Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
(Not) Exercising Discretion: Environmental Planning and the Politics of Blame-Avoidance

This paper uses Lipsky's classic formulation of “street-level bureaucracy” to explore the exercise of discretion by local policy practitioners in relation to a contaminated site in England. The policy literature generally assumes that practitioners seek to expand their discretion because this allows them to shape policy responses through the application of initiative and judgement. However, discretion is linked both to the degree of organisational and task complexity and to the level of uncertainty involved with making and implementing policy decisions. Such uncertainty affects practitioners’ behaviour. They may develop rules to manage uncertainty, thereby tempering discretion. And where policy options offer little prospect for claiming credit and ample opportunity for being subject to blame, policy implementers often adopt a cautious approach to decisions or avoid taking them. The paper illustrates how practitioners use non-decision-making tactics—such as diversion of responsibility and bureaucratic inertia—to minimise the potential for blame. This offers an extended interpretation of the uses of discretion by street-level bureaucrats.
India&Apos;S Experience with Capital Flows: The Elusive Quest for a Sustainable Current Account Deficit

From the early 1990s onwards, India has engaged in policies involving trade liberalisation, strong controls on debt flows, and encouragement for portfolio flows and FDI, under a pegged exchange rate regime. Domestic institutional factors have led to relatively little FDI and substantial portfolio flows. There has been significant tension between capital flows and the currency regime. Many tactical details of the intricate reforms to the capital controls derive from the interlocking relationships between monetary policy, the currency regime and capital flows. In the recent period, pegging has given a capital outflow through reserves accumulation which was larger than the substantial net private capital inflows. In March 2004, difficulties of pegging appear to have led to a near-tripling of the nominal rupee-dollar returns volatility, which has reduced outward capital flows. The goal of the early 1990s - of finding a consistent way to augment investment using current account deficits - has remained elusive.
Monitoring Heparin Therapy by the Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time - The Effect of Pre-Analytical Conditions

Summary Blood and plasma specimens from patients receiving heparin were collected and stored under various conditions. The effect of these conditions on the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) was assessed. Four APTT reagents were used. Blood samples centrifuged at 600 × g gave slightly shorter APTTs than samples centrifuged at 940 × g and 2200 × g. Storage of uncentrifuged citrated-blood at room temperature resulted in 15-29% shortening of the APTT, depending on the reagent used. Storage of the same blood samples at 4° C resulted in 6-19% lengthening of the APTT. The presence of HEPES-buffer in citrated-blood shortened the APTT of heparinized patient specimens, but not of normal specimens. When blood was collected in a mixture of citric acid, theophylline, adenosine and dipyridamole (CTAD-mix-ture), storage at room temperature induced 0-11% decrease of the APTT, depending on the reagent used. Storage of CTAD-blood at 4° C resulted in 7-19% lengthening of the APTT. Shortening of the APTT could be explained by release of platelet factor 4 (PF4). Release of PF4 could be inhibited by CTAD-mixture. These data suggest that storage of CTAD-blood at room temperature is the best pre-analytical condition for reliable monitoring of heparin therapy by the APTT.
The importance of relational capital in service industry: the case of the Spanish banking sector

This paper is structured into three basic sections. The first section proposes a conceptual framework to analyse the importance of strategic knowledge-based resources for the achievement of a sustained competitive advantage. In particular, the components of intellectual capital (human capital, relational capital and structural capital) are described as well as their importance for organisational performance in the current competitive environment. The second section is focussed on a particular type of knowledge â€“ the relational capital â€“ that is, institutionalised knowledge in the form of business connections with customers, suppliers, shareholders, alliance partners and other agents. This section studies the map of different types of organisational relational capital of companies: idiosyncratic, core, ancillary and compulsory. Section three shows the results of a case study done in pioneer service firms in Spain regarding knowledge measuring and reporting. It analyses the main indicators used for quantifying knowledge embedded in the firm's relations with customers, suppliers, stakeholders and other agents. Finally, the last section explores the main results and implications for knowledge management drawn from this paper.
The Neoclassical Maximization Hypothesis: Comment

In a recent paper in this Review, Lawrence Boland argues it is "futile" to criticize the neoclassical maximization hypothesis. His argument is summarized as follows. 1) "There are only two types of criticism of any behavioral hypothesis once one has established its logical validity. One can argue against the possibility of the hypothesized behavior or one can argue against the empirical truth of the premise of the hypothesis" (p. 1031). Boland hopes to show that neither of the two forms of criticism works against the maximization hypothesis. 2) One cannot prove the logical impossibility of the maximization hypothesis. Attempts to do so fail for one of two reasons: either one must assume that inductive proofs are necessary for true knowledge, or one must assume that true knowledge is necessary for maximization (see pp. 1032-33). Boland argues that neither assumption can be maintained. 3) Regarding empirical criticism, "The methodological problems of empirical refutations of economic theories are widely accepted" (p. 1033). 4) Even were this not true, the logical form of the maximization hypothesis (an "all-and-some statement") makes it neither verifiable nor refutable. " [E]ven if one could prove that a consumer is not maximizing utility. this would not constitute a refutation of the neoclassical hypothesis" (p. 1034), because one can always claim that the consumer was maximizing something, that is, something other than utility. 5) Finally, this does not imply that the hypothesis is necessarily a tautology. The hypothesis is best considered an untestable "metaphysical statement" which is an essential component of the neoclassical research program. Points 3 and 5 above attributed to Boland are acceptable as stated. They are related points: the empirical problems mentioned in point 3 are sufficient to establish the untestability of the maximization hypothesis, which supports the conclusion in point 5. The purpose of this comment is to criticize points 1, 2, and 4. Specifically, it is shown that though there are only two forms of logically compelling criticism, many other forms of criticism that are useful exist; and that given a broader interpretation of the term criticism, Boland's remarks about proofs of logical impossibility, though correct, miss the point of what critics of the maximization hypothesis tried to do. An alternative to Boland's characterization of the maximization hypothesis as an all-and-some statement, one more consistent with well-known developments in philosophy of science, is also presented. In the final section, it is shown that Boland's approach of necessity neglects some widely known and relevant developments in the methodological literature.
The Swedish Experience of an Inflation Target

The paper gives a brief account of the Swedish experience of an inflation target in a floating exchange rate regime; identifies, documents and discusses the current problems in Swedish monetary policy and their origins; considers what can be done to remedy the problems; and draws some general conclusions. The two main current problems are the lack of credibility of the target and the significant risk that the target will be missed. The reasons for the lack of credibility include the fiscal situation, the institutional setup of monetary policy, the political division about monetary policy, and the insufficient transparency of and commitment to the current inflation- targeting policy.
Should We Abolish Chapter 11? The Evidence from Japan

OPTIMIZING reorganization proceedings for small and midsized businesses is an important issue in every industrial country. But little information exists about the actual operation of such proceedings. Recent U.S. bankruptcy studies focus either on consumer bankruptcies' or on large Chapter 11 cases involving publicly listed firms.2 This article presents the results of a comprehensive empirical study of Japan's most frequently used business bankruptcy reorganization provision. Small and midsized reorganizations have become important for several reasons. First, unlike large firms,3 the vast majority of small businesses fail to obtain confirmation of a Chapter 11 plan and end up in liquidation,4
Is There Compelling Evidence against Increasing Returns to Matching in the Labour Market

Matching models of the labour market have been of particular interest in macroeconomics where the notion of 'thick-market' externalities can lead to multiple equilibria. This has led to some recent interest in constructing empirical estimates of labor-market matching functions. This paper argues that existing estimates do not provide compelling evidence against the hypothesis of increasing returns in matching. The assumption made in several studies, that the relevant pool of job searchers is proportional to the stock of unemployment, is a potentially important source of downward bias in returns-to-scale estimates. We show the source of this bias theoretically and illustrate its magnitude by estimating Canadian aggregate and regional labour-market matching functions over the period 1978-88. This evidence suggests significant increasing returns to labor-market matching.
[Expression of urotensinII in human coronary artery and coronary atherosclerosis].

OBJECTIVE To assess the expression intensity of urotensinII (UII) in normal and atheromatous human coronary artery and explore its significance in coronary atherosclerosis. METHODS Specimens of coronary arteries were obtained from 5 normal subjects and the expression of human UII in the specimens was detected by immunohistochemical method. RESULTS UII expression was found in the endothelial cells (ECs), foam cells (FCs), inflammatory cells (ICs) and intima smooth muscle cells (ISMs) of human coronary artery. Even in the normal coronary artery, UII expression could be detected immunohistochemically in the ECs, which, however, was characterized by higher UII expression levels in fatty streak lesions but by almost normal levels in fibrous and atheromatous plaque in the coronary artery. Enhanced UII expression was observed in FCs and ICs when fibrous plaque and atheromatous plaque developed in comparison with that in fatty streak lesions. The ISMs in all the lesions had mild UII immunoreactivity, but as the atherosclerosis exacerbated, the immunoreactivity tended to intensify. CONCLUSION Human UII may regulate the functions of ECs, FCs, ICs and ISMs in the development and progression of coronary atherosclerosis.
An experimental system enabling WBAN data delivery via satellite communication links

We describe an experimental system that combines a wireless body area network (WBAN) with satellite communication links to enable remote medical treatment and healthcare services. One main advantage of WBAN is that it enables automatic biosignal collection in real time which is essential in medical treatment and healthcare vigilance. The WBAN is implemented using ultra-wideband technology. Multi-hop mechanism is adopted to guarantee reliable connection. In case of less of medical resources such as in emergency, in rural or isolated areas, the system can send the corresponding biosignal to a remote hospital in real time to help patient management by introducing satellite communication links. In this paper, the whole experimental system is illustrated. Some basic experiments are carried out. It is confirmed that the multi-hop mechanism of WBAN works well and the relative delay of WBAN data delivery via satellite links is dependent on the satellite link capacity.
Sudden Deafness: Is It Viral?

A number of theories have been proposed to explain the etiopathogenesis of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL), including viral infection, vascular occlusion, breaks of labyrinthine membranes, immune-mediated mechanisms and abnormal cellular stress responses within the cochlea. In the present paper, we provide a critical review of the viral hypothesis of ISSHL. The evidence reviewed includes published reports of epidemiological and serological studies, clinical observations and results of antiviral therapy, morphological and histopathological studies, as well as results of animal experiments. The published evidence does not satisfy the majority of the Henle-Koch postulates for viral causation of an infectious disease. Possible explanations as to why these postulates remain unfulfilled are reviewed, and future studies that may provide more insight are described. We also discuss other mechanisms that have been postulated to explain ISSHL. Our review indicates that vascular occlusion, labyrinthine membrane breaks and immune-mediated mechanisms are unlikely to be common causes of ISSHL. Finally, we review our recently proposed theory that abnormal cellular stress responses within the cochlea may be responsible for ISSHL.
Culture, creativity and experience in Nordic and Scandinavian cultural policy

The article examines the impact that the ‘creative industries’ discourse which originated in the UK has had in the Scandinavian and Nordic countries. It is argued that the diversity of the region and the various national policy contexts make it hard to identify any one legacy. The discourse does, however, fit neatly into wider discourses within economic and regional planning that emphasise the roles of cultural and creative activities in industrial transformation and the knowledge economy. It is suggested that despite difficulties defining both ‘creative industries’ and ‘Scandinavia’ there is a role for cross‐border policies aimed at supporting commercial actors through the exploitation of regional economies of scale and scope.
A Note on the Behavior of Stock Returns around Ex‐Dates of Stock Distributions

stock returns after the ex-split date is significantly higher than the presplit volatility. The increase in the standard deviation of daily returns is of the order of twenty-eight to thirty-five percent and persists for as long as a full year after the ex-date. ' Even more interesting is their finding that there is no (permanent) change in the variance of returns at the announcement date. They investigate several potential explanations for this "aberration" but are unable to find a satisfactory answer. Grinblatt, Masulis, and Titman [6] (henceforth GMT) examine the behavior of expected returns around announcement dates and exdates for stock distributions exceeding ten percent. Classifying stock distributions as either stock dividends (split factors of twenty-five percent or less) or stock splits, they conclude that return behavior differs across these two types of distributions, with stock dividends exhibiting larger abnormal returns than splits. This is interpreted by them as evidence in favor of the "retained earnings hypothesis": the dissimilar accounting treatment of these two types of stock distributions affects retained earnings in different ways, and hence splits are not simply large stock dividends. This paper extends the work of OP to all types of stock distributions. In Section I, postsplit variance is shown to be different from the presplit variance for small stock splits and stock dividends. While small splits display an increase in volatility like large splits, stock dividends are associated with a decrease in the volatility of returns. This evidence also supports GMT's conclusions that stock splits and stock dividends are "different" types of events. Section II investigates the volatility of returns for reverse splits and demonstrates that postsplit volatility decreases for these events. This evidence is complementary to Woolridge and Chambers' [9] findings that reverse splits are also associated with negative abnormal returns at their announcement and ex-dates. Section III concludes the paper.
Uma Análise Crítico-Epistemológica da Produção Científica em Contabilidade no Brasil

Embora ainda em pequeno numero, os estudos que focam a producao cientifica em Contabilidade no Brasil tem sido mais frequentes nos ultimos anos. Os trabalhos encontrados sao, em regra, orientados pela bibliometria, que consiste na avaliacao quantitativa de artigos, relatorios cientificos etc. Dentro dessa perspectiva, destacam-se o trabalho pioneiro realizado por Riccio et. al. (1999) e os estudos desenvolvidos por Frezatti e Borba (2000); Oliveira (2001); Mendonca Neto et. al. (2004) e Cardoso et. al. (2004). No âmbito internacional, ressaltam-se os estudos bibliometricos de Bricker (1989); Chung et. al. (1992); Zeff (1996) e Shields (1997). O presente estudo foca a producao cientifica em Contabilidade no Brasil sob uma otica ainda menos explorada: a da Epistemologia. Um primeiro trabalho nesse sentido foi realizado por Theophilo (2000). Estudos dessa natureza sao encontrados em outras areas do conhecimento – como o de Gamboa (1987), voltado a analise da producao cientifica em Educacao; e o de Martins (1994), da area de Administracao – estudos aqui utilizados como referencial epistemologico. Em nivel internacional, dentre os estudos com enfase mais proxima da epistemologica, ressaltam-se os realizados por Keating (1995); Feliu e Palanca (2000); Baxter e Chua (2003).
Quarterly return patterns in the Spanish stock market

In this article, we analyse the potential quarterly anomalies of Spanish stock returns. We extend previous studies by analysing the daily Cumulative Abnormal Return (CAR) in the first trading days of a quarter to better understand the behaviour of stocks. Our results show no clear stock return anomalies during the first three quarters of the year that is consistent with the existing literature. Nevertheless, the results provide evidence of a significant anomaly for the last quarter, especially for loser small-cap stocks. This turn-of-the-year effect is stronger in bear market years than in bull market years. The daily return analysis for January shows that the main CAR is reached in the first trading days of the year and that the current personal income tax law in Spain has prolonged the duration of the January effect.
Private Profits and Public Health: Does Advertising of Smoking Cessation Products Encourage Smokers to Quit?

We study the impact of smoking cessation product advertising. To measure potential exposure, we link survey data on magazine‐reading habits and smoking behavior with an archive of print advertisements. We find that smokers who are exposed to more advertising are more likely to attempt to quit and to successfully quit. While some increased quitting involves product purchases, we find that product advertisements also prompt cold turkey quitting. Identifying the causal impact of advertising is difficult because advertisers target consumers. Although reverse causality could bias our estimates upward, our baseline results are not sensitive to a series of checks.
The Use of Written Exams in Police and Fire Departments

This exploratory analysis seeks to determine the extent to which written exams are required by law for police and firefighters across the United States and whether, in fact, they are being used. The continued use of written exams has served as a major obstacle to the attainment of social equity based on race in these uniformed services. The study also explores the use and importance of nonconventional testing methods (e.g., assessment centers). The study finds that while civil service laws in most jurisdictions do not require the use of written exams, police and fire departments continue to rely on them in hiring and/or promotion. It further shows that nonconventional methods are used in some capacity, but written exams either supplement these methods or are integrated into them.
High Oil Prices: Implications and Prospects

The sharp rise in the real price of oil has taken it up to or above the levels seen after the second oil crisis of the late 1970s (depending on the currency considered) and has been, to say the least, somewhat disruptive to a world which had anticipated relatively cheap oil, probably for the indefinite future. At the very least, it is hard to imagine that some major consuming countries would have saved as little as they did, had they given proper attention to oil's status as an exhaustible resource. In this commentary the current situation is viewed from that perspective. The short-term impact of high oil prices is discussed on pp. 34–8.
Effects of Synchronization during Noninvasive Intermittent Mandatory Ventilation in Preterm Infants with Respiratory Distress Syndrome Immediately after Extubation

Background: Noninvasive ventilation is increasingly used in very-low-birth-weight infants (VLBWI) to reduce complications that occur with invasive ventilation. However, the physiological effects of synchronization during noninvasive nasal intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV) have not been tested in VLBWI immediately after extubation. Objective: We aimed to study the short-term effects of synchronized nasal IMV (S-NIMV) compared to nonsynchronized nasal IMV (NIMV) on breathing effort as measured by phasic esophageal pressure (Pe) deflection, spontaneous respiratory rate (RR), gas exchange, cerebral tissue oxygen saturation (StO2) and intermittent episodes of bradycardia or hypoxemia in VLBWI recovering from respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Methods: Fourteen VLBWI recovering from RDS were studied using a randomized cross-over design during both S-NIMV and NIMV (of 2 h each) immediately after extubation. Results: Phasic Pe deflection, spontaneous RR and transcutaneous PCO2 decreased significantly while transcutaneous PO2 and synchrony rate (defined as peak ventilator pressure delivered within the first half of spontaneous inspiration) increased significantly during S-NIMV compared to during NIMV. There was no difference in blood pressure, average arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2), cerebral StO2, fractional tissue oxygen extraction of the brain and severe bradycardia (defined as time with a heart rate <100 beats/min lasting ≥10 s) and in hypoxemic episodes (SpO2 <80%) between the two modes. Conclusion: Synchronization during nasal ventilation immediately after extubation in VLBWI recovering from RDS improved gas exchange and decreased the respiratory effort, and it could therefore be considered to provide a more efficient respiratory support and synchrony.
Using education indexes to map research trends

This paper primarily examines the potential of the Australian Education Index (AEI) as a tool to map and monitor educational research. The authors provide a range of analyses that identify the thrust of research publications in Australia between 1984 and 1997. Key findings pertain to differences in the thrust of theses compared to other publications and to the overall stability in the pattern of research at the global or macro level. The authors also identify the strengths and weaknesses of the AEI with respect to its immediate use in monitoring research trends.