Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Power of Community: How Community-Based Organizations Stimulate Sustainable Lifestyles Among Participants

There has been increasing interest in community responses to sustainability problems in the United Kingdom, following an emerging movement in which community-based organizations attempt to influence their participants' lifestyles. Such initiatives are at home in practice theory, as they implicitly recognize the connections between practices, people, institutions, and places. In this article I present a model of how community-based organizations stimulate sustainable lifestyles among their participants. This model emerged from an empirical study on this phenomenon, and from a reading of the practice theory literature. My work represents a development in the use of practice theory within sustainable consumption, as it looks at an empirical context, that of conscious lifestyle change, which is not usually explored using this theory. In doing so it both extends the potential for application of the theory within sustainable consumption studies, and further characterizes some key concepts within the theory.
Research methods for the empirical investigation of the process of formation of operations strategy

This paper reviews the methodological options for the empirical investigation of the process of formation of operations strategy. A case study approach is likely to be the most favoured research strategy for this type of work. Five possible methodologies that might be used within such case studies (ethnography, interviews, strategy charting, questionnaires and documentation) are critically reviewed and assessed. The advantages and disadvantages of each, together with circumstances in which they might best be used, are identified. The paper especially focuses on the practical implications for researchers using each of these methodologies.
A Sunburnt Country: The Economic and Financial Impact of Drought on Rural and Regional Families in Australia in an Era of Climate Change

Australia is indeed a sunburnt country, and is arguably becoming increasingly sunburnt. If most climate predictions are correct, much of Australia will experience droughts even more often. This paper uses the Rural and Regional Families Survey to explore the economic and financial implications of drought in regional Australia. Drought has significant negative economic impacts, with large effects on the experience of financial hardship and deterioration in household financial position— especially for farmers and farm managers who reported that the current drought had reduced property output substantially. The study also identifies some heterogeneous patterns of mobility within many drought-affected households. It is important that policy makers understand the complex processes of adjustment that occur in times of drought in order to enable them to prepare for the changes that will take place if our worst fears about climate change are realised.
Sign language in childhood epileptic aphasia (Landau‐Kleffner syndrome)

Acquired epileptic aphasia (AEA, or Landau‐Kleffner syndrome) is a unique condition in which children can lose oral language (OL) comprehension and expression for a prolonged period. These children can benefit from visual forms of language, mainly sign language (SL), but the quality of SL has never been analyzed. The case is reported here of a boy with AEA who lost speech comprehension and expression from 3 years 6 months to 7 years and was educated in SL from the age of 6 years. His SL was evaluated at the age of 13 years and 6 months and compared with a control child with congenital sensorineural deafness. It was found that: (1) our patient achieved the same proficiency in SL as the control child with deafness; (2) SL learning did not compete with, but perhaps even hastened, the recovery of OL. Intact ability to learn a new linguistic code such as SL suggests that higher‐order language areas were preserved and received input from a separate visual route, as shown by neuropsychological and functional imaging research in deaf and hearing signers.
A STUDY OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICE OF CERVICAL SCREENING AMONG FEMALE PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Cancer is the third leading cause of death In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is situated in the Arabian Gulf. A national programme for cervical cancer screening is likely to be implemented in the future. In this study, we assessed the knowledge, attitude, and practice of UAE female primary care physicians of cervical screening through a self-administered questionnaire. Of the 98 physicians who participated in the study only 40% reported ever having performed a Pap smear. In the study, we identified various training needs, and a training programme on cervical screening currently is being developed based on the results of this study.
Measuring Qualitative Information in Capital Markets Research: Comparison of Alternative Methodologies to Measure Disclosure Tone

ABSTRACT: This study evaluates alternative measures of the tone of financial narrative. We present evidence that word-frequency tone measures based on domain-specific wordlists—compared to general wordlists—better predict the market reaction to earnings announcements, have greater statistical power in short-window event studies, and exhibit more economically consistent post-announcement drift. Further, inverse document frequency weighting, advocated in Loughran and McDonald (2011), provides little improvement to the alternative approach of equal weighting. We also provide evidence that word-frequency tone measures are as powerful as the Naive Bayesian machine-learning tone measure from Li (2010) in a regression of future earnings on MD&A tone. Overall, although more complex techniques are potentially advantageous in certain contexts, equal-weighted, domain-specific, word-frequency tone measures are generally just as powerful in the context of financial disclosure and capital markets. Such measures are als.
Tax Reform and Ex‐Dividend Day Behavior

This paper investigates the effect of a major Canadian tax reform on the ex-dividend day behavior of companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The results are inconsistent with the hypothesis that price changes on ex-dividend days reflect the relative taxation of dividends and capital gains for the “representative” investor, but are consistent with the hypothesis that ex-dividend day price behavior reflects short-term trading activities.
A note on forecasting exchange rates using a cluster technique

In this note, we propose a cluster method as a simple predictive tool to forecast exchange rates (specifically the Japanese Yen and the British Pound against the US Dollar). The general goal in this study is two-fold. First of all, we verify whether or not we can accurately predict the exchange rate movements using the suggested method. Secondly, we use the generated sign predictions to build a simple trading strategy and check if we can obtain above-normal profits in the foreign exchange market. Our results reveal a sign forecasting ability for one-period-ahead which is lost when more periods ahead are considered. On the other hand, our simple trading strategy does not obtain above-normal profits.
Public Managers as the Missing Variable in Policy Studies: An Empirical Investigation Using Canadian Data

The article draws on survey data from a 2007–09 study of Canadian policy analysts to assess several propositions concerning the role of public managers in policy-making. It is argued that little is known and much taken for granted concerning the role public managers play in policy making. The discussion begins with a conceptual discussion of the nature of policy advice systems in modern governments and situates public managers among the range of actors who affect different stages of policy making activity. Propositions derived from this conceptual discussion are then subject to empirical analysis using a large-n 2007–09 Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial dataset.
The business benefits of flexible working

Purpose – Flexible working is a key contributor to business success but is often categorised by the human resource (HR) function as a “family friendly” benefit. If it is introduced strategically it can make a major contribution to the bottom line and to the credibility of HR. this paper aims to look at flexible working and its business benefits.Design/methodology/approach – This paper provides an overview of flexible working and its benefits, with the latter demonstrated through business and individual case studies, and puts forward a model for strategic implementation.Findings – The East Riding of Yorkshire made substantial measurable improvements to the level of service through the introduction of flexible working and turned a department around from failure to award‐winning in a period of two years. Individuals at Vodafone are successfully finding a work/life balance using flexible working options.Originality/value – A well‐managed project plan is required to ensure successful execution of a pilot and t.
An empirical analysis of exchange rates using high-frequency data.

This collection of studies examines several aspects of the behaviour of exchange rates using high-frequency data. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the thesis, details the structure of what follows and presents a selective review of relevant literature. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on issues related to the microstructure of the foreign exchange market. Employing a short, transactions based data set derived from an electronic, inter-dealer broking system they test hypotheses related to the linkage between inside spreads and foreign exchange market volatility, the existence of private information on foreign exchange markets and the effects of 'thin markets' on the dynamics of quotations. Chapter 4 concentrates on the behaviour of intraday foreign exchange volatility. The chapter presents and estimates a stochastic volatility model, extended to include intra-daily seasonality and the effects of U.S. macroeconomic announcements. Results demonstrate the importance of explicitly modelling the seasonal and show very large effects of public information releases. Chapter 5 builds on observations from Chapter 4 and estimates a long range dependent specification for volatility. Significant long memory is found in the volatilities of three major exchange rates and the long memory specification is shown to be superior to traditional short memory volatility specifications. Chapter 6 also extends the work in Chapter 4, examining the effect of U.S. and German macroeconomic news on the level of exchange rates. Estimations show that there are significant effects of U.S. and German 'news' at very high-frequencies but that these impacts are drowned very swiftly in subsequent exchange rate fluctuations. Finally, Chapter 7 uses daily data in order to examine the behaviour of the foreign exchange forward premium, proposing and estimating an explicitly non-linear model of forward premium behaviour. Results demonstrate that the forward premium is mean reverting, but in a non-linear fashion which cannot be captured in standard econometric specifications.
Population Size: Individual Choice and Social Optima

Optimal population size when fertility is endogenous is considered in relation to two social welfare criteria, a Benthamite and a Millian, and in relation to purely individualistic maximization of utility in the current generation. We show that a tax-subsidy scheme involving child allowances and subsidies to future generation consumption can be found to support a social optimum through individual choice. A general proof that the optimal population size according to the Benthamite criterion is always larger than that given by the Millian criterion is presented, but we show that no general conclusions about the size of the population under laissez-faire are possible.
Determinants of Green Building Adoption

In this paper we investigate variations in the adoption of LEED-certified commercial buildings across 174 core-based statistical areas in the United States. Drawing upon a unique database and using a robust analytical framework, the determinants of the proportion LEED-certified space are modeled. We find that, despite high growth rates, LEED-certified stock accounts for a relatively small proportion of the total commercial stock. The average proportion is less than 1%. A further contribution of the paper is that our concentration measure avoids the biases associated with simple percentage measures that were used in previous studies of this topic. Strongest predictors of the proportion of LEED-certified commercial space in a local market are market size, educational attainment and economic growth. In terms of policy effectiveness, it is found that only a mandatory requirement to obtain LEED certification for new buildings has a significant positive effect on market penetration.
An Empirical Study of the Impact of CEO Characteristics on New Firms' Time to IPO*

An initial public offering (IPO) is one of the most critical events in the life of a firm. As the IPO market continues to attract attention from both entrepreneurs and investors, research examining the relationship between the firm's characteristics and its IPO performance is growing. In this paper, we use the upper echelon perspective to empirically examine the relationship between the firm's chief executive officer (CEO) and the firm's time to IPO, a relationship that has so far received little attention. Using data obtained from 237 IPOs in the U.S. software industry, we found that the CEO's prior executive experience, network, and age are significantly related to the new firm's time to IPO. This study extends the understanding of the important role of the CEO in the IPO and provides investors greater insight into those variables that influence the speed with which firms go public.
Correlation between human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 oncoprotein expression and some prognostic factors in papillary thyroid carcinoma

Background: Thyroid cancer is one of the increasing cancer diagnoses in the United States. Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common thyroid cancer. There are a few researches done determining the role of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 HER2 (erbB-2) in PTC prognosis. They also have been controversial. This study is designed to determine the correlation of HER2 expression with tumor size, lymph node involvement, and capsular invasion as prognostic factors. Materials and Methods: This research was a cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study. Information about age, sex, tumor size, and lymph node involvement of 85 patients undergone thyroidectomy and diagnosed PTC in Mostafa Khomeini Hospital during 2010–2012, have been derived from their medical records. Four-micron sections made from paraffin embedded blocks and HER2 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Other sections were stained with H and E Method and capsular invasion was evaluated by microscope. Results: In this study, 88.2% of patients were female and 11.8% of patients were male. About 37.6% of samples were HER2 positive. There was no significant correlation between HER2 and lymph node involvement (P = 0.649), (P > 0.05). A significant correlation found between HER2 and capsular invasion (P = 0.000), (P < 0.05). This study found a significant correlation between HER2 and tumor size (P = 0.000), (P < 0.05). Conclusion: HER2 oncoprotein expression is correlated with increased tumor size and capsular invasion. Hence, HER2 can be used to assess PTC prognosis.
Democracy and peace: putting the cart before the horse?

To explain the strong finding that democracies rarely fight other democracies, analysts typically focus on some attribute of regime type. This linkage may be spurious, at least in part. The emergence and persistence of the first wave of liberal republics and democracies were greatly facilitated by the prior resolution of regional primacy questions. Because early democracies did not engage fully in competitions for regional primacy and territorial expansion, they were less likely to attack other states, democracies or otherwise, in their home regions. Nonexpansionist foreign policies also discouraged the domestic concentration of economic and political power, which in turn facilitated democratization processes. Four historical cases illustrate how regional primacy issues preceded the development of democracy and either undermined or facilitated democratization processes in major powers that have been especially important to the annals of war participation. Further research on whether peace antecedes democracy or the other way around appears warranted.
Is Self-Publishing a Savior to Authors or to Amazon?

Recently developed business models in the book publishing industry have led to the emergence of a self-publishing model in which authors publish their works directly through a dominant retailer like Amazon without recourse to traditional publishers, who now feel threatened. In this paper, we examine whether it is profitable for Amazon or other retailers to adopt this approach, what publishers should do, and whether it is wise for authors to embrace this self-publishing trend. Specifically, extending Viswanathan (2005), we model the publishing and retailing structure of the book industry supply chain to assess how different channel powers and structures may affect chain members’ pricing and profits. Our analysis suggests that under certain conditions, it is wise for the publisher to cut out the dominant retailer, unwise for the author to choose the self-publishing model, and better for the dominant e-tailer not to implement a self-publishing mode. Using numerical analysis, we show that when the ratio of e-book buyers is high enough, even when the author’s revenue sharing rate does not change, the publisher may retain the author as a client by encouraging consumers to buy e-books. We also show that although the self-publishing mode greatly reduces consumer welfare, it may increase social welfare.
Heritage tourist experience, nostalgia, and behavioural intentions

Heritage tourism is fast becoming a popular tourism sector which presents product-led development of heritage attractions with a focus on exhibits and education (Apostolakis & Jaffry, 2005). Since tourism service providers are now operating in the experience economy, they need to stage experiences in order to satisfy tourists and keep them revisiting (Ali & Amin, 2014; Liu, Lu, & Hsu, 2010; Pine & Gilmore, 1999). In addition, tourists are offered opportunities for active participation and engagement to create genuine experiences (Hung, Lee, & Huang, 2014; Kim, Ritchie, & Tung, 2010). This has changed heritage tourism towards a more visitor-oriented development with an emphasis on consumer preferences and experiences (Chen & Chen, 2010). Heritage tourism can be viewed as an experiential consumption where the experiences of tourists during their visit develop their perceived quality (Chen & Chen, 2010). During the post-purchase stage, tourists go through two basic consumption experiences: the core consumption experience and the nostalgia consumption experience (Triantafillidou & Siomkos, 2013). Tourists who undergo extraordinary experiences during the core consumption may develop nostalgic emotions resulting in positive word-of-mouth and revisit intentions (Chen & Chen, 2010). Pine and Gilmore (1999) explained consumption experiences as economic goods that offer unforgettable memories by means of supporting services during consumption. Chen and Chen (2010) further postulated that coreconsumption is not an end of tourists’ experience; it continues as their nostalgia and interpersonal communication. The significance of memorable experiences in tourist activities has been highlighted by a number of researchers; however, there are a few empirical studies that discuss tourists’ experience and their nostalgia. Therefore, this study intends to test the relationships between the heritage tourists’ experience, nostalgia, and behavioural intentions. The study was conducted at Takht-i-Bhai, a UNESCO World Heritage site situated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. This Buddhist monastic complex was founded in the first century AD, and was inscribed as UNESCOWorld Heritage site in 1980 (whc.unesco.org). This site is a great source of information on Buddhism which makes a visit to Takht-i-Bhai an informative experience for heritage tourists (Awan, 2008).
Continuous Lead Exposure Increases Blood Pressure but Does Not Alter Kidney Function in Adults 20-44 Years of Age in a Lead-Polluted Region of China

Background/Aims: To examine the relationships among blood lead levels, blood pressure and kidney function in a population-based sample of adults in an area of China with lead pollution. Methods: This cross-sectional study included a sample of 1447 adults older than 20 years of age who underwent physical examinations in hospitals within a lead-polluted area of China from January to December 2013. Results: Blood lead levels were high among the local population (152.47µg/L) and did not change with age (P=.182). Overall, changes in both systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood Pressure (DBP) were associated with changes in blood lead level (P=.012, P=.001), whereas BUN and CCr did not change along with the blood lead level (P>.05). This relationship was strongest among people 20-45 years of age; in this group, the beta coefficients for SBP and DBP were 0.009 (0.003), P=. 001 and 0.005 (0.002), P=. 004, respectively. Compared with young men, young women's blood pressures were more affected by blood lead levels (beta for SBP=0.031 for women vs. 0.008 for men; beta for DBP=0.015 for women vs. 0.005 for men). Conclusion: Continuous lead exposure causes increased blood lead levels among local residents. Blood lead levels are positively associated with both SBP and DBP increases among adults aged 20-44 years. The relationships between blood lead levels and SBP and DBP are most pronounced in young women. Chronic saturnism does not increase blood pressure by altering kidney function. These results provide support for continued efforts to control blood pressure in the population living in a lead-polluted region of China, particularly in young women.
The benefits and challenges of using systematic reviews in international development research

Although first applied in the medical sciences in the 1970s, systematic reviews have been recently, and increasingly, used in the field of international development to examine the impacts of a range of development and humanitarian interventions. However, to date, there has been only limited critical reflection on their application within this field. Drawing on the authors' first-hand experiences of conducting eight systematic reviews, this article reflects upon the use of systematic reviews in international development research. It is concluded that although using systematic review principles can help researchers improve the rigour and breadth of literature reviews, conducting a full systematic review is a resource-intensive process which involves a number of practical challenges. Further, it raises a series of fundamental concerns for those working in international development, as well as the social sciences more broadly. Ultimately, systematic reviews should be viewed as a means to finding a robust and sensible answer to a focused research question, but not as an end in themselves.