Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electroporation as a mechanism of the saturation of transmembrane potential induced by large electric fields

Experimental studies have shown that the magnitude of a shock-induced transmembrane potential increases only slightly with any increase in the strength of the electric field above approximately 7 V/cm. In this study, computer simulations of both passive and active fibers are used to test the hypothesis that this saturation of transmembrane potential is due to electroporation. A passive fiber model with an electroporating membrane reproduced the experimental data with a root mean square error (rmse) of 7.63% and a correlation coefficient (ccf) of 0.9980. An active model with Luo-Rudy kinetics and an electroporating membrane yielded results with a rmse of 22.5% and a ccf of 0.9983. Both simulations were in good qualitative and quantitative agreement with the experimental data, supporting the idea that the development of current-carrying pores is an important factor in the saturation of transmembrane potential during exposure to large electric fields.
Developing Self-regulated Learning Skills To Overcome Lexical Problems in Writing: Case Studies of Korean ESL Learners

The study examined how 5 adult Korean learners of English developed self-regulated learning (SRL) skills to overcome lexical problems in their English writing. Empirical studies have consistently shown that many of the greatest problems for ESL learners in writing are lexical in nature. The goal of the study was to help participants to address these problems, first through tutored assistance and then more independently by controlling their uses of strategies through planning, monitoring, and evaluation processes. The study involved two phases: Phase 1 was exploratory in nature, in which I attempted to identify typical lexical problems Korean learners of English encounter in writing. Phase 2 included an intervention in the form of one-on-one tutoring that followed the cyclic model of SRL proposed by Zimmerman, Bonner, and Kovach (1996). I worked with 5 participants through the SRL cycle individually as they wrote and revised 3 argumentative essays. The intervention lasted for 9 weeks, focusing on developing the participants’ SRL skills in writing through the use of various strategies that were devised in Phase 1 and refined throughout Phase 2. I analyzed the participants’ difficulties and uses of strategies, self-ratings on their essays, and several measures of essay quality to examine changes in their SRL skills, self-efficacy, and writing skills. The participants initially encountered various types of difficulties in their English writing and primarily relied on self-strategies to cope with their difficulties. Over the course of the intervention, the participants’ attention to their difficulties and uses of linguistic resources
Pop-out and IOR in Static Scenes with Region B ased Visual Attention

This paper proposes a novel approach to construct the saliency map by combining region-based maps of distinct features. The multipli- cation style feature fusion process in the natural visual attention is mod- elled as weighted average of the features under influence of the external top-down and the internal bottom-up inhibitions. The recently discov- ered aspect of feature-based inhibition is also included in the procedure of IOR along with the commonly implemented spatial and feature-map based inhibitions. Results obtained from the proposed method are com- patible with the well known attention models but with the advantages of faster computation, direct usability of focus of attention in machine vision, and broader coverage of visually prominent objects.
Consumer Motivation for Reward Pursuit: A Culture-Based and Progress-Based Model of Loyalty Program Effectiveness

Abstract Aided by the exponential rate of globalization and digitalization, reward or loyalty programs (LPs) have attained global reach. Paradoxically, however, dropout rates of LPs have averaged over 75%. This disconcerting statistic, coupled with the lack of culture-specific insights in the literature, points to a research area of great theoretical and practical importance. To address the aforementioned issues, we develop a culture-based and progress-based model of consumer motivation that is especially applicable to LP members. Drawing on cross-cultural literature and goal pursuit theory, our research enriches a field that is inherently global in nature. Through a series of research propositions that elucidate how Western individualist (vs. Eastern collectivist) consumers are differentially motivated to pursue LP rewards, we advance theoretical understanding of reward-induced behavior across cultures and offer useful insights for global managers of LPs.
Effects of Diverse Property Rights on Rural Neighbourhood Public Open Space (POS) Governance: Evidence from Sabah, Malaysia

There are severe issues of public open space (POS) underinvestment and overexploitation. However, few studies have been conducted on the property rights structure and its impacts on rural commons governance, specifically concerning local neighbourhood residential POS quality and sustainability. The social-ecological system framework and the new institutional economics theory were employed to examine the local diverse property rights system and its effects on the emergence of POS dilemmas. Rural commons covering neighbourhood residential Country Lease (CL) and Native Title (NT) POS from the districts of Kota Kinabalu and Penampang, Sabah Malaysia were selected. A mixed-method phenomenological case study, involving multi-stakeholders’ perspectives across public-private-user sectors, was employed. This study revealed four main interconnected property rights issues, including attenuated rights, incomplete rights, maladaptive rights, and security-based de facto perceptive rights, under the complex state-private regime, which incentivise the opportunistic behaviour of individuals in externalising POS commons dilemmas. The findings further inferred that the local diverse property rights issues and POS dilemmas caused, and are associated with, other rights issues and dilemmas, forming a rights-dilemmas nexus. Not only do the institutional failures actuate POS dilemmas, but the former also engender other forms of property rights failures, while the latter cause other POS dilemmas. This paper suggests policy and management insights to public officials, in which the importance of the institutional-social-POS behavioural factor and the re-engineering of POS governance via adaptive property rights realignment are emphasised.
Impact of IPO Pricing Mechanisms on Short and Long-Run Returns in India: An Empirical Study

This study explores the extent of underpricing amongst IPOs issued using either fixed-price or bookbuilt pricing mechanism, as well as their long-run performance over a span of 3 years (36 time-periods of 21 consecutive trading days). IPOs listed on the National Stock Exchange in India during the period April-1999 until March-2014 (15 financial years) were considered for analysis using a sample of 291 IPOs for the short-run and 284 IPOs for the long-run study. The sample excludes Small and Medium Enterprise IPOs as well as any Follow-Up Public Offerings. Marginally Adjusted Return on Opening (MAARO) are used as a measure of performance to determine the extent of short-run underpricing. Average Buy-Hold-Abnormal-Return (ABHAR), as well as Wealth Relatives (WR), is used to study long-run performance. Our results of short-run performance reveal that market feedback hypothesis plays a role in reducing the level of underpricing in bookbuilt issues. The extent of underpricing for bookbuilt issues is much smaller than fixed-price IPO issues and the difference is statistically significant. Our results from an IPO long-run performance standpoint is indifferent in regards to the pricing mechanism used with either returning losses. Our findings on long-run performance reveal that bookbuilt IPOs exhibit no statistically significant abnormal returns while fixedprice IPO issues do so for a few months in the study.
Comparison of cephalometric readings between manual tracing and digital software tracing: A pilot study

Aim: The aim of the study was to analyze and compare the cephalometric readings between manual tracings with digital software tracings using Steiner′s analysis. Materials and Methods: The conventional lateral cephalograms of twenty participants were obtained. Six hard tissue landmarks were identified, and Steiner′s analysis was carried out. The radiographs were manually traced, and the readings were recorded. Following this, the radiographs were uploaded in the FACAD digital software for digital tracing. Results: SNA, SNB, lower incisor to NB angle, and linear values show statistically significant differences. The remaining parameters do not show statistical difference. Conclusion: The results show a statistical difference between manual and digital tracing. The variation lies in the difference in identification of the hard tissue landmarks.
The German Minimum Wage: Effects on Productivity, Profitability, and Investments

Abstract In this article, we analyze the effects of the introduction of the German minimum wage using difference-in-differences estimations applied to the IAB Establishment Panel. The treatment effects on the treated establishments show a significant increase in personnel costs. When we analyze the effects of the minimum wage on the net sales of intermediates, we observe a reduction, which is fully explained by the increase in wage costs induced by the minimum wage. The results do not point to effects on establishment-level productivity or capital investments. Looking at investments in human capital, we do not observe any effects on apprenticeship offers or the placement of apprentices. If anything, the results point at a slight reduction in the provision of further training.
Economic Incentives, Home Production and Gender Identity Norms

We infer the role of gender identity norms from the reallocation of childcare across parents, following changes in their relative wages. By exploiting variation from a Swedish tax reform, we estimate the elasticity of substitution in parental childcare for the whole population and for demographic groups potentially adhering to differently binding norms. We find that immigrant, married and male breadwinner couples, as well as couples with a male first-born, react more strongly to tax changes that induce a more traditional allocation of spouses' time, while the respective counterpart couples react more strongly to tax changes that induce a more egalitarian division of labor.
State Aid Control in the Modernisation Era: Moving Towards a Differentiated Administrative Integration?

Despite contentions that state aid control is an instance of direct execution, the State Aid Modernisation (SAM) package has largely dispersed responsibility for giving effect to the common legal framework across national administrations. In this setup, the effectiveness of state aid law is confronted with asymmetric capacities, diffuse application of complex rules and difficulty in keeping dispersed powers under control. This article combines selected evidence on the operation of state aid control with a multidisciplinary analysis of the functioning of integration mechanisms in the European administrative space. The aim is to examine the potential effects of SAM. It contends that, while the reform has strengthened the Commission's dominance, the instruments of administrative integration might fail to secure adequate capacities and implementation performances at national level, due to constitutional constraints and opposing forces. This effect, it is argued, could be divisive, and risks undermining the integrity of the internal market
Optimizing search user interfaces and interactions within professional social networks

Professional social networks (PSNs) play the key role in the online social media ecosystem, generate hundreds of terabytes of new data per day, and connect millions of people. To help users cope with the scale and influx of new information, PSNs provide search functionality. However, most of the search engines within PSNs today still provide only keyword queries, basic faceted search capabilities, and uninformative query-biased snippets overlooking the structured and interlinked nature of PSN entities. This results in siloed information, inefficient results presentation, and suboptimal search user experience (UX). In this thesis, we reconsider and comprehensively study input, control, and presentation elements of the search user interface (SUI) to enable more effective and efficient search within PSNs. Specifically, we demonstrate that: (1) named entity queries (NEQs) and structured queries (SQs) complement each other helping PSN users search for people and explore the PSN social graph beyond the first degree; (2) relevance-aware filtering saves users’ efforts when they sort jobs, status updates, and people by an attribute value rather than by relevance; (3) extended informative structured snippets increase job search effectiveness and efficiency by leveraging human intelligence and exposing the most critical information about jobs right on a search engine result page (SERP); and (4) non-redundant delta snippets, which different from traditional query-biased snippets show on a SERP information relevant but complementary to the query, are more favored by users performing entity (e.g. people) search, lead to faster task completion times and better search outcomes. Thus, by modeling the structured and interlinked nature of PSN entities, we can optimize the query-refineview interaction loop, facilitate serendipitous network exploration, and increase search utility. We believe that the insights, algorithms, and recommendations presented in this thesis will serve the next generation designers of SUIs within and beyond PSNs and shape the (structured) search landscape of the future.
How much greenhouse gas can each global inhabitant emit while attaining the Paris Agreement temperature limit goal? The equity dilemma in sharing the global climate budget to 2100

Abstract Decisions taken under the Paris Agreement of the UNFCCC do not clarify how the principle of equity is to be operationalized. Proper consideration of different national circumstances is of paramount importance when designing any multilateral agreements, such as the Paris Agreement . Here, a methodology is presented that implements the equity principle in sharing the global climate budget among countries on the basis of their national circumstances identified by socio-economic factors such as the population size, the per-capita gross domestic product and the current net GHG emission, and physical factors such as the population density and the average temperature. The historical responsibility for net GHG emission since 1990 is dealt with by the financial commitments made by developed countries. The impact of international trade on actual net GHG emission associated with consumption of goods is deemed compensated by the carbon rights underlying the production of such traded goods. Results obtained show that without a consideration of national circumstances, large emitters can claim a larger quota. Nevertheless, national circumstances change over time because of social and economic development as well as because technological improvements. Consequently, quotas have to be recalculated over time (e.g. at each global stocktake).
Women in Sport Governance: Challenging Institutionalised Practices in a National Sport Organisation

v Attestation of Authorship . vii Acknowledgements . viii Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 1.1 Background to Research. 1 1.2 Research Context. 2 1.3 Research Aim and Design . 4 1.4 Dissertation Structure . 5 Chapter 2: Literature Review . 6 2.
Co-Producing Sustainability: Reordering the Governance of Science, Policy, and Practice

Co-production has become a cornerstone of research within the sustainability sciences, motivating collaborations of diverse actors to conduct research in the service of societal and policy change. This review examines theoretical and empirical literature from sustainability science, public administration, and science and technology studies (STS) with the intention of advancing the theory and practice of co-production within sustainability science. We argue that co-production must go beyond stakeholder engagement by scientists to the more deliberate design of societal transitions. Co-production can contribute to such transitions by shifting the institutional arrangements that govern relationships between knowledge and power, science and society, and state and citizens. We highlight critical weaknesses in conceptualizations of co-production within sustainability sciences with respect to power, politics, and governance. We offer suggestions for how this can be rectified through deeper engagement with public administration and STS to offer a broad vision for enhancing the use, design, and practice of a more reflexive co-production in sustainability science.
Economic Shocks and the Growth of the Construction Industry in Ghana Over the 50-Year Period From 1968 to 2017

The study analyses the relationship between the growth of the construction industry and economic shocks in Ghana over the 50-year period from 1968 to 2017 using an autoregressive modelling scheme that incorporates several economic shocks as separate independent variables. The independent variables used in the model included one positive economic shock and five negative shock variables. The positive shock variable was the sharply increased government expenditures on construction activities in selected years that allowed the government to host international events in Ghana within a period of two years. The five adverse economic shocks included in the model were political instability related to military coups, exchange rate depreciation of the local currency, Ghana cedi, with respect to the United States dollar, the average yearly temperature, aggregate electricity energy production shortfall related to a severe El Nino weather phenomenon, and incidence of extreme rainfall. The results of the analysis indicated that the most important factor influencing the growth of the construction industry in Ghana over the 50-year study period was political instability. Beyond political instability, the next most important factor was the purposely-driven sharp increases in government expenditures on construction activities for selected years that allowed the country to host international events in the country. The other significant economic shocks were the exchange rate depreciation, average temperatures, and electricity energy production shortfall; all three factors adversely affected the growth of the construction industry. The results of our study are generally consistent with those obtained from the literature concerning the positive and negative effects of economic shocks on the construction industry.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Startups and the innovation ecosystem in Industry 4.0

We, the Editors and Publisher of Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, have retracted the following article: Clarissa Figueredo Rocha, Diórgenes Falcão Mamédio, Carlos Olavo Quandt (2019) Startups and the innovation ecosystem in Industry 4.0, Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 31:12, 1474-1487, DOI: 10.1080/09537325.2019. 1628938 Since publication, concerns have been raised about the article with respect to substantial text overlap with the following article (which is not referenced): Silva, M. V. G. da, Rocha, C. F. , Pagnoncelli, V. , & Lima, L. A. A. de. (2018). Ecosystem of Innovation in Industry 4.0: The case of collaborations in Startups in Brazil. International Journal for Innovation Education and Research, 6(12), 26–38. https://doi.org/10.31686/ijier.vol6. iss12.1248 Upon further investigation, the journal editorial team confirmed these concerns of text overlap, which we consider to be a breach of our editorial policies. When approached for an explanation, the authors have not responded. We would welcome an explanation at any point from the authors. In light of the above, we are therefore retracting the article. The corresponding author listed in this publication has been informed. We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as ‘Retracted’.
Sustainability backfire: The unintended consequences of failing to engage neighborhood residents in policymaking

ABSTRACT Urban planners, community activists, and public archeologists, among others, recognize the importance of engaging residents and their knowledge in developing policies and programs. However, sustainability is typically treated as a top-down challenge. In this article, we demonstrate that sustainability policies might break down or backfire when officials fail to directly involve residents, particularly disenfranchised residents. This conclusion emerges from qualitative research through a neighborhood organizing project in Binghamton, New York. We use a citywide pay-as-you-throw trash policy and a public park design process to illustrate that sustainability was not achieved by widely touted best practices implemented on a municipalitywide basis. The lack of broad inclusivity and participation by disenfranchised residents at the neighborhood level meant that officials missed important knowledge and perspectives, which undercut the effectiveness of sustainability efforts. Sustainability citizenship requires that residents have the space and means to organize and participate—something that local governments should create.
Single machine scheduling with an availability constraint

The semiresumable case of single machine scheduling subject to an unavailability interval is considered in this paper.As far as the makespan is concerned,the longest processing time(LPT) rule leads to an error bound of α/2.Furthermore,an example is provided to show that the bound is tight.And similarly,it is easily known that the LPT rule has an error bound of 1/2 to the semiresumable case.This example also serves as a counterexample to the 1/3 error bound provided by related literature.A heuristic procedure is also proposed,which applies the LPT rule as its starting solution,together with a neighbourhood search based on pairwise interchanges.When the total weighted completion time criterion is concerned,a useful property is proved and then a dynamic programming algorithm is developed to solve this problem optimally.
Consideration on sensitivity for multiple correspondence analysis

Correspondence analysis is a popular re- search technique applicable to data and text mining, because the technique can analyze simple and mul- tiple cross tables containing some measure of corre- spondence between the rows and columns and also has the strength of graphical display in two or three dimensions. The results of correspondence analysis provide information similar to factor analysis. Those abilities will deepen the global understanding on the characteristics of accumulated numerical and text in- formation and have possibility leads to new knowledge discovery. We have so far focused on the text infor- mation of Japanese higher education institution such as syllabuses. We conducted research on collecting and analyzing the information, and on text mining to analyze and visualize the information for grasp- ing the global characteristics of curricula of univer- sities. Moreover, we have considered the sensitivity of ordinary simple correspondence analysis in case of data perturbation. However, more considerations on multiple correspondence analysis are required. This article presents mathematical considerations on sen- sitivity of multiple correspondence analysis.