Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using Long-Run Consumption-Return Correlations to Test Asset Pricing Models

This paper examines a new set of implications for existing asset pricing models regarding the correlation between returns and consumption growth over both the short run and the long run. The findings suggest that external habit formation models face a challenge in producing two robust facts in aggregate data, namely, that stock market returns lead consumption growth, and that the correlation between returns and consumption growth is higher at low frequencies. To reconcile these facts with a consumption-based model, I demonstrate the need for focusing on models that contain a forward looking consumption component, i.e., models that allow for both trend and cyclical fluctuations in consumption, and that link returns to cyclical fluctuations in consumption. Long-run risk models provide examples of models that contain this consumption component. (Copyright: Elsevier)
Factors Affecting Bloggers' Knowledge Sharing: An Investigation Across Gender

Blogs have emerged as an innovative tool for sharing information and knowledge, and they command significant interest from information technology (IT) users as well as providers. Our study establishes a research framework to provide an understanding of the factors affecting knowledge sharing among bloggers in online social networks. The research results indicate that bloggers' trust, strength of social ties, and reciprocity all have a positive effect on their knowledge-sharing behavior. Further, the impact of each factor on such behavior varies by gender. Our results provide evidence that offline expected social norms tend to persist in the online blogosphere and that gender differences need to be considered as a significant factor in understanding the IT usage behavior in the context of social capital theory. For IT managers and blog service providers, our results also highlight the importance of being gender aware in an effort to elicit participation from all constituent members for the successful adoption and usage of blogs as a knowledge-sharing mechanism.
A Comparison of the Niagara™ and Medcomp™ Catheters for Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy

Purpose: The choice of vascular access catheter may affect filter life during continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). In particular, differences in catheter design might affect the incidence of circuit clotting related to catheter malfunction. Design and setting: Sequential controlled study in a tertiary, adult intensive care unit (ICU). Aim: To compare circuit life when CRRT was performed with a Niagara™ catheter or a Medcomp™ catheter. Patients and measurements: We studied 46 patients with acute kidney injury requiring CRRT, all delivered with catheters in the femoral position. We obtained information on age, gender, disease severity score [acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE II) and APACHE III], filter life, heparin dose per hour, daily systemic hemoglobin concentration, platelet count, international normalized ratio (INR), and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) during CRRT. Results: We studied 254 circuits in 46 patients. Of these, 26 patients (140 circuits) used the Niagara catheter and 20 patients (114 circuits) used the Medcomp catheter. Median circuit life in the two groups were 11 h and 7.3 h, respectively (p < 0.01). Patients using Medcomp catheters had a lower platelet count (p = 0.04) and a lower hemoglobin concentration (p = 0.01), but INR (p = 0.16), APTT (p = 0.46), anticoagulant treatment (p = 0.89), and heparin dose per hour (p = 0.24) were similar. After correcting for confounding variables by multivariable linear regression analysis, it was found that the choice of catheter is not an independent predictor of circuit life. On Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, circuit life was not significantly different between the two catheters (p = 0.87). Conclusion: The choice of either the Niagara or Medcomp catheter does not appear to be a significant independent determinant of circuit life during CRRT.
Estimating the determinants of tourist spending: a comparison of four models

Although the issue of tourist spending estimation has long been of considerable interest to many researchers, there has been no consensus yet about its definition as the dependent variable. This study attempts to estimate determinants of tourist spending by utilizing a self-generated survey data and the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method. The distinction of this study is that it develops four different models to test the accuracy of the determinants of tourist spending and it considers not only the demand side but also the supply side. Dependent variables for different models are defined as total vacation spending (MODEL#1), daily spending per group (MODEL#2), daily spending per person (MODEL#3), and total spending per person (MODEL#4). The analysis was accomplished through the use of dummy variables such as sociodemographics and vacation-taking behavior of tourists, as suggested in the literature. All four estimation results indicated that some of the explanatory variables are consistent determinants of tourist spending, regardless of the type of models defined. Moreover, this study compares and contrasts the findings to suggest the best acceptable model for estimating the determinants of tourist spending. Both managerial and theoretical implications are also discussed.
Entrepreneurial capital, social values and Islamic traditions: Exploring the growth of women-owned enterprises in Pakistan

This study seeks to explore the variables contributing to the growth of women-owned enterprises in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Based on a previously established multivariate model, it uses two econometric approaches: first classifying variables into predetermined blocks; and second, using the general to specific approach. Statistical analyses and in-depth interviews confirm that women entrepreneurs’ personal resources and social capital have a significant role in their business growth. Further, it reveals that the moral support of immediate family, independent mobility and being allowed to meet with men play a decisive role in the sales and employment growth of women-owned enterprises in an Islamic country such as Pakistan.
Democracy and Democratization in Comparative Perspective: Conceptions, Conjunctures, Causes, and Consequences

Introduction: We are all Democrats Now Part I: Democracy: What is it? 1. Conceptions of Democracy through the Ages 2. Defining democracy Part II: Democracy: Where and When? 3. The Second Coming of Democracy 4. The Three Waves of Democratization Ch. 5: Democratization in Different Regions of the World Today Part III: Democracy: How and Why? 6. Modernization Theory 7. The Social Forces Tradition 8. Transitology 9. The International Dimension 10. Combining the Competing Perspectives Part IV: Democracy: Consequences 11. International Consequences of Democracy 12. Domestic Consequences of Democracy
Corrosion detection with piezoelectric wafer active sensors using pitch-catch waves and cross-time–frequency analysis

A time–frequency analysis-based signal processing study for detecting active corrosion in aluminum plate-like structure utilizing the broadband piezoelectric wafer active sensors is presented in this article. Tests were conducted on an aluminum plate with a network of sensors installed on one side of the plate for Lamb wave generation and reception. The corrosion was emulated as material loss of an area of 50 × 38 mm2 on the opposite side of the plate. The corroded area resulted in a thickness loss on the plate and a change in wave propagation as well. The experimental data were first evaluated by a statistical damage index (DI) based on root mean square values and then the Cohen’s class motivated cross-time–frequency analysis. The cross-time–frequency analysis was found more reliable and precise for detecting the corrosion progression when compared to the DI method. Not only can the proposed metric correctly evaluate the phase difference of specific frequency and time, it also carries useful information of phase difference, which is strongly correlated to the physics of corrosion detection using Lamb waves. Novel aspects of this study include a sensing approach that can sense corrosion damage on both external and internal surfaces of a given structure, the employment of effective tuning in corrosion detection, and using cross-time–frequency analysis to quantitatively evaluate thickness loss. Though the corrosion studied herein is an idealized and simplified situation, the subject work on phase difference and cross-time–frequency analysis is useful first-step effort and opens a new way to perform Lamb wave-based corrosion detection. The results presented in this article combine easy-to-examine corrosion assumptions together with low-frequency antisymmetric Lamb wave analysis to provide a stepping stone for more complicated analysis needed for further real life corrosion assessment.
Measuring market power in the Greek manufacturing and services industries

This paper investigates the level of market power in the Greek manufacturing and services industry over the period 1970–2007. Based on the Roeger methodology, we investigate the competitive conditions in the examined industries at a disaggregated level (two and three digit ISIC codes). The empirical results indicate that the Greek manufacturing and services industries operate in non-competitive conditions. Moreover, average mark-up ratios are heterogeneous across sectors, with manufacturing having higher mark ups on average than services. In contrast to other related studies, we provide sufficient evidence about the movements of mark-up ratios over time. According to our findings, the mark-up ratios in the manufacturing sectors are, on average, higher in the post European Union (EU) accession period (1982–1992), as a result of the merger wave in the manufacturing industry. However, this upward trend stopped within the period (1993–2007), and the relevant ratios have decreased substantially. The econometric results are quite robust when the Two Stage Least Squares (2SLS) and the bootstrap method are applied. Lastly, the results of our analysis have a number of interesting implications for policy makers and government officials in light of the recent financial crisis that hit Greece.
Team Control Mode, Workers' Creativity, and New Product Innovativeness

Scholars of creativity and innovation argue that successful innovations originate from the creative ideas of workers. However, few studies have empirically examined how management mechanisms, such as the control mode adopted by the new product development team, may work together with workers' creativity to deliver a successful new product. Drawing on the theory of opposing action strategies of team innovation, we propose that different team control modes may work together with team members' creativity to jointly influence the innovativeness of teamwork outcomes. With survey data collected from different sources in new product development teams, we find that restrictive control can effectively help teams composed of very creative members to successfully develop innovative new products. Conversely, promotive control can effectively help teams composed of less creative members to deliver innovative new products.
Teleworking and new product development

Purpose – To develop a model that assess the feasibility to telework new product activities.Design/methodology/approach – Literature review of innovation and telework to find criteria relevant to use telework in new product development activities.Findings – The first stage of the model assess the feasibility of telework in new product development activities according to four criteria: importance of teamwork, need of using equipment and laboratories, intensity of data processing, and frequency of meetings. The second stage assess the level of knowledge in each new product development activity. The model analyses the knowledge tasks according to four basic knowledge processes: generation, codification, storage and transfer. The third and final stage assess the distribution of productive work time of new product development employees to obtain groups of new product development activities suitable to be teleworked.Research limitations/implications – Firstly, to enlarge the taxonomy of variables that define ea.
Knowledge Intensive Business Services and Urban Industrial Development

This paper analyses the role of knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) as innovation agents for other firms and industries with empirical evidence from the capital region of Oslo, Norway. It focuses in particular on the role of two sectors (software industry and organisational consultants) in stimulating innovation and growth, showing that firms in the two KIBS sectors mainly provide products and services tailored to individual clients and have frequent face-to-face meetings, relationships that may stimulate innovation. Moreover, data reveal that Oslo firms are more frequent users of consultancy services than firms located outside urban areas, suggesting a gap between ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’.
Epidemiological features of pertussis resurgence based on community populations with high vaccination coverage in China

SUMMARY Active symptom surveillance was applied to three selected communities ( 160 147 persons) in Tianjin from 2010 to 2012. We examined 1089 individuals showing pertussis-like symptoms, of which 1022 nasopharyngeal specimens were tested for pertussis by polymerase chain reaction and 802 sera for anti-pertussis toxin antibodies. Of the total cases tested, 113 were confirmed, and their demographic, clinical, and vaccination-related data were collected. The annual incidence was 23·52 cases/100 000 persons among communities, which was 16·22 times that obtained via hospital reports for the same period (P < 0·001). The actual incidence in the 15–69 years age group was most significantly underestimated by hospitals, given that it was 43·08 times that of the reported hospital rate. Among the cases aged <15 years, 84·5% were individuals who had been fully vaccinated. The misdiagnosis rate was as high as 94·69%, and only 5·31% of the confirmed pertussis cases were properly diagnosed as pertussis at their first medical visit. Pertussis incidence in China has been severely underestimated and this was in part due to a high misdiagnosis rate. Adolescents and adults have become new high-risk populations. Future work should focus on reinforcing immunization programmes, especially among adolescents and adults.
A Model of Equity Based Compensation with Tax

In this paper, we develop a two-stage continuous time model of employee stock option (ESO) valuation under different tax regimes. We show that tax rules can have significant effects on ESO exercise behavior. In addition, we find that incentive stock options (ISO) are the optimal form of compensation for all levels of employees in the UK. In the US, restricted stock plans are preferred, and tax breaks offered by incentive schemes are only beneficial to employees with high liquid wealth (or small option holdings relative to wealth) or low risk aversion. We also analyze 83b elections for restricted stock plans in the US and find that making an election is a sub-optimal decision for both the employee and the firm.
Social Media and Corruption

There is ample evidence that in democratic countries traditional mass media affect peopleâ€™s behavior and foster political and corporate accountability. Do new media such as blogs play a similar role in non-democratic countries, where offline media are often suppressed? We study consequences of blog posts about corruption in Russian state-controlled companies. We show that anti-corruption blog posts by Aleksei Navalny, a popular Russian civic activist, had a negative causal impact on market returns of state-controlled companies. For identification, we exploit the analysis of the precise timing of blog posts combined with quasi-random variation in access to blog platform caused by hacker attacks. The effect becomes less pronounced and even positive for the posts that attract the most attention, consistent with disciplining effect of social media. Furthermore, the posts have a long-term impact on returns and are associated with higher management turnover and less minority shareholder conflicts. Taken together, our results suggest that social media can discipline corruption even in a country with limited political competition and heavily censored mass media.
Spending Behaviors of Event Tourists

Abstract Assessing the economic impact of a tourism event on a host economy often involves the estimation of average event tourist spending per trip/night. As event and destination marketers become more selective with their promotions, targeting prospective high-value tourists, it is important for them to know the spending characteristics of different types of visitors so that resources can be allocated to reach and influence event tourists who will most benefit the host economy. This study's findings of visitors to the 1999 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta reveal that tourists from communities nearer the host economy typically spend fewer net dollars than those from greater distances. First time event visitors spend considerably more than repeat visitors who have “been there, done that” and may not feel the need to do “that” again.
The Differences between Satisfied/Dissatisfied Tourists towards Service Quality and Revisiting Pattaya, Thailand

This research aims to study the relationship between service quality and tourists’ intention to revisit Pattaya, oneof the most famous tourist destinations in Thailand, and to compare the difference in opinions of satisfied anddissatisfied tourists toward the service quality provided by Pattaya. A questionnaire was used to survey 400American and European tourists who were selected by convenience sampling method. The results show that 307tourists were satisfied (76.75%) while 93 tourists were dissatisfied (23.25%) with the service quality of Pattaya.Of the 307 satisfied tourists, 264 were Europeans (86%) and 43 were Americans (14%), while the dissatisfied 93tourists consisted of 85 Europeans (91.4%) and 8 Americans (8.6%). For the satisfied tourists, the overall servicequality had a positive relationship with the intention to revisit. Elements of service quality which had a positiverelationship with the intention to revisit were core-tourism experience, information, hospitality, fairness of price,value for money, logistics, and food. For the dissatisfied tourists, the overall service quality had a positiverelationship with the intention to revisit. Elements of service quality which had a positive relationship with theintention to revisit were core-tourism experience, information, hospitality, fairness of price, hygiene, value formoney, and logistics. Compared with the dissatisfied tourists, satisfied tourists showed a significantly higherperception towards the service quality of Pattaya.
World financial crisis and the rise of Chinese commercial banks: an efficiency analysis using DEA

The current financial crisis has hit the banking giants of the world really hard. It is striking to note that some of the large Chinese commercial banks have emerged to be the biggest winners as a result of the crisis, thanks to reforms over the past 10 years. The most significant reform before the crisis was ownership diversification, aiming to improve corporate governance and efficiency. Within 1 year from October 2005, three of the four biggest State-Owned Banks (SOBs) were listed on the stock exchanges. This article will study whether this reform has really improved bank efficiency. Adopting the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach, this article examines whether Initial Public Offering (IPO) is effective in enhancing bank performance. Using data of 14 listed banks during 1999 to 2008, the results show that on average, bank efficiency increased by almost 5% after listing. Despite the fact that Joint Equity Banks (JEBs) still perform better than SOBs, the latter manage to catch up and reduce the efficiency gap with the former during the past few years. This in part explains why the Chinese banking system has been less affected by the current world financial crisis than their western counterparts, leading to an important conclusion that SOB reforms in China over the past 10 years have produced remarkable results.
Detection of immunoglobulin M antibodies to glycoprotein G-2 by western blot (immunoblot) for diagnosis of initial herpes simplex virus type 2 genital infections

Western blots (immunoblots) for the detection of immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies specific for herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 in patients' sera were developed. The locations of the type-specific glycoprotein G (gpG-2) of HSV-2 (92- and 140-kDa forms) and glycoprotein C of HSV-1 (gpC-1), which carries mostly type-specific antigenic epitopes, were checked with specific monoclonal antibodies. Western blot assays for IgM antibody to gpC-1 or gpG-2 were performed after depletion of IgG by precipitation with anti-human IgG. In patients with primary HSV-2 genital infections, seroconversion of IgM and IgG antibodies to both the 92- and 140-kDa forms of gpG-2 was observed, although both antibodies appeared in convalescent-phase serum after the first week. IgM and IgG antibodies to low-molecular-size polypeptides (40 to 65 kDa) were the first antibodies observed in patients with primary infection, but these antibodies were cross-reactive with HSV-1 and HSV-2. However, in patients with recurrent HSV-2 infections, IgG antibodies to both forms of gpG-2 and the low-molecular-size polypeptides were found no matter how early after onset the patient was bled, and IgM to gpG-2 did not appear. In patients with nonprimary initial genital HSV-2 infections, IgG antibody to HSV-1 was demonstrated in the first serum specimen, and HSV-2-specific IgM was found in 39% of the serum specimens. Hence, the Western blot assay can be used to test for IgM antibody to gpG-2, allowing for the retrospective diagnosis of inital HSV-2 infections and its use as a supplementary test to the gpG-2 IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays developed elsewhere. In contrast, IgM antibody to gpG-2 is not usually detected in patients with recurrent HSV-2 infections.
Use of the polymerase chain reaction to detect Toxoplasma gondii in human blood samples.

AIMS: To assess the value of detecting Toxoplasma gondii in human blood samples using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). METHODS: Blood samples in lithium heparin were examined from 34 patients with suspected toxoplasmosis, and six healthy volunteers with or without the addition of doubling dilutions of toxoplasma tachyzoites. Products of a nested PCR, using oligonucleotide primers of the B1 gene, were analysed by electrophoresis and stained by ethidium bromide. The primary product was 194 base pairs in length; the nested products were 160 or 97 base pairs. RESULTS: When toxoplasma tachyzoites were added to the leucocytes of six different volunteers, eight to 16 parasites were detected by nested PCR in one experiment and one to four parasites in eight experiments. All nine experiments were negative in samples without added tachyzoites. Of 34 patients, PCR was negative in 13 with recent lymphadenopathy; nine with persisting IgM, including two pregnant patients; four with reactivated infection due to immunodeficiency; and five with no evidence of active infection. Positive PCR results were found in three patients with reactivated infection. There was only one discrepancy between PCR and animal culture results; this was in an immunocompromised patient with a positive PCR and negative culture. CONCLUSIONS: The PCR technique was rapid, sensitive, and specific in human blood samples. Negative PCR results in patients with persisting IgM suggested that the fetus was not at risk, or that treatment was not indicated in myalgic encephalomyelitis-like illness. PCR results in immunocompromised patients permitted appropriate management--no treatment if negative, treatment if positive.