Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Internal Electronic Information as a Competitiveness‐Enhancing Resource in German Automotive Industry Suppliers

In German automotive industry suppliers, internal electronic information (IEI) satisfies the requirements of being a competitiveness-enhancing resource. Whilst information itself is not scarce, it is rarely organized in ways that creates knowledge or can be used for analytics for the firm. In terms of the role and level of IEI for specific business functions of relevance to building competitive advantage, there may be gaps in knowledge use for certain important functions. In order to avoid a significant information gap, small and medium-sized automotive industry suppliers (SMAS) in South East Germany need to build on their current practices and level of information sophistication.
Factors behind Classroom Participation of Secondary School Students (A Gender Based Analysis).

It is evidence based conclusion that students' classroom participation makes them more motivated, supports their learning, improves their communication and promotes higher order thinking skills. The current study was an intention to investigate the current level of secondary school students' classroom participation and to identify the underlying factors that contribute to it. The study was conducted on 9 th and 10 th grade students, randomly selected from 19 boys' and 21 girls' government high schools in Lahore city. Sampling process consisted of two stages. In the first stage, 10% sample size was calculated which led to random selection of 4 schools, two from each cohort. At second stage, 500 students were purposively selected from 1689 students, 250 from each cohort. A self-report questionnaire (FBCPS) was used to collect data. Response rate was 70%. Simple descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The study concluded that students exhibit significant level of classroom participation. Further boys participated more in the class as compare to girls, while internal and external factors behind their classroom participation were same, although the extent to which they influence was different. Girls were influenced by motivation in their classroom participation as compared to boys. Boys' participated more due to high self-esteem. Teachers, parents and peers and curriculum are important external factors which supported boys classroom participation more than girls who in turn more influenced by classroom environment.
An Examination of Rural Prisoner Reentry Challenges

This study explored issues and challenges surrounding the reentry of state prison and county jail inmates to rural communities in Pennsylvania. Reentry refers to the process of a prisoner transitioning to the community after a period of secure confinement in a state or federal prison or county jail. The research used secondary data from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and the Pennsylvania Board of Probations and Parole and used primary data from interviews and surveys to: estimate the number and characteristics of state prison and county jail prisoners likely to be released into rural Pennsylvania communities over the next 5 years; identify and document reentry programs and services available to released state and local prisoners in rural Pennsylvania; conduct a gap analysis of reentry services available in rural Pennsylvania for successful reentry; and provide public policy considerations. According to the research results, releases of county jail inmates to rural counties are projected to hold constant over the next 5 years; however, releases of state inmates are projected to increase slightly over the same period. The most likely explanation for the slight increase in releases of state inmates is that state parole approval rates have increased somewhat over the past several years. The most notable demographic trends among released inmates are an increase in the number of older inmates being released, and a slight increase in the number of female inmates being released. Significant reentry needs for returning rural inmates include assistance with employment, housing and transpor tation. Transportation is crucial to the reentry process as the lack of public transit in rural areas can hamper returning inmates in finding and getting to jobs and housing, getting to treatment groups and medical and mental health appointments, and making required meetings with their parole agents. The challenges of finding work and suitable housing are magnified for “hard to place” offenders, such as those with serious mental illness and sex offenders, as the latter face significant restrictions on where they can live and work. This research also found that returning inmates also face some stigma for their status as ex-offenders. This is most notable for returning sex offenders. While there appears to be a reasonably robust network of social services and programs in rural counties for returning inmates, these services are unevenly distributed between rural counties. Most notably, there are very few reentry programs for sex offenders in rural counties, and almost no programs that specifically address the most important rehabilitative needs of ex-offenders, including programs that address ex-offenders’ thinking, decisionmaking and problem-solving skills and their peer networks, all of which are strongly linked to recidivism reduction.
Cross-protection by conventional influenza vaccines

In this thesis, we explore whether the protective efficacy of a trivalent virosomal seasonal influenza vaccine (TVV) can be broadened and thereby increase pandemic preparedness until more broadly protective influenza vaccines may become available. Chapter 2 examines the ability of a vaccination regimen comprising multiple immunizations to improve the cross-protective efficacy of TVV in mice. Chapter 3 explores whether priming a TVV with vaccine homologous HA DNA can improve its efficacy of inducing heterologous H1N1 and heterosubtypic H5N1 protection in mice. The cross-protective efficacy of the heterologous prime/boost regimen is evaluated in parallel with the multiple vaccination regimen identified in chapter 2. Chapter 4 investigates the ability of improving the cross-protective efficacy of TVV by adjuvating with Matrix M. The adjuvated vaccination regimen is evaluated for cross-protection against avian H5N1, H7N7 and H7N9 influenza viruses in both mice and ferrets. Leveraging two phase 1 clinical trials we in chapter 5-6 further evaluate the cross-reactivity and cross-protective efficacy of the humoral immune response elicited by seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines in humans. Chapter 5 assesses the cross-protective efficacy of TVV in healthy adults. By making use of a novel human-to-mouse serum transfer and challenge model we evaluated the cross-protective efficacy of the humoral immune response induced by 1, 2 and 3x TVV in healthy adults. Chapter 6 further explores the role of ADCC in HA specific cross-reactivity and cross-protection induced by TVV and pandemic influenza vaccine in healthy adults. Chapter 7 comprises a summary and discussion of the findings presented in this thesis. The results are discussed in the context of the influenza vaccine field and the future perspective of broadly protective influenza vaccines.
Ectopic Pregnancy in a Referral Hospital in the Volta Region of Ghana West Africa

Background: Ectopic pregnancy is still a global problem for women of reproductive age with increasing burden of the disease and increasing mortality especially for women living developing world like Africa. In Ghana studies evaluating the burden of ectopic pregnancy have been conducted in major centres like Korle-Bu and KATH but few in other centres. This study tends to evaluate the prevalence, clinical presentation and finding of ectopic pregnancy in a referral hospital in the Volta region of Ghana. Methodology: This was a 3 years (2013-2016) retrospective review of all gynaecological admission in the Volta regional hospital. All ectopic pregnancy cases/ record were identified, retrieved and information on the socio-demographics, clinical presentations, intraoperative findings and outcome of surgery were all extracted for analysis. Result: A prevalence of 2.05% (53/2582) was recorded over the study period. 58.5% (31/53) of the women were married and between the age group of 21 - 30. 47.2% (25/53) had primary school education. Lower abdominal pain was common in 98.1% (52//53), 69.2% (37/53) had vaginal bleeding while 96.4% (51/53). Fallopian tube pregnancy was seen in 96.2% (51/53) while 3.8% (2/53) were abdominal pregnancy. Tubal rupture and heamoperitoneum were seen in 73.6% (39/53) of the women. 78.4% (40/51) of the fallopian tube pregnancy occurred at the ampulla. All the women in this study were successfully managed with radical surgery. Conclusion: There is still the need to evaluate the prevalence of ectopic pregnancy in the region. Proper education of women of reproductive age and provision of equipment and skills to enable early diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy is very necessary in ensuring less radical and traumatic management with less implication on fertility of women post-surgery.
Glue versus suture for mesh fixation in open inguinal hernia repair

Hernias are the most common problems encountered in the surgical OPD, inguinal hernias being the commonest, accounting for 75% of all abdominal hernias. The incidence of inguinal hernia is found to be 27% in males and 3% in females. This incidence is found to have a bimodal peak in males, the first peak occurring commonly before 1 year of age and the second after 40 years of age. And males are 25% more prone to develop inguinal hernias than females. Inguinal hernia repair has undergone evolution over a period of several centuries. Lichenstein’s open tension free hernioplasty is the procedure of choice worldwide owing to its simplicity and very rewarding results. It is also, one of the first surgeries learnt by junior residents owing to its ease, safety and easy learning curve.
of the European Institute for Socioeconomics Volunteering , match quality , and Internet use

We used boosted regression trees to study the interplay between match quality and Internet use of volunteers. In our use of the term, match quality reflects the congruence of volunteers’ motives for doing volunteer work and their utility experiences. Using data from an online survey questionnaire of volunteers working for the German Red Cross, we found a positive correlation between match quality and both social-media use and the intensity of volunteering-related Internet use. We used the estimated boosted regression trees to study the relative importance of Internet use and other control variables for match quality, the partial dependence of match quality on Internet use and the control variables, and the interaction of Internet use with the control variables. JEL classification: H41, J22, L31
Job Satisfaction of Self-Employed Workers: Empirical Evidence from Cameroon Data

This study aims at contributing to the debate opposing results-based utility to procedural utility by evaluating the effect of self-employment on job satisfaction. Data is taken from the second Cameroonian Household Survey (2015). Many propensity scores matching techniques were used in addition to models of qualitative variables which led to the conclusion that self-employed workers are more satisfied with work than employees. This satisfaction is felt despite the fact that self-employment generates low income, almost has no job security and calls for long working hours. The high level of autonomy enjoyed by self-employed workers explains this result, which is in line with the procedural utility approach. Furthermore, this study shows that self-employed workers by necessity are less satisfied than self-employed workers by opportunity, meaning that the level of satisfaction varies.
Competitive advantage in the Brazilian telecommunications market: An analysis founded upon the resource-based view in the post-privatization period

This paper examines which resources were responsible for the superior performance, between 1999 and 2008, of companies in the Brazilian telecommunications sector after privatization. The study methodology was founded on the Resource-Based View (RBV) and used data envelopment analysis (DEA) to investigate companies’ performance. Using the performance ratings generated by the DEA model, we performed a multiple regression in which the independent variables were tangible and intangible organizational resources, to investigate the relevance of such resources to business performance. As tangible assets, we evaluated the relevance of the customer base in telephone access and revenue generating units (RGUs), and the product portfolio offered by the organization. As intangible factors, we analyzed Tobin’s Q, trademarks and the origin of the capital that privatized each organization. All tangible resources and origin of capital evaluated were relevant to determine a company’s performance. Therefore, network effects and a strategy based on diversification of a converging portfolio are factors that influence organizational performance in this market. Companies managed by national groups presented better performance, suggesting that part of the performance can be attributed to prior knowledge of the country where the company operates. The results reinforce the pillars of RBV, which has evolved since the criticisms of Priem and Butler with empirical tests on resources that have influence on organizational performance. Key words: Telecommunications, privatization, competition, performance, market.
Entrepreneurial assessment of sustainable development technologies for power energy sector

This paper provides a comparative entrepreneurial analysis of modern combined-cycle power generation technologies and future-oriented high-efficiency oxy-fuel combustion cycles with zero emissions. Considering the main criteria for sustainable development, we identify the generation technology that provides the lowest cost of electricity supply and the maximum economic efficiency of investments with equally high environmental indicators. Based on a comprehensive literature review and comparison of the technical and economic parameters of modern and forward-looking generation technologies under different economic conditions, the paper develops and presents the path of increasing the technical level of generation technologies, corresponding to the conditions of sustainable development at each moment of time. Furthermore, the paper analyses the technical and economic characteristics of the combined-cycle technology successfully applied in the world's energy systems and advanced oxy-fuel combustion cycles. In addition, the paper proposes a multifactorial economic-mathematical model that allows to evaluate the performance indicators of any of the considered technologies in accordance with the criteria for sustainable development.
RELATIONS BETWEEN SHELL SIZE AND RADULA SIZE IN MARINE PROSOBRANCHS (MOLLUSCA: GASTROPODA)

The Gastropoda presents the highest adaptative radiation among the mollusks. This characteristic allowed the appearance of many forms of feeding, and with it, many strategies of capture and food processing. In this work, specimens belong to 14 marine prosobranch gastropod species were collected in the coast of Ceara State Northeast Brazil with the purpose to investigate the relation between shell size and radula size in gastropods with different diets and radula type. It was found significative correlations in Cerithium atratum, Collisella subrugosa, Fissurella rosea, Neritina virginea, Olivella minuta, Pisania pusio, Tegula viridula, and Thais haemastoma. Nonsignificative results were found in Littorina flava, Littorina ziczac, Nassarius vibex, Natica marochiensis, Pleuroploca aurantiaca, and Pugilina morio. The species with rhipidoglossate radula and the driller carnivores with rachiglossate radula are the ones that presented significative correlation among shell size and radula size. Other parameters that could influence the radular morphology (besides the radula type or diet) are environment pressure, prey searching and capture strategies and species ontogeny. RESUMO
The Relationship between Job Satisfaction and the OCB in Fabric Manufacturing Industry in Sri Lanka

: This study seeks to explore the relationship between job satisfaction and the OCB in Fabric Manufacturing Industry in Sri Lanka. The primary data were collected from180 executive employees in selected fabric manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka and used a structured questionnaire to measure the variables. The findings of the study were two dimensions of job satisfaction (intrinsic and extrinsic) were positively and strongly correlated with organizational citizenship behavior
Groundwater Potential Assessment using Weighted Overlay in Rural Areas of Kano State, Northern Nigeria

Water scarcity is a major problem for development and data on groundwater prospecting is limited for effective exploration that is why the study’s major objective is to identify groundwater potential, relate it with factors and determine areal extent of each potential zone. Land sat ETM + 2003 with resolution of 28.5m was used to map out the study area. Ground water potential was assessed through overlaying thematic maps of the factors which are lineament line density, drainage density, geology, hydrogeology, soil and vegetation. This was achieved using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) nine point scale. Boreholes data obtained from 16 villages which were randomly selected was used in the analysis. Five groundwater potential zones were identified with a consistency ratio of 0.04. The zones are very high in the north central, central and south central, High around north central, east central and pockets in south western part, moderate occurred as pockets in north central, low in north-north east, central areas and pockets in south east, south central and south and very low occur as pockets in the south west, southern parts. Very High class is having the largest aerial coverage of 5,676km2 (27.3%). Lineament density among the six factors is having higher weight of 0.46 (46%) while vegetation recorded least value of weight of 0.03 (3%). Areas of higher groundwater prospects are characterised by Lineament density of 22.5-28.11 km/km with a weight of 0.48(48%), drainage density of 97.2-121.5km/km weight 0.37 (37%), with regards to geology areas with homblend-granite are having weight of 0.25 (25%). For hydrodrogeology Pink white granite is having highest weight of 0.32 (32%), for soil hydromorphic soil is having 0.41 (41%). In vegetation Sudan Savanna >60% is having a weight of 0.56 (56%). In line with that it is recommended that areas with very low to low groundwater potential low yielding boreholes are to be the best options to avoid total aquifer drying.
A TEST OF THE NATURE OF THE FE K LINE IN THE NEUTRON STAR LOW-MASS X-RAY BINARY SERPENS X-1

Broad Fe K emission lines have been widely observed in the X-ray spectra of black hole systems as well as in neutron star systems. The intrinsically narrow Fe K fluorescent line is generally believed to be part of the reflection spectrum originating in an illuminated accretion disk which is broadened by strong relativistic effects. However, the nature of the lines in neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) has been a matter of debate. We therefore obtained the longest, high-resolution X-ray spectrum of a neutron star LMXB to date with a 300 ks Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) observation of Serpens X-1. The observation was taken under the “continuous clocking” mode, and thus was free of photon pile-up effects. We carry out a systematic analysis and find that the blurred reflection model fits the Fe line of Serpens X-1 significantly better than a broad Gaussian component does, implying that the relativistic reflection scenario is much preferred. Chandra HETGS also provides a highest spectral resolution view of the Fe K region and we find no strong evidence for additional narrow lines.
Overview of the status/results in the exotics sector

Many exotic hadronic states beyond the conventional quark model (called char-moniumlike/bottomoniumlike states or XYZ particles) were found in the B -factories or energy scans of the cross sections of e + e − annhilation into conventional quarkonia and light hadrons. Their nature properties were proposed including glueballs, hybrids, multi-quark states, hadron molecules, etc. Dramatic progress was made in the study of the them after the running of the B -factories. In this report, I present the most recent results on the XYZ results from Belle experiment.
Effect of Inward Foreign Direct Investment on Income Inequality in Transition Countries

This paper empirically tests the link between FDI and income inequality for transitional countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia for the period of 1990 to 2002. The theoretical motivation comes from a model developed in a previous paper, which predicts that inward FDI reduces income inequality for an economy where wage earners outnumber capital owners. Using fixed effects, there is no evidence that FDI inward stocks affect overall income inequality. However, breaking the effect into its components, the statistical evidence suggests that FDI inward stocks exacerbated wage income inequality, while reducing capital income inequality.
Contribution of an innovation platform to change the management of collective irrigation: a case study from the Office du Niger (Mali)

In the Office du Niger large rice farming irrigation scheme in Mali, water management has been a permanent source of tension between the smallholder tenants and the administration. The transfer of tertiary canal maintenance to the tenant farmers was expected to improve water management but, in practice, that rather led to deterioration. An innovation platform, erected by the CoS-SIS (Convergence of Sciences – Strengthening Innovation Systems) Program, reached a consensual agreement to transfer the maintenance of tertiary canals to the tenant producers, and updated the Contrat Plan expropriation rules for failure to pay water fees as well as many other key dispositions ruling duties and responsibilities for all parties: farmers, Office du Niger agents and the State.
The rheological behaviour of fresh self-compacting concrete in the high shear rate range

Fresh Self-Compacting Concrete is generally accepted to be a Bingham material in steady state conditions, at least, in the shear rate range applicable for regular casting operations except mixing and pumping. On the other hand, it is known from the general rheology literature that the rheological characteristics change depending on the shear rate range applied, even when not considering any transient flow conditions. In order to investigate the behaviour of Self-Compacting Concrete during pumping, the standard shear rate range has been extended in rheometer tests executed in the laboratory. The results indicate a new region with different rheological characteristics: SCC shows shear thickening behaviour. This paper describes the different measurement artefacts which can lead to apparent, but not real shear thickening behaviour. Further it focuses on the influence of the mixture composition on the critical shear stress where shear thickening starts. Also attention is paid to the intensity of shear thickening as a function of the mixture composition.