Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Audit fee determinants and the large auditor premium in 1900

Abstract In recent years there has been increasing interest among researchers in the accounting field in the issue of audit fees. This article applies the methodology of these studies to a set of UK company data for the year 1900. The problems of collecting the historical data are discussed, and a descriptive treatment of the audit market 100 years ago and the similarities and differences with today are outlined. A sample of 121 quoted companies in 1900, which declared their audit fees along with other data in their published accounts, is utilised and the determination of these fees is modelled. The results with regard to the importance of size, complexity, industrial sector, the profitability of the auditee and the start-up costs of the first years of the audit were found to be in line with contemporary findings. The main factor out of step with existing research is that the leading auditors in 1900 did not charge a premium as the present day Big 4 (formerly 6) appear to do. This is explained by the fact that big firms today offer a wider, international, and therefore perhaps more valuable set of audit services than did the largest firms in 1900.
Olig1 is expressed in human oligodendrocytes during maturation and regeneration

Myelin repair is inhibited in multiple sclerosis (MS), ultimately leading to axonal damage and disability. We aimed to understand the transcriptional mechanisms of regeneration in primary human oligodendrocyte cultures isolated from white matter of medically intractable epilepsy patients. Cultures at isolation contained 84% mature oligodendrocytes and 16% oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPC). The two populations showed a protracted regeneration of membranes expressing myelin proteins after 2–3 weeks in culture, and were kept long‐term to study membranes maintenance. We profiled by quantitative PCR (qPCR) the sequential mRNA expression of transcription factors Olig1, Olig2, Nkx2.2, Sox10, PPARδ, PPARγ, cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (CNP), myelin basic protein (MBP), myelin‐associated glycoprotein (MAG) and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG). In summary, Olig1 was not expressed in freshly isolated oligodendrocytes, but was expressed from the beginning of process extension until membranes maintenance. In contrast, Olig2 expression was restricted to isolation and during membranes production. We show for the first time PPARδ expression and absence of PPARγ in human oligodendrocytes. Nkx2.2, Sox10, PPARδ, CNP, MBP and MOG messengers were expressed at any time, while MAG messenger was expressed at mature stage only. Myelin proteins CNP, MBP, MAG, and MOG were confirmed by immunocytochemistry. Our findings point to different roles of Olig1 and Olig2 in regeneration of cultured adult human oligodendrocytes. Noticeably, the transcriptional profiles found in cultured neonatal rodent OPC are different. More studies are necessary to elucidate myelin repair in the adult human brain. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Top Management Team Functional Diversity and Firm Performance: The Moderating Role of CEO Characteristics

Past research indicates that the effect of TMT functional diversity on firm performance is equivocal. We address this issue by focusing on the integrative role of the CEO, postulating that the CEO's expertise and background characteristics affect the TMT functional diversity–firm performance relationship, because of their impact on the exchange and integration of distributed knowledge within the TMT. Using a dataset of 33 Dutch and Belgian Information Technology firms we investigate the moderating role of three sets of CEO characteristics (functional background, status as founder, and shared experience with the other TMT members) on the relationship between TMT functional diversity and firm performance. Our results reveal that CEO and TMT characteristics do interact in realizing the potential advantages of distributed TMT functional expertise.
A genetic algorithm based heuristic technique for power constrained test scheduling in core-based SOCs

This paper presents a Genetic algorithm (GA) based solution to co-optimize test scheduling and wrapper design under power constraints for core based System-On-Chips (SOCs). Core testing solutions are generated as a set of wrapper configurations, represented as rectangles with width equal to the number of TAM (Test Access Mechanism) channels and height equal to the corresponding testing time. A locally optimal best-fit heuristic based bin packing algorithm has been used to determine placement of rectangles minimizing the overall test times, whereas, GA has been utilized to generate the sequence of rectangles to be considered for placement. Experimental result on ITC’02 benchmark SOCs shows that the proposed method provides better test time results compared to the recent works reported in the literature.
Spiral of Silence 2.0: Political Self-Censorship among Young Facebook Users

This study applies the spiral of silence theory to political discourse among digital natives on Facebook. Using structural equation modeling on a survey of 967 Facebook users in Germany under the age of 30, we find that network heterogeneity increases the perception of the opinion climate as adverse, which, in turn leads to self-censorship. Moreover, political interest and active Facebook use foster users' willingness to speak out, while fear of isolation and communication apprehension lower it. We discuss the findings, embed them into discourses about impression management and context collapse, and show the usefulness of the spiral of silence theory in social media research.
Infection with an unenveloped DNA Virus (TTV) associated with posttransfusion non‐A to G hepatitis in hepatitis patients and healthy blood donors in Thailand

An unenveloped single‐stranded DNA virus (TTV) has been reported in association with posttransfusion and acute and chronic hepatitis of unknown etiology. DNA of TTV was tested for by polymerase chain reaction with heminested primers in 127 patients with chronic liver disease and 105 healthy blood donors in Thailand. TTV DNA was detected in 23 (59%) of the 39 patients without hepatitis B surface antigen or RNA of hepatitis C virus, at a frequency significantly higher than the detection in 21 (36%) of the 59 patients with HBsAg (P < 0.05) or in 38 (36%) of the 105 blood donors (P < 0.05). Among patients with chronic liver disease, TTV DNA occurred in those with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma more frequently than in those with chronic hepatitis (35 of 65 or 54% vs. 20 of 62 or 32%, P < 0.05). There were no differences in age, sex, or markers of infection with hepatitis B, C and GBV‐C/HGV viruses, indicating a mode of transmission of TTV different from those of the other hepatitis viruses. Phylogenetic analysis indicated three different genotypes of TTV with six distinct subtypes in Thailand. Based on these results, TTV would have a role in the development of chronic liver disease of unknown etiology in Thailand. J. Med. Virol. 56:234–238, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Embryo volume measurement: an intraobserver, intermethod comparative study of semiautomated and manual three‐dimensional ultrasound techniques

To compare the reliability of our recently introduced technique for first‐trimester embryo volume measurement, the ‘semiautomated technique’ using both Virtual Organ Computer‐aided AnaLysis (VOCAL™) and Sonography‐based Automated Volume Count (SonoAVC) with a manual technique using VOCAL alone.
Thermal Potential of Flat Evaporator Miniature Loop Heat Pipes for Notebook Cooling

Thermal management of laptops is an increasingly challenging task because of the high-heat flux associated with the microprocessors and the limited space available for the thermal control system inside the cabinet. In this paper, results are discussed from an investigation of two different designs of miniature loop heat pipes (mLHPs) for thermal control of compact electronic devices including notebooks. Two prototypes of mLHP, one with a disk-shaped evaporator, 30 mm diameter and 10 mm thick, and the other with a rectangular-shaped evaporator, 47 × 37 mm2 plan area and 5 mm thick, were designed to handle heat fluxes up to 50 W/cm2. In the disk-shaped evaporator, the compensation chamber was incorporated into the overall thickness of the evaporator, whereas for the rectangular-shaped evaporator a new design approach was used in which the compensation chamber was positioned on the sides of the wick structure such that it was coplanar with the evaporator section. The new design approach helped to decrease the thickness of the rectangular evaporator by 50% and therefore improved the ability to integrate miniature loop heat pipe technology into compact electronics enclosures. All of the thermal tests on mLHP prototypes were conducted in horizontal configurations. Total thermal resistance of the designed mLHPs was between 1 and 5° C/W. A comparative study of the mLHPs with conventional heat pipe and microchannel-based active liquid cooling systems has shown the superior heat transfer capability of the passively operating loop scheme for high-heat flux applications, and helped to classify mLHPs as candidates for laptop thermal management.
Resident Attitudes toward Heritage Tourism Development

Abstract This study investigates the interrelationships between community attachment, economic dependence on tourism, perceived positive tourism impacts, perceived negative impacts and support for tourism development. A total of 239 respondents completed a survey conducted at Tainan city, a heritage city in southern Taiwan. The data were analysed using a structural equation modelling (SEM) technique; and the results reveal that both community attachment and economic dependence have significant effects on positive tourism impact and, in turn, can affect the support for tourism development. Although both impacts have significant effects on support for tourism development, the effect from the positive impact is much greater than the negative impact.
The dynamic relationships between gold futures markets: evidence from COMEX and TOCOM

This study employs a bivariate GARCH model to examine the dynamic relationships between two gold futures markets (COMEX and TOCOM) before and during gold's recent uptrend of the past few years. Results show that the performance of COMEX is better than TOCOM. However, TOCOM leads COMEX in the mean return. Volatility transmission effects exist in both COMEX and TOCOM. While the responses to good news and bad news are symmetrical in TOCOM, they are asymmetric in COMEX.
Predictability and the Dynamics of Long Forward Rates

Distantly maturing forward rates represent the markets long term (risk neutral) expectations about interest rates. As such, they are the fundamental ingredient of the pricing kernel. In most equilibrium models, interest rates mean revert, and so long forward rates are asymptotically constant. However, from US Treasury STRIPs data, forward rates slope increasingly downwards, and do not attenuate in volatility, as maturity increases beyond about 13 years. This has recently been documented formally by Brown and Schaefer (Working Paper, London Business School, 1999), though it also seems to well known to finance practitioners. Our aim is to build and test an equilibrium model, which incorporates this behavior. The key to our analysis, is first to show that most of the volatility in long forward rates comes from a predictable factor which is mean reverting on a time scale of a few weeks. Our techniques for this are first to apply the Variance Ratio test of Lo and MaKinlay (Review of Financial Studies, Vol 1, Number 1, pp 41 - 66, 1988), and then to implement the filtering procedure of Lo and Wang (Journal of Finance, Vol 50, pp 87 - 129, 1995), which extracts a second, non-predictable, factor from the forward rate time series, to which the forward rates mean revert. To reinforce our results, we also apply these procedures to the returns of US Treasury Bond futures, and extract essentially the same predictable component. Then, we show that the mean reverting aspect of the forward rates, is absent when we transform to risk neutral probabilities. This is natural, otherwise the market would obviate the predictability. We also establish this directly, by analyzing our T Bond futures data, and noting that for futures, the risk neutral dynamic can be extracted directly, since its drift is just minus the initial slope of the futures term structure, and we see that it does not have this predictability. Armed with these insights, we formulate our equilibrium model, which is based on the classical Vasicek Model, and has a single predictable factor. This model applies to forward rates with maturity beyond 13 years, and any interest rates with earlier maturity are irrelevant to the model. In our model, the forward rates mean revert with respect to the objectively realized probabilities, but not with respect to the risk neutral probabilities, and so the consequences of mean reversion are absent in the cross sectional shape, and the volatility term structure, of these forward rates.
Is globalization consistent with the accumulation of FDI inflows in the Balkan countries

Most large enterprises have “a global view” in the expansion of their activities and, thus, in the creation of their investment projects. They invest in specific countries when they conclude that the countries in question fulfill their goals. It is not enough that an economy of a country has as a target to become a market economy, to open its borders and to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) flows for the economy to become globalized, but it is necessary for this result to be shown by significant foreign participation and huge FDI and trade inflows into the host country. If this never happens, then the country will not benefit from globalization. From one point of view, multinational enterprises (MNEs) “decide” which countries benefit from economic integration and which countries successfully participate in the huge worldwide globalized economic chain. On the other hand, due to the large investment opportunities that a few countries offer to MNEs and due to the large number of host countries, at the end, MNEs invest only in specific countries. Thus, there are a lot of countries that are isolated from the whole system. Moreover, smaller MNEs in economic magnitude often extend their activities mainly to neighboring countries, in order to maximize their profits and minimize their costs. The share of FDI is not the same in all countries and the FDI inflows in less‐developing or poor countries show little growth or no growth at all. Today's FDI orientation is not as global as expected and there is a regional trend in those flows, when at the same time a few countries, especially from specific regions (such as the Balkan region) still live cut off from the world of FDI flows.
Ethical considerations in educational research involving children: Implications for educational researchers in South Africa

Adopting a social justice theoretical framework, the author proposes that the involvement of children in educational research is paramount. However, such involvement often exposes children to exploitation and a violation of their rights. As such, it is essential that all research involving children should be ethically sound. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore ethical considerations in educational research involving children, especially in South Africa, which was historically known for the marginalization of and discrimination against children. This generic qualitative study included a sample of eight experts with extensive knowledge of the ethical concerns surrounding children’s participation in research activities. Data was collected through individual interviews, a questionnaire, and the analysis of documents and instruments pertaining to the ethical-legal protection of children’s involvement in research activities in South Africa. The findings identify several ethical principles that should be considered within a South African perspective and which have specific implications for educational researchers.
High-Voltage Solution in Radial Power Networks: Existence, Properties, and Equivalent Algorithms

The ac power flow equations describe the steady-state behavior of the power grid. While many algorithms have been developed to compute solutions to the power flow equations, few theoretical results are available characterizing when such solutions exist, or when these algorithms can be guaranteed to converge. In this letter, we derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of a power flow solution in balanced radial distribution networks with homogeneous (uniform R/X ratio) transmission lines. We study three distinct solution methods: 1) fixed point iterations; 2) convex relaxations; and 3) energy functions—we show that the three algorithms successfully find a solution if and only if a solution exists. Moreover, all three algorithms always find the unique high-voltage solution to the power flow equations, the existence of which we formally establish. At this solution, we prove that: 1) voltage magnitudes are increasing functions of the reactive power injections; 2) the solution is a continuous function of the injections; and 3) the solution is the last one to vanish as the system is loaded past the feasibility boundary.
Nodes and places: complexities of railway station redevelopment

Abstract An interpretation of the redevelopment prospects of railway stations and their surroundings is proposed. Station locations are at the same time nodes and places, affected by both global and local dynamics. Their potential roles within increased transport integration and emerging multi‐centered urban regions provide the foundations for their transformation. However, the task is a complex one, as a discussion of the issues connected with the intensification of flows, the accumulation of activities, and the tangle of actors which characterize these projects shows. More attention must be paid to the integration of the node and place dimensions and of diverging redevelopment strategies.
Évaluation de l'économie souterraine au Québec: Une approche micro-économétrique

The main purpose of this paper is to estimate the size and the growth of Quebec’s underground economy, and the corresponding loss of taxes for the government. Our approach is based on a method developed by Pissarides and Weber [1989] and extended by Lyssiotou et al. [2004]. The basic hypothesis is that an individual can under-report his earnings from self-employment but not from paid work, upon which taxes are directly levied. We estimate a consumer demand system where the marginal propensity to consume is allowed to vary with the two types of earnings. We next estimate the size of the self-employment earnings that are under-reported. From this estimate, we calculate a relative size for the underground economy in Quebec. We use the data from Statistics Canada’s Survey of Household Expenditures. According to our results, Quebec’s underground economy amounted to 4.6% of GDP in 1997 and increased to 5.7% in 2002. For the government, this represents as much as $ 3.3 billions in forgone taxes for 2002 alone. Classification JEL : D12, E26, H26.
Mobility Analysis of AmpuTees (MAAT I): Quality of life and satisfaction are strongly related to mobility for patients with a lower limb prosthesis

Background: While rehabilitation professionals are historically trained to place emphasis on the restoration of mobility following lower limb amputation, changes in healthcare dynamics are placing an increased emphasis on the limb loss patient’s quality of life and general satisfaction. Thus, the relationship between these constructs and mobility in the patient with lower limb loss warrants further investigation. Objectives: To determine the relationship between mobility of the patient with lower limb loss and both (1) general satisfaction and (2) quality of life. Study design: Retrospective chart analysis. Methods: A retrospective chart review of the Prosthetic Limb Users Survey of Mobility and the Prosthesis Evaluation Questionnaire—Well-Being subsection. Pearson correlations were used to test relationships. Results: Data from 509 patients with a lower limb prosthesis were included. Mobility was found to be positively correlated with quality of life (r = 0.511, p < 0.001, 95% confidence interval (0.443, 0.569)) and general satisfaction (r = 0.475, p < 0.001, 95% confidence interval (0.403, 0.542)), as well as their arithmetic mean (i.e. Prosthesis Evaluation Questionnaire—Well-Being) (r = 0.533, p < 0.001, 95% confidence interval (0.466, 0.592)). Conclusion: This study provides evidence of a strong positive correlation between mobility and both quality of life and general satisfaction. Thus, in the holistic care of a patient with lower limb loss, maximizing mobility would correlate with greater quality of life and general satisfaction. Clinical relevance There is growing emphasis on the quality of life and general satisfaction experienced by patients undergoing prosthetic rehabilitation. The results of this study underscore the importance of providing prosthetic rehabilitation that maximizes the patient’s mobility, noting that these individuals also report greater quality of life and general satisfaction.
Toward Self‐Sufficiency: Evaluating a Transitional Housing Program for Homeless Families

Homeless families face the economic and personal challenges of sparse employment opportunities and child care and nutrition needs, compounded by the loss of adequate housing. The Family Development Center (FDC) is a transitional housing program in Atlanta, Georgia, designed to provide young homeless mothers an opportunity to emerge from what may well be desperate circumstances and begin the journey to economic self-sufficiency. This paper describes the research on programs for homeless families and presents the results of a comprehensive look at the operation and effectiveness of the FDC program during its first 5 years of existence. The work shows that while many families were able to effect notable positive changes in their lives during and after taking part in the housing program, for some the recovery from homelessness was extremely difficult. For even the most successful formerly homeless families—those that secured employment, housing, and other social supports—the escape from welfare dependence and poverty proved very difficult. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for relevant public policy.
Impacts of perceived risks on tourists' revisit intentions

The tourism industry is easily influenced by external events such as global political disputes, diplomatic relations, natural disasters, outbreaks of disease, and economic crisis. This vulnerability negatively affects the economies of underdeveloped countries whose main incomes come from tourism. The purposes of this study were to determine the risk level perceived by the tourists visiting Alanya County, Antalya, during their stay and to determine how their revisit intention is being affected. This study examined the views of 559 tourists visiting Alanya during July 2010 to August 2010. Correlation and regression analyses were applied to evaluate perceived risk levels about Alanya and the effect on revisit intention. As a result of the study, several important risk dimensions were determined and it was shown that some of them were affecting their revisit intention.