Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Corporate governance codes and their contents - An analysis of Eastern European codes

Existing literature suggests that the contents of corporate governance codes are similar due to external forces, such as increased integration of countries in the global economy, the increased role of foreign institutional investors and recommendations on corporate governance practices of international organisations. This paper analyzes and compares the code contents of seven Eastern European countries with respect to generally accepted best practice recommendations on disclosure rules, strengthening shareholder rights and modernising boards. We show that for some countries the contents of the country codes are actually rather different as compared to these best practices, suggesting that domestic forces related to country-specific characteristics of corporate governance systems may have helped shaping the contents of corporate governance codes.
Biofuels production versus forestry in the presence of lobbies and technological change

Production and use of biofuels, both for electricity and heat generation and for transportation, has grown over the past years. There are many reasons for this, among other climate change, energy security, high fossil fuel prices and rural development goals. Production of most types of biofuels requires land, however, thus competing for land both with agriculture and with forestry. For instance, Hyytiainen et al. (2008) find for Finland that the production of biofuels (reed canary grass) is the most profitable use of arable land (compared to growing oats or pine trees), although only in the proximity of (at most 40 km from) a thermal power station. Lankoski and Ollikainen (2008), in turn find that production of reed canary grass in Finland, when the alternative is oats, is socially optimal even 100 km away from the power plant. In the tropics, not only fallow or unused agricultural land is used for biofuel production but also rainforest land has been converted, for instance, to palm oil plantations. This development is largely driven by policy measures, for instance, by the European Union's (EU) 20-20-20 target (a reduction of at least 20% in greenhouse gas emissions, and a 20% share of renewable energies in the EU's energy consumption by 2020), set by the European Council in March 2007.
Do Internal Governance Mechanisms Impact on Firm Performance? Empirical Evidence from the Financial Sector in China

The financial sector plays an important intermediary role in the Chinese economy. However, there has been very limited research concerning improvement in corporate governance within this sector. Using an unbalanced data set of 139 firm-year observations covering 1999 to 2009, this study examines the impact of internal governance mechanisms on the performance of Chinese listed financial institutions. Findings suggest that state ownership, legal person ownership, board size, and supervisory board meetings are negatively related to the profitability of these institutions, whereas factors including ownership concentration, foreign ownership, independent directors, board meetings, and supervisory board size have no impacts.
The wider benefits of not-for-profit education for the disadvantaged in Hong Kong

This thesis investigates the benefits of not-for-profit education for disadvantaged learners in Hong Kong. The economic success of Hong Kong is seen by many as a miracle of the 156 years’ British colonial governance. Hong Kong’s world-class education system, which combines British meritocratic education traditions and Chinese conventional philosophies on hard work and respect for examination high fliers, has led to rapid and sustained economic development. However, those who do not fit into the mainstream selective education system are damagingly marginalised. Not-for-profit education providers are increasingly being used to try to repair some of this damage, but their effectiveness is not known. Statistical data on, for example, student enrolment, completion and graduation, courses offered and subsidies spent, do not completely and comprehensively reflect the broad number of ways in which these courses may make a difference. Using the conceptual framework developed by the Centre for the Wider Benefits of Learning, this thesis draws on twenty-three in-depth life story interviews with four disadvantaged learner groups – young people who are ‘not in education, employment, or training (NEET)’, ‘economically marginalised’, ‘older adults’, and ‘new immigrants from mainland China’. The analysis of these interviews uses a learner’s capital and capability model and shows that different disadvantaged learners derive different kinds of benefits and capital gains from different not-for-profit education. Youth NEET perceived the highest gains in identity capital and economically marginalised learners reported the highest gains in human capital. Older adult disadvantaged learners perceived the highest gains in social capital and new immigrants from mainland China found human capital gains most important. Different disadvantaged learners also benefitted from different kinds and different levels of unexpected learning benefits which are seen as ‘surplus’ to their learning. Government subsidies and assistance through student loans and charity funding mean that not-for-profit courses are provided at lower cost than private provision. Moreover, since it is not government-provided, participants who have had a bad experience of government-provided compulsory education may feel they have a better chance of success with non-government courses. Not-for-profit education also tends to be able to offer more flexible provision which helps the disadvantaged learners who often have complex family and personal circumstances. The implications of this research suggest that more can be done to optimise the social benefits and utilities of not-for-profit education in Hong Kong. In particular, the newly developed qualifications framework should flexibly include and recognise the contribution of not-for-profit education for the disadvantaged. ‘Individual Learning Accounts’ might also promote citizens’ participation in lifelong and life-wide learning. Lastly, a new governing body, a Lifelong Learning Board, should be introduced to coordinate, administer and develop lifelong learning in Hong Kong.
Stress and Work Ability in Oil Industry Workers

Stress and Work Ability in Oil Industry Workers This cross-sectional study conducted between March and June 2006 examined stress at work and work ability of 180 people with different workplaces within an oil company. Office, laboratory, and oil-field workers were invited to complete the "Occupational Stress Assessment Questionnaire - the Oil Industry Version and Work Ability Index (WAI) Questionnaire". The overall response rate was 69.4 %, and the final sample size was 125 workers who completed the questionnaires (57 office, 41 laboratory, 27 oil-field workers). Office, laboratory, and oil-field workers differed significantly with respect to age (P<0.001). The oldest were oil-field workers and the youngest were office workers. The average WAI score for office workers was 44.9, for laboratory workers 43.2 and for field workers 39.7, indicating satisfying work ability. After adjusting for age, the difference in WAI score between the groups of workers was still significant (P<0.001). Over 75 % of all workers believed their job was stressful, but the perception of specific stressors depended on the workplace. Stres I Radna Sposobnost Radnika U Naftnoj Industriji Cilj ovog ispitivanja bio je procijeniti doživljaj stresa na radnome mjestu i radnu sposobnost zaposlenih u različitim dijelovima radnog procesa naftne industrije. Presječno istraživanje provedeno je u hrvatskoj naftnoj industriji, u razdoblju od ožujka do lipnja 2006. s uzorkom od 180 prigodno odabranih zaposlenika. Zaposlenici u uredu, laboratoriju za preradu nafte i naftnom pogonu trebali su ispuniti Upitnik o stresu na radu -- verzija za naftnu industriju i Upitnik za procjenu indeksa radne sposobnosti (WAI). Ukupni odaziv ispitanika bio je 69, 4 % te je obrađeno 125 ispunjenih upitnika (57 radnika iz ureda, 41 iz laboratorija i 27 iz naftnog pogona). Radnici iz ureda, laboratorija i naftnih pogona značajno su se razlikovali u dobi (P<0, 001). Najstariji su bili radnici u naftnim pogonima, dok su najmlađi bili radnici u uredu. Prosječni WAI za uredske zaposlenike bio je 44, 9, za laboratorijske 43, 2, a za zaposlenike u naftnom pogonu 39, 7, što upućuje na zadovoljavajuću radnu sposobnost. Uzevši u obzir utjecaj dobi pri testiranju razlika, utvrđeno je kako se WAI promatranih skupina statistički značajno razlikuju (P<0, 001). Više od tri četvrtine svih ispitanika procjenjuje svoj posao kao stresan, no vrste stresora koje doživljavaju razlikuju se ovisno o radnome mjestu.
Smad function and intranuclear targeting share a Runx2 motif required for osteogenic lineage induction and BMP2 responsive transcription

The coordinated activity of Runx2 and BMP/TGFβ‐activated Smads is critical for formation of the skeleton, but the precise structural basis for the Runx2/Smad interaction has not been resolved. By deletion mutagenesis, we have defined the Runx2 motif required for physical and functional interaction with either BMP or TGFβ responsive Smads. Smad responsive transcriptional activity was retained upon deletion of the C‐terminus to amino acid (aa) 432 but lost with deletion to aa 391. Thus the Smad interacting domain (SMID) of Runx2 (432–391) is embedded in the well‐defined nuclear matrix targeting signal (NMTS) that mediates intranuclear trafficking. The SMID suffices as an interacting module when fused to the heterologous Gal‐4 protein. Formation of the Runx2 and Smad complex is dependent on Runx2 phosphorylation through the MAPK signaling pathway, as determined by co‐immunoprecipitation studies. We established that all SMID/NMTS deficient Runx2 mutants do not show in situ association with Smad in the nucleus nor do they support BMP2‐mediated osteogenic induction of the mesenchymal C2C12 cell line. Thus, we provide direct evidence that the SMID/NMTS domain (391–432) of Runx2 is essential for BMP2‐mediated osteoblast differentiation. Our findings suggest that TGFβ/ BMP2 signaling, MAPK dependent phosphorylation, and Runx2 subnuclear targeting converge to induce the osteogenic phenotype. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Volatility Spillover Between Oil And Agricultural Commodity Markets

Globally, instability in the energy market is quickly reflected in the food market. Therefore, there exists a direct relationship between oil and food. This study adopts variance in causality tests on daily data from 01 January 1986 to 7 June 2012 in order to identify the causality of the food price crisis. The data is divided into three sub-periods: the pre-crisis period (01 January 1986 to 31 December 2005), the crisis period (01 January 2006-31 December 2008) and the post crises period (01 January 2009 - 7 June 2012). See figure1 The first part of the causality in variance analysis adopts the newly developed Hafner and Herwartz (2006) approach. It uses both univariate GARCH and the multivariate GARCH-BEKK model introduced by Engle and Kroner (1995) to analyse volatility spillover effects of the food crisis on the selected agricultural commodity markets (wheat, corn, soybeans, and sugar). In the multivariate analysis volatility spillovers have been taken into account by including a dummy variable in the conditional variance specification. The results show that the persistence of the volatility doesn't change significantly during and following the food price crisis. The second part of the causality in variance analysis uses a Granger test to determine whether the oil market influences the agriculture market, or vice versa. The test results show that while there is no risk of transmission between oil and the selected agricultural commodity markets (wheat, corn, soybeans, and sugar) in the pre-crisis period, during the crises the agriculture market's volatility - with the exception of wheat - spills into the oil market. After the crises, only the soybean market spills over to the oil market, while there is no effect in the other markets. This paper aims to foster an awareness and understanding of national food security issues. This understanding builds a knowledge-based society and helps policymakers make strategic plans that can be tailored to the unique challenges and resources of the region. It promotes innovation, discovery and economic diversification by using the newly developed multivariate garch model thereby showing that the dynamics of volatility transmission change significantly before, during, and after a food price crisis. During the crisis, risk transmission emerged as another dimension of the dynamic interrelationships between energy and agricultural markets.
‘Cittáslow’ eco-gastronomic heritage as a tool for destination development

Slow Food has gained considerable attention as a social movement trying to counteract increasing globalisation in eating habits and food production. Cittáslow, a network of towns, are working with qualitative local urban development, based on similar principles as Slow Food. The ‘slow’ movements could be expected to have influences on tourism development. This possible connection has been neglected in the scientific tourism literature. Based on a study in three Cittáslow towns in Northern Italy, this article concentrates on how destination development is conducted in a Cittáslow context, unveiling some contradictions between the commercial sides of tourism and the non-commercial ethos of the Cittáslow movement. The studied towns were involved in various efforts in the field of sustainable planning, thereby also improving destination specific resources and local identity. One example is their focus on ‘slow’ events, mainly based on local gastronomy. Tourism marketing was, however, only of secondary importance; which mirrors some scepticism towards mass tourism and commercialisation, and even against marketing as such. Despite this, the Cittáslow concept may have an indirect potential for tourism development by improving product development and increased visibility. The risks involved concern gentrification and overexploitation.
The fetal brain transcriptome and neonatal behavioral phenotype in the Ts1Cje mouse model of Down syndrome

Human fetuses with Down syndrome demonstrate abnormal brain growth and reduced neurogenesis. Despite the prenatal onset of the phenotype, most therapeutic trials have been conducted in adults. Here, we present evidence for fetal brain molecular and neonatal behavioral alterations in the Ts1Cje mouse model of Down syndrome. Embryonic day 15.5 brain hemisphere RNA from Ts1Cje embryos (n = 5) and wild type littermates (n = 5) was processed and hybridized to mouse gene 1.0 ST arrays. Bioinformatic analyses were implemented to identify differential gene and pathway regulation during Ts1Cje fetal brain development. In separate experiments, the Fox scale, ultrasonic vocalization and homing tests were used to investigate behavioral deficits in Ts1Cje pups (n = 29) versus WT littermates (n = 64) at postnatal days 3–21. Ts1Cje fetal brains displayed more differentially regulated genes (n = 71) than adult (n = 31) when compared to their age‐matched euploid brains. Ts1Cje embryonic brains showed up‐regulation of cell cycle markers and down‐regulation of the solute‐carrier amino acid transporters. Several cellular processes were dysregulated at both stages, including apoptosis, inflammation, Jak/Stat signaling, G‐protein signaling, and oxidoreductase activity. In addition, early behavioral deficits in surface righting, cliff aversion, negative geotaxis, forelimb grasp, ultrasonic vocalization, and the homing tests were observed. The Ts1Cje mouse model exhibits abnormal gene expression during fetal brain development, and significant neonatal behavioral deficits in the pre‐weaning period. In combination with human studies, this suggests that the Down syndrome phenotype manifests prenatally and provides a rationale for prenatal therapy to improve perinatal brain development and postnatal neurocognition. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Testing for adverse selection of crop insurance in northern China

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the efficiency of current subsidized crop insurance products (SCIPs) in Miyun county, in northern China, by testing the existence of adverse selection. Design/methodology/approach - The authors examine the efficiency of SCIPs from a farmers' point of view by testing the existence of adverse selection using nonparametric tests and logit regression on data from individual interviews in Miyun County. Due to adverse selection, producers with more risk should be more likely to buy crop insurance in pursuit of the benefits from SCIPs. Findings - However, both methods conclude no existence of adverse selection, which indicates that the programs are inefficient. This may not be surprising based on the issues of concern cited above. The opportunities and challenges of a growing interest in weather index insurance are discussed toward the end of the paper. Originality/value - This paper weaves together literature on traditional and weather index insurance, along with primary data from a survey, to examine the pros and cons of each type of insurance. Implications for policy makers are to compare the tradeoffs between concerns of the two types of insurance examined here, traditional and weather index insurance. Ultimately, the political goals might best determine which option is most desirable.
Carbon Taxes vs. Cap and Trade: A Critical Review

We examine the relative attractions of a carbon tax, a "pure" cap-and-trade system, and a "hybrid" option (a cap-and-trade system with a price ceiling and/or price floor). We show that the various options are equivalent along more dimensions than often are recognized. In addition, we bring out important dimensions along which the approaches have very different impacts, including some dimensions that have received little attention in prior literature. Although no option dominates the others, a key finding is that exogenous emissions pricing (whether through a carbon tax or through the hybrid option) has a number of important attractions over pure cap and trade. Beyond helping prevent price volatility and reducing expected policy errors in the face of uncertainties, exogenous pricing helps avoid problematic interactions with other climate policies and helps avoid potential wealth transfers to oil-exporting countries.
Suggesting and Comparing Different Scopes on Quality Management: Production, Service, Relationship, and Network

Abstract This paper identifies four different scopes on quality in a review of current ways of working with quality in the business-to-business sector which it synthesises and compares with regard to typical features and underlying assumptions: production, service, relationship, and network. The review is broader than previous reviews of quality and puts an emphasis on the current trend of working with quality in relationships and networks. Its fundamental idea that the range of factors included in a certain quality scope varies is applicable to analysing other key concepts underlying the company's competitive strength as well, such as productivity, value, and risk. Both researchers and managers can benefit from the systematic comparison and analysis of different ways of working with quality.
Dynamic linkages among ASEAN‐5 emerging stock markets

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore market integration among five selected Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) emerging markets (Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore) during the pre‐ and post‐1997 financial crisis periods.Design/methodology/approach – Employs two‐step estimation, cointegration and generalized method of moments (GMM). Findings – The study finds that the stock markets in the ASEAN region are cointegrated both during the pre‐ and post‐1997 financial crisis. However, the markets are moving towards a greater integration, particularly during the post‐1997 financial crisis. Finally, as measured by the error correction terms, except the emerging market of Indonesia, all other ASEAN markets appear to be the important bearers of short‐run adjustment to a shock in the long‐run equilibrium relationships in the region both during the pre‐ and post‐crisis periods.Research limitations/implications – The study only focuses on stock markets of th.
Wage Dispersion with Heterogeneous Wage Contracts

I study a labor market in which identical workers search on- and off-the-job and heterogeneous firms employ using either posted wages or wage contracts contingent on outside options. Firm level costs for contingent contracts generate a separating equilibrium in which less productive firms post wages. The model with heterogeneous contracts can achieve wage dispersion, labor share, employment transitions, and flow value of unemployment that are simultaneously consistent with empirical observations even when most firms post wages. Using German employee-level administrative data, I estimate roughly 70 percent of firms post wages and employ nearly 50 percent of workers under such contracts.
On the Optimal Size of Public Sector Under Rent-Seeking Competition from State Coffers

This paper incorporates competition for fiscal transfers (or, equivalently, rent seeking from state coffers) into a standard general equilibrium model of economic growth and endogenously chosen fiscal policy. The government generates tax revenues, but then each selfinterested individual agent tries to extract, for his own personal benefit, a fraction of these revenues. Extracted tax revenues could alternatively be used to finance economy-wide infrastructure. We look at a Nash equilibrium in individual agents’ behavior, and then investigate what the society should do to discourage rent-seeking competition. The focus is on the optimal size of public sector.
The effect of ketorolac on anteroposterior knee laxity after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

UNLABELLED This study investigated the effect of ketorolac on anteroposterior laxity after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. A total of 168 ACL reconstructions performed between July 2003 and November 2004 were reviewed. The 6-week KT-1000 manual maximum differences between the ACL-reconstructed knee and nonoperative knee were compared for patients who received ketorolac and those who did not. Mean manual maximum difference in anterior displacement was 0.6 mm in the ketorolac group and -0.6 mm in the non-ketorolac group (P=.03). When bone-patellar tendon grafts were analyzed as a separate group, mean manual maximum difference was 0.5 mm in the ketorolac group and -1.4 mm in the non-ketorolac group (P=.007). When hamstring grafts were analyzed separately, mean manual maximum difference was 0.7 mm in the ketorolac group and 0.4 mm in the non-ketorolac group (P=.59). The use of ketorolac during bone-patellar tendon autograft ACL reconstruction was associated with increased AP laxity at 6 weeks postoperatively. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level III, retrospective comparative study.