Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dropping Out or Signing Up? The Professionalisation of Youth Travel

Leaving school and dropping out of employment or further education was once an act of rebellion by cohorts of young people expressing anti-establishment sentiments. Now it has become a neoliberal market place in the UK. Over the last five years the “gap year” has changed from a radical activity, dominated by charities and inspired by the travel of the hippie generation, to an institutionally accepted commercial gap year industry which helps form new citizens for a global age. This transformation has seen the dramatic growth in commercial gap year companies and in the numbers of young people in the UK taking gap years. Such growth, taking place under an increasingly engaged public gaze, has led to the professionalisation of the sector and to profound changes in its underlying values. Drawing on a range of empirical sources, I examine how the transformation of the gap year through the neoliberal market place has involved the application of corporate values and rhetoric to youth travel. Becoming “professional” has entailed a shift from collective idealism to the infinitely more saleable values of individual career development. While professional values give legitimacy to the gap year industry, its professional gaze is also proving to be relatively myopic—it has yet to be turned on the volunteer development projects through which many companies in the industry make their names, and money.
Is There a Bubble in the Housing Market?

This paper looks for evidence of a bubble in U.S. housing prices. It analyzes quarterly state-level data over 1985-2002, focusing on the relationship between home prices and selected fundamental variables. Income per capita alone largely explains price changes in all but eight states; in the latter, large price movements are observed unrelated to the fundamentals. Results from a new survey of recent homebuyers in the Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and Milwaukee metropolitan areas are reported. This survey replicates an almost identical 1988 survey and finds, as before, that buyers in most of these markets perceive little risk in their housing investment, have unrealistic expectations about future price increases, and hold economically implausible beliefs about home price behavior—findings consistent with a bubble. Prices in such markets could stall or decline, but only if such declines are simultaneous or spread to other markets are significant effects on the national economy likely.
Changes in Russian managerial values: a test of the convergence hypothesis?

This paper considers how Russian managerial values are developing in the context of the sweeping economic, political and social changes associated with the transition of Russia to a market economy. By replicating earlier research (Holt et al., 1994; Ralston et al., 1997), it was possible to overcome the weaknesses of previous cross-sectional studies by tracking changes in Russian managers' values over time. The paper concludes that some convergence between the values of Russian and US managers can be observed, but that the form of this convergence is not uniform. In addition, the way in which Russian managers act upon these values in the context of their own national context means that considerable divergence in managerial behaviour is still evident. Implications for international human resource management are discussed.
A COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF METHODOLOGIES USED TO EVALUATE COMPETITION POLICY

Research by academics and competition agencies on evaluating competition policy has grown rapidly during the last two decades. This paper surveys the literature in order to (i) assess the fitness for purpose of the main quantitative methodologies employed, and (ii) identify the main undeveloped areas and unanswered questions for future research. It suggests that policy evaluation is necessarily an imprecise science and that all existing methodologies have strengths and limitations. The areas where the need is most pressing for further work include: understanding why Article 102 cases are only infrequently evaluated; the need to bring conscious discussion of the counterfactual firmly into the foreground; a wider definition of policy to include success in deterrence and detection. At the heart of the discussion is the impact of selection bias on most aspects of evaluation. These topics are the focus of ongoing work in the CCP.
The user–developer communication process: a critical case study

Abstract. Although user participation in systems development is widely believed to have positive impacts on user acceptance, it does not guarantee success and there is still much that we do not know about how and why user participation sometimes delivers positive benefits, but not always. Much of the prior research on user participation assumes that user–developer communication will ensure that the resulting system will be designed to meet users’ needs and will be accepted by them. The nature and quality of the communication between users and developers, however, remains an understudied aspect of user participation. In this paper, we focus on the user–developer communication process. We propose a process model that delineates four stages of communication between users and software developers, and we argue that these stages must occur for user participation to lead to effective outcomes. To illustrate our model, we apply it to analyse a ‘critical case study’ of a software project that failed despite high levels of user involvement. We show that when ‘communication lapses’ occurred in several of the user–developer communication stages, developers failed to be informed regarding the underlying reasons that users avoided the system. Based on the insights from this case study, we advise researchers and practitioners how to leverage the potential benefits of user participation, rather than take them for granted.
Regional chemotherapy for unresectable primary liver cancer: results of a phase II clinical trial and assessment of DCE-MRI as a biomarker of survival.

BACKGROUND This study reports the results of hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) with floxuridine (FUDR) and dexamethasone (dex) in patients with unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and investigates dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) assessment of tumor vascularity as a biomarker of outcome. PATIENTS AND METHODS Thirty-four unresectable patients (26 ICC and eight HCC) were treated with HAI FUDR/dex. Radiologic dynamic and pharmacokinetic parameters related to tumor perfusion were analyzed and correlated with response and survival. RESULTS Partial responses were seen in 16 patients (47.1%); time to progression and response duration were 7.4 and 11.9 months, respectively. Median follow-up and median survival were 35 and 29.5 months, respectively; 2-year survival was 67%. DCE-MRI data showed that patients with pretreatment integrated area under the concentration curve of gadolinium contrast over 180 s (AUC 180) >34.2 mM.s had a longer median survival than those with AUC 180 <34 mM.s (35.1 versus 19.1 months, P = 0.002). Decreased volume transfer exchange between the vascular space and extracellular extravascular space (-DeltaK(trans)) and the corresponding rate constant (-Deltak(ep)) on the first post-treatment scan both predicted survival. CONCLUSIONS In patients with unresectable primary liver cancer, HAI therapy can be effective and safe. Pretreatment and early post-treatment changes in tumor perfusion characteristics may predict treatment outcome.
Decoupling Three-Dimensional Mixed Problems Using Divergence-Free Finite Elements

In this paper we describe an iterative method for indefinite saddle-point systems arising from mixed finite element discretizations of second-order elliptic boundary value problems subject to mixed boundary conditions and posed over polyhedral three-dimensional domains. The method is based on a decoupling of the vector of velocities in the saddle-point system from the vector of pressures, resulting in a symmetric positive definite velocity system and a triangular pressure system. The crucial step in this approach is the construction of the divergence-free Raviart--Thomas--Nedelec elements from the curls of Nedelec's edge elements. Because of the large kernel of the curl-operator, this representation is not unique. To find a basis we consider the graph made up of the nodes and edges of the mesh and eliminate the edge elements associated with a spanning tree in this graph. To prove that this technique works in the general case considered here, we employ fundamental results from algebraic topology and graph theory. We also include some numerical experiments, where we solve the (decoupled) velocity system by ILU-preconditioned conjugate gradients and the pressure system by simple back substitutions. We compare our method with a standard ILU-based block preconditioner for the original saddle-point system, and we find that our method is faster by a factor of at least 4.5 in all cases, with the greatest improvement occurring in the nonuniform mesh case.
The Allocation of Public Expenditure and Economic Growth

This paper studies the optimal allocation of government spending between health, education and infrastructure in an endogenous growth framework. Infrastructure affects not only the production of goods but also the supply of health and education services. The production of health (education) services depends also on the stock of human capital (health services). Transitional dynamics associated with budget‐neutral shifts in the composition of expenditure are analyzed, and growth‐ and welfare‐maximizing allocation rules are derived and compared. The discussion highlights the role played by the externalities associated with all three types of public services in the health and human capital technologies.
Understanding EU Attitudes in Multi-Level Governance Contexts: A Social Identity Perspective

The present research examines the way in which politicians' attitudes towards the EU are affected by comparative identity processes. Interviews among regional politicians in two peripheral regions in the UK (Study 1: Wales and Cornwall) and two peripheral regions in the Netherlands (Study 2: Friesland and Limburg) show that when the relationship between nation-state and European Union is perceived to be negative (i.e., in UK regions), the national government is defined by emphasising the regions' pro-Europe sentiments. When central government is perceived to hold positive EU attitudes (i.e., in The Netherlands), politicians in peripheral regions accuse the national government of over-conformity to the EU, while emphasising the greater historical and cultural link between their region and Europe than between region and nation-state. Discussion focuses on the context-dependent nature of EU attitudes and on the importance of identity considerations at the regional level when examining attitudes towards the EU.
Fluorescence in situ hybridization studies on the sex chromosome constitution of human sperm.

More males are conceived than females and more males are born as a result of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and donor insemination procedures. All donor sperm samples are frozen for a minimum of 6 months before they are used. The ratio of more boys to girls has been consistently reported over the years. A similar finding has been noted in the Galway Fertility Unit at University College Hospital Galway, Ireland. Traditionally, it has been accepted that the reason for this excess is that a Y chromosome-bearing sperm swims faster than the X-bearing sperm because it contains less DNA and is therefore "lighter. " To test this hypothesis, semen samples were collected at the Galway Fertility Unit from men presenting for routine semen assessments. Each sample was divided into a number of aliquots. The first aliquot was assessed as the "raw" ejaculate to measure the initial ratio of X to Y. The second aliquot was prepared using Percoll density gradients, which allows for greater recovery of sperm with higher motility and improved sperm function. The final aliquot was frozen. The frozen sample was later thawed and prepared using Percoll. The prepared sperm were kept for 48 h and sampled at the time of preparation and at 24 h and 48 h to establish if there was any differential survival over time. The X:Y ratio was analyzed using the technique of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). This allowed the sex chromosomes to be specifically stained and identified simultaneously. No difference was found in the X:Y ratio of the sperm. Therefore, any selection for the Y sperm must take place at some later stage.
Efficient inhibition of in vivo human malignant glioma growth and angiogenesis by interferon-beta treatment at early stage of tumor development.

Malignant gliomas are highly angiogenic and aggressive tumors. IFN-beta has been used for the treatment of patients with malignant glioma; however, its antitumor mechanism in vivo remains unclear. To understand the in vivo antitumor effect and mechanism of recombinant human IFN-beta (rhIFN-beta) depending on the stages of tumor development or progression, we used orthotopic xenograft brain tumors generated by stereotactic intracerebral implantation of U-87 human glioma cells in nude mice. Mice bearing tumors 7 days (group 1) and 21 days (group 2) postimplant were treated with 2 x 10(5) IU/day of rhIFN-beta or saline i.p. for 15 days, respectively. Tumor growth was suppressed by 69.6% in group 1 and 10.8% in group 2 compared with tumors of each control group treated with saline. rhIFN-beta-treated group 1 animals showed 38% reduction in vascularization along with a 2.5-fold increase of the apoptotic index and no change in the proliferative index as compared with untreated tumors. The expression level of vascular endothelial cell growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor was not affected by rhIFN-beta treatment. rhIFN-beta showed inhibitory activity on proliferation of U-87 cells, human umbilical vein endothelial cells, and PAM 212 murine keratinocytes in vitro. Our results indicate that the in vivo antitumor effect of rhIFN-beta on malignant gliomas may be mediated, at least in part, via angiogenesis inhibition rather than antiproliferative activity and that rhIFN-beta may be more effective for the treatment of malignant glioma patients at an early stage with minimal or microscopic tumor burdens rather than at an advanced stage of tumor development.
Tn5406, a New Staphylococcal Transposon Conferring Resistance to Streptogramin A and Related Compounds Including Dalfopristin

ABSTRACT We characterized a new transposon, Tn5406 (5,467 bp), in a clinical isolate of Staphylococcus aureus (BM3327). It carries a variant of vgaA, which encodes a putative ABC protein conferring resistance to streptogramin A but not to mixtures of streptogramins A and B. It also carries three putative genes, the products of which exhibit significant similarities (61 to 73% amino acid identity) to the three transposases of the staphylococcal transposon Tn554. Like Tn554, Tn5406 failed to generate target repeats. In BM3327, the single copy of Tn5406 was inserted into the chromosomal att554 site, which is the preferential insertion site of Tn554. In three other independent S. aureus clinical isolates, Tn5406 was either present as a single plasmid copy (BM3318), as two chromosomal copies (BM3252), or both in the chromosome and on a plasmid (BM3385). The Tn5406-carrying plasmids also contain two other genes, vgaB and vatB. The insertion sites of Tn5406 in BM3252 were studied: one copy was in att554, and one copy was in the additional SCCmec element. Amplification experiments revealed circular forms of Tn5406, indicating that this transposon might be active. To our knowledge, a transposon conferring resistance to streptogramin A and related compounds has not been previously described.
Specification of a Stochastic Simulation Model for Assessing Debt Sustainability in Emerging Market Economies

This paper documents the specification of a model that was constructed to assess debt sustainability in emerging market economies. Key features of the model include external and fiscal sectors, which allow assessment of external and public debt in a unified framework' public and external debt, which both have an explicit maturity structure along with a distinction between denomination in domestic versus foreign currency to facilitate debt management analysis' monetary and fiscal policy, which are endogenous and specified using explicit forward-looking policy rules' an endogenous risk premium on public and external debt' and a mechanism for invoking a sudden stop in private capital flows. The paper provides an overview of the basic structure of the model, outlines the methodology used to calibrate the parameters, and illustrates the key properties of the model with reference to dynamic responses of selected variables to shocks of interest.
Longitudinal patterns and predictors of alcohol consumption in the United States.

OBJECTIVES We examined demographic predictors of longitudinal patterns in alcohol consumption. METHODS We used mixed-effects models to describe individual alcohol consumption and change in consumption with age, as well as the associations between consumption and birth year, national alcohol consumption, and demographic factors, among 14 105 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I Epidemiologic Follow-Up Study. RESULTS Alcohol consumption declined with increasing age, and individual consumption mirrored national consumption. Higher consumption was associated with male gender, being White, being married, having a higher educational level, having a higher income, being employed, and being a smoker. Faster age-related decline in consumption was associated with earlier cohorts, being male, being married, having a lower educational level, and being a smoker. CONCLUSIONS Compared with alcohol consumption among earlier cohorts, that among recent cohorts declined more slowly with increasing age, suggesting that negative health effects of alcohol could increase in the future.
Identification of differentially expressed microRNAs in knee anterior cruciate ligament tissues surgically removed from patients with osteoarthritis

The degradation of cruciate ligaments is frequently observed in degenerative joint diseases, such as osteoarthritis (OA). The present study aimed to identify the differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) in knee anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tissues derived from patients with OA and in health subjects (non-OA). By using Affymetrix miRNA 4.0 microarrays, a total of 22 miRNAs (including let-7f-5p, miR-26b-5p and miR-146a-5p) were found to be upregulated, while 17 (including miR-18a-3p, miR-138-5p and miR-485-3p) were downregulated in the osteoarthritic ACL tissues (fold change ≥2, P-value <0.05). The expression levels of 12 miRNAs were validated by quantitative PCR, and the corresponding results revealed an excellent correlation with the microarray data (R2=0.889). Genes (such as a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain with thrombospondin type-1 motifs, bone morphogenetic protein-2, runt related transcription factor-2, collagen-1A1 and 2, interleukin-6 and transforming growth factor-β) involved in cartilage development and remodeling, collagen biosynthesis and degradation, inflammatory response and extracellular matrix homeostasis were predicted as potential targets of the dysregulated miRNAs. Moreover, a large set of putative genes were enriched in OA pathogenesis-associated pathways (such as mitogen-activated protein kinase and vascular endothelial growth factor signaling pathway). Collectively, the data from our study provides novel insight into the ligament injury-related miRNA dysregulation in patients with OA.
The Sensitivity of Labor-Supply Parameter Estimates to Unobserved Individual Effects: Fixed- and Random-Effects Estimates in a Nonlinear Model Using Panel Data

Life-cycle models of labor supply predict the presence of an unobserved individual effect in the labor-supply equation that is correlated with observed explanatory variables, leading to an omitted variables bias in the cross section. I examine the sensitivity of parameter estimates to the presence of these effects, using fixed- and random-effect Tobit models. The estimated effects of children are too large in the cross section. The estimated intertemporal substitution elasticity ranges from 1.1 to 1.7. The results are similar for fixed- and random-effects models and for models using different specifications of the dependent variable.
When Random Assignment is Not Enough: Accounting for Intentional Selectivity in Experimental Research

Experimental methods are critical tools in marketing, psychology, and economics to isolate the effects of key variables from vagaries intrinsic to field data. As such, they are often considered exempt from the sort of sample selectivity artifacts widely documented in empirical research, in part because participants are randomly assigned to experimental conditions. To conserve time and resources, experiments often focus on items participants have chosen or are familiar with, for example, postchoice satisfaction ratings, certain free recall tasks, or specifying consideration sets preceding brand choice. When consumer input even partially influences the items about which researchers request subsequent data, the potential for item selectivity arises. In such situations, analyses are contingent on both the choice context(s) of the experiment and the alternatives participants elect to evaluate, potentially leading to substantial item selectivity overall and to differing degrees across conditions. We examine situations in which a nonignorable “choose one of many” (polytomous) selection process limits which items offer up subsequent information, and develop methods to allow substantive results to pertain to the full set of items, not only those selected. The framework is illustrated via two experiments in which participants choose and then evaluate a frequently purchased consumer good as well as data first examined by Ratner et al. [Ratner RK, Kahn BE, Kahneman D (1999) Choosing less-preferred experiences for the sake of variety. J. Consumer Res. 26(1):1–15]. Results indicate substantial item selectivity that, when corrected for, can lead to markedly different interpretations of focal variable effects, such as large effect size changes and even sign reversal. Moreover, failing to flexibly account for item selectivity across experimental conditions , even in well-designed experimental settings, can lead to inaccurate substantive inferences about consumers’ evaluative criteria. We further demonstrate robustness to theoretically driven (but not overtly misspecified) selection rules and provide researchers with a simple, “two-step” exploratory procedure akin to a “control function” approach—involving just one additional variable added to standard models—to determine whether and to what degree item selectivity may be affecting their substantive results.Data, as supplemental material, are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2016. 0991 .