Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding Changes in Consumer Payment Habits - Do Mobile Payments and Electronic Invoices Attract Consumers?

Mobile payment services have, thus far, failed to entice consumers. An apparent conclusion is that these services have failed to meet consumers' payment needs. Deeper understanding of consumer adoption motivations is thus needed to be able to develop and launch mobile payment services successfully. Our paper seeks to find out if the generic technology adoption models are sufficient to explain factors consumers consider when they decide whether or not to adopt new payment services. In particular, we develop two models in the payment context. One of them models the determinants of the mobile payments services adoption while the other models the determinants of electronic invoicing adoption. Comparison of the model structures suggests that perceived ease of use seems to be the least common denominator for consumer adoption of these information technology based services while the context of technology adoption determines both the non-differentiating and the differentiating determinants of technology adoption
Idealized Two-Axis Model of Induction Machines under Rotor Fault

In this paper a simple two-axis model for induction machines (IMs) with electrical rotor faults is derived. Being of reasonably low differential order, it is suitable for mathematical analysis and can serve as a ground for fault detection and fault tolerant control of the IM. The modelling is performed by applying well established idealizing assumptions regarding the magnetic and electrical properties of the motor. Typical motor faults as broken rotor bars are taken into account. The model is validated against data collected from mass-produced industrial IMs. The validation shows very good agreement between simulations and experiment, for the fault considered
Computerized Detection of Pulmonary Nodules in Computed Tomography Images

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES.Interpretation of computed tomographic (CT) scans of the lungs is a time-consuming task that involves visual correlation of possible nodules in one section with those in contiguous sections to distinguish actual nodules from blood vessels. Thus, the authors are developing automated methods to detect nodules on CT images of the thorax. METHODS.The computerized technique uses various computer-vision techniques and a priori information of the morphologic characteristics of pulmonary nodules. In each section, the external thoracic wall and lung boundaries are detected, and the features within the lung boundaries are subjected to gray-level thresholding operations. By analyzing the relationships between features arising at different threshold levels with respect to their shape, size, and location, each feature is assigned a likelihood of being a nodule or a vessel. Features in adjacent sections are compared to resolve ambiguous features. Detected nodule candidates are displayed in three dimensions within the lung. RESULTS.The system provided a sensitivity of 94% for nodule detection and an average of 1.25 false-positive results per case. CONCLUSIONS.Continued development of an automated method for detecting pulmonary nodules in CT scans is expected to aid radiologists in the task of locating nodules in three dimensions.
Do Shattered Worldviews Lead to Complicated Grief? Prospective and Longitudinal Analyses

Theories of complicated grief (CG) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) posit a central etiological and maintaining role for global beliefs about the world (Janoff-Bulman, 1992). In two studies using separate bereaved samples, we examined these theoretical postulates. Study 1 included prospective data on bereaved spouses and nonbereaved controls at baseline and 6-months post-loss. High pre-loss justice beliefs and acceptance of death prospectively predicted lower depression in bereaved but not control participants, providing evidence for buffering effects. Study 2 used longitudinal data on bereaved spouses and parents (4- and 18-months post-loss), and matched nonbereaved controls. In comparisons to matched controls, bereaved persons showed more benevolent but less meaningful worldviews, and violent or sudden loss was not associated with negative worldviews. In contrast to theoretical proposals, early benevolence, and meaningfulness beliefs showed no longitudinal relation to later PTSD, grief, and depr.
Effects of a Multicomponent Life-Style Intervention on Weight, Glycemic Control, Depressive Symptoms, and Renal Function in Low-Income, Minority Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: Results of the Community Approach to Lifestyle Modification for Diabetes Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective Few interventions have combined life-style and psychosocial approaches in the context of Type 2 diabetes management. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a multicomponent behavioral intervention on weight, glycemic control, renal function, and depressive symptoms in a sample of overweight/obese adults with Type 2 diabetes and marked depressive symptoms. Methods A sample of 111 adults with Type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to a 1-year intervention (n = 57) or usual care (n = 54) in a parallel groups design. Primary outcomes included weight, glycosylated hemoglobin, and Beck Depression Inventory II score. Estimated glomerular filtration rate served as a secondary outcome. All measures were assessed at baseline and 6 and 12 months after randomization by assessors blind to randomization. Latent growth modeling was used to examine intervention effects on each outcome. Results The intervention resulted in decreased weight (mean [M] = 0.322 kg, standard error [SE] = 0.124 kg, p = .010) and glycosylated hemoglobin (M = 0.066%, SE = 0.028%, p = .017), and Beck Depression Inventory II scores (M = 1.009, SE = 0.226, p < .001), and improved estimated glomerular filtration rate (M = 0.742 ml·min−1·1.73 m−2, SE = 0.318 ml·min−1·1.73 m−2, p = .020) each month during the first 6 months relative to usual care. Conclusions Multicomponent behavioral interventions targeting weight loss and depressive symptoms as well as diet and physical activity are efficacious in the management of Type 2 diabetes. Trial Registration: This study is registered at Clinicaltrials.gov ID: NCT01739205.
Treated like adults: 14–16‐year‐olds in Further Education

This paper summarises the results of a Learning & Skills Development Agency‐funded research project that focused on the pedagogy of teaching younger learners in English Further Education colleges. It sets out the background and rationale for the research, the methods used, and the main findings. It concludes by suggesting some features of best practice and sets out a tentative typology of school students as an aid to selecting those most likely to benefit from attending college as part of their education.
Gross and ultrastructural development of the saccule of the toadfish Opsanus tau

The development of the saccule of the inner ear in the toadfish was studied using light and scanning electron microscopy. Development was studied from the early embryo (2–3 days postfertilization), when the otocyst first forms, to the early‐aged juvenile when the development of the inner ear approximates that of the adult (4 weeks postfertilization). The ultrastructural features examined included the morphological sequence of ciliary bundle growth, the development of orientation patterns of the ciliary bundles, and the relation of the ultrastructural development to overall gross development.
An Awkward Disparity between BLEU / RIBES Scores and Human Judgements in Machine Translation

Automatic evaluation of machine translation (MT) quality is essential in developing high quality MT systems. Despite previous criticisms, BLEU remains the most popular machine translation metric. Previous studies on the schism between BLEU and manual evaluation highlighted the poor correlation between MT systems with low BLEU scores and high manual evaluation scores. Alternatively, the RIBES metric—which is more sensitive to reordering—has shown to have better correlations with human judgements, but in our experiments it also fails to correlate with human judgements. In this paper we demonstrate, via our submission to the Workshop on Asian Translation 2015 (WAT 2015), a patent translation system with very high BLEU and RIBES scores and very poor human judgement scores.
An improved directiveness scale

The concept of directiveness is used by researchers in several areas of psychology but the scale most frequently used to measure it (the Ray scale) is sometimes rather low in reliability. On one such occasion the Ray scale was administered along with the Lorr and More scale. A hybrid scale replacing some Ray scale items with Lorr and More scale items was found to be much more reliable. Peer-rating validation studies showed the hybrid scale also to be highly valid. Directiveness was operationally defined as the aggressive subset of dominant behaviours.
SCI-FI: Shape-Changing Interfaces, Future Interactions

Shape-changing interfaces (SCI) are rapidly evolving and creating new interaction paradigms in human-computer interaction (HCI). However, empirical research in SCI is still bound to present technological limitations and existing prototypes can only show a limited number of potential applications for shape change. In this paper we attempt to broaden the pool of examples of what shape change may be good for by investigating SCI using Science Fiction (Sci-Fi) movies. We look at 340 Sci-Fi movies to identify instances of SCI and analyze their behavioral patterns and the context in which they are used. The result of our analysis presents four emerging behavioral patterns of shape change: (1) Reconfiguration, (2) Transformation, (3) Adaptation, and (4) Physicalization. We report a selection of SCI instances from Sci-Fi movies, which show how these behavioral patterns model functionalities of shape change and what they can do. Finally, we conclude by providing a discussion on how our results can inspire the design of SCI.
Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems ( PACIS ) 6-18-2013 Product Attitude Formation on Online Review Sites with Social Networks

The emerging social networking technology demonstrates as a promising technology that fosters user interaction and information communication. This research attempts to investigate how product attitude forms on online review sites with social networks. The implementation of social networking technology on online review sites can challenge our prior understanding about the weak tie assumption of online reviews. Building upon the literature on process theories of attitude formation and social network perspective, we develop a theoretical model to delineate how perceptions developed from social networking activities and information processing behavior can lead to the formation of consumers’ product attitude. An online survey (n=297) on a Chinese online review site was conducted to empirically test the research model. The findings confirmed all our proposed hypotheses. It highlights that social networking technology is capable of improving the influence of online reviews. Discussions on theoretical and practical implications are provided.
Jurors' Judgments of Business Liability in Tort Cases: Implications for the Litigation Explosion

Criticisms of the civil jury, including charges that the jury is biased against business, have been central to debates over the litigation explosion and demands for tort reform. This article seeks to inform these ongoing controversies by examining tort jurors' accounts of how they reached decisions in cases with business parties. Interviews and questionnaire data showed that jurors were skeptical of plaintiff tort claims against businesses, organized their accounts more on the actions and motivations of plaintiffs than on the responsibilities of business, and spoke often of the litigation crisis and the importance of limiting awards.
The formation of materialist and postmaterialist values

Abstract Inglehart's contentions regarding the adoption of materialist and postmaterialist values have provoked a lively debate. Inglehart's socialization and scarcity hypotheses together emphasize the enduring influence of the economic conditions during early adulthood. His more recent work stresses “formative security” within the family of origin. This paper models the formation of materialist and postmaterialist values. I distinguish five general influences on materialist and postmaterialist values: parental socialization, formative security within the family of origin, societal (or economic) formative security on reaching adulthood, education, and contemporary influences. These influences are modeled using parent–child data which include measures of values for both generations. Aspects of each of these general influences affects values. Socialization experiences within the family of origin, especially parental values, have the greatest influence. In addition aspects of the other general influences have substantial but differing effects on materialist and postmaterialist values. Finally, I discuss the implications of these findings for an expanded theory on the formation of materialist and postmaterialist values.
Regulation of diversity through discipline: Practices of inclusion and exclusion in boxing

Boxing gyms in the Netherlands, which were traditionally bastions of ‘white’ men, have become more and more diverse. Since boxers with different ethnic backgrounds and women have joined boxing clubs, trainers need to manage this emerging diversity in their gyms. This empirical study of a gym in the Netherlands, where full participation of women is the norm, attempts to gain insights about practices of and experiences in the regulation of social inclusion and exclusion. We explore points of connection between Foucault’s conceptualization of regulation and disciplinary techniques and the regulatory and embodied practices of boxing. In this case study, observations and interviews were conducted to explore how trainers address diversity of members in training sessions and at matches. The results show how the participation of male and female boxers with different ethnic backgrounds was normalized by trainers. The gym, with a traditional hierarchical and patriarchal culture, enabled trainers to use disciplinary techniques to normalize their construction of what is normal in the gym. These trainers are not all-powerful, however, and had to negotiate their construction of boxers in interaction with others. The use of disciplinary techniques produced both uniformity and differentiation and, through an on-going process of negotiation, they defined who would be included or excluded.
Differences in HIV RNA levels before the initiation of antiretroviral therapy among 1864 individuals with known HIV-1 seroconversion dates

Objective: To assess the effects of sex, risk group, age at and year of seroconversion (SC), and presentation during acute infection on HIV RNA trends before antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. Methods: Multiple HIV RNA measurements from 1864 individuals with reliably estimated dates of SC, aged ⩾ 15 years at SC were studied using random effects models. Models were adjusted for selective HIV RNA data truncation due to ART initiation or AIDS development and for HIV RNA quantification assay. Results: HIV RNA levels declined precipitously during the first 10 months after SC followed by a slow increase. Women infected heterosexually and through injecting drug use, had an average 34% [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.3–56%] and 46% (95% CI, 17–66%) lower HIV RNA load respectively, compared to men in the same risk group. Among men, those infected heterosexually and by injecting drug use had on average 56% (95% CI, 36–69%) lower HIV RNA levels than homosexual men. Older subjects tended to have higher viral levels. There was no evidence that differences by sex, risk or age group diminished over time, but follow-up was mostly before CD4 cell count had fallen below 200 × 106 cells/l. Conclusions: HIV RNA levels at the same stage of HIV-1 infection differ significantly by sex, risk group and age at SC. Given the lack of evidence of a survival difference by sex or risk group prior to initiation of effective therapy, further research on differential effects of virus load on treatment-free disease progression is needed, before a conclusion about considering these factors for ART initiation is drawn.
The topics and roles of the situational code-switching of an English-French bilingual

ABSTRACT Most studies of child bilingualism (Döpke, 1992; Fantini, 1985; Genishi, 1999; Gumperz, 1977, 1982; McClure, 1977; Myers-Scotton, 1993a; Romaine, 1994) concern children raised in a bilingual language community. The present study concerns a four-year-old child in an English-speaking community raised in an environment where his mother only spoke French to him. Two questions were raised: Can a child raised by a non-native parent produce situational code-switching triggered by topic changes? Are there additional topics or roles to add to the previous literature that trigger a young English-French bilingual child to code-switch? The data in this study showed that the child produced situational code-switching. Two novel hypotheses for code-switching were also found: leadership and expression of emotions and sensations. This case-study is important for the field of code-switching in the environment of a non-native parent raising a child in a second language.
Mean Square Stability for Stochastic Jump Linear Systems via Optimal Transport

In this note, we provide a unified framework for the mean square stability of stochastic jump linear systems via optimal transport. The Wasserstein metric known as an optimal transport, that assesses the distance between probability density functions enables the stability analysis. Without any assumption on the underlying jump process, this Wasserstein distance guarantees the mean square stability for general stochastic jump linear systems, not necessarily for Markovian jump. The validity of the proposed methods are proved by recovering already-known stability conditions under this framework.
Autophagy enhancement contributes to the synergistic effect of vitamin D in temozolomide-based glioblastoma chemotherapy

Temozolomide (TMZ), an alkylating agent, is recommended as the initial treatment for high-grade glioblastoma. TMZ is widely used, but its short half-life and the frequency of tumor resistance limit its therapeutic efficacy. In the present study, the anticancer effect of vitamin D (VD) combined with TMZ upon glioblastoma was determined, and the underlying mechanism of this effect was identified. Through cell viability, clonogenic and wound healing assays, the current study demonstrated that treatment of a C6 glioblastoma cell line with TMZ and VD resulted in significantly increased in vitro antitumor effects compared with either VD or TMZ alone. Autophagy, hypothesized to be the dominant mechanism underlying TMZ-based tumor cell death, was maximally activated in TMZ and VD co-treated C6 cells. This was demonstrated by ultrastructural observations of autophagosomes, increased size and number of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) puncta and increased conversion of LC3-I to LC3-II. However, the extent of apoptosis was not significantly different between cells treated with TMZ and VD and those treated with TMZ alone. Addition of the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine markedly inhibited the anticancer effect of TMZ and VD treatment, indicating that the chemosensitizing effect of VD in TMZ-based glioblastoma therapy is generated through enhancement of cytotoxic autophagy. TMZ and VD co-treatment also significantly inhibited tumor progression and prolonged survival duration in rat glioblastoma orthotopic xenograft models when compared with TMZ treatment alone. These in vivo results are concordant with the aforementioned in vitro results, together revealing that the combined use of TMZ and VD exerts synergistic antitumor effects on rat models of glioblastoma and may represent an effective therapeutic strategy.
Subject domain differences in secondary school teachers' attitudes towards grouping pupils by ability

Previous research has revealed that teachers' attitudes to ability grouping are influenced by the type of ability grouping adopted in the school where they teach. This research aimed to compare the attitudes of teachers of different subjects teaching low, high or mixed ability classes in years 7 to 9 in 45 secondary schools. Over 1500 teachers from 45 secondary schools, with a range of subject specialisms completed a questionnaire which elicited their responses to statements of beliefs about ability grouping and its effects. Teachers of mathematics and modern foreign languages were more in favour of structured ability grouping than those teaching English and humanities. Science, arts and PE, and ICT, design and business studies teachers expressed intermediate attitudes. Attitudes were determined in part by conceptions of the nature of the subject but also by the type of ability groupings adopted by the school in which they taught. In taking decisions about the type of ability grouping to adopt consideration needs to be given to the nature of the subject matter to be taught and the attitudes of the teachers who teach that subject.