Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Public Investment in Transportation Infrastructures and Industry Performance in Portugal

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the effects at the industry level of public investment in transportation infrastructures in Portugal. The empirical results are based on VAR/ECM models for the Portuguese economy and for eighteen industries covering the whole spectrum of economic activity in the country. These models consider private-sector output, employment and investment as well as public investment. Empirical results at the aggregate level indicate that public investment has a positive effect on both private inputs as well as on private output and that it affects labor productivity positively. These aggregate results, however, hide a wide variety of industry-level effects. In absolute terms, the industries that benefit the most from public investment are Construction, Trade, Transportation, Finance, Real Estate, and Services. In turn, relative to their size, the industries that benefit the most are Mining, Non-Metal Products, Metal Products, Construction, Restaurants, Transportation, and Finance, and, therefore, public investment tends to shift the industry mix toward these industries. Accordingly, our empirical results suggest that although public investment has been a powerful instrument to enhance the long-term economic performance in Portugal it does so in a way that is rather unbalanced across industries.
Stable isotope analysis reveals sexual and environmental variability and individual consistency in foraging of thin-billed prions

Based on growing knowledge on the distribution of stable isotopes in marine food webs, a powerful tool to study movements and trophic position of seabirds has been developed. Here we provide an updated review of isotope studies in the Southern Ocean and use δ 13 C and δ 15 N to evalu- ate diet and foraging areas of a small pelagic seabird, the thin-billed prion Pachyptila belcheri, breeding on the Falkland Islands. We found that close to egg laying, adults foraged in Falkland waters or northerly, but used more southerly foraging areas during courtship and chick rearing. Feathers grown during winter indicated that most individuals migrated south, although a small num- ber of adults migrated north every year, consistent with regular winter observations of this species off Patagonia and southern Brazil. Thus, Antarctic waters are used regularly, but not exclusively, during the breeding and inter-breeding season. We document sex-specific segregation in foraging for the first time in this species. Males and females differed in δ 13 C and δ 15 N during courtship and chick feeding. On average, males foraged at a higher trophic level and further north than females. The iso- topic signatures of blood sampled from individual chicks at different ages were correlated, indicating consistent behaviour of adult pairs over the chick-rearing period. Analysis of differences among years revealed more depleted isotope values during warmer years, suggesting more southerly foraging and a lower trophic level diet. This agrees with previous studies suggesting that warm sea surface waters depress local food availability, forcing prions to undertake longer foraging trips further south.
Occupational Stress and Work Capacity of Nurses of a Hospital Group1

The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between occupational stress and the work capacity index of 368 nurses (82.1% of the population) of a Hospital Group. A questionnaire with socio-occupational questions was used as well as two scales: the Job Stress Scale and the Work Capacity Index. The group of nurses was predominantly female (93.2%), worked in care activities (63.9%), had undertaken at least one Postgraduate course (76%) and were satisfied with the unit where they worked (70.5%). Occupational stress was present in 23.6% of the nurses, of these 15.2% presented High Strain work and 8.4% Passive Work. Social Support exercised a significant positive influence on all groups exposed or not to occupational stress. Regarding the Work Capacity, this was Moderate (28-36 points) for 51.4% of the nurses and Good (37-43 points) for 47.4%. There was no correlation between stress and work capacity.
Diurnal dynamics of CH4, CO2 and N2O fluxes in the saline-alkaline soils of the Yellow River Delta, China

Salt-affected soils are extensively present and constitute about 7% of total land surface. However, our knowledge about greenhouse gas (GHG) turnover between the atmosphere and the saline soils is very limited. In order to evaluate the potential of GHG consumption in saline soils, we measured gas fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from the soil surface to the atmosphere under saline-alkaline mudflat and various community types in the Yellow River Delta in China. In general, the emissions of GHG of different ecosystems showed a unique peak diurnal pattern, with the peak at 13:00 h and the lowest value at 07:00 h. The CH4 and N2O emission of different ecosystems followed the order: saline-alkaline mudflat>T. chinensis>S. salsa>P. australis, while the CO2 emission followed the order: T. chinensis>P. australis>S. salsa > saline-alkaline mudflat. On the whole, saline-alkaline mudflat and different vegetations acted as CO2 and N2O source in spring, while saline-alkaline mudflat and P. australis communities acted as CH4 source and CH4 sink, respectively. However, T. chinensis and S. salsa communities acted as CH4 sink before 12:00 h and CH4 source after 12:00 h. Although measurements of the CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes were taken simultaneously, CH4 and N2O fluxes were strongly correlated with soil moisture, temperature and electrical conductivity, while no significant correlation was found between CO2 flux with above environmental factors. These results probably suggest that factors other than soil temperature, moisture and salinity exerted a larger impact on fluxes than on CH4 and N2O release and/or that there were not enough samples for CO2 flux measurements because of its higher spatial and temporal variability.
The Relationships between Mobile Environment Cues towards Mobile Purchasing Intention and Spreading Positive User â€“ Generated Content: A Pilot Study

Evolution of technology indirectly has impacted customer purchasing behaviour and sellers’ promotional activity. Generally, before customers have a purchase intention, they will seek for information and all the information usually can be obtained online especially on social media. Rationally, customers would believe words generated by others who have consumption experiences as it is seen to be more credible and trustworthy. Words provided by others on online is known as User-Generated Content. Allowing buyers to fully rely on words generated by others may not always be favourable to online sellers. Therefore, researchers conducted this pilot study with only 30 respondents to determine the relationship between Mobile Environment Cues towards Mobile Purchase Intention and Spreading Positive User-Generated Content with Shaped Discussion as one of the cues. SPSS was used and correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were employed. Out of 5 hypotheses, 3 were supported and 2 were not. Finding also revealed that information provided by sellers does have weak relationship with mobile purchase intention.
Investigation the root causes of seafarers’ turnover and its impact on the safe operation of the ship

Thus, the importance of turnover from the point of view of managers’ is that a high rate of turnover not only necessitates a costly personnel replacement, recruitment, selection and training of new personnel but also disrupts normal operations resulting in a loss of productivity and safety. Besides a loss of critical personnel who is carrying out core activities, like master, chief engineer or chief officer that can not be compensated easily with an other competent alternative, it could definitely result in a loss of production and loss of a skilled worker who is competent and reliable with safety precautions and company politics which means loss of thousands of dollars in maritime transportation. This study concentrates on making an investigation on “intention to quit” and its antecedents. Consequently the effects of turnover on both organizational and safety aspects and their countermeasures are discussed in advanced.
Determining Genetic Variation of Calpastatin Gene with MspI and NcoI Enzymes by Using PCR-RFLP Method in Kivircik Lambs

Bu calismanin amaci Kivircik kuzularda PCR-RFLP yontemi ile MspI ve NcoI enzimleri kullanilarak kalpastatin geninin genetik cesitliligini belirlemektir. Kirklareli ilinde bulunan sekiz farkli ciftlikten toplanan Kivircik kuzularinin (n=153) kan ornekleri DNA izolasyonu icin kullanilmistir. PCR amplifikasyonundan sonra, urunler %2 ’ lik ve %3 ’ luk agaroz jel elektroforezinde M ve N allellerini ayirt etmek icin MspI ve NcoI enzimleri ile kesilmistir. M ve N allellerinin frekansi MspI lokusunda sirasiyla %88,2 ve %11,8, NcoI lokusunda %98,7 ve %1,3 olarak bulunmustur. MspI lokusu icin MM, MN ve NN genotiplerinin frekanslari sirasiyla 0,77, 0,22 ve 0,01 olarak tespit edilmistir. NcoI lokusu icin MM ve MN genotiplerinin frekanslari sirasiyla 0,97 ve 0,03 olarak belirlenmistir, NN genotipi ise gozlenmemistir. Gozlenen heterozigotluk MspI lokusu icin (0,22), NcoI lokusundan (0,03) daha yuksek olarak bulunmustur. Kirklareli ilinde yetistirilen Kivircik kuzulari MspI ve NcoI lokuslari icin Hardy-Weinberg dengesinde bulunmustur.
Student Teachers? Beliefs about Teaching and Their Sense of Self Efficacy: A Descriptive and Comparative Analysis

This study aims at investigating the student teachers? traditional versus constructivist educational beliefs and their sense of self efficacy by some variables: gender grade and department Also it is intended to examine the association between them The population of the study is 3 817 1 822 female 1955 male student teachers in Faculty of Education at Inonu University during the first semester of 2007 2008 academic year The sample of the study comprises 411 students chosen using proportional stratified sampling technique Participants were given ? Teachers Belief Survey? and ? Teachers? Sense of Efficacy Scale? The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques t test ANOVA Kruskal Wallis LSD Mann Whitney U and Pearson correlation The analysis revealed that participants? professional self efficacy levels were moderately over average and they had both constructivist and traditional beliefs the former being moderately more dominant The comparisons between independent groups gender grade and department gave some results partly consistent with the relevant literature Also a positive correlation was found between constructivist teacher beliefs and self efficacy beliefs about student engagement and between traditional teacher beliefs and self efficacy beliefs about class management instruction and overall self efficacy
Functional service quality satisfaction of islamic and conventional credit card users in Malaysia

ABSTRACT The objective of this paper is to deepen the understanding of customers’ satisfaction among credit card users. The study employs the Servperf model to evaluate the functional service quality dimensions of satisfaction of credit card users of Islamic versus conventional banking in Malaysia. The comparison between different types of credit card users is examined using factor analysis and regression. The dimensions are found to be robust for different types of credit card users, except for the Assurance dimension. The dimension did not form significantly in the factor analysis whenever respondents, who are Islamic credit card users, are included. Meanwhile, all of the dimensions are found in the regression analysis to have positive relationships with customer satisfaction, which are consistent with the theoretical prediction. This is the first contextual study conducted in the credit card industry that compares the functional service quality satisfaction of Islamic credit card users with conventional credit card users. Keywords: Credit card users’ satisfaction; Islamic credit card; functional service quality ABSTRAK Tujuan kertas kerja ini adalah untuk mendalami pemahaman tentang kepuasan pelanggan dalam kalangan pengguna kad kredit. Kajian ini menggunakan model Servperf untuk menilai dimensi kualiti perkhidmatan fungsian perbankan Islam dan konvensional di Malaysia. Perbandingan antara jenis-jenis pengguna kad kredit yang berbeza dijalankan menggunakan analisis faktor dan regresi. Semua dimensi kepuasan didapati mempunyai ketahanan untuk kumpulan pengguna kad kredit yang berlainan, kecuali dimensi jaminan. Dimensi ini tidak dapat membentuk secara signifikan semasa analisis faktor dijalankan terutamanya apabila ianya melibatkan pengguna kad kredit Islamik. Sementara itu, semua dimensi didapati mempunyai hubungan positif dengan kepuasan pelanggan dalam analisis regresi dan konsisten dengan jangkaan teoretikal. Kajian ini adalah kajian kontekstual yang pertama dijalankan untuk industri kad kredit, membandingkan kepuasan kualiti perkhidmatan fungsian pelanggan kad kredit Islamik dan konvensional. Kata kunci: Kepuasan pengguna kad kredit; kad kredit Islamik; kualiti perkhidmatan fungsian
PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROCESSES IN ICE AND FROZEN GROUND SIMULATING ICE ACCUMULATION AND DEFORMATIONS ON GROUND FREEZING: A GENERALIZED THEORETICAL MODEL

A single system of equations is suggested to simulate moisture transport responsible for segregated and injected ice accumulation and to calculate jointly the respective parameters and deformation in freezing ground. The system includes balance equations for heat and mass (water and soil skeleton) at the freezing front. Water fluxes for each mechanism are found with additional equations. The model allows predicting deformation patterns in surface foundations in the case of segregated ice accumulation and the percentage of mineral component in forming frozen structures for the case of injection. For the injection mechanism, there exists a critical water flux above which pure ice forms. The predicted parameters of injected ice accumulation agree with the field observations of the structure and composition of natural ice deposits, as well as with the results of specially designed laboratory experiments.
Three Classes of Orthomodular Lattices3

In the concluding remarks of Bruns and Greechie (1990) and in Legan (1998), the authors discuss several classes of orthomodular lattices. Continuing that discussion, we adopt the following notation. Let us denote the class of all orthomodular lattices by OML and the class of commutator-finite orthomodular lattices by C. Additionally, we denote the class of orthomodular lattices that satisfy the block extension property by C1, the class of those that satisfy the weak block extension property by C2, and the class of those that are locally finite by C3. After making the appropriate definitions, we give two examples and refer to two others to show that these classes are ordered by strict containment (⊂); namely, C ⊂ C1 ⊂ C2 ⊂ C3 ⊂ OML. An orthomodular lattice (abbreviated, OML) is an ortholattice L satisfying the condition that if a ≤ b and b ∧ a′ = 0, then a = b. A commutator in an OML L is an element of the form (a ∨ b) ∧ (a ∨ b′) ∧ (a′ ∨ b) ∧ (a′ ∨ b′). A maximal boolean subalgebra of an OML L is called a block of L. An OML is commutatorfinite (respectively, block-finite), if it contains only finitely many commutators
Organizational learning and market performance: The interactive effect of market orientation

This study examines the interactive effect of market orientation in the relationship between organizational learning and market performance. Market performance, as the dependent variable, is expected to create wealth for organizations and shareholders, however, so far, little empirical attention has been given to market performance as one of the decisive end outcome of organizational learning activities. Using a cross-sectional survey design, the empirical findings indicated a positive relationship between the study variables. A continuum among the organizational learning styles (adaptive learning, generative learning and triple-loop learning) was established with market performance. Market performance is greatly improved when organizational learning interacts with market orientation and the discussion focuses on managerial support, an appropriate learning infrastructure and market-based organizational culture as the foundations for the relationships in the organizations. Key words: Organizational learning, learning styles, market orientation, market performance, management practices.
NCIDENCE OF DIARRH E A L DISEASES AMONG CHILDREN IN KISHANGANJ DISTRICT OF BIHAR

INTRODUCTION: Diarrhoea is a common and preventable disease, but unfortunately in India and other developing countries of the world diarrhoea continues to cause serious problems in infants and children. It is among the topmost causes of morbidity and mortality in children. OBJECTIVE: To study different factors responsible for the incidence of diarrhoeal diseases among children of Kishanganj district of Bihar. MATERIALS & METHODS: The present study was conducted from July 2013 to Sep. 2013. The sample size has been collected using standard method in CDD household survey manual. To ensure reasonable limit of precision target sample size of approximate 3742 children upto 12 years of age was selected for study. The survey consisted of 30 clusters and each cluster consists of about 125 children. The association of diarrhoea in children in relation to some factors like literacy level of parents, housing condition, socio-economic status and sanitary condition of the house, were studied. OBSERVATION: The percentage of diarrhoea cases in children of both illiterate parents, only father literate, only mother literate and both literate parents, were 20.3%, 16.01%, 10.8%, & 8.6% respectively. The incidence of diarrhoea in good and poor housing was 15.1% & 17.6% respectively. The incidence of diarrhoea in low, middle and poor socio-economic group was 17.8%, 14.1% and 50.0 % respectively. The incidence of diarrhoea among children, living in poor and good sanitary condition was 18.5% and 8.9% respectively. CONCLUSION: The incidence of diarrhoea was low among children belonging to literate families, living in good housing condition, belonging to middle socio-economic group, and living in good sanitary condition.
Effects of Leadership Styles on Employee Commitment in Non-Governmental Organizations: A Case Study of Christian Aid

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . v DEDICATION . vi LIST OF TABLES . ix LIST OF FIGURES . x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . xi CHAPTER ONE . 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION . 1 1.1 Background of the Problem . 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem . 5 1.3 Purpose of the Study . 7 1.4 Research Questions . 7 1.5 Significance of the Study . 7 1.6 Scope of the Study . 8 1.7 Definition of Terms . 8 1.8 Chapter Summary . 9 CHAPTER TWO . 10 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW . 10 2.
Africa and Arab Gulf States : Divergent Development Paths and Prospects for Convergence

In spite of the similarities between Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab Gulf region (Gulf Cooperation Council states), development policies implemented in these two regions of the world have produced markedly different and even divergent outcomes. While Gulf Cooperation Council states have drawn on hydrocarbon revenues to dramatically transform their economic landscape, Sub-Saharan African countries have exhibited abysmal economic and social outcomes. The remarkable increase in personal income and large current account surpluses in Arab Gulf states is in sharp contrast with widespread poverty and recurrent balance of payments crises in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper reviews the possible causes of these divergent development paths and discusses the prospects for economic convergence in the new globalization landscape of growing trade ties between the two regions. In particular, it shows that development models underpinned by institutional continuity and intergenerational accountability could enhance long-run growth in Sub-Saharan Africa and income convergence between the two regions.
Comparison of Serum Total Antioxidant Status Between Patients with Community Acquired Pneumonia and Severe Asthma Exacerbation.

BackgrOund: Oxidant/antioxidant imbalance has been reported in various respiratory diseases including pneumonia and asthma. However, the role of blood antioxidants has not been fully analyzed. OBjectiveS: The aim of the present study was to measure and compare serum total antioxidant status (TAS) in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) or asthma exacerbation during hospitalization. MethOdS: Forty-five patients (41 men – 4 women, with a mean age of 4922 years) admitted to our hospital with community-acquired pneumonia and 30 patients with severe asthma exacerbation (22 men – 8 women, with a mean age of 41.320.7 years), as well as 18 normal subjects (40.210 years of age) were included in the study. On admission and on the seventh day, serum TAS was measured using a colorimetric method at 600 nm. reSultS: In both groups TAS on admission was decreased compared with normal subjects (0.83±0.13 vs. 1.19±0.09 mmol/L, p<0.001 and 0.98±0.08 vs. 1.19±0.09 mmol/L, p<0.001 respectively). In patients with CAP, but not in asthmatics, TAS on discharge was still decreased compared with normals (1.00 ±0.18 vs. 1.19±0.09 mmol/L, p<0.001). Change of TAS between the first and seventh day was not different between the two groups of patients. Comparison between TAS on admission and TAS on discharge revealed statistically significant difference in both groups of patients (asthma: 0.98±0.08 vs. 1.13±0.18 mmol/L, p<0.001, pneumonia: 0.83±0.13 vs. 1.00±0.18 mmol/L, p<0.001). Comparison of TAS on admission and TAS on discharge between the two groups of patients showed that both measurements were significantly decreased in patients with pneumonia compared with asthmatics (0.83±0.13 vs. 0.98±0.08 mmol/L, p<0.001 and 1.00±0.18 vs. 1.13±0.18 mmol/L, p=0.003 respectively). Decreased TAS on admission was found in smokers with pneumonia compared with smokers/asthmatics but on discharge this difference was obscured. Non-smokers with pneumonia had decreased TAS both on admission and discharge compared with non-smokers /asthmatics. cOncluSiOnS: Serum TAS is decreased in patients with CAP or asthma exacerbation suggesting the presence of oxidative stress. Although TAS change during the course of the disease is similar, this decrease is more profound in CAP patients on admission as well as on discharge. Pulmonary Department & Microbiology Laboratory, 424 General Army Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece Pulmonary Department, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece keY WOrdS: Community acquired pneumonia, asthma exacerbation, oxidative stress, total antioxidant status