Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Social determinants and regional disparity of unemployment duration in Australia: a multilevel approach

The economic and social costs associated with unproductive time spent in labour market transitions between jobs and between unemployment and employment have been the subject of recent policy debate. There is now broad support for policies that provide both positive and negative incentives to those on unemployment benefits to influence relocation decisions to areas of better labour market opportunities. In this paper we examine the social determinants of time to exit from unemployment to employment and variation across functional economic regions, separately for men and women. Taking a life-course approach and using the first eight waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey we allow individuals to experience repeated episodes of unemployment over time by estimating a multilevel discrete-time event history model for the hazard of exit from unemployment. The model has a three-level hierarchical structure with episodes of unemployment nested within individuals, and individuals are themselves nested within regions. This enables an assessment of unobserved heterogeneity in unemployment duration among individuals and also among functional economic regions. The dataset is based on the HILDA employment calendar reporting schedule which collects information at three time points each month, matched to the dates of life transitions reported in the annual survey, and annual wave-based covariates. Applying a multilevel discrete-time piecewise constant hazard model across recurrent episodes of unemployment, we identify the social characteristics of individuals most at risk for periods of long-term unemployment. We focus on the differences between men and women and whether relocating to a new region may increase the probability of successful transition out of unemployment. While previous labour force experience in unemployment is associated with longer time to exit from unemployment for both men and women, we find that the social factors associated with the process of time in unemployment differ markedly for men and women. In particular, age and marital status are significant drivers for reducing men’s time in unemployment, while the presence of children under the age of five years increases a woman’s time in unemployment. We also find that duration in unemployment varies across functional economic regions for women even after accounting for social factors and previous labour force experience at the individual level.
Real Wages as Determinant of Labour Productivity in the Mexican Tourism Sector

In this paper we use time-series techniques to estimate the long-run relationship between real wages and labour productivity in the Mexican tourism. Using yearly data from 1970 to 2004, we find a cointegration relationship showing that the average labour productivity depends positively on real wages. We show that real wage is weakly exogenous and causes labour productivity. Moreover, the impulse-response function shows that a positive shock in real wages produces a small negative effect in productivity for two years followed by a large positive one.
Entry of new members into one student affairs professional association serving student affairs professionals

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of seven new members of one professional association serving student affairs professionals. The study was a qualitative case study and examined the experiences of seven association members. The researcher collected data through face-to-face interviews, document analysis, and participant observation. The study began with face-to-face interviews of all seven participants. Following the interviews, participants were asked to complete a Critical Incident Form. The researcher spent time in the studied association, acting as a participant observer. Finally, the researcher analyzed a number of documents from the association. The data identified six themes as common to the experiences of participants. These themes included the importance of support, the significance of finding a good fit, perceptions, feelings and reality, connections through networking, focusing on professional growth, and personalization builds commitment. The findings of this study will advance the body of knowledge in the area of professional association socialization and retention, specifically for new members within a professional association. This study provided a greater understanding of the needs of the new member to one professional association and how a professional association can enhance an individual’s membership through attentive listening to new members.
Challenges and Choices: Modelling New Zealand’s Long-term Fiscal Position

This working paper provides further detail on the modelling behind Challenges and Choices – New Zealand’s Long-Term Fiscal Statement, published on 29 October 2009. Building on the first Statement of 2006, we construct two main fiscal scenarios over a 40- year horizon. The historic trends scenario allows historic and current spending and revenue settings to interact with changing demography. The sustainable debt scenario applies a fiscal constraint on non-benefit spending so that Crown net debt follows the Government’s medium-term fiscal targets. The modelling innovations introduced this time do not alter the basic structure and principles of the Long-term Fiscal Model, but instead provide insights into government spending: public sector productivity growth and the growth of the basket of services each person receives. These innovations enable us to illustrate the effects of tradeoffs between broad spending categories in a constrained fiscal environment. In the 2009 Statement, these policy changes are combined into three possible scenarios for obtaining a sustainable fiscal position. The paper also illustrates the sensitivity of the fiscal position to small changes in the demographic, macroeconomic and fiscal modelling assumptions.
Online team formation in social networks

We study the problem of online team formation. We consider a setting in which people possess different skills and compatibility among potential team members is modeled by a social network. A sequence of tasks arrives in an online fashion, and each task requires a specific set of skills. The goal is to form a new team upon arrival of each task, so that (i) each team possesses all skills required by the task, (ii) each team has small communication overhead, and (iii) the workload of performing the tasks is balanced among people in the fairest possible way. We propose efficient algorithms that address all these requirements: our algorithms form teams that always satisfy the required skills, provide approximation guarantees with respect to team communication overhead, and they are online-competitive with respect to load balancing. Experiments performed on collaboration networks among film actors and scientists, confirm that our algorithms are successful at balancing these conflicting requirements. This is the first paper that simultaneously addresses all these aspects. Previous work has either focused on minimizing coordination for a single task or balancing the workload neglecting coordination costs.
Critical Success Factors for ERP Implementation: The Case of Jordan

ERP systems are complex systems that face high probability of failure. Implementing such systems need careful planning and guarding against factors for failure. This study tried to explore the major key success factors (KSFs) that will turn the implementation process to a success. The study utilized 60 responses from managers and executives of local Jordanian companies in a pursuit for the highest KSFs in the Jordanian environment. Results are reported with conclusions and future work at the end of this paper.
Sepsis and ARDS: The Dark Side of Histones

Despite advances in management over the last several decades, sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) still remain major clinical challenges and the leading causes of death for patients in intensive care units (ICUs) due to insufficient understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of these diseases. However, recent studies have shown that histones, also known as chromatin-basic structure proteins, could be released into the extracellular space during severe stress and physical challenges to the body (e.g., sepsis and ARDS). Due to their cytotoxic and proinflammatory effects, extracellular histones can lead to excessive and overwhelming cell damage and death, thus contributing to the pathogenesis of both sepsis and ARDS. In addition, antihistone-based treatments (e.g., neutralizing antibodies, activated protein C, and heparin) have shown protective effects and have significantly improved the outcomes of mice suffering from sepsis and ARDS. Here, we review researches related to the pathological role of histone in context of sepsis and ARDS and evaluate the potential value of histones as biomarkers and therapeutic targets of these diseases.
Impact of Agricultural Trade Liberalisation on the welfare of rural communities in Bangladesh

The objective of this study was to analyse the impact of agricultural trade liberalisation on the welfare of rural households in Bangladesh. The study used both primary and secondary data and employed multiple models and estimation techniques including the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)-based Malmquist productivity index, Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression methods, Two-stage Least Square regression technique, and index number approaches. It estimated changes in productivity and prices of rice, income distribution, inequality, and poverty as a result of agricultural trade liberalisation. The study found that agricultural trade liberalisation positively influenced total factor productivity (TFP)-growth of rice, benefiting farm households directly. However, increased productivity led to a decrease in both producer and consumer prices of rice. The magnitude of the decrease in producer price was higher than that in consumer price, implying that farm households experienced loss from this price decrease. Nonfarm households experienced greater growth in consumption and real income than farm households. Amongst farm households, large and medium farmers experienced higher growth in real income than small farmers. Rural households experienced an increase in inequality – the rich captured a progressively larger share of income but the poor subsequently received a lower share. Although all rural households experienced a moderate to high growth rate in real income and consumption, rich households gained more than poor households, suggesting that the growth was not pro-poor, thereby resulting in insignificant poverty reduction during 1985-86 to 2005. Non-farm households experienced greater reduction in poverty than farm households. Amongst all groups of rural households, small farmers experienced the lowest reduction in poverty over the same period. The main reason for the low rate of poverty reduction was attributed to an increase in inequality along with economic growth. If the inequality was held constant at the 1985-86 level, the poverty could have been reduced to zero in 2005 with the level of growth experienced by Bangladesh in the post-liberalisation era. Agricultural trade liberalisation adversely affected the environment in the form of loss of soil fertility, destruction of bio-diversity, and environmental pollution. The study
Factors Associated with Diabetic Retinopathy in Chinese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Objective. To investigate the risk factors of DR in Chinese T2DM patients. Methods. 2009 patients with T2DM were included in this cross-sectional study. All patients underwent eye examination, and the DR stage was defined by an ophthalmologist. Correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relation between DR and clinical variables. Logistic regression models were used to assess risk for those factors associated with DR. Results. A total of 597 T2DM patients (29.7%) had DR, of which 548 (27.3%) were nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy and 49 (2.4%) were proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Positive correlations were found between DR and duration of diabetes, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure, glycated hemoglobin, glycated albumin, 24 hurinary albumin excretion, peripheral atherosclerosis (PA), diabetes nephropathy (DN), diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and anemia. Negative correlations were found between DR and C-peptide and glomerular filtration rate. Logistic regression analysis revealed that duration of diabetes, SBP, DN, anemia, PA, and C-peptide were each independent risk factors of DR. Conclusion. The duration of diabetes, SBP, DN, anemia, and PA are positively associated with DR in Chinese T2DM patients, while C-peptide is negatively associated with DR. Monitoring and evaluation of these related factors will likely contribute to the prevention and treatment of DR.
Study of ageing of the metallization layer of power semiconductor devices

In order to accelerate the ageing of the metallization layer of power semiconductor devices, repetitive short circuit operations are applied to COOLMOS Transistors. Regularly, during repetition of short-circuit operations metallization is observed in a Scanning Electron Microscope which allows us to observe the process of cracking at the grain boundaries of the metallization layer. Different electrical characterizations were also done regularly and evolution of characterization results are linked to the metallization ageing in order to better understand the ageing process of the metallization layer and the effect of metallization layer ageing on the electrical performances.
Civil Disobedience and International Law: Sketch for a Theoretical Argument

Summary This article argues that there is an increasing trend of civil society resorting to civil disobedience in relation to international legal values. International law, however, has not caught up with this trend. In fact, both international law and civil disobedience can gain much from a better understanding of their interaction. The article briefly traces the record of arguments drawn from international law in civil disobedience cases, highlights the theoretical constraints of the debate, and seeks to establish some basic foundations for an international legal theory of legitimate civil disobedience.
The missing evidence: a systematic review of patients' experiences of adverse events in health care.

PURPOSE Preventable patient harm due to adverse events (AEs) is a significant health problem today facing contemporary health care. Knowledge of patients' experiences of AEs is critical to improving health care safety and quality. A systematic review of studies of patients' experiences of AEs was conducted to report their experiences, knowledge gaps and any challenges encountered when capturing patient experience data. DATA SOURCES Key words, synonyms and subject headings were used to search eight electronic databases from January 2000 to February 2015, in addition to hand-searching of reference lists and relevant journals. STUDY SELECTION Titles and abstracts of publications were screened by two reviewers and checked by a third. Full-text articles were screened against the eligibility criteria. DATA EXTRACTION Data on design, methods and key findings were extracted and collated. RESULTS Thirty-three publications demonstrated patients identifying a range of problems in their care; most commonly identified were medication errors, communication and coordination of care problems. Patients' income, education, health burden and marital status influence likelihood of reporting. Patients report distress after an AE, often exacerbated by receiving inadequate information about the cause. Investigating patients' experiences is hampered by the lack of large representative patient samples, data over sufficient time periods and varying definitions of an AE. CONCLUSION Despite the emergence of policy initiatives to enhance patient engagement, few studies report patients' experiences of AEs. This information must be routinely captured and utilized to develop effective, patient-centred and system-wide policies to minimize and manage AEs.
Gender differences in the human mirror system: a magnetoencephalography study

The present study investigated whether the human mirror-neuron system exhibits gender differences. Neuromagenetic mu (∼20 Hz) oscillations were recorded over the right primary motor cortex, which reflect the mirror neuron activity, in 10 female and 10 male participants while they observed the videotaped hand actions and moving dot. In accordance with previous studies, all participants had mu suppression during the observation of hand action, indicating activation of primary motor cortex. Interestingly, the female participants displayed apparently stronger (P<0.05) suppression for the hand action than for the moving dot whereas the men showed the opposite (P<0.05). These findings have implications for the extreme male brain theory of autism and support the hypothesis of a dysfunctional mirror-neuron system in autism.
How useful are the stages of change for targeting interventions? Randomized test of a brief intervention to reduce smoking.

OBJECTIVE To see whether the stages of change are useful for targeting a brief intervention to reduce smoking based on implementation intentions. A second objective was to rule out demand characteristics as an alternative explanation for the findings of intervention studies based on the transtheoretical model and implementation intentions. DESIGN Participants (N = 350) were randomized to a passive control condition (questionnaire only), active control condition (questionnaire plus instruction to plan to quit), or experimental condition (questionnaire, plan to quit, form an implementation intention). Their behavior and psychosocial orientation to quit were measured at baseline and at 2-month follow-up. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Theory of planned behavior variables, nicotine dependence, and quitting. RESULTS Significantly more people quit smoking in the experimental condition than in the control conditions, and the planning instructions changed intention to quit and perceived control over quitting, but not behavior. Stage of change moderated these effects such that implementation intentions worked best for individuals who were in the preparation stage at baseline. CONCLUSION Harnessing both motivational and volitional processes seems to enhance the effectiveness of smoking cessation programs, although further work is required to clarify inconsistencies in the literature using the stages of change.
Nature Inspired Solutions for Polymers: Will Cutinase Enzymes Make Polyesters and Polyamides Greener?

The polymer and plastic sectors are under the urge of mitigating their environmental impact. The need for novel and more benign catalysts for polyester synthesis or targeted functionalization led, in recent years, to an increasing interest towards cutinases due to their natural ability to hydrolyze ester bonds in cutin, a natural polymer. In this review, the most recent advances in the synthesis and hydrolysis of various classes of polyesters and polyamides are discussed with a critical focus on the actual perspectives of applying enzymatic technologies for practical industrial purposes. More specifically, cutinase enzymes are compared to lipases and, in particular, to lipase B from Candida antarctica, the biocatalyst most widely employed in polymer chemistry so far. Computational and bioinformatics studies suggest that the natural role of cutinases in attacking natural polymers confer some essential features for processing also synthetic polyesters and polyamides.
Line profile variations in rapidly oscillating Ap stars: resolution of the enigma★

We have carried out the first survey of the pulsational line profile variability in rapidly oscillating Ap (roAp) stars. We analysed high signal-to-noise ratio time-series observations of 10 sharp-lined roAp stars obtained with the high-resolution spectrographs attached to the Very Large Telescope and Canada‐France‐Hawaii Telescope. We investigated in detail the variations of Pr III ,N dII ,N dIII and Tb III lines and discovered a prominent change of the profile variability pattern with height in the atmospheres of all studied roAp stars. We show that, in every investigated star, profile variability of at least one rare-earth ion is characterized by unusual blue-to-red moving features, which we previously discovered in the time-resolved spectra of the roAp star γ Equ. This behaviour is common in rapidly rotating non-radial pulsators but is inexplicable in the framework of the standard oblique pulsator model of slowly rotating roAp stars. Using analysis of the line profile moments and spectrum synthesis calculations, we demonstrate that unusual oscillations in spectral lines of roAp stars arise from the pulsational modulation of linewidths. This variation occurs approximately in quadrature with the radial velocity changes, and its amplitude rapidly increases with height in stellar atmosphere. We propose that the linewidth modulation is a consequence of the periodic expansion and compression of turbulent layers in the upper atmospheres of roAp stars. Thus, the line profile changes observed in slowly rotating magnetic pulsators should be interpreted as a superposition of two types of variability: the usual time-dependent velocity field due to an oblique low-order pulsation mode and an additional linewidth modulation, synchronized with the changes of stellar radius. Our explanation of the line profile variations of roAp stars solves the long-standing observational puzzle and opens new possibilities for constraining geometric and physical properties of the stellar magnetoacoustic pulsations.
Knots in the Outer Shells of the Planetary Nebulae IC 2553 and NGC 5882

We present images and high-resolution spectra of the planetary nebulae IC 2553 and NGC 5882. Spatiokinematic modeling of the nebulae shows that they are composed of a markedly elongated inner shell and of a less aspherical outer shell expanding at a considerably higher velocity than the inner one. Embedded in the outer shells of both nebulae are found several low-ionization knots. In IC 2553, the knots show a point-symmetric distribution with respect to the central star: one possible explanation for their formation is that they are the survivors of preexisting point-symmetric condensations in the asymptotic giant branch wind, a fact that would imply a quite peculiar mass-loss geometry from the giant progenitor. In the case of NGC 5882, the lack of symmetry in the distribution of the observed low-ionization structures makes it possible that they are the result of in situ instabilities.