Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Appraisal of Housing Satisfaction in South Africa Low Income Housing Scheme

Abstract Post-occupancy evaluation techniques have been developed to provide a means for evaluating occupant responses to changes in an environment and linking this response to physical measures of that environment. POE has been used to evaluate the performance of buildings after they have been built and occupied for some time. This paper presents findings on the social and physical factors which influence residential satisfaction in four different government Housing Subsidy locations in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. Data obtained from the occupant survey were analyzed through the use of descriptive statistics. Findings arising from the survey revealed that the respondents were satisfied with their overall housing situation, but had complaints about certain aspects of the housing unit. However, the respondents informed that most of their housing needs were not being met. Also, a comparison is also made of the perceived factors of dissatisfaction amongst the housing subsidy occupants. It is recommended that a wider systematic coverage of the subject through investigation and diagnostic POE and occupants’ need assessment should be carried out in housing subsidy schemes in South Africa.
A dynamical mass estimator for high z galaxies based on spectroastrometry

Galaxy dynamical masses are important physical quantities to constrain galaxy evolutionary models, especially at high redshifts. However, at z& 2 the limited signal to noise ratio and spatial resolution of the data usually do not allow spatially resolved kinematical modeling and very often only virial masses can be estimated from line widths. But even such estimates require a good knowledge of galaxy size, which may be smaller than the spatial resolution. Spectroastrometry is a technique which combines spatial and spectral resolution to probe spatial scales significantly smaller th an the spatial resolution of the observations. Here we apply it to the case of high-z galaxies and present a method based on spectroastrometry to estimate dynamical masses of high z galaxies, which overcomes the problem of size determination with poor spatial resolution. We construct and calibrate a “spectroastrometric” virial mass estimator, modifying the “classical” virial mass formula. We apply our method to the [O III] or Hα emission line detected in z∼ 2− 3 galaxies from AMAZE, LSD and SINS samples and we compare the spectroastrometric estimator with dynamical mass values resulting from full spatially resolved kinematical modeling. The spectroastrometric estimator is found to be a good approximation of dynamical masses, presenting a linear relation with a residual disper sion of only 0.15 dex. This is a big improvement compared to the “classical” virial mass estimator which has a non linear relation and much larger dispersion ( 0.47 dex ) compared to dynamical masses. By applying our calibrated estimator to 16 galaxies from the AMAZE and LSD samples, we obtain masses in the∼ 10 7 − 10 10 M⊙ range extending the mass range attainable with dynamical modeling.
The s process in AGB stars as constrained by a large sample of barium stars

Context. Barium (Ba) stars are dwarf and giant stars enriched in elements heavier than iron produced by the slow neutron-capture process (s process). These stars belong to binary systems in which the primary star evolved through the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase. During this phase the primary star produced s-process elements and transferred them onto the secondary, which is now observed as a Ba star. Aims. We compare the largest homogeneous set of Ba giant star observations of the s-process elements Y, Zr, La, Ce, and Nd with AGB nucleosynthesis models to reach a better understanding of the s process in AGB stars. Methods. By considering the light-s (ls: Y and Zr) heavy-s (hs: La, Ce, and Nd) and elements individually, we computed for the first time quantitative error bars for the different hs-element to ls-element abundance ratios, and for each of the sample stars. We compared these ratios to low-mass AGB nucleosynthesis models. We excluded La from our analysis because the strong La lines in some of the sample stars cause an overestimation and unreliable abundance determination, as compared to the other observed hs-type elements. Results. All the computed hs-type to ls-type element ratios show a clear trend of increasing with decreasing metallicity with a small spread (less than a factor of 3). This trend is predicted by low-mass AGB models in which 13C is the main neutron source. The comparison with rotating AGB models indicates the need for the presence of an angular momentum transport mechanism that should not transport chemical species, but significantly reduces the rotational speed of the core in the advanced stellar evolutionary stages. This is an independent confirmation of asteroseismology observations of the slow down of core rotation in giant stars, and of rotational velocities of white dwarfs lower than predicted by models without an extra angular momentum transport mechanism.
Modelling Global Demographic Change : Results for Japan Abstract

In earlier papers (McKibbin and Nguyen (2001, (2002)) we introduced demographic features into the MSG3 model of the world economy, following the approach of Bryant and McKibbin (2001). In this paper we use the same theoretical technique to develop a series of models based on a consistent database from a simple two country symmetric theoretical model to the complete 4 country MSG3 model, which represents the empirical characteristics of Japan, United States, Rest of OECD and Rest of World. We explore a stylized decline in fertility similar to that experienced by Japan since the 1950 (exactly the same shock as the stylized shock used in Bryant (2004)). We first explore the properties of the theoretical model with both a global and a single country shock. This gives similar results to that found in the basic framework underlying the Bryant (2004) approach. We then move from the simplest fully optimizing framework to increasing add complexity to the model until we build a model of Japan. We explore the same shock across the models of increasing complexity in this paper and compare our results to the Bryant approach. We find that although the basic insights from the sequences of theoretical papers in the Brooking-ANU project continue to hold, the quantitative results change significantly as the model is adapted to have more characteristics of Japan. In a final section, we use the complete model to explore the likely impacts on Japan of the demographic change already experienced from 1970 and look to the likely changes to be experienced out to 2040. Warwick J. McKibbin Jeremy Nguyen Economics Division Economics Division Research School of Pacific Research School of Pacific & Asian Studies & Asian Studies Australian National University Australian National University ACT 0200 Australia ACT 0200 Australia and The Brookings Institution 1775 Massachusetts Ave, NW Washington DC 20036 USA
The Impact of Structural Position on Opinion Leadership in Social Network

Opinion leaders are individuals who have specific personal features that enable them to impact opinions of other agents named followers. In this paper we are going to introduce an agent based opinion formation model to investigate the impact of structural position of agents on their ability to navigate the opinion of social network. For each agent, this ability is defined based on the judgment of his neighbors about his status. The status of each agent is estimated based on status theory. In proposed model, we suppose each agent can modify the opinion of his neighbors with lower status. By applying this model on two complete and scale free graphs, we have investigated the effect of agents’ position on opinion leadership ability. Also the effect of leaders to navigate the opinion of agents is studied. The results of our work can be applicable in competitive environments that different parties try to change the social opinion.
Extra shared entanglement reduces memory demand in quantum convolutional coding

We show how extra entanglement shared between sender and receiver reduces the memory requirements for a general entanglement-assisted quantum convolutional code. We construct quantum convolutional codes with good error-correcting properties by exploiting the error-correcting properties of an arbitrary basic set of Pauli generators. The main benefit of this particular construction is that there is no need to increase the frame size of the code when extra shared entanglement is available. Then there is no need to increase the memory requirements or circuit complexity of the code because the frame size of the code is directly related to these two code properties. Another benefit, similar to results of previous work in entanglement-assisted convolutional coding, is that we can import an arbitrary classical quaternary code for use as an entanglement-assisted quantum convolutional code. The rate and error-correcting properties of the imported classical code translate to the quantum code. We provide an example that illustrates how to import a classical quaternary code for use as an entanglement-assisted quantum convolutional code. We finally show how to ``piggyback'' classical information to make use of the extra shared entanglement in the code.
Intra- and Inter-Regional Spillovers between Emerging Capital Markets Around the World

In this paper, returns and volatility spillovers between emerging capital markets of Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and South-East Asia are investigated. We extend the existing empirical evidence on financial spillovers by distinguishing between linkages among countries located in one region (intra-regional spillovers) and among countries located in different regions (inter-regional spillovers) after controlling for shocks originating at home and on the world market. Both intra- and inter-regional spillovers are found to be significant, with the former being more pronounced than the latter for all three regions considered. Our findings indicate that linkages between emerging markets are not solely due to their common dependence on the global capital market and highlight the importance of common factors in intra-regional stock return behavior.
Going into Business and Out of Business: The Role of Human Capital

An evaluation of the impact of an entrepreneur's human capital on her/his entrepre-neurial ability is likely to suffer from a sample selection bias if performed on a sample of new entrepreneurs alone. Our theoretical model of entrepreneurial choice allows us to characterize this bias. It is shown to be positive (respectively negative) for individuals who were in a favorable (respectively adverse) situation in the labor market at the time at which they decided to become self-employed. Our empirical application measures the impact of the entrepreneur's education on the newly created firm's survival. It is found to be strong and significant for individuals who were previously employed in the new firm's branch of activity, whereas it is at best weakly significant for individuals who were previously unemployed or employed in a branch different from that of the new firm, so that they are more likely to have been poorly matched. These results suggest a very substantial sample selection bias in our sample.
Efficiency of Bioagents in Controlling Root-Knot Nematode on Acacia Plants in Egypt

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to assess the influence of Azospirillum brasilense, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Azotobacter chroorcoccum, mixed genera of Arbascular mycorrhizae (AM) fungi and oxamyl for controlling Meloidogyne incognita on Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd and A. saligna (Labill), in a complete randomize design, in two seasons (2009 and 2010). Final nematode population (juveniles in soil, developmental stages, females, egg masses and eggs number in root) and number of galls and rate of buildup of root-knot nematode were determined. Growth parameters (plant height, number of branches/plant, dry weights of shoots (stems + leaves) as well as roots/plant and root length); nodulation parameters (number and dry weight of nodules/plant, as well as nitrogenase activity) and chemical analysis (N , P, K, protein, total carbohydrates percentages and total chlorophylls (a+b) and carotenoids contents in leaves) were also determined. Results indicated that both oxamyl and Arbascular mycorrhizae were the most effective treatments in decreasing the final nematode population in both soil and roots, number of galls and rate of buildup of root knot nematode. Also, they recorded the maximum plant growth, nodulation parameters and chemical components in the leaves of the two species. While, the least effective one was Azospirillum brasilense. Pseudomonas fluorescens and Azotobacter chroorcoccum occupied an intermediate position. In conclusion, mixed genera of Arbascular mycorrhizae fungi can be used for controlling Meloidogyne incognita on Acacia farnesiana and Acacia saligna instead of nematicide that cause severe pollution of ecosystems.
Modelling energy utilization in laying-type pullets

Three trials were carried out to determine energy metabolized (EM) requirement model for starting and growing pullets from different strains, at five ambient temperatures and different percentage feather coverage. In Trial I, metabolizable energy requirements for maintenance (MEm) and efficiency of energy utilization were estimated using 64 birds of two different strains, Hy-Line W36 (HLW36) and Hy-Line Semi-heavy (HLSH), from 9 to 13 weeks of age. The effects of ambient temperature (12, 18, 24, 30 and 36”C) and percentage feather coverage (0, 50 and 100%) on MEm were assessed in the second trial, using 48 birds per temperature per strain (HLSH and HLW36) from 9 to 13 weeks of age. Trial III evaluated ME requirements for weight gain (MEg) using 1,200 birds from two light strains (HLW36 and Hisex Light, HL) and two semiheavy strains (HLSH and Hisex Semi-heavy, HSH) reared until 18 weeks of age. According to the prediction models, MEm changed as a function of temperature and feather coverage, whereas MEg changed as a function of age and bird strain. Thus, two models were developed for birds aged 1 to 6 weeks, one model for the light strain and one for the semi-heavy strain. Energy requirements (ER) were different among strains from 7 to 12 weeks, and therefore 4 models were elaborated. From 13 to 18 weeks, one single model was produced for semi-heavy birds, since ER between semi-heavy strains were not different, whereas two different models were elaborated for the light layers. MEg of light birds was higher than MEg of semi-heavy birds, independent of age.
Residential broadband subscription demand: an econometric analysis of Australian choice experiment data

The recent roll-out of fibre-optic cable suggests that the willingness of households in passed communities to subscribe to networked services is an important issue. This paper studies the determination of the demand for network subscription. Through a discrete choice model the effect of installation and rental price on the likelihood of subscription is analysed. The logit regression is based on choice experiment (stated preference) subscription data obtained from a national survey of households. Limitations of this preliminary work and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Binaural Resynthesis for Comparative Studies of Acoustical Environments

A framework for comparative studies of binaurally resynthesized acoustical environments is presented. It consists of a software-controlled, automated head and torso simulator with multiple degrees of freedom, an integrated measurement device for the acquisition of binaural impulse responses in high spatial resolution, a head-tracked realtime convolution software capable to render multiple acoustic scenes at a time, and a user interface to conduct listening tests according to different test designs. Methods to optimize the measurement process are discussed, as well as different approaches to datareduction. Results of a perceptive evaluation of the system are shown, where acoustical reality and binaural resynthesis of an acoustic scene were confronted in direct A/B comparison. The framework permits, for the first time, to study the perception of a listener instantaneously relocated to different binaurally rendered acoustical scenes.
Indeterminacy in aggregate models with small externalities: an interplay between preferences and technology

In this paper we consider a Ramsey-type aggregate model with general preferences and technology, endogenous labor and factor-specificproductive external effects arising from average capital and labor. First, we show that indeterminacy cannot arise when there are onlycapital externalities but that it does when there are only labor external effects. Second, we prove that only the additively-separable and linear homogeneous specifications for the utility function allow to get local indeterminacy under small externalities and plausible restrictions on the main parameters. Third, we show that the existence of sunspot fluctuations is intimately related to the occurrence of periodic cycles through a Hopf bifurcation.
The Effects of Deep Breathing and Positive Imagery on Stress and Coherence Levels among College-Age Women

Stress is steadily becoming a problem of epidemic proportions in American society. Diseases and other health problems that are a direct result of high, chronic stress levels are on the rise. As bad as they are, the physical effects of stress are not the only concern. There are also mental and emotional concerns to increased and continuous stress levels. It is therefore vitally important for people to learn effective methods for reducing stress. This study investigates two techniques done together, deep breathing and positive imagery, for their effectiveness in reducing stress and increasing coherence. The sample consisted of thirty 18-26 year-old female college students at Liberty University who volunteered and were randomly placed into either an experimental group or a control group. The hypothesis was that the techniques would increase coherence, which occurs when the heart and brain are perfectly synchronized, and thereby reduce stress. Results showed that the techniques effectively reduced low coherence levels and increased high coherence levels, indicating a reduction in stress. Stress and Coherence 4 The Effects of Deep Breathing and Positive Imagery on Stress and Coherence Levels among College-Age Women
STEREO/SEPT observations of upstream particle events: almost monoenergetic ion beams

We present observations of Almost Monoen- ergetic Ion (AMI) events in the energy range of 100- 1200 keV detected with the Solar Electron and Proton Tele- scope (SEPT) onboard both STEREO spacecraft. The en- ergy spectrum of AMI events contain 1, 2, or 3 narrow peaks with the relative width at half maximum of 0.1-0.7 and their energy maxima varies for different events from 120 to 1200 keV. These events were detected close to the bow-shock (STEREO-A&B) and to the magnetopause at STEREO-B as well as unexpectedly far upstream of the bow-shock and far away from the magnetotail at distances up to 1100RE (STEREO-B) and 1900RE (STEREO-A). We discuss the origin of AMI events, the connection to the Earth's bow- shock and to the magnetosphere, and the conditions of the in- terplanetary medium and magnetosphere under which these AMI bursts occur. Evidence that the detected spectral peaks were caused by quasi-monoenergetic beams of protons, he- lium, and heavier ions are given. Furthermore, we present the spatial distribution of all AMI events from December 2006 until August 2007.
Gastroprotective Effect of Magnesium on Indomethacin-induced Gastric Ulceration in Normal and Alloxan Induced-Diabetic Rats

Magnesium is reported to reduce acid secretion and possess hypoglycemic properties. However, information about its gastroprotective ability is unknown. The gastroprotective effect of magnesium on indomethacin-induced gastric ulceration in normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats was investigated. Male rats were divided into 7 groups of 6 animals each. Groups 1,3,5 received normal saline(0.2ml), magnesium(500mg/kg) and omeprazole(20mg/kg) respectively. Group 2,4,6,7 were diabetic animals treated with normal saline, magnesium only, omeprazole only and both magnesium and omeprazole respectively. Diabetes was induced with alloxan (120mg/kg i.p) and ulcer was induced with indomethacin (40mg/kg). Ulcer was scored and stomach samples were stored for histological studies. Ulcer score reduced significantly in normal animals treated with magnesium (2.83±0.55), magnesium treated diabetic group (4.7±0.60) and group treated with both magnesium and omeprazole compared to the controls. Histological assessment of the gastric mucosa and submucosa revealed infiltration by inflammatory cells in normal and diabetic animals whereas the groups pretreated with magnesium did not show any inflammation, edema, and hemorrhage. Animals pretreated with omeprazole only showed mild inflammation while the group pretreated with both omeprazole and magnesium showed scanty inflammation with no signs of edema and hemorrhage. The gastro-protection against indomethacin-induced gastric ulceration observed in this study could have been produced by magnesium pretreatment.
Influencing factors to mobile phone adoption among urban youth in Botswana

Drawing from the focus groups and semi-structured interviews conducted on urban youth in Botswana, this study adds to the literature of mobile phone adoption among youth in the global South. The study indicates that mobile phone adoption among youth in Botswana is predominantly influenced by factors such as the need for connectedness, cost and perceived usefulness of mobile phone handsets. Moreover,this study demonstrates that acquisition of mobile phones among youth is an ongoing process, as it involves a young person starting to acquire and use a mobile phone (initial adoption), and then developing a strong link with the device through continuous consumption. This paper goes on to argue that although mobile phones are global technology, in each region young people’s adoption of the devices is shaped by their traditional lifestyles, as well as the socio-economic challenges that they face. Key words: Adoption, Botswana, influence, mobile phones, youth, challenges.
Measuring the Impact of Lighting on Interpersonal Judgements of Pedestrians at Night-Time

This article discusses interpersonal judgements made between ped estrians after dark and in particular that judgements of intent are needed in addition to judgements of identity. The current study uses judgements of emotion from facial expression and body posture, and judgements of gaze direction, to evaluate the influe nce of lighting on visual cues to perceived intent. An experiment has been carried out in which judgements of emotion (using targets of facial expression and body posture) or gaze direction we re sought after 1 s exposure using nine combinations of luminanc e and interpersonal distance. Initial results for judgements of emotion from facial expression suggest a minimum luminance on the face of 0.1 cd/m 2 if facial expressions are to be recognised at 4 m, increasing to 1.0 cd/m 2 for identification at 10 m. Using these data to suggest design light levels will require further discussion as to which task is the more critical and at which distance the critical task needs to be achieved.