Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Continuing professional development in higher education: voices from below

The purpose of this research is to further understanding of faculty-based academics’ views on what influences their understandings, behaviours and attitudes towards their continuing professional development. Informed by critical realist ontology, it is argued that it is necessary to explore academics’ understandings and accounts of professional development in their practice context in order to gain a better understanding of the complexity and differential practices that underlie professional development in academia. In doing so, the research addresses the current under-representation in the literature of the voices of faculty academics about what influences their approaches to professional development. The data collection was carried out during the academic year 2007-8, using a qualitative multi-case study approach. Methods included semi-structured, narrative interviews with academics, more structured interviews with ‘key informants’ and examination of relevant institutional documents. Findings from this research have enabled new themes and areas for reflection to emerge about the constraints and enablements academics perceive in respect of their professional development. In particular, themes such as issues of interpretation and meaning; concepts of professional status and academic values; misaligned initiatives and priorities; the influence of supportive networks; and emergent personal, individual concerns have surfaced. The conclusion is drawn that the significance of agency raises the importance of opening the debate and responding to the ‘voices from below’.
The Determinants of Credit Ratings: Australian Evidence

We examine the impact that various financial and industry variables have on credit ratings issued for Australian firms by Standard and Poor's. Our ordered probit model indicates that interest coverage and leverage ratios have the most pronounced effect on credit ratings. Profitability variables and industry concentration measures are also important. Financial variables are helpful in discriminating between A- and BBB-rated firms, but are less precise in separating AA- and A-rated firms. We also document a consistent trend towards lower ratings—the standard required to achieve a particular rating is increasing over time.
Outcomes from studies of antineutrophil cytoplasm antibody associated vasculitis: a systematic review by the European League Against Rheumatism systemic vasculitis task force

Objectives: We undertook a systematic literature review as a background to the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) recommendations for conducting clinical trials in anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibody associated vasculitis (AAV), and to assess the quality of evidence for outcome measures in AAV. Methods: Using a systematic Medline search, we categorised the identified studies according to diagnoses. Factors affecting remission, relapse, renal function and overall survival were identified. Results: A total of 44 papers were reviewed from 502 identified by our search criteria. There was considerable inconsistency in definitions of end points. Remission rates varied from 30% to 93% in Wegener granulomatosis (WG), 75% to 89% in microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) and 81% to 91% in Churg–Strauss syndrome (CSS). The 5-year survival for WG, MPA and CSS was 74–91%, 45–76% and 60–97%. Relapse (variably defined) was common in the first 2 years but the frequency varied: 18% to 60% in WG, 8% in MPA, and 35% in CSS. The rate of renal survival in WG varied from 23% at 15 months to 23% at 120 months. Methods used to assess morbidity varied between studies. Ignoring the variations in definitions of the stage of disease, factors influencing remission, relapse, renal and overall survival included immunosuppressive therapy used, type of organ involvement, presence of ANCA, older age and male gender. Conclusions: Factors influencing remission, relapse, renal and overall survival include the type of immunosuppressive therapy used, pattern of organ involvement, presence of ANCA, older age and male gender. Methodological variations between studies highlight the need for a consensus on terminology and definitions for future conduct of clinical studies in AAV.
Depression and associated socio-demographic factors among Geriatrics-An Experience from a tertiary Hospital.

Depression in old age is associated with genetic susceptibility, chronic disease and disability, pain, frustration with limitations in activities of daily living. The present study was undertaken to find out the prevalence of depression and associated socio-demographic factors among geriatric patients attending a tertiary care hospital by Geriatric Depression Scale. 65.3% of the study population had depression (mild- 36.2%, severe-29.1%) and the association of this depression with age (p<.001), gender (p<.001), residence (p=.027), marital status (p=.004), education (p<.001), occupation (p<.001), family type (p<.001) and economic dependency (p=.002), living condition (p<.001) was statistically significant. Social support group, local clubs and respective families should address the issue of depression among elderly. 1 The population aged 60 years and above will grow from 77 million in 2001(7.4%) to 150 million (14.41%) in 2020. 2 Age is an important determinant of mental illness. The overall prevalence of mental and behavioural disorders tends to increase with age due to the normal ageing of the brain, deteriorating physical health and cerebral pathology. 3 Lack of family support and restricted personal autonomy are other important contributing factors. Mental health of the elderly is an important concern and depression accounts for the greatest burden among them. It is expected to become the leading cause of disability by year 2020 closely following ischemic heart disease. 4 Globally, prevalence of depression in geriatric population varies from 10% to 20%, while in India; it is even higher varying from 13% to 25%. 5 Depression in old age is associated with genetic susceptibility, chronic disease and disability, pain, frustration with limitations in activities of daily living, personality trait (dependent, anxious or avoidant), adverse life events and lack of adequate social support. In a hospital-based study, Abhay et al. 6 found that nearly 52.5% of the patients with chronic medical illness suffer from psychiatric illness, depression being the most common. Uwakwe et al 7 evaluated all the patients aged more than 60 years, who were admitted in non-psychiatric wards in a teaching hospital and observed that 45.3% of the patients had psychiatric illness, with depression being the commonest, followed by organic disorders, adjustment disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. Only 2.8% of the mental disorders could be recognized by the physicians. This reflects the need for psychological assessment among the geriatric patients. With this background, we have conducted this study with the following objectives: 1. To find out the prevalence of depression among elderly patients attending a tertiary care hospital. 2. To assess the socio demographic factors affecting depression among them.
PENGARUH STRUKTUR KEPEMILIKAN MANAJERIAL, LEVERAGE, DAN FINANCIAL DISTRESS TERHADAP KONSERVATISME AKUNTANSI

ABSTRAK Konservatisme akuntansi diimplementasikan dalam keadaan jika terdapat suatu peningkatan aktiva yang belum terealisasi, maka kejadian tersebut belum bisa diakui. Namun, mengakui adanya penurunan aktiva walaupun kejadian tersebut belum terealisasi. Konservatisme dikatakan lebih mengantisipasi rugi daripada laba. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji secara empiris hubungan struktur kepemilikan manajerial, leverage , dan financial distress pada konservatisme akuntansi. Penelitian ini dilakukan pada perusahaan manufaktur di Bursa Efek Indonesia periode 2009-2011. Pemilihan sampel dilakukan dengan metode purposive sampling dan diperoleh sebanyak 37 perusahaan yang sesuai dengan kriteria. Penelitian ini menggunakan regresi linear berganda dan uji asumsi klasik untuk analisis data. Uji F dan uji t digunakan dalam menguji hipotesis penelitian. Hasil yang diperoleh bahwa pengaruh struktur kepemilikan manajerial dan leverage signifikan positif pada konservatisme akuntansi, sedangkan financial distress mempunyai pengaruh signifikan negatif terhadap konservatisme akuntansi. Kata kunci: konservatisme, kepemilikan manajerial, leverage, financial distress
Locus of segmental cues for word juncture.

Listening experiments with spliced speech showed that cues for the perception of word juncture occurred always at word onset, at word offset only for /l/ and /r/, and never word medially. Spectrograms showed the cues to be bursts, aspiration, glottal stops, laryngealization, and distinct syllable‐initial allophones of /l/ and /r/.
Market Structure, Program Diversity, and Radio Audience Size

This paper examines the relationships among radio station listenership, the number of program formats, and the number of stations. These relationships are statistically significant and consistent with theory, but the interrelationships are numerically small. The results imply that proposals by the federal Communications Commission and Congress to relax ownership restrictions must induce substantial changes in station numbers in order to noticeably increase programming diversity. Merely modest changes in these numbers will have only small diversity effects. The paper's results also imply that merely mandating the number of formats in a market may not be in the interests of listeners.
Empowering research: statistical power in general practice research.

BACKGROUND Statistical power is a measure of the extent to which a study is capable of discerning differences or associations which exist within the population under investigation, and is of critical importance whenever a hypothesis is tested by statistics. Conventionally, studies should reach a power level of 0.8, such that four times out of five a false null hypothesis will be rejected by a study. Statistical power may most easily be increased by increasing sample size. OBJECTIVE We aimed to assess the level of statistical power of general practice research. METHODS A total of 1422 statistical tests in 85 quantitative original papers in the British Journal of General Practice were analysed for statistical power. RESULTS The median power of tests analysed was 0.71, representing a slightly greater than two-thirds likelihood of rejecting false null hypotheses. Of 85 studies, 37 (44%) attained power of 0.8 or more. Ten studies had power of more than 0.99 suggesting 'over-powering'. Twenty-one of the papers surveyed (25%) had a likelihood of gaining significant results poorer than that obtained by tossing a coin when a null hypothesis is false. CONCLUSION While achieving higher power than studies in similar surveys of other disciplines, the power of general practice research falls short of the 0.8 convention. Adequate power is essential so that effects which exist are not missed. Recommendations are made concerning power calculations prior to the start of research and reporting of results in journal articles.
The relative importance of human and product resources in influencing the export propensity of small UK firms

The decision on whether to seek business overseas can be crucial to a small firm's success. The issue here addressed is what distinguishes firms of a similar size and within the same sector that export from those that do not. Drawing on the Resource Based View (RBV) of the firm, company age, various measures of human capital and perceived characteristics of products were employed to explain export propensity. Logit regression was employed on a sample of 50 software companies and 37 food manufacturers. The results suggest the most important influence to be belief by management that their product is a market leader. This is followed by the possession of a degree by CEOs and the experience of living abroad.
The 1972-73 Food Price Spiral

THE SHARP RISE in U.S. and world prices of agricultural commodities in 1972 and 1973 traces to five principal causes: (1) a decline in world production of grains, and a persistent lag in growth in protein meal production relative to demand; (2) rapid growth in the demand for meats in all developed countries, based mainly on rising personal incomes; (3) U.S. farm policies and programs that discouraged expansion of soybean production, and continued to idle large acreages of cropland that should have been turned to livestock production at least three years ago; (4) administrative lags and errors regarding export subsidies, evaluation of crop reports from abroad, estimation of prospective export volumes, and the need to expand agricultural production sharply and to limit exports in 1973; and (5) devaluation of the dollar, which added to the demand for farm products and raised prices in countries whose currencies were devalued. The price rise occurred despite near-record grain and oilseed crops in the United States, and despite the utilization of sizable reserves of wheat and feed grains that had accumulated in prior years.
Cowpea symbiotic efficiency, pH and aluminum tolerance in nitrogen-fixing bacteria

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) cultivation in northern and northeastern Brazil provides an excellent source of nutrients and carbohydrates for the poor and underprivileged. Production surplus leads to its consumption in other regions of Brazil and also as an export commodity. Its capacity to establish relationships with atmospheric nitrogen-fixing bacteria is crucial to the reduction of production costs and the environmental impact of nitrogen fertilizers. This study assessed the symbiotic efficiency of new strains of symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria with cowpea and their tolerance to pH and aluminum. Twenty-seven strains of bacteria from different soils were evaluated under axenic conditions. These strains were compared to the following inoculant strains: INPA03-11B, UFLA03-84 and BR3267 and two controls that were not inoculated (with and without mineral nitrogen). Six strains and the three strains approved as inoculants were selected to increase the dry weight production of the aerial part (DWAP) and were tested in pots with soil that had a high-density of nitrogen-fixing native rhizobia. In this experiment, three strains (UFLA03-164, UFLA03-153, and UFLA03-154) yielded higher DWAP values. These strains grow at pH levels of 5.0, 6.0, 6.8 and at high aluminum concentration levels, reaching 109 CFU mL-1. In particular UFLA03-84, UFLA03-153, and UFLA03-164 tolerate up to 20 mmolc dm-3 of Al+3. Inoculation with rhizobial strains, that had been carefully selected according to their ability to nodulate and fix N2, combined with their ability to compete in soils that are acidic and contain high levels of Al, is a cheaper and more sustainable alternative that can be made available to farmers than mineral fertilizers.
Seroprevalence of viral and bacterial diseases among the bovines in Himachal Pradesh, India

Aim: The study was designed to measure the seroprevalence of viral and bacterial diseases: Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, bovine viral diarrhea, bovine leukemia, bovine parainfluenza, bovine respiratory syncytial disease, brucellosis, and paratuberculosis among bovine of Himachal Pradesh during the year 2013-2015. Materials and Methods: The serum samples were collected from seven districts of state, namely, Bilaspur, Kangra, Kinnaur, Lahul and Spiti, Mandi, Sirmour, and Solan. The samples were screened using indirect ELISA kits to measure the seroprevalence of viral and bacterial diseases. Results: The overall seroprevalence of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis was 24.24%, bovine viral diarrhea 1.52%, bovine leukemia 9.09%, bovine parainfluenza 57.58%, bovine respiratory syncytial disease 50%, brucellosis 19.69%, and paratuberculosis 9.09% in Himachal Pradesh. The seroprevalence of bovine rhinotracheitis, bovine leukemia, bovine parainfluenza, bovine respiratory syncytial disease, and paratuberculosis in the state varied significantly (p<0.01) while was insignificant for bovine viral diarrhea and brucellosis (p>0.01). Multiple seropositivity has been observed in this study. Bovine parainfluenza virus 3 was observed commonly in mixed infection with almost all viruses and bacteria under study. Conclusion: The viral and bacterial diseases are prevalent in the seven districts of Himachal Pradesh investigated in the study. Therefore, appropriate management practices and routine vaccination programs should be adopted to reduce the prevalence of these diseases.
Theoretical Perspectives on Corporate Social and Environmental Disclosure: Evidence From China

Using a data set of top 56 corporate social and environmental reporting (CSER) disclosing firms with 112 observations on the H-share and Red-chip lists of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, results suggest that charitable donations, firm size, and the Songhua River incident response are positively related to the CSER disclosure, whereas debt–equity ratio, profit margin, and firm age revealed counterdirectional relationships. Other variables including media attention and market risk were found to have no impact. Findings imply that the Chinese government and its agencies need to prescribe CSER guidelines and make them mandatory for listed firms.
Online Accounting Education versus In-Class Delivery: Does Course Level Matter?

ABSTRACT: This study examines whether the effectiveness of online accounting education relative to traditional in-class delivery depends upon the level of the course. Students enrolled in principles and advanced cost/managerial and in advanced financial accounting courses were surveyed regarding their perceptions on several dimensions. The results suggest that the course level is important when assessing whether it is advisable to offer online accounting courses. In advanced courses, the outcomes examined were significantly more favorable for traditional classroom environments than for online, while the delivery mode was not important in principles courses when controlling for other variables. The results also provide further support for the notion that blended learning, i.e., offering a few on-campus class meetings for a predominately online course, may be desirable regardless of course level, but that course level is potentially important when deciding upon the mix of face-to-face versus online instruct.
Management's View of Stock Splits

* In theory, a stock split is merely an arithmetic exercise. That is, a stock split results in a reduction of the par value and a consequent increase in the number of shares proportionate to the split. All other capital accounts remain unchanged. Theoretically, shareholders receive no tangible benefits from a stock split, while there are some costs associated with it. In practice, corporate managers may view stock splits as more than an arithmetic exercise and may have other reasons for issuing them. One controversial issue is the impact of stock splits on the market price of common stock. Some managers familiar with early research may believe that stock splits alone cause an increase in total market value for the shares outstanding [7, 8]. Others may be familiar with more recent studies which show that, while stock prices are not significantly affected by stock splits per se, they may respond to information about other fundamental variables implied by the split, such as an increase in the cash dividend [5, 6, 9]. Still others may believe non-price benefits exist that outweigh the costs of stock splits incurred by the firm and its shareholders. The primary purpose of this article is to investigate the rationale for stock splits as well as to compare the reasons corporate managers give for issuing stock splits instead of stock dividends. As Eisemann and Moses note, "it is possible that the reasons for stock splits and dividends differ" [4, p. 80].
Consumption and stock markets in Greater China

This study investigates the causal links between stock market performance and consumption for Greater China using a VECM framework. Bi-directional causality between stock prices and consumption is found for Hong Kong and Taiwan. This indicates that the previous studies may have overestimated the wealth effect of stock markets without taking account of the reverse causation from consumption to the stock markets. Only one-way causality running from consumption to stock prices has been established for Mainland China.
Management of innovation networks: a case study of different approaches

Purpose – The literature includes a vast amount of research on both innovation and business networks; however, the empirical knowledge of their intersection – innovation networks and their management – is still scarce. This empirical study aims at increasing the knowledge of management of innovation networks by mapping characteristics of management approaches of two case companies. These companies operate in the software business and develop their products in inter‐organizational networks. Special attention is paid to differences in the management approaches between the case companies.Design/methodology/approach – The present empirical article is based on analysis of two case companies representing very different and contrasting approaches to management of innovation networks. The empirical study is conducted among SMEs in the software business.Findings – As a result of the analysis, several aspects of management of innovation networks are identified and their nature explained. These aspects are: duration.
Use effectiveness of the Creighton model ovulation method of natural family planning.

OBJECTIVE To determine the use effectiveness of the Creighton model ovulation method in avoiding and achieving pregnancy. DESIGN Prospective, descriptive. SETTING A natural family planning clinic at a university nursing center. PARTICIPANTS Records and charts from 242 couples who were taught the Creighton model. The sample represented 1,793 months of use of the model. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Creighton model demographic forms and logbook. RESULTS At 12 months of use, the Creighton model was 98.8% method effective and 98.0% use effective in avoiding pregnancy. It was 24.4% use effective in achieving pregnancy. The continuation rate for the sample at 12 months of use was 78.0%. CONCLUSION The Creighton model is an effective method of family planning when used to avoid or achieve pregnancy. However, its effectiveness depends on its being taught by qualified teachers. The effectiveness rate of the Creighton model is based on the assumption that if couples knowingly use the female partner's days of fertility for genital intercourse, they are using the method to achieve pregnancy.
Contortrostatin, a Homodimeric Disintegrin, Actively Disrupts Focal Adhesion and Cytoskeletal Structure and Inhibits Cell Motility Through a Novel Mechanism

Irttegrins play a major role in the regulation of cell motility. They physically link the extracellular environment to the cytoskeleton and participate in large protein complexes known as focal adhesions. In this report, it is demonstrated that treatment of tumor cells with the homodimeric disintegrin contortrostatin induces integrin-mediatcd tyrosine phosphorylation events and causes severe disruptions in the actin cytoskeleton and disassembly of focal adhesion structures without affecting cellular adhesion to a reconstituted basement membrane. Included in this disruption is the tyrosine phosphorylation and altered subcellular localization of FAK. Through use of transfected 293 cells with specific integrin expression profiles and anti-αvβ3 mAbs, we demonstrate that these events are mediated exclusively by the αvβ3 integrin and are likely the result of contortrostatin-mediated crosslinking of this receptor at the cell surface, since monovalent disintegrins, flavoridin or echistatin do not induce such effects. Further, it is shown that contortrostatin potently inhibits motility in cells expressing the αvβ3 integrin. The results of this study describe a novel integrin-mediated mechanism by which cell motility can be inhibited and suggest an alternative approach to therapeutic intervention for cancer invasion and metastasis.