Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Arbitrage Risk and Post-Earnings-Announcement Drift

This study examines whether the magnitude of post-earnings-announcement drift is related to the risk faced by arbitrageurs, who may view the anomaly as a trading opportunity. Consistent with this hypothesis, the magnitude of the drift is strongly related to the arbitrage risk measure developed by Wurgler and Zhuravskaya (2002). The effect of arbitrage risk is statistically and economically significant in a range of specifications. The results support the view of post-earnings-announcement drift as an underreaction to earnings information.
Spatial Aggregation in Multiregional Input-Output Models

This study continues the investigations into effects of spatial aggregation in connected, several-region input-output models that were initially reported upon in Miller and Blair (1980; 1981) for an interregional input-output model. In the present paper our interest is in the error that is introduced into a multiregional input-output model through aggregation of regions. As in the earlier paper, we investigate the question by means of both hypothetical and real data. In the present study, these are (1) randomly generated multiregional data incorporating varying degrees of regional linkage and (2) actual 1963 US multiregional data. To allow some comparison with the interregional experiments, the data for the random experiments in the present paper are derived from our original randomly generated interregional data. The same levels of spatial interconnectedness as in the interregional experiments are also used here, and the same measures of aggregation error are employed. As in the interregional case, we conclude that spatial aggregation in multiregional input-output models does not necessarily lead to unacceptable error.
Financial structure and economic growth: the role of heterogeneity

In this article we use Bayesian classification and finite mixture models to extract information from Levine's (2002) cross-country database and reconsider the relationship between financial structure and long-run economic growth. Our methods, based on statistical similarities and multi-dimensional structures, allow for parameter heterogeneity across the countries in Levine's database and yield substantially different findings than Levine's regarding the relationship between financial structure and economic performance. 1This article builds on material from Karl Pinno's PhD dissertation at the University of Calgary.
E-portfolios along the Lifelong Learning Cycle: Differences between Use, Pedagogy and Context.

This short paper discusses the initial evaluation findings of an on-going project utilising the use of e-portfolios at key stages of transition. The mid-point data illustrates that e-portfolios offer different benefits within the lifelong learning cycle. There are differences in the pedagogical outcomes, the use of the e-portfolios and learner and mentor/supervisor engagement within different contexts, particularly between the educational and work spheres
Fair Trade: Market-Driven Ethical Consumption

Fair Trade is at a crucial moment in its evolution from alternative trading mechanism to mainstream economic model. This timely and thoughtful book looks at the strategic future for Fair Trade. Each chapter spearheads a key area of Fair Trade thinking and theory and the political, legal and economic context of Fair Trade is given careful scrutiny. Difficult questions are tackled such as `What is the role and value of corporate social responsibility? ' and `What is the brand meaning of Fair Trade? '
Effectiveness of modified seminars as a teaching-learning method in pharmacology

Context: Student-led seminars (SLS) are adopted as a teaching-learning (T-L) method in pharmacology. Previous studies assessing the feedback on T-L methods in pharmacology points out that the traditional seminars consistently received poor feedbacks as they were not favorite among the students. Aims: This study aimed to obtain feedback on traditional SLS, introduce modified SLS and compare the modified seminars with the traditional ones. Settings and Design: This was a prospective interventional study done for 2 months in medical undergraduates of fifth semester attending Pharmacology seminars at a Government Medical College in South India. Subjects and Methods: Structured questionnaire was used to elicit feedback from participants. The responses were coded on 5-point Likert scale. Modifications in seminar sessions such as role plays, quiz, tests, group discussion, and patient-oriented problem-solving exercises were introduced along with SLS. Statistical Analysis Used: The data were analyzed using SPSS version 16. The descriptive data were expressed using frequencies and percentages. Wilcoxon signed rank test, and Friedman tests were used to compare traditional with modified seminars. Results: The participants identified interaction as the most important component of a seminar. Majority opined that the teacher should summarize at the end of SLS. Student feedback shows that modified seminars created more interest, enthusiasm, and inspiration to learn the topic when compared to traditional SLS. They also increased peer coordination and group dynamics. Students opined that communication skills and teacher-student interactions were not improved with modified seminars. Conclusions: Interventions in the form of modified SLS may be adopted to break the monotony of traditional seminars through active participation, peer interaction, and teamwork.
Urban Slum Growth and Human Health: A Panel Study of Infant and Child Mortality in Less-Developed Countries, 1990–2005

Drawing from various bodies of social scientific literature and research, the authors assess the extent to which infant and child mortality rates in less-developed countries are affected by the percent of domestic populations living in urban slum conditions. Results of first-difference panel model estimates of 80 less-developed countries from 1990 to 2005 indicate that growth in the percent of populations living in urban slum conditions positively affects both forms of mortality, and the effects are much more pronounced for African countries than for less-developed countries in Latin America and Asia. These findings hold, net of economic development, fertility rates, world-economic integration, and other factors. Cross-sectional analyses of infant and child mortality rates in 2005 that include additional controls provide further evidence of the mortality/urban slum relationships found in the panel model estimates. The authors conclude by highlighting the theoretical implications of the results and describe the next steps in this research agenda.
Autism in three patients with cystic or hyperechogenic kidneys and chromosome 17q12 deletion.

BACKGROUND We report autism in 3 out of 53 children with cystic or hyperechogenic kidneys and heterozygous 17q12 region deletion encompassing hepatocyte nuclear factor-1beta (HNF1B). RESULTS They presented mental retardation, social interaction impairments, verbal and non-verbal communication deficits and stereotyped behaviours. Deletion size and location of breakpoints were similar to those reported in patients with renal disease/diabetes only. CONCLUSION Reciprocal genomic rearrangements of the 17q12 region, reported in patients with mental retardation and epilepsy, could also be involved in autism. Nephrologists should be aware of the possibility of autism in patients with 17q12 deletion including HNF1B locus.
No Way Back? The Dynamics of Early School Leaving

Disengagement from school is a significant source of inequality in the Irish context, given the strong links between early school leaving and subsequent disadvantage. No Way Back? highlights the persistence of early school leaving and estimates that one in six young people continue to leave school without a Leaving Certificate qualification. This book offers a unique contribution to what we know about earlyschool leaving by taking a more dynamic approach, placing emphasis on the interaction of family, individual and school factors which shape a gradual process of disengagement from school. This study is part of a series which follows a cohort of young people as they move through the second-level education system. No Way Back? explores the experiences of young people who have left school before completion of senior cycle. It documents their negative school experiences and withdrawal from school life, suggesting options for future policy development to improve retention and student engagement. No Way Back? will be of interest to policymakers, school management, guidance counsellors, teachers, young people, parents and the wider academic community.
The Common Component in Forward Premiums: Evidence from the Asia–Pacific Region

We empirically analyze the behavior of the forward premium. Unlike previous research, we use data from Asia–Pacific countries and adopt a panel data approach that allows us to decompose the forward premium into common and idiosyncratic components. Our data suggest the presence of one common factor and the stationarity of both components for short maturities, leading to the conclusion of a stationary forward premium. In contrast, the stationarity of the premium is less supported by the longer maturity data. Furthermore, a large portion of the premium fluctuation is shown to be due to a common factor, particularly over the short time horizon, which in turn can be explained by economic developments in the USA.
How Risk–Return Efficient Are Target Risk Strategies?

We empirically analyze the properties of target risk strategies compared with pure index investments. We also study them in the context of popular alternative strategies such as minimum-variance and equally weighted portfolios. We document a strong (out)performance. For our sample period of about 20 years, capitalization-weighted index returns can be systematically achieved at a lower variance. However, there is a trade-off between leveraging that potentially creates higher returns and the volatility loss due to leverage that leads to an optimal risk level.
Perceived importance of performance management metrics among UK theatre companies: An empirical investigation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent of the use of performance management metrics by UK theatre companies, the levels of importance attached to various types of measures, and possible determinants of managerial perceptions of the importance of each category.Design/methodology/approach – A model was constructed which hypothesised that the types of metrics regarded as most important by theatre managements depended on organisational identity, financial situation, environmental volatility, production diversity and visitor orientation. This was tested via a survey of 195 UK theatres.Findings – A theatre's financial situation greatly influenced the categories of metrics that its management deemed to be important, exerting both a direct effect and indirect impacts. An organisation's “artistic identity” also affected the dimensions of the operations that its management sought to measure.Research limitations/implications – The data were self‐reported; less than a majority of the sampling fr.
Force Platform Measurements as Predictors of Falls among Older People – A Review

Background: Poor postural balance is one of the major risk factors for falling. A great number of reports have analyzed the risk factors and predictors of falls but the results have for the most part been unclear and partly contradictory. Objective data on these matters are thus urgently needed. The force platform technique has widely been used as a tool to assess balance. However, the ability of force platform measures to predict falls remains unknown. Objective: The purpose of this systematic review was to extract and critically review the findings of prospective studies where force platform measurements have been used as predictors of falls among elderly populations. Methods: The study was done as a systematic literature review. PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and CINAHL databases from 1950 to April 2005 were used. The review includes prospective follow-up studies using the force platform as a tool to measure postural balance. Results: Nine original prospective studies were included in the final analyses. In five studies fall-related outcomes were associated with some force platform measures and in the remaining four studies associations were not found. For the various parameters derived on the basis of the force platform data, the mean speed of the mediolateral (ML) movement of the center of pressure (COP) during normal standing with the eyes open and closed, the mean amplitude of the ML movement of the COP with the eyes open and closed, and the root-mean-square value of the ML displacement of COP were the indicators that showed significant associations with future falls. Measures related to dynamic posturography (moving platforms) were not predictive of falls. Conclusion: Despite a wide search only a few prospective follow-up studies using the force platform technique to measure postural balance and a reliable registration of subsequent falls were found. The results suggest that certain aspects of force platform data may have predictive value for subsequent falls, especially various indicators of the lateral control of posture. However, the small number of studies available makes it difficult to draw definitive conclusions.
Papua New Guinea at thirty: Late decolonisation and the political economy of nation-building

Abstract In September 2005 Papua New Guinea (PNG) celebrated 30 years of independence from Australia. Despite greater Australian control over foreign aid spending in its former colony since the late 1980s, the Australian government still fears ‘state collapse’ in PNG. Framing its concerns in such a fashion assumes that there was a time when the state in PNG ‘worked’ in the same way as developed states. Australia practised paternalistic colonial policies before 1975, and independence was thrust upon PNG rather than achieved as the result of the efforts of an organised nationalist movement. Nation-building in PNG has been problematic from the outset, with a linguistically diverse population and no significant nationalist sentiment or structures on which to build. In the past decade neoliberal economic policies promoted by Australian policy makers and international lending agencies have tried to force the government and economy to be more efficient. Slowing growth, increased unemployment, rising crime rates and the apparent inability of the PNG state to reverse these trends led Canberra to force the PNG government to accept an ‘Enhanced Cooperation Program’ (ecp) to shore up the PNG state and reverse its predicted demise. The ecp raises questions over the success of nation- and state-building in PNG, as well as the degree of actual sovereignty enjoyed today by PNG.
Time‐Varying Credit Risk Discovery in the Stock and CDS Markets: Evidence from Quiet and Crisis Times

We analyse the dynamic relationship between the stock and the CDS market during the period 2002–2008. We document that the stock market's informational dominance reported in previous studies holds only in times of financial crisis. During tranquil times, the CDS market's contribution to price discovery is equal or higher than that of the stock market. Moreover, the credit risk level of the company has a positive effect on the information share of its stocks beyond the effect of the overall state of the economy. We show that these conclusions do not contradict the argument of insider trading in credit derivatives.
A Turntable-based Approach for Ground Truth Tracking Data Generation

Quantitative evaluation of feature trackers can lead significant improvements in accuracy. There are widely used ground truth databases in the field. One of the most popular datasets is the Middlebury database to compare optical flow algorithms. However, the database does not contain rotating 3D objects. This paper proposes a turntable-based approach that fills this gap. The key challenge here is to calibrate very accurately the applied camera, projector, and turntable. We show here that this is possible, even if just a simple chessboard plane is used for the calibration. The proposed approach is validated on 3D reconstruction and ground truth tracking data generation of real-world objects.
Screening of human bladder tumors and urine sediments for the presence of H‐ras mutations

A series of 111 human bladder tumors were screened using oligonucleotide mutant specific probes, restriction enzyme analysis and single‐stranded confirmation polymorphism (SSCP) for the presence of H‐ras activation events. Thirty‐three tumors were found to harbor H‐ras mutations where a glycine to valine (G→ T) change in codon 12 was the most common point mutation recorded (26 tumors). Additional mutations involved glycine to cysteine at codon 13 (2 tumors) and glutamine to arginine/lysine/leucine at codon 61 (3/1/1 tumors, respectively). Ambiguous signals recorded with oligonucleotide probes were further analyzed using SSCP analysis revealing the presence of H‐ras mutations in restricted regions of some tumors. The apparent sensitivity of SSCP enabled us to extend this study to DNA isolated from urine sediments where 4 of the 9 patients studied showed representation of mutant H‐ras. Our study demonstrates a sensitive, non‐invasive assay for the screening of urine‐borne cells, with no requirement for prior knowledge of the mutational change at the H‐ras locus.
The Relationship of Faculty Demographics and Attitudes toward Technology Integration

The Relationship of Faculty Demographics and Attitudes toward Technology Integration by Brian Michael McKinley MA, Frostburg State University, 2004 BS, Frostburg State University, 2000 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University January 2014 Abstract Stakeholders in a midsized rural high school district were concerned that faculty failure to integrate educational technologies into instruction was adversely affecting student performance as measured by recent state mandated test scores. The purpose of this study was to determine if relationships existed between faculty age, gender, tenure, and overall attitude toward technology, and the implementation of technology into classroomStakeholders in a midsized rural high school district were concerned that faculty failure to integrate educational technologies into instruction was adversely affecting student performance as measured by recent state mandated test scores. The purpose of this study was to determine if relationships existed between faculty age, gender, tenure, and overall attitude toward technology, and the implementation of technology into classroom instruction. Dewey’s and Knowles' theories of adult learning were used as theoretical frameworks because they emphasize the practical application of knowledge in the transfer of learning. The research design was a one-time cross-sectional survey of teachers within the district. The data were collected using the Levels of Technology Implementation survey extended to include 5 additional questions about attitude towards technology developed using existing literature and consultation with experts. The convenience sample was comprised of 103 volunteer respondents at 3 midsized rural high schools. Analysis of the data utilized Pearson's correlation coefficients, independent samples t-tests, ANOVAs, and ANCOVAs. Findings indicated that technology implementation in classroom instruction for this group is generally deficient. No significant relationships between faculty age, gender, and tenure and technology implementation existed, but attitude toward technology proved to be a significant factor for increased technology implementation into classroom instruction. These findings led to the creation of a professional development program to increase the impact of technology on the transfer of learning. Increasing faculty expertise in implementing instructional technology into classroom instruction will lead to greater innovation in the classroom and improved student outcomes. The Relationship of Faculty Demographics and Attitudes toward Technology Integration by Brian Michael McKinley MA, Frostburg State University, 2004 BS, Frostburg State University, 2000 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University February 2014
Comparative 16S rRNA Analysis of Lake Bacterioplankton Reveals Globally Distributed Phylogenetic Clusters Including an Abundant Group of Actinobacteria

ABSTRACT In a search for cosmopolitan phylogenetic clusters of freshwater bacteria, we recovered a total of 190 full and partial 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequences from three different lakes (Lake Gossenköllesee, Austria; Lake Fuchskuhle, Germany; and Lake Baikal, Russia). The phylogenetic comparison with the currently available rDNA data set showed that our sequences fall into 16 clusters, which otherwise include bacterial rDNA sequences of primarily freshwater and soil, but not marine, origin. Six of the clusters were affiliated with the α, four were affiliated with the β, and one was affiliated with the γ subclass of the Proteobacteria; four were affiliated with theCytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides group; and one was affiliated with the class Actinobacteria (formerly known as the high-G+C gram-positive bacteria). The latter cluster (hgcI) is monophyletic and so far includes only sequences directly retrieved from aquatic environments. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with probes specific for the hgcI cluster showed abundances of up to 1.7 × 105 cells ml−1 in Lake Gossenköllesee, with strong seasonal fluctuations, and high abundances in the two other lakes investigated. Cell size measurements revealed that Actinobacteria in Lake Gossenköllesee can account for up to 63% of the bacterioplankton biomass. A combination of phylogenetic analysis and FISH was used to reveal 16 globally distributed sequence clusters and to confirm the broad distribution, abundance, and high biomass of members of the classActinobacteria in freshwater ecosystems.
Trade and access to finance of SMEs: is there a nexus?

Limited resources and barriers to entry are critically higher for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) than for large companies. One of the reasons explaining why the resources of SMEs are scarce is their limited access to financial services. This in turn reduces the likelihood of exporting. For this reason, using the census of SMEs done by the Central Bank of Egypt and the Egyptian Banking Institute, we try to examine the impact of access to finance on their export performance. We measure the latter by the extensive margin that means the probability of becoming an exporter and the probability of serving several markets. We found a significant and positive impact of dealing with banks and having banking facilities on the probability of exporting and that of exporting to more than one destination. Thus, wider and more efficient financial services are likely to increase the number of exporters and boost exports’ diversification.
Developing creative teams for operational excellence

Contends that, with the accelerating dynamics of competition and a move of organizations towards more dynamic approaches to strategy formulation and implementation, creativity becomes of key importance for achieving both product and operational excellence. Over the last decade organizations have increasingly adopted team‐centred structures in order to improve the way in which knowledge is developed, disseminated and applied in organizations. Although this has improved product and operational performance dramatically, organizations now realize that future radical improvements in performance hinge on improving their creative capabilities. Presents a framework used by Hewlett‐Packard in order to develop creative teams.