Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Exploration of the Relationship between Technostress, Employee Engagement and Job Design from the Nigerian Banking Employee’s Perspective

The introduction of technology in the banking sector has induced benefits to this sector. ICTs has facilitated the delivery of efficient and reliable banking services. Despite all the benefits associated with the use of technology, organizational researchers have argued that technology is a double-edged sword because its ability to induce stress in its users, this kind of anxiety is technostress, a strain that is caused by the lack of knowledge of individuals to cope and adapt to the use of technologies. The increasing use of technologies has resulted in work-family conflict, role-overload, work-overload, and multi-tasking. Additionally, technologies have resulted in consistent task reengineering, which has created knowledge gaps for employees. Past studies on technostress have demonstrated that can affect employees, performances, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. However, the association of technostress with employee engagement and job design has not been established. Hence, the objective of this current study is to explore the association of job design with technostress and employee and the impact of technostress on employee engagement. Using a purposive sampling method, a total of 319 Participants were recruited from front desk employees of the Nigerian commercial banks and data has been analyzed using smart PLS. The findings of the study show a significant positive relationship between job design and technostress and positive relationship between technostress and employee engagement contrary to the negative relationship proposed based on the stress and engagement literature is an indication that job design alone may not reduce the impact of technostress if other organizational-stressors are not addressed. While technostress does not reduce employee engagement instead a moderate level of stress can serve as a motivator, but extreme stress can have a damaging impact on employees and the organization. Equally, the study also found a positive association between job design and employee engagement, while technostress has a mediating effect on job design and employee engagement.
‘Mindreading’ from primary science: using concept cartoons to develop theory of mind in 5–6-year-olds – a pilot study

ABSTRACT Building on Woolman’s [2017. ‘Developing 5–6 Year olds’ Social Competence using Concept Cartoons: A Neurocognitive Approach. ’ Journal of Applied Psychology and Social Science 3 (2): 90–123. Retrieved from http://194.81. 189.19/ojs/index.php/apass/article/viewFile/437/557] findings of Concept Cartoons (CCs) positively affecting aspects of social competence, I explore the effects of CCs in primary Science lessons by teachers who have no experience with CCs on Theory of Mind (ToM) development in 5–6-year-olds. Two Year 1 teachers took part in a mixed methods pre-test-post-test quasi-experimental design with twenty 5–6-year-olds taking part in a metacognition and false-belief tasks and teachers taking part in semi-structured interviews. Significant findings were found in response latencies in favour of the experimental group. Future research would benefit from a longitudinal study on the effects of CCs on ToM development in young children.
Restoration of natural killer activity in hepatocellular carcinoma by treatment with antibody against granulin-epithelin precursor

Impairment of natural killer (NK) cell activity is an important mechanism of tumor immunoevasion. We have previously shown that expression of granulin-epithelin precursor (GEP) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells rendered the cells resistant to NK cell immunosurveillance. Here, we examined whether targeting GEP could rescue NK activity in HCC patients. The current study demonstrated that quantities and activities of NK cells were significantly lower in HCC patients compared with healthy individuals, and were negatively correlated with GEP levels in HCC cells. NK cells demonstrated enhanced expression of the stimulatory receptors natural-killer group 2, member D (NKG2D) and CD69, increased secretion of IFN-γ and perforin, and cytotoxicity against HCC cells upon GEP suppression. Opposite phenotypes of NK cells were observed when GEP was overexpressed in HCC cells. Importantly, GEP blockage by monoclonal antibody A23 restored NK activity in HCC patients and sensitized HCC cells to NK cytotoxicity. Furthermore, A23 induced NK-mediated antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity against HCC. In summary, the activity of NK cells in HCC was impaired by GEP expression, which could be rescued by GEP antibody. This study provides new insight for treatments targeting GEP to boost NK activity in HCC patients.
Book Reviews

HRM and Performance: Achieving Long Term ViabilityJaap Paauwe, Oxford: Oxford University Press (2004), 274 pp. £24.99 (pb)Reviewed by Stephen ProcterUniversity of NewcastleRestoring the American Dream: A Working Families Agenda for AmericaThomas A. Kochan, Cambridge: MIT Press (2005), 272 pp. $27.95/£18.95Reviewed by Jeff HymanUniversity of AberdeenBooks reviewed:Thomas A. Kochan, Cambridge: MIT Press (2005), 272 pp. $27.95/£18.95Reviewed by Jeff HymanUniversity of AberdeenRestoring the American Dream: A Working Families Agenda for AmericaJaap Paauwe, Oxford: Oxford University Press (2004), 274 pp. £24.99 (pb)Reviewed by Stephen ProcterUniversity of NewcastleHRM and Performance: Achieving Long Term Viability
Imaging Evidence of Diabetic Choroidopathy In Vivo: Angiographic Pathoanatomy and Choroidal-Enhanced Depth Imaging

Purpose To describe the pathoanatomy of diabetic choroidopathy (DC) in pre-diagnosed diabetic retinopathy (DR) cases and to provide angiographic and optical evidence for DC using indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) and enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (EDI SD-OCT). Methods A retrospective analysis of 80 eyes from 40 DR patients was conducted. In Group One, choroidal vascular abnormalities were evaluated by comparing angiographic findings from simultaneous ICGA with those from fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA). In Group Two, EDI SD-OCT was used to evaluate the subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and define the choroid boundary in order to acquire the bilateral and symmetric choroidal area (CA). Data were then analyzed by Image Pro Plus 6.0. Results In Group One, choroidal abnormalities that were evident using ICGA but not FFA included early hypofluorescent spots in 47 eyes (75.81%), late hyperfluorescent spots in 37 eyes (59.68%), and late choroidal non-perfusion regions in 32 eyes (51.61%). In particular, a significant difference between proliferative DR (PDR) in 17 of 23 eyes (73.91%) and non-PDR in 16 of 39 eyes (41.03%) was observed in late choroidal non-perfusion regions. Eighteen of 31 eyes (58.06%) also exhibited “inverted inflow phenomena. ” In Group Two, both the SFCT and CA of eyes with diabetic macular edema and serous macular detachment were significantly greater than those in the other eyes. The CA in panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) treated cases was also greater than that in non-PRP treated cases. Conclusions Early hypofluorescent spots, late choroidal non-perfusion regions, inverted inflow phenomena, higher SFCT, and larger CA are qualitative and quantitative indexes for DC. Moreover, the late choroidal non-perfusion region is a risk factor for DC with DR. Our study suggests that the supplemental use of ICGA and EDI SD-OCT with FFA is a better choice for DR patients.
Factors determining gaps in the distribution of a small carnivore, the common genet (Genetta genetta), in central Spain

We studied the pattern of distribution of the common genet (Genetta genetta) in areas in mountains and plains of central Spain, in the middle of the range of the species. We evaluated the role of temperature, rainfall, and habitat features in determining the ecological limits of genet distribution. Genets were very scarce on plateaux and the upper parts of the mountains, but were widely distributed in lower mountain areas. Genets were present in areas with abundant shrub cover, high mean of the mean minimum temperature and high mean of mean winter temperatures. Sur- vey routes at the same altitude (<1000 m) in the mountains (genets abundant) and on the plateaux (genets very scarce) also differed in some of these variables, with low values on the plateaux for shrub cover, mean of the mean minimum temperatures, mean of the mean winter temperatures, and annual rainfall. Genets originated in Africa, therefore they are probably ill-adapted (morphologically and physiologically) for the cold conditions predominating in most of central Spain. Their preference for shrubby habitats may be linked to a greater availability of food and low risk of predation. Intermediate levels of rainfall may be correlated with higher temperatures, the key factor hypothesized to affect the distribution of this species. The distribution of the common genet fits a multimodal model, with peaks (presence) and valleys (absence) in the middle of its range, indicating that location in a particular part of the range is not a prior indicator of habitat suitability for the species.
Strategic alliances as a source of early-stage seed capital in technology-based, entrepreneurial firms

A significant gap exists in early stage seed capital for technology based new ventures. The article reports the results of a survey of embryonic firms which received significant amounts of their initial capital from strategic partners. High levels of satisfaction with the alliance were reported by the capital recipients and the alliances tended to evolve into long term relationships. The prescriptions from the normative literature on alliance formation and operation appear mostly valid in the experiences of the surveyed firms.
Flexible product line engineering with a virtual platform

Cloning is widely used for creating new product variants. While it has low adoption costs, it often leads to maintenance problems. Long term reliance on cloning is discouraged in favor of systematic reuse offered by product line engineering (PLE) with a central platform integrating all reusable assets. Unfortunately, adopting an integrated platform requires a risky and costly migration. However, industrial experience shows that some benefits of an integrated platform can be achieved by properly managing a set of cloned variants. In this paper, we propose an incremental and minimally invasive PLE adoption strategy called virtual platform. Virtual platform covers a spectrum of strategies between ad-hoc clone and own and PLE with a fully-integrated platform divided into six governance levels. Transitioning to a governance level requires some effort and it provides some incremental benefits. We discuss tradeoffs among the levels and illustrate the strategy on an example implementation.
Agreement attraction in native and nonnative speakers of German

ABSTRACT Second language speakers often struggle to apply grammatical constraints such as subject–verb agreement. One hypothesis for this difficulty is that it results from problems suppressing syntactically unlicensed constituents in working memory. We investigated which properties of these constituents make them more likely to elicit errors: their grammatical distance to the subject head or their linear distance to the verb. We used double modifier constructions (e.g., the smell of the stables of the farmers), where the errors of native speakers are modulated by the linguistic relationships between the nouns in the subject phrase: second plural nouns, which are syntactically and semantically closer to the subject head, elicit more errors than third plural nouns, which are linearly closer to the verb (2nd-3rd-noun asymmetry). In order to dissociate between grammatical and linear distance, we compared embedded and coordinated modifiers, which were linearly identical but differed in grammatical distance. Using an attraction paradigm, we showed that German native speakers and proficient Russian speakers of German exhibited similar attraction rates and that their errors displayed a 2nd-3rd-noun asymmetry, which was more pronounced in embedded than in coordinated constructions. We suggest that both native and second language learners prioritize linguistic structure over linear distance in their agreement computations.
Classification of Single and Multiple Disturbances in Electric Signals

This paper discusses and presents a different perspective for classifying single and multiple disturbances in electric signals, such as voltage and current ones. Basically, the principle of divide to conquer is applied to decompose the electric signals into what we call primitive signals or components from which primitive patterns can be independently recognized. A technique based on such concept is introduced to demonstrate the effectiveness of such idea. This technique decomposes the electric signals into three main primitive components. In each primitive component, few high-order-statistics- (HOS-) based features are extracted. Then, Bayes' theory-based techniques are applied to verify the ocurrence or not of single or multiple disturbances in the electric signals. The performance analysis carried out on a large number of data indicates that the proposed technique outperforms the performance attained by the technique introduced by He and Starzyk. Additionally, the numerical results verify that the proposed technique is capable of offering interesting results when it is applied to classify several sets of disturbances if one cycle of the main frequency is considered, at least.
White lies: a racial history of the (post)truth

ABSTRACT In the aftermath of the 2016 election of President Trump, a veritable cottage industry of opinion pieces, blogs, and articles emerged overnight, most of which seemed to agree that only the post-truth could explain how a racist, misogynistic, neo-nationalist member of the economic elite could win a presidential election. This article, in contrast, is inspired by Barbara Christian’s injunction that we question why a given statement, concept, or theory is now acceptable when before it was not. Operating in this spirit, we critique post-truth critics for neglecting the material tradition of ideological criticism in favor of epistemological explanations for understanding post-truth literature; we then offer two case studies—American drug policy and housing policy—to illustrate the racial amnesia required for claiming that only now do we live in a post-truth era.
Finite-State Models for Computer Assisted Translation

Current methodologies for automatic translation cannot be expected to produce high quality translations. However, some techniques based on these methodologies can increase the productivity of human translators. The basis of one of these methodologies are finite-state transducers, which are adequate models for computer assisted translation. These models have proved its efficiency in many pattern recognition and artificial intelligence tasks such as speech recognition, handwriting recognition and machine translation for specific domains. These finite-state models present some advantages. On the one hand, finite-state models can be learnt from bilingual corpus to infer transducers. On the other hand, there are well-known and efficient algorithms to perform the parse of the best translation according to these models (e.g. Viterbi search). In this paper, the concept of interactive search will be introduced along with some efficient techniques that solve the problem of producing a translation given a sentence in the source language and a prefix (from the output sentence) typed by the user. Needless to say that this system must run under real-time constraints to be useful for human translators. This approach has been tested on a corpus of printer manuals and the first results reflect that human translators would only need to type the 25% of the characters of the whole translated text, increasing in this way their throughput and reducing their effort.
Parental Participation in Juvenile Justice Institutions: Parents’ Perspectives on Facilitating and Hindering Factors

abstract Background: Participation of parents during their adolescent’s detention is important for achieving positive treatment outcomes for youths and their families. To improve parental participation, insight in facilitating or hindering factors is necessary. To this end, we studied the perspectives of parents of adolescents detained in two juvenile justice institutions in the Netherlands. Methods: Data were collected from 19 purposefully selected parents through semi-structured interviewing. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and imported into ATLAS.ti where data were coded and analyzed. Results: Parental participation is influenced by a variety of factors that could be categorized based on the following themes: (1) practical facilitating or obstructing factors; (2) parent-related emotional and mental factors; and (3) factors concerning issues of the parent-adolescent relationship. Discussion: Insight into the factors which facilitate and obstruct participation might help JJI staff understand differences in parental participation. This may enable them to tailor solutions which would improve parental participation during their adolescent’s detention.
Practical Dynamic Searchable Encryption with Small Leakage

In this paper we revisit the DSSE problem. We propose the first DSSE scheme that achieves the best of both worlds, i.e., both small leakage and efficiency. In particular, our DSSE scheme leaks significantly less information than any other previous DSSE construction and supports both updates and searches in sublinear time in the worst case, maintaining at the same time a data structure of only linear size. We finally provide an implementation of our construction, showing its practical efficiency.
Social Diversity and Bridging Identity

We investigate within a model of cultural transmission how policies or shocks that affect social diversity within a population affect social cohesion and segregation. We develop the concept of ‘bridging identity’, an individual trait that (i) positively affects utility in culturally diverse social groups but is immaterial in homogeneous groups and (ii) is fostered in those born in culturally diverse social groups but not in those born in homogeneous groups. We show that medium levels of immigration lead to higher bridging identity in the population; and, for a given immigration target, social segregation is decreasing in the time allowed for achieving this target. If the level and pace of immigration are attuned to existing levels of bridging identity, it is possible to sustain, for the long run, social groups that are culturally diverse. This contrasts with Schelling’s models of residential segregation that typically lead to increasing segregation over time.
Relating Self-Complexity to Coping and Adaptation with Chinese College Students: A New Measurement Perspective

Research into self-complexity has been hampered by problems with its measurement. The present study was designed to test the generality of Western findings about self-complexity and improve the measurement and our understanding of this construct by examining the relationships of four measures of self-complexity to coping and psychological adaptation with 347 Chinese college students. A new measure, the Self-Complexity Task was developed to obtain the number of self-aspects and the average distinction among self-aspects separately, and was employed in parallel to Linville’s H measure as the overlap among self-aspects in terms of their descriptive traits. As found in Western cultures, the positive correlation between the H statistic and overlap supports the position that H is not an appropriate measure of self-complexity. Among the four measures, the average distinction is the most powerful indicator of self-complexity in terms of its relationship with coping and adaptation variables in the sample of Chinese college students. Although higher average distinction implies the use of more effective coping strategies, it may be the latter which directly affects adaptation in the long run. Implications of these findings are discussed for future research of self-complexity from a cross-cultural perspective.
Gender-Related Effect of Sodium Dichloroacetate on the Number of Hassall's Corpuscles and RNA NKCC1 Expression in Rat Thymus

The aim was to investigate the effect of dichloroacetate (DCA) on thymus weight, Hassall's corpuscle number (HCs), and NKCC1 RNA expression in Wistar rats aged 4–5 weeks. They were investigated in the controls and DCA-treated gonad-intact and castrated males and females. The treatment lasted 4 weeks with DCA 200 mg/kg/day. At the end of the experiment, rat thymus was weighted, and its lobe was taken for the expression of NKCC1 RNA determined by the PCR method and of Hassall's corpuscles by immunohistochemistry. DCA caused a thymus weight decrease in DCA-treated gonad-intact rats of both genders as compared with their controls (p < 0.05), and no such impact was found in castrated DCA-treated males and females. DCA caused an increase of the HCs in gonad-intact males (p < 0.05), and no such increase in the DCA-treated gonad-intact females was found. There was gender-related difference in the HCs when comparing DCA-treated gonad-intact males and females: males showed significantly higher HCs (p < 0.05); no gender-related differences were found in the castrated DCA-treated groups. The Slc12a2 gene RNA expression level was found to be significantly decreased only in gonad-intact and in castrated DCA-treated males. The authors discuss the gender-related DCA effects on the thymus.
Retinal removal up‐regulates cannabinoid CB1 receptors in the chick optic tectum

The endocannabinoid system has been implicated in several neurobiological processes, including neurodegeneration and neuroprotection. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of unilateral retinal ablation on the expression of the cannabinoid receptor subtype 1 (CB1) at both protein and mRNA levels in the optic tectum of the adult chick brain. After different survival times postlesion (2–30 days), the chick brains were subjected to immunohistochemical, immunoblotting, and real‐time PCR procedures to evaluate CB1 expression. TUNEL and Fluoro‐Jade B were used to verify the possible occurrence of cell death, and immunostaining for the microtubule‐associated protein MAP‐2 was performed to verify possible dendritic remodeling after lesions. No cell death could be observed in the deafferented tectum, at least up to 30 days postlesion, although Fluoro‐Jade B could reveal degenerating axons and terminals. Retinal ablation seems to generate an increase of CB1 protein in the optic tectum and other retinorecipient visual areas, which paralleled an increase in MAP‐2 staining. On the other hand, CB1 mRNA levels were not changed after retinal ablation. Our results reveal that CB1 expression in visual structures of the adult chick brain may be negatively regulated by the retinal innervation. The increase of CB1 receptor expression observed after retinal removal indicates that these receptors are not presynaptic in retinal axons projecting to the tectum and suggests a role of the cannabinoid system in plasticity processes ensuing after lesions. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.