Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Determinants of Reading Comprehension

study. Instead, as Brownell (1946), Dressel (1954) and Bloom (1956) point out, their aim is to elicit understanding of principles, ability to apply knowledge, critical thinking, judgment, and other educationally valuable qualities. The present writer, however, brought up in an European educational system which still relies primarily on the essay examination for eliciting these higher educational qualities from its students, is inevitably struck by certain weaknesses in such tests. Whatever the subject matter-English, social studies or natural sciences-they tend to take the form of complex reading comprehension tests, and they therefore appear to depend partly on the students’ facility in understanding the instructions and coping with multiple-choice items. While admitting that fluency and legibility in essay writing unduly affects the students’ performances in any European examinations, he wonders whether new-type test sophistication does not equally distort assessments of abilities in the American setting (Vernon, 1958). These suspicions are confirmed by a study of the experimental literature and of test manuals, from which it appears that the correlations between te~ts aimed at different mental func-
Conduction in smooth muscle: comparative structural properties.

The individual fibers of smooth muscle of high propagation velocity (e.g. esophagus) are longer and more closely packed than in those of low velocity (e.g. cat intestine). The space between fibers and within bundles calculated from electron micrographs is 4.4% for pig esophagus muscularis mucosae, 9.0–12.5% for taenia coli and cat intestine, 18.2% for the slow dog retractor penis and 39% for the nonconducting carotid artery. Predominant intercellular separation for esophagus and taenia is 700 A°, for cat longitudinal intestinal 1600 A°, dog retractor 3000 A° and carotid artery 10,000 A°. Two types of interfiber ‘bridges’ both crossed by membranes were observed. These may represent relatively low resistance pathways between fibers during conduction or they may serve a mechanical function. Vesicles are abundant beneath cell membranes and are arranged in longitudinal ridges, some 20 rows/cell. Among the myofilaments are found dark bodies which appear to be composed of noncontractile protein.
Marital status and loneliness among older women: The differential importance of close family and friends.

This study examines the marital status differences in the frequency and sources of loneliness among older women. Using structured interview data from a sample of 356 older women interviewed in 1979, the analyses show that loneliness for married women revolves around the marital relationship, whereas the amount of time since the marital dissolution and the quality of the closest friendship are critical for formerly married older women. Never-married women are not as affected by relationships with family and friends but are lonely if their health is poor. These results are discussed from a life-cycle perspective and interpreted on the basis of the desolation hypothesis and symbolic interactionism.
Psychological Sequelae of Pet Loss Following Hurricane Katrina

ABSTRACT One of the many impacts of natural disasters on the well-being of the humans who experience them is enforced abandonment and loss of companion animals. Hurricane Katrina, which struck the gulf coast of the United States in late August, 2005, was such a disaster. This study assessed the psychological effects of pet loss on survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Sixty-five predominantly white, female, middle-aged pet owners who lived in affected regions of the country completed online questionnaires, assessing symptoms of depression, acute stress, peri-traumatic dissociation, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Almost all companion animals were cats or dogs. Pet loss was strongly associated with psychopathology across all measures, even when controlling for displacement from the home (Wilks' Lambda F(4,57) = 5.22, p = 0.001). The impact of pet loss on PTSD was mediated by acute stress and dissociative symptoms during the evacuation (both F(1,61) > 9.3, both p < 0.01). This suggests that forced abandonment of a companion animal during an evacuation adds considerably to the acute trauma, thereby increasing the risk of long-term PTSD. The impact of pet loss on depressive symptoms, however, was independent of acute stress and dissociation (F(1,31) = 15.03, p = 0.001), suggesting that it is both the acute loss of the pet as well as the continued absence of the pet itself that contributes to depressive symptom severity.
Postsocial relations: towards a performative view of accounting knowledge

This paper discusses the impact and influences of the growth of postsocial relations on accounting practice. Aspects of the growth of knowledge cultures, which have been argued to impact social and organizational arrangements, are discussed. Extending this view to accounting, we see accountants forming a distinctive knowledge culture with their own unique rules of how knowledge is constituted. These rules are embedded in accounting systems and practices. This paper suggests the need to further develop a research program that seeks to investigate accounting practice in local settings. The discussion in the paper is based on views which posit the growth of intimate links with epistemic objects within organizations and society. This paper argues that such ideas lead to an increasing tendency for us to experience the changes in societal relations and social arrangements as a compression of time and space. The paper relates these ideas to developments in the accounting research literature.
The Religion and State-Minorities dataset

This article presents the Religion and State-Minorities (RASM) dataset addressing its design, collection, and utility. RASM codes religious discrimination by governments against all 566 minorities in 175 countries which make a minimum population cutoff. It includes 24 specific types of religious discrimination coded yearly from 1990 to 2002. Religious discrimination measures the absence of the human right of religious freedom which includes limits on religious practices such as worship as well as limits on religious institutions such as churches and mosques which are not placed on the majority group. Thus the dataset focuses on the restriction of religious group rights. Most similar datasets, including those that focus on human rights in general, include a single discrimination score for a country. RASM is the first to contain an accounting of religious discrimination against all relevant religious minorities on an individual basis while avoiding some methodological problems of previous similar data collections. In order to demonstrate the utility of the dataset, we examine the relationship between religious identity and religious discrimination. We find that both majority and minority identities matter in predicting the treatment of religious minorities. This demonstration that codings for individual minorities add to our understanding of the correlates of religious discrimination is illustrative of the potential uses of this dataset. It also indicates that this type of data can be useful in other types of studies where dyads based on religious identity are relevant, such as studies of ethnic conflict and civil war.
Diversity, Opportunity, and the Shifting Meritocracy in Higher Education

This article uses four data sets to assess changes in the relative weights of test- and performance-based merit criteria on college enrollment during the 1980s and 1990s and considers their significance for affirmative action. Our results support the “shifting meritocracy” hypothesis, revealed by selective postsecondary institutions' increased reliance on test scores to screen students. This shift has made it difficult for institutions to achieve diversity without giving minorities a “boost” through race-sensitive preferences. Statistical simulations that equalize, hold constant, or exclude test scores or class rank from the admission decision illustrate that reliance on performance-based criteria is highly compatible with achieving institutional diversity and does not lower graduation rates. Evidence from a natural experiment in Texas after the implementation of the “top 10 percent” law supports this conclusion. The apparent tension between merit and diversity exists only when merit is narrowly defined by test scores.
TRANSSEXUALISM: DEFINITION, PREVALENCE SEX DISTRIBUTION

The line between transvestism and transsexualism drawn by many authors has been and still is all too obscure. As long as no definite criteria are employed to differentiate these two groups’ progress in understanding of the conditions will be limited, I n an investigation of 48 cases of transsexualism primarily segregated according to Benjamin’s (1966) criteria, the following variables were noted in 100% of the subjects: I. A sence of belonging to the opposite sex, of having been born into the wrong sex, of being one of nature’s extant errors. 2. A sence of estrangement with one’s own body; all indications of sex differentiation are considered as afflictions and repugnant. 3 . A strong desire to resemble physically the opposite sex via therapy including surgery. 4. A desire to be accepted by the community as belonging to the oppsite sex. The fundamental, primary disturbance appears to be a feeling of contrary sex-orientation, i.e. inverted core gender identity in Stolleu’s (1964, a, b, c ) meaning. All of the other symptoms seem to cluster around this erroneous sex identity. Transvestites, persons who dress in the clothes of the opposite sex to attain psychological satisfaction, do not have a feeling of belonging to the opposite sex. This factor differentiates therefore the transvestite and the transsexual. I n this connection it seems important to establish that transvestism is only a symptom, which may be observed in conjunction with a variety of conditions, such as, homosexuality, criminality, transvestism and transsexualism. A certain overlapping between the true transvestites and transsexuals can occur, but in the majority of cases the diagnosis is usually made with little difficulty.
Pediatric Obesity and Perceived Exertion: Difference Between Weight-Bearing and Non-Weight-Bearing Exercises Performed at Different Intensities

Abstract Excess body weight composes an important limitation to exercise in obese youth. The aim of this study was to compare the perceived exertion of obese adolescents between weight-bearing (WB; running) and non-weight-Bearing (NWB; cycling) exercises performed at moderate (55%VO2max) and high (75%VO2max) intensities. Twenty-four obese adolescents were recruited. After assessment of their body composition and physical capacities, they had to complete four isoenergetic exercise sessions: (1) a cycling session performed at 55% of their maximal capacities (NWB-55%); (2) a cycling session set at 75% (NWB-75%); (3) a running session at 55% (WB-55%); and (4) a running session at 75% (WB-75%). Perceived exertion was assessed using a visual scale at regular interval. While no significant difference between WB and NWB modalities was observed, the adolescents expressed a significantly lower rate of perceived exertion (RPE) during exercises at 55%VO2max (P < 0.0001). An intensity × modality interaction revealed that RPE was lower at 75% VO2max during NWB exercises (P < 0.05). While obese adolescents expressed lower RPE during exercise at moderate intensity whatever its modality, low level of perceived exertion has been observed during high-intensity exercises and especially during NWB. High-intensity exercise appears well tolerated in adolescents when their body weight is supported.
Structure of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Revised in the Italian Normal Standardisation Sample

Six multifactor correlated traits models and a single-factor model of the WAIS-R's factor pattern were examined by confirmatory maximum likelihood factor analyses of a data matrix from the WAIS-R's Italian normative sample raw scores (N=2284). The main aim was to identify what model(s) best fit(s) the data for the different age groups considered. Analyses were designed to determine which of seven hypothesised factor solutions best explained the intellectual ability of four age bands (16 to 74 years of age) and of all samples. Results showed the same three-correlated-factors model (Verbal, Performance, and Freedom From Distractibility) for the younger (16 to 24 years of age) and for more aged (65 to 74 years of age), and two different three-factor models for the adult (band from 25 to 64 years of age) that had in common the presence of Digit Symbol loading on Freedom From Distractibility, that in the younger and aged band loaded on Perceptual Organisation. The individuals may use different strategies when performing a given task on the WAIS-R. Such differences in latent variability may represent real differences in neuropsychological functioning, and as such can account for some of the variability in results noted in the literature. Differences in latent variability across distinct demographic and clinical groups could provide important insight into brain–behaviour relationships.
Randomised, double blind, crossover challenge study of allergenicity of peanut oils in subjects allergic to peanuts

Abstract Objective: To determine the in vivo allergenicity of two grades of peanut oil for a large group of subjects with proved allergy to peanuts. Design: Double blind, crossover food challenge with crude peanut oil and refined peanut oil. Setting: Dedicated clinical investigation unit in a university hospital. Subjects: 60 subjects allergic to peanuts; allergy was confirmed by challenge tests. Outcome measures: Allergic reaction to the tested peanut oils Results: None of the 60 subjects reacted to the refined oil; six (10%) reacted to the crude oil. Supervised peanut challenge caused considerably less severe reactions than subjects had reported previously. Conclusions: Crude peanut oil caused allergic reactions in 10% of allergic subjects studied and should continue to be avoided. Refined peanut oil did not pose a risk to any of the subjects. It would be reasonable to recommend a change in labelling to distinguish refined from crude peanut oil. Key messages Peanut (groundnut) allergy is the most common cause of deaths related to food allergy. Peanut oil is often suspected of causing reactions to meals in which a more obvious source of peanut cannot be found Refined peanut oil is odourless and flavourless and is commonly used in catering. Crude peanut oil, which is known to contain considerable amounts of protein is used only rarely, when a peanut flavour is deliberately required In vivo challenges of 60 subjects with proved peanut allergy showed no reaction to refined peanut oil, but six (10%) reacted to the crude peanut oil If refined peanut oil is used properly and is not reused after cooking peanuts, it seems to be safe for most people with peanut allergy; crude oil represents a risk The confusing use of the term groundnut oil should be stopped, and food labelling should distinguish between refined and crude oils
Testing Hirschi's integration of social control and rational choice: are bonds considered in offender decisions?

Hirschi suggested that social control and choice theories can be linked because social bonds may restrain offending by increasing the consideration of costs within the offending decision itself. Despite considerable research on both theories, no previous criminological research has examined the manner in which bonds may constrain offending. A diverse sample of male and female felony offenders (n = 1013) from a southwestern correctional system were asked about their levels of belief in conventional values, attachment to family and religious involvement and commitment, as well as their perception of the certainty and severity of potential costs associated with a hypothetical drunk driving scenario. Hirschi's contention was supported in multivariate path models that demonstrated cost considerations did in fact mediate the relationship between social bonds and drunk driving likelihood. These results link two dominant and impactful control theories in criminology, and suggest that to increase the effectiveness of deterrence policy-makers may need to consider improving the individuals' connections to society.
The Impacts of Emotion Elicited By Print Political Advertising on Candidate Evaluation

This study examines viewers' emotional responses to print political advertising. It demonstrates that positive and negative (direct attack) political advertising differ in the emotional responses that they elicit. Consistent with prior research on emotion, positive and direct attack political advertising generate different amounts of message recall and produce different quantities of positive and negative cognitive responses. Most importantly, this study establishes the importance of ad-evoked emotion in the formation process of ad exposure and candidate evaluation. Integrating findings from this study, a model is proposed that establishes the relationship of four important variables: ad valence, ad-evoked emotion, attitude toward the ad, and candidate liking. It suggests that (1) ad valence has an impact on attitude toward the candidate via the mediation of ad-evoked emotion; (2) ad valence has an impact on attitude toward the ad via the mediation of ad-evoked emotion; (3) attitude toward the ad has an impact on candidate evaluation; and (4) ad-evoked emotion can explain variations of candidate evaluations beyond that which can be accounted for by attitude toward the ad.
Optimising upload bandwidth for quality of VCR operations in P2P VoD systems

Many P2P VoD systems have been proposed, but only few can support VCR operations. Most of the works require very well provisioned source servers to guarantee the quality. The challenge is to do the same without requiring well provisioned source servers. In this paper, we take the heterogeneity of bandwidth into consideration, and also consider the practical case in which the capacity of the streaming buffer is limited. With these conditions, we formulate the problem as an upload bandwidth optimisation problem. We first prove that this problem is NP-hard and then propose an optimal dynamic programming solution.
Rethinking a Global Media Strategy

The debate over whether to standardize or adapt a firm's international marketing strategy continues unabated. The possibility of executing a global advertising strategy in general and uniform media strategy in particular is intriguing. In this context, perceptions of young adults in U.S., Canada, Hong Kong and India toward advertisements in newspapers, magazines, radio, T.V. , direct mail and outdoors are investigated along four evaluative dimensions: Enjoyable, Informative, Annoying and Offensive. Results suggest that significant differenes exist in media-specific perceptions within each country and across the four countries. Our findings have implications for global media strategy.
Microbial Succession in the Gut: Directional Trends of Taxonomic and Functional Change in a Birth Cohort of Spanish Infants

In spite of its major impact on life-long health, the process of microbial succession in the gut of infants remains poorly understood. Here, we analyze the patterns of taxonomic and functional change in the gut microbiota during the first year of life for a birth cohort of 13 infants. We detect that individual instances of gut colonization vary in the temporal dynamics of microbiota richness, diversity, and composition at both functional and taxonomic levels. Nevertheless, trends discernible in a majority of infants indicate that gut colonization occurs in two distinct phases of succession, separated by the introduction of solid foods to the diet. This change in resource availability causes a sharp decrease in the taxonomic richness of the microbiota due to the loss of rare taxa (p = 2.06e-9), although the number of core genera shared by all infants increases substantially. Moreover, although the gut microbial succession is not strictly deterministic, we detect an overarching directionality of change through time towards the taxonomic and functional composition of the maternal microbiota. Succession is however not complete by the one year mark, as significant differences remain between one-year-olds and their mothers in terms of taxonomic (p = 0.009) and functional (p = 0.004) microbiota composition, and in taxonomic richness (p = 2.76e-37) and diversity (p = 0.016). Our results also indicate that the taxonomic composition of the microbiota shapes its functional capacities. Therefore, the observed inter-individual variability in taxonomic composition during succession is not fully compensated by functional equivalence among bacterial genera and may have important physiological consequences. Finally, network analyses suggest that positive interactions among core genera during community assembly contribute to ensure their permanence within the gut, and highlight an expansion of complexity in the interactions network as the core of taxa shared by all infants grows following the introduction of solid foods.
The TAPS Project. 7: Mental Hospital Closure - A Literature Review of Outcome Studies and Evaluative Techniques

Various techniques have been used to assess the results of ‘deinstitutionalisation’. This paper reviews these outcome studies, most of which have concluded that a new long-stay group will replace the old long-stay patients, and that a residual group of ageing patients, mostly with organic syndromes, is difficult to accommodate in the community.
Performance visualization: Does the nature of the speech model matter?

Research indicates that performance visualization is an effective way to reduce communication apprehension and reduce behavioral disruption (Ayres, Hopf, & Ayres 1997). The present study examined whether the impact of performance visualization on communication apprehension (CA) and behavior was enhanced by using a student speech as the image target rather than a “great speech”. These data indicate that a student speech model is superior to a great speech in reducing behavioral disruption among high CA speakers. These findings and their implications are considered in the discussion section of this report.
Dangerous dynamics: activists, militants and terrorists in Southeast Asia

This article critiques the view that Southeast Asia has emerged as a key theatre for terrorist activity. While accepting that al-Qaeda and the indigenous Southeast Asian group Jemaah Islamiyah have emerged as a potent threat to regional security, it interrogates the view that this renders Southeast Asia more dangerous than many other parts of the world. The article suggests that this exaggerated sense of threat rests largely on a failure to account for nuanced differences in the nature of Islamist politics in the region. As a small step towards redressing this problem the article outlines a typology of Islamist organizations. It also suggests that a person’s location within this typology is more than a function of religiosity but reflects instead relative degrees of social and political alienation.
Transitive Closure Based Visual Words for Point Matching in Video Sequence

We present Transitive Closure based visual word formation technique for obtaining robust object representations from smoothly varying multiple views. Each one of our visual words is represented by a set of feature vectors which is obtained by performing transitive closure operation on SIFT features. We also present range-reducing tree structure to speed up the transitive closure operation. The robustness of our visual word representation is demonstrated for Structure from Motion (SfM) and location identification in video images.