Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic risk taking with bonus schemes

This paper studies dynamic risk taking by a risk-averse manager who receives a bonus; the company may default on its contractual obligations (debt and fixed compensation). We show that risk taking is time independent, and is summarized by the so-called risk aversion of derived utility. We highlight the importance of dynamic aspects and provide a foundation for common qualitative discussions that are based on characteristics of bonus functions. The paper cautions that deferral of fixed compensation may increase risk taking. Finally, we motivate a new bonus scheme that incentivizes the manager to implement the socially optimal risk level.
Mobile Technology: An Exploratory Study of Hotel Managers

Hospitality businesses provide a natural context for mobile technology, especially given the dynamic nature of the business, the size and complexity of many hotel operations, and the need to have managers visible and overseeing multiple areas of the business (and sometimes, multiple properties) concurrently. To explore the potential for mobile technology in hospitality business contexts, we surveyed 70 full-service hotel property managers. The survey was based upon two theoretical frameworks: technology adoption model and innovation diffusion theory. Specifically, this study addressed (a) hotel property managers’ intentions to use mobile technology at work, (b) factors influencing their intentions, (c) their suggestions for implementing mobile applications in different departments, and (d) demographic characteristics of those who are inclined to adopt certain types of mobile applications. This study identified the top opportunities for mobile applications and found adoption differences based upon the respondents’ demographics as well as the factors of perceived enjoyment and relative advantages as significant determinants of hotel property managers’ intentions to use mobile technology. This study concludes with recommendations for industry practitioners and suggestions for future research opportunities related to mobile technology adoption and usage in hospitality.
The financial obligations of non-resident fathers and the implications for social policy

This thesis explores why some non-resident fathers pay child maintenance whilst others do not. The financial obligations ofthese fathers have become one ofthe most salient and controversial issues for social policy since the introduction of the 1991 Child Support Act. There was enormous public backlash to the Act on implementation, and the policy was based on minimal evidence about the capacity ofnon-resident fathers to pay and based on no evidence about how their obligations worked in practice. In order to learn more about non-resident fathers' financial obligations this thesis has two main aims. The first is to explore the factors that affect maintenance payments and the capacity of men to pay. This is achieved by conducting a quantitative analysis of data generated from the first ever national survey of non-resident fathers in Britain. This analysis provides a unique picture of the patterns of financial support provided by these men. The second aim is to discover what processes might be involved in developing financial commitments to non-resident children. This is achieved by conducting in-depth qualitative interviews with a small sample of eighteen fathers drawn from the national survey. Specifically, the qualitative study utilises two theoretical frameworks. The first framework on family obligations suggests that commitments to pay maintenance are made through a process of negotiation and that making these commitments depend upon individual circumstances. The second framework suggests that the symbolic meanings of maintenance, `as money', interacts with the sense of financial obligation that non-resident fathers' hold for their children. Utilising these frameworks in the qualitative study has provided new perspectives which have helped to explain why fathers develop, maintain and sometimes dissolve financial commitments for their children.
The Uncertainty in Risk: Is Variance Unambiguous?

THERE HAS BEEN A PROLIFERATION of literature on risk and portfolio diversification since the initial studies by Tobin [11] and Markowitz [8]. The basic idea, that some measure of the risk element, in addition to the rate of return, must be taken into account when outcomes are not known with certainty, has by now been widely understood and accepted. Current macroeconomic models, and especially those dealing with the investment or financial sectors, rarely fail to include the concepts of risk and portfolio diversification. In particular, a substantial portion of this literature focuses directly on the stock market. For example, the work of Tobin and Markowitz has given added significance to studies of the behavior of stock market prices, such as those contained in Cootner [1], as well as encouraging numerous additional articles in this area. ' Theoretical aspects of models of risk, portfolio diversification and capital asset pricing under uncertainty have also received considerable attention, as exemplified by the recent work of Lintner [7], Sharp [9] and Fama [3]. On the empirical side, studies of mutual fund performance, such as those by Friend and Vickers [4], Sharp [10] and Jensen [5], are currently very popular.2 The purpose of the present paper is to examine the adequacy of variance as a measure of risk. Despite the abundance of literature on risk and portfolio diversification, virtually all of which uses variance as the measure of risk, there has been little progress on this problem beyond the original contributions. Tobin [11, especially pp. 74-77] has pointed out that variance is the appropriate measure of risk if either the probability distribution of returns can be fully described by two parameters (e.g., normal) or the investor utility functions can be approximated by quadratics. Markowitz [8, especially pp. 188-201] has suggested the possibility of using the semi-variance as a measure of risk, but for the most part his analysis of risk and portfolio diversification closely parallels that of Tobin.3 The subsequent literature has in general used variance as a measure of risk without further consideration.
Weight distribution in standing and sitting positions, and weight transfer during reaching tasks, in seated stroke subjects and healthy subjects.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The recovery of sitting balance after a stroke is assumed to be essential to obtain independence in other vital functions. The purpose of the present study was to investigate weight distribution while sitting and standing still, and weight transfer during seated reaching tasks performed by stroke subjects and healthy subjects. METHOD The study was cross-sectional. Twenty-one stroke subjects and 21 healthy subjects, matched by age and gender, participated. Main measures were weight distribution while standing and sitting still, and displacements of centre ofpressure (COP) during seated reaching tasks. Data were collected using a balance performance monitor (BPM), including software. RESULTS Stroke subjects had less symmetrical weight distribution in standing than that of healthy subjects (p < 0.001). No significant differences between the groups were found while sitting still, and no associations between asymmetries in standing still and sitting positions within individual stroke subjects were found. Neither did the degree of weight distribution in sitting correspond to COP displacements in seated reaching tasks. However, COP displacement patterns in reaching tasks in the seated position were different in stroke subjects from those of healthy subjects. Stroke subjects showed more lateral displacement when reaching forwards (p < 0.001), and less lateral displacement when reaching sideways to the unaffected side (p = 0.01). CONCLUSION COP displacement patterns in stroke subjects deviate more than those of healthy subjects in seated reaching tasks. The deviating COP displacement patterns are discussed as a possible dysfunction in the ability to make postural adjustments and learn an efficient movement pattern.
Colostrum and milk selenium, antioxidative capacity and immune status of dairy cows fed sodium selenite or selenium yeast

Dietary selenium (Se) can be supplemented from organic or inorganic sources and this may affect Se metabolism and functional outcome such as antioxidative status and immune functions in dairy cows. A feeding trial was performed with 16 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows fed with a total mixed ration (0.18 mg Se/kg dry matter (DM)) either without Se supplement (Control, n = 5), or with Se from sodium selenite (Group SeS, n = 5) or Se yeast (Group SeY, n = 6). In Groups SeS and SeY, the Se supplementation amounted to an additional intake of 4 mg Se and 6 mg Se/d during gestation and lactation, respectively. The effect of both Se sources was characterised by milk Se and antioxidant levels, and the phenotyping and functional assessment of phagocytic activity of milk immune cells. Se yeast has been found to increase (p ≤ 0.001) the milk Se and antioxidant levels markedly compared to the control group. The experimental treatment did not affect the immune parameters of the cows. Lymphocyte subpopulations and phagocytosis activity of neutrophilic granulocytes were affected neither by the Se intake nor by the two different dietary supplements. It can be concluded that sodium selenite and Se yeast differ considerably in their effects on antioxidant status in dairy cows. However, the basal dietary Se concentration of 0.18 mg/kg DM seemed to be high enough for the measured immune variables.
Human papillomavirus molecular biology and pathogenesis

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the world and accounts for an estimated 11% of the global cancer incidence in women. HPV‐16 is the most prevalent type detected in cervical cancer and along with types 18, 31, 33 and 45 has been classified as a class I carcinogen. In addition to cervical cancer, HPVs are also associated with the malignant transformation of other mucosal and skin cancers. Thus, the combination of the malignant potential of HPV and its high prevalence of infection confers to it an importance of generalized clinical and virological significance. The natural history of HPV infection with or without treatment varies from spontaneous regression to persistence. The most important mechanism for wart regression appears to be cell‐mediated immunity. Cytokines released by keratinocytes or cells of the immune system may play a part in the induction of an effective immune response against HPV infection and the subsequent regression of lesions. This review discusses the molecular biology, pathogenesis and immunology of HPV infections.
EBIC, EBSD and TEM study of grain boundaries in multicrystalline silicon cast from metallurgical feedstock

Grain boundaries in multicrystalline silicon material grown from metallurgical feedstock, were investigated in detail using Electron Beam Induced Current (EBIC), Electron Back-Scattered Diffraction (EBSD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) techniques. The EBSD analysis showed that small angle grain boundaries, with misorientation angles lower than 2°, gave high EBIC contrast, i.e., high recombination activity. EBIC combined with TEM showed that at low temperatures, silicon oxide was found to be recombination centers both at grain boundaries and on decorated dislocations in the bulk. The grain boundaries containing multi-metallic silicides were found to have random misorientations and showed strong contrast in the EBIC image. Clean twins showed less or no contrast in the EBIC image. The metallic precipitates observed in the sample contain mainly nickel silicide with an iron rich core.
Teamwork in First Year Law Units: Can It Work?

There is an abundance of literature on the importance of teamwork in undergraduate degrees; how to teach it, how to assess it and how to manage it. However, there is also much recorded about students’ dislike of teamwork, especially where an early experience is unsatisfactory and builds resistance against such assessment. Accordingly, despite the revolution of embedding skills into undergraduate university courses, this article commences by examining the issues which commonly arise as impediments to implementing teamwork in this environment – both generally, and in the context of the particular discipline of law. It then examines how the teaching and assessment of teamwork was embedded into a first year law unit at the Queensland University of Technology (‘QUT’). Finally, student perceptions of the model implemented are described. These show that, despite the odds, students generally considered that the model had an effective and positive influence upon their learning experience and outcomes.
Heterogeneity and Aggregation: Testing for Eciency in Intra-Household Allocation

Intrahousehold resource allocation is an important and widely-studied topic in economics. A substantial literature tests whether observed resource allocations are Pareto ecient, as predicted by the inuential collective/cooperative household model. The empirical evidence regarding the validity of the cooperative model is mixed. We present what we believe is the rst evidence of within-sample variation in the eciency of intrahousehold resource allocation. We document that in a sample of rural, low-income Mexican households, observed resource allocations are Pareto ecient for young but not old households. This suggests that tests for \the validity of the cooperative household model" may be misplaced; researchers should instead aim to identify which models best characterize dierent groups of households. In ongoing work we examine whether this heterogeneity is driven by cohort or life-cycle eects, which may inform future models of non-cooperative household bargaining.
Testing for Linear Engel Curves and Additively Separable Preferences Using a New Flexible Demand System

Since the path-breaking work of Stone (I 954), demand systems which imply linear Engel curves or linear (quasi-homothetic) preferences have been popular in both theoretical and empirical research. The theoretical attraction of linear preferences lies in the aggregation theorems of Gorman (I 953, I96I), while the empirical attraction is ease of interpretation and estimation of the underlying parameters. The most common linear system used in empirical work is the Linear Expenditure System (LES) introduced by Stone. As is well known, this system also assumes additive separability, which is unlikely to provide a reasonable description of consumer behaviour when there is significant relative price variation (see Deaton (I 974)). There have been several generalisations of the LES. Pollak (I97I) proposed one which preserved separability and linearity of Engel curves but allowed marginal budget shares to depend on prices. Blackorby et al. (I978) following the work of Diewert (I97i) and Brown and Heien (I972) generalise the LES so as to relax the restrictive separability assumptions. However, their generalisations of the LES preserve the linearity of Engel (income-consumption) curves which, despite its theoretical attractions, may itself be at odds with the observed patterns of consumers' expenditures. In this paper we propose and estimate a system that allows for non-linear Engel curves and nests both a non-separable generalisation of the LES and the LES itself. The advantage of such a nesting is that it permits a test of linear preferences independently of any further test of separability. The Quadratic Expenditure System of Howe et al. (1980), for example, does nest the LES but does not allow a separate test for additive separability. Rejection of the LES assumptions, implicit in the significance of the quadratic term in such a system, could occur for reasons of non-separable and/or non-linear preferences. There are several other demand systems that do not impose a priori the linearity or separability restrictions. In particular, the Almost Ideal Demand System of Deaton and Muellbauer (i 980 b) has the additional computational attraction of being linear in variables. However, like the Translog System of Christensen et al. (I975), it does not easily nest the linear preference model. We have, in this paper, deliberately chosen two levels of aggregation over households, since we suspect the degree of non-linearity in the Engel curve to be more severe in pooled cross-section than in time series data. The wide
Asset pricing and the illiquidity premium

In this paper, we examine the asset-pricing role of liquidity (as proxied by share turnover) in the context of the Fama and French (1993) three-factor model. Our analysis employs monthly Australian data, covering the sample period from 1990 to 1998. The key finding of our research is that the main test is unable to reject the test of over-identifying restrictions, thus supporting the overall favorability of the liquidity-augmented Fama–French model. In addition, we find that the asset-pricing performance of the liquidity factor is generally very robust to a wide range of sensitivity checks.
Developing a conceptual framework to identify corporate innovations through engagement with non‐profit stakeholders

Purpose – The pressure on companies to position themselves as responsible corporate citizens has been identified as a key driver of the increase in collaborative relationships between corporations and non-profit organizations, with innovation and learning recognized as benefits to the firms from such relationships. This paper attempts to identify factors that can foster (or impede) the identification and development of firm-related innovations that result from engagement with non-profit stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews literature within the stakeholder, cross-sector collaboration, and innovation genres, to examine business-non-profit relations specifically in the context of innovation generation. Findings – The outcome of the literature review is a conceptual process model of cross-sector-collaboration. This identifies firm motivations, engagement conditions and intra-firm factors that would appear to influence innovation outcome, and which would benefit from empirical exploration. Originality/value – The paper begins to develop a framework for considering business-non-profit relations in the context of innovation generation and aims to further one’s understanding of factors in the engagement process that can influence an innovative outcome.
Social Roots of Global Environmental Change: A World-Systems Analysis of Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Carbon dioxide is understood to be the most important greenhouse gas believed to be altering the global climate. This article applies world-system theory to environmental damage. An analysis of 154 countries examines the contribution of both position in the world economy and internal class and political forces in determining a nation's CO, intensity. CO, intensity is defined here as the amount of carbon dioxide released per unit of economic output. An inverted U distribution of CO, intensity across the range of countries in the global stratification system is identified and discussed. Ordinary Least Squares regression suggests that the least efficient consumers of fossil fuels are some countries within the semi-periphery and upper periphery, spe-cifically those nations which are high exporters, those highly in debt, nations with higher military spending, and those with a repressive social structure.
Where the Grass Is Greener: Voluntary Turnover and Wage Premiums

Standard economic and compensation theories suggest that voluntary turnover should decline when a firm pays wages that are higher than those of its competitors. Turnover behavior in the State of California's Civil Service, however, does not support this prediction. Using a fixed effects estimator to control for job-specific characteristics, I find that the wages California pays relative to those of its competitors has little or no effect on turnover. In addition, estimates of the elasticity of turnover with respect to alternative wages indicate that higher wage rates do not pay for themselves through lower turnover costs. Instead, the absolute wage level and wage growth have large effects. In other words, it appears that workers are less likely to quit jobs that pay high wages and have larger wage increases, no matter how their wages compare to those paid by other employers.
EMU equity markets' return variance and spillover effects from the short-term interest rate

This paper examines the spillover effects from the short-term interest-rates market to equity markets within the Euro area. The empirical study is carried out by estimating an extended Markov-switching Glosten-Jagannathan-Runkle (GJR)-in-mean model with a Bayesian-based Markov Chain Monte Carlo methodology. The results indicate that stock markets in the Euro area display two significant regimes with distinct characteristics. Within a bear-market regime, stock returns have a negative relationship with volatility, and the volatility process responds asymmetrically to negative shocks to equity returns. The other regime appears to be a bull-market regime, within which the returns have a positive relationship with volatility, and volatility is lower and more persistent. We find also that there is a significant impact from fluctuations in short-term interest rates on the conditional variance and conditional returns in the Economic and Monetary Union countries. This impact is asymmetrical and appears to be stronger in bear markets and when interest rates change upward.
A study of strategic intelligence as a strategic management tool in the long‐term insurance industry in South Africa

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which strategic intelligence is utilised within the South African long‐term insurance industry and whether it could be used to identify opportunities or threats within the global environment to remain competitive, create greater innovation, and corporate advantage.Design/methodology/approach – The approach of this paper is to obtain the qualitative views and opinions of strategic decision makers, on an executive managerial level within the South African long‐term insurance industry, on their organizations' use of strategic intelligence.Findings – There are marked differences in the conformity and usage of strategic intelligence and its components between the organizations surveyed, with a measurable difference between large and small organizations, however, it is generally viewed that the use of a strategic intelligence framework could greatly enhance decision making.Research limitations/implications – Data collection was limited to the 82 lo.
Circadian Regulation of the PhCCD1 Carotenoid Cleavage Dioxygenase Controls Emission of β-Ionone, a Fragrance Volatile of Petunia Flowers1

Carotenoids are thought to be the precursors of terpenoid volatile compounds that contribute to flavor and aroma. One such volatile, β-ionone, is important to fragrance in many flowers, including petunia (Petunia hybrida). However, little is known about the factors regulating its synthesis in vivo. The petunia genome contains a gene encoding a 9,10(9′,10′) carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase, PhCCD1. The PhCCD1 is 94% identical to LeCCD1A, an enzyme responsible for formation of β-ionone in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum; Simkin AJ, Schwartz SH, Auldridge M, Taylor MG, Klee HJ [2004] Plant J [in press]). Reduction of PhCCD1 transcript levels in transgenic plants led to a 58% to 76% decrease in β-ionone synthesis in the corollas of selected petunia lines, indicating a significant role for this enzyme in volatile synthesis. Quantitative reverse transcription-PCR analysis revealed that PhCCD1 is highly expressed in corollas and leaves, where it constitutes approximately 0.04% and 0.02% of total RNA, respectively. PhCCD1 is light-inducible and exhibits a circadian rhythm in both leaves and flowers. β-Ionone emission by flowers occurred principally during daylight hours, paralleling PhCCD1 expression in corollas. The results indicate that PhCCD1 activity and β-ionone emission are likely regulated at the level of transcript.