Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Romulus cosmological simulations: a physical approach to the formation, dynamics and accretion models of SMBHs

We present a novel implementation of supermassive black hole (SMBH) formation, dynamics and accretion in the massively parallel tree+SPH code, CHANGA. This approach improves the modelling of SMBHs in fully cosmological simulations, allowing for a more detailed analysis of SMBH-galaxy co-evolution throughout cosmic time. Our scheme includes novel, physically motivated models for SMBH formation, dynamics and sinking timescales within galaxies and SMBH accretion of rotationally supported gas. The sub-grid parameters that regulate star formation (SF) and feedback from SMBHs and SNe are optimized against a comprehensive set of z = 0 galaxy scaling relations using a novel, multidimensional parameter search. We have incorporated our new SMBH implementation and parameter optimization into a new set of high-resolution, large-scale cosmological simulations called ROMULUS. We present initial results from our flagship simulation, ROMULUS25, showing that our SMBH model results in SF efficiency, SMBH masses and global SF and SMBH accretion histories at high redshift that are consistent with observations. We discuss the importance of SMBH physics in shaping the evolution of massive galaxies and show how SMBH feedback is much more effective at regulating SF compared to SNe feedback in this regime. Further, we show how each aspect of our SMBH model impacts this evolution compared to more common approaches. Finally, we present a science application of this scheme studying the properties and time evolution of an example dual active galactic nucleus system, highlighting how our approach allows simulations to better study galaxy interactions and SMBH mergers in the context of galaxy-BH co-evolution.
Does corporate sustainability matter to investors

The benefits derived from a firm’s sustainable development have been widely promoted. However, the influences have inconsistent conclusions from previous empirical studies, especially from the standpoint of firm value. This paper attempts to infer the determinants of a firm’s value by exploring whether it predominantly reflects the commonly-used performance criteria in a financial market or a firm’s sustainability nature. The Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition is employed to explain why the market value of sustainable leaders is higher, on average, than that of other firms. Our sample consists of U.S. S and P 500 companies from 1999 - 2002. The results suggest that not more than 40% of the difference (gap) can be explained by differing determinants of a firm’s operation, financial, growth and industrial variables. It is therefore suggested that ‘corporate sustainability’ definitely counts as intangible assets that our investors have valued. Key words: Corporate sustainability, firm value, blinder-oaxaca decomposition.
Towards Progressive and Dynamic Multicultural Education: Teachers’ Awareness of Multicultural Education in South Korean Schools

While multicultural education was first started in the United States by concerned activists and educators to secure social justice for both presently and historically marginalized groups, educators in other parts of the world are seeing it as a tool to better meet the needs of their own marginalized students. Such is the case in South Korea, which has experienced rapid demographic changes in recent decades. This article explores how South Korean teachers understand the increasing diversity in South Korean society and examines their perspectives on multicultural approaches in schools using a survey of 86 schoolteachers in three different cities. The findings suggest a need for politicalization of multicultural education beyond mere tools to address immediate problems facing the cultural others in Korea.
Does Organizational Learning Orientation Matter? Investigating the Impact of Learning Orientation on SMES Performance

The purpose of this study was to conduct an investigation into the link between organizational learning orientation and business performance in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Data were analysed using sample of 213 SMEs belonging to the manufacturing sector in Sialkot, Pakistan. The findings indicated that learning orientation is positively and significantly associated with the organizational performance of SMEs. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed and possible future research directions are provided.
Pointwise Regularity of Fitness Landscapes and the Performance of a Simple ES

We present a theoretical and experimental analysis of the influence of the pointwise irregularity of the fitness function on the behavior of an (1+1)ES. Previous work on this subject suggests that the performance of an EA strongly depends on the irregularity of the fitness function. Several irregularity measures have been derived for discrete search spaces, in order to numerically characterize this type of difficulty for EA. These characterizations are mainly based on H¨older exponents. Previous studies used however a global characterization of fitness regularity (the global H¨older exponent), with experimental validations being conducted on test functions with uniform regularity. This is extended here in two ways: Results are now stated for continuous search spaces, and pointwise instead of global irregularity is considered. In addition, we present a way to modify the genetic topology to accommodate for variable regularity: The mutation radius, which controls the size of the neighbourhood of a point, is allowed to vary according to the pointwise irregularity of the fitness function. These results are explained through a simple theoretical analysis which gives a relation between the pointwise H¨older exponent and the optimal mutation radius. Several questions connected to on-line measurements and usage of regularity in EAs are raised.
Elimination of Cu (II) and Zn (II) ions in mono-element and the bi-element aqueous solutions by adsorption on natural clay of Bikougou (Gabon)

This work was undertaken to evaluate the potential of the clay of Bikougou to remove copper (II) and zinc (II) ions (Cu 2+ and Zn 2+ ) in mono-element and binary aqueous solutions. The experiments were carried out by employing the batch technique through the variations of pH, clay mass, ionic strength, concentration in metal, temperature and contact time. The quantity of ions coppers (II) or zinc (II) adsorbed increases when the pH increases up to pH=5 and beyond, there is precipitation of the metal hydroxides; the quantity of metal ions adsorbed decreases when the clay mass or the ionic force increases. The average adsorption energies of copper (II) and zinc (II) ions are indicative of endothermic reactions. The modeling of the experimental results is better achieved by application of Freundlich adsorption isotherm and Langmuir adsorption isotherm concerning the adsorption of Cu (II) ions with correlation coefficients of 0.98 and 0.93, respectively. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm and Freundlich adsorption isotherm are all applicable for describing the experimental result of isotherm adsorption of Zn (II) ions with correlation coefficient respectively, 0.99 and 0.96. The kinetic which shows more clearly the observed phenomenon is that of the pseudo-second order with the coefficients of correlation close to 0.99. In the binary system copper (II) - zinc (II) the adsorption of copper (II) is favoured compared to that of zinc (II). All these results have shown efficiency as adsorbent of the clay from Bikougou to eliminate Cu2+and zinc (II) ions in mono-element or bi-element aqueous solutions. In the mono-element solution, the adsorption rate varied from 98.59 to 94.41% for the Cu(II) ions and from 86.76 to 53.80% for Zn (II) ions. Key words : System of bi-element, copper and zinc, adsorption, technique in batch, natural clay mixture.
The Effect of Superstar Firms on College Major Choice

We study the effect of superstar firms on an important human capital decision - college students' choice of major. Past salient, extreme events in an industry, as proxied by cross-sectional skewness in stock returns (or in favorable news coverage), are associated with a disproportionately larger number of college students choosing to major in related fields, even after controlling for the average industry return. This tendency to follow the superstars, however, results in a temporary over-supply of human capital. Specifically, we provide evidence that the additional labor supply due to salient, extreme events lowers the average wage earned by entry-level employees when students enter the job market. At the same time, employment size and employee turnover stay roughly constant in related industries, consistent with the view that labor demand is relatively inelastic in the short run. In the longer term, firms cope with the supply increase by gradually expanding the number of positions that require prior experience.
Thermal emission of WASP-48b in the Ks-band

We report a detection of thermal emission from the hot Jupiter WASP-48b in the Ks-band. We used the Wide-field Infra-red Camera on the 3.6-m Canada-France Hawaii Telescope to observe an occultation of the planet by its host star. From the resulting occultation lightcurve we find a planet-to-star contrast ratio in the Ks-band of 0.136 ± 0.014%, in agreement with the value of 0.109 ± 0.027% previously determined. We fit the two Ks-band occultation lightcurves simultaneously with occultation lightcurves in the H-band and the Spitzer 3.6- and 4.5-μm bandpasses, radial velocity data, and transit lightcurves. From this, we revise the system parameters and construct the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the dayside atmosphere. By comparing the SED with atmospheric models, we find that both models with and without a thermal inversion are consistent with the data. We find the planet’s orbit to be consistent with circular (e < 0.072 at 3σ).
PROCESSING COMPLEXITY AND FILLER-GAP DEPENDENCIES ACROSS GRAMMARS

This article examines crosslinguistic variation in FILLER-GAP DEPENDENCIES (wH-questions and relative clauses) from a processing perspective, and integrates research findings from psycholinguistics, language typology and generative grammar. Numerous implicational universals and hierarchies are proposed that receive a natural explanation in terms of processing and complexity. Filler-gap domains are complex in proportion to their size and in proportion to the amount of simultaneous syntactic and semantic processing that is required in addition to gap identification. They are simplified by making the gap easier to identify and process, or by avoiding a gap structure altogether. When grammatical variation is viewed from this perspective many descriptive insights and implicational patterns can be motivated that have either been stipulated or that have gone unnoticed hitherto. This approach provides an alternative to the assumption of innate parameterized subjacency constraints in this area. *
Complementary currency systems questioning social and economic changes

From an analysis of the literature, this article proposes a reading of the contributions of complementary currency systems (CCS) to promote social and economics change. After a presentation of the nature and diversity of CCS, this paper analyzes the method deployed by the literature to evaluate the scope of CCS and the diversity of impact measures criteria.This article argues these new monetary arrangements are part of local economic and socio-economic dynamics, and should be seen as weapons in the struggle against social and monetary exclusion. CCS raise important questions on the emergence of a new economic order, based on new standards of production and consumption and on the role and place of money in the economy. Finally, we conclude with a return to the question of their scale, one of the challenges facing CCS.
Rumination for innovation? Analysing the longitudinal effects of work-related rumination on creativity at work and off-job recovery

ABSTRACT Work-related rumination is not a single construct, but consists of a dimension associated with negative emotions or affect (affective rumination), and a dimension associated with reflective thinking and applying strategies to solve problems (problem-solving pondering). In this three-wave longitudinal study across two years (N = 630) we investigated whether the relationships between work-related rumination, off-job recovery, and creativity at work varied along the two dimensions of work-related rumination. In addition, we tested whether the relationships followed normal, reversed, or reciprocal causation. The results showed, first, that in a one-year perspective affective rumination, but not problem-solving pondering, was negatively related to off-job recovery and that problem-solving pondering, but not affective rumination, was positively related to creativity at work. Second, in a two-year perspective, reversed effects were detected as creativity at work was negatively related to affective rumination and positively to off-job recovery. Our results suggest that the quality of work-related thoughts determines whether the outcome is beneficial or detrimental. Occupational health interventions that only advise employees to stop thinking about work during off-job time, may therefore be too simplistic.
Review of vibroseis data acquisition and processing for better amplitudes: adjusting the sweep and deconvolving for the time‐derivative of the true groundforce

The goal of vibroseis data acquisition and processing is to produce seismic reflection data with a known spatially‐invariant wavelet, preferably zero phase, such that any variations in the data can be attributed to variations in geology. In current practice the vibrator control system is designed to make the estimated groundforce equal to the sweep and the resulting particle velocity data are cross‐correlated with the sweep. Since the downgoing far‐field particle velocity signal is proportional to the time‐derivative of the groundforce, it makes more sense to cross‐correlate with the time‐derivative of the sweep. It also follows that the ideal amplitude spectrum of the groundforce should be inversely proportional to frequency. Because of non‐linearities in the vibrator, bending of the baseplate and variable coupling of the baseplate to the ground, the true groundforce is not equal to the pre‐determined sweep and varies not only from vibrator point to vibrator point but also from sweep to sweep at each vibrator point. To achieve the goal of a spatially‐invariant wavelet, these variations should be removed by signature deconvolution, converting the wavelet to a much shorter zero‐phase wavelet but with the same bandwidth and signal‐to‐noise ratio as the original data. This can be done only if the true groundforce is known. The principle may be applied to an array of vibrators by employing pulse coding techniques and separating responses to individual vibrators in the frequency domain. Various approaches to improve the estimate of the true groundforce have been proposed or are under development; current methods are at best approximate.
The Single Cell Gel Electrophoresis Assay in Peripheral Blood lymphocytes of Uterine Cervix Cancer Patients

The Comet Assay was performed in a study group of 24 individuals, which included 12 women with cervix cancer, seven with other gynaecological complaints and five normal, healthy controls. The genetic damage among cancer patients was found to be significantly greater than in the other two groups. DNA tail lengths were longest in stage III cancer patients. The highest levels of DNA damage was observed in the age group of 41-45 years, in the group with the highest number of pregnancies, in the group with the lower age at marriage (14-16 yrs) and among patients in the lower socio-economic bracket.
Ancestry, Diversity & Finance: Evidence from Transition Economies

In this paper, we analyze the growth effects of historical and biological ancestry, diversity and financial development in transition economies. We show that the common indicators of ethnolinguistic fractionalization, state history and genetic distance yield significant results and to some extent transform the impact of finance on growth in East-Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. Deep ethnolinguistic cleavages produce insignificant results, whereas at intermediate and lower levels of aggregation diversity is likely to significantly improve the effect of finance on growth. Similarly to finer ethnolinguistic cleavages, genetic distance from the United States also favorably increases the relevance of financial development for growth. However, state history as a proxy for long-run ancestral exposure to institutions, political organization and centralization reinforces the negative growth effect of financial development. We argue that financial development is inclined to resolve problems arising from coordination failures and absence of trust in diverse societies by easing liquidity constraints and offering incentives for entrepreneurship to minority groups. In contrast, long state history is likely to generate extractive institutions that facilitate the provision of soft budget constraints. Genetic distance from the United States induces higher reliance on continental rather than Anglo-Saxon financing practices, and therefore increases dependence on banks rather than bonds or equity for external liquidity purposes.
The influence of public funding on the strategies and performance of non-profit basketball clubs from South-Eastern Europe

Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine how private funding affects non-profit sport clubs in terms of their strategic decisions and organisational performance. Data for the study were collected from a survey of 73 basketball clubs’ managers from four South-east European countries. Explorative factor analysis and structural equation modelling were employed. The results show that stronger influence of public institutions, reflected in a higher proportion of clubs’ funding from public resources, affects clubs’ strategies so that clubs with a greater percentage of public funds: (1) emphasise risk reduction more than fast results; (2) emphasise local community aims more than top sport results; and (3) emphasise organisational growth more than cost reduction. The study empirically verified the thesis that clubs with a larger proportion of public funds are less successful in terms of sport and financial results, which is partially a consequence of their different strategic focus. The study offers a better understanding of the relationships among the structure of clubs’ funding and its direct (clubs’ strategic conduct) and indirect (clubs’ performance) consequences.
What's the value of being different when everyone is? The effects of distinctiveness on performance in homogeneous versus heterogeneous categories

Is moderate distinctiveness optimal for performance? Answers to this question have been mixed, with both inverted U‐ and U‐shaped relationships being argued for and found in the literature. I show how nearly identical mechanisms driving the distinctiveness‐performance relationship can yield both U‐ and inverted U‐shaped effects due to differences in relative strength, rather than their countervailing nature. Incorporating distinctiveness heterogeneity, I theorize a U‐shaped effect in homogeneous categories that flattens into an inverted U in heterogeneous categories. Results combining a topic model of 69,188 organizational websites with survey data from 2,279 participants in the Dutch creative industries show a U‐shaped effect in homogeneous categories, flattening and then disappearing in more heterogeneous categories. How distinctiveness affects performance thus depends entirely on how distinct others are.
Evaluation and revision of inferential comprehension in narrative texts: an eye movement study

ABSTRACT We investigated how adult readers evaluate and revise their situation model, by monitoring their eye movements as they read narrative texts and critical sentences. In each text, a short introduction primed an inference, followed by a concept that was either expected (e.g. “oven”) or unexpected (e.g. “grill”). Eye movements showed that readers detected a mismatch between the unexpected information and their prior interpretation, confirming their ability to evaluate inferential information. Subsequently, a critical sentence included a word that was either congruent (e.g. “roasted”) or incongruent (e.g. “barbecued”) with the expected but not the unexpected concept. Readers spent less time reading the congruent than the incongruent word, reflecting the facilitation of prior information. In addition, when the unexpected concept had been presented, participants with lower verbal (but not visuospatial) working memory span exhibited longer reading times and made more regressions on encountering congruent information, indicating difficulty in revising their situation model.
Pilot system development in metre-scale laboratory discharge

The pilot system development in metre-scale negative laboratory discharges is studied with ns-fast photography. The systems appear as bipolar structures in the vicinity of the negative high-voltage electrode. They appear as a result of a single negative streamer propagation and determine further discharge development. Such systems possess features like glowing beads, bipolarity, different brightness of the top and bottom parts, and mutual reconnection. A 1D model of the ionization evolution in the spark gap is proposed. In the process of the nonlinear development of ionization growth, the model shows features similar to those observed. The visual similarities between high-altitude sprites and laboratory pilots are striking and may indicate that they are two manifestations of the same natural phenomenon.
Working Capital Management and Corporate Financial Performance: Evidence from Panel Data Analysis of Selected Quoted Tea Companies in Kenya

This study aimed to provide empirical evidence about the impact of Working Capital Management on corporate financial Performance of tea firms in Kenya for the period 2005 to 2012. The study utilized panel data econometrics of 6 tea firms which are listed on Nairobi Securities Exchange. The results indicate that the cash conversion cycle, net trade cycle and inventory turnover in days are significantly affecting the financial performance of the firms. The tea firms are in general facing problems with their collection and payment policies. Similarly, the financial leverage, sales growth and firm size also have significant effect on the firm’s profitability. The study also concludes that tea firms in Kenya are following conservative working capital management policy and the firms are needed to concentrate and improve their collection and payment policy. The effective policies must be formulated for the individual components of working capital. In addition, efficient Management and financing of working capital (current assets and current liabilities) can increase the operating profitability of tea firms. For efficient working capital management, specialized persons in the fields of finance should be hired by the firms for expert advice on working capital management in the tea firms. Keywords: Working Capital Management, Cash Conversion Cycle, Net Trade Cycle, Average Collection Period, Average Payment Period, Tea sector, Fixed Effect Model.