Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Understanding volatility shocks in real models

This paper studies the role of endogenous markups in the transmission of volatility shocks in real models. I design a variant of a small open economy model with volatility shocks and firm dynamics that gives rise to endogenous markups. I calibrate this model to match the business cycle facts in emerging economies and show that the impact of volatility shocks is substantially amplified if markups are endogenously time-varying. I study three variants of the model: one in which volatility shocks affect the stochastic process of technology, one in which volatility shocks affect the stochastic process of the interest rate spread and one augmented with working capital constraints. I find that volatility shocks increase savings, due to precautionary motives, and markups. The increase in markups acts as a wedge that endogenously decreases the TFP and induces a fall in real wages, decreasing labor supply with further negative aggregate dynamics that are absent in the models with constant markups.
Transnational Knowledge Networks in Nanotechnology in Mexico: Policy incentives and Dynamics

To what extent do incentives from Science and Technology Policy (S&TP) at the local, regional, national, and international levels affect the emergence and dynamics of knowledge production networks in the field of nanotechnology in Mexico? My ongoing research shows that policy instru ments both simultaneously promote and hinder knowledge production in such networks. During recent years, S&TP discourses have been dominated by the idea that network promotion is a necessity in Mexico. In practice, however, policies coming from four different governmental levels have, to a certain extent, resulted in contradictory incentives. At the national level, the majority of allocated public resources have been invested in instruments that do not reward active formation of networks, while, at the local and regional levels, producing knowledge in cooperation with foreign institutes and transnational companies has been encouraged. As a result, some public research centers are well connected to transnational networks but only weakly so at the regional and local levels. Combining spatial, sociological and economic network approaches, this work seeks to offer new perspectives and bring new insights into the debate.
A Dialogue, Not a Diatribe: Effective Integration of Science and Policy through Joint Fact Finding

A Dialogue, Not a Diatribe: Effective Integration of Science and Policy through Joint Fact Finding Herman A. Karl , Lawrence E. Susskind & Katherine H. Wallace To cite this article: Herman A. Karl , Lawrence E. Susskind & Katherine H. Wallace (2007) A Dialogue, Not a Diatribe: Effective Integration of Science and Policy through Joint Fact Finding, Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 49:1, 20-34, DOI: 10.3200/ ENVT.49. 1.20-34 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.3200/ENVT.49. 1.20-34
Variation in Direct Access to Tests to Investigate Cancer: A Survey of English General Practitioners

Background The 2015 NICE guidelines for suspected cancer recommend that English General Practitioners have direct access to diagnostic tests to investigate symptoms of cancer that do not meet the criteria for urgent referral. We aimed to identify the proportion of GPs in England with direct access to these tests. Methods We recruited 533 English GPs through a national clinical research network to complete an online survey about direct access to laboratory, radiology, and endoscopy tests in the three months leading up to the release of the 2015 NICE guidance. If they had direct access to a diagnostic test, GPs were asked about the time necessary to arrange a test and receive a report. Results are reported by NHS sub-region and, adjusting for sampling, for England as a whole. Results Almost all GPs reported direct access to x-ray and laboratory investigations except faecal occult blood testing (54%, 95% CI 49–59%) and urine protein electrophoresis (89%, 95% CI 84–92%). Fewer GPs had direct access to CT scans (54%, 95% CI 49–59%) or endoscopy (colonoscopy 32%, 95% CI 28–37%; gastroscopy 72%, 95% CI 67–77%). There was significant variation in direct access between NHS regions for the majority of imaging tests—for example, from 20 to 85% to MRI. Apart from x-ray, very few GPs (1–22%) could access radiology and endoscopy within the timescales recommended by NICE. The modal request to test time was 2–4 weeks for routine radiology and 4–6 weeks for routine endoscopy with results taking another 1–2 weeks. Conclusion At the time that the 2015 NICE guideline was released, local investment was required to not only provide direct access but also reduce the interval between request and test and speed up reporting. Further research using our data as a benchmark is now required to identify whether local improvements in direct access have been achieved in response to the NICE targets. If alternative approaches to test access are to be proposed they must be piloted comprehensively and underpinned by robust effectiveness data.
Are Superannuation Disclosures in Company Financial Reports Useful

An analysis of superannuation disclosures in the financial reports of 120 public companies shows surprisingly frequent instances of non-compliance with AASB 1028. This is attributed to inherent weaknesses in the mandatory disclosure requirements. Significant problems include inconsistencies in the reporting of information about hybrid superannuation funds sponsored by companies, absence of timeliness, and non-disclosure of contribution holidays. These findings suggest that present superannuation disclosure requirements do not meet the objective of providing useful information for decision-making.
Reform of Accounting Education in the Post-Enron Era: Moving Accounting 'Out of the Shadows'

This article reflects critically on the general state of university-based accounting education. It highlights the chiding of business school educators by the President of the U.S.A. , George W. Bush, in his response to the collapse of Enron and subsequent corporate failures. It draws attention to Bush's plea for corporate accounting to be moved 'out of the shadows'. An agenda of reform for accounting education is proposed, seeking a greater responsiveness by accounting educators to three broad matters: first, the political, rhetorical and ideological nature of accounting; second, the 'poverty of discourse' in accounting curricula; and third, the merits of a better understanding of accounting history. It is suggested that responsiveness to these matters be manifest in a stronger commitment to critique of accounting. This entails implementation of four curriculum themes commencing in the first class in accounting. The benefits of reading and reflecting upon the collected life's work of distinguished intellectual forbears of our discipline are canvassed. Wide-ranging general proposals for the reform of accounting education are advanced.
Macroeconomic Crises since 1870

We build on Angus Maddison’s data by assembling international time series from before 1914 on real per capita personal consumer expenditure, C, and by improving the GDP data. We have full annual data on C for twenty-four countries and GDP for thirty-six. For samples starting at 1870, we apply a peak-to-trough method to isolate economic crises, defined as cumulative declines in C or GDP of at least 10 percent. We find 95 crises for C and 152 for GDP, implying disaster probabilities of 3½ percent a year, with mean size of 21–22 percent and average duration of 3½ years. Simulation of a Lucas-tree model with i.i. d. shocks and Epstein-Zin-Weil preferences accords with the observed average equity premium of around 7 percent on levered equity, using a coefficient of relative risk aversion of 3.5. This result is robust to several perturbations, except for limiting the sample to nonwar crises.
Supermarket Merger Enforcement

Retail mergers are one of the most frequent areas of antitrust enforcement. In particular, the Federal Trade Commission has taken a substantial number of supermarket merger enforcement actions. The author describes some of the important analytical concepts addressed in supermarket merger enforcement. The author identifies the Federal Trade Commission's evolving approach to important issues such as remedy and explains the basis for the Commission's more comprehensive approach to competitive problems in this area.
The "Bridge Game" Economy: An Example of Indivisibilities

Abstract : Most of the mathematics associated with the more general cases of production with indivisibilities than are dealt with here has been presented by Shapley and Shubik elsewhere in an article dealing primarily with nonconvex preference sets. That analysis however could have been applied to production. We assume that there are n people in an economy with one unit of one producer good 'time' and each with a utility function or a value for the one possible consumer good--'the Bridge game. '
Different impacts of the two types of El Niño on Asian summer monsoon onset

In this study, we investigate the features of Asian summer monsoon onset during the decaying phases of central Pacific (CP) and eastern Pacific (EP) types of El Niño. The Asian summer monsoon onset is late during the EP El Niño while it is generally normal during the CP El Niño. Compared to the CP El Niño, the EP El Niño exerts a stronger impact on the climate over the Indian Ocean and the western North Pacific. Warmer sea surface temperature (SST) develops in boreal spring in the southern Indian Ocean and thus forms a large cross-equatorial SST gradient during the EP El Niño, which induces asymmetric patterns of winds and precipitation over the Indian Ocean. The asymmetric precipitation and circulation patterns contribute to a late monsoon onset. In addition, the anomalous anticyclone over the western North Pacific during the EP El Niño also contributes to late onset of the monsoon.
Multilocus Sequence Typing of Streptococcus pyogenes and the Relationships between emm Type and Clone

ABSTRACT Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is a tool that can be used to study the molecular epidemiology and population genetic structure of microorganisms. A MLST scheme was developed for Streptococcus pyogenes and the nucleotide sequences of internal fragments of seven selected housekeeping loci were obtained for 212 isolates. A total of 100 unique combinations of housekeeping alleles (allelic profiles) were identified. The MLST scheme was highly concordant with several other typing methods. The emm type, corresponding to a locus that is subject to host immune selection, was determined for each isolate; of the >150 distinct emm types identified to date, 78 are represented in this report. For a given emmtype, the majority of isolates shared five or more of the seven housekeeping alleles. Stable associations between emm type and MLST were documented by comparing isolates obtained decades apart and/or from different continents. For the 33 emm types for which more than one isolate was examined, only five emmtypes were present on widely divergent backgrounds, differing at four or more of the housekeeping loci. The findings indicate that the majority of emm types examined define clones or clonal complexes. In addition, an MLST database is made accessible to investigators who seek to characterize other isolates of this species via the internet (http://www.mlst.net ).
Outbreeding increases offspring survival in wild greater horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum)

The factors influencing the survival of greater horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) offspring born over seven years at a maternity colony in south-west Britain were studied. The effects of a range of phenotypic and maternal variables were analysed using a historical data set. In addition, the influence of two genetic measures on mortality, individual heterozygosity and a new measure of outbreeding, termed mean d2, was assessed. Logistic regressions were undertaken with survival modelled as a binary response variable. Survival to two life stages was studied for each variable and all models were developed for both sexes separately and together. Only one variable, mean d2, was significantly associated with survival. Male offspring with high mean d2 scores were more likely to survive to their first and second summers. The influence of mean d2 was not due to a single locus under selection but a wider multilocus effect and probably represents heterosis as opposed to solely inbreeding depression. Therefore, the extent to which an individual is outbred may determine survival more than widely used phenotypic characteristics such as size and mass. Mean d2 may reflect immunocompetence, which influences mortality. Protection of mating sites in order to facilitate gene flow and, therefore, outbreeding may help to promote population stability and growth.
Does the Post-Crisis Weakness of Global Trade Solely Reflect Weak Demand?

Global trade growth over the past few years has appeared extraordinarily weak, even in relation to weak global GDP growth. This paper shows that the apparent breakdown in the relationship between global trade and global GDP growth is largely explained by two factors: an inappropriate measurement of global GDP and extraordinary demand weakness in the euro area. As a measure of demand for traded goods, global GDP at market exchange rates is more appropriate than the conventional purchasing power parity-based measure. Moreover, extraordinary demand weakness in the euro area – which is a particularly trade intensive region – has had a substantial negative effect on intra-euro area trade flows, which are commonly counted towards global trade. When global GDP is measured at market exchange rates and intra-euro area flows are removed from the measure of global trade, econometric estimations suggest that over the past 15 years the long-term elasticity of global trade to GDP has been similar to that of the 1990s. Indeed, the overwhelming part of postcrisis trade weakness can be attributed to weak global demand rather than structural changes, according to the econometric estimations in this paper and supporting evidence on changes in global investment, international production fragmentation and protectionism.
The effect of multi-channel service quality on mobile customer loyalty in an online-and-mobile retail context

The main purpose of this study is to explore the effects of multi-channel service quality on mobile customer loyalty in the context of online-and-mobile retailing. A research model is proposed based on previous service quality literature. Data collected from 102 respondents in Taiwan are tested against the research model using the partial least squares (PLS) approach. The results indicate that tangibility, responsiveness, and empathy in electronic service (e-service) affect mobile service (m-service) customer loyalty both directly and indirectly through their m-service counterparts. The findings of this study provide several important theoretical and practical implications for multi-channel retailing management.
Voices From the Front Line: State Social Workers and New Labour

Summary The article explores the condition of state social work in England today. It is based on interviews with experienced social workers employed by local authority social services departments across the north of England. These front line state social workers provide a penetrating insight into the diverse ways in which their work has been transformed and degraded and the manner in which the needs of clients have been largely ignored. From their perspective, the election of a Labour government in 1997 proved to be a massive disappointment and many social workers reported that it has further undermined state social work practice, workers and clients. The paper seeks to offer an explanation by noting the neo-liberalism of Labour’s social policy and the dire consequences which flow from New Labour’s fixation with waged work as the principal solution to social exclusion and poverty. Above all, it seeks to provide an opportunity for the views of front-line state social workers to be heard. A good friend of mine has been sending me press cuttings for the past three years, many of which concern the activities and strategies of New Labour. It is a sign of his originality as a social scientist that he has included in these bundles sheaves of public sector job adverts that provide a most important collection of data concerning New Labour’s particular imprint on social policy reform and change. One of many New Labour’s mantras—taken straight from the US corporate world of management speak—is ‘making a difference’. Nearly every senior job created as a consequence of New Labour’s flood of policy initiatives (projects, task forces, New Deals, ventures, agencies, pilots, beacons and the like (Parris, 2001, p. 2)) is advertised under this slogan; come and ‘make a difference’. New Labour under Tony Blair is very concerned to make a difference and can be guaranteed to fight all and any elections on
Fertility sparing management and pregnancy in patients with granulosa cell tumour of the ovaries

Abstract Granulosa cell tumours (GCTs) of the ovary are a rare entity among the neoplasms of gynaecological oncology. Deriving from the stroma of the ovary, GCTs are generally characterised by insidious growth, low malignancy potential and late recurrence. The standard treatment for these tumours is principally surgical, consisting of bilateral adnexectomy and hysterectomy. This is a narrative review of the current literature regarding the role of fertility sparing surgery in ovarian granulosa tumour. In the included studies, fertility sparing surgery was performed in 171 out of 350 patients. Recurrence rates ranged between 9.8–27.4%. Out of 131 patients, 15 achieved pregnancy. The data were limited regarding completion post-pregnancy surgery. Due to the fact that GCTs often affect younger ages, of crucial importance is the preservation of fertility by conserving the uterus and the contralateral ovary, while close monitoring is essential in order to achieve early identification and treatment of a possible recurrence. After completion of family planning, hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy are recommended.
The performance implications of temporal orientation and information technology in organization‐environment synergy

Purpose – This paper aims to provide new evidence regarding the firm performance implications of using temporal orientation (time pacing) and information technology (IT) to align an organization with its task environment.Design/methodology/approach – Using questionnaire data provided by top management team members, the results indicate that time‐based strategies (i.e. time pacing) and IT mediate the effects of environmental disruptions on performance. To validate the scales and to test the hypothesized model of relationships, the study employs structural equation modeling through LISREL 8.52, as it is able to examine both the measurement and structural model simultaneously while including individual errors for the respective parameters.Findings – The results suggest that time pacing should be used in association with IT, as time pacing had a much stronger relationship to environmental disruptions than did IT. This finding supports that a time pacing orientation is effective at helping managers react to di.
Six-minute walk distance as a measure of functional exercise capacity in multiple sclerosis

Purpose. We hypothesised that six-minute walk (6MWT) distance of patients with ambulatory multiple sclerosis (MS) would differ from age-matched healthy control subjects. We also investigated the contribution of demographic, physical and physiological factors to impaired functional capacity in MS. Method. Thirty MS patients and 30 healthy subjects participated in this study. Respiratory muscle strength was measured. Pulmonary function test and 6MWT were performed. The Barthel Index (BI) was used to assess activities of daily living, and the Modified Ashworth Scale was used to determine spasticity. Symptomatic fatigue was measured using the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). Results. Pulmonary function and respiratory muscle strength of ambulatory MS patients were significantly lower, and baseline heart rate and fatigue perception were significantly higher than were healthy controls (p < 0.05). MS patients reached a significantly higher exercise heart rate, and walked significantly shorter distance than did healthy subjects (p < 0.05). The BI score, baseline heart rate and FSS score together accounted for 81 percent variance in 6MWT distance of MS patients (p < 0.05). Conclusion. The shorter distance covered during a 6MWT is determined by the limitations in activities of daily living, resting heart rate and subjective symptomatic fatigue in ambulatory patients with MS. Respiratory muscle weakness, lung function and level of neurological impairment do not contribute to impaired functional exercise capacity in these patients.
Nontargeted Stressful Effects in Normal Human Fibroblast Cultures Exposed to Low Fluences of High Charge, High Energy (HZE) Particles: Kinetics of Biologic Responses and Significance of Secondary Radiations

The induction of nontargeted stressful effects in cell populations exposed to low fluences of high charge (Z) and high energy (E) particles is relevant to estimates of the health risks of space radiation. We investigated the up-regulation of stress markers in confluent normal human fibroblast cultures exposed to 1,000 MeV/u iron ions [linear energy transfer (LET) ∼151 keV/μm] or 600 MeV/u silicon ions (LET ∼50 keV/μm) at mean absorbed doses as low as 0.2 cGy, wherein 1–3% of the cells were targeted through the nucleus by a primary particle. Within 24 h postirradiation, significant increases in the levels of phospho-TP53 (serine 15), p21Waf1 (CDKN1A), HDM2, phospho-ERK1/2, protein carbonylation and lipid peroxidation were detected, which suggested participation in the stress response of cells not targeted by primary particles. This was supported by in situ studies that indicated greater increases in 53BP1 foci formation, a marker of DNA damage. than expected from the number of primary particle traversals. The effect was expressed as early as 15 min after exposure, peaked at 1 h and decreased by 24 h. A similar tendency occurred after exposure of the cell cultures to 0.2 cGy of 3.7 MeV α particles (LET ∼109 keV/μm) that targets ∼1.6% of nuclei, but not after 0.2 cGy from 290 MeV/u carbon ions (LET ∼13 keV/μm) by which, on average, ∼13% of the nuclei were hit, which highlights the importance of radiation quality in the induced effect. Simulations with the FLUKA multi-particle transport code revealed that fragmentation products, other than electrons, in cell cultures exposed to HZE particles comprise <1% of the absorbed dose. Further, the radial spread of dose due to secondary heavy ion fragments is confined to approximately 10–20 μm. Thus, the latter are unlikely to significantly contribute to stressful effects in cells not targeted by primary HZE particles.
On the Importance of Correcting Reported End Dates of Labor Market Programs

With administrative data becoming increasingly important for empirical research, the quality of crucial variables of process generated data is of growing interest. This paper investigates reported end dates of further training programs in the German Integrated Employment Biographies Sample (IEBS) to gain insights on how to deal with this sensitive part of the IEBS in future studies and on how measurement error in program end dates affects evaluation results. Error-proneness of reported end dates in the IEBS is discussed, corrections are introduced and their impact on evaluation results is studied for different estimation frameworks using sensitivity analysis. Though there is considerable measurement error in the end dates that can be corrected, the effect on evaluation results is modest.