Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Natural resources in the theory of production: the Georgescu-Roegen/Daly versus Solow/Stiglitz controversy

Abstract This paper provides a theoretical and methodological account of an important controversy between neoclassical resource economics and ecological economics from the early 1970s to the end of the 1990s. It shows that the assumption of unbounded resource productivity in the work of Solow and Stiglitz–and the related concepts of substitution and technical progress–rest on a model-based methodology. On the other hand, Georgescu-Roegen’s assumption of thermodynamic limits to production, later revived by Daly, comes from a methodology of interdisciplinary consistency. I conclude that neither side provided a definitive proof of its own claim because both face important conceptual issues.
Women and Public Organization: An Examination of Mentorship and Its Effect on Reporting Workplace Discrimination

A number of studies have focused on mentorship as a variable often associated with career advancement; however, there is little to no research on the impact mentors have with women reporting workplace discrimination, specifically sex-based discrimination to include sexual harassment. Using a survey dataset of 1,113 female officers from a large federal law enforcement agency, this research employs coarsened exact matching to examine mentorship and to include mentor’s gender and its effect on women’s reporting behaviors. This study finds that the probability of reporting sexual harassment increases when women have mentors; however, the existence of mentors did not lead to a significant difference in reporting sex discrimination. In addition, there is no significance on the mentor’s gender with women’s reporting behaviors.
Felon disenfranchisement and political culture

With 6.1M potential votes affected, felon disenfranchisement policies clearly have far reaching effects on the composition of the federal, state, and local governments in our nation, and so they continue to be a point of contention in the US. Some of the current literature is written from a criminal justice perspective with focuses on the policy’s impact on reintegration and recidivism, but much of the research is politically oriented, some even questioning the status of our democracy. Though there have been many challenges, the perspective of the federal government is that the practice is Constitutionally sound, leaving it up to the states to determine policy and resulting in a wide variety of policies. Political factors such as citizen ideology, party competition, and especially political culture have a significant impact on the level of restrictiveness of a states felon voting policies. Further, Lieske’s new measure of political culture outperforms the older Elazar/Sharkansky measure in predicting the severity of felon disenfranchisements policies.
The PBGC's Policy Levers and the Pension Plan's Risk-Taking: Should the Premium Be Economically Fair?

In the presence of a minimum funding requirement or of a PBGC guarantee that is only partial, an economically fair insurance premium decreases the pension plan's risk-taking. When the regulation's risk-neutrality is sought, a premium lower than the economically fair one should be charged. The paper derives the analytical formula defining the adequate form of the premium.
Empirical and theoretical analysis of foreign exchange markets : a case of Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands

EMPIRICAL AND THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKETS A CASE OF BELGIUM, GERMANY, AND THE NETHERLANDS by Ozan Akyureklier The paper uses an efficiency specification model of the spot and forward foreign exchange markets and tests the random walk, the general efficiency, and the unbiasedness hypotheses by utilizing a regression estimation and many different specification and diagnostic tests for the series and the error terms. The paper discusses the important aspects of efficiency, expectations, and risk in the foreign exchange market. First a brief presentation of the existing single-equation structural models of exchange-rate determination is given. An efficiency specification model of the spot and forward foreign exchange markets applied to test the random walk, the general efficiency, and the unbiasedness hypotheses. The model is examined by employing time series analysis to test for the absence of the long run equilibrium or cointegration relationships. The existence of either one would imply a direct violation of the Efficient Market Hypothesis in a speculative efficient market (Granger, 1986). In this study we addressed the efficiency of Germany's, Holland's and Belgium's foreign exchange markets. The random walk hypothesis has been failed to be rejected. However, Belgium's spot rate follows a random walk but their variances are not constant. On the other hand, cointegration found to be present for all the countries tested in this research. The empirical results also showed that Belgium's market efficiency is questionable. EMPIRICAL AND THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKETS A CASE OF BELGIUM, GERMANY, AND THE NETHERLANDS
Developing exploitative and exploratory capabilities through capitalising on alliance orientation

ABSTRACT Researchers suggest that firms should acquire resources from external environments by adopting alliances to enhance their abilities in developing their core value-creating capabilities. However, the question of how to manage alliances effectively through organisational development in exploitation and exploration capabilities has not yet been examined in detail. Using primary data obtained from 159 R&D managers in Taiwan's electronics industry, this study focuses on the specific mechanisms of alliance orientation (AO) and examines its impact on the development of exploitative and exploratory capabilities. We find that AO enables firms to improve their exploitative and exploratory capabilities. Furthermore, unabsorbed slack resources strengthen the positive effects of AO on exploratory capabilities, while market uncertainty weakens the benefits of AO in both exploitative and exploratory capabilities. The positive effects of AO on exploratory capabilities are also weakened by technological uncertainty. These findings provide strategic insight into strategic alliances and the capability development of firms.
Genetic alterations in cervical cancer : consequences for gene regulation and clinical outcome after chemoradiotherapy

Absolute tumor DNA copy numbers can currently be achieved only on a single gene basis by using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). We present GeneCount, a method for genome-wide calculation of absolute copy numbers from clinical array comparative genomic hybridization data. The tumor cell fraction is reliably estimated in the model. Data consistent with FISH results are achieved. We demonstrate significant improvements over existing methods for exploring gene dosages and intratumor copy number heterogeneity in cancers. Background Array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) is widely used for genome-wide mapping of DNA copy number changes in malignant cells [1,2]. Genetic gains and losses impact gene expression levels, and thereby promote tumor growth and progression [3-5]. Numerous clinical studies have been performed to find tumor characteristics and to classify patients with respect to their prognosis based on the copy number changes [6,7]. The usefulness of the aCGH data is limited, however, because only relative and not absolute copy numbers are achieved, making the interpretation of the data and comparisons across experiments difficult. Absolute DNA copy numbers can be obtained only on a single gene basis by the use of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Development of genome-wide methods for this purpose would enable generation of universal gene copy number databases of individual diseases that could be utilized more widely, as is the goal of several public repositories like the Mitelman Database of Chromosome Aberrations in Cancer [8]. The relative values achieved in aCGH experiments are influenced by the total DNA content (ploidy) of the tumor cells, the proportion of normal cells in the sample, and the experimental bias, in addition to the DNA copy numbers. The values are presented as intensity ratios between tumor and normal DNA [2]. The data are normalized so that the ratio of 1.0 is the baseline for the analysis, and corresponds to two DNA copies in near diploid (2n) tumors. The copy number changes are Published: 23 May 2008 Genome Biology 2008, 9:R86 (doi:10.1186/gb-2008-9-5-r86) Received: 18 January 2008 Revised: 23 April 2008 Accepted: 23 May 2008 The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at http://genomebiology.com/2008/9/5/R86
THE IMPACT OF OIL PRICE UNCERTAINTY ON STOCK RETURNS IN GULF COUNTRIES

This study analyses the relationship between the stock market returns and the oil price volatility and its changes in six Gulf countries. We use changes in oil prices as shock while realized variance is used as proxy for volatility. After estimating an appropriate Vector Auto Regressive (VAR) model, use impulse response function and the Granger causality tests for the analysis. By employing weekly data starting from Jan-2008 to Jan-2017, study concludes that oil price variations and volatility impact the stock returns in all the Gulf stock markets.
The influence of peer attitude and inherent scepticism on auditors’ sceptical judgments†

Our study examines whether auditors’ sceptical judgments are influenced by peer attitude in the context of a peer providing informal advice to auditors in China. We hypothesise that when peer attitude reflects a high (low) emphasis on professional scepticism, auditors will be more (less) sceptical in their judgments. Our results from a between-subjects experiment support this hypothesis. We further examine whether the effect of peer attitude on sceptical judgments differs between auditors with higher or lower levels of inherent scepticism. Our results show that the effect of peer attitude is stronger among auditors with higher levels of inherent scepticism. The results provide evidence on the potential boundaries of informal peer advice as a mechanism to elevate auditors’ professional scepticism. Our findings demonstrate the importance of understanding how peer attitude and inherent scepticism jointly influence their auditors’ sceptical judgments.
PULMONARY, SLEEP, AND CRITICAL CARE UPDATE Update in Pulmonary Vascular Diseases 2014

The field of pulmonary vascular disease remains a rapidly growing area of research. In 2014, investigators discovered new genetic determinants of pulmonary hypertension (PH) risk and described novel molecular mechanisms of disease pathogenesis. New studies have provided significant insights into our understanding of disease complexity, highlighting critical roles of cellular metabolism, inflammation, and regulatory function of microRNAs that could lead to development of novel targeted therapeutics (1). Studies of the prediction of outcomes in pulmonary vascular disease and venous thromboembolism could lead to more efficient and effective management strategies. This review provides a brief summary of the many scientific accomplishments in the field of pulmonary vascular disease during the past year.
Marginal climate and air quality costs of aviation emissions

Aviation emissions have been found to cause 5% of global anthropogenic radiative forcing and ∼16 000 premature deaths annually due to impaired air quality. When aiming to reduce these impacts, decision makers often face trade-offs between different emission species or impacts in different times and locations. To inform rational decision-making, this study computes aviation’s marginal climate and air quality impacts per tonne of species emitted and accounts for the altitude, location, and chemical composition of emissions. Climate impacts are calculated using a reduced-order climate model, and air quality-related health impacts are quantified using marginal atmospheric sensitivities to emissions from the adjoint of the global chemistry-transport model GEOS-Chem in combination with concentration response functions and the value of statistical life. The results indicate that 90% of the global impacts per unit of fuel burn are attributable to cruise emissions, and that 64% of all damages are the result of air quality impacts. Furthermore, nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon dioxide (CO2), and contrails are collectively responsible for 97% of the total impact. Applying our result metrics to an example, we find that a 20% NOx stringency scenario for new aircraft would reduce the net atmospheric impacts by 700 m USD during the first year of operation, even if the NOx emission reductions cause a small increase in CO2 emissions of 2%. In such a way, the damage metrics can be used to rapidly evaluate the atmospheric impacts of market growth as well as emissions trade-offs of aviation-related policies or technology improvements.
Expectant Mother’s Preferences for Services in Public Hospitals of Tamil Nadu, India

Substantial programmatic efforts have been undertaken to improve the access to maternal care services in the public health system of India, yet the service users are often regarded as passive recipients. Limited research is available on the preferences of service users on what they regard the greatest issues in service delivery. A hospital-based discrete choice experiment (DCE) has been conducted in the public health facilities of Tamil Nadu, a southern state of India. This study uses a sample of 261 women who came for antenatal check-ups across six different public hospitals in Tamil Nadu. The DCE technique, which is rooted in random utility theory (RUT), and conditional logit model have been used to analyze the relative importance of health service attributes. The result showed that regular ward visits by specialist doctors like obstetricians and gynaecologists (O&G) and paediatricians were the most preferred attribute of the maternal care service. Expectant mothers are willing to wait the maximum and are prepared to tolerate health service characteristics in public hospitals, such as poor patient amenities, poor staff attitude and lack of privacy maintained during physical examination, provided specialist doctors are available in the hospitals.
The Impact of Education and Age Cohort on Attitudes toward Immigration in Europe

In the context of current discussions about increasing cultural diversity of European societies and a radicalization of the political sphere this paper studies the role that better education could play in increasing tolerance towards immigrants. We complement the existing literature on determinants of attitudes to foreign populations by explicitly addressing the role of educational attainment using individual-level panel data combined with aggregate information on recent migration to the EU countries. Using data from the European Social Survey, we examine the role of educational attainment on general, cultural and economic attitudes toward immigration over 12 years by pooling 16 EU countries. We also study and compare the two individual countries Norway and Finland with many institutional similarities but different migration histories. Our findings indicate a significant positive effect of higher education on a more favourable attitude toward immigration in all three aspects. However, on top of this very strong education effect we also found that the youngest cohorts (born between 1980 and 1999) were less tolerant toward immigration than older cohorts (born between 1940 and 1980). Furthermore, with respect to recent levels of immigration to the EU countries, we found that stronger migrant inflows have a significant positive effect on the economic aspect of attitudes toward immigration but significant negative effects on attitudes in general and cultural aspects, indicating that Europeans do generally welcome the work of migrants but are more negative about the cultural change they bring. Viewed together, these findings clearly indicate that higher education can be an effective way of increasing the tolerance to migrants and help reduce the tendency towards radicalization.
The Impact of Government Role on High-Quality Innovation Development in Mainland China

Innovation serves as the first impetus for high-quality development. The role of government in promoting high-quality innovation development has become a chief driving force. Therefore, based on role theory, this paper will discuss the effect of different government roles on high-quality innovation development and regional alienation, providing policy recommendations for China. In this paper, firstly, a super-efficiency DEA model is introduced to measure the high-quality innovation development level among 30 provinces and municipalities in mainland China from 2010 to 2017. Secondly, a Tobit model is used to analyze the impact of different government roles on high-quality innovation development. The following conclusions are drawn through a super-efficiency DEA model: (1) From the holistic perspective, the high-quality innovation development in mainland China shows a fluctuating growth trend, but its level still needs improvement. (2) From the regional perspective, there is a patchwork pattern of ‘the eastern region ranks highest, followed by the western region and the middle region that stays at the lowest’. In addition, the three regions’ average of total factor productivity of high-quality innovation development has shown a smooth upward trend over the years. Then, the results of Tobit regression analysis are as follows: (1) Apart from the role in supporting talent, roles in constructing innovation platforms, cultivating the innovation environment, and coordinating social resources all pass the significance test. (2) Demands of different government roles vary significantly in different regions from the regional perspective. For the betterment of an innovation society, this paper puts forward suggestions according to different regional development statuses, such as shifting our focus from quantity to quality, strengthening cooperation among provinces and municipalities, and formulating appropriate governance role strategies.
Determinants of Financial Inclusion: The Case of 125 Countries from 2004 to 2017

This paper attempts to investigate the effects of GDP growth, GDP per capita, inflation rate and interest rate spread on financial inclusion. Financial inclusion has been measured by account ownership at a financial institution for ages 15+ and for ages 25+, automated teller machines and depositors with commercial banks. This has been conducted using a sample of 145 countries, over the period from the 2004 to 2017. Results indicate that GDP per capita may have a significant positive effect on financial inclusion, while each of GDP growth, and interest rate spread may have a significant negative effect. Besides, inflation rate seems to have no significant effect on financial inclusion. Moreover, robustness check assures these findings.
The impact of reliable range estimation on battery electric vehicle feasibility

Abstract Range limitation is a significant obstacle to market acceptance of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Range anxiety is exacerbated when drivers could not reliably predict the remaining battery range or when their journeys were unexpectedly extended. This paper quantifies the impact of reliable range estimation on BEV feasibility using GPS-tracked travel survey data, collected over an 18-month period (from November 2004 to April 2006) in the Seattle metropolitan area. BEV feasibility is quantified as the number of days when travel adaption is needed if a driver replaces a conventional gasoline vehicle (CGV) with a BEV. The distribution of BEV range is estimated based on the real-world fuel efficiency data. A driver is assumed to choose between using a BEV or a substitute gasoline vehicle, based on the cumulative prospect theory (CPT). BEV is considered feasible for a particular driver if he/she needs to use a substitute vehicle on less than 0.5% of the travel days. By varying the values of some CPT parameter, the percentage of BEV feasible vehicles could change from less than 5% to 25%. The numerical results also show that with a 50% reduction in the standard deviation and 50% increase in the mean of the BEV range distribution BEV feasibility increases from less than 5% of the sampled drivers to 30%.
Establishment of a specific serum proteomic profile model for liver organ-specific metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry

Objective: To investigate the specific serum peptide profile of LM (liver metastasis) associated with NPC (nasopharyngeal carcinoma) by comparing the patients who have NPC with LM and without LM and the patients with LM not from NPC, and to provide the model for diagnosis of LM from NPC. Methods: Pre-treatment serum samples from 50 patients who had pathologically confirmed NPC and 14 patients who had pathologically confirmed non-NPC with LM were collected and assayed by MALDl-TOF-MS (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry) analysis. During follow-up of more than 3 years after radiotherapy, 16 NPC patients with LM (LM NPC group), 16 NPC patients with non-LM (non-LM NPC group) and 18 NPC pateints without metastasis (non-M NPC group) were confirmed. Mass spectrographic data were analyzed with ClinProt software Tools. The specific serum peptide model of NPC-associated LM was established by using both data mining analysis and decision tree classification analysis. Results: Differential expressions of 28 peptide peaks were detected between LM NPC group and non-M NPC group, 9 peptide peaks between LM NPC group and non-LM NPC group, 45 peptide peaks between LM NPC group and LM non-NPC group, and 10 peptide peaks between non-LM NPC group and non-M NPC group. Using comparative proteomics analysis, 4 protein mass peaks (their mass to charge ratios were 4 155.34 m/z, 4 194.87 m/z, 4 210.78 m/z and 4 249.56 m/z, respectively) were identified as the liver-specific metastasis-associated protein peaks in NPC. The models based on the 4 sieved markers of NPC could discriminate LM NPC group from non-LM NPC group, non-M NPC group and non-NPC LM group. The recognition capability was 100.0% and the cross-validation of these models for differentiating the above 4 groups were 73.3%-100.0%. Conclusion: NPC with LM has a specific serum peptide profile. The established specific serum peptide model may have certain application in the diagnosis of LM associated with NPC, and provide a clinical diagnostic platform for detecting potential liver-specific metastasis-associated biomakers in NPC. DOI:10.3781/j.issn. 1000-7431.2013. 09.011