Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tariff and Tariff Rate Quota Liberalization in the South African Livestock Industry: Approaches to Welfare Measurement

Abstract The liberalization of the agricultural sector and phasing out of past protection mechanisms in South Africa saw the introduction of a process of tariff reform. Furthermore, a system of tariff rate quotas was introduced in compliance with WTO regulations. This study uses a partial equilibrium comparative static model to measure the welfare effects of further liberalization in the livestock industry of South Africa, particularly in meat products using four policy scenarios. The traditional method of welfare analyses using the CS and PS was applied, while the EV was used to integrate a well-behaved objective function. Although the CS and PS could have over-estimated welfare due to the fact that the demand system used in this study is non-linear, they still gave useful information sufficient to compare the impact of trade liberalization on consumers and producers of livestock products. Furthermore, the EV explains the income change necessary to attain the welfare level resulting from trade liberalization given the current prices. When expressed as a percentage of the real gross national income and real disposable income, the values are quite marginal. The results from both methods of welfare measurement suggest that it is worth considering the effects on producers if further trade liberalization is envisaged in the South African livestock industry.
Effects of Aggregate Gradation on Resilient Modulus and CBR in Unbound Granular Materials

Resilient modulus and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) in unbound granular materials are the key technical characteristics of layers in a flexible pavement design. Among the factors affecting these two parameters, the aggregate gradation is the most important. Using particle size distribution curve developed by AASHTO, together with other considerations mentioned in the related regulations have yielded desirable results in many cases. However, many roads loaded by heavy vehicles, for which all technical instructions of standard regulations were observed, have undergone deformations caused by subsidence of layers. According to the related technical documents, one hypothesis could be the proximity of aggregate gradation to the boundary areas. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of changes in the scope of aggregation in the border areas on strength parameters. For this purpose, effects of aggregate grading variation on two types of aggregates, i.e. limestone and quartzite (as determined by AASHTO) were investigated using specific gravity, CBR, and resilient modulus tests. The results showed that, in the gradation boundaries determined by AASHTO, the difference between specific gravity values was insignificant. In the CBR and resilient modulus tests, however, there was a significant difference between test results in the upper and lower limits of gradation. In addition, gradation variation had a lower impact on resistance parameters in quartzite aggregate compared to limestone aggregate. Therefore, under special utilization conditions, materials with highest values of technical specifications should be used, since even materials whose technical specifications are in the standard range may not behave as expected in real world situations.
Prospective Teachers' Professional Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Terms of Their Perceived Autonomy Support and Attitudes towards the Teaching Profession: A Mixed Methods Study *

The purpose of this study is to identify the probable factors that can contribute to prospective teachers’ levels of professional self-efficacy beliefs. For this purpose, quantitative methods are used to measure their perceived autonomy support during undergraduate education, their attitudes towards the teaching profession, and their levels of professional self-efficacy beliefs, while qualitative methods were used to determine the factors affecting their professional self-efficacy beliefs. This study is carried out as a survey model, collecting data using mixed methods. The study group consists of 173 prospective teachers who graduated from a state university’s faculty of education at the end of the 2014-2015 academic year. The study’s quantitative data have been collected using the Learning Climate Scale, the Attitudes towards the Teaching Profession Questionnaire, and the Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale. The qualitative data are collected using an open-ended questionnaire. Correlation and regression analyses are used for analyzing the quantitative data, and inductive qualitative data analysis is used for analyzing the qualitative data. The quantitative data analysis shows professional self-efficacy to have a significant relationship with teachers’ attitudes towards the teaching profession and their perceived autonomy support (p < .05); also, attitudes towards the teaching profession and perceived autonomy support (r2 = 0.0209) are significant predictors of professional self-efficacy (p < .05). As a result of the qualitative data analysis, prospective teachers’ selfefficacy beliefs have been determined to be affected by undergraduate education, internship experience, fondness of the profession, lecturers’ attitudes, self-confidence, and societal status of the profession. The quantitative and qualitative findings are seen to be consistent and mutually supportive.
The effect of germination and metallic salts on the stability of enzymes of three high yielding varieties of maize (Zea mays L.) in respect of Bangladesh

The study was conducted with a view to determine the effect of germination and metallic salts on nutritional quality, enzymes activity and their stability of three high yielding varieties of maize (Zea mays L.). The protein content of BHM-3, BHM-5 and BHM-6 were increased 22.37%, 26.48%, and 20.34% respectively at 48 hours then decreased drastically from 72-96 hours of germination. Starch content was increased maximum 29.19% in BHM-6 at 0 hours (non-germinating seeds) among the three varieties and then decreased gradually from 48-96 hours of germination. Total sugar and reducing sugar contents of BHM-3, BHM-5 and BHM-6 seeds were maximum at 96 hours than 24-72 hours of germination while BHM-3 showed boosting increase of total sugar (336.97%) due to 96 hours of germination. BHM-5 showed a tremendous increase of α-amylase (189.83%) and protease (144.44%) activity whereas BHM-6 showed maximum invertase activity (175.27%) at 48 hours then decreased gradually from 72-96 hours of germination. The activities of enzymes were increased in presence of metallic salts such as Ca, Mg, and Mn while Fe, Zn and Cu inhibited the activities moderately.
A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY TO ASSESSKNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE REGARDING ANTIBIOTIC USED AMONG PARENTS OF CHILDREN ATTENDING PAEDIATRIC CLINIC

ABSTRACT Introduction: Antibiotic is an antibacterial drug that is used widely to treat bacterial infection since it was discovered by Professor Alexander Fleming. However, inappropriate use of antibiotic will result in various hazards; the most important one is antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge and practices on antibiotic used among parents of children attending paediatric clinic in a hospital in Malaysia. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted among parents accompanying child attending paediatric clinic. A total of 247 respondents was selected using random sampling technique. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire consists of sections on; socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge on antibiotic used and practices on antibiotic used. The data was entered and analysed using SPSS. Results: A total of 229 (92.8%) parents completed the questionnaire. The study revealed that the knowledge score of parents studied ranging from the lowest 14.8% to the highest score of 97.8%. Findings also showed that 95.6% parents had experienced giving their child antibiotic before, and 96.5% get antibiotic by doctor prescription and 97.8% follows doctor instruction when giving antibiotic. About 41.0% of parents experienced buying antibiotic from pharmacy without doctor prescription and only 9.6% giving antibiotic when their child having flu. Conclusion: Majority of parents having good knowledge score on antibiotic used, and majority of them parents getting prescription before using antibiotic. Keywords: Knowledge, practice, antibiotic used, parents, paediatric clinic
Evaluation of peripheral nerve conduction and visual evoked potential in newly diagnosed hypothyroid females.

Background: Hypothyroidism is a common medical condition in the general population. Usually hypothyroidism has both central and peripheral nerve involvement. The neurologic manifestations occur in conjunction with the systemic features of the disease and may be noted only incidentally. The peripheral neuropathy can be assessed using the sensory motor nerve conduction studies, which is a non-invasive method. Visual Evoked Potentials (VEPs) are electrical potential differences recorded from the scalp in response to visual stimuli. Aim: To study the motor and sensory nerve conduction in the Median nerve and Visual Evoked Potential in the newly diagnosed hypothyroid females. Materials and methods: The sample size is 30. The study design is a cross sectional study. Sensorimotor nerve conduction of the Median nerve and the VEP was done using NEUROSTIM NS2 machine, in the department of Physiology, Meenakshi Medical College, Hospital and Research Institute. The statistical analysis was done by Student unpaired t' test using SPSS software 17 version. Result: There was a significant in the nerve conduction of both motor and sensory components of the cases when compared to the controls. There was statistically significant prolongation of latency P 100 wave of VEP in the study group compared to the control group. Conclusion: Both peripheral and central nervous system are affected in hypothyroidism. To conclude, electrophysiological studies can be useful in the diagnosis of asymptomatic poly neuropathy in hypothyroid patients.
COTTON YIELD AND GRADE RESPONSE TO NITROGEN APPLIED DAILY THROUGH A SUBSURFACE DRIP IRRIGATION SYSTEM

Nitrogen is typically applied to cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in two or three split applications, however, with subsurface drip irrigation (SDI), nitrogen can be applied daily. The major objective was to show yield and grade response of cotton where nitrogen was applied daily through a SDI system at two nitrogen application strategies compared with overhead sprinkler (SP) and non-irrigated (DRY) regimens. The SDI system provided daily irrigation and nitrogen to a randomized block design with three irrigation levels (100%, IL1; 75%, IL2; and 50%, IL3); two nitrogen levels, N1 and N2, (67 and 101 kg ha -1); two drip tube lateral spacings, IR and AM (individual row = IR, alternate row middles = AM), with three replications per treatment. Nitrogen was applied in split applications to the SP and DRY areas in a randomized block design. Cotton was planted following peanuts during the 1999 and 2000 growing seasons on a Tifton sandy loam soil (fine -loamy, kaolinitic, thermic Plinthic Kandiudults). In 1999, there was a 6% lint yield increase for N2 (total lint: 1484 kg ha -1), but there was no lint yield difference with nitrogen levels in 2000 (total lint: 1280 kg/ha). There was no yield difference with drip tube lateral spacing or irrigation level except at IL3 (50%) in 1999. Lint yield was higher in both the SDI and SP compared with the DRY regime. Differences within grade parameters were not consistent across years for micronaire, fiber strength, or fiber uniformity with respect to nitrogen applied or irrigation system. Overall, the application of nitrogen on a daily basis with SDI had the same lint yield and grade compared with SP and higher lint yield than the DRY. The lower nitrogen rate (N1) had the same yield as the higher nitrogen rate (N2) which suggests that lower nitrogen rates may be appropriate when using SDI.
Attitudes toward Risk: Theoretical Implications of an Experiment in Rural India

In economics, empirical work with models of behaviour under risk whether security based or utility based usually involves comparing the models' predictions with the real world decisions of a sample of individuals or firms (for utility-based examples in agriculture, see Anderson et al., I977, or Halter and Dean, I97I; for a safety-based example, see Roumassett, I973). The advantage of this approach is that the analysis focuses on decisions that people actually must make in the course of their economic activities. The disadvantage is that it is difficult to determine the relative influence of risk and other factors on these decisions. This difficulty has led experimental psychologists and, to a much lesser extent, economists to design specific experiments to test the implications of utility theories in the laboratory. (For reviews of this experimental work, most of which has been confined to utility-based theories, see Luce and Suppes, I965, and Grether, I978.) This paper, following the lead of the experimental psychology literature, discusses a relatively simple but fairly large-scale experiment in ruralIndia that the writer and colleagues at ICRISAT designed to measure attitudes toward risk. We chose an experimental approach when it became clear that we could not obtain reliable estimates of risk aversion by the usual interview techniques of eliciting certainty equivalents. (For details of the difficulties encountered in this study and a description of the entire experiment see Binswanger, I980.) We have validated our experimental measures of risk aversion by showing that a portion of the observed variation among individual farmers' agricultural decisions can be related in a systematic manner to variations in the same farmer's experimentally measured degrees of risk aversion, the more risk averse choosing more conservative options (Binswanger et al. i980). 1 This observed relationship between experimental behaviour and actual farm decisions suggests the importance of examining the significance of our findings for a number of models of behaviour under risk, focusing on the consistency of our findings
Why do entrepreneurs refuse venture capital?

ABSTRACT Despite the evidence on the positive effect of venture capital (VC) on portfolio firm performance, such evidence badly pulls up alongside the non-negligible number of entrepreneurial firms that choose to refuse VC. This is the first study that investigates the determinants behind the missed realizations of VC investor-investee dyads by focusing on the Italian VC market. We theorize and empirically document that entrepreneurs’ human capital background and venture-specific characteristics influence the decision to accept or refuse VC. Specifically, our findings show that technically literate founders decrease the likelihood to refuse VC while family linkages in the ownership structure increase the likelihood to refuse VC.
Antioxidative Activities of Bran Extracts from Pigmented Rice Cultivars

Introduction : Pigmented rice bran has benefi cial effects in the human diet and potential to promote human health since it contains antioxidative compounds that can inhibit the formation and reduce the concen trations of reactive cell-damaging free radicals. The objectives of this study were to determine the relative antioxidative activities and identify anthocyanins in different pigmented rice brans and to discover new rice varieties with high antioxidative potential. Methods: Rice brans cultivar Hom-nin, Homdum-sukothai, Homnin-jakkapat, Hommae-payathongdum, Riceberry, Khawklum, Homdang-suk othai and Saohai were extracted for anthocyanins by methanol–water (70:30, v/v) containing 0.1% hydrochloric acid. The rice bran extraction samples were determined for anthocyanins by high perfor mance liquid chromatography and determined antioxidant activity by 1-1 diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH). Results: The total anthocyanin contents varied signifi cantly and exhibited a range of 2-3.42 mg /g. Five anthocyanin compounds were observed and three anthocyanin compounds were chara cterized by comparison of the spectroscopic and chromatographic properties with those of authentic standards. The most abundant anthocyanins were cyanidin-3-glucoside in black rice, pelargonidin- 3-glucoside in blue rice, and delphinidin-3-glucoside in purple rice. The black rice bran which contained high content of cyanidin-3-glucoside had the high antioxidative activities. Conclusion: Pigmented rice bran cultivar Hommae-payathongdum and Hom-nin following had highest antioxidative activities. These pigmented rice cultivars, with high antioxidative potential, may provide a source of new antioxidants, for new improved varieties, for use in foods with pharmaceutical properties, thereby increasing rice consumption and contributing to the prevention of diseases caused by oxidative damage to cells.
Urbanisation and its impact on agricultural lands in growing cities in developing countries: a case study of Tamale in Ghana

Rapid urbanisation, population pressure and the governmental, shelter, infrastructural, industrial and commercial needs of a fast growing city have stretched the land delivery system in Tamale to breaking point. Agricultural lands, which serves as the main source of livelihood, has been encroached by the process. This paper seeks to assess the impact of rapid urbanisation on agricultural lands in developing cities, drawing empirical evidence from Tamale, Ghana. The research used a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods including interviews and questionnaires to collect and analyse data from stakeholders in selected peri urban areas in the Tamale city region. Contrary to the mainstream view that the polygamous nature of Northern region is the main source of increment in the population and thus urbanisation in the area, stakeholders’ perception was different as responses indicated that the rapid urbanisation of Tamale is as a result of increased commercial activities and its strategic location. The rapid urbanisation of Tamale sparked up a succession syndrome where prime agricultural lands have been converted to other land uses believed to be the highest and best use. The pressures of urbanisation have negative implications on predominantly poor farming communities in the Tamale region. Policy focus should be geared towards the protection of prime agricultural lands that serves as main sources of livelihood. Urbanisation is necessary but not to the extent of denying the rural folks of their main source of livelihood.
The Mediating Effect of Trust on the Relationship between Attitude and Perceived Service Quality towards Compliance Behavior of Zakah

Zakah contribution to Muslim socio-economic development could not be denied by any parties. This development could be improved through incremental of zakah fund. However, the zakah collection including zakah on income is still found to be unsatisfactory due to a low level of zakah compliance. While a great deal of researches had been undertaken in the area of taxation, little is known about zakah compliance behavior and its determinants. The objective of the paper is to propose a research model in examining the influence of attitude and perceived service quality towards zakah compliance behavior, taking into consideration trust as a mediator for those relationships. Four hypotheses were drawn for this paper to be tested regarding the influence of selected variables to zakah on income compliance behavior. Moreover, theoretical and practical implications of the study, as well as suggestions for future research were also discussed.
Credit loss and systematic loss given default

Credit loss varies from period to period, both because the default rate varies and because the loss given default (LGD) rate varies. The default rate has been tied to a firm’s probability of default (PD) and to factors that cause default. The LGD rate has proved more difficult to model because continuous LGD is more subtle than binary default and because LGD data is scarcer and lower in quality. Studies show that the two rates vary together systematically (see Altman and Karlin (2010) and Frye (2000)). Systematic variation works against the lender, who finds that an increase in the number of defaults coincides with an increase in the fraction “percentage”? that is lost in a default. Lenders should therefore anticipate systematic LGD within their credit portfolio loss models, which are required to account for all material risks. This paper presents a model of systematic LGD that is simple and effective. It is simple in that it uses only parameters that are already part of standard models. It is effective in that it survives statistical testing against more complicated models. It may, therefore, serve for comparison in tests of other models of credit risk as well as for the
Market Liquidity and Asset Prices under Costly Participation

In this paper, we develop an equilibrium model for market liquidity and its impact on asset prices when constant participation in the market is costly. We show that, even when investors’ trading needs are perfectly matched, costly participation prevents them from synchronize their trades, which gives rise to the need for liquidity in the market. Fluctuations in liquidity needs cause asset prices to deviate from the fundamentals. Moreover, these price deviations tend to have large magnitudes in absence of any aggregate shocks, resembling what can be called “liquidity crashes”, and lead to fat tails in return distributions. We also show that the lack of coordination among investors in the demand and the supply of liquidity generates negative externalities, and the loss in social welfare can out-weight the savings on participation costs. ∗The authors thank seminar participants at UT-Austin and HKUST for comments and suggestions. †Department of Finance, B6600, McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712. Email: jennifer.huang@mccombs.utexas.edu, tel: (512)232-9375, fax: (512)471-5073, and website: www.mccombs.utexas.edu/Faculty/Jennifer.Huang. ‡MIT Sloan School of Management, E52-456, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02142-1347, CCFR and NBER. Email: wangj@mit.edu, tel: (617)253-2632, and fax: (617)258-6855.
Online labour markets - levelling the playing field for international service markets?

The Internet has long been predicted to become a shortcut that allows workers to work for any employer regardless of their location. To some extent this has now become a reality, with the rise of “online labour markets” that bring together buyers and sellers of intangible knowledge and service work from around the world. Practical considerations such as language and time zone differences can be expected to shape those markets, but a long tradition of research in international business finds that foreignness per se can also be a liability. In this paper, we use data from the largest global online marketplace to examine the degree to which geography still matters, not just for practical matters but also in terms of a persisting perception of foreignness in the online space. We find that the market is highly international, with most employers residing in rich countries and most workers in poor countries. However, workers are more likely to find work in their domestic markets. Moreover, domestic contractors get paid more than international contractors for the same type of work. Our analysis suggests that this bias against international contractors is not only due to practical factors such as time zone differences and language-based communication difficulties, but especially to what can be termed a “liability of foreignness”. We conclude that while the Internet can bridge physical distance, there are also other geographically conditioned barriers to trade that digital connectivity doesn’t necessarily address.