Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of victim-offender mediation: Two decades of research

The Impact of Victim-Offender Mediation: Two Decades of Research Mark S. Umbreit, Ph.D. Robert B. Coates, Ph.D., Betty Vos, Ph.D. Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking INNOVATION IS OFTEN used in criminal justice as a code word for reform. From a jail to a penitentiary (theoretically inspiring penance), to a reformatory, to a corrections center, to a halfway house, to a therapeutic community, to community corrections, to boot camps, to restorative justice, to whatever the next catchphrase might be, reform has too often meant changing the name without radically changing program content or underlying values. It has also often been the case that the latest justice innovation captures the imagination and zeal of a vocal following without the slightest scrutiny. Thus policies and supporting dollars outdistance the needed empirical research to determine impact and to help shape programming. Frequently, the result of enthusiasm without a critical eye is flash-in thepan programming, frustrated policy-makers, disheartened workers, and ill-treated victims and offenders.
Selecting Wavelet Transforms Model in Forecasting Financial Time Series Data Based on ARIMA Model

Recently, wavelet transforms have gained very high attention in many fields and applications such as physics, engineering, signal processing, applied mathematics and statistics. In this paper, we present the advantage of wavelet transforms in forecasting financial time series data. Amman stock market (Jordan) was selected as a tool to show the ability of wavelet transform in forecasting financial time series, experimentally. This article suggests a novel technique for forecasting the financial time series data, based on Wavelet transforms and ARIMA model. Daily return data from 1993 until 2009 is used for this study.
Towards a Testable Model of the Impact of Specific Entrepreneurial Networks on the Success of Businesses in the Pietermaritzburg Region

Entrepreneurial networking has been a relatively under-researched area in the field of entrepreneurship. The apparent avoidance of this topic by researchers could be attributed to a multitude of speculative reasons, such as the multi-disciplinary nature of the topic; uncertainty with regard to the nature and operation of entrepreneurial networking; disagreement among scholars on critical success factors of businesses and the difficulty in obtaining reliable quantifiable data from businesses to enable researchers to determine their level of success. A testable model to determine the impact of specific networks on the success of businesses could contribute substantially to the base of knowledge in the field of entrepreneurial networking research. In this paper, a literature review of entrepreneurial networking and critical success factors of businesses was initially conducted in order to establish a conceptual base for the exploratory research that followed. The exploratory empirical study was based on a non-probability sample of small businesses in the Pietermaritzburg region. The objective of this paper is to establish
CAKES (Cultural Awareness and Knowledge Exchange Scheme): a holistic and inclusive approach to supporting international students

Abstract Transition support for international students has traditionally adopted deficit models which attempt to ‘fix’ assumed academic literacy problems. This study explores a more culturally inclusive initiative which supported international students at a UK university in a holistic and developmental way. The initiative was delivered across an academic year and a mix of focus groups and semi-structured interviews were undertaken for evaluation purposes. Although small-scale, the initiative emerged as a lively learning community which was highly successful in facilitating both academic and sociocultural transition. Qualitative data illuminate a number of fruitful methodological foci, including informality of the learning space and exploration of intercultural learning and teaching practices. Findings indicate that these cultural explorations were instrumental in helping students navigate the new learning and teaching system and forge a stronger sense of academic and social belonging. These outcomes were cultivated within an ethos that valued and enhanced the diverse skills, identities and attributes that students brought, rather than one that suppressed their previous learning practices. Findings thus demonstrate how transition and academic success can be facilitated in ways that do not problematize international students and highlight the need for more holistic and inclusive ways of supporting them.
Zanzibari Social Entrepreneurs and Poverty Alleviation Strategies: Understanding Efforts to Build Local Community Sustainability

ABSTRACT Poverty throughout Zanzibar, Tanzania encourages social entrepreneurs to think strategically about methods of human capital development, promoting economic sustainability and asset building. Local women social entrepreneurs are successfully active in (a) building the educational opportunities for girls and low income women, (b) evolving in business to meet change and economic growth, and (c) empowering vulnerable populations and people living with disabilities. This qualitative study interviews 15 women social entrepreneurs in the rural area of Jambiani and the urban area of Stone Town. Their ventures are alleviating poverty and social workers can support these local creative initiatives in diverse ways.
Ref‐1 regulates the transactivation and pro‐apoptotic functions of p53 in vivo

Ref‐1 is a multifunctional protein that stimulates DNA binding by a number of transcription factors and serves as the abasic (A/P) endonuclease in base excision repair. Ref‐1 was discovered to be a potent activator of p53 DNA binding in vitro. To address the physiological significance of the effects of Ref‐1 on p53, we have analyzed its role in regulating p53 function in vivo. We found that Ref‐1 over‐expression enhances the ability of p53 to transactivate a number of p53 target promoters and increases the ability of p53 to stimulate endogenous p21 and cyclin G expression. Additionally, it was observed that Ref‐1 associates with p53 in vivo and in vitro. Importantly, downregulation of Ref‐1 (by antisense) causes a marked reduction in p53 induction of p21 mRNA and protein, as well as diminished ability of p53 to transactivate the p21 and Bax promoters. Moreover, Ref‐1 levels are correlated with the extent of apoptosis induced by p53. Finally, we observed that Ref‐1 cooperates with a DNA‐damaging compound, camptothecin, to stimulate the transcriptional activity of p53. Together these data indicate that Ref‐1 is a key cellular regulator of p53.
The acceptance of different perspectives in a synthetic vision navigation display

An experimental survey measured the acceptance of perspectives in a synthetic vision navigation display. The developed scale of 11 items was found to be reliable. It measured to what extent the concept satisfies the requirements of commercial pilots for navigation. One underlying component indicated acceptance to be unidimensional. This dimension is interpreted as the component "performance expectancy" of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Differences in the average ratings were due to display manipulations in dimension, mode, and view. Both 2D Heading-Up views were accepted best, followed by the 3D ARC Heading-Up and the 2D ROSE North-Up view. Two other perspectives were accepted less. The characteristics in the acceptance go along with benefits and costs of principles from display design.
False Node Detection in Trust Aware Routing Framework ( TARF ) in WSN

In Wireless sensor networks (WSN), the wide range of communication is not that much secure when compared to limited area network. The multi-hop routing in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) offers little protection against identity deception through replaying routing information. Traditional cryptographic techniques or efforts at developing trust-aware routing protocols do not effectively address this severe problem. To secure the WSNs against adversaries misdirecting the multi-hop routing, we have designed and implemented a model to detect false node in TARF, a robust trust-aware routing framework for dynamic WSNs. Without tight time synchronization or known geographic information, TARF provides trustworthy and energy-efficient route. Most importantly, TARF proves effective against those harmful attacks developed out of identity deception. With this to find the false node, we are designing two novel node clone detection techniques with different trade-offs on network conditions and performance security is provided. The first one is based on a distributed hash table (DHT), it is a fully decentralized, key-based caching and checking system is constructed to catch cloned or duplicated nodes effectively. Our second distributed detection protocol, named randomly directed exploration, the protocol is mainly designed to provide good communication performance in dense sensor networks, by a probabilistic directed forwarding technique along with random initial direction and border determination.
Workplace ostracism and its negative outcomes: Psychological capital as a moderator.

Abstract. Workplace ostracism, conceived as to being ignored or excluded by others, has attracted the attention of researchers in recent years. One essential topic in this area is how to reduce or even eliminate the negative consequences of workplace ostracism. Based on conservation of resources (COR) theory, the current study assesses the relationship between workplace ostracism and its negative outcomes, as well as the moderating role played by psychological capital, using data collected from 256 employees in three companies in the northern part of China. The study yields two important findings: (1) workplace ostracism is positively related to intention to leave and (2) psychological capital moderates the effect of workplace ostracism on affective commitment and intention to leave. This paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for organizations and employees, along with recommendations for future research.
Online Diarization of Telephone Conversations

Speaker diarization systems attempts to perform segmentation and labeling of a conversation between R speakers, while no prior information is given regarding the conversation. Diarization systems basically tries to answer the question ”Who spoke when? ”. In order to perform speaker diarization, most state of the art diarization systems operate in an off-line mode, that is, all of the samples of the audio stream are required prior to the application of the diarization algorithm. Off-line diarization algorithms generally relies on a dendogram or hierarchical clustering approach. Several on-line diarization systems has been previously suggested, however, most require some prior information or offline trained speaker and background models in order to conduct all or part of the diarization process. A new two-stage on-line diarization of telephone conversations algorithm is suggested in this study. On the first stage, a fully unsupervised diarization algorithm is applied over an initial training set of the conversation, this stage generates the speakers and non-speech models and tunes a hyper-state Hidden Markov Model (HMM) to be used on the second, on-line stage of diarization. On-line diarization is then applied by means of time-series clustering using the Viterbi dynamic programming algorithm. Employing this approach provides diarization results a few miliseconds following either a user request or once the conversation has concluded. In order to evaluate diarization performance , the diarization system was applied over 2048, 5Min length, two-speaker conversations extracted from the NIST 2005 Speaker Recognition Evaluation. On-line Diarization Error Rate (DER) is shown to approaches the ”optimal” DER (achieved by applying unsupervised diarization over the entire conversation) as the length of the initial training set increases. Using an initial training set of 2Min and applying on-line diarization to the entire conversation incurred approximately 4% increase in DER compared to the ”optimal” DER.
Inter-rater Agreement for the Clinical Dysphagia Scale

Objective To investigate the inter-rater agreement for the clinical dysphagia scale (CDS). Method Sixty-seven subjects scheduled to participate in a video-fluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) were pre-examined by two raters independently within a 24-hour interval. Each item and the total score were compared between the raters. In addition, we investigated whether subtraction of items showing low agreement or modification of rating methods could enhance inter-rater agreement without significant compromise of validity. Results Inter-rater agreement was excellent for the total score (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC): 0.886). Four items (lip sealing, chewing and mastication, laryngeal elevation, and reflex coughing) did not show excellent agreement (ICC: 0.696, 0.377, 0.446, and κ: 0.723, respectively). However, subtraction of each item either compromised validity, or did not improve agreement. When redefining 'history of aspiration' and 'lesion location' items, the inter-rater agreement (ICC: 0.912, 0.888, respectively) and correlation with new videofluoroscopic dysphagia score (PCC: 0.576, 0.577, respectively) were enhanced. The CDS showed better agreement and validity in stroke patients compared to non-stroke patients (ICC: 0.917 vs 0.835, PCC: 0.663 vs 0.414). Conclusion The clinical dysphagia scale is a reliable bedside swallowing test. We can improve inter-rater agreement and validity by refining the 'history of aspiration' and 'lesion location' item.
Terrain mapping and classification using neural networks

This paper describes a three-dimensional terrain mapping and classification technique to allow the operation of mobile robots in outdoor environments using laser range finders. We propose the use of a multi-layer perceptron neural network to classify the terrain into navigable, partially navigable, and non-navigable. The maps generated by our approach can be used for path planning, navigation, and local obstacle avoidance. Experimental tests using an outdoor robot and a laser sensor demonstrate the accuracy of the presented methods.
The Role Played by ICT Human Capital in Firm Productivity

Starting from an augmented Cobb Douglas specification and by means of the Ordinary Least Squares technique, we estimate the influences on firm productivity in six European countries using the unique ESSnet on Linking of Microdata on ICT Usage Project (ESSLimit) panel dataset which covers the years 2001-2009. The results show that increases in the proportion of ICT-intensive human capital do indeed boost productivity, generally far more than ICT maturity. However, the gains vary somewhat across countries and industries and the channels through which the effects operate may be narrower for ICT-intensive human capital than for skilled human capital in general.
In vitro activity of ceftazidime+NXL104 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other non-fermenters.

BACKGROUND NXL104 potentiates ceftazidime and ceftaroline against Enterobacteriaceae with extended-spectrum, AmpC, KPC and OXA β-lactamases. We examined whether similar potentiation was obtained against non-fermenters, which are less permeable than Enterobacteriaceae and have more potent efflux. METHODS MICs of ceftazidime+NXL104 (with NXL104 at 4 mg/L) and comparators were determined by CLSI agar dilution for: (i) Pseudomonas aeruginosa AmpC mutants and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing transconjugants; (ii) clinical P. aeruginosa isolates with AmpC enzymes, ESBLs or up-regulated efflux; (iii) P. aeruginosa and Burkholderia cepacia complex isolates from cystic fibrosis patients; and (iv) Acinetobacter baumannii with OXA carbapenemases, which also compromise ceftazidime. RESULTS NXL104 reversed AmpC-mediated ceftazidime resistance in P. aeruginosa, reducing MICs for fully derepressed mutants and isolates to ≤ 8 mg/L. NXL104 also reversed ceftazidime resistance caused by the ESBL PER-1, but not that due to OXA ESBLs or VEB-1 enzyme. Efflux-mediated resistance was unaffected. Resistance to ceftazidime in isolates of P. aeruginosa and the B. cepacia complex from patients with cystic fibrosis was variably overcome, generally to greater effect for B. cepacia. NXL104 had little effect on MICs of ceftazidime for A. baumannii isolates with OXA carbapenemases. CONCLUSIONS The potentiation of ceftazidime against many β-lactamase-producing P. aeruginosa and B. cepacia complex strains confirms that NXL104 penetrates these organisms. The utility of the combination against these pathogens will depend on the local prevalence of strains with β-lactamase- versus efflux-mediated resistance. The lack of potentiation against A. baumannii may reflect failure of NXL104 to penetrate these bacteria to inhibit relevant (OXA-23, -40, -51 and -58) carbapenemases.
Birationality of the tangent map for minimal rational curves

For a uniruled projective manifold, we prove that a general rational curve of minimal degree through a general point is uniquely determined by its tangent vector. As applications, among other things we give a new proof, using no Lie theory, of our earlier result that a holomorphic map from a rational homogeneous space of Picard number 1 onto a projective manifold different from the projective space must be a biholomorphic map.
Stochastic excitation of nonradial modes II. Are solar asymptotic gravity modes detectable

Detection of solar gravity modes remains a major challenge to our understanding of the innerparts of the Sun. Their frequencies would enable the derivation of constraints on the core physical properties while their amplitudes can put severe constraints on the properties of the inner convective region. Our purpose is to determine accurate theoretical amplitudes of solar g modes and estimate the SOHO observation duration for an unambiguous detection. We investigate the stochastic excitation of modes by turbulent convection as well as their damping. Input from a 3D global simulation of the solar convective zone is used for the kinetic turbulent energy spectrum. Damping is computed using a parametric description of the nonlocal time-dependent convection-pulsation interaction. We then provide a theoretical estimation of the intrinsic, as well as apparent, surface velocity. Asymptotic g-mode velocity amplitudes are found to be orders of magnitude higher than previous works. Using a 3D numerical simulation, from the ASH code, we attribute this to the temporal-correlation between the modes and the turbulent eddies which is found to follow a Lorentzian law rather than a Gaussian one as previously used. We also find that damping rates of asymptotic gravity modes are dominated by radiative losses, with a typical life-time of $3 \times 10^5$ years for the $\ell=1$ mode at $\nu=60 \mu$Hz. The maximum velocity in the considered frequency range (10-100 $\mu$Hz) is obtained for the $\ell=1$ mode at $\nu=60 \mu$Hz and for the $\ell=2$ at $\nu=100 \mu$Hz. Due to uncertainties in the modeling, amplitudes at maximum i.e. for $\ell=1$ at 60 $\mu$Hz can range from 3 to 6 mm s$^{-1}$.
Usefulness of the High Triglyceride-to-HDL Cholesterol Ratio to Identify Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and Preclinical Signs of Organ Damage in Outpatient Children

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the high triglyceride-to-HDL cholesterol (TG-to-HDL-C) ratio is associated with cardiometabolic risk (CMR) factors and preclinical signs of organ damage in an outpatient population of white children and adolescents. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The study population included 884 subjects (aged 6–16 years), of whom 206 (23%) were normal weight, 135 (15%) were overweight, and 543 (61%) were obese. Biochemical variables were analyzed in the whole sample, whereas homocysteine and left ventricular (LV) geometry and function were evaluated in 536 and 258 children, respectively. RESULTS The percentage of pubertal children (P < 0.001), as well as measurements of BMI, waist circumference, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, white blood cell count, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), systolic blood pressure (P < 0.0001, for all), creatinine (P < 0.001), and diastolic blood pressure (P < 0.02), increased from the lowest to the highest tertile of the TG-to-HDL-C ratio. Age, sex, homocysteine, and glomerular filtration rate did not change. Moreover, interventricular septum thickness, relative wall thickness, and LV mass index (P = 0.01 to P < 0.0001) increased across tertiles of the TG-to-HDL-C ratio. Children with a TG-to-HDL-C ratio ≥2.0 showed a two- to threefold higher risk of elevated ALT levels and concentric LV hypertrophy than those with a TG-to-HDL-C ratio <2.0, independent of confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS The high TG-to-HDL-C ratio is associated with several CMR factors and preclinical signs of liver and cardiac abnormalities in the outpatient, white pediatric population. Thus, a TG-to-HDL-C ratio ≥2.0 may be useful in clinical practice to detect children with a worsened CMR profile who need monitoring to prevent cardiovascular disease in adulthood.
The design of an adoption and acceptance framework for mobile digital library services

Along with the rapid increase of smartphone ownership, mobile applications have increased and mobile digital library services have evolved. Yet, mobile digital library services are not among the frequently used services. Apparently, there is still a lack of adoption and acceptance of mobile digital library services among libraries and their users. It is critical to study the factors that influence the adoption and acceptance of such services. The proposed framework in this research will help in the process of determining factors affecting users' acceptance of mobile digital library services. An extended TAM model with 21 factors derived from five selected models was the base for designing the proposed framework. The newly designed framework is classified into three categories: interface characteristics, personal characteristics, and system characteristics.