Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mental and physical health: re-assessing the relationship with employment propensity

There is significant research demonstrating the labour market disadvantage experienced by the disabled community. Yet, relationships between wider ill-health concepts and employment are poorly investigated. This article presents an empirical investigation into the impacts of poor mental and physical health on the propensity to be employed. The results indicate that activity-limiting physical health and accomplishment-limiting mental health issues significantly affect the propensity to be employed. Further investigations reveal the significance of an interacted variable that captures the multiplicative effect of both physical and mental health, illustrating that the combined effect of both health domains can be more influential than separate pathways. Additional empirical analysis highlights gender and ethnicity divides. It is also found that mental health is mostly exogenous to employment propensity. This research provides evidence that mental and physical health related issues can lead to economic exclusion.
INSTITUTIONALISATION OF MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING IN FAMILY BUSINESSES — EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM AUSTRIA AND GERMANY

This study investigates whether family businesses (FBs) differ from non-family businesses (NFBs) regarding the institutionalisation of management accounting. Furthermore, it analyses whether FB-specific contextual factors such as the existence of non-family management and the level of family influence affect the establishment of discrete management accounting departments. Six hypotheses are formulated and tested based on survey results from 479 firms from Austria and 418 firms from Germany. Our results indicate that FBs establish fewer management accounting departments than NFBs do and that the heads of management accounting in FBs are less likely to hold a university degree compared with their counterparts in NFBs. Moreover, within FBs, larger firm size and the existence of non-family management are positively correlated with the establishment of management accounting departments, where firm size acts as the strongest predictor. As firm type (FB vs. NFB) emerged as a significant contextual factor for the institutionalisation of management accounting, this factor should be included in future studies of the organisation and set-up of the corporate management accounting function. Moreover, deeper investigation into the drivers and outcomes of FB-specific management accounting institutionalisation is needed.
The integrated model of core competence and core capability

There is much research discussing the issues of core competence, core capability, business performance and corporate growth. But the lack of studies exploring their causality is an important research gap. In this research, we develop a framework of a core capabilities operation system, which systematically integrates these critical initiatives, and can be used to develop the extended model of business development. In order to conduct the empirical study, we also design a strategic map of an enterprises' long-term development model. In this model the elements of a fundamental field cultivate the core competences, and further develop the core capabilities. These core competences and capabilities are the drivers of core competitiveness, which force the long-term development and excellent business. Based on this framework, we can develop the structure equation model, and the related questionnaire for the empirical study, in order to determine the critical initiatives and the relationships among these constructs. Based on the analytic results, the causalities among these critical initiatives can be confirmed. We also discover that ‘good organisation culture’ and ‘excellent management team’ are the most important firm’ fundamentals, which support the successful implementation of core competences and core capabilities. Herewith the ‘specialised technologies’, ‘powerful IT system’ and capturing the customers' needs' are the core competences, and ‘product lifetime management’ and ‘total quality management’ are the important capabilities. Core competitiveness is composed of ‘business development strategies’, ‘leader of core products’, and ‘innovative products’, which can result in the firm's excellent business performances.
The economics of multi-plant operation : an international comparisons study

Why should manufacturing firms in many national industries maintain multiple small scale plants when they might produce the same output at a lower unit cost in a single large establishment? What specific benefits are attained through the operation of multiple plants? To address these questions, the authors conducted 125 in-depth interviews with businessmen actively involved in plant size and multi-plant operating decisions. They investigated the experience of twelve industries in six countries (West Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada, and the United States). The authors develop an economic theory of plant size and multi-plant decisions and apply it to analyze the statistical and qualitative evidence on factors affecting plant size choices. They then examine the extent of multi-plant operation, its statistical correlate, and the economy actually or potentially realizable from various modes of multi-plant operation. Implications are drawn from antitrust and foreign trade policy, the evolution of scientific business management, and the development of industrial organization knowledge.
Unequal English Wealth since 1670

New data on probated wealth, landownership, debts, and occupations extend our view of the distribution of English wealth back from 1911 to 1670. There were widening gaps in mean wealth between the top landed-plus-merchant classes and the middle classes across the Industrial Revolution century. Size distributions for individual assets also widened. So did those for income or total wealth (including human). But nonhuman net worth did not become more unequal because of important shifts in the land share. All inequality measures before 1914 exceeded all those since 1950. The estimates illuminate classical theories of distribution.
A bootstrap test for causality with endogenous lag length choice: theory and application in finance

Granger causality tests have become among the most popular empirical applications with time series data. Several new tests have been developed in the literature that can deal with different data generating processes. In all existing theoretical papers it is assumed that the lag length is known a priori. However, in applied research the lag length has to be selected before testing for causality. This paper suggests that in investigating the effectiveness of various Granger causality testing methodologies, including those using bootstrapping, the lag length choice should be endogenized, by which we mean the data-driven preselection of lag length should be taken into account. We provide and accordingly evaluate a Granger-causality bootstrap test which may be used with data that may or may not be integrated, and compare the performance of this test to that for the analogous asymptotic test. The suggested bootstrap test performs well and appears to be also robust to ARCH effects that usually characterize the financial data. This test is applied to testing the causal impact of the US financial market on the market of the United Arab Emirates.
Environmental Responsiveness, Individuals and Organizational Learning: SME Experience

This paper explores the links between management and non-management attitudes to the environment and organizational responses within SMEs. It identifies the scope for, and means by which, personal attitudes can be harnessed to motivate, activate and help operationalize business responses.The paper identifies strong personal attitudes about the environment. In some more proactive companies it identifies some of the elements of organizational learning which may assist in translating attitudes into effective behaviour-including supportive management structures, training and two-way communication. However, it also identifies organizational limits in this regard. It draws parallels with management systems in relation to health and safety.
Comparison of the cardiovascular effects of different laboratory stressors and their relationship with blood pressure variability.

Laboratory stressors are employed to assess the 'typical' cardiovascular reactivity to stress of a given subject. It is believed that this may assist in the diagnosis of hypertension and predict future development of blood pressure (BP) elevation. However, the internal consistency of the data obtained by laboratory stressing manoeuvres and their ability to reflect the effects of everyday stressful events occurring over a 24-h period have never been clearly established. We studied a group of ambulant normotensive and essential hypertensive in-patients who were undergoing prolonged intra-arterial blood pressure monitoring (Oxford method) to determine firstly, whether four routine laboratory stressors provided a homogeneous evaluation of subjects' reactivity and secondly, whether cardiovascular reactivity to these stressors reflected a tendency of BP to vary over a 24-h period. A significant correlation (P less than 0.01) was found between the pressor responses to mental arithmetic and the mirror drawing test and between the pressor responses to the cold pressor test and hand-grip. These correlations, however, were not close and responses to the 'mental' and 'physical' stressors were unrelated. The elevation in BP induced by laboratory stressors also did not correlate with the increase in BP accompanying stress elicited outside laboratory conditions (i.e. doctor's visit). The pressor effects of both the laboratory and the out-of-laboratory stressors showed little or no correlation with the 24-h absolute or per cent blood pressure variabilities, although for the stressors involving a mental challenge, a significant though not close correlation with daytime blood pressure variability was found. These data underline the limitations of laboratory tests in assessing cardiovascular reactivity to stress. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors: Diagnostic Challenges and Practical Approach to Differential Diagnosis

Over the last decade, gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) have evolved from histogenetically obscure gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumors to well-defined tumors with distinctive clinical, morphologic, ultrastructural, histogenetic, and molecular characteristics, for which targeted therapy is available. This is largely attributable to the discovery of CD117 overexpression and activating mutations in c-kit or platelet-derived growth factor alpha genes in most of GISTs. The availability of specific diagnostic tests and targeted therapy for GISTs has led to an increased awareness of these tumors. At the same time, the list of potential GIST mimics has lengthened considerably and it has become increasingly important that GISTs be distinguished from their mimics because correct diagnosis has implications for both treatment and prognosis. The purpose of this review is to provide an update of the expanding differential diagnosis of GISTS, to draw attention to unusual GIST variants, to provide a practical approach the differential diagnosis of GISTs and to highlight some of the challenges faced by pathologists in resolving this differential diagnosis.
Handcuffing institutional research and quality assurance to the student experience: 50 Shades of grey?

Institutional Research (IR), as a concept, has been gaining traction in the UK and across the world, as evidenced by the growing number of European, African, Australasian and North American associations, communities, conferences and publications. This paper stresses the need for high-quality (Institutional) research behaviours, aligned with and embedded in quality assurance (QA) and enhancement approaches as part of the ‘systematic’ functions required by the QA Agency. Terenzini's ‘three tiers of organisational intelligence’ are offered as a benchmark for framing IR as a highly credible, efficacious, pursuit. It is argued that when IR has the expected features of academic research, it is more likely to be supported and have positive impact on practices and policy development.
Phenotype analysis of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes and lymphocytes in peripheral blood in patients with renal carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION When checking tumour growth, a number of observations indicate that the immune system plays a significant role in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Infiltration by lymphocytes (tumour infiltrating lymphocytes, TILs) is more prevalent in RCC than any other tumours. T lymphocytes are the dominant population of TIL cells. Views concerning the role of T lymphocytic subpopulations, B lymphocytes and NK cells in an anti-tumour response are not established. AIM The aim is to determine the phenotype and activation of T and B lymphocytic subpopulations and NK cells and to compare their representation in tumour stroma and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) in patients with RCC. MATERIAL AND METHODS Samples of peripheral blood taken from the cubital and renal veins and tumour stroma cells were obtained from 44 patients in the course of their surgeries carried out due to primary RCC. TILs were isolated from mechanically disintegrated tumour tissue. Immunophenotype multiparametric analysis of PBL and TILs was carried out. Their surface and activation characteristics were determined by means of flow cytometer. RESULTS CD3+ T lymphocytes (69.7%) were the main population of TILs. The number of CD3+/CD8+ T lymphocytes was significantly higher in TILs, 42.6% (p < 0.01), while CD4+ T lymphocytes were the majority population in peripheral blood, 41.35% (p < 0.001). The representation of CD3+/69+ T lymphocytes was significantly higher in TILs, 32.9%, compared to PBL (p < 0.001). On the contrary, the numbers of CD3+/CD25+, CD8+/57+ and CD4+/RA+ (naive CD4+ T lymphocytes) were higher in PBL (p < 0.001). The differences in representation of (CD3-/16+56+) NK cells and CD3+/DR+ T cells in TILs and PBL were not significant. CONCLUSION The above-mentioned results prove that the characteristics and intensity of anti-tumour responses are different in compared compartments (tumour/PBL). CD3+/CD8+ T lymphocytes are the dominant lymphocytic population of TILs. The knowledge of the phenotype and functions of effector cells, which are responsible for anti-tumour response, are the basic precondition for understanding the anti-tumour immune response and the cause of its failure.
MicroRNA expression signatures of stage, grade, and progression in clear cell RCC

Clear cell RCC is the most common, and more likely to metastasize, of the three main histological types of RCC. Pathologic stage is the most important prognostic indicator and nuclear grade can predict outcome within stages of localized RCC. Epithelial tumors are thought to accumulate a series of genetic and epigenetic changes as they progress through well-defined clinical and histopathological changes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the regulation of mRNA expression from many human genes and miRNA expression is dysregulated in cancer. To better understand the contribution of dysregulated miRNA expression to the progression and biology of ccRCC, we examined the differences in expression levels of 723 human miRNAs through a series of analyses by stage, grade, and disease progression status in a large series of 94 ccRCC. We found a consistent signature that included significant upregulation of miR-21-5p, 142-3p, let-7g-5p, let-7i-5p and 424-5p, as well as downregulation of miR-204-5p, to be associated with ccRCC of high stage, or high grade, or progression. Discrete signatures associated with each of stage, grade, or progression were also identified. The let-7 family was significantly downregulated in ccRCC compared with normal renal parenchyma. Expression of the 6 most significantly differentially expressed miRNAs between ccRCC was verified by stem-loop qRT-PCR. Pathways predicted as targets of the most significantly dysregulated miRNAs included signaling, epithelial cancers, metabolism, and epithelial to mesenchymal transition. Our studies help to further elucidate the biology underlying the progression of ccRCC and identify miRNAs for potential translational application.
Tourism and the 2010 World Cup: Lessons for Developing Countries

Over recent years the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations have secured the right to host several major international sporting events. Growth in tourism from developed countries is crucial to turn these events into a successful strategy for economic development. In this paper we use monthly country-by-country arrival data to assess the impact of organising the FIFA 2010 World Cup on tourism in South Africa. We find that South Africa attracted around 220,000 extra arrivals from non-Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries during the event, and 300,000 over the entire year. These numbers are less than the predictions made by the organisers prior to the event and imply that the total cost per extra non-SADC visitor amounted to $13,000.
Delay and Secrecy: Does Industry Sponsorship Jeopardize Disclosure of Academic Research?

The viability of modern open science norms and practices depend on public disclosure of new knowledge, methods, and materials. Aggregate data from the OECD show a broad shift in the institutional financing structure that supports academic research from public to private sponsorship. This article examines the relationship between industry sponsorship and restrictions on disclosure using individual-level data on German academic researchers. Accounting for self-selection into extramural sponsorship, our evidence strongly supports the perspective that industry sponsorship jeopardizes public disclosure of academic research.
Start–Up Social Ventures: Blending Fine–Grained Behaviors from Two Institutions for Entrepreneurial Success

Social entrepreneurs develop market–driven ventures to produce social change; some succeed while others fail. This research advances our understanding of start–up behaviors of ventures that span nonprofit and for–profit institutional boundaries. A rigorous qualitative study of 23 social ventures reveals that entrepreneurs employ a blend of nonprofit and business venture behaviors, suggesting the importance of contextual factors. Only selective behaviors from each institution differentiate the successful from the struggling ventures. But while the higher level organizing tasks and activities of successful and struggling ventures may appear similar, fine–grained analyses of their behaviors show stark differences, emphasizing the need for such analyses.
Evaluating Science and Risk: Living With and Dying From Asbestos

Recent Science and Technology Research has examined how concepts of risk and public understandings of science might be useful in nonWestern contexts (Fairhead and Leach 2003). Pioneering work on how scientific knowledge is embedded in – and interacts with – a cultural context was done by Douglas and Wildavsky (1983) who argued that understanding risk requires an awareness of the sociocultural context alongside knowledge of subjective and personal factors. Wynne’s interpretationist approach also focuses on context and provides a means to re-examine the more traditionalist, positivist survey approach to public understandings of science (Wynne 1995). His work draws attention to the interaction between ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ forms of expertise, showing how on the Cumbrian fells, sheep farmers interact with physicists. He also draws attention to the relational dimension of risks, asking ‘how far might lay people be involved in shaping scientific knowledge, and thus in providing the basis for alternative forms of public knowledge that reflect and sustain different dominant conceptions of the human, and of the social purposes of public knowledge? ’ (Wynne 1996: 61) More recently, Furedi has reinforced the centrality of context in his argument that ‘fears about the future are linked to anxieties about problems today. And if the future is feared, then reaction to risk is more likely to emphasize the probability of adverse outcomes’ (Furedi 2002: 18).
Ecotourism Land Tenure and Enterprise Ownership: Australian Case Study

Ecotourism has been promoted widely as a potential tool in conservation and community development, in both developed and developing nations (Fennell, 1999; Weaver, 2001). In some instances at least, ecotourism has indeed contributed to conservation on private, community, or public lands outside the protected area estate (Buckley, 2003a; TOISTD, 2003; WTO, 2002). Elsewhere, however, tourism industry promoters have used the term ecotourism simply as an avenue to increase access to protected areas by commercial tourism operators, most recently under the guise of so-called partnerships (Buckley, 2002, 2003b). The outcomes of ecotourism hence depend not only on the ecotourism enterprise itself, but on the land or water where it operates. This aspect of the ecotourism sector, however, seems to have received rather little attention in the research literature. It has become contentious in Australia recently because of current political pressures to expand commercial tourism operations in protected areas (Australia DITR, 2003; Buckley, 2003b), and efforts to improve conservation on private land (Australia NTHT, 2003). Here, therefore, I examine the degree to which existing ecotourism enterprises in Australia operate on various different types of land tenure; and consider how these results may be relevant worldwide.
Do Child Development Accounts Promote Account Holding, Saving, and Asset Accumulation for Children's Future? Evidence from a Statewide Randomized Experiment.

This study examines the impacts of Child Development Accounts (CDAs) on account holding, saving, and asset accumulation for children, using data from the SEED for Oklahoma Kids experiment (SEED OK). SEED OK, a policy test of universal and progressive CDAs, provides a 529 college savings plan account to every infant in the treatment group with automatic account opening and an initial deposit. SEED OK also encourages treatment participants to open their own 529 accounts with an account opening incentive and a savings match. Using a sample of infants randomly selected from birth records (N = 2,670) and randomly assigned to treatment and control groups, this study runs probit and ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions. Analyses show significant differences between treatment and control groups in all outcome measures in the targeted accounts. Nearly 100 percent of the treatment group accepted the automatically opened state-owned account. Compared to 1 percent of the control group, 16 percent of the treatment group hold a participant-owned account. On average, the treatment group has saved significantly larger amounts in participant-owned accounts, although a difference in savings amount is modest between the two groups ($47 vs. $13). A difference in total 529 assets of $1,040 is estimated between the treatment and control groups. These early findings from SEED OK suggest that CDAs have positive effects on savings and asset accumulation for children's future development. Further research is required to test long-term cost effectiveness of CDAs.
Product adoption and innovation diffusion: the case of Japanese marketing to China

Along with the growing prominence of China in corporate strategy and decision-taking, Japanese firms are increasingly aligning their activities to accommodate the shift towards a customer-led market environment and the advent of a major consumer market on Japan's doorstep. This study shows how Japanese firms adjust their marketing to changes in Chinese consumption patterns and address the impact of geographical and socioeconomic variables on innovation diffusion. By taking a fresh look at the marketing challenges amidst latent consumer ethnocentrism and cosmopolitanism, this study generates fresh insights into the reconfiguration of Japanese marketing and retailing activities in this emergent market.