Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Overtime Work and Overtime Compensation in Germany

Sharing the available stock of work more fairly is a popular concern in the public policy debate. One policy proposal is to reduce overtime work in order to allow the employment of more people. This paper suggests that such a concept faces major problems. Using Germany as a case study, it is shown that the group of workers with the highest risks of becoming unemployed, namely the unskilled, also exhibit low levels of overtime work. Those who work overtime, namely the skilled, face excess demand on the labour market. Since skilled and unskilled workers are largely complements in production, a general reduction in overtime will lead to less production and hence also to a decline in the level of unskilled employment. The paper provides empirical support for this line of argument. It is also shown that paid overtime work has lost relative importance over time.
Drop-out and failure to engage in individual outpatient cognitive behavior therapy for bulimic disorders.

OBJECTIVE It was the aim of this study to explore the characteristics of bulimics who fail to complete therapy. Noncompleters were divided into those who failed to engage and those who dropped out, so that these groups could be directly compared. METHOD Participants were 50 women (bulimia nervosa or anorexia nervosa of the bulimic subtype) recruited from a case series of referrals to an eating disorders clinic, who were offered individual cognitive-behavior therapy. The women (28 completers; 7 failure to engage; 15 drop-outs) were compared on standardized measures of eating, psychological, and family characteristics. RESULTS The noncompleting groups both had high levels of borderline psychopathology and more severe perceived bulimic characteristics than the completers. However, the "drop-out" and "failures to engage" had very different patterns of perceived family emotional involvement, with the failures to engage reporting relatively healthy functioning. DISCUSSION Our understanding of the eating disorders (and of the effectiveness of treatment) is skewed by the nature of the samples involved. The characteristics of noncompleters could be used at initial assessment to target clinical work towards lowering rates of drop-out and failure to engage.
Consumption, Inflation Risk, and Real Interest Rates: An Empirical Analysis

The consumption-based asset pricing model is used to examine the relation between inflation and interest rates. To the extent that inflation is correlated with real consumption opportunities, expected real interest rates should incorporate a premium for inflation covariance risk. The empirical results suggest a statistically reliable premium for inflation covariability risk in short-term interest rates. Moreover, part of the time-series variation in inflation covariability risk is predictable. Copyright 1994 by University of Chicago Press.
The Impact of Trade Liberalization on Economic Growth in Tanzania

The broad objective of this study is to analyze the effect of trade liberalization on economic growth in Tanzania. The impact of trade liberalization on economic growth has raised a great attention to many researchers in the international trade arena. Various studies have been conducted however the literature still has the mixed bag of results. Thus, the researchers were motivated to pursue this study so as to fill the gap in the International Trade in Tanzania. The study adopted a simple linear regression model where real GDP was the dependent variable while trade openness was the independent variable. Annual time series data was used covering the period 1970-2010. This overall period was then subdivided into a closed economy period (1970-1985) and a open economy period (1986-2010). OLS technique was used to estimate the regression model twice, regarding the two sub-periods. The empirical findings indicated that trade openness had a positive and significant effect on economic growth in Tanzania. However, this effect was relatively greater during the closed economy compared to the open economy period. It has been indicated that since late 1980s Tanzania experienced continuous trade deficits in her accounts. This has been the contributing factor in the obtained results. Thus, the study recommended that there is a need for the country to put strong initiative on adding value on her exports so as to compensate for imports. There is a need of developing more domestic industries and attracting more investors in the economy. Also the elimination of unnecessary tariffs is required.
Endogenous Growth and Cross-Country Income Differences

A multicountry Schumpeterian growth model is constructed. Because of technology transfer, RD other countries stagnate. A parameter change that would have raised a country's growth rate in standard Schumpetarian theory will permanently raise its productivity and per capita income relative to other countries and raise the world growth rate. Transitional dynamics are analyzed for each country and for the world economy. Steady-state income differences obey the same equation as in neoclassical theory, but since R&D is positively correlated with investment rates, capital accumulation accounts for less than estimated by neoclassical theory.
Employees as “co‐intrapreneurs” – a transformation concept

The article offers a systemic framework and transformational concept of “co‐intrapreneurship”, which is defined as the efficient support of the enterprise strategy by problem‐solving, socially competent and implementation‐oriented thinking, and the acting of as large a number of employees as possible at all hierarchies and functional areas with a high degree of self‐initiative and sense of responsibility. The classical leadership model of hierarchy and bureaucracy is questioned and internal market control and co‐operative social networks are offered as alternative systems of co‐ordination. A particular emphasis is placed on a specific leadership and typology approach for selection and assessing co‐intrapreneurial potential, key competencies and motivation, which also serve as target‐oriented strategy for developing “co‐intrapreneurship”. In addition to presenting illustrative figures and referring to various empirical studies and surveys, the article concludes with some practical guiding principles for the advancement of effective “co‐intrapreneurship”.
The Usefulness of Accounting Information in the Measurement of Technical Efficiency in Agricultural Cooperatives

The study of the performance of agricultural cooperatives has become increasingly important in recent years, due to the significant role that they have in the agricultural food sector. In this context, the present study has a double aim: On one hand to use the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique in order to measure the efficiency of agricultural cooperatives, and on the other hand, to analyse if this technique is complementary to the traditional economic and financial ratio analysis. In order to achieve these objectives, an empirical study is carried out using the data of 247 observations made over a horizontal time span of three accounting years (2001-2003). The results show that the efficiency measures obtained by means of the DEA technique are an appropriate complement to the economic analysis of agricultural cooperatives. Copyright © 2008 The Author Journal compilation © CIRIEC 2008.
Public‐Private Partnerships: Governance Scheme or Language Game?

Accepting that there is much confusion in current debates about the use of public-private partnerships for public infrastructure projects, the article begins by considering the emergence of the ‘PPP phenomenon’ as a ‘governance scheme’ and as a ‘language game’. The existence of several types of so-called PPPs, and motives for them, is noted, as are criticism of loose assumptions about them in the debates. The argument then focuses on private finance initiative (PFI) schemes as one branch of cross-sectoral mixing arrangements, and examines the benefits and costs of using this mechanism. The conclusion is a pessimistic one: in the PFI arrangement, the potential for the interests of the advocating government and the business partners to dominate over the public interest has been palpable. There is an urgent need to explore further the merit of these infrastructure ‘partnerships’ to ensure that they do advance the public interest.
Identification of a single nucleotide polymorphism at intron 16 of the caprine Acyl-Coenzyme A: diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) gene

The DGAT1 gene encodes a microsomal enzyme that catalyses the only committed step in triacylglycerol synthesis by joining diacylglycerol and fatty acyl coenzyme A. In cattle, a K232A substitution in the DGAT1 molecule has a significant effect on enzyme activity and milk fat content. The prominent role of this gene in lipid metabolism led us to undertake the structural characterization of DGAT1 in goats. In this way, we have sequenced a 1552 bp fragment of the goat DGAT1 cDNA, which encompasses most of the coding sequence (from exon 1 to 17), and a genomic fragment covering exons 12 to 17. Multiple alignment of the goat DGAT1 sequences revealed the existence of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) involving a T to C substitution at intron 16. We optimized a primer extension based genotyping method that allowed us to determine that the C variant is a minority allele with frequencies ranging from 0·062 (Murciano-Granadina) to 0·109 (Malagueña). This SNP, although not expected to have any functional effect, might be useful as a genetic marker in association studies to detect additional DGAT1 polymorphisms which might influence fat milk content and other traits of economic interest.
Skewed expression of natural‐killer (NK)‐associated antigens on lymphoproliferations of large granular lymphocytes (LGL)

Killer‐immunoglobulin‐like receptors (KIR) or C‐type lectin‐like receptors are heterogeneously expressed on NK cells and small subsets of T cells and might provide a new diagnostic tool for LGL lymphoproliferations (LGLL). We investigated the diagnostic impact of these cell surface molecules in T‐ and NK‐type LGLL. Using three‐color flow cytometry we examined the expression patterns of KIR (CD158a/b/e/i), CD85j, lectin‐like receptors (CD94, CD161, NKG2A/D) and natural cytotoxicity receptors (NKp30/44/46) in 13 patients with LGLL (10 T‐, 3 NK‐LGLL) and compared them to those of the corresponding lymphocyte subsets in 20 control subjects. The presence of clonal TCR‐gamma rearrangements and of Epstein Barr virus‐ (EBV) DNA were evaluated by PCR.
THE GLOBAL CIRCUS: INTERNATIONAL SPORT, TOURISM, AND THE MARKETING OF CITIES

International sports events have long evoked the discourses and imagery of internationalism while serving as occasions for the advertisement of the host nation and city. This article seeks to explore some of the tensions that follow from this. It has become almost a truism that hosting international events generates enormous benefits for the host city and region. However, the economic evidence examined suggests that although these events provide short-term windfalls for the local construction and tourist industries, the public sector costs of staging them are understated regularly. This is routinely justified in terms of the importance of establishing an identity as a “world-class” city, but the relationships between public costs and private gains need to be examined carefully. The article argues that the benefits of living in a world-class city are very unevenly distributed, and it raises questions on both economic and equity grounds about the urban strategy of promoting the city as a center for leisure, tourism, and consumption.
Do Complexity, Governance, and Auditor Independence Influence whether Firms Retain Their Auditors for Tax Services?

ABSTRACT: This study examines factors that influenced public companies to retain or dismiss their audit firms as tax service providers during the years immediately surrounding the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in 2002. We find a positive relation between a company’s tax and operating complexity and the probability that it retained its auditor-provided tax services, suggesting that complexity increases the potential benefits from knowledge spillover relative to the costs from perceived auditor independence impairment. We find a positive relation between the strength of a company’s corporate governance and the probability that it retained auditor-provided tax services, suggesting that companies with strong governance expected benefits from knowledge spillover to exceed costs from perceived auditor independence impairment. Although we find no direct relation between auditor tenure and the decision to retain auditor-provided tax services, we do find a significant negative association between auditor.
The effectiveness of intermittent rat parathyroid hormone (1-34) treatment on low bone mass due to oestrogen or androgen depletion in skeletally mature rats

Rat parathyroid hormone (PTH) 1-34 (4 μg/kg/day) was applied for 2.5 months to 9 month-old rats immediately after ovariectomy or orchidectomy or to 15 month-old rats with low bone mass which had been castrated 6 months before in order to know the effects on serum biochemistry parameters, lumbar and femoral bone mineral density, histology, cancellous and cortical bone histomorphometry, mineralisation content profile in cortical bone by backscattered-electron microscopy, and femoral torsion biomechanical testing. In ovariectomised rats, preventive PTH treatment avoided cancellous bone loss in tibial metaphysis and partially in lumbar vertebra, while in cortical bone, PTH increased endosteal resorption and periosteal formation. In intervention study, PTH did not restore cancellous bone but a strong endosteal and periosteal new bone formation was detected. In orchidectomised rats, PTH, in preventive study, avoided cancellous bone loss in metaphysis and lumbar vertebra, and a mild new bone formation in cortical bone was found. In intervention study, PTH maintained baseline cancellous bone mass, but in cortical bone a strong endosteal and periosteal new bone formation was detected. The PTH-induced new bone formation was confirmed by histology and by mineral content profiles. After castration, biomechanical properties were affected in females but not in male rats and PTH reverted this effect.
Morphological and functional correlations in riboflavin UV A corneal collagen cross‐linking for keratoconus

Purpose: To investigate the correlations between corneal structural modifications assessed by in vivo corneal confocal microscopy with visual function [uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best spectacle‐corrected visual acuity (BSCVA)] and morphological data (corneal topography, pachymetry, elevation analysis) after riboflavin UV A corneal collagen cross‐linking (CXL) for the stabilization of progressive keratoconus.
Reproducibility of interpretation of Gram-stained vaginal smears for the diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis

In the diagnostic microbiology laboratory, interpretation of Gram-stained slides of vaginal swab specimens is used to support the clinical diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis. The reproducibility with which technologists interpret these Gram-stained slides was evaluated by presenting, in coded fashion, 80 original slides and 80 duplicate slides of vaginal swab specimens to three technologists. They each interpreted the original slide twice and the duplicate slide from the same specimen once. Intraobserver and interobserver agreement was assessed by use of the weighted kappa statistic. Semiquantitation of Lactobacillus and Gardnerella morphotypes and a diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis showed the greatest intraobserver agreement, with kappa values ranging from 0.772 to 1.000. Interobserver agreement was also high for rating Lactobacillus morphotypes and clue cells (kappa values between 0.735 and 0.869) but decreased slightly for Gardnerella morphotypes and a diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis (kappa values between 0.656 and 0.800). These results indicate that there is good agreement for the interpretation of Gram-stained slides of vaginal swab specimens and that this method alone, without culture, can be used reliably to support the clinical diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis.
Highly qualified and highly ambitious: implications for workforce retention of realising the career expectations of graduate nurses in England

Although increasing numbers of graduates now enter the UK labour market, there has been little evaluation of the benefits that this component of the workforce is reported to bring to employing organisations. This study focused on nursing; a profession in which graduate entry is increasing but potential benefits of moving to all-graduate entry are strongly contested. Career behaviour and expectations of graduate nurses were compared with those of diploma-qualified nurses. Career behaviours were similar but differences were found in fulfilment of expectations that reflected findings reported for graduates in other employment contexts. Graduates entered nursing with higher expectations than diplomates but these were often unfulfilled. Graduates reported lower levels of satisfaction than diplomates over time and became less likely to intend remaining in nursing. Implications for increasing graduate entry are discussed, together with strategies to facilitate better synchronisation between graduate expectations and opportunities within the NHS and beyond.
The Alternative Three‐Factor Model: An Alternative Beyond US Markets?

We investigate the performance of the alternative three-factor model across markets. The important US evidence of Chen et al. (2010) in favour of the alternative model does not translate to a test setting using data from 40 non-US stock markets. The three-factor model of Fama and French provides persistently a better description of average returns. Our analysis is robust across developed and emerging markets, robust to alternative measures of investment and profitability, to seasonality effects, to size-segmented subsamples and subperiods, to various test assets, and to the two-stage cross-section regression approach to test for priced factors.
Genetic diversity analysis of Kail sheep by using microsatellite markers.

The Kail sheep breed of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) was analyzed by using 11 microsatellite markers in order to estimate genetic diversity of this famous breed. This study aimed to provide information on the genetic structure of the Kail breed. In total 47 samples of Kail sheep were genotyped. We obtained 58 alleles, while average number of alleles was 5.2727 ranging from 3 (INRA32, MM12) to 8 (MAF70). The observed heterozygosity (Ho) and expected heterozygosity (He) values were 0.7659 and 0.7185 respectively, most likely as a result of the mating structure of the Kail sheep breed. High heterozygosity values in the investigated population revealed low level of inbreeding, low selection pressure. Within population inbreeding estimates (F IS = 0.0525) further supported low rate of inbreeding. The mean polymorphism information content (PIC) value was 0.60, indicating that the set of used markers were highly informative and may be used in parentage identification. This is the first report of microsatellite s based variation in Kail sheep breed and it may assist to construe the genetic character istics and benefit to the future conservation programs.
Merger Momentum and Investor Sentiment: The Stock Market Reaction to Merger Announcements

This paper examines the effects of mergers on bidding firms' stock prices. I find evidence of merger momentum: bidder stock prices are more likely to increase when a merger is announced if recent mergers by other firms have been received well (a "hot" merger market) or if the overall stock market is doing better. However, there is long-run reversal. Long-run bidder stock returns are lower for mergers announced when either the merger or stock markets were hot at the time of the merger than for those announced at other times.
Genetic polymorphisms of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and renal insufficiency in essential hypertension

Objective The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) plays an important role in the control of renal function both in physiological and pathological conditions. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relation between four genetic polymorphisms of the RAAS and renal insufficiency in a population of patients with essential hypertension living in north-east Italy. Design and methods Eighty-six hypertensive patients with renal insufficiency and 172 hypertensive patients without renal damage matched for age and hypertension duration to within 2 years were evaluated. Genotyping for insertion/deletion of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE I/D), angiotensinogen (AGT) M235T, angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) A1166C and aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2) -344C/T polymorphisms were performed using polymerase chain reaction, with further restriction analysis when required. Results Each of the genetic polymorphisms of the RAAS genes was associated with renal failure; the adjusted odds ratios were 1.47 and 1.89 for ACE D allele, assuming a co dominant and a recessive mode of inheritance, respectively; 1.51 for AGT T235 allele assuming a co dominant, and 1.98 assuming a recessive, pattern of inheritance; 1.79 for AT1R C1166 allele considering a dominant pattern; and 3.89 for CYP11B2 −344C allele as a recessive effect. However, CYP11B2 genotypes were not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium among controls. The associations AGT TT-AT1R AC and CYP11B2 CC-ACE DD showed a possible positive interaction in the development of renal insufficiency among hypertensive subjects. The association AGT MM-AT1R AA and AGT MM-AT1R AA-CYP11B2 TT or TC combinations were associated with a reduced risk for renal failure. Conclusions Our findings suggest that in patients with essential hypertension an unfavorable genetic pattern of RAAS may contribute to the increased risk for the development of renal failure.
The Role of Management Controls in Transforming Firm Boundaries and Sustaining Hybrid Organizational Forms

Coase [1937] first explained the existence of firms and the boundaries between them as an emergent solution to minimizing the costs of accessing markets – what Williamson [1975] later termed 'transaction costs. ' Over time, innovations in management control and changes to legal structures have reduced the costs of monitoring, raised the costs of behaving opportunistically, and created ways for partners to commit credibly to future actions. At the same time, entrepreneurial firms have developed inimitable resources that are a basis for collaborating with partners who have complementary resources Penrose [1959]. Together these forces have transformed the dichotomous choice of 'make' versus 'buy' into a selection among a more nuanced set of hybrid modes of organization (e.g., strategic alliances, joint ventures, and supply chain partnerships). The hybrid structures blend characteristics of arms-length market transactions with modes of governance and control that are more common to large decentralized firms. The thesis of this monograph is that innovation in management control has been central to the emergence, diversity and stability of hybrid organizational forms. Extending the arguments of Coase, Williamson, and Penrose, a review of the accounting literature highlights the important role that management controls have played in transforming the question from explaining firm boundaries to explaining how transactions that appear to be fraught with transactions hazards are rendered profitable and sustainable to transaction partners. We review empirical research in management accounting to support our thesis and identify areas for further inquiry.