Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mental contrasting of a dieting wish improves self-reported health behaviour

Mentally contrasting a desired future with present reality standing in its way promotes commitment to feasible goals, whereas mentally indulging in a desired future does not. Dieting students (N = 134) reported their most important dieting wish that they deemed attainable within a 2-week period. Then, they were directed to mentally contrast or indulge in thoughts and images about the named dieting wish. A control condition was given no directions. Two weeks after the experiment, dieters retrospectively rated their behaviour change: in the mental contrasting condition they reported having eaten relatively fewer calories overall, fewer high-calorie food and more low-calorie food compared to those in the indulging and control conditions, and they also reported having been more physically active. This transfer effect from one health domain to another suggests a more generalised effect of mental contrasting versus indulging and control than previously assumed.
Why State and Local Economic Development Programs Cause so Little Economic Development

Although evaluations show that state and local economic development programs have few effects on economic growth or redistribution of economic activity, explanations for the failures are incomplete. Technocratic explanations have dominated economic development research but cannot account for many program activities. Based on evidence from a Minnesota program, the best explanation emphasizes a perspective of bureaucratic and political imperatives. Economic development programs are not designed and implemented in ways that can achieve their goals, principally because of important politicalforces. Administrators must run a program to garner support of legislators, a governor, and opinion leaders for program survival. State and locally elected officials need economic development programs to deliver quick, visible projects in their efforts to solve their districts' economic problems, manage business climate politics, and achieve other aims. Achieving implicit goals means that programs only occasionally undertake activities likely to achieve explicit aims.
How Internet Technologies Impact Information Flows in R&D: Reconsidering the Technological Gatekeeper

Previous studies have firmly established the technological gatekeeper to be a key node in the innovation process – acquiring, translating, and disseminating external information throughout the R&D unit. However, the gatekeeper concept has received modest attention in recent times. We argue that the concept needs to be re-examined in light of the recent advances in Internet technologies that have dramatically altered how knowledge workers source and share their information. Drawing on social network analysis and interview evidence from a medical devices R&D group, we find that the gatekeeper role is still vital, but no longer needs to be performed by a single individual. Instead, the modern R&D group can keep abreast of the latest technological advances through a combination of Internet-enabled internal and external communication specialists. This study makes a number of important contributions. The gatekeeper theory is extended through the development of an updated conceptual framework. We also discuss the practical implications of our findings and advise R&D managers on how to organise resources to maximise optimal information flows.
Severity of postoperative recurrence in crohn's disease: Correlation between endoscopic and sonographic findings

Background: Crohn's disease (CD) recurrence is currently assessed by ileocolonoscopy. Small intestine contrast ultrasonography (SICUS) visualizes the small bowel lesions in CD, although its role after curative resection is undefined. We aimed to investigate the accuracy of SICUS in assessing CD recurrence after ileocolonic resection when using ileocolonoscopy as a gold standard. The correlation between the bowel wall thickness (BWT) measured by SICUS and the endoscopic score of recurrence was also assessed. Methods: The analysis included 72 CD patients with ileocolonic resection requiring ileocolonoscopy, undergoing SICUS within 6 months. Recurrence was assessed by ileocolonoscopy using the Rutgeerts' score. SICUS was performed after PEG ingestion and findings compatible with recurrence included: increased BWT (>3 mm), bowel dilation (>25 mm) or stricture (<10 mm). Results: Ileocolonoscopy detected recurrence in 67/72 (93%) patients. SICUS detected findings compatible with recurrence in 62/72 (86%) patients (5 false negative (FN), 4 false positive (FP), 1 true negative (TN), 62 true positive (TP)), showing a 92.5% sensitivity, 20% specificity, and 87.5% accuracy for detecting CD recurrence. The BWT detected by SICUS was correlated with the Rutgeerts' score (P = 0.0001; r = 0.67). The median BWT, the extent of the ileal lesions, and the prestenotic dilation were higher in patients with an endoscopic degree of recurrence ≥3 versus ≤2 (P < 0.001) and the lumen diameter was lower in patients with a Rutgeerts' score ≥3 versus ≤2 (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: Although SICUS and ileocolonoscopy provide different views of the small bowel, SICUS shows a significant correlation with the endoscopic findings. SICUS may represent an alternative noninvasive technique for assessing CD recurrence after ileocolonic resection. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2009)
Oil Prices and the Real Exchange Rate in Oil‐Exporting Countries

This study investigated the impact of oil price shocks on the real exchange rate covering the most recent oil shock from 2000 to 2010 in 12 oil‐exporting countries, namely Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Indonesia, Kuwait, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. In this study, the panel model was implemented using six variables, namely the real exchange rate as the dependent variable, and oil price, government consumption expenditure, current account, inflation rate and gross domestic product based on the purchasing power parity as independent variables. The results we have arrived at show that the increases in oil prices have caused a real exchange rate appreciation in these countries.
Rozwój społeczny obszarów wiejskich a edukacja ekonomiczna młodego pokolenia

Abstrakt. Artykuł podejmuje problem ścisłego związku rozwoju społecznego obszarów wiejskich z inwestowaniem w kapitał ludzki młodego pokolenia. Istotną rolę przypisuje się edukacji ekonomicznej, która pozwalałaby na skuteczniejsze poruszanie się poszczególnych jednostek i całych zbiorowości we współczesnym świecie. W tezach artykułu podkreślono, że pomimo stałego wzrostu wskaźników kapitału ludzkiego na wsi, nadal znacząco odbiegają one od charakteryzującego mieszkańców zwłaszcza dużych miast. Mimo upływu lat, utrzymują się dysproporcje, także wśród młodego pokolenia, co może negatywnie oddziaływać na dalsze możliwości rozwoju społecznego obszarów wiejskich. W procesie kształcenia formalnego i nieformalnego należy więc przypisać większą rangę edukacji ekonomicznej.
The Neural Bases of Social Pain: Evidence for Shared Representations With Physical Pain

Experiences of social rejection or loss have been described as some of the most “painful” experiences that we, as humans, face and perhaps for good reason. Because of our prolonged period of immaturity, the social attachment system may have co-opted the pain system, borrowing the pain signal to prevent the detrimental consequences of social separation. This review summarizes a program of research that has explored the idea that experiences of physical pain and social pain rely on shared neural substrates. First, evidence showing that social pain activates pain-related neural regions is reviewed. Then, studies exploring some of the expected consequences of such a physical pain–social pain overlap are summarized. These studies demonstrate that a) individuals who are more sensitive to one kind of pain are also more sensitive to the other and b) factors that increase or decrease one kind of pain alter the other in a similar manner. Finally, what these shared neural substrates mean for our understanding of socially painful experience is discussed.
TQM and business performance in the service sector: a Singapore study

This paper focuses on gaining insight into the impact of TQM on the business performance of the service sector of the economy. The study yields clear evidence that TQM implementation improved business performance in the service sector of Singapore. Success of TQM implementations appears to be attributable more to the rigor of its implementation rather than the duration. The study finds that while accrued benefits can be attributed to some of the tools of TQM, such as, customer focus and quality improvement rewards, the key to the success of TQM lies in its intangible and behavioral features such as top management support, employee empowerment and employee involvement.
Segmenting Taiwanese Travelers on Cruises in North America: Comparing the Involvement and Cluster Approach

The cruise industry is the fastest growing category within the leisure market. Asia is a large market and a potential growth area for the cruise industry. Within Asia, the Taiwanese cruise market has grown substantially since 1997. The involvement construct is an important psychographic facet of consumer behavior. Involvement is defined as a person's perceived relevance of the object based on inherent needs, values, and interests. Past research has linked the level of involvement to travel motivation for leisure choices, including travel. Cluster analysis is a classic market segmentation approach that has been extensively used in the tourism literature. The cluster approach has been used to understand travel motivations, satisfaction, dining choices, etc. However, no studies have presented a comparison of the two methods. There are only a few research studies on cruise vacations. Furthermore, no studies have identified the involvement levels of Taiwanese cruisers and segmented the Taiwanese cruise market to offer valuable marketing insights. This study aims at filling these gaps in the literature. Data were collected from 352 Taiwanese cruisers. The questionnaire was developed in English and translated into Chinese. This study found only two distinct categories of high and medium involvement cruisers. The cluster segmentation approach resulted in two distinct clusters, each with its own characteristics. Analysis showed that cluster segmentation provided a more nuanced definition of the segments in the context of Taiwanese cruisers.
Crazy Explanations for the Productivity Slowdown

This article argues that to understand the behavior of productivity statistics, it is necessary to reexamine the basic assumptions underlying growth accounting. In particular, it offers theoretical and empirical support for the assertion that the elasticity of output with respect to an input like capital or labor might differ from the share of the input in total factor income. The theories offered in support of this possibility allow for spillovers of knowledge, specialization with monopolistic competition, and endogenous accumulation of labor-saving technological change. Evidence on the form of aggregate production is drawn from data for many countries and for long historical time periods. The specific interpretation of the productivity slowdown that is offered is that a low elasticity of output with respect to labor causes labor productivity growth rates to fall when labor growth speeds up.
Integrating motivation, risk-taking and self-identity: A typology of ICT enterprise development narratives

This article describes an original typology of enterprise development narratives that emerged from a study of the motivation, risk-taking and self-identity of nascent ICT (information and communications technology) entrepreneurs. The typology provides a multifaceted and integrated framework for appreciating an entrepreneur’s quest to align ‘who I am and what I do’ and achieve what we are calling the ‘self-enterprise fit’. As such, it promises to provide a valuable framework for (re)locating the ‘psychology of entrepreneurship’ in entrepreneurs’ experiences of enterprise development so that our understanding of new entrepreneurs’ approaches to enterprise development is enhanced and business assistance can be more effectively targeted.
Average Correlation and Stock Market Returns

If the Roll critique is important, changes in the variance of the stock market may be only weakly related to changes in aggregate risk and subsequent stock market excess returns. However, since individual stock returns share a common sensitivity to true market return shocks, higher aggregate risk can be revealed by higher correlation between stocks. In addition, a change in stock market variance that leaves aggregate risk unchanged can have a zero or even negative effect on the stock market risk premium. We show that the average correlation between daily stock returns predicts subsequent quarterly stock market excess returns. We also show that changes in stock market risk holding average correlation constant can be interpreted as changes in the average variance of individual stocks. Such changes have a negative relation with future stock market excess returns.
A comparison of single dose dexmedetomidine with propofol for the prevention of emergence delirium after desflurane anaesthesia in children

Emergence delirium is a common problem in children recovering from general anaesthesia. We performed a study comparing emergence characteristics in 100 patients who were randomly allocated to receive either 0.3 μg. kg−1 dexmedetomidine, 1 mg.kg−1 propofol or saline 0.9% and undergoing infra‐umbilical surgery. The Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium scale was used to grade emergence delirium. Emergence delirium occurred in 9.4% of children in the dexmedetomidine group compared with 13.9% in the propofol group and 40.6% in the control group (p = 0.004). In the dexmedetomidine group, sedation occurred in 62.5% of children at 10 min after transfer to the recovery area, compared with 44.4% in the propofol group and 12.5% in the control group (p = 0.010). We conclude that dexmedetomidine significantly reduced the incidence of emergence delirium but this was at the expense of a greater incidence of sedation in the recovery period.
Correlates of Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in Injection Drug Users in a Syringe-Exchange Program in Malmö, Sweden

Background: Injection drug users (IDUs) are at increased risk of various medical conditions, including bacterial skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs). SSTIs, which are painful and can lead to life-threatening complications, are common but scarcely studied. Objectives: To investigate life time, past 12 month and past 30-day prevalence for SSTI related to injection drug use, in IDUs at Malmö syringe exchange program (Malmö SEP). To investigate factors associated with having ever had an SSTI. Methods: IDUs were recruited from Malmö SEP (N = 80). They participated in a survey with questions about demographics, drug use, and experience of SSTIs. Factors independently associated with self-reported SSTI ever were assessed using logistic regression analysis. Results: The lifetime reported prevalence of SSTI was 58%, past 12 months 30%, and past 30 days 14%. Factors independently associated with SSTI ever were age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.09; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01–1.18), female sex (AOR = 6.75; 95% CI = 1.40–32.47), having ever injected prescribed drugs (AOR = 52.15; 95% CI = 5.17–525.67), and having ever injected in the neck (AOR = 8.08; 95% CI = 1.16–56.08). Conclusions/Importance: SSTI is common among IDUs in Malmö. Women and those injecting in the neck or injecting prescribed drugs (crushed tablets/liquids), are more likely to have had an SSTI.
Environmental degradation and intra-household welfare: the case of the Tanzanian rural South Pare Highlands

Key words: Environmental degradation, intrahousehold labour allocation, intrahousehold welfare. Rural south Pare highlands in Tanzania experience a deteriorating environmental situation. Of particular importance is the disappearance of forests and woodlands. The consequence are declining amounts and reliability of rainfall, declining amounts of water levels and loss of biodiversity. Deterioration of environmental resources increases costs of collecting environmental products, which in many respects have no feasible close substitutes. One of the major components of the increased costs is labour time allocated by household members to collecting environmental products and/or grazing activities. This study presents an empirical investigation of the impact of this reallocation of intra-household labour resources on livelihood for different members of a household. We used the cross-sectional data. To analyse how variations in the environmental degradation affect intra-household labour allocation, three types of areas are distinguished: severely-degraded, medium-degraded, and non-degraded environments. Our findings show that (1) the environmental products collection and/or grazing activities are gender biased with husbands specializing in grazing while wives and children working mainly on fetching water and fuel wood; and that the labour time allocation is significantly influenced by environmental condition; (2) environmental degradation is limiting the production and consumption potentials in the area and that a limited adoption of agricultural modernization further aggravates this problem; (3) factors like school crowdedness, illness, bad weather, poor school quality, and school absenteeism due to street vending contribute much negatively to the probability of primary school attainment for a child apart from the environmental degradation situation; and that (4) subjective welfare and well-being of the household members are affected by the quality of the environment. This study contributes to the understanding of the situation and setting proper measures towards solving the problems of sustainable development, poverty alleviation, environmental policy, human capital formation in south Pare.
The Effect of the Real Estate Downturn on the Link between REITs and the Stock Market

We analyze the impact of the real-estate/mortgage crisis on the dependence between the market for common stocks and returns on Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT's), using a flexible mixed-copula approach. We find that the impact of the crisis on the levels of the tail dependence is very different from the impact on the values of the linear correlations. For this asset class all correlations are lower in the post-crisis period, whereas all other correlations have increased. In contrast, only the tail dependence values between the different REIT's indices seem to be impacted by the crisis, with the level of the tail dependence between each of the different REIT's indices and the stock market being less affected. That is, looking at the correlations the effect of the crisis appears to be a weakening of the connection between residential mortgage REIT's and the rest of the financial market, whereas the effect on the tail dependence suggest that the crisis mainly has an intra-REIT's effect.
The impact of loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) for CIN 2,3 on spontaneous preterm delivery in twin pregnancies by assisted reproductive technique: preliminary data

Abstract The objective of this study was to compare the frequency of spontaneous preterm delivery before 35 weeks in 7 dichorionic twin pregnancies obtained after loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2,3 with respect to 21 twin pregnancies without previous cervical treatment. All the pregnancies were obtained after assisted reproduction techniques (ART). Same age at delivery was observed between two groups (p = 0.81) and none of our twin pregnancies after LEEP had a threatened preterm labor while four controls (19%) underwent a spontaneous preterm delivery (p = 0.35). These preliminary data seem to indicate that LEEP may not be responsible of spontaneous preterm delivery in twin pregnancies subsequent to ART.
The legacy of instrumentality in policy and pedagogy in the teaching of English: the case of Singapore

Combining two metaphors we argue that apart from official educational policy, there exists a palimpsest of cumulatively added prior policies sedimented in teachers’ pedagogy, in addition to quasi‐official phantom policies formed at the local level. We argue that these affect teachers’ practices and beliefs in ways that may run counter to the desire of policy‐makers to change educational regimes. Using research from a two‐year long professional development project with teachers from two Singaporean secondary schools, we contend that while the top is busily redesigning the education system in general, and language and literacy teaching in particular, in ways that foster enquiry and higher‐level work with a wide range of texts, in the micro‐context of the classroom a long‐standing instrumentalist logic prevails. We conclude that innovators need to be very cognisant of the legacy of past written and unwritten policies embedded in teachers’ practices and beliefs when planning and engaging in professional development work.
Women and international assignments: Taking stock—a 25-year review

Women's progress into management and, more specifically, into the world of expatriates, is the subject of this review. Despite advances in equal opportunities legislation, women failed to embark on expatriate missions in significant numbers during the 1980s. In the 1990s, more women were offered international assignment opportunities but they remained a negligible minority compared to men. The first decade of the twenty-first century has witnessed a gradual increase in the number and visibility of women in international assignments. Through a comprehensive review of the literature over the period from 1980 to now, this article charts the emerging themes and changes in the tone of dis-course: from when organizations were debating whether to “give women a chance” through attempts to identify and remove “blockages” to women's progress to, most recently, structural changes in the expatriate assignment and claims for women's superior affinity to operating internationally. We highlight gaps in the current literature and propose a platform for future research. We conclude with recommendations for practice.
A Unified Framework for Using Micro-Data to Compare Dynamic Wage and Price Setting Models

This paper develops a statistical framework of steady-state identities which enable us to match the distributions of durations found in the micro-data to generalized Taylor and Calvo models of time-dependent pricing. We illustrate the approach with the UK micro CPI data for 2006-2009, and employ the pricing models in a simple macromodel. We find that the Generalized Taylor Economy generates a hump shaped response function, whilst the Generalized Calvo does not.
Three Treatments for Chronic Venous Insufficiency: Escin, Hydroxyethylrutoside, and Daflon

Escin, hydroxyethylrutoside (HR), and Daflon have been shown to be safe and effective for the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). They seem to work differently than compression therapy, suggesting that they would usefully augment this therapy. All three phlebotonics attenuate the drop in adenosine triphosphate in venous endothelial cells during hypoxia. This attenuates (1) the inflammation response, (2) the attraction of neutrophils, (3) damage to the veins, and (4) the release of growth factors. These factors otherwise would perpetuate venous insufficiency and contribute to varicose veins. Additional independent effects that would be useful for the treatment of CVI are that they reduce permeability and fragility; HR, Daflon, and perhaps escin increase venous tone; escin inhibits hyaluronidase; Daflon and probably HR are attracted to the veins. With regard to similarity, no differences in effect have been established among these phlebotonics.