Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
To What Extent Did the Financial Crisis Intensify the Pressure to Reform the Welfare State

If ever there was momentum to roll back the welfare state, it is the (aftermath) of the financial crisis of 2008-09. All theoretical perspectives within comparative welfare state research predict radical reform in this circumstance, but does it also happen? Our data indicate that - at least so far - it does not. Focusing on a selection of advanced welfare states (the UK, the USA, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden), we find that these countries face similar problems and that their initial response to these problems is also similar. The latter is surprising because, theoretically, we would expect varying responses across welfare state regime types. Rather than retrenchment, we observe a first phase of emergency capital injections in the banking sector and a second of Keynesian demand management and labour market protection, including the (temporary) expansion of social programmes. Continuing public support for the welfare state was a main precondition for this lack of immediate radical retrenchment. However, the contours of a third phase have become apparent now that budgetary constraints are forcing political actors to make tough choices and introduce austerity policies. As a result, the question of who pays what, when, and how will likely give rise to increasingly sharp distributional conflicts. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Assessment of Kenya’s Tourist Source Markets

ABSTRACT In recent years, Kenya’s tourism has not kept pace with competition. This study attempts to empirically evaluate Kenya’s tourist source markets in the light of growing competition for tourists. The paper uses a Constant Market Share (CMS) analysis to decompose growth of tourist arrivals from key generating regions to Kenya and a few selected benchmark countries. The analysis indicates that while Kenya had a considerable competitive edge during the period 2000–2003, the situation reversed within the subsequent five years. This cost the country about 362,000 tourists who choose the benchmark countries rather than Kenya as their destination. The study thus provides useful insights for Kenya’s tourism policy makers.
Petrol Price Cycles

This article provides an overview of the burgeoning academic literature on price dynamics and price cycles in retail petrol markets. I first present evidence of petrol price cycles and studies that describe what types of petrol markets tend to exhibit price cycles. I further discuss empirical investigations of firms’ pricing strategies in cycling markets. In light of the empirics, I outline theories of competition and consumer demand in petrol markets that help us understand various facets of petrol price cycles.
The Effect of Health on Consumption Decisions in Later Life: Evidence from the UK

The analysis in this paper focuses on the impact of health on the savings and consumption decisions of the elderly. In principle, there are at least five alternative channels through which health may affect consumption and savings. Ill health may affect both consumption capacities and needs while the risk of deteriorating health might increase subjective mortality expectations inducing higher consumption. Conversely ill health may induce lower consumption and an increase in precautionary savings given that agents may anticipate increased consumption needs following a negative health shock. Our main objective in this paper is to describe how consumption decisions of the elderly adjust to health changes and to disentangle of the different channels through which consumption responds to health changes. To identify the effect of health on consumption and saving decisions we use data from the British Household Panel Survey and the English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing (ELSA) and we estimate a series of regression models which relate health changes to observed consumption changes. Our findings suggest that there are significant adjustments in the composition of consumption following an illness onset. These adjustments reflect mainly the combined effect of increased costs associated with illness onset as well as the effect of constraints on opportunity to spend associated with illness onset.
Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii Among Nunavik Inuit (Canada)

As a result of their intimate contact with the land and their nutritional habits, the Inuit of Nunavik are considered to be at risk from zoonotic infections. To better understand the risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii infection, a serosurvey was conducted in Nunavik, Québec, in September 2004. A representative sample of the Inuit adult population of Nunavik participated in this cross‐sectional study (n = 917). Antibodies (IgG) against T. gondii were detected by immunoassay. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, traditional activities, domestic environment and nutrition was gathered by questionnaire and explored as variables explanatory of seropositive results. Associations found to be statistically significant in univariate analyses were assessed by multivariable logistic regression to control for confounding factors. Almost two thirds (59.8%) of the Inuit of Nunavik were found to be seropositive for T. gondii. In multivariate analyses, risk factors for seropositivity were: increasing age, gender (women > men), lower level of education, consumption of potentially contaminated water (determined by an index of risk from waterborne infections), frequent cleaning of water reservoirs, and consumption of seal meat and feathered game. There was some variation in seroprevalence between the Ungava Bay coast (52.3%) and the Hudson Bay coast (65.6%), the two main regions of Nunavik, but this variation was not significant in the multivariable logistic regression model. This cross‐sectional study demonstrated high T. gondii seroprevalence in the Inuit population and revealed that age, gender, schooling and community of residence all influence serostatus in this population. Variables related to drinking water and food choices may also influence the risk of infection. These results raise important questions about T. gondii transmission in Nunavik including possible links between terrestrial and marine cycles.
NONLINEARITY, CYCLICITY, AND PERSISTENCE IN CONSUMPTION AND INCOME RELATIONSHIPS: RESEARCH IN HONOR OF MELVIN J. HINICH

This paper is dedicated to the memory of the great statistician Melvin J. Hinich, with whom we were in contact about this research prior to his untimely death from a tragic fall. We develop a neoclassical growth model with habit formation to exhibit an equilibrium nonlinear relationship between aggregate consumption growth and income growth. We first provide empirical evidence consistent with this relationship both for the United States and France, and we reject the hypothesis of a random walk for consumption. We then estimate this nonlinear relationship. We find for both countries robust evidence of persistence, nonlinearity, and cyclicity in the relationship between consumption and income.
Social Behaviour in Work Absence

By making use of a large-scale randomized experiment, we test whether social behaviour is important for work absence due to illness. The individuals treated in the experiment were exposed to less monitoring of their eligibility to collect sickness insurance benefits, which sharply increased their non-monitored work absence. This exogenous variation is exploited in two complementary analyses. In both analyses, we find significant social-behaviour effects. Using detailed data, we conclude that the social-behaviour effects most likely stem from fairness concerns.
Trusting technical change in call centres

Technical change is an on-going organizational challenge in call centres. While new technologies continually promise enhanced performance, not least by extending managerial control, the implementation of these technologies is an emergent process that requires effort by workers to establish new routines that embed innovations into everyday work. This article considers the role that trust may play in this process. Drawing on a theoretical framework which conceptualizes trust as an organizing principle of organizational activity, and placing this in a wider context where trust may be understood as an element of normative control in the workplace, the role of trust in technical innovation in three healthcare call centres is explored. The research reveals heterogeneous trusting relations between managers, staff and technical systems shaping the process of change and suggests that whilst managerialist efforts to generate trust maybe one element of this, the operation of trust at work is more complex.
IL-12 gene as a DNA vaccine adjuvant in a herpes mouse model: IL-12 enhances Th1-type CD4+ T cell-mediated protective immunity against herpes simplex virus-2 challenge.

IL-12 has been shown to enhance cellular immunity in vitro and in vivo. Recent reports have suggested that combining DNA vaccine approach with immune stimulatory molecules delivered as genes may significantly enhance Ag-specific immune responses in vivo. In particular, IL-12 molecules could constitute an important addition to a herpes vaccine by amplifying specific immune responses. Here we investigate the utility of IL-12 cDNA as an adjuvant for a herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) DNA vaccine in a mouse challenge model. Direct i.m. injection of IL-12 cDNA induced activation of resting immune cells in vivo. Furthermore, coinjection with IL-12 cDNA and gD DNA vaccine inhibited both systemic gD-specific Ab and local Ab levels compared with gD plasmid vaccination alone. In contrast, Th cell proliferative responses and secretion of cytokines (IL-2 and IFN-gamma) and chemokines (RANTES and macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha) were significantly increased by IL-12 coinjection. However, the production of cytokines (IL-4 and IL-10) and chemokine (MCP-1) was inhibited by IL-12 coinjection. IL-12 coinjection with a gD DNA vaccine showed significantly better protection from lethal HSV-2 challenge compared with gD DNA vaccination alone in both inbred and outbred mice. This enhanced protection appears to be mediated by CD4+ T cells, as determined by in vivo CD4+ T cell deletion. Thus, IL-12 cDNA as a DNA vaccine adjuvant drives Ag-specific Th1 type CD4+ T cell responses that result in reduced HSV-2-derived morbidity as well as mortality.
The efficacy of N‐acetylcysteine as a hepatoprotective agent in liver transplantation

Abstract One of the most common complications after liver transplantation is primary graft dysfunction which results from severe deterioration of the microcirculation. The data obtained from our experimental studies indicate that N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) is able to reduce the severity of ischemia/reperfusion injury and improves postoperative graft function after liver transplantation in rats. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the efficacy of NAC as a hepatoprotective agent under clinical conditions. A group of 30 liver transplanted patients were treated with NAC, and 30 patients (control group) were treated with a 5 % solution of glucose only. In the NAC group we observed a distinct reduction in ischemia/reperfusion injury and improved liver function with less elevated peak transaminases, better macrocirculation, improved liver synthesis function and a lower incidence of primary nonfunction compared with the control group. We conclude that NAC is a very promising substance for reducing graft dysfunction in clinical liver transplantation.
C-peptide attenuates acute lung inflammation in a murine model of hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation by reducing gut injury

BACKGROUND The study aims to evaluate whether C-peptide can reduce gut injury during hemorrhagic shock (HS) and resuscitation (R) therefore attenuate shock-induced inflammation and subsequent acute lung injury. METHODS Twelve-week-old male mice (C57/BL6) were hemorrhaged (mean arterial blood pressure maintained at 35 mm Hg for 60 minutes) and then resuscitated with Ringer's lactate, followed by red blood cell transfusion with (HS/R) or without C-peptide (HS/R + C-peptide). Mouse gut permeability, bacterial translocation into the circulatory system and intestinal pathology, circulating HMGB1, and acute lung injury were assessed at different times after R. The mice in the control group underwent sham procedures without HS. RESULTS Compared to the sham group, the mice in the HS/R group showed increased gut permeability (6.07 ± 3.41 &mgr;g of FD4/mL) and bacterial translocation into the circulatory system (10.05 ± 4.92, lipopolysaccharide [LPS] of pg/mL), and increased gut damage; conversely, mice in the HS/R + C-peptide group showed significantly reduced gut permeability (1.59 ± 1.39 &mgr;g of FD4/mL; p < 0.05) and bacterial translocation (4.53 ± 1.08 pg of LPS/mL; p < 0.05) with reduced intestine damage. In addition, mice in the HS/R group had increased circulating HMGB1 (21.64 ± 14.17 ng/mL), lung myeloperoxidase) activity (34.4 ± 8.91 mU/g of tissue), and pulmonary protein leakage (2.33 ± 1.16 &mgr;g Evans blue/g tissue per minute). Mice in the HS/R + C-peptide group showed decreased HMGB1 (7.27 ± 1.93 ng/mL; p < 0.05), lung myeloperoxidase (23.73 ± 8.39 mU/g of tissue; p < 0.05), and pulmonary protein leakage (1.17 ± 0.42 Evans Blue/g tissue per minute; p < 0.05). CONCLUSION Our results indicate that C-peptide exerts beneficial effects to attenuate gut injury and dysfunction, therefore diminishing lung inflammation and subsequent injury in mice with HS and R.
Financial instability and the short-term dynamics of volatility expectations

This study provides new evidence of nonlinearities in the dynamics of volatility expectations during financial crises using Markov regime-switching models of model-free volatility indices. The regimes of changes in implied volatility in international financial markets are defined as function of market sentiment and a realignment process following forecast errors consistent with rational expectations. The results indicate that market returns and changes in forecast errors have indeed the potential of influencing the formation of volatility expectations. But the main force driving the dynamics of volatility expectations during periods of financial instability lies rather in the correlation with returns, reflecting market sentiment. The insignificance of the realignment process may be reflective of consensus beliefs that past information does not provide useful guidance during financial crises. It is forward-looking macroeconomic information and contemporaneous price movements that are more likely to shape the dynamics of volatility expectations.
Investigation of genotype-dependent differences in factor V activity as well as response to activated protein C by application of different methods

Coagulation factor V has been at the centre of investigation for several years. In addition to factor V Leiden, various other polymorphisms are becoming the object of interest. Different results have been published about the association of the HR2 haplotype with decreased factor V levels and with reduced response to activated protein C (APC). Due to the central position of factor V in the clotting process, its activity can be determined in both thromboplastin-based and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT)-based assays. A multitude of assays are known for the determination of APC response. The aim of our study was to investigate whether different methods disclose genotype-dependent differences in factor V activity as well as APC response. Three wild-type carriers, three carriers homozygous for the R2 allele (4070G), and three carriers homozygous for the G allele (2391G, 2663G, 2684G, 2863G) were investigated. For each individual plasma sample, the factor V activity was determined using 12 different reagent combinations of three different thromboplastins, three different aPTT reagents, and two different factor V deficient plasma sources. The determination of factor V activity in the thromboplastin system revealed differences between the genotypes. These differences were independent of the thromboplastin reagent and the factor V-deficient plasma. The aPTT system exhibited a dependency on the aPTT reagent and the factor V-deficient plasma. Analysis of APC response disclosed genomic differences in specific test systems only. One type of assay could be more appropriate than other types in dependence of the position of genomic variations. Therefore, the applied assay is an important influential factor in investigations of functional consequences of genomic variations.
Effects of shifts in monetary policy on hospitality stock performance

This study investigates the effects of changes in monetary policy on the stock performance of hospitality firms (airlines, hotels, restaurants and tourism firms) in Hong Kong. Changes in the monetary policy environment are measured by changes in the discount rate. Among the four hospitality sectors, hotel and tourism stocks exhibit a higher mean return and reward-to-risk ratio during expansive monetary periods. Regression test results also support the contention that different monetary policy circumstances have significant influences on the hotel and tourism stock performance. Lastly, a market timing investment strategy is proposed for hospitality stock investors to allocate their portfolios between hospitality stocks and risk-free assets according to movements in monetary policy environments. Following this market timing investment strategy, hospitality stock investors can significantly improve investment performance by achieving higher returns and lower risk.
Improvement of workstation by providing economically designed chair and table for the water hyacinth weaving department of the Villar foundation

The Villar foundation was established to provide job opportunities for housewives. Weaving section has garnered the highest number of employee turnout and biggest source of income for the company. The researchers focused on how to improve their working condition by providing them a set of ergonomically designed chair and tables to decrease musculoskeletal pain and stress they feel during working and after work; eliminating these emotional, physical and psychological hindrances will increase work effectiveness when it comes to quantity and quality of their work. The researchers provided Nordic questioners to discern the condition of the employees. The researchers also conducted time study to further improve the mechanisms and problems during weaving; the following results showed that there should be an auxiliary enhancement needed to be done.
Service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty among industrial customers of a public electricity utility in Malawi

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty among industrial customers of the public electricity utility organisation in Malawi using correlation and regression analyses.Design/methodology/approach – A cross‐sectional survey was used with a sample of 92 respondents drawn from a population of 286 industrial customers of the public electricity utility in the Southern Region of Malawi. Data were collected using a pre‐tested questionnaire based on SERVQUAL and multi‐item scales to measure customer satisfaction and loyalty.Findings – The findings suggest that the service quality is poor irrespective of demographic characteristics of the industrial customers. Furthermore, the findings show that the public electricity utility industrial customers are dissatisfied with the service offered and are disloyal to the public electricity utility. However, the level of loyalty is moderated by level of consumption. Large consumers ar.
Does Europe Need a Constitution

In what has become known as the ‘Maastricht II’ debate the call for a European constitution plays a great part. Often it is even expected to provide the solution to Europe's democracy problem. This paper looks at the calls for a constitution and asks how far they are already met by the Treaties and what consequences fully meeting them would have for the Union and the Member States.
COMERCIO INTERNACIONAL Y EFECTO FRONTERA EN EL PAÍS VASCO

A pesar del proceso de integracion comercial que esta experimentado la economia mundial todavia los paises comercian mas dentro de sus fron- teras que fuera de ellas. Este articulo analiza el comercio bilateral entre el Pais Vasco y el resto de Espana, y ofrece nuevas evidencias sobre el llamado "sesgo domestico". Los resultados del estudio empirico mues- tran que el Pais Vasco comercia entre 20 y 26 veces mas con el resto de Espana que con otro pais, una vez que han sido controladas otras varia- bles que pueden afectar al comercio bilateral. Los resultados muestran, asimismo, que entre el 70 y el 85 por ciento del sesgo domestico se ex- plica por el hecho de que el Pais Vasco y el resto de Espana son limitro- fes, comparten el mismo idioma y pertenecen a la misma area comercial. Palabras clave: comercio internacional, ecuacion de gravedad, sesgo do- mestico, Espana, Pais Vasco. Clasificacion JEL: F14, F15.
A Sustainable Energy Scenario for the United States: Year 2050

This paper presents a scenario depicting life in the United States in the year 2050. The scenario is designed to achieve energy sustainability: fossil fuels and corn ethanol have been replaced by other sustainable and inexhaustible energy sources. The scenario describes the disappearance of the suburbs, replaced by a mix of high density urban centers and low density eco-communities. A suite of advanced technologies and significant social changes underpin the scenario. Analysis of the energy implications inherent in the scenario suggest that total US energy consumption would be around 100 quads in 2050, approximately the same as in the year 2010 despite a forecasted population increase of 130 million.
Modeling default risk with support vector machines

Predicting default risk is important for firms and banks to operate successfully. There are many reasons to use nonlinear techniques for predicting bankruptcy from financial ratios. Here we propose the so-called Support Vector Machine (SVM) to predict the default risk of German firms. Our analysis is based on the Creditreform database. In all tests performed in this paper the nonlinear model classified by SVM exceeds the benchmark logit model, based on the same predictors, in terms of the performance metric, AR. The empirical evidence is in favor of the SVM for classification, especially in the linear non-separable case. The sensitivity investigation and a corresponding visualization tool reveal that the classifying ability of SVM appears to be superior over a wide range of SVM parameters. In terms of the empirical results obtained by SVM, the eight most important predictors related to bankruptcy for these German firms belong to the ratios of activity, profitability, liquidity, leverage and the percentage of incremental inventories. Some of the financial ratios selected by the SVM model are new because they have a strong nonlinear dependence on the default risk but a weak linear dependence that therefore cannot be captured by the usual linear models such as the DA and logit models.