Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adoption of the performance measurement system in the Nigerian public sector: Challenges and prospects

Assessing the performance of organizations using the performance measurement system has gradually become a common practice in the public sector entities. This has been established to be a direct fall out of the ripple effect of the new public management (NPM). Adoption of the performance measurement system in the public sector world over (not particularly in Nigeria) has been experiencing a myriad of challenges. This is imperative to point out owing to the fact that, the processes of adoption have been difficult, monotonous and time-consuming. In some public sector organizations where the adoption has been successful, such feat was achieved after intense difficulties, trial and error. In Nigeria, for instance, the analytical challenges in the adoption of the performance measurement system are too apparent to be ignored. Conversely, it is quite interesting to highlight that, in some countries, the development of measures to manage and evaluate public sector performance has reached a strategic height, therefore tracking of output, outcomes and input have been reasonably straightforward and significant progress is somewhat recorded. Finally, it is a general consensus among the public sector managers and academia that, adoption of the system of performance measurement in the public sector is a powerful tool that guarantees improved performance, quality of decision making and service delivery.
Trophic position of Antarctic ice fishes reflects food web structure along a gradient in sea ice persistence

Variation in sea ice conditions is closely linked to primary production in Antarctica, which, in turn, influences food web dynamics. To investigate how sea ice dynamics are reflected in food web structure, we measured the trophic level and composition of basal organic matter supporting the prey base of 2 benthic and 2 pelagic ice fish species collected from sites along a gradient in sea ice persistence in McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea, Antarctica. Stable isotope analysis (δ15N and δ13C) was carried out on samples collected from multiple sites during 2008 and 2012 to 2014. General linear models revealed that ‘trophic position’ differed among species at a single site, and within benthic species among sites distributed along the gradient in sea ice persistence. Benthic species located at the southernmost sites in McMurdo Sound derived the highest proportion of diet from food webs supported by the sea ice microbial community (SIMCO), an important subsidy of organic matter to the sea-floor environment. Increased thickness and persistence of sea ice in McMurdo Sound due to the presence of icebergs resulted in a higher proportion of diet derived from SIMCO for the ice fish Trematomus bernacchii in 2008 compared to the 2012 to 2014 period. Analyses of dispersion for individual trophic positions revealed that individual level specialisation was lowest at sites with the highest variability in sea ice cover. These results provide evidence for linkages between sea ice dynamics and food web structure, and highlight the role of ice fishes as sentinels for environmental and ecological changes in Antarctica.
High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) nano analysis of antioxidant compounds of Iranian medicinal plants

1 Department of Chemistry, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. 2 Department of Chemistry, Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd, Iran. 3Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia. 4 Department of Biology, Islamic Azad University, Saveh branch, Saveh, Iran. 5 Department of Chemistry, Qom Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qom, Iran. 6 Ph.D Student, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
Aerosol source apportionment from 1 year measurements at the CESAR tower at Cabauw, NL

Intensive measurements of submicron aerosol particles and their chemical composition were 2 performed with an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) at the Cabauw 3 Experimental Site for Atmospheric Research (CESAR) in Cabauw, NL, sampling at 5 m 4 height above ground. The campaign lasted nearly one year from July 2012 to June 2013 as 5 part of the EU-FP7-ACTRIS project (Q-ACSM Network). Including equivalent black carbon 6 an average particulate mass concentration of 9.50 µ g m -3 was obtained during the whole 7 campaign with dominant contributions from ammonium nitrate (45%), organic aerosol (OA, 8 29%), and ammonium sulfate (19%). 12 exceedances of the World Health Organization 9 (WHO) PM 2.5 daily mean limit (25 µ g m -3 ) were observed at this rural site using PM 1 10 instrumentation only. Ammonium nitrate and OA represented the largest contributors to total 11 particulate matter during periods of exceedance. 16
Communication Mechanisms for Delivering Information to Seniors in a Changing Small Town Context

The settlement landscape of northern British Columbia is comprised of many small and dispersed resource towns that were designed through the 1960s and 1970s to attract young labour and their families. Over the past three decades, industrial restructuring and labour shedding technologies has prompted an out-migration of young families and an ageing-in-place of the existing workforce. The retirement experiences of older residents who remain in these places, however, have been challenged by neoliberal-inspired „structural? changes in services and supports. The constant change in services, and limited flow of information about such changes, can result in frustration amongst older residents attempting to access services and supports. Drawing upon 74 key informant interviews with seniors and service providers in Terrace, BC, we explore problems associated with communication strategies that limit seniors? access to needed supports. Our findings provide a foundation to develop responsive institutional capacities and strengthen new multi-faceted communication approaches to address seniors? needs in rapidly changing places. As there is great diversity amongst seniors in small towns, it will be important for service providers to use multiple communication tools, engage in two-way dialogue activities, and work collectively to collate information about local and regional service supports as part of an efficient and effective communications strategy. Keywords: resource towns, seniors, services, restructuring, communication, Canada
Indigenous Knowledge and Practices for Soil and Water Management in East Wollega, Ethiopia

The study was conducted in western Ethiopia in order to identify local soil and water management related knowledge and practices of the farmers in order to utilize the output in further research and development interventions in the area. The awareness about the existence and extent of land degradation and nutrient depletion; and its contributory factors are pre-requisite for farmers to undertake any effort to arrest the problem. Farmers in the study area recognized soil erosion and nutrient depletion, and established cause and effect relationship between factors. The major causes of land degradation and nutrient depletion are soil erosion, intensive Tillage, exhaustion of nutrients by crops and deforestation. Apparently, crop type and crop management were emphasized particularly with respect to soil erosion. Small cereals like tef (Eragrostis tef), which require highly intensive tillage and smooth seedbed are considered detrimental while legumes and oil crops contribute positively to the land quality. On the side of the solution to these overriding problems, they have various options ranging from simple mechanical or agronomic to integrated; and from a field level to a watershed scale. Some of the indigenous soil and water management practices identified in the area are consistent with similar practices found in different parts of the country (AZENE, 1997; MILLION, 1996; KEBEDE et al., 1996), while some are unique to the area. Joro for soil conservation and nutrient management, and Ciicata, Kolaasaa and their integration with crop rotation for soil fertility maintenance and weed control are among the unique practices in the area. The practices are widely used in the study areas, and are appreciated by all the farmers. Detail description and rationale of every practice is discussed in this paper.
RESPONSE OF YOUNG SOUR CHERRY TREES TO WOODCHIP MULCH AND DRIP IRRIGATION

The productivity of sour cherries grown in Latvia is insufficient. Yielding of sour cherries can be advanced providing appropriate soil moisture and control of diseases. Cherry leaf spot as well as spur and twig blight are the most important sour cherry diseases which cause economical losses of the yield. The influence of woodchip mulch and drip irrigation on sour cherry yielding and resistance to the diseases is investigated. The drip irrigation and woodchip mulch increased the yield of cherries. The cultivar ‘Bulatnikovskaya’ was the most productive. Drip irrigation slightly improved resistance to cherry leaf spot for the cultivars ‘Zentenes’, ‘Orlica’ and ‘Tamaris’.
Factors Predicting Property Owners’ Support of Tourism --- A Spatial Approach

This study investigates factors predicting property owners’ (both full time residents and second home property owners) support for tourism development in an amenity-rich mountain county in North Carolina. Different from most place-based research in tourism attitudes, this work adopts a comparative framework that investigates the spatial effects on tourism impact attitude. Factor analysis is used to reduce the number of variables in order to avoid the effect of multicollinearity and to identify the primary structural dimensions underlying the variables. The results showed that spatial effects did exist in accessing property owners’ attitude toward tourism and that the spatial regression model indeed did have better performance in terms of fit, efficiency and accuracy than the ordinary least square model. The findings of the study are discussed within the context of social exchange theory.
Improving Fertility of Maghrabian She-Camels Treated with Different Hormonal Treatments during Breeding Season in Egypt

To achieve estrous synchronization in 28 mature dromedary she-camels, four groups (7 in each), included animals i.m. injected with 250 μg GnRH analogue on day 0 and 5 ml PGF2α on day 10 (G1); CIDR for 10 days and 1000 IU eCG on day 8 (G2); 1000 IU eCG on day 0 and 5 ml PGF2α on day 10 (G3); control (G4). At the end of treatment, animals in heat were naturally mated. Results showed that follicular diameter (FD) decreased in G2 pre-treatment, increased in G2 and G3 and decreased in G1 at mating compared with G4 (P<0.05). FD was wider (P<0.05) in pregnant (P) than in non-pregnant (NP) animals. Estrus rate was 100% in all groups; estrus incidence and mating time were the longest in G4 (170.6 and 198.6 h) and the shortest in G2 (72.0 and 75.7 h), being shorter in P than in NP. (P<0.05). In all groups, P4 was similar pre-treatment, lower at mating and higher on day 70 post-mating in P than in NP (P<0.05). E2 was higher (P<0.05) in NP than in P on day 70 post-mating. Pregnancy rate was 57.14, 85.71, 71.43 and 42.86% in G1, G2, G3 and G4, respectively (P<0.05). Total number of CLs decreased in all treated groups, while CL diameter decreased in G1 as compared to G4 (P<0.05). Estrus/ovulation and higher pregnancy rate of camel could be hormonally induced by CIDR insertion for 10 days and eCG injection on day 8 of CIDR insertion.
An Examination of the Tripartite Influence Model of Body Image

According to the tripartite influence model of body image, appearance pressures from family, friends, partners, and the media lead to body dissatisfaction and restrained eating behaviours. There is strong support for this model among young, White heterosexual women. Evidence suggests that women who identified as lesbian as bisexual (LB) may be protected from sociocultural pressures around thinness, but no known research has tested the tripartite model among LB women. The current research tests this model with 264 heterosexual and 208 LB adult women. Heterosexual women reported more thin-ideal internalization than LB women. For both groups of women, pressures from the media, male romantic partners, and family were most strongly associated with weight satisfaction and thin-ideal internalization. However, the impact of these pressures differed for the two groups; the heterosexual women’s model included significant pathways from these pressures to weight satisfaction and restrained eating, which were not significant for the LB women. Differences also emerged between our findings and previous research with younger women; pressure from friends was not related to body image in the model for either group. These findings suggest that further research is needed to explore how diverse groups of women experience sociocultural pressures around thinness.
Tribology of compression ring-to-cylinder contact at reversal

Piston ring-pack-to-cylinder contact accounts for one of the major sources of frictional losses in internal combustion engines. The regime of lubrication alters during the piston cycle because of the transient nature of applied load and kinematic contact conditions. Ring geometry, surface topography, and lubricant rheology also play an important role. The aim is to attain full fluid film lubrication, thus reducing friction because of boundary interactions. Therefore, accurate prediction of lubricant film thickness and pressure distribution constitutes the first step in a proper analysis of piston ring—cylinder conjunction. The creation of a gap through elastic deformation is sought in order to inhibit asperity tip interactions. The generated contact pressures in the lubricant film are due to combined entraining motion and squeeze film effect. The integrated pressure distribution balances the elastic force due to ring tension and the applied combustion pressure acting behind the ring. The article highlights a detailed analysis, which forms the basis for its future expansion to include the study of mixed regime of lubrication, which may be prevalent in some real engines.
Effect of polyethylene glycol, urea and sunflower meal supply on two-stage olive cake fermentation

A continuous culture system, inoculated with rumen liquor from goats or sheep, was used to study the ruminal fermentation characteristics of the two-stage dried olive cake (TSDOC). The effects of adding polyethylene glycol (PEG; 0, 2 or 20 g per 100 g TSDOC) and/or supplementing with urea (U) or sunflower meal (SM) (1.5 g N per 100 g OM) were also studied. TSDOC fermentation promoted low volatile fatty acid (VFA) production (20.5 mmol per day), predominantly acetic acid, and low efficiency of VFA production (1.88 mol per kg digestible carbohydrates, DCHO). Both val- ues increased ( P< 0.001) with PEG and N addition, while no important differences ascribed to the origin of rumen inoculum were observed. Total and amino acid nitrogen output was low and increased ( P< 0.001) with N addition without being affected by PEG treatment. Bacterial nitrogen production was calculated from the difference between non ammonia (NAN) and acid-detergent-insoluble nitro- gen (ADIN) outputs. No important differences, deriving from the inoculum origin, were observed for bacterial N production rate and efficiency (g N per kg DCHO). Increased ( P< 0.001) VFA, DCHO and bacterial N production and efficiency of VFA production were observed with N addition. The response to protein (i.e. sunflower meal) supply was more pronounced than to urea. Treatment of TSDOC with PEG increased VFA production ( P< 0.001) (from 21.8 to 27.8 mmol per day) and efficiency of microbial N synthesis ( P< 0.01) (from 17.7 to 27.1 g bacterial N per kg DCHO) but it decreased ( P< 0.001) the DCHO production.
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Austin Sediments After a Ban on Pavement Sealers

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations were measured in stream sediments collected before and after a municipal ban on the use of coal-tar–based pavement sealers in Austin, Texas. Samples were collected in October 2005, prior to the ban, and again in April, 2008, approximately 2 years after the ban. Differences in total PAH concentrations between samples collected before and after the ban show no net change in PAH levels in Austin stream sediments. Results of hydrocarbon fingerprinting reveal subtle differences in PAH profiles that appear to reflect the effects of weathering rather than a change in PAH sources.
EFFECT OF MUPF LOADING ON PROPERTIES OF ORIENTED STRANDBOARD

The purpose of this paper was to assess the effect of loading wood strands with melamine -urea-phenol formaldehyde (MUPF) on the changes in thickness and internal bond perpendicular to the plane in oriented strand boards (OSB) exposed to air with a relative humidity of 30, 65 and 85 %. The study showed that the degree of the resulting deformations was inversely proportional to loading, and independent of the direction of moisture content changes. Much greater, nearly 3-fold, decrease in strength was observed in the boards initially exposed to air of high (85 %) than low humidity (30 %).
Optimal Decisions in a Single-Period Supply Chain with Price-Sensitive Random Demand under a Buy-Back Contract

This paper studies a single-period supply chain with a buy-back contract under a Stackelberg game model, in which the supplier (leader) decides on the wholesale price, and the retailer (follower) responds to determine the retail price and the order quantity. We analytically investigate the decentralized retailer’s optimal decision. Our results demonstrate that the retailer has a unique optimal simultaneous decision on the retail price and the order quantity, under a mild restriction on the demand distribution. Moreover, as it can be shown that the decentralized supply chain facing price-sensitive random demand cannot be coordinated with buy-back contract, we propose a scheme for the system to achieve Pareto-improvement. Theoretical analysis suggests that there exists a unique Pareto-equilibrium for the supply chain. In particular, when the Pareto-equilibrium is reached, the supply chain is coordinated. Numerical experiments confirm our results.
Grasshopper Abundance in an Arizona Rangeland Undergoing Exurban Development

Abstract Housing developments are replacing ranches in the southwestern United States, with potentially significant but little-studied ecological effects. We counted grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) and measured vegetative cover for 2 years in a grassland and mesquite/oak savanna in southeastern Arizona, on 48 transects that were grazed by livestock, embedded in low-density housing developments, or both, or neither. Grasshopper species richness was unrelated to grazing or development, but grasshopper abundance was much higher on exurban transects where homeowners kept livestock than in the other areas. Forb canopy and basal area also were highest in grazed exurban areas, perhaps because exurban grazing was relatively patchy, frequently involved horses, and created disturbances more conducive to forb establishment than did relatively uniform grazing on nearby ranches. Abundance patterns of 3 grasshopper subfamilies were generally consistent with their known habitat preferences. Counts of grass-feeding Gomphocerinae were relatively high in ungrazed and unburned areas, and positively correlated with grass cover. Numbers of forb- and mixed-feeding Melanoplinae were positively correlated with forb cover across all transects, and melanoplines dominated counts on grazed exurban properties. Band-winged grasshoppers (Oedipodinae) prefer areas of sparse vegetation, and their numbers were negatively correlated with height of ground vegetation and positively associated with the presence of livestock, in both exurban and undeveloped landscapes. Overall, our results suggest that heterogeneous landscapes in exurban areas that included small livestock pastures had higher grasshopper densities than either ungrazed areas or large cattle ranches.
Optimized Skip-Stop Metro Line Operation Using Smart Card Data

Skip-stop operation is a low cost approach to improving the efficiency of metro operation and passenger travel experience. This paper proposes a novel method to optimize the skip-stop scheme for bidirectional metro lines so that the average passenger travel time can be minimized. Different from the conventional “A/B” scheme, the proposed Flexible Skip-Stop Scheme (FSSS) can better accommodate spatially and temporally varied passenger demand. A genetic algorithm (GA) based approach is then developed to efficiently search for the optimal solution. A case study is conducted based on a real world bidirectional metro line in Shenzhen, China, using the time-dependent passenger demand extracted from smart card data. It is found that the optimized skip-stop operation is able to reduce the average passenger travel time and transit agencies may benefit from this scheme due to energy and operational cost savings. Analyses are made to evaluate the effects of that fact that certain number of passengers fail to board the right train (due to skip operation). Results show that FSSS always outperforms the all-stop scheme even when most passengers of the skipped OD pairs are confused and cannot get on the right train.
Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Health-Related Behaviors Among Male and Female First Year College Students

This study examined the relationships among self-esteem, body image, and health-related behaviors of 267 female and 156 male first-year college students. Data were collected in 23 classrooms. Instruments included a demographic sheet, the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale, the Weight and Appearance Visual Analogue Scales, the Contour Drawing Rating Scale, the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale, and a measure of physical fitness/health-related behaviors. Self-esteem was consistently related to body image dissatisfaction for women, and women consistently exhibited a more negative body image than did men. Even when both men and women were consistent exercisers, the women had poorer body image. Finally, for both men and women, more positive physical fitness/health-related behaviors were positively related to self-esteem and body image.
Entering the Void 1 ENTERING THE VOID Exploring the relationship between the experience of colonisation and the experience of self for Indigenous Peoples of Aotearoa, and the implications for clinical practice

This dissertation explores the relationship between the experience of colonisation and the experience of self for Indigenous Peoples of Aotearoa. The study suggests that an indigenous experience of self exists within a discursive relationship to colonisation processes. Using a modified systematic literature review located within a kaupapa Māori research framework, the study considers colonisation and the resultant disruption to an experience of indigenous ‘selves’. The work examines the process of racialisation: the construction and resulting interiorisation of Indigenous Peoples as ‘Other’. The review contends that this process has the effect of disrupting indigenous ontologies creating a divided and alienated experience of self for Indigenous Peoples. Within Aotearoa, the phenomenon of whakama and mate Māori are hypothesised as the indigenous experience of this alienated and divided self. The study suggests that arguably all psychological issues for Indigenous Peoples of Aotearoa arise to some degree from these experiences. Implications for psychotherapy are considered. Psychotherapy and psychotherapists are challenged to re-evaluate both the underlying positivist conceptualisations of self, and ongoing processes of colonisation, in order that they may be more fully equipped to effectively work alongside Indigenous communities in Aotearoa.