Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Refugees: The politically oppressed

Who should be recognized as a refugee? This article seeks to uncover the normative arguments at the core of legal and philosophical conceptions of refugeehood. It identifies three analytically distinct approaches grounding the right to refugee status and argues that all three are normatively inadequate. Refugee status should neither be grounded in individual persecution for specific reasons (classical approach) nor in individual persecution for any discriminatory reasons (human rights approach). It should also not be based solely on harm (humanitarian approach). Rather, this article argues, it should be based on political oppression – on persons lacking public autonomy, formally expressed as a lack of legal–political status. The normative foundation for a claim to refugee status lies in the inability of a person to control, amend and seek recourse to the specific situation she faces. It lies in the lack of public autonomy expressed as a lack of legal–political rights. What matters for a claim to refugee status is thus the legal–political disenfranchisement of a person, ultimately leaving her with no recourse to the particular situation she faces other than flight. Refugees, then, are not only those who fear harm or persecution, but those who are politically oppressed.
Attitudes and Motivation of Afghan Students toward Learning English

AbstractThis study investigated Afghan students’ attitudes and motivation toward learning English at six different universities in Afghanistan. Several factors were believed to influence their success in learning English (i.e., motivation types as a major factor together with variables, such as gender, grades, fields of study, parental/teacher involvement, language learning anxiety and academic achievement). In searching for a reliable attitudinal profile of the subjects, quantitative research methodology was adopted along with mixed research techniques. The data was collected from 457 university students (273 male and 184 female) and 12 university EFL teachers through questionnaires and interviews. The findings showed that most of the Afghan university students held a positive attitude toward learning English and they were highly influenced by three types of motivation (i.e., instrumental, integrative, and intrinsic). Significant differences were found in the attitudes of students in terms of their fields of study, grades, and language learning anxiety. Interestingly, the findings also showed that some students were demotivated to learn EFL due to the propagation that English will no longer widely be used if NATO and US forces leave Afghanistan. It is suggested that EFL teachers should adopt motivational strategies in their classes to develop students’ positive attitudes and enhance their motivation toward learning EFL.
How Does Principals’ Transformational Leadership Impact Students’ Modernity? A Multiple Mediating Model

To explore the impact mechanism of principals’ transformational leadership on students’ modernity, this study adopted the structural equation model to test the multiple mediating effects of school climate, teacher quality, and effective teaching on the relationship between principals’ transformational leadership and students’ modernity. Results showed that there was a positive correlation between principals’ transformational leadership and students’ modernity; school climate, teacher quality, and effective teaching fully mediated the relationship between principals’ transformational leadership and students’ modernity, totally accounting for 64.37% of all the indirect effects; the mediating effects of school climate, teacher quality, and effective teaching, respectively, accounted for 30.20%, 52.29%, and 17.51%. According to these results, principal should adopt the approach of transformational leadership, promote the constructing of a fair, inclusive and innovative school climate, emphasize the improvement of teachers’ social, emotional, and innovative qualities, and encourage teachers to reflect their teaching and conduct rational practices to improve students’ modernity.
Histopathological Effects of Histoacryl on Oral Secondary Wound Healing: A Comparative Experimental Study

Aims: The aim of this study is to evaluate the histopathological findings of healing phases in secondary wound defect on rabbit ́s tongue, dressed with N-butyl -2Cyanoacrylate (Histoacryl) tissue adhesive. Materials and Methods: Twenty domestic male rabbits had been selected. Two defects were done on each half of the tongue, 5mm oval shape, the right one left without covering, the left one covered by a thin layer of Histoacryl. Animals could be divided into four groups, each group contain five rabbits, according to sacrificing date into 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, and 30 days. Tongue specimen were collected after sacrificing the rabbit immediately, then divided into two halves, the right half was control one and the left half was the study one, giving off further two subdivisions for each group. The specimen were placed in formaldehyde and sent for histopathological examination regarding inflammatory and reepithelialization scoring. Results: The histopathological findings of this study revealed that there was a significant difference of inflammation between the two groups at 3 days, one week, one month, of tongue at p-value < 0.05, while there was no significant difference at two weeks period. In reepithelialization of the tongue a significant difference at 3 days at p-value < 0.05, and no significance at one week, two week, and one month. Conclusion: This study concluded that histoacryl tissue adhesive accelerate healing by decreasing inflammation, and inducing reepithelialization of mucosal secondary wound defects.
Factors Affecting Teacher's Use of Web Portal in Knowledge Sharing: A Behavioral Intention and Technology Acceptance Perspective

A person's perception towards technology use is important to plan for its effective use in knowledge sharing. This study looked into the web portal used in knowledge sharing in analyzing the correlation between technology acceptance and behavioral intention of teachers. This study identified the participant’s knowledge sharing intention. Purposive sampling was used to select 40 teachers who are using the "blended" approach of instructions to participate in the survey, and 10 from them were selected for interview. This research used mixed methods to gather data and made a comparative analysis with the results generated from quantitative and qualitative methods. Findings revealed a significant relationship between the perceived behavioral controls and technology acceptance. This emplies that technology structure is considered a factor that controls a persons intention to engage in knowledge sharing. Diversity and variability of the population could be used to elicit more substantial evidences and broaden the area for future studies.
Entrepreneurship at the Base of the Pyramid: The Moderating Role of Person-Facilitator Fit and Poverty Alleviation

Abstract Facilitating entrepreneurship through micro-credit, micro-franchise, and micro-consignment potentially helps to alleviate desperate poverty. However, the effectiveness of these facilitators have varied from positive outcomes of poverty alleviation to negative outcomes of increased debt. Therefore, we seek to understand: how and why are different facilitators of entrepreneurial activity at the Base of the Pyramid (BOP) relatively more effective at alleviating poverty? Building on the foundation of person-entrepreneurship fit, we introduce the construct of person-facilitator fit and develop propositions about how and why the fit between entrepreneurs and the different facilitators of entrepreneurship may influence poverty alleviation. Specifically, using a remediation perspective, we explicate how the demands-abilities and needs-supplies fit between an entrepreneur and the different facilitators of micro-credit, micro-franchise and micro-consignment moderates the likelihood of poverty alleviation and how person-facilitator fit moderates the magnitude of poverty alleviation over time. We offer theoretical and practical implications of our framework for different perspectives (remediation, reform, and revolution) on entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation.
Customer Service Perception among Professionals: Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Norming

The concept of customer service perception around the world is rapidly experiencing reforms thus impacting organization’s credibility and its valued customers. Despite these changes, discussion on how to evaluate the perceived customer service perception of the professionals from the different organizations, is complexed and remain challenging to evaluate. The predominately study identified the gap in literature by investigating the significance of customer service perception of the professionals belong to various organizations including banks, hotels, cash and carry, airport, universities and hospitals. This research was based on cross-sectional correlational survey research design. Study was conducted in two steps. In step-I data was collected from customer services professionals (N=2820) belonging to various organizations. This research study established and confirmed the reliable factor structure of the “Customer Services Perception Scale” (CSPs) (which consists of three dimensions: customer services orientation, empathy and flexibility) through confirmatory factor analysis. In step-II sample comprised of customer services professionals (n=98) and their served customers (n=98) was collected through situational sampling technique. Results revealed the significant association, difference and impacts in terms of customer service perception among different professionals from various organizations with their age groups and gender. Males customer services professionals were high on customer service perception as compared to female. Correlation analysis suggested a significant positive association between professionals’ perception about their customer service and their immediate serviced customers’ satisfaction. Overall, this research contributes to the literature by providing the meaningful ways to the organizations to improve customer service perception of their professionals about their valued customers which will automatically add value in their customer service satisfaction.
Social Media Sentiment in International Stock Returns and Trading Activity

Abstract The authors investigate the impact of social media on S&P index constituents for U.S., European, and emerging markets with the international investor perspective using firm-specific Twitter sentiment and activity. The findings indicate that Twitter activity and sentiment are associated with trading volume and returns, and predicts subsequent-day trading volume. The authors find that firm-specific Twitter sentiment contains information for predicting stock returns and this predictive power remains significant after controlling news sentiment. The positive tone of Twitter sentiment is more pronounced in small and emerging market firms, which is consistent with the literature stating that small firms are hard to value and emerging market firms contain high information asymmetry. From a practical perspective, investors could potentially use social media sentiment in trading strategies.
Equally Diversified or Equally Weighted?

The aim of this paper is to shed new light on the concept of diversification showing that it is not necessarily related to the reduction of the volatility of a portfolio, as it is commonly perceived. We introduce a diversification index that exploits the decomposition of portfolio volatility into undiversified volatility and a diversification component. The diversification component offsets the undiversified part leaving as a final result the portfolio volatility itself. Our decomposition has a clear statistical interpretation because it relates the diversification component to the so-called partial covariances, i.e. the covariances between the residuals of the regressions of the weighted asset returns with respect to the portfolio return. On this basis, we advocate the construction of an equally diversified portfolio versus an equally weighted portfolio. An empirical analysis illustrates the superior performance of the equally diversified portfolios with respect to the equally weighted portfolio.
A novel geo-statistical approach for transport infrastructure network monitoring by Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI)

Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) is an Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) remote sensing technique based on a multi-temporal interferogram analysis of SAR images. The aim of the technique is to extract long-term high phase stability benchmarks of coherent point targets, namely Persistent Scatterers (PSs). In the last few years, several approaches have been developed to obtain PSI point targets, proving their viability for applications to transport infrastructure monitoring and surveillance. However, SAR satellites can only detect displacements in the Line-of-Sight (LoS), with reference to the specific orbit-related incident angle. This work proposes a novel geo-statistical approach to ease the post-processing of large datasets of PSs resulting from the application of the PSI algorithms over an area of interest. The approach aims at correcting the component of the displacement collected from the acquisition geometry of the sensor.
Comparing Live Z-Score Training and Theta/Beta Protocol to Reduce Theta-to-Beta Ratio: A Pilot Study

Objective/Background: Theta-to-Beta ratio is one of the most studied electroencephalography findings in ADHD in the neurotherapy field, alongside the neurofeedback (NF) protocols whose objective is reducing it. The NF field has developed to a great level in the last decade. One of the approaches that became of particular interest to the clinicians has been Z-score training (ZT). In general, there are still a few studies about the efficacy of ZT and even fewer that compare this technique with the classic protocols. This study aimed to check the efficacy of ZT in reducing Theta-to-Beta ratio. Participants: 15 patients diagnosed with combined type ADHD aged 7 to 18, recruited in retrospect. Methods: The participants were divided in two groups. One of the groups was provided with the ZT intervention and the other one, the Theta/Beta (T/B) protocol. Both groups went through ten 30-min NF sessions using videos selected by themselves as a reinforcement. The main outcomes of this study were the patients’ Theta-to-Beta ratio metrics. Results: Both groups showed a decrease in Theta-to-Beta ratio; the ZT group showed a decrease of 1.02 points average and the T/B group showed a decrease of 0.15 points average, only being statistically significant for the ZT group.
Teachers with disabilities: a literature review

ABSTRACT The development of an inclusive education system is regarded as a fundamental pillar for the full participation of persons with disabilities in society. To date, research on inclusive education has been mainly focused on students with disabilities, special education teachers and the role of legislation with less attention being paid to another important player in the implementation of a truly inclusive education system: teachers with disabilities. To address this knowledge gap, in this article we present a literature review, analysing the main findings and contributions from research that examines issues pertaining to teachers with disabilities. Drawing from 53 articles published in English in peer-review journals, the paper identifies four main research topics: (1) Teachers’ life trajectories, educational practices, and challenges; (2) Teacher's training; (3) Perspectives about teachers with disabilities (among students and school principals), and (4) the under-representation of teachers with disabilities in the literature. We conclude arguing that the research agenda on inclusive education would benefit from including the perspective of teachers with disabilities.
Biogenic proceedings and characterization of copper-gold nanoalloy: Evaluation of their innate antimicrobial and catalytic activities

Abstract Crystallized polyhedral triangular-shaped Au-Cu nanoparticles (NPs) have been biosynthesized using the cell-free extract of the pathogenic fungal strain of Aspergillus niger. The bioreduction was monitored and characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, XRD, TEM, and NMR and confirmed the synthesized NPs to be crystallized polydispersed particles of 23–199 nm having FCC lattice. FTIR analysis predicted the amide region carbonyl group showed strong binding ability with metal, which acts as a capping agent and provides stability in the medium, efficient to inhibit various pathogenic bacteria and fungi at the minimum inhibitory concentration 0.0039 and 5 mg mL−1, respectively. On performing the bio-perspective analysis, the cytotoxicity assay detects a reduction in MTT levels, anticipating the normal functioning of the mitochondria and cell viability in comparison with controls and excellent significance of the catalytic activity, cell toxicity and reactive oxygen species production rate.
Geochemistry and magmatic zircon U–Pb dating of amphibolite blocks in the Omi serpentinite mélange, north central Japan: Possible subduction of the Cambrian oceanic crust

Early Paleozoic serpentinite melanges in Japan preserve the oldest high – P metamorphic rocks in the circum – Paci ﬁ c orogenic belt. To understand the tectonic regime at the subduction initiation of the proto – Japan convergent plate boundary, whole – rock geochemistry, and zircon U – Pb geochronology were investigated for amphibolite blocks in the Omi serpentinite mélange, central Japan. The studied amphibolites from two di ﬀ erent localities have the mineral assemblage of albite + clinozoisite + amphibole ± rutile ± titanite, which characterize epidote – amphibolite facies metamorphism. Whole – rock trace element concentrations of the amphibolites sug-gest that gabbroic protoliths formed possibly in an oceanic setting. The zircon U – Pb weighted mean ages obtained from two amphibolite samples indicate that the protolith was formed in the Cambrian. The protolith ages of the studied amphibolites are comparable with those of reported Early Paleozoic ophiolite and high – pressure rocks in Paleozoic serpentinite mélanges in Japan. This fact implies that the young hot oceanic crust was subducting into the East Asian convergent plate margin during the Cambrian.
Walking the Tightrope: Online Student Engagement Experiences

Studying online is like walking a tightrope for many online students as they try to balance work and caring responsibilities with their learning. This paper reports on a qualitative case study which explored the balancing act of online student engagement experiences. The study followed twenty-four DCU Connected online students over one academic year. The research question for the study was: What themes are central to online student engagement experiences? Data was collected via participant eportfolio entries and through semi-structured interviews and was then analysed thematically. Four key themes were constructed via the analytic process, which included: the importance of community, support networks, balancing study with life, and approaches to learning. The findings indicate that successful online student engagement was influenced by a number of psychosocial factors such as peer community, an engaging online teacher, and confidence and by structural factors such as lifeload and course design.
Bibliometric Survey of Quantum Machine Learning

ABSTRACT Quantum Machine Learning (QML) is one of the core research fields in the larger paradigm of Quantum Computing (also known alternatively as Quantum Information). In recent years, researchers have taken deep interest in QML, given the potential time and cost advantages that solutions to real-life problems using QML algorithms provide, in comparison to their classical (or digital) machine learning equivalents. This is still a very new and exciting area of research with new algorithms and their uses being developed almost every other day. Deep research interest in this area has picked up only in the past 5–6 years. Given the background, this paper focuses on studying Scopus and Web of Science databases for the past 6 years (2014–2019) to identify various publication trends in the areas of Quantum Machine Learning. The authors have done an in-depth study of the Scopus and Web of Science publication data pertaining to this area and have come up with interesting insights. The survey covers 276 publications in Scopus and 154 publications in Web of Science. From the Scopus database, it is found that there has been a consistent growth in the number of publications in this period. Four research areas, namely, Physics, Astronomy, Computer Science, and Mathematics, have contributed 68.1% of the research publications. The USA leads the top 10 countries with nearly half (49.2%) of the research publications. A total of 148 patents have been published with 94 of these being published in the last four years (2016–2019). This essentially translates to one patent for every two publications. The Web of Science database, though bringing out 154 publications in the period, shows similar trends across the metrics. We have carried out a comparative study of some of the metrics in Scopus and Web of Science databases. Overall the study identifies the top 10 Institutions, authors, and research journals.
QoS-Aware Flexible Handover Management in Software-Defined Mobile Networks

Handover support is one of the important issues in mobile networks to guarantee the quality of service (QoS) requirements for mobile users. Alongside the development of network technologies, handover management to provide service continuity has been researched and applied for the Internet or cellular networks such as 3G/4G/5G. However, each network paradigm provides its own individual handover management system, even though there are different kinds of QoS requirements for various mobile services. This causes inefficient network resource utilization from the network operators’ perspectives. Therefore, this paper proposes a QoS-aware flexible mobility management scheme for software-defined networking (SDN)-based mobile networks. The proposed scheme classifies flows into four classes based on the QoS requirements of services in terms of delay and loss tolerance. According to the classified service characteristics, it provides a differential handover method for each flow class to support efficient network operation without any service degradation by interacting between the forwarding plane nodes and SDN controller. The performance analysis shows that the proposed scheme enables flexible network resource utilization, satisfying the QoS requirements for each class well compared to the conventional schemes that only consider their own individual handover procedure.
Fashioned Bodies in Roller Derby League Logos: Critical Analysis of Race, Gender, Body Size and Position, Clothing, and Aesthetics

Revival of roller derby in the early 2000s garnered significant interest in the sport, and an extensive network of leagues began to form. By 2018, approximately 1,500 leagues were operating in North America, each with a unique logo. In this study, we focus on the league logos as a potent form of embodied fashion representation. Using content analysis, we examined all of the logos for U.S. Women’s Flat Track Derby Association–member leagues and have interpreted our findings through a critical cultural analysis. Revival of roller derby in the aughts has repositioned the sport as inclusive of diverse bodies; however, the logos tell a different story. League logos perpetuate hyperfeminized, thin-centric, white bodies—that is, the norms that derby athletes are performatively challenging through participation in the sport.