Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The European Union’s Performance in the International Telecommunication Union

Abstract This article describes the performance of the EU in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It depicts a shifting environment where the relevance of the ITU in a globalised and converged telecommunications environment is being challenged itself. The EU has appeared to ‘cede’ an active role within this organisation over the period under analysis (1994–2010) to the intergovernmental, 48-member, European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT). This article argues that the perception of decline in the EU’s performance in the ITU is a recognition of the effectiveness of CEPT in producing Common European Positions, and the role that the EU can have in contributing on this scale. At the same time as this ‘operational’ decline is occurring in EU activity at the ITU level, EU engagement in discussions on telecommunications policy and strategy at the global level is increasing, but not targeted towards the ITU.
Growth Before and after Trade Liberalization

The empirical study of the impact of trade liberalization has not convinced the skeptics about the economic gains after trade reforms. Some have even argued that trade reforms have led to economic collapse and to deindustrialization. Using a sample that excludes countries that were subject to major exogenous disruptions, the authors note that post-reform economic growth was 1.2 percentage points higher than before the reforms. This is remarkable considering that pre-reform periods were characterized by highly expansionary state policies and large external borrowing, and the crisis years that preceded trade liberalization in the comparisons are eliminated. Through multivariate fixed effects estimations the authors calculate that annual per capita GDP growth rates increased by up to 2.6 percentage points after the trade reforms, compared to a counterfactual that takes into consideration the evolution of several growth determinants. Moreover, trade liberalization has been followed by an acceleration of growth in investment, exports of goods and services, and manufacturing exports, and as opposed to common belief, outward orientation did not lead to significant deindustrialization and actually seems to have increased export diversification. Growth acceleration occurred irrespective of income per capita level and was quite significant in Sub-Saharan Africa. As expected, small countries benefited most from the reforms.
New York City Environmental Justice Alliance Waterfront Justice Project

This paper reviews key challenges and opportunities addressed by the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance's (NYC-EJA) Waterfront Justice Project, a citywide campaign to promote climate resilience and sustainability in urban industrial waterfront communities of New York City. NYC-EJA is a non-profit membership-driven network linking grassroots organisations from low-income neighbourhoods and communities of colour in their struggle for environmental justice. The Waterfront Justice Project is documenting community vulnerability in the context of climate change impacts, sources of industrial pollution, and demographic and socio-economic trends. This campaign is enabling community-based organisations, environmental justice communities, city planners, local and state government agencies, local business-owners, and other stakeholders to work in partnership to achieve community resilience while advocating for local jobs and promoting best practices in pollution prevention. New York City's waterfront policies ease the siting and clustering of public infrastructure, water pollution control plants, waste transfer stations, energy facilities, and heavy manufacturing uses in six areas designated as Significant Maritime and Industrial Areas (SMIAs). The SMIAs are located in environmental justice communities, largely low-income communities and communities of colour, in the South Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. New York City's local waterfront land use and zoning policies create cumulative risk exposure not only to residents and workers in the host waterfront communities, but also, in the event of storm surge or sea-level rise, to neighbouring, upland communities.
Polyphenols, tannins and caffeine content and antioxidant activity of green teas coming from organic and non-organic production

Abstract Among infusions of green teabags and leafy green teas from organic and non-organic production systems we measured and compared the content of phenolic acids, flavonols and total polyphenols by spectrophotometry, the content of tannins by titration and the content of caffeine by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In addition, the antioxidant activity of the infusions was determined by spectrophotometry. The results obtained have shown that organic teas contained significantly more flavonols and tannins. However, the content of phenolic acids was higher in non-organic teas. The teas from organic and non-organic production did not differ in terms of total polyphenol content and antioxidant activity. There were no differences in leaf teas in relation to the teabags in contents of phenolic acids, tannins and total polyphenols. Organic teas had higher content of catechin C than the non-organic ones, but at the same time non-organic teas had more epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG) in comparison to organic teas. Epigallocatechin (EGC) and epicatechin (EC) were not found to be different between the two groups of tea. Catechin was found to be significantly higher in teabags, while the EGCG was higher in leaf teas. The reason for this may be the oxidation of teabags, which have a greater exposed surface area. There was no appreciable effect of the form of tea on the content of tannins, caffeine, flavonols, phenolic acids, total polyphenols, EGC and EC as well as the antioxidant activity of the tea infusions examined.
Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts

Permission to Reprint for Non-Commercial Uses This essay is published by Insight Assessment. The original appeared in 1992 and has been updated many times over the years. Although the author and the publisher hold all copyrights, in the interests of advancing education and improving critical thinking, permission is hereby granted for paper, electronic, or digital copies to be made in unlimited amounts, provided that their distribution is free of charge provided that whenever material from this essay is cited or extracted in whole or in part that appropriate citation is made by indicating this essay’s full title, author’s name, publisher’s name, year, and page or pages where it appears in this edition. For permission for reprints intended for sale contact Insight Assessment by phone at 650-697-5628 or by email to jmorante@insightassessment.com. ISBN 13: 978-1-891557-07-1.
Solving Rational Expectations Models Using Excel

Simple problems of discrete-time optimal control can be solved using a standard spreadsheet software. The employed-solution method of backward iteration is intuitively understandable, does not require any programming skills, and is easy to implement so that it is suitable for classroom exercises with rational-expectations models. The author explains the method in general and shows how the basic models of neoclassical growth and real business cycles are solved using Microsoft Excel.
Laser Active Materials for High-Intensity Lasers

Many laser materials have been discovered or rediscovered in the last 30 years but only a few of them have been really considered or could be envisaged in the development of the present and future high-intensity laser chains. It is the case of Ti:Sapphire, because of its exceptional spectroscopic and thermo-mechanical properties, and a number of Yb3+ doped crystals, because of their relatively broad absorption and emission bands allowing for diode pumping and the generation and the amplification of short pulses, but also because of reduced thermal loads resulting from a low quantum defect. It could be the case of other promising laser materials based on Pr3+ - or Cr2+-doped crystals and ceramics which have not been considered yet for this type of applications because of more exotic pump and laser wavelengths. Therefore, without entering into the details of the optical properties and the laser performance of these systems, which can be found in many other articles, a review is made and data presented here on the three important following aspects: our ability of developing ultrahigh quality and large size laser elements of the considered materials, the impact of the thermal loads on their spectral properties, and the multiphoton and nonlinear processes which can be the origin of the degradation or the perturbation of their optical properties at high pump and laser intensities. For that description, the considered laser materials have been divided into three categories: Ti3+:Sapphire, the most important Yb3+-doped laser crystals and ceramics, and some more prospective materials among which Pr3+:LiYF4, Cr 2+ZnSe and Cr2+:ZnS.
Realized volatility forecasting: empirical evidence from stock market indices and exchange rates

This study evaluates the performance of four models for predicting daily realized volatility of S&P 500 index (SPX), Dow Jones Industry Average (DJIA), Canadian dollar (CAD/USD) and British Pound (USD/GBP) exchange rates. The competing models include a Simple Regression Model (SRM), Stochastic Volatility model with Lagged inter-temporal dependence (SVL), Stochastic Volatility model with Contemporaneous dependence (SVC), and a Heterogeneous Autoregressive (HAR) model. The main purpose is to examine whether allowing asymmetric relationships between return and volatility and leptokurtosis, or modelling the long-memory behaviour of volatility, would result in an improvement in forecast accuracy. Different approaches are considered when constructing daily realized volatility. Employing realized volatility in the in-sample estimation, the procedure is straightforward. The famous Diebold and Mariano's (1995) robust tests are applied to investigate whether the competing models provide equally accurate forecasts. Four different measures are used to evaluate the forecasting accuracy. The results suggest that allowing asymmetric behaviour and leptokurtosis do not seem to improve point forecasts, whereas modelling long-memory behaviour seems to.
Internal Finance and Firm Investment

We examine the neoclassical investment model using a panel of U.S. manufacturing firms. The standard model with no financing constraints cannot be rejected for firms with high (pre-sample) dividend payouts. However, it is decisively rejected for firms with low (pre-sample) payouts (firms we expect to face financing constraints). Hem, investment is sensitive to both firm cash flow and macroeconomic credit conditions, holding constant investment opportunities. Sample splits based on firm size or maturity do not produce such distinctions. The latter comparison identifies firms where "free-cash-flow" problems might be expected to produce correlations between investment and cash flow.
Modelling the dependence structures of Australian iTraxx CDS index

In contrast to market expectations, the correlation between credit default swap (CDS) spreads and their respective stock prices in Australia was found to be positive. The global financial crisis (GFC) affected the nonlinear association between the two asset classes with firms experiencing financial distress and stock prices plummeting. CDSs issuers reacted to such exogenous shocks by increasing their risk premiums on their spreads, reflecting the increased inherent risk. By splitting the data into pre- and post-GFC contexts and by employing the use of Archimedean copulas, we observe a negative co-movement in the post-GFC period. This finding is robust to several equity indices. Overall, such result is critical for investors engaging in arbitrageur activities.
Tailoring seasonal climate forecasts for climate risk management in rainfed farming systems of southeast Zimbabwe

Inter-annual climate variability is a major source of production risks in rainfed agriculture in semi-arid areas of Zimbabwe. Despite advances in seasonal forecasting since the late 1990s, there is hardly any evidence of explicit use of forecasts by vulnerable smallholder farmers to manage climate-related risk in agriculture. Forecasts are presented in the language of probabilities, but are often not perceived as such, partly because of differences in end users' needs and their decision-making behaviour. The project used the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) index and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to develop a tailored seasonal forecast model termed the ‘binary’ or ‘drought/no drought’. The binary forecast model addresses farmers most important question: what is the probability of drought (SPI ≤−1) occurring in the crop growing season? The ‘binary’ forecast system allowed the development of climate risk management strategies specifically tailored to farmers' needs. From this study, it can be concluded that rainfed agriculture production systems are most concerned about the risk of drought. A tailored forecast system that provides information on the probability of drought occurring in a given season can therefore lead to proactive drought risk management among smallholder farmers and policy-makers.
Quantifying Flood Risks in the Netherlands

The Flood Risk in the Netherlands project (Dutch acronym: VNK2) is a large‐scale probabilistic risk assessment for all major levee systems in the Netherlands. This article provides an overview of the methods and techniques used in the VNK2 project. It also discusses two examples that illustrate the potential of quantitative flood risk assessments such as VNK2 to improve flood risk management processes: (i) informing political debates about the risks of flooding and the effectiveness of risk management actions, and (ii) (re)directing research efforts towards important sources of uncertainty.
Which type of sedentary behaviour intervention is more effective at reducing body mass index in children? A meta‐analytic review

Sedentary behaviour is emerging as an independent risk factor for paediatric obesity. Some evidence suggests that limiting sedentary behaviour alone could be effective in reducing body mass index (BMI) in children. However, whether adding physical activity and diet‐focused components to sedentary behaviour reduction interventions could lead to an additive effect is unclear. This meta‐analysis aims to assess the overall effect size of sedentary behaviour interventions on BMI reduction and to compare whether interventions that have multiple components (sedentary behaviour, physical activity and diet) have a higher mean effect size than interventions with single (sedentary behaviour) component. Included studies (n = 25) were randomized controlled trials of children (<18 years) with intervention components aimed to reduce sedentary behaviour and measured BMI at pre‐ and post‐intervention. Effect size was calculated as the mean difference in BMI change between children in an intervention group and a control group. Results indicated that sedentary behaviour interventions had a significant effect on BMI reduction. The pooled effect sizes of multi‐component interventions (g = −0.060∼−0.089) did not differ from the single‐component interventions (g = −0.154), and neither of them had a significant effect size on its own. Future paediatric obesity interventions may consider focusing on developing strategies to decrease multiple screen‐related sedentary behaviours.
The effects of interpartner resource alignment and absorptive capacity on knowledge transfer performance

Against a background of increasing international competition and rapid technological change, universities and industry have often engaged in collaboration as a means of improving cross-unit transfers of their resources, capabilities, and knowledge. Following this frontier, this study examines the effects of university and firm interpartner resource alignment and absorptive capacity on knowledge transfer performance from the university-industry (U-I) perspective. Regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses in a sample of 120 Taiwanese firms. The research findings suggest that, interpartner resource utilization is positively related to U-I interaction; that when the effect of a firm’s absorptive capacity is higher, U-I interaction is more favorable; and that U-I interaction is positively related to knowledge transfer performance. Our empirical results support the process-oriented view and indicate that U-I interaction plays the mediating role between resource alignment, absorptive capacity and knowledge transfer performance. The implications of this study are two-fold. First, it emphasizes the value of creative financial and general performance in knowledge transfer by incorporating the U-I interaction perspective. Second, the research results offer support for suggestions that interpartner resource alignment provides a necessary element for capacity and resource exchange. Hence, one interesting further research would analyze practical cases of some Taiwanese companies with the described approach. This is an important practical issue that should be examined in the future. Key words: Absorptive capacity, knowledge transfer performance, interpartner resource alignment, university-industry (U-I) interaction.
Facilitadores y barreras para la sostenibilidad de la mejora continua: Un estudio cualitativo en proveedores del automóvil de la Comunidad Valenciana

In recent years it has been widely discussed the use of continuous improvement in all kind of business and particularly in companies belonging to the automotive industry. Many authors mention improvements, in key indicators of production through the use of continuous improvement tools. At the same time, different authors talk about how to sustain the continuous improvement over time, and try to identify inhibitors and enablers for the sustainability of continuous improvement. But despite this, one can still find first tier suppliers in the automotive industry which have not implemented systems of continuous improvement. This study aims to identify, classify, prioritize and discuss the different enablers and inhibitors which can be found in automotive suppliers companies. For that reason some interviews were conducted with first tier suppliers in the automotive industry that have succeeded or failed in implementing continuous improvement. We have tried to understand better the problems for the implementation and sustainability of continuous improvement.
Editorial: stakeholder management in construction

Interest in stakeholders has grown considerably since Freeman’s (1984) seminal work Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach was published. Over 100 papers concerning what has become termed 'stakeholder theory' were published by 1995 alone (Donaldson and Preston 1995, p.65), with many more published since. Increasingly, stakeholders have been referred to in mainstream media and government communications, not just in academic texts (Friedman and Miles 2002).
Family physicians' disagreements with the US Preventive Services Task Force recommendations.

BACKGROUND The 1989 recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) represent an emerging consensus about which clinical preventive services should be delivered. However, practicing physicians disagree with a number of the recommendations in the Task Force prevention guidelines, and the reasons for disagreement have not been widely explored. METHODS A survey questionnaire assessing physician agreement or disagreement with the USPSTF recommendations was sent to all 1784 active members of the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians in October 1990. A factor analysis was performed on the items with which at least 5% of physicians disagreed. Associations of physician demographics and attitudes with the factor scores were then examined. RESULTS At least 5% of the 898 responding physicians disagreed with 67 of 150 USPSTF recommendations. Physicians disagreed with the USPSTF recommendations in three ways: (1) they believed that screening for some cancers is appropriate, even though not recommended by the USPSTF; (2) they believed that screening for other diseases in some populations is appropriate, even though not recommended by the USPSTF; and (3) they disagreed with some USPSTF recommendations for screening that is considered time-consuming or intrusive. Further analyses showed that practice setting and experience with the USPSTF guidelines were predictive of all three disagreement factors. Physician age, race, residency training, and reasons for disagreement were associated with two of the three factors. CONCLUSIONS Physician disagreement with the USPSTF recommendations was not random but clustered into three distinct factors. An opportunity exists to design educational interventions for targeted subgroups of physicians. The views of practicing physicians should be incorporated into future guidelines.
Eating Fast Food: Attitudes of High-School Students

Alarmingly consistent recent research shows that industrially produced foods such as fast food contain compounds that add to obesity and high cholesterol among young people. Less physical activity and a higher propensity to eat ready-made food (in Sweden and internationally) have aggravated the health situation for the young generation. They also have become addicted to sugar by the consumption of lemonade and other sweet drinks that are often served in conjunction with fast food. Food consumption patterns are highly cultural, and, once formed in early years, they become difficult to change. The findings of this study, which was based on a small sample of written accounts and transcribed interviews, indicate that high-school students in Sweden are well aware of the good and bad attributes of fast food, such as: speed, convenience, fat and sugar. Clear differences in attitude were found between male and female students: female students view fast food in a broad food chain context, whereas male students concentrate on fast eating and satiety.
Real Exchange Rate Adjustment In and Out of the Eurozone

It is often suggested that currency unions unduly inhibit the efficient adjustment of real exchange rates. Recently, this has been seen as a key failure of the Eurozone. This paper presents evidence that throws doubt on this conclusion. Our evidence suggests that real exchange rate movement within the Eurozone was at least as compatible with efficient adjustment as the behavior of real exchange rates for the floating rate countries outside the Eurozone. This interpretation is consistent with a model in which nominal exchange rate movements give rise to persistent deviations from the law of one price in traded goods.