Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Outcome‐related Performance Indicators and Organizational Control in the Public Sector1

SUMMARY There is increased interest in the widespread dissemination of outcome performance data to secure enhanced strategic control of public sector organizations. This paper adumbrates the rationale for such schemes, and outlines the potential distortions induced by excessive reliance on outcome-related performance indicators, inferred from experience in the management control and Soviet literature. The paper gives an outline of the performance review process in the United Kingdom National Health Service, and presents the results of a case study of the impact of the publication of outcome performance data in the maternity services. The research detected many of the expected distortions arising from reliance on performance indicator schemes, and concludes that they may have significant dysfunctional consequences. The paper does not however advocate the abandonment of performance audit in the public sector. Instead, it warns that great attention should be given to the managerial incentives implicit in any strategic control scheme, and that the style with which the scheme is applied will have important bearings on its effectiveness.
Auditing the Socio-economic Impacts of a Major Construction Project: The Case of Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station

This paper presents the findings of a post-auditing study which compares the actual and predicted socio-economic impacts (including traffic) of a major power station construction project in the UK. An attempt is made to determine the accuracy of the predictions presented at the public inquiry into the development, drawing on the results of a developer-funded monitoring exercise undertaken for the duration of the eight-year construction programme. The study found that a very high proportion of testable predictions prepared prior to the inquiry could be audited; of these, 60% were either within predicted ranges or accurate to within 20% of predicted values. However, one in seven predictions had errors of more than 50%. The study revealed no consistent bias towards either under- or over-estimation of impacts. The paper explores the reasons for the predictive errors identified in the study; these include a range of project-specific and more generic factors, several of which are likely to be applicable to other large-scale construction projects. The study is particularly useful in the field of EIA because it relates to several weak areas in current practice: the assessment of socio-economic impacts, construction effects, and monitoring and auditing.
The Independent Effects of Savings Accounts in Children's Names on Their Savings Outcomes in Young Adulthood

A question of interest in children's savings research asks whether there are unique effects on children's later savings when savings accounts are opened in their names earlier in life, either independently from and or simultaneously with accounts in which parents save on children's behalf. Using longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, this study created a combined measure of children's (ages 12-19) and parents' savings account ownership to predict savings outcomes in young adulthood (ages 20-25). All possible combinations of children's and parents' account ownership were significantly related to young adults' savings account ownership; however, only children's savings account ownership was significantly related to savings accumulation. Implications for the independent effects of savings accounts in children's names are discussed.
Valuation and Forecasting Roles of Dividends of Indonesian Listed Firms

We study the role of dividends in valuation and in forecasting future earnings in a low‐protection environment with highly concentrated ownership that is expected to yield low earnings quality. Using a sample of 372 distinct Indonesian firms listed on the IDX during the period 1995 to 2012 we show that dividends are reliably positively priced by the capital market, violating thus the dividend displacement theorem. This result persists even after controlling for some typical factors that affect firm value (capital structure, risk) and the effect of factors not separately identified, but priced by the Indonesian capital market (other information). Dividends replace accounting earnings entirely in valuation. Dividends are positively correlated to future earnings over and above current accounting earnings and other accounting and market variables. Both findings show that dividends play a central role on the Indonesian capital market. Finally, we show evidence consistent with the view that earnings management of Indonesian firms after 2002 is contractually efficient rather than opportunistic.
Determinants of capital structure of banks in Ghana: an empirical approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the dynamics involved in the determination of capital structure of banks in Ghana.Design/methodology/approach – The study employs panel regression model in examining the capital structure of banks in Ghana.Findings – The results of this study show that profitability, corporate tax, growth, asset structure and bank size influence banks' financing or capital structure decision. The significant finding of this study is that, more than 87 per cent of the banks' assets are financed by debts and out of this, short‐term debts appear to constitute more than three quarters of the capital of the banks. This highlights the importance of short‐term debts over long‐term debts in Ghanaian banks' financing.Originality/value – The main value of this paper is identification of factors that determine capital structure of banks in Ghana.
Xylan Utilization Regulon in Xanthomonas citri pv. citri Strain 306: Gene Expression and Utilization of Oligoxylosides

ABSTRACT Xanthomonas citri pv. citri strain 306 (Xcc306), a causative agent of citrus canker, produces endoxylanases that catalyze the depolymerization of cell wall-associated xylans. In the sequenced genomes of all plant-pathogenic xanthomonads, genes encoding xylanolytic enzymes are clustered in three adjacent operons. In Xcc306, these consecutive operons contain genes encoding the glycoside hydrolase family 10 (GH10) endoxylanases Xyn10A and Xyn10C, the agu67 gene, encoding a GH67 α-glucuronidase (Agu67), the xyn43E gene, encoding a putative GH43 α-l-arabinofuranosidase, and the xyn43F gene, encoding a putative β-xylosidase. Recombinant Xyn10A and Xyn10C convert polymeric 4-O-methylglucuronoxylan (MeGX n ) to oligoxylosides methylglucuronoxylotriose (MeGX3), xylotriose (X3), and xylobiose (X2). Xcc306 completely utilizes MeGX n predigested with Xyn10A or Xyn10C but shows little utilization of MeGX n . Xcc306 with a deletion in the gene encoding α-glucuronidase (Xcc306 Δagu67) will not utilize MeGX3 for growth, demonstrating the role of Agu67 in the complete utilization of GH10-digested MeGX n . Preferential growth on oligoxylosides compared to growth on polymeric MeGX n indicates that GH10 xylanases, either secreted by Xcc306 in planta or produced by the plant host, generate oligoxylosides that are processed by Xyn10 xylanases and Agu67 residing in the periplasm. Coordinate induction by oligoxylosides of xyn10, agu67, cirA, the tonB receptor, and other genes within these three operons indicates that they constitute a regulon that is responsive to the oligoxylosides generated by the action of Xcc306 GH10 xylanases on MeGX n . The combined expression of genes in this regulon may allow scavenging of oligoxylosides derived from cell wall deconstruction, thereby contributing to the tissue colonization and/or survival of Xcc306 and, ultimately, to plant disease.
THE EFFECT OF PRIMARY EDUCATION ON MAIZE PRODUCTIVITY IN IVORY COAST

This paper investigates whether primary education has any effect on maize production in Ivory Coast. The effect is analyzed by looking at production efficiency among farmers with primary school education benchmarked against farmers without any education. Using a Cobb- Douglas production function and maximum likelihood estimation method, the study shows that primary education has a positive effect on maize productivity.
Policy Measures to Avoid a Currency Crisis

This paper considers a number of policy measures that may be used to preserve a fixed exchange rate. These are analyzed in a model where a switch of exchange-rate regime is triggered by an optimizing policymaker in response to extreme economic conditions. It is shown how a number of policy measures can be used to alter the balance between the costs and benefits of switching between regimes. These policy measures have both a direct effect on the policymaker's choice of regime switching point and an indirect effect through private-sector expectations of a regime switch. Copyright 1995 by Royal Economic Society.
RGB-D Scene Recognition with Object-to-Object Relation

A scene is usually abstract that consists of several less abstract entities such as objects or themes. It is very difficult to reason scenes from visual features due to the semantic gap between the abstract scenes and low-level visual features. Some alternative works recognize scenes with a two-step framework by representing images with intermediate representations of objects or themes. However, the object co-occurrences between scenes may lead to ambiguity for scene recognition. In this paper, we propose a framework to represent images with intermediate (object) representations with spatial layout, i.e., object-to-object relation (OOR) representation. In order to better capture the spatial information, the proposed OOR is adapted to RGB-D data. In the proposed framework, we first apply object detection technique on RGB and depth images separately. Then the detected results of both modalities are combined with a RGB-D proposal fusion process. Based on the detected results, we extract semantic feature OOR and regional convolutional neural network (CNN) features located by bounding boxes. Finally, different features are concatenated to feed to the classifier for scene recognition. The experimental results on SUN RGB-D and NYUD2 datasets illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method.
Enforcement of accounting standards: how effective is the German two-tier system in detecting earnings management?

Abstract Within the European Union, the IAS-Regulation has harmonized applicable accounting standards for consolidated financial statements of capital market oriented companies by requiring IFRS since 2005. Regarding enforcement of financial reporting, the IAS-Regulation offered only small guidance for EU member states which led to the implementation of different enforcement systems. Currently, harmonization efforts are taken, in particular by the European Securities and Markets Authority, to establish a cross-jurisdictional accounting enforcement regime. This paper contributes to the discussion of standardized EU-wide enforcement mechanisms by assessing the effectiveness of the current German two-tier enforcement system in detecting earnings management. Using a unique data set provided by the German capital market authority, we find that the German enforcement system is effective in detecting earnings management, but shows weak ability in constraining earnings management in years following error releases.
Financing Constraints, Ownership Control, and Cross-Border M&As: Evidence from Nine East Asian Economies

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: This study distinguishes between the effects of financial constraint determinants on cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and domestic M&As for all takeover bids announced in nine East Asian economies from 1998 to 2005. Research Findings/Insights: The results of logistic regressions verify that the extent of stock market and governance developments improves corporate financing conditions and subsequently encourages cross-border M&As in East Asia. The results also indicate that, except for ownership control variables, the firm-specific factors of financing constraints reduce the occurrence of cross-border M&As relative to domestic M&As. Although family- and state-controlled firms have better access to external financing, they are reluctant to risk diluting their management control and thus prefer domestic M&As to cross-border deals. Theoretical/Academic Implications: This study enhances the empirical studies of the relation between financing constraints and corporate investments based on the market imperfection hypothesis of corporate finance theories. In addition, this study also addresses the interaction between the market imperfection hypothesis and agency theory in explaining the effects of special ownership control on cross-border M&As relative to domestic deals. Furthermore, by examining the research questions across nine East Asian economies, this study provides an understanding of how such a relation applies to firms in countries where information asymmetry is high. Practitioner/Policy Implications: The findings indicate the importance of corporate governance and verify the effects of unique organizational structures on major corporate decisions. Specifically, family-controlled firms are often free of the financing constraints inherent in investment decisions. Thus, it is necessary to consider such organizational uniqueness when explaining the financing behavior of cross-border M&As conducted by Asian firms.
Effect of diet‐induced weight loss on muscle strength in adults with overweight or obesity – a systematic review and meta‐analysis of clinical trials

We conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis to identify how diet‐induced weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity impacts on muscle strength. Twenty‐seven publications, including 33 interventions, most of which were 8–24 weeks in duration, were included. Meta‐analysis of seven interventions measuring knee extensor strength by isokinetic dynamometry in 108 participants found a significant decrease following diet‐induced weight loss (−9.0 [95% confidence interval: −13.8, −4.1] N/m, P < 0.001), representing a 7.5% decrease from baseline values. Meta‐analysis of handgrip strength from 10 interventions in 231 participants showed a non‐significant decrease (−1.7 [−3.6, 0.1] kg, P = 0.070), with significant heterogeneity (I2 = 83.9%, P < 0.001). This heterogeneity may have been due to diet type, because there was a significant decrease in handgrip strength in seven interventions in 169 participants involving moderate energy restriction (−2.4 [−4.8, −0.0] kg, P = 0.046), representing a 4.6% decrease from baseline values, but not in three interventions in 62 participants involving very‐low‐energy diet (−0.4 [−2.0, 1.2] kg, P = 0.610). Because of variability in methodology and muscles tested, no other data could be meta‐analyzed, and qualitative assessment of the remaining interventions revealed mixed results. Despite varying methodologies, diets and small sample sizes, these findings suggest a potential adverse effect of diet‐induced weight loss on muscle strength. While these findings should not act as a deterrent against weight loss, due to the known health benefits of losing excess weight, they call for strategies to combat strength loss – such as weight training and other exercises – during diet‐induced weight loss. © 2016 World Obesity
Growth Slowdown Under Central Planning: A Model of Poor Incentives

Centrally planned economies tend to be less efficient than economies in which agents are free to choose their output targets, as well as the means to meet them. This paper presents a simple model of planner-manager interactions and shows how planned economies can end up in a low-effort, low-output equilibrium even though they may have started in a high-effort, high-output equilibrium.
Protein Synthesis and Immunoreactivities of Contraction-Related Proteins in Smooth Muscle Cells of Canine Basilar Artery after Experimental Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

We examined time-dependent changes in protein synthesis and in the immunoreactivities of representative contraction-related structural proteins in smooth muscle cells of canine basilar arteries after experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Protein synthesis was assessed by the percentage of polyribosome-forming ribosomes to total ribosomes (aggregation rate), a morphological index of the activity of protein synthesis. The aggregation rates in prostaglandin F2α- (PGF2α) and 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced contracted basilar arteries were 70.0 ± 7.0% and 71.4 ± 8.7%, respectively, quite similar to the value in normal basilar artery (73.0 ± 8.0%). In the single-SAH group with little delayed histological changes in the basilar arteries, the aggregation rate was significantly decreased to 30.5 ± 6.4% by 24 h after the SAH, and recovered to 52.3 ± 9.0% and 70.2 ± 7.6% at 7 and 14 days postSAH, respectively, when the vasospasm was moderately and completely ameliorated. In contrast, in the double-SAH group in which the basilar arteries developed delayed smooth muscle cell death and long-lasting arterial contraction, a significant decrease in the aggregation rate (25.0 ± 5.0% on day 4) persisted for 14 days. The in vitro incorporation of [3H]-leucine in the basilar arterial cells was also significantly suppressed 4 and 7 days after the initial SAH (1.2 ± 0.4 and 1.4 ± 0.3 × 103 dpm/mg protein) in the double-SAH group, as opposed to no significant decrease in the basilar artery at 7 days postSAH in the single-SAH group (1.9 ± 0.6 × 103 dpm/mg protein). The immunoreactivity of α-smooth muscle actin, a contractile protein, demonstrated by immunohistochemistry and immunoblots, was not altered for up to 14 days even in the double-SAH group, but that of calponin and of h-caldesmon, contraction-inhibiting proteins, was markedly reduced 4–14 days after the initial SAH. Persistent impairment of protein synthesis and relative reduction of immunoreactivities of the contraction-inhibiting proteins were observed in arteries with severe vasospasm and loss of smooth muscle cells, as noted in the double-SAH subjects. These abnormalities may cooperate to cause cerebral arterial narrowing accompanied by degeneration of smooth muscle cells after SAH.
Information systems planning: a model and empirical tests

Empirical studies of information systems planning practices in organizations indicate that wide variations exist. We propose and test a model based on agency theory and transaction-costs economics to account for these variations. As senior management's uncertainty with respect to the information systems function increases, we argue they will delegate more decision rights to the information systems manager. As a result of increased agency costs, senior management will demand more information systems planning to provide the basis for monitoring and bonding of the manager. In addition, because information systems plans may be used to resolve the distribution of gains and losses between senior management and the information systems manager in the event of unforeseen circumstances, both senior management and the information systems manager will seek to exercise control over the planning process and the form of the final plan. We argue that the relative specialization of human capital of senior management versus the information systems manager will dictate whose views dominate in the preparation of and form of the information systems plan. Our empirical results show moderate support for our model.
Employment Growth of Small High-technology Firms and the Role of Horizontal Clustering: Evidence from Computing Services and R&D in Great Britain, 1991-2000

This paper provides new evidence that, controlling for other effects, the growth of employment in high-technology SMEs depends on the initial horizontal clustering. The paper focuses on employment change over the period 1991-2000 in computing services and research and development (R&D) industries analysed at the local and county level within Great Britain. A new measure is proposed to map clustering in each sector. In the main section of the paper, spatial econometric models are estimated controlling for supply- and demand-side conditions, human capital, the local economic environment and spatial externalities in order to isolate the effect of initial clustering level. The estimates support the hypothesis that clustering is a cause of employment growth, although there are important differences of geographical scale at which this effect operates for the two sectors considered. The paper raises some important issues regarding the implied dynamics associated with the evolution of clustering.
Patient-specific arterial system flow oscillation.

BACKGROUND Atherosclerosis formation depends on the biomechanical blood flow properties. The temporal variation during the cardiac cycle has been proposed as a decisive atherogenic factor. Patient-specific (complex configuration) of the vessel promotes flow disturbances. The present study analyses the factors simulating pulsatile blood flow in the human arterial system using patient-specific geometry. METHODS With the aid of numerical techniques, we examine the relation between time-Averaged Wall Shear Stress (AWSS), time-Averaged Wall Shear Stress Vector (AWSSV), Oscillatory Shear Index (OSI) and Relative Residence Time (RRT). RESULTS The velocity vector oscillates and at the same time alters its direction in places with low AWSS values. Low AWSS and high OSI values do not always collocate. AWSSV tends to alter its values, compared to AWSS, in regions where AWSS is low. RRT present high values in areas with low AWSS. The inverse proportionality relation between RRT and AWSSV is established. CONCLUSIONS Regional differences between AWSS magnitude, OSI and RRT, may answer the question as to where atherosclerotic lesions predominately develop and progress at specific aortic regions. This analysis gives information for deeper understanding of the atherosclerosis mechanisms.
A modified EBMT risk score predicts the outcome of patients with acute myeloid leukemia receiving allogeneic stem cell transplants

The systematic and standardized pretransplant risk assessment represents an important tool to predict the outcome of patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT). To investigate the capacity of a modified European group for blood and marrow transplantation (mEBMT) risk score to predict the outcome of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) receiving allogeneic stem cell transplants, we retrospectively analyzed 214 patients transplanted at our center between 1995 and 2008. Overall survival (OS) of the whole cohort at 1, 3, and 5 yr was 62%, 48%, and 45%, whereas the cumulative incidence of relapse or non‐relapse mortality (NRM) was 26%, 33%, and 33% or 19%, 21%, and 22%. In univariate analysis, a higher mEBMT risk score was associated with an inferior OS ranging from 69% for patients with a score of 0/1 to 26% for patients with a score of 5/6 at 5 yr (P < 0.0001) and steadily increasing hazard ratios for each additional score point. Likewise, a higher mEBMT risk score was associated with an increased incidence of relapse (P = 0.049). Importantly, the prognostic value of the mEBMT risk score in terms of OS and relapse was maintained in multivariate analysis. Taken together, this indicates that a mEBMT risk score may be used to predict the outcome of patients with AML following alloSCT.