Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Forms and Processes of War Diffusion

As part of an ongoing project, we have investigated the existence of conflict diffusion in the post-World War II international system. The initial systemwide tests of our Warring Border Nation model of positive spatial diffusion were replicated successfully in a study of conflict in the African region that appeared in this journal. Although both the systemwide and African regional studies demonstrated the existence of conflict diffusion, the present article begins to specify exactly which processes are operative by unpacking the earlier results and their attendant methodologies. To describe what positive spatial diffusion looks like in Africa—the states for which it holds and the conditions under which it does so—we present a series of analyses that exclusively utilize the variables that are central to the argument: borders, types of borders, and factors related to the “treatment” of having a Warring Border Nation.
A Recursive Local Linear Estimator for Identification of Nonlinear ARX Systems: Asymptotical Convergence and Applications

In this paper, we propose a recursive local linear estimator (RLLE) for nonparametric identification of nonlinear autoregressive systems with exogenous inputs (NARX). First, the RLLE is introduced. Next, the strong consistency as well as the asymptotical mean square error properties of the RLLE are established, and then an application of the RLLE to an additive nonlinear system is discussed. The RLLE provides recursive estimates not only for the function values but also their gradients at fixed points. A simulation example is provided to confirm the theoretical analysis.
Implementing Information Management Strategically: An Australian EDRMS Case Study

Organisations in both private and public sectors are increasingly becoming aware of the need to take a strategic approach to the management of corporate information and records. In this paper we present a case study of a successful Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) implementation within a major Australian capital city council. Guided by Ward and Peppard’s strategic systems framework (2002), the case study highlights a set of strategies which were responsible for the successful outcome of the implementation – and shows just how crucial it is for any organisation to bring with it the people and the processes involved in the creation, management and maintenance of records and information, if a centralised approach is to work over the longer term.
Isokinetic torque peak and hamstrings/quadriceps ratios in endurance athletes with anterior cruciate ligament laxity.

PURPOSE To evaluate torque and the hamstring/quadriceps ratio of the knee of athletes with and without anterior cruciate ligament laxity. METHODS Twenty-eight male athletes, 19 without anterior cruciate ligament laxity and 9 with anterior cruciate ligament laxity, were evaluated with an isokinetic machine model Cybex 770. The peak torque of quadriceps and hamstrings was compared, and the hamstring/quadriceps ratio on the constant angular speed of 60 masculine per second were also compared. RESULTS In athletes with anterior cruciate ligament laxity, the peak torque values (right and left knees) of flexors (120 +/- 15 and 116 +/- 15 Nm) and of extensors (218 +/- 36 Nm and 207 +/- 26 Nm) were not different than those of athletes without laxity (109 +/- 21 Nm and 111 +/- 22 Nm; 191 +/- 5 Nm and 188 +/- 35 Nm). The hamstring/quadriceps ratio of athletes with laxity (right: 57 +/- 6% and left: 56 +/- 8%) did not differ from those without anterior cruciate ligament laxity (right: 58 +/- 9% and left: 58 +/- 7%). CONCLUSIONS The anterior cruciate ligament laxity of long distances running athletes did not significantly alter the peak torque of flexors and of extensors or the hamstring/quadriceps ratio.
Caffeine exposure sensitizes rats to the reinforcing effects of cocaine.

The present study examined the effect of pre-exposure to a moderate dose of caffeine (20 mg kg-1) on the acquisition of self-administration of cocaine (0.125 mg kg-1/infusion or 0.25 mg kg-1/infusion) in the rat. Rats pre-exposed to caffeine acquired self-administration more rapidly. Furthermore, sensitization to cocaine's reinforcing effects was accompanied by an increase in the neurochemical response of the mesolimbic dopamine system to an acute injection of cocaine (10 mg kg-1, i.p.) as measured by in vivo microdialysis. Thus, the data suggest that exposure to caffeine can increase the reinforcing effects of cocaine, possibly via an enhanced response to the mesolimbic dopamine system.
Venture Capital and Private Equity: A Review and Synthesis

This paper reviews the existing literature on venture capital and private equity. The paper emphasises the importance of examining venture capital in the light of recent developments in corporate finance and its distinctiveness from other forms of finance. In order to understand current developments, the paper adopts a framework which combines industry/market and firm levels of analysis. Existing literature is reviewed using this framework. Industry level issues relate to rivalry between firms, the power of suppliers and customers, and the threats from new entrants and substitutes. Firm level issues concern deal generation, initial and second screening, valuation and due diligence, deal approval and structuring, post-contractual monitoring, investment realisation, and entrepreneurs' exit and recontracting with venture capitalists. This is followed by a review of the evidence on the performance of venture capital firms. The paper suggests potentially fruitful areas for further research including the extension of analysis to cover all stages of venture capital investment, examination of the inter-linkages between industry and firm level issues and between stages in the venture capital process, as well as further analysis of deal structuring issues and investment realisation and recontracting. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1998.
The Impact of Jumping during Recovery on Repeated Sprint Ability in Young Soccer Players

This study compared the effect of counter-movement-jump (CMJ)-based recovery on repeated-sprint-ability (RSA). Eighteen male footballers (16 ± 0 years, 65 ± 10 kg, 1.74 ± 0.10 m) performed three RSA-tests. RSA-1/-3 were performed according to standard procedures, while three CMJs (over 10″) – as a potential fatigue-determinant and/or running mechanics interference – were administered during RSA-2 recoveries. RSA performance, exercise effort (fatigue index [FI], rating of perceived exertion [RPE], blood lactate concentration [BLa]), simple kinematics (steps number), vertical-jump characteristics (stretch-shortening-cycle-efficiency [SSCE] assessed before/after RSA) were investigated. ANOVA showed no differences between RSA-1,-3. During RSA-2, performance was lower than RSA-1/-3, while steps number did not change. During RSA-2, FI, BLa, RPE were higher than RSA-1/-3 (FI +21.10/+20.43%, P<0.05; BLa +16.25/+13.34%, P<0.05; RPE +12.50/+9.57%, P<0.05). During RSA-2, SSCE, as the CMJ/squat-jump-height-ratio, was not significantly different from RSA-1/-3. Passive recovery RSA allows better performance. Yet, RSA CMJ-based recovery is effective in increasing training load (FI, BLa, RPE) without perturbing running mechanics (simple kinematics, SSCE).
Inequality decomposition of farm family living expenditures and the role of the life cycle

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to use data from the 2007 Agricultural Resource Management Survey to assess the inequality in the distribution of farm family living expenditures. The impact on inequality of marginal increases in expenditure components with respect to aggregate expenditures is also addressed in the context of the life cycle and under various “equity” weights that reflect the extent to which society is averse to inequality. Design/methodology/approach - Inequality in the distribution of households' equivalent-scale total expenditures E and of their K components is measured using the concept of the extended Gini coefficient ( Findings - Results show an unequal distribution of total expenditures, with “food including food away from home” and “clothing, personal care products, etc.” as the two expenditure items that are most suitable for either a subsidy or a tax-hike. No discernable statistical difference is found when the elasticities of expenditures were estimated across two distinct age-groups and across various levels of “equity” weights. Research limitations/implications - Research is based on cross-sectional data and does not allow for dynamic assessment of expenditure elasticities. Originality/value - The paper describes the use of an innovative non-parametric method to estimate expenditure elasticities among farm households.
Paradoxical effect of digital anaesthesia on force and corticospinal excitability

The role played by sensory information in maintaining motor cortical representations is still incompletely understood. We investigated the effect of digital anaesthesia of the index finger and thumb on the amplitude of motor evoked potentials to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) recorded from the first dorsal interosseus, F-wave response probability and maximal key pinch force. Whereas digital anaesthesia led to a 29% decrease in maximal force, both motor evoked potential amplitudes and F-wave probability remained unchanged. This dramatic decrease in maximal voluntary contraction following digital anaesthesia may result from a lack of proper sensory feedback during the task.
Contest Theory and Sport

Contrary to most sports fans economists tend to view tournaments not only as a mechanism to identify the most able and most talented athlete(s) but also as an instrument to increase the athletes' effort levels by designing an adequate compensation system that takes into account the specificities of the contest under consideration. The paper proceeds in two different steps: First, it reviews the available evidence on sports contests and identifies some puzzles that have not yet been resolved in the literature (the empirical separation of selection and incentive effects and the impact of incentive pay in team settings). Second, it addresses these puzzles and offers some new evidence supporting the basic assumptions offered by economic theory. Copyright 2003, Oxford University Press.
A framework for analysing manufacturing flexibility

PurposeThe issue of manufacturing flexibility has been widely discussed in the literature. One major area of focus has been the development of taxonomies for flexibility. This paper aims to review the contributions in this area and to propose a new classification and a framework for analysing flexibility in manufacturing companies.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a case study methodology approach. The framework proposed is used to analyse the implementation of flexibility in four UK manufacturing plants in four major industrial sectors: electronics, process, household and general goods and food.FindingsFrom the empirical analysis, various enablers of flexibility are identified. These are classified into three broad sources of flexibility namely fundamental enablers, indirect enablers and generic enablers as well as flexibility avoidance strategies referred to as flexibility evaders.Practical implicationsThe implication is that a mix of flexibility solutions rather than a single solution may be the most appropriate way for delivering flexibility in an organisation. However, the drivers of the need for flexibility have to be correctly identified in order to determine the best solutions for delivering system flexibility.Originality/valueThe development of a refined framework for analysing manufacturing flexibility as well as the identification of various enablers of strategic flexibility are the major contributions of this paper.
In search for the added value of FM: what we know and what we need to learn

Purpose – This article aims to present and compare research perspectives and theoretical reflections from a variety of academic fields on the concept of added value of facilities management.Design/methodology/approach – The starting point is the so‐called FM Value Map, which was presented in a recent article in Facilities by Per Anker Jensen in 2010. The article is a first result of the work in the EuroFM research collaboration group and is based on literature reviews of the most influential journals within the academic fields of facilities management (FM), corporate real estate management and business‐to‐business marketing.Findings – Good relationship management and building on trust is shown to be equally important as delivering the agreed services.Originality/value – Usually the concept of added value is discussed from a monodisciplinary point‐of‐view. The different backgrounds of the authors add value to an increased understanding of the added value of FM by comparing and testing different ways of con.
Bankruptcy Prediction: Static Logit Model versus Discrete Hazard Models Incorporating Macroeconomic Dependencies

The purpose of this master thesis is to (i) compare the out-of-sample prediction power of one static logit model and two hazard models, (ii) explore whether incorporating macroeconomic patterns improves forecasting results, and (iii) examine the determinants of corporate failures from the pool of accounting and market driven variables. We perform our study on 102 US listed manufacturing firms that defaulted between 2000 and 2009. The out-of-sample period spans over the crisis period 2007-2009. We find that the static logit outperforms both hazard model specifications in out-of-sample accuracy. Next, we find that incorporating macroeconomic patterns can improve forecasting results of hazard models. The most important firm-specific determinants of bankruptcy are profitability, stock return, short-term solvency, further significant variables are cash holdings, relative market size, and leverage.
Profit Centers and Incentives in Teams

Standard models of team production imply that, due to the free rider problem, profit sharing tends to have negligible incentive effects in large organizations. Many observers therefore find the use of profit sharing in large firms puzzling. In this paper we show that if a firm can be decomposed into two separate teams whose outputs can be observed, then a tournament between these two teams sometimes solves the free rider problem. Moreover, we show that the relationship between production risk and the strength of incentives in an optimal tournament contract can be positive, contrary to the standard conclusion that optimal contracts should exhibit a trade-off between risk and uncertainty. We use our efficiency results to endogenize the firm's organizational structure. In particular, we show that in the presence of economies of scale, small firms tend to be organized as unitary firms, while large firms will tend to choose the multidivisional organizational form.
The Impact of Sexuality in Contemporary Culture: An Interpretive Study of Perceptions and Choices in Private Sector Dance Education

Abstract The ways in which seven private sector dance professionals in the United States perceive the impact of sexuality in contemporary culture and the choices that they make for their own schools of dance because of these perceptions are explored. This study was conducted through in-depth interviews and a survey instrument. The participants' narratives reveal an understanding of sexuality in contemporary culture evident in five important themes: the commerce of private sector dance education, parental expectations, the absence of commercial choices in costume and music selection, private sector notions of childhood, and age-appropriate movement. The findings of the study indicate the significance of approaching long-standing pedagogical contentions with a new, responsive vision that focuses attention squarely on healthy children, adolescents, and young adults. Understanding sexuality in contemporary culture is necessary in order to successfully negotiate parental expectations, economic forces, and cultural pressures encountered in private sector dance education.
Effect of Meeting Centres Support Program on feelings of competence of family carers and delay of institutionalization of people with dementia

The study tested the hypotheses that integrated support, in which patients and carers are both supported by one professional staff member, will be more effective in reducing the feelings of (over)burden of carers and in positively influencing some potential determinants of experienced burden than non-integrated support, such as psychogeriatric day-care. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test control group design was applied with matched groups and measurements at baseline and after seven months. Fifty-five of the eighty dyads (31% dropped out) of persons with mild-to-moderate dementia and their carers who presented for four community meeting centres and three day-care centres in nursing homes over an 18 month period, were included in the study. The carers in the Meeting Centres Support (MCS) Program participated in an integrated family support program together with the persons with dementia, while the carers in the control group only received respite through psychogeriatric day-care. Standardized questionnaires were applied to measure some indicators of burden experienced by the carers (feelings of stress, life dissatisfaction, psychological and psychosomatic complaints), as well as some potential determinants of experienced burden (feeling of competence, coping strategies, experienced support and loneliness). Furthermore, as an indicator of feelings of (over)burden of the carer, the time between start of participation in one of the programs and institutionalization in a nursing home was calculated. After seven months the carers in the MCS group (n = 36), compared to the carers in regular psychogeriatric day-care (n = 19), showed a moderate positive effect on the feeling of competence (effect size 0.45). No effect was found on feelings of stress, dissatisfaction or psychological and psychosomatic complaints. However, as compared to the control group in regular day-care, the persons with dementia in the MCS Program participated for a longer period of time before they were placed in a nursing home. The MCS Program proved more effective than psychogeriatric day-care in influencing the feeling of competence of the carers, and seems to lead to an increased delay of nursing home placement of the person with dementia, as compared to regular day-care. Because of the small sample and limited power of the study, and the possible influence of the selection of carers on the study outcome, further research into the value of meeting centres for carers of people with dementia is recommended.
Transition between fast and slow gamma modes in rat hippocampus area CA1 in vitro is modulated by slow CA3 gamma oscillations

The synchronisation of neuronal activity at gamma frequencies (30–100 Hz) could determine the effectiveness of neuronal communication. Gamma oscillations in the CA1 region of the hippocampus in vitro was thought to be dependent on gamma oscillations generated in area CA3, but in vivo CA1 can generate gamma oscillations independently. In this study we found that activating acetylcholine receptors induced stable gamma oscillations in the CA1 local network isolated in slices in vitro that were faster than those in CA3, but relied on similar neuronal circuitry involving feedback inhibition. Gamma frequency inputs from CA3 (spontaneous in intact hippocampal slices or stimulated in isolated CA1) can suppress the local fast gamma oscillation in CA1 and force it to adopt the slower CA3 oscillation through feed‐forward inhibition. This modulation could allow CA1 to alternate between effective communication with the entorhinal cortex and CA3, which may regulate memory encoding and memory recall phases.
Increased p16CDKN2A Protein Within Feline Cutaneous Viral Plaques, Bowenoid In Situ Carcinomas, and a Subset of Invasive Squamous Cell Carcinomas

Cutaneous viral plaques and bowenoid in situ carcinomas (BISCs) in cats are thought to be caused by papillomavirus (PV) infection. There is evidence that PVs may also cause some feline invasive squamous cell carcinomas (ISCCs). Human oncogenic PVs degrade retinoblastoma (RB) protein, impairing cell cycle control. Loss of RB function also increases p16CDKN2A protein (p16), and increased p16 immunoreactivity within a human oral ISCC indicates that the neoplasm was caused by PV infection. In the present study, p16 immunoreactivity was evaluated in 14 feline viral plaques, 14 BISCs, 7 non–solar-induced ISCCs, 11 solar-induced ISCCs, and 14 trichoblastomas. Increased p16 was present within all viral plaques, BISCs, and non–solar-induced ISCCs. In contrast, little p16 immunoreactivity was visible in the solar-induced ISCCs or trichoblastomas. PV DNA was consistently amplified from viral plaques, BISCs, and non–solar-induced ISCCs. However, just 5 solar-induced ISCCs and 1 trichoblastoma contained PV DNA. Given that both increased p16 immunoreactivity and PV DNA were present within viral plaques, BISCs, and non–solar-induced ISCCs, all 3 may be caused by PV infection. This suggests that feline non–solar-induced ISCCs may develop as a result of neoplastic progression from viral plaques and BISCs. Whether PVs promote this progression is unknown; however, evidence from this study suggests the PV that is associated with viral plaques and BISCs is able to disrupt the p16–RB pathway and therefore could have oncogenic potential. Immunohistochemical detection of p16 appears to be a useful technique to investigate the role of PVs in feline skin disease.
Credit markets and financial information

The last decade has seen rapid growth in trading of credit instruments on secondary markets. The ensuing availability of a rich set of credit market data has created a novel environment for testing a variety of financial economic theories. In this discussion, we provide a simple framework for linking asset pricing research using equity and credit market data and offer some suggestions for future archival empirical research aiming to establish relations between financial information and credit markets. Credit instruments are intrinsically linked to equity instruments. The strength of this link varies temporally and cross-sectionally in measurable ways that can, and should be, used to guide future empirical research linking information to credit markets.
Party Identification in Britain: Does Length of Time in the Electorate Affect Strength of Partisanship?

The Classic party identification model originally derves from the work of Campbell et al. in the 1960sAngus Campbell, Phillip E. Converse, Warren E. Miller and Donald E. Stokes, The American Voter (New York: Wiley, 1960). In The American Voter Campbell et al. noted that there was a large disparity by age between, first, the number of voters claiming an Independent identification in the United States and, secondly, the numbers claiming a strong identification with one of the two parties.
Patterns and Effects of Entry in U.S. Airline Markets

We use T-100 traffic data and DB1B fare data from the U.S. Department of Transportation to identify patterns and effects of entry by network carriers and low-cost carriers in non-stop U.S. airline markets. For the sample period from 1996 to 2009, we find that entry activity of low-cost carriers did not only experience significant absolute increases but also led to substantial fare reductions. As route entries by network carriers do not have comparable effects, the existence and expansion of low-cost carriers must be considered as the main driver of competition in the domestic U.S. airline industry.