a detailed Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of each document. CDA sees the wider context as essential to making sense of a text (Bloor and Bloor 2007; Van Dijk 2008). My critique, therefore, considered each document within its historical and socio-economic context, and examined the extent to which the three master narratives were evident both over time, and across England, Scotland, and Wales. How policy is communicated and presented is as important as what is said (Barnett 2000). Indeed, ideologies can be both enacted and obscured by language (Jones and Stilwell Peccei 2004; Henriksen 2011). My analysis, therefore, also examined the role of visual presentation, lexical choices, and rhetorical techniques in communicating the policies. Taken together, the two prongs of my analysis demonstrate that − although there are variances in different contexts and at different times − overall, the policies considered were motivated by neoliberal imperatives aimed at placing HE within the realm of the market and enhancing the UK’s economic competitiveness. The policies also persistently reflect a deterministic and uncritical perspective towards technology. Furthermore, many of the claims made are exaggerated, unsubstantiated, contradictory, and even duplicitous, or are justified via reference to contested discourses. While neoliberal ideology is privileged and promoted across the corpus, alternative value systems are not. I argue that this problematic framing of e-learning is intensifying the negative impacts of neoliberalism on HE’s role as a public good, as well as exacerbating social inequalities. Furthermore, it is channelling e-learning into a restricted form that limits any possible pedagogical or egalitarian opportunities that the judicious application of digital technologies in HE teaching and learning might support. I reflect on the implications of this for HE and for society, and for the professional practice of Learning Technologists. Finally, I present an alternative vision for e-learning in HE.