Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The “rational” and “traditional”: the regulation of accounting in the Philippines

The efficacy of the “rational” corporatist regulatory framework of Philippine financial reporting and, in particular, accounting has generally been questioned. We will show that the regulation of accounting in the Philippines is not corporatist at all in its implementation. A “traditionalist”/familial culture mediates the “rationalist”/legalistic regulatory process of Philippine accounting regulation. Two cases of apparent ethical misconduct in the practice of public accounting are examined to illustrate the process of mediation.
Do Preferential Trade Agreements Increase Members’ Agri-food Trade?

This study estimates the effect of a diverse group of 30 PTAs on members’ trade of 26 agri-food products categorized into eight commodity sectors for 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2000 using disaggregated trade data for 40 countries and the Heckman selection model. Results show that whether reported zero trade-flows are considered actual or potential affects the size of the estimated PTA impacts. However, irrespective of the true nature of the zero trade-flows, the effects of PTAs are found positive and statistically significant. OLS estimates fall between the Heckman-model-derived conditional and unconditional effects of PTAs.
Growth versus profit‐maximization: A simultaneous‐equations approach to testing the marris model

This paper adopts a new approach to the empirical testing of the Marris managerial theory of the firm and applies it to a cross-section sample of British companies in the early 1970s. It introduces three important innovations in the direct testing of the model: (i) a new exposition of the Marris theory if presented leading to a specification of the model as a simultaneous system; (ii) ownership control is measured as a continuous variable; (iii) the location of control is identified as an important dimension in the analysis. Preliminary estimates cast doubt on some important assumptions of the Marris theory.
Increased Pancreatitis in Allografts Flushed with Histidine‐Tryptophan‐Ketoglutarate Solution: A Cautionary Tale

We reviewed pancreas transplantation outcomes after Histidine‐Tryptophan‐Ketoglutarate (HTK) and University of Wisconsin (UW) preservation solution use between 2001 and 2007 at two transplant centers. While equivalence has been claimed for kidney and liver transplant outcomes after the use of HTK or UW preservation solution, consensus has not been reached on equivalence when flushing pancreata. Others have reported comparable patient and graft survival rates, but found an association between the use of HTK and an increase in the incidence of acute rejection and pancreatitis. In reviewing our experiences, we found in pancreata flushed with HTK a higher incidence of postoperative complications including graft pancreatitis, use of octreotide and a decreased rate of insulin‐independence at hospital discharge. These findings prompted us to critically review our centers' experience to determine if there is a basis for suspecting a causal relationship.
Poverty dynamics: empirical evidence for Canada

Poverty (low income) dynamics are explored using tax filer data covering the period 1992 to 1996. The distributions of short- and long-term episodes are identified and reveal substantial differences by sex and family type. Entry and exit models explore the relationships between poverty transitions and sex, family status and other personal and situational attributes. Duration effects on exiting and re-entering poverty are found to be important, and models including past poverty experiences point to strong `occurrence dependence' for poverty entry and incidence. Fixed-effect panel data models confirm the above and reveal asymmetries in the impacts of household transitions on poverty.
An analysis of shoulder outcomes scores in 275 consecutive patients: disease-specific correlation across multiple shoulder conditions.

OBJECTIVES To determine the outcomes scores of military patients who initially present with a variety of shoulder conditions, identify which scores demonstrate the highest correlation per diagnosis, and determine if a difference exists for patients who went onto surgery. METHODS Two-hundred and seventy five consecutive patients with mean age of 36.5 +/- 12.9 at presentation completed baseline outcomes assessments that included Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) Score, Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index (WOSI), Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index (WORC), the Simple Shoulder Test (SST), and the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand Index (DASH). The patients were grouped by clinical, radiographic, and surgical findings into 10 diagnostic categories. OUTCOMES The initial mean outcomes scores were SANE 48.8, ASES 50.1, WOSI 1279 (40% normal), WORC 1122.4 (47% normal), SST 6.7, and DASH 33.1. Patients with superior labrum anterior-posterior tears demonstrated the lowest mean scores, followed by instability and rotator cuff tear patients. For all conditions, scores were lower for patients who went onto surgery compared with those managed nonoperatively (p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS Our findings may be utilized as a baseline to compare and track patient-derived disability across multiple shoulder conditions and serve to define mean diagnosis-specific shoulder patient preoperative scores.
The audit expectation gap: existence, causes, and the impact of changes

Recent regulatory initiatives targeting the statutory audit regime support the notion that the audit expectation gap is still a driver of change. This study seeks to analyse causes of the gap as well as the impact of proposed changes to the current statutory audit regime using an approach that differs from those used in prior literature. This approach allows us to attribute the audit expectation gap under the current regime to a failure of the public, the standard-setter, or the auditor. Based on a questionnaire survey conducted in 2011 in Germany, we find the public to have exaggerated expectations of auditors' responsibilities under current standards. Other causes of the gap relate to the public's difficulty in assessing the performance of auditors, but also to deficiencies in auditors' performance. In addition, we find that auditors are not fully aware of their responsibilities. Increasing the information content of the audit opinion is expected to narrow the gap. By contrast, recent proposed changes, such as mandatory rotation and a ban on non-audit services, may reduce the gap only to a lesser extent. Overall, it can be shown that the audit expectation gap is by its nature a persistent phenomenon comprising complex social aspects and interactions with changing accounting requirements, such as increased uncertainties in accounting estimates.
Inflation Targeting in the Context of IMF-Supported Adjustment Programs

This paper argues that the IMF's traditional monetary conditionality – a ceiling on net domestic assets of the central bank and a floor on its net international reserves – should be adapted in IMF-supported adjustment programs with countries that have a framework of explicit inflation targets for the implementation of monetary policy. This adaptation should aim at enhancing correspondence and consistency between the monetary objectives of the central bank and the targets established under the IMF-supported adjustment program, as well as between the different instruments used to achieve the policy objectives and targets. The paper reviews various general options in this regard, and, using the case of Brazil as an example, demonstrates how these options may be implemented in practice.
Unobservable CEO Characteristics and CEO Compensation as Correlated Determinants of CSP

Do unobservable CEO characteristics predict corporate social performance (CSP) and are they significantly correlated with CEO compensation? How meaningful is stock-based CEO compensation as a predictor of CSP? To answer these questions, the author empirically examines the relationship between stock-based CEO compensation and CSP while accounting for unobservable CEO characteristics. This study finds that CEO fixed effects (CEO dummies) account for a significant variance in CSP and that these fixed effects are correlated with CEO compensation variables in a statistically significant manner. The findings suggest that unobservable CEO characteristics should be accounted for when examining the effect of CEO compensation variables on CSP. The findings also highlight the usefulness of stock-based compensation instruments for shareholders and other stakeholders who care about CSP and intend to promote CEO attention to social and ethical issues.
Initiated Distrust

An abundance of recent research has suggested that direct democracy institutions, such as the initiative and referendum, craft an environment ripe for encouraging better democratic citizenship. High and frequent exposure to ballot measures has been shown to increase the awareness, efficacy, political participation, and even the general level of happiness of citizens. In contrast to these studies, I develop and test a theory that the use of ballot initiatives undermines the ability of government to prove themselves trustworthy. Using data from two surveys, I demonstrate that ballot initiatives in the American states do indeed create an environment that encourages citizens to distrust their government. The findings have implications in assessing the positive externalities to direct legislation as well as in understanding policy choice made in these elections.
Entrepreneurial Intentions of Business Students in Finland: Implications for Education

This study tests four antecedents of Finnish business students’ intent to engage in entrepreneurship. All four antecedents, namely, entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurship experience, proactive personality and entrepreneurial self-efficacy predicted entrepreneurial intent. Additionally, entrepreneurial self-efficacy mediated the relationship between entrepreneurship education, educational experience, pro-active personality and entrepreneurial self-efficacy.
Managers' Trading Around Stock Repurchases

The authors analyze personal open market trades by managers around stock repurchases by tender offer. With the exception of Dutch auction offers, managers trade their firm's shares prior to repurchase announcements as though repurchases convey favorable inside information to outsiders. Prior to fixed price repurchase offers that do not follow takeover-related events, managers increase their buying and reduce their selling of their firm's shares. Prior to repurchases that follow takeover-related events, only a decrease in selling is found. No abnormal trading precedes Dutch auction repurchase offers. Copyright 1992 by American Finance Association.
Catechol O-methyltransferase. IV. Factors affecting m- and p-methylation of substituted catechols.

The methylation of substituted catechols catalyzed by catechol O-methyltransferase (EC 2.1.1.6) with S-adenosylmethionine as methyl donor results in the formation of a mixture of m- and p-O-methyl derivatives. A variety of evidence indicates that a single enzyme catalyzes the formation of both O-methylated products. The ratio of O-methylated products and values for the apparent Km and Vmax obtained with a wide variety of substituted mono-, bi-, and polycyclic catechols, including catecholamines, amino acids, acids, esters, amides, and ketones, are presented. The results provide a guide for the prediction of the ratio of products to be expected with other catechols. The magnitude of the ratio of the O-methylated products is dependent upon the concentration of divalent cation, the pH of the medium, and the nature and position of the substituents on the catechol ring. It is proposed that the magnitude of this ratio results from the orientation in which the substrate binds to the enzyme. Polar groups, either anionic or cationic in nature, militate against binding of the catechol ring in the orientations that results in p-O-methylation. The ratio of O-methylated isomers obtained with various catecholamines and amino acids is discussed with respect to the probable preferred conformations of the side chains in these substrates.
Interdaily Volatility in a Continuous Order-Driven Market

Since Amihud and Mendelson (1987) documented a higher open-to-open return volatility compared to close-to-close return volatility in the US market, there have been various explanations offered, such as call auction opening, a long halt of trade, and specialist systems. No consensus has been reached so far. As an order-driven dealership market, the Hong Kong stock market provides another dimension for examination. If halt of trade is the major cause of the open-to-open volatility in the Hong Kong market, this volatility should also be higher. This is not observed. Positive autocorrelation of the open-to-open return series also suggests that there is no temporary price deviation at market opening. We view these as consistent with the specialist argument put forth by Stoll and Whaley (1990). Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 1999.
Recognition as a virtue in social work practice

In Norway, labour market politics and welfare politics are increasingly linked together. Accordingly, the municipality of Trondheim has been trying out new forms of social work for several years and this kind of work includes enhancing the occupational skills of clients and the personal resources they need in order to compete in the labour market. A parallel goal for this work has been to enhance clients’ capacity for inclusion into society in general. In 2004, the Department of Social Work and Health Science at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) was invited by the management of the municipality of Trondheim to conduct a research project into one of these social work programmes with the aim of developing the capacities of the long-term unemployed and young people in receipt of income substitution. Research results established the relevance of the concept of recognition in terms of identifying the most effective elements in the social work programme. The subject of identity in late modernity was also found to be a highly relevant matter which, together with recognition, describes and explains the underlying processes and factors which make possible the enhancement of self-confidence as experienced and reported by programme participants.
Predictability in implied volatility surfaces: evidence from the Euro OTC FX market

Recent general equilibrium models prescribe predictable dynamics in the volatility surfaces that are implied by observed option prices. In this paper, we investigate the predictability of surfaces, using extensive time series of implied volatilities from over-the-counter options on eight different currencies, quoted against the Euro. We examine implied volatility surfaces in the context of predictability through three different models, two that employ parametric specifications to describe the surface and one that decomposes it into latent statistical factors. All examined models are shown to (a) accurately describe the surfaces in-sample, and (b) produce forecasts that are superior to hard-to-beat benchmarks that ignore information about the shape of the surface, in medium- to long-term horizons. We show that these forecasts can support profitable volatility trading strategies in the absence of transaction costs. Comparing across competing models, our results suggest that parametric models, that allow for a more structured description of the surface, are more successful in terms of forecasts’ accuracy and significance of trading profits.
Migration and farm technical efficiency: evidence from Kosovo

This article investigates the effect of migration on farm technical efficiency drawing on a large and representative sample of agricultural households in Kosovo. A two-stage estimation procedure is applied: a frontier technique to estimate the effect of migration on farm efficiency, followed by a propensity score based matching approach to robustly estimate the sample average effect on efficiency for different levels of migration intensity. Migration is found to have an efficiency decreasing effect, which is amplified for better educated workers. The observed negative effect of migration on efficiency is evident even at low levels of migration intensity.
Imperfect Knowledge, Retirement and Saving

Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, this paper creates variables measuring knowledge about future social security and pension benefits by comparing respondent reports of their expected benefits with benefits calculated from social security earnings records and employer provided descriptions of pension plans. The knowledge measures suggest that misinformation, imprecision and lack of information about retirement benefits is the norm. Those who are most dependent on social security are the least well informed about their social security benefits, while those who are most dependent on pensions are best informed about their pension benefits. Women and minorities are less well informed about both types of retirement benefits. Having documented the extent of misinformation, we turn to questions about the production of information, and the consequences of misinformation for real outcomes. Relating measures of information to planning activities, we find that those who plan are somewhat better informed than those who do not, but with the exception of having requested a social security earnings record, the effects of planning activities on knowledge are modest. In descriptive and reduced form equations for planned and actual retirement and saving, there is at best a modest relation of knowledge measures to planned and actual retirement and to nonpension, nonsocial security wealth as a share of lifetime earnings. Individuals who overestimate their benefits are likely to retire sooner than they planned, but the measured effects are relatively modest. Coefficients of measures of the increase in reward from postponed retirement are barely affected by the addition of measures of respondent knowledge of their retirement benefits to standard reduced form retirement and wealth equations.
Prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus by changes in lifestyle among subjects with impaired glucose tolerance.

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is increasingly common, primarily because of increases in the prevalence of a sedentary lifestyle and obesity. Whether type 2 diabetes can be prevented by interventions that affect the lifestyles of subjects at high risk for the disease is not known. METHODS We randomly assigned 522 middle-aged, overweight subjects (172 men and 350 women; mean age, 55 years; mean body-mass index [weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters], 31) with impaired glucose tolerance to either the intervention group or the control group. Each subject in the intervention group received individualized counseling aimed at reducing weight, total intake of fat, and intake of saturated fat and increasing intake of fiber and physical activity. An oral glucose-tolerance test was performed annually; the diagnosis of diabetes was confirmed by a second test. The mean duration of follow-up was 3.2 years. RESULTS The mean (+/-SD) amount of weight lost between base line and the end of year 1 was 4.2+/-5.1 kg in the intervention group and 0.8+/-3.7 kg in the control group; the net loss by the end of year 2 was 3.5+/-5.5 kg in the intervention group and 0.8+/-4.4 kg in the control group (P<0.001 for both comparisons between the groups). The cumulative incidence of diabetes after four years was 11 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 6 to 15 percent) in the intervention group and 23 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 17 to 29 percent) in the control group. During the trial, the risk of diabetes was reduced by 58 percent (P<0.001) in the intervention group. The reduction in the incidence of diabetes was directly associated with changes in lifestyle. CONCLUSIONS Type 2 diabetes can be prevented by changes in the lifestyles of high-risk subjects.
NON‐CORONARY HEART DISEASE IN DIALYSIS PATIENTS: Cardiac Problems in the Dialysis Patient: Beyond Coronary Disease

In end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) both an inappropriately high sympathetic drive and the activation of tissue‐based renin‐angiotensin systems lead to a complex pattern of comorbidity appearing early on in renal disease. In this context, uremic cardiomyopathy, diabetes, and renal failure display an intimate interaction that critically defines the prognosis in dialysis patients. Importantly, patients with moderate to severe loss of renal function not only carry a high burden of traditional cardiovascular risk factors, but also are exposed to uremia‐specific risk factors that in concert induce an excessively increased cardiovascular mortality. Although cardiovascular guidelines may not simply be applicable to ESRD patients —these have invariably been excluded from larger cardiovascular trials—an early cardiological workup appears rational as the prevailing mode of death is characterized by sudden cardiac death and heart failure. This short review will therefore go beyond coronary heart disease, focus on the specific cardiac pathology in renal failure, and summarize the contemporary therapeutic strategies in ESRD.
Indian Economy - TFP or Factor Accumulation: A Comprehensive Growth Accounting Exercise

Constructing data series from various sources, I do comprehensive growth accounting for the Indian Economy. Without accounting for human capital, total factor productivity differences over time accounts for 48% to 69% of output variation. TFP growth accounts for 35% to 70% of the total GDP growth between 1960 and 2004 depending on measure of human capital. Even after using the Mincer wage regression coefficients, TFP growth still remains significant in explaining the output growth. Starting from a modest rate in 60s Productivity growth dipped and became negative in 70s. This productivity growth rate started accelerating in 80s (much before the reform-period of early 90s) and is estimated between 3% and 4.5% in 2000s. Variance decomposition of growth rates show negative relation because input and output growth accelerated in different periods. Capital-Output ratio seems to transition from one-steady state to another. Capital-per-Worker has reached a constant rate of growth. Accounting estimates, decompositions and period-wise trends point toward Indian growth being triggered by overall efficiency improvement (TFP) rather than input accumulation growth.
Long‐Term Nonoutflow Septal Versus Apical Right Ventricular Pacing: Relation to Left Ventricular Dyssynchrony

Background: Right ventricular (RV) apical pacing deteriorates left ventricular (LV) function. RV nonoutflow (low) septal pacing may better preserve ventricular performance, but this has not been systematically tested. Our aim was to assess (1) whether long‐term RV lower septal pacing is superior to RV apical pacing regarding LV volumes and ejection fraction (EF), and (2) if the changes in LV dyssynchrony imposed by pacing are related to the long‐term changes in LV volumes and EF.