Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE INFLUENCE OF ILLNESS BURDEN AND SOCIAL SUPPORT ON THE COMPLETION OF KIDNEY TRANSPLANT EVALUATION

Kidney transplantation is the preferred method of treatment to dialysis for end stage renal disease (ESRD) because of its many proven benefits over dialysis treatment. Patients interested in kidney transplantation must undergo a kidney transplant (KT) evaluation to determine their medical and psychosocial eligibility. A timely completion of the KT evaluation is critical for prompt listing for or the receipt of a KT. However, ESRD patients suffer from significant illness burden that interferes in their participation of life activities, which can affect their completion of KT evaluations. At the same time, the presence of social support is known to abate symptom burden and the perception of illness burden. This implies that social support has the potential to facilitate completions of KT evaluations by moderating illness burden. This novel study is the first to examine how social support buffers illness burden in affecting KT evaluation completion. This quantitative study involves 1,130 study participants recruited from the Starzl Transplant Institute of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The goals of this study are 1) to understand how demographic factors (age, gender, race and income), illness burden and social support independently affects time taken to complete KT evaluation, and 2) to assess how these factors interact in influencing time to complete KT evaluation. The hypothesis that social support buffers illness burden in the completion of KT evaluation was not supported. Instead social support demonstrated main effects on the completion of KT evaluation: higher level of perceived social support was associated with a higher rate of KT evaluation completion. Older age, lower income, African American race and greater illness comorbidity were associated with lower KT evaluation completion rates. Limitations of the study include: a single-center study with non-random patient participation, a limited examination of social network based on network size, and the violation of proportionality of hazard assumption in the Cox regression analysis.
Principals' Instructional Leadership in Title I Schools: A Closer Look

The students in Title I schools remain the most vulnerable in our education system. Principals in these schools must be exceptional and well prepared. However, principals have been trained in a universal approach that is not sufficient for those who lead schools with high poverty rates as well as culturally and linguistically diverse learners. The purpose of this mixed-methods descriptive study was to gain insight from principals about instructional leadership in Title I schools. Thirty-two principals described their perceptions about the preparation, supports, and challenges necessary to develop instructional leadership, including cultural proficiency for Title I schools. The findings in this study highlight the complexity of the principal role with a specific focus on Title I schools. While principals reported positive experiences as well as support from their leadership preparation programs and school districts, neither was sufficient to fully prepare them to be instructional leaders in Title I schools. Recommendations include a comprehensive, cohesive district coaching and mentoring program that considers elements necessary to build well-prepared and exceptional leaders for Title I schools.
Media strategies in lobbying process. A literature review on publications in 2000-2018.

This study examines how the media and journalists are used in lobbying processes. To explore the topic a systematic review of the literature in peer-reviewed journals published between January 2000 to June 2018 was undertaken. The findings of this paper indicate that lobbyists and interest groups engage with a plethora of various strategies and systematic methods when influencing or trying to advocate the work of journalists and media organisations. The findings shed the mystery of lobbyists and interest group’s communicative attempts. This study increases the knowledge of the relationships between journalists and lobbyists in lobbying processes. Based on the literature review, the paper presents a categorised model of media influencing strategies in lobbying process.
The development of primary and secondary pre-service teachers' beliefs about constructivist and transmission-oriented teaching

Introduction Recent literature contrasts constructivist and transmissive teaching approaches. Current teacher education programs consider constructivist teaching as the best way to enhance students learning. Objective This paper examines whether pre-service teachers do the same: contrast constructivist and transmissive teaching approaches and rate constructivism as superior for learning gains. Method We drew on several assessment tools from the English-and German language educational literature. From these, we extracted items which we translated into French and submitted to 228 pre-service teachers. They had to provide their degree of agreement on a 6 point Likert scale. Results Factor analysis show a good model fit. Results reveal that pre-service teachers' beliefs are less split than what the educational literature suggests and that support for constructivism depends on the teacher education program. Conclusion As constructivist and transmissive orientations coexist in pre-service teachers' minds, implications for research and teacher education are discussed.
Correlations between motor and cognitive skills in young basketball players: A bivariate regression analysis

In the present literature, the correlation between physical, motor and cognitive aspects in the development of children is widely considered [1-3]. Many studies take into account children’s developmental impairments, like the Developmental Coordination Disorders (DCD) [4,5]. For instance, in the Canadian PHAST project [6], the author investigates about the impact of motor problems on physical activity of children, and its related physical consequences on health.
Untangling Intelligence, Psychopathy, Antisocial Personality Disorder, and Conduct Problems: A Meta–Analytic Review

Substantial research has investigated the association between intelligence and psychopathic traits. The findings to date have been inconsistent and have not always considered the multidimensional nature of psychopathic traits. Moreover, there has been a tendency to confuse psychopathy with other closely related, clinically significant disorders. The current study represents a meta–analysis conducted to evaluate the direction and magnitude of the association of intelligence with global psychopathy, as well as its factors and facets, and related disorders (i.e. antisocial personality disorder, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder). Our analyses revealed a small, significant, negative relationship between intelligence and total psychopathy (r = −.07, p = .001). Analysis of factors and facets found differential associations, including both significant positive (e.g. interpersonal facet) and negative (e.g. affective facet) associations, further affirming that psychopathy is a multidimensional construct. Additionally, intelligence was negatively associated with antisocial personality disorder (r = −.13, p = .001) and conduct disorder (r = −.13, p = .001) but positively with oppositional defiant disorder (r = .06, p = .001). There was significant heterogeneity across studies for most effects, but the results of moderator analyses were inconsistent. Finally, bias analyses did not find significant evidence for publication bias or outsized effects of outliers. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology
Being/becoming an academic: Spatio-temporal experiences of precarious employment and wellbeing

Precarious employment is a structural feature of work at the contemporary Western university which is troubling given that employment insecurity is known to negatively affect the health and wellbeing of employees. This qualitative multi-case study research focuses on young peoples’ lived experience of wellbeing as precarious academic employees. Findings are generated from three rounds of in-depth interviews with ten casual or fixed-term academics under the age of thirty, working at Monash University in Australia. The theoretical framework for the thesis is underpinned by a social-ecological approach (Bronfenbrenner, 1999) and informed by concepts drawn from the work of Giddens (1984) (notably structuration, ontological security, space and time) and Coser (1967) (the greedy institution). This research demonstrates how structural aspects of work intersect with the participants’ agentic understandings and enactments of being/becoming academics. Spatially, participants negotiated precariousness in their day-to-day experience, living and working under conditions that threatened their identities and constructions of an ongoing professional self. An empirically derived typology highlights the ways participants enacted being/becoming academics through everyday identity-forming practices in relation to the structures of the greedy institution. The typology shows how participants’ actions were prescribed by the structural norms and values of their working context, and illustrates the importance of ontological security to a sense of wellbeing and self-cohesiveness. In terms of temporality, participants experienced what was conceptualised as a ‘continuous present’ whereby their anticipated futures appeared to be colonised by the present and always out of reach. In this continuous present, participants existed in the present and lacked the feelings of ontological security required to move into the future or make future commitments. Participants engaged with future-orientation strategies to cope with their experience of the continuous present, a state which compromised their sense of being agentic decision-makers. This research contributes to knowledge by offering an in-depth, socialised account of how precarious employment influences the lived experiences and wellbeing of a distinctive group of young workers. Specifically, it advances knowledge about the spatial and temporal dynamics that are generative of employees’ experiences of, and responses to, identity threats. The typology extends understandings of how the recursive actions of multiple actors lead to legitimated social practices which shape precarious work practices and norms. The empirically derived future-orientations and conceptualisation of a continuous present, extends understandings of how precarious employment affects wellbeing across space-time boundaries. This research highlights the experiences of the precarious workers who participated in the study and ends with recommendations for change to support the wellbeing of present and future precarious employees.
Field Independence Associates with Mathematics and Science Performance in 5‐ to 10‐Year‐Olds after Accounting for Domain‐General Factors

Field independence describes the extent to which individuals are influenced by context when trying to identify embedded targets. It associates with cognitive functioning and is a predictor of academic achievement. However, little is known about the neural and cognitive underpinnings of field independence which lead to these associations. Here we investigated behavioural associations between two measures of field independence (Children’s Embedded Figures Test (CEFT) and Design Organisation Test (DOT)) and performance on mathematics (reasoning and written arithmetic) and science tests (reasoning and scientific inquiry) in 135 children aged 5-10 years. There were strong associations between field independence and mathematics and science, which were largely explained by individual differences in age, IQ, and verbal working memory. However, regression analyses indicated that after controlling for these variables, the CEFT explained additional variance on the mathematical reasoning and science tests, whereas the DOT predicted unique variance on the written arithmetic test.
Exercise Training Improves Heart Rate Recovery after Exercise in Hypertension

– Aim: This study tested the hypothesis that: 1the exercise training would improve the heart rate recovery (HRR) decline after maximal exercise test in hypertensive patients and; 2the exercise training would normalize HRR decline when compared to normotensive individuals. Methods: Sixteen hypertensive patients were consecutively allocated into two groups: Exercise-trained (n = 9, 47±2 years) and untrained (n = 7, 42±3 years). An exercise-trained normotensive group (n = 11, 41±2 years) was also studied. Heart rate was evaluated by electrocardiogram. The autonomic function was evaluated based on heart rate changes on the first and the second min of recovery after the maximal exercise test. Exercise training consisted of three 60-minute exercise sessions/week for 4 months. Results: In hypertensive patients, exercise training significantly increased the HRR decline in the first (-19±2 vs. -34±3 bpm, P = 0.001) and second (-33±3 vs. -49±2 bpm, P = 0.006) minutes after the maximal exercise test. In addition, after exercise training, the initial differences in the HRR decline after exercise between hypertensive patients and normotensive individuals were no longer observed (first minute: -34±3 vs. -29±3 bpm, P = 0.52, and second minute: -49±2 vs. -47±4 bpm, P = 0.99). Conclusion: Hypertension causes a delay in HRR after the maximal exercise test yet the exercise training normalizes HRR during the post-exercise period in hypertensive patients.
The ConDialInt Model: Condensation, Dialogality, and Intentionality Dimensions of Inner Speech Within a Hierarchical Predictive Control Framework

Inner speech has been shown to vary in form along several dimensions. Along condensation, condensed inner speech forms have been described, that are supposed to be deprived of acoustic, phonological and even syntactic qualities. Expanded forms, on the other extreme, display articulatory and auditory properties. Along dialogality, inner speech can be monologal, when we engage in internal soliloquy, or dialogal, when we recall past conversations or imagine future dialogs involving our own voice as well as that of others addressing us. Along intentionality, it can be intentional (when we deliberately rehearse material in short-term memory) or it can arise unintentionally (during mind wandering). We introduce the ConDialInt model, a neurocognitive predictive control model of inner speech that accounts for its varieties along these three dimensions. ConDialInt spells out the condensation dimension by including inhibitory control at the conceptualization, formulation or articulatory planning stage. It accounts for dialogality, by assuming internal model adaptations and by speculating on neural processes underlying perspective switching. It explains the differences between intentional and spontaneous varieties in terms of monitoring. We present an fMRI study in which we probed varieties of inner speech along dialogality and intentionality, to examine the validity of the neuroanatomical correlates posited in ConDialInt. Condensation was also informally tackled. Our data support the hypothesis that expanded inner speech recruits speech production processes down to articulatory planning, resulting in a predicted signal, the inner voice, with auditory qualities. Along dialogality, covertly using an avatar’s voice resulted in the activation of right hemisphere homologs of the regions involved in internal own-voice soliloquy and in reduced cerebellar activation, consistent with internal model adaptation. Switching from first-person to third-person perspective resulted in activations in precuneus and parietal lobules. Along intentionality, compared with intentional inner speech, mind wandering with inner speech episodes was associated with greater bilateral inferior frontal activation and decreased activation in left temporal regions. This is consistent with the reported subjective evanescence and presumably reflects condensation processes. Our results provide neuroanatomical evidence compatible with predictive control and in favor of the assumptions made in the ConDialInt model.
Performance Analysis of Receive Antenna Selection in Multi-Antenna Systems under Finite Constellation Size

Antenna selection (AS) is regarded as one of the most prospective technologies to reduce hardware cost but keep relatively high spectral efficiency in multi-antenna systems. By selecting a subset of antennas to transceive messages, AS greatly alleviates the requirement on RF chains. This paper studies receive antenna selection in single-input multiple-output (SIMO) systems, namely the antenna-selection SIMO (AS-SIMO) systems, from the perspective of digital modulation. The receiver, equipped with multiple antennas, selects an optimal antenna subset to receive messages from the single-antenna transmitter. By assuming independent and identical distributed (i.i.d) flat fading Rayleigh channels, we first analyze the input-output mutual information, also referred as symmetric capacity, of AS-SIMO systems when the modulation style is BPSK/QPSK/16QAM. To reduce the computation complexity of the capacity, closed-form approximated expressions of the symmetric capacity based on asymptotic theory are given for the first time to approach the exact results. Compared with the conventional derivations, our approximation holds much lower computation complexity with the guarantee of high precision. Next, this asymptotic approximation technique is extended to estimate the symbol error rate (SER) of antenna-selection SIMO systems and approximated expressions for SER are proposed which indicates much lower complexity. Finally, a special scenario of single-antenna-selection is detailedly investigated and series expressions of the symmetric capacity are formulated for the first time. Beside analytical derivations, simulation results are provided to demonstrate the approximation precision of the derived results. Experiment results show that the asymptotic theory has a remarkable approximation effect.
Contingent strategies of risk management by snowshoe hares

Prey individuals employ several adaptive behaviours to reduce predation risk. We need to learn how those behaviours interact in an overall strategy of risk management, how strategies vary with changing conditions, and whether some behaviours might compensate for others. I addressed these issues with manipulative experiments evaluating how snowshoe hares’ ( Lepus americanus) vigilance varies with their giving-up densities (GUDs) in artificial food patches. I tested whether the results, collected when there was no evidence of predation, were congruent with an earlier study under higher predation. When predator sign was common, vigilance depended directly on habitat. But when risk was low, habitat’s influence on vigilance was indirect. Hares were least vigilant during the new moon where the distance to escape habitat was far, but only in open risky habitat. Hares were more vigilant during the full moon, but only at stations far from escape habitat. Moon phase and additional cover had no effect on GUDs that were highest at open risky stations far from escape habitat. The results suggest that reduced risk allowed hares to allocate less time to vigilance, but they needed to forage for similar amounts of food during each moon phase to maintain their energetic state.
Remote Hardware Controlled Experiment Virtual Laboratory for Undergraduate Teaching in Power Electronics

A remote-controlled experiment for power electronics was developed for a virtual laboratory. Power converter experiments were set up, allowing students to conduct a remote-controlled experiment with special hardware and electric power. Students can activate parameter controls, connect wires, and tune electric load conditions with preset electronic laboratory instruction. Waveforms and experimental voltage and currents are measured, and the results can be delivered to users via the internet. The virtual laboratory features lecture notes and other computer simulations to improve learning. The development was used in a class of a power electronics course, in which students participated in a trial of the virtual experiment. The feedback from the students was very positive, and it was observed that students displayed better time management and improved learning and understanding of laboratory procedure as compared to a conventional laboratory class.
Factors Predicting Alcohol Consumption in Adolescents Attending a Faith-Based School System in Australia: A Multigroup Structural Equation Analysis

Abstract Structural equation modeling was used to explore the direct and indirect association of childhood experiences, attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions on the alcohol consumption of adolescents attending faith-based Seventh-day Adventist schools in Australia. Data were collected on 1,266 adolescents and the structural model developed explained 48% of the variance for alcohol consumption. Intentions had the highest degree of association with Alcohol Consumption Status (ACS) (β = 0.52). Attitudes were more strongly associated to ACS (βtotal = 0.36) than subjective norms (βtotal = 0.17). Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) were associated with every variable in the model and had a combined direct and indirect association with ACS of βtotal = 0.14. Multigroup analysis found significant pathway differences in the model for gender and age with regards to the association of intentions, attitudes, ACEs, and Childhood Family Dynamics with alcohol consumption status. The study fills a gap in the alcohol literature by presenting a model describing the complex network of factors that predict alcohol consumption in a low-ACS population. The outcomes of the study highlight the importance of early intervention for children and their families to delay or minimize alcohol consumption in adolescents.
I, Daniel Blake (2016): Vulnerability, Care and Citizenship in Austerity Politics

This article offers a reading of Ken Loach’s 2016 film I, Daniel Blake, a fictionalised account of experiences of the UK welfare system in conditions of austerity. We consider, firstly, the significant challenge the film poses to dominant figurations of welfare recipients under austerity, through a focus on vulnerability to state processes. We follow with a reading of some of the film’s interventions in relation to reciprocity, drawing on the important trajectories of care, community and resistance that the film renders visible through the collective stories of the major characters. Finally, we conclude with reflections on citizenship, subject narratives and alternative imaginaries of ‘deservingness’. Our article offers an ‘against the grain’ reading (hooks, 1996; Wearing, 2013) of the film, highlighting some of the radical possibilities of the more minor moments, character arcs and subject positionalities within the film’s central narrative of Daniel’s experiences in the shadow of the steadily crumbling welfare state.