Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Strategic Resource Planning for Optimum Service Quality Provided by Gail Lochtie , British Telecom

British Telecommunications PIc would like to optimise the performance of their procedure for scheduling installation and repair of telephone lines and equipment for both residential and business customers. The company sets goals, in terms of percentage completion of different types of services within a specified time period for each job type. For the purposes of the problem presented here, there were six job types, four of which involved appointment times, and two of which had to be completed within a specified time delay from the job being first reported. BT wants to achieve these goals by assigning priorities to the different types of service. Incoming jobs are then scheduled for completion by available engineers based on these priorities using a central piece of software. The priorities Pi for job type i are normalised so that PI + . + Pk = 1, where in our case k = 6. The mathematical problem is thus quite simple: find the "best" values of these priorities to achieve the specified completion goals.
The historical functional linear model

The authors develop a functional linear model in which the values at time t of a sample of curves yi (t) are explained in a feed‐forward sense by the values of covariate curves xi(s) observed at times s ±. t. They give special attention to the case s ± [t — δ, t], where the lag parameter δ is estimated from the data. They use the finite element method to estimate the bivariate parameter regression function β(s, t), which is defined on the triangular domain s ± t. They apply their model to the problem of predicting the acceleration of the lower lip during speech on the basis of electromyographical recordings from a muscle depressing the lip. They also provide simulation results to guide the calibration of the fitting process.
Atypical phonological processing impairs written word recognition in children with cochlear implants

Children equipped with cochlear implant (CI) do not achieve similar levels of word recognition as typical hearing (TH) children, but it is unclear whether the reading deficit results from less accurate phonological representations, atypical reading procedures, or both. Phonological representations are crucial for reading acquisition in an alphabetic writing system, but CI users learn to read without having achieved the same level of speech perception as TH children. In this behavioural study, we addressed whether word reading in children using a CI (n = 25) is as strongly anchored in phonological operations as in TH children, matched for both chronological age (n = 25) and reading experience (n = 25). Using auditory phoneme perception tasks, we confirmed that children with a CI performed less accurately than TH children. When further tested for visual word recognition, CI users applied the same basic reading procedure as TH children, i.e., they read pseudowords through phonological decoding and irregular words through orthographic coding. Finally, using a visual lexical task where subjects had to decide whether pseudowords were or not real words, we observed that CI users rejected word homophones as accurately as TH children, but performed less well than TH controls for rejecting non-homophones pseudowords. Preserved performance for homophones but not for non-homophones relative to controls suggests that children using a CI compensate for defective phonological processing by relying on lexical representations. Altogether, this series of studies allows us to propose that the reading operations in children with a CI are similar in nature as in TH children, yet constrained by less reliable phonological representations.
Effects of distributive justice complaints resolution strategies on customer satisfaction in Kenya's banking industry

Maintaining a loyal customer base has witnessed banks invest in various marketing strategies among them complaint resolution strategies so as to have an ever satisfied clientele. The purpose of this study is to establish the effect of customer complaint resolution strategies on customer satisfaction. The study utilizes an explanatory survey design and focuses on all the 20 banks based in Eldoret, Kenya as at June 2010. Additionally, 2300 customers are targeted for the study. A sample of 372 customers was selected using systematic sampling techniques. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect primary data and both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. The study reveals two dimensions of complaint resolution strategies; Equity and Need and explained 57% of the total variance hence distributive justice theory on complaint resolution is valid in Kenya. Results of the Hypothesis testing indicated that distributive complaint resolution strategies are significant (p<0.05) and accounts for 17% of customer satisfaction. The study concludes that distributive complaints resolution strategies are an important feedback mechanism to establish customer satisfaction levels and banks are advised to invest in them.
REMOTE SENSING-BASED DETECTION AND SPATIAL PATTERN ANALYSIS FOR GEO-ECOLOGICAL NICHE MODELING OF TILLANDSIA SPP. IN THE ATACAMA, CHILE

In the coastal Atacama Desert in Northern Chile plant growth is constrained to so-called ‘fog oases’ dominated by monospecific stands of the genus Tillandsia. Adapted to the hyperarid environmental conditions, these plants specialize on the foliar uptake of fog as main water and nutrient source. It is this characteristic that leads to distinctive macro- and micro-scale distribution patterns, reflecting complex geo-ecological gradients, mainly affected by the spatiotemporal occurrence of coastal fog respectively the South Pacific Stratocumulus clouds reaching inlands. The current work employs remote sensing, machine learning and spatial pattern/GIS analysis techniques to acquire detailed information on the presence and state of Tillandsia spp. in the Tarapaca region as a base to better understand the bioclimatic and topographic constraints determining the distribution patterns of Tillandsia spp. Spatial and spectral predictors extracted from WorldView-3 satellite data are used to map present Tillandsia vegetation in the Tarapaca region. Regression models on Vegetation Cover Fraction (VCF) are generated combining satellite-based as well as topographic variables and using aggregated high spatial resolution information on vegetation cover derived from UAV flight campaigns as a reference. The results are a first step towards mapping and modelling the topographic as well as bioclimatic factors explaining the spatial distribution patterns of Tillandsia fog oases in the Atacama, Chile.
1 POST CRISIS COMPETITIVENESS OF THE EUROPEAN BANKING SECTOR AND THE EFFECTS OF MONETARY POLICY

As the banking sector recovered from the 2008 financial crisis, the European Central Bank tried to improve the financial conditions in Europe by pursuing an expansionary monetary policy. This thesis tries to find whether banking competition was affected by this policy and to give an overview of the state of competition in Europe after the crisis. European banking competition is characterized by imperfect competition. The results suggest that the decreasing interest rates did not affect competition. This result is based on the north and south of Europe, and applies to small and big banks as well. Nevertheless, there are noticeable differences in competition between countries and banks.
Events gone bad : Ramifications and theoretical reasonings

Channel relationships within and across diverse markets have been investigated for quite some time. Yet findings from these studies over the last forty years or so have been far from conclusive. Channel researchers Runyan, Sternquist, and Chung (2009) investigate interrelationships between the behavioral constructs of role performance, dependence, conflict, satisfaction, and influence strategy in the U.S. and Japanese context. Reading this paper leads credence to the adage, “The more things change, the more they stay the same. ” Indeed, a review of representative comparative channels research literature from the 1980s and post-2000 brings to surface striking similarities in terms of shaky conceptual frameworks, less than robust construct measures, and insufficient caveats in explaining and applying research findings. For channels research to gain relevance in today’s globalized marketplace, greater sophistication is necessary in formulating and implementing comparative studies. An overarching framework is necessary to explain, if not incorporate, similarities and differences in channel interactions around the globe.
A freight management system with the ambient calculus

We investigate a management system that ensures the correctness of cargo distribution in freight systems. The system determines the correctness by comparing the movement of containers, which is sensed by IC tags with formal models. These models are written in the ambient calculus and generated automatically based on several documents used in real freight systems. The ambient calculus is a formal description language that is suitable for representing freight systems with nested structures that dynamically change. An implementation of the system and the results of a simple experiment using it are presented.
Sensing (un)binding events via surface plasmons: effects of resonator geometry

The resonance conditions of localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) can be perturbed in any number ways making plasmon nanoresonators viable tools in detection of e.g. phase changes, pH, gasses, and single molecules. Precise measurement via LSPR of molecular concentrations hinge on the ability to confidently count the number of molecules attached to a metal resonator and ideally to track binding and unbinding events in real-time. These two requirements make it necessary to rigorously quantify relations between the number of bound molecules and response of plasmonic sensors. This endeavor is hindered on the one hand by a spatially varying response of a given plasmonic nanosensor. On the other hand movement of molecules is determined by stochastic effects (Brownian motion) as well as deterministic flow, if present, in microfluidic channels. The combination of molecular dynamics and the electromagnetic response of the LSPR yield an uncertainty which is little understood and whose effect is often disregarded in quantitative sensing experiments. Using a combination of electromagnetic finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations of the plasmon resonance peak shift of various metal nanosensors (disk, cone, rod, dimer) and stochastic diffusion-reaction simulations of biomolecular interactions on a sensor surface we clarify the interplay between position dependent binding probability and inhomogeneous sensitivity distribution. We show, how the statistical characteristics of the total signal upon molecular binding are determined. The proposed methodology is, in general, applicable to any sensor and any transduction mechanism, although the specifics of implementation will vary depending on circumstances. In this work we focus on elucidating how the interplay between electromagnetic and stochastic effects impacts the feasibility of employing particular shapes of plasmonic sensors for real-time monitoring of individual binding reactions or sensing low concentrations – which characteristics make a given sensor optimal for a given task. We also address the issue of how particular illumination conditions affect the level of uncertainty of the measured signal upon molecular binding.
Multi-Informant Test Anxiety Assessment of Adolescents

A total of 263 junior and senior high school students (grades 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; ages 12 to 19) with relatively more informants identifying as females (57.4%) than males (42.6%) and more junior high school students (68.3%) than high school students (31.7%), along with 267 parents and 167 teachers responded to a student, parent, and teacher version of the German Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI-G) (Hoddapp & Benson, 1997). All reliabilities for all TAI-G scales for all three samples were above . 70. The resulting data were fitted to two, three, and four factor models of test anxiety based on theoretical and empirical evidence. The four factor model (worry, emotion, distraction, lack of confidence) of the reduced (17 item) version of the TAI-G (Hoddapp & Benson, 1997) yielded the best fitting model for students (comparative fit index = .97; residual mean square = .042), parents (comparative fit index = .95; residual mean square = .073), and teachers (comparative fit index = .96; residual mean square = .080), thus providing very strong support for the proposed model. Sex, age, grade, and informant differences are presented and discussed. In conclusion, this study supports further research and use of a multi-informant assessment system of test anxiety.
Hypoglycemic effect of instant aloe vera on the diabetic rats

Instant aloe vera contains phenolic compounds which has antioxidative activity. However, this product is hygroscopic and damaged easily during storage. The critical condition of the instant occurs at the moisture content of 12.52 ± 0.24% (wb). Increasing the moisture content could accelerate oxidation of the phenolic compounds, thus decrease the antioxidative activity. Previous research showed that the antioxidative activity of instant aloe vera could lower the blood glucose. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hypoglycemic activity of instant aloe vera during storage until the critical condition. The hypoglycemic effect was determined with the in vivo method using diabetic Wistar rats as experimental animals. The diabetic rats were fed with a standard feed combined with instant aloe vera which has been stored at various storage time i.e. 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 weeks and used normal rats fed without instant aloe vera as a control. The blood glucose was analyzed every week until 4 weeks. The research showed that the diabetic rats fed with standard feed without instant aloe vera had high blood glucose (219.40 mg/dL) after 4 weeks treatment. Otherwise, the blood glucose of diabetic rats fed with instant aloe vera decreased from 214.00 mg/dL to 97.57 mg/dL after 4 weeks.
Reactive pulsed magnetron sputtering of titanium : influence of process parameters on resistivity and optical properties

Titanium nitride and titanium oxide thin films were deposited by pulsed DC reactive magnetron sputtering. In this paper the influence of reactive gas partial pressure on the properties has been studied. The process control was realized by tracking the changes in the power supply parameter - circulating power. Presented technology enables free modification in the chemical composition, from titanium-rich to stoichiometric and overstoichiometric materials. The electrical and optical properties of titanium compounds were measured and then evaluated for possible electrode applications. Thanks to the special power supply and process control, it was possible to deposit low resistivity thin films without additional substrate heating and with high deposition rate. Presented technology is suitable for substrates with low temperature resistance.
Evaluation of Genetic Diversity of Local-Colored Rice Landraces Using SSR Markers

Analysis of genetic diversity of 90 Vietnamese local-colored rice accessions was evaluated by using 40 SSR markers. The numbers of polymorphic alleles ranged from 3 to 12 alleles per locus and average of 7.1 alleles per locus. The similarity coefficients of the rice landraces fluctuated from 0.76 to 0.93; at a genetic correlation level of 0.78. Ninety accessions of rice landraces were divided into five groups based on analysis of genetic relationships. The results have indicated that 11 markers included: M250, RM302, RM10926, RM208, RM227, RM17231, RM23251, RM5647, RM1376, RM339 and RM228 which gave the unique allele. These markers can be used effectively for genetic diversity of colored rice and provided a specific database and useful materials for landraces identification, local germplasm conservation for further colored rice improvement on rice quality via rice breeding programs in Vietnam.
Comments on Fire! Classifying Flaming Comments on YouTube Videos in Malaysia

Flaming refers to the use of offensive language such as swearing, insulting and providing hateful comments through an online medium. In this study, the act of flaming will be explored in the context of social media, particularly YouTube. The research aims to discover the types of comments that are found on Malaysian themed YouTube videos and classify them accordingly. The Uses and Gratification theory was used as a base to explain the satisfaction obtained through YouTube as a platform to express via comments; hence obtain satisfaction through negativity. The methodology employed to carry out the study was through a content analysis. One video from the top 5 YouTube category namely entertainment, film and animation, news and politics, comedy and people and blogs were chosen with at least 100,000 views and a minimum of 100 comments. Top 100 flames were then sorted out for each video and analyzed using the thematic analysis approach. The results of this study show that the two most frequent types of comments found on Malaysian videos are political attack and racial attack. Other subcategories that are also driving the two categories mentioned above are stereotypes, speculation, comparison, degrading comments, slander/defame, sedition, sarcasm, threaten, challenge, criticism, name-calling, and sexual harassments. Through this study, the severity of the issue of flaming on account of YouTube comments has been identified; enabling the concerning party to take proper action including the use of artificial intelligence against cyber-bullying. Keywords : Social networking, online harassment, flaming, YouTube, malicious comments.
STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS PLANNING:COMPREHENSIVENESS AND EFFECTIVENESS

Strategic information systems planning (SISP) is a great concern to both researchers and managers. Research concerning it is important because improved SISP can help managers plan first for information systems themselves and then secondly for the broader, underlying business needs that motivate the development of those systems. Hypotheses examine the expected relationship between SISP comprehensiveness and SISP effectiveness. They predict a nonlinear, inverted-U relationship between comprehensiveness and effectiveness thus suggesting the existence of an optimal level of comprehensiveness. A postal survey collected data from 161 U.S. information systems executives. An extensive validation of the constructs followed. The statistical analysis supported the hypothesis when SISP comprehensiveness was assessed in terms of a strategy implementation planning phase but not in terms of four other phases. Future researchers should investigate why the hypothesis was supported for that phase but not the others. Managers may benefit from the knowledge that both too much and too little strategy implementation planning may be ineffective.
Nutrient Compositions and Total Polyphenol Contents of Selected Dried Fruits Available in Selangor, Malaysia

Dried fruits contained higher amount of energy and nutrient density compared to the fresh ones. This study was conducted to determine and compare the content of nutrients and polyphenols in dried dates, raisin, apricot and fig. Dried fruit samples were bought from three different stores in Selangor and analyzed in triplicates. AOAC (1997) standard methods were used for proximate analyses. The total sugar and polyphenol contents were determined using Dubois and Folin-Ciocalteu methods, respectively. Highest moisture content was found in dried apricots (35.26%) while the lowest one was in Mariami dates (21.68%). Dried apricots also contained highest total ash content (4.54%) while Safawi dates have the lowest one (2.45%). Dried figs contained the highest crude protein (3.93%) and fat contents (4.02%) while Safawi dates have lowest protein (2.57%) and fat (0.09%) contents. Total carbohydrates were highest in Safawi dates (72.81%) and lowest in dried apricots (56.09%). Highest total sugar content found in Mariami dates (48.61%) and lowest in dried apricots (10.35%). Total phenolic content in golden raisin contained significantly (p < 0.001) highest polyphenol content (562.15 mg GAE/100 g) than others while dried figs have the lowest one (151.04 mg GAE/100 g). Dried fruits analyzed in this study contained high nutrients and polyphenol contents which are suitable to be consumed as an alternative for snack, with a caution on the portion size due to the high sugar content.
Ownership and Control Structure, Corporate Governance and Income Smoothing in Brazil

Income smoothing is a longstanding practice under the more general category of earnings management. As the name suggests, it consists of smoothing out the fluctuations of the income series. This article examines the association between the ownership and control structure, level of corporate governance and origin of capital (foreign or domestic) of Brazilian companies on their propensity to smooth income. Using a sample of nonfinancial firms with shares traded on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa) at the end of 2007, we performed covariance analysis based on data from the preceding ten years, where the dependent variable was the index proposed by Eckel, an empirical proxy for smoothing. The results indicate that the more concentrated the shareholding and control structures of Brazilian firms are, both according to overall capital and voting capital, the more intensely they tend to smooth earnings to favor the interests of the majority shareholder. The results also show that this effect is less pronounced for firms with enhanced corporate governance levels and those with foreign capital.