Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Border as Method

The current state of Chinese literary studies is undergoing a process of re(b)ordering where the nation-state is no longer seen as the only acceptable framing for Chinese literature, and existing identificatory markers of Chinese literature—locality, language, ethnicity—are subject to radical rethinking. This article proposes a paradigm of border as method for Chinese literary studies, following the lead of Sandro Mezzadra and Brett Neilson's volume by the same title. Border as method refers to a reflexive glance at the cognitive bordering that we as knowledge producers cannot avoid practicing as we set out to define our object of study or outline a polemic or paradigm. It invites questions such as, What sociological facts of compartmentalized space does the study of Chinese literature yield? If we follow the space making capacity of literature, would we take note of other trajectories of connectivity and relationality and produce alternative configurations of literary assemblage? How does the delineated space of Chinese literature engage with the unevenness and differentiation of Asia and the world? This method manifests as a constructionist engagement with Chinese literature and literary history. It also proposes a cultural geography fundamentally different from the conventional center vs. periphery model. In this new mapping, a borderscape defined in terms of a site or locality, a period, or a variety of other ways could become the de facto center that plays a definitive role in shaping the dynamics and critical terms of Chinese literature and culture as a whole.
Auditor Independence Threats and Factors Affecting Independence

In various professional standards and regulations, the accounting profession has generally described independence as a lack of specific interests and relationships that are presumed to affect auditor objectivity. An auditor must be watchful to any harmful impacts on his planning, investigation, or reporting to preserve independence under the numerous pressures from clients. This article reviews auditor independence literature and factors affecting independence in order to determine the effects of the factors on independence. The method employed for the research is a desk system of research design, in which data were collected through secondary sources such as journals, books and internet materials. The finding of the review indicates that the most mentioned threats to auditor independence are non-audit services, audit tenure, auditor-client relationship and client importance. Independence continues to be a problem when it comes to finding out how accurate and credible investor financial statements are. The leading factor of the independence of the auditor was not evident, but other researchers ranked them based on importance because of their belief that they chose to experiment.
Teachers’ Beliefs about the Impact of Students’ Peer Correction at Post-Writing Stage on Letter Writing

This paper reports a descriptive study to examine English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers beliefs about the impact of students’ peer correction at the post-writing stage (PWS) on students’ writing performance in letter writing. This paper draws on data collected as part of a larger project including questionnaire and semi-interviews. The findings reveal that teachers held positive beliefs about the impact of students’ peer correction on students’ letter writing performance. Implications for practical applications of students’ peer correction are also presented.
PENGARUH KEPEMILIKAN INSTITUSIONAL DAN KOMITE AUDIT TERHADAP PENGUNGKAPAN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PADA PERUSAHAAN MANUFAKTUR YANG TERDAFTAR DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA

This research as a purpose to know what influence of institutional ownership and audit committee on the disclosure of corporate social responsibility. Sample from this research is five enterprises in Indonesian Stock Exchange. The data analysis technique used multiple linear regression analysis using Eviews. From the results of tests performed showed that institutional ownership is statistically not significant affect disclosure of corporate social responsibility, as indicated by the probability of > 0,05 is 0.1948. And the audit committee statistically not significantly affect the disclosure of corporate social responsibility
Multilevel L4 and L5 Corpectomy for Burst Fracture via an Anterior Transperitoneal Approach Followed by Posterior Stabilization: Technical and Anatomic Considerations

Lower lumbar spine burst fractures make up only 1% of all lumbar spine fractures. A burst fracture with neurological compromise, ligamentous injury, severe kyphotic deformity, or loss of anterior column support typically requires surgical stabilization. Treatment options at the L4 and L5 levels are challenging and often require an anterior/posterior approach. Very little has been reported on anterior approaches to the L4 and L5 levels when a corpectomy is required. Hence, we present a patient with a complex burst fracture of L4 and L5. She underwent a corpectomy of L4 and L5 and placement of an expandable cage through a window created between the aorta and the inferior vena cava via an anterior transperitoneal abdominal approach followed by posterior stabilization and fusion from L2 to the pelvis.
Sensitivity Considerations in Adaptive Beamforming

Abstract : The theory of optimum arrays became widely known in the underwater acoustics community through the work of Bryn and Mermoz. The relationship of their work to other detection and estimation problems has been discussed. Optimum array processing structures use detailed information about the signal and noise fields. Since this information is not known precisely in advance, one is led naturally to adaptive beamformers which continually adjust their parameters based upon on-line measurements of some kind. Since adaptive processors are continually adjusting, it is natural to question how sensitive performance is to small variations of the signal field, noise field and system parameters from their assumed or estimated values. The question of sensitivities has been examined tin the past in conjunction with 'super-directive' arrays. An attempt will be made to point out the relationship of the results of this paper to those earlier results. The emphasis in this paper is on receiving arrays. In Section II an introduction to the problem is provided using an intuitive approach. The performance measures of array gain and output power are used. Section III presents the principal sensitivity results. The approach is to take partial derivatives of the gain and output signal power with respect to the size of signal, noise and steering perturbations. Section IV discusses the problem of signal suppression which arises in passive adaptive processors when measurements of signal-plus-noise are used when noise only measurements are desired. Interference rejection is also discussed. A number of optimization problems are discussed in Section V.
Taper, crown, and volume responses of a coastal Oregon Douglas-fir stand to sulfur treatments for control of Swiss needle cast

approved: ______________________________________________________________________ Temesgen Hailemariam For nearly two decades, foresters in the Oregon Coast Range have been witnessing a substantial decease in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii [Mirb.] Franco.) vigor and growth, caused by Swiss needle cast (Phaeocryptopus gaeumannii). Currently, no solutions are in sight but aerially-applied sulfur may alleviate Swiss needle cast and its growth impacts. In this trial, three treatments were imposed on Douglas-fir trees infected with Swiss needle cast; 1) sulfur, 2) sulfur + nutrients, and 3) no treatment. Volume growth, taper, and other responses to treatments were tested by intensive sampling of 120 trees. Tree attributes such as crown ratio, crown width, and sapwood area at crown base showed no significant differences between treatments. Means of both foliage mass and years of needle retention on a five-year-old sample branch were also not different between sulfur and control treatments. However, both of these attributes were different between the sulfur + nutrient and control treatments (p = 0.0599, 0.0205). Using a variable exponent taper model, it was determined that trees within the sulfur treatment did not have a significantly different taper from the control, whereas the sulfur + nutrient treatment did show decreased taper when compared to the control (p = <0.0246). This change in taper in the sulfur + nutrient trees however, has not translated into a significant increase in cubic foot volume. Likewise, numerical integration of the taper equation did not reveal any volume differences between the control and sulfur + nutrient treatments (p = 0.6087). The dollar value of trees removed in the first thinning also did not differ among treatments, implying that sulfur and sulfur + nutrient treatments are not able to increase volume enough in four years to produce additional profits in the first commercial thinning. © Copyright by Nicole L. Younger June 14, 2007 All Rights Reserved Taper, Crown, and Volume Responses of a Coastal Oregon Douglas-fir Stand to Sulfur Treatments for Control of Swiss Needle Cast
Micro-Foundations of Organizational Adaptation : A Field Study in the Evolution of Product Development Capabilities in a Design Firm

The aim of this dissertation is to improve knowledge of how organizations adapt to their dynamic environments, by developing a detailed understanding of the configuration and evolution of organizational replicators. Among open questions in the literature on organizational adaptation, I have explored the following: How can the structure of organizational replicators and the nature of their components be realistically described? How do different organizational replicators interact with each other at different levels within and across organizational boundaries? How do replicators evolve? Why do firms need dynamic capabilities? I’ve addressed these questions by means of an embedded, longitudinal field study of Alessi, an Italian firm founded in 1921, active in the development and production of hundreds of design household products. Data analysis has been carried out in two steps. First, a longitudinal analysis of available primary and archival data has provided an in-depth understanding of the composite nature of organizational replicators, their mutual relationships, their evolution, their outcome stability. Second, a more structured investigation relying on Optimal Matching Analysis allowed to reliably develop an understanding of replicators complexity and of the mechanisms behind their evolution. There are four key findings. First, replicators are not simply behavioral entities—routines in the “narrow sense”. Reliable performance of a capability requires additional elements of physical, intellectual and social capital, which are essential components of replicators (or “Replication Base—RB”, as I suggest to label these more articulated organizational traits). Second, interactions among components of Replication Bases at different levels within and outside the organization suggest a more articulated perspective on how organizational knowledge develops. Components of Replication Bases are often located at different positions within the organization. Over time, knowledge of a particular organizational process takes different forms across the organizational hierarchy. What is local search at one level of analysis, gradually becomes sophisticated foresight at different, typically higher, levels. Third, over time Replication Bases evolve by means of a complex interplay between random mutations and intentional interventions, supported by articulated learning processes. Finally, development of higher-level replicators is not the ultimate answer to the challenge of adaptation. Rather, it allows managers to focus their intentional interventions to the higher-level problems posed by the dynamism of competitive environments. Part of this liberated managerial attention and resources are focused on the crucial, non-routine task of understanding how the organization’s idiosyncratic attributes affect its prospects in the specific competitive context. Taken together, these findings outline the microfoundations of a framework for interpreting organizational adaptation.
Hit Me with a Missed Call: The Use of Missed Calls at the Bottom of the Pyramid

‘Missed calling’ is an innovative way of communicating, growing in use among the 3 billion mobile users that exist today. Supported by caller identification facilities and built-in address books that most mobile phones come equipped with, the practice allows mobile users to pass on the cost of communication to others,. This has allowed many at the bottom of the economic pyramid (or BOP) to fulfill a variety of communication needs at virtually no cost. This paper explores the use of missed calling as a means of cost-minimization at the BOP in five emerging Asian countries. The paper draws on findings from a five-country, 8600 sample study conducted in 2006. Contradictory to much of the existing literature, this article finds that the practice is as popular among non-BOP mobile owners as with BOP mobile owners. What may have originated as a cost-minimizing strategy may in fact now have become a ‘strategy of convenience’ used at all levels of the economic pyramid.
Minimization of Collateral Damage in Airdrops and Airstrikes

Abstract : Collateral damage presents a signi cant risk during air drops and airstrikes, risking citizens' lives and property, straining the relationship between the United States Air Force and host nations. This dissertation presents a methodology to determine the optimal location for making supply airdrops in order to minimize collateral damage while maintaining a high likelihood of successful recovery. A series of non-linear optimization algorithms is presented along with their relative success in nding the optimal location in the airdrop problem. Additionally, we present a quick algorithm for accurately creating the Pareto frontier in the multi-objective airstrike problem. We demonstrate the e ect of di ering guidelines, damage functions, and weapon employment selection which signi cantly alter the location of the optimal aimpoint in this targeting problem. Finally, we have provided a framework for making policy decisions in fast-moving troops-in-contact situations where observers are unsure of the nature of possible enemy forces in both nite horizon and in nite horizon problems. Through the recursive technique of solving this Markov decision process we have demonstrated the e ect of improved intelligence and di ering weights for waiting and incorrect decisions in the face of uncertain situations.
Requirements for Autonomous Unmanned Air Systems Set by Legal Issues

Abstract : Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) are an accepted part of the military inventory and it is anticipated that they will become more autonomous in the future. This paper examines the problem of raising autonomy levels whilst still meeting the requirements of the Laws of Armed Conflict (LOAC). A top-down approach is proposed, starting with LOAC and deriving requirements for more autonomous UAS. The method should ensure that technology developments to raise autonomy levels will have acceptable methods of use. It shows that fully autonomous weaponized systems may never be acceptable. The LOAC are used as capability requirements. Engineering requirements for autonomous UAS are derived from them. The next step in the systems engineering process requires an approach that turns qualitative criteria into quantitative ones. A three-component model of the human decision-making process is used to derive sub-system requirements and the essential technologies for autonomous generation of commands within a legal framework are identified. The implications for technology development are discussed. There is not an intention to develop fully autonomous weapon-carrying systems, but the techniques presented here should provide criteria to decide whether a command decision can be made autonomously or by a human.
Empirical Investigation of Corporate Tax Incentives in Nigeria: Evidence from Panel Causality Tests

This study examines the effect of corporate tax on the market value of firms within the framework of the Modigliani and Miller modified work (1963). Using annual data from 1990 to 2016 of sixty (60) Nigerian quoted companies selected from different sectors of the country’s economy, we adopted the panel data methodology to carry out an inferential statistical analysis with the aid of the Eviews package(version 9.5). Based on the adjusted R-squared, approximately sixty (60) percent of total variation in market value of firms is due to corporate tax. There is also evidence showing a highly significant linear relationship between corporate tax and market value of firms as well as a strong feedback influence running from market value of firms to corporate tax. These findings agree with the conclusion by Modigliani and Miller (1963) that the tax shields levered firms enjoy significantly enhance their market value. It is also an indication that the Nigerian government is subsiding cost of debt for the companies operating in the country’s capital market.
The Political Commissioner

Based on four years of embedded observation in the cabinet of a European Commissioner, this book develops a sociology of international political work. Empirically, it offers an insider’s chronicle of the European Union between 2015 and 2019. The analysis traces the successes and failures of Commissioner Pierre Moscovici and his team on five issues that defined European politics between 2015 and 2019: the Greek crisis, budgetary disputes with Spain and Portugal, the rise of populism in Italy, the reform of the eurozone, and the fight against tax evasion. The aim is not to ascertain whether the Commission’s policy was good or bad, but to understand how political work is done in a European Union where the “spectacle of power” is blurred by twenty-four official languages, twenty-eight national histories, a powerful technocracy, and sometimes opaque institutions. As a life-long socialist politician and former French finance minister, Pierre Moscovici was perhaps the most intensely political character in Jean-Claude Juncker’s self-styled “Political Commission. ” Brandishing his leftist identity, rejecting technocratic talk, he surrounded himself with staffers sharing his ambition—but also critical of his actions. Shadowing them from the corridors of the Berlaymont, the seat of the European Commission, to Washington and Athens, The Political Commissioner throws light on the partisan struggles that shaped the Juncker Commission, tensions with the Eurogroup and the Parliament, and recurring conflicts with the Member States. It also shows how political staffers operate informally and in their interaction with the media and civil servants, as they craft and sell public policies to the public.
The effect of 10 days of heat acclimation on submaximal exercise economy and efficiency at 1600 m and 4350 m

Heat acclimation is known to increase exercise economy. Previous examinations suggest heat acclimation may preserve performance at altitude. This study examined the effect of using heat acclimation as a cross environmental stressor to improve exercise economy and efficiency during acute exercise at altitude. Eight trained males (VO2peak: 53.3 ± 6.7 ml/kg/min) performed maximal exercise tests, submaximal exercise bouts, and heat tolerance testing in a temperate environment (21°C) at 1600 m and 4350 m before and after a 10-day heat acclimation (40C and 20% RH) on a cycle ergometer (~43% peak power). To investigate heat stress mechanisms, C2C12 myocytes were heat stressed for 24 hours (40°C, 5% CO2). Heat acclimation did not alter VO2peak at 1600 m (53.3 ± 6.7 vs. 53.7 ± 3.7 ml/kg/min, p > 0.05) or 4350 m (45.3 ± 4.1 versus 45.9 ± 3.4 ml/kg/min, p > 0.05). Heat acclimation increased exercise economy by 1.6% and 2% in the low intensity and high intensity exercise, respectively at 1600 m with only a 0.48% increase at 4350 m. In the cell study, heat stress significantly reduced UCP3 expression, reduced mitochondrial uncoupling (71.1% ±1.2%) and suppressed basal and peak oxidative metabolism (75.5% ± 4.9% and 64.4% ± 5.9%, respectively) compared to control. Heat stress also significantly increased PGC-1α, NRF1 and TFAM leading to increased mitochondrial content. These data demonstrate that while heat stress reduces UCP3 expression, thereby reducing uncoupling and leading to enhanced mitochondrial efficiency, these adaptations are not observed in the whole body. At this time, I are unable definitively promote the use of heat acclimation as a cross environmental stressor for acute exercise at altitude.
Italy's All-Volunteer Army: An Analytical Framework for Understanding the Key Policy Issues and Choices During the Transition

Abstract : This dissertation builds an analytical framework for understanding the key policy issues and tradeoffs affecting the Italian Army's transition from a mixed conscript/volunteer model to an All-Volunteer Force (AVF) . The analysis specifically focuses on the management of the enlisted and non-commissioned officer (NCO) force, and is driven by two specific research goals: assist the Army in identifying transition paths most likely to lead to a balanced force, taking costs into account, where the "balanced force" objective is related to how personnel are distributed by grade and years of service (YOS); provide guidance on force management processes such as recruitment and identify areas for improvement. These objectives were pursued in two distinct phases. In the first phase a significant quantity of information was gathered on the Army's personnel systems and processes--including the recruitment establishment, compensation and promotion, and the current experience mix. Data were collected during a series of interviews and visits with Army and Ministry of Defense (MoD) officials. These were then combined with insights from the existing military manpower literature to generate hypotheses and preliminary conclusions.