Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Constitutional courts as veto players: Lessons from the United States, France and Germany

The number of constitutional courts and supreme courts with constitutional review rights has strongly increased with the third wave of democratisation across the world as an important element of the new constitutionalism. These courts play an important role in day-to-day politics as they can nullify acts of parliament and thus prevent or reverse a change in the status quo. In macro-concepts of comparative politics, their role is unclear. Either they are integrated as counter-majoritarian institutional features of a political system or they are entirely ignored: some authors do not discuss their potential impact at all, while others dismiss them because they believe their preferences as veto players are entirely absorbed by other actors in the political system. However, we know little about the conditions and variables that determine them as being counter-majoritarian or veto players. This article employs the concept of Tsebelis’ veto player theory to analyse the question. It focuses on the spatial configuration of veto players in the legislative process and then adds the court as an additional player to find out if it is absorbed in the pareto-efficient set of the existing players or not. A court which is absorbed by other veto players should not in theory veto new legislation. It is argued in this article that courts are conditional veto players. Their veto is dependent on three variables: the ideological composition of the court; the pattern of government control; and the legislative procedures. To empirically support the analysis, data from the United States, France and Germany from 1974 to 2009 is used. This case selection increases variance with regard to system types and court types. The main finding is that courts are not always absorbed as veto players: during the period of analysis, absorption varies between 11 and 71 per cent in the three systems. Furthermore, the pattern of absorption is specific in each country due to government control, court majority and legislative procedure. Therefore, it can be concluded that they are conditional veto players. The findings have at least two implications. First, constitutional courts and supreme courts with judicial review rights should be systematically included in veto player analysis of political systems and not left aside. Any concept ignoring such courts may lead to invalid results, and any concept that counts such courts merely as an institutional feature may lead to distorted results that over- or under-estimate their impact. Second, the findings also have implications for the study of judicial politics. The main bulk of literature in this area is concerned with auto-limitation, the so-called ‘self-restraint’ of the government to avoid defeat at the court. This auto-limitation, however, should only occur if a court is not absorbed. However, vetoes observed when the court is absorbed might be explained by strategic behaviour among judges engaging in selective defection.
Role of personal values in investment decisions: perspectives of individual Ghanaian shareholders

Purpose - This paper examines the role personal values play in investment decision-making processes among Ghanaian shareholders. Design/methodology/approach - In consequence of the recent emergence of the issue of corporate governance practices in Ghana, and the kind of the research objective of this paper, a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods was employed. These methods were employed in two stages. The first stage was qualitative, which purposively selected 20 individual shareholders to solicit their perspectives on how personal values influence investment decisions. Their responses were used to construct the content of this enquiry. The second stage, which was quantitative, employed stratified sampling technique to select 503 individual shareholders to confirm the responses obtained from stage one of the enquiry. Findings - The findings of the study reveal that individual shareholders in Ghana hold value priorities and that honesty, a comfortable life and family security play a significant role in their lives and their investment decision-making processes, and the kind of companies they choose to invest in. Also, to Ghanaian individual shareholders, there is a clear distinction between a comfortable life and a prosperous life in the sense that they are not incentivized more by the latter but by the former in their investment decisions. Practical implications - The results can inform corporate directors and managers what values are considered in investment decisions, and that it is not purely financial. With these results, they can be informed that while some financial values are important- it is just to live a comfortable life and not a prosperous life. This may influence these directors and managers to have a more long-run focus and to have more of a CSR focus by putting implementable measures in place to tackle corporate responsibility issues and to take up a responsibility for their CSR feat. Also, the results can be used for public policy in that if regulators find out that more CSR type information is important to investors, they might require additional CSR-type disclosures in financial statements. Originality/value - This paper contributes to our knowledge on the stakeholder perspective of Corporate Governance that individual shareholders’ personal values have influence on their investment decisions and the choice of companies they invest in.
Measuring the Impact of Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence on Enterprise Performance in Peru: A Developing Country

The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of data warehouse and business intelligence on the business performance of enterprises in developing regions such as Peru. Two models were developed; the qualitative exploratory model employed 23 interviews from several business sectors that use data warehouse and business intelligence. This model was exploratory in nature and helped to identify specific factors relevant to data warehouse and business intelligence in developing countries. The quantitative model examined 110 survey responses from different business sectors that use data warehouse and business intelligence. The DeLone and McLean model from 2003 was applied to test the fit of a structural equation model. Through this model, several hypotheses were tested. Thereafter, insights were combined from a review of the literature and from qualitative and quantitative analysis to consider the extension of additional constructs relevant to studies of data warehouse and business intelligence in developing economies. The additional constructs include: financial investment, alignment between the business intelligence project and business, and technology and specific skills. Implications for the study of advanced technologies in developing regions are considered.
Predicting multisite protein subcellular locations: progress and challenges

In the last two decades, predicting protein subcellular locations has become a hot topic in bioinformatics. A number of algorithms and online services have been developed to computationally assign a subcellular location to a given protein sequence. With the progress of many proteome projects, more and more proteins are annotated with more than one subcellular location. However, multisite prediction has only been considered in a handful of recent studies, in which there are several common challenges. In this special report, the authors discuss what these challenges are, why these challenges are important and how the existing studies gave their solutions. Finally, a vision of the future of predicting multisite protein subcellular locations is given.
Carbon and sulfur back flux during anaerobic microbial oxidation of methane and coupled sulfate reduction

Microbial degradation of substrates to terminal products is commonly understood as a unidirectional process. In individual enzymatic reactions, however, reversibility (reverse reaction and product back flux) is common. Hence, it is possible that entire pathways of microbial degradation are associated with back flux from the accumulating product pool through intracellular intermediates into the substrate pool. We investigated carbon and sulfur back flux during the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) with sulfate, one of the least exergonic microbial catabolic processes known. The involved enzymes must operate not far from the thermodynamic equilibrium. Such an energetic situation is likely to favor product back flux. Indeed, cultures of highly enriched archaeal–bacterial consortia, performing net AOM with unlabeled methane and sulfate, converted label from 14C-bicarbonate and 35S-sulfide to 14C-methane and 35S-sulfate, respectively. Back fluxes reached 5% and 13%, respectively, of the net AOM rate. The existence of catabolic back fluxes in the reverse direction of net reactions has implications for biogeochemical isotope studies. In environments where biochemical processes are close to thermodynamic equilibrium, measured fluxes of labeled substrates to products are not equal to microbial net rates. Detection of a reaction in situ by labeling may not even indicate a net reaction occurring in the direction of label conversion but may reflect the reverse component of a so far unrecognized net reaction. Furthermore, the natural isotopic composition of the substrate and product pool will be determined by both the forward and back flux. This finding may have to be considered in the interpretation of stable isotope records.
The Use of Principal Professional Learning Communities by Secondary Principals in Minnesota

Principals in Minnesota are required to remain current in knowledge of leadership for relicensure and evaluation purposes. One method used by Minnesota principals to increase their leadership capacity using the latest teaching and learning research strategies, is the professional learning community (PLC). Limited research is available on principals’ professional learning communities in Minnesota and the challenges to participate in them. The study provides an examination of principal professional learning communities and how Minnesota school district principals use collaboration to increase their knowledge in the field of administration. Barth (1985b) suggested “the principal is the head learner . and the power of the leader as learner in improving schools rests squarely on the extent to which we proudly and openly find ways of inventing, owning, sustaining, displaying, and celebrating our own learning” (p. 94). DuFour (2002) proposed principals must “shift from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning” and “teachers and students benefit when principals function as learning leaders rather than instructional leaders” supporting the practice of principals serving as models for learning (p. 13). Adults learn differently than children (Knowles, 1984). Professional development needs to be relevant, action-based, not a traditional sit-and-get type of development opportunity (Zepeda, Parylo, & Bengtson, 2014). Brown, Anfara, Hartman, Mahar, and Mills (2002) recommended that “professional development for middle level principals should take place in a supportive cohort structure that promotes reflection on local school needs and sharing among fellow colleagues” (p. 132). Various organizations advise principals to meet in a collaborative network, critical friends group or a community of practice (Institute for Educational Leadership, 2000; Neufeld, 1997; Oliver, 2005; Wenger, 2000). Pentland (2014) describes “social learning” where people learn from watching each other’s behavior and listening to their experiences (p. 20). Pentland (2014) also suggested that collaborative groups may be as effective when using electronic modes of communication and meetings, if trust is established first in a face-to-face setting. Taking into account the influence of high stakes testing and principal evaluation systems, it is appropriate to research further how professional development among Minnesota principals is occurring through professional learning communities.
A Comparative Examination of Management Forecasts and Box-Jenkins Forecasts of Earnings

The accuracy of management forecasts of earnings, the major focus of this study, is important from several standpoints. It clearly lies at the heart of much of the debate concerning presentation of corporateearnings forecasts. Repeatedly the AICPA, the NAA, the SEC and numerous other groups have isolated the question of accuracy as one of primary concern [Public Reporting of Corporate Financial Forecasts, 1974]. Consequently, from the standpoint of whether corporate forecasts of earnings should be disclosed, the question of accuracy is relevant. From the standpoint of present practice, the accuracy question is of equal interest. While mandatory requirements for inclusion of annual earnings forecasts in financial reports are not yet, nor may never be, a reality, widespread public dissemination of earnings forecasts is, nevertheless, a fact. In March 1973, the Financial Analysts Federation issued a three-part monograph; one part was a research report on corporate forecasts [Norby, 1973]. It was reported that seventy-eight articles appeared in the Wall Street Journal between October 1971 and September 1972, concerning management forecasts. These articles contained eighty-nine forecasts issued by seventy-three corporations which varied widely in size and industry. In addition, the population of management earnings forecasts from which our sample was derived in the present study (201) is also testimony to the ready availability of corporate forecasts of income. The same FAF study provides evidence that such forecasts are used and useful. The FAF also surveyed nearly 7,000 members and, based on almost 1,000 responses, found that 99 percent of the portfolio managers surveyed responded that they considered earnings forecasts in making investment decisions. Of the total re-
Effects of Pension Contribution on Household Saving and Consumption under Financial Indebtedness

This paper empirically analyzes the effects of national pension contribution on household saving and consumption across income quintiles under financial indebtedness. We use the system GMM estimation for dynamic panel analysis to investigate these effects with the Korean Labor & Income Panel Study (KLIPS) data. We find that the household pension crowds out household saving as the previous literature has found. This crowding-out effect, however, arises mainly from the less indebted households but not from the heavily indebted households. The pension benefit structure in Korea is known to have a positive wealth effect across all income quintiles such that pension increases households’ consumption, but the heavily indebted households cannot increase their consumption as much as the less indebted households do, and/or even reduce it by tight financial constraints. The different effects of public pension across financial indebtedness have an important implication in a current economic environment, where household debt and credit have grown more rapidly than household income.
Evaluation of New Broth Media for Microdilution Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing of Lactobacilli, Pediococci, Lactococci, and Bifidobacteria

ABSTRACT Nine pure or mixed broth media were evaluated for their suitabilities to determine MICs in a microdilution test of 19 antibacterial agents for lactic acid bacteria (LAB) of the genera Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Lactococcus, and Bifidobacterium. A mixed formulation of Iso-Sensitest broth (90%) and deMan-Rogosa-Sharpe broth (10%) with or without supplementation with l-cysteine, referred to as the LAB susceptibility test medium, provided the most optimal medium basis in terms of growth support of nonenterococcal LAB and correct indication of MICs of international control strains.
Efficient in vitro myogenic reprogramming of human primary mesenchymal stem cells and endothelial cells by Myf5

Background information. The identification of a source of stem cells able to regenerate skeletal muscle was the goal of numerous studies with the aim to develop new therapeutic approaches for genetic muscle diseases or muscle injuries. A series of studies have demonstrated that stem cells derived from various tissues may have a role in the regeneration of damaged muscles, but this contribution is always very weak. Thus we established a project aiming to reprogramme non‐muscle cells into the skeletal striated differentiation pathway.
Inpatriate Managers: Are They Being Effectively Utilized as Global Talent?

This study questions the return on investment of inpatriate talent. The fundamental rationale of this qualitative study is the need to more consciously manage the talent found in an increasingly diverse global talent pool. As part of this pool, an inpatriate is positioned to add operational value at headquarters, yet face a tremendously different set of hurdles compared to their more traditional counterpart, the expatriate. In light of the differences in characteristics and obstacles faced, we challenge extant literature on the appropriateness of existing talent practices for inpatriate talent. We question whether more conscious choices in management practices can bring greater mutual benefits to the inpatriate and multinational corporation.
A long-term trial of the effectiveness and safety of atypical antipsychotic agents in augmenting SSRI-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder.

OBJECTIVE Although atypical antipsychotic agents have been found effective in the augmentation of serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) for treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in short-term trials, there are few data on the effectiveness and safety of these agents in clinical settings over the long term. METHOD Subjects (N = 46) who responded to selective SRIs (SSRIs) in an initial 12-week trial were continued on SSRI monotherapy plus cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for 1 year. Subjects (N = 44) who failed to respond to SSRIs were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 atypical antipsychotics -- olanzapine, quetiapine, or risperidone -- and were consecutively treated using SSRI + atypical antipsychotics combined with CBT for 1 year. This study was conducted from January 2006 to November 2007 at Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine Hospital, Japan. RESULTS Augmentation with atypical antipsychotics reduced mean +/- SD Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) total scores in SSRI-refractory OCD patients (at initial assessment = 29.3 +/- 9.9, after 1 year = 19.3 +/- 6.8). However, compared to SSRI responders (at initial assessment = 25.8 +/- 11.4, after 1 year = 13.7 +/- 4.6), total YBOCS scores in those who required atypical antipsychotic augmentation were initially higher, and they remained at higher levels than those of SRI responders after 1 year of the treatments. CONCLUSIONS Our work does not sufficiently support the long-term effectiveness of the atypical antipsychotics in the augmentation of SSRIs for treatment-resistant OCD patients. Even though this approach seems useful for some types of OCD patients, such as those with symmetry/ordering and hoarding symptoms, these data emphasize the limitations of the current pharmacotherapeutic options in treatment-refractory OCD, and their chronic use raises a number of safety concerns. TRIAL REGISTRATION (ClinicalTrials.gov) Identifier NCT00854919.
Aging and Human Performance

Objectives: I identify major theoretical and practical contributions to aging and human performance as reflected primarily in the pages of Human Factors. Background: Populations worldwide are aging. True experimental work on aging is not possible because age levels cannot be manipulated. Sophisticated theoretical frameworks and modeling techniques are required to reach valid inferences about age effects and age changes. Method: Citation analysis was used to identify articles in Human Factors dealing with age or aging and to rank them for citation impact. Results: Special issues on aging were followed by increased publication rates for articles on age or aging, particularly in the 1990s. Most-cited articles deal primarily with age and driving. Conclusions: Applied contributions rely on improved measurement of performance and on methodological advances, including simulation and modeling. Design changes that provide environmental support for declining cognitive, perceptual, and psychomotor abilities can serve as a powerful intervention for maintaining and improving older adult performance. Training is also a robust way to improve performance at both the basic ability level and the level of task performance. Human factors specialists can improve quality of life for an aging population. Applications: Guidelines for older users are now being developed by standards bodies and are implemented in domains such as Web design. Much of the focus of human factors research has been on improving efficiency in the performance of aging adults in the workforce, but reducing errors and increasing comfort and satisfaction in health-related activities should receive greater attention.
Creativity, Innovation and Competitiveness in Nigeria: An Economic Exploration

Creativity and innovation are important determinants of competitiveness, without which a nation or economy hardly becomes competitive. They are central to the development of any economy and as such a country must constantly keep abreast and adapt continuously to pave the way for significant improvement in contemporary times. This paper attempts an economic discourse of creativity, innovation and competitiveness using various indices for their measurements and examining critically where Nigeria (the country of interest) is positioned. The study reveals that Nigeria has a very low degree of creativity, innovation and competitiveness, when compared to other nations and this poses a threat to the diversification of the Nigerian economy championed by the present administration. The study recommends that Nigeria should take urgent concrete steps in addressing weaknesses in infrastructure, macroeconomic policy and security; while adequate investment should be made on human capital development.
Defining success in business retention and expansion: What do economic development organizations measure and why?

Abstract Understanding what constitutes success in business retention and expansion (BRE) is a vital first step in determining the extent to which economic development organizations (EDOs) emphasize and use performance measurement for this particular strategy. The limited literature available on the topic suggests that the emphasis EDOs place on performance measurement in BRE will vary, and is likely a function of certain organizational and program characteristics. As such, the article seeks to address three inter-related research questions: (1) How do EDOs define success in BRE based on the specific metrics they collect? (2) What factors explain the variation in emphasis that EDOs place on BRE metrics? and (3) What success factors are evident in the implementation of BRE programs that may increase the chances of achieving desired results? The analysis uses data from a national survey of EDOs and short case studies of five BRE programs in examining the research questions.
Study of magnetic interactions in metallic nanowire networks

Nanowire arrays are characterized using ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) experiments. The dipolar interactions between nanowires are studied by investigating the angular variation of the FMR resonant field. Two qualitatively different angular variations in the resonant field are experimentally observed and explained using the interaction field. The experimental data are explained using a theoretical model that considers the interaction field in nanowire networks as arising from magnetic charges at the wire's surface (wire's extremities and lateral cylindrical surface) and takes into account the finite wire length and porosity of the sample.