Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mental health risk factors for suicides in the US Army, 2007–8

Objective Suicides among active duty US Army personnel have been increasing since 2004, surpassing comparable civilian rates in 2008. This analysis uses US military data to assess suicide rates for the 2-year period 2007–8, and examines relative risks (RR) of suicide associated with mental health disorders. Methods Historical trends of US Army suicides were assessed using 1977–2008 data from Army G-1 (Personnel). Suicide rates, RR and the 2000–8 trends of mental health disorders were calculated using data from the Defense Casualty Information Processing System and Defense Medical Surveillance System. Results A total of 255 soldiers committed suicide in 2007–8 (2008 rate 20.2 per 100 000). Factors associated with higher suicide risk included male gender, lower enlisted rank and mental health disorders treated on an outpatient basis (RR 3.9), as well as a number of mental health disorders (mood disorders, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, personality/psychotic disorders, substance-related disorders and adjustment disorder; RR range 4.7–24.5). Analysis of historical trends suggested that 25–50% of the suicides that occurred in 2008 might have been related to the major commitment of troops to combat beginning in 2003. Conclusions The recent increase in suicides parallels an increase in the prevalence of mental disorders across the army. This finding suggests that increasing rates of clinically treated psychopathology are associated with increasing rates of suicides; these rates probably serve as sentinels for suicide risk in this population. Soldiers seeking treatment for mental disorders and substance abuse should be a focus for suicide prevention.
New Transfer Regulations

The Transfers of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 transposed the Acquired Rights Directive into UK law. The Regulations have been amended four times and have been the subject of much litigation. As a result of amendments to the Directive they are to be amended yet again. The latest changes attempt to introduce certainty of application and widen their impact. The Government's stated aim in reforming the Regulations is to ensure that they operate as effectively as possible for all those whose interests depend upon them. This article considers the proposed changes in the light of the litigation and considers whether they are likely to be effective.
Temporal causality and the dynamics of judicial appellate caseload, real income and socio-economic complexity in Australia

This study applies Granger causality tests within a multivariate error correction framework to examine the relationship between judicial caseload, real income and urbanization for Australia using annual data from 1904 to 2001. Decomposition of variance and impulse response functions are also considered. The Granger causality results as well as the decomposition of variance and impulse response functions suggest that urbanization is the most exogenous of the three variables in both the long run and short run while judicial caseload and real income are relatively exogenous in the short run.
Male use of parental leave in Luxembourg : empirical analysis of administrative records

The study investigates the decisions of fathers to use parental leave at the individual level. The focus is on the opportunity cost fathers would face for using the leave. Opportunity cost is measured in two ways as the difference between the parental leave benefit and the salary of the father and as the mean salary growth for a period of six months. The first measure is a proxy for the direct opportunity cost, while the second aims to capture opportunity costs of being away fromthe workplace in terms of foregone promotion opportunities. Data for the analysis are based on anonymous administrative records of fathers working in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The analysis deploys a duration model to investigate fathers use of parental leave throughout an observation period of five years. The results of the study suggest a negative, although non-linear, relationship between foregone income and the hazard of taking parental leave. Surprisingly, however, salary growth in the six-month period prior to taking parental leave has a positive, rather than a negative effect on the hazard of taking parental leave.
Anticipated nurses' turnover in public hospitals in Saudi Arabia

This study sought to examine anticipated turnover among nurses in Saudi hospitals, and the effect of work environment, organizational factors and personal variables on turnover intentions. A sample of 5423 nurses in 80 hospitals in 12 regions was surveyed. Significant differences in anticipated turnover were found based on nationality, education, salary, age, experience, gender and region. Predictors of anticipated turnover included work environment, organizational factors, personal variables and availability of alternative employment. Conclusion: Anticipated turnover in Saudi hospitals is a phenomenon worthy of attention, and a good part of this phenomenon is linked to the heavy reliance on expatriate labor.
Linking chief knowledge officers with customer capital through knowledge management practices in the Spanish construction industry

Tangible results are the most powerful weapon Chief Knowledge Officers (CKOs) have for persuading their companies to adopt the knowledge management agenda. Today, in small medium enterprises (SMEs), CKOs can take a more strategic perspective, scanning the enterprise to discover how they might improve customer relations as well as promote knowledge management practices. The goal of this research is to explore the links between: the extent to which a SME possess a CKO; its knowledge management practices; and the strength of its customer capital. The research model and hypothesized relationships are empirically tested using the structural equation modelling (SEM) approach, validated by factor analysis of 164 SMEs in the Spanish construction industry. The main conclusion from our empirical study is that the responsibilities associated with the management of knowledge fall into three general categories: context in time; learning from demand; and open-mindedness.
Collateral damage for R&D manufacturers: how patent sharks operate in markets for technology

Patent sharks, small firms that exploit information asymmetries in markets for technology to gain patent-based competitive advantages, challenge established theory by which (i) markets for technology benefit large firms and (ii) intellectual property rights systems strictly support markets for technology. Empirically linking the sharks' different assault strategies to the patents they deploy, we illustrate that patent sharks will likely be an enduring phenomenon in markets for technology. We discuss policy and strategy implications. Copyright 2010 The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Associazione ICC. All rights reserved. , Oxford University Press.
Obama and 2012: Still a Racial Cost to Pay?

Abstract Will President Obama lose votes in 2012 because of racial prejudice? For 2008, we estimated, via a carefully controlled, national survey-based study, that on balance he lost about five percentage points in popular vote share due to intolerance for his race on the part of some voters. What about 2012? There are at least three possibilities: (1) the presidency has become postracial, and the vote will register no racial cost; (2) intolerance has increased, and the vote will register an increased racial cost; and (3) intolerance has decreased, and the vote will register a decreased racial cost. Our evidence, drawn from an analysis comparable to that carried out for 2008, suggests Obama will pay a racial cost of three percentage points in popular vote share. In other words, his candidacy will experience a decrease in racial cost, if a small one. In 2008, this racial cost denied Obama a landslide victory. In the context of a closer election in 2012, this persistent racial cost, even smaller in size, could perhaps cost him his reelection.
Earnings Management and the Pricing of Initial Public Offerings

This study investigates whether the extent of earnings management has any impact on offer price in initial public offering (IPO). Using a sample of 581 JASDAQ IPO firms, we find that offer price reflects earnings management to some extent. Firms with conservative earnings management tend to have higher offer prices, and firms managing earnings aggressively tend to be discounted when they fail to exhibit smooth earnings growth. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that underwriters adjust for the effect of earnings management to appropriately pricing the issues. Overall, our evidence could lead to another explanation for IPO underpricing.
Volatility in the gold futures market

We investigate the volatility structure of gold, trading as a futures contract on the Chicago Board of Trade using intraday (high frequency) data from January 1999 to December 2005. Apart from investigating the now familiar GARCH properties we also utilize a rarely used measure of volatility – the Garman Klass estimator – to provide new insights in intraday and interday volatility. This nonparametric measure incorporates the open, close, high and low price within a particular time interval. Both sets of results suggest significant variation across the trading day and week consistent with microstructure theories, although volatility is only slightly positively correlated with volume when measured by tick-count.
Dynamic Asset Allocation and the Informational Efficiency of Markets

Markets have an allocational role; even in the absence of news about payoffs, prices change to facilitate trade and allocate resources to their best use. Allocational price changes create noise in the signal extraction process, and markets where such trading is important are markets in which we may expect to find a failure of informational efficiency. An important source of allocational trading is the use of dynamic trading strategies caused by the incomplete equitization of risks. Incomplete equitization causes trade. Trade implies the inefficiency of passive strategies, thus requiring investors to determine whether price changes are informational or allocational. Copyright 1995 by American Finance Association.
Sociodemographic Characteristics of Cannabis Smokers and the Experience of Cannabis Withdrawal

Background: Cannabis withdrawal can be a negative reinforcer for relapse, but little is known about its association with demographic characteristics. Objectives: Evaluate the association of demographic characteristics with the experience of cannabis withdrawal. Methods: Retrospective self-report of a “serious” cannabis quit attempt without formal treatment in a convenience sample of 104 non-treatment-seeking, adult cannabis smokers (mean age 35 years, 52% white, 78% male) with no other current substance use disorder (except tobacco) or chronic health problems. Reasons for quitting, coping strategies to help quit, and 18 specific withdrawal symptoms were assessed by questionaire. Results: Among withdrawal symptoms, only anxiety, increased sex drive, and craving showed significant associations with age, race, or sex. Women were more likely than men to report a physical withdrawal symptom (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = .99–10.4, p = .05), especially upset stomach. There were few significant demographic associations with coping strategies or reasons for quitting. Conclusions and Scientific Significance: This small study suggests that there are few robust associations between demographic characteristics and cannabis withdrawal. Future studies with larger samples are needed. Attention to physical withdrawal symptoms in women may help promote abstinence.
A value-at-risk approach with kernel estimator

This article proposes an alternative approach of Value-at-Risk (VaR) estimation. Financial assets are known to have irregular return patterns; not only the volatility but also the distribution functions themselves may vary with time. Therefore, traditional time-series models of VaR estimation assuming constant and specific distribution are often unreliable. The study addresses the issue and employs the nonparametric kernel estimator technique directly on the tail distributions of financial assets to produce VaR estimates. Various key methodologies of VaR estimation are briefly discussed and compared. The empirical study utilizing a sample of stocks and stock indices for almost 14 years data shows that the proposed approach outperforms other existing methods.
Growing Pains: The Sustainability of Social Enterprises

This paper establishes the growing perception of the importance of the social enterprise sector in the UK, and notes that it is currently government policy to encourage growth. However, social enterprises, in common with many small businesses, find growth difficult, and this could impact negatively on their sustainability. The author goes on to explore the reasons for that difficulty, and concludes by suggesting how best to support social enterprise. It is suggested that orthodox growth stimulated by further marketization of this sector could be to its detriment. The paper aims to contribute to knowledge of the social enterprise sector and to the evidence base required by the policy-making community.
Lending Relationships and Loan Contract Terms

We find that repeated borrowing from the same lender translates into a 10--17 bps lowering of loan spreads and that relationships are especially valuable when borrower transparency is low. These results hold using multiple approaches (propensity score matching, instrumental variables, and treatment effects model) that control for the endogeneity of relationships. We also provide a demarcation line between relationship and transactional lending. Spreads charged for relationship loans and nonrelationship loans are statistically identical if the borrower is in the largest 30% by asset size; has public rated debt; or is part of the S&P 500 index. Past relationships reduce collateral requirements and are also associated with obtaining larger loans. Our results imply that, even for firms that have multiple sources of outside financing, borrowing from a prior lender obtains better loan terms. The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org, Oxford University Press.
The Discrepancy between Retinoscopic and Subjective Measurements: Effect of Age

Abstract Comparison of the retinoscopic and subjective measurements of 1078 eyes of all ages showed that the discrepancy (retinoscopy ‐ subjective) was positive and equal to 0.3‐0.4 D in young eyes. The discrepancy diminished with age, eventually becoming negative in the 6th decade of life. The results are explained by postulating that retinoscopic light is reflected from the internal limiting membrane in young eyes and from a layer posterior to the photoreceptors in older eyes.
On the Good News in Equity Carve-Outs

The announcement of the sale of equity in a wholly owned subsidiary of a corporation is received by the market as good news about the value of the existing equity in the parent corporation. This is in stark contrast to announcements of other forms of public equity financing . The authors show that the apparent inconsistency between the market response to equity carve-out announcements and other forms of equity financing can be easily understood in the Myers and Majluf (1984) framework. It is shown that firms that resort to an equity carve-out will be firms that, on average, are being undervalued by the market. Copyright 1991 by American Finance Association.
What is the Effect of Housework on the Market Wage, and Can it Explain the Gender Wage Gap?

Does housework reduce the market wage, and if so, does it have a similar impact for males and females? In this paper, we survey and evaluate the recent and growing empirical literature on the linkages between housework and the wage rate. The review is motivated by unexplained gender wage gaps across studies, which consider personal and market-related factors. We focus on this less-studied aspect of wage determination. We consider the required modelling framework, and provide standardized estimated effects of housework on the hourly wage across studies. We evaluate how this literature has addressed potential estimation problems, in particular, the endogeneity of housework, concavity of the housework-wage function, threshold effects and work effort effects. We conclude that the evidence across ordinary least squares, instrumental variable, fixed effects and two-stage least squares results casts serious doubt on the idea that the negative female housework-wage relationship is only driven by endogeneity bias or individual-specific characteristics. Yet, much more needs to be done to address modelling and data requirements, and we point out likely and promising future research directions. Copyright © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Factors Associated with the Early Adoption of the SEC's Revised Auditor Fee Disclosure Rules

Corporate disclosures of auditor fees (beginning in February 2001) caused considerable concern among regulators and investors about auditor independence because they revealed that nonaudit fees were a substantial proportion of total auditor fees. However, in 2003 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced revised disclosure requirements, specifying a broader definition of audit fees, and additional fee categories (SEC 2003). About 31 percent of our sample firms adopted the new rules in advance of the required date. We investigate the pattern of early adoption of the new fee disclosure rules by companies. Our results indicate that companies with greater nonaudit fee ratios during the prior year, companies that could show a greater decline in nonaudit fee ratios due to reclassification under SEC (2003), and companies that had greater audit‐related fees after the reclassification were likely to adopt the new rules early. We conjecture that companies that had the most to gain from reclassifying f.
LEARNER AUTONOMY IN LANGUAGE LEARNING: TEACHERS' BELIEFS

This case study research investigated the extent to which Vietnamese teachers understood the concept of learner autonomy and how their beliefs about this concept were applied in their teaching practices. Data were collected through two phases of the study and revealed that teachers generally lacked understanding about learner autonomy; there was an alignment between this lack of understanding and teachers' actual teaching practices regarding learner autonomy. The findings of this study will provide teachers and policy-makers new insights into learner autonomy against the backdrop of educational reforms in Vietnam.
The Baltic Republics and the Crisis of 2008–2011

This essay explores how the Baltic republics responded to the crisis of 2008–2011. We argue that while there are significant differences in how the Baltic economies responded to the crisis, these responses not only remain within the neo-liberal policy paradigm characteristic of the region from the early 1990s, but that the crisis radicalised Baltic economies and particularly their fiscal stance. We show that there are a number of unique features in all three Baltic republics' political economies that made such a radicalisation possible. However, these unique features make it almost impossible for the Baltic experience to be replicable anywhere else in Europe.
Multiple-Prize Contests the Optimal Allocation of Prizes

Multiple-prize contests are important in various fields of economics ranging from rent seeking over labour economics, patent and R&D races to tendering for (governmental) projects. Hence it is crucial to understand the incentive effects of multiple prizes on effort investment. This survey attempts to outline, compare and evaluate the results from the literature. While a first prize always results in a positive incentive to invest effort, second and later prizes lead to ambiguous effects. Depending on the objective function, the characteristics of the individuals and the type of contest a different prize allocation is optimal. Copyright © 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
An analysis of the complementary innovation mechanism between STI and DUI modes

STI and DUI modes introduced by Jensen et al. summarise the innovation modes most scientifically. Based on the Danish firms' empirical data Jensen et al. (2004, 2007) provided, this paper analyses the complementarity between the STI and DUI modes using the complementarity theory-based approach. The result shows that the relationship between the STI and DUI modes is non-critical symmetric complementarity. The STI-mode and DUI-mode contribute to innovation respectively. However, further innovation performance can be achieved by combining the two modes. The paper also explores the complementary innovation mechanism between the STI and DUI modes referring to contemporary theories on knowledge learning.
Does International Diversification Discount Exist in the Hotel Industry?

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the value of international diversification in hotel firms. The results show that although diversification discounts exist, the relationship between international diversification and excess value is curvilinear (U-shaped), suggesting that highly diversified hotel firms could still benefit from international diversification. The comparison between absolute market premium (excess market value) and relative market premium (excess Q) also indicates that international diversification can increase the value of intangible assets, but a firm’s ability to leverage its intangible assets through international diversification differs because of industry characteristics. Implications for the hotel industry are also discussed.
Clinical Predictors of Cetuximab for First-Line Therapy of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: A Single Institutional Retrospective Study

Predictive factors of cetuximab efficacy for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) have not been sufficiently revealed. The present study aimed to explore new predictors. A total of 30 patients with KRAS exon 2 wild-type unresectable mCRC, who had been treated with cetuximab-based regimen as first-line therapy, were retrospectively analyzed. We assessed whether gender, age, primary tumor site, RAS genotype, the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS), metastatic status, histological grade, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), treatment regimen, and oxaliplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy at baseline were associated with cetuximab efficacy. Progression-free survival (PFS) and objective response rate (ORR) were evaluated and statistically analyzed. Analysis of PFS revealed that left-sided tumor and good PS had relevance to good results. PFS among patients with left-sided CRC was longer than that among those with right-sided CRC (median, 10.6 and 3.5 months, respectively). Patients with a PS of 0 - 1 experienced significantly longer PFS than those with a PS of 2 - 3 (median, 8.6 versus 1.3 months, respectively). In analysis of ORR, high histological grade and serum CEA level showed interaction with good effect. Patients with histological grade I/II cancer experienced better ORR than those with histological grade III/IV cancer (76% versus 20%, respectively). ORR among patients with serum CEA level higher than 5.0 ng/ml was significantly higher than that among those with lower serum levels (88% versus 38%, respectively). ECOG PS, tumor location, histological grade, and serum CEA level at baseline might be useful predictors of cetuximab efficacy in the first-line treatment of mCRC.