Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Countries three Wise Men: Sustainability, Innovation, and Competitiveness

Purpose: The studies on links between sustainability, innovation, and competitiveness have been mainly focused at organizational and business level. The purpose of this research is to investigate if there is a correlation between these three variables at country level. Using international well recognized rankings of countries sustainability, innovation, and competitiveness, correlation analysis was performed allowing for the conclusion that there are indeed high correlations (and possible relationships) between the three variables at country level. Design/methodology/approach: Sustainability, innovation, and competitiveness literature were reviewed identifying a lack of studies examining these three variables at country level. Three major well recognized indexes were used to support the quantitative research: The World Economic Forum (2013) Sustainability-adjusted global competitiveness index, the Global Innovation Index (2014) issued by Cornell University, INSEAD, and WIPO and the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (2014). After confirming the distributions normality, Pearson correlation analysis was made with results showing high linear correlations between the three indexes. Findings: The results of the correlation analysis using Pearson correlation coefficient (all correlation coefficients are greater than 0.73) give a strong support to the conclusion that there is indeed a high correlation (and a possible relationship) between social sustainability, innovation and competitiveness at country level. Research limitations/implications: Further research is advisable to better understand the factors that contribute to the presented results and to establish a global paradigm linking these three main constructs (social sustainability, innovation, and competitiveness). Some authors consider that these measurements are not fully supported (e.g. due to different countries standards), however, it is assumed these differing underlying methodological approaches, by being used in conjunction, can be considered as a set of reliable and useful performance indicators. Practical implications: The results highlight the simultaneous relationship between social sustainability, innovation and competitiveness superior performance and the need to take that these considerations into business and operating models. Social implications: This research suggests that sustainability and innovation policies, strategies and practices are relevant for countries competitiveness and should be promoted particularly in countries ranked low on sustainability and innovation global scoring indexes. Originality/value: This is one of the few studies addressing the relationships between sustainability, innovation and competitiveness at country level.
Tourism and Economic Growth in Sri Lanka

The purpose of the study is to examine the impact of tourism on economic growth in Sri Lanka through the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach. The analysis was carried out for the period from 1969 to 2009. By and large, our analysis reveals that tourism has a positive impact on economic growth in Sri Lanka both in the short-run and long-run.
Anti-heat island circulations and low-level jets on a sea gulf

A two-dimensional fine-scale atmospheric model was set across an idealized 80-km-wide east—west sea gulf at 60oN (‘Gulf of Finland’). During a moderate south-easterly basic flow in overcast early summer conditions, a robust low-level jet (LLJ) is formed, with diverging and relatively strong afternoon surface easterlies blowing along the cool gulf. The LLJ is caused primarily by inertial oscillation in space—time due to the large difference in roughness and stability over the land and the sea, but the surface easterlies are also enhanced by an anti-heat island circulation triggered by the slant basic flow across the cool sea gulf. The dynamics and details of the anti-heat island circulation are discussed. With warmer waters the primary LLJ relaxes and the anti-heat island circulation ceases while the enhanced vertical mixing still maintains strong surface winds over the warm sea, but with reduced cross-isobar angles. Sunny conditions enhance convection over land and may induce sea breezes. These may reinforce the LLJ and the associated surface easterlies over the sea.
Investigation of complexation of ethidium bromide with DNA by the method of Raman spectroscopy

The investigation of complexation features of ethidium bromide (EB) with calf thymus DNA at the high and low ratios of biopolymer/ligand molar concentrations (P/D) was carried out using Raman spectroscopy and VIS-spectrophotometry. It was shown that EB binds to DNA with formation of two types of complexes: intercalation and exterior binding. The analysis of Raman spectra revealed that the amino groups of EB form the hydrogen bonds with acceptor atom groups of DNA in both types of complexes. A low extent of filling DNA structure by the ligand (P/D = 20) does not change the DNA B-form, while a high extent (P/D = 3) results in the conformation B-A transition.
A retrospective overview of factors that influence guinea worm epidemic in northern region of Ghana

This article retrospectively examines the factors which caused Guinea Worm Disease (Dracunculiasis) to spread to epidemic levels, so as to serve as the basis for formulating a national preventive agenda to reinforce the preventive measures which have been put in place to prevent the disease from re-emerging. The hybrid conceptual framework of disease diffusion and disease ecology was used. The mixed method research design was used to collect data from a total of 11 administrative districts. Primary data was obtained from a total of 860 respondents. To achieve a representative distribution of respondents, they were proportionately selected with respect to the populations of their respective districts. A key Informant interview was conducted. It was found that the major cause of the disease was attributed to poor access to potable water. Others were difficulty in getting ground water, populations preferring surface sources of drinking water, all year round contact with perennial surface sources of drinking water, and the “knee deep level” culture of fetching clean water from surface sources. It was concluded that cultural practices, environmental conditions, climatic influences, and real/imagined perceptions on the quality of water influenced the spread of the disease. It was recommended that government health institutions should make efforts at determining the factors that make populations vulnerable to diseases. The policy implication is that government will have to commit resources to provide people with the information and equipment they need to interact with their biophysical environment. Keywords: Drinking Water, Underground Water, Climate, Culture, Epidemic
The correlation between perceived internal audit quality and defined corporate governance soundness

This paper investigated whether a correlation exists between the perceived quality of an internal audit function and the soundness of its company’s corporate governance structure. Compliance with ten disclosure requirements of the King II report was used to determine a corporate governance score for each participating company. The perceptions of management and audit committee chairs on their companies’ internal audit function quality were used to determine a quality score for each participating internal audit function. These perceptions were based on elements that affect internal audit function quality identified from the literature. The correlation between these scores was then investigated. The sample consisted of thirty large South African companies. Results were based on questionnaires completed by chief audit executives, chief executives and audit committee chairpersons of participating companies. The main finding was that no correlation was found to exist between the defined soundness of the corporate governance structures and the perceived internal audit quality of participating companies. This finding causes doubt about internal audit' s role as a corporate governance mechanism in an organisation, and indicates that extensive research should be encouraged into the relevance of internal audit as a true corporate governance mechanism.
DFRFT: A Classified Review of Recent Methods with Its Application

In the literature, there are various algorithms available for computing the discrete fractional Fourier transform (DFRFT). In this paper, all the existing methods are reviewed, classified into four categories, and subsequently compared to find out the best alternative from the view point of minimal computational error, computational complexity, transform features, and additional features like security. Subsequently, the correlation theorem of FRFT has been utilized to remove significantly the Doppler shift caused due to motion of receiver in the DSB-SC AM signal. Finally, the role of DFRFT has been investigated in the area of steganography.
Gall bladder dysfunction in chronic diabetics (type 2): an ultrasonography based prospective study

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is commonest endocrine disorder now a days and its prevalence is continuously rising in India due to spread of modern life style so its associated complications are also increasing. Gall bladder is one of the commonly affected organs in chronic diabetics, most probably due to autonomic neuropathy which adversely affects gall bladder motility and provokes bile stasis. Methods: This institution based prospective study had been performed among 100 chronic diabetics; randomly selected from diabetic clinic of department of medicine, people’s college of medical science and research centre, Bhopal M.P. India. Only those patients selected for study who have type 2 diabetes mellitus more than 5 yr and have well controlled sugar levels. 100 controls/volunteers were selected for comparative evaluation. All patients and volunteers had undergone abdominal ultrasonography for any existing hepatobiliary pathology and to measure fasting and post fatty meal gall bladder volume. Results: Among 100 chronic diabetics seventy-six (76%) patients didn’t show any hepatobiliary abnormality however cholelithiasis was seen in thirteen (13%) patients, cholecystitis in five (5%) patients and sludge was seen in six (6%) patients. In group of 100 controls ninety-one (91%) didn’t show any hepatobiliary pathology however cholelithiasis was detected incidentally in four (4%) persons, cholecystitis in two (2%) persons and sludge in three (3%) persons. Significant difference is observed in fasting gall bladder volume of chronic diabetics and controls (p value- 0.001). Major difference is also observed in percentage of gall bladder contraction among chronic diabetics and controls (p value- 0.001). Conclusions: Higher fasting gall bladder volume and decreased percentage of contraction both are observed in patients of chronic diabetes mellitus attributed to autonomic neuropathy. Prolonged stasis of bile leads to complications e.g. cholelithiasis, cholecystitis and sludge deposition as late outcome. Hepatobiliary ultrasonography in chronic diabetics can be used as screening tool for early diagnosis of complication and to avoid its serious consequences when presents in emergency and undergone for surgery.
The effect of the ownership structure on earnings management practices

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of the ownership structure, which includes concentration ownership, institutional ownership and foreign ownership in the light of the debt ratio and company size as controlling variables in limiting the earnings management practices of the Jordanian industrial companies for the period 2012–2016. The hypotheses of the study were tested using the multiple regression models. Among the most prominent findings of the study are: the explanatory factor (R2) for the independent and control variables accounts for 38% of the change in the earnings management of the Jordanian industrial companies, moreover, a significant effect of the concentration ownership was found in the limitation of earnings management practices; while, there was no significant influence of institutional ownership and foreign ownership on the earnings management practices in Jordanian industrial companies. Major limitation to this study is the only considered listed industrial Jordanian firms. Thus, the generalization of the results to other sectors and diverse economic conditions and regulations may be constrained. Finally, Jordanian policymaker reform policies motivate companies to increase their interest on concentration ownership structure, as the study showed the significant effect of the concentration ownership in the limitation of earnings management practice.
SWB as a Measure of Individual Well-Being

There is much discussion about using subjective well-being measures as inputs into a social welfare function, which will tell us how well societies are doing. But we have (many) more than one measure of subjective well-being. I here consider examples of the three of the main types (life satisfaction, affect, and eudaimonia) in three European surveys. These are quite strongly correlated with each other, and are correlated with explanatory variables in pretty much the same manner. I provide an overview of a recent literature which has compared how well different subjective well-being measures predict future behaviour, and address the issue of the temporality of well-being measures, and whether they should be analysed ordinally or cardinally.
Effects of Different Types of Written Corrective Feedback on Korean High School Students’ Writing

This paper examined effects of three types of written corrective feedback (CF) on L2 learners’ grammatical accuracy in writing, focusing on the use of verb tense and articles. Within Ellis’ (2008) typology of CF, the present study focused on direct, indirect, and metalinguistic CF. The feedback was provided at each stage of writing, and the participants were to write three new pieces of writing. Changes in the accuracy of the grammatical targets were measured. Results indicated that despite the limitations of the small number of the participants, positive changes in the grammatical accuracy were found with metalinguistic CF for verb tense and with indirect CF for articles in new pieces of writing. In addition, unlike previous studies, a negative role of direct written feedback was observed in the present study.
An integrative pluralistic approach to phenomenal consciousness

We review theories and empirical research on underlying mechanisms of selfhood, awareness, and conscious experience. The mechanisms that have been identified for these phenomena are many and multifarious, lying at many levels of space and time, and complexity and abstractness. Proposals have included the global workspace for conscious information, action and its centrality to self awareness, the role for social information and narrative, and more. We argue that phenomenal experience, whatever it “really is,” is probably dependent upon all of these levels simultaneously. We end with two challenges for consciousness research. Both are couched in terms of the dynamics of phenomenal experience. The first is to investigate the sustained dynamics of phenomenal experience; the second is to unveil the way that multi-scale processes in the cognitive system interact to produce that richness of experience. We do not aim to solve the hard problem, but argue that any solution will require this plural characteristic.
The influence of livestock-derived foods on nutrition during the first 1,000 days of life

and reduce poverty in developing countries through research for efficient, safe and sustainable use of livestock. It is the only one of 15 CGIAR research centres dedicated entirely to animal agriculture research for the developing world. Co-hosted by Kenya and Ethiopia, it has regional or country offices and projects in East, South and Southeast Asia as well as Central, East, Southern and West Africa. ilri.org ISBN: 92–9146–525-9
Advertising Social Semiotic Representation: A Critical Approach

The aim of this article was to show the usefulness of a Social Semiotics approach proposed by Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) in analyzing advertising discourse to achieve the aim of uncovering the ideology behind choosing different resources (verbal and non verbal). Two examples selected from ' Time' magazine showed that both textual and visual signs are among social semiotic resources which could help advertisers to convey persuasive messages under ideological assumptions. The result of this study revealed that social semiotic reference occupies a pivotal point in the relationship between advertising discourse and ideology. The image, word and color, seen in this way as the product of social practices, are just three of the many semiotic modes through which social meanings of advertisements are coded.
Friends and health of the workers in Italy

Using a rich cross-sectional dataset, we estimate the effect of meetings with friends on self-perceived health, chronic conditions and limitations in daily activities of Italian employees. We address the self-selection of individuals in labour market using an Heckman selection model. Our main preliminary findings show that meetings with friends is positively correlated with self-perceived health, negatively associated with chronic conditions but not related to limitations in activities of daily living.
The ontogeny of the chondrocranium in Clarias gariepinus: trends in siluroids

The ontogeny of the chondrocranium of 31 diVerent stages of the African catfish Clarias gariepinus (Siluroidei: Clariidae) was studied, both from cleared and stained, and sectioned material. The fish ranged from 4·1 (1 day post-hatching) to 127·0 mm SL (100 days post-hatching). The chondrocranium of C. gariepinus seemed to correspond to the general adaptive trends in siluroids, especially in relation to the reduction of eye size and the dorso-ventral flattening of the skull. The platybasic neurocranium involved several modifications related to the trabecular bars, the hypophyseal fenestra, the ethmoid region and even the olfactory nerves. Certain reductions were present, which have been observed in all siluroids (e.g. absence of the pila lateralis, the commissura lateralis, the myodomes) or are part of a variable trend within siluroids (e.g. reduction of the taenia marginalis anterior and the tectum synoticum). Compared with some other siluroid species, the neurocranium of C. gariepinus is well developed, for example in the otic region. The same was observed in the splanchnocranium where some general siluroid trends persist (e.g. isolation of palatine from pterygoquadrate, presence of ‘ hyo-symplectic-pterygoquadrate ’ plate). Some trends, as observed in other siluroids, were present also (e.g. interhyal continuous with suspensorium and ceratohyal, Meckel’s cartilage initially continuous with the suspensorium). The branchial basket is well developed as all expected elements are present (basibranchials I‐IV, hypobranchials I‐IV, ceratobranchials I‐V, epibranchials I‐IV). Based on the observed ontogeny of C. gariepinus and data from the literature, a hypothesis was formulated which indicated the presence of a general reductional trend within siluroids. In C. gariepinus, all four (I‐IV) infrapharyngobranchials develop, although the anterior two are much reduced and fused with each other. 1997 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles
Thermal and Magnetic Properties of Mechanically Alloyed fcc Cu-Fe Supersaturated Solid Solutions

In this present work, mixtures of Cu-Fe powders in the range 0, 12, 25 and 40 atomic% of Fe have been prepared by ball milling. The analysis of alloyed samples shows a single phase described in the fcc-Cu structure, except for the 40%-Fe compound, which presents the additional bcc-Fe phase. The study of microstructure and magnetic properties under thermal treatments suggests a decomposition of the metastable phase with increasing temperature. In the Cu-richer domain, the fcc cell parameter increases with increasing Fe content. This effect is explained from the fact that the ferromagnetic Fe phase is dispersed in the form of nanosized particles in the paramagnetic Cu matrix, in agreement with previous reports.
The Effect of Global Economic Crisis on Turkish Tourism Demand and a Review for the Period 2003-2013

Turkish tourism has developed as more dependent on the international tourism demand until the 2000s. However, it has gained more stable and more balanced structure with the effect of increase in demand of domestic tourism in the early 21st century. In recent years, despite of the global crisis, the growth rate of the domestic and international tourism expenditure is well above the growth rate of the economy in Turkey. In this study, the effect of the global crisis on Turkish tourism demand has been investigated. The study has focused on factors such as "inflation", "currency" and "interest rates", which may affect Turkish tourism during the global financial crisis. In this way, the effects of the crisis on tourism demand are explained more clearly. The results show occurrence of a significant slowdown in the Turkish foreign active tourism during the global crisis. This deceleration was independent of the inflation and exchange rate effect. Furthermore, it was merely caused by the global crisis. Though, the domestic and overseas travels were increased in Turkey despite of the crisis during the period 2008-2013. Decreasing interest rates played a major role in this increase. Thus, the effect of interest rate on tourist spending can be accepted as a strong influential factor. The study has two important aspects. First, the contractionary effects of the global crisis on the tourism demand are to be determined by taking into account the possible effects of economic variables such as currency, inflation, interest rates, etc. Secondly, this study has a visionary approach, which is an evaluation of the global economic crisis as an opportunity. Besides, it also indicated the effect of the specified variables on tourism demand.
Phylogenetic relationships of fruit bats (Family: Pteropodidae) in Malaysia inferred from partial mtDNA cytochrome b gene

The taxonomic relationships of the Old World fruit bat family, Pteropodinae, by Anderson (1912) using morphological characters have been challenged by several authors. Previous studies using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) found major disagreement between morphology and molecular data in inferring the phylogeny of the fruit bats. Fifty-eight samples from 14 species of the Malaysian fruit bats (Family: Pteropodidae) was used in this study to examine on the phylogenogenetic relationship between species of fruit bats using 395 base pairs of partial mtDNA cytochrome b (cyt b) gene. Our phylogenetic analysis using neighbour-joining and maximum parsimony methods failed to support the monophyly of both the rousettine and cynopterine groups of the Subfamily Pteropodinae.