Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Affecting Disproportional Outcomes by Ethnicity and Grade Level: Using Discipline Data to Guide Practice in High School

Teachers report that the behaviors that they are forced to deal with on a daily basis are not typically violent or intense but are frequent and usurp great amounts of instructional time. Office discipline referrals provide a well-established method of tracking student behavior problems across the school, allowing for deeper analysis of contextual predictors of problem behavior. In this case study, an average-size Midwestern high school created and implemented a referral system that identified disproportional referral rates for freshmen and minority students. This article describes the process by which faculty members identified contextual predictors and agreed on simple rules, routines, and physical arrangements across the school. The authors used continuous data analysis to refine prevention measures and resulting data showed steady and consistent decreases among freshmen and minority students. Implications for considering disproportionality in the context of future research are discussed.
Predicting soil water retention characteristics for Vietnam Mekong Delta soils

Soil hydraulic properties (e.g. soil water retention and hydraulic conductivity) are very important for agricultural and environmental management practices. However, the direct field or laboratory measurement of these characteristics is costly, laborious and time-consuming. Therefore, their indirect estimation from available and easily measured soil properties has received great interest. Pedotransfer functions (PTFs) are being used as a well-known indirect method for determining hydraulic properties from basic soil properties (e.g. soil texture, bulk density and organic carbon content). In this study, we derived two types of PTFs, point and pseudo-continuous functions, for estimating moisture retention characteristics of soils in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The data of 120 samples were collected from agricultural fields distributed over the area. The results reveal that point PTFs outperformed pseudo-continuous functions. Moreover, the plastic limit, on top of classical predictors, appears to be a promising variable to predict soil water retention, especially in the wet moisture range.
Creative Accounting Related Practices Among Corporations Listed in Nairobi Securities Exchange in Kenya

Creative accounting is influenced by a number of management accounting practices. The raison d'etre for this study was to assess creative accounting related practices among listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in Kenya. The study identified four major practices which were dominant in the literature reviewed. Systematic sampling method was applied in selecting the sample for the study. The research design used in this study was a cross sectional survey design which assessed data for the year 2014. Data was acquired through administering questionnaires and interviews to a sample of managers, accountants and internal auditors of companies publicly listed on the NSE. A sample of thirty nine out of a target population of sixty four Companies publicly listed was extracted from the Nairobi Securities Exchange website. Simple descriptive statistics were employed to establish the level of agreement or disagreement by respondents on the influence of the said practices on creative accounting. The results indicated the level of agreement by respondents on influence on creative accounting among the companies listed on the NSE for practices such as Managements compensation, contractual obligation, tax management and insider dealings.
Silver European eels health in Mediterranean habitats

The degradation in the quality of silver eel and their health could have been a major factor in the collapse of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) population. However, the health status of the spawners has been poorly studied until now. This study evaluated the quality of migrant male silver eels from four Mediterranean habitats in France presenting different degrees of contamination: Canet-Saint-Nazaire, Salses-Leucate and Bages-Sigean lagoons and La Berre River. We considered pathogens including Anguillicoloides crassus and EVEX virus and the concentration of chemical contaminants including PCBs, OCs and heavy metals. Our study results revealed different patterns of pollution and infection in the four habitats, with high individual variability. No single silver eel was free of pollution. Total dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and copper contaminations, as well as the Swim bladder Degenerative Index (induced by parasitism), were remarkably high in eels from Canet lagoon, while eels from Salses lagoon showed lower levels of contaminants and parasite infection. A non-negligible proportion of eels were strongly impacted with levels of contaminants/parasites that could potentially impair their migration and reproduction. Our study revealed low to moderate contamination levels compared with the other Mediterranean sites previously reported, except for high concentrations of DDTs and Cu in Canet lagoon. We discuss the contribution of these results in the context of possible implications for silver eels reproductive success and local eel population management.
THE PROCESS OF DISCOVERING STUDENT’S CONJECTURE IN ALGEBRA PROBLEM SOLVING

This exploratory descriptive research aims to describe the process of discovering student’s conjecture in mathematics problem solving. There were 2 students in grade VII of Junior High School who participated as the research subject. The instruments used in this research were problem solving test and interview. This research consisted of three stages which were: 1) data collection; data taken process where the researcher asked every student to solve the problem given; 2) analysis on students’ work and interview; in this step the researcher analyzed the results of the students’ work and carried out interview with the students for further examination of conjecture discovering process when solving the problem; and 3) examining and concluding students’ work result and interview result. The result of this study shows that the stages in discovering conjecture were done sequentially although not all steps were done.
The Mediating Role of Organizational-Based Self-Esteem in Perceived Organizational Support and Counterproductive Work Behaviour Relationship

This study examined the direct influence of the perceived organizational support (POS) on counterproductive work behaviour (CWB). This study also analyzed the role of organizational-based self-esteem (OBSE) as a mediator to the above relationship. Data were obtained from 660 public service officers serving in the Malaysian ministries. The regression analysis showed that the POS and OBSE have a significant negative influence on both CWB-organizational (CWB-O) and CWB-interpersonal (CWB-I). The bootstrapping analysis carried out confirmed the role of OBSE as a mediator in the relationship between POS and CWB-O and CWB-I. From the theoretical implications, this study explains the role of OBSE as an intervening mechanism in linking the POS and CWB. The practical implication suggests the importance of enhancing POS and employees’ OBSE in the effort to reduce employees’ involvement in CWB.
An Improved AES Key Expansion Algorithm

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) has been widely used in wireless communications with advantage of the small amount of computation and fast speed. In order to overcome the drawback of typical expansion algorithm whose key is easily attacked by Square, an improved AES algorithm is proposed. In this algorithm, the double S-box model, the only non-linear structure, is employed to increase the diffusivity of data. Experimental results indicate that this AES algorithm can improve the security of the key in the same condition of algorithm efficiency. Keywords-advanced encryption standard; key expansion; square; double S-box
Macro-, micromorphological characters and DNA fingerprinting markers on three Ruprechtia species (Polygonaceae) in Egypt

Macro-,micromorphological characters and DNA fingerprinting markers have been used to differentiate the threeRuprechtia C. A. Meyer species growing in Egypt (R. exelsa, R. polystachya, and R. salicifolia). Interestingly,the macro- and micromorphological criteria of the vegetative organs showed no fundamental characters todiscriminate between the three examined species. However, the data obtained from the seed coat surface (usingLM and SEM) revealed some variability among the tested species. Seed coat surface was colliculate in (R.excelsa), pusticulate in (R. polystachya) and reticulate–scalariform in R. salicifolia. Accordingly, the seed coatsurface can be used as a fundamental criterion to discriminate between the species of this study. The RAPD–PCR electrophoretic profile, showed unique RAPD markers some of which were species-specific. Speciesspecificmarkers were recorded by using primers OPA-01, OPA-02 and OPA-05 respectively. Two RAPDmarkers specific to R. polystachya and R. salicifolia were recorded. The two markers for the former species havea molecular size of 1800 and 2600 bp using primer OPA-01. While those specific to the latter species have amolecular size of 300 and 400 bp using primers OPA-02. For R. excelsa, one specific RAPD marker wasrecorded, it has a molecular size 800 bp using primer OPA-05. The RAPD markers may be considered as validcriteria to discriminate between the three Ruprechtia species used in this investigation. However, the similarityin the banding profile of RAPD-PCR and the morphological criteria justify the maintenance of the three speciesin the same genus.
Receiver Operating Characteristic Analysis of Milk Lactose for Identification of Mastitis in Buffaloes

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis is a simple statistical tool used to classify a diagnostic indicator in terms of area under a ROC curve (AUC) and to develop potential threshold values of a diagnostic indicator. Milk lactose was analyzed by ROC analysis to see its accuracy to discriminate infected and healthy udder quarters, and to develope an optimum threshold value along with corresponding sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp) and positive likelihood ratio (LR+) value. Data for the present study comprised of 1516 milk samples collected from Jaffrabadi buffaloes. Milk lactose was estimated by milk analyzer ‘LACTOSCAN’ and further samples were checked for sub-clinical mastitis by California mastitis test (CMT). The threshold values of milk lactose for identification of moderate and severe infection were found to be 5.31g% (Se, 58.82%; Sp, 58.28%) and 5.23g% (Se, 70.97%; Sp, 64.41%), respectively by ROC analysis. Milk samples with lactose content below 5.31g% were 1.41 times more likely come from moderately infected quarters (LR+ = 1.41); whereas, below 5.23g% were 1.99 times more likely come from severely infected quarters (LR+ = 1.99). The overall accuracy of milk lactose for discrimination of normal quarters from moderately infected quarters was 64% (AUC=0.64) and from severely infected quarters was 72% (AUC=0.72) (P<0.001). Thus, the present study indicated that milk lactose classified mastitic and healthy udder quarters in Jaffrabadi buffaloes with moderate accuracy.
Multi-year chemical composition of the fine-aerosol fraction in Athens, Greece, with emphasis on the contribution of residential heating in wintertime

Abstract. In an attempt to take effective action towards mitigating pollution episodes in Athens, precise knowledge of PM2.5 composition and its sources is a prerequisite. Thus, a 2-year chemical composition dataset from aerosol samples collected in an urban background site in central Athens from December 2013 to March 2016 has been obtained and a positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied in order to identify and apportion fine aerosols to their sources. A total of 850 aerosol samples were collected on a 12 to 24 h basis and analyzed for major ions, trace elements, and organic and elemental carbon, allowing us to further assess the impact of residential heating as a source of air pollution over Athens. The ionic and carbonaceous components were found to constitute the major fraction of the PM2.5 aerosol mass. The annual contribution of the ion mass (IM), particulate organic mass (POM), dust, elemental carbon (EC), and sea salt (SS) was calculated at 31 %, 38 %, 18 %, 8 %, and 3 %, respectively, and exhibited considerable seasonal variation. In winter, the share of IM was estimated down to 23 %, with POM + EC being the dominant component accounting for 52 % of the PM2.5 mass, while in summer, IM (42 %) and carbonaceous aerosols (41 %) contributed almost equally. Results from samples collected on a 12 h basis (day and night) during the three intensive winter campaigns indicated the impact of heating on the levels of a series of compounds. Indeed, PM2.5, EC, POM, NO3-, C2O42-, non sea salt (nss) K+ and selected trace metals including Cd and Pb were increased by up to a factor of 4 in the night compared to the day, highlighting the importance of heating on air quality in Athens. Furthermore, in order to better characterize wintertime aerosol sources and quantify the impact of biomass burning on PM2.5 levels, source apportionment was performed. The data can be interpreted on the basis of six sources, namely biomass burning (31 %), vehicular emissions (19 %), heavy oil combustion (7 %), regional secondary (21 %), marine aerosols (9 %), and dust particles (8 %). Regarding night-to-day patterns their contributions shifted from 19 %, 19 %, 8 %, 31 %, 12 %, and 10 % of the PM2.5 mass during day to 39 %, 19 %, 6 %, 14 %, 7 %, and 7 % during the night, underlining the significance of biomass burning as the main contributor to fine particle levels during nighttime in winter.
Cohomology of the complement of a free divisor

We prove that if D is a "strongly quasihomogeneous" free divisor in the Stein manifold X, and U is its complement, then the de Rham cohomology of U can be computed as the cohomology of the complex of meromorphic differential forms on X with logarithmic poles along D, with exterior derivative. The class of strongly quasihomogeneous free divisors, introduced here, includes free hyperplane arrangements and the discriminants of stable mappings in Mather's nice dimensions (and in particular the discriminants of Coxeter groups).
RELATIONSHIP MARKETING AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: A CONCEPTUAL PERSPECTIVE

This article examined the existing body of literature on transaction and relationship marketing. The specific objectives were to develop a conceptual framework to establish the relationship between relationship marketing and customer satisfaction and to examine the components of relationship marketing on the present ever dynamic world of business. The study identified relationship marketing variables and their impact on customer satisfaction. The framework aimed to provide insights into the studies on relationship marketing factors such as trust, commitment, communication, and service quality influence on customer satisfaction. The model provided a basis for empirical studies on the factors of relationship marketing and outcomes of customer satisfaction in developing nations. The study recommends that relationship marketing dimensions such as building customer’s trust, commitment to customers, communication, and service quality should be properly managed and maintained by service providers in Nigeria. This helps in building customer satisfaction and in the long-run customer loyalty.
Semiconjugacies, pinched Cantor bouquets and hyperbolic orbifolds

Let f be a transcendental entire map that is subhyperbolic, i.e., the intersection of the Fatou set F(f) and the postsingular set P(f) is compact and the intersection of the Julia set J(f) and P(f) is finite. Assume that no asymptotic value of f belongs to J(f) and that the local degree of f at all points in J(f) is bounded by some finite constant. We prove that there is a hyperbolic map g (of the form g(z)=f(bz) for some complex number b) with connected Fatou set such that f and g are semiconjugate on their Julia sets. Furthermore, we show that this semiconjugacy is a conjugacy when restricted to the escaping set I(g) of g. In the case where f can be written as a finite composition of maps of finite order, our theorem, together with recent results on Julia sets of hyperbolic maps, implies that J(f) is a pinched Cantor bouquet, consisting of dynamic rays and their endpoints. Our result also seems to give the first complete description of topological dynamics of an entire transcendental map whose Julia set is the whole complex plane.
Short Length Scale Oxygen Isotope Heterogeneity in the Icelandic Mantle: Evidence from Plagioclase Compositional Zones

Using a new high-resolution dataset, this study presents evidence for short length scale 18O/16O heterogeneity in the mantle source region of young (age ≲12 ka bp) Icelandic basalts. The dataset comprises secondary ion mass spectrometry determinations of 18O/16O in single compositional zones of plagioclase crystals from the primitive Borgarhraun flow in northern Iceland, along with trace and major element data from the same zones. The presence of mantle under Iceland with δ18O below typical mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) values of ∼5·5 ± 0·3‰ (VSMOW) has previously been disputed, because variability in δ18O in many Icelandic basalts is also known to be caused by the interaction of basaltic melts with crustal lithologies that have been altered by low-δ18O meteoric water. Primitive basalt flows, such as Borgarhraun, and their macrocrysts are the most likely candidates to retain a mantle δ18O signature. However, the role of crustal processes in generating the low δ18O in olivine crystals from these flows has not unequivocally been ruled out. By making intra-crystal analyses in Borgarhraun plagioclase it has been possible in this study to obtain a detailed record of the chemical and isotopic compositions of the melts that crystallized the plagioclase zones. The variability observed in trace element compositions of the early crystallized anorthitic plagioclase zones (80·9–89·4 mol % anorthite) is firstly shown to arise from melt compositional variability, and equilibrium melt concentrations of Sr, La and Y are then calculated from the crystal concentrations of these elements using carefully selected partition coefficients. The ranges of incompatible trace element ratios (La/Y, Sr/Y) in these equilibrium melts reflect a range of compositions of fractional mantle melts, a result that is in agreement with previous proposals for the cause of variability in trace element indices of Borgarhraun olivine-hosted melt inclusions and clinopyroxene compositional zones. Correlations observed between La/Y and Sr/Y in the melts in equilibrium with the Borgarhraun plagioclase zones and the δ18O of these zones therefore support the hypothesis that the mantle under Iceland is heterogeneous in 18O/16O. Such correlations have not previously been observed in intra-crystal data from Iceland, and provide strong evidence that mantle material with abnormally low δ18O may exist in the form of readily fusible heterogeneities alongside ambient mantle with MORB-like δ18O (≈+5·5‰) on a length scale of <100 km. The lowest δ18O of plagioclase that is attributed to a mantle origin in this study is 4·5 ± 0·4‰, equating to a melt equivalent value of 4·3 ± 0·5‰ or an olivine equivalent value of 3·8 ± 0·5‰.
Employee Voice and Intent to Leave: An Empirical Evidence of Pakistani Banking Sector

Organizations want to retain their employees in order to benefit from their talent and skills. While working in an organization, employees come across some problems both inside and outside the organization. This study investigates the relationship between field employees’ voice (effectiveness of voice mechanism) and employees’ intent to leave the organization. Further, this study explores the difference between male and female field employees perception regarding their intention to leave the organization. The sample of the study consisted of 250 field employees working in different banks of Rawalpindi and Islamabad through questionnaire; only 188 were returned and processed. The SPSS technique was used for data analysis and findings. The study concludes that employee voice mechanism has a positive and significant impact on employee intention to leave. This study finds that male are comparatively more intended to leave the organization with less effective voice mechanism and higher qualified employees are more conscious about voice mechanism in the banking sector. Key words: Organization, employee retention, employee voice, intent to leave, banking sector.
Greenland ice sheet mass balance: distribution of increased mass loss with climate warming; 2003–07 versus 1992–2002

Abstract We derive mass changes of the Greenland ice sheet (GIS) for 2003–07 from ICESat laser altimetry and compare them with results for 1992–2002 from ERS radar and airborne laser altimetry. The GIS continued to grow inland and thin at the margins during 2003–07, but surface melting and accelerated flow significantly increased the marginal thinning compared with the 1990s. The net balance changed from a small loss of 7 ± 3 Gt a−1 in the 1990s to 171 ± 4 Gt a−1 for 2003–07, contributing 0.5 mm a−1 to recent global sea-level rise. We divide the derived mass changes into two components: (1) from changes in melting and ice dynamics and (2) from changes in precipitation and accumulation rate. We use our firn compaction model to calculate the elevation changes driven by changes in both temperature and accumulation rate and to calculate the appropriate density to convert the accumulation-driven changes to mass changes. Increased losses from melting and ice dynamics (17–206 Gt a−1) are over seven times larger than increased gains from precipitation (10–35 Gt a−1) during a warming period of ∼2 K (10 a)−1 over the GIS. Above 2000 m elevation, the rate of gain decreased from 44 to 28 Gt a−1, while below 2000 m the rate of loss increased from 51 to 198 Gt a−1. Enhanced thinning below the equilibrium line on outlet glaciers indicates that increased melting has a significant impact on outlet glaciers, as well as accelerating ice flow. Increased thinning at higher elevations appears to be induced by dynamic coupling to thinning at the margins on decadal timescales.
The Adoption of Solar Photovoltaic Systems among Industries and Residential houses in Southern Nigeria.

The shortage of electricity in Nigeria creates a huge gap between demand and supply, making individuals and organizations look for alternatives to obtain regular supply of power. The objective of this study was divided into two parts. First identify the barriers and drivers of the adoption of solar PV systems among home owners and organisations in Rivers State Nigeria. Second, identify the challenges faced by the suppliers of this product for small and large scale suppliers. In order to achieve the objectives of this study, a qualitative research approach was used to carry out the study. A loosely-structured interview and a well-structured interview were used as the method.Findings from this study suggest that the need for a regular power supply was enough to motivate residential adopters to purchase and install solar PVC's and sustainability was a sufficient driver to encourage adoption among organizations interviewed in this study. On the other hand, inadequate policies to encourage subsidies, high cost, difficulty to access finances, high interest rates 20%-22% and short period of payback (3years) for loans involving renewable technology were identified as barriers among residential adopters. Lack of implementation of policies for example, double standard shown by custom officials at ports against the zero tax on importation of renewable energy products set by the government, low level of awareness among the public and lack of organized co-oprative group which provides advisory information to potential adopters were among the barriers identified within this study from interviews conducted with suppliers of solar PV systems.