Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visitor perceptions of the role of tour guides in natural areas

This paper explores the potential of tour guides to contribute to the protection of natural areas by educating their customers through interpretation and modeling environmentally appropriate behaviors. Applying Cohen's (1985) model of the guides' role, modified by Weiler and Davis (1993), as a framework, it examines the potential role that kayak tour guides can play in shaping the experience of visitors to one marine area, the Pacific Rim National Park. It uses two approaches to explore the perceptions of clients about the role of kayak guides using: (1) a pre- and post-trip questionnaire and (2) participant observation. Results indicate that five of the six roles were rated high in importance, but one role, the communication role, was not as important. Comparing performance with importance attached to each role revealed congruence with five roles, but lower levels of performance in relation to importance with the role of “motivator of responsible behavior”. Variability within all of the importance and performance measures suggest that for some individuals, performance did not match importance, highlighting the need to consider market segmentation in future studies. These findings are discussed within the ecotourism paradigm, and their implications for protected area management and for visitor behavior modification are considered.
The barriers impeding precautionary behaviours by undocumented immigrants in emergencies: The Hurricane Ike experience in Houston, Texas, USA

Emergency management tends to be planned for legal, resident populations that are responsive to mainstream channels of communication and enforcement. For many areas prone to extreme events and emergencies, populations are also composed of transitory tourists, temporary visitors and migrant workers. This latter group may be a large population and, while not completely invisible to residents, may prefer obscurity and concealment within the social landscape. Tending towards poverty, technologically disconnected and linguistically isolated, undocumented migrants seek employment and attempt to avoid local law enforcement and immigration officials for fear of imprisonment and deportation. In this context, the behaviours prompted by developing public emergencies will be different for undocumented migrants than for the population at large. We examine the experience of 135 Hispanic undocumented migrants in the coastal zone of Houston-Galveston, Texas to understand the factors and issues that influence decision making and behaviours under region-wide mandatory evacuation conditions. Undocumented migrants’ decisions to evacuate rest upon: the presence (or absence) of family and/or children, their access to risk information that they find meaningful and rational and is in harmony with their pre-conceptions about their circumstances, their openness to information that either confirms their experiences or confronts rumour-generated biases they carry, their familiarity with social groups and governmental agencies and the services they offer, and the outcome of their risk analyses that consider the dangers of remaining in situ against the danger of exposing themselves to discovery as ‘illegal aliens’. The results suggest that emergency management plans ought to promote the dispelling of rumours that weaken the effect of emergency communication, promote non-emergency outreach to peripheral populations through community groups, and promote better, basic, non-technical, Spanish-language media through mainstream conduits (i.e. the most commonly watched non-Spanish television channels) that do not require high-tech devices or advanced understanding of visual media tools.
A Quadratic Generalization of the Almost Ideal and Translog Demand Systems: An Application to Food Demand in Urban China

A new demand system, the QGAITL model, nesting the quadratic almost ideal, translog and LES models as its special cases, is introduced and estimated in this paper. Employing urban household data of four major food items from Jiangsu China in 2001, empirical evidence from both in-sample evaluations and out-of-sample forecasting comparisons shows that the QGAITL is superior to its nested models, whether or not demographic effects are incorporated.
The Annual Employment Mix of Workers and Firms and the Part-time Earnings Gap in New Zealand

In this paper we document patterns of annual employment across jobs, workers and firms, and examine the relationship between these patterns and job-level earnings rates using data from Statistics New Zealand’s Linked Employer-Employee Database (LEED). First, we characterise workers’ annual employment along the intensive (or full-time, within month) and extensive (or full-year, across months) dimensions, and firms’ mix of full-time and full-year jobs. We use this characterisation to describe the nature of employment matching between workers and firms, and find that part-time workers are overrepresented in firms with a lot of part-time work. Second, we examine the relationship between the intensive and extensive margin characteristics of jobs and their earnings. Although there is a strong raw earnings penalty associated with part-time jobs, we estimate only a modest direct part-time impact on earnings after controlling for other worker and firm factors; and we estimate a part-year earnings premium.
Inhaled insulin delivery – where are we now?

Since 1925, when the concept of treating diabetes with inhaled insulin (INH) was originally published, a number of clinical challenges have been resolved through technological advancements. Efforts by pharmaceutical partnerships or individual companies have resulted in the development of both injection‐free devices and novel insulin formulations. Four different INH systems are now in phase 3 of clinical development, and several other INH systems are in earlier stages of clinical study. Clinical data consistently demonstrate that INH therapy is comparable to subcutaneous (SC) therapy in improving glycaemic control in patients with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, generally without greater risk of overall hypoglycaemia. INH is generally well tolerated and appears to be safe. Adverse‐event profiles for INH therapies are similar to SC insulin therapy, with the majority of events being reported as being mild to moderate. Long‐term safety studies are ongoing, with emphasis on evaluating the impact of INH therapy on pulmonary function and immune responses. Although small, reversible decreases in pulmonary diffusion capacity (DLco) and FEV1 have been reported in response to INH, pulmonary function and structure do not appear to be affected in any clinically significant way. While insulin antibodies are increased in INH therapy, these antibodies have not been correlated with haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), insulin dosage, hypoglycaemia, pulmonary function or adverse events. Nevertheless, properly controlled, long‐term studies will best answer any remaining concerns. From the patient’s perspective, INH therapy is preferred by the majority of patients over conventional SC insulin therapy. Studies have shown that patients prefer INH therapy, because it provides greater lifestyle flexibility and social acceptability while at the same time avoiding the pain associated with injection. Thus, after more than 80 years during which the injection route has been the only means of administering insulin, patients and physicians may soon avail themselves of another valuable tool in management of diabetes.
Land Policy and Property Price in Hanoi, Vietnam

We reviewed the past and current land policies in Hanoi, Vietnam, and analyzed the local property prices in order to identify the main factors affecting the local land market. The institutional systems associated with the land market in Vietnam have been changing dramatically for several decades; this has created various problems, including instable property prices. The current property price evaluation in Hanoi reflects the actual demand in the market and attempts to meet the requirements of the Land Law. However, it still suffers from the lack of data and knowledge pertaining to the land market. Property prices were analyzed by using hedonic price analysis in order to understand the property price structure. Property price functions were estimated for five zones in Hanoi. The results show that various factors such as location with respect to the nearest street, number of floors, and road ratio affect the property prices significantly.
Emotion Detection using EPOC EEG device

With successful classification of emotions we could get instant feedback from users and increase the potential of affective computing. In our approach, we aim to evaluate EEG device Emotiv EPOC and classify emotions from the data captured by this device. We proposed a method of emotion classification, which we evaluated on an existing dataset. The preliminary results show 37.72% accuracy of our approach. In addition, we conducted an experiment, in which participants watched music videos. We used EPOC to capture the electrical signal from their brains. In order to verify the potential of the EPOC Emotiv device for classification of the emotions, we plan to compare it with one of the existing tools, namely Noldus FaceReader.
Legislative priorities and public opinion: representation of partisan agendas in the Canadian House of Commons

Abstract Oral questions are a central feature of the Canadian parliamentary system, and a valuable indication of legislators' issue attentiveness. Here, we consider parties' behaviour in Question Period, with a particular interest in opposition parties' representation of the public's (and publics') issue priorities. We do so using a content analytic database of oral questions covering three Parliaments from 1988 to 1999. We begin with some descriptive analyses of the distribution of oral questions across issues and parties, and then explore what drives parties' attention to issues. Combining the oral questions database with public opinion data, we examine the relationship between the issue priorities of both parties and partisans. In doing so, we examine two different foci of representation: a generalized national constituency, and each party's partisan constituency.
Scavenger activity in monocyte-derived macrophages from atherothrombotic strokes.

Foam cells are lipid-laden macrophages derived primarily from circulating mononuclear cells and are a characteristic feature of atheromatous lesions. The exact role of these foam cells in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic lesions remains uncertain, but one potential function is to take-up and process excess interstitial arterial lipoproteins, suggested by their extraordinary ability to engulf enormous quantities of modified low density lipoproteins by the so-called "scavenging pathway. " To test this possibility, monocytes from 15 atherothrombotic brain infarct patients and age and sex matched controls were isolated and cultured for 7-8 days in 20% normal serum. The monocyte-derived macrophages were investigated for their ability to bind, internalize and degrade both native and modified (acetylated) LDL labelled with 125Iodine. While native LDL was metabolized similarly, stroke macrophages displayed significantly reduced ability to scavenge modified LDL. These findings suggest that insufficient processing of interstitial arterial cholesterol by monocyte-derived macrophages may contribute to the aggravation of atheroma formation. This inadequacy is likely further compromised by reduced levels of serum high density lipoprotein since the absence of a cholesterol-acceptor will promote the slow but continued accumulation of lipids and the formation of foam cells.
Activation of Protein Kinase D1 in Mast Cells in Response to Innate, Adaptive, and Growth Factor Signals1

Little is known about the serine/threonine kinase protein kinase D (PKD)1 in mast cells. We sought to define ligands that activate PKD1 in mast cells and to begin to address the contributions of this enzyme to mast cell activation induced by diverse agonists. Mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMC) contained both PKD1 mRNA and immunoreactive PKD1 protein. Activation of BMMC through TLR2, Kit, or FcεRI with Pam3CSK4 (palmitoyl-3-cysteine-serine-lysine-4), stem cell factor (SCF), and cross-linked IgE, respectively, induced activation of PKD1, as determined by immunochemical detection of autophosphorylation. Activation of PKD1 was inhibited by the combined PKD1 and protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor Gö 6976 but not by broad-spectrum PKC inhibitors, including bisindolylmaleimide (Bim) I. Pam3CSK4 and SCF also induced phosphorylation of heat shock protein 27, a known substrate of PKD1, which was also inhibited by Gö 6976 but not Bim I in BMMC. This pattern also extended to activation-induced increases in mRNA encoding the chemokine CCL2 (MCP-1) and release of the protein. In contrast, both pharmacologic agents inhibited exocytosis of β-hexosaminidase induced by SCF or cross-linked IgE. Our findings establish that stimuli representing innate, adaptive, and growth factor pathways activate PKD1 in mast cells. In contrast with certain other cell types, activation of PKD1 in BMMC is largely independent of PKC activation. Furthermore, our findings also indicate that PKD1 preferentially influences transcription-dependent production of CCL2, whereas PKC predominantly regulates the rapid exocytosis of preformed secretory granule mediators.
Decision Makers as Statisticians: Diversity, Ambiguity, and Learning

I study individuals who use frequentist models to draw uniform inferences from independent and identically distributed data. The main contribution of this paper is to show that distinct models may be consistent with empirical evidence, even in the limit when data increases without bound. Decision makers may then hold different beliefs and interpret their environment differently even though they know each other's model and base their inferences on the same evidence. The behavior modeled here is that of rational individuals confronting an environment in which learning is hard, rather than individuals beset by cognitive limitations or behavioral biases. Copyright 2009 The Econometric Society.
Regional Policy through Co-operation: From Urban Forum to Urban Network

A 'model of decentralised concentration' has evolved in the region of Berlin-Brandenburg in response to the European principle of polycentric development for urban regions. The paper describes strategies which seek to implement this new regional planning guideline. The formation of an urban forum as a co-ordinating body has initiated a course of development which attempts to link aspects of both horizontal and vertical policy co-ordination within a framework of territorial integration (networking). The paper analyses this innovative instrument of urban and regional development. The authors focus on the process of co-operation, beginning with the looser form practised in the urban forum by the towns which participated and evolving towards defined contractual and institutional relations in the form of a networked urban workgroup. Finally, they evaluate the objectives achieved and the financial and legal instruments applied.
Localization of a phytochrome-responsive element within the upstream region of pea rbcS-3A

The pea rbcS-3A promoter with a 5' deletion to -166 (-166 rbcS-3A) contains two GT-1-binding sites. Mutational analyses demonstrated that a decrease in affinity for GT-1 correlates with reduced promoter activity. Transcription of -166 rbcS-3A in transgenic etiolated seedlings is induced by red light and suppressed by far-red light, indicating that it contains a phytochrome-responsive element.
Gaze Shifts Do Not Affect Preference Judgments of Graphic Patterns

The gaze cascade hypothesis argues that orienting behavior reflected in gaze shift plays an important role in preference formation for an object. Gazing at an object serves as reinforcement, by which the likelihood of gazing at that object again is increased. Evidence for this hypothesis has been obtained mainly from experiments in which people compare two facial stimuli for attractiveness. Two experiments were conducted to examine whether the gaze cascade effect occurs in preference judgments of novel graphic patterns. In Exp. 1, eye movements were tracked during three types of comparison tasks in which participants decided which one of two graphic patterns was more attractive, less attractive, or subjectively brighter. In Exp. 2, stimulus duration (900 or 300 msec.) and gaze shift (with or without) were manipulated. None of the results supported the hypothesis that gaze shifts would affect preference formation. Instead, the mere exposure effect was supported — stimuli that were viewed longer were preferred to those viewed for less time, regardless of gaze shift.
Evaluation of six scatter correction methods based on spectral analysis in 99mTc SPECT imaging using SIMIND Monte Carlo simulation

Compton-scattered photons included within the photopeak pulse-height window result in the degradation of SPECT images both qualitatively and quantitatively. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare six scatter correction methods based on setting the energy windows in 99mTc spectrum. SIMIND Monte Carlo simulation is used to generate the projection images from a cold-sphere hot-background phantom. For evaluation of different scatter correction methods, three assessment criteria including image contrast, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and relative noise of the background (RNB) are considered. Except for the dual-photopeak window (DPW) method, the image contrast of the five cold spheres is improved in the range of 2.7-26%. Among methods considered, two methods show a nonuniform correction performance. The RNB for all of the scatter correction methods is ranged from minimum 0.03 for DPW method to maximum 0.0727 for the three energy window (TEW) method using trapezoidal approximation. The TEW method using triangular approximation because of ease of implementation, good improvement of the image contrast and the SNR for the five cold spheres, and the low noise level is proposed as most appropriate correction method.
Smallholder Perspectives on Soil Fertility Management and Markets in the African Green Revolution

The African Green Revolution (AGR) describes a drive by governments and international philanthropic and research organizations to raise agricultural production through Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) and improved access to input and output markets. This article draws on data from three studies that took place in Northern Ghana as the AGR unfolded between 2008 and 2012, focusing specifically on soil fertility management (SFM) and access to credit markets. It finds that the AGR idea does incorporate some elements farmers find useful, indeed, that they are implementing autonomously, such as use of organic soil amendments. However, the underpinning emphasis on commercialization does not allow room for them to practice site-specific SFM and subsistence mechanisms that they have developed as responses to risk. Some aspects of the AGR are themselves disadvantageous, for example repayment of credit at harvest time, the emphasis on inorganic fertilizer and land titling schemes. Despite advocating farmer choice, the current hegemonic implementation of the AGR makes it unlikely to support farmers’ sustainable agroecological practice.
Male-Female Differences in Hourly Wages: The Role of Human Capital, Working Conditions, and Housework

This study uses a new data set from a 1986 survey of workers to examine simultaneously the wage effects of human capital, household responsibilities, working conditions, and on-the-job training. The analysis suggests that household responsibilities had a negative effect on women's earnings, but the unexplained difference between the earnings of men and women is not greatly reduced by inclusion in the explanatory model of information on either housework or working conditions. The presence of children appears to have had a positive effect on the wages of both men and women.
The impact of pluralistic ignorance on the provision of health care for people who inject drugs

Health workers who work with people who inject drugs may believe that their colleagues hold less favorable attitudes toward health services for people who inject drugs than themselves—a phenomenon termed pluralistic ignorance. This research explores whether the presumed attitudes of their colleagues, rather than their own attitudes, predict the behavioral intentions of health workers toward people who inject drugs. A total of 57 hospital-based health workers were surveyed to assess their attitudes toward harm reduction services for people who inject drugs and their perceptions of colleagues’ attitudes. They then responded to a scenario assessing their likelihood of prescribing opiate-based medication to people who inject drugs. Data illustrate that participants support harm reduction services for people who inject drugs more than they believe their colleagues do, demonstrating pluralistic ignorance. Interestingly, participants’ prescription of opiate-based pain medication was predicted by beliefs about their colleagues’ support for services for people who inject drugs, rather than their own beliefs.
Writing good theory

What makes good theory is a question that has been asked and answered many times. This piece discusses why this is always an important issue to consider, and why one might decide to devote time and energy to writing conceptual analyses. This paper is primarily focused on what would be considered good theory for conceptual research and meta-analyses. In addition, different aspects to consider when judging a conceptual analysis as to whether it presents a sufficient, novel theoretical contribution are discussed. Finally, issues to take into account when striving to develop and build good theory are highlighted.