Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
THE DISTRIBUTIONAL AND COUNTERCYCLICAL EFFECTS OF PUBLIC CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE

OF DISSERTATION THE DISTRIBUTIONAL AND COUNTERCYCLICAL EFFECTS OF PUBLIC CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE While the long run productivity of federal highway infrastructure spending has been well researched, their short run effects and effects on income inequality. This dissertation explores those under-researched unconventional effects. In the first chapter, I investigate the effects of federal infrastructure grants on income inequality. I find that grants reduce inequality in both recipient and neighboring states. The reduction is driven by greater income among the bottom three income quintiles. I explore two mechanisms using person level data and find that the reduction in inequality is attributable to higher income for low-skilled workers and workers working in low-skilled industries. In the second chapter, I investigate the role of implementation lags in the ARRA. I find that the employment effects after six months were nearly twice as high in short lag counties compared to long lag counties. However, these effects quickly fade. I find no evidence of implementation lags impacting employment after one year. In the third chapter, I examine the effect of the business cycle on completion times of federally financed transportation infrastructure projects. I find that projects that begin construction during periods of economic slack are completed more quickly, suggesting an alternative mechanism for state dependent fiscal multipliers.
Technology balance of payments and countries’ international competitiveness. A dynamic panel data analysis of OECD countries, 2000-2017

ABSTRACT This study investigates the impact of Technology Balance of Payments (TBP) on countries’ international competitiveness. Using dynamic panel data estimations for 26 OECD countries over the period 2000–2017, the estimations unambiguously show that a TBP surpluses significantly foster countries’ international competitiveness, regardless of how this latter is measured.
Promoting Global Justice When Backlash Strikes: EU and UN Beijing +20

The UN Beijing World Conference on Women in 1995 was a landmark event resulting in the famous Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action. In 2015, a review of the implementation of the 1995 Beijing agenda—Beijing +20—was conducted by the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), culminating in a CSW conference in New York. Equipped with a typology of three global justice conceptions—global justice as non-domination, as impartiality, and as mutual recognition—the paper utilises publicly available documents, media reports, and interviews with civil society representatives and gender experts, to identify underlying normative ideas of the Beijing +20 process and the EU’s approach. A comparison is made with the process and the global justice conceptions central to the Beijing Declaration and the EU’s role at the Beijing World Conference. Findings show that the EU’s role as a promoter of impartial global justice was limited in the Beijing +20 process, and that justice as non-domination prevails as a strong organising principle. This represents a shift from the original Beijing path that arguably had a firmer basis in ideas of justice as impartiality. Also the noteworthy commitment to global justice as mutual recognition, which characterised both the Beijing 1995 documents and the processes in which they came about, was far less pronounced twenty years later, despite the EU’s declared ambitions to include civil society and ally with women’s rights advocates. These troublesome developments likely reflect a global political climate that is less gender equality friendly, and where established lines between low and high salience are becoming more unclear. This can potentially, and perhaps increasingly, turn gender policy into ‘big politics’. In addition, the EU’s ability and motivation to act as a progressive entrepreneur in the gender equality area may be diminishing as a result of internal developments in the Union.
FINANCIAL DISINTERMEDIATION IN THE 1990s: IMPLICATIONS ON MONETARY POLICY IN MALAYSIA

The increased financial disintermediation that characterizes the Malaysiaʼs financial system since the early 1990s has contributed towards changes in the dynamics of monetary transmission mechanism. Using quarterly data from 1980: 1 to 2005: 4, we found a greater effectiveness of monetary policy during the pre-1990:3 period, but the post-1990:3 period poses much diffi culty for the conduct of monetary policy. Innovations in the financial market appeared to have led to lower output variability. Further, when the real interest rate is made a function of financial disintermediation, the real interest rate appeared to have lost its significance in influencing real variables in the post-1990: 3 period. This study did not, however, find evidence in support of the significance of the real interest rate in affecting real variables through the direct financing channel via the capital market.
Integrated Reporting and Capital Markets in an International Setting: The Role of Financial Analysts

This article contributes to the literature studying the capital markets and corporate governance effects of Integrated Reporting (IR). In particular, building on voluntary disclosure and information processing theories, it hypothesizes and empirically finds that IR adoption is correlated with an improvement in analyst forecast accuracy. While most of previous studies focus on the South African context, we rely on an international sample that allows us studying the moderating effect of some country-level variables, such as enforcement and trust. We employ these results to derive interesting insights on the much-debated nature of IR.
Macroeconomic Variables, Demographic Factors and Current Account Balance in Nigeria: A Causal Relationship

This paper examines the effect of macroeconomic variables, demographic factors toward current account balance in Nigeria. It analyzed the connection between each of domestic savings and investment on current account balance by examining the role and direction of the selected demographic variables. The Toda-Yamamoto approach to causality was used to analyze the study. The result shows that the direction of causality was from both domestic saving and investment to current account balance. However, there is no reverse causation from the current account balance to domestic saving and investment. Thus, the selected demographic variables had no significant causation towards current account balance, investment, and domestic saving. The government needs to finance the desired investment through increased domestic saving without undue reliance on foreign resources
Traditional Institutions of Governance in Africa

Most African countries are characterized by parallel institutions, one representing the formal laws of the state and the other representing the traditional institutions that are adhered to more commonly in rural areas. The parallel institutional systems often complement each other in the continent’s contemporary governance. Oftentimes, however, they contradict each other, creating problems associated with institutional incoherence. Why the traditional systems endure, how the institutional dichotomy impacts the process of building democratic governance, and how the problems of institutional incoherence might be mitigated are issues that have not yet received adequate attention in African studies. The evidence suggests that traditional institutions have continued to metamorphose under the postcolonial state, as Africa’s socioeconomic systems continue to evolve. Despite such changes, these institutions are referred to as traditional not because they continue to exist in an unadulterated form as they did in Africa’s precolonial past but because they are largely born of the precolonial political systems and are adhered to principally, although not exclusively, by the population in the traditional (subsistent) sectors of the economy. Subsequent to the colonial experience, traditional institutions may be considered to be informal institutions in the sense that they are often not sanctioned by the state. However, they are not merely customs and norms; rather they are systems of governance, which were formal in precolonial times and continue to exist in a semiformal manner in some countries and in an informal manner in others. Another issue that needs some clarification is the neglect by the literature of the traditional institutions of the political systems without centralized authority structures. In general, decentralized political systems, which are often elder-based with group leadership, have received little attention, even though these systems are widespread and have the institutions of judicial systems and mechanisms of conflict resolution and allocation of resources, like the institutions of the centralized systems. Careful analysis suggests that African traditional institutions lie in a continuum between the highly decentralized to the centralized systems and they all have resource allocation practices, conflict resolution, judicial systems, and decision-making practices, which are distinct from those of the state.
Analysis of Factors Affecting the Interests of SMEs Using Accounting Applications

Technological developments in the world have entered the period of the industrial revolution 4.0. The impact on technological progress is a change in the perspective of manuals, business maps of the world, even in various aspects of economic, social, political, and cultural life. In line with the rapid development of technology, companies, and micro and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) increasingly need technology for the sustainability of their businesses. This study aims to analyse the factors that influence the interest of SMEs using accounting applications. The research method used is a deductive approach. The results of this study cannot yet reject the hypothesis that price, performance, stability, flexibility, implementation, customisation, and vendor support influence the decision to use accounting software.
Achievement emotions with location-based mobile augmented reality: An examination of discourse processes in simulated guided walking tours

The purpose of this study is to experimentally manipulate discourse processes hypothesized to impact the emotions students experience when interacting with handheld augmented reality devices in informal learning settings. Research conducted in the field is often limited by practical constraints, requiring heavy investments in time and resources to collect data from large samples of students. To demonstrate the feasibility of our proposed method, a guided walking tour with 60 students using a location‐based augmented reality app was simulated in the context of a controlled laboratory setting. The difference between groups of students clustered into distinct profiles of positive and negative self‐reported emotions was attributed to patterns in the mined dialog between students and tour guide. Furthermore, student engagement predicted the ability to recall topics covered in the tour. We discuss the implications and directions for future research in tour simulations conducted in a laboratory setting as a means to evaluate the role of mobile technologies in enhancing learning and desirable emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Conhecimento do cliente diabtico em relao os cuidados com os ps

Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo avaliar o conhecimento dos clientes que frequentam um Ambulatorio de Diabetes, em relacao a sua doenca e cuidados com os pes. Na amostra estudada - diabeticos tipo 2 - houve predominância da faixa etaria acima de cinquenta anos e 71,8% tinham diabetes ha menos de dez anos. Concluiu-se que os clientes sabem que os cuidados adequados com os pes sao necessarios para evitar as complicacoes, porem o autocuidado nao e realizado corretamente. Para que isso seja incorporado em seu cotidiano, e fundamental que tenham acesso as informacoes sobre diabetes, participacao da familia, alem de habilidade e motivacao.
Effects of fairness perceptions on conflicts and project performance in Chinese megaprojects

Abstract This study aims to investigate the influence of project team fairness perceptions on conflicts and project performance in Chinese megaprojects. A theoretical model was developed and a structured questionnaire survey was conducted with 374 professionals. The structural equation modelling technique was used to analyse the data. The results show that task conflicts are significantly positively correlated with project performance in megaprojects, so establishing good team fairness perception helps to stimulate task conflicts. Process and relationship conflicts are interactive and negatively associated with project performance. Good team fairness perceptions have significant positive impacts on project performance. Task, relationship and process conflicts mediate the effects of fairness perceptions on project performance. Few studies have investigated the effects of team fairness perceptions on conflicts and project performance in megaprojects. This study is an important supplement to the existing body of knowledge for conflicts and project management. This study additionally confirmed that relationship and process conflicts could be mutually influenced and explains how conflicts play functional and dysfunctional roles in megaprojects.
The Determinant of Regional Unemployment in Indonesia: The Spatial Durbin Models

Unemployment is a problem that occurs in many countries and often gets special attention both from policymakers and academics. This fact is because if not addressed, it will cause socio-economic problems in the country. Therefore it is necessary to formulate the causes of unemployment by involving spatial aspects to avoid biased and inefficient estimates. This study aims to find the determinants of unemployment rates in Indonesia, including calculating the direct and indirect effect of using the spatial Durbin models (SDM) in the period 2000-2017. The results of this study indicate that the overall independent variables used significantly influence the unemployment rate in Indonesia. Besides, it turns out that the higher education variable completed by the population of a region has the most significant impact both in decreasing unemployment in a region and neighboring regions. Therefore, the policy taken should pay attention to this.
Predictors of job pursuit intention across career stages: a multi-phase investigation

Abstract The continuing war for talent requires business leaders to stay focused on the quality and mix of their applicant pool(s) at different levels of their organizations. As psychological needs, relational responsibilities, and key motivators differ across career stages, differentiated employee value proposition is critical, in order to attract the right talent to the organization. However, studies exploring predictors of job pursuit intention have typically investigated this topic with populations of on-campus students or early career-stage applicants. The present study was designed to better understand factors that influence job pursuit intentions of individuals at different career stages. In this multi-phase study, we supplemented the first phase of the study (a sample of 1127 professionals in the IT/ITeS industry at various stages of their careers) with interviews with 32 IT professionals and 15 HR leaders in Phase II. We find that the predictors of job pursuit intention differ for applicants at different career stages. We discuss theoretical contributions, practical implications and offer suggestions for future research.
Father and Followers: Putin’s Rhetoric as an Evolutionary-Psychological Leadership Tool

Vladimir Putin has been at the helm of the Russian state since 2000, with much of the post-2008 period in Russia being characterised by poor economic performance. At the same time, many issues concerning regional development and public service provision have gone unaddressed. Yet, despite all these problems—which polls suggest do not go unnoticed by the Russian people—the popularity of the most powerful man in government has not slipped far from all-time highs. This paper suggests an evolutionary psychological explanation for Putin's resilient popularity and examines it through the question of whether the thematic content of Putin’s rhetoric matches theoretical expectations stemming from evolutionary psychology. Using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods to analyse a corpus of annual addresses by Vladimir Putin, it suggests that the thematic content of Putin's rhetoric is consistent with what a cultural reinterpretation of Hamilton’s rule from evolutionary psychology predicts is particularly potent with followers. Specifically, his rhetoric creates bonds of relatedness within a defined group and focuses on benefits affecting members of that group—exactly what a cultural Hamilton's rule view of human social behaviour would suggest. The paper then links this explanation to Putin’s approval ratings by looking at how this thematic content varies over time. In doing so, the paper represents a step towards an evolutionary psychological view of leadership appeal in modern political communities.
Testiculo protective effects of ethanolic roots extract of Pseudocedrela kotschyi on alloxan induced testicular damage in diabetic rats.

Aims: The study was designed to investigate the testiculo protective effects of ethanolic roots extract of Pseudocedrela kotschyi on alloxan-induced testicular damage in diabetic rats. Study Design: Experimental diabetes using animal models. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Lagos Research Article British Journal of Medicine & Medical Research, 4(1): 548-563, 2014 549 State University, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, between January, 2013 and May, 2013. Methodology: Twenty male rats were divided into four groups: Group I consisted of nondiabetic rats that received only the vehicle; group II-IV was injected with a single dose of alloxan (ALX) of 150 mg kg intraperitoneally; groups III and IV were given ethanolic roots extract of Pseudocedrela kotschyi orally, 3 days after the ALX administration, at daily doses of 250 and 500mg kg respectively for a period of 30 days. After 4 weeks of treatments, all the rats were sacrificed. Results: Administration of 150 mg kg of alloxan to male rats induced diabetes and significantly reduced the body and testicular weights, testosterone levels, sperm count and motility, significantly increased the glucose level and decreased the levels of antioxidant enzymatic and non-enzymatic markers such as glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and while the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) was significantly increased. By contrast, rats given the ethanolic roots extract of Pseudocedrela kotschyi had significantly increase (p<0.05) in body weight gain, whereas the glucose levels significantly improved (p<0.05) in treated diabetic male rats. In addition, this extract improved the reproductive system of the diabetic male rats by significantly increasing the testis and epididymis weights, testosterone levels, sperm count and motility, reduced testicular GSH, CAT, SOD, GPx and significantly decreasing MDA.The extract had no deleterious effects and testicular cytoprotection damaged by ALX. Conclusion: We concluded that the treatment with the ethanolic roots extract of Pseudocedrela kotschyi could reverse the adverse effects of ALX-diabetes on reproductive system of male rats which exhibits antihyperglycemic and fertility activities.
Transitions from home to nursing home in a capitated long-term care program: the role of individual support systems.

OBJECTIVE. This study calculated the risk of nursing home admission for clients receiving home- and community-based (HCB) care in a capitated long-term care system. DATA SOURCES. Program administrative data for non-institutionalized elderly and physically disabled (EPD) clients who had an HCB long-term care placement in the Arizona Long-Term Care System (ALTCS) during the period from January 1989 through December 1991. STUDY DESIGN. The program experience of clients who were initially placed in HCB care (N = 2,923) was tracked from the date on which they entered the program until the end of December 1992. DATA EXTRACTION METHODS. Program administrative data were used to create spans of program experience for each client. Cox proportional hazards regression models were then used to assess the individual factors associated with the risk of nursing home entry during the study period. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS. The greatest risk of nursing home entry was observed for those who were older or white, and for those clients with Alzheimer's disease. Little significant effect was observed for support system variables. CONCLUSIONS. Study results suggest that efforts to prevent nursing home entry may be most productive if they focus on the point at which clients are first assessed for placement into the ALTCS program. Once in HCB care, subsequent risk of nursing home placement may be more related to the client's health and frailty than to support system factors.
Relationship between continuous improvement and innovation performance: an empirical study in Brazilian manufacturing companies

The continuous improvement programs and innovation have been stimulated and widely deployed due to the importance to the competitiveness of the organisations, being subjects of interest in several studies. However, there are few researches on the relationship between continuous improvement programs, such as Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma, and the innovation performance. The objective of the paper is to analyse the relationship between continuous improvement on the performance of product and process innovation, both incremental and radical, aiming at comparing the results of these relationships considering the use of the different continuous improvement programs mentioned above. To improve the analysis, the continuous improvement practices were divided into four subconstructs – culture, people, strategy and top management. A web survey was applied in Brazilian manufacturing companies that carry out product or process innovations and have continuous improvement initiatives implemented. The results demonstrate that continuous improvement has positive and statistically significant relationships with the four types of innovation performance and the results remain independent of the continuous improvement program that the company applies. Besides, the use of continuous improvement practices is more relevant to innovation performance than specific programs of improvement such as Lean, Six Sigma or lean Six Sigma.