Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
MACROFAUNA DIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE ACROSS DIFFERENT LAND USE SYSTEMS IN EMBU, KENYA

This paper presents data on diversity and abundance of soil macrofauna of various land use systems in Embu, Kenya (natural forest, plantation forest, fallow, coffee, tea, napier, and maize). Each was sampled for macrofauna using three sampling methods (monolith, transect and pitfall traps). Thirty four (34) genera/species of soil macrofauna were recorded, the highest number (27) being observed in napier. Majority of these genera/species being Coleoptera. RA©nyi diversity profile indicated that in terms of species richness (I± at 0), maize the richest of all the land use systems, but plantation forest the least. It was however not possible to clearly order or rank the land use system in terms of diversity because of the bias of each of the two diversity indices as indicated by the numerous crossings observed for the diversity profiles/curves. Shannon index of diversity (I± = 1) indicated that coffee was the most diverse of the land use systems followed by plantation forest > natural forest > napier > maize > tea, while fallow/pasture was the least diverse (Figure 1). On the other hand, Simpsonâ€™s diversity (I± = 2) indicated that plantation forest was the most diverse followed by fallowed by coffee > natural forest > napier > maize >tea > fallow/pasture. RA©nyi evenness profile indicated that the plantation forest was most even in terms of species distribution followed by natural forest and coffee > napier > tea > maize but least even in the fallow/pasture. Hymenoptera were most abundant of the macrofauna groups constituting about 45% of the total followed by Isoptera (39%), Coleoptera (6%), Oligochaeta (5%), Orthoptera (3%) and Arenae (2%). The other groups that comprised of Hemiptera, Diptera, Phasmidae and Blattelidae each constituted coffee (1170) > natural forest (1110) > tea (755), but lowest in plantation forest (309), although analysis of variance indicated no significant variation among the land use systems. This study however, demonstrates that quantitative changes in diversity and density of soil fauna communities occur when various land use systems are subjected to varying levels of intensification. These changes appear to be associated with management practices such as use of agrochemicals, consequent destruction of nesting habitats, modification of soil microclimate within habitats, removal of substrate, low diversity and availability of food sources for the associated macrofauna groups. The significant correlations between some soil macrofauna groups with selected soil chemical properties shows that, soil chemical characteristics may indirectly play a role in influencing the density, distribution and structure of macrofauna communities
Learning in school–university partnership: sociocultural perspectives

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Behavior of Axially Loaded CFRP Confined Large-Scale Capsule-Shaped RC Short Columns with Higher Cross-Sectional Aspect Ratio

This paper aimed to experimentally and analytically investigate the behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) short capsule-shaped columns confined with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets. The efficiency of FRP-confined strengthening system depends mainly on different encountered parameters such as the FRP confinement ratio, shape and size of cross-section, and cross sectional aspect ratio of non-circular columns. The effects of varying the aspect ratio (h/b=2, 2.5, 3 and 4), FRP confinement ratio (number of FRP layers), and FRP-wrapping configuration (full and partial system) are examined in this study. The experiment results showed that the efficiency of FRP confined system was proven to be lower with higher aspect ratio than that with the lower aspect ratio. Confinement by CFRP sheets enhances the performance of capsule-shaped RC columns subjected to axial compressive loads, and it is an efficient technique to improve the strength and ductility of capsule shaped RC columns regardless the cross sectional aspect ratio and the type of confinement. Analytical model was proposed by the authors to predict the axial load carrying capacity of short capsule-shaped reinforced concrete columns. The proposed model is compared with the existing model, showing good agreement with the experimental results and it is improved performance and gives reasonable predictions of load carrying capacity of FRP-confined columns.
A dynamic oceanographic front drives biogeographical structure in invertebrate settlement along Santa Cruz Island, California, USA

Understanding the factors that determine community diversity is a central focus of ecology and has important implications for conservation and management. We investigated how the local movement of a dynamic front between 2 opposing water masses influenced subtidal invertebrate settlement rates and settlement diversity along the north coastline of Santa Cruz Island, California, USA. Using data from artificial collectors deployed twice per month in 2008 and 2009, we characterized larval settlement of ecologically and commercially important marine invertebrates. We also tracked movement of the front throughout the collection period by analyz- ing variation in sea temperature at sampling sites. Settlement rates of multiple species of bivalves, gastropods, decapods, and echinoderms were positively associated with the proportion of time a given site spent in a particular water mass. Overall settlement diversity was also related to front location over time, as sites that were exposed to both water masses had higher overall diversity. These results suggest that front movement has a significant impact on settlement and community structure. We also found that these effects applied at several levels of taxonomic resolution, sug- gesting that our findings are robust to varying levels of identification. Dynamic boundaries may impact overall regional biogeography and community connectivity and lead to communities in the area of front movement having higher levels of diversity. Thus the scale of oceanographic circu - lation patterns should be considered in conservation and management planning efforts focused on conserving diversity (e.g. the placement of marine protected areas) and in studies of marine population dynamics.
Building Relationship between Education Institutions and Students: Student Loyalty in Self-Financed Tertiary Education

This study attempts to test the applicability of relationship marketing concepts within the self-financed tertiary education (SFTE) industry. Building on the well-established relationship marketing concepts, a conceptual model is proposed in this study to investigate the casual relationship between relationship commitment and student loyalty, and the key determinants of relationship commitment (relationship benefits, relationship termination costs, shared values, and trust). To achieve the above objectives, an in-depth study was conducted in a leading SFTE institution in Hong Kong. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data. Structural equation modeling approach was used to evaluate the explanatory power and casual links of the modelThe results indicate that relationship commitment is a strong driver of student loyalty. Second, relationship benefits, relationship termination costs, and shared values are found to have positive influence on relationship commitment. Among these three determinants, the construct of relationship benefits is found to be the most important factor affecting relationship commitment. Third, trust is found to have no significant impact on relationship commitment in SFTE environment. The research findings provide new and useful insights to the management of SFTE in building relationship with students and resources allocation. The study discusses the implications of these findings and suggests areas for future research.
Implementation of STEM Education in Learning Cycle 5E to Improve Concept Understanding On Direct Current Concept

This study has been conducted to investigate the comparisons of concept understanding students who has been subjected Learning Cycle (LC) 5E teaching model combined with STEM and students who has been subjected LC 5E without STEM on direct current electricity concept. Implementation STEM in this research is apply and practice STEM content to integrate technology, engineering and mathematics. The quasi experiment methodology was used in this study. The research includes pretest-posttest control group design. The subjects of the research consist of 92 students at 10 grade of one of high school existing in Kabupaten Majalengka. The data collection tools for the research are 20 multiple choice of concept understanding test with indicator interpreting, comparing, exemplying, explaining and inferring. As a result of the research, it was found that implementation STEM in Learning Cycle 5E in direct current electricity improvement of concept understanding of students who received LC 5E combined with STEM higher than students who had learning LC 5E without STEM. Keywords—STEM Education; Learning Cycle 5E; Concept Understanding
Identification and pathogenicity assessment of Fusarium spp . sampled from durum wheat fields in Tunisia

Durum wheat is the major cereal crop cultivated in Tunisia; covering over 40% of the cereal growing areas. Durum wheat production remains below expectation due to its low productivity that is attributed to the chronically abiotic and biotic stresses. Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by Fusarium spp. has become an important disease on durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L var. durum) in Tunisia, particularly during humid season. To identity the Fusarium species associated with FHB, samples were collected from five and six durum wheat fields in Northern Tunisia during 2004 and 2007 crop seasons, respectively. A total of 241 single spore cultures were isolated and seven different Fusarium spp. were identified using morphological traits and species-specific PCR assays. Pathogenicity of FHB causal agents was assessed on predominant durum wheat varieties. Aggressiveness of selected Fusarium isolates was investigated. Three durum wheat cultivars, characterized by different level of susceptibility to FHB, were artificially inoculated. Symptoms of FHB were rated as percentage of infected spikelets (PIS) at 7, 14 and 21 days after inoculation (DAI) and area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) was analysed. Fusarium culmorum was the dominant species representing 36.3% of all sampled isolates. All Fusarium species tested caused visible infections to the durum wheat cultivars with significant difference in aggressiveness among species. F. culmorum was considered highly pathogenic with an AUDPC=243.7, followed by Fusarium pseudograminearum (AUDPC=216.7). The remaining species, which had <150 AUDPC, were moderately and weakly pathogenic. There were significant differences (P < 0.05) in aggressiveness among isolates within species suggesting that screening for resistance to FHB requires a mixture of several isolates within and among Fusarium species.
On the mechanisms of social inequality Studies of young people's educational outcomes, social participation and well-being

The present thesis seeks to explore the bases of social inequality, particularly how it is reproduced and can potentially be counteracted. The aim is to describe and explain how structural factors – first and foremost class and young people’s various practices – give rise to a process of creation, distribution and acquisition of resources of importance to different outcomes in young people’s lives. In the thesis it is argued that by studying young people’s different practices and by relating them to the characteristics of the family of origin, we can obtain a more comprehensive picture of how resources that are related to the varying outcomes among young people of different social origins are acquired, distributed and created. The aim of the thesis is investigated through four empirical studies. Study 1, investigates the relationship between class origin, educational attainment, and two features of social participation: agency and voice. In Study 2, adolescents’ subjective well-being is in focus and investigated in relation to school performance, gender and class origin. Study 3 explores whether, and to what degree, young people’s activities are important links between class origin and school grades in upper secondary school. The final study builds on Study 3 and focuses on the importance of young people’s class origin, school grades and activities for entering higher education. The aim of the thesis calls for extensive information on the life of young people. With a unique combination of survey data, both from the young themselves and from their parents together with registry data, this thesis can answer to these high demands on data. Study 1 uses data from the Survey of Living Conditions (ULF) collected by Statistics Sweden. The remaining studies (2-4) make use of a several data sources, but are mainly focused on ULF and the annual child supplement of the Survey of Living Conditions (Child-ULF) conducted between 2001 and 2005. In addition to ULF and Child-ULF, the data in Study 2-4 have been complemented with registry data comprising grades and entry to higher education. The data as a whole, also allow a longitudinal focus, as the survey data were collected between 2001 and 2005 and the registry data contain information up to 2009. The conclusions of the thesis can be summarized in one important point: If we are to understand the mechanisms underlying different life outcomes among young people, it is of great importance that we take into consideration young people’s different conditions and practices. It has been made clear that young people’s different practices and life outcomes are closely related to their class origin. Yet it should be noted that this does not always have to be the case. The present thesis has shown that young people, through different actions, can break the pattern of social reproduction. In order to support this, and to counteract social inequality, it is therefore important to increase opportunities for young people to take part in resource-generating practices.
Employment Status, Social Capital, and Political Participation: A Comparison of Unemployed and Employed Youth in Geneva

This paper examines the relationships between employment status, social capital, and the participation of young people in different kinds of political activities such as contacting, consumer, and protest activities. We focus on the role of social capital for political participation, addressing three related questions: Do unemployed and employed youth display different levels of social capital and political participation? Does social capital favor the political participation of unemployed and employed youth? Is social capital more important for unemployed youth than for employed youth? To address these questions we compare long-term unemployed youth to regularly employed youth using original survey data. Our analysis suggests that the employment status has only a limited impact on political participation, affecting only consumer actions. In contrast, the social capital resulting from associational involvement is positively correlated to political participation. However, rather than countering the effect of exclusion from the labor market, it plays a similar role for unemployed youth and employed youth.
An Indication of Anisotropy in Arrival Directions of Ultra-high-energy Cosmic Rays through Comparison to the Flux Pattern of Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Sources

A new analysis of the data set from the Pierre Auger Observatory provides evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays on an intermediate angular scale, which is indicative of excess arrivals from strong, nearby sources. The data consist of 5514 events above with zenith angles up to 80° recorded before 2017 April 30. Sky models have been created for two distinct populations of extragalactic gamma-ray emitters: active galactic nuclei from the second catalog of hard Fermi-LAT sources (2FHL) and starburst galaxies from a sample that was examined with Fermi-LAT. Flux-limited samples, which include all types of galaxies from the Swift-BAT and 2MASS surveys, have been investigated for comparison. The sky model of cosmic-ray density constructed using each catalog has two free parameters, the fraction of events correlating with astrophysical objects, and an angular scale characterizing the clustering of cosmic rays around extragalactic sources. A maximum-likelihood ratio test is used to evaluate the best values of these parameters and to quantify the strength of each model by contrast with isotropy. It is found that the starburst model fits the data better than the hypothesis of isotropy with a statistical significance of 4. 0σ, the highest value of the test statistic being for energies above . The three alternative models are favored against isotropy with 2. 7σ–3. 2σ significance. The origin of the indicated deviation from isotropy is examined and prospects for more sensitive future studies are discussed.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP, FIRM PERFORMANCES AND LEVERAGE: AN ANALYSIS FROM MALAYSIAN LISTED FIRMS

The purpose of this paper is to examining the impact of government ownership on firm performance and leverage in Malaysia. In this paper, we examine governance mechanism and firm performance and leverage of 200 Malaysian firms over 5 year periods from 2005 2009. We use fixed effect panel regression model in predicting capital structure of Malaysian firms. We use two indicators as independent variables which are debt ratio and debt over equity ratios. This paper is to determine whether after controlling firm specific characteristics such as corporate governance, agency cost, growth, risk and profitability, government involvement will influence decision on debt policy of the firm. This study may enable the firms to make better decision on their external financing. The inverse association of leverage and profitability implies that the firms are able to get the required capital easily due to the higher level of profits. The existence of government support and backup also will ensure the level in the firms is at the controllable. Therefore, the findings will be able to add new knowledge to the corporate managers and policy makers especially on decision-making on capital structure.
How much should you listen to your customers?:a customer-centric approach to determine optimal contact frequency for CRM communications

The results confirm that when conforming to customers’ preferences, dissatisfaction positively correlates with the changes in customer value. This suggests that the highest benefits for customer value can be gained from customers, who are most dissatisfied with the current frequency of communication. So in case a practitioner needs to prioritize between customers when becoming more customer-centric, the most dissatisfied customers would be the best group to start with
To Convert or not to Convert to the Upgraded Version of de-facto Standard Software

This work extends the innovation diffusion theory to understand the causal relationship among influential factors on the adoption of the upgraded software. Especially, this study focuses on the de-facto standard software (e.g., Microsoft Office) that competes against its previous versions. This paper makes three unprecedented contributions. First, we re-categorize the eight factors in innovation diffusion theory into Kano’s (1984) three factor framework on customer satis-faction, and develop the causal relationship among these factors. Second, we distinguish two different dependent varia-bles, positive attitude (on behalf of adopting the new version) and negative attitude (for staying put with the old version), and include them together in our research model. Inhibitors and facilitators are well distinguished in our study and their respective causal models are suggested. Our results demonstrate that own experiences through triability and demonstrat-ed results have significant influence on compatibility and ease of use, while social influences caused by visibility and image relate significantly to compatibility, relative advantage, and monetary value. We also find that negative attitude is influence by the lack of compatibility and ease of use, whereas positive attitude is promoted by relative advantage and monetary value.
Inheritance and variation of lint yield and fiber traits in a partially introgressed (Gossypiumbarbadense L. × G. hirsutum L.) population of cotton

The objective of this study was to evaluate a partially introgressed (Gossypiumbarbadense L. × G. hirsutum L.) population of cotton for two years. The traits that studied were lint yield per plant, lint %, fiber length, fiber strength and micronaire. A total of 31 cytogenetically stable lines (2n=4x=52) were produced from a cross between a G. barbadense line, Carnak and a G. hirsutumline, 4S, through an alien pollination production system and three generations of self-pollination. Normal distribution was observed for all traits that studied apart from lint yieldper plant. Coefficients of variation were the highest for lint yield per plant and lint %. Heritability for lint yield ranged from 0.77 in 2004 to 0.71 in 2005. Correlation coefficients were the highest between fiber length and fiber strength which may indicate the possibility of concurrent selection of lines within the population for these two traits. In addition, micronaire and lint yield per plant were favorably associated. In the partially introgressed population (PI), Carnak × 4S, several lines that combined better yield, fiber quality performance or both than the introgressed parental lines were identified.