Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelling long run strategic behaviour on the liberalised European gas market

In gas markets, intertemporal constraints are of particular importance due to the finiteness of gas resources. In particular in the UK and the Netherlands, gas resources are expected to dry up on the medium term, giving rise to a positive resource rent of the gas. On shorter time scales, decisions on investments in production, transmission, storage and LNG terminal capacities aect short term output decisions in following years, while within the year prices across seasons are related through storage decisions. We develop a model of strategic behaviour on the European gas markets that incorporates such intertemporal relations. We take into account interactions between strategic producers of gas, price-taking transmission companies, and traders arbitraging the markets by transporting gas across borders, storing gas across seasons, and importing LNG. As a case study, we use the model to explore the impacts on producer behaviour and infrastructure investments of a cap on production from a large gas field in the Netherlands.
Do Investment in and the Sourcing Arrangement of The Internal Audit Function Affect Audit Delay?

This paper investigates the association between the internal audit function attributes and audit delay using a sample of 432 publicly traded firms in Malaysia in 2009. In this unique setting, we capitalize on the publicly available data concerning the investment in and the sourcing arrangement of internal audit function. We find a negative relationship between the costs incurred for the internal audit function and audit delay. However, we do not find any significant association between the internal audit function sourcing arrangements and audit delay. Additionally, we find that greater audit committee independence and longer auditor–client tenure shorten audit delay, and more frequent audit committee meetings and higher misstatements in the preliminary unaudited earnings are associated with a longer audit delay.
Broadband Divide Among SMEs

While the digital gap between large and small firms is a fairly well-known phenomenon, this article focuses on the divide within SMEs. Specifically, the aim is to analyse factors that may explain the differences in broadband adoption among SMEs and to explore their significant interrelations. The investigation relies on a two-step procedure: first, using a tree-based technique, relevant variables and interactions are explored; then, through a binomial logistic regression, their impact on broadband diffusion is estimated and tested. Findings confirm that the relative size of the company (a proxy for firm’s internal resources) is still relevant among SMEs; in addition, the geographical area where SMEs are located (environmental resources) can act as a further obstacle especially for the smaller companies of the sample; finally, specific ICT organizational strategies - namely the outsourcing decisions - proved to be an important mitigating factor for size and location-based broadband disadvantages.
Welfare Implications of the Taxation of Savings

Historically, the welfare aspects of the taxation of savings have mainly been discussed in the context of the relative merits of income and consumption (expenditure) taxation. These have long been the subject of debate, with the book by Kaldor (I955) being probably the best known contribution. In the present paper, we examine the role of the two types of taxation in the context of a model that draws both on modern analysis of optimal taxation and on the theory of economic growth. In so doing, we feel that the issues involved can be discussed in greater depth, but the cost is that some important matters have to be left out. Thus, we do not discuss the implications of alternative tax structures for short-run stabilisation policy, nor do we consider the costs of tax administration. ' Moreover, we neglect problems of distributive justice within a given generation of individuals. Instead, we concentrate on the implications of taxation for the efficiency of resource utilisation and for the intertemporal allocation of consumption. In popular expositions one often encounters the following efficiency argument in favour of expenditure taxation. An income tax applies to both labour earnings and interest on savings. The imposition of such a tax introduces (into an otherwise first-best world) distortions in both the labour market and the capital market. By comparison, the expenditure tax, while affecting the labour-leisure choice, is 'neutral' with respect to savings decisions, and thus appears to dominate the income tax in terms of efficiency considerations. Although still current,2 this view is not very convincing. The theory of the second-best has taught us that one cannot evaluate alternative tax systems by simply comparing the number of distortions involved; it is essential to consider the magnitude of the various distortions as well as their interaction. Among other aspects, the conventional argument ignores the possibility that a tax on interest income might be desirable in order to offset the distortions introduced by a tax on labour earnings. A more sophisticated argument, taking account of this objection, is that * Previous versions of this paper were presented to the Franco-Swedish seminar in public economics at Sarlat, France, in March 1976, and to the University of Aarhus conference on public economics at Sandbjerg, Denmark, in April 1978. These, versions, the latter of which was also circulated as a discussion paper, were entitled 'The Welfare Implications of Personal Income and Consumption Taxes'. We are indebted to many seminar participants, to John Kay, Mervyn King, Joe Stiglitz, the Editor and a referee for a number of helpful comments and suggestions. 1 For a good discussion of these and other matters with a view to practical implementation, see Andrews (I974) and Kay and King (1978).
Racial formation in the United States

INTRODUCTION: Racial Formation in the United States Part I: PARADIGMS OF RACE: eTHNICITY, CLASS, AND NATION 1. Ethnicity 2. Class 3. Nation Part II: RACIAL FORMATION 4. The Theory of Racial Formation 5. Racial Politics and the Racial State Part III: RACIAL POLITICS SINCE World War II 6. The Great Transformation 7. Racial Reaction: Containment and Rearticulation 8. Colorblindness, Neoliberalism, and Obama CONCLUSION: The Contrarieties of Race
Discretionary Decision-Making in a Changing Context of Activation Policies and Welfare Reforms

Abstract Street-level bureaucrats are considered to be subject to bureaucratic managerial regimes and threatened by stronger regulation and a reduction in their ability to exercise control over their work. Contrary to the managerial approach, predicting curtailment of professional autonomy, theorists foretell the continuing importance of discretion in the translation of social objectives into actual service delivery. Given such opposite predictions, what is the perceived direction of change and scope for independent decision-making for front-line workers? This paper empirically investigates the contradictory hypotheses predicting continuing or declining opportunities for street-level discretion in a context of activation policies and welfare reforms. The data come from two surveys conducted among practitioners and local managers in the Norwegian employment and welfare services in 2004 and 2011. Despite managerial control and bureaucratic procedures that regulate many decisions, discretion still remains a characteristic of front-line work. Continued discretion is closely related to the implementation of activation goals and the merging of tasks and integrated services following the whole-of-government reform. The findings confirm the role of managers as key players in implementing policies at the local level. Concurrently, the discretionary power of trained social workers is decreasing and challenged by the push for uniform practices and a managerially regulated role.
What do self-administered joint counts tell us about patients with rheumatoid arthritis?

OBJECTIVE This report presents data from two sources showing that a self-administered joint count (SAJC) suitable for use in clinical settings provides information comparable with that of observer-assessed joint counts. METHODS Patients were tested with a 1-page form containing a 40-joint mannequin on which they could mark their painful or swollen joints. The first sample of 110 patients was used to compare the SAJC with the tender or swollen joint counts (TJC or SJC) performed by a rheumatologist and to a battery of clinical and laboratory measurements. The second sample consisted of 240 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients enrolled in a cohort study of RA outcomes, in whom the relationship between the SAJC and health-related quality of life measures was examined. RESULTS Test-retest reliability of the SAJC was excellent (ri = 0.89), as was its agreement with the observer-assessed TJC (ri = 0.78). The SAJC was significantly correlated (P < or = 0.01) to pain on a 10-point scale (r = 0.33), the McGill Pain Questionnaire (r = 0.27), the pain subscale of the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales (AIMS) (r = 0.32), the duration of morning stiffness (r = 0.27), and to the AIMS subscales of physical function (r = 0.20), impact (r = 0.31), and global health (r = 0.29). The SAJC was inversely related to formal education (r = -0.32), but did not correlate significantly with the modified Health Assessment Questionnaire, walking velocity, grip strength, or erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The responsiveness of the SAJC was comparable with that of other measures commonly employed to assess RA outcomes. Either the SAJC or the TJC could be included alternatively in multivariate models to explain 7 of the 8 subscales of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire. CONCLUSION The SAJC is a reliable and responsive measure that agrees highly with the observer-assessed TJC and is significantly associated to the health-related quality of life of patients with RA. Given its low cost and ease of administration, it is suggested that SAJC be included in future studies of RA outcome in routine clinical practice.
The CAP for Turkey? Potential Market Effects and Budgetary Implications. Etendre la PAC a la Turquie? Consequences possibles pour le budget et les marches. Die GAP fur die Turkei? Mogliche Auswirkungen auf Markt und Haushalt

At the EU Council in December 2004, European heads of governments followed the proposal of the European Commission and decided to open EU accession negotiations with Turkey in October 2005. The prospect of Turkish membership is a controversial issue in the EU because of its geopolitical and security aspects, the compatibility of political institutions, income divergence and potential labour mobility, along with the budgetary consequences for current EU member states stemming from EU structural and cohesion policies. When compared to these issues, the consequences of applying the CAP to Turkey are not at the forefront of the discussion. The CAP for Turkey? Potential Market Effects and Budgetary Implications
Glutamine-supplemented parenteral nutrition improves gut mucosa integrity and function in endotoxemic rats.

The effects of glutamine-supplemented parenteral nutrition on protein metabolism, small intestinal mucosal metabolism, morphology, and barrier function were studied in endotoxin-treated rats. Forty-six male Wistar rats were randomized to two groups of 23 animals each and received total parenteral nutrition solutions supplemented with either glutamine (GLN group) or glycine (GLY group) at 2% wt/vol. Endotoxemia was induced by continuous intravenous infusion of endotoxin at a dose of 2 mg/kg per day throughout the 4-day study period. The GLN group had a less-negative cumulative nitrogen balance (-14.0 +/- 132.8 mg of nitrogen in the GLN group and -86.8 +/- 161.7 mg of nitrogen in the GLY group, p < .05) and less cumulative excretion of urinary 3-methylhistidine (2910 +/- 593 nmol) than the GLY group (4447 +/- 933 nmol, p < .01). Jejunal mucosal glutaminase activity and the arterio-portal venous blood glutamine concentration differences were significantly higher in the GLN group compared with the GLY group (15.6 +/- 2.3 vs 11.1 +/- 1.9 mumol/g per minute, p < .05, and 181 +/- 52 vs 147 +/- 36 nmol/mL, p < .05, respectively). The morphology of the jejunal mucosa in the GLN group was significant for having greater mucosal weight (23.4 +/- 3.1 vs 17.6 +/- 2.5 mg/cm), villus height (445 +/- 75 vs 357 +/- 57 microns), crypt depth (197 +/- 34 vs 161 +/- 28 microns), and wall thickness (751 +/- 77 vs 648 +/- 102 microns) than the GLY group (p < .05). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The Uncovered Return Parity Condition

This paper proposes an equilibrium relationship between expected exchange rate changes and differentials in expected returns on risky assets. We show that when expected returns on a risky asset in a certain economy are higher than the returns that are expected from investing in a risky asset in another economy, then the currency corresponding to the economy whose asset offers higher returns is expected to depreciate. Due to its similarity with Uncovered Interest Parity (UIP), we call this equilibrium condition “Uncovered Return Parity” (URP). However, in the URP condition returns’ differentials are not known ex ante, while in the UIP they are. The paper finds empirical support in favour of URP for certain markets over some sample periods. JEL Classification: F30, F31, G12, C32
Reporting And Comparing School Performances

Nationally comparable data about school performances should be reported to the public, but should not be used to create league tables, according to this paper. Written by Geoff Masters, Glenn Rowley, John Ainley and Siek Toon Khoo, the paper was prepared for the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs to provide advice on national schools data collection and reporting for school evaluation, accountability and resource allocation. Parents need a wide range of detailed information about schools’ outcomes so they can choose the right school for their children – but schools work to promote many different kinds of outcomes for their students. Simplified comparisons of schools, such as league tables, ignore this broader context by restricting the range of information that can be provided. League tables also encourage ‘rank order’ interpretations that have been damaging to schools and students in the past, and focus attention on some aspects of schooling at the expense of other outcomes that are as important but not as easily measurable. It is popular in some parts of the world to adjust data to fit ‘measures’ of school performance and to report these measures publicly in league tables – but there are very sound technical and educational reasons why school measures of this kind should not be used for public reporting and school comparisons. Instead, ACER proposes provision of information in the form of school profiles or comparisons of ‘like’ schools. School profiles allow an almost limitless range of information to be presented, while still allowing schools to be sorted by factors such as geographic location, school fee structure or religious affiliation. If schools are to be compared, a ‘like-schools’ methodologies allow parents, the public and education systems to compare outcomes for schools in similar circumstances.
Bank Relationship and Firm Performance: Evidence from Thailand Before the Asian Financial Crisis

Abstract: This study examines the relation between bank relations and market performance in Thailand, an economy in which commercial banks play a crucial role through lending relationship and, for a number of companies, equity ownership. Overall, bank relationships, both equity-based and debt-based, positively affect capital investment. However, there is a negative relation between lending relationships, both short-term and long-term, and market performance indicating that bank lending may not always be consistent with value maximization. There is also evidence of a positive marginal effect of bank monitoring through equity ownership on market performance. Further, the relation between bank equity ownership and market performance appears to be non-linear with a concave function. Ownership by corporate insiders is also negatively related to bank equity ownership. Overall, the findings highlight the detrimental effects of excessive short-term debt usage, one of the factors believed to contribute to the financial crisis in Thailand, and the marginal benefit of the equity-based relationship on firm value. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2004.
Adiponectin and IL-6

Aim The objective of the study was to identify the association if any, of inflammatory markers (adiponectin and IL-6) with fasting glucose in normoglycemic (healthy), prediabetic (impaired fasting glucose), and hyperglycemic (diabetic) people in Indian population. Methods Total 162 volunteers were distributed into 3 groups (normoglycemic, individuals with impaired fasting glucose, and hyperglycemic) as per ADA criterion. The blood chemistry parameters were analyzed and serum adiponectin and IL-6 levels were measured by ELISA. Results Significant reduction was observed in serum adiponectin level in hyperglycemic and impaired fasting glucose population compared with normoglycemic population. Significant reduction in adiponectin was also observed in impaired fasting glucose group compared with hyperglycemic group. Similarly significant increase was also observed in IL-6 level in hyperglycemic and impaired fasting glucose groups compared with normoglycemic group. Conclusions From our data it can be summarized that there is a significant change in both adiponectin (reduction) and IL-6 (increase) levels in normoglycemic (healthy), prediabetic (impaired fasting glucose), and hyperglycemic (diabetic) population in Indian population. There is a significant but gradual change during the progression of healthy toward diabetic population via pre-diabetic condition.
HOW RISK PERCEPTIONS INFLUENCE EVACUATIONS FROM HURRICANES

HOW RISK PERCEPTIONS INFLUENCE EVACUATIONS FROM HURRICANES BY ROBERT M. STEIN, PH.D. FELLOW IN URBAN POLITICS, JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY LENA GOHLMAN FOX PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, RICE UNIVERSITY LEONARDO DUENAS–OSORIO, PH.D. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, RICE UNIVERSITY BIRNUR BUZCU–GUVEN, PH.D. RESEARCH SCIENTIST, HOUSTON ADVANCED RESEARCH CENTER DEVIKA SUBRAMANIAN, PH.D. PROFESSOR OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, RICE UNIVERSITY DAVID KAHLE GRADUATE STUDENT, DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS, RICE UNIVERSITY
Optionality and Policymaking in Re-Transforming the British Power Market

Conventional models to support policymaking for the energy sector have been largely based on deterministic or static settings that focus on planning welfare- maximising investment pathways. But, in a liberalised market, since investments are made by competitive, profit-maximising companies, the increased intervention of government policy in the trading arrangements creates uncertain responses to incentives. Industry may perceive policy risks to be high, and major companies may choose to act more cautiously than governments expect. This presents a modelling challenge, and we propose an extension to the use of real options in this context. We model several features of the low-carbon investment context, viz., irreversibility, delay, and competition, which impinge upon the radical policy imperatives for structural change in electricity markets to meet ambitious sustainability targets.
Muscle Mass and Functional Recovery in Women with Hip Fracture

Di Monaco M, Vallero F, Di Monaco R, Tappero R, Cavanna A: Muscle mass and functional recovery in women with hip fracture. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2006;85:209–215. Objective:To investigate the association between muscle mass and functional recovery in women with hip fracture. Design:A total of 200 of 230 women with hip fracture admitted consecutively to a rehabilitation hospital were investigated in this survey study. Lean mass (LM) was assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, 23.1 ± 7.9 (mean ± SD) days after fracture occurrence. Appendicular LM (aLM) was calculated as the sum of LM in arms and legs. Because metal implants (prostheses and nails) affect the regional assessment of body composition, aLM was corrected by substituting LM in the unfractured leg for LM in the fractured leg: corrected aLM = (LM in unfractured leg × 2) + LM in arms. We used two approaches to adjust corrected aLM for body size: corrected aLM divided by height squared (aLM/ht2), and corrected aLM adjusted for height and fat mass (residuals). Functional recovery was assessed by using Barthel index scores. Results:After adjustment for body size, corrected aLM was neither significantly correlated with Barthel index scores nor with the change in Barthel index scores after rehabilitation. Also, after stratification for quintiles of aLM/ht2 and residuals, no significant differences in functional recovery were found among the five groups. Conclusions:LM assessed after hip fracture is not associated with functional outcome in women.
Exports, financial development and economic growth in Pakistan

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the relationship between exports, financial development and economic growth in case of Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach – The autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing approach to cointegration and error correction model are applied to test the long-run and short-run relationships, respectively. The direction of causality between the variables is investigated by the vector error correction model Granger causality test and robustness of causality analysis is tested by applying innovative accounting approach. Findings – The analysis confirms cointegration for the long-run relation between exports, economic growth and financial development in case of Pakistan. The results indicate that economic growth and financial development spur exports growth in Pakistan. The causality analysis reveals feedback hypothesis that exists between financial development and economic growth, financial development and exports, and, exports and economic growth. Originality/value – This.
Digoxin-specific Fab fragments as single first-line therapy in digitalis poisoning

Objective:Despite administration of Fab fragments in digitalis poisoning, high mortality rates are consistently reported. A previous study suggested that Fab fragments prescribed as first-line therapy might improve mortality rate. Our objective was to evaluate this approach. Design:Retrospective chart review (January 1990 to January 2004). Setting:University hospital intensive care unit. Patients:Consecutive patients admitted for cardiac glycoside poisoning. Intervention:First-line therapy with Fab fragments (with or without atropine) in either curative or prophylactic doses. Measurements and Main Results:A total of 141 patients were admitted for digitalis poisoning of whom 66 received first-line Fab fragment therapy. Their median age was 74 years (25th to 75th percentiles: 51–83); 76% were women. Half were intoxicated by digitoxin and half by digoxin. Median serum concentration was 168 (108–205) ng/mL for digitoxin and 6.2 (4.3–13.5) ng/mL for digoxin. Conduction disturbances were reported in 45 cases (68%) and ventricular arrhythmia in six cases (9%). Fab fragments were administered as curative treatment in 21 patients (32%) and prophylactically in 45 patients (68%). The median cumulative dose was 4 (4–6) vials. No adverse effects were reported. Five patients (7.6%) died. Conclusions:First-line therapy with Fab fragments in patients with digitalis poisoning was associated with a low mortality rate.