Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determinants of Knowledge-based Human Capital in ASEAN Five plus Three Countries

Develop towards a knowledge-based economy is extremely important for the ASEAN five plus three countries, since the countries face challenges at the global fronts and technological changes; the rules of competition have changed. A country's competitive advantage is no longer dependent solely on factors such as labor, land and natural resources, but on its potential to produce, acquire, utilize and disseminate knowledge. Thus, this is essentially a shift from economic development based on resources to development based on knowledge where human capital (consequently education) emerges as crucial public policy themes for creating wealth and increasing the quality of life. This paper attempts to identify the determinants of knowledge-based human capital in ASEAN five plus three countries. The empirical findings of the human capital analyses indicate significant economic and demographic variables including the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and fertility rate.
Influence of National Culture on Accounting Conservatism and Risk Taking in the Banking Industry

ABSTRACT: Using an international sample of banks and country-level indices for individualism and uncertainty avoidance as proxies for national culture, we study how differences in culture across countries affect accounting conservatism and bank risk-taking. Consistent with expectations, our cross-country analysis indicates that individualism is negatively (positively) related to conservatism (risk-taking) and uncertainty avoidance is positively (negatively) related to conservatism (risk-taking). We also find that cultures that encourage higher risk-taking experienced more bank failures and bank troubles during the recent financial crisis. Data Availability: Data are available from the sources identified in the text.
Effect of tobacco chewing by mothers on fetal outcome.

While the adverse effect of tobacco smoking by mothers on fetal outcome has been extensively documented in literature effect of consumption of tobacco in other forms such as eating chewing etc. as a traditional practice in some communities in India and its neighboring countries has received scant attention. In the present study 70 mother-newborn pairs where mothers consumed tobacco were compared with an equal number of pairs serving as controls precisely matched for socioeconomic status maternal literacy parity of the mother birth interval age height and weight of mother gestational age and sex of the baby. The birth weight length and circumference of skull were studied. A statistically significant lower birth weight by an average of 395.3 g and lower birth length by 0.518 cm was observed in the tobacco consumer group. Tobacco consumption exceeding 200 mg/day during pregnancy distinctly influenced birth weight particularly in the forms that were more likely to be ingested than merely chewed. In qualitative terms tobacco consumption during pregnancy significantly dimimished birth weight and length. What remains to be studied is the quantitative correlation between toxic metabolites of tobacco and fetal outcome. (authors)
The spillover effects of conflict on economic growth in neighbouring countries in Africa

In this article, the influence of conflict on the economies of neighbouring countries is discussed. The results from previous papers show a strong negative effect for an entire area around a country suffering from conflict, but this paper reaches a different conclusion, by using more recent data and adjusting the methodology previously employed. Additionally, a new type of contiguity matrix is constructed and used in the actual analysis. The final analysis consists of a large number of regressions and concludes that conflict actually has two opposing effects. First, like conflict countries themselves, directly contiguous countries actually suffer from the negative effects of proximate conflict. Secondly, however, there is also a positive spillover of conflict, which affects non-contiguous countries and this effect is larger for countries that are closer to the conflict country. The results from the paper predominantly hold for the most violent kind of conflict.
One proxy at a time: pursuing social change through shareholder proposals

Traditional economic wisdom holds that a corporation’s sole goal should be to maximize shareholder wealth. But some investors believe that firms should also act as agents for social change. Activist investors use their shareholder rights to place socially responsible resolutions on corporate proxy statements to be voted on by all shareholders. ; This article examines the controversy behind corporate social responsibility (CSR) and identifies and categorizes activist investors, their objectives, and the firms they target. Using data from the Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC) on 2,829 CSR shareholder proposals from 1992 to 2002, the author finds that religious organizations and individuals made the largest number of proposals, but in 2000 proposals by socially responsible mutual funds began to outnumber those by individuals. The three most common proposal topics were international conduct, environmental issues, and antidiscrimination. ; Of the 566 different corporations targeted, seventy-three were targeted ten times or more. Larger, economically powerful firms—especially those that value consumer goodwill and have the “name” to aid in social change—were most often targeted. ; Because a withdrawn resolution usually signals an action by the corporation—dialogue, agreement to resolution, or some other compromise—the author argues that withdrawn proposals can be used as measure of activism’s success. The IRRC data and her own extensive research on the outcome of withdrawn proposals support this argument.
Breaking Bad: the Structure and Function of the Blood-Brain Barrier in Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a neurological disease with variable etiology and clinical manifestation, affecting more than 50 million people worldwide. Although the ultimate precipitators of seizures are neurons, it is becoming evident that epileptic activity is associated with changes in the function of other cell types, including those consisting the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and regulating its permeability. The interrelationships between impaired BBB function and epilepsy are complex, as BBB dysfunction may both lead to seizures and be induced by epileptic activity. In this article, we review alterations in key BBB properties that have been found in patients with epilepsy and in animal models of the disease. We highlight emerging biomarkers for individualized treatment, implications for pharmacotherapy, and potential BBB-related targets for drug development.
Characterization of lymphocyte subsets in rhesus macaques during the first year of life

Abstract: Establishing reliable phenotypic data sets from the analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes of normal animals is required to assess disease states. The rhesus macaque animal model is well established with respect to adult animals, but limited data are available that characterizes lymphocyte subsets in normal neonates. To address this, we used four‐color flow cytometric analysis to follow phenotypic changes in 29 normal rhesus animals through their first ten months of life. From birth to 44 wk of age, the white cell count and absolute lymphocyte count were both elevated compared to adults. CD4+ cells constituted over 80% of all T cells at birth, a percentage that declined gradually over the first 12 wk of life, coincidental with increases in the percentages of CD8+ T cells, CD3–8+ natural killer cells and CD20+ B cells. This difference in relative frequency of CD4 and CD8 results in a significant skewing of CD4:CD8 ratio from 0.7:1 in adults to 3.5:1 in neonates. In addition, the predominant population of T lymphocytes consisted of CD45RA+CD62L+ naïve cells. This subset continues to be the predominant phenotype for at least the first year of age. After birth the expression of activation markers (CD25) increased particularly on CD4+ T cells, although these levels generally reached a frequency similar to that observed in adults between 12 and 20 weeks after birth. These results are similar to those seen in humans and further confirm the reliability of the rhesus macaque animal model to study human diseases.
The Implications of Style Analysis for Mutual Fund Performance Evaluation

Consider the child's game tic-tac-toe. There is simply no way to win, even if a genius is playing against an opponent of only moderate intelligence. Each player, in turn, simply blocks the other player's previous move. (Of course, if one player is dull-witted or bereft of the power of concentration, a loss is easily accomplished.) In short, as a game that cannot be won, only lost, tic-tac-toe is the ultimate loser's game. Curiously enough, the new Morningstar Category Rating System is played on a field with a pattern identical to tic-tac-toe. Because of this similarity, the nine-box system for analyzing fund investment styles raises, perhaps inadvertently, the question: Does the search for fund performance resemble the search for three Xs (or Os) in a row in a child's game? Put another way, if no one can win consistently when nearly all participants have at least average skill, is not fund selection, too, a loser's game? This analogy quickly brings to mind one of the truly seminal articles about the challenges of investment management in increasingly efficient financial markets. Written by Charles D. Ellis, founder of Greenwich Research Associates, and published in the July/August 1975 issue of The Financial Analysts Journal, it was called, of all things, " The Loser's Game. " In his article, Mr. Ellis observed: " The investment management business is built upon a simple and basic premise: professional managers can beat the market. That premise appears to be false. The ultimate outcome (of the game) is determined by who can lose the fewest points, not who can win the most. Money management has been transformed from a Winner's Game to a Loser's Game. " When the article was written—now more than two decades ago—the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was virtually the only standard used by institutions to measure market returns. (Even it wasn't used very often! ) And in those ancient days, the portfolios of most institutional managers—and most mutual funds— were dominated by a blended list of the large cap stocks in the Index. In this modern day and age, however,
Non-performing Loans in Turkish Banking Sector and Macro Economic Effects

Turk bankacilik sektorunde sorunlu kredilerin toplam kredilere orani ozellikle kriz donemlerinde onemli olcude artmis ve hem bankacilik sektorunu hem de reel sektoru olumsuz yonde etkilemistir. Bu calismada, 1998Q22012Q3 yillarina ait ceyrek donemlik veriler ekseninde sorunlu krediler ile makroekonomik degiskenler (bankacilik sektoru yurtici kredi hacmi, GSYIH reel buyume, toplam ozel tuketim harcamalari ve ozel sabit sermaye harcamalari) arasindaki iliski Granger nedensellik testi ve VAR yontemi kullanilarak analiz edilmistir. Esbutunlesme analizi, sorunlu krediler ile sozkonusu makroekonomik degiskenler arasinda uzun donemli bir iliski oldugunu ortaya koyarken, Granger nedensellik testleri bu iliskilerin cift yonlu oldugunu gostermektedir.
Links between taxes and economic growth : some empirical evidence

Evidence from 20 countries shows that those with lower taxes experienced more rapid expansion of investment, productivity, employment, and government services, and had better growth rates, without discriminating against the poor. This paper examines the mechanisms by which fiscal policies may have affected their performance. The evidence suggests that tax policy has affected economic performance via two basic mechanisms: (i) lower taxes have resulted in higher real returns to savings, investment, work, and innovation, and higher returns have stimulated a larger aggregate supply of these factors of production and thus raised total output; and (ii) the focus and types of fiscal incentives provided by low-tax countries appear to have shifted resources from less productive to more productive sectors and activities; thus increasing the overall efficiency of resource utilization. The findings do not imply that tax changes would bring immediate results. The timing and context of tax reform is probably critical.
Indicators of poorly controlled asthma and health-related quality of life among school-age children in the United States.

BACKGROUND Poorly controlled asthma has far-reaching effects on school-age children and their parents, but little is known about the national impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). OBJECTIVE To examine HRQoL associated with asthma and indicators of poorly controlled asthma in the United States. METHODS This was a cross-sectional analysis of HRQoL among school-age children (age range, 6-17 years) with asthma in the nationally representative 2007-2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Indicators of poor asthma control included the following: exacerbation in the previous 12 months, use of more than three canisters of short-acting beta agonist in 3 months, and annual asthma-specific emergency department or inpatient visits. Health status and HRQoL instruments included the following: the Columbia Impairment Scale (CIS), Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ), Children with Special Health Care Needs Screener (CSHCN), and self-perceived physical and mental health. Ordered logistic regression was used for ordered categorical variables, and logistic regression was used for binary variables. All regressions controlled for sociodemographics and other covariates. RESULTS There were 44,320 school-age children in the MEPS, of whom 5890 had asthma. School-age children with indicators of poorly controlled asthma had higher odds of feeling unhappy and/or sad or nervous and/or afraid, and of having problems with sports and/or hobbies and schoolwork on the CIS. Results from the CHQ showed that parents of school-age children with asthma and indicators of poorly controlled asthma had higher odds of worrying about their child's health and future. Results from the CSHCN showed that school-age children with asthma and indicators of poorly controlled asthma were more likely to have special health care needs. School-age children with asthma and indicators of poorly controlled asthma had higher odds of having poor perceived physical health. CONCLUSION This nationally representative study provided novel information on the burden of poorly controlled asthma on emotional problems, school-related and activity limitations, general health status, and worry among school-age children and their families as measured by validated instruments.
Does Head Start Improve Long-Term Outcomes? Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design

This paper exploits a new source of variation in Head Start funding to identify the program's long-term effects. In 1965 the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) provided technical assistance to the 300 poorest counties in the U.S. to develop Head Start funding proposals, but did not provide similar assistance to other counties. We show that the result is a substantial difference in Head Start funding and participation rates in those counties just above and below OEO's poverty-rate cutoff for technical assistance, differences that seem to have persisted through at least the 1970’s. This discontinuity in Head Start funding and participation are associated with discontinuities in educational attainment.
The effects of SARS on the Korean hotel industry and measures to overcome the crisis: A case study of six Korean five-star hotels

The major objectives of this study were: (1) to discuss the impact of the SARS outbreak on the Korean hotel industry; (2) to explore how the crisis management contingency concept was implemented by the Korean hotel industry during this crisis; (3) to examine what the implications are for managers in the hotel industry. Results of this study indicate that the SARS outbreak had an adverse impact on the Korean hotel industry. During the six months affected by the SARS outbreak, the Korean hotel industry tried to minimize operating costs and offered employees education programs concerning health awareness, training and operating new hygiene equipment. This study is expected to provide lessons from the experience of the Korean hotel industry during the SARS-affected period.
A CALIBRATION METHOD FOR AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIC PRODUCTION MODELS

A method for calibrating agricultural production models is presented. The data requirements are those for a linear programming model with the addition of elasticities of substitution. Using these data, production models with a CES production function can be simply and automatically calibrated using small computers. The resulting models are shown to satisfy the standard microeconomic conditions. When used for analysis of policy changes, the CES models are able to respond smoothly to changes in prices or constraints. Prior estimates of elasticities of substitution, supply or demand can be incorporated in the models.
Examining the Role of Economic Opportunity and Amenities in Explaining Population Redistribution

This paper develops a model of migration integrating equilibrium and disequilibrium components in which individuals and firms from rational expectations about future opportunities. Levels of migration are derived as functions of variations in factors influencing migrant labor demand ("economic opportunity") and migrant labor supply ("residential amenities"). The model is used to estimate the extent to which migration in the United States over the period 1950-1980 is determined by these two classes of exogenous factors.
Prediction of outcome in neurotic disorder: a 5-year prospective study

Background. There have been no previous studies of the outcome of different neurotic disorders in which a prospective group with original randomization to treatment have been followed up over a long period. Such studies are important in identifying the factors associated with good and poor outcome. Methods. A 5-year follow-up assessment was made of a cohort of 210 psychiatric out-patients seen in general practice psychiatric clinics with a DSM-III diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder (71), panic disorder (74) or dysthymic disorder (65) and randomized to drug treatment, cognitive and behaviour therapy, and self-help. A total of 182 of the patients (87%) were assessed after 5 years by examination of hospital and GP records using a standardized procedure and outcome determined with a four-point outcome scale. Results. One hundred and seven (60%) of the patients had a favourable outcome but the remainder continued to be handicapped either intermittently or continuously throughout the 5-year period. Analysis of the value of initial data in predicting outcome using polychotomous step-wise logistic regression revealed that five variables were significant predictors of poor prognosis: older age; recurrent episodes; the presence of personality disorder at entry; general neurotic syndrome at entry; and symptom severity after 10 weeks. The initial DSM diagnosis and original treatment given, together with ten other variables, were of no predictive value. Conclusions. The long-term outcome of neurotic disorder is better predicted by age, personality and recency of onset than by other clinical variables with the exception of initial response to treatment.
Financial Integration and International Portfolio Diversification: US, Japan and ASEAN Equity Markets

ABSTRACT The paper empirically analyzes financial integration and the benefits of international diversification across US, Japan and ASEAN equity markets. Our results suggest no evidence of cointegration among (1) ASEAN markets, (2) an individual ASEAN market, the US and Japanese markets, and (3) ASEAN markets, the US and Japanese markets. However, results from impulse-response functions indicate immediate responses of each ASEAN market to innovations in other ASEAN markets, as well as to innovations in the US and Japanese markets. Among the ASEAN markets, the Indonesian market seems relatively isolated; the Malaysian market is most influential, followed by the Singapore equity market. The US market is found to be more dominant than the Japanese market. Our results suggest potential benefits of international portfolio diversification across these markets for investors that have long-term investment horizons. However, the short term gains may be limited, especially to investors from the US.
Job Turnover and Its Correlates among Residency Program Directors in Internal Medicine: A Three‐year Cohort Study

Purpose. In 1983, 43% of internal medicine residency program directors had held their positions for less than three years. The purposes of this study were to determine the job turnover rate for internal medicine program directors, and the characteristics of program directors and residency programs that are associated with job turnover. Method. In October 1996, questionnaires were sent to all non-military internal medicine residency program directors in the continental United States listed by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The questionnaire covered demographics, program characteristics, and job satisfaction. In October 1999, an updated ACGME list was used to contact programs to verify changes in program directors and determine the dates of change. Results. A total of 262 usable responses were received. At the beginning of the study, 49% of the respondents had been on the job for three years or less, and 74 (29%) were no longer program directors three years later. Overall job satisfaction was highly associated (p < .01) with turnover. Multivariate Cox regression modeling yielded four variables independently associated with turnover: low satisfaction with colleague relationships (hazard ratio = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.6–6.4), a high percentage of administrative work time (HR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.4–6.2), perceiving the job as a “steppingstone” (HR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.0–3.2), and having had formal training to deal with problem residents (HR = 0.6, 95% CI = 0.4–1.1). Respondents with burnout, with the titles of program director and chair or department chief, and with less than two years on the job had nonsignificant trends toward job turnover. Variables not associated with turnover included gender, rank, salary, and program size. Conclusions. Yearly turnover for internal medicine residency program directors is substantial. The four independent predictors of turnover identified in this study should be of interest to institutions recruiting or retaining program directors and to aspiring program directors.
Proliferative activity is the most significant predictor of recurrence in noninvasive papillary urothelial neoplasms of low malignant potential and grade 1 papillary carcinomas of the bladder

Recurrence of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder cannot be predicted accurately by traditional criteria alone. This study examined the value of cell proliferative activity, morphometry, and expression of p53, c‐erbB‐2, and bcl‐2 oncogenes in predicting recurrence of superficial papillary urothelial neoplasms of low malignant potential (LMP) and Grade 1 (G1) papillary carcinomas of the bladder.
Market Valuation of Preconditioning Feeder Calves

Preconditioning calf programs, while not new, are becoming more prevalent. They provide benefits to cow-calf producers while adding value for feeder cattle buyers. However, questions remain regarding the economic costs and returns of such programs. A model was estimated with data from three consecutive-day sales, to determine the value that buyers place on preconditioning programs and related feeder cattle traits. Our results indicate that price premiums, although evident, appear to be insufficient by themselves to cover the marginal costs of preconditioning.