Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dark Triad and Social Media Addiction among Undergraduates: Coping Strategy as a Mediator

The excessive use of social media is prevalent among undergraduates. Dark triad personality is one of the significant predictors of social media addiction, but inconsistent findings were reported. This study adopted the personality-coping-outcome theory as a framework to examine whether coping strategies mediate the effects of dark triad personality on social media addiction. The purposive sampling method was used to recruit 219 undergraduates for a survey. The results showed that only narcissism is associated with social media addiction, and only avoidance coping strategy mediated the effects of pathology on social media addiction. It is suggested a complete theory is required to explain the relationships between dark triad personality and social media addiction, and a coping scale to be developed to cover the coping strategies that fit dark triad personality.
Biological nitrification inhibition by rice root exudates in two different soils of Uruguay

ABSTRACT Rice root exudates can control nitrification by releasing biological nitrification inhibitors (BNIs), reducing nitrogen losses in agricultural soils. However, the inhibitory effect on nitrification and the abundance of ammonia oxidisers in different soil types remain unclear. Two temperate paddy soils with different organic matter contents were collected to investigate the impact on nitrification rates of two rice cultivar root exudates, El Paso 144 (O. sativa ssp. indica) and Tacuarí (O. sativa spp. japonica). Root exudates were extracted before the tillering growth stage, and their BNI potential was evaluated in a bioassay with luminescent Nitrosomonas europaea and in a 12-day soil microcosm incubation. While exudates from Tacuarí showed stronger BNI activity in the bioassay, its nitrification inhibition in both soils was similar to that of DCD. El Paso did not show BNI activity in Salto whose organic matter content was higher. The abundance of ammonia oxidisers was not affected by root exudates or DCD, but only ammonia-oxidising bacteria had a significant positive relationship with soil nitrate. Our results demonstrated that although the bioassay showed high BNI activity, its expression in soils varied depending on the rice cultivar and the type of soil, particularly with its organic matter content. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
An Isolated Power Factor Corrected Cuk Converter with Integrated Magnetics for Brushless DC Ceiling Fan Applications

The usage of BLDC motors in the low-power range is increasing rapidly in home appliances such as ceiling fans. This has necessitated the development of reliable, compact and efficient AC-DC power supplies for motor drive circuitry. This paper presents a power supply design consisting of an AC-DC isolated PFC Cuk converter with integrated magnetics that supplies a single-shunt voltage source inverter for the sensorless drive of the BLDC fan motor. The proposed power supply design is comprised of an integrated magnetics structure in which the two inductors and the transformer windings share the same core. The zero input and output ripple current conditions have been derived from the reluctance model of the magnetic assembly. Smooth operation of the motor by minimizing the motor torque ripples is evident from the results. The Cuk converter operates in continuous conduction mode (CCM), employing the current multiplier method. The CCM-based current multiplier control loop ensures a near-unity power factor as well as low total harmonic distortion in the supply current. The current loop also provides over-current protection, enhancing reliability of the system. Moreover, the speed of the BLDC motor is controlled by the field oriented control (FOC) algorithm, which enables direct operation with alternate energy sources such as batteries and solar photovoltaic panels. The performance of the proposed supply is validated: motor torque ripple is reduced to only 2.14% while maintaining 0.999 power factor and only 4.72% THD at full load. Failure modes analysis has also been performed through software simulations, using the PLECS simulation environment. Due to the reliable power supply design with low ripples, it is well suited for low-power BLDC motors in home appliances and small power tools, in addition to ceiling fans.
BIPLOT ANALYSIS ON PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN ASEAN COUNTRIES

The Human Development Index (HDI) has been the key indicator for assessing the development of a country throughout the years. It is conducted from four indicators that represent the health dimension, the education dimension, and the standard of living dimension. In ASEAN countries, the HDI tends to rise from year to year, with some countries can achieve the very high and high level of human development, while the others are still in the medium level. The aim of this study is to find the information about relative positions, characteristic similarities between ASEAN countries and the diversity of the components that construct the human development index. The Principal Component Analysis Biplot used divides the ten countries into four groups. Group 1 are the countries with the high scores especially in GNI per capita, group 2 are the ones with high scores especially in the mean years of schooling, group 3 have low scores especially in GNI per capita, and group 4 have low scores especially in the mean years of schooling
Digital microwork as a livelihood strategy in a Namibian informal settlement

Unemployment is a serious issue in many areas of Global South. Over the last years, microwork platforms have started to emerge offering opportunities for earnings and promising improved livelihoods. Although the gig economy facilitated by these platforms has been criticized in the literature, we argue that in the context of informal economy, participation on these platforms does not always worsen the livelihood and thus should be examined. This paper investigates the requirements for using such platforms and assesses their applicability in an informal settlement in Namibia. The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach provides the conceptual framework for the research. We devised a simulation by using design science research methods, where the community members were able to complete digital micro‐tasks for monetary compensation. The experiment evoked excitement among participants. This paper argues that the digital micro‐tasks have promise for the individuals, and elaborates on human, financial, physical, and social capitals required to use these platforms. Finally, we propose a new way, trained peers called “tech mediators,” that can act as facilitators to make these platforms more available for the communities in Global South in the future.
The U.K. as a Technological Follower: Higher Education Expansion and the College Wage Premium

The proportion of U.K. people with university degrees tripled between 1993 and 2015. However, over the same period the time trend in the college wage premium has been extraordinarily flat. We show that these patterns cannot be explained by composition changes. Instead, we present a model in which firms choose between centralized and decentralized organizational forms and demonstrate that it can explain the main patterns. We also show the model has implications that differentiate it from both the exogenous skill-biased technological change model and the endogenous invention model, and that U.K. data fit with those implications. The result is a consistent picture of the transformation of the U.K. labour market in the last two decades.
Greening crowdfunding campaigns: an investigation of message framing and effective communication strategies for funding success

PurposeRecognising the growing importance of environmental and sustainable activities and the role of communication strategies in soliciting their financing, this work investigates the influence of message framing, green emphasis and quantitative information on the probability of green crowdfunding campaigns' success.Design/methodology/approachThis analysis is based on crowdfunding campaigns published between 2015 and 2020 on the Indiegogo platform in the category “Community projects – Environment”. The study develops an in-depth qualitative content analysis of the projects before performing an empirical examination to determine funding causes.FindingsCommunication strategies (message framing, green emphasis and quantitative goals) affect funding success. However, project category moderates the impact of message framing and green emphasis on campaign success. While positive framing increases agri-food campaign success, negative framing is more effective for clean energy and climate preservation projects. Moreover, indication of a quantitative goal and a marked green emphasis in a project's presentation increase campaign success, but a too marked green emphasis is only effective for agri-food projects.Practical implicationsGreen entrepreneurs and campaign managers must work carefully on their projects' communication, accounting for the type of product proposed, emphasising green components in its description and utilising quantitative information to present future goals. These strategies maximise backers' responses and enable entrepreneurs to obtain funding. The authors’ findings may be extended to other contexts, including the banking sector, to craft effective communication strategies for green financial products.Originality/valueBy applying framing theory in a new context (i.e. the online financing of green entrepreneurs), this study identifies new campaign success determinants and provides evidence for the moderating role of project category. Furthermore, the study highlights the need to develop different communication strategies for social and environmental-oriented projects.
Um modelo para seleção automática de algoritmos de extração de eventos de trânsito para aplicações ITS

Eventos de trânsito podem ser úteis para uma variedade de aplicações de sistemas de transporte inteligente (Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)). Este trabalho apresenta um modelo capaz de correlacionar características de múltiplas fontes de dados com demandas de aplicações ITS interessadas em consumir eventos de trânsito para estabelecer a melhor estratégia para extraí-los. Uma vez utilizado, o modelo leva a uma lista de eventos, cada um deles reportando o que aconteceu, além de onde e quando. Uma instância do modelo proposto usando duas redes sociais como fontes de dados e quatro algoritmos de aprendizado de máquina foi implementada como estudo de caso. Os resultados mostraram que foi possível detectar uma grande parte dos eventos esperados, todos com suas informações completas sobre o que, onde e quando.
Diffusional and Thermal Resistances of Substomatal Cavity and Its Application on Wick

Abstract Microstructures of wicks have been widely investigated on their performances of heat and mass transfer and various structures have been attempted. As have been optimized by the nature, the microstructures inside plants may also be applied on the wick structure. In this paper, four substomatal cavity structures are chosen to investigate the influence of the structural parameters on the diffusional resistance by using Fick's first law of diffusion and the equation of mass conservation comprehensively. The result indicates that both the shape and parameters affect the diffusion, and the sphere cavity structure presents the lowest diffusional resistance because of its smoothest surface. Based on the result of the comparison, the sphere is chosen as the optimal structure of the substomatal cavity and applied on the design of the microstructure of wick. In order to analyze the performances of the substomatal cavity inspired wick structure with fractal network microchannels and sphere cavity, comparisons with the leaf vein inspired wick structure with fractal network microchannels and micro fin-pins are conducted. It is obvious to find that the substomatal cavity inspired structure is promising in the application on wick structure because of its good performances of heat and mass transfer.
Execution Evaluation of AODV Protocol Using NS2 Simulator for Emergency Automobile

The Ad-hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing protocol have being invent into be used current ad-hoc portable structures. Mobile ad hoc network (MANETs)) speak to complex disseminated frameworks that contain remote versatile hubs which can powerfully self-sort out into subjective and impermanent. This permits individuals and gadgets to flawlessly internetwork in regions with no prior correspondence framework. A portable hub is an assortment point in the organization which utilizes a specific convention to advance information from source to objective. The hubs are allowed to move about and sort out themselves into an organization. Productive course foundation between couples of hubs is the essential objective of directing convention. This paper is a recreation put together investigation of Ad hoc with respect to request Distance Vector (AODV). The versatility models utilized in this work is Random Waypoint utilizing network recreation apparatus NS2. The outcomes introduced in this work outline the exhibition of AODV routing protocols in an ad hoc climate.
Ag-Yb Alloy-Novel Tunable Plasmonic Material

Metals are commonly used in plasmonic devices because of their strong plasmonic property. However, such properties are not easily tuned. For applications such as spatial light modulators and beam steering, tunable plasmonic properties are essential, and neither metals nor other plasmonic materials possess truly tunable plasmonic properties. In this work, we show that the silver alloy silver–ytterbium (Ag-Yb) possesses tunable plasmonic properties; its plasmonic response strength can be adjusted as a function of Yb concentration. Such tunability can be explained in terms of the influence of Yb on bound charge and interaction of its dielectric with the dielectric of Ag. The change in transition characteristics progressively weakens Ag’s plasmonic properties. With a spectral ellipsometric measurement, it was shown that the Ag-Yb alloy thin film retains the properties of Ag with high transmission efficiency. The weakened surface plasmon coupling strength without dramatic change in the coupling wavelengths implies that the tunability of the Ag-Yb alloy is related to its volume ratio. The principle mechanism of the plasmonic change is theoretically explained using a model. This work points to a potential new type of tunable plasmonic material.
Regioselective Nucleophilic Additions to Diiron Carbonyl Complexes Containing a Bridging Aminocarbyne Ligand: A Synthetic, Crystallographic and DFT Study

Diiron µ-aminocarbyne compounds, 1a–e, are prepared in two steps from Fe2Cp2(CO)4, negating the need for difficult purification procedures of intermediate species; they are efficiently isolated by alumina chromatography. Minor amounts of µ-aminocarbyne aryl isocyanide compounds, 2a–c, are obtained as side products. The structures of the cations in 1a,c,e are calculated using DFT; the carbyne carbon is generally predicted to be the thermodynamic site of hydride addition, in agreement with a previous experimental finding concerning 1a. Accordingly, the reaction of 1e with NaBH4 affords a bridging aminocarbene complex, 4, in 85 % yield. Otherwise, the reaction of 1c with NaBH4 yields the aminocarbyne–cyclopentadiene derivative 3 (70 %), presumably as a consequence of the steric protection exerted by the xylyl–methyl groups towards the carbyne moiety. The sequential treatment of 1a,c with Li2CuCNMe2 and MeSO3CF3 affords 5a,b, comprising both aminocarbyne and alkoxycarbene ligands. In accordance with DFT calculations, the alkoxycarbene moiety in 5a is the most favourable site for nucleophilic attack. Thus, the reactions of 5a with NH2R (R = Et, iPr) and NBu4CN, respectively, give the aminocarbyne/aminocarbene complexes, 6a,b, and the aminocarbyne-α-cyanoalkyl 7. All the products are fully characterized by spectroscopic and analytical methods; moreover, the structures of 1a, 1d, 6a and 7 are elucidated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies.
Consumers’ Perceptions of Price Steering in Shopping Online for Tourism

When confronting discriminations during the buying process, the consumers may perceive unfair transactions and some untrustworthy providers. Price steering is a common manipulation of listing offers tailored to a customer’s request. The consumers receive a same-products list in a different order for the same query on e-shop. The study questions whether its performance is related to discrimination among consumers. This paper mobilizes the theory of Justice to explore perceptions of fairness and trust in the practice of price steering. The proposed framework states that the post-purchase stage reveals perceptions intervening in the effect of price steering on willingness to pay.An experiment with a total 883 respondents is simulating an online shopping. The list of options shown online is manipulated. This study documents the main effect of price steering such as a higher willingness to pay and driving online purchasers toward certain choices. This effect is found to generate up to 20% of extra revenue. The analysis also finds a negative influence on perceptions with no difference between the discriminated segments of the market. Implications for researchers and managers: the pricing schemes should be carefully tailored to maintain fairness, as well as profitability, by considering rate parity across online channels and purchasing experiences.
Perceptions of gay black men on the social construction of masculinity and its role in mental health

Abstract Introduction: The meaning and experience of masculinity differs across people and groups, and previous research has demonstrated that such differences are reflected in mental health outcomes. For gay Black men situated at the intersection of identifying as both a sexual minority and a racial minority, navigating the norms and expectations associated with masculinity often presents many challenges. Methodology: This phenomenological study explored how 17 gay Black men ranging in age from 26 to 67 years, who live in a major city in the southeastern region of the United States, define, understand, and experience masculinity, as well as their perceptions about its connection to their mental health and well-being. Results: Participant narratives reflected a strong consensus that masculinity is a social construction that is associated with a range of both limiting and liberating characteristics and experiences, and that has strong implications for mental health. Conclusions: Increased awareness and understanding of the relevance of a masculine identity to the mental health and well-being of gay Black men can help provide more appropriate and more compassionate mental health programs and services that are likely to promote service utilization among members of this community.
Modelling the relationship between value management’s activities and critical success factors for sustainable buildings

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the influence of value management (VM) critical success factors (CSFs) on the implementation of VM activities in building projects with a view to promoting sustainability of construction industry in Egypt. Design/methodology/approach The VM CSFs and implementation activities were recognized from earlier studies; questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from relevant stakeholders, and the collected data was subjected to exploratory factor analysis. Consequently, the influence of VM CSFs on VM implementation was generated via partial least square structural equation modelling. In addition, through relative importance ranking analysis, the significance VM CSFs were examined. Findings The findings from the proposed model revealed a strong relationship between VM implementation activities and its CSFs; the relationship is at a moderate level with an effect of 22.0%. This indicates that, VM CSFs would be useful to implement VM in the Egyptian building industry. Research limitations/implications Although these studies have been confined to Egypt’s VM studies; they may apply to other developing countries that have not carried out these studies. It is therefore vital, in those countries where the exercise has been entirely undertaken, to analyze the various measures to promote the application of the method. Practical implications This research would be of benefit to stakeholders in building industries to be aware of VM phases and its CSFs that demand utmost consideration. Also, the identified CSFs are expected to enhance the success and value of building projects by adopting VM. Originality/value The novelty of this research work will be a benchmark or board for decision-makers to eliminate the unwanted cost and enhance quality by adopting VM in Egypt’s building projects to achieve their sustainable projects.
Reinforcement learning approach to thermal transparency with particles in periodic lattices

Implementing thermal transparency by using thermal metamaterials, with its potential applications in real-world scenarios, has been a promising field attracting many theoretical and experimental studies. The implementation of thermal transparency, as well as other thermal metamaterial-based applications, often requires solving an inverse design problem to calculate optimal design parameters. In this paper, we propose a periodic interparticle interaction mechanism to realize thermal transparency, in which particles are arranged in periodic lattices with symmetric interactions and anisotropic thermal conductivities. We reframe the inverse design problem of calculating the design parameters of such a periodic interparticle system into a reinforcement learning problem. The essence of our reinforcement learning-based approach is to train an intelligent agent that can vary the design parameters in a series of time steps toward the realization of thermal transparency. Compared to our previous effort to solve the same problem with an autoencoder-based approach, the reinforcement learning-based approach requires significantly less computational resources and thus demonstrates its potential to alleviate the “curse of dimensionality. ” We also discuss the cause for the superior computational efficiency of the reinforcement learning-based approach over the autoencoder-based approach, and the possibility of extending the use of our reinforcement learning-based approach to solve other inverse design problems.
Diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea from ECG Signals Using Machine Learning and Deep Learning Classifiers

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a well-known sleep ailment. OSA mostly occurs due to the shortage of oxygen for the human body, which causes several symptoms (i.e., low concentration, daytime sleepiness, and irritability). Discovering the existence of OSA at an early stage can save lives and reduce the cost of treatment. The computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system can quickly detect OSA by examining the electrocardiogram (ECG) signals. Over-serving ECG using a visual procedure is challenging for physicians, time-consuming, expensive, and subjective. In general, automated detection of the ECG signal’s arrhythmia is a complex task due to the complexity of the data quantity and clinical content. Moreover, ECG signals are usually affected by noise (i.e., patient movement and disturbances generated by electric devices or infrastructure), which reduces the quality of the collected data. Machine learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) gain a higher interest in health care systems due to its ability of achieving an excellent performance compared to traditional classifiers. We propose a CAD system to diagnose apnea events based on ECG in an automated way in this work. The proposed system follows the following steps: (1) remove noise from the ECG signal using a Notch filter. (2) extract nine features from the ECG signal (3) use thirteen ML and four types of DL models for the diagnosis of sleep apnea. The experimental results show that our proposed approach offers a good performance of DL classifiers to detect OSA. The proposed model achieves an accuracy of 86.25% in the validation stage.