Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of Effective Communication on Institutional Performance: Case Study in Higher Learning Institutions

Effective communication is crucial for institutional success as the globe becomes a smaller and more interconnected community. In recent times, Information technology has significantly improved how employees and employers interact with each other. Effective and efficient communication is achieved when institutions adopt new and faster technologies that improve the performance of employees. This research empirically tests the impact of effective communication on institutional performance in the educational sector, specifically in Bayelsa Medical University, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Questionnaires were administered to sample respondents which comprised of Principal officers, Deans, Directors, Heads of Departments, academic and senior non-academic staff. ANOVA and factor analysis were used to assess the structural relationship between the variables at a 5% level of significance. A total of 180 respondents (25 academic staff and 155 non-academic staff members) from fourteen (14) different departments/units participated in this study. The findings of this study revealed that effective communication via the studied variables has a significantly positive effect on employee performance Four key variables (Communication Process (t = 4.003, β = 1.786, p = 0.00); Culture/Climate (t = 3.316, β = 1.483, p = .001); Verbal and Non-verbal Cues (t = 1.990, β= .832, p = .047); and Communication Techniques (t = 5.092, β = 1.808, p = .000)) were determinants of employee effective communication in an institution. The findings revealed that effective communication process were significantly related to organizational performance. The researchers recommends that every institution should make an effort to incorporate effective communication into its management strategies, as doing so will help reduce organizational conflict, clear up misunderstandings, and improve cordial relationship between management and workforce.
Learning to Understand the Vague Graph for Stock Prediction With Momentum Spillovers

In the realm of deep graph learning, our study uniquely addresses the under-explored area of vague graph learning. While the effectiveness of deep graph learning is recognized across various disciplines, the nuances of vague graph learning — whether its inherent vagueness should be incorporated or disregarded and its influence on deep graph learning efficiency — remain largely unexamined. We fill this gap by introducing a novel decoupled graph learning framework. This is achieved by proposing a matrix-based or a tensor-based fusion module to estimate unobservable node attributes, a hybrid attention mechanism to bridge nodes with both explicit and implicit relationships, and a message-passing mechanism for feature-sensitive transporting. The design principle of decoupling allows it to accommodate ambiguities in any or all of these aspects of node representation, linking, and message passing. Furthermore, we leverage an extensive stock dataset spanning 64 years across the entire U.S. market to assess our framework. This real-world data not only adds a practical dimension to our study but also highlights the effectiveness of vague graph learning. Remarkably, our framework demonstrates superiority over state-of-the-art algorithms, marking performance enhancements of at least 6.73%, 7.25%, and 11.39% in terms of Rank IC, <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$R^{2}$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:msup><mml:mi>R</mml:mi><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msup></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="li-ieq1-3310592.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>, and Rank ICIR, respectively.
Analyzing the Correlation Between Students’ Motivation and Error Pronunciation of Voiceless Θ Words: A Qualitative Study

Abstract. Pronunciation can be considered as one of the most difficult aspects to acquire in second language acquisition. Analyzing pronunciation errors may provide teachers and researchers on the best approaches to teach pronunciation. In addition, it has been suggested that students who are interested in correcting their pronunciation errors can be more motivated to acquire the target language. Thus, the present study aims to analyze the relationship between pronunciation errors of voiceless θ words and students’ motivation. The present study applied a descriptive qualitative approach by interviewing 15 students from a senior high school in Bekasi, Indonesia. The results of present study suggest that the majority of the respondents found it difficult to pronounce voiceless θ words. However, their difficulties to pronounce voiceless θ words might not correlate with their motivation to learn English as the majority of the respondents are motivated to learn English despite finding difficulties to pronounce voiceless θ words. Furthermore, the majority of the participants are motivated to improve their pronunciation due to extrinsic factors. Implications and further studies are also discussed in the present study.Keywords: Motivation, Pronunciation Errors, Qualitative Study, Voiceless Θ Words
Nitrate Leaching in an Irrigated Wheat-Maize Rotation Field in the North China Plain

Soil water deep drainage and nitrate (NO-3) leaching losses below the root zone were investigated in a 1 ha wheatmaize rotation field under traditional agricultural management that local farmers generally follow in the North China Plain, using the soil water balance method and NO3-N concentration in suction samples. Water drainage, and NO3-N distribution and leaching losses exhibited pronounced spatial and temporal variability. Soil water deep drainage and NO3N leaching loss mostly occurred during the summer maize growing season (rainy season), which coincided with irrigations and significant rainfall. On average, soil water deep drainage was 39 and 90 mm in the 1998/1999 and 1999/2000 cropping years, correspondingly, accounting for 10% and 19% of the total irrigation plus rainfall, respectively. The NO3-N leaching loss from soil and fertilizer N below the root zone ranged from 6 to 17 (averaging 12) and 30 to 84 (averaging 61) kg N ha-1 in 1998/1999 and 1999/2000, correspondingly, equivalent to 1.4%-4.1% and 7.3%-20.3% of N fertilizer applied,respectively. The results indicated that water and fertilizer inputs could be greatly reduced, thus improving water and nutrient use efficiency in this region.
Exact G-functions for various leaf normal distribution functions applied to analytical two-stream radiative transport in turbid vegetation media

In the radiative transfer theory for turbid vegetation media one defines leaf normal distribution (LND) functions to describe the orientation of the model leaves’ normal vectors. For simulation purposes, standard LNDs are frequently assumed, e.g. based on measurements, which have to fulfil a normalisation condition. Unfortunately, the literature reveals various discrepancies with respect to the proper definition of normalised LNDs. So-called G-functions are derived from the LNDs, and thus they are an important part of the radiative transfer equation for turbid vegetation media. Up to now, analytical G-functions have been derived for the most simple LND cases, only. We will revisit the normalisation problem and present an extended set of analytical expressions of G-functions for the most commonly used LNDs, which are then compared to approximations in literature. Moreover, these considerations allow us to extend the two-stream theory in a stringent analytical manner to various LND scenarios ranging from purely horizontal to purely vertical model leaves. Finally, we applied these very fast radiative transfer schemes to simulate canopy reflectances and transmittances as a function of the ratio of direct and diffuse light impinging on the vegetation medium at its upper boundary.
Too old for modern work? An explicit and implicit measure of the modern-work-is-young stereotype

With organizational practices such as working from home, agile project management, and shared leadership, the world of work is becoming increasingly dynamic and flexible. Simultaneously, the workforce in most industrialized nations is getting older. We hypothesized that both an explicit and implicit stereotype exists that associates modern work practices (MWP) more strongly with younger workers than with older workers (i.e. modern-work-is-young stereotype). With a focus on other-stereotyping, we surveyed participants who identified as younger or middle-aged workers (N = 186). Based on the contact hypothesis, we assumed that contact to older coworkers and contact with MWP are negatively related to both explicit and implicit endorsement of the modern-work-is-young stereotype. Furthermore, we examined differences in résumé evaluations for a job involving MWP, presenting an older and a younger hypothetical applicant. The results indicate the existence of a moderate explicit as well as implicit modern-work-is-young stereotype. The proposed contact hypothesis held true for the explicit but not for the implicit modern-work-is-young stereotype. Lastly, the younger applicant received significantly more positive evaluations than the older applicant, and only the explicit modern-work-is-young stereotype predicted the extent of age discrimination. The results suggest that the explicit modern-work-is-young stereotype can harm older employees and hamper intergenerational collaboration. These findings are especially important in times of demographic change, when workforces are becoming increasingly age-heterogeneous and retaining older workers seems more important than ever.
Changing Southern Ocean palaeocirculation and effects on global climate

Southern Ocean palaeocirculation is clearly related to the formation of a continental ice sheet on Antarctica and the opening of gateways between Antarctica and the Australian and South American continents. Palaeoenvironmental proxy records from Southern Ocean sediment cores suggest ice growth on Antarctica beginning by at least 40 million years (Ma) ago, and the opening of Tasmania–Antarctic and Drake Passages to deep-water flow around 34 and 31 ± 2 Ma, respectively. So, the Eocene/Oligocene transition appears to mark the initiation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and thus the onset of thermal isolation of Antarctica with a first major ice volume growth on East Antarctic. There is no evidence for a significant cooling of the deep ocean associated with this rapid (< 350 000 years) continental ice build-up. After a long phase with frequent ice sheets growing and decaying, in the middle Miocene at about 14 Ma, a re-establishment of an ice sheet on East Antarctica and the Pacific margin of West Antarctica was associated with an increased southern bottom water formation, and a slight cooling of the deep ocean, but with no permanent drop in atmospheric pCO2. During the late Pleistocene on orbital time scales a temporal correlation between changes in atmospheric pCO2 and proxy records of deep ocean temperatures, continental ice volume, sea ice extension, and deep-water nutrient contents is documented. I discuss hypotheses that call for a dominant control of glacial to interglacial atmospheric pCO2 variations by Southern Ocean circulation dynamics. Millennial to centennial climate variability is a global feature, but there is contrasting evidence from various palaeoclimate archives that indicate both interhemispheric synchrony and asynchrony. The role of the Southern Ocean, however, in triggering or modulating climate variability on these time scales only recently received some attention and is not yet adequately investigated.
MiRNA 106a-5p in cerebrospinal fluid as signature of early relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis: a cross sectional study

Background Circulating microRNAs (MiRNAs) have been investigated for their role in fine-tuning the adaptive immune response to inflammatory factors and in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). They have been investigated as possible biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of the disease. Methods A cross sectional study conducted at the MS centre of Foggia, Italy. We enrolled patients with (1) an age between 18 and 55 years, (2) a definitive diagnosis of relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) as per the revised McDonald criteria, and (3) naïve to any disease modifying therapy (DMTs), as well as (4) patients with other neurological disorders (OND). The aim of the study was to compare the levels of expression of miRNA 21-5p, miRNA 106a-5p, miRNA 146a-5p, and miRNA223-3p in cell-free cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in RRMS patients and OND. Investigated MiRNAs were extracted, retrotranscribed, and then assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction assay (q-PCR). A receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve was used to test MiRNAs as a biomarker for diagnosing MS. A linear regression analysis was done to find any association with disease characteristics at the time of diagnosis. Results A total cohort of 70 subjects (70% women) was analyzed. Out of them, 35 had a RRMS diagnosis. MiRNA 106a-5p (7.8 ± 3.8 vs 1.3 ± 0.9, p=0.03) had higher levels in RRMS patients when compared to OND. The ROC curve indicated that MiRNA 106a-5p could be considered as a disease biomarker with an area under the curve of 0.812 (p<.001; 95% CI 0.686-0.937). Linear regression analysis showed an association between the number of oligoclonal bands and MiRNA 106a-5p levels (B-coeff 2.6, p<.001; 95% CI 1.3-4.9). Conclusion We described miRNA 106a-5p as a possible signature in the CSF of RRMS patients in early phases of the disease. Further studies are needed to characterize its role in early MS as a disease biomarker.
Aortic Valve Dysfunction and Aortopathy Based on the Presence of Raphe in Patients with Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease

(1) Background: To identify the association between the presence or absence of a raphe and aortic valve dysfunction, as well as the presence of aortopathy in patients with a bicuspid aortic valve (BAV); (2) Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 312 participants (mean (SD) age, 52.7 (14.3) years; 227 men (72.8%)) with BAV. The BAVs were divided into those with the presence (raphe+) or absence (raphe−) of a raphe. Valvular function was classified as normal, aortic regurgitation (AR), or aortic stenosis (AS) using TTE. The pattern of BAV aortopathy was determined by the presence of dilatation at the sinus of Valsalva and the middle ascending aorta using CCT; (3) Results: BAVs with raphe+ had a higher prevalence of AR (148 (79.5%) vs. 48 (37.8%), p < 0.001), but a lower prevalence of AS (90 (48.6%) vs. 99 (78.0%), p < 0.001) compared with those with raphe−. The types of BAV aortopathy were significantly different (p = 0.021) according to those with BAV–raphe+ and BAV–raphe−; (4) Conclusions: The presence of a raphe was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of AR, but a lower prevalence of AS and combined dilatation of the aortic root and middle ascending aorta. The presence of a raphe was an independent determinant of AR.
‘ Poverty , Equity and Growth in Developing and Transition Countries : Statistical Methods and Empirical Analysis

This paper investigates the impact of legalized prostitution on human trafficking inflows. According to economic theory, there are two opposing effects of unknown magnitude. The scale effect of legalizing prostitution leads to an expansion of the prostitution market, increasing human trafficking, while the substitution effect reduces demand for trafficked women as legal prostitutes are favored over trafficked ones. Our empirical analysis for a cross-section of up to 150 countries shows that the scale effect dominates the substitution effect. On average, legalized prostitution increases human trafficking inflows.
‘ Poverty , Equity and Growth in Developing and Transition Countries : Statistical Methods and Empirical Analysis

In what the authors name “a first pass through the data”, McMillan et al. (2014) have recently addressed the question: what determines the magnitude of growth-enhancing structural change defined as gains to average labor productivity resulting from a reallocation of labor across sectors? This paper extends their cross-section work to a panel data set of 5and 10-year intervals from 1970 to 2010 for 29 (mostly developing) countries. Controlling for a wide range of control variables and time-invariant unobserved heterogeneity, the results present support for growth-enhancing structural change to be the outcome of a conditional domestic convergence process towards, what I term, a country’s idiosyncratic state of efficient allocation. The regressions further indicate that the removal of labor market rigidities and improvements in gender equality in education correlate with larger gains from structural change in a statistical and economical meaningful way. However, these relationships are not found in countries with large (gender) inequality in education or strong labor market rigidities, respectively. The study also shines some light on the channels through which the variables potentially affect gains from structural change. JEL Codes: O10, O14, O47
The Challenge of Tourism Carrying Capacity Assessment: Theory and Practice

Contents: Part I: Methodological Issues in Respect to Defining, Measuring and Evaluating Tourism Carrying Capacity: Sustainable tourism and carrying capacity: a new context, Harry Coccossis Theoretical reflections on limits, efficiency and sustainability: implications for tourism carrying capacity, Giorgos Kallis and Harry Coccossis Tourism carrying capacity: a theoretical overview, Alexandra Mexa and Harry Coccossis Tourism carrying capacity: methodological considerations, Harry Coccossis and Alexandra Mexa The use of various tools for implementing tourism carrying capacity, Alexandra Mexa The implementation of tourism carrying capacity: policy instruments at the European Union level, Jan van der Straaten. Part II: Defining and Implementing Tourism Carrying Capacity in Selected Types of Tourist Destinations: Issues in applying carrying capacity concepts: examples from the United Kingdom, Richard W. Butler Tourism carrying capacity in areas of ecological importance, Thymio Papayannis Tourism management and carrying capacity in heritage cities and sites, Jan van der Borg Tourism carrying capacity in Mediterranean coastal tourist destinations, Ivica Trumbic Tourism carrying capacity assessment in islands, Apostolos Parpairis Tourism carrying capacity and public participation: the methodology used in the case of the Island of Rhodes, Greece, Michael Scoullos Managing the impacts of tourism in European destinations: using carrying capacity, Alexandra Mexa and Anna Collovini Tourism carrying capacity: future issues and policy considerations, Harry Coccossis and Alexandra Mexa Place index Subject index.
Contribution de la géodésie à l'étude de grands décrochements actifs associés à des zones de subduction à convergence oblique : exemples de la grande faille de Sumatra et de la faille Philippine

La repetition de mesures geodesiques sur des reseaux implantes autour des failles de sumatra et philippines a permis de quantifier les vitesses de deplacement le long de ces accidents tectoniques majeurs, de comprendre le comportement sismogeniques de ces failles et de contraindre les etudes de geodynamique regionale. Les mesures geodesiques le long de la grande faille de sumatra montrent que les segments etudies ont un comportement sismique. Dans le sud de l'ile, un seisme de magnitude 6. 8 a rompu le segment etudie de la faille entre deux epoques de mesures du reseau. En revanche, dans la partie centrale, le segment de la faille etudie est bloque entre les epoques de mesures. L'etude du mouvement en champ lointain donne une vitesse le long de la faille de 27 mm par an. Cette etude montre egalement une dissymetrie des deformations entre les lanieres situees a l'est et a l'ouest de la faille. La vitesse de decrochement le long de la faille philippine est plus rapide que la vitesse le long de la faille de sumatra. L'ensemble des resultats geodesiques sur la partie centrale des philippines conduit a une vitesse de 31 a 35 mm/an. Cette vitesse est plus elevee que la vitesse deduite des etudes tectonique et cinematique. Ces etudes prealables sont mal contraintes ou utilisent des hypotheses trop simplificatrices. Contrairement aux segments etudies de la faille de sumatra, les segments de la faille philippine etudies ont un comportement totalement ou en partie asismique. Toutefois, il existe de la deformation dans le voisinage proche de la faille. Ces deformations sont liees a la non-continuite dans le temps des deplacements le long de la faille. Enfin, l'etude geodesique et sismologique sur l'ile de leyte a permis de montrer l'existence d'une branche de la faille philippine jusqu'alors non identifiee.
Association between Mood and Sensation Seeking Following rTMS

Previous studies investigating mood changes in healthy subjects after prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) have shown largely inconsistent results. This may be due to methodological issues, considerable inter-individual variation in prefrontal connectivity or other factors, e.g., personality traits. This pilot study investigates whether mood changes after rTMS are affected by personality parameters. In a randomized cross-over design, 17 healthy volunteers received three sessions of 1 Hz rTMS to Fz, F3 and T3 (10/20 system). The T3 electrode site served as the control condition with the coil angled 45° to the scalp. Subjective mood was rated at baseline and after each condition. Personality traits were assessed using the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) and the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS). For all conditions, a significant association between mood changes towards a deterioration in mood and SSS scores was observed. There were no differences between conditions and no correlations between mood changes and NEO-FFI. The data show that sensation-seeking personality has an impact on subjective mood changes following prefrontal rTMS in all conditions. Future studies investigating the effects of rTMS on emotional paradigms should include individual measures of sensation-seeking personality. The pre-selection of subjects according to personality criteria may reduce the variability in results.
Contributions to the geology and paleontology of the Canal Zone, Panama, and geologically related areas in Central America and the West Indies. Decapod crustaceans from the Panama region

Fifty-eight species of Decapods are enumerated from the collections examined by the author. Three species described by other authors are inserted in systematic order, thus making the list complete for the Panama region. All available material in the United States National Museum from Panama and Costa Rica is included; it ranges in age from the Oligocene (Culebra formation) to the Pleistocene.
Opal phytoliths of New Zealand

Opal phytoliths are particles of opal (amorphorous hydrated silica) that develop in the tissues of plants. These particles take on a fascinating variety of shapes depending on the type of plant in which they form. When plants decay, opal phytoliths accumulate in the soil and provide a record of the plants that once grey there. They have proven and potential value in a wide range of research in palaeoecology, but have received little attention in New Zealand. In some countries, they are also being used as raw materials for modern industrial products. This guide provides many microscopic photographs to aid identification.