Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The determinants of voluntary disclosure in Saudi Arabia: an empirical study

Our study has three objectives. The first is to determine the voluntary disclosure level in Saudi Arabia. The second is to compare this level with that of some other Arab countries. The third is to identify the main drivers of voluntary disclosure in Saudi Arabia. We use a 54-item disclosure checklist and apply the regression and content analyses to examine a sample of 361 firm-year observations of firms listed on Saudi Stock Exchange during 2007-2011. We find the voluntary disclosure average is 18.38% and that the firm size, age, profitability, auditor specialisation, family ownership, and industry type positively affect voluntary disclosure. We find, however, a negative relation between firm leverage and voluntary disclosure. Our analysis also shows that board independence, Big4 and state ownership have no impact on voluntary disclosure. Our findings should be of interest to the regulating bodies, accounting standards' setters, auditors and managers.
Avalanche Airbags and Risk Compensation: An Empirical Investigation

Avalanche airbags have dramatically increased in popularity over recent years and so the question has emerged concerning the influence they have on our risk judgment and behavior in avalanche terrain. There is widespread public opinion that avalanche airbags provide a sense of security that leads people to take higher risks. We conducted an online questionnaire, in which 387 participants judged 19 different potential avalanche slopes by avalanche risk, and willingness to ride or ski the slope. Additionally, we asked about demographic data, safety equipment, use of risk management strategies and the Bremer Sensation Seeking Scale for measuring the participants predisposition for seeking novel and intensive sensations or experiences and their influence on judgment and behavior. While we did not find evidence for risk compensation for airbag users, we found Sensation Seeking as the strongest predictor whether respondents ski a slope or not. However, due to the setting of this study we relate our findings to a planning situation and further research is necessary to evaluate these results in real backcountry trip situations.
Psychometric feature of the child and parent versions of psychological inflexibility in pain scale (PIPS) in children with chronic pain and their parents

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the validity, reliability and factor structure of the child and parent's version of psychological inflexibility in pain scale (PIPS) in the population of children with chronic pain and their parents. Methods: The sample consisted of 112 pairs of children and parents, selected through available sampling method from the Tehran Children's Hospitals. The PIPS questionnaire along with KIDScreen scale (to measure well-being), Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) (the Youth Self-Report (YSR)) (to measure negative mood) and Visual Analogous Scale (VAS) (to measure pain severity) was implemented on them. Results: The reliability results of PIPS showed that the Cronbach's alpha for the child and parent versions was 0.66 and 0.82, respectively. In addition, the rerun correlation of child and parent versions was significant and acceptable, ranging from 0.47 to 0.78. Moreover, the highest correlation between PIPS dimensions in two versions of the child and parent was 0.89 and 0.92, respectively. The convergent and divergent validity of the PIPS showed that this questionnaire had a negative and significant correlation with the KID Screen scale and had a positive and significant correlation with the CBCL, YSR and VAS. Conclusions: The results of the exploratory factor analysis of this questionnaire revealed new factors. The exploratory factor analysis of child version indicated four factors (the factors 1, 3 and 4 are related to avoidance, and factor 2 measures the fusion) and in the confirmation factor analysis, the good fitting of these new factors was confirmed.
Spectroscopic search for g-mode pulsations in ψ Centauri

Context. Prior analysis of the light curve of the eclipsing binary ψ Cen has shown the possible presence of g-mode pulsations. Aims. We will try to confirm this claim by means of the analysis of high-resolution and high signal-to-noise echelle spectrograms. Methods. We studied both the radial velocity curve and the line profile variations of ψ Cen. Results. We obtained accurate measurements of the masses and radii of the two components. Regarding the study of pulsations, the orbital motion of the stars can explain all the observed variations in the spectrograms. Conclusions. There is no evidence of g-mode pulsations in ψ Cen in the spectroscopic data.
Building affective commitment in a financial institution through an ambidexterity context

Purpose Ambidexterity refers to the tension between two different business models within the same organisation. This paper examines the significance of individuals’ knowledge exploration and exploitation activities in an organisation’s ambidexterity context, along with how they affect the creation of an affective commitment in the workforce. The study then investigates how an organisation’s ambidexterity vision contributes to employees’ affective commitment to learning. Design/methodology/approach These relationships are examined through an empirical investigation of 219 employees in the financial sector, using structural equation modelling validated by factor analysis. Findings The results indicate that for a firm to successfully achieve ambidexterity, its managers need to explicitly work to nurture a context where explorative and exploitative activities take place simultaneously. Another relevant contribution of this study has been addressing the impact that explorative and exploitative activities may have on affective commitment. The results suggest that while the effect of the ambidexterity context on the affective commitment by way of explorative activities is statistically insignificant, the effects of exploitative activities on affective commitment are statistically significant. Originality/value While the extant literature provides useful insights into the relationship between contextual ambidexterity and organisational performance, the relationship between ambidexterity and affective commitment has been less researched. This study has shown that an ambidexterity context is a key component in the process of combining knowledge structures in ways which are appropriate for both exploring value of that knowledge for the company and being effective in exploiting its memory.
Fluctuating Asymmetry: A Technique for Measuring Developmental Stress Caused by Inbreeding

Fluctuating asymmetry has sometimes been employed to indicate disruption of developmental homeostasis. Such disruption is thought to be a result of increased developmental stress. In this study we examine the relationship between fluctuating asymmetry and inbreeding level in two differing breeding systems: the marine harpacticoid copepod Tisbe holothuriae, a typically outbreeding diploid, and the common honeybee Apis melli/era, which is haplo-diploid. Inbreeding has previously been shown to constitute a developmental stress in populations of T. holothuriae, but the same is yet to be conclusively shown in A. melli/era. T. holothuriae showed an increase in the level of fluctuating asymmetry with increased levels of inbreeding. No difference in the level of asymmetry was observed for A. melli/era when outbred lines were compared with inbred lines. It is concluded that fluctuating asymmetry provides a useful technique for the measurement of developmental stress caused by inbreeding.
Inequality of access in irrigation systems of the mid-hills of Nepal

ABSTRACT Access to, and control over, water for irrigation is one of the most important factors for increasing agricultural productivity, thereby affecting household food security and levels of poverty in developing countries. However, investments in the irrigation sector have often failed to consider equity aspects of irrigation interventions. Using data from 199 households from three irrigation systems in the mid-hills of Nepal, we analyse access and control of water in different levels of socio-economic heterogeneities. The results demonstrate that efforts to improve livelihoods of the rural poor should give due consideration to the distributional aspects of irrigation interventions, with authority for allocating the level of access to irrigation water given to the farmers throughout the system.
The Role of Information Exposure in Female University Students’ Evaluation and Selection of Eco-Friendly Apparel in the South African Emerging Economy

Increasing consumption in the South African emerging economy necessitates stringent effort toward developing environmental information campaigns that stimulate preferences for eco-friendly alternatives. This qualitative study explores the role of exposure to information about the environmental impact of the apparel supply chain in female students' evaluation and selection of apparel. Based on the outcome of garment selection exercises and focus group discussions, participants were not swayed by exposure to hang tags, audio-visual or printed information sources to prioritize eco-friendly features in their choice of product, nor were they willing to compromise on attributes such as price for the sake of the environment. Participants' recommendations include standardized eco-labels to facilitate identification of eco-friendly alternatives and message content that is short, precise and factual. Interpersonal communication could represent an influential source of information and merits further investigation into the relevance of normative social influence on pro-environmental apparel behavior in the South African emerging economy.
Formulation of Okra-Based Antidiabetic Nutraceutical from Abelmoschus esculentus ( L . ) Moench ( Ex-maradi Variety ) and Evaluation of its Effect on Alloxan-induced Diabetic Rats

Following our report on the development of okra-based antidiabetic nutraceutical formulation and the establishment that 10:90 % (Seeds: Peels) is the formulation with optimal antidiabetic and antioxidant properties in-vitro; this study evaluated in-vivo antidiabetic effects of the developed formulation in alloxan induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by intra-peritoneal administration of a single dose (150 mg/kg body weight) of Alloxan. The rats were randomly divided into five groups of six rats each. The Normal Control (NC) and the Diabetic Control (DC) groups were orally treated with normal saline (10 ml/kg); the Metformin Control (MC) group was orally treated with Metformin (100 mg/kg) while the Test groups (FX1) and (FX2) were orally treated with 100 and 200 mg/Kg body weight of the formulation respectively. All the groups were treated for 21 days. The effects of the treatments on blood glucose level, glycated hemoglobin and lipid profile parameters were studied for the antidiabetic evaluation. Administration of FX1 and FX2 to the respective test groups for 21 days resulted in significant (P<0.05) reduction in blood glucose level, glycated hemoglobin and improvement on Lipid profile compared with the diabetic control (DC) group. Based on these findings, the study demonstrated the efficacy of the Okra-based nutraceutical formulation as a potent antidiabetic formula.
Assessment of the use of TRISS scoring system in polytraumatized patients in Suez Canal university hospital, Ismailia, Egypt

Background: Injuries are a leading cause of the global burden of death and disability for all age groups below age 60. Trauma score systems try to translate the severity of injury into a number. The scores enable physicians to translate different severity of injuries into a common language. Quantitative characterizations of injury are essential for research, and meaningful evaluation of patient outcome, quality improvement, and prevention programs. Aim of the work was to improve the outcome of polytraumatized patients in Suez Canal University Hospital through application of a predictor of outcome scoring system. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study included all Polytraumatized patients attending to the Emergency Department (ED) at the Suez Canal university Hospital during six months from 1/8/2012 to 31/1/2013. Results: The mortality rates between the studied patients were 11.9% in comparison to 88.1% discharged alive. TRISS showed better sensitivity when compared to RTS & ISS with low false negative rate when compared to both of them. Comparable performances of the RTS, ISS, and TRISS showed RTS as the poorest index, while TRISS was the best. Conclusions: TRISS showed high specificity and good sensitivity and the negative values are indicative of higher mortality observed in our study than predicted by TRISS and this may be lake of resources and man power or it may be due to delay of arrival of the patients. TRISS showed better sensitivity when compared to RTS and ISS with low false negative value when compared to both of them.
The Effect of Psychoeducation on Anxiety in Subsequent Pregnancy Following Stillbirth: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Objective: We aimed to determine the effect of psychoeducation on women’s anxiety in subsequent pregnancy following stillbirth. Materials and methods: This two-arm, semi-experimental study was conducted on 100 women with subsequent pregnancy after stillbirth who visited the healthcare centers affiliated to a university of medical sciences in southeast of Iran in 2017. The eligible women were selected by using the convenience sampling method and were randomly divided into the intervention and control groups. The intervention group attended four psychoeducation sessions during four weeks according to the determined content. On the other hand, the control group received the routine care education. After eight weeks, data were collected using Pregnancy Related Anxiety Questionnaire (PRAQ). To analyze the data, independent t-test, Paired t-test and Chi-square U test, were run in SPSS, version 21. Results: No significant differences were observed between the study groups in terms of demographic characteristics (p > 0.05). Although the mean score of anxiety was not significantly different in the intervention and control groups prior to the psychoeducation sessions (p = 0.83), it was significantly lower in the intervention group after the psychoeducation intervention, compared to the control group (50.64 ± 20.05 vs. 63.54 ± 22.90; p = 0.0001). Conclusion: Psychoeducation intervention could diminish anxiety in women with subsequent pregnancy after stillbirth. Therefore, we recommend incorporating the components of psychoeducation related to the special needs of this group of women as a part of the routine prenatal care and educating healthcare providers to use these interventions.
Reconstructing middle to late Holocene sea‐level change: A methodological review with particular reference to ‘A new Holocene sea‐level curve for the southern North Sea’ presented by K.‐E. Behre

Baeteman, C. , Waller, M. & Kiden, P. 2011: Reconstructing middle to late Holocene sea‐level change: A methodological review with particular reference to ‘A new Holocene sea‐level curve for the southern North Sea’ presented by K. ‐E. Behre. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2011. 00207.x. ISSN 0300‐9483.
Physiological and Biochemical Basis of Water-Deficit Stress Tolerance in Pearl Millet Hybrid and Parents

The present investigation was aimed to understand the physiological and biochemical basis of water-deficit stress tolerance in pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. ] hybrid ICMH 356 and its parents ICMR 356 (♂) and ICMB 88004 (♀) in response to and recovery from drought stress and also to comprehend crop adaptation under dryland conditions. A field experiment was conducted in a split plot design with moisture levels as the main plot and genotypes as the sub plots. A comparative analysis of hybrid and parents under well-watered and water-deficit stress conditions revealed that the hybrid was superior over the parents in terms of leaf water relations, excised leaf water retention capacity, accumulation of compatible solutes, photosynthesis, membrane stability index and antioxidative enzyme viz., superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and guaiacol peroxidase (GPOX) activities. ANOVA for these parameters was also found to be significant for genotypes, treatments and their interactions at 0.01% level. Maintenance of superiority in terms of these physiological and biochemical parameters coupled with better recovery ability upon stress relief are crucial physiological mechanisms contributing to water deficit stress tolerance in pearl millet. Simple correlation coefficient analysis revealed significant positive association of yield at 0.01% level with relative water content, leaf water potential, stomatal conductance, photosynthesis, proline, total soluble sugars, free amino acids, membrane stability index, leaf area index and total biomass, while a significant negative association with solute potential and malondialdehyde content, under water-deficit stress clearly indicated that such relationships can be positively attributed to drought tolerance.
Reinsurance and dividend management

In this dissertation we set to find the dual optimal policy of a dividend payout scheme for shareholders with a risk-averse utility function and the retention level of received premiums for an insurance company with the option of reinsurance. We set the problem as a stochastic control problem. We then solve the resulting second-order partial differential equation known as Hamilton-JacobiBellman equation. We find out that the optimal retention level is linear with the current reserve up to a point whereupon it is optimal for the insurance company to retain all business. As for the optimal dividend payout scheme, we find out that it is optimal for the company not to declare dividends and we make further explorations of this result.
Method for inferring the axis orientation of cylindrical magnetic flux rope based on single‐point measurement

We develop a new simple method for inferring the orientation of a magnetic flux rope, which is assumed to be a time‐independent cylindrically symmetric structure via the direct single‐point analysis of magnetic field structure. The model tests demonstrate that, for the cylindrical flux rope regardless of whether it is force‐free or not, the method can consistently yield the axis orientation of the flux rope with higher accuracy and stability than the minimum variance analysis of the magnetic field and the Grad‐Shafranov reconstruction technique. Moreover, the radial distance to the axis center and the current density can also be estimated consistently. Application to two actual flux transfer events observed by the four satellites of the Cluster mission demonstrates that the method is more appropriate to be used for the inner part of flux rope, which might be closer to the cylindrical structure, showing good agreement with the results obtained from the optimal Grad‐Shafranov reconstruction and the least squares technique of Faraday's law, but fails to produce such agreement for the outer satellite that grazes the flux rope. Therefore, the method must be used with caution.
Bargaining and Influence in Conflict Situations

Excerpt] This chapter examines bargaining as an influence process through which actors attempt to resolve a social conflict. Conflict occurs when two or more interdependent actors have incompatible preferences and perceive or anticipate resistance from each other (Blalock 1989; Kriesberg 1982). Bargaining is a basic form of goal-directed action that involves both intentions to influence and efforts by each actor to carry out these intentions. Tactics are verbal and/or nonverbal actions designed to maneuver oneself into a favorable position vis-a-vis another or to reach some accommodation. Our treatment of bargaining subsumes the concept of "negotiation" (see Morley and Stephenson 1977). This chapter is organized around a conceptual framework that distinguishes basic types of bargaining contexts. We begin by introducing the framework and then present an overview of and analyze theoretical and empirical work on each type of bargaining context.
Improving Calcareous Soil Productivity by Integrated Effect of Intercropping and Fertilizer

A f ield exper iment was conducted at Nubariah, Alexandria g overnorate t o s tudy the integrated effects of fertilization and intercropping on calcareous soil. Two s species plant with different phytosideroiphore release namely corn as grain crop and millet as a summer forage crop were intercropped with c owpea (Vigna L. ) as well as sunflower was intercropped with c orn plant. Organic manu re, biofertilizers, and chemical fertilizers were applied. Results indicated that intercropping of cowpea or sunflower with corn significantly affect grains yield o f corn plant and i mproved t he yield o f mielt when intercropped with c owpea plant than their yield i n s ole c ultures. In monocul ture t he yield o f cowpea was higher than yield of cowpea in different combinations. The highest land equivalent ratio (LER) (1.22) was obtained from corn with cowpea plants inte rcropping system; t his su ggests 22% percent in crease in production during one season of intercropping, following that corn with sunflower (1.18). A ppling biofertiilizers and organic m anure saved amount of chemical fertilizers applied to the soil. Concerning sunflower, the re was a n increase in grain yie ld and nutrients up take, es pecially in I ron zinc. T hese results indicated a marked i mprovement in the availability of nutrients status in calcareous soil and h ighlighted the shortcoming of chemical fertilizers p olicies.
A VSM (virtual synchronous machine) convertor control model suitable for RMS studies for resolving system operator/owner challenges

In recent years, it has become clear that reaching the targeted levels of renewable power generation poses problems, not only for basic infrastructure and generation/load balancing, but also in terms of fundamental network stability. In Ireland, the contribution from convertor-connected generation is already constrained to 50-55%, while recent studies of other networks suggest that any "penetration" of convertors above 65% could lead to instability. The phenomena have been observed both in RMS and high-fidelity EMT simulations of convertor-dominated power systems, and appears to be unavoidable when using the dq-axis current-source controllers within conventional grid-connected convertors. The high control bandwidth (>50 Hz) of these convertors also means that they cannot be effectively included within RMS type large-scale network models. The idea of "synthetic inertia" has been proposed in some publications as a mitigating solution but needs to be considered carefully, since if implemented incorrectly it has been shown to further destabilise the network at the critical small timescales and high frequencies. In this paper we present simple versions of a Virtual Synchronous Machine (VSM) model which is implemented and demonstrated in both transient and RMS based simulations. An important aspect of the VSM is that the controller’s bandwidth is low (<<50 Hz). This means that it can be modelled with reasonable accuracy in RMS simulation with time steps of the order of 2ms. From a system operator perspective, large-scale RMS simulations of entire countries or regions containing hundreds of VSM generators can be carried out with reasonable accuracy.