Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The firm's strategic dynamics and corporate governance life‐cycle

Purpose – The paper seeks to present a novel conceptual framework that integrates the strategic dynamics of the firm with changes in its governance systems. Design/methodology/approach – The agency research agenda is extended to include other corporate governance roles, such as resource and strategy functions, alongside monitoring and control functions. Theoretical arguments are supported by empirical data related to the founder-manager/IPO, IPO/maturity, maturity/decline and reinvention thresholds. Findings – The paper shows that corporate governance parameters may be linked to strategic thresholds in the firm's life-cycle. Successful transition over a threshold is accompanied by a rebalancing in the structure and roles of corporate governance compared with each previous stage in the cycle. Research limitations/implications – In the absence of longitudinal data relating to firms as they pass through all life-cycle stages the study has been restricted to reporting illustrative data from different studies regarding each strategic threshold. Further research might usefully undertake detailed long-term case studies using a combination of archival and interview data to trace the evolution of firms across the four thresholds. Originality/value – This paper develops a novel conceptual framework that integrates the strategic dynamics of the firm with changes in its governance systems. It rejects the notion of a universal governance template and argues that corporate governance parameters may be linked to transitions from one stage to another in the firm's life-cycle. Accordingly, it argues that changes in a firm's strategic positioning may be associated with rebalancing between the wealth-protection and wealth-creation functions of governance.
Influencing individual sustainability: a review of the evidence on the role of community-based organisations

Academics and policymakers claim that community-based organisations can mobilise citizens to take on more sustainable behaviours. The evidence for the influence of activities run by community-based organisations on individual sustainability is in relatively short supply, particularly in developed country contexts. There is limited understanding of the contextual conditions that are favourable for such interventions, the types of individuals that are likely to be affected and the decision-making processes of individuals in taking on particular behaviours. This paper presents a descriptive model built from current empirical literature in the area, and the wider pro-environmental behaviour literature, which begins to explain the causal factors present in interventions of this type.
US economic announcements: do they convey information to the Autralian share market?

This study covers the period from January 2000 to June 2005 and examines the 'announcement effect' of economic news releases in the United States (US) on returns in the Australian share market. Using previously developed models and professional surveys as proxies for expected components of the announcements, the study analyses how the Australian market reacts to both expected and unexpected components. Three types of US economic announcements are analysed in this study, namely discount rate changes, inflation and real economic activity. Results show that significant relationships occur for each of the three types of economic announcements. These findings provide empirical proof that Australian investors regard US economic news as containing information relevant in the pricing of Australian equities. This has consequences for investors and fund managers throughout Australia who need to consider the impact of US and global economic conditions when developing investment strategies.
A Test of the Free Cash Flow Hypothesis: Results from the Petroleum Industry

Over the period 1979-85, the petroleum industry offers a unique test of the agency theory of corporat e restructuring. A panel data set for twenty-five firms indicates con siderable support for a hybrid free cash flow model in which explorat ion expenditures appear guided by neoclassical profitability measures , but at the margin, cash flow also exerts an independent influence. The magnitude of the parameter estimates suggests that the free cash flow hypothesis does not fully explain the gains from restructuring. Copyright 1988 by MIT Press.
The effect of body shape on weight-for-height and mid-upper arm circumference based case definitions of acute malnutrition in Ethiopian children

Background: Nutritional anthropometry surveys from Somalia and Ethiopia have reported that standard weight-for-height z-score (WHZ) and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) case definitions return different estimates of the prevalence of acute malnutrition in pastoralist livelihood zones but similar estimates of the prevalence of acute malnutrition in the agrarian livelihood zones. A study undertaken in Somalia to investigate this finding reported that children from pastoralist livelihood zones tended to have longer limbs and lower SSRs than children from agrarian livelihood zones. Aim: The present study investigated the relationship between weight-for-height and body shape and the relationship between MUAC and body shape in different populations of Ethiopian children. Subjects and methods: Six cross-sectional nutritional anthropometry surveys were undertaken. The combined survey datasets form the study sample. Data sources were grouped according to the livelihood zone from which data originated (either settled agrarian or semi-nomadic pastoralist). Case definitions of acute malnutrition using WHZ calculated using the NCHS and WHO reference populations and MUAC uncorrected for age or height were used. The SSR was used as an index of body shape. The association between body shape and the different case definitions of acute malnutrition were investigated using standard statistical techniques. Results: Weight-for-height and MUAC case definitions yielded similar estimates of the prevalence of acute malnutrition in agrarian children but different estimates of the prevalence of acute malnutrition in pastoralist children. These populations also exhibit different SSRs. The SSR is an important predictor of weight-for-height. The SSR is a poor predictor of MUAC. Conclusion: WHZ and WHZ case status in children are associated with body shape and may overestimate the prevalence of acute malnutrition in some populations. Consideration should be given as to whether WHZ should be replaced by MUAC for the purposes of estimating the prevalence of acute malnutrition.
PENGARUH PROFITABILITAS, SIZE TERHADAP NILAI PERUSAHAAN DENGAN SRUKTUR MODAL SEBAGAI VARIABEL INTERVENING

Abstract Â This study investigates the impact of profitability and firm size on firm value with capital structure as an intervening variable of Indonesian public listed firms over the period of 2006 to 2010. Using panel data and Structural Equation Model analysis, this study finds that profitability has negative influence on capital structure, with a significance value 0.023. Second, firm size has positive influence on capital structure with a significance value 0.012. Third, capital structure has positive influence on firm size with a significance value 0.000. Fourth, profitability and firm size have indirect effect on firm value with capital structure as an intervening variable. Keywords: profitability, firm size, capital structure, firm value. Abstrak Studi ini mengkaji dampak profitabilitas dan ukuran perusahaan terhadap nilai perusahaan dengan struktur modal sebagai variabel intervening pada perusahaan tercatat di Bursa Efek Indonesia selama periode 2006 sampai dengan 2010. Menggunakan panel data dan Analsis Structural Equation Model, penelitian ini menemukan bahwa profitabilitas berpengaruh negatif terhadap struktur modal, dengan nilai signifikansi 0,023. Kedua, ukuran perusahaan berpengaruh positif terhadap struktur modal dengan nilai signifikansi 0,012. Ketiga, struktur modal berpengaruh positif terhadap ukuran perusahaan dengan nilai signifikansi 0,000. Keempat, profitabilitas dan ukuran perusahaan memiliki pengaruh tidak langsung terhadap nilai perusahaan dengan struktur modal sebagai variabel intervening. Kata kunci: profitabilitas, ukuran perusahaan, struktur modal, nilai perusahaan.
Seeing stars: human resources performance indicators in the National Health Service

Purpose – This paper examines the functioning of performance ratings of the human resources (HR) function of National Health Service (NHS). In particular, it looks at the star ratings system and the response of workplace HR managers to this system.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a qualitative, cross‐sectional methodology. Human resource managers in 17 different NHS trusts, as well as senior civil servants, were interviewed.Findings – The paper finds that poor data quality and inconsistent incentives make the ratings of limited relevance in either evaluating or driving the performance of the hospital HR function.Research limitations/implications – The research highlights the value of assessing government policies from the perspective of those affected by them.Practical implications – The evidence shows that the application of performance indicators does not meet the stated government objectives. Also, the unanimity across managers in differently rated trusts shows that criticisms are not limit.
Mainstreaming Environment and Development at the World Trade Organization? Fisheries Subsidies, the Politics of Rule-Making, and the Elusive ‘Triple Win’

The relationship among trade liberalization, the environment, and socioeconomic development is marked by controversy, though it is well accepted that in practice economic interests often trump environmental concerns and that developing countries incur a range of costs to participate in, and comply with, multilateral and bilateral trade agreements. Politics and power dynamics in the rule-making process in liberalization negotiations are often implicated for generating these outcomes. To improve on this record, and in accordance with the rise in ‘market environmentalism’, World Trade Organization (WTO) members and advocacy groups have turned this rhetoric on its head and pushed for ‘synergy’ in which a single WTO rule to discipline fisheries subsidies at once liberalizes trade, generates an environmental improvement, and supports developing country aspirations—a much fêted ‘triple win’. We sketch the anatomy of the fisheries subsidies negotiations and explore how the triple win is used by blocks of states to justify different political—economic positions. This analysis sheds light on the challenges associated with seeking to use trade for the environment and for development and the dynamics that shape negotiations and the actually existing rules that emerge from the WTO.
Developing a Content Analysis Evaluation Approach for the Examination of Limited-Service Lodging Properties

SUMMARY This exploratory study investigates the Website effectiveness of limited-service chain lodging operations. Websites of the top 25 limited-service chain lodging operations in the U.S. were evaluated based on the criteria established for the study. The seven evaluation criteria included impression, content usefulness, accuracy, navigation, accessibility, online reservations, and timeliness of information. A detailed description was developed for each criterion. The results of this study offers a starting point for both Web researchers and practitioners in the limited-service segment of the lodging industry to determine specific areas of Website improvements.
Comparison of midwifery-led and consultant-led maternity care for low risk deliveries in Nepal.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate Nepal's first independent midwifery unit, the Patan Hospital Birthing Centre (BC), as a model for training and service provision for low risk deliveries. Specifically, to compare its efficacy with that of an adjacent Consultant-led Maternity Unit (CMU). METHODS Unpaired comparison of delivery procedures and outcomes at the Patan Hospital, Lalitpur. The sample was 988 women (550 at BC, 438 at CMU). Women judged to be at low risk of complications were enrolled at delivery at each facility. Information was collected by standardized interviews and record review. Main outcome measures were incidence of complications of labour, technical procedures and access to postnatal care and family planning services. RESULTS Artificial rupture of membranes was more likely to be performed at the BC (RR 1.26, 95% CI 1.10-1.44). Augmentation of labour with oxytocin was less likely to be performed (RR 0.26, 95% CI 0.20-0.33), as was episiotomy (RR 0.64, 95% CI 0.57-0.72). The incidence of oxytocic augmentation was high at the CMU (205/438: 46.9%). The incidence of moderately or thickly meconium-stained liquor was lower at the BC than at the CMU (RR 0.62, 95% CI 0.43-0.91), a finding that was associated with oxytocic augmentation of labour. No significant differences were found for duration or complications of labour, mode of delivery, birth weight, neonatal Apgar score or admission to the special care baby unit. Women delivering at the BC were more likely to attend both postnatal (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.18-1.51) and family planning clinics (RR 1.85, 95% CI 1.44-2.38). CONCLUSIONS After appropriate screening, intrapartum care for low risk deliveries is effectively provided by midwives. The Birthing Centre model should be considered throughout the developing world, particularly as a site for training of skilled attendants.
"A ubiquitous sex difference in dreams" revisited.

Males dream more often of males than females do. This sex difference was found in 29 comparisons of male and female dreams. It holds for children, adolescents, college students, and adults in all parts of the world; and for dreams collected in the laboratory, as well as dreams reported under nonlaboratory conditions. Various explanations for this ubiquitous sex difference are discussed.
The Position-taking Value of Bill Sponsorship in Congress

What is the value of non—roll call position taking in Congress? The authors argue that non—roll call positions are used by interest groups to acquire information about the direction and intensity of legislators’ preferences. Legislators, in turn, use them to attract campaign contributions from potential donors. Examining bill sponsorship in the 103rd and 104th Congresses, the authors find a relationship between campaign contributions from labor and gun control political action committees and the positions House Democrats take through bill sponsorship. These results suggest that non—roll call position taking indeed matters.
Relevance of Ki-67 antigen expression and K-ras mutation in colorectal liver metastases.

AIMS The liver is a frequent site of metastases from colorectal cancer. While these lesions are potentially amenable to surgical resection, they are usually very aggressive, and recurrence is frequent. Mutations of the proto-oncogene K- ras are thought to impart a strong growth signal to tumour cells and are closely associated with the development of malignancies of the colon and rectum. Hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer have notably elevated proliferative rates. The present study was performed to investigate the relationship between proliferation or K- ras mutation and prognosis following curative resection of colorectal liver metastases. METHODS Colorectal liver metastases from 41 patients undergoing curative hepatic resection were examined for proliferation status and presence of K- ras mutations. The proliferative activity was assessed by Ki-67 immunohistochemistry. DNA from the same tissue samples was screened for point mutations in codon 12 of the K- ras gene using a novel microplate-based allelic-specific hybridization assay. Ki-67 scores and K- ras status were then related with patient survival as determined through retrospective analysis. RESULTS Median survival was 40 months. Patients with high Ki-67 scores (> or = 50%) had significantly shorter median survival compared with those with low scores (30 vs 44 months, log-rank P=0.02). A high Ki-67 score was an independent negative prognostic factor by multivariate regression analysis (relative risk=3.04, P=0.036). K- ras point mutations were detected in 6/41 patients (15%), but mutational status did not correlate with Ki-67 score or survival. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the tumour proliferative index is a useful predictor of aggressive tumour behaviour and an indicator of patient survival. The presence of K- ras mutations does not appear to correlate with tumour proliferation status or patient survival.
Intrinsic damage to the major white matter tracts in patients with different clinical phenotypes of multiple sclerosis: a voxelwise diffusion-tensor MR study.

PURPOSE To apply voxelwise analysis of diffusion-tensor (DT) magnetic resonance (MR) tractography and T2-weighted MR lesion measurements to characterize intrinsic damage to the brain white matter (WM) tracts and the relation of this damage to the presence and location of focal lesions among the main clinical phenotypes of multiple sclerosis (MS). MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was conducted with institutional review board approval. Written informed consent was obtained from each participant. Brain dual-echo and DT MR images were obtained in 172 patients with MS (22 [13%] with clinically isolated syndromes [CIS] suggestive of MS, 51 [30%] with relapsing-remitting [RR] MS, 44 [26%] with secondary progressive MS, 20 [12%] with benign MS, 35 [20%] with primary progressive MS) and 46 healthy control subjects. Probability maps of the major brain WM tracts were produced. Between-group comparisons were assessed by using analysis of covariance. RESULTS Compared with the healthy control subjects, the patients with CIS had significantly increased (P < .001) mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity, and radial diffusivity in the majority of WM tracts. The primary progressive MS group showed diffuse increases in mean, axial, and radial diffusivity, with fractional anisotropy (FA) damage involving the majority of WM tracts. No relevant difference in diffusivity measures was found between the CIS and RR-MS groups. Compared with the benign MS group, the RR-MS group had reduced FA values in all WM tracts and decreased axial diffusivity in the majority of tracts. The secondary progressive MS group had pronounced damage to the majority of tracts and, compared with the benign MS group, pronounced FA alteration of the tracts relevant for motor impairment. CONCLUSION Voxelwise assessment of DT MR index abnormalities is a rewarding strategy for understanding the heterogeneity of clinical MS phenotypes.
EU Law: Text, Cases and Materials

1: The Development of European Integration. 2: The Institutions of the Community. 3: Community Legislation and Policy-Making. 4: The Nature of EC Law: Direct and Indirect Effect. 5: The Application of EC Law: Remedies in National Courts. 6: The Relationship Between EC Law and National Law: Supremacy. 7: General Principles I: Fundamental Rights. 8: General Principles of Community Law II: Proportionality, Legitimate Expectations, Non-Discrimination, and Transparency. 9: Enforcement Actions Against Member States. 10: Preliminary Rulings and the Building of a European Judicial System. 11: Review of Legality. 12: Damages Actions and Money Claims. 13: Free Movement of Goods: Duties, Charges, and Taxes. 14: Free Movement of Goods: Quantitative Restrictions. 15: Free Movement of Capital and European Monetary Union. 16: Free Movement of Workers and Beyond. 17: Freedom of Establishment and to Provide Services. 18: The Public-Policy, Security, and Health Derogations: Directive 64/221. 19: Equal Treatment of Women and Men. 20: Competition Law: Article 81. 21: Competition Law: Article 82. 22: Competition Law: Mergers. 23: Competition: Enforcement and Procedure. 24: Intellectual Property. 25: The State and the Common Market. 26: Completion of the Single Market
Vulnerability to wind hazards in the traditional city of Ibadan, Nigeria

This paper examines vulnerability to recent occurrences of wind hazards in the context of changing patterns of urbanization, land use, land cover and wind climate in Ibadan, the largest traditional urban centre in sub-Saharan Africa. The period 1989–2008 shows a significant increase in maximum wind gusts, with the latter half of the period, 1998–2008, recording higher mean maximum wind gusts and more frequent windstorms with peak gusts of 48 knots or more. Following a major windstorm event in March 2008, an assessment of the windstorm-induced damage and the vulnerability characteristics of residents of 69 wind-damaged houses in eight districts located in Ibadan’s high density core area and older suburbs was undertaken. This was based largely on primary data from interviews conducted with residents of windstorm-affected districts and with key informants in urban planning institutions. The study provides insights into changing climate risk patterns and emerging vulnerabilities of inner-city residents of Ibadan. The role of local institutions in shaping vulnerability to climate risks was also examined.
patial and temporal heterogeneity in the dynamics of eastern U . S . orests : Implications for developing broad-scale forest dynamics odels

Spatial and temporal environmental heterogeneity is known to play an important role in the dynamics of populations and communities. However, the implications of this heterogeneity for developing and testing regionalto global-scale forest dynamics models are largely unexplored. Predictions from forest dynamics models are typically compared to chronosequences assembled from forest inventory data using the space-for-time substitution approach, which assumes that different-aged stands across space have followed (and will follow) the same dynamics. Often, this assumption is invalid in the presence of spatial and/or temporal heterogeneity. We used the perfect plasticity approximation (PPA) forest dynamics model, parameterized with forest inventory data for > 10 forest types in the eastern U.S., to diagnose spatial and temporal heterogeneity in forest dynamics, and to explore how this heterogeneity can affect comparisons between predicted dynamics and chronosequence observations. Our results provided evidence that spatial and temporal heterogeneity are widespread in eastern U.S. forests. Temporal heterogeneity was apparent because species whose observed abundances have increased over recent decades tended to be the same species for which predicted abundance (derived from individual-level growth and mortality rates estimated from the recent decades of inventory data) were greater than observed abundance. Spatial heterogeneity was apparent because species had more competitive parameter estimates (higher growth and/or lower mortality) on inventory plots where they are most abundant, relative to other plots in the same forest type. Spatial and temporal heterogeneity both contributed to mismatches between predicted dynamics and chronosequence observations. Predictions of canopy structure (proportion of individuals in the upper canopy vs. the understory) were well-matched to inventory data, suggesting that the PPA’s simple space-filling algorithm was not an important source of error in predicting forest dynamics. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Profit with purpose? a theory of social enterprise with experimental evidence

When social benefits cannot be measured, a hybrid organization which selects managers based on motivation can be used to balance profi…ts with a social purpose. This paper develops a model of social enterprise based on selection of citizen-managers with this goal in mind. It develops the implications of matching between founders and managers based on their preferences for the mission. The main trade-offs suggested by the theory are tested experimentally and these are used to calibrate a matching outcome. This makes precise the parameter range in which social enterprises based on selection will be observed in a market setting; we show that they achieve gains in proficiency of around 10% over non-pro…fit enterprise.