Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Overwhelming Hazards

We show that a standard result of the career concerns literature (e.g., Holmström, 1982/1999) is not robust to the case of promotions. Speci.cally, we demonstrate that e¤ort can increase when output is garbled by more extraneous noise. We investigate the implication of this result for the functioning of the . rm. We show that managers whose ability is thought to be high can rationally choose projects which are highly informative about ability. We also show that employers and employees play a cat and mouse game in which employers may chose a job or organization design which is little informative about
Homocysteine As A Noval Risk Factor For Cardiovascular Diseases In Iraqi Females With Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome

Back ground and objectives: Polycystic ovary syndrome is a common disorder with endocrine and reproductive abnormality which lead to high risk for development of premature atherosclerotic heart disease in reproductive age group. There are many risk factors in women with polycystic ovary syndrome that associated with risk of atherosclerosis. This study was undertaken to evaluate the level of homocysteine as a novel cardiovascular risk marker in polycystic ovarian syndrome women compared to healthy controls. Material and Methods: A case-control study done at private clinic in Baghdad in the period from the 1 of August 2015 to the 1 of September 2016. A total of 100 women were enrolled in this study and divided into two groups: (Group 1) fifty diagnosed polycystic ovary syndrome women and fifty (Group 2) healthy age matched controls. Homocysteine, insulin, vitamin B12, folate levels, lipid profile were measured in in both groups. Results: Homocysteine level was significantly elevated in group 1 compared to group 2 (p<0.001). Also insulin level in group 1 was significantly higher than in group 2 (P=0.001). High density lipoprotein was significantly lower and low density lipoprotein was statistically higher significantly in group1 and the difference was significant (P=0.0001, 0.003 respectively). Conclusion: Homocysteine was significantly increased in polycystic ovarian syndrome women and can be a marker for early onset of cardiovascular disease in these women.
Board gender quotas: can women realistically boost firm performance?

In this paper, we investigate the impact of gender quotas on firm performance and corporate decisions using Belgium, France and Italy as a natural experiment. Our statistical analysis shows that the percentage of female directors significantly increases, and board members characteristics significantly change after the implementation of the gender quota. The results of our empirical analysis show evidence that gender quotas do not have a significant impact on both firm outcomes and corporate decisions. Our findings support the decision of policymakers to use mandatory rules to force firm to achieve gender balance on corporate boards. Our results suggest that policy-makers create unrealistic expectations for women to boost firm performance, at least in the short-run when negative side effects of mandatory rules are potentially strongest. JEL Classification: G34, G38.
Comparison of Chlorophyll Fluorescence and Photosynthesis of Two Strawberry Cultivars in Response to Relative Humidity

The aim of this study was to evaluate growth response of two greenhouse-grown strawberry cultivars grown under two different relative humidity (RH) regimes using photo-physiological measurements, such as photosynthetic rate and photosynthesis efficiency (with the initial chlorophyll fluorescence curve part of 0 ‐ 30millisec (OJIP) transients). The two different RH regimes (< 40% and > 60% RH) were maintained during daylight hours from November 20, 2018 to December 20, 2018. After 15 days of controlled humidity treatment, we found significant differences in photosynthetic rates, stomatal conductance, energy flux trapped by one active photosystem II reaction center (TRo/RC), and rate of electron transport flux of photosystem II reaction center (ETo/RC) values relative to cultivar type and RH. However, after 30 days of humidity treatment, the significant differences in these photosynthesis related parameters were responses related to RH treatment effects regardless of the cultivars. Both ‘Arihyang’ and ‘Keumsil’ cultivars grown under > 60% RH (during the day) showed higher root activity, reflecting multiple turnover of QA reductions (Ss), TRo/RC, and ETo/RC values than when grown under < 40% RH. In addition, relative variable chlorophyll fluorescence at 2millisec (Vj) and relative variable chlorophyll fluorescence at 30millisec (Vi) values were higher in the ‘Arihyang’ cultivar (regardless of RH) than in the ‘Keumsil’ cultivar. We conclude that maintaining high relative humidity inside greenhouses during the cold season (when RH is naturally low) will optimize strawberry fruit yield by enhancing root activity and photosynthetic rates. Additional key words: electron transfer, energy fluxes, root activity, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate
Dividend policy and stock price volatility in Indian capital market

As argued by Modigilani & Miller, the dividends are irrelevant only in perfect markets but in an emerging market like India, the dividends are expected to show its relevance. Indian capital market have surpassed a sea change in the recent past including demonetization, implementation of new tax regimes, political controversies and the like. Despite these facts, the Indian capital markets soars at many a times due to its active trading. Against this backdrop, this research paper seeks to examine the relationship between dividend policies and share price volatility. The motivation behind this research is to first time employ a powerful unbiased volatility estimator, created by Yang and Zhang that is 14 times as efficient as close to close estimate. A sample of 116 textiles companies, listed and actively traded in Bombay Stock Exchange of India (BSE) from 2008 to 2017 selected for the study. In examining the impact of dividend policy on share price volatility in Indian capital market, multiple least squares regressions is employed. Empirical results shows that dividends are affecting stock prices variations in India which fits in with the bird in hand and signaling theories of dividends. Due to the volatile nature of the market, Indian investors’ prefer demanding more dividends from firms rather keeping retained earnings on reinvestment. The outcomes of this study supports the fact that dividends policy influence stock price variations in Indian capital market. The results of this study provides an insight to the financial managers in developing their dividend policies to maximizing the shareholders wealth.
Selecting or rewarding teachers

Using data from three waves of PIRLS, this paper examines the effect of teacher quality on pupils’ literacy test scores at 4 grade by exploiting variations induced by reforms in teachers’ selection and/or reward. We construct an original dataset of relevant reforms taking place at the national level over the last century and affecting the working conditions of primary schools teachers, matching them by the year when they entered the profession. After showing that teacher experience/age and qualification are significantly correlated with student competences, we study the correlation between teacher working conditions (including recruitment, pay and retirement policies) and pupil achievement. Our identifying assumption is that the impact of reforms dissipates with the distance between reform introduction and entry into the profession. Results point to more selective recruitment process and, at a lesser extent, more generous wage conditions as effective ways to enhance pupils’ performance. JEL code: H52 (Government Expenditures and Education), I21 (Analysis of Education), I28 (Government Policy), J44 (Professional Labour Markets – Occupational Licensing)
Prevalence study of hypertension among adults in an urban area of Jammu

Background: Considering the epidemic of hypertension in recent decades the present study was carried out in an urban adult population to study the prevalence of the disease. Objective: To determine the prevalence of hypertension in an urban adult population aged 30 years and above of Trikuta Nagar colony Jammu. Materials and Methods: Study was conducted in urban population aged 30 years and above of Trikuta Nagar colony in Jammu district of J&K falling under urban health centre, Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College Jammu. Every alternate house was visited thus covering 50% of total houses. A conventional mercury sphygmomanometer was used for recording blood pressure. Hypertension was diagnosed when the systolic blood pressure was ≥140 mmHg and/or Diastolic blood pressure was ≥90 mmHg. Those already diagnosed as hypertensives and taking medication were also considered as hypertensives. Results: The overall prevalence of hypertension in the study population was 57.83%. A higher proportion of males were suffering from hypertension (65.21%) as compared to females (52.64%). Diabetes mellitus was found to be the most common co morbid condition. Conclusion: The study shows high prevalence of hypertension in urban population.
The structure of gold nanoparticles: molecular dynamics modeling and its verification by X-ray diffraction

Noble metal nanoparticles exhibit unique physical, chemical, biomedical, catalytic and optical properties. Understanding these properties and further development of production methods entail detailed knowledge of the structure at the atomic scale. Gold nanoparticles with multimodal size distribution were synthesized on porous silica and their atomic scale structure was studied by X-ray diffraction. The obtained experimental data are compared with molecular dynamics simulations. Spherical models of the Au nanoparticles, defined by ensembles of the Cartesian coordinates of constituent atoms, were generated and their geometry was optimized by applying the LAMMPS software. The comparison was performed in both reciprocal and real space. A good agreement is achieved for the models with disorder that can be related to surface relaxation effects and vacancy defects. The approach adopted here may have wider applications for further structural studies of other nanomaterials, offering direct verification of simulation results by experiment.
Teacher perception of a New English as a Foreign Language (EFL) curriculum in Saudi Arabia.

The purpose of this study was to explore Saudi EFL teachers’ perceptions of the quality of the new English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Flying High curriculum in selected secondary schools in the Sabia Educational Directorate. The researcher examined Saudi EFL teachers’ attitudes towards EFL, preparation programs, the quality of the new curriculum, teacher practices, and administrative support. The researcher used a 50-item survey with a five point Likert Scale. Participants were 42 Saudi EFL teachers. The findings revealed: a) Saudi EFL teachers think that English is important for academic and social purposes; and b) teachers had mixed feelings about the quality of the curriculum (Flying High), although they believed that the curriculum reflected high-quality in its layout and instructional design, yet, the results indicated that they encountered some difficulties in implementing the new methodologies and strategies; c) teachers felt moderately prepared, while some teachers thought that college courses prepared them to teach the new curriculum, others believed that college courses did not prepare them for teaching the new curriculum; d) the results of this study showed that teachers’ practices are not aligned with their beliefs about the quality of the Flying High curriculum. Moreover, the results of the study also indicated that teachers’ role in the planning of the ELDP was minimal and that teachers and students were not ready for the implementation of the new reforms. Finally, the findings revealed that teachers felt they were inadequately trained on the new EFL curriculum.
Monetary policy transmission to bank lending and cross-country heterogeneity in the Euro area

Is the transmission of monetary policy to bank lending heterogeneous across Eurozone countries? This paper employs annual data on banks balance sheets and income statements to test whether the bank lending channel of conventional monetary policy was heterogeneous in the Eurozone over the period 2007-2016. To do so, we follow a simple procedure that allows direct testing of the presence of heterogeneity of monetary transmission across countries by defining a single, bank-specific criterion to select a subsample of banks that are most likely to be sensitive to the bank lending channel. We find robust evidence that the transmission of monetary policy to bank lending was heterogeneous across countries – on average the same 1% policy rate cut leads to a 4.8% increase in lending by banks located in the core and a 2.8% increase for banks located in the periphery. No evidence is instead found in favor of a bank lending channel working for the Eurozone as a whole, highlighting the extent of cross-country heterogeneity in the bank lending channel of monetary policy in the Eurozone. The findings are robust to the contemporaneous effect of unconventional monetary measures and cannot be ascribed to differences in macroeconomic and financial conditions across country groups.
How enterprise risk management (erm) can affect on short-term and long-term firm performance: evidence from the Iranian banking system

Enterprise risk management (ERM) has emerged as a more integrated risk management (IRM) framework in recent years. Many studies have been conducted in recent years to determine the effects of ERM implementation on other parts of an organization. The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between ERM implementation and organizational performance. The research sample consisted of Iranian banks that either had a license from the central bank of Iran (CBI) or were active in the stock market. A novel measure of ERM implementation was employed in this study. Furthermore, the return on equity (ROE) and Tobin's Q ratio were used as two measures of organizational performance. The results showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between ERM implementation and Tobin's Q ratio, whereas such a significant relationship was not observed between ERM implementation and ROE. The study findings suggested that the adoption of an ERM strategy influences the long-term performance of a firm, not its short-term performance.
The Importance of Horizontal and Vertical Take-off Velocity for Elite Female Long Jumpers

or many years, groups of researchers have conducted biomechanical analyses of the athletics events at Olympic Games and IAAF World Championships in Athletics. From this work our knowledge has been greatly increased. In the long jump, for example, the study of world-class performers has helped to determine the vertical and horizontal components of take-off velocity, the factors that produce the biggest differences in the distance achieved. However, studies on elite women long jumpers are rare, which opens the question as to whether the principles apply equally to both sexes. Moreover, a critical analysis of the existing research leads to the conclusion that the single analyses conducted to date by the different groups have led to contradictory results. For example, almost all research F ABSTRACT
Effects of Citric Acid-Starch Composition Ratio and Pressing Temperature on Properties of Particleboard from Salacca (Salacca sp.) Frond

Development of eco-friendly biocomposite product has currently become an interesting topic in materials science. Characteristics of adhesive components can affect the optimal pressing temperature in the manufacture of particleboard. This study aimed to analyze the influence of pressing temperature and citric acid: starch adhesive composition on properties of the particleboard from salacca fronds. The compositions of citric acid: starch adhesive was set as follows, 100% : 0%, 75% : 25%, and 50% : 50%. In addition, the pressing temperature was set at 140°C, 160°C, and 180°C. Particleboards was produced by hot pressing at specific pressure 3.5 MPa for 10 minutes. Citric acid content was 20% based on dried particle, while the density target was set at 0,8 g/cm3. Fourier Transform Spectophotometry (FTIR) analysis was conducted to analyze the bonding mechanism. Increasing of starch in adhesive composition affect on decreasing of physical properties of the boards. Interestingly, replacement of citric acid with starch until 25 wt% could increase the mechanical properties. However, 50 wt% of starch in adhesive composition caused decreasing of mechanical properties of the boards. Increasing of pressing temperature provided higher physical and mechanical properties of the boards. The infrared analysis confirmed the formation of the ester linkages at various manufacturing condition. Composition of citric acid: starch adhesive (%) 75 : 25 and press temperature of 180oC produced the best properties of particleboard with the 0.93 g/cm3 density, 9.85% moisture content, 28.20% thickness swelling, 52.73% water absorption, 8.83 MPa modulus of rupture,1.96 GPa modulus of elasticity, and 0.33 MPa internal bond strength.
Multi-wavelength Bragg coherent X-ray diffraction imaging of Au particles

Multi-wavelength (mw) Bragg coherent X-ray diffraction imaging (BCDI) is demonstrated on a single Au particle. The multi-wavelength Bragg diffraction patterns are inverted using conventional phase-retrieval algorithms where the dilation of the effective pixel size of a pixelated 2D detector caused by the variation of the X-ray beam energy is mitigated by interpolating the raw data. The reconstructed Bragg electron density and phase field are in excellent agreement with the results obtained from conventional rocking scans of the same particle. Voxel sizes of about 63 nm3 are obtained for reconstructions from both approaches. Phase shifts as small as 0.41 rad, which correspond to displacements of 14 pm and translate into strain resolution better than 10−4 in the Au particle, are resolved. The displacement field changes shape during the experiment, which is well reproduced by finite element method simulations considering an inhomogeneous strained carbon layer deposited on the Au particle over the course of the measurements. These experiments thus demonstrate the very high sensitivity of BCDI and mw-BCDI to strain induced by contaminations. Furthermore, mw-BCDI offers new opportunities for in situ and operando 3D strain imaging in complex sample environments.
Accepted for publication in International Journal of Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, May 2011 Pedagogy of autonomy for difficult circumstances: from practice to principles Kuchah Kuchah and Richard Smith Centre for Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick, United Kingdom

This article sets out to consider the place of learner autonomy in an African context by recounting the first author‟s experience of teaching a very large class of more than two hundred teenage learners in an under-resourced secondary school setting in Cameroon. It describes the essentially pragmatic solution he adopted in this context of engaging pupils in group work under trees outside, having negotiated rules and work plans. The subsequent value of creative writing activities is also emphasised given the lack of textbooks in this context. On the basis of this narrative, we shed new light on issues in language learner autonomy including the cross-cultural relevance of autonomy, the distinction between a pedagogy of and a pedagogy for autonomy, and how a pedagogy of autonomy can be an appropriate response to otherwise „difficult circumstances‟. The article ends with a number of principles derived from this practice which may equally be of broader relevance in the field of learner autonomy. Overall, the article is structured in an original manner which is presented as a possible model for future collaborative reports of bottom-up language teaching inquiry, in that an author‟s narrative of teaching experience is foregrounded and only subsequently related to (autonomy) theory.
Writing From Experience: Presentations of Gender Identity on Weblogs1

Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva. nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible.
Political Connections and Competition on Public Procurement Markets

We study the effects of political connections on the public procurement market. Our main findings suggest that political connections – measured both by political affiliation of firm representatives and implicit connections based on frequency of contracts between a procurer and a supplier – increase the final price of procurement contracts allocated to connected firms. Our evidence also suggests that public procurement authorities restrict competition in order to help connected firms. Moreover, the projects awarded to connected firms tend to be of lower quality as measured by the probability of repairs. To quantify the total distortion, we estimate a structural model of the public procurement market where connected firms are being favored by the procurers. Subsequently, we calculate a lower bound of the total welfare loss caused the political connections. Our conservative estimate suggests that tenders allocated to favored firms are overpriced by 3.8% which would sum up to 5 billion CZK in the total sample of contracts in value of 227 billion CZK (due to data restrictions, we used sub-sample in the estimation of the structural model, in which the total welfare loss sum up to half a billion CZK). JEL classifications: D44, D72, H57. ∗Electronic address: bbaranek@princeton.edu We gratefully acknowledge insightful comments and suggestions from Benny Geys, Jakub Kastl, David Schoenherr, Kristof De Witte, and seminar participants at University of Leuven and Princeton University. †Electronic address: vitezslav.titl@kuleuven.be
ANTECEDENTS OF ECONOMIC CONVERGENCE IN ASEAN COUNTRIES: FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT, TRADE, GOVERNMENT SIZE, POPULATION AND ECONOMIC CONVERGENCE

The main objective of the currents study is to investigate and explore the antecedents of the convergence in ASEAN countries. Foreign direct investment, trade, government size, population are examined as the antecedents of the economic convergence in ASEAN countries. Examining the phenomena of absolute convergence among ASEAN countries is another set goal of this research. Achieving this goal obviously requires different approach, methodology wise. Cross section regression-based studies have utilized what is called ‘regression to mean’ to examine absolute convergence across countries traditional unit root testing procedure developed by Dickey and Fuller (1979) is employed to test for convergence hypothesis. Employing ADF test also serves two purposes: 1) the methods has to be used to provide input for performing simulations to apply SURADF procedure. Developed by Blundell and Bond (1998), system GMM uses additional moment conditions to serve as an improvement in terms of performance of estimators in the models developed in Arellano and Bond (1991). The implication of this finding is that economies that are more open in terms of trade and with high level of government participation are more likely to show high level of convergence to the group average real GDP per capita than economies that less open to trade with little government participation as measured by government final consumption expenditure as a percentage of GDP.