Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
High Technology and Local Economic Development

Abstract Recent structural changes in the American economy have prompted a shift in state and local economic growth policies toward attracting and generating high-technology industry. “High technology” is best defined as nonroutine economic activities directed toward developing new products and processes and toward small-volume production of innovative products and services. High technology relies most heavily on the availability of professional personnel and the diverse cultural, educational, and labor market attributes that attract those personnel. Two patterns are evident in the location of nonroutine high-technology activity: continued agglomeration in established urban centers of high technology, and dispersal to some new, smaller cities that have a set of attractive amenities. Public investment in education, research, and infrastructure will improve regions' capability to accommodate and benefit from future economic and technological change.
Violence and Externalizing Behavior Among Youth in the United States

Despite research demonstrating that approximately 5% of study populations are composed of severely antisocial persons who account for a disproportionate share of problem behaviors, there have been no nationally representative studies assessing this phenomenon among adolescents. Using a large nationally representative sample (N = 18,614), we identified a severe group (4.7% of respondents) characterized by involvement in varied and intensive externalizing behaviors, greater internalizing, lower academic achievement, and less parental involvement. The current study is the first nationally representative study of criminal careers/externalizing behaviors among adolescents in the United States, which is convergent with prior research and theory.
The perceptions of mainland Chinese international students towards Auckland, New Zealand

Globalisation and advancement of education internationally has led to a rising number of international students, and this has highlighted the education market as a significant area of research. Previous literature has focused on teaching and learning experiences and little has been done on the importance of international students’ perceptions of a country that may influence their choice of education destination. International students play an increasingly significant role in New Zealand. International education contributed $2.5 billion dollars to the New Zealand economy in 2013 (Ministry of Education, 2013). Mainland Chinese are the predominant nationality, comprising 30.7% of the total number of international students (Ministry of Education, 2013). This research aims to provide insights into the perceptions of Chinese students towards Auckland, their experiences on arrival and whether Auckland met their expectations of the ‘real’ New Zealand experience. An interpretive paradigm was adopted to enable the study to discover the opinions and experiences of Chinese students who were staying in Auckland. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and selection of participants was done through snowball sampling. Data was analysed through thematic analysis by identifying and developing themes within the data (Gray, 2009). The study findings indicated that all the participants had similar positive perceptions of Auckland, New Zealand. Upon arriving in Auckland, some participants agreed that, contrary to their expectations, Auckland is a developed city yet it is still beautiful and safe compared to other parts of the country. Individual’s perceptions are influenced by place of residency, safety concerns, service issues and transportation matters. However, some participants felt that there was still much more to explore because they had not stayed in Auckland long enough to ascertain whether what they had experienced was in line with their initial perceptions. The study results are useful and can enhance the initiation of strategies to improve factors like place of residency, safety, service efficiency, and advertisements to create realistic expectations and attract more international students and tourists. Results on aspects are specific and require adoption of strategies in the specific areas of concern to improve the experiences of both international students and tourists.
Literacy and numeracy skills and education sector reform: evidence from Ghana

Several African countries instituted education reforms in the 1980s and 1990s. Yet, there is only little evidence on the effectiveness of these programs. Additionally, most previous studies of the determinants of literacy and numeracy have considered the proficiency in only one language and, possibly, numeracy. This paper examines both of these issues for the case of Ghana, analyzing the trends in and determinants of four different literacy skills and numeracy. A comparison of outcomes before and after the 1987 Education Sector Reform indicates that literacy and numeracy skills levels increased following the Reform, and more so for English literacy skills than for Ghanaian literacy skills, thus confirming prior expectations. The results from linear probability models of literacy and numeracy outcomes indicate that, consistent with the objective of the Reform, the productivity of primary education in terms of literacy and numeracy increased, while the productivity of other levels of education remained constant or decreased. Additionally, the results highlight the importance of school quality and other community level factors in the creation of literacy and numeracy and therefore also the importance of incorporating these factors in empirical analyses. The results indicate that the focus of the 1987 Education Sector Reform might have been too narrow, so that future education policy in Ghana may want to focus on strengthening the quality of education above the primary level, also.
An Estimation of U.S. Industry-Level Capital-Labor Substitution

A key parameter that determines the distributional impacts of a policy shift in general equilibrium models is the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor. Despite the importance of this parameter in applied modeling, its identification continues to pose a challenge. Given the structure of most growth models, we posit that the true relationship between capital and labor is likely to be close to Cobb- Douglas. Using a rich new data set from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, we estimate substitution elasticities for 28 industries, which cover the entire economy, and provide an indication of the long- and short-run estimates. We fail to reject the Cobb-Douglas specification in 20 of the 28 industries. These findings lend support to the Cobb-Douglas specification as a transparent starting point in simulation analysis.
Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria Isolated from Subgingival Plaque in a Norwegian Population with Refractory Marginal Periodontitis

ABSTRACT The prevalence of β-lactamase-producing bacteria in subgingival plaque from patients with refractory periodontitis in Norway was assessed by the chromogenic nitrocefin method. β-Lactamase activity was detected in 68% of the patients. Enzyme-producing strains belonged predominantly to the genus Prevotella; others were staphylococci, enteric gram-negative rods, and Bacillus spp.
Bayesian Verb Sense Clustering

This work performs verb sense induction and clustering based on observed syntactic distributions in a large corpus. VerbNet is a hierarchical clustering of verbs and a useful semantic resource. We address the main drawbacks of VerbNet, by proposing a Bayesian model to build VerbNet-like clusters automatically and with full coverage. Relative to the prior state of the art, we improve accuracy on verb sense induction by over 20% absolute F1. We then propose a new model, inspired by the positive pointwise mutual information (PPMI). Our PPMI-based mixture model permits an extremely efficient sampler, while improving performance. Our best model shows a 4.5% absolute F1 improvement over the best non-PPMI model, with over an order of magnitude less computation time. Though this model is inspired by clustering verb senses, it may be applicable in other situations where multiple items are being sampled as a group.
Family Ownership, Dual Class Shares and Risk Management

We investigate whether the use of dual-class shares affects the financial policy of Swedish public corporations. Specifically, we distinguish between firms that are controlled by owners with poor portfolio diversification (families) and those controlled by owners with diversified portfolios (institutions). We find that, on average, family-controlled firms do not rely on less debt, more corporate diversification, or more financial hedging than non-family firms do. For family-controlled firms, however, we find that controlling owners with higher vote-to-capital ratios are associated with firms with less debt and lower probabilities of hedging. This evidence is consistent with the perception that family-controlled firms use shares with different voting rights so as simultaneously to maintain control and reduce the family's portfolio risk.
Successfully Navigating through College: Voices of African American Males.

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that facilitated college persistence and retention among African American males who were enrolled in an undergraduate program at two four-year public universities in Southern California. This research addressed the growing problem of college attrition among Black males by conducting an in-depth investigation of the factors that facilitated college persistence among a selected group of African American males. The following research questions guided the study: 1. What are the experiences of African American males that lead to their college retention and persistence? 2. What are the institutional practices or policies at the K-12 educational system, experienced by African American males, that facilitated their college retention and persistence? 3. What are the institutional practices or policies at the university level, experienced by African American males, that facilitated their college retention and persistence?
The Internationalization of Spanish- and Portuguese-Speaking Banks

ABSTRACT This article investigates which variables affect the location choice of banks from Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries in their process of internationalization. The article compares the differences in these variables for public and private banks. The sample consists of 141 banks operating in 58 countries. Results show that internationalization is undertaken by the largest banks, which preferably choose countries with similar language, close to the home country, and with the most opportunity for growth. Additionally, the effects of certain explanatory variables on the probability of expanding to a given country are different for public and private banks.
Comparison of Induced Sputum and Fibre-Optic Bronchoscopy (Fob) in theEarly Diagnosis of Sputum Smear Negative Suspected Cases of PulmonaryTuberculosis under Rntcp Settings-A Study Conducted in Southern Part ofRajasthan

Background: FOB is an invasive procedure. It is costly, and is not widely available in the developing countries. In resource poor settings, where transmission of TB is high, sputum induction with hypertonic saline can be useful in adding to the diagnostic yield. Materials and Methods: A prospective study conducted from 2015 to 2016, comprising of 100 patients fulfilling study criteria. Patients with respiratory symptoms and CXR showing suspicious of pulmonary tuberculosis and in whom two sputum smear samples ( Morning and Spot) were negative for acid fast bacilli were included and at randomly divided into 2 groups of induced sputum and bronchoscopy. Sputum induction was done by using 3 ml of 3% hypertonic saline through nebulizer and bronchoscopy was performed under local anesthesia. Results: Out of 100 patients, 60 were in induced sputum group and 40 in bronchoscopy group. Induced sputum smear examination detected acid fast bacilli in 27 patients (45%) and acid fast bacilli detected from BAL in 26 patients (65%). Though the diagnostic yield with induced sputum was inferior to FOB, but looking to the cost effectiveness, safety and practical applicability of induced sputum, it can be used in patients of all age groups, new and retreatment suspected cases of initial sputum negative pulmonary tuberculosis for the diagnosis even at peripheral health centers.
Resistance to cadmium and parasite infection are inversely related in two strains of a freshwater gastropod

Phenotypes that are either resistant or susceptible to infection by the trematode parasite Schistosoma mansont exist in the tropical freshwater snail Biomphalaria glabrata. We tested the hypothesis that a cost of parasite resistance in B. glabrata is greater sensitivity to cadmium toxicity, using parasite‐resistant and parasite‐susceptible strains exposed to cadmium in the laboratory. Survival analysis showed that time to death for cadmium was significantly shorter in eggs, juveniles, and adults of the parasite‐resistant BS90 strain in comparison with the parasite‐susceptible NMRI strain. Cadmium exposure increased time to hatch in both strains, but the effect was greater in BS90. Percentage hatch decreased with increased cadmium; BS90 was again more sensitive than NMRI. Comparison of the median effective concentration (EC50) for hatching and median lethal concentrations (LC50s) for survival of juveniles and adults showed that the order for cadmium resistance was adults > juveniles > eggs in NMRI and adults > eggs > juveniles in BS90. Cadmium resistance of F1 and F2 progeny of BS90/NMRI crosses was intermediate to that of parental strains. Numerical estimates indicated that a single genetic factor was responsible for the difference in cadmium resistance in the two strains. These findings were consistent with the hypothesis that greater sensitivity to cadmium is a cost of resisting parasitic infection.
Financial Liberalization and the Severity of Systemic Banking Crises

Recent macroeconomic events have reinvigorated research in financial crises, namely systemic banking crises. While theoretical and empirical research on the causes and leading indicator of banking crises is vast, empirical literature on the cost of such crises is sparse. This paper addresses that void in the literature. Utilizing a new database compiled by the IMF on financial sector reforms, the correlation between financial sector liberalization and the severity of systemic banking crises is examined. The aspect of financial sector liberalization with the strongest correlation with the severity of systemic banking crises is the level of banking supervision and prudent regulation. It is found that higher levels of banking supervision is negatively correlated with output losses due to the banking crisis. Weaker evidence is found for the aspects relating to credit controls, entry barriers, privatization, and security markets. Additionally, reforms are not shown to be significantly correlated with more or less severe banking crises. Results are robust to changes in assumptions made during the calculation of the output loss figures.
Voter Participation and Party-Group Fortunes in European Parliament Elections, 1979-1999: A Cross-National Analysis

Scholars have addressed the relationship between voter participation and party electoral fortunes for some time. Specifically, a number of studies postulate that left-of-center parties are the primary beneficiaries of higher rates of voter turnout. This research note extends this argument to a classic “low turnout” environment: the elections to the European Parliament. Using data from 11 members of the European Union between 1979 and 1999, we test the turnout-party vote linkage through pooled cross-national time series analysis. We find that, indeed, increased turnout benefits the left party groups in the European Parliament. We conclude with some implications for this finding.
Engaging Parents: Assessing Child Welfare Agency Onsite Review Instrument Outcomes

This exploratory analysis examines one child welfare agency's efforts to engage both parents and how those efforts impact overall case outcomes. Data collected using the federal Onsite Review Instrument (OSRI) assess state child welfare agency efforts to engage both mothers and fathers in 206 cases involving children from in-home and out-of-home placements. The specific parent engagement domains included parental visitation with their children, assessment of parental needs, provision of services to parents, and parental involvement in case planning. The study finds that efforts to engage both parents are statistically associated with overall higher likelihood that the child welfare agency substantially achieved case outcomes related to safety, permanency, and well-being. These results suggest a need for continued emphasis on engaging absent or noninvolved parents to achieve best outcomes in work with children and families. Implications for child welfare practice include a need to examine the multiple supports for organizational change necessary to ensure that efforts to engage both parents are consistently integrated into case-level practice.
TEMA: A software reference to shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei farming practices

Abstract A user‐friendly expert system (TEMA) was developed as a generic reference relating to TEechnological and MAnagement aspects of shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei farming practices. The software provides assistance to confirm, complement or modify the information that users of the expert system have of semi‐intensive and intensive technologies for grow‐out, and management practices for controlling pond water quality, productivity and feeding. Nursery techniques are also considered. Domain knowledge was represented using 433 rules, which constitute the knowledge base of the expert system. Hypertext protocol was employed to present information menus which include the justification of recommendations and conclusions, references from the literature, useful information regarding the specific topic analysed, support for data entry and on‐screen or printed final reports summarizing the consultation. Software facilities use 627 screens, 62 bibliographical references and 12 400 words in hypertext protocol, TEMA h.
The direct and indirect economic contribution of small-scale black agriculture in South Africa

ABSTRACT This paper develops and applies a simple non-parametric methodology for estimating the direct and indirect economic contribution of small-scale black agriculture in South Africa. The direct contribution is understood as the per capita food expenditure savings of agriculturally-active households relative to other households. Meanwhile, the indirect contribution is understood as the expenditure savings enjoyed by rural households by virtue of residing in areas characterised by widespread, albeit modest local production. The analysis is based on the Income and Expenditure Survey of 2010/11. Further to estimating the magnitude of the direct and indirect contribution of small-scale agriculture, the paper seeks to provide econometric evidence for the economic logic underpinning the indirect economic contribution of small-scale black agriculture.
International Trade and the Environment: A Framework for Analysis

This paper sets out a general equilibrium pollution and trade model to provide a framework for examination of the trade and environment debate. The model contains as special cases a canonical pollution haven model as well as the standard Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson factor endowments model. We draw quite heavily from trade theory, but develop a simple pollution demand and supply system featuring marginal abatement cost and marginal damage schedules familiar to environmental economists. We have intentionally kept the model simple to facilitate extensions examining the environmental consequences of growth, the impact of trade liberalization, and strategic interaction between countries.
Energy Saving and Carbon Reduction Behaviors in Tourism – A Perception Study of Asian Visitors from a Protection Motivation Theory Perspective

Many researchers suggest that global warming and the effect of greenhouse gases pose environmental threat worldwide, not to mention a threat to the sustainable development of the tourism industry. For tourism, social and behavioral changes and tourist management and education are important for energy saving and carbon reduction (ESCR). The purpose of this research is to explore tourists' ESCR behavior and its influent factors. The research framework is based on the protection motivation theory to investigate ESCR behavior in the tourism, restaurant and hotel industries. It used the survey method on 512 foreign tourists in Taiwan to discuss the environmental protection behavior. Through the linear regression analysis, obvious differences between tourists' ESCR behavior intention and actual behavior are found. A suggestion for tourism environmental education is provided according to the study result.
RecA-Independent DNA Damage Induction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis ruvC Despite an Appropriately Located SOS Box

ABSTRACT Mycobacterium tuberculosis ruvC was induced by DNA damage in a ΔrecA strain despite having an appropriately positioned SOS box to which LexA binds in vitro. An inducible transcript start mapped within the SOS box, and transcriptional fusions identified the promoter. Disruption of the SOS box did not prevent induction, indicating that an alternative mechanism plays a significant role in the control of ruvC expression.
Why parties? : the origin and transformation of political parties in America

Acknowledgments Pt. 1: Political Parties and Democracy 1: Politics and Parties in America 2: Why Parties Form Pt. 2: Party Formation in America, 1790-1860 3: Founding the First Parties: Institutions and Social Choice 4: Jacksonian Democracy: The Mass Party and Collective Action 5: Whigs and Republicans: Institutions, Issue Agendas, and Ambition Pt. 3: The New Political Party in Contemporary America 6: Party Activists and Partisan Cleavages in Contemporary Elections 7: Political Parties and Governance 8: The Critical Era of the 1960s Pt. 4: Conclusions 9: Political Parties, Historical Dynamics, and Democratic Politics Notes References Index
Visualizing the functional architecture of the endocytic machinery

Clathrin-mediated endocytosis is an essential process that forms vesicles from the plasma membrane. Although most of the protein components of the endocytic protein machinery have been thoroughly characterized, their organization at the endocytic site is poorly understood. We developed a fluorescence microscopy method to track the average positions of yeast endocytic proteins in relation to each other with a time precision below 1 s and with a spatial precision of ∼10 nm. With these data, integrated with shapes of endocytic membrane intermediates and with superresolution imaging, we could visualize the dynamic architecture of the endocytic machinery. We showed how different coat proteins are distributed within the coat structure and how the assembly dynamics of N-BAR proteins relate to membrane shape changes. Moreover, we found that the region of actin polymerization is located at the base of the endocytic invagination, with the growing ends of filaments pointing toward the plasma membrane. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.04535. 001