Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Explaining business groups started by habitual entrepreneurs in the Italian manufacturing sector

The technical (plant) and legal (company) units normally used in official statistics do not take into consideration the phenomenon of business groups: i.e. sets of companies controlled by the same entrepreneur. The main aims of this paper are to assess the presence of such groups in the Italian small firm manufacturing sector and to examine the causes of their formation. Two data sets are used: the first is a representative sample of Italian manufacturing firms while the second is a small sample of groups localized in the Region of the Marches. They show that groups are widely present among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Starting from the premise that the group is the result of the expansion of activities controlled by the same entrepreneur, this paper reports a first attempt to discriminate among three alternative propositions regarding the causes of such growth and the reasons for the adoption of the group form: (1) as the result of the firm's growth policy; (2) as the result of entrepreneurial dynamics; and (3) as the result of the capital accumulation process on the part of the entrepreneur or his/her family. The empirical analysis on the whole favours the first hypothesis.
Adverse outcomes of planned and unplanned pregnancies among users of natural family planning: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to determine prospectively whether unplanned pregnancies are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes among users of natural family planning. METHODS Women who became pregnant while using natural family planning were identified in five centers worldwide: there were 373 unplanned and 367 planned pregnancies in this cohort. The subjects were followed up at 16 and 32 weeks' gestation and after delivery. The risks of spontaneous abortion, low birth-weight, and preterm birth were estimated after adjustment by logistic regression. RESULTS The women with unplanned pregnancies were more likely to be at the extremes of age, to report more medical problems before and during the index pregnancy, and to seek antenatal care later in gestation than the women with planned pregnancies. However, women with planned pregnancies reported a higher rate of spontaneous abortion in previous pregnancies (28.8%) than did women with unplanned pregnancies (12.9%). There were no significant differences in the rates of spontaneous abortion, low birthweight, or preterm birth between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS No increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes was observed among women who experienced an unplanned pregnancy while using natural family planning.
Political Marketing and Lobbying: A Neglected Perspective and Research Agenda

This article proposes that political marketing and lobbying have much to learn from each other. Both are essentially persuasive forms of communication; both have some basis in more general marketing theory; both involve exchanges, networks, and relationships. However, while much lobbying practice is underpinned or informed by (political) marketing theories, this connection is only rarely made explicit in the literature of either field. Most political marketing writing relates marketing solely to the arena of party political electoral competition, ignoring how it could be developed further into the area of interest groups generally and, more specifically, into an examination of how organizations attempt to influence public policy. This paper looks briefly at lobbying activities, such as grassroots lobbying and lobbying coalitions, and suggests how political marketing can extend its research focus to a wider range of lobbying practices. It seeks to identify the conceptual basis for the beginnings of a marketing perspective on lobbying. Lobbyists can learn from it how to put marketing principles to practice, and academics will gain an understanding of how this analysis can be applied and further developed.
Regional Economics and Policy

Regional income determination - multiplier models, input-output models regional growth disparities- neoclassical models export-led models of regional growth regional employment growth regional unemployment disparities interregional trade interregional migration the case for regional policy regional policy instruments indigenous development - small firms and technological progress regional policy in the EEC regional policy and devolution the evaluation of regional policy.
END-USER ORIENTED PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY

The European Union (EU) is reforming its public services and suggesting Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a solution for producing high quality and cost effective real estate service delivery. However, the use of PPP approach in real estate industries has been found to have significant constraints related to the end-users' (general public's) perspective. The purpose of the paper is to show how PPP projects have failed to produce desirable characteristics expressed in purchasing processes and fulfilment of the end-user expectations. While the customer-oriented development of public services and the needs of the end-users were noted to be crucial points in all five major Finnish PPP projects studied, the case studies pointed out a fundamental lack of understanding and maintaining the end-user perspective through the tendering and evaluation processes. Especially, in the final stage of evaluation, and evaluation criteria used to decision making, the disappearance of the end-users' perspective was evident. The findings are further used to develop a new suggested Public-Private-People Partnership (4P) model. The results can be useful to the public sector's purchasers and to the private sector's providers to understand the limitations of current PPP practices and to further develop their practices towards more customer-oriented service production.
Factors Associated With Sexual Quality of Life in Patients Before and After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery

Background:Successful rehabilitation of patients after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) should include psychosocial outcomes such as sexual activity. However, little has been reported regarding the sexual quality of life of patients after CABG. Objectives:This study aimed to investigate the associations of demographic and disease characteristics, psychosocial factors, and sexual quality of life in patients before and after CABG surgery. Methods:A longitudinal, descriptive design was used. A convenient sample of 70 patients with a diagnosis of coronary artery disease and under preparation for CABG surgery was recruited from the cardiovascular units of a medical center in central Taiwan. Participants were interviewed and completed a structured questionnaire before and 3 months after CABG surgery. Instruments used included EuroSCORE (European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation), Sexual Knowledge Scale, Spouse Communication Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Perceived health status, and Sexual Quality of Life Scale. Results:Sexual desire and sexual response of patients were significantly limited after CABG. Before surgery, age, disease duration, and spouse communication were all significant predictors, which explained 33.8% of the variance in the sexual quality-of-life scores. Significant predictors after surgery included sexual knowledge, disease duration, and EuroSCORE, which accounted for 25.6% of the variance of sexual quality of life. Conclusion:This study confirms that CABG surgery may have an impact on patients' sexual quality of life. With the numbers of CABG patients increasing, development of appropriate sexual counseling for cardiac patients is necessary to improve their sexual quality of life.
Trouble at the Top: The Construction of a Tenant Identity in the Governance of Social Housing Organizations

Abstract The project of citizen governance has transformed the social housing sector in England, where 20,000 tenants now sit as directors on the boards of housing associations, but the entrance of social housing tenants to the boardroom has aroused opposition from the chief executives of housing companies and triggered regulatory intervention from government inspectors. This paper investigates the cause of these tensions through a theoretical framework drawn from the work of feminist philosopher Judith Butler. It interprets housing governance as an identificatory project with the power to constitute tenant directors as regulated subjects, and presents evidence to suggest that this project of identity fails to completely enclose its subject, allowing tenant directors to engage in “identity work” that threatens the supposed unity of the board. The paper charts the development of antagonism and political tension in the boardrooms of housing companies to present an innovative account of the construction and contestation of identities in housing governance.
Large cholesterol polyps of the gallbladder: diagnosis by means of US and endoscopic US.

PURPOSE To identify ultrasonographic (US) features of large cholesterol polyps (> 10 mm in diameter) of the gallbladder in the differential diagnosis of polypoid lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sixty-seven patients underwent US (n = 67) and endoscopic US (n = 33). Fourteen patients had large cholesterol polyps. Findings in these patients were compared with those in patients with small cholesterol polyps (< or = 10 mm in diameter; n = 34) or other polypoid lesions (n = 19). RESULTS US demonstrated the large cholesterol polyps as pedunculated masses with granular surfaces. In 94% of patients, all small cholesterol polyps were echogenic whereas the large cholesterol polyps tended to have decreased echogenicity. Endoscopic US showed complete or partial aggregation of echogenic spots in all cholesterol polyps-but not in other polypoid lesions, which included carcinomas. CONCLUSION Aggregation of echogenic spots seems to be a US feature characteristic of both large and small cholesterol polyps. Routine use of endoscopic US is recommended for differential diagnosis of polypoid lesions because of its high resolution.
Ambiguity and visual word recognition: can feedback explain both homophone and polysemy effects?

In a lexical-decision task (LDT), Hino and Lupker (1996) reported a polysemy effect (faster response times for polysemous words [e.g., BANK]), and attributed this effect to enhanced feedback from the semantic system to orthographic units, for polysemous words. Using the same task, Pexman, Lupker, and Jared (in review) reported a homophone effect (slower response times for homophonic words [e.g., MAID]) and attributed this effect to inconsistent feedback from the phonological system to orthographic units, for homophones. In the present paper we test two predictions derived from this feedback explanation: Polysemy and homophone effects should (a) co-occur in a standard LDT (with pseudoword foils) and (b) both be larger with pseudohomophones (e.g., BRANE) as foils in LDT. The results supported both predictions.
Community Benefits Agreements with Transit Agencies: Neighborhood Change Along Boston’s Rail Lines and a Legal Strategy for Addressing Gentrification

Residents of Greater Boston located along the proposed Green Line rail extension have expressed concerns about potential gentrification and the resulting displacement of low-income residents. To assess these concerns, we examine the effects of the earlier Red Line extension on neighborhood demographics and housing costs. Based on our conclusion that gentrification occurred following the extension of the Red Line, we propose a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) as a tool for mitigating these effects following expansion of the Green Line. We provide a short summary of CBAs in general and then outline the bargaining structure and major provision for our proposed CBA.
Economic Integration, Business Cycle, and Productivity in North America

This paper examines the effect of the major Canada-U.S. trade agreements on the dynamics of business cycles and productivity in Canada. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its predecessor, the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA), have led to a substantial expansion of trade flows. Although common factors have played a larger role in explaining business cycles in Canada and the United States since the early 1980s, country-specific and idiosyncratic factors remain important for Canada. At the same time, while increased trade integration seems to have positively contributed to total factor productivity of Canadian industries, the persistence of structural differences between the two countries has prevented convergence of aggregate labor productivity. While these findings seem to weigh against moving toward a monetary union, they also suggest that substantial benefits could be reaped from further reducing remaining barriers to trade.
Who Does a Currency Transaction Tax Harm More: Short-Term Speculators or Long-Term Investors?

Summary We propose a novel heterogeneous interacting agents model in which traders are allowed to select endogenously between two different forecasting models and are moreover allowed to be short-term speculators or long-term investors. Within this model framework we study the effects of currency transaction taxes on exchange rate volatility and traders’ behavior measured by their population fractions. The numerical analysis yields the result that these taxes reduce the variance of exchange rate returns, but increase that kurtosis.Moreover it does not lead to a reduction in the misalignment. The second result is, the tax harms short-term speculation in favor of long-term investments, while it also harms trading rules based on economic fundamentals in favor to trend-extrapolating trading rules. But these results are only valid if agents trade very aggressively. Otherwise taxation is not necessary.
A POLÍTICA MONETÁRIA BRASILEIRA TEM AUMENTADO SEU GRAU DE INÉRCIA? EVIDÊNCIAS A PARTIR DE UMA INVESTIGAÇÃO ECONOMÉTRICA

By adopting the approach of monetary policy rules, a review on theempirical literature for Brazil and an econometric investigation from Jan/2005to Jul/2012, this article obtain evidence suggesting an increasing of theinertial degree regarding Selic rate changes, in comparison with estimation ofprevious works. We argue that an excessive gradualism of the Brazilian monetarypolicy would reduce the inflation targeting regime’s efficiency as it wouldmake more difficult the observed inflation’s convergence to the announcedtarget
To Commit or Not to Commit: Revisiting Quantity vs. Price Competition in a Differentiated Industry

Previous studies have shown that quantity commitment by all firms in an industry mitigates price competition. This paper shows that when firms have a choice, asymmetric outcomes can arise, with some firms choosing to commit to a quantity and other firms choosing not to. To study the commitment decision, we analyze a multistage game within a duopoly of differentiated firms a la Hotelling. In the first stage of the game, firms choose whether or not to commit to a quantity. In the second stage, each firm that chose to commit sets a quantity, which represents an upper bound on how much it can sell to consumers. In the third stage, both firms set prices strategically, regardless of whether or not they committed. In the final stage, demand is allocated as consumers maximize their utilities. Firm(s) that chose not to commit to a quantity in the first stage can fulfill any quantity that consumers demand at the equilibrium prices. We find that if product differentiation is sufficiently low, both firms choose to co.
Human judgments in New York state sales and use tax forecasting

Human judgments have become quite important in revenue forecasting processes. This paper centres on human judgments in New York state sales and use tax by examining the actual practices of information integration. Based on the social judgment theory (i.e., the lens model), a judgment analysis exercise was designed and administered to a person from each agency (the Division of the Budget, Assembly Ways and Means Committee Majority and Minority, and the Senate Finance Committee) to understand how information integration is processed among different agencies. The results of the judgment analysis exercise indicated that revenue forecasters put different weight on cues. And, in terms of relative and subjective weights, the cues were used differently, although they were presented with the same information. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
PRICING AND HEDGING CONVERTIBLE BONDS: DELAYED CALLS AND UNCERTAIN VOLATILITY

Arbitrage-free price bounds for convertible bonds are obtained assuming equity-linked hazard rates, stochastic interest rates and different assumptions about default and recovery behavior. Uncertainty in volatility is modeled using a stochastic volatility process for the common stock that lies within a band but makes few other assumptions about volatility dynamics. A non-linear multi-factor reduced-form equity-linked default model leads to a set of non-linear partial differential complementarity equations that are governed by the volatility path. Empirical results focus on call notice period effects. Increasingly pessimistic values for the issuer's substitution asset obtain as we introduce more uncertainty during the notice period. Uncertain in volatility, in particular, appears to be an important determinant of the call premium that is so often observed in issuer's call policies.
Une intervention éducative dans une communauté appauvrie : pistes à explorer pour une gestion durable des ressources

Dans un contexte de crise environnementale qui affecte nos societes, il nous semble avant tout important d’eduquer la population a une nouvelle maniere de penser et d’agir, afin qu’elle se mue en decideurs capables de faire des choix eclaires face aux situations complexes auxquelles les societes sont de plus en plus confrontees. Le present article concerne une etude qui a ete realisee dans un souci d’identification des strategies d’intervention educative qui pourraient aider une communaute aux prises avec des problemes de securite alimentaire et de survie, de continuer a combler ses besoins tout en posant, en meme temps, des gestes de gestion durable de leurs ressources. La population ciblee est celle se trouvant dans un bassin versant d’un marais en dessechement, le marais de Rugezi au Rwanda.
Small High-Technology Firms and International High-Technology Markets

In this qualitative investigation, the authors report on the overseas expansion processes of technologically oriented U.K. small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The findings provide further challenges to the incremental approach to internationalization; also, the authors put forward criticisms in relation to policymakers’ current approach to categorizing internationalizing SMEs in the provision of trade assistance programs.
Viral Membrane Channels: Role and Function in the Virus Life Cycle

Viroporins are small, hydrophobic trans-membrane viral proteins that oligomerize to form hydrophilic pores in the host cell membranes. These proteins are crucial for the pathogenicity and replication of viruses as they aid in various stages of the viral life cycle, from genome uncoating to viral release. In addition, the ion channel activity of viroporin causes disruption in the cellular ion homeostasis, in particular the calcium ion. Fluctuation in the calcium level triggers the activation of the host defensive programmed cell death pathways as well as the inflammasome, which in turn are being subverted for the viruses’ replication benefits. This review article summarizes recent developments in the functional investigation of viroporins from various viruses and their contributions to viral replication and virulence.
Realistic expectations: accounting for young people's progress in training programmes

Purpose – This paper aims to communicate the challenges and tensions faced by front‐line workers in negotiating the demands of performance targets and those of the young people they work with.Design/methodology/approach – An in‐depth study, over a two‐year period, of a number of training programmes combining participant observation and qualitative directed data collection.Findings – Workers need to be sensitive to young people's previous educational experiences and social context while encouraging participation in education‐based work. Personal problems had to be addressed if progress towards the target of education, employment or training was to be achieved. Effective programmes rely on the front‐line workers but systems of accountability do not recognise the breadth of this work in handling the wider personal situations of young people. The role of training programmes needs to be better understood within this wider socio‐economic context.Research limitations/implications – The study is of a small number.
Localization of HRG4, a photoreceptor protein homologous to Unc-119, in ribbon synapse.

PURPOSE To characterize further HRG4, a novel photoreceptor protein recently identified by subtractive cDNA cloning, by sequence analysis and immunolocalization. METHODS The rat homolog of HRG4, RRG4 was expressed and used to prepare an antibody. The antibody was used in Western blot analysis, and immunofluorescent localization at the light and electron microscopic levels of HRG4-RRG4 protein. The HRG4-RRG4 sequence was also analyzed for homologies. RESULTS HRG4-RRG4 showed 57% homology with unc-119, a Caenorhabditis elegans neuroprotein causing defects in locomotion, feeding, and chemosensation when mutated. By Western blot analysis, the HRG4-RRG4 protein was demonstrable only in retina and was soluble in nature. Immunofluorescence microscopic study of human and rat retinas, using the HRG4-RRG4 antibody, and other rod and cone photoreceptor-specific antibodies showed that the HRG4-RRG4 protein is localized in the outer plexiform layer of the retina in the synaptic termini of rod and cone photoreceptors. Electron microscopic immunolocalization showed the protein in the cytoplasm and on the presynaptic membranes of the photoreceptor synapses. CONCLUSIONS The homology to unc-119 and localization to the photoreceptor synapse are suggestive of a function for HRG4-RRG4 in photoreceptor neurotransmission. HRG4 is the first photoreceptor-enriched synaptic protein to be reported, suggesting that its function may be unique to the specialized ribbon synapses formed between photoreceptors and the horizontal and bipolar cells of the retina.