Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Water tariff conflict resolution through indigenous participation in tri-water sector partnerships: Dalun cluster communities in northern Ghana

The paper examines how the perceived ownership of a water resource negatively influenced local people's attitudes towards payment of potable water tariffs and exacerbated conflicts between water users and service providers in the Dalun community of the northern region of Ghana. The paper presents a case study of how community participation and endogenous approaches to conflict resolution contributed to payment of water tariffs. The findings show that the establishment of a tri-water sector partnership (TWSP), consisting of the Ghana Water Company Ltd (GWCL), private sector development practitioners, and community water boards, led to positive mediation of water tariff conflicts using the institution of chieftaincy. Alternative, endogenous conflict resolution methods combined with modern methods in a tripartite partnership showed promise as an approach to managing conflicts in water projects and in broader poverty reduction efforts.
Determinants of Inflation in Kuwait

This paper is an attempt to study the factors affecting the behaviour of domestic inflation in Kuwait for the period from 1972 to 2004. To achieve this goal the study used three variables believed to influence inflation in a small open economy, namley, foreign inflation, domestic money supply and domestic real GDP. The variables were subjected to a stationarity test which indicates that domestic inflation and money supply are first difference stationary, while foreign inflation and domestic income are stationary in their level. Accordingly, it may be argued that there is no evidence of a long run relationship between domestic inflation and its foreign counterpart. Based on these results the study tested the cointegration between domestic inflation and domestic money supply. The results indicate the exisence of long run relationship between inflation and the broad measure of money supply. The study then moved to examine the possibelity of short run relationships between domestic inflation and the rest of the variables using Granger causality test which indicates the lack of such relationships. Therefore, the study reveals that domestic inflation is influenced mainly by the development of domestic lequidity which overwhelmed the theoritcally expected effect of imported inflation. These results might be caused by two main factors; the first is the economic and political developments during the period of study, and the second is the difference in constructing each measure of inflation. These factors might be responsible for destorting the expected relationship between domestic and imported inflation.
Phosphocreatine as an energy source for actin cytoskeletal rearrangements during myoblast fusion

Myoblast fusion is essential for muscle development, postnatal growth and muscle repair after injury. Recent studies have demonstrated roles for actin polymerization during myoblast fusion. Dynamic cytoskeletal assemblies directing cell–cell contact, membrane coalescence and ultimately fusion require substantial cellular energy demands. Various energy generating systems exist in cells but the partitioning of energy sources during myoblast fusion is unknown. Here, we demonstrate a novel role for phosphocreatine (PCr) as a spatiotemporal energy buffer during primary mouse myoblast fusion with nascent myotubes. Creatine treatment enhanced cell fusion in a creatine kinase (CK)‐dependent manner suggesting that ATP‐consuming reactions are replenished through the PCr/CK system. Furthermore, selective inhibition of actin polymerization prevented myonuclear addition following creatine treatment. As myotube formation is dependent on cytoskeletal reorganization, our findings suggest that PCr hydrolysis is coupled to actin dynamics during myoblast fusion. We conclude that myoblast fusion is a high‐energy process, and can be enhanced by PCr buffering of energy demands during actin cytoskeletal rearrangements in myoblast fusion. These findings implicate roles for PCr as a high‐energy phosphate buffer in the fusion of multiple cell types including sperm/oocyte, trophoblasts and macrophages. Furthermore, our results suggest the observed beneficial effects of oral creatine supplementation in humans may result in part from enhanced myoblast fusion.
Evaluation of combinations of in vitro sensitization test descriptors for the artificial neural network‐based risk assessment model of skin sensitization

The skin sensitization potential of chemicals has been determined with the use of the murine local lymph node assay (LLNA). However, in recent years public concern about animal welfare has led to a requirement for non‐animal risk assessment systems for the prediction of skin sensitization potential, to replace LLNA. Selection of an appropriate in vitro test or in silico model descriptors is critical to obtain good predictive performance. Here, we investigated the utility of artificial neural network (ANN) prediction models using various combinations of descriptors from several in vitro sensitization tests. The dataset, collected from published data and from experiments carried out in collaboration with the Japan Cosmetic Industry Association (JCIA), consisted of values from the human cell line activation test (h‐CLAT), direct peptide reactivity assay (DPRA), SH test and antioxidant response element (ARE) assay for chemicals whose LLNA thresholds have been reported. After confirming the relationship between individual in vitro test descriptors and the LLNA threshold (e.g. EC3 value), we used the subsets of chemicals for which the requisite test values were available to evaluate the predictive performance of ANN models using combinations of h‐CLAT/DPRA (N = 139 chemicals), the DPRA/ARE assay (N = 69), the SH test/ARE assay (N = 73), the h‐CLAT/DPRA/ARE assay (N = 69) and the h‐CLAT/SH test/ARE assay (N = 73). The h‐CLAT/DPRA, h‐CLAT/DPRA/ARE assay and h‐CLAT/SH test/ARE assay combinations showed a better predictive performance than the DPRA/ARE assay and the SH test/ARE assay. Our data indicates that the descriptors evaluated in this study were all useful for predicting human skin sensitization potential, although combinations containing h‐CLAT (reflecting dendritic cell‐activating ability) were most effective for ANN‐based prediction. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Empirical Relations between Employers' Striker Replacement Strategies and Strike Duration

This analysis of General Accounting Office survey data on strikes in 1985 and 1989 shows that employers' permanent replacement of striking workers was associated with longer strikes than would otherwise have occurred. Furthermore, the authors find that simply announcing the intent to replace strikers was also associated with longer strikes. Finally, when employers permanently replaced strikers, the probability of settlement fell approximately 30%. These findings are consistent with models focusing on the joint costs of a strike and on private information in the bargaining process.
The Use and Deployment of Soft Process Technologies within UK Manufacturing SMEs: An Empirical Assessment Using Logit Models

This study assesses the adoption of different soft process technologies from a survey of 218 British engineering and electronics small and medium‐sized firms (SMEs). The new process (soft) technologies that were modeled included total quality management, Kaizan, and statistical process control. Logit models demonstrate that the determinants of soft process technology adoption vary significantly from technology to technology. The study questions a blanket approach to technology adoption. Firm‐specific factors make a larger difference to the adoption of process technologies than competitive factors. While on the whole small firms are slow to adopt new techniques, this does not hold for all technologies, and future research might investigate what technologies SMEs adopt and why. Benchmarking, suggestions schemes, problem‐solving techniques and ISO 9000 adoption was unrelated to firm size, which holds out the prospect of soft process technologies as an alternative technological path for small firm productivity growth.
Isoflurane anesthesia is a valuable alternative for α‐chloralose anesthesia in the forepaw stimulation model in rats

Isoflurane (ISO) can be a valuable alternative for α‐chloralose (ACL) anesthesia in functional MRI (fMRI) studies. Therefore, we compared the efficacy of the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) effect in fMRI studies during ISO and ACL anesthesia sequentially in the same animals. After non‐invasive instrumentation for ventilation and monitoring, series of T2* weighted MR images were acquired during forepaw stimulation, first under ISO, then followed by ACL anesthesia. The results demonstrated that ISO and ACL were both suitable to perform this fMRI experiment. The center of activation was at the same stereotactic position for both anesthetics and matched the primary somatosensory cortex (S1). Under the applied conditions, the BOLD response during ISO anesthesia declined in magnitude during the first stimulation period, as compared to ACL. From this study, we conclude that since ISO has several positive properties in comparison to ACL, including fast pharmacokinetics and suitability for repeated measurements, it is a valuable alternative for anesthesia in fMRI studies of rats. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Simple Locally Interactive Model of Ergodic and Nonergodic Growth

Abstract In this paper we provide a simple locally interactive dynamic model of technology choice and output production. We assume a Cobb-Douglas type production function for two available technologies. The returns to technology 0 are not affected by local spillovers. Technology 1 is more costly, as there is an overhead cost, but it has a higher marginal productivity with respect to net capital. The superiority of technology 1 positively and monotonically depends on the fraction of neighbours using it. We study the aggregate process of technology choices in a model with countably many firms and repeated choices. The model explains: (i) persistent aggregate fluctuations in the presence of only idiosyncratic shocks, (ii) cross sectional heterogeneity along the dynamics and (iii) the possibility of multiple equilibria. The main contribution of the paper over the existing literature is that the model explains the endogeneous formation of large areas, homogeneous in terms of technology choice and output level, that look stationary along the dynamics.
Data protection in the outsourced call centre: an exploratory case study

Against a backdrop of growing concern about the protection of consumer data as it is transferred to call centres in offshore locations, this paper examines data protection compliance in the multiclient outsourced call centre. Using an in-depth single case study of a South African outsourcer, and drawing on the now extensive body of call centre research, it argues that data protection compliance is driven by the employment relationship and the client contract. With no research of this nature ever having been undertaken previously it is argued that compliance is affected by the manner in which employees are paid, contracted and performance managed. This study also confirms that the employment relationship is an information security measure for organisations
The Socio-economic structure of Irrigation Communities – water markets and the structural adjustment process

Abstract Structural adjustment is an ongoing process within Australian agriculture. Governments have encouraged this process through rural adjustment schemes and since the 1990s, water markets and pricing policies have been seen as drivers of the process. This paper investigates the structural adjustment impact of temporary water markets within the Pyramid-Boort and Torrumbarry irrigation districts in northern Victoria. This investigation is based on interviews with temporary buyers and sellers in the market during 1998/99. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis and cluster analysis are applied to the outcome of this process to group farm businesses depending on their position in the farm adjustment process. These analyses suggest that all sectors of the farming community use water markets to cope with the adjustment pressures. One group uses the markets to retain their farming lifestyle, another group uses it as part of the adjustment process to become larger and more viable, while a third group uses it opportunistically. The irrigators who are not using the market are significantly smaller and use all their water. The research outcome strongly supports that structural adjustment schemes should concentrate on assisting adjusting farmers to become economically viable and to adopt best practice natural resource management.
The role of ideas in the manager's workplace: theory and practice

Ideas contribute to the achievement of high performance, excellence, and competitive advantage in management and organisation. To intervene to facilitate these favourable outcomes, managers need to be aware of how ideas are affected by mindsets they use and what is actually happening to ideas in their workplaces. This paper reports on a pilot survey among managers from diverse organisations. Respondents provide their views about what happens to ideas in their organisations, with comments about the responsiveness of colleagues. It is presumed that how managers engage with ideas in the workplace will reflect the mindsets that they bring from the theory and practice of management. These mindsets are discussed. The study suggests that these mainstream management approaches as applied in our enterprises might not be adequate, and foreshadows the need for their improvement.
Assessing the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale dimensionality and items functioning in relation to self-efficacy and attachment styles

The purpose of this research was the definition of the dimensionality of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965) among Italian adults. The RSES external relations with self-efficacy and attachment styles were also examined. An important goal was moreover the analysis of the functioning of RSES items when related to self-efficacy and attachment style. A latent trait approach was chosen for the analysis (Many-Facet Rasch Model — MFRM; Linacre, 1989). Participants were 435 Italian university students. The results showed the existence of a main self-esteem dimension. The RSES was significantly related to the external variables. The analysis of the functioning of the items was quite instructive to understand the specificity of each single item construct. It appears that both the content of the item and, in particular, its negative or positive wording affect participants’ responses.
Self-consistent determination of plasmonic resonances in ternary nanocomposites

We have developed a self consistent technique to predict the behavior of plasmon resonances in multi-component systems as a function of wavelength. This approach, based on the tight lower bounds of the Bergman-Milton formulation, is able to predict experimental optical data, including the positions, shifts and shapes of plasmonic peaks in ternary nanocomposites without using any ftting parameters. Our approach is based on viewing the mixing of 3 components as the mixing of 2 binary mixtures, each in the same host. We obtained excellent predictions of the experimental optical behavior for mixtures of Ag:Cu:SiO2 and alloys of Au-Cu:SiO2 and Ag-Au:H2 O, suggesting that the essential physics of plasmonic behavior is captured by this approach.
A Case Study Approach To Understanding the Impact of Information Technology On Competitive Advantage in the Lodging Industry

The lodging industry, along with most parts of the service sector, is making significant capital investment in information technology to improve the quality and efficiency of its business processes for the purpose of gaining competitive advantage. This study investi gates the impact of information technology on competitive advantage in the lodging indus try. This research uses a case study methodology to measure competitive advantage from information technology. The results indicate that the overall strategy of the lodging firm in fluences the impact of information technology on competitive advantage. More specifi cally, the asset holding and managing companies achieve a different type and level of com petitive advantage through information technology as compared to franchising lodging firms.
Spike anneal for NiSi formation

The design of wafer processing equipment needs to continuously evolve and respond to the challenges of the future. In this article, we present the evolution of rapid thermal processing (RTP) in the transistor manufacturing environment with emphasis on production-worthy performance over a temperature regime that addresses the sub-400degC processing requirements. Temperature and thermal budget control is increasingly critical for contact material processing for sub-65 nm nodes. We present low temperature spike anneal as an application to address thermal budget challenges and demonstrate the extendibility of lamp-based RTP to low temperature processes
Persistence of Capacity Shortage and the Role of Adjustment Costs

This paper finds that plant capital constraints on output in UK industry tend to persist for surprisingly long periods, reflecting a slow response of capital investment. The paper examines the conventional view that this response pattern may be explained by cost of adjustment. Using UK time-series data for a small number of industry groups, it is shown that the observed dynamics of capital constraints (capital shortage) are not fully explained by a quadratic adjustment cost model or by alternative forms of adjustment cost. Copyright 2001 by Scottish Economic Society.
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin versus 3-methylcholanthrene: comparative studies of Ah receptor binding, transformation, and induction of CYP1A1.

Halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as 3-methylcholanthrene (MC) cause transcriptional activation of the CYP1A1 gene via their interaction with the aromatic hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor. Direct radioligand binding and competitive binding studies demonstrated that the cytosolic Ah receptor from the mouse hepatoma cell line Hepa-1 bound TCDD with an affinity approximately 3-4-fold greater than that for MC. However, TCDD was approximately 1,000-fold more potent than MC as an inducer of CYP1A1-mediated aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity in cultured Hepa-1 cells as assessed at 14 h following exposure to inducer. To understand the basis for this quantitative discrepancy between Ah receptor binding affinity and CYP1A1 induction potency, we systematically compared TCDD and MC for their abilities to activate sequential events in the CYP1A1 induction mechanism that occur subsequent to initial binding to the cytosolic Ah receptor. Using a gel retardation assay, TCDD and MC were shown to be equipotent in causing in vitro transformation of the cytosolic Ah receptor to its DNA-binding form. In addition, the transformed Ah receptor bound to a specific dioxin-responsive enhancer sequence with the same apparent affinity when MC was the ligand as when TCDD was the ligand. At an early time point (i.e. 2 h) in the CYP1A1 induction process, TCDD was only approximately 4-25-fold more potent than MC in stimulating the nuclear uptake of the ligand-Ah receptor complex, and the two ligands displayed a relatively small difference (> or = 10-fold) in CYP1A1 mRNA induction potency. When assessed at 4 h following ligand treatment, TCDD was only approximately 10-fold more potent than MC as an aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase inducer, suggesting a time-dependent reduction in the potency of MC in intact cells. Exposure of Hepa-1 cells to MC over a 16-h time course resulted in an increased ability of these cells to convert [3H]MC to alkali-extractable metabolites. Our data are consistent with the idea that TCDD and MC display relatively small differences in their intrinsic abilities to activate Ah receptor-mediated events. The reduced biological potency of MC observed in intact cells and whole animals is at least partially due to the more rapid metabolic inactivation of this ligand compared with the poorly metabolized TCDD. By extension, the extraordinary toxicity of TCDD may not be explained solely by its high affinity for the cytosolic Ah receptor.
Effect of Short-Circuit Voltage Profile on the Transient Performance of Saturated Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors

When permanent magnet synchronous motors are subjected to short-circuit at their terminals, the accurate calculation of the motor transient performance depends on the short- circuit voltage profile and the saturation condition of the main flux paths. In this paper, a voltage profile due to a short-circuit at the motor terminals is proposed where the motor terminal voltage requires a certain period of time to fall to zero value and, following the clearing of the fault, the terminal voltage also requires a certain period of time to recover to a post-short-circuit value. Three models of permanent magnet synchronous motors have been developed to demonstrate the effect of the main flux saturation on the determination of the transient performance of permanent magnet synchronous motors employing the proposed short- circuit voltage profile.
The Economic Theory of Professional Team Sports: An Analytical Treatment

Contents: Foreword 1. The Peculiar Economics of Professional Team Sports 2. Sports Product Market 3. Player Labour Market 4. Product and Labour Market Equilibrium 5. Restrictions on Player Mobility 6. Revenue Sharing 7. Salary Caps Answers to Exercises References and Selected Bibliography Index