Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accruals Quality, Information Risk and Cost of Capital: Evidence from Australia

Recent theoretical work argues that information risk is a non-diversifiable risk factor that is priced in the capital market. Using accruals quality to proxy for information risk, Francis et al. (2005) provide empirical support for this argument using a sample of US firms. This paper re-examines the interplay of accruals quality, information risk and cost of capital in Australia, where a number of important institutional and regulatory differences are hypothesized to affect the relation between accruals quality and cost of capital. The results suggest that, while accruals quality impacts on the cost of capital for Australian firms, some salient differences exist. In contrast to findings for US firms, the costs of debt and equity for Australian firms are largely influenced by accruals quality arising from economic fundamentals (i.e., innate accrual quality) but not discretionary reporting choices (i.e., discretionary accrual quality). This finding is consistent with our predictions based on the Australian institutional and regulatory environment. In addition, using both the asset pricing tests in Francis et al. (2005) and Core et al. (2008), we provide evidence consistent with accruals quality being a priced risk factor.
Interest alignment and competitive advantage

This paper articulates a theory of the conditions under which the alignment between individual and collective interests generates sustainable competitive advantage. The theory is based on the influence of tacitness, context-specificity and casual ambiguity in the determinants of different types of motivation (extrinsic, normative intrinsic and hedonic intrinsic), under varying conditions of environmental dynamism. The analysis indicates the need to consider mitivational processes as a complement to current resource and competence-based approaches in a comprehensive theory of competitive advantage.
Stability Constraints in Optimization of Cracked Columns Subjected to Compressive Follower Load

Maximization of the critical force of cracked columns, subjected to generalized follower force is discussed in the paper. The crack is assumed to be formed according to the opening and sliding modes and is modeled by a localized loss of stiffness. Influence of the crack stiffness and its localization on the value of the critical force is analyzed. The optimization process is based on the multimodal approach. The localization of crack with the critical force of the system equal to 137.17 EJ/L2 is found.
Biomedical Applications of Electroactive Polymers

Abstract : We are investigating applications of mechanically electroactive polymers (EAPs) with the intent of applying them to design of new and improved medical devices. Our initial emphasis in this work is on blood pumps and robotic instruments for minimally invasive surgery. In blood pumps. EAPs have potential to permit design of more tightly integrated and biomimetic devices. In surgical instruments, the flexibility and high energy density of EAPs have potential for enabling replacement of limited dexterity mechanically activated instruments with electronically mediated instruments having multiple degree of freedom effectors. This paper provides an overview of our efforts to date with field-activated ferroelectrics and dielectric elastomers.
Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Analysis of Genetic Diversity of Taxus baccata L. in Provenances Baltic Sea Countries

Taxus baccata L. is extinct species in natural stands of Lithuania and rare in neighbouring states. The paper presents a study of genetic diversity of Taxus baccata growing in natural populations close allocated to Lithuanian border in neighbouring Baltic Sea countries. The main aim of this investigation was to assess genetic based possibilities of regeneration of Taxus baccata population in Lithuanian forests. In this study we used RAPD markers to assess genetic diversity of 58 T. baccata samples of provenances from Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Russian Kaliningrad region. We identified 58 RAPD profiles on the basis of 64 amplified DNA fragments. 73.4% of RAPD bands were polymorphic. Four provenance specific bands were identified. Results demonstrate rather high level of DNA polymorphism and genetic differentiation of studied T. baccata provenances.
How Young Adult Consumers Evaluate Diffusion Brands: Effects of Brand Loyalty and Status Consumption

ABSTRACT This paper evaluates how brand loyalty may affect young status consumers’ evaluation of diffusion brands for high/low-involvement fashion products. In particular, the positioning strategy of the type of diffusion brand names is investigated in this study. Data were gathered through an experimental research design from 739 young status consumers studying in a large university. The findings revealed that subbrands and nested brands with different countries of origin have similar product-quality and brand-image evaluations compared to the parent brand. This indicates that subbrands and nested brands may be considered by brand-loyal consumers as suitable substitutes for the luxury parent brands. Contrary to literature, there is no difference in findings between high- and low-involvement fashion products. Implications for marketers are identified.
BIODEGRADATION OF THE ORGANOPHOSPHATE PESTICIDE TETRACHLORVINPHOS BY BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM AGRICULTURAL SOILS IN MÉXICO

A bacterial consortium which degrades tetrachlorvinphos (phosphoric acid, 2-chloro1-(2,4,5-trichlorophenyl) ethenyl dimethyl ester) was isolated from agricultural soil. This consortium was composed of six pure strains which were characterized based on their morphological and biochemical characteristics. The strains were presumptively identified as Stenotrophomonas malthophilia, Proteus vulgaris, Vibrio metschinkouii, Serratia ficaria, Serratia spp. and Yersinia enterocolitica. The consortium and the six bacteria were assessed in order to discover their ability to degrade tetrachlorvinphos (TCV) in mineral medium and in rich medium. Growth curve experiments showed that the bacterial consortium was able to grow in mineral medium containing TCV as the only carbon source. However, only one pure strain was able to remove TCV in mineral medium, while all of them removed it in rich medium. Hydrolysis products were detected and identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. These data indicate that the isolated strains can be used for waste biodegradation or bioremediation of TCV-contaminated soil or water.
The Economics of Teacher Quality*

Concern is often voiced about the quality of American schoolteachers. This paper suggests that, while the relative quality of teachers is declining, this decline may be the result of technological changes that have raised the price of skilled workers outside teaching without affecting the productivity of skilled teachers. Growth in the price of skilled workers can cause schools to lower the relative quality of teachers and raise teacher quantity instead. Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth demonstrates that wage and schooling are good measures of teacher quality. Analysis of U.S. census microdata then reveals that the relative schooling and experience‐adjusted relative wages of U.S. schoolteachers have fallen significantly from 1940 to 1990. Moreover, class sizes have also fallen substantially. The declines in class size and in relative quality seem correlated over time and space with growth in the relative price of skilled workers.
Microstructure characterisation of Inconel 718 after laser assisted turning

The paper presents the discussion about the possibility of optimising heating and cutting parameters for turning under laser assisted machining (LAM) conditions. The samples of Inconel 718 after annealing and ageing were used. The laser heating experiments were carried out on the stand equipped with the CO2 molecular laser. Characterisation of samples was performed by an optical microscope, hardness measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to ensure the exact depth of heat affect zone range and to optimised further cutting parameters. Different absorbing layers for laser beam impact improvement were tested. Turning trials were performed with constant cutting speed vc = 28 m/min and feed f = 0,2 mm/rev. The influence of depth of cut ap on microstructure and its properties were investigated. It was proven that for sequential LAM dendritic structure appears in the laser affected zone of the Ni-based alloy. Such microstructures cause better machinability of Inconel 718 due to surface softening.
European Enlargement and Single Market Accession: A Mistreated Issue

From 2004, enlargement of the European Union is expected to bring substantial net economic benefits. Herein lies a weakness, in that practically all empirical studies characterise ‘single market’ accession using simple ad hoc uniform percentage reductions in trade costs. Employing a modified gravity specification we estimate these costs and derive non-tariff barrier (NTB) equivalents, whilst associated regional impacts are calculated within a computable general equilibrium (CGE) framework. Our results suggest that spatial effects in gravity estimations have a dampening impact on NTBs for eleven of our sixteen sectors, which is reflected at the regional level.
Career Decision-Making Difficulties Perceived by College Students in Taiwan

The purpose of this study was twofold:(1)to analyze the effect of teachers'multiple thinking teachingstrategy under the help of supervision;and(2)to explore the process of teachers'professional growth.Theparticipants used in this study were 74 elementary school students,one supervisor,one experimental groupteacher,and one control group teacher.The instruments administered to the subjects were Teaching Programof Mathematics Multiple Thinking Teaching Strategy,Mathematics Achievement Tests,Notebook ofMathematics Learning,a Teaching Diary,and Classroom Observation Records.The findings were as follows:(1)There was a significant difference in mathematics performance between the experimental and controlgroups on the mathematics achievement test,with the experimental group scoring higher than that of controlgroup. (2)According to students'notebooks,they showed that they liked the multiple thinking teachingstrategy. (3)In the process of group discussion,students obtained the problem-solving methods that were notlisted on the textbook. (4)Teachers should participate in study meeting,discussion,practical teachings andreflection to promote their professional abilities,and(5)The teachers'professional growth process seems toinclude eight stages:imagination,frustration,habit,activation,thinking,trying,modification,and promotion.
Query : " A man in a red sweatshirt performing breakdance "

Most state-of-the-art semi-supervised video object segmentation methods rely on a pixel-accurate mask of a target object provided for the first frame of a video. However, obtaining a detailed segmentation mask is expensive and time-consuming. In this work we explore an alternative way of identifying a target object, namely by employing language referring expressions. Besides being a more practical and natural way of pointing out a target object, using language specifications can help to avoid drift as well as make the system more robust to complex dynamics and appearance variations. Leveraging recent advances of language grounding models designed for images, we propose an approach to extend them to video data, ensuring temporally coherent predictions. To evaluate our approach we augment the popular video object segmentation benchmarks, DAVIS16 and DAVIS17 with language descriptions of target objects. We show that our approach performs on par with the methods which have access to a pixel-level mask of the target object on DAVIS16 and is competitive to methods using scribbles on the challenging DAVIS17 dataset. Query: "A man in a red sweatshirt performing breakdance" Figure 1: Examples of the proposed approach. Classical semi-supervised video object segmentation relies on an expensive pixel-level mask annotation of a target object in the first frame of a video. We explore a more natural and more practical way of pointing out a target object by providing a language referring expression.
Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): the galaxy stellar mass function at z < 0.06

We determine the low-redshift field galaxy stellar mass function (GSMF) using an area of 143 deg 2 from the first three years of the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey. The magnitude limits of this redshift survey are r < 19.4 mag over two-thirds and 19.8 mag over one-third of the area. The GSMF is determined from a sample of 5210 galaxies using a densitycorrected maximum volume method. This efficiently overcomes the issue of fluctuations in the number density versus redshift. With H0 = 70 km s −1 Mpc −1 , the GSMF is well described
EFFECT OF THE USE OF LOFSTRAND CRUTCHES AND PROSTHESES ON SOME GAIT PARAMETERS IN AMPUTEE FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Lofstrand crutches are used in the pre-prosthetic period after amputations as well as in combination with prostheses ingeriatric amputees. Amputee football is gaining popularity in countries with increasing numbers of terrorist incidents andtraffic accidents. The majority of athletes playing amputee football, played with two Lofstrand crutches and withoutprostheses, use prostheses in their daily lives. In this study, athletes who use prostheses in their daily lives were asked to walkwith their own prostheses and without, with the crutches they use while playing football, and the two gait patterns werecompared with regards to some gait parameters (stride length, stride time, speed, distance and cadence). The study includedfive registered amputee football players with a unilateral lower extremity amputation (above-knee amputees, AKAs/kneedisarticulation, KD). The subjects were asked to walk at a comfortable pace on a 25 meter track using prostheses andLofstrand crutches. Data were collected through the F-Grip system (Tekscan Inc, Boston, USA) from their Loftstrandcrutches and through the F-Scan Mobile system from their footwear (Tekscan Inc, Boston, USA). A comparison of the twogait patterns revealed that there is a difference in stride length, speed, distance and cadence though statistically insignificant (p=.068). However, the difference observed in the stride time was statistically significant (p=.043). As a result of theirfamiliarity with Lofstrand crutches used in trainings and games and their sports skills, amputee footballers displayed asuperior gait pattern with crutches compared to their prosthetic gait.
Downed Wood Microclimates and Their Potential Impact on Plethodontid Salamander Habitat in the Oregon Coast Range

Abstract Downed wood provides important faunal microhabitat in forests for numerous invertebrate taxa, small mammals and amphibians. Habitat suitability of downed wood as refugia is an increasing concern in managed Pacific Northwest forests, where overstory reduction may result in both reduced downed wood recruitment and increased temperatures within logs. We examined temperature profiles in western Oregon to assess differences in thermal regimes of logs and soil relative to summer air temperature extremes and their implications with respect to habitat suitability for plethodontid salamanders. Temperature profiles of small- (0.3–0.45 m) and large- (0.7–1.0 m) diameter logs, as well as ambient soil and air temperatures, were measured in a 60-year-old forest stand at two different positions (0–5 m and 35–40 m from stream edge) in three case studies: 1) along a headwater stream with a narrow riparian buffer (∼6 m) and moderate upslope thinning; 2) along a headwater stream with a wider riparian buffer (∼15 m) and moderate upslope thinning; and 3) along a headwater stream with an unthinned upslope. Streamside and upslope maximum air temperatures measured during July 2006 along all three streams were near or exceeded 30Â°C, the critical thermal tolerance threshold for western plethodontid salamanders. Streamside and upslope temperatures inside small logs, large logs and soils stayed below critical temperatures. Our results suggest that logs of a wide size range, as well as soils, may provide sufficient protection against thermal extremes in uncut forests and thinned stands with limited overstory.
HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE: A FOCUS ON ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE

In Islam, the objective of human capital development is not only to produce a better person in terms of possessing technical knowledge, skills and good values but also a person with a better soul. This is because in Islam, a better person is a person who does not only possess the worldly knowledge, skills and Islamic values but most importantly practices them. Consequently, he or she will be a good worker that will not act in his or her own interests but to be loyal to his or her employer as he or she is fearful (taqwa) of Allah the Al-Mighty. Hence, human capital development from Islamic perspective focuses on purifying one’s soul (tazkiyah al-nafs), instilling Islamic values (al-ta’dib), understanding the philosophies of Allah’s Oneness and Greatness (altawhid al-uluhiyyah and al-rububiyyah) and the concepts of working as a vicegerent (khalifah), a team (jama’ah), full submission to Allah (‘ibadah) and a way to succeed (al-falah). Islamic human capital development also stresses on the importance of knowledge, physical development and the trainers themselves. In this respect, the teaching of Islam highlighted several important approaches to rationalize the concepts. They are, for example; through sermons (tadhkirah), discussion of the Islamic principles in view of al-Qur’an and al-Hadith (Prophet’s prescriptions) and congregational prayers. Human capital
'The EU as a political community: A media analysis of the ‘Haider debate' in the European Union"

There is huge skepticism in the scientific literature published during the 1990s whether a "European public sphere" actually exists. Many scholars have linked the democracy deficit of the European Union (EU) to a so-called Offentlichkeitsdefizit (literally a "public-sphere-deficit"). Since the existence of a public sphere uniting the whole EU is often indicated as a precondition for taking up any democratization project demonstrating that this public sphere actually extends beyond the nation-state's borders could be an argument in favor of a Constitution that gives the European citizens a voice. This makes this field of research of crucial importance for the political future of the European Union. To evaluate whether this criterion of a shared horizon of reference is fulfilled at the European level, we studied media representations of the "Haider debate" in five EU member states, namely Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Austria. In early October 1999, Jorg Haider's right-wing populist Freibeitliche Partei Osterreich (FPO) won a major electoral victory in Austria. The coalition formed by the FPO and the center-right Osterreichische Volkspartei in February 2000 led to protests all over Europe as a result of which the Presidency of the European Council of Ministers decided in favor of so-called "bilateral sanctions" of EU member-states against the Austrian government. Eventually, these sanctions were withdrawn in September 2000 when a commission of "Wise Men" judged the situation in Austria in line with the founding values expressed in the EU treaties.
Monetary Policy Rules and Business Cycle in China: Bayesian DSGE Model Simulation

In this paper, using a benchmark Bayesian Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium (Bayesian DSGE) model (Smets-Wouters Model) with Taylor’s rule and a modified Smets-Wouters model with a money growth rule, we have simulated China’s monetary policy transmission process and the roles of monetary variables and non monetary variables in China’s business cycle by incorporating many so-called New Keynesian Macroeconomic (NKM) approaches such as nominal stickiness and market imperfections in the model. The estimated values of the parameters in the model by Bayesian approach based on China’s quarterly time series data feature the unique characters of China’s economy compared with that in the US and the Euro area. The simulation results in terms of the Taylor’s rule and money growth rule (MacCullum Rule) highlight the monetary transmission mechanisms of China’s monetary policy and the diverse contributions of monetary shocks and non-monetary shocks to China’s business cycle.
Incentivizing Creativity: A Large-Scale Experiment with Tournaments and Gifts

This paper reports the results from a large-scale laboratory experiment investigating the impact of tournament incentives and wage gifts on creativity. We find that tournaments substantially increase creative output, with no evidence for crowding out of intrinsic motivation. By comparison, wage gifts are ineffective. Additional treatments show that it is the uncertain mapping between effort and output that inhibits reciprocity. This uncertainty is prevalent in creative and other complex tasks. Our findings provide a rationale for the frequent use of tournaments when seeking to motivate creative output.
Dynamical signatures of a ΛCDM-halo and the distribution of the baryons in M 33

We map the neutral atomic gas content of M33 using high resolution VLA and GBT observations and fit a tilted ring model to determine the orientation of the extended gaseous disk and its rotation curve. The disk of M33 warps from 8 kpc outwards without substantial change of its inclination with respect to the line of sight. Rotational velocities rise steeply with radius in the inner disk, reaching 100 km/s in 4 kpc, then the rotation curve becomes more perturbed and flatter with velocities as high as 120-130 km/s out to 23 kpc. We derive the stellar mass surface density map of M33's optical disk, via pixel -SED fitting methods based on population synthesis models, which highlights variations in the mass-to-light ratio. The stellar mass surface further out is estimated from deep images of outer disk fields. Stellar and gas maps are then used in the dynamical analysis of the rotation curve to constrain the dark matter distribution which is relevant at all radii. A dark matter halo with a Navarro-Frenk-White density profile in a LCDM cosmology, provides the best fit to the rotation curve for a dark halo concentration C=10 and a total halo mass of 4.3 10^{11}Msun. This imples a baryonic fraction of order 0.02 and the evolutionary history of this galaxy should account for loss of a large fraction of its original baryonic content.
English Vocabulary Learning with Wordlists vs. Flashcards; L1 Definitions vs. L2 Definitions; Abstract Words vs. Concrete Words

This study compares the efficacy of the use of wordlists and that of flashcards, the effectiveness of L1 definitions and L2 definitions, the retention of words with concrete words and abstract words, and the conditions under which concrete and abstract words are better retained-flashcards vs. wordlists and L1 definitions vs. L2 definitions. In the experiment, 24 Chinese ESL students studied 64 low-frequency English words. Of those words 32 words were studied by flashcards and the other 32 through wordlists. Also, 32 were concrete words, and the other 32 abstract words. Also, of the 32 concrete and abstract words, 16 were given L1 definitions and the other 16 L2 definitions. Paired t-tests indicate that there is no statistical difference between the use of flashcards and wordlists. However, a statistically significant difference was found in the superiority of L1 definitions over L2 definitions and in the longer retention of concrete words in comparison to abstract words. Furthermore, it turned out that the choice between flashcards and wordlists did not affect the long-term retention of concrete words and abstract words. However, the use of L1 definitions resulted in a longer retention of concrete words, but not of abstract words. The results carry a great deal of implications since the use of wordlists and L1 definitions has recently been shunned by many researchers, teachers, and students alike for the sake of the use of flashcards and giving definitions in L2 or the target language.