Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Safta: Living in a World of Regional Trade Agreements

The paper evaluates the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) within the global structure of overlapping regional trade agreements (RTAs) using a modified gravity equation. First, it examines the effects of the Trade Liberalization Program which started in 2006. SAFTA would have a minor effect on regional trade flows and the impact on custom duties would be a manageable fiscal shock for most members. Second, the paper ranks the trade effects of other potential RTAs for individual South Asian countries and SAFTA: RTAs with North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the European Union (EU) dominate one with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Budgets and Financial Management in Higher Education

Figures, Tables, and Exhibits ix Preface xi About the Authors xv 1. The Fiscal Context and the Role of the Budget Manager 1 2. Primary Elements of the Budget: Revenue and Expenses 29 3. Understanding Budgets 55 4. Management of the Budget Cycle 87 5. Understanding Auxiliary and Capital Budgets 119 6. Problems and Pitfalls in Budget Management 139 7. Managing Budget Fluctuations 163 Glossary of Terms 191 Index 197
Changing patterns of marriage and cohabitation in South Africa

In this study, we investigate recent trends in marriage and cohabitation in South Africa. We use national micro-data to describe how marriage rates diverge sharply by race, with African women far less likely than White women to be ever-married and more likely to be never-married and not cohabiting with a partner. Large racial differences in marital status are evident also among women who are mothers, helping to explain why the majority of African children do not live in the same households as their fathers. We discuss these trends and patterns by reviewing particularly recent research, which suggests that there are economic constraints to marriage, and which explores possible links between widespread support for the custom of bridewealth and low marriage and cohabitation rates among African women, even in the context of childbirth.
Construct Validity of Averting Cost Measures of Environmental Benefits

Construct validity is concerned with the consistency of empirical measures with theoretical relationships. This paper reviews and extends the theoretical relationship between averting costs and willingness to pay. Measures of these two theoretical constructs with empirical averting costs savings and contingent valuation from one population are used to establish construct validity of the averting cost technique used. Empirical results indicate that the contingent valuation and averting costs measures have a low correlation. Although low correlation is consistent with the construct validity of averting costs measures, these results indicate that inferences from averting cost measures are quite limited.
Enhancing Singapore travel agencies' customer loyalty: an empirical investigation of customers' behavioural intentions and zones of tolerance

The services marketing literature focuses on the measurement of service quality and its impact and consequences on businesses. Set in the context of the travel retail agency in Singapore, this study focuses on the relationship between service quality and favourable behavioural intentions. The findings revealed that improving service quality can increase favourable behavioural intentions. However, service improvements that exceed customers' minimum-service threshold and those that exceed customers' desired-service level were found to have mixed effect on behavioural intentions. Hence travel agencies must carefully determine the behavioural intentions they wish to foster amongst their various customers and develop service quality strategies in line with the findings of this study. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Impact of continuous venovenous hemofiltration on organ failure during the early phase of severe sepsis: A randomized controlled trial*

Objective:The impact of continuous venovenous hemofiltration on sepsis-induced multiple organ failure severity is controversial. We sought to assess the effect of early application of hemofiltration on the degree of organ dysfunction and plasma cytokine levels in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock. Design:Prospective, randomized, open, multicenter study setting, 12 French intensive care units. Patients:A total of 80 patients were enrolled within 24 hours of development of the first organ failure related to a new septic insult. Interventions:Patients were randomized to group 1 (HF), who received hemofiltration (25 mL/kg/hr) for a 96-hour period, or group 2 (C) who were managed conventionally. Measurements and Main Results:The primary end point was the number, severity, and duration of organ failures during 14 days, as evaluated by the Sepsis-Related Organ Failure Assessment score, on an intention-to-treat analysis. Strict guidelines were provided to perform continuous hemofiltration under the same conditions and bearing the same objectives in all centers. Because of inclusion stagnation, the trial was discontinued after an interim analysis by which time 76 patients had been randomized. The number and severity of organ failures were significantly higher in the HF group (p < 0.05). No modifications in plasma cytokine levels could be detected. Conclusion:These data suggest that early application of standard continuous venovenous hemofiltration is deleterious in severe sepsis and septic shock. This study does not rule out an effect of high-volume hemofiltration (>35 mL/kg/hr) on the course of sepsis.
Photosynthetic activity of US biomes: responses to the spatial variability and seasonality of precipitation and temperature

We examined the response of the normalized difference vegetation index, integrated over the growing season (gNDVI) to mean precipitation, maximum temperature (Tmax), and minimum temperature (Tmin) over an 11‐year period (1990–2000) for six biomes in the conterminous United States. We focused on within‐ and across‐biome variance in long‐term average gNDVI, emphasizing the degree to which this variance is explained by spatial gradients in long‐term average seasonal climate. Since direct measurements of ecosystem function are unavailable at the spatial and temporal scales studied, we used the satellite‐based gNDVI as a proxy for net photosynthetic activity.
Relationship Between Obesity and Plantar Pressure Distribution in Youths with Down Syndrome

ObjectiveThis study aimed to characterize the effect of obesity on foot-ground contact in young individuals affected by Down syndrome (DS) during quiet upright stance. DesignThis is a cross-sectional study on 118 individuals with Down syndrome, 59 with obesity aged 3–18 yrs and 59 with normal weight, age- and sex-matched forming the control group. Both groups were evaluated while standing on a pressure-sensitive mat. Foot-ground contact was characterized using contact area and mean pressure calculated for the rearfoot, the midfoot, and the forefoot. ResultsThe results show that obesity significantly influences the foot-ground interaction, with some differences related to sex. In particular, the females with obesity exhibited larger contact areas and higher plantar pressures (in the forefoot and the midfoot) with respect to the control group, whereas in the males with obesity, only the plantar pressures were found higher than those of the controls. Flatfoot is the prevalent arch type for both groups, but its incidence seems to be unrelated to obesity. ConclusionsThe modifications introduced by obesity in foot-ground contact pressure and area may represent a factor capable of aggravating existing negative podiatric issues associated with Down syndrome. Thus, planning periodical monitoring of foot-ground contact during childhood and adolescence is recommended to avoid possible problems related to adverse effects of repeated excessive mechanical stresses on the plantar region.
Genetic and physical mapping and expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa of the chromosomally encoded ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase genes of Alcaligenes eutrophus

We have previously shown that functional ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPCase, rbc) genes in Alcaligenes eutrophus ATCC 17707 are present both on the chromosome and on the indigenous plasmid pAE7. Here we demonstrate that the chromosomal rbc locus encodes both a large (rbcL)- and a small (rbcS)-subunit gene. A 2.3-kilobase DNA fragment containing both subunit genes was subcloned into the broad-host-range vector pRK310 to yield plasmid pAE312. This plasmid was transferred into Pseudomonas aeruginosa in which expression of both the rbcL and rbcS genes took place, as demonstrated by Western blot analysis. A high level of RuBPCase activity was observed for P. aeruginosa(pAE312), suggesting that assembly of the subunits took place. Plasmid pAE312 was mutagenized with Tn5 in Escherichia coli. Complementation of A. eutrophus RuBPCase structural gene mutants with pAE312 containing mapped Tn5 insertions allowed functional analysis of the rbc gene region. The polar effect of the Tn5 insertions suggested that the two subunit genes were cotranscribed in A. eutrophus, with rbcL located promoter proximal. Northern blot analysis of total RNA from P. aeruginosa(pAE312) confirmed cotranscription of the two subunit genes. DNA probes containing both the rbcL and rbcS genes, or fragments of each gene, all hybridized to a predominant transcript about 2.1-kilobases long. These observations indicate that the chromosomally encoded rbcL and rbcS genes of A. eutrophus constitute an operon.
Users’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility and accountability: evidence from an emerging economy

This study sets out to investigate the perception of different users of corporate information about the notion of the accountability process and the possibility of widening the scope of the current corporate annual report in Qatar to include social responsibility information. To achieve this objective, four user groups were invited to take part in the study. The outcome of the analysis revealed that most of those who took part in the study would like to see corporate social responsibility information disclosed, either in a separate section, or as part of the board of directors’ statement within the annual report. To achieve accountability, the respondents believe that a law that encourages the disclosure of corporate social responsibility information should be introduced, and different parties within the society should have the right to such information.
Political Uncertainty and Corporate Investment Cycles

We document cycles in corporate investment corresponding with the timing of national elections around the world. During election years, firms reduce investment expenditures by an average of 4.8% relative to nonelection years, controlling for growth opportunities and economic conditions. The magnitude of the investment cycles varies with different country and election characteristics. We investigate several potential explanations and find evidence supporting the hypothesis that political uncertainty leads firms to reduce investment expenditures until the electoral uncertainty is resolved. These findings suggest that political uncertainty is an important channel through which the political process affects real economic outcomes.
The Impact of Employee Training on Job Satisfaction and Intention to Stay in the Hotel Industry

ABSTRACT Training has been found to link with improving job satisfaction and employee intention to stay. The purposes of this research were to investigate the expectations and perceptions of training quality between hotel managers and employees, and to suggest implications for improving training quality and increasing training satisfaction, job satisfaction, and intention to stay among employees in the hotel industry. The conceptual model of this study was developed based on SERVQUAL and the ServiceProfit Chain model. T-test showed that employees perceived low training quality, which suggested employees were not satisfied with training quality and that training quality needed improvement. Results of regression analysis showed that training was positively related to training satisfaction and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction led positively to intention to stay. The indirect effect of training quality on intention to stay was mediated by job satisfaction. This study suggests more understanding of the importance of training quality and its consequences, and to pay more attention to employee training.
Uncertainty, Real Options, and Cost Behavior: Evidence from Washington State Hospitals

This study tests an implication of the real-options theory of investment, that uncertainty leads firms to prefer technologies with low fixed and high variable costs. In 1983, a change in Medicare reimbursement increased the uncertainty of revenues for hospitals. Using a sample of 831 departments in 59 Washington State hospitals over the 19771994 period, we find that the ratio of variable to total costs increased after 1983. This increase is not attributable to a gradual increase in the ratio over time: We estimate a significant increase after 1983 even after controlling for a time trend. Further, we find a greater increase in the variable-to-total cost ratio for hospitals that had higher percentages of Medicare patients, increasing our confidence in the conclusion that the change in cost behavior is attributable to Medicare`s change in reimbursement.
How Do Anticipated Changes to Short-Term Market Rates Influence Banks' Retail Interest Rates? Evidence from the Four Major Euro Area Economies

In this paper we argue that banks anticipate short-term market rates when setting interest rates on loans and deposits. In order to include anticipated rates in an empirical model, we use two methods to forecast market rates - a level, slope, curvature model and a principal components model - before including them in a model of retail rate adjustment for four retail rates in four major euro area economies. Using both aggregate data and data from individual French banks, we find a significant role for forecasts of market rates in determining retail rates; alternative specifications with futures information yield comparable results.
Persistence of volatility in futures markets

This article examines the characteristics of key measures of volatility for different types of futures contracts to provide a better foundation for modeling volatility behavior and derivative values. Particular attention is focused on analyzing how different measures of volatility affect volatility persistence relationships. Intraday realized measures of volatility are found to be more persistent than daily measures, the type of GARCH procedure used for conditional volatility analysis is critical, and realized volatility persistence is not coherent with conditional volatility persistence. Specifically, although there is a good fit between the realized and conditional volatilities, no coherence exists between their degrees of persistence, a counterintuitive finding that shows realized and conditional volatility measures are not a substitute for one another. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 26:571–594, 2006
Inbreeding effects on fertility and sterility in southern India

The effects of consanguineous marriages on couples' fertility and sterility were explored through an interview survey of 20 626 women, chosen randomly from the rural and urban areas of the North Arcot District of Tamil Nadu State. Qualified women investigators obtained relevant information about reproductive performances of all married women resident in well defined rural and urban samples chosen randomly from North Arcot District. For each marriage, a family pedigree was drawn, extending upwards to two earlier generations on both sides of each spouse, in order to determine the existence and type of consanguinity involved. Of marriages in rural areas, 46·9% were consanguineous, and in urban areas, 29·1%. In more than 80% of the consanguineous marriages, the spouses were first cousins or more closely related. The extent of primary and secondary sterility and the level of fertility were examined in relation to each type of consanguineous marriage with the duration of the marriage and the age of the woman. The frequency of primary sterility appeared to be lower in the consanguineous marriages compared to that in the non-consanguineous marriages. However, the differences were only marginal and only occasionally attained statistical significance. No trends were seen in the degree of consanguineous relationship, and there did not appear to be any association with the duration of marriage or the age of the woman. The frequencies of secondary sterility did not differ significantly in consanguineous marriages in either the rural or the urban areas. No consistent associations were observed with degree of relationship. There were no specific associations in terms of the duration of marriage or the age of the woman observed in the frequencies of secondary sterility. The mean levels of fertility were slightly raised among the consanguineous marriages and attained significance merely because of the large sample sizes involved. These findings are discussed and compared with relevant published work. Comparisons are made difficult because of paucity of data based on community studies, and also because great differences exist in the methodology adopted by various investigators. The findings from the present study seem to show that long-term inbreeding results in only marginal or non-significant effects on fertility of inbred populations.
Nature-based Tourists: The Relationship Between their Trip Expenditures and Activities

This paper investigates the relationship between four groups of trip activities and the daily expenditures of a sample of visitors at two nature-based attractions in Northern Norway. The paper also examines some other potential factors by adopting a widely utilised twofold segmentation approach: light versus heavy spenders. The results of the logistic regression analysis indicate that there is a significant relationship between the importance attached to travel activities by nature-based tourists and their daily expenditure on a current trip. More specifically, the more individuals consider visiting historic/cultural sites as an important activity on their journey, the more likely they are to be light spenders, whereas the more they consider ‘challenging nature-based activities’ as important, the more likely that they will be classified as heavy spenders. The investigation additionally finds that travel motives, though to a lesser degree, when taken in tandem with variables such as trip length, trip purpose, age and household income, influence nature tourists’ daily expenditure.
Going Private Buyouts and Determinants of Shareholders' Returns

This paper examines the effect on stock and nonconvertible bond prices of going private buyout proposals and explores sources of stock price reaction. Three alternative sources of abnormal returns are analyzed: the elimination of stockholders' servicing cost, the capital structure changes resulting from borrowings to take the firm private, and the elimination of agency costs associated with the prebuyout ownership structure. The findings indicate that going private buyouts generate large benefits to the firms' owners by eliminating the agency costs prevailing in the firms prior to going private.
Aggregation Bias in Estimates of Conditional Conservatism: Theory and Evidence

This paper documents a study about the influence of the aggregation effect on the estimates of models based on the original Basu model – specifically the Ball, Kothari and Nikolaev model (Ball et al., 2013b). We provide an analytical study of the effect, showing that it can produce two biases: an omitted-variable bias and a truncated-sample bias. Using separate proxies for good and bad news for each company and year, we estimate the empirical sign and magnitude of those biases. Our results show that the estimates of conditional conservatism based on regressions of (unexpected) earnings on (unexpected) returns, as in the paper by Ball et al., are contaminated by substantial aggregation bias. More specifically, the aggregation effect causes these models to underestimate good-news timeliness and overestimate bad-news timeliness, thereby overestimating differential timeliness. Moreover, when we use proxies that provide better control for the aggregation effect, the differential timeliness coefficient tends to 0, showing that the influence of conditional conservatism on the returns–earnings relationship is, at best, marginal.
Student and supervisor perceptions of the quality of supervision in athletic training education.

OBJECTIVE To assess the perceptions of the quality of athletic training supervision via the internship route to certification and the NATA-approved/CAAHEP programs. DESIGN AND SETTING A questionnaire was mailed to head athletic trainers or NATA/CAAHEP program directors and athletic training students in 40 programs nationwide (stratified random sample). SUBJECTS Head athletic trainers (20), NATA-approved or CAAHEP-accredited program directors (20), and athletic training students in those educational programs (149). MEASUREMENTS The Athletic Training Supervisory Skills Inventory (ATSSI) was adapted from the Supervisory Evaluation Form (SEF) and athletic training literature. The ATSSI was reviewed by 30 certified athletic trainers, and their feedback was incorporated into the final version of the questionnaire. The ATSSI contains 46 questions that cover six major domains of athletic training supervisor behavior. RESULTS Overall, there were no differences in how internship route supervisors and NATA/CAAHEP program directors rated their own supervisory skills. Also, there were few differences in how students in those two types of athletic training education programs rated their supervisors. CONCLUSIONS This exploratory study's limitations included a one-time assessment approach and a small sample of supervisors. Future studies in supervision should take a longitudinal approach and include a larger sample size.
5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide 1- -D-ribofuranoside (AICAR) stimulates myocardial glycogenolysis by allosteric mechanisms

Sarah L. Longnus,1 Richard B. Wambolt,1 Hannah L. Parsons,1 Roger W. Brownsey,2 and Michael F. Allard1 1McDonald Research Laboratories/The iCAPTUR4E Centre, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia-St.Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 1Y6; and 2Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z3
Do Financial Analysts Perform a Monitoring Role in China? Evidence from Modified Audit Opinions

This paper examines the impact of analyst coverage on the financial reporting quality of firms as reflected by modified audit opinions (MAOs). Using a sample of Chinese listed firms between 2003 and 2009, we find that analyst coverage, which serves as an external governance mechanism, helps to enhance the financial reporting quality of Chinese listed firms. The effect is more pronounced for non-state-owned enterprises (i.e., private firms), in that they are more dependent on external equity capital and, therefore, under greater pressure from analysts to provide high-quality accounting information. Furthermore, analysts play a more effective role for firms with stronger incentives to manipulate financial reports. Our findings are robust to the control of endogeneity issue.