Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
UNIVERSITY OF VAASA FACULTY OF BUSINESS STUDIES SCHOOL OF ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE

One of the most famous theories in finance is the Capital Asset Pricing Model – a theory which is shown not to hold in empirical tests. The failure of the model and the abnormal performance of low-beta assets relative to high-beta assets is widely documented. Defensive securities have had higher returns than aggressive securities historically, in different markets and even asset classes, as shown by many studies. The phenomenon is opposite to the prediction of the CAPM, which expects that higher systematic risk would be rewarded by higher returns. Some authors have named the phenomenon as “the greatest anomaly in finance”. Why have low-beta and low-volatility securities been superior to their high-beta and highvolatility alternatives historically? Can this phenomenon reasonably be expected to persist in the future? Does betting-against-beta, a strategy that takes a long position in low-beta stocks and a short position in high-beta stocks, provide positive excess returns in the OMX Helsinki stock market? This paper attempts to answer this question by reviewing previous literature and performing an empirical analysis using monthly stock data from the Finnish stock market, ranging from December 2001 to December 2017. In the relatively small and remote stock market of Finland, low-beta equities seem to have particularly strong returns over the period of study. The betting-against-beta strategy also performs convincingly and has positive excess returns, but there are also some caveats regarding the feasibility to execute the strategy in the studied market.
The effectiveness of management accounting systems in SMEs: a multidimensional measurement approach

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present and validate a multidimensional approach to measure the effectiveness of management accounting systems. Design/methodology/approach - Based on an extensive literature review, the most appropriate information dimensions were identified. To validate the multidimensional tool, survey data were obtained from 284 chief financial officers of Portuguese small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A structural equation model, evaluating the influence on the managerial performance, was used to verify the nomological validity of this new construct. Findings - The results of this study suggest that the effectiveness of management accounting systems can be measured using a second-order construct. This construct includes 14 items, covering four dimensions of the management information characteristics. Research limitations/implications - Although contributing to the advancement of knowledge, it is, however, limited to the Portuguese organizational environment and culture. Therefore, further studies should be carried out in other organizational contexts and cultures, to test and validate this multidimensional tool. Practical implications - The multidimensional tool presented and validated in this study can be used by executives of SMEs for assessing the effectiveness of their management accounting systems, which can help to improve SMEs' performance measurement and benchmarking processes. Originality/value - On the best of our knowledge, this is the first study wherein the management accounting system is modeled as a second-order construct from the perspective of multidimensional information characteristics. This second-order approach recognizes the contribution and retains the distinctive nature of each first-order construct, representing the management accounting system. This multidimensional construct could be very important for future research by allowing to capture synergies resulting from the balanced development of its four information dimensions, and consequently, offer new contributions to management accounting knowledge.
Quality assessment of coffee beans through computer vision and machine learning algorithms

The increasing market interest in coffee beverage, lead coffee growers around the world to adopt more efficient methods to select the best-quality coffee beans. Currently, coffee beans selection is carried out either manually, which is a costly and unreliable process, or using electronic sorting machines, which are often inefficient because some coffee beans defects, such as sour and immature beans, have similar spectral response patterns. In this sense, the present work aimed to assess coffee beans quality using both computer vision and machine learning techniques, such as Support Vector Machine (SVM), Deep Neural Network (DNN) and Random Forest (RF). For this purpose, an algorithm written in Python language was developed to extract shape and color features from coffee beans images. The obtained dataset was then used as input to the machine learning algorithms. The data reported in this study pointed to the importance of color descriptors for classifying coffee beans defects. Among the variables used, the components from RGB (Red, Green and Blue) and HSV (Hue, Saturation and Value) color spaces presented the most relevant contribution for the classification models. Also, the results reported in this study provides evidence that computer vision along with machine learning algorithms can be used to identify and classify coffee beans with a very high accuracy (> 90%). Key words: Deep neural network; classification; artificial intelligence; image processing; granulometry.
Does Point of Care Ultrasound Improve Resuscitation Markers in Undifferentiated Hypotension? An International Randomized Controlled Trial From The Sonography in Hypotension and Cardiac Arrest in the Emergency Department (SHoC-ED) Series

Introduction Point of Care Ultrasound (PoCUS) protocols are commonly used to guide resuscitation for patients with undifferentiated hypotension, yet there is a paucity of evidence for any outcome benefit. We undertook an international multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess the impact of a PoCUS protocol on key clinical outcomes. Here we report on resuscitation markers. Methods Adult patients presenting to six emergency departments (ED) in Canada and South Africa with undifferentiated hypotension (systolic blood pressure (SBP) <100mmHg or a Shock Index >1.0) were randomized to receive a PoCUS protocol or standard care (control). Reported physiological markers include shock index (SI), and modified early warning score (MEWS), with biochemical markers including venous bicarbonate and lactate, at baseline and four hours. Results A total of 273 patients were enrolled, with data collected for 270. Baseline characteristics were similar for each group. Improvements in mean values for each marker during initial treatment were similar between groups: Shock Index; mean reduction in Control 0.39, 95% CI 0.34 to 0.44 vs. PoCUS 0.33, 0.29 to 0.38; MEWS, mean reduction in Control 2.56, 2.22 to 2.89 vs. PoCUS 2.91, 2.49 to 3.32; Bicarbonate, mean reduction in Control 2.71 mmol/L, 2.12 to 3.30 mmol/L vs. PoCUS 2.30 mmol/L, 1.75 to 2.84 mmol/L, and venous lactate, mean reduction in Control 1.39 mmol/L, 0.93 to 1.85 mmol/L vs. PoCUS 1.31 mmol/L, 0.88 to 1.74 mmol/L. Conclusion We found no meaningful difference in physiological and biochemical resuscitation markers with or without the use of a PoCUS protocol in the resuscitation of undifferentiated hypotensive ED patients. We are unable to exclude improvements in individual patients or in specific shock types.
Presentation of social stories with tablet computers in social skill instruction for students with autism spectrum disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an advanced and complex developmental disability. Furthermore, it is described as a disorder that occurs during the early developmental stages, characterized by limited, repetitive behavioral patterns and interests or activities, problems in various forms of social communication and interaction that persist throughout life. The problems that children with ASD experience in social communication and interaction skills also lead to problems in acquisition of social skills. Children with ASD experience mutual social communication difficulties, as well problems in non-verbal social behavior and establishing social relationships. Social stories are written with a perspective of a child in a special format to explain social situations to children with ASD, to instruct social skills and allow them to cope with difficulties in social situations. In the present study, the effectiveness of social story tablet computer software on the acquisition of social skills by children with ASD was analyzed. Two male and 1 female 5-7 years old students who were diagnosed with ASD were included in the study. The social stories developed by the authors before the instruction were adapted to tablet computer environment. The teachers employed in the institution and were the instructors of the students in the study group were informed about the presentation of these stories to the children with ASD and the application. The sharing behavior was selected among the social stories that were developed based on the course requirements. In the first two study sessions, the authors provided feedback for the teachers who conducted the study. The study was conducted with a single-subject design with multiple probe model with probe conditions across participants design. The study findings demonstrated that social story tablet computer program was effective on the acquisition of social skills by children with ASD. An increase in the sharing behavior of all three participants was observed. Furthermore, three participating teachers expressed positive views on the social story tablet computer software.
Seasonal Changes in Clutch Size in British Birds

In many species of birds the mean clutch size is not constant through the breeding season: Some species show a seasonal pattern of declining clutch size, while others can show a mid-season peak. We suggest an evolutionary interpretation of the different patterns of seasonal change in birds, and test predictions by analysis of nest-record data held by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). We assume that conditions for breeding will show a seasonal pattern of improvement and then decline, and that the optimal clutch size (Lack 1947) is larger for each individual in the population when the conditions for breeding are better
Plant Succession in a Timberline Depressed by Vulcanism in South-Central Chile

The vegetation of the Antillanca Valley in the Andes of southcentral Chile consists of high altitude fellfields, species-rich scrub grasslands, Nothofagus krummholz, deciduous N. pumilio forests, and mixed evergreen deciduous NVothofagus forests. Catastrophic vulcanism has depressed the timberlines an average of 100 to 300 m and greatly affected these vegetation types. Locally, timberline is determined under the influence of such disruptive factors as withthrow, unstable slopes, and avalanches. Succession is interpreted on the bases of species distributions in zones of environmental stress, population structures, and the observed responses of the dominant Nothofagus spp. to avalanche damage and burial by scoria deposition. This study thus documents the dynamic and transitory nature of the frequently-described vegetation zones of southcentral Chile.
An online (r)examination of frequency and context effects in code-switching using the auditory moving window

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: This study revisits the finding that code-switched language comprehension takes longer than non-switched language. Design/methodology/approach: Using an auditory moving window task, bilinguals operating in single (English) or dual (Spanish–English) language communities listened to sentences presented auditorily. Sentences in Experiments 1a to b were in Spanish and critical targets were either a code-switch or a borrowing, where an English target was pronounced in Spanish. Experiments 2a to b compared code-switched versus non-switched targets within Spanish sentences. Sentences for Experiment 3 were in English with critical targets in Spanish. Context (low/high constraint) and word frequency (low/high) were manipulated. Data and analysis: Data were analyzed using linear mixed effect models (N = 358), with phonetics (code-switch vs. borrower), context (high- vs. low-constraint), word frequency (high vs. low), and bilingual group (code-switcher vs. English-dominant) as fixed factors, and items and subjects as random factors. Findings/conclusions: Findings from the three experiments suggested that code-switched language results in a processing cost. The bilingual’s linguistic system demands more memory and time to successfully integrate the code-switched information into the sentence. Word frequency and context, as predicted by the featural restriction model, affected the processing of the code-switched targets. Originality: This study is one of the first attempts to investigate bilingual processing employing the auditory moving window technique and the first one to find an interactive effect of context and the type of bilingual and mixed language processing. Significance/implications: The results suggest that there are differences in language switch costs moderated by word frequency, phonetics, and linguistic environment (monolingual vs. bilingual) among bilinguals. The results also suggest that the auditory moving window technique is sensitive to the classic bilingual factors such as code-switching, and other robust psycholinguistic factors such as context and word frequency.
Overall Equipment Effectivenes (OEE) to Determine the Effectiveness of Dental Chair Unit in Mother and Child Hospital at Surabaya

Investing in a Dental Chair Unit is an investment that requires a large amount of funds for the hospital,therefore the utilization of a Dental Chair Unit tool is a concern for hospitals. The importance of DentalChair Unit utilization leads hospital to calculate the effectiveness of Dental Chair Unit devices using theOverall Effectiveness Equipment (OEE) method. OEE measures the effectiveness of the tool based on theavailability ratio, performance ratio and quality ratio. The aimed of this study was to analyze the effectivenessof Dental Chair Unit in Mother and Child Hospital using the OEE method. This research was conducted atthe dental clinic of Mother and Child Hospital on February 2019. This study was a descriptive study thatwas to calculate the OEE from a Dental Chair Unit then analyze the causes of the effectiveness of the toolsobtained. The results of the calculation of OEE Dental Chair Unit device in aMother and Child Hospital atSurabaya are 18,7%, far below the standard of 85%. The cause of the low OEE value is the low value of thePerformance ratio that is far below the standard 85%. The low performance ratio of Dental Chair Unit toolsin mother and child hospital is caused by the small number of patients who come to the dental clinic, so alittle also uses the Dental Chair Unit. It is because of the competition with general hospital that surround thishospital. Another factor that cause of low OEE ratio is patient’s didn’t know the importance of dental healthfor mother and children.
A Shake-Table Test Investigating the Drift Capacity of Reinforced Masonry Wall Systems

An accurate quantification of the displacement capacity of a reinforced masonry shear-wall system is of critical importance to seismic design because it has a direct implication on the seismic force modification factor, which is the R factor in ASCE 7. In spite of the shear capacity design requirement in TMS 402, special reinforced masonry walls within a building system could still develop shear-dominated behavior, which is perceived to be far more brittle than flexural behavior. These walls have a low shear-span ratio either because of the wall geometry (i.e., a low height-to-length ratio) or the coupling forces introduced by the horizontal diaphragms, which are often ignored in design. Although shear-dominated walls appeared to be very brittle in quasi-static tests conducted on single planar wall segments, reinforced masonry structures survived major ground shaking well in past earthquakes. This could be partly attributed to the beneficial influence of wall flanges as well as the over-strength of the system. Flanged walls are common in masonry buildings, but their behavior is not well understood because of the lack of laboratory test data. Furthermore, other walls or columns that are present in the structural system to carry gravity loads could enhance the lateral resistance of the shear walls and the displacement capacity of the system by providing axial restraints as well as alternative load paths for gravity loads. A research project is being carried out with shaketable tests to investigate the displacement capacity of shear-dominated reinforced masonry wall systems. This paper presents results of the first shake-table test conducted in this project on a full-scale single-story coupled T-wall system. The structure was tested to a drift ratio exceeding 15% without collapse.
The Role of Business Strategy in Corporate Liquidity: Evidence from US Firms

This thesis explores the association between cash holdings and business strategy for non-financial US firms, over a period from 1970 to 2016. Miles and Snow’s (1978, 2003) typology is used to construct the strategy index and explore the relation between strategies and corporate liquidity. Thus, we distinguish two extreme corporate strategies into Prospectors and Defenders, based on resource allocation and investment behavior patterns. Following the methodology of Bates et al. (2009) on cash holdings, data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Initially, the results suggest that strategy affects positively corporate liquidity. Regarding SOA, the estimated adjustment coefficient from dynamic panel model is about 0.475, indicating that a typical firm corrects a deviation from optimal cash holdings in 2,1 years (47.5%). Furthermore, the deviation from target cash is higher for Prospectors than Defenders, who adjust quicker to optimal cash levels. We conclude that cash-holding adjustment speed for prospectors who focus on innovation is slower than defenders, whose managers follow a cost reduction and more conservative financial policy. Next, it was applied a regression among firm value, capital structure and cash holdings. This study investigates the market value of cash held by firms. In general, we estimate the value of a marginal dollar of cash to be about $0.97. However, a significant difference in the firm valuation of the strategic types is found. In the sample of US non-financial and nonutility corporations, when firms’ excess cash holdings level is higher, the firm value is lower. As a result, prospectors hold more cash than defenders, that leads to a lower firm’s market value. The study contributes both to the cash literature and management literature since the core findings show that that strategic considerations are important in shaping cash policies of innovative firms. Substantiating the dynamic nature of business strategy and the optimal use of cash reserves facilitate a healthier corporate performance.
Spin echo measurements in a superconducting qubit

The aim of this work was to analyse the dephasing of a superconducting quantum bit and the effects of additional π pulses (“spin echo” pulses) on it. The dephasing time T2 can be determined by observing the decay of Ramsey oscillations. Using the spin echo technique, it is possible to enhance this dephasing time.
Different roughage: concentrate ratios in extruded feed, and feeding behavior of growing lambs

Animal performance is directly related to the food quality and intake. Analyzing feeding behavior is an important tool to evaluate diet efficiency. This study aims to evaluate the intake of dry matter, feeding behavior and ruminal movement amongst lambs fed with extruded feed in different roughage (R) : concentrate (C) ratios. An experiment was carried out in the Experimental Farm Capim Branco, Universidade Federal de Uberlandia, from December 7, 2016 to March 22, 2017. It involved 30 3-month-old crossbred lambs (Santa Ines x Dorper) with a mean weight of 20.67 ± 4.57 kg allocated in collective stalls equipped with feeder, water fountain, salt shaker, and wooden slatted floor. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete design with 2 treatments and 15 replicates per treatment. The treatments consisted of roughage and concentrate extruded and mixed in the following ratio 30R:70C and 70R:30C. The dry matter intake (DMI), 24-hour feeding behavior and 5-minute ruminal movement were evaluated. The findings pointed to reduced DMI in relation to body weight for 30R:70C at the end of the experiment. Reduced rumination time, total chewing and ruminal movement were found for both ratios. However, shorter rumination time and total chewing had been recorded for 30R:70C at the beginning of the experiment. Extruded feed with 70R:30C increased rumination and total chewing and, consequently, ruminal movement.
Does Protein Similarity of Pluripotency Factors Mean Their Gene Ontology Semantic Similarity

Recognition and prediction of biological function of proteins based on amino acid sequencesis a simple method employed in so many software and operators. However, the sequence similarity does not always imply to similarity of biological function. The aim of this study was to determine the semantic similarity of gene ontology (GO) of six pluripotency factors, Oct4, Sox2, C-Myc, Klf-4, Lin28 and Nanog in six species and evaluate their conformity with their protein sequence similarity and phylogenetic distance. C-myc factor exhibited a significant correlation between phylogenetic distance and protein similarity. The other factors like Sox2, Klf-4 and Lin-28 showed the correct changes of phylogenetic distance and protein similarity, but Nanog and Oct4 factors did not display a correct correlation between two indices because, the increase of protein similarity was not followed with the decrease of phylogenetic distance. Following the study, the protein or nucleotide similarity was assumed as dependent variable and GO similarity in three categories of biological process (BP), molecular function (MF) and, cell component (CC) were expected as the independent variables. With this assumption, regression analysis was accomplished to determine the best model for protein and nucleotide similarity estimation. The protein or nucleotide similarity also displayed a significant regression with GO similarity for C-myc factor and category of BP and CC were selected to estimate protein or nucleotide similarity by model, but a significant regression was not observed for other pluripotency factors for estimation of protein or nucleotide similarity. It means that except of C-myc, GO similarity of other studied pluripotency factors didn’t reflect the protein or nucleotide similarity. It is suggested that related data for five pluripotency factors, including Oct-4, Sox2, Klf4, Lin28 and Nanog in the six studied species should be reviewed.