Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Education Gender Gaps in Pakistan: Is the Labor Market to Blame?

Differential labor market returns to male and female education are one potential explanation for large gender gaps in education in Pakistan. We empirically test this explanation by estimating private returns to education separately for male and female wage earners. This article contributes to the literature by using a variety of methodologies (ordinary least squares, Heckman correction, two‐stage least squares, and household fixed effects) in order to estimate economic returns to education. The latest nationally representative data—the Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (2002)—are used. Earnings function estimates consistently reveal a sizable gender asymmetry in economic returns to education, with returns to women’s education being substantially and statistically significantly higher than men’s. The return to an additional year of schooling ranges between 7% and 11% for men and between 13% and 18% for women. There are also large, direct returns to women’s education at low levels of schooling, and the education‐earnings profile is more convex for women than for men. However, a decomposition of the gender wage gap (into the component “explained” by differing male and female endowments and the residual component) suggests that there is highly differentiated treatment by employers. We conclude that the total labor market returns are much higher for men, despite returns to education being higher for women. This suggests that parents may have an investment motive in allocating more resources to boys than to girls within households.
Towards a Shared Understanding of Emerging Technologies: Experiences in a Collaborative Research Project in South Africa

While the practice of using educational technologies in Higher Education is increasingly common among educators, there is a paucity of research on innovative uses of emerging technologies to transform teaching and learning. This paper draws on data collected as part of a larger study aimed at investigating emerging technologies and their use in South African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to improve teaching and learning. The research employed a mixed method research design, using both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods—quantitative data from a survey of 262 respondents from 22 public HEIs in South Africa and qualitative data gathered from 16 experts/practitioners on their self-reflective definition of the term “emerging technologies. ” The paper concludes that levels of institutional development, access to resources, discipline, group belonging and individual motivation of respondents influenced the way they defined emerging technologies including what constituted an innovative use of technology, foregrounding the contextuality of emerging technologies.
A Low-Complexity Impulse Radio Receiver based upon Gaussian Mixtures

Ultra wide band (UWB) impulse radio (IR) technology calls for robust and low-complexity receiver techniques. State-of-the-art proposals are both coherent ML receivers, noncoherent transmitted reference systems, or hybrid choices, all of which are derived from an AWGN model. In this paper we investigate an alternative technique which has been recently proposed, and which is based upon a Gaussian mixture (GM) model for multiple access interference. We show that this technique exhibits superior performance in comparison to AWGN receivers, and can be implemented with low-complexity.
Toward a conceptual framework for exploring multilevel relationships between Lean Management and Six Sigma, enabling HRM, strategic climate and outcomes in healthcare

This article provides a theory-driven framework simultaneously linking Lean Management and Six Sigma (LM&SS), enabling HRM and strategic climate to outcomes in health care. This framework contributes toward our understanding of direct and indirect (moderating and mediating) effects related to LM&SS in the context of health care. We argue that enabling HRM is crucial in creating mutual gains. The general underlying idea is that LM&SS, combined with enabling HRM, foster employee well-being (happiness, health and trusting relationships) and improve organizational performance. The challenge is to go beyond the simple application of LM&SS and to develop a climate of continuous improvement. We suggest that in order to sustain continuous improvement, it is important that health-care organizations aim for a strategic climate, which focuses the shared perceptions of employees on quality, efficiency and innovation.
Optimal Bankruptcy Laws Across Different Economic Systems

We model fundamental differences across economic systems and propose optimal bankruptcy laws. We show that creditor-debtor relationships in a given economy are affected by the ability of creditors to obtain information about fundamentals and the managers' ability to strategically use their private information. An optimal bankruptcy law utilizes creditors' information while minimizing managers' use of strategic information. Our proposed laws for a developed bank-based system like Germany include a creditor chapter only, for a developed market-based system like the United States include both a creditor chapter and a debtor chapter, and for an underdeveloped system include both a creditor chapter and a debtor chapter that gives the manager more protection than in a market-based system. Article published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Financial Studies in its journal, The Review of Financial Studies.
Cerebral cortex activity during supramaximal exhaustive exercise.

AIM The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of fatigue resulting from supramaximal dynamic exercise on cerebral cortex activity. METHODS Five healthy male subjects (age 24.6+/-0.4 years, body weight 62.9+/-1.1 kg, height 175.3+/-1.2 cm, and maximal O2 uptake per body mass 48.4+/-1.3 ml/kg/min) participated in this study. All subjects performed at 120% of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2peak) on a cycle ergometer until reaching a state of volitional fatigue. Cerebral oxygenation was measured by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) throughout the supramaximal constant exhaustive exercise. RESULTS The mean exercise duration of the subjects was 147.2+/-3.4 s. The peak value of blood lactate concentration within 3-10 min after the exercise test was 14.4+/-0.1 mmol/l. Cerebral oxygenation (8.8+/-1.8 micromol/l) was increased significantly during the first minutes of exercise compared with the pre-exercise value (p<0.05) and cerebral oxygenation decreased with the passage of time during exercise. Cerebral oxygenation at the end of exercise decreased significantly compared with the resting value (-29.9+/-3.4 micromol/l, p<0.05). CONCLUSION These findings suggest that the exhaustive exercise induces the decrease of cerebral function and that the fatigue resulting from dynamic exercise decreases the cerebral cortex activity.
What We Know about Successful School Leadership

> > > In these times of heightened concern for student learning, school leaders are being held accountable for how well teachers teach and how much students learn. They must respond to complex environments and serve all students well. summary of well-documented understandings about educational leadership at the school level. The basics of school leadership focus on setting direction for the school, developing people and developing the organisation. This knowledge can be used with confidence to guide leadership practice, policy and research. It also can provide a good starting point for dialogue with diverse audiences about the future of educational leadership. What We Know about Successful School Leadership > Outcomes are crucial Local, state and federal achievement standards for ambitious learning for all children have changed the landscape of educational accountability. Pressure is on actors at all levels, from students themselves to teachers, principals and superintendents. In these times of heightened concern for student learning, school leaders are being held accountable for how well teachers teach and how much students learn. Educational leaders must guide their schools through the challenges posed by an increasingly complex environment. Curriculum standards, achievement benchmarks, programmatic requirements and other policy directives from many sources generate complicated and unpredictable requirements for schools. Principals must respond to increasing diversity in student characteristics, including cultural background and immigration status, income disparities, physical and mental disabilities and variation in learning capacities. They must manage new collaborations with other social agencies that serve children. Rapid developments in technologies for teaching and communication require adjustments in the internal workings of schools. These are just a few of the conditions that make schooling more challenging and leadership more essential. Scratch the surface on an excellent school and you are likely to find an excellent principal. Peer into a failing school and you will find weak leadership. That, at least, is the conventional wisdom. Leaders are thought to be essential for high-quality education. But is this indeed true – and if so, exactly how does leadership work? Amidst the seeming certainty that leadership matters, there is much that we do not yet understand about effective educational leadership. However, the knowledge base about leadership is constantly growing. In this brief, we present a summary of key, well-documented understandings about leadership at the school level. This knowledge can be used
Highly Attenuated Vaccine Strains of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Protect against Vaginal Challenge: Inverse Relationship of Degree of Protection with Level of Attenuation

ABSTRACT Three different deletion mutants of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) that vary in their levels of attenuation were tested for the ability to protect against mucosal challenge with pathogenic SIV. Four female rhesus monkeys were vaccinated by intravenous inoculation with SIVmac239Δ3, four with SIVmac239Δ3X, and four with SIVmac239Δ4. These three vaccine strains exhibit increasing levels of attenuation: Δ3 < Δ3X <Δ4. The vaccinated monkeys were challenged by vaginal exposure to uncloned, pathogenic SIVmac251 at 61 weeks after the time of vaccination. On the basis of viral RNA loads in plasma, cell-associated virus loads in peripheral blood, and CD4 cell counts, strong protective effects were observed in all three groups of vaccinated monkeys. However, the degree of protection correlated inversely with the level of attenuation; the least-attenuated strain, SIVmac239Δ3, gave the greatest protection. One monkey in the Δ3X group and two in the Δ4 group clearly became superinfected by the challenge virus, but these animals had levels of SIV RNA in plasma that were considerably lower than those of naive animals that were challenged in parallel. Protection against vaginal challenge appears easier to achieve than protection against intravenous challenge, since four other SIVmac239Δ4-vaccinated monkeys showed no protection when challenged intravenously with a much lower inoculum of the same challenge virus stock. Protection against vaginal challenge in the Δ4-vaccinated group occurred in the absence of detectable serum neutralizing activities and appeared to be associated with the development of an early SIV-specific cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte response. Our results demonstrate that mucosal protection can be achieved by systemic immunization with the highly attenuated SIVmac239Δ4 more than 1 year prior to the time of challenge.
Agriculture and Trade Opportunities for Tanzania: Past Volatility and Future Climate Change

Given global heterogeneity in climate-induced agricultural variability, Tanzania has the potential to substantially increase its maize exports to other countries. If global maize production is lower than usual due to supply shocks in major exporting regions, Tanzania may be able to export more maize at higher prices, even if it also experiences below-trend productivity. Diverse destinations for exports can allow for enhanced trading opportunities when negative supply shocks affect the partners' usual import sources. Future climate predictions suggest that some of Tanzania's trading partners will experience severe dry conditions that may reduce agricultural production in years when Tanzania is only mildly affected. Tanzania could thus export grain to countries as climate change increases the likelihood of severe precipitation deficits in other countries while simultaneously decreasing the likelihood of severe precipitation deficits in Tanzania. Trade restrictions, like export bans, prevent Tanzania from taking advantage of these opportunities, foregoing significant economic benefits.
The Search for the Best Financial Performance Measure

Refined economic value added (REVA) provides an analytical framework for evaluating operating performance measures in the context of shareholder value creation. Economic value added (EVA) performs quite well in terms of its correlation with shareholder value creation, but REVA is a theoretically superior measure for assessing whether a firm's operating performance is adequate from the standpoint of compensating the firm's financiers for the risk to their capital. In this article, comprehensive statistical analysis of both REVA and EVA is used to estimate their correlation with and their ability to predict shareholder value creation. REVA statistically outperforms EVA in this regard. Moreover, the realized returns for the 1988–92 period for the top 25 REVA firms were higher than the realized returns for the top 25 EVA firms.
The Persistent Presidential Dummy

Is a Republican or a Democratic party president better for the stock market? Although many observers discuss this issue in only casual terms, one recently published academic study claims to have documented that the market does significantly better under Democratic party administrations. Despite widespread publicity about this in the financial press, the study's results and conclusions are biased by faulty statistical tests. Once the methodology is corrected, the differences in stock market returns under different political parties turn out not to be meaningful. The lessons here extend well beyond the presidential political party effect. Proper research design is essential if we are to reach correct conclusions.
Modulation of toll-like receptor function has therapeutic potential in autoimmune disease

Importance of the field: The role of toll-like receptors (TLRs) in the immune response to exogenous pathogens is well characterized. These receptors have been suggested to be involved in the initiation and/or perpetuation of many inflammatory autoimmune diseases and have become attractive candidates for the modulation of inflammation. Areas covered in this review: This review discusses the evidence to support a potential role for TLRs in inflammatory diseases, focusing on rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus. The approaches to targeting TLR activation are outlined. What the reader will gain: An appreciation for the role of TLRs in inflammatory diseases and in particular the contribution of specific TLRs in rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus. This review focuses on recent developments in targeting TLR activity from ligand binding through to the resultant signaling. Take home message: As initiators of immune responses, TLRs have previously been targeted to increase the immune response with some success. However, targeting TLRs to attenuate immune responses for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases will require further evidence of the mechanisms of TLR involvement in the pathophysiology and a better understanding of the potential effects of modulating TLR physiology over a sustained period.
Prevalent deficiency in tumor cells of cycloheximide-induced cycle arrest.

Mammalian cell growth is regulated by a process that is completed at a restriction point in the late G1 part of the cycle. This process is highly sensitive to serum concentration and to moderate inhibition of protein synthesis by cycloheximide (CHM) or other agents. We have proposed that a cell must accumulate a labile protein in a critical amount before events related to its DNA synthesis can start. The accumulation of this protein requires conditions suitable for growth, including sufficient amounts of serum-derived factors. An important criterion for attributing a major role to such a regulatory mechanism is that cells whose growth control is modified--e.g., by mutation--should be defective in this process. Cells of this kind are produced by tumorigenic transformation. We show here that mouse 3T3 cells, human fibroblasts, and Chinese hamster CHEF/18 cells have stringent G1 growth control by CHM. In contrast, tumorigenic lines obtained from these cells by transformation with varius agents (DNA tumor virus, RNA tumor virus, chemical carcinogens) or spontaneously all showed relaxed growth control under the influence of CHM. In these lines, growth control was relaxed to different degrees; some lines were held in G1 by a combination of low serum concentration and CHM, but others were not. Serum concentration showed a synergistic effect with CHM. Low serum concentrations did not limit growth only by affecting the rate of protein synthesis. The labile-protein mechanism is likely to be basic to growth control by serum factors. Transformed tumorigenic cells in general may have relaxed this mechanism.
Party Democracy and Party Representation: an Assessment of Post-Materialist Forecasts

One of the social and political changes that post-materialist theory anticipated was the need for the democratic deepening of political institutions in modern democracies. This change in political values would mean that, together with an expansion in post-materialist values, parties would be pushed towards an alternative view of politics which would mean greater assimilation of democratic procedures. This paper tests the validity of this explanation in four European party systems. Specifically, it aims to ascertain if most post-materialist parties (the Greens) display a significantly better position in their support for democracy and voter representation than other parties, as post-materialist theory leads us to believe. It also tests whether the explanation for higher levels of party representation is related to post-materialist party features. The findings of this research do not show enough evidence to validate the literature‟s theoretical expectations. Key-words: Greens, New Left, post-materialism, democracy, representation.
A systematic review of resident‐as‐teacher programmes

Context Residents in all disciplines serve as clinical teachers for medical students. Since the 1970s, there has been increasing evidence to demonstrate that residents wish to teach and that they respond positively to formal teacher training. Effective resident‐as‐teacher (RaT) programmes have resulted in improved resident teaching skills. Current evidence, however, is not clear about the specific features of an effective RaT programme.
Earnings Management and the Long-Run Underperformance of Firms Following Convertible Bond Offers

Abstract: This paper examines whether the long-run underperformance of convertible bond issuers can be explained by earnings management, as reflected in discretionary current accruals around the time of the offer. Consistent with the earnings management hypothesis, we find that convertible issuers who adjust their discretionary current accruals to report higher net income in the issue year will generally experience inferior operating and stock return performance over the five-year post-issue period. Our findings indicate that there is some temporary overvaluation of convertible issuers by the stock market, but that the resultant disappointed investors will subsequently correct their valuation errors. The similarity of our results to those reported within the prior literature on initial public offers (IPOs) and seasoned equity offers (SEOs) suggests that the earnings management hypothesis is not unique to stock offers, but that it actually extends to convertible bond offers.
Initial Diagnostics of a Regional Adjustment Model

Adjustment models are used increasingly to analyze population and employment changes in regional economies. However, questions remain about the most appropriate geographic scales and time lags for these models. In this paper we estimate a well-known adjustment model for a recent 25-year period in the USA. Regional population and employment changes (levels and densities) are examined at three scales (states, Bureau of Economic Analysis regions, counties) using various time lags (one to ten years). Two-stage least squares regression estimates, based on Regional Economic Information System data running between 1969 and 1994, are generated and discussed. Analysis is restricted to the core relationships between population and employment; the roles of other exogenous variables, normally included in adjustment models, are not considered. Instead, concern is focused on issues such as stability and directional causality of the interacting population—employment systems. Some brief suggestions regarding future research conclude the paper.
Action Research in a Professional Development School Setting to Support Teacher Candidate Self-Efficacy.

This paper discusses preservice teachers’ use of action research in a Professional Development School setting. Preservice teachers were placed in a PDS site that focuses on internationalizing education and on teaching languages. The teacher candidates were in charge of planning, teaching, and assessing language instruction in their classrooms. The preservice teachers implemented action research. The process helped them adjust to their teaching responsibility. They collected and reflected on their action research data, used it to understand their practice, and then made plans accordingly to improve their practice. This process was empowering and helped preservice teachers grow in their confidence and competence.
Uncovering Barriers to Complex Incremental Product Innovation in Small and Medium‐Sized Financial Services Firms*

Developing new products is of the highest importance for the survival of firms. This not only refers to really new products, but firms also need to invest in modifying their existing products. Small and medium‐sized companies are no exception to this rule. The present study focuses on the innovative activities of small and medium‐sized financial service companies and aims to answer how small and medium‐sized financial services firms organize their product innovation processes and what the main barriers during these innovative attempts are. Data from 30 financial small and medium‐sized enterprises were collected to address these issues. The data showed that the firms in our study experience problems in terms of resources, project‐based working, incentives, and information technology, despite the fact that the innovative efforts are aimed at modifying existing services. Although these issues may not be totally unexpected, the results from this study do point at some interesting distinctions with the previous literature. Furthermore, it is suggested that the impact of the barriers may be of lower importance than is often assumed in the innovation literature.