Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mobile Services and Applications: Towards a Balanced Adoption Model

This paper synthesizes prior research to develop a novel model for the study of the adoption of mobile business services and applications incorporating a demand and supply perspective. The model complements and extends existing models while also leveraging data from industry reports; in particular, it focuses on the interrelationships between participants in the mobile services value chain and the impact of these interrelationships on the adoption of new services in a competitive and technology-saturated service market. There has been to date limited research reported that has considered the dynamics of the interrelationships between customers and (layers of) multiple service providers as a factor in the adoption and acceptance process; the proposed model addresses this gap and advocates the use of a combination of design science and service science methodologies. It is concluded that not mobility per se but the way mobility is used to create value plays a significant role as an adoption driver, and that the quality of the service and its relevance to personal or business lifestyle are the most important decision making factors. It is also asserted that while innovative mobile services (i.e., services that are not already offered using a different technology) may be compelling if they meet lifestyle needs, mobile services replacing or complementing existing ones will be favored by customers only if their quality is exceptional and motivates 'switching' to the mobile service.
Study on Pragmatic Functions of Gender Terms in Japanese Conversation

In order to clarify the pragmatic functions of the phenomenon “Sexual Inversion” in the use of gender terms in Japanese conversation, this paper analyses respectively the pragmatic functions of the male using female terms and the female using male terms through conversational examples, presenting the point that there is compatibility between male and female terms, the use of which is not confined to gender identity of the speaker, and the flexible use of which can better express the speaker’s identity and viewpoint, moderate the talking atmosphere and coordinate relationship between the two talking sides. It is an intentional pragmatic strategy. Key words: male terms; female terms; pragmatic functions Resume: Afin de clarifier les fonctions pragmatiques du phenomene de l’inversion sexuelle dans l'utilisation des termes de genre dans la conversation en japonais, ce document analyse respectivement les fonctions pragmatiques des termes feminins utilises par les hommes et des termes masculins utilises par les femmes en nous donnant des exemples de conversation, et en presentant le point de vue qu'il y a une compatibilite entre les termes masculins et les termes feminins, dont l'utilisation ne se limite pas a l'identite sexuelle de l'orateur, et qu’une utilisation souple peut mieux exprimer l'identite et le point de vue du locuteur, moderer l'atmosphere de conversation et coordonner les relations entre les deux locuteurs. Il s'agit d'une strategie pragmatique intentionnelle. Mots-Cles: termes masculins; termes feminins; fonctions pragmatiques
Disability Inclusion in Primary Health Care in Nepal: An Explorative Study of Perceived Barriers to Access Governmental Health Services

Purpose: Persons with disabilities face additional barriers in accessing primary healthcare services, especially in developing countries. Consequently the prevalence of secondary health conditions is higher among this population. This study aims to explore the perceived barriers to access primary healthcare services by persons with disabilities in the Western region of Nepal. Methods: 10 primary healthcare providers and 11 persons with disabilities (physically or visually impaired) were selected by non-governmental organisations from the hilly and lower areas. Based on the International Classification of Functioning and the health accessibility model of Institute of Medicine, semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using analytical induction. Results: In general, healthcare providers and persons with disabilities reported similar barriers. Transportation and the attitude of family members and the community were the main environmental barriers . Even with assistive devices, people still depend on their families. Financial barriers were mainly reported, such as lack of funds for health expenses, problems in generating an income by persons with disabilities themselves, and the low socio-economic status of their families. Personal barriers, which affect help-seeking behaviour in a major way, were most often mentioned in relation to financial and socio-environmental barriers. Low self-esteem of the person with disability determines the family’s attitude and the motivation to seek out healthcare. Lastly, poor public awareness about the needs of persons with disabilities was reported. Conclusions: Besides the known physical environmental barriers, this study found several environmental, financial and personal barriers that also affect access to primary healthcare. In particular, the attitudes of families and poor financial conditions seem to be interrelated and greatly influence help-seeking behaviour. Implications: There is a definite need to educate primary healthcare providers who work at the community level about disability-related health conditions, and train them to diminish barriers to access health services. In addition, the government support system for persons with disabilities should be revised and implemented accordingly. Lastly, further research is needed to understand the interaction between the reported barriers that influence the inclusion of persons with disabilities in healthcare.
Circular Microstrip Patch Array Antenna for C-Band Altimeter System

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the practical and experimental results obtained from the design, construction, and test of an array of circular microstrip elements. The aim of this antenna construction was to obtain a gain of 12 dB, an acceptable pattern, and a reasonable value of SWR for altimeter system application. In this paper, the cavity model was applied to analyze the patch and a proper combination of ordinary formulas; HPHFSS software and Microwave Office software were used. The array includes four circular elements with equal sizes and equal spacing and was planed on a substrate. The method of analysis, design, and development of this antenna array is explained completely here. The antenna is simulated and is completely analyzed by commercial HPHFSS software. Microwave Office 2006 software has been used to initially simulate and find the optimum design and results. Comparison between practical results and the results obtained from the simulation shows that we reached our goals by a great degree of validity.
On the road to improved scheduling - fitting activities to capacity

Last Planner System has through the sounding process increased the reliability of the schedule. The sound activities are moved to a buffer and afterwards selected to the Weekly Work Plans to match capacity. Therefore, in order to maximise productivity it is essential to ensure that the sounding process proceeds in a pace which ensures that enough activities are made ready to the Weekly Work Plans. Experiences from case studies are included. It is observed that site-mangers tend to either include at risk activities or to adjust the manning in order to mach work with capacity. Several different solutions to the problem are suggested and discussed. It is proposed to simplify the production by decreasing the number of trades and tasks completed at site. This can be achieved by increasing
A Study of Financing Behavior of Japanese Firms with Corporate Enterprise Quarterly Firm-Level Data from - 1994~2009: Introduction and Summary Statistics

From early spring to late summer in 2010 I investigated the financing behavior of Japanese firms with over ¥10 million in paid-in capital, using firm-level financial data from Hojin Kigyo Tokei Kiho (Corporate Enterprise Quarterly Statistics) of the Ministry of Finance. “A Study of Financing Behavior of Japanese Firms with Firm-Level Data from Corporate Enterprise Quarterly Statistics – 1994~2009”, divided into five discussion papers, constitutes the report. This Introduction and Summary forms the first of the five papers. The other four papers are: [I]. The Low “Bank-Dependence Ratio” and the Further Increase in the “Independence of Firms from Banks”. [II]. The Reality of Short-term Shocks like the “Credit Crunch” of 1997-1999 and the “Financial Crisis” of 2007, and the Effectiveness of “Emergency” Economic Measures – A Follow-up to Miwa [2008]. [III]. The Reality of Trade Credit and its Link to Bank Borrowing and Inventory: (1) Overall Discussion and Preliminary Investigation. [IV]. The Reality of Trade Credit and its Link to Bank Borrowing and Inventory: (2) Correlation Coefficients and Multiple Regressions.2 This Statistics collects quarterly financial data from about 20,000 randomly sampled non-financial firms in 5 size-categories, most of which are unlisted small businesses. Using firm-level data in 1994-2009, I investigate the financing behavior of the firms in Japan during “the Lost Two Decades. ” I explore the reality of the “Credit Crunch” of 1997-1999 and the “Financial Crisis” of 2007, the effectiveness of the policy measures adopted, and the effect of the “zero-interest-rate, quantity easing” monetary policy. The most surprising finding is that the ratio of zero-short-term-borrowing was the highest, 50% in 1998 and two-thirds in 2008, among the smallest firms. The average (short-term bank borrowing)/(total asset) ratio was also lowest among this group. This “Independence from Banks” is a fundamental challenge to the basic premise of the conventional wisdom about the Japanese financial market and corporate finance. 1 Professor, Department of Economics, University of Tokyo. This is an English version of the Discussion Paper in Japanese with the same title (CIRJE-J-222, Miwa [2010c]). It is part of my “A Study of Financing Behavior of Japanese Firms with Firm-Level Data from Corporate Enterprise Quarterly Statistics – 1994-2009”. This work was supported by MEXT KAKENHI, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) 20530192. Email: miwa@e.u-tokyo.ac. jp 2 For readers’ convenience, in the Appendix of this DP, I include abstracts of those 4 DPs.
Detecting and Recognizing the Face and Iris Features from a Video Sequence using DBPNN and Adaptive Hamming Distance

Dense feature extraction is becoming increasingly popular in face recognition. Face recognition is a vital component for authorization and security. In earlier days, CCA (Canonical Correlation Analysis) and SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transforms) was used for face recognition. Since multi scale extraction is not possible with these existing methods, a new approach to dense feature extraction is developed in this project. The proposed method combines dense feature extraction and decision based propagation neural network (DBPNN). Neural network algorithm is presented to recognize the face at different angle, and it is used for training and learning and leading to efficient and robust face recognition. Finally Iris matching is done by using Iterative randomized Hough transform for detecting the pupil region with number of iteration counts. Experimental results show that the proposed method is providing effective recognition rate with accuracy in comparing with existing methods.
Individual peer counselling for exclusive breastfeeding in Uganda

7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 10 INTRODUCTION 13 BREASTFEEDING 13 EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING 14 Benefits of exclusive breastfeeding 15 Factors affecting exclusive breastfeeding practice 16 Strategies to increase exclusive breastfeeding 18 Peer counselling for exclusive breastfeeding promotion 21 HIV/AIDS and breastfeeding 23 The Ugandan context 25 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS 26 JUSTIFICATION FOR THE STUDIES 33 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 35 AIMS OF THIS THESIS 35 Specific objectives 35 STUDY SUBJECTS AND METHODS 36 STUDY SETTING 36 PEER COUNSELLING INTERVENTION 41 STUDY DESIGN FOR THIS THESIS 43 SUBJECTS 48 DATA COLLECTION AND INSTRUMENTS 48 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 50 SUMMARY OF RESULTS 51 PAPER I 51 PAPER II 52 PAPER III 53 DISCUSSION 55 CONCLUSIONS 72 REFERENCES 73 PAPERS 84
Stiffness matrix modification with vibration test data by displacement feedback technique

A no spill-over method is developed which uses measured normal modes and natural frequencies to adjust a structural dynamics model in light of displacement feedback technique. By the method, the required displacement feedback gain matrix is determined, and thus the updated stiffness matrix which satisfies the characteristic equation is found in the Frobenius norm sense and the large number of unmeasured high-order modal data of the original model is preserved. The method directly identifies, without iteration, and the solution of this problem is of a compact expression. The numerical example shows that the modal measured data are better incorporated into the updated model.
The Nançay H i Zone of Avoidance survey of 2MASS bright galaxies

To complement the 2MASS Redshift Survey (2MRS) and the 2MASS Tully-Fisher survey (2MTF) a search for 21cm HI line emission of 2MASS bright galaxy candidates has been pursued along the dust-obscured plane of the Milky Way with the 100m Nancay Radio Telescope. For our sample selection we adopted an isophotal extinction-corrected K-band magnitude limit of $K_s^o = 11.25$mag, corresponding to the first 2MRS data release and 2MTF, for which the 2MASX completeness level remains fairly constant deep into the Zone of Avoidance (ZoA). About one thousand galaxies without prior redshift measurement accessible from Nancay (Dec > -40\deg) were observed to an rms noise level of ~3 mJy for the velocity range -250 to 10'600 km/s. This resulted in 220 clear and 12 marginal detections of the target sample. Only few detections have redshifts above 8000 km/s due to recurring radio frequency interference (RFI). A further 29 detections and 6 marginals have their origin in non-target galaxies in the telescope beam. The newly detected galaxies are on average considerably more \HI-rich (mostly $10^9 - 10^{10}$M$_\odot$) compared to systematic (blind) HI surveys. The HI detections reveal various new filaments crossing the mostly uncharted northern ZoA (e.g. at $\ell \sim 90\deg, 130\deg, 160\deg$), whilst consolidating galaxy agglomerations in Monoceros and Puppis ($\ell \sim 220\deg, 240\deg$). Considerably new insight has been gained about the extent of the Perseus-Pisces Supercluster through the confirmation of a ridge ($\ell \sim 160\deg$) encompassing the 3C129 cluster that links Perseus-Pisces to Lynx, and the continuation of the second Perseus-Pisces arm ($\ell \sim 90\deg$) across the ZoA.
Identification of Aluminum Tolerance Quantitative Trait Loci in Tetraploid Alfalfa

Aluminum (Al) toxicity in acid soils is one of the factors limiting crop production. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is the most important for - age legume worldwide and is susceptible to Al toxicity. our objective was to identify genomic regions associated with Al tolerance in tetra - ploid alfalfa. A segregating population obtained from a cross between Altet-4 (Al-tolerant geno - type) and NECS-141 (Al-sensitive genotype) was evaluated for Al tolerance using a callus bioassay and a whole plant assay in media and genotyped using molecular markers. p heno- typing results for both callus and root growth assays exhibited a normal distribution and pat - terns of transgressive segregation. The linkage maps covered 761 cM for Altet-4 and 721 cM for NECS-141. Markers associated with Al tol - erance from both assays were detected using single-factor analysis. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) for Al tolerance were identified on linkage groups (LGs) 1, 4, and 7 using interval mapping, and these QTL explained 20.8, 15.2, and 21.7% of the variation, respectively. A second popula - tion was used to evaluate the identified Al tol- erance QTL in a different genetic background. Although mechanisms of Al tolerance in tetra - ploid alfalfa are quantitative, the identification of relevant genomic regions and candidate genes involved in abiotic stress responses can facili - tate the selection of desirable alleles to acceler - ate the development of alfalfa cultivars that can be productive in acid and Al-toxic soils.
Social manipulation, turn-taking and cooperation in apes

This paper outlines how the focus on how communicative signals might emerge and how the capacity to interpret them might develop, does not yet explain what type of motivation is required to actually deal with those signals. Without the consistent production of appropriate responses to the production of communicative signals, there would be no point in producing any signal. If language is a tool to accomplish things with others, we need to understand what would lead to cooperation. The first step consists in avoiding the blind belief that all cooperation requires some prosocial attitude. A great deal of cooperation can occur while each participant in the interaction is selfishly attempting to maximize their own benefits or minimizing damaging consequences. I describe how different types of turn-taking can be achieved via different levels of cognitive complexity and how interpretive turn-taking requires a great deal of cognitive abilities that great apes possess. Finally, I provide empirical evidence of social manipulation in non-human primates. Given our awareness of the occurrence of social manipulation during cooperation among human adults, it seems necessary to reconsider to what degree human communication and language evolution require unique prosocial motivations.
In-vivo study of morphology of embryo in the medicinal plant, Basella alba Linn. (Basellaceae)

Copyright: © 2014 | Author(s), This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionNon-Commercial No Derivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is noncommercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. The present paper deals with morphology of freshly dissected out live embryos of medicinally important plant, Basella alba Linn. The various part of the plant is used to cure dysentery, diarrhea, anemia, cancer etc. It is also has a known antioxidant, anti mutagenic, infertility, central nervous system depressant and anti inflammatory activity. The study of embryo at maturity in its native form is very significant, since its normal development is related to the viability of the seed. The young and mature embryo can be distinguished with the help of presence of chlorophyll. The viability of seeds is determined by the presence of green embryo at maturity, while nonviable seeds contains white coloured embryo. The embryo is coiled twice at young stage, while at maturity it is coiled one and half times, with the growing tip situated at the centre and the radicle on the outer side. Considering the medicinal value of B. alba, study the reproductive biology with respect to structure of mature embryo is very pertinent. The study of embryo in its native form also shows the manner in which the growing tip is protected by coiling so as to ensure that the species is protected against adverse condition.
Tracer-assisted evaluation of hydraulic stimulation experiments for geothermal reservoir candidates in deep crystalline and sedimentary formations

Tracer tests provide information on transport properties essential for heat exchange in geothermal reservoirs, namely: fluid residence times, fluid-rock contact surface areas – which are not properly captured by hydraulic or geophysical methods. Mostly, tracer tests can be conducted in parallel with hydraulic or hydro-mechanical experiments, without major additional effort. Here, the use of push -pull and flow-path tracing tests to evaluate the effect of hydraulic stimulation measures is illustrated with different field settings, for short- and long-term experiments in deep crystalline and sedimentary reservoirs in Germany. From the tracer breakthrough curves in the push-pull tests (at the KTB site), the specific (i.e., per-volume) area of the fluid-rock contact surface could be estimated, and its change was used to appreciate the effects of massive stimulation. From tracer BTCs in the hydrofrac spiking test (at the Horstberg site), a fluid residence time distribution was obtained, from which the reservoir’s flow–storage characteristics could be derived , and extrapolated tracer recoveries provided an estimate of the flow capture angle to the target horizon.
Where is the 1-million-year-old ice at Dome A?

Abstract. Ice fabric influences the rheology of ice, and hence the age–depth profile at ice core drilling sites. To investigate the age–depth profile to be expected of the ongoing deep ice coring at Kunlun station, Dome A, we use the depth-varying anisotropic fabric suggested by the recent polarimetric measurements around Dome A along with prescribed fabrics ranging from isotropic through girdle to single maximum in a three-dimensional, thermo-mechanically coupled full-Stokes model of a 70 × 70 km 2 domain around Kunlun station. This model allows for the simulation of the near basal ice temperature and age, and ice flow around the location of the Chinese deep ice coring site. Ice fabrics and geothermal heat flux strongly affect the vertical advection and basal temperature which consequently control the age profile. Constraining modeled age–depth profiles with dated radar isochrones to 2∕3 ice depth, the surface vertical velocity, and also the spatial variability of a radar isochrones dated to 153.3 ka BP, limits the age of the deep ice at Kunlun to between 649 and 831 ka, a much smaller range than previously inferred. The simple interpretation of the polarimetric radar fabric data that we use produces best fits with a geothermal heat flux of 55 mW m −2 . A heat flux of 50 mW m −2 is too low to fit the deeper radar layers, and 60 mW m −2 leads to unrealistic surface velocities. The modeled basal temperature at Kunlun reaches the pressure melting point with a basal melting rate of 2.2–2.7 mm a −1 . Using the spatial distribution of basal temperatures and the best fit fabric suggests that within 400 m of Kunlun station, 1-million-year-old ice may be found 200 m above the bed, and that there are large regions where even older ice is well above the bedrock within 5–6 km of the Kunlun station.
Is mobility of labour a channel for spillovers from multinationals to local domestic flrms

This paper documents the extent of labour mobility from multinationals (MNEs) to non-MNEs in Norwegian manufacturing during the 1990s. On average, each year around one percent of workers in MNEs move to non-MNEs. By the year 2000, 45 percent of the non-MNEs employed workers with experience from MNEs. These workers earned a wage premium of more than 3 percent compared to their new colleagues in the non-MNEs. I estimate a Cobb-Douglas production function for nonMNEs and include the share of workers with recent MNE experience. Consistent with mobility being a channel for knowledge difiusion, I flnd that these workers contribute 20-25 percent more to productivity than workers without experience from MNEs. The difierence between the private returns to mobility and the productivity efiect at the plant level suggests that labour mobility from MNEs to non-MNEs represents a true knowledge externality.