Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
How Can Teachers Be Encouraged to Commit to Sustainability? Evaluation of a Teacher-Training Experience in Spain

The main objective of this study was to design and evaluate an experience for future teachers focused on the participatory search for sustainability through role play so that outcomes related to improving the way they see the world and their commitment to mitigate climate change could be analysed. The study was carried out with a socio-critical focus, using a qualitative approach. To this effect, semi-open interviews were conducted, and their results were codified and studied using content analysis. The outcomes show that this type of educational experience can contribute to improving commitment to climate change and new, more sustainable ways of understanding the world—starting with improving the training of free-thinking, discerning people who are able to use information and collaborate in solving socio-environmental problems. Proposals based on participatory and experiential learning, fostering ethical considerations and the training of people who are more critical and discerning, should be the basis of new models of Environmental Education for Sustainability that seek to educate a society capable of addressing present and future socio-environmental challenges.
Work Related Musculoskeletal Disorders among General Dental Practitioners of Mysore District, Karnataka- A Questionnaire Survey. -

Dynamic and static activities in dentistry, cause musculoskeletal disorders but dentists do not have enough awareness about effects of ergonomic factors on their health. Literature reviews world over have shown a high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among dental practitioners. Aim: Correlation of the ergonomic factors and its association with age, gender, and work environment, musculoskeletal problems due to wrong postures and identify prophylactic measures used as self management strategies for prevention. Material and Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted between August 2012December 2013 in which a self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the musculoskeletal symptoms among dental practitioners. The recorded data was analyzed with SPSS 13. P-value 0.05 was considered to statistically significant. Results: One hundred and twenty dental practitioners participated in the study of which seventy-eight percent had a prevalence of at least one work related musculoskeletal disorder symptom (WMSD). The response rate was 56.07%. Most common areas affected by MSD in order of magnitude were neck (50%), low back (14.2%), shoulders (21.7%) and stiffness in fingers (21.7%). A significant association was observed between hours of practice, age, body posture and occurrence of WMSD. Conclusions: In conclusion it was observed that limited ergonomics in the work environment resulted in WMSD among dentists.
The Economics of Financial Cooperatives

Building on theories of finance and distribution, and the political economy of finance, this book explains the influence of financial cooperatives on wealth and income distribution, and institutional factors that determine the development of financial cooperatives. The book discusses the dynamics of income and wealth distribution with and without financial cooperatives, and defines the economic objective for financial cooperatives. Through explaining the influence of political institutions and regulations on the development of financial cooperatives, this book examines why financial cooperatives grew in some emerging economies and not in other similar ones. The book is of interest to scholars interested in financial economics, political economy of finance, alternative banking and development finance, and banking regulation. The book also gives valuable output to central bankers and financial and monetary policy makers in underdeveloped economies. In addition, it will be of particular interest to practitioners in international development institutions, especially those engaged in development finance and rural finance.
Safety Net Against Hunger? The Effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit on Food Insecurity

This study examines the relationship between the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and food insecurity for low-income households. While previous work has established that the EITC can provide health benefits, less is known about the underlying mechanisms through which this occurs. Using the 2009 expansion of the program, I estimate DD and DDD models to evaluate the role of food security as a potential channel explaining the relationship between the EITC and health. My analysis provides evidence that food insecurity decreased significantly for households benefiting from the policy change. I find that the expansion of the EITC, which increased predicted annual benefits by $635 to $669, reduced the likelihood of these households being food insecure by 7.0 to 11.4 percent. The results are robust to different selections of the sample and several alternative model specifications.
New School Counselor Perceptions of Their Mentoring and Induction Program.

Carol P. Loveless, Ed.D. , NCSC is the Lead Counselor at Grace Snell Middle School, Gwinnett County Public Schools. This manuscript is based on data presented within a doctoral dissertation at Walden University, Perceptions Held by New School Counselors of their Induction Training Programs. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Carol Loveless, Grace Snell Middle School, 3800 Brushy Fork Rd., Loganville, GA 30052 or by e-mail at carol_loveless@gwinnett.k12. ga.us.
The Influence of Authenticity of Online Reviews on Trust Formation among Travelers

Travelers have increasingly used mega review sites as an information source during the decision-making processes. This study focuses on the significant role of the authenticity of online reviews on mega review sites in formulating travelers’ behavioral intention as well as trust toward both websites and their service (i.e., destinations). Extending trust transfer theory, this study aims to formulate a research model and investigate associations among three aspects of trust (i.e., cognitive and affective trust toward mega review sites and trust toward destinations the websites recommend) to predict travelers’ behavioral intention (e.g., purchase). The empirical results indicate the significant roles of perceived authenticity of online comments and trust in the context of online tourism. This study provides some implications for online review management among website administrators.
Market Power and Efficiency in the Iranian Banking Industry

ABSTRACT This paper explores the nature of the causal relationship between market power and cost efficiency for a sample of banks operating in the Iranian banking industry over the period 2002–2014. In particular, a bootstrap panel Granger causality approach is used to test the “quiet life”, “banking specificities”, and “efficient-structure” hypotheses, accounting for both slope heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence. The results indicate that, on average, banks’ market power (measured by the efficiency-adjusted Lerner index) has steadily declined over the study period, while cost efficiency (measured by the SFA approach) has improved over the period. Furthermore, the results of the causality analysis suggest that there is a negative unidirectional causality running from market power to cost efficiency for 56.25% of banks, providing evidence to support the “quiet life” hypothesis, according to which banks with greater market power would be less cost-efficient. Such a result clearly rejects the “banking specificities” and “efficient-structure” hypotheses which predict a positive Granger causality in the same and opposite directions, respectively. These results are robust to the use of an alternative Granger non-causality procedure.
Mandatory Nonfinancial Disclosure and Its Consequences on the Sustainability Reporting Quality of Italian and German Companies

Companies disclosing nonfinancial information through sustainability reporting practices provide markets with data on their social, environmental, and governance performance. The quality of sustainability reporting is much discussed in the literature because this quality affects factors such as the credibility of accountability and building stakeholders’ trust in the company. Nonetheless, the concept of quality is multidimensional, and empirical evidence relating to the quality of sustainability reporting presents different findings. Regulations on mandatory nonfinancial disclosure (NFD) open new perspectives for research on sustainability reporting quality (SRQ). This study explored the effect of introducing mandatory NFD on SRQ by focusing on the effects of new legislation (Directive 2014/95/EU) introduced in Italy and Germany. The analysis was conducted through qualitative content analysis of the sustainability reporting practices of Italian and German companies in the top lists of stock exchanges. Sustainability reporting practices of one year before (2016) and one year after (2017) the implementation of Directive 2014/95/EU were compared. The results of 132 observations demonstrated that the quality of sustainability reporting increased after implementation of the law on mandatory NFD. Further, the effect of the law seemed to reduce the differences in SRQ of the two countries before the introduction of mandatory NFD. The results suggested that obligatoriness of NFD affects SRQ together with other relevant determinants focused on by previous research (e.g., company size and industry type).
Cross-selling across stores or within a store? Impacts of cross-buying behavior in online shopping malls

Abstract This study investigates the impacts of cross-buying behavior in an online shopping mall where customers can purchase from additional product categories from various independent stores. We focus on the extent to which store loyalty and relationship duration moderate the cross-buying effects on three behavioral traits: customers’ purchase rate, lifetime duration, and spending. The results reveal that customers who engage in cross-buying more intensely purchase more frequently, have longer expected lifetime duration, and spend higher amounts in each transaction. The impacts on purchase frequency and customer retention are even greater for customers who exhibit higher behavioral loyalty toward some stores. However, store loyalty is found to weaken the association between cross-buying and average spending. Further, relationship duration appears to weaken the effects of cross-buying on purchase rate and spending. These results provide new insights into the impacts of cross-buying on customer value as well as managerial implications for shopping mall owners.
The technology-evoked time use rebound effect and its impact on pro-environmental consumer behaviour in tourism

Abstract The growing awareness of tourism’s environmental impacts has facilitated energy efficiency improvements in all tourism sub-sectors, especially in tourist transport. Further technological improvements are envisaged to save travel time as well as to reduce travel costs. However, the time savings achieved can potentially trigger behavioural responses of tourists that are unexpected and can intensify consumption. Ultimately, this intensified consumption can negate the positive effect of energy efficiency improvements in tourism, the phenomenon known as the time use rebound effect. Existing literature fails to account for this effect as a driver of unsustainable consumer behaviour in tourism. This paper proposes a framework to conceptualise the potential time use rebound effect in tourism and discusses the importance of considering it for better understanding and management of pro-environmental tourist behaviour. The paper elaborates upon the implications of the time use rebound effect for sustainable tourism development. Highlights Discusses the effect of energy efficiency improvements in tourism on consumption Demonstrates this effect is not always positive Conceptualises the rebound effect in tourism with respect to time Discusses how the time use rebound effect can reduce the positive effect of energy efficiency improvements in tourism
Temporary use in England’s core cities: Looking beyond the exceptional

This paper develops an understanding of the structural and spatial characteristics of regulated forms of temporary use across England’s core cities. The paper’s contribution lies in its adoption of an extensive research design that goes beyond the intensive qualitative approaches that predominate in the temporary use literature. We employ a novel data set of 5890 temporary use interventions that have been recorded over a 15-year period (2000–2015). Informed by the temporary use literature, we distinguish between ‘extraordinary’ (e.g. urban beaches) and ‘ordinary’ (e.g. car parks) forms of temporary use alongside other characteristics that include the time of occurrence, the function of space appropriated, decisions taken and whether instances were isolated or reoccurring. Logistic regression is used to test whether the odds that a temporary use was defined as ‘ordinary’ or ‘extraordinary’ increased or decreased owing to their underlying structural characteristics. The analysis revealed that applications for extraordinary temporary uses increased in the period following the 2007/2008 financial crisis but that ordinary forms of temporary uses remained much more common before and after the recession. It also revealed differences between ordinary and extraordinary uses in relation to the functions of the spaces appropriated and decisions taken by the planning authority in processing the application. Geospatial approaches were then applied to two case study cities – Bristol and Liverpool. The analysis revealed a tendency towards the clustering of temporary uses that was spatially and temporally uneven, with extraordinary uses in particular concentrated in the cores/downtowns of the two cities.
Microbiological assessment of food and hand-swabs samples of school food vendors in Benin City, Nigeria.

Sixty food vendors from public secondary schools drawn from the 3 Local Government Areas namely: Oredo (OD), Egor (EG) and Ikpoba-Oha (IK) in Benin City were selected for microbiological assessment of their food and hand-swabs samples. Aerobic Colony Count (ACC) <105 cfu/g was regarded as marginal limits of acceptable microbiological quality for food based on standard methods of International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods. Most of the food samples (93.3%) had acceptable microbiological quality but indicated some level of contamination. Predominant microbial species of public health importance found in food samples were Staphylococcus aureus (30%) and Bacillus cereus (25%) while the mean ACC in food samples was OD: 3.08 x 104 cfu/g, EG:1.19 x 104cfu/g, IK: 5.48 x 104cfu/g. Microbial species found in hand-swab samples were Staphylococcus aureus (38.3%) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (21.7%) while the mean ACC in hand-swab samples was OD: 4.16 x 105cfu, EG: 2.95 x 105cfu, IK: 2.09 x 105cfu indicating a high microbial load.
Education and the Curious Case of Conservative Compromise

“Education,” notes Philip Converse, “is everywhere the universal solvent. ” Whatever the ill of the body politic, many believe that greater education improves the condition. Much scholarship explores the impact of education on political attitudes and behaviors, but scholars have not examined the relationship of education to support for political compromise. This is especially topical, as compromise between parties seems harder than ever to achieve, yet compromise is necessary for democratic governance. We examine whether higher levels of education lead to support for compromise and find that education does matter, but the relationship is conditional. For liberals and moderates, more education promotes greater support for compromise. For conservatives, those with more education are not more likely to support compromise than those with less education. We argue that for conservatives, education matters for compromise support, but it also leads to better understanding of bedrock ideological principles that inhibit approval of compromise.
Conditional cash transfers, women’s income and domestic violence

ABSTRACT We analyze the impact of conditional cash transfer programs on domestic violence. We present evidence that welfare payments that reduce gender income gap significantly decrease aggression against women. We exploit an exogenous increase in women’s income given by a major reformulation of a welfare program in Uruguay to analyze causes of domestic violence. In line with the models of household bargaining, our findings suggest that fostering women economic independence contribute to reduce domestic violence.
Business Group Affiliation and R&D Investment: Evidence from China

ABSTRACT This study investigates whether business group (BG) affiliation helps member firms overcome market imperfections in accessing capital for research and development (R&D). Using the data of Chinese listed firms, we find that BG affiliation is positively associated with firms’ R&D intensity. Moreover, the positive association between BG affiliation and R&D intensity is more pronounced when firms are affiliated to a larger BG or the firms’ own financial constraints are higher. We document that BG affiliation has stronger impacts on R&D investment in regions with lower-level marketization than in ones with higher marketization. Our findings provide new evidence for institutional void theory in China.
From Legal Awareness of the Contemporary Youth to Legal Culture of the Information Society

The need for law education is indispensable in the individual and, as a consequence, social dimension. Its early initiation will “internalize” patterns of behaviour and response which will contribute to conscious functioning in society, and, as a result, building of a society of law. Therefore, one of the goals of the presented text is to indicate the fact that ignorantia iuris nocet. Such a conceptualization is preventive, prophylactic, and inhibitory. First and foremost, the purpose of addressing the issue is to show the need to raise legal awareness that builds legal culture of society, and improves the quality of life. The analysis of the results of the research conducted among schoolchildren aged 15–16 indicates that legal awareness of the young generation differentiates the frequency of behaviours contrary to social and legal standards – the higher legal awareness of young people is, the lower the level of particular problem behaviours in this group is. The paper also outlines recommendations on solutions that can be used to create future prevention programs aimed at building an aware information society and the high legal culture of its members.
Is Public Health - Dayton & Montgomery County's Level One Food Safety Certification Training Effective?

The objective of the culminating experience was to evaluate the effectiveness of Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County’s (PHDMC) Level One Food Safety Certification class. Pretraining and post-training quiz score data from approximately 692 participants were examined. Paired t-tests were used to evaluate change in scores, overall, on individual questions, and by job responsibility. There was significant improvements in quiz scores both aggregately (20.6%) and also by individual questions, except for question one which assessed how people could become ill from improper food safety. The temperature related questions were answered incorrectly the most but also showed the most improvement. Owners of food service operations had the highest mean pre-training quiz scores (82.0%) but restaurant servers had the highest mean post-training scores (96.9%) and showed the most improvement (20.0%). This culminating experience has shown that PHDMCs Level One Food Safety Certification class was effective in increasing of participants from pre to post training.
An Analysis on Determinants of Energy Intensity in ASEAN Countries

ASEAN is a region with a high level of economic growth. However, ASEAN region is also faced with several important issues in the energy sector such as high energy consumption growth, fossil energy dependency, and fluctuations in energy prices. Energy efficiency is viewed as the proper way to enhance energy security. The concept of energy intensity (ratio of energy consumption per GDP) is used to describe the level of energy efficiency. The objective of the research is to analyze factors that influence energy intensity in ASEAN region. This study uses secondary data in the nine Southeast Asian countries in 2001-2014. This study employs an analysis with Arellano Bond Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) panel data to analyze factors that affect energy intensity. The results of the study find that the variable of GDP per capita and energy prices have a significantly negative effect on energy intensity. The variable of energy consumption per capita has significantly positive effect on energy intensity. The variables of trade openness and foreign direct investment have no significant effect on energy intensity
Analysis of the Sarbanes-Oxley Ban on Non-Audit Services From an Auction Model Perspective

This study analyzes the impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s (SOX) ban on providing both auditing and nonaudit services by auditors to their clients. We use a first-price private value auction to compare a setting in which auditors can compete for both audit and nonaudit services with an auction in which they can compete for only one of the two services. Consistent with empirical studies, we show that the ban on nonaudit services results in fee hikes for both audit and nonaudit services, as the number of bidders (audit firms) is smaller in the post-SOX setting relative to pre-SOX setting in both auctions. Consequently, we demonstrate that, after the ban, payoffs have increased for audit firms and decreased for their clients, due to the increase in both audit and nonaudit services fees. Finally, we show that increasing the penalty for an audit failure, contrary to common wisdom, results in improved payoffs for audit firms.
Rivals When We Work Together: Team Rivalry Effects on Performance in Collaborative Learning Groups

Team rivalry has been mostly studied in competition settings, between competing individuals or teams, and has been linked to positive performance outcomes due to its impact on increasing motivation. However, rivalry is not limited to such contexts, it can also occur in collaborative settings, among team members working on a collaborative task. We argue that in such settings rivalry in teams has a negative impact on team performance, due to its negative impact on team learning behaviors. We employed a time-lagged, survey-based design with a sample of 176 students (55 teams) to investigate the relationship between rivalry and team performance through team learning behaviors. Our results based on simple mediation analyses show that, for our sample, rivalry in teams was not in fact negatively correlated to learning behaviors. Furthermore, we did not find support for the hypothesized positive relationship between learning behaviors and team performance, nor for the partial mediation model we proposed. We show how a series of team and task characteristics could explain our results and discuss potential future directions in the study of rivalry in collaborative settings.