Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Quantification of urban metabolism through coupling with the life cycle assessment framework: concept development and case study

Cities now consume resources and produce waste in amounts that are incommensurate with the populations they contain. Quantifying and benchmarking the environmental impacts of cities is essential if urbanization of the world’s growing population is to occur sustainably. Urban metabolism (UM) is a promising assessment form in that it provides the annual sum material and energy inputs, and the resultant emissions of the emergent infrastructural needs of a city’s sociotechnical subsystems. By fusing UM and life cycle assessment (UM–LCA) this study advances the ability to quantify environmental impacts of cities by modeling pressures embedded in the flows upstream (entering) and downstream (leaving) of the actual urban systems studied, and by introducing an advanced suite of indicators. Applied to five global cities, the developed UM–LCA model provided enhanced quantification of mass and energy flows through cities over earlier UM methods. The hybrid model approach also enabled the dominant sources of a city’s different environmental footprints to be identified, making UM–LCA a novel and potentially powerful tool for policy makers in developing and monitoring urban development policies. Combining outputs with socioeconomic data hinted at how these forces influenced the footprints of the case cities, with wealthier ones more associated with personal consumption related impacts and poorer ones more affected by local burdens from archaic infrastructure.
Field Tests of the Kanbim™ Lean Production Management System

The KanBIMTM system is designed to support lean work flow control on construction sites. It facilitates short-term work planning and monitoring, providing clear visualization of the maturity of tasks planned and the status of work under way. The goal of the KanBIM research is to determine whether a BIM based workflow information system can help construction personnel implement lean pull flow strategies. An early prototype of system, with field reporting interfaces, a central database and a building information model, was implemented and tested on a large residential construction site. Although PPC and other results were measured, the main significance of the results lie in the site personnel’s positive experience with the system and their observations of the ways in which it could influence the behaviour and productivity of crews. These included recognition of the strong impact the system had in encouraging well-informed discussion and negotiation between crews concerning coordination of their work. The participants identified specific benefits a full implementation could bring to subcontractor trade managers, superintendents and various project management functions.
The Value Relevance of Accounting Information: Evidence from Nigeria

Value relevance of accounting information addresses the degree to which accounting information summarizes the information that is impounded in share prices. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to the empirical literature on value relevance by examining the extent to which accounting information is associated with firm value, from an emerging market context. The paper uses the basic Ohlson (1995) model and the modification of the model that includes cash flow from operation, and dividends, to ascertain the value relevance of accounting information in Nigeria. The paper accommodates the documented relative inefficiency of the market by using stock price at three months and six months after year end as dependent variable. The study employs a pooled and panel data in the regression of share price and returns on accounting numbers. The ordinary least square (OLS) estimation and dynamic model estimation, with the Random and Fixed effects variants were used in the regression. We find that earnings, cash flow and dividends were statistically significantly associated with firm value but book value was related but not statistically significant. Based on these findings, it is suggested that the focus of investors should be on earnings, dividends and cash flows while less emphasis be placed on book values. Besides, the accounting information for investment purposes should be communicated to the investing public; and such information should be of high quality to avoid sub-optimal investment decisions by investors, with negative consequences for the overall economy
Consumer Privacy Concerns and Preference for Degree of Regulatory Control

This study explores the consequences of consumers' privacy concerns in the context of mobile advertising. Drawing on social contract theory, the proposed research model connects a series of psychological factors (prior negative experience, information privacy concerns, perceived ubiquity, trust, and perceived risk) and preference for degree of regulatory control. Data from a survey of 510 mobile phone users in Japan show that mobile users with prior negative experiences with information disclosure possess elevated privacy concerns and perceive stronger risk, which leads them to prefer stricter regulatory controls in mobile advertising. Both perceived ubiquity and sensitivity of the information request further the negative impact of privacy concerns on trust. No such effect occurs for the impact of privacy concerns on perceived risk, however. The authors discuss some theoretical and managerial implications.
THE HST/ACS COMA CLUSTER SURVEY. VIII. BARRED DISK GALAXIES IN THE CORE OF THE COMA CLUSTER

We use high-resolution (∼0.″1) F814W Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) images from the Hubble Space Telescope ACS Treasury survey of the Coma cluster at z ∼ 0.02 to study bars in massive disk galaxies (S0s), as well as low-mass dwarf galaxies in the core of the Coma cluster, the densest environment in the nearby universe. Our study helps to constrain the evolution of bars and disks in dense environments and provides a comparison point for studies in lower density environments and at higher redshifts. Our results are: (1) we characterize the fraction and properties of bars in a sample of 32 bright (MV ≲ −18, M* > 109.5 M☉) S0 galaxies, which dominate the population of massive disk galaxies in the Coma core. We find that the measurement of a bar fraction among S0 galaxies must be handled with special care due to the difficulty in separating unbarred S0s from ellipticals, and the potential dilution of the bar signature by light from a relatively large, bright bulge. The results depend sensitively on the method used: the bar fraction for bright S0s in the Coma core is 50% ± 11%, 65% ± 11%, and 60% ± 11% based on three methods of bar detection, namely, strict ellipse fit criteria, relaxed ellipse fit criteria, and visual classification. (2) We compare the S0 bar fraction across different environments (the Coma core, A901/902, and Virgo) adopting the critical step of using matched samples and matched methods in order to ensure robust comparisons. We find that the bar fraction among bright S0 galaxies does not show a statistically significant variation (within the error bars of ±11%) across environments which span two orders of magnitude in galaxy number density (n ∼ 300–10,000 galaxies Mpc−3) and include rich and poor clusters, such as the core of Coma, the A901/902 cluster, and Virgo. We speculate that the bar fraction among S0s is not significantly enhanced in rich clusters compared to low-density environments for two reasons. First, S0s in rich clusters are less prone to bar instabilities as they are dynamically heated by harassment and are gas poor as a result of ram pressure stripping and accelerated star formation. Second, high-speed encounters in rich clusters may be less effective than slow, strong encounters in inducing bars. (3) We also take advantage of the high resolution of the ACS (∼50 pc) to analyze a sample of 333 faint (MV > −18) dwarf galaxies in the Coma core. Using visual inspection of unsharp-masked images, we find only 13 galaxies with bar and/or spiral structure. An additional eight galaxies show evidence for an inclined disk. The paucity of disk structures in Coma dwarfs suggests that either disks are not common in these galaxies or that any disks present are too hot to develop instabilities.
Feeding physiology of infaunal (Mulinia edulis) and epifaunal (Mytilus chilensis) bivalves under a wide range of concentrations and qualities of seston

A comparative study was carried out on the functional feeding behavior of the infaunal clam Mulinia edulis and the epifaunal mussel Mytilus chilensis from Yaldad Bay, southern Chile, in response to broad fluctuations in quantity and quality of seston. A number of physiological variables were quantified and compared, including clearance, filtration and ingestion rates; pseudofeces production and pre-ingestive selection efficiency. Relative sizes of the ctenidia and labial palps were measured for both species to determine if the size of the organs was related to their capacity for filtration and pre-ingestive particle selection. Both species showed high rates of clearance at lower seston concentrations (<3 to 5 mg l -1 ). Above these concentrations, both species regulated both the quantity and quality of material ingested. When the seston concentration was relatively low and/or its quality high, regulation of food ingested was accomplished primarily by reduction in clearance rate, while at high seston concentrations and/or low quality, this parameter was regulated primarily by the expulsion of pseudofeces with a lower content of organic matter. Ingestion regulation was higher in M. chilensis. In general, both species showed a capacity for pre-ingestive particle selection, which increased with seston concentration and the proportion of organic matter present. In diets containing more than 60 % organic matter, selection efficiency in M. chilensis became slightly reduced, while in M. edulis it remained stable; this observation is explained by the larger relative size of the labial palps in Mulinia edulis. Generally, feeding rates of M. chilensis were higher than those of M. edulis; this may be attributable to the former's larger-sized ctenidia, which are able to filter more food.
Nitrous Oxide Emissions from a Clay Soil Receiving Granular Urea Formulations and Dairy Manure

Author(s): Asgedom, H; Tenuta, M; Flaten, DN; Gao, X; Kebreab, E | Abstract: Soil N O emissions vary with N source. A study was undertaken on a clay soil in the Red River Valley, Manitoba, Canada, to determine the effect of granular N fertilizers and dairy manure on N O emissions from a field cropped to rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) in 2009 and spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in 2010. Treatments included an unamended control, granular urea, controlled-release urea (ESN), stabilized urea (SuperU), and solid dairy manure added at rates to achieve a total of 140 kg available N ha (product plus soil N test). The N fertilizers were broadcast and shallowly incorporated each spring before planting; the manure was broadcast incorporated the previous fall. Nitrous oxide emissions were monitored from planting to freeze in fall and during spring thaw in 2011 using static-vented chambers. In both years, N O emissions occurred within 4 to 5 wk of planting but not in fall after manure application. Area-scale cumulative N O emissions (∑N O, kg N ha ) from planting to freeze were control l ESN = manure l urea = SuperU. Nitrous oxide emission factors were 0.017 kg N O-N kg available N added for urea and SuperU and 0.007 kg N O-N kg available N for ESN. Seventy-eight percent of the variation in ∑N O could be explained by NO intensity, an integration of soil NO concentrations during the study periods. Greater ∑N O were also associated with higher yields. These findings suggest that N release rates, as indicated by NO intensity and yield, determined N O emissions. The results highlight the challenge of meeting crop demand yet reducing N O emissions by selection of an N source. © 2014 by the American Society of Agronomy, 5585 Guilford Road, Madison, WI 53711. All rights reserved. 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 3 2 2 -1 -1 -1 -1 - - -
Fit for Practice: How can we help? Pedagogic Reflections

This paper is an active reflection on a pedagogic process of facilitating students’ ability to link theory to practice in two academic programmes, namely social work and health care. In both areas of study and practice it is essential that students are enabled to link theory to practice and learn how to reflect on their practice because they must demonstrate this aptitude as part of their training and registration process and subsequently as part of their continuing professional development. We reflect within the paper on our attempts to develop and facilitate a theory/practice process with students, with the broader aim that the students’ reflections would in time become a reflexive process. We argue that this would enable them to develop into students and practitioners able to challenge established practices and preconceived ideas. Our attempts to develop students’ ability to link theory to practice and their reflexive abilities were based on the use of two learning tools. We had each, independently, developed learning tools that took students through a number of ‘steps’ and required consideration of ‘theory-to-practice’ and ‘reflection’. We focus on a discussion of that process and of the tools utilized in the context of teaching and learning, drawing on theories of reflective practice. Our findings add to the small, but growing body of literature which has examined reflection and the use of tools to aid reflection and reported a positive impact on learning.
Cultural Diversity in the Movie Industry: A Cross-National Study

For many years, the promotion and preservation of cultural diversity has remained a core issue in international debates about free trade. In this article we propose a framework to assess cultural diversity that is used to compare this diversity in the movie industry between 1990 and 2000 in the European Union, United States, France, Hungary, Mexico, and South Korea. Our main results are (a) the ranking of the countries is highly dependent on the dimensions of cultural diversity considered; (b) cultural diversity turns out to be higher in countries where the movie industry receives strong public support (France, European Union, South Korea); and (c) supplied diversity and consumed diversity are positively correlated, and the former is always higher than the latter. This evidence suggests that a policy that supports cultural diversity on the supply side seems to match consumers' preferences.
Tax Morale and Compliance: Review of Evidence and Case Studies for Europe

This paper provides an overview of the literature on tax morale and tax compliance. Most of the material here is based on research that I have conducted together with my co-authors over the last 10 years. Europe has a dominant place in this paper. Sometimes results derived from other countries are discussed that could be relevant for Europe. The overall findings show the importance of accountability, democratic governance, efficient, and transparent legal structures and therefore trust within the society to enforce tax compliance and tax morale.
Using multispectral information to decrease the spectral artifacts in sparse-aperture imagery

Optical sparse-aperture telescopes represent a promising new technology to increase the effective diameter of an optical system while reducing its weight and stowable size. The sub-apertures of a sparse-aperture system are phased to synthesize a telescope system that has a larger effective aperture than any of the independent sub-apertures. Sparse-apertures have mostly been modeled to date using a "gray-world" approximation where the input is a grayscale image. The gray-world model makes use of a "polychromatic" optical transfer function (OTF) where the spectral OTFs are averaged to form a single OTF. This OTF is then convolved with the grayscale image to create the resultant sparse-aperture image. The model proposed here uses a spectral image-cube as the input to create a panchromatic or multispectral result. These outputs better approximate an actual system because there is a higher spectral fidelity present than a gray-world model. Unlike its Cassegrain counterpart that has a well behaved OTF, the majority of sparse-aperture OTFs have very oscillatory and attenuated natures. When a spectral sparse-aperture model is used, spectral artifacts become apparent when the phasing errors increase beyond a certain threshold. This threshold can be based in part on the type of phasing error (i.e. piston, tip/tilt, and the amount present in each sub-aperture), as well as the collection conditions, including configuration, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and fill factor. This research addresses whether integrating a restored multispectral sparse-aperture image into a panchromatic image will decrease the amount of spectral artifacts present. The restored panchromatic image created from integrating multispectral images is compared to a conventional panchromatic sparse-aperture image. Conclusions are drawn through image quality analysis and the change in spectral artifacts.
Water hammer in pressurized polyethylene pipes: conceptual model and experimental analysis

This paper analyzes the dynamic effects of pipe wall viscoelasticity on hydraulic transients. These effects have been observed in transient data collected from two polyethylene (PE) pipe systems. The first is a 270 m pipeline, 50 mm diameter, at Imperial College London, and the second is the world's longest experimental PE pipeline, 1.3 km long, 110 mm diameter, buried underground at Thames Water Utilities (London, UK). A mathematical model has been developed to calculate hydraulic transients in polyethylene pipe systems based on the assumption that the viscoelastic behaviour of pipe walls is linear. An additional term has been added to the continuity equation to describe the retarded deformation of the pipe wall and the resulting governing equations are solved by the Method of Characteristics. The numerical results are compared with both the classic elastic solution and with collected transient data. Good agreement between numerical results for the viscoelastic solution and observed data was obtained by fitting the creep function J(t). Unlike classic water hammer analysis, the developed mathematical model is capable of accurately predicting transient pressures in polyethylene pipes and the circumferential strains in the pipe walls.
Lecturers’ text competencies and guidance towards academic literacy

Abstract Embedding academic literacy into the curriculum and regular subject teaching has received little attention in Norwegian higher education (HE). The present article, drawing on the findings of two studies carried out in 2013/14, seeks to amend this. The first study, an action research study, exposes how lecturers in one of the faculties at Oslo and Akershus University College perceive their role in teaching and guiding students’ discipline-specific literacy, in particular academic writing. Collaborating with the faculty in a joint action research project, we seek to empower the lecturers, and develop pedagogical methods that are suitable for academic literacy teaching and guidance, and thereby make a change in the institution. The second study analyzes the academic literacy skills and knowledge of new students. We follow students in their final semester in upper secondary school, and identify how they are prepared for academic literacy in HE. Together, the studies reveal that despite the students’ preparation for higher studies, they are not fully qualified for meeting the demands of academic literacy. When entering HE, the students are still in need of guidance to establish textual meta-perspectives and to develop relevant disciplinary literacy practices. However, the lecturers are neither fully qualified for nor willing to include this topic in their content teaching.
Comparison of chemical, microbiological and histological changes in fresh, frozen and double frozen rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss )

The final quality of fish meat depends on the chemical and microbiological quality of fish at the time of freezing as well as on other factors including storage temperature and freezing rate. Analysis of chemical composition (water, protein and fat content), expressible drip, total volatile nitrogen levels, microbiological analyses (total viable counts, Enterobacteriaceae, psychrotrophic bacteria) and histological examinations on dorsal skeletal muscles were carried out to distinguish fresh, frozen and double frozen rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Significantly higher expressible drip and total volatile base nitrogen concentrations (P < 0.05) were observed in frozen and double frozen trout, whereas chemical composition of fresh fish muscles was not significantly affected by freezing. The highest total viable counts, counts of Enterobacteriaceae and psychrotrophic bacteria were determined in double frozen trout. The light microscopy of fresh trout muscles did not show any microstructural changes, whereas deformations of muscle fibres and optically empty areas were found in frozen trout. Remarkable defects of the muscle structure in double frozen trout were demonstrated and total disruption of muscle fibres was found. The freezing of trout resulted in various structural changes in the dorsal skeletal musculature. This is a first study comparing changes in fresh, frozen and repeatedly frozen trout. Chemical, microbiological and subsequent histological examinations can be used for revealing the foul practices confusing the consumer with offering thawed fish instead of fresh cooled fish. Chemical composition, freezing, fish, histology, microbiological indicators Meat products are a large component of human consumption. Their quality is of concern to the consumers, governmental control authorities, and retailers. Nevertheless, meat can be the target of adulteration in many ways, such as illegal sale of thawed instead of fresh meat. Although freezing is an effective method of preserving foods, some deterioration in frozen food quality occurs during storage (Popelka et al. 2012). In the fish industry, the term “fresh” implies that the fish has never been frozen, from the moment of its capture
Seesaw Dirac neutrino mass through dimension-six operators

In this paper, a followup of arXiv: 1802.05722, we describe the many pathways to generate Dirac neutrino mass through dimension-6 operators. By using only the Standard Model Higgs doublet in the external legs one gets a unique operator $\frac{1}{\Lambda^2} \, \bar{L}\, \bar{\Phi} \, \bar{\Phi} \, \Phi \, \nu_R $. In contrast, the presence of new scalars implies new possible field contractions, which greatly increase the number of possibilities. Here we study in detail the simplest ones, involving $SU(2)_L$ singlets, doublets and triplets. The extra symmetries needed to ensure the Dirac nature of neutrinos can also be responsible for stabilizing dark matter.
Government Intervention and Institutional Trading Strategy: Evidence from a Transition Country

This study investigates the effectiveness of government intervention in rescuing bearish markets in a transition economy. Focusing on a pre- and a post-intervention period, the findings reveal that government intervention successfully rescued bearish markets in China and led to a fundamental change in institutional trading strategy after the intervention. We observe that following an intervention, institutions are more sensitive to long-term stock market regulations, whereas individual investors are more concerned about the rules related to their short-term interests. Evidence suggests that a credible signal from the government can be helpful in creating a positive outcome in the market (Bhanot and Kadapakkam, 2006). The findings are important to the current debate regarding the role of government intervention in markets in other transitional economies, as well as in developed countries.