Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Non‐parametric Copula Estimation Under Bivariate Censoring

In this paper, we consider non‐parametric copula inference under bivariate censoring. Based on an estimator of the joint cumulative distribution function, we define a discrete and two smooth estimators of the copula. The construction that we propose is valid for a large range of estimators of the distribution function and therefore for a large range of bivariate censoring frameworks. Under some conditions on the tails of the distributions, the weak convergence of the corresponding copula processes is obtained in l∞([0,1]2). We derive the uniform convergence rates of the copula density estimators deduced from our smooth copula estimators. Investigation of the practical behaviour of these estimators is performed through a simulation study and two real data applications, corresponding to different censoring settings. We use our non‐parametric estimators to define a goodness‐of‐fit procedure for parametric copula models. A new bootstrap scheme is proposed to compute the critical values.
Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce the Use of Theory Reasoned of Action to Study Information Technology in Jordan

Internet Banking Service her after called (IBS) is an information intensive business that has become a major trend in the financial marketplace nowadays. It is important to understand what factors will impact the customer's attitude toward internet banking service adoption her after called (IBSA) in Jordan. This study uses a survey data of 700 Jordanian public university employees that have used internet banking services. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed to examine the reliability and validity of the measurement, and the structural equation modeling techniques (Amos 6.0) were used to evaluate the causal model. The results show that the Jordanian customers have high intention to adopt IBS. Also the results show that customer's attitude and their belief about social influence play a vital role in influencing the IBSA intention. In addition, attitude and subjective norm are influenced by attitudinal belief and normative belief structures. This study found that perceived risk, trust and awareness of IBSA are significant factors that influence customer's attitude towards IBSA. Additionally, family and mass media are significant factors that influence subjective norm.
Subacute Oral Toxicity Assessment of Alchornea cordifolia (Schumach and Thonn) Müll Arg (Euphorbiaceae) Extract in Rats

Purpose: To assess Alchornea cordifolia, a medicinal plant with numerous biological actions and uses in traditional medicine, for possible toxicity in rats. Methods: The probable effect of the ethanol extract of Alchornea cordifolia (250 - 2000 mg/kg, p.o.) by gavage was evaluated on blood cellular elements and chemistry, as well as on the weight and histology of vital organs of male adult Spraque-Dawley rats. Results: Daily administration of the extract for two weeks did not cause significant changes in most haematological indices and blood chemistry. However, a dose-dependent increase (p 1000 mg/kg. These findings call for caution in the use of Alchornea cordifolia especially in high doses.
A complete optimally condition in the inverse problem of optimal control

A complete optimality condition in the standard inverse problem of optimal control for the multi-input case is established. The optimality of a feedback control law is characterized completely in terms of a new geometric condition as well as the well-known return difference condition. The new condition not only provides a better insight into the well-known sensitivity reduction property of optimal control for the multi-input case, but also indicates an essential difference between the solutions of the single- and multi-input inverse problem.
Temperature assessment of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs: A comparative study by Raman, electrical and IR thermography

The accuracy of different thermography techniques for the determination of AlGaN/GaN HEMT channel temperature was investigated. Micro-Raman thermography, a novel electrical testing method, and IR thermography were applied to measure the temperature in the active region of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with different device geometries. Due to its accepted accuracy, micro-Raman thermography was performed on different devices in order to validate thermal simulation results. When compared to the validated thermal model, pulsed I-V measurements underestimated channel temperature to some degree, while IR thermography determined unrealistically low device temperatures.
Study on the Use and Impact of Online Social Networking in Egypt

Joining social networking sites is mostly selective and motivated by self-awareness of the individual’s. After joining a social networking site, members are constantly evaluating the value of their membership and building their own perceptions towards the benefit and cost of being members in these networks. This paper strives to monitor the most important impact of using social networking sites in Egypt. Its intention is to offer analytical avenues for intellectual examination of what has clearly become of the most powerful and important socio-political phenomena of Egyptian society.
Constrained singularity avoidance using VSCMGs for combined attitude and power tracking

Variable speed control moment gyroscopes permit advantageous attitude control torque amplification through gimballing, effective actuator singularity avoidance through wheel speed variation, and electrical power tracking through wheel motor/generator energy conversion. For a typical redundant four-actuator pyramid cluster, the attitude and power tracking requirements can be met simultaneously, however, the competing requirements are strained when considering saturation of the key actuator parameters - gimbal angles and wheel speeds. This work evaluates and applies a control strategy to accommodate both gimbal angle and wheel speed saturation control amidst simultaneous attitude and power tracking plus control moment gyroscope singularity avoidance requirements.
Exploration and exploitation activities for design innovation

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on design innovation: that is, the development of products that are new in terms of products’ appearance, the emotions products evoke, and/or the way they enable customers to express their identity. Although prior research acknowledges the importance of design innovation for product and organisational performance, studies on how to manage design innovation are relatively scarce. The present study attempts to fill this gap by investigating design innovation and its management in terms of the degree of exploration and exploitation activities and designers’ decision freedom when developing new offerings. We collected data on projects in which external design consultancies were actively involved during the development process (n = 83). For each project, we surveyed both the external senior designer and the project manager at the client’s side. Our results suggest that exploration activities enhance design innovativeness, and that design innovativeness results in better market performance. Furthermore, we find that exploitation activities moderate the relation between design innovativeness and process performance: when exploitation activities are high (low), design innovativeness results in better (worse) process performance. In addition, we find that when designers have decision freedom, the positive relation between exploration activities and design innovativeness is enhanced. However, our data also suggest that design innovativeness has a negative (positive) influence on market performance when designers have high (low) levels of decision freedom.
Validation of Automatically Generated Global and Regional Cropland Data Sets: The Case of Tanzania

There is a need to validate existing global cropland maps since they are used for different purposes including agricultural monitoring and assessment. In this paper we validate three recent global products (ESA-CCI, GlobeLand30, FROM-GC) and one regional product (Tanzania Land Cover 2010 Scheme II) using a validation data set that was collected by students through the Geo-Wiki tool. The ultimate aim was to understand the usefulness of these products for agricultural monitoring. Data were collected wall-to-wall for Kilosa district and for a sample across Tanzania. The results show that the amount of and spatial extent of cropland in the different products differs considerably from 8% to 42% for Tanzania, with similar values for Kilosa district. The agreement of the validation data with the four different products varied between 36% and 54% and highlighted that cropland is overestimated by the ESA-CCI and underestimated by FROM-GC. The validation data were also analyzed for consistency between the student interpreters and also compared with a sample interpreted by five experts for quality assurance. Regarding consistency between the students, there was more than 80% agreement if one difference in cropland category was considered (e.g., between low and medium cropland) while most of the confusion with the experts was also within one category difference. In addition to the validation of current cropland products, the data set collected by the students also has potential value as a training set for improving future cropland products.
CORRUPTION'S EFFECT ON FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT - THE CASE OF MONTENEGRO

All investments and asset classes have different levels of risks and expected returns. For example, low risk investments such as cash generally provide a lower return than high risk investments over the long term, but are unlikely to lead to a capital loss. High risk investments generally offer the potential of a higher return over the long term, but there is a higher probability that high risk investments will be more volatile in the short term (leading to capital loss if funds are withdrawn in the short term). This study introduces a new perspective on the role of corruption in investment growth and provides quantitative estimates of the impact of corruption on the investment inflows. Motivated by these issues, the main objective of this article is to empirically reexamine the effects of corruption on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows by incorporating a further link between corruption and investment inflows as new understanding investment concepts. Using data from Transparency International report, World Bank and National Banking Statistical data, it is manifested in a cross sectional setting that corruption has a negative and significant impact on the foreign direct investment inflows. There are a number of risks to be considered such as investment market risk, credit risk or interest rate risk, but the new model of eliminated unexpected risk involved managing corruption's effect on investments. Because of the need that assessing risk and potential investment returns should be in the context of goals and the time that we have to achieve our objectives, we have to immediately consider the linkage between corruption and investment inflows and to teach how to manage this phenomenon like an old risk of a new model.
Exploring attitudes toward self-employment after retirement or retrenchment

of Agricultural Statistics. 2013. Published in the Republic of South Africa by Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Acs, Z.J.,Desai, J.,and Hessels, J. 2008. Entrepreneurship, economic development and institutions. Small Business Economics, 31(3): 219-234. Africum Beperk. 17 April 2013. Press release. http://www.farmingportal. co.za/index.php? option=com_k2&view=item&id=2467:suid wes-het-die-groen-lig-gekry-om-agrinet-die-eienaar-van-die-landmark-handelsmerkte-bekom&Itemid=80 . Date accessed: 19 May 2014. Agbenyegah, A.T. 2013. Challenges facing rural entrepreneurship in selected areas in South Africa . Potchefstroom: North-West University. Thesis: Degree Philosophaie Doctor in Business Administration. AgriGroupe completes acquisition of AFGRI. AFGRI to delist and go private. 2013. http://www.afgri. co.za/joint-press-statement-from-afgri-and-agrigroupe/. Date accessed: 11 Jun. 2014. Agriseta. 2010. Sector Analysis Agriculture. Prepared for submission to the Department of Higher Education and Training. AgriSeta. Agriworld. 2007. AgriBEE Survey. Press release: 11 Des. 2007. http://www.agriworldsa. com/articlearchive/agriculture/IDC%20and%20ABC%20Agri %20BEE%20survey%20results.pdf . Date accessed: 6 Jun. 2015.
Audit Fee Determinants and Audit Quality in Ethiopian Commercial Banks

The audit profession has been highly scrutinized among researchers and regulators following the fall of giant companies in the west. One of the issues that gained momentum has been to analyze the audit fee structure and the various auditor-client relationships. This study investigates the determinants of audit fees and the ex-ante audit quality based on variables unique to the banking firms and considered important by regulators in Ethiopian commercial banks. The study also examined whether auditors value factors considered important by the regulatory bank, which result in better alignment of interests of auditors and regulators. The study used panel data for eight commercial banks from the year 2004-2012. The panel fixed effect regression result revealed bank size, liquidity, efficiency, loan growth, capital adequacy and auditor size are significant determinants of audit fees in Ethiopian commercial banks. However, among the factors considered important by the regulatory bank, credit risk is found to be insignificant. With regard to audit quality, the study did not find significant relationship between the extent of earning management and abnormal audit fees, indicating that auditors do not seem to compromise audit quality to secure abnormally higher audit fees. The researcher recommends auditors to further align audit fee valuation with the interests of regulatory bank, particularly in respect of credit risk. Keywords : audit fees, regulatory risks, audit quality, earning management, Loan Loss Provision.
Think Outside the Box and Move Beyond the Market Share

This research paper contributes to the newly emerged area of research that has shifted the focus of the marketers and concerned stakeholders from the conventional evaluation and assessment of measuring a company’s true success; that is from market share to share of heart and share of mind. A qualitative focused group approach was applied to the study by taking two industries: Black tea and cellular telecommunication services. A total of 73 subjects were taken. Among which some were tea drinkers and some were cell phone users. It was found that the brands that had high market share did not usually have high heart share and mind share. Having a larger market share does not necessarily mean being successful in its true sense and meaning. People might just be using a brand simply because they don’t have a choice. To be a winning brand with having success on all its facets and areas the marketers and concerned parties should not only focus on increasing the number of users but also focus on capturing more mind share and heart share as only then they can truly have an iconic brand.
Firms and their main banks : Effects of main bank characteristics on firms' bank choice, R&D investment, and survival

1st paper: In this paper I study the effect of bank relationships in situations where firms are financially distressed. Does survival of financially distressed firms depend on their main bank relationship? I characterize the main bank relationship in four dimensions: First, the strength of the relationship. Second, market discipline and the characteristics of the main bank. Third, the main bank's ability to process soft information. Fourth, the degree of local banking market competition. Using data from 2000-2005, I estimate the probability that a financially distressed German firm exits the market. I find that firms with stronger bank relationships are less likely to leave the market. I control for the probability that a firm becomes financially distressed. I find that the bank type influences a firm's distress but not its market exit probability. 2nd paper: R&D investments are cornerstones for growth and competitive advantage of firms and whole economies. However, banks as the main provider of external funds for the vast majority of firms seem ill-equipped to provide the necessary funding. We question the dominant assumption that all banks suffer equally from information uncertainties and asymmetries in the evaluation of R&D. Instead, we argue that information externalities emerge from the information a bank can aggregate from the other firms in its portfolio. This positive effect of information access needs to be balanced with correlated risk concerns in the portfolio. We allow for industry differences with regards to underlying innovation uncertainties and signaling effects from the firms themselves. We test this model for more than 5,000 German firm observations, their main bank’s client portfolio and their R&D expenditures over a six year period. The theoretical predictions on information externalities and correlated risk concerns between a bank’s degree of industry specialization and its client’s R&D investment are supported. The potentials for altering the bank risk assessments through signaling are limited to patenting. Government R&D subsidies and venture capital investments have no additional signaling effect. Recommendations are derived based on these results. 3rd paper: Do firms select their main bank relationship according to their risk or risk preferences? Relationship banking is attractive for high risk firms since it improves their access to finance and provides liquidity insurance. Low risk firms instead may not want to bear the additional costs. I employ a nested logit model to study the determinants of the main bank relationship decision by newly established German firms. I find that firms that ask for bank support in case of financial distress are more likely to choose a relationship-oriented bank, such as a public or cooperative bank. Cost sensitive firms are more likely to choose a private bank. But I find no evidence that firms select a bank according to ex ante risk. Transaction oriented banks are not able to attract low risk firms.
Increased NOD1, but not NOD2, activity in subcutaneous adipose tissue from patients with metabolic syndrome

Nucleotide‐binding oligomerization domain (NOD) protein, as cytoplasmic receptor of the innate immune response, plays an important role in adipose inflammation and insulin resistance in obesity. Our objective was to examine adipose tissue (AT) NOD in nascent metabolic syndrome (MetS) patients and to investigate its association with MetS features.
Computer vision-based control of an autonomous blimp

The objective of this study is twofold: to approximate a model of a blimp, and to use this model to develop a setup to track a target with the blimp that is outfitted with a wireless camera and radio-controlled propellers. This article presents a powerful method to track any moving or stationary target with an unmanned aerial vehicle by combining the advantages of the proportional derivative (PD) controller, continuously adaptive mean shift (Camshift) algorithm, and pulse width modulation (PWM) method. As a result, it is demonstrated that a decent approximation of blimp behavior is sufficient when using a mathematical model that contains saturation in velocity and actuation. Additionally, a code for the proposed algorithm is developed to capture every frame sample with a frame grabber as a sensor in real time. Once the previously chosen object is tracked, the coordinate data (location information) are transferred to the controller to apply required pulses to DC motors on the blimp. In this paper, the proposed controller is outlined in two steps. Initially, one calculates a PD controller that fulfills the specifications of the mathematical model without saturation. Secondly, PWM is utilized to address the impact of nonlinearities.
Head Nurse Role Redesign Improving Satisfaction and Performance

In a correlational study with 110 head nurses in 10 hospitals, the author developed and tested a model for use in role redesign in nursing. Results provide data useful in the redesign of the head nurse role in hospitals in order to provide greater job satisfaction and improved outcomes for patients, nurses, and the organization.
Sovereign Credit Ratings and the Stock Price Informativeness of Cross-Listings

This paper examines the benefits foreign firms gain from cross-listing shares on a major U.S. exchange. I study sovereign credit rating changes in 49 countries to investigate whether secondary listings in the U.S. are associated with improvements in a firm’s information environment. I document that firms without a cross-listing experience significantly negative abnormal returns around negative sovereign rating events, while foreign firms with secondary listings on major U.S. exchanges on average experience no significant surprise reaction. I show that these events are value-relevant for cross-listed firms and that the difference in abnormal return behavior is not a result of unobservable disparities in firm characteristics between cross-listed firms and firms without a secondary listing. Several proxies for the amount of (private) information incorporated in U.S. share prices are determinants of abnormal return behavior for cross-listed firms around sovereign rating announcements. Ownership of cross-listed U.S. shares by more informed investors similarly reduces price sensitivity to these events for cross-listed firms. In addition, I examine the lead-lag relationship between returns of cross-listed U.S. shares and the underlying home market shares and document information spillovers from the U.S. to the home market shares in the period prior to a sovereign rating announcement. These results provide an information based rather than corporate governance related explanation for the observed value premium of cross-listed firms.
Repair of DNA Lesions Induced by Hydrogen Peroxide in the Presence of Iron Chelators in Escherichia coli: Participation of Endonuclease IV and Fpg

ABSTRACT In Escherichia coli, the repair of lethal DNA damage induced by H2O2 requires exonuclease III, thexthA gene product. Here, we report that both endonuclease IV (the nfo gene product) and exonuclease III can mediate the repair of lesions induced by H2O2 under low-iron conditions. Neither the xthA nor thenfo mutants was sensitive to H2O2in the presence of iron chelators, while the xthA nfodouble mutant was significantly sensitive to this treatment, suggesting that both exonuclease III and endonuclease IV can mediate the repair of DNA lesions formed under such conditions. Sedimentation studies in alkaline sucrose gradients also demonstrated that both xthAand nfo mutants, but not the xthA nfo double mutant, can carry out complete repair of DNA strand breaks and alkali-labile bonds generated by H2O2 under low-iron conditions. We also found indications that the formation of substrates for exonuclease III and endonuclease IV is mediated by the Fpg DNA glycosylase, as suggested by experiments in which thefpg mutation increased the level of cell survival, as well as repair of DNA strand breaks, in an AP endonuclease-null background.