Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Resurrecting Information Technology Adoption Models : A Theoretic Foundation

The Information Technology (IT) has generated competing models, each of which has a different set of adoption and acceptance determinants. This paper includes an overview of the models and theories of predicting, explaining and understanding the human behavior during the adoption process of IT applications. KeywordsInformation Technology acceptance/adoption models; Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA); Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB); Technology Acceptance Model; Motivational Model (MM); Combined TAM and TPB; Model of PC Utilisation (MPCU); Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT); Social Cognitive Theory (SCT).
The effect of political events on the Pakistan stock exchange 1947-2001.

In this paper, we apply Bayesian hierarchical modelling and Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques to primary data collected from interviews with 200 prominent historians, economists, politicians, government officials, investors, senior bankers, stock market analysts and other individuals involved in the Pakistani stock markets to measure Pakistan’s political risk and its effect on the stock market from 1947 to 2001. We find that the probability of a major political event affecting the stock market in any year is high, averaging 1.5 events per year with a risk premium of between 11.725 and 16.725%. Interestingly, we also find that there is no time trend and thus, that political risk is neither increasing nor decreasing.
Ultimate strength and ductility of partially concrete-filled steel rigid-frame bridge piers

Concrete-filled steel tubes have wide range of applications in building and civil engineering structures due to their excellent earthquake resisting characteristics. In this study effectiveness of partially concretefilled steel tubes (CFST) in rigid-frame bridge pier bents is examined in terms of their ultimate strength and ductility performances. The columns and beam of frames consist of an un-stiffened rectangularshaped steel section. Pushover analyses of single columns and rigid-frames were carried out using beamcolumn elements associated with nonlinear stress-strain relations for both concrete and steel. The effect of filled-in height of single columns was first examined by comparing the ultimate displacement and the ultimate strength determined using an available failure criterion established for cantilever type concretefilled steel columns. The optimum concrete-filled height of the single columns was found to be around 0.30 times the column height. The pushover analyses were carried out for three rigid-frames having different filled-in heights. The ultimate displacement and the ultimate strength of concrete-filled rigidframe were significantly higher than those of the hollow section frame. The optimum filled-in height of rigid-frames was found to be around 0.15 times the total height of the frame.
Model of management of the employees’ innovative behavior at the industrial enterprises

Employee’s innovative behavior is an impulse that initiates a range of organizational processes, owing to which the enterprise forms its competitive advantage. In the article, the determinative factors of influence on the innovative behavior in the context of separate age groups were defined. According to the results of multifactor regression analysis, the determinative types of trust include institutional, horizontal and vertical, stress resistance to innovations, managerial support and innovative work environment. It was proved that the employee’s age does not affect the innovative activity of industrial enterprises. When forming the main components of the management model of innovative behavior, the focus is on personal and professional characteristics of managers, which help to form the innovative type of behavior of the employees; a system for stimulating the real results of such behavior; ways of promotion of new developments via the innovation platforms and creation of the special structural unit with the aim to implement the proposed measures.
An Observational and Modeling Study of Impacts of Bark Beetle–Caused Tree Mortality on Surface Energy and Hydrological Cycles

AbstractBark beetle outbreaks have killed billions of trees and affected millions of hectares of forest during recent decades. The objective of this study was to quantify responses of surface energy and hydrologic fluxes 2–3 yr following a spruce beetle outbreak using measurements and modeling. The authors used observations at the Rocky Mountains Glacier Lakes Ecosystem Experiments Site (GLEES), where beetles killed 85% of the basal area of spruce from 2005–07 (prebeetle) to 2009/10 (postbeetle). Observations showed increased albedo following tree mortality, more reflected solar radiation, and less net radiation, but these postoutbreak radiation changes are smaller than or comparable to their annual preoutbreak variability. The dominant signals from observations were a large reduction (27%) in summer daytime evaporation and a large increase (25%) in sensible heat fluxes. Numerous Noah LSM with multiparameterization options (Noah-MP) simulations incorporating beetle-caused tree mortality effects were condu.
An emendation of the genus Hyaloscypha to include Fuscoscypha (Hyaloscyphaceae, Helotiales, Ascomycotina)

The monotypic genus Fuscoscypha possesses hairs similar as in the genus Hyaloscypha but differs by grey-olivaceous-brown apothecia with short dark stipes. Molecular data proves that the pigmentation does not permit delimitation of a separate genus, as white and brown taxa do not form separate clades. Followingly, Fuscoscypha is here considered to be a synonym of Hyaloscypha. Three of the here treated four species have an olivaceous-brown excipulum. Two are saprophytes on decaying leaves and fruits of angiosperms: F. acicularum, the type species of Fuscoscypha, and Hyaloscypha fuscostipitata comb. nov. (formerly placed in Betulina). Two are biotrophic parasites on Bryophyta: Hyaloscypha hepaticola comb. nov. (formerly placed in Trichopeziza) and the hyaline-excipled Hyaloscypha albocarpa spec. nov. which is otherwise very similar to H. hepaticola. The type species of the genus Betulina, B. hirta, is found to be an earlier synonym of Urceolella salicicola (= U. graddonii). The new combination Urceolella hirta is therefore proposed, hence Betulina is considered a synonym of Urceolella.
Application Effect Analysis of Image Fusion Methods for Extraction of Shoreline in Coastal Zone Using Landsat ETM

Extraction of shoreline incoastal zone is important for coast protection and management. This paper presents extractingthe shoreline with fusion images, which are obtained using various image fusion methods such as IHStransform, Brovey Transform, Multiplicative, Principle Component, Wavelet Resolution Merge. Artificial constructions (e.g. coastalembankments), islands, lakes, tidal mudflats and estuaries have been selected as evaluation objects, shorelines of which are extracted and analyzed. The result indicates that shoreline extraction effect by the Principle Component method is bestamong other methods.
Field technique to quantify intensity of scouring by sea ice in rocky intertidal habitats

Scouring by sea ice is an important abiotic factor affecting intertidal communities in polar and subpolar rocky shores. Traditionally, measurement of the intensity of scouring by sea ice has been done at rather coarse spatial scales, thus limiting the understanding of the role that this fac- tor has in determining local-scale ecological variability, particularly when scouring intensity varies locally due to shore topography. We hereby present a technique to quantify the local-scale intensity of scouring by sea ice in rocky intertidal habitats. This technique is inexpensive and easy to apply and measure. We provide an example of its potential usefulness using local-scale data on intertidal species richness.
The knowledge, continuing education and use of teaching styles in Physical Education teachers

Different teaching styles are essential when giving physical education classes based on the objective of the exercises. Therefore, the goal of this research was to analyse the knowledge, continuing education and used of physical education teachers about these existing styles with reference to school ownership, working experience and age. The research used a sample of 455 physical education teachers, in primary and secondary school. The most relevant results show significant differences between the knowledge of the teaching styles when the teacher begins his or her professional career with ownership (p=.035); regarding teaching experience, it appears relationship between the continuous use of the command style and longer professional experience (p=.000); finally, regarding age (p=.002), indicating that younger and less experienced teachers are those who use traditional style like command style less often.
3D SUPER-RESOLUTION APPROACH FOR SPARSE LASER SCANNER DATA

Laser scanner point cloud has been emerging in Photogrammetry and computer vision to achieve high level tasks such as object tracking, object recognition and scene understanding. However, low cost laser scanners are noisy, sparse and prone to systematic errors. This paper proposes a novel 3D super resolution approach to reconstruct surface of the objects in the scene. This method works on sparse, unorganized point clouds and has superior performance over other surface recovery approaches. Since the proposed approach uses anisotropic diffusion equation, it does not deteriorate the object boundaries and it preserves topology of the object.
FAST RADIOMETRY GUIDED FUSION OF DISPARITY IMAGES

Abstract. Previous work on disparity map fusion has mostly focused on geometric or statistical properties of disparity maps. Since failure of stereo algorithms is often consistent in many frames of a scene, it cannot be detected by such methods. Instead, we propose to use radiometric information from the original camera images together with externally supplied camera pose information to detect mismatches. As radiometric information is local information, the computations in the proposed algorithm for disparity fusion can be decoupled and parallelized to a very large degree, which allows us to easily achieve real-time performance.
Quantifying volume loss from ice cliffs on debris-covered glaciers using high-resolution terrestrial and aerial photogrammetry

Mass losses originating from supraglacial ice cliffs at the lower tongues of debris-covered glaciers are a potentially large component of the mass balance, but have rarely been quantified. In this study, we develop a method to estimate ice cliff volume losses based on high-resolution topographic data derived from terrestrial and aerial photogrammetry. We apply our method to six cliffs monitored in May and October 2013 and 2014 using four different topographic datasets collected over the debris-covered Lirung Glacier of the Nepalese Himalayas. During the monsoon, the cliff mean backwasting rate was relatively consistent in 2013 (3.8 ± 0.3 cm w.e. d−1) and more heterogeneous among cliffs in 2014 (3.1 ± 0.7 cm w.e. d−1), and the geometric variations between cliffs are larger. Their mean backwasting rate is significantly lower in winter (October 2013–May 2014), at 1.0 ± 0.3 cm w.e. d−1. These results are consistent with estimates of cliff ablation from an energy-balance model developed in a previous study. The ice cliffs lose mass at rates six times higher than estimates of glacier-wide melt under debris, which seems to confirm that ice cliffs provide a large contribution to total glacier melt.
Relationship among Personality Traits and Conflict Handling Styles of Call Center Representatives and Appraisal of Existing Service Model

In order to identify the relationship between conflict handling styles and personality traits of call centre representatives and to extract and appraise any existing model, i.e., style of public dealing/conflict resolving, we have carried out this research. A total of 128 call centre representatives from a Bank and a Telecommunication Company have participated in the study. We assumed that for Bank and for Telecommunication Company both, the most commonly used conflict handling styles would be integrating and obliging, regardless of the personality traits of the call centre representatives and without having control on gender and age. The participants were asked to complete two scales, the big five inventory and the conflict handling style scale. Results confirm our assumptions through correlations, factor analysis, and SEM. We have found significant relationships among personality traits and conflict handling styles. Three conflict-handling styles were persistent in all statistical analyses and i.e., integrating, obliging, and compromising. However, SEM extracts the same variables in models with low regression weights and high residual variance on Neuroticism that may be indicative of depiction of trait by representatives at certain places in certain situations.
EXTRAPOLATION ALGORITHMS AND OVERLOAD EFFECTS IN HIGH CYCLE FATIGUE

The cohesive fatigue model of Ural and Papoulia [18, 19] is modified and implemented within the finite element code Abaqus. The model follows a bi-linear damage-dependent traction-displacement relation coupled with a damage evolution equation characterized by three material parameters corresponding to damage accumulation, crack closure and stress threshold. High cycle fatigue is computationally intractable with cycle-by-cycle calculations. To make high cycle fatigue simulations possible, different extrapolation schemes have been proposed in the literature, with varying degrees of complexity, to account for the nonlinearity of the equations. Based on simple observations, two such schemes are proposed and tested in this work. A logarithmic scheme is found easy to implement, as well as capable of extrapolating the accumulation of material damage due non-constant amplitude fatigue loads. Finite element results are compared with high cycle fatigue test results for an aluminum alloy. Close matches between the test data and finite element simulations are obtained for different loading conditions. The cohesive model is also used to capture the effect of a single peak overload, viz. crack retardation, in a ductile 316L steel alloy under plane stress conditions. The results indicate that a higher peak load results in higher fatigue crack retardation. The results also agree with experiments that suggest that strain hardening, not crack closure, is the leading mechanism for the overload effect.
Accreting, highly magnetized neutron stars at the Eddington limit: a study of the 2016 outburst of SMC X-3

Aims. We study the temporal and spectral characteristics of SMC X-3 during its recent (2016) outburst to probe accretion onto highly magnetized neutron stars (NSs) at the Eddington limit. Methods. We obtained XMM-Newton observations of SMC X-3 and combined them with long-term observations by Swift. We performed a detailed analysis of the temporal and spectral behavior of the source, as well as its short- and long-term evolution. We have also constructed a simple toy-model (based on robust theoretical predictions) in order to gain insight into the complex emission pattern of SMC X-3. Results. We confirm the pulse period of the system that has been derived by previous works and note that the pulse has a complex three-peak shape. We find that the pulsed emission is dominated by hard photons, while at energies below ~1 keV, the emission does not pulsate. We furthermore find that the shape of the pulse profile and the short- and long-term evolution of the source light-curve can be explained by invoking a combination of a “fan” and a “polar” beam. The results of our temporal study are supported by our spectroscopic analysis, which reveals a two-component emission, comprised of a hard power law and a soft thermal component. We find that the latter produces the bulk of the non-pulsating emission and is most likely the result of reprocessing the primary hard emission by optically thick material that partly obscures the central source. We also detect strong emission lines from highly ionized metals. The strength of the emission lines strongly depends on the phase. Conclusions. Our findings are in agreement with previous works. The energy and temporal evolution as well as the shape of the pulse profile and the long-term spectra evolution of the source are consistent with the expected emission pattern of the accretion column in the super-critical regime, while the large reprocessing region is consistent with the analysis of previously studied X-ray pulsars observed at high accretion rates. This reprocessing region is consistent with recently proposed theoretical and observational works that suggested that highly magnetized NSs occupy a considerable fraction of ultraluminous X-ray sources.
Empirical evidence on capital structure determinants in NIGERIA

The purpose of this paper is to investigate empirical evidence on capital structure determinants in Nigeria. This research has been performed using a sample of 50 companies listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange from 2001 to 2010. The relationship between the short-term and long-term debt and four explanatory variables were observed. The results of the cross-sectional OLS regression revealed that the static trade-off theory and agency cost theory are relevant to Nigerian companies whereas there was a little evidence in support of pecking order theory. The findings of this study confirm that profitability, growth, firm size and tangibility are explanatory variables of capital structure. Key words: Capital structure, static trade-off theory, pecking order theory, agency cost theory.
Individual Factors that Predict Customer-Orientation Behaviour of Malaysian Life Insurance Agents

The topic of customer-orientation has increasingly attracted interest in both academic marketing research and practice. One major factor which has been increasingly discussed as an important driver of a salespeople's customer-orientation is individual factor. In this study we examine the influence of three individual factors; namely, organizational commitment, self-monitoring and intrinsic motivation on salespeople customer-orientation behaviour. Data gathered from 445 life insurance agents were used to test the hypothesized relationship. The results suggest that organizational commitment and intrinsic motivation positively influence salespeople to perform customer-orientation behaviour in their selling activities. Self-monitoring however, was found to be unrelated to the adoption of customer-orientation behaviour. The academic and managerial implications of these findings are then discussed. ABSTRAK Topik berkenaan orientasi pelanggan telah menarik perhatian para pengkaji dalam bidang pemasaran mahupun pengamal pemasaran. Salah satu faktor utama yang sering dikaitkan sebagai peramal kepada tingkahlaku berorientasikan pelanggan di kalangan jurujual adalah faktor individu. Dalam kajian ini, kami mengkaji pengaruh tiga faktor individu iaitu komitmen terhadap organisasi, kawalan diri dan motivasi dalaman. Data yang diperolehi daripada 445 orang agen insurans sepenuh masa digunakan untuk menguji hipotesis kajian. Analisa yang dibuat mendapati bahawa komitmen terhadap organisasi dan motivasi dalaman mempunyai kesan yang signifikan dalam mempengaruhi tingkahlaku berorientasikan pelanggan di kalangan jurujual insurans. Walau bagaimanapun, kawalan diri didapati tidak mempunyai sebarang hubungan dengan tingkahlaku berorientasikan pelanggan. Implikasi dapatan kajian terhadap bidang akademik dan pengurusan dibincangkan
Covariance estimation via sparse Kronecker structures

The problem of estimating covariance matrices is central to statistical analysis and is extensively addressed when data are vectors. This paper studies a novel Kronecker-structured approach for estimating such matrices when data are matrices and arrays. Focusing on matrix-variate data, we present simple approaches to estimate the row and the column correlation matrices, formulated separately via convex optimization. We also discuss simple thresholding estimators motivated by the recent development in the literature. Non-asymptotic results show that the proposed method greatly outperforms methods that ignore the matrix structure of the data. In particular, our framework allows the dimensionality of data to be arbitrary order even for fixed sample size, and works for flexible distributions beyond normality. Simulations and data analysis further confirm the competitiveness of the method. An extension to general array-data is also outlined.
An application of logarithmic fuzzy preference programming-based AHP and FRS techniques to develop and prioritize strategic objectives

Vital decisions made at the strategic level in an organization are not only intricate but also costly to alter. It is therefore important to find a comprehensive approach to deal with such a possibility. One of the major problems of a common balanced scorecard (BSC)-based model in strategic management is lack of a ranking system for strategic objectives in order to enable prioritization of the operational actions for strategy development. In this paper, we have proposed an approach to apply the Logarithmic Fuzzy Preference Programming (LFPP) and the Fuzzy Ratio System (FRS) techniques to resolve this issue. To propose a comprehensive approach, the strategy canvas concept, the four actions framework of the blue-ocean strategy model, and the competitive strategy development techniques of the Judo Strategy model can be employed for problem formulation. To check for applicability, the proposed model was applied to a case of X Tile and Ceramics Company. This research applied a combination of the Judo Strategy and the blue-ocean model in the form of a BSC strategic planning to develop strategic objectives as well as utilized the LFPP and FRS techniques to rank the objectives based on their strategic goals.
Use of Data Mining Techniques in Intrusion Detection – A Survey

Regardless of developing data framework broadly, security has stayed one hard-hitting territory for PCs and, in addition, systems. For that another innovation can be utilized is called Intrusion Detection System. It distinguishes the intrusions like viruses, Trojan horses and so on. Data mining is utilized to clean, characterize and inspect expansive measure of system information. In this paper, the survey of use of different data mining techniques for the detection of intrusions in the network has been done.
Three-Dimensional Reconstruction CT in Diagnosis of Eagle's Syndrome: a Retrospective Study

Eagle’s syndrome is defined as symptoms such as neck pain on turning head and pain on swallowing, caused by elongated styloid process or calcified stylohyoid ligament. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness and reliability of three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction CT to make diagnosis of Eagle’s syndrome. Nineteen patients with clinical suspicion of Eagle’s syndrome underwent CT study in the past 2 years. A multidetector CT (MDCT) scanner was used for data acquisition, and then axial, coronal and 3D image reconstruction was performed. Two radiologists reviewed all the studies, including images with and without 3D reconstruction. The lengths of the styloid processes and the time interval for the readers to report the length of the styloid processes were compared. Nine patients with 11 elongated styloid processes or calcified stylohyoid ligaments (3.87 ± 0.46 cm) were all recognized by the two radiologists with almost perfect interobserver agreement, regardless of 3D images available or not. The interpretation time was significantly less if 3D reconstruction images were available for the readers (p<0.001). There is significant correlation between the styloid process lengths measured on sectional images and on 3D CT. In conclusion, for patients with clinically suspicious Eagle’s syndrome, 3D CT is an effective and reliable imaging tool for the radiologists to make a diagnosis.