Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
“Bringing us back to our origin”: adapting and transferring an Indigenous Australian values-based leadership capacity-building course for community development in Papua New Guinea

The pilot delivery of an Indigenous Australian community development leadership training program was examined to determine its appropriateness and relevance for Papua New Guinea (PNG) public health leaders. The training program comprised two steps: the implementation of a values-based personal capacity-building process, which aimed to address the social and emotional well-being of individual participants; and delivery of selected topics of the program to participants' families, workplaces or community groups. Employing a constructivist grounded theory approach, the study found that participants “took ownership” of the two-step process, citing its benefit as “bringing us back to our origin”. To ensure sustainability, the program was endorsed as a core requirement for PNG postgraduate public health programs and cross-institutional agreements were developed for further program delivery and support. The study is potentially useful for other researchers and program managers attempting cross-national translation of leadership development approaches and their sustainability.
The Complex Relations Between Communities of Practice and the Implementation of Technological Innovations

The paper analyses the implementation of IT based innovations through a communities of practice lens. It is suggested that such a framework can add fresh insights to the dynamics of innovation processes. The paper makes an empirical and theoretical contribution to the innovation literature by both examining case study evidence from a number of technological innovation projects, and reflecting on the relationship between innovation processes and communities of practice. It is concluded that this relationship is not unidirectional. Not only did the communities of practice influence the innovation processes, for example through shaping important knowledge sharing processes, but the innovations also impinged on organizational communities of practice in important ways. The paper also proposes ways in which the analytical utility of the community of practice concept can be improved, for example by taking greater account of potential negative effects that communities of practice can have for innovation processes.
Unveiling the anatomy of autonomy: dissecting actor-level independence in the European External Action Service

ABSTRACT Formulating and implementing public policy in Europe has historically been a core task of national administrations. This study suggests how this role has become challenged in a least likely policy field – foreign affairs. The ambition is to reassess the autonomy of the European External Action Service (EEAS) by examining actor-level autonomy of EEAS staff, while also suggesting key determinants thereof. Two conditions of actor-level autonomy are empirically illuminated: bureaucratic structure and the geographical location of the EEAS. Benefiting from two novel data sets which include a survey and élite interviews of EEAS officials, two empirical observations are highlighted. First, despite being an embryonic organization embedded in a field of core state powers, EEAS officials demonstrate substantial actor-level autonomy. Second, the behavioural autonomy of EEAS staff reflects primarily the supply of organizational capacities inside the EEAS, but much less the geographical location of staff. Actor-level autonomy is thus not only profound, but largely supplied by in-house organizational factors.
Bi‐level Programing Merger Evaluation and Application to Banking Operations

The potential for operational efficiency improvement is a key consideration for firms contemplating the consolidation of both internal and external business units. This paper develops a leader–follower game model to assess such potential gains from the merger of different organizations with constrained resources. A profit‐sharing strategy and algorithm are proposed to solve the model while maintaining incentive compatibility within each unit's decision‐making process. This paper further demonstrates that in a framework, within the data envelopment analysis paradigm, a supply chain with an upstream leader and downstream followers is efficient if and only if both the leader and the followers are individually efficient. A case study of a banking operations merger shows how incentive compatible merger of operations can produce overall efficiency improvement.
Why Do Firms Engage in Selective Hedging? Evidence from the Gold Mining Industry

The widespread practice of managers speculating by incorporating their market views into firms’ hedging programs (“selective hedging”) remains a puzzle. Using a 10-year sample of North American gold mining firms, we find no evidence that selective hedging is more prevalent among firms that are believed to possess an information advantage. In contrast, we find strong evidence that selective hedging is more prevalent among financially constrained firms, suggesting that this practice is driven by asset substitution motives. We detect weak relationships between selective hedging and some corporate governance measures but find no evidence of a link between selective hedging and managerial compensation.
Parenting styles and the development of the categorical self: A longitudinal study on mirror self-recognition in Cameroonian Nso and German families

This prospective study contributes to the understanding of the development of self-conceptions in cultural context. We examined the influence of maternal contingent responsiveness towards their 3-month-old infants on toddlers’ self-recognition at the age of 18 to 20 months. We contrasted two samples that can be expected to differ with respect to contingent responsiveness as a parenting style: German middle-class families and Cameroonian Nso farmers. As hypothesized, German mothers reacted more contingently than Nso mothers. Furthermore, German toddlers recognized themselves more often than Nso toddlers. Finally, we found that the level of contingent responsiveness was one of the mechanisms that accounted for mirror self-recognition. The results are discussed with respect to different cultural emphases on parenting strategies.
A Comparison of Taxes, Regulation, and Liability Rules under Imperfect Information

ECONOMISTS have devoted a great deal of ink and effort over the past several years to analyzing the effects of existing and alternate government regulatory programs in the pollution area and asking what type of program can best achieve the government's regulatory goals. Much of the debate has focused on comparing the effects of price incentive approaches (effluent taxes or subsidies), quantity controls or liability rules as alternate regulatory instruments for achieving the same goals.1 Much of the literature makes the assumption of perfect information. However the choice among regulatory instruments depends in practice not only on their theoretical qualities, but also on the costs of translating theory into practice. Different programs may be more or less costly to administer because information requirements differ, because uncertainty affects them in different ways, or because more or less difficult administrative decisions need to be made more or less frequently. In this paper we present a simple general framework for analyzing the costs of operating different types of pollution control programs under the
Effect of Picroliv on cadmium-induced hepatic and renal damage in the rat

The therapeutic efficacy of Picroliv-a standardized-was investigated in male rats exposed to CdCl2 (0.5 mg/kg, sc), 5 days/week for 18 weeks. Picroliv at two doses (6 and 12 mg/kg, po) was given to the cadmium (Cd)-administered group for the last 4 weeks (ie, weeks 15 -18). The Cd altered oxidative stress indices, such as increased lipid peroxidation and membrane fluidity, reduced levels of non-protein sulphydryls (NPSHs), and Na-K-ATPase activity in the liver and kidney were found close to the control values by Picroliv treatment, suggesting its antioxidant potential. The hepatoprotective action of Picroliv was evident by its ability to lower the Cd-induced liver function parameters-the serum enzymes, such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), g-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Bile flow and biliary Cd also increased as a result of Picroliv's choleretic property. The Cd-induced serum urea and urinary excretion of proteins, calcium (Ca), Cd and enzymes, such as Nacetyl-b-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and LDH, were less marked on Picroliv treatment, indicating recovery from nephrotoxicity. Organ uptake of Cd and essential metals by Cd exposure was reduced on Picroliv treatment. Cdinduced hepatic metallothionein (MT) was lowered by Picroliv, whereas renal MT was unaltered. Cd-induced hepatic damage was also minimized. However, the renal morphological changes were marginally protected by Picroliv. The 12-mg Picroliv dose was more effective than the 6-mg dose in causing amelioration of the above parameters. This study has provided clear evidence for the hepato-and renal protective efficacy of Picroliv against experimental Cd toxicity.
LIVELIHOOD CAPABILITIES AND PATHWAYS OF SHRIMP FARMERS IN THE MEKONG DELTA, VIETNAM

Shrimp farming is a major livelihood activity in the Mekong Delta in the southernmost part of Vietnam. The Vietnamese government has promoted shrimp farming as a way to reduce poverty, provide employment opportunities and increase exports to support economic development. The shrimp farming system, however, is economically and ecologically risky and may negatively influence the environment and the sustainability of local people's livelihoods. Because very little is known about the diversity of strategies people employ to deal with these risks, a study was performed in the Mekong Delta across four shrimp farming systems: (1) improved extensive non-forest, (2) mixed mangrove-shrimp, (3) intensive and (4) clustered intensive. The risks and livelihood strategies that were encountered differed systematically across the four farming systems. It was found that the uncertainties that the shrimp farmers faced include limited access rights to the mangrove forest, crop failure due to regular occurrence of shrimp disease, high investment costs and volatile markets for shrimp. Shrimp farmers have created several strategies for coping with these uncertainties, including redesigning farms, producing salt, changing the species farmed from Penaeus monodon to Penaeus vannamei, becoming involved in a cooperative cluster, integrating aquaculture and agriculture, and farming shrimp by organic standards.
Motivational Orientations and Task Autonomy Fit: Effects on Organizational Attraction

The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is congruence between applicant needs (i.e., motivational orientations) and what is available (i.e., task autonomy) from an organizational perspective based on the fit between needs and supply. The fit between work motivation and task autonomy was examined to see whether it was associated with organizational attraction. This experimental study included two phases. Phase 1 participants consisted of 446 undergraduate students, of whom 228 were recruited to participate in Phase 2. The fit relations between task autonomy and intrinsic motivation and between task control and extrinsic motivation were characterized. Findings indicated that the fit between work motivation and task autonomy was positively associated with organizational attraction. Based on these results, it may be inferred that employers should emphasize job characteristics such as autonomy or control orientations to attract individuals, and focus on the most suitable work motivations for their organizations.
Participatory Development: People and Common Property Resources

Foreword - M S Swaminathan Participatory Development An Introduction Common Property Resources A National Perspective Village Economies and Evolution of Participatory Institutions Participatory Linkages A Cluster Analysis Approach Economic Evaluation of Investment with People's Participation Contractual Arrangements Between Government and Village Societies Emergence of Participatory Institutions Conclusions and Policy
On Guaranteeing Convergence of Discrete LQG/LTR When Augmenting It With Forward PI Controllers

Using the loop transfer recovery (LTR) method to recover the linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) robustness properties is a well-established procedure, as well as augmenting the system with integrators at the plant input to deal with steady-state error. However, when using the discrete version of the LQG/LTR controller, simply using integrators discretized by the forward Euler method does not guarantee recovery convergence. This paper presents a solution: augmenting the system with a PI controller. A control moment gyroscope is used to apply this technique, and its modeling process is showed, along with its linearization and discretization. Particularly, it presents a resonance due to nutation frequency, which is damped in an inner loop prior to the robust control design by simple velocity feedback. Particle swarm optimization is applied aiming to shape the target open loop and to guarantee set point, disturbance and measurement noise robustness. At last, real experiments are conducted to corroborate the presented method.
The Impact of Earnings Predictability on Bank Loan Contracting

This study examines how earnings predictability affects bank loan contracting. Using a sample of 8,626 bank loan contracts, we find that firms with more predictable earnings have more favorable loan terms, such as lower interest rates, longer maturities, and fewer covenants and collateral requirements. These results are robust to alternative specifications and earnings predictability measures. Additional analyses indicate that the relation between earnings predictability and bank loan cost varies with the availability of private information about borrowers, lenders’ monitoring incentives, the competition between banks and bond investors, and firm size. Overall, this study demonstrates that earnings predictability is an important determinant in the design of bank lending contracts affecting both price and nonprice loan terms.
Deriving characteristics of the slotline using the conformal mapping technique

In this paper, the conformal mapping technique is applied to obtained closed-form expressions for calculating the characteristic impedance and the effective dielectric constant of the slotline. The presented expressions take into account the finite width of the strips of the slotline, the case often omitted in other works. The validity of the presented expressions is tested in a number of examples. The obtained results are compared with those obtained from the full-wave electromagnetic analyses. Good agreement is noted in all of the considered cases.
TRACKS: Assessing the Quality of Not-For-Profit Efficiency Ratios: Do Donors Use Joint Cost Allocation Disclosures?

We examine whether required disclosures regarding joint cost allocations raise concerns about the validity of efficiency ratios reported by not-for-profit organizations. An experimental design is used to hold constant the geographic location, size, and mission of competing charitable organizations. Participants include financial officers of not-for-profit organizations (preparers), foundation executives (expert donors), and students (novice donors). We find that preparers base contribution decisions almost entirely on the reported fund-raising cost and accept the validity of reported program ratios. Foundation executives, representing experienced users of not-for-profit financial statements, also appear to accept the joint cost allocations as reported. By contrast, novice users are the most attentive to the allocation disclosures and consider them more often when deciding on the amount of a hypothetical gift. Overall, there is little evidence that joint cost allocation disclosures are used to adjust reported expenditures for fund-raising costs. Based on our results, donors appear to ignore the effects of allocating joint costs. Although current accounting standards limit the availability of an accounting method commonly used to manage financial results, it appears that the opportunity for not-for-profit managers to use joint cost allocations to manage ratios and influence donors remains.
When fair trade generates social capital by creating room for manoeuvre for pro-poor policies

Economic interactions are often accused of being neutral, or even of generating adverse effects, not only on the social fabric but also on a factor (social capital) which is regarded as the foundation of both socio-economic activity and prosperity. In this paper we document how a particular form of economic relation has indeed positive effects on a specific type of social capital. Our findings on a sample of Kenyan farmers show that affiliation to Fair Trade of marginalised producers, significantly affect their participation in elections and their trust in trade unions, political parties and the government, net of the impact of other controls and after accounting for the selection bias effect. This implies that consumers buying fair trade products may contribute to reinforce both social cohesion and institutional trust in countries in which these variables are fundamental in creating room for manoeuvre for pro-poor (equity plus growth) policies. Key words: Fair trade, social capital, impact study.
The internal methionine codons of human T-cell leukemia virus type II rex gene are not required for p24rex production or virus replication and transformation

Human T-cell leukemia virus types I (HTLV-I) and II (HTLV-II) have two nonstructural trans-acting regulatory genes, tax and rex, located in the 3' region of the viral genome. The tax gene product (HTLV-I p40tax and HTLV-II p37tax) is the transcriptional activator of the viral long terminal repeat. The rex gene encodes two protein products, p27rex/p21rex and p26rex/p24rex in HTLV-I and HTLV-II, respectively. Rex acts posttranscriptionally to facilitate accumulation of full-length gag/pol and singly spliced env mRNA in the cytoplasm of HTLV-infected cells. Previous studies showed that the first ATG of the rex gene is critical for Rex production and function. The importance of the internal ATGs to Rex function is not known. However, in vitro mutagenesis of the HTLV-I rex gene has provided indirect evidence which suggests that p21rex, and by analogy HTLV-II p24rex, results from initiation at an internal AUG of the tax/rex mRNA. By using an infectious molecular clone of HTLV-II, we investigated the importance of the internal ATGs of the rex gene on Rex protein production and function. Our results indicate that p24rex of HTLV-II is not initiated at an internal AUG and that the internal methionine codons are not crucial to the function of the rex gene and, ultimately, the transforming properties of the virus.
TNFα induces sequential activation of Cdc42- and p38/p53-dependent pathways that antagonistically regulate filopodia formation

Cell migration is an essential function in various physiological processes, including tissue repair and tumour invasion. Repair of tissue damage requires the recruitment of fibroblasts to sites of tissue injury, which is mediated in part by the cytokine tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα). As dynamic rearrangements of actin cytoskeleton control cell locomotion, this implicates that TNFα is a potent coordinator of cellular actin changes. We have investigated the role of TNFα in regulating the cortical actin-containing structures essential for cell locomotion called filopodia. Kinetic analysis of TNFα-treated mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) revealed a dual effect on filopodia formation: a rapid and transient induction mediated by Cdc42 GTPase that is then counteracted by a subsequent sustained inhibition requiring activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 but not Cdc42 activity. This inhibition also involves the tumour suppressor p53, given that it is activated in response to TNFα following the same time course as the decrease of filopodia formation. This functional activation of p53, measured by transcription induction of its target p21WAF1(p21), is also associated with p38 kinase-dependent phosphorylation of p53 at serine 18. Furthermore, TNFα did not inhibit filopodia formation in MEFs treated with the transcription inhibitor actinomycin D, in p53-deficient MEFs, or MEFs expressing p53 mutants H273 or H175, which supports a role for the transcriptional activity of p53 in mediating TNFα-dependent filopodia inhibition. Our data delineate a novel inhibitory pathway in which TNFα prevents filopodia formation and cell migration through the activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) p38, which in turn activates p53. This shows that TNFα on its own initiates antagonistic signals that modulate events linked to cell migration.
Circular Business Model Innovation: Inherent Uncertainties

Circular business models based on remanufacturing and reuse promise significant cost savings as well as radical reductions in environmental impact. Variants of such business models have been suggested for decades, and there are notable success stories such as the Xerox product–service offering based on photocopiers that are remanufactured. Still, we are not seeing widespread adoption in industry. This paper examines causes for reluctance. Drawing on a hypothesis-testing framework of business model innovation, we show that circular business models imply significant challenges to proactive uncertainty reduction for the entrepreneur. Moreover, we show that many product–service system variants that facilitate return flow control in circular business models further aggravate the potential negative effects of failed uncertainty reduction because of increased capital commitments. Through a longitudinal action research study we also provide a counterexample to many of the challenges identified in previous studies, which could be overcome in the studied case. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
Incumbents' Interests, Voters' Bias and Gender Quotas

The adoption of gender quotas inpart y lists has beena voluntary decision by many parties in many countries, and is now a subject of discussioninman y others. The Parity Low passed inF rance in 2001 is particularly interesting because for the first time the quota was set at 50 percent, and the deputies passing the reform are elected in single member districts. In this paper we rationalize parity onthe basis of the self interest of male incumbent deputies: The existence of a voters' bias in favor of male candidates is sufficient to convince the incumbents to advocate for equal gender representationinpart y lists, because it raises the incumbents chances of being re-elected. We confirm empirically the existence of male bias in the French electorate and we show that parity law may have Assembly compositioneffects and policy effects that vary with the electoral system.
Epidemiology of blindness in Nepal.

This report presents the major findings of the Nepal Blindness Survey, the first nationwide epidemiological survey of blindness, which was conducted in 1979-80. The survey was designed to gather data that could be used to estimate the prevalence and causes of blindness in the country. Ancillary studies were conducted to obtain information on socioeconomic correlates and other risk factors of blinding conditions and patterns of health care utilization.The nationwide blindness prevalence rate is 0.84%. Cataract is the leading cause of blindness, accounting for over 80% of all avoidable blindness. Trachoma is the most prevalent blinding condition, affecting 6.5% of the population. Very few cases of childhood blindness were detected.The implications of the survey findings for programme planning, health manpower development, and health education are discussed.