Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Internet Banking: Analysing encouragement and impediment factors among academicians

This paper aims to explore the encouragement and impediment factors for consumers to adopt internet banking services. The study should provide effective strategies for banking institutions on how to maximize the rate of adoption. A survey involving a sample size of 200 was conducted by sending questionnaires to lecturers in 20 public universities in Malaysia. The Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior model (DTPB) was used. While "Perceived usefulness" and "Features of website" were the top factors which encourage the adoption of internet banking, "Culture" was the most significant impediment to adoption. In terms of moderating variables, only a few variables show significant impact on certain factors. Age and income impacted only on "External environment" whereas WAP feature had an impact only on "Perceived usefulness". Other variables have not shown significant effect on the factors. The findings suggest that banking institutions should plan effective strategies to enhance the push factors and to counter the barrier of culture in order to enhance internet banking adoption. This study offers valuable strategies for marketers to rethink how to educate potential customers and promote Internet banking using innovative approaches. Recommendations are offered to financial institutions to plan effective strategies to enhance adoption of internet banking . The potential factors influencing internet banking adoption also provide useful insights for other developing countries.
Porosity Determination by Pulsed Thermography in Reflection Mode

In this work we measure the thermal diffusivity of a series of porous carbon fibre reinforced plastics specimens using pulsed thermography in reflection mode. These diffusivity values are compared with porosity values derived by means of computed tomography. In addition, numerical simulations of the heat transfer are performed using a finite-element program. The simulation shows that the effective thermal diffusivity values derived in reflection mode scatter more than the transmission results especially at low porosity. Furthermore, for porosities higher than 10 percent the sensitivity for both methods decreases. The experimental results are similar to those seen in the numerical study.
RISK MEASURES AND CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PROCESSES

In this paper we propose a generalization of the concepts of convex and coherent risk measures to a multiperiod setting, in which payoffs are spread over different dates. To this end, a careful examination of the axiom of translation invariance and the related concept of capital requirement in the one‐period model is performed. These two issues are then suitably extended to the multiperiod case, in a way that makes their operative financial meaning clear. A characterization in terms of expected values is derived for this class of risk measures and some examples are presented.
Dry matter and crude protein degradability of Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) silage is affected by fertilization with cow-dung bio-digester slurry and fermentable carbohydrate additives at ensiling

Abstract Dry seasons pose a major nutritional constraint on ruminant livestock production in tropical regions, which justifies forage conservation to meet the dry season feed requirement. Napier grass is a tropical forage that is used for silage in South Africa. The present objective was to determine the effects of Napier grass fertilization with bio-digester slurry (BDS) and the inclusion of fermentable carbohydrate additives at ensiling on the chemical composition and ruminal degradability of Napier grass silage. Napier grass was established in 5 × 4 m plots, replicated three times in a completely randomized design, and irrigated weekly with either BDS or water. After 12 weeks, the Napier was cut and ensiled for 90 days in 1-liter glass jars in a 2 (BDS, water) × 4 (no-additive, molasses, brown sugar, and maize meal) factorial arrangement replicated three times. The nutrient composition was determined using standard protocols. The ruminal degradability of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) was determined using the nylon bag technique. Fertilization with BDS increased (P < 0.05) pH and CP and reduced (P < 0.05) fat content of fresh-cut Napier. Additives increased (P < 0.01) silage DM content and reduced (P < 0.01) acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber content. The BDS fertilization with molasses inclusion increased (P < 0.05) silage DM relative to the no-additive and maize meal inclusion, and decreased (P < 0.05) fat content compared to the no-fertilizer, added maize meal silage. Molasses increased silage water-soluble carbohydrate and decreased the NH3-N content (P < 0.05) compared to the no-additive and maize meal treatments. For DM, the BDS fertilized, no additive silage had the least “a” fraction (P < 0.01), while the no BDS, no-additive silage had the least “b” fraction (P < 0.01), with least (P < 0.01) potential degradability (PD) observed for the no BDS, no-additive treatment. Fertilization increased (P < 0.01) effective degradability of DM at outflow rates k = 0.02, 0.05, 0.08, with same effect for molasses and maize meal inclusion. Relative to the control, molasses inclusion increased (P < 0.01) PD of silage CP. In conclusion, our results suggested BDS fertilization of Napier grass ensiling with added readily fermentable carbohydrate substrate, particularly from molasses, induced changes in silage chemical and fermentation characteristics likely to promote better forage preservation and ruminal microbial function.
Overcoming Identity Threat: Using Persona Pedagogy in Intersectionality and Inclusion Training

There are many efforts and strategies in place to increase the inclusivity of workplaces which is a positive approach, but little thought is provided to the personal cost of participants in undertaking some of these initiatives. Often due to the choice of pedagogy, participants may be placed in the situation to reveal hidden parts of their identity which leads to vulnerability and unpredicted exposure in the workplace and organisation. The paper examines the key issue of identity threat whilst undertaking inclusion and intersectional-type training. The paper highlights the continued need to challenge bias and other forms of exclusionary behavioural and cultural practices, however, this must be carried out in a cautious manner to uphold the safety of well-being of all individuals. A solution to minimize or overcome identity threat is offered via the use of persona pedagogy where personas are used expands one’s own world views and limits vulnerability exposure. The persona approach initiates experiences different to an individual’s lived experience which evokes critical reflection of one’s own positionality by taking on another persona. The paper concludes that the use of persona pedagogy leads to true transformative learning in the workplace whilst protecting the identity of individuals.
Calibrations for minimal networks in a covering space setting

In this paper, we define a notion of calibration for an approach to the classical Steiner problem in a covering space setting and we give some explicit examples. Moreover, we introduce the notion of calibration in families: the idea is to divide the set of competitors in a suitable way, defining an appropriate (and weaker) notion of calibration. Then, calibrating the candidate minimizers in each family and comparing their perimeter, it is possible to find the minimizers of the minimization problem. Thanks to this procedure we prove the minimality of the Steiner configurations spanning the vertices of a regular hexagon and of a regular pentagon.
Novel Anti Double-Stranded Nucleic Acids Full-Length Recombinant Camelid Heavy-Chain Antibody for the Detection of miRNA

The discovery that certain diseases have specific miRNA signatures which correspond to disease progression opens a new biomarker category. The detection of these small non-coding RNAs is performed routinely using body fluids or tissues with real-time PCR, next-generation sequencing, or amplification-based miRNA assays. Antibody-based detection systems allow an easy onset handling compared to PCR or sequencing and can be considered as alternative methods to support miRNA diagnostic in the future. In this study, we describe the generation of a camelid heavy-chain-only antibody specifically recognizing miRNAs to establish an antibody-based detection method. The generation of nucleic acid-specific binders is a challenge. We selected camelid binders via phage display, expressed them as VHH as well as full-length antibodies, and characterized the binding to several miRNAs from a signature specific for dilated cardiomyopathy. The described workflow can be used to create miRNA-specific binders and establish antibody-based detection methods to provide an additional way to analyze disease-specific miRNA signatures.
Simple periodic modules of twisted Chevalley groups.

Consider a finite twisted Chevalley group constructed over a field of prime characteristic and its representations over an algebraically closed field of the same characteristic. In this paper we classify all those irreducible representations that are periodic, i.e., that have a periodic projective resolution. There is always the Steinberg module that is both simple and projective. We show that there are further periodic simple modules only for groups of types 2 Aι and 2 Bι .
Considerations of Sustainable Property Investments in Indonesia

Sustainable property is a property that takes into account the sustainability of future generations. This property investment is more expensive than conven-tional property, but in the long run it can provide a good return. The purpose of this study is to determine the considerations of sustainable property in-vestments. Depth interviews were conducted on national developers who de-veloped sustainable properties and those who did not, consultants, and de-veloper associations. This research type is a qualitative descriptive study. The results of this study show that the investments of sustainable properties are carried out because of self motivations, humanism reasons, and market de-mands. Civil society like healthy property and willing to pay more because that property will give return enhancement. Bias in investment decision making is not found here because the investment costs are very expensive so the analysis is done very exactly.
Education Inequality among Different Social Groups

In this paper, we study an education-planning problem by using a mechanism design approach. We consider a model where agents have different abilities in acquiring education and belong to different social groups (for instance, races or genders). Under the information constraint that the abilities of agents are unobservable but group memberships are observable, we derive two sets of education policies derived under Rawlsian and utilitarian social welfare functions. Our main results show that the utilitarian planner does not discriminate agents by their social group membership, while the Rawlsian planner provides a form of affirmative action policy. We also study second-best optimal education policies in the case of general degrees of inequality aversion. In this case, it is shown that affirmative action is not necessarily supported, and the differences in education levels are determined by the agents’ marginal effects of utility to their group’s aggregated welfare.
Radiographic Investigation of Root Canal Morphology of Permanent Mandibular Molars in Makkah Population (Saudi Arabia) Using Cone-Beam Computed Tomography

Objectives This study aimed to analyze the root canal morphology of first and second permanent mandibular molars among Makkah population by using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods CBCT images of two hundred eight patients were obtained from the Faculty of Dentistry, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. In all images, mandibular first and second molars were evaluated for the number of roots and their morphology, number of root canals, canal configuration in each root according to Vertucci's classification, and the presence of a C-shaped canal. Results Most of the mandibular first molars had two roots (96.5%) and three root canals (77.7%). Type IV canal configuration prevailed (75.6%) in the mesial roots, and type I canal configuration prevailed (71.7%) in the distal roots. For the mandibular second molars, the majority had two roots (96.3%) and three root canals (82.7%). Type IV canal configuration prevailed (48%) in the mesial roots and type I (99.1%) in the distal roots. C-shaped canals were detected in 5.7% of the mandibular first molars and 4% of the mandibular second molars. There was no statistical difference between the mandibular first and second molars (P > 0.05) in the shape of the roots and the presence of the C-shaped canals. Conclusion Most of the mandibular molars in Makkah population presented with two roots and three root canals. The incidence of three-rooted mandibular molars was low, and it was higher in the first molars than second molars. The type IV root canal system prevailed in mesial roots and type I in distal roots.
Comparing Student Achievement across Experimental and Lecture-Oriented Sections of a Principles of

An increasingly popular alternative to the lecture-oriented "chalk-and-talk" approach to teaching principles of microeconomics is the use of classroom experiments. Like other alternatives to traditional teaching methods, there exists little more than anecdotal evidence supporting the effectiveness of the experimental approach. We estimate the effect of participating in classroom experiments on student achievement in a principles of microeconomics course. Nine sections (300 students) participated in the study, two of which (59 students) relied heavily on classroom experiments throughout the semester. The remaining seven sections (241 students) used no experiments. We find that students in the experimental sections experienced significantly higher gains in Test of Understanding in College Economics (TUCE) scores but differed little on other more qualitative outcomes. Additionally, results indicate that certain student characteristics, including gender, major, and grade point average, can be used to predict a student's likely success when choosing between courses that rely on experiments and those that employ more traditional forms of pedagogy.
Determinants of Dividend Payout Decisions: A Dynamic Panel Data Analysis of Turkish Stock Market

This study analyzes the firm-specific factors affecting the dividend payout decisions of the companies whose shares are traded on the Borsa Istanbul stock exchange. To this end, the dynamic panel regression is applied to 853 observations of yearly average of 106 companies listed on the Borsa Istanbul between 2009 and 2015. According to results from the Arellano–Bover/Blunder-Bond two-step system generalized method of moments, a statistically significant positive effect on dividend payout was found in the relationship between the dividend payout of the previous year, the company’s return on equity and the market value/book value ratio, liquidity and the company’s size. The demonstration of a positive relationship between dividend payout and return on equity supports the free cash flow hypothesis and the positive relationship with the previous year’s dividend payout ratio supports the dividend smoothing hypothesis for Turkey.
Can we predict Λ for the non-SUSY sector of the landscape?

We propose a new selection criterion for predicting the most probable wavefunction of the universe that propagates on the string landscape background, by studying its dynamics from a quantum cosmology view. Previously, we applied this proposal to the SUSY sector of the landscape. In this work, the dynamic selection criterion is applied to the investigation of the non-SUSY sector. In the absence of detailed information about its structure, it is assumed that this sector has a stochastic distribution of vacua energies. The calculation of a distribution probability for the cosmological constants Λeff, obtained from the density of states ρ, indicates that the most probable wavefunction is peaked around universes with zero Λeff. In contrast to the extended wavefunction solutions found for the SUSY sector with N-vacua and peaked around , wavefunctions residing on the non-SUSY sector exhibit Anderson localization. Although minisuperspace is a limited approach it presently provides a dynamical quantum selection rule for the most probable vacua solution from the landscape.
Effects of macroeconomic policy shock on the labour market dynamics in Australia

Inspired by fiscal and monetary policy performance during global financial crisis (GFC) of 2007-08, this study investigates the effects of macroeconomic policy shocks on the labour market dynamics in Australia using a vector auto-regression (VAR) method. This study examines the dynamic response of output, unit labour cost, total hours worked and employment to changes in government spending and cash rate for 1985:3-2015:1. The results suggest that in response to positive cash rate shock total hours worked and employment react negatively, whereas unit labour cost reacts positively. On the other hand, in response to positive government spending shock, total hours worked and employment response positively, whereas, unit labour cost responds negatively.
Replication in Second Language Research: Narrative and Systematic Reviews and Recommendations for the Field.

Despite its critical role for the development of the field, little is known about replication in second language (L2) research. To better understand replication practice, we first provide a narrative review of challenges related to replication, drawing on recent developments in psychology. This discussion frames and motivates a systematic review, building on syntheses of replication in psychology (Makel, Plucker, & Hegarty, 2012), education (Makel & Plucker, 2014), and L2 research (Polio, 2012b). 67 self-labelled L2 replication studies found across 26 journals were coded for 136 characteristics. We estimated a mean rate of 1 published replication study for every 400 articles, with a mean 6.64 years between initial and replication studies, and a mean 117 citations of the initial study before a replication was published. Replication studies had an annual mean 7.3 citations, much higher than averages in linguistics and education. Overlap in authorship between initial and replication studies and the availability of the initial materials both increased the likelihood of the replication supporting the initial findings. Our sample contained no direct (exact) replication attempts, and changes made to initial studies were numerous and wide-ranging, thus obscuring, if not undermining, the interpretability of replication studies. We end by proposing 16 recommendations, relating to rationales, nomenclature, design, infrastructure, and incentivization for collaboration and publication, to improve the amount and quality of L2 replication research.
Simultaneous demosaicing and resolution enhancement of LWIR DoFP polarimeter data

We recently presented a deep learning approach to demosaic division of focal plane (DoFP) imaging polarimeter data based upon a conditional generative adversarial network (cGAN). The approach was developed and demonstrated using visible DoFP polarimeter data and showed a notable ability to reduce false edge artifacts, aliasing, and temporal noise. Here we retrain and apply this algorithm to emissive-band polarimetric data acquired with a LWIR DoFP imaging polarimeter to investigate performance. We then adapt the baseline cGAN architecture to perform simultaneous demosaicing and resolution enhancement of LWIR DoFP data. We collect full-resolution polarized intensity data using a division-of-time (DoT) LWIR imaging polarimeter that we use to simulate decimated DoFP data for training and testing purposes. We then apply the algorithm to data obtained from simulated LWIR DoFP polarimeter data and assess performance.
Beyond the VWFA : The orthography-semantics interface in spelling and reading

Lexical orthographic information provides the basis for recovering the meanings of words in reading and for generating correct word spellings in writing. Research has provided evidence that an area of the left ventral temporal cortex, a sub-region of what is often referred to as the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA), plays a significant role specifically in lexical orthographic processing. The current investigation goes beyond this previous work by examining the neurotopography of the interface of lexical orthography with semantics. We apply a novel lesion mapping approach with three individuals with acquired dysgraphia and dyslexia who suffered lesions to left ventral temporal cortex. To map cognitive processes to their neural substrates, this lesion mapping approach applies similar logical constraints as used in cognitive neuropsychological research. Using this approach, this investigation: (1) Identifies a region anterior to the VWFA that is important in the interface of orthographic information with semantics for reading and spelling; (2) Determines that, within this Orthography-Semantics Interface Region (OSIR), access to orthography from semantics (spelling) is topographically distinct from access to semantics from orthography (reading); (3) Provides evidence that, within this region, there is modality-specific access to and from lexical semantics for both spoken and written modalities, in both word production and comprehension. Overall, this study contributes to our understanding of the neural architecture at the lexical orthography-semantic-phonological interface within left ventral temporal cortex.
The Effects of Self-Shadowing by a Puffed up Inner Rim in Scattered Light Images of Protoplanetary Disks

We explore whether protoplanetary disks with self-shadowing from puffed up inner rims exhibit observable features in scattered light images. We use both self-consistent hydrostatic equilibrium calculations and parameterized models to produce the vertically puffed up inner rims. We find that, in general, the transition between the shadowed and flared regions occurs in a smooth manner over a broad radius range, and no sudden jump exists at the outer edge of the shadow in either the disk temperature or density structures. As a result, a puffed up rim cannot create sharp ring/arc/spiral-arm-like features in the outer disk as have been detected in recent direct NIR imaging of disks. On the other hand, if the puffed up rim has a sharp edge in the vertical direction, the shadowing effect can produce a distinct 3-stage broken power law in the radial intensity profile of the scattered light, with 2 steep surface brightness radial profiles in the inner and outer disk joined by a shallow transition region around the shadow edge. These types of scattered light profiles may have already been observed, such as in the recent Subaru direct imaging of the TW Hydrae system.
Household Portfolio Underdiversification and Probability Weighting: Evidence from the Field

We test whether probability weighting affects household portfolio choice in a representative survey. On average, people display inverse-S-shaped probability weighting, overweighting low probability events. As theory predicts, probability weighting is positively associated with portfolio underdiversification and significant Sharpe ratio losses. Analyzing respondents’ individual stock holdings, we find higher probability weighting is associated with owning lottery-type stocks and positively skewed equity portfolios. People with higher probability weighting are less likely to own mutual funds and more likely to either avoid equities or hold individual stocks. We are the first to empirically link individuals’ elicited probability weighting and real-world decisions under risk.