Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
EFFECT OF TRADE OPENNESS ON ECONOMIC GROWTH IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: DYNAMIC PANEL ANALYSIS

Theoretically, proponents of traditional trade theories argue that trade openness can enhance economic growth by providing access to goods and services, achieving efficiency in allocation of resources through comparative advantage, creation of employment opportunities and generation of capital that leads to better living standards in terms of higher level of GDP per capita,trade openness may strengthen economic growth through different channels such as efficient allocation of resources. However, owing to the fact that there are limited studies on trade openness, various studies indicate divergent views on the effect of trade openness on economic growth. For this reason, it is not clear whether or not trade openness affect economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of trade openness on economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Control variables used in the regression included oversees development assistance, population growth rate, domestic credit and foreign direct investment. Trade openness, inflation and capital stock were explanatory variables and economic growth the dependent variable. This study was modeled using the Neoclassical Growth theory. One- step difference Generalized Method of Moments results revealed that trade openness had a positive and significant effect on economic growth, capital stock positive and insignificant relationship, while inflation had positive and insignificant relationship with economic growth in SSA.The study thus recommends that there is a need for improving balance of trade by increasing exports diversification and balanced growth and the policy makers of SSA countries should have to give a priority for trade and investment policies which requires some reforms to adjust with changing economic environment. The study concluded that extra-regional trade spurs higher output than intra-regional trade. This may be due to lack of efficiency in the implementation of trade agreements among the intra-regional constituent countries such as Sub-Saharan African countries and lack of full commitment by the member states governments to trade more intensively. KEYWORDS: Trade openness, economic growth, Sub-Saharan Africa
Building bridges between Europe and China to strengthen social work field education: preliminary findings from Guangdong Province

ABSTRACT Social work education has extended globally and has developed in China at an unprecedented speed. Serious attention must be paid to how the global spread of social work education interacts with developments in China. This study describes and assesses an international collaboration in field education between six European and Chinese universities using multiple data sources in Guangdong Province. Trust, disciplinary unity and local participation in the collaboration generated good practices in developing Chinese field education, including linking and preparing universities and agencies from developed and less developed areas, implementing a well-defined learning process with a competence-based perspective and training supervisors through training the trainers. Moreover, positive outcomes of this project were identified, including high satisfaction by both students and supervisors and increasing levels of supervisors’ self-efficacy and students’ competencies. In future, international collaboration should focus more on the issue of indigenisation.
Behavioural Economics Contribution to the Entrepreneurship Theory and its Application in Entrepreneurship Policies

Based on interdisciplinary research the paper proves that behavioural economics provides a significant contribution to the entrepreneurship theory and can increase the effect of policies focused on entrepreneurship motivation. The paper demonstrates that entrepreneurship is a phenomenon, which contradicts a number of neoclassical assumptions, while behavioural economics provides explanations of these deviations and embeds entrepreneurship into modified models. These new models take into account behavioural aspects of entrepreneur’s decision. The paper determines three main reasons of restrained effect of entrepreneurship policies, which are limited knowledge about existing entrepreneurship policies, underestimation of entrepreneurial sphere opportunities and importance of non-pecuniary factors in entrepreneurial decision, which are not taken into account in existing entrepreneurship determinants, used by policy makers. The paper suggests that behavioural economics approaches should be used in entrepreneurship policies as they help to deal with similar issues in other spheres.
Shear localization in large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) flows of particulate suspensions

Significant shear localization, observed as substantial concentration gradients, is discovered in large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) simulations of a complex fluid in a planar Couette setup. The localization is demonstrated to occur due to the inertial effects imposed by the oscillatory shear in LAOS, which serve as perturbations in the nonlinear equations describing the structural response of the fluid to shear. Additionally, a criterion for the onset of this shear localization is presented.
Closing the Knowledge Gap: How Issue Priming Before Presidential Debate Viewing Encourages Learning and Opinion Articulation

One mechanism by which citizens learn about candidates and issues is through watching presidential debates. Some scholars have raised concerns that these events, however, disproportionately benefit those already high in political knowledge more so than others with lesser knowledge levels. We hypothesize that knowledge begets knowledge because it prompts a constructive cognitive process that results from elaboration and reflection. We test this hypothesis in an experiment that also considers whether issue priming could help mitigate the deficit that those lower in political sophistication have when viewing campaign events. Participants (N = 543) watched a 9-minute segment focusing on economic issues drawn from the first 2020 presidential debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joseph Biden. Half of the participants were randomly assigned to an issue priming condition and viewed the debate segment after reading a narrative text on economic policy, and the other half read an unrelated text. The study presents a model that reveals the following: (a) cognitive elaboration mediates the relationship between prior political knowledge and learning from a campaign event, (b) providing citizens with background issue–related knowledge produces a similar elaborative effect as did preexisting political knowledge, and (c) participants demonstrate greater political opinion articulation following this enhanced elaboration leading to more learning. The implications for cultivating a knowledgeable democratic electorate are discussed.
Factors affecting the performance of small-scale construction firms in Nigeria

Small-Scale Construction Firms (SSCFs) in Nigeria are confronted with several problems that tend to limits their contributions to the country’s GDP, employment generation as well as infrastructural development. Although the prospect for improved contribution towards development still exists, there is the need for implementation of good management practices and support measures. Therefore, this study uses focus group to explore factors affecting the performance of small-scale construction firms and possible remedial measures. The study identified 113 factors that negatively affect performance. The interview further helped in grouping the variables into seven (7) groups. The focus group participants helped to identify and classify eighty-two (82) measures into internal and external measures. Internal measures are to be implemented by the construction firms towards solving internal constraints and external measures to be implemented by government and other stakeholders towards minimizing problems that are outside the control of the small-scale construction firms. Results revealed critical factors affecting performance such as financial indiscipline by contractors, lack of experience and track records, poor policy by commercial banks on SMEs, corruption, effects of globalisation, multiple taxation, stringent prequalification criteria, poor design and specifications, lack of entrepreneurship skills and delay in payment for work done. The study recommends the implementation of remedial measures by management of small-scale construction firms and governments with other stakeholders that could improve performance. http://dx.doi. org/10.4314/njt.v39i4. 3
Volatility patterns of short-term interest rate futures

A general question in finance is whether the volatility of the price of futures contracts follows any particular trend over the contract’s life. In this study, we contribute to the debate by empirically analyzing the trend of the term structure of the volatility of short-term interest rates (STIR) futures prices. Using data on the Eurodollar, Euribor, and Short-Sterling futures contracts for the period between 2000 and 2018, we model the volatility of each individual contract considering time to expiration and trading activities. Furthermore, we investigate whether these trends change according to overall economic conditions. We find that STIR futures behave differently than futures on other underlying assets and that, most of the time, STIR futures price volatility declines as the contract approaches expiration. Moreover, the relation between volatility and time to maturity depends on market conditions and trading activities, and it is non-linearly related to the observation period.
Privacy and smart speakers: A multi-dimensional approach

Abstract Over the last few years, smart speakers such as Amazon Echo and Google Home have become increasingly present within British households. Yet, privacy remains a prominent concern in the public discourse about smart speakers, as well as in the nascent academic literature. We argue that privacy in the context of smart speakers is more complex than in other settings due to smart speakers’ specific technological affordances and also the axial relationships between users, the device, device manufacturers, application developers, and other third parties such as moderation contractors and data brokers. With survey data from Amazon Echo and Google Home users in the UK, we explore users’ privacy concerns and privacy protection behaviors related to smart speakers. We rely on a contextual understanding of privacy, assessing the prevalence of seven distinct privacy concern types as well as three privacy protection behaviors. The results indicate that concerns about third parties, such as contractors listening to smart speaker recordings, are most pronounced. Privacy protection behaviors are uncommon but partly affected by privacy concerns and motives such as social presence and utilitarian benefits. Taken together, our research paints a picture of privacy pragmatism or privacy cynicism among smart speaker users.
The chaplains: key negotiators of the church school ethos

ABSTRACT The article concerns school chaplains in Czech church schools. Drawing on interviews and non-participant field observations, I examine, through an applied thematic analysis, how the chaplains participate in the negotiation of the church school ethos with other important actors in everyday interactions. This study argues that Czech school chaplains can be regarded as key actors in the process of negotiating and maintaining this ethos. Among various actors – students, founding churches, headteachers and pedagogues – they maintain an exceptional position as Christian spiritual leaders with, at the same time, neutral standing, and who enjoy the privilege of a somewhat vaguely defined role. The chaplaincy here appears as a proto-profession without clear boundaries and built on both authenticity and the chaplains’ personal spirituality.
Fighting Polarization with (Parental) Internalization

Growing polarization has been a rising concern in recent years all around the world. How can governments effectively fight it? In a dynamic model of inter-generational cultural transmission we show that polarization could be driven by the attempt of parents to instill extreme values in their children in anticipation of the pressure to conform that will be imposed on the children by their peers. However, this extremist tendency is mitigated if parents put a sufficiently large weight on their children's disutility from peer pressure and try to reduce it - rather than counterbalance it - by instilling in the children conformist rather than extreme values. Increasing awareness of parents to this peer pressure could therefore be a governmental tool for fighting polarization.
Perceptions of Urban Green Areas during the Social Distancing Period for COVID-19 Containment in Italy

The scientific community recognizes that urban green areas play an important role in supporting human wellbeing. Green spaces are used differently by citizens accordingly to their age, gender, education, or lifestyle. During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic period in 2020, public green areas were closed due to the limitations imposed by social distancing in Italy and people were forced to stay at home. The aim of this research was to investigate the importance of public green areas in the life of the population in relation to the limits imposed during the first lockdown in Italy. A participatory approach was used, and an online questionnaire focused on people’s perceptions about the public attendance in green areas and their main uses pre-, during, and post-COVID-19 emergency period was administrated randomly to the adult population. The questions focused on the habit, frequency, and duration of park visits and about the individual perceptions and feelings about the green areas close (maximum 200 m distance) to their residences. A total of 3286 responses were obtained and analyzed at national and regional levels (Piemonte). In order to have a general national overview, a basic descriptive statistic was applied using all answers, elaborated in the form of percentages. At the regional level, questions were selected and compared to determine if answers were in related. Statistical analyses with chi-square tests and correspondence analyses were performed. The results indicated that the social distancing period for COVID-19 containment in Italy influenced perceptions about urban green areas. The importance of having outdoor green spaces was highlighted and an increase in interest about urban green areas was observed. Future planning strategies will have to consider the need of designing urban green areas for having more livable cities.
Clinical course and neurological sequels after tick-borne encephalitis in children - case report.

INTRODUCTION Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a neurotropic, tick-transmitted infection. Clinical presentation ranges from mild aseptic meningitis to severe encephalitis, and may result in long-term neurological sequels. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study is to present the clinical features of TBE in children, and the laboratory findings, in order to identify neurological sequels and the risk of cognitive deficits in long-term TBE infections. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study included eight children with serologically-confirmed TBE, hospitalized in the Paediatric Centre in Kielce, Poland. RESULTS Despite the more benign clinical course of TBE infections in children compared to adults, the potential for long-term cognitive sequels can be serious. It is hypothesized that a developing CNS is more susceptible to long-term infection effects. CONCLUSIONS Paediatric TBE should be considered in children with unexplained acute CNS-related symptoms. The long-term consequences may occur with permanent impairment of the quality of life due to neurological consequences.
Spatio-temporal and cross-scale interactions in hydroclimate variability: a case-study in France

Abstract. Understanding how water resources vary at different temporal and spatial scales in response to climate is crucial to inform long-term management. Climate change impacts and induced trends may indeed be substantially modulated by low-frequency (multi-year) variations, whose strength varies in time and space, with large consequences on risk forecasting systems. In this study, we present a spatial classification of precipitation, temperature and discharge variability in France, based on a fuzzy clustering and wavelet spectra of 152 near natural watersheds between 1958 and 2008. We also explore phase-phase and phase-amplitude causal interactions between time scales of each homogeneous region. Three significant time scales of variability are found in precipitation, temperature and discharge: 1 year, 2–4 years and 5–8 years. The magnitude of those time scales of variability is however not constant over the different regions. For instance, Southern regions are markedly different from other regions, with much lower 5–8 years variability and much larger 2–4 years variability. Several temporal changes in precipitation, temperature and discharge variability are identified during the 1980s and 1990s. Notably, we note a sudden decrease in annual temperature variability in the mid 1990s in the Southern half of France. Investigating cross-scale interactions, our study reveals causal and bi-directional relationships between higher and lower-frequency variability, which may feature interactions within the coupled land-ocean-atmosphere systems. Interestingly, however, even though time-frequency patterns (occurrence and timing of time scales of variability) were similar between regions, cross-scale interactions are far much complex, differ between regions, and are not systematically transferred from climate variability (precipitation and temperature) to hydrological variability (discharge). Phase-amplitude interactions are indeed absent in discharge variability, although significant phase-amplitude interactions are found in precipitation and temperature. This suggests that watershed characteristics cancel the negative feedback systems found in precipitation and temperature.This study allows for a multi-time scale representation of hydro-climate variability in France, and provides unique insight into the complex non-linear dynamics of this variability, and its predictability.
Immobilization Potential of Cow Manure for Heavy Metal Remediation from Refuse Dump Soil

Aims: The present study investigated the effect of cow manure amendment on fractionation and availability of some heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Cr, Mn, Pb and Zn) in refuse dump soil. Study Design: A greenhouse study experiment was conducted to determine the uptake of the metals by Ricinus communis in dump soil treated with 0%, 5%, 10% and 20% cow manure. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at the Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria, between May and October 2018. Methodology: Experimental pots were filled with 2.0kg refuse dump soil in a green house and treated with 5%, 10% and 20% of Cow manure in three replicates per treatment. The seeds of Ricinus communis were planted in each pot and analysed after 12 weeks of planting for heavy metals using AAS. Sequential extraction was carried out on the treated soil after the harvest with each extract further analysed for heavy metals using AAS. Results: Application of cow manure significantly (p ˂ 0.05) affected the redistribution and the Original Research Article Ezeudu et al.; IRJPAC, 22(2): 44-55, 2021; Article no.IRJPAC. 66685 45 mobility of the heavy metals in the dump soil; as the concentration of the amendment increased, heavy metals in the mobile fractions reduced. 20% amendment had the best immobilization effect as the mobility factor decreased with increasing manure amendment. The mobility factors at 20% amendment were 18.34%, 15.82%, 5.23%, 15.86%, 25.56% and 12.81% for Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Pb and Zn respectively with the general trend of metal forms given as: residual > bound to organic > bound to Fe-Mn oxide > bound to carbonate > exchangeable. Conclusion: Cow manure amendment of the dump soil decreased the availability of heavy metals for plant uptake; and the metal uptake generally decreased as percentage amendment increased. Cow manure is therefore a good immobilizing agent for remediation of Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Pb and Zn in polluted soils.
Early Adolescent Predictors of Violent Behavior: Child and Contextual Risk, and Moderation by Rejecting Parenting

The current study explored early adolescent child-level predictors (physical aggression, impulsivity, empathy) and contextual-level predictors (peer deviance, neighborhood dangerousness) of violent and nonviolent antisocial behavior (AB) in late adolescence. Additionally, we tested the moderating role of rejecting parenting on these associations based on the importance of parent-child relationships in early adolescence and documented bidirectional associations between parenting and our predictor variables. Participants (N = 272) came from the Pitt Mother and Child Project, a longitudinal study of high-risk boys. Higher levels of early adolescent physical aggression significantly predicted late adolescent engagement in both nonviolent and violent crimes. Peer deviance, impulsivity, and neighborhood dangerousness were also associated with later juvenile AB. Rejecting parenting moderated several of these associations. Results support the predictive validity of several early adolescent child- and contextual-level variables—particularly early adolescent aggression—for subsequent engagement in both violent and nonviolent AB.
Nitrogen Dynamics of Strawberry Cultivation in Vermicompost-Amended Systems

ABSTRACT The use of vermicompost as a soil amendment is suggested as a method to reduce nitrogen (N) losses in crop production; however, it is unclear whether and how vermicompost can affect water quality after a significant irrigation or rainfall event. Bare-root strawberry plugs were grown in 1-gallon plastic pots. The treatments consisted of two media: (1) a peat:perlite soil-less mix and (2) a fine sand soil. Each media was amended with three levels of dairy manure vermicompost: 0, 10, and 25% by weight, and a biweekly synthetic fertilizer treatment of 150 mg N-P-K L−1 evaluated in a full factorial randomized block design. Drainage water from each plant was collected each week for 18 weeks and analyzed for NO3− concentration. In the first 2 weeks, high (1000–5000 mg L−1) amounts of NO3− leaching occurred in all vermicompost-amended media relative to non vermicompost-amended media, but this leaching significantly (p < 0.01) decreased over time across all vermicompost treatments. Strawberry growth response to 10% vermicompost was similar to synthetic fertilizer only treatments. Plants grown with vermicompost at 25% with synthetic fertilizer had the highest above-ground vegetative biomass (15.3 g) relative to plants with synthetic fertilizer only (5.3 g). These data suggest vermicompost addition rates of 10 and 25% by weight promote high vegetative biomass in greenhouse strawberry but may facilitate high initial nitrate leaching, which can negatively affect water quality and environmental health.