Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Study of EFL Learners' (Meta) Pragmatic Learning through Explicit (Teacher Explanation) and Implicit (Foreign Film) Interventions: The Case of Compliment

One of the controversies regarding teaching 'pragmatics' is whether the medium of instruction would make a difference in the development of learners' pragmatic awareness and pragmatic use in both second and foreign language contexts. The present study compared the impact of two types of teaching conditions: explicit teacher explanation and implicit foreign film watching, onthe process of (meta) pragmatic learning (here, compliment) of 32Iranian female elementary EFL learners. To examine the effect of each type of instruction, the data collected through a written discourse completion test (WDCT) werelater analyzed by a paired samples t-test, and the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The results indicated that instruction of both types improved learners' awareness of compliments. Also both types of instruction were beneficial in terms of raising learners' (meta) pragmatic use. The findings provide insight into the facilitative impact of (meta) pragmatic instruction and present suggestions for EFL/ESL teachers and materials developers.
The city as a machine for learning.

Abstract Despite its centrality to urban politics, economies and life, learning remains a neglected and undertheorised domain in urban geography. In this paper, I address this by exploring a politics of learning through two key sites: first, tactical learning; second, urban learning forums. I offer a conception of learning based on three processes: translation , or the relational distributions through which learning is produced as a sociomaterial epistemology of displacement and change; coordination , or the construction of functional systems that enable learning as a means of linking different forms of knowledge, coping with complexity and facilitating adaptation; and dwelling , or the education of attention through which learning operates as a way of seeing and inhabiting the world. I then consider this conception of learning in relation to tactical learning, i.e. the resources marginal groups use to cope with, negotiate and resist in the city, and urban learning forums, i.e. the possibilities for progressive forms of learning between different constituencies in the city. I conclude with an outline of a critical urbanism of learning.
Women, the labor market, and the declining relative quality of teachers

School officials and policymakers have grown increasingly concerned about their ability to attract and retain talented teachers. A number of authors have shown that in recent years the brightest students-at least those with the highest verbal and math scores on standardized tests-are less likely to enter teaching. In addition, it is frequently claimed that the ability of schools to attract these top students has been steadily declining for years. There is, however, surprisingly little evidence measuring the extent to which this popular proposition is true. We have good reason to suspect that the quality of those entering teaching has fallen over time. Teaching has for years remained a predominately female professions at the same time, the employment opportunities for talented women outside teaching have soared. In this paper, we combine data from five longitudinal surveys of high school graduates spanning the classes of 1957 to 1992 to examine how the propensity for talented women to enter teaching has changed over time. While the quality of the average new female teacher has fallen only slightly over this period, the likelihood that a female from the top of her high school class will eventually enter teaching has fallen dramatically. © 2004 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.
Hemoglobin A 1 c Predicts Healing Rate in Diabetic Wounds

Lower-extremity wounds are a major complication of diabetes. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) reflects glycemia over 2–3 months and is the standard measure used to monitor glycemia in diabetic patients, but results from studies have not shown a consistent association of HbA1c with wound healing. We hypothesized that elevated HbA1c would be most associated with poor wound healing. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of 183 diabetic individuals treated at the Johns Hopkins Wound Center. Our primary outcome was wound-area healing rate (cm per day). Calibrated tracings of digital images were used to measure wound area. We estimated coefficients for healing rate using a multiple linear regression model controlling for clustering of wounds within individuals and other common clinic variables. The study population was 45% female and 41% African American, with a mean age of 61 years. Mean HbA1c was 8.0%, and there were 2.3 wounds per individual (310 wounds total). Of all measures assessed, only HbA1c was significantly associated with wound-area healing rate. In particular, for each 1.0% point increase in HbA1c, the daily wound-area healing rate decreased by 0.028 cm per day (95% confidence interval: 0.003, 0.0054, P1⁄4 0.027). Our results suggest that glycemia, as assessed by HbA1c, may be an important biomarker in predicting wound-healing rate in diabetic patients.
An exact quantum Monte Carlo calculation of the helium-helium intermolecular potential

We report “exact” ab initio calculations with reduced statistical error for the potential energy of interaction of two helium atoms. For the equilibrium internuclear distance of 5.6 bohr, the calculated electronic energy is −5.807 483 53±0.000 000 06 hartrees and the corresponding well depth is (e/k) 10.98±0.02 K.
POISSON-DIRICHLET STATISTICS FOR THE EXTREMES OF A LOG-CORRELATED GAUSSIAN FIELD

We study the statistics of the extremes of a discrete Gaussian field with logarithmic correlations at the level of the Gibbs measure. The model is defined on the periodic interval [0,1]. It is based on a model introduced by Bacry and Muzy, and is similar to the logarithmic Random Energy Model studied by Carpentier and Le Doussal, and more recently by Fyodorov and Bouchaud. At low temperature, it is shown that the normalized covariance of two points sampled from the Gibbs measure is either 0 or 1. This is used to prove that the joint distribution of the Gibbs weights converges in a suitable sense to that of a Poisson-Dirichlet variable. In particular, this proves a conjecture of Carpentier and Le Doussal that the statistics of the extremes of the log-correlated field behave as those of i.i. d. Gaussian variables and of branching Brownian motion at the level of the Gibbs measure. The proof is based on the computation of the free energy of a perturbation of the model, where a scale-dependent variance is introduced, and on general tools of spin glass theory.
Adsorption of methylene blue on bituminous schists from Tarfaya-Boujdour

ISSN: 2410-9649 Ayach et al / Chemistry International 3(4) (2017) 442-451 iscientic.org. 443 www.bosaljournals/chemint/ editorci@bosaljournals.com There are some published works on the adsorption of metals, organic and inorganic substances by natural material (Bendjama, 1982; Benguella and Benaissa, 2002; Khouya et al., 2006; Sbaa et al., 2001; Seghairi, 1998; Steger, 1973). Following these works, our research has been addressed to determine the physicochemical properties of bituminous schists, which contain some amounts of organic matter. These schists are calcareous clay rocks located in the outcrop of Lamsied (Laâyoune), near Tarfaya-Boujdour. In our case, we have considered the elimination of Methylene Blue (MB). Stable and radioactive metals will be considered in a next step of our investigation. The main objective of this work is to observe the retention of methylene blue by a representative sample of Fig. 1: Simplified geological map of the study area (Gebhardt and Zorn, 2008). Fig. 2: Spectrum of XRD of sample S6 (1) where the presence of calcite is well observed. (a) (b) Fig. 3: (a) variation of final concentration, Ce, of MB. (b) Adsorption ratio R (%) of MB versus adsorbent mass, using an initial concentration, C0, equal to 50.8 mg/l and a contact time of 240 min. 0 5 10 15 20 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 C e m g/ L) Adsorbent mass (g) 70 75 80 85 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 R (% )
High spatial resolution aerosol retrieval with MAIAC: Application to mountain regions

[1] Aerosol spatial distribution in populated mountain areas is very heterogeneous and often characterized by scales of variability of several kilometers. Satellites provide an effective tool to map aerosols on an operational basis, but most of the aerosol products intended for continental/global applications have a coarse spatial resolution (10–18 km). The Multiangle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) is a recently developed algorithm for the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), which provides Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) at a high resolution of 1 km. We analyze the quality and potential of MAIAC AOD in the Alpine region and we derive high resolution AOD maps for the years 2008 and 2009. Cloudiness and snow in mountain regions occasionally lead to an overestimation of AOD due to unresolved cloud and snow pixel contamination. Therefore, we developed a filter that almost preserves the spatial resolution of the product to ensure the good accuracy of MAIAC AOD for air-quality and climatological applications. The AOD is validated with AERONET measurements in the region and compared to the standard MODIS AOD product (MOD04). Similar accuracies are found for both products (RMSE = 0.05) but with MAIAC providing about 50% more observations at the examined locations, because of its higher spatial resolution and less restrictive filtering. Comparison with ground measurements of aerosol mass (PM10) shows that MAIAC AOD can be used to detect the fine scales of aerosol variability (2–3 km) in the mountains. Finally, AOD maps for the Alpine region demonstrate that topography is correlated with the average aerosol spatial distribution.
Fostering Patience in the Classroom: Results from Randomized Educational Intervention

We evaluate the impact of a randomized educational intervention on children’s intertemporal choices. The intervention aims to improve the ability to imagine future selves and encourages forward-looking behavior using a structured curriculum delivered by children’s own trained teachers. We find that treated students make more patient intertemporal decisions in incentivized experimental tasks. The results persist almost 3 years after the intervention, replicate well in a different sample, and are robust across different experimental elicitation methods. The effects also extend beyond experimental outcomes: we find that treated students are significantly less likely to receive a low “behavior grade. ”
Network Neuroscience Reveals Distinct Neuromarkers of Flow During Media Use

Flow is characterized by a high level of intrinsic reward that results from a balance between task di ﬃ culty and individual ability. The Synchronization Theory of Flow o ﬀ ers an explanation for the neural basis of this process. It predicts an energetically-optimized, brain-network organization between cognitive control and reward regions when task di ﬃ culty and individual ability are balanced. While initial results provide support for structural predictions, the many-to-many connectivity and energetic optimality hypotheses remain untested. Our study addresses this gap. Subjects played a video game while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. We experimentally manipulated task di ﬃ culty and individual ability. Using graph theoretical analyses, we show that the balanced-di ﬃ culty condition (compared to low-or high-di ﬃ culty) was associated with the highest average network degree in the fronto-parietal control network (implicated in cognitive control) and had the lowest global e ﬃ ciency value, indicating low metabolic cost, and thereby testing Synchronization Theory ’ s core predictions.
Elderly`s Suicide Differentials and Their Factors: Focusing on 16 Metropolises and Provinces in Korea

지금의 노인세대는 개인도 국가도 노후를 준비하지 못한 세대들이며 그에 따른 경제적 어려움과 유병장 수로 인한 건강문제와 다양한 사회적 문제의 등장으로 스스로 생을 마감하는 자살이라는 극단적인 방법을 선택하는 경우가 많다. 노인자살은 사회적으로 큰 이슈가 될 정도로 급속도로 증가 하고 있다. 노인 자살과 관련하여 최근에 들어 와서 많은 관심으로 여러 방면에 연구가 진행되고 있으나 미시적인 자살의 요인에 관한 연구가 대다수이고, 소수의 거시적 차원의 연구도 국가적 수준에 국한되는 경향으로 인해 지역별 노인 자살에 대한 연구는 극히 부족한 실정이다. 그리하여 지역적 특성에 따른 지역적 수준에서의 노인자살 연구 가 절실히 요망된다. 따라서 본 연구는 2003년에서 2011년까지 9년간 지역별(16개시도) 노인 자살률 현황 을 성별(남자노인 vs 여자노인)과 연령별(전기노인 vs 후기노인)로 나누어 보다 구체적으로 분석한 후 노 인자살률과 사회경제적 요인의 관련성과 미치는 영향을 검토함으로써 자살예방을 위한 정책적 시사점을 제 언하였다.
Factors Associated with Perceived Stress of Parents with Children and Teenagers Suffering From Cerebral Palsy

All individuals are vulnerable to stress, to varying degrees, and each has a potential for it to increase its competence to deal with it. Parents of children with cerebral palsy through difficult periods in their lives, resulting in a disturbed mental health, expressed a high level of stress. Rare are the studies which launch out to study the impact of the disease on the mental state of the parents and identify factors associated with the development of perceived stress in this population. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of 67 relatives (34 mothers and 33 fathers) of children with cerebral palsy. Scales and questionnaires were used with the aim to identify the level of perceived stress of parents with children and adolescents suffering from cerebral palsy compared between mothers and fathers and to determine the factors associated with perceived stress among parents. Most of our results support our hypothesis and confirms the data of the literature in a field little studied in Morocco. Indeed it seems that the parents of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy suffer from high levels of stress, suffering seems more pronounced in mothers than in fathers whose partners are factors related to gender (female) , marital status (divorce) and the socio-economic level (law). The sample size is small and the comparison group is absent. Similar research would be interesting if it would cover a wider range in order to extrapolate results and develop a coping strategy of adaptation and support. We should find the solutions helping families to overcome this deteriorated experience and break their isolation to reduce their stress and improve their conjugal balance.
Ride, shoot, and call: wildlife use among contemporary urban hunters in Três Fronteiras, Brazilian Amazon

Most bushmeat studies in the Amazon region focus on hunting patterns of indigenous populations in rural settings. Our study describes the existence of urban hunters in medium-sized towns. Using a variety of data collection methods, we describe the main socioeconomic characteristics of urban hunters in Benjamin Constant and Atalaia do Norte, Brazil. We analyze the patterns and motivations of urban hunters as well as the type of prey harvested and quantities traded. All interviewed hunters are caboclos, people of mixed Brazilian indigenous and European origins from rural areas who now live in urban and peri-urban areas. Living in these more populated spaces allows these hunters better market options for their harvest and allows them to alternate hunting with other economic activities. Only 29% of the interviewed hunters relied solely on hunting. In total, 11.6 tons of bushmeat were harvested (of which 97% was traded) by four hunters during the monitoring period (60 days). The most hunted species were terecay (Podocnemis unifilis), curassow (Crax sp.), paca (Cuniculus paca), and tapir (Tapirus terrestris). The ratio of bushmeat sold to that consumed, as well as the level of participation in the bushmeat market chain, allowed us to differentiate between specialized and diversified hunters. Specialized hunters sell 81% of the bushmeat caught to known wholesalers in the city. Diversified hunters sell 21% of their total catch to families, neighbors, or friends directly as fresh meat, avoiding intermediaries. For all hunters, hunting localities are associated with peri-urban roadways that are easily reached by motorbike or bicycle from the hunters' houses in the urban areas or city fringes. Our results show that urban hunters in medium-sized towns exemplify how traditional hunting systems can be adapted in the face of globalization, by living close to the market, at relatively manageable distances from hunting grounds, and using modern methods of transportation and communication to bypass law enforcement.
Spin and thermal conductivity of quantum spin chains and ladders

We study the spin and thermal conductivity of spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ ladders and chains at finite temperature, relevant for experiments with quantum magnets. Using a state-of-the-art density matrix renormalization group algorithm, we compute the current autocorrelation functions on the real-time axis and then carry out a Fourier integral to extract the frequency dependence of the corresponding conductivities. The finite-time error is analyzed carefully. We first investigate the limiting case of spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ $XXZ$ chains, for which our analysis suggests nonzero dc conductivities in all interacting cases irrespective of the presence or absence of spin Drude weights. For ladders, we observe that all models studied are normal conductors with no ballistic contribution. Nonetheless, only the high-temperature spin conductivity of $XX$ ladders has a simple diffusive, Drude-like form, while Heisenberg ladders exhibit a more complicated low-frequency behavior. We compute the dc spin conductivity down to temperatures of the order of $T\ensuremath{\sim}0.5J$, where $J$ is the exchange coupling along the legs of the ladder. We further extract mean-free paths and discuss our results in relation to thermal conductivity measurements on quantum magnets.
A coupled two-dimensional numerical model for rapidly varying flow, sediment transport and bed morphology

ABSTRACT This paper presents a coupled two-dimensional model that can produce a more stable numerical simulation of rapid bed evolution than the conventional decoupled model. To solve the coupled bed-load sediment transport terms using a Godunov-type central-upwind method, a novel scheme to estimate the bed-load fluxes which can produce more accurate results than the previously reported coupled model is proposed using a pair of local wave speeds different from those used for the flow. The two-dimensional shallow water equations are used to solve the flow velocities and water depth. The bed level is solved by an Exner-based equation containing bed-load sediment transport as numerical flux terms and sediment entrainment and deposition as source terms. Analytical formulas to compute the eigenvalues of the Jacobian matrix are developed. The linear reconstruction of variables with a multi-dimensional slope limiter, and the second-order Runge-Kutta scheme are employed to achieve higher accuracy in space and time. For the case of rapid bed-erosion, the accuracy and stability of the proposed coupled model are verified by several numerical tests.
On Onsager's Principle of Microscopic Reversibility

'-. Summary " " After a short synopsis of Onsagcr' s theory of reciprqcal relauons in . irreversible processes, the theory is applied to a. number of simple examples, In the first place we consider the thermomolecular pressure difference; this example will also offer an opportunity of discussing the "quasi-thermostatic" methods. In the secondplace the conduction of heatis studied and it is shown that Onsagcr's' relation leads to ~ Oi L[i1;] = 0 rather thanto L[ih]' = 0: Finally we discuss the' con. duetion of electricity by first deriving a relation of symmetry for an arbitrary four-pole from whicha symmetry relation for thc conductivity tensor is then easily deduced. J
The Impact of Implementing Computer Games and Motor Activity on Early EFL Vocabulary Achievement

Study aims to investigate the effect of implementing computer and motor activity games on early EFL vocabulary achievement and using it at the sentence level. To do so three intact groups were chosen. Then the game group learned English vocabulary through motor activity, computer group was taught by using two software Jumpstart English and Baby Einstein, and children in control group was taught through traditional methods. In the last session an oral achievement test (reliability= 0.87) was run and the results revealed that at the both levels (vocabulary retention and sentence level) children who learned through motor activity game performed significantly better on the achievement test than those who learned through other methods.
Development of a scale to measure the perceived benefits and risks of online shopping

In this paper, we report the development of scales to measure the perceived benefits and risks associated with online shopping. Based on an exploratory qualitative inquiry and quantitative assessment, a four-factor scale of perceived benefits and a three-factor scale of perceived risks of online shopping were developed. Results from two national samples support the proposed measures of perceived benefits and risks associated with online shopping in terms of construct, convergent, discriminate, nomological, and predictive validity. Variation of these perceptions over time was also examined to test scale stability over time and to describe the evolution of online shopping.
Application of GIS in Urban Traffic Noise Pollution

Large urban areas are facing growing problems of noise pollutions. Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) can conveniently be adapted to gather, analyze and present noise information. GIS can also be extended to answer to user specific problems through deterministic and statistics models. The objectives of this research were to measure urban traffic noise levels, analyze temporal and spatial dynamics of urban traffic- induced noise pollution in the first districted of Tehran estimate the noise for pollution concentration, assess the results of Federal Highway Administration Traffic Noise Model (FHWA-TNM) and Iranian Traffic Noise Predictor (ITNP); and represent them in a GIS environment. Measurements were done at the traffic peak time and also when the traffic was at its minimum, during three successive months. In this study, L eq , L 10 , L 50 , L 90 , L max and L min were gathered. The results demonstrated that most of commercial and residential regions surrounding the main streets are suffering from sever noise pollution. Processed data, spatial analysis and models are integrated within the framework of ArcGIS software environment, providing adequate tools to address noise issues. The assessment showed that the issue of noise pollution is currently ignored in urban regulations concerning environmental quality.
Managerial incentives for technology transfer

This paper studies how a separation of ownership and management affects a firm's incentives to transfer knowledge about technology voluntarily and without payment to a rival in a Cournot duopoly. We consider a three-stage strategic delegation game, where two technologies are available; one with increasing returns to scale and the other with constant returns to scale. While the former is known to both firms, only the more advanced firm initially has access to the latter type of technology. This firm is assumed to be managerial, not only with respect to product market decisions, but also regarding the choice of whether or not to transfer technology to the rival firm. We consider the scope for, and limitations of, the use of strategic management and compare the results with those from traditional models that do not involve technology transfer and models that involve technology transfer, and no strategic management. The resulting technology choices are examined for their welfare implications, and finally we consider the transfer of technology when both firms are managerial.