Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ergodicity of the zigzag process

The zigzag process is a Piecewise Deterministic Markov Process which can be used in a MCMC framework to sample from a given target distribution. We prove the convergence of this process to its target under very weak assumptions, and establish a central limit theorem for empirical averages under stronger assumptions on the decay of the target measure. We use the classical "Meyn-Tweedie" approach. The main difficulty turns out to be the proof that the process can indeed reach all the points in the space, even if we consider the minimal switching rates.
INVESTIGATING PRESERVICE TEACHERS' UNDERSTANDING AND STRATEGIES ON A STUDENT'S ERRORS OF REFLECTIVE SYMMETRY

This study examined how preservice teachers understand reflective symmetry and what types of pedagogical strategies preservice teachers use to help a student who has misunderstanding of reflective symmetry. It was found that a large portion of preservice teachers has limited understanding of reflective symmetry. It was also revealed that preservice teachers have tendency to rely on procedural aspects of reflective symmetry when helping a student understand reflective symmetry correctly although they recognized a student’s misconceptions in terms of conceptual aspect. Furthermore, it was found that even a large potion of preservice teachers who showed sound understanding of reflective symmetry relied heavily on procedural aspects of reflective symmetry. This study has implication to researchers and teacher educators.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND MANAGEMENT OF SAGO PALM (Metroxylon sagu ROTTBOELL) DIVERSITY IN SOUTH CENTRAL SERAM, MALUKU, EASTERN INDONESIA

ABSTRACT Given the cultural importance of palms it might be assumed that, like other starch staples, they would be internally diverse genetically, yielding large numbers of cultivars reflected in lexical polytypy. This article explores why this does not appear to be so for sago palms (Metroxylon sagu), managed by the Nuaulu of Seram, eastern Indonesia. The economic and cultural significance of the sago palm for the Nuaulu, as for much of Maluku and lowland New Guinea, is immense; but the extent to which humans have managed it has been underestimated, it once being widely accepted that reliance on sago was inversely correlated to the development of conventional agriculture. Nuaulu spend about 32 percent of their total subsistence effort engaged in sago extraction. However, given its overall significance as food, in work budgets, as a multi-purpose natural product, and in cultural imagery, the level of formally codified genetic diversity is low. The hypothesis is examined that managed sago palms do not readily lend themselves to the generation of a large number of stable cultivars, and that this is related to modes of reproduction, longevity and single lifetime flowering, and to extensive reliance on vegetative propagation and forms of tenure and husbandry.
Influence Of Motivation On Teachers Performance In A Local Government Area In Nigeria

The hue and cry over the falling standard of education in Nigeria has assumed alarming dimensions in recent years. This has equally evoked tremendous research interests to investigate the possible causes of this ugly development. Some have blamed It on lack of motivation of teachers while others on lack of necessary facilities and so forth. This work presents the results of a survey conducted in a particular local government area in Nigeria as to how motivation may influence teachers performance. The research instrument used for the study was a two-part 35 items questionnaire which was meant to test the influence motivation may have on teachers performance. It was administered to 100 randomly selected teachers from 10 of the sampled secondary schools used for the study. Seven research questions were analyzed and series of cross tabulations were used for the analysis. The data collected were analyzed by means of frequencies and percentages of the various responses provided by the teachers.The study revealed that: applying the right motivation factor has positive influence on teachers performance.That the factors that are currently being used to motivate teachers namely; annual gettogether parties Organizing send-off parties for teachers on transfer, Constant supervision of teacher’s work, provision of attendance register and provision of movement books have minimal influence on teachers performance That factor such as age, sexprofessional training may affect a teacher’s performance.Based on these findings it was recommend that; management of secondary schools should make use of correct motivational strategies such as attitude motivation, incentives, and recognition. there should be regular training for teachers workshops to motivate teacher for higher productivity. government should always try as much as possible to pay teachers’ salaries promptly and regularly. management of the schools try and provide accommodation to teachers within the school premises and teachers should be given opportunities to develop themselves through study-leave with pay or in service –training.
The development of a novel large area building integrated solar collector for pool heating

Unglazed solar collectors have often been used a means of providing low cost heating to swimming pools. However, these systems are typically polymer style “mats” that are laid on top of a roof, often leading to poor aesthetics due to their lack of integration with the building itself. This study charts the development of a novel large area unglazed building integrated solar pool heating system (BIT), based on long run sheet metal roofing, from its initial conceptualisation through to its implementation. It discusses the design of the building integrated solar collector modules, the assessment of their performance through theoretical modelling and experimental validation. Subsequently, it shows the scaling of laboratory scale testing to a large area array through modelling and discusses the performance of the system in the “as-built” configuration. In doing this, it provides a succinct illustration of the design process for the development of the University of Waikato’s building integrated pool heating system.
THE ROLE OF STUDENT PERCEIVED OF LECTURER’S MEANING SUPPORT IN LEARNING ON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

Previous researches have long been ascertained that intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy play an important role on student engagement. The purpose of present research is to identify whether student perceived of lecturer’s meaning support in learning along with intrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy are meaningful predictors of student engagement. Variable of meaning support in learning is developed based on Self Determination Theory. 251 freshmen of social studies from Universitas Indonesia have participated in the research. In order to collect data, “School Engagement Measurement”, “Meaning Support in Learning”, “Learning Motivation”, and “Self-efficacy, Stress, and Academic Success in College” scales have been employed. A Multiple Regression analysis has been used to predict the student’s engagement based on student perceived of lecturer’s meaning support in learning, the level of students’ motivation and level of student’s self-efficacy. It is found that student perceived of lecturer’s meaning support in learning have predicted 14% of student engagement. This research indicates that lecturer’s meaning support in learning also plays an important role on student engagement. The implications of the result are discussed.
The relationship between corporate governance and earnings management in banks listed on Tehran Stock Exchange

This study, in order to provide evidence about the effectiveness of corporate governance tools (content management stock ownership, institutional ownership and the percentage of non-duty members of the Board of Directors) on earnings management in banks was listed on Tehran Stock Exchange during 2009-2013.The sample consisted of 10 banks (all banks listed) were selected as sample data obtained through library research and application of new outcomes were collected. In this study, three variables of management stock ownership, institutional ownership and the percentage of non-duty members of the Board of Directors as independent variables used tools of corporate governance. Also, to measure earnings management the modified Jones model and to test hypotheses of multivariate regression was used and significance was determined using t and F statistics. Finally, it was determined that between three characteristics of corporate governance (institutional ownership percentage of share ownership required for managers and other members of the board) and there was no profit management. Keywords: Earnings management, institutional ownership percentage of share ownership management, the percentage of non-duty members of the Board of Directors
Modelling and forecasting international interest rate spreads : UK , Germany , Japan and the US

The interest rate spread is of importance to policy makers and finance professionals in asset allocation and is a common measure of financial market stress. In this paper we model and forecast the interest rate spreads for a number of countries using two well known continuous time models and discrete time ARMA and ARFIMA models. We use monthly and weekly data which covers the recent global financial market crisis of 2007-2009 for Germany, Japan, UK and the US. We find that the continuous time Merton model outperforms all other model specifications in terms of the mean of the forecast errors, MAPE and RMSE.
Reproductive Biology of little tunny, Euthynnus alletteratus (Rafinesque 1810) in the Eastern Coast of Alexandria, Egypt

Reproductive biology of Euthynnus alletteratus was described based on 628 fishes that were collected from Abu Qir landing site between October 2006 and September 2007. Only 146 specimens were sexually distinguished (102 females, 44 males) and the others were immature. The sex ratio was estimated as M: F 1:2.3. Size at first sexual maturity was estimated as 42cm. Spawning season was investigated based on monthly observation of gonadal maturity stages and gonad-somatic index (GSI). The spawning season extends from June to August with a highest GSI value in June.The fork length (FL)–gutted weight (GW) relationship was estimated as GW=0.052 FL for combined sexes. Condition factor (K) was calculated using the gutted weight of all samples (regardless of sex) with an average of 1.3. Management plan is important to overcome the high percentage of immature fishes in the catch off Alexandria water. Extending closed season to July and increasing the length at capture to 44cm are important for enhancing the chance of spawning at least once during its life.
The Nasdaq-Amex Merger, Nasdaq Reforms, and the Liquidity of Small Firms

After the Nasdaq and American Stock Exchange (AMEX) merged in 1998, officials of the new entity argued that some “smaller, harder to trade” companies on Nasdaq should switch to AMEX to improve liquidity. This recommendation is based on the traditional view among academics and practitioners alike that a substantial trading cost reduction should be realized when a company switches from the multidealer Nasdaq system to the AMEX specialist system. However, in light of the 1997 Nasdaq reforms, we reexamine the validity of these arguments using data from 1996–98 on firms that switch from the Nasdaq to the AMEX or the New York Stock Exchange. Evidence from transaction costs, volatility, and stock returns shows declining benefits to switching during the sample period. Our findings indicate that the liquidity improvement from exchange listing is limited in the wake of the Nasdaq reforms of 1997.
The Implementation of Various Surgical Approaches in Management of Recurrent Incisional Hernias

Management of recurrent incisional hernias still remains a challenge for surgeons in determining the best technique to ensure successful repair. Decision making will be more difficult when the recurrences occur at multiple sites within the abdominal wall. We reported a case of a 66-year-old man with underlying history of laparatomy for perforated diverticulum presented with 3 episodes of incisional hernias which were repaired with three different methods. Discussion is focused towards the various methods of incisional hernia repair and the superiority of one technique to the others.
Deixis prosodique multisensorielle : production et perception audiovisuelle de la focalisation contrastive en français

Le travail presente dans ce memoire est sous-tendu par trois observations majeures. D'abord, de nombreux travaux ont mis en evidence que la parole n'etait pas uniquement de nature auditive mais aussi visuelle. D'autre part, la prosodie, domaine de l'intonation, du rythme et du phrase joue un role crucial en parole. Enfin, la deixis ou monstration est un phenomene au coeur de la communication parlee et de son acquisition par les jeunes enfants. Or celle-ci peut, entre autre, s'exprimer uniquement avec la parole : il est possible de « montrer de la voix » par la focalisation prosodique par exemple. Ces observations et constatations permettent d'emettre l'hypothese que la focalisation contrastive prosodique se manifesterait non seulement par la modalite auditive ,comme il a deja ete largement explore, mais aussi par la modalite visuelle. C'est la piste que les travaux de ce memoire visent a explorer pour le cas particulier du francais. Plusieurs analyses en production de la parole ont ainsi permis, grâce aux enregistrements de six locuteurs avec deux systemes de mesure differents et complementaires, de mettre en evidence les strategies de signalisation visuelle de la focalisation. Il semble que les locuteurs produisent des indices articulatoires visibles selon deux strategies principales : la strategie de signalisation absolue et la strategie de signalisation differentielle. Les analyses ont egalement permis de montrer que d'autres gestes faciaux non articulatoires (mouvements des sourcils et de la tete) pourraient etre lies a la production de la focalisation mais de facon tres variable non seulement d'un locuteur a l'autre mais aussi pour un meme locuteur. Par ailleurs, des analyses paralleles en perception, ont permis de montrer que les indices visuels mis en evidence en production, etaient effectivement utilises en perception et qu'ils permettent d'extraire l'information de focalisation quand la modalite auditive est indisponible ou degradee. Il a ete mis en evidence que les indices visuels identifies en production correspondent au moins en partie a ceux utilises en perception audiovisuelle. Ces travaux montrent ainsi que la focalisation contrastive en francais est « visible » et est « vue ». Ces resultats permettent d'esquisser un modele cognitif de la production et de la perception audiovisuelles de la focalisation contrastive en francais.
Economies of Scope in the Agricultural Provision of Ecosystem Services: An Application to a High Cost Production Region Verbundeffekte in der landwirtschaftlichen Bereitstellung von Ökosystemleistungen: eine Anwendung in einer Region mit hohen Produktionskosten

Joint production of agriculture commodities and environmental goods and services is a key attribute of multifunctionality. However, complex natural and economic interactions make a sound analysis difficult. In this regard, the concept of economies of scope provides a simple policy oriented indicator of jointness. Thus, the existence of economies of scope can be regarded as a precondition for the implementation of agricultural policies with respect to environmental goods and services. We apply the concept of economies of scope to the provision of ecosystem services in the Swiss lowlands using a spatially explicit economic-ecological programming model. Thereby, the consideration of non-agricultural competitors in the provision of ecosystem services allows a simultaneous assessment of economies of scope. A cost-effectiveness analysis shows the leastcost supplier of ecosystem services and spatial patterns in the supply for these services. Results imply the existence of economies of scope and hence strong jointness between agricultural production and the provision of ecosystem services. However, the potential for public cost savings due to structural change in agriculture is considerable. Moreover, the development of the second generation in biomass conversion technologies may enhance a non-agricultural provision of these services. Therefore, a continuous improvement in agricultural production efficiency is a precondition for strong jointness and thus multifunctionality.
Firm Risk and Proxy Fights: Evidence from SOX

The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) is documented to curb executive risk-taking and firm risk. Utilizing SOX as an exogenous shock on firm risk, we find that proxy fight threats are positively related to a firm’s total risk and idiosyncratic risk. Specifically, although firm risk generally decreases post-SOX, high proxy fight threats mitigate this change in firm risk. We also find that although firms adopt more conservative policies such as decreasing their leverage and payout post-SOX, these changes are mitigated by proxy fight threats. In sum, our findings indicate that proxy fights act as an external disciplinary mechanism, encourage executive risk-taking, and increase firm risk.
An Experimentally Derived Kinetic Model for Smectite-to-Illite Conversion and Its Use as a Geothermometer

The smectite-to-illite conversion during shale diagenesis has recently been used to constrain the estimate of a basin’s thermal history. We have systematically investigated the kinetics for the conversion of a Na-saturated montmorillonite (SWy-1) to a mixed-layer smectite/illite as a function of KCl concentration (from 0.1 to 3 moles/liter) over a temperature range of 250° to 325°C at 500 bars in cold-seal pressure vessels using gold capsules. The results show that the conversion rate can be described by a simple empirical rate equation-dS/dt = A · exp(-Ea/RT) · [K+] · S2where S = fraction of smectite layers in the I/S, t = time in seconds, A = frequency factor = 8.08 × 10-4 sec-1, exp = exponential function, Ea = activation Energy = 28 kcal/mole, R = gas constant, 1.987 cal/deg-mole, T = temperature (degree Kelvin), [K+] = K+ concentration in molarity (M) in the fluid.The results also show that Ca2+ in solutions barely affects the illitization rate, whereas Mg2+ significantly retards the rate. The retardation, however, is not as severe as previously reported. Na+ ion can significantly retard the rate only if the concentration is high.We found that by assuming a range 0.0026-0.0052 moles/liter (100-200 ppm) of K+, concentrations similar to the value typically reported in oil field brines, the present kinetic model can reasonably predict the extent of the smectite-to-illite conversion for a number of basins from various depths and age. This narrow range of potassium concentrations, therefore, is used to model the smectite-to-illite conversion in shale when the actual chemical information of pore fluid is not available.The kinetic equation has been tested using field data from a large variety of geologic settings worldwide (i.e., the Gulf of Mexico, Vienna Basin, Salton Trough Geothermal Area, East Taiwan Basin, Huasna Basin, etc). The results show that the equation reasonably predicts the extent of the reaction within our knowledge of the variables involved, such as burial history, thermal gradients, and potassium concentration.
Molecular Cloning and Linkage Mapping of Cryptochrome Multigene Family in Soybean

The cryptochromes are a family of blue light photoreceptors that play important roles in the controls of plant development. Seven full‐length cryptochrome cDNAs (GmCRY1a, GmCRY1b, GmCRY1c, GmCRY1d, GmCRY2a, GmCRY2b, and GmCRY2c) were isolated by cDNA library screening and reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction from ‘Williams’ soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ], indicating that soybean cryptochrome genes comprise a multigene family. They had homologies ranging from 60 to 89% with CRY1 and CRY2 genes of Arabidopsis and pea (Pisum sativum L.). Two types of transcripts were isolated in GmCRY1b, GmCRY1c, GmCRY1d, and GmCRY2a. One type was derived from four exons, whereas the other type was derived from five exons. Occurrence of the former transcript could be explained by retention of the fourth intron, suggesting existence of alternative splicing. Gene sequences were compared between a soybean line, Tokei 780, and an accession of soybean wild relative, Glycine soja, Hidaka 4. Based on a 10‐bp indel, an amplicon length polymorphism (ALP) marker was designed for mapping of GmCRY2b. For mapping of the other cryptochrome genes, derived cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (dCAPS) markers were constructed. The cryptochrome genes were individually assigned to different molecular linkage groups (MLG) (GmCRY1a: MLG C1; GmCRY1b: C2; GmCRY1c: B2; GmCRY1d: F; GmCRT2a: O; GmCRY2b: D1b; GmCRY2c: I). The distribution of cryptochrome genes that was deduced from the soybean genome database was consistent with mapping results.
Counseling Needs of Widows in Rivers State: Implications for Counseling

This study investigated the counselling needs of widows in Rivers State implication for study. Thesample of this study consisted of 2000 widows from Rivers State. These widows were drawn using the purposivesampling technique. The instrument used for the data collection was a self made questionnaire-widows needsassessment questionnaire (WNAQ). This was validated and its reliability coefficient was 0.84 and 66respectively.The WNAQ sought information on widows counselling needs based on their age, family size, size ofchildren and socio-economic background. Each item had 4 point likerf scale set against it. The response optionsranged from strongly needed to needed. Each subject was required to indicate the extent to which widowsneeded guidance or not. Two hypotheses were formulated for the study. T-test statistics was used to test thehypotheses respectively. It was found that widows needed counselling services irrespective of their age andfamily size respectively.There is no significant difference between this counselling need of young widows and their elderly ones.There is no significant difference between the counselling needs of the widows with large families and thosewith small family size. On the basis of these findings, it was recommended that Government should design allhuman rights programme with a gender component to automatically include an assessment of the widow’ssituation and their access to economic and social rights. The widows should be of height priority and finallyprogrammes for the widows’ empowerment are necessary if their rehabilitation is to be achieved.
Emerging markets for GM foods: an Indian perspective on consumer understanding and the willingness to pay

A random utility approach is used to estimate the logit equations which indicate what factors affect the likelihood of consumption of non-Genetically Modified (GM) and GM foods and whether or not consumers are willing to pay a premium for non-GM/GM foods. Ceteris paribus, as the price difference between non-GM and GM foods rises, people are more likely to consume GM foods. The likelihood of GM food consumption is higher in the middle income brackets. Consumers are willing to pay an expected premium of 19.5% and 16.12% for golden rice and GM edible oil, respectively. In the case of chicken, consumers seem to pay a very negligible premium for non-GM-fed chicken. Overall, it appears that GM foods may be acceptable in the Indian market. However, basic awareness about GM foods may have to be created among the consumers through government ministries, consumer interest groups and biotechnology food crop companies.