Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The stakeholder product brand and decision making in retail financial services

Stakeholder products were introduced by the UK Government to help assist decision making in retail financial services. Such products are targeted particularly at low- to middle-income consumers and those in a position of vulnerability/weakness in personal finance markets due to low expertise and familiarity and a lack of interest and involvement. The current study offers a detailed investigation into whether the stakeholder policy initiative is likely to appeal to the specified target market and, hence, help the Government fulfil its objectives. A sample of 1002 consumers is employed in a quantitative study. Findings show that the stakeholder product brand (SPB) enjoys a relatively high level of general acceptance, but that it does not resonate particularly with the target market. The SPB is likely to be recognized as useful in aiding decision making by high-involvement consumers, as well as those consumers who are more familiar with financial services. Those who suffer from the illusion of expertise have marginally less positive attitudes towards the stakeholder brand when compared with other expertise groups. The data are indicative of few meaningful relationships between demographic variables and attitudes towards stakeholder products. Policy implications are highlighted.
Self‐defined residential neighbourhoods: size variations and correlates across five European urban regions

The neighbourhood is recognized as an important unit of analysis in research on the relation between obesogenic environments and development of obesity. One important challenge is to define the limits of the residential neighbourhood, as perceived by study participants themselves, in order to improve our understanding of the interaction between contextual features and patterns of obesity. An innovative tool was developed in the framework of the SPOTLIGHT project to identify the boundaries of neighbourhoods as defined by participants in five European urban regions. The aims of this study were (i) to describe self‐defined neighbourhood (size and overlap with predefined residential area) according to the characteristics of the sampling administrative neighbourhoods (residential density and socioeconomic status) within the five study regions and (ii) to determine which individual or/and environmental factors are associated with variations in size of self‐defined neighbourhoods. Self‐defined neighbourhood size varies according to both individual factors (age, educational level, length of residence and attachment to neighbourhood) and contextual factors. These findings have consequences for how residential neighbourhoods are defined and operationalized and can inform how self‐defined neighbourhoods may be used in research on associations between contextual characteristics and health outcomes such as obesity.
Does Mentor Support Increase Women's Career Advancement More than Men's? The Differential Effects of Career and Psychosocial Support

Based on past research on mentoring, this study examined whether mentor career support helped women's career advancement more than it did men's, and more than psychosocial (emotional) support did. The sample of 3220 Australians, chiefly from the public sector and finance and business service industry, was surveyed twice, a year apart. Mentor career support increased women protégés' advancement more than it did men's, whereas psychosocial support generally reduced women's advancement more than it did men's. Unexpectedly, female mentors, not males, had the strongest effects, both helping and hindering their protégé's advancement. Mentor support was not related to men's advancement. Why mentoring was differently related to men's and women's advancement was discussed.
Lending Rate Pass-Through, Sectoral Analysis, Asymmetric Stickiness, and Bank Heterogeneity in a Small Transition Economy

We investigate the lending rate pass-through in a small transition economy. We use disaggregated high-frequency data on commercial banks in Azerbaijan and employ an ARDL model to measure the impact of policy rate innovations on the banks’ lending rates. We perform a sectoral analysis by comparing the pass-through and short-term adjustment estimates for loans directed at different segments of the economy. Then, we decompose the baseline model to allow for asymmetric stickiness. In the end, we look at the determinants of interest rate pass-through by measuring bank heterogeneity with a vast array of bank characteristics.Results show that a considerably incomplete pass-through is present in the case of all banks, the finding consistent with a non-competitive banking sector. The average pass-through effect is 25% and the average period of adjustment is 5 months. Sectoral analysis reveals that pass-through is the strongest for industrial loans and the lowest for consumer loans, suggesting that banks exert more monopolistic pricing powers on consumers while hedging against risks associated with industrial lending. An extension of the model with asymmetric adjustment shows that negative policy rate innovations trigger a quicker adjustment to the long-run equilibrium than do positive innovations, supporting the argument of upward lending rate stickiness. Our analysis of bank heterogeneity produces a significant negative coefficient for the impact of liquidity on both the interest rate pass-through and the speed of adjustment, implying that pass-through deteriorates as bank liquidity increases. This confirms the detrimental impact of structural excess liquidity on monetary policy efficacy. Overall, our results are very consistent for a typical small Central-Asian economy in transition with a quasi-fixed exchange rate regime.
Culture, Conservation, and Conflict: Perspectives on Marine Protection Among the Bajau of Southeast Asia

Conservation programs in developing countries emphasize the need for participatory and collaborative approaches to resource management. While indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities are frequently perceived as allies of conservation efforts, their inclusion in these initiatives remains a problematic process. The Bajau, an indigenous group of southeast Asia, are highly dependent upon marine resources and constitute a key stakeholder group with regard to current international conservation activities in this region of high marine biodiversity. In this article, we explore various cultural and socioeconomic attributes of Bajau society that inform their views of the environment. These are shown to be grounded in a specific worldview reflecting socioeconomic status, perceptions of environmental causality, and spiritual belief systems. Until such views are recognized and integrated into resource management initiatives, we argue that groups such as the Bajau will continue to occupy a peripheral role in conservation, thereby undermining these policies and programs.
Physical activity in patients with metabolic syndrome: at screening and three years thereafter.

BACKGROUND Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Physical activity can decrease these risks. Many randomized clinical trials to increase physical activity have demonstrated disappointing results, and implementation in daily practice appeared to be difficult. The aim of this study was to investigate whether 3 years of usual care with available guidelines in a primary care setting result in change in physical activity in patients with screen-detected metabolic syndrome. METHODS After a population-based screening, 473 patients were diagnosed with metabolic syndrome and received advice to increase physical activity. Three years later, they were invited for follow-up. Physical activity was measured by means of the validated SQUASH questionnaire. The primary outcome measure was: % of metabolic syndrome patients that fulfill the Dutch Physical Activity Guideline (DPAG) criterion (30 min of moderately intensive physical activity at least 5 days per week) at screening and follow-up. RESULTS In the final study population (n=168), the proportion of patients fulfilling the DPAG criterion did not significantly increase between screening (56.0%) and follow-up (60.7%) (P=0.29). Female gender [odds ratio (OR)=3.59; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.24-10.39] and body mass index (BMI) at baseline (OR=0.82; 95% CI 0.69-0.97) appeared to be independent predictors of increase in physical activity. CONCLUSIONS In this real-world setting, despite the advice to increase physical activity, the number of metabolic syndrome patients with sufficient physical activity did not significantly increase after 3 years. This finding confirms the need for an intensified approach to achieve an increase in physical activity in this group, with special attention to men and patients with higher BMI values.
Flow cytometric and clinicopathologic study of complete hydatidiform moles with special reference to the significance of cytometric aneuploidy.

OBJECTIVE As complete hydatidiform moles (CMs) have been studied less with respect to aneuploidy and its clinical implications, the significance of cytometric aneuploidy in CMs was evaluated. METHODS Two hundred thirty-nine CMs were studied clinicopathologically and analyzed by flow cytometry using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. RESULTS Of 239 CMs, 182 were diploid, 30 were tetraploid, and 27 were aneuploid (nontriploid/tetraploid aneuploid). There were no significant histologic differences among the diploid, tetraploid, and aneuploid CMs. Persistent disease developed in 20 of 114 CMs (17.6%) (16 of 77 diploid, 4 of 18 tetraploid, and none of 19 aneuploid CMs). Eight diploid and three tetraploid CMs were invasive, and one patient each with diploid CM and tetraploid CM developed choriocarcinoma and none of 19 patients with aneuploid CMs had sequelae. CONCLUSION These results suggest that aneuploid CMs are associated with less risk for persistent disease than diploid or tetraploid CMs. DNA ploidy status may be an independent predictor of persistent disease.
Investigating the key factors influencing the travel decisions of international tourists

This study explores the key factors that encapsulate the travel decision of international tourists and examines their impression of the destination based on the identified factors. The findings of this study provide invaluable insights to marketers for effective tourism marketing and promoting the destination. Using a sample of 803 international tourists visiting Penang Island in Malaysia, this study revealed that three major aspects of the destinations that influence the travel decision of tourists included 'quality', 'uniqueness' and 'distance and value'. Additionally, it was found that the after–trip impression of travellers for the quality of the destination was lower than the other two factors, indicating an area of improvement to tourism administrators and service providers.
Why are First‐Year Accounting Studies Inclusive?

This study is motivated by the increasing diversity among first-year accounting students and the increasing number of first-year accounting students whose majors are not in accounting related areas in UK universities. The main contribution of this study is that it uses student data over four consecutive academic years from a first-year accounting course at a UK university to provide empirical evidence in support of the theoretical framework proposed by Rankin et al. (2003). Our results show the effects of metacognitive knowledge and content knowledge on academic performance as well as highlighting the inclusiveness of the first-year accounting course. For instance, regardless of the choices of secondary subjects, students who have good prior academic achievement are the best performers on the first-year accounting course. The influence of content knowledge on academic performance is strongly felt when the assessments of the course changed from a 100 per cent final exam to a combination of mid-term coursework and a final exam. The results suggest that well-designed mid-term coursework is academically beneficial to accounting students, especially non-native English-speaking students.
Patterns of change in withdrawal symptoms, desire to smoke, reward motivation and response inhibition across 3 months of smoking abstinence.

AIMS We have demonstrated previously that acute smoking abstinence is associated with lowered reward motivation and impaired response inhibition. This prospective study explores whether these impairments, along with withdrawal-related symptoms, recover over 3 months of sustained abstinence. DESIGN Participants completed a 12-hour abstinent baseline assessment and were then allocated randomly to quit unaided or continue smoking. All were re-tested after 7 days, 1 month and 3 months. Successful quitters' scores were compared with those of continuing smokers, who were tested after ad libitum smoking. SETTING Goldsmiths, University of London. PARTICIPANTS A total of 33 smokers who maintained abstinence to 3 months, and 31 continuing smokers. MEASUREMENTS Indices demonstrated previously in this cohort of smokers to be sensitive to the effect of nicotine versus acute abstinence: reward motivation [Snaith-Hamilton pleasure scale (SHAPS), Card Arranging Reward Responsivity Objective Test (CARROT), Stroop], tasks of response inhibition [anti-saccade task; Continuous Performance Task (CPT)], clinical indices of mood [Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)], withdrawal symptoms [Mood and Physical Symptoms Scale (MPSS)] and desire to smoke. FINDINGS SHAPS anhedonia and reward responsivity (CARROT) showed significant improvement and plateaued after a month of abstinence, not differing from the scores of continuing smokers tested in a satiated state. Mood, other withdrawal symptoms and desire to smoke all declined from acute abstinence to 1 month of cessation and were equivalent to, or lower than, the levels reported by continuing, satiated smokers. Neither group showed a change in CPT errors over time while continuing smokers, but not abstainers, showed improved accuracy on the anti-saccade task at 3 months. CONCLUSION Appetitive processes and related affective states appear to improve in smokers who remain nicotine-free for 3 months, whereas response inhibition does not. Although in need of replication, the results suggest tentatively that poor inhibitory control may constitute a long-term risk factor for relapse and could be a target for intervention.
Cohort Longitudinal Estimation of Housing Careers

The housing life cycle is a time-honoured approach to longitudinal conception of people's housing careers, but one difficult to measure accurately. Cross-sectional data often provide a misleading 'snapshot' of changes over time; yet, panel data that follow individual observationsover the life course also have several drawbacks. Construction of cohorts from cross-sectional data provides a useful third alternative, a quasi-panel approach, that captures major benefits of both the cross-sectional and panel approaches while avoiding their major faults. This paper describes three examples of fallacies of interpretation stemming from cross-sectional analysis of housing careers. One involves the stagnant home-ownership rate in the US and the apparent paradox of declining ownership rates of young households in contrast to rising ownership among the elderly. The second is the expected decline in housing consumption as the large baby boom generation ages past middle age. The third is the expected decline in resident.
An Agency Perspective on Franchising

Franchising is commonly viewed as a source of expansion capital for small companies with "limited access to capital markets". Franchising, however, is used by many large, publicly traded companies. This paper summarizes the agency-cost explanation for why firms franchise and provides related empirical tests. In particular, the study extends existing empirical work on the cross-sectional determinants of the own versus franchise decision and provides new time series evidence on the valuation effects of franchise repurchases. The results support the agency explanation for franchising and suggest that there is a cost/benefit trade-off in deciding between owning versus franchising that faces the large as well as the small company.
What Conditions Jeopardize and Support Safety in Urban Schools? The Influence of Community Characteristics, School Composition and School Organizational Practices on Student and Teacher Reports of Safety in Chicago

School safety is a pressing issue in urban schools. Yet, there is little research that shows why schools vary in safety and whether school practices mediate the influence of neighborhood characteristics. Using a unique dataset on Chicago Public Schools, this study examines the internal and external conditions associated with students’ and te achers’ reports of safety, showing that factors under the school’s control – their social and organizational structure – mediate the external influences of crime, poverty, and human resources in students’ residential communities. In particular, the quality of relationships between school staff, students and parents define safe schools in Chicago. In contrast, frequent use of suspensions is associated with less safe environments, even when comparing schools serving students with similar backgrounds. The findings from this paper point to the important role that school leaders and personnel can play in fostering safe school environments for students, even in schools that serve students from disadvantaged neighborhoods. Policymakers should attend to the important influence of supportive, collaborative relationships among teachers and parents, and between teachers and students, for mediating the adverse influences of neighborhood circumstances on student and teacher reports of safety.
A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of testosterone therapy for HIV-positive men with hypogonadal symptoms.

BACKGROUND The goal was to evaluate the efficacy of testosterone in alleviation of hypogonadal symptoms (diminished libido, depressed mood, low energy, and depleted muscle mass) in men with symptomatic human immunodeficiency virus illness. METHODS Seventy-four patients were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled 6-week trial with bi-weekly testosterone injections, followed by 12 weeks of open-label maintenance treatment. Major outcome measures were Clinical Global Impressions Scale ratings for libido, mood, energy, and erectile function; Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores, and Chalder Fatigue Scale scores. Body composition changes were assessed with bioelectric impedance analysis. RESULTS Seventy men completed the 6-week trial. Response rates, defined as much or very much improved libido, were 74% (28/38) for patients randomized to testosterone, and 19% (6/32) for placebo-treated patients (P<.001). Of the 62 completers with fatigue at baseline, 59% (20/34) receiving testosterone and 25% (7/28) receiving placebo reported improved energy (P<.01). Among the 26 completers with an Axis I depressive disorder at baseline, 58% of the testosterone-treated patients reported improved mood compared with 14% of placebo-treated patients (Fisher exact test = .08). With testosterone treatment, average increase in muscle mass over 12 weeks was 1.6 kg for the whole group, and 2.2 kg for the 14 men with wasting at baseline. Improvement on all parameters was maintained during subsequent open-label treatment for up to 18 weeks. CONCLUSION Testosterone is well tolerated and effective in the short-term treatment of symptoms of clinical hypogonadism in men with symptomatic human immunodeficiency virus illness, restoring libido and energy, alleviating depressed mood, and increasing muscle mass.
THE CURRENT STATE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION: EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR EDUCATORS TO TEACH FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE

iv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .
An Optimization Framework for Generalized Relevance Learning Vector Quantization with Application to Z-Wave Device Fingerprinting

Z-Wave is low-power, low-cost Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) technology supporting Critical Infrastructure (CI) systems that are interconnected by government-to-internet pathways. Given that Z-wave is a relatively unsecure technology, Radio Frequency Distinct Native Attribute (RF-DNA) Fingerprinting is considered here to augment security by exploiting statistical features from selected signal responses. Related RF-DNA efforts include use of Multiple Discriminant Analysis (MDA) and Generalized Relevance Learning Vector Quantization-Improved (GRLVQI) classifiers, with GRLVQI outperforming MDA using empirically determined parameters. GRLVQI is optimized here for Z-Wave using a full factorial experiment with spreadsheet search and response surface methods. Two optimization measures are developed for assessing Z-Wave discrimination: 1) Relative Accuracy Percentage (RAP) for device classification, and 2) Mean Area Under the Curve (AUCM) for device identity (ID) verification. Primary benefits of the approach include: 1) generalizability to other wireless device technologies, and 2) improvement in GRLVQI device classification and device ID verification performance.
Neuropathological basis for drawing disability (constructional apraxia) in Alzheimer's disease

Synopsis The performance on four drawing tasks was studied in a sample of patients with verified Alzheimer's disease in order to examine the relationship of ‘constructional apraxia’ to neuropathological changes in the parietal lobe and in other brain areas. Twenty-three patients were able to attempt to copy pentagons, a spiral and a three-dimensional drawing of a house, 22 patients were able to draw a clock-face spontaneously. The results were rank-ordered by two independent raters. The values obtained in the different drawing tasks were correlated significantly with each other, with global estimates of cognitive performance (CAMCOG, Mini-Mental State), with a shorter duration of illness, higher brain weight (in the subsample of female patients), higher counts of large neurons in the parahippocampal gyrus and hippocampus, but not in the parietal lobe. This suggests that there is no specific relationship between ‘constructional apraxia’ and neuropathological changes in the parietal lobes of patients with advanced Alzheimer's disease, but that there is a correlation between widespread brain changes and several neuropsychological deficits, one of them being drawing disability.