Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Barriers To Product Innovation in Small Firms: Policy Implications

The importance of industrial innovation has received almost unequivocal support throughout the twentieth century as an essential precursor to economic growth and prosperity (Schmookler, 1966). It has been recognised that at the national, regional and company levels new products are needed in order to adapt to competitive and technological change or to grow by successfully exploiting new ideas or inventions (Schumpeter, 1961). At the company level the fundamental problem is to survive in an increasingly complex environment, characterised by dynamic markets, decreasing life-cycle of products and processes and rapid changes in consumer needs and preferences. To stay competitive under such conditions requires an innovative capacity for creating, developing or adopting new products. At the national level Schumpeter (1961) believed that innovation, not the free market, is the real dynamic force driving the democratic system and he suggests that if innovation is blocked, society must deteriorate into a centralised socialist bureaucracy much on the lines of ancient Egypt. From a regional perspective, areas that fail to adapt to changing macroeconomic conditions will be characterised by declining growth and economic and social deprivation (Ewers and Wettman, 1980). According to Ewers and Wettman (1980) the principle constraint to regional growth is a decisive bottleneck in innovation potential, where regions fail to aleviate the deleterious impact of industrial structural decline by adopting new technologies and opening
Risk factors for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis: a systematic scoping review of multiple predictor studies

Background The aetiology of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is still unknown. The identification of risk factors for CFS/ME is of great importance to practitioners. Method A systematic scoping review was conducted to locate studies that analysed risk factors for CFS/ME using multiple predictors. We searched for published and unpublished literature in 11 electronic databases, reference lists of retrieved articles and guideline stakeholder submissions in conjunction with the development of a forthcoming national UK guideline. Risk factors and findings were extracted in a concise tabular overview and studies synthesized narratively. Results Eleven studies were identified that met inclusion criteria: two case-control studies, four cohort studies, three studies combining a cohort with a case-control study design, one case-control and twin study and one cross-sectional survey. The studies looked at a variety of demographic, medical, psychological, social and environmental factors to predict the development of CFS/ME. The existing body of evidence is characterized by factors that were analysed in several studies but without replication of a significant association in more than two studies, and by studies demonstrating significant associations of specific factors that were not assessed in other studies. None of the identified factors appear suitable for the timely identification of patients at risk of developing CFS/ME within clinical practice. Conclusions Various potential risk factors for the development of CFS/ME have been assessed but definitive evidence that appears meaningful for clinicians is lacking.
Attainment of basic needs as a predictor of civic engagement in sub-Saharan Africa: some implications

Building on previous research on basic needs and civic engagement, this study attempts to understand whether or not attainment of basic needs will predict civic engagement in a resource-constrained environment. We also assess the moderating effects of perceived trust in governmental institutions on this relationship. We use data from the Afrobarometer survey to examine these relationships in three sub-Saharan Africa countries: Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Findings provide support for the hypothesized relationship that attainment of basic needs predicts civic engagement. Furthermore, civic engagement appears to be higher at higher levels of perceived trust in government. These findings provide a preliminary base for exploring factors that may be important in understanding civic behavior in the context of sub-Saharan Africa.
Distribution Effects and the Aggregate Consumption Function

This paper investigates whether and how the distribution of income affects the fraction of disposable income which is consumed. It is shown that a slight generalization of the permanent income or "life-cycle" model of consumption makes each individual's lifetime marginal propensity to consume a fraction of his lifetime disposable resources unless two taste parameters are equal. In considering what this implies for the aggregate consumption function, the tenuous connection between theoretical constructs and observed facts is stressed. Previous empirical work on the subject is criticized for failing to define properly either "income distribution" or "consumption," and a new test, based on the theory, is outlined. Because of data limitations, a number of compromises with this ideal test must be made, and several alternative models are estimated. On the whole, they suggest that equalizing the distribution of income would either leave aggregate consumption unchanged or diminish it slightly.
The Price Puzzle: Mixing the Temporary and Permanent Monetary Policy Shocks.

We argue that the correct identification of monetary policy shocks in a vector autoregression requires that the identification scheme distinguishes between permanent and transitorymonetary policy shocks. The permanent shocks reflect changes in the inflation target while the transitory shocks represent temporary deviations from the interest rate reaction function. Whereas both shocks may raise the nominal interest rate on impact, the inflation and output responses of the two shocks are different. We show, using a simple simulation experiment, that a failure to distinguish between the two types of shocks can result in a ”price puzzle”.
Cantleyoside-dimethyl-acetal and Other Iridoid Glucosides from Pterocephalus perennis – Antimicrobial Activities

Cantleyoside-dimethyl-acetal (6), was isolated from the endemic Greek plant Pterocephalus perennis subsp. perennis in addition to five other known iridoid glucosides, loganin, loganic acid, cantleyoside, secologanin, and secologanin-dimethyl-acetal. The structure of these compounds was determined by all spectroscopic means mainly by NMR and MS techniques. The above compounds as well as their acetyl derivatives were tested against six Gram positive and negative bacteria and three pathogenic fungi.
Poor Relief, Labourers' Households and Living Standards in Rural England C.1770-1834: A Bedfordshire Case Study

This article estimates the contribution of poor relief to the household economies of the labouring poor in the two case-study communities of Campton and Shefford, east Bedfordshire, and thereby throws further light on the standard of living of workers during industrialization in the south and east. Utilizing the technique of nominal record linkage between poor law sources and family reconstitution for the period c.1770-1834, the article charts the growth in social welfare and estimates the proportion of inhabitants benefiting from regular relief payments, the changing family circumstances of recipients, and the proportion of total income made up by poor relief.
Term Premia and the Maturity Composition of the Federal Debt: New Evidence from the Term Structure of Interest Rates

This paper models bond term premia empirically in terms of the maturity composition of the federal debt and other observable economic variables in a time-varying framework with potential regime shifts. We present regression and out-of sample forecasting results demonstrating that information on the age composition of the Federal debt is useful for forecasting term premia. We show that the multiprocess mixture model, a multi-state time-varying parameter model, outperforms the commonly used GARCH model in out-of-sample forecasts of term premia. The results underscore the importance of modelling term premia, as a function of economic variables rather than just as a function of asset covariances as in the conditional heteroscedasticity models. Copyright © 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Trust and Its Alternatives

Most scholarly work on trust recognizes its importance as part of a non-market form of governance in exchanges between firms. However, trust is only one such governance device that can be used, other devices such as reputation, bargaining power, and contracts can also be used to govern exchanges. This paper empirically examines the relationships between trust, reputation, bargaining power, and contracts as governance devices in agreements between smaller entrepreneurial firms and larger more established firms. The findings suggest that while role of trust is an important one, it may be more effective when combined with other governance devices.
Accumulated workloads and the acute:chronic workload ratio relate to injury risk in elite youth football players

Aim The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between physical workload and injury risk in elite youth football players. Methods The workload data and injury incidence of 32 players were monitored throughout 2 seasons. Multiple regression was used to compare cumulative (1, 2, 3 and 4-weekly) loads and acute:chronic (A:C) workload ratios (acute workload divided by chronic workload) between injured and non-injured players for specific GPS and accelerometer-derived variables:total distance (TD), high-speed distance (HSD), accelerations (ACC) and total load. Workloads were classified into discrete ranges by z-scores and the relative risk was determined. Results A very high number of ACC (≥9254) over 3 weeks was associated with the highest significant overall (relative risk (RR)=3.84) and non-contact injury risk (RR=5.11). Non-contact injury risk was significantly increased when a high acute HSD was combined with low chronic HSD (RR=2.55), but not with high chronic HSD (RR=0.47). Contact injury risk was greatest when A:C TD and ACC ratios were very high (1.76 and 1.77, respectively) (RR=4.98). Conclusions In general, higher accumulated and acute workloads were associated with a greater injury risk. However, progressive increases in chronic workload may develop the players' physical tolerance to higher acute loads and resilience to injury risk.
The roles of stock market in the finance-growth nexus: time series cointegration and causality evidence from Taiwan

This article uses quarterly data from 1971 to 2007 to investigate the finance-growth nexus in Taiwan. We take into account the role of stock market into our examined model and revise the stock-flow problem when calculating financial related variables. The result supports the comovement phenomenon among financial intermediation, stock market and economic development based on the Johansen cointegration. The contribution of stock market capitalization to economic growth is substantially larger than that of banking in the long-term, highlighting the importance of stock market in Taiwan. Further, Granger causality based on Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) concludes the bi-directional causal relation between financial development and economic growth, suggesting the simultaneous interaction of supply-leading and demand-following phenomena addressed by Partick (1966).
Constitutional stretching: coalition governance and the Westminster model

This article seeks to examine how the emergence of coalition governance within the UK poses fresh challenges not just to the politicians and officials who must govern through a new pattern of relationships, but also to scholars who must develop new tools of political analysis in terms of concepts, theories and methods. It is in this context that article examines the changing nature of governance in the UK and particularly how political and administrative actors are responding to the challenges of ‘coalitionisation’ within what has traditionally been conceptualised as a power-hoarding majoritarian democracy.
Depressive Symptoms and Physical Health of Caregivers of Persons with Cognitive Impairment

Objective: Research indicates that caregivers of persons with cognitive impairment are at elevated risk for clinical depression. The current study examines the association between physical illness and depressive symptoms among caregivers over a 5-year interval. Methods: Participants were recruited as part of a longitudinal study of dementia prevalence in Canada (N = 382). Persons with cognitive loss and their primary caregivers were randomly identified from each Canadian province. Results:Subsequent to control for sociodemographic variables, patient illness characteristics and initial depressive symptomatology, baseline health of caregivers contributed significantly to the prediction of depressive symptoms five years later. In contrast, depressive symptomatology was not a significant predictor of physical health over this same interval (again controlling for sociodemographic variables, patient illness characteristics, and caregivers' health at baseline). Discussion: These analyses pro-vided partial support for reciprocal effects between physical illness and depression. Findings are discussed in terms of the applicability of a model of reciprocal effects to older adults.
Supervised work experience and sexual harassment

This paper briefly reviews the nature of sexual harassment, the response of industry to the problem and the adverse impact that may result from sexual harassment. Data from a survey of sexual harassment experienced by hospitality students whilst on supervised work experience are reported. The reported personal consequences of sexual harassment are considered and the results discussed in relation to previous research. Particular attention is drawn to the high incidence of customer harassment; the need for additional research is identified.
Quantity decisions in a supply chain with early returns remanufacturing

Consider a supply chain where the retailer faces a stochastic demand and orders from the supplier, while the supplier manufactures new products and also remanufactures early returns to meet the order. The order and manufacturing quantity decisions are studied under three decentralised cases: (1) the Stackelberg case, where the manufacturing quantity is determined by the supplier after realising the order quantity from the retailer; (2) the Nash case, where the manufacturing and order quantities are determined simultaneously; (3) the inaccessible return information case, where the retailer does not have the distribution information of upstream returns. We find that in the Stakelberg case the order and manufacturing quantities are larger than in the inaccessible return information case, and the profits for the supplier and retailer are also higher. In contrast, the quantities and profits in the Nash case are the lowest of the three cases when the returns are negatively correlated to the demand. The centralised system is also explored by solving a two-step dynamic program. Computational results are reported to show the effects of system parameters.
Segmenting Overseas Golf Tourists by the Concept of Specialization

A main goal of this study was to use the concept of specialization to segment and better understand Korean overseas golf holiday tourists' demographics, motivations, overseas golf tourism destination attributes, and preference for overseas golf tourism destination attributes. A total of 424 questionnaires were collected and 370 questionnaires were used for further statistical analysis. According to results of data analyses, the advanced segment was more likely to be motivated by the quality of overseas golf resorts and other benefits (such as business opportunities), compared to the beginner and intermediate segments. The beginner group was more likely to be a company employee or housewife who earn the least at between US$35,000–US$50,000 per annum, travel on full package tours, use information from family or relatives, and have a stronger preference for the Philippines or China as golf destinations. The study's results showed potential benefits using the concept of specialization in a sport tourism setting even though the concept has been popularly applied in the outdoor setting.
The use of a neonatal mouse model to study respiratory syncytial virus infections

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is the most significant cause of viral death in infants worldwide. The significant morbidity and mortality associated with this disease underscores the urgent need for the development of an RSV vaccine. The development of an RSV vaccine has been hampered by our limited understanding of the human host immune system, which plays a significant role in RSV pathogenesis, susceptibility and vaccine efficacy. As a result, animal models have been developed to better understand the mechanisms by which RSV causes disease. Within the past few years, a revolutionary variation on these animal models has emerged – age at time of initial infection – and early studies in neonatal mice (aged <7 days at time of initial infection) indicate the validity of this model to understand RSV infection in infants. This article reviews available information on current murine and emerging neonatal mouse RSV models.
On the Outage Probability of a Multiple-Input Single-Output Communication Link

We investigate the outage probability of a 2 times 1 multiple-input single-output (MISO) communication link subjected to quasi-static flat Rayleigh fading, under total and individual (per antenna) average power constraints and under a maximum correlation constraint. For a system with normalized fading and noise powers and a total power constraint P, it is shown that up to a rate of approximately log (1 + 1.2564 ldr P) it is best to divide the power equally between the two antennas, while for higher rates it is preferable to use all of the power in a single antenna. When individual power constraints are imposed on each antenna, and in addition, the correlation between the transmitted signals from each antenna can not be made larger than rhomax, it is shown that for rates smaller than log(1 + P) the optimal correlation is zero, while for rates higher than log(1 + gammaP), where gamma is a constant in [1,3/2], the best correlation is rhomax. For the remaining rates, the optimal correlation is either 0 or rhomax- Finally, we consider the outage performance of a two-user multiple access channel with a common message. The effect of the rate of the common message on the optimal correlation and on the optimum outage performance is examined.
How large is the world of global constitutionalism?

As Global Constitutionalism enters its third year, we want to take the opportunity to refl ect on and explore the conceptual and institutional boundaries of the world of global constitutionalism. In our fi rst editorial two years ago we defi ned the mission of the journal to promote a deeper understanding of the foundations, limitations and principles of political order and their dynamics over time across or between states, institutions or political communities. We insisted that Constitutionalism is not to be understood primarily as the study and interpretation of a constitutive legal document, but as a reference frame for interdisciplinary research with a particular focus. We elaborated on the challenges of interdisciplinarity in our second editorial. In this year’s editorial we want to refl ect further on the particular focus that comes with a constitutionalist frame of reference.
Industrial Restructuring and Expanding Income Stratification: The Case of Japan’s Four Largest Major Metropolitan Areas, 1990–2007

ABSTRACT: Drawing inspiration from Bluestone and Harrison’s seminal book The Deindustrialization of America, this article examines the impact of industrial restructuring on Japan’s four largest major metropolitan areas (MMAs). Focusing upon (1) the bursting of the Japanese asset bubble in the early 1990’s, (2) trade friction with the West, and (3) a significant appreciation of the Japanese Yen relative to the currencies of its major industrial competitors, it reveals how a complex array of factors provoked manufacturing employment decline in these MMAs after 1991. It then describes some of the negative outcomes accompanying industrial restructuring in the four largest MMAs, namely, (1) contracting total employment after 1996, (2) absolute declines in mean household income (HHI) after 2000, and (3) rising inter-municipal income stratification during the 2000s. A final important finding from these case studies suggests that there has been an inverse relationship between the percentage of a region’s employment in manufacturing and its inter-place HHI inequality. In summary, although the Japanese case is distinct from the U.S. experience in many ways, these findings nonetheless demonstrate the continued importance of Bluestone and Harrison’s conclusions about the connections among manufacturing employment, regional prosperity, and interplace equity.
The (Un)Productivity of American Higher Education: From "Cost Disease" to Cost-Effectiveness

Charles Clotfelter, Kristin Conklin, Michael Olneck, Noel Radomski, David Weimer, John Wiley, and participants in symposia sponsored by the Lumina Foundation: Making Opportunity Affordable initiative (Indianapolis and Denver) and the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education (WISCAPE), and a session at the 2010 annual meeting of the American Education Finance Association. For research assistance, we thank Gregory Kienzl, Regina Brown, Alan Nathan, Byoung-Ik Jeoung, and So Jung Park. All errors are our own. The (Un)Productivity of American Higher Education: From “Cost Disease” to Cost-Effectiveness
Sovereign rating changes and realized volatility in Asian foreign exchange markets during the Asian crisis

This article explores the impacts of sovereign rating changes by multiple rating agencies on foreign exchange rate volatility during the Asian crisis. We extend the existing literature to explore the impacts of multiple agency sovereign rating changes on the realized volatility of foreign exchange markets. Our findings show that the rating downgrades are associated with increases in foreign exchange volatility, and that multiple downgrades lead to a much higher increase in volatility as compared to single downgrades. Our results demonstrate that rating downgrades are part of the important news for the national markets consistent with the analysis of contagion analysis in Baur and Fry (2006, 2009).
The Common Ovine Shiga Toxin 2-ContainingEscherichia coli Serotypes and Human Isolates of the Same Serotypes Possess a Stx2d Toxin Type

ABSTRACT Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2) has been reported as the main Shiga toxin associated with human disease. In addition, the Stx2 toxin type can have a profound impact on the degree of tissue damage in animal models. We have characterized the stx2 subtype of 168 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) isolates of which 146 were derived from ovine sources (principally feces and meat) and 22 were isolated from humans. The ovine STEC isolates were of serotypes that have been shown to occur commonly in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy sheep. The majorstx2 subtype in the ovine isolates was shown to be stx2d-Ount (119 of 146 [81.5%]) and was predominantly associated with serotypes O75:H−/H8/H40, O91:H−, O123:H−, O128:H2, and OR:H2. However, 17 of 18 (94.4%) ovine isolates of serotype O5:H−possessed a stx2d-O111/OX3a subtype. Furthermore, STEC isolates of serotypes commonly found in sheep and recovered from both clinical and nonclinical human infections also contained a stx2d(stx2d-Ount/O111/OX3a) subtype. These studies suggest that a specific stx2 subtype(s) associates with serotype and may have important epidemiological implications for tracing sources of E. coli during outbreaks of STEC-associated diseases in humans.