Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fostering Maritime Innovations Th rough Human Capital: Exploring the Status Quo of the Adriatic Universities

Summary The purpose of the paper is to emphasize the need for enhancing participation of the Adriatic maritime universities and researchers in modern innovation processes in maritime industry. The paper primarily analyses human capital in regard to two constituent components - academic (academic rank and the length of research experience) and collaborative (expertise in innovation projects, the frequency of participation, the constraints related to partnerships and funds). The research is based on quantitative and qualitative analysis. The dependence between the components associated with human capital is quantitatively determined by means of the Pearson’s chi-square test and the R programme. The qualitative analysis relies on coding of the attitudes of the maritime researchers about collaborative innovations in maritime industry. The coding was performed by means of the Atlas.ti 8.4. 24. programme. Results confi rm the signifi cance of human capital for maritime research, identify constraints on the realization of innovations and specifi c innovations the maritime researchers are working on. Additionally, the paper detected the lack of strategic transformation of the universities that would strengthen collaborative innovations in maritime industry. The paper proposes formation of collaborative network/platform for an effi cient use of human capital in scientifi c research and maritime and economic integrations in the Adriatic region.
Advances in Ultra-High Cycle Fatigue

The fatigue of metals has been extensively studied. However, most published research does not extend past around 10 cycles. Because plots of the stress versus number of cycles to failure (SN curves) of ferrous alloys and some other metals apparently reach a horizontal asymptote, it was assumed that specimens tested at stresses below the asymptote, called the fatigue limit, would have infinite lives. However, recent research has discovered fatigue failures at stresses below the fatigue limit and lives above 10 cycles, termed ultra-high cycle fatigue (UHCF). This paper reviews published research in this area. The S-N curves found in this research are presented, illustrating the location of crack initiation in the UHCF region, the existence of primary and secondary plateaus, and the effects of test frequency, temperature, and environment on fatigue behavior in the UHCF regIOn. This paper also reviews several mechanisms and models for UHCF, including the -Jarea parameter model, the slip mechanism, hydrogenembrittlement mechanism, and fatigue crack initiation at porosities and inhomogeneities.
Building‐based damage detection due to earthquake using the watershed segmentation of the post‐event aerial images

This paper presents an approach for detecting the damaged buildings due to earthquake using the watershed segmentation of the post‐event aerial images. The approach utilizes the relationship between the buildings and their cast shadows. It is based on an idea that if a building is damaged, it will not produce shadows. The cast shadows of the buildings are detected through an immersion‐based watershed segmentation. The boundaries of the buildings are available and stored in a GIS as vector polygons. The vector‐building boundaries are used to match the shadow casting edges of the buildings with their corresponding shadows and to perform assessments on a building‐specific manner. For each building, a final decision on the damage condition is taken, based on the assessments carried out for that building only. The approach was implemented in Golcuk, one of the urban areas most strongly hit by the 1999 Izmit, Turkey earthquake. To implement the approach, a system called the Building‐Based Earthquake Damage Assessment System was developed in MATLAB. Of the 284 buildings processed and analysed, 229 were correctly labelled as damaged and undamaged, providing an overall accuracy of 80.63%.
The effect of covid-19 outbreak on foreign direct investment: do sovereign wealth funds matter?

Abstract This article investigates effects of COVID-19 outbreak on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Additionally, it examines how Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) affect the COVID-19 – FDI nexus in 79 developed and developing countries. Unlike previous studies that incorporate an interaction term into the model to analyse the mediating effect of a given variable, in this paper we segment our sample into two sub-samples (countries with SWFs and countries without SWFs) and estimate the model for each sub-sample. Using a cross-sectional Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), results show that both the total number of death and the total cases are negatively correlated to FDI. Moreover, when considering the role of SWFs, regressions suggest that the COVID-19 outbreak reduces significantly FDI in countries without sovereign wealth funds, while its effect is non-significant in countries with SWFs.
SUGARCANE PLANTERS: CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFERENT TYPES, SOIL DISTURBANCE AND CROP ESTABLISHMENT

THE current low sugar price, together with high production costs, is causing Australian growers to critically review how sugarcane is grown. Planting and the operations undertaken for seedbed preparation have been identified as areas where costs can be reduced. Grower interest in minimum and no-tillage plantings is increasing and there is a need for information on the performance of alternative sugarcane planters. The field performance of a double disk no-tillage planter was compared to the current commercial whole stalk and billet planters. Soil displaced after planting and percentage establishment were used as trial criteria. The physical components of the various planter types have been analysed and deficiencies highlighted. Both commercial whole stalk and billet planters produce significant levels of soil disturbance. This results in high levels of soil moisture loss, and reduces sett to soil contact. The problem is exacerbated by the poor metering systems on billet planters and the use of wide row planting in order to improve sett-to-soil contact. In all field tests, the establishment rates achieved with the double disk whole stalk planter were equal or superior to those achieved by the commercial whole stalk or the billet planter. Advantages of no-tillage planting include reduced cane planting rates (compared to billet planters), improved crop establishment, improved timeliness of field operations and increased cropping flexibility as break crops can be easily included in the crop cycle. The adoption of minimum and no-tillage planting as part of an improved cropping system is seen as the next major advance in the Australian sugarcane industry.
Magnetic Topology at Venus: New Insights Into the Venus Plasma Environment

This study provides the first characterization of magnetic topology (i.e., the magnetic connectivity to the collisional ionosphere) at Venus, which might give new insights into the Venusian space environment on topics such as the penetration of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) into the ionosphere, planetary ion outflow and inflow, and auroral emission. Magnetic topology is inferred from the electron and magnetic field measurements from Venus Express. We demonstrate through a few case studies that various types of magnetic topologies exist at Venus, including typical draped IMF, open magnetic fields connected to the nightside atmosphere or the dayside ionosphere, and unexpected cross‐terminator closed field lines. We also provide a detailed characterization of an ionospheric hole event, where we find an open topology and a field‐aligned potential of ∼[−10,−20] V with respect to the collisional ionosphere, which has important implications for its formation mechanism.
Current approaches for assisted oocyte maturation in camels

Camel (camelus dromedarius) is a unique large mammalian species that can survive harsh environmental conditions and produce milk, meat, and wool. Camel reproduction is inferior when compared to other farm animal species such as cattle and sheep. Several trials have been reported to increase camel reproduction and production through assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs) such as in vitro fertilization and cloning. For these reasons, obtaining enough mature oocytes is a cornerstone for ARTs. This demand would be improved by the oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM) systems. In this review, the current approaches and views from different laboratories using ARTs and the IVM to produce embryos in vitro in camel species. For the last two decades, conventional IVM system was the common approach, however, recently the bi-phasic IVM system has been introduced and showed promising improvement in IVM of camel oocytes. Detailed studies are needed to understand camel meiosis and IVM to efficiently increase the production of this species.
Principles of Thermography and Radar for Bridge Deck Assessment

Traditional methods of bridge deck condition assessment are slow, labor‐intensive, intrusive to traffic, and unreliable. Two new technologies, radar and infrared thermography, which have recently been introduced, show promise for producing rapid and accurate condition assessment for bridge decks. These technologies are being applied without the benefit of a firm physical understanding of their inherent capabilities and limitations. This paper discusses the physical principles upon which these techniques are based, and proposes simple physical models for the prediction of radar and infrared response to various bridge deck conditions. Parameter studies are carried out using these models to predict the radar and infrared response to moisture, chloride, delamination, and deck geometry. The model study results show the range of sensitivity and the inherent limitations of these two techniques. These results have led to the suggestion of a predictive technique that has been used in field studies of repaired and .
Just and Inclusive Team Climates Affect Mentoring Satisfaction: The Roles of Negative Mentoring and Race

As more work is being conducted in teams, mentees have increased opportunities to develop non-traditional mentoring relationships. We investigate how and when three aspects of team climate (procedural justice, interpersonal justice, and inclusion) influence mentoring satisfaction among mentees with an informal secondary mentor. Using survey data from 116 researchers on environmental science teams, we test whether (a) just and inclusive team climates are related to mentoring satisfaction through positive and negative mentoring experiences and (b) race moderates the relationships between just and inclusive team climates and mentoring satisfaction. We found that negative mentoring experiences mediated the relationships between just and inclusive team climates and mentoring satisfaction. Further, just and inclusive team climates were positively related to mentoring satisfaction, especially for people of color. These results suggest that positive team climates support informal mentoring in teams by reducing negative mentoring experiences and creating a welcoming environment for individuals from marginalized groups.
Online grocery shopping: the customers´ perspective in the Czech Republic

Research background: Online shopping is becoming popular among most customers thanks to quickness and easy shopping, and also due the COVID pandemic. Companies are aware of the great interest of customers and, as a consequence, e-commerce is expanding. There has been a significant increase in online grocery purchases due to economic growth in the past few years. Online shopping attracts a lot of research interest, individual authors and this is a widely discussed topic. It should be borne in mind that online purchasing of food has its own peculiarities compared to the segment of electronics or fashion from the perspective of everyday needs. Purpose of the article: The aim of the study is to analyze specific consumer behaviour in online purchasing of groceries. This study takes into account the age and purchasing preferences of online grocery purchasers. Methods: The study was conducted using quantitative research. Data (n = 171) was obtained by using a questionnaire survey done in the Czech Republic. The questionnaire survey contained 17 questions. For the statistical evaluation, Chi-square test and Pearson's correlation test were used. For the statistical evaluation, Chi-square test and Pearson´s correlation test were used. Findings & value added: The results of the study indicate that there is a relationship between the age of customers and online purchase in the grocery field. However, customers who use the e-shop for grocery purchase are still reluctant to buy perishable goods (meat, pastries) and prefer goods that are packed directly by the manufacturer. The study sheds light on understanding the customers? purchasing behaviour and their preferences in terms of quality of service, payment terms, delivery conditions, and range of assortment.
Duration of Access of Canadian Immigrants to the First Job in Intended Occupation

Using detailed information on employment trajectory provided by the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC), this study examines labour market outcomes of recent immigrants in terms of duration of access to the first job in their intended occupation, as determined by a question in the first wave interview on labour market intentions. The matching between actual and intended occupations is obtained from the first two digits of National Occupational Classification codes, which consider successively occupation type and skill level. Using a Cox proportional hazards model, the study investigates the roles of factors related to human and social capital in speeding up the matching process of actual and intended occupations. It is found that the initial year in Canada is critical for an immigrant to land a job in intended field; after that period, the hazards of finding employment in intended occupation flatten down. In general, those with intention to work in non-professional jobs, such as sales and services, trades, transport and equipment operators, primary industry, and processing and manufacturing occupations, enter the first job in intended occupation more quickly. The results also show that education, English language ability, Canadian work experience and friend networks facilitate access to intended occupation.
Accounting for quantum effects and polysilicon depletion from weak to strong inversion in a charge-based design-oriented MOSFET model

This paper presents a simple, physics-based, and continuous model for the quantum effects and polydepletion in deep-submicrometer MOSFETs with very thin gate oxide thicknesses. This analytical design-oriented MOSFET model correctly predicts inversion and depletion charges, transcapacitances, and drain current, from weak to strong inversion and from nonsaturation to saturation. One single additional parameter is used for polysilicon doping concentration, while the quantum correction does not introduce any new parameter. Comparison to experimental data of deep-submicrometer technologies is provided, showing accurate fits both for I-V and C-V data. The model offers simple relationships among effective electrical parameters and physical device parameters, providing insight into the physical phenomena. This new model thereby supports device engineering, analog circuit design practice, as well as efficient circuit simulation.
Seeker optimization algorithm for interference suppression of linear antenna arrays by controlling position‐only, phase‐only, and amplitude‐only

In this article, a stochastic search technique based on seeker optimization algorithm (SOA) is proposed for null steering of linear antenna arrays by controlling the position‐only, phase‐only, and amplitude‐only. The SOA is relatively new optimization algorithm based on the concept of simulating the act of humans' intelligent search with their memory, experience, and uncertainty reasoning. Several numerical examples of Chebyshev pattern with the single, multiple, and broad nulls imposed at the directions of interference are given to illustrate the performance and flexibility of the proposed algorithm. For a comparison, the nulling patterns obtained by simulated annealing (SA) and tabu search (TS) algorithms are also given. Furthermore, the results of SOA are statistically compared with those of SA and TS algorithms. The statistical results of simulations show that SOA is superior to the other compared algorithms. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2011.
TAX RISES IMPACT ON THE SPENDING PATTERN OF THE POPULATION IN GREATER ACCRA REGION OF GHANA

The study was aimed at examining the role of high tax rises on the spending patterns of the people in Accra township of Ghana. The research gathered data from both secondary and primary sources and used the quantitative research method approach. The key instruments used for the data collection was questionnaire. In all seventy (70) respondents were selected for the study comprising thirty five (35) people from Accra township and thirty five (35) University of Ghana students. The study found out that taxation is very good for nation building since the allocation of funds depends upon the collection of taxes and the government used that revenue for specific purposes. This has a direct economic impact on the socio economic development of Ghana. The study found out that there is a fairly strong relationship between people spending and high tax rises. That is to say the study found out that when tax is high it affects people spending negatively especially the poor because it reduces their income levels, put a tax burden on them, it increases their expenditure and it also increases poverty. The study found out that to be able to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in our tax system it is essential to strike the right balance between designing an attractive tax, there must be transparency and effectiveness in the tax system, tax reform needs to be promoted to widen the tax base and bring a larger part of the population into the formal economy and also tax must reduce excessive reliance on aid and offers a path away from unsustainable revenue streams It is recommended that the government of Ghana should structure the tax based system in a way that there is no inequality in the payment by the poor and the rich and also the people of Ghana should understand the importance of taxation for the development of Ghana and hence there should not be invasion of tax since tax brought to light the importance of tax. Keywords: Tax, Spending Pattern, Population, Greater Accra Region, Ghana.
Robust Assessing the Lifetime Performance of Products with Inverse Gaussian Distribution in Bayesian and Classical Setup

The inverse Gaussian (Wald) distribution belongs to the two-parameter family of continuous distributions having a range from 0 to ∞ and is considered as a potential candidate to model diffusion processes and lifetime datasets. Bayesian analysis is a modern inferential technique in which we estimate the parameters of the posterior distribution obtained by formally combining a prior distribution with an observed data distribution. In this article, we have attempted to perform the Bayesian and classical analyses of the Wald distribution and compare the results. Jeffreys' and uniform priors are used as noninformative priors, while the exponential distribution is used as an informative prior. The analysis comprises finding joint posterior distributions, the posterior means, predictive distributions, and credible intervals. To illustrate the entire estimation procedure, we have used real and simulated datasets, and the results thus obtained are discussed and compared. We have used the Bayesian specialized Open BUGS software to perform Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulations using a real dataset.
Monitoring the beautiful adapted game: a 3-year prospective surveillance study of injuries in elite English Para football

ABSTRACT Para football is currently played in impairment-specific formats by thousands of people worldwide. To date, there have been no prospective longitudinal injury surveillance studies. This study aimed to implement a prospective injury surveillance study within elite English Para football and analyse the injury risk within the England Blind and Cerebral Palsy (CP) squads. Match and training injury data based on a ‘time loss’ definition were collected and analysed for each squad including incidence per 1,000 player hours, severity, injury location and associated event of injury. Injury incidence were lower in training than matches (CP 67.6/1000 player match hours (CI 33.8–135.2) and 5.7/1000 training hours (CI 3.8–8.7) and Blind 44.0/1000 player match hours (CI 26.1–74.3) and 5.5/1000 training hours (CI 3.5–8.6). Training injuries were more severe than match injuries across both squads (CP median 12 days lost in matches and 16 training and Blind median days 5 matches and 12 training). 73% Blind and 74% CP footballer injuries were to the lower limb and 17% head and neck equally across both Para football squads. ‘Muscle and tendon injuries’ (51%) represented the greatest proportion of injuries for CP footballers, and ‘joint (non-bone)/ligament injuries’ (43%) for Blind footballers. Collaboration and implementation of higher quality surveillance methodology and data collection in Para sport with greater athlete numbers are needed to inform injury prevention strategies.
Strategies for implementing knowledge-based systems

The effective management of knowledge is important for the competitivity of organizations. Rapid technological progress over the last decade has made knowledge-based systems (KBSs) (including expert systems, organizational memory information systems, and other advanced information technology solutions) an integral part of every organization's effort to manage its knowledge assets effectively, KBSs have an important impact on all levels of organizational knowledge: individual, group, organizational, and knowledge links. This paper outlines four generic knowledge processing strategies to guide the implementation of KBSs within organizations. These generic strategies are related both to the level of knowledge assets under consideration and the locus of responsibility for the development of KBS. The different knowledge processing strategies influence the management of knowledge possible within an organization and consequently influence the development of KBS within the organization. The paper also outlines different facilitators and barriers to the four knowledge processing strategies.
A pole placement controller for non-linear dynamic plants

Abstract In this study a control-oriented model is proposed to represent a wide range of non-linear discrete-time dynamic plants. As a testimony to the efficiency of the model structure for control system design, a pole placement controller is designed for non-linear discrete-time plants. Mathematically the solution of the controller output is converted into resolving a polynomial equation in the current control term u(t), which significantly reduces the difficulties encountered in non-linear control system synthesis and computational complexities. The integrated procedure provides a straightforward methodology to use in linear control system design techniques when designing non-linear control systems. For a demonstration of the effectiveness of the proposed methodology used to deal with practical problems, pole placement controllers are designed for three non-linear plants, including the Hammerstein model, a laboratory-scale liquid level system and a continuous stirred tank reactor. The simulation results are presented with graphical illustrations.