Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Relationship Between Corporate Social Responsibility Practices and Firm Performance of Domestic Banks in Malaysia.

The focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been active in the public attention within Malaysia for the past ten years, and as such has become a strength in many corporations’ public relations as what demonstrate in the bank's campaign strategy. In fact, the importance of CSR initiatives may have a direct impact on the success of the business as many organizations worldwide have come under pressure to meet the terms of the international CSR standards and practices. Therefore, this study seeks to measure the level of CSR disclosure by domestic banks in Malaysia from the year 2008 until 2015. This study used content analysis method to identify the CSR activities and disclosure score that was obtained from annual reports and sustainability reports for the commercial banks. Overall, the findings indicate that commercial banks in Malaysia promotes important roles in community and philanthropy. Additionally, this study will also examine the relationship between CSR and firm performance of in commercial banks Malaysia from the year 2008 until 2015. This study used correlation analysis to analyze the relationship between dependent variables, namely return on assets, return on equity and earnings per share, and independent variables which is the CSR disclosure. The overall sample results revealed only return on asset and return on equity has significant relationship with CSR. Thus, a greater profitability can be achieved through appropriate CSR practice. CSR reporting should not be a practice only for special or infrequent events rather it should be a continuous process, and banks need to incorporate CSR reporting more.
A Fast DCT Algorithm for Watermarking in Digital Signal Processor

Discrete cosine transform (DCT) has been an international standard in Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) format to reduce the blocking effect in digital image compression. This paper proposes a fast discrete cosine transform (FDCT) algorithm that utilizes the energy compactness and matrix sparseness properties in frequency domain to achieve higher computation performance. For a JPEG image of block size in spatial domain, the algorithm decomposes the two-dimensional (2D) DCT into one pair of one-dimensional (1D) DCTs with transform computation in only 24 multiplications. The 2D spatial data is a linear combination of the base image obtained by the outer product of the column and row vectors of cosine functions so that inverse DCT is as efficient. Implementation of the FDCT algorithm shows that embedding a watermark image of 32 × 32 block pixel size in a 256 × 256 digital image can be completed in only 0.24 seconds and the extraction of watermark by inverse transform is within 0.21 seconds. The proposed FDCT algorithm is shown more efficient than many previous works in computation.
Trends in Innovation Activities in Manufacturing Industries Across Development Echelons

This empirical paper explores trends in innovation activities measured by a countries’ total patent application submission intensity relative to its population, and by analyzing U.S. granted patents data for cohorts of developed countries and developing countries. In addition to tabular and graphical analyses, I use a baseline regression model and a variant model thereof to assess the relative influence of a set of aggregate variables on innovation activities in eight manufacturing industries across two cohorts of countries (developed and developing) where each cohort contains eight individual countries. Eight industries included in this study are: Chemical, Petroleum, electrical and electronics equipment, machinery, pharmaceutical, plastic, computer, and textile. The cohort of developed countries includes Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, and the United States. The cohort of developing countries includes Brazil, China, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey. Per regression results, ethnic diversity is a statistically significant positive determinant of innovation for all industry aggregate patent count for both high income and developing countries. Also, per capita electricity usage, R&D expenditure as percent of GDP, and percent of population with internet access are three positive factors of innovation irrespective of industrial subsectors and position of a country in the development echelon. Interestingly, impact of ICT-services export is statistically significant and innovation boosting in developing countries in the cohort relative to countries in the cohort of developed countries. It also appears that trade openness served as a stronger stimulant of innovation activities for developing countries’ but not as much for the cohort of developed or high-income countries. This paper attempts to extend the literature on cross-country comparison of innovation activities by using two measures of innovation activities across developed and developing countries, and by analyzing both aggregate and sector-level data for eight manufacturing industries both graphically and utilizing panel regression models.
On the spatial and temporal variability of atmospheric heat transport in a hierarchy of models

AbstractThe present study analyzes the spatial and temporal variability of zonally integrated meridional atmospheric heat transport due to transient eddies in a hierarchy of datasets. These include a highly idealized two-layer model seeded with point geostrophic vortices, an intermediate complexity GCM, and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts interim reanalysis (ERA-Interim) data. The domain of interest is the extratropics. Both the two-layer model and the GCM display a pronounced temporal variability in the zonally integrated meridional transport, with the largest values (or pulses) of zonally integrated transport being associated with extended regions of anomalously strong local heat transport. In the two-layer model these large-scale coherent transport regions, termed “heat transport bands,” are linked to densely packed baroclinic vortex pairs and can be diagnosed as low-wavenumber streamfunction anomalies. In the GCM they are associated with both the warm and cold sectors of midlati.
The use of human resources literature regarding the relationship between affect and student academic performance

Orientation: In human resources literature affect, or affectivity, has been identified as contributing, either negatively or positively, to different forms of performance in a range of different contexts. Research purpose: The aim of the study was to empirically test theory that predicts that affect can influence performance; in this case the academic performance of students in the South African higher education context. Motivation for the study: Human resources job performance theory seems to offer important insights when extended into other contexts of individual performance. The specific potential influence of affect on student performance is unclear in this context. Research design, approach and method: A non-probability comprehensive sample of all students registered for first-year accountancy ( n = 719) was used. Confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis and bivariate tests of association were used to empirically test theory predicting relationships between affect and student academic performance. Main findings: In general the findings support the predications derived from affect theory, that negative affect is negatively associated with student performance and that positive affect is positively associated with student performance. Yet, the results suggest that affect might not, in this context, reflect the two-dimensional theoretical structure. In particular, negative affectivity might better be considered as a three-dimensioned construct. Practical/managerial implications: These results suggest that proactive measures may need to be taken by higher education institutions to support first-year students affectively. Student advisors or counsellors should be appointed, with a specific focus on providing support for student anxiety and other contextual frustrations to which individuals with higher levels of negative affect might be particularly vulnerable. Contribution: These findings provide new insights into the importance of extending human resource theory into different contexts. Knowledge of the specific potential constraints posed by affect to student performance is provided.
Aerobic carbon-cycle related microbial communities in boreal peatlands: responses to water-level drawdown

Boreal peatlands represent a considerable portion of the global carbon (C) pool. These environments are vulnerable to changes in water level (WL), which can vary dramatically in response to climate or land-use change. Water-level drawdown (WLD) causes peatland drying and induces a vegetation change, which in turn affects the decomposition of soil organic matter and the release of greenhouse gases (CO 2 and CH 4 ) into the atmosphere. The objective of this thesis was to study the microbial communities related to the C cycle and their response to WLD in two boreal peatlands. The first study site (Lakkasuo) is a boreal peatland complex that was partly drained in 1961 to investigate the long-term effects of WLD, and includes three site types with different nutrient levels. At the same location, an experiment simulating the predicted effect of climate change was carried out in 2001 to study the short-term effects of WLD. The second study site (Suonukkasuo) is a boreal fen with a WL gradient caused by a groundwater extraction plant; the undisturbed fen grades into a pine-dominated peatland forest. Microbial communities were studied with phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis, PCR-DGGE and multivariate analysis. Both sampling depth and site type had a strong impact on all microbial communities. In general, bacteria dominated the deeper layers of the nutrient-rich fen and the wettest surfaces of the nutrient-poor bog sites, whereas fungi seemed more abundant in the drier surfaces of the nutrient-poor bog. WLD clearly affected the microbial communities but the effect was dependent on site type. Fungi and Gram-negative bacteria seemed to benefit and actinobacteria to suffer from the WLD in the fens. The fungal and methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) community composition changed at all sites but the actinobacterial community response was apparent only in the nutrient-
Cold gas in hot star clusters: the wind from the red supergiant W26 in Westerlund 1

The massive red supergiant (RSG) W26 in Westerlund 1 is one of a growing number of RSGs shown to have winds that are ionized from the outside in. The fate of this dense wind material is important for models of second generation star formation in massive star clusters. Mackey et al. (2014) showed that external photoionization can stall the wind of RSGs and accumulate mass in a dense static shell. We use 1D R-HD simulations of an externally photoionized wind to predict the Halpha and [NII] emission arising from photoionized winds both with and without a dense shell. We analyse spectra of the Halpha and [NII] emission in the environment around W26 and compare them with predicted synthetic emission. Simulations of slow winds that are decelerated into a dense shell show strongly limb-brightened line emission, with line radial velocities that are independent of the wind speed. Faster winds (>22 km/s) do not form a dense shell, have less limb-brightening, and the line radial velocity is a good tracer of the wind speed. The brightness of the [NII] and Halpha lines as a function of distance from W26 agrees reasonably well with observations when only the line flux is considered. The radial velocity disagrees, however: the brightest observed emission is blueshifted by ~25 km/s relative to the radial velocity of the star, whereas a spherically symmetric wind has the brightest emission at zero radial velocity. Our results show that the bright nebula surrounding W26 must be asymmetric; we suggest it is confined by external ram pressure from the wind of the nearby supergiant W9. We obtain a lower limit on the nitrogen abundance within the nebula of 2.35 times solar. The line ratio strongly favours photoionization over shock ionization, and so even if the observed nebula is pressure confined there should still be an ionization front and a photoionization-confined shell closer to the star.
Genetic control of isozymes in the primary gene pool Phaseolus lunatus L.

Suitable electrophoretic separation methods of 34 isozymes from 17 enzyme systems resolved in Phaseolus lunatus L. (Lima bean) were developed. Data from the migration of the staining zones indicated that three loci control EST, GPI, IDH and MDH expression, while two loci control ACO, ADH, DIA, G6PDH, PER, PGDH, and PGM expression. The difference between the stained zones intensity on gels assayed for GDH and SOD suggest that each of these enzymes is also controlled by two loci. A single locus controls END, beta-GLU, LAP and SKDH. Based on the observed isozyme banding patterns, we inferred the quaternary structure of 11 enzyme systems. DIA isozymes were identified as tetrameric, ADH, fEST, GPI, MDH and PGDH as dimeric, and ACO, cEST, END, G6PDH, PGM and SKDH as monomeric. Allozyme polymorphisms of the resolved loci were estimated at both species and population levels. At species level, 74 / of the analysed loci were polymorphic while 44 / were polymorphic at population level.
Functional land-use change effects on soil fungal communities in Chilean temperate rainforests

By reducing soil organic matter and litter input, land-use changes are predicted to decrease total soil fungal diversity, but at functional levels this have been poorly studied. It is expected, though, that increasing disturbance decreases saprotrophic and mycorrhizal fungi biodiversity. This study aimed to determine the effects of land-use changes on the phylogenetic and functional diversity of soil fungi in the Southern Andes. We assessed the fungal communities of Andosol topsoil at 1 cm and 10 cm soil depth. The soil samples were obtained from a gradient of anthropogenic disturbance; specifically, plots were located within pristine forest, overstory-managed, and clearcut conditions. We used a cultivation-independent molecular barcoding approach to assess fungal diversity and identify 1,173 OTUs from which 401 were assigned to a functional guild. While we found higher phylogenetic richness in clear-cut conditions, these soils had higher relative abundances of plant pathogen fungi and lower relative abundances of saprotrophic and ectomycorrhizal fungi compared to the other treatments. The opposite pattern was found in pristine forest. Thus, fungal species richness itself does not seem to reflect ecosystem health. Interestingly though, the lower phylogenetic diversity found in pristine forest was compensated by a higher diversity of fungi involved in nutrient cycling.
Does atmospheric processing of saturated hydrocarbon surfaces by NO3 lead to volatilization?

The heterogeneous oxidation of a saturated hydrocarbon monolayer by NO3 was studied. A flow tube reactor coupled to chemical ionization mass spectrometry was used to determine the reactive uptake coefficient of NO3 on these surfaces, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to investigate surface oxidation and to determine if exposure to NO3 leads to volatilization of the organic substrate. The uptake coefficient of NO3 by an alkane monolayer is about (8.8 ± 2.5) × 10−4, which may lead to competitive oxidation compared with OH, due to the higher atmospheric abundance of NO3 under certain conditions. The XPS results are consistent with the formation of 1) C‐O groups, 2) ketones or aldehydes, and 3) carboxylic groups. The XPS results also suggest that NO3 does not rapidly volatilize the organic surface: even under extremely polluted conditions, maximum 10% of the organic layer is volatilized.
Engaging Master’s Students: The Forgotten Population

This study evaluated the way in which master’s degree students report engagement at three institutions within the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System (MnSCU. Utilizing a quantitative online survey, participants’ perspectives were compared based on age, relationship status, and family status to determine factors which influence their engagement. Overall, the population reported engagement as related to both academic and social factors; however, their views of the statistically significant factors differed. Key factors included family, academic, and work demands. Single participants, 20-24 year olds, and single participants who either had no children or were expecting were more likely to report statistically significant factors as having a positive influence on their engagement, whether academically or socially. Conversely, those who identified as engaged or married, 31-61 year olds, or those who have children reported more challenges in their engagement. The study successfully provided framework as to the views and needs of master’s students, including examples of sub-populations who would benefit from increased support, it also demonstrated the need for additional research on master’s students, both overall and within sub-populations.
Maternal Antenatal Care Service Satisfaction and Factors Associated with RuralHealth Centers, Bursa District, Sidama Zone, Southern Ethiopia: A CrosssectionalStudy

Introduction: Pregnancy and childbirth are natural and often eventful processes many women are at risk for developing complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Complications of pregnancy and childbirth are the leading causes of disability and death among women in the reproductive age (15-49) years in developing countries. Some studies have estimated that ANC alone can reduce maternal mortality by 20% given good quality and regular attendance. Measuring the components of ANC is essential for assessing the assessing maternal ANC service satisfaction. Pregnancy complications are a primary source of maternal and child morbidity and mortality. Objectives: The study was aimed at assessing maternal antenatal care service satisfaction and factors associated with, in rural health centers, Bursa District, Southern Ethiopia. Method: Facility based cross-sectional study was conducted in rural health centers in Bursa District from March to April 2014. Four rural health centers were selected purposively and systematic random sampling technique was used to select the study subjects. SPSS for windows (version 20) was used for statistical analysis. The magnitude of association between independent variables and dependent was measured using odds ratios and 95% confidence interval and P-values below 0.05 was used to declare statistical association. Results: Two hundred ninety participants responded the questionnaire making 100% response rate. The mean age was 27.3 years with ± 5.4 SD. Overall Antenatal Care (ANC) satisfaction was 33%. The likelihood of maternal ANC service satisfaction was lower among women secondary and above educational level [AOR=0.14, 95% CI=(0.03-0.78)], Pregnant women who had unplanned current pregnancy [AOR=0.56, (95% CI)=(0.33-0.97)] and those women who had started first visits of ANC after 4 months of pregnancy [AOR= 0.29, 95% CI, 0.11-0.79]. Conclusions: The overall maternal ANC service satisfaction in this study is found to be suboptimal. The study strongly suggests that more could be done to assure that services provided are more standard. This study also revealed several constraints in the provision of ANC services which can be implied as areas of possible improvement, including laboratory investigation, longer waiting time, and poor consultation.
Oxidantantioxidant Status in Calves Supplemented with Green Tea Extract

 Abstract — The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of green tea extract on serum oxidant and antioxidant profile, liver and kidney function. 40 Friesian calves are included in this study and allocated into two groups: Group I (n=20) clinically healthy calves showing no clinical abnormalities, not receiving any treatment and served as control; group II (n=20) received green tea extract (GTE) for 30 days. Non-significant changes in blood urea nitrogen (BUN) were detected between groups, on contrary, serum creatinine and activities of liver enzymes aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) were significantly different between two groups. There were significant increases in the mean values of serum antioxidative parameters (total antioxidant capacity, catalase, superoxide dismutase, reduced glutathione and glutathione peroxidase) in group II. Whereas, the activity of lipid peroxidase significantly decreased in GTE treated calves when compared to control.
The effect of internal audit effectiveness, auditor responsibility and training in fraud detection

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between internal audit effectiveness, internal auditor’s responsibility, training and fraud detection. During the last decade internal auditing has become an integral part of modern businesses since it is capable of detecting errors or offences which lead to fraud. In order to investigate the above relationship, we conducted a survey of companies listed in the Athens Stock Exchange. We used factor analysis to validate the survey instrument and to construct our variables measuring fraud detection, internal audit effectiveness, auditor responsibility and training. We used regression analysis to test for significance between the constructed variables. Our analysis shows that audit effectiveness, auditor responsibility and auditor training affect positively and significantly the detection of fraud. Our results highlight the importance of internal audit in detecting accounting fraud and the need of companies to invest on internal audit processes and training in order to achieve enhanced corporate performance. Finally, our research stresses the importance of internal audit and fraud detection for companies which operate in countries which are in a period of economic crisis.
Optimal control of multidimensional population balance systems for crystal shape manipulation

Abstract Optimal control of multidimensional particulate processes for crystal shape manipulation based on the minimum principle and the method of characteristics is discussed. The posed optimal control problems consist in achieving a desired morphology for a seed crystal population within a free or a limited time scope, while minimizing the net mass of the nucleated crystal particles. An ODE system is obtained by neglecting the natural feedback of the nucleation mass into the crystallization kinetics. Optimal solutions resulting thereof reduce to boundary value problems in only one or two unknown parameters. Moreover, for the original optimal control problem, involving the full process dynamics, a simple feasible sub-optimal solution and an upper bound for the cost function are proposed. The proposed computational approach is compared with dynamic optimization techniques in terms of the efficiency and accuracy by means of a numerical example.