Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Efficiency in Knock-out Tournaments: Evidence from EURO 2004

Abstract This paper compares team performances in the EURO 2004 soccer tournament using average and frontier production functions to examine each teams’ relative efficiency. The evidence suggests that while the eventual tournament winners were not obviously superior in terms of a range of individual performance criteria, they were one of the most efficient teams in converting overall match play into results.
Advocacy and Infrastructure

In June 2011, Wisconsin's legislative committee drafted a budget measure that would have eliminated the University of Wisconsin's participation in WiscNet, a nonprofit cooperative providing high-speed internet access to schools, libraries, and hospitals. Without the university, many feared WiscNet would dissolve, leaving its members with slower, more expensive broadband. The case proved politically heated, eventually leading to a two-year postponement after protests to legislators. But the case also proves useful as a window into the role of newspapers in supporting the information needs of communities. Newspapers do not merely serve as information providers, but also play a role as advocates within the public sphere. They define important issues facing communities and advocate for the best means to address those issues. In so doing, they adhere to social responsibility principles and fulfill part of journalism's ethical role within democracy. Broadband access is a critical issue facing communities. Acces.
Thickness Engineered Tunnel Field-Effect Transistors Based on Phosphorene

Thickness engineered tunneling field-effect transistors (TE-TFET) as a high-performance ultra-scaled steep transistor is proposed. This device exploits a specific property of 2-D materials: layer thickness-dependent energy bandgaps (Eg). Unlike the conventional hetero-junction TFETs, TE-TFET uses spatially varying layer thickness to form a hetero-junction. This offers advantages by avoiding the lattice mismatch problems at the interface. Furthermore, it boosts the ON-current to 1280 μA/μm with 15-nm channel length. Providing higher ON currents, phosphorene TE-TFET outperforms the homojunction phosphorene and the TMD TFETs in terms of extrinsic energy-delay product. TE-TFET also scales well to 9 nm with constant field scaling E = VDD/Lch= 33$ mV/nm. In this letter, the operation principles of TE-TFET and its performance sensitivity to the design parameters are investigated through full-band atomistic quantum transport simulations.
Accessing off-field brains in sport; an applied research model to develop practice

Applied researchers (eg, academic researchers, PhD students) strive to undertake research that can inform practice in sport, and evidence ‘ impact. ’ Conversely, practitioners (eg, coaches, physiotherapists, clinicians, sports scientists) strive to apply relevant up-to-date research findings to develop or optimise practice, adopting ‘ evidence based practice. ’ Despite the researcher and practitioner within a discipline having similar overall aims (eg, improve athletic performance, reduce injury risk, optimise return to play practices), their primary roles appear different due to various contextual factors.1 2 Researchers are able to work slowly, dedicating time to solving complex problems, whereas practitioners working in the field are required to work fast, to provide day-to-day support to coaches and athletes.1 The differences in how the researcher and practitioner work can be problematic and challenge the alignment of their respective priorities within their roles (eg, timescales required to deliver outcomes, specific expertise and experience, resources). Here we share a model demonstrating how the ‘working fast1 on-field brain3’, ‘working slow1 off-field brain3’ and ‘research-practitioner2’ can work together to undertake and integrate research into practice and solve the above problems. The alignment of (applied) research questions, expectations and usability of outcomes into practice …
Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Measurement Properties of the Italian Version of the Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) Questionnaire

Background The Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) questionnaire is a tool designed for self-assessment of forearm pain and disability in patients with lateral elbow tendinopathy (LET). However, an Italian version of this questionnaire has not been available. Objective The aims of this study were: (1) to translate and cross-culturally adapt the PRTEE questionnaire into Italian and (2) to evaluate its measurement properties. Design This was a longitudinal, observational measurement study. Methods The PRTEE questionnaire was cross-culturally adapted to Italian according to established guidelines. Ninety-five individuals (41 women, 54 men) with unilateral, imaging-confirmed, chronic LET were selected consecutively to assess the measurement properties of the PRTEE questionnaire. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness were estimated. Results The Italian version of the PRTEE displayed a high degree of internal consistency, with a Cronbach alpha of . 95. The test-retest reliability was high for both short-term and medium-term, with intraclass correlation coefficients (2,1) of . 95 and . 93, respectively. The PRTEE exhibited a strong correlation (r=.77–.91, P<.0001) with the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) at the baseline and a moderate correlation (r=.58–.74, P<.0001) at discharge. The responsiveness was higher for the PRTEE than for the DASH. Limitations A methodological limitation of the study is that due to the small sample size, a factor analysis was not performed to assess convergent validity. Conclusions The Italian version of the PRTEE questionnaire is internally consistent, demonstrates expected correlations with other measures, and is more responsive than the DASH in Italian patients with chronic LET.
Capital Utilisation of Local and Foreign Establishments in Malaysian Manufacturing

I is often argued that foreign firms operating in less developed countries have greater X-efficiency than their local counterparts. However, little empirical evidence has been presented to substantiate this claim. This paper attempts to fill part of this gap, first, by presenting data on the level of capital utilisation in Malaysian and foreign firms in Malaysian manufacturing and, second, by testing the importance of X-efficiency in determining differences in the utilisation levels of the two categories of firms. The extent to which capital is utilised is an important part of economic efficiency, for an increase in capital utilisation can result, ceteris paribus, in lower unit costs of production and a higher rate of economic growth.
Social Protection in Sub-Saharan Africa: Will the Green Shoots Blossom?

This paper provides an overview of the recent extension of social protection in sub-Saharan Africa. It identifies two main ‘models’ of social protection in the region: the Southern Africa and Middle Africa models. It then assesses the contrasting policy processes behind these models and examines the major challenges they face as regards financing, institutional capacity and political support. It concludes that, for an effective institutional framework for social protection to evolve in sub-Saharan African countries, the present focus on the technical design of social protection programmes needs to be accompanied by analyses that contribute to also ‘getting the politics right’
Prejunctional alpha adrenoceptor desensitization in rat heart after chronic epinephrine treatment.

This study examines the effects of acute incorporation of epinephrine (EPI) into cardiac catecholamine stores and chronic elevation of plasma EPI concentrations on sympathetic neurotransmission and adrenoceptor modulation in the rat heart. Chronic elevation of plasma EPI was accomplished by infusion of EPI (100 micrograms/kg/hr s.c.) for 6 days via osmotic minipumps. Vehicle-treated animals served as controls. The cardiac catecholamine stores of the vehicle-treated group consisted of norepinephrine only. Chronic EPI treatment resulted in incorporation of EPI (90% of total catecholamines) without a significant change in the total cardiac catecholamine content. At 0.1 to 1 Hz, stimulus-induced catecholamine overflows in the EPI-treated group consisted of both norepinephrine and EPI and were 66 to 70% higher than those of the vehicle-treated group. A preferential beta-2 adrenoceptor antagonist, ICI 118,551 (1 nM-1 microM) did not alter catecholamine overflows in either group. In contrast, a preferential alpha-2 adrenoceptor antagonist, idazoxan (1 microM), significantly increased catecholamine overflow in the vehicle-treated group but not in the EPI-treated group. After idazoxan treatment, the significant difference between overflows in the chronic vehicle- and EPI-treated groups was abolished. Acute EPI treatment in vitro (1 microM, 1 hr in the presence of phentolamine 10 microM; nadolol, 30 microM) resulted in incorporation of EPI (75% of total catecholamine) into cardiac catecholamine stores and increased the stimulus-induced catecholamine overflow at 0.1 Hz. Blockade of prejunctional beta-2 adrenoceptors abolished the difference between the acute EPI- and vehicle-treated groups. Moreover, the increase in catecholamine overflow resulting from alpha-2 adrenoceptor blockade with idazoxan (1 microM) was comparable between the acute EPI- and vehicle-treated groups. These results suggest that 1) both chronic elevation of plasma EPI and acute incorporation of EPI into cardiac neurotransmitter stores result in facilitation of neurotransmitter release and 2) prejunctional beta adrenoceptor activation appears to be the cause of the increase after acute EPI incorporation, whereas desensitization of prejunctional alpha-2 adrenoceptors, not beta-2 adrenoceptor-mediated facilitation, is the cause of the enhanced overflow after chronic EPI treatment.
Cerebral oedema in childhood diabetic ketoacidosis: Is treatment a factor?

Cerebral oedema (CO) is the most dreaded complication of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in children. Despite advances in many areas of the management of DKA, the mortality from CO has remained constant for decades. This rare disorder, complicating about 1% of cases of DKA in children, is lethal in 20% to 50% of victims. Since it was first described in 1936, much effort has gone into the search for a cause for this condition, but CO in childhood DKA remains a mysterious illness. Researchers have suggested that the treatment for DKA may be causally related to the development of CO. Others have disputed this claim, and both camps cite evidence to support their point of view. This article reviews the literature pertinent to the question: Is the treatment of DKA in children responsible for the development of CO?
Earnings Mobility, Family Income and Low Pay

For policy purposes it is important to establish both the nature of the low-paid workforce at any point in time and ability to obtain better paid jobs through mobility within the earnings distribution over time. In particular, two important issues are the extent to which low pay is a transient phenomenon for any particular worker and the extent to which low pay is associated with low family incomes and therefore poverty. We attempt to examine both aspects making use of the first three waves of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS).
Acute stress disorder and defense mechanisms: a study of physical trauma patients admitted to an emergency hospital.

INTRODUCTION Acute stress disorder (ASD) encompasses a set of symptoms that can arise in individuals after exposure to a traumatic event. This study assessed the defense mechanisms used by victims of physical trauma who developed ASD. METHOD This was a controlled cross-sectional study of 146 patients who suffered physical trauma and required hospitalization. A structured questionnaire was used to evaluate ASD symptoms based on DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, in addition to the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ). RESULTS Ten participants (6.85%) received a positive diagnosis of ASD, and 136, (93.15%) a negative diagnosis. The majority of the sample consisted of men with median age ranging from 33.50 to 35.50. The most prevalent defense mechanisms among the 10 patients with ASD were cancellation and devaluation, which belong to the neurotic and immature factors, respectively. Positive associations between the presence of symptoms from criterion B of the DSM-5 and defense mechanisms from the DSQ were found. These included the mechanisms of undoing, projection, passive aggression, acting out, autistic fantasy, displacement, and somatization. CONCLUSION Patients with ASD employed different defense mechanisms such as undoing and devaluation when compared to patients not diagnosed with ASD. These results mark the importance of early detection of ASD symptoms at a preventative level, thereby creating new possibilities for avoiding exacerbations related to the trauma, which represents an important advance in terms of public health.
Policy Journal Trends and Tensions: JPAM and PSJ

Academic journals may especially influence the development of an emerging field; early editors of public policy journals were explicit about that goal. Two leading journals—the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management and the Policy Studies Journal—were compared for changes between the early 1980s and 2007–2010. Over time, both journals published far fewer research articles by practitioners, and the non-university share of both editorial boards also declined. The journals continued to focus largely on the United States. Both showed a dramatic increase in the proportion of co-authored articles. Over time, JPAM became far more likely to publish studies by economists and far less likely to publish political scientists while PSJ increasingly published political scientists. JPAM authors now primarily reference economics journals. PSJ authors often cite political science, public administration, and other public policy journals. Both journals moved away from broad policy essays, with JPAM heavily trending to multivariate (essentially econometric) secondary analyses of large data sets and PSJ including a broader range of methodologies. Contrary to early predictions of a progressively more interdisciplinary field, the opposite trend—stronger alignments with specific disciplines—reflects public policy's ongoing challenge in transcending long-standing academic legacies and boundaries.
University-industry research collaborations in the UK: Bibliometric trends

Despite increasing interest amongst policy makers and academics, there have been few attempts at gathering systematic data on the nature and extent of research collaborations between universities and industry. This paper uses joint scientific publications as an indicator of such collaborations in the UK over 20 years. It finds that, although there has been a rapid increase in the volume of university-industry collaborations since the 1980s, the biggest increases were before the major policy measures of the mid-1990s. An important factor would appear to be the growing need for firms, especially non-British firms, to collaborate with leading-edge academic research in promising areas of new technology. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.
Goblet or Signet Ring Cells: That is the Question

Goblet cell carcinoid tumor is a rare mixed endocrine-exocrine neoplasm of the appendix. It carries an intermediate biologic behavior between a classic carcinoid tumor and a conventional adenocarcinoma. There has been a general lack of clinicopathologic parameters that can be reliably used to predict the clinical course and patient outcome. A recent retrospective study of a large number of appendiceal goblet cell carcinoids has shown that these tumors can be stratified into 3 subgroups based on careful histologic analysis: typical goblet cell carcinoid (group A); adenocarcinoma ex goblet cell carcinoid, signet ring cell type (group B); and adenocarcinoma ex goblet cell carcinoid, poorly differentiated carcinoma type (group C). Clinical follow-up data show that the histologic classification correlates with patient survival. Thus, meticulous histologic evaluation is of critical importance in determining the prognosis and guiding the management of patients with goblet cell carcinoids. This brief review summarizes these recent findings and raises a few issues that may need to be further addressed to better apply this classification to our practice.
Entrepreneurial Social Infrastructure: A Necessary Ingredient

Local communities are faced with increasing responsibilities to provide for their own well-being and development. With fewer resources, communities need more successful ways of uniting people and resources. Entrepreneurial social infrastructure (ESI) is a necessary ingredient for successfully linking physical resources and leadership for community development. ESI includes three elements: symbolic diversity, resource mobilization, and quality of networks. Instead of fostering perverse conflict or superficial harmony, symbolic diversity inspires communities to engage in constructive controversy to arrive at workable community decisions by focusing on community processes, depersonalization of politics, and broadening of community boundaries. Resource mobilization involves generating some surplus within the community beyond basic subsistence with relative equity in resource and risk distribution, investment by residents of their own private capital locally, and collective investment in the community (willingness of residents to tax themselves). Quality networks include establishing linkages with others in similar circumstances and developing vertical networks to provide diverse sources—both within and outside the community—of experience and knowledge.
The role of governments in corporate social responsibility: characterising public policies on CSR in Europe

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) aims to better integrate social and environmental concerns into business routines on a voluntary basis. The present article is concerned with the political side of the management approach. By systematically characterising the public policies on CSR throughout Europe, it first complements the existing, often unsystematic, accounts of how governments address CSR (mostly provided in management journals). Second, it also brings the issue closer to political science. After explaining why governments show interest in CSR, the article introduces CSR as a voluntary contribution to sustainable development. It then develops a typology of CSR policies that distinguishes five types of policy instruments (legal, economic, informational, partnering and hybrid) and four thematic fields of action (raise awareness, improve transparency, foster socially responsible investment and lead by example). Based on this systematic description of CSR policies, the article explores what CSR and the respective public policies imply for business–government relations as well as the changing patterns of regulation. It concludes that CSR started out as a neo-liberal concept that helped to downscale government regulations, but that it has in turn matured into a more progressive approach of societal co-regulation in recent years. Regarding the effectiveness and the opportunity costs of this new pattern of governance, the article emphasises that the respective assessment gaps should be filled by case study research.
Corporate Governance, Shareholder Rights, and Shareholder Rights Plans: Poison, Placebo, or Prescription?

We examine the effect of poison pill adoptions on firm value, controlling for the adopting firm's preexisting corporate governance structure. We find that only companies with the most democratic governance structures, defined as those with the fewest preexisting protective governance provisions, experience significantly positive abnormal stock returns and significantly positive abnormal revisions in five-year earnings growth rate forecasts. Moreover, regression results indicate that abnormal returns and forecast revisions are significantly related to governance structure and not to board composition or subsequent merger activity.
A retrospective analysis of Australian women's representation in management in large and small banks

This study analyses affirmative action data to assess whether progress has been made in women's representation in management in Australian banks since the passing of the Affirmative Action (Equal Opportunity for Women) Act (AA/EO) in 1986. The findings show that, since 1988/9, women have continuously increased, albeit weakly, their representation at supervisory, middle-management and senior-management levels in large banks. However, women are still concentrated at supervisory level and constitute less than 6 per cent of senior management. In the small banks, women's representation in management, which at 36.20 per cent in 1995/6 is still more than twice that in the large banks, has continuously decreased since 1992/3. It was also found that restructuring and downsizing did not reduce the number of traditional layers of management in large banks. Consequently, the study of women's representation in management is still relevant. Downsizing in Australia, however, is expected to continue and de-layering of ma.
Information Feudalism: Who Owns the Knowledge Economy?

1 Introduction: Why Information Feudalism'? * The Risks * Health-Hell in Africa * Why Sign TRIPS? * Efficiency * Freedom, Democracy and Intellectual Property * Overview. 2 Piracy: Cultural Trespassers * 'A pyrate and a rover on the sea' * Intellectual Property Piracy * A Little Intellectual Property History. 3 The Knowledge Game: Knowledge Profits * Laboratories of Knowledge * Patent Locks on Public Goods * Patent Locksmiths - the Patent Profession * Global Knowledge Cartels * The Knowledge Game * The Changing Knowledge Game. 4 Stealing from the Mind: Messages * Last Rites * The Problems * Pfizer's World of Ideas * Getting on Committees. 5 The Illusion of Sovereignty: Sovereign Poverty * Most wanted * The Caribbean. 6 The Bilaterals: The Trade Defence Initiative * The US Generalized System of Preferences * Section 301 * Designers, Lobbyists and Petitioners * Pinocchio's Nose * The Wolf at the Door. 7 Agendas and Agenda-setters - The Multilateral Game: The GATT * The WIPO Talkshop * Getting Intellectual property on the Trade Agenda: the Quad and the IPC * Punta del Este * 8 Persuasion and Principles Becoming a Community Standing on Principle: the 'Basic Framework' The Coalitionist Sweeping House. 9 At the Negotiating Table: Kick-off and Final Siren * Circles of Consensus * The Joy of Text * The Great Hero * 'DDT' * When the Chips are Down. 10 Biogopolies: Patent Privatization * Patent Addiction * Mother Nature's Software * Patent Engineering * The University-Industrial Knowledge Complex * Hard Core Cartels. 11 Infogopolies: Private Copyright * Software Blues * Hollywood Trade Ballyhoo * 'Mary had a little lamb'. 12 Democratic Property Rights: Good and Bad Property * Democratizing Intellectual Property * The puzzle of TRIPS. 13 Resisting the New Inequality The New Inequality Rethinking Piracy Reforming Patent Office Regultion Deliberation on the Council for TRIPS. 14 On the Importance of the Publicness of Knowledge: Propertyless Creativity * Protecting Private Property, Protecting Public Universities * Global Publics, Public Goods and Knowledge.
A Portfolio of Stocks and Volatility

Purchasing volatility to add to a S&P 500 stock portfolio substantially reduces risk without having much effect on return. This article examines the risk and return properties of the VIX, S&P 500 stock portfolio, and a Markowitz combination of these assets, showing the risk-return benefits of including volatility as an asset. Since the daily correlation between the S&P and VIX assets ranges from –. 45 to –. 82, there are significant benefits to adding volatility to a portfolio of stocks. Purchasing volatility is now possible via exchange traded futures contracts or over-the-counter instruments.