Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learners’ Perceptions of Tertiary Level Teachers’ Code Switching: A Vietnamese Perspective

The literature on language teaching and second language acquisition has been largely driven by monolingual ideology with a common assumption that a second language (L2) is best taught and learned in the L2 only. The current study challenges this assumption by reporting learners' positive perceptions of tertiary level teachers' code switching practices in Vietnam. The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of code switching practices in language classrooms from a learners' perspective. Data were collected from student participants who were working towards a Bachelor degree in English within the English for Business Communication stream through the use of focus group interviews. The literature has documented that this method of interviewing has a number of distinct advantages over individual student interviews. For instance, group interactions generated by focus groups create a more natural environment than that of an individual interview because they include a range of communicative processes in which each individual may influence or be influenced by others as they are in their real life. The process of interaction provides the opportunity to obtain the meanings and answers to a problem that are "socially constructed rather than individually created" leading to the capture of real-life data. The distinct feature of group interaction offered by this technique makes it a powerful means of obtaining deeper and richer data than those from individual interviews. The data generated through this study were analysed using a constant comparative approach. Overall, the students expressed positive views of this practice indicating that it is a useful teaching strategy. Teacher code switching was seen as a learning resource and a source supporting language output. This practice was perceived to promote student comprehension and to aid the learning of content and target language knowledge. This practice was also believed to scaffold the students' language production in different contexts. However, the students indicated their preference for teacher code switching to be constrained, as extensive use was believed to negatively impact on their L2 learning and trigger cognitive reliance on the L1 for L2 learning. The students also perceived that when the L1 was used to a great extent, their ability to develop as autonomous learners was negatively impacted. This study found that teacher code switching was supported in certain contexts by learners, thus suggesting that there is a need for the widespread assumption about the monolingual teaching approach to be re-considered. Keywords—Code switching, L1 use, L2 teaching, Learners’ perception.
Brief asphyxial state following immediate cord clamping accelerates onset of left-to-right shunting across the ductus arteriosus after birth in preterm lambs.

Reversal of shunting across the ductus arteriosus from right-to-left to left-to-right is a characteristic feature of the birth transition. Given that immediate cord clamping (ICC) followed by an asphyxial cord clamp-to-ventilation (CC-V) interval may augment left ventricular (LV) output and central blood flows after birth, we tested the hypothesis that an asphyxial CC-V interval accelerates the onset of postnatal left-to-right ductal shunting. High-fidelity central blood flow signals were obtained in anesthetized preterm lambs (gestation 128±2 days) after ICC followed by a non-asphyxial (~40 s, n=9) or asphyxial (~90 s, n=9) CC-V interval before mechanical ventilation for 30 min after birth. Left-to-right ductal flow segments were related to aortic isthmus and descending aortic flow profiles to quantify sources of ductal shunting. In the non-asphyxial group, phasic left-to-right ductal shunting was initially minor after birth, but then rose progressively to 437±164 ml/min by 15 min (P<0.001). However, in the asphyxial group, this shunting increased from 24±21 to 199±93 ml/min by 15 s after birth (P < 0.001) and rose further to 471±190 ml/min by 2 min (P<0.001). This earlier onset of left-to-right ductal shunting was supported by larger contributions (P<0.001) from direct systolic LV flow and retrograde diastolic discharge from an arterial reservoir/windkessel located in the descending aorta and its major branches, and associated with increased pulmonary arterial blood flow having a larger ductal component. These findings suggest that the duration of the CC-V interval after ICC is an important modulator of left-to-right ductal shunting, LV output and pulmonary perfusion at birth.
Challenges and contributors to self-efficacy for caregivers of toddlers with autism

In this qualitative study, 11 mothers of toddlers with autism participated in interviews to investigate how they perceived their roles and their competency to support toddlers’ social learning in the context of both professional-implemented and parent-mediated early intervention models. The authors conducted a thematic analysis with multiple layers of independent coding. Four resulting themes highlighted challenges and contributors to parent self-efficacy. First, related to child characteristics, challenges were most prominent in the early period as participants adjusted to the diagnosis and reached to connect when social difficulties emerged. Second, having a peripheral role in early intervention challenged participants’ confidence in their abilities, while receiving guidance to assume an active leadership role supported their sense of efficacy for facilitating toddlers’ social learning. In a third theme, participants described specific and general examples of their expertise. Fourth, participants considered the transactional context of parent–child interaction and largely viewed their toddlers’ independent wills, natures, and preferences as strengths upon which to build social engagement. The results support the need for early interventionists to promote and leverage family capacity for facilitating toddler learning as social challenges begin to appear for toddlers with autism. Lay Abstract Parent-participatory early intervention practices are linked to parents’ positive views of their own and their children’s capabilities, beliefs that are associated with a range of parent and child outcomes. A qualitative study was conducted with 11 mothers of toddlers with autism who had experience with both professionally directed and parent-mediated early intervention. Participants were interviewed to explore their perspectives on their roles in relation to professionals and on how they viewed their ability to support their toddlers’ social learning. An in-depth analysis of the transcribed interviews resulted in four themes. First, in the early stages, participants experienced challenges to their self-efficacy as they adjusted to the diagnosis and reached to connect with their child when social challenges emerged. Second, participants’ views of their capability were stronger when they were provided with background knowledge enabling them to take the lead in guiding their children’s learning than when professionals modeled predetermined intervention strategies for them to copy. Third, participants provided specific examples of their expertise to support their toddlers’ social learning and viewed their close parent–child relationship and intimate knowledge of their children as valuable to the intervention. Fourth, participants voiced respect for their toddlers’ natures and preferences, positioning them to build on their toddlers’ strengths in everyday interactions. The results support the need for early intervention providers to promote and leverage family capacity for facilitating toddler learning as social challenges begin to appear for toddlers with autism.
Preparation of CaTiO 3 Asymmetric Membranes Using Polyetherimide as Binder Polymer

Asymmetric dense and thin membranes have been prepared from powders of perovskite oxide-type CaTiO 3 without cracking by phase inversion method. Polyetherimide was used as a polymeric binder in the method. The resulting green membranes, composed of CaTiO 3 powder and polyetherimide binder, were sintered at 890, 1100 or 1200 °C. The crystal phase of CaTiO 3 was analyzed using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The XRD pattern of the synthesized CaTiO 3 powder was matched with the reference indicating the formation of CaTiO 3 structure. Sintering at 890 °C fails to form a strong membrane. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images of the membranes showed that the membrane had the asymmetric structure with dense layer on one side and porous layer on the other side. The pores in the porous layer were both finger-like and sponge-like structure. The mechanical strength of the membranes, which were determined by Vickers micro hardness method, varied from 3.5 to 25.8 Hv. The strongest membrane without any crack was resulted from sintering at 1200°C with hardness values between 19.4 and 25.8 Hv. Thermal expansion coefficients of the asymmetric membranes sintered at 1100 and 1200 °C, measured with Thermomechanical Analyzer (TMA), were 10.82 × 10 -6 and 12.78 × 10 -6 . C -1 respectively.
“I want to be beautiful and rich”: Consumer culture ideals internalization and their influence on fashion consumption

ABSTRACT Within the US culture, two consumer culture ideals – namely, the body perfect and the material good life – are dominant. This study addressed the question – how are these two consumer culture ideals internalized? And, how an individual’s degree of internalization of these consumer culture ideals influence one’s fashion consumption behavior? By building on the Tripartite Influence Model, a widely used empirical model in body-image research, a research model was proposed. Data were drawn from self-reported online survey by respondents located in the US (N = 472). The proposed model was tested using structural equation modeling. All but one proposed hypotheses were supported, which explained 20% of the variance for fashion involvement construct (p <.001). Findings of the study revealed that sociocultural factors (i.e. parents, peers, and mass media) contribute to an individual’s degree of cultural ideals internalization, which in turn influences one’s level of body satisfaction and fashion consumption behavior. The findings of the study would be of interest to several entities, including social advertisers and marketers, media activists, and body image educators, among others, which are also discussed.
Validation of Suitable Reference Genes for Gene Expression Studies on Yak Testis Development

Simple Summary Yak (Bos grunniens) provides life materials for herdsmen in high-plateau areas. Improving their low fertility is necessary to meet the demands of the development of the yak industry. The testis is an important organ for male fertility, its development is controlled by a large number of genes. Using real-time reverse transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to explore the quantitative expression of genes can provide insights for illuminating the molecular mechanisms of testis development, but the RT-qPCR data are influenced by the stability of reference genes (RGs). Unfortunately, no available RGs can normalize the gene expression in yak testis development. In this study, the expression stability of 13 candidate genes in yak testis at different developmental stages was evaluated using five different pieces of software. The results showed that the TATA box-binding protein (TBP) and ubiquitously expressed transcript protein (UXT) exhibited high stability across various developmental stages, TBP and hydroxymethylbilane synthase (HMBS) were the most stably expressed genes in immature stages, and mitochondrial ribosomal protein L39 (MRPL39) and TBP exhibited the most stable expression across mature stages. This study provided suitable RGs for gene expression studies in yak testis development. Abstract Testis has an important function in male reproduction. Its development is regulated by a large number of genes. The real-time reserve transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is a useful tool to evaluate the gene expression levels. However, unsuitable reference genes (RGs) can cause the misinterpretation of gene expression levels. Unfortunately, the ideal RGs for yak testis development are yet to be studied. In this study, 13 commonly used RGs were selected to identify the most stable RGs in yak testis at four different developmental stages, including two immature stages (6 months and 18 months) and two mature stages (30 months and 6 years). This study used GeNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, ∆Ct, and RefFinder programs to evaluate the stability of 13 candidate genes. The results of RefFinder showed that the stabilities of TATA box-binding protein (TBP) and ubiquitously expressed transcript protein (UXT) were ranked the top two across all developmental stages. TBP and hydroxymethylbilane synthase (HMBS) were stably expressed in immature stages, while mitochondrial ribosomal protein L39 (MRPL39) and TBP had higher stability than other candidate genes in mature stages. This study provided valuable information for gene expression studies to assist further investigation on the molecular mechanisms in underlying yak testis development.
Racial Differences in the Effects of College Quality and Student Body Diversity on Wages.

This chapter presents a study which used data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to examine racial differences in the effects of college quality and student diversity on wages. The study investigated whether the economic benefit of college quality might be higher for groups helped by diversity programs and whether a racially diverse student body would directly benefit all students. The NLSY provided data on student characteristics and demographics, student ability, college attended, and post-college wages. For each respondent who attended college, researchers collected data on college characteristics from the U.S. Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and U.S. News and World Report's Directory of Colleges and Universities. There was a much larger effect of college quality on the later wages of blacks than non-blacks. Attending a college with moderate student diversity, as measured by the fraction of black students, raised earnings for both black and non-black men. For women, there was a weaker effect that applied only to black women. In regard to the effects of college quality on black and non-black students, there was an effect on black male students from three to four times as large as that for non-black male students. (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) J This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. ff) Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent (Z) official OERI position or policy. CHAPTER 10 Racial Differences in the Effects of College Quality and Student Body Diversity on Wages KERMIT DANIEL DAN A. BLACK JEFFREY SMITH PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY
Incorporating Attitude towards Islamic Banking in an integrated Service Quality, Satisfaction, Trust and Loyalty Model

The Islamic banking is an emerging concept and has gained valuable acceptance not only in the Islamic countries but all over the world and has a visible growth. The purpose to conduct the current study is to empirically check the effect of consumer attitude towards Islamic banking on the customer’s perceived service quality regarding banking services and customer satisfaction with banking services. The proposed research model also investigate the relationships among variables like perceived service quality, customer satisfaction, customer trust and customer loyalty. A survey questionnaire was designed for data collection from the respondents that are the regular users of Islamic banks in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. The method used to collect data was convenience sampling in order to collect data from customers of 4 Islamic banks in Bahawalpur that are Meezan Bank, Bank Islami, Dubai Islamic Bank, and Bank Al-Baraka. Total 200 questionnaires were distributed out of which 163 were collected. Out of 163 collected questionnaires, 157 were in the usable form and used for the final analysis (Regression) using SPSS Ver.20. The results of the study show that attitude towards Islamic banking has a positive impact on the perceived service quality and customer satisfaction regarding the Islamic banking services. Moreover, the results also suggest that perceived service quality also influences customer satisfaction positively, customer satisfaction has positive impact on customer trust and customer loyalty. Furthermore, customer trust also influences customer loyalty positively. The current study enhances the understanding regarding the customer satisfaction, customer trust and customer loyalty and their determinants.
Smoking Inequality across Genders and Socio-economic Classes. Evidence from Longitudinal Italian Data

There has been a dearth of literature on smoking inequalities, in spite of its contribution to health inequalities. We exploit longitudinal Italian individual-level data to identify the main socio-demographic characteristics that determine smoking inequalities. We use the Erreygers Concentration Index to identify in which groups smoking is relatively more prevalent. We find that, among men, pro-poor prevalence is driven by members of the lower socio-economic classes, while we observe the opposite for women. We encourage policymakers to address the issue of smoking inequalities, which the current policies have largely disregarded.
Cornea Age-Related Conjunctival Disease in the C 57 BL / 6 . NOD-Aec 1 Aec 2 Mouse Model of Sjögren Syndrome Develops Independent of Lacrimal Dysfunction

Citation: You I-C, Bian F, Volpe EA, de Paiva CS, Pflugfelder SC. Age-related conjunctival disease in the C57BL/ 6.NOD-Aec1Aec2 mouse model of Sjögren syndrome develops independent of lacrimal dysfunction. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2015;56:2224– 2233. DOI:10.1167/iovs.14-15668 PURPOSE. To investigate parameters of ocular surface disease in C57BL/6.NOD-Aec1Aec2 (Aec) mice with aging and their correlation with development of Sjögren syndrome (SS)–like lacrimal gland (LG) disease.
Medicaid ’ s Unseen Costs by Michael F

Medicaid occupies a special place among government programs for the poor. Public support for Medicaid is broader and deeper than for other safety net programs because the consequences of inadequate medical care can be much more immediate and severe than those of a lack of money or even food. That may be one reason voters have heretofore accepted the rapidly growing tax burden Medicaid imposes. Medicaid is now larger than Medicare (the federal health program for the elderly and disabled) and is the single largest item in state budgets, even larger than elementary and secondary education. To curb this growing financial burden, states (led by Tennessee) are dropping hundreds of thousands of eligible individuals from their programs. Congress has resolved to reduce federal Medicaid spending by nearly 1 percent over the coming five years and has created a commission to recommend short-term savings and long-term structural reforms. Yet Medicaid imposes additional hidden costs. Like all means-tested government programs, Medicaid discourages work and charitable effort among the taxpayers who fund it, while discouraging self-sufficiency and encouraging dependence among beneficiaries. Medicaid also imposes costs that stem from overuse of medical care, increasing costs for private payers, and giving patients poorerquality care than they could obtain with private coverage. As it did with federal cash assistance, Congress should: (1) cap federal Medicaid spending, (2) block grant federal funds to the states, and (3) allow states full flexibility to define eligibility and benefits under their Medicaid programs. States should use that flexibility to target Medicaid assistance to the truly needy, reduce dependence, reduce crowd-out of private effort, and promote competitive private markets for medical care and insurance. That means withdrawing assistance from those who are most able to obtain coverage elsewhere and deregulating health care and health insurance markets so they can meet that need. Providing efficient medical care to the poor without fostering dependence is a delicate balancing act, and many of the costs incurred by getting it wrong don’t get a line item in the federal budget. Reforming Medicaid along the lines of the 1996 welfare law would allow the states to strike a better balance for all involved. Medicaid’s Unseen Costs
THE MANAGEMENT OF DE-CUMULATION RISKS IN A DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PENSION SCHEME∗

The aim of the paper is to lay the theoretical foundations for the construction of a flexible tool that can be used by pensioners to find optimal investment and consumption choices in the distribution phase of a defined contribution pension scheme. The investment/consumption plan is adopted until the time of compulsory annuitization, taking into account the possibility of earlier death. The effect of the bequest motive and the desire to buy a higher annuity than the one purchasable at retirement are included in the objective function. The mathematical tools provided by dynamic programming techniques are applied to find closed form solutions: numerical examples are also presented. In the model, the trade-off between the different desires of the individual regarding consumption and final annuity can be dealt with by choosing appropriate weights for these factors in the setting of the problem. Conclusions are twofold. Firstly, we find that there is a natural time-varying target for the size of the fund, which acts as a sort of safety level for the needs of the pensioner. Secondly, the personal preferences of the pensioner can be translated into optimal choices, which in turn affect the distribution of the consumption path and of the final annuity.
Improving Corporate Performance with Benchmarking: Some Contemporary Insights

The current intense nature of competition among firms has increased the pace of innovation within and across industries. Rapid changes in the taste and requirements of consumers have compelled organizations to think of ways of constantly improving their processes, product offerings and service delivery. Benchmarking as a tool has assisted organizations to fast track their innovation pipeline while reducing time and route to market. It has helped firms meet the requirements of their consumers at low level of risk and cost. This paper presents an expository review of some new ideas and approaches to effective benchmarking and provides practitioners with some contemporary insights on approaches and tools for benchmarking as a way of improving corporate performance in a measurable way.