Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do downturns cause desperation? The effect of economic conditions on suicide rates in Canada

There is conflicting evidence concerning the impact of macroeconomic conditions on suicide rates. To help resolve this pertinent question, we present evidence using Canadian data. We estimate feasible generalized least squares models of annual gender-specific suicide rates in the working age population (aged 25–64) using data from each of the 10 Canadian provinces over the period 1982 to 2007. We allow for heteroscedasticity across provinces and first-order autocorrelation common to all provinces. We posit that suicide rates in this population are a function of macroeconomic conditions (current and lagged unemployment rates and real per capita GDP) and other determinants that might be correlated with macro conditions, such as physician supply. We find that different factors affect suicide rates across genders and that some of the results are sensitive to the specification of the model we use and the regressors included. Generally, economic conditions affect men more than women; suicide rates are counter-cyclical and a higher supply of psychiatrists in a province is correlated with lower suicide rates.
The Cross Section of Expected Returns and Amortized Spreads

The cross-sectional relationship between expected returns and amortized spreads is studied in an overlapping-generations economy with an average investor. The commonality in liquidity is directly incorporated into the asset-pricing relation. In a static equilibrium, the amortized spread of an asset is related to its expected return through four channels; namely: the equilibrium zero-beta rate, the market risk premium, a level effect, and an incremental sensitivity effect. Although both are present over the entire period, their relative importance shifts from a significant level to a significant sensitivity effect from the earlier to most recent sub-period in the Canadian stock market.
Accruals, Persistence of Profits and Stock Returns in Brazilian Public Companies

The central aim in this research was to assess investors’ accounting information interpretation skills. Therefore, it was assessed how different profit components would affect the future profitability of publicly traded Brazilian companies. Through a sample of all Brazilian public companies listed in Bovespa from 1995 to 2010, the research results demonstrated that current accruals were incapable of explaining future abnormal return behavior in the firms analyzed. In addition, no significant abnormal returns were reached in an accruals-based investment strategy, indicating that investors would be capable of interpreting and pricing accounting data.
The Impact of a Summer Research Experience on Undergraduate Science Majors

Scholars and educators alike have noted the importance (and also the dearth) of international study programs for undergraduate science students and this article reports the impact of one such program. U. S. alumni of an international summer research program for Chemistry undergraduates completed an online questionnaire measuring their perceptions of the effectiveness of the program. The questionnaire items were based on stated program goals and the Model Assessment Practice (MAP) framework, developed by the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES). Overall, the results suggest that the program was very effective as an applied international experience, affording students the opportunity to acquire global science knowledge, international teamwork leadership skills, and sophisticated knowledge of scientific methodologies. Moreover,
Insulin-infusion-pump treatment of diabetes: influence of improved metabolic control on plasma somatomedin levels.

We examined whether changes in somatomedin accompany those seen in glucose and growth hormone during treatment with the insulin-infusion pump. somatomedin levels in eight insulin-dependent diabetics (13 to 29 years of age) were measured before and after 16 weeks of outpatient insulin-pump treatment, which lowered mean glucose from 245 +/- 21 to 100 +/- 5 mg per deciliter and total glycosylated hemoglobin from 16.2 +/- 1.2 to 9.7 +/- 0.3 per cent (mean +/- S.E.M.). During conventional insulin therapy, both total somatomedin and somatomedin C were within the normal range, despite elevations in growth hormone. Pump treatment resulted in a 70 to 75 per cent increase in both total somatomedin and somatomedin C (P less than 0.05) and a fall in growth-hormone concentrations. In the two growing adolescents, growth velocity doubled during 13 to 15 months of pump treatment. Our data suggest that the improved insulin delivery or metabolic control increases somatomedin levels despite a decrease in growth hormone. Thus, insulin-pump treatment may be useful in optimizing growth in diabetic children.
The intermediate alleles of the fragile X CGG repeat in patients with mental retardation

We have analysed the size of the non‐expanded FRAXA CGG repeat in 385 male patients affected by mental retardation and in 182 unrelated normal chromosomes as control. The results show that intermediate alleles with more than 40 repeats were not significantly more frequent in patients than in controls. These data do not corroborate previous findings supporting the idea that intermediate alleles may have a deleterious effect on mental retardation.
Analyze of IASB Futures Priorities Based on Responses at 2011 Agenda Consultation and IASB Actions

This paper analyzes the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) Agenda for the period 2012- 2015 from two points of views. The first one includes a detailed quantitative and qualitative analyze of the respondents opinion about IASB 2011 Agenda Consultation and the second one provide some comments about the topics included in the IASB future period plans and the progress of topics and concludes that the selected topics and them evolution is variable, partly due to the appearance of later priorities.
Long-run performance of mergers and acquisition of privately held targets: evidence in the USA

In this study, we examine the long-run performance of firms acquiring privately held targets. Past studies have documented a positive market reaction to the announcement of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) of privately held targets. The M&As of privately held targets involve uncertain information, which investors are more likely to misestimate. In this study, we tested the long-run performances of acquiring firms and found negative results. We further found that the stock performance of acquiring firms was superior prior to the M&A. Our results suggest that investors may over-extrapolate prior good performance and that the long-run reversed return corrects the overestimation in response to announcements of M&A.
Recent developments in the differential equations of design and conformance quality

This research proposes some new differential equations to be used by practitioners and theorists when investigating design and conformance quality. Although those two quality features have been already extensively studied, the literature reveals several limitations that this research attempts to overcome. The differential equations used so far in game theory are analysed, identifying their tradeoffs, interactions and limitations and then original equations are developed to explore both design and conformance quality. In order to study conformance quality, its differential equation should consider not only failures but also prevention and appraisal. The differential equation of design quality does not always increase, but instead, it increases and decreases over time according to a number of external factors. Design and conformance quality generate several economic tradeoffs and managerial interactions that firms need to consider when implementing a total quality strategy.
Big data analytics and the limits of privacy self-management

This article looks at how the logic of big data analytics, which promotes an aura of unchallenged objectivity to the algorithmic analysis of quantitative data, preempts individuals’ ability to self-define and closes off any opportunity for those inferences to be challenged or resisted. We argue that the predominant privacy protection regimes based on the privacy self-management framework of “notice and choice” not only fail to protect individual privacy, but also underplay privacy as a collective good. To illustrate this claim, we discuss how two possible individual strategies—withdrawal from the market (avoidance) and complete reliance on market-provided privacy protections (assimilation)—may result in less privacy options available to the society at large. We conclude by discussing how acknowledging the collective dimension of privacy could provide more meaningful alternatives for privacy protection.
Working behaviour of competent general practitioners: Personal styles and deliberate strategies

Objective. To study how competent GPs perform their work within the consultation and in relation to the team and practice organization. Design. Ethnographic study with thick description. A participant observation of the GP was followed by a personal interview. A substantial description was elaborated that was analysed qualitatively. Setting. Primary care surgeries in Sweden. Subjects. A number of competent GPs. Results. Two main categories emerged, deliberated strategy and personal style. These categories set up the individual pattern of working behaviour for each GP. A behaviour that is a deliberate strategy for one GP for the other belongs to his or her personal style. Common denominators in the overall working behaviour were attention to the patient as a person, practising patient-centred medicine, saving the consultations from disturbances, rejecting taking over responsibilities from the patients, and safeguarding own autonomy. Conclusion. The transition of deliberate, favourable strategies into one's personal style is an important aspect of professional development. A well-developed personal style is necessary to obtain the spontaneous interchange between attentive listening and detachment characteristic of patient-centeredness.
Specific Investment and Negotiated Transfer Pricing in an International Transfer Pricing Model

We study the efficiency of negotiated transfer pricing for solving a bilateral hold-up problem in a multinational enterprise. We show that negotiated transfer pricing will generally not provide incentives for an efficient renegotiation of the initial contract and efficient investments because the divisions possess only one instrument for solving two problems. Either they minimize taxes or they redistribute the gains from efficient trade. The second-best solution solves the renegotiation problem under the arm’s length constraint. It entails that the firm either executes the ex-ante contract or entirely ignores tax considerations when making a quantity adjustment. We also find that the optimal investment decision and the optimal ex-ante contract are governed by the nature of the international tax difference.
A Sectoral Approach to the Study of Gender Constraints on Economic Opportunities in the Informal Sector in India

This article examines the contribution of a sectoral approach to understanding gender constraints on economic success in the informal sector, using the example of self-employed women in home-based garment production in Ahmedabad, India. The author assesses whether all the constraints laid out in the gender and microenterprise development literature affect women in this sector and, if not, suggests how theory on gender inequality in the microenterprise sector needs to be rethought to address variation by sector. Constraints are disaggregated into women intensive, women exclusive, and sector specific. The results show that the women-exclusive constraints all hold within this sector, that there is variation among the women-intensive constraints in their differential gender effect, and that some sector-specific constraints tend to be more intense for women relative to men. The latter two results suggest that variation by economic activity must be accounted for in understanding the sources and extent of gender inequality in economic outcomes.
Procyclical Fiscal Policy in Brazil: Evidence from the States, 1991-2006

The empirical literature on budget cyclicality has generally focused more on assessing the degree of procyclicality in federal (central government) revenues and expenditures and less on budget cyclicality at the subnational level in multi-tiered systems. In this context, this paper examines how subnational fiscal revenues and expenditures are linked to the business cycle in Brazil, in particular after the introduction of the Fiscal Responsibility Law, explains the degree of procyclicality across Brazilian states, and assess whether intergovernmental transfers stabilize the states finances. These issues are addressed using both a time series and a cross section dimension at the Brazilian state level for the period 1991-2006. The empirical evidence suggests the existence of a procyclical fiscal policy in Brazil at subnational levels. However, the introduction of the Fiscal Responsibility Law has implied some dampening of the Brazilian states’ spending procyclicality. For the Brazilian states, the main source of the observed procyclicality is found in the procyclical behavior of those tax revenues directly collected by the state governments (ICMS). Intergovernmental transfers (federal transfers) are not associated with changes in gross state product, but they are procyclical with the national GDP, which could amplify the procyclical behavior of subnational expenditures.
Successful management of severe unilateral chemical burns in children using simple limbal epithelial transplantation (SLET)

Aim To study the outcomes of simple limbal epithelial transplantation (SLET) for unilateral total limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) secondary to severe ocular surface burns in children. Methods Retrospective interventional case series was performed at a private referral tertiary care centre. Children less than 15 years of age who underwent autologous SLET for total LSCD and had a minimum follow-up of 6 months were included in the study. Demographic and clinical data were recorded in a predesigned form. All patients underwent SLET with a standardised technique. The outcome was defined as complete success (completely epithelialised, avascular corneal surface), partial success (focal recurrence of symblepharon not involving the visual axis) and failure (unstable ocular surface with persistent epithelial defects/symblepharon recurrence involving the visual axis). Results The mean age was 5.75 years (range 2–12). The male to female ratio was 3:1. All eyes (four) presented in the acute phase, had grade 6 chemical injury (Dua classification) and underwent amniotic membrane transplantation at presentation. The mean interval between initial injury and SLET was 6 months (range 4.5–8). The outcome was complete success and partial success in one-fourth and three-fourths of cases, respectively. The overall follow-up was 12–60 months. Pre-SLET visual acuities were hand motions (one eye) and perception of light (three eyes). Post-SLET visual acuities were counting fingers close to face (one eye), 6/36 (two eyes) and 6/18 (one eye) at final follow-up. Cases with partial success underwent repeat SLET with conjunctival autograft, after which the outcome was complete success in all cases at varied follow-up intervals (13–36 months). Conclusions SLET appears to be a promising technique for treatment of LSCD secondary to ocular surface burns in children.
Do Hedge Fund Managers Misreport Returns? Evidence from the Pooled Distribution

We find a significant discontinuity in the pooled distribution of monthly hedge fund returns: The number of small gains far exceeds the number of small losses. The discontinuity is present in live and defunct funds, and funds of all ages, suggesting that it is not caused by database biases. The discontinuity is absent in the 3 months culminating in an audit, suggesting it is not attributable to skillful loss avoidance. The discontinuity disappears when using bimonthly returns, indicating a reversal in fund performance following small gains. This result suggests that the discontinuity is caused at least in part by temporarily overstated returns. Copyright (c) 2009 the American Finance Association.
Modelling the impacts of the industrial biofuels strategy on the South African agricultural and biofuel subsectors

Abstract The potential impact of the current South African industrial biofuels strategy on the economic feasibility of biofuel production in South Africa is analysed and discussed. The analysis is then taken a step further by means of a scenario to analyse the potential impacts of higher global prices on the feasibility of a local biofuel industry. The BFAP sector model, a partial equilibrium model, is used to simulate the various impacts over the period 2009 to 2017. This study shows that the incentives and commitments, as presented through the strategy, are not sufficient to get a local biofuel industry up and running and make it sustainable in the long term.
Cytochrome c oxidase deficiency in leigh syndrome

We studied 6 mitochondrial enzymes in crude extracts and isolated mitochondria from 5 children with pathologically proven subacute necrotizing encephalomyelopathy (Leigh syndrome). Samples were taken from brain (5 patients), skeletal muscle (4 patients), liver (4 patients), kidney (4 patients), heart (1 patient), and cultured fibroblasts (3 patients). An isolated defect of cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activity was found in brain (Decemberrease of activity to 15 to 39% of the normal mean), muscle (9 to 20%), kidney (1 to 67%), and in the 1 available heart (4%) from a patient with cardiopathy. COX activity was also Decemberreased in liver of 3 patients (2 to 13% of normal) and in cultured fibroblasts of 2 patients (18 and 27%), but it was normal in both liver and fibroblasts from 1 patient. Immunotitration using polyclonal antibodies against human heart COX showed essentially normal amounts of cross‐reacting enzyme protein in various tissues from different patients. Electrophoresis of COX immunoprecipitated from brain mitochondrial extracts showed normal patterns of COX subunits in 2 patients. This study confirms the theory that COX deficiency is an important cause of Leigh syndrome.
Understanding Football Hooliganism: A Comparison of Six Western European Football Clubs

Contents - 8[-]Acknowledgements - 12[-]Introduction - 16[-]Ch.1: Football Hooliganism: Concepts, Theories and Contexts - 24[-]Ch.2: Research Outline and Methodology - 69[-]Ch.3: Setting the Stage: On the Emergence and Development of Football Hooliganism in England, the Netherlands and Spain - 91[-]Ch.4: 'Them Were the Days': The Past and Present of Football Hooliganism at West Ham United - 137[-]Ch.5: Football Culture in SW6: Fulham FC, het 'Friendly' Club - 175[-]Ch.6: 'Rotterdam Hooligans! ': The Origins and Evolution of Football Hooliganism at Feyenoord - 201[-]Ch.7: 'Decency and Tradition': Continuity and Change in Spectator Behaviour at Sparta Rotterdam - 233[-]Ch.8:'Orgulloso de ser perico': Politics, Violence and the Ultras of RCD Espanyol - 263[-]Ch.9: Cultural Heritage at Stake? The Emergence and Development of Football Hooliganism at FC Barcelona - 293[-]Ch.10: Club Cultures and Subcultures: Why Context Matters - 328[-]Ch.11: Transformations in Football Hooliganism: Formal and Informal Policies and Their Effects - 362[-]Ch.12: Constructing Hooligan Identities - 382[-]Notes - 424[-]Bibliography - 437[-]Dutch Summary - 485[-]Index - 494
A decade of transformation of HRM in China: A review of literature and suggestions for future studies

This paper provides an overview of research studies conducted on human resource management (HRM) in China in the last decade through the review of 265 articles found in 34 major business and management related journals published in English in the period between 1998 and 2007. The main purpose is to identify discernible trends and outline a profile of current state of affairs of research on HRM in and/or related to China. Collectively, this body of literature has projected the trajectory of China's economic and social reform in recent decades and documented the consequential changes in workers' identity and status, employment terms and conditions and organizational commitment. Significant achievement has been made in terms of the number of studies published and the breadth of topics covered, but the field remains comparatively underachieved in terms of theoretical contributions. This paper points out a number of research avenues for future studies.
Breaking the Deadlock: Lessons from Cross-Border Spatial Projects in Flanders and the Netherlands

Abstract This paper explores the specific char acteristics of decision-making in cross-border spatial projects and draws some lessons for European territorial cooperation. This is done by examining three major infrastructure projects between the Netherlands and Flanders: the construction of a high-speed rail link between Antwerp and Rotterdam, the deepening and widening of the Scheldt River, and the reopening of the Iron Rhine freight railway between Antwerp and the German Ruhrgebiet (which cuts across Dutch territory). The analysis is structured into four issues that are often considered problematic for large spatial projects. First, a sound analysis of the actual problem that spatial projects are supposed to solve and a comparison of alternative courses of action are often lacking. Second, projects usually take longer than planned. Third, projects often encounter strong opposition. Fourth, impact research can be easily discredited in the decision-making process. The paper shows that cross-border projects encounter specific problems in all four areas, some of which could be ameliorated by more involvement by the European Union.
Male/Female Income Distributions, City Size and Urban Characteristics: Canada, 1970-1980

While the effects of city size on urban income distributions have been studied, there has been no analysis of the separate effects on male and female income distributions. We assume that urban male and female labour markets are largely segmented. This is supported by the evidence for Canadian cities in 1970 and 1980. Cities with greater male income equality do not necessarily exhibit greater female equality. Further, the variables which contribute to equality for males are different from those for females. An examination of changes in gini coefficients from 1970 to 1980 suggests that the variables which influence inter-urban differences in income equality have little effect on dynamic changes.