Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Access to Sanitation Facilities among Nigerian Households: Determinants and Sustainability Implications

Access to improved sanitation facilities is key to the socioeconomic wellbeing and sustainable development of any society. This study examines access to sanitation facilities in Nigeria and explores the socioeconomic and locational factors that influence the type of facility used by households. The study utilizes cross-sectional data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, and employs descriptive and inferential statistics for data analyses. The results indicated that 44.2% of households used various kinds of pit latrines, followed by toilets that flush to septic tanks (10.3%). While only 5.3% of the respondents used toilets that connect to sewer systems, about a third (31.5%) lacked sanitation facility and the remaining 8.7% used other types of sanitation facilities. Results from chi-square analysis and ANOVA revealed significant statistical differences between the type of sanitation facility households used and their place of residence, geopolitical zone, ethnicity, educational attainment and wealth. Multivariate regression results indicated that the type of household sanitation facility is significantly associated with the mentioned factors as well as household size, gender of the head of the household, type of water sources, number of rooms and access to electricity. Age of the head of the household and type of cooking fuel used were not significant. The study concludes by underscoring the implications of using unimproved sanitation facilities on human health and environmental sustainability.
Line managers’ views on adopting human resource roles: the case of Hilton (UK) hotels

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore different levels of line manager perspectives, namely strategic and first‐line on their role in human resource management (HRM) and human resource development (HRD), and to identify enablers of and barriers to devolving HR to line managers.Design/methodology/approach – Using a deductive approach, case study data was collected from 76 hotels, owned by Hilton UK, via self‐administered questionnaires to strategic and first‐line managers. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the quantitative results, prior to significance tests being conducted in SPSS to identify differences in means based on managerial positions.Findings – A number of points of divergence in opinions are revealed, implying that there is potential for the case organisation to secure greater engagement of its first‐line managers in HR roles. Reducing the workloads and short‐term job pressures of these managers, together with capitalising on the good relations with the hotel HR specialist.
A sequential model for concurrent expansion in machinery and buildings using reinvested earnings

Gradual phasing out of manual methods through sequential substitution of machines may well represent the only viable manufacturing strategy option for many job shops particularly in developing countries. For such job shop projects with limited capital, investment in buildings and machines needs to be phased so as to benefit from added capital from reinvested earnings. Describes a dynamic integer model suitable for such investment scheduling. Suggests that the model was solved with a readily implementable heuristic which employs suitable decision rules for scheduling machinery purchases and factory space construction in modular units. The model will find ready application in emerging job shop projects of many developing countries.
Hyperfiltration is associated with the development of microalbuminuria in patients with sickle cell anemia

This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Vazquez, Benjamin, et al. "Hyperfiltration is associated with the development of microalbuminuria in patients with sickle cell anemia. " American journal of hematology 89.12 (2014): 1156-1157. , which has been published in final form at American Journal of Hematology © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Assisted Living Pilot Program

Objectives: Assisted living programs demonstrate variation in structure and services. The Department of Veterans Affairs funded this care for the first time in the Assisted Living Pilot Program (ALPP). This article presents resident health outcomes and the relationship between facility characteristics and outcomes. Method: This article presents results on 393 ALPP residents followed for 12 months after admission to 95 facilities. Results: A total of 19.8% residents died, and the average activities of daily living impairment did not change significantly. Half of the residents remained in an ALPP facility, with the average resident spending 315 days in the community during the 12-month follow-up period. This article found a limited number of characteristics of structure and staffing to be significantly associated with outcomes. Discussion: If differences among facility characteristics are not clearly related to differences in outcomes, then choices among type of setting can be based on the match of needs to available services, location, or preferences.
The stable Paretian hypothesis and the frequency of large returns: an examination of major German stocks

A statistical analysis is provided of daily returns for 30 German stocks forming the DAX share index as well as the DAX itself during the period 1988–1994. Estimating the parameters of the stable laws and performing standard tests of fit, some evidence in favour of the stable Paretian hypothesis is found. However, application of a more recently developed semiparametric technique for analysis of the limiting behaviour in the tails of a distribution (Hill's tail index estimator) suggests that the empirical tail regions are thinner than expected under a stable distribution. Since the reliability of tail index estimation rests on the appropriateness of the chosen tail regions, it is also examined whether the tails indeed follow approximately the expected limiting distributions of extremes. It turns out that convergence to the limiting extreme value distributions cannot be rejected in the vast majority of cases for tails covering the most extreme 15% of observations or less. Furthermore, strong similarity in t.
The Effect of Service Fairness on Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty

We study the effect of service fairness on service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. An Structural Equation Modeling analysis was conducted on the hospital industry. The results show that procedural justice and interactional justice obviously effect customer perceived service quality positively. Moreover, the results show that procedural justice, interactional justice and distribute justice all effect customer satisfaction and customer loyalty directly or indirectly. Based on the results, this study explains the practical and academic implications for service fairness.
Texture features on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging: new potential biomarkers for prostate cancer aggressiveness

To explore contrast (C) and homogeneity (H) gray-level co-occurrence matrix texture features on T2-weighted (T2w) Magnetic Resonance (MR) images and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps for predicting prostate cancer (PCa) aggressiveness, and to compare them with traditional ADC metrics for differentiating low- from intermediate/high-grade PCas. The local Ethics Committee approved this prospective study of 93 patients (median age, 65 years), who underwent 1.5 T multiparametric endorectal MR imaging before prostatectomy. Clinically significant (volume ≥0.5 ml) peripheral tumours were outlined on histological sections, contoured on T2w and ADC images, and their pathological Gleason Score (pGS) was recorded. C, H, and traditional ADC metrics (mean, median, 10th and 25th percentile) were calculated on the largest lesion slice, and correlated with the pGS through the Spearman correlation coefficient. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) assessed how parameters differentiate pGS = 6 from pGS ≥ 7. The dataset included 49 clinically significant PCas with a balanced distribution of pGS. The Spearman ρ and AUC values on ADC were: −0.489, 0.823 (mean); −0.522, 0.821 (median); −0.569, 0.854 (10th percentile); −0.556, 0.854 (25th percentile); −0.386, 0.871 (C); 0.533, 0.923 (H); while on T2w they were: −0.654, 0.945 (C); 0.645, 0.962 (H). AUC of H on ADC and T2w, and C on T2w were significantly higher than that of the mean ADC (p = 0.05). H and C calculated on T2w images outperform ADC parameters in correlating with pGS and differentiating low- from intermediate/high-risk PCas, supporting the role of T2w MR imaging in assessing PCa biological aggressiveness.
The impact of the refugee decision on the trajectory of PTSD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms among asylum seekers: a longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE To examine prospectively the trajectory of trauma-related psychiatric symptoms and disability amongst asylum seekers over the course of the refugee determination process. To identify the direct impact of the refugee decision on psychiatric symptoms by adjusting for other variables, namely sociodemographic characteristics, past trauma, and ongoing postmigration stresses. DESIGN A prospective cohort study of asylum seekers recruited from a random sample of immigration agents in Sydney, Australia. SETTING Consecutive asylum seekers were referred for interview by immigration agents. Interviews were undertaken after the initial application and on average, 3.8 months after the refugee decision. MEASURES Measures assessed premigration trauma and postmigration stressors. Mental health status was assessed using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25. Functional impairment was assessed with the Medical Outcomes Study-Short Form 12. RESULTS Sixty-two of 73 asylum seekers were retained at follow-up. The accepted (16) and rejected (46) groups did not differ on premigration trauma or baseline psychiatric symptoms. Postdecision, the accepted group showed substantial improvements in posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and in mental health functioning, whereas the rejected group maintained high levels of symptoms on all psychiatric indices. CONCLUSIONS Establishing secure residency status for asylum seekers may be important to their recovery from trauma-related psychiatric symptoms. The practical and theoretical implications are discussed.
Women's Opportunities under Different Family Policy Constellations: Gender, Class, and Inequality Tradeoffs in Western Countries Re-examined

This article explores tradeoffs reflecting interaction effects between socioeconomic class and different types of family policies on gender inequalities in terms of agency and economic inequality in eighteen Organization for Economic and Cultural Development countries. We identify multiple dimensions in family policies, reflecting the extent to which legislation involves claim rights supporting mothers' paid work or supporting traditional homemaking. We use constellations of multidimensional policies in combination with multilevel analysis to examine effects on class selectivity of women into employment and glass ceilings with respect to women's access to top wages and managerial positions. Our results indicate that while major negative family policy effects for women with tertiary education are difficult to find in countries with well-developed policies supporting women's employment and work-family reconciliation, family policies clearly differ in the extent to which they improve opportunities for women without university education.
Who picks up the remainder? Mitigation in developed and developing countries

A fair, effective, flexible and inclusive climate regime beyond 2012 will need several political balances. Mitigation and funding will be at the heart of the agreement. The IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report indicates that absolute reductions will be needed in Annex I (AI) countries and substantial deviation from baseline in some non-Annex I (NAI) regions by 2020. Although the latter was not explicitly quantified by the IPCC, the EU subsequently proposed a range for developing countries. Sharing the burden for mitigation is essentially zero-sum: if one does less, the other has to do more. We critically examine the implicit assumption that NAI countries would pick up the remainder of the required global effort minus the AI contribution. We suggest that greater levels of ambition can be achieved by turning the formula around politically, starting from the achievable ‘deviation below baseline’ given NAI's national programmes and appropriate international support. AI countries may have to exceed the IPCC ranges or pay for the remainder. For notional levels of NAI mitigation action, Annex I has to reduce by between −52% and −69% below 1990 by 2020, only dropping to a domestic −35% with commitments to offset payments through the carbon market. Given the large mitigation gap, a political agreement on the question of ‘who pays’ is fundamental. The carbon market will provide some investment, but it mainly serves to reduce costs, particularly in developed countries, rather than adding to the overall effort. Market-linked levies and Annex I public funding will therefore be crucial to bridge the gap.
Osteoplastic Flap versus Modified Endoscopic Lothrop Procedure in Patients with Frontal Sinus Disease

The aim of the present study was to review the clinical results of osteoplastic flap procedure with abdominal fat obliteration and modified endoscopic Lothrop procedure. Charts of patients with frontal sinus disease who underwent osteoplastic flap procedure with abdominal fat obliteration or modified endoscopic Lothrop procedure were retrospectively reviewed. Forty-three patients with frontal sinus disease underwent osteoplastic flap procedure with abdominal fat obliteration. Frontal sinus disease was chronic sinusitis in 21, mucocele in 18, and papilloma in four. None of the patients had recurrence within 3 to 12 years follow-up period. Six patients had decreased forehead sensation, one had a CSF leak, and one had toss of the fat graft. Fifteen patients with chronic frontal sinusitis underwent modified endoscopic Lothrop procedure. The follow-up period ranged from 0.5 to 2.5 years. Two patients had recurrence of disease 2 and 6 months after surgery and required osteoplastic flap. In patients with chronic frontal sinusitis, both procedures achieved good relief of symptoms; however, follow-up time of modified endoscopic Lothrop procedure was smaller than that of osteoplastic flap procedure. In conclusion, osteoplastic flap procedure with abdominal fat obliteration provides successful treatment in patients with frontal chronic sinusitis, mucocele, or papilloma. Modified endoscopic Lothrop procedure achieves the relief of symptoms in patients with chronic frontal sinusitis. With the future availability of long term follow-up results, modified endoscopic Lothrop procedure may reduce the number of osteoplastic flap procedures in patients with chronic frontal sinusitis.
Myopathy with thick filament (myosin) loss following prolonged paralysis with vecuronium during steroid treatment

A 20‐year‐old female hospitalized with status asthmaticus was treated with bronchodilators, antibiotics, and high‐dose corticosteroids, and was paralyzed with vecuronium for 10 days to facilitate mechanical ventilation. When this was discontinued, she was found to have a flaccid quadriplegia with areflexia and 4‐fold elevation in serum creatine kinase. A muscle biopsy showed extensive loss of thick (myosin) myofilaments, sometimes in corelike distribution, with relative preservation of thin (actin) filaments and Z‐discs. Muscle strength returned to normal after 2 months. The pathological lesion in this patient's muscle fibers resemble those in rats treated with high doses of corticosteroids following denervation.
The Political Reliability of Italian Governments: An Exponential Survival Model

Italian cabinets (governi) fall from power in a seemingly haphazard pattern, thus defying most deterministic analyses of their durability. This analysis views Italian government longevity as essentially indeterminate, or stochastic, and it applies the theory of “political reliability” to explain the probability that an Italian government will be in power at time t after it was formed. An exponential survival model R = e−kt, with constant government breakdown rate k = . 021 per week, is developed, estimated, tested, and discussed. It is shown that Italian governments have a half-life (τ) of approximately 32.8 weeks, after which their political reliability drops below . 50, and their mean duration is 47.7 weeks, so the probability that an Italian government will survive as long as the average is only 36.8%. Theoretical aspects of the model are also discussed, together with characteristic features of exponential political reliability, such as lifetime density, political mortality, and government downfall rate, as well as the systems reliability and crisis process characteristic of Italian governments.
CSR matters in the development of Mauritius

Purpose - Rethinking development along the lines of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a new and exciting area of research and development practice. Newly emerging forms of global governance are now relying on private actors (business, non governmental organizations (NGOs)) rather than states. Therefore, CSR policy and programmes are necessary steps in securing responsible corporate behaviour in support of development. The objectives of this paper are to identify the areas of interventions for CSR activities and examine the rationale behind the CSR activities in Mauritius. It aims to analyse the relation between business and poverty reduction and also the successes and failures of CSR initiatives and how the programmes are delivering to the company's business objectives. In short, how is CSR redefining development? Design/methodology/approach - Both primary and secondary data have been collected for this study. Qualitative methods of data collection were privileged to address complex issues such as the relationship between CSR and development. In-depth interviews were carried out and seen as an appropriate research technique in order to explore and capture the perspectives of the stakeholders, namely private sector and the NGOs on CSR. Secondary sources in the form of company publications, annual reports, press cuttings, web sites of companies and survey reports were consulted. Findings - Although CSR initiatives go quite a long way back in Mauritius, it is still believed that CSR is not embedded in its corporate culture. However, in some cases, CSR is merely being used as window-dressing, for the gallery as a sideshow since it is a trendy issue and that everyone is doing it alongside with the wide media coverage. For CSR to become the national development tool, it is important that coordinated and concerted efforts be undertaken at the private sector level, in the civil society and at government level in achieving equitable, inclusive and sustainable development. Originality/value - This work contributes to the scarce literature on CSR in Mauritius as well as in the African continent, investigating the relationship between CSR and development in the Mauritian context. It also provides an extensive and critical literature review on CSR and CSR activities in Mauritius.
Prenatal Cocaine Exposure and Child Behavior

Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate previous teacher reports that children exposed to cocaine prenatally have more problem behaviors. Methods. A historical, prospective design was used. Maternal subjects (n = 116) of 6-year-old singleton, term (≥36 weeks) children, and the children's first-grade teachers (n = 102) agreed to participate. The child's first-grade teacher, blinded to study design and exposure status, rated the child's behavior with the Conners' Teacher Rating Scales (CTRS) and an investigator-developed scale, the Problem Behavior Scale (PROBS 14), measuring behaviors reported by educators to be specific to cocaine exposure. Mothers were interviewed by telephone regarding demographic and socioeconomic factors. Results. Although the cocaine-exposed group had higher (more problem behaviors) for each of the CTRS subscales, the overall multivariate analysis of variance for the CTRS was not significant. Children exposed to cocaine prenatally had higher scores (more problem behaviors) for 11 of the 14 PROBS items and the overall multivariate analysis of variance relating prenatal cocaine exposure to the PROBS was significant (Wilkes' λ =.775), even after controlling for gender and prenatal exposure to alcohol and cigarettes. Conclusions. This pilot study supports that teachers blinded to exposure status of early elementary students did rate the cocaine-exposed group as demonstrating significantly more problem behaviors than control children. Although an important first step, postnatal factors that also may influence behavior were not evaluated; hence, causation is not addressed.
Comparison of Web Service Quality Between Online Travel Agencies and Online Travel Suppliers

SUMMARY The purpose of this study is to: (1) identify the underlying dimensions of Web service quality between online travel agencies and online travel suppliers; and (2) compare the magnitude of Web service quality dimensions between online travel agencies and online travel suppliers in explaining the overall level of customer satisfaction. The study found that online travel agencies and online travel suppliers share similar commonalities with regard to information content, reputation and security, structure and ease of use, and usefulness commonly derived dimensions of Web service quality. Information content was found to be the most important dimension of online travel agencies in explaining the overall level of customer satisfaction while structure and ease of use was thought of as the most important dimension of online travel suppliers.
Improving the management style of school principals: results from a randomized trial

Using information from a randomized experiment carried out over the course of two school years in Madagascar, this paper evaluates the impact of specific actions designed to streamline and tighten the work processes of public primary school directors. The results show that interventions at the school level, reinforced by interventions at the district and subdistrict levels, succeeded overall in changing school heads' behavior toward better management. However, the average impact hides important heterogeneity. The impact of the intervention was significantly larger among school heads who had a nonpermanent contract and among school principals who were responsible for a monograde school. Interventions limited to the district and subdistrict levels proved to be largely ineffective on average, and the estimates do not show detectable differences in impact across principal and school characteristics. The results also show that direct and intensive interventions were more effective than interventions targeting only the district and subdistrict administrators.