Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investors' Differential Reaction to Positive Versus Negative Earnings Surprises

Archival studies document an asymmetrically strong market reaction to positive vis-a-vis negative earnings surprises. This finding appears inconsistent with the well-known effect of loss aversion and remains unexplained. I contend that this reaction pattern can arise when investors' earnings expectations do not coincide with analyst forecasts. Numerous studies document optimistic biases in analyst forecasts. If investors perceive optimistic biases in analyst forecasts, their earnings expectations will be lower than analyst forecasts. Because the contrast between the obtained and the expected outcome determines the degree of perceived surprise, an investor expectation which is below the analyst forecast results in a larger (smaller) perceived earnings surprise than reported when the surprise is positive (negative). Investors' lower expectations relative to analyst forecasts therefore result in a stronger reaction to positive than to negative reported earnings surprises of equivalent magnitude. In a controlled experiment, I replicate the asymmetrically strong reaction to positive reported earnings surprises, and trace this reaction pattern to investors' perceptions of these surprises. I further show that when earnings surprises are measured based on investors' perception of those surprises, the differential reaction pattern reverses: investors react asymmetrically strong to negative vis-a-vis positive perceived earnings surprises, consistent with loss aversion. My findings carry implications for investors and accounting researchers.
Effective Working Capital Management in Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs)

The need to main effective working capital management within Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) remain pivotal to solvency and liquidity of SMES. Most SMES do not care about their working capital position, most have only little regard for their working capital position and most do not even have standard credit policy. Many do not care about their financial position, they only run business, and they mostly focus on cash receipt and what their bank account position is. For the purpose of this study, Standard working capital ratios were used to measure the effectiveness of working capital in the selected firms. The firms selected show signs of overtrading and illiquidity, concerns was on profit maximization without taken cognizance of payment of creditors. The firms exhibit low debt recovery over credit payment. It is recommended that for SMEs to survive within Nigeria economy they must design a standard credit policy and ensure good financial report and control system. They must give adequate cognizance to the management of their working capital to ensure continuity, growth and solvency.
Australian businesses in China: searching for synergy

This article reports on an empirical, interpretive study conducted in 2001-2002 in the Beijing region of China. The case of the ‘Australians managing in Northern China’ is reported here. This research explores two major areas. First, it investigates the imilarities similarities and differences between Australian and Chinese cultures both at the national and corporate levels as the actors – the Australian managers and their Chinese colleagues – see them. Secondly, it studies how the actors are interacting to manage cultural issues in their organizations and whether synergies are emergent from their interactions. The article attempts to help managers and researchers gain a deeper understanding of the questions: what major cultural similarities and differences do Australian and Chinese managers perceive both inside and outside of their organizations; how do managers interact to effectively manage cultural issues in Australian businesses in China and how is synergy possible?
Lobbying via Consultation — Territorial and Functional Interests in the Commission’s Consultation Regime

Abstract Starting off with a short introduction to the current Commission’s consultation regime the paper analyses participation of various actors in different consultation instruments of Directorate General Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities and Directorate General Health and Consumers based on quantitative data. Analyzing participation patterns of different groups of actors, we explain differences in participation patterns recurring to actor’s resources and the properties of the instrument as a means to effectively advocate positions. In particular, we test whether the new consultation instruments, designed to counter-balance the dominance of specific groups and professional lobbyists, meet their intended purpose in that they effectively reach out and include new, additional sets of actors. Our results indicate a spill-over between consultation and lobbying and underline the different roles attributed to different actors such as functional and territorial interest representatives in the Commission’s consultation regime.
CIVIL LIBERTY‐AN ECONOMETRIC INVESTIGATION

Many governments allocate resources to the repression of the political freedom of their citizens. The dominant economic theory of this activity, associated most prominently with the work of HAYEK, is that political repression is a bi‐product of the erosion of economic freedom. This theory predicts that civil liberty will be positively correlated with the degree of economic freedom. An alternative view, derived from models of industrial behavior, is that monopolistic governments will use political repression to protect their property rights, so that concentrated party systems will tend to engage in more repression than competitive systems. Using a cross‐sectional sample of 184 states in 1979, an empirical test of the two hypotheses is presented and the evidence is shown to be more consistent with the second hypothesis. In addition, the correlation between civil liberty and a variety of economic variables is examined: the degree of civil liberty is found to positively related to the level of real per capita income and to the ratio of wage and salary payments to total income. The Gastil index of civil liberty provides the empirical foundation for the study.
Embracing “embedded security”: the OSCE's understated but significant role in the European security architecture

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is perhaps the world's least-known major security organization. However, the same characteristic which puts the OSCE seemingly continually on the verge of irrelevance with respect to the other actors in European and global security is in fact what has allowed it to endure and is in fact its greatest asset. That is, the OSCE's distinct combination of modern and postmodern characteristics in both its composition and its activities allows it to create what can be called “embedded security”. Tracing the evolution of one particular set of decision-making rules embedded within a normative framework which questioned the fundamental meanings of “security”, and exploring present-day activities, this article reinterprets the OSCE in the light of this new model. In so doing, it re-contextualizes both the OSCE's origins and its contemporary relevance. Instead of a modernist, functional, rule-driven interpretation which situates the OSCE on the periphery in a crowded field, this explanation puts the OSCE at the centre of the postmodern and normative European security architecture.
Distinct action of the α-glucosidase inhibitor miglitol on SGLT3, enteroendocrine cells, and GLP1 secretion

Oral ingestion of carbohydrate triggers glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1) secretion, but the molecular mechanism remains elusive. By measuring GLP1 concentrations in murine portal vein, we found that the ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channel is not essential for glucose-induced GLP1 secretion from enteroendocrine L cells, while the sodium-glucose co-transporter 1 (SGLT1) is required, at least in the early phase (5 min) of secretion. By contrast, co-administration of the α-glucosidase inhibitor (α-GI) miglitol plus maltose evoked late-phase secretion in a glucose transporter 2-dependent manner. We found that GLP1 secretion induced by miglitol plus maltose was significantly higher than that by another α-GI, acarbose, plus maltose, despite the fact that acarbose inhibits maltase more potently than miglitol. As miglitol activates SGLT3, we compared the effects of miglitol on GLP1 secretion with those of acarbose, which failed to depolarize the Xenopus laevis oocytes expressing human SGLT3. Oral administration of miglitol activated duodenal enterochromaffin (EC) cells as assessed by immunostaining of phosphorylated calcium–calmodulin kinase 2 (phospho-CaMK2). In contrast, acarbose activated much fewer enteroendocrine cells, having only modest phospho-CaMK2 immunoreactivity. Single administration of miglitol triggered no GLP1 secretion, and GLP1 secretion by miglitol plus maltose was significantly attenuated by atropine pretreatment, suggesting regulation via vagal nerve. Thus, while α-GIs generally delay carbohydrate absorption and potentiate GLP1 secretion, miglitol also activates duodenal EC cells, possibly via SGLT3, and potentiates GLP1 secretion through the parasympathetic nervous system.
Trienoic fatty acids and stress responses in higher plants

Trienoic fatty acids (TAs) are the most abundant fatty acid species in the membrane lipids of plant cells. While serving as the major structural organizers of biomembranes on the one hand, TAs play essential roles in mediating stress signaling on the other hand. This review focuses on recent studies proposing biochemical roles for TAs in abiotic and biotic stress tolerances, and on the emerging picture of transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms that act in coordination to optimize membrane TA levels under adverse environmental conditions.
An Empirical Analysis of the Decline in the Information Content of Earnings Following Restatements

Regulatory officials and market analysts have speculated that the loss of credibility in subsequently reported financial information is a long‐lasting consequence of earnings restatements. I measure the information content of earnings using a standard earnings‐returns framework over several years surrounding restatements to examine characteristics of the decline in the information content of earnings. Results indicate that although the information content of earnings declines following restatements, the loss is temporary. In particular, the earnings response coefficients for earnings announcements surrounding restatements exhibit a U‐shaped pattern in which they are no longer significantly lower in the post‐restatement period over an average of four quarters. The extent to which the earnings of restatement firms suffer a loss of information content varies across several dimensions. First, the duration of the loss is greater for firms that restate earnings to correct revenue recognition errors and for rest.
Properties and regulation of phosphopyruvate carboxylase activity in Escherichia coli

A procedure is described for the purification of phosphopyruvate (PEP) carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.31) from extracts of Escherichia coli, strain W. The enzyme, purified 160-fold, catalysed the stoicheiometric formation of oxaloacetate from phosphopyruvate and potassium bicarbonate. This reaction occurred most readily at pH 8·5, and required the presence of divalent metal ions (Mg2+ ≥ Mn2+ > Co2+); the Km for Mg2+ was 9·8 x 10-4M. Addition of acetylcoenzyme A to the reaction system greatly stimulated the rate of oxaloacetate formation. At saturating concentrations of acetyl-coenzyme A (about 1 mM), the reaction rate was thirty times more rapid than that observed if the thiol-ester was omitted; other acyl-coenzyme A derivatives were less effective in stimulating PEP-carboxylase activity (acetyl- > propionyl- > butyryl- ≫ acrylyl- > crotonyl-coenzyme A). The Km for acetyl-coenzyme A was 1·4 x 10-4M. The effect of acetyl-coenzyme A was catalytic, and increased the apparent affinity of the enzyme for PEP from Km = 5.5 x 10-3 M to Km = 6·4 x 10-4M. Since 1 M-urea inhibited the acetyl-coenzyme A -stimulated carboxylation of PEP but did not affect the enzymic activity in the absence of acetyl-coenzyme A, it is suggested that acetyl-coenzyme A exerts its stimulatory effect through interaction with an allosteric site on the enzyme. The results obtained also suggest a mechanism for the physiological regulation of PEP -carboxylase activity in E. coli.
Labour Turnover and Retention in New Zealand: The Causes and Consequences of Leaving and Staying with Employers:

This study represents the most comprehensive survey to date of labour turnover and employee loyalty in New Zealand. The widely held view that the New Zealand worker has become more mobile in the contemporary labour market is shown to be somewhat simplistic. Instead, the picture is one of increasing employment stability as people get older and as they become better paid, lending support to the idea that there are identifiable developmental stages affecting the careers of both men and women. In terms of the reasons for employee turnover, the study demonstrates that motivation for job change is multidimensional: no one factor will explain it. While interesting work is the strongest attractor and retainer in the labour market, the results also show that there is a strong employee expectation that management should make personnel decisions based on merit, demonstrate that extrinsic rewards (such as pay, promotion and security) play a role in both employee retention and turnover, lend support to the idea that there is growing concern with work-life balance, and underline the retention value of good relationships with co-workers and supervisors. The results demonstrate that employee turnover is not riskless for individuals: some benefit a lot (for example, in finding worthwhile promotion), while others do badly out of it. The study offers suggestions for improving retention in firms with dysfunctional employee turnover.
Contributions of nutrition versus hypoxia to growth in rural Andean populations

Previous research on diet and nutrition among peasant agriculturalists in the Andes has produced inconsistent results. As a consequence it has been difficult to determine the extent to which nutritional factors contribute to the slowed, prolonged growth and resultant small adult body size that is characteristic of these highland populations. The study examines patterns of diet and growth in the rural highland community of Nuñoa, Peru (elevation 4,000 m), and compares them to similar data collected on this community during the 1960s. Additional data from other locations in the Andes are then evaluated to discern critical determinants of growth variation.
Principal's Leadership Style and Teacher Job Satisfaction: A Case Study in China

This article is to verify the relationship among teacher job satisfaction, principal's leadership style, and principal's decision making style. Based on samples randomly chosen from among primary, secondary and high schools in Chinese educational systems in China, the required data were gathered through a mail survey. The results confirmed that the principal’s decision making plays the role of a mediator between teacher job satisfaction and leadership style.
The Fallacy of Composition Bias in the RealWage Cyclicality Puzzle

Composition bias in aggregate wages is often a scapegoat for the apparent unresponsiveness of wages over the cycle. Since Bils (1985) and in particular Solon et al. (1994), who find that that real wages are highly pro-cyclical a general consensus has emerged that the observed ‘mild’ cyclicality in real wages is due to composition effects which cause counter-cyclical biases because low wage jobs are the first to be destroyed during recessions (Pissarides, 2009). In this paper, it is argued that the results of Solon et al. (1994) and other papers using similar techniques cannot possibly disentangle the true effect of composition bias. This is because the assignment of fixed weights used to keep the composition of the work force constant is arbitrary and imposes a particular direction to the bias. Thus, rather than determining the bias it only serves to show the possible magnitude once having assumed the way the bias works. As in Blundell et al. (2003) we can unravel the bias into three interpretable parts. That is biases due to individual movement in and out of work, changes in the variation of hours worked and changes in the variance of wages over the cycle. The findings show that aggregate real wages become cyclically less responsive over the cycle and no evidence of ‘counter-cyclical’ composition bias.
Tax Enforcement as a Corporate Governance Mechanism: Empirical Evidence from China

Manuscript Type: Empirical. Research Question/Issue: This study first measures tax enforcement efforts for 35 tax regions within China, then analyzes the role of tax enforcement as a corporate governance mechanism by examining whether regional tax enforcement efforts reduce two types of agency costs in Chinese listed firms. Research Findings/Insights: Using archival data from a pooled sample of 917 listed firms with total 3,668 observations from 2003 to 2006 in China, we find the following results: (1) regional tax enforcement efforts reduce corporate agency costs between shareholders and managers and agency costs between blockholders and minority shareholders; (2) by reducing two kinds of agency costs, tax enforcement efforts improve a firm's market performance; and (3) the governance role of tax enforcement efforts is more significant for state-controlled firms than for entrepreneur-controlled firms. Theoretical/Academic Implications: This study suggests that tax enforcement can act as a corporate governance mechanism. Tax authorities not only have the ability to increase national tax revenue, but also play a positive role in decreasing agency costs, including agency costs between shareholders and managers and those between block shareholders and minority shareholders. Practitioner/Policy Implications: This study offers a new insight to policy makers interested in transforming economies that corporate governance build-up should be multidimensional. Besides the traditionally internal governance mechanisms represented by boards of directors and external governance mechanisms represented by takeover markets, tax enforcement is also an important corporate governance mechanism. The enforcement power of tax authorities could be better utilized to supervise firm operations in emerging markets.
Host‐induced, stage‐specific virulence gene activation in Candida albicans during infection

An understanding of the complex interactions between pathogenic microbes and their host must include the identification of gene expression patterns during infection. To detect the activation of virulence genes in the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans in vivo by host signals, we devised a reporter system that is based on FLP‐mediated genetic recombination. The FLP gene, encoding the site‐specific recombinase FLP, was genetically modified for expression in C. albicans and fused to the promoter of the SAP2 gene that codes for one of the secreted aspartic proteinases, which are putative virulence factors of C. albicans. The SAP2P–FLP fusion was integrated into one of the SAP2 alleles in a strain that contained a deletable marker that conferred resistance to mycophenolic acid and was flanked by direct repeats of the FLP recognition target (FRT). Using this reporter system, a transient gene induction could be monitored at the level of single cells by the mycophenolic acid‐sensitive phenotype of the colonies generated from such cells after FLP‐mediated marker excision. In two mouse models of disseminated candidiasis, SAP2 expression was not observed in the initial phase of infection, but the SAP2 gene was strongly induced after dissemination into deep organs. In contrast, in a mouse model of oesophageal candidiasis in which dissemination into internal organs did not occur, no SAP2 expression was detected at any time. Our results support a role of the SAP2 gene in the late stages of an infection, after fungal spread into deep tissue. This new in vivo expression technology (IVET) for a human fungal pathogen allows the detection of virulence gene induction at different stages of an infection, and therefore provides clues about the role of these genes in the disease process.
Insights and Applications

Opportunities to see elk and bison draw visitors from around the world to Grand Teton National Park. We compare two different approaches to estimating the effect that changes in elk and bison populations would have on visitation to the park. The first approach is a multiple-regression analysis of how actual visitation has changed with past changes in elk and bison populations. This is compared to survey estimates of visitor trip-making behavior conditional on proposed changes in elk and bison populations. The revealed preference regression visitation estimates and survey intended visitation estimates are generally within 10% of each other. This suggests that intended visitation behavior gathered from surveys is a reasonably accurate predictor of actual behavior for general recreation trips involving wildlife viewing. Such predictive tools can prove useful to managers in determining in advance how their actions impact visitation to a park.
A Unified Framework of Clustering Approach in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

Effective clustering algorithms are indispensable in order to solve the scalability problem in vehicular ad hoc networks. Although current existing clustering algorithms show increased cluster stability under some certain traffic scenarios, it is still hard to address which clustering metric performs the best. In this paper, we propose a unified framework of clustering approach (UFC), composed of three important parts: 1) neighbor sampling; 2) backoff-based cluster head selection; and 3) backup cluster head based cluster maintenance. Three mobility-based clustering metrics, including vehicle relative position, relative velocity, and link lifetime, are considered in our approach under different traffic scenarios. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of UFC with parameters optimization is presented. Extensive comparison results among UFC, lowest-ID, and VMaSC algorithms demonstrate that our clustering approach performs high cluster stability, especially under high dynamic traffic scenarios.
The Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy Of Nascent Entrepreneurs: The Case Of Two Economies In Transition

This research is concerned with entrepreneurial intentions of two specific groups of nascent entrepreneurs - innovators and graduate students in two transition economies – Slovenia and the Czech Republic. The analysis gives further contribution to previous research on predictions of entrepreneurial events using items inventory of entrepreneurial self-efficacy previously developed within the Anglo-Saxon cultural environment and now tested in a specific environment of post communist economist economies. Results show that there are relatively more nascent entrepreneurs among innovators than among graduate students of business. When average scores on self-efficacy are involved, innovators feel comfortable when dealing with innovation and risk, while graduate students express higher self-efficacy in the business-related aspects of a new venture – marketing and finance. We found a reasonable fit to our sample of the entrepreneurial self-efficacy construct as introduced by Chen et al (1998).