Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Women's collective economic strategies and political transformation in rural South Africa

This article examines the economic processes and socio‐political institutions that shape women's involvement in community projects. Feminist materialism and postcolonial theory provide the framework to analyze these livelihood strategies as they are grounded in the material conditions of women's lives. The empirical study is based in a rural northern province of South Africa where colonialism and apartheid have contributed to extreme economic and social hardships. Fieldwork was conducted in Limpopo to analyze how community projects contribute to livelihood strategies. In an area where migrant remittances remain one of the main sources of income for rural households, women have increasingly engaged in collective economic strategies such as pottery making, sewing, and agricultural production. These strategies are embedded in a complex set of patriarchal institutions that reinforce unequal access to resources and have historically marginalized rural black women. Despite these barriers, findings from this study demonstrate that community projects provide the potential for economic and social empowerment, especially among rural women.
Education and Domesticity.

abstract This paper explores the relationship between education and domesticity within two different contexts. The first is the theoretical literature about the reproduction of domesticity within the education system — which in various ways suggests that the education of girls and women leads them towards domestic roles and low paid work. The second context is a study of mature women students, in which respondents saw education as leading them away from the traditional versions of domestic roles and into more rewarding paid employment. The paper concludes that the reproduction of social roles is contested and that the extension of education for women has real potential for destabilising traditional notions of femininity.
Validation of a condition-specific measure for women having an abnormal screening mammography.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study is to assess the validity of a new condition-specific instrument measuring psychosocial consequences of abnormal screening mammography (PCQ-DK33). METHODS The draft version of the PCQ-DK33 was completed on two occasions by 184 women who had received an abnormal screening mammography and on one occasion by 240 women who had received a normal screening result. Item Response Theories and Classical Test Theories were used to analyze data. Construct validity, concurrent validity, known group validity, objectivity and reliability were established by item analysis examining the fit between item responses and Rasch models. RESULTS Six dimensions covering anxiety, behavioral impact, sense of dejection, impact on sleep, breast examination, and sexuality were identified. One item belonging to the dejection dimension had uniform differential item functioning. Two items not fitting the Rasch models were retained because of high face validity. A sick leave item added useful information when measuring side effects and socioeconomic consequences of breast cancer screening. Five "poor items" were identified and should be deleted from the final instrument. CONCLUSIONS Preliminary evidence for a valid and reliable condition-specific measure for women having an abnormal screening mammography was established. The measure includes 27 "good" items measuring different attributes of the same overall latent structure-the psychosocial consequences of abnormal screening mammography.
Can we fight social engineering attacks by social means? Assessing social salience as a means to improve phish detection

Phishing continues to be a problem for both individuals and organisations, with billions of dollars lost every year. We propose the use of nudges – more specifically social saliency nudges that aim to highlight important information to the user when evaluating emails. We used a signal detection analysis to assess the effects of both sender saliency (highlighting important fields from the sender) and receiver saliency (showing numbers of other users in receipt of the same email). Sender saliency improved phish detection but did not introduce any unwanted response bias. Users were asked to rate their confidence in their own judgements and these confidence scores were poorly calibrated with actual performance, particularly for phishing (as opposed to genuine) emails. We also examined the role of impulsive behaviour on phish detection, concluding that those who score highly on dysfunctional impulsivity are less likely to detect the presence of phishing emails.
Geographies of finance III

We are now not far short of a decade on from the start of the global financial crisis. By most reckonings, those regions most directly affected by the crisis, and most people living therein, are still struggling to recover from and to come to terms with that crisis. But there already exists a burgeoning literature on the next great financial crisis: on, that is to say, what has – or, more pointedly, has not – been done to prevent such a reoccurrence, to limit its likelihood, or to restrict its potential scope. This literature, and in particular its discussion of financial (re)regulation, is the subject of this article. Through a critical reading of the literature the article argues that positive (re)regulation has been inhibited by the power of the financial sector to stymie meaningful reform, and that this power assumes highly material geographical configurations. The article also emphasizes the profound influence of economic ideas on financial policy-making. One idea that perhaps needs thorough critical reconsideration, the article concludes, is that of financial regulation itself.
The Featherstone laboratory pH cycling model: a prospective, multi-site validation exercise.

PURPOSE To demonstrate the robustness of the Featherstone pH cycling model when tested in three independent laboratories and to evaluate the use of "non-inferiority" testing at those laboratories. METHODS The fundamental principles for the Featherstone laboratory pH cycling model to be an appropriate alternative to animal testing is that it must demonstrate equivalent accuracy to the "Gold Standard" (rat caries model) by: (1) providing a meaningful representation of the caries process; (2) demonstrating a proportionate response to fluoride dose (or concentration); (3) being able to show that clinically proven formulations perform similarly relative to the controls; and (4) differentiating products that have attenuated fluoride activity. RESULTS This cross-validation study confirmed the ability of the three independent laboratories to discriminate between various concentrations of fluoride-containing dentifrice formulations, demonstrated that clinically proven formulas perform as expected and identified an attenuated fluoride formulation (NaF/CaCO3 dentifrice - 1100 ppm NaF) as inferior compared to the 1100 ppm F (NaF/silica) positive control.
Perhaps There Is Accounting for Taste: Evaluating the Creativity of Products

Ratings on a creativity rating scale of students' designs of a hands-free mobile phone holder were compared for 2 sets of raters: experts (professional art teachers) and novices (visual art students). Reliabilities of total creativity scores were high for both groups, and interjudge consistency on total creativity scores, as well as on grades, was high among novices, but not as high among experts. Correlations between grades and total functional creativity scores within and across groups of raters (experts and novices) were highly significant. Scores on the scale resembled those yielded by assessments using grades and the scale did not yield better consistency among judges than conventional grades. Nonetheless, it provided a differentiated assessment of products that made it possible to explain the basis of experts' opinions and the reasons for disagreement, and to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of students' designs in a systematic and differentiated way.
A code morphing methodology to automate power analysis countermeasures

We introduce a general framework to automate the application of countermeasures against Differential Power Attacks aimed at software implementations of cryptographic primitives. The approach enables the generation of multiple versions of the code, to prevent an attacker from recognizing the exact point in time where the observed operation is executed and how such operation is performed. The strategy increases the effort needed to retrieve the secret key through hindering the formulation of a correct hypothetical consumption to be correlated with the power measurements. The experimental evaluation shows how a DPA attack against OpenSSL AES implementation on an industrial grade ARM-based SoC is hindered with limited performance overhead.
Self-evaluation and social comparison amongst adolescents with learning difficulties

Two studies are presented which examine self-evaluation in adolescents with learning difficulties and how these adolescents strategically protect their self-concept through the use of social comparison. Study one involved 145 adolescents with learning difficulties and the same number of non-disabled adolescents aged between 11 to 16 years. All adolescents completed Harter's 'Self Perception Profile for Children' (SPPC). No significant overall differences were found between the self-evaluations of the adolescents with learning difficulties and non-disabled adolescents. In addition, adolescents with learning difficulties strategically devalued less favourable comparison dimensions and valued more positive comparison attributes. Study two utilized a four condition between-groups design with a sample of 68 adolescents with learning difficulties. All participants completed the SPPC, but the availability of a social comparison group was systematically varied between conditions. The self-evaluations made by adolescents changed significantly when the social comparison group made available was altered. The findings are discussed with regard to their theoretical implications and in terms of inclusion policies for adolescents with learning difficulties.
Different Reliabilities at the Episode Level and that of the Final CCRT—A Rejoinder to Luborsky and Diguer

The Core Conflictual Relationship Theme (CCRT) method is one of the most thoroughly elaborated instruments in the field of quantifying relationship diagnosis. Its development not only fills a gap for clinicians and researchers, but it also represents an important innovative process for putting psychodynamic formulations into operation (cf. Schauenburg & Cierpka, 1994). The purpose of our two studies has been to contribute toward promoting the use of the CCRT method by simplifying the preparation of the material (video rating).
Z Ring as Executor of Bacterial Cell Division

It has become apparent that bacteria possess ancestors of the major eukaryotic cytoskeletal proteins. FtsZ, the ancestral homologue of tubulin, assembles into a cytoskeletal structure associated with cell division, designated the Z ring. Formation of the Z ring represents a major point of both spatial and temporal regulation of cell division. Here we discuss findings concerning the structure and the formation of the ring as well as its spatial and temporal regulation.
Thermal Property Measurement of Al2O3-Water Nanofluids

Fluids have been applied in the cooling in the most important industries including microelectronics, manufacturing, metrology, etc. With increasing thermal loads that require advances in cooling the new higher power output devices with faster speeds and smaller feature, the conventional heat transfer fluids, such as water, engine oil, ethylene glycol, etc., demonstrate the relative low heat transfer performance. The use of solid particles as an additive suspended in the base fluid is a potential alternative technique for the heat transfer enhancement, i.e. thermal conductivity of metallic or nonmetallic solids might have two orders of magnitude higher than the conventional fluids. The enhancement of thermal conductivity of conventional fluids with the suspension of solid particles, such as micrometer-sized particles, has been well known for more than 100 years (Choi, 1995). However, the conventional micrometer-sized particle liquid suspensions require high concentrations (>10%) of particles to achieve such an enhancement. Because they have the rheological and stability problems such as sedimentation, erosion, fouling, and pressure drop in flow channels, the fluids with the micrometer-sized particle have not been of interest for practical applications. The recent advance in materials technology has made it possible to produce nanometer-sized particles that can overcome these above problems. The innovative fluids suspended with nanometer-sized solid particles can change the transport and thermal properties of the base fluid, and make the fluid stable.
Peripheral oxytocin treatment ameliorates obesity by reducing food intake and visceral fat mass

Recent studies suggest that oxytocin (Oxt) is implicated in energy metabolism. We aimed to explore acute and sub-chronic effects of peripheral Oxt treatment via different routes on food intake and energy balance. Intraperitoneal (ip) injection of Oxt concentration-dependently decreased food intake in mice. Ip Oxt injection induced c-Fos expression in the hypothalamus and brain stem including arcuate nucleus (ARC), paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS). Subcutaneous (sc) injection of Oxt suppressed food intake in normal and high fat diet-induced obese (DIO) mice. Daily sc injection of Oxt for 17 days in DIO mice reduced food intake for 6 days and body weight for the entire treatment period and additional 9 days after terminating Oxt. Oxt infusion by sc implanted osmotic minipumps for 13 days in DIO mice reduced food intake, body weight, and visceral fat mass and adipocyte size. Oxt infusion also decreased respiratory quotient specifically in light phase, ameliorated fatty liver and glucose intolerance, without affecting normal blood pressure in DIO mice. These results demonstrate that peripheral Oxt treatment reduces food intake and visceral fat mass, and ameliorates obesity, fatty liver and glucose intolerance. Peripheral Oxt treatment provides a new therapeutic avenue for treating obesity and hyperphagia.
DNA TESTING FOR HAEMOCHROMATOSIS: DIAGNOSTIC, PREDICTIVE AND SCREENING IMPLICATIONS

Summary Since 1996, the identification of the HFE gene has enabled DNA testing for hereditary haemochromatosis (HH). The range of DNA testing available includes: (1) diagnostic, (2) predictive (also called presymptomatic testing) and (3) screening. Access to DNA testing has been facilitated by an Australian Medicare rebate, the first available for genetic disorders. Despite the availability of HFE DNA testing in HH, it remains necessary to interpret results in the context of the clinical picture. Traditional markers based on phenotype (transferrin saturation, ferritin and liver biopsy) are still required in some circumstances. We report our experience with HFE DNA testing using a semi‐automated approach, which allows multiplexing for the two common mutations (C282Y and H63D). Screening a cohort of g ‐thalassaemia major and sickle cell anaemia patients of predominantly Mediterranean origin showed that these individuals do not have the common C282Y mutation. This excluded C282Y as a factor in the pathogenesis of iron overload in these haemoglobinopathies. It also showed that the C282Y mutation is of limited value when investigating HH in certain ethnic groups. An Australian family studied illustrated the relative contribution of C282Y and H63D in iron overload. A recently reported third mutation (S65C) in the HFE gene was detected in a low frequency in the populations tested.Abbreviations: HH, hereditary haemochromatosis; C282Y, cysteine changing to tyrosine at amino acid 282; H63D, histidine changing to aspartic acid at amino acid 63; S65C, serine changing to cysteine at amino acid 65; HFE, hereditary haemochromatosis gene.
Robust excitation-based features for Automatic Speech Recognition

In this paper we investigate the use of noise-robust features characterizing the speech excitation signal as complementary features to the usually considered vocal tract based features for Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR). The proposed Excitation-based Features (EBF) are tested in a state-of-the-art Deep Neural Network (DNN) based hybrid acoustic model for speech recognition. The suggested excitation features expand the set of periodicity features previously considered for ASR, expecting that these features help in a better discrimination of the broad phonetic classes (e.g., fricatives, nasal, vowels, etc.). Our experiments on the AMI meeting transcription system showed that the proposed EBF yield a relative word error rate reduction of about 5% when combined with conventional PLP features. Further experiments led on Aurora4 confirmed the robustness of the EBF to both additive and convolutive noises, with a relative improvement of 4.3% obtained by combinining them with mel filter banks.
DERIVATION AND IMPLICATIONS OF A META‐ANALYTIC MATRIX INCORPORATING COGNITIVE ABILITY, ALTERNATIVE PREDICTORS, AND JOB PERFORMANCE

A variety of recent articles in the personnel selection literature have used analyses of meta-analytically derived matrices to draw general conclusions for the field. The purpose of this article is to construct a matrix that incorporates as complete information as possible on the relationships among cognitive ability measures, three sets of alternative predictors, and job performance, We build upon a starting matrix used by Schmitt, Rodgers, Chan, Sheppard, and Jennings (1997). Mean differences, by race, for each of the measures and the potential for adverse impact of predictor composites are also considered. We demonstrate that the use of alternative predictors alone to predict job performance (in the absence of cognitive ability) lowers the potential for adverse impact. However, in contrast to recent claims, adverse impact continues to occur at many commonly used selection ratios. Future researchers are encouraged to use our matrix and to expand upon it as new primary research becomes available. We also report and reaffirm many methodological lessons along the way, including the many judgment calls that appear in an effort of this magnitude and a reminder that the field could benefit from even greater conceptual care regarding what is labeled an “alternative predictor. ” Directions for future meta-analyses and for future primary research activities are also derived.
Fast Two-Sample Testing with Analytic Representations of Probability Measures

We propose a class of nonparametric two-sample tests with a cost linear in the sample size. Two tests are given, both based on an ensemble of distances between analytic functions representing each of the distributions. The first test uses smoothed empirical characteristic functions to represent the distributions, the second uses distribution embeddings in a reproducing kernel Hilbert space. Analyticity implies that differences in the distributions may be detected almost surely at a finite number of randomly chosen locations/frequencies. The new tests are consistent against a larger class of alternatives than the previous linear-time tests based on the (non-smoothed) empirical characteristic functions, while being much faster than the current state-of-the-art quadratic-time kernel-based or energy distance-based tests. Experiments on artificial benchmarks and on challenging real-world testing problems demonstrate that our tests give a better power/time tradeoff than competing approaches, and in some cases, better outright power than even the most expensive quadratic-time tests. This performance advantage is retained even in high dimensions, and in cases where the difference in distributions is not observable with low order statistics.
Anarchism and the Anti-Globalization Movement

Many among today's young radical activists, especially those at the center of the anti-globalization and anti-corporate movements, call themselves anarchists. But the intellectual/philosophical perspective that holds sway in these circles might be better described as an anarchist sensibility than as anarchism per se. Unlike the Marxist radicals of the sixties, who devoured the writings of Lenin and Mao, today's anarchist activists are unlikely to pore over the works of Bakunin. For contemporary young radical activists, anarchism means a decentralized organizational structure, based on affinity groups that work together on an ad hoc basis, and decision-making by consensus. It also means egalitarianism; opposition to all hierarchies; suspicion of authority, especially that of the state; and commitment to living according to one's values. Young radical activists, who regard themselves as anarchists, are likely to be hostile not only to corporations but to capitalism. Many envision a stateless society based on small, egalitarian communities. For some, however, the society of the future remains an open question. For them, anarchism is important mainly as an organizational structure and as a commitment to egalitarianism. It is a form of politics that revolves around the exposure of the truth rather than strategy. It is a politics decidedly in the moment.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
Follow-up Studies: Are They Worth The Trouble?

is hard to disagree with. However, it is apparent that few institutions of any kind systematically follow up their graduates unless they are required to do so by an external agent in much the same way that the NCATE standards have stimulated follow-up studies. It is the rare school, at any level, which has follow-up data on its graduates at hand. In spite of the pressure applied by NCATE on teacher education programs, violation of the standard calling for follow-up studies was cited as a weakness in 58% of the programs reviewed during 1979-a rate second only to the violation of the governance standards (Wheeler, 1980, p. 125). What might account for this apparent reluctance to study the outcomes of one’s own efforts? One possible explanation is that the anticipated effort, cost, and time requirements are too discouraging. Perhaps an expectation that the data will yield little that can be used in program planning is also a factor. Also, those responsible for programs might be apprehensive about the results such studies might yield.
Gaming Together: When an Imaginary World Affects Generalized Trust

ABSTRACT To disentangle the causal relationship between generalized trust and social experiences in a digitalized world, this article employs a three-wave, self-selected panel study following 533 players from the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG), World of Warcraft (WoW), over 10 months. Focusing on whether generalized trust can be shaped by the social experiences one makes throughout a lifetime, this study finds a strong relationship between joining or exiting a voluntary association-like environment within the game and changes in generalized trust. Starting to play together in voluntary association-like environments is positively related to increases in generalized trust, while exiting is associated with a decrease in generalized trust. Hence, contrary to other recent studies on associations’ ability to affect generalized trust, this study demonstrates effects on generalized trust when studying social encounters within an MMORPG. In other words, a social experience such as gaming together seems to affect generalized trust positively.