Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perceptions of Tax Fairness and Tax Compliance Behaviour: A Comparative Study (Persepsi Kesaksamaan dan Gelagat Pematuhan Cukai: Satu Kajian Perbandingan)

ABSTRACT This cross-cultural study compares the perceptions of tax fairness of New Zealand and Malaysian individual taxpayers of their respective national income tax systems and investigates the consequences of those taxpayers’ perceptions of tax fairness, as well as other important variables, on their compliance behaviour. The hypotheses of the study were tested using the responses to a questionnaire survey. A t-test and Partial Least Squares analyses were used to analyse the survey data. The results suggest that Malaysian taxpayers have significantly better perceptions of fairness of their income tax systems than their New Zealand counterparts. However, New Zealand taxpayers were found to be more compliant regarding their tax responsibility. The most important factor in explaining taxpayers’ compliance behaviour between the two countries was the attitude of individuals towards compliance, followed by subjective norms. Perceptions of tax fairness, which were highly influenced by both tax knowledge and the perceived complexity of the tax system, was influential in explaining tax compliance. ABSTRAK Kajian perbandingan ini membandingkan persepsi pembayar cukai individu di New Zealand dan Malaysia terhadap kesaksamaan sistem cukai pendapatan, serta meneliti kesan persepsi tersebut bersama dengan pemboleh ubah lain ke atas gelagat kepatuhan. Hipotesis kajian diuji menggunakan analisis ujian t dan Separa Kuasa Dua Terkecil menggunakan maklum balas kepada borang kaji selidik. Hasil kajian menunjukkan pembayar cukai di Malaysia mempunyai pandangan yang lebih positif terhadap kesaksamaan sistem cukai di Malaysia berbanding persepsi pembayar cukai di New Zealand terhadap sistem cukai mereka. Bagaimanapun, pembayar cukai di New Zealand lebih patuh terhadap tanggungjawab cukai mereka berbanding pembayar cukai di Malaysia. Hasil kajian juga menunjukkan bahawa faktor yang paling konsisten dalam mempengaruhi gelagat kepatuhan di kedua-dua buah negara adalah sikap terhadap pematuhan cukai, diikuti oleh norma subjektif. Persepsi kesaksamaan yang dipengaruhi oleh pengetahuan cukai dan kompleksiti sistem cukai, merupakan faktor mempengaruhi gelagat kepatuhan cukai.
Study on the opinion of university students about the themes of the origin of Universe and evolution of life

Abstract This paper reports the results of a questionnaire administered to university students, about several questions involving the origin of the Universe and life and biological evolution, as well as questions related to more common scientific themes. As few as between 2.4% (philosophy students) and 14% (geography students) did not accept the theory of evolution, because they believed in creation as described in the Bible. However, between 41.5% (philosophy students) and 71.3% (biology students) did not see any conflict between religion and evolution. About 80% of the students believed that the relationship between lung cancer and smoking is well established by science, but this number falls to 65% for biological evolution and 28.9% for the big bang theory. It should be pointed out that for 24.5% and 7.4% of the students the big bang theory and biological evolution, respectively, are poorly established by science. The students who self-reported being Christian but not Roman Catholic are more conservative in the acceptance of biological evolution and the old age of Earth and the Universe than are other groups of students. Other factors, such as family income and the level of education of parents, appear to influence the students' acceptance of themes related to the origin of the Universe and biological evolution.
Analysis of tert-Butanol, Methyl tert-Butyl Ether, Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene in Ground Water by Headspace Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

The vial was placed in a heating block at 85 o C for 30 min. The detection limits of the assay were 0.01 µg/L for MTBE and BTEX, and 0.02 µg/L for TBA. The method was used to analyze 110 ground water samples from various regions in Korea, and to survey the their background concentration in ground water in Korea. The samples revealed MTBE concentrations in the range of 0.01 - 0.45 µg/L (detection frequency of 57.3%), TBA concentrations in the range of 0.02 - 0.08 µg/L (detection frequency of 5.5%), and total BTEX concentrations in the range of 0.01 - 2.09 µg/L (detection frequency of 87.3%). The developed method may be used when simultaneously determining the amount of MTBE, TBA and BTEX in water.
Nutritional Profile and Radical Scavenging Capacity of Tubers of Two Dioscorea Species

This study was aimed at evaluating the nutritional and antioxidant properties of raw and boiled tubers of Dioscorea dumetorum and D. hirtiflora . Tubers of D. hirtiflora were characterized by higher total essential amino acids (9576 mg/100 g dry weight (dw)) than those of D. dumetorum (1085 mg/100 g dw). Boiling decreased the total amino acid content of both tubers. Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUSFAs) and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) accounted for 15.92 and 26.64% in D. dumetorum tubers respectively whereas, MUSFAs and PUFAs accounted for 29.62 and 24.11% in D. hirtiflora tubers respectively. Boiling increased the total unsaturated fatty acids from 42.56 to 56.81% in D. dumetorum tubers and decreased it from 53.73 to 49.08% in D. hirtiflora tubers. The total phenolic content of boiled D. hirtiflora tubers showed 4.5-fold gain which might explain partly the increase in their antioxidant capacity (IC 50 22.35 mg/L in DPPH assay). Boiling did not change significantly the antioxidant activity of D. dumetorum tubers (IC 50 74.13 mg/L in DPPH assay) although a significant decrease in total phenolic (60%) and vitamin C contents (56.7%) was observed. These results suggest that boiled tubers of D. dumetorum and D. hirtiflora can contribute significantly to human nutrition and health.
ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE, LEADERSHIP STYLE AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AS PREDICTORS OF QUALITY OF WORK LIFE AMONG BANK WORKERS IN IBADAN, NIGERIA

The effects of organizational climate, leadership style and emotional intelligence on the quality of work life were investigated in this study. The participants were two hundred and fifty bank workers drawn from selected commercial banks within Ibadan metropolis. Three research questions and hypotheses were raised in the study. Four valid and standardized instruments were administered on the participants. Pearson product moment correlation, multiple regression analysis and analysis of variance were used to analyse data at 0.05 level of significance. The result shows that the three independent variables when combined were effective in predicting quality of work life. The three variables contributed significantly to quality of work life of the participants with leadership styles as the most potent predictor in the study. the result also show there was also a significant difference in quality of work life among participants with Democratic, Autocratic and Laissez faire leadership with contributions of democratic style being the most potent. Based on the findings, it is suggested that management should take into cognizance the importance and roles of emotional intelligence and leadership styles in enhancing quality of work life among employees
Does political trust matter? An empirical investigation into the relation between political trust and support for law compliance

Scholars have repeatedly expressed concern about the consequences low levels of political trust might have for the stability of democratic political systems. Empirical support and the identification of causal mechanisms for this concern, however, are often lacking. In this article, the relation between political trust and law-abiding attitudes is investigated. It is expected that citizens with low levels of trust in the institutions of the political system will find it more acceptable to break the law. As a result, low levels of political trust might undermine the effectiveness and legitimacy of government action and its ability to imple- ment legislation. Based on survey data from 33 European countries using the 1999-2001 European Values Study (N = 41,125), the relation between political trust and legal permis- siveness is examined using a multilevel ordered logistic regression analysis.The results show that respondents with low levels of political trust are significantly more likely to accept illegal behaviour such as tax fraud than respondents with high levels of political trust. Since it is known from earlier research that actors who are permissive towards law-breaking behaviour are more likely to commit these acts themselves, the hypothesis that low levels of political trust will be associated with less law compliance within a society is supported.
Effects of NH/sub 3/-plasma nitridation on the electrical characterizations of low-k hydrogen silsesquioxane with copper interconnects

The interaction between copper interconnects and low-k hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ) film was investigated using a Cu/HSQ/Si metal insulation semiconductor capacitor and NH/sub 3/ plasma post-treatment. Owing to serious diffusion of copper atoms in HSQ film, degradations of the dielectric properties are significant with the increase of thermal stress. The leakage current behavior in high field conduction is well explained by the Poole-Frenkel (P-F) mechanism. By applying NH/sub 3/-plasma treatment to the HSQ film, however, the leakage current is decreased and P-F conduction can be significantly suppressed. In addition, the phenomenon of serious Cu penetration is not observed by means of electrical characteristic measurements and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) analysis even in the absence of diffusion barrier layers. This indicates the copper diffusion in low-k HSQ film can he effectively blocked by NH/sub 3/ plasma post-treatment.
Predicting extreme rainfall events over Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: impact of data assimilation with conventional and satellite observations

The impact of variational data assimilation for predicting two heavy rainfall events that caused devastating floods in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is studied using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. On 25 November 2009 and 26 January 2011, the city was deluged with more than double the annual rainfall amount, caused by convective storms. We used a high‐resolution, two‐way nested domain WRF model to simulate the two rainfall episodes. Simulations include control runs initialized with National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Forecasting System (GFS) data and three‐dimensional variational (3D‐Var) data assimilation experiments conducted by assimilating NCEP PREPBUFR and radiance observations. Observations from Automatic Weather Stations (AWSs), synoptic charts, radar reflectivity and satellite pictures from the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME), Jeddah are used to assess the forecasting results. To evaluate the impact of the different assimilated observational datasets on the simulation of the major flooding event of 2009, we conducted 3D‐Var experiments assimilating individual sources and a combination of all datasets. Results suggest that while the control run had a tendency to predict the storm earlier than observed, the assimilation of profile observations greatly improved the model's thermodynamic structure and led to better representation of simulated rainfall both in timing and amount. The experiment with assimilation of all available observations compared best with observed rainfall in terms of timing of the storm and rainfall distribution, demonstrating the importance of assimilating different types of observations. Retrospective experiments with and without data assimilation, for three different model lead times (48, 72 and 96 h), were performed to examine the skill of the WRF model to predict the heavy rainfall events. Quantitative rainfall analysis of these simulations suggests that 48 h lead time runs with assimilation of all observational data provide the best statistical scores.
ASSESSMENT OF SUCCESS FACTORS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AND DISPOSAL ACT IN THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT OF UASIN GISHU, KENYA

The Public Procurement and Disposal Act (PPDA) is an act of parliament that was passed in the year 2005 to regulate public procurement functions and practices in Kenya. The adoption of the act has been faced with several challenges since its introduction, though it was presumed that there existed several success factors that have facilitated its implementation. The main objective of this study was to identify the success factors for implementation of the Act. Some of these factors which happened to be the study variables included level of awareness and ethical practices. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The study targeted 20 procurement officers working with Uasin Gishu County Government using census design. A structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from the respondents. The instrument was pilot tested to determine its reliability and validity before it was used to collect data for the main study. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study established that level of awareness, and ethical practices significantly influenced implementation of PPDA. The study recommended that Uasin Gishu County Government should continue creating awareness on matters touching on PPDA and should uphold ethical practices.
Three-factor capm risk exposures: Some evidence from Malaysian commercial banks

This study investigates the determinants of the three-factor capital asset pricing model (CAPM) risk exposures in the case of commercial banks. Five risk exposures are examined namely, market, interest rate, exchange rate, total, and unsystematic risk exposures. Our findings provide four major contributions. First, we find that different types of risk exposures have different determinants. Second, the market risk exposure for the Islamic bank in our study is lower than for conventional banks. Third, the merger programme is fruitful because it reduces the interest rate risk exposure, total risk exposure, and unsystematic risk exposure. Finally, our results show that the banks under study have higher total and unsystematic risk exposures during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Thus, a clear understanding of this evidence helps in ensuring effective and successful decision-making for regulators, policy makers and market players.
Negative refraction and imaging using 12-fold-symmetry quasicrystals

Recently, negative refraction of electromagnetic waves in photonic crystals was demonstrated experimentally and subwavelength images were observed. However, these investigations all focused on the periodic structure. Here, we report a new theoretical and experimental finding that negative refraction can appear in some transparent quasicrystalline photonic structures. The photonic quasicrystals (PQCs) exhibit an effective refractive index close to -1 in a certain frequency window. The index shows small spatial dispersion, consistent with the nearly homogeneous geometry of the quasicrystal. More interestingly, a superlens based on the 2D PQCs can form a non-near-field subwavelength image whose position varies with the source distance. These properties make PQCs promising for application in a range of optical devices.
The multi-thermal emission in solar active regions

We present simultaneous SDO AIA and Hinode EIS observations of the hot cores of active regions (ARs) and assess the dominant contributions to the AIA EUV bands, extending our previous work. We find good agreement between SDO AIA, EVE and EIS observations, using our new EIS calibration and the latest EVE v.3 data. We find that all the AIA bands are multi-thermal, with the exception of the 171 and 335 A, and provide ways to roughly estimate the main contributions directly from the AIA data. We present and discuss new atomic data for the AIA bands, showing that they are now suffi ciently complete to obtain temperature information in the cores of ARs, with the exception of the 211 A band. We found that the newly identified Fexiv 93.61A line is the dominant contribution to the 94 A band, whenever Fexviii is not present. Three methods to estimate the Fexviii emission in this band are presented, two using EIS and one directly from the AIA data. Fexviii emission is often present in the cores, but we found cases where it is formed at 3 MK and not 7 MK, the temperature of peak ion abundance in equilibrium. The best EIS lines for elemental abundance and DE M analysis are discussed. A new set of abundances for many elements are obtained from EIS observations of hot 3 MK loops. The abundances of the elements with low First Ionisation Potential (FIP), relative to those of the high-FIP elements, are found enhanced by about a factor of three, compared to the photospheric values. A measurement of the path length implies that the absolute abundances of the low-FIP elements are higher than the photospheric values by at least a factor of three. We present a new differential emission measure (DE M) method customised for the AIA bands, to study the thermal structure of ARs at 1 ′′ resolution. It was tested on a few ARs, including one observed during the Hi-C rocket flight. We found excellent agreement between predicted and observed AIA count rates and EIS radiances. We found overall little differences in the AIA and Hi-C 193 A images of coronal structures, despite the higher Hi-C resolution (0.25 ′′ ). The Hi-C images and the AIA DE M modelling suggest that some of the cooler loops (below 1 MK) are already resolved by AIA, while the hotter (1.5‐2.5 MK) ‘background’ emission is in most places still unresolved even at the Hi-C resolution. This unresolved emission is sig nificantly lower than previously observed with TRACE and the SOHO CDS and Hinode EIS spectrometers. Its enhancement appears to be mostly due to increased iron abundance. We find an ubiquitous presence of emission at different temperatures that is not co-spatial, and suggest that future high -resolution imaging is done with isothermal bands.
FACTORS OF FRAGMENT RETENTION AFTER EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCKWAVE LITHOTRIPSY (ESWL)

Purpose: Fragment retention is a common problem after sufficient disintegration of urinary tract calculi. In this paper we review and discuss factors that impede the excretion of fragments after ESWL. Materials and Methods: We reviewed the literature using Knowledge Finder® and MEDLINE. Results: Stone factors, renal anatomy, metabolic factors, non-urological patients’ factors and non-patients’ factors are known to influence outcome and natural passage of fragments after ESWL. Conclusions: ESWL is the treatment of choice for most urinary tract stones. Particularly adverse factors for stone clearance are high stone burden, stone location in the lower pole and anatomical passage hindrance due to unfavorable anatomy, strictures or malformations.
Olive oil intake in relation to cardiovascular diseases

Atherosclerosis is the principal contributor to the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD). Epidemiological, clinical and metabolic studies have reported protective associations between (extra virgin) olive oil consumption and CAD. As a key component of the Mediterranean diet, olive oil is a rich source of oleic acid, making up about 29 % of the daily dietary caloric intake, and antioxidants (vitamin E and phenolic compounds). Olive oil has beneficial effects by reducing LDL plasma concentration, the LDL cholesterol:HDL cholesterol ratio, and protecting LDL against oxidation. The progress of atherosclerosis and the risk of thrombo-embolic episodes could also be decreased through the reduction in plasma clotting factors levels, including FVIIc, PAI-1, XIIc and XIIa. The findings reaffirm low-moderate fat policies for optimum health, within which olive oil appears to be an important component of the diet.
Effect of Plasma Treatment (He/CH4) on the Glass Surface for the Reduction of Powder Flux Adhesion in the Spray Drying Process

A 50Hz glow discharge He/CH4 plasma was generated and applied for the modification of glass surface to reduce powder adhesion on the wall of spray dryer. The hydrophobicity of the glass samples determined by the water droplet contact angle and adhesion weight on glass, dependent on the CH4 flow rate and plasma exposure time. There was a peak that appeared at 1470 cm-1 on the surface of treated glass indicating the presence of CH3 groups from ATRFTIR data. Surface morphology analysis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed changes of roughness in the surface-treated glass. The presence of alkyl group (CH3) that deposited on the glass surface is one of the factors that contribute to the increase in the surface roughness. The surface roughness will reflect the value of contact angle where hydrophobic surface are rougher compared to hydrophilic surface. The plasma treatment could enhance the value of the contact angle and thus reduced the adhesion on the spray dryer glass surface.
Women Workers in Agricultural Sector: A Literature Review

For any research, literature review is an essential part as it helps in identifying the area of research. Agriculture is the main source of sustenance for both developing and under developed countries. In countries like India, women’s position is not as strong as men both economically and socially and she faces more constraints than men. They cannot relocate easily. Women in rural areas have to manage multiple activities like maintaining home, making food, arranging water etc. and they are working in farms also. So, they are living hard life. All the activities performed by rural women is essential for the well-being of the rural households, still they are not defined as ‘economically active employment’ in national accounts. In India, 24 percent to total workers work as female cultivators and 41.1 percent to total workers work as female agricultural labourers. Past studies also relieved that because of less education, unawareness about the laws, poverty and gender discrimination, women workers face many problems. Also, few studies show that in some parts of the nation women workers are being paid less than the male workers. This Paper reviews past research studies to highlight the role and position of women workers in agricultural sector.
Magnetoacoustic waves in a vertical flare current-sheet in a gravitationally stratified solar atmosphere

Aims. We numerically studied evolution of impulsively generated magnetoacoustic waves in the vertical flare current-sheet that is embedded in the gravitationally stratified solar atmosphere and compared it with its gravity-free counterpart. Methods. We adopted a two-dimensional (2D) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model, in which we solved a full set of ideal timedependent MHD equations by means of the FLASH code, using the adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) method. To initiate the fast sausage magnetoacoustic waves, we used axisymmetric Gaussian velocity perturbation. As a diagnostic tool of these magnetoacoustic waves, we used the wavelet analysis method. Results. We present a model of magnetoacoustic wave propagation with a gravity that is more realistic than that presented in previous studies. We compare our results with those of a gravity-free case. In equilibrium the current-sheet with gravity requires a non-zero horizontal component of the magnetic field, contrary to the gravity-free case. This causes differences in the parameters of the wave signal that propagates along the current sheet. In addition to these differences we find that wave signal variations and their wavelet tadpoles are more complex in the case with gravity than in the gravity-free case. Furthermore, for a shorter scale-height we found a prolongation of the wavelet tadpoles. These differences result from a variation of the dispersive properties and group velocities of the propagating magnetoacoustic waves with height in the solar atmosphere in the gravitational case. We show that these results can affect the diagnostics of physical processes in solar flares.