Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Anàlisi de la relació entre les emissions de gasos hivernacle i l'augment de la temperatura mitjançant algoritmes i tecnologies de Big Data

L'emissio de gasos hivernacle per part de la humanitat ha estat afectant negativament les temperatures del planeta i augmentant l'efecte del canvi climatic. L'impacte es tan elevat que les consequencies son molt visibles actualment: Cada cop hi ha temperatures mes elevades, mes desertitzacio. Al llarg del temps s'han fet multiples estudis demostrant i explicant que el canvi climatic es un fet i que cal actuar immediatament, pero encara hi ha molta gent reticent a admetre que existeix aquest canvi climatic. El principal objectiu d'aquest treball es fer una comparativa de les temperatures de multiples paisos i trobar una relacio entre aquestes i les emissions de gasos hivernacle. Per fer-ho, es creara un conjunt de dades, a partir de dades ja existents, i s'entrenara diversos models d'aprenentatge automatic per veure si a partir de les emissions es poden predir les temperatures. Aprofitant aquesta comparativa tambe es preten avaluar cada un dels algoritmes escollits i veure quins aconsegueixen millors resultats.
The impact of post-trade transparency on price efficiency and price discovery

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of post-trade transparency on price efficiency and price discovery. Design/methodology/approach The authors use an exogeneous change in market transparency in the Taiwan Stock Exchange that mandates the disclosure of unexecuted orders of the five best bid and ask prices after each trade, and conduct an event study analysis. Findings After the change, price efficiency enhances for both large and small firms, although the impact on stock prices is greater when the firm is larger. The authors also find that post-change trading reveals more private information for large firms but more public information for small firms. The findings support the view that transparency has a positive impact on market quality. Originality/value The paper adds to a large body of literature investigating the relationship between transparency and market behavior, especially the ongoing debate about whether trading transparency positively affects price dynamics. The findings also have important policy implications for the regulators.
Spatial determinants of inventive capacity in Brazil: the role of inventor networks

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the role of inventor networks in regional inventive capacity in Brazil for 558 regions in the period 2000–11. Based on the knowledge-production function (KPF), it focuses on four network measurements: intra- and interregional collaborative inventor links, density of the network, and international collaboration among Brazilian and foreign inventors. The main results show that intra-regional inventive collaborations exert a positive impact, while denser networks negatively influence regional inventive productivity. Interregional collaborative links have a ‘U’-shape relationship with inventive productivity only for South and Southeast. Inventions in the North, Northeast and Centre–West rely on international collaborative links.
Is there evidence of “fear of appreciation” in China’s foreign exchange market intervention?

ABSTRACT Using the data after the exchange rate regime reform in July 2005, this paper systematically studied the issue whether China has conducted ‘fear of appreciation’ asymmetric intervention. The results show that China’s intervention is discontinuous and asymmetric, rather than oversimplified ‘fear of appreciation’. China has a target range with respect to exchange rate deviation, and most observations are concentrated in this range, in which the exchange rate deviation can be tolerated. Outside the target range, the width of the range suggests that the tolerance level for appreciation is much higher than that for depreciation, whereas the estimated coefficients show that the monetary authority responds more vigorously to substantial appreciation than to depreciation. In addition, it can be expected that with the marketization of RMB exchange rate, China’s intervention degree will further decline.
Media and information literacy: a measurement instrument for adolescents

ABSTRACT Media and information literacy is the process of empowering people to seek, evaluate, use and create information effectively in order to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals. This paper presents the dimensions and categories of an instrument (the MIL questionnaire) developed within the University of the Basque Country’s UNESCO Chair in Communication and Educational Values, which aims to analyse media and information literacy levels amongst adolescents. The instrument is based on four dimensions that encompass basic aspects of the field of educommunication. These dimensions are: (1) Media access and use; (2) Media language and critical comprehension; (3) Production and programming processes; and (4) Transforming one’s situation through communication. The aim of this piece of research was to test the reliability and validity of this instrument in a pilot study conducted with 167 adolescents aged between 13 and 15, from schools in Colombia, Ecuador and Spain. With the exception of the first dimension, the results indicate that the questionnaire has an acceptable reliability level and is an adequate instrument for evaluating media and information literacy among adolescents.
Advanced Scalar Control with FPGA Device for Pumping Photovoltaic System

This work presents a virtual prototype for studying and simulation of pumping photovoltaic installation’s scalar control. The implementation is supposed to be realized in FPGA device. The simulation was conducted using the Matlab/Simulink and the ActiveHDL programs. While the photovoltaic generator /inverter/motor dynamic is executed in the Matlab, the Active-HDL performs the scalar control which is written in VHDL-code. both of the programs work in Co-simulation mode provided by the Active-HDL block-set in the simulink.
Innovazioni del Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting

Obiettivo principale del presente contributo e di fornire un primo apprezzamento alle innovazioni introdotte dal Framework for Financial Reporting pubblicato dallo IASB nel 2018, a distanza di circa 30 anni dalla prima versione. Tenuto conto della letteratura che aveva in passato commentato le precedenti versioni del Conceptual Framework dello IASB, questo e uno dei primi contributi che, oltre a richiamare la portata innovativa della finalita e delle caratteristiche qualitative dei bilanci, si spinge a proporre valutazioni sulle innovazioni inerenti ai confini dei bilanci, alla definizione dei componenti del bilancio e alla classificazione dei criteri di valutazione
The Development of Morpho-Syntactic Competence in Italian-Speaking Children: a Usage-Based Approach

Usage-Based scholars (e.g. Lieven et al., 2009) have shown that children’s early grammar is characterisable as knowledge of lexically-specific patterns (kick KICKEE) learnt from previously encountered strings (kick it). Experimental research (e.g. Lewis, 2009) has shown that children younger than four years cannot use nonce verbs in constructions in which they have never experienced them. Productivity with nonce verbs slowly improves throughout the preschool years, as adultlike schemas (e.g. AGENT-PROCESS-PATIENT) gradually emerge in ontogeny (Tomasello, 2006b). However, such results are overwhelmingly based on studies of English-speaking children and it is unclear how well they generalise to other languages. The research presented in this thesis enquired into whether a Usage-Based Approach could account for the acquisition of Italian. A longitudinal study investigated whether the spontaneous production of an Italian-speaking two-year-old could be accounted for in terms of lexically-specific units instantiated in the concrete strings he had previously experienced. An experimental study tapped into the development of 2;02-to-5;0-year-old Italian-speakers’ productivity with past participles and the transitive construction using both a nonce verb and a familiar verb. Results on syntactic development were consistent with previous findings regarding English-speaking children (Akhtar, 1999; Lieven et al., 2009). The overwhelming majority of the child’s spontaneous production (82%) could be derived from previously encountered lexically-specific patterns. In the experimental setting, children younger than four years could not produce adultlike transitive sentences with a nonce verb they had not experienced in that construction. As for morphological productivity, even two-year-olds used the nonce verb productively. Such results are discussed in terms of how the co-occurrence of high type and token frequency that characterises the Italian morphology may facilitate form-function mapping. Overall results are consistent with Usage-Based Models, suggesting that such approaches have cross-linguistic validity.
Amman Price Index Volatility Shocks: Empirical Study during 2011 – 2015

يقيم هذا البحث مصادر صدمات تقلبات مؤشر أسعار الاسهم في بورصة عمان ان كانت داخليه أم خارجية (مؤشر الاسعار في بورصة السوق المالي في دبي ومؤشر سوق الاسهم الامريكي S&P500 ومؤشر سوق الاسهم في البورصة اللندنية FTSE). تم جمع بيانات شهرية متسلسلة زمنية خلال الفترة من يناير 2011 إلى ديسمبر 2015 ، وتم تطبيق منهجية (GARCH) للكشف عن مصادر الصدمات في بورصة عمان. بينت النتائج أن التقلب الحالي لمؤشر أسعار عمان هو بسبب الصدمات الداخلية ، في حين أن التقلبات الخارجية مثل FSTE و S&P500 لم تؤثر تأثيرا معنويا بدلاله إحصائية على المؤشر. وخلصت هذه النتائج إلى أن هيئة الأوراق المالية استوعبت بوضوح تأثير الصدمات الخارجية، هذه الثغرات في المؤشر تشير إلى أن سوق الأوراق المالية في الأردن ليس له انكشاف كبير على التجارة الدولية. ونتيجة لذلك، فإن هناك فرص لتنويع الاستثمار في سوق عمان المالي من قبل مستثمرين دوليين
A web transconding framework base on user behaviour evaluation

Accessibility to the web is mainly focused on improving design and evaluation methods (based on guidelines) to create new web pages accessible to all. However, this approach does not solve access to the pages that have been designed without taking into account its accessibility. In addition, given the diversity of users and access devices, even accessible pages can present barriers to specific users using certain devices. As an alternative, transcoding is a technique that automatically transforms inaccessible page code into accessible code. It is also possible to apply techniques of adaptation of the page to the needs of specific users in the process of recoding. This thesis presents a framework that allows to convert into accessible web pages that initially are inaccessible, and to customize them to the needs of specific users. For this, we use transcoding techniques based on the evaluation of user behaviour. Based on the proposed conceptual model, two components have been designed: a transcoding tool and a tool for conducting remote evaluations with users with disabilities. The application of the transcoding technique requires: web pages marked with semantic meta-data, for which we have used an extension of the WAI-ARIA markup language. a set of adaptation techniques, for which we have made a selection from the literature and our own tests with real users. a system of reasoning that allows to decide which adaptation techniques to apply and to which annotated elements can be applied, for which we have designed a specific ontology. a model that contains the characteristics of the user (restrictions and preferences) and the device used to access the web. From these elements, the transcoding tool modifies the code of the original page (not accessible) to make it a page accessible and adapted to the requirements of each specific user. Both the design of adaptation techniques and the validation of the generated pages require user testing. To this end, a tool for remote experimentation with the participation of people with disabilities has been developed. This tool uses the Experimental Specification Language (ESL) and the Experimental Session Control Language (ESCL) that have been designed and specified using XML. The different evaluations, carried out with people with reduced mobility and with vision problems, demonstrated how the proposed and developed framework can be used to gain a better knowledge about how the web is used. This information was applied to create new adaptation techniques that we implemented using the transcoding tool. The evaluation with actual users of the pages created showed that this technique is valid to improve its usability and accessibility.
Failed agreements and their impact on subsequent mediation onset and success in intrastate conflicts

ABSTRACT What impact do failed mediated agreements have on subsequent mediation onset and success? The question of mediation onset and success is undoubtedly important, given that mediation is one of the international community’s preferred conflict management tools, but its voluntary nature leaves room for the conflict parties to (dis)agree to talks and possible settlements. Existing research suggests that previous mediation outcomes can affect subsequent mediation efforts positively or negatively – depending on the outcome in focus. This article argues that failed agreements – an outcome of mediation that has not been accounted for in existing literature – underscore the persistence of the commitment problem, and therefore the hazards of sharing private information. Consequently, the conflict parties question the utility of mediation, and the likelihood of subsequent mediation onset decreases. If subsequent talks take place despite the failed agreement, the conflict parties refrain from sharing private information, and reaching an agreement becomes thus less likely. Drawing on the Uppsala Conflict Data Program’s (UCDP) Managing Intrastate Conflict in Africa data set and the UCDP Peace Agreement data set, the results strongly underline the negative impact failed agreements have on subsequent mediation onset, and thereby show that agreement longevity is crucial not only for peace duration but also for leaving the door open to subsequent talks.
Introducing the “Derived Root-system Radius” – An attempt at an evidence-supported-calculation for calculation of buffer zone size in respect of Ancient Semi-natural Woodland, Ancient Trees & Veteran Trees

ABSTRACT Governmental Standing Advice in England recommends a minimum 15 m buffer zone from Ancient Semi-natural Woodland (ASNW), or potentially longer distances for Ancient Trees (AT) and Veteran Trees (VT). This “one-size-fits-all” approach does not account for differences in the biology of individual tree species, or the environmental niches they occupy. The effective capillary range of trees further suggests that in some situations the Standing Advice potentially underestimates the zone of water influence. On the basis of published data linking root area to canopy spread, the estimated root areas of trees in a field sample (n = 112) were defined as the Derived Root-system Radius (DRSR). These results were significantly different from distances recommended within the Standing Advice, which might, therefore, be inadequate to safeguard the full extent of the roots in the greater proportion of the field study samples. In the case of AT and VT, the sensible approach will be to also anticipate any reduction in canopy area by applying both the diameter approach of the Standing Advice, and the DRSR, and adopting the greatest buffer zone.
‘Back to the village’: the model of urban outmigration in post-communist Romania

ABSTRACT The paper is based on the assumption that the ‘back-to-the-village’ movement is a spatial outcome of recent choices that people make in response to emerging social, political and economic changes of post-socialist cities. It examines the combined effect of counter and suburbanization processes on the redistribution patterns of population where the countryside ‘empowered’ by the land reform and the structural changes of urban economies explain the reversal of internal migration of population in search of social security and better livelihoods. Urban outmigration reflects the articulations between labour market, business dynamics, social exclusion, economic profile and urban function across the layers of the urban system. The findings pinpoint the main drivers of urban outmigration within the context of deindustrialization, de-urbanization and ‘ruralization’ of urban economies. While the urban outmigration shows that urban-rural dichotomy is deeply ‘blurred’ by the scale and nature of urban socio-economic transformations, interurban inequalities are growing and require specific policy interventions.
Preparing for Doris: Exploring Public Responses to Impact-Based Weather Warnings in the United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the Met Office issues regionally calibrated impact-based weather warnings. These aim to reduce harm to people and property. To decrease risk from severe weather, it is important to understand how members of the U.K. public interpret and act on these warnings. This paper addresses this through a postevent survey (n = 552) conducted following Storm Doris, a 2017 winter storm during which wind warnings were issued across much of the United Kingdom. Survey questions examined 1) understanding of impact-based wind warnings, 2) interpretation of local warning level, 3) predictors of perceived local risk (likelihood, impact severity, concern) implied by warnings, 4) predictors of trust in the forecast, and 5) predictors of recalled and anticipated action. Our findings indicate that U.K. residents generally understand that weather warnings are based on potential weather impacts, although many do not realize warnings are regionally calibrated. We also find that while local warning levels are rarely underestimated, they may sometimes be overestimated. Institutional trust in the Met Office and perceived vulnerability to weather predict both perceived risk and behavioral response, while warning “understandability” is linked to greater trust in the forecast. Strikingly, while differences in local warning levels influenced risk perception, they did not affect recalled or intended behavioral response. This study highlights the importance of institutional trust in the effective communication of severe weather warnings, and a need for education on impact-based weather warnings. Above all, it demonstrates the need for further exploration of the effect of weather warnings on protective behavior.
Observing Exoplanet Transits with the Citizen Continental-America Telescopic Eclipse (CATE) Experiment Telescope Network

i Acknowledgments . ii Preface . iii List of Tables . vi List of Figures . vii
Embellishing the art of writing instead of impairing it during first-grade studies

Teaching a written language is an essential component of a valid educational curriculum. Learning to write well is a fundamental skill for effective communication throughout life. Currently, California state-adopted language arts textbooks, however, neglect the need for teaching written language. Moreover, these texts focus primarily on the acquisition of language skills such as grammar and mechanics. Language Arts textbooks are a mandatory part of the curriculum and the main source of language instruction used by teachers. Therefore, students are not learning about the process of writing, nor are they receiving valuable practice utilizing the various writing approaches. The focus of this project is to highlight the importance of perceiving writing as a work of art rather than merely just another activity in the curriculum. Additionally, this project portrays several approaches to writing that teachers may utilize to embellish their students' writing. These many approaches may be put into practice with the lesson plans which I have included at the end of this project. It is hoped that teachers who use this project will learn more about the importance of allowing
Leaf Litter Decomposition and Mitigation of CO2 Emissions in Cocoa Ecosystems

Studies simultaneously quantifying litter weight losses and rates of CO2-C evolved are few, though essential for accurate estimates of forest carbon budgets. A 120-day dry matter loss and a 130-day carbon emission experiments were concurrently conducted at the soil laboratory of the University of Reading, UK. Leaf litters of tree species comprising cocoa (Theobroma cacao), Newbouldia laevis (dominant shade tree in Eastern region (ER)) and Persea americana (dominant shade tree in Western region (WR)) of Ghana were incubated using a single tree leaf litter and/or a 1:1 mixed species leaf litters to determine and predict the litter decomposition and C dynamics in cocoa systems with or without the shade trees. Decomposition and C release trends in the ER systems followed: shade > mixed cocoa-shade = predicted mixed litter > cocoa; and in the WR, the order was: cocoa = mixed cocoa-shade > predicted mixed > shade. Differences between released C estimated from litter weight loss and CO2-C evolution measurement methods were not consistent. Regression analysis revealed a strong (R2 = 0.71) relationship between loss of litter C and the CO2-C evolution during litter decomposition. The large C pool for shaded cocoa systems indicates the potential to store more C and thus, its promotion could play a significant role in atmospheric CO2 mitigations.
Real-time stereovision framework for underwater drone maneuvering

In the paper a hybrid underwater drone maneuvering front-end, joining background subtraction and stereovision is presented. Novel formulation of the median based background subtraction allows for fast and reliable foreground/background scene segmentation based on drone-environment relative movement analysis. The following stereovision block performs matching of the foreground objects detected by the background subtraction module. Based on this, information can be provided to the drone on relative distance to the nearest objects in order to avoid collisions. The system does not assume any prior calibration and can operate in real-time.
An improved robust EKF algorithm based on sigma points for UWB and foot-mounted IMU fusion positioning

ABSTRACT The UWB-based positioning system can not provide high accuracy positioning result in NLOS conditions. The standard EKF or robust EKF algorithm is usually adopted to fusion IMU and UWB information, but it also has no enough accuracy in strong NLOS environment. A method based on sigma point sampling is proposed in this paper, in which the priori information and UWB observation are used to adjust the observation covariance. The experimental results show that the accuracy of the proposed method is improved by more than 66% and 50% compared to that of the standard EKF algorithm and the robust EKF algorithm respectively.