Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Harmonization of the protection against misleading commercial practices: ongoing divergences in Central European countries

Research background: Modern European integration focuses on competition in the internal single market, embracing both competitiveness and consumer protection, and it aims at full harmonization in this arena. The hallmark, the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive from 2005, aims to overcome diverse social, political, legal and economic traditions. Is the implied protection against misleading practices an opportunity or a threat for Central European Regions? Purpose of the article: The primary purpose is to comparatively describe and critically assess the transposed legal frameworks. The secondary purpose is to study and evaluate their coherence in the light of the case law and their impact in Central Europe, in particular whether it represents an opportunity or a threat for the smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, i.e. boosting competitiveness and innovation along with consumer welfare. Methods: The cross-disciplinary and multi-jurisdictional nature of this paper, and its dual purposes, implies the use of Meta-Analysis, of various interpretation techniques suitable for legal texts and judicial decisions, of the critical comparison and of a holistic assessment of approaches and impacts. Legislation and case law are explored and the yielded knowledge and data are confronted with a field search and case studies. The dominating qualitative research and data are complemented by the quantitative research and data. Findings & Value added: For over one decade, the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive has required full harmonization of the protection against, among other items, misleading commercial practices, by legislatures and judges in the EU. The exploration pursuant to the two purposes suggests that this ambitious legislative and case law project entails a number of transposition approaches with varying levels of coherence, importance and impacts on the competitiveness and innovation of business and consumer welfare in Central Europe. Therefore, full harmonization should be either readjusted or relaxed.
Empirical research of the 3-factor versus 5-factor asset pricing model performance and Regional versus Global explanatory factors efficiency in Greece and Spain

This dissertation was written as part of the MSc in Banking & Finance at the International Hellenic University. The benchmark model for asset pricing was Capital Asset Pricing Model for many decades. The evolution in this financial sector led to multifactor models, primarily introduced by Fama & French in 1992. This research assesses the performance of asset pricing multifactor models, specifically 3-factor and 5-factor models proposed by Fama & French. It examines the efficiency of Regional versus Global explanatory factors in the multifactor models. It also dissects what should be considered as relevant risk-free rate for a particular data-set consisted of Euro Area stock exchanges. The sampling field contains the stocks of Greek and Spanish stock exchanges, Athens Stock Exchange and Bolsa de Madrid respectively. The sample period is since 2002, the physical implementation of Euro currency, until 2016. The findings cast doubt whether 5-factor model offers substantial improvement as far as the stock exchanges of the two countries, the evidence are contradicting. The role and importance of using regional factors at country level analysis is emphasized form findings. Finally, this study sheds light whether Bund is more appropriate than T-bill as risk-free rate in a multifactor model’s factor-set in Euro Area.
Students’ reflective journaling: an impactful strategy that informs instructional practices in an EFL writing university context in Qatar

ABSTRACT Reflective journals are used in the literature to promote students’ learning, develop writing skills, assess students’ reflection level, promote teachers’ professional development, and gather research data. However, the current research bridges the gap in the literature by exploring the impact of students’ reflective journals on informing instructional practices in an EFL writing context at a university in Qatar. Informed by Gibb’s reflective cycle (1988) (i.e. description, feelings, evaluation, conclusion and action) and social constructionism, the researcher developed a reflective journal to help students reflect on the instructional practices. Using a case study methodology, the researcher collected seventy-eight reflective journals, written by bilingual female university students in Qatar. Data was analysed qualitatively using thematic content analysis. Findings revealed that students preferred the following teaching strategies: gradual teaching, exemplification, discussion, comprehension checking, cooperative learning, and graphic organisers. Findings also showed students’ reported challenges such as strict classroom management, lack of teacher’s electronic feedback, teacher’s frequent questioning, recurrent turn-taking, time mismanagement, lack of handouts, cooperative learning problems, mocking students, ringing mobile phones, unpunctual students and dealing with disruptive students. Implications for instructional practices are provided.
The effect of manufacturing value added on economic growth: empirical evidence from Europe

Purpose- The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of manufacturing on economic growth in European economies during the period of deindustrialization. Moreover, the associations between capital, labor force, and technology with economic growth have been investigated. Methodology- Econometric tests are performed based on a panel data for twenty-five of most competitive European economies for the period 1995 - 2016. To quantify the relationship between explanatory variables and economic growth, an eclectic model consists of both the Kaldor’s first law of growth and the neoclassical growth model was estimated. Findings- The result of this study revealed that the economic growth has a significantly positive association with manufacturing, labor force, and technology. The unexpected interesting result is that the association between economic growth and investment is significantly negative. Conclusion- Research stated that policy makers should invest in those policies that can enhance the growth of the manufacturing sector by increases of manufacturing productivity and increases in the manufacturing employment share to create job opportunities in this sector in order to have a sustainable, healthy and competitive economic development in future.
Factors Affecting Web Disclosure Adoption in the Nonprofit Sector

ABSTRACT Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are strategically using their own personal website to present themselves to the public and share information. Despite the potential benefits of enhanced public confidence and trust, reduced operating costs, improved donor decision making, and increased donations, many nonprofit organizations have resisted the adoption of web disclosure. Informed by the literature on information systems (IS) adoption and technological innovation, this study examines the primary factors that influence the adoption and resistance of web disclosure. Our sample consisted of 176 survey responses from an initial group of 3,323 U.S. NPOs. The statistical results indicate that attitude toward disclosure, compatibility of disclosure with current practices, and financial readiness have a positive influence on web disclosure adoption. The findings have implications for research and practice.
Authentic Leadership and Teachers’ Intention to Stay: The Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Support and Psychological Capital

This paper aims to explore the mediation effect of psychological capital and perceived organizational support on therelationship between authentic leadership and intention to stay. The structural equation modeling technique was usedto test the hypothesized model. A survey was administered to collect data targeting a sample of randomly selectedteachers working at high schools in Tehran. The results suggest that authentic leadership significantly influencesteachers’ intention to stay, psychological capital, perceived organizational support. As predicted, both perceivedorganizational support and psychological capital had a significant positive direct effect on intention to stay. Theeffect of authentic leadership on intention to stay was found to be mediated by teachers’ psychological capital andperceived organizational support. This study shows how leaders can enhance teachers’ intention to stay by applyingauthentic leadership, engendering psychological capital and creating supportive environment.
Cone Penetration Based Probabilistic Assessment of Shallow Foundation Settlement

Probabilistic (Reliability or safety) analysis, as a measure of structural performance, was expressed in terms of reliability indices which were calculated for total settlement of shallow foundations in a Site in Abuja, the Federal Capital of the Federal Republic of Nigeria based on the Burland and Burbidge settlement prediction method. Reliability indices were calculated with the objective of developing a risk analysis procedure specifically for prediction of settlement of foundations lying on soils. This research was aimed at the development of a method that will assist in the process of calibration of load and resistance factors (reliability-based design (RBD)) for service limit state based on cone penetration test (CPT) results. The CPT data were obtained from four test holes (CPT1 - 4) at three foundation embedment depths of 0.6, 1.2 and 1.8 m and analysis was done using applied foundation pressures of 50, 100, 200, 300 and 500 kN/m2. Reliability analysis, expressed in the form of reliability index (β) and probability of failure (Pf) was performed for foundation settlement using First Order Reliability Method (FORM) in MATLAB. The footings were designed for a 25 mm allowable settlement value as recommended in Eurocode 7 for serviceability limit state (SLS) design which is a conventional approach. Sensitivity study indicated that the applied foundation pressure and coefficient of variation (COV) of CPT tip resistance significantly affected the magnitude of foundation settlements and the variability of the geotechnical parameters is highly influenced and has a significant effect on the settlement and safety of any structure. The use of COV value of 30 % of CPT tip resistance which corresponds to target reliability index (βT) of 4.52 and target probability of failure (PfT) of 0.000677% based on the Burland and Burbidge method for SLS design is recommended for RBD of footings total settlement on soils in Abuja, Nigeria.
Industry 4.0 for the Construction Industry: Review of Management Perspective

Technology and innovations have fueled the evolution of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). Industry 4.0 spurs growth and development through its efficiency capacity, as documented in the literature. The growth of the construction industry is a subset of the universal set of the value of gross domestic product, and thus, industry 4.0 has a spillover effect on the engineering and construction industry. The aim of this paper is to map the state of Industry 4.0 in the construction industry from the point of view of manarial activities, such as investment management, project preparation, and an overall approach to the management of related activities. This study employed scoping review techniques to dissect the status quo for Industry 4.0 and the construction industry. The empirical results from the systematic and scoping review methods for the ten sampled publications revealed that information and communication technology (ICT)—Industry 4.0—has a significant positive impact on the growth of the construction industry. Therefore, construction practitioners should partner more with researchers in the ICT industry to enhance the automation of work processes and managerial activities in the engineering and construction industry.
I am Multiracial: Predictors of Multiracial identification strength among mixed ancestry individuals

ABSTRACT Research has yet to examine variability in how strongly individuals claim the unconventional Multiracial identity and why. In two studies, we examined mixed-race individuals’ strength of Multiracial identification. Across both studies (NS1 = 139; NS2 = 215), mixed-race people who regularly received feedback that their appearance was incongruent with their background had stronger Multiracial identification. In Study 2, perceived discrimination was associated with Multiracial identification, but the link depended on the racial group of the perpetrator. Specifically, perceiving discrimination from ingroup members was associated with stronger Multiracial identification, and this was strongest when White ingroup members were the source of discrimination. These findings demonstrate the interpersonal nature of racial identity and illuminate the complex dynamics of negotiating multiple racial backgrounds.
Banking on the Principles; Compliance with Basel Core Principles and Bank Soundness

This paper studies whether compliance with the Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision (BCPs) improves bank soundness. The authors find a significant and positive relationship between bank soundness (measured with Moody's financial strength ratings) and compliance with principles related to information provision2. Specifically, countries that require banks to regularly and accurately report their financial data to regulators and market participants have sounder banks. This relationship is robust to controlling for broad indexes of institutional quality, macroeconomic variables, sovereign ratings, and reverse causality. Measuring soundness through Z-scores yields similar results. These findings emphasize the importance of transparency in making supervisory processes effective and strengthening market discipline. Countries aiming to upgrade banking regulation and supervision should consider giving priority to information provision over other elements of the core principles.
Influence of Demographic Characteristics on Utilisation of EIRs by Postgraduate Students in Three Selected Universities in South-West Nigeria

Electronic information resources (EIRs) referred to information that are available in electronic format. These resources are very useful in postgraduate education, but it was observed that some factors determined the use of these resources among the postgraduate students who are expected to use EIRs that are provided in libraries. In line with this, this study investigated influence of demographic characteristics on utilisation of EIRs by postgraduate students in three selected universities in south-west Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study. 362 respondents represented the sample size for the study. Statistical Package for Social sciences (SPSS) was used to compute the data, while frequency distribution, mean, percentage, standard deviation and chi-square were used for data analyses. The findings revealed that a significant (P< 0.05) association exist among highest qualification (χ =40.3), Age (χ =20.4) and utilisation of EIRs by the postgraduate students. It was recommended that the library management should provide adequate awareness programmes that will promote the use of EIRs among postgraduate students irrespective of age and qualification. Academic staff should advocate the use of EIRs among postgraduate students. This is achievable in a situation where lecturers introduce the use of EIRs to their course-work/ assignments. It was concluded that Age and highest qualification were found to be major determinant of the use of EIRs by the postgraduate students in the selected universities. This is an issue that needed a serious attention because the older postgraduate students are expected to deliver academically as the younger postgraduate students.
First Year at University: Perceptions and Experiences of Students

This study was initiated by concerns in the literature over freshman students and by the need to know more about students' perceptions of their university experience. In 1984, all 937first-year students in the Faculties of Arts, Business, Education, Engineering, and Science who had come directly to the University of Alberta from high school were asked about their university experiences and the transition from high school. Family members, the University's reputation, and the University's proximity exerted the greatest influence upon the decision to attend. Preparation for an interesting career, obtaining a well-paying job, and learning about topics of special interest were the most important goals associated with their programs. Students considered that they were best prepared in reading skills, listening skills, and taking notes, and least well prepared in budgeting time, library skills, and study skills. Most assessed that they were working considerably harder than at high school, and many said that high school had not adequately prepared them for university. The greatest need to adjust occurred in amount of work, stress, difficulty of work, and methods of instruction. Students varied considerably in the extent to which their expectations were met and the time taken to feel "at ease. "
Starting Condition Problems in Collaboration of Lampung Province Central Government Displacement Policy

Starting condition is a key factor in determining the success of collaborative governance in policy implementation. Operationally, starting condition is determined by aspects of power/resource balance, trust between collaborators, various types of incentives to encourage participation, and previous history of cooperation experiences or conflict from related parties in collaboration. This research aims to provide description and confirmation concerning the extent of starting condition related to the termination of Lampung province central government displacement policy. It is descriptive research using the inductive approach. Methods of data collection used are interviews, observations, and library study. Data are being analyzed qualitatively through steps of data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusion. The research result shows that three out of four aspects of starting conditions are not considered in starting the collaboration process of Lampung province central government displacement policy. There are harms in the forms of imbalanced power/resource, not-wholeheartedly participations, and distrust between collaborators. A pseudo-collaboration as the implication of problems in the starting condition factors is finally confirmed to the failure of collaboration or policy implementation.
Fast gradient-based algorithm on extended landscapes for wave-front reconstruction of Earth observation satellite

We present an on-board satellite implementation of a gradient-based (optical flows) algorithm for the shifts estimation between images of a Shack-Hartmann wave-front sensor on extended landscapes. The proposed algorithm has low complexity in comparison with classical correlation methods which is a big advantage for being used on-board a satellite at high instrument data rate and in real-time. The electronic board used for this implementation is designed for space applications and is composed of radiation-hardened software and hardware. Processing times of both shift estimations and pre-processing steps are compatible of on-board real-time computation.
An 3D point Cloud Reconstruction Approach from Single Image for Smart Power Plant

Point cloud can assist unmanned equipment to locate and detect in electric power inspection. It needs equipment and surrounding environment to obtain point cloud directly by radar. The efficiency of obtaining 3D point cloud in patrol inspection can be improved by using deep learning network through single image generation. In order to generate high-precision reconstruction results, a two-stage training network for 3D point cloud reconstruction is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the network of image to point cloud is trained and used to generate rough point cloud. Secondly, the trained point cloud auto-encoder generates more accurate point cloud data. Finally, the two models are combined to obtain accurate point cloud reconstruction results from an image. This method can generate accurate and uniform point cloud 3D model. The validity and practicability of the model are proved by the test of synthetic data set and the quantitative and qualitative analysis. Compared with the other three famous networks, the proposed network reconstruction accuracy is improved.
Work-family conflicts and satisfaction among Italian women entrepreneurs

The purpose of this chapter is to add knowledge to the still under-investigated relationship between the work-family conflict (WFC) and the overall level of wellbeing pursued by women entrepreneurs. WFC, in particular, may start because work responsibilities interfere with family responsibilities (WIF) and/or when family responsibilities interfere with work demands (FIW). In this study we study if and how WIF and FIW affect women entrepreneurs’ wellbeing. In doing so, a validated questionnaire was administered to 511 women entrepreneurs in Italy. Results show that the conflict between work and family is a key aspect able to affect the overall wellbeing of women entrepreneurs. Data provide evidence that Italian women entrepreneurs present some peculiarities which reflect the national socio-economic environment. The experienced conflicts faced by the 511 interviewed women are strongly connected both to their family sphere (FIW) and to their working loads (WIF). This “double burden” helps explaining why Italian women entrepreneurs experience more difficulties in keeping working and private lives separate and both under control, leading to higher levels of conflict, stress and lower level of life satisfaction, hindering their overall level of wellbeing.
Classification and Mapping of Adaptive Security for Mobile Computing

Context: Mobile computing has emerged as a disruptive technology that has empowered its users with portable, connected and context-aware computation. However, issues such as resource poverty, energy efficiency and specifically data security and privacy represents the critical challenges for mobile computing. Objective: The objective of this work is to systematically identify, taxonomically classify and map the state-of-research on adaptive security (a.k.a. self-protection) for mobile computing. Methodology: We followed evidence based software engineering method to conduct a systematic mapping study of 43 qualitatively selected studies—published from 2003 to 2017—on adaptive security for mobile computing. Results and Conclusions: Classification and mapping of the research highlights three prominent themes that support adaptive security for (i) Mobile Device Data and Resources, (ii) Mobile to Mobile Communication, and (iii) Mobile to Server Communication. Mapping analysis suggests that security of mobile device data and resources is the most researched theme. The mapping study highlights that active and futuristic research trends are primarily focused on security as a service, whereas; the frequent research challenges relate to self-protecting mobile devices, user-driven privacy decisions and context-aware security. The results of the mapping study facilitate knowledge transfer that can benefit researchers and practitioners to understand the role of adaptive and context-aware security in mobile computing environments.