Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Corporate Governance: A Major Factor in Shareholder Activism in Brazil

Objective: This paper verified the relationship between shareholder activism and the elements of corporate governance and financial performance of selected Brazilian companies, articulating the agency theory and the voice concept from the exit, voice and loyalty theory. Methods: Activism was determined by a score constituted by the sum of its occurrences, observed in the minutes of the 2016 and 2017 general meetings minutes of the 100 public companies in the sample. Governance and performance factors corresponded to 2015 and 2016, collected from Economatica®. Quantile regressions (QR) were applied and the results were compared with ordinary least squares regressions (OLS). Results: there was a better adjustment of QR compared to the OLS method, suggesting that governance negatively affects activism and that its effects are heterogeneous in different parts of its distribution. Inconclusive results were obtained for performance variables. Robustness tests indicated better explanatory ability for activism observations in companies positioned in the last 20% of the activism indicator’s distribution. Conclusion: significant evidence of a relationship between activism and governance was found, which does not occur conclusively in relation to performance, revealing the predominance of the first variable.
Effects of Precipitation on Soil Water and Evapotranspiration in Differently-textured Paddy Soils during Non-cultivated Period: A Weighable Lysimeter Study

Received: August 7, 2020 Revised: August 23, 2020 Accepted: August 28, 2020 ORCID Dong-Jin Kim https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5828-6732 This study was performed to investigate the changes in evapotranspiration, soil temperature, and soil water in different paddy soils during the non-cultivated period (from January 1 to April 12 in 2017) using weighable lysimeters. The relationships between air temperature and soil temperature and between precipitation parameters and change content of soil water were also investigated. The evapotranspiration increased with increasing air temperature. The total amount of evapotranspiration in the study period was in the order of CL-L (coarse loamy-loam) > CL-SL (coarse loamy-sandy loam) > FC-SiCL (fine clayey-silty clay loam). All three soil types of FC-SiCL, CL-L, and CL-SL had a similar tendency to change in soil temperature. The soil temperature at a 0.1 m depth responded most sensitively to changes in air temperature. The air temperature was showed to have high significantly positive correlations with soil temperature at five depths (0.1 m, 0.3 m, 0.55 m, 0.85 m, and 1.25 m) in the three soils (p < 0.01). Especially the correlation coefficient between soil temperature of 0.1 m depth and the air temperature was higher than 0.9. The soil water content responded most sensitively to precipitation at 0.1 m depth in all three soils. The change content of soil water differed according to the soil water content before precipitation. Precipitation and change content of soil water at depths of 0.1 m and 0.3 m was highly positively (p < 0.01) correlated in all three soils. Change in the content of soil water at a 0.1 m depth was positively (p < 0.05) related to precipitation intensity and precipitation kinetic energy. Soil texture, soil water content, and precipitation conditions need to be considered to establish the irrigation management plan necessary before transplanting.
Effectiveness of Indigenous Knowledge Practices among Sheep and Goat Farmers inIgbomina Land in Osun and Kwara States, Nigeria

Modern veterinary inputs are not always available and accessible and sometimes too expensive for the poor marginal farmers or pastoralists whereas Indigenous Knowledge Practices (IKPs) provide cheap, easy to use alternative to the resource poor farmers. This study therefore investigated the perceived effectiveness of IKPS of sheep and goat farmers among the Igbomina land. Multistage sampling procedure was employed to select two hundred and forty sheep and goat farmers. Data were summarised with frequency counts, percentages, mean and correlation coefficient. The mean age of the farmers was 50.8±10.1 years and majority (67%) were males. Results showed that the following IKPs were widely used by sheep and goat farmers in the study area:bark of Iroko (Milicia excelsa), /Tagiri (Adenopus breviflorus)/Unripe pawpaw for intestinal worms, Ground Tobacco leaves in water for tick infestation, Igi-Erin (Hunteria unbellata) /seeds of Iroko tree(Chlorophora excels)/Sand paper leaf (Ficus exasperata) and Palm oil for lice infestion, Sheabutter and salt, roast seeds of Iroko tree(Milicia excelsa)/effirin-Basil plant (Occimomum Basilicum.) for foot rot, ground alligator pepper for Orf, Igi Emi(Vitellariav paradoxa) for wound treatment, Palm oil for bloat treatment,Oloora (Rauvolfia vomitoria) bark andPalm oil for treating ingestion of poisonous plants, fermented ground maize and millet flour for sheep and goat pox, Jatropha curcas squeeze andPalm oil for treating retained placenta, Wood ash for broken horn, Onion solution and Charcoal mill fordiarrhea and dysentary among others. The levels of awareness, usage and effectiveness of the IKPs were high with a positive and significant relationship between effectiveness of IKPs and years of schooling (r= 0.217 0.05) and annual income(r = 0.67 0.01) while there is a negative and significant relationship with amountof savings(r = - 0.19 0.05). It is recommended that extension should forward the IKPs to the various research organizations with samples for investigation and authentication. Also, extension should teach the poor marginal farmers or pastoralists how to identify the plants, and the best way to prepare and administer the preparations.
Survival of adult barn owls is linked to corticosterone levels

Glucocorticoid hormones, such as corticosterone, are fundamental in the translation of external stimuli into physiological adjustments that promote the survival of an organism in face of changes in its environment. At baseline levels, corticosterone is crucial in regulating daily life metabolism and energy expenditure, whereas the acute corticosterone response promotes short-term physiological and behavioral responses to unpredictable environmental challenges. Given their different physiological effects and their role in mediating fitness components, it is still unclear whether and how inter-individual variation in baseline corticosterone levels and acute stress-response levels can affect the survival of organisms. We used 13 years of capture-recapture and dead recovery data combined with 11 years of corticosterone measurements taken on breeding barn owls (Tyto alba) to investigate how survival probability varies in relation to baseline and stress-induced corticosterone levels. Our study shows that males with a higher level of both baseline and stress-induced corticosterone levels have a higher probability of surviving than individuals with lower corticosterone levels. In females, survival probability was higher in individuals presenting elevated stress-induced corticosterone levels but was not significantly associated to baseline corticosterone levels. Our results suggest that in the barn owl the stress-induced corticosterone response is a better proxy of adult survival than baseline corticosterone levels. Further studies investigating the link between corticosterone levels and different fitness components as well as the environmental factors (e.g. weather, development conditions, disease and predation risk) leading to such endocrine phenotypes are needed to identify the costs and benefits of presenting high and low corticosterone profiles.
Measuring the effects of Bitcoin forks on selected cryptocurrencies using event study methodology

The objective of the study is to determine whether the Bitcoin forks have produced significant effects on the cryptocurrency market. The event study methodology is used in this paper in order to determine the statistical significance of the abnormal return of leading cryptocurrencies after three Bitcoin forks. The forks were viewed as three isolated events, with the estimations windows and the event windows constructed separately for each of them. There were statistically significant negative effects related to the creation of Bitcoin Gold and Bitcoin SV. Contrary to expectations, there was no statistically important effect throught out the most famous Bitcoin forking and emergence of Bitcoin Cash. Although cryptocurrencies are a current topic, the literature lacks quantitative research dealing with price changes. Without quantitative analysis, it is difficult to conclude whether the return change is a consequence of a statistically significant event The analysis would therefore provide the tool to determine the statistical significance of their impact on the market. A small number of observed cryptocurrencies is the main limitation of 1 University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Economics, ntomic@kg.ac. rs 22 Industrija, Vol.48, No.2, 2020 this research. Future researches could cover a wider scope of the market and include other famous cases of forking, for example, the Ethereum forks.
Evaluation of botanicals against: mosquito larvae to the extracts Acalypha indica L.

Acalypha indica is the important medicinal herb found commonly on the waste land and roadsides throughout India. Their various uses in traditional medicine are for curative properties against inflammation, rheumatism, respiratory disorders, fever, bacterial infection and jaundice. The mosquito control potential of common indigenous plant, Acalypha indica. Mosquito species used for toxicity bioassay are Culex quinquefasciatus, Anopheles gambiae and Armigeres subalbatus. Acalypha indica activities of the plant extracts vary according to the species. The mortality rate of 4 stage larva at 5% concentration was significantly higher than the mortality, rates at 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% concentrations of crude plant extract at 12 hours and 24 h exposure. A higher mortality rate was observed at 24 h bioassay than at 12 h. Since these plants are available very easily and cheaply, we can use these extracts in the field.
Evaluation of toxicity of some biocompatible insecticides on Trichogramma brassicae and T. evanescens under laboratory and semi-field conditions

The effects of four insecticides, abamectin (1500 and 750mgl), emamectin benzoate (1000 and 500mgl), acetamiprid (500 and 250mgl), and flubendiamide (500 and 250mgl), were studied on different preimaginal stages of T. brassicae and T. evanescens, the egg parasitoids of tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Parasitized eggs of the Angoumois grain moth Sitotroga cerealella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) were treated by the dipping method at the larval, prepupal, and pupal stages of the parasitoid. For persistence evaluation, the insecticides were applied at the recommended concentration on tomato plants by a hand sprayer till runoff point. Plants were maintained under a transparent polyethylene rain cover in the field. Leaves of the treated tomato plants were sampled and transferred to the laboratory at time intervals of 3, 5, 16, and 31 days after application. Based on our study, abamectin was the most harmful insecticide for immature stages of both parasitoids T. brassicae and T. evanescence. Treatment by abamectin at the pupal stage had more adverse effects compared to prepupal or larval stages. Acetamiprid with 30.5% and 31.6% mortality in less than five days was classified as the short-lived insecticide for T. brassicae and T. evanescens, respectively. The same result was obtained in flubendiamide treatment which caused 27.2% and 26.1% mortality to the parasitoids, respectively. Abamectin with 16.1% and 13.8% mortality in less than 16 days was slightly persistent. However, emamectin benzoate with 13.3% and 15.5% mortality in less than 30 days was classified as moderately persistent for those two species, respectively. Therefore, flubendiamide and acetamiprid were non-harmful to both T. brassicae and T. evanescence wasps and are good candidates to be incorporated into IPM programs in combination with biological agents for the control of tomato leaf miner T. absoluta. By contrast, emamectin and abamectin should be used with greater care as a part of an IPM procedure.
Impact of weed control practices on weed suppression and crop performance in boro rice

Weed control is important to prevent yield loss and production costs, and to preserve quality grain. Therefore, a study was conducted during December 2016 to May 2017 to find out appropriate weed management practices in boro rice. Two boro rice varieties namely, BRRI dhan28 and BRRI dhan29 were included in the study. Twelve different combinations of herbicidal weed managements viz., No weeding, Amchlor 5G or Talon 52WP as pre-emergence, Supermix 18WP or Clean master 18WP as post-emergence, Amchlor 5G followed by Supermix 18WP or Clean master 18WP, Talon 52WP followed by Clean master 18WP or Supermix 18WP, Amchlor 5G + Supermix 18WP + Hand weeding at 35 DAT, Talon 52WP + Clean master 18WP + Hand weeding at 42 DAT, and Two hand weeding were included in this experiment following single factor randomized complete block design with three replications. The maximum weed density (74.0 m−2 in BRRI dhan28 and 65.0 m−2 in BRRI dhan29) and biomass (38.2 g m−2 in BRRI dhan28 and 31.25 g m−2 in BRRI dhan29) were found in no weeding treatment and that of the lowest was obtained from Talon 52WP + Clean master 18WP + one hand weeding at 42 DAT. The highest grain yield (5.5 t ha−1 in BRRI dhan28 and 6.23 t ha−1 in BRRI dhan29), net return (58050 Tk ha−1 in BRRI dhan28 and 61229 Tk ha−1 in BRRI dhan29) and B:C ratio (1.81 in BRRI dhan28 and 1.86 in BRRI dhan29) were recorded when Talon 52WP + Clean master 18WP + one hand weeding at 42 DAT was applied. The lowest was obtained from the unweeded plots of both varieties. Based on this results Talon 52WP + Clean master 18WP + one hand weeding at 42 DAT was the best weed management practice in terms of efficacy and economics for both boro rice varieties.
Vibration Suppression Control Using Resonance Frequency Damping Disturbance Observer for Robot Servo System

To suppress the residual vibration of the resonance frequency of a three-inertia system, this paper proposes a current control system that has a resonance damping structure focusing on the vibration modes of the three-inertia system. Because the conventional position / velocity control system based on the two-inertia model focuses only on the primary resonance frequency, its residual vibration is induced by using the conventional control system based on a two-inertia model as against the three-inertia system. The conventional current control system does not include a resonance damping structure. The proposed current control system damps the secondary resonance frequency of the three-inertia system, whereas the ordinary position / velocity control system suppresses the primary resonance frequency of the three-inertia system. The e ﬀ ectiveness of the position / velocity control system using the proposed current control is conﬁrmed through experiments.
A Brain-Media Deep Framework Towards Seeing Imaginations Inside Brains

While current research on multimedia is essentially dealing with the information derived from our observations of the world, internal activities inside human brains, such as imaginations and memories of past events etc., could become a brand new concept of multimedia, for which we coin as “brain-media”. In this paper, we pioneer this idea by directly applying natural images to stimulate human brains and then collect the corresponding electroencephalogram (EEG) sequences to drive a deep framework to learn and visualize the corresponding brain activities. By examining the relevance between the visualized image and the stimulation image, we are able to assess the performance of our proposed deep framework in terms of not only the quality of such visualization but also the feasibility of introducing the new concept of “brain-media”. To ensure that our explorative research is meaningful, we introduce a dually conditioned learning mechanism in the proposed deep framework. One condition is analyzing EEG sequences through deep learning to extract a more compact and class-dependent brain features via exploiting those unique characteristics of human brains such as hemispheric lateralization and biological neurons myelination (neurons importance), and the other is to analyze the content of images via computing approaches and extract representative visual features to exploit artificial intelligence in assisting our automated analysis of brain activities and their visualizations. By combining the brain feature space with the associated visual feature space of those images that are candidates of the stimuli, we are able to generate a combined-conditional space to support the proposed dual-conditioned and lateralization-supported GAN framework. Extensive experiments carried out illustrate that our proposed deep framework significantly outperforms the existing relevant work, indicating that our proposed does provide a good potential for further research upon the introduced concept of “brain-media”, a new member for the big family of multimedia. To encourage more research along this direction, we make our source codes publicly available for downloading at GitHub.11https://github.com/aneeg/LS-GAN.
A Study on the Establishment of Cybercrime Business Model(CBM) through a Systematic Literature Review

Technological innovations and fast-growing new internet businesses are changing the paradigm of traditional business management, having various impacts on society. The development of internet technology is also increasing the adverse effects on technological innovation, and in particular, cybercrime related to computers continues to increase with each technological innovation. The purpose of this study is to construct a cybercrime business model (CBM) by using the business model canvas (BMC) theory for cybercrime in order to reduce cybercrime, and this model is applied and analyzed based on types of Korean cybercrimes. For this study, a systematic literature review was conducted to determine the components of cybercrime, and 60 relevant documents were classified through a keyword-based literature search. Besides, qualitative research in the classified literature has led to the derivation of cybercrime into 18 sub-blocks and nine building blocks. This study applies BMC theory to this derivation of cybercrime and builds the CBM through proper redefinition. Lastly, the developed CBM could be applied to cybercrime in Korea to help cyber incident-response staff understand cybercrimes analytically. This study contributes to the development of a new analysis framework that can reduce cybercrime.
Essays in applied microeconomics

CHAPTER 1: Signaling Creditworthiness in Peruvian Microfinance Markets: The Role of Information Sharing Using borrower-level data from FINCA, one of the leading microfinance institutions (MFI) in Peru, I evaluate the effect of FINCA’s decision to share information on individual outstanding debt records (positive information), in addition to group default records (negative information), on borrowers’ access to credit. Since all borrowers were exposed to the same policy, I develop a creative identification strategy that relies on the exogenous variation of the opening and closing dates of loan cycles across lending groups. I identify a credit expansion effect for some borrowers in FINCA who looked more creditworthy after their positive records were exposed, suggesting that other lenders targeted FINCA’s clients with good credit records. This credit expansion effect seems to have hurt FINCA through higher default rates as its better clients were skimmed off. CHAPTER 2 (with Kala Krishna and Cemile Yavas): Learning Gains among Repeat Takers of the Turkish College Entrance Exam Every year, 1.5 million students take the centralized annual college entrance exam (ÖSS) in Turkey. This system sets very high standards to get into college and competition for a seat is extremely fierce. The placement rate in college is as low as 30% and it is partly explained by the large proportion of repeat takers each year. Using a unique dataset on a random sample of 115,000 students who took the ÖSS in 2002 we investigate if a system like the Turkish one is conducive to learning over multiple attempts. We estimate the cumulative learning gains (in terms of score improvement) between the first and the n attempt. Even though we only have a cross section of students, we show how to use information on repeat takers to estimate learning across attempts while controlling for selection into retaking in terms of observed and unobserved characteristics. Our main assumptions are: i) students know their own ability, ii) performance is a function of observables, unobservables, randomness, and learning, iii) learning is a draw from a distribution that may vary with observables and/or unobservables, and iv) steady state. We identify important learning gains among repeat takers, especially for students from less advantaged backgrounds. If less privileged students learn more than the more privileged upon retrying then allowing students to take the entrance exam as many times as they want may reduce the effects of background inequalities on college admission.
Unitary Matrix Method for PAPR Reduction of IDFT-VFDM Signals

To enable the frequency reuse between the new radio (NR) and the long-term evolution (LTE) systems, inverse discrete Fourier transform-based Vandermonde-subspace frequency division multiplexing (IDFT-VFDM) has been proposed to exploit the guard intervals of the conventional orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system. One important issue of the IDFT-VFDM system is the high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), which distorts the transmitted signal and causes severe performance degradation. Compared to OFDM, the method to reduce the PAPR in IDFT-VFDM requires unique design to guarantee zero interference to the legacy LTE system. To deal with this problem, a unitary matrix based method is proposed to design the precoder at the NR users to reduce the PAPR, which can also guarantee the minimum residual interference to the LTE system. Simulation results are demonstrated to verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.