Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Relation between bovine milk quality, production volume, and environmental variables in dairy farms

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relation between dairy farms with different volumes of milk production (L milk/day) and milk quality in the Western region of Santa Catarina State, as well as to identify environmental characteristics that could be associated with milk quality. Twenty-nine dairy farms were surveyed and categorized into three groups according to the volume of milk produced daily: S1, less than 200 L/day; S2, from 201 to 500 L/day; and S3, more than 500 L/day. Milk samples were collected from the bulk tank and analyzed for fat, protein, and lactose, somatic cell count (SCC), and total bacterial count (TBC). A questionnaire was applied to dairy farmers in order to obtain a set of twenty explanatory variables that may influence milk quality such as farmer profile, farm structure, and management. Outcome variables were evaluated by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Redundancy Analysis (RA). Low values of SCC, TBC and fat content were found to be strongly associated with greater volumes of production (S3). Type of milking and feeding program were the variables that most interfered with milk quality, followed by the average production per cow and type of grazing.
Threat, Cohesion, and Group Effectiveness: Testing a Social Identity Maintenance Perspective on Groupthink

Although Janis's concept of groupthink is influential, experimental investigations have provided only weak support for the theory. Experiment 1 produced the poor decision quality associated with groupthink by manipulating group cohesion (using group labels) and threat to group members' self-esteem. Self-reports of some groupthink and defective decision-making symptoms were independently, but not interactively, affected by cohesion and threat. Experiment 2 confirmed the success of the cohesion manipulation. Experiment 3 replicated the poor-quality decision making observed in Experiment 1 and provided support for a social identity maintenance perspective on groupthink: Groups who operated under groupthink conditions but who were given an excuse for potential poor performance produced significantly higher quality decisions than groups who worked under groupthink conditions alone. The results are used to interpret the groupthink phenomenon as a collective effort directed at warding off potentially negative views of the group.
Role of small addition of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) on laminar burning velocity of hydrous ethanol

Ethanol is an appropriate substitution for gasoline fuel in spark ignition engines. Ethanol has a high-octane number allowing to use it in the higher compression ratio of the engine. A better understanding of combustion characteristics of ethanol is needed before it is used widely in the spark ignition engine. One of the most important parameters of the replacement fuel is the burning velocity. Therefore, the purpose of the research is to investigate experimentally the effect of the small addition of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) on the laminar burning velocity of hydrous ethanol. The combustion characteristic of the ethanol and LPG mixture was examined in a cylindrical combustion chamber with a diameter of 10.8 cm and a length of 17 cm. The flame had a spherically expanding shape. Fuel mixture was ignited by sparks inside the cylinder and the flame diameter was measured from the flame image captured by the high-speed camera. The research used two types of ethanol fuel such as anhydrous ethanol and hydrous ethanol containing 0.3 % of water. The percentage of LPG in the fuel mixture was varied from 0 % to 20 %. The results showed that the addition of 10 % LPG in ethanol increases laminar burning velocity. For anhydrous fuels, ethanol burning velocity is higher than for LPG and the highest burning velocity is in ethanol, to which 10 % LPG is added while the lowest is in LPG. Besides, the effect of water content in ethanol fuel causes a decrease in combustion speed significantly. But the addition of LPG up to 10 % makes hydrous ethanol relatively more robust to rising water content due to the combustion reaction is helped by a higher radical concentration in LPG. This is caused by two factors: the partial preheating zone resulted by the hydroxyl group (OH) of ethanol that supplied more heat energy and the high concentration of radicals in LPG that assists the combustion reaction.
Integrated Innovation and Patent Management: A Capability Perspective

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the elements of an integrated innovation and patent management that support the sensing, seizing of innovation and if necessary the reconfiguring of a business. We found several organizational and managerial processes, procedures, systems, and structures of an integrated innovation and patent management that represent specific microfoundations for managing innovation. The importance of an integrated innovation and patent management has grown in today’s fast changing environment. The findings in this paper emphasize to demonstrate the fact that management should integrate innovation and patent functions one process as well as on strategic level to develop significant technologies in-house and act and react on competitive markets. This paper is valuable since it contributes to recent research calls for more qualitative studies on the integration of innovation and patent management and for the identification of specific microfoundations of dynamic capabilities.
Double transition to synchronization: A generic emergent transitional behavior in large systems of coupled oscillators

We study a system of M≫ 1 nonidentical laser oscillators coupled with time delay through a central laser oscillator in a star-coupling topology. In the large-M limit we show that this system undergoes novel transitional behavior which represents a new generic type of emergent behavior in large systems of coupled laser oscillators. Specifically, we observe a sequence of two dynamical transitions (“a double transition”). A first transition occurs when the effective threshold of the central oscillators is reached leading to an increase of the order parameter to a level far above the noise level. As the control parameter is raised further a second transition occurs leading to a further increase of the order parameter to a level of order M1/2 above the level achieved past the first transition. A scaling analysis and numerical experiments reveal the underlying mechanism of this scenario. We suggest that double transitions, discovered here in the context of a specific system, are expected to occur in diverse situations involving large coupled-oscillator networks.
Mixed Signals: A Phenomenological Study on the Effects of Cell Phones on College Student Involvement

Leading the United States of America in cell phone use are American college students, of whom 94% have a cell phone, 85% use text messaging, and 75% send texts every day (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, 2008). This study utilized a phenomenological qualitative methodology to examine the effects of cellular telephones on college student involvement, based on Alexander Astin’s (1986) theory of involvement. Seven participants from a small, residential university in the Midwest participated in the study and shared their lived experiences as college student cell phone users living on a cell phone-saturated campus. The results of this study indicated that cell phones positively promote face-to-face out-of-class student involvement with other college students, increase students’ likelihood of participating in on-campus programs, but are unlikely to facilitate involvement with faculty. Furthermore, the findings indicated that participants were dissatisfied with the quantity of interactions cell phones provided, and resented and blamed cell phones for the lack of quality relationships they have with others. Nevertheless, participants emphasized their perception of cell phones was mostly positive, even though they frequently described the devices’ undesired and harmful effects, believing cell phones are necessary in order to stay socially connected and informed.
AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE PRACTICES OF THE SELECTED OIL AND GAS COMPANIES IN TANZANIA

The main objective of this study was to explore the governance practices of ten oil and gas companies operating in Tanzania. Using content analysis of annual reports of the studied companies, the study sought to particularly examine board structure and composition as well as functioning of the board and audit committees. The findings revealed that given the size and scale of operations, the number of board members in the studied oil and gas companies ranged from six to eleven and most of these board members were foreigners. In terms of gender, most companies had both male and female members in the board of directors, with an exception of two companies which had all male members on their boards. Also, the number of executive and non-executive directors varied from one company to another, the majority being non-executive directors. Findings further revealed that all CEOs were executive members of the board; however, they were not chairpersons. In addition, board meetings were being conducted and the practice of board evaluation was noted for some companies. The audit committees of the studied companies were found to be effective in assisting the board to discharge its financial oversight roles. Our findings support both the Agency Theory and Resource Dependency Theory.
Race-Based Differences in the Chicago Sun Times Newspaper's Representation of Black and White Murderers and Victims

This thesis examines the race-based differences in the Chicago Sun Times Newspaper’s representation of black and white murderers and victims. Its research design implied collecting and analyzing data on the murder crimes in Chicago during the period between 2001 and 2011. The database of the Chicago Police Department was accessed to determine the demographic statistics of murderers and victims. In addition, the crime news covered by Chicago Sun Times were analyzed during the same period to explore the connection between the newsworthiness of murders and the race-based characteristics of their victims and murderers. The findings of this study revealed a disproportional pattern in the coverage of murders committed by blacks but did not confirm the existence of the same trend in reporting the news with black victims. It was also found that Chicago Sun Times used emotionally strong words and phrases to describe “black murderers” and often portrayed “black murderers” and “black victims” in a dehumanized and depersonalized manner. The results are discussed based on the literature review’s findings and explained with reference to the concept of newsworthiness.
Numerical investigation for characteristics and oil–air distributions of oil film in a tilting-pad journal bearing

This paper analyzes the effects of air in the oil film of a tilting-pad journal bearing on oil–air distributions and characteristics. With a gaseous cavitation model and shear stress transport model with low-Re correction included, the air backflow from the outlet boundary is analyzed in numerical simulations of a titling-pad journal bearing at 3000 r/min rotation speed and under 180 kN load. The simulated bearing load, pressure, and mechanical loss are in good accordance with the experimental data, indicating that the simulation results of the air backflow from the outlet boundary can catch the hydrodynamic characteristics accurately. Based on the turbulence viscosity ratio analysis, the turbulence effect cannot be ignored at the high rotational speed. With the comparison between the unloaded area and the loaded area, the boundary layer and turbulent flow develops with the film thickness increasing. Based on the analyses of simulated air volume fraction and pressure distribution, the gaseous cavitation occurs around the center part of the unloaded area, following the gaseous cavitation mechanisms. The backflow air flows into the low-pressure unloaded area from the outlet boundary and has a clear interval with the air from the gaseous cavitation. The air volume fraction increases with these two air sources and affects the mixture viscosity significantly, eventually influencing the shear stress on the rotor-side wall and bearing mechanical loss.
The fivethirtyeight R Package: "Tame Data" Principles for Introductory Statistics and Data Science Courses

Author(s): Kim, Albert Y. ; Ismay, Chester; Chunn, Jennifer | Abstract: As statistics and data science instructors, we often seek to use data in our courses that are rich, real, realistic, and relevant. To this end we created the fivethirtyeight R package of data and code behind the stories and interactives at the data journalism website FiveThirtyEight.com. After a discussion on the conflicting pedagogical goals of "minimizing prerequisites to research" (Cobb 2015) while at the same time presenting students with a realistic view of data as it exists "in the wild," we articulate how a desired balance between these two goals informed the design of the package. The details behind this balance are articulated as our proposed "Tame data principles for introductory statistics and data science courses. " Details of the package's construction and example uses are included as well.
Effect of vasopressor use on digit survival after replantation and revascularization—A large retrospective cohort study

Despite the common use of intraoperative vasopressors in hand microsurgery, the association between intraoperative vasopressor use and digital replant failure has not yet been examined. Our study aims to examine the association between intraoperative vasopressor use (phenylephrine and/or ephedrine) and postoperative digital failure of replanted or revascularized digits.
Innovation at work: The relative advantage of using consumer IT in the workplace

Employees' personal devices are increasingly evident in the workplace; the use of non‐enterprise sanctioned hardware and software is now commonplace. This phenomenon, frequently referred to as IT consumerization, is gaining momentum. Employees increasingly are using their own devices and choosing their own software (eg, Google Apps, Skype or Dropbox) in addition to—or instead of—enterprise IT. Employees are turning from consumers of enterprise IT to IT deciders, bypassing the IS department to use what critics call “rogue IT. ” While discouraged in some contexts, the influx of consumer IT into the workplace has been suggested to influence innovative behaviours among employees. Although the phenomenon is very prevalent, research lags in the operationalization of an IT consumerization model. In this paper, we take a close look at the antecedents and consequences of consumerization behaviours. We examine to what extent an individual's level of satisfaction with enterprise IT in juxtaposition with the level of perceived relative advantage of consumer IT over enterprise IT influences an individual's usage of consumer IT in the workplace; we also examine how organizational mandates and IT empowerment influences IT consumerization behaviours. Finally, we investigate the influence of IT consumerization on innovative behaviours at work.
Macroeconomic Fluctuations in Developing Countries; Some Stylized Facts

This paper documents the main stylized features of macroeconomic fluctuations for 12 developing countries. Cross-correlations between domestic industrial output and a large group of macroeconomic variables (including fiscal variables, wages, inflation, money, credit, trade, and exchange rates) are presented. Also analyzed are the effects of industrial country economic conditions on output fluctuations in these countries. The robustness of the results is examined using different detrending procedures. The results indicate many similarities between macroeconomic fluctuations in developing and industrial countries (procyclical real wages; countercyclical variation in government expenditure) and some important differences (countercyclical variation in the velocity of monetary aggregates).
Novel Approach for the Lifetime Prediction of Composite Materials under Static Loads

Composite materials in structural applications that are subjected to static loads for several decades tend to change material performance over their lifetime. Classical creep tests with constant static loading are quite simple tests with low demands on the test equipment. Unfortunately, these tests require uneconomically long test times, which is why a shortening of the test times with various accelerated approaches is being researched. Within this work two approaches for reduction of the testing time were investigated. On the one hand a fatigue test with the variation of R-ratio and following extrapolation to an R-ratio of 1 was done. On the other hand a Stress Rate Accelerated Creep Rupture Test (SRCR) was developed, where a defined initial stress σi is applied at the beginning of the loading process, followed by an increase load with a constant rate instead of the static stress segment of the classic creep rupture tests. Changing the load rate in several individual tests leads to stress rate-dependent fracture strengths with associated fracture times, which allows extrapolation to a fracture time at a load rate of zero. In particular, the approach of the SRCR offers great potential for greatly reducing test times with an acceptable prediction quality.
Head Start educators’ beliefs about bilingualism, dual language development, and bilingual education

ABSTRACT This study employed survey methodology to examine the beliefs of Head Start educators about bilingualism, dual language development, and bilingual education and explored relationships between demographic variables and beliefs. Participants came from two large cities in California, a state that until very recently had a restrictive language policy banning bilingual education. Results indicate that while participants exhibited overall favorable views of bilingualism, responses to several questions related to dual language development and bilingual education were more variable and reflect shifting ideologies regarding bilingualism. Participants who spoke more than one language, were born outside of the United States, and reported an ethnicity other than white, demonstrated more favorable views of bilingual education. Education and major, which have been identified as predictors of favorable beliefs about bilingualism in K-12 settings, were not related to the beliefs of Head Start educators in our sample. The exploration of beliefs about bilingualism and bilingual education is particularly timely given recent research and policy recommendations regarding the long term benefits of bilingualism and the Head Start performance standard requirement that teachers support the development of children’s home language and engage in teaching practices that support both bilingualism and biliteracy.
Skills Assessment in Arthroscopic Surgery by Processing Kinematic, Force, and Bio-signal Data

Arthroscopic surgery is a type of Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) performed in human joints, which can be used for diagnostic or treatment purposes. The nature of this type of surgery makes it such that surgeons require extensive training to become experts at performing surgical tasks in tight environments and with reduced force feedback. MIS increases the possibility of erroneous actions, which could result in injury to the patient. Many of these injuries can be prevented by implementing appropriate training and skills assessment methods. Various performance methods, including Global Rating Scales and technical measures, have been proposed in the literature. However, there is still a need to further improve the accuracy of surgical skills assessment and improve its ability to distinguish fine variations in surgical proficiency. The main goal of this thesis is to enhance surgical, and specifically, arthroscopic skills assessment. The optimal assessment method should be objective, distinguish between subjects with different levels of expertise, and be computationally efficient. This thesis proposes a new method of investigating surgical skills by introducing energy expenditure metrics. To this end, two main approaches are pursued: 1) evaluating the kinematics of instrument motion, and 2) exploring the muscle activity of trainees. Mechanical energy expenditure and work are investigated for a variety of laparoscopic and arthroscopic tasks. The results obtained in this thesis demonstrate that expert surgeons expend less energy than novice trainees. The different forms of mechanical energy expenditure were combined through optimization methods and machine learning algorithms. An effective twostep optimization method for classifying trainees into detailed levels of expertise is proposed that demonstrates an enhanced ability to determine the level of expertise of trainees compared to other published methods. Furthermore, performance metrics are proposed based on electromyography signals of the forearm muscles, which are recorded using a wearable device. These results also demonstrate that the metrics defined based on muscle activity can be used for arthroscopic skills assessment. The energy-based metrics and the muscle activity metrics demonstrated the ability to identify levels of expertise, with accuracy levels as high as 95% and 100%, respectively. The primary contribution of this thesis is the development of novel metrics and assessment methods based on energy expenditure and muscle activity. The methods presented advance our knowledge of the characteristics of dexterous performance and add another perspective to quantifying surgical proficiency.
Mobile Technology and Learning

With an awareness of the unique characteristics of an increasingly mobile world and referencing sociomaterial mobile learning frameworks, this chapter will provide an overview of the initial stages and growth of mobile learning. The authors also discuss university initiatives to support mobile learning, and examine the implications of mobile technologies for teaching and learning. Additionally, the chapter will introduce a case study detailing the Mobile Learning Innovation at Anderson University (SC) and highlight its impact on the teaching and learning culture on its campus.
A Semi-Autonomous Neuroprosthesis using Probabilistic Time-Series Inference

Upper limb neuroprosthesis is a rapidly progressing technology with the potential to restore function to victims of severe paralysis by enabling users to control robotic systems with their neural signals. Great strides have been made in directly mapping users’ cortical activity to control of the individual degrees of freedom of computer cursors and robotic end-effectors. After giving an overview of the field (chapter 1), the first half of this thesis (chapters 2-4) will focus on improvements and limitations to the level of real-time neural control attainable by human subjects with electrocorticography (ECoG). This entails offline analysis of the information available in the ipsilateral hemisphere of injured neural substrates (chapter 2), the first demonstration of independent, simultaneous real-time control over reaching and grasping using ECoG signals (chapter 3), and the first demonstration of real-time neural control of individual finger movements (chapter 4). The second half of this thesis (chapters 5-7) will detail how environmental sensors can provide complimentary information to the neural recordings within the novel Hybrid Augmented Reality Multimodal Operation Neural Integration Environment