Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Decomposing Differences in Employment Outcomes Between Kanak and Other New Caledonians: How Important is the Role of School Achievement?

New Caledonia, the largest French Territory in the South Pacific, enjoys a high level of standard of living but is marked by huge social inequalities as a result of geographic and ethnic origin. This study highlights the differences in school achievement and labour market outcomes between Kanak (indigenous people) and non-Kanak. Using data from the four most recent censuses (1989, 1996, 2004 and 2009), we show that though dramatic progress has been made in the area of school achievement, employment rates still differ widely across ethnic groups. We decompose the gap in labour market attachment between Kanak and non-Kanak using the Blinder - Oaxaca decomposition for non-linear regression models. The decomposition shows that at least three-quarters of the gap can be attributed to differences in observed characteristics between Kanak and non-Kanak women. For men, the differences in observed characteristics of the two populations account for 38.5 per cent of the gap.
Surface rupture displacement on the Greendale Fault during the Mw 7.1 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake, New Zealand, and its impact on man-madestructures.

Surface rupture of the previously unrecognised Greendale Fault extended west-east for ~30 km across alluvial plains west of Christchurch, New Zealand, during the Mw 7.1 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake of September 2010. Surface rupture displacement was predominantly dextral strike-slip, averaging ~2.5 m, with maxima of ~5 m. Vertical displacement was generally less than 0.75 m. The surface rupture deformation zone ranged in width from ~30 to 300 m, and comprised discrete shears, localised bulges and, primarily, horizontal dextral flexure. About a dozen buildings, mainly single-storey houses and farm sheds, were affected by surface rupture, but none collapsed, largely because most of the buildings were relatively flexible and resilient timber-framed structures and also because deformation was distributed over a relatively wide zone. There were, however, notable differences in the respective performances of the buildings. Houses with only lightly-reinforced concrete slab foundations suffered moderate to severe structural and non-structural damage. Three other buildings performed more favourably: one had a robust concrete slab foundation, another had a shallow-seated pile foundation that isolated ground deformation from the superstructure, and the third had a structural system that enabled the house to tilt and rotate as a rigid body. Roads, power lines, underground pipes, and fences were also deformed by surface fault rupture and suffered damage commensurate with the type of feature, its orientation to the fault, and the amount, sense and width of surface rupture deformation.
Does exchange rate policy matter for economic growth? Vietnam evidence from a co-integration approach

Both economic growth and exchange rate theories suggest that the exchange rate regime could have consequences for the medium-term growth of a country, directly, through its effects on the adjustment to shocks, and indirectly, through its impact on the important determinants of growth. It is, however, surprising that there was little empirical work investigating the indirect relationship between the exchange rate policy and economics growth in the case of a specific country. In a co-integration framework, our research attempts to fill the gap by econometrically investigating the possible impacts of exchange rate regime on economic growth through two main channels - Foreign direct investment (FDI) and Exports - in the case of Vietnam - a successful example of a transitional economy.
Real-Time Measurement of Rates of Outdoor Airflow into HVACSystems: A Field Study of Three Technologies

Technologies for real-time continuous measurement of the flow rates of outdoor air (OA) into HVAC systems are now available commercially. Our prior papers reported on laboratory-based evaluations of these measurement technologies and this document describes the methods and results of a field study of the accuracy of three of these technologies. From the field study data, we determined that neither wind speed nor wind direction have an important adverse impact on measurement accuracy. The field study confirmed that these three measurement technologies can provide reasonably accurate measurements of outdoor air intake rates in field settings, if the pressure signals are measured with high accuracy. Some of the pressure transducers marketed for use with commercial HVAC systems were determined to be sufficiently accurate for this application. Given the significant impact of OA flow rates on both energy use and occupant health, more widespread use of technologies that provide for real time measurements of OA flow rates seems warranted.
An analysis of simulated wet deposition of mercury from the North American Mercury Model Intercomparison Study

[1] A previous intercomparison of atmospheric mercury models in North America has been extended to compare simulated and observed wet deposition of mercury. Three regional-scale atmospheric mercury models were tested: the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, the Regional Modeling System for Aerosols and Deposition (REMSAD), and the Trace Element Analysis Model (TEAM). These models were each employed using three sets of lateral boundary conditions to test their sensitivity to intercontinental transport of mercury. The same meteorological and pollutant emission data were used in each simulation. Observations of wet deposition were obtained from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program's Mercury Deposition Network. The regional models can explain 50–70% of the site-to-site variance in annual mercury wet deposition. CMAQ was found to have slightly superior agreement with observations of annual mercury deposition flux in terms of the mean value for all monitoring sites, but REMSAD showed the best correlation when measured by the coefficient of determination (r2). With the exception of one CMAQ simulation, all of the models tended to simulate more wet deposition of mercury than was observed. TEAM exceeded the observed average annual wet deposition by 50% or more in all three of its simulations. CMAQ and REMSAD were better able to reproduce the observed seasonal distribution of mercury wet deposition than was TEAM, but TEAM showed the highest correlation for weekly wet deposition samples. An analysis of model accuracy at each observation site showed no obvious geographic patterns for correlation, bias, or error. Adjusting simulated mercury deposition on the basis of the difference between observed and simulated precipitation data improved the correlation and error scores for all of the models.
An efficient simulation of skin contact deformation for virtual ergonomic assessments of handheld products

Skin contact conditions play a significant role in the virtual ergonomic assessment of handheld products. In this paper, in order to simulate the skin contact deformation mechanism, a physical model based on Boussinesq approximation with nonlinear elasticity and a compressing-swelling effect was proposed. The parameters of this model were decided by fitting experimental data. Based on the model, a skin deformation simulation, including a pre-process and an online, was presented. The spatially distributed heterogeneity of skin was realized by partitioning the hand surface according to anatomy knowledge. The contact situations were simulated in the simple case of finger and palm deformation and the complex grasp posture. The estimated contact conditions, such as contact pressure distribution, were compared with real measurements. The results indicated that this technique has higher efficiency, validity, and extensibility.
Phytochemical screening and insecticidal activity of leaf extracts of Bryophyllum pinnatum and Eucalptus globules against rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae)

Ethanolic extracts of the leaves of Bryophyllum pinnatum and Eucalptus globules were screened for secondary metabolite constituents and insecticidal activity against rice weevil ( Sitophilus oryzae ). Phytochemical screening of the extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, steroids, tannins, phlobatannins and terpenoids in the plants investigated. Phlobatannins and terpenoids were found to be absent in ethanol extract of Eucalptus globules (leaf) while steroidal compounds were absent in Bryophyllum pinnatum (leaf). The extracts of B. pinnatum and E. globules of different concentrations were also investigated for their insecticidal activity against S. oryzae . Average mortality percentage indicated that the extracts caused significant mortality on the targeted insects. The bioassay indicated that the toxic effect of the extracts was proportional to the concentration, and higher concentrations had stronger effects. The observed mortality percentage also increased with increase in time intervals after treatment. The mortality percentage at 0.25, 0.50, 0.70, 1.00 and 1.50 h after treatment (HAT) indicated that 4% solution of the extracts of E. globules and B. pinnatum showed the highest mortality of 37.00% and 35.00% respectively in S. oryzae at 1.50 h after treatment. It could be inferred from the study that extract from E. globules leaf could cause significant mortality compared to extract of B. pinnatum . © 2010 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved. Keywords: Mortality, Phytochemical, Insecticidal activity, Bryophyllum pinnatum, Eucalptus globules, Sitophilus oryzae.
Performance over the CEO life cycle: the impact of structural power creation activities

In extending leader life cycle theory (Hambrick and Fukutomi, 1991), the authors examine how structural power creation activities of a CEO influence firm performance over his time in office. On the basis of a sample of 118 CEOs in Germany’s 83 largest companies, for an overall number of 717 tenure years, the paper shows that different structural power creation activities of CEOs lead to different slopes of the leader life cycle and that active structural power creation during early tenure results in higher company performance over the course of a CEO’s tenure. The authors contribute to leader life cycle research by highlighting the effect of structural power creation activities on the shape of leader life cycles as well as on company performance. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that researches the relationship between structural power creation activities of a CEO and company performance over the CEO’s tenure.
Alleviating pericarp browning in litchi using active packaging

The litchi cultivation is confined to a few states of India where Bihar tops the list with > 70% of total production. Being highly perishable in nature, it becomes unmarketable within 2-3 days due to pericarp browning. Postharvest sulphuring process is the only commercially exploited treatment to prevent pericarp browning, however, it is cumbersome to perform and it requires sulphuring room or chamber and pre cooling facility. An alternative method has been developed using grape gourd. In this method, grape gourd is kept inside the polyethylene liner in packaged litchi. It was observed that litchi fruit with or without stalk packed with grape gourd and liner maintained a shelf life of 5-7 days at ambient conditions without pericarp browning. Initially red peel color of litchi was bleached, but regained slowly with the passage of time. Minimum weight loss was observed in sulphited litchi (commercial process) followed by fruits having grape gourd and liner. Minimum disease incidence was also observed in Sulphited Litchi followed by grape gourd and liner. TSS was increased in all treatments. However, minimum increase was observed in sulphited litchi followed by litchi packed with grape gourd and liner. Based on the results, it can be suggested that in-package sulphuring of litchi fruits using grape gourd and liner may be an alternative to commercial sulphuring process.
Building and Maintaining Community in Cohort-Based Online Learning

In a multi-year study of a group of learners engaged in online graduate study, I explored the development of learners’ sense of community using a variety of data-gathering instruments. An initial questionnaire established learners’ pre-program perceptions of online learning and the notion of community; subsequent questionnaires, interviews, and a focus group monitored developments in learners’ relationships with each other and in their sense of community. The longitudinal nature of this study afforded a rich and sustained investigation into the nature of community as it was experienced by one group of learners. Findings revealed that learners’ perceptions of community and online learning shifted away from technical considerations and toward affective considerations; that learners took responsibility, and credit, for the creation and maintenance of their sense of community; and that the existence of robust community did not deflect learners from valuing face-to-face contact with cohort members. Dans une etude pluriannuelle d’un groupe d’etudiants engages dans des etudes de troisieme cycle en ligne, j’ai explore le developpement du sens de la communaute des etudiants, en utilisant une variete d’instruments de cueillette de donnees. Le questionnaire initial a etabli les perceptions preprogramme de l’apprentissage en ligne et la notion de communaute. Des questionnaires et interviews subsequents, ainsi qu’un groupe de discussion, ont examine les developpements dans les relations des etudiants entre eux et dans leur sens communautaire. La nature longitudinale de cette etude a resulte en une enquete riche et soutenue de la nature de la communaute, telle qu’experimentee par un groupe d’etudiants. Les decouvertes ont revele que les perceptions des etudiants de la communaute et de l’apprentissage en ligne se sont eloignees des considerations techniques et vers les considerations affectives; que les etudiants ont accepte des responsabilites, et ont ete credites de la creation et du maintien de leur sens communautaire, et que l’existence de communautes robustes n’empechait pas les etudiants de donner une valeur au contact direct avec les membres de la cohorte.
Physiological responses of dairy animals to recombinant bovine somatotropin: A review

Recombinant bovine somatotropins (rbST) have been synthesized and manufactured using recombinant DNA (rDNA) techniques. The rbST has increased milk production in dairy animals, including cow, sheep and goats. There are management factors including dosage of rbST, injection interval, genetic potential and environmental conditions which affect the magnitude of the animal-response to rbST. For dairy cows, the optimal dose of rbST treatment is between 25 and 50 mg/day. Daily injection of rbST may produce better response, but sustained-release formulations of rbST are more practical. The magnitude of milk production response to rbST range from 10 to 35% in dairy cows. The rbST has no or little effects on the milk composition, processing properties and taste. The rbST did not affect digestion of feeds or the efficiency of utilizing absorbed nutrients for milk synthesis, and it has no or little effect on rumen fermentation, flow of nutrients to the small intestine and total tract digestibility, but it improves the feed efficiency in dairy cows. The rbST induced significant increase in serum bST. It has a galactopoietic effect, since it increase the metabolic activity of mammary cells or slow their involution, thereby allowing more secretory cells to persist over time and contribute to increasing milk synthesis and yield. It has a great impact on mammary gland development and subsequently milk-producing capacity in dairy heifers. The rbST increase the hypothyroid status of lactating cows and maintain euthyroid condition in the mammry gland, thus enhancing its metabloic priority. The rbST did not adversely affect reproduction, and the observed decreases in reproductive performance in rbST-treated cows may be attributed more to the increases in milk yield than to direct effect of rbST. The increased production responses to rbST in heat-stressed dairy cows is less than that under more moderate conditions. The incidence of mastitis in rbST-treated cows is due more to increased milk yield than to any direct effects of rbST. The rbST was efficacious in increasing milk yields in sheep and goats without adverse effects. Key words: Recombinant bovine somatotropin, dairy animals, physiological responses.
Influence of a holistic color interval on color harmony

This study investigates how a holistic color inter- val, i.e., the nondirectional color difference between a pair of colors in a CIELAB uniform color space, influences perceived color harmony. A set of 1035 test color pairs displayed on a CRT was evaluated for the degree of har- mony. These test color pairs consist of pairs combined from among the selected 46 test colors evenly distributed in color space. The subjects were asked to select their three pre- ferred colors from these 46 test colors and then to evaluate the degree of harmony of the test color combinations. The color intervals (DE* ab) of each test color combination were calculated and treated as values of an independent variable. In addition, the evaluated degrees of color harmony were considered as values of a dependent variable, in which statistical analysis confirmed the relationship: the degree of harmony is a cubic function of the color interval. Moreover, the plot of this relationship allowed us to identify four color intervals: roughly corresponding to the regions of first ambiguity, similarity, second ambiguity, and contrast in Moon and Spencer's model. However, our results indicated that Moon and Spencer's principles for classifying harmo- nious/disharmonious regions in terms of the color interval for three color attributes—lightness, chroma and hue—may be inappropriate in predicting perceived color harmony. As for the color intervals between a pair of colors considered as a function of the three attributes, the interval for light- ness may have a predominant effect on color harmony, expressed in terms of a cubic relationship. Results of the study further demonstrated that the subject's choice of colors significantly influences perceived color harmony.
Experimental studies on the quasi-static bending behavior of double square tubes filled with aluminum foam

Quasi-static experiments were performed on empty tubes and aluminum foam-filled single and double tubes to study the effects of different filler arrangements on their three-point bending behavior. The load-carrying capacity and energy absorption of different structures are compared. The results confirm the advantage of the foam-filled structures. In particular, the double tube structure with aluminum foam filler enhances the load-carrying capacity, crashworthiness, and total and specific energy absorptions of the structure, in comparison with the foam-filled single tube. It was also found that increasing the wall thickness of the inner tube improves the performance of the structure within the experimental range, and adhesion between foam and tube has a negative effect.
Effects of herbicides on weed density and wheat yield

The effect of four herbicides on weed density and wheat yield was studied. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with four replications. The experiment consisted of four herbicidal treatments viz. Atlantis 3.6% WG (Ideo + mesosulfuron) at 0.40 kg ha -1 , Proton 50% WP ( Isoproturon) at 2.00 kg ha -1 , Cleaner 70% WP (Isoproturon + bensulfuron) at 1.50 L ha -1 , Locker 70% WP (Fluroxypyr) at 0.25 kg ha -1 , and a weedy check. Results revealed that all the herbicides decreased total weed density and dry weight as compared to weedy check. The herbicide proton was found to be the most effective in reducing weed population as well as weed biomass with maximum mortality compared to those other three herbicides. Proton herbicide reduced total weed density by 86% and total weed dry weight by 89%, consequently wheat grain yield was increased by 40% over weedy check. Key words : Herbicides, Triticum aestivum , weeds, yield.
Romanian diphthongs /ea/ and /oa/: an articulatory comparison with /ja/ - /wa/ and with hiatus sequences

espanolUna caracteristica destacable de la fonetica y fonologia rumanas es la presencia, en su inventario, de los diptongos tipologicamente raros /ea/ y /oa/ (�diptongos medios�), que contrastan fonologicamente tanto con las secuencias de hiatos /e.a/ - /o.a/ como con los diptongos /ja/ y /wa/ (diptongos altos). Estructuralmente, segun sus propiedades fonotacticas, los diptongos medios /ea/ y /oa/ asumen la funcion de formar nucleos de silaba complejos, mientras que los diptongos /ja/ y /wa/ se representan como estructuras iniciales de nucleo y las secuencias de hiato como vocales en nucleos de silabas consecutivas. Se sabe poco, sin embargo, de las propiedades articulatorias que caracterizan esta triple comparacion entre diptongos, medios, altos y secuencias de hiato. EnglishOne notable feature in Romanian phonetics and phonology is the presence in its inventory of typologically rare diphthongs /ea/ and /oa/ («mid diphthongs»), which happen to contrast phonologically with both corresponding hiatus sequences /e.a/ - /o.a/, and with diphthongs /ja/and /wa/ («high diphthongs»). Structurally, on the basis of their phonotactic properties, mid diphthongs /ea/ and /oa/ have been assumed to form complex syllable nuclei, while high diphthongs /ja/ and /wa/ have been represented as onset-nucleus structures, and hiatus sequences as vowels in consecutive syllable nuclei. Little is however known on the articulatory properties characterizing the three-way contrast between mid and high diphthongs, and hiatus sequences.
Is an Integrated Regional Labor Market Emergin in East and Southeast Asia?

We examine labor market integration in east and southeast Asia (ESEA) during the 1980s, focusing on intraregional labor mobility and on the two other main channels of integration: capital mobility and trade. We find evidence that labor market integration increased sharply among ESEA countries in the 1980s, with 9 percent of ESEA's labor force participating either directly via labor mobility or indirectly via capital mobility or trade in cross-national labor market transactions in 1991, up from just 5.2 percent in 1980. We also find that trade is the dominant mechanism through which regional labor market integration occurred in the 1980s, with labor migration contributing only modestly to the process.