Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
the preferences of wildlife recreationists for

The goal of this study is to assess residents' preferences for a set of attributes describing the recreation setting in an urban forest (outstanding trees, forest openings, waymarks and information boards, and paved walking trails) and to explore the heterogeneity of those preferences. It was captured by a four-class latent class model used to segment a sample of residents of Ljubljana (the capital of Slovenia), who responded to a choice experiment-based poll. The survey focused on the Rožnik urban forest, for which preferences (also willing ness-to-pay) for hypothetical changes in the attributes were assessed. Respondents in class 1 were invariant to changes in the recreation setting. Those in class 2 and 4 stated positive preferences for having more outstanding trees. Class 3 and 4 were in favour of increasing the area of forest openings and enhancing the maintenance of waymarks and information boards. Those in class 4 expressed positive preferences for more walking trails, whereas class 3 valued this negatively. Class membership was affected by respondent age, number of adults in the household, frequency of forest visits, income, and purpose of the visit.
Audit Fee Determinants Of Independent & Subsidiary Unquoted Companies In The Uk—An Exploratory Study

Abstract Research on the determinants of audit fees has been conducted in a number of countries and suggests that auditee size, auditee complexity and auditor identity are important determinants of the level of the external audit fee. This paper extends earlier research in this area and has four main objectives: first, to test whether earlier findings on audit fees can be generalized to the unquoted sector; second, to test for evidence of audit fee discounting for subsidiaries; third, to present further evidence of differential audit fee pricing by different classes of auditor; and, finally, to test for regional variations in the pricing of audits. The key empirical results suggest that; first, in common with the findings of earlier studies on quoted companies, the most significant factors affecting the audit fees of unquoted companies are auditee size and complexity; second, there is no strong evidence of audit fee discounting for subsidiaries; third that Big-8 auditors were charging an audit premium for independent companies but not for subsidiaries; and finally that there were some regional differences in audit fees.
Explaining the Utilization of Relative Performance Evaluation in Local Government: A Multi-Theoretical Study Using Data from Sweden

One of the more lasting imprints that New Public Management (NPM) has made in the public sector is an increase in the popularity of performance measurement. In Sweden, performance measurement has gained popularity in the public sector, not least at the local government level with the use of relative performance evaluation (RPE). Because utilization of RPE is a decentralized and optional mode of governance, a somewhat heterogeneous practice has evolved. The aim of this paper is to examine the causes of this differentiated practice. We jointly examine economic, political and institutional/cultural explanations in order to account for the utilization of RPE. The empirical material consists of archival data and a questionnaire sent to all Swedish municipalities in late 2005. We show that RPE adoption and use partly has different antecedents and that the institutional/cultural perspective appears to have greater explanatory power than economic and political, not least as a consequence of the potential to explain decoupling and the importance of change facilitating capabilities. The investigation contributes specifically to the literature on the utilization of RPE in local governments and more generally to the literature on why and to what extent management accounting practices are utilized.
Relative Price Variability and Inflation: A Disaggregated Analysis

Relative price variability has been studied at the cross-sectional (intermarket) level. This paper addresses the equally important phenomenon of intramarket variability: the dispersion of commodity price movements around the industry average. Using quarterly price data for eighty disaggregated commodity groups in the United Kingdom from 1974 to 1984, the paper investigates the determinants of intramarket price variability and replicates some previous cross-sectional tests for the United Kingdom. Intramarket price variability is found to be positively related to inflation. Intramarket variability is found to be positively related to the average (market) rate of price change. Copyright 1987 by University of Chicago Press.
Levels of strategy and performance in UK small retail businesses

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the way in which small retailer performance is influenced by strategy at different levels. It also aims to propose that business level strategy is more important to success than functional level strategy in small retail firms, as this is what enables them to distinguish their business from competitors and effectively set about competing in their markets.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from a mail survey of 305 independent retailers in the UK. Multivariate statistical methods were used to develop appropriate variables and explore the relationships between level of strategy and performance.Findings – The results indicate that business level strategy variables have a significant influence on performance whereas functional levels do not when their combined effects are analysed using hierarchical regression modelling.Research limitations/implications – The caveats normally associated with survey methods apply, as do those related to the use of cross‐se.
The 1995 Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey

In 1989/90 the Commonwealth Department of Industrial Relations conducted the Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey (AWIRS) arguably the first ever workplace— based -survey of industrial relations structures, processes and outcomes to be undertaken in this country that could claim to be representative of Australian industry. As indicated by Crockett and Dawkins (1994) in their review of that survey, the intention was to repeat it in 1995. Data from the 1995 AWIRS (or AWIRS95) are now available.
Accounting Losses and Earnings Conservatism: Evidence from Australian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

We provide evidence on three important aspects of Australian financial reporting; namely, the characteristics of losses, the extent to which Australian firms' earnings are conditionally conservative (i.e. bad news is reflected in earnings more quickly than good news) and the extent to which losses reflect incrementally greater conditional conservatism. We find evidence that loss incidence in Australia is frequent, with around 40 per cent of the sample firm-years from 1993 to 2003 being losses. Losses are also surprisingly persistent, and the probability of loss reversal declines monotonically as the history of losses extends. Although conditional conservatism is also shown to be a pervasive aspect of Australian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, we demonstrate that it is more evident among loss observations. This result is robust across different methods of capturing conditional conservatism, and supports the conclusion that the relatively high frequency of losses is, at least in part, a reflection of conservative reporting.
MR Assessment of Acute Pathologic Process after Myocardial Infarction in a Permanent Ligation Mouse Model: Role of Magnetic Nanoparticle-Contrasted MRI

We evaluated the relationship between myocardial infarct size and inflammatory response using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) mouse model. Myocardial infarction (MI) was induced in 14 mice by permanent ligation of the left anterior descending artery. Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), manganese-enhanced MRI (MEMRI), and magnetofluorescent nanoparticle MRI (MNP-MRI) were performed 1, 2, and 3 days after MI, respectively. The size of the enhanced lesion was quantitatively determined using Otsu's thresholding method in area-based and sector-based approaches and was compared statistically. Linear correlation between the enhanced lesion sizes was evaluated by Pearson's correlation coefficients. Differences were compared using Bland-Altman analysis. The size of the inflammatory area determined by MNP-MRI (57.1 ± 10.1%) was significantly larger than that of the infarct area measured by LGE (40.8 ± 11.7%, P < 0.0001) and MEMRI (44.1 ± 14.9%, P < 0.0001). There were significant correlations between the sizes of the infarct and inflammatory lesions (MNP-MRI versus LGE: r = 0.3418, P = 0.0099; MNP-MRI versus MEMRI: r = 0.4764, P = 0.0002). MNP-MRI provides information about inflammatory responses in a mouse model of AMI. Thus, MNP-MRI associated with LGE and MEMRI may play an important role in monitoring the disease progression in MI.
Worker Representation in a Multiform System: A Framework for Evaluation

The system of worker representation in many countries today is comprised of multiple institutions: trade unions, statutory works councils, employer-sponsored participation and civil society organizations that speak on behalf of particular groups in the workforce or on particular issues. The purpose of this article is to propose an evaluation framework that can be applied to all of the institutions of representation within this multiform system. Application of the framework, using secondary evidence from the United Kingdom, suggests that trade unions are the most effective institution of worker representation but that they can operate successfully in conjunction with other forms. A multiform system of worker representation can advance the interests of people at work, provided a revitalized trade union movement lies at its heart.
The Intifada and the 1936-39 Uprising: A Comparison

Which of the two uprisings1 is described below? Over the last several years, Palestinians have been engaged in civil disobedience and political violence in various parts of the Holy Land. It began spontaneously, when unorganized Palestinian youths, frustrated at the ongoing political stalemate and ever-expanding Jewish presence, rose up against the occupying administration. As a general strike unfolded, local and national committees were formed in the areas of the largest Palestinian concentrations. Soon, the traditional national leadership-a loose umbrella organization under a charismatic leader who, while opposed by many Palestinians and demonized by Zionists, had come to symbolize Palestinian resistance through a combination of armed struggle and politics-sought to reassert its authority and take control of events. After the uprising began, nationalist leaders were deported from Palestine by the occupying authorities. The revolt was also beset by a certain amount of intra-Arab strife, with strident Palestinian nationalists using various forms of intimidation-including death threats and assassinationsagainst Palestinians accused of collaboration with the Zionists. And despite the persistence of the unrest, many Palestinians continued to earn
Earnings Management Following Chief Executive Officer Changes: The Effect of Contemporaneous Chairperson and Chief Financial Officer Appointments

Using a sample of listed Australian firms from 1999 to 2007, we examine the relationship between discretionary accruals and concurrent senior management appointments. Employing panel data regression models and focusing on a measure of discretionary accruals that excludes the effect of transparent write-downs such as restructuring charges, we find that chief executive officer (CEO) appointments, as a general phenomenon, are not significantly associated with opaque earnings management in the year of appointment or the following year. However, we find that CEO changes accompanied by a concurrent change in board chairperson are associated with significant income-decreasing earnings management in the year of appointment. We detect no significant relationship between contemporaneous CEO and chief financial officer changes and discretionary accruals. We find no evidence of earnings management in the first compete financial period following CEO appointment, regardless of whether or not concurrent Chair or chief financial officer appointments occurred.
Dividend Is Relevant: A Restatement

Dividend is relevant: A restatement or dividend does not lead to increase in stock price, needs to be tested against the backdrop of controversies of Millet-Modigliani (M-M) thesis, other contributors and local contributions from Nigeria using First Bank of Nigeria Plc (Nigeria�s major Bank) figures in a regression. The major finding is that dividend given alone cannot increase the stock price. The major recommendation is that dividend, priceearnings ratio, retained earnings, return on capital employed and autonomous part assumed to be government, external, internal, and economic environment, should be coordinated through policy instruments for corporate governance for dividend to have relevance.
What Can Changes in Structural Factors Tell Us About Unemployment in Europe?

This paper examines the impact of temporal variation in labour market institutions and other structural factors on unemployment in Europe. A system comprising a labour demand and a wage equation is estimated on pooled time-series data for the six largest EU countries for the 1980s and 1990s. The results suggest that changes in regional mismatch, trade union density and the ratio between consumer and producer prices are positively associated with structural unemployment. This result is robust to a wide variety of different specifications. No consistent role is found for other institutional factors (such as social security benefits, employment security and minimum wage).
Adolescents and MP3 Players: Too Many Risks, Too Few Precautions

OBJECTIVE. The goal was to assess risky and protective listening behaviors of adolescent users of MP3 players and the association of these behaviors with demographic characteristics and frequency of use. METHODS. In 2007, 1687 adolescents (12–19 years of age) in 68 classes in 15 Dutch secondary schools were invited to complete questionnaires about their music-listening behaviors. RESULTS. Ninety percent of participants reported listening to music through earphones on MP3 players; 32.8% were frequent users, 48.0% used high volume settings, and only 6.8% always or nearly always used a noise-limiter. Frequent users were >4 times more likely to listen to high-volume music than were infrequent users, and adolescents in practical prevocational schools were more than twice as likely to listen to high-volume music as were those attending preuniversity education. CONCLUSIONS. When using MP3 players, adolescents are very likely to engage in risky listening behaviors and are unlikely to seek protection. Frequent MP3 player use is an indicator of other risky listening behaviors, such as listening at high volumes and failing to use noise-limiters.
Entrepreneurship and entrepreneur: A review of literature concepts

The field of entrepreneurship is still a relative one that is less explored, and many opinions in regard to defining the concepts of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs remain the same. A trial was made by this paper to explore the diversity of concepts identified in specialty literature, and this was approached in their historical evolution. Entrepreneurship entails forming a new organization or restructuring an organization which has already been in existence. It is often a complicated enterprise, so, consequently, numerous enterprises find loads of difficulties in survival. This is an entirely different field involving unique personality traits on the part of the entrepreneur, such as good communication skills, patience, foresightedness, and many more traits, which heads his personality to a brighter side. We believe in opportunities for advancing understanding on the historical role of culture and values on entrepreneurial behavior, using more careful methodologies than in the past, and seeking to specify more exactly how important culture is relative to other variables. There still are major opportunities to complement research on the role of institutions in economic growth by exploring the precise relationship between institutions and entrepreneurs. Finally, conclusions are drawn and some future research directions outlined. Key words: Entrepreneurship, economy, management.
A new model of Asian regionalism: does the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation have more potential than ASEAN?

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an established player in Southeast Asia, while the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an emergent force in Central Asia. This article comparatively assesses ASEAN and SCO to investigate the nature of each organization's model of cooperation and their utility in the contemporary political landscape in Asia. It argues that SCO differs from ASEAN on a few significant points: its composition and level of institutionalization. At the same time, both organizations have similar agendas and models of cooperation, emphasizing a common spirit, flexibility and a focus on regime security. The paper concludes that ASEAN's model of cooperation continues to be relevant to the contemporary Asian landscape, and its brand of loosely codified, informal and norm driven multilateralism continues to be durable and robust.
Implementation without Coordination: The Impact of EU Conditionality on Ukraine under the European Neighbourhood Policy

Abstract The article examines the impact of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) on domestic change in Ukraine during the period 2005–2007. Due to the interplay of external and domestic factors, no political leadership on European matters emerged in Ukraine under the ENP. The implementation of the Action Plan (AP)—the key instrument of the policy—has been left to the discretion of middle-level state officials, resulting in selective empowerment of sections of the state apparatus. However, without strong political engagement or an effective coordinating mechanism, this delivered slow, uneven and localised results. Nevertheless, despite the limited impact of the ENP, it is through the AP that the European Union has for the very first time started to affect domestic developments in Ukraine.
Review of programs to counter narratives of violent extremism

This report examines attempts to challenge extremist and violent extremist messages, whether directly or indirectly, through a range of online and offline means. Executive summmary It is now recognised that violent extremists have made effective use of the Internet and social media to advance their aims, whether through engagement, propaganda, radicalisation or recruitment. While the quality of their output varies, a growing proportion is professional, well produced, contains compelling messages and is delivered by charismatic individuals. In short, it appeals to the new YouTube generation, which expects high-end products that are well-timed and effective. These extremist groups and networks are also transitioning from their own standalone websites and forums towards social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to take their messages to a much wider audience. Governments are interested in understanding what can be done to counter this content, both illegal and legal, which can incite or glamorise the use of violence. Much of the emphasis to date has been placed on restrictive measures, such as takedowns and filtering. While it is important for governments to enforce the law – and be seen to be doing so – there are severe limitations on the effectiveness of this response, given the speed with which new data is uploaded and the limited capacity of law enforcement agencies. More recently, there has been growing interest in alternative approaches to the problem. One such potential solution is provided by ‘counternarratives’; attempts to challenge extremist and violent extremist messages, whether directly or indirectly, through a range of online and offline means. Counter-narrative has become a catch-all term for a wide range of activities with different aims and tactics, everything from public diplomacy and strategic communications by government, to targeted campaigns to discredit the ideologies and actions of violent extremists. In order to make sense of the complex range of actions and initiatives described as ‘counter-narratives’, the report sets out a ‘counter-messaging spectrum’, which is comprised of three main types of activities: government strategic communications, alternative narratives and counter-narratives. The countermessaging spectrum is summarised in the table overleaf. This report was commissioned by Public Safety Canada. It aims to review the state of knowledge about efforts to counter narratives of violent extremism and make recommendations for governments, such as the Canadian government, to guide their emerging work in this sensitive area of policy. It is important to stress that counternarrative work as an area of public policy is in its infancy. While community and civil society groups have been conducting this work for many years, governments are new to the issue and the private sector is feeling its way with extreme caution. This means that there are only a small number of case studies to draw upon. For this reason, as well as the limited scope of the project, the recommendations for government are tentative.
Effects of unilateral labyrinthectomy on GAD, GAT1 and GABA receptor gene expression in the rat vestibular nucleus

To elucidate the role of the GABAergic neuronal system in the recovery from peripheral vestibular damage (unilateral labyrinthectomy), we used a real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction method to investigate the mRNA expression of GAD65, GAD67, the GABAA receptor &agr;1 subunit, the GABAB R1 subunit, and the GABA transporter GAT1, in the vestibular nucleus complex of the rat 6 and 50 h following the lesion GAD65 and GAD67 gene expression were also measured in the flocculus. The GABAA &agr;1 subunit mRNA was up-regulated in the ipsilateral vestibular nucleus 6 h post-lesion but decreased in expression thereafter. GAD65 mRNA was up-regulated in the vestibular nuclei bilaterally 50 h after the lesion. In the flocculus, GAD65 mRNA expression was bilaterally up-regulated 50 h post-operatively. GAT1 mRNA expression was initially up-regulated in the ipsilateral vestibular nucleus and then underwent a bilateral increase 50 h post-operatively. These results demonstrate that following unilateral labyrinthectomy, major changes in the expression of GAD, GAT and GABA receptor subunit genes occur in the vestibular nucleus, which are likely to affect the process of behavioural recovery.