Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SNS use, social capital and psychological well-being during life transition: a survey of mainland China students in Hong Kong

This study investigates the SNS use of overseas students, and its impact on social capital and adjustment to life transition. By using the concept of social capital, this study tends to examine its role in connecting SNS use and psychological well-being in new environment. A survey of 221 mainland China students studying in Hong Kong showed that social searching on SNS positively predicted the amount of bridging social capital. Public interaction on SNS was positively associated with both bridging social capital and bonding social capital. Overseas students with high levels in both types of social capital were more likely to be satisfied with new environment. After high bonding social capital were established, whether bridging social capital was high made a significant difference in life satisfaction among overseas students. The implications of SNS use, social capital and psychological well-being are also discussed.
Relationship between Market Orientation Culture and Business Performance

The main objective of the present study is to investigate the relationship between culture of market orientation and business performance in enterprises of conversion industries in Golestan province of Iran. Research method is descriptive –survey. Statistical population of this research includes managers and experts of conversion Industries Company in Golestan province that have been selected by simple random sampling. A sample size of 440 statistical populations by using Morgan was determined 205 individuals. In this study, in order to secondary data collection was used library method and in order to secondary data collection were used the field method with two questionnaires. In inferential statistics to analyze data was used the Spearman correlation coefficient test by using SPSS statistical software. Research findings show that there is significant relationship between market orientation culture and business performance of company.
Developing competency models to promote integrated human resource practices

Today, competencies are used in many facets of human resource management, ranging from individual selection, development, and performance management to organizational strategic planning. By incorporating competencies into job analysis methodologies, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has developed robust competency models that can form the foundation for each of these initiatives. OPM has placed these models into automated systems to ensure access for employees, human resources professionals, and managers. Shared access to the data creates a shared frame of reference and a common language of competencies that have provided the basis for competency applications in public sector agencies. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Strategies for petroleum exploration based on Bayesian Networks: a case study

The paper presents a new approach for modeling important geological elements, such as reservoir, trap and source, in a unified statistical model. This joint modeling of these geological variables is useful for reliable prospect evaluation, and provides a framework for consistent decision making under uncertainty. A Bayesian Network, involving different kinds of dependency structures, is used to model the correlation within the various geological elements, and to couple the elements. Based on the constructed network, an optimal sequential exploration strategy is established via dynamic programming. This strategy is useful for selecting the first prospect to explore, and which decisions to make next, depending on the outcome of the first well. A risk neutral decision maker will continue exploring new wells as long as the expected profit is positive. The model and choice of exploration strategy is tailored to a case study represented by five prospects in a salt basin, but it will also be useful for other contexts. For the particular case study we show how the strategy clearly depends on the exploration and development cost, and the expected volumes and recovery factors. The most lucrative prospect tends to be selected first, but the sequential decisions depend on the outcome of the exploration well in this first prospect.
A Scalable Object-Based Architecture

Although large-scale shared-memory multiprocessors are believed to be easier to program than disjoint-memory multicomputers with similar numbers of processors, they have proven harder to build. To date, the efficiency of software implementations of virtual shared-memory (VSM) on multicomputers with even a modest number of processors have not approached that of a physical shared-memory. Often VSMs are implemented by using the local memories of processors as caches for shared data. The overhead of maintaining the consistency of these caches, both in terms of processing time and bandwidth consumed, is a major contributor to the inefficiency of the implementations. In this paper, we describe an object-based scheme for implementing a VSM on hierarchical multicomputers that is both efficient and scalable. By implementing an object-based style of programming at a low level, we are able to make effective use of bandwidth, while giving support for modern programming languages. We call our VSM scheme multiple instruction single data (MISD) since processors controlled by separate instruction streams operate, conceptually at least, on a single broadcast stream of shared data. MISD relies on an efficient software coherency scheme and on dedicated hardware to achieve its performance. The hardware required by MISD need not be special purpose. Indeed, MISD can be incorporated into existing multiple computer systems, or an MISD machine can be constructed from off-the-shelf components.
Non-negatively curved Kähler manifolds with average quadratic curvature decay

Let $(M, g)$ be a complete non-compact K\"ahler manifold with non-negative and bounded holomorphic bisectional curvature. Extending our techniques developed in \cite{CT3}, we prove that the universal cover $\wt M$ of $M$ is biholomorphic to $\ce^n$ provided either that $(M, g)$ has average quadratic curvature decay, or $M$ supports an eternal solution to the K\"ahler-Ricci flow with non-negative and uniformly bounded holomorphic bisectional curvature. We also classify certain local limits arising from the K\"ahler-Ricci flow in the absence of uniform estimates on the injectivity radius.
The Impact of Paid Maternity Leave on Labour Market Outcomes

I estimate the effect of paid maternity leave on mothers probability of employment after birth, how this effect varies with the age of the child, and the effect on wages when the child is about four years old. A statistical matching approach is applied. The matching procedure controls for an extensive range of pre-birth job characteristics, health and human capital measures, and attitudes towards nonmaternal care. Mothers appear to delay their return to work after a birth if they are entitled to paid maternity leave, but the delay is short and does not affect wages in the long-run.
Lifetime Labor Income and the Erosion of Seniority-Based Wages in Japan: Evidence Based on Administrative Data Records

This paper examines the impact of the erosion in seniority-based wages on lifetime labor income in Japan. Despite the importance of this issue, studies to date have not been able to address it directly because reliable datasets long enough to cover individuals’ entire careers were not available. Taking advantage of administrative data records on individuals’ careers, which became available with the introduction of Pension Coverage Regular Notices, Takayama et al. (2012) constructed a panel dataset of career records covering a period of more than 30 years. We use the dataset to derive wage profiles throughout individuals’ careers. Moreover, using the estimated wage profiles for individuals with different sets of characteristics, we calculate the lifetime labor income (over a 35-year period) for those individuals to examine the impact of the erosion of Japan’s seniority wages on lifetime income. We confirm that the wage-age profile of lifetime employees over their working life has been gradually flattening in recent years. The flattening is particularly prominent among middle-aged and elderly white-collar workers with a college background, and it appears to have decreased their lifetime labor income by about 10 to 30 percent.
Governing Macro Prudential Policy: Do Central Bankers Do it Better?

This paper offers a positive analysis of the relationships between macro prudential policy, micro supervision and central banking, presenting two contributions. Starting from the review of the recent theoretical models, which take the issue of the central bank involvement in macro supervision, it has been discovered that one relevant topic is missed: the political economy of the macro supervisory architecture. Here a principal agent model is used to design a political economy framework, which explains how the politicians can shape the central bank governance in addressing financial systemic risks, taking into account both the social and political pros and cons in having a central bank more or less involved in macro supervision. The framework is used to empirically analyse the present settings in 31 countries. We find that central banks in charge of banking micro supervision are likely to get macro prudential powers; on top the same is true the more the central banker is politically dependent. From the point of view of the politicians on the one side the more the central bank already acting as banking micro supervisor, the smaller will be the risk that its involvement in macro supervision will produce negative spillover effects; on the other side the political dependence may represent the commitment devise to mitigate the fear of the politicians to face an over powerful central bank.
High-Resolution In Vivo Imaging of Regimes of Laser Damage to the Primate Retina

Purpose. To investigate fundamental mechanisms of regimes of laser induced damage to the retina and the morphological changes associated with the damage response. Methods. Varying grades of photothermal, photochemical, and photomechanical retinal laser damage were produced in eyes of eight cynomolgus monkeys. An adaptive optics confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope and spectral domain optical coherence tomographer were combined to simultaneously collect complementary in vivo images of retinal laser damage during and following exposure. Baseline color fundus photography was performed to complement high-resolution imaging. Monkeys were perfused with 10% buffered formalin and eyes were enucleated for histological analysis. Results. Laser energies for visible retinal damage in this study were consistent with previously reported damage thresholds. Lesions were identified in OCT images that were not visible in direct ophthalmoscopic examination or fundus photos. Unique diagnostic characteristics, specific to each damage regime, were identified and associated with shape and localization of lesions to specific retinal layers. Previously undocumented retinal healing response to blue continuous wave laser exposure was recorded through a novel experimental methodology. Conclusion. This study revealed increased sensitivity of lesion detection and improved specificity to the laser of origin utilizing high-resolution imaging when compared to traditional ophthalmic imaging techniques in the retina.
Polyvinyl Alcohol Fiber Reinforced Engineered Cementitious Composites: Material Design and Performances

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber is considered as one of the most suitable polymeric fibers to be used as the reinforcement of engineered cementitious composites (ECC), though the unique microstructure characteristics of PVA fiber add challenge to the material design. In this paper, the micromechanics based design procedure for a PVA-ECC suitable for structural applications is described, and practical design considerations including requirements on interface bond, matrix toughness, and flaw system are outlined for achieving balanced composite performances. The properties of an exemplary PVA-ECC design are summarized, including tensile behavior and compressive strength development, bending response, Young’s modulus, autogenous and drying shrinkage, and freeze-thaw durability.
The Effect of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on Exports of Eligible Countries: Panel Data Evidence

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the AGOA (AGOA), a case of a developed country’s (USA) unilateral and nonreciprocal trade policy preference towards developing (Sub-Saharan African) countries to shed light on the issue. The empirical results show iii that the policy intervention had a dismal effect on U.S. real imports from beneficiary countries. The estimated average marginal effect of the AGOA intervention on U.S. imports of textiles is found to be between 1.7 percent and 1.9 percent which are between 22 to 25 times smaller than a typical estimate of 42 percent found by Frazer and Biesebroeck (2010). The results suggest that the gains from the duty-free preferences could be much smaller than the previous literature has shown. In the current study, weighted least squares coarsened exact matching and propensity score matching estimation techniques are applied on U.S. real imports of 8-digit products from the AGOA treatment-group and the comparable control-group during the 1997-2008 periods.
Cost and Profit Efficiencies in the Spanish Hotel Industry

This article focuses on estimating and discussing cost and profit efficiencies related with the Spanish hotel sector. Managers have a special interest in controlling costs as a source of competitive advantage, which may enable companies to improve their results in a continuous manner. However, they usually do not attribute much importance to the improvement of profit efficiency, which is generally much lower than cost efficiency and as a result vital for achieving competitive advantage. In this article, cost and profit efficiencies are estimated in the Spanish hotel sector using a data panel for the years 2007 to 2011 and using distribution free approach methodology. The results show profit efficiency levels significantly lower than levels of cost efficiency, thereby confirming our working hypothesis.
Description of TEAM Workshop Problem 28 : An Electrodynamic Levitation Device

|This paper presents a new TEAM workshop problem taking into account moving bodies. An electrodynamic levitation device which consists of a conducting plate over two exciting coils shall be examined. The aim is to determine the dynamic characteristics of the levitating plate. A coupled solution of the electromagnetic and the mechanical problem is necessary for that.
CSSs in a sample of B2 radio sources of intermediate strength

We present radio observations of 19 candidate compact steep-spectrum (CSS) objects selected from a well-defined, complete sample of 52 B2 radio sources of intermediate strength. These observations were made with the VLA A-array at 4.835 GHz. The radio structures of the entire sample are summarised and the brightness asymmetries within the compact sources are compared with those of the more extended ones, as well as with those in the 3CRR sample and the CSSs from the B3-VLA sample. About 25 per cent of the CSS sources exhibit large brightness asymmetries, with a flux density ratio for the opposing lobes of>5, possibly due to interaction of the jets with infalling material. The corresponding percentage for the larger-sized objects is only about 5 per cent. We also investigate a possible dependence of the flux density asymmetry of the lobes on redshift, since this might be aected by more interactions and mergers in the past. No such dependence is found. A few individual objects of interest are discussed in the paper.
Efficiency of Foreign Exchange Markets and Measures of Turbulence

Since the move to generalized floating in1973, exchange rates between major currencies have displayed large fluctuations. This turbulence of foreign exchange rates is an important concern of government policy and its explanation is a challenge for theories of foreign exchange market behavior. In Section I of this paper, we document the extent of turbulence in foreign exchange markets by examining (i) the magnitude of short-run variations in exchange rates relative to other measures of economic variability; (ii) the degree of divergence between actual and expected changes in exchange rates; and (iii) the extent to which exchange-rate movements have diverged from movements of relative national price levels. In Section II, we provide a general explanation of this turbulence in terms of the modern "asset market theory" to exchange-rate determination. This theory emphasizes that exchange rates, like the prices of other assets determined in organized markets, are strongly influenced by the market's expectation of future events. In this context, we also discuss the narrower technical question of "foreign exchange market efficiency. " Finally, in Section III, we address the question of whether turbulence in the foreign exchange markets has been "excessive" and what policy measures can (or should) be taken to reduce it.
Store-Operated Ca2+ Entry Does Not Control Proliferation in Primary Cultures of Human Metastatic Renal Cellular Carcinoma

Store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) is activated following depletion of the inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3)-sensitive Ca2+ pool to regulate proliferation in immortalized cell lines established from either primary or metastatic lesions. The molecular nature of SOCE may involve both Stim1, which senses Ca2+ levels within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ reservoir, and a number of a Ca2+-permeable channels on the plasma membrane, including Orai1, Orai3, and members of the canonical transient receptor (TRPC1–7) family of ion channels. The present study was undertaken to assess whether SOCE is expressed and controls proliferation in primary cultures isolated from secondary lesions of heavily pretreated metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) patients. SOCE was induced following pharmacological depletion of the ER Ca2+ store, but not by InsP3-dependent Ca2+ release. Metastatic RCC cells express Stim1-2, Orai1–3, and TRPC1–7 transcripts and proteins. In these cells, SOCE was insensitive to BTP-2, 10 µM Gd3+ and Pyr6, while it was inhibited by 100 µM Gd3+, 2-APB, and carboxyamidotriazole (CAI). Neither Gd3+ nor 2-APB or CAI impaired mRCC cell proliferation. Consistently, no detectable Ca2+ signal was elicited by growth factor stimulation. Therefore, a functional SOCE is expressed but does not control proliferation of mRCC cells isolated from patients resistant to multikinase inhibitors.
Measuring stages of change, perceived barriers and self efficacy for physical activity in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND The benefits of physical activity are well established and recognized to prevent adults from many chronic diseases and particularly some forms of cancers. OBJECTIVES The present study was conducted to investigate the present status of physical activity among Saudi adults in Al-Ahsa, and to examine the association between the stages of change for physical activity and perceived barriers, and self efficacy. METHODS A cross- sectional study of 242 subjects (118 males and 124 females) attending health centers aged between 20-56 years, were personally interviewed for demographic data, anthropometric measurement, physical activity level, stages of change for physical activity, self efficacy and perceived barriers. RESULTS Forty eight percent of the females were overweight and 16.9% of the males were obese with no significant difference between the genders for BMI categories. More than half of the females were inactive and 39% of the males were physically active with a significant difference (P=0.007). Twenty percent of the males were in maintenance stage, while similar percentage of the females were in contemplation stage. However the majority of the subjects were in pre-contemplation stage with a significant difference across the stages. Males had a higher mean score of self efficacy and less external barriers of physical activity. The major barrier among the females was lack of time (7.2±1.4) and in the males, lack of motivation (7.7±1.4). The females had less internal (21.2±3.8) barriers comparable to the males (23.08±4.7). Both genders had a significant relationship between stages of changes of physical activity and perceived barriers (internal and external), but in the females no significant difference across the stages was observed for self efficacy unlike the males who had a significant difference for self efficacy and self efficacy categories. CONCLUSION The present study provided useful data on stages of change for physical activity and some psychosocial factors (self efficacy and perceived barriers) that can help to tailor strategies aiming at increasing physical activity level according to self efficacy and to the barriers detected, to prevent many chronic diseases including certain types of cancer in Saudi Arabia.
A multibit burst error detection and correction mechanism for application layer

To enhance the correctness and robustness of received text information at the receiver end, we propose an error detection and correction mechanism that executes at the application layer. Basically the error checking bits are incorporated with the original information during transition at the network. The error positions are detected by these error checking bits and then corresponding errors are corrected accordingly. Generally, the data link layer performs the task of error detection and correction but it platform dependent. So we introduce such a mechanism which is totally platform independent and acts at the application layer. It is capable of detecting all the error position and correcting all the error bits while it is destroyed or corrupted during the transmission. The data link layer sometimes fails to detect and correct all the error bits which can be solved by our proposed mechanism.
Social Movements in India: Poverty, Power, and Politics

Introduction: In the Beginning, There Was the Nehruvian State Chapter 1: From Class Compromise to Class Accommodation: Labor's Incorporation into the Indian Political Economy Chapter 2: Problems of Social Power and the Discourses of the Hindu Right Chapter 3: Reinventing Public Power in the Age of Globalization: The Transformation of Movement Politics in Kerala Chapter 4: Feminism, Poverty, and the Emergent Social Order Chapter 5: Who Are The Country's Poor? Social Movement Politics and Dalit Poverty Chapter 6: Red in Tooth and Claw? Looking for Class in Struggles over Nature Chapter 7: Farmer's Movements and the Debate on Poverty and Economic Reforms in India Chapter 8: Miracle Seeds, Suicide Seeds, and the Poor: GMOs, NGOs, Farmers and the State Chapter 9: Strong States, Strong NGOs