Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dimensions of leadership and social influence in online communities

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the communication behaviors of online leaders, or those who influence other members of online communities in terms of triggering replies, sparking conversations and diffusing language. It also examines the influence of group attributes on leadership such as size and connectedness. It relies on roughly 500,000 messages from 33,450 participants across sixteen discussion groups from GOOGLE GROUPS that took place over a two-year period. It utilizes automated text analysis, social network analysis and hierarchical linear modeling to uncover the language and social behaviors of online leaders. The findings suggest that online leaders influence others through high communication activity, credibility, reciprocal social network behaviors, and the use of affective, assertive and linguistic diversity in their online messages. Brokering, in which users connect to those who are not connected to each other, is not a significant predictor, suggesting that transparency and accessibility in online environments reduce the advantages of serving as a broker. In addition, group attributes such as size and network density encourage the emergence of leaders. However, participation equality and group turnover do not affect these behaviors, which emphasize the unique context of online communities, which often show power-law distributions of participation and high attrition rates. Taken together, the findings extend existing theories of social influence found in communication studies and social psychology, and increase our theoretical understanding of online leadership.
Exotic Dance and Other Stories of Transformations– An Ethnographic Study in Swedish Strip Clubs

The main question of this thesis is how in the social world of stripping the dominant order of symbolic values is renegotiated and exotic dancers undertake processes of transformation. The aim of the study is to look deeper inside those changes, and show how they are contextual to the reality in which they take place. The research has been conducted through participant observations and interviews with ten strippers in two strip clubs of a Swedish city from November 2014 to May 2015. Dancers subjectivize themselves through a personal redefinition of dominant narratives. How do they relate to the public display of female erotica and what consequences do they face for breaking the accepted standards of respectability? Their projection of femininity is one based in the embodied imaginary of an ‘exaggerated’ working class femininity, and this sheds light on the performative nature of gender, and how it is marked by class. Furthermore, narratives about nakedness are also renegotiated: in performance the stripped body is naturalized and re-sexualized. Finally, strippers personally redefine bodily intimacy and accessibility. The transformative potential of striptease is put into practice in the lived experiences of strippers, and, at the same time, it remains a ‘potential’ because it does not manage to reach beyond the segregated, ‘abnormal’ space of the club, into the performers’ and audience’s wider social worlds. I suggest that a feminist alliance between sex workers and sex workers’ theorists is needed in order to overcome the stigma that surrounds striptease and to eventually liberate its subversive potential. Title: Exotic Dance and Other Stories of Transformations– An Ethnographic Study in Swedish Strip Clubs Degree: Master in Gender Studies, ‘Gendering Practices’ School: Gothenburg University, Department of Cultural Sciences Supervisor: Mathias Erikson, Gothenburg University & Giulia Garofalo Geymonat, Lund University.
Rapid Data Collection using Automated Model Generation and Performance Evaluation - A workflow for morphological studies of apartment floor plans

In this paper we propose a framework for accelerating the process of data-collection from apartment floor plans. After describing the general workflow and the criteria used for performance evaluation, we present a tool for automated model generation and evaluation. To demonstrate the functionality of this workflow we show examples, based on a preliminary test phase undertaken in a seminar for master students.
Fodder and grain quality of Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) under cutting management in saline irrigation water

The present study was undertaken to assess the production potential and quality of different pearlmillet accessions under saline environment. The experiment was conducted in Factorial RBD with treatments consisting 20 pearl millet accession and 2 cutting management. Irrespective of cutting management ICFH-15 recorded significantly highest value for total DM yield (15.3 t/ha), crude protein content (8.93%), EE (2.86%), ash content (10.08%) in fodder. Conversely to these aforesaid qualitative traits ICFH-15 recorded significantly lowest value for average NDF (64.20%) and ADF (35.50%) content. Two cuttings at 50 and 110 DAS resulted in maximum DM content (19.47%), Total Dry matter yield (12.16 t ha-1), crude protein content (8.03%), and ADF content (37.56%), however the maximum Ether extract (3.06%) and NDF content (68.69%) observed under three cuttings each at 50,80 and 110 DAS treatment. The interaction between accessions and cutting management was found significant for total DM yield. In general, crude protein content and Ether extract decreased with advancement of crop maturity reverse to these traits DM, Ash, ADF and NDF content increased with maturity crop. The grain quality of accession ICFH-15 was recorded maximum crude protein content (10.43%); ether extract content (4.56%) and ash content (3.68%) than rest others. ICFH-15 resulted in lowest value of NDF (31.43%) and ADF content (3.12%). Concentrations of various macro and micro nutrients were estimated in grain. Among different accessions, ICFH -15 proved significantly superior with the maximum Ca (193.63 mg/kg), Mg (1208.13 mg/kg), Fe (68.82 mg/kg), Zn (74.67 mg/kg), Cu (9.19 mg/kg) and Mn (16.43 mg/kg) content in grains. Therefore, accession ICFH -15 and among cutting management strategies, single cut for green fodder followed by harvest for grain might be adapted for getting higher dry matter yield with better quality under saline environment.
Portance et tassements d'une fondation profonde : Presentation des resultats du concours de prevision

Cette communication conclut les calculs de capacite portante et de tassement demandes dans l'exercice de prevision organise a l'occasion du symposium international ISP5 - PRESSIO 2005. Elle rappelle les donnees proposees par les douze participants, les methodes de calcul utilisees pour realiser les previsions et compare les resultats calcules aux mesures de capacite portante et de tassements. (A). (Titre en anglais : Bearing capacity and settlement of a deep foundation presentation of the results of the prediction exercise). (Voir fiche generale F100922 et fiches specifiques F100924 et F100925).
On the optimal order of superconvergence in collocation methods on quasi-graded meshes for functional dierential equations with vanishing delays. I: Theoretical aspects

We study the optimal orders of (global and local) superconvergence in piecewise polynomial collocation on quasi-graded meshes for functional dierential equations with (nonlinear) delays vanishing at t = 0. It is shown that while for linear delays (e.g. proportional delays qt with 0 < q < 1) and certain nonlinear delays the classical optimal order results still hold, high degree of tangency with the identity function at t = 0 leads not only to a reduction in the order of superconvergence but also to very serious diculties in the actual computation of numerical approximations.
Chemical and nutritional status of dwarf mistletoe, Armillaria root rot, and Comandra blister rust infected trees which may influence tree susceptibility to bark beetle attack

The terpenoid and phenyl propanoid content of xylem resin as well as phloem nitrogen and carbohydrate levels of lodgepole pine trees infected with Armillaria root disease, Comandra blister rust, and dwarf mistletoe and check (asymptomatic) trees were determined. Comparisons were made to determine if differences existed that might influence their susceptibility to bark beetle attack. These variables were also contrasted with respect to aspect (north and south). Five volatiles (tricyclene. a-pinene, camphene, y-terpinene, and bornyl acetate) were significantly higher in trees with one or more diseases than in check trees. Four volatiles (myrcene, camphor, 4-allylanisole, and y-terpineol) were significantly lower in diseased trees. Camphene was the only resin constituent found to differ with respect to aspect, with a higher concentration on the north aspect of check trees. There were no significant differences in carbohydrate or nitrogen content with respect to aspect. The check trees were found to have significantly higher starch, total nitrogen, and free amino-N contents than diseased trees. Trees infected with Comandra blister rust were found to contain lower levels of reducing and nonreducing sugars than the other diseased trees and the check trees. Changes in terpenoids and phenyl propanoids in trees susceptible to mountain pine beetle attack suggest a biochemical basis for host selection.
Improvement of didactic-pedagogical practices in a higher radiology technology degree course

The article identifies the best pedagogical didactic practices for a radiology technology degree course. Data were collected based on semi-structured interviews. The obtained results are discussed by means of a participatory process and selected by the most relevant pedagogical practices, according to the following categories: objectives, contents, Methodology and evaluation. The conclusions indicate that the collective reflection among the participants of the study is essential to align pedagogical practices to the labor market.
Is it Necessary to Solve the Redundancy Problem when Learning the Inverse Kinematics of a Robotic Arm

The aim of the this study was to investigate if it is possible to learn the inverse kinematics of a redundant arm without explicitly solving the redundancy problem. A 2D twojoint arm was simulated and a feed forward artificial neural network was trained to associate a desired endpoint and a current joint angle configuration with a correct joint angle displacement. Training examples were collected by allowing the arm to move around randomly. The model performed well, correctly reaching the desired endpoint 96% of the time. This shows that a system capabel of learning inverse kinematics do not need to explicitly solve the redundacy problem given the right kind of training examples.
Balance Analysis of Microstrip-to-CPS Baluns and Its Effects on Broadband Antenna Performance

Amplitude and phase balances of two types of microstrip-(MS-) to-coplanar stripline (CPS) baluns have been analyzed through simulations and measurements, and their effects on broadband antenna performance are investigated. The impedance bandwidth of the balun determined by a back-to-back configuration can sometimes overestimate the balun operating bandwidth. With the conventional balun with a 180° phase delay line, it is observed that the balun balance over the operating frequencies becomes much more improved as the CPS length increases to over 0.1 . As compared with the conventional balun, the proposed MS-to-CPS balun demonstrated very wideband performance from 5 to over 20 GHz. With the proposed balun, amplitude and phase imbalances are within 1 dB and ±5°, respectively. Effects of the balun imbalance on overall broadband antenna performance are also discussed with a quasi-Yagi antenna and a narrow beamwidth tapered slot antenna (TSA).
Moving Forward Faster: Trade Facilitation Reform and Mexican Competitiveness

Improved competitiveness is at the top of the agenda for Mexico as it moves to leverage economic progress made over the past decade. The authors evaluate the impact of changes in trade facilitation measures on trade for main industrial sectors in Mexico. They use four indicators of trade facilitation: port efficiency, customs environment, regulatory environment, and e-commerce use by business (as a proxy for service sector infrastructure). The authors use gravity model results to consider how much trade among countries might be increased under various scenarios of improved trade facilitation. They follow a simulation strategy that uses a formula to design a unique program of reform for each country in the sample, and apply it to the case of Mexico. The formula brings the below-average countries in the group half-way to the average for the entire set of countries. After simulating these improvements in trade facilitation in all four areas, the authors find that the total increase in trade flow in manufacturing goods is estimated to be $348.2 billion (about 7.4 percent of total world trade). The analysis indicates that Mexico has a large scope for trade promotion from trade facilitation reform: overall increments from domestic reforms are expected to be on the order of $31.8 billion, equivalent to 22.4 percent of total Mexican manufacturing exports for 2000-03. On the imports side, these figures are $17.1 billion and 11.2 percent, respectively. In total exports as well as in textiles, increases in exports result from improvements in port efficiency and the regulatory environment (that is, the perception of corruption). In turn, exports of transport equipment are expected to get a greater increment from improvements in port efficiency, whereas exports of food and machinery seem to be more related to improvements in the regulatory environment. On the imports side, Mexican improvements in port efficiency appear to be the most important factor, although for imports of transport equipment improvements in service sector infrastructure are also of relative importance.
TRIANGULATING TECHNOLOGY DIFFUSION INDICATORS: ZERO TILLAGE WHEAT IN SOUTH ASIA'S IRRIGATED PLAINS

SUMMARY Impact assessment hinges on reliable indicators of technology uptake, but this poses particular challenges for new agronomic practices in emerging economies. This paper presents a triangulation approach to assess technology diffusion and illustrates it by assessing the extent and dynamics of zero tillage wheat in South Asia's rice-wheat systems. Various diffusion indicators from three different data methods (secondary data, supply-side surveys, demand-side surveys) are contrasted for two different locations (India's Haryana State and Pakistan's Punjab province) for the period 2000–2004. Such multi-indicator, multi-site and multi-year triangulation enhances the robustness of the inferences and provides the necessary perspective. The three sources coincide in terms of diffusion of zero tillage wheat having increased since 2000, but in particular the empirical surveys show a much slower uptake and subsequent stagnation in the Pakistan Punjab study area. The paper thereby reiterates the need for empirical ground truthing of technology uptake and the need for robust and complementary diffusion indicators.
Emotional Intelligence and Successful Change Management in the Nigerian Banking Industry

Successful organizational change requires a supportive culture and competence development driven by exceptional leadership that can influence business strategy in allocating financial, human and material resources, processes and systems that focus on collaborative imperatives. Change management is the lubricant that oils the wheels of organizations in the race for competitive advantage. Many organizational change efforts face resistance mainly because of the method of implementation. Change Management involves the ability to communicate, influence, collaborate and work in harmony with colleagues. Emotional intelligence competencies allow organizational members to acknowledge the need for change, remove barriers, and enlist others in pursuit of new initiatives aimed at organizational success. Beginning in the late 1990s, banks in Nigeria embarked on change management through BPR that involved emotional intelligence competencies which saw the banking industry’s shareholders’ funds rising from minus N792m in 1996 to N1,935bn in 2011. The survey research design was used for the study, and data were analyzed to demonstrate the relationship between emotional intelligence and successful change management. It was found that EI has strong positive relationship with successful change management in the Nigerian banking industry.
The accuracy of ischemic core perfusion thresholds varies according to time to recanalization in stroke patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy: A comprehensive whole-brain computed tomography perfusion study

Computed tomography perfusion (CTP) allows the estimation of pretreatment ischemic core after acute ischemic stroke. However, CTP-derived ischemic core may overestimate final infarct volume. We aimed to evaluate the accuracy of CTP-derived ischemic core for the prediction of final infarct volume according to time from stroke onset to recanalization in 104 patients achieving complete recanalization after mechanical thrombectomy who had a pretreatment CTP and a 24-h follow-up MRI-DWI. A range of CTP thresholds was explored in perfusion maps at constant increments for ischemic core calculation. Time to recanalization modified significantly the association between ischemic core and DWI lesion in a non-linear fashion (p-interaction = 0.018). Patients with recanalization before 4.5 h had significantly lower intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values between CTP-predicted ischemic core and DWI lesion (n = 54; best threshold relative cerebral blood flow (rCBF) < 25%, ICC = 0.673, 95% CI = 0.495–0.797) than those with later recanalization (n = 50; best threshold rCBF < 30%, ICC = 0.887, 95% CI = 0.811–0.935, p = 0.013), as well as poorer spatial lesion agreement. The significance of the associations between CTP-derived ischemic core and clinical outcome at 90 days was lost in patients recanalized before 4.5 h. CTP-derived ischemic core must be interpreted with caution given its dependency on time to recanalization, primarily in patients with higher chances of early recanalization.
An Approach for Reducing the Numeric Rating Bias

There is bias in customer reviews and the associated ratings. We propose a method to identify and reduce such bias on the part of reviewers. There are three phases in our approach. Firstly, we conduct Rating-aware sentiment analysis for each review text accompanied with the numeric ratings. Then, we extract features of review text and do manual labelling for training learning machine. At last, SVM is used to train the learner to reduce the rating bias. We applied our method on the dataset obtained from amazon.com. Results suggest that biased ratings have effects on customer ratings significantly in recommender systems and that this bias can be substantially reduced by our model. Keywords—bias; evaluation; review mining; e-business
Landowners' Willingness to Supply Woody Biomass for Biofuel in West Alabama

The Concern for national energy security, rural development, and climate change has created a wider attention for biofuels from woody biomass in recent times. For instance, West Alabama is an area of interest for stakeholders regarding the production of woody biomass. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to examine landowners’ willingness to supply woody biomass for biofuel in West Alabama. A mail survey of randomly selected landowners was conducted in eight selected counties. The results indicated that the average forestland owner is male, between ages of 40 and 57, with an average of 27 years of land ownership. The probability that landowners would dedicate their non-forested land to loblolly pine for biofuel was higher for younger landowners, and increased with price and consequently profit. The results also showed that price support and tax incentives could encourage woody biomass production. Favorable and targeted policies could enhance the supply of woody biomass.
The Relationship Between Poverty and Economic Growth Revisited

It has been shown in prior research that increased economic growth reduces poverty. Authors have also found that the effect of growth in GDP on poverty growth has either diminished or remained unchanged over time and the 1980s economic expansion in the U.S. had no affect on poverty. Using a formal error-correction model, we find that increases in economic growth are significantly related to reductions in the poverty rate for all families. Specifically, GDP growth was found to have a more pronounced effect on poverty during the expansionary periods of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Other findings include identification of determinants of the dynamic behavior of poverty rates both in the year-to-year periods and over the long-run. JEL Codes: C32, I32, O40
Effect of Washing Pre-treatment of Empty Fruit Bunch Hydrogel Biochar Composite Properties as Potential Adsorbent

Hydrogel biochar composite (HBC) showed a great potential as effective organic contaminant removal in various wastewater and gas treatment. The effectiveness is depending upon quality of biochar used during the preparation of the HBC. In this work, pre-treatment of the biochar samples (EFB in this case) through washing was investigated. The raw EFB biochar was prepared using microwave assisted pyrolysis under 1,000 W for 30 min under N2 flow with 150 mL/min. The prepared biochar is chemically treated using either acid solution (HCl) or oxidising agent (H2O2) to enlarge the pores and remove impurities. The biochar is then polymerised by using acrylamide (AAm) as monomer, N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as crosslinker and ammonium persulfate (APS) as initiator to form the treated hydrogel biochar composite (EFB-HBC). The H2O2 treated biochar [EFB-HBC (P100)] shows better porosity compared to HCl treated biochar [EFB-HBC (H100)] where EFB-HBC (P100) has higher surface area (1.5997 m2/g) compared to EFB-HBC (H100) (1.2562 m2/g). The HBC is porous and carbonaceous material with 21 % and 31 % of carbon content in EFB-HBC (P100) and EFB-HBC (H100) which have potential as an adsorbent in wastewater and gas treatment.
IEEE1588 V2 clock distribution in FlexRIO devices: clock drift measurement

Abstrac t -Instrumentation in scientific experiments requires highest accurate to correlate acquired data with a time reference. In order to implement data acquisition channels synchronized to a reference clock, it is necessary to deploy a distributed clock based on computer devices with specific hardware for data acquisition, and to use a technology capable of synchronizing every computer in the system. Although there are several technologies to synchronize devices as the Precision Time Protocol (PTP) IEEE1588 V2 [1], not always is trivial to use it to get a good performance. This work studies how can be used the drift measures between clocks to get them synchronized. The solution has been implemented using a PTP-clock (implemented in a IEEE1588 PXI device), to every PXI/PXIe [2] and the FPGA based FlexRIO devices [3], able to reconfigure its hardware. The PXI/PXIe bus will be the key element to propagate the clock from the timing board to every RIO/FlexRIO card, achieving to phase their internal clocks with the PTP.