Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
DETERMINANTS OF PARENTAL CHILD’S SCHOOL PREFERENCES IN QATAR

Purpose: The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of “Quality Education”, “Developing Better Social Skills”, “Homework Assignment”, “Using Private Tutors”, “Charging School Fees” and “Nationality” on “Parental School Preference” using primary data collected from preparatory and secondary school teachers in Qatar. Methodology: The population for this study consists of all parents in Qatar. The current study used a very large stratified sample size n = 1462 that was determined by the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute (SESRI) using a 95% confidence interval estimate. The nine items used in this study are part of a huge questionnaire measuring attitude and parental child’s school preferences. Kaisers-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test and the Bartless test of sphericity were used to determine the appropriateness of using factor analysis. What are more; principal axis factoring and oblique rotation extracted three factors? Main findings: The representative sample Factor analysis extracted three dimensions (quality education, developing better social skills, homework assignment). The dependent variable (parental school choice) was regressed on the factor scores of these three extracted dimensions in addition to four independent variables (school fees, nationality, repeating a school grade, and parents’ disappointment if their child doesn’t go far in school). The results revealed that parental school choice is significantly determined by three explanatory variables: the quality of education, school fees, and nationality. Implications: Raising standards for teachers should be a key element in educational quality. What’s more, in the spirit of findings the policymakers in Qatar should make funding part of school fees for expatriates a priority. Novelty: This article empirically correlates two main fields of educational research: Parental School Choice is given Quality of Education, Charging School Fees, and Nationality.
Building a Knowledge Graph for Recommending Experts

Recommending experts is an important challenge in many contexts. In this paper, we present a method to build a knowledge graph by integrating data from Google Scholar and Wikipedia to help students find a research advisor or thesis committee member. This knowledge graph is used to power the exploratory search interface to recommend similar keywords and relevant scholars to the students with a limited level of knowledge and familiarity with the subject of research.
An SVM based machine learning algorithm for Information Extraction∗

Information Extraction (IE) is about extracting information about pre-specified types of events, entities or relationships from text such as newswire articles or Web pages. Machine learning techniques have been used for IE and achieved state of the art results. Support Vector Machine (SVM) is a supervised machine learning algorithm, which has been applied in several IE systems. For instance, [2] compared three commonly used methods for named entity recognition – the SVM with quadratic kernel, the maximum entropy method, and a rule based learning system. Their results showed that the SVM based system was better than the other two. They also described an efficient implementation of the SVM with quadratic kernel. [4] used a latticebased approach to named entity recognition and employed the SVM with cubic kernel to compute transition probabilities in a lattice. Their result on the CoNLL2003 shared task was comparable to the performance of other ML approaches.
The Effect of Educational Cost and Service on Student Trust by Mediation of Higher Education Image Survey to the Economic Higher Education in DKI Jakarta Province

The objective of this research was to study the effect of educational cost and service quality on student trust at Economic Higher Education Institution in Jakarta Province mediated by higher education image. This research used quantitative approach with survey method. The sample of this research was 194 students selected randomly. The data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics and path analysis in inferential statistics. The results of the research could be concluded that: educational cost, service quality, and higher education image had direct effect on student trust; educational cost and service quality had direct effect and higher education image on student trust. Therefore, in order to improve student trust, then, educational cost, service quality, and higher education image should be improved.
Slurry Erosion Behavior of Destabilized and Deep Cryogenically Treated Cr-Mn-Cu White Cast Irons

The effects of destabilization treatment and destabilization followed by cryogenic treatment have been evaluated on the microstructural evolution and sand-water slurry erosion behavior of Cr-Mn-Cu white cast irons. The phase transformations after the destabilization and cryotreatment have been characterized by bulk hardness measurement, optical and scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction analysis. The static corrosion rate has been measured in tap water (with pH=7) and the erosion-corrosion behavior has been studied by slurry pot tester using sand-water slurry. The test results indicate that the cryogenic treatment has a significant effect in minimizing the as-cast retained austenite content and transforming into martensitic and bainitic matrix embedded with ultra-fine M7C3 alloy carbides. In contrast, by conventional destabilization treatment retained austenite in the matrix are not fully eliminated. The slurry erosive wear resistance has been compared with reference to destabilized and cryotreated high chromium iron samples which are commonly employed for such applications. The cryotreated CrMn-Cu irons have exhibited a comparable erosive wear performance to those of high chromium irons. Higher hardness combined with improved corrosion resistance result in better slurry erosion resistance. © 2016 Published by Faculty of Engineering Corresponding author: I. Chakrabarty Department of Metallurgical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi 221005 India. E-mail: ichakraborty.met@itbhu.ac. in
Person-centred Information for Discharge Home

Clear person-centred information relevant to a person’s unique situation is an essential component to continued care following a hospital stay. Rising pressure on health services to discharge patients earlier is placing patients at risk as the ability to absorb information in hospital can be significantly impaired. Many patients return home with inadequate information to support recovery. To date the problem of patients returning to hospital following discharge has not been looked at from the perspective of person–centred information provision and the extent to which better quality, timing and delivery of information (what and when provided) could reduce the rate of return. This qualitative exploratory study uses Roy’s Adaption Model to examine the question: What are patients’ unique person-centred information needs at three critical time points preand post discharge. Understanding unique person-centred information needs provides insight for IS content design to facilitate smoother healthcare transitions between hospital and home.
Toxicity induced due to pesticide exposure on human lymphocytes-A review

The farmers often use wide range of pesticides from high to extremely hazardous categories of numerous pesticides with different compositions including neonicotinoids like Imidacloprid (IMD) etc, pyrethroids like Lambda cyhalothrin (LCT) etc. This paper describes an overview of study of possible genetic damage induced due to pesticides by using methodchromosomal aberration (CA), sister chromatid exchange (SCE) analysis in the human peripheral blood lymphocytes. In vitro studies on pesticide exposed workers usually revealed dose and time-dependent effects. In vivo cytotoxicity depends on multiple factors like single or multiple pesticides, exposure time and precaution following personal protective equipments (PPE) used etc. The damage induced is higher on exposure to mixture of pesticides, long exposure time and without PPE used as compared to control or exposure following PPE. The concentration of the various pesticides considered were below the established tolerances limits of LD50 but continuous consumption by directly or indirectly manner with moderate contamination level can increase biomagnification and may show deleterious effects on human population or non target individuals having different exposure span. Therefore it is advisable that preventive strategies be followed while using pesticides which is being inevitable to combat pests menace to meet human food demand for continuously increasing human population.
Combining experimental studies and computational modeling: the locus of semantic interference in the picture-word interference task

In this project the discrepancy on the locus of the semantic interference effect in picture-word interference (PWI) is investigated with the combination of an experimental study and computational modeling. The experimental part consisted of a Psychological Refractory Paradigm experiment with a tone discrimination and a PWI task. It was investigated whether a short presentation duration of PWI stimuli forces participants into parallel processing of both tasks. If this is the case, it may explain the discrepancy among studies in the literature regarding the semantic interference effect in dual task studies. The second part consists of an investigation of how this line of experiments can be modeled using the existing ACT-R and RACE/A models in psycholinguistics.
Electronic Journal of Qualitative Theory of Differential Equations

The method and the formula of variation of constants for ordinary differential equations (ODEs) is a fundamental tool to analyze the dynamics of an ODE near an equilibrium. It is natural to expect that such a formula works for delay differential equations (DDEs), however, it is well-known that there is a conceptual difficulty in the formula for DDEs. Here we discuss the variation of constants formula for DDEs by introducing the notion of a mild solution, which is a solution under an initial condition having a discontinuous history function. Then the principal fundamental matrix solution is defined as a matrix-valued mild solution, and we obtain the variation of constants formula with this function. This is also obtained in the framework of a Volterra convolution integral equation, but the treatment here gives an understanding in its own right. We also apply the formula to show the principle of linearized stability and the Poincaré–Lyapunov theorem for DDEs, where we do not need to assume the uniqueness of a solution.
Development and validation of an internet entrepreneurial self-efficacy scale

PurposeUnderstanding people’s intentions to be an internet entrepreneur is an important issue for educators, academics and practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a scale to measure internet entrepreneurial self-efficacy.Design/methodology/approachBased on an analysis of 356 responses, a scale of internet entrepreneurial self-efficacy is validated in accordance with established scale development procedures.FindingsThe internet entrepreneurial self-efficacy scale has 16 items under three factors (i.e. leadership, technology utilization and internet marketing and e-commerce). The scale demonstrated adequate convergent validity, discriminant validity and criterion-related validity. Nomological validity was established by the positive correlation between the scale and, respectively, internet entrepreneurship knowledge and entrepreneurial intention.Originality/valueThis study is a pioneering effort to develop and validate a scale to measure internet entrepreneurial self-efficacy. The results of this study are helpful to researchers in building internet entrepreneurship theories and to educators in assessing and promoting individuals’ internet entrepreneurial self-efficacy and behavior.
Filter Bubbles in Political Twitter Conversations

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to describe and analyse relationships and communication between Twitter actors in Swedish political conversations. More specifically, the paper aims to a) identify the most prominent actors, b) among these actors identify the sub-groups of actors with similar political affiliations, and c) describe and analyse the relationships and communication between these sub-groups. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected during four weeks in September 2012, using Twitter API. The data included 77,436 tweets from 10,294 Twitter actors containing the hashtag #svpol. 916 actors with an activity level above a given threshold were identified and categorised according to the main political blocks, using information from their profiles. Social network analysis was utilised to map the relationships and the communication between these actors. Findings: The 916 actors accounted for 72% of the tweets in the data set, suggesting that political microblogging in Sweden is mostly done by a Twitter elite. The three main blocks left block (L), centre-right block (CR), and rightwing block (RW) were the most represented among these actors. The results from the social network analysis suggest that while polarisation exists in this setting, actors follow actors from other groups. However, crossboundary communication was rare, as was re-tweeting tweets from members of other groups. Originality/value: While a few papers have studied political polarisation on Twitter, this is the first to study the phenomenon using followership data, communication data, and re-tweet data.
Drought characterisation in Cyclades complex, Greece

The analysis of past drought episodes can enhance the understanding of drought characteristics in a specific region, lending support to the development of drought management plans. Such an analysis has been undertaken for three islands in the Cyclades complex, Greece, where drought planning is not performed even though drought conditions are experienced frequently. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), the Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) and the Threshold Level method were used for past drought characterisation, and a trend analysis was carried out to assess any trends in precipitation and temperature that may have affected past drought frequency and severity. The analysis was performed for the 1970-2010 period, using historical precipitation and temperature data. The analysis indicates that mild drought conditions were most frequently experienced in the islands, which however resulted into significant impacts due to the water scarcity problems faced. The analysis results indicate that drought monitoring should be performed individually in each island, to account for local characteristics and trends. In addition, monitoring should not solely be based on indices using climate data but instead should reflect water sources and uses as well as drought vulnerability in each island.
Extended Competition Rules for Interacting Plants

The goal of this paper is the interactive and realistic rendering of 3D competing plant covering a landscape. We introduce the so-called FON-Model as a new method for the visualization and simulation of competing plant root systems in which the overlapping area of the depleted-zone between competing root systems is quantatively found. We visualize different conditions for the resource competition between plant root systems. Additionally, we present an improved model for the competition for light that is dependant upon the translucency of the plant foliage and the density of the plant skeleton. In connection to it we introduce a new competition simulations for nurse plants. Finally, we simulate and visualize competition between a healthy plant and a plant that at one point in time becomes sick. As results, our method greatly increases the reality of the rendered landscape and allows rendering of large landscapes in interactive environments.
A NEW ERA OF HIV: PSYCHOLOGY’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EPIDEMIC AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRE-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS DETERMINANTS SCALE

By 1991, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) had claimed more than 250,000 lives in the United States (US; Chadwick, Zelaya & DeBlaere, 2017). That same year, the first clinical trials began to test the effectiveness of Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) to combat the virus (HIV.gov, 2017). By 1995, HIV/AIDS became the leading cause of death among Americans age 25-44 (Zuninga et al., 2008), becoming a modern epidemic of unprecedented proportions, particularly among sexual minority men. Over time, treatments for HIV improved in their scope and effectiveness, leading to our modern conceptualization of HIV as a chronic illness, rather than a terminal disease. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a recently developed primary medical prevention method for HIV. Although clinical trials have demonstrated promising results in terms of efficacy, little is known regarding the attitudes of individuals most likely to benefit from PrEP treatment (e.g. sexual minority men). As such, the proposed study aims to address this gap in the research literature by contributing a psychological perspective on HIV and PrEP. Specifically, Chapter 1 provides a systemic literature review of the flagship psychological journals associated with subfields within the discipline (e.g. counseling psychology, men and masculinity issues, sexual orientation diversity) uniquely suited to contribute expertise relevant to the HIV epidemic. Chapter 2 proposes to develop a scale measuring the psychosocial determinants of PrEP utilization. Based on the extant literature, four factors are proposed for the PrEP Determinants (PrEP-D) scale, including knowledge about PrEP, stigma, treatment attributes, and perceived effectiveness. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using data collected from a sample of sexual minority men suggest the presence of four factors in the PrEP-D scale, consistent with the themes identified in the literature. The study also provides initial evidence of internal consistency, reliability, and construct validity. INDEX WORDS: HIV, PrEP, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, Prevention, Gay, Bisexual, Sexual Minority, Stigma A NEW ERA OF HIV: PSYCHOLOGY’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EPIDEMIC AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRE-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS DETERMINANTS SCALE
IMPROVING NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF THE GOAT MILK BY GRAZING

The aim of study was to investigate the effect of grazing on the nutritional quality, such as composition, vitamins and fatty acids content of dairy goat milk. Before vegetation period, all goats were kept indoors and nutrition based on hay diet. After turn-out to pasture, all goats were grazing. Bulk milk samples were collected on 12 consecutive days at two sampling periods: in indoor and in grazing months and analysed for milk compositions and vitamin A, E and D3, as well as for fatty acid contents. The milk from grazing goats had significantly higher fat, protein and total solids non-fat than goats kept indoors. Grazing caused higher concentrations of vitamin A (0.026 vs. 0.036 mg/100ml; P<0.01) and D3 (0.075 vs. 0.089 mg/100ml; P<0.05) compared to feeding hay. During the grass diet the rumenic acid (0.56 vs. 0.66 g/100g fatty acids; P<0.05) and n-3 fatty acids (0.36 vs. 1.19 g/100g fatty acids; P<0.001) contents in milk significantly increased. In this study, n-6/n-3 ratio of 10.17 and 1.82 were found in milk samples of goats that fed indoor and grass, respectively. It can be concluded that the milk from grazing goats is more advantageous for human nutrition, than the milk produced by animals fed hay based diet.
New techniques for route-based forecasting

Progress with the development of a new route-based forecasting system is presented. It uses a new high resolution Numerical Weather Prediction model to provide the best possible meteorological input. The development of new techniques to represent the important effects of hills and valleys which are still on too small scale to be seen by the NWP model is described. Finally, it is shown that the shading and sky-view parameters required for the energy balance model used to predict road surface temperature and state can be accurately predicted.
Glacier runoff variations since 1955 in the Maipo River Basin, semiarid Andes of central Chile

Abstract. As glaciers adjust their size in response to climate variations, long-term changes in meltwater production can be expected, affecting the local availability of water resources. We investigate glacier runoff in the period 1955–2016 in the Maipo River Basin (4 843 km2), semiarid Andes of Chile. The basin contains more than 800 glaciers covering 378 km2 (inventoried in 2000). We model the mass balance and runoff contribution of 26 glaciers with the physically-oriented and fully-distributed TOPKAPI-ETH glacio-hydrological model, and extrapolate the results to the entire basin. TOPKAPI-ETH is run using several glaciological and meteorological datasets, and its results are evaluated against streamflow records, remotely-sensed snow cover and geodetic mass balances for the periods 1955–2000 and 2000–2013. Results show that glacier mass balance had a general decreasing trend as a basin average, but with differences between the main sub-catchments. Glacier volume decreased by one fifth (from 18.6 ± 4.5 to 14.9 ± 2.9 km3). Runoff from the initially glacierized areas was 186 ± 27 mm yr−1 (17 ± 7 % of the total contributions to the basin), but it shows a decreasing sequence of maxima, which can be linked to the interplay between a decrease in precipitation since the 1980s and the reduction of ice melt. If glaciers in the basin were in equilibrium with the climate of the last two decades, their volume would be reduced to 81 ± 38 % of the year 2000 volume, and glacier runoff during dry periods would be 61 ± 24 % of its maximum contribution in the period 1955–2016, considerably decreasing the drought mitigation capacity of the basin.