Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Desired mobility or satisfied immobility? Migratory aspirations among knowledge workers

Among the aspects discussed within the globalisation process, the international mobility of professional workers assumes considerable relevance. This paper focuses on migratory aspirations among knowledge workers within the context of economic globalisation and market restructuring in Romania. Due to a lack of literature dealing with these issues, the originality of this study consists in its attention to the stage immediately preceding migration: how highly skilled potential migrants plan their labour migration, as well as frame their personal and professional aspirations in their country of origin. The background of this research is then represented by the international outsourcing strategies of firms (the flow of capital and companies) to foreign countries and by the new employment opportunities offered by information technologies. In general, personal aspirations could be explained either in the form of committed plans for mobility or immobility or a desire to remain immobile. What influences aspirations to migrate is a mixture of pressures from the social environment, market and immigration conditions and personal traits and attitudes. The global outsourcing slightly influences brain drain outcomes, but it introduces brain circulation, virtual brain mobility and the emergence of a net bourgeoisie as features of globally relocated knowledge work.
Comparative analysis of the selected relational database management systems

The database management system is a software that enables easier work with databases i.e. to define database structure, retrieve stored data, enter data into the database and process the previously stored data in the database. In this article we have compared 3 relational database management systems (RDBMS) - Oracle 11g, MySQL and PostgreSQL. They are compared according to the simple criteria that we defined, such as the comparison of basic data, syntax, data types and speed performance. The main contribution of the article is a comparison of 3 different RDBMSs by our own score criteria.
Dynamics of the Gender Gap for Young Professionals in the Corporate and Financial Sectors

This paper assesses the relative importance of various explanations for the gender gap in career outcomes for highly-educated workers in the U.S. corporate and financial sectors. The careers of MBAs, who graduated between 1990 and 2006 from a top U.S. business school, are studied to understand how career dynamics differ by gender. Although male and female MBAs have nearly identical (labor) incomes at the outset of their careers, their earnings soon diverge, with the male annual earnings advantage reaching almost 60 log points at ten to 16 years after MBA completion. We identify three proximate reasons for the large and rising gender gap in earnings: differences in training prior to MBA graduation; differences in career interruptions; and differences in weekly hours. These three determinants can explain the bulk of gender differences in earnings across the years following MBA completion. The presence of children is the main contributor to the lesser job experience, greater career discontinuity and shorter work hours for female MBAs. Some MBA mothers, especially those with well-off spouses, slow down in the labor market within a few years following their first birth. Disparities in the productive characteristics of male and female MBAs are small, but the pecuniary penalties from shorter hours and any job discontinuity are enormous for MBAs.
Distribution and activity of calcineurin in rat tissues. Evidence for post-transcriptional regulation of testis-specific calcineurin B.

Calcineurin (CN), a Ca2+/calmodulin-regulated phosphatase 2B, plays an important role in many biological processes including T-cell signal transduction. In the present study, the distribution and activity of CN were investigated in rat tissues. CN has a wide tissue distribution, as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. CN concentrations are 0.2-0.6 micrograms/mg protein in most tissues, while the brain contains 3-10-fold higher concentrations. Immunohistochemical analyses using a monoclonal antibody to CN B subunit reveals that CN is not evenly distributed but concentrated in specific cells, especially in the brain, kidneys and testis. The specific enzymic activity of CN in tissues is around 10 pmol.min.mg protein-1, except in brain and liver (60 pmol.min-1.mg protein-1 compared to 3.6 pmol.min-1.mg protein-1). The immunosuppressants cyclosporin A and tacrolimus, but not rapamycin, inhibit the phosphatase activity of CN derived from most tissues tested, while CN activity from liver was resistant to cyclosporin A. Furthermore, transcripts and protein of the common CN B subunit and of the testis-specific form of CN B subunit were analyzed. The common CN B subunit transcripts and protein are detected in all tissues. Transcripts for the 'testis-specific' CN B subunit are also found in brain, lung, thymus and heart, while the protein is only detected in testis. This indicates that the testis-specific CN B subunit gene expression is regulated at both transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. The findings demonstrate that CN is a widely distributed protein phosphatase and that its activity is regulated in a tissue-specific manner.
XBRL adoption and cost of debt

Purpose - – This paper aims to examine the relation between the cost of debt and the adoption of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). Design/methodology/approach - – The financial data are obtained from the Compustat database. Regression analysis is used to examine the research hypotheses. Findings - – The authors find that both voluntary and mandatory adoption of XBRL lead to a lower cost of debt for firms, with weak evidence that this reduction is greater for the former than the latter. Research limitations/implications - – The findings support the policy of the USA Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and thus this paper recommends that adoption of XBRL should be mandatory for all public firms. Practical implications - – The findings encourage top managers to develop their firms’ XBRL systems. Originality/value - – The results support the SEC’s policy of mandatory XBRL adoption, as it can lead to greater financial reporting transparency and mitigate information asymmetry between management and bondholders.
ENTREPREUNERSHIP AND MICRO-FINANCE IN EXTREME POVERTY CIRCUMSTANCES — CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS: THE CASE OF ZIMBABWE

Using an on-going real case study of a micro-finance project modeled on financial inclusion in Zimbabwe, a country with high levels of poverty, we provide real time insights on entrepreneurship and micro-finance in this environment focusing on the nature of challenges faced by entrepreneurs and potential solutions to these challenges. While acknowledging this is a research stream that has dominated micro-finance, our study extends the scope of research beyond Asia and Latin America to include insights from an African market where micro-finance has recorded significant growth yet very few stories are told about these experiences. Our case study provides an opportunity to reflect on emerging and previously held insights in real time using a project that is still in the process of dealing with these challenges. We then go onto illustrate how our inclusive approach to serving the unbanked segment in Zimbabwe has potential for broader contribution to poverty reduction among citizens who are exposed to extreme conditions of poverty. Our paper also outlines an alternative approach of solutions to the challenges faced by micro-finance entrepreneurs, which could be applied by entrepreneurs in environments facing similar challenges.
Nominal and real convergence between the CEE countries and the EU: a fractional cointegration analysis

This paper examines the real and nominal convergence between the Central and Eastern European countries and the EU, using fractional cointegration analysis for the period 1980–2003. Fractional cointegration analysis is a flexible methodology, which allows for more subtle forms of mean reversion. The tests performed are those of Geweke and Porter-Hudak. The convergence processes are valid when macroeconomic time series used in the study are fractionally cointegrated. The results indicate that inflation and interest rates series of six sample countries are fractionally cointegrated with those of the EU. Therefore, nominal convergence has been achieved by some of the transition countries, but the equilibrium errors display long memory. Results also indicate that industrial outputs of most countries in the sample are not fractionally cointegrated with that of the EU. The results further indicate that both nominal and real convergence have been achieved only for Hungary.
Maternal morbidity and maternal mortality in the United States

The following interview with Dr. Donna Strobino on maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States was conducted in May 2008. Dr. Strobino is Professor and Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She received a PhD from Johns Hopkins University and a BA from Western Connecticut State University. Dr. Strobino is Director of the Maternal and Child Health Leadership Training Program, a core training program in the Department of Population and Family Health Sciences at the Women's and Children's Health Policy Center. Dr. Strobino's recent research includes studies of the social, psychosocial, and biologic risk factors for preterm birth among African American women, the impact of the Healthy Steps Program for Young Children, and the effect of maternal depressive symptoms on the growth of their young children.
Dealing with the knowledge economy: Intellectual capital versus balanced scorecard

Purpose – This paper compares balanced scorecard and intellectual capital and finds important differences between their theoretical underpinnings, which suggest that the breath of indicators will work differently in organisations.Design/methodology/approach – Analysing texts about balanced scorecard and intellectual capital, the paper discusses not the obvious similarities – that they are both integrated performance management systems – but four more aspects: strategy, organisation, management, and indicators. Comparing these four dimensions the paper discusses the differences arising from the very different theories of strategy that they presuppose: competitive advantage versus competency strategy.Findings – The paper suggests that the very different notions of strategy that underpin the balanced scorecard and the intellectual capital approach make such comprehensive performance management systems behave in very different ways – the difference between a tightly coupled and a loosely coupled system accoun.
Teachers' involvement, commitment and innovativeness in curriculum development and implementation

The study was designed to investigate Nigerian science teachers' involvement, commitment and innovativeness in curriculum development, implementation and change. Resistance to change and reluctance to implement national curriculum have been identified as one of the reasons for falling standard in education. The author sought to find out if Nigerian teachers were always being carried along in the development and implementation of national curriculum. The sample consisted of 630 secondary school teachers drawn from the six southwestern states of Nigeria. Questionnaire tagged Teachers' Involvement, Commitment and Innovativeness (TICIQ) was used for data collection. The data collected was analyzed using frequency counts and percentage. The findings are: Teachers are often drafted to classroom implementation of curriculum reforms but are seldom involved in the development and how best to implement such reforms; The teachers are yet to embrace modern methods, approaches and techniques which include the use of computer interactivity and internet resources in classroom science teaching; While majority of them are proud to be teachers and may not opt out if given a second chance yet they frown at any attempt to lay them off on account of not being computer literate and internet compliant. The author concluded that teachers often show resistance and lack of commitment to implementation of curriculum reforms because they are seldom involved in the development and even how best to implement them. The author equally recommended the adoption of grass root approach to curriculum development involving all stakeholders including teachers who would implement the curriculum in the long run.
Multisite evaluations of a T2‐relaxation‐under‐spin‐tagging (TRUST) MRI technique to measure brain oxygenation

Venous oxygenation (Yv) is an important index of brain physiology and may be indicative of brain diseases. A T2‐relaxation‐under‐spin‐tagging (TRUST) MRI technique was recently developed to measure Yv. A multisite evaluation of this technique would be an important step toward broader availability and potential clinical utilizations of Yv measures.
Empirical analysis of reinsurance utilisation and dependence with respect to its impact on the performance of domestic non-life stock insurance companies operating in the private sector of Pakistan

This study is based on the association that exists between profitability and reinsurance of private sector non-life stock insurers of Pakistan. Reinsurance can act as an important character in consideration of risk, risk underwriting and efficient management of claims. As insurance industry is equipped with risk coverage tools, it is time for it to provide protection from such major risks so that the potential impairment of such risks can be reduced. Insurance industry is important for the progress of a country and reinsurance is significant for the expansion of insurance industry. So, the study investigates whether the profitability is affected by reinsurance or not. The results of this study are quite in line with previous studies and signify that profitability of the firm is sensitive to change in reinsurance utilisation and has a positive relationship with it, while dependence and exposure of reinsurance do not have any impact on it.
Estimating Firm Size Elasticities of Product and Process R&D

This paper provides an empirical test of the particular product life-cycle hypothesis which postulates that the firm size elasticity of process R&D exceeds the firm size elasticity of product R&D. Panel data on German manufacturing firms is used which is affected by attrition and sample selection. An inverse probability weighted generalized empirical likelihood (GEL) estimator is proposed, which corrects for the selectivity bias under the identifying assumption of conditionally independent selection and benefits from the superior small sample bias properties of GEL compared to generalized method of moments (GMM). The product life-cycle hypothesis is clearly rejected in all specifications.
Adenoviral transfer of the murine oncostatin M gene suppresses dextran-sodium sulfate-induced colitis.

The use of biologics has promising potential in the treatment of inflammation. Studies with cultured cells and mouse models of disease have ascribed proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory functions to oncostatin M (OSM) and the related cytokine, interleukin-6 (IL-6). Here, we examined the effect of systemic administration of adenoviral (Ad) vectors encoding either murine OSM (AdMuOSM) or murine IL-6 (AdMuIL-6) in a mouse model of colitis. BALB/c mice were treated with a 5-day course of 4% dextran-sodium sulfate (DSS) water with or without administration of adenoviral vectors (i.p. or i.m. at 10(7) plaque-forming units [pfu]) given as a cotreatment or therapy. The deletion variant of the adenovirus served as a control for adenoviral infection. Colitis was assessed by (1) morphology (damage score, macrophage infiltration, apoptosis) and (2) function (myeloperoxidase activity and Ussing chamber analysis of epithelial ion transport). Infection with adenovirus alone did not affect colonic form or function. AdMuOSM (either i.p. or i.m.) significantly reduced the severity of the DSS-induced colitis. There was less damage, reduced macrophage infiltration, fewer apoptotic bodies, and a significant improvement in stimulated ion transport in colonic tissues from the treated mice. No benefit of AdMuIL-6 treatment was observed in this model system. Thus, systemic administration of AdMuOSM given as a cotreatment and to a lesser extent as a therapy was found to be of benefit in DSS-induced colitis, a murine model of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Where is the ‘Plus’ in ‘Credit-Plus’? The Case of Chiapas, Mexico

Abstract It has become common to try and increase the effectiveness of microfinance programmes by adding supplementary services to the financial product. However, the added value accruing from this ‘credit-plus’ approach has been little analysed. We hypothesise that the extent of added value from credit-plus depends on the ability of the credit supplier to cultivate trust, or social capital, amongst clients. Applying difference-in-difference estimation, we exploit a natural experiment of two ‘credit-plus’ programmes in Mexico. The findings suggest that credit-plus is not universally effective, but that it is at its most effective, especially with low-income groups, where ‘bonding’ (within-group) social capital exists.
Financial Ratios As Predictors Of Failure

At the turn of the century, ratio analysis was in its embryonic state. It began with the development of a single ratio, the current ratio,' for a single purpose-the evaluation of credit-worthiness. Today ratio analysis involves the use of several ratios by a variety of users-including credit lenders, credit-rating agencies, investors, and management.2 In spite of the ubiquity of ratios, little effort has been directed toward the formal empirical verification of their usefulness. The usefulness of ratios can only be tested with regard to some particular purpose. The purpose chosen here was the prediction of failure, since ratios are currently in widespread use as predictors of failure. This is not the only possible use of ratios but is a starting point from which to build an empirical verification of ratio analysis. "Failure" is defined as the inability of a firm to pay its financial obligations as they mature. Operationally, a firm is said to have failed when any of the following events have occurred: bankruptcy, bond default, an overdrawn bank account, or nonpayment of a preferred stock dividend.3 A "financial ratio" is a quotient of two numbers, where both num-
Impaired Linear Vestibulo‐Ocular Reflex Initiation and Vestibular Catch‐Up Saccades in Older Persons

The vestibulo-ocular reflex, which stabilizes gaze to reduce retinal slip during head perturbations, has two components: the angular (AVOR), mediated by the semicircular canals, and the linear (LVOR), mediated by the otoliths. Progressive losses in vestibular sensory cells and primary neurons begins at about age 40 yrs,1 and are associated with age-related impairments in the steady-state1–3 and transient AVOR.4 However, little is known about possible age-related impairments of the LVOR. Vestibular catch-up saccades (VCUS) cued by the semicircular canals during transient rotations can supplement the hypometric AVOR to assist people with vestibular deafferentation to stabilize gaze.5 However, VCUS cued by otolith organs have not been previously studied, especially in terms of a possible association with aging. This study sought to characterize LVOR initiation and VCUS in older humans. We investigated nine younger subjects 24 ± 5 years of age (mean ± SD, range 18– 31) and eight older subjects 65 ± 7 years of age (range 56–75) who gave written informed consent to a protocol approved by the UCLA Human Subject Protection Committee. Random lateral (“heave”) translations were delivered by a pneumatic position servo at peak acceleration of 0.5 G over a distance of ± 25 cm. Subjects were firmly secured to a chair-mounted head-holder. Eye and head movements were sampled at 1200 Hz using binocular magnetic search coils and a cranial accelerometer. Ten responses were averaged for each condition. Subjects fixed targets at 200, 50, or 15 cm distant immediately before unpredictable onset of randomly directed translation in dark (LVOR) or light (visually enhanced LVOR, LVVOR). All older subjects maintained ideal vergence of 1.5–2 deg for the 200-cm target, 6–8 deg for the 50-cm target, and 21–26 deg for the 15-cm target, with actual vergences depending on individual interpupillary distances. Search coil recording of head rotation showed it to be negligible (< 0.5°)for the first 250 ms after onset of head translation, excluding a role for the AVOR in the responses studied. The typical
Determinants of sales manager job satisfaction. An analysis of Spanish industrial firms

The objective of the current work is to analyse the determining factors of sales manager job satisfaction. In particular, we study the effect of various human resources management (HRM) practices – compensation, promotion, training and job design – on this satisfaction, using a model empirically tested on a sample of Spanish industrial firms. The results of the empirical analysis of the model, which uses data from a postal survey, indicate that human resources practices based on compensation – level and type – as well as on the job design – resources and autonomy – appear to be the fundamental determinants of sales manager job satisfaction. In the research we confirm that there is a growing need for firms to combine economic and non-economic incentives in order to satisfy their executives.
Does board governance improve the quality of accounting earnings

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the contention that a strengthening of corporate governance mechanisms would result in the improved relevance and reliability of financial statements. Design/methodology/approach - Using pooled ordinary least squares regression, the paper analyse the quality of reported earnings for a sample of firms over the 1998-2002 time period. Findings - The findings show negative and statistically significant associations between reported earnings quality and the proportion of CEO incentive pay and firm's growth opportunities. It is also found that earnings quality is positively and significantly related to the existence of an orderly CEO transition process. However, board independence does not seem to be associated with earnings quality. Research limitations/implications - Since the sample of firms is from the 1998 to 2002 period, consistent with the paper's motivation, the results may not generalize to the more recent time period. Practical implications - The results provide support for the argument that the current structure of executive pay does adversely impact the quality of reported earnings and hence provides a rationale for closer scrutiny of executive pay by regulatory bodies. Additionally, the findings suggest that the emphasis on board independence as an effective monitoring device may be misplaced. Originality/value - Unlike prior studies, the paper's hypotheses are derived from an explicit agency theoretic optimization model of managerial decision making. The paper uses the Ball and Shivakumar model for estimating abnormal accruals unlike previous analyses that relied more heavily on the Jones model. The paper also adds to past studies of the relationship between corporate governance and earnings quality and the role of executive compensation.