Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Board size, corporate regulations and firm valuation in an emerging market: a simultaneous equation approach

We investigate the association between board size and firm valuation for a sample of 169 firms from 2002 to 2011 in South Africa (SA). The SA corporate context is interestingly and uniquely characterised by an urgency to meet affirmative action regulations, such as black empowerment in board appointments, limited qualified and experienced directors, especially black directors, concentrated ownership, weak enforcement of corporate regulations and greater government ownership. These features make SA corporate boards perform a weaker agency (advisory, monitoring and disciplining) role than Western European and US boards, but a stronger resource dependence role, by providing access to resources, such as business contacts and contracts. This suggests that any positive impact of board size on firm valuation is likely to depend on the effective execution of the resource dependence role more than the agency role. Our results suggest that board size has a positive association with firm valuation, consistent with larger boards providing better access to resources. Overall, our results support the resource dependence role of boards more than their agency role. The results are robust across a raft of econometric models that control for different types of endogeneity, as well as different types of accounting and market-based firm valuation measures.
Discovering stock dynamics through multidimensional volatility phases

To investigate stock dynamics, we consider volatility as a temporal aggregation of semi-extreme events defined on three dimensions: return, volume and trading number. Onset and offset phases of volatility are computed by means of the hierarchical factor segmentation (HFS) algorithm based on high-frequency data. Through these computed volatility phases we search for dynamic patterns by resolving two questions: Is a return's volatility closely associated with significant price changes? , and can we derive an early prediction of the sign of the price change at the offset? Can volatility phases reveal which dimension—return, volume or trading number—is the driving force behind the others? Some computed new features of stock dynamics are counter-intuitive. Almost all significant price changes are marked by volatility within the three dimensions. We develop a data-driven potential-based model to make early predictions of the sign of significant price differences at the end of a volatile period. This model recognizes that when a stock's dynamic enters a volatility state, it typically settles into a subtle imbalance of oscillations between positive and negative returns, and leads to a significant price difference at the offset of volatility. We develop a new statistical analysis to show that a return's volatility onset is more likely to fall behind the onsets of volume and trading number, while the latter two dimensions are very well-correlated with each other. By incorporating this result with behavioral evidence extracted from scatterplots of the logarithm of volume versus the trading number, we postulate that stock dynamics are chiefly driven by a large group of participants, whose collective large-volume trading action is potentially responsible for stimulating volatility in both return and trading number.
Depreciation Rates and Capital Stocks

Suppose we have observations ranging over t=0,1,…T on real net investment, {I_{n,t}}₀^{T}, and on real gross investment, {I_{g,t}}₀^{T}. We derive a method of calculating the depreciation rate for each of the periods {δ_{t}}₁^{T}, and estimating `the' implied net capital stock {K_{t}}₀^{T}. We then provide empirical examples of the procedure, and analyse the results.
Firm-specific factors as determinants of capital structure in the absence of taxes

Extreme Bounds Analysis (EBA) is used to identify the determinants of capital structure in a tax-free environment, using data on Kuwaiti shareholding companies. The results which are more supportive of the pecking order theory than the trade-off theory, show some evidence for the importance of growth opportunities and profitability. Judged by robustness, the number of determining variables is smaller than what is typically found in the literature.
A critical analysis of Islamic equity funds

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight the inconsistencies between the methodologies of Islamic funds and indices. Design/methodology/approach – The paper has reviewed the methodologies of the most prominent funds and indices (5) to apply their apparent screening features to the asset universe. In the analysis conducted, qualitative and quantitative screens are derived from each selected fund and index methodological approach to asset selection subject to Shari’ah constraints. Qualitative screens are applied first followed by quantitative screens. Findings – Few inconsistencies are evident between the chosen funds and indices when the qualitative screens are applied. However, the major inconsistencies are highlighted after analysis of the quantitative screens. Research limitations/implications – A number of companies within the asset universe are investment trusts, and such financial statement line item data were not found. However, this posed no difficulty, as these companies were investment.
Comparison of generalized born and poisson models: Energetics and dynamics of HIV protease

This study characterizes the accuracy of energies and forces computed with a generalized Born (GB) model and the distance‐dependent dielectric (DDD) model with respect to detailed finite solutions of the Poisson equation (FDPE). Tests are done for a small molecule in solution and for HIV‐1 protease with inhibitor, KNI‐272. GB agrees well with FDPE for the small molecule, but less well for the protein system. The correlation between GB and FDPE energies is poorest in calculations of changes upon binding. Also, forces computed with the GB model are less accurate than energies. The DDD model is far less accurate than GB. Nanosecond stochastic dynamics simulations of HIV‐1 protease with an empty active site are used to examine the consequence of the models for the conformational preferences of the active site. Interestingly, the active site flaps remain near their starting conformations in the FDPE and GB simulations but collapse into the active site in the DDD simulation. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 21: 295–309, 2000
Do Peripheral Workers Do Peripheral Work? Comparing the Use of Highly Skilled Contractors and Regular Employees

This paper uses data from a 2002 survey of project managers in a large, U.S.-based financial services institution to compare how contractors and regular employees were assigned to work within an information technology department. The author uses these data to test standard core-periphery arguments about the use of contingent workers, as well as accounts of contingent work that emphasize the interests of frontline managers. He finds that contractors and employees were used very similarly in most respects, although there were some differences. Contractors were less likely to be used in roles that were more critical to the firm, but more likely to be used when frontline managers' interests could conflict with the organization's. Contractors were also less likely to be given positions requiring knowledge of the business. No evidence is found, however, that other kinds of firm-specific skills affected how contractors were used.
A Lagrange multiplier test of the restrictions for a simple rational expectations model

The Lagrange multiplier test of the restrictions for a simple but common class of rational expectations model is developed. For these kinds of models the value of this test will never exceed the likelihood ratio. The difference is usually small, because Monte Carlo evidence suggests that it performs similarly to the likelihood ratio and Wald tests in small samples. However, an economic example suggests that larger differences are possible.
The Effects of Environment, Knowledge Attribute, Organizational Climate, and Firm Characteristics on Knowledge Sourcing Decisions

Knowledge has been widely recognized as a critical resource for competitive advantage of the firms. However, little has been done in the literature regarding under what conditions that firms should develop knowledge internally or acquire knowledge from outside. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to examine the effects of some key factors including environment, organizational climate, firm characteristics, and knowledge attribute, on the firm's decision to knowledge sourcing. Our findings suggest that firms are more likely to develop knowledge internally if the environment is less munificent and dynamic; if the knowledge is more specific to them; if they possess higher levels of intention, autonomy, and requisite variety; and if they have abundant development experience and sufficient capabilities.
Enzyme-linked immunoassay for detection of PCR-amplified DNA of legionellae in bronchoalveolar fluid

A nonradioactive method is described that detects 10 to 100 legionellae in 1 ml of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. DNA is purified by a proteinase K-phenol protocol or with a commercial DNA preparation kit and amplified by PCR with amplimers specific for the 16S rRNA gene of Legionella pneumophila. The upstream primer is 5' biotinylated. The amplification product is immobilized on streptavidin-coated microtiter plates. Because of the high binding capacity, no removal of nonincorporated biotin from the PCR product is required. After alkaline denaturation, the single-stranded PCR product is hybridized with a 5' digoxigenin-labeled probing oligomer. The amplification product is then detected by using peroxidase-labeled anti-digoxigenin antibodies in a luminescence or colorimetric reaction. The assay detects as few as 10 legionellae in 1-ml bronchoalveolar lavage fluid specimens. It is specific for medically relevant Legionella species, including Legionella pneumophila, L. bozemanii, and L. longbeachae. Of over 250 clinical specimens examined, 8 were positive for legionellae by both culture and the PCR assay. Six further specimens were culture negative but PCR positive for legionellae; of these, five specimens were from patients receiving high-dose erythromycin therapy for suspected or previously diagnosed legionella pneumonia. None of the remaining 240 specimens that were culture negative for legionellae yielded a positive PCR test, although a total of over 30 different bacterial species were cultured from these specimens. The PCR assay therefore appears to exhibit high sensitivity and specificity and thus could prove suitable for use in the routine microbiological diagnostic laboratory.
Year Sensors for the CDF Run 2 b silicon detector

T. Akimoto, M. Aoki, P. Azzi, N. Bacchetta, S. Behari, D. Benjamin, D. Bisello, G. Bolla, P. Booth, D. Bortoletto, A. Burghard, G. Busetto, S. Cabrera, A. Canepa, G. Cardoso, M. Chertok, C. I. Ciobanu, P. Cooke, G. Derylo, I. Fang, E. J. Feng, J. P. Fernandez, B. Flaugher, J. Freeman, L. Galtieri, J. Galyardt, M. Garcia-Sciveres, G. Giurgiu, I. Gorelov, C. Haber, D. Hale, K. Hara, R. Harr, C. Hill, M. Hoeferkamp, J. Hoff, B. Holbrook, S. C. Hong, M. Hrycyk, T. H. Hsiung, J. Incandela, E. J. Jeon, K. K. Joo, T. Junk, H. Kahkola, S. Karjalainen, S. Kim, K. Kobayashi, D. J. Kong, B. Krieger, M. Kruse, S. Kyre, R. Lander, T. Landry, R. Lauhakangas, J. Lee, R. S. Lu, P. J. Lujan, P. Lukens, E. Mandelli, C. Manea, P. Maksimovic, P. Merkel, S. N. Min, S. Moccia, Y. Nakamura, I. Nakano, D. Naoumov, T. Nelson, B. Nord, J. Novak, T. Okusawa, R. Orava, Y. Orlov, K. Osterberg, D. Pantano, V. Pavlicek, D. Pellett, J. Pursley, P. Riipinen, B. Schuyler, S. Seidel, A. Shenai, A. Soha, D. Stuart, R. Tanaka, M. Tavi, H. Von der Lippe, J. P. Walder, Z. Wang, P. Watje, M. Weber, W. Wester, K. Yamamoto, Y. C. Yang, W. Yao, W. Yao, R. Yarema, H. Yoshitama, J. C. Yun, F. Zetti, T. Zimmerman, S. Zimmermann, and S. Zucchelli
Inappropriate Detrending and Spurious Cointegration

The empirical literature is abundant with detrended cointegration, where cointegration relations are estimated with deterministic trend terms. The use of detrended cointegration will mask important time series properties, however, because trend and cointegration indicate both deterministic and stochastic common trends. Cointegration with and without detrending shows markedly different implications on their long-run relations. A series of Monte Carlo experiments show that inappropriately detrended time series often exhibit cointegration although time series are designed to contain no cointegration. That is, inappropriately detrended time series tend to show spurious cointegration. Foreign exchange rates are analyzed to show the relevance and importance of the inappropriate detrended in cointegration analysis
Environmental Kuznets Curve for sulfur: evidence using GMM estimation and random coefficient panel data models

The purpose of this study is to test empirically the hypothesis of the inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental damage from sulfur emissions and economic growth as expressed by GDP. Using a large database of panel data consisting of 73 OECD and non-OECD countries for 31 years (1960–1990) we apply for the first time random coefficients and Arellano-Bond Generalized Method of Moments (A–B GMM) econometric methods. Our findings indicate that the EKC hypothesis is not rejected in the case of the A–B GMM. On the other hand there is no support for an EKC in the case of using a random coefficients model. Our turning points range from $2805–$6230/c. These results are completely different compared to the results derived using the same database and fixed and random effects models.
Myths of Failure, Myths of Success: New Perspectives on Nineteenth‐Century Spanish Liberalism*

Between 1808 and 1843, the long process of dissolution and crisis of the Spanish Absolutist Monarchy opened up many possibilities for reaction or reform. Ultimately, however, it led to the establishment of a liberal parliamentary regime, which, while politically restrictive and socially oligarchical, was also of a very different nature from that of the absolutist government of the previous centuries. The clergy and the nobility were stripped of their status as privileged classes; tithes were abolished; the church and municipalities had their properties disentailed; and seigneurial rights were eliminated. At the same time, guilds were wiped out and freedom of industry and trade were proclaimed. These are the facts. However, William Faulkner might have been right when he said that “facts have nothing to do with truth. ” Contemporaries termed what had happened the “Spanish Revolution. ” But what kind of revolution was it? Did it involve real changes in the country’s social and economic structure? Did it mean a substantial transfer of power in those spheres? In short, was it an “authentic revolution,” a “bourgeois revolution”?
Evaluation of thin agar layer method for recovery of acid-injured foodborne pathogens.

The thin agar layer (TAL) method of Kang and Fung was used to enumerate acid-injured foodborne pathogens. This method involves overlaying 14 ml of nonselective medium (tryptic soy agar [TSA]) onto a prepoured and solidified pathogen-specific, selective medium in a petri dish. After surface plating, injured cells resuscitated and grew on TSA during the first few hours of incubation; then, the selective agents from the selective medium diffused to the top layer, interacted with the recovered microorganisms, and started to produce typical reactions. Foodborne pathogens were exposed to 2% acetic acid for 1, 2, or 4 min, and the recovery rate with the TAL method was compared with the rate of TSA and pathogen-specific, selective media. No significant difference occurred between TSA and TAL (P > 0.05) for enumeration of acid-injured Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, and Yersinia enterocolitica, and both recovered significantly higher numbers than the selective medium for each respective pathogen (P < 0.05). For recovery of acid-injured Listeria monocytogenes, no difference (P > 0.05) occurred among TSA, TAL, and selective media. However, fewer cells were recovered in the selective media. The TAL method is a one-step, convenient procedure for recovery of acid-injured cells.
Pesticide Residues Detection by Fluorescence Spectral Analysis Based on BP Neural Network

At present, it is a difficulty to achieve rapid and accurate detection to pesticide residues. In the paper, an overlapped spectrum in fluorescence spectroscopy measurements of acetamiprid residues was separated using artificial neural networks. By means of artificial neural network principle and back-propagation training algorithm, acetamiprid concentration were determined in mixed component of residues and filter paper with overlapped fluorescence spectrum. In the range of 340-400nm, the fluorescence intensities corresponding to 20 wavelengths were used as character parameters, while the neural network was trained and tested. The mean recoveries of 40mg/kg and 90mg/kg acetamiprid were 102% and 97 % respectively. The RSDs of the results were 1.4% and 1.9%. A kind of model is given by detection method and results of this paper, the results have shown that the method to using BP network in fluorescence spectral analysis of acetamiprid residue has good performance such as shorter measuring time, faster training speed and higher accuracy than the other means. It provides an effective method for the detection of pesticide residues.
Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the most frequent and severe infection acquired in the intensive care unit, leading to prolonged mechanical ventilation and excess mortality. This article reviews the different aspects of VAP, such as risk factors, causative agents, and approaches to diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Several aspects of VAP are still considered controversial.
Study of security vulnerabilities in Web 2 . 0

Web 2.0’s new technologies greatly extend the capabilities of web applications. With Web 2.0, applications become more interactive and user friendly allowing user-created content. Wikis and blogs are two simple examples of such applications. Unfortunately this new shift comes with a security cost since Web 2.0’s more complex architecture and the lack of understanding by most software developers of the security implications of these new model enable new classes of vulnerabilities. Our study focuses on two such vulnerabilitities: JavaScript Hijacking and Prototype Hijacking. During our study of these vulnerabilities we were able to find real world web applications that were exposed to these types of vulnerabilities such as the Twitter social networking service and the RoundCube Webmail.
A novel block-based steganographic method

Considering into account the most important requirement of steganography, i.e. producing the minimal distortion, the proposed method changes the arrangement of the pixels of the cover image and finds a route such that the maximal similarity between the LSB of the pixels along this route and the secret data is obtained. In the introduced image steganographic method, a sequence of random numbers is first generated by a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) with an arbitrary seed. Then the cover image is divided into some blocks with variable sizes using this sequence. Traversing the blocks in a raster scan manner, a route is created and the secret data is embedded into the LSB of the pixels along this route using syndrome-trellis codes. Among the routes created by repeating this process with different seeds, the best route which produces minimal distortion is chosen for data embedding. The experimental results evaluated on 2000 natural images show that our proposed method significantly decreases the image distortion and thus it can enhance the security against steganalysis.
Review: A Cognitive-Affective Model of Organizational Communication for Designing IT

There are several theories available to describe how managers choose a medium for communication. However, current technology can affect not only how we communicate but also what we communicate. As a result, the issue for designers of communication support systems has become broader: how should technology be designed to make communication more effective by changing the medium and the attributes of the message itself? The answer to this question requires a shift from current preoccupations with the medium of communication to a view that assesses the balance between medium and message form. There is also a need to look more closely at the process of communication in order to identify more precisely any potential areas of computer support. This paper provides the spadework for a new model of organizational communication, and uses it to review existing research, as well as to suggest directions for future research and development. Beginning with the crucial aspects of action, relationship, and choice, an integrated model of how people communicate is developed. This model incorporates three basic factors: (1) inputs to the communication process (task, sender-receiver distance, and values and norms of communication with a particular emphasis on inter-cultural communication); (2) a cognitive-affective process of communication; and (3) the communication impact on action and relationship. The glue that bonds these factors together is a set of communication strategies aimed at reducing the complexity of communication. The model provides a balance between relationship and action, between cognition and affect, and between message and medium. Such a balance has been lacking in previous work, and we believe it reflects a more realistic picture of communication behavior in organizations. A set of propositions generated from the model sets an agenda for studying the communication process as well as its inputs and outputs. Furthermore, this knowledge of the mechanisms that guide behavior is used to demonstrate the potential for developing design principles for future communication support systems.
Oxidative and Hormonal Disruptions Underlie Bisphenol A: Induced Testicular Toxicity in Male Rabbits

The presence of endocrine-disrupting compounds, such as bisphenol A (BPA), in the environment can cause serious health problems. However, there are controversial opinions. This study investigated the reproductive, metabolic, oxidative and immunologic-disrupting effects of bisphenol A in male rabbits. Rabbits were divided into five groups. The first four rabbit groups were administered oral BPA (1, 10, 50, or 100 mg/kg/day) for ten weeks. The fifth group was administered corn oil as the vehicle. BPA significantly decreased serum testosterone, estradiol and the free androgen index (FAI) and significantly increased sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) compared with the placebo group. The higher doses of BPA showed a significant decrease in follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). A significant increase in blood glucose levels was identified in the BPA groups. The non-significant difference in insulin levels is a novel finding. The cumulative testicular toxicity of BPA was clearly demonstrated by the dose-dependent decrease in absolute testes weight, primary measures of semen quality and a significant increase in testicular malonaldehyde (MDA). Moreover, BPA significantly decreased total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and significantly increased immunoglobulin G (IgG) at the highest concentration. Our results suggest that BPA, especially at higher doses, is associated with many adverse effects on metabolism, oxidative stress, immunity, sperm quality and markers of androgenic action. Keywords―Bisphenol A, oxidative stress, rabbits, semen quality, steroidogenesis.