Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Road to Specialization in Agricultural Production: Evidence from Rural China

Many rural poor in developing countries live in areas far away from markets and isolation is a key limiting factor to their livelihood. In this paper, we use four waves of a primary panel household survey conducted in 17 remote natural villages in China to study how road access shapes farmers’ production patterns, input use, and rural poverty. We adopt a difference-in-difference approach by comparing the outcomes of the households in villages with and without road access, before and after the introduction of each road. Our results show that access to roads facilitates specialization in agricultural production. In natural villages with better road access, farmers plant fewer numbers of crops, purchase more fertilizer, and hire more labor. Consequently, road connections improve household agricultural income and reduce poverty. In addition, road access significantly increases local nonfarm income for the relatively poor households, but not the rich. Overall, our research provides empirical justification on the importance of rural road on agricultural specialization and poverty reduction, especially in isolated and impoverished regions.
Impact of Mandatory Price Reporting on Fed Cattle Market Integration

Geographic fed cattle markets are important because cattle are bulky and perishable, and production and consumption areas are separated. These characteristics make cattle transportation costly and can contribute to segmented markets. This study uses USDA-AMS reported fed cattle market price data from five U.S. regional fed cattle markets to investigate the effects of mandatory price reporting on spatial market integration. Results indicate these markets have been, and remain, highly cointegrated after implementation of mandatory price reporting (MPR). Following introduction of mandatory price reporting, the five regional fed cattle markets have become more fully integrated (i.e., prices tend to move more closely one-for-one following introduction of MPR).
Antecedents of Virtual Community Satisfaction and Loyalty: An Empirical Test of Competing Theories

The rapid growth of virtual communities (VCs) on the Internet raises important research questions regarding the antecedents of satisfaction and loyalty in VCs. This study compared the technology acceptance model (TAM), Seddon Information Systems Success Model (Seddon model), and an integrated model (combining the TAM and Seddon model) to examine which model best helps to predict user satisfaction with VCs. Using a structural equation model, data collected from 198 community members were used to compare the three models in terms of overall model fit, explanatory power, and path significance. The findings show that two TAM components (perceived usefulness and ease of use) are determinants of user satisfaction with VCs. This study also found the influence of quality-perception dimensions (e.g., system and information quality) on user satisfaction to be significant. Additionally, this study found general support for user satisfaction as a determinant of loyalty in VCs. Finally, an integrated model, combining the TAM and Seddon model, provided better explanatory power than either the TAM or the Seddon model alone. Finally, this study discusses the implications of these findings and offers directions for future research.
Developing an Ad-Reporting Typology

In a media environment where political ads influence U.S. news coverage, does the press hold politicians accountable for their ad claims? Using semantic network analysis, four types of reporting styles distinguished the ad coverage of 18 sampled newspapers and online fact-checkers from the 2008 presidential election. Horserace reporting characterized the largest group, whereas other models included partisan, he-said/she-said, and fact-checking. If educating the public about the accuracy of political ad claims is a goal of journalism, this study suggests that high-quality political adwatching following the fact-checking journalistic model did not predominate in the 2008 political ad coverage of newspapers.
Students' Involvement in Faculty Research: Ethical and Methodological Issues

Faculty who engage students as participants in their qualitative research often encounter methodological and ethical problems. Ethical issues arise from the fiduciary relationship between faculty and their students, and violations of that relationship occur when the educator has a dual role as researcher with those students. Methodological issues arise from research designs to address these ethical issues. This conflict is particularly evident in faculty research on pedagogy in their own disciplines, for which students are necessary as participants but are captive in the relationship. In this article, the authors explore the issues of double agency when faculty involve students as participants in their research.
Museums' communication in small‐ and medium‐sized cities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study how museums in a medium‐sized city (Tarragona, Spain) communicate with their local community, analysing how people evaluate and inform themselves about the museums in their city, and studying how museums identify their specific publics within the local community and communicate with them.Design/methodology/approach – The author has designed a dual methodological approach, using qualitative and quantitative research methods. Qualitative research was conducted using in‐depth interviews with communication managers of the museums. Also, quantitative research was employed, designing a questionnaire directed at the local community in Tarragona (Spain). Findings – The results show that museums have a narrow view of their publics, which is focused basically on their visitors, and that they are familiar with and use communication tools and techniques, although with a tactical perspective.Research limitations/implications – The paper was focused on all the museums in T.
Beyond Manila: Walls, Malls, and Private Spaces

Suburbanisation in the extended metropolitan area of Manila has produced new middle-class consumer landscapes of exclusive suburbs—alongside tower blocks, offices, residential estates, shop-ping malls, and golf courses—linked by freeways and flyovers. Economic growth, the emergence of a new and mobile middle class, and the lack of public planning have emphasised individualism and privatisation. Enclosed homogeneous suburbs, designed and marketed as fragments of Europe in a global era, enhance security, exclusivity, and isolation. Suburban village associations regulate community life through private legal regimes and strengthen class divisions. Malls and freeways are further forms of privatisation and social segregation as the city has become more fragmented and divided whilst public space diminishes. Social divisions are particularly acute in cities like Manila where uneven development is considerable, the public sector is weak, and metropolitan government is absent.
Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Kinase 2 Activation Is Essential for Progression through the G2/M Checkpoint Arrest in Cells Exposed to Ionizing Radiation*

An increasing body of evidence suggests that mitogen-induced activation of the RAF/ERK signaling pathway is functionally separate from the stress-induced activation of the SEK/JNK/p38 signaling pathway. In general, stress stimuli strongly activate the p38s and the JNKs while only weakly activatingERK1 and ERK2. However, a number of independent groups have now shown that the RAF/ERK signaling pathway is strongly activated by ionizing radiation. In this work, we examine this paradox. We show that both mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase kinase 1 (MEK1) and MAP kinase kinase 2 (MEK2) are activated by ionizing radiation. Blockage of this activation through the use of dominant negative MEK2 increases sensitivity of the cell to ionizing radiation and decreases the ability of a cell to recover from the G2/M cell cycle checkpoint arrest. Blocking MEK2 activation does not affect double-strand DNA break repair, however. Although MEK1 is activated to a lesser extent by ionizing radiation, expression of a dominant negative MEK1 does not affect radiation sensitivity of the cell, the G2/M checkpoint of the cell, or double-strand break repair. Because ionizing radiation leads to a different cell cycle arrest (G2/M arrest) than that typically seen with other stress stimuli, and because we have shown that MEK2 can affect G2/M checkpoint kinetics, these results provide an explanation for the observation that the MEKs can be strongly activated by ionizing radiation and only weakly activated by other stressful stimuli.
An Exploration Of The Impact Of Strategic International Human Resource Management On Firm Performance: The Case Of Foreign MNCs In China

The intense competition arising from globalization not only demands MNCs to seek low cost, innovation, speed and adaptability, but also brings the need to manage their human resources globally and strategically so that it becomes a source of sustained competitive advantage. It has thus led to the evolution of strategic international human resource management (SIHRM) in the literature, which not only acknowledges the need of balancing global integration and local responsiveness, but also emphasises the importance of seeking strategic fit between HR policies and business strategy, in turn leading to a superior business performance. Although it has been widely accepted that HR policies make a direct and positive impact on firm performance, the researcher believes there appears to be limited research undertaken in the context of the developing world. Hence this paper focus upon the case of China with reference to foreign MNCs‟ operations and the challenges faced from the dual pressure of balancing globalisation and localisation. Consequently, the researcher selected a case study approach with a triangulation data collection method. Specifically, a two-stage primary data collection process of questionnaires and semistructured interviews were undertaken in four selected subsidiaries of MNCs in China. Thereafter, a series of statistical process was conducted, i.e. frequency analysis, reliability analysis, correlation and regression tests along with the transcripts from the rich data set of interviews. The finding of this research strengthened the mainstream literature where there is a direct and positive relationship between HR polices and firm performance. Furthermore, this research also reinforced a number of views from previous studies on the importance of aligning HR policies with business strategy to attain strategic integration and thus the achievement of firm performance. However, in contrast to previous studies this research found the quality enhancement of products and service was the preferred and currently adopted business strategy amongst the studied foreign MNCs Chinese subsidiaries, whereas the traditional view regards cost reduction as contributing to the competitive edge in China. Moreover, this research also discovered that although headquarters initially transferred their standardised HR policies and procedures to Chinese subsidiaries, they subsequently delegated authority to subsidiaries. Therefore, foreign MNCs are seeking to balance global standardisation and local adaptation, which is a relatively new development although it has been noted in the literature. Thus, MNCs reconcile control and adaptation rather than satisfying one at the expense of the other, whereby the trend is for Western HR policies to be gradually accepted and internalised by the younger generation of the Chinese workforce.
Estimating Gross Labor-Force Flows

We present and apply an adjustment procedure for the Bureau of the Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics gross labor-force flows data that addresses two major defects in the data. First, an adjustment procedure is developed to take account of individuals with missing labor-force classifications who are not missing at random. Second, we provide a procedure for adjustment for individuals with spurious labor-force transitions arising because of classification errors in either the current or the previous Current Population Survey. Our procedures are applied to compute adjusted monthly gross change data for the period January 1977–December 1982. The average adjustment for nonrandom missing classifications ranges from –12% to 15% of the unadjusted gross change data. The average adjustment for spurious labor-force transitions reduces estimated movements by 8%–49%. The classification adjustment also increases estimated consecutive periods of unemployment by 18%. We apply several internal and external consistency .
Earnings biases and convergence in the UK: a county level analysis

Cameron and Muellbauer (Economic Journal, 110, pp. 412–19, 2000) have convincingly argued that problems in the methods used to compile UK Regional Accounts data have resulted in a misleading picture of regional differentials and σ convergence. This short paper extends their analysis to a wider range of measures of convergence and adopts a more disaggregated approach by analysing data at the county level. The results provide general support for their hypothesis and indicate that different measures of income can result in different conclusions concerning convergence. Thus, it is essential that future studies of convergence investigate the implications of using different measures of income where possible, rather than relying upon a single data source.
Graduate overeducation in Australia: A comparison of the mean and objective methods

This paper studies the extent of graduate overeducation in Australia utilising both the objective and mean methods. As well, the paper tests for non‐linear returns to overeducation. It is found that the rates of graduate overeducation vary by both gender and with the methods utilised, and stand between 21% and 46%. Non‐linear returns to overeducation were evident among some groups of graduates. Young male graduates seem to suffer no penalty for overeducation compared with their matched peers, but this may be a reflection of technological change altering workplace requirements faster than changes in occupational titles.
GA-Based Classifier with SNR Weighted Features for Cancer Microarray Data Classification

This work presents the method to classify the gene expression cancer data -Microarray data. The proposed method combines two techniques: classification and feature selection. The classification technique used in this work is Genetic Algorithm (GA) and the feature selection technique is Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). Lymphoma and Leukemia datasets are used to test the performance of the proposed method and 10-Folds cross validation technique is applied to report the experimental results in term of classification accuracy. The results show that the proposed method yields the best result comparing with the simple GA-based classifier in both classification accuracy and the number of generations to found the solutions. Additionally, the results are compared to the other classification and feature selection techniques reported in the literature and it is found that the proposed method achieves a good result, especially, in the Lymphoma dataset the proposed method is the best. 
Utility of adenosine deaminase (ADA), PCR & thoracoscopy in differentiating tuberculous & non-tuberculous pleural effusion complicating chronic kidney disease

Background & objectives: Pleural effusion is a common occurrence in patients with late-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD). In developing countries, many effusions remain undiagnosed after pleural fluid analysis (PFA) and patients are empirically treated with antitubercular therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of adenosine deaminase (ADA), nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) and medical thoracoscopy in distinguishing tubercular and non-tubercular aetiologies in exudative pleural effusions complicating CKD. Methods: Consecutive stage 4 and 5 CKD patients with pleural effusions underwent PFA including ADA and PCR [65 kDa gene; multiplex (IS6110, protein antigen b, MPB64)]. Patients with exudative pleural effusion undiagnosed after PFA underwent medical thoracoscopy. Results: All 107 patients underwent thoracocentesis with 45 and 62 patients diagnosed as transudative and exudative pleural effusions, respectively. Twenty six of the 62 patients underwent medical thoracoscopy. Tuberculous pleurisy was diagnosed in six while uraemic pleuritis was diagnosed in 20 subjects. The sensitivity and specificity of pleural fluid ADA, 65 kDa gene PCR, and multiplex PCR were 66.7 and 90 per cent, 100 and 50 per cent, and 100 and 100 per cent, respectively. Thoracoscopy was associated with five complications in three patients. Interpretation & conclusions: Uraemia remains the most common cause of pleural effusion in CKD even in high TB prevalence country. Multiplex PCR and thoracoscopy are useful investigations in the diagnostic work-up of pleural effusions complicating CKD while the sensitivity and/or specificity of ADA and 65 kDa gene PCR is poor.
Occurrence of ‘gastric Helicobacter-like organisms’ in cats

THREE types of spiral-shaped, Gram-negative, urease-positive organisms have been found in the stomach of cats. Helicobacter felis was the first such organism to be isolated. Hfelis is a large spiral bacterium with periplasmic fibres and has been successfully cultured from feline gastric tissues (Lee and others 1988, Paster and others 1991). The second helical organism is called the 'Gastrospirillum-like organism' which, although it has a similar appearance to H felis, lacks the periplasmic fibres and so far has not been cultured (Handt and others 1995). The recent isolation of Helicobacter pylori from a group of domestic cats (Handt and oth-
"If teachers are good to you": Caring for Rural Girls in the Classroom

This research was conducted for my doctoral thesis at Harvard Graduate School of Education. The names of people and places have been changed to protect confi dentiality. I am grateful to be recipient of the Robert S. and Grace W. Stone Primary Prevention Dissertation Award and the recognition that this award signals in taking seriously the lives of rural girls. I wish to thank Dr. Mary Casey, Dr. John Collins, and Dr. Michael Nakkula, who read previous drafts of this article with a discerning eye and provided encouragement to me throughout my research. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Erin E. Seaton, 10 Merrill Street, West Newbury, MA 01985. (eeseaton@gmail.com) Citation: Seaton, E. E. (2007, June 21). “If teachers are good to you”: Caring for rural girls in the classroom. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 22(6). Retrieved [date] from http://jrre.psu. edu/articles/22-6.pdf “If teachers are good to you”: Caring for Rural Girls in the Classroom
Tandem deep features for text-dependent speaker verification

Although deep learning has been successfully used in acoustic modeling of speech recognition, it has not been thoroughly investigated and widely accepted for speaker veriﬁcation. This paper describes an investigation of using various types of deep features in a Tandem fashion for text-dependent speaker veriﬁcation. Three types of networks are used to extract deep features: restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM), phone discriminant and speaker discriminant deep neural network (DNN). Hidden layer outputs from these networks are concatenated with the original acoustic features and used in a GMM-UBM classiﬁer. The systems with Tandem deep feature were evaluated on RSR2015, a short-term text dependent speaker veriﬁcation task. Experiments showed that the best Tandem deep feature obtained more than 50% relative EER reduction over the traditional feature in a GMM-UBM framework.
Productivity transitions in the US manufacturing sector

This note investigates productivity dynamics of US manufacturing industries during the period 1958–1996. Nonparametric methods are used to calculate total factor productivity relative to a frontier production function and to estimate the transition density. The shape of the transition density leads to the conclusion that persistence relative to the frontier function plays a substantial role in sectoral productivity development, thereby contradicting the existence of strong intertemporal spillover effects between sectors as supposed in recent growth models.
Farsighted project contract management: incomplete in its entirety

The purpose of project organization is to create a cooperative environment. Contracts are the method by which the owner creates a project organization to employ resources to achieve their development objectives. Contracts should aim to produce a cooperative organization, aligning the contractors' objectives with the owners. A three‐dimensional vector (reward, risk, safeguard), adapted from the Transaction Cost Economics literature, is used to analyse the efficacy of contract types to do this. Contracts are also unavoidably incomplete. They need to respond to unforeseen circumstance. A four‐dimensional vector (incentive intensity, adaptiveness, reliance on monitoring and control, reliance on the courts), also from the Transaction Costs Economics literature, is used to analyse the governance efficacy of contract types. The results are used to develop a contract selection strategy, depending on whether the uncertainty is controlled by the client or the contractor, the project is simple or complex, and the uncertainty is in the project's product, method of delivery or both.
Adherence and Biofilm Formation of Staphylococcus Epidermidis and Mycobacterium Tuberculosis on Various Spinal Implants

Study Design. Bacterial adherence and biofilm formation in implant-associated infection may vary depending on species of microorganisms and characteristics of implant surfaces. Objectives. We evaluated the differences in adherence and biofilm formation between Staphylococcus epidermidis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis on various spinal implant surfaces. Summary of Background Data. In implant-associated infections, bacteria in biofilm are resistant to antibiotics or host defense mechanism. The removal of implants is usually necessary to eradicate infection. On the contrary, in tuberculous infection, complete debridement and antituberculous chemotherapy without removal of implant have been regarded as a safe procedure. Methods. S. epidermidis and M. tuberculosis were cultured with 4 types of metal segments, smooth or rough-surfaced stainless steel, and titanium alloy, respectively. After isolation of colonized microorganisms and biofilm with trypsin treatment and culture on plate media, colony-forming units were counted. The features of adherence and biofilm formation were observed under scanning electron microscopy. Results. Biofilm-forming S. epidermidis showed heavy adhesion and multiplication on the surface of all 4 metal segments, 16.5 times more colony-forming units than nonbiofilm-forming ones. On scanning electron microscopy, there were many aggregated microcolonies with thick biofilm in biofilm-forming S. epidermidis but much less in nonbiofilm-forming S. epidermidis. M. tuberculosis were rarely adhered to metal surfaces and showed scanty biofilm formation. Conclusions. On the contrary to S. epidermidis, adherence and biofilm formation of M. tuberculosis on implant surface are less likely, and it can provide the basis of successful instrumentation in spine tuberculosis.
Preparers’ Control‐Risk Assessments Under Alternative Audit‐Review Processes

This study investigates the impact of a decomposed audit‐review process on audit preparers’ control‐risk assessments, taking audit experience into consideration. Using an experiment, it manipulates the audit‐review type (decomposed review versus non‐decomposed review) and preparers’ audit experience level (more experienced versus less experienced). Analysis of data collected from two mid‐tier audit firms supported the author’s predictions. First, working‐paper preparers assessed control risk more accurately in a decomposed than in a non‐decomposed review. Second, less‐experienced auditors benefitted more from a decomposed review than more‐experienced auditors.