Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
ECONOMIC POLICIES AND EMPLOYMENT ELASTICITY OF GROWTH IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

The impact of policy dimensions on the employment elasticity of output growth was examined in this study using data from 37 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. It is argued that the patterns of policies based on institutional capacity of government provides a strong background for improving the relationships. Employing the two-stage least squares technique, employment elasticities for three different sub-periods between 1991 and 2016 (1991-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2016) were estimated for the 37 SSA countries. Then the effects of policies and policy interactions with changing macroeconomic factors (policy shifts) on employment elasticities were estimated using the feasible generalised least squares method. Policy directions were proxied by measures provided by the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World database, while policy interactions were measured by multiplying policy interactions with target macroeconomic variables. Empirical analysis showed that policy interactions with target macroeconomic variables provide stronger employment yields when output grows. This implies that effective application of growth-led policies on particular macroeconomic sectors yields more beneficial employment outcomes than merely setting up policy benchmarks that are economy-wide. Although overall policy directions tend to improve economic growth, there is need for careful balancing of policies that are regulatory in nature in order to achieve the required employment benefits.
Analysis of Countries in Terms of Artiﬁcial Intelligence Technologies: PROMETHEE and GAIA Method Approach

: Artiﬁcial intelligence development and research leaders in business, industry, and nations gain a major competitive edge. Additionally, it is clear that nations with a well-established national artiﬁcial intelligence policy have an edge over others, both technologically and economically. To further their artiﬁcial intelligence capability, nations also seek to develop a strategy, vision, structure, and working environment that encourages collaboration between the public sector, private industry, and educational institutions. Artiﬁcial intelligence is thought to be a tool that will help bridge the gap between powerful and developing countries growing in the future. Using data from “The Global AI Index” for 2021, this study aims to examine and analyze the present state of artiﬁcial intelligence management in 62 nations in terms of talent, infrastructure, business environment, development and research government policy, and commercial efforts. The research used PROMETHEE, which is widely used in multi-criteria decision-making evaluations, and its geometric representation, the GAIA plane. This study also found that the United States of America is the world leader in artiﬁcial intelligence (AI) research and development as well as AI investment. The United Kingdom, China, Israel, Canada, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Germany all rank well. China is rapidly catching up to the USA. At the very bottom of the list are nations such as Armenia, Kenya, Egypt, South Africa, and Pakistan. Turkey’s values are more similar to those of nations towards the bottom of the list than of those in the top half. There is a signiﬁcant gap between the top three countries and the rest of the world in all parameters included in the survey. Except for the ‘State Strategy’ category, Turkey scores quite low compared to the top-performing countries. Decision makers are expected to address the identiﬁed global challenges of the study by creating a more comprehensive national AI strategy, both ﬁnancially and in terms of content.
The Consumer Acceptance of the Digital Banking Services in Romania: An Empirical Investigation

: This paper explores the main factors that influence the consumer acceptance of digital banking services in Romania, focusing on students with both economic and non-economic backgrounds. The main purpose of this paper is to find the most significant advantages explaining the adoption of technology in the frame of the FinTech emergence in Romania, analyzing the correlations between education and Fıntech acceptance. First, the financial services delivered by the banking sector were analyzed following the new transformations of the financial sector, including the COVID-19 context and the rearrangements of the banking sector by financial performance. Second, the research hypotheses were tested using a questionnaire distributed among students, as the main propagators of financial innovation. The results suggest that there is a Pearson correlation between financial knowledge and the Fintech affinities. The cooperation between customers and financial institutions was detailed to find the perceived value of technology-associated features for the overall performance of the banks, measuring monetary and non-monetary sacrifices in the way students access financial services. The main finding suggests the evolving role of the financial technology for the new generation, beyond the rationale cost-centric determinants or the emotional sphere, which is strongly related to the employees’ involvement with the company.
Impact of Temperature and Alkalinity on Nitrogen Removal in the Start-up Period of Partial Nitrification in a Sequence Batch Reactor

The effect of temperature and influent alkalinity/ammonia (K/A) ratio on the start-up of the partial nitrification (PN) process for an activated sludge-based domestic wastewater treatment was studied. Two different sequence batch reactors (SBR) were operated at 26 °C and 32 °C. The relationship between temperature and the concentration of free ammonia (FA) and free acid nitrite (FNA) was investigated. A stable PN process was achieved in the 32 °C reactor when the influent ammonium concentration was lower than 150 mg-N/L. In contrast, the PN process in the 26 °C reactor had a higher nitrite accumulation rate (NAR) and ammonium removal efficiency (ARE) when the influent ammonia concentration was increased to more than 150 mg-N/L. Then three different ranges of the K/A ratio were applied to an SBR reactor. In the K/A range of 2.48~1.65, the SBR reactor achieved the highest NAR ratio (75.78%). This ratio helps to achieve the appropriate level of alkalinity to maintain a stable pH and provide a sufficient amount of inorganic carbon source for the activity of microorganisms. At the same time, FA and FNA values also reached the threshold to inhibit nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) without a significant effect on ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). Results showed that the control of temperature and K/A ratio during the start-up period may be important in establishing a stable and steady PN process for the treatment of domestic wastewater.
Autoimmune liver disease represented as primary biliary cholangitis after SARS-CoV-2 infection: A need for population-based cohort study

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Incheon St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea Department of Pathology, Incheon St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea
Assessing the Impact of Radar-Rainfall Uncertainty in Streamﬂow Prediction

Hydrological models and quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) are critical elements of ﬂood forecasting systems. Both are subject to considerable uncertainties. Quantifying their relative contribution to the forecasted streamﬂow and ﬂood uncertainty has remained challenging. Past work documented in the literature focused on one of these elements separately from the other. With this challenge in mind, we pre-sent a systematic approach to assess the impact of QPE uncertainty in streamﬂow forecasting. Our approach explores the operational Iowa Flood Center (IFC) hydrological model performance after altering three radar-based QPE products. We ran the Hillslope Link Model (HLM) for Iowa between 2015 and 2020, altering the Multi-Radar/Multi-Sensor System (MRMS) and two IFC radar-derived products, i
Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice

Abstract Research methods is an essential ingredient of postgraduate programs across a wide range of social science disciplines. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) and lecture-based learning (LBL) approaches to teaching research methods through a mixed-methods approach in an explanatory sequential design. The quantitative data were collected following a quasi-experimental design whereby two classes of research methods in a postgraduate program randomly received either an LBL or a PBL treatment. To assess students’ academic achievement, a final exam on the course was used. The results indicated a higher academic achievement of students in the PBL class compared to LBL class. The qualitative data were gathered through a semi-structured interview to gain deeper insight into the quantitative results. The thematic analysis of the interviews showed that PBL led to deeper and more meaningful learning, increased students’ knowledge in their field of specialty, provided more enjoyable and active learning, increased the students' skills in doing their thesis projects, enhanced their autonomy and independence, and also promoted their dignity and status.
Testing the performance of tropical cyclone genesis indices in future climates 1 using the HIRAM model

7 Tropical cyclone genesis indices (TCGIs) are functions of the large-scale environment which are 8 designed to be proxies for the probability of tropical cyclone (TC) genesis. While the perfor9 mance of TCGIs in the current climate can be assessed by comparison to observations of TC 10 formation, their ability to represent future TC activity based on projections of the large-scale en11 vironment cannot. Here we examine the performance of TCGIs in high-resolution climate model 12 simulations of current and projected climates, with a particular interest in determining whether 13 the index, when derived from the climatological seasonal cycle and spatial distribution of both TC 14 genesis frequency and large-scale fields from present climate, but then computed from large-scale 15 fields taken from simulations forced with SST patterns derived from coupled simulations of future, 16 warmer, climate scenarios can capture the global mean decreases in TC frequency found in those 17 future scenarios. This decrease is captured only when the humidity predictor is column saturation 18 deficit (the difference between actual and saturation water vapor) rather than relative humidity (the 19 ratio of these quantities). Using saturation deficit with relative SST as the other thermodynamic 20 predictor over-predicts the TC frequency decrease, but using potential intensity as the thermody21 namic predictor gives a good prediction of the decrease’s magnitude. These positive results appear 22 to depend on the spatial and seasonal patterns in the imposed SST changes; none of the indices 23 captures correctly the frequency decrease in simulations in which the only climate forcings are 24 spatially uniform, whether a globally uniform increase in SST of 2K, or a doubling of CO2 with 25 no change in SST. 26
Mapping the Factors that Influence Social Entrepreneurial Intention: A Systematic Literature Review

: It has long been understood how crucial social entrepreneurship (SE) is in order to maximize societal benefit. The present study aims to investigate the factors that impact on students' intentions to launch a new venture after completing their studies focusing on social entrepreneurship. A systematic literature review on 503 documents was implemented with a final sample of 47 documents on Social Entrepreneurial Intention and its determinants which were published between 2014 and 2022. The findings give a comprehensive picture of the key topics and recurring trends in Social Entrepreneurial Intention (SEI) research. This study examined SEI documents from the Scopus database which were further analyzed with the content analysis technique to identify the categories and themes to which each item belongs. The results showed that there is a growing research interest on the field although it is mainly focused on developing countries. The most discussed determinants were the personality factors as well as the entrepreneurship education programs which were found to significantly influence students’ sustainable entrepreneurial intention. In addition, there were other factors such as gender, students’ work experiences, education, and social environment that were found to affect individuals’ intention to become social entrepreneurs.
A horned dinosaur from the El Picacho Formation of west Texas, and review of ceratopsian dinosaurs from the American southwest

Fragmentary remains of a long-frilled ceratopsian dinosaur from the El Picacho Formation (Maastrichtian) of West Texas pertain to an undescribed form. The remains are, however, insufficient to fully characterize this species. This ceratopsian has long thick squamosals with marginal undulations, nasals lacking a discrete horncore, a thin parietal, and large trihedral epijugals. The braincase has very thick lateral walls, and a well-developed postfrontal foramen. Four species of horned dinosaurs are known from Upper Cretaceous strata of the American Southwest: Pentaceratops sternbergii, Chasmosaurus mariscalensis, Torosaurus utahensis, and the El Picacho ceratopsian. All of these belong to the subfamily Chasmosaurinae.
Spatial Unit Roots ∗

This paper proposes a model for, and investigates the consequences of, strong spatial dependence in economic variables. Our approach and ﬁndings echo those of the corresponding “unit root” time series literature: We suggest a model for spatial I (1) processes, and establish a functional central limit theorem that justiﬁes a large sample Gaussian process approximation for such processes. We further generalize the I (1) model to a spatial “local-to-unity” model that exhibits weak mean reversion. We characterize the large sample behavior of regression inference with spatial I (1) variables, and establish that spurious regression is as much a problem with spatial I (1) data as it is with time series I (1) data. We develop asymptotically valid spatial unit root tests, stationarity tests, and inference methods for the local-to-unity parameter. Finally, we use simulations to study strategies for valid inference in regressions with persistent ( I (1) or local-to-unity) spatial data, such as spatial analogues of ﬁrst-diﬀerencing transformations.
Challenges and Opportunities: A Holistic Examination of Subsistence Farming Under Federal Oversight in Akobo County, South Sudan

Although the federal system of government has brough the structure close to the people of Akobo County, the system is not flexible enough to accommodate the needs of the community in terms of livelihoods especially in agriculture. Livelihoods serve as the backbone for communities, particularly in Akobo County, South Sudan, where a diverse populace relies on a range of economic activities for survival. These livelihoods, however, are intricately tied to broader socio-political conditions, many of which have been upended by a seismic shift in governance structures initiated by a 2015 presidential decree. This policy transition, which increased the number of federal states from ten to twenty-eight, has thrown the existing socio-economic arrangements into flux. While this change is profound, it has not occurred in isolation. Akobo County, like much of South Sudan, continues to grapple with the repercussions of protracted civil conflicts, volatile weather conditions, and fluctuating oil prices, which together pose multifaceted challenges to the subsistence farming of its communities. It is against this backdrop that the study sought to establish how the federal system of government influences farming among the communities in Akobo County, Jonglei State. The study found that there have been little to no advancements in subsistence farming with the absence of adequate training, capacity building, policy participation, and resource provision—such as seeds and tools—by the state government. The study recommends that the state government step up its efforts and assistance to the community, emphasizing thorough training programs, larger resource distribution, and proactive policy engagement that attends to the particular requirements of subsistence farmers
Palynological insights into global change impacts on Arctic vegetation, fire, and 1 pollution recorded in Central Greenland ice 2

21 Arctic environments may respond very sensitively to ongoing global change, as 22 observed during the past decades for Arctic vegetation. Only little is known about the broad- 23 scale impacts of early- and mid-20 th century industrialization and climate change on remote 24 arctic environments. Palynological analyses of Greenland ice cores may provide invaluable 25 insights into the long-term vegetation, fire, and pollution dynamics in the Arctic region. We 26 present the first palynological record from a Central Greenland ice core (Summit Eurocore 27 ’89, 72° 35' N, 37° 38' W; the location of Greenland Ice core Project GRIP) that provides 28 novel high-resolution microfossil data on Arctic environments spanning AD 1730–1989. Our 29 data suggest an expansion of birch woodlands after AD 1850 that was abruptly interrupted at 30 the onset of the 20 th century despite favorable climatic conditions. We therefore attribute this 31 Betula woodland decline during the 20 th century to anthropogenic activities such as sheep 32 herding and wood collection in the subarctic. First signs of coal burning activities around AD 33 1900 coincide with the onset of Arctic coal mining. The use of coal and fire activity increased 34 steadily until AD 1989 resulting in microscopic-size pollution of the ice sheet. We conclude 35 that human impact during the 20 th century strongly affected (sub)-Arctic environments. 36 Moreover, ecosystems have changed through the spread of adventive plant species (e.g. 37 Ranunculus acris , Rumex ) and the destruction of sparse native woodlands. We show for the 38 first time that optical palynology allows paleoecological reconstructions in extremely remote 39 sites >500 km from potential sources, if adequate methods are used. 40
Pass-Through Effects of Standing Facilities on Bank Interest Rates in Nigeria

The paper investigates the pattern of pass-through effects of standing facilities rates on commercial bank retail interest rates in Nigeria. Monthly data spanning 2007:06 to 2019:12 and the Gregory-Hansen cointegration method that accounts for structural breaks are used in the empirical analysis. The adjustment parameters for the standing deposit and lending facilities are found to be significant, but with a low speed of adjustment. This provides some evidence on the nature of the interest rate channel of monetary policy transmission in the country. Furthermore, the study could not confirm asymmetry in the adjustment of retail rates to their long-run equilibria. Lastly, we find that when the cost of funds rises, following a hike of the upper bound of the policy rate corridor by the CBN, banks tend to cut costs by reducing interest expense rather than raising deposit interest rates to aggressively pursue deposit mobilisation.
CHILD DELIVERY CARE PRACTICES AMONG UNMARRIED YOUNGER ADOLESCENTS IN NIGERIA: The Case of Akwa Ibom State

Although a high premium is placed on children in Africa, child bearing is expected to occur within the context of a legitimate union. Yet, young people that become pregnant out of wedlock are assisted through the pregnancy-postnatal continuum to save their lives and their babies. This study examined the factors that influence delivery care practices for unmarried younger adolescents aged 16 and below in Nigeria. Findings show that more than half of the ever-pregnant adolescent respondents had access to traditional birth attendants, and health facilities were either not open or health providers were absent, especially at night when some women experience labour. Therefore, strengthening faith-based care and traditional midwifery is recommended in places where women have limited access to modern healthcare facilities.
A Study on the Effect of Sociocultural Aspects on Consumer Interest Purchasing Japandi (Japanese-Scandinavian) Household Goods in Indonesian Market

: The Indonesian civilization exhibits a profound historical association with and a high level of familiarity with wood as a material, which shaped Indonesia's sociocultural values. However, with the advancement of civilization and the pervasive impact of Western culture, wood has undergone a transformation, becoming a commodity that is predominantly esteemed for its practical usefulness. The significance of wood as a symbol of diplomatic or social rank has diminished throughout time, particularly in the context of palatial environments. Hence, the primary objective of this research is to investigate the influence of sociocultural factors on the inclination of the Indonesian market to adopt the Japandi (Japanese-Scandinavian) style in household goods such as furniture and home accessory design, which is distinguished by its emphasis on minimalistic aesthetics and practicality. In order to reveal these insights, the researchers used the buying intentions theory combined with quantitative explanatory analysis to clarify the observed phenomena and derive conclusions. Data will be gathered via questionnaires employing random sampling, with a focus on the Indonesian market as the target population. The results of the study indicate that social and cultural elements play a significant role in shaping the intention to buy Japandi (Japanese-Scandinavian) home furnishings in Indonesia.
CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF THE UNIVERSITY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The purpose of the article is to conduct a comparative analysis of the sustainable development of some of the world leading universities in order to identify the best practices and adapt them to the Ukrainian context. The growing popularity of the sustainable development concept in the world practice stipulates the necessity to study the possibilities of its application in higher education in Ukraine. Nowadays, higher education institutions are not just a place for obtaining knowledge and competencies, they are the centres for accumulating the country intellectual capital; they are the research and training hubs; they are the agents of sustainable changes in society. The results of the analysis of the best practices of sustainable development in the world leading universities are presented in the article. The authors selected higher education institutions for analysis based on The Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. The top-50 leaders of this rating in 2022 were taken for analysis, they were grouped according to their geographical location. The main method of the study is comparative analysis. The study demonstrated that sustainable development, through achieving the goals of Sustainable Development is ensured by: academic component (Bachelor's and Master's programmes on sustainability), research component (research projects aimed at solving environmental, social, economic problems related to