Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Employee Responsibilities and Rights in China

The way managerial values and norms affect citizenship behaviour, or basic responsibilities and rights of employees, in contemporary organizations has received refreshed attention in recent years (Burdenski and Dunson, 1999; Farh, Earley, and Lin, 1997; Osigweh, 1989, 1991; Osigweh and Huo, 1993a; Ralston et al., 1993; Vertinsky et al., 1990). This vein of research may be traced back to the contributions-inducements theory proposed by Chester I. Barnard in his classic work, The Functions of the Executive, which notes how organizations are essentially cooperative systems, inducing and integrating the contributions of their individual participants (Barnard, 1938). Barnard’s concerns were pursued by Simon (1976), with the results being the Barnard-Simon theory of organizational equilibrium. According to this theory, each organizational participant will continue his or her participation in an organization only so long as the inducements offered are as great or greater than the contributions he is asked to make. Later management theories on equity, incentive, commitment, and motivation were mostly developed on the ground of their pioneer work, although the theoretical foci have become increasingly micro by nature (for example, Chen, Meindl, and Hui, 1998; King and Ehrhard, 1997; Porter et al., 1998; Scott, 1992). Past research in this subject area, however, usually follows an approach that presumes transactions between employers and employees to be regulated by certain universal game rules regardless of their national or cultural backgrounds (Osigweh, 1991; Steers, 1989). As such, in spite of a growing body of literature on managerial values, human resource practices, and the incentive system designs, few researchers in international or comparative management have paid much attention to the cross-national differences on commonly accepted concepts of employees rights and responsibilities. This deficiency has been noted by some researchers in recent years. Osigweh and Huo (1993a), for instance, argue that conceptions of employee rights and responsibilities may vary across cultures due to differing limits of tolerance for ambiguity, values attached to interpersonal relations, the extent to which work life and personal life overlap etc. Nevertheless, the cultural dimensions that they have identified seem to be potentially affected by both personal traits and the prevalent value system of the whole society, with the
The Market's Reaction to Unexpected Earnings Thresholds

We examine differences in quarterly earnings announcement returns as a function of meeting or missing each of three earnings thresholds – reporting a profit, reporting an increase in earnings, and meeting analysts’ forecasts. In contrast to prior research, the research design identifies the incremental market reaction to the profit and earnings increase thresholds, after controlling for the effect of meeting or missing analysts’ forecasts. Using this methodology, we find little evidence of incremental threshold effects beyond meeting analyst forecasts. In other words, zero earnings and a zero change in earnings do not appear to be “special” points that elicit a differential response by investors. Our results are robust to including a number of control variables and alternative tests. The fact that we find little evidence to support market-related incentives to manage earnings at the profit and earnings increase thresholds suggests either that managers have other incentives to manage earnings at these thresholds or that managers perceive market rewards and penalties when none exist.
Short-Term Efficacy of Tacrolimus Ointment in Severe Uremic Pruritus

Editor: Uremic pruritus (UP) is still one of the most vexing and disabling symptoms in chronic renal failure, afflicting up to 85% of patients on dialysis (1). The pathogenesis of UP is obscure and effective therapeutic strategies are elusive. Deducted from partially successful treatment modalities, there is evidence that immunologic impairment might play a role in the evolution of UP. It has been reported that UVB phototherapy of half the body leads to a generalized improvement in UP (2). Exposing subjects to UVB light inhibits the T helper cells type 1 (Th1) and, in part, Th2 lymphocyte-mediated immune response (3). Similar effects can be achieved by administering thalidomide (4), which has also been reported to be effective in the treatment of UP (5), and tacrolimus, which has not been evaluated in UP so far. Therefore, we tested whether short-term administration of tacrolimus ointment is effective in reducing UP. Three patients on peritoneal dialysis, severely tormented by UP and previously treated, to no avail, with other potentially effective modalities were recruited. The patients documented pruritus using a visual analog scale (VAS), ranging from 0 to 10, and a detailed pruritus score 3 days prior to and during the treatment phase. Patients were instructed to apply a 0.03% tacrolimus ointment twice daily, for a period of 7 days, to areas most affected by UP. In all 3 patients, UP could be reduced dramatically right from the start of treatment (Figure 1). Two days after treatment was stopped, pruritus slowly recurred. No side effects could be monitored during or after the treatment period. Tacrolimus ointment seems to be a safe and highly effective short-term treatment option for patients suffering from severe UP. However, considering the potential carcinogenic effect of systemically administered tacrolimus, one should be cautious to treat patients over a longer period of time. Our observation adds evidence to the suggestion that an immunologic impairment conveyed by uremia itself or by dialysis might play a role in the pathogenesis of uremic pruritus.
Early cell signaling by the cytotoxic enterotoxin of Aeromonas hydrophila in macrophages.

A cytotoxic enterotoxin (Act) of Aeromonas hydrophila is an important virulence factor with hemolytic, cytotoxic and enterotoxic activities. In this report, we demonstrated Act rapidly mobilized calcium from intracellular stores and evoked influx of calcium from the extracellular milieu in macrophages. A direct role of calcium in Act-induced prostaglandin (e.g. PGE(2)) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) production was demonstrated in macrophages using a cell-permeable calcium chelator BAPTA-AM, which also down-regulated activation of transcription factor NF-kappa B. We showed that Act's capacity to increase PGE(2) and TNF alpha production could be blocked by inhibitors of tyrosine kinases and protein kinase A. In addition, Act caused up-regulation of the DNA repair enzyme redox factor-1 (Ref-1), which potentially could promote DNA binding of the transcription factors allowing modulation of various genes involved in the inflammatory response. Taken together, a link between Act-induced calcium release, regulation of downstream kinase cascades and Ref-1, and activation of NF-kappa B leading to PGE(2) and TNF alpha production was established. Since Act also caused extensive tissue damage, we showed that Act increased reactive oxygen species, and the antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine, blocked Act-induced PGE(2) and TNF alpha production, as well as NF-kappa B nuclear translocation in macrophages. We have demonstrated for the first time early cell signaling initiated in eukaryotic cells by Act, which leads to various biological effects associated with this toxin.
Spouses’ coping alongside myocardial infarction patients

Background: The purpose of the research was to develop a substantive theory to describe the coping of myocardial infarction (MI) patients’ spouses. The theory describes spousal coping experiences at 4 and 12 months after the patient’s MI. Methods: The data were collected by means of theme interviews from 28 spouses in the years 2006 and 2007 and analysed using Strauss and Corbin’s grounded theory method. Results: The substantive theory describes four main categories of spousal coping. The categories are: serene and balanced coping; action-centred coping; illness-centred coping; and coping based on denial of illness. Conclusions: The theory can be useful when developing support and counselling interventions for the spouses of MI patients. The study provides new knowledge about the spouses’ coping experiences and about the factors that influence their coping over a longer period of time. The theory also discusses causal, contextual, and concurrent factors, which affect the coping experience and whose identification is important when seeking to support the spouses. Another application of the theory can be found in nursing education.
Laser‐Assisted Contact Angle Measurements

ABSTRACT A laser beam, aimed at the solid‐liquid‐air interface of a sessile drop on a contact lens, produces two lines of diffraction which are theoretically normal to the profile of the fluid and solid surfaces at the point of contact. In the present experiments, the beam and the diffraction patterns were projected on a flat screen perpendicular to the beam, and the angle was measured as a contact angle. The angle was measured on curved surfaces (contact lenses) of 6.5 to 8.9 mm radius and for each material studied, the angle: (1) was independent of the front surface radius, (2) was independent of droplet volume at 2 and 10 &mgr;l, and (3) decreased with time after drop placement. The laser‐derived measurements correlated well with contact angles measured by goniometry on contact lenses and a variety of other materials (r = 0.86; p < 0.0001). Because the diffraction lines are straight and are generated at the point of contact, the angle formed by them is measured easily with a protractor, yielding a convenient and reproducible contact angle measurement. An application of the method was demonstrated by measuring contact angles for saline‐containing 0 to 2% bovine serum albumin or bovine submaxillary mucin on Silafocon‐A (Polycon II), Pasifocon C (Paragon EW), and polymethyl methacrylate (generic PMMA and Paragon 18) lenses. On each material, physiological concentrations of mucin, but not of albumin, significantly (p < 0.01) decreased contact angles by 8 to 15°. It is suggested that the laser‐assisted method is superior to goniometry because it is less subjective and is based on diffraction lines generated at the point of contact, rather than based on hand‐placed tangents to curved surfaces.
The effects of trading halts on price discovery for NYSE stocks

This article uses intraday data for the year 1992 to investigate the effect of trading halts on price discovery for stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The results show that the degree of benefits from trading halts depends on the types of halts and significance of the news items. It is found that trading halts reduce price dispersion when trading is halted due to imbalance in order flows. Such a positive effect is robust to the significance of news items. Trading halts can help price discovery when trading is halted due to the fact that some significant news items already hit the market and investors need more time to digest the impacts on price. In contrast, when officials call for the halt due to the pending news release with little significance, trading halts actually inject more noise into the prices and undermine the price discovery process. Overall, the results are consistent with the argument by exchanges that trading halts help dissipate information and facilitate the price discovery process.
The Generalized Malmquist index and capacity utilization change: an application to the Italian manufacturing, 1989-1994

Several indices of plant capacity utilization based on the concept of best practice frontier have been proposed in the literature (Fare et al. 1992; De Borger and Kerstens, 1998). This paper suggests an alternative measure of capacity utilization change based on Generalized Malmquist index, proposed by Grifell-Tatje' and Lovell in 1998. The advantage of this specification is that it allows the measurement of productivity growth ignoring the nature of scale economies. Afterwards, this index is used to measure capacity change of a panel of Italian firms over the period 1989–94 using Data Envelopment Analysis and then its abilities of explaining the short-run movements of output are assessed.
Surveillance of Nonhomogeneous Poisson Processes

The use of varying sample size monitoring techniques for Poisson count data has drawn a great deal of attention in recent years. Specifically, these methods have been used in public health surveillance, manufacturing, and safety monitoring. A number of approaches have been proposed, from the traditional Shewhart charts to cumulative sum (CUSUM) and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) methods. It is convenient to use techniques based on statistics that are invariant to the units of measurement since in most cases these units are arbitrarily selected. A few of the methods reviewed in our expository article are not inherently invariant, but most are easily modified to be invariant. Most importantly, if methods are invariant to the choice of units of measurement, they can be applied in situations where the in-control Poisson mean varies over time, even if there is no associated varying sample size. Several examples are discussed to highlight the promising uses of invariant Poisson control charting methods in this much broader set of applications, which includes risk-adjusted monitoring in healthcare, public health surveillance, and monitoring of continuous time nonhomogeneous Poisson processes. A new chart design method based on extensive online simulation is highlighted.
The OECD, Globalisation and Education Policy

Chapter headings:Introduction to the OECD, Globalisation and Education Policy. Acknowledgements. Why the OECD? Globalisation and Changing Educational Policy. The OECD, Globalisation and Educational Policy Making: Changing Relationships. Ideological Tensions in the OECD's Educational Work. The Politics of educational Indicators. From Recurrent Education to Lifelong Learning: the Vocational Education and Training Saga. Redefining University Education. The OECD and Educational Policies in a Changing World. References. Subject index.
Cognition and Affect Interplay: A Framework for the Tourist Vacation Decision-Making Process

ABSTRACT The article investigates traditional decision-making choice models and offers a new way of thinking about the tourist vacation-making intricacies. Specifically, this article examines the interrelationship between affect and cognition in the tourist vacation decision-making process and argues that consumers, during each vacation decision-making task, use both affect and cognitive processes in varying degrees depending on their valence and intensity. The traditional view of decision making posits that the consumer is a rational decision maker who proceeds through a series of prescribed steps before finding an optimal decision solution. However, with the growing prominence on the role of affect, “hot” aspects of cognition in psychology, and neuroscience investigations, much of the traditional cognitive-dominated theories are being reexamined. A tourist decision-making framework is presented demonstrating the proposed theory and provides understanding to the influences that affect and cognition have on the decision-making process. After delineating these concepts, propositions are presented followed by the Discussion and Conclusions section that summarizes and discusses challenges associated with studying affect.
“Pension Plan Valuation and Mortality Projection: A Case Study with Mortality Data,” Hélène Cossette, Antoine Delwarde, Michel Denuit, Frédérick Guillot, and Étienne Marceau, April 2007

STEVEN HABERMAN* AND ARTHUR RENSHAW† The authors are to be commended on an extremely interesting paper. We would like to comment on two particular aspects of the paper: the presentation and use of the Cox-type proportional hazards Poisson regression model, and aspects of the binomial bilinear methodology. In relation to the Poisson regression model (Section 4.4), by denoting the three explanatory variables, for each sex, as follows:
Seasonal and daily plasma melatonin rhythms and reproduction in Senegal sole kept under natural photoperiod and natural or controlled water temperature

Abstract: The melatonin daily rhythm provides the organism with photoperiod‐related information and represents a mechanism to transduce information concerning time of day. In addition, the duration and amplitude of the nocturnal elevation gives information about duration and thus the time of year. In this study, we investigate the existence of an annual rhythm of plasma melatonin in the Senegal sole. Differences in plasma melatonin levels between fish kept at a controlled temperature (17–20°C) and those exposed to the environmental temperature cycle (11.5–25°C) were also examined throughout the year. Spawning was registered in both groups to determine the time of year in which reproductive rhythms occurred. Our results pointed to the existence of an annual rhythm of plasma melatonin at mid‐darkness (MD), with the highest levels (203 ± 44 pg/mL) observed when water temperature reached 25°C. Water temperature influenced nocturnal, but not diurnal melatonin. Daily melatonin rhythms showed seasonal differences, with higher mean nocturnal levels during the summer solstice (138 ± 19 pg/mL) and autumn equinox (149 ± 49 pg/mL). When animals were kept at a constant temperature throughout the year, plasma melatonin levels differed from those observed in fish exposed to the environmental temperature cycle. Regarding the reproductive rhythms, spawning was observed at the end of spring in sole kept under natural temperature conditions, whereas no spawning at all was registered in sole reared at a constant temperature. In short, both photoperiod and temperature affected melatonin production in the Senegal sole, transducing seasonal information and controlling annual reproductive rhythms.
A literature review on the tourism-led-growth hypothesis

The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive literature review on the temporal relationship between tourism and economic growth. Specifically, the role of a such economic activity, as a promoter of short and long run economic growth, is investigated by assessing the so-called Tourism Led Growth Hypothesis (TLGH). To this aim, various methodological approaches have been used, such as VAR, VECM, ARDL, ARCH, GARCH, cross section and panel data. The cointegrating relationship of the economic variables allows one to test the short and long run Granger no-causality. Overall, the empirical findings, emerging from the existing literature, provide evidence that indeed tourism activity drives economic development in all the countries analysed. This outcome further supports the well-established contribution that international tourism has to the economic development.
Indigenous Peoples' Expectations for Forestry in New Brunswick: Are Rights Enough?

This article considers how competing interpretations of rights upon forestland affect indigenous peoples' ability to derive benefits from forests, using interviews and an evaluation exercise in 13 First Nations communities in New Brunswick, Canada. We asked first what First Nations expect from provincial forest governance arrangements, and second, what is preventing them from attaining their expectations? Informants attached greatest importance to rights and environmental protection, but tangible outcomes fall far short of expectations. Economic benefits are promoted by the government, but are least important for informants and results are mediocre. Undertaking an access analysis, we observe that governance arrangements do not deliver the benefits sought by First Nations, that control mechanisms provide limited participation in governance, and that power remains firmly with government and private industry. We conclude that rights alone do not enable First Nations to access benefits and that governance arrangements do not provide certainty for sustainable management.
Shear bond strength of brackets to demineralize enamel after different pretreatment methods.

OBJECTIVE To compare the influence of demineralized and variously pretreated demineralized enamel on the shear bond strength of orthodontic brackets. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sixty bovine enamel specimens were allocated to five groups (n = 12). Specimens of group 1 were not demineralized and were not pretreated, but served as controls. The other specimens were demineralized to form artificial carious lesions. Samples from group 2 were only demineralized and were kept untreated in artificial saliva. The other samples were pretreated with highly concentrated fluoride preparations (group 3: Elmex Gelee, 1.23% F; group 4: Clinpro White Varnish, 2.23% F) or with an infiltrating resin (group 5: Icon). After respective pretreatments, brackets were adhesively fixed on all specimens with an adhesive system after etching with 35% phosphoric acid and application of a primer and bracket resin cement (Transbond XT). Bracket shear bond strength was evaluated with a universal testing machine. Statistical analysis was performed by one-way analysis of variance followed by a post-hoc Scheffé test. RESULTS Shear bond strength in control group 1 was statistically significantly greater compared with that in all other groups. Application of the infiltrating resin Icon (group 5) as pretreatment resulted in statistically significantly greater bond strength as compared with pretreatments with fluoride compounds (groups 3 and 4) and treatment provided without pretreatment (group 2). Groups 2, 3, and 4 did not significantly differ from each other. CONCLUSION Pretreatment with the infiltrating resin is a beneficial approach to increasing the shear bond strength of brackets to demineralized enamel.
Productivity and the Euro-Dollar Exchange Rate Puzzle

This paper documents the evidence for a productivity based model of the dollar/euro real exchange rate over the 1985-2001 period. We estimate cointegrating relationships between the real exchange rate, productivity, and the real price of oil using the Johansen (1988) and Stock-Watson (1993) procedures. We find that each percentage point in the US-Euro area productivity differential results in a five percentage point real appreciation of the dollar. This finding is robust to the estimation methodology, the variables included in the regression, and the sample period. We conjecture that productivity-based models cannot explain the observed patterns with the standard set of assumptions, and describe a case in which the model can be reconciled with the observed data.
Use dividends to signal or not: an examination of the UK dividend pay out patterns

We examine the dividend pay out patterns for all UK listed industrial companies featured in the FTSE All Share Index for the period 1992‐1998. Then we match the pay out patterns to different dividend policies. From our empirical observations, we argue that dividend signalling does not universally apply to all firms. We also report our evidence that there is no industry norm for dividend policy, particularly when firms have decided whether to use dividends to signal or not. In addition, we found that the percentage of insiders’ share holdings, market capitalisation and as set book values are statistically significant for determining whether firms use dividends to signal or not.