Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Examining the Link between Retailer Inventory Leanness and Operational Efficiency: Moderating Roles of Firm Size and Demand Uncertainty

Retail inventories have been consistently dropping, relative to sales, since the 1990s. Whether these lean inventory developments translate to better retailer operational performance is still an open question. We empirically examine associations between inventory leanness and operational efficiency for a sample of public US retailers from 2000 to 2013. Via a stochastic frontier analysis that accounts for retailer heterogeneity and time parameters, we find support for the hypothesis that operational efficiency has an inverted U‐shape relationship with inventory leanness, suggesting an optimal inventory leanness level beyond which retailer operational efficiency degrades. This relationship, however, is heavily moderated by firm size and demand uncertainty. The former reflects a retailer's abilities to exploit economies of scale and scope, whereas the latter reflects the unpredictability in a firm's operating environment. Our evidence suggests that when increasing inventory leanness, small retailers exhibit efficiency degradation, whereas larger retailers are likely to exhibit efficiency improvement, with diminishing returns. We also find that under high demand uncertainty, being less lean is associated with higher operational efficiency, regardless of firm size. The findings show that depending on firm size and demand uncertainty, retail managers should take special care when pursuing inventory leanness. As part of post hoc robustness tests, we assess how different retail categories vary in their operational efficiency scores and conduct interviews with retail executives who further ground our econometric investigation and point to more nuanced moderators for future studies. We conclude by discussing the implications of our industry model estimation for managers and researchers.
When Two Rights Make a Wrong: Searching Too Much in Ordered Environments

In electronic shopping, screening tools are used to sort through many options, assess their fit with a consumer's utility function, and recommend options in a list ordered from predicted best to worst. When the most promising options are at the beginning of the list, even seemingly advantageous factors (e.g., lower search cost, greater selection) that prompt consideration of more options degrade choice quality by (1) lowering the average quality of considered options and (2) lowering customers' selectivity in focusing attention on the more mediocre rather than the better options from the actively considered set. Study 1 shows that lowering search costs diminishes choice quality in an ordered environment. Study 2 shows that presenting consumers with the top 50 rather than the top 15 recommendations has the same effect. Study 3 shows that greater accuracy motivation in combination with lower search cost diminishes choice quality because consumers are encouraged to consider a wider range of options (lower-quality consideration sets), which ultimately leads to worse choices.
Computers and Economic Growth in Finland

The effect of computer technology on Finnish economic growth in 1983-96 is examined to shed light into the famous productivity paradox. Using the neoclassical growth accounting framework, the contribution of computer hardware, software and labor to gross and net output growth is assessed at aggregate level. The results suggest that a considerable amount of real growth can be attributed to computers. Almost eight per cent of the net growth can be attributed to information technology. This is about two thirds of the contribution of other fixed capital stock. However, the role of multifactor productivity still dominated in the growth accounting. In addition to basic results, the assumptions of growth accounting are relaxed to extend the model.
Determination of pesticides in the source and drinking waters in Londrina, Paraná, Brazil

The Brazilian agricultural model is based on the intensive use of pesticides. Once in the environment, these compounds might target hydric sources, mainly through soil lixiviation or during crop application, exposing water biota as well as humans to contaminants. The objective of this research was identify the presence of 14 pesticides (ametrine, atrazine, azoxystrobin, carbendazim, carbofuran, clomazone, chlorpirifos, diuron, hexazinone, imidacloprid, malathion, simazine, tebuconazole and tebuthiuron) in source water samples and drinking water samples from the city of Londrina, Paraná State, Brazil. 24 water samples were collected biweekly from December 2014 to October 2015. The sample preparation was done using Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) with 3 mL/500 mg C-18 cartridges. Pesticide determination was performed applying Liquid Chromatography tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The frequencies of detection of some compounds in source water were: atrazine (85%), azoxystrobin (95%), carbendazim (83%), diuron (75%), imidacloprid (95%), simazine (12%), hexazinone (4%), tebutiuron (4%) and tebuconazole (33%). In the water supply, the following were detected: atrazine (79%), azoxystrobin (95%), carbendazim (8%), diuron (83%), imidacloprid (95%), simazine (12%), hexazinone (4%), tebuthiuron (8%) and tebuconazole (33%). Some of these compounds are included in Brazilian legislation, and in these cases, the concentrations determined in this study varied between 241 and 7 ng L? ¹, which were lower than the maximum allowable concentrations for each of the compounds.
Persistence of Annual Applications of Herbicides in Winter-planted Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius)

Diuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea], prometryn [2,4-bis(isopropylamino)-6-(methylthio)-s-triazine], and trifluralin (α,α,α-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-p-toluidine) were applied pre-plant in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L. ‘AC-1′) for 6 yr at two locations. Diuron and prometryn reduced crop stands in 2 of 6 yr on the sandier soil at Mesa. Growth of sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench ‘Amak R-10′] in the greenhouse in soil collected 10 months after each herbicide application was reduced by 1.7 kg/ha of trifluralin in 3 of 6 yr in the Yuma silty clay loam and by both rates of trifluralin in 1 of 6 yr in the sandier soil at Mesa. Growth of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. ‘Arivat’) was not reduced in soil treated with any herbicide at either location. Herbicides did not accumulate in winter-planted safflower.
Affordable Homeownership: An Evaluation of the Near-Term Effects of Shared Equity Programs

ABSTRACT We estimate the effect of nine shared equity programs on the short-term financial health and loan performance outcomes of participating households. Using both difference-in-difference and propensity score matching approaches, we compare the outcomes of shared equity home purchasers with the outcomes of other similar first-time home buyers in their metropolitan regions. We find that shared equity purchasers have, on average, significantly less mortgage debt and pay less on their credit accounts each month than other similar purchasers, and they are appreciably less likely to have a home equity line of credit. They also perform just as well on their mortgages as nonshared equity purchasers do, as defined by having any 90- to 180-day mortgage delinquencies. Finally, shared equity purchasers do not show appreciable differences in nonmortgage financial health measures compared with similar borrowers.
Invasive species differ in key functional traits from native and non‐invasive alien plant species

QUESTIONS: Invasive species establish either by possessing traits, or trait trade‐offs similar to native species, suggesting pre‐adaptation to local conditions; or by having a different suite of traits and trait trade‐offs, which allow them to occupy unfilled niches. The trait differences between invasives and non‐invasives can inform on which traits confer invasibility. Here, we ask: (a) are invasive species functionally different or similar to native species? (b) which traits of invasives differ from traits of non‐invasive aliens and thus confer invasibility? and (c) do results from the sub‐Antarctic region, where this study was conducted, differ from findings from other regions? LOCATION: Sub‐Antarctic Marion Island. METHODS: We measured 13 traits of all terrestrial native, invasive and non‐invasive alien plant species. Using principal components analysis and phylogenetic generalized least‐squares models, we tested for differences in traits between invasive (widespread alien species) and native species. Bivariate trait relationships between invasive and native species were compared using standardized major axis regressions to test for differences in trait trade‐offs between the two groups. Second, using the same methods, we compared the traits of invasive species to non‐invasive aliens (alien species that have not spread). RESULTS: Between invasive and native species, most traits differed, suggesting that the success of invasive species is mediated by being functionally different to native species. Additionally, most bivariate trait relationships differed either in terms of their y‐intercept or their position on the axes, highlighting that plants are positioned differently along a spectrum of shared trait trade‐offs. Compared to non‐invasive aliens, invasive species had lower plant height, smaller leaf area, lower frost tolerance, and higher specific leaf area, suggesting that these traits are associated with invasiveness. The findings for the sub‐Antarctic corresponded to those of other regions, except lower plant height which provides a competitive advantage to invaders in the windy sub‐Antarctic context. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the expectation that trait complexes of invasive species are predominantly different to those of coexisting native species, and that high resource acquisition and low defence investment are characteristic of invasive plant species.
Growth performance and physiological status of intensively raised West African dwarf (WAD) goats supplemented with dietary antioxidants

This study explored the impact of dietary antioxidant supplementation on growth performance and blood profile of intensively raised West African dwarf goats. Thirty West African dwarf goats (8.00 ± 0.13 kg) were divided into five treatment groups of six (6) animals per group and randomly allotted to one of the five diets supplemented with (1). no dietary antioxidant (control); (2). Vitamin E (200mg/kg of feed); (3). Vitamin C (600mg/kg of feed); (4). 200mg Vitamin E+ 0.2mg Selenium/kg of feed; (5). 600mg Vitamin C+ 0.2mg Selenium/ kg of feed respectively, in a completely randomized design. The results revealed that dietary antioxidant supplementation significantly (p<0.05) influenced the red blood cell (RBC) with higher values in selenium supplemented groups, white blood cell (WBC) and basophil counts. Albumin, glucose and alanine transaminase (ALT) significantly (p<0.05) differed across the diets. The significantly (p<0.05) reduced thiobabutiric acid substance (TBARS) in supplemented groups compared to the control justified the scavenging characteristics of the supplemented antioxidants. Furthermore, cholesterol, uric acid, glutathione (GSH), glutathione S -tranferase (GST) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were oxidative biomarkers significantly (p<0.05) influenced by the antioxidants supplementation while bilirubin and Vitamin E were similar across the treatments. The findings of this study revealed that Vitamin E, Vitamin C and their combination with Selenium did not only enhance erythrocyte formation but improved immune response and health status as well as the oxidative status of the goats by reducing the activities of TBARS and increasing the activities of SOD, GSH and GST.
Interaction patterns in exploratory learning environments for mathematics: a sequential analysis of feedback and external representations in Chinese schools

ABSTRACT Feedback in exploratory learning systems has been depicted as an important contributor to encourage exploration. However, few studies have explored learners’ interaction patterns associated with feedback and the use of external representations in exploratory learning environments. This study used Fractions Lab, an exploratory learning environment for mathematics, to facilitate children’s conceptual understanding of fractions in three Chinese schools. Students (n = 189) from six different classes were invited to use Fractions Lab, and 260,000 event logs were collected. Beyond demonstrating the overall efficacy of the approach, lag sequential analysis supported us in approaching a deeper understanding of patterns of interaction. The findings highlight that the design of three-levels of feedback (Socratic, guidance, and didactic-procedural feedback) played different roles in supporting students to use external representations to perform mathematical tasks in an exploratory learning environment. This study sheds light on how these interaction patterns might be applied to the Fractions Lab system in order to provide increasingly tailored support, based on cultural differences, to enhance students’ technology-mediated learning experiences.
Excavations at four prehistoric rock carvings on the Ben Lawers Estate, 2007–2010

How were Neolithic rock carvings related to the areas around them? Were they associated with structures or deposits of artefacts, and did that relationship differ between landscapes with earlier prehistoric monuments, and places where they were absent? This paper discusses the results of excavation around four decorated surfaces at All Coire Phadairlidh on the National Trust for Scotland's Ben Lawers Estate. They are compared with fieldwork around two conspicuous rocks on the same site, neither of which had been carved. No monuments were present in the vicinity, although there was a 'natural' standing stone. Excavation showed that all the decorated surfaces were associated with deposits of artefact, some of them on top of the rocks and others at their base. The more complex carvings were associated with the largest collections, and the control sample of undecorated rocks was not associated with any finds. The excavated material included two pieces of Arran pitchstone, a worked flint, a beach pebble, and a substantial quantity of broken and flaked quartz. One of the decorated outcrops was associated with an area of cobbles containing a number of artefacts. Fossil pollen sealed by this deposit suggested that the surrounding area was used as upland pasture; similar evidence was obtained from another rock carving at Tombr3eck, 5 km away. Some of the fragments of broken quartz were parts of broken hammerstones, but the distribution of these pieces showed little relationship to the hardness of the rocks where they were found, or the extent of the associated carvings. On the other hand it was closely related to the composition of the stone. Carvings on epidiorite were not associated with many artefacts, but that did not apply to those created on mica schist which glitters in the sun and even in moonlight. It may be that these surfaces of these stones had been prepared by pecking or hammering in order to enhance this effect. If so, the selection of particular rocks for special attention may have been as important as the designs that were created there.
Using collocation clusters to detect and correct English L2 learners’ collocation errors

Abstract In this article, we describe an online English collocation explorer developed to help English L2 learners produce correct and appropriate collocations. Our tool, which is able to visually represent relevant correct/incorrect collocations on a single webpage, was designed based on the notions of collocation clusters and intercollocability proposed by Cowie and Howarth. As they pointed out, in a collocation cluster L2 learners generally cannot distinguish true collocations (e.g., tell truth, state truth, and state fact) from impossible combinations (e.g., *say fact and *say truth). Accordingly, our tool applies natural language processing techniques to construct collocation clusters to enable learners to easily differentiate between correct and incorrect pairs. Relying on data from a reference corpus, our system instantaneously processes the collocability of users’ target combination (verb–noun or adj–noun) and all other relevant words and presents true/false collocations that L2 learners should master/avoid. To assess our tool, we investigated its performance in detecting and correcting learners’ V–N and A–N errors, with results comparable to those of most previous studies. Piloted using a sample of 13 intermediate- or upper-intermediate level English as a foreign language learners, our tool was found to help them self-correct their collocation errors effectively. Compared with similar tools or approaches, our tool requires much less data resources, but still demonstrates a remarkable capability to detect/correct errors and generate useful collocational knowledge in English.
Variability in urban population distributions across Africa

Africa is projected to add one billion urban residents by 2050. Yet developing sustainable solutions to tackle the host of challenges posed by rapid urban population growth is stymied by a lack municipality-level population data across the continent. To fill this gap, we intersect volunteered urban settlement data from OpenStreetMap with five synthetic gridded population datasets to estimate the how Africa’s urban population is distributed among over 4750 individual urban settlements across Africa. We assess how urban settlement distributions changed from 2000 to 2015 within and between countries and across moisture zones. To this end, we construct urban settlement Lorenz curves to calculate change in Gini coefficients and test the degree to which Africa’s urban settlements distributions fit power law distributions exhibited by Zipf’s law. Our results reveal that 77%–85% of urban settlements in Africa have fewer than 100 000 people and that at least 50% of Africa’s urban population live in urban settlements with fewer than 1 million residents. Across almost all African countries, the distribution of urban population shifted towards larger cities between 2000 and 2015. However, in arid regions, our results indicate that small- and medium-sized urban settlements are absorbing a greater share of urban population growth compared to large urban settlements. While our urban population estimates vary across gridded population datasets and differ from United Nations estimates, this is the first paper to measure urban population across Africa using a consistent methodology to identify urban settlement populations. Unlike UN urban population data for Africa, our results can readily be incorporated with geolocated environmental, public health, and economic data to support efforts to monitor United Nations Sustainable Development Goals related to urban sustainability, poverty reduction, and food security across Africa’s ever-growing urban settlements.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND NEGOTIATION: THE TENSION BETWEEN CREATING AND CLAIMING VALUE

As a departure from past research on emotional intelligence (EI), which generally examines the influence of an individual's level of EI on that individual's consequences, we examined relationships between the emotional intelligence (EI) of both members of dyads involved in a negotiation in order to explain objective and subjective outcomes. As expected, individuals high in EI reported a more positive experience. However, surprisingly, such individuals also achieved significantly lower objective scores than their counterparts. By contrast, having a partner high in EI predicted greater objective gain, and a more positive negotiating experience. Thus, high EI individuals appeared to benefit in affective terms, but appeared to create objective value that they were less able to claim. We discuss the tension between creating and claiming value, and implications for emotion in organizations.
Rainfall, Runoff and Soil loss, relationship on different land uses in the Upper Lake Tana Basin

Understanding the basic relationships between rainfall, runoff and soil loss are crucial task for effective management and utilization of natural resource. Hence, modeling the relationship between rainfall, runoff, and soil loss for climatic conditions prevailing in the Upper Lake Tana basin is a crucial task. The watershed instrumented with raingauge and rectangular weir to measure important parameters. Soil infiltration rate exceeded 9.4% of the time by the rainfall intensity, in which infiltration excess runoff is not a dominant runoff mechanism. A simple sediment model was developed. It predicts sediment with Nash Sutcliffe coefficient (E) and the coefficient of correlation (R2) of observed and simulated runoff is 0.9 to 0.91 and 0.88 to 0.96 for validation. The model predicted event based surface runoff with reasonable accuracy, this noticeable model's performance showed probably due to the applicability of the model to estimate sediment loss despite the smaller data size. Keywords: Modeling, Runoff, Sediment loss, Grazing land
COMITÉ INSTITUCIONAL DE INVESTIGACIÓN BIOMÉDICA EN HUMANOS

2. Researchers 2a. Identification Name Institutional position Research position Telephone (ext.) E-mail Daniel Cuevas-Ramos Consultant, Clinical Researcher Principal researcher 54870900 (2407) shiverqks@hotmail.com Paloma Almeda-Valdés Consultant, Clinical Researcher Coinvestigator 54870900 (2407) palomaalmeda@yahoo.com Clara E. Meza-Arana Nutritionist Coinvestigator 54870900 (2407) claraelena88@hotmail.com Griselda Brito-Córdova Nutritionist Coinvestigtor 54870900 (2407) grisbrito@hotmail.com Fco. J Gómez-Pérez Chief, Department of Endocrinology Coinvestigator 54870900 (2407) fcojgomezp@aol.com
Recursive pseudo fatigue cracking damage model for asphalt pavements

ABSTRACT Mechanistic-empirical (M-E) fatigue models for asphalt concrete (AC) pavements often ignore damage induced-changes in the AC, although laboratory testing and field studies show that AC modulus deteriorates as the extent and severity of cracking accumulates. This study developed a pseudo fatigue cracking damage model that incorporated damage-induced changes in AC modulus and AC fatigue endurance limit (FEL) for a more realistic fatigue analysis. The model, based on layered elastic theory, implements incremental-recursive damage accumulation, and its goal is to further minimise empiricism in M-E fatigue modelling. Bending beam fatigue (BBF) test data from 20 AC mixtures constructed at the National Center for Asphalt Technology Pavement Test Track during several research cycles were used to formulate the model. The functional form of the model was identified through iteration and showed high potential in simulating BBF damage curve. The model inputs are AC modulus, FEL and applied strain level. In applying the model, a trial pavement cross-section is simulated in WESLEA, a layered elastic analysis programme, to generate a fatigue damage curve, where AC modulus degrades versus load applications. Suggestions for implementing the model in pavement design procedures are discussed. Field validation is recommended before the model is used for pavement design.