nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
What Motivate Muslim Consumer to Patronage Islamic Based retail Store

There is a significant trend among Muslim consumers in reverting to Islamic way of life. The phenomenon somehow affected the Malaysian retail industry with specialty Islamic stores mushrooming, and retailers customizing retail elements to win the Muslim consumers segment. As the mainstream studies on retailing acknowledges the adaptation of retail elements to suit consumers' segment, there are less report on customizing retail elements to religious consumer group such as Muslim consumers' segment. Thus, little is understood of consumers' patronage motives and their expectations of retail Islamic stores. The aims of this study are twofold: To explore Malaysian Muslim consumers' expectations of Islamic based retail store; and their motive to patronize an Islamic based retail store. Findings from interviews, conducted in the Northern region of Malaysia, suggests unique religion related patronage motives. This study shares some initial insight into criteria for Islamic retail based segmentation for Muslim consumers. Implications and limitations of the study are also discussed.
Cross language article linking with different knowledge bases using bilingual topic model and translation features
Venue: Knowl. Based Syst.

Creating links among online encyclopedia articles in different languages is crucial in the construction and integration of large multilingual knowledge bases. Most research to date has focused on linking among different language versions of Wikipedia, yet other large online encyclopedias in a variety of languages exist. In this work, we present a cross language article linking method using a bilingual topic model and translation features based on an SVM model to link articles in English Wikipedia and Chinese Baidu Baike, the most widely used Wiki like encyclopedia in China. To evaluate our approach, we compile data sets from Baidu Baike articles and their corresponding English Wikipedia articles. The evaluation results show that our approach achieves at most 0.8158 in MRR, outperforming the baseline system by 0.1328 +19.44% in MRR. Our method does not heavily depend on linguistic characteristics, and it can be easily extended to generate cross language article links among different online encyclopedias in other languages.
Spatial dependence in stock returns: local normalization and VaR forecasts

We analyze a recently proposed spatial autoregressive model for stock returns and compare it to a one factor model and the sample covariance matrix. The influence of refinements to these covariance estimation methods is studied. We employ power mapping and the shrinkage estimator as noise reduction techniques for the correlations. Further, we address the empirically observed time varying trends and volatilities of stock returns. Local normalization strips the time series of changing trends and fluctuating volatilities. As an alternative method, we consider a GARCH fit. In the context of portfolio optimization, we find that the spatial model and the shrinkage estimator have the best match between the estimated and realized risk measures.
Speaker specific processing and local context information: The case of speaking rate

To deal with variation in the speech signal, listeners rely on local context, such as speaking rate in a carrier sentence directly preceding a target, as well as more global properties of the speech signal, such as speaker specific pronunciation variants. The present study addressed whether, despite its variability even within one speaker, habitual speaking rate can be tracked as a speaker specific property and how such speaker specific tracking of habitual rate would interact with effects of local rate normalization. In two experiments, listeners were exposed to a 2 min dialogue between a fast and a slow speaker. At test, listeners categorized minimal word pair continua differing in the German /a/ /a: duration contrast spoken by the same two speakers. The results showed that listeners responded with /a: more often for the fast speaker but only when words were presented in isolation and not when presented with additional local rate information. That is, despite the general assumption that duration cues and speaking rate are too variable to be used in a speaker specific fashion, tracking habitual speaking rate may help speech perception. The results are discussed in relation to a belief updating model of perceptual adaptation and exemplar models.
Efficient hardware implementation strategy for local normalization of fingerprint images
Venue: Journal of Real Time Image Processing

Global techniques do not produce satisfying and definitive results for fingerprint image normalization due to the non stationary nature of the image contents. Local normalization techniques are employed, which are a better alternative to deal with local image statistics. Conventional local normalization techniques involve pixelwise division by the local variance and thus have the potential to amplify unwanted noise structures, especially in low activity background regions. To counter the background noise amplification, the research work presented here introduces a correction factor that, once multiplied with the output of the conventional normalization algorithm, will enhance only the feature region of the image while avoiding the background area entirely. In essence, its task is to provide the job of foreground segmentation. A modified local normalization has been proposed along with its efficient hardware structure. On the way to achieve real time hardware implementation, certain important computationally efficient approximations are deployed. Test results show an improved speed for the hardware architecture while sustaining reasonable enhancement benchmarks.
The Play Learning Binary: U.S. Parents' Perceptions on Preschool Play in a Neoliberal Age

Although many studies have examined parental decision making patterns in regard to early childhood care and education, few studies have examined how parents' perceptions on play influence those patterns. This study explores parental perceptions regarding play in early education and the broader socioeconomic context within which these perceptions emerge. Twenty parents of preschool aged children completed questionnaires comprised of ratings and open ended questions. Findings indicate that the parents in this study defined play and learning in binary terms as opposed to mutually constitutive processes. Subsequently, while parents rated play as important, they also described it as peripheral to, and less important than, the acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills. This study argues that this binary thinking is an outgrowth of neoliberalism and ultimately undermines child well being.
The influence of preschool teachers' content knowledge and mathematical ability beliefs on their sensitivity to mathematics in children's play.

In countries with a social pedagogic tradition for early childhood education, mathematical learning typically takes place in play based situations. Preschool teachers' ability to recognize mathematical content in children's play is therefore an important prerequisite for educational quality. The present study examines how this ability relates to other aspects of preschool teachers' professional competencies. Findings from regression analysis indicate that mathematical content knowledge (CK) predicts teachers' sensitivity to mathematical content. However, further analyses reveal that this association is mediated by preschool teachers' self efficacy beliefs.
The relationship of teacher child play interactions to mathematics learning in preschool

Teacher child interactions in preschool children's play may enhance mathematics learning in several ways. As teachers interact with children, they may promote more complex, independent, and symbolic play. Resulting increases in play abilities, in turn, can enhance intellectual growth, including mathematical thinking. Teachers may also facilitate math learning directly by engaging children in mathematical thinking as they play. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects on math learning of interactions that enhance play, itself, and those that directly engage children in mathematical thinking. The classroom play interactions of 47 preschoolers and their teachers were video recorded and analysed. The relationship between specific teacher child interactions both enhancing play strategies and promoting math approaches was examined. Pre test and post test scores on the Test of Early Mathematics Ability, Third Edition (TEMA 3) showed that three play interactions predicted growth in math learning: 'good fit' interactions to support play, itself, and number and math communication interactions. Findings confirm that teacher interactions in children's play can have an impact on academic performance. Interactions that are a good fit with what children are currently playing and those that prompt children's thinking about number or engage them in communicating about math enhance early math performance.
Acute Kidney Injury in Children with Plasmodium falciparum Malaria: Determinants for Mortality
Venue: Peritoneal Dialysis International

Acute kidney injury (AKI) in P. falciparum malaria infection is an important morbidity in children. The purpose of the present study was done to observe the renal involvement, associated morbidities and outcome.  Out of 156 patients with severe P. falciparum malaria, diagnosed on the basis of compatible clinical presentations and positive malarial parasites in the peripheral blood smear and/or histidine rich protein 2 antigen, 31 had AKI at presentation and were analyzed.  Of 31 (19.9% patients with AKI, 4 were classified at risk, 11 injury, and 16 failure stage, as per pRIFLE criteria (pediatric version of RIFLE [R risk, I injury, F failure, L loss E end stage kidney disease] Mean age of children with AKI was 7.7 3.2 years. A significantly higher proportion of patients with AKI had hypoglycemia (41.9% pulmonary edema (32.2% and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) (29.0% compared to those without AKI (18.4% 4.8% and 3.2% respectively) Twelve patients (38.7% required peritoneal dialysis (PD) 8 (25.8% died, and all were in failure stage. The non survivors had significantly higher blood urea (p 0.005) and serum creatinine levels (p 0.042) lower glomerular filtration rate (p 0.001) longer duration of illness (p 0.003) and oliguria/anuria (p 0.001) than survivors at admission. On logistic regression analysis, the disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) jaundice and parasite density 3+ were found to be significant factors contributing to mortality in children with AKI.  Acute kidney injury in falciparum malaria is one of the severe systemic complications. Duration of illness and presence of comorbidities adversely affected the outcome.
SCREENING FOR HEAVY MOLECULAR WEIGHT HYDROCARBON UTILIZING BACTERIA FROM OIL IMPACTED, NON OIL IMPACTED SOIL AND NATURAL DEPOSITS

Control and treatment of hazardous effects of heavy molecular weight oil (bitumen) pollution are essential in contaminated soil. This study involved the isolation and screening of microorganisms capable of utilizing heavy molecular weight hydrocarbon from oil impacted, non oil impacted soil and natural deposits of bitumen. Total heterotrophic bacterial counts in the samples ranged from 1.4 aa? 10 5 CFU/g to 2.0 aa? 10 6 CFU/g. Total oil utilizing bacterial counts varied from 1.5 aa? 10 4 CFU/g to 3.6 aa? 10 5 CFU/g. Isolates were identified using API 20E kit. They belong to the genera Burkholderia, Pseudomonas, and Serratia. Degradation efficiency of the isolates on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) and Low Pour Point Fuel Oil (LPFO) were carried out by a colorimetric rapid screen test using 2, 6 dichlorophenol indophenol (DCPIP) reduction test which was monitored by measuring absorbance at 600 nm at every 24 hrs for 120 hrs. Order of ability of the isolates to degrade PMS: P. aeruginosa P. mendocina P. borbori S. rubidae P. cichorii B. cepacia while for DPK is P. cichorii P. borbori S. rubidae P. mendocina B. cepacia P. aeruginosa. Ability to degrade LPFO: P. cichorii P. borbori P. aeruginosa P. mendocina B. cepacia S. rubidae.
Are teachers facilitators or are they mediators? Piaget, Vygotsky and the wisdom of the teacher

There is an ongoing debate about whether teaching is better understood as 'facilitation' or 'mediation' The debate can be framed in relation to three different theoretical accounts of these concepts: (i) teaching as facilitation, as rooted in the genetic epistemology of Jean Piaget; (ii) teaching as mediation, as rooted in the cultural historical psychology of Lev Vygotsky; and (iii) teaching as the seamless incorporation of both facilitation and mediation in the deliberative practice of teachers. The first two frames, as formal theories of cognitive development and learning, suggest a clear analytic distinction between facilitation and mediation as teaching strategies. The last frame foregrounds the pragmatic sense that teachers have of facilitation and mediation as shifting moments in pedagogy. In debating the various framings, it becomes clear that both formal and pragmatic theories make sense of teachers' classroom pedagogy.
A Unifying Approach for Disturbance Cancellation and Target Detection in Passive Radar Using OFDM
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing

This paper addresses the problem of mobile target detection in multipath scenarios with a passive radar using DVB T transmitters of opportunity. For such emissions, it has been shown the interest in implementing "mismatched" correlators, reducing both the zero Doppler contribution (ZDC) masking effects and the false alarm rate. A very efficient mismatched reference signal is obtained with the reciprocal filter (or inverse filter) which consists in a modulus frequential equalization of the transmitted signal. We propose here to revisit the reciprocal filter based correlator and to reinterpret it as a so called Doppler channel detector (CHAD) This new interpretation allows a direct rejection of the ZDC, unifying in one and the same step the main disturbance mitigation and the detector construction. We provide a statistical theoretical study of the performance and a comparison with the matched correlator, i.e. the classical cross ambiguity function (CAF) We demonstrate that CHAD has a random pedestal (a clutter floor level) significantly lower than that of the classical CAF for low Doppler frequency shifts. Numerical experiments on simulated and real data as well validate the mathematical derivations.
Android Mobile Phone Controlled Wi Fi Robot

This proposed system presents the mechanism of controlling a surveillance robot using android mobile devices through Bluetooth. User gives commands to the robot from his android device. The android mobile communicates with robot via local bluetooth network. Here we can also get the video streaming from the robot through wifi network. the robot is equipped with temperature sensor, light sensor and smoke sensors to measure the abnormal conditions of particular industry. Overall system consists of a local Bluetooth and Wi Fi network, Raspberry pi android mobile device, sensors and a robot.
Relationship between Credit risk management and financial performance: empirical evidence from microfinance banks in Kenya

Effective Credit risk management enhances financial performance of Microfinance banks. A sound Microfinance banking subsector is vital for economic development as the sector supports low end entrepreneurs operating SMEs that form the bulk of Kenyan economy. In Kenya the microfinance banking subsector has been faced with risk management challenges. This necessitated the adoption of the Risk Based Supervision approach of supervising Microfinance banks in 2010. Additionally CIS feature was extended to MFBs to check on credit default. Despite these efforts, most MFBs are recording negative growth even with increased number of Microfinance bank licences being granted. The level of profitability and sustainability of the sector dropped significantly with ROE and ROA reported at 8% and 1% respectively. Non performing loans increased by 6.9 percent and Risk coverage ratio shows a worrying negative trend. Hence the major objective for this study was to establish the relationship between Credit risk management and financial performance of Microfinance banks in Kenya. Specific objectives were: to establish the relationship between Portfolio at risk (PAR) and performance of MFBs and to determine the relationship between loan loss Provision coverage ratio (LLPCR) and performance of MFBs. Longitudinal research design utilizing panel data covering the period from 2011 to 2015 was used. Target population comprised 12 licensed MFBs. Purposive sampling was used to obtain a sample of 6 MFBs. Document analysis guide was used to gather secondary quantitative data from the MFBs financial reports. Descriptive statistics were used to show the trend of MFB risk exposure and performance. Pearson correlation was used to determine strength and association among variables. Panel data analysis based on system GMM technique was used to estimate a multiple regression model and test for significance of relationship between Risk management and financial performance. The findings were that Credit risk management with PAR and LLPCR parameters had a strong negative correlation (r= 0.68) giving a significant negative relationship with both ROAA and ROAE performance measures as depicted by regression coefficient of 0.2 estimated by GMM. Thus, the study concluded the existence of a significant relationship Credit risk management and performance and that credit risk management impacts performance of MFBs. The study recommended that Credit managers should operate under a sound credit granting process with well defined credit granting criteria detailing the MFB's target market, a thorough understanding of the borrower, purpose structure of the credit, and its source of repayment.  Credit risk, Microfinance banks and Performance
Easily doped p type, low hole effective mass, transparent oxides
Venue: Scientific reports

Fulfillment of the promise of transparent electronics has been hindered until now largely by the lack of semiconductors that can be doped p type in a stable way, and that at the same time present high hole mobility and are highly transparent in the visible spectrum. Here, a high throughput study based on first principles methods reveals four oxides, namely X2SeO2, with X La, Pr, Nd, and Gd, which are unique in that they exhibit excellent characteristics for transparent electronic device applications i.e. a direct band gap larger than 3.1 eV, an average hole effective mass below the electron rest mass, and good p type dopability. Furthermore, for La2SeO2 it is explicitly shown that Na impurities substituting La are shallow acceptors in moderate to strong anion rich growth conditions, with low formation energy, and that they will not be compensated by anion vacancies VO or VSe.
Using templates and linguistic patterns to define process performance indicators
Venue: Enterp. Inf. Syst.

Process performance management (PPM) aims at measuring, monitoring and analysing the performance of business processes (BPs) in order to check the achievement of strategic and operational goals and to support decision making for their optimisation. PPM is based on process performance indicators (PPIs) so having an appropriate definition of them is crucial. One of the main problems of PPIs definition is to express them in an unambiguous, complete, understandable, traceable and verifiable manner. In practice, PPIs are defined informally usually in ad hoc, natural language, with its well known problems or they are defined from an implementation perspective, hardly understandable to non technical people. In order to solve this problem, in this article we propose a novel approach to improve the definition of PPIs using templates and linguistic patterns. This approach promotes reuse, reduces both ambiguities and missing information, is understandable to all stakeholders and maintains traceability with the process model. Furthermore, it enables the automated processing of PPI definitions by its straightforward translation into the PPINOT metamodel, allowing the gathering of the required information for their computation as well as the analysis of the relationships between them and with BP elements.
Precise Evaluation of a Phase Locked THz Quantum Cascade Laser
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Terahertz Science and Technology

We have demonstrated the phase locking of a THz quantum cascade laser (THz QCL) toward the realization of an accurate and stable local oscillator for a high resolution receiver. The beat note between the THz QCL and a THz reference was obtained by heterodyne mixing in a superconducting hot electron bolometer mixer (HEBM) and used for stabilizing the phase of 3.1 THz radiation from the THz QCL. The phase locked 3.1 THz radiation was fully evaluated with a superlattice harmonic mixer operating in the THz band, and this revealed that the THz QCL synchronized with the microwave reference with a fractional frequency instability of 3x10 15 at an averaging time of 100 s, corresponding to a center frequency deviation within 1 mHz, and the imposed phase noises during the heterodyne mixing were negligibly small.
Inference for Dynamic Panels with Threshold Effect and Endogeneity

This paper addresses an important issue of modelling nonlinear asymmetric dynamics and unobserved individual heterogeneity in the threshold panel data framework, simultaneously. As a general approach, we develop the fi..rst differenced GMM estimator, which allows both threshold variable and regressors to be endogenous. When the threshold variable becomes strictly exogenous, we propose a more efficient two step least squares estimator. We provide asymptotic theory and develop the testing procedure for threshold effects and the threshold variable exogeneity. Monte Carlo studies provide a support for theoretical predictions. We present an empirical application investigating an asymmetric sensitivity of investment to cash +flows.
A Therapeutic Recreation Camp for Children with Congenital Heart Disease: Examining Impact on the Psychosocial Well Being of Parents

Therapeutic recreation camps have been considered to be an effective context for improving the psychosocial functioning of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) However, there is limited research regarding their impact on parents. Nine parents participated in two semi structured interviews before and after their children attended a camp for children with CHD. Parents described their perceptions of their children's camp experiences and identified the psychosocial utility of camp for themselves. Camp enabled parents to let their children grow and be independent, and helped reduce parents' restricting and overprotective behaviours. Camp also provided parents with respite care, which alleviated their need to be 'cardiac' parents. These findings strengthen the case for therapeutic recreation camps and underscore the importance of expanding camp access to more families affected by CHD.