Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Effects of Analyst Forecast Properties and Country-Level Institutions on the Cost of Debt

We investigate the link between analyst forecast characteristics and the cost of debt financing in international markets, and the influence of country-level institutions. Using a sample of 3,768 bond issues from 42 non-U.S. countries from 1996 to 2014, we find statistically and economically significant evidence that analysts lower bond yield spreads. Further, this relation is stronger in firms operating in countries with weak institutions governing property rights, creditor protection, and disclosure standards. Overall, our findings imply that financial analysts play an important role as information intermediaries, and show that this relation is especially important in countries with weak institutional environments.
Public Agency External Analysis Using a Modified “Five Forces” Framework

ABSTRACT Strategy matters in the public sector as well as in the private sector. Michael Porter's “five competitive forces” (5 Forces) framework (Porter 1979; 1980; 2008) is widely used by private-sector firms to analyze the external environment and specific external forces. Can public agency managers use some version of 5 Forces analysis to effectively analyze the external environments of their programs? What modifications are required for public agency use? The case is made that a version of the 5 Forces framework can be useful when appropriately modified for public agency programs. The public agency version of the 5 Forces framework that is presented specifically considers public agency goals from three perspectives: descriptive, instrumental, and normative. The descriptive focus on autonomy is laid out. Another modification to the standard framework explicitly introduces political influence as an external force. Thus, the modified framework considers and integrates both political and economic external forces. Several significant modifications to Porter's other forces are also proposed and discussed. A number of strategic implications of public program 5 Forces analysis are discussed. The modified 5 Forces framework is illustrated both in terms of autonomy (descriptive level) and social efficiency (normative perspective).
Early and Late Mismatch Negativity Elicited by Words and Speech-Like Stimuli in Children

In auditory perception the brain's attentional and preattentional mechanisms select certain stimuli for preferential processing and filter out irrelevant input. This study investigated nonattentive auditory processing in children. Event-related potentials (ERPs) provide a means to study neural correlates related to language and speech-sound processing. Mismatch negativity (MMN) is an ERP wave that indicates attention-independent perceptual change detection. In this study cortical ERPs were elicited by complex tones, naturally spoken words, and pseudowords, with each stimulus type containing equal acoustical elements. Tones elicited a bifurcated mismatch negativity (MMN), with early MMN (peaking at 150-200 ms) being more dominant. On the other hand, words elicited a strong late MMN, peaking at about 400-450 ms after stimulus onset. The MMN wave form was significantly weaker for pseudowords than for words. The late MMN wave, especially for word differences, was found to reflect summating MMN generators and memory trace formation on gestalt bases. Results suggest that the auditory processing, even nonattended, is highly associated with the cognitive meaning of the stimuli.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: ‘Tackling the Three Evils’. A Regional Response to Non-traditional Security Challenges or an Anti-Western Bloc?

Abstract This article examines how, despite the initial scepticism about its viability, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has become the primary security organisation in Central Asia. Two major factors are identified. Firstly, the focus of the SCO on tackling the so-called ‘three evils’ (terrorism, extremism, separatism) has won it favour with the prevailing leaderships of its member states. Secondly, the specific organisational framework adopted is appropriate for the region. The article concludes that the SCO is best characterised as a regional organisation concerned with non-traditional security and not as a hostile new ‘Warsaw Pact’ as suggested by some.
Road Pricing and Bus Service Policies

This paper focuses on the fare and frequency of bus services when underpriced automobiles and buses use the same road. Three types of bus provision are considered: (1) second-best, (2) private monopolistic operation, and (3) operation under zero-profit constraint. By incorporating congestion interaction, this paper derives a decision rule on each bus service. Moreover, by investigating the effect of road pricing, it is shown that the direction of change in bus fares and private welfare depends on type of provision. More importantly, it is shown that private welfare can be improved even without revenue recycling due to the congestion interaction. © 2009 LSE and the University of Bath
Inverse association of the obesity predisposing FTO rs9939609 genotype with alcohol consumption and risk for alcohol dependence.

AIMS To investigate whether the FTO rs9939609 A allele (a risk factor for obesity) is associated with measures of alcohol consumption. DESIGN Population-based cross-sectional study and two case-control studies. SETTING Poland and the Warsaw area. PARTICIPANTS A total of 6584 subjects from the WOBASZ survey and two cohorts of alcohol-dependent patients (n = 145 and n = 148). MEASUREMENTS Questionnaire data analysis, rs9939609 typing. FINDINGS Among individuals drinking alcohol, the obesity-associated AA genotype was also associated with lower total ethanol consumption [sex-, age- and body mass index (BMI)-adjusted difference: 0.21 g/day, P = 0.012] and distinct drinking habits with relatively low frequency of drinks but larger volume consumed at a time as evidenced by (i) association between AA and frequency/amount of typical drinks (P = 0.023, multiple logistic regression analysis); (ii) inverse correlation between AA and drink frequency adjusted for drink size (P = 0.007 for distilled spirits, P = 0.018 for beer); (iii) decreased frequency of AA [odds ratio (OR) = 0.46, P = 0.0004] among those who drank small amounts of distilled spirits (≤ 100 ml at a time) but frequently (≥ 1-2 times/week). A decrease of AA was also found in both cohorts of alcohol-dependent patients versus geographically matched subjects from WOBASZ yielding a pooled estimate of OR = 0.59, confidence interval (CI): 0.40-0.88, P = 0.008. Exploratory analysis showed that those with rs9939609 AA reported lower (by 1.22) mean number of cigarettes/day during a year of most intense smoking (P = 0.003) and were older at start of smoking by 0.44 years (P = 0.016). CONCLUSIONS The FTO AA genotype, independently from its effect on BMI, is associated with measures of ethanol consumption and possibly tobacco smoking.
Convergence and Divergence Dynamics in British and French Business Schools: How Will the Pressure for Accreditation Influence These Dynamics?

This paper focuses on convergence and divergence dynamics among leading British and French business schools and explores how the pressure for accreditation influences these dynamics. We illustrate that despite historical differences in approaches to management education in Britain and France, these approaches have converged partly based on the influence of the American model of management education but more recently through the pursuit of accreditation, in particular from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and the European Quality Improvement Standard. We explore these dynamics through the application of the resource‐based view of the firm and institutional theory and suggest that, whilst achieving accreditation is a necessary precursor for international competition, it is no longer a form of competitive advantage. The pursuit of accreditation has fostered a form of competitive mimicry reducing national distinctiveness. The resource‐based view of the firm suggests that the top schools need a more heterogeneous approach that is not easily replicable if they are to outperform the competitors. Consequently, the convergence of management education in Britain and France will become a new impetus for divergence. We assert that future growth and competitive advantage might be better achieved through the reassertion of national, regional and local cultural characteristics.
Are Government Activities Productive? Evidence from a Panel of U.S. States

Using panel data for the forty-eight contiguous U.S. states in each year between 1970 and 1986, this paper investigates the extent to which government capital and current government services contribute to private production. The paper finds fairly strong evidence that current government educational services are productive but no evidence that the other government activities considered are productive. Indeed, government capital often has statistically significant negative productivity. The results are robust across the many specifications considered. Copyright 1994 by MIT Press.
Consumer Confidence and Elections

We investigate the behavior of consumer confidence around national elections in the EU-15 coun- tries during 1985:1-2007:3. Consumer con¯dence increases before the date of elections and falls subsequently by almost the same amount. It is able to predict the strength of the performance of the incumbent party and its probability of re-election both alone and in the presence of macro- economic and political variables. The post-election drop is negatively related to the previous run up and is a function of the political - but not the economic - environment. A similar rise and fall characterizes consumer confidence in the United States.
Culture and leadership in Iran: The land of individual achievers, strong family ties, and powerful elite

Over the past twenty-five years, Iran, a country of over 60 million people, has endured a bewildering rate of societal and economic change. Little is currently known about the country besides its extremist and confrontational policies both inside and outside the country. In this article, we report on a study of 300 Iranian middle managers from the banking, telecommunications, and food-processing industries as part of the GLOBE Project. Our findings show that despite much visible economic and societal change, the country's deeper cultural traits seem rather intact. The first important finding is that Iran, while a Middle Eastern country, is not part of the Arab culture. Instead, it is part of the South Asian cultural cluster consisting of such countries as India, Thailand, and Malaysia. The country's culture is distinguished by its seemingly paradoxical mix of strong family ties and connections and a high degree of individualism. Societal or institutional collectivism is not a strong suit of Iranians. The .
Product innovation processes and the trade-off between product innovation performance and business performance

Purpose – This paper is concerned with the management and organization of product innovation processes, and how innovation performance relates to business performance. The underlying rationale is that encouraging firms to innovate will lead to a better business performance. Design/methodology/approach – This study leverages a data set of 99 medium-sized technology firms in Sweden. The first part of the analysis in this study aims at finding determinants of product innovation processes, and the second part is the analysis and trade-off between innovation performance and business performance. First, a research framework is developed in which the link between strategic dimensions, process dimensions and organizational dimensions of product innovation activity and product innovation performance is tested. Second, the research framework tests the relationship between innovation performance and business performance (sales and profitability). Findings – Product innovation performance (patent) is affected by seve.
Effect of butaclamol on dopamine‐sensitive adenylate cyclase in the rat striatum

Neuroleptic drugs exhibit a wide spectrumofpharmacologicaleffects(Matthysse, 1973; Keller, Bartholini & Pletscher, 1973; Miller & Hiley, 1974). Of these actions dopamine receptor blockade is widely thought to be responsible for the parkinsonian side effects seen with these drugs and in addition correlates well with the antipsychotic effects of neuroleptics. Evaluation of the topography of the receptor at which these drugs act has been facilitated recently by the use of an in vitro system-the dopaminestimulated adenylate cyclase present in dopamine-rich regions of the mammalian cns (Kebabian, Petzold & Greengard, 1972; Horn, Cuello & Miller, 1974). Previous results have illustrated the close correlation between blockade of the stimulating effects of dopamine on this adenylate cyclase and neuroleptic potency (Miller, Horn & Iversen, 1974). We now describe the action of butaclamol, (I) a neuroleptic of novel structure, (Humber, Bruderlein & Voigt, 1974; Bruderlein, Humber & Voigt, 1975) in this system. Among other features butaclamol (a racemate) exhibits optical isomerism.
Foreign Capital and Efficiency in Developing Countries

This paper uses stochastic frontier methodology to analyse foreign direct investment, imported capital goods and human capital as channels for increased efficiency in less-developed countries. Empirical investigation reveals that developing countries differ with respect to the efficiency with which they use frontier technology. Foreign direct investment and human capital play a significant and quantitatively important role in explaining these differences.
Airway microbial culture and susceptibility patterns in dogs and cats with respiratory disease of varying severity.

OBJECTIVE To compare airway microbiological culture and susceptibility results in 2 groups of dogs and cats: 1 with respiratory failure requiring positive pressure ventilation (PPV) and 1 with respiratory disease. DESIGN Retrospective study. SETTING University teaching hospital. ANIMALS Fifty-two dogs and cats requiring PPV that had an airway microbiologic culture submitted from October 1, 2003 to October 31, 2008 were included. One hundred and four airway microbiologic cultures from dogs and cats with respiratory disease not requiring PPV were randomly sampled for comparison. INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Patients with respiratory failure were more likely to have a gram-negative enteric isolate identified (P<0.001), while patients with respiratory disease were more likely to have a gram-negative nonenteric isolate (P<0.001) or anaerobic isolate (P<0.001) identified. Aerobic bacterial isolates from patients with respiratory failure were less likely to be susceptible to ampicillin (P=0.006), amoxicillin/clavulonate (P<0.001), chloramphenicol (P=0.004), enrofloxacin (P<0.001), ticarcillin/clavulonate (P=0.004), and the combination of ampicillin with enrofloxacin (P<0.001) than were aerobic bacterial isolates from patients with respiratory disease. CONCLUSIONS Canine and feline patients with respiratory failure severe enough to require PPV exhibit a different pattern of bacterial isolates cultured from their airways when compared with isolates from patients with respiratory disease that has not resulted in ventilator dependence. These isolates are more likely to be resistant to commonly used antimicrobials/antimicrobial combinations than patients in the respiratory disease group. These findings suggest that in canine and feline patients with infectious lower respiratory tract disease, consideration of the severity of the pulmonary insult may allow for better prediction of likely isolates and their antimicrobial susceptibilities. Further prospective studies with a standardized collection technique are warranted.
Origins and Formation of Histone Methylation across the Human Cell Cycle

ABSTRACT The connections between various nuclear processes and specific histone posttranslational modifications are dependent to a large extent on the acquisition of those modifications after histone synthesis. The reestablishment of histone posttranslational modifications after S phase is especially critical for H3K9 and H3K27 trimethylation, both of which are linked with epigenetic memory and must be stably transmitted from one cellular generation to the next. This report uses a proteomic strategy to interrogate how and when the cell coordinates the formation of histone posttranslational modifications during division. Paramount among the findings is that H3K9 and H3K27 trimethylation begins during S phase but is completed only during the subsequent G1 phase via two distinct pathways from the unmodified and preexisting dimethylated states. In short, we have systematically characterized the temporal origins and methylation pathways for histone posttranslational modifications during the cell cycle.
Primary-Care Decentralization in the Southern Cone: Shantytown Health Care as Urban Social Movement

Abstract Redemocratization in the Southern Cone has contended with a fiscally weakened state and ideologically divided groups. Years of free-market military rule have scaled back the welfare state and deteriorated public health care. Draconian cutbacks in public spending have forced private voluntary organizations (PVOs) to provide care for the urban poor. Shantytown health care and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have surfaced to fill the gap created by a shrinking public sector under military rule in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. This paper overcomes some shortcomings of Weberian and Marxian analyses of bureaucratic behavior and empowered social groups through the study of shantytown health care as a new social movement. A comparative review of medical-care policy in Buenos Aires, Santiago, and Montevideo reveals that only Santiago and Montevideo hold promise for decentralization. Neighborhood-based activities in shantytowns remove primary care from the marketplace by decommodifying it. Success of.
A Risk-Based Premium: What Does It Mean for DB Plan Sponsors?

This paper develops a risked-based premium calculation model for the insurance provided by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). It takes account of the pension fund’s and the plan sponsor’s investment policy and extends Chen (2011) by considering distress termination triggered by the sponsor’s underfunding. We empirically illustrate our theoretical pricing formula for the 100 biggest American DB sponsoring companies. Our result clearly casts doubt on the current practice where about 70% of the PBGC premiums charged are flat. We observe that the funding ratio and the leverage are the main risk factors in a risk-based premium calculation.
Between Separate Stoves and a Single Menu: Fiscal Decentralization in China

A recent body of literature with the paradigm of market preserving federalism at its core contends that China is a de facto federalist state. With the autonomy and tax rights of local governments entrenched in the reform era, local governments have allegedly become decentralized engines of growth. Scrutinizing the underlying premises of the above paradigm, this article arrives at a picture of China's local governments as less autonomous and the system of vertical bureaucratic control as more potent than that painted by the above paradigm. Emerging from our findings is an alternative interpretation of China's central–local fiscal relations that may help us understand such recent phenomena as the proliferation of arbitrary charges.
Subfractionation of the endocytic pathway: isolation of compartments involved in the processing of internalised epidermal growth factor-receptor complexes.

The aim of the present study was to isolate different parts of the endocytic pathway in order to examine the role of epidermal growth factor (EGF)-receptor internalisation in mediating the biological effects of EGF. We have used an antibody to the transferrin receptor complexed with colloidal gold to modify the density of the endocytic compartments so that they can be purified by sucrose density centrifugation. Using this technique, we have been able to isolate a highly purified preparation of endocytic vesicles from H.Ep. 2 cells that contain internalised EGF. By employing pulse--chase protocols, it is possible to isolate the different parts of the endocytic pathway and show that they are temporally distinct with regard to the processing of EGF. It should now be possible to examine interactions between the EGF receptor and intracellular substrates in different parts of the endocytic pathway.
Benefits of the HiRes 120 coding strategy combined with the Harmony processor in an adult European multicentre study

Abstract Conclusion: The Harmony processor was found to be reliable, comfortable and offered a substantially increased battery life compared with the previous generation processor. No significant improvement in speech understanding with HiRes was demonstrated from objective measures, but the majority of subjects showed a clear subjective preference for the combination HiRes 120/Harmony processor. Objectives: To evaluate experience with the Harmony™ sound processor, together with the HiRes 120 strategy. Methods: Postlingually deafened adults implanted with a CII or HiRes 90K were included and divided into three groups: (1) experienced users using the Platinum body-worn processor; (2) experienced users who had been using other processors; (3) new users with the Harmony processor from first fitting. The latter group entered a randomized crossover protocol where half were initially fitted with HiRes and half with HiRes 120. The initial strategy was used for 3 months and the alternative for a further 3 months. Speech perception tests and questionnaires were performed. Results: The study included 65 subjects. Implementing HiRes 120 was straightforward. The speech test group results did not show significant differences between HiRes and HiRes 120. However, the questionnaires showed significantly higher ratings for HiRes 120 in some instances. Subjects were highly satisfied with the Harmony processor.
Taking Cantonal Variations of Integration Policy Seriously - or How to Validate International Concepts at the Subnational Comparative Level

Abstract: Subnational varieties of immigrant integration policy, which are particularly salient in federal states, remain largely neglected by migration studies. Following Lijphart, who long demanded to verify international research at the subnational level, this study aims at capturing subnational policy variations using the example of Swiss cantons. In line with international approaches, cantonal integration policies are conceptualized and measured in terms of immigrants’ ease or difficulty of access to civic, political, socio-structural, as well as cultural and religious rights and obligations. The transfer of an international concept to the subnational level facilitates a validation of the former, which constitutes a second neglected research field. Finally, a look at the empirical evidence allows testing the construct validity of our measurement: in line with theoretical assumptions, our data reveal a clear linguistic divide, an institutionalised “Roschtigraben”, with German speaking cantons exhibiting overall more restrictive policies than Latin cantons.
The Role of Culture in Knowledge Sharing in a Public-Sector Organization in Ghana: Revisiting Hofstede’s Model

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the role of culture in knowledge-sharing drawing on Hofstede’s culture framework. The case study research design was employed as the research design. Semistructured interview guide was used as the data gathering instrument. Data analysis was done using the thematic analysis technique. Under power distance, four themes were identified as being crucial in knowledge sharing in Afiya Kwabre District Assembly. These factors are decision-making involvement, power and status, delegation of responsibilities, and respect and fairness. In addition, three major themes emerged under uncertainty avoidance—broadening knowledge, job security, and group membership.