Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
WHAT'S IN YOUR PROFILE? MAPPING FACEBOOK PROFILE DATA TO PERSONAL SECURITY QUESTIONS

This study investigates data privacy concerns regarding the use of Facebook and university students’ awareness of privacy control mechanisms, privacy best practices, and possible consequences of unprotected information-sharing in Facebook. Research found that students share a large quantity and variety of personal data in their Facebook profiles that, if compromised, could be used by an attacker to answer personal security questions setup as fallback authentication methods for other online accounts. The consequences of this type of data breach could include unauthorized bank account access, identity theft, or other crimes. Results suggest that students are generally unaware of best practices for data protection within Facebook, and often misuse available privacy control mechanisms. The researchers conclude by offering a set of best practices Facebook users can follow to help protect data privacy in Facebook.
Le pantouflage en France (vers 1880-vers 1980)

Les travaux sur les hommes d'affaires et sur les hauts fonctionnaires se sont multipliés au cours des dix dernières années. Ils ont permis d'enrichir et de nuancer les images monolithiques ou impressionnistes que l'on pouvait avoir sur les milieux dirigeants de la société française. Tous les auteurs ont rencontré au cours de leurs recherches un phénomène original, caractéristique des cent dernières années, donnée structurelle de la circulation des élites en France : le pantouflage. Le cadre monographique des études et leur inégal avancement selon les époques ou les groupes ont toutefois empêché d'en prendre une vue d'ensemble ou d'en proposer une interprétation qui ne caricature pas la réalité pour retomber dans les thèmes polémiques ou journalistiques habituels sur la « classe dirigeante ».
Who Benefits Most from Employee Involvement: Firms or Workers?

Employee involvement (EI) programs are the leading-edge form of personnel and labor relations in the United States. While many managers believe that these programs raise productivity and profits, the statistical evidence that EI improves the performance of firms is equivocal. The coefficients on measures of EI in production functions are usually positive but often insignificant or small (Commission on the Future of Worker–Management Relations, 1994 Ch. 2; Peter Cappelli and David Neumark, 1999) or contingent on other factors (Sandra E. Black and Lisa M. Lynch, 1997; Casey Ichniowski et al., 1997). A detailed case study of EI has further confirmed these small effects that were found in large data sets (Kleiner et al., 1999). If EI programs do not greatly affect productivity, why does business think so highly of them? In this study, we argue that the main beneficiaries of EI are workers and managers. We estimate the effects of EI on productivity using panel data on firms and the effects of EI on workers using a survey of employees and find that EI barely affects firm productivity but substantially improves worker well-being. We offer two explanations for this result.
The Scope for Policy Coordination between the United States and Europe: Implications of Asymmetric Labor Markets

This paper emphasizes the structural differences in the American and European labor mar kets and examines the implications of these asymmetries for the scope of policy coordination be tween these economies. Strategic aspects of monetary and fiscal policies are analyzed as a game between a country with real wage rigidity (Europe) and a country with nominal wage rigidity (U. S.). The paper presents simple examples which show that the nature of the noncooperative equilib rium in this asymmetric framework depends on the strategy variables chosen by the countries. Pol icy coordination is redundant if money supplies are the only instruments used by both players. The noncooperative fiscal policy game is inefficient, and policy coordination becomes redundant again when both monetary and fiscal policies are employed. These results illustrate that an appropriate assignment of policy instruments can be a substitute to policy coordination in generating an ef ficient solution to the international policy game.
Wealth, volume and stock market volatility: case of Hong Kong (1993–2001)

This article attempts to answer the question of whether the gain and loss in property market speculations and rate of information flow play a significant role in stock market volatility in Hong Kong. To test for our wealth–volume–volatility hypothesis, two different measures of volatility: absolute (absolute value of SD from mean with monthly dimension) and conditional (EGARCH) are used and results are compared. In both measures, we find evidence of a statistical presence of a wealth effect on stock market volatility, particularly in the investment of luxury class of property in Hong Kong. To account for this result, we apply the prospect theory, house money effect and the newly developed conditional confidence theory. Although we fail to establish a volume–volatility relationship in our estimation, we offer additional dimensions to the explanation of our observation.
Heat shock treatment of tumor lysate-pulsed dendritic cells enhances their capacity to elicit antitumor T cell responses against medullary thyroid carcinoma.

BACKGROUND In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that dendritic cells (DCs) can stimulate antitumor T cell responses against medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). However, despite promising results in selected cases, the clinical efficacy of DC immunotherapy in patients with MTC has been limited. Recently, it has been demonstrated in mice that heat shock enhances the capacity of bone-marrow-derived DCs to stimulate antigen-specific T cells. The aim of our investigations was to evaluate whether heat shock also increases the capacity of human monocyte-derived DCs to stimulate antitumor T cell responses against MTC tumor cells. METHODS DCs from six patients with metastatic MTC were pulsed with tumor lysate derived from allogeneic MTC tumor cells and were heat shocked for 12 h at 40 C or kept at 37 C. Thereafter, the DCs were matured and cocultured with T cells. Finally, the cytotoxic activity of T cells against MTC tumor cells was measured in vitro. RESULTS In all patient samples, cytotoxic T cell responses against MTC tumor cells could be induced. Notably, heat-shocked DCs were more potent stimulators of cytotoxic T cell responses than control DCs, with T cells stimulated with heat-shocked DCs displaying a significantly increased cytotoxic activity against MTC tumor cells as compared with T cells stimulated with control DCs. In none of the experiments was a cytotoxic T cell response against unrelated pancreatic tumor cells (PANC-1) observed, using both control and heat-shocked DCs. CONCLUSIONS Our study shows that heat-shocking DCs may be a valuable strategy to increase the immunostimulatory capacity of DCs used for immunotherapy of MTC.
The ethics of peer reporting in Chinese societies: evidence from Hong Kong and Shanghai

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ethics of peer reporting in Chinese societies. Based on a review of the literature, we develop a framework that explains peer reporting behaviour in terms of the individual's ethical ideology, locus of control and subjective judgement regarding the ethicality of peer reporting. Hypotheses derived from these speculations are tested with data from Chinese managers (n = 362). Statistical analysis largely supports the hypotheses. The implications of this finding are discussed.
Forecasting Eurozone real-estate returns

We use a real-time forecasting approach to study the predictability of excess returns on a benchmark Euro Area real-estate index. The real-time forecasting approach accounts for the fact that, in real time, an investor forecasts returns under conditions of model instability and model uncertainty. Our results show that excess returns are predictable out-of-sample using information on financial and macroeconomic data available to an investor in real time. We also study the real-time market-timing ability of an investor and the performance of a simple trading rule as compared to a buy-and-hold strategy.
Tobacco Industry Political Activity and Tobacco Control Policy Making in New Jersey: 1982 - 1995

The tobacco industry is a major political and legal force in New Jersey through campaign contributions, lobbying and litigation. The tobacco industry has become a major source of campaign contributions to legislative candidates, gubernatorial candidates, and political party committees. In the 1982-1983 election cycle, the tobacco industry contributed $17,249 to candidates and parties. In 1994-1995, the tobacco industry contributed $269,075 to candidates and parties. The tobacco industry was the leading contributor to political parties and leadership PACs in New Jersey during the 1994-1995 election cycle. The combined contributions from Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds, the Tobacco Institute, Smokeless Tobacco Council, US Tobacco, Coast Cigarettes and New Jersey Amusement Co., to political parties and leadership PACs totaled $233,100. Although direct campaign contributions to legislative candidates has decreased slightly since 1990-1991, the tobacco industry has compensated by contributing to leadership PACs, which have no campaign contributions limits. In 1994-1995 the tobacco industry contributed $192,550 to leadership PACs, $107,800 to Republican leadership PACs and $84,750 to Democratic leadership PACs. In addition to providing campaign contributions, the tobacco industry is active in lobbying members of the legislature and the administration. During the 1994-1995 legislature, the tobacco industry spent $725,107 in lobbying expenditures. The tobacco industry became an especially active lobby during the 1986-1987 legislative session after the legislature had passed several clean indoor air laws in the early and mid 1980s. A relationship exists between tobacco industry campaign contributions and state legislative behavior. The more money a legislator receives, the less likely he or she is to support tobacco control efforts. The tobacco industry also tends to contribute more money to legislators that have supported the industry in the past. Several health related groups, such as Blue Cross, the Medco Behavioral Care Corporation, and Cathedral Health Care Systems, are represented by many of the same lobbyists as the tobacco industry. This pattern of representation raises the possibility of conflict of interests among lobbyists who represent the tobacco industry and health groups. Before 1994, there were very few local smoke free or limiting tobacco to children ordinances in New Jersey. Since 1994, when the state Supreme Court upheld the 1990 East Brunswick ordinance that banned vending machines, 153 New Jersey localities have passed smoke free air ordinances or ordinances controlling the availability of tobacco to children. Despite a state Supreme Court decision to uphold the East Brunswick ordinance that eliminated cigarette vending machines, New Jersey cigarette distributors continue to legally challenge municipalities that enact ordinances that eliminate cigarette vending machines.
Decreased growth inhibition by recombinant gamma interferon is associated with increased transforming growth factor‐α production in keratinocytes cultured from psoriatic lesions

Keratinocytes from involved psoriatic plaques (PP), uninvolved, clinically symptomless skin of psoriatic patients (PN) and normal healthy skin (NN) have been cultured in a low calcium serum free system for multiple passages. In this way, the keratinocytes were removed from microenvironmental factors present in the skin. While the basal rate of proliferation of the PP, PN and NN keratinocytes was not different, the PP cells produced more transforming growth factor‐α (TGF‐α) than NN cells, and the antiproliferative response of PP cells to gamma interferon (IFN‐γ), a product of activated T lymphocytes, was reduced. We studied IFN‐γ because it can inhibit the proliferation of NN keratinocytes, induce their differentiation and the appearance of two immunoregulatory cell surface molecules, HLA‐DR and intercellular adherence molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1), and because in another epithelial cell system, epidermal growth factor (EGF) modulates IFN‐γ activity. The mean antiproliferative effects of IFN‐γ at 50,200, and 500 U/ml for the PP group (n=10) was less compared to the NN group (n=11); P < 0.001, while the PN group (n=5) had a less dramatic, but statistically significant, reduction in growth inhibition by IFN‐γ only at 200 and 500 U/ml compared to NN cells; P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively. The amount of TGF‐α produced and secreted by PP keratinocytes from five different individuals was significantly greater than by NN keratinocyte cultures. In addition, IFN‐γ induced TGF‐α to a lesser extent in PP keratinocytes compared to NN keratinocyte cultures. Keratinocytes isolated from atopic dermatitis and Sézary syndrome patients were similar to NN keratinocytes.
CURRENT ACCOUNT AND BUDGET DEFICITS: TWINS OR DISTANT COUSINS?

This paper develops a two-country micro-theoretic model consistent with the Ricardian equivalence hypothesis. Specifically, tax increases used to retire government debt will not affect private spending or the current account balance. However, increases in government spending, regardless of the means of finance, can be expected to induce a current account deficit. An unconstrained vector autoregression shows some patterns in the recent U.S. data that appear to be inconsistent with the Ricardian equivalence hypothesis. Rigorous testing of the model, however, does not allow the authors to reject the independence of the record federal government budget and current account deficits. Copyright 1990 by MIT Press.
Condom use among male migrant workers in dry zone, Myanmar.

OBJECTIVE To study the factors associated with condom use among male Myanmar migrant workers in Pakokku, Myanmar MATERIAL AND METHOD This cross-sectional study used two stages cluster sampling with probability proportional to size (PPS) method to collect samples. During 1-14 February 2010, 324 male Myanmar migrant workers between 18 and 60 years of age were asked to complete face-to-face structured interview on knowledge, perception, cues to action, peer influence and sexual behaviors. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and Fishers exact test. RESULTS Results revealed that 71.0 percent of respondents were under young and middle adult age and 66.7 percent were married. It showed that 11.1 percent of the respondents used condom regularly with spouse or girlfriends or sex workers during the past year There were associations between age (p = 0.006), marital status (p < 0.001), educational level (p = 0.014), monthly income (p = 0.015), level of knowledge on HIV/AIDS (p = 0.017), perceived susceptibility of getting HIV/ AIDS (p = 0.024) and condom use. No associations were noted between occupation, duration of career; duration of each trip, perceived severity, perceived benefit, perceived barrier, cues to action, peer influence and condom use. CONCLUSION With low proportion of regular condom use among study group, behavior change, communication interventions and strengthening of the 100.0% Targeted Condom Promotion Project are recommended to promote perception and knowledge about HIV/AIDS and condom use among male migrant workers.
Standardisation and adaptation of the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) and Denver II for use in Singapore children.

OBJECTIVE To modify and standardise the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) and Denver II for developmental screening of children in Singapore. METHOD The study used a quota sample of 2,194 Singapore children aged 4 weeks to 6 years. Logistic regression analysis established the 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile passing age for achieving the test tasks. Subgroup differences in Sex, Ethnicity, Social Class and Mother's Education were analysed by stepwise logistic regression; the composite norms for items with statistically significant subgroup differences (p < or = 0.10), were then adjusted by weighting based on the composition of Singapore children. The study protocol was based on the DDST (1975) and Denver II (1990), the latest version of the DDST. Modifications were introduced to improve on the sensitivity of the test and to make the test more suited to Singapore culture. MAIN FINDINGS Out of the 215 items studied, 115 items were selected to form the new test, DDST, Singapore, DDST, Singapore shares 63% of the items with DDST (1975) and 67% of the items with Denver II. Among the comparable items, differences between the norms of Singapore and Denver children greater than 10% were demonstrated in more than 30 items, and differences of greater than 20% in 10 items. Within the study sample of Singapore children, there were relatively smaller differences among the subgroups studied. Only 10 items had clinically significant subgroup differences of more than 10%. None had more than 20% difference. CONCLUSION DDST, Singapore is substantially different from the DDST (1975) and Denver II (1990). The use of the local standardised version for developmental screening of Singapore children is justified.
“Hemicrania Continua”: Another Headache Absolutely Responsive to Indomethacin

Two cases suffering from a headache apparently at variance with well recognized headaches are described. It is characterized by a steady, non-paroxysmal, probably severe to moderately severe hemicrania localized anteriorly or anteroposteriorly and is not associated with nausea. Indomethacin exerts an absolute, persistent and clearly dose-dependent effect on this headache, which differs from unilateral headache syndromes such as cluster headache and cervicogenic headache in its temporal pattern and indomethacin response. It differs from chronic paroxysmal hemicrania in its temporal pattern and in the lack of accompanying symptoms.
Prescriptive use of Environmental Indices: A "How To" Guide for Conservation Programs

A framework for analyzing conservation programs that rank applications using environmental indices is presented. We derive the optimal bid from the farmer's perspective for both land retirement and working lands agri-environmental payment programs and we analyze how these solutions depend on program design parameters. The distinction is made between environmental objectives based on whether the farmer exercises control or not over the level proposed in a bid to participate in a program. The optimization model is solved analytically for two cases - a land retirement and a working lands program - highlighting the differences in the results.
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF INVESTMENT IN SMALL-SCALE RURAL FISH PONDS

This article provides a detailed empirical study of investment patterns in small-scale rural aquaculture and its relation to pond location based on a systematic fish pond survey in Lao PDR. Nominal investment categories of fish ponds were created based on stocking rate, feed and water and then spatially cross-referenced with a range of environmental factors, including distance to roads, land use, and distance to water resources. Contrary to current aquaculture development policies, the results show the dynamic nature of fish ponds as a source of water, native fish and exotic fish. It is concluded that policy makers and extension officers can make use of simple diagnostic models of fish pond use and investment to develop more contingent support to farmers that takes into consideration a wider portfolio of living aquatic resources in rural communities.
Demonstration of Omnipresent Ethernet: A Novel Metro End-to-End Communication System Using Binary  ${+}$ Source Routing and Carrier Ethernet

A new end-to-end communication solution called Omnipresent Ethernet (OEthernet) is demonstrated through a test-bed. The solution takes into consideration contemporary interconnection methodologies in enterprise/provider networks from a generalized graph perspective. The aim is to be able to convert any network graph into a known symmetric graph by simple algorithmic treatment. The virtual graph that we create is a binary tree-whose representative node is a binary node with a 1 × 2 interconnection architecture. The binary tree transformation of irregular network graphs leads to source routing and binary routing which results in significant performance and cost advantages. Addressing and routing in binary trees can be made possible at the Ethernet layer taking advantage of the advances in Carrier Ethernet. The resulting OEthernet solution facilitates communication without IP-enabling applications to ride entirely on OEthernet frames. In this paper, we built a test-bed that demonstrates the OEthernet concept. The test-bed is a 25 node binary tree, exemplified by a metro core (optical backbone) and an access edge network in optical as well as copper domains. The test-bed supports triple play applications, in particular, video-on-demand. Measurements are made for latency, jitter and throughput and we observe that the OEthernet solution is lower cost, more effective and energy efficient than regular IP networking approaches. An all-optical version of the OEthernet solution is also presented.
Late-stage coarsening for off-critical quenches: Scaling functions and the growth law.

We carry out a detailed numerical study of the Cahn-Hilliard equation in two dimensions for phase separation in very large systems and for different values of the area fraction O. We present results for the scaling function obtained from the pair-correlation function, the structure factor, and the droplet distribution function. We find that dynamical scaling is satisfied at late times for all of the above functions and for different area fractions. We study how the shape of these scaling functions changes with the area fractions and compare these results with available theoretical predictions. We have also analyzed the growth law for the characteristic domain size for various area fractions
National Provident Funds: The Challenge of Harmonizing Their Social Security, Social and Economic Objectives

This paper examines the national provident funds (NPFs) that operate in 23 developing countries which seek to provide their members with basic social security protection by means of compulsory savings (see Appendix). It explores how the juxtaposition of economic, social and social security objectives has made NPFs generally resilient to fundamental change and has, in some instances, resulted in the evolution of a social security hybrid-neither a pure compulsory savings scheme nor a social insurance system. Copyright 1993 by The Policy Studies Organization.
Influence of Demographic Factors on Employee Satisfaction and Motivation

Influence of Demographic Factors on Employee Satisfaction and Motivation Nowadays, human resource management and development is becoming more significant due to the fact that a man has gained a new place and a new role in all social processes and in their management. The sheer employees' characteristics, i.e., demographic factors, besides the organisational factors, have a certain influence in this area. By adequate understanding of both demographic factors and their influence, it is possible to apply measures to make the employees satisfied and motivated. This paper points out such influences on the employees' satisfaction and motivation. Also, the interaction of certain demographic factors is presented, such as the professional qualification, years of working experience and age, onto employees perceiving satisfaction and motivation and onto respective consequences. In order to determine the employee satisfaction and motivation, the responses from the employees to questions divided into six groups (material conditions, security, acceptance and social component, respect and status, self-confirmation and loyalty), were used. The research was done on a set of 328 employees in the telecommunications sector in Serbia.