Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The 1980 Hague Convention: The Need for an Advocacy Response to Protect Children in the Context of International Parental Child Abduction

This paper will focus on the practice of social work within the context of an international Hague Convention concerning children: the 1980 Hague Convention on The Civil Aspects of International Parental Child Abduction. After describing the programmes of International Social Service (ISS) Australia, this organisation's existing approaches to working with families affected by international parental child abduction will be specifically discussed as an example of practice within the context of that Convention. The paper highlights the benefits of social work practice and mediation-based services for families. Dilemmas of practice within a legal framework will then be considered, with particular reference to the trap of uncritical implementation of social work practice as a social control agent of the judicial system. Potential social work contributions in the area of analysis and critique through the perspectives offered by gendered analysis, human rights and children's rights, and the tradition of advocacy as an integral sphere of practice will be discussed, with the paper arguing that for social work to best meet the needs of children affected by this legislation, it must perform its vital functions of social and political critique, and individual and systemic advocacy.
Relationship marketing: why bother?

Purpose – This paper provides a general review of relationship marketing, its application to a business‐to‐business context and examines reasons for its failure.Design/methodology/approach – Reporting on the literature and two separate research investigations undertaken by the authors, research suggests there are few companies that succeed in developing relationship‐marketing programs that produce significant benefits to both parties. Discussion of theoretical aspects on relationship marketing is followed by examination of evidence from research.Findings – A series of potential failure points are identified and commented on in relation to the authors own research findings. This includes an analysis of how successful face‐to‐face interactions can be used to build relationships.Originality/value – This article synthesizes and critically evaluates the role of relationship marketing in business and poses the key question on partnership development that many business managers are struggling with today: why bot.
Corporate social responsibility: what are top hotel companies reporting?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the level of socially responsible behavior of the top ten hotel companies.Design/methodology/approach – This study used content analysis method to identify and describe social responsibility (SR) patterns in web sites, annual reports and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports for the top ten hotel companies as listed in Hotels magazine.Findings – The findings reveal that 80 percent of the hotel companies analyzed reported socially responsible activities relating to some form of charitable donations. A diversity policy was reported by 60 percent of the hotel companies, while 40 percent provided some mention of SR in their vision or mission statements. Some companies were highly focused on providing a balanced approach to SR while other hotel companies were less focused in their efforts. The areas of SR that seemed to be lacking with regards to reporting were environmental, and vision and values.Research limitations/implications – Future studies sho.
Motivating subcontractors to perform development and design tasks

It is now common place for management commentators to argue that Western assemblers should learn from and attempt to replicate Japanese practices. One of these key practices relates to the way in which Japanese assemblers work closely with subcontractors to cooperate on design and development work. Although there has been much discussion of the potential benefits to moving over to Japanese style practices, we suggest that less consideration has been given to what revisions in governance structures (incentives) such a shift necessitates. Specifically, we argue that in order to motivate cooperation, careful attention need be directed to the provision of incentives for investment in relation to specific (cooperative) skills. We formally model possibilities for cooperation between an assembler and subcontractor by considering the case where relation specific skills investment is dichotomous and non verifiable. In such a setting we show how the above alluded to cooperation may not automatically be forthcoming because the subcontractor fears being held up by an opportunistic assembler after committing to the investment. Thus, we stress that careful attention needs be directed to the design of governance structures in order to insure cooperation is actually achievable. We then show that cooperation can be fostered by adopting governance procedures which take the form of a promotion ladder. A property of such procedures is that the necessary promotion motivational costs required to induce skills investment is greater than the private cost to a subcontractor of making the investment. Thus, calls to encourage subcontractors to become involved in additional tasks, should not be interpreted as having a universal prescriptive appeal as it is not self evident that assemblers will always be better off if subcontractors perform these tasks given that rents have to be paid. We show that the assembler should only promote subcontractors whose ability is above a defined critical level. Thus, the results of our analysis facilitates the development of a more nuanced understanding of the net benefits of Japanese style cooperative working practices and provides enhanced implementation guidelines on what governance procedures should be used.
Total board remuneration and company performance

Using a hitherto neglected source of data, this paper combines executive emoluments with executive options to construct a broader measure of executive pay than has been possible in earlier British studies. The result of including the long-term share option component of pay along with the more commonly utilized short-term component of emoluments is to reveal executive pay as being significantly more sensitive to company performance than has previously been thought to be the case. The paper questions the current policy stance of British institutional investors and of the Greenbury Committee with respect to executive share options. Copyright 1996 by Royal Economic Society.
Gain-Enhanced Patch Antennas With Loading of Shorting Pins

A new gain-enhanced patch antenna with loading of shorting pins is proposed in this paper. Four metallic pins are symmetrically placed in the two diagonals of a square patch resonator to electrically short the patch and ground plane. These shorting pins tremendously perturb the field distribution beneath the patch due to their shunt inductive effect. As these four pins are moved outward along the two orthogonal diagonals away from the center, their influence on the field distribution over the patch is strengthened to gradually raise its dominant mode, i.e., TM010 mode, resonant frequency as the pin-to-pin spacing is enlarged. At a fixed resonant frequency, the overall area of this proposed patch antenna with four pins results to be increased. As such, its radiation directivity or gain gets to be enhanced due to the enlarged antenna area. After extensive analysis is executed, two square patch antennas with and without loaded pins are designed and fabricated. The simulated and measured results agree with each other, and they have evidently demonstrated that the radiation directivity can be enhanced up to 11.0 dBi, or about 2.9 dB increment, by virtue of the proposed approach.
The Great Halls of China? Meeting Planners’ Perceptions of Beijing as an International Convention Destination

This research focused on meeting planners’ perceptions about selecting Beijing as an international convention destination. Twenty-three convention destination site selection criteria organized into five categories were identified. It was found that, with respect to Beijing, the importance of site selection criteria has changed since the late 1990s, with meeting planners now attaching more weight to the quality of convention services, quality of convention planning assistance, and city image. The meeting planners who had previously held international conventions in Beijing attached greater importance to research and development cooperation opportunities and choice of accommodations than those who had not. They rated Beijing's performance lower on the convenience of the application process (required by Chinese governments) and government support. It was concluded that Beijing needs to improve most on the quality of convention services and convention planning assistance, and by relaxing government policies related to the holding of international conventions.
RP4 promotion of transfer of a large Agrobacterium plasmid which confers virulence.

Introduction of RP4 plasmid into Agrobacterium tumefaciens promotes the transfer on solid medium of large virulence-associated plasmids from virulent donor strains to a plasmidless avirulent recipient. Exconjugants were selected for the ability to utilize octopine or nopaline as the sole source of arginine, traits which are coded for by virulence-associated plasmids in the strains employed here. All exconjugants retained the arginine auxotrophy of the recipient strain, and were resistant to ampicillin and kanamycin, drugs to which RP4 confers resistance. Five exconjugant clones from one cross were shown by alkaline sucrose gradient analysis to contain both RP4 plasmid and the large virulence-associated plasmid of the donor strain. All five exconjugants exhibited virulence on carrot, sunflower and kalanchoe plants. These results indicate that virulence and the ability to degrade octopine are plasmid-borne traits in A. tumefaciens strains 15955 and A6, and extend the evidence that large plasmids in A. tumefaciens are vectors of virulence genes.
Sporting Activity Following Birmingham Hip Resurfacing

The purpose of the study was to assess whether patients who undergo hip resurfacing arthroplasty are able to take part in sporting activity following surgery. Sporting activity before and after surgery was assessed by means of a questionnaire in 43 patients who underwent a total of 51 hip resurfacing procedures. Thirty-three hips (65 %) participated in sports before surgery. This increased to 47 (92 %) following surgery. Fourteen out of the 18 hips (78 %) that did not participate in sports before surgery went on to take part in at least one sport following surgery. There were also significant increases in intensity and frequency of sports participation following surgery. In conclusion, patients who participate in sports before surgery are able to return to sports following the procedure. Furthermore a significant proportion of patients who did not do any sports before surgery are able to take part in sports after surgery.
Labor Unions and Firm Profitability under Different Political and Economic Environments: Evidence from Korea

This paper analyzes the effect of unions on the profitability of firms under different political and economic environments in Korea. During the authoritarian period (1981–1986), unions lowered firm profitability despite the repression by the state, due to the strong protection of individual workers and the weak discipline in the financial market. During the democratization period (1988–1996), unions lowered firm profitability, but only marginally more than they did during the authoritarian period. In the post-crisis period (1999–2007), unions did not lower firm profitability any longer given the relatively weak protection of individual workers and the stronger discipline in the financial market.
Rate Setting in the Utilities Industry: Does Size Make a Difference?

This study provides evidence that the "size effect," which has been investigated extensively in the literature, has not been considered by regulators in the utility rate setting process. In essence, the results indicate the rates assigned to both large and small utilities have not differed significantly in the past, statistically. However, to be consistent with the behavior observed in the competitive financial markets, the rates regulators set should be significantly higher for small utilities compared to large utilities. The fact that this was not observed might suggest inequities exist in the rate-setting process. Copyright 1994 by MIT Press.
Investor Base and Corporate Borrowing: Evidence from International Bonds

We examine international bond issues by US firms to study the benefits of investor taste for cross-border security issuances. We proxy for firms' international investor taste with the fraction of prior international bond holding in firms' domestic and international bonds and find that international investor demand increases with such taste. Moreover, the offering yield spreads on international bonds are lower than domestic offering yield spreads for these internationally recognized firms and they have higher probability of issuing internationally. Such international recognition may occur, for instance, if the diversification benefits of adding the security to investor's portfolio outweigh the negative effects of higher renegotiation costs for international compared to domestic investors.
Mitochondrial dysfunction and reduced prostaglandin synthesis in skeletal muscle of Group VIB Ca2+-independent phospholipase A2γ-deficient mice[S]

Group VIB Ca2+-independent phospholipase A2γ (iPLA2γ) is a membrane-bound iPLA2 enzyme with unique features, such as the utilization of distinct translation initiation sites and the presence of mitochondrial and peroxisomal localization signals. Here we investigated the physiological functions of iPLA2γ by disrupting its gene in mice. iPLA2γ-knockout (KO) mice were born with an expected Mendelian ratio and appeared normal and healthy at the age of one month but began to show growth retardation from the age of two months as well as kyphosis and significant muscle weakness at the age of four months. Electron microscopy revealed swelling and reduced numbers of mitochondria and atrophy of myofilaments in iPLA2γ-KO skeletal muscles. Increased lipid peroxidation and the induction of several oxidative stress-related genes were also found in the iPLA2γ-KO muscles. These results provide evidence that impairment of iPLA2γ causes mitochondrial dysfunction and increased oxidative stress, leading to the loss of skeletal muscle structure and function. We further found that the compositions of cardiolipin and other phospholipid subclasses were altered and that the levels of myoprotective prostanoids were reduced in iPLA2γ-KO skeletal muscle. Thus, in addition to maintenance of homeostasis of the mitochondrial membrane, iPLA2γ may contribute to modulation of lipid mediator production in vivo.
Signal Detection for Ambient Backscatter Communications Using Unsupervised Learning

Ambient backscatter communication (AmBC) has attracted much attention recently due to its low-cost and low power consumption in connecting billions of devices for future Internet-of-Things (IoT). Signal detection in AmBC can be a challenging issue because of the difficulty in estimating relevant channels, and the spectrum sharing nature of the AmBC system. In this paper, a novel machine learning inspired signal detection method is proposed for AmBC systems. This method exploits the features of the received signals directly and groups them into clusters through unsupervised learning. Furthermore, labeled bits from tag are transmitted for cluster-bit mapping to assist signal detection without estimating the channel coefficients and the noise power. Two detection approaches are proposed for the cases that the spreading gain N ≫ 1 and N = 1, where the features follow different mixture distributions. The detection thresholds are derived to optimize the detection performance using the learned parameters. Finally, extensive simulation results are provided to verify the performance of the proposed schemes.
Dihydrofolate Reductase Transcript Level Is Not Suitable for Methotrexate-Resistance Prediction in Choriocarcinoma Cell Line

Introduction: To assess whether dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) expression is correlated with the concentration of methotrexate (MTX) exposure and the resistance index during the establishment of MTX-resistant human choriocarcinoma JeG-3 cell line. Methods: Two series of different MTX-resistant JeG-3 sublines were established by intermittent- and consecutive-inducing methods. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to measure DHFR messenger RNA expression in the sublines during different concentrations of MTX exposure. &bgr;-Human chorionic gonadotropin (&bgr;-HCG) secretion in these cell lines were detected by using chemoluminescence method. Results: In the 2 series of MTX-resistant cell lines, the same dynamic profiling of &bgr;-HCG secretion and DHFR transcript level were found: At a certain range of concentration, the upward &bgr;-HCG secretion and the messenger RNA level of DHFR were correlated with the dose of MTX exposing. However, once the concentration of MTX exceeded this range, the expression would not increase but decrease sharply. According to the concentration of MTX exposure from low to high, the multiples of &bgr;-HCG increases were 1.86-, 5.15-, 8.38-, 64.17-, 2.6-, and 0.78-fold for intermittent induction and 22.05-, 6.12-, 5.80-, and 1.77-fold for continuous induction; the multiples of DHFR gene expression increases were 12.84-, 99.02-, 129.01-, 177.63-, 420.78-, and 86.09-fold for intermittent induction and 9.59-, 20.56-, 96.05-, and 58.72-fold for continuous induction. Conclusions: The transcript level of DHFR gene only correlated with MTX drug resistance at a certain phase. It would be of limited use as a biomarker for the MTX-based chemoresistance prediction.
Stress, Minister: government policy advisors and work stress

Purpose – The public management and the occupational stress literatures are both silent on stressors associated with the work of government policy advisors. This paper aims to fill that gap with an exploratory study to identify the potential work stressors for this occupation.Design/methodology/approach – In‐depth interviews with 13 policy advisors/managers in a single government department and a focus group with 11 policy managers from 11 government departments are reported.Findings – The stressors experienced can be clustered under the well accepted labels of role overload, control, culture, and interpersonal relationships. However, results indicate that the practical reality of these stressors in public sector policy advice environments is different from the generic concepts associated with the labels.Research limitations/implications – This paper underlines the importance of occupation‐specific understanding of stressors, and has implications at a workplace level for human resource management, and at .
The influence of protein:energy value of the ration and level of feed intake on the energy and nitrogen metabolism of the growing pig

1. The heat losses and energy and nitrogen balances of thirty-six individually-housed, entire male pigs (initial body-weight 18–30 kg) were measured over 7 d periods, when they were fed on rations containing 153, 201 and 258 g crude protein (nitrogen × 6·25; CP)/kg dry matter (DM). The rations also contained 16·29, 16·96 and 17·24 MJ metabolizable energy (ME)/kg DM so that the CP:ME values were 9·4, 11·8 and 15·0 g CP/MJ ME respectively. Each ration was given at three levels, 20, 35 and 50 g feed/kg body-weight per d, thus giving nine dietary treatments. The experiments were carried out at an environmental temperature of 22 (±1)°. 2. Heat loss (H) increased significantly (P < 0·01) with increase in ME intake. The rate of increase in H was not, however, influenced by the protein content of the ration. Thus, energy retention (ER) at any given level of ME intake was independent of the ration offered. From the relationship between ER and ME, estimates of the maintenance energy requirement (MEm) and the partial efficiency of energy utilization (k) were determined. MEm varied within the range 494–568 kJ/kg body-weight0·75 per d, while k varied from 0·70 to 0·76. 3. Both energy and protein intakes had a significant influence upon the rates of protein (P) and fat (F) deposition, and hence body-weight gain. At any given level of feed intake P was higher and F lower the higher the protein content of the ration. However, when compared at similar levels of protein intake, both P and F were reduced the higher the protein content of the ration. 4. From the multiple regression equations relating P and F to ME, individual estimates of MEm and the energetic efficiencies of protein (kp) and fat (kF) depositions were determined. Using an overall mean kF value of 0·86, it was calculated that MEm ranged from 462 to 525 kJ/kg body-weight0·75 per d while kp varied from 0·48 to 0·55. The significance of these estimates of kp are discussed in the light of their derivations and in relation to theoretical values.
Bean Seed Delivery for Small Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Power of Partnerships

New bean varieties translate into increased on-farm yields only if farmers obtain access to desired seed. Conventional models of legume seed delivery in Africa, centralized with the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), prove to be slow and of limited reach. This article describes a novel strategy for seed outreach, the Wider Impact Program, initiated within the 18 countries of the Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance. Select technical results (on bean seed quality, farmer-to-farmer diffusion, and new variety demand) informed the program design. However, it was significant modification in partnerships that served as the catalyst for achieving fast and widespread diffusion of new bean varieties. Redefining the divisions of labor within the seed supply chain, sharpening the role of each partner, and bringing diverse actors together provided the base for the network's enhanced impact. Assessments show 3.8 million households reached with new varieties from 2003 to 2005 in the six countries most closely monitored.
Pricing Decision in Small Firms: Theory and Practice

Aims to study the pricing decisions of small firms. Conventional wisdom argues that small firms tend to use relatively unsophisticated methods of pricing; however, indicates that small firms may in fact be a good deal more sophisticated in their techniques of pricing than has previously been supposed. Reviews the theory and empirical evidence to date and notes a significant gap in the research into small business pricing. Using a case study method based on 12 detailed cases of the pricing policies of small companies, concludes that there is little evidence to support the findings of previous studies which indicated the predominance of full‐cost pricing. It was found that small companies avoided “head‐on” competition and sought to exploit their own market niche as a means of exercising more control over their prices.