Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Corporate Attributes on International Financial Reporting Standards Disclosure Level. Evidence from Kenya Listed Firms

The increasing amount of focus on and the growing significance of the Nairobi Securities Exchange as an important avenue for trade has attracted foreign investments and increasingly encouraged local residents to invest in shares. Kenyan companies may engage in both mandatory and voluntary disclosure as a means to enhance the value of their stocks. However, little has been done to show various corporate attributes that might determine corporate International Financial Reporting Standards disclosure level. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine the effects of corporate attributes on International Financial Reporting Standards disclosure level by Kenyan firms listed on Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). The study specifically analyzed the effect of profitability, leverage, liquidity and company size on corporate International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) disclosure level. The study also examined whether profitability, leverage, liquidity and company size moderated by industry competitiveness effects on the level of International Financial Reporting Standards disclosure requirements. The study adopted explanatory research design in order to asses cause –effect relationship. A sample of 30 companies listed on the NSE was examined for a period of 5 years from 2007 to 2011. Secondary data was used in obtaining information from companies’ annual financial reports in the process of data collection. Descriptive statistics used in the study were means, standard deviations, skewness and kurtosis. Inferential statistics used was Pearson correlation, multiple regression and moderating multiple regression model. The findings showed that profitability, liquidity and company size had positive and significant effects on International Financial Reporting Standards disclosure level. However, leverage has no effect on IFRS disclosure level. Thus, the study concludes that profitability, liquidity and firm size affect IFRS disclosure level. The results provide empirical evidence to support the implementation of adequate mechanisms such as improving the profitability, liquidity and company’s size to ensure increase in IFRS. The study recommends that the accounting regulatory authority, the capital market authority, NSE and the government need to come up with standardized policies. Corporate policies and legal framework should guide and compel all firms to disclose IFRS as required by International Accounting Standards Board. These authorities should further ensure equal playing ground in industry competitiveness to ensure that the level of IFRS disclosure is not affected. Keyword: Accounting Standards, Corporate Attributes Disclosure , International Accounting Standard , Competitiveness Company Size
Rapid Exchange Between Soil Carbon and Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Driven by Temperature Change

Comparison of 14C (carbon-14) in archived (pre-1963) and contemporary soils taken along an elevation gradient in the Sierra Nevada, California, demonstrates rapid (7 to 65 years) turnover for 50 to 90 percent of carbon in the upper 20 centimeters of soil (A horizon soil carbon). Carbon turnover times increased with elevation (decreasing temperature) along the Sierra transect. This trend was consistent with results from other locations, which indicates that temperature is a dominant control of soil carbon dynamics. When extrapolated to large regions, the observed relation between carbon turnover and temperature suggests that soils should act as significant sources or sinks of atmospheric carbon dioxide in response to global temperature changes.
Games With Possibly Naive Hyperbolic

We propose a solution concept for games that are played among hyperbolic discounters that are possibly naive about their own, or about their opponent’s future time inconsistency. Our perception-perfect equilibrium essentially requires each player to take an action consistent with the subgame perfect equilibrium, given her perceptions concerning future types, and under the assumption that other present and future players have the same perceptions. Applications include a common pool problem and Rubinstein bargaining. When players are naive about their own time consistency and sophisticated about their opponent’s, the common pool problem is exacerbated, and Rubinstein bargaining breaks down completely.
Influencing factors indicating time delay in construction projects: impact of firm size and experience

Abstract Influencing factors that indicate the time delay vary from project to project and firm to firm. The aim of current study is to examine the impact of firm size and industry experience on influencing factors that indicate the time delay in the Pakistani construction contracting firms having varied sizes and industrial experiences. The data are collected through dissemination of the questionnaires in the targeted construction firms. A comparative analysis of these data is undertaken for firms of varied sizes and experiences by using Mann–Whitney U test. The results show that firms of varied sizes do not concur over several skilled labour and site operation related influencing factors, whereas firms of varied experiences are in disagreement over several financial management related influencing factors. Small firms need to overcome their weakness in site operation related issues, especially poor site supervision and management, and countering the weather conditions. Young firms need to overcome financial management weakness, including inaccurate estimation of time, variations in material prices, lack of cost planning and monitoring during pre-contract and post-contract phases. Government support is needed to retain the skilled labour in the country, particularly for younger and smaller firms that are more vulnerable to time delay due to lack of availability of skilled labours in market.
Multidimensional perspective of perceived value in industrial clusters

Purpose – This paper aims to demonstrate that aspects of a rational or functional character and aspects of an emotional and social nature condition the perceived value of the exchange relationships among firms in an industrial cluster.Design/methodology/approach: – The research uses structural equation models (SEM) to test the models and applies the maximum likelihood estimation method in all the causal models obtained in the course of the data analysis.Findings – The results obtained support the hypotheses put forward, and in particular the importance of emotional and social values in industrial relations.Research limitations/implications – Recent advances in consumer and services marketing consider that perceived value and satisfaction are central to explaining customer loyalty. However, very few studies in B2B explain the multidimensionality of perceived value. For this purpose, the authors test their working hypotheses in the Spanish ceramic tiles cluster. Specifically, they analyze the relationships .
The Effect of Announced Downsizing on Workplace Performance: Evidence from a Retail Chain

We estimate the effect of downsizing announcement on workplace performance using data from a German bakery chain of 193 shops. Faced with intensified competition, the firm decided to sell or close down 57 of its worst performing shops. We identify the effect of downsizing from a plausibly exogenous variation in the timing of the sale or closure announcement in the individual shops. We find that the announcements of the shop being sold to a new owner and being closed down reduce sales by six and 21 percent, respectively. The negative effect of downsizing increases with the share of workers with a permanent contract, even though permanent workers faced a much lower unemployment risk. We relate our findings to the literatures on downsizing and psychological contract.
Fixed-term contract jobs : An analysis of employee effort and wellbeing

Fixed-term contracts have become a common tool for employers to screen new employees. There has been widespread debate about the use of this type of contract. However, previous research established that fixed-term contracts can serve as a stepping stone into permanent employment. Consequently, fixed-term employees have the incentive to exert more effort than permanent employees. Using overtime hours and absenteeism as effort measures taken from the Dutch LISS panel, we present evidence that female fixed-term employees indeed work more overtime hours. Moreover, we show that female fixed-term employees have lower job satisfaction. There is no evidence in our sample for such effects for male fixed-term employees.
Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Implications of Epigenetic Role Related the Src Pathway

Epigenetic has become, in recent years, in a very important process in the control of several pathologies, including cancer. DNA methylation has been described in numerous studies as crucial for differentiation control, cell proliferation and invasion in cancer. Pancreas ductal adenocarcinoma is one of the most deadly diseases of our society; its complexity and variability have become one of the medical challenges of this decade. Combining the potential of epigenetic with the high mortality and the limited knowledge of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma origin, may result in new approaches for diagnosis, treatment and monitoring, crucial in this pathology. For this purpose, we analyzed genes involved in different cellular processes (GSTP1, p16, RASFF1A, RARβ2, CyclinD2, HIN-1, SOCS1, TIMP3, DAPK and TWIST1) in 61 cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. A first approach led us to analyze the Src pathway, never studied in this sense, as crucial in the development of this pathology. Clusters for clinicopathological characteristics and epigenetic profiles were obtained. The high degree of methylation of these adenocarcinomas, and the statistical relationship between Src pathway methylation and clinicopathological profile, has been postulated, for the first time. These results show the importance of this pathway in pancreatic disease, opening a new challenge for research and therapy.
Mesoanalysis of recurrent convergence zones in north-eastern Iberian Peninsula

Combining Doppler radar capabilities with Polar Satellite imagery and another kind of surface data we can detect convergence boundaries/zones which are frequently favorite places to develop shallow or deep convection. At some places, like the north-eastern part of Catalonia (north- eastern corner of Iberian Peninsula), there are some boundary layer convergence zones with a climatology well established. Their ubiquity is determined by some recurrent mesoscale winds, established from interaction between synoptic flux and the main ranges. The previous knowledge of these convergence boundaries has been obtained mainly from conventional surface data, numerical prediction models and Geostationary Satellite im- agery but here we use new tools showing more detailed char- acteristics and then improving showers and thunderstorm nowcasting.
Chemodynamics of the Milky Way - I. The first year of APOGEE data

We investigate the chemo-kinematic properties of the Milky Way disc by exploring the first year of data from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), and compare our results to smaller optical high-resolution samples in the literature, as well as results from lower resolution surveys such as GCS, SEGUE and RAVE. We start by selecting a high-quality sample in terms of chemistry ($\sim$ 20.000 stars) and, after computing distances and orbital parameters for this sample, we employ a number of useful subsets to formulate constraints on Galactic chemical and chemodynamical evolution processes in the Solar neighbourhood and beyond (e.g., metallicity distributions -- MDFs, [$\alpha$/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] diagrams, and abundance gradients). Our red giant sample spans distances as large as 10 kpc from the Sun. We find remarkable agreement between the recently published local (d $<$ 100 pc) high-resolution high-S/N HARPS sample and our local HQ sample (d $<$ 1 kpc). The local MDF peaks slightly below solar metallicity, and exhibits an extended tail towards [Fe/H] $= -$1, whereas a sharper cut-off is seen at larger metallicities. The APOGEE data also confirm the existence of a gap in the [$\alpha$/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] abundance diagram. When expanding our sample to cover three different Galactocentric distance bins, we find the high-[$\alpha$/Fe] stars to be rare towards the outer zones, as previously suggested in the literature. For the gradients in [Fe/H] and [$\alpha$/Fe], measured over a range of 6 $ < $ R $ <$ 11 kpc in Galactocentric distance, we find a good agreement with the gradients traced by the GCS and RAVE dwarf samples. For stars with 1.5 $<$ z $<$ 3 kpc, we find a positive metallicity gradient and a negative gradient in [$\alpha$/Fe].
The comparison property of amenable groups

Let a countable amenable group $G$ act on a \zd\ compact metric space $X$. For two clopen subsets $\mathsf A$ and $\mathsf B$ of $X$ we say that $\mathsf A$ is \emph{subequivalent} to $\mathsf B$ (we write $\mathsf A\preccurlyeq \mathsf B$), if there exists a finite partition $\mathsf A=\bigcup_{i=1}^k \mathsf A_i$ of $\mathsf A$ into clopen sets and there are elements $g_1,g_2,\dots,g_k$ in $G$ such that $g_1(\mathsf A_1), g_2(\mathsf A_2),\dots, g_k(\mathsf A_k)$ are disjoint subsets of $\mathsf B$. We say that the action \emph{admits comparison} if for any clopen sets $\mathsf A, \mathsf B$, the condition, that for every $G$-invariant probability measure $\mu$ on $X$ we have the sharp inequality $\mu(\mathsf A)<\mu(\mathsf B)$, implies $\mathsf A\preccurlyeq \mathsf B$. Comparison has many desired consequences for the action, such as the existence of tilings with arbitrarily good F{\o}lner properties, which are factors of the action. Also, the theory of symbolic extensions, known for $\mathbb z$-actions, extends to actions which admit comparison. We also study a purely group-theoretic notion of comparison: if every action of $G$ on any zero-dimensional compact metric space admits comparison then we say that $G$ has the \emph{comparison property}. Classical groups $\mathbb z$ and $\mathbb z^d$ enjoy the comparison property, but in the general case the problem remains open. In this paper we prove this property for groups whose every finitely generated subgroup has subexponential growth.
Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Analysis: Multiple Sources and Global Applications

Applying probabilistic methods to infrequent but devastating natural events is intrinsically challenging. For tsunami analyses, a suite of geophysical assessments should be in principle evaluated because of the different causes generating tsunamis (earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity, meteorological events, and asteroid impacts) with varying mean recurrence rates. Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Analyses (PTHAs) are conducted in different areas of the world at global, regional, and local scales with the aim of understanding tsunami hazard to inform tsunami risk reduction activities. PTHAs enhance knowledge of the potential tsunamigenic threat by estimating the probability of exceeding specific levels of tsunami intensity metrics (e.g., run‐up or maximum inundation heights) within a certain period of time (exposure time) at given locations (target sites); these estimates can be summarized in hazard maps or hazard curves. This discussion presents a broad overview of PTHA, including (i) sources and mechanisms of tsunami generation, emphasizing the variety and complexity of the tsunami sources and their generation mechanisms, (ii) developments in modeling the propagation and impact of tsunami waves, and (iii) statistical procedures for tsunami hazard estimates that include the associated epistemic and aleatoric uncertainties. Key elements in understanding the potential tsunami hazard are discussed, in light of the rapid development of PTHA methods during the last decade and the globally distributed applications, including the importance of considering multiple sources, their relative intensities, probabilities of occurrence, and uncertainties in an integrated and consistent probabilistic framework.
Root dynamics and pattern of 'Riesling' on 5C rootstock using minirhizotrons

Root length density (RLD) in the years from 1994-1997 was estimated using minirhizotrons. The field experiment was conducted on six 'Riesling' vines in Rheingau (Germany). The majority of root distribution was found in soil depths of 60-100 cm with considerable variations between the plants. Roots dynamics showed a periodicity with one or two maxima, depending on year and vine plant. The first peak of RLD was observed around veraison, the second peak appeared after harvest. The rate of root length death was estimated. In the deeper layer the turnover of roots was 60% of the total RLD every year.
Climate impacts, forest-dependent rural livelihoods and adaptation strategies in Africa: A review

The long term contribution of forests to the livelihoods of the rural poor had been long appreciated. More than half of Africa’s fast-growing population rely directly and indirectly on forests for their livelihoods. As the continent faces stresses from poverty and economic development, another major uncertainty is looming that could alter many of the relationships between people and forests. This uncertainty is climate change. Climate impacts such as changes in temperature and rainfall patterns resulting in drought, flooding, all exert significant effect on forest ecosystems and their provision of goods and services, which form the safety nets for many African rural poor. Building adaptation strategies becomes an option for forest-dependent households and communities, and even countries whose economies largely depend on the related sectors. The review details cases of impacts, underlying causes of vulnerability, and identified coping and adaptation strategies, as reported in their National Communications by many African countries to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change.
On the errors committed by functionals of empirical processes

Consider a uniformly strongly consistent statistical functional. We present a new method for extracting limit distributions of the type “the last time” and “the number of times” an error larger than is committed for Hadamard differentiable estimators. We then apply our techniques to several estimators, including the NelsonAalen estimator and the quantiles of the Kaplan-Meier estimator.
Observations and modelling of algal growth on a snowpack in north-western Greenland

Abstract. Snow algal bloom is a common phenomenon on melting snowpacks in polar and alpine regions and can substantially increase snow melt rates due to the effect of albedo reduction on the snow surface. In order to reproduce algal growth on the snow surface using a numerical model, temporal changes in snow algal abundance were investigated on the Qaanaaq Glacier in north-western Greenland from June to August 2014. Snow algae first appeared at the study sites in late June, which was approximately 94 h after air temperatures exceeded the melting point. Algal abundance increased exponentially after this appearance, but the increasing rate became slow after late July, and finally reached 3.5 × 107 cells m−2 in early August. We applied a logistic model to the algal growth curve and found that the algae could be reproduced with an initial cell concentration of 6.9 × 102 cells m−2, a growth rate of 0.42 d−1, and a carrying capacity of 3.5 × 107 cells m−2 on this glacier. This model has the potential to simulate algal blooms from meteorological data sets and to evaluate their impact on the melting of seasonal snowpacks and glaciers.
Strategies of Making Savings Banks Productive: The Case of Post Bank

v ACKNOWLEDGMENT . vii TABLE OF CONTENTS . viii LIST OF FIGURES . x LIST OF TABLES . xi CHAPTER ONE . 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION. 1 1.1 Background of the Study . 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem . 5 1.3 Purpose of the Study . 5 1.4 Research Questions . 5 1.5 Scope of the Study . 6 1.6 Significance of the Study . 6 1.7 Definition of Terms. 6 1.8 Chapter Summary . 7 CHAPTER TWO . 8 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW . 8 2.
Momentum and contrarian strategies in Eurozone futures markets

Momentum and contrarian trading strategies have been tested extensively on equity markets around the world. In the present paper, we broaden the research horizon to futures markets, particularly those of the Eurozone, which are well suited to the implementation of similar strategies, thanks to the absence of constraints on shorting operations and low transaction costs. We document persistent evidence of both anomalies. Moreover, the excess returns present a similar pattern to those obtained in equity markets, even after adjusting for risk using asset pricing models, such as the CAPM, the Fama and French model, and the Carhart model. We present evidence that abnormal returns in futures markets are closely related to those obtained from similar strategies in stock markets, without being subordinate to the performance of the latter.
WAVELET BASED DE-NOISING OF NON-STATIONARY KINEMATIC SIGNALS

Wavelet Based De-Noising (WDN) is a time-frequency filtering technique that can localise the frequency content of signals. Developments such as translation invariant de-noising and the optimisation of basis function selection have addressed some of the issues associated with WDN reported in the past. The aim of this study was to explore the use of improved WDN techniques for processing non-stationary racket kinematic signals during a badminton smash. WDN was able to better preserve signal features than digital filters and this was especially evident for acceleration. However, 'pseudo-Gibbs' artefacts appeared to be present in some of the signals after double differentiation. Further work should focus on the application of WDN to a wider variety of non-stationary kinematic signals such as the golf swing, baseball batting and tennis strokes.
Increasing turnout inequality in Post-Communist Eastern Europe: economic disengagement or a progression to normalcy?

Post-Communist countries, with the exception of Bel arus, Russia, and Hungary, have seen a decline in t urnout since their first democratic elections. Studies th at have so far examined this decline attribute it t o a fading of the founding election euphoria (Kostadinova 2003, Kostadinova and Power 2007, and Pacek et al 2009). These studies, however, use only aggregate data and thus do not examine whether the decline has been even across all social groups. This paper instead uses pooled cross -sectional individual level data covering the perio d 1990 to 2007 across 12 post-Communist countries and asks if the lower turnout can be explained by frustration and disengagement among those people who benefited the least from the transition to a market economy. This new data confirms that the fall in turnout is mostly du e to the wearing-off of founding election euphoria and a progression towards “normal” turnout patterns seen in established democracies where advantaged citizen s are much more likely to vote than the disadvantaged. Ot her factors such as economic disengagement are found to be negligible in explaining the decline in voting.
Support point functions and the Loewner variation.

for some nonconstant continuous (in the topology of local uniform convergence) linear functional on S^. Finally, denote by E(S^) the set of extreme point functions of £f. It is well known that if feσ{jE(^), then f(U) is the complement of a single Jordan arc extending from some finite point to oo and along which \w\ is strictly increasing. Indeed, this has been demonstrated for the class E{£f) by L. Brickman [1] and for the class σ by A. Pίluger [5] (see also L. Brickman and D. Wilken [2]). Consequently, if feσ U E(S^), there is a Loewner chain