Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of internal, external and aggregated CSR practices on the firm's reputation and profitability

Purpose Contemplating the concerns often expressed by skeptics about the value generated by corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, this study aims to examine the effects of CSR practices on the firm's reputation and profitability in the distinct socio-economic context of Nepal. Design/methodology/approach The study used a simple random sampling method in collecting data from 168 listed companies in Nepal. The data were collected using structured questionnaires. Then, hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to test the stated hypotheses. Findings Results showed that all types of CSR practices positively affect the firm's reputation and profitability. However, a firm's reputation was better explained by the external CSR practices, and profitability was better explained by the internal CSR practices. Moreover, CSR practices were more strongly linked with the firm's reputation than profitability. Research limitations/implications Perceptual data on profitability may be seen as a limitation although it can capture the current profitability situation as well as a future prospect within a single construct. Practical implications Practicing managers can consider CSR as an important strategic issue to stay ahead in competition rather than simply a response to regulatory requirements or stakeholder pressures. Originality/value Perhaps this is the first study to examine the effects of internal CSR practices, external CSR practices, and aggregated CSR practices separately on the firm's reputation and profitability in the unique socio-economic context of Nepal.
Corporate social responsibility and firm performance: does institutional quality matter?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate whether institutional quality influences the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and firm performance (FP) relationship.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses a large sample of 814 European firms from roughly 2008 to 2017. In order to resolve the problem of endogeneity and heterogeneity the system generalized method of moment is performed.FindingsFirst, the effect of CSR on FP is simultaneously positive and significant for the economic, social and overall score based on an equal-weighted performance of four CSR pillars. Second, we found that the institutional quality matters, as corruption significantly decreases the FP, while government stability law and order exert a positive impact. Third, results suggest, similarly, that FP benefits from the interactional relationship between CSR and institutional quality. Finally, as for firm specifics, we found that the lagged performance and growth rate of sales significantly increase the European FP. However, FP is negatively sensitive to the leverage ratio.Research limitations/implicationsThis study aims to fill the gap in the CSR-FP interrelation and institutional context. Since we have a large number of firms (814) compared to a relatively small temporal dimension (10 years), the dynamic panel data analysis, and more precisely, the SGMM approach, is the most appropriate to resolve the problem of endogeneity and heterogeneity.Practical implicationsThe institutional environment affects the firm's CSR response and results. The strong institutional quality may result in increased regulatory pressures placed on the firm related to social responsibility compliance and can thereby enhance the CSR–FP relationship.Originality/valueTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that explored the relationship between CSR–FP and institutional quality in the European context. Indeed, this paper shows that institutional quality mediates the relationship between CSR practices and FP.
Correspondences between high‐frequency sequences and the Milankovitch Cycles of Dongying Formation in Liaoxi Uplift, Bohai Bay Basin, North‐east China

The typical wells in Liaoxi Uplift were selected to conduct studies on high‐frequency sequences and their correspondences with the Milankovitch Cycles in Dongying Formation based on integrated analysis of wireline logs and sieve residue logs. The results of well JZ‐E show that 37 ultra‐short‐term cycles, 13 short‐term cycles, 8 mid‐term cycles, and 5 long‐term cycles are identified. Meanwhile, the correspondences between high‐frequency sequences and the Milankovitch Cycles in Dongying Formation were analysed based on GR curve of well JZ‐E and MATLAB procedure. The correspondences indicate that the Milankovitch Cycles are well preserved in Dongying Formation. The thickness of long‐period cycles caused by eccentricity ranges from 2.7963 to 3.9965 m. The thickness of mid‐term cycles caused by obliquity ranges from 1.5081 to 2.1126 m. The thickness of short‐period cycles caused by precessions ranges from 0.5791 to 1.1269 m. There is a good consistency between high‐frequency sequences and the Milankovitch Cycles in Dongying Formation. The mid‐term cycle, short‐term cycle, and ultra‐short‐term cycle of high‐frequency sequence correspond, respectively, to long‐period eccentricity, short‐period eccentricity, and precession cycle of the Milankovitch Cycles. Lacustrine fluctuations caused by the change in Earth's orbit play a major role in controlling high‐frequency sequences.
Adsorption on activated carbon derived from tannery fleshing waste: Adsorption isotherms, thermodynamics, and kinetics

Fleshings, an abundant protein source are disposed in large quantity as a solid tannery wastes. Herein, an approach for complete utilization of pre‐treated fleshing waste has been developed to obtain functional rich activated carbon, which can be used as bio‐adsorbent for the removal of chromium(VI) from aqueous solution. In this study, Functional rich Fleshing Waste Activated Carbon (FWAC) was characterized by Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller) BET, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT‐IR) and (Scanning Electron Microscope) SEM analysis. The thermal and FT‐IR studies showed innovative functionalities with superior physico‐chemical properties. The functional rich bio‐adsorbent provided greater opportunity to utilise this material as an adsorbent for trapping toxic metal ions. The maximum adsorption capacity of functional rich bio‐adsorbent was found to be 60.8 mg g−1. Effect of pH, temperature, adsorbent dose and metal ion concentration on adsorption of metal ions were thoroughly investigated also the kinetics and thermodynamic study were carried out. The maximum removal of chromium was obtained at pH 3 with ≥97% for about 0.5 g adsorption dose of 100 mg L−1 initial concentration. The fleshings dealt out as solid tannery wastes, now provides ample solution for ecological crisis of toxic chromium(VI). © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 36: 1725–1733, 2017
Cloud Cover over the Sahara during the Summer and Associated Circulation Features

Over the Sahara in summer, the activity of the Saharan thermal low pressure system (SHL), which is linked to the West-African monsoon dynamics and the mid-latitude circulation, is modulated by dust concentration and water-vapor transport. In this context, the role of clouds over western Sahara remains under-investigated. Using Meteosat-Second-Generation geostationary satellite data, for the first time the variability of cloud occurrence over Sahara by type in summer, at diurnal, daily and intra-seasonal time scales for the 2008–2014 period is documented. Using European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) Reanalysis (ERA) Interim (ERAI) reanalysis, cloud cover occurrences are characterized in terms of regional circulation patterns and moisture balance. We show that, over West-Sahara and Hoggar, mid-top clouds are the most frequent cloud-type in summer. Their summit reaches between 500 hPa and 400 hPa and lies just above the top of the Saharan Atmospheric Boundary Layer (SABL). During the rest of the year, high-top clouds are the most frequent. The variations in the spatial distribution of mid-top cloud occurrence coincide with the seasonal displacement and strengthening of the SHL and, in the mid-troposphere, of the Saharan anticyclone. Mid-top clouds occur most frequently when, at large scale, mass and humidity converge in the lower SABL due to heating on an extensive surface, and diverge in the upper SABL. Their diurnal cycle, with minimal frequency around 10 UTC and maximum in the evening, is consistent with the diurnal development of the Saharan Convective-Boundary-Layer. The frequency of high cloud increases when anticyclonic circulations at mid-level and upper-level retreat to the southeast and upper-level trough from mid-latitudes can penetrate more southwards.
Hashtags for gatekeeping of information on social media

Since the inception of gatekeeping research in the 1940s, most studies on gatekeeping have been human‐centric, treating and studying individuals as gatekeepers, who perform their gatekeeping role using a combination of the following mechanisms: forming communities, and/or broadcasting, discovering‐searching, collecting, organizing, or protecting information. However, the nature of communication channels and how information is produced by and shared with users has fundamentally changed in the last 80 years. One significant change is the growing use of technology‐enabled metadata like hashtags when sharing information on social media. Rarely any study investigates whether hashtags can perform gatekeeping of information and what it means for information gatekeeping. This paper fills in the gap by conducting a content analysis of 77 interdisciplinary studies on hashtags and gatekeeping to confirm how they can implement six gatekeeping mechanisms. This study shows that hashtags expand our understanding of the role of technology solutions in gatekeeping and advance research on hierarchical gatekeeping. The benefits of hashtags for gatekeeping suggest that they act as “information anchors” for online communities, thereby highlighting the utility of information gatekeepers for society.
Effect of eucalyptus plantations on the taxonomic and functional structure of aquatic insect assemblages in Neotropical springs

ABSTRACT Springs are important ecosystems in terms of environmental services and their quality has been degraded by various land uses. Aquatic insects are strongly affected by anthropogenic impacts. For this reason, researchers, use the taxonomic and functional structure of the Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) assemblages for the evaluation of environmental quality of Neotropical springs in areas cultivated with eucalyptus. In this respect, we tested the hypothesis that taxa richness is lower in eucalyptus areas, and the taxonomic composition and functional diversity are different from those of forest areas. In order to verify this hypothesis, we used a pond net sampler to collect the substrate of 20 springs in Southeastern Brazil. Our results showed that in areas planted with eucalyptus, springs showed less richness of genera and a different EPT taxonomical composition compared to springs in forest areas. We also found that respiration and body size were the functional traits most influenced by abiotic variables in springs both in eucalyptus and forest areas. The reduced marginal vegetation and homogenization of the canopy in eucalyptus areas reduced the quality of the plant matter, altering the substrate composition and water quality of springs in those areas.
Early Growing Season Anomalies in Vegetation Activity Determine the Large‐Scale Climate‐Vegetation Coupling in Europe

The climate‐vegetation coupling exerts a strong control on terrestrial carbon budgets and will affect the future evolution of global climate under continued anthropogenic forcing. Nonetheless, the effects of climatic conditions on such coupling at specific times in the growing season remain poorly understood. We quantify the climate‐vegetation coupling in Europe over 1982–2014 at multiple spatial and temporal scales, by decomposing sub‐seasonal anomalies of vegetation greenness using a grid‐wise definition of the growing season. We base our analysis on long‐term vegetation indices (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and two‐band Enhanced Vegetation Index), growing conditions (including 2m temperature, downwards surface solar radiation, and root‐zone soil moisture), and multiple teleconnection indices that reflect the large‐scale climatic conditions over Europe. We find that the large‐scale climate‐vegetation coupling during the first two months of the growing season largely determines the full‐year coupling. The North Atlantic Oscillation and Scandinavian Pattern phases one‐to‐two months before the start of the growing season are the dominant and contrasting drivers of the early growing season climate‐vegetation coupling over large parts of boreal and temperate Europe. The East Atlantic Pattern several months in advance of the growing season exerts a strong control on the temperate belt and the Mediterranean region. The strong role of early growing season anomalies in vegetative activity within the growing season emphasizes the importance of a grid‐wise definition of the growing season when studying the large‐scale climate‐vegetation coupling in Europe.
Batch and Continuous Chromate and Zinc Sorption from Electroplating Effluents Using Biogenic Iron Precipitates

Nanoparticles of iron precipitates produced by a microbial consortium are a suitable adsorbent for metal removal from electroplating industry wastewaters. Biogenic iron precipitates were utilized as adsorbents for chromate and zinc in batch conditions. Furthermore, the iron precipitates were embedded in alginate beads for metal removal in fixed-bed columns, and their performance was evaluated in a continuous system by varying different operational parameters such as flow rate, bed height, and feeding system (down- and up-flows). The influence of different adsorption variables in the saturation time, the amount of adsorbed potentially toxic metals, and the column performance was investigated, and the shape of the breakthrough curves was analyzed. The optimal column performance was achieved by increasing bed height and by decreasing feed flow rate and inlet metal concentration. The up-flow system significantly improved the metal uptake, avoiding the preferential flow channels.
Topcross hybrids in papaya (Carica papaya L.): evaluation of the potential for increasing fruit quality in new cultivars

ABSTRACT Multivariate analyzes such as selection indexes are one of the ways to select superior papaya genotypes with adequate quality to the consumer market, becoming more efficient after inferences made in the population from the estimate of genetic parameters. Thus, this study aimed to estimate genetic parameters and select papaya topcross hybrids for traits related to fruit quality through selection indexes. The analysis of variance was performed, and the genetic parameters and means test were estimated. The indexes of Smith and Hazel, Pesek and Baker, Mulamba and Mock, and Williams were applied to determine the genetic gains. The genetic parameters indicated a greater environmental influence for firmness, and soluble solids content, where the fruit weight presented the highest genetic variation. The selection showed a reduction in gains for at least one of the essential traits in the quality of the fruits, such as fruit and pulp firmness, soluble solids content, or pulp volume percentage. The Mulamba and Mock index demonstrated satisfactory gains for all these traits with minimal reduction in the others, which is considered the most appropriate for the selection of eight papaya hybrids (UCHJ16-014, UCHJ16-034, UCHJ16-006, UCHJ16-026, UCHJ16-013, UCHJ16-012, UCHJ16-025, and UCHJ16-016).
On Ripples—A Boundary Layer-Theoretical Definition

Once the first initial ripples have developed, they form according to the actual flow forces and sediment properties. In this paper, a semianalytical approach to determine the length of the developed ripples is presented. The theory assumes initial disturbances at the bed surface and corresponding flow separations resulting from an individual respective boundary layer. What causes the initial rhythmic perturbations is not the subject of this paper. Based on boundary layer theory, this approach explains a possible physical background for the existence and length of developed ripples in cohesion-free sediments. At the same time, the approach provides a distinction from dunes: ripples are sand waves affected by a viscous sublayer, and dunes are sand waves where this is not the case. Applications to Earth, Mars, and Titan are shown.
A survey of phishing attack techniques, defence mechanisms and open research challenges

ABSTRACT Phishing is an identity theft, which deceives Internet users into revealing their sensitive data, e.g., login information, credit/debit card details, and so on. Researchers have developed various anti-phishing methods in recent years. However, the problem still exists. Therefore, this paper presents a detailed analysis of phishing attack methods and defense techniques. This survey is presented in five folds. First, we discuss in detail the lifecycle of phishing attack, its history, and motivation behind this attack. Second, we present various distribution methods that are used to spread phishing attacks. Third, we provide taxonomy of various phishing-attacking techniques in desktop and mobile environments. Fourth, we provide numerous phishing protection mechanisms and their comparisons. Finally, the article presents various performance challenges faced by developers while dealing with this crucial attack. This paper also provides the consequences of phishing attacks in emerging domains like mobile and online social networks. This paper will help the different users in avoiding phishing attacks while using Internet for their day-to-day activities, and will guide business administrators in designing new effective solutions for their enterprise against various types of phishing threats.
Indigenous Fire-Managed Landscapes in Southeast Australia during the Holocene—New Insights from the Furneaux Group Islands, Bass Strait

Indigenous land use and climate have shaped fire regimes in southeast Australia during the Holocene, although their relative influence remains unclear. The archaeologically attested mid-Holocene decline in land-use intensity on the Furneaux Group islands (FGI) relative to mainland Tasmanian and SE Australia presents a natural experiment to identify the roles of climate and anthropogenic land use. We reconstruct two key facets of regional fire regimes, biomass (vegetation) burned (BB) and recurrence rate of fire episodes (RRFE), by using total charcoal influx and charcoal peaks in palaeoecological records, respectively. Our results suggest climate-driven biomass accumulation and dryness-controlled BB across southeast Australia during the Holocene. Insights from the FGI suggest people elevated the recurrence rate of fire episodes through frequent cultural burning during the early Holocene and reduction in recurrent Indigenous cultural burning during the mid–late Holocene led to increases in BB. These results provide long-term evidence of the effectiveness of Indigenous cultural burning in reducing biomass burned and may be effective in stabilizing fire regimes in flammable landscapes in the future.
Intimate Partner Violence and Its Association With HIV Testing Among Filipino Women: Results From the 2017 Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey

Background: The Philippines is one of the few countries in the world where incidence of both HIV and intimate partner violence (IPV) continue to rise. There is conflicting evidence on the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) with HIV testing however, and such an analysis involving Filipino respondents has not been carried out before. Our paper thus aims to study the relationship between IPV and HIV testing. As a secondary objective, we aim to assess the effect of confiding their IPV experiences to other people on HIV testing. Methods: We used data from the 2017 Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey, only including participants on its domestic violence module. We used logistic regression methods for survey data to study the associations of interest. Results: Out of 17,968 respondents, around 16% of respondents reported experiencing any form of IPV, 13% reported experiencing emotional violence, 7% reported experiencing physical violence, and 3% reported experiencing sexual violence, with even a smaller percentage confiding their experience to other people. After adjusting for confounders, those who have experienced emotional violence have a higher odds of HIV testing as compared to those who have never experienced emotional violence. The odds of HIV testing are lower among those who have experienced any form of violence, physical violence, and sexual violence as compared to respondents who have not experienced any form of violence or these specific types of violence. More worryingly, the odds of HIV testing among victims of these types of IPV and have confided with other people are lower than those who have never been a victim of IPV or those who have not confided being a victim of IPV. None of the associations of interest have a statistically significant result. Conclusions: Our results suggest that there is a need to further improve access to HIV testing services among victims of IPV by making tests for HIV and other STIs part of the standard of care for IPV victims. By doing so, we can meet the ‘first 90’ of the 90-90-90 UNAIDS targets.
"Itu Sebuah Skandal": Lexical and Sociocultural Interpretation in Critical Discourse Analysis of Fadli Zon's Tweet

There were two objectives of the research. The first was to analyze the word ‘scandal’ from textual analysis (micro-level) and sociocultural analysis (macro-level). To analyze the findings, the research made use of Norman Fairclough’s model as the basis of critical discourse analysis. The research was qualitative, which tended to use inductive as the approach. There were 23 informants who participated in the survey and the FGD. They were selected purposively based on their profession and the workplace areas. The data were the four of Fadli Zon’s tweets containing the word ‘scandal’ and its context, which was available in some online media. Research content based on the textual analysis (microanalysis) shows that the text structure is short and directly conveys Fadli Zon’s criticism or negative assumptions toward any policies of government issues. Besides, the macro analysis indicates Fadli Zon has a dominant power to utter the negative judgments toward the government regarding the position in the government structure as one of the leaders in the Indonesian House of Representative. Substantially, the use of specific terms’ scandal’ overall illustrates the negative opinions and indicating declining trust in the policymakers on certain governmental issues. The use of cynicism, sarcasm, and satire styles colors Fadli Zon’s tweets that are also accompanying the overused of ‘scandal’ word. The analysis based on the dimension of discourse practice (micro-level) indicates that using the word ‘scandal’ in Fadli Zon’s tweets is cynical according to the public opinions. The analysis based on the social-cultural practice dimension (macro-level) indicates that Fadli Zon is one Indonesian politician who is often opposed to the Indonesian government policies.