Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Concern for safety: a potential problem in the tourist industry.

The problem investigated in this research study is the impact, now and potentially, of Washington, D.C.'s burgeoning crime rate on its second largest industry, tourism. The purpose of the study is to examine and evaluate the rationale between the two forces. Source used are current newspaper article, trade publications and a questionnaire circulated among visitors to the city. The conclusion of the research is that the specter of an increasing crime rate threatens the city's lucrative tourist industry.
Nonlinear Incentives and Mortgage Officers' Decisions

In the aftermath of the recent financial crisis, banks should ensure that their incentive compensation policies appropriately balance long-term risk with short-term rewards. Using daily output data from mortgage officers in a US commercial bank, we test the notion that nonlinear contracts create time-varying incentives for the employees and impose costs on the firm. We provide empirical evidence that mortgage officers greatly increase their output toward the end of each month, when the minimum monthly quota is assessed. This occurs through a combination of reducing the processing time and approving some marginal applications. We also find that mortgages originated on the last working day of the month have a higher likelihood of delinquency.
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE AND THE THEORY OF PRODUCTION

ANY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE in the course of its operations must make at least three kinds of distinct decisions. First, it must decide upon a production plan-i.e., how much to produce and the choice of productive factors by which this may be optimally achieved. Second, it must decide how much money capital it should invest in fixed assets and working capital, both of which are necessary in order to sustain production. Third, it must decide how this investment should be financed. Despite the indisputable fact that these three kinds of decisions are interrelated, economic theorists, with few exceptions, have failed to incorporate them into a fully integrated decision model. The most recent and most important exception is the monograph by Vickers [13] in which the interdependencies between these various kinds of decisions are explicitly formulated. ' Almost all earlier work on the theory of the firm included at best a partial integration of some of these decisions. Thus the theory of production has been integrated with the theory of investment in physical capital (see, e.g., Smith [11], Jorgenson [5], Lucas [7]), although this literature pays virtually no attention to financial problems. On the other hand, financial theorists, in studying how a given capital budget should be optimally financed, have ignored the firm's production decisions regarding the output and profit levels as exogenously determined (see, e.g., Robichek and Myers [10], Solomon [12]). The result is the development of two more or less unrelated bodies of literature: the classical theory of production and investment in physical capital on the one hand, and the capital budgeting and finance literature on the other. While Vickers' work is an important contribution, it still leaves many interesting questions unanswered, and some of these are taken up in the present paper. It deals principally with the situation where the firm must select the amount of debt finance to go along with a given amount of equity and pays less attention to the equally important case where both the debt and equity must be chosen in conjunction with the factors of production. In this paper we therefore give an explicit formulation of this latter case.2 This turns out to have very important behavioral implications and it will be shown that, although the firm's decision procedure should be formulated so as to incor-
ICT in Norwegian local government – empowering the politicians?

Abstract Information and communication technology is often presented as having a built-in potential to reduce the information gap between the politicians and administration in local government. This assumption is discussed in the article, by analysing two surveys among politicians in Norwegian local government. The findings show that municipal politicians to a large extent utilise ICT in finding information for decision-making purposes. They also, to a certain degree, consider their ability to control the administration to be enhanced, even if we also find that access to digital monitoring systems can be limited. Furthermore, the findings show variation due to hierarchical seniority (mayor v. rank-and-file politicians), age and education. Thus, our observations, based on data of local politicians' own experiences, indicate that ICT contributes to reduce the possibilities of the administration manipulating the politicians in local government.
Stock market integration: evidence from BRIC countries

This paper examines the dynamic linkage and integration in between BRIC countries' stock market using daily data from January 2000 to May 2014. The study finds that there is a bi-directional causal relationship exist between Indian and Russian stock market, Brazilian and Russian stock market. Further, Chinese stock market is functioning independently and does not have any causal effect to Indian, Russian and Brazilian stock market. The study reports that there is long run equilibrium relationship existing among all BRIC countries stock market. The study concludes that the movements of stock market return are explained by their own shocks rather than the shocks of other BRIC countries stock market return. The study suggests that increase level of integration of BRIC economics necessitates the need for global investors to follow portfolio stock selection strategy and ascertain specific growth areas within these economics before making investment decision.
Managing service recovery processes: the role of customers' age

Research and practice show that effective management of service recovery processes boosts customer satisfaction. Under this assumption, the purpose of this paper is to analyze a set of factors which may determine satisfaction with recovery processes and loyalty. We also analyze the role of age as potential moderating. Segmenting customers' samples by age may potentially contribute to more effective service recovery process management. Older customers seem to be more loyal when dealing with service providers than younger customers, while younger customers are more demanding in terms of companies' efforts. Implications for both literature and practice are included at the front-end of the paper.
Why Do Some Accelerated Filers with SOX Section 404 Material Weaknesses Provide Early Warning under Section 302

SUMMARY: During the first year of the SOX Section 404 reporting requirements (effective November 15, 2004), many adverse Section 404 audit reports were a “surprise” in that management had not previously warned investors of the internal control deficiencies (ICDs) in SEC filings under Section 302 (effective August 29, 2002). Based on 451 accelerated filers with adverse initial Section 404 reports, we look back in time to previous disclosures under Section 302 and find that only 27 percent of the companies provided early warning of any of the ICDs during the fiscal year. We examine the association of early warning during the fiscal year under Section 302 with material weakness characteristics, litigation risk, subsequent financing, auditor characteristics, and management and governance traits. We find that early warning of ICDs is positively associated with the severity and number of material weaknesses, prior earnings restatements, auditor independence and effort, CFO change, the number of institutional in.
Sub‐National Mobilization and European Integration: Does it Make any Difference?

Work on multi-level governance has refashioned conceptions in politicalscience of EU politics and policy-making, giving due weight for the first timeto the importance of sub-national actors. This article builds on the pioneeringcontributions on multi-level governance by Gary Marks and others to developa framework for analysis rooted in the functions of sub-national authorities intheir domestic political contexts. This domestic politics approach to multi-level governance is then developed, through consideration of a series ofvariables, to address a question which has rarely been posed hitherto: do theEU-focused activities of sub-national governments actually make any differencein the structure of authoritative decision-making in the EU?
Broken Silence: A Commentary on Women's Entrepreneurship in the United Arab Emirates

Drawing upon the scant literature on women's entrepreneurship in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), this paper explores the motivations of women business owners in the country based on 10 in-depth interviews. Considering the patriarchal socio-cultural environmental context associated with the Middle East, a number of surprising dynamics are highlighted in the specific case of the UAE. Growing numbers of women graduates and businesses are observed, which suggests that the historical silence among this group is gradually being broken and that changes in government policies and the socio-cultural environment are the key drivers behind this evolution. The paper will benefit both scholars and government agencies interested in the dynamics of women's entrepreneurship in the UAE and, by extension, the Arab world.
Cloning of plasmid DNA sequences involved in invasion of HeLa cells by Shigella flexneri

A large plasmid is found in virulent isolates of Shigella sp. and encodes functions essential for invasion of mammalian cells. To identify plasmid sequences necessary for invasion, we isolated a series of Tn5 insertions in pWR100, the virulence plasmid of Shigella flexneri serotype 5. These insertions demonstrated that three separate EcoRI fragments of pWR100 were required for invasion of HeLa cells. However, the corresponding native EcoRI fragments, when cloned into pBR325, did not restore virulence to plasmidless strains. Construction of a lambda-sensitive, plasmidless Shigella recipient enabled us to shotgun clone plasmid DNA directly into S. flexneri by using the cosmid vector pJB8 and score for expression of invasive functions. In this fashion, we succeeded in isolating six independent recombinants which restored invasion of HeLa cells in plasmidless Shigella recipients. The cloned inserts all contained a common core of ca. 37 kilobases, thus defining a minimum sequence necessary for invasion of HeLa cells. Virulence-associated peptides produced by wild-type S. flexneri were also produced by the recombinants. Expression of these peptides and expression of invasiveness by the clones were regulated by growth temperature, as is expression of these traits in wild-type S. flexneri. A complete invasive phenotype was not expressed by the recombinants in that they failed to produce a positive Sereny test. Possible explanations for this behavior as it relates to the mechanism of bacterial invasion are discussed.
International long term business relationship, communities of practice and innovation: a longitudinal case study of NDDB, India and Tetra Pak, Sweden

This paper is a longitudinal study of the impact of a long-term international business relationship on innovation. It traces the market entry of the Swedish Company, Tetra Pak into India. The case focuses on major packaging material manufacturing innovations carried out by the Indian Joint Venture (JV) managed by the Indian partner. A JV relationship is found to provide a context for technical specialists to interact and develop explicit and tacit knowledge and skills. These interactions create wider communities of practice involving networks of suppliers and customers, who in turn create further knowledge and innovation.
Differences in the Utilization of Therapeutic Use of Self by Occupational Therapists in Military and Civilian Settings

The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of therapeutic use of self, and the factors that may influence that implementation in military and civilian settings, as described by occupational therapists who have experience in both settings. A semi-structured qualitative design was used to interview two practicing occupational therapists. Analysis of the audio transcripts resulted in two themes on the comparison of implementation of therapeutic use of self in military and civilian settings: Knowing your Population (identifying differences between the military and civilian settings) and Some Things Do Not Change (identifying similarities between the military and civilian settings). Factors influencing the implementation of therapeutic use of self in the military setting included the themes of The Military Medical System, The Military Structure and Purpose, and The Importance of Intimately Knowing about the Military as a Military Practitioner. Many of the underlying concepts of therapeutic use of self agreed with previous literature and theoretical concepts regarding therapeutic use of self. This was the first study investigating differences between military and civilian settings. Implications of this study are that a therapist should know his or her client base, be prepared to employ many means of creating rapport and promoting ―buy-in,‖ and become familiar with the client population language or jargon. The military as a community unto itself has a distinct language, jargon, and culture that influence the implementation of therapeutic use of self.
Impact of Macroeconomic Indicators on the Performance of Foreign Portfolio Investment in Nigeria

This paper examines the impact of macro-economic variables on foreign portfolio investments in Nigeria between the periods of 1980-2010. Data were sourced from the World Bank statistical data base. Various empirical analyses were performed using Phillip-Peron at lag 3 to test for the properties of the time series variables. Co integrations results showed that macroeconomic variables were co integrated with foreign direct investment in Nigeria. The study revealed that among the identified macroeconomic variables, GDP and MS had inverse relationship with FPI while other macroeconomic variables were positively related to FPI. These variables are inversely related to FPI but Interest Rate, Exchange Rate and inflation rate were directly related to FPI. Granger causality results revealed that macroeconomic variables do not granger caused FPI. Macroeconomic variables were found to be statistically insignificant to FPI based on F-statistic computed value. Finally, the study found out that there was no run relationship existing between GDP, inflation rate, exchange rate, MS, interest rate and foreign portfolio investment. The study recommended that excellent macroeconomic policy performance and national’s investments strategic plan should made which will enhance efficient and optimal investments holding and management while paying significant attention to the development of infrastructures, and employment generation in the country. Keywords: Granger, Nigeria foreign portfolio investment, Macroeconomic variables, OLS, Significance
A Bayesian cost-effectiveness analysis of a telemedicine-based strategy for the management of sleep apnoea: a multicentre randomised controlled trial

Background Compliance with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is essential in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), but adequate control is not always possible. This is clinically important because CPAP can reverse the morbidity and mortality associated with OSA. Telemedicine, with support provided via a web platform and video conferences, could represent a cost-effective alternative to standard care management. Aim To assess the telemedicine impact on treatment compliance, cost-effectiveness and improvement in quality of life (QoL) when compared with traditional face-to-face follow-up. Methods A randomised controlled trial was performed to compare a telemedicine-based CPAP follow-up strategy with standard face-to-face management. Consecutive OSA patients requiring CPAP treatment, with sufficient internet skills and who agreed to participate, were enrolled. They were followed-up at 1, 3 and 6 months and answered surveys about sleep, CPAP side effects and lifestyle. We compared CPAP compliance, cost-effectiveness and QoL between the beginning and the end of the study. A Bayesian cost-effectiveness analysis with non-informative priors was performed. Results We randomised 139 patients. At 6 months, we found similar levels of CPAP compliance, and improved daytime sleepiness, QoL, side effects and degree of satisfaction in both groups. Despite requiring more visits, the telemedicine group was more cost-effective: costs were lower and differences in effectiveness were not relevant. Conclusions A telemedicine-based strategy for the follow-up of CPAP treatment in patients with OSA was as effective as standard hospital-based care in terms of CPAP compliance and symptom improvement, with comparable side effects and satisfaction rates. The telemedicine-based strategy had lower total costs due to savings on transport and less lost productivity (indirect costs). Trial register number NCT01716676.
Micronuclei, a biomarker for chemoprevention trials: Results of a randomized study in oral pre‐malignancy

Biomarkers are being sought that could serve as surrogate end points for chemoprevention trials. Micronuclei, cytoplasmic fragments of DNA, have been proposed as a biomarker and studied in oral pre‐malignancy. This study evaluated micronuclei frequency in a randomized chemoprevention trial of oral pre‐malignancy. A recent clinical trial evaluated the responses of pre‐malignant oral lesions to 3 months of therapy with isotretinoin followed by 9 months of either low‐dose isotretinoin or beta‐carotene. For 57 study participants, micronuclei were counted in mucosal scrapings of the lesion and in normalappearing mucosa at baseline and following 3 months and 12 months of therapy. Micronuclei counts were higher in scrapings from the lesion than in the normal‐appearing mucosa. Following 3 months of isotretinoin, the micronuclei counts in scrapings of the lesion were significantly reduced. With treatment, the mean micronuclei count declined at 3 months. In a randomized comparison, both isotretinoin and beta‐carotene maintained the suppression of micronuclei. The change in micronuclei count was not associated with the clinical or histological response to treatment. Chemoprevention treatment with isotretinoin led to a reduction in frequency of micronuclei, a marker of recent DNA injury, which was then maintained by both isotretinoin and beta‐carotene. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Pension Governance Deficit: Still with Us

A 1997 investigation into the quality of pension fund governance uncovered a wide-spread board competency problem. This follow-on study analyzes the findings of a new survey on pension fund governance, to which an international group of 88 senior pension fund executives responded. Survey responses indicate that the board competency problem has not disappeared. As was the case in 1997, we found a positive correlation between governance quality and fund performance. The new results also suggest that selection processes for members of the board of governors continue to often be haphazard. Self-evaluation of board effectiveness continues to be the exception rather than the rule. Weak oversight functions continue to lead to difficulties in sorting out the competing financial interests of differing stakeholder groups, and result in organization dysfunction. Examples are lack of delegation clarity between board and management responsibilities, board micro-management, and non-competitive compensation policies in pension funds. We recommend a number of specific actions to address the governance challenges that continue to face pension funds. We also recommend that regulators require pension funds to regularly report on the actions they are taking to strengthen their governance processes.
Characterization of a human melanoma cell line (KHm-1) containing phosphodiesterase activity only for cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate.

The cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity in homogenates of a human melanoma cell line (KHm-1) grown in tissue culture or as s.c. tumors in nude, athymic mice were studied. These tumor cells had several changes in their cyclic nucleotide metabolism as compared to the changes in normal tissues. KHm-1 has PDE active against cyclic adenosine 3′:5′-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) and not cyclic guanosine 3′:5′-monophosphate (cyclic GMP). No cyclic GMP PDE activity was detected in this cell line in the presence or absence of Ca2+ and protein activator. The properties of the cyclic AMP PDE activity in homogenates of the tumors were very similar to or identical with homogenates of the tissue culture cells. This passage of KHm-1 cells into animals did not induce any latent cyclic GMP PDE activity. Isoelectric focusing of the homogenates showed a decreased number of the more acidic forms of cyclic AMP PDE activities as compared to that of other tissues. Column chromatography and gel electrophoresis also showed that the PDE activity in KHm-1 was different from the normal tissue controls. No abnormalities in the activity of the endogenous protein activator were detected in either the tumor or tissue culture cell homogenates. When the 30,000 × g supernatant of tumor homogenates was separated by column chromatography, an activatable PDE fraction with activity equal to 25 to 30% of the predominant, nonactivatable form of PDE was found. In contrast to other studies on cancerous tissues, the basal cyclic AMP PDE was predominantly a high Km, nonactivatable PDE. In these cancerous cells, changes in both cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP PDE are present and appear to be intrinsic properties of the cells.
Consumer Response to a National Marketplace for Individual Health Insurance

The objective of this analysis is to simulate the difference between national and state-specific individual insurance markets on take-up of individual health insurance. This simulation analysis was completed in three steps. First, we reviewed the literature to characterize the state-specific individual insurance markets with respect to state regulations and to identify the effect of those regulations on health insurance premiums. Second, we used empirical data to develop premium estimates for the simulation that reflect case-mix as well as state-specific differences in health care markets. Third, we used a revised version of the 2005 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to complete a set of simulations to identify the impact of three different scenarios for national market development. (National market estimates are based on the simulation model with competition among all 50 states and moderate impact assumptions.) We find evidence of a significant opportunity to reduce the number of uninsured under a proposal to allow the purchase of health insurance across state lines. The best scenario to reduce the uninsured, numerically, is competition among all 50 states with one clear winner. The most pragmatic scenario, with a good impact, is one winner in each regional market.