Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Designing for Human-Centered Systems: Situational Risk as a Factor of Trust in Automation

As society continues to become advanced in technology, automation is increasingly implemented in systems reducing the need for human intervention. Although the system is the main focus in rendering the cognitive workload, the human's use in the system is the main component for successful performance. Trust is a prime factor in building a symbiotic relationship between human-automation interaction and further empirical research is needed to develop appropriate methods for designing trusted systems. These methods can be defined as identifying the prime factors of trust that influence the user's decision making. The focus of this paper looks at the factor of risk to determine if and how risk in a situational environment is an influencing factor of trust in automation. A Global Positioning System (GPS) was used as the automated platform, and participants went through a series of route planning sessions with varying levels of risk and hazards. It was found that as the level of risk increased on hazards, the use and trust of automation decreased.
Children choose their own stories: the impact of choice on children's learning of new narrative skills*

ABSTRACT Despite evidence that early narrative abilities are predictive of literacy skills and academic achievement, only limited progress has been made in understanding how the development of these narrative skills can be facilitated. The current study measured the effectiveness of a new narrative intervention conducted with 26 preschoolers. Children were assigned to one of two intervention conditions: an active-choice condition (able to choose story components) or a no-choice condition (story components were preselected). Both groups otherwise received the same explicit and engaging teaching of story grammar. As predicted, greater narrative skill gains were evident for the active-choice intervention; including larger gains on both central story grammar components and story information overall. Future implications for how stories might be presented to young children in order to more richly facilitate narrative skill acquisition are discussed.
“Austrian” and Industrial Organization Perspectives on Firm-level Competitive Activity and Performance

Drawing on the Austrian school of economics and the structure-conduct-performance (s-c-p) paradigm of industrial organization, the authors present and test a dynamic model of competitive activity and performance. They examine the model in two stages. First, they explore the influence of industry-level and firm-level cooperative mechanisms on firm-level competitive activity. Second, they examine the effect of firm- and industry-level competitive activity on firm performance.The authors use the dynamic model of competitive activity to examine the complex linkages between the firm's environment, its actions, and its performance outcomes. They report a longitudinal analysis of a sample of 1,903 competitive moves undertaken in the software industry. Hypothesis testing supports the relationships in the model argued from the Austrian perspective, but provides only partial support for those derived from the s-c-p paradigm. Firm-level cooperative mechanisms are found to increase the firm's competitive activity, and firm-level competitive activity is related positively to the firm's return on assets and return on sales. Contrary to expectation based on the s-c-p paradigm. industry-level cooperative mechanisms are not related to the firm's competitive activity or to its performance. Consistent with the IO paradigm, however, a measure of industry rivalry that directly captures industry-level competitive activity is related negatively to firm-level performance.
Bank Performance in Central and Eastern Europe: The Role of Financial Liberalization

In this paper we analyze the impact of financial liberalization, reforms in the banking sector and the associated changes in the industry structure on the banking performance, measured in terms of cost efficiency and total productivity growth index in 17 countries from Central and Eastern Europe for 2004 – 2008 period. The period chosen is relevant in the context of the entrance of new ten EU members at the beginning of the year of 2004 and the beginning signs of the subprime crises in the Central and Eastern Europe in 2008. To examine the relationship between bank performance, financial liberalization and banking systems structure, we develop a two-stage empirical model that involves estimating bank performance in the first stage and assessing its determinants in the second. From our analyze result that the levels of the banking reform and interest rate liberalization indicator and financial openness index improve cost efficiency, suggesting that banks from Central and Eastern European countries with higher level of liberalization and openness are able to increase cost efficiency and finally to offer cheaper services to clients. Concerning the effect of financial reform on total productivity growth of banks from CEE countries, the results show that the level of banking reform and interest rate liberalization indicator and the score regarding soundness and safety of banks have a positive impact on total productivity growth.
Continuance Model Incorporating Personal Innovativeness in Information Technology

This paper proposes a second-stage model of continuance intention of using mobile Internet data services. The proposed model is based on the latest expanded continuance theory in information systems literature. Our argument is that personal innovativeness in information technology should be studied as antecedent for the constructs of disconfirmation, satisfaction, and post-usage beliefs. Disconfirmation on any of the mobile data usage related beliefs such as effort expectancy, mobility, and social influences is expected to influence satisfaction and post-usage attitude, which ultimately influence continuance intention toward mobile Internet data services. Theoretical and practical implications of the proposed model are also discussed in the paper.
Cross-Reactivity between Hepatitis C Virus and Influenza A Virus Determinant-Specific Cytotoxic T Cells

ABSTRACT The cellular immune response contributes to viral clearance as well as to liver injury in acute and chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. An immunodominant determinant frequently recognized by liver-infiltrating and circulating CD8+ T cells of HCV-infected patients is the HCVNS3-1073 peptide CVNGVCWTV. Using a sensitive in vitro technique with HCV peptides and multiple cytokines, we were able to expand cytotoxic T cells specific for this determinant not only from the blood of 11 of 20 HCV-infected patients (55%) but also from the blood of 9 of 15 HCV-negative blood donors (60%), while a second HCV NS3 determinant was recognized only by HCV-infected patients and not by seronegative controls. The T-cell response of these healthy blood donors was mediated by memory T cells, which cross-reacted with a novel T-cell determinant of the A/PR/8/34 influenza A virus (IV) that is endogenously processed from the neuraminidase (NA) protein. Both the HCV NS3 and the IV NA peptide displayed a high degree of sequence homology, bound to the HLA-A2 molecule with high affinity, and were recognized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes with similar affinity (10−8 M). Using the HLA-A2-transgenic mouse model, we then demonstrated directly that HCV-specific T cells could be induced in vivo by IV infection. Splenocytes harvested from IV-infected mice at the peak of the primary response (day 7 effector cells) or following complete recovery (day 21 memory cells) recognized the HCV NS3 peptide, lysed peptide-pulsed target cells, and produced gamma interferon. These results exemplify that host responses to an infectious agent are influenced by cross-reactive memory cells induced by past exposure to heterologous viruses, which could have important consequences for vaccine development.
Prior Knowledge and the Discovery of Entrepreneurial Opportunities

Before technological change leads to new processes, products, markets, or ways of organizing, entrepreneurs must discover opportunities in which to exploit the new technology. To date, research has not explained adequately why entrepreneurs discover these opportunities, which creates several conceptual problems in the entrepreneurship literature. Drawing on Austrian economics, I argue that opportunity discovery is a function of the distribution of information in society (Hayek 1945). Through in-depth case studies of eight sets of entrepreneurs who exploit a single MIT invention, I show that entrepreneurs discover opportunities related to the information that they already possess. I use these findings to draw several implications that differ from those prevailing in the entrepreneurship literature, including: (1) entrepreneurs do not always select between alternative market opportunities for new technologies; (2) the source of entrepreneurship lies in differences in information about opportunities; (3) the results of prior studies of entrepreneurial exploitation may suffer from bias; and (4) individual differences influence the opportunities that people discover, how their entrepreneurial efforts are organized, and how the government can influence this process.
Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency — A Missed Opportunity in COPD?

The abundant serum protein alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) is the prototype chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) biomarker. AAT is an antiprotease which inhibits neutrophilderived proteases and protects the fragile tissues of the lung. Absence of this key antiprotease renders the lung susceptible to proteolytic degradation. Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is a hereditary disorder characterised by low circulating levels of alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT). The lung disease associated with the condition is characterized by neutrophil-domi‐ nated airway inflammation and elevated intra-pulmonary protease levels [1]. The SERPINA1 gene encodes for the AAT protein and the most common SERPINA1 mutation known to cause AATD is the Z mutation. The classic case of AATD is an individual homozygous for the Z mutation which causes a severe deficiency of circulating AAT. Intuitively, severe AATD is a proven genetic risk factor for the development of lung and less frequently, liver disease. The condition was previously estimated to play a causative role in approximately 1-2% of COPD cases [2]. However, when intermediate deficiency is included in any evaluation of the contri‐ bution of AATD to lung disease, we anticipate that this figure can rise to as high as 10%. Guidelines published by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the American Thoracic Society (ATS), and the European Respiratory Society (ERS) advocate a targeted screening approach for the detection of AATD. Together these organisations recommend testing for AATD in all individuals with COPD regardless of age or smoking history [3, 4]. Despite the clear and significant benefits of correct identification, AATD remains an under-diagnosed
Factors Influencing Customer Adoption of Mobile Banking Services in Tanzania

The continuous expansion of technological innovations especially in the banking sector have stirred competition which has changed the way businesses operate resulting in the introduction of mobile banking in Tanzania. This study was conducted in order to analyze the factors that influence consumer adoption of mobile banking in Tanzania. A questionnaire was developed and then distributed to customers of major mobile banking service providers in Tanzania. Using primary data collection method, from the 150 questionnaires that were distributed 105 questionnaires was successfully returned but only 95 were useable for analysis yielding a 62.7% response rate. After gathering and entering the data in SPSS the results were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Each variable was measured using 5-point Likert-scale. The results suggested that perceived risk, relative advantage and convenience are the determinant factors in influencing consumers’ adoption decisions. It’s been recommended that banks in Tanzania invest massively in mobile banking and other information technology innovations in order to further promote efficient service delivery and increase adoption of mobile banking services.
Moderate amounts of fructose- or glucose-sweetened beverages do not differentially alter metabolic health in male and female adolescents.

BACKGROUND Adolescents consume more sugar-sweetened beverages than do individuals in any other age group, but it is unknown how the type of sugar-sweetened beverage affects metabolic health in this population. OBJECTIVE The objective was to compare the metabolic health effects of short-term (2-wk) consumption of high-fructose (HF) and high-glucose (HG)-sweetened beverages in adolescents (15-20 y of age). DESIGN In a counterbalanced, single-blind fashion, 40 male and female adolescents completed two 2-wk trials that included 1) an HF trial in which they consumed 710 mL of a sugar-sweetened beverage/d (equivalent to 50 g fructose/d and 15 g glucose/d) for 2 wk and 2) an HG trial in which they consumed 710 mL of a sugar-sweetened beverage/d (equivalent to 50 g glucose/d and 15 g fructose/d) for 2 wk in addition to their normal ad libitum diet. In addition, the participants maintained similar physical activity levels during each trial. The day after each trial, insulin sensitivity and resistance [assessed via Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index (QUICKI) and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index] and fasting and postprandial glucose, lactate, lipid, cholesterol, insulin, C-peptide, insulin secretion, and clearance responses to HF or HG mixed meals were assessed. RESULTS Body weight, QUICKI (whole-body insulin sensitivity), HOMA-IR (hepatic insulin resistance), and fasting lipids, cholesterol, glucose, lactate, and insulin secretion or clearance were not different between trials. Fasting HDL- and HDL₃-cholesterol concentrations were ∼10-31% greater (P < 0.05) in female adolescents than in male adolescents. Postprandial triacylglycerol, HDL-cholesterol, HDL₃-cholesterol, and glucose concentrations were not different between HF and HG trials. The lactate incremental area under the curve was ∼3.7-fold greater during the HF trial (P < 0.05), whereas insulin secretion was 19% greater during the HG trial (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Moderate amounts of HF- or HG-sweetened beverages for 2 wk did not have differential effects on fasting or postprandial cholesterol, triacylglycerol, glucose, or hepatic insulin clearance in weight-stable, physically active adolescents.
Comparison of the Vineland Social Maturity Scale, the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales—Survey Form, and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development with Infants Evaluated for Developmental Delay

The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales is an extensive revision of the Vineland Social Maturity Scale; however, research comparing the two scales with different populations and measures of intelligence is limited. The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales—Survey Form, the Vineland Social Maturity Scale, and the mental scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development were administered to 44 infants referred for evaluation of developmental delay. The differences between means were compared and shared variance examined. The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales—Survey Form scores were significantly higher than those of the Vineland Social Maturity Scale and the Bayley Mental Development Index. No significant differences were found between the means of the Vineland Social Maturity Scale and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development—Mental Development Index. Correlations were . 59 between the Bayley Index and scores on the Vineland—Survey Form and . 72 between the Bayley Index and the Vineland Social Maturity Scale. Between versions of the Vineland scale r = . 39. Implications for diagnosis and educational classification are discussed.
The Effects of Language Learning Strategy (LLS) Training on ESL College Students' Strategies Used

As a former colonial country, English was used as medium of instruction in Malaysian schools even after its independence in 1957 until the early 70‟s. At present, although Bahasa Malaysia is the official language and the medium of instruction in public schools as well as government agencies, English is considered as the second language and is still widely used at tertiary level as well as the business sectors. However, despite its prominence, English language proficiency among Malaysians has been in a steady state of decline. Studies conducted by Adnan (2000); Karib & Adnan (2005); Pandian (2007) reveal that Malaysians in general and students at secondary as well as tertiary levels in particular are not proficient in English. According to Nambiar (2007) a large number of Malaysian undergraduates find reading, interpreting and critically evaluating an academic text overwhelming especially when they have to express their understanding in a written or spoken form. Their knowledge of general as well as academic vocabulary is also poor (Osman and Bakar, 2009; Neo, 2009; Mokhtar, Rawian & Yahaya et al., 2010). These are among the most common complaints expressed by educators at tertiary level. These undergraduates also are very dependent on the lecturers and are not self-directed. It is noticed that the problems that they face are due to several factors including lack of appropriate learning strategies.
Earnings Management and the Cost of Debt

This paper examines the relation between earnings management and the marginal cost of debt to the firm using a sample of traded corporate bonds for the period 1994-2005. The marginal cost of debt is captured by market determined yield spreads, while earnings management is proxied by three alternative estimates of abnormal discretionary accruals. The standard regression models reveal that non-investment grade bonds in particular are penalized for higher abnormal accruals but the same does not appear to hold for investment grade bonds. In regression models that control for potential bias due to firms self-selecting into aggressive and non-aggressive earnings management groups based on certain firm attributes, we find that abnormal accruals have a negative price impact on all bonds generally. However, we also find that the effect is more severe for non-investment grade bonds. Thus, we conclude that creditors are able to see through managers' attempts to influence earnings perceptions and penalize firms for doing so by demanding a higher rate of return.
Female board representation and corporate acquisition intensity

This study examines the impact of female board representation on firm-level strategic behavior within the domain of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). We build on social identity theory to predict that greater female representation on a firm's board will be negatively associated with both the number of acquisitions the firm engages in and, conditional on doing a deal, acquisition size. Using a comprehensive, multiyear sample of U.S. public firms, we find strong support for our hypotheses. We demonstrate the robustness of our findings through the use of a difference-in-differences analysis on a subsample of firms that experienced exogenous changes in board gender composition as a result of director deaths
Childhood drowning is a global concern

Papers p 1070 Drowning is a significant cause of childhood death in many parts of the world. It is estimated that in 1998 almost half a million deaths worldwide were caused by drowning, 57% of which were among children aged up to 14 years.1 A recent Unicef report found that, in 26 of the world's richest nations, injuries were the leading cause of death among children. Drowning was the second leading cause of injury related death, exceeded only by deaths due to road traffic crashes.2 Drowning is also unique in that case fatality rates are as high as 50% and medical care makes little difference in outcomes for victims brought to the emergency department without spontaneous respiration. The study by Sibert et al in this week's journal (p 1070) identified a significant decline in the incidence of childhood drowning in the United Kingdom between 1988-89 and 1998-99.3 A strength of the study was the use …
The national essential public health services project in China: progress and equity

Objectives:In this paper, we discuss the development and equity of national essential public health services, and provide references for the sustainable development of these services. Methods:We analyzed financing, staffing, and service delivery at community and township health centers in 15 counties in Anhui, Henan, and Chongqing. We calculated the Gini coefficient to evaluate equity. Results:We found that financing for essential public health services has gradually increased and that subsidies were more than RMB 25 per capita in 2011. The quantity of personnel in primary health care institutions had increased, but personnel needed to be distributed more equitably. Primary health care services, in particular, child and maternal health services, were being more equitably provided. Management of hypertension and diabetes had also been standardized to a much greater extent. Conclusions:Some imbalances still remain in the financing of essential public health care, and there is still a shortage of trained public health care staff. Service delivery also needs to be continually improved. We recommend paying more attention to cost estimates of essential public health services, training and developing health care staff, and making well-considered decisions about which services to focus on. We also recommend establishing a quality-oriented performance evaluation mechanism and innovating on the service-delivery model.
More on a Market Share Theorem

Bell, Keeney, and Little [l] recently proved a market share theorem. They assumed that the sales potential of each product in a market can be summarized by one "attractiveness" number, and postulated several relationships between attractiveness ratings and market share. Then they proceeded to show that, in their model, a seller's proportion of total sales is simply the attractiveness of his product divided by the total attractiveness of all products in the market. The authors noted that linear-normalized "us/ (us + them)" expressions for market share often are hypothesized in the literature, and that one value of their result is its specification of conditions when such formulas are appropriate. But in addition to ratifying expressions that already have been assumed, the theorem has a prescriptive value. Suppose one has a set of mathematical functions of product attributes-one for each competitor in a market-that one believes related to the market shares of individual firms by the Bell-Keeney-Little (hereafter BKL) postulates. Then use of linear-normalized estimates for percentage distribution of sales is not only permissible under the theorem but is mandatory because of it. Certain broad assumptions about market behavior, when taken together, are surprisingly precise in their implications. Because of the stringent conditions in the BKL axioms, the result is directly applicable only in limited circumstances. This paper describes an attempt to extend the market share theorem by dropping its assumptions of "symmetry" and "linearity" in favor of more general axioms. By use of arguments that rest ultimately on the BKL theorem itself, unique expressions for market shares are obtained in the wider framework considered. These results may make the market share theorem more accessible to those wishing to use it.