Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Critical thinking dispositions of pre-service teachers in Singapore: A preliminary investigation

Developing skills to think critically has become a catchphrase among many educators today. Many programs have been developed and employed in order to teach thinking skills. Strategies proposed range from teaching of these thinking skills directly or indirectly to a somewhat eclectic approach. Recently however, the notion of attitude has arisen and has since caught much attention among scholars in the field. It seems that more than just critical thinking skills, it is the individual’s attitudes towards thinking that matter. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a thinking module on the critical thinking dispositions of the pre-service teachers. Dispositions towards critical thinking were measured using the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI). A preand post-test quasi-experimental design was employed in this study. Results indicated that participants in the experimental group scored significantly higher in their CCTDI post-test. Implications of the results will be discussed in this paper.
Macroeconomic Determinants of Inflation In Ghana: A Co integration Approach

This paper examined the macroeconomic determinants of inflation in Ghana using a cointegration approach. The main purpose of the paper is to investigate whether population growth, foreign direct investment, foreign aid, agricultural and service’s output have a significance influence on the inflationary situations experienced in Ghana over the study period. The method of analysis was the cointegration analysis. The stationarity properties of all the variables of interest were checked and established. All the variables under consideration were found to be integrated of order one, that is, I (1). Johansen cointegration approach showed that there is both long and short run relationship among the variables; therefore, the vector error correction model was estimated. The study identified population growth, foreign direct investment, foreign aid, and service’s output as major long run determinants of inflation in Ghana.
Landscape-level assessment of the distribution of the Sumatran rhinoceros in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Sumatra

We conducted the first systematic survey on Sumatran rhinoceros following a robust patch occupancy framework in 3,500 km 2 of Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (BBSNP), Sumatra, Indonesia. We surveyed 55 grids (72.25 km 2 ) between November 2007 and July 2008 to generate a reliable estimate of the proportion of area occupied (occupancy) by the Sumatran rhinoceros. Rhinoceros signs, e.g. footprints, dung, tree twists and wallows, were recorded along 833 km of transect routes, and 1-km sampling interval was used to develop detection/nondetection history for each grid. Rhinoceros signs were detected on 11 grids producing a naive occupancy of 0.2. Occupancy modelling was used to control for imperfect detection probability (P). Based on the Royle/Nichols Heterogeneity model we concluded that Sumatran rhinoceros occupied approximately 32% of the BBSNP area (SE = 0.09). Occupancy can serve as a robust surrogate for an index of abundance in a population-monitoring framework. Further analysis using the multi-season models of the technique on time series data and season/ survey-specific covariates can provide management authorities with accurate information about changes in rhinoceros populations and assist in prioritizing conservation actions for the Sumatran rhinoceros in the region.
Diffusion and Assimilation of Government Microblogging: Evidence from Chinese cities

Abstract Internationally, the public sector is adopting social media applications (e.g. Twitter and social networking services (SNS)) to harness cutting-edge information technology (IT) developments, but we know little about what drives the diffusion of these applications. In this paper, I adapt the Berry–Berry policy and innovation diffusion model to explain the diffusion and assimilation of government microblogging, supplementing its four dimensions (learning, competition, upper-tier mandate and public pressure) with organizational resources and capacity. Data on 282 prefecture-level cities in China are employed to test several theoretical hypotheses empirically. Horizontal competition is found to be significantly and positively associated with the assimilation of government microblogging, although the other three dimensions are found not to be its key antecedents. Consistent with the study's hypotheses, the results support the significantly positive effects of fiscal resources and IT capacity. Municipal wealth, size and administrative ranking are also positively and significantly correlated with the number of government microblogs.
ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF FIVE SEAWEED EXTRACTS

In this study, aqueous extracts of five seaweeds collected from Canakkale, Turkey were studied for free radical scavenging activity and phenolic compounds. The extracts of two brown algae ( Cystoseira barbata, Scytosiphon lomentaria ), two green algae ( Ulva rigida , Enteromorpha intestinalis ) and one red algae ( Gigartina acicularis ) were prepared with boiling. The extract of S. lomentaria demonstrated greater antioxidant potential with a low IC50 (2,67 mg/g Ext.). It was also determined that the free radical scavenging activity of other seaweed extracts were close to this value. The total phenolics, flavonoids and carotenoids of the aqueous extracts ranged from 0,10 ( G. acicularis ) to 0,66 ( C. barbata ) mg/g Ext. , 1,15 ( S. lomentaria ) to 1,30 ( E. intestinalis ) mg/g Ext. and 414,2 ( U. rigida ) to 2194,5 µg/g Ext. ( C. barbata ) mg/g, respectively. It was determined that seaweeds collected from Canakkale exhibited high free radical scavenging capacity. We also found that, the aqueous extracts of brown algae C. barbata had high amounts of phenolic compound. According to our results, aqueous seaweed extracts could be use as organic fertilizers to increase antioxidant levels of agriculture products.
The Effect of Mental Health onto the Relationship of Pain Intensity and Pain Interference: A Moderation Analysis

The aim of this study was to determine the moderating effect of mental health on the relationship of pain intensity and pain interference in chronic pain sufferers. Therefore, a post-hoc moderation analysis of the randomized-control trial of Trompetter et al. (2014) was done with a convenience sample (N = 238) of individuals, suffering from chronic pain. The majority of the participants was age M = 57.72 (SD = 12.36), female (76.4%), had an intermediate level of education (68.8%), was married, lived together or in a registered partnership (74.3%), was not working (59.9%), had its complaints for more than five years (60.9%), suffered from daily complaints (92.8%), and had the diagnosis of fibromyalgia (20.3%). Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, a Pain Numeric Rating Scale, the subscale Pain Interference of the Multidimensional Pain Inventory, and the Mental Health Continuum – Short Form. The results indicated that pain intensity positively correlates with pain interference, while mental health negatively correlates with pain interference. Furthermore, pain intensity and mental health accounted for a statistically significant amount of variance in pain interference. Finally, no significant interaction effect between pain intensity and mental health was found, but the results indicated that pain intensity and mental health do affect pain interference. These results implicated that mental health has no moderating effect on the relationship of pain intensity and pain interference. Despite, mental health could rather directly affect pain interference.
Rigidity for equivalence relations on homogeneous spaces

We study Popa's notion of rigidity for equivalence relations induced by actions on homogeneous spaces. For any lattices $\Gamma,\Lambda$ in a semisimple Lie group $G$ with finite center and no compact factors we prove that the action $\Gamma\curvearrowright G/\Lambda$ is rigid. If in addition $G$ has property (T) then we derive that the von Neumann algebra $L^{\infty}(G/\Lambda)\rtimes\Gamma$ has property (T). We also show that if the adjoint action of $G$ on the Lie algebra of $G$ - $\{0\}$ is amenable (e.g. if $G=SL_2(\Bbb R)$), then any ergodic subequivalence relation of the orbit equivalence relation of the action $\Gamma\curvearrowright G/\Lambda$ is either hyperfinite or rigid.
A new class of vacillations of the stratospheric polar vortex

A new class of persistent vacillations of the winter polar vortex, under the action of topographic wave forcing and radiative cooling, is identified in numerical integrations of the rotating shallow‐water equations. The vacillations are obtained provided only that care is taken to prevent the unconstrained growth of tropical easterlies that otherwise develop as the result of persistent angular momentum deposition at low latitudes. The vacillation cycle involves purely barotropic dynamics and is characterized by a dynamically controlled rapid splitting and rapid reformation of the vortex, followed by a more gradual period of vortex intensification under the influence of radiative relaxation. The onset of the splitting occurs when the frequency of the free mode of the vortex approaches that of the forcing and resembles a resonant excitation. Experiments with an alternative basic state suggest that the vacillations are a robust feature of the topographically forced and radiatively relaxed vortex. In contrast to the behaviour found in models with vertical structure, the period of the vacillation cycles here increases with increasing forcing amplitude. A wide range of forcing amplitudes exists over which the vortex exhibits distinct regime transitions between a strong, vacillating state and a state in which the vortex is weak and the zonal mean polar flow nearly zero. Comparison with observational reanalysis suggests that the vacillation cycles obtained here may be relevant to the dynamics of some sudden warming events and that the onset of a radiatively dominated regime may usefully be linked to the loss of vortex area following such an event.
Nonlinear Thermal Analysis of Functionally Graded Plates Using Higher Order Theory

In this paper, the nonlinear thermal analysis of functionally graded material (FGM) plate with material variation parameter (n), boundary conditions, aspect ratios and side to thickness ratios is investigated using higher order displacement model. The derivation of equations of motion for higher order displacement model is obtained using principle of virtual work. The nonlinear simultaneous equations are obtained by Navier's method considering certain parameters, loads and boundary conditions. The nonlinear algebraic equations are solved using Newton Raphson iterative method. The effect of shear deformation and nonlinearity response of functionally graded material is investigated. Keywords: Nonlinear thermal analysis, FGM plates, higher order theory, Navier's method, Newton Raphson method.
Employment Protection, Temporary Contracts and Firm-Provided Training: Evidence from Italy

In this study we leverage on Italyâ€™s size-contingent firing restrictions in order to identify the causal effect of employment protection legislation (EPL) on firm-provided training using a regression discontinuity design. Our analysis demonstrates that higher levels of EPL reduce firmsâ€™ incentives to invest in workersâ€™ training. The number of trained workers falls by about 1.5-1.9 units at the threshold: this is a non-negligible effect, corresponding to a 16-20 per cent reduction in the number of trained workers. The results are robust to several sensitivity checks and controls for potential confounding factors (e.g., worker councils). The EPL effect on training is not mediated by different levels of investment in physical capital or propensities to innovate, while it is mostly accounted for by larger workersâ€™ turnover and use of temporary contracts, which entail lower training, in firms with higher firing costs. Our study points to potential adverse effects of EPL on workersâ€™ training in dual labor markets, owing to larger firms seeking to avoid higher EPL costs by means of temporary contracts.
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization Transmission of risk preferences from mothers to daughters (cid:2)

We study the transmission of risk attitudes in a unique survey of mothers and children in which both participated in an incentivized risk preference elicitation task. We document that risk preferences are correlated between mothers and children when the children are just 7–8 years old. This correlation is only present for daughters. We further show that a measure of maternal involvement is a strong moderator of the association between moth- ers’ and daughters’ risk tolerance. This is consistent with a role for socialization and parental investment in the intergenerational transmission of risk preferences. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Sound Field Modeling in Architectural Acoustics using a Diffusion Equation Based Model

In this paper, an implementation of a model for room-acoustic predictions in COMSOL Multiphysics is presented. The model (called diffusion model) is based on the solving of diffusion equations instead of classical wave equations and allows simulating the sound propagation in complex geometries at high frequency. Instead of using COMSOL Multiplysics to solve directly the problem, a specific tool has been developed. It is composed of a user-friendly interface (I-Simpa) which manipulates all the physical data of the problem (geometries, acoustic properties and elements) and generates an interoperability script to execute COMSOL Multiplysics via the generation of . m file scripts. Then, numerical results are processed by I-Simpa for the acoustic post-treatment and results display, like sound levels, reverberation times.
From Abstract Syntax to Universal Dependencies

Abstract syntax is a semantic tree representation that lies between parse trees and logical forms. It abstracts away from word order and lexical items, but contains enough information to generate both surface strings and logical forms. Abstract syntax is commonly used in compilers as an intermediate between source and target languages. Grammatical Framework (GF) is a grammar formalism that generalizes the idea to natural languages, to capture cross-lingual generalizations and perform interlingual translation. As one of the main results, the GF Resource Grammar Library (GF-RGL) has implemented a shared abstract syntax for over 30 languages. Each language has its own set of concrete syntax rules (morphology and syntax), by which it can be generated from the abstract syntax and parsed into it. This paper presents a conversion method from abstract syntax trees to dependency trees. The method is applied for converting GF-RGL trees to Universal Dependencies (UD), which uses a common set of la- bels for different languages. The correspondence between GF-RGL and UD turns out to be good, and the relatively few discrepancies give rise to interesting questions about universality. The conversion also has po- tential for practical applications: (1) it makes the GF parser usable as a rule-based dependency parser; (2) it enables bootstrapping UD tree- banks from GF treebanks; (3) it defines formal criteria to assess the informal annotation schemes of UD; (4) it gives a method to check the consistency of manually annotated UD trees with respect to the anno- tation schemes; (5) it makes information from UD treebanks available for the construction and ranking of GF trees, which can improve GF applications such as machine translation. The conversion is tested and evaluated by bootstrapping two small treebanks for 31 languages, as well as comparing a GF version of the English Penn treebank with the UD version.
An In-Depth Look at Dispositional Reasoning and Interviewer Accuracy

Dispositional reasoning is defined as general reasoning about traits, behaviors, and situations. Although earlier accuracy studies found that it predicted interview judgment accuracy, they did not distinguish between its underlying components (i.e., trait induction, trait extrapolation, and trait contextualization). This drawback has hampered insight into the nature of the dispositional reasoning construct. Therefore, we use a componential approach to test if dispositional reasoning adheres to classical criteria for an intelligence. Results from 146 managerial interviewers who observed videotaped interviewees showed that the dispositional reasoning components had positive manifold and predicted interview accuracy. Moreover, they demonstrated discriminant validity with personality and incremental validity over cognitive ability in predicting interview accuracy. Together, findings suggest that dispositional reasoning broadly adheres to the classical criteria for an intelligence.
The Effects of Goal Setting Type and Feedback on Basketball Skill Improvement

Goal setting is a process that is used by many people in a variety of settings. For example, goals can be set for weight loss, career milestones, or anything a person would like to increase or decrease. According to Locke and Latham (1984), the best way to set a goal is to make sure the goal is specific. If someone wants to lose weight, the individual should state exactly how much weight they would like to lose and set a specific deadline for achieving the weight loss. A second aspect to goal setting is to make sure the goal is attainable (Locke & Latham, 1984). It is important to make the goal practical and realistic. The primary aim of this study was to assess the magnitude of the effects of goal setting (goals defined by a coach vs goals defined by the athlete) on the shooting and passing accuracy of high school female basketball players. It was found that coach defined goals resulted in overall greater improvement in shooting and passing basketball performance.
STABILITY OF EQUILIBRIUM IN UPRIGHT STANCE AND VOLUNTARY MOTION CONTROL IN ATHLETES-SHOOTERS IN THE PROCESS OF READY POSITION AND TARGET SHOOTING

Annotation. Purpose: consists in studying the relationships between the system of equilibrium regulation in upright stance and voluntary motion control in athletes-shooters during ready position and target shooting. Material: 19 highly skilled athletes specialized in pistol shooting were studied. Physiological and biomechanical characteristics of posture and voluntary motions were assessed by methods of stabilography, electromyography and tremorometry; besides, accuracy of target shooting was registered. Results: high degree of shooting accuracy dependence on posture somatic parameters has been revealed, of which the greatest impact upon the result is exerted by low-frequency vibrations of the body general centre of mass, subjected to voluntary control. Prognostic models of shooting accuracy dependence upon the character of posture regulation during ready position and the shot have been developed. Conclusions: obtained results reveal the mechanisms of functioning and interacting of two systems of management – posture and voluntary motion. Elaborated regression models permit to model and predict posture stability and shooting accuracy during ready position and the shot.
ASSESSMENT OF THE COSTOCLAVICULAR SPACE WITH MULTIDETECTOR CT (MDCT) IN ASYMPTOMATIC PATIENTS WITH ARMS IN ABDUCTION

Objectives: To evaluate the thoracic outlet, especially the costoclavicular space in 100 asymptomatic patients, without a clinical history of thoracic outlet syndrome, using multidetector CT (MDCT). Materials and methods: Patients sent for routine contrast-enhanced chest MDCT studies with arms in abduction, from April to September, 2007. They had no previous clinical diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome, and were retrospectively evaluated for the minimum costoclavicular distance, subclavius muscle thickness, angle of arm abduction and incidence of neurovascular compression. This was defined by effacement of fat surrounding the brachial plexus and more than 30% reduction in diameter of the subclavian artery, on reformatted sagittal MDCT images. Results: The mean minimum costoclavicular distance, subclavius thickness and mean angle of arm abduction were 10.5 ± 4.0 mm, 5.5 ± 1.6 mm and 145.28 ± 16.76 degrees, respectively. Twelve patients (12%) had subclavian artery compression of more than 30%, and 19 out of 39 (48.7%) patients, who had no subclavian artery compression, demonstrated effacement of fat surrounding the brachial plexuses. Conclusion: We found a smaller mean costoclavicular distance, thicker subclavius muscles and a higher incidence of neurovascular compression in asymptomatic patients, who presumably did not have thoracic outlet syndrome, than that reported by other investigators.
S-D Logic and CSR: the management of social capital for the value creation in SMEs

This paper underlines the importance of relationships with stakeholders for co-create value, according to Service Dominant Logic and Corporate Social Responsibility approaches, and the importance of the management of social capital, in order to strengthen the relational nature of firms. Focusing on SME's, the management of social capital and of reputation and trust, all assets of social capital, is at the base of the long-term performance of SME's. Their ability to create consent and to develop trust around the entrepreneurial project is an essential element for such enterprises and the management of social capital, in a 'responsible' view, appears to be a strategic aspect.
5-1983 Optimal Investment Under Uncertainty

price uncertainty on the investment decision of a risk-neutral competitive firm which faces convex costs of adjustment. ' This issue has been analyzed by Richard Hartman (1972) and by Robert Pindyck (1982), but they reached dramatically different results. Hartman showed that with a linearly homogeneous production function, increased output price uncertainty leads the competitive firm to increase its investment. However, Pindyck found increased output price uncertainty leads to increased investment only if the marginal adjustment cost function is convex; but, if the marginal adjustment cost function is concave, then increased uncertainty will reduce the rate of investment. Pindyck argues that his results differ from Hartman's results because of a different stochastic specification of the price of output. In Hartman's discretetime model, price is random in each period including the current period, whereas in Pindyck's continuous-time model, the current price is known but the future evolution of prices is stochastic. In this paper, I demonstrate that Hartman's results continue to hold using Pindyck's stochastic specification and that Pindyck's analysis applies to a socalled "target" rate of investment, which in general is not optimal. Disciplines Finance and Financial Management This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn. edu/fnce_papers/220 Optimal Investment under Uncertainty