Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The use of Information and Communication Technology in natural disaster management

The frequency of natural disasters and its negative consequences in terms of the number of people killed, property destroyed and negative environmental impacts caused in the affected communities constitute one of the basic foundations and motivations for the development and use of ICT and other means of preventing as well as responding to disasters in the world today. This is simply because disaster management constitutes an important part of any developmental framework. Unfortunately a majority of these natural disasters occur in developing countries where information flow is greatly hampered because the national actors in disasters lack the skills to use ICT to prepare for and to response to disasters in their communities. Current study aims at studying the use of ICT in disaster management in Cameroon-a less developing country south of the Sahara To achieve the aim of this study, a quantitative research approach was chosen. A total sample of 150 organisations was selected from a population of 285 organisations within Cameroon, that are directly or indirectly involved with disaster management or developmental issues of any nature. In total 150 questionnaires were administered to these selected national actors by mail, internet, telephone and selfadministration and 85 of the organisations respondended to the questionnaire. After collecting and analysing the data, the authors came to the conclusions that; disasters occur in Cameroon on frequent bases causing lots of damages thus the need for ICT use in humanitarian logistics to move information and material. Results showed that national actors use the radio and local TV (CRTV) for disaster preparedness and the mobile phone for disaster response, while the internet and computer techonology, foreign TV, Fixed phone and fax had a very low usage rate or sometimes not used at all. The reason for low usage or no usage was due to problems encountered by national actors in an attempt of trying to use them. Against this background, the authors suggested a number of recommendations that could improve the degree of ICT usage. One of them was that the Cameroon government should partner with private sector firms to make ICT infrastructure available by investing more and improving on the telecommunication sector in the country. This will solve the problem of poor ICT infrastructure, poor radio and TV signals, limited internet connectivity accessibility and availability in Cameroon.
Consumer evaluations of sales promotion: the effect on brand choice

Purpose – This study evidences the influence that sales promotion has on brand choice behaviour. Establishments wish to influence consumers' buying behaviour, and thus they launch strong promotional campaigns or introduce changes in their price policies, among other actions. However, they are not always capable of achieving their goal, since, although they may reach their objective in the short term, when the longer term is considered there are undesirable consumer actions.Design/methodology/approach – The problem of consumer brand choice can be adequately described with logit models that allow the use of discrete dependent variables. The probability that the consumer chooses a brand depends directly on the capacity of satisfaction that the brand holds for him/her. In this case, the dependent variable is the brand, and the independent variables are price, reference price, losses and gains, and the different types or techniques of sales promotion. With the aim of obtaining the necessary information for the.
The Impact of Gestation Housing Systems on Sow Longevity

Introduction Recent announcements by many of the major US commercial pork producers to begin phasing out gestation stalls from their production systems has resulted in even greater interest in group gestation housing systems. In the late 1960s or early 1970s pork producers began moving their gestation sows from group housing systems, ranging from outdoor lots, pens in barns and other existing facilities, pens in renovated finishing facilities, to individual gestation sow housing systems or what is commonly referred to as the gestation stall. These facilities are specifically designed with the aim to provide individual sow management. What was lacking in many of the older group housing systems was the ability to provide individual feeding and health management. New innovations in housing systems have included electronic sow feeders (ESF) and other technologies in order to provide individual management to sows in a group sow housing system. Group gestation housing systems will introduce many new management challenges for those involved with commercial pork production. This paper is designed to give an overview of impacts that gestation housing systems have on sow longevity. Additionally, this paper will examine the impact that genetics might have on the behavior of sows housed in a group gestation housing setting.
Gender differences in information search strategies for a Christmas gift

Examines the underlying determinants of in‐store information search for a Christmas clothing gift, specifically focusing on gender differences. Two non‐personal (general and specific) and one personal (sales clerk assistance) in‐store information search domains were obtained from the results of a survey of actual consumers carried out shortly after the Christmas season. Consistent with the predictions of the selectivity model, females appeared to comprehensively acquire in‐store information, whereas males appeared to heuristically limit their search to a smaller subset of in‐store information. More specifically, females scored significantly higher than males on indices of both general and specific information search. Females, compared to males, were also found to start Christmas shopping much earlier, purchase more gifts, and embark on a greater number of shopping trips. Other observed gender differences are discussed.
A Comparison of Conventional and Organic Milk Production Systems in the U.S.

Organic milk production is one of the fastest growing segments of organic agriculture in the U.S., but little is known about the relative costs and returns of organic and conventional dairies. This study utilizes a nationwide survey of dairy operations for 2005 that includes a targeted sample of organic dairies. Sample selection models were specified to isolate the impact of choosing the organic approach on various levels of milk production costs. Size and location of dairy operation were among the primary factors affecting choice of the organic approach and milk production costs. Organic dairies had production costs about $4 to $6 per cwt higher than conventional dairies and received an average milk price premium of $6.69 per cwt. Results suggest that there may be incentives for small conventional dairies to covert to the organic approach, but probably not for startup organic dairies unless they can enter at a much larger scale than the current industry norm.
The Analysis of Five Competitive Forces of Non-Alcoholic Beverage Industry and E-Commerce Industry Cases at the Global Level

This paper has as objective to do an analysis of five competitive forces of non-alcoholic industry and e-commerce industry at the global level. The state of five competitive forces in both industries will depend always of evolution of these industries and government policies of the different countries of the world. For example if these industries are growing and if the govern permit others companies can enter into industry and can help to promote the competition in these industries, that is good for buyers, because they can choose where want to purchase something and what products or goods are according to their necessities or that permits to maximize their utility and it is according to their money amount available for it.
Trying to Find and Keep Top-notch Agents for your Sales Team? Why Not Use the Person-Job Fit Approach?

Person-Job fit is the relationship between an individual’s characteristics and his/her job or the tasks s/he must perform (Edwards 1991; Kristof 1996). Beyond a person’s characteristics, experts are paying a lot more attention to the way people think about their time as well as how time relates to their jobs. Specifically, “time congruity”, is a form of P-J fit that exists when there is a match between the temporal requirements of a job (Job Time Personality) and the temporal style of the person who holds that job (Individual Time Personality). For instance, one might expect to find time congruity between an individual who is normally very punctual and the job of a railroad engineer who operates on a very structured schedule.
The relational oxymoron and personalisation pragmatism

Although very much in vogue in both academic discourse and practitioner rhetoric, presents a case for a need to be concerned over the use of the “R” (relational) word in marketing. But even this needs to be implemented with caution and sensitivity as evidence on how consumers react to the approach shows. In an era of self service and disintermediation, marketers are increasingly turning to customer data instead of the tacit understanding of customers they used to possess when interaction was on a more personal basis. There are, however, concerns over the nature of the data collected and the way in which it is used, that lead to a proposition that relationship marketing can be an oxymoron. Also, however, suggests a number of compromise solutions in an era in which marketers are unlikely to abandon the paradigm. If marketing reverted to earlier paradigms rather than promising cynical consumers a “relationship”, perhaps all parties might actually start to gain more trust in each other. Personal rather than relational interaction would indeed be more pragmatic.
The Economic Consequences of Fair Value Accounting

Two fatal intrinsic flaws of fair-value accounting are found and mathematically proved by this paper. One flaw concerns its non-complete existence, that is, the required fair value may not exist under certain conditions. One direct consequence of the flaw is that a huge fair value trap may be created by fair-value accounting when the fair value does not exist. Another flaw of fair-value accounting is its self-expansion, that is, the fair-value accounting acts as a share price bubble maker based upon the normal net incomes from the operations of listed firms. The bubble may then expand much larger than the original incomes.
Presence and effects of health and nutrition-related (HNR) claims with benefit-seeking and risk-avoidance appeals in female-orientated magazine food advertisements

A multi-method study was conducted to, first, establish the prevalence of types of health- and nutrition-related (HNR) claims (nutrient content, structure/function and health claims) with benefit-seeking and risk-avoidance appeals in food advertisements appearing in magazines with large female audiences and, second, determine the effects of the two HNR-paired appeal types on females’ evaluative judgements of food advertisements. Analysis of 633 food advertisements from eight women-orientated magazines found a substantial use of risk-avoidance appeals in food advertising, primarily in association with nutrient content claims. Risk-avoidance appeals were especially present in product categories considered relatively unhealthy and less nutritious. Two experiments conducted to examine appeal-type effects in association with nutrient content claims found that both benefit-seeking and riskavoidance appeals enhanced perceived healthiness of advertised food products among females; however, risk-avoidance appeals were preferred to benefit-seeking appeals, regardless of food healthiness.
Dividend policy and cash flow manipulation: Evidence from China

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued a dividend policy in 2006 which set minimum payout levels for firms wishing to issue seasoned equity offerings. This paper investigates how listed Chinese firms may inflate reported cash flow from operations in order to reach the threshold set by the dividend policy. The results indicate a high level of cash flow manipulation among firms issuing seasoned equity offerings after 2006, the year when the dividend policy was implemented, suggesting that this manipulation is undertaken in response to the dividend policy. We further find that firms issuing seasoned equity offerings inflate cash flow upwards through working capital items and by including tax refunds in their cash flows statements after the implementation of the dividend policy. The manipulation of real cash flow activities by firms issuing seasoned equity offerings eventually damages the value of their firm.
Extrinsic and Intrinsic Cue Effects on Perceptions of Store Brand Quality

The authors examine the relative importance of extrinsic versus intrinsic cues in determining perceptions of store brand quality in an experiment using a sample of 1564 shoppers for five products. Results of the experiment suggest that consumers’ evaluations of store brand grocery items are driven primarily by the extrinsic cues that these products display rather than intrinsic characteristics. In addition, the authors found that a value for money orientation taken by retailers in the marketing of their private label lines may represent a suboptimal strategy; they recommend a quality orientation.
The effect of Gilbert's syndrome on the dispersions of QT interval and P-wave: an observational study.

OBJECTIVE Gilbert's syndrome (GS) decreases the incidence of atherosclerotic heart disease. The aim of the study was to evaluate whether the arrhythmia risk markers such as P-wave dispersion (Pd), QT dispersion (QTd) are reduced in patients with GS compared with healthy subjects. METHODS Sixty-one patients diagnosed with GS (31 females, 30 males) who had applied to the internal medicine outpatient clinic in the hospital were included in this cross-sectional, observational study. A control group of 61 healthy persons (31 females, 30 males), who were non-smokers and drinkers, were included. Both groups were between 16-45 years old. Results of anthropometric measurements, laboratory assays and electrocardiographic findings were recorded for each participant. Independent sample t-test and nested ANOVA were used for data analysis. RESULTS In the GS group were Pd value 36±16.7 msec, QTd 48.7±10.7 msec and heart rate (HR) 74±8 beat/min. In the control group were Pd 51±28 msec, QTd 53±12 msec and HR 78±10 beat/min. The Pd of patients group (p<0.001), QTd (p=0.038) and HR (p=0.021) were significantly lower than the control group. CONCLUSION According to our study's results, in these patients, increased bilirubin levels are associated with decrease in HR, Pd and QTd, which consequently might decrease the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias and coronary artery disease. Further studies are needed to clarify the protective role of bilirubin in risk of arrhythmias in this category of patients.
The Impact of a Feed-In Tariff on Wind Power Development in Germany

We estimate the impact of a feed-in tariff for renewable power on wind power investment in Germany at the county level from 1996-2010 controlling for windiness and access to the electricity transmission grid. After the Renewable Energy Law (EEG) was passed in 2000, the feed-in tariff became linked to wind power potential, such that more windy locations received a lower incentive per unit of output. We find that a 1 e-cent/kWh increase in the feed-in tariff rate would increase additions to capacity at the national level by 764MWper year from 1996- 2010 or 1,528 MW per year from 2005-2010. We analyze counterfactual scenarios, in which a uniform incentive is offered instead of the wind-dependent EEG incentive. Significantly more wind power plants are installed along the northern coastal counties in the uniform incentive scenario. We find that while the uniform incentive results in greater total wind power output per installed capacity, the EEG is ultimately more efficient by achieving 1% greater wind power output per euro and 3.7% greater reductions in power sector emissions per euro. In addition, we find a significant response from investors to an EEG provision that shifted the cost of transmission system upgrades from wind power developers to grid operators in 2000. The lack of a signal on scarcity of transmission capacity has likely resulted in a distribution of wind power plants that makes suboptimal use of existing infrastructure, necessitating investment in new transmission corridors.
Mutual Fund Family Strategies and Bayesian Alphas

Among the 5,000 equity mutual funds in the world, more than 80 percent belong to some fund family. A fund family is a group of mutual funds supervised by the same investment group. Despite the prevalence of the family organization, previous literature, when evaluating mutual fund performance, treated funds as though they were stand-alone entities. This is inappropriate if fund family follows some strategies that would affect the performance of its member funds, a phenomenon already documented in resent literature. In this paper, we address this issue by measuring mutual fund as part of a fund family. When evaluating individual fund performance, a Bayesian econometric technique enables us to incorporate different fund family strategies into consideration, thus produce a new performance measure. In empirical test, mutual funds selected based on our Bayesian alphas are showing more persistent in performance than those selected based on single or four factor alphas.
Gauge theory of the de Sitter group and the Ashtekar formulation.

A new gauge theory of gravity is introduced. By identifying the gravitational gauge field components with the connection and the metric, the action can be reduced to the gauge theory proposed by MacDowell and Mansouri in addition to the Pontrjagin topological term and, on the other hand, to the Ashtekar action with a cosmological term in addition to the Euler and the Pontrjagin topological terms. The action of the theory is closely related to the Chern-Simons action and is quadratic in the field strength components
Exchange Rate Misalignment: Concepts and Measurement for Developing Countries

The 1994 devaluation of CFA francs in West Africa, the Mexican currency crisis in that same year, and the Asian crises that erupted in mid-1997 are reminders of the severe dislocations that can be caused by exchange rate misalignment. However a consensus on the importance of preventing exchange rate misalignment has not provided systematic guidance on definitions and measurement. Recent macroeconomic disruptions support the argument that growing financial integration has increased the urgency of providing accurate measures of long-run equilibrium exchange rates. For its analytical depth and its practical techniques for measurement, Exchange Rate Misalignment is an invaluable resource for policymakers and foreign exchange specialists in both the public and private sectors.
Together We Innovate

In a global business environment, marketing education must support students to develop cross-cultural agility and adeptness with an aim to enhance their employability. This article contributes with an experiential cross-cultural exercise that enables students to develop new enterprises in collaboration with other students in a different country through virtual teamwork. The exercise exposes students to practical cross-cultural learning, enterprise development, and virtual team management. Results from students’ reflection journals indicate that the exercise is enjoyable, builds confidence in a range of skills, and prepares students for future employment. We offer guidance and direction on how to design and execute this experiential cross-cultural exercise and also highlight the challenges faced and strategies for success.
Individual Acoustic Variation in Fallow Deer (Dama dama) Common and Harsh Groans: A Source-Filter Theory Perspective

Mammals are able to distinguish conspecifics based on vocal cues, and the acoustic structure of mammal vocalizations is directly affected by the anatomy and action of the vocal apparatus. However, most studies investigating individual patterns in acoustic signals do not consider a vocal production-based perspective. In this study, we used the sourcefilter model of vocal production as a basis for investigating the acoustic variability of fallow deer groans. Using this approach, we quantified the potential of each acoustic component to carry information about individual identity. We also investigated if cues to individual identity carry over among the two groan types we describe: common and harsh groans. Using discriminant function analysis, we found that variables related to the fundamental frequency contour and the minimum frequencies of the highest formants contributed most to the identification of a given common groan. Common groans were individually distinctive with 36.6% (53.6% with stepwise procedure) of groans assigned to the correct individual. This level of discrimination is approximately six times higher than that predicted by chance. In addition, univariate anovas showed significant inter-individual variation in the minimum formant frequencies when common and harsh groans were combined, suggesting that some information about individuality is shared between groan types. Our results suggest that the sound source and the vocal tract resonances act together to determine groan individuality and that enough variation exists to potentially allow individual recognition based on groans.
Controlling the gap: myocytes, matrix, and mechanics.

See related article, pages 558–566 Effective myocardial contraction depends in part on the efficient propagation of electrical signals through the tissue. The principal structure allowing for such rapid myocardial depolarization is the gap junction plaque, a collection of intercellular pores located primarily at intercalated discs. There, at myocyte poles, gap junctions function in close proximity to the complexes responsible for cell–cell tethering—desmosomes and fascia adherens junctions. Thus, the intercalated disc is the site of both intercellular coupling and adhesion. Gap junctions are formed by clusters of paired hexamers, one from each cell, which bridge to form a low-resistance intercellular channel facilitating the transmission of ions and small molecules (<1000 kD). Each hexamer (or connexon) is comprised of six individual connexins, a diverse protein family found in vascular, neural, and cardiac tissue. In humans, ventricular gap junctions are formed primarily from connexin43 (Cx43), a 43-kD protein encoded by chromosome 6.1 Cx43 is a dynamic molecule, with rapid turnover (t1/2 roughly 1 hour)2 and responsiveness to a variety of mechanical and chemical stimuli. Myocyte connectivity, as mediated by gap junctions, depends not only on net expression of Cx43, but on effective translocation of Cx43 to the cell surface, the phosphorylation state of both Cx43 and associated proteins,3 and intracellular pH.4 Ventricular Cx43 net protein expression is downregulated in various cardiac disease conditions such as end-stage ischemic,5 idiopathic,5 hypertrophic,1,6 and tachycardia-induced induced cardiomyopathies,7 myocardial ischemia and hibernation,8 and allograft rejection.9 …