Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In defence of the survey method: An illustration from a study of user information satisfaction

The survey method is one of the most common approaches used in the social sciences to empirically study the characteristics and interrelations of sociological and psychological variables. Its impact on research in accounting and related disciplines has been substantial. However, the method has often been criticised. This paper describes and critically assesses a survey undertaken in management information systems. Its purpose is twofold. First, it aims to counter some of the criticisms of the survey method by demonstrating how many of the potential weaknesses of surveys can be overcome. Second, it provides a prescription for rigorous survey research.
Muscular development and physical activity as major determinants of femoral bone mass acquisition during growth

Objectives: To investigate to what extent bone mass accrual is determined by physical activity and changes in lean, fat, and total body mass during growth. Methods: Twenty six physically active and 16 age matched control boys were followed up for three years. All subjects were prepubertal at the start of the survey (mean (SEM) age 9.4 (0.3) years). The weekly physical activity of the active boys included compulsory physical education sessions (80–90 minutes a week), three hours a week of extracurricular sports participation, and occasional sports competitions at weekends. The physical activity of the control group was limited to the compulsory physical education curriculum. Bone mineral content (BMC) and areal density (BMD), lean mass, and fat mass were measured by dual energy x ray absorptiometry. Results: The effect of sports participation on femoral bone mass accrual was remarkable. Femoral BMC and BMD increased twice as much in the active group as in the controls over the three year period (p<0.05). The greatest correlation was found between the increment in femoral bone mass and the increment in lean mass (BMC r = 0.67 and BMD r = 0.69, both p<0.001). Multiple regression analysis revealed enhancement in lean mass as the best predictor of the increment in femoral bone BMC (R = 0.65) and BMD (R = 0.69). Conclusions: Long term sports participation during early adolescence results in greater accrual of bone mass. Enhancement of lean mass seems to be the best predictor of this bone mass accumulation. However, for a given muscle mass, a greater level of physical activity is associated with greater bone mass and density in peripubertal boys.
Open Innovation Typology

There are many ways an organization can approach innovation. On one end of the spectrum an organization can choose to have everyone submit any idea. On the other, innovation can be generated from a small, dedicated group of specialists. In the middle there are many variations along the way. This paper discusses the open innovation typology and the options for an organization making the decision about the best way to create an innovation infrastructure.
Changes in hair morphology of mucopolysaccharidosis I patients treated with recombinant human α‐L‐iduronidase (laronidase, Aldurazyme)

Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) are heritable, metabolic diseases caused by accumulation of mucopolysaccharides (glycosaminoglycans, GAGs) in lysosomes. This accumulation is due to a deficiency in one of several specific enzymes involved in the degradation of GAGs. MPS type I (MPS I) is caused by low or undetectable activity of α‐L‐iduronidase, an enzyme involved in removing the terminal iduronic acid residues from heparan and dermatan sulfate. Recently, an enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for MPS I, based on administration of recombinant human α‐L‐iduronidase (laronidase, Aldurazyme), became available. The assessment of efficacy of ERT is especially important because MPS I is a highly variable and very rare disease, and the clinical trials involved relatively low number of patients. Among various significant clinical improvements during ERT, remarkable changes in hair morphology were noted. Detailed studies of hair samples from one patient, who did not have a hair cut from the beginning of ERT to the end of this study, and supported by results obtained for two other patients, revealed hair shaft structural abnormalities in MPS I hair. These hair abnormalities disappeared upon treatment with Aldurazyme. Although hair morphology is of limited clinical importance, the data suggest that changes in this parameter could be a useful, additional tool for a rapid, non‐invasive, preliminary assessment of ERT efficacy. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Studies of the field efficacy and safety of a single-dose Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae vaccine for pigs

The field efficacy and safety of a single-dose Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae vaccine were evaluated in three-to five-week-old pigs. Two field efficacy studies were conducted, one in England with 673 pigs, and one in Germany with 719 pigs. The pigs were injected intramuscularly with either the vaccine or saline (control) at a ratio of 2:1 and reared under commercial conditions to slaughter weight. The efficacy of the vaccine was evaluated by comparing the lung lesions associated with infection with M hyopneumoniae in the control and vaccinated animals postmortem. In both countries the vaccinated pigs had a significantly lower percentage of lung lesion scores, in England 5.7 v 10.2 per cent (P=0.0022) and in Germany 3.9 v 7.7 per cent (P=0.0056). In Germany the average daily weight gain (ADG) of the vaccinated pigs was significantly higher (639 g v 616 g) (P=0.0205). In both countries and in both the treated and control animals there was a significant negative correlation between the ADG and the lung lesion score (P=0.0001). Two safety trials were conducted, one in England and one in Germany, each with 75 pigs, and in each case 50 pigs were given the maximum batch release antigen titre of the vaccine and 25 were given saline. The safety of the vaccine was evaluated by observation for local and systemic reactions and any increases in rectal temperature. No abnormal reactions were observed in the vaccinated pigs and there was no significant difference between the mean peak rectal temperatures of the vaccinated and control pigs in either trial.
Research supervisors' perceptions of effective practices for selecting successful research candidates

This investigation elicited the perceptions of thirteen of the most successful research supervisors from one university, with a view to identifying their approaches to selecting research candidates. The supervisors were identified by the university’s research office using the single criterion of having the largest number of completed research degree graduates over a five year period. The supervisors were interviewed individually and it was found that although they had individual approaches to selecting research candidates, there were key strategies that many employed. The supervisors’ views of effective selection practices are analyzed, compared and contrasted with the principles described in the literature, and then critically evaluated.
The Evolving Model of School Self-Evaluation in Ireland:How a Person’s Perception of Purpose and Power Determines Practice

The overall aim of this dissertation is to examine the impact of an evolving national policy of School Self-Evaluation (SSE) on a sample of school leaders and teachers in two second-level schools. Over the course of the 2012/2013 academic year, a series of focus groups (12 in total) with the school leaders (principal and deputy principal) and a sample of teachers in both schools were conducted. The research is situated within a social constructionist paradigm. The research question can be sub-divided into three distinct parts concerning attitudes, emotions and implementation practices of the focus group respondents to SSE. The conceptual framework of the “4 P’s” used in this dissertation to interrogate the research question in an academically rigorous manner is quite distinctive. The “4 P’s” of the conceptual framework represent Purpose, Power, Person and Practice. This dissertation explores the composition of various colliding contexts which set the parameters for the contemporary model of school self-evaluation emerging in Irish schools today. It examines the impact of an internalisation of the performativity and audit culture of New Managerialism along with advocating a deliberative democratic logic for SSE. The main finding is that a professional practitioner (school leader or teacher) perception of the purpose and power implications of SSE as a policy initiative will influence local practices which ultimately will determine levels of compliance. Those levels of compliance may be contrived (box ticking exercise) or committed (proactive engagement). The research findings would suggest that concerning SSE, the focus group respondents veered more towards a status of contrived compliance.
Elevated risk of anaphylactoid reaction from radiographic contrast media is associated with both beta-blocker exposure and cardiovascular disorders.

BACKGROUND A case-control study, with both retrospective and concurrent subject selection, was performed (1) to determine whether greater risk for anaphylactoid reaction from contrast media associated with beta-blocker exposure reflects presence, or is independent of underlying cardiovascular disorder; and (2) to characterize further the risk of anaphylactoid reaction from contrast media in patients with cardiovascular disorders and patients with asthma. METHODS Adverse reactions from intravenous contrast media were recorded in accordance with quality assurance guidelines. Anaphylactoid reactions were classified as mild to moderate (urticaria/angioedema), severe (stridor, bronchospasm, or hypotension), or major and life-threatening (hypotension with or without the need for subsequent hospitalization). Medical records from reactors were compared with those from matched (gender, age, date, and type of contrast study) controls who received conventional contrast media without adverse reaction. RESULTS Of 34,371 intravenous contrast media procedures performed, 122 anaphylactoid reactions were recorded. The risk of anaphylactoid reaction was significantly associated with asthma (odds ratio [OR], 8.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.36 to 32.35; P = .0012). The risk of bronchospasm was associated with beta-blocker exposure (OR, 3.73; 95% CI, 1.18 to 11.75; P = .025) and with asthma (OR, 16.39; 95% CI, 4.30 to 62.46; P = .0001). The risk of major and life-threatening reaction was associated with the presence of cardiovascular disorder (OR, 7.71; 95% CI, 1.04 to 57.23; P = .046). Among patients with severe reactions, the risk of hospitalization was elevated by the presence of cardiovascular disorder (P = .001), exposure to beta-blockers (OR, 7.67; 95% CI, 1.79 to 32.85; P = .029), or asthma (OR, 20.7; 95% CI, 1.21 to 355.55; P = .065). Although beta-blocker exposure and the presence of cardiovascular disorder were highly associated (chi 2 = 49, P < .001), a greater risk of bronchospasm with severe reaction was observed in nonasthmatic patients with cardiovascular disorders receiving beta-blockers (OR, 15.75; P = .023). Among reactors with asthma, receiving beta-blockers, or with a cardiovascular disorder, 60.8% (31/51) experienced severe anaphylactoid reactions, compared with 35.2% (25/71) of patients without these risk factors (OR, 3.62; P = .005). CONCLUSIONS beta-Blocker exposure and cardiovascular disorder are both statistically significant risk factors for severe anaphylactoid reaction from contrast media. Thus, patients receiving beta-adrenergic blockers and patients with asthma, on the basis of greater risk for bronchospasm, and patients with cardiovascular disorders, on the basis of elevated risk of major and life-threatening reaction, are appropriate target populations for risk reduction measures before receiving intravenous infusion of contrast media.
Incidence of major depressive disorder and dysthymia in young adolescents.

OBJECTIVE An epidemiological study conducted between 1987 and 1989 in a single school district in the southeastern United States investigated the incidence, transition probabilities, and risk factors for major depressive disorder (MDD) and dysthymia in adolescents aged 11 to 16 years. METHOD Diagnoses were based on the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children, which was administered to 247 mother-adolescent pairs at 12-month intervals. RESULTS One-year MDD and dysthymia incidences were 3.3% (n = 11) and 3.4% (n = 9), respectively. Transition probabilities demonstrated movement from disorder to no disorder over time. Family cohesion (odds ratio = 0.95) was the only significant predictor of incident MDD. No factors were significant for dysthymia. While baseline MDD was a significant risk factor for depression at follow-up, 80% of subjects with baseline MDD did not meet the criteria for diagnosis at follow-up. CONCLUSION Findings suggest perceived family support or cohesion may be more important to adolescent mental health than family structure.
BROKERAGE COMMISSIONS AND MUTUAL FUND PERFORMANCE

type="main" xml:lang="en"> In this article we analyze fund-level data on brokerage commissions paid by diversified U.S. equity mutual funds from 2001 to 2011. We find that brokerage commission per dollar traded has a positive and significant impact on mutual fund performance, indicating that funds paying premium brokerage commissions were able to improve performance net of all expenses. The positive impact of premium brokerage services (better execution quality, timely research reports, etc.) purchased through higher commissions is more pronounced during volatile market times.
Technological change and technology strategy

This paper reviews both theoretical and empirical studies of technological change in developing countries. It assesses the contribution that these studies have made to technology strategy and offers suggestions for further economic research. Our review of theoretical studies by economists concludes that most such studies have offered little policy insight. This is largely because of limited empirical verification. The older economic growth theories (of the 1950s and 1960s) did not treat technology as an economic activity. More recent "endogenous" growth theories, however, can be credited with reviving interest in technology and technology policy. Some empirical testing and verification of these models is now underway and with more empirical studies this line of research could be quite valuable. Search models and induced innovation models have made contributions to the extent that they have influenced empirical work. Most recent game-theoretic studies have yet to demonstrate policy relevance because of limited empirical verification. The field of the economics of technology is thus primarily an empirical field. A great deal of the relevant empirical work in the field has been guided by the growth accounting framework developed in the 1950s. Total factor productivity calculations have served as the basis for statistical studies relating productivity to variables measuring inventive activity, infrastructure and policy environments. The agricultural sector has been extensively studied in this context and a large number of estimates of returns to investment in agricultural R&D have now been reported. These studies show that such investments have had a high payoff in both developed and developing countries. They also show that agricultural technology is subject to high levels of technological distance (i.e., location-specificity) and that the degree of simple transfer (spillover) of technology from developed to developing countries has been very low. Empirical evidence for industrial technology in developing countries is much less complete. Rates of return studies for private sector R&D in developed countries show that privately captured returns are comparable to returns on other relatively risky investments but that "social" returns are much higher (roughly comparable to the high social returns for agricultural research). The few studies available for developing countries suggest that this is so for these countries as well. The paper concludes that developing countries cannot expect to achieve technologydriven economic growth without significant investment in technology infrastructure and without developing a conducive environment for such investment and for accessing foreign origin technology. Of the approximately 100 less developed countries, only 25 or so have made sufficient investments in technology infrastructure to achieve rapid economic growth. And of these only ten or so have actually realized such growth because of adverse policy environments.
Can broadband access rescue the rural economy

Purpose – Government is promoting broadband for all, and specifically, is advocating business up‐take of broadband that affords high‐speed internet activity, to foster global competitiveness. Urban areas have economies of scale and the effect on price of concentration of demand. Rural areas do not, and potential broadband provision is thus problematic. The paper aims to study technology roll‐out in rural areas, and provide a commentary, based on empirical work, on the potential of demand for, and use of, the service.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws from secondary research sourced from academic papers, government and agency documents to evaluate rural broadband provision, and analyses the suitability of current “solutions”. It also draws together conclusions of various empirical and survey researches on the potential of uptake and business use of broadband.Findings – The paper questions whether broadband access in rural areas has the potential to contribute to economic development. It also ide.
Reconstruction and Visualization of Fiber and Laminar Structure in the Normal Human Heart from Ex Vivo Diffusion Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DTMRI) Data

Objective:The human heart is composed of a helical network of muscle fibers organized to form sheets that are separated by cleavage planes responsible for the orthotropic mechanical properties of cardiac muscle. The purpose of this study is the reconstruction and visualization of these structures in 3 dimensions. Methods:Anisotropic least square filtering followed by fiber and sheet tracking techniques were applied to diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging data of the excised human heart. Fibers were reconstructed using the first eigenvectors of the diffusion tensors. The sheets were reconstructed using the second and third eigenvectors and visualized as surfaces. Results:The fibers are shown to lie in sheets that have transmural structure, which correspond to histologic studies published in the literature. Quantitative measurements show that the sheets as appose to the fibers are organized into laminar orientations without dominant populations. Conclusions:A visualization algorithm was developed to demonstrate the complex 3-dimensional orientation of the fibers and sheets in human myocardium.
Mind the gaps: managing difference in partnership working

Community health partnerships in Scotland were given a renewed centrality in health policy during 2014. They have, however, experienced mixed success in their 10-year history. Drawing on interviews with senior managers in a large community health partnership, this paper highlights the challenges of leading and managing change and integration across organizational boundaries, seeks to learn from the failures that occurred, and considers the implications for policy implementation in the future.
Helminth Infection Can Reduce Insulitis and Type 1 Diabetes through CD25- and IL-10-Independent Mechanisms

ABSTRACT Parasitic helminth infection has been shown to modulate pathological inflammatory responses in allergy and autoimmune disease. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of infection with a helminth parasite, Heligmosomoides polygyrus, on type 1 diabetes (T1D) in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice and to elucidate the mechanisms involved in this protection. H. polygyrus inoculation at 5 weeks of age protected NOD mice from T1D until 40 weeks of age and also inhibited the more aggressive cyclophosphamide-induced T1D. Moreover, H. polygyrus inoculation as late as 12 weeks of age reduced the onset of T1D in NOD mice. Following H. polygyrus inoculation of NOD mice, pancreatic insulitis was markedly inhibited. Interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-10, and IL-13 expression and the frequency of CD4+ CD25+ FoxP3+ regulatory T cells were elevated in mesenteric and pancreatic lymph nodes. Depletion of CD4+ CD25+ T cells in vivo did not abrogate H. polygyrus-induced T1D protection, nor did anti-IL-10 receptor blocking antibody. These findings suggest that infection with H. polygyrus significantly inhibits T1D in NOD mice through CD25- and IL-10-independent mechanisms and also reduces the severity of T1D when administered late after the onset of insulitis.
Explanatory Factors of Market Power in the Banking System

The aim of the study is to analyse the explanatory factors of market power in the banking system. Using as laboratory the Spanish banking system in the period 1986-2002, results show an increase of market power from the mid-1990s. Of the set of variables that the model posits as explaining market power, those with the greatest explanatory power are size, efficiency and specialization; concentration is not significant. This last result shows the limitations of the approaches, studies and decision-making rules of economic policy that uses market concentration as a proxy for the degree of competition. Copyright © 2007 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and The University of Manchester.
Reserve asset values and the "hotelling valuation principle"

An economics classic [14] was restated by Dasgupta and Heal [6]: the net price of a mineral must rise at the rate of discount. But econometric analysis failed to verify this, according to Miller and Upton [15]. The Hotelling Principle is often couched in terms of flow equilibria in output markets. The Rule can also be derived [27] as a condition of stock equilibrium in asset markets. Miller and Upton followed the asset framework in defining the Hotelling Rule, a formulation they called the Hotelling Valuation Principle (HVP): the market value of a mineral in the ground is equal to its current net price. This follows from the fact that if the net price rose at the rate of interest, the present value of the net price would be the same whenever the resource is extracted, given asset value maximization.
The role of the state in corporate governance

Prior empirical research in the accounting and finance literatures has often neglected the role of the state in corporate governance, preferring instead to study relationships between shareholders and directors and the effects of various corporate governance mechanisms on the economic performance of companies. In contrast, accounting and business historians have often examined the legal systems, rules, and regulations that control business enterprises, thereby acknowledging the existence of persistent interactions between the state and business entities through time. The purpose of this article is to illustrate, through a discussion and analysis of several ways in which the state has enacted its role in corporate governance, that state regulation and supervision of business entities has been both commonplace and necessary for the maintenance of a stable economic system.
What have we learned about creditless recoveries

Bank credit is considered as a critical factor in facilitating economic activities. However, we do observe creditless recoveries after some recessions, namely economic growth without credit growth. This phenomenon was first documented by Calvo, Izquierdo and Talvi (2006), who study what happens to output and credit after global or “systemic” sudden stop episodes. They find that, on average, output returns quickly to pre-crisis levels, but with weak investment and virtually no recovery in domestic or external credit (so-called “Phoenix miracles”).