Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Essays on International Trade

As the world progresses and countries continue to compete for dominance, economic development has become the key criterion in assessing of a country’s strength. International trade is a catalyst of growth and the study of international economics enjoys immense popularity. Moreover, trade policies are often the only available effective tool for conducting foreign policy. Taking all of this into consideration I set out to make a contribution into the study of international trade, by fusing it with econometrics. The following essays discuss two important areas within the international trade field: the effect of distance on trade and the comovement of capital and labor. In both of these papers, my goal was to utilize newer econometric approaches in order to obtain better, more robust results. The first chapter analyzes the effect of distance on international trade by applying Pesaran’s (2006) cross correlated effects mean group (CCEMG) estimator to the gravity model. The distance effect is then estimated to have remained constant during the 1980-2004 period, even increasing in one scenario, contradicting the popular notion that due to improved transportation, the role of distance as a barrier to trade has diminished. Further, since the CCEMG estimator is robust to slope heterogeneity within the data, the distance effect is estimated to be greater than previously believed. Finally, countries with fewer trading partners experience more volatility in distance effects than their counterparts with many export markets. In the second chapter, a two-sector, neoclassical model with nontraded goods is employed to show that the co-movement of labor and capital is a general conclusion in the small country case. The co-movement of factors when capital is mobile is analogous to a Rybczynski effect in the Heckscher-Ohlin model. We deduce from the model a
Statistical crop models: predicting the effects of temperature and precipitation changes

Statistical models are common tools for quantifying possible impacts of climate change on crops. Climate change involves shifts in both mean and variability of climate parameters, and experimental results and simulations have shown that both mean and variability can have the same-order effects on crop growth and yield. It is therefore important for impact models to be able to capture the effects of both these aspects. The aim of the present study was to test the ability of statistical crop models to predict the effects of changes in mean and variability of temperature and precipitation on grain yield of maize. Climate variables were aggregated over different time intervals to explore effects of temporal aggregation of predictor variables. To examine the predictive capabilities of statistical crop models beyond the ranges of observed data, we applied the ‘perfect model’ approach using the process-based crop model CropSyst. Statistical crop models were then fitted based on different sample sizes to explore minimum data requirements for predicting the effects of different synthetic climate scenarios. The analysis revealed that statistical crop models are generally able to quantify the effects of changes in mean and variability of temperature and precipitation with reasonable accuracy, provided that a minimum of 10 to 20 samples per predictor are available for fitting. Also, we can conclude that with total sample sizes of <300 observations, disaggregation of predictor variables increases the risk of model over-fitting. Disaggregation of predictor variables had small beneficial effects, particularly for predicting impacts of changes in climate variability, only with large sample sizes (>300 ob servations).
Service climate, employee commitment and customer satisfaction: Evidence from the hospitality industry in China

Purpose – This study attempts to contribute to the knowledge of how service climate improves customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry based on evidence from mainland China. It considers different dimensions of service climate separately, including customer orientation, managerial support and work facilitation, and introduces an important mediator – employee commitment – to examine the relationship between service climate and customer satisfaction.Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical framework is proposed to suggest links among the three dimensions of service climate, employee commitment and customer satisfaction. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect data from employees in the hospitality industry of China. The constructs were measured by using established scales. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the theoretical hypotheses.Findings – Empirical results indicate that different dimensions of service climate have different effects on customer satisfaction. For ins.
Seasonal cycle and long-term trend of solar energy fluxes through Arctic sea ice

Arctic sea ice has not only decreased in volume during the last decades, but has also changed in its physical properties towards a thinner and more seasonal ice cover. These changes strongly impact the energy budget, and might affect the ice-associated ecosystems. In this study, we quantify solar shortwave fluxes through sea ice for the entire Arctic during all seasons. To focus on sea-ice-related processes, we exclude fluxes through open water, scaling linearly with sea ice concentration. We present a new parameterization of light transmittance through sea ice for all seasons as a function of variable sea ice properties. The maximum monthly mean solar heat flux under the ice of 30 × 10 5 Jm −2 occurs in June, enough heat to melt 0.3 m of sea ice. Furthermore, our results suggest that 96% of the annual solar heat input through sea ice occurs during only a 4-month period from May to August. Applying the new parameterization to remote sensing and reanalysis data from 1979 to 2011, we find an increase in transmitted light of 1.5% yr −1 for all regions. This corresponds to an increase in potential sea ice bottom melt of 63% over the 33-year study period. Sensitivity studies reveal that the results depend strongly on the timing of melt onset and the correct classification of ice types. Assuming 2 weeks earlier melt onset, the annual transmitted solar radiation to the upper ocean increases by 20%. Continuing the observed transition from a mixed multi-year/first-year sea ice cover to a seasonal ice cover results in an increase in light transmittance by an additional 18%.
Stationary Bandits, State Capacity, and the Malthusian Transition: The Lasting Impact of the Taiping Rebellion

The Taiping Rebellion (1851-1864) in China was the deadliest civil war in history. This paper provides evidence that this cataclysmic event significantly shaped the Malthusian transition and long-term development that followed, especially in areas where the experiences that stemmed from the rebellion led to better property rights, stronger local fiscal capacity, and rule by leaders with longer-term governance horizons. More than one and a half centuries after the rebellion’s end, population increases from pre-war levels remain 38 to 67 percent lower in areas that were affected by the rebellion than in those that were unaffected. Moreover, areas that were affected by the rebellion have, on average, greater fiscal capacity and modern economic sectors to the present day. Two channels for the effects of the rebellion are stationary banditry (manifested by varying property rights and the rebellion area's proximity to the Taiping capital), and the wartime strengthening of fiscal capacity. The analysis shows evidence of complementarity between wartime state capacity and local institutions, and of the long-term benefits of fiscal decentralization in a large country. Furthermore, initial human capital is strongly associated with long-term development.
Models of Pilot Behavior and Their Use to Evaluate the State of Pilot Training

Abstract This article discusses the possibilities of obtaining new information related to human behavior, namely the changes or progressive development of pilots’ abilities during training. The main assumption is that a pilot’s ability can be evaluated based on a corresponding behavioral model whose parameters are estimated using mathematical identification procedures. The mean values of the identified parameters are obtained via statistical methods. These parameters are then monitored and their changes evaluated. In this context, the paper introduces and examines relevant mathematical models of human (pilot) behavior, the pilot-aircraft interaction, and an example of the mathematical analysis.
Frictional Effects on Gear Tooth Contact Analysis

The present paper concentrates on the investigations regarding the situations of frictional shear stress of gear teeth and the relevant frictional effects on bending stresses and transmission error in gear meshing. Sliding friction is one of the major reasons causing gear failure and vibration; the adequate consideration of frictional effects is essential for understanding gear contact behavior accurately. An analysis of tooth frictional effect on gear performance in spur gear is presented using finite element method. Nonlinear finite element model for gear tooth contact with rolling/sliding is then developed. The contact zones for multiple tooth pairs are identified and the associated integration situation is derived. The illustrated bending stress and transmission error results with static and dynamic boundary conditions indicate the significant effects due to the sliding friction between the surfaces of contacted gear teeth, and the friction effect can not be ignored. To understand the particular static and dynamic frictional effects on gear tooth contact analysis, some significant phenomena of gained results will also be discussed. The potentially significant contribution of tooth frictional shear stress is presented, particularly in the case of gear tooth contact analysis with both static and dynamic boundary conditions.
Pasture characteristics of Italian ryegrass and milk production under different management strategies

The objective of this work was to assess the effects of the sward structure of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum), during the first grazing cycle, on its morphological and bromatological characteristics throughout the growing season, and on the performance of dairy cows. The treatments consisted of two structures obtained as a function of canopy-light interception: high-light interception (HLI) and low-light interception (LLI), with different pre-grazing heights in the first grazing cycle. Pasture was managed under rotational grazing with a herbage allowance not below 30 kg dry matter (DM) per cow per day. Three grazing cycles, with a grazing interval of 30 days, were evaluated. Pre-grazing herbage mass was greater (2,240 vs. 1,656 kg ha-1 DM), but the proportion of leaf blades was smaller (0.35 vs. 0.43) for HLI swards. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content and organic matter digestibility (OMD) were similar between treatments in the first grazing cycle, but in the second and third ones NDF was greater, and OMD lower, for the HLI swards. Milk yields were greater for cows grazing LLI swards (19.4 vs. 21.1 kg per day). Initial grazing with 90% of light interception promotes greater nutritional value in the subsequent cycles.
Evaluation of sorghum genotypes under drought stress conditions using some stress tolerance indices

Seven genotypes of sorghum (Sorghum bicolour (L.) Moench) were studied in both drought and normal conditions. In each condition, the genotypes were evaluated using a split plot based randomized complete block design with three replications. Drought tolerance indices including stability tolerance index (STI), mean productivity (MP), geometric mean productivity (GMP), stress susceptibility index (SSI), tolerance index (TOL) were calculated for each genotype. The maximum value of STI (0.687), MP (658.95) and GMP (624.94) were recorded for genotype KGS 3. Correlation coefficients revealed that MP index had the highest value in two conditions with grain yield. Thus, tolerance index including MP is suitable for screening of tolerant genotypes in drought stress condition. Cluster analysis by method Ward classified seven genotypes in two groups in drought stress condition.
Calculation of average, uncertainty range, and reliability of regional climate changes from AOGCM simulations via the reliability ensemble averaging (REA) method

The ‘‘reliability ensemble averaging’’ (REA) method for calculating average, uncertainty range, and a measure of reliability of simulated climate changes at the subcontinental scale from ensembles of different atmosphere‐ ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) simulations is introduced. The method takes into account two ‘‘reliability criteria’’: the performance of the model in reproducing present-day climate (‘‘model performance’’ criterion) and the convergence of the simulated changes across models (‘‘model convergence’’ criterion). The REA method is applied to mean seasonal temperature and precipitation changes for the late decades of the twenty-first century, over 22 land regions of the world, as simulated by a recent set of nine AOGCM experiments for two anthropogenic emission scenarios (the A2 and B2 scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change). In the A2 scenario the REA average regional temperature changes vary between about 2 and 7 K across regions and they are all outside the estimated natural variability. The uncertainty range around the REA average change as measured by 6 the REA root-mean-square difference (rmsd) varies between 1 and 4 K across regions and the reliability is mostly between 0.2 and 0.8 (on a scale from 0 to 1). For precipitation, about half of the regional REA average changes, both positive and negative, are outside the estimated natural variability and they vary between about 225% and 130% (in units of percent of present-day precipitation). The uncertainty range around these changes (6 rmsd) varies mostly between about 10% and 30% and the corresponding reliability varies widely across regions. The simulated changes for the B2 scenario show a high level of coherency with those for the A2 scenario. Compared to simpler approaches, the REA method allows a reduction of the uncertainty range in the simulated changes by minimizing the influence of ‘‘outlier’’ or poorly performing models. The method also produces a quantitative measure of reliability that shows that both criteria need to be met by the simulations in order to increase the overall reliability of the simulated changes.
Contributing Factors to the Increased Formability Observed in Electromagnetically Formed Aluminum Alloy Sheet

This paper summarizes the results of an experimental and numerical program carried out to study the formability of aluminum alloy sheet formed using electromagnetic forming (EMF). Free-formed and conical samples of AA5754 aluminum alloy sheet were studied. The experiments showed significant increases in formability for the conical samples, but no significant increase for the free-formed parts. It was found that relatively little damage growth occurred and that the failure modes of the materials changed from those observed in quasi-static forming to those observed in high hydrostatic stress environments. Numerical simulations were performed using the explicit finite element code LS-DYNA with an analytical EM force distribution. The numerical models revealed that a complex stress state is generated when the sheet interacts with the tool, which is characterized by high hydrostatic stresses that create a stress state favourable to damage suppression increasing ductility. Shear stresses and strains are also produced at impact with the die which help the material achieve additional deformation. The predicted peak strain rates for the free formed parts were on the order of 1000 s and for the conical parts the rates are on the order of 10,000 s. Although aluminum is typically considered to be strain-rate insensitive, the strain rates predicted could be playing a role in the increased formability. The predicted strain paths for the conical samples were highly non-linear. The results from this study indicate that there is an increase in formability for AA5754 when the alloy is formed into a die using EMF. This increase in formability is due to a combination of high hydrostatic stresses, shear stresses, high strain rates, and non-linear strain paths.
HYDRO2GEN: Non-thermal hydrogen Balmer and Paschen emission in solar flares generated by electron beams

Aim. Sharp rises of hard X-ray (HXR) emission accompanied by H α line profiles with strong red-shifts up to 4 Å from the central wavelength, often observed at the onset of flares with the Specola Solare Ticinese Telescope (STT) and the Swedish Solar Telescope (SST), are not fully explained by existing radiative models. Moreover, observations of white light (WL) and Balmer continuum emission with the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRISH) reveal strong co-temporal enhancements and are often nearly co-spatial with HXR emission. These effects indicate a fast effective source of excitation and ionisation of hydrogen atoms in flaring atmospheres associated with HXR emission. In this paper, we investigate electron beams as the agents accounting for the observed hydrogen line and continuum emission. Methods. Flaring atmospheres are considered to be produced by a 1D hydrodynamic response to the injection of an electron beam defining their kinetic temperatures, densities, and macro velocities. We simulated a radiative response in these atmospheres using a fully non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) approach for a 5-level plus continuum hydrogen atom model, considering its excitation and ionisation by spontaneous, external, and internal diffusive radiation and by inelastic collisions with thermal and beam electrons. Simultaneous steady-state and integral radiative transfer equations in all optically thick transitions (Lyman and Balmer series) were solved iteratively for all the transitions to define their source functions with the relative accuracy of 10 −5 . The solutions of the radiative transfer equations were found using the L2 approximation. Resulting intensities of hydrogen line and continuum emission were also calculated for Balmer and Paschen series. Results. We find that inelastic collisions with beam electrons strongly increase excitation and ionisation of hydrogen atoms from the chromosphere to photosphere. This leads to an increase in Lyman continuum radiation, which has high optical thickness, and after the beam is off it governs hydrogen ionisation and leads to the long lasting orders of magnitude enhancement of emission in Balmer and Paschen continua. The ratio of Balmer-to-other-continuum head intensities are found to be correlated with the initial flux of the beam. The height distribution of contribution functions for Paschen continuum emission indicate a close correlation with the observations of heights of WL and HXR emission reported for limb flares. This process also leads to a strong increase of wing emission (Stark’s wings) in Balmer and Paschen lines, which is superimposed on large red-shifted enhancements of H α -H γ line emission resulting from a downward motion by hydrodynamic shocks. The simulated line profiles are shown to fit closely the observations for various flaring events.
Antioxidant Capacity and Antimutagenicity of Thermal Processed Thai Foods

Ten different foods containing local Thai vegetables were selected to study their antioxidant and antimutagenic properties. The antioxidant capacity, antimutagenicity, and total phenolic content of methanol extracts obtained from cooked food samples exhibited a wide variation ranging from 24-140 mg vitamin C equivalent/100 g, 53-93% and 35-125 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g. The three foods highest in antioxidant capacity were Kaeng Hoi Bai Chaplu (wild betal curry), Phat Sator (stir-fried petai beans), and Kaeng Pa Gai (mixed vegetables curry). The foods that exhibited an antimutagenicity greater than 85% were Tomkathi Saibua (water lily stalk curry), Kaeng Pa Gai, Kaeng Taipla (southern curry), and Kaeng Lueang Khun (giant taro stem curry). Next, aiming to develop retort pouch food products, the effect of sterilization heat (121°C) on four selected foods was studied. Antioxidant capacity, antimutagenicity, and total phenolic content increased by 0-120%, 13-40%, and 6-54% after sterilization, respectively.
Perceived Organizational Support, Organizational Identification and Job Involvement among Temporary and Permanent Employees- Relational Analysis

The present study investigates the relationship between the perceived organizational support,organizational identification and job involvement among temporary and permanent employees. After a detailed literature review certain hypotheses were formulated, i.e.,. there will be a positive relationship between perceived organizational support and organizational identification,. there will be a positive relationship between perceived organizational support and job involvement and perceived organizational support, organizational identification and job involvement will be higher in permanent employees as compared to temporary employees. To test hypotheses 100 employees (50 temporary and 50 permanent) irrespective of gender and age variable from the department of phone banking of a private bank were selected. Perceived organizational support was measured by the Perceived Organizational Support Questionnaire (Eisenberger, et.al, 1986), Organizational Identification was measured by Organizational Identification Questionnaire ( Rubin, et.al, 2004), while Job Involvement was measured by Measurement of job and work involvement (Kanungo, 1982). Data analysis involved the use of Pearson Product Moment Correlation and according to the results there is a moderate positive correlation perceived organizational support and organizational identification among both temporary and permanent employees. Moderate and weak positive relationship between perceived organizational support and job involvement among permanent and temporary employees respectively. Keywords: Perceived Organizational Support, Organizationl Identification, Job Involvement, Temporary & Permanent Employees
Comparing the risk of falls between rural and urban elderly

The aim of this study was to compare the risk of falls and characterize them in the urban and rural elderly. Observational study with elderly from urban and rural areas in the interior of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, evaluated by the Fall Risk Score and further criteria for the evaluation and characterization of the last fall within 12 months. A total of 125 elderly, 89 urban and 36 rural was evaluated. There was a high prevalence of medication use (93.6%), impaired vision (35.2%) and previous falls (81.6%) in the total sample of individuals as well as the risk of falls (76.8%) without differences between the groups. The variables of statistical significance were impaired hearing (p = 0.009) and impairment of the lower limbs (p = 0.04). Both the elderly living in rural areas and in urban areas showed high risk for falls in the group studied, with no significant difference between them. Thus, it is worth highlighting the importance of making a health work for guidance on falls.
One-Step Synthesis of Sterically Hindered 1,5-Disubstituted Tetrazoles from Bulky Secondary N-Benzoyl Amides Using Triazidochlorosilane (TACS)

In this paper, a one-step method is reported for the conversion of bulky secondary N-benzoyl amides to sterically hindered 1,5-disubstituted tetrazoles in 83%-88% yields using silicon tetrachloride in the presence of sodium azide (triazidochlorosilane) andacetonitrile as solvent. Triazidochlorosilane (TACS) was used as azide transfer reagent as it transformed the amides to imidoylazide intermediate and, then, by ring closing to tetrazole. The formation of hindered 1,5-disubstituted tetrazoles was confirmed by1H-, 13C- and 19F-NMR, HRMS and FT-IR. A possible mechanism is described to clarify theeffect of electron-withdrawing groupsonanilines ringin the conversionto tetrazole. In fact, substituent effect