Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of different types of radiation therapy on cardiac-specific death in patients with thyroid malignancy

Radiation therapy (RT) is one of the common and widely used treatment method for thyroid tumors. Considering that the thyroid is located close to the heart, the radiation generated during the treatment of thyroid tumors may have an adverse greater impact on the heart. This study is to explore the influencing factors, especially additional effects of RT, on cardiac-specific death among patients with malignant thyroid tumors. Collecting information from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database using SEER*Stat. Patients with malignant thyroid tumors were searched, whether receiving RT or not. Ultimately, 201, 346 eligible patients were included. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) was used to minimize bias of baseline characteristics by adjusting for confounding factors. COX (proportional hazards) and fine-gray (competing risk) model regression analysis were used to explore the effects of various influencing factors on cardiac-specific death. The present analysis showed that, compared with non-RT, RT based upon radioactive implants and beam radiation were associated with lower risk of cardiac-specific death in patients with thyroid malignancy, beam radiation therapy may had a similar effect. Besides, the remaining RT methods did not significantly increase the risk of cardiac-specific death. In addition, Asian or Pacific Islander ethnicity, female sex, marital status, combined summary stage (localized, regional, and distant), high-income, and later year of diagnosis were associated with lower risk of cardiac-specific death. While older age of diagnosis, African ethnicity, non-Hispanic ancestry, and derived AJCC stage (IV) were risk factors for cardiac-specific death. These results help to identify the factors influencing cardiac-specific death among patients with thyroid malignancies. Furthermore, it may helps to improve the clinical application of RT without too much concern about adverse cardiac effects.
Probing potential priming: Defining, quantifying, and testing the causal priming effect using the potential outcomes framework

Having previously seen an item helps uncover the item another time, given a perceptual or cognitive cue. Oftentimes, however, it may be difficult to quantify or test the existence and size of a perceptual or cognitive effect, in general, and a priming effect, in particular. This is because to examine the existence of and quantify the effect, one needs to compare two outcomes: the outcome had one previously seen the item vs. the outcome had one not seen the item. But only one of the two outcomes is observable. Here, we argue that the potential outcomes framework is useful to define, quantify, and test the causal priming effect. To demonstrate its efficacy, we apply the framework to study the priming effect using data from a between-subjects study involving English word identification. In addition, we show that what has been used intuitively by experimentalists to assess the priming effect in the past has a sound mathematical foundation. Finally, we examine the links between the proposed method in studying priming and the multinomial processing tree (MPT) model, and how to extend the method to study experimental paradigms involving exclusion and inclusion instructional conditions.
‘Privacy does not interest me’. A comparative analysis of photo sharing on Instagram and Blipfoto

Photo sharing online has become immensely popular and is a central aspect of modern visual culture. Yet it creates a number of privacy issues, both in relation to other individuals and corporate surveillance. The purpose of this study was to investigate users’ understanding of privacy issues in photo sharing, based on a comparative study of two contrasting platforms: Instagram and Blipfoto. The study combined netnography and in-depth interviewing. It was found that Instagram users had a greater awareness of how the platform might use their data, but saw this loss of privacy as inevitable in return for a free service. Blipfoto users were more trusting of what they experienced as a very community minded platform. Any concerns felt by both groups of users were out-weighed by the sense that photo sharing was highly meaningful and their fascination with watching and being watched. Both groups main approach to privacy was through restricting certain types of image of people and not revealing the location of certain personal spaces. Notions of privacy thus remained primarily personal and ignored corporate dataveillance.
Informal Caregivers’ of Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Experiences of Social Inclusion Policy in the Province of Ontario

Social inclusion for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a widely accepted social value. Policy implementation impacts on health, experience of inclusion and on individuals and caregivers. Method. This study used a qualitative directed content analysis to analyse the needs, care, services and policy which influence the care and support of adults with ASD in the Province of Ontario. Caregivers of adults with ASD were interviewed to determine: a) how the Services and Supports to Promote the Social Inclusion of Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act, 2008, is experienced and b) has influenced how they and their loved one with ASD live, c) what their needs are, d) how these needs are being met and e) by whom. Results. Themes identified in this research aligned with Hall’s themes for effective social inclusion. These themes could then be broken down into subcategories, which included: a) health and mental health, b) isolation, c) housing preferences, d) advance care planning, e) suitability of services and supports, f) inefficiencies, waitlists and distrust in the system, and g) financial constraints. Discussion. Findings suggested that although social inclusion policy in the Province of Ontario is intended to promote social inclusion, there are systemic barriers including: a) inefficient application and funding processes, b) limitations on how funds can be used, c) distinct needs based on age and prior history with institutionalization and d) insufficient qualified service providers to meet the needs of this population. Contribution to Research. This study has important implications for practice and research, including identifying: a) barriers to effective social inclusion within public policy as perceived by caregivers, and b) priorities and preferences of the target population of the
Relationships Among Conversational Language Samples and Norm-Referenced Test Scores

Language sample analysis (LSA) has long been recognized as an integral part of a comprehensive assessment of language functioning in children [1]. Although LSA is considered one of the most ecologically valid methods of evaluating language production in children [2], many SLPs do not routinely include it as part of their clinical practice and rely primarily on standardized tests [3-7]. Pavelko, Owens, Ireland, and Hahs-Vaughn [7] surveyed 1,399 school-based SLPs regarding their use of LSA. Results indicated that one-third (33%) of the SLPs they surveyed did not use LSA at all in the previous school year. Of the SLPs who reported using LSA (67%), most (55%) reported analyzing less than ten samples per year despite having much larger caseloads. Purpose: Research demonstrates that many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) do not routinely include language sample analysis (LSA) in their clinical practice because LSA has limited recognition as a valid assessment measure. Limited research suggests that some LSA values obtained from narrative samples correlate with the results of standardized language tests. This research examined the relationship among values obtained from conversational language samples and the results of standardized testing.
Sustaining the Teacher Workforce: Teacher Retention in Providence

In the right of Figure 1, we show a similar comparison for Massachusetts. As noted in the data box, the Massachusetts data reports on a somewhat different group of teachers, and it only reports the share of teachers who remain in the same job classification, not in the district at all. As a result, our definition for PPSD retention is somewhat different here as well to align with the data. Here, we present Boston separately and show the average for the other districts. Retention rates in Massachusetts peer districts also fell in 2021, but not as much as in PPSD. By contrast, retention in Boston fell more. The bottom line is that while PPSD used to have quite high teacher retention rates compared to these MA districts, it is now on par.
The Eurostars go global: young Europeans’ migration to Asia for distinction and alternative life paths

ABSTRACT This paper describes young Europeans’ labour migration to Asian global cities as one emerging consequence of European bureaucrats’ vision of the ideal citizen. Qualitative interviews with highly educated European millennials working in Singapore and Tokyo demonstrate that they have internalised mobility as a norm. They perceive international experience as beneficial for their career and self-development and view the lack of such experience as a personal deficiency. They pursue migration to socio-culturally distant Asian cities as a means of distinguishing themselves; in addition, these cities offer good employment and a high living standard whereas Europe’s economic power is decreasing. I argue that these migrants are using mobility to Asia as a practice of middle-class reproduction. They are avoiding constraints on their cosmopolitan and professional aspirations in their home countries by moving to locations where they anticipate that the cultural and social capital gained during previous overseas sojourns will be more valued. The longitudinal research design reveals that fear of immobility at home deters many of these ‘ideal’ young Europeans from returning and instead propels them towards on-going geographical mobility. I conclude by problematising the celebration of mobility in discourse on Europeanisation and higher education and by reflecting on the implications of this new mobility pattern.
The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance on Banking Financial Performance

Purpose: This study aims to analyze the influence of corporate governance, corporate social responsibility on the financial performance of the banking sector as it is listed in the Indonesian Stock Exchange. Design/Methodology/Approach: This explanatory research uses secondary data in the form of Annual Corporate Financial Reports. Sample was selected by census techniques with a length of observation of 5 years from 2012 to 2016. The data analysis technique uses multiple regression models. Findings: The results of the study show that corporate social responsibility does not have any significant effect on financial performance as measured by the Return on Assets (ROA). Corporate governance does not have any significant effect on financial performance. Another finding is that social responsibility and governance have a positive direction with financial performance. Practical Implications: The good corporate governance and social responsibility will improve the banking's financial performance. The success of the company in improving its financial performance is inseparable from the application of good corporate governance. Originality/Value: The study implies a recommendation for the banking sector in Indonesia which is needed to improve the corporate governance and then the financial performance. Banking sector companies must pay attention and increase social responsibility because it can improve the company's financial performance.
Academic Success for Students in Postsecondary Education: The Role of Student Characteristics and Integration

Academic success is an important issue as employers are looking for individuals with a postsecondary education. But there are many important indicators of success besides grades. We conceptualized academic success at postsecondary as grade point average, acquisition of knowledge and skills, and overall satisfaction and examined how each conceptualization was predicted by student characteristics (perceived academic ability and drive to achieve) and experiences (academic and social integration). Using a 1-year longitudinal design, we found that perceived academic ability had a positive direct effect on grade point average and acquisition of knowledge and skills but not satisfaction, whereas drive had no direct relationships with the outcomes. Academic integration positively predicted all three indicators of success grades, but social integration was not associated with grades. Indirect effects were also noted. Our discussion highlights actions that postsecondary institutions can take to support students and considers how researchers should conceptualize student success.
MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING PRACTICES: A CASE OF JORDANIAN MANUFACTURING COMPANIES

The study aims to report the importance and current use of management accounting practices in textbooks and the broader literature. Data was generated using a questionnaire, which was conducted on a sample of 30 manufacturing companies in Jordan. Descriptive statistics on the usage of individual practices provide the basis for discussion. The results showed that the respondents perceived Management Accounting Practices (MAPs) to obtain relevant information for proper decision making. Several factors, including nature of the business, type of information needed for making decisions, and utilization of existing resources, affect the choice of MAPs used by the manufacturing companies. The study has shown that MAPs supported the organizational structure and management accounting processes. Management accounting can provide relevant information for capital investment decisions, which allow accountants to produce discounted cash flow, payback period, and accounting rate of return.
Neural mechanisms for control in complex cognition

Neural network models of complex cognitive tasks are difficult to build. Most previous work has focused on the difficulty of using structured symbolic representations in neural networks. This thesis focuses on the problem of control. During problem solving, some form of control is necessary for sequencing operations, for selecting actions, and for manipulating goal representations. I present a set of control mechanisms inspired and constrained by brain organization that are powerful enough to guarantee basic problem solving ability; in fact, I show that they are computationally universal. These mechanisms exploit a simple method for controlling the temporal characteristics of activation in continuous-time neural networks that makes neural control of complex processes possible in properly organized neural cognitive models. The basic computational primitive is inspired by corticostriatal loops in which the cortical component is composed of columns organized in layers. An input layer and an output layer each form winner-take-all networks. These layers are connected via a corticostriatal loop that produces a controllable amount of internal propagation delay in signal transmission from input layer to output layer. Modules can be composed hierarchically to produce goal-directed control circuits for cognitive models that are formally equivalent to finite automata and share many properties of symbolic production systems. These control circuits are instantiated in a neural cognitive model of the Tower of London problem-solving task. The model implements the assumption that dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is preferentially involved in representing subgoal information during problem solving, and that frontostriatal loop circuits provide a timing function that is critical for proper problem solving performance. Normal subject performance is accurately simulated by the model, and performance under conditions of simulated prefrontal lesions and Parkinson's disease captures speed and accuracy impairments exhibited in patient data from the literature.
Enhancing Readability of Privacy Policies Through Ontologies

Enhancing Readability of Privacy Policies Through Ontologies Dhiren Audich University of Guelph, 2018 Advisors: Dr. Blair Nonnecke Dr. Rozita Dara Privacy policies operate as memorandums of understanding (MOUs) between the users and providers of online services. Research suggests that users are deterred from reading policies because of their length, difficult language, and insufficient information. Users are more likely to read short excerpts if they immediately addresses their concerns. As a first step in helping users find pertinent information in privacy policies, this thesis presents the development of a domain ontology using natural language processing (NLP) algorithms as a way to reduce costs and speed up development. By using the ontology to locate key parts of privacy policies, average reading times were substantially reduced from 8-12 minutes to 45 seconds. In the process of extracting keywords from the privacy policy corpus, a supervised NLP algorithm performed marginally better (7%) but showed greater promise with larger training sets. Additionally, trained non-domain experts achieved a combined F1-score of 71% when compared to a domain expert, and did so when extracting keywords from fewer policies. Dedicated to Amma, Dadima, and Chitra-masi.
Estimation and Testing Under Sparsity: École d'Été de Probabilités de Saint-Flour XLV – 2015

Taking the Lasso method as its starting point, this book describes the main ingredients needed to study general loss functions and sparsity-inducing regularizers. It also provides a semi-parametric approach to establishing confidence intervals and tests. Sparsity-inducing methods have proven to be very useful in the analysis of high-dimensional data. Examples include the Lasso and group Lasso methods, and the least squares method with other norm-penalties, such as the nuclear norm. The illustrations provided include generalized linear models, density estimation, matrix completion and sparse principal components. Each chapter ends with a problem section. The book can be used as a textbook for a graduate or PhD course.
Participation in LGBTQ Organizations in Colombia: Motivations and Impacts

Abstract Studies on sexual minorities have shown the positive impact of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, or queer (LGBTQ) community on the well-being of individuals. Few studies, however, have been interested in the role that LGBTQ organizations specifically play. Using a qualitative approach, this article examines individuals’ motivations to participate in LGBTQ organizations and how they think such participation impacts their lives. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 self-identified LGBTQ adults living in the Andean region of Colombia. Thematic analysis with inductive coding was used, and six themes were identified. Within these, two findings are particularly relevant to the existing literature. First, organizations play an important role as educational spaces where individuals can learn about their sexual identity. Second, organizations can also impact families of origin by promoting a better understanding and acceptance of participants’ sexual identity, and by promoting solidarity with LGBTQ community members.
Differential Participation During Science Conversations: The Interaction of Display Artifacts, Social Configurations, and Physical Arrangements

Recent conceptualizations of knowing and learning focus on the degree of participation in the practices of communities. Discursive practices are the most important and characteristic practices in many communities. This study was designed to investigate how the content and form of classroom discourse was influenced by different combinations of artifacts (e.g., overhead transparencies, physical models), social configurations, and physical arrangements. Over a 4-month period, we collected data (video-taped activities, interviews, ethnographic observations, artifacts, and photographs) in a Grade 6-7 science class studying a unit on simple machines. Four different activity structures differed in terms of the social configuration (whole class, small group) and the origin of the central, activity-organizing artifact (teacher designed, student designed). This study describes how different artifacts, social configurations, and physical arrangements led to different interactional spaces, participant roles, and leve.
PENGARUH PENGUNGKAPAN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DAN KINERJA TERHADAP NILAI PERUSAHAAN DENGAN TIPE INDUSTRI SEBAGAI VARIABEL MODERASI

This study aims to examine and analyze the influence of sustainability report disclosure, financial performance, non-financial performance on firm value with industry type as a moderating variable. The sample used in this study are companies that listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) and publish sustainability report for the period 2012-2016. Testing was done by using multiple regression analysis with moderation regression analysis method. The result of this research are: (1) corporate social responsibility disclosure has an positif effect on firm value, (2) financial performance has an positif effect to firm value, (3) non financial performance has no effect on firm value, (4) industry type not moderating the influence of corporate social responsibility disclosure on firm value (5) industry type not moderating the influence of financial performance on firm value, and (6) industry type not moderating the influence of non financial performance on firm value.
Application of spatial error model using GMM estimation in impact of education on poverty alleviation in Java, Indonesia

Java Island is the center of development in Indonesia, and yet poverty remains its major problem. The pockets of poverty in Java are often located in urban and rural areas, dominated by productive age group population with low education. Taking into account spatial factors in determining policy, policy efficiency in poverty alleviation can be improved. This paper presents a Spatial Error Model (SEM) approach to determine the impact of education on poverty alleviation in Java. It not only focuses on the specification of empirical models but also in the selection of parameter estimation methods. Most studies use Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLE) as a parameter estimation method, but in the presence of normality disturbances, MLE is generally biased. The assumption test on the poverty data of Java showed that the model error was not normally distributed and there was spatial autocorrelation on the error terms. In this study we used SEM using Generalized Methods of Moment (GMM) estimation to overcome the biases associated with MLE. Our results indicate that GMM is as efficient as MLE in determining the impact of education on poverty alleviation in Java and robust to non-normality. Education indicators that have significant impact on poverty alleviation are literacy rate, average length of school year, and percentage of high schools and university graduates.