Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of psychometric properties of the Self Dyadic Perspective-Taking ( SDPT ) and Other Dyadic Perspective-Taking ( ODPT ) scales هتسجخ اضررهم

Perspective taking as the cognitive aspect of empathy, is the ability to put oneself in other persons , place. This means that a person understands another persons situation and walks with his or her shoes. It seems that perspective taking is a feature which is equaly used to increase positive interactions between the romantic and nonromantic relationships. The Self Dyadic Perspective-Taking scale (SDPT) includes items that measure the view of people in couple relationships and Other Dyadic Perspective-Taking scale (ODPT) includes items that measure peoples perceptions of their partners. The aim of the present study was evaluating the psychometric properties of the Self Dyadic Perspective-Taking and Other Dyadic Perspective-Taking scales. A total of 300 married men and women (148 men and 152 women), in Ahvaz, participated in this study. All participants were asked to complete the Self Dyadic Perspective Taking and Other Dyadic Perspective Taking Scales and Batson Empathy Adjective Scale (BEAS). This study confirmed the two-factor structure of Self Dyadic Perspective-Taking scale and two-factor structure of Other Dyadic Perspective-Taking scale. Findings also showed that the Self Dyadic Perspective-Taking scale and the Other Dyadic Perspective-Taking scale are valid and reliable scales for measuring perspective taking. Findings showed that these scales can be used in research studies and the use of these scales in premarital consultation and couple therapy is recommended to psychologists and family counselors.
Corporate Governance Mechanisms and Financial Performance of Commercial Banks in Kenya

The role of effective corporate governance mechanisms as key components of prudent financial management has become an issue of global significance and has received new urgency due to various corporate scandals and failure. This study seeks to examine the impact of corporate governance mechanisms (audit committee size, board gender diversity and board size) on banks' profitability based on the annual reports of forty two banks in Kenya in the period 2014. The study controls for the effect of bank size and capital of the banks. The study utilized a correlational research design and was based on the agency theory. Using multiple regression as a method of estimation, the results reveal that audit committee size, board gender diversity and bank capital have no significant effect on bank profitability in the selected sample. The regression results indicate that board size negatively influences financial performance; whereas bank size is positively associated with financial performance. The study suggests that banks with effective corporate governance mechanisms may improve financial performance depending on the measure used although not all corporate governance mechanisms are significant. The study is significant because it can aid the policy makers in the formulation of policies, which can be effectively implemented for better and easier regulation of banks. The findings of the study have significant managerial and theoretical implications.
Intention to shop online amongst MBA students: Applicability of the theory of reasoned action (TRA)

Internet has changed the way business is conducted and one of the emerging uses of the Internet is for shopping.With an increasing affluent community the potential of Internet shopping cannot be ignored.The purpose of this paper is to test the applicability of the TRA (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) in predicting the intention to shop online among a group of Masters of Business Administration students of a public institution of higher learning.A structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from MBA students using a convenience sampling techniques.A total of 102 responses were received.The findings indicate that the TRA is a valid model in the prediction on the intention to shop online.Attitude (β = 0.575, p< 0.01) and subjective norm (β = 0.213, p< 0.01) were found to be positively related to intention with attitude being the more influential predictor. Subjective norm also positively influences (β = 0.374, p< 0.01) the attitude to shop online.
It Pays to Be an Executive in Malaysia

Malaysian corporate sector is characterized by an insider system of corporate governance and induced the alignment problems between majority shareholders and the minority group. This paper investigates if there is an evidence of moral hazard behaviour being practiced in the executive remuneration decision. A match pair methodology is employed to isolate the effect of ESOS adoption from the usual motivations when deciding executive remunerations. Results suggest that while the amount of remuneration is directly linked to size of firms suggesting efficient and rational decision rather than on performance (profitability). The moral hazard behaviour is more evident when firms reward their executives even more in times of lower profitability or more losses over a longer period. The practice is more apparent among family owned firms not adopting ESOS. Though there is evidence of weak monitoring by government, it is not enough to ward off the insider pressures for personal gains.
Unified Dark Matter models with fast transition

We investigate the general properties of Unified Dark Matter (UDM) fluid models where the pressure and the energy density are linked by a barotropic equation of state (EoS) p = p(ρ) and the perturbations are adiabatic. The EoS is assumed to admit a future attractor that acts as an effective cosmological constant, while asymptotically in the past the pressure is negligible. UDM models of the dark sector are appealing because they evade the so-called ``coincidence problem'' and ``predict'' what can be interpreted as wDE ≈ −1, but in general suffer the effects of a non-negligible Jeans scale that wreak havoc in the evolution of perturbations, causing a large Integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect and/or changing structure formation at small scales. Typically, observational constraints are violated, unless the parameters of the UDM model are tuned to make it indistinguishable from ΛCDM. Here we show how this problem can be avoided, studying in detail the functional form of the Jeans scale in adiabatic UDM perturbations and introducing a class of models with a fast transition between an early Einstein-de Sitter CDM-like era and a later ΛCDM-like phase. If the transition is fast enough, these models may exhibit satisfactory structure formation and CMB fluctuations. To consider a concrete case, we introduce a toy UDM model and show that it can predict CMB and matter power spectra that are in agreement with observations for a wide range of parameter values.
PENGARUH PRODUK, HARGA, DAN PROMOSI TERHADAP KEPUTUSAN PEMBELIAN KONSUMEN WOLES CHIPS

Penelitian tentang pengaruh produk, harga, dan promosi terhadap keputusan pembelian perlu dilakukan pada konsumen Woles Chips. Jumlah sampel yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini sebanyak 101 orang: konsumen yang pernah melakukan pembelian lebih dari satu kali. Metode pengumpulan data dengan menggunakan kuesioner dan perpustakaan. Teknik analisis yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah analisis regresi linear berganda. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ada pengaruh signifikan antara produk, harga, dan promosi terhadap keputusan pembelian konsumen Woles Chips.
Idiosyncratic Return Volatility and the Information Quality Underlying Managerial Discretion

Abstract Variation in idiosyncratic return volatility from 1978 to 2009 is attributable to discretionary accrual volatility and the correlation between premanaged earnings and discretionary accruals reflective of information quality across firms. These results are robust to controls for firm operating uncertainty, growth options, business-cycle variations, and firm age and industry effects, and they highlight the importance of managerial discretion in determining idiosyncratic volatility.
Governance Mechanisms in Business-to-Business Electronic Markets

Rather than relying on traditional relational exchanges, recent technological advances have made it feasible for firms to undertake market-based transactions through information technology–mediated electronic markets. The success of such business-to-business electronic markets depends on the governance practices of the market maker—that is, the firm that manages and administers the electronic market. Market makers use three governance mechanisms to manage electronic markets: (1) monitoring the market participants (i.e., buyers and sellers that participate in the market), (2) building a sense of community among market participants to instill mutual respect and trust, and (3) self-participating in the electronic market to build know-how about how the market functions. Building on transaction cost analysis theory, the authors suggest that the influence of these governance mechanisms on electronic market performance (i.e., meeting strategic and financial objectives) depends on behavioral and external uncertainty in the market. Survey data from market makers show that (1) monitoring is effective for reputed market makers and when demand uncertainty is high, (2) community building is beneficial when pricing is static rather than dynamic, and (3) self-participation is useful when the market maker is well reputed and when the market relies on dynamic pricing.
Doğal Sayılarda İşlemler Konusunun Öğretiminde Matematiksel Modelleme Yönteminin Öğrenci Başarısına Etkisi

Bu calismada, revize edilen ortaokul matematik dersi ogretim programinda onemli bir yer tutan matematiksel modelleme yonteminin, ortaokul matematik dersi besinci sinif dogal sayilarda islemler konusunun ogretiminde ogrenci basarisina etkisinin degerlendirilmesi amaclanmistir. Arastirmanin orneklemini, Erzurum’un bir devlet ortaokulunda besinci sinifta ogrenim goren, 44 ogrenci olusturmaktadir. Bu arastirmada, nicel arastirma yaklasimi benimsenmis olup on test-son test kontrol gruplu yari deneysel desen uygulanmistir. Calismanin verileri acik uclu 20 sorudan olusan bir basari testi ve gorus anketinden elde edilmistir. Basari testi verileri nicel betimsel istatistik yontemi ve SPSS yardimi ile gorus anketi ise betimsel istatistik yontemi ile degerlendirilmistir. Arastirmanin uygulama asamasinda, dogal sayilarda islemler konusunun ogretimi, deney grubu olan A subesine gunluk hayat problemleri ile kontrol grubu olan B subesine ise ogretim programinin ongordugu sekilde gerceklestirilmistir. Ayrica surec icerisinde iki subeye on-test ve son-test olarak matematige karsi gorus anketi uygulanmistir. Calismanin verileri analiz edildiginde, deney grubundaki ogrencilerin kontrol grubu ogrencilerine nazaran daha basarili olduklari ve gorus anketine verdikleri cevaplarla dersin daha eglenceli, islenen konularin daha kalici hale geldigini belirtmislerdir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Matematiksel Modelleme, Model, Ortaokul Matematik Programi
An exploratory study into the association between Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) coping styles, post-traumatic stress, and post-traumatic growth in working age adults who have experienced a traumatic life event

Although recent research and theory indicates that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment might benefit from the utilisation of coping styles facilitated by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), there has been little research exploring the relationships between these coping styles, posttraumatic cognitions, and PTSD symptomology. Furthermore, the ACT model (Hayes, Strosahl & Wilson, 1999) suggests that ACT-consistent coping styles may be associated with increased positive outcome after trauma, such as posttraumatic growth (PTG). The present study aimed to explore individual differences in ACT coping styles in individuals with a history of psychological trauma. A total of 112 participants completed online self-report measures of PTSD symptom severity, posttraumatic cognitions, ACT coping styles and PTG. Regression analyses revealed that higher ACT coping styles (specifically experiential acceptance) are associated with lower PTSD symptom severity and lower posttraumatic cognitions. Furthermore, the effect of ACT coping styles on PTSD severity was partially mediated by posttraumatic cognitions, indicating that ACT coping
Effects of Maternal High-Fat Diets during Pregnancy and Gestation with Phytosterols Supplementation on Oxidative Status in Neonate , Sucking and Adult Offspring

To investigate the effects of maternal high fat and energy diets with or without phytosterols supplementation during pregnancy and gestation on the oxidative status in offspring, pregnant C57BL/6j mice were randomly assigned to three groups which are chow diet control group (NC), high fat and energy diet group (HFED) and the high fat and energy diet supplemented with phytosterols group (HFEP). Once weaned, the surviving offspring mice were given chow diet until 10 weeks old. Serum lipids were measured in 10 weeks offspring. Liver homogenates oxidative biomarkers analyzed according to the manufacture’s protocol. The results indicated that the body weight, serum lipids were significantly increased in the HFED group compared with that in chow diet group. The oxidative stress in liver homogenate was much higher in maternal and neonatal mice liver in HFED group. The anti-oxidative abilities in neonatal and adult mice liver were damaged. The phytosterols supplementation during early life ameliorated the abnormal serum lipid metabolism but not the oxidative damage in offspring.
Clinical Utility of C-Reactive Protein, NON-HDL Cholesterol and Lipid Ratios in Patients With Stroke

Stroke is a non–communicable disease of increasing socioeconomic importance in elderly populations. Just after the onsets of stroke in humans a range of inflammatory cells are activated. Evidence from observational studies indicates that high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), a peripheral marker of inflammation, is the strongest predictor of stroke. The various lipid ratios and nonhigh-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol have not been as widely studied in association with stroke. The present study was therefore designed to evaluate the association of hsCRP, non-HDL cholesterol and lipid ratios with the scenario of risk of stroke. Hundred patients were recruited for the study, of which, fifty belongs to control and fifty were test group. Among the patients with complication, there was a significant elevation in the levels of hsCRP, non-HDL cholesterol and lipid ratios when compare with control. Detection of hsCRP, lipid ratios and non-HDL cholesterol are significant in patients with stroke and is important to stratify post stroke patients into risk groups.
Zakat and the Concept of Ownership in Islam: Yusuf Qaradawi’s Perspective on Islamic Economics

Looking at the two functions of ownership which include the individual and social, Qaradawi explores such a relationship and analyzes its implication for social justice. Zakat has multiple functions: the religious, economic, and social. It constitutes the earliest concept of mutual social responsibility proposed by Islam to achieve social justice. Zakat serves as a means to both guarantee social security and strengthen social solidarity. From this perspective, Qaradawi moves forward to link up the concept of zakat with the Islamic system of economics. The linkage between zakat and the Islamic system of economics is visible in the ways Qaradawi investigates various aspects of ownership and zakat in Islam. This can particularly be seen in his analysis that the concept of Islamic insurance coheres with the interpretation of al-gharimin, one of the groups deserving to the income of zakat and in his emphasis that mutual social responsibility, which aims to fulfill the needs of adequate livelihood, can be supplied only by zakat. This article argues that these views in turn confirm Qaradawi’s concern with the importance of zakat as the foundation of both the social and economic systems of Islam. This article also emphasizes that, for Qaradawi, different from voluntary charity that can only fulfill the minimum requirement of the needs of livelihood, zakat can supply the answer to cover all the needs of livelihood of Muslim society.
Conditions for the invertibility of dual energy data

In the Alvarez-Macovski method for extracting x-ray spectral data, the line integrals of the basis set coefficients are computed from measurements with multiple x-ray spectra. The computation requires the inversion of a transformation from the measurements to the line integrals. This paper examines the invertibility of the transformation for systems using two measurement spectra with a two function basis set. Conditions on the measurement spectra and analytical formulas on for invertibility are derived. It is found that non-invertible systems have near zero Jacobian determinants on a curve in the line integrals vector plane close to a straight line. An analytical formulation is derived for the points where the line crosses the axes, thus determining the line. The formulas are applied to a set of spectra including one suggested by Levine that is not invertible as well as similar spectra that are invertible and voltage switched x-ray tube spectra that are also invertible. The results are verified with an iterative inverse transformation algorithm.
The Influence of Blockholders, Bondholders and Families on the Venturers' Accounting Behavior

Relying on the opportunistic view of contracting theory, the paper explores the influence of blockholders, bondholders and families on the managerial accounting for interests in jointly controlled entities. In particular, it assumes that the equity method is an opportunistic accounting choice as it improves firm performance and induces managerial self-dealing rather than efficient contracting. The paper examines a sample of Italian listed companies holding interests in jointly controlled entities through a logistic regression analysis. Findings show that the family influence encourages the opportunistic choice of equity method, while the monitoring role played by blockholders and bondholders discourages the use of the performance-improving technique. The research contributes to the literature on contracting theory and corporate governance and has also practical implications for evaluating the appropriateness of IFRS 11.
Charged black hole bombs in a Minkowski cavity

Press and Teukolsky famously introduced the concept of a black hole bomb system: a scalar field scattering a Kerr black hole confined inside a mirror undergoes superradiant amplification that keeps repeating due to the reflecting boundary conditions at the mirror. A similar charged black hole bomb system exists if we have a charged scalar field propagating in a Reissner–Nordström black hole confined inside a box. We point out that scalar fields propagating in such a background are unstable not only to superradiance but also to a mechanism known as the near-horizon scalar condensation instability. The two instabilities are typically entangled but we identify regimes in the phase space where one of them is suppressed but the other is present, and vice-versa (we do this explicitly for the charged but non-rotating black hole bomb). These ‘corners’ in the phase space, together with a numerical study of the instabilities allow us to identify accurately the onset of the instabilities. Our results should thus be useful to make educated choices of initial data for the Cauchy problem that follows the time evolution and endpoint of the instabilities. Finally, we use a simple thermodynamic model (that makes no use of the equations of motion) to find the leading order thermodynamic properties of hairy black holes and solitons that should exist as a consequence (and that should be the endpoint) of these instabilities. To find the properties of these hairy solutions at higher order in perturbation theory, the Einstein–Maxwell-scalar equations of motion would have to be solved.
Financial Development and Corporate Growth in the EU Single Market

The establishment of the EU‐15 ‘single market’ in 1993 brought about a high degree of similarity in firms' growth opportunities across countries, while substantial diversity existed in the development of national financial markets. We compare within‐industry growth rates of similar ‘single market’ firms facing financial systems of different depth and institutional quality as of 1993. Moving from the least to the most developed financial market within the EU‐15 boosts firms' annual value‐added growth by about three percentage points. Our results also suggest that the growth gap due to initially underdeveloped financial systems was closed by 2003.
How Do Illicit Drugs Move Across Countries? A Network Analysis of the Heroin Supply to Europe

Illicit drugs are trafficked across manifold borders before ultimately reaching consumers. Consequently, interdiction of cross-border drug trafficking forms a critical component of the European Union’s initiative to reduce drug supplies. However, there is contradictory evidence about its effectiveness, which is due, in part, to a paucity of information about how drugs flow across borders. This study uses a network approach to analyze international drug trafficking both to and within Europe, drawing on several perspectives to delineate the factors that affect how drug shipments move across borders. The analysis explicates how drug trafficking is concentrated along specific routes; moreover, we demonstrate that its structure is not random but, rather, driven by specific factors. In particular, corruption and social and geographical proximity are key factors explaining the configuration of heroin supply to European countries. This study also provides essential insights into the disruption of traffickers’ illicit activities.
A review of regeneration and genetic transformation in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)

Biotechnology techniques including plant tissue culture and recombinant DNA technologies are important tools that can complement traditional breeding. Progress has been slow in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.), mainly due to its recalcitrant in plant regeneration and genetic transformation. Despite this, some achievements have been obtained. This review presents a consolidated account of explants used, mode of regeneration and genetic transformation in cowpea. Furthermore, it describes the discussion of some existing problems about regeneration and genetic transformation in cowpea. The authors find that organogenesis pathway and Agrobacterium mediated method is widely used in this area in cowpea recent years. Other explants such as anther should be researched in regeneration in cowpea and the affecting factors during transformation process should be explored further. Key words: Regeneration, organogenesis, somatic embryogenesis, genetic transformation, cowpea.
Construction of the Φ4-quantum field theory on noncommutative Moyal space∗

We review our recent construction of the φ-model on four-dimensional Moyal space. A milestone is the exact solution of the quartic matrix model Z[E, J ] = ∫ dΦ exp(trace(JΦ−EΦ2− λ 4 Φ)) in terms of the solution of a non-linear equation for the 2-point function and the eigenvalues of E. The β-function vanishes identically. For the Moyal model, the theory of Carleman type singular integral equations reduces the construction to a fixed point problem. Its numerical solution reveals a second-order phase transition at λc ≈ −0.396 and a phase transition of infinite order at λ = 0. The resulting Schwinger functions in position space are symmetric and invariant under the full Euclidean group. They are only sensitive to diagonal matrix correlation functions, and clustering is violated. The Schwinger 2-point function is reflection positive iff the diagonal matrix 2-point function is a Stieltjes function. Numerically this seems to be the case for coupling constants λ ∈ [λc, 0].