Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An analytic algorithm for the space-time fractional reaction-diffusion equation

In this paper, we solve the space-time fractional reaction-diffusion equation by the fractional homotopy analysis method. Solutions of different examples of the reaction term will be computed and investigated. The approximation solutions of the studied models will be put in the form of convergent series to be easily computed and simulated. Comparison with the approximation solution of the classical case of the studied modeled with their approximation errors will also be studied.
Willingness to Pay for Online News: An Empirical Study on the Viability of the Subscription Model

As no business models seem to generate reliable revenue streams for online news services, many publishers see the subscription model as a last resort for survival although little evidence suggests users are ready to pay for online news at this moment. A random-sample telephone survey of 853 Hong Kong residents found very few users actually responded to paid content and most had no intent to pay in the future. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that age and newspaper use are related to paying intent, whereas income is not. Online publishers may consider the economic implications before adopting the subscription model.
Motivation for buying branded items: a cross country application of maslows hierarchy of needs in consumer decision making

The brand is a pledge to buyers about the quality and prestige of a product or service. The main objective of this study is to analyse the importance of branding in the decision making of buyers and to examine the motives that drive consumer decisions when buying branded items. The conceptual framework of this study groups the hierarchy of needs according to Maslow into two main motives. The motives are risk reduction and social demonstrance. In this study, the non-probability sampling method was used to select respondents from four different countries namely, the Czech Republic, China, Ghana and Sri Lanka and a semi-structured questionnaire was administered. A total of 979 valid responses from the respective countries were used in the analysis. Findings from the study are that, among the selected countries, brands play an important role in consumer buying behaviour and risk reduction, social demonstrance are motives that drive consumer purchases.
Children's Television Behaviors as Perceived by Mother and Child.

ABSTRACT A generally held hypothesis is that greater family interaction_will increase agreement between mother and child on reports of television viewing habits. This initial study sought to determine the extent of such agreement between mother and child, and to analyze the role of frequency of family interaction in their coorientation toward television and toward the use of violence. Interviews were conducted with 85 fourth and fifth grade children and their mothers about the child's exposure to television in general and to violence on television in particular, context of viewing, program selection, perceived reality of television, rules about television watching, perceptions about the amount of violence on television, family interaction, violence justification, and probable behavior in frustrating situations. Results showed that there was relatively strong agreement on only three =. spects of the child's television habits--the nonviolent shows he watched and his frequency of watching with either his parents or his friends. Also, there was more viewing of programs considered violent among children who did a significant amount of television watching with one or both of their parents present, and the child more often finds the use of violence justified when the parents watched a substantial frequency of violent programs.
Improvement of Gas Yield from Biomass Gasification by Using Fe-olivine as Gasifier Bed Inventory

In the present work, a bench-scale biomass gasification plant operating at atmospheric pressure is utilized in this work to check innovative, catalytic hot gas cleaning processes and plant arrangements. The cleaning step is realized by means of Fe/olivine, used as catalytic bed inventory for tar, methane and H2S reforming, or Fe/olivine coupled with a catalytically active filter candle. Natural olivine has been used in fluidized bed gasifier thanks to the catalytic activity and the mechanical strength. Iron (III) in his structure is responsible of the tar cracking reaction because of its efficiency in ring opening. Impregnation of iron leads to an improved catalytic efficiency. The aim of this work is to test the Fe/olivine in real gasification condition using a fluidized bed gasifier.
Management Efficiency and Profitability in Indian Automobile Industry: from Theory to Practice

This paper investigates the relationship between the management efficiency and the firms profitability for a sample of 13 auto manufacturing companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, located in Pune for the period of 5 yrs from 2006 to 2010. Management efficiency is an important component of corporate financial management because it directly affects the profitability of the firms. Considering the importance of profitability for the survival of a business and the role of efficient management to achieve this aim, this paper explores the relationship between management efficiency and profitability in Automobile Industry of India. For this purpose, 13 auto manufacturing companies are located in Pune were chosen as the sample. The analysis is carried out using Minitab 14 and conducting Pearson Coefficient correlation test on variables of the study including Gross Profit Ratio (GPR) and Assets Turnover Ratio (ATR). The central conclusion of the study is that profitability and management efficiency are highly correlated to each other and based on the results of the study recommendations for improving the management efficiency and profitability in this industry are suggested.
The Fogel Approach to Health and Growth

According to Robert Fogel (1994a, 1994b), nutrition is the driving force for the increase in health human capital, which in turn has significantly promoted economic growth in the long run. In this paper, we take Fogeli¯s finding to extend the standard Ramsey model by including the effect of consumption on nutrition and health human capital formation. It is demonstrated that there exist multiple equilibria in the modified Ramsey model with a subsistence level of consumption. That is to say, different countries may end up with different levels of long-run consumption, nutrition, health human capital, and physical capital.
Winner effect in dynamic contests

The present paper contributes to the empirical research on behaviour in dynamic contests. Game theoretical models suggest that players’ performance in dynamic contests should be influenced by their previous performance and their relative position in the contest. Such models typically predict a “winner effect” or “momentum effect”: a sequence of previous good performance can have a positive effect on the future performance of a contestant. The empirical study of such an effect faces the difficulty of disentangling causal effects of past performance from spurious correlation over time of performance levels due to unobservable variables. Using a quasi-experimental setting from a sport context we are able to identify the causal effect of past performance and to provide a clean evidence of a “winner effect”. We exploit a large dataset of ball tracking data from tennis matches and exploits the randomised variation in point results that occurs when balls are hit close to the court’s line. Using a donut regression discontinuity design we find that winning a point has a significant effect on the result of the next point. A player who wins a point has 5.58 percents more chances to win the next one than a player who just lost a point. This effect goes up to 12 percents point at the most decisive points of the game, as predicted by game theoretic models. We discuss the likely economic and psychological explanations of this phenomenon as well as the economic implications of such a result. The understanding of how the performance of a contestant is affected by his/her previous performance is crucial for the study of contests and tournaments as incentive schemes. The possible presence of a momentum effect in contests will typically affect the optimal design of tournaments. It will also affect the overall output the designer can expect from the tournament.
Investigation of PBDEs in Landfill Leachates from Across Canada

Leachates from 27 landfills (e.g. planned disposal area) across southern Canada and 11 dump sites (e.g. unorganized disposal area) in the Canadian North were collected (2006) and analysed (2006-2008) for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). There was wide variability in the results, both in terms of the total PBDE concentrations and in the distribution of congeners. Northern sites tended to have lower concentrations than southern ones, but some northern levels were significant, despite the low population density and lack of industry in the north. The North could potentially act as a sink for PBDE contaminants because many organic compounds get deposited via air or water currents in the North even though they were not manufactured there.
Macrohabitat and Microhabitat Affinities of Small Mammals in a Fragmented Landscape on the Upper Coastal Plain of Virginia

Abstract We analyzed macrohabitat and microhabitat associations of four soricid and five rodent species in five macrohabitats on the Coastal Plain of Virginia. There were no significant differences in total small mammal abundance among macrohabitat types based on total captures/unit effort. However, abundances of four species, Cryptotis parva, Reithrodontomys humulis, Microtus pennsylvanicus and Zapus hudsonius, were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in old fields than in four forested habitats. Canonical correspondence analysis revealed that 27% of the variation in small mammal distributions was attributable to microhabitat characteristics. Three characteristics that had a particular influence on small mammal presence in forested habitats were shrub frequency (Sorex longirostris), canopy openness (S. hoyi) and diameter of downed woody debris (S. hoyi, Blarina brevicauda, Microtus pinetorum). Correlations between small mammals and microhabitat characteristics are due to local moisture gradients and structural heterogeneity. Lack of correlations between Peromyscus leucopus and any microhabitat characteristic is due to the ability of this species to obtain requirements from a variety of sources. Preservation of microhabitat characteristics like downed woody debris and understory vegetation, and certain macrohabitats (e.g., old fields), would require minimal management effort and provide suitable habitat for a diverse small mammal fauna in fragmented landscapes.
Language , Literacy and Mind : The Literacy Hypothesis

Literacy is important not only as a means of access to new information and as an extension of memory. Rather, it is argued that writing is a means to the awareness of the implicit properties of language. This awareness is expressed through new concepts for referring to what is said, what is meant by it, what it implies, of what it is composed, and the like. Writing achieves this effect through distancing the thoughts of the writer from the fi xed, objective form it takes when written down. The effect on the reader, correspondingly, is equally distanced from the writer with the result that reading is less like hearing a speaker that like over-hearing. I describe this effect by saying that writing puts language within quotation marks.
Growth Performance and Histological Changes in Ileum and Immune Related Organs of Broilers Fed Organic Acids or Antibiotic Growth Promoter

An experiment was designed to evaluate the effects of using organic acids as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoter on performance of broiler chicks. Carcass characteristics, histological changes of ileum and immune related organs (bursa, thymus and spleen) along with intestinal bacteria count were also studied. A number of 150 Cobb broiler chicks were fed on three dietary treatments: a basal cornsoybean meal diet served as a control treatment with no supplements or supplemented with either 0.025% Bacitracin Methylene Disalicylat (BMD, antibiotic) or 0.06% Galliacid (organic acids) from 10 to 36 days of ® age. The results showed that birds fed antibiotic or organic acids gained significant (p<0.05) more body weight than those fed the control diet. No significant differences were detected among treatments on feed intake while feed conversion ratio (FCR) values were significantly (p<0.001) differ. Addition of organic acids or antibiotic did improve FCR by about 9 and 4%, respectively. These results indicated that birds fed either organic acids or antibiotic supplemented diets utilized feed more efficiently than those fed the control diet. Carcass characteristics were not affected by dietary treatments, while the addition of antibiotic or organic acids significantly (p<0.01) increased spleen and bursa weight (% live body weight). Addition of organic acids was more effective than antibiotic on decreasing intestinal count of Escherichia coli and appearance of Colostridium perfringers. Organic acids as alternative to the antibiotic growth promoter have stimulated some histological change in histology of the villi and the immune related organs. Performance and feed efficiency are closely interrelated with the quantitative microbial load of the gut, the morphological structure of the intestinal wall and the activity of the immune system. In conclusion, dietary inclusion of organic acids increased growth performance and improved intestinal health and morphology of broiler chicks. It could be successfully used as alternative to antibiotic growth promoters in broiler diets or as a tool of controlling intestinal pathogenic bacteria.
Using Virtual Reality in an Automotive User Experience Development Process

The automotive industry of today is characterized by trends towards an increased focus on user experience (UX) and digital interfaces. Development cycles have become shorter, and in order to save time and cost the importance of early concept evaluations has increased. One way to support early UX evaluations of interactive systems, could be to make use of virtual reality (VR), a group of technologies that have developed rapidly during recent years. Due to this situation, Volvo Car Corporation (VCC) requested an investigation with the aim to gain a better understanding for how to utilize VR in user studies related to development of digital driver interfaces. Based on the investigation, the goal was thereafter to create a design concept that could lead to improved user studies, and also to create guidelines for how to work with VR within the UX field. The investigation consisted of three central parts. The first was a literature study focusing on UX and VR. The second was a user study with 13 participants where VR equipment, a driving simulator, and a real car was tested and compared. Data was collected through interviews and observations, but also through questionnaires such as the UEQ and ICT-SOPI. The last part of the investigation was about identifying user needs among VCC employees that will be involved in studies where VR equipment is used. Based on the investigation, it was considered that one of the areas where the greatest improvements could be made was on the physical rig. Due to this, the concept development phase focused on creating a new rig. The final concept was a VR test rig made as a mobile unit possible to bring to test sites.
THE INFLUENCE OF PLANT GROWTH SATGE , INDIVIDUALS OF SPECIES , AND EXTRACTION METHODS ON THE ESSENTIAL OIL CONTENT AND THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF PRANGOS FERULACEA ( L . ) LINDL

Prangos ferulacea is one of the species of essential oil plants, which is appreciated because of its value in medicine, perfumery, and forage industries. In order to gain the optimum oil yield of P. ferulacea, the essential oils of fertile and infertile individuals were isolated from the aerial parts by steam distillation and hydrodistillation methods at three maturity stages of pre-flowering, flowering, and seeding. The oils were analyzed by capillary GC (Gas Chromatography) and GC/MS (Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectroscopy). The extraction yields from the aerial parts of P. ferulacea were found to be 0.17% and 0.24-0.29% for steam distillation and hydrodistillation, respectively. The highest oil yield was obtained at the flowering stage in infertile individuals (0.29% w/w) for hydrodistillation. Thirty-four components, comprising 99.98% of the total oil, were identified at the flowering stage of infertile individuals, in which (E)-caryophyllene (48.21%), α-humulene (10.28%), spathulenol (9.36%), linalool (3.46%), and δ-3-carene (3.37%) were recognized as the major components. Based on our findings, essential oil yields vary considerably from stage-to-stage and are also influenced by extraction methods. As well as, we found that infertile individual at the flowering stage can strongly enhance the quality of commercial oils in P. ferulacea.
Collective Leadership Effects on Student Achievement

Purpose: This study aimed to estimate the impact of collective, or shared, leadership on key teacher variables and on student achievement. As well, it inquired about the relative contribution of different sources of such leadership and whether differences among patterns of collective leadership were related to differences in student achievement. Methods: Evidence included 2,570 teacher responses from 90 elementary and secondary schools in which four or more teachers completed usable surveys. Student achievement data in language and math averaged over 3 years were acquired through school Web sites. Data were analyzed using path-analytic techniques. Findings: Collective leadership explained a significant proportion of variation in student achievement across schools. Higher-achieving schools awarded leadership influence to all school members and other stakeholders to a greater degree than that of lower-achieving schools. These differences were most significant in relation to the leadership exercised by school teams, parents, and students. Principals were awarded the highest levels of influence in schools at all levels of achievement. Implications: Influence seems to be an infinite resource in schools. The more those in formal leadership roles give it away, the more they acquire.
Managerial Practices, Performance and Innovativeness: Some Evidence from Finnish Manufacturing

Our study aims at shedding light on the organizational mechanisms that produce differences in the firmsŽ innovation performance. We use a survey data collected from 398 Finnish manufacturing firms for the years 2002 and 2005 to empirically explore whether and which organizational factors explain why certain firms produce larger innovative research output than others, and whether the incentives to innovate that certain organizational practices generate differ between the SMEs and large firms, and between those firms that are operating in low-tech and high-tech industries. Our study indicates that one size does not fit all when it comes to the selection of organizational practices creating a business environment that is fruitful for innovation. There are vast differences in the organizational practices leading to more innovation both between the small and large firms, and between the firms that are functioning in high- and low-tech industries. While innovation in the small firms tend to benefit from the practices that enhance employee participation in the decision-making, the large firms that have more decentralized decision-making patterns do not seem to perform better in terms of innovation than those with a more bureaucratic decision-making structure. The most efficient incentive-based compensation means encouraging innovation among the sampled companies seems to be the ownership of a firms stocks by the employees and/or managers. Performance based wages also relates positively to innovation, but only when it is combined with a systematic monitoring of the firmŽs performance.
VISUALIZATION OF MAGNETOTELLURIC DATA WITH APPARENT VELOCITY METHOD

Magnetotelluric (MT) field data are usually presented as plots of amplitude and phase MT sounding data vs frequency. Visualization of resistivity changes of geoelectric complexes with the use of apparent resistivity and phase curves give qualitative results only. Quantitative interpretation of MT sounding curves is needed to get geoelectric parameters. For a 1D horizontally layered earth, amplitude curves (apparent resistivity curves) and phase curves can be transformed into apparent velocity curves versus depth of EM field penetration into the conducting earth.Apparent velocity curves can be approximated by straight-line segments corresponding to homogeneous geoelectric layer complexes. Each segment of the apparent velocity curve (with a given angle of inclination) is related with the resistivity and thickness of individual geoelectric complexes. For heterogeneous earth (2D or 3D) vertical component of the magnetic field is directly connected with boundary of geoelectric complexes. It can be used to express components of vectors of apparent velocity. For a 1D horizontally layered earth, a vector of apparent velocity has only the vertical component. For heterogeneous earth horizontal components of apparent velocity also are inducted. The angle of inclination of the total vector of velocity and its value depend on the geometry of studied structure.
Prevalence of Smear positive Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB) and Associated Factors among PTB Suspects Attending Harar Tuberculosis Control Center, Harar, Ethiopia

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be an important public health problem worldwide. It is a leading cause of disability and death in many parts of the world especially in the developing countries. Ethiopia has already a record of history of TB around greater than 58 years. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and associated factors of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in Harar TB control center. A health institution based cross sectional study was conducted in Harar town, Eastern Ethiopia from March 5, 2009 to May 7, 2009. All patients who were above 5 years of age and visited Harar TB control center during the study period were enrolled consecutively. Sputum specimens were collected based on standard operating procedures and processed using hot Ziehl-Neelson staining technique. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data on socio-demographic and associated factors. Data were cleaned, coded and entered using EPIDATA version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 16 software. P-values < 0.05 were taken as statistically significant. A total of 108 Pulmonary Tuberculosis (PTB) suspected patients were enrolled in the study. The overall prevalence of PTB was 16.7% where 22.8% of males and 9.8% of females were PTB smear positive. The prevalence of PTB was significantly higher among smokers (50%), alcohol drinkers (29.3%) and rural residents (29.3) (P<0.05). The prevalence of PTB in the study area was considerably high. Smoking, drinking alcohol and rural residence (areas nominated by the government as “rural” which lack important infrastructures) were significant predictors of PTB. Therefore; health education, early diagnosis and treatment are vital to combat PTB and further longitudinal studies are recommended. Keywords: Prevalence, PTB, Harar, Ethiopia