Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Case for Public Sector Job Creation Schemes

It is recognised that for efficiency and equity reasons that governments need to implement active labour market programs (LMP). Such programs can help to improve the matching of labour supply and demand, reduce wage inflation pressures generated where labour markets are subject to supply shortages and bottlenecks, assist disadvantaged labour market participants obtain employment, help reduce poverty and income inequalities generated by the persistence of long-term unemployment, and they can raise overall productivity levels and living standards. What is at issue is not the need for LMP, but the type and mix of LMP required in Australia. The government has embarked upon a substantially supply side orientated LMP aimed at improving the employment prospects of the unemployed. On the demand side this has been augmented by a private sector wage subsidy program (JOBSTART). Such a mix of LMP is inappropriate for addressing the labour market problems associated with a recession. The government should, as a matter of urgency, consider the immediate introduction of a public sector job creation scheme (PSJCS). The advantages of such a program include its potential to directly address the problem of long-term unemployment (LTU), assist disadvantaged communities and provide an effective work experience support for the plethora of supply side LMP. Such a program could be effectively delivered by utilising the existing administrative structures of the CES and local government.
Parasitized female guppies do not prefer showy males

In many species male sexual characteristics are known to be affected negatively by parasites, which render their hosts unattractive to females, but how parasites affect the mating decisions of their female hosts has received little attention. The monogenean parasite Gyrodactylus turnbulli reduces the sexual display and colour intensity of male guppies, Poecilia reticulata, which makes them less attractive to females. Here, I examine how these parasites affect the mate choice behaviour of their female hosts. Virgin females were experimentally exposed to G. turnbulli and allowed to choose between an attractive and an unattractive male in a simultaneous choice test. Infected females were significantly less discriminatory than healthy ones and their level of activity during choice trials was reduced with increasing parasite load, suggesting an energetic constraint imposed by the parasites. This result implies that sexual selection pressure for male showiness is diminished, which is consistent with recent theoretical models. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
Cultural impact of modernization and tourism on Dai villages in Xishuangbanna, China

The development of tourism can have a considerable sociocultural impact on ethnic communities, but few studies have attempted to separate the unique impact of ethnic tourism from the overall impact of modernization and describe its mechanism clearly. This paper describes a quasi-natural experiment performed in three typical Dai villages in different stages of tourism development. A crosswise and longitudinal comparative study was performed on Dai village culture. The study indicates the following: (1) spiritual culture has been transmitted relatively unchanged across generations in three Dai villages, but material culture has undergone various degrees of change. (2) The changes in material culture and some parts of institutional culture have been caused primarily by the pressure of overall social modernization. (3) Currently, the overall thrust of modernization in mainstream Chinese society has driven some ethnic cultural practices out of use, while the endogenous driving force of tourism development in ethnic communities has pulled them back into use. (4) Under the influence of modernization, the issue of whether ethnic tourism communities can be developed in a sustainable way depends on both bottom-up and top-down factors: the leading role played by community elites internally, developing useful parts of ethnic culture and discarding useless parts during repeated games in the tourism field, and government policy and guidance facilitating planning.
Suboptimal Response to Ferrous Sulfate in Iron-Deficient Patients Taking Omeprazole

Iron deficiency anemia is commonly encountered in outpatient practice. Gastric acid is one of the important factors for optimum absorption of iron. Proton pump inhibitors are very commonly prescribed medications. One of the debated effects of proton pump inhibitors is on oral iron absorption. Their effect on absorption of oral iron supplementation in iron-deficient patients has not been studied. At the Cooper Hematology Outpatient office, we reviewed charts of iron-deficient anemic patients who were on omeprazole for the last 4 years. Fifty patients having no apparent ongoing blood loss, having other causes of anemia especially that of chronic diseases ruled out, and on omeprazole while starting ferrous sulfate therapy for iron deficiency were selected for chart review. The iron-study results at the start of oral ferrous sulfate therapy and at 3 months follow-up were compared to evaluate the response of ferrous sulfate. The mean hemoglobin change was 0.8 ± 1.2 g/L. The mean change in ferrtin values was 10.2 ± 7.8 &mgr;g/L. Only 16% of the patients had a normal response to hemoglobin levels (rise of >2 g/dL), and only 40% had a normal response to ferritin levels (rise of >20 &mgr;g/dL). The average age of patients having a suboptimal response to both hemoglobin and ferritin was significantly higher compared with that of the patients with an optimal response. Omeprazole and possibly all proton pump inhibitors decrease the absorption of oral iron supplementation. Iron-deficient patients taking proton pump inhibitors may have to be treated with high dose iron therapy for a longer duration or with intravenous iron therapy.
TOXICOKINETICS AND METABOLISM

The results of standardized 8 h lasting exposures of n  18 volunteers to ethylbenzene (EthBz) at levels of 25 and 100% of the maximum allowable concentrations at the workplace (MAK) value of 100 ppm as well as the results of ®eld studies are considered to evaluate a biological tolerance (BAT) value for EthBz. On the basis of the relationship between the external and internal exposure a BAT value of 1.5 mg/l has been set for the EthBz concentration in blood as the most sensitive and speci®c parameter of exposure to this aromatic hydrocarbon. The interpretation of EthBz blood values has to take into account the short half-life of t1/2  0.5  0.08 h in the ®rst hour after the end of exposure in which this aromatic hydrocarbon is eliminated from the blood. The additional determination of the EthBz metabolites mandelic acid (MA) and phenylglyoxylic acid (PGA), respectively, excreted in post shift urine as well as in urine samples at the beginning of the next shift shows good correlations with the external exposure. The biological half-life of MA was calculated to t1/2  5.3  1.1 h. Because the time of sampling can vary the relationship between the levels of MA to PGA the total concentration of the excreted metabolites depends less on this in ̄uence and is therefore better suited for monitoring exposed persons. On the basis of the standardized experiments a BAT value has been proposed of 2 g MA plus PGA corrected per gram creatinine. Both BAT values are adjusted to data which result from earlier standardized exposures during 30 min to EthBz under physical activity of 50 watt on a bicycle
Board Structure and Firm Performance: Evidence from India's Top Companies

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: This paper investigates the relationship between internal governance structures and financial performance of Indian companies. The effectiveness of boards of directors, including board composition, board size, and aspects of board leadership including duality and board busyness are addressed in the Indian context using two theories of corporate governance: agency theory and resource dependency theory. Research Findings/Insights: The study used a sample of top Indian companies taking into account the endogeneity of the relationships among corporate governance, corporate performance, and corporate capital structure. The study provides some support for aspects of agency theory as a greater proportion of outside directors on boards were associated with improved firm performance. The notion of separating leadership roles in a manner consistent with agency theory was not supported. For instance, the notion that powerful CEOs (duality role, CEO being the promoter, and CEO being the only board manager) have a detrimental effect on performance was not supported. There was some support for resource dependency theory. The findings suggest that larger board size has a positive impact on performance thus supporting the view that greater exposure to the external environment improves access to various resources and thus positively impacts on performance. The study however failed to support the resource dependency theory in terms of the association between frequency of board meetings and performance. Similarly the results showed that outside directors with multiple appointments appeared to have a negative effect on performance, suggesting that “busyness” did not add value in terms of networks and enhancement of resource accessibility. Theoretical/Academic Implications: The two theories of corporate governance, namely agency and resource dependence theory, were each only partially supported, by the findings of this study. The findings add further to the view that no single theory explains the nexus between corporate governance and performance. Practitioner/Policy Implications: This study demonstrates that corporate governance measures utilized in developed economies related to boards of directors have some synergies and relevance to emerging economies, such as India. However, the nature of business structures in India, for example the large number of family businesses, may limit the generalizability of the findings and signals the need for further investigation of these businesses. The evidence related to multiple appointments of directors suggests that there may be support for restricting the number of directorships held by any one individual in emerging economies, given that the “busyness” of directors was negatively associated with firm performance.
Modelling of threshold voltage shift in pulsed NBT stressed P-channel power VDMOSFETs

Negative bias temperature instabilities in commercial IRF9520 p-channel power VDMOSFETs under both static and pulsed bias stress conditions were studied. The pulsed voltage stressing caused generally lower shifts as compared to static stressing performed at the same temperature with equal stress voltage magnitude, as a consequence of partial recovery during the low level of pulsed gate voltage. Furthermore, it was shown that the quantitative differences between static and pulsed NBT stress depend on both stress duty cycle and frequency, and the differences become more significant as the duty cycle decreases and frequency increases. These results indicated that more emphasis needs to be placed on pulsed negative bias temperature stressing. Modelling of threshold voltage shifts induced by pulsed negative bias temperature stress has been done on the bases of experimental results, and equivalent electrical circuit has been proposed.
Outcome of contemporary acute coronary syndrome complicated by ventricular tachyarrhythmias.

AIM To evaluate the incidence and prognostic implications of ventricular tachyarrhythmias (VTAs) complicating acute myocardial infarction (MI). METHODS AND RESULTS We evaluated 7669 MI patients [ST elevation (n = 3573) and non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (ACS) (n = 4096)] from the Acute Coronary Syndrome Israeli Survey for the incidence of VTA. Ventricular tachyarrhythmia occurred in 3.8% of patients [2.1% early (≤ 48 h) and 1.7% late (>48 h) VTA]. In-hospital mortality rates were higher for patients with VTA when compared with patients with no VTA (P < 0.001). Consistent with these findings, multivariable analysis demonstrated that early and late VTAs were associated with increased risk of in-hospital death [hazard ratio (HR) = 3.84; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.77-6.78, P < 0.001, and HR = 8.23; 95% CI 4.84-13.98, P < 0.001, respectively]. In contrast, post-discharge outcomes demonstrated that only late VTA was independently associated with a significant increased risk of 30-day mortality (HR = 5.17; 95% CI 1.54-17.27, P = 0.007) with a trend towards an increased 1-year mortality risk (HR = 1.69; 95% CI 0.79-3.62, P = 0.17). The long-term risk associated with in-hospital VTA was driven by sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) (HR = 3.28; 95% CI 1.92-5.60, P < 0.001) but not ventricular fibrillation (HR = 1.27; 95% CI 0.65-2.49, P = 0.47). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that in patients with ACS, both early and late VTAs are associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality. However, only late VTA, mostly sustained VT, is associated with long-term adverse outcome.
Properties of binaural vestibular evoked myogenic potentials elicited with air-conducted and bone-conducted tone bursts

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the effects of monaural and binaural stimulation on unilaterally-measured vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) magnitude and latency. The subjects were eighteen normal-hearing adults with no history of vestibular disease. Monaural VEMPs were acquired with air-conducted (AC) and bone-conducted (BC) 500 Hz tone bursts presented at 95 dB nHL and 70 dB nHL, respectively. These stimuli were simultaneously paired with 95 dB nHL contralateral tone bursts at 250, 500, 750, or 1000 Hz during acquisition of binaural VEMPs. Results indicated that AC-VEMP relative magnitudes decreased in each of the binaural conditions compared to the monaural condition. However, no changes in relative magnitude between conditions occurred for BC-VEMPs. Similar latencies were observed for monaural and binaural VEMPs. Differences in bilateral interaction seen between the AC-VEMP and BC-VEMP conditions are consistent with modification of sound transmission through the ear during presentations of binaural sound.
Accounting, Governance, and the Crisis: Is Risk the Missing Link?

The period 2007-2010 marked one of the most severe economic and financial crises in living memory. In this paper, we focus on two of accounting's key functions within organisations and markets, financial reporting and governance. In this respect, we find that accounting exhibited shortcomings in its structural foundation and in its application. Salient is its failure to account for uncertainty and to adequately capture, measure and disclose the impact of risk-taking on the financial statements, thus undermining their reliability and, potentially, their relevance as indicators of economic performance. Consequently, boards were provided with misleading numbers, and compensation was based on paper profits that did not materialise. As such, accounting carried undesirable elements that interacted with other malicious market characteristics such as excessive risk-taking by bankers, and failure in regulatory and market oversight, thus potentially contributing to deteriorating economic conditions. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research in this area. Guns don't kill people, but they sure help. (Exchange between Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti, Shoot 'Em Up, 2007)
Gun carrying and conduct disorder: a highly combustible combination? Implications for juvenile justice and mental and public health.

OBJECTIVES To examine concealed gun carrying between the ages of 12 and 17 years in a population of clinic-referred boys, many of whom qualified for a disruptive behavior disorder, including conduct disorder (CD); to identify factors and diagnoses related to concealed gun carrying; and to examine the extent to which gun carrying is associated with crime in adulthood. DESIGN Longitudinal follow-up study. SETTING Pittsburgh, Pa, and Athens and Atlanta, Ga. PARTICIPANTS One hundred seventy-seven clinic-referred boys, first assessed between the ages of 7 and 12 years and followed up yearly until the age of 19 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Violence, property offenses, and drug charges in adulthood. RESULTS Between the ages of 12 and 17 years, 1 in 5 participants carried a concealed gun, and the annual prevalence increased linearly with age. More than half (61.1%) carried a gun for 1 year only. Gun carrying was significantly (incident rate ratio, 3.93%; 95% confidence interval, 1.60-9.60) associated with CD. Conduct disorder, maternal psychopathy, victimization, and parental monitoring increased the risk of gun carrying by a factor of 8. Adult crime was best predicted by gun carrying, CD, and parental monitoring. Gun carrying predicted drug charges, but not violence or property offenses. CONCLUSIONS Even though the carrying of handguns by juveniles is prohibited, young men with symptoms of CD are more likely to carry guns than young men without CD. The findings are discussed in terms of the need for the inclusion of gun carrying among the symptoms of CD.
Improving Transparency, Integrity, and Accountability in Water Supply and Sanitation: Action, Learning, Experiences

This manual on improving transparency, integrity, and accountability in water supply and sanitation is the result of a partnership between the World Bank Institute (WBI) and transparency international (TI). It was developed under the open and participatory government program at the municipal level (known by its Spanish acronym as the GAP Municipal Program). This manual can help: 1) increase the involvement of civil society by engaging all stakeholders in setting water supply and sanitation priorities and monitoring performance, including reducing opportunities for corruption; 2) increase the contributions of water supply and sanitation services to poverty reduction by increasing the quality and coverage of service to poorer communities on an equitable basis; 3) promote the financial sustainability of water and sanitation service delivery organizations, thereby increasing the confidence of consumers, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders in those institutions' ability to expand improve service; and 4) raise ethical standards among all stakeholders, especially service delivery organizations, thereby instilling a sense of public service throughout these organizations.
A Theory of Power and Politics and their Effects on Organizational Commitment of Senior Executive Service Members

This research establishes a power-based theory and a theory of politicization as explanations for variation in the commitment level of Senior Executive Service (SES) members in the federal government. Variables were operationalized to measure and explain the relationship between commitment and leader-member relations, involvement in quality decisions, centralization/decentralization, leadership power, and subunit power (the power-based theory). The use of an arbitrary personnel practices variable permitted the theorist to define and measure perceptions of “dirty, self-interested politics” in government (the theory of politicization). In addition, the use of a political neutrality variable allowed the author to operationalize a norm-based motive for wanting to work in the public sector. The most innovative contribution was the development of a model that operationalized the linkages between a public service value and commitment.
Arabidopsis genes IRREGULAR XYLEM (IRX15) and IRX15L encode DUF579-containing proteins that are essential for normal xylan deposition in the secondary cell wall.

There are 10 genes in the Arabidopsis genome that contain a domain described in the Pfam database as domain of unknown function 579 (DUF579). Although DUF579 is widely distributed in eukaryotic species, there is no direct experimental evidence to assign a function to it. Five of the 10 Arabidopsis DUF579 family members are co-expressed with marker genes for secondary cell wall formation. Plants in which two closely related members of the DUF579 family have been disrupted by T-DNA insertions contain less xylose in the secondary cell wall as a result of decreased xylan content, and exhibit mildly distorted xylem vessels. Consequently we have named these genes IRREGULAR XYLEM 15 (IRX15) and IRX15L. These mutant plants exhibit many features of previously described xylan synthesis mutants, such as the replacement of glucuronic acid side chains with methylglucuronic acid side chains. By contrast, immunostaining of xylan and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals that the walls of these irx15 irx15l double mutants are disorganized, compared with the wild type or other previously described xylan mutants, and exhibit dramatic increases in the quantity of sugar released in cell wall digestibility assays. Furthermore, localization studies using fluorescent fusion proteins label both the Golgi and also an unknown intracellular compartment. These data are consistent with irx15 and irx15l defining a new class of genes involved in xylan biosynthesis. How these genes function during xylan biosynthesis and deposition is discussed.
Resource Nationalism - Limits to Foreign Direct Investment

Despite a global trend toward the privatization of state assets, host governments are consolidating ownership over strategically important domestic oil and gas resources, effectively limiting corporate foreign direct investment. These findings are supported by an analysis of global reserve acquisitions for the period 2000-2006, a period which saw listed national oil companies (NOCs) acquire over 82% of their reserves domestically, compared to only 25% for commercial operators. We also perform a regression analysis and find that political risk and reserve size are strongly related to state ownership retention, while the degree of state control is positively related to OPEC membership. Foreign direct investment is shown to be increasingly constrained to assets in low-risk developed countries or marginal oilfield assets.
The Long-run Causal Relationship Between Military Expenditure and Economic Growth in China: Revisited

This paper re-examines the long-run causal relationship between military expenditure and economic growth in China over the period 1952–2010. An empirical econometric analysis based on a Barro-style growth model is conducted. By employing the Bartlett corrected trace test, which provides better approximations of the finite sample distribution to determine the rank of cointegration, the results support the existence of a single long-run equilibrium relationship between the variables. Furthermore, it is confirmed that the cumulated shocks of military expenditure primarily originate from different components of shocks that relate to economic development rather than the other way round.
Business transformation in heterogeneous environments: The impact of market development and firm strength on retrenchment and growth reconfiguration

Asset reconfiguration by both growth and divestiture underlies business transformation, but reconfiguration remains poorly understood in countries with limited market infrastructure. We argue that more developed infrastructure facilitates resource reconfiguration, assisting weak firms’ attempts to retrench and strong firms’ attempts to grow; in turn, market development shapes the impact of reconfiguration by enhancing the benefits of adding assets and limiting the benefits of divestitures. We examine reconfiguration activity by 1,256 firms based in eight South East Asian economies—Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand—from 1990 to 1999. The study contributes to theories of business dynamics in varied settings of market-based socioeconomic development. Copyright © 2011 Strategic Management Society.