Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Global production networks, labour and small firms

The literature on global production networks (GPNs) and global commodity/value chains has generally conceptualised small firms as being at the bottom of the commodity chain hierarchy, and thus subordinate to larger firms. As a consequence, small firms and their employees are typically imagined to be fairly powerless to shape the structure of GPNs. By way of contrast, in this paper we argue that small firms and their employees are not lacking in the capacity to affect the way GPNs and commodity chains develop, but can in fact shape them in potentially significant ways. This recognition becomes evident if, instead of starting any analysis of small firms in GPNs with the governance structures of production networks or managerial strategies, we instead start the analysis with the organisation and control of the labour process in concrete settings, and tie this to broader understandings of uneven and combined development under capitalism.
Using Choice Experiments to Value Catchment and Estuary Health in Tasmania with Individual Preference Heterogeneity

Choice experiments (CE) have become widespread as an approach to environmental valuation in both Australia and overseas. However, there are few valuation studies that have addressed natural resource management (NRM) changes in Tasmania. Furthermore, few studies have focussed on the estimation of estuary values. The CE study described in this paper aims to analyse community preferences for NRM options in the George catchment, Tasmania. Catchment health attributes were: the length of native riverside vegetation; the number of rare native animal and plant species in the George catchment; and area of healthy seagrass beds in the Georges Bay, which was used as a measure of estuary condition. Mixed logit models with interactions between socio-economic variables and the choice attributes were estimated to account for systematic and random taste heterogeneity across respondents. Results reveal considerable variation in preferences towards the attributes and show that value estimates are significantly impacted by the way in which we account for preference heterogeneity. Preference heterogeneity thus needs to be considered when estimating community willingness-to-pay for environmental changes. This study further shows little responsiveness to the presented changes in estuary seagrass area.
Distributional Consequences of Globalisation: Empirical Evidence from Panel Data

Abstract This paper investigates the impact of globalisation on cross-country inequality using a large panel dataset. The findings reveal that location and capital are the main determinants of inequality; trade intensity and foreign direct investment make only a small contribution (approximately 4%). The relative contributions of trade and foreign direct investment to inequality have changed little over time and have certainly not increased at the same rate as the rise in global trade and investment activity. Hence, globalisation does not emerge as a significant factor in driving cross-country inequality. Differences emerge when countries are grouped by relative income, but the main findings persist.
Do video display units cause visual problems?—a bedside story about the processes of public health decision‐making

Purpose: Since the 1980s, it has been common for employers to provide eyesight testing for operators of screen‐based equipment (SBE). This practice arose because many SBE operators reported symptoms of visual discomfort at work and there was apprehension that radiation emitted by SBE might be harmful to vision. Visual screening of SBE operators has been encouraged by government guidelines and in some countries, is required by legislation. This paper questions whether this practice should continue.
Birth characteristics and breast cancer risk: A study among like‐sexed twins

High birth weight has been proposed to increase the risk of breast cancer. Birth weight and gestational age are positively associated with intrauterine estrogen exposure, which may initiate the carcinogenic process in mammary gland tissue and determine mammary gland cell mass later in life. In the present case‐control study, we retrieved birth records for 96 female twin pairs where one twin had developed breast cancer. We used two control groups. In the external comparison, we used aged‐matched twins as the control group, and in the within‐pair comparison the control group included the healthy twin sisters. Odds ratio (OR) was used to estimate the relative risk, using 95% confidence intervals (CI). Compared with twins with gestational age less than 33 weeks, twins with gestational age of more than 40 weeks were at increased risk of breast cancer (OR = 8.4; 95% CI 1.3–54.4). In the within‐pair comparison, mean birth weight and ponderal index were higher among cases compared with their co‐twins (p = 0.07 and p = 0.05, respectively). The risk of breast cancer increased with birth weight. Compared with women with birth weight of less than 2,000 g, women with birth weight of at least 3,000 g had a nonsignificant increase in risk of developing breast cancer (OR = 3.5; 95% CI 0.7–18.5). The results give some support to the hypothesis that the fetal environment influences adult breast cancer risk. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Equity in health care use among older people in the UK: an analysis of panel data

This article uses panel data to investigate the extent of income-related inequity in the likelihood of visiting a General Practitioner (GP), specialist, dentist and hospital among individuals aged 65 years and over in the UK. The probability of accessing health care is predicted with separate random effects probit panel models using data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) for the period 1998 to 2006. We use well-established methods based on the concept of the concentration curve to compare the cumulative distribution of health care utilization with the cumulative distribution of the population ranked by income. The results find evidence for inequity in specialist and dental care, but only slight inequity for GP care and not significant inequity in hospital admissions. Levels of inequity are highest for specialist and dental care, even when users of the private sector are excluded from analyses. The Mobility Index (MI) is also used to compare short- and long-run estimates of inequities and show that upwardly income mobile individuals contribute to inequity in the long run.
Value relevance of voluntary disclosure: evidence from Turkish firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether or not listed Turkish companies’ voluntary disclosure practices are value‐relevant in the capital market.Design/methodology/approach – The sample consists of 129 manufacturing companies listed in the Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) for the year 2010. Data regarding voluntary disclosure level and other variables have been collected by analyzing the contents of annual reports. Through multiple regression analysis, the authors investigated whether or not voluntary disclosure level impacts firm value.Findings – The main finding of the study is that voluntary disclosure is value‐relevant; i.e. impacts firm value. This implies that market participants value voluntary disclosure. The more information firms disclose voluntarily, the higher value they have in the eyes of investors. Therefore, this finding might be accepted as a signal to corporations to disclose more information to the stakeholders. However, the finding varied based on the dependent variable .
Combination of 13-cis Retinoic Acid and Interferon-α in the Treatment of Recurrent or Refractory Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma

We previously reported the therapeutic efficacy of 13-cis retinoic acid (13-cRA) in some subtypes of peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). This study sought to clarify if the addition of interferon- α 2a (IFN- α 2a), an agent with synergistic cytotoxicity with 13-cRA in many types of malignant cells, may be more effective in the treatment of PTCL. Eligible patients has histologically proven PTCL, which was recurrent after or refractory to anthracycline-containing systemic chemotherapy. The treatment included oral administration of 13-cRA 1 mg/kg/day, divided into three doses, and intramuscular injection of IFN- α 2a 4.5 MU/m 2, three times per week. From March 1995 to July 2000, a total of 17 patients, 10 men and 7 women, with a median age of 47 years (range, 18-77 years), were recruited. The histologic diagnosis included 7 cases of unspecified PTCL, 6 cases of Ki-1 anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), 1 case of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, and 3 cases of angiocentric nasal NK/T cell lymphoma. They received a median of 1.7 months of treatment (range, 0.4-13.3 months). One patient refused further treatment due to toxicity. The doses of 13-cRA and IFN- α 2a had to be decreased in 7 and 7 patients, respectively. Grade III/IV hematologic and non-hematologic toxicity developed in 2 and 5 patients, respectively. There were 5 partial responses (Ki-1, 4; unspecified PTCL, 1), with a total response rate of 31.3% (95% Cl, 5.7-56.8%). The median duration of response for the responders was 2.5 months (range, 0.8-7.2 months). The median overall survival for the entire group of patients was 3.6 months. In conclusion, a combination of 13-cRA and IFN- α 2a is a useful salvage treatment for selected patients with recurrent or refractory PTCL, particularly those with the Ki-1 subtype. However, the data does not support that addition of IFN- α 2a is superior to 13-cRA alone.
The Impact of Exchange Rate Uncertainty on the Level of Investment

Conventional wisdom has it that increasing price or exchange rate uncertainty will depress investment. Using the Dixit-Pindyck (1994) model, the authors find that there are situations where this will happen and situations where it does not. There are threshold effects, which allows them to identify when rising volatility would increase or decrease investment and also to identify which types of industries would gain, and which would suffer, from a move to fixed exchange rates. This is important for monetary union in Europe since it is likely that, even if trade is insensitive to exchange rate volatility, investment with its longer horizon will be affected. Coauthors are Andrew Hughes Hallett, Jonathan Ireland, and Laura Piscitelli.
Aquaporin 0 enhances gap junction coupling via its cell adhesion function and interaction with connexin 50

Both connexin 50 (Cx50) and aquaporin 0 (AQP0) have important roles in lens development and homeostasis, and their mutations are associated with human congenital cataracts. We have previously shown that Cx50 directly interacts with AQP0. Here, we demonstrate the importance of the Cx50 intracellular loop (IL) domain in mediating the interaction with AQP0 in the lens in vivo. AQP0 significantly increased (~20–30%) the intercellular coupling and conductance of Cx50 gap junctions. However, this increase was not observed when the IL domain was replaced with those from other lens connexins. The Cx50–AQP0 interaction had no effect on Cx50 hemichannel function. A fusion protein containing three extracellular loop domains of AQP0 efficiently blocked the cell-to-cell adhesion of AQP0 and attenuated the stimulatory effect of AQP0 on Cx50 gap junction conductance. These data suggest that the specific interaction between Cx50 and AQP0 enhances the coupling of Cx50 gap junctions, but not hemichannels, through the cell adhesion function of AQP0. This result establishes a physiological role of AQP0 in the functional regulation of gap junction channels.
Quack Corporate Governance, Round III? Bank Board Regulation Under the New European Capital Requirement Directive

Abstract After a crisis, broad and sweeping reforms are enacted to restore trust. Following the 2007-2008 Great Financial Crisis, the European Union has engaged in an ambitious overhaul of banking regulation. One of its centerpieces, the 2013 Fourth Capital Requirements Directive (CRD IV), tackles, amongst other things, the perceived pre-crisis failings in the governance of banks. We focus on the provisions that are aimed at reshaping bank boards’ composition, functioning, and their members’ liabilities, and argue that they are unlikely to improve bank boards’ effectiveness or prevent excessive risk-taking. We criticize some of them for mandating solutions, like board diversity and the separation of chairman and CEO, that may be good for some banks but are bad for others, in the absence of any convincing argument that their overall effect is positive. We also criticize enhanced board liability by showing that it may increase the risk of herd behavior and lead to more serious harm in the event of managerial mistakes. We also highlight that the push towards unfriendly boards will negatively affect board dynamics and make boards as dysfunctional as when the CEO dominates them. We further argue that limits on directorships and diversity requirements will worsen the shortage of bank directors, while requirements for induction and training and board evaluation exercises will more likely lead to tick-the-box exercises than under the current situation in which they are just best practices. We conclude that European policymakers and supervisors should avoid using a heavy hand, respectively, when issuing rules implementing CRD IV provisions with regard to bank boards and when enforcing them.
Human Capital and Growth in Japan: Converging to the Steady State in a 1% World

Annual growth in GDP/adult in Japan has declined from over 10% in 1969 to an average of 1% since the financial crisis in 1991. I show that a dynamic Solow growth model, augmented with human capital, weekly hours worked, and oil prices, explains Japan’s annual growth rates from 1969 to 2007 as conditional convergence to a steady-state rate of 1%/year. Each year of average adult schooling attainment raised GDP/adult directly or indirectly by 20 percent, and weekly hours worked had an output elasticity of 0.5. The marginal product of schooling in 2005 is double the marginal product of physical capital.
Approaching tourism: perspectives from the young hosts in a rural heritage community in Tibet

This study reports an investigation of the ways in which local youth understand tourism in a rural heritage community in Tibet, China. The sustainable livelihoods framework was adopted to organise the areas of interest. Focus groups were initially conducted, and the resulting information was used in a subsequent questionnaire-based survey. It was found that the young Tibetan hosts understood tourists as ‘passers-by' in different vehicles. The tourists were seen as visiting the community because of two major tourism resources: the traditional Tibetan incense-making techniques, and the residence and culture of a Tibetan historical figure. The youth were positive towards tourism development in their community and identified some activities and strategies for their involvement in tourism. In assessing future outcomes and directions for tourism, the rural Tibetan youth would like to see both community and personal well-being improved through tourism.
Vascular anatomy and organ‐specific tumor growth as critical factors in the development of metastases and their distribution among organs

We have examined with 19 tumor cell lines the discrete roles that vascular anatomy and tumor‐cell‐organ‐affinity play in the development of metastases and their distribution among organs. Spontaneous metastases of B16‐G3.26 melanoma cells from a primary tumor growing in the foot pad of mice, or experimental metastases 21 days after intravenous tumor‐cell injection resulted in tumor colonies only in the lungs. In contrast, when the lung microvasculature was bypassed, and the same cells given by systemic intra‐arterial (s.i.a.) injection, large tumor colonies developed selectively in the ovaries, adrenal glands and bones, but rarely in the lungs. When animals injected i.v. were allowed to live with lung metastases for a long period of time, small tumor colonies began to develop in extra‐pulmonary organs with a distribution identical to that seen after s.i. a. injection. Seven murine tumor cell lines (previously characterized by their ability to colonize primarily the lungs after i.v. injection) and 7 of the 8 studied human tumor cell lines colonized different specific extra‐pulmonary organs after s.i. a. injection, frequently producing metastatic syndromes commonly described in patients with cancer, but rarely seen in animal models of metastasis. These results suggest that metastatic cells, even those capable of colonizing specific organs, do not freely circulate in the blood stream and lodge in specific tissues. In contrast, the cells must establish a vascular route of access to the target organ, e.g., through the systemic circulation from metastatic tumors in the lungs. Two cell lines considered to be tumorigenic but non‐metastatic failed to colonize the lungs or extra‐pulmonary organs after i.v. injection, but readily colonized specific organs after s.i. a. injection. Thus, tumor cells considered to be non‐metastatic may be indeed metastatic if they are provided with vascular access to an organ more congenial to their growth requirements.
Trust in corporate real estate management outsourcing relationships

Corporate real estate management outsourcing relationships are characterised by intangible services, information asymmetries between principal and agent, bounded rationality, and imperfect contracts. In such relationships, trust may be an important complement to contracts and monitoring to reduce transaction costs. This study tests how economic, social, monitoring and corporate real estate management-specific variables affect two types of trust – calculative and relational – with data collected from US corporate real estate managers. An OLS analysis reveals that service provider expertise and efficient monitoring positively impact calculative trust. Additionally, perceived value, social interaction, communication, service provider dependency and efficient monitoring are positively associated with relational trust. The findings suggest service provider market knowledge is essential to gain a client’s trust in an outsourcing relationship. Proper handling of sensitive information, reliable communications, providing superior value and personal relationships contribute to relational trust that can lead to more stable, enduring relationships. Clients recognise that service provider dependency may contribute to their acting in a trustworthy manner. However, trust and effective monitoring are complements, not substitutes, in these relationships.
Toothpaste Brands –A Study of consumer behavior in Bangalore city

‘Consumer is king’ –the statement carries profound truth in it. Today the success of any firm depends upon the satisfaction of consumers. For satisfying the consumers the firm should know about the behavior of the consumers. In these circumstances understanding consumer is a very difficult task because of the changing technology, innovation, and changes in life style. Researchers conducted many research in this area, and they given only few suggestion, but there is no final conclusion. As per the ideas given by the researchers, there are two factors influencing the consumers such as intrinsic and extrinsic factors. It is difficult to classify consumers by conventional demographic factors and unless their thought process and buying behavior are fully understood, decisions on product designs and packaging, branding and distribution channels are likely to be misplaced. With the inevitability of change looming large over the horizon, Indian companies must learn from their western counterparts; not only to identify the sources, timing and direction of the changes likely to affect India, but also the new competencies and perspective that will enable them to respond to these changes, comprehensively and effectively. This study mainly focus on understanding the external factors like demographic, social, cultural ,price, quality ,product attributes etc for buying toothpaste. The market share of any product is highly determined by the purchasing behavior of the consumers. Following study is conducted by the researcher to find out the behavior of the consumers, to analyze the preference of consumers, & consumer awareness. Descriptive research design was adopted and the data is collected through primary and secondary sources. The method adopted for conducting survey is questionnaire; Simple random sampling technique was adopted for selecting the consumers.
Molecular Structural Characteristics of Polysaccharide Fractions from Canarium album (Lour.) Raeusch and Their Antioxidant Activities.

UNLABELLED The objective of this study was to investigate the multiple relations between the preliminary molecular structural characteristics and antioxidant activities of polysaccharides from Canarium album (Lour.) Raeusch (CPS). Three polysaccharide fractions, CPS1, CPS2, and CPS3, were isolated from CPS by column chromatography. CPS1 and CPS3 were mainly composed of neutral polysaccharides linked by α- and β-glycosidic linkages while CPS2 was pectin polysaccharides mainly linked by β-glycosidic linkages. According to the SEC-MALLS-RI system, the molecular weight of CPS1 was greater compared to CPS2 and CPS3, and the molecular weight and radius of CPS did not display positive correlation. The chain conformation analysis indicated CPS1 and CPS2 were typical highly branched polysaccharides while CPS3 existed as a globular shape in aqueous. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of CPS2 was better than that of CPS3, while that of CPS1 was the weakest. The antioxidant activities of polysaccharide fractions were affected by their monosaccharide composition, glycosidic linkage, molecular weight, and chain conformation. This functional property was a result of a combination of multiple molecular structural factors. CPS2 was the major antioxidant component of CPS and it could be exploited as a valued antioxidant product. PRACTICAL APPLICATION The molecular structural characteristics, antioxidant activities, and structure-function relationships of polysaccharide fractions from Canarium album were first investigated in this study. The results provided background and practical knowledge for the deep-processed products of C. album with high added value. CPS2 was the major antioxidant component of CPS, which could be exploited as a valued antioxidant ingredient in food and pharmaceutical industries.