Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Management competencies in higher education: Perceived job importance in relation to level of training required

Orientation: The increasing changes and demands placed on higher education institutions in the 21st century and resultant impact on the roles and responsibilities of heads of department (HODs) have led to an increasing emphasis on the development of core HOD management competencies. Research purpose: The aim of this article is to determine the relationship between a specific set of HOD managerial competencies identified as being important for the job and the level of training required in terms of these competencies. Motivation for the study: Research has provided evidence that HODs are often ill-prepared for their managerial role, which requires the development of specific management competencies to enable them to fulfil their roles effectively. Research design, approach and method: A non-experimental quantitative survey design approach was followed and correlational data analyses were performed. A cross-sectional sample of 41 HODs of 22 departments from various faculties of a higher education institution in Gauteng participated in this study. The Management Competency Inventory (MCI) of Visser (2009) was applied as a measure. Main findings: The Pearson product-moment analysis indicated that there is a significant relationship between the competencies indicated as being important for the job and the level of training required. Practical/Managerial implications: Training needs of HODs should be formally assessed and the depth of training required in terms of the identified management competencies should be considered in the design of training programmes. Contributions/Value-add: The information obtained in this study may potentially serve as a foundation for the development of an HOD training programme in the South African higher education environment.
The impact of cluster networking on business performance of Croatian wood cluster members

Abstract This paper investigates the link between cluster membership and performance of clustered companies. The object of the study is the Croatian Wood Cluster (CWC). The paper presents the results of a survey of 34 members of the Croatian Wood Cluster operating in wood and furniture industries. The survey was conducted in order to identify and analyse perceptions and attitudes of CWC members towards CWC objectives, activities and performance; the cooperation strength among cluster members and that with the players outside the cluster; the effects of clustering on the operational performance of the clustered SMEs; business and economic setting in Croatia, barriers for the work of the CWC and the relevancy of government policy measures. The empirical results indicate that the economic performance of the clustered companies is significantly predicted by the cooperation with public institutions, financial institutions and professional associations (such as the Agency for Investments and Competitiveness) provided by the CWC and by the access to cluster resources such as horizontal cooperation, fairs, exhibitions etc. Additionally, an access to credit, customers and competitors shows a significant positive effect on finance-based performance of the clustered companies. On the other hand, cooperation among cluster members and cooperation with scientific, high education and research institutions show no significant relationship with the company performance.
Clustering and Classification in Option Pricing

This paper reviews the recent option pricing literature and investigates how clustering and classification can assist option pricing models. Specifically, we consider non-parametric modular neural network (MNN) models to price the S&P-500 European call options. The focus is on decomposing and classifying options data into a number of sub-models across moneyness and maturity ranges that are processed individually. The fuzzy learning vector quantization (FLVQ) algorithm we propose generates decision regions (i.e., option classes) divided by ‘intelligent’ classification boundaries. Such an approach improves generalization properties of the MNN model and thereby increases its pricing accuracy.
Relationship between audit committee characteristics, external auditors and economic value added (EVA) of public listed firms in Malaysia

Malaysia is a developing economy which is one of the corporate leaders in South East Asian countries. Practicing audit committee is mandatory for public listed firms in Malaysia according to Bursa Malaysia Listing Requirements as well Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between audit committee characteristics and firm performance among public listed firms in Malaysia. This study employed EVA as performance measurement tool. The sample is 75 firm year observations and covers fiscal years 2008-2010. The study found that audit committee independence is positively associated with firm performance while audit quality is negatively associated in Malaysia. Overall, audit committee characteristics have a positive effect on firm performance. This study contributes to the literature as well as in empirical evidence on audit committee characteristics and firm audit quality. The results suggest that Big 4 firms have a negative impact on value based measure in Malaysia.
XFEM-Based Analysis for Crack Growth Characteristics of Diffusion Bonded Laminates of Titanium Alloy with Localized Nonwelded Zone

Titanium-alloy laminates fabricated by sheet materials using diffusion bonding process have drawn more and more attention in the recent years. Proper placement of nonwelded zones on the diffusion bonding (DB) interface within titanium-alloy laminates as crack arrest zones can improve damage tolerance. To achieve the optimal damage tolerance via designing non-welded zones, it is necessary to study fatigue crack growth characteristics for this type of laminates by adjusting all the relevant parameters such as geometrical sizes, locations, and the number of the nonwelded zones, which is highly time consuming. Therefore it is essential to develop a reliable and quick method to analyze the fatigue crack growth characteristics for titanium-alloy laminates with non-welded zones. In this paper, the extended finite element method (XFEM) which was employed to simulate the fatigue crack growth process and the applicability of this method to capture fatigue crack growth characteristics of titanium-alloy laminates with localized non-welded zones was also studied. The numerical results were compared with the experiment data, and the agreement on numerical and experimental results illustrated that the specific crack growth characteristics can be captured by using XFEM, thereby verifying the applicability of XFEM in the analysis of fatigue crack growth of the laminates with non-welded zones. The influence of non-welded zones on the fatigue crack growth was then discussed.
Montmorillonite Pseudomorphs after Amphibole from Melbourne, Australia

Well developed smectite “crystals” up to 10 mm long, which probably are pseudomorphic after titaniferous hornblende phenocrysts, are present in a weathered dike in a Melbourne clay pit. The pseudomorphs contain 77 per cent of montmorillonite as determined by X-ray powder diffraction, differential thermal analysis, thermo-gravimetric and chemical analysis. The pseudo-hexagonal shape of the pseuodomorphs probably reflects the original crystal habit of the hornblende. The mechanism of alteration of an amphibole to a smectite is discussed.
E-Purchase Intention of Sustainable Innovation in Management Strategies

— This paper was intended to determine what factors affect online shoppers’ purchase intention in the e-business environment and to verify how organizations’ internal and external dynamics may underlie the success of e-commerce companies. Although the technology-acceptance model is widely accepted in research of e-commerce topics, the present study went beyond technology and targeted other factors that might have dramatic influence on online shoppers’ purchasing intention as well. The results showed positive correlations among the identified factors indicating a great influence of innovative performance in different areas of management strategies on e-purchase intention; they also demonstrated the great impact from the awareness of sustainability development in e-commerce companies. These results may provide some insight on how e-business companies can improve their performance and win in fierce competition.
Genotypes and Phenotypes of DMD Small Mutations in Chinese Patients With Dystrophinopathies

Dystrophinopathies are a group of neuromuscular disorders resulting from mutations in DMD, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), intermediate muscular dystrophy (IMD), and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD). Herein, we present the characteristics of small mutations in Chinese patients with dystrophinopathies, and explore genotype–phenotype correlations. In our cohort, 115 patients with small mutations (18.49% of all patients) were included and DMD mutations were detected by either Sanger (53.91%) or next generation sequencing (46.09%). In total, 106 small mutations were detected, 28 of which (26.42%) had not been reported previously. The most common mutations were nonsense mutations (52.17%), followed by splicing (24.35%), frameshift (17.39%), and missense mutations (5.22%), in addition to a single untranslated region mutation (0.87%). We discovered distinct mutation characteristics in our patients, such as different positional distributions, indicating different exon skipping therapy strategies for small mutations in Chinese patients. Almost all patients (96.51%) with truncating or missense mutations, were covered by triple/double/single-exon skipping therapy; the most frequent single-exon skipping strategy was skipping exon 32, applicable for 8.51% of patients. Furthermore, splicing classification grades were correlated with phenotypes in nonsense mutations (P < 0.001), and serum creatinine levels differed significantly between DMD/IMD and BMD for patients ≤ 16 years old (P = 0.002). These observations can further aid prognostic judgment and guide treatment. In conclusion, the mutation characteristics and genotype–phenotype correlations in Chinese patients with dystrophinopathies and small mutations could provide insights into the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment designs.
Effect of tree pruning intensity on the yield and fruit quality of the sour cherry.

The aim of the study was to estimate the effect of’ tree pruning intensity on the yielding and quality of fruits of the sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) cultivar ‘Łutowka’. An experiment with a different intensity of tree pruning was carried out in the years 2006–2010. The study material consisted of one-year old budded plants of the first class: cv. ‘Łutowka’ type IR2, on Prunus mahaleb rootstock, planted in the spring of 2001 and 2002 spaced 4.0 × 1.3 m giving a total of 1920 trees ha-1. In the plantation, three pruning regimes were applied: 1) no pruning (only sanitation felling was applied), 2) moderate traditional pruning (consisting of the shortening of branches), 3) intensive pruning (by removing branches older than three years). Tree yielding significantly depended on the weather conditions of the experimental years. With increasing pruning intensity the yield decreased. Tree pruning and its intensity influenced fruit quality measured by the weight of 100 fruits, fruit firmness, acidity and total soluble solids. Colour variation of ‘Łutowka’ skin was assigned the following parameters L*, a*, b*, C* and h°. Their changes varied depending on the year and orchard.
Rectiﬁed Factor Networks and Dropout

The success of deep learning techniques is based on their robust, effective and abstract representations of the input. In particular, sparse representations that are obtained from rectiﬁed linear units and dropout increased classiﬁcation performance at various tasks. Deep architectures are often constructed by unsupervised pretraining and stacking of either restricted Boltzmann machines (RBMs) or au-toencoders. We propose rectiﬁed factor networks (RFNs) for pretraining of deep networks. In contrast to RBMs and autoencoders, RFNs (1) estimate the noise of each input component, (2) aim at decorrelating the hidden units (factors), (3) estimate the precision of hidden units by the posterior variance. In the E-step of an EM algorithm, RFN learning (i) enforces non-negative posterior means, (ii) allows dropout of hidden units, and (iii) normalizes the signal part of the hidden units. In the M-step, RFN learning applies gradient descent along the Newton direction to allow rectifying, dropout, and fast GPU implementations. RFN learning can be considered as a variational EM algorithm with unknown prior which is estimated during maximizing the likelihood. Using a ﬁxed point analysis, we show RFNs explain the data variance like factor analysis. RFNs produce sparse and non-linear input representations for new data by a linear mapping and subsequent rectiﬁcation, therefore can be readily used for pretraining of deep networks. It is tailored to making full use of large hidden layers with respect to both using all of them to code the input and computational complexity. We tested and compared RFNs for unsupervised pretraining of deep learning on nine different benchmark datasets: MNIST, basic MNIST, bg-rand MNIST, bg-img MNIST, rect (tall vs. wide rectangles), rect-img
Trait interactions help explain plant invasion success in the German flora

1 The search for characteristics that promote invasion success constitutes one of the most challenging tasks in invasion ecology. So far the main focus in multispecies studies of plant invasion success has been on single traits. Only few generalizations have emerged from this work and single traits yielded very limited explanatory power for invasion success. Here we hypothesize that the consideration of ecological strategies, determined by different combinations of traits, will improve explanatory power. 2 To test this hypothesis we analysed the relative importance of 40 traits for species’ invasion success in the German neophytic flora. Success was expressed as map grid cell frequency. After quantifying the relevance of single traits, we quantified the importance of different trait combinations for invasion success by calculating a multiple trait model, with explicit consideration of trait interactions. In all analyses we considered the effects of phylogeny. 3 In general, neither single traits nor phylogenetic relatedness held much explanatory power. In contrast, the amount of variation explained in the multiple trait model was distinctly higher, mainly due to the incorporation of trait interactions. Thus, particular combinations of trait attributes rather than distinctive attributes per se appear to be associated with invasion success. 4 In single trait analysis, traits associated with flowering and reproductive biology, and with ecological tolerance and the residence time of the species were significantly associated with invasion success. Multiple trait analysis revealed that the relationship between the length of flowering season and invasion success was contingent upon pollination modes. Moreover, the success of polyploids and of species with certain vegetative reproductive trait attributes depended on the species’ flowering phenology. 5 Synthesis. Our results indicate that different ecological strategies, determined by particular combinations of traits, can facilitate plant invasion success. Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating trait interactions when testing for characteristics that promote plant invasion success. Improved explanatory power of traits suggests that our new approach can provide an important step forward in the risk assessment and management of new arrivals in regional floras.
Some cooking properties of germinated brown rice of Indian varieties

Effects of germination process on selected cooking properties of germinated brown rice (GBR) made from Swarna and Lalat Indian varieties were studied. The germination process comprised of draining the excess water after soaking the rice for 12 h and then covering the rice with a clean dishtowel. After 18 h, small sprouts appeared. The dried GBR (DGBR) was obtained by drying wet GBR (WGBR) in a tray dryer at 50℃ for 9 h to make moisture content be lower than 13% (wet basis). Solid loss in gruel and cooking time were observed to be less in WGBR and DGBR than brown rice (BR) for both of Swarna and Lalat varieties. Whiteness of BR was found not significantly different from that of DGBR; however, WGBR was whiter than BR for both of the varieties.
Interaction of an Acceleration Wave with a Strong Shock in Transient Pinched Plasma

In this paper, the evolution of an acceleration wave for the system of partial differential equations describing one dimensional, unsteady, axisymmetric motion of transient pinched plasma has been considered. The amplitude of the acceleration wave propagating along the characteristic associated with the largest eigenvalue has been evaluated. The interaction of the strong shock with the acceleration wave has been investigated. Effects of ambient density exponent and magnetic induction has been investigated.
Pollinator behaviour, not increased resources, boosts seed set on forest edges in a New Zealand Loranthaceous mistletoe

Abstract The endemic New Zealand mistletoe Peraxilla tetrapetala (Loranthaceae) has previously been shown to be pollinator limited, and to experience higher fruit set in increasingly fragmented habitats, but the mechanism for higher fruit set on edges has not been studied. Edges could affect plant resources (through higher light) and/or pollinator behaviour. This study measures the degree to which pollination and resource limitation affect female reproductive success along a gradient of increasing exposure to the forest edge. Forty‐two plants in pairs at varying distances from the forest edge were selected from within two Nothofagus forest fragments in the 1999/2000 season; and on one plant in each pair, all ripe undamaged flowers were hand‐pollinated. Light levels and the degree of edge exposure were measured for each plant, and path analysis was used to determine the relationship of these variables to proportion fruit set. In agreement with previous studies, unmanipulated plants were found to be strongly pollen limited, especially in shady locations. However, on plants receiving hand‐pollination, fruit set was uniformly high and was unaffected by edge exposure or light levels. Direct observation of flower visitation rates by birds in the 2000/01 season showed that edge flowers were visited twice as often as interior flowers. These results show that the higher fruit set on edges is due to visitation patterns of pollinators, and not due to greater resource availability on edges. This improved pollination on edges may help to buffer this declining plant against local extinction.
Bars and spirals in tidal interactions with an ensemble of galaxy mass models

We present simulations of the gaseous and stellar material in several different galaxy mass models under the influence of different tidal fly-bys to assess the changes in their bar and spiral morphology. Five different mass models are chosen to represent the variety of rotation curves seen in nature. We find a multitude of different spiral and bar structures can be created, with their properties dependent on the strength of the interaction. We calculate pattern speeds, spiral wind-up rates, bar lengths, and angular momentum exchange to quantify the changes in disc morphology in each scenario. The wind-up rates of the tidal spirals follow the 2:1 resonance very closely for the flat and dark matter dominated rotation curves, whereas the more baryon dominated curves tend to wind-up faster, influenced by their inner bars. Clear spurs are seen in most of the tidal spirals, most noticeable in the flat rotation curve models. Bars formed both in isolation and interactions agree well with those seen in real galaxies, with a mixture of "fast" and "slow" rotators. We find no strong correlation between bar length or pattern speed and the interaction strength. Bar formation is, however, accelerated/induced in four out of five of our models. We close by briefly comparing the morphology of our models to real galaxies, easily finding analogues for nearly all simulations presenter here, showing passages of small companions can easily reproduce an ensemble of observed morphologies.
Physical Parameters and Chemical Composition of Fourteen Blackcurrant Cultivars (Ribes nigrum L.)

The research was conducted in the years 2009-2011 at the Fruit Farming Laboratory of the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin at the Experimental Station in Ostoja (northwestern Poland). The fourteen blackcurrant bushes of Scottish, Ukrainian and Polish breeding were tested. Physical features of fruits (fruit size, firmness, puncture of the skin, colour, the force required to separate the fruit from the stem) and soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH and phenolic composition were measured on fresh berries immediately after the harvest were performed on fresh fruits. The ‘Ben Alder’ cultivar was characterised by the smallest fruits; the weight of 100 fruits from this cultivar was 81.2 g, while the weight of ‘Jubilejnaja Kopana’, ‘Wernisaz’, ‘Tines’ and ‘Ben Conan’ was over 200 g. The Scottish cultivars from the Ben group, Polish cultivars and Saniuta cultivars were characterised by the greatest firmness and resistance to damage. The ‘Ben Alder’ cultivar had the highest polyphenol content (789 mg 100 g of fruits), and anthocyanins were the largest group of compounds. The fruit skins were of a dark colour, and were much darker than the flesh. After the maceration process, the juice was much darker than the fruits, from which it was obtained.
Facilitatory Effects of Kinesio Taping on Forearm Extensors in Improving Hand Grip and Pinch Grip Strength

Kinesio taping methods are widely used in sports and in rehabilitation as a means to improve muscle strength. The present study aims to determine the immediate and delayed, facilitatory effects of kinesio taping on forearm extensors in improving hand grip and pinch grip strength on normal, healthy, female young adults. Forty two female collegiate were randomly selected and were assigned randomly to Kinesio taping and no taping (control) group. Hand grip strength using hand held dynamometer and pinch grip strength using a pinch grip manometer were measured before and immediately after the application of kinesio taping. Measurements were also recorded after 24 hours and 48 hours of application of kinesio tape and results compared with control group. Independent t-test was used to determine the changes between the groups and repeated measures ANOVA for differences within the groups at different time periods (p<0.05). While no significant differences were observed in the improvement of pinch grip strength between the groups, hand grip strength showed improvement in kinesio taping group after 48 hours of application (p=0.015). Significant differences were observed in hand grip (F=5.586, p=0.002) and pinch grip strength (F=3.871, p=0.011) in kinesio taping group when compared for changes within the group at different time periods while control group showed no significant difference. Although kinesio taping improved forearm extensor muscle strength compared to pre-taped condition within group, it is not better than control group in improving hand grip and pinch grip strength.