Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Online Campaigning in Germany: The CDU Online Campaign for the General Election 2009 in Germany

The German election year 2009 saw the first attempts by political parties to include Web 2.0 services in their online campaigns. The 2009 election therefore offers the opportunity to examine how political parties outside the USA – where online campaigning has become commonplace – choose to use online tools in their campaigns. This paper examines the online campaign of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) with a special focus on the campaign's use of Web 2.0 services. The different elements of the campaign will be discussed with regard to three basic functions of online campaigning provided by the relevant literature: 1) presence in the online information space; 2) support of the infrastructure of politics; 3) creation of symbols for political support and participation. This paper shows that these functions were all present in the CDU's use of online tools in the campaign of 2009.
Rectangular Waveguide Filters Using Photoimageable Thick-film Processing

Band-pass H-plane offset Rectangular Waveguide filters at W-Band (75-110GHz) and F-Band (90-140GHz) are presented. The filters are designed using multilayer thick-film processing with Alumina as a base. The process incorporates photoimageable thick-film paste for better precision and sharpness at the corners of the offsets. The filters do not require any tuning and are described with regard to their manufacture and measurement results. The centre frequencies are 85GHz and 105GHz and their relative bandwidths are ¿ 10%. The filters are de-embedded using a specially designed calibration set which uses the multiline TRL technique. Insertion loss of 5 dB and return loss less than 15 dB is measured for waveguide thickness of 18¿m.
Critical Success Framework for Implementing Effective IT Governance in Tanzanian Public Sector Organizations

Abstract In public sector organizations, the use of Information information technology (IT) has become important for sustaining and extending public service delivery. This has resulted in critical dependency on IT, which calls for a focus on effective IT governance. Accordingly, the success factors for effective IT governance must be determined and adhered to for increasing the contribution of IT towards achieving organization objectives. Much research has been carried out on the effectiveness of IT governance, but without focusing on the public sectors organizations of developing country such as the Tanzanian Public Sector Organizations (TaPSOs). Therefore, in this research a CSFs framework - with guidelines for implementing effective IT governance in TaPSO, was developed taking into account the TaPSOs environment, which on one hand is characterized by constraints in IT resources, knowledge, and culture and on the other hand by the increasing IT investment and application. It was developed based on design science research and was mainly achieved using previous studies in these TaPSOs and a survey of IT/business people from these organizations and industry. The evaluation was conducted with an organizational case study.
MATRICES DE CONTABILIDAD SOCIAL APLICADAS A POBLACIONES RURALES (MCSAP) PARA ANALIZAR EL COMBATE A LA POBREZA

Based on a multisectors approach, this document set up aggregated restricted social accounting matrix of 10 villages in Mexico. This paper, analyze the effects of an exogenous increase in the product equivalent to 100 pesos per capita onto the rural households’ income and reducing poverty. Furthermore migration and the salaried work the rural households perform five productivity activities: commercial agriculture, livestock, staple crops, forestry and firewood gathering, and commerce and services. On the basis of three simulations we are to obtain that the impact on the income and reduction of poverty of the rural households of an external injection depends of the activity to which it is applied; the dimension of the accounting multipliers depends on the participation and of the linkages of each activity on the local and external economy. The results show that the commerce and services (1.75 to 2.28), staple crops (1.36 to 2.21), and livestock (1.36 to 1.84) present the largest multiplier effects.
Immunogenicity of serogroup A and C Neisseria meningitidis polysaccharide vaccines administered together in humans.

Serogroup A and C Neisseria meningitidis polysaccharide vaccines were administered to U.S. Army recruit volunteers, either two weeks apart or at the same time into two different sites on the same arm, to determine what effect, if any, the combined administration would have on the immunogenicity of each individual component. The vaccines were found to be as immunogenic when administered together as when given separately; in fact, the data suggest a possible enhancement of the response, as measured by the radioactive antigen binding test, to both components when the two vaccines are given together.
Deregulation and the Conduct of Monetary Policy

This paper examines the evolution of monetary policy in Australia since the mid 1980s when financial markets were rapidly deregulated. The paper discusses the conduct of monetary policy within the framework of monetary targeting and how deregulation affected this framework. Alternative strategies for conducting monetary policy are discussed. However, it is argued that since 1985, monetary authorities have often changed the focus of monetary policy with no specific framework within which the policy is implemented. Deregulation has forced interest rates to become the main focus of monetary policy. But, since the deregulation of financial markets, the transmission mechanism by which interest rates affect the economy, has changed significantly.
The Role of Conservative Treatment in Idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis

Abstract: Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is a rare benign inflammatory disease of the breast that mimics carcinoma of the breast. Its etiology and treatment remain unclear. A retrospective review of nine women with histopathologic diagnosis of IGM was performed. The women had a mean follow‐up of 18.7 months and a mean age of 45.7 years (range 32–83 years). The main presentation was breast mass (100%). Clinically and radiologically, 55.6% of the women were suspected to have malignancy. One patient was treated with lumpectomy without recurrence. Eight patients were treated with expectant management with close regular surveillance. No surgery was performed and no medications were given. Fifty percent of the patients had spontaneous complete resolution of disease after a mean interval of 14.5 months. These four patients had no recurrence. Fifty percent of patients had static disease. In conclusion, it is important to differentiate IGM from carcinoma of the breast. Tissue biopsy remains the gold standard to confirm the diagnosis. Expectant management with close regular surveillance is the treatment of choice.
Decentralization and educational performance: evidence from the PROHECO Community School Program in rural Honduras

We analyze the effectiveness of the Programa Hondureño de Educación Comunitaria (PROHECO) community school program in rural Honduras. The data include standardized tests and extensive information on school, teacher, classroom and community features for 120 rural schools drawn from 15 states. Using academic achievement decompositions we find that PROHECO schools do a better job of maximizing teacher effort and involving parents in the school, both of which translate into higher levels of achievement. But these efficiency advantages are offset (to some degree) by lower levels of teacher experience, training, parental education, as well as a reliance on smaller class sizes. The results help extend the community school and school based management (SBM) literatures by identifying plausible mechanisms in the chain linking increased community involvement with better student outcomes, while also highlighting the importance of local capacity.
“You know we are not an Employment Agency”: Manpower, Government, and the Development of the Temporary Help Industry in Britain

This article looks at the early development of the temporary help industry in Britain. It focuses on the activities of one of the largest suppliers of temporary workers, Manpower, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Drawing on material from The UK National Archives, the article examines Manpower's efforts to gain access as a genuine employer to the state employment exchange network to advertise their temporary vacancies. The article reveals the incremental changes in attitude within the government towards Manpower's activities and argues that this gave the company a competitive advantage over other employment agencies, facilitating their development of relations with the government and the trade unions in Britain over the 1970s and 1980s. The main conclusion of the article is that explicit attention needs to be paid to the actions and strategies of agencies themselves in order to develop an adequate understanding of the growth and development of the temporary help industry.
Strategy control converter to enhance the performance in the grid-connected PMSG wind power generation system

Currently, there are several power converter topologies applied to wind power generation. The converters allow the use of wind turbines operating at variable speed, enabling better use of wind forces. The high performance of the converters is being increasingly demanded, mainly because of the increase in the power generation capacity by wind turbines, which gave rise to various converter topologies, such as parallel or multilevel converters. The use of converters allow effective control of the power injected into the grid, either partially, for the case using partial converter, or total control for the case of using full converter. In this work, is proposed an implementation of a wind cogeneration system using a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) associated with a power converter, in order to inject active power and improve harmonics compensation in the electrical power grid, in according to standard IEEE and IEC. The control strategy of the active power delivered to the grid by cogeneration is based on the philosophy of indirect control.
Protein kinetics in callipyge lambs.

The objectives for this experiment were to determine the effect of the callipyge phenotype on protein kinetics. We studied callipyge and normal lambs (n = 37) at 5, 8, and 11 wk of age (n = 4 to 7/ group) to determine how protein kinetics are altered by this trait. Total protein, DNA, and RNA and calpastatin activity were measured in five skeletal muscles and in the heart, kidneys, and liver, and protein accretion rates were calculated. At 8 wk, the fractional synthesis rates of proteins in these tissues were measured in vivo using a primed, continuous 8-h infusion of [2H5]phenylalanine. Fractional rates of protein degradation were estimated by differences. At 5 wk of age, muscle weights, protein mass, protein:DNA, RNA:DNA, and calpastatin activity were higher (P < .05) for callipyge, and protein mass differences continued to increase through 11 wk. At 8 wk, fractional rates of protein synthesis and degradation were lower (P < .05) in callipyge than in normal lambs. The organs of callipyge lambs exhibited reduced growth at 11 wk. Thus, enhanced muscle growth seems to be maintained in callipyge lambs by reduced protein degradation rather than increased protein synthesis. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that the initial onset of the callipyge condition may be caused by an increase in the fractional rate of protein synthesis.
Working Outside the Box: Community Currencies, Time Banks and Social Inclusion

A conceptual framework is developed for analysing UK social policy with respect to work, employment, inclusion and income. A range of possibilities for ‘productive engagement in work’ (PEW) outside the home are identified, ranging from formal employment, through informal employment, working for local community currencies, to unpaid voluntary work, each attracting particular policy responses, according to the hegemonic discourse of social exclusion, namely a liberal individualistic model which sees insertion into the labour market as the solution to exclusion. A new initiative is examined which is increasingly being adopted by local authorities in their efforts to tackle social exclusion and build social capital, namely ‘time banks’: a type of community currency which rewards people in time credits for the work they put into their neighbourhoods. Time banks are found to occupy a space in between what is already known about informal employment, LETS (Local Exchange Trading Schemes) and volunteering, raising a number of issues for policy makers and practitioners. While time banks may be promoted within the UK government's social inclusion remit as a means of increasing job-readiness through volunteering, they have wider and deeper implications. They represent a response to a radical social democratic understanding of social exclusion and hence exert a collective effort to redefine what is considered ‘valuable work’, and thus present an alternative to hegemonic paradigms of work and welfare; their greatest potential is as a radical tool for collective social capital building, resulting in more effective social, economic and political citizenship, and hence social inclusion. Policy recommendations are made to enable time banks to flourish and provide a powerful tool for achieving social inclusion objectives.
TRADE INTEGRATION, OUTSOURCING AND EMPLOYMENT IN AUSTRIA: A DECOMPOSITION APPROACH

Outsourcing and trade integration of advanced countries is debated with respect to employment effects, in particular for low educated workers – at least in relative terms. We study the employment effects – differentiated by educational attainment levels – of changes in the patterns of trade integration and outsourcing in the Austrian economy over the periods 1995–2000 and 2000–2005 using hierarchical decomposition analysis based on deflated input–output tables. Outsourcing is modeled as changes in the shares of domestically produced intermediates in total intermediates. A similar decomposition of the final demand vector allows us to draw conclusions on the overall employment effects of trade integration. The results suggest that the expected negative employment effects of outsourcing and rising import penetration have been overcompensated by increasing exports. Thus, the overall employment effects of Austrian trade integration have been positive for all educational attainment groups. However, whereas the total effects have been strongest for medium and high educated workers over the period 1995–2000, employment of low educated workers have been strongest and positively affected over the period 2000–2005. This pattern can be explained by a more sluggish export performance together with stronger negative effects of outsourcing and import penetration in medium and high-skill intensive products.
Enhancement of myocardial [fluorine-18]fluorodeoxyglucose uptake by a nicotinic acid derivative.

UNLABELLED Recently, the euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp technique was shown to give excellent image quality during metabolic steady-state conditions. Acipimox is a new potent nicotinic acid derivative that rapidly reduces serum free fatty acid (FFA) levels by inhibiting lipolysis in peripheral tissue. METHODS To compare the effects of acipimox administration and insulin clamp on [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) uptake and myocardial glucose utilization, five nondiabetic and seven type II diabetic patients who had had previous myocardial infarctions were studied twice: once during a clamp study and once after the administration of acipimox (2 x 250 mg orally). All patients also underwent resting SPECT perfusion imaging prior to PET scans. RESULTS The patients tolerated acipimox well. Although fasting plasma glucose levels were higher in diabetic patients (9.2 +/- 3.4 versus 5.5 +/- 0.3 mM, p = 0.03), they were decreased both during clamping and after acipimox; during imaging, no significant differences between the groups and approaches were detected. By visual analysis, the image quality and myocardial [18F]FDG uptake patterns were similar during clamping and after acipimox. Compared with the relative [18F]FDG uptake values obtained during clamping, acipimox yielded similar results in normal, mismatch and scar segments (r = 0.88, p = 0.0001). Similar rMGU values were also obtained during both approaches. CONCLUSION Thus, PET imaging with [18F]FDG after the administration of acipimox is a simple and feasible method for clinical viability studies both in nondiabetic and diabetic patients. It results in excellent image quality and gives rMGU levels similar to the insulin clamp technique.
Comparative anatomy of intervessel pits in two mangrove species growing along a natural salinity gradient in Gazi bay, Kenya.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS According to the air-seeding hypothesis, embolism vulnerability in xylem elements is linked directly to bordered pit structure and functioning. To elucidate the adaptive potential of intervessel pits towards fluctuating environmental conditions, two mangrove species with a distinct ecological distribution growing along a natural salinity gradient were investigated. METHODS Scanning and transmission electron microscopic observations were conducted to obtain qualitative and quantitative characteristics of alternate intervessel pits in A. marina and scalariform intervessel pits in Rhizophora mucronata. Wood samples from three to six trees were collected at seven and five sites for A. marina and R. mucronata, respectively, with considerable differences between sites in soil water salinity. KEY RESULTS Vestured pits without visible pores in the pit membrane were observed in A. marina, the mangrove species with the widest geographical distribution on global as well as local scale. Their thick pit membranes (on average 370 nm) and minute pit apertures may contribute to reduced vulnerability to cavitation of this highly salt-tolerant species. The smaller ecological distribution of R. mucronata was in accordance with wide pit apertures and a slightly higher pitfield fraction (67 % vs. 60 % in A. marina). Nonetheless, its outer pit apertures were observed to be funnel-shaped shielding non-porous pit membranes. No trends in intervessel pit size were observed with increasing soil water salinity of the site. CONCLUSIONS The contrasting ecological distribution of two mangrove species was reflected in the geometry and pit membrane characteristics of their intervessel pits. Within species, intervessel pit size seemed to be independent of spatial variations in environmental conditions and was only weakly correlated with vessel diameter. Further research on pit formation and function has to clarify the large variations in intervessel pit size within trees and even within single vessels.
Do Markets Like Frozen Defined Benefit Pensions? An Event Study

An increasing number of North American companies are freezing or terminating their traditional defined benefit (DB) pension plans. In this article we document a positive announcement effect when a publicly traded company discloses that it has partially or fully frozen its DB plan and replaced it with-or enhanced-the 401(k) defined contribution (DC) plan. This positive risk-adjusted return is greater for firms with higher beta and/or lower return on equity (ROE) prior to the freeze. In other words the positive impact is more pronounced for firms that are likely to face financial distress if they maintain their traditional pension plan and the associated long-term promises. Copyright (c) The Journal of Risk and Insurance, 2010.
The association between audit fees and reported earnings quality in pre‐ and post‐Sarbanes‐Oxley regimes

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the empirical association between expected and unexpected audit fees and reported earnings quality for a sample of Big 4(5) client companies over a period from 2000 to 2005. Design/methodology/approach - The paper employs a cross-sectional multiple regression model for a sample of 1,142 firms (6,852 firm-years) covering a time period of six years comprising 2000 to 2005 to evaluate the relationship between both expected and unexpected audit fees and performance-adjusted discretionary accruals that are estimated from the extended version of the modified Jones model. Findings - The paper finds that both expected and unexpected audit fees are associated with an increase in earnings quality, as indicated by the reduction of both absolute and signed discretionary accrual adjustments. Furthermore, in some analyses these associations are found to persist into the post-Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) period. The main results hold in sensitivity tests that involve using both the absolute and signed unexpected audit fees as independent variables and in tests that use both the absolute and signed current accruals as dependent variables of interest. Research limitations/implications - The results suggest that audit efforts consistent with client-specific business attributes and reflected in expected audit fees mitigate financial reporting biases, the effect of which is incrementally observable to some extent in the post-SOX period as well. Unexpected audit fees, a proxy for fee surprise arising out of auditor-client-specific contractual situations, are also associated with an increase in earnings quality. The association is, in some analyses, significant for the post-SOX years. The test results do not exhibit any evidence of auditor independence problems associated with high expected and unexpected audit fees; a result that supports the “reputation protection” argument for auditors' reporting decisions. Originality/value - In a time period surrounding the introduction of SOX when nonaudit consulting services have severely been restricted, and the audit fee growth for publicly traded companies have been dramatic, an analysis of this nature potentially produces valuable insights into the auditors' fee decision, audit efforts, and auditor independence issue. The study looks into a new perspective concerning the relationship between audit fees and financial reporting practice over the two regulatory regimes, pre- and post-SOX.