Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Constructing Demand Curves: A Comparison of Two Procedures using the Juster Scale

The Juster Purchase Probability Scale may be used to obtain estimates of demand at different price points and this data used to construct demand curves. This study compared two procedures for obtaining demand estimates at different price-points: using the same respondents for all price points; and using different samples of respondents for each price point. A mail survey of 1600 randomly selected people was used, with a response rate of 64%. The product was a Television Digital Recorder. The two methods produced demand curves with very different slopes. The curve derived from respondents exposed to all price-points demonstrated much greater price sensitivity than that based on independent responses to each price point. However, further research is required to determine which procedure produces the more accurate predictions.
Essays in Evolutionary Game Theory

This thesis contains three essays in evolutionary game theory. In the first chapter, we study the impact of switching costs on the long run outcome in 2X2 coordination games played in the circular city model of local interactions. We find that for low levels of switching costs, the risk dominant convention is the unique long run equilibrium. For intermediate levels of switching costs the set of long run equilibria contains the risk dominant convention but may also contain conventions that are not risk dominant. For high levels of switching costs also nonmonomorphic states will be included in the set of LRE. We study the impact of location heterogeneity on neighborhood segregation in the one-dimensional Schelling residential model in the second chapter. We model location heterogeneity by introducing an advantageous node, in which a player’s utility is impartial to the composition of her neighborhood. We find that when every player interacts with two neighbors, one advantageous node in the circular city will lead to a result that segregation is no longer the unique LRE. When players interact with more neighbors, more advantageous nodes are necessary to obtain the same result. In the third chapter, we consider a model of social coordination and network formation, where players of two groups play a 2X2 coordination game when connected. Players in one group actively decide on whom they play with and on the action in the game, while players in the other group decide on the action in the game only. We find that if either group’s population size is small in comparison to the linking restriction, all players will choose the risk dominant equilibrium, while when both groups are sufficiently large in population, the players of two groups will coordinate on the payoff dominant action.
Modelling contraceptive prevalence in Bangladesh: a hierarchical approach

In demography, large-scale surveys often follow a nested structure of data because information is collected from different levels of hierarchy. It is thus necessary to elicit the inherent variations, which occur for a particular phenomenon between those levels. Exploring this idea, the present study seeks to detect variations resulting from such nested structure in the case of contraceptive practice in Bangladesh, as well as identify factors affecting the individual’s behavior. Applying the newly developed theories of multilevel analysis, a functional model is developed for current use of contraception, using data collected in the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, 1996-97. From the constructed model, it is observed that the necessary factors defining women’s attitudes towards contraception are the woman’s age; the number of male children in her family; whether she takes decisions on family planning issues individually or jointly; the number of family planning services she received and her current working status. In addition, the multilevel model reflects the existence of significant variations in the mean effects of the predictors of current contraceptive practice in lower administrative levels. The study shows that due to the widespread activities of family planning services in recent times, such services have received encouraging reaction from women in all parts of Bangladesh. Family planning services have successfully increased the level of awareness as it has led to non-variable contribution among the levels of hierarchies. The study has suggested integrating a strong awareness program that targets the currently married women and encourages them to practice contraception more in their early reproductive lives; to discourage their desire for male children; to share their family planning matters with friends and relatives; to think of contributing towards their family by earning money by themselves, and to keep themselves aware of family planning services. The study suggests continuing intensively running family planning programs along with the awareness programs in those districts where the particular determinant of contraceptive use has been found to be less effective.
Endogenous Monitoring in Multiprincipal Model : implications for organizational design

I analyze common agency games with moral hazard in which each principal can endogenously choose the level of monitoring for each agent, and derive some implications for organizational design. I show that even if a principal doesn’t benet from an agent’s work, she has incentive to monitor him by drawing monitoring fee from the principal who benets from the task via the agent in equilibrium. And I show by collecting the monitoring provisions from each principal, the multi-principals organization can create higher incentives and welfare compared with the single-principal one.
PHENOMENOLOGY OF REVERSE-SHOCK EMISSION IN THE OPTICAL AFTERGLOWS OF GAMMA-RAY BURSTS

We use a parent sample of 118 gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows, with known redshift and host galaxy extinction, to separate afterglows with and without signatures of dominant reverse-shock (RS) emission and to determine which physical conditions lead to a prominent reverse-shock emission. We identify 10 GRBs with reverse-shock signatures: 990123, 021004, 021211, 060908, 061126, 080319B, 081007, 090102, 090424, and 130427A. By modeling their optical afterglows with reverse- and forward-shock analytic light curves and using Monte Carlo simulations, we estimate the parameter space of the physical quantities describing the ejecta and circumburst medium. We find that physical properties cover a wide parameter space and do not seem to cluster around any preferential values. Comparing the rest-frame optical, X-ray, and high-energy properties of the larger sample of non-RS-dominated GRBs, we show that the early-time (<1 ks) optical spectral luminosity, X-ray afterglow luminosity, and γ-ray energy output of our reverse-shock dominated sample do not differ significantly from the general population at early times. However, the GRBs with dominant reverse-shock emission have fainter than average optical forward-shock emission at late times (>10 ks). We find that GRBs with an identifiable reverse-shock component show a high magnetization parameter RB = εB, r/εB, f ∼ 2–104. Our results are in agreement with the mildly magnetized baryonic jet model of GRBs.
Sexual counselling at the antenatal care clinic

Objective: Several studies show that nurses don’t meet patients’ needs in addressing issues around sexuality and sexual health. However, little attention has been paid to midwives’ views on sexual counselling. This study explores midwives’ views and experiences on sexual counselling during antenatal care. Study design: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine midwives at seven different antenatal care clinics in southern Sweden. The interviews were analysed with qualitative content analysis, and script theory was used as a theoretical perspective. Results: The result showed that the midwives considered sexuality important but hard to address. Lack of time, knowledge, and encouragement from the managerial level and/or lack of counselling tools were given as reasons for not bringing it up. In addition, midwives’ insecurity turned out to be even greater with patients that deviated from the heterosexual norm or had another cultural background. Conclusion: There are cultural and interpersonal scripts in the workplace in which sexuality is not expected to be addressed. As long as these are in place, only education will not help to change issues in addressing patients’ sexuality. Organizational and managerial support along with education and opportunities for reflection and dialogue regarding sexual issues might help midwives to approach sexuality and change the cultural and interpersonal scripts. ___________________________________________________________________________
Evolution of Slum Redevelopment Policy

Slums have been part of the urban landscape since the Victorian Era, and, over the years, policies such as public housing, slum upgrading, tenure security, city wide slum removal and other measures were adopted to improve the quality of life of the slum dwellers. In this paper, the evolution of those policies is explored and evaluated, and key policy strategies that need to be adopted at the donor and recipient levels in order to achieve measurable change in slum improvement across the world are suggested.
The relationship among public service motivation, Civic-organizational behavior (obc), and service quality

As one of the motivational theories which define both values and attitudes beyond personal as well as organizational benefits, Public Service Motivation (PSM) model aims to underscore the appreciation of individuals with regard to public interests. If PSM pattern being optional is synchronized with civic-organizational behavior, its effectiveness is manifested in improving service quality. The current study aims to investigate PSM model and civic-organizational behavior with respect to service quality. In addition, the background theoretical literature and the research hypotheses are scrutinized. The participants of the study consist of 306 employees of the Republic of Tajikistan's ministry and 384 customers of Tajikistan's governmental organizations who were selected with stratified-random sampling method. In order to analyze the data after the questionnaires' distribution phase, SPSS 18 software was run at two levels of descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive approach of correlation Parametric Regression of multi-variables was utilized in this study. The results of the current research indicate that there is a significant relationship between PSM pattern and civic-organizational behavior with respect to service quality. Hence, providing sufficient services through hiring highly-motivated employees for public services significantly increases public trust with regard to the government as the source of providing high-quality services.
Displacements and stresses due to a vertical point load in an inhomogeneous transversely isotropic half-space

We present the solutions for displacements and stresses subjected to a vertical point load in a continuously inhomogeneous transversely isotropic half-space with Young’s and shear moduli varying exponentially with depth. Planes of transverse isotropy are assumed to be parallel to the horizontal surface. The solutions for the half-space are obtained by superposing the solutions of two full spaces, one with a point load in its interior and the other with opposite traction of the first full space along the z 1⁄4 0 plane. The Hankel transform in a cylindrical co-ordinate system is employed for deriving the solutions. However, the resulting integrals for displacements and stresses involve polynomial, exponential function, and Bessel function that cannot be given in closed form; hence, numerical techniques are adopted in this work. In order to check the accuracy of numerical procedures, the comparisons are carried out with the homogeneous solutions of Liao and Wang, and the calculated results agree with those to nine decimal places. Furthermore, two illustrative examples are presented to elucidate the effect of inhomogeneity, and the type and degree of rock anisotropy on the vertical surface displacement and vertical normal stress in the inhomogeneous isotropic/ transversely isotropic rocks subjected to a vertical concentrated force acting on the surface. The calculated results show that the induced displacement and stress are decisively influenced by the inhomogeneity, and the degree and type of material anisotropy. The proposed solutions can more realistically simulate the actual stratum of loading problem in many areas of engineering practice. r 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Markov-Switching GARCH Modelling of Value-at-Risk

This paper proposes an asymmetric Markov regime-switching (MS) GARCH model to estimate value-at-risk (VaR) for both long and short positions. This model improves on existing VaR methods by taking into account both regime change and skewness or leverage effects. The performance of our MS model and single-regime models is compared through an innovative backtesting procedure using daily data for UK and US market stock indices. The findings from exceptions and regulatory-based tests indicate the MS-GARCH specifications clearly outperform other models in estimating the VaR for both long and short FTSE positions and also do quite well for S&P positions. We conclude that ignoring skewness and regime changes has the effect of imposing larger than necessary conservative capital requirements.
Photoacoustic technique in the transmission configuration for quantitative analysis of liquids

Se presenta un metodo fotoacustico para la medicion del coeficiente de absorcion optico de pigmentos en solucion liquida. El modelo matematico, el cual involucra el modelo de absorcion luminosa de Beer-Lambert, es una generalizacion de un metodo fotoacustico previamente reportado que utiliza un modelo de absorcion superficial que es adecuado para la medicion de la difusividad termica de liquidos. Se determino el coeficiente de absorcion optico, a una longitud de onda de 658 nm, de soluciones acuosas de sulfato de cobre y azul de metileno a varias concentraciones para mostrar el rango de coeficientes de absorcion opticos a los cuales se aplica el modelo de absorcion de Beer-Lambert. Experimentalmente se demostro que el limite de absorcion superficial es mas adecuado para soluciones de altas concentraciones de pigmento y, como consecuencia, se obtiene la difusividad termica de las muestras en vez del coeficiente de absorcion optico. Las propiedades opticas y termicas medidas por medio de esta metodologia fotoacustica resultaron en excelente concordancia con las correspondientes obtenidas por medio de la espectroscopia convencional y de la metodologia fotoacustica previamente reportada para mediciones de difusividad termica. Los resultados muestran que esta tecnica puede ser de gran utilidad en el campo del analisis cuantitativo.
A modified extraction technique for liberating occluded gases from ice cores

We have developed a new dry extraction technique to extract air from large pieces of glacial ice. The primary reason for developing this technique was to be able to perform a single extraction and measure a single sample of air from an ice core sample for as many atmospheric constituents as possible. The procedure is modeled after the dry extraction -“cheese grater” design of Etheridge et al. [1988]. Extracted air samples are analyzed for the elemental and isotopic composition of O2 and N2 as well as the CH4 concentration. Extensive experimental work to determine the integrity of the extraction procedure yielded blank values and external precision which are comparable with exiting extraction procedures. Overall external precision for δO2/N2, δ18O of O2, and δ15of N2 analyses is ±2.1‰, ±0.074‰, and ±0.045‰, respectively. Variable δO2/N2 results from ice which is either completely bubbly or clathrated are in good agreement with previous measurements. Variable δO2/N2 results from Greenland Ice Sheet Project (GISP) II ice samples spanning the clathrate formation region (1000–1500 m) are markedly different from previous results obtained with a “wet” extraction procedure. We attribute the differences to variable δO2/N2 ratios in bubbles and clathrates in the clathrate formation region combined with a 21% difference in our extraction efficiency for bubbly versus clathrated ice. The overall uncertainty and blank value for CH4 measurements are ±19 ppb and 16 ppb, respectively. CH4 concentrations for ice between 115 and 140 meters below the surface (mbs) from the GISPII ice core appear to be 4.3% higher than the average value measured by five other laboratories. We attribute our elevated values to uncertainties in the actual concentration of our working standard and small differences in the CH4 concentration of the liberated air relative to the total air trapped in ice. Our corrected CH4 data spanning the last 25 kyr are indistinguishable from the Brook et al. (1996) CH4 record from the same period.
Adjusting Swedish gymnastics to the female nature: Discrepancies in the gendering of girls’ physical education in the mid-nineteenth century

During the nineteenth century, Swedish gymnastics became one of the main models of physical education in the Western world. The purpose of this article is to explore how Swedish gymnastics was adjusted to the female body and mind in the mid-nineteenth century. Using handbooks published by the Swedish educationalist Anton Santesson as an empirical starting point, this article shows how the relationship between gender and gymnastics was complicated and exhibited significant discrepancies. In part, Swedish gymnastics was marked by a one-sex model of gender differences, which meant that gymnastics was perceived as a method for catering to the deficiencies and weaknesses of the feminine nature, in an attempt to make girls and young women more similar to boys. Swedish gymnastics had, nevertheless, vital elements of a two-sex model, according to which gymnastics was supposed to realise the true feminine nature of girls. Following this line of thought, Santesson claimed that, since gymnastics merely followed the laws of the body, it could not make girls more like boys. Santesson’s vision of gymnastics also included disciplinary mechanisms, such as the partitioning of space, which were gender neutral. Apart from presenting insights into the ambiguous and contradictory notions of gender in Swedish girls’ gymnastics, this article thus also raises questions regarding whether other models of physical education were marked by similar discrepancies during the nineteenth century.
MUSCULAR CO-ACTIVATION IN SUBJECTS AFFECTED BY FEMOROACETABULAR IMPINGEMENT

Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI) is a hip deformity that causes hip and groin pain. Previous research showed that FAI patients have altered hip kinetics and kinematics and pelvic kinematics. Whether or not this is due to different muscular strategies is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the muscular co-activation in FAI patients. Electromyographic signals were recorded from 16 hip muscles. The coactivation index was calculated for FAI symptomatic, asymptomatic and control groups. Even if not statistically significant, the co-activation measurements showed a trend similar to the findings for osteoarthritic (OA) patients. Additional investigations are warranted to confirm this analogy that could further relate FAI and OA development, and to confirm the hypothesis that FAI anomalies are also due to altered muscular strategies.
YinYang Bipolar Quantum Geometry and Bipolar Quantum Superposition Part I—A Background Independent Geometrical and Logical Exposition of Dirac 3-Polarizer Experiment

Bipolar quantum agent (BQA), bipolar quantum geometry (BQG) and bipolar dynamic logic (BDL) are introduced based on bipolar complementarity – a logical extension to Niels Bohr’s particle-wave YinYang duality principle. Complete geometrical background independence is proposed and BQG is proven completely background independent which leads to the notion of bipolar quantum superposition – an equilibrium-based logical approach to superposition. It is shown that the logical linearity of BDL can be unified with the physical nonlinearity of bipolar dynamic equilibrium. It is proven that a single polarized photon as a BQA can be logically channeled through the three polarizers in Dirac’s experiment with BDL regardless of quantum uncertainty. It is illustrated that BQG, BDL and bipolar probability adds analytical power to quantum mechanics. It is concluded that bipolar quantum superposition demystifies Schrodinger’s cat paradox from a weird quantum phenomenon to a logically comprehendible YinYang bipolar dynamic equilibrium interpretation of quantum superposition and leads to an analytical paradigm of quantum mechanics and quantum biology as presented in Part II of this work.
Hypersonic jets in astrophysical conditions: focus on spreading and asymmetric stability properties

High Mach number jets emanating from young stars show remarkable collimation, low opening angle and resilience against the growth of instabilities, especially the asymmetric ones. In recent laboratory experiments instances of asymmetric three-dimensional low amplitude long waves aligned with the jet axis were observed by Belan et al (2013 Astron. Astrophys. 554 A99). To explore the collimation, spreading, and asymmetric stability properties of hypersonic jets we carried out laboratory experiments and numerical simulations in two and three spatial dimensions. We find that laboratory hydrodynamic jets with high Mach numbers remain collimated, for hundreds of jet radii in length and maintain low opening angles. These findings are confirmed by 3D numerical simulations carried out after time-dependent, asymmetric perturbations are applied at the jet inlet. Both experimental and perturbed simulated jets show non-axial modes with long wavelengths, whose growth does not disrupt the jet in the domain considered.
Photosynthetic response of Amphibolis antarctica and Posidonia australis to temperature and desiccation using chlorophyll fluorescence

Exposure to desiccation during heat wave conditions (≥ 35°C) is considered the most likely cause of a sudden dieback of 12 700 ha of intertidal and shallow subtidal seagrasses along 95 km of coast in Spencer Gulf, South Australia. To investigate this hypothesis experiments in a con- stant environment (CE) room were designed to test the tolerances of 2 shallow subtidal species, Amphibolis antarctica and Posidonia australis, to desiccation for a range of temperatures and expo- sure times. The first experiment compared the effects of increasing exposure time (15, 30, 45, 60, 80 and 100 min) on photosynthetic efficiency at a relatively mild summer temperature (CE room set to 24°C). The second experiment compared the effects of increasing temperature (CE room temperature set to 18, 24, 28 or 32°C) and exposure time (0, 20 and 60 min). Photosynthetic efficiency, damage and extent of recovery were determined by chlorophyll fluorescence measured using a pulse amplitude modulated fluorometer. The ability of both species to recover from desiccation decreased at higher temperatures and longer exposure time, with P. australis more susceptible to desiccation than A. antarctica. The results indicate that higher temperatures alone did not significantly affect photo- synthetic efficiency for either species. Four main responses for maximal quantum yield over a time series were apparent: (1) no difference from controls, (2) a significant degree of photosystem II inhi- bition followed by complete or (3) partial recovery, and (4) complete inhibition of photosystem II with no recovery. Short exposures to desiccation at lower temperatures generally resulted in moderate stress followed by complete recovery, while at higher temperatures there was only partial recovery, particularly for P. australis. However, both species exposed for 1 h at the highest temperature showed no signs of photosynthetic recovery up to18 h after re-immersion, suggesting that significant seagrass dieback is plausible under these conditions in situ, particularly if the seagrasses were exposed to repeated desiccation on consecutive days.