Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is there Informational Value in Corporate Giving?

In this article, we propose that giving in cash and non-cash (in-kind) differ in their relation with the giving firm’s future corporate financial performance (CFP) and only cash giving is associated with future CFP. Using a novel dataset from ASSET4 that differentiates corporate giving over a sample period of 2002–2012, we examine three competing hypotheses: (1) agency cost hypothesis that cash giving reflects agency cost and destroys value for shareholders, (2) investment hypothesis that cash giving is an investment by management that aims for better future return, and (3) information hypothesis that cash giving has informational value to shareholders as cash is a critical resource at a firm and giving is a decision by managers who are insiders. We find that indeed, only cash giving is positively associated with future CFP and firm value, measured by Fama–French five-factor abnormal risk-adjusted stock returns, future return on assets, and Tobin’s Q. In addition, we find that the positive association exists only between excess, i.e., unexpected, but not expected cash giving and future CFP. Our empirical findings support the information hypothesis, but neither the agency hypothesis nor the investment hypothesis, and are robust to a number of endogeneity tests, including orthogonalized cash giving, instrumental variable regression using geography-based instruments, and propensity score matching. Furthermore, we show that the positive association between future CFP and unexpected cash giving is only pronounced at firms with good governance and relatively higher sales growth where agency problems are less likely, and at firms with no alternative mechanisms to demonstrate the strength of cash flow. Additionally, we do not find evidence that suggests in-kind giving to possess any informational value.
Research Paper: Quantitative Electroencephalogram-Informed Geometric Meditation: A Pilot Validation Study

Objectives: The emerging neuroscience literature has provided some evidence that meditation may have measurable effects on the electrophysiological parameters in the nervous system. We hypothesized that a novel geometric meditation approach comprising Geometric Somatic-Breathing Based (GSBB) and Geometric Introspective Based (GIB) meditation yield favorable electrophysiological changes at brain’s cortical level and autonomic nervous system upon deep meditative experience. Materials & Methods: A multi-sensor digital sampling setup, including Electroencephalography (EEG), Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) was used to obtain data and compare meditation and baseline epochs from 3 long-term geometric meditators. Results: The analysis revealed a notable change in autonomic nervous response, including Root Mean Square of Successive Differences (RMSSD) in Heart Rate Variability (HRV) as well as GSR and Quantitative Electroencephalogram (QEEG) correlates across 10 practiced techniques in training and post-training as compared to the baseline state. Conclusion: Such findings may serve as a pilot validation dataset to pursue further research on quantitative EEG-guided geometric meditation approach.
Structure and magnetization of arrays of electrodeposited Co wires in anodic alumina

We have produced arrays of Co nanowires in anodic porous alumina filters by means of electrodeposition. The structure and magnetization behavior of the wires was investigated with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetization measurements. NMR shows that the wires consist of a mixture of fcc and hcp texture with the (0001) texture of the hcp fraction oriented preferentially perpendicular to the wires. The magnetization direction is determined by a competition of demagnetizing fields and dipole–dipole fields and can be tuned parallel or perpendicular to the wires by changing the length of the wires.
Cold calling and web postings: Do they improve students' preparation and learning in statistics?

Getting students to prepare well for class is a common challenge faced by instructors all over the world. This study investigates the effects that two frequently used techniques to increase student preparation -- web postings and cold calling -- have on student outcomes. The study is based on two experiments and a qualitative study conducted in a statistics course that Masters in Public Policy (MPP) students take in their second semester at the Harvard Kennedy School. When used together, web postings and cold calling seem to increase the amount of time that students devote to reading before class by about an hour. This effect is both statistically and practically significant. However this increase in pre-class reading did not translate into increased learning (measured by average test scores on the midterm exam). Neither of the two techniques seems to be better than the other one at increasing reading time, test scores, and other student outcomes.
THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF COMPREHENSION TESTS TO COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE DEVELOPMENT OF PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS: A CASE STUDY

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of comprehension tests while teaching algebra and its effects on students' success. This study was carried out with 108 third year undergraduate students enrolled in math education in faculty of education. Several data collection instruments were used for gathering data from the participants such as; comprehension test, written documents, semi-structured interviews schedule, and participant and nonparticipant observations sheets. Collected data were subjected to content analysis and triangulation among the data was ensured. Results indicated that three different major categories emerged from the content analysis of the data: (1) measure of comprehension test(s), (2) positive and (3) negative impacts of the test on learning (the development of cognitive and affective skills). Further recommendations and implications about the use of comprehension tests is given at the end of the study based on the findings.
Changes in vascular reactivity of mesenteric arteries following hyperbaric oxygen treatment

The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes in vascular reactivity of mesenteric arteries resulting from hyperbaric oxygen treatment. It was hypothesized that hyperbaric oxygen treatment alters vascular reactivity in mesenteric arteries. Arteries from porcine mesenteries were dissected and then subjected to a 2‐hour hyperbaric treatment in 100% oxygen, 100% nitrogen, or ambient air (1.75 ATA). An additional control included vessels exposed to ambient air at 1 ATA. Immediately following, arteries were mounted in isolated organ baths and passively loaded with 7 grams of tension. Following a 1‐hour equilibration in Krebs‐Henseleit solution arteries were treated with potassium chloride (KCl; 15 – 60 mM) to assess viability. Subsequently, arteries were treated with increasing concentrations of phenylephrine (10−7 – 10−4 M) then sodium nitroprusside (10−7 – 10−4 M) to measure changes in vascular reactivity. KCl‐induced vasoconstriction was significantly increased in response to hyperbaric oxygen treatment compared to ambient air control (1 ATA). Treatment with hyperbaric oxygen augmented vascular responses to phenylephrine and sodium nitroprusside relative to nitrogen but not ambient air. The results from these studies provide insight into the vascular effects of hyperbaric oxygen treatment.
Arts-Based Charter Schools as Urban Redevelopment Catalysts: Santa Ana, California’s Orange County School of the Arts

This study examines the impact the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) exerts on the relocation decisions of families that have children attending the school. The school draws students from a relatively wide geographic area, and hundreds of families (669) have moved closer to Santa Ana after enrolling a child in the school. A substantial fraction (97) of these families moved from a non-Santa Ana address into the city. Closer examination of these relocation decisions reveals families who live near the school are substantially less likely to relocate than families who live farther away. Additionally, while students matriculate into the school in grades 7 through 12, the observed relocation attraction is particularly strong for families enrolling a child at the beginning of the 9th grade. The reasons for the high level of attraction for 9th graders are not entirely clear. As such, this final result calls for further research as it may have significant implications for how school-choice programs in general, and arts-based programs in particular, should be structured if one of the policy goals is to catalyze redevelopment of the urban environment.
Experimental research on the machinability of Hardox steel by abrasive waterjet cutting

One of the main present industry challenges is finding the most efficient manufacturing process for a certain part. When parts are made of strong steels like Hardox, their fabrication method is usually difficult. Abrasive waterjet cutting (AWJ) is one of the cutting processes which can be used in this case. This paper presents an experimental research on the machinability of Hardox steel by AWJ. The experiments were conducted using a factorial design model considering two of the main influence parameters like the traverse speed and the distance between the nozzle and the surface of the material. Based on the measurement of the dimensions and the roughness of the parts, the influence of the parameters was revealed and analyzed. The manufacturing time was also compared, as it directly influences the production cost. Further research is considered to develop a mathematical model which can be used for a proper choice of the process parameters depending on the initial requirements.
Direct Shear Behavior of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Self- Compacting Concrete

This paperrepresents an experimental and statistical investigation for the behavior of connectionpoints produced by using self-compacting concrete and subjected to direct shear. The investigation also includes the effect of carbon fiber inclusion as reinforcement on self-compacting concrete (SCC) behavior in direct shear. This study gives results of sixteen push-off or direct shear specimens in four groups. Variations include volume fraction for carbon fiber (V = 0.00, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00) % for every percentage change in the steel reinforcement. The steel reinforcement parameter ρ f values are (0.00, 2.66, 5.33 and 7.99) MPa(where ρ varies from 0.00 to 0.0173 and f =585.7MPa) . The main material properties studied include compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and modulus of rupture. Measurements of deformations were made throughout testing of shear specimens. The dimension of the shear plane in the push-off specimenswas 170x185 mm. The shear reinforcement was normal to the shear plane. Specimens were cast by using SCC which is a type of high performance concreteand reinforced with carbon fiber. This work aims to investigate the direct shear behavior of SCC with or without carbon fiber at constant water to cementitious materials ratio of 0.3 by weight. It is found that using carbon fiber increased the direct shear strength. However, carbon fiber alone (without reinforcement) leads to brittle failure. In contrast, adding rebars leads to higher strain and more ductile behavior− increased shear capacity is obtained when higher steel quantity is used. The aim of adding carbon fibers was the increase of the horizontal strain (displacement). It was found that the optimum percentage of volume fraction was 0.75 % for fresh and hardened concrete. In addition, the effects of carbon fiber on compressive strength of SCC lead to a drop
CO2 diffusion in dry and hydrous haplobasaltic melts

Carbon dioxide diffusion kinetics plays a significant role in the degassing process of some mid-ocean-ridge basalt (MORB) and ocean island basalt (OIB). However, CO2 chemical diffusion in hydrous melt is little studied. Diffusion couple experiments have been carried out to investigate total CO2 diffusion in both dry and hydrous haplobasaltic melts with a bulk composition of 43 wt% Anorthite and 57 wt% Diopside, or shortly An43Di57. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy is utilized to measure CO2 and H2O contents and concentration profiles. The total CO2 diffusion data are fit with two Arrhenius equations, one is for dry An43Di57 melt at 1.0 GPa and a temperature range of 1400-1594 °C (excluding one outlier point): lnD(CO2,t) = 2.78 -38319/T; R =0.996 where D is in m/s and T is in K; the other is for hydrous An43Di57 melt with 2.63 wt% H2O at 1.0 GPa and a temperature range of 1387-1596 °C (excluding two outlier points): lnD(CO2,t) = 10.75 21472/T; R =0.944
Explaining Agriculture Expansion and Deforestation: Evidence from the Brazilian Amazon - 1980/98

The extent of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon grew significantly in the last 20 years. Approximately 400,000 km2 of tropical forest were cleared from 1978 to 1998. Land conversion to pasture and crop areas were the main sources of deforestation, though the contribution of logging increased significantly in the nineties. This paper uses panel data for eight states of the Brazilian Amazon, from 1980 to 1998, to estimate a model of the determinants of crop area and cattle herd expansion within the region. Results show that the expansion of crop area is determined by changes in land prices, government agriculture credit and roads while the growth of cattle herd is mainly driven by the decrease in the price of cattle head and the expansion of the road network. O desflorestamento na Amazonia aumentou significativamente durante os ultimos 20 anos. Aproximadamente 400.000 km2 de florestas tropicais foram devastados entre 1978 e 1998, sendo a sua maioria convertida em pastagens e lavouras. Este trabalho usa dados de painel de oito estados da Amazonia, de 1980 a 1998, para estimar um modelo dos determinantes da expansao da area plantada e de cabecas de gado na regiao. Os resultados mostram que a expansao da area plantada esta associada a variacoes de precos da terra, credito agricola e estradas, enquanto o aumento do numero de cabecas de gado esta determinado principalmente pela reducao do preco do boi e pela expansao da malha rodoviaria.
Integrating varietal resistance with Xylopia aethiopica (Dunal) A. Richard seed extract for the management of Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky in stored maize

In search for alternatives to synthetic pesticides in maize (Zea mays, L.) storage, an integrated weevil management scheme involving varietal resistance and Xylopia aethiopica (Dunal) A. Richard seed extract was evaluated in the laboratory. Varying rates of X. aethiopica extract were assessed on three maize varieties (Pajo White, Tsolo Yellow, and DMR-LSR-Y) with differing susceptibility to Sitophilus zeamais. The different rates of X. aethiopica extract significantly interacted with maize varietal resistance and reduced fecundity of S. zeamais and maize seed weight loss due to insect’s feeding. Treatment of seeds with extract at 1.0 ml/20 g seed caused significant (above 50%) mortality at 24 h post treatment in all varieties whereas no mortality was recorded with the control and 0.2 ml/20 g seed. DMRLSR-Y was better protected than the remaining two varieties in the integrated weevil management scheme. A repellency bioassay of the extract also revealed that the extract was strongly repellent to S. zeamais with 73% (Class IV) repellency recorded in 0.4 ml/30 cm2.
LE CHOC LATERAL SUR L'EPAULE : BASES ANATOMIQUES, CLINIQUES, EPIDEMIOLOGIQUES ET EXPERIMENTALES

Dans le but d'envisager une protection de la region de l'epaule du passager automobile, en cas de choc lateral lors d'un accident, il est necessaire de : - Comprendre la genese lesionnelle du choc lateral sur l'epaule, - Tenter de preciser la tolerance du sujet normal. Une courte etude de faisabilite, en sollicitation dynamique, a ete menee. La sollicitation purement laterale s'est faite sur sujet d'anatomie, grace a un impacteur. La vitesse d'impact a ete de 18 km/h, l'observation du choc a ete effectuee par cinematographie rapide dans deux plans differents. Les lesions constatees ont ete principalement thoraciques (fracture de la 1ere a la 7eme cote). Cette etude nous a montre la complexite de l'analyse des mouvements de l'epaule, l'insuffisance de l'analyse en 2D. Elle nous a menee a : - Reprendre quelques notions d'anatomie du complexe articulaire de l'epaule - Effectuer une etude epidemiologique sur les lesions reellement retrouvees en cas de traumatisme de l'epaule. - Entreprendre une etude experimentale en sollicitation statique afin d'analyser les mouvements de la ceinture scapulaire.
New articulated asteroids (Echinodermata, Asteroidea) and ophiuroids (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea) from the Late Jurassic (Volgian / Tithonian) of central Spitsbergen

The Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous Slottsmoya Member of the Agardhfjellet Formation in central Spitsbergen has yielded two new species of asteroids and two species of ophiuroids, one of which is described as new. Polarasterias janusensis Rousseau & Gale gen. et sp. nov. is a forcipulatid neoasteroid with elongated arms, small disc and very broad ambulacral grooves with narrow adambulacrals. Savignaster septemtrionalis Rousseau & Gale sp. nov. is a pterasterid with well-developed interradial chevrons. The Spitsbergen specimens are the first described articulated material of Savignaster and reveal the overall arrangement of the ambulacral groove ossicles. Ophiogaleus sp. is an ophiacanthid with relatively long jaws and lateral arm plates, with a coarsely reticulate outer surface. Here again, we report the first articulated skeletons of this genus, providing unprecedented insights into the disc morphology. Ophioculina hoybergia Rousseau & Thuy gen. et sp. nov. is an ophiopyrgid with a well-developed arm comb and tentacle pores reduced to within-plate perforations starting at median arm segments. These new finds are important additions to the asterozoan fossil record with regard to their good degree of articulation and the high latitudinal position of the localities. They significantly add to the set of exhaustively known fossil asterozoan taxa which play a key role in the phylogenetic analysis and reconstruction of evolutionary history.
Vortex spectroscopy in the vortex glass: A real-space numerical approach

A method is presented to solve the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations with arbitrary distributions of vortices. The real-space Green’s function approach based on Chebyshev polynomials is complemented by a gauge transformation which allows one to treat finite as well as infinite, ordered as well as disordered vortex configurations. This tool gives unprecedented access to vortex lattices at very low magnetic fields and glassy phases. After describing in detail the method and its implementation, we use it to address a series of problems related to d-wave superconductivity on the square lattice. We first study the continuity of the vortex-core energy spectrum and its evolution from the quantum regime to the semiclassical limit; we investigate the effect of the band structure on the vortex by following the self-consistent solution through a Lifshitz transition; we then study the evolution from the vortex lattice to the isolated-vortex limit with decreasing field and show that a new emerging length scale controls this transition; finally, we perform a statistical study of the vortex-core local density of states in the presence of positional disorder in the vortex lattice. The calculations reveal a number of qualitative differences between the properties of vortices in the quantum and semiclassical regimes.
Efficient Resonant Loudspeakers with Large Form-Factor Design Freedom

Small cabinet loudspeakers with a flat response are quite inefficient. Assuming that the frequency response can be manipulated electronically, systems that have a nonflat sound-pressure level (SPL) response can provide greater usable efficiency. Such a nonflat design can deal with very compact housing, but for small drivers it would require a relatively large cone excursion to obtain a high SPL. A new solution is presented that uses a resonant combination of a coupling volume and a long pipe-shaped port. In this structure the efficient resonant coupling of the driver to the acoustic load enables small drivers with modest cone displacement to achieve a high SPL. Due to the high and narrow peak in the frequency response, the normal operating range of the driver decreases considerably. This makes the driver unsuitable for normal use. To overcome this, a second measure is applied. Nonlinear processing essentially compresses the bandwidth of a 20-120-Hz 2.5-octave bass signal down to a much narrower span, which is centered where the driver efficiency is maximum. This system allows very compact loudspeakers. An experimental example of such a design is described, and a working prototype is discussed. The new loudspeaker is compared with a closed cabinet and a bass-reflex cabinet using the same drivers. It appears that the new loudspeaker has the highest output in its working range.
Pedogenic impacts on the distribution of total and available Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Co contents of vertisols and vertic inceptisols of the Bale Mountain area of Ethiopia

5.9 to 41.5, 0.07 to 0.37, 0.70 to 1.73, 0.07 to 0.83, 0.04 to 1.31 and 0.0 to 0.02 ug/g, respectively. Available indices of the micronutrients studied are believed to be sufficient for plant growth except Zn, which is inadequate. Available heavy metal contents are below tolerable levels that can pose danger to man and livestock. Extractable micronutrients and heavy metals generally showed a decrease in concentration with depth associated with decreasing organic carbon contents and increasing pH and CaCO3 contents that exert a major influence on the availability of the micronutrients and heavy metals. Multiple linear and quadratic regression equations generally improved the predictive abilities for available Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn and Co over simple linear relationships when pH, EC, OC and CaCO3 were used as independent variables. Regression relationships developed constitute useful predictive indices for estimating micronutrients and heavy metals from existing soil survey reports of the Bale Mountain area.
Comparison of Three-Dimensional Flexible Beam Elements for Dynamic Analysis: Finite Element Method and Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation

Three formulations for a flexible spatial beam element for dynamic analysis are compared: a finite element method (FEM) formulation, an absolute nodal coordinate (ANC) formulation with a continuum mechanics approach and an ANC formulation with an elastic line concept where the shear locking of the asymmetric bending mode is suppressed by the application of the Hellinger–Reissner principle. The comparison is made by means of an eigenfrequency analysis on two stylized problems. It is shown that the ANC continuum approach yields too large torsional and flexural rigidity and that shear locking suppresses the asymmetric bending mode. The presented ANC formulation with the elastic line concept resolves most of these problems.Copyright © 2005 by ASME