Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HORIZONTAL EQUITY IMPLICATIONS OF THE LOTTERY TAX

Based on Musgrave's traditional definition of horizontal equity, this paper estimates whether the lottery tax results in a differential tax burden by race, educational attainment, or age within households that have equal economic positions. A second question that is addressed is whether lottery advertising intensifies any horizontal inequities that exist. Indeed, this study finds that, among individuals with otherwise identical characteristics, African Americans bear a significantly higher lottery tax burden. Other minority groups and individuals with the lowest educational attainment also bear a larger lottery tax burden, although the difference is not significant at the ten percent level. In addition, the results suggest that lottery advertising has its greatest impact on African Americans, thus intensifying the horizontal inequity of the lottery tax and resulting in a greater tax burden for African Americans as compared to identical Caucasians.
Variable Eddington Factor in a Relativistic Plane-Parallel Flow

We examine the Eddington factor in an optically thick, relativistic flow accelerating in the vertical direction. When the gaseous flow is radiatively accelerated and there is a velocity gradient, there also exists a density gradient. The comoving observer sees radiation coming from a closed surface where the optical depth measured from the observer is unity. Such a surface, called a one-tau photo-oval, is elongated in the flow direction. In general, the radiation intensity emitted by the photo-oval is non-uniform, and the photo-oval surface has a relative velocity with respect to the position of the comoving observer. Both effects introduce some degree of anisotropy in the radiation field observed in the comoving frame. As a result, the radiation field observed by the comoving observer becomes anisotropic, and the Eddington factor must deviate from the usual value of 1=3. Thus, the relativistic Eddington
Java performance evaluation through rigorous replay compilation

A managed runtime environment, such as the Java virtual machine, is non-trivial to benchmark. Java performance is affected in various complex ways by the application and its input, as well as by the virtual machine (JIT optimizer, garbage collector, thread scheduler, etc.). In addition, non-determinism due to timer-based sampling for JIT optimization, thread scheduling, and various system effects further complicate the Java performance benchmarking process. Replay compilation is a recently introduced Java performance analysis methodology that aims at controlling non-determinism to improve experimental repeatability. The key idea of replay compilation is to control the compilation load during experimentation by inducing a pre-recorded compilation plan at replay time. Replay compilation also enables teasing apart performance effects of the application versus the virtual machine. This paper argues that in contrast to current practice which uses a single compilation plan at replay time, multiple compilation plans add statistical rigor to the replay compilation methodology. By doing so, replay compilation better accounts for the variability observed in compilation load across compilation plans. In addition, we propose matched-pair comparison for statistical data analysis. Matched-pair comparison considers the performance measurements per compilation plan before and after an innovation of interest as a pair, which enables limiting the number of compilation plans needed for accurate performance analysis compared to statistical analysis assuming unpaired measurements.
Responsible Autonomy

As intelligent systems are increasingly making decisions that directly affect society, perhaps the most important upcoming research direction in AI is to rethink the ethical implications of their actions. Means are needed to integrate moral, societal and legal values with technological developments in AI, both during the design process as well as part of the deliberation algorithms employed by these systems. In this paper, we describe leading ethics theories and propose alternative ways to ensure ethical behavior by artificial systems. Given that ethics are dependent on the socio-cultural context and are often only implicit in deliberation processes, methodologies are needed to elicit the values held by designers and stakeholders, and to make these explicit leading to better understanding and trust on artificial autonomous systems.
The Role of Employment and Labour Markets in the Fight against Poverty

a. Employment, and the quality of employment, decent work, is crucial for poverty reduction and in achieving growth with equity and pro-poor growth. The link between economic growth, employment and poverty reduction is thus a process in which output growth induces an increase in productive and remunerative employment, which, in turn, leads to an increase in the incomes of the poor and a reduction in poverty. b. Ensuring that growth is pro-poor requires high employment-intensity of growth and a rise in productivity which also depend on institutions, policies, laws and practices that positively affect the functioning of labour markets. A well-functioning institutional environment can support the virtuous circle and, in the process, facilitate pro-poor growth. c. Informal employment remains important, persistent and is often even rising. Thus, the quality of work of poor people holding an informal job has to be improved through the rise of productivity through vocational training and education, micro and small enterprise development and access to credit. Moreover, new strategies are needed to extend social security to informal workers, and to improve their working conditions. Formal job creation has to be accelerated, exceeding labour force growth. And the transfer from informal to formal employment should be facilitated through changes in regulations and tax or incentive systems, as well as rising productivity of informal activities.
Program Design, Incentives, and Response: Evidence from Educational Interventions

In an effort to reform K-12 education, policymakers have introduced school vouchers - scholarships that make students eligible to transfer from public to private schools - in some U.S. school districts. This article analyzes two such educational interventions in the United States: the Milwaukee and Florida voucher programs. Under the Milwaukee program, vouchers were imposed from the outset, so that all low-income public school students became eligible for vouchers to transfer to private schools. In contrast, schools in the Florida program were only threatened with vouchers, with students of a particular school becoming eligible for vouchers only if the school received two "F" grades in a period of four years. Unlike the Milwaukee schools, Florida schools therefore had an incentive to avoid vouchers. Using school-level data from Florida and Wisconsin, this study shows that the performance effects of the threatened public schools under the Florida program have exceeded those of corresponding schools in Milwaukee. The lessons of the study are broadly applicable to New York City's educational reform efforts.
Explaining Nascent Entrepreneurs’ Goal Commitment: An Exploratory Study

Abstract Expectancy theory and goal setting theory serve as conceptual frameworks to examine factors associated with nascent entrepreneurs’ goal commitment, or the extent to which nascent entrepreneurs exhibit positive attitudes toward devoting substantial energy to their start-up activities. Nascent entrepreneurs’ goal commitment may be influenced by personal and environmental factors that reflect the feasibility and desirability of attaining the goal of establishing a business. Tests of the study's hypotheses use a random sample of 81 Canadian nascent entrepreneurs. In terms of the feasibility of goal attainment, nascent entrepreneurs’ selfefficacy and their perception of the availability of external private financial support relate positively to goal commitment; the perception of the availability of public financial support relates negatively to goal commitment. In terms of the desirability of goal attainment, the value that nascent entrepreneurs attribute to entrepreneurship as a career choice and the perception of normative support for entrepreneurship both relate positively to goal commitment. Implications and limitations of the findings and directions for further research are discussed.
A Prospective, Blinded, Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial of Topical Negative Pressure Use in Skin Grafting

Topical negative pressure has been demonstrated to improve graft take in a number of noncomparative studies. This study aimed to assess whether split-thickness skin graft take is improved qualitatively or quantitatively with topical negative pressure therapy compared with standard bolster dressings. A blinded, prospective, randomized trial was conducted of 22 adult inpatients of Liverpool Hospital between July of 2001 and July of 2002 who had wounds requiring skin grafting. After grafting, each wound half was randomized to receive either a standard bolster dressing or a topical negative pressure dressing. Skin graft assessment was performed at 2 weeks by a single observer blinded to the randomization. Two patients were lost to follow-up and were excluded from the study. There were 20 patients (12 men and eight women) in the study group. The median patient age was 64 years (range, 27 to 88 years), and the mean wound size was 128 cm2 (range, 35 to 450 cm2). The wound exposed subcutaneous fat in eight patients, muscle in six patients, paratenon in four patients, and deep fascia in two patients. At 2 weeks, wounds that received a topical negative pressure dressing had a greater degree of epithelialization in six cases (30 percent), the same degree of epithelialization in nine cases (45 percent), and less epithelialization in five cases (25 percent) compared with their respective control wounds. Graft quality following topical negative pressure therapy was subjectively determined to be better in 10 cases (50 percent), equivalent in seven cases (35 percent), and worse in three cases (15 percent). Although the quantitative graft take was not significant, the qualitative graft take was found to be significantly better with the use of topical negative pressure therapy (p < 0.05). Topical negative pressure significantly improved the qualitative appearance of split-thickness skin grafts as compared with standard bolster dressings.
Who has a good relationship with the teachers? A comparison of comprehensive education systems with education systems using between-school tracking

In the present study we compared comprehensive education systems and education systems using between-school tracking with regard to disparities in the quality of student–teacher relations between low and high achieving students, between students with different socioeconomic backgrounds, and between schools with different achievement and social compositions. Data from 271,760 students in 10,125 schools in 40 of the 41 education systems that participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment 2003 was analysed using three-level regression models. The results document differences between comprehensive education systems and those using between-school tracking: In the former, but not the latter, high achievers and students with higher socioeconomic backgrounds had better student–teacher relations than their schoolmates. In education systems with between-school tracking, but not in comprehensive education systems, the quality of student–teacher relations was higher in schools with a disadvantaged social composition. These findings indicate a need to develop better strategies to address the socio-emotional needs of disadvantaged students in comprehensive education systems.
Learned Resourcefulness in Black and White South African University Students

Abstract In the first study, a small sample of Black students in South Africa were found to have markedly higher scores than Whites on the Rosenbaum Self-Control Schedule (RSCS; Rosenbaum, 1980b). In a second study, in which acquiescence response set and social desirability were controlled, Black students (n = 100) again had markedly higher scores than Whites (n = 138). In the White group, the RSCS had sound psychometric properties, but for the Black group Cronbach's alpha was low and items failed to group together coherently in the factor analysis. In the Black group, the absence of low-resourcefulness students was noteworthy. Two possible explanations are discussed. The first is a general stress-inoculation effect in people who live under deprived conditions. The second is a selection effect: Only resourceful Blacks succeed in overcoming the practical difficulties of poverty and disruption of school activities to enter a university.
Rodlet cells development in the intestine of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

The enigmatic rodlet cells (RCs) are characterized by conspicuous inclusions named “rodlets”. They were discovered over 100 years ago and were considered as parasites but shortly afterward interpreted as endogenous cells. The RCs have been described in different tissues of marine and freshwater teleosts, but their origin and function remain unknown. This work was designed to an ultrastructural study on RCs development and distribution in intestinal epithelium of Dicentrarchus labrax. Three different stages of RCs development from early precursor cells to mature phase were observed, as well as a migration and finally an extrusion of their contents. In this study, the immature cells were found near the basal epithelium membrane. They were mainly identified by a rough endoplasmic reticulum with dilated cisternae, by developing rodlets and a thin fibrillar coat. The maturing RCs, localized in the middle zone of the epithelium, appeared to be undergoing a reorganization of the cell organelles. The mature RCs, placed near the free surface, showed a thick subplasmalemmar fibrillar coat. Most of the organelles were aggregated at the cell apex with a basally located nucleus. A cellular polarity was more evident. One of the most conspicuous features was the occurrence of mature rodlets club‐sac in shape orientated toward the cell apex. Adhesive junctions between surface epithelial cells and RCs, while discharging their contents, were seen. We have connected morphological figures and distribution to different stages of development in RCs, supporting the hypothesis of their secretory function. Microsc. Res. Tech. 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
White Paper: Toward Vocabulary Domain Specifications for Health Level 7 - coded Data Elements

The "vocabulary problem" has long plagued the developers, implementers, and users of computer-based systems. The authors review selected activities of the Health Level 7 (HL7) Vocabulary Technical Committee that are related to vocabulary domain specification for HL7 coded data elements. These activities include: 1) the development of two sets of principles to provide guidance to terminology stakeholders, including organizations seeking to deploy HL7-compliant systems, terminology developers, and terminology integrators; 2) the completion of a survey of terminology developers; 3) the development of a process for HL7 registration of terminologies; and 4) the maintenance of vocabulary domain specification tables. As background, vocabulary domain specification is defined and the relationship between the HL7 Reference Information Model and vocabulary domain specification is described. The activities of the Vocabulary Technical Committee complement the efforts of terminology developers and other stakeholders. These activities are aimed at realizing semantic interoperability in the context of the HL7 Message Development Framework, so that information exchange and use among disparate systems can occur for the delivery and management of direct clinical care as well as for purposes such as clinical research, outcome research, and population health management.
The impact of sex, gender, and cognitive complexity on the perceived importance of teacher communication skills

The current study examines student perceptions of the importance of selected communication skills for the teacher‐student relationship. Seven of eight communication skills identified in previous research (Burleson & Samter, 1990; Frymier & Houser, 2000) were perceived by students to be important in the teacher‐student relationship. These included referential, ego supportive, regulative, persuasive, conversational, narrative, and conflict management skills. This study sought to explain differences in student perceptions by examining student biological sex, psychological gender, and cognitive complexity. Psychological gender was superior to biological sex as a predictor of six of eight communication skills. Masculine/instrumental individuals reported expectations for teachers' use of persuasive, conversational, and narrative communication skills, while feminine/expressive individuals perceived ego supportive, regulative, and referential skills as important to effective teaching. Finally, cognitive complexity was positively associated with regulative skill and negatively related to narrative and persuasive skills. Implications for instructional research and effective teaching are discussed.
Self-perceived assessment competencies and practices among university lecturers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the lecturers’ self-perceived competencies and practices in assessing students. Design/methodology/approach – An Assessment Practices Inventory Modified was administered to a sample of 329 randomly selected lecturers from six universities in Uganda. Factor analysis and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to address the research questions. Findings – The results of factor analysis yielded a factor structure of four variables; design, administration, interpretation, and application. The MANOVA multivariate test results highlighted differences in assessment competencies and practices among lecturers in the different academic levels (Wilks’ λ=0.732, F(16, 313)=5.624, p<0.05, η2=0.075), and in the interaction between type of university, specialisations, and academic levels (Roy's largest root=0.073, F(8, 313)=2.543, p<0.05, η2=0.068). The Tukey HSD post hoc test results revealed that lecturers in the specialisation of education were different f.
The AdS 5 ×S 5 superstring worldsheet S matrix and crossing symmetry

An S matrix satisfying the Yang-Baxter equation with symmetries relevant to the AdS{sub 5}xS{sup 5} superstring recently has been determined up to an unknown scalar factor. Such scalar factors are typically fixed using crossing relations; however, due to the lack of conventional relativistic invariance, in this case its determination remained an open problem. In this paper we propose an algebraic way to implement crossing relations for the AdS{sub 5}xS{sup 5} superstring worldsheet S matrix. We base our construction on a Hopf-algebraic formulation of crossing in terms of the antipode and introduce generalized rapidities living on the universal cover of the parameter space which is constructed through an auxillary, coupling-constant dependent, elliptic curve. We determine the crossing transformation and write functional equations for the scalar factor of the S matrix in the generalized rapidity plane.
Two‐dimensional phase correction method for single and multi‐shot echo planar imaging

Ghost artifacts are a serious issue in single and multi‐shot echo planar imaging. Because of these coherent artifacts, it is essential to consistently suppress the ghosts. In this article, we present a phase correction algorithm that achieves excellent ghost suppression for single and multi‐shot echo planar imaging. The phase correction is performed along both the x (read) direction and y (phase) direction. To this end, we apply a double field of view prescan and compute the phase required for ghost suppression. This phase is fitted to a 2D polynomial. The fitted phase is used to correct the echo planar imaging images. The correction algorithm can be used with any readout gradient polarities and any number of shots. A flow chart of the correction method is provided to better clarify the full process. Finally, phantom and volunteer images demonstrate the improvement of artifact suppression obtained with this algorithm over conventional phase correction methods. Magn Reson Med, 2011. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The kids are all right but the lesbians aren't: Queer kinship in US culture

This article examines the troubling erasure of queer difference (and particularly feminist and lesbian difference) in the seemingly benign and inclusive depiction of gay parents and gay kids. Focusing on the hit film about a family headed by two moms – The Kids Are All Right – I wonder what representations of gay kinship push at the boundaries of familial normativity and which ones simply paint the traditional picket fence in rainbow hues? Why are we seemingly so stuck on alternative and diverse families and never get to counterkinship and deep difference? Why can’t gay parents ever get laid (by the same sex they supposedly desire)? Most curiously perhaps, why are most of the parents we see in popular representations (with the exception of The Kids Are All Right) male even when the statistics tell us otherwise? Why are all (televisual, cinematic) parents so wonderfully “accepting” of their queer progeny even as we know queer kids are still getting kicked out of their homes in the “real world” of not so hip family life? An examination of contemporary representations in popular television and film reveals a complex combination of newly inclusive and potentially challenging images with tired and dangerous odes to a universalism that reasserts normative heterosexuality and further effaces feminist critiques of hegemonic family formations.
Reactions to Heterosexual Opening Gambits

Gender-related responses to opening conversational gambits were examined in two field and one laboratory experiment. In Experiment 1, a male approached female singles bar patrons, using one of six opening lines, classified as direct, innocuous, or cute-flippant. The cute-flippant lines were found to elicit significantly more negative responses than did the direct and innocuous lines. In Experiment 2, male and female experimenters delivered direct, innocuous, and cute-flippant lines to opposite-sex bar patrons. The experimenters also touched half of the subjects while delivering the opening lines. Female subjects again responded more negatively to the cute-flippant approaches compared to the direct and innocuous gambits. Male subjects displayed significantly more positive responses than did female subjects, regardless of the opening gambit. Interpersonal touch had no significant effect on heterosexual responses. A third, laboratory experiment examined whether gender differences in personality inference processes or in mindlessness could account for female discernment and male responsiveness. Males responded more positively than did the females to the two cute-flippant, the two direct, and one of the innocuous lines and made more positive personality attributions about the individuals who delivered them, suggesting that the genders differ in their attributions in this domain. Although both males and females were influenced by the perceived sociability of the target, judgments of sexiness were closely related to males' interest in the female target but not to females' interest in the male. Females, in contrast were more influenced by the male targets' perceived brightness than by their sexiness.