Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Making Yourself a Central Hub: Advisor Network Position and Acquirer Returns

This paper examines whether acquiring firms benefit from advisor network centrality, which measures the extent and strength of a financial advisor's connections with its peers in the M&A market. We find that a centrally positioned financial advisor helps acquiring firms garner higher announcement abnormal returns and purchase targets at lower costs. The results hold when alternative techniques such as instrumentalvariable and difference-in-differences are employed to alleviate endogeneity concerns. The effect of advisor network centrality on acquirer abnormal returns varies in the cross-section, with the effect stronger if there is greater information asymmetry surrounding the target firm, and if the acquirer hires a syndicate that is more vulnerable to incentive and collaboration problems. Overall, our findings suggest that highly centrally positioned financial advisors leverage “who they know” to benefit acquirer clients. JEL classification: G14, G24, G34
Can competitive advantage be predicted? Towards a predictive definition of competitive advantage in the resource-based view of the firm

Purpose – The fundamental problem of the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm is its lack of predictive ability and its inability to identify, ex ante, those resources and capabilities leading to competitive advantage and superior profitability. This paper aims to propose an extension of the RBV model that incorporates the demand-based variables of customer needs and size of addressable market segment in the definition of the resources and capabilities that enable competitive advantage and superior profitability. Design/methodology/approach – The paper’s approach is to use a literature review and two case studies. Findings – In this model a company has a competitive advantage if its resources and capabilities are valuable, rare, non-imitable, organized, and if these resources and capabilities address unmet customer needs in market segments large enough to cover organizational fixed costs. Research limitations/implications – The proposed extension of the RBV is based on current literature and two qualitative case studies. Future longitudinal studies should establish causal links between current resources and capabilities meeting the proposed criteria and future performance. Practical implications – The model appears to be able to guide decisions about investment in resources and capabilities to further develop existing competitive advantages and to build new ones. The benefit of this model lies in its ability to identify, ex ante, those resources and capabilities leading to competitive advantage and superior firm profitability. Social implications – An improved ability to predict future firm performance based on more rigorous tests of current resources and capabilities improves the resource allocation process in firms and thus benefits society. Originality/value – The benefit of this model lies in its ability to identify, ex ante, those resources and capabilities leading to competitive advantage and superior firm profitability.
International Journal of Instruction

Journal writing as a way of reflective instruction has now become popular in second/foreign language teacher education due to its contribution for educational development and instruction, yet little studies have been conducted about preservice teachers’ reflection while teaching in a foreign classroom. This article investigates the experiences of 13 BSE majoring in English language teaching preservice teachers in reflective journal writing during their teaching practice in a foreign classroom. Drawing from qualitative data, the findings suggested that the participants perceived journal writing as a way reflective practice in three main ways: (a) pre-service teachers personal development, (b) pre-service teachers selfefficacy, (c) pre-service teachers professional formation. The study implicates that teacher education courses should incorporate journal writing as an explicit tool that serves as a reflection frame for teacher candidates’ ongoing professional language learning and growth as practitioners in the field of language teaching.
SEASONED EQUITY OFFERINGS An Empirical Investigation*

‘This study examines common stock price adJustmcnts to announcements of underwritten common stock offerings. On average. a negative stock price change is observed. which is larger for industrials than for public utilities. Combination primary-secondary stock olrerings and dual stock-bond offerings exhibit similar negative announcement effects. Combination orerings involving decreases in management shareholdings exhibit significantly larger negative announcement effects. Cross-sectional analysis of stock announcement returns indicates a positive relationship to firms’ leverage changes, and a negative relationship to prior stock returns and (for industrials) to decreases in management shareholdings.
CEO evaluation horizons and innovation∗

To assess its impact on innovation, I focus on an important aspect of corporate governance that has not been empirically identifiable – the CEO performance evaluation horizon. Because trial and error is a time-consuming process, evaluation horizon is an important determinant of innovation, an insight provided by Manso (2011). Taking advantage of the 2011 SEC rule change that requires all public US companies to vote on the “say on pay” frequency, I apply sharp regression discontinuity design (RDD) to show that firms with long term evaluation generate low-value innovation at first but more valuable innovation in the long run. Furthermore, my evidence suggests that the underlying mechanism is that long evaluation horizons allow costly “explorations” in a broad spectrum of technological fields in the beginning. Later on, the firm benefits from the exploration by “exploiting” the field that was identified as the most promising during exploration. The patent “truncation problems” that traditionally limit investigations of recent (here 2011 onward) innovation are solved by the collection and usage of patent application data. The differentiation of exploration and exploitation is enabled by two novel measures of
Does Better Corporate Governance Encourage Payout? Idiosyncratic Risk, Agency Problem, and Dividend Policy

Does stronger corporate governance encourage payout? The literature is divided on this question. Our empirical investigation reveals that corporate governance acts as a substitute for [complement to] a firm’s dividend policy when its idiosyncratic risk is high [low], in effect managing the problem of underinvestment [overinvestment]. These findings are robust to various alternative model specifications and exogenous variations in corporate governance that result from state adoption of antitakeover laws. The dividend substitution [complement] effect is more pronounced in firms with possible CEO risk aversion [with higher free cash flow]. We observe a similar phenomenon in other types of payout decisions. JEL classifications: G34, G35
Do Passive Investors Have Passive Corporate Social Responsibility?∗

This paper examines the effect of passive institutional investors on firm’s CSR policy. Using the annual Russell 1000/2000 index reconstitution as an instrument for institutional ownership, we find that firms with higher passive institutional ownership significantly reduce CSR engagements. On average, a one standard deviation increase in passive institutional ownership decreases the CSR score by 0.3 standard deviation. The effects are mainly driven welldiversified passive investors, and are more pronounced for firms with less exposure to legitimation risk. We also find that passive investors influence firm’s CSR engagement by decreasing socially responsible investment (SRI) proposals, i.e., through the channel of "voice. " Overall, our results indicate that passive investors are not passive in firm’s corporate social responsibility.
The Effect of Timely Loan Loss Recognition in the Banking System on Firms’ Debt Choice

In this paper, we examine how the system under which banks record loan losses, specifically, the timeliness of loan loss recognition, affects the borrower’s debt choice. Using data from 55 countries, we find that more timely loan loss recognition reduces the preference for bank debt relative to public debt, consistent with borrowers relying less on bank debt to avoid costly monitoring due to timely loan loss recognition. Further analyses lend additional support to the costly monitoring avoidance channel. More specifically, we find an even lower preference for bank debt in countries with stringent bank supervision and for financially constrained and opaque firms. Our results are also robust to several endogeneity tests, including an instrumental variable approach and an exogenous shock to loan loss provision timeliness. Finally, in external validity tests we find that loan loss provision timeliness affects other aspects of debt structure, such as debt maturity and security. Overall, our study provides new insights into the real effects of banks’ accounting on borrower behavior by highlighting a possibly unintended consequence of improving the timeliness of loan loss recognition on borrowers that can choose from alternative debt providers. November 2017 JEL Classifications: G21, G38, G32
Collateral Benefits? Impact of Supervisory Enforcement Actions against Banks on their Corporate Borrowers

I investigate effects of supervisory enforcement actions against banks on their corporate borrowers’ stock market performance and credit conditions. Event-study analysis of these actions suggests significant negative valuation effects for relationship borrowers, which are reverted once borrowers are granted loans by the sanctioned banks. Loan-level analysis suggests that sanctioned banks try to offset their reputational/condition uncertainty losses by improving credit conditions at the intensive and extensive margins for both relationship and non-relationship borrowers. Effects are stronger for more severe actions and more marginal borrowers. Results are robust to a battery of tests, and contribute to the enforcement actions’ cost-benefit debate. JEL Classification: G21, G28, G32, K42
Comparação da força muscular entre mulheres brasileiras com e sem síndrome metabólica Comparison of muscle strength between Brazilian women with and without metabolic syndrome

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MS) is characterized by the combination of several cardiovascular risk factors such as: abdominal obesity, arterial hypertension, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance/type 2 diabetes, and dyslipidemia. Some studies have shown that low levels of muscle strength are strongly associated with the prevalence of MS; however, no studies have examined muscle strength in Brazilian women with MS. Objective: To compare the muscle strength between Brazilian women with and without MS. Methods: We evaluated 17 (37.2±8.2 years) Brazilian women with MS and 21 (33.2±7.6 years) Brazilian women without the MS. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program - Adult Treatment Panel III, and the muscle strength was measured by the handgrip test. Results: The muscle strength normalized per body weight was significantly lower in subjects with MS (p=0.005). Conclusion: Women with MS present relative muscle strength values lower than healthy women.
More on HIV-Associated Kaposi's Sarcoma

n engl j med 358;5 www.nejm. org january 31, 2008 535 tion) over a treatment period of 5 weeks in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip. Initially, the manipulative therapy was more effective in reducing pain and increasing function, but it lost efficacy over time. Additional clinical studies are warranted to obtain information about the efficacy of manipulation therapy and to determine whether there are particular subgroups of patients who are most likely to benefit from this intervention.1 I agree with Beaty et al. that there are now a number of effective surgical options, before a total hip arthroplasty, that may be effective in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip. Arthroscopic or open operative techniques used for anterior femoral impingement resulting from acetabular dysplasia are reported to reduce pain and improve function and to prolong the time until total hip arthroscopy is required.2,3 In addition, osteotomies of the femur, pelvis, or both can be performed to prolong the time to total joint arthroplasty. Although there are data on the efficacy of these techniques from case reports and reports on small case series, additional long-term follow-up is still required to determine which patient population with osteoarthritis of the hip is likely to benefit from these joint-saving techniques.
Tax Risk and Dividend Payouts

I examine whether and to what extent tax risk affects a firm’s decision to distribute dividends as well as the amount of dividend payouts. Tax risk increases cash-flow uncertainty and impairs the persistence and predictability of after-tax cash flow available for distribution. Based on this argument, I hypothesize and find that firms with greater tax risk exhibit a lower probability of dividend payouts. This effect of tax risk is weaker for firms that distribute dividends based on agency motives and for firms with a lower likelihood of unexpected tax payments. Moreover, I find a negative effect of tax risk on the amount of dividend payouts which is moderated by the costs of dividend reductions. The effect of tax risk is economically meaningful where a one standard deviation higher tax risk is associated with a 3.6% lower probability and a 6.8% lower amount of dividend payouts. Overall, my findings provide evidence for a real effect of tax avoidance and contribute to the understanding of interactions between risky tax avoidance and a firm’s financial ecosystem.
From Day-Ahead PV Forecast to PV Regulation: Imbalance Mitigation Strategies for the Italian Case Study

This study deals with the increase of power imbalance and its related cost due to the growth of solar penetration. We applied state-of-the-art day-ahead solar and load forecast models to predict residual load of Italy. Using these models and real data provided by the Italian TSO, we suggest and test different imbalance mitigation strategies and we compute the resulting imbalance volume and cost at different PV penetration levels. We show how the imbalance can be set to a fixed value regardless of PV installed capacity, allowing for a massive solar penetration. The strategies consists in: (1) Improving the accuracy of PV and residual load power forecast (2) Enlarging the footprint of the forecast controlled area; (3) Implement PV imbalance regulation through flexible PV power plants based on battery energy storage systems (BESS) and pro-active curtailment able to adapt the PV generation to the predicted profile.
Tournament Incentives and Acquisition Performance

This paper examines the impact of promotion-based tournament incentives on corporate acquisition performance. Measuring tournament incentives as the compensation ratio between the CEO and other senior executives, we show that acquirers with greater tournament incentives experience lower announcement returns. Further analysis shows that the negative effect is driven by the risk-seeking behavior of senior executives induced by tournament incentives. Our results are robust to alternative identification strategies. Our evidence highlights that senior executives, in addition to the CEO, play an influential role in acquisition decisions. (JEL G30, G34, G41, J31, J33, J62) Received: November 5, 2018; editorial decision January 6, 2020 by Editor Isil Erel.
THE ROLE OF NATIONAL CULTURE AND MEDIA IN EXPLAINING COMMONALITY IN LIQUIDITY

In this paper, we investigate the relationship between the role of national culture, national media and investor sentiment on commonality in liquidity. Our analysis shows that national culture dimensions are important determinants of country’s commonality in liquidity. We find that individualistic countries tend to show lower level of commonality in liquidity. In addition, we find that countries with higher score of uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and long term orientation have a significant higher degree of commonality in liquidity. Further, our analysis suggests that freedom of press is a critical dimension of country’s level of commonality. We find that commonality in liquidity is significantly higher for countries with less freedom of press and higher newspaper circulation. In addition, our results suggest that investors may use the internet as an alternative (complement) information source to make independent trading decision.
TANGO I: Interstellar medium in nearby radio galaxies

Context. Powerful radio-AGN are hosted by massive elliptical galaxies that are usually very poor in molecular gas. Nevertheless, gas is needed at their very center to feed the nuclear activity. Aims. We study the molecular gas properties (i.e., mass, kinematics, distribution, origin) of these objects, and compare them with results for other known samples. Methods. At the IRAM-30m telescope, we performed a survey of the CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) emission from the most powerful radio galaxies of the Local Universe, selected only on the basis of their radio continuum fluxes. Results. The main result of our survey is that the molecular gas content of these galaxies is very low compared to spiral or FIR-selected galaxies. The median value of the molecular gas mass, including detections and upper limits, is 2.2 × 108 M . When separated into FR-I and FR-II types, a difference in their H2 masses is found. The median value of FR-I galaxies is about 1.9 × 108 M and higher for FR-II galaxies, at about 4.5 × 108 M . Which is probably entirely because of a Malmquist bias. Our results contrast with those of previous surveys, whose targets were mainly selected by means of their FIR emission, implying that we measure higher observed masses of molecular gas. Moreover, the shape of CO spectra suggest that a central molecular gas disk exists in 30% of these radio galaxies, a lower rate than in other active galaxy samples. Conclusions. We find a low level of molecular gas in our sample of radio-selected AGNs, indicating that galaxies do not need much molecular gas to host an AGN. The presence of a molecular gas disk in some galaxies and the wide range of molecular gas masses may be indicative of different origins for the gas, which we can not exclude at present (e.g., minor/major mergers, stellar mass loss, or accretion).
Midwives' approaches to early pushing urge in labour

The objectives of this mixed-methods study were: a) to investigate midwives' approaches to early pushing urge (EPU); and b) to explore midwives' perspectives and experiences of helping women cope with EPU. A quantitative observational methodology was adopted to investigate midwives' approaches to EPU in 60 cases. A qualitative phenomenological approach was carried out in order to gain more in-depth understanding of midwives' views and experiences of EPU management strategies. It was found that midwives mainly adopt two approaches in the case of EPU: letting the woman do what she feels, and a stop-pushing technique. The findings are presented as four main domains: a) midwives' approaches to EPU; b) drivers guiding midwives' approaches to EPU; c) influencing factors in helping women cope with EPU; d) variation of midwives' approaches to EPU over time.
Bacterial Colonization of tbe Upper Respiratory Tract and Its Association witb Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in Higbland Cbildren of Papua New Guinea

Acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRI) is the major cause of death among children in Papua New Guinea. This longitudinal study reports the bacteriologic findings for children observed in their hamlets. A total of 1,449 nasal swab specimens from 158 children <5 years of age who were studied intensively for 18 months were examined. Nonserotypable strains of Haemophilus influenzae were isolated from 91% of specimens, and serotypable strains were isolated from 35%o (8% H. influenzae type b) of specimens. All children had acquired Streptococcus pneumoniae by the age of 3 months. The most frequently occurring serotypes of S. pneumoniae were 6, 19, and 23. Children more frequently carried invasive pneumococci during an episode of ALRI than when they were healthy. Also, children more frequently carried serotypable strains of H. influenzae during the 2 weeks preceding an episode of ALRI than when they were healthy. Between-children analyses showed that children who were susceptible to attacks of ALRI and those who were not susceptible had similar rates of carriage of bacteria.
A REVIEW OF SOME POPULAR OPINIONS ABOUT SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND TEACHING: THE SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY (SCT) PERSPECTIVES

The Sociocultural Theory (SCT) has influenced Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and teaching these days. This theory has rooted in different domains of SLA including interaction, cognitive processes and individual differences. This paper is a review of how Sociocultural Theory (SCT) be incorporated into SLA and teaching. Six out of seventeen statements that Lightbown and Spada (2006) revealed as the most popular opinions in the field of SLA and teaching have been examined to see the consensus of these statements with Sociocultural Theory (SCT). This review concludes that Sociocultural Theory (SCT) provides new insights over SLA and teaching in which may be useful for second language (L2) learning activities and teaching atmosphere. However, most studies have also supported the inconclusinve statements of issues in SLA and teaching which are also identified from the perspective of the sociocultural Theory (SCT). They are that the 'how' in SLA is much more critical than the 'what' or 'when'.
Sociotechnical habits of mind: Initial survey results and their formative impact on sociotechnical teaching and learning

Kathryn Johnson is an Associate Professor at the Colorado School of Mines in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and is Jointly Appointed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s National Wind Technology Center. She has researched wind turbine control systems since 2002, with numerous projects related to reducing turbine loads and increasing energy capture. She has applied experiential learning techniques in several wind energy and control systems classes and began engineering education research related to social justice in control systems engineering in fall 2014.
Credit Default Swaps, Equity Risk, and Corporate Risk-Taking∗

This study links the trading of CDS contracts to increased equity risk and reduced corporate risk-taking. Because the CDS hinders successful debt renegotiation with creditors and weakens shareholders’ put option to strategically default, equity values of CDS firms are more sensitive to cash flow risk. As a result, we show that the onset of CDS trading is accompanied by a rise in equity market beta and return volatility, particularly for firms with poor credit ratings, high liquidation costs, and a more liquid CDS market. In the years after CDS trading is initiated, we find that firms reduce corporate risk-taking by expanding diversification across industries, scaling back risky investment, and reducing demand for leverage. JEL Classification: G31, G32, G33