Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The case against interest: Is it compelling?

The entire international financial system is now based on interest in spite of its prohibition by four of the world's major religions. However, the Muslim world is now trying to replace the conventional interest-based system with one where there is greater reliance on profit-and-loss sharing (PLS) and where the debt is created not by pure lending and borrowing but by the sale or lease of real assets. The introduction of a new system raises the question of whether the case against interest is so compelling as to justify the difficulties and risks associated with it. This article is an attempt to answer this question. It argues that the main factor underlying the financial crises experienced by a large number of countries around the world over the last few decades is the excessive expansion of debt. The primary reason for this is the lack of adequate discipline in the financial system. The PLS system should help ensure greater discipline by making the bankers more careful in lending and the depositors more vigilant about the health of their banks. Asset-based debt should further help by not allowing the debt to exceed the growth of the real economy. The introduction of such a discipline carries the potential of helping realize not only greater stability, but also greater efficiency and equity in the financial system. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Role of Governance in Corporate Social Responsibility

This article extends the corporate social performance (CSP) model by studying the role of governance structures and governance systems in shaping corporate social responsibility. The authors argue that a governance perspective offers a fruitful research strategy both to study empirically how firms balance the competing moral frameworks and political philosophies that are part and parcel of defining their role in society and to further the theoretical integration of the descriptive and normative perspectives in the business and society field. They illustrate the potential of this research strategy with a comparative case study of processes of responsiveness at four Dutch banks with markedly different governance structures. This study shows how governance systems and structures both enable and constrain corporate responsibility and responsiveness. The authors conclude with a proposal to reorient the CSP model to harness the integrative potential of studying corporate social responsibility through a governance lens.
Deregulation and governance: plight of Japanese banks in the 1990s

The governance structure of public corporations is determined by the agency relationship between shareholders and managers, and the agency theory predicts that deregulation of an industry leads to governance adaptation. Deregulation of the Japanese banking business in the 1980s offers an interesting case study in this framework, as Japanese banks fell into serious solvency problems in the post-deregulation 1990s. This paper investigates whether ineffective governance was responsible for the plight of Japanese banks. The sample is 384 corporations that were listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange between 1983 and 1990, which includes 59 banks. One of the findings is that bank shareholders allowed more diffuse ownership structure after deregulation, which demonstrates that the agency theory did not hold for shareholders of Japanese banks.
Are mosquitoes diverted from repellent‐using individuals to non‐users? Results of a field study in Bolivia

Outside sub‐Saharan Africa, Anopheline mosquito exophagic and/or crepuscular behaviour patterns imply that insecticide‐treated nets may provide incomplete protection from malaria‐infective mosquito bites. Supplementary repellent treatment has been recommended in such circumstances, especially where vectors are exophilic and so are not susceptible to residual insecticide spraying. As maintaining complete usage of repellents in a community is unrealistic, the potential negative impact on non‐users of repellent usage by ‘neighbours’ in the same community needs to be addressed in the context of health policy promoting equity. This study quantifies diversion of host‐seeking mosquitoes, from repellent wearing to unprotected individuals, 1 m apart under field conditions in Bolivia. Each of the six volunteer‐pairs sat >20 m apart from other pairs. Volunteers were allocated di‐ethyl toluamide (DEET) or mineral oil in ethanol control. Treatments were rotated, so that during the trial, both pair‐members wore repellent on 72 occasions; both pair‐members wore control on 72 occasions; and on 36 occasions, one pair‐member wore repellent and the other control. Unprotected (control) pair‐members received 36.4% [95% confidence interval (CI): 8.1–72.0%] more Anopheles darlingi landings (P = 0.0096) and 20.4% (95% CI: 0.6–44.0%) more mosquito landings (P = 0.044), when their ‘partner’ wore repellent than when their partner also wore control. A second, smaller Latin‐square trial using 30% lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) repellent, with control, obtained 26.0% (95% CI: 5.2–51.0%) more mosquito landings when controls sat with repellent‐wearers rather than other controls (P = 0.0159). With incomplete community repellent usage, non‐users could be put at an increased risk of malaria. The results also have implications for repellent‐efficacy assay design, as protection will appear magnified when mosquitoes are given a choice between repellent‐users and non‐users.
Value Creation in Knowledge-Based Firms: Aligning Problems and Resources

Executive Overview The best known framework for analyzing value creation is the value chain, which shows how to align resources and activities to convert raw materials into finished products and deliver them to markets. The value chain model works well for firms that produce and sell standardized goods and services through a sequential, routine chain of activities. It does not, however, offer guidance to knowledge-based firms that do not manufacture and sell goods. Such firms and units, including those in architecture, law, health care, and even energy exploration (which we studied), can be modeled using the “value shop” approach, one that creates customer value by applying knowledge and technology to solve unique problems. We build on the value shop model by identifying resources firms require for problem solving (knowledge base, value attached to knowledge, networks, and technical and managerial systems) and by examining how those resources are aligned, and realigned, into bundles to match specific prob.
The drivers, consequences and policy implications of non-GAAP earnings reporting

Non-generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) (pro forma) earnings form an increasingly important part of firms’ performance reporting narrative. This paper reviews the academic and professional debate surrounding non-GAAP earnings reporting by management. I argue that the demand for customised performance reporting is a natural response to constraints imposed by a one-size-fits-all reporting system and that the non-GAAP phenomenon forms part of a long-standing debate over the definition and presentation of periodic performance. A review of extant research suggests non-GAAP disclosures are driven by informative reporting and opportunistic motives. Opaque presentation of non-GAAP earnings is associated with earnings mispricing, particularly among unsophisticated investor groups. Regulations and governance systems designed to ensure transparency are associated with higher quality disclosures and less mispricing. While customised reporting behaviour is evident in many settings, I argue that such disclosures create particular risks in a financial reporting context because they threaten the integrity of the underlying reporting system. Prevailing regulatory approaches are reviewed and factors limiting disclosure transparency are highlighted. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research.
A traffic-aware solution for green Wireless Video Sensor Networks

The growth of the IP cameras market, due to their low price and high availability, is making Wireless Video Sensor Networks (WVSNs) attractive. In a mesh, multi-hop video surveillance scenario Wi-Fi is the enabling technology for WVSNs, due to its flexibility and low cost. However, WVSNs still suffer from bad performance, throughput unfairness, and energy inefficiency. Previously, we proposed FM-WiFIX+, a holistic solution to address the problem. FM-WiFIX+ uses FM radio to signal when a video sensor should turn its IEEE 802.11 interface OFF, thus saving energy. Herein, we present a new traffic-aware version of FM-WiFIX+. The results obtained through numerical, simulation, and experimental evaluation demonstrate that the new version can achieve savings in energy consumption up to 84 %, while maintaining the levels of performance and throughput fairness.
"Thinking aloud" as a strategy to improve clinical decision making.

Although "thinking aloud" has been used as a research method to collect data about nurses' knowledge and cognitive processes, it has not been used widely for instruction. We suggest that thinking aloud can be an effective teaching strategy for staff development. Two techniques are described for incorporating thinking aloud into dialogue among experienced nurses and into mentoring activities between experts and novices. An excerpt from a transcript of one nurse's thinking aloud while making a triage decision is presented to illustrate the types of knowledge and cognitive processes that can be elicited and revealed by using this strategy. Potential educational benefits are identified, along with suggestions for implementing thinking aloud as an instructional method.
A Stabilized Domain Decomposition Method with Nonmatching Grids for the Stokes Problem in Three Dimensions

We present and study a nonconforming domain decomposition method for the discretization of the three-dimensional Stokes problem in the velocity-pressure formulation. The approximation is based on some local mixed finite elements for nonmatching tetrahedral grids. The aim pursued is a systematic construction of the mortared discrete velocity space, the pressure being not subjected to any matching constraints across the interfaces. Using the bubble stabilization techniques, applied in Brezzi and Marini's paper to the three fields method [Math. Comp., 70 (2001), pp. 911--934], allows us to define an algorithm which is easy to implement. The numerical analysis relies on the pressure-splitting argument of Boland and Nicolaides and allows us to establish an inf-sup condition with a constant that does not depend on the mesh size or on the total number of the subdomains. Then, by the Berger--Scott--Strang lemma written down for our saddle point system we derive optimal accuracy results.
Bcl-XL Protects BimEL-induced Bax Conformational Change and Cytochrome c Release Independent of Interacting with Bax or BimEL*

The Bcl-2 homology (BH) 3-only pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family protein Bim plays an essential role in the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis through activation of the BH1–3 multidomain protein Bax or Bak. To further understand how the BH3-only protein activates Bax, we provide evidence here that BimEL induces Bax conformational change and apoptosis through a Bcl-XL-suppressible but heterodimerization-independent mechanism. Substitution of the conserved leucine residue in the BH3 domain of BimEL for alanine (M1) inhibits the interaction of BimEL with Bcl-XL but does not abolish the ability of BimEL to induce Bax conformational change and apoptosis. However, removal of the C-terminal hydrophobic region from the M1 mutant (M1ΔC) abolishes its ability to activate Bax and to induce apoptosis, although deletion of the C-terminal domain (ΔC) alone has little if any effect on the pro-apoptotic activity of BimEL. Subcellular fractionation experiments show that the Bim mutant M1ΔC is localized in the cytosol, indicating that both the C-terminal hydrophobic region and the BH3 domain are required for the mitochondrial targeting and pro-apoptotic activity of BimEL. Moreover, the Bcl-XL mutant (mt1), which is unable to interact with Bax and BimEL, blocks Bax conformational change and cytochrome crelease induced by BimEL in intact cells and isolated mitochondria. BimEL or Bak-BH3 peptide induces Bax conformational change in vitro only under the presence of mitochondria, and the outer mitochondrial membrane fraction is sufficient for induction of Bax conformational change. Interestingly, native Bax is attached loosely on the surface of isolated mitochondria, which undergoes conformational change and insertion into mitochondrial membrane upon stimulation by BimEL, Bak-BH3 peptide, or freeze/thaw damage. Taken together, these findings indicate that BimEL may activate Bax by damaging the mitochondrial membrane structure directly, in addition to its binding and antagonizing Bcl-2/Bcl-XL function.
Revealed Preference of the Federal Reserve: Using Inverse-Control Theory to Interpret the Policy Equation of a Vector Autoregression

How close is observed Federal Reserve policy to policy that would be optimal in the control theory sense? This question is addressed by using an inverse control methodology. Federal Reserve policy is characterized by a feedback equation for either changes in the interest rate or money stock. Optimal policy is characterized by solution of the Ricatti equation. Parameters are estimated that characterize the relative importance to the Fed of stabilizing output, inflation, interest rates, and money growth. The period of study is 1947 through 1992. Evidence is uncovered that policy is optimal within distinct regimes.
Agglomeration Economies and Transport Investment

This paper is concerned with the links between agglomeration, productivity and transport investment. If improvements in transport systems give rise to changes in the mass of economic activity accessible to firms, for instance by reducing travel times or the costs of travel, then they can induce positive benefits via agglomeration economies. The paper presents empirical results from an econometric analysis of the relationship between productivity and accessibility to economic activity for different sectors of the UK economy. The results show that agglomeration economies do exist and that they can be substantial, particularly for services. Furthermore, the effect of agglomeration externalities is not trivial when considered in the context of transport appraisal. Initial calculations typically indicate additions to conventional user benefits of 10%-20% arising from increasing returns to economic mass.
Transforming Primary Education in Sri Lanka: From a 'Subject' of Education to a 'Stage' of Education

Sri Lanka is a lower-middle income country with a per capita income of approximately US$ 2,400, and a population of around 20 million people. Sri Lanka's high rate of literacy is due to its sustained growth through the twentieth century. Primary education spans the first five grades of schooling, grades 1-5. Student's progress automatically to lower secondary education for four years of education in grades 6-9 and then on to upper secondary education in grades 10-11 for a two year course that culminates in the General Certificate of Education Ordinary level examination (GCE O-L). The curriculum for primary education is designed separately from those for subsequent stages of education. The primary education curriculum stage is encapsulated in a primary curriculum framework that derives from extensive debate during the 1990s in connection with the recommendations in 1997 of the national education commission, the work of the technical committee on primary education appointed by the presidential task force and detailed implementation work by the primary education unit of the national institute of education. Since 2003 the National Educational Research Centre (NEREC) based at the University of Colombo has administered tests in first Language, Mathematics and English to grade 4 children in a sample of schools country-wide. In the 2009 assessments a cut-off percentage of 80 percent rather than 50 percent were 48 percent in First Language, 53 percent in Mathematics and just 19 percent in English. The budget of the national Ministry of education includes a separate budget line for primary education but this money is allocated only to the primary sections of national schools. Province, zone, division and school budget do not separate allocations and expenditure for primary and secondary. There is no reason in principle why separate budget lines could not be created for most types of expenditure.
Mass-market requirements for indoor positioning and indoor navigation

The next step in location services will be repeating the success of location services in outdoor use for navigation and local search in the indoor environment. In order to make indoor positioning and navigation reality in large scale not only compelling business opportunities must be present, but also the technology must be low-cost, low-power, have low maintenance expenses and require minimal amount of new infrastructure. This paper reviews the challenges and solution models for indoor positioning starting from the service level aspects, reflecting them to the architectural considerations and finally discusses selected technical implementation issues.
Local Water Markets for Irrigation in Southern Spain: A Multicriteria Approach

Spanish authorities have recently approved a new legislative framework for the creation of local water markets to improve allocative efficiency for this scarce resource. This paper analyses the potential impacts of the policy. A utility function for three groups of farmers was elicited, using a method that does not require interaction with the decision-makers. Utility was measured as a function of the first two moments of the distribution of total gross margin. The utility functions were then used to simulate farmers' responses to changes in the price of water.
Monocular semantic SLAM in dynamic street scene based on multiple object tracking

Semantic information has been agreed to be a key complement for more accurate SLAM or navigation and higher-level behavior planning. In dynamic scene, it also has the potential to improve performance. In this paper, we combine monocular SLAM with multiple object tracking to obtain robust static semantic map in complicated environment. This system utilizes up-to-date CNN object detector to detect possible moving objects in current view. Without the features located in these objects, monocular SLAM get consecutive pose transformation between two adjacent frames, which help multiple object tracking. With these trackers, this system can filter out dynamic objects, retain static objects for further sematic data association and graph optimization. We evaluate our approaches on the popular KITTI dataset and high dynamic RobotCar dataset.
The price elasticity of electricity demand in South Africa

This paper examines the effects of price on the demand for electricity in South Africa over the period 1950–83. Emphasis is placed on the estimation of the long-run own-price elasticity of electricity demand. An unconstrained distributed lag model is used and the 12 years elasticity is estimated to be –0.90. The policy implications of this finding are discussed.
Treatment blood pressure targets for hypertension.

BACKGROUND When treating elevated blood pressure, doctors need to know what blood pressure (BP) target they should try to achieve. The standard of clinical practice for some time has been </= 140 - 160/ 90 - 100 mmHg. New guidelines are recommending BP targets lower than this standard. It is not known whether attempting to achieve targets lower than the standard reduces mortality and morbidity. OBJECTIVES To determine if lower BP targets (</= 135/85 mmHg) are associated with reduction in mortality and morbidity as compared with standard BP targets (</= 140-160/ 90-100 mmHg). SEARCH STRATEGY Electronic search of MEDLINE (1966-2008), EMBASE (1980-2008), and CENTRAL (up to June 2008); references from review articles, clinical guidelines, and clinical trials. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomized controlled trials comparing patients randomized to lower or to standard BP targets and providing data on any of the primary outcomes below. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two reviewers (JAA, MIP) independently assessed the included trials and data entry. Primary outcomes were total mortality; total serious adverse events; total cardiovascular events; myocardial infarction, stroke, congestive heart failure and end stage renal disease. Secondary outcomes were achieved mean systolic and diastolic BP and withdrawals due to adverse effects. MAIN RESULTS No trials comparing different systolic BP targets were found. Seven trials (22,089 subjects) comparing different diastolic BP targets were included. Despite a -4/-3 mmHg greater achieved reduction in systolic/diastolic BP, p< 0.001, attempting to achieve "lower targets" instead of "standard targets" did not change total mortality (RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.86-1.15), myocardial infarction (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.74-1.09), stroke (RR 0.99, 95% CI 0.79-1.25) , congestive heart failure (RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.59-1.32), major cardiovascular events (RR 0.94, 95% CI 0.83-1.07), or end-stage renal disease (RR 1.01, 95% CI 0.81-1.27). The net health effect of lower targets cannot be fully assessed due to lack of information regarding all total serious adverse events and withdrawals due to adverse effects in 6 of 7 trials. A sensitivity analysis in diabetic patients and in patients with chronic renal disease also did not show a reduction in any of the mortality and morbidity outcomes with lower targets as compared to standard targets. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS Treating patients to lower than standard BP targets, </=140-160/90-100 mmHg, does not reduce mortality or morbidity. Because guidelines are recommending even lower targets for diabetes mellitus and chronic renal disease, we are currently conducting systematic reviews in those groups of patients.
Fast three-dimensional GPR forward and inverse scattering based on wideband diagonal tensor approximation

A fast three-dimensional (3D) ground penetrating radar (GPR) forward and inverse scattering method is presented based on the diagonal tensor approximation (DTA). For the forward scattering problem, the first iteration about the frequency-dependent scattering coefficients in the DTA is used. By further evaluating the scattering tensor at the GPR center frequency to remove its frequency dependence, the DTA is simplified while maintaining higher accuracy than the classical Born approximation method. For the inverse scattering problem, the DTA-based algorithm is derived for the plane-wave GPR, and can be implemented efficiently by the NUFFT combined with the stabilized bi-conjugate gradient FFT (BiCGS-FFT) method. The proposed inversion algorithm is much cheaper than the existing DTA-based methods, and has a higher accuracy and a wider range of applicability than the fast method based on the Born approximation.