Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Public Engagement, Propaganda, or Both? Attitudes Toward Politicians on Political Satire and Comedy Programs

This article reports findings of a project that examined people’s attitudes toward politicians who participate in political satire and comedy programs. It surveyed 489 participants on their attitudes about satire’s political function and the politicians who play along or satirize themselves on those programs. The politicians’ own communication skills were found to be important, but the key to their success was also related to factors such as the format of the performance, the type of humor used, the status of the satire program in broader political discourse, and the role of the satirist as either facilitator or combatant. It was found that satire is a complex practice that can endorse as it criticizes and create sympathy as it ridicules.
Profiting from Product Innovation: A Product Life Analysis of the Economic Geography of Value Added

This paper explores the role of product innovation in creating and capturing value added throughout the manufacturing and service life of a product. We explore the empirical roots of the concept of profiting from product innovation in the industrial and commercial machinery and equipment industry, offer a global value chain analysis of how an EU-27 headquartered firm has employed an effective business model for capturing value added from product innovation. In essence, we analyze how organizational and financial architectures reflect the realization of economic value in product innovations in the context of contemporary globalization. We present two different value creation and capture patterns for the same product innovation; one process describes the case of manufacturing, and one describes the case of services. We then show how these two different patterns of value creation and capture are reflected in different supply chain participants and national geographies. The key insights of this paper are twofold. First, we find that the concept of profiting from product innovation is significant at both the firm and nationwide levels. Second, we observe the disaggregation of the value chain of product innovation into two separate value chains: manufacturing and servitization. This observation provides novel insights into the governance of global value chains.
Simulation and Qualitative Analysis of a Single Mode Semiconductor Laser Model

In this paper the dynamics of a single-mode semiconductor laser model is investigated. The nonlinear rate equations describe the dynamic evolution of semiconductor laser. We study transients occurring in the system using numerical simulation. A fourth order Runge-Kutta method is used to calculate two coupled first-order differential equations. Changes in the pumping parameter of the system can lead to drastic changes of the character of the solutions. Qualitative analysis of the system is used for investigating the typical bifurcations and allowed conditions for the existence of damped oscillations in the system. Index Terms - simulation, model, rate equation, dynamic systems, stability.
A Robust Framework for Vehicle Detection and Tracking Based on Particle Filter

Vehicle detection and tracking have been promising application in traffic surveillance and vehicular network. However, the vision-based approach still remains a challenging task due to the problems of illumination variation, shadow and occlusion. In this paper, we propose a robust framework mainly concatenates on two aspects: adaptive vehicle detection with shadow removal, and vehicle tracking with occlusion handling. Firstly, for vehicle detection stage, an improved ViBe algorithm with ghost suppression is adopted to extract moving vehicle region. Then moving shadow is removed by integrating improved color with texture feature. Then, aiming to achieve the multi-vehicle tracking, we propose an enhanced histogram of the oriented gradient combined with HSV color space based on particle filter (ECHOGPF). Finally, we employ the occlusion detection and occlusion segmentation to refine our system, which are based on one-dimensional maximum entropy and the least square ellipse fitting. Experiments on popular datasets show that our proposed system has a good effectiveness, e.g., the accuracy is 95% on the vehicle tracking.
Dynamic Credibility Evaluation on High-tech Enterprise Partners in Knowledge Collaboration Using a SPA-Markov Model

An evaluation on high-tech enterprise research and development (R&D) is of great necessity for boosting innovative economy and high-tech industry in the era of knowledge economy. However, high-tech enterprises cannot fully understand their partners’ R&D capabilities and cooperative tendencies due to information asymmetry. Driven by interest, opportunistic behaviors might emerge, reducing trust and affecting efficient R&D cooperation. To explore R&D partners’ credibility and avoid opportunistic behaviors, this study establishes an evaluation index system on the credibility of high-tech enterprise partners based on literature extraction and law relationship. The SPA-Markov Model has been adopted to dynamically evaluate the credibility in knowledge collaboration. Finally, HS, the China FAW Tooling Die Manufacturing’s partner, is case-studied to verify feasibility of the model. The results are as follows: (1) Social environment, partner competence, partnership and collaborative potential are key indexes measuring partner credibility. (2) The SPA-Model Model could figure out changes and trends of the credibility. (3) The credibility of high-tech enterprise partners might fluctuate in collaboration. According to the study, the SPA-Model Model is feasible for assessing the credibility, which makes up for static evaluation and provides novel ideas on evaluation and optimization of high-tech enterprise partners.
Educating Using an Information System as a Cognitive Tool

This paper discusses the effective education of internal and external students, concerning business processes and principles, using an enterprise resource planning application as a cognitive tool. The teachings explain a number of core business principles and develop students understanding of how the processes might vary between organisations in differing industries and environmental settings. The students establish the processes in an enterprise resource planning application, which reinforces the understanding of both operational activities and business management requirements. A cohort of students has been surveyed; the findings demonstrate that education using an enterprise resource planning application as an interactive learning system is both practical and beneficial. The following explains the teaching environment and discusses the survey results. INTRODUCTION This study concerns the education of a unit (semester teachings of a subject) that concerns business operation processes and implementation practices of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) application. The unit explains the business principles and then develops the students understanding into a comprehensive framework that enables them to identify how to implement an ERP application in different types of organisations. The aim is to provide universal outcomes by educating, rather than training, with an information system. The unit utilises the Microsoft Dynamics (AX) ERP application as the teaching vehicle. Edith Cowan University was the first university in the Southern Hemisphere to enter into the Microsoft Academic Alliance and to utilise the Dynamics suite of systems for education purposes. The teaching outcome prompted the decision to use Dynamics AX, as the previous application, SAP ERP, had not sufficiently facilitated student conceptualisation of business processes. The unit had been successfully taught using Dynamics AX as an internal unit for two semesters prior to being offered as an online unit. This paper first explains the teaching philosophy and processes of educating using ERP as a cognitive tool. It then presents the result of a survey of 74 students. COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY ERP applications are core software used by organisations to coordinate information in every area of business. They help to manage company-wide business processes, using a common database and shared management reporting tools (Monk & Wagner, 2006). The salient and identifying characteristic of ERP systems is their ability to integrate business processes by standardising data and ensuring that this data is accessible to whoever needs it on a real time basis (Strong, Volkoff, & Elmes, 2003). Organisations may adjust their way of working to fit the package (Markus, Tanis, & Van Fenema, 2000), although, most implementations are a mixture of existing ERP processes and customised processes that meet specific organisational requirements.
Does accounting for inefficiency affect the time-varying short and long-run returns to scale?

The returns to scale for nineteen South Asian countries are estimated using window and cumulative rolling stochastic frontier regression analysis. The stochastic frontier analysis accounts for technical inefficiency of Hicks non-neutral technology production function in the estimation of the returns to scale. The window rolling regression and cumulative rolling regression allows the estimation of short and long run time-varying returns to scale, respectively. Empirical application to Asian agriculture sector using Food and Agricultural Organization data from 1961-2008 indicates returns to scale are under (over) estimated by the traditional panel models in the short (long) run time-varying estimation. The time-varying estimates of returns to scale indicate decreasing trend in the short run compared to long run analysis.
Education, Job Search and Re-Employment Outcomes Among the Unemployed

This study assesses the effects of education on both job search intensity and re-employment success for unemployed workers. Given that the positive correlation between education and job search intensity or re-employment success is likely to be confounded by the endogeneity of education, we make use of data on compulsory schooling laws to create instrumental variables to assess the causal effects of education. Based on data from the Labour Force Survey and the Canadian Census, we find that education both significantly increases job search intensity and significantly improves re-employment success for the unemployed. The evidence on job search intensity provides insights into one potential mechanism through which education may increase the probability of re-employment following unemployment.
Anthelmintic activity of abutilon indicum leaf extract on sheep tapeworm Moniezia expansa In vitro

Abutilon indicum methanol leaf extract was tested against sheep tapeworm in in vitro condition with different doses of 25, 50 and 100 mg/ml concentration. Dose dependant cestodicidal activity of the extract was observed in the study with 100 mg/ml concentration and the time taken for the paralysis of the organism amounts to 66.3 ± 0.03 and death was recorded after 93.2±0.09 minutes No death was recorded even after 8 hours in the negative control (1%DMSO). The positive control was maintained with 10 mg/ml of Albendazole where the paralytic time and death time was recorded as 72.1 ± 0.13 and 93.5 ± 0.11 minutes. Biochemical analysis reveal the decreasing trend in the level of protein in different regions of the tapeworm, However, the changes observed in the level of carbohydrate and lipids were not significant. Light microscopic observation reveals the presence of sub-tegumental layer with circular and longitudinal muscles, presence of paranchymal cell along with glandular cells is also evident. Disintegration of sub-tegumental layer along with necrosis of paranchymal cells and glandular cells was observed in treated groups. GC-MS analysis of the leaf extract shows the presence of potential anthelmintic compounds eugenol and asarone. Separation and purification of potential anti-cestodal compounds will be a better natural alternative to control helmintic infections.
Contextualized Support for Urban Teachers Implementing Writer's Workshop.

Gladwell (2000) describes context as “the tipping point” for leveraging change. This paper explores how differentiated learning opportunities situated in the school context supported changes in practice for urban elementary teachers during the implementation of Writer’s Workshop (Calkins, 2003 & 2006). The teachers in this study were offered an integrated network of support and professional growth options tailored to meet evolving learning needs over time in order to ensure high fidelity implementation in their classrooms. These learning opportunities included demonstration lessons and follow up debriefs, targeted learning walks, and working with a peer partner, university partner and literacy coaches. The key levers for change examined in this paper were dedicating time for teachers to engage in critical dialogue with colleagues, and offering multiple contexts for teachers to lead these conversations.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Infrared spectral classification of normal stars

Moderate resolution (≈400) 2.38–45.2 μm infrared spectra of stars without dust features were obtained with the Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) on board the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). The observations are part of a larger program with the objective to extend and refine the current infrared classification schemes. In particular, our data provide the basis for a more detailed classification of the 1.N–1.NO sources (ordinary and oxygen rich naked stars) as defined by Kraemer et al. (2002) in a comprehensive classification of the ISO-SWS spectra. For our analysis, the continuum was determined by fitting Engelke’s function (Engelke 1992) to the SWS data. The stellar angular diameters derived from these estimates of the continuum are in good agreement with values obtained by other methods. Analysis of the equivalent widths of the CO fundamental and first overtone molecular bands, the SiO fundamental and first overtone, as well as the H2O bending mode band as a function of MK class, reveals that there is sufficient information in the SWS spectra to distinguish between hot (B, A, F) and cool stars. Furthermore, it is possible to determine the spectral type for the G, K and M giants, and subtype ranges in a sequence of K and M giants. The equivalent widths of the CO and SiO bands are found to be well correlated in K and M stars, such that the equivalent widths of the CO fundamental, the SiO first overtone and the SiO fundamental can be reasonably well extrapolated from the depth of the CO first overtone. We have identified two stars, HR 365 and V Nor, whose mid-infrared spectrum does not correspond to their respective optical classification. HR 365 may have a late M companion, which dominates the observed infrared spectrum while V Nor is a late type giant that was included because its spectrum was classified as featureless under the IRAS LRS scheme. According to Kraemer et al. (2002), V Nor has a thin dust shell, which distorts the analysis of its mid-infrared absorption bands.
Quantification of aquatic viruses by flow cytometry

Abstract For many laboratories, flow cytometry is becoming the routine method for quantifying viruses in aquatic sys-tems because of its high reproducibility, high sample throughput, and ability to distinguish several subpopula-tions of viruses. Comparison of viral counts between flow cytometry and epifluorescence microscopy typicallyshows slopes that are statistically not distinguishable from 1, thus confirming the usefulness of flow cytometry.Here we describe in detail all steps in the procedure, discuss potential problems, and offer solutions. *Corresponding author: E-mail: *corina.brussaard@nioz.nl Acknowledgments Publication costs for the Manual of Aquatic Viral Ecology were pro-vided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. This document isbased on work partially supported by the U.S. National ScienceFoundation (NSF) to the Scientific Committee for OceanographicResearch under Grant OCE-0608600. Any opinions, findings, and con-clusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of theauthors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.We gratefully thank A. Culley, A. Comeau, C. Pedros-Alio, C. Lovejoy,and C. Martineau for their efforts in field sampling; and A. Ortmann, A.Chan, and officers and crew of the CCGS
A review of holographic optical elements in solar concentrator applications

Photovoltaic cells are used to convert sunlight into electricity; the commercial photovoltaic cells made up of silicon but the main drawback of the solar cells is low conversion efficiency. In order to improve conversion efficiency generally mirrors and lens system is used as conventional solar concentrators, in the fact they have some drawback of bulky in nature, high installation cost, need the tracking system to face the sun, and also concentrating both light and heat on the solar cell. To overcome these problems holographic solar concentrators were used as solar concentrators. Holography is one of the very promising technologies to produce solar concentrators; mostly volume phase holograms are used as holographic solar concentrators. The holographic solar concentrators have some major advantages of lightweight, cool light concentration, and selective wavelength concentrations for wavelength dependable solar cells. In this paper, a brief review and basic study of holographic solar concentrators have been discussed. The key contributions of each work examined here and different technologies also discussed. This review is useful to study about basic foundations and create new ideas for future research work.
Aeronomy of the Middle Atmosphere: Chemistry and Physics of the Stratosphere and Mesosphere

Preface. 1: The Middle Atmosphere and its Evolution. 1.1 Introduction. 1.2 Evolution of the Earth's Atmosphere. 1.3 Anthropogenic Perturbations. 2: Chemical Concepts in the Atmosphere. 2.1 Introduction. 2.2 Energy Levels of Molecules. 2.3 Thermodynamic Considerations. 2.4 Elementary Chemical Kinetics. 2.5 Heterogeneous and Multiphase Reactions. 2.6 Photolysis Processes. 2.7 Excited Species in the Middle Atmosphere. 3: Dynamics and Transport. 3.1 Introduction. 3.2 Structure of the Atmosphere and Some Observed Dynamical Characteristics. 3.3 Fundamental Description of Atmospheric Dynamics. 3.4 Atmospheric Waves. 3.5 Effects of Dynamics on Chemical Species: Transport. 3.6 Dynamics and Meridional Transport in Two Dimensions: A Conceptual View. 3.7 The Importance of Wave Transience and Dissipation. 3.8 Vertical Transport above the Mesopause. 3.9 Models of the Middle Atmosphere. 4: Radiation. 4.1 Introduction. 4.2 Definitions. 4.3 Extraterrestrial Solar Radiation. 4.4 The Attenuation of Solar radiation in the Atmosphere. 4.5. Radiative Transfer. 4.6 The Thermal Effects of Radiation. 4.7 Photochemical Effects of Radiation. 5: Composition and Chemistry. 5.1 General. 5.2 Oxygen Compounds. 5.3 Carbon Compounds. 5.4 Hydrogen Compounds. 5.5 Nitrogen Compounds. 5.6 Halogen Compounds. 5.7 Stratospheric Aerosols and Clouds. 5.8 Generalized ozone Balance. 6: Ozone Perturbations. 6.1 Introduction. 6.2 The Photochemically-Controlled Upper Stratosphere and mesosphere: 25-75 km. 6.3 Lower Stratospheric Ozone Depletion: Observations and Explanations. 6.4 Summary and Outlook. 7: The Ions. 7.1 Introduction. 7.2 Formation of Ions in the Middle Atmosphere. 7.3 Positive Ion Chemistry. 7.4 Negative Ion Chemistry. 7.5 Effect of Ionic Processes on Neutral Constituents. 7.6 Radio Waves in the Lower Ionosphere. Appendices. Appendix 1: Physical Constants and Other Data. Appendix 2: Conversion Factors and Multiplying Prefixes. Appendix 3: Rate Coefficients forSecond-Order Gas-Phase Reactions. Appendix 4: Rate Coefficients for Gas-Phase Associating Reactions. Appendix 5: Surface Reaction Probability. Appendix 6: Atmospheric Profiles. Figure acknowledgements. Index.
Ethnocentrism and Purchase Decisions among Ghanaian Consumers

This paper explores the effect of lifestyle, culture, and tradition on consumer behavior in Ghana. With the current emphasis on globalization, U.S. businesses are increasingly targeting foreign consumers; subsequently understanding the behavior of these consumers and knowing their lifestyles is critical for their success. Businesses need to understand the effect of the culture in shaping consumer habits. Studying the effect of consumers’ habits is a way of investigating buyer behavior and market segmentation. This paper studies consumer market segments existing among Ghanaian consumers by using life-style patterns and ethnocentrism.
Modeling the isotopic composition of Antarctic snow using backward trajectories: simulation of snow pit records

[1] The quantitative interpretation of isotope records (d 18 O, dD, and d excess) in ice cores can benefit from a comparison of observed meteorology with associated isotope variability. For this reason we studied four isotope records from snow pits in western Dronning Maud Land (DML), Antarctica, covering the period 1998–2001. Timing and magnitude of snowfall events on these locations were monitored using sonic height rangers. For the distinguished snowfall events we evaluated the isotopic composition of the moisture during transport by combining backward trajectory calculations with isotopic modeling, using a Rayleigh-type distillation model (MCIM). The initial isotope ratio of the moisture was determined frommonthlymeanisotopefields fromageneralcirculation model(ECHAM4). The trajectory analysis showed that the southern Atlantic Ocean is the major moisture sourceforprecipitationinDML.Modelingresultsalongthetrajectoriesrevealedthatmostof the isotopic depletion occurred during the last day of the transport. Finally, a diffusion model was applied to describe the diffusion in the firn layer such that the modeled isotopes couldbecomparedwiththeobservedisotoperecords.Theresultingmodeledisotopeprofiles were mostly in good agreement with the observed seasonal variability in the snow. However, at low temperatures (especially on the Antarctic interior), magnitude of the total distillation was underestimated. Regarding the d excess parameter, our results show a large influence of advection height on the final value of d excess in precipitation. This in turn points to the importance of the vertical structure of d excess over the oceanic source region, which obscures the classical interpretation of this parameter in terms of temperature and relative humidity in the moisture source region.
DISCRIMINATION OF URBAN SETTLEMENT TYPES BASED ON SPACE-BORNE SAR DATASETS AND A CONDITIONAL RANDOM FIELDS MODEL

In this work we focused on the classification of Urban Settlement Types (USTs) based on two datasets from the TerraSAR-X satellite acquired at ascending and descending look directions. These data sets comprise the intensity, amplitude and coherence images from the ascending and descending datasets. In accordance to most official UST maps, the urban blocks of our study site were considered as the elements to be classified. The considered USTs classes in this paper are: Vegetated Areas, Single-Family Houses and Commercial and Residential Buildings. Three different groups of image attributes were utilized, namely: Relative Areas, Histogram of Oriented Gradients and geometrical and contextual attributes extracted from the nodes of a Max-Tree Morphological Profile. These image attributes were submitted to three powerful soft multi-class classification algorithms. In this way, each classifier output a membership value to each of the classes. This membership values were then treated as the potentials of the unary factors of a Conditional Random Fields (CRFs) model. The pairwise factors of the CRFs model were parameterised with a Potts function. The reclassification performed with the CRFs model enabled a slight increase of the classification’s accuracy from 76% to 79% out of 1926 urban blocks.