Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Looking at CIRC through Quantitative Lenses: Can it Improve the Reading Comprehension of Filipino ESL Learners?

Several pressing issues in reading instruction have prompted educators world-wide to conduct researches on how to best improve reading comprehension skills. Although there is a wealth of reading comprehension researches done with EFL learners and native English speakers, there seems to be limited published studies conducted in the Philippine ESL context, particularly one that focuses on the subskills of reading comprehension. The researchers attempted to address the aforementioned by assessing the effectiveness of Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) in improving the reading comprehension of 127 Grade 8 Filipino ESL learners particularly in recalling details, summarizing, identifying the main idea, making inferences, and determining fact vs. opinion within three sessions in a span of two weeks. Adopting a quantitative quasi-experimental research design, the researchers discovered that, despite the insignificance of the posttest scores between the lecture and CIRC groups, there were notable internal improvements for both groups in particular sub-skills. This short-term study provides an important direction to ESL teachers in, but not limited to, the Philippine classroom. Other pedagogical implications are further discussed in this study.
Regional patterns of habitat use by a threatened forest bird , the Bicknell ’ s Thrush ( Catharus bicknelli ) , in Quebec

Conservation of threatened species often uses habitat models to inform management of habitat and populations. We examined habitat use by Bicknell’s Thrush (Catharus bicknelli (Ridgway, 1882)), a federally “Threatened” species, in two Appalachian regions, shaped by forestry activities, of southern Quebec. Within its breeding range, the species inhabits mountain tops and forests subjected to various logging activities. We assessed the role of vegetation and topography at two spatial scales, as well as spatial relationships with Swainson’s Thrush (Catharus ustulatus (Nuttall, 1840)), identified as a potential competitor by some authors. In both regions, Bicknell’s Thrushes were most likely to be reported at high elevations, in forest stands with high tree stem densities that underwent little or no stem reduction from forestry activities. Swainson’s Thrushes were present at all sites were Bicknell’s Thrushes were reported. These results are consistent with findings from studies in northeastern parts of its breeding range. We conclude that forest-stand thinning should be kept to a minimum throughout the high-elevation nesting habitat of Bicknell’s Thrush.
A nonverbal signal system: minimizing the effects of student interruptions, maximizing instructional time, and sustaining momentum while teaching

Mallory S. Heimlich A NONVERBAL SIGNAL SYSTEM: MINIMIZING THE EFFECTS OF STUDENT INTERRUPTIONS, MAXIMIZING INSTRUCTIONAL TIME, AND SUSTAINING MOMENTUM WHILE TEACHING 2009/2010 Valarie G. Lee, Ed.D. Master of Science in Teaching With instructional time being interrupted by both in and out-of-class disturbances, research shows that approximately 30% of instructional day is wasted. Students are more likely to be unengaged and off-task when the teacher is interrupted than at other times and most classroom interruptions are initiated by the students themselves. The goal of this study was to decrease student interruptions and transition time by implementing a nonverbal signal system as a component of the classroom management plan. Student interruptions were tallied and student transitions were timed during social studies and science in a fourth grade classroom. Reflections of the study were recorded and written student responses from pre-intervention and post-intervention focus groups were collected. Individual student grades before and after the system's implementation were compared. Data analysis showed that nonverbal signals decreased student interruptions and transition time, thus increasing the quantity of instructional time, and more importantly, nonverbal signals minimized the effect of student interruptions that occurred, thus sustaining momentum while teaching. With this system, the teacher addressed the students' needs quickly and quietly with minimal interruption to the classroom. However, further research over a longer period of time is necessary to determine whether the system's effects positively influence student achievement. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my Yellin Family-both teachers and students-particularly Mrs. Melissa Wolfe, Mrs. Robyn Williams, Mrs. Stacey Kay, Mrs. Kathy Gant, and of course, my wonderful and brilliant fourth graders. Without them (and their relentless noise and endless chitchatting), this thesis would not have been possible. I would like to thank Mrs. Jean Dale for her support and kind words. I am forever grateful and so thrilled that I will be a third grade teacher come September at the wonderful Hopewell Crest School! I would also like to thank my wonderful husband as of June 19, 2010. I love you, Bruce. Without you, I don't believe I would have made it through this past year! I can't believe that we already own a home, finished college, and both landed fantastic jobs. Now we can finally start living! P.S. I love you, Chopper Whopper and Brooklyn! And of course, I would like to thank my parents and brothers and poodles for their love and support. I love you, Mom, Dad, K-Dawg, Topher, Chloe, and Oliver. P.S. Mom and Dad, thank you for giving Bruce and me a wonderful wedding! TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements
Students’ Subject Choice in Secondary Schools in Tanzania: A Matter of Students’ Ability and Interests or Forced Circumstances?

This study aimed at providing answers to two key questions: 1) Which subjects are most preferred by students in secondary schools? 2) What are the reasons behind the students’ interest, or lack thereof, in particular subjects? The study employed qualitative methodology using a multiple case study holistic design. The students in the studied schools served as the unit of analysis. The study involved a sample of 18 secondary schools that were purposefully selected. Data were collected using focus group discussions, observation and documentary review. The analysis involved the use of the Miles and Huberman’s model of qualitative data analysis. The findings show that the majority of students in secondary schools preferred arts subjects notably because of the challenges they experience in learning science. The reasons for students preference of a particular subject included the inspiration from significant others, commitment and support provided by the subject teachers, the availability of teachers and their teaching approaches and relevance of the subject to their daily life experiences. On the basis of these findings, it is recommended that the government should create a conducive learning environment, especially for community secondary schools, that will allow students to select subjects on the basis of their ability and interests.
Dynamics of Mini-box Service Retailers’ Store Network Management

Service retailers have to develop a large number of outlets to cover geographic markets and they also have to manage their store networks effectively. However, they are not studied enough both what types of strategic options for store network management are there in the domestic context and how the way of store network management affect corporate performances depending on their situation. This research attempts to clarify the relationship between market expansion strategies of service retailers and their corporate performances by analyzing 51 Japanese listed food service firms as well as to give some implications regarding how they should manage store networks to attain the highest profitability and efficiency. Main results are (1) It is assured over time that Proactive Expansion and Dispersed National Expansion are more profitable and more efficient in using assets to generate earnings compared to Local Concentration, and (2) Proactive Expansion has been the most profitable strategy, while Dispersed National Expansion became the most efficient strategy in using assets to generate earnings instead of Proactive Expansion in these two years.
Correlations of Handling Procedures and Sleep Patterns of the Infants Admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Background: The present study aimed to assess handling procedures and their effects on the sleep-wake time in the preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods: This observationalcross-sectional study was conducted in the NICU ofVali-e-Asr Teaching Hospital affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Iran in 2016. Sample population consisted of 15 preterm infants, and duration of the handling procedures was considered to be 15 days or 360 hours. Handling procedures were recorded within an uninterrupted 24-hours period. Sleep patterns of the infants were checked at 8 AM-8 PM using Alsג�� behavioral states scale of Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (NIDCAP sheet). Results: Mean frequency of the handling procedures during 24 hours was 59.93\xC2±15.86. Within 12 hours, mean frequency of the care/monitoring, therapeutic, and supportive procedures was 41.20\xC2±12.14 during the day, while it was 18.73\xC2±5.43 at night. Mean handling procedures in minutes was 18.73\xC2±5.43 for care/monitoring procedures, 13.60\xC2±13.28for therapeutic procedures, and 76.21\xC2±93.08 for supportive procedures. In therapeutic and care/monitoring handling procedures, sleep duration decreased in the infants, while it increased in the supportive procedure. Mean total oxygen saturation was 94.80\xC2±2.81, and mean total heart rate was 147.30\xC2±16.76. Conclusion: According to the results, supportive handling could increase sleep duration in preterm infants. Therefore, it is recommended that this technique be applied for the comfort of preterm infants in the presence of parents.
Prioritizing the guidelines and policies of the sustainable urban transportation

In this research authors rely on the descriptive-analytical method to identify and introduce the indi- cators of the sustainable transportation on the first step, and then on the next step we will prioritize the mentioned indicators in the opinion of the urban experts in order to implement the sustainable transportation. Accordingly, after introducing the goals and indicators of the sustainable transportation, we will classify the guidelines for the fulfill - ment of those goals and improvement of those indicators in 7 main group and 34 subgroups. Using a questionnaire, we have asked the opinions of 15 urban experts who are related to the urban transportation issues and problems. The study has used analytical hierarchical process model to weight the obtained factors. The results of this research show that the most important factors in achieving the sustainable transportation are "land use" and "public transportation" respectively. Among the subsets of the indicators, the most important factors are the "service hierarchy and access to planning", "paying attention to the traffic effects of the land uses on the main roads", "integration of the land uses" and "efficient management of the land separating system" respectively. Consequently, in order to reduce the trans - portation problems of Shiraz City the urban planners have to pay especial attention to the organization of the land uses, to the promotion of the public transportation system both qualitatively and quantitatively, and to the promotion of the urban management in general.
Effect of maleated compatibiliser (PBS-g-MA) addition on the flexural properties and water absorption of poly(butylene succinate)/kenaf bast fibre composites

Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) composites with 30 wt. % loading of kenaf bast fibre (KBF) were compatibilised with 5 wt. % maleated PBS (PBS-g-MA). The maleic anhydride (MA) concentration in the compatibiliser was either 3, 5, 7 or 10 phr. In general, the compatibilised composites showed better flexural properties than the un-compatibilised composite. The highest increment in the flexural strength and modulus of 12.7 and 8.9%, respectively, were obtained with the addition of PBS-g-MA with MA concentration of 5 phr. Compatibilised and un-compatibilised PBS/KBF composites were immersed in distilled water for 90 days. The absorption of water by all the composites was observed to follow Fick’s law. The equilibrium moisture content, Mm, of the composites with PBS-g-MA at 3, 5 and 7 phr of MA concentrations was lower than that of the un-compatibilised composite due to improved fiber-matrix interfacial adhesion and reduction of voids content. Both un-compatibilised and compatibilised composites showed dimensional instability after the water absorption. This was probably due to the degradation of the fibre-matrix interfacial adhesion and fibre integrity. The flexural properties of these composites decreased after the water absorption. After re-drying only some of the flexural properties were recovered from plasticizing effect of water.
Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma: Report of two cases

Hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (HSTCL) is a rare type of lymphoma. Presenting with hepatosplenomegaly, fever, cytopenia without significant lymphadenopathy, most patients are young men with poor outcomes. Here is the report of two cases of HSTCL from Maharaj Nakorn Chiang-Mai Hospital, Thailand. Both patients were middle-aged men presented with prolonged fever, hepatosplenomegaly and cytopenia. Abnormal lymphoid cells, not demonstrated by flow cytometry, were microscopically revealed in the patients’ bone marrow. The diagnosis of HSTCL was based on the histopathologic section obtained from splenectomy and liver biopsy. Both patients received cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone (CHOP) regimen initially while one of them was salvaged with etoposide, methylprednisolone, cytarabine, cisplatin (ESHAP) and methotrexate, high-dose cytarabine, methylprednisolone (cycle B of hyperCVAD) regimen. They responded poorly to chemotherapy and succumbed to severe sepsis. The presented cases confirmed that HSTCL is very difficult to diagnose and current treatment modalities appear to be ineffective
Effects mercury exposure has on axonal transport of mitochondria.

Mercury exposure in everyday life from chemical factories and other sources is becoming a problem due to its detrimental effects on the nervous system, mainly because mercury can cross the blood brain barrier and bind to microtubules in neurons (Benoit, 2011). Previous research with neurons has found that mercury exposure interferes with microtubule polymerization but did not consider what is going on in the underlying structure for this to occur (Leong, 2000).
A Theoretical Look at Biculturalism in Intercountry Adoption

Intercountry adoption has been, and continues to be, a popular method of family formation worldwide, as well as a means of providing homes for children who would otherwise remain parentless. The popularity of this social welfare practice suggests that countless families continue to face the challenges of raising children whose ethnicities derive from two different ethnic backgrounds. Yet, virtually no research exists on the development of a bicultural ethnic identity in intercountry adoption. Instead, research has focused on the importance of birth-culture socialization, or the lack thereof. Faced with too little direct research on the subject, this paper synthesizes and critically reviews literature from the ethnic socialization, biracial, acculturation, and adoption fields. The aim was twofold: (1) extrapolate key elements of the literature that inform on the development of biculturalism in intercountry adoptions; and (2) identify gaps in the literature. Suggestions for future research and practice are offered.
VALIDATION OF MIPAS-ENVISAT VERSION 4.61 HNO3 OPERATIONAL DATA BY STRATOSPHERIC BALLOON, AIRCRAFT AND GROUND-BASED MEASUREMENTS

Embedded in the ENVISAT validation programme of the chemistry instruments GOMOS, MIPAS, and SCIAMACHY, a large number of balloon-borne, aircraft and ground-based measurements were carried out in the years 2002 and 2003 at various locations. Unfortunately, by the date of the ACVE-2 conference, re-analyzed operational MIPAS data was almost only available for the year 2002 limiting the number of validation cases with the new operational version 4.61 (v4.61) data significantly. Generally, the MIPAS HNO 3 profiles as processed with v4.61 are in good agreement with airborne observations in all cases with a good coincidence in time and space between the MIPAS observations and the correlative measurements. However, these validation cases have been confined so far to mid-latitudes only. Retrievals of MIPAS HNO 3 profiles as obtained by different processors appear to be generally rather robust as proven by a statistics of inter-comparisons of HNO 3 profiles between the operational v4.61 data and data processed with the IMK scientific processor. Ground-based correlative measurements based on the FTIR technique have been provided from different sites all over the world. Both column amounts and vertical profiles of HNO 3 with coarse resolution can be derived from such measurements. This data is potentially very useful for monitoring the longer term quality of MIPAS satellite data. However, the comparison of those columns amounts and profiles is not straightforward and a careful and consistent procedure needs to be applied to determine comparable values for the columns as well as to take into account the different vertical resolutions of the space-borne limb emission and the ground-based solar absorption measurements. Further validation coincidences in different geophysical situations have to be considered based on v4.61 data before a final quantitative assessment on the quality of the MIPAS operational HNO 3 data will become possible.
What Drives Aggregate Credit Risk?

A deep understanding of the drivers of credit risk is valuable for financial institutions as well as for regulators from multiple viewpoints. The systemic component of credit risk drives losses across portfolios and thus poses a threat to financial stability. Traditional approaches consider macroeconomic variables as drivers of aggregate credit risk (ACR). However, recent literature suggests the existence of a latent risk factor influencing ACR, which is regularly interpreted as the latent credit cycle. We explicitly model this latent factor by adding an unobserved component to our models, which already include macroeconomic variables. In this paper we make use of insolvency rates of Austrian corporate industry sectors to model realized probabilities of default. The contribution of this paper to the literature on ACR risk is threefold. First, in order to cope with the lack of theory behind ACR drivers, we implement state-of-the-art variable selection algorithms to draw from a rich set of macroeconomic variables. Second, we add an unobserved risk factor to a state space model, which we estimate via a Kalman filter in an expectation maximization algorithm. Third, we analyze whether the consideration of an unobserved component indeed improves the fit of the estimated models.
Developing a representative snow-monitoring network in a forested mountain watershed

Current snow monitoring networks may not be representative of basin-scale distributions of snow water equivalent (SWE), especially in areas where forests and snowpacks are changing. A challenge in establishing new ground-based stations for monitoring snowpack accumulation and ablation is to locate the sites 10 in areas that represent the key processes affecting snow accumulation and ablation. This is especially challenging in forested montane watersheds where the combined effects of terrain, climate, and land cover affect seasonal snowpack. The objectives of this research were to identify the key physiographic drivers of SWE, classify the landscape based on those physiographic drivers, and use that classification to identify a parsimonious set of monitoring sites in a forested watershed in the western Oregon Cascades mountain range. We used a binary 15 regression tree (BRT) non-parametric statistical model to classify 1 April SWE. Training data for the BRT classification were derived using spatially distributed estimates of SWE from a validated physically-based model of snow evolution. The optimal BRT model showed that elevation, vegetation type, and vegetation density were the most significant drivers of SWE in the watershed. Geospatial elevation and land cover data were used to map the BRT-derived snow classes across the watershed. Specific snow monitoring sites were selected randomly 20 within the BRT-derived snow classes to capture the range of spatial variability in snowpack conditions in the McKenzie River Basin. The Forest Elevational Snow Transect (ForEST) represents combinations of forested and open land cover types at low, mid, and high elevations. After five years of snowpack monitoring, the ForEST network provides a valuable and detailed dataset of snow accumulation, snow ablation, and snowpack energy balance in forested and open sites from the rain-snow transition zone to upper seasonal snow zone in the western 25
The Awareness and Use of Electronic Learning Platforms: A Case of a Developing Country

E-learning is seen as a potent option for mass education globally. Consequently, institutions are hastily adopting it to meet the 21st century education demands, often without recourse to considering the antecedents that promotes the success or otherwise of this mode of instruction. In view of this, the study investigates the awareness and use of e-learning platforms in some selected senior high schools in the Accra metropolitan area of Ghana with emphasis on parameters such as perception, training, accessibility, and infrastructural availability. Questionnaire was used to sample 303 respondents in this descriptive survey. Linear regression analysis and correlation were used on participants' training, motivation and computer availability in relation to perception, e-learning usage and awareness of e-learning implementation. The findings suggest participants know of e-learning and e-learning platforms but lacked adequate training. The computer literacy was low and most schools lacked adequate ICT laboratories and reliable internet negatively affects e-learning adoption. The major mode of internet access was the mobile phones. Students had a positive perception of e-learning and its adoption. The study recommends among other things that the Ghana Education Service train and educate teachers and students on e-learning to enhance their use and/or development of e-learning platforms. Furthermore, it should provide properly furnished ICT laboratories enhance accessibility and e-learning.