Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Teaching International Tourism: An Interdisciplinary, Field-based Course

ABSTRACT An international tourism course involving coteaching international tourism subjects from different disciplinary perspectives in the form of a learning community and including a field trip to an international tourism destination was designed to explore opportunities to overcome some of the limitations inherent in traditional teaching approaches. This article provides a detailed description of the course structure, learning objectives, and contents as well as insights derived from the various evaluation processes, which involved the analysis of results from conventional evaluation surveys, field trip journals, student papers, posttrip discussions, institutional responses, and critical self-evaluation by the faculty.
Morphology, Stratigraphy, and Genesis of Small Drumlins in Front of the Glacier Mýrdalsjökull, South Iceland

Abstract Investigations have been made of the geomorphology, internal structure, and till fabric of small drumlins in a drumlin field exposed in front of the retreating northern part of Mýrdalsjökull, Iceland. The drumlins either comprise irregular drumlin complexes or they show clearly the shape of typical drumlins with their highest points at the up-glacier ends of streamlined hills. The core of each drumlin consists either of undisturbed glacio-fluvial deposits or glacio-dynamically deformed drift. The distribution of the first type often has a characteristic en échelon arrangement, similar to the interstream areas in the upper reaches of outwash fans. The second type forms a pattern with a predominant trend conforming to the glacier margin; this type is superimposed on overridden ice-margin push-moraine ridges. It is shown that the material in the drumlin cores is only slightly eroded by the glacier that formed the drumlins. The core is mantled by subglacial lodgement till about 0.1–1.5 m in thickness. Seventeen fabric analyses of 25 clasts each were performed on material from within the till mantle. These analyses show a preferred long-axis orientation but indicate a considerable between-site variability ranging up to 45° even between samples taken a few metres apart. The preferred clast orientation for samples taken along the drumlin crests only deviates 0–10° from the regional ice-flow direction indicated by fluted moraines, whereas the deviation for samples from the flanks and the stoss-sides is up to 35°. However, the fabrics show a characteristic pattern relative to the shape of the drumlin; on their tops, the clast fabric parallels the ice-flow direction, whereas it tends to follow the contour direction on the flanks and stoss-sides. It is concluded that the cores of the drumlins consist of pre-existing deposits, whereas the mantles are composed of subglacial till. Regarding the processes involved, the material contained in the core is mainly eroded by pro-glacial melt-water streams and not by ice. During the subsequent flow of ice across the area, the most prominent terrain elements have acted as subglacial obstacles, leading to localized till deposition and drumlin formation. Thus, the drumlins were formed mainly by subglacial deposition of till but the obstacles acted as an essential factor favouring their initiation.
Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine Effects of R-Alpha Lipoic Acid on HbA 1 c , Lipids and Blood Pressure in Type-2 Diabetics : A Preliminary Study

R-alpha lipoic acid (R-ALA) supplementation improves blood glucose in diabetic animals, but there have been no long-term clinical trials in humans testing its use for glucose control (HbA1c). This double-blind study pre-/post-test control group (PL) design sought to determine the effect of R-ALA on HbA1c. Twenty type-2 diabetics were randomly assigned to 200 mg capsules of R-ALA (n=13; 8M 5F) or PL (n=7; 2M 5F) 3 times daily, 30 minutes before meals (600 mg total) for 91 days. Samples were obtained for HbA1c at baseline and day 91. No significant differences between R-ALA and PL groups were found at baseline or day 91. However, three distinct reactions to the supplement were noted. The first group (n=3) responded to R-ALA with a >25% drop in HbA1c range from 6.1-12.5 to 6.29. 0 mg/dL and/or halved their anti-diabetic medication. The second group (n=5) had no change in HbA1c. The third group (n=5) had changes in medication or concurrent chronic adverse events that should have raised HbA1c, but did not beyond that of the placebo. Conclusions: Three months of R-ALA supplementation may lower HbA1c in a small number of individuals. However, to further confirm these findings, larger studies of longer duration are needed.
Synoptic controls on precipitation pathways and snow delivery to high-accumulation ice core sites in the Ross Sea region, Antarctica

[1] Dominant storm tracks to two ice core sites on the western margin of the Ross Sea, Antarctica (Skinner Saddle (SKS) and Evans Piedmont Glacier), are investigated to establish key synoptic controls on snow accumulation. This is critical in terms of understanding the seasonality, source regions, and transport pathways of precipitation delivered to these sites. In situ snow depth and meteorological observations are used to identify major accumulation events in 2007–2008, which differ considerably between sites in terms of their magnitude and seasonal distribution. While snowfall at Evans Piedmont Glacier occurs almost exclusively during summer and spring, Skinner Saddle receives precipitation year round with a lull during the months of April and May. Cluster analysis of daily back trajectories reveals that the highest-accumulation days at both sites result from fast-moving air masses, associated with synoptic-scale low-pressure systems. There is evidence that short-duration pulses of snowfall at SKS also originate from mesocyclone development over the Ross Ice Shelf and local moisture sources. Changes in the frequency and seasonal distribution of these mechanisms of precipitation delivery will have a marked impact on annual accumulation over time and will therefore need careful consideration during the interpretation of stable isotope and geochemical records from these ice cores.
The contribution of symmetrization to the intensification of Tropical Cyclones

Abstract : Operational ability to forecast tropical cyclone motion is much better than the ability to forecast intensity change. Several recent works have studied the mechanisms that bring about the symmetrization of various types of asymmetries in tropical cyclones. This study was conducted to add to that knowledge by examining the transfers of kinetic energy between scales and how those energy transfers alter the wind structure of the cyclone. Adding to the understanding of how this process can alter winds is a step toward increasing ability to forecast these changes. A non-divergent barotropic spectral model was used to integrate annular bands of enhanced potential vorticity, simulating hurricane eyes, with varying degrees of offset from the center of the vortex. Offset monopoles of vorticity, simulating asymmetric convection in tropical storms, were also integrated. As discovered by previous researchers, these unstable eyes broke down into a series of mesovortices, which merged and eventually relaxed to monopolar or tripolar final states. The offset monopoles formed spiral bands and became symmetric as well. Kinetic energy was transferred from the mean flow to the asymmetries as mesovortices formed and then transferred back to the mean flow as symmetrization occurred. These energy transfers occurred very quickly. As energy was transferred from asymmetry to mean flow, the azimuthally averaged wind increased in a band of about 70 km from the center of the vortex, even though the maximum wind decreased, Azimuthally averaged wind in the monopole cases also increased, but the change was confined to a smaller radial band near the radius of maximum wind.
The ecological role of small rainfall events in a desert grassland

The frequency, magnitude and intensity of precipitation events are known to influence dryland ecosystems; yet, the majority of these rain events are small (<5 mm), and their role in driving biotic and abiotic processes remains unclear. To explore the effects of small rain events that occur between larger events on ecosystem processes, we experimentally manipulated small rainfall events in a mixed Bouteloua eriopoda and Bouteloua gracilis desert grassland. We experimentally removed all events <3.8 mm from treatment plots during a dry monsoon (2012), and to assess potential legacy effects, we added a similar magnitude of small rainfall events in 3.8‐mm increments to the same treatment plots during a subsequent wet monsoon (2013). No difference in aboveground productivity occurred between ambient and treatment plots when small events were eliminated in 2012. However, soil moisture, soil organic carbon, available nitrogen and extracellular enzyme activity for phosphate mobilization were all lower in treatment relative to ambient plots. In 2013, treatment plots that received supplemental small events had lower aboveground productivity, soil moisture and soil N availability than ambient plots. We hypothesize that legacy effects from the removal of small events in 2012 limited the ability of these plots to respond to higher, supplemented rainfall in 2013. Therefore, a reduction in small precipitation events – which may be caused by changing rainfall properties or increasing rates of evaporation in a warming climate – may intensify some deleterious effects of dry monsoons, and inhibit grassland recovery in subsequent years with higher rainfall. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Stiglerian View on Banking Supervision

According to Stigler’s capture theoryregulation often follows the preferences of producers.Therefore, the interests of the financial industry might be amajor driving force for the ongoing supervisory reform debate.This paper identifies possible interests of the regulatedindustries: Either they might favour strict supervision tocreate barriers for entry. Or they might use their politicalinfluence to press for a lax and low-cost supervisory system.Our empirical results indicate that the private interest viewon banking regulation is indeed relevant and that the data ismore compatible with a “preference for laxity” than with a‘‘barriers to entry’’ view.
Do you like me? Neural correlates of social evaluation and developmental trajectories

Social acceptance is of key importance for healthy functioning. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine age-related changes in the neural correlates of social acceptance and rejection processing. Participants from four age groups participated in the study: pre-pubertal children (8–10 years), early adolescents (12–14 years), older adolescents (16–17 years) and young adults (19–25 years). During the experiment, participants were presented with unfamiliar faces of peers and were asked to predict whether they expected to be liked or disliked by the other person, followed by feedback indicating acceptance or rejection. Results showed that activation in the ventral mPFC and striatum to social feedback was context-dependent; there was increased activation when participants had positive expectations about social evaluation, and increased activation following social acceptance feedback. Age-related comparisons revealed a linear increase in activity with age in these brain regions for positive expectations of social evaluation. Similarly, a linear increase with age was found for activation in the striatum, ventral mPFC, OFC, and lateral PFC for rejection feedback. No age-related differences in neural activation were shown for social acceptance feedback. Together, these results provide important insights in the developmental trajectories of brain regions implicated in social and affective behavior.
Deformation of the crack front during propagation in some disordered medium: theoretical and experimental studies

: In heterogeneous disordered materials, a straight crack front experiences toughness ﬂuctuations during its propagation that generate geometric ﬂuc-tuations. Their long time statistical behavior has been studied by Lazarus et al. (JMPS, 2008) using Bueckner-Rice weight function theory. In particular, the evolution of the auto-correlation function, power spectrum and variance of the front ﬂuctuations have been derived. The aim here is to compare these results to some experiments performed on transparent plexiglas blocks with the same apparatus as in Schmittbuhl and Maloy (PRL, 1997) by measuring the amplitude evolution of the crack front ﬂuctuations in addition to the self-afﬁnity roughness parameters. In a perfectly ideal homogeneous material, an initial straight crack front remains straight during propagation. But in an heterogeneous disordered materials, it becomes rough. The aim of the present paper is to derive an analytical description of the evolution of this roughness and to compare it to experimental results. The assumption of quasi-static brittle crack propagation will be done. Among the experimental works, one may
Article title: Intra and interspecific diversity in a tropical plant clade alter herbivory and ecosystem resilience

Declines in biodiversity generated by anthropogenic stressors at both species and population levels can alter emergent processes instrumental to ecosystem function and resilience. As such, understanding the role of biodiversity in ecosystem function and its response to climate perturbation is increasingly important, especially in tropical systems where responses to changes in biodiversity are less predictable and more challenging to assess experimentally. Using large scale transplant experiments conducted at five neotropical sites, we documented the impacts of changes in intraspecific and interspecific plant richness in the genus Piper on insect herbivory, insect richness, and ecosystem resilience to perturbations in water availability. We found that reductions of both intraspecific and interspecific Piper diversity had measurable and site specific effects on herbivory, herbivorous insect richness, and plant mortality. The responses of these ecosystem-relevant processes to reduced intraspecific Piper richness were often similar in magnitude to the effects of reduced interspecific richness. Increased water availability reduced herbivory by 4.2% overall, and the response of herbivorous insect richness and herbivory to water availability were altered by both intra and interspecific richness in a site dependent manner. Our results underscore the role of intraspecific and interspecific richness as foundations of ecosystem function and the importance of community and location specific contingencies in controlling function in complex tropical systems.
FinTech, Blockchain and Islamic Finance: An Extensive Literature Review

Purpose: The paper aims to review the academic research work done in the area of Islamic financial technology. The Islamic FinTech area has been classified into three broad categories of the Islamic FinTech, Islamic Financial technology opportunities and challenges, Cryptocurrency/Blockchain sharia compliance and law/regulation. Finally, the study identifies and highlights the opportunities and challenges that Islamic Financial institutions can learn from the conventional FinTech organization across the world. Approach/Methodology/Design: The study collected 112 research studies (50 from Social Science Research Network (SSRN), 30 from Research gate, 12 from Google Scholar and 20 from other sources) in the area of Islamic Financial Technology. The study presents the systematic review of the above studies. Findings: The study classifies the Islamic FinTech into three broad categories namely, Islamic FinTech opportunities and challenges, Cryptocurrency/Blockchain sharia compliance and law/regulation. The study identifies that the sharia compliance related to the cryptocurrency/Blockchain is the biggest challenge which Islamic FinTech organizations are facing. During our review we also find that Islamic FinTech organizations are to be considered as partners by the Islamic Financial Institutions (IFI’s) than the competitors. If Islamic Financial institutions want to increase efficiency, transparency and customer satisfaction they have to adopt FinTech and become partners with the FinTech companies. Practical Implications: The study will contribute positively to the understanding of Islamic Fintech for the academia, industry, regulators, investors and other FinTech users. Originality/Value: The study believes to contribute positively to understanding of Fintech based technology like cryptocurrency/Blockchain from sharia perspective.
Quantile regression for investigating scaling of extreme precipitation with temperature

The consensus in the scientific community is that the intensity of extreme precipitation will increase in a warmer climate. However, as there is limited observational evidence to this effect, there is a growing body of research which focuses on directly investigating the relationship between temperature and precipitation. This is currently performed by binning precipitation data in temperature bins and then investigating the trend in the precipitation percentiles in each bin with temperature. In this paper, we highlight limitations in the binning approach and present quantile regression as an alternative to the above process. Quantile regression allows estimation of this scaling directly and, unlike binning, is unbiased with sample size. Moreover, quantile regression presents a natural framework for investigation into other factors (covariates) that may be affecting the nature of the scaling relationship. Results using subdaily rainfall data for Australia show the efficacy of the proposed quantile regression method, as well as the presence of season indicators as significant covariates that affect the scaling relationship of precipitation with temperature. A general increase in the scaling coefficient in winter versus summer is observed.
Provenance and geotectonic setting of the Palaeoproterozoic Zhongtiao Group and implications for assembly of the North China Craton: whole-rock geochemistry and detrital zircon data

Abstract: Geochemical data reveal the contrasting geochemical characteristics of the metasediments in the Jiepailiang and Bizigou formations of the Palaeoproterozoic Zhongtiao Group, North China Craton. High Zr/Sc and SiO2/Al2O3 values and especially the evolved and uniform nature of εNd(t) values plus detrital zircon U–Pb ages and Hf isotopic signatures for the former are consistent with derivation from an evolved felsic source with sedimentary recycling signs. However, lower values of SiO2/Al2O3 and Zr/Sc, and higher contents of Fe2O3* and MgO for the latter indicate input of more mafic components. These geochemical characteristics, combined with the wide range of εNd(t) values, suggest that these rocks were derived in part from old continental material, dominated by felsic rocks of magmatic origin, and in part from a continental island arc, which accounts for the variable mixture of mafic components. These results suggest that the Zhongtiao Group was deposited after c. 2110 Ma, in a back-arc basin, behind an eastward-directed subduction system. Subsequent deformation and metamorphism reflect closure of the oceanic basin between the Eastern and Western blocks of the North China Craton, along the Trans-North China Orogen, contributing to amalgamation of the supercontinental Columbia. Supplementary material: Data are available at http://www.geolsoc. org.uk/SUP18478.
Magmatic activities on the Southwest Indian Ridge between 35°E and 40°E, the closest segment to the Marion hotspot

We conducted geophysical surveys, including bathymetry, gravity, and magnetism, within a first‐order segment of the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) between the Prince Edward and Eric Simpson fracture zones (FZs) (latitude 35°–40°E, segment PE), in the vicinity of the Marion hotspot. Segment PE includes four orthogonally spreading second‐order segments (PE‐1, PE‐2, PE‐3, and PE‐4) and a long, oblique axial valley (NTD‐1). Segments PE‐1, PE‐2, and PE‐4 are magmatic, whereas segment PE‐3 and NTD‐1 are characterized by low magmatic activity. Segment PE‐3 is a nascent segment and NTD‐1 contains three tiny magmatic sections. Each low‐magmatic interval along the axis of segment PE lies between two magmatic segments. This segmentation pattern is similar to the SWIR between the Gallieni and Melville FZs; therefore, a strong melt‐focusing process can be expected. Different characteristics of second‐order magmatic segments suggest that the magmatic activity in each segment varies among each other as well as that of the other segments of SWIR. Continuous seafloor morphology and isochrons over off‐axis areas of segment PE‐1 and NTD‐1 suggest that PE‐1 shortened after the C2An chron. The V‐shaped bathymetric structure between segment PE‐1 and NTD‐1 suggests that the melt supply center has migrated westward. This westward melt migration would have reduced magmatic activity at NTD‐1 after C2An. Ridge obliquity may also have reduced magmatic activity. Geophysical characteristics of second‐order segments suggest that magmatic activity of segment PE is mainly controlled by a strong melt‐focusing process and a comparatively low contribution of melt supply from Marion hotspot.
Intelligent Tutoring Systems Examined in Social Experiments—Is the Magic Gone? A Meta-Analysis

Various meta-analysis studies were conducted to investigate the effects of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs). However, no study, to the best of our knowledge, examined ITSs in social experiments in real and natural learning contexts (not in lab experiment or specific research experiment) to reveal their true effects. To cover this gap, this study conducts a meta-analysis of ITSs examined in social experiments, where 14 studies ($N=3496$) were finally included and analyzed. The obtained results revealed that ITSs have an overall small positive effect ($g=0.36$). They further revealed that ITSs have a better positive effect on knowledge (medium effect) compared to skills (small effect), as a learning outcome. The results also revealed that ITSs have a better positive effect (huge) when used for language knowledge learning compared to other domain subjects. Finally, ITSs have better positive effect (large) when used in primary education and for less than one year. The findings of this study can contribute to the literature by explaining how the effect of ITSs might vary when examined in real educational contexts, i.e., in the “field”.