Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distributional Effects of Transport Taxes: An Incidence Analysis

Wider use of economic instruments in the field of environmental and energy policy provides several benefits. These instruments not only create market-based incentives for environmentally friendly behaviors but also represent effective opportunities to collect revenues. In this context, energy and transport-related taxes play a major role, even if their extensive use has raised several concerns over equity issues. The main objective of the paper is to investigate the redistributive burden of existing transport taxes on Italian households. An incidence analysis is carried out on a sample of more than 23,000 Italian families for the year 2009. Some alternative policy options are also analyzed to provide some suggestions on how to countervail the potential negative regressive effects that might arise. We find that vehicle ownership taxes, if properly set, can represent a promising opportunity to blend together budget and equity needs. To obtain a better indication of the progressivity or regressivity of certain policy designs, we rely on some summary indexes, such as the Kakwani measure of progressivity and the Reynolds-Smolensky measure of redistributive capacity of a tax.
Is the Use of Psychotropic Drugs Associated with Increased Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease?

Earlier reports of associations between panic disorder, depression, and ischemic heart disease have not evaluated the role of the drugs used to treat these conditions. As part of a larger study on reducing cardiovascular disease in an entire community, we estimated the association between psychotropic drugs and ischemic heart disease in a large community-based population using a cohort study design. We defined exposure as current use of psychotropic medications at the time of the health interview. We determined ischemic heart disease by International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification, codes and by an epidemiologic algorithm using clinical diagnostic criteria. An elevated risk for clinically significant ischemic cardiac events was moderately associated with benzodiazepine use [relative risk (RR) = 2.0; 90% confidence interval (CI) = 1.1–3.9] and strongly associated with antidepressant use (RR = 5.7; 90% CI = 2.6–12.8), although the latter estimate was based on only six antidepressant users who had an ischemic event.
Institutionalizing critique: A Problem of Critical Management Studies

This paper has as its starting point calls for critical management studies (CMS) to engage more actively with the public. CMS has been relatively successful in gaining an institutional foothold within university business schools, but is criticised from within for a lack of influence outside the institution. We argue that while closer relationships with the public is assumed to be the next phase in the institutional development of CMS, strengthening its position within university business schools is likely only to exacerbate the present lack of public engagement, since this becomes an end in itself. Bigger and better conferences and a proliferation of journals dedicated to the publishing of CMS research takes us further from the everyday world of workplace politics. As part of creating a space in which we can think differently about CMS and the university, we draw on Foucault’s analysis of parrhesia, or fearless speech, which emphasises critique as a personal quality.
A rapid approach for phenotype‐screening and database independent detection of cSNP/protein polymorphism using mass accuracy precursor alignment

The dynamics of a proteome can only be addressed with large‐scale, high‐throughput methods. To cope with the inherent complexity, techniques based on targeted quantification using proteotypic peptides are arising. This is an essential systems biology approach; however, for the exploratory discovery of unexpected markers, nontargeted detection of proteins, and protein modifications is indispensable. We present a rapid label‐free shotgun proteomics approach that extracts relevant phenotype‐specific peptide product ion spectra in an automated workflow without prior identification. These product ion spectra are subsequently sequenced with database search and de novo prediction algorithms. We analyzed six potato tuber cultivars grown on three plots of two geographically separated fields in Germany. For data mining about 1.5 million spectra from 107 analyses were aligned and statistically examined in approximately 1 day. Several cultivar‐specific protein markers were detected. Based on de novo‐sequencing a dominant protein polymorphism not detectable in the available EST‐databases was assigned exclusively to a specific potato cultivar. The approach is applicable to organisms with unsequenced or incomplete genomes and to the automated extraction of relevant mass spectra that potentially cannot be identified by genome/EST‐based search algorithms.
Social Choice, Democracy, and Free Markets

p OFESSOR Kenneth Arrow's provocative essay, Social Choice and Individual Values,2 has stimulated a great deal of comment and discussion during the two years since its publication. Reviewers and discussants have been primarily concerned with those formal aspects of Arrow's analysis which relate to modern welfare economics. This concentration, which is explained by both the stated purpose of the work and the tools with which it is developed, has resulted in the neglect of the broader philosophical implications of the essay.3 In this paper I propose to examine the arguments of Arrow and his critics within a more inclusive frame of reference. This approach reveals a weakness in the formal analysis itself and demonstrates that some of the more significant implications drawn from the analysis are inappropriate. I shall first review briefly Arrow's argument, in order to isolate the source of much of the confusion which has been generated by it. Following this, I shall raise some questions concerning the philosophical basis of the concept of social rationality. In the next section I shall
The Role of Financial Intermediaries in Monetary Policy Transmission

The recent financial crisis has stimulated theoretical and empirical research on the propagation mechanisms underlying business cycles, in particular on the role of financial frictions. Many issues concerning the interactions between banking and monetary policy forced policy makers to redefine economic policies, and motivated macroeconomists to focus on the implications of financial intermediation constraints for asset price fluctuations, the behavior of non-financial firms, households, governments and in turn for real macroeconomic performance. This paper surveys research on the role of financial intermediaries and financial frictions in the transmission of monetary policy and discusses how to design both the new banking regulatory and supervisory structures and monetary policy in order to stabilize the economy. It also serves as an introduction to this special issue.
Estimating the Long-Run User Cost Elasticity

The user cost elasticity is a parameter of central importance in economics, with implications for monetary policy, macroeconomic models, tax policy, growth and many other areas. If the supply curve for capital is upward sloping and shocks to demand area important (as they are likely to be over the business cycle), estimates of the user cost elasticity that rely on high-frequency movements in the variables will tend to be biased. This paper applies cointegration techniques to a small, open economy. The combination of exogeneity of user cost implied by the flat supply of capital curve for a small, open economy and appropriate correction for small sample bias yields an estimate of the long-run user cost elasticity which is about 75% larger (in absolute value) than the best existing estimate. In addition, the paper makes three further contributions: accounting for increases in depreciation (due to dramatic increases in computer use), estimating the long-run user cost elasticity for structures and the total capital stock, and disentangling the effects of capital goods prices, the real interest rate, and taxes.
Memristor cellular automata through belief propagation inspired algorithm

The development of neuromorphic systems has increased in pace in the past years since the birth of industrial samples of memristors. In addition to developing the general technology, a strong interest in generating new applications for memristive systems is emerging. In this paper we present a Cellular Automata (CA) that works exploiting the Belief Propagation Inspired (BPI) algorithm. To foster and to prove the the equivalence among the two systems a image processing example is introduced.
A systematic review of psychological interventions to alleviate cognitive and psychosocial problems in children with acquired brain injury

Aim It is now generally accepted that paediatric acquired brain injury (ABI) can have an impact on a child’s cognitive, social, and behavioural functioning. However, the lack of guidelines on effective interventions for the affected children and their families, particularly beyond the acute recovery phase, can limit access to effective support. We provide a systematic review of the literature on the effectiveness of psychological interventions aimed at alleviating cognitive and psychosocial outcomes after paediatric ABI.
Differences in the Response of Women's Voluntary Organizations to Shifts in Canadian Public Policy

Executive directors of 351 women's voluntary organizations and 294 `other' (gender neutral) organizations were surveyed to gauge their responses to changing public policy in Canada. Findings indicate that although all organizations are unhappy with the current environmental shifts and pessimistic about the future, women's organizations are more critical of policy changes and their implementation. They also feel more vulnerable and pessimistic about the future. Strategically, they are less likely to adopt a business-like competitive orientation, focusing more on fostering cooperation and collaboration. These findings support evidence in the literature that suggests that women's organizations seek solutions that are more consistent with a collaborative model than a competitive one. They also underline that women's organizations, often serving more marginal niches, have unique concerns and thus respond differently to environmental changes. Furthermore, the data suggest that both ideological orientation and organizational composition may play a role in differentiating between women's and other organizations.
A Study of the Service Encounter in Eight Countries

Drawing on the theory developed by the Nordic school of service marketing, the authors devise a model that involves the direct effects of technical (physical good quality) and functional (service quality and servicescape) elements of the service encounter on customers’ behavioral intentions. They test the model using service customers in the fast-food and grocery industries in eight countries (Australia, China, Germany, India, Morocco, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States). Notable differences exist between fast-food and grocery customers in the eight countries. The relative effects of the technical and functional service elements on behavioral intentions also differ significantly across countries.
Does the Internet make people socially isolated? A social network approach

The present study investigated whether Internet use and type of Internet use are associated with social isolation within Internet users. There have been hopes and fears of the Internet’s social impacts since it emerged. Among different social impacts, this paper focuses on the impact of the Internet on people's social connections. The main question of this study is that whether Internet use affects people's social ties? Based on a social network approach, two hypotheses are suggested; Firstly, Internet use will decrease social isolation and secondly, social use of Internet will reduce social isolation. A sample of 204 cybercafe users in Tehran was nominated to participate in the survey. Analyzing the findings, it appeared that the both Internet use and social use of Internet will be slightly associated with reduced level of social isolation.
RF tumour ablation: Computer simulation and mathematical modelling of the effects of electrical and thermal conductivity

This study determined the effects of thermal conductivity on RF ablation tissue heating using mathematical modelling and computer simulations of RF heating coupled to thermal transport. Computer simulation of the Bio-Heat equation coupled with temperature-dependent solutions for RF electric fields (ETherm) was used to generate temperature profiles 2 cm away from a 3 cm internally-cooled electrode. Multiple conditions of clinically relevant electrical conductivities (0.07–12 S m−1) and ‘tumour’ radius (5–30 mm) at a given background electrical conductivity (0.12 S m−1) were studied. Temperature response surfaces were plotted for six thermal conductivities, ranging from 0.3–2 W m−1 °C (the range of anticipated clinical and experimental systems). A temperature response surface was obtained for each thermal conductivity at 25 electrical conductivities and 17 radii (n = 425 temperature data points). The simulated temperature response was fit to a mathematical model derived from prior phantom data. This mathematical model is of the form (T = a + bRc expdR σ f expgσ) for RF generator-energy dependent situations and (T = h + k expmR + n exppσ) for RF generator-current limited situations, where T is the temperature (°C) 2 cm from the electrode and a, b, c, d, f, g, h, k, m, n and p are fitting parameters. For each of the thermal conductivity temperature profiles generated, the mathematical model fit the response surface to an r2 of 0.97–0.99. Parameters a, b, c, d, f, k and m were highly correlated to thermal conductivity (r2 = 0.96–0.99). The monotonic progression of fitting parameters permitted their mathematical expression using simple functions. Additionally, the effect of thermal conductivity simplified the above equation to the extent that g, h, n and p were found to be invariant. Thus, representation of the temperature response surface could be accurately expressed as a function of electrical conductivity, radius and thermal conductivity. As a result, the non-linear temperature response of RF induced heating can be adequately expressed mathematically as a function of electrical conductivity, radius and thermal conductivity. Hence, thermal conductivity accounts for some of the previously unexplained variance. Furthermore, the addition of this variable into the mathematical model substantially simplifies the equations and, as such, it is expected that this will permit improved prediction of RF ablation induced temperatures in clinical practice.
International Prices and Endogenous Quality

The unit values of internationally traded goods are heavily influenced by quality. We model this in an extended monopolistic competition framework where, in addition to choosing price, firms simultaneously choose quality. We allow countries to have non-homothetic demand for quality. The optimal choice of quality by firms reflects this non-homothetic demand as well as the costs of production, including specific transport costs as in the “Washington apples” effect. We estimate quality and quality-adjusted prices for 185 countries over 1984-2011. Our estimates are less sensitive to assumptions about the extensive margin than are “demand side” estimates. We find that quality-adjusted prices vary much less across countries than do unit values, and surprisingly, that the quality-adjusted terms of trade are negatively related to countries’ level of income.
Audit expectation gap and loan decision performance of bank officers in Iran

This study examines the effect of accounting knowledge and experiences of Iranian bank officers on the audit expectation gap, and investigates whether the gap mediates (or explains) the individual factor-loan decision performance relationship. Copies of a structured questionnaire were distributed to 113 loan officers from five large commercial banks in Iran and responses of 111 bank officers were analysed. The results show the existence of a fairly large audit expectation gap among the Iranian bank loan officers, and accounting knowledge was found to significantly mitigate the extent of the gap. More importantly, this study found a highly significant negative relationship between the audit expectation gap and loan decision performance of the Iranian bank officers. Further analyses indicate that the audit expectation gap fully mediates the individual knowledge-performance relationship. The findings of this study have important policy implications for recruitment and training of the bank officers.
The Use of Dynamic Financial Analysis to Determine Whether an Optimal Growth Rate Exists for a Property-Liability Insurer

Prior research on the aging phenomenon has demonstrated that new business for property-liability (P-L) insurers generates high loss ratios that gradually decline as a book of business goes through successive renewal cycles. Although the experience on new business is initially unprofitable, the renewal book of business eventually becomes profitable over time. Within this context, insurers need to manage their exposure growth in order to maximize long run profitability. Dynamic financial analysis (DFA), a relatively new tool for P-L insurers, utilizes Monte Carlo simulation to generate the overall financial results for an insurer under a large number of scenarios. This article uses a publicly available DFA model—along with the estimated market value of an insurer, based on 1990‐2001 data for stock P-L insurers and underlying financial variables—to determine optimal growth rates of a P-L insurer based on mean‐variance analysis, stochastic dominance, and constraints on leverage.
Deficits in the management of patients with adrenocortical carcinoma in Germany.

BACKGROUND Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare tumor with a poor prognosis. Often, the physicians who first treat patients with ACC have no prior experience with the disease. The aim of our study was to evaluate the quality of medical care for patients with ACC in Germany. METHODS Data from the German ACC registry were analyzed with regard to the patients' preoperative diagnostic evaluation, histopathological reporting, and clinical follow-up. The findings were compared with the recommendations of the European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumors (ENSAT). RESULTS Data were analyzed from 387 patients who had been given an initial diagnosis of ACC in the years 1998 to 2009. 21% of them underwent no hormonal evaluation before surgery, and 59% underwent an inadequate hormonal evaluation. This exposed the patients to unnecessary perioperative risks and impaired their follow-up. 48% did not undergo CT scanning of the chest, even though the lungs are the most frequent site of metastases of ACC. For 13% of the patients, the diagnosis of ACC was later revised by a reference pathologist. For 11% of the patients, the histopathology report contained no information about resection status, even though this is an important determinant of further treatment and prognosis. Optimal management requires re-staging at three-month intervals, yet some patients underwent re-staging only after a longer delay, or not at all. CONCLUSION We have identified significant deficits in the care of patients with ACC in Germany. We suspect that the situation is similar for other rare diseases. The prerequisite to better care is close and early cooperation of the treating physicians with specialized centers.
Capital structure: The case of firms issuing debt

This study reinvestigates the relationship between financial leverage and firm characteristics in a cross-sectional setting and a panel setting. Monte-Carlo simulation-based inference results confirm the finding of Barraclough (2007) that a cross-sectional multiple regression model sharing common divisors suffers from a latent spurious ratio problem. To avoid the spurious ratio problem, variables in changes instead of ratios are adopted in two panel models: a first-differenced fixed-effects panel model and a dynamic Generalized Method of Moments panel model. The two models respectively integrate fixed effects (e.g. the persistence nature of financial leverage) and endogeneity features of financial leverage decisions. Model results suggest past realization of debt explains most of the current debt level after controlling for endogeneity. We find no significant association between debt and firm characteristics. JEL Classification: G32, H20
Case study: A strike in Shanghai

A sudden strike by workers in the Shanghai Petersburg Automotive Parts Company turns into a managerial nightmare following a confrontation between the strikers and the company's management team. With the chill of the global financial crisis speeding toward Asia, and animosities rising in the factory, management was in a quandary as to how to proceed in identifying the sources of the problem and finding an equitable solution for all. Once the strike ended, management had to look back and unravel how this had happened, and decide what steps to take to move forward and mollify the factory workers. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The change of institutional logic in the European Commission research funding instruments

This paper is dedicated to analyzing the evolution of the European Commission (EC) research funding instruments for Information and Communications Technollogies (ICT) research in Europe. Combining an interpretive analysis of the official European Commission documentation as well as an in-depth analysis of a new, experimental research Programme, Future Internet Public-Private Partnership (FI PPP), this paper describes the evolution of the funding Programmes over the past decade, and constructs a view on how the underlying institutional logic behind the EC research funding has changed. The analysis illustrates a significant change in the institutional logic of the funding schemes, reflecting the changes in the operating environment, as well as the evaluations and critique of the preceding Programme results and impact. The analysis identified several solutions for changing the EC approach in managing larger scale research projects and verified the change in dimensions of Added value, Structures, Agency, Action, Legitimacy, and Finance & funding. Hence, the change in these dimensions is refelcting a change of institutional logic from Knowledge Logic to Market Development Logic. The change is derived from events in both the internal and
Assessing the Impact of Gasoline Sales-Below-Cost Laws on Retail Price and Market Structure: Implications for Consumer Welfare

The effectiveness of gasoline-specific sales-below-cost (SBC) laws designed to limit firms' predatory behavior is yet to be determined. To provide policy makers with conceptual and empirical insights into this issue, the authors propose and empirically test a simultaneous equations model grounded in the structure–conduct–performance framework that assesses the direct and indirect impacts that SBC laws have on market structure (number of sellers) and on the wholesale and retail prices of gasoline. Unlike other SBC studies, which are more cross-sectional in nature and focus on a limited number of areas, the authors use monthly gasoline wholesale and retail prices from 1983 to 2010 for all 50 states. This approach is advantageous because it includes the opportunity to assess the long-term impact of SBC laws and transitional effects as states enact or repeal SBC legislation. The results suggest that SBC laws reduce retail prices directly and indirectly by increasing the number of sellers, thus improving customer welfare.