Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Mediation Role Of Brand Preference On The Relationship Between Consumer-Based Brand Equity And Word Of Mouth Marketing

The most important asset needed to achieve the competitive advantage is having a strong brand equity. In this study, the relations between the dimensions of consumerbased brand equity and those of word of mouth marketing were analysed. In addition, the mediating role of the brand preference was checked. The sample consisted of 1000 people living in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. The sampling method used was quota sampling. In the conclusions of this study, it was observed that: there are effects of brand awareness and brand association dimensions on the negative word of mouth marketing, perceived quality on the positive and negative word of mouth marketing, and brand loyalty on the positive word of mouth marketing. Brand preference has a partial mediation role in the relations between the perceived quality dimension of consumerbased brand equity and the dimensions of positive and negative word of mouth marketing.
An Empirical Survey of Climate Change Litigation in the United States

A quickly growing number of commentators have suggested that the domestic U.S. courts are already significant drivers of climate change policy, and their role is likely to increase. Carol Browner, Director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy, for example, has suggested that “the courts are starting to take control” of climate change. In addition to fashioning law on their own, judicial decisions have significant implications for the work of the other branches, For example, in characterizing the Second Circuit’s recent decision in Connecticut v. American Electric Power a significant victory for activists because of its favorable holdings on standing and justiciability grounds, Professor Richard Lazarus notes that a major challenge for “environmentalists” is “how best to use this win to help promote meaningful climate change legislation in Congress and regulatory action by EPA, where the issues will best be addressed. ” The foundational gap we seek to begin to fill in this Article is an empirically-based chronicling of climate change activity in the judicial arena. In particular, we have reviewed, and coded for a broad variety of attributes, every climate change case that has been resolved to date (through December 31, 2009); and, if a case has been filed but no resolution has yet been reached, we have reviewed (and coded) the complaint and other documents in the court docket. In all our study covers over 130 active or resolved pieces of climate change litigation. We hope that this project will contribute in two important respects to understanding of the action in the courts on climate change to date. First, we compile and present basic information about the cases brought to date (e.g., the types of cases, where they have been brought, the types of plaintiffs and defendants involved, and the outcomes). In addition, we provide an additional layer of analysis through our synthesis of this information and our identification of trends that have emerged thus far. Our purpose in this Article, in short, is to present an empirically-based picture of what one New York Times headline describes as courts serving as “battlefields” in “climate fights. ”
A STUDY OF THE COGNITIVE PROCESSING MODELS USED IN THE APPRAISAL SYSTEM: THE MALAYSIAN PUBLIC SERVICE

The purpose of the paper is to present the results of semi-structured interviews undertaken with expert raters (School Principals) within the Malaysian Education System. These interviews have been conducted using a cognitive mapping protocol. The resultant causal cognitive maps are explored for what they have to tell us about the Cognitive Processing Models (CPM) applied in appraisal decision-making. From the research findings, it is clear that raters recognized the CPM steps in their performance appraisal (PA) practice. The study also identifies the differences between individual expert raters in terms of concepts and complexity in the decision making process. Finally, the study discusses the implications of the research for the CPM and appraisal decision-making process.
A Mixed Effects Model for Overdispersed Zero Inflated Poisson Data with an Application in Animal Breeding

Response variables that are scored as counts, for example, number of mastitis cases in dairy cattle, often arise in quantitative genetic analysis. When the number of zeros exceeds the amount expected such as under the Poisson density, the zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) model is more appropri- ate. In using the ZIP model in animal breeding studies, it is necessary to accommodate genetic and environmental covariances. For that, this study proposes to model the mixture and Poisson parameters hierarchically, each as a function of two random effects, representing the genetic and environ- mental sources of variability, respectively. The genetic random effects are allowed to be correlated, leading to a correlation within and between clusters. The environmental effects are introduced by independent residual terms, ac- counting for overdispersion above that caused by extra-zeros. In addition, an inter correlation structure between random genetic effects affecting mix- ture and Poisson parameters is used to infer pleiotropy, an expression of the extent to which these parameters are influenced by common genes. The methods described here are illustrated with data on number of mastitis cases from Norwegian Red cows. Bayesian analysis yields posterior distributions useful for studying environmental and genetic variability, as well as genetic correlation.
A Comparison Study of Copula Models for European Financial Index Returns

In this paper, we introduce a new approach to modeling dependence between international financial returns over time, combining time-varying copulas and the Markov switching model. We apply these copula models and also those proposed by Patton (2006), Jondeau and Rockinger (2006) and Silva Filho, Ziegelmann, and Dueker (2012) to the return data of the FTSE-100, CAC-40 and DAX indexes. We are particularly interested in comparing these methodologies in terms of the resulting dynamics of dependence and the models’ abilities to forecast possible capital losses. Because risks related to extreme events are important for risk management, we compare and select the models based on VaR forecasts. Interestingly, all the models identify a long period of high dependence between the returns beginning in 2007, when the subprime crisis was evolving. Surprisingly, the elliptical copulas perform best in forecasting the extreme quantiles of the portfolios returns.
Live capture of denning mammals using an improved box-trap enclosure: kit foxes as a test case

The ability to capture and recapture animals efficiently is an integral part of many wildlife studies. For many species of small terrestrial carnivores, the baited box trap has been a staple of live-capture trapping efforts. Combined with an enclosure, the box trap is especially effective on species with a den or refuge that can be encircled. However, increased trapping success of these enclosure designs often is offset by increased cost, labor, and awkwardness of transporting and establishing the enclosure trap. We describe a new enclosure design, the tunnel trap, which improves on the mobility and effectiveness of previous enclosure designs. We tested the tunnel trap on the fossorial kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) on the United States Army's Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, from January 1999-September 2001. Over a period of 18 separate trapping events, 15 resulted in capture of a kit fox. We calculated trapping success to be 83%, and we captured an average of 0.6 kit foxes per trap-night. The trap effectively captured kit foxes of different age classes in a variety of terrains and seasons.
Comparation of logistic regression methods and discrete choice model in the selection of habitats

Based on a review of most recent data analyses on resource selection by animals as well as on recent suggestions that indicate the lack of an unified statistical theory that shows how resource selection can be detected and measured, the authors suggest that the concept of resource selection function (RSF) can be the base for the development of a theory. The revision of discrete choice models (DCM) is suggested as an approximation to estimate the RSF when the choice of animal or groups of animals involves different sets of available resource units. The definition of RSF requires that the resource which is being studied consists of discrete units. The statistical method often used to estimate the RSF is the logistic regression but DCM can also be used. The theory of DCM has been well developed for the analysis of data sets involving choices of products by humans, but it can also be applicable to the choice of habitat by animals, with some modifications. The comparison of the logistic regression with the DCM for one choice is made because the coefficient estimates of the logistic regression model include an intercept, which are not presented by the DCM. The objective of this work was to compare the estimates of the RSF obtained by applying the logistic regression and the DCM to the data set on habitat selection of the spotted owl (Strix occidentalis) in the north west of the United States.
Investigation Of Leucine And Glutamic Acid Properties From The Nanoscale To The Macroscale

Aerosols are known to have important effects on climate, the atmosphere, and human health. The extent of those effects is unknown and largely depend on the interaction of aerosols with water in the atmosphere. Ambient aerosols are complex mixtures of both inorganic and organic compounds. The cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activities, hygroscopic behavior and particle morphology of a monocarboxylic amino acid (leucine) and a dicarboxylic amino acid (glutamic acid) were investigated. Activation diameters at various supersaturation conditions were experimentally determined and compared with Kohler theoretical values. The theory accounts for both surface tension and the limited solubility of organic compounds. It was discovered that glutamic acid aerosols readily took on water both when relative humidity was less than 100% and when the supersaturation condition was reached, while leucine did not show any water activation at those conditions. Moreover, the study also suggests that Kohler theory describes CCN activity of organic compounds well when only surface tension of the compound is taken into account and complete solubility is assumed. Single parameter κ was also computed using both CCN data and hygroscopic growth factor (GF). The results of κ range from 0.17 to 0.53 using CCN data and 0.09 to 0.2 using GFs. Finally, the study suggests that during the water-evaporation/particle-nucleation process, crystallization from solution droplets takes place at different locations: for glutamic acid at the particles’ center and leucine at the particles’ boundary.
Implementation and testing of routing algorithms in the distributed Hydrologiska Byråns Vattenbalansavdelning model for mountainous catchments

The main purpose of this study was to implement and test routing algorithms in the distributed Hydrologiska Byrans Vattenbalansavdelning (HBV) model with the emphasis of obtaining a most suitable routing algorithm for large mountainous catchments. Two routing algorithms were built into the grid-based HBV model and tested on the Losna (11,213 km 2 ) and the Norsfoss (18,932 km 2 ) catchments in central southern Norway. In the first algorithm, runoff is first routed from cell to cell and hydrographs are re-calculated at each cell, and then runoff is routed by the Muskingum–Cunge method in river channels. The second algorithm is a source-to-sink method, which routes runoff of all cells to the catchment outlet as a function of local slope and a calibrated velocity parameter. The routing approaches were compared at different spatial resolutions (i.e. 1, 5 and 10 km) in daily streamflow simulation. Additionally, the elevation band-based semi-distributed model was also compared with the distributed models. The results show that the distributed HBV models are able to perform better than the elevation band-based model, and hillslope routing is crucial in the mountainous catchments. However, incorporating the Muskingum–Cunge channel routing does not add value to the simulation of daily runoff in the mountainous catchments.
PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF SPARSE SOURCE SEPARATION AND DOA ESTIMATION WITH OBSERVATION VECTOR CLUSTERING IN REVERBERANT ENVIRONMENTS

This paper investigates the effects of real world acoustic environments on sparse source separation and direction of arrival (DOA) estimation performance. The time-frequency mask technique is widely studied as an approach for sparse source separation and DOA estimation. The approach relies on source sparseness, which can easily be affected by, for example, reverberation. In fact, most proposed approaches assume an anechoic condition, which is difficult to maintain in a real acoustic environment. We investigate how the performance of such methods is affected when the problem does not meet the assumed conditions. We show that strong reverberation and a large distance between the sources and sensors degrade the separation performance, however, the DOA estimation performance is not so severely affected.
Effects of Sample Width and Sidewalls on Downward Flame Spread over XPS Slabs

To study the effects of sample width and sidewalls on downward flame spread over extruded polystyrene (XPS) slabs, a series of laboratory-scale experiments were conducted. Flame shape, flame spread rate, mass loss rate and temperature were recorded. For XPS without sidewalls, the average maximum flame height (H) and average flame area per unit of width (A/w) rise linearly with an increase in sample width (w) and mass loss rate per unit of width. When sidewalls are absent, flame spread rate first drops and then rises with an increase in width. This trend is determined by gas-phase heat transfer. When sidewalls are present, flame spread rate increases with a rise in width, and solid-phase heat conduction determines the trend. Sidewall effects are comprised of four aspects: oxygen concentration near the sidewalls and gypsum board is low, which leads to reduced flame heat flux; upward and front air flow is intensified; the flame is stretched, and the surface flame is weakened; and molten XPS mass decreases. For narrow samples, H and A/w with sidewalls are higher than those without sidewalls, while the reverse was observed in wider samples. The mass loss rate, preheating length and average flame spread rate with sidewalls are smaller than those obtained without sidewalls. Flame spread acceleration with sidewalls occurs at a broader width than that without sidewalls. The experimental results agree well with the theoretical analysis.
Antioxidant enzyme status in broilers: role of dietary supplementation of Tulasi (Ocimum sanctum) and selenium.

An experiment was conducted in broiler chickens to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation of Tulasi (Ocimum sanctum) and selenium on antioxidative enzyme levels. Total forty-two broiler chicks of day-old divided into six groups of seven each were used for this study. Ocimum sanctum leaf powder (0.25% and 0.5%), organic selenium (0.3 ppm) and their combinations were added to the basal diet. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), Glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and Catalase levels in plasma were measured at the end of 3 rd and 6 th week of age. Dietary selenium (0.3 ppm) supplementation in itself significantly (P<0.01) increased GSH-Px activity and supplementation of only Ocimum sanctum leaf powder (0.5%) significantly (P<0.01) increased SOD and Catalase levels. However, Ocimum sanctum leaf powder (0.5%) and its combination with selenium (0.3 ppm) more effectively enhanced the levels of SOD, GSH-Px and Catalase. It is concluded that dietary supplementation of Ocimum sanctum at 0.5% level and its combination with selenium (0.3 ppm) can combat oxidative stress in broilers there by increasing the antioxidative enzyme levels.
Atmospheric‐hydrodynamic coupling in the nearshore

Natural beach shorelines commonly present morphological rhythmic or non‐rhythmic features of varying geometrical characteristics. Traditionally, their formation is believed to be due to wave‐induced processes, a line thoroughly investigated during the last few decades. However, these natural beach formations are frequently bounded by coastal cliffs (or capes) and are affected by intense winds, a fact not previously considered. This paper presents the results of a field survey, demonstrating the existence of atmospheric‐hydrodynamic coupling in the nearshore region outside of the breaking zone at Carchuna beach (Motril, Spain), where the atmospheric conditions are influenced by a lateral geographic obstacle (Cape Sacratif).
The Effect of Workers’ Remittances on Poverty in Mexico: A Regional Analysis

This study estimates the impact of income remittances on poverty rates by estimating household income under the counter-factual scenario that migration does not occur. Estimation of the counter-factual is performed at the national level, as well as across two separate sub-national groupings of states, first according to historical migration patterns, then according to current migration intensity. Findings indicate that the ability of remittances to reduce poverty levels varies between groups, and across differing poverty thresholds. I find that remittances generally tend to reduce poverty in recipient communities. However, in some cases, I find that remittances lead to an increase in the poverty rate.
The Impact of Technology in Orientation Aid

: Statistic states that 285 million people are estimated to be visually impaired worldwide: 39 million are blind and 246 have low vision. About 90% of the world's visually impaired people live in developing countries. Taking in consideration that Mechatronics is a methodology used for the optimal design of electromechanical products, and by combining technologies that are available to us we can develop a very useful tool that blind people and people with sight problems can change their lives. Combining smart phones and digital camera there are possibilities to build smart glasses which will give information to blind people. In this paper definitely a new approach for making peoples life easy is proposed. Initially the results are reached from simulation using Matlab/SIMULINK package which will lead this research to real time experimental results.
The Spanish dehesa. A traditional Mediterranean silvopastoral system linking production and nature conservation

The Spanish dehesa is a traditional, but also up-to-date, Mediterranean agrosilvopastoral system. It might be regarded as one of the most successful and efficient examples of how extensive agrosilvopastoral management is not only compatible with nature conservation and sustainable rural development within its environment, but also necessary for the achievement of both goals. Its area, of about 4 million hectares, is marked by two fundamental features: Mediterranean climate and low soil fertility. The character, role, management and yield of its major components (tree layer, sward, crops, livestock and wildlife) are described. The current management of the Spanish dehesas is strongly influenced by the Common Agricultural Policy, showing a certain dissociation between the natural environment and its productivity, on the one hand, and agrosilvopastoral treatments, on the other. The main problem affecting the dehesa is the lack or shortage of regeneration of the tree layer.
Effect of episodic rainfall on aqueous metal mobility from historical mine sites

The increasing frequency and magnitude of episodic rainfall events may affect historical metal mining areas by remobilisation and deposition of metal-rich sediments and enhancing metal-rich run off, impacting river water quality. This study assesses the effects of episodic rainfall in a Carboniferous headwater catchment contaminated by historical Pb and Zn mining. Comprehensive hourly water chemistry measurements combined with modelling using PHREEQC, WHAM/Model VII and WHAM-FTOX were used in this assessment. For the episodic event, we measured flow increases from a baseline of 0.05 to 2.12 m3 s−1 at peak flow. Changes in metal concentration were most marked for ephemeral tributary, with Pb increasing from a baseline concentration of 55 μg L−1 to a peak of 576 μg L−1. Behaviour for Pb showed great affinity to form organic complexes or bind to colloidal Al and Fe oxides, whereas for Zn and the tributary flowing subsurface a more complex behaviour was observed. For example, the dissolution of secondary metal carbonate minerals (e.g. smithsonite (ZnCO3)) is likely constrained by higher concentrations of carbonate and bicarbonate derived from increased bedrock weathering under flow conditions induced by episodic rainfall. The abundance of secondary mineral sources and circumneutral pH present during episodic rainfall are important factors controlling the mobilisation of Pb and Zn. Furthermore, episodic rainfall events could enhance metal toxicity but there are aggravating and mitigating factors that depend on site-specific chemical changes. Overall, this study highlighted the complexity of metal mobility and toxicity during these events.
Value Added and Factors in Trade: A Comprehensive Approach

Based on recent approaches measuring the factor content of trade when intermediates are traded this paper provides an approach to decompose the value added and factor (capital, high, medium and low educated labour) content of trade into foreign and domestic components. This adds to the literature by simultaneously considering both exports and imports allowing a focus on the patterns and changes of net trade and its components and generalizes the commonly applied vertical specialization measures based on exports only. It is further pointed out that a country’s trade balance in terms of value added content equals its trade balance in gross trade. Empirically, results of the proposed decomposition based on the recently compiled World Input-Output Database (WIOD) covering 40 countries and 35 industries over the period 1995-2009 are presented. The domestic value added content of exports tends to decrease over time, increasing again in the crisis. Splitting up by production factors, emerging economies tend to export relatively more capital and import labour in value terms, with the opposite pattern found for advanced economies. Splitting up labour by educational attainment the expected pattern of the advanced countries being relatively stronger net exporters of high-educated labor as compared to low-educated labour in value terms emerges. This provides a distinct view on the structure of trade deficits and surpluses across countries based on its factor content. Finally, it is shown that the role of services is more important than would be suggested by conventional trade statistics due to the value added created in service sectors for production of manufacturing exports.
Potential impacts of climate change on tropospheric ozone in California: a preliminary episodic modeling assessment of the Los Angeles basin and the Sacramento valley

In this preliminary and relatively short modeling effort, an initial assessment is made for the potential air quality implications of climate change in California. The focus is mainly on the effects of changes in temperature and related meteorological and emission factors on ozone formation. Photochemical modeling is performed for two areas in the state: the Los Angeles Basin and the Sacramento Valley.