Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A choice of poverty alleviation programs under double asymmetric information about income and productivity

When a government transfers cash to alleviate poverty, policymakers often face the screening problem in identifying individuals who should be supported by the government. It is di¢ cult for policymakers to target low-productivity individuals because of the existence of asymmetric information about individual productivity between the public and the government. The self-selection mechanisms, such as workfare and in-kind transfers are pointed out as solutions of the screening problem and these approaches have been adopted in both developing and developed countries. However, the self-selection systems are useful only when the government can observe individual income. In this paper, we propose a mechanism that enables self-selection, even if individual income cannot be observed. Moreover, this self-selection system enables the government to obtain nancial resources through taxation. JEL classi cation: D61, J82, P35 Keywards: poverty alleviation, self-selection, asymmetric information I am grateful to Junmin Wan and Shiro Kuwahara for their detailed comments. I wish to express my gratitude to Kenmei Tubota, Kotaro Kushima, Rumi Hattori, Yusuke Sasaki, Takaharu Sasaki, and participants in seminars at Kyusyu University, and the Western Economic Association International for their helpful comments. yE-mail: nakamuray@fukuoka-u.ac. jp z8-19-1 Nanakuma, Jonan-ku Fukuoka 814-0180 Tel: +81-92-864-2904
A possible solution 1 : Credibility Evaluation 2 : Threshold Identification and Malicious User Neutralization 3 : Reputation Evaluation Repository Reputation Feedback Evaluation Process

The reputation of web services is calculated by aggregating user feedback ratings. Though reputation is a subjective metric, it can be considered as a good indicator about services Quality of Experience, and henceforth, it can be used for recommending services in an open ecosystem. In this work, we propose a three-phase process for evaluating web service reputation by aggregating user feedback ratings. The relationship between users and services is modeled as a bipartite graph where an adapted HITS (Hypertext Induced Topic Search) algorithm is employed to distinguish between honest and malicious users in Phase I. Then, this model is used to evaluate, in Phase III, the reputation of web services from user ratings after punishing malicious users in Phase II. An experiment on a dataset of real Web services was conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed model in evaluating Web service reputation. Keywords-Web services, Reputation, HITS algorithm, User credibility evaluation.
Ocean Vista: Gossip-Based Visibility Control for Speedy Geo-Distributed Transactions

Providing ACID transactions under conflicts across globally distributed data is the Everest of transaction processing protocols. Transaction processing in this scenario is particularly costly due to the high latency of cross-continent network links, which inflates concurrency control and data replication overheads. To mitigate the problem, we introduce Ocean Vista - a novel distributed protocol that guarantees strict serializability . We observe that concurrency control and replication address different aspects of resolving the visibility of transactions, and we address both concerns using a multi-version protocol that tracks visibility using version watermarks and arrives at correct visibility decisions using efficient gossip. Gossiping the watermarks enables asynchronous transaction processing and acknowledging transaction visibility in batches in the concurrency control and replication protocols, which improves efficiency under high cross-datacenter network delays. In particular, Ocean Vista can process conflicting transactions in parallel, and supports efficient write-quorum / read-one access using one round trip in the common case. We demonstrate experimentally in a multi-data-center cloud environment that our design outperforms a leading distributed transaction processing engine (TAPIR) more than 10-fold in terms of peak throughput, albeit at the cost of additional latency for gossip. The latency penalty is generally bounded by one wide area network (WAN) round trip time (RTT), and in the best case (i.e., under light load) our system nearly breaks even with TAPIR by committing transactions in around one WAN RTT.
MULTISCALE STOCHASTIC MODEL AND SIMULATION FOR THE STUDY OF THE NON-LINEAR BEHAVIOUR OF PLANT FIBRE COMPOSITES

In the context of sustainable development, the elaboration and the exploitation of materials and structures requires a minimisation of their environmental impact. In this context, the use of plant fibres for the development of structural composites is a promising solution. Nevertheless, these materials exhibit a relatively complex and non-linear tensile behaviour. Characterisation and understanding of non-linearities, as well as their variability, represent an important challenge for the perennial use of plant fibres as reinforcement of semi-structural composites. This work proposes to investigate the mechanisms that underlie the mechanical behaviour of plant fibre composites using a numerical approach based on a multiscale stochastic modelling. The composite ply is modelled via a representative elementary volume (RVE). The RVE consists of a strand of fibres coated with epoxy matrix. A stochastic method of calculation is implemented. It enables to perform a random drawing of the characteristic parameters of the RVE (dimensional and material) and to carry out a finite elements analysis on the modelled RVE. The preliminary results show that for cylindrical fibres, their dimensions have no influence on the shape of the nonlinear tensile behaviour of the REV of the ply.
Spatial Dispersion and Nonmigratory Spawning in the Bluehead Wrasse ( Thalassoma bifasciatum )

Earlier studies of the behavior of the bluehead wrasse Thalassoma bifasciatum have shown it to be a migratory spawner with large terminal-phase males defending temporary spawning territories. We describe a variant social structure where fish occupy permanent home ranges, spawn within or near these home ranges, and are not territorial. Movements of identified terminal-phase and intermediate males and females were mapped in the backreef areas of three coral reefs in Puerto Rico. Locations of spawns were then compared with these home-range maps. All fish used most o r all of their morning home range during the afternoon spawning period. Both terminal-phase males and females spawned within or near their home ranges. Males were relatively tolerant of other males during the afternoon spawning period: only one in five encounters between large males resulted in aggressive chases. The location of chases bore no relation to spawning sites, areas of morning foraging, o r to home-range borders. A Monte Carlo computer simulation was used to measure home-range dispersion of terminal-phase and intermediate males at our main site. If males were territorial, we should expect their home ranges to be significantly overdispersed within the cumulative area they occupied. During the first year male home ranges were overdispersed but during the second year they were randomly dispersed, even though the same number of terminal-phase males occupied the same study site both years. Differences in social behavior between backreef areas and other areas reported in the literature, and found in other portions of our reefs, may be related to differences in feeding ecology between populations and between different portions of the same reef. Corresponding author: Douglas Y. SHAPIRO, Dept. of Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagiiez, Puerto Rico 00709.
Pragmatic Methods and Causal-History Explanations

A Pragmatic View of Causal Explanation Much has been written on the subject of explanation in the natural and social sciences. This reader sets forth a view of explanation that reflects a decades-long shift among philosophers on what explanation is about, a shift towards an emphasis on identifying causal pathways or mechanisms rather than on subsuming observable phenomena under generalizations or laws. 1
Participation and discourse in shareholder engagement : Behind the scenes at ICCR

The complex and dynamic relationships between business and civil society have become the focus of increased attention in our unsettled times. While civil society activists have drawn public attention to the negative effects of corporate behaviour on social and environmental issues (den Hond and de Bakker 2007, Guay et al. 2004), shareholders focused on ESG issues have increasingly engaged behind-the-scenes (Goldstein 2011, Logsdon and Van Buren 2009). Concerns have been raised about the consequences of non-participation of broader stakeholders and civil society in shareholder engagement (Coumans 2012, Dhir 2012). This article demonstrates that stakeholder participation and deliberation are frequently used in the preparation stages of dialogue but that this broader participation in direct dialogue is perceived by shareholders as eroding the trust built between individuals over time. We challenge the claim that it is participation per se which erodes trust and explore opportunities for greater stakeholder participation in dialogue.
Time-Use and Academic Peer Effects in College

This paper examines academic peer effects in college. Unique new data from the Berea Panel Study allow us to focus on a mechanism wherein a student’s peers affect her achievement by changing her study effort. Although the potential relevance of this mechanism has been recognized, data limitations have made it difficult to provide direct evidence about its importance. We find that a student’s freshman grade point average is affected by the amount her peers studied in high school, suggesting the importance of this mechanism. Using time diary information, we confirm that college study time is actually being affected.
Linear Model and the Estimators Consider the multiple linear model

In this paper, we consider the estimation of the parameters of the non-orthogonal regression model, when we suspect a sparsity condition. We provide with a comparative performance characteristics of the primary penalty estimators, namely, the ridge and the LASSO, with the least square estimator, restricted LSE, preliminary test and Stein-type of estimators, when the dimension of the parameter space is less than the dimension of the sample space. Using the principle of marginal distribution theory, the analysis of risks leads to the following conclusions: (i) ridge estimator outperforms least squares, preliminary test and Stein-type estimators uniformly, (ii) The restricted least squares estimator and LASSO are competitive, although LASSO lags behind the restricted least squares estimator uniformly. Both estimators outperform the least squares, preliminary test, and Stein-type estimators in a subspace, respectively. (iii) The lower bound risk expression of LASSO does not depend on the threshold parameter. (iv) Performance of the estimators depends upon the size of numbers of active coefficients, non-active coefficients, and the divergence parameter. In support of our conclusion, we prepare some tables and graphs relevant to the properties of the estimators.
Ultrasonic On-line Monitoring Technique for Wind Turbine Shaft

For the wind turbine, the main shaft is subject to complex stress. Cracks are easily generated and expanded from the outer surface, which seriously threaten the safety of the wind turbine. In order to monitor the main shaft in service, this research carries out an on-line monitoring method and an integrated system for the surface-opening transverse cracks on the outer circumference of the main shaft. An annular array of ultrasonic transducers is constructed at the end face of the shaft by piezoelectric elements. The parameters of the array are determined and optimized by the ultrasonic field characteristics to achieve the coverage of the stress concentration region. An on-line ultrasonic monitoring system is also developed, which integrates detection terminals, a sensor array and the operating software. The detection terminal is composed of a voltage pulser, a receiver and a multiplexing unit. The detection terminal moves synchronously with the main shaft, dealing with multi-channel excitation and signal acquisition. The software not only manages the entire inspection process, but also achieves defect imaging by electronic scanning. The experimental results show that 5mm depth transverse crack can be examined, and the defect location error is less than 2.5%. This will provide an effective on-line structure health monitoring technique for wind turbine shaft.
Biochemical and molecular markers for characterization of chrysanthemum germplasm : A review

The development and utilization of biochemical and molecular markers are becoming widely used in floricultural crops for varying purposes including genetic studies, qualitative as well as quantitative traits, genotype fingerprinting, phylogenetic studies and mapping populations. Various types of techniques are used to estimate genetic studies such as isozymes, allozymes, phyto-chemical and DNA markers like amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), anchored microsatellite primed PCR (AMP-PCR), anchored simple sequence repeats (ASSR), arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR), cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS), DNA amplification fingerprinting (DAF), diversity arrays technology (DArT), expressed sequence tags (EST), inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR), inverse PCR (IPCR), inverse sequence tagged repeats (ISTR), microsatellite primed PCR (MPPCR), multiplexed allele-specific diagnostic assay (MASDA), random amplified microsatellite polymorphisms (RAMP), random amplified microsatellites (RAM), random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), sequence characterized amplified regions (SCAR), sequence specific amplification polymorphisms (S-SAP), sequence tagged microsatellite site (STMS), sequence tagged site (STS), short tandem repeats (STR), simple sequence length polymorphism (SSLP), simple sequence repeats (SSR), single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), single primer amplification reactions (SPAR) and variable number tandem repeat (VNTR). Among these techniques, some techniques have been used in characterization of chrysanthemum. Today, new techniques are frequently being developed and no such techniques are ideal yet these fulfill all requirements needed by plant researchers. Each technique has its own advantages and limitations. In this review, we will discuss a basic description of different biochemical and molecular techniques that can be utilized for diversity analysis in chrysanthemum.
REPRESENTATION AND MACHINE LEARNING OF MANDARIN TONE CATEGORIES IN CONNECTED SPEECH

Bayesian models of categorical perception in speech benefits from the assumption that categories in speech sounds can be represented by a mixture of multivariate Gaussian distribution. Such assumptions makes mathematical analysis of posterior distribution more accessible. However, in the modeling of tone categories, the problem of dimensionality challenges us to find an efficient lower-dimension time-series representation that obeys the Gaussian assumption. In this paper, I take the first steps in exploring the properties of the tone categories and the appropriate timeseries representations in a corpus of Mandarin connected speech audio recording. Different time-series representations based on models such as polynomial, qTA, and SAX are discussed. Machine learning (clustering and classification) experiments are conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of these representations. The results showed that the performance on the current dataset is below ideal in all measures tested comparing to previous work using SOM. Different degrees of separability are observed between category. I discuss the limitations and validations to the different models considered.
A Simple Cache Coherence Scheme for Integrated CPU-GPU Systems

This paper presents a novel approach to accelerate applications running on integrated CPU-GPU systems. Many integrated CPU-GPU systems use cache-coherent shared memory to communicate. For example, after CPU produces data for GPU, the GPU may pull the data into its cache when it accesses the data. In such a pull-based approach, data resides in a shared cache until the GPU accesses it, resulting in long load latency on a first GPU access to a cache line. In this work, we propose a new, push-based, coherence mechanism that explicitly exploits the CPU and GPU producer-consumer relationship by automatically moving data from CPU to GPU last-level cache. The proposed mechanism results in a dramatic reduction of the GPU L2 cache miss rate in general, and a consequent increase in overall performance. Our experiments show that the proposed scheme can increase performance by up to 37%, with typical improvements in the 5–7% range. We find that even when tested applications do not benefit from the proposed approach, their performance does not decrease with our technique. While we demonstrate how the proposed scheme can co-exist with traditional cache coherence mechanisms, we argue that it could also be used as a simpler replacement for existing protocols.
reasoning clinical judgement , goals of care , and ethical Teaching practical wisdom in medicine through

Clinical decision making is a challenging task that requires practical wisdomdthe practised ability to help patients choose wisely among available diagnostic and treatment options. But practical wisdom is not a concept one typically hears mentioned in medical training and practice. Instead, emphasis is placed on clinical judgement. The author draws from Aristotle and Aquinas to describe the virtue of practical wisdom and compare it with clinical judgement. From this comparison, the author suggests that a more complete understanding of clinical judgement requires its explicit integration with goals of care and ethical values. Although clinicians may be justified in assuming that goals of care and ethical values are implicit in routine decision making, it remains important for training purposes to encourage habits of clinical judgement that are consciously goal-directed and ethically informed. By connecting clinical judgement to patients’ goals and values, clinical decisions are more likely to stay focused on the particular interests of individual patients. To cultivate wise clinical judgement among trainees, educational efforts should aim at the integration of clinical judgement, communication with patients about goals of care, and ethical reasoning. But ultimately, training in wise clinical judgement will take years of practice in the company of experienced clinicians who are able to demonstrate practical wisdom by example. By helping trainees develop clinical judgement that incorporates patients’ goals of care and ethical reasoning, we may help lessen the risk that ‘clinical judgement’ will merely express ‘the clinician’s
A review of semantic languages for the conceptual modelling of the manufacturing domain

Manufacturing companies are pushed towards higher degrees of responsiveness and adaptability, reached through the flexibility and re-configurability of advanced manufacturing systems solutions, features that for the most part have been already achieved at the mechanical level. Unfortunately, at the information level, software modularity alone cannot fully support re-configurability in an automated way, since manual reprogramming is felt to be still needed. A possible solution to this problem may be the Open Automation paradigm, which uses Web Services to encapsulate software modules in a Service-Oriented Architecture, and where the automatic interactions among services may be supported by a semantically-enriched knowledge base, implemented as a domain ontology that offers reasoning and querying capabilities. The semantic languages proposed by the literature for this implementation are several. Each one is characterized by different reasoning capabilities and by other different characteristics. The paper aims at providing an overview of the semantic languages available in the literature. Each of them is evaluated in the light of objectives, requirements and specifications of the domain of advanced manufacturing systems. The methodology followed in the paper is a thorough literature review and analysis, with an interdisciplinary approach to the literature from the industrial engineering, information technology and industrial automation fields. The value of the current paper is a contribution to clarify what are the most promising semantic languages to support the creation of domain-specific conceptual modelling for advanced manufacturing systems. This is extremely useful to fill a gap in the literature and it is also relevant for industrial practices, as it represents a step forward in the development of an open automation paradigm for higher flexibility and re-configurability of manufacturing systems.
Financial Development and Economic Growth : Empirical Evidence from the CEE and CIS Countries

We empirically estimate the role played by financial development in economic growth in the former Communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, since 1990, after the fall of Communism. We employ system GMM, panel data covering the period 1990-2008, and various proxies for financial depth and financial efficiency. We show that credit to the private sector had a positive effect on growth in these countries; however, high levels of inflation can render the positive effect of private credit insignificant. High interest rate spreads and reduced banking competition hampered economic growth. JEL Classification: O16, P27, P34
The Limits of Perception in the Tonal Orthographies of three-tone Systems

This article discusses the representation of downstep in the tonal orthographies of some three-tone languages of West Benue-Congo, in the light of the phonological properties of tone in the languages. Ebira has total downstep, which makes both downstepped high and down-stepped mid to be perceived at a level close to outright low tone, and written so; downstepped high in Igala is realised around the level of the mid tone and is often written as mid in the or-thography. In Gwari, the docking of floating high tonal morpheme and contour simplification interact with downstep in such a way that downstepped high tones are frequently written as mid. It is shown that these situations arise because surface tone perception is taken as the sole parameter for tone categorisation, ignoring the underlying tones of lexical items in the lan-guages as well as the number of tones and possible terracing-triggered intersections between the tones. It is argued that the orthographies of the languages will be far more accurate if these obvious facts of downstep are incorporated.