Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
WTO NEGOTIATIONS ON MARKET ACCESS IN AGRICULTURE: A COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVE TARIFF CUT SCENARIOS FOR THE EU AND THE US /доклад на 10 конгрессе ЕААЕ, Exploring Diversity in the European Agri-Food System, Zaragoza, Spain, 28-31 August 2002

This paper provides a summary measure of the possible new commitments in the area of market access undertaken by the European Union and the United States, using the Trade Restrictiveness Index (TRI) as the tariff aggregator. Indicators such as the TRI, based on welfare theory, integrate economic behavioural assumptions within a balance of trade framework. We take the 2000 bound tariffs as the starting point and attempt to assess how much liberalisation in agriculture could be achieved in the European Union and the United States as a result of the present negotiations. We compute the index for agricultural commodity aggregates assuming a specific (Constant Elasticity of Substitution) functional form for import demand. The present levels of the TRI under the actual commitments of the Uruguay Round are computed and compared with three hypothetical cases: a repetition of the same set of commitments of the Uruguay Round, a uniform 36 percent reduction of each tariff, an harmonization formula based on the “sliding scale” scheme. This makes it possible to infer how reducing tariff dispersion would help improve market access in future trade agreements.
Prediction of the performance degradation of GaAs solar cells by electron irradiation

Solar cells exposed to irradiation undergo severe degradation in their performance due to induced structural defects. To predict this effect, the current-voltage characteristics under AM0 illumination for a constant dose of electron irradiation are numerically calculated. From these characteristics the solar cell output parameters: the short circuit current density Jsc, the open circuit voltage Voc, the fill factor FF and the conversion efficiency are extracted. The irradiation induced defects introduce in the energy gap either recombination centres or traps. The irradiation induced degradation is widely attributed to the first type of defects. We have adopted a strategy to find out which defects are responsible for the degradation. This consists of simulating the effect of each defect separately on the output parameters. The simulation results show that traps are mainly responsible for the degradation of Jsc while recombination centres are responsible the degradation of Voc. The other parameters (FF and ) are degraded by the combination of the traps and recombination centres.
A Short Review on Fluoride Laser Crystals Grown by Czochralski Method at IPEN

In this article there are presented the developments on the crystal growth by the Czochralski method of uoride laser materials at the Center for Lasers and Applications from Institute of Nuclear and Energy Research, IPEN, Brazil. A brief report of the Czochralski furnace preparation for uorides growth regarding to its construction materials, in uence of the heating assemblies in the thermal pro les and the bene ts of using a suitable atmosphere is provided. Moreover, to demonstrate the importance of this technique to the advances on laser systems over the last years there are described the speci c growth conditions established to obtain uoride crystals with suitable properties for practical application as laser hosts. LiREF4 (RE = rare earth) scheelite crystals have been studied to compare LiYF4 (YLF) with its isomorphs, including solid solutions of the type-LiY1−xLnxF4 (Ln = Gd or Lu) and LiGd1−xLuxF4, relating to their optical quality, spectroscopic and laser properties. Some results regarding the development of new laser hosts of these materials doped with Nd, Er, Pr and co-doped Yb, Nd and Tm are also presented. The growth particularities of transition metals doped uoride crystals such as BaLiF3:TM (TM = Ni and Co) and LiSrAlF6:Cr are also reported.
An Examination of XMOOCs: An Embedded Single Case Study Based on Conole’s 12 Dimensions

This study intends to examine the xMOOCs offered by one of the mainstream MOOC platforms in Conole’s 12 dimensions. For this purpose, the research employed an embedded single case study using heuristic inquiry to collect data. The researchers participated in three xMOOCs and took into consideration the characteristics of these MOOCs by rating them as low, medium or high in terms of Conole’s 12 dimensions. Inter-rater reliability was 92 percent. The study showed that the openness, massiveness, diversity, use of multimedia, communication among learners, learning pathway and amount of reflection dimensions were high. The communication with instructors, degree of collaboration and autonomy dimensions were medium, and the quality assurance, certification, and formal learning dimensions were low. After explaining characteristics of xMOOCs from the perspective of open learning, the study highlighted that xMOOCs dramatically differ with regard to the implementation of the freemium business model to education and course delivery methods. It was concluded that MOOCs are not a new form of learning, but a new form of organizing learning similar to the open university movement, but which promises more flexibility and access than open universities.
Exploring the Determinants Affecting E-Government Cloud Adoption in China

Cloud computing is the popular tendency in information application and services, and E-Government cloud is no exception. This study uses a case study to explore the determinants of E-Government cloud adoption in China which is influenced by multiple factors. In this study, a combinational model based on the TOE and DOI is applied to gain insights concerning all contextual influences on the adoption of E-Government cloud in China. The results show that the positive and negative influences from cloud technology characteristics, organizational and environmental context, which can reflect the adoption of E-government cloud. These findings not only contribute to academic research, but also expand the understanding of E-government cloud applications.
Investigating students’ use of online annotation tool in an online reading environment

Studies on the use of technology as a learning tool to improve student learning and educational outcomes have been considerably reported. It is believed that technologies can be used to effectively promote learning and support learner-centred approaches. The present study describes how students used an online annotation tool to help them interact more effectively with the assigned online reading materials. The study presents findings based on the students’ usage of the Annotation tool; a type of technological tool which is designed to facilitate textual annotations and information sharing among the students when they read the assigned online materials The students are first year students who are enrolled for a compulsory subject in the English language Studies bachelor degree program. The students reported that they have difficulty understanding the new theories, concepts and terms taught in the course. Therefore, an online reading system, which integrates an online Annotation tool was designed to help students read the online materials. Data obtained from the survey questionnaire, which were distributed to 81 students and focus group interviews with 14 students revealed that the students managed to use the Annotation tool to process and comprehend the online reading texts in a more structured and systematic manner, compared to writing off line notes on the reading materials. They were also able to share their online notes and discuss the online reading materials with their friends and lecturers The results suggests that the employment of Annotation tool in a guided and structured way assist the students in their interactions with online reading materials.
The significance of the order of impregnation on the activity of vanadia promoted palladium-alumina catalysts for propane total oxidation

The increased activity of alumina-supported palladium catalysts promoted with vanadium oxide has been investigated. Three different vanadium promoted Pd/Al2O3 catalysts with the same composition but synthesized employing sequential and co-impregnation were tested for the total oxidation of propane. The order of impregnation was critical to produce high activity catalysts. Vanadium and palladium co-impregnation on the Al2O3 support led to the most active catalyst, whereas the step-wise impregnated catalysts show a catalytic performance similar to or slightly better than unpromoted palladium catalysts. The high activity of the co-impregnated catalysts is related to the particle size and oxidation state of the palladium particles; and to the redox properties of vanadium species. The most active catalyst presents relatively large palladium particles in combination with increased reducibility of vanadium species and a relatively high amount of V4+ within the bulk of the catalyst and on the surface. STEM shows that, compared to catalysts containing only Pd or V, co-addition of the Pd and V species drastically altered the particle size distribution and morphology of the PdOx particles, and simultaneously caused the monolayer dispersion of the VOx species to become much patchier in nature. It also showed that the microstructure of the catalysts was similar for the different orders of impregnation, but some differences between the morphology of PdOx particles were observed.
Inertial MEMS Sensors

In this work, novel electrostatic micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) sensor and sensors are introduced and demonstrated. First, a novel bifurcation-based MEMS ethanol vapor sensor is demonstrated. In contrast to traditional gas sensors that measure in analog mode (quantify) gas concentration, this sensor does not quantify the gas concentration. Rather, it detects its gas concentration in binary mode, reporting (1) for concentrations above a preset threshold and (0) for concentrations below the threshold. The sensing mechanism exploits the qualitative difference between the sensor state before and after the static pull-in bifurcation in electrostatic MEMS. The transition between these states is the bifurcation used in detection. A driving circuit with a resolution of 1 mV was used to drive the sensor at a point close to the pull-in limit to achieve maximum sensitivity. The sensor was able to detect concentrations as low as 5 ppm of ethanol vapor in dry nitrogen, equivalent to a detectable mass of 165 pg. Gas detection was verified electrically and optically through a detection circuit and a CCD camera, respectively. Second, a novel tunable MEMS magnetic field sensor is demonstrated in this work. It measures torsional vibrations excited via Lorentz force. The sensor sensitivity and dynamic range can be tuned by varying a bias voltage. Experimental demonstration shows that the sensor sensitivity can be changed from 0.436 (mm/s)/mT at 6 V bias to 0.87 (mm/s)/mT at 1 V bias. Unlike most commercial magnetic sensors, this magnetic sensor achieves a higher bandwidth (182 kHz) and a tunable sensitivity adjustable on-the-fly.
Determinants Of Internet Financial Reporting Of Croatian Banks – Panel Analysis

In the recent years, reporting and transparency of banks is in the focus of national and international regulators and their aim is to increase the transparency of financial institutions in order to strengthen stability of the banking system. In this paper, the authors used dynamic panel analysis in order to analyze the practice of Internet financial reporting of Croatian banks in the period from 2010 to 2014. Research of Bank's Internet financial reporting practices was carried out at two levels. At the first, descriptive level, the goal of the research was to determine the level as well as trends of Internet financial reporting of 27 Croatian banks during the observed period. It is assumed that the level of Internet financial reporting during the analyzed period increased as a result of stricter regulations in the financial sector. In order to measure the level of financial reporting by banks, Bank Internet financial reporting score was developed on the basis of 45 elements - criteria which are divided into two groups: financial reporting (20 elements) and corporate governance and risks (25 elements). The second goal of the research was to determine factors that significantly affect the practice of Bank Internet financial reporting in Croatia. The authors applied dynamic panel analysis in order to determine the impact of size, profitability, adequacy of capital and ownership structure on the level of Internet financial reporting of banks.
Differentiating Instruction for Disabled Students in Inclusive Classrooms

Differentiating instruction, a comprehensive approach to teaching, enables the successful inclusion of all students, including the disabled, in general-education classrooms. As inclusive educators, we argue that disability is an enacted, interactional process and not an empirical, stable fact or condition. We recommend planning responsive lessons that differentiate instruction for all students from the outset, instead of modifying one for disabled students. General-education teachers, who with appropriate supports learn to attend to every student's individual needs, can replace the specially designed, and often uninteresting one-to-one skills and drills, typically suggested for disabled students, with responsive class activities contingent on individual performance. This shift in instructional focus supports the provision of access to the general education curriculum required by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. We also address practical, disability-related issues for effectively differentiating instructional in inclusive classrooms.
Genome wide identification and characterization of Calcium Dependent Protein Kinase gene family in Cajanus cajan

A Hidden Markov model (HMM) was built from known CDPKs of other plants and searched against Pigeonpea genome. Phylogenetic analysis of CDPKs was done using Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA) 6 program. Modeller 9.15 was used to design 3-D models of CDPK proteins following homology modeling approach. Expression of identified CDPKs was studied using CLC genomics workbench making use of transcriptome Sequence ReadArchive (SRA) data.
AMR Sensor and its Application on Nondestructive Evaluation

To improve the performance of anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) sensor, a low-noise driving circuit for the AMR sensor was developed and the magnetic field noise spectral densities of 12 pT/root(Hz) at 1 kHz and 20 pT/root(Hz) at 100 Hz were achieved. The driving circuit could operate in amplifier mode or feedback mode. For the driving circuit with feedback, the distortion of the system was reduced and the AMR sensor was suitable for the applications in the environment without shielding. The Set/Reset method was used to reduce the low frequency noise of the AMR sensor. Due to the low noise of AMR sensor, the eddy current testing (ECT) system with the AMR sensor had the advantage of detecting deep and small defects in metal structures. The dual frequency ECT system was developed to reduce the influence of lift-off variance. Using the ECT system with the AMR sensor, we successfully detected the small defects in the combustion chamber of liquid rocket.
The Predictability of Australian Listed Infrastructure and Public-Private Partnership Returns Using Asset Pricing Models

Can asset pricing models predict the future returns of publicly-listed infrastructure and public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Australia? We find that asset pricing models exhibit poor out-of-sample predictive performance when compared to simple, fixed excess return models for the period 1997 through 2012. Similar to the work of Simin (2008) for the U.S., we suggest that using the long-term historical mean return may be a reasonable starting point for superannuation funds seeking to understand the long-term expected returns of publicly-listed infrastructure and PPPs.
ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF CAPITALIZATION OF OPERATING LEASES: EVIDENCE FROM JAPAN

The purpose of this study is to investigate the economic impacts of capitalization of operating leases in Japan. Specifically, this study estimates the ex-ante impacts of capitalization of operating leases by comparing pro-forma accounting numbers based on a proposed rule change with reported accounting numbers under an extant rule. Our findings are twofold. First, capitalization of operating leases has significant impacts on financial ratios, including the debt to equity ratio (DER) and the interest coverage ratio (ICR). Second, the impacts of capitalization of operating leases on these financial ratios are more likely to be large after the adoption of Statement No. 13, Accounting Standard for Lease Transactions. This study contributes to the literature on economic consequences of capitalizing leases and discussions of global convergence of accounting standards.
Cost Evaluation of Shell and Compact Models in 3D Printing

Compact models printed on 3D printer capture a significant amount of passive building powder. This can be avoided if models are designed as shells in cases where it is acceptable. In this paper performed a cost evaluation of compact versus shell models regarding 3D printing process. It showed that shell models lower the printing costs only if models are infiltrated by wax. For all other infiltrants, there is no significant difference between shell and compact models. Furthermore, shell models are somewhat costlier than the compact models, especially as the base size is increasing.
Laser radar: historical prospective—from the East to the West

Abstract. This article discusses the history of laser radar development in America, Europe, and Asia. Direct detection laser radar is discussed for range finding, designation, and topographic mapping of Earth and of extraterrestrial objects. Coherent laser radar is discussed for environmental applications, such as wind sensing and for synthetic aperture laser radar development. Gated imaging is discussed through scattering layers for military, medical, and security applications. Laser microradars have found applications in intravascular studies and in ophthalmology for vision correction. Ghost laser radar has emerged as a new technology in theoretical and simulation applications. Laser radar is now emerging as an important technology for applications such as self-driving cars and unmanned aerial vehicles. It is also used by police to measure speed, and in gaming, such as the Microsoft Kinect.
Antipathetic relationships among adolescents: Exploring prevalence, gender differences, and stability in the United States and Chile

The present study approaches antipathetic relationships among adolescents in two distinct cultural contexts: Chile and United States. An- tipathetic relationships have been shown to be common among adoles- cents; however, little is known about patterns of antipathy in this popula- tion, and its developmental correlates. The two studies presented here analyze in longitudinal Chilean and US samples stability and change in an- tipathetic relationships, prevalence of mixed- and same-gender antipa- thies, and individual profiles associated to these relational patterns in early adolescence. Results show high prevalence rates of antipathetic relation- ships with equal participation of boys and girls and similar rates of mixed and same-gender dyads. Adolescents who participate in this type of inter- actions showed a maladaptive profile characterized by being aggressive and lower on social status. Antipathies were unstable as particular rela- tionships (with the same peer over time), even though adolescents who held mutually dislike relations with peers at time 1 were more likely to hold similar interpersonal relations over time per se. Implications for fur- ther research are discussed.
An Iterative Methodolgy to Improve TV Onscreen Keyboard Layout Design through Evaluation of User Studies

Certain applicat ions (e.g web browsing, email etc.) in Television (TV) demand for text entry by the user in a similar fashion as done in co mputers. User experience p lays a majo r role in the success of such applications. This paper discusses about an on-screen keyboard with hierarchical character or sym bol organization which is operated by an accompanying remote control to allow navigation with reduced number of key strokes. The keyboard has been designed for Television and set top box users. It enhances user experience by allowing users to type easily and quickly. It also reduces cost by eliminating the need for a separate physical keyboard. This work has adopted iterative design cycles, where users' feedback arecollected and analysed in each cycle, and those have led to user-driven usability imp rovement. As the main contribution in this paper, we present a methodology for evaluating different on-screen keyboard layouts for telev ision and set-top box users. In order to do this we have extended and applied KLM-GOMS model. Lastly we have incorporated predictive text entry technique with the proposed layout. We have extended the KLM-GOM S model further to include a new parameter called dynamic mental operator(DM) which takes into account the additional cognitive load on the users while using predictive text entry techniques.
Expert System Application of Forward Chaining and Certainty Factors Method for The Decision of Contraception Tools

The choice of contraceptive tools is not an easy thing because the risks or effects will give impact on the body that never using it previously. in the other side, there is no contraception always suit for everybody because the circumstances of each body is different, so the extensive knowledge must be needed to know the advantages and disadvantages of each contraceptive tools then adjusted to the user's body.The expert system for contraceptive tools uses Forward Chaining search method combined with Certainty Factors Method. These method value the patient’s indication. The Expert system gives the output data which define the kind of tool uses of the patient. the results obtained will be able to help people to find indications that lead to appropriate contraceptive tools and advice or suggestions about these tools. The success rate of the contraceptive tools decision experienced by experienced by the user by using forward chaining combined with the CF computation method is also influenced by the number of indication criteria selected by the user. Based on testing that has been done, expert system contraception tools has accuracy level equal to 75%.