Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DO CEOs EXPECT (AND DO THEY RECEIVE) PAYOFFS FROM LAYOFFS? AN EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CEO RELATIVE PAY AND LAYOFFS By

AN EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CEO RELATIVE PAY AND LAYOFFS By FREDERICK SCOTT BENTLEY A Thesis submitted to the Graduate SchoolNew Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Graduate Program in Industrial Relations and Human Resources Written under the direction of Ingrid Smithey Fulmer and approved by _______________________ _______________________ _______________________
Interaction and mediation in preadmission clinics : implications for the design of a telehealth stethoscope

A telehealth stethoscope would make it possible for doctors to perform physical examinations on patients at great distances. In order to develop a useful and usable telehealth stethoscope we have conducted fieldwork observations of existing anaesthetic preadmission clinics to understand how stethoscopes are currently used. Both face-to-face consultations and videoconference consultations have been studied. Our results indicate that the stethoscope plays a minor role in the consultation and that consultations are mediated by the administrative work that is the reason for the consultation. We suggest that a stethoscope plays an infrastructural role in the consultation. The implications of considering stethoscopes as infrastructure are explored and considered in the context of a future telehealth stethoscope.
A Code for Multibunched Beams with Wakefields, Group Velocities and Space Charge

Tracking multiparticle bunches with PIC codes is possible, but limited to very short distances. Using the modal description these codes provide, PARMTRACK can calculate detailed intra bunch dynamics, and bunch to bunch dynamics for travelling in relatively long beam lines. Macro-particle simulation allows for permanent redistribution in longitudinal as well as in transverse space, without any limiting approximations. Care is taken of group velocities associated with each frequency of the wakefield description. Applications are shown for the part of the CLIC two-beam test facility producing the 30 GHz power.
Line x tester analysis of maize inbred lines for grain yield and yield related traits

A line x tester analysis involving 48 test-crosses generated by crossing 24 elite maize inbred lines w ith two testers and four standard checks was conducted for differen t agronomic traits during 2010 cropping season at M elkassa Agricultural Research Center. The objectives of the study were to estimate general and specific combin ing ability effects of the inbred lines and to evaluate the tes t cross performance of the hybrids for grain yield and yield related traits. The genotypes were evaluated in 6x9 alpha l attice design replicated twice. Analysis of varianc e indicated significant mean squares due to genotypes for grain yield, 1000 kernel weight, days to anthesis and si lking ear and plant heights, number of ears per plant, number of rows per ear and number of kernels per row. There w ere significant mean square differences due to line GCA for all the traits analyzed while tester GCA was sonly for grain yield and ear height. Mean squares due to SCA were highly significant for grain yield, plant and ear heights, number of kernels per row, 1000 kernel wei ght and days to anthesis. Generally, mean squares d ue to GCA of lines, and testers and SCA of line x tester interactions were significant for grain yield and most yield related traits indicating the importance of both additive and non additive gene actions in controlling these traits.
Earnings Management Practices in Indian Companies: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Corporate accounting frauds over the last two decades have caused massive erosion of investor wealth and shattered public confidence in regulators and capital markets. Deliberate manipulation of financial numbers by a company is rarely a one-off event; it is more a culture of widespread earnings management that permeates an organization and eventually leads to a full-blown accounting fraud. This paper looks at earnings management practices in Indian companies and examines the extent of earnings management prevalent across firms of varying market capitalization. The present study examines 130 listed Indian companies during the period of 2013-2015. The findings of this study provide a measure of the quality of financial reporting in India. Modified Jones model (1995) is used to estimate discretionary accruals (DA), which is considered as a proxy for earnings management. The average DA is estimated at 5.6% of the total assets of the firms, which is comparable to the estimates in other parts of the world (about 1%-5% of total assets). A sector-specific analysis reveals presence of higher earnings manipulation in the consumer durable and energy sectors. Large cap companies are found to show a lower level of earnings management as compared to the small-cap firms. The study also finds a dip in the magnitude of DA in 2015, which is the first year of application of the new Companies Act 2013. Subsequent years will reveal the true success of the new Act in enforcing a stricter regime of corporate governance and greater accountability of corporate boards and audit committees. International studies point towards a high degree of correlation between effective audit committees and lower levels of earnings management in companies. Further work in this field from an Indian context will help identify factors that have a constraining effect on earnings management, and ultimately help preserve the sanctity of reported financial numbers.
Cortical auditory temporal processing abilities in elderly listeners

Background and Aim: This study investigated whether objective temporal processing paradigms including voice-onset-time, speech-in-noise, and amplitude modulated-broad-band noise (AM-BBN) are sensitive to disrupted temporal processing in elderly listeners with normal hearing (age-related-temporal processing deficit). Methods: We evaluated 15 adults aged 64–80 years using behavioural measures of temporal processing temporal modulation transfer function (TMTF) and speech perception. Cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) were elicited by three temporal paradigms presented in the sound field at 65 dBSPL: (1) naturally produced stop consonant-vowel (CV) syllables /da/-/ta/ and /ba/-/pa/; (2) speech-in-noise stimuli using the speech sound /da/with varying signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs); and (3) 16 Hz amplitude-modulated (AM) BBN presented in two conditions: (i) alone (representing a temporally modulated stimulus) and (ii) following an unmodulated BBN (representing a temporal change in the stimulus) using four modulation depths. Results: Findings demonstrated a statistically significant mean difference in n1 latency (p<0.05) between normally hearing elderly and young adult listeners in all paradigms. Compared with young adult participants, n1 latency of the CAEP was always prolonged for elderly participants. Conclusion: The three developed temporal processing paradigms are sensitive to disrupted temporal processing in elderly participants, and n1 latency may serve as a reliable objective measure of the efficiency of auditory temporal processing. The aging process affects temporal representations of the acoustic stimulus and reduces the ability to detect temporal cues, evidenced by abnormal n1 latency.
Fostering Employee Engagement through Human Resource Practices : A Case of Manufacturing Firms in Malaysia

The primary objective of this study is to determine the influence of human resource management (HRM) practices on employee engagement. HRM practices comprise of training and development, financial and non-financial recognition, fringe benefits, and supervisor-subordinate relationship. A total of 306 operational level employees in manufacturing firms in the Northern Region of Peninsular Malaysia reported on HRM practices in their respective organizations as well as their level of engagement at work. Statistical analyses were conducted to examine the influence of HRM practices on employee engagement. The findings reported a significant and positive impact of financial and non-financial recognition as well as fringe benefits on employee engagement. The regression analysis result indicated that 40 percent of total variance of employee engagement was explained by HRM practices dimensions. Discussions elaborated on the research results while implications brought to fore the theoretical and practical contributions of this study. Finally, recommendations addressed several directions for future research.
Partial Refunds or Money-Back Guarantees ?

A partial-refund policy is superior to a "full money-back policy when a seller faces a significant amount of opportunistic return behavior-i.e., consumers order a product for short term usage only to return it for a refund later. In a partial-refund policy, the seller charges a rent (the nonrefundable portion of price) to those who return the product; this discourages opportunistism, but also penalizes consumers who only return because merchandise is unsatisfactory. The optimal partial refund policy balances this tradeoff. Profit is higher under the partial refund policy because of a lower number of returns and because a higher price can be charged. Mail-order clothing and personal computer industries demonstrate that catalogers typically offer only partial refunds. " We thank Kevin Sadeghian and Michal Gerstner for their contributions to the empirical part of this paper. Wujin Chu would like to thank the Institute of Management Research at Seoul National University for sponsoring part of this research. Seoul Journal of Business
Prognosis of Peritoneal Dialysis Compared to Hemodialysis in Patient with End-Stage Renal Disease

End-stage Renal Disease (ESRD) is the terminal stage of Chronic Kidney Disease, where the function of the failing kidney must be substituted with Renal Replacement Therapy (RRT). There are two forms of RRT; Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) and Hemodialysis (HD. However, the issue of which method provide a better survival for patient remains an interesting topic to date. This paper aims to provide evidence on whether PD provides better survival compared to HD in a patient with ESRD. Systematic search was done using two databases; Pubmed® and Scopus®. Cohort studies were selected as appropriate study design to answer a prognosis question. Two restrospective cohorts and one prospective cohort study are relevant for this report. Two studies demonstrated survival advantage of PD over HD described by Relative Risk of Mortality of 0.398 and 0.49. The last study showed worse survival of PD patients compared to HD (RR=1.82). The difference in survival in the last study may be attributed to the fact that patients undergoing PD has worse baseline characteristics. PDand HD bring about comparable survival in ESRD patients.
Effect of the application of stem cells for tendon injuries in sporting horses

La solucion para las tendinitis sufridas por los equinos deportivos ha sido, por anos, el dilema de los medicos veterinarios que se dedican a tratar este tipo de lesiones. La medicina regenerativa, utilizando celulas madre del mismo paciente, surge como un metodo innovador que permite atravesar la barrera de resolucion mantenida en el tiempo y con ventajas que superan a las terapias tradicionales, que no proporcionan una recuperacion total. Se han descrito la medula osea y el tejido adiposo como fuentes principales de extraccion de celulas madre. Ambos conllevan un proceso distinto de concentracion celular que finalmente termina como un producto que debe ser inyectado en el tendon afectado y, dadas las caracteristicas tipicas de lesion nucleo presentadas en el tejido danado, puede ser depositado en el centro de este. El resultado esperado es la regeneracion del tendon, sin exceso de tejido fibroso, observando alineacion de las fibras tendineas, disminucion de la infiltracion inflamatoria y zona hemorragica. Con un programa de rehabilitacion que incluya reposo y ejercicio progresivo, el equino vuelve a su estado competitivo optimo. La factibilidad de realizar esta terapia en nuestra ubicacion geografica es posible, ya que la tecnica de extraccion desde ambas fuentes es simple y dentro de las opciones de concentracion celular, siendo la del tejido adiposo mas sencilla ya que requiere menos elementos y menor tiempo, ejecutandose la terapia en la etapa aguda de la lesion. La utilizacion de celulas madre en equinos es un tema de investigacion creciente, que promete resultados alentadores.
Getting ready for reading: Early phoneme awareness and phonics teaching improves reading and spelling in inner‐city second language learners

Background. Previous studies demonstrate that phoneme awareness training, particularly when combined with letter-sound teaching, results in improved reading and spelling development. Aims. This study seeks to extend previous findings by (a) including children learning English as a second language, who have typically been excluded from previous studies; (b) providing training for whole classes, rather than small groups; (c) using a commercially available programme; and (d) giving minimal training to teachers administering the programme. Sample. Two groups (N = 112) of 5-year-olds, 96 of whom were learning English as a second language, were enrolled into either the experimental (phoneme awareness and phonics) programme or the control programme, which took a more holistic approach based on Holdaway's (1979) use of Big Books. Method. Children were pretested on measures of spoken and written language, phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge, prior to a 12-week intervention using either the experimental or control programme. Children were post-tested on all measures immediately after intervention, and again one year later. Results. The experimental programme accelerated children's acquisition of phoneme awareness and of phonics knowledge, and their ability to apply these in reading and writing. In the year following intervention both groups made comparable progress in most areas; however, at the end of this year the experimental group were still significantly ahead in phoneme awareness and phonics knowledge, and on standardised and experimental tests of reading and spelling. Conclusions. Early concentration on teaching phoneme awareness and phonics can radically improve reading and spelling standards in inner city second language learners.
Locally identified criteria, indicators and verifiers for evaluating sustainable community based forestry: a case from Nepal

Community based forestry is seen in many countries as a way to enhance sustainable forest management through close involvement of local people. This paper aims to develop understanding of local perspectives on criteria, indicators and verifiers for evaluating sustainable community based forest management practices. This study includes ten different forest user groups ranging from full autonomy to semi-autonomy in making decisions regarding forest management practices covering three districts from three physiographic (mid-hill, inner-tarai and tarai) regions of Nepal. A village to village approach was used to acquire the perspectives from male, female and different castes. The findings show that local people identified four criteria, 26 indicators and 60 verifiers for evaluating sustainable community based forest management practices. Three locally identified criteria were found to be identical with the institutional topdown criteria. The paper concludes that understanding local knowledge, local practice and associated institutions are important to manage forest resources in a sustainable manner. There is also a need to have continuous collaborative works between forest professionals and local people to enhance sustainable forest management. Banko JanakariA Journal of Forestry Information for NepalVol. 28, No. 1, 2018, page: 37-47
Palm Stearin as Alternative Binder for MIM: A Review

Palm stearin is one of the fractionation process results from palm oil that is the largest commodities in the world. It has potentially as an alternative of binder in metal injection molding based on researches that conducted in Malaysia. Palm stearin can be combined with other binder to be a binder system with the function as lubricant and surfactant in a binder system. Based on experiments showed Palm stearin has fulfilled requirement as binder in MIM such as pseudoplastic behavior from rheological test and homogeneity of the feedstock. Palm stearin can replace conventional binders that commonly used in industry.
Discussion on Borehole Wave Modes Excited by Two Types of Acoustic Logging While Drilling Sources

In this paper, we extend the Real Axis Integration (RAI) method and improve the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method to investigate the wave fields excited by the monopole and multipole Acoustic Logging While Drilling (ALWD) sources with low and high center frequencies. We simulate the two traditional kinds of source exerting methods by both of the RAI and FDTD methods accurately and efficiently. Mutual verification of the two methods ensures the validity and reliability of our theoretic analysis and modeling results. The modeling results indicate that the ring source can only excite those monopole or multipole wave modes of certain orders. The four azimuthally orthogonal point sources can excite similar wave modes only at the lower frequencies, but at higher frequencies, they might further excite wave modes of higher orders with significant amplitude. These modeling results may help the design of ALWD tools, and also provide an essential basis for the further analysis of the ALWD problems in anisotropic formations and tool eccentric conditions.
Reliability measures of subcutaneous pressure pain threshold measurements: A proposed method of assessing painful musculoskeletal disorders.

Background: Pressure algometry is a widely used method aiming to investigate deep tissue mechanical pain threshold in painful musculoskeletal disorders. Considering from the literature the input of skin and subcutaneous tissue in the determination of pressure pain threshold, and the distinctive role in clinical setting of the subcutaneous pressure threshold measurement(sPPT), it becomes necessary to investigate the reliability of the sPPT measurements. This study examines the short and longer-term intra-examiner reliability of sPPT measurements. Methods: Thirty subjects were examined at 3 pre-determined time intervals, in various parts of the body, by the same examiner in the same clinical setting. Short (between days) and longer-term (after a week) test-retest reliability was investigated. A number of statistical procedures was computed: ICC, ANOVA, standard error of measurement (SEM), smallest detectable difference (SDD) and confirmatory scatterplots. Results: The ICC statistic reached good to excellent levels for both types of reliability (0.70 – 0.97). ANOVA produced non-significant differences at all measurements. SEM gave a satisfactory overall mean value of 6.07 kPa (short-term) for all measuring sites (range: 3.2-10.1) and similarly for the longer-term reliability (Mean=6.2, range:3.1-11.2). SDD were satisfactory in the majority of the measurements [short: Mean=11.76, range: 5.9-20, longer: Mean=12.0, range: 6.5-22] but relatively high in some measuring sites, nevertheless fully acceptable and safely within the pressure algometry limits as defined in the literature. Conclusions: Subcutaneous pressure threshold measurement is a reliable to reproduce with stable results procedure, either for short or longer periods of time (from 1 to 7 days), across the whole body (upper – lower body),by the same examiner. Its fluctuation in absolute values is within the literature limits of deep pressure algometry.
MULTIPLE FLUX SYSTEMS AND THEIR WINDING ANGLES IN HALO CME SOURCE REGIONS

Recently, Choe & Cheng (2002) have demonstrated that multiple magnetic flux systems with closed configurations can have more magnetic energy than the corresponding open magnetic fields. In relation to this issue, we have addressed two questions: (1) how much fraction of eruptive solar active regions shows multiple flux system features, and (2) what winding angle could be an eruption threshold. For this investigation, we have taken a sample of 105 front-side halo CMEs, which occurred from 1996 to 2001, and whose source regions were located near the disk center, for which magnetic polarities in SOHO/MDI magnetograms are clearly discernible. Examining their soft X-ray images taken by Yohkoh SXT in pre-eruption stages, we have classified these events into two groups: multiple flux system events and single flux system events. It is found that 74% (78/105) of the sample events show multiple flux system features. Comparing the field configuration of an active region with a numerical model, we have also found that the winding angle of the eruptive flux system is slightly above 1. 5π.
Commodity prices and stock market performance in South Africa

As an export based economy, commodity prices and stock market performances are always a course for concern in the South African economy. This paper investigates the effects of the commodity prices and selected macroeconomic variables on stock market performance. The paper uses quarterly time series data and the estimation covers the period 1994 to 2013. Using Engle-Granger two steps econometric technique, the underlying series are tested for univariate characteristics of the variables unit root by employing the Augmented Dickey-Fuller, Phillips-Perron and Kwiatkowski-PhillipsSchmidt-Shin test statistics. The findings show that an increase in commodity prices is associated with an increase in stock market performance and there is a positive association between stock market and macroeconomic such as money supply and exchange rate in South Africa.
Effects of different mesh schemes and turbulence models in cfd modelling of stirred tanks

This paper focuses on the effects of grid schemes and turbulence models on the CFD modelling of stirred tanks. The economical grid was determined by examining the dimensionless wall distance and the skewness of elements. The grid independency study ensured that the independency of numerical predictions. Also, three categories of turbulence models were compared for prediction of flow pattern. The grid sensitivity study highlighted that the quality of control volumes in the bulk and near the wall regions are significant for obtaining the consistent solutions. It was also found that for the prediction of velocity components and the turbulent quantity the RANS based models are more efficient.