Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Struggles for systems that nourish: southern Africa civil society contributions and challenges to the creation of flourishing societies

This paper discusses the concept, contexts, evolution, contributions, and challenges of civil society in the southern Africa based on three case studies of Malawi, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. It concludes by identifying common patterns and their implications for civil society and civil society organisations in southern Africa. Luttes pour des systèmes qui nourrissent : contributions de la société civile en Afrique australe et défis pour la création de sociétés prospères Ce document traite du concept, des contextes, de l’évolution, des contributions et des défis de la société civile en Afrique australe sur la base de trois études de cas menées au Malawi, en Afrique du Sud et au Zimbabwe. Il se conclut en identifiant des schémas communs et leurs implications pour la société civile et les organisations de la société civile en Afrique australe. Luchas a favor de sistemas de fomento: contribuciones y desafíos enfrentados por la sociedad civil de África del Sur para crear sociedades prósperas Centrándose en tres estudios de caso realizados en Malawi, Sudáfrica y Zimbabue, el presente artículo examina el concepto, los contextos, la evolución, las contribuciones y los retos que enfrenta la sociedad civil en el sur de África. Finaliza identificando los patrones en común y las implicaciones que éstos tienen tanto para la sociedad civil como para sus organizaciones en el sur de África. Lutas por sistemas que alimentam: contribuições da sociedade civil do sul da África e desafios para a criação de sociedades prósperas Este artigo discute o conceito, contextos, evolução, contribuições e desafios da sociedade civil no sul da África baseado em três estudos de caso de Malauí, África do Sul e Zimbábue. Ele conclui identificando modelos comuns e suas implicações para a sociedade civil e organizações da sociedade civil no sul da África.
Are Economic Time Series Asymmetric over the Business Cycle?

It has long been argued that major cyclical variables such as the unemployment rate display an asymmetric behavior over various phases of the business cycle. The paper provides a statistical test for this hypothesis. Using the framework of finite state Markov processes I implement a test to see if the behavior of the unemployment rate is characterized by sudden jumps and slower drops. It is argued that the framework provided in the paper can also be used to test other sample path properties of economic time series.
An assessment of the technology innovation initiatives in the Indian small-scale manufacturing industry

The fierce competition arising out of globalisation and liberalisation is forcing organisations across the world to realise that their survival is not feasible in the absence of Research and Development (R&D) and innovation practices. It is high time that manufacturing organisations wake up and gear up for R&D initiatives to develop cutting-edge technologies for sustained competitive advantage. Technology Development (TD) initiatives have become mandatory for the industrial growth, strategic self-reliance and sustained competitiveness of an enterprise and must be placed within the context of market opportunities, customer needs and strategic direction, thereby leading to improving the product and technology portfolio. The literature highlights that there are five key components to appraise the technology innovation initiatives in the manufacturing sector. The present research is aimed at developing an insight into the prevalent TD practices adopted in the contemporary Indian manufacturing industry for realising the sustainable growth and development of the industrial sector. The study highlights the performance of Indian manufacturing organisations in different components of Technology Development Implementation Programmes (TD Programmes) to make a significant organisational transformation from a technology-dependent regime to the proactive adaptation of technology innovation initiatives for affecting organisational performance improvements.
Hiring for the organization, not the job

Executive Overview This article examines a new approach to selection in which employees are hired to fit the characteristics of an organization, not just the requirements of a particular job. Diverse firms—high and low-tech, U.S. and Japanese-owned—are using the approach to build cultures that rely heavily on self-motivated, committed people for corporate success. New, often expensive, hiring practices are changing the traditional selection model. An organizational analysis supplements a job analysis, and personality attributes are screened in addition to skills, knowledge, and abilities. We outline the basic steps of the new selection model and present a case description of a manufacturing company that used the model in hiring employees to work in its high-involvement organization. The new model works to its fullest advantage in organizations that allow employees enough freedom to use their unique attributes to influence job performance.
Variations in the clinical practice of physicians managing Takayasu arteritis: a nationwide survey

Objective Takayasu arteritis (TAK) is a large vessel vasculitis that predominately affects young women and can cause severe ischemic complications. Given the rarity of TAK, the management of this condition is challenging. We aim to describe current rheumatologist practices for the management of TAK and identify discrepancies and gaps in knowledge. Methods An online survey (developed by the Canadian Vasculitis Network and approved by the Canadian Rheumatology Association) containing 48 questions with regard to the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of TAK was distributed to 495 Canadian adult and pediatric rheu-matologists by email. Results Sixty-six rheumatologists completed the survey (13% response rate): the majority (73%) were from academic centers and ≤25% reported managing more than ten patients in their career. For establishing the diagnosis of TAK, they relied on a combination of signs and symptoms of ischemia, elevations of inflammatory markers and vascular imaging (typically computed tomography and magnetic resonance angiography). The frequency of monitoring for disease activity and the methods employed (clinical, laboratory or imaging) were variable. All physicians used corticosteroids for the treatment of TAK, but 42% would treat for at least 6–12 months, 26% for 12–24 months and 23% would never stop corticosteroids. Fifty-three percent would always use an immunosuppressant (most commonly methotrexate or azathioprine) in addition to corticosteroids and the remainder would only start an immunosuppressant in patients with refractory or relapsing disease. Conclusion Physician practices for the management of TAK are variable, suggesting that there are knowledge gaps, which may impact outcomes in patients with TAK.
THE ROLE OF CONDITIONING INFORMATION IN DEDUCING TESTABLE RESTRICTIONS IMPLIED BY DYNAMIC ASSET PRICING MODELS1

The purpose of this paper is to investigate testable implications of equilibrium asset pricing models. The authors derive a general representation for asset prices that displays the role of conditioning information. This representation is then used to examine restrictions implied by asset pricing models on the unconditional moments of asset payoffs and prices. In particular, they analyze the effect of information omission on the mean-variance frontier of one- period returns on portfolios of securities. Also, the authors deduce an information extension of equilibrium pricing functions that is useful in deriving restrictions on the unconditional moments of payoffs and prices. Copyright 1987 by The Econometric Society.
Strongly Positive Tissue Transglutaminase Antibodies are Associated With Marsh 3 Histopathology in Adult and Pediatric Celiac Disease

Goals Our objective was to determine whether high serologic IgA tissue transglutaminase antibodies (TTGA) are exclusively associated with celiac disease (CD). Background IgA TTGA are found in the serum of most individuals with CD. This serologic marker is used to screen individuals with suspected CD for duodenal biopsy, the gold standard of CD diagnosis. Data suggest strongly positive IgA TTGA ≥100 units are highly specific for CD histopathology in pediatric patients and may be sufficient for diagnosis. Study Records of adult and pediatric subjects in the celiac study at the University of Utah and University of California Irvine were reviewed for strongly positive TTGA. Pathology reports from duodenal biopsies of subjects with IgA TTGA ≥100 units were graded as 0 to 3 by modified Marsh criteria. Results From a pool of 1882 subjects with IgA TTGA assayed, 208 had IgA TTGA ≥100 units. Seventy-six of these, including 28 children and 48 adults, also had duodenal biopsies. Villous atrophy (Marsh 3 histopathology) was found on biopsy in 73 (96%) of these subjects. The remaining 3 subjects had intermediate Marsh histology. One (Marsh 1) had a complete serologic response to a gluten-free diet and 2 had Marsh 2 lesions and positive endomysium, making early CD most likely. Conclusions IgA TTGA ≥100 units occur almost exclusively in the setting of Marsh 3 duodenal histopathology in adults and children. Rare cases without villous atrophy were marked by intermediate Marsh changes suggestive of early CD. IgA TTGA ≥100 arbitrary units indicate duodenal changes consistent with CD.
Global Unconditional Convergence among Larger Economies after 1998

We find rather strong evidence for the unconditional convergence among all the larger countries comprising the overwhelming majority of the world population and producing the overwhelming part of the world GDP after 1998. These findings are shown to be not as incongruent with the results of the previous convergence research as one may think – the previous research did not deny the convergence phenomenon per se, but rather insisted on its conditionality, whereas we suggest that the world-wide switch from the conditional to unconditional convergence pattern that we recently observe is accounted for by the point that by the late 1990s all the major developing countries and economies of the world began to satisfy (more or less) the major conditions of the conditional convergence.
Decomposition of Variables and Correlated Measurement Errors

This paper examines the bias in the OLS estimators when the regressors have measurement errors correlated in a particular manner. When a variable is decomposed into two components but only one of them is observed with error, the induced measurement error in the other component is identical but has the opposite sign. This specific correlation pattern enables us to assess the direction of the bias in the OLS estimators from observed data. In the standard EIV case this would require knowledge of the relative variances of the measurement errors. Examples of this type of decomposition in applied work are presented. Copyright 1993 by Economics Department of the University of Pennsylvania and the Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association.
CREB mediates ERK-induced survival of mouse renal tubular cells after oxidant stress.

BACKGROUND We showed that extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) is prosurvival during oxidant stress both in the kidney and in cultured mouse proximal tubule (TKPTS) cells and demonstrated concomitant activation of ERK as well as the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-responsive element binding protein (CREB), during survival in vitro. We now show that CREB is a necessary prosurvival target of ERK. METHODS Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury was induced in 129Sv mice. Oxidant stress was induced by hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) in TKPTS cells. Activation of CREB was determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. Inhibition and activation of CREB was achieved by mutant or activated CREB-containing adenoviruses in vitro. The effects of oxidant stress on cell survival, CREB binding, and CREB-mediated transcription was determined by cell counting, gelshift analysis, and luciferase assay, respectively. RESULTS I/R activates CREB in the surviving distal nephron segments of the kidney. Inhibition of ERK and CREB abrogates survival after 0.5 mmol/L H(2)O(2) treatment, while overexpression of CREB ameliorates necrotic death caused by 1 mmol/L H(2)O(2). Inhibition of ERK also inhibited CREB activation. Binding of phosphorylated CREB to a CREB oligonucleotide was significantly increased after 0.5 mmol/L H(2)O(2) but decreased after 1 mmol/L H(2)O(2). Similarly, CREB-mediated transcription was significantly increased after 0.5 mmol/L H(2)O(2) treatment, while 1 mmol/L H(2)O(2) inhibited it. Interestingly, transcription from the CREB-driven bcl-2 promoter was unchanged after 0.5 mmol/L but decreased after 1 mmol/L H(2)O(2) treatment in agreement with Western blot studies. CONCLUSION We show that survival during oxidant stress is mediated through CREB and identification of its downstream targets will reveal important survival pathways.
Accuracy of diagnosis in patients with presumed Parkinson's disease.

OBJECTIVES to study the diagnostic accuracy for parkinsonism and Parkinson's disease in a community-based sample of subjects on anti-parkinsonian medication. METHODS computerized prescribing records in general practice were used to create a community-based disease register for Parkinson's disease. Subjects were examined to establish the likely diagnosis using recommended clinical diagnostic criteria. RESULTS of 402 cases, parkinsonism was confirmed in 74% and clinically probable Parkinson's disease in 53%. The commonest causes of misdiagnosis were essential tremor, Alzheimer's disease and vascular pseudo-parkinsonism. Over one-quarter of subjects did not benefit from anti-parkinsonian medication. CONCLUSIONS there is difficulty in diagnosing parkinsonism and Parkinson's disease in elderly subjects and we suggest early referral of those suspected of having parkinsonism for specialist assessment.
Aid and the Dutch Disease in Low-Income Countries: Informed Diagnoses for Prudent Prognoses

This paper demonstrates that the Dutch disease need not materialize in low-income countries that can draw on their idle productive capacity to satisfy the aid-induced increased demand. Diagnoses on, and prognoses for, the Dutch disease should take into account country-specific circumstances to avoid ill-advised policies. The paper emphasizes that using public resources inefficiently can be more painful than real exchange rate appreciations, which may not necessarily embody the Dutch disease.
Conformation of the TAR RNA-arginine complex by NMR spectroscopy.

The messenger RNAs of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) have an RNA hairpin structure, TAR, at their 5' ends that contains a six-nucleotide loop and a three-nucleotide bulge. The conformations of TAR RNA and of TAR with an arginine analog specifically bound at the binding site for the viral protein, Tat, were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Upon arginine binding, the bulge changes conformation, and essential nucleotides for binding, U23 and A27.U38, form a base-triple interaction that stabilizes arginine hydrogen bonding to G26 and phosphates. Specificity in the arginine-TAR interaction appears to be derived largely from the structure of the RNA.
The Long Run Growth and Productivity Performance of the United Kingdom

This paper examines Britain's long run growth and productivity performances since the late nineteenth century, taking an international comparative perspective and disaggregating by sector. Britain was richer than the United States and Germany in 1870 largely because of high levels of labor productivity in services and agriculture rather than in industry, together with a highly favorable structure, particularly a small share of the labor force in agriculture. By 1990, the productivity gap in manufacturing had not grown bigger. Rather, the deterioration in Britain's overall comparative labor productivity position has been concentrated in services and agriculture, together with the effect of structural change, particularly the later shift of labor out of agriculture in the United States and Germany. Copyright 1997 by Scottish Economic Society.
Does Philosophy for Children Belong in School at All

Introduction: I want to talk about the relationship between philosophy for children and school. By school I am referring to kindergarten through high school, and I am thinking especially of public school in the United States (although what I have to say here will apply in other contexts as well). In particular, I am interested in the contrasts between the principles underlying philosophy for children and the predominant features of schooling.
Profiling the street-level drug trafficker on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside

The primary objective of this thesis is to conduct exploratory research to examine the possible variables that lead to the perpetuation of the drug problem, in the hope that such findings may suggest more effective approaches to solving the drug problem. The literature relating to the "war on drugs" is examined, and the data relating to 600 streetlevel drug traffickers arrested in Vancouver, BC between June 2001 and October 2002 are analyzed to form an empirically based profile of the drug trafficker in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Among other things, the findings reveal that a small group of "professional criminals" specialize in the trade of drug trafficking in the Downtown Eastside. The author argues that a greater understanding of the nature and characteristics of the retail drug trafficker and trade is needed for successful future policy on drug regulation and control.
Cross-country comparison of intellectual capital performance of commercial banks in Asian economies

This study explores the intellectual capital performances of commercial banks in eight Asian economies by applying Pulic's value-added intellectual coefficient method (VAIC™). The results show that after controlling for the influence of loan quality (LQ), fund utilisation (FU), and Asian financial crisis, both physical and human capitals (HCs) are the main factors creating value for banks. From 1996 to 2001, banks in Hong Kong on average had the best intellectual capital performance while those in Thailand improved the most. Further analysis shows that the value-creating efficiency of HC is the major driving force of performance.
Computational Analysis of the Menu of Us-Japan Trade Policies

We have used the Michigan Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model of World Production and Trade to calculate the aggregate welfare and sectoral employment effects of the menu of US-Japan trade policies. The menu of policies encompasses the various preferential US and Japan bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs) negotiated and in process, unilateral removal of existing trade barriers and global (multilateral) free trade. The welfare impacts of the FTAs on the United States and Japan are shown to be rather small in absolute and relative terms. The sectoral employment effects are also generally small but vary across the individual sectors depending on the patterns of the bilateral liberalisation. The welfare effects on the FTA partner countries are mostly positive though generally small, but there are some indications of potentially disruptive employment shifts in some partner countries. There are indications of trade diversion and detrimental welfare effects on non-member countries for some of the FTAs analysed. In comparison to the welfare gains from the US and Japan bilateral FTAs, the gains from both unilateral trade liberalisation by the United States, Japan and the FTA partners, and from global (multilateral) free trade are shown to be rather substantial and more uniformly positive for all countries in the global trading system. The US and Japan FTAs are based on ‘hub’ and ‘spoke’ arrangements. We show that the spokes emanate out in different and often overlapping directions, suggesting that the complex of bilateral FTAs may create distortions of the global trading system.
Pornographic Picture Processing Interferes with Working Memory Performance

Some individuals report problems during and after Internet sex engagement, such as missing sleep and forgetting appointments, which are associated with negative life consequences. One mechanism potentially leading to these kinds of problems is that sexual arousal during Internet sex might interfere with working memory (WM) capacity, resulting in a neglect of relevant environmental information and therefore disadvantageous decision making. In this study, 28 healthy individuals performed 4 experimental manipulations of a pictorial 4-back WM task with neutral, negative, positive, or pornographic stimuli. Participants also rated 100 pornographic pictures with respect to sexual arousal and indicated masturbation urges previous to and following pornographic picture presentation. Results revealed worse WM performance in the pornographic picture condition of the 4-back task compared with the three remaining picture conditions. Furthermore, hierarchical regression analysis indicated an explanation of variance of the sensitivity in the pornographic picture condition by the subjective rating of the pornographic pictures as well as by a moderation effect of masturbation urges. Results contribute to the view that indicators of sexual arousal due to pornographic picture processing interfere with WM performance. Findings are discussed with respect to Internet sex addiction because WM interference by addiction-related cues is well known from substance dependencies.
Sudden Stops and Phoenix Miracles in Emerging Markets

A decade has passed since the salvos from Mexico’s Tequila Crisis of 1994–1995 echoed around the financial world. Since then, many more crises have taken place in emerging market economies (EMs). Furthermore, crises have tended to bunch together, bringing to the forefront the systemic nature of these events. True, every new crisis has its own idiosyncratic features, but useful policy lessons must be derived from robust, empirical regularities. This is the research strategy we have pursued in the last few years. We will report on two types of regularities that strike us as highly robust across EM crises: (a) Sudden Stops (of capital inflows) and (b) Phoenix Miracles. A Sudden Stop is a sharp fall in capital inflows relative to their past trajectory. Sudden Stops are not a common feature in developed economies and display a large degree of temporal bunching, suggesting that global capital market turmoil acts as a coordinating factor external to EMs. As shown in Section I, however, balance-sheet effects—namely, the interaction of large changes in the real exchange rate during Sudden Stops and Liability Dollarization (i.e., foreign-exchange-denominated debts)—are key in influencing the likelihood of a Sudden Stop. Thus, even though the initial shock is, in principle, exogenous to the economy, whether or not it materializes into a Sudden Stop depends on domestic financial vulnerabilities. On the other hand, a Phoenix Miracle is defined as a case in which output recovers relatively quickly from a sharp collapse with virtually no recovery in credit or capital inflows, and a very weak recovery in investment— hence the reference to the mythical bird “rising from the ashes. ” The existence of phoenix-like recoveries suggests that financial frictions play a key role in pushing economies to the abyss from which, in some way or another, they can crawl back to safe ground by means less than apparent to the conventional observer looking for standard “fundamentals” and, thus, may appear miraculous. Interestingly, the Great Depression of the 1930s shares some of the key features of Phoenix Miracles in EMs, but shows salient differences as well that suggest nominal labor market rigidities are not crucial in explaining output collapse in EMs. Understanding these regularities could, and we believe does, shed light on policies aimed at preventing crises and attenuating their effects.