Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Institutional Investor Networks and ESG Performance: Evidence from China

ABSTRACT This paper examines whether and how the network centrality of institutional investors affects firms’ sustainability development. Using data from the Chinese market, we find that central institutional investors in the social network significantly increase firms’ overall ESG performance. For the environmental, social, and governance pillars of ESG, we find that environmental performance is more likely to be driven by central institutional investors. We further show that central institutional investors act as active monitors and resource providers, enhancing firms’ ESG performance by improving corporate internal control quality, promoting the corporate information environment, alleviating financing constraints, and increasing green innovation capability. Furthermore, the relationship between centrality and ESG performance is considerably more pronounced for firms with political connections or under a high degree of industry competition but more diminished in periods of high economic policy uncertainty.
Effect of Defoliation on Growth and Yield of Maize

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of defoliation on grain and fodder yield of maize at the research field and laboratory of Crop Physiology and Ecology Department, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur during the period of December 2018 to June 2019. The trial was carried out in a randomized completely block design with three replications. The experimental treatments were: T1– Control (without leaf removal), T2–Defoliating all leaves except ear and adjacent two leaves above the ear at 7 days after silking (DAS), T3–Defoliating all leaves except ear and adjacent two leaves above the ear at 14DAS, T4–Defoliating all leaves below the ear at 7 DAS, T5–Defoliating all leaves below the ear at 14 DAS, T6– Detopping except two leaves above the ear at 7 DAS and T7–Detopping except two leaves above the ear at 14 DAS. Light intensity was increased (66.9 to 81.05%) when only lower leaves (T5) or both upper and lower leaves (T2) were removed, but when only the upper leaves (T6) were removed it was not increased. SPAD value was increased (13.58 to 24.5%) but number of leaves and leaf area plant-1 were reduced (60.5 to 63.09% and 64.4%) due to defoliation. Substantial amount of green fodder was obtained (0.776 Kg m-2) due to defoliation of maize. Grain yield of maize was reduced (5.56 to 21.83%) due to different defoliation treatments but the yield reduction was not significant when only lower (T4) or upper (T7) leaves were removed. Bangladesh Agron. J. 2022, 25(2): 31-41
NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE Convective Eddy Momentum Tendencies in Long Cloud-Resolving Model Simulations

Abstract Domain-average momentum budgets are examined in several multiday cloud-resolving model simulations of deep tropical convection in realistic shears. The convective eddy momentum tendency F, neglected in many global circulation models, looks broadly similar in two- and three-dimensional simulations. It has a large component in quadrature with the mean wind profile, tending to cause momentum profile features to descend. This component opposes, and exceeds in magnitude, the corresponding large-scale vertical advective tendency, which would tend to make features ascend in convecting regions. The portion of F in phase with the mean wind is isolated by vertically integrating F · u, yielding a kinetic energy tendency that is overwhelmingly negative. The variation of this energy damping with shear flow kinetic energy and convection intensity (measured by rain rate) gives a “cumulus friction” coefficient around −40% to −80% per centimeter of rain in 3D runs. Large scatter reflects the effects of varying co.
IMPACT OF WORKING ENVIRONMENT AND WORKLOAD ON WORK LIFE BALANCE TOWARDS JOB SATISFACTION: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Syntheses of existing literature provide a framework for a broader understanding of the relationships among working environment, workload, work life balance and job satisfaction. This empirical study synthesizes the relevant literature pertaining to the impact of working environment and workload on work life balance towards job satisfaction. The focus of this empirical study is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8), which is about "Decent Work and Economic Growth". The empirical study comprised various published sources on working environment, workload, work life balance and job satisfaction, such as journals, periodicals, seminal books, and other published materials. The review focused on the relationships of working environment and workload on work life balance and job satisfaction and their dimensions. After analysis of a wide range of renowned literature, it was found that there are opposing findings in previous research with regard to the study area. Empirical evidences further ascertained that there are very few researches related to the job satisfaction, work-life balance, workload and working environment of university non-academic administrative officers in global context. Moreover, existing literature may not fully cover the associations among said parameters towards job satisfaction. Therefore, understanding the relationships among job satisfaction, work life balance, working environment and workload of university nonacademic administrators can be recognized as a needed research scope.
Interstellar Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Molecules

Large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules carry the infrared (IR) emission features that dominate the spectra of most galactic and extragalactic sources. This review surveys the observed mid-IR characteristics of these emission features and summarizes laboratory and theoretical studies of the spectral characteristics of PAHs and the derived intrinsic properties of emitting interstellar PAHs. Dedicated experimental studies have provided critical input for detailed astronomical models that probe the origin and evolution of interstellar PAHs and their role in the universe. The physics and chemistry of PAHs are discussed, emphasizing the contribution of these species to the photoelectric heating and the ionization balance of the interstellar gas and to the formation of small hydrocarbon radicals and carbon chains. Together, these studies demonstrate that PAHs are abundant, ubiquitous, and a dominant force in the interstellar medium of galaxies.
Partitioning of Modified Histograms to Generate 27 Bins Feature Vector to Improve Performance of CBIR

Content Based Image Retrieval is motivating the researchers to devise new techniques as the rate of retrieval is definitely gaining importance as multimedia databases are increasing day by day. In order to improve the retrieval accuracy of content-based image retrieval systems, research focus is on generating new efficient algorithms to extract image features and also to achieve the dimension reduction in order to reduce the processing time. In this paper, new algorithms are proposed to extract different types of image features based on the color contents of the RGB image. The feature extraction mainly deals with the original and the modified histograms of R, G and B planes. Four different modification functions namely Equalization (EQH), Logarithmic (LOG), Polynomial expression (POLY) and Linear equations 1, 2 and 3 (LINEQ 1, 2 and 3) are proposed to modify the histogram and their performance is compared in this paper. To implement the dimensionality reduction, this paper proposes two partitioning techniques namely Linear Partitioning (LP) and Centre of Gravity (CG)partitioning to partition the R, G and B histograms in three parts so that 27 bins can be generated from it. It directly reduces the size of the feature vector based on histogram from 256 bins to 27 bins only. Experimentation for the proposed methods is carried out using 2000 BMP images of 20 different categories. Comparison of query and database image feature vectors is worked out using three similarity measures namely Euclidean distance (ED), Absolute distance (AD) and Cosine Correlation distance (CD). To compare and evaluate the performances of all the proposed approaches along with different similarity measures three performance evaluation parameters are used namely Precision Recall Cross over Point , Longest String and Length of string to Retrieve all Relevant . Index Terms—About four key CBIR, Centre of Gravity, Equalization (EQH), Logarithmic (LOG), Polynomial expression(POLY), Linear Equations(LINEQ), Euclidean distance (ED),Linear Partitioning(LP), Centre of gravity(CG), Absolute distance (AD), Cosine Correlation Distance (CD), Precision Recall Cross over Point (PRCP), Longest String (LS), Length of String to retrieve all Relevant (LSRR).
Profile of Problem-Solving Ability in Junior High School Students on Global Warming Lesson Material

Objective: This study aims to determine the profile of problem-solving ability in junior high school students on global warming. Method: This research is preliminary. The study used a quantitative-descriptive research type and a purposive-sampling method. The instrument included a problem-solving ability test with four questions based on the Polya indicator on global warming lesson materials. The research sample consisted of 33 students from class VII-B, JHS Al-Miftah 4 Karang Anyar Ketapang Timur Sampang District East Java Province, who had previously received global warming lesson materials. The research data was analyzed by calculating the average score of the indicator student's problem-solving ability in the form of a percentage. Result: The results were as follows: the interpretation of problem-solving abilities in students is still dominant in the "Very Less" category with a score of 43%, and the overall average value of problem-solving abilities obtained based on indicators of problem-solving abilities gets of 32.25% belonging to the category "Not enough. " Novelty: Analysis of problem-solving abilities can be a reference and a means of developing self-ability related to problem-solving abilities in the school environment, considering that solving abilities have yet to be highlighted too much, especially in remote areas. Problem-solving abilities are still a problem in the world of education, so further research is needed as a means to improve students' problem-solving abilities.
On the spectral theory of a tapered rod

This paper establishes the main features of the spectral theory for the singular two-point boundary-value problem and which models the buckling of a rod whose cross-sectional area decays to zero at one end. The degree of tapering is related to the rate at which the coefficient A tends to zero as s approaches 0. We say that there is tapering of order p ≥ 0 when A ∈ C([0, 1]) with A(s) > 0 for s ∈ (0, 1] and there is a constant L ∈ (0, ∞) such that lims→0A(s)/sp = L. A rigorous spectral theory involves relating (1)−(3) to the spectrum of a linear operator in a function space and then investigating the spectrum of that operator. We do this in two different (but, as we show, equivalent) settings, each of which is natural from a certain point of view. The main conclusion is that the spectral properties of the problem for tapering of order p = 2 are very different from what occurs for p < 2. For p = 2, there is a non-trivial essential spectrum and possibly no eigenvalues, whereas for p < 2, the whole spectrum consists of a sequence of simple eigenvalues. Establishing the details of this spectral theory is an important step in the study of the corresponding nonlinear model. The first function space that we choose is the one best suited to the mechanical interpretation of the problem and the one that is used for treating the nonlinear problem. However, we relate this formulation in a precise way to the usual L2 setting that is most common when dealing with boundary-value problems.
Event generation with

In this paper the current release of the Monte Carlo event generator Sherpa, version 1.1, is presented. Sherpa is a general-purpose tool for the simulation of particle colli- sions at high-energy colliders. It contains a very flexible tree-level matrix-element generator for the calculation of hard scattering processes within the Standard Model and various new physics models. The emission of additional QCD partons off the initial and final states is described through a parton-shower model. To consistently combine multi-parton matrix elements with the QCD parton cascades the approach of Catani, Krauss, Kuhn and Web- ber is employed. A simple model of multiple interactions is used to account for underlying events in hadron-hadron collisions. The fragmentation of partons into primary hadrons is described using a phenomenological cluster-hadronisation model. A comprehensive library for simulating tau-lepton and hadron decays is provided. Where available form-factor mod- els and matrix elements are used, allowing for the inclusion of spin correlations; effects of virtual and real QED corrections are included using the approach of Yennie, Frautschi and Suura.
Understanding factors influencing viewers’ intention to watch video game live streaming on Twitch: Combined use of PLS-SEM and NCA

This study aims to propose and test an integrated model of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and uses and gratifications theory (U&G) to understand viewers’ intention to watch video game live streaming on Twitch. Data are collected from 207 Twitch users and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and necessary condition analysis (NCA). Based on the PLS-SEM results, attitudes and subjective norm have a significant positive influence on intention. However, perceived behavioural control does not have a significant influence on intention. Furthermore, entertainment and information seeking have a significant positive influence on attitudes, but socialisation has no significant influence. According to the NCA results, attitudes and perceived behavioural control are the necessary conditions for intention. Moreover, entertainment and information seeking are identified to have necessary effects on attitudes. Subjective norm and socialisation are found to have no necessary effects on intention and attitudes, respectively. This study is the first to investigate the factors that influence viewers’ intention to watch video game live streaming on Twitch based on an integrated perspective of the TPB and U&G theory using the sufficiency (PLS-SEM) and necessary (NCA) logics.
Gendered Social-interactional Contexts in Educational Institutions in Iraq

Social variables have a tremendous impact on the language spoken by the male and female genders, particularly in Eastern cultures. Because men and women in Arabic cultures are typically raised separately, they speak somewhat differently depending on their gender. Arabic is used exclusively in educational institutions in the Arab world. The objective of the present study was to examine certain social and linguistic aspects of the language spoken by females and males in mixed academic organisations from ‎the point of view of female academics. It also ‎examined some noted gender differences in previous gender studies of the interactional styles of the ‎two genders in higher education institutions in Iraq from the perspective of female ‎‎academics, as well as the results of Holmes and Stubbe’s (2003) work. Seventy female lecturers from a variety of disciplines at the University of Baghdad participated in the present research. The data analysis was quantitative in nature. The findings are discussed following a statistical analysis of the collected data using SPSS software. The researchers have reached a number of conclusions, including that female academics should be extremely careful in their choice of vocabulary when speaking to male colleagues because their vocabulary indicates their social status, which was rated as being very high. The female academics were found to use more polite words and compound sentences than did the male academics with regard to the topics of discussion and institutional interactions; none of the female academics disagreed with this point.
Do labor markets and the social contract increase female youth unemployment in the GCC countries?

ABSTRACT In the high-income Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the female youth unemployment rate is nearly double the male youth unemployment rate. The segmented labor market with a relatively inflexible national labor market segment – coupled with a generous social contract – provide job protection to nationals and further the benefits of the social contract. These two factors may shape national youth preferences in favor of protected government jobs and raise youth reservation wages, which increase female youth unemployment. We conjecture that flexible non-segmented labor markets improve female youth unemployment rate while the social contract worsens it. Empirical evidence shows labor market flexibility and the social contract improve female youth unemployment rate, a result robust to changes in model specification and the sample. However, labor market flexibility is essential to the improvement in the female youth unemployment rate, while the social contract is not. This research has an important policy implication for selecting the appropriate tool to address youth unemployment.
Country-Level Institutions and Transparency of Directors’ Information Disclosure: The Role of the Labor Market

ABSTRACT This study investigates whether country-level institutions related to the labor market affect firms’ disclosure of information about their directors. Our findings, based on a sample of public companies domiciled in 46 countries, show that the level of disclosure of directors’ information, particularly information on their remuneration, is lower for firms in countries with better developed labor markets. We further find that in countries with more stringent labor regulations, firms are less likely to disclose both directors’ remuneration and biographical information. Firms in countries with better labor systems (e.g. greater mobility in the labor market and more effective social dialogue) make more such disclosures. Overall, our findings suggest that better developed country-level institutions related to the labor market disincentivize firms from disclosing information about directors. However, different types of country-level institutions have different impacts on firms’ incentives to make such disclosures. Our study provides valuable insights into how labor market development affects the alignment of boards’ incentives with those of stakeholders such as employees and how external pressure from employees affects a firm’s strategic actions regarding disclosing directors’ information.
Examining the factors of college students’ willingness to consume local foods using the health belief model with the addition of social influence and self-identity

ABSTRACT To examine the factors influencing college students’ willingness to consume local food, 425 students completed a validated self-administered paper-and-pencil survey measuring Health Belief Model (HBM) constructs, social influence, and self-identity. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the hypothetical relationships. Perceived benefits, cues to action, self-efficacy, social influence, and self-identity had a significant positive impact on willingness to consume local foods, while perceived susceptibility and perceived severity regarding local food consumption did not. This study adds to the existing research by integrating HBM, social influence, and self-identity, and provides practical implications regarding local food offering to college students.
Three-dimensional interaction of interplanetary shock waves with the bow shock and magnetopause - A comparison of theory with ISEE observations

The reported investigation is concerned with the propagation of the interplanetary shock waves in the solar wind and their three-dimensional interaction with the bow shock and magnetosheath. Formulae are deduced to predict the new position and orientation of the bow shock front after the interaction. To test the understanding of the interplanetary portion of the shock propagation, the obtained results are compared with observations on August 18, 1978, when both ISEE 1 and ISEE 3 were in the solar wind. Two examples of an interplanetary shock wave penetrating into the magnetosphere on October 4, 1978, and August 27, 1978, are examined, taking into account a simple model of the magnetosheath. The results agree with the observed values of the ISEE satellite data within experimental uncertainties.
Tool-based Codification in Business Process Improvement and the Impact on Problem-Solving

Business process improvement (BPI) is an important task in times of quickly changing customer requirements and evolving technologies. A variety of BPI approaches were developed in recent years, however, the proper codification of results created in BPI projects has not been properly investigated yet. In this respect, the paper at hand examines the impact of tool-based codification approaches on problem-solving in BPI. Moreover, the effect of the design either as a spreadsheet-based or a conceptual model-based tool on user satisfaction is analyzed. For that purpose, we revert to two tools we developed, which both offer the identical functionality but diverge in the techniques of codifying results: spreadsheet templates on the one side and conceptual models on the other side. In our study, the form of codification tremendously affected the perceived user satisfaction whereas the results received for problem-solving did not show a clear preference. Regarding the former issue, the beneficial role of conceptual models for codifying results with the help of software tools could be demonstrated.
An Analysis of Ekman Boundary Layer Dynamics Incorporating the Geostrophic Momentum Approximation

Abstract A system of equations that describe motions in the boundary layer are derived. This system doors from the Ekman boundary layer equations by the inclusion of inertial terms through the geostrophic momentum approximation. The equations are solved, subject to the condition that the, horizontal motions approach the ageostrophic interior flow at the top of the boundary layer. The vertical velocity field at the top of the boundary layer is also determined. Interpretations of results are provided. A model of a circular vortex is to display characteristics of the velocity field in the boundary layer. In comparison with the Ekman boundary layer solution: 1) the magnitude of the horizontal and vertical velocities are relatively higher in an anticyclonic vortex and relatively lower in a cyclonic vortex, and 2) the depth of the boundary layer, which is a function of the vortex radius and the Rossby number (Ro ≤0.3), is higher in an anticyclonic vortex and lower in a cyclonic vortex than the constant Ekman la.
GPT in Game Theory Experiments

This paper explores the use of Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT) in strategic game experiments, specifically the ultimatum game and the prisoner's dilemma. I designed prompts and architectures to enable GPT to understand the game rules and to generate both its choices and the reasoning behind decisions. The key findings show that GPT exhibits behaviours similar to human responses, such as making positive offers and rejecting unfair ones in the ultimatum game, along with conditional cooperation in the prisoner's dilemma. The study explores how prompting GPT with traits of fairness concern or selfishness influences its decisions. Notably, the"fair"GPT in the ultimatum game tends to make higher offers and reject offers more frequently compared to the"selfish"GPT. In the prisoner's dilemma, high cooperation rates are maintained only when both GPT players are"fair". The reasoning statements GPT produces during gameplay reveal the underlying logic of certain intriguing patterns observed in the games. Overall, this research shows the potential of GPT as a valuable tool in social science research, especially in experimental studies and social simulations.