Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The vanishing voter : public involvement in an age of uncertainty

During the presidential election of 2000, Thomas E. Patterson, a political scientist and voter-turnout specialist who had recently moved from the University of Minnesota to Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, set himself an ambitious task. He would use a rigorous pattern of regular telephone interviews with ordinary citizens around the country to gauge the shifting psychologies of the American electorate over the course of the campaign. Unlike most pollsters, Patterson wasn’t concerned with which candidates the voters found appealing or even with which issues mattered to them most. Patterson’s aim, instead, was to track how much voters knew about the candidates and issues at different moments during the campaign, to ask what made them pay more attention to the race and what made them pay less attention, and to use those responses to figure out why American voter turnout is so radically low when compared to other Western democracies — a discrepancy which only seems to be growing.
Image‐based management of empiric lung stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) without biopsy: Predictors from a 10‐year single institution experience

There is emerging reliance on clinical imaging for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment evaluation of early stage non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients deemed too high risk for biopsy. We report our experience of clinically diagnosed NSCLC treated empirically with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) to validate the imaging parameters used for management in this high‐risk population.
Wall Street Reaction to Women in IPOs

The authors examine the effect of having women on the top management teams of initial public offering (IPO) firms on the organizations' short- and long-term financial performance. Looking at three different samples, the authors found that trend data indicated IPO firms were gaining in the number of women they employ in their top management teams. Using data from 534 IPO firms, results suggest one reason why the trend is growing; women appear to have a positive association with the firms' short-term performance (Tobin's Q, which is market price to book value per share), 3-year stock price growth, and growth in earnings per share. Possible reasons for the positive effect of women on performance include better innovation and problem-solving processes in more diverse top management teams and the possibility that, on average, the women on these teams are higher performers than are the men on the same teams.
Wireless controlled smart digital energy meter and theft control using GSM with GUI

In modern world intelligent control has become a priority, although the services for providing energy are still being controlled with conventional methods. The conventional method is expensive and time consuming as well as it requires man power for monitoring and data collection of the consumers which may also lead to human errors. The proposed GSM based system integrates digital energy meters installed at consumer unit with an electric supply companies to monitor, profile and control energy flow with the help of Graphical User Interface (GUI). In this two-way communication system, the GSM network is utilized to profile the energy flow with the help of SMS to the energy supplier and showing it on the monitor of the energy supplier using the GUI and can also communicate with the user via SMS. Relay circuit and LCD display is provided to update information like Voltage, Current, Units and billing or sudden power cut to the energy supplier company and is displayed on GUI. Nowadays the main problem in energy supply is that of power theft being done on various scales. Our system can also send an alert to the energy supplier in case of any power theft at the consumer side and cutoff the supply automatically until the power theft is not being cleared. This research highlights the general theory of energy metering system and focuses on our user friendly low power energy metering system design, implementation, power theft control and results.
U.K. Television News

This essay provides a statistical and qualitative analysis of the hierarchical coverage of politics by UK Television news. It finds that there is a rigidly structured hierarchy of political access and focus, whereby the Prime Minister dominates over the cabinet, the cabinet dominates over ordinary MPs, the governing party dominates over the opposition, the three main parties dominate overwhelmingly over smaller parties, and the political elites dominate over ordinary members of the public. The paper also provides a framing analysis of TV news both during and after an election campaign period, and finds a skew towards `horse race' and personalization coverage which both outweigh `policy' issues. Thus television news is characterised by a hybrid of hierarchical and exclusive coverage of politics, combined with a narrowly expressed `cynicism' or populist antagonism towards politics that is personalized and anti-systemic in its focus.
Capturing complex human behaviors in representative sports contexts with a single camera.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE In the last years, several motion analysis methods have been developed without considering representative contexts for sports performance. The purpose of this paper was to explain and underscore a straightforward method to measure human behavior in these contexts. MATERIAL AND METHODS Procedures combining manual video tracking (with TACTO device) and bidimensional reconstruction (through direct linear transformation) using a single camera were used in order to capture kinematic data required to compute collective variable(s) and control parameter(s). These procedures were applied to a 1vs1 association football task as an illustrative subphase of team sports and will be presented in a tutorial fashion. RESULTS Preliminary analysis of distance and velocity data identified a collective variable (difference between the distance of the attacker and the defender to a target defensive area) and two nested control parameters (interpersonal distance and relative velocity). CONCLUSIONS Findings demonstrated that the complementary use of TACTO software and direct linear transformation permit to capture and reconstruct complex human actions in their context in a low dimensional space (information reduction).
Equilibrium Pollution Taxes in Open Economies with Imperfect Competition

Abstract This paper argues that imperfect competition in global markets creates a strategic interaction between governments that can lead to the inefficient distortion of pollution taxes. This distortion can be decomposed into a rent capture effect and a pollution-shifting effect. The rent capture effect lowers equilibrium taxes as each country attempts to gain a competitive advantage over its trading partner and thereby capture foreign rent through net exports. The pollution-shifting effect raises equilibrium taxes as each country attempts to transfer production and its associated pollution to the other country. This effect vanishes if pollution is perfectly transboundary because shifted pollution causes as much damage to the domestic environment as does domestic pollution. The net effect on symmetric equilibrium taxes is negative, except in the special case of perfect competition with no transboundary pollution. In this case the two effects are mutually offsetting and the Nash equilibrium is efficient. When pollution is at least partially transboundary there also arises the usual transboundary externality and this reinforces the negative net strategic effect, giving rise to equilibrium taxes that are lower than what is globally efficient.
An Empirical Test of the Structure, Conduct-Performance Paradigm in the Asian and Pacific Basin Countries

This paper tests the structureâ€ conductâ€ performance paradigm in eighteen Asian and Pacific Basin countries. The results suggest that concentration in the banking markets in these countries lead to monopoly profits being earned and is a signal of collusive behaviour among the leading banks. Competitive imperfections allow banks to set prices that are less favourable to consumers thereby decreasing total consumer and producer surplus. This has important policy implications for merger activity. A further increase in concentration in the banking market in these countries will decrease the level of competition in the market. Regulatory actions, such as antiâ€ trust laws, are justified on efficiency grounds as well as for raising economic welfare.
Low Partial Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition of Graphene on Copper

A systematic study of the Cu-catalyzed chemical vapor deposition of graphene under extremely low partial pressure is carried out. A carbon precursor supply of just <i>P</i><sub>CH4</sub> ~ 0.009 mbar during the deposition favors the formation of large-area uniform monolayer graphene verified by Raman spectra. A diluted HNO<sub>3</sub> solution is used to remove Cu before transferring graphene onto SiO<sub>2</sub>/Si substrates or carbon grids. The graphene can be made suspended over a ~12 μm distance, indicating its good mechanical properties. Electron transport measurements show the graphene sheet resistance of ~0.6 kΩ/□ at zero gate voltage. The mobilities of electrons and holes are ~1800 cm<sup>2</sup>/Vs at 4.2 K and ~1200 cm<sup>2</sup>/Vs at room temperature.
Stock-Bond Comovements During Non-Inflationary Period: Natural Experience from the Paris Bourse

This paper aims to advance empirical knowledge of stock-bonds comovements thanks to the specific context of the pre-1914 French market. This period allows the measurement of the conditional correlation without any inflation thanks to the Gold standard regime. A multivariate Dynamic Conditional Correlation GARCH (DCC GARCH) model is implemented on four recently developed market indices to assess the varying correlation between stock and bond returns. We do obtain fluctuating but always highly positive conditional stock-bond correlations over a period of 76 years. This high correlation is observed not only with government bonds, as is the case in the majority of studies on this subject, but also with corporate bonds. Several macroeconomic factors are also tested to estimate their impact on the conditional correlations.
When to Initiate an International Vertical Merger? The Impact of Negative Demand Shock

This paper develops an extended Hotelling‐type product and technology‐differentiated model with two upstream and two downstream firms. The US upstream (respectively downstream) firm is technologically more advanced than the Chinese upstream (respectively downstream) firm. The locations of the upstream firms and the US downstream firm are fixed, and the Chinese downstream firm chooses its product location. The downstream firms compete with each other in US market. We aim to explore the conditions under which an international vertical merger between the Chinese downstream firm and the US upstream firm occurs and its welfare implications. We show that the incentive for the Chinese downstream firm to initiate a technology‐acquiring international vertical merger crucially depends on the market conditions of the United States. As compared to exporting or domestic vertical merger, international vertical merger is by no means an optimal choice for the Chinese downstream firm when there is no negative demand shocks to US market. This result remains to hold when the US downstream firm also has the option of initiating a merger with the US upstream firm. Nevertheless, in the case of a negative demand shock, a profitable international vertical merger may occur. However, such mergers worsen the social welfare of the United States.
Resilience in the city-core and its hinterland: The case of Copenhagen

This paper analyses relations between the urban city-core of Copenhagen and its peri-urban hinterland in the period after the recession of 2009. The paper demonstrates that there are differences within the functional city-region in resilience and the ability to create new growth paths, and that this ability is dependent on changing relationships between the city and the hinterland. The city-core has been able to sustain its development path, partly, by pushing the recessionary shock to the peri-urban hinterland. Yet, the major development problem for the peri-urban hinterland of Copenhagen is its inability to produce substantial new high-skill employment.
Estimating the Term Structure of Credit Spreads on Euro-Denominated Corporate Bonds

In this paper, we estimate the term structure of credit spreads on Euro-denominated corporate bonds with a modified version of the Duffee (1999) intensity-based model. The empirical analysis considers monthly observations for a sample of investment-grade euro-denominated corporate bonds analysed for rating classes. The model is estimated with a maximum likelihood - Kalman filter approach over different sample periods ranging from January 1999 to August 2006. The estimation results, in general, support the application of the theoretical model to the euro-denominated bond market and exhibit some interesting characteristics of this relatively recent market. Copyright 2006 The Authors Journal compilation 2006 Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA
Socially Responsible Property Investment: Quantifying the Relationship between Sustainability and Investment Property Worth

This paper explores the potential link between the sustainability of a property asset and its investment worth. The research is based on the premise that sustainability represents an additional and changing set of risks for property investors and as such needs to be examined systematically for those risks to be properly understood and mitigated. It seeks to make the bundle of issues referred to as ‘sustainability’ explicit within the appraisal process in order that their impact on property worth can be more effectively examined and assessed from a property investment perspective. A series of relationships between sustainability and the functional performance of a property are theorized. A set of parameters quantifying the impact of that functional performance on rental growth and depreciation are then developed. The main findings are that sustainability is pertinent to property investment and can be analysed in relation to potential impact on standard investment appraisal variables. The paper presents a model for doing this as a foundation from which further work can be developed. Two example appraisals are presented to demonstrate the approach developed.
Cross-Hedging with Currency Options and Futures

Abstract This paper develops an expected utility model of a multinational firm facing exchange rate risk exposure to a foreign currency cash flow. Currency derivative markets do not exist between the domestic and foreign currencies. There are, however, currency futures and options markets between the domestic currency and a third currency to which the firm has access. Since a triangular parity condition holds among these three currencies, the available, yet incomplete, currency futures and options markets still provide a useful avenue for the firm to indirectly hedge against its foreign exchange risk exposure. This paper offers analytical insights into the optimal cross-hedging strategies of the firm. In particular, the results show the optimality of using options in conjunction with futures in the case of currency mismatching, even though cash flows appear to be linear.
Threshold effects and inflation persistence in South Africa

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate threshold effects in the persistence of South African aggregate inflation data. Design/methodology/approach - The conventional approach for assessing the degree of persistence within an inflation process is via its integration properties. This study makes use of univariate threshold autoregressive (TAR) models and associated unit root testing procedures to investigate the integration properties of the inflation data. Out-of-sample forecasts are further performed for the TAR models and their linear counterparts. Findings - The empirical results confirm threshold effects in the persistence of all employed aggregated measures of inflation, whereas such asymmetric effects are ambiguous for disaggregated inflation measures. None of the observed series is found to be stationary in their levels. The out-of-sample forecasts for all TAR models outperform their linear counterparts. Practical implications - Given the scope of the study, the empirical analysis provides insight with concern to the performance of inflation subsequent to the adoption of the inflation target regime in South Africa. Of particular interest are the low persistence levels observed at inflation rates of below 4.7 and 4.4 percent for core and CPI inflation, respectively, as both these aggregated measures of inflation play an essential role in guiding monetary policy conduct within the economy. The overall findings imply that on an aggregate level, the South African Reserve Bank's (SARB's) current inflation target of 3-6 percent encompasses a non-stationary inflation range and thus proves to be restrictive on monetary policy conduct. Originality/value - The paper fills in an important gap in the academic literature by evaluating asymmetric effects in the integration properties of inflation, at both aggregated and disaggregated levels, for the exclusive case of South Africa.
Macronutrient Intake–Associated FGF21 Genotype Modifies Effects of Weight-Loss Diets on 2-Year Changes of Central Adiposity and Body Composition: The POUNDS Lost Trial

OBJECTIVE Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is involved in the regulation of energy balance and adipose metabolism. Our previous genome-wide association study identified genetic variants in the FGF21 region associated with macronutrient intake preference. We investigated whether the FGF21 genotype modified effects of weight-loss diets varying in macronutrient intake on changes in adiposity in a 2-year randomized diet intervention trial. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We genotyped FGF21 rs838147 in 715 overweight or obese individuals who were assigned to one of four diets varying in macronutrient contents. A DEXA scan was performed to evaluate body composition. RESULTS We observed a significant interaction between the FGF21 genotype and carbohydrate/fat intake on 2-year changes in waist circumference (WC), percentage of total fat mass, and percentage of trunk fat (P = 0.049, P = 0.001, and P = 0.003 for interaction, respectively). In response to the low-carbohydrate/high-fat diet, carrying the carbohydrate intake–decreasing C allele of rs838147 was marginally associated with less reduction in WC (P = 0.08) and significantly associated with less reduction of total fat mass (P = 0.01) and trunk fat (P = 0.02). Opposite genetic associations with these outcomes were observed among the high-carbohydrate/low-fat diet group; carrying the C allele was associated with a greater reduction of WC, total body fat mass, and trunk fat. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that FGF21 genotypes may interact with dietary carbohydrate/fat intake on changes in central adiposity and body fat composition. A low-calorie, high-carbohydrate/low-fat diet was beneficial for overweight or obese individuals carrying the carbohydrate intake–decreasing allele of the FGF21 variant to improve body composition and abdominal obesity.
The effect of potassium dichromate on convoluted tubules of the kidney of adult male albino rats and the possible protective role of ginseng: a histological and immunohistochemical study

Background Chromium is a heavy metal used in painting, dyes, and leather tanning industries. Potassium dichromate Cr6+ has demonstrated ability to induce nephrotoxicity associated with oxidative stress in humans and animals. Ginseng is one of the most popular herbal remedies, with a wide range of beneficial therapeutic effects. Objective The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of potassium dichromate on the convoluted tubules of adult male albino rats and the possible protective role of ginseng. Materials and methods Forty adult male rats were divided equally into four groups (10 rats for each): Group I was the control group. In group II (the ginseng group), rats received a daily oral dose of ginseng at 100 mg/kg body weight/day by means of a gastric tube for 3 weeks. In group III (the potassium dichromate group), rats received a single subcutaneous injection of potassium dichromate at 15 mg/kg body weight. In group IV (the potassium dichromate and ginseng group), rats received potassium dichromate and ginseng for 3 weeks. Kidney specimens were prepared for light microscopic examination {stained with (H&E), Masson’s trichrome, immunohistochemical detection of caspase-3}. Semithin and ultrathin sections were prepared for electron microscopic examination. Results Group III showed degeneration and necrosis of cells of the renal tubules (proximal and distal) with tubular dilatation, an increase in collagen fibers around degenerated convoluted tubules, and cell apoptosis (highly expressed caspase-3). Electron microscopic results showed marked disrupted brush border of proximal convoluted tubules and disturbance of the basal infoldings of distal convoluted tubules. The cytoplasm had mitochondria that were irregular in shape and variable in size and large electron-dense particles. The smooth endoplasmic reticulum membrane revealed whorly appearance around the degenerated organelles. Group IV showed improvement in the light and electron microscopic changes described before. Conclusion Ginseng has a protective effect against potassium dichromate-induced nephrotoxicity as it has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic activities. We advice the workers who deal with chromium to take enough doses of ginseng to protect themselves from its side effects.
Directors' Recommendations in Takeovers: An Agency and Governance Analysis

This paper evaluates whether directors of target companies make response recommendations in takeovers which are consistent with the interests of shareholders, by examining the relationship between target director recommendations and associated takeover characteristics and ownership and corporate governance characteristics of target companies. The findings suggest that response recommendations appear to be more closely associated with the self-interest of directors rather than shareholders' concerns, and that common governance initiatives aimed at aligning the interests of shareholders and managers are ineffective in resolving this agency problem. The results suggest the need for legislative or judicial reforms in Australia to encourage takeover activity and reduce takeover hostility.
Organizational Influences, Public Service Motivation and Work Outcomes: An Australian Study

ABSTRACT This research examines the influence of organizational factors—intrinsic rewards, extrinsic rewards, work relations with management, and work relations with co-workers—on the relationship between public service motivation (PSM) and two work outcomes: job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Using data from the 2005 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes of over 2,200 employees in the Australian public and private sectors, this study found a direct and significant association between the two work outcomes and PSM (and the PSM-fit variable). Despite their significant and direct effects on the work outcomes, the organizational factors did not show any significant moderating effects on the relationships between PSM-fit and the two work outcomes.