Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Welfare Gains of Aid Indexation in Small Open Economies

Foreign aid flows to poor, aid-dependent economies are highly volatile and pro-cyclical. Shortfalls in aid coincide with shortfalls in GDP and government revenues. This increases the consumption volatility in aid dependent countries, thereby causing substantial welfare losses. This paper finds that indexing aid flows to exogenous shocks like a change in the terms of trade can significantly improve the welfare of aid-dependent country by lowering its output and consumption volatility. Compared to the benchmark specification with stochastic aid flows, indexation of aid flows to terms of trade shocks can reduce the cost of business cycle fluctuations in the recipient country by four percent of permanent consumption. Moreover, use of indexed aid can allow donors to reduce the aid flows by three percent without lowering the level of welfare in the recipient country.
Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) of Service Quality for Virtual Reality Golf Center

The purpose of this study was examine service quality of virtual reality golf center using Importance and Performance Analysis (IPA), from September to November 2017, adult participants who participated in virtual reality golf center in Korea were selected as subjects. The collected data were analyzed and interpreted using SPSS program, frequency analysis, exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, and Importance-Performance Analysis. The results of this study were as follows. First, quadrant 1 included six items: convenient facilities provide the latest equipment, customized response, understanding the needs of customer, interior atmosphere, and modernized facilities. Second, quadrant 2 included five items: kindness of employees, employees’ expertise, resolve immediately if a problem occurs, quickly respond to customer needs, and employee credibility. Third, quadrant 3 included six items: customer individual interest, notice of service, employees’ dress and appearance, employees’ positive attitude, provide voluntary help, and promised time and service. Fourth, quadrant 4 included 3 items: provide safe service, thinking in terms of customer, and voluntary response.
Earnings management, audit committee effectiveness and the role of blockholders ownership: evidence from UK large firms

The existing literature documents that the financial reporting quality is higher when firms have effective audit committees. However, recent studies find that audit committees are not effective in family firms where agency conflicts arise between controlling and non-controlling shareholders. Extending the previous findings, this study investigates the effectiveness of audit committees in firms with similar agency conflicts when one owner obtains effective control of the firm. Compared to firms with a low level of block ownership, high-blockholder firms face less agency problems due to the separation of ownership and management, but more severe agency problems between controlling (blockholders) and non-controlling shareholders. Using a unique hand-collected sample, using the largest 350 UK firms for three years from 2005 to 2007, and shows that firms with effective audit committees have less earnings management. This study also documents that the monitoring effectiveness of audit committees is moderated in firms with high blockholder ownership.
Restaurant Employees’ Food Handling Practices in Irbid City, Jordan

It has been established that food handlers working in foodservices are the main source of food borne outbreaks. The current study objective is to assess restaurant employees’ food handling practices by exploring driving forces behind these practices. The study was accomplished quantitatively covering 245 restaurant employees in Irbid city-Jordan; who provided primary data by completing a designated self-administered questionnaire. A model of nine hypotheses was developed and examined using independent-samples t-tests and one way ANOVA tests. Study’s findings revealed a large number of variables influencing restaurant employees’ food handling practices including socio-demographic measures (such as age & education), workrelated elements (such as restaurant size & HACCP implementation) and culture. This study explores a previously confined researched field cultural influences on restaurant employees’ food handling practices contributing to a wider understanding of safe food handling which in turn should enhance food safety levels. It fructifies many recommendations embodying its findings’ implications to enhance food safety levels; these include advocating HACCP implementation and more control on non-Jordanian restaurant employees’ food safety competences.
In Vivo Attenuation of Acute CCl4 Hepatotoxicity by Alcoholic Red Wine

The primary routes of potential human exposure to CCl 4 are inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact. High exposure to CCl 4 can cause liver, kidney and central nervous system damage, and liver is especially sensitive to CCl 4 because of its role as the body’s principal site of metabolism. This study was carried out to investigate the hepatoprotective potentials of red wine in CCl 4 intoxicated rat. Twenty-five animals were divided into 5 groups comprising of the negative and positive control groups, Reference group which was treated with standard drug-quercetin (100μg/ml; 1ml/kg BW), a 4 th group which served as alcoholic red wine master control (500uL/ BW for 4 weeks), and another group of animals were pretreated with alcoholic red wine for 4 weeks before administering 1ml/kg body weight of CCl 4 after which the blood and liver were excised out for biochemical estimation. Hepatic damage due to CCl 4 intoxication was assessed by employing biochemical parameters; markers of hepatic oxidative damage were measured in terms of GSH and enzyme antioxidants (GST, CAT, SOD, GPx) levels. Antioxidant test assays, enzyme level and activities were carried out on the homogenized liver. The results indicated that there was ameliorative effect of the red wine against the toxic effect caused by CCl 4 . It was observed that red wine exacted a potent amelioration when compared to the standard drug quercetin and this can be due to the presence of polyphenols working against the effect of the CCl 4 intoxication. Keyword s : Alcoholic red wine, Hepatotoxicity, CCl 3 –CCl 4
Impacts of Increasing Temperature on the Future Incidence of West Nile Neuroinvasive Disease in the United States

Multiple studies have identified links between climate and West Nile virus disease since the virus arrived in North America. Here we sought to extend these results by developing a Health Impact Function (HIF) to generate county-level estimates of the expected annual number of West Nile neuroinvasive disease (WNND) cases based on the county’s historical WNND incidence, annual average temperature, and population size. To better understand the potential impact of projected temperature change on WNND risk, we used the HIF to project the change in expected annual number of WNND cases attributable to changing temperatures by 2050 and by 2090 using data from five global climate models under two representative concentration pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). To estimate the costs of anticipated changes, as well as to enable comparisons with other public health impacts, projected WNND cases were allocated to nonfatal and fatal outcomes, then monetized using a cost-of-illness estimate and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s value of a statistical life, respectively. We found that projected future temperature and population changes could increase the expected annual number of WNND cases to ≈2000 - 2200 cases by 2050 and to ≈2700 - 4300 cases by 2090, from a baseline of 970 cases. Holding population constant at future levels while varying temperature from a 1995 baseline, we estimated projected temperature change alone is responsible for ≈590 and ≈960 incremental WNND cases in 2050 and 2090 (respectively) under the RCP4.5 scenario, and ≈820 and ≈2500 cases in 2050 and 2090 (respectively) for the RCP8.5 scenario, with substantial regional variation. The monetized impact of these temperature-attributable incremental cases is estimated at $0.5 billion in 2050 and $1.0 billion in 2090 under the RCP4.5 scenario, and $0.7 billion in 2050 and $2.6 billion in 2090 under the RCP8.5 scenario (undiscounted 2015 U.S. dollars).
Influence of some viticultural practices on the polyphenolic content of wines produced from cv. Agiorgitiko ( Vitis vinifera L.)

Aims: Viticultural practices that improve light penetration and air circulation into the canopy can improve wine quality. The aim of this work is to investigate the consequences of some commonly applied viticultural practices on the polyphenolic content of cv. Agiorgitiko, an indigenous Greek grape variety.Methods and results: Three viticultural practices (training system, leaf removal and shoot elongation) were applied on cv. Agiorgitiko in the Nemea wine region and the phenolic content of the wines produced was compared. Between the two training systems (Guyot vs. double Royat), no changes in polyphenolic compounds and yield components were observed. Shoot elongation and leaf removal caused a significant decrease in the polyphenolic content of the wines. Anthocyanin content was reduced significantly due to shoot elongation, while small differences were observed in yield components.Conclusion: The study showed that increasing bunch sun exposure in warm viticultural areas may not be beneficial to the quality of the wine.Significance and impact of the study: Climate and weather conditions should be taken into account before applying practices that increase bunch exposure, especially in warm wine regions where light could be detrimental to the polyphenolic content of the wines.
Structural and Cyclical Factors Behind Current Account Balances

Global external imbalances widened persistently over the last several years and have narrowed abruptly over the course of the financial crisis. Understanding the extent to which structural or cyclical factors may have driven these patterns is important to assess the likely evolution of global imbalances going forward, as well as the potential adjustment that can be achieved through changes in policy. This paper assesses the link between structural and cyclical factors and current-account balances using a panel of 94 countries from 1973 to 2008. We find that the medium-term evolution of global external imbalances can be related in large part to structural factors including cross-country differences in demographics, fiscal deficits, oil dependency and intensity, stage of economic development, financial market development, and institutional quality. Part of the narrowing in current-account balances since the financial crisis appears to be related to various cyclical factors including changes in output growth, oil prices, and exchange rates, and may be expected to reverse alongside the economic recovery. Les facteurs structurels et cycliques derriere l'evolution des comptes courantsGlobal external imbalances widened persistently over the last several years and have narrowed abruptly over the course of the financial crisis. Understanding the extent to whic Des desequilibres externes mondiaux se sont elargis constamment au cours des dernieres annees et puis se sont reduits abruptement au cours de la crise financiere. Comprendre dans quelle mesure des facteurs structurels ou cycliques ont conduit ces evolutions est important pour evaluer l'evolution probable des desequilibres mondiaux a l’avenir, ainsi que l'ajustement potentiel qui peut etre realise par des changements de la politique. Cette etude evalue les facteurs structurels et cycliques qui influencent des balances courantes en utilisant un panneau de 94 pays de 1973 a 2008. Nous constatons que l'evolution a moyen terme des desequilibres externes mondiaux a ete conduite en grande partie par des facteurs structurels comprenant des differences internationales dans la demographie, les deficits publics, la dependance et l'intensite en petrole, le niveau de developpement economique, le developpement des marches financiers, et la qualite institutionnelle. Une partie du retrecissement des equilibres de compte courant depuis la crise financiere semble etre liee a de divers facteurs cycliques comprenant des changements dans la croissance de la production, le prix du petrole, et les taux de change, et pourrait s’inverser avec la reprise economique.c
Debate in EFL Classroom

Relying primarily on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and The National EFL Syllabus, this paper focuses on the highest ranking goals within formal foreign language (L2) education: the development of communicative competence (which the communicative paradigm regards as the most important goal of contemporary language teaching), and of critical thinking (CT) ability, which is widely recognised as the main general education goal. It also points to some of the discrepancies generated by tensions between the fact that language is a social and cultural phenomenon that exists and evolves only through interaction with others, and individual-student-centred pedagogical practices of teaching (and assessment) – which jeopardise the validity of these practices. Next, it links the official educational goals to the cultivation of oral interaction (rather than oral production) in argumentative discursive practices in general and in structured debate formats in particular, which are proposed as an effective pedagogical method for developing CT skills and oral interactional competence in argumentative discursive events, especially on B2+ levels.
The Use of Digital Fabrication as a Sketching Tool in the Architectural Design Process - A Case Study

Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) technologies including computer numerically controlled (CNC) milling, laser cutting and 3D printing are becoming cheaper and globally more accessible. Accordingly, many design professionals, academics and students have been able to experience the benefits and challenges of using digital fabrication in their designs. The use of digital fabrication in the education of architecture students has become normal in many schools of architecture, and there is a growing demand for computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) logic and fabrication knowledge in student learning. Clearly, architecture students are acquiring material base-thinking, time management, production methods and various software skills through this digital fabrication. However, it appears to be the case that architecture students use digital fabrication mainly in the final stage of their design or in their finishing work. In this study, computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) technologies have been used as a sketch tool rather than simply for fabricating a final product in the architectural design process and the advantages of this educational practice are demonstrated.
Comparison of Different Image Fusion Techniques for 2D MRI Images

Image fusion is the process of combining relevant information from two or more images into a single image. The resulting image contains more information than the input images. Thus data fusion combines partial and varied information which is present in multiple images and forms a single image having the collective features of all the input images. It has two main aims which are removal of partial redundant data, as all sources provide information about the same phenomenon ;and Other is the complementarities between data as each source provides a different view about the same phenomenon. Two techniques are implemented for image fusion which are Wavelet Transform and Fuzzy Logic. The results of these techniques are compared based on Entropy, Standard Deviation and Mutual Information.
Projection of future glacier and runoff change in Himalayan headwater Beas basin by using a coupled glacier and hydrological model

Abstract. The Himalayan Mountains are the source region of one of the world's largest supplies of freshwater. The changes in glacier melt may lead to droughts as well as extreme rains and floods in the Himalaya basins, which are vulnerable to the hydrological impacts. This study used a glacio-hydrological model: Glacier and Snow Melt – WASMOD model (GSM-WASMOD) for the hydrological projections under 21st century climate change by two RCMs under two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP 8.5) in order to assess the future water change at the Himalayan Beas basin. In addition, the glacier extent loss of the 21st Century from eight GCMs was also investigated as part of the glacio-hydrological modelling as an ensemble simulation. The glacio-hydrological modeling shows that at present, the annual glacier imbalance accounts for about 14 % of the total runoff in this area. Under Climate change impact, the temperature will increase 0.95 °C (RCP4.5) and 1.67 °C (RCP8.5) for the early future (2046–2055), and increase 1.53 °C (RCP4.5) and 3.4 °C (RCP8.5) for the late future (2090–2099). The glacier area loss is about 47 % (RCP4.5) and 49 % (RCP8.5) for the early future and 73 % (RCP4.5) and 80 % (RCP8.5) for the late future. This will result in a decrease in river runoff in general for all the scenarios. The heaviest decrease of Beas river runoff can be observed in August under RCP4.5 and in May under the RCP8.5 for both the near future and far future. This maximum decrease of river runoff also has the largest spread. Furthermore, a high resolution WRF precipitation suggested a much heavier winter precipitation over high altitude area in the Himalaya Beas river basin. The study helps to understand the hydrological impacts of climate change in North India and make a contribution to stakeholders and policy makers with respect to the future of water resources in North India.
Comparison of variational balance models for the rotating shallow water equations

We present an extensive numerical comparison of a family of balance models appropriate to the semi-geostrophic limit of the rotating shallow water equations, and derived by variational asymptotics in Oliver (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 551, 2006, pp. 197–234) for small Rossby numbers $Ro$ . This family of generalized large-scale semi-geostrophic (GLSG) models contains the $L_{1}$ -model introduced by Salmon (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 132, 1983, pp. 431–444) as a special case. We use these models to produce balanced initial states for the full shallow water equations. We then numerically investigate how well these models capture the dynamics of an initially balanced shallow water flow. It is shown that, whereas the $L_{1}$ -member of the GLSG family is able to reproduce the balanced dynamics of the full shallow water equations on time scales of $O(1/Ro)$ very well, all other members develop significant unphysical high wavenumber contributions in the ageostrophic vorticity which spoil the dynamics.
A note on inequality-preserving distributional changes

ABSTRACT This note considers the problem of distributing a fixed amount of money (‘income’) among a given number of people, such that inequality (measured by either the Gini or Atkinson measure) takes a specified value. It is well known that simultaneous equations admit of many solutions where the number of variables exceeds that of equations (constraints). However, the approach examines cases where there are just one or two degrees of freedom, clarifying the resulting range of distributions. The properties of simultaneous disequalising and equalising transfers are discussed.
Managerial Seniority and Strategic Development

This research is about the influence of the management seniority on the strategic development of an organization. The hypothesis is that managers with more seniority are not eager to change the organization. A popular topic within the strategy-as-practice research is the influence of the organizational culture on strategic development. There has already quite some research been conducted on this topic. However, this research focusses on a possible influencer of the organizational culture, the seniority of the management. This is regarded as a combination of several factors, such as between the number of years which a manager is employed. A management with a higher seniority could influence the organizational culture in such a way that there is no strategic development at all, this results in an inert organization. It could be helpful for organizations to recognize signs which could lead to an inert organization. Such a state is not desirable because it is hard to change the direction of such an organization. In order to get to results, interviews are conducted at several Dutch companies. These companies are founded by Dutch citizens and operate in different markets. The results show that many companies have a management with quite some management seniority. The results direct also to a possible relation between the management seniority and the cultural paradigm within the organization. However, no specific relation between the organizational culture and the strategic workshops is found.
Hard Decision Decoding Performance Improved Using Turbo Product Codes

The performance of soft decision decoding, whose for which the design is complex, is superior to the performance of hard decision decoding. In this paper, we propose a turbo product code with a bit flip algorithm to improve the performance of hard decision decoding. The performance of hard decision decoding is improved with low complexity using multidimensional turbo product codes. The reliability of decoding in a communication system to detect and correct errors is discussed . Maximum a posterior probability (MAP) decoding is employed to improve the hard decision performance of turbo product codes with multiple dimensions. Our results include comparisons of multiple dimensions—2D, 3D, 4D, and 5D—and the number of iterations in soft and hard decision decoding.
Data Locality via Coordinated Caching for Distributed Processing

To enable data locality, we have developed an approach of adding coordinated caches to existing compute clusters. Since the data stored locally is volatile and selected dynamically, only a fraction of local storage space is required. Our approach allows to freely select the degree at which data locality is provided. It may be used to work in conjunction with large network bandwidths, providing only highly used data to reduce peak loads. Alternatively, local storage may be scaled up to perform data analysis even with low network bandwidth. To prove the applicability of our approach, we have developed a prototype implementing all required functionality. It integrates seamlessly into batch systems, requiring practically no adjustments by users. We have now been actively using this prototype on a test cluster for HEP analyses. Speciﬁcally, it has been integral to our jet energy calibration analyses for CMS during run 2. The system has proven to be easily usable, while providing substantial performance improvements. Sinceconﬁrming the applicability for our use case, we have investigated the design in a more general way. Simulations show that many infrastructure setups can beneﬁt from our approach. For example, it may enable us to dynamically provide data locality in opportunistic cloud resources. The experience we have gained from our prototype enables us to realistically assess the feasibility for general production use.