Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
International Trade Effects And The Decline In The Union Sector

Since the 1960s, U.S. manufacturing has undergone tremendous changes due to international trade and technological convergence. Not all industry sectors have fared equally. High-tech sectors (e.g., aircraft and computers) have maintained a high degree of international competitiveness as evidenced by an increasing export share. Common technology sectors (e.g., autos and steel), conversely, have not as they have experienced a declining export share and increasing import competition. High-tech industries typically employ highly skilled, human capital intensive workers while common technology industries are characterized by unskilled labor with lower levels of human capital. International trade theory suggests that the more skilled high-tech labor force should receive relatively higher wages than the relatively less skilled common-tech sector under international competition. Secondly, the level of unionization in a given industry may or may not have adverse impacts on international competitiveness. Also, unions tend to oppose adoption of new technologies, drive highly educated workers into the nonunion sector, and may adopt end game strategies to maximize current wages at the expense of future economic viability. Consequently, international trade and high-tech industries may have a negative effect on union participation rates. The issues addressed include the effect of international trade and technological comparative advantage on union and nonunion wage levels, and the indirect effect of trade and technology on union participation. This study uses the National Longitudinal Survey (NLS) panel data set. The empirical results suggest that international trade effects wage levels, and high-tech industries appear to have a higher wage distribution after controlling for labor market, product market, and individual characteristics. Furthermore, trade and technology appear to be negatively related to the degree of union density. The secondary effect tends to lower union and nonunion wages, primarily for less-skilled workers. It also may partially explain the trend of increasing income inequality for less-skilled workers and the opposition of unions to free-trade policies. ( JEL J3, J5)
Stability and stabilization for time-varying networked control systems with partly unknown transition probabilities

This paper studies the stability and stabilization problems for networked control systems with partly unknown transition probabilities by using time-varying sampling period method where the main focus is the packet-loss issue,packet-loss process is the Markovian packet-loss process and the transition probabilities does not require completely known. A developed packet dropouts dependent Lyapunov functional is used to obtain the stability criteria. The sufficient conditions for stochastic stability are derived via LMIs formulation and mode-dependent controller design is also presented. Finally, the numerical example and simulations have demonstrated the effectiveness of our result.
Foot drop splints improve proximal as well as distal leg control during gait in Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth Disease

Introduction: During walking, people with Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth (CMT) disease may compensate for distal weakness by using proximal muscles. We investigated the effect of different AFOs on distal leg control and proximal compensatory actions. Methods: Fourteen people with CMT were tested while wearing 3 types of ankle‐foot orthosis (AFO) bilaterally compared with shoes alone. Walking was assessed using three‐dimensional gait analysis. Stiffness of the splints was measured by applying controlled 5‐degree ankle stretches using a motor. Results: The results showed that each AFO significantly stiffened the ankle and increased ankle dorsiflexion at foot clearance compared with shoes alone. At push off, peak ankle power generation was reduced, but only with 1 type of AFO. A significant decrease in hip flexion amplitude during the swing phase was observed with all 3 AFOs. Conclusions: These results indicate that AFOs reduce foot drop and remove the need for some proximal compensatory action. Muscle Nerve 46: 512–519, 2012
Segmentation of Mega Event Motivation: The Case of Expo 2010 Shanghai China

The purpose of this study was to examine the motives of Chinese nationals who attended the Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China, and to understand their perceptions about service quality, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. The results of this study revealed six motivation factors and three mutually exclusive clusters based on their motives. In particular, the “multipurpose experience seekers” showed more favorable service quality perceptions and higher satisfaction than their counterparts. The three segments based on their motivation also demonstrated significant differences in selected sociodemographic variables, which could be used effectively by the event organizers. Marketing implications and suggestions for attracting visitors to a mega event were presented.
New Keynesian versus New Classical Theories of Aggregate Supply: Evidence from the OECD Countries

Using annual and quarterly data for the OECD countries, this paper tests four theories of aggregate supply, namely the sticky wage, the sticky price, the worker misperception and the producer misinformation models. The empirical estimates suggest that the short run aggregate supply curve is positively sloped as a result of price and wage stickiness. Furthermore, the slope of the aggregate supply curve is found to be a positive function of the rate of inflation which is consistent with the sticky price model. Copyright 1998 by Scottish Economic Society.
Neuronal‐induced and glutamate‐dependent activation of glial glutamate transporter function

The activity of high‐affinity glutamate transporters is essential for the normal function of the mammalian central nervous system. Using a combined pharmacological, confocal immunocytochemical, enzyme‐based microsensor and fluorescence imaging approach, we examined glutamate uptake and transporter protein localization in single astrocytes of neuron‐containing and neuron‐free microislands prior to pre‐synaptic transmitter secretion and during functional neuronal activity. Here, we report that the presence or absence of neurons strikingly affects the uptake capacity of the astroglial glutamate transporters GLT1 and GLAST1. Induction of transporter function is activated by neurons and this effect is mimicked by pre‐incubation of astrocytes with micromolar concentrations of glutamate. Moreover, increased glutamate transporter activation is reproduced by endogenous release of glutamate via activation of neuronal nicotinic receptors. The increase in transport activity is dependent on neuronal release of glutamate, is associated with the local redistribution (clustering) of GLT1 and GLAST1 but is independent of transporter synthesis and of glutamate receptor activation. Together, these results suggest an activity‐dependent neuronal feedback system for rapid astroglial glutamate transporter regulation where neuron‐derived glutamate is the physiological signal that triggers transporter function.
Pulse shaping functions for UWK systems

This paper proposes a novel method for constructing ultra wide band (UWB) pulses based on a linear combination of Gaussian pulses. These pulses while meeting FCC power spectral density (PSD) mask requirements insure negligible interference with narrow band (NB) systems using flexible interference avoidance property they possess. Improved performance is achieved when errors due to imperfect synchronization exist between the transmitter and receiver (timing jitter). The coefficients of pulses designed can be generated using simple delay elements and amplifiers. The performance of these pulses in multipath channel such as channel model 1 (CM1) with timing jitter is evaluated by simulation and is found to be better than that of other designs.
An Analysis of Market Power Mitigation Strategies in Colorado's Electricity Industry

We apply an algorithm that optimizes the generation dispatch for a dominant firm to Colorado's electricity market and show that the dominant electricity generation firm can strategically congest transmission into the region to receive a maximum price over 50% of the time. When it does not get the maximum price, the dominant firm still receives an average markup more than 10% over the competitive price. We use this model to show how mitigation strategies such as enhancing the transmission grid, divesting the dominant firm's generation assets, and promoting entry into the generation market can lower prices in a wholesale electricity generation industry by limiting a dominant firm's market power.
Diabetic ketoacidosis: risk factors, mechanisms and management strategies in sub-Saharan Africa: a review.

BACKGROUND Diabetic ketoacidosis is the most common hyperglycaemic emergency in patients with diabetes mellitus, especially type 1 diabetes. It carries very high mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, both in the treated patients and those who are presenting to hospital with diabetes for the first time. OBJECTIVE To review the risk factors, mechanisms and management approaches in diabetes ketoacidosis in published literature and to discuss them in the context of why a significant proportion of patients who develop diabetic ketoacidosis in sub-Saharan Africa still have high mortality. DATA SOURCE Literature review of relevant published literature from both Africa and the rest of the world. DATA SYNTHESIS The main causes or precipitants of DKA in patients in SSA are newly diagnosed diabetes, missed insulin doses and infections. The major underlying mechanism is insulin deficiency. Treated patients miss insulin doses for various reasons, for example, inaccessibility occasioned by; unavailability and unaffordability of insulin, missed clinics, perceived ill-health and alternative therapies like herbs, prayers and rituals. Infections also occur quite often, but are not overt, like urinary tract, tuberculosis and pneumonia. Due to widespread poverty of individuals and nations alike, the healthcare systems are scarce and the few available centres are unable to adequately maintain a reliable system of insulin supply and exhaustively investigate their hospitalised patients. Consequently, there is little guarantee of successful outcomes. Poor people may also have sub-optimal nutrition, caused or worsened by diabetes, more so, at first presentation to hospital. Intensive insulin therapy in such individuals mimics 're-feeding syndrome', an acute anabolic state whose outcome may be unfavourable during the period of treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis. CONCLUSIONS Although mortality and morbidity from diabetic ketoacidosis remains high in sub-Saharan Africa, improved healthcare systems and reliable insulin supply can reverse the trend, at least, to a large extent. Individuals and populations need empowerment through education, nutrition and poverty eradication to improve self-care in health and living with diabetes.
Direct democracy and European integration

Abstract The no-votes in the French and Dutch referendums on the Constitutional Treaty have highlighted the importance of understanding the mechanisms of direct democracy. Despite the increasing use and significance of referendums in the process of European integration, comparative studies of referendums in Europe are still few and many questions concerning direct democracy thus remain unanswered. This article reviews recent advances in the literature on direct democracy and European integration and suggests future avenues for research. To understand the ways in which referendums may influence the European integration process, this article approaches the study of direct democracy from the perspective of voters (how do they decide? ) and political élites (which strategies do they adopt? ), as well as examining the impact on policy outcomes.
Do Auditor-Provided Tax Services Enhance or Impair the Value Relevance of Earnings?

ABSTRACT: Recently, some firms have decoupled their audit and tax service providers in an effort to improve the perceived credibility of their financial statements. Many firms, however, continue to rely on their current auditor for tax services. Therefore, we examine whether investors assign a lower valuation to firms that continue to use their auditor for tax services. We find that the value-relevance of earnings is increasing in the ratio of tax fees over total fees paid to the auditor. Further, for a sample of firms that switched to other providers of tax services, we find that the value-relevance of earnings is lower in the year of the switch. These findings support the notion that on average, investors perceive the benefits of auditor-provided tax services; i.e., enhanced financial reporting quality due to knowledge spillover to be greater than the costs of auditor-provided tax services; i.e., threat to auditor independence. Our findings have important implications for audit committee chairs, manager.
2D-GE spot detection combining multidirectional texture and spatial intensity cues

Spot detection is a challenging task of 2D Gel Electrophoresis image analysis. The available software packages and techniques miss some of the protein spots while they detect a high number of spurious spots. This paper introduces a novel approach for the detection of protein spots on 2D gel images which is based on multidirectional texture and spatial intensity information. The proposed approach is compared with two commercial software packages using real 2D-GE images. The outcome demonstrates that the proposed approach outperforms the two software packages; it detects almost all of real protein spots and a low number of spurious spots.
Well-being, satisfaction and commitment: the substitutable nature of resources for maternity hospital nurses.

AIMS To investigate the relationship between three types of organizational resources (job control, social support and organizational justice) and the impact of job demands on nurse's well-being and attitudes towards their work. BACKGROUND The negative impact of work-related stress on nurse's health and attitudes towards their work has been established. Increasingly, research is focusing on the role of organizational resources in reducing the impact of work-related stress. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey. METHOD Data collected in November 2008 from 226 Australian nurses and midwives were analysed using the full Job Strain Model with the addition of organizational justice variables. Multiple regression analyses explored the relationships among job control, job demands, three sources of social support and four types of organizational justice on well-being and work attitudes. RESULTS The overall regression models explained a significant amount of variance in well-being, job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Significant main effects were evident for support variables and organizational justice variables on well-being and job satisfaction. Interactions between job control and supervisor support and between job demands and supervisor support were evident for job satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS Supervisor support and organizational justice have significant relationships with nurses' well-being and job satisfaction. More broadly, the findings suggest that, in the triple-matching approach from a work-stressor to a resource to a work outcome, personal, supervisory and organizational resources may be substitutable. These findings provide nurse management with empirical endorsement for the development and delivery of the organization's resources for nursing staff.
An untrimmed CMOS amplifier with high CMRR and low offset for sensor applications

This paper presents a new CMOS amplifier with high common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR) and low offset, dedicated to integrated sensors, using total continuous-time design technique but without the need of trimming. This is based on cascading two high-gain differential stages to form a composite front-end gain stage for enhancing CMRR as well as reducing systematic errors, and incorporating an averaging layout technique to reduce the random mismatch errors. Powered by a total 3.3 V supply, measurements on 15 samples have shown that the mean and standard deviation of the input-referred offset are 50.4 muV and 0.678 mV respectively. The proposed amplifier has also achieved CMRR greater than 110 dB (0 - 150 Hz), offset drift less than 0.8 muV/degC for temperature ranging from -55degC to +125degC, input-referred noise less than 17.47 nV/radic(Hz) at 1 kHz and active area of 0.117 mm2 in a 0.6 mum CMOS technology.
High-performance work systems and the change management process in medium-sized firms

Both high-performance work systems (HPWS) and SMEs have received growing attention in HRM research. However, the literature on HRM in SMEs has mainly focused on the issues of ‘homogeneity’ versus ‘heterogeneity’ behaviours, on the one hand, and on the antithesis between the ‘small is beautiful’ and the ‘bleak-house’ perspectives on the other. On the basis of original information acquired by means of a survey performed on more than 100 Italian firms and an in-depth study of eight of them, this study analyses the degree of adoption of HPWS and aspects related to the processes of change towards HPWS in medium-sized firms. We consider the main theoretical approaches that address the choices made by enterprises, paying particular attention to the role of organisational culture. The main findings show that: (1) decision-making power on work organisation is a prerogative of the owner and top management, while HRM functions play an important role mainly in the proposal-making stage; (2) change in smaller enterprises is managed autonomously by management, while worker involvement prevails in larger enterprises; and (3) strategies for change concentrate mainly on clearly identified occupational groups and they do not translate into a true paradigm of change in organisational management as a whole. These findings have major implications for future research and for the SME policy debate.
The self-directed learner in medical education

ISSN: 1473-9879 (Print) 1475-990X (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline. com/loi/tepc20 The self-directed learner in medical education Ronald MacVicar To cite this article: Ronald MacVicar (2016) The self-directed learner in medical education, Education for Primary Care, 27:1, 69-69, DOI: 10.1080/14739879.2015. 1134126 To link to this article: http://dx.doi. org/10.1080/14739879.2015. 1134126
THE ESTIMATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WAGES AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

The negative relation between wages and unemployment is not doubtable. The bargaining model and effective wages model explain this relationship from the theoretical point of view. While analyzing the relation between unemployment and the rate of change of wages, authors refer to Phillips curve. Without doubt in analyzed relationship authors try to specify it taking additional conditions in concern, for example regional unemployment or qualification of employees. The problem of this research is related with the question: is the strength of the wage growth rate and unemployment relation the same across the European Union countries? The aim of the research is to analyze negative relationship between unemployment and wages from the theoretical point of view and to estimate and compare this relation in the European Union countries
Functional Polymorphism in the Neuropeptide Y Gene Promoter (rs16147) Is Associated with Serum Leptin Levels and Waist-Hip Ratio in Women

Objective: The neuropeptide-Y (NP-Y) gene is a strong candidate gene in the pathophysiology of obesity-linked behavior, and several single-nucleotide polymorphisms of NP-Y have already been linked to body weight and appetite. However, the results from current studies remain inconclusive. The aim of the present study was to test whether a certain functional genetic variant (SNP rs16147) in the NP-Y promoter gene is associated with serum leptin levels and body fat distribution. Method: We genotyped and measured the serum leptin levels of the NP-Y rs16147 polymorphism in 1,097 Caucasian subjects in the context of a population-based, case-control multicenter study. We measured weight, height and waist circumference, from which we then calculated BMI and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Results: We found the CT-genotype of the SNP rs16147 to be significantly associated with lower WHRs and higher serum leptin levels in women, compared to homozygote gene carriers. No association between rs16147, WHR and serum leptin levels was found in men. Conclusion: Our results provide evidence that the functionally relevant SNP in the NP-Y promoter gene affects body fat distribution and serum leptin levels in women, pointing towards possible behavioral effects of NPY in obesity.
Urban Pattern Dichotomy in Tirana: Socio-spatial Impact of Liberalism

Transition from a centralized to a market economy yielded different responses from the former Eastern Bloc countries with economic performance directly affecting spatial composition of the cities. Post-socialist urban transformations across Central and Eastern Europe exhibit main, common features but always preserve singularities, characteristic of individual states. This paper, by using comparative methods and urban planning analyses, emphasizes differences in the degree of change for inner city areas under same transition conditions. Drawing on empirical evidence from Tirana, the paper stresses the fact that besides the obvious general change in the communism-inherited urban fabric, the degree of this change is predicated on the area's centrality and its pre-transitional urban pattern. It is pointed out that this spatial change follows a mutually interactive, parallel path with the socio-economic composition of the city. The peculiarity of Tirana stands in the fact that post-socialist socio-spatial transformations are better defined by Balkanization (implying individuality and hostility) rather than segregation (which implies clustering).
Modelling the cultural industries

Alternative definitions of the cultural industries lead to the construction of different models of the cultural production sector of the economy and hence to a different array of specific industries which are contained within the sector. In turn this implies not just differing estimates of the contribution of the cultural industries to output and employment in the economy but also significant differences in the way economic analysis can be applied to the cultural sector as a whole. This paper begins by discussing the way in which an economic approach to interpreting the scope of the creative and cultural industries can lead to a reasonable basis for defining them. It then goes on to examine the content of six distinct models of these industries, asking the question: is it possible to find a common core group of industries on which all of the models agree? The paper then considers the implications of the models for economic analysis of the cultural sector, and finishes with some conclusions for cultural policy.
DEBT POLICY RULE, PRODUCTIVE GOVERNMENT SPENDING, AND MULTIPLE GROWTH PATHS

This paper constructs an endogenous growth model with productive government spending. In this model, the government can finance its costs through income tax and government debt and has a target level of government debt relative to the size of the economy. We show that there are two steady states. One is associated with high growth and the other with low growth. It is also shown that whether the government uses income taxes or government bonds makes the results differ significantly. In particular, an increase in government bonds reduces the growth rate in the high-growth steady state and raises the growth rate in the low-growth steady state. Conversely, an increase in the income tax rate reduces the growth rate in the low-growth steady state and there exists some tax rate that maximizes the growth rate in the high-growth steady state. Finally, the level of welfare in the low-growth steady state is lower than that in the high-growth steady state.