Search results

Sorting is a very important algorithm to solve problems in computer science. The most well-known divide and conquer sorting algorithm is quicksort. It starts with dividing the data into subarrays and finally sorting them.

In this paper, the algorithm named Dual Parallel Partition Sorting (DPPSort) is analyzed and optimized. It consists of a partitioning algorithm named Dual Parallel Partition (DPPartition). The DPPartition is analyzed and optimized in this paper and sorted with standard sorting functions named qsort and STLSort which are quicksort, and introsort algorithms, respectively. This algorithm is run on any shared memory/multicore systems. OpenMP library which supports multiprocessing programming is developed to be compatible with C/C++ standard library function. The authors’ algorithm recursively divides an unsorted array into two halves equally in parallel with Lomuto's partitioning and merge without compare-and-swap instructions. Then, qsort/STLSort is executed in parallel while the subarray is smaller than the sorting cutoff.

In the authors’ experiments, the 4-core Intel i7-6770 with Ubuntu Linux system is implemented. DPPSort is faster than qsort and STLSort up to 6.82× and 5.88× on Uint64 random distributions, respectively.

The authors can improve the performance of the parallel sorting algorithm by reducing the compare-and-swap instructions in the algorithm. This concept can be used to develop related problems to increase speedup of algorithms.

Credit Default Swap (CDS) trading alters equilibrium interactive monitoring of external corporate monitors due to a possible change in private lenders' incentive to monitor client firms. This study explores how audit fees change in response to CDS trade initiation on client firms and how this effect is moderated by investor protection.

With 6,052 cross-country firm observations, the author conducts estimations in the systems dynamic general methods of moments framework.

The author documents that audit fees rise on average after CDS trade initiations with and/or without investor protection. Meanwhile, change in auditors' risk perception result in increased audit costs when CDS trade initiation and investor protection interact. The effect of CDS trading on audit fees remain after controlling for firm, audit, and auditor features are robust to different proxies of audit cost.

The need for firms in high investor protection jurisdictions to initiate CDS trade to implement policies in order to maximize their gains from investor protection activities to lessen the overall impact of any increased audit cost that may arise. Furthermore, CDS regulation may be strategically targeted to lessen the effect of increased audit costs on firms after initiation. This would ensure that the resulting increase in audit cost may not materially impact the cash or profitability position of such firms.

This study is distinct from previous ones by focusing on variation in private lenders incentive to monitor after CDS trade initiation after controlling for possible monitoring by short-term creditors. Given that monitoring is not costless for private lenders and CDS trading on their borrowers causes a change in this cost structure, the author documents how auditors react to such changes in incentive to monitor.

信用違約互換交易會改變外部監督機制的均衡互動監測，這是因為私人貸款者去監控客戶公司的激勵可能有所改變。本研究擬探究審計費用如何改變，以應對向客戶公司進行的信用違約互換交易啟動;研究亦探討投資者保障、如何緩和上述的影響。

我們透過6,052個穿越全國的企業觀察，進行了對系統動力廣義矩估計體系的估測。

無論投資者保障存在與否，信用違約互換交易啟動必帶來審計費用一般的平均升高，我們已把這關聯記錄下來。同時，當信用違約互換交易啟動和投資者保障兩者互相影響時，審計員的風險認知的改變，是會導致審計費用增加的。若拔除公司和審計的影響，信用違約互換交易對審計費用的影響會保持不變;而且，就各個不同的審計費用代理權而言，審計員特點是牢固的。

本研究的結果，確定了若公司屬高投資者保護管轄權的類別，則有需要去啟動信用違約互換交易來實施政策，其目的為能從投資者保障的行動中取得最大的收益，從而減弱審計費用的增加所帶來的全面影響。再者，信用違約互換的管理或許可戰略性地訂立目標，俾能減弱於啟動後，審計費用的上昇對公司帶來的影響;這或會確保審計費用的增加、不會對有關公司的貨幣頭寸或盈利狀況產生重大的影響。

本研究有別於從前的研究，因它的焦點在於短期債權人可能的監督的影響給拔除的情況下，在信用違約互換交易啟動後，以監督為目的私人貸款者激勵的變化。鑒於對私人貸款者來說，監督不是不需要成本的;而且，為他們的借貸者的信用違約互換交易會為這個成本結構帶來變化，我們記錄了審計員如何對以監督為目的的激勵的有關改變作出回應。

Cannabis as a recreational drug is prohibited in Nigeria. Consequently, the open use of cannabis attracts both formal and informal sanctions. As such, there is much stigma on users' faces across social spaces. This has led to innovations in drug use. Recently, non-medical use of tramadol has been rising across each of the gender categories. This study aims to understand (1) tramadol use prompts, (2) the sudden surge in gendered recreational use of tramadol and (3) the gendered challenges of recreational tramadol use among Nigerian university students.

Data were collected between December 2021 and October 2022. The researcher conducted 20 semi-structured interviews, with participants chosen purposefully from acquaintances and others selected through chain referral. The selection criteria included knowledge of a particular tramadol tablet and willingness to participate. This study got ethical approval from the Anambra State Ministry of Health (Ref: MH/AWK/M/321/354) and oral consent was obtained before the interviews. The participants were assured of confidentiality. The interviews were conducted in English (the formal Nigerian language) and lasted between 30 and 65 min. The data collected were transcribed and coded manually, and themes generated.

Findings suggest that peer pressures accounted for entry-level drug use. However, cannabis-related stigma is attributed to the surge in tramadol use across gender categories. Furthermore, academic pressure and sexuality are major reasons for tramadol use. The challenges associated with tramadol use include headaches and addiction.

This study, to the best of the author’s knowledge, presents alternative data on the surge in tramadol use among Nigerian university students.

This study analyzes the impact of the information environment (IE) and credit default swap (CDS) transaction costs on information transmission between the stock and CDS markets. Using the daily regression analysis on the Korean firm’s stock and CDS data from 2004 to 2023, the results show that companies with superior IE in the stock market exhibit a larger and more sensitive total information flow from the stock market to the CDS market. Companies with lower transaction costs in the CDS market demonstrate faster information flow. In the case of companies with superior IE, fundamental information is reflected in stock prices with high weight and thus the CDS spreads change reflecting information about stock prices. According to this study’s findings, the primary factor influencing the information flow from the stock market to the CDS market is the information environment of the company in the stock market, rather than transaction costs in the CDS market.

District-university partners increasingly rely on “grow-your-own” licensure programs to address teacher shortages. Because vacancies in special education represent a chronic issue, our district-university partnership developed LEAP – the Licensed Educators’ Accelerated Pathway, successfully preparing 26 paraprofessionals as special education teachers (SEs). We describe a model university-district partnership in which we collaborated to design and implement paraprofessionals’ SE licensure program.

In this general review, we describe a district-university partnership collaboration that resolved barriers experienced by paraprofessionals working toward licensure in special education (Essential #4, Reflection and Innovation). The specialized design and partnership solutions were grounded in SE preparation research literature.

25 (28 entered the program and 25 completed) paraprofessionals from one large urban and several regional districts completed special education licensure through LEAP. Slightly more than half of LEAP participants were Black or Hispanic (see Table 1), contributing to the diversification of SE workforce. University-district partnership was successful in designing and delivering a program that allowed participants: a) to remain employed, b) attend evening classes in their geographic region or online, c) complete all field experiences in sponsoring districts (Essential #2) and d) receive concierge advising from a “completion coach.” We describe solutions to barriers experienced by paraprofessionals and advocate for district-university collaboration to address chronic teacher shortages.

Limitations include lack of data on success of program completers during their first year of teaching as they began this work in Fall 2023. Further, because the participating district was large and urban, generalization of program details for small and rural districts is difficult.

Practical tips for developing grow-your-own special education licensure programs are providing. Detailed descriptions of barriers candidates experienced and ways the district-university partners resolved these issues are included. Programs like the one described has the potential to positively impact teacher pipeline issues.

The program described provided highly-trained teachers to fill chronic vacancies in special education in three participating districts/agencies. Because students receiving special education services are at risk for school failure and are disproportionately impacted by teacher turnover, addressing this area through grow-your-own licensure programs represents a diversity, equity and inclusion initiative. Further, upskilling diverse paraprofessionals to licensed teacher roles represent an economic boost, which they might not otherwise have achieved.

Available research literature signals alarm over persistent teacher shortages in hard-to-staff districts and lack of diversity in the teacher workforce, but few published accounts describe successful programs. Partner collaboration fostered a re-imagining of course formatting and delivery to accommodate adult learners, avoiding problems often reported with alternative programs.

This study aims to explore how key stakeholders and recipients of local food access programs operate strategically to meet individual and community food needs, enhance experiences of dignity and promote social justice. The study of a fragmented community food system highlights the connections between micro and meso dimensions of food access, illustrating how people work around food system limitations to access food.

Using qualitative in-depth interviews with food assistance managers, workers, volunteers and recipients, this study examines the period before the implementation of a centralized community-based food access initiative in a mid-sized, rural Oklahoma college town with a high rate of food insecurity. This study asks: What are community members’ experiences in a fragmented food assistance system? In what ways do individuals use everyday resistance and workarounds to actively promote experiences of dignity and social justice in food access spaces?

Those involved in sites of community food access build important networks to share information and engage in negotiation and trade to gain access to useful food resources. As forms of everyday resistance, such practices encourage co-construction of dignity and social justice in stigmatized spaces.

This research contributes to literature examining micro- and meso-level community dynamics that inform agency, dignity and social justice in community food access approaches.

This paper focusses on the aftermath of disruptions and the importance of the two largest canals (Suez and Panama), commenting on how during the pandemic the canal fees were lowered. Considering the ongoing efforts to decarbonize shipping, some of the ongoing disruptions will help reach these objectives faster.

Following a literature review of route choice in shipping, and a presentation of significant disruptions in recent years, the author deploys a simplified fuel consumption model and conduct case study analyses to compare different routes environmentally and economically.

The results explain why at times of low fuel prices as in 2020, canals provided discounts to entice ship operators to keep transiting these, instead of opting for longer routes. Considering the ongoing repercussions of the pandemic in supply chains, as well as the potential introduction of market-based measures in shipping, the value of transiting canals will be much higher in the coming years.

The main limitation in this work is that the author used the publicly available information on canal tolls, for the different ship types examined.

The envisioned model is simple, and it can be readily used for any ship and route (port to port) combination available, if ship data are available to researchers.

It is possible that canal tolls will increase, to account for the additional environmental benefits brought to ship operators.

The methodology is simple and transferable, and the author proposes several interesting research questions for follow-up work.

To assess the introduction and performance of light electric freight vehicles (LEFVs), more specifically cargo cycles in major 3PL organizations in at least two Nordic countries.

Case studies. Interviews. Company data on performance before as well as after the introduction. Study of differing business models as well as operational setups.

The results from the studied cases show that LEFVs can compete with conventional vans in last mile delivery operations of e-commerce parcels. We account for when this might be the case, during which circumstances and why.

Inherent limitations of the case study approach, specifically on generalization. Future research to include more public–private partnership and multi-actor approach for scalability.

Adding to knowledge on the public sector facilitation necessary to succeed with implementation and identifying cases in which LEFVs might offer efficiency gains over more traditional delivery vehicles.

One novelty is the access to detailed data from before the implementation of new vehicles and the data after the implementation. A fair comparison is made possible by the operational structure, area of delivery, number of customers, customer density, type of packages, and to some extent, the number of packages being quite similar. Additionally, we provide data showing how city hubs can allow cargo cycles to work synergistically with delivery vans. This is valuable information for organizations thinking of trying LEFVs in operations as well as municipalities/local authorities that are interested.

This paper aims to answer the questions of what clothing practices related to sustainable fashion can be observed in young consumers' daily lives in Finland’s capital region and what prevents their further proliferation.

This is qualitative research that draws from 22 semi-structured interviews with high school students in the capital area of Finland. The data were analyzed with the use of thematic analysis, a flexible method of data analysis that allows for the extraction of categories from both theoretical concepts and data.

This paper contributes to studies of young people’s consumption with the practice theory approach, putting forward the category of following sustainable fashion as an integrative practice. The three-element model of the practice theory allows answering the question of challenges that prevent the practice from shaping. The paper further advances this approach by identifying a list of context-specific dispersed practices incorporated into sustainable fashion.

The study suggests practical ways of improving clothing consumption based on the practice theory approach and findings from empirical research. Sustainable practices require competences, knowledge and skills that the school, as an institution working closely with high school students, could help develop.

The study contributes to the current studies of sustainability and youth culture of consumption with a practice theory approach and findings, related to a particular context of a country from Northern Europe.

This study aims to examine the tourists' visit intention by watching deepfake destination videos, using Information Manipulation and Media Richness Theory.

This study conducted a primary survey utilizing a structured questionnaire. In total, 1,360 tourists were surveyed, and quantitative data analysis was done using PLS-SEM.

The results indicate that the factors that affect the tourists' visit intention after watching deepfake videos include information manipulation tactics, trust and media richness. This study also found that perceived deception and cognitive load do not influence the tourists' visit intention.

The originality/salience of this study lies in the fact that this is possibly among the first to combine the Media Richness Theory and Information Manipulation for understanding tourists' visit intention and post-viewing deepfake destination videos.