Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Entrepreneurial Motivation As A Factor Affecting Small and Medium Enterprises Performance in the coffee subsector in Kenya; A Case Study of Tropical Farm Management Kenya Limited

Tropical Farm Management Kenya Limited has been in the management of coffee Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) since 1972. Sasini Tea and coffee, Coffee management services, and sustainable management services are other management companies involved in the management of coffee SMEs since 2000.NKG is the Global Holding Company of TFMKL with substantial global interests in coffee milling, marketing, trading, warehousing, trading and coffee SMEs management. Over the last decade coffee SMEs performance has been declining from a high of 0.37tons/ha to 0.242 tons/ha. Kenya’s Sessional paper no 2 of 2005 indentified the SMEs sector in general as engine of economic growth. The coffee SMEs sector directly supports over 700000families in SMEs. In the last decade the sector earned the country over Ksh 100 billion. It is this immense contribution of the sector to the national economy and with the observed declining performance of the sector which acted as a catalyst to the researcher to explore what could be ailing the sector. The general objective of the project was to explore entrepreneurial motivation factors affecting coffee SMEs performance at TFMKL. The SMEs transcend Kiambu, Murang’a and Nakuru counties. The target population was the 37 SMEs managed by TFMKL. An embedded case study was carried out on the 37 SMEs. A census was used to study all the SMEs . A questionnaire was used to gather primary data. The questionnaire had structured questions which allowed respondents to choose responses from alternatives while unstructured questions allowed respondents to state their views on entrepreneurial factors affecting coffee SMEs performance. The research revealed that the SMEs performance had suffered highly due to lack of entrepreneurial motivation of employees. Frequent transfer of managers before they get acclimatized in their work stations affected performance highly. Wastage of resources, arguments over procedures and professional employment policy too affected performance. The
Highlights from the Ninth International Congress on Molecular Plant–Microbe Interactions

The President of the International Society for Molecular Plant–Microbe Interactions (IS-MPMI), Barry Rolfe, wrote most insightfully in a recent online article about the importance of basic scholarship to the cultural integrity of modern civilized society (<http://www.scisoc. org/ismpmi/pubs/99spr.
Management Considerations in Holstein Heifer Development Guide

The purpose of the heifer herd is to provide replacements for cows leaving the herd and to improve genetic progress. First-lactation cows significantly contribute to herd production and profit. A recommended goal for dairy replacement heifers is to calve at 24 months of age with a targeted postcalving body weight of 1250 pounds. A common misconception is that this goal is either unattainable or uneconomical. Feeding heifers for rapid gains costs more per day than feeding for low gains, but development of replacement heifers is an investment in the future. The replacement heifer program should rear heifers to reach a desired age and body weight at a minimum cost.
Measurement of vaginal length: reliability of the vaginal sound—a Gynecologic Oncology Group Study

A decrease in vaginal length associated with treatments for gynecological malignancies, particularly pelvic radiotherapy, negatively impacts sexuality. Research into this important problem has been hampered by a lack of instrumentation to measure vaginal length. The Gynecologic Oncology Group recently evaluated the reliability of an instrument, the “vaginal sound,” designed to measure vaginal length. Eighty-eight physicians and nurses attended a training session in the use of the vaginal sound that included a clinical practicum with live models. Reliability was assessed at the time of the practicum. The instrument performed well, with vaginal lengths in models without cancer in the upper range of normal as documented by Masters and Johnson. The vaginal sound also appeared to be sensitive to hypothesized changes in vaginal length. Interrater reliability was high with intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.88 among instructors and 0.76 among trainees. In conclusion, the vaginal sound is a simple, yet reproducible measure and adds methodologic rigor to studies of vaginal length.
THE IMPACT OF BUDGET PARTICIPATION AND MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS ON PERFORMANCE OF TURKISH MIDDLE LEVEL MANAGERS TÜRK ORTA KADEME YÖNETİCİLERİNİN PERFORMANSI ÜZERİNE BÜTÇE KATILIMI VE YÖNETİM MUHASEBE SİSTEMİ ETKİSİ

This paper examines impacts of relationship between budget participation and management accounting system on managerial performance. To test this relationship, the data are obtained through the survey from 150 managers that have been working in accounting and finance department in the top 500 businesses in Turkey in 2006. The results of multiple regression analysis indicate that the higher interaction score between budget participation and management accounting system information leads to higher managerial performance. Also, discriminant analysis shows that subordinates with high performance use MAS information more than ones with low performance.
High Real Interest Rates, Guarantor Risk, and Bank Recapitalizations

The author sets out a methodology for analyzing episodes of high real interest rates in emerging market economies. He reviews the literature on what determines spreads in deposit rates and loan rates. Then he links the causes of interest rate spreads by explicitly modeling the incentive effect of a government deposit guarantee on the behavior of depositories, banks, and firms. The premise: begin with accounting identities that decompose the deposit spread and loan spread into several components. The relative importance of the components can be measured to discover the sources of the high real rates. The results suggest that the expected exchange rate depreciation and credit quality of borrowers are among the most important determinants of high real rates. A government guarantee on deposits affects both the deposit and the loan spread by altering marginal incentives. Although high real rates may signal financial distress, standard recapitulation mechanisms may not improve the situation. The behavior of real interest rates depends on the account unit that has been chosen for financial transaction. High real interest rates often occur when an economy is close to widespread debtor default. If high real interest rates are a financial sector distress symptom, then high real rates will incorporate expectations of a breakdown in the government's enforcement of financial contracts, in addition to other factors the author addresses.
SPV array powered SC buck-boost converter fed SRM drive for water pumping

A switched capacitor buck-boost DC-DC converter is proposed for SPV (Solar Photovoltaic) powered water pumping system employing SRM (Switched Reluctance Motor) drive. The speed of SRM drive is regulated by changing the DC link voltage of a mid-point converter which depends upon the insolation levels. Moreover, the SRM drive is operated with fundamental switching which helps to minimized switching losses in a mid-point converter and increases the efficiency of proposed water pumping system. A switched capacitor buck-boost converter is operated in continuous conduction mode (CCM) to lowering the ringing effect of inductors and stress on switched capacitor buck-boost converter parameters. From the analysis of simulated performance of proposed system, it is revealed that the system operates efficiently at all possible environment conditions.
Supply chain/electronic hubs: a comparative analysis

As competition abounds, the efficient organization of a company's supply chain is a vital success factor for companies in today's business world. In recent years, electronic hubs have received great attention, providing buyers and suppliers alike with a means of structuring and streamlining their supply chains in order to create maximum efficiency. Concerning the future of the e‐hub environment, online marketplaces are expected to move rapidly toward becoming full service providers, letting e‐commerce swallow the entire supply chain. Moreover, distinctions between public and private hubs will likely blur, while only the strongest electronic hubs with the most profitable operations strategies will be able to succeed in the long run. Conducts analysis to the e‐hubs supply chain, followed by a comparative analysis of the current situation supported by examples of successful e‐hubs. As a consequence, provides a benchmarking basis for organizations wishing to incorporate the know‐how and experience of these successful hubs into their own business. Finally, a forecast to future trends in the e‐hub market space is conducted along with recommendations.
Light quantity and quality induce shade‐avoiding plasticity in a marine macroalga

Light‐induced plasticity in plant morphology is considered adaptive in terrestrial habitats that vary in light, but remains unexplored for marine habitats. This is despite similar modes of growth, development and photosynthetic equipment in terrestrial and marine photoautotrophs and similarly dynamic light environments. We tested whether manipulations of light quantity and quality induce morphological plasticity in the marine macroalga, Asparagopsis armata. Using multivariate analyses (principal components analyses and multivariate analyses of covariance), we show that correlated morphological traits underlie a fundamental growth strategy characterized by the production of phalanx and guerrilla phenotypes in environments that mimic light and shade respectively. This foraging response is not under simple genetic or environmental control, but influenced by interactions between genotype and environment. Evidence of plasticity and genetic variation in plasticity in a marine modular organism generates additional, testable hypotheses on the ecological consequences of variation in growth form that may further explain the evolution of plasticity.
Remote Sensing Image Matching Based on Adaptive Binning SIFT Descriptor

Image matching based on local invariant features is crucial for many photogrammetric and remote sensing applications such as image registration and image mosaicking. In this paper, a novel local feature descriptor named adaptive binning scale-invariant feature transform (AB-SIFT) for fully automatic remote sensing image matching that is robust to local geometric distortions is proposed. The main idea of the proposed method is an adaptive binning strategy to compute the local feature descriptor. The proposed descriptor is computed on a normalized region defined by an improved version of the prominent Hessian affine feature extraction algorithm called the uniform robust Hessian affine algorithm. Unlike common distribution-based descriptors, the proposed descriptor uses an adaptive histogram quantization strategy for both location and gradient orientations, which is robust and actually resistant to a local viewpoint distortion and extremely increases the discriminability and robustness of the final AB-SIFT descriptor. In addition to the SIFT descriptor, the proposed adaptive quantization strategy can be easily extended for other distribution-based descriptors. Experimental results on both synthetic and real image pairs show that the proposed AB-SIFT matching method is more robust and accurate than state-of-the-art methods, including the SIFT, DAISY, the gradient location and orientation histogram, the local intensity order pattern, and the binary robust invariant scale keypoint.
Characteristics of a Switched Reluctance Motor using Grain-Oriented electric steel sheet

This paper shows characteristics of a Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) using a Grain-Oriented electric steel. In general, most of SRMs use the Non-Oriented electrical steel sheet. The Grain-Oriented electric steel sheet has good magnetic characteristic in the rolling direction. However there is few application of rotating machines which use the steel. This paper shows an effectiveness of the SRM with the steel.
A Profile of Micro-Entrepreneurship in Western Maryland: How DemographicVariables Affect These Nascent Engines of Opportunity

In an area of the state that has seen its manufacturing base decimated, the entrepreneurial spirit is resurging through micro business which compromise 88 % of all businesses in Maryland and jobs for over one-half million people. The first step in a state-wide study, a survey was mailed to micro enterprises in two counties in Western Maryland; Allegany and Washington, both of which are part of Appalachia. Findings from the study show a healthy number of microenterprises at work earning over $100k, with many operating from home, and educational and gender breakdowns that were contrary to population demographics. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The first step in a state-wide survey of microbusinesses was taken with a survey mailing conducted in two of the three Western Maryland counties, Allegany and Washington. Surrounded by the spectacular mountains of Maryland, both counties are considered part of Appalachia and both have experienced a devastating drain of jobs due to closed or moved manufacturing plants. The purpose of the study was to obtain a profile of micro businesses in the two Western Maryland counties. This profile created baseline data for each county in the state for future research opportunities. The survey, mailed to businesses with less than 5 employees, consisted of 45 items. 110 responses were received and were analyzed using SPSS. Findings show that 94.5% of Caucasians own a microenterprise. 27.3% are women. The majority of microentrepreneurs are 44-62 years of age. Only 4.5% did not finish high school and 15.5% earned a graduate degree. 65% had prior work experience related to their current business. 39% of the businesses were retail. The business was the primary source of income for nearly 60% of respondents. Many employed family members in the business. Most of the businesses were operated as sole proprietorships with annual revenues of over $100k.
Plasma and cervical viral loads among Ugandan and Zimbabwean women during acute and early HIV-1 infection

Objectives:High levels of HIV-1 viremia exist in peripheral blood during acute and early infection; however, data on HIV-1 viral loads in female genital secretions during this period are sparse. Design:Prospective cohort of 188 African women with primary HIV-1 infection. Methods:HIV-uninfected and infected women were followed quarterly; we tested serial plasma specimens by HIV PCR to estimate infection dates. We used the Loess procedure to estimate the magnitude and timing of viral setpoints in plasma and cervical secretions and generalized estimating equations (GEE) to identify predictors of plasma and cervical viral setpoints. Results:We estimated the mean HIV-1 plasma setpoint to be 4.20 log10 HIV-1 RNA copies/ml [95% confidence interval (CI) 4.04–4.35] at 121 days (95% CI 91–137) from infection; an analogous mean cervical viral setpoint was 1.64 log10 HIV-1 RNA copies/swab (95% CI 1.46–1.82) at 174 days (95% CI 145–194) from infection. Cervical loads were significantly higher (0.7–1.1 log10 copies/swab) during acute infection than subsequently. Subtype D infection, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and older age at the time of infection were associated with higher plasma viral setpoint. Subtype C infection, nonviral sexually transmitted infections, having a partner spending nights away from home, recent unprotected sex, and shorter time since infection were associated with higher cervical HIV-1 loads. Hormonal contraception was not associated with either the HIV-1 plasma setpoint or cervical loads during early infection. Conclusion:Cervical HIV-1 viral loads were highest during acute infection and then declined up to 6 months following infection, when a ‘setpoint’ was attained. The prognostic value of a cervical ‘setpoint’ on future transmission risk remains unclear.
DEBATE DE LA UTILIDAD DE LA INFORMACIÓN CONTABLE SOBRE INTANGIBLES DISCUSSION OF THE USEFULNESS OF ACCOUNTING INFORMATION

Globalization and economic development have led to the study of new ways of creating income and wealth of business and in its communication with the aim of meeting the needs of groups interested in obtaining information relevant and useful for their decision making. We propose to study the usefulness of accounting information for decision-making of their primary users, focusing on the specific case of the hidden intangibles that do not appear in the financial statements and are able to create value-added production. Following the literature review, we show in favor of including intangible accounting information from legal and voluntary information with other companies to reflect fairly the assets, financial condition and results, confirming the usefulness of this information to all interested users.
Corporate Governance and Performance of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs): A Comparative Study in Sri Lanka and India

ii THESIS RELATED RESEARCH OUTCOMES . vi DEDICATION . viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . ix TABLE OF CONTENTS . xii LIST OF FIGURES . xvii LIST OF TABLES . xviii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . xx CHAPTER ONE .
Are Violent Video Games Harmful?

Objective: The aim of this paper is to revisit the controversial issue of the association of violent video games and aggressive behaviour. Conclusions: Several lines of evidence suggest that there is a link between exposure to violent video games and aggressive behaviour. However, methodological shortcomings of research conducted so far make several interpretations of this relationship possible. Thus, aggressive behaviour may be a consequence of playing violent video games, an expression of hostile traits that existed before exposure to these games, and/or it may be a result of several possible combinations of these and other factors. Mental health professionals need to be aware of these potentially negative effects of violent video games when assessing patients who present with aggression. There is a need for prospective, long-term studies similar to those evaluating the effects of television and film violence on children and adolescents.
Antimicrobial stewardship in Australian private hospitals

II Declaration by author IV Preface V Statement of work carried out in collaboration V Statement of contributions to jointly authored works contained in the thesis V Statement of contributions by others to the thesis as a whole VI Statement of work submitted for other qualifications VI Statement of work carried out prior to PhD candidature enrolment VI Published works by the author incorporated into the thesis VII Additional published works by the author relevant to the thesis but not forming VII part of it Conference publications VIII Acknowledgements XI Table of
Hospital management accounting and control systems: a cross-sectional survey of Canadian hospitals

This paper reports the results of a cross-sectional research study of management accounting and control systems in 82 hospitals across Canada. The research aimed to investigate the relationship of budgeting systems and a cost conscious climate to environment, CEO roles, performance, and tactical initiatives. The results indicate that hospital administrators are using these control systems as important management tools and that they are positively associated with hospital performance and for motivating actions designed to improve performance. The results also suggest that medical personnel physicians and nurses are gaining familiarity with hospital management accounting and control systems. Surprisingly, the environmental variable crisis was not associated with these systems. However, the study did not investigate, nor is cross-sectional methodology suitable for investigating the extent to which manipulation of accounting data and other kinds of goal incongruent behavior, as reported by researchers in other countries, takes place in Canada. Further research, including field studies, is needed to round out the picture in Canadian hospitals.
Effects of food safety and health risk information on demand for food in Taiwan

In recent years, there have been many reported cases of food contamination of foreign food products, both legally imported and illegally smuggled into Taiwan. In addition, food safety issues in Taiwan have dramatically increased with regard to incidences of contaminated meat products as well as many reported cases of food contamination of foreign food products. Outbreaks of food related diseases such as H5N1 avian influenza, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), foot-and-mouth diseases (FMD), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Salmonella have also frightened to consumers. Potential impacts of these food safety issues on consumers’ demand for the related food could be serious; however, we don’t know how strong and how long they influence consumers’ food demand. In addition, their own-effects on the demand for contaminated food may involve potential cross-effects impacting the demand for other food. This paper is aimed at providing such an economic analysis of the effects of food safety and health risk information on food demand in Taiwan.
Robotic and imaging in urological surgery

Purpose of review New imaging modalities and tissue navigation systems, which are adoptable to minimally invasive robotic urological surgical systems and prone to make the procedures more precise and easy, are reviewed. Recent findings Image-guided surgery as the general name of combining information of imaging modalities with real-time surgery has already found a place in open and minimally invasive procedures. Soft tissue navigation is a complex type of computer-assisted surgery for soft tissue interventions. Robotic surgery has advantages of superior degrees of freedom and three-dimensional stereotactic user interface. A combination of surgical robotics with image-assisted surgery and soft tissue navigation may offer advantages of more precise anatomical target localization and dissection with minimal damage to the tissue. Solving the problem of organ shift and as a result, unpredictable changing of intraoperative anatomy soft tissue navigation has the potential to increase the precision of minimally invasive robotic surgery. Summary Apart from less invasiveness, the concomitant use of minimal invasive robotic systems with soft tissue navigation enhances surgical precision. However, at present, abdominal navigation systems are in experimental use and not perfect enough for daily surgical routine.
Design of high quality factor fully-differential CMOS current conveyor for a complex filter application

The filter proposed in this paper has an advantage of higher frequency response and better selectivity against the classical band pass filter. A Fully Differential Current (FDC) Conveyor has been designed and it uses the application of differential difference operational floating amplifier (DDOFA) and floating current source circuits. The circuit design is synthesized using 180nm CMOS technology with ±1.8V power supply in cadence virtuoso and the simulation is done using Spectre. The FDC Conveyor is to be used in the complex filter with 700MHz center frequency. Using cascading technique, another higher order complex filter at 700 MHz center frequency is proposed and it is now suitable for applications like Bluetooth receivers.The simulation results shows that the gain is programmable without altering the ‘Q’ value of the filter which makes FDC Conveyor suitable to implement as a VGA and FDC Conveyor-Based Band Pass filter is shown in our work.