Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Co-development of a Wiki for Tracking the Environmental Footprint of Small Business Activities

Aim/Purpose Climate change mitigation is a global challenge, in which academia and business have a role to play. This research explores ways to develop a freely-available information system that would enable small businesses to identify and reduce their environmental footprint. Background While large organizations have the resources to track emissions and other pertinent data, small businesses may not, despite intentions to be more environmentally responsible. Freely available applications to track emissions focus on the carbon footprint of things, whereas activities are a more meaningful unit of analysis for business managers. Methodology Using a design science research approach, we conducted a study of a collaborative project that investigated how a low-cost, freely-available online wiki could be developed by group of students, under the guidance of university scholars and business owners. In the project, different student groups were tasked to create the wiki, input content and design a dashboard interface for managers to find data relevant to their business. The research takes an information systems view of the project, relying on the holistic notion of activity from activity theory and taking a design science approach to the study. Contribution The paper contributes to the practices of green information systems, climate change, and small business. Theoretically it provides new insights into the linear view of design science in resource poor, collaborative projects. Findings The research demonstrates the viability of an online system to track the environmental footprint of business activities. It reveals the challenges from a design science perspective of attempts to create online systems using freely available products and labor. Recommendations for Practitioners Meaningful information systems to assist small businesses to manage their environmental footprint should focus on activities not things, be low cost and easy to use. Recommendation for Researchers Complex nonlinear design science frameworks may be needed to build community-based green information systems projects.
Effects of diversity on diversity: consequences of competition and facilitation

Diversity in one group of species or genotypes is often correlated with diversity in a second group - prominent examples including native vs exotic species, and genetic diversity in a focal species vs species diversity in the rest of the community. I used simulation models to investigate the roles of competition and facilitation among species or genotypes in creating diversity-diversity relationships, with a focus on facilitation, which has received little theoretical attention. When competitive interactions dominate, increasing diversity in one group reduces diversity in the second group via filling of available niche space. Facilitation can create positive diversity-diversity relationships via a sampling effect, whereby a strong facilitator of the second group is more likely to be present as diversity increases in the first group, and also via one group acting as a source of biotic heterogeneity (i.e. diversifying selection) on the second group. However, the biotic heterogeneity effect is expected only under restricted conditions - with asymmetric facilitation, only during a transient period, or only over a small range of species diversity levels - and therefore seems unlikely to operate within trophic levels in natural communities. More generally, the simultaneous operation of competition and facilitation results in several different diversity-diversity relationships and underlying mechanisms. The results clarify the potential roles of positive and negative interactions in creating diversity-diversity relationships, and in determining the outcome of community dynamics in general. This study also highlights some important difficulties in incorporating facilitation into ecological theory for communities with many species.
Prospective demonstration of brain plasticity after intensive abacus-based mental calculation training : An fMRI study

Abacus-based mental calculation is a unique Chinese culture. The abacus experts can perform complex computations mentally with exceptionally fast speed and high accuracy. However, the neural bases of computation processing are not yet clearly known. This study used a BOLD contrast 3T fMRI system to explore the brain activation differences between abacus experts and non-expert subjects. All the acquired data were analyzed using SPM99 software. From the results, different ways of performing calculations between the two groups were seen. The experts tended to adopt efficient visuospatial/visuomotor strategy (bilateral parietal/frontal network) to process and retrieve all the intermediate and final results on the virtual abacus during calculation. By contrast, coordination of several networks (verbal, visuospatial processing and executive function) was required in the normal group to carry out arithmetic operations. Furthermore, more involvement of the visuomotor imagery processing (right dorsal premotor area) for imagining bead manipulation and low level use of the executive function (frontal-subcortical area) for launching the relatively time-consuming sequentially organized process was noted in the abacus expert group than in the non-expert group. We suggest that these findings may explain why abacus experts can reveal the exceptional computational skills compared to non-experts after intensive training. r 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. PACS: 87.59. P; 02.70; 42.30. d
The electricity-growth nexus in South Africa: Evidence from asymmetric co-integration and co-feature analysis

This study undertakes an examination of asymmetric adjustment effects between electricity consumption and economic growth in South Africa using quarterly data collected from 1983Q1 to 2013:Q4. In our study, we employ a momentum-threshold co-integration method to examine the long-run equilibrium relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth. Our empirical results reveal significant nonlinear co-integration behavior between the time series variables with uni-directional causality running from electricity consumption to economic growth and no causal effects in the short-run. This implies that energy authorities in South Africa should avoid implementing conservative electricity policies as this may hamper long-run economic growth. We further extend our empirical analysis by decomposing the time series into their trend and cyclical components and our estimations also depict stronger nonlinear behavior among the de-trended components with bi-directional causality existing between the variables in both the short and long-run. Generally, our study highlights that co-integration and causal effects between electricity usage and output growth is related with the business cycle. Therefore, ignoring the cyclical components of the variables could prove to be quite costly for South African policymakers.
ECO 2012/13 DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS REACTION TO TECHNOLOGY SHOCKS IN MARKOV-SWITCHINGS STRUCTURAL VARs: IDENTIFICATION VIA HETEROSKEDASTIOCITY

The paper reconsiders the conflicting results in the debate connected to the effects of technology shocks on hours worked in the bivariate system. Given major dissatisfaction with the just-identifying long-run restrictions, I analyze whether the restrictions used in the literature are consistent with the data. Modeling volatility of shocks using Markov switching structure allows to obtain additional identifying information and perform tests of the restrictions that were just-identifying in classical structural vector autoregression analysis. Using four datasets where hours worked are modeled differently, I find that the standard restriction, identifying the technology shocks as the only sources of variation in labor productivity, has major support by the data. Taking into account important low frequency movements in the hours worked series yields a result consistent with the recent findings: hours decline in response to a positive technology shock. I also show that the use of a standard Hodrick-Prescott filter may be problematic in the context.
Factors Affecting the e-Book Adoption amongst Mathematics and Statistics Students at Universities in Libya: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

This paper investigates the factors affecting the acceptance of e-book amongst Mathematics and Statistics students at universities in Libya. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used and extended by using five factors that may affect the acceptance of e-book among Mathematics and Statistics students. Three of these factors belong to external variables, which are related with infrastructure of universities and the characteristics of e-book such as accessibility, technical support and cost; the other two factors are classified from intrinsic variables which are related with users or potential users such as self-efficacy and social influence. A quantitative evaluation was utilized in this research leveraging subjective methods, such as survey where a distributed sample of 392 Mathematics and Statistics students at universities in Libya. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) were used to measure the model and to examine the hypotheses. The research hypotheses were examined by path analysis using the standardised coefficient, probability value and Critical Ratio. Based on the result, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and attitude are the strongest factors at all. Moreover, the intrinsic variables were important factors for predicting students’ behavioural intention adoption e-book among Mathematics and Statistics students at universities in Libya.
Spot the Odd Man Out: Exploring the Associative Power of Lexical Resources

We propose Odd-Man-Out, a novel task which aims to test different properties of word representations. An Odd-Man-Out puzzle is composed of 5 (or more) words, and requires the system to choose the one which does not belong with the others. We show that this simple setup is capable of teasing out various properties of different popular lexical resources (like WordNet and pre-trained word embeddings), while being intuitive enough to annotate on a large scale. In addition, we propose a novel technique for training multi-prototype word representations, based on unsupervised clustering of ELMo embeddings, and show that it surpasses all other representations on all Odd-Man-Out collections.
Do Gender‐Variant Preferences for Competition Persist in the Absence of Performance?

The well‐established gender gap in preferences for competition has been attributed to gender‐variant feelings about performing in competitive environments. Using a novel task with agency, in which subjects experience competition but cannot perform, we find evidence that performing may be sufficient but not necessary to generate gender‐variant preferences for competition. This suggests that the gender‐gap cannot be eliminated by correcting beliefs alone; that eliminating performance - for example, routinizing tasks - may not eliminate the gender gap; and that there may be heretofore unidentified determinants of preferences for competition - for example, men may prefer payment schemes that are based on social comparison.
Video-based whiteboard reading

1,4-Dihydro-2H-isoquinoline derivatives of the general formula 1 (I) in which R1 represents hydrogen or straight chain or branched alkyl of 1 to 6 carbon atoms, R2 represents low molecular dialkylaminoalkyl, in which both alkyl groups of the dialkylamino group together with the nitrogen atom may also form a 5-, 6- or 7-membered saturated ring in which one carbon atom may be substituted by an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or another nitrogen atom which may be substituted by hydrogen, C1-C4-alkyl or phenyl, or R1 and R2 together may form a 5-or 6-membered saturated ring containing 1 nitrogen atom, R3 represents phenyl which may be mono- or di-substituted by halogen, nitro, amino or sulfamoyl, or acylamino or alkyl each containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms, or pyridyl R4 and R5, which may identical or different, represent hydrogen or alkoxy of 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and X represent oxygen or sulfur, THEIR PHYSIOLOGICALLY TOLERATED SALTS, PROCESS FOR PREPARING THEM. The compounds are active on the coronary circulation and are distinguished in particular by anti-arrhythmic action and may, therefore, be used in the treatment of disorders of the heart rhythm.
Economies of Scale in Public Education: An Econometric Analysis

This article investigates the sources of scale economies in the production of public education. The relationship between the average cost of producing educational output and school characteristics including school and district size is estimated using a neoclassical cost function. The empirical analysis used panel data from Utah school districts and estimates the function using the covariance and error component models after making necessary corrections for heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation. The uncorrected fixed effects model generates a significant negative coefficient on district size in both the cost and expenditure functions; the coefficient on number of students has the hypothesized sign but is not significant in either equation. After making various corrections for autocorrelation and heteroskedasticity, the coefficients have the correct signs and are significant in all equations. Thus, it is concluded that scale economies arise from both sources but that the evidence is stronger for district size. Copyright 2000 Western Economic Association International.
The role of passion for teaching in intrapersonal and interpersonal outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of passion in teachers' burnout symptoms, work satisfaction, and perceptions of positive student classroom behaviors. The dualistic model of passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) proposes 2 types of passion: harmonious and obsessive. In previous studies, harmonious passion has been shown to lead to adaptive outcomes (e.g., well-being and satisfaction), whereas obsessive passion has been shown to lead to less adaptive outcomes (e.g., shame and negative affect). In this study, 494 teachers completed measures of passion for teaching and various outcomes associated with the teaching profession twice over a 3-month period. Results of a cross-lag model based on structural equation modeling revealed that increases in harmonious passion for teaching predicted increases in work satisfaction and decreases in burnout symptoms over time, while changes in obsessive passion were unrelated to such outcomes. In addition, increases in both harmonious and obsessive passion predicted increases in teacher-perceived adaptive student behaviors over time. Overall, the results of the present study suggest that passion for teaching is an important concept to consider in education.
The Time Course of a Bilingual Stroop Task

The purpose of the current study was to analyze the continuous dynamics of a bilingual Stroop task (between and within languages, and in proficient bilinguals’ first and second languages, L1 and L2, respectively). Understanding the time course of a bilingual Stroop task provides new insights regarding current theories of the bilingual mind. As found previously, interference emerged before facilitation and these effects were stronger within languages and in L1. Interestingly, mouse-tracking data showed (1) different time courses for the two Stroop processes (i.e., interference emerged earlier than facilitation), (2) different time courses within and between languages (i.e., within-languages effects emerged earlier than between-languages effects), and (3) different time courses for L1 and L2 (i.e., L1 effects emerged earlier than L2 effects). The present results add to the literature by exploring, for the first time, the temporal dynamics of the bilingual Stroop effects.
Interactive comment on “ Increases in the abundance of microbial genes encoding halotolerance and photosynthesis along a sediment salinity gradient ” by T . C

We thank Dr. Gerhard Herndl for handling our manuscript entitled ‘Increases in the abundance of microbial genes encoding halotolerance and photosynthesis along a sediment salinity gradient’ and thank Dr. Aharon Oren and an Anonymous Referee for their insightful and helpful comments. Below we have addressed each specific Referee comment. We have also described changes to a revised manuscript that we feel have enhanced the quality of the paper making it suitable for consideration for publication in Biogeosciences. Each numbered original Referee comment is provided, with
Neuro-Ophthalmologic Evaluation as a Biomarker for Diagnosis and Progression in Parkinson Disease

Objectives: The purpose of current neuro-ophthalmologic research is to evaluate visual dysfunction and its correlation with structural changes in the retina of patients with Parkinson’s disease and to examine whether there is an association between retinal thinning and disease progression. Methods: Patients with Parkinson’s disease and controls were included in a series of observational cross-sectional studies and underwent visual function evaluation. Structural measurements of different layers of the retina were obtained using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Disease severity was assessed using the Schwab–England Activities of Daily Living scale, the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale, and the Hoehn and Yahr (HY) scale. Comparison of obtained data and correla‐ tion analysis between functional and structural results and disease severity was performed. The diagnostic ability of SD-OCT for the detection of Parkinson disease was also tested by the development of two linear discriminant functions (LDFs). Results: Patients with Parkinson’s disease had altered visual function and presented retinal thinning in different sectors. Disease progression correlated with retinal parameters and measurements of retinal thickness was differentiated between healthy subjects and those with advanced Parkinson’s disease.
Decolorization and degradation of malachite green by Aspergillus flavus and Alternaria solani

Bioremediation using a variety of microbes for the degradation of xenobiotics seems a green solution to the problem of environmental pollution. Microbes have been gifted by nature with the ability of degrading a wide spectrum of environmental pollutants. Different fungi have the potentials to degrade complex and recalcitrant organic compounds into simpler fragments; sometimes achieving complete mineralization. In this work, we have investigated the decolorization and degradation of a triphenylmethane dye, malachite green by two fungal microorganisms, Aspergillus flavus and Alternaria solani. Both the species were able to decolorize different concentrations of malachite green (10 to 50 µM) almost completely (> 96 %) within 6 days.
Cigarette Smoking, Pregnancy, Forward Looking Behavior and Dynamic Inconsistency

This paper addresses two aspects of the model of rational addiction: forward looking behavior and time consistent preferences. It explores smoking by women before, during and after pregnancy using the European Community Household Panel (ECHP). Pregnancy is used as an instrument for a partially predictable future decrease in smoking. Women reduce the average number of cigarettes they smoke and many quit in the period 10 to 15 months before the birth of a child. Our analysis suggests that this effect may be stronger for married than for unmarried women, corresponding to the higher probability that the pregnancies of married women are planned. Pregnancy is also used as an instrument to estimate the parameters of a structural model of addiction. The estimates imply that cigarettes are highly addictive. Finally, we present statistically significant evidence that, even when the expected number of cigarettes smoked one month after the interview is taken into account, expected smoking further in the future has an independent effect on current consumption. This effect remains even when we impose the highest theoretically possible coefficient on expected cigarettes smoked one month after the interview. This means that the null of time consistency is (barely) rejected against the alternative of time inconsistency.
Wind-induced variability in the Northern Current (northwestern Mediterranean Sea) as depicted by a multi-platform observing system

Abstract. The variability and evolution of the Northern Current (NC) in the area off Toulon is studied for 2 weeks in December 2011 using data from a glider, a high-frequency (HF) radar network, vessel surveys, a weather station, and an atmospheric model. The NC variability is dominated by a synoptic response to wind events, even though the dataset also evidences early stages of transition from late summer to fall–winter conditions. With weak winds, the current is mostly zonal and in geostrophic balance even at the surface, with a zonal transport associated with the NC of ≈1 Sv. Strong westerly wind events (longer than 2–3 days) induce an interplay between the direct-wind-induced ageostrophic response and the geostrophic component: upwelling is observed, with offshore surface transport, surface cooling, flattening of the isopycnals, and reduced zonal geostrophic transport (0.5–0.7 Sv). The sea surface response to wind events, as observed by the HF radar, shows total currents rotated at ≈-55 to -90∘ to the right of the wind. Performing a decomposition between geostrophic and ageostrophic components of the surface currents, the wind-driven ageostrophic component is found to rotate by ≈-25 to -30∘ to the right of the wind. The ageostrophic component magnitude corresponds to ≈2 % of the wind speed.
The Learn at Play Program (LAPP): Merging Family, Developmental Research, Early Intervention, and Policy Goals for Children with Down Syndrome.

This article addresses the dynamics of parent-child interactions and their potential influence on the development of social competence among children with Down syndrome (DS). The authors argue that a strong parent-child relationship is fundamental for building the social competence of children with DS and the integration and inclusion of these children into their communities. The Learn at Play Program (LAPP), a model of early intervention that prioritizes the goals of nurturing and shaping the development of interpersonal skills and social competence among children with DS, is proffered. Discussed first is a brief overview of early intervention and the rationale for the need to focus on parent-child interactions and social competence when DS is present. The LAPP early intervention model for children with DS and their families is presented along with data from seven mother-child dyads assessed with the LAPP longitudinal study of parent-child interactions in DS to demonstrate the use of the model. The author's experiences with the LAPP program are also used to illustrate the utility of linking supportive networks (such as nonprofit organizations), academic and provincial government funding partnerships and public policy forums, and publicly funded organi- zations providing services to children with developmental delays from birth to 3 years old.
Intermixing during Ripening in Ge–Si Incoherent Epitaxial Nanocrystals

Ostwald ripening is an interesting phenomenon that takes place in a variety of systems in nature, including nanostructured materials. A large number of nanoscale systems are formed by a mixture, which has to be considered for a realistic description of its evolution upon equilibrium. Here, a thermodynamic-based model is used to explain the intermixing contribution to Ostwald ripening phenomenon in a two-components system (AxB1–x). By considering the mixing entropy on the general growth rate equation of particles, ripening is maximized for an alloy with x = 0.5. As an example, Ge–Si incoherently strained epitaxial islands were analyzed. A selective chemical etching was used to reveal the complex effect of intermixing in islands’ final composition profile. Alloying was found to take place primarily through surface diffusion, as revealed by the etching experiments.