Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tourism, congestion, taxation, and strategic interaction

This paper examines the strategic interaction between firms and governments in two Small Island Tourism Economies (SITEs). In a situation where congestion can threaten the viability of tourism industries in SITEs, we highlight the role of two factors that determine the distribution of tourists across SITEs: whether the tourism market is vertically or horizontally differentiated, and the extent to which tourists care about congestion. Under these circumstances, counterintuitive results are possible: congestion in a SITE may rise in response to tourists caring more about congestion in the SITE. Moreover, maximising tourism tax revenue emerges as a dominant strategy for governments.
Cultural Differences Between U.S. and Russian Students

Abstract The study explores differences in U.S. and Russian national work-related values. Comparing the results obtained using Hofstede's 1994 instrument with earlier, but very limited U.S. and Russian studies, differences in value orientation of U.S. and Russian cultures were found. A comparative examination of value orientations of U.S. (n = 73) and Russian (n = 75) students found differences that may affect international alliances. Despite exposure of Russian students to Western values, their cultural values remained almost totally unchanged. The study upheld cultural divergence. Implications for practice and future research are offered.
Robust Determinants of IPO Underpricing and Their Implications for IPO Research

Using several different methodologies, we quantify the statistical robustness of variables used in prior research to explain initial IPO returns. We establish a parsimonious list of robust variables and evaluate their implications for different theories of IPO underpricing and clustering. Further, we illustrate how using such a set of robust explanatory variables leads to several different conclusions than prior research that failed to include these important control variables. Researchers who identify new potential predictors of IPO initial returns should control for the list of robust variables we identify.
Economic effects of implementing selected components of best management practices (BMPs) for semi‐intensive shrimp farms in Honduras

Abstract Shrimp farming has grown rapidly in Central America over the last two decades to become one of the leading sources of foreign exchange in countries such as Honduras. The shrimp industry has been accused of creating negative environmental and social externalities. An economic optimization model was used in this analysis to evaluate the effects of five selected Best Management Practices (BMPs) on farm profitability, selection of optimal management strategies, and the corresponding quantities of net nutrient discharge from semi‐intensive shrimp farms in Honduras. Practices evaluated were: 1) reduction of water exchange rates from 10 to 5%; 2) establishment of pre‐determined nutrient discharge limits; 3) use of feed trays to avoid excess feed applications; 4) construction of settling basins for treatment of the last 10% of drainage effluents; and 5) use of mangrove biofilters for effluent treatment. Management practices targeted at improving production efficiency (reductions in water exchange rates and use of feed trays) had the greatest potential to reduce net quantities of nutrients discharged, but also increased farm profits. Settling basins and mangrove biofilters substantially increased fixed costs and were not economically feasible.
A Preliminary Investigation of E-Commerce Adoption in Small & Medium Enterprises in Brunei

Abstract Electronic or e-commerce (EC) has dramatically changed the manner in which inter- and intra-organizational transactions are conducted. It is further argued that the advent of EC has changed the trading and buying social culture. The present research investigates ninety five small and medium business organizations of various business types in Brunei Darussalam. The study has assessed EC adoption and found that 65% of the organizations have claimed to adopt EC. Several of the adoption attributes such as relative advantages, compatibility, trialability, observability, and organizational attributes such as nature, size, and type of business were studied along with managerial attributes: management support and top management attitudes towards EC adoption. The study has concluded that adoption parameters such as, compatibility with others, trialability and observability along with management support and top managers' attitudes were found to be the major determinants of EC adoption. Results are discussed and some implications for the management are made.
Financial development and economic growth: a symbiotic relationship

This article evaluates the plausibility of financial development as a tool to boost economic growth, using time series data on a cross-section of thirteen countries at different stages of development. Using annual data from 1960 to 2002, it conducts stationarity tests on the variables, followed by cointegration analysis among the banking and non-banking financial variables and GDP. It also tests for the direction of Granger-causality. Our results show that for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand and Turkey, this causality runs from economic growth to financial development. Granger-causality is bi-directional for India, Argentina, Germany, Japan, the UK and the USA. There does not exist one-way Granger-causality from financial development to economic development for any of the countries examined
Consumption and Keynesian Fiscal Policy

This paper empirically studies the effects of fiscal policy shocks on private consumption. Further, it tries to determine if the level of government bond yield and the unemployment rate affect that relationship. We use yearly data between 1970 and 2000 for thirty-eight countries, of which half are industrialized and half are developing countries. In general, the estimation results seem to indicate that government consumption shocks have Keynesian effects for both industrial and developing countries. In the case of tax shocks, the evidence suggest that they do not have any effects on private consumption. Furthermore, there is no evidence that favors the hypothesis of expansionary fiscal consolidations.
On the Optimal Number of Courts

This is the first paper to investigate whether the number of high courts in a country has systematic effects both on the quality of its legal system and on its level of economic development more generally. It is theorized that due to the division of labor and a higher degree of specialization, high courts might be advantageous in terms of court productivity. Yet, they might also be disadvantageous in terms of a less coherent legal system. It is empirically tested whether the positive or the negative effects prevail. Results show that a larger number of high courts never has any positive effects on very broad outcome variables; indeed, with regard to some of these, a greater number of high courts is correlated with worse outcomes.
Matched Comparison Group Design Standards in Systematic Reviews of Early Childhood Interventions

Background: Systematic reviews assess the quality of research on program effectiveness to help decision makers faced with many intervention options. Study quality standards specify criteria that studies must meet, including accounting for baseline differences between intervention and comparison groups. We explore two issues related to systematic review standards: covariate choice and choice of estimation method. Objective: To help systematic reviews develop/refine quality standards and support researchers in using nonexperimental designs to estimate program effects, we address two questions: (1) How well do variables that systematic reviews typically require studies to account for explain variation in key child and family outcomes? (2) What methods should studies use to account for preexisting differences between intervention and comparison groups? Methods: We examined correlations between baseline characteristics and key outcomes using Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Birth Cohort data to address Question 1. For Question 2, we used simulations to compare two methods—matching and regression adjustment—to account for preexisting differences between intervention and comparison groups. Results: A broad range of potential baseline variables explained relatively little of the variation in child and family outcomes. This suggests the potential for bias even after accounting for these variables, highlighting the need for systematic reviews to provide appropriate cautions about interpreting the results of moderately rated, nonexperimental studies. Our simulations showed that regression adjustment can yield unbiased estimates if all relevant covariates are used, even when the model is misspecified, and preexisting differences between the intervention and the comparison groups exist.
Narrow Victories and Hard Games: Revisiting the Primary Divisiveness Hypothesis

The 2008 presidential election offers a unique opportunity to revisit the hypothesis that a divisive primary exacts a tolls on the party’s general election performance—neither party had a sitting president or vice president seeking the nomination, the Democratic nomination was contested all the way to the end, and advertising data provide a way to gauge both the intensity and tenor of the campaigns. In this article, we take advantage of these circumstances to distinguish between primaries that were competitive and those that were negative and find, contrary to the assumptions in the divisive primary literature, that a close contest does not imply a divisive one. Moreover, we find that Obama was helped by his tight battle with Clinton for the nomination and that the tone of the primaries bore no relationship to his general election performance.
Linkages in international stock markets: evidence from a classification procedure

In this article, we propose a new approach to evaluate the predictable components in stock indices using a boosting-based classification technique, and we use this method to examine causality among the three main stock market indices in the world during periods of large positive and negative price changes. The empirical evidence seems to indicate that the Standard & Poors 500 index contains incremental information that is not present in either the FTSE 100 index (Financial Times Stock Exchange Index) or the Nikkei 225 index, and that could be used to enhance the predictability of the large positive and negative returns in the three main stock market indices in the world. This in turn would suggest a causality relationship running from the Standard & Poors 500 index to both the FTSE 100 and the Nikkei 225 indices.
Poverty-focused social accounting matrices for Tanzania

The development of effective and sustainable economic policies for Tanzania requires access to appropriate databases. One such database is a social accounting matrix (SAM) that details the structure of the entire economy, taking into account the patterns of production and demand, and various institutional relationships. Prior to this study the most recent SAM for mainland Tanzania was for 1992 and was based on past household budget and labor force surveys. Following the release of newer versions of these two surveys as well as a new input-output table for 1992, it is desirable to construct a new SAM for the country. Furthermore, given that Tanzania is committed to reducing national poverty, it is necessary that this new SAM is able to address questions related to poverty and inequality.
Single-cell response to stiffness exhibits muscle-like behavior

Living cells sense the rigidity of their environment and adapt their activity to it. In particular, cells cultured on elastic substrates align their shape and their traction forces along the direction of highest stiffness and preferably migrate towards stiffer regions. Although numerous studies investigated the role of adhesion complexes in rigidity sensing, less is known about the specific contribution of acto-myosin based contractility. Here we used a custom-made single-cell technique to measure the traction force as well as the speed of shortening of isolated myoblasts deflecting microplates of variable stiffness. The rate of force generation increased with increasing stiffness and followed a Hill force–velocity relationship. Hence, cell response to stiffness was similar to muscle adaptation to load, reflecting the force-dependent kinetics of myosin binding to actin. These results reveal an unexpected mechanism of rigidity sensing, whereby the contractile acto-myosin units themselves can act as sensors. This mechanism may translate anisotropy in substrate rigidity into anisotropy in cytoskeletal tension, and could thus coordinate local activity of adhesion complexes and guide cell migration along rigidity gradients.
Glycosphingolipid Composition of a New Immortalized Human Cerebromicrovascular Endothelial Cell Line

Abstract: Previous studies have demonstrated the involvement of glycosphingolipid (GSL) antigens in the pathogenesis of immune‐mediated neurological disorders such as peripheral neuropathies and multiple sclerosis. To study the role of the blood‐brain barrier (BBB) in these disorders, we used a new human cerebromicrovascular endothelial cell (HCEC) line that has been immortalized through transfection with the plasmid pSV3‐neo encoding for the SV40 large T‐antigen and the neomycin gene. The immortalized HCEC (SV‐HCEC) exhibited accelerated proliferation rates but maintained phenotypic properties of early‐passage control cells. Therefore, this human cell line may serve as a useful in vitro model for studying the properties of the human BBB. We first investigated the GSL composition of cultured SV‐HCECs. The major gangliosides were GM3 (62% of total gangliosides), GM2 (18%), GM1 (3%), and GD1a (15%). The major neutral GSLs were glucosylceramide (15% of the total neutral glycolipids), lactosylceramide (36%), globotriaosylceramide (3%), and globoside (43%). Trace amounts of paragloboside, lactosaminyl paragloboside, and sulfoglucuronyl paragloboside could also be detected by TLC‐immunostaining. These results provide the basis for further investigations of the expression of these cell surface antigens in cultured SV‐HCECs on activation with inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin‐1β, tumor necrosis factor‐α, and interferon‐γ, which have been implicated as playing an important role in the pathogenesis of many nervous system disorders.
The Psychological Mechanisms of Public Service Motivation

To explore the psychological mechanism of public service motivation (PSM), we used a time-lagged design to examine the mediating effects of organizational identification on the relationship between PSM and work attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction) and behavior (i.e., community citizenship behavior). A two-wave study of 241 public servants from District A of a large metropolitan city in Eastern China was conducted. Controlling job security and demographic variables, results from a structural equation modeling showed the relationship between public service motivation and job satisfaction and the relationship between public service motivation and community citizenship behavior were partially mediated by organizational identification. Results also demonstrated that in comparison with job security, public service motivation contributed more to community citizenship behavior than job satisfaction. The study contributes to our understanding of public service motivation by illuminating a mechanism through which public service motivation influences work attitudes and behavior.
Are Performance Differences between Family and Non-Family Smes Uniform Across All Firm Sizes?

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of firm size on performance (measured as profits, growth, efficiency and liquidity) differences between family and non‐family small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach – The samples of 441 family and 473 non‐family firms were divided into four size groups and performance differences analysed for each size group using MANOVA.Findings – The findings indicate that family SMEs perform at least as well as non‐family SMEs. Although the two types of firms shared several similar performance characteristics at the small level, certain differences were evident. Performance differences between family and non‐family SMEs became prominent at the critical growth phase (20‐49 employees), reached an optimum at 50‐99 employees and narrowed again thereafter. For family firms, the benefits of higher gross margins and efficient use of assets began to wane after 100 plus employees but the disadvantages of lower employee performance contin.
Extracellular Release of Antigenic Proteins byHelicobacter pylori

ABSTRACT Screening a Helicobacter pylori genomic library with antisera raised against H. pylori broth culture supernatant resulted in the identification of six antigens: urease, HspB, Lpp20, DnaK, MsrA, and a cysteine-rich 28-kDa protein (designated HcpA). H. pylori antigens may be released into the extracellular space by multiple mechanisms, including specific secretion pathways, autolysis, and membrane vesicle formation.
Marketing-Mix Standardization : Determinants of Export Performance

The increasing globalization of worl markets has made international marketing strategy more important than ever. Unfortunately, research about it has tended to use simple measures of performance and a limited set of explanatory strategy variables. The research reported here identifies strategies that lead to export performance. It includes a more comprehensive set of explanatory variables than previous studies and evaluates the reliability and validity of these measures. Research hypotheses are tested by data generated from a mail survey and in-depth interviews. Export performance is seen as an outcome of standardizing or adapting marketing strategies. Empirical results and s synthesis of in-depth interviews support some research hypotheses. The findings are used to generate a number of managerial implications in the context of international marketing strategy.
A comparison of vancomycin and metronidazole for the treatment of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea, stratified by disease severity.

BACKGROUND The incidence and severity of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) has been increasing, and there have been recent reports of metronidazole treatment failure. Metronidazole is still commonly used as first-line treatment for CDAD but has never been compared with vancomycin in a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. We conducted such a trial, stratifying patients according to disease severity, to investigate whether one agent was superior for treating either mild or severe disease. METHODS From October 1994 through June 2002, patients with CDAD were stratified according to whether they had mild or severe disease based on clinical criteria and were randomly assigned to receive oral metronidazole (250 mg 4 times per day) or oral vancomycin (125 mg 4 times per day) for 10 days. Both groups received an oral placebo in addition to the study drug. Patients were followed up for 21 days to assess cure, treatment failure, relapse, or intolerance. RESULTS One hundred seventy-two patients were enrolled, and 150 of these patients successfully completed the trial. Among the patients with mild CDAD, treatment with metronidazole or vancomycin resulted in clinical cure in 90% and 98% of the patients, respectively (P=.36). Among the patients with severe CDAD, treatment with metronidazole or vancomycin resulted in clinical cure in 76% and 97% of the patients, respectively (P=.02). Clinical symptoms recurred in 15% of the patients treated with metronidazole and 14% of those treated with vancomycin. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that metronidazole and vancomycin are equally effective for the treatment of mild CDAD, but vancomycin is superior for treating patients with severe CDAD.
Exploring social representations of tourism planning: issues for governance

A major challenge for tourism as a social and economic activity and as an academic study is the integration of multiple perspectives into coherent frameworks. This paper explores this challenge and argues that a social representations approach allows for the critical analysis of formal approaches to tourism planning. Special attention is given to tourism development and governance in Africa and other emerging destinations. A content/semiotic analysis was conducted to examine figures summarising tourism planning models presented in the academic and government planning literature. This revealed a dominant social representation of tourism planning in which destination residents play only a minor role and are typically excluded from tourism governance and external agents, from both the private and public sectors, and their views of tourist needs are dominant. Most planning models were narrowly focused, had limited evaluation of all tourism benefits and costs, paid little attention to non-economic factors and did not integrate into wider development processes. The paper argues that this social representation assumes the core objective of tourism planning is to enhance outcomes for tourists and tourism businesses rather than for destination residents. Measures to enhance local governance capacity are suggested, with examples from the health, education and tourism sectors.
Bones and Crohn's: Risk Factors Associated with Low Bone Mineral Density in Patients with Crohn's Disease

Previous studies have confirmed that the prevalence of decreased bone mineral density is elevated in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The objective of the current study was to determine the prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis in a cross-sectional outpatient population of 242 adult patients with Crohn's disease and to determine which clinical characteristics and serum and urine biochemical factors might be predictive of bone loss. Thirty-seven percent had normal bone density, 50.0% were osteopenic, and 12.9% were osteoporotic. Among the sites used to diagnose low bone mineral density, the femoral neck demonstrated the highest prevalence of osteopenia and the ultra-distal radius the highest prevalence of osteoporosis. However, low bone mineral density at one site was always predictive of low bone mineral density at the other. Corticosteroid use during the year before assessment was found to be consistently predictive of low bone mineral density in males but not in females. In contrast, low body mass index and high platelet counts were consistently predictive of low bone mineral density in females but not in males. Disease location, smoking, and age were not predictive of changes in bone mineral density.
Are Family Firms Really More Socially Responsible?

This paper conducts an empirical study as to whether family firms are more socially responsible than their nonfamily counterparts and explores the conditions in which this difference in social behavior occurs. We argue that family firms, given their socioemotional wealth bias, have a positive effect on social dimensions linked to external stakeholders, yet have a negative impact on internal social dimensions. Thus, family firms can be socially responsible and irresponsible at the same time. We also suggest that institutional and organizational conditions act as catalysts in the relationship between firm type and corporate social responsibility (CSR). General support for our thesis that family firms neglect internal social dimensions came from the study of a sample of 598 listed European firms over a period of 4 years. Moreover, while national standards and industry conditions influence the degree of CSR in nonfamily firms, these factors do not affect family firms. However, family firms’ social activities are more sensitive to declining organizational performance.