Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An appreciative inquiry: the perceptions offrontline educational psychologists into ethical issues

This study is concerned with ethical issues in professional educational psychology. It investigates how twelve frontline educational psychologists employed in one local authority educational psychology service perceive and manage ethical issues. It examines what they perceive as desirable support and identifies what organisational features contribute to effective support in the management of ethical issues. Educational psychologists encounter a range of ethical issues in their practice. However little is known about the perceptions of frontline educational psychologists in the United Kingdom. This dissertation begins with an examination of the changing professional landscape and its consequences for educational psychologists in their practice. Given the scope of the inquiry, the relevant background literature relates to a broad range of subject areas. The literature review focuses on research evidence into ethics and psychology, ethical theories and concepts, professionalism in educational psychology, features of professionalism and ethical practice in organisations. Owing to the sensitivities of the context of the research setting, Appreciative Inquiry was selected as the most appropriate methodological orientation. The research constitutes a case study of one local authority educational psychology service. Educational psychologists identified a wide range of difficult situations and challenges to professionalism in their practice. Of the final themes to emerge character, relationships, supervision and the workplace environment are of significant importance to frontline educational psychologists in managing the ethical issues in their practice. The study presents an appreciative model identifying factors contributing to the management of ethical issues. It is proposed that educational psychologists are best supported by a range of formal and informal professional support within an organisation characterised by certain features including on-going CPD, leadership and vision, policies, procedures and guidance and a conducive workplace environment. Areas for future research into the management of ethical issues are called for, including research into fully traded, semi traded and independent models of service delivery.
On the accuracy of judgmental interventions on Statistical Forecasts

Forecasting at the Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) level in order to support operations management has proved a very difficult task. The levels of accuracy achieved have major consequences for companies at all levels in the supply chain; errors at each stage are amplified resulting in poor service and overly high inventory levels. In most companies, the size and complexity of the forecasting task necessitates the use of Forecasting Support Systems (FSS). The present study examines monthly demand data and forecasts for 753 fast moving SKUs, collected from three major U.K. suppliers. The companies rely upon FSSs to obtain baseline forecasts per SKU for each period. Final forecasts are produced at a later stage through the superimposition of judgments based on marketing intelligence gathered by the companies’ forecasters. The benefits of the intervention are evaluated by comparing the actual sales both to system and final forecasts as well as two simple benchmarks. The findings support that adjustments do improve accuracy with an overall gain of 3.72 (MdAPE) that is a percentage improvement of 18.9% (final forecasts being better in 55% of the cases). The accuracy gain differentiates according the size and the direction of the adjustments, and the level of noise in the series; two interesting findings: a) in almost one out of three cases the forecasters got the direction of the adjustment wrong, and b) small adjustments - less than 10% - should be avoided!
Heterosubtypic anti-avian H5N1 influenza antibodies in intravenous immunoglobulins from globally separate populations protect against H5N1 infection in cell culture

With antigenically novel epidemic and pandemic influenza strains persistently on the horizon it is of fundamental importance that we understand whether heterosubtypic antibodies gained from exposures to circulating human influenzas exist and can protect against emerging novel strains. Our studies of IVIG obtained from an infection-naive population (Australian) enabled us to reveal heterosubtypic influenza antibodies that cross react with H5N1. We now expand those findings for an Australian donor population to include IVIG formulations from a variety of northern hemisphere populations. Examination of IVIGs from European and South East-Asian (Malaysian) blood donor populations further reveal heterosubtypic antibodies to H5N1 in humans from different global regions. Importantly these protect against highly pathogenic avian H5N1 infection in vitro, albeit at low titres of inhibition. Although there were qualitative and quantitative differences in binding and protection between globally different formulations, the heterosubtypic antibody activities for the respective IVIGs were in general quite similar. Of particular note because of the relative geographic proximity to the epicentre of H5N1 and the majority of human infections, was the similarity in the antibody binding responses between IVIGs from the Malayan peninsula, Europe and Australia. These findings highlight the value of employing IVIGs for the study of herd immunity, and particularly heterosubtypic antibody responses to viral antigens such as those conserved between circulating human influenzas and emerging influenza strains such as H5N1. They also open a window into a somewhat ill defined arena of antibody immunity, namely heterosubtypic immunity.
Efficient tracking approach of multiple interacting objects using data association

Robust tracking of multiple interacting objects in image sequences is a challenging problem due to the disturbances that occur often in the real environment. In this context, a system of independent particle filters and an adaptive motion model is used which allow the separated handling of moving objects in conflict situations. For solving the problems of the fluctuation detection and dealings with object interactions, a data association step is suggested with data exclusion, data allocation and data administration. Furthermore, this enables us to recognize conflict image situations and to adjust and adapt the particle filters to these situations. The fitness of the approach will be shown for various real image sequences.
FINANCIAL ACCESS AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

During the last few decades, banking industry in our country has witnessed tremendous growth. Expansion, competition and diversification of ownership of banks have lead to enhanced efficiency and systemic resilience. However there are concerns that banks have not been able to include a vast segment of the population into the fold of basic banking services. Financial exclusion is the lack of access by certain consumers to appropriate, low cost, fair and safe financial products and services from mainstream service providers. There are several reasons for financial exclusion which include the lack of access to technology, lack of awareness of banking products, the absence of reach and coverage of banks, improper business model and gaps in the credit delivery mechanism of banks. In a country where financial markets are becoming developed and globalised, financial exclusion will mean obvious market failure. The government and financial regulators have to work towards providing and creating an enabling environment for inclusion. Providing access to finance concerns’ itself with aspects such as delivering financial services to the unbanked population, innovative delivery systems and channels to expand banking reach into unbanked areas. Women constitute a large percentage of those who do not have access to financial services. Women need safe places to save as also financial literacy inputs to be able to understand better how to use and manage their money. Holding a bank account confers a sense of identity, status and empowerment and provides access to a national payment system. A bank account becomes a very important aspect of financial access. The present research paper seeks to probe the awareness level of women to banking services in rural and urban areas of Andhra Pradesh. It seeks to provide an insight into how financial inclusion can improve women’s access to finance and serve as an empowering and effective social tool.
The Dynamics of the Performance-Risk Relationship Within a Performance Period: The Moderating Role of Deadline Proximity

Risky organizational decisions are frequently made within the confines of performance periods with predefined durations and deadlines for achieving desired levels of performance. The relationship between performance and risk taking has been studied mostly across such periods but rarely within them. Building on the shifting-focus-of-attention model of organizational risk taking, we argue that the temporal proximity of deadlines regulates the focus of organizational attention within a performance period. Decision makers will focus their attention on attaining and maintaining aspirations early in a period; however, as deadlines approach, decision makers in underperforming firms will increasingly be likely to focus on ensuring survival, whereas decision makers in outperforming firms will increasingly be likely to focus on experimenting with slack resources. We propose that the relationship between performance and risk taking should thus be moderated by deadline proximity within a performance period. We tested and found support for our hypotheses in the context of 22,603 fourth-down decisions made by the 32 National Football League teams during the 2000--2005 regular season games. Our findings suggest that the notion of temporally bound performance periods and deadline proximity should play a more central role in attention-based frameworks of organizational risk taking.
Activation of vascular BK channels by docosahexaenoic acid is dependent on cytochrome P450 epoxygenase activity.

AIMS n-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are known to protect the cardiovascular system and improve blood pressure control. These important dietary constituents are converted into bioactive metabolites, but their role in regulation of the cardiovascular system is unclear. In particular, the functions of the cytochrome P450 (CYP) metabolites of n-3 PUFAs remain virtually unexplored. In this study, we examined the effects of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on the regulation of large-conductance calcium-activated potassium (BK) channel activities in coronary arterial smooth muscle cells. METHODS AND RESULTS Using whole-cell patch-clamp techniques, we found that DHA is a potent activator of BK currents in rat coronary arterial smooth muscle cells with an EC(50) of 0.23 ± 0.03 µM. This effect was abolished by pre-incubation with the CYP epoxygenase inhibitor, SKF525A (10 µM). The effects of DHA on the BK channels were reproduced by 16,17-epoxydocosapentaenoic acid (16,17-EpDPE) with an EC(50) of 19.7 ± 2.8 nM. The physiological role of the CYP metabolites of DHA was confirmed by measuring DHA-mediated vasodilatation in isolated rat coronary arteries. DHA dilated pressurized isolated coronary arteries in a dose-dependent manner, and the DHA effects were abolished after pre-treatment with SKF525A (10 µM) or with iberiotoxin (100 nM). In addition, 16,17-EpDPE directly produced coronary vasodilatation that was iberiotoxin sensitive. CONCLUSION These results suggest that DHA-mediated vasodilatation is mediated through CYP epoxygenase metabolites by activation of vascular BK channels.
COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE: Dissociable ERP profiles for processing rules vs instances in a cognitive sequencing task

A hotly debated question in cognitive neuroscience is whether individual instances of perceptual sequences, and the rules that describe them, are processed by the same brain mechanisms. We tested the hypothesis that such rules and instances are processed by dissociable brain mechanisms. We analyzed event-related brain potentials (ERPs) evoked during cognitive sequencing tasks that assessed surface (instance) vs abstract (rule) structure learning. Sequence instances ABCBAC and DEFEDF have different serial order or surface structure, but share the same rule or abstract structure, 123213. Nine healthy subjects were ®rst trained to learn a set of surface and abstract structures in sequences of visually presented stimuli. During the subsequent ERP recording, for surface and abstract structures, they then discriminated between acceptable and unacceptable sequences, based on the pre-learned regularities. Abstract structure processing evoked a late positivity around 500 ms, which was not seen in the surface structure processing, supporting our hypothesis of dissociable processes. We discuss implications for the rule vs instance debate, and similarities between this late positivity and the P600 observed in previous studies of syntactic processing. NeuroReport 11:1129±1132 & 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
BORROWING COSTS, DEBT CAPACITY AND DEMAND FOR AGRICULTURAL FINANCE IN FIJI / LES COÛTS DES PRÊTS, LA CAPACITÉ D'ENDETTEMENT ET LA DEMANDE DE CRÉDIT AGRICOLE DANS LES ÎLES FIJI

The channelling of institutional finance to agriculture has increasingly become an im portant policy instrument for increasing agricultural output, particularly of the rural poor, redistribution of income and facilitating the participation of the heretofore neglected farmers. A number of studies carried out do indicate that an augmented supply of institutional finance to agriculture has influenced output increases [2, 3, 6, 11, 12]; however, recent studies also indicate that relatively little of the additional loanable funds have gone to the rural sector, thus negating to a large extent, the very purport of this increase. A number of explanations have been put forth for the relative lack of use of institutional finance by the poorer farmers. Some observers attribute the low credit demand among the poor farmers to a failure to perceive profitable investment opportu nities, ignorance of the availability of institutional finance and the fact that these far mers do not have the know-how to use finance effectively or are just too shy to request institutional finance [10.9]. Lipton [8], on the other hand, views the problem more from the point of view of political issues and power structure in poor countries and ascribes the channelling of credit away from the rural segment to an urban bias of the institu tions concerned. Others [2, 7, 4] regard the preferential supply allocation to larger farmers as being due to low and concessional interest rate policies combined with the comparatively higher lender loan transaction costs involved in serving numerous small and new farmers. Adams and Nehman [1], however, provide a further explanation which focuses on differences in borrowing costs among various types of borrowers. According to them these borrowing costs determine to a significant extent, the willin gness of the poorer and smaller farmers to seek institutional credit. Apparently an interplay of all the reasons offered may be responsible for deterring the rural poor in low income countries from availing institutional credit facilities. In the light of the three known studies in the world of this nature [1], this paper provides yet further evidence (based on a survey of 148 farms in Fiji in 1981 *) of the impact of borrowing costs on loan demand. Another aspect of the problem, which is of great relevance to Fiji is the influence of the land tenure system on the debt capacity and demand for agricultural finance. This is also examined in this paper and some recommendations are set forth to resolve the inherent incompatibility between the financial institutions and the land
Preparation, characterization, and immunogenicity of Haemophilus influenzae type b polysaccharide-protein conjugates

A method is presented for covalently bonding Haemophilus influenzae type b capsular polysaccharide (HIB Ps) to several proteins. The method is efficient and relies upon the use of adipic dihydrazide as a spacer between the capsular polysaccharide and the carrier protein. In contrast to the poor immunogenicity of the purified HIB Ps in mice and rabbits, the HIB Ps-protein conjugates induced serum anti-type b antibodies having bactericidal activity at levels shown to be protective in humans when low doses were injected subcutaneously in a saline solution. The antibody response in mice was related to the dose of the conjugates, increased with the number of injections, and could be primed by the previous injection of the carrier protein. The HIB Ps- protein conjugates were immunogenic in three different mouse strains. The importance of the carrier molecule for the enhanced immunogenicity of the HIB Ps-protein conjugates was shown by the failure of HIB Ps hybrids prepared with either the homologous polysaccharide or pneumococcus type 3 polysaccharide to induce antibodie in mice. Rabbits injected with the HIB Ps-protein conjugates emulsified in Freund's adjuvant produced high levels of serum anti-type b antibodies which induced a bactericidal effect upon H. influenzae type b organisms. It is proposed that the HIB Ps component of the polysaccharide protein conjugates has been converted to a thymic-dependent immunogen. This method may be used to prepare protein-polysaccharide conjugates with HIB Ps and other polysaccharides to be considered for human use.
A review of standardized tests of nonverbal oral and speech motor performance in children.

PURPOSE To review the content and psychometric characteristics of 6 published tests currently available to aid in the study, diagnosis, and treatment of motor speech disorders in children. METHOD We compared the content of the 6 tests and critically evaluated the degree to which important psychometric characteristics support the tests' use for their defined purposes. RESULTS The tests varied considerably in content and methods of test interpretation. Few of the tests documented efforts to support reliability and validity for their intended purposes, often when relevant information was probably available during the test's development. CONCLUSIONS Problems with the reviewed tests appear related to overly broad plans for test development and inadequate attention to relevant psychometric principles during the development process. Recommendations are offered for future test revisions and development efforts that can benefit from recent research in test development and in pediatric motor speech disorders.
Sodium valproate, an anticonvulsant drug, stimulates human immunodeficiency virus type 1 replication independently of glutathione levels.

Since modulation of the glutathione (GSH) level has been implicated in the regulation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transcription and expression, we have undertaken an analysis of the effect of sodium valproate (VPA) on HIV-1 replication. VPA, which is an anti-epileptic drug in widespread use in clinical medicine, has been shown to depress the activity of GSH reductase, an enzyme required for maintaining high cellular levels of reduced GSH. The effect of this drug on HIV-1 replication has been studied in primary infected cells, i.e. peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and monocyte/macrophages, in the CEM-SS cell line, and in chronically infected stimulated and non-stimulated U1 cells. We have shown that VPA markedly enhanced viral replication in all infected cells tested. Virus production was induced in U1 cells by VPA treatment and the stimulatory effects of tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6 and granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor were augmented. The LTR-driven gene expression in Jurkat T cells was increased. However, the elevated viral production did not correlate with the effect of VPA on the intracellular GSH level. Thus, VPA stimulated in vitro HIV-1 replication in acutely and chronically infected cells and enhanced LTR-driven gene expression. These effects were observed for concentrations that are reached in the plasma of VPA-treated patients. Therefore, although the clinical significance of these data remains to be demonstrated, these results should be considered in the choice of an anticonvulsant drug in HIV-infected individuals.
Who Does R&D and Who Patents?

This paper describes the construction of a large panel data set covering about 2600 firms in the U.S. manufacturing sector for up to twenty years which contains annual data on financial variables, employment, research and development expenditures, and aggregate patent applications. This data set is to be used in a larger study of R&D, inventive output and technological change. In the present paper we present preliminary results on the R&D and patenting behavior of the 1976 cross section of these firms. We find an elasticity of R&D with respect to sales of close to unity, with both very small and very large firms being slightly more R&D intensive than average. Because only 60% of the firms report R&D expenditures, we attempt to correct for selectivity bias and find that though the correction is small, it increases the estimated complementarity between capital intensity and R&D intensity. In exploring the relationship of the patenting activity of these firms to their contemporaneous R&D expenditures, we look with some care at the choice of econometric specifications since the discrete nature of the patents variable for our smaller firms may cause difficulties with the conventional log linear model. The choice of specification does indeed make a difference, and the negative binomial model, which is a Poisson-type model with a disturbance, is preferred. Substantively, we find a much larger output of patents per R&D dollar for the small firms, with a decreasing propensity to patent with size of R&D programs throughout the sample. However, this conclusion is highly tentative both because of its sensitivity to specification and choice of sample and also because we expect that errors in variables bias due to our focus on R&D and patent applications in a single year is far worse for the small firms.
Highway Benefits: An Analytical Framework

THE NATURE AND MEASUREMENT ARE DESCRIBED OF HIGHWAY BENEFITS AND HOW THEIR MAGNITUDE AND DISTRIBUTION ARE AFFECTED BY ALTERNATIVE FINANCING SYSTEMS. A GENERAL THEORY OF THE NATURE AND MEASUREMENT OF HIGHWAY INVESTMENT BENEFITS IS PRESENTED. THE AFFECTS OF ALTERNATIVE HIGHWAY FINANCING SYSTEMS ARE EXPLORED ON BOTH THE MAGNITUDE OF HIGHWAY BENEFITS AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION AMONG POPULATION MEMBERS. SOME RECENTLY DEVELOPED ANALYTICAL TOOLS ARE DISCUSSED WHICH HOLD PROMISE FOR MEASURING THE BENEFITS OF HIGHWAYS TO THE ECONOMY AS A WHOLE AND TO SPECIFIC BENEFICIARY GROUPS. EXISTING HIGHWAY IMPACT RESEARCH IS DESCRIBED. THE THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL PROBLEMS ARE ANALYZED IN DERIVING NET BENEFIT MEASURES FROM ONE FREQUENTLY DISCUSSED RAMIFICATION OF HIGHWAY INVESTMENTS--THEIR EFFECT ON LAND VALUES.