Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Processing of CSR communication: insights from the ELM

Purpose – Based on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), the purpose of this paper is to examine if stakeholders with high vs low corporate social responsibility (CSR) involvement differ in their processing of CSR communication, which could influence companies to adapt their CSR communication to the different ways of processing (central route vs peripheral route). Design/methodology/approach – In this study, 107 participants received information about a fictitious company. In the first phase, participants were given initial information about the company. In the second phase, participants were given the company’s CSR newsletter. To compare the differences in information processing dependent on the CSR involvement, the sample was split at the median. Findings – The study found that dependent on their CSR involvement, people differ in their processing of CSR communication as well as in their expectations for persuasive CSR communication. Research limitations/implications – To further examine how involvemen.
Modeling Host-Microbiome Interactions in Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract The microbiome influences host processes including nutritional availability, development, immunity, and behavioral responses. Caenorhabditis elegans is a powerful model to study molecular mechanisms of host–microbial interactions. Recent efforts have been made to profile the natural microbiome of C. elegans, laying a foundation for mechanistic studies of host–microbiome interactions in this genetically tractable model system. Studies using single-species microbes, multi-microbial systems, and humanized worm–microbiome interaction studies reveal metabolic and microbial–microbial interactions relevant in higher organisms. This article discusses recent developments in modeling the effects of host–microbiome interactions in C. elegans.
Legitimacy and Identity in Germanic Management Accounting Research

Abstract The notion of ‘Controlling’, as it is commonly used in German-speaking countries, may be regarded as an equivalent term for management accounting. At the same time, there have been considerable efforts to establish Controlling as a discipline on its own, rather than to regard it simply as the German synonym of management accounting. This is reflected in many writings on Controlling which have tried to identify a possible ‘core’ or ‘essence’ of the subject. In this paper, we argue that this identity discourse may be interpreted as a strategy of Controlling researchers to achieve cognitive and sociopolitical legitimacy of their discipline. Drawing on interview material as well as publication and citation analyses, we show how various institutional pressures and constraints not only influenced the institutionalization of Controlling as an academic discipline but also impacted the form and substance of Controlling research. This raises some important questions for our understanding of academic disciplines more generally, some of which we address in this paper.
Effect of clothing ventilation on thermal insulation and vapor resistance

In this study, ventilation of clothing microenvironment, thermal insulation and vapor resistance of two jackets made of different materials were measured locally at front, back, side and arm by using an articulated thermal manikin in a controlled climate chamber (29±1°C, 40±10%RH). The various conditions of microenvironment ventilation were created by making the manikin stand and walk, combined with three wind speeds of <0.15, 0.4 and 2.0m/s respectively. The analysis of the measurement results showed that clothing ventilation affected vapor resistance more than it did thermal insulation. The effects of ventilation also varied because of different ways of ventilation arising: penetration through the fabric was proven to be the most effective way in vapor diffusion although it does not seem helpful for heat diffusion.
Public Investment in Transportation Infrastructure and Economic Performance in Portugal

In this paper, we use a VAR approach to investigate the effects of public investment in transportation infrastructures on private investment, employment, and output in Portugal. Estimation results suggest that public investment crowds in private investment and employment, and has a strong positive effect on output. We estimate that one euro in public investment increases output in the long-term by 9.5 euros, which corresponds to a rate of return of 15.9%. These figures imply that there are strong long-term budgetary benefits from public investment in the form of increased future tax revenues. A closer look at the effects of different types of public investment uncovers the same general patterns. These results are very important from a public policy perspective. They suggest that the strategy followed by the Portuguese authorities of investing in public infrastructures is justified, both from a long-term development perspective and a long-term public budgetary perspective. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2005.
Localism in practice: insights from two Tasmanian case studies

There is a growing need to develop and implement new forms of governance that respond to the increasing complexity of decision making and balance the roles of government and local citizens. Localism is (re)emerging as an alternative to traditional ‘top-down’ governance strategies which are criticised for their failure to adequately respond to the diversity of community needs. This article uses two case studies to explore how localism works in practice, the Tasmanian Drought Support Network and the Tasmanian Forest Agreement. Four dimensions of adaptive governance are used to critically identify the benefits and limitations of localism as a governance approach, exploring the approaches capacity for social and economic entrepreneurship, governance quality and the utilisation and enhancement of individual capacities. These empirical findings will help policy makers and community members better understand localism and guide the development of theory around localism and its future practice.
Control of photoperiodic inhibition of luteinizing hormone secretion by dopaminergic and serotonergic systems in ovariectomized Ile-de-France ewes supplemented with oestradiol.

The role of dopaminergic and serotonergic systems on LH secretion was investigated in Ile-de-France ewes under different artificial inhibitory photoperiodic regimens. All animals were ovariectomized at the end of the breeding season, chronically treated with an oestradiol implant, and subjected to various changes in daylength for 9 months to inhibit or stimulate their LH secretion. Plasma LH concentration was assessed by taking blood samples twice a week throughout the experiment. The effects of acute intravenous injections of the dopaminergic2 receptor antagonist pimozide (0.08 mg kg-1) and the 5-hydroxytryptamine2 (5HT2) receptor antagonist cyproheptadine (3 mg kg-1) on LH pulsatility were assessed during challenges in four different situations: (1) long days (LD); (2) before short-day response (SD); (3) during refractoriness to short days (RSD); and (4) during inhibition by long days (ILD). LH in blood samples collected twice a week remained low during long days (0.59 +/- 0.03; mean +/- SEM), increased 45 +/- 1.5 days after the onset of short days and decreased 132 +/- 4.9 days later when ewes became refractory to short days, whereas ewes subjected to long days after 91 short days stopped their neuroendocrine activity 19 days earlier (113 +/- 4.7) (P < 0.01). In comparison with the pre-injection period, pimozide significantly increased the mean number of pulses in SD and RSD ewes, but not in LD and ILD ewes: SD: 0 versus 0.45 pulses in 4 h (P < 0.02); RSD: 0 versus 0.9 (P = 0.05). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Electoral Rules and Voter Turnout

The paper investigates the effect of electoral rules on voter turnout. It focuses on Italian municipalities, where voting schemes are differentiated by the size of the city: a single ballot system applies to municipalities with less than 15,000 inhabitants, while a dual ballot system is in place above that threshold. By exploiting this discontinuity, the paper finds that the dual ballot increases participation at the local polls, with an estimated effect of about 1 percentage point. The increase in voter turnout is associated with wider political representation, politicians of higher quality, greater fiscal discipline, and more robust local development. Finally, we document that the higher political participation triggered by local electoral rules extends to nationwide voting contexts.
Risk Management Lessons from ‘Knock‐in Knock‐out’ Option Disaster*

Currency knock-in knock-out (KIKO) options had been widely used for hedging exchange rate risks in Korean financial markets. However, as the Korean won moved in an unexpected direction during the global financial crisis period of 2007 and 2008, the hedging instruments incurred huge losses to the option holders. In this paper, we analyze the event from the viewpoint of risk assessment and management. We find that, first, if the option holders had assessed the risk levels with and without the KIKO options by using standard risk measures like value-at-risk or conditional value-at-risk, then many KIKO option contracts would not have been justifiable from the beginning. Second, having a proper view on the exchange rate dynamics turned out to be crucial for risk assessment and management. If the companies had a proper view instead of a myopic view on the exchange rate movement, then the KIKO options might not have been chosen. Finally, ‘hedge-and-forget’ behavior proved to be very costly and reckless. If the companies had continuously assessed and managed their risks, then the losses from the KIKO options could have been significantly mitigated. Some relevant pricing issues are also investigated. We find that most KIKO option contracts under study might not be significantly overpriced. However, potential impacts of the possible mispricing could be considerable in some cases. Nonetheless, the risk management failure proved to be more important for the KIKO option losses than the possible mispricing problem.
Jewish Perspectives on Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia

Editor's Note: On September 19, 1998 Professor Emeritus at Hebrew University, Ze'ev Falk died during the preparation of this manuscript. His place as a major contemporary scholar in the field of law and religion led the editors to publish here that portion of the manuscript Professor Falk had completed, plus references he intended to explore in later sections of the manuscript. At present, the question arises, with respect to terminal patients, whether certain life can be considered worthwhile and reconcilable with human dignity. As a result of Kantian philosophy, modern people tend to assume that human beings are able, and should aspire, to make judgments regarding their life and bodies as well as their souls. In this view, a patient should be given full information about his or her situation and about the alternatives. Using this information, he or she should have the capacity to decide by him/herself what course of action is to be taken. In the modern view, even a patient in a coma should be treated according to the expression of his or her will, for example as formulated in a “Living Will. ” Biblical and rabbinical thought seem to have reflected an understanding for suicide. However, suicide belies a key issue unique to Judaism: why, in the course of Jewish suffering and Judaism's struggle to survive, suicide became unacceptable.
Implementing integrated management systems in chemical firms

The main objective of this research is to study how management system standards can be integrated into a single system in organisations from the chemical industry. Data for this study include a survey carried out in 76 organisations, registered with, at a minimum, both the ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 standards for quality and environmental management, 17 of which were from the chemical industry. Additionally, six case studies are illustrated, revealing the process of integration of three chemical and three non-chemical organisations. The first conclusion to be drawn from this study is that organisations seem to prefer integration over keeping their management systems (MSs) separated, with these MSs evolving towards a state of complete integration. Although there are no significant differences between chemical and non-chemical firms regarding the benefits and difficulties of integration, the interviews and survey answers illustrated a number of benefits experienced by the companies from operating one integrated system, such as synergism promotion and cost savings for the firm, as well as a reduction of the time spent when managing the systems. However, some difficulties, such as the lack of human resources and the lack of employees' motivation, also arose during the integration process.
Characteristics of Medicare Advantage and Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries Upon Enrollment in Medicare at Age 65

Previous research has found differences in characteristics of beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare fee-for-service versus Medicare Advantage (MA), but there has been limited research using more recent MA enrollment data. We used 1997-2005 National Health Interview Survey data linked to 2000-2009 Medicare enrollment data to compare characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries before their initial enrollment into Medicare fee-for-service or MA at age 65 and whether the characteristics of beneficiaries changed from 2006 to 2009 compared with 2000 to 2005. During this period of MA growth, the greatest increase in enrollment appears to have come from those with no chronic conditions and men.
Asymptotic uniqueness of the sliding state for charge-density waves.

Analytic results are presented for the dynamic behavior of sliding charge-density waves (CDW's) and related extended nonlinear systems with randomness. It is shown that, in the limit of long times, a sliding configuration approaches a unique solution. In CDW models, the velocity of this asymptotic solution is periodic in time. These results explain previous numerical observations, simplify further analysis and simulation, and have direct experimental implications
Toxicity of Senna occidentalis seeds in laying hens and its effects on egg production

ABSTRACT Senna occidentalis is a toxic leguminous plant found in many tropical and subtropical regions of the world and causes poisoning mainly in confined animals. The seeds are the most toxic part of the plant and may be present in animal rations. The main toxic component of the S. occidentalis seed is a dianthrone, an anthraquinone-derived compound that affects mitochondrial function. This study evaluated the effects on egg production of low-level contamination of the S. occidentalis in the laying hens’ diet. Forty-eight one-day-old pullets were randomly allocated into two treatment groups: control, birds that received no experimental treatment; and external and internal tegument (ET/IT), birds that received a diet containing 0.2% of ET/IT of S. occidentalis seeds throughout their life cycle (42 weeks). The birds were monitored for clinical signs of poisoning, and the production and quality of eggs were recorded. Necropsies were conducted at the end of the experimental period. None of the layers showed any clinical signs of poisoning, decreases in feed intake or alterations of the body weight gain. A marked reduction in egg production and, consequently, a lower feed efficiency in ET/IT group were measured. Ovaries were the most affected organ in birds from the ET/IT group, and yolk leaking and dysplasia of the inner layer of the vitelline membrane were observed. S. occidentalis was shown to be toxic for laying hens. Considering these results, it is feasible to assume that the constant presence of low concentrations of S. occidentalis seeds in rations represents a threat to the poultry industry.
Low-Wage Employment and Mobility in Spain

The issue of low-wage workers has received increased interest during last decades in many European countries. In this paper I analyse the patterns of low-wage employment in the Spanish labour market. Using a sample of Spanish workers extracted from the European Community Household Panel for the period 1995-2001, I first analyse the earnings distribution as a whole, looking at the characteristics of low, medium and high paid jobs. I also look at the evolution of these jobs over the period 1995-2001. Furthermore, I examine the determinants of being in a low-paid job using an analytical framework that is characterised by the ability to account for the endogeneity of initial conditions. Finally, I explore the effects of low pay on job mobility. For this purpose I adopt an approach based on competing risks in order to allow for different risks of failure.
Lack of expression of galectin-3 is associated with a poor outcome in node-negative patients with laryngeal squamous-cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE Galectin-3 is a pleiotropic carbohydrate-binding protein participating in a variety of normal and pathologic processes, including cancer progression. This study was aimed at evaluating the prognostic value of galectin-3 expression in node-negative laryngeal squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS Galectin-3 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry using M3/38 monoclonal antibody, in a single-institution series of 73 node-negative laryngeal SCC patients (median follow-up, 52 months; range, 2 to 90 months). RESULTS Forty-two (57.5%) of 73 patients expressed galectin-3. Galectin-3 expression was positively associated with tumor keratinization and histologic grade. A significant correlation was found between galectin-3 tumor positivity and longer relapse-free and overall survival. In univariate analysis, high-grade (grade 3 or 4) tumors, nonkeratinizing tumors, and galectin-3-negative tumors showed a significantly increased risk of relapse and death. In multivariate analysis, only galectin-3 expression retained an independent prognostic significance for both relapse-free and overall survival. CONCLUSION We conclude that the absence of galectin-3 expression is an independent negative prognostic marker in laryngeal SCC patients. Thus, histochemical detection of galectin-3 in these tumors could be useful for the selection of node-negative patients with potentially unfavorable outcomes, to establish adjuvant therapy protocols.
Delegated portfolio management and optimal allocation of portfolio managers

In this article, we investigate whether the application of the mean-variance framework on portfolio manager allocation offers any out-of-sample benefits compared to a naïve strategy of equal weighting. Based on an exclusive data-set of high-net-worth (HNW) investors, we utilize a wide variety of methodologies to estimate the input parameters including exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA), generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) and Bayes–Stein shrinkage estimation. We apply nine different mean-variance models, but find that none of these present any consistent benefit over a naïve strategy of equal weighting.
Locoregionally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: Induction Chemotherapy with Cisplatin and 5-Fluorouracil Followed by Radiotherapy and Concurrent Cisplatin

Background: Chemoradiotherapy is the current standard of care for locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and efficacy of induction chemotherapy (CHT) followed by concomitant chemoradiotherapy in this patient population. Patients and Methods: In this single-arm, phase II study, patients with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma were treated with 3 cycles of induction CHT with cisplatin (100 mg/m2 on day 1) and 5-fluorouracil (1,000 mg/m2 continuous infusion on days 1–4) followed by 3 cycles of cisplatin (100 mg/m2 on days 1, 22 and 43) and concurrent radiotherapy up to 70 Gy. The primary endpoint was objective response. Results: Thirty-four patients were enrolled, and all completed both induction treatment and subsequent chemoradiotherapy. Objective response rates were 79.4% (95% CI 62.1–91.3) and 85.3% (95% CI 68.9–95.0) after induction CHT and chemoradiation, respectively. Treatment was well tolerated and toxicity was manageable. At a median follow-up of 29 months, 3-year overall survival and progression-free survival rates are 80.0% (95% CI 0.64–0.95) and 54.0% (95% CI 0.36–0.73), respectively. Conclusions: Induction CHT with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil followed by concomitant chemoradiotherapy is a feasible and active regimen for patients with stage IIB–IVB nasopharyngeal carcinoma. This regimen resulted in excellent locoregional disease control and overall survival.
Insurance demand under ambiguity
and conflict for extreme risks: Evidence
from a large representative survey

This paper investigates how the general public behaves when confronted with low probability events and ambiguity in an insurance context. It reports the results of a questionnaire completed by a large representative sample of the French population that aims at separating attitudes toward risk, imprecision and conflict and at determining if there is a demand for ambiguous and extreme event risks. The data show a strong distinction between two aspects of the problem : the decision of purchasing insurance and the willingness to pay. In the decision to insure, more than 25% of the respondents refuse to buy insurance and people are more willing to insure in a risky situation than in an ambiguous one. This certain taste for risk can be explained by the respondents' observable characteristics. In addition, it highlights a lack of confidence in the insurance markets. When it comes to willingness to pay, people exhibit ambiguity seeking behaviors. They are willing to pay more under risk than under ambiguity (embracing here imprecision and conflict), revealing that people consider ambiguous situations as inferior. Furthermore, respondents behave differently under imprecision and conflict. They exhibit a preference for consensual information and dislike conflicts. However, the willingness to pay is poorly correlated with observable characteristics.
[Demonstration of a granulocyte defect in aged persons correlated with the presence of autoantibodies].

Assessment of PMN leukocyte function and search for autoantibodies were performed in 36 aged human subjects (more than 60 years of age) and in 15 younger controls (40 to 60 years of age). Autoantibodies were found in 15 of the 36 aged subjects, and in none of the controls. Leukocyte function defects were therefore correlated to old age and to markers of autoimmunity. Phagocytosis of bacteria was significantly impaired in both groups of old-aged subjects, irrespective to the presence or absence of autoimmunity. Intracellular killing of bacteria was shown to be normal in all the examined subjects. Nitroblue tetrazolium reduction by resting and latex-stimulated leukocytes was significantly impaired only in the group of old-aged subjects with autoimmunity. These leukocyte function defects are similar to those already described in human autoimmune diseases -- particularly S.I.E. -- and confirm the possible association between P.M. N. dysfunction and autoimmunity.