Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of financial support on the success of small, medium and micro enterprises in the Eastern Cape province

Orientation: In developing economies, the growth of the economy could be fostered and enhanced by the expansion of the private sector, as this sector is the engine of economic growth. Consequently, it is necessary to accelerate the success of small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) to achieve sustainability in this sector of the economy.Research purpose: The main aim of this article was to determine the relevance of financial support offered to SMMEs by both private and public sectors on the success of businesses.Motivation for the study: The impact of finance on SMME performance is well documented from an international perspective. However, what lacks in extant literature is the understanding of whether the financial support being offered by both public and private sectors is relevant to the success of businesses.Research design, approach and method: A post-positivist paradigm was used with a quantitative research design, which made use of self-administered questionnaires to assess the relevance of financial support offered to SMMEs by both private and public sectors. Multiple regressions and correlations were computed to test the research hypotheses.Main findings: The findings suggest that SMME success is positively and significantly correlated with financial support for both private and public sectors.Practical/managerial implications: Although financial support is important, it needs to be restructured so as to incorporate practical aspects. Furthermore, private and public sectors should create an enabling environment that encourages the effective use of finances, which, in turn, will improve the success of businesses.Contribution/value-add: This article is of particular value to policymakers for ways to improve the success of SMMEs.
Effects of Some Atmospheric Parameters on the Dynamics of Lower Stratospheric Ozone in the Low Latitude.

This work investigates the effects of some atmospheric parameters such as the extratropical suction pump (ETSP) and the Quasi Biennial Oscillation (QBO) on the variability of Ozone (O3) in the tropics with much emphasis on Nigeria, using the Earth Probe Total Ozone Mass Spectroscopy (EPTOMS) data obtained for Lagos station for the period spanning from 1997 to 2005. The results show that the mean O3 concentration, O3 temporal oscillation period, its average temporal amplitude of oscillation, and its average maximum daily variation are 273.6± 0.04DU, 5days, 7.81Du and 48.8Du, respectively. The average monthly maximum and minimum O3 concentrations were found to be 287.8Du occurring between July and August and 192.73Du occurring between December and March respectively.
Working Capital Efficiency and Firm Value: Evidence form Pakistani Firms

Purpose: We examined the association between the efficiency of working capital and firm value for a sample of 49 firms registered on Karachi Stock Exchange for a period of 2004-2016. Additionally, the effect of financing constraints on this association is also examined. Design: Linear and Fixed Effect regression analysis is used to capture the effect of working capital management on firm value. We follow the model which was developed by the Fama and French and use by Pinkowitz et al. and Wasiuzzaman. Findings: We find that working capital efficiency is important for the firms as it affects the firm value and it improves firm efficiency by reducing the investment in working capital. Further, better management of working capital and firm value association is true for financially constrained firms. While, in case of unconstrained firms it the relationship insignificant. Originality: To the best authors’ knowledge, this is very first study on working capital and firm value in context of Pakistan. Hence this work adds valuable contribution in the scarce literature on working capital management and firm valuation relationship.
A Study on the Impact of Electronic Media, particularly Television and Computer Consoles, upon Traditional Childhood Play and Certain Aspects of Psychosocial Development amongst Children

Excessive use of electronic media among children is resulting in traditional play being displaced and the years of childhood innocence lessening. Consequently “mini-adults” instead of children are emerging with knowledge too complex for their stage of development. Research comprised of 3 questionnaires for 3 different target groups namely, 2 nd and 6 th class boys and girls, their parents, and the teachers in their schools. It found that indeed electronic media is impacting upon a child’s development in varying forms and highlighted the dominant presence of television in households. In addition, findings showed the contrasting opinions of parents regarding television and computer consoles upon their family life and child’s growth. Teachers clearly expressed their anxieties for the children in their school and outlined the areas of a child’s development being impacted upon that were of greatest concern to them. Furthermore, the research findings indicated the other electronic media that are growing in prevalence amongst primary school children in Ireland.
CITRATE 1.0: Phytoplankton continuous trait-distribution model with one-dimensional physical transport applied to the North Pacific

Abstract. Diversity plays critical roles in ecosystem functioning, but it remains challenging to model phytoplankton diversity in order to better understand those roles and reproduce consistently observed diversity patterns in the ocean. In contrast to the typical approach of resolving distinct species or functional groups, we present a ContInuous TRAiT-basEd phytoplankton model (CITRATE) that focuses on macroscopic system properties such as total biomass, mean trait values, and trait variance. This phytoplankton component is embedded within a nitrogen–phytoplankton-zooplankton–detritus–iron model that itself is coupled with a simplified one-dimensional ocean model. Size is used as the master trait for phytoplankton. CITRATE also incorporates trait diffusion for sustaining diversity and simple representations of physiological acclimation, i.e., flexible chlorophyll-to-carbon and nitrogen-to-carbon ratios. We have implemented CITRATE at two contrasting stations in the North Pacific where several years of observational data are available. The model is driven by physical forcing including vertical eddy diffusivity imported from three-dimensional general ocean circulation models (GCMs). One common set of model parameters for the two stations is optimized using the Delayed-Rejection Adaptive Metropolis–Hasting Monte Carlo (DRAM) algorithm. The model faithfully reproduces most of the observed patterns and gives robust predictions on phytoplankton mean size and size diversity. CITRATE is suitable for applications in GCMs and constitutes a prototype upon which more sophisticated continuous trait-based models can be developed.
EFFECT OF NANOCLAY ON THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF COMPATIBILIZED ETHYLENE VINYL ACETATE COPOLYMER / HIGH DENSITY POLYETHYLENE BLENDS

This paper presents a part of research on the mechanical properties of compatibilized Poly (ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA)/ high density polyethylene (HDPE)/ organo modified montmorillonite (OMMT) nanocomposites prepared by melt mixing technique. Use of maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene (MA-g-PE) as Compatibilizer improves compatibility of EVA and HDPE. Blends containing EVA/HDPE blend with 2 phr MA-g-PE shows optimum properties. It observes that the addition of nanoclay improves the mechanical properties like tensile strength, flexural modulus, abrasion resistance and hardness of compatibilized nanocomposites systems. The morphology is studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The optimized properties occurrs at clay loading levels of 4 phr with MA-g-PE system.
Laïcité and Laiklik: When Did the Comparability of Assertive Laicism in France and Turkey Dissolve?

The political principle of Laicism was institutionalized in the constitutions of both France and Turkey supposedly establishing the separation of religion and state. This project seeks to identify whether French Laicite and Turkish Laiklik have ever implemented Laicism in ways that fully separate the church and state and if so, to understand at which critical periods their comparability as assertively secular nations derailed. Although French and Turkish Laic-values are built upon a similar platform of nationalism, similar factors influencing the corrosion of Laicism in each case have produced inverse results regarding secularism in the contemporary. Confronting the notion of 'dual laicism's' I claim instead that both France and Turkey have undergone roughly similar processes since the birth of Laicism in each context but have been alternately shaped according to the dynamic interaction between prevailing ideologies of the dominant politic, society's perception of national value and national narrative. The fundamental difference between France and Turkey is more poignantly the direction of Laicism's corruption than the intensity of it. Have French Laicite and Turkish Laiklik ever implemented Laicism in ways that fully separate the church and state, and if so at which points did they deviate?
Organic Pig Meat Production-Nutrient Supply , Behaviour and Health

The aim of this thesis was to investigate the influence of dietary amino acid levels in a low-energy diet provided ad libitum on performance, carcass quality, behaviour and health of organic growing/finishing pigs in outdoor and indoor production systems. 192 piglets born outdoors were transferred to either a pen indoors (I) or a pasture outdoors (O). The pigs were allocated to six treatments (IR, IR-7, IR-14 and OR, OR-7, OR-14) with diets containing different amino acid levels. R was in accordance with the Swedish norm, R-7 and R-14 contained 7 and 14% lower levels than the norm. The aim was also to determine whether additional roughage and access to outdoor areas affect activity behaviour and reduce aggression level among organic growing/finishing pigs. A total of 515 pigs in indoor housing systems with access to concrete outdoor runs were studied. The pigs were allocated to either a control treatment or one of three treatments with access to additional roughages in the outdoor run: hay, grass silage or whole crop barley silage. Furthermore, the objective was to provide data on nutritional properties of some alternative organic protein feed resources. A 4-period changeover digestibility trial included pigs fitted with a post valve t-caecum cannula. The dietary treatments were faba bean and cake from hempseed, linseed and rapeseed. The results showed that production system, rather than dietary amino acid level, affected pig performance and carcass quality and that pigs seem able to tolerate lower amino acid levels than the Swedish norm if fed ad libitum. The prevalence of erysipelas infections was higher in outdoor pigs and Ascaris suum infections were present in both production systems. Access to roughage and outdoor areas allowed pigs to express highly motivated natural behaviours, such as foraging, rooting and exploring, which generally resulted in a higher activity level. Roughage played an important role in occupying the pigs and reduced aggressions between the pigs. The alternative protein feed resources had satisfactory digestibility values and might have the potential to be used to a greater extent in the formulation of organic pig diets.
Effect of Water Saturation on the Diffusion/Adsorption of 22Na and Cesium onto the Callovo-Oxfordian Claystones

The diffusion and adsorption behaviors of sodium and cesium were investigated in the Callovo-Oxfordian claystones (France) under unsaturated conditions. Through-, out-, and in-diffusion laboratory experiments were performed on intact and compacted samples. These samples were partially saturated using an osmotic method for imposed suction up to 9 MPa. This specific technique enabled us to obtain water saturation degree ranging from 81% to 100% for intact samples and from 70% to 100% for compacted materials. The results showed a very low impact of water saturation on the extent of adsorption for 22Na and cesium, onto intact and compacted materials. Such observations suggest that the saturation degrees were not low enough to limit the access of cations to adsorption sites on clay surfaces. At full saturation, enhanced diffusion for 22Na and cesium was clearly evidenced onto intact and compacted samples. Under unsaturated conditions, the diffusion behavior for Cs and 22Na was not only slower but also distinct as compared to fully saturated samples. For the intact rock and under suction of 1.9 MPa, the Cs diffusivity was reduced by a factor of 17, whereas for sodium, it was reduced by a factor of 5. Explanation was then proposed to explain such a difference.
Impact of rice straw mulch on growth, yield components and yield of direct seeded lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.)

The impact of a rice straw mulch (RSM) under optimal mineral fertilized conditions on growth, yield components and yield of dry direct seeded (DDSR) and wet direct seeded rice (WDSR) was evaluated under field conditions over four consecutive seasons to include two dry (DS) and two wet (WS) seasons, in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. The RSM could be applied in WDSR in both seasons and DDSR in WS at a rate of 4t/ha without affecting the seedling density. RSM in WDSR, especially at initial stages of plant growth (i.e. 35 days after sowing) increased plant height, length of the longest root and total root length significantly than in non mulched and DDSR-RSM plots. Shoot and root biomass were also significantly increased by RSM in WDSR in both seasons. Rice straw mulch increased panicle number per unit area and number of spikelets per panicle in WDSR-RSM in both seasons. A significantly high yield could be achieved in WDSR-RSM, WDSR-chemical weeding (C) and DDSR- C treatments in both seasons. The yield enhancement was attributed to yield components, principally panicle number per unit area and number of spikelet per panicle. There was a greater panicle number per unit area in the DS while the WS favors more spikelets per panicle. The study indicated the possibility of enhancing the rice plant growth, yield components and yields of rice in wet- direct seeded lowland rice by rice straw mulch in both seasons in this region. Tropical Agricultural Research Vol. 24 (4): 325-335 (2013)
WORKABILITY STUDY FOR RECYCLED AGGREGATES

Significant quantities of waste are being produced and discarded by the construction and demolition (C & D) industries within the Asia and many other developed countries, and this is likely to increase considerably in the future. On the other hand, in recent years the construction industry throughout the world has supported initiatives to improve sustainability by increasing the use of recycled aggregates in concrete production. This is mainly because of the depletion of quality primary aggregates and in some quarters, greater awareness of environmental protection. A laboratory experimental programme aimed at examining the performance of recycled aggregates, produced with known source of concrete and unknown source of concrete. Known source of concrete were prepared by a popular concrete mix 0.55:1:1.5:3, which was used here for preparation of known source of aggregate. Another source of aggregates was laboratory tested concrete specimens whose age or strength was not known. Recycled aggregates were prepared with help of laboratory type jaw crusher. All aggregates were tested as per IS recommendations and results compared with natural coarse aggregate (NCA) and IS requirements. All these properties of aggregates and their effect on concrete are reported in this paper. Water absorption and specific gravity are very important property for RCA. Hence water absorption was checked for different time intervals. All mechanical properties of NCA and RCA were determined and compared with IS requirements. At the fresh state, the slump loss and fresh density for various concrete mixes were determined.
Marine environment risk assessment: A survey on the disutility cost of oil spills

“Formal Safety Assessment” (FSA) was introduced as a tool to help in the evaluation of new regulations for maritime safety and the protection of the marine environment and is currently, the major risk assessment tool that is being used for policy-making. However, there is not much work done in FSA as regards the protection of the marine environment and especially the prevention of sea pollution. Taking into account that a major harm to the sea is the accidental spillage of oil and by acknowledging that there is no significant work on this matter, this paper attempts a literature review on the issue and comments on alternative approaches. To that effect, prior research on oil spill damage cost assessment is placed within context, and various alternative approaches are presented. This work is also viewed within the framework of recent IMO developments in this area.
Immune response, blood parameters and growth performance in broiler fed reduced protein diet supplemented with β-hydroxy-β-methyl butyrate and conjugated linoleic acid

In this experiment a total of 300 d-old broilers (Ross 308) were randomized across 20 floor pens and reared up to 42 d. Treatments includes: 1) A normal-protein diet (NPD) was formulated according to the Ross 308 recommendation (2014) by corn and soybean meal, 2) A reduced-protein diet (RPD) was prepared with dietary protein reduced by 12 g kg -1 (1.2%) relative to the NPD, 3) HMB+ RDP, 4) CLA+RDP and 5) CLA+ HMB+ RDP. The results showed that broilers fed HMB diet had higher Average Daily Gain (ADG) and Feed Conversion Rate (FCR) significantly improved by HMB during the grower or the whole period (p < 0.05). Titer of serum antibodies of Newcastle disease was maximum in treatment supplemented with CLA+HMB compared to the control (RPD) in day 42. In comparison with the control, feeding CLA increased Lymphocyte and decreased heterophil and H/ L ratio (p < 0.05). Insulin hormone secretion increased by dietary HMB (p < 0.05). Red Blood Cells (RBC) and Hemoglobin (Hb) was significantly increased by HMB supplemented diet (p < 0.05). It could be concluded that supplementations of HMB and CLA together in reduced-protein diet have positive effect on growth performance, immune system and hematological parameter.
The Role of Emotions in Service Encounters

This article advances our understanding of the influence of affect in consumers’ responses to brief, nonpersonal service encounters. This study contributes to the services marketing literature by examining for mundane service transactions the impact of customer-displayed emotion and affect on assessments of the service encounter and the overall experience. Observational and perceptual data from customers were matched with frontline employees in 200 transaction-specific encounters. The results of this study suggest that consumers’ evaluations of the service encounter correlate highly with their displayed emotions during the interaction and postencounter mood states. Finally, the findings indicate that frontline employees’perceptions of the encounter are not aligned with those of their customers. The managerial implications of these findings are briefly discussed.
Pack Factor Measurements for Corn in Grain Storage Bins

Shelled yellow corn is commonly stored in concrete or corrugated steel bins. Granular materials compact under their own weight, primarily due to particle rearrangement, leading to an increase in bulk density and a change in volume when stored. Reliable grain pack factors are needed to estimate storage capacities and to accurately monitor grain inventories. A science-based model (WPACKING) of pack factors is available that uses the differential form of Janssenâ€™s equation and takes into account the variation in density caused by pressure variation with height and moisture content of the grain and accounts for the effects of grain type, test weight, bin geometry, and bin material. However, this model needs to be compared to field data over a wide range of conditions to ensure robust prediction accuracy. The objective of this research was to determine the field pack factors and bin capacities for on-farm and commercial bins used to store corn in the U.S. and compare them to predictions of the WPACKING program. Bin inventory measurements were conducted in concrete bins with depths up to 31.4 m (114.8 ft) and corrugated steel bins with diameters up to 32.8 m (156 ft). These values were also compared to the techniques used by the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) and the USDA Farm Service Agency, Warehouse Branch (FSA-W). The differences between predicted and reported mass were -4.54% (maximum underprediction) to +4.53% (maximum overprediction) for WPACKING, -2.69% to 4.97% for the RMA method, and -3.33% to + 5.67% for the FSA-W method. The absolute average difference was lowest for the WPACKING model (0.90%) compared to the RMA and FSA-W methods (1.61% and 1.86%, respectively). WPACKING had less than half as many prediction differences above 1% (13 out of 51 bins) as did the RMA and FSA-W methods, which had 29 out of 51 and 33 out of 51, respectively. The RMA and FSA-W methods do not take into account the variations in pack factor due to bin type and moisture content of the stored grain.
Stabilization of Climate Regimes by Noise in a Simple Model of the Thermohaline Circulation

Salinity dynamics in a simple two-box model of the thermohaline circulation (THC) is considered. The model parameterizes fluctuating eddy transport and buoyancy forcing by two independent stochastic processes. The associated stationary probability density function is calculated analytically, and its structure is analyzed in the space of the three parameters of the model. It is found that over a broad range of model parameters in which the stationary density is technically bimodal, the population of one regime is very much larger than that of the other, so the system behaves effectively unimodally. This preferential population of one regime is denoted stabilization. This phenomenon is only relevant if the timescale of THC variability is less than the mean residence times of the destabilized regime, so that the system may be described by its stationary probability density. These average residence times are calculated, and it is found that stabilization occurs over a broad range of parameter values. The stabilization phenomenon has important consequences for the stability of the THC. It is shown that the inclusion of stochastic processes in the model results in random hysteresis responses to steady changes in freshwater forcing, such that the transitions between regimes generally occur some distance away from the bifurcation points at which transitions occur in the deterministic model.
DECOMPOSING POVERTY-INEQUALITY LINKAGES OF SOURCES OF DEPRIVATION BY MEN-HEADED AND WOMEN-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS IN CAMEROON

We decompose poverty-inequality linkages of sources of deprivation by men-headed and women-headed households in Cameroon. Results indicate that (a) women-headed and gender-neutral households face more human and household capital deprivation and higher levels of inequality than their men-headed counterparts; and (b) whereas decreasing inequality between the men-headed and women-headed households would reduce the incidence and depth of human capital deprivation, reducing inequality among the men-and women-headed households will reduce the incidence and depth of household capital deprivation. Policies should simultaneously reduce household capital deprivations among men-headed and women-headed and human capital deprivation between these households.