Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Crisis Management, Tourism and Sustainability: The Role of Indicators

The damage to tourism caused by a crisis or disaster may not only have serious implications for a national economy but also threaten the livelihoods of many in the destination. The monitoring of crisis indicators could allow intervention to minimise the crisis and offers a chance of protecting tourism for the benefit of all stakeholders. This paper evaluates the role of crisis indicators in sustainable tourism development, and shows why this is closely connected to issues in sustainable tourism. The author challenges the conventional classification of crises and suggests that grouping them according to their triggers is more useful in predicting and managing a potential crisis. Empirical data gathered during interviews with senior Malaysian public and private sector representatives highlight some of the practical issues associated with the identification and monitoring of appropriate indicators. The paper concludes that the new classification allows crisis management to be more cost-effective and may also.
Changes in circulating vitamin D levels with loss of adipose tissue

Purpose of reviewLow vitamin D levels have been extensively reported in obesity. Thus, the pandemic of obesity has been paralleled by a high prevalence of low vitamin D status. Given the well documented associations linking poor vitamin D status to adverse health outcomes (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers, all-cause mortality), a proper understanding of the mechanisms linking excess adiposity to low vitamin D status is key to identify and implement effective interventions to replenish vitamin D levels in obese individuals. In this review, we will discuss recent literature investigating the effects of adipose tissue volume loss through energy restriction and/or physical activity on circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels. Recent findingsImprovements of circulating 25(OH)D levels with adiposity loss through lifestyle interventions without supplementation is being reported by a growing number of studies, including recent randomized controlled trials. SummaryLow 25(OH)D is one of the metabolic disturbances associated with excess adiposity, particularly visceral adiposity. Recommendations for the treatment of obesity-related vitamin D deficiency should emphasize the role of visceral adiposity loss through healthy lifestyle habits, in conjunction with weight-adjusted vitamin D supplementation, not only to replenish 25(OH)D levels but also to address other visceral adiposity-related disturbances, such as insulin resistance, inflammation, hypertension, and dyslipidemia.
The Effects of World Heritage Listing on Tourism to Australian National Parks

A time series of historical visitor data was used to test whether World Heritage Area (WHA) listing affected the total number or origins of visitors to Australian national parks. Only six of Australia's 14 WHAs have sufficient data to attempt such tests, and these data have significant shortcomings. Whilst visitor numbers at Australian WHA's are commonly up to an order of magnitude higher than at comparable control sites, this cannot necessarily be ascribed specifically to WH branding, but may be associated more with political controversy over listing. It does, however, appear that WH designation yields significant increases in proportions of international visitors to individual sites.
Dividend Signalling And Market Efficiency In Emerging Economy: A Study of Indian Stock Market

This paper applies GARCH (p, q) model and non-parametric Run test for studying isolated events of dividend change announcements covering a period of ten years for capturing abnormal returns in the Indian Stock Market using an event window of 61 days. The results indicate that there is no signalling effect of ‘dividend increase/decrease along with financial results announcement’ event on the share price of companies. Cumulative abnormal return tendency is observed if share purchase is made prior to any of the events. It is also found that adjustment in prices after event date takes place with a substantial time lag reflecting inefficiencies in the market. Keywords: Signalling effect; market efficiency; dividend announcement; event study; emerging economy
A Gendered Perspective of Learning and Representation in Forest Management Advisory Committees in Canada

It is now widely accepted that public participation is a critical component of sustainable forest management. However, achieving meaningful public participation continues to be a challenge. In an effort to obtain more active involvement from the public, forest product companies have been using an advisory committee approach. However, the absence of women from multi-stakeholder participatory processes is an indicator of the failure to meet the criteria of social sustainability within sustainable forest management. The lack of female representation limits the degree of influence women have on forest management policies and decision-making. To date there are few empirical studies that have evaluated these forest management advisory committees from a gendered perspective in terms of representation and learning outcomes. This study will help to fill the gaps in the literature. The purpose of the study was to assess the effectiveness of participation in the forest management advisory committee process in Canada from a gendered perspective. The specific objectives were to: 1) determine key reasons why women are underrepresented on forest management advisory committees; 2) consider whether levels of satisfaction with the current advisory committee process vary according to gender; 3) explore if the learning outcomes of advisory committees differ by gender; and 5) develop recommendations to increase the involvement of women in the advisory committee process to enhance the learning outcomes of such processes. The study focussed on two forest product companies that hold forest management licences in Canada: Tembec, which is located in Pine Falls, Manitoba and NewPage, which is located in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. A case study approach within the qualitative research paradigm was used to address the objectives of the research. The methods of data used included literature and document review, participant observation, field notes, and semi-structured
Righting errors in writing errors: The Wing and Baddeley (1980) spelling error corpus revisited

We present a new analysis of our previously published corpus of handwriting errors (slips) using the proportional allocation algorithm of Machtynger and Shallice (2009). As previously, the proportion of slips is greater in the middle of the word than at the ends, however, in contrast to before, the proportion is greater at the end than at the beginning of the word. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis of memory effects in a graphemic output buffer.
Diabetic erectile dysfunction – an indicator of generalised endothelial function per se?

Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects up to 70% of men with diabetes. However, the pathophysiology of ED in diabetes remains uncertain with both neuronal and vascular factors cited. We examined whether ED is an indicator of generalized endothelial dysfunction. A unique group of diabetic patients free from established conventional cardiac risk factors were investigated. Forearm bloodflow responses to nitroprusside and acetylcholine on 11 diabetic men with ED and 11 potent diabetic men were measured by venous plethysmography. Patient characteristics between the impotent and potent patients were similar except for Hba1c which was higher in the group with ED (8.35% vs. 7.03%: p = 0.003). Both groups showed increases in FBF to incremental infusions of nitroprusside and acetylcholine but the area under curve (AUC) were similar in the ED and the non‐ED groups (p = 0.16 and p = 0.17, respectively). We demonstrated that ED in patients with type 2 diabetes is not associated with additional generalized endothelial dysfunction.
Initial CSF total tau correlates with 1-year outcome in patients with traumatic brain injury

Objective: We investigated if tau, microtubular binding protein, in serum and ventricular CSF (vCSF) in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) during the initial posttraumatic days correlated to 1-year outcome. Methods: Patients with severe TBI (n = 39, Glasgow Coma Scale score ≤8) were included. We measured serum and vCSF total tau on days 0 to 14, using ELISA. vCSF total tau correlated to 1-year Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOSE), the NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) neurologic status, and the Bartel Daily Living Index. Patients (n = 20) with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) served as reference. Results: Higher levels of tau were found in TBI patients vs patients with NPH. A correlation was found between initial vCSF total tau and GOSE levels (R = 0.42, p < 0.001) but not between vCSF total tau and NIHSS or Bartel scores at 1 year. A vCSF total tau level of >2,126 pg/mL on days 2 to 3 discriminated between dead and alive (sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 81%). A vCSF total tau level of >702 pg/mL on days 2 to 3 discriminated between bad (GOSE 1 to 4) and good (GOSE 5 to 8) outcome (sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 69%). Patients with GOSE 1 (dead) had higher vCSF total tau levels on days 2 to 3 (p < 0.001) vs both surviving patients (GOSE 2 to 8) and those with NPH. Total tau was not detected in serum throughout the study. Conclusion: The increase in ventricular CSF (vCSF) total tau probably reflects axonal damage, known to be a central pathologic mechanism in traumatic brain injury (TBI). These results suggest that vCSF total tau may be an important early biochemical neuromarker for predicting long-term outcome in patients with a severe TBI.
Talent reviews: the key to effective succession management

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to discuss succession management within the context of talent management, with specific reference to the role of talent reviews in the identification, development and retention of potential successors for critical job roles at different organizational levels.Design/methodology/approach – The article utilizes a case study of talent reviews from a Saudi Arabian mining company, explores the different succession management approaches and highlights emerging best practice solutions in the field. In the case study, the primary task was to evaluate a sample of 59 executives and senior managers against the company's leadership competency framework in order to support them in a structured career development process within the context of the company's talent strategy.Findings – The main findings indicate that the sample's strategic thinking ability and leadership skills are generally weak and that the current leadership capabilities might not be aligned with the company's gr.
Relationship between anxiety and dyspnea on exertion in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract Dyspnea limits exercise in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is known to induce anxiety. Little is known whether anxiety contributes to exercise-induced dyspnea, which in turn might influence the outcome of diagnostic tests. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between general anxiety and dyspnea on exertion in patients with COPD. Ninety patients with stable COPD participated; 44 men, mean age 61 (standard deviation (SD) 10.4), and mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second (%pred.) 40.5 (SD 16.9). All participants performed pulmonary function tests and an incremental cycle ergometry. The Modified Borg Scale was used to measure the level of dyspnea on exertion. Anxiety symptoms were assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Data were analyzed using Spearman's correlations and multivariate regression. Dyspnea on exertion was correlated with general anxiety (r=.31), age (r=–.30), and exercise capacity (r=.27). Regression analysis showed that general anxiety was associated with dyspnea on exertion, adjusted for sex, age, baseline dyspnea, and exercise capacity. Consequently, it is reasoned that results of exercise training and activities in daily living may be influenced negatively by anxiety-worsened dyspnea. Attention should be given to anxiety management in patients with COPD to optimize exercise training.
Feasibility Study of  ${\rm SrRuO}_{3}/{\rm SrTiO}_{3}/{\rm SrRuO}_{3}$  Thin Film Capacitors in DRAM Applications

In this paper, we have investigated the leakage current versus voltage characteristic of high-k thin film capacitors over a large temperature range. Fabricated samples, consisting of a 10-nm thin SrTiO3 (STO) layer as a dielectric material and SrRuO3 as electrodes, have been examined. Electrical measurements performed at different temperatures reveal leakage currents that exceed 10-7 A/cm2 at 1 V, a requirement needed for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) applications. We perform a detailed simulation study for the measured samples, making use of a modified drift diffusion model, which also takes into account charge trapping/detrapping effects and nonlocal tunneling. Based on our simulations, we propose an explanation for the large leakage currents observed experimentally. They can be attributed to a trap-assisted tunneling process that is enhanced by oxygen vacancies in the STO dielectric layer. We are thus able to reproduce the temperature and voltage dependence of the measured currents and can use our model to examine the impact of different physical parameters on the behavior of the capacitor structure - a first step toward device optimization. A feasibility analysis is performed for a 1T1C DRAM cell using an optimized deep trench STO capacitor with a reduced oxygen defect density. The simulation results underline the advantages of our modeling procedure using a commercial technology computer aided design (TCAD) framework: once the complex leakage mechanism is implemented, it can be activated on arbitrary 3-D structures, taking advantage of all the postprocessing or visualization capabilities.
Beauty and the Beast? BP's and Exxon's Positions on Global Climate Change

The author attempts first to determine whether there are significant differences among the major oil companies' positions on global climate change, and second to discover the reasons behind any differences found. The investigation focuses upon Exxon and BP Amoco—two of the world's largest oil companies. The differences between the two, with regard to their attitudes and actions on global climate change, are striking: whereas Exxon is continuing to act as one might initially expect (resisting proactive policies on climate change), BP Amoco appears more willing to contemplate a world that uses less oil. Attempts to explain these differences focus upon the companies' respective interests, their management structures, and their nationalities. It appears that all factors are important, at least to some degree. The paper concludes with a discussion of research limitations and suggestions.
Premodern financial systems : a historical comparative study

1. Introduction 2. The financial systems of the ancient Near East 3. The financial system of Periclean Athens 4. The financial system of Augustan Rome 5. The financial system of the early Abbasid caliphate 6. The financial system of the Ottoman Empire at the death of Suleiman I 7. The financial system of Mughal India at the death of Akbar 8. The financial system of early Tokugawa Japan 9. The financial system of Medici Florence 10. The financial system of Elizabethan England 11. The financial system of the United Provinces at the Peace of Munster 12. Similarities and differences.
Democracy, Economic Freedom and Taxation in the European Union

The purpose of this paper is to study empirically how democracy, taxation and economic freedom interact within the European Union (EU-27), european old member states (EU-15) and european new member states (EU-NMS), using VAR methodology, with panel data for 24 countries and yearly observations for the period 1995-2008. The main findings show for EU-27 that democracy amplifies the level of taxation and it discourages economic freedom, while economic freedom has an almost unsignificant, but positive effect on the level of taxation, and a small, positive effect on democracy. As for EU 15, taxation and economic freedom seem to discourage each other; finally, in the case of EU-NMS, the results are similar to EU-27. In respect to policy implication, governments should protect and support private property and initiative, the only ones able to provide functionality for the market’s "invisible hand".
Avian colour perception predicts behavioural responses to experimental brood parasitism in chaffinches

Hosts of cuckoos have evolved defences allowing them to discriminate and reject parasite eggs. Mechanisms of discrimination are mostly visually mediated, and have been studied using approaches that do not account for what the receiver (i.e. host) actually can discriminate. Here, for the first time we apply a perceptual model of colour discrimination to study behavioural responses to natural variation in parasite egg appearance in chaffinches Fringilla coelebs. Discrimination of parasite eggs gradually increased with increasing differences in chromatic contrasts as perceived by birds between parasite and host eggs. These results confirm that colour differences of the eggs as perceived by birds are important integral parts of a matching signal used by chaffinch hosts.
The Association between the Legal and Financial Reporting Environments and Forecast Performance of Individual Analysts

We test the ability of analyst characteristics to explain relative forecast accuracy across legal origins (common law versus civil law). Common law countries generally have more effective corporate governance mechanisms, including stronger investor protection laws and inputs provided through higher-quality financial reporting systems. In this type of environment, investors are more willing to compete for superior investment decisions because they expect to be equitably rewarded, and investors are more likely to demand information about accounting earnings because earnings have more value relevance. The increased demand by investors for earnings information increases the economic incentives of analysts to provide more accurate earnings forecasts. We predict that analysts with superior ability and resources in common law countries will more consistently outperform their peers because appropriate market-based incentives exist. In civil law countries, where the demand for earnings information is reduced because of weaker corporate governance mechanisms and lower-quality financial reporting, we predict that analysts with superior ability will less consistently provide superior forecasts. Results are consistent with our expectations and suggest an association between legal and financial reporting environments and analysts' forecast behavior.
Institutional Ownership Stability and Risk Taking: Evidence from the Life–Health Insurance Industry

We investigate the relationship between risk taking of life-health (LH) insurers and health (LH) insurers and stability of their institutional ownership within a simultaneous equation system model. Several results stability of their institutional ownership within a simultaneous equation system model. Several results are obtained. First, stable institutional ownership is associated with lower total risk of LH insurers, supporting the prutudent-man law hypothesis. Second, when investors are sorted in terms of stringency of the prudent-man restrictions, their negative effect on risk holds for all, except insurance companies, as owners of LH insurers. Third, large institutional owners do not raise the riskiness of the investee-firms, as proposed by the large shareholder hypothesis. Fourth, institutional owners reduce riskiness of the investees through reduction their leverage and underwriting risks, though they increase their investment risk, in which they have greater expertise. These findings have important regulatory, managerial and investment implications.
Relationship Between Subjectively Evaluated Health and Fear of Death Among Elderly in Three Cultural Contexts

It is often argued that declining health in elderly people makes death more salient and threatening. However, we argue that health, optimism, and social support interact to predict fear of death in samples from Cameroon, the Czech Republic, and Germany. Low health was associated with enhanced fear of death for participants who received only little social support. As the measure of optimism did not comply with psychometric requirements in the Cameroonian sample, the three-way interaction was tested only in the Czech and German samples. It was found that the two-way interaction was further qualified by optimism in that low health was associated with enhanced fear of death for participants with little social support unless they reported pronounced optimism. Thus, internal and external resources, respectively, can serve to buffer the effect of declining health on the fear of death in the elderly.
Ebola virus-like particles protect from lethal Ebola virus infection

The filovirus Ebola causes hemorrhagic fever with 70–80% human mortality. High case-fatality rates, as well as known aerosol infectivity, make Ebola virus a potential global health threat and possible biological warfare agent. Development of an effective vaccine for use in natural outbreaks, response to biological attack, and protection of laboratory workers is a higher national priority than ever before. Coexpression of the Ebola virus glycoprotein (GP) and matrix protein (VP40) in mammalian cells results in spontaneous production and release of virus-like particles (VLPs) that resemble the distinctively filamentous infectious virions. VLPs have been tested and found efficacious as vaccines for several viruses, including papillomavirus, HIV, parvovirus, and rotavirus. Herein, we report that Ebola VLPs (eVLPs) were immunogenic in vitro as eVLPs matured and activated mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells, assessed by increases in cell-surface markers CD40, CD80, CD86, and MHC class I and II and secretion of IL-6, IL-10, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α, and tumor necrosis factor α by the dendritic cells. Further, vaccinating mice with eVLPs activated CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, as well as CD19+ B cells. After vaccination with eVLPs, mice developed high titers of Ebola virus-specific antibodies, including neutralizing antibodies. Importantly, mice vaccinated with eVLPs were 100% protected from an otherwise lethal Ebola virus inoculation. Together, our data suggest that eVLPs represent a promising vaccine candidate for protection against Ebola virus infections and a much needed tool to examine the genesis and nature of immune responses to Ebola virus.
The National Board Certification Process: A Comparison of the Perceptions of National Board Certified Teachers and National Board Candidates in West Virginia

iii DEDICATION . iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.v LIST OF TABLES.viii CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY.1 Background . 1 Problem Statement. 6 Purpose of the Study . 7 Significance . 7 Research Questions . 8 Definitions. 9 Operational Definitions. 9 Additional Definitions. 9 Limitations . 10 Organization of the Study . 10 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW . 11 Background . 11 Supporting Research. 16 Impact on Student Achievement . 17 Practices and Perceptions . 22 Dissenting Research . 28 Impact on Student Achievement . 29 Questions about the Process . 31 Candidate Support Programs. 35 NBPTS in West Virginia. 38 CHAPTER THREE: METHODS . 43 Research Design . 43 Population and Sample . 43 Instrumentation. 44 Data Collection Procedures. 45 Data Analysis Procedures . 46 Summary . 47 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS . 49 Respondent Demographics . 49 Major Findings . 55 Research Question One NBCTs. 56 Research Question Two – NB Candidates . 64 Research Question Three Comparison . 72 Ancillary Findings . 80 Motivations . 81 Support Programs . 83 Gender and Years of Experience. 86