Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Moderating Effect of Mandatoriness on the Acceptance of Mobile Phone Technology: SMEs Perspective

The mobility and pervasiveness have created many opportunities of using mobile phones in performing activities of SMEs. This is due to the low ICT readiness especially in SMEs operating in less developed countries compared to large firms. Some of the challenges facing Tanzanian SMEs include but are not limited to poor ICT infrastructures, lack of ICT skills, lack of management support, poor financial capabilities and lack of reliable electrical power supply. While there is a number of studies which explains the factors influencing adoption and usage of mobile phones in SMEs, it is still unclear whether the mandatoriness has an impact on such acceptance. Understanding the voluntary aspects provides informed decision-making for SME managers and potential stakeholders on identifying the issues which needs their attention. This study involved a survey of 459 respondents from Tanzanian SMEs using SEM and AMOS. The results show that the mandated use of mobile phones in the SMEs has a moderating effect on the overall acceptance of mobile phones in performing daily activities. Recommendations and suggestions for future works are also highlighted in this article. © 2018 Published by MECS Publisher. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of the Research Association of Modern Education and Computer Science
Online Discussion Forum : Revealing Role Of Progressive Farmers In Learning Process

T he Online Discussion Forum (ODF) used by progressive farmer to discuss issues related to agriculture information . The statements in ODF are interesting to analyse since the participants are progressive farmers who voluntarily spread agricultural information and guide other farmers. In the discussion, the progressive farmers revealed their roles for community and criticisms that occur in the real agricultural activities. This study applies Content Analysis to investigate the utilization of ODF for learning process ; and the meaning of roles and self-reflection in discussion. The result reveals the stages of ODF as learning media, and the role of ODF to disseminate agriculture information. The result also illustrates progressive farmers’ role as a social entrepreneur practitioner and organizer of non-formal and informal learning for other farmers. The participants expressed the weaknesses of their role by making critical statements. They realized that they needed to make innovations in agribusiness to become role model for their community. To conclude , content analysis results reveal the utilization of ODF as learning media, and the role of progressive farmers to develop their community .
New record of Amphisbaena fuliginosa (Squamata, Amphisbaenidae) for the Cerrado Biome, in an area of extensive cattle ranching

Lemos, F.G. & Facure, K.G. New record of Amphisbaena fuliginosa (Squamata, Amphisbaenidae) for the Cerrado Biome, in an area of extensive cattle ranching. Biota Neotrop. Jan/Apr 2007 vol. 7, no. 1 http://www.biotaneotropica. org.br/v7n1/pt/abstract? short-communication+bn03607012007 ISSN 1676-0603. Samples of Amphisbaena fuliginosa from the Cerrado biome are scarce and additional data are needed to clarify the geographic distribution and patterns of differentiation of this species. During field works at a cattle farm in the south of the state of Goias, Central Brazil, we found an adult individual of A. fuliginosa. Our specimen represents the southernmost record for the species, extending its distribution 150 km. The color is similar to that described for other specimens from Goias state, corroborating the uniform pattern observed for Cerrado populations. We suggest that the fossorial habits of A. fuliginosa may allow its occurrence in anthropogenic habitats by offering protection against the changes in natural vegetation.
Political Institutions, Plausible Deniability, and the Use of Stealth Torture

Although the majority of governments engage in torture, torture techniques vary widely, especially in the extent to which they leave scars on the victim’s body. Why do some states engage in torture that scars the body, while others do not? Relative to scarring torture, Rejali (2007) argues that stealth techniques provide states with increased plausible deniability. In this paper, we investigate the extent to which liberal democratic institutions are associated with greater/lesser scarring and stealth torture. We test our hypotheses using new data from the Ill-Treatment and Torture (ITT) Data Collection Project that distinguish between AI allegations of scarring and stealth torture. With regard to domestic political institutions, only courts seem to incentivize states to use stealth techniques: We nd that elections and legislative veto points increase scarring and decrease stealth torture, while increasing judicial eectiveness
Possible evidence for a double crossing phase transition in D″ beneath Central America from inversion of seismic waveforms

We invert seismic body‐wave waveform data for the vertical dependence of (isotropic) shear‐velocity in the D″ layer beneath Central America, using the transverse components of relatively long period broadband waveforms (20–200 s) as data. Our models suggest that the S‐velocity increase in D″ may be localized in the zone from 100–200 km above the core‐mantle boundary (CMB), while the S‐velocity does not significantly deviate from PREM in the zone from 0–100 km above the CMB. This suggests the possible existence of a double crossing (a reverse phase transition from post‐perovskite back to perovskite) at a depth of 100 km above the CMB. Resolution tests indicate that our methods and data can resolve the vertical velocity profile within D″, and that the lower half of D″ is especially well resolved.
Developing teachers’ capacities in assessment through career-long professional learning

Abstract In a context of increasing demand for quality and equity in education and a sharp focus on accountability, classroom teachers are also expected to support and improve learning outcomes for pupils in response to their individual needs. This paper explores three issues: how teachers understand assessment in relation to their students’ learning, the curriculum and their pedagogical choices; how teachers’ capacity to use assessment to improve students’ learning can be developed through career-long professional learning (CLPL); and how teachers’ learning can be implemented and sustained in schools, both locally and nationally. In considering these issues, recent thinking about learning and assessment and CLPL are considered alongside empirical evidence from the development and implementation of assessment processes and approaches to professional development in Scotland. The paper emphasises the importance of a dynamic framework of CLPL that recognises the individuality of teachers’ learning needs and the consequent need for tailored professional learning opportunities with different combinations of support and challenge at school, local and national levels.
Antagonistic effect of brevicin on Gram positive and Gram negative food borne bacteria and its biopreservative efficacy in milk

A new low molecular weight brevicin produced by Lactobacillus brevis NS01 has greater antimicrobial activity on Gram positive and negative food borne bacteria. This is stable at high temperature acidic to neutral pH, non proteolytic enzymes and organic solvents. The synergistic effect of brevicin with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), sodium lactate (NaL) and potassium sorbate (KS) showed that better effect is with EDTA. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies showed that the presence of aliphatic C-H stretching of fatty acids and this peptide has vinyl protons and β substituted aliphatic system. Their biopreservative efficacy was also proved using purified brevicin in milk and could control the bacterial growth in milk up to 18 days. Keywords : Antimicrobial activity, biopreservation, brevicin, Gram negative, Gram positive bacteria, lactic acid bacteria African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(2), pp. 175-185
One Size Fits All? Gender Differences in the Effect of Subjective Feedback

The effect of objective feedback on performance is often studied, while subjective feedback is largely neglected in the economics literature. We estimate the impact of positive subjective feedback - encouragement and praise - on effort and performance, and compare the effect by gender. We use a computer game, during which players are randomly chosen to be given either no feedback (control) or positive subjective feedback (treatment), and analyze the treatment effect on effort (clicks) and performance (score). Based on previous economic and psychology theories, we test the pathways through which subjective feedback can have an impact: on (1) effort, due to the updating of expected performance or direct (dis)utility from the feedback, or (2) marginal productivity. The results point to significant differences in the mean effects of subjective feedback by gender. For women, encouragement has a significant positive effect while praise has a significant negative effect on performance, while men are less responsive to subjective feedback in general. Gender differences are mostly explained by different confidence distributions, while there are no gender differences in treatment effects if confidence level is held fixed. The effects are mostly realized through changes in effort. These results suggest that better targeted supervisory communication in schools or workplaces can improve the performance of lower-confidence individuals and thereby decrease the gender gap in performance.
Does Corporate Governance Matter in Meeting and Beating Analysts’ Forecasts

Meeting and beating analysts’ forecast has received substantial attention, most of studies investigate twoprinciples problems: the valuation and value relevance of meeting and tools used to achieve benchmarks. Thisresearch is different, we investigate whether internal corporate governance impacts on meeting and beatinganalysts’ forecasts and consistently do it, we also examine if these attributes alleviate opportunistic behavior. This paper contributes to the growing literature on earnings benchmarks, it targets to be more specified thanprevious ones by considering governance attributes without an index. Using a logistic regression models, wedocument that ‘small’ institutional investors and incentive compensation incite managers to meet analysts’forecasts contrarily to debt and board activity. We find that consistently meeting is harder to realize and affectedby governance attributes. Moreover, results indicate that stock options are associated with opportunisticmanagerial activities while institutional ownership temperate it. This study is important for investors who must be more attentive about financial signals like meeting analysts’forecasts that may be affected by opportunistic managerial behavior. Furthermore, findings indicate thatregulation affect this tendency which reveal the importance of regulators in increasing the transparency offinancial market.
Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Acceptance of Family Planning Methods among Married Persons in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Family planning acceptance remains a global health challenge especially in Sub-Saharan Africa where culture, religion, lack of knowledge and ignorance determine FPMs acceptance. The study investigated the differences in levels of acceptance of family planning methods among married persons in Abakaliki Education Zone of Ebonyi State by socio-demographic variables of education, gender, religion and location. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select four Local Government Areas from Abakaliki education zone (2 urban, 2 rural) and 1,098 married persons for the study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire titled Acceptance of Family Planning Methods Questionnaire (AFPMQ). The instrument was subjected to face validity. The reliability score of the instrument was 0.75 using Cronbach alpha. Data were collated and analyzed using mean and standard deviation, criterion mean score of 2.50. Inferential statistics of t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistics were used to test the hypotheses at alpha level of 0.05. The results of the study showed that there was low level of acceptance of all family planning methods (Mean values < 2.50). Results also showed that level of acceptance of family planning methods differed significantly among married persons by education, gender, religion and location (p < 0.05). The study concluded that acceptance of FPMs among married person in Abakaliki Education Zone was generally and recommended, that family planning programme designs must incorporate all shades of belief, values and convictions in program planning and that government at all levels should partner with religious organizations and traditional rulers to help create more awareness of FPMs through intensive health education, as this will help to increase the level of acceptance of FPMs Keywords : Family planning methods, acceptance, gender, age, education, location, married persons
Modification of pathogenic microbiota and histology of gastrointestinal tract of Archachatina marginata (Swainson, 1821) by Carica papaya seed meal

This study investigated the bactericidal efficacy of the ethanolic extract of Carica papaya seed on snail gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbiota and associated histological changes. The bacterial isolates were characterized based on colony morphology, culture characteristics and biochemical tests. Each portion of the gut was further subjected to histological examination to ascertain the effect of this extract on the various regions of the snail gut. Three bacterial species (Salmonella, Klebsiella and Escherichia coli) were isolated from the GIT. Salmonella was the major isolate from all the sections of the GIT in the control. Klebsiella was the major isolate from all the GIT sections after administering 50 mg/kg body weight (b. wt) of the extract while Salmonella was absent. Klebsiella was the main isolate after administering 50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg and 150 mg/kg of extract. E. coli and Salmonella and Klebsiella were isolated after administration of 150 mg/kg b. wt of extract. The histological changes included vacuolation of the crop, and reduction in sub-mucosal fat in the intestinal wall. The extract altered the microbiota of A. marginata GIT in a concentration dependent manner. Key words: Archachatina marginata, Salmonella, Klebsiella, Escherichia coli, antibacterial.
SOLVABILITY OF GROUPS OF ODD ORDER

Some consequences of this theorem and a discussion of the proof may be found in [11]. The paper contains six chapters, the first three being of a general nature. The first section in each of Chapters IV and V summarizes the results proved in that chapter. These results provide the starting point of the succeeding chapter. Other than this, there is no cross reference between Chapters IV, V and VI. The methods used in Chapter IV are purely group theoretical. The work in Chapter V relies heavily on the theory of group characters. Chapter VI consists primarily of a study of generators and relations of a special sort.
Interactive comment on “Variability of mass changes at basin scale for Greenland and Antarctica” by V. R. Barletta et al

We partially agree with these comments (MH and Rev.1) and we have now made a deeper reasoning about our comparison approach and have hopefully found a better way to explain its validity and its novelty. We are dealing not just with trends but with scattered time series, each of them supposed to be a "best solution" for a selected method and data set. Scattered time series could have differences, not just in the trend but also in the seasonal component and/or in the noise and we cannot discriminate precisely the noise from the true signal.
Accounting and enabling greater accountability: The suppressed role of the accounting intellect

This paper extends the work of Weiss and Berney (2004), Clarke et al., (2003), Chambers (1980; 1999) and Schuetze, (2001) by developing the argument further that the current Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) are a fundamental obstacle to producing reliable corporate information. Specifically, it is argued that the accounting profession may continue to evade accountability for corporate financial statements unless it responds to the intellectual issues in accounting. The paper shows that significant opportunities arose in the past in the early part of the 1900s (during the aftermath of the US Securities Market Collapse), the debates of normative versus positive accounting (1930s – 1970s) and the audit expectations gap (1970s – 1990s) and finally during the aftermath of recent corporate collapses for bringing intellectual solutions to accounting and auditing problems. However, instead of fulfilling its key obligations by introducing constructive solutions to the debated issues, the profession has continued to defend its abilities to serve the public interest and has promoted the notion of independence (again) as a means of both silencing its critics and arresting possible misrepresentations of corporate financial statements. Yet the real challenge is an intellectual one and the paper questions the ability of the accounting profession to control the intellectual aspects of its subject matter. Consequently, critics of accounting are likely to construe this failure as a clear signal of the inability of the profession to maintain control over its discipline. Addressing this challenge therefore is of paramount importance for convincing critics that the profession is, in fact, able to self-regulate its affairs.
Risk Factors of Delayed Milestones Among Children Attending Sohag General Hospital

Developmental delay occurs when a child exhibits a significant delay in the acquisition of milestones or skills, in one or more domains of development (i.e., gross motor, fine motor, speech/language, cognitive, personal/social, or activities of daily living). Objectives: present study aims to investigate the most common risk factors of The delayed development in children under four years attending Sohag General Hospital. Subjects and methods: A case control study was conducted in Sohag General Hospital during the period from January 2015 to June 2016 on children attending Pediatric, Physiotherapy and phoniatric clinics in Sohag General Hospital, Sohag Governorate. The sample size was 150 cases and 150 controls. One hundred and fifty children (aged 1.5 month to 48 months) diagnosed with developmental delay by a specialist or/and a developmental pediatrician were recruited as cases. Results: In the logistic regression model, the odds of developing delayed milestones is significantly higher among children with cyanosis (OR = 16.391), low birth weight (OR = 6.147), parental consanguinity (OR = 5.489), 1 birth order (OR = 4.048), urban residence (OR = 3.702) and history of neonatal jaundice (OR = 2.518). Conclusion: The urban children, first children and from few number of family members were more frequently at risk for developmental delay.
Using self‐report to explore the relationship between anxiety and quality of life in children on the autism spectrum

Anxiety is now recognized as one of the most common conditions that co‐occur with autism. While there has been increased research describing the typical and autism‐specific anxiety symptomatology and assessing the effectiveness of potential interventions, there has been less research exploring the impact that elevated anxiety may have on an individual and their quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to explore the impact of anxiety on the QoL in children on the autism spectrum. Children and young adolescents on the spectrum were invited to participate in a self‐report study measuring anxiety and health‐related QoL (HRQoL). The sample consisted of 71 children, aged 6–13. Children who scored above the cut off for elevated anxiety on the autism‐specific measure of anxiety (ASC‐ASD) had poorer total HRQoL and poorer scores on the social, emotional, physical, and school functioning QoL domains. Regression analyses indicate that children's self‐reported ratings of difficulties with uncertainty on the ASC‐ASD predicted all domains of HRQoL, with higher levels of difficulty with uncertainty predicting poorer HRQoL. Elevated levels of anxious arousal were also predictive of poorer physical functioning. This study highlights the importance of exploring the impact of anxiety on individuals on the spectrum and suggests that using carefully planned interventions to reduce difficulties with uncertainty may be a potential way to work toward improving the QoL of children on the spectrum. Autism Res 2019, 12: 1505–1515. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Double‐diffusive convection in Lake Kivu

Double‐diffusive staircases with a total of 230‐350 mixed layers and sharp interfaces were observed in nine microstructure temperature profiles measured during February 2004 in Lake Kivu. The presence of these staircases at depths > 120 m indicates that diapycnal turbulent mixing is weak and vertical diffusive transport is dominated by double diffusion. Contrary to previously investigated natural or laboratory double‐diffusive systems, the dissolved gases CO2 and CH4 contribute significantly to the density stratification, thereby influencing the formation and the structure of the staircases. The density ratio (i.e., the ratio of the stabilizing effect of dissolved substances to the destabilizing effect of temperature) ranges between 2.0 and 4.5 in large sections of the deep waters, implying a high susceptibility to the formation of staircases. The mixed layers (average thickness 0.48 m) are shown to be in a state of active convection. The average thickness of the interfaces (0.18 m) is surprisingly constant and independent of the large‐scale stratification. The vertical heat fluxes correlate well with the temperature steps across the interfaces. Lake Kivu receives inflows from subaquatic springs at several depths that maintain the large‐scale structure of the density stratification and disturb the staircases. In comparison to earlier observations from 1972, the double‐diffusive heat fluxes appear to have been reduced, leading to a heat accumulation in the deep waters. Conversely, the strengthening of the main chemocline indicates an increased discharge of the subaquatic springs that could be responsible for recent changes in the nutrient cycling and methane production in the lake.
Benchmarking leagility in mass services

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate and highlight that the application of leagility can be possible in mass services as one type of services.Design/methodology/approach – This paper describes a case study and considers the concept of the leagility in a mass service organization. By highlighting some of the characteristics of mass services, it examines whether or not this concept can be applicable in the context of mass services.Findings – Despite the low customization in mass services, fast food restaurants have faced changing needs of the customers. To respond to these demands, the case study organization can adopt new strategies so that it could be able to serve the customer with short lead times, low costs and high variety.Research limitations/implications – This paper considers leagility in a single mass service. Hence, in order to provide robust results in this type of services, more cases should be studied. It is also necessary to study leagility in other types of services that is,.