Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Behavioral Agency Model and Innovation Investment: Examining the Combined Effects of CEO and Board Ownership

The Behavioral Agency Model (BAM) offers a behavioral account of executive incentives, according to which the perceived threats to CEO wealth, that is, CEO risk bearing, influence a CEO’s propensity to undertake innovation investments. While examining stock options extensively, the extant BAM research devotes relatively scant attention to other forms of incentives, such as stock ownership, that are conducive to one source of risk bearing, that is, employment risk. Furthermore, with an emphasis placed on the CEO, much BAM research neglects the interactive risk preferences of the CEO and the board. This study refines the BAM and empirically explores the countervailing forces exerted by the CEO and board ownership. It elucidates that while CEO ownership exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship with innovation investment, board ownership weakens that relationship. An exploratory test on a sample of 108 Italian manufacturing firms provides support for the hypothesized effects. The refined BAM sheds further light on executive incentives through a behavioral lens, by elucidating the role of stock ownership and the interactive risk preferences of the CEO and the board.
Energy-Efficient Inference on the Edge Exploiting TinyML Capabilities for UAVs

In recent years, the proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has increased dramatically. UAVs can accomplish complex or dangerous tasks in a reliable and cost-effective way but are still limited by power consumption problems, which pose serious constraints on the flight duration and completion of energy-demanding tasks. The possibility of providing UAVs with advanced decision-making capabilities in an energy-effective way would be extremely beneficial. In this paper, we propose a practical solution to this problem that exploits deep learning on the edge. The developed system integrates an OpenMV microcontroller into a DJI Tello Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV). The microcontroller hosts a set of machine learning-enabled inference tools that cooperate to control the navigation of the drone and complete a given mission objective. The goal of this approach is to leverage the new opportunistic features of TinyML through OpenMV including offline inference, low latency, energy efficiency, and data security. The approach is successfully validated on a practical application consisting of the onboard detection of people wearing protection masks in a crowded environment.
Test-Retest Reliability of Unilateral Horizontal Drop Jump in Children

Jumps are an indispensable activity for the development of coordination, muscle strength and power, especially in children. Positive effects of horizontal drop jump (HDJ) proved to be very important in improving individuals performance. HDJ presents a specific movement pattern that has similarities with running gait and take-off in different horizontal jumps. Influence and effect of implementating HDJ in children is yet to be determined. The aim of this research was to determine the test–retest reliability of the unilateral horizontal drop jump (UHDJ) in children of early school age (6–7 years). Participants (n = 31; 19 girls and 12 boys) were school-age children that regularly attended Physical Education classes (Girls: mean age 7.5 ± 0.3 years, mean height 127.1 ± 6.8 cm and mean weight 25.8 ± 5.2 kg; Boys: mean age 7.5 ± 0.2 years, mean height 127.5 ± 6.9 cm and mean weight 27.6 ± 7.1 kg). UHDJ was performed from an elevation of 30 cm relative to the platform with starting position 120 cm from the middle of the platform. A jump on the platform and a unilateral take-off in the distance were performed, followed by a bilateral landing on the mat. Intraclass correlation coefficient was used to determine the reliability between the two days of measurements. Test–retest reliability was calculated for all observed variables, and a good correlation was found between the performed measurements (ICC = 0.76–0.89). The α coefficient indicates good to excellent (0.86–0.94) internal consistency. These findings suggest the usefulness of applying a UHDJ in school-age children. Moreover, it can be used to identify children talented for sports, monitor the effects of training and discover and direct individuals towards suitable sports disciplines.
Factors influencing green information technology adoption: A multi-level perspective in emerging economies context

Research in the area of green information technology (GIT) adoption is still sluggish and rather limited, particularly in the emerging economy context. To address this research void, this study investigates the determinants of GIT adoption in the workplace at the individual and organizational levels using an integrated framework that combines the “technology-organization-environment” (TOE) framework, the “technology readiness index” (TRI), and social psychology theories. Data is collected via paper-based survey from different organizations in the United Arab Emirates. Structural equation modelling was utilized to test the hypotheses that were presented in our model. The findings show that the integrated model has good explanatory power and confirms its robustness in predicting the GIT adoption. Organizational factors comprising management support, resource commitment, and quality of human resources have emerged as strong determinants of GIT adoption. Individual factors, on the contrary, demonstrated weak influence on GIT adoption. This study is one of the first empirical attempts that predict GIT adoption in the United Arab Emirates context. The paper concludes with several implications that can foster GIT adoption initiatives, particularly for emerging economies.
Municipal Solid Waste Quantity, Composition and Current Management Practices in Gilgit City, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Gilgit city with an area of around 10 sq. kilometers and an estimated population of about 65,845.6 people is most rapidly growing urban settlement of the province. This city generates about 42.5 tonne of waste per day and Municipal Committee Gilgit (MCG) is the authority responsible to manage this waste. The present annual budget of Municipal committee is around Rs. 1,8900000 (USD 189, 000). Equipments and machineries available for waste collection and transportation include 4 tractor trolleys, 200 Dustbins (installed), Dumpsters 15, Beats 7, Mazda 1 and, 25 wheel barrows. Waste is picked up manually using handcarts, baskets and polythene bags. Irregular and uncontrolled sweeping, confined to commercial zones, together with refuse generated from the household and commercial areas i.e. indiscriminately thrown on the roadsides. Tractor trolleys are used to collect and transport waste out of the city. There is no proper disposal method for the generated waste and is dumped on land within the city along Gilgit River (Indus River) bank. Major sources of waste in Gilgit city include, Household waste 40%, Commercial establishment (e.g. shops and hotels, offices) 60%. This generated waste is comprised of organic waste (e.g. food waste) 70-80% Inorganic waste (e.g. plastic, glass and metals) 20 - 30%.
Understanding and Modeling the Behavior of a Harmonic Drive Gear Transmission

In my research, I have performed an extensive experimental investigation of harmonic-drive properties such as stiffness, friction, and kinematic error. From my experimental results, I have found that these properties can be sharply non-linear and highly dependent on operating conditions. Due to the complex interaction of these poorly behaved transmission properties, dynamic response measurements showed surprisingly agitated behavior, especially around system resonance. Theoretical models developed to mimic the observed response illustrated that non-linear frictional effects cannot be ignored in any accurate harmonic-drive representation. Additionally, if behavior around system resonance must be replicated, kinematic error and transmission compliance as well as frictional dissipation from gear-tooth rubbing must all be incorporated into the model.
Who Gets to Live the Good Life? Master Narratives, Identity, and Well-Being within a Marginalizing Society

The question of what constitutes “the good life” is incomplete without also addressing the question of who gets to live the good life. Implicit in many discussions of the good life, particularly in American and Western European contexts, is that it is equally available to all members of society, and attainable via malleable dispositions (e.g., changing attitudes, self-relevant beliefs). In this way, the good life is experienced through a highly agentic process of self-discovery and environmental mastery. What is generally lacking in this work is a serious reckoning of how structural factors constrain access to unbounded agency, particularly for those individuals who are marginalized in society due to race, gender, sexuality, and other factors. Moreover, “the good life” fundamentally indexes individuals’ well-being, and thus any claims to the good life will depend on how well-being is defined. Throughout psychology well-being is most commonly defined in terms of positive subjective states (e.g., hedonia, eudaimonia) that again remove any consideration of external criteria or demands. In this paper, we put the preceding together by outlining how a master narrative perspective—which examines the culturally shared stories that guide thoughts, beliefs, values, and behaviors—brings attention to the structural constraints on well-being among individuals in marginalized positions in society. We also propose an alternative conceptualization of the good life, which includes the importance of interpersonal connection between those who share the experience of marginalization.
Setting the stage for autonomous cars: a pilot study of future autonomous driving experiences

Autonomous cars are undergoing rapid development. In order to gain acceptance and adoption, there is a need to understand how users will respond to the technology, and what possible benefits or difficulties they perceive. A prerequisite for eliciting this information is the involvement of users. Having said that, several studies have demonstrated the problems associated with investigating ‘the future’. In a pilot study, two different qualitative approaches for exploring users’ expectations for future automotive technology were applied in two studies. The first study encompassed drawing, collaging and interviewing while the second study used drawing and enactment of expected use to mediate a shift from today to tomorrow. A content analysis revealed that the first study provided information on social implications, trust and every-day activities in autonomous cars, whereas the second study provided further in-depth details about the interaction and interior design expectations, as well as trust and anticipated activities. The results contribute to the author's knowledge on how different studies of the same topic can elicit different types of data.
Morphological and molecular characterization of Bitylenchus hispaniensis (Nematoda: Telotylenchidae) from Iran

Abstract During a survey on the biodiversity of plant-parasitic nematodes in Khuzestan province (southwest Iran), Bitylenchus hispaniensis was discovered around the rhizosphere of the euphrates poplar tree. The morphological and morphometric data were provided for the recovered species. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of B. hispaniensis from Iran and for the first time in association with euphrates poplar worldwide. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of the Iranian population of B. hispaniensis using the D2-D3 expansion segments of 28S rDNA and internal transcribed spacer (ITS rDNA) sequences using Bayesian inference (BI), showed a maximally supported clade with other sequences of the species.
L-Cysteine Synthase Enhanced Sulfide Biotransformation in Subtropical Marine Mangrove Sediments as Revealed by Metagenomics Analysis

High sulfides concentrations can be poisonous to environment because of anthropogenic waste production or natural occurrences. How to elucidate the biological transformation mechanisms of sulfide pollutants in the subtropical marine mangrove ecosystem has gained increased interest. Thus, in the present study, the sulfide biotransformation in subtropical mangroves ecosystem was accurately evaluated using metagenomic sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. Most abundant genes were related to the organic sulfur transformation. Furthermore, an ecological model of sulfide conversion was constructed. Total phosphorus was the dominant environmental factor that drove the sulfur cycle and microbial communities. We compared mangrove and non-mangrove soils and found that the former enhanced metabolism that was related to sulfate reduction when compared to the latter. Total organic carbon, total organic nitrogen, iron, and available sulfur were the key environmental factors that effectively influenced the dissimilatory sulfate reduction. The taxonomic assignment of dissimilatory sulfate-reducing genes revealed that Desulfobacterales and Chromatiales were mainly responsible for sulfate reduction. Chromatiales were most sensitive to environmental factors. The high abundance of cysE and cysK could contribute to the coping of the microbial community with the toxic sulfide produced by Desulfobacterales. Collectively, these findings provided a theoretical basis for the mechanism of the sulfur cycle in subtropical mangrove ecosystems.
Enhancing Precursor Quality of Cu-In-S Ternary Thin Films by Applying More Appropriate Deposition Procedure

Copper indium sulphur (CIS) thin films were electrochemically grown from an acidic aqueous solution including 10 mM CuCl2, 10 mM InCl3, 20 mM Na2S2O3 and 200 mM LiCl. Deposition potential is determined by means of cyclic voltammetry analysis. The precursor CIS thin films are produced at -1.10 V for 600 s, -0.90 V for 300 s and a mixed potential of -0.25 V for 150 s and -1.10 V for 150 s. It is reported that surface morphology and film stoichiometry vary remarkably with the deposition parameters. SEM images show a variation in the grain shape, homogeneity and agglomeration due to the different Cu/In ratio. The produced films have XRD peaks belonging to both CIS2 crystalline phase and S element. The produced CIS material at -1.1 V has a band gap of 1.66 eV. The CIS thin film produced at -0.9 V has three different band gaps such as 1.76, 2.59 and 2.85 eV. The CIS material produced by two steps has also three different band gaps between 1.59 and 2.74 eV. The CIS films are p-type, and resistivity and mobility data are in the range 6.56-8.61 Ωcm and 8.68-22.2 cm2/Vs, respectively. It is found that the acceptor concentration of CIS thin films varies between 2.48x1017 and 1.06x1018 cm-3. In summary, this study reports a procedure to produce high-quality precursor CIS thin films, highlighting a promising material to be used in heterostructure photovoltaic devices as a p-type absorber layer.
Convenience of Digital Financial Services and Financial Inclusion amid Commercial Banks in Kajiado County

Despite the expansive banking infrastructure in Kenya, there is a problem bedeviling the Kenya financial sector for a long time. More precisely, there is low access to financial services and products in the presence of digital banking is associated with poor accessibility to financial services. Despite a vast array of empirical literature on digital banking for financial inclusion, little has been done in Kenya about convenience of digital financial services and financial inclusion, hence this study which linked between convenience of digital financial services and financial inclusion in Kajiado County. This research employed descriptive research design with the 323 Kenya commercial banks outlets in Kajiado County as its target population. From this population, a sample size of 179 elements was obtained using Yamane formula. These respondents were selected using stratified proportionate random sampling. The data gathered from primary sources was obtained using a structured questionnaire was administered using drop and. This research used quantitative analysis approach in its analysis to produce descriptive statistics and ordinal logistics regression statistics. The study concludes that at 5% significance level, there is statistically significant effects. Cost effective process of operations, pricing of transactions (money related consideration), affordability of digital connectivity, ease and effectiveness of connectivity of the digital devices, digital finance mechanisms, and availability of digital finance jointly on financial inclusion in Kajiado County.
Investigation of a Limited but Explosive COVID-19 Outbreak in a German Secondary School

The role of schools as a source of infection and driver in the coronavirus-pandemic has been controversial and is still not completely clarified. To prevent harm and disadvantages for children and adolescents, but also adults, detailed data on school outbreaks is needed, especially when talking about open schools employing evidence-based safety concepts. Here, we investigated the first significant COVID-19 school outbreak in Hamburg, Germany, after the re-opening of schools in 2020. Using clinical, laboratory, and contact data and spatial measures for epidemiological and environmental studies combined with whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis, we examined the causes and the course of the secondary school outbreak. The potential index case was identified by epidemiological tracking and the lessons in classrooms with presumably high virus spreading rates and further infection chains in the setting. Sequence analysis of samples detected one sample of a different virus lineage and 25 virus genomes with almost identical sequences, of which 21 showed 100% similarity. Most infections occurred in connection with two lesson units of the primary case. Likely, 31 students (12–14 years old), two staff members, and three family members were infected in the school or the typical household. Sequence analysis revealed an outbreak cluster with a single source that was epidemiologically identified as a member of the educational staff. In lesson units, two superspreading events of varying degrees with airborne transmission took place. These were influenced by several parameters including the exposure times, the use of respiratory masks while speaking and spatial or structural conditions at that time.
Leading in times of crisis: How perceived COVID‐19‐related work intensification links to daily e‐mail demands and leader outcomes

Abstract The COVID‐19 crisis brought numerous challenges to work life. One of the most notable may be the acceleration of digital transformation, accompanied by an intensification of e‐mail usage and related demands such as high e‐mail workload. While research quickly started to examine the implications of these changes for employees, another important group of stakeholders has been overlooked: leaders. We focus on leaders during the COVID‐19 crisis and examine how COVID‐19‐related work intensification links to leaders' e‐mail overload appraisal and finally exhaustion and transformational leadership, a leader behaviour especially needed in times of crisis. In a 5‐day diary study in September 2020, 84 leaders responded to daily surveys on 343 days. Results of multilevel analysis showed that perceived COVID‐19‐related work intensification was positively linked to worktime spent dealing with e‐mail and appraised e‐mail overload. E‐mail overload appraisal was positively related to leaders' exhaustion, but unrelated to their transformational behaviour. Day‐specific time spent dealing with e‐mail, however, was negatively related to transformational leadership. E‐mail overload appraisal mediated the relationship between COVID‐19‐related work intensification and exhaustion. Turning the focus on leaders during the COVID‐19 crisis, our study has important implications for the design of work of leaders in times of crisis and beyond.
The Relationship between the Static and Dynamic Balance of the Body, the Influence of Eyesight and Muscle Tension in the Cervical Spine in CAA Patients—A Pilot Study

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is one form of disease of the small vessels of the brain and can cause frequent cerebral hemorrhages as well as other types of stroke. The aim of the study was to analyze the static and dynamic balance of the body and changes in the tension of selected muscles of the cervical spine in patients with CAA after stroke, depending on visual control or its absence, compared to healthy volunteers. Eight stroke patients and eight healthy subjects were examined. The functional Unterberger test and the Biodex SD platform were used to test the dynamic equilibrium, on which the static equilibrium was also assessed. Muscle tension was tested with the Luna EMG device. In static tests, the LC muscle (longus colli) was significantly more active with and without visual control (p = 0.016; p = 0.002), and in dynamic tests, significantly higher results for MOS (p = 0.046) were noted. The comparison of the groups led to the conclusion that the more functional deficits, the more difficult it is to keep balance, also with eye control.
A gradient of electrophysiological novelty responses along the human hippocampal long axis

The hippocampus is implicated in novelty detection, thought to be important for regulating entry of information into long-term memory. Whether electrophysiological responses to novelty differ along the human hippocampal long axis is currently unknown. By recording from electrodes implanted longitudinally in the hippocampus of epilepsy patients, here we show a gradual increase of theta frequency oscillatory power from anterior to posterior in response to unexpected stimuli, superimposed on novelty responses common to all long axis portions. Intracranial event-related potentials (iERPs) were larger for unexpected vs. expected stimuli and demonstrated a polarity inversion between the hippocampal head (HH) and body (HB). We observed stronger theta coherence between HH and hippocampal tail (HT) than between HB and HT, similarly for expected and unexpected stimuli. This was accompanied by theta and alpha traveling waves with surprisingly variable direction of travel characterized by a ∼180° phase lag between hippocampal poles. Interestingly, this phase lag showed a pronounced phase offset between anterior and middle (HH-HB) hippocampal portions coinciding anatomically with a drop in theta coherence and the novelty iERP polarity inversion. Our findings indicate common response properties along the hippocampal long axis to unexpected stimuli, as well as a multifaceted, non-uniform engagement along the long axis for novelty processing.
Cooperative electrolyte-PEG interactions drive the signal amplification in a solid-state nanopore

Nanopore systems have emerged as a leading platform for the analysis of biomolecular complexes with single molecule resolution. However, the analysis of several analytes like short nucleic acids or proteins with nanopores represents a sensitivity challenge, because their translocation lead to small signals difficult to distinguish from the noise. Here, we report a simple method to enhance the signal to noise ratio in nanopore experiments by a simple modification of the solution used in nanopore sensing. The addition of poly-ethylene glycol (PEG) and the careful selection of the supporting electrolyte leads to large signal enhancement. We observed that the translocation dynamics are in good agreement with an established method that uses the lattice energy of an electrolyte to approximate the affinity of an ion to PEG. We identified CsBr as the optimal supporting electrolyte to complement PEG to enable the analysis of dsDNA at 500 kHz bandwidth, and the detection of dsDNA as short as 75 bp.