Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The role of internal and external factors on management students' subject choices

The aim of the study is to investigate undergraduates’ perceptions of the comparative worth/utility of studying Business Science disciplines at a prominent South African University in terms of: (i) internal factors comprising aptitudes, values and interests; and (ii) external factors comprising job attractiveness (job prospects, earning potential, non-salary benefits and work-life balance), and (iii) university and discipline academic reputations. The study utilises a specifically designed instrument to measure internal and external factors impinging on career choice. A purposive non-random sample, consisting of 130 second and third year students in Human Resource Management (HRM) and Management, is used. Findings suggest that, while perceptions of aspects of careers, such as job and career prospects generally dominate the choice of major subjects, students studying HRM majors hold community orientated values that distinguish them from their peers. Many students are found to make choices primarily on the basis of their perceptions of ‘external factors’, rather than their interests. The findings are discussed in terms of extant theory and potential practical outcomes.
A Two-Step Hybrid Approach for Modeling the Nonlinear Dynamic Response of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters

An effective hybrid computational framework is described here in order to assess the nonlinear dynamic response of piezoelectric energy harvesting devices. The proposed strategy basically consists of two steps. First, fully coupled multiphysics finite element (FE) analyses are performed to evaluate the nonlinear static response of the device. An enhanced reduced-order model is then derived, where the global dynamic response is formulated in the state-space using lumped coefficients enriched with the information derived from the FE simulations. The electromechanical response of piezoelectric beams under forced vibrations is studied by means of the proposed approach, which is also validated by comparing numerical predictions with some experimental results. Such numerical and experimental investigations have been carried out with the main aim of studying the influence of material and geometrical parameters on the global nonlinear response. The advantage of the presented approach is that the overall computational and experimental efforts are significantly reduced while preserving a satisfactory accuracy in the assessment of the global behavior.
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF AGRICULTURE CREDIT BY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR BANKS : A

The banking system touches the lives of millions and has to be inspired by the larger socioeconomic purpose and has to sub-serve the national priorities and objectives. Within the banking institutions, the role of commercial banks has occupied a new meaning and significance, in the view of the changing structure and requirements of a developing economy like India. The growth of agriculture is an important pre-requisite, not only for the reasons of food security, but, also in terms of forward and backward linkages that the agriculture sector has with the rest of the sectors of the economy. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the performance of commercial banksin financing agriculture sector in India. The secondary datahas been used and collected from the various relevant issues of RBI. The exponential growth rate has been calculated to assess the performance of banks in lending to agriculture sector. The behavior of interyear as well as inter-bank disparities is explained with the help of co-efficient of variation. The performance banks in agriculture credit has been compared with the help of t-testThe study points out that, agriculture credit grew at a lower rate during the second vis-à-vis first phase in both the bank groups. It was also found that, on an average, the prescribed target of agriculture credit was not achieved by banks during the first and second phase. One important issue of concern is the almost stagnant share of agriculture credit in net bank credit over a period of time, which needs immediate attention of the policy makers. The banks also, on an average, failed to achieve the stipulated target of agricultural lending during the first as well as second phase. The study recommends that the banking sector, especially public sector banks, should lead efforts to expand inclusion as private sector initiatives to do so are likely to be curtailed by their objective of maximizing shareholder profit rather than optimizing stakeholder
Scaling analysis for the pebble bed of the very high temperature gas-cooled reactor thermal hydraulic test facility

approved: _____________________________________________________________________ Brian G. Woods The Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) has two possible core configurations, a hexagonal prismatic and a pebble bed. It is essential that an experimental facility be built for the validation of computer codes for the safe operation of the VHTR. The scaling of the prismatic core configuration has been analyzed previously for a large break loss of coolant accident. This is a scaling analysis for the pebble bed core configuration. As part of the full scaling analysis, the bottom up scaling of the pebble bed core for pressure drop and radial heat transfer were conducted. Radiation is the dominant form of heat transfer at high temperatures and was scaled using the two methods of treating radiation in a packed bed of spheres. The results of scaling were compared using FLUENT, a computational fluid dynamics code, using the setup, run, and comparison of a 1/80 azimuthally and 1/4 radial full scale prototype and scaled model. The temperature profiles across the core under natural circulation like conditions were determined for both models. The model and prototype temperature profiles had significant variation at the boundary, but only a few degree variation away from the boundary. Additionally, the radiation transport equation and radiation conductivity were compared, and distortions quantified for the FLUENT models. © Copyright by Benjamin L. Nelson June 9, 2009 All Rights Reserved Scaling Analysis for the Pebble Bed of the Very High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor Thermal Hydraulic Test Facility by Benjamin L. Nelson A THESIS Submitted to Oregon State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Advancing Safety by In-Depth Assessment of Workers Attention and Perception

Considering the complexity and sometimes unpredictability of human behavior, and its role on workplace injuries, it is surprising that psychological research has contributed relatively little in studying workplace safety compared to technology development. The focus of this paper is thus shifted to psychological investigation of human factors to understand how a hazard is perceived, how a seen hazard is recognized, and how a decision must be made to avoid the hazard. The study is conducted through a three-step experiment including a questionnaire, Balloon-Analogue-Risk-Task (BART) test and safety photos and video clips with an eye tracking system to measure and analyze the relationship between the worker’s personality and perceptions of risks and hazards. A very close relationship was found between the length of time a participant spent looking at a hazard and the number of hazards identified correctly. Participants with a higher safety score were able to recognize more safety hazards than those with lower safety score. Moreover, it was found that risk-takers were underestimating a hazard, whereas more cautious and less risky participants were overestimating a hazard.
HANDWRITTEN SELF-EXPLANATIONS

Research has demonstrated that self-explanation hones student’s metacognitive skills and increases their performance. We have found however, that not all self-explanation is substantive. Our goal is to develop computational techniques capable of determining whether a student’s explanation is relevant or not. This will then enable us, for example, to create an interactive tutoring system capable of prompting students to continue their explanations when necessary. This is a tractable task as self-explanations typically contain a small number of possible concepts. The language used to express these concepts can vary greatly, but our task is only to identify the existence of the concepts, not to perform general machine interpretation. In this paper, we present early work on the automatic understanding of students’ handwritten self-explanation of their solutions to homework problems in an engineering statics course. We employ an open information extraction technique popularly used to identify relations present in broadcast news transcripts. In our study, this technique achieved up to 97% accuracy at identifying when the content of a student’s self-explanation did not match the concepts used by experts in explaining their own work on the same problem.
Simulating and Executing UAV-Assisted Inspections on Construction Sites

UnmannedAerial Vehicles (UAV) are an established utility for remote sensing and mapping purposes. Practical applications emerge in the form of inspecting structures that are hard to reach, deterioration analysis, construction monitoring or quantifying material in landfills. From a technological perspective most of these applications rely on the same established method, manual piloting by experts. While ongoing research is focused on developing reliable means of obstacle avoidance, sophisticated mission planning solutions can greatly increase the practicality of UAVs for inspection pur-
Variations of net ecosystem production due to seasonal precipitation differences in a tropical dry forest of northwest Mexico

Due to their large extent and high primary productivity, tropical dry forests (TDF) are important contributors to atmospheric carbon exchanges in subtropical and tropical regions. In northwest Mexico, a bimodal precipitation regime that includes winter precipitation derived from Pacific storms and summer precipitation from the North American monsoon (NAM) couples water availability with ecosystem processes. We investigated the net ecosystem production of a TDF ecosystem using a 4.5 year record of water and carbon fluxes obtained from the eddy covariance method complemented with remotely sensed data. We identified a large CO2 efflux at the start of the summer season that is strongly related to the preceding winter precipitation and greenness. Since this CO2 efflux occurs prior to vegetation green‐up, we infer that respiration is mainly due to decomposition of soil organic matter accumulated from the prior growing season. Overall, ecosystem respiration has an important effect on the net ecosystem production but can be overwhelmed by the strength of the primary productivity during the NAM. Precipitation characteristics during NAM have significant controls on sustaining carbon fixation in the TDF into the fall season. We identified that a threshold of ~350 to 400 mm of monsoon precipitation leads to a switch in the annual carbon balance in the TDF ecosystem from a net source (+102 g C/m2/yr) to a net sink (−249 g C/m2/yr). This monsoonal precipitation threshold is typically exceeded one out of every 2 years. The close coupling of winter and summer periods with respect to carbon fluxes suggests that the annual carbon balance is dependent on precipitation amounts in both seasons in TDF ecosystems.
Effect of TDZ on Direct Shoot Regeneration from Whole Male Inflorescence of Four Diploid Banana Cultivars from South India

﻿Male inflorescence has great potential to be used as explants for rapid micropropagation of Musa species. In this work whole inflorescence was used as the explant for the propagation. The male flower of four diploid banana cultivars namely Musa acuminata cv. Matti and M. acuminata cv. Sannachenkadali, M. acuminata cv. Chingan and Musa acuminata cv. Njalipoovan (2n= 22) belonging to diploid genome types (AA and AB) were selected for the present study. These diploid tolerant cultivars grown in south Indian states are in great demand because of their fruit quality and consumer preference. Direct shoot regeneration was achieved from whole male inflorescence which is inoculated in MS medium supplemented with varying concentrations of BA, TDZ and KIN. All the four cultivars produced the maximum number of shoots in the presence of varying concentrations of TDZ (0.45µM -13.5 µM) irrespective of their genotypes. Male inflorescence reduces the rate of contamination compared to suckers and produces a more number of shoots in culture conditions.
Sparsity Preserving Discriminant Projections with Applications to Face Recognition

Dimensionality reduction is extremely important for understanding the intrinsic structure hidden in high-dimensional data. In recent years, sparse representation models have been widely used in dimensionality reduction. In this paper, a novel supervised learning method, called Sparsity Preserving Discriminant Projections (SPDP), is proposed. SPDP, which attempts to preserve the sparse representation structure of the data and maximize the between-class separability simultaneously, can be regarded as a combiner of manifold learning and sparse representation. Specifically, SPDP first creates a concatenated dictionary by classwise PCA decompositions and learns the sparse representation structure of each sample under the constructed dictionary using the least square method. Secondly, a local between-class separability function is defined to characterize the scatter of the samples in the different submanifolds. Then, SPDP integrates the learned sparse representation information with the local between-class relationship to construct a discriminant function. Finally, the proposed method is transformed into a generalized eigenvalue problem. Extensive experimental results on several popular face databases demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Mineralogical characterization of a highly-weathered soil by the Rietveld Method

The mineralogical characterization through mineral quantification of Brazilian soils by X-ray diffraction data using the Rietveld Method is not common. A mineralogical quantification of an Acric Ferralsol from the Ponta Grossa region, state of Parana, Brazil, was carried out using this Method with X-Ray Diffraction data to verify if this method was suitable for mineral quantification of a highly-weathered soil. The A, AB and B 3 horizons were fractioned to separate the different particle sizes: clay, silt, fine sand (by Stokes Law) and coarse sand fractions (by sieving), with the procedure free of chemical treatments. X-ray Fluorescence, Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry, Infrared Spectroscopy and Mossbauer Spectroscopy were used in order to assist the mineral identification and quantification. The Rietveld Method enabled the quantification of the present minerals. In a general way, the quantitative mineralogical characterization by the Rietveld Method revealed that quartz, gibbsite, rutile, hematite, goethite, kaolinite and halloysite were present in the clay and silt fractions of all horizons. The silt fractions of the deeper horizons were different from the more superficial ones due to the presence of large amounts of quartz. The fine and the coarse sand fractions are constituted mainly by quartz. Therefore, a mineralogical quantification of the finer fraction (clay and silt) by the Rietveld Method was successful.
Optimization for Cavitation Inception Performance of Pump-Turbine in Pump Mode Based on Genetic Algorithm

Cavitation is a negative factor of hydraulic machinery because of its undesirable effects on the operation stability and safety. For reversible pump-turbines, the improvement of cavitation inception performance in pump mode is very important due to the strict requirements. The geometry of blade leading edge is crucial for the local flow separation which affects the scale and position of pressure drop. Hence, the optimization of leading edge shape is helpful for the improvement of cavitation inception performance. Based on the genetic algorithm, optimization under multiple flow rate conditions was conducted by modifying the leading edge ellipse ratio and blade thickness on the front 20% meanline. By using CFD simulation, optimization was completed with obvious improvements on the cavitation inception performance. CFD results show that the pressure drop location had moved downstream with the increasement of the minimum pressure coefficient. Experimental verifications also got an obvious enhancement of cavitation inception performance. The stability and safety was improved by moving the cavitation inception curve out of the operating range. This optimization is proved applicable and effective for the engineering applications of reversible pump-turbines.
BARRINGTON LECTURE 1999/2000 EVALUATING LABOUR MARKET INTERVENTIONS

The high growth rates experienced in Ireland over the last 10 years has resulted in a tightening of the labour market which is reflected in the number of unfilled vacancies reported by firms. At the same time wage inequality has increased leading to greater demands being placed on the government to tackle social exclusion. In response to these issues, recent governments have proposed a range of policies involving direct intervention in the labour market. Effective implementation of these policies requires careful monitoring and evaluation of their effects. This paper examines the procedures currently available for evaluating labour market interventions. The results of recent evaluations of minimum wages laws, reform of the benefit system and changes in working-time conditions are used to illustrate the methodologies involved. The paper also describes the data requirements of these methodologies and examines the currently available Irish labour market data in this light.
Status of the AMS-02 detector after one year of operation on the International Space Station

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer AMS-02 has been installed in May 19th 2011 on the International Space Station where it will detect cosmic rays for the next decades. AMS-02 with its accurate measurements up to the TeV scale will contribute to our knowledge of the Universe providing the most sensitive search for the existence of primordial anti matter and indirect search for dark matter. Nine layers of silicon micro-strip constitute the core of the spectrometer, allowing the simultaneous measurement of the sign and charge of impinging particles and reconstructing their rigidity up to the TV. The 3D imaging calorimeter, with a depth of 17 radiation lengths, and the TRD detector provide an accurate measurement of the electron and positron components, rejecting the protons background. Velocity and charge measurements are performed by the scintillator planes of the Time of Flight system and by the Ring Imaging Cherenkov detector. During the first year in Space several billion events have been recorded. In this paper, the AMS-02 flight operations, performance and perspective for physics measurements are reported.
Combining Semantic Web and Educational Data Mining to Improve MOOCs

Fostering collaboration in a Learning Management System is certainly a great chal- lenge for tutors and teachers. In order to assist the instructors in this task, a possible solution might consist in a technological artifact which could support the tutoring process at different levels. The literature has generally proposed Intelligent Tutoring System based on a deterministic model of the process. In this paper an alternative idea is pursued by using a cognitive architecture based on the paradigm of the dis- tributed artificial intelligence in order to make the model of such process more adaptive and potentially open to a broader class of learning activities.
Effects of small-sided soccer games on internal and external load and lower limb power: a pilot study in collegiate players

Purpose. The aim of the study was to examine the influence of small-sided and conditioned games (SSG) on the internal load (heart rate [Hr] and perceived exertion), external load (Global Positioning System variables), and lower limb power (squat jump [SJ] and countermovement jump [CMJ]). Methods. Six collegiate male soccer players (age 20.3 ± 4.8 years; maximal oxygen uptake 42.9 ± 2.7 ml/kg/min; maximal Hr 184.7 bpm) performed three 2-min bouts of 1 vs. 1 and two 3-min bouts of 3 vs. 3 format with a work-to-rest ratio of 1:1.5. Two-way ANOVA with repeated measures tested the effects of bouts and SSG formats on the internal and external load and on the lower limb power. Results. The 3 bout had significantly higher Hraverage and %Hrmax values than the 2 bout (p = 0.027 and p = 0.026, respectively). The 1 SSG bout presented higher total distance than the 2 bout (p = 0.007). The comparison among bouts revealed higher values of pace and player load intensity in the 1 bout than in the 2 one (p = 0.015 and p = 0.019, respectively). No differences were found in SJ and CMJ among bouts (p = 0.981 and p = 0.307, respectively). SSG formats differed for total distance (p = 0.001; ES = 0.891; longer distance in 3 vs. 3 format), but not for %Hrmax (p = 0.953; ES = 0.001). Conclusions. Physiological and physical responses varied during bouts. Nevertheless, small differences between SSG formats were found. SSG bouts did not have significant impact on the lower limb power.
Post-crisis regulatory reforms and bank performance: lessons from Asia

Based on a large dataset from eight Asian economies, we test the impact of post-crisis regulatory reforms on the performance of depository institutions in countries at different levels of financial development. We allow for technological heterogeneity and estimate a set of country-level stochastic cost frontiers followed by a deterministic bootstrapped meta-frontier to evaluate cost efficiency and cost technology. Our results support the view that liberalization policies have a positive impact on bank performance, while the reverse is true for prudential regulation policies. The removal of activities restrictions, bank privatization and foreign bank entry has a positive and significant impact on technological progress and cost efficiency. In contrast, prudential policies, which aim to protect the banking sector from excessive risk-taking, tend to adversely affect banks’ cost efficiency but not cost technology.
Time-Dependent Adjoint Formulation for Metamaterial Optimization using Petrov-Galerkin Methods

─ A time-dependent discrete adjoint algorithm for electromagnetic problems is presented. The governing equations are discretized with a semi-discrete PetrovGalerkin method. Time advancement is accomplished using an implicit, second-order backward differentiation formula (BDF2). An all-dielectric metamaterial is proposed and gradient-based shape design optimization is conducted. Hicks-Henne functions are utilized for shape parameterization to ensure smooth surfaces, and linear elasticity employed to adapt interior mesh points to boundary modifications. The cost function used in the design optimization attempts to widen the bandwidth of the metamaterial over a desired frequency range. Optimization results demonstrate an increase of the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of reflection from 111 THz to 303 THz. Index Terms ─ Adjoint-based sensitivity analysis, design optimization, finite element method, metamaterial, Petrov-Galerkin.