Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dreaming Big: Self-Evaluations, Aspirations, High-Valued Social Networks, and the Private-School Earnings Premium

The success of private schooling in Britain in delivering high academic achievements and better jobs has recently been attributed to the schools engendering high aspirations and confidence among their students. However, no empirical evidence has yet been offered to support this diagnosis or the policy implications that may follow. Using recently repaired data on secondary school type from the 1970 British Cohort Study and on cognitive skills at age 16, we investigate the effect of private schools on pupils’ self-esteem and locus of control at ages 10 and 16, and on aspirations and high-value network access at age 16. We then examine the effect of these factors on earnings in mid-career and their hypothesised significance for understanding the private-school earnings premium achieved in later life. We find that private school pupils have substantially higher levels of self-esteem, a more internal locus of control, higher job quality aspirations, higher occupational aspirations, and better perceived access to high-valued networks for job search. Despite this association, self-esteem is not raised by private schooling, once social background and prior cognitive skills are controlled for. In contrast, there is some evidence that private schools do help to stimulate locus of control, especially at primary level, and to raise aspirations and provide access to networks. This conclusion assumes, however, that remaining unobserved factors affecting both the decision to use the private sector and children's non-cognitive attributes result in only small biases in the coefficients. We find that, while locus of control and aspirations both have modest effects on pay at age 42, neither self-esteem nor networks are linked to pay in later life. Moreover, only a small part of the private school earnings premium is accounted for by all these non-cognitive factors. Much of the premium is due, rather, to educational attainments. After controlling extensively for post-16 academic attainments, there is no significant residual premium for women. There remains, however, an unexplained pay premium for men. While research on other non-cognitive attributes and school type is warranted, the main policy implication of these findings is that strategies to strengthen self-esteem, locus of control, aspirations and social networks in the state sector will contribute little to the objective of greater social mobility. Policies should therefore remain focused on narrowing socio-economic gaps in educational achievement.
The Effect of Earnings Announcement Timing on Liquidity

The proportion of after-market-close (AMC) earnings announcements has recently increased to more than 40% of the total number of earnings announcements (Berkman & Truong, 2009). Doyle and Magilke (2009) conclude that managers do not announce AMC to hide bad news; however, they do not directly address other explanations for the AMC announcement increase. Thus, the cause(s) remains an open question. Interestingly, the increase in AMC earnings announcements has coincided with the emergence of a 24/7 news environment and a marked increase in noise trading. We posit that managers are increasingly announcing earnings AMC instead of before-market-open (BMO) to take advantage of this increased noise trading—thereby increasing the liquidity of their stock. We show evidence, after controlling for other factors, that announcing AMC instead of BMO increases liquidity. In addition, the relationship between AMC and liquidity is increasing in analysts’ coverage—consistent with the view that AMC announcements generate the largest increase in liquidity for those stocks with high investor interest.
THE PROPERTIES OF THE 2175 Å EXTINCTION FEATURE DISCOVERED IN GRB AFTERGLOWS

The unequivocal, spectroscopic detection of the 2175 Å bump in extinction curves outside the Local Group is rare. To date, the properties of the bump have been examined in only two gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows (GRB 070802 and GRB 080607). In this work, we analyze in detail the detections of the 2175 Å extinction bump in the optical spectra of two further GRB afterglows: GRB 080605 and 080805. We gather all available optical/near-infrared photometric, spectroscopic, and X-ray data to construct multi-epoch spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for both GRB afterglows. We fit the SEDs with the Fitzpatrick & Massa model with a single or broken power law. We also fit a sample of 38 GRB afterglows, known to prefer a Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC)-type extinction curve, with the same model. We find that the SEDs of GRB 080605 and GRB 080805 at two epochs are fit well with a single power law with a derived extinction of AV = 0.52+0.13− 0.16 and 0.50+0.13− 0.10, and 2.1+0.7− 0.6 and 1.5 ± 0.2, respectively. While the slope of the extinction curve of GRB 080805 is not well constrained, the extinction curve of GRB 080605 has an unusual very steep far-UV rise together with the 2175 Å bump. Such an extinction curve has previously been found in only a small handful of sightlines in the Milky Way. One possible explanation of such an extinction curve may be dust arising from two different regions with two separate grain populations, however we cannot distinguish the origin of the curve. We finally compare the four 2175 Å bump sightlines to the larger GRB afterglow sample and to Local Group sightlines. We find that while the width and central positions of the bumps are consistent with what is observed in the Local Group, the relative strength of the detected bump (Abump) for GRB afterglows is weaker for a given AV than for almost any Local Group sightline. Such dilution of the bump strength may offer tentative support to a dual dust-population scenario.
The Impact of Board Composition on the Firm’s Performance in Continental Europe

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between composition of board of directors and firms’ performance. Specifically, board size and board independence were studied, expecting small and large boards as well as highly independent boards to have the greatest performance. Three performance indicators were used - return on assets (ROA), return of equity (ROE) and Tobin’s Q. The analysis found a slight indication for a U-shaped relationship between board size and ROA, and an inverted U-shaped relationship with ROE and Tobin’s Q. However, they both were statistically not significant to draw conclusions. The research confirmed the hypothesis that boards with a higher ratio of independent directors have a higher level of ROE, but the results investigating the effect on ROA and Tobin’s Q were not statistically significant.
THE EVOLUTION OF ROTATING SILICON SURFACES DURING ION BOMBARDMENT

Under a wide range of conditions, ion bombardment of nominally flat substrates results in the formation of macroscopic hummock features. We present a theoretical model of this process which details the evolution of hummocks on rotating substrates. The formation of facetted hummocks, the interaction and coalescence of two hummocks, and global properties such as the hummock size distribution are described. These results are used to interpret experimentally observed hummocks on Ar + sputtered, rotating Si(100) substrates.
Mortality as an indicator of economic success and failure : inaugural lecture 1995

Quality of life depends on various physical and social conditions, such as the epidemiological environment in which a person lives. The availability of health care and the nature of medical insurance--public as well as private--are among the important influences on life and death. So are other social services, including basic education and the orderliness of urban living, and the access to modern medical knowledge in rural communities. The statistics on mortality draw attention to all these policy issues. Mortality information can throw light also on the nature of social inequalities, including gender bias and racial disparities.
Genetic Variation in Picea mariana × P. rubens Hybrid Populations Assessed with ISSR and RAPD Markers

Interspecific hybridization can result in significant shifts in allele frequencies. The objective of the present study was to assess the level of genetic variation in populations of P. mariana × P. rubens hybrids derived from artificial crosses. Progenies from backcross populations created through a series of controlled pollinations among P. mariana and P. rubens trees across the hybridization index were analyzed. Several Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) and Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers were used to amplify genomic DNA samples from each population. ISSR primers produced from 30% to 52% polymorphic loci. The level of polymorphism was higher with RAPD markers, ranging from 57% to 76%. Overall, the two marker systems generated similar levels of polymorphic loci for P. mariana and P. rubens populations. No significant differences were found among the P. mariana × P. rubens populations analyzed and between the hybrids and the parental populations regardless of the molecular marker used. This confirms the genetic closeness of P. mariana and P. rubens species.
External Quality Assessment (EQA) of Randomly Blinded Rechecking Slides on TB AFB Microscopy Laboratories: A Retrospective Study, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused mainly by bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis and it remains a major public health problem. Globally, 9.6 Million people were ill and 1.5 million were died of Tuberculosis in 2014. In resource limited settings, tuberculosis diagnosis relies on sputum smear microscopy: with low and variable sensitivities, in adequately trained personnel, erratic reagent supplies, and poorly verified equipment. Thus there is a critical need for investment in laboratory capacity building and quality assured service. The objective of this study is to assess the performance and trend of Acid Fast Bacilli (AFB) smear microscopy external quality assessment program in Addis Ababa city Government. For this study a retrospective record review study was carried out among the participated AFB smear microscopy laboratories in Addis Ababa. The data was collected and summarized from 12 Jan. 2014 to March 20, 2015 in Addis Ababa Health research laboratory. The data entered in to EPI data V.3 and analyzed by SPSS version 20. Percentage of agreement for smear positive and negative results between periphery diagnostic health facilities and the regional laboratory was 95% and 99%, respectively. They have an observed agreement (Po) of 0.9918 and an expected agreement (Pe) of 0.8290. Moreover, Calculated kappa value was 0.95 which is almost perfect agreement. The trend of discordant slides decreases as participation in Regional External Quality Assurance System (REQAS) increases. This study concludes with evidences from the result that, Quality assured laboratory is the cornerstone for effective tuberculosis control programme. Continuous participation in REQAS and drilling of laboratory personnel accordingly at regular intervals plays an important role for improving the quality of TB laboratory services.
Critical temperatures for xylogenesis in conifers of cold climates

Aim To identify temperatures at which cell division and differentiation are active in order to verify the existence of a common critical temperature determining growth in conifers of cold climates. Location Ten European and Canadian sites at different latitudes and altitudes. Methods The periods of cambial activity and cell differentiation were assessed on a weekly time-scale on histological sections of cambium and wood tissue collected over 2 to 5 years per site from 1998 to 2005 from the stems of seven conifer species. All data were compared with daily air temperatures recorded from weather stations located close to the sites. Logistic regressions were used to calculate the probability of xylogenesis and of cambium being active at a given temperature. Results Xylogenesis lasted from May to October, with a growing period varying from 3 to 5 months depending on location and elevation. Despite the wide geographical range of the monitored sites, temperatures for onset and ending of xylogenesis converged towards narrow ranges with average values around 4–5, 8–9 and 13–14 °C for daily minimum, mean and maximum temperature, respectively. On the contrary, cell division in the cambium stopped in July−August, when temperatures were still high. Main conclusions Wood formation in conifers occurred when specific critical temperatures were reached. Although the timing and duration of xylogenesis varied among species, sites and years, the estimated temperatures were stable for all trees studied. These results provide biologically based evidence that temperature is a critical factor limiting production and differentiation of xylem cells in cold climates. Although daily temperatures below 4−5 °C are still favourable for photosynthesis, thermal conditions below these values could inhibit the allocation of assimilated carbon to structural investment, i.e. xylem growth.
Asymmetric heteroclinic double layers

Let W be a non-negative function of class C 3 from to , which vanishes exactly at two points a and b . Let S 1 ( a , b ) be the set of functions of a real variable which tend to a at -∞ and to b at +∞ and whose one dimensional energy is finite. Assume that there exist two isolated minimizers z + and z - of the energy E 1 over S 1 ( a , b ). Under a mild coercivity condition on the potential W and a generic spectral condition on the linearization of the one-dimensional Euler–Lagrange operator at z + and z - , it is possible to prove that there exists a function u from to itself which satisfies the equation and the boundary conditions The above convergences are exponentially fast; the numbers m + and m - are unknowns of the problem.
Projection of a diameter distribution through time

Three approaches to characterizing the diameter distribution of a future stand are presented. The first ap- proach is the "parameter-recovery" method, which links a whole-stand model to a diameter-distribution model. The next two approaches provide linkages between an individual-tree model and a diameter-distribution model. Tree- survival and diameter-growth equations were applied to the tree list (the "tree-projection" method) or to the diameter distribution (the "distribution-projection" method) at the beginning of the growth period. A numerical example of Weibull distributions that characterized diameter data from the Southwide Seed Source Study of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) is presented. All three methods produced similar results in terms of Reynolds et al.'s (1988) error indices, whereas the distribution-projection method outperformed the other two methods in predicting total and merchantable volumes per hectare. This study demonstrated that the diameter-distribution model could be linked to either a whole- stand model or an individual-tree model with comparable success. Resume : Trois approches sont presentees pour predire la distribution diametrale d'un peuplement futur. La premiere est la methode de la recuperation de parametres qui etablit un lien entre un modele de peuplement et un modele de distribution diametrale. Les deux autres approches etablissent des liens entre un modele d'arbre individuel et un modele de distribution diametrale. Les equations de survie et de croissance diametrale sont appliquees a la liste d'arbres (me- thode par projection d'arbre) ou a la distribution diametrale (methode par projection de distribution) au debut de la pe- riode de croissance. Un exemple numerique illustre l'application de la distribution de Weibull pour caracteriser les donnees diametrales provenant de l'etude des provenances de graines de pin a encens (Pinus taeda L.) dans le sud des Etats-Unis. Les trois approches produisent des resultats similaires en termes d'indices d'erreurs proposes par Reynolds et al. (1988) alors que la methode de projection de la distribution est meilleure que les deux autres methodes pour pre- dire le volume marchand et le volume total a l'hectare. Cette etude demontre que le modele de distribution diametrale peut etre lie a un modele de peuplement ou a un modele d'arbre avec autant de succes. (Traduit par la Redaction) Qin et al. 194
Calibrating remotely sensed river bathymetry in the absence of field measurements: Flow REsistance Equation‐Based Imaging of River Depths (FREEBIRD)

Remote sensing could enable high‐resolution mapping of long river segments, but realizing this potential will require new methods for inferring channel bathymetry from passive optical image data without using field measurements for calibration. As an alternative to regression‐based approaches, this study introduces a novel framework for Flow REsistance Equation‐Based Imaging of River Depths (FREEBIRD). This technique allows for depth retrieval in the absence of field data by linking a linear relation between an image‐derived quantity X and depth d to basic equations of open channel flow: continuity and flow resistance. One FREEBIRD algorithm takes as input an estimate of the channel aspect (width/depth) ratio A and a series of cross‐sections extracted from the image and returns the coefficients of the X versus d relation. A second algorithm calibrates this relation so as to match a known discharge Q. As an initial test of FREEBIRD, these procedures were applied to panchromatic satellite imagery and publicly available aerial photography of a clear‐flowing gravel‐bed river. Accuracy assessment based on independent field surveys indicated that depth retrieval performance was comparable to that achieved by direct, field‐based calibration methods. Sensitivity analyses suggested that FREEBIRD output was not heavily influenced by misspecification of A or Q, or by selection of other input parameters. By eliminating the need for simultaneous field data collection, these methods create new possibilities for large‐scale river monitoring and analysis of channel change, subject to the important caveat that the underlying relationship between X and d must be reasonably strong.
Technological Change and the Labor Market in Argentina and Uruguay: A Task Content Analysis

The objective of this paper is to analyze the employment profile trends in Argentina and Uruguay according to the task content performed by the workers in their jobs. The paper aims to produce an approximation of the impact of technological change on the labor market. The paper uses the definition of an indicator that captures the relative importance of four types of tasks, cognitive/manual and routine/nonroutine, based on the information provided by Occupational Information Network and household surveys. The analysis finds that in the last two decades the relative importance of cognitive tasks in the workplace has increased in line with the reduction of manual tasks, particularly among the youngest cohorts.
Effect of graphene oxide nanomaterial in electroclinic liquid crystals

The collective dielectric relaxation studies have been carried out on the electroclinic liquid crystals (ELCs) doped with 0.1 to 0.2 wt % of graphene oxide (GO) in the frequency range of 20 Hz to 1 MHz. The GO favors for a good quality vertical alignment without any surface treatment of the substrates. The coupling of GO with indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate and ELC materials affects the molecular ordering and supports the ELC molecules to be aligned along the GO attached to the ITO surface in vertical direction. The vertical alignment can be changed to homogeneous by applying a high bias field to the sample and such converted homogeneous cell shows an additional dielectric relaxation peak in the low frequency side of Goldstone mode in SmC∗ phase due to presence of GO whereas in the pure material no such peak was observed. The frequency separation of both peaks (Goldstone mode and an additional peak) increases with temperature and low frequency peak vanishes near transition temperature.
Effect of Football Practices on Certain Blood Values of Athletes

In this study, it is aimed to determine the effect of 10 days match program of football players on RBC (Erythrocyte), WBC (Leucocyte), PLT (Trombosit), HGB (Hemoglobin) blood values. Research is performed on 18 healthy male footballer subjects. All subjects participated in match program for total of 7 days, 90 minutes on one day within the framework of a 10 days match program. Blood samples were taken from all subjects in resting position before starting to the match program and 2 hours after the end of the last match. RBC (Erythrocyte), WBC (Leucocyte), PLT (Trombosit), HGB (Hemoglobin) levels were specified in the blood samples received. At the end of the application, RBC (Erythrocyte) levels of the group was higher than the pretest values which were the 1 st measurement (p 0.05). Posttest measurements of HGB (Hemoglobin) levels were higher than the pretest measurements, and the difference in between was statistically significant (p<0.05). In a similar way, PLT (Trombosit) values obtained at the end of match program were higher than the pretest measurement values taken before beginning to the match program, and the difference in between is important (p<0.05). As a result of this study, it can be stated that match program of 10 days has caused significant alterations in complete blood values of RBC (Erythrocyte), PLT (Trombosit), and HGB (Hemoglobin) values of footballers.
The Income Tax Reform in Slovenia

In 2007, Slovenia launched a comprehensive tax reform. This paper analyzes several proposed tax reform scenarios, including the flat tax proposal, with a dynamic general equilibrium model of the Slovenian economy, linked to a microsimulation model. We focus on the macroeconomic and welfare aspects of the proposed scenarios, capturing the effects on individual taxpayers and the government budget. The main characteristics of the model are presented along with the results of different reform scenarios, including that which finally passed the parliament and is now part of Slovenia's tax system. Our results suggest that choices other than the flat tax system are better suited to the country's longterm economic development.
The Asymmetric Effects of Real and Nominal Uncertainty on Inflation and Output Growth: Empirical Evidence from Bangladesh

This study examines an empirical analysis of the causal links and volatility spillovers between inflation, output growth and their uncertainties in Bangladesh by utilizing the autoregressive AR(p)-exponential generalized AR conditional heteroscedasticity (EGARCH) model for the period 1993-2014. The study shows that EGARCH version provides the best statistical fit by investigating that volatility is variable and asymmetric than symmetric. The empirical results show an overwhelming support for Friedman-Ball hypothesis that inflationary shocks affect inflation uncertainty positively. Both inflation and output growth generate output uncertainty which is detrimental for real economic activity while nominal uncertainty (real uncertainty) is positively (negatively) affecting output growth. Finally, output uncertainty is reducing inflation uncertainty while there is no effect from the opposite side. Our estimated results suggest that policy makers should adopt dynamic stabilization policies in order to reduce a rise in inflation and to achieve economic stability for stimulating output growth further