Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange

The two studies included in this project were aimed at understanding the effect that relational closeness has on perceived ease of forgiveness and betrayal severity and, in turn, how betrayal severity and relational closeness influence people’s conceptualization of forgiveness. Study 1 addressed the fact that although past studies have shown that relational closeness predicts one’s willingness to forgive and researchers have posited that betrayals that are committed by those closest are the most severe, it is still unclear whether these trends are due to the characteristics of close relationships or to the characteristics of the types of betrayals that are committed within close relationships. Two randomized groups of college undergraduates imagined the same betrayal narratives being committed by either someone relationally close or someone relationally distant. As was expected, imagining someone close led to participants viewing the betrayals as easier to forgive. However, contrary to what was expected, participants who imagined the betrayals being committed by someone close viewed the betrayals as less severe. Together, these findings suggest that it is not the characteristics of the betrayals being committed in close relationships, but the qualities of the relationship that affect the perceived severity of betrayals as well as how easy they are to forgive. Study 2 addressed the notion that people’s conceptualization of forgiveness may vary as a function of the closeness of the betrayer and the severity of the offense. College undergraduates read one of six betrayal narratives taken from the first study that varied in both severity and the relational closeness of the imagined betrayer. Results indicated that participants expected a more positive outcome from the forgiveness of less severe betrayals as well as betrayals
ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR OF DRIVERS REGARDING ROUTE DIVERSION

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF DRIVERS IN THE CHICAGO AREA WERE STATISTICALLY ANALYZED WITH REGARD TO THE VOLUNTARY DIVERSION FROM NORMAL ROUTES TO WORK TO SOME OTHER ROUTE. THE REASONS EXPLOERED FOR DIVERTING WERE TO AVOID UNEXPECTED DELAYS OR TO DECREASE OVERALL TRAVEL TIME OR BOTH. CHARACTERISTICS FOR BOTH THE TRIP TO WORK AND THE RETURN TRIP HOME WERE STUDIED. A STRUCTURED QUESTIONNAIRE WAS ADMINISTERED TO 732 DRIVERS AND THE RESPONSES WERE USED AS A BASIS FOR ESTIMATING THE PROBABILITY OF DIVERSION FOR DRIVERS RECEIVING INFORMATION ON TRAFFIC CONDITIONS. THE RESPONSES WERE RELATED TO PERCEIVED ATTITUDES TOWARD DIVERSION AND WERE IN PART BASED ON PAST BEHAVIOR. IN GENERAL, IT WAS FOUND THAT THE RESPONDENTS ARE MORE RECEPTIVE TO DIVERSION TO AVOID A DELAY OR TO SAVE TRAVEL TIME ON THE TRIP HOME. THE RESPONDENTS FURTHER INDICATED THAT THEY WOULD DIVERT MORE TO AVOID A DELAY THAN TO SAVE TRAVEL TIME. THE RESPONDENTS WERE NOT TOO CONCERNED WITH MINOR DELAYS OR A 1 MINUTE SAVING IN TRAVEL TIME. THERE IS MORE DIVERSION BECAUSE OF AN ACCIDENT THAN BECAUSE OF CONGESTED CONDITIONS. THE FINDINGS SEEM TO INDICATE THAT A UNIQUE AND WORTHWHILE SERVICE COULD BE PROVIDED BY AN INFORMATION SYSTEM OPERATING ON FREEWAYS. /AUTHOR/
Multiple paths of development: knowledge bases and institutional characteristics of the Swedish food sector

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to explore the relation between the critical knowledge base of firms and how firms respond to incentives embedded in the institutional framework surrounding them. The analysis gives us a better understanding of the complex development of the food sector in Southern Sweden in the past decades. Theoretically, the paper combines concepts of path dependency and knowledge bases, and applies this framework to a set of development trajectories of firms in the Scanian food sector. Three development paths are identified—path extension, path renewal and new path creation. Findings illustrate that these are rooted in different knowledge base combinations of firms, which make them respond differently to similar place- and sector-specific institutional conditions.
CYCLIC LIQUEFACTION BASED ON THE CONE PENETROMETER TEST

This paper describes suggested recommendations for Cone Penetrometer Test (CPT)-based estimation of liquefaction potential. Basically there are two approaches - those techniques based on cone resistance and the CPT soil characterization chart technique. Selecting the optimum technique is dependent of the encountered soil type and if soil index tests are measured. Background information and limitations are described for each technique. Stress normalization is also fully described because its importance is not well known.
The Use of GIS to Visualize Spatial Distribution of Zooplankton in Teluk Bahang Reservoir, Penang, Malaysia

The Teluk Bahang Reservoir is the largest in Penang, Malaysia and supplies drinking water to the inhabitants of the Northwest of Penang Island. A monthly testing of water quality and study of zooplankton species abundance was conducted at four different sampling locations and three different water depths. The water quality parameters measured include water temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, orthophosphate (PO4-P), ammonium-nitrogen (NH4-N), nitrite-nitrogen (NO2-N) and nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N). In this study, multiple techniques in ArcMap software, namely, Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) and Kernel Density, were used to identify the relationship among water quality parameters and species abundance of zooplankton in the sampling stations. In GIS spatial analysis, high abundance areas or hotspot areas of zooplankton were presented in a visual map. The distribution pattern of zooplankton species and the geographic distribution of water quality parameters were clearly identified based on inspection of the map. The data generated from GIS mapping in this study is important for ecological research, particularly on zooplankton distribution in a drinking water reservoir.
Acoustics and Architecture in Italian catholic churches

The complex relationships between acoustics and architecture in churches are investigated in this paper. First of all acoustic data collected by the authors in more than fifty Italian churches are compared together with data measured by other researchers in several European churches in order to find similarities and differences with particular reference to reverberation time which is the acoustic parameter most frequently measured. In particular, the dependence of reverberation time as a function of architectural style and volume is investigated in greater detail. The results of this first analysis are then discussed more accurately by taking into account the sample of Italian churches and trying to explain the acoustic behaviour as a function of specific characteristic of each church. Finally, the dependence of other acoustic parameters (such as strength, clarity, and spaciousness) as a function of architectural features is investigated.
Positive Leaders Propagate Slower at Higher Altitudes: Experimental Evidence and Theoretical Explanation

We provide the clearest experimental evidence to date that positive leader velocity decreases with the decline of air density in the troposphere. The experiments are conducted at altitudes of 4,300 m in Tibet and 53 m in Beijing using the long air gap discharge technique. Rigorous comparative studies are performed using synchronized measurement of positive leader velocity and current under different air densities and similar temperature and humidity conditions. The effect of reduced air density on positive leader velocity is analyzed with a detailed thermal‐hydrodynamic model. It is found that the widely used similarity law setting initial leader radius inversely proportional to air density does not hold in estimating positive leader speeds in the troposphere.
Trends of motorcyclist accidents in Kelantan between 1998-2003

Motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) contribute large proportion of death and disability globally and motorcyclists are the most vulnerable group. In Malaysia, motorcycles are one of the most important forms of personal transportation. More than 50% of the registered vehicles in this country are motorcycles. Casualties among motorcyclist form a large portion of traffic injury problems in Malaysia and are ranked among the highest in comparison to other countries. The objective of the stu& was to determine the trend of motorcycle crashes in Kelantan, between 1998 and 2003. This was a retrospective record review of MVCs data in Kelantan. Data gathered were input into SPSS version 11 and Microsoft Excel and analyzed using decomposition method to explore the seasonality and simple linear regression to explore the trend. The study revealed that majority of road trafic injuries involved motorcycle users (58.5% to 63.1 %). The proportion of fatality was between 8.6% and 10.7% and majority involved 11-30 years (60.0% - 69.7%). About 90% of the fatal motorcycle injuries were male. The peak hour for fatality was between 4.00 to 8.00 afternoons. No seasonal pattern of motorcycle accidents but, there was signrficant linear increasing trend (p<0.001) with an average of 9 cases increasing every year. Based on the results above, we conclude that the trend of motorcycle accidents was increasing in year 1998 - 2003, but no seasonal pattern. Most of the fatal motorcycle crashes involved young men riders and occurred at afternoon. We recommend that public education and enforcement on accident prevention should be given a priority.
Perceived teacher support, student engagement, and academic achievement: a meta-analysis

Abstract Guided by the self-system process model, the aim of this study was to unravel the relationship between students’ perceived teacher support and academic achievement as well as to address the role of student engagement, using a meta-analytic approach. Based on 71 empirical articles, we found that there was a small to medium correlation between perceived teacher support and achievement (r = 0.16), moderated by grade level, dimensions of teacher support, and measures of academic achievement. Perceived teacher support had the greatest impact on achievement among upper-secondary students, while also had a larger influence on student course grades than standardised test scores. Meanwhile, perceived emotional support had a larger effect size than autonomy or academic support on student achievement. In terms of mediating analysis, both general student engagement and its sub-types (behavioural, cognitive, and emotional engagement) partially mediated the relation between perceived teacher support and student achievement.
Chemical Characterization, Antibacterial Activity, and Embryo Acute Toxicity of Rhus coriaria L. Genotype from Sicily (Italy)

This study reports a full characterization of the Sicilian sumac, Rhus coriaria L. This fruit represents a potential source of fiber (33.21 ± 1.02%) and unsaturated fatty acids, being the contents of linoleic and α-linolenic acids, 30.82 ± 1.21% and 1.85 ± 0.07%, respectively. In addition, the content of phenolic and total anthocyanin was 71.69 ± 1.23 mg/g as gallic acid equivalents, and 6.71 ± 0.12 mg/g as cyanidin-3-O-glucoside equivalents, respectively. The high content in mineral elements, consisting mainly of potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus, followed by aluminum, iron, sodium, boron, and zinc, was detected by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Moreover, its antimicrobial activity was evaluated against multidrug resistant (MDR) microorganisms, represented by Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae strains isolated from poultry. The activity of seven different sumac fruit extracts obtained using the following solvents—ethanol (SE), methanol (SM), acetone (SA), ethanol and water (SEW), methanol and water (SMW), acetone and water (SAW), water (SW)—was evaluated. The polyphenol profile of SM extract, which showed better activity, was analyzed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS). The major component identified was gallic acid, followed by quercetin, methyl digallate, pentagalloyl-hexoside, and kaempferol 3-O-glucoside. The non-toxicity of Sicilian R. coriaria was confirmed by testing the effect of the same extract on zebrafish embryos.
Lightweight Monocular Depth Estimation on Edge Devices

Given monocular images as inputs, monocular depth estimation (MDE) infers pixel-level depth. MDE is always a critical stage in scene sensing on edge devices. Existing MDE studies frequently employ deep neural networks (DNNs) for MDE, but they still face some problems, such as sacrificing computational complexity and efficiency in return for great precision, or losing more precision in exchange for increased efficiency. To alleviate these issues; 1) we propose an encoder–decoder network (EdgeNet) for precise and fast MDE on different edge devices. When recovering depth in the decoder, we design upsampling modules to aggregate global depth information with low computational complexity, improving the accuracy of the decoder by extracting its different ranges of depth information; 2) we develop a two-stage channel pruning method to, respectively, prune the encoder and decoder based on their characteristics. Our pruning method further reduces latency and model/computational complexity of EdgeNet, while losing little accuracy; and 3) we optimize the pruned EdgeNet to decrease graphics processing unit (GPU) scheduling overhead. The optimization accelerates MDE inference by an order of magnitude on the TX2 GPU device, when the input resolution is 224 $\times $ 224. Extensive experiments show that our strategies are effective on different edge GPU devices, when input resolutions differ in outdoor or indoor scenes. For example, compared with the state of the art, the optimized EdgeNet, respectively, reduces the GPU latency by 76.3% and 89.2% on Nano and TX2 GPU devices with 2.6% lower root mean square error when the input resolution is 128 $\times $ 416.
Accurate simulation of thermal neutron filter effects in the design of research reactor beam applications

Thermal neutron filters are routinely used for spectral shaping in neutron beam applications. In many situations, the neutron source is the core of a research reactor that faces several beam ports. Consequently, the neutrons leaking into the beam port will have an energy spectrum that extends over several decades from the low energy (thermal) range to the high energy (fast) range that is typical of prompt fission neutrons. At the PULSTAR reactor of North Carolina State Univ., sapphire and bismuth filters are used within the beam ports to reduce the epi-thermal and fast neutron components and gamma-rays. The main objective is to produce thermal neutron beams with a high neutron-to-gamma ratio. The thermal beams are used to drive facilities for neutron imaging and neutron diffraction. To assure that these facilities are accurately designed, thermal neutron scattering cross section libraries are generated for sapphire and bismuth at 300 K. The libraries do not account for coherent elastic (i.e., 'Bragg') scattering, which is equivalent to assuming the use of a single crystal filter with a preferential orientation relative to the neutron beam. MCNP Monte Carlo simulations show that, using the created libraries, the phenomenon of neutron filtration can be captured and diagnosedmore » to ensure accurate beam and facility designs. (authors)« less
Learning Decomposed Representations for Treatment Effect Estimation

In observational studies, confounder separation and balancing are the fundamental problems of treatment effect estimation. Most of the previous methods focused on addressing the problem of confounder balancing by treating all observed pre-treatment variables as confounders, ignoring confounder separation. In general, not all the observed pre-treatment variables are confounders that refer to the common causes of the treatment and the outcome, some variables only contribute to the treatment (i.e., instrumental variables) and some only contribute to the outcome (i.e., adjustment variables). Balancing those non-confounders, including instrumental variables and adjustment variables, would generate additional bias for treatment effect estimation. By modeling the different causal relations among observed pre-treatment variables, treatment variables and outcome variables, we propose a synergistic learning framework to i) separate confounders by learning decomposed representations of both confounders and non-confounders, ii) balance confounder with sample re-weighting technique, and simultaneously iii) estimate the treatment effect in observational studies via counterfactual inference. Empirical results on synthetic and real-world datasets demonstrate that the proposed method can precisely decompose confounders and achieve a more precise estimation of treatment effect than baselines.
Impact of trainings on scaling up the knowledge and adoption of new/improved farm practices by farmers of Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh, India

Seven number of 7 days’ trainings for farmers were conducted by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra Bajaura, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh in the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 to a group of 340 farmers. Impact of trainings on farmers’ knowledge was assessed on the basis of post evaluation performas provided to the trainees on different components. The results of the trainings revealed that farmers laid stress on the efficient use of water by micro-irrigation techniques followed by rain water harvesting by constructing cemented/poly-lined tanks, use of organic amendments for soil water conservation in hilly areas, soil and water conservation in slopy lands, and in-situ moisture conservation techniques. Under soil health and nutrient management importance of soil testing and nutrient management based, on soil testing caught attention of maximum farmers followed by integrated nutrient management in field, vegetable and fruit crops, vermicompost/compost preparation and production and use of organic inputs for maintaining soil health and nutrition. In case of trainings on crop production/protection, maximum farmers showed their interest on vegetable production followed by production of horticultural crops, plant protection measures, crop diversification, agriculture crops production and weed management. In case of animal husbandry, dairy management was the most sought after followed by fodder production, poultry and fishery. Comparison of data before and after trainings revealed that there was increase in percentage of farmers who adopted different components after completion of the trainings especially vemicompost preparation, production and use of organic inputs for maintaining soil health and nutrition, production of vegetables and horticultural crops, crop diversification, dairy management, INM in field, vegetables and fruit crops, plant protection measures, micro-irrigation and production of agricultural crops.
A Cross-Category Analysis of Dispositional Drivers of Technology Adoption

We study technology adoption patterns by examining how dispositional attitudes, as individual characteristics, combine to influence adoption across a varied range of consumer and self-service technologies. Using the Technology Adoption Propensity (TAP) index, a psychometric scale that measures four dimensions of consumers’ technological predispositions, our results indicate that feeling proficient in one’s ability to learn how to use technology has the largest effect on adoption across offerings, whether relatively low-tech or high-tech. We further show that the positive effect of felt proficiency and the negative effect of a sense of vulnerability conferred by technology appear to diminish as an offering matures. Across product categories, about 11% of our sample exhibits a relatively high probability of adopting all cross-category technological offerings. This group is characterized by a high level of felt proficiency and they adopt new technologies sooner than other groups.
The informal palm oil and kernel processing industry in Ghana: A safe haven or a poverty trap for women?

Abstract According to the International Labour Organisation, the informal sector employs more than 60% of the world’s workforce. Due to severe gender inequality in the formal sector, women dominate the informal economy in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, the informal sector can help with poverty reduction efforts, especially among vulnerable groups like women. Despite a number of studies examining various businesses, the informal palm oil and kernel production industry (POKPI) has garnered little attention, especially in Ghana. We used a cross-sectional survey design and pragmatism as our philosophical approach to answer the question of whether the POKPI is a safe haven or a poverty trap for women. The perspective through which we conducted this research was the Sustainable Livelihood Approach. The findings demonstrate that the POKPI has a lot of promise for providing women with long-term livelihood options. However, if its current slew of problems is neglected, it has the potential to sink its participants into a never-ending cycle of poverty. As a result, we made some suggestions for overcoming the obstacles to positioning the POKPI as a viable livelihood plan for women.
'The Core of My Work Is in Being with People Who Do Not Practice Faith in Any Way': The Self-Perception of Czech Hospital Chaplains

The article focuses on the understudied topic of contemporary hospital chaplaincy in the Czech Republic, its development, and the current issues this work is dealing with. Based on a study conducted among Czech hospital chaplains affiliated with the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, the Roman Catholic Church, the Czechoslovak Hussite Church, and the Church of Seventh Day Adventists, the article examines the experiences of Christian providers of spiritual care in the secularised environment of a hospital and sheds light on how they perceive their work and role. Two waves of interviews were conducted among thirteen hospital chaplains, male and female, and subjected to an applied thematic analysis. This produced four thematic areas that the article explores in detail: (1) the localisation of the chaplaincy within the hospital, (2) the chaplains' methods of working with patients, (3) the chaplains' relationships with other hospital personnel, and (4) the self-identification of the hospital chaplains. The results of this research revealed that the secularised environment of the Czech Republic is a crucial factor that affects the work of chaplains in several ways, but their role in the hospital has at the same time developed in ways that are separate from their religious affiliation, as the understanding dialogue they engage in with patients forms a core part of their work.
The Variance of the Polypropylene α Relaxation Temperature in iPP/a-PP-pPBMA/Mica Composites

By considering that the α relaxation related to the glass to rubber transition (obtained by dynamic mechanical analysis) of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) can be identified with the thermal history of the material (and so, with the processing step), this work deals with the changes in this transition temperature (Tα) in polypropylene/mica composites caused by the mutual effect of the other components (mica and interfacial additive). Here, the additive used is a p-phenylen-bis-maleamic grafted atactic polypropylene (aPP-pPBMA) obtained from polymerization wastes (aPP) by the authors. This additive contains 5.0·10−4 g.mol−1 (15% w/w) grafted pPBMA. In essence, this article has two different objectives: (1) To observe and discuss the changes in Tα of the polymer matrix (iPP) caused by the combined effect of the other components (mica and aPP-pPBMA); and (2) predicting the values for Tα in terms of both aPP-pPBMA and mica content for whatever composition in the experimental space scanned. This task was undertaken by employing a Box–Wilson experimental design assuming the complex character of the interactions between the components of the iPP/aPP-pPBMA/mica system, which define the ultimate properties of the composite.