Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Country stakes in climate change negotiations: two dimensions of vulnerability

Future global agreements on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are likely to include developing countries and industrialized countries that are not part of the Kyoto Protocol. An assessment using a comprehensive geo-referenced database of indicators relating to global change and energy provides insight into countries' likely attitudes and positions with respect to international treaties regulating carbon emissions. A distinction is made between source vulnerabilities (access to fossil fuels and renewable energy sources, options for GHG sequestration, the potential size of employment and income shocks) and impact vulnerabilities (changes in agricultural productivity, weather events and sea-level rise). This differential vulnerability is used to identify clear differences that determine likely negotiating positions. This helps us to understand the incentives required to make the establishment of such agreements more likely. Countries with high impact vulnerability and low source vulnerability should be the most inclined to support greenhouse gas emissions limits. Conversely, countries with high source vulnerability and low impact vulnerability should be most resistant to such limits. Additionally, a successful transition to clean energy sources will require transition support for countries with high source vulnerability and adaptation support for countries with high impact vulnerability.
Asymmetry of Achilles tendon mechanical and morphological properties between both legs

Although symmetry of Achilles tendon (AT) properties between legs is commonly assumed in research and clinical settings, different loading profiles of both legs in daily life (i.e., foot dominance) may affect the tendon properties in a side‐depended manner. Therefore, AT properties were examined with regard to symmetry between legs. Thirty‐six male healthy adults (28 ± 4 years), who were physically active but not involved in sports featuring dissimilar leg load participated. Mechanical and morphological AT properties of the non‐dominant and dominant leg were measured by means of ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging and dynamometry. The AT of the dominant leg featured a significant higher Young's modulus and length (P < 0.05) but a tendency toward lower maximum strain (P = 0.068) compared with the non‐dominant leg. The tendon cross‐sectional area and stiffness were not significantly different between sides. The absolute asymmetry index of the investigated parameters ranged from 3% to 31% indicating poor AT side symmetry. These findings provide evidence of distinct differences of AT properties between both legs in a population without any sport‐specific side‐depended leg loading. The observed asymmetry may be a result of different loading profiles of both legs during daily activities (i.e., foot dominance) and challenges the general assumption of symmetrical AT properties between legs.
An Agency Theory Analysis of Information Technology Project Success

Agency theory offers a potential explanation for the low success rate of information technology (IT) projects. The theory suggests that appropriate monitoring and the use of incentives and rewards increases the likelihood of project success. A survey instrument was developed from previously used items and new items developed from structured interviews. Four hundred thirty project managers completed a Web-based survey. After analysis for reliability and validity, the data were used to test eight hypotheses related to IT project success. The study contributes to the understanding of IT project management by showing that contract type, monitoring, goal conflict, shirking, and privately-held information are multi-dimensional constructs and provides instruments for their measurement. It validates existing instruments for measuring task programmability and project success. It suggests that more outcome-based contracts, more monitoring, less shirking, and less misrepresentation of privately-held information lead to project success. Finally, it contradicts expectations that more goal conflict and more task programmability lead to more outcome-based contracts and that more outcome-based contracts lead to less monitoring.
Model analysis of a declining coastal tourist resort: the case of Avinguda Carles Buigas in Salou, Costa Dorada: opportunities for regeneration

Salou is a highly specialized tourist resort on the Spanish Mediterranean Coast, located a hundred kilometres south of Barcelona. Within its narrow boundaries of 1.481 ha, Salou hosts 7.4 million overnight stays per year and is home to 52 hotels. Our case study, the area of Avinguda Carles Buigas (CB), which is today the heart of the tourism and leisure industry in the municipality of Salou, was developed during the sixties and seventies as a result of the increasing demand for sun and beach destinations among the European and Spanish middle class. Its hotel density is significant, accounting for 28 out of the total of 52 in the town. Forty years on, the site requires some review due to evidence of urban degradation. Initial analysis has focused on three areas: common space, hotel facilities, and commercial and leisure activities. The results have shown a lack of public and private investment within the area, and a risk of obsolescence of the urban and tourism model. The hotel facilities have not been redeveloped or renovated since their initial development, other than essential maintenance work. Moreover, commercial activities have grown out of control as a result of an increasing demand for specialized leisure and night activities.
The study of Transformerless Shunt Hybrid Active Power Filter compensation for unbalanced load

This paper studies on the compensation characteristics of Transformerless Shunt Hybrid Active Power Filter (TLS-HAPF) under unbalanced load conditions. TLS-HAPF is formed by a single-tuned passive LC filters in series with active filter without transformer. This topology has the advantage of low capacitor voltage and can compensate for high capacity nonlinear loads. With the widespread application of unbalanced loads, this paper proposes a control strategy for APF that extracts fundamental negative sequence current, which makes this topology achieve the compensation for unbalanced load. Simulation results performed in MATLAB verified the validity of the new approach.
Overconfidence and Diversification

Experimental evidence suggests that people tend to be overconfident in the sense that they overestimate the accuracy of their private information. In this paper, we show that risk-averse principals might prefer overconfident agents in various strategic interactions because these agents help diversify the aggregate risk. This may help understanding why successful analysts and entrepreneurs tend to be overconfident. In addition, a different interpretation of the model presents a novel evolutionary foundation for overconfidence, and explains various stylized facts about this bias.
Promoting Female Empowerment and Human Development through Microcredit: Field Study with NGOs in Peru

This paper discusses the use of microcredit as a poverty alleviation strategy that may simultaneously be used to promote women’s empowerment. The study is based on social anthropological fieldwork conducted in cooperation with microfinance NGOs in marginalized settings in Peru. The data points to the benefits of NGOs management of microcredit programs, in comparison to traditional bank’s microcredit provision, in their personalized interaction with poor customers, giving them support with social issues outside the economic framework. Ultimately, those female microcredit customers that succeed in the program have increased their incomes and improved their individual capabilities or agency, enhancing their own empowerment.
Analysis of active‐site amino‐acid residues of human serum paraoxonase using competitive substrates

Serum paraoxonase (PON1) is a calcium‐dependent six‐fold β‐propeller protein structurally similar to the di‐isopropylfluorophosphatase (DFPase) found in the squid Loligo vulgaris. Human serum paraoxonase (HuPON1) has been shown to hydrolyze an array of substrates even though relatively little is known about its physiological role(s) or its catalytic mechanism. Through site‐directed mutagenesis studies, designed from a DFPase‐like homology model, and from a crystal structure of a hybrid PON1 molecule, amino‐acid residues essential for enzyme function, including H115 and F222, have been identified. It was shown previously that, when H115 is replaced with tryptophan, the resulting enzyme hydrolyzes paraoxon but not phenyl acetate. This study shows that, when present simultaneously, phenyl acetate competitively inhibits paraoxon hydrolysis by H115W. Conversely, when F222 is replaced with tyrosine, mutant F222Y can hydrolyze phenyl acetate but not paraoxon. The presence of DFP, an inhibitor of both arylesterase and paraoxonase activities of wild‐type HuPON1 (mean Ki = 0.48 ± 0.15 mm), has no effect on the ability of F222Y to catalyze the hydrolysis of phenyl acetate, suggesting that the F222Y mutant is unable to bind DFP. Together, the results suggest that, in wild‐type HuPON1, H115 and F222 are important in determining substrate binding and specificity, but are not likely to be directly involved in substrate hydrolysis.
Granuloma annulare treated with excimer laser.

OBJECTIVE To review the current therapy for granuloma annulare and report a case of refractory generalized granuloma annulare successfully treated with excimer laser. A discussion about the characteristics of excimer laser and the mechanism of its effectiveness is presented. DESIGN Patient case report and literature review. SETTING Outpatient dermatology practice. PARTICIPANTS A 73-year-old woman suffering from generalized granuloma annulare for more than 40 years. MEASUREMENTS Change in clinical appearance of lesions. RESULTS Use of excimer laser therapy resulted in prompt and complete resolution in treated areas with no residual skin changes or side effects. CONCLUSION Excimer laser therapy is a powerful treatment modality with minimal side effects for patients with granuloma annulare. Further study is necessary to elucidate optimal dosing, long-term efficacy, and safety profile.
Value of the progesterone test in screening for endometrial pathology in asymptomatic postmenopausal women receiving treatment with tamoxifen

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the value of the progesterone challenge test (PCT) in screening for the endometrial pathology of asymptomatic postmenopausal women receiving tamoxifen (TMX). Methods: A prospective and preliminary study was conducted on 89 postmenopausal women who had been receiving adjuvant treatment for breast cancer with TMX (20 mg/d) for at least 2 years and who had not presented with any episode of postmenopausal metrorrhagia. Transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS), PCT, diagnostic hysteroscopy, and sampling of histologic material were performed on all the women. The validity of the PCT was compared with that of TVUS in screening these women for endometrial pathology, using hysteroscopic biopsy as the gold standard for comparisons. Results: The study protocol was completed in 82 (92.13%) women. The PCT was negative in 69.5% and positive in 30.4% of the cases. The sensitivity of the PCT for detecting the absence of pathology (atrophic endometrium) in the women was 100% versus 91.6% for TVUS; the positive predictive value for endometrial pathology was 100% versus 85.7% for TVUS; and the negative predictive value for hyperplasic pathology was 100% versus 98.1% for TVUS. Conclusions: In asymptomatic postmenopausal women receiving TMX, the PCT presents high sensitivity (100% in our series) and high positive predictive value (100%) in the diagnosis of endometrial pathology and a high negative predictive value (100%) for hyperplasic pathology. Its predictive performance is superior even to that of TVUS. Therefore, although this a preliminary study, we consider that the inexpensive PCT could be an efficient method of screening in these women during or before initiation of TMX therapy.
On the Prospect of a Labour Shortage

The paper is motivated by concern expressed recently about the possibility of a 'labour shortage' in Canada in the I980's, and the implications of this for immigration policy. Consideration is given to the meaning of the term 'labour shortage. ' Prospective changes in the population and labour force are discussed and the effects of immigration on the labour force and the economy are given special attention. The implications of slower population growth for the rate of growth of the economy and the levels of national saving and investment are considered. Some welfare aspects of immigration are noted.
Implementing ‘Best Value’: Local Public Services in Transition

This paper examines the impacts of the ‘Best Value’ regime on the management of local public services in the UK. It argues that the regime marks an important shift in the framework of national regulation of local authorities and the services they provide but that the initiatives developed by the councils which have been piloting the new framework reflect a variety of approaches to local implementation. This suggests not the arrival of a new, hegemonic ‘outcomes-focused paradigm’ but a more gradual transition characterized by the co-existence and interaction of hierarchical, market based and collaborative frameworks for co-ordinating service delivery. The search for ‘citizen-centred’ services is likely to lead to a shift in the ‘mix of governing structures’ with an increasing number of services structured around ‘cross-cutting issues’, specific client groups or local communities. However, these more integrated approaches to local service delivery frequently require internal re-structuring as well as more effective collabor-ation with other local service providers and with local people. They may not therefore lead to immediate improvements in public services and will require local and central government to embrace new approaches to learning.
Towards a framework for operations management in e‐commerce

This paper identifies areas of distinctive competence in the operations function of e‐commerce companies. Exploratory case studies were conducted in five e‐commerce companies in Argentina. The distinctive competencies that emerged were divided into three sets referring to upstream, downstream, and structural areas and integrated into a framework of the general e‐commerce process. The findings suggest that operations‐based competitiveness in e‐commerce requires the development of a series of distinctive competencies, that those competencies are often related and mutually supportive, and that there is usually a linkage between distinctive competencies in e‐commerce operations and the business strategy.
Administration of Oxygen Before Tracheal Extubation Worsens Gas Exchange After General Anesthesia in a Pig Model

Administration of 100% oxygen before tracheal extubation is common clinical practice. We determined the effect of this technique on postoperative gas exchange in a porcine model using the multiple inert gas elimination technique. After general anesthesia with mechanical ventilation for a period of 30 min (inspiratory fraction of oxygen of 0.3), anesthesia was discontinued, and the pigs were randomized to an inspiratory fraction of oxygen of 0.3 or 1.0 until they could be safely extubated. Thirty minutes after extubation while breathing air, blood flow to poorly ventilated units had significantly increased in pigs that had been administered 100% oxygen as compared with those receiving 30% oxygen (17% ± 15% versus 7% ± 5%;P = 0.009). We conclude that exposure to 100% oxygen before extubation may cause an undesirable alteration in gas exchange.
The Case for Diminishing Marginal Existence Values

Abstract This study addresses the debate over sensitivity of existence values measured by contingent valuation to scope tests. We reconcile much of the debate within one theoretical model. If marginal WTP for existence goods is diminishing, then a study that tested for sensitivity to scope over a range for which marginal WTP is high would be more likely to detect sensitivity to scope than a study that focused on a range for which marginal WTP is much lower. An empirical model demonstrates this point for existence value of remote wilderness parks. These results have significant implications for future contingent valuation work.
The Stochastic Volatility of Short‐Term Interest Rates: Some International Evidence

This paper estimates a stochastic volatility model of short-term riskless interest rate dynamics. Estimated interest rate dynamics are broadly similar across a number of countries and reliable evidence of stochastic volatility is found throughout. In contrast to stock returns, interest rate volatility exhibits faster mean-reverting behavior and innovations in interest rate volatility are negligibly correlated with innovations in interest rates. The less persistent behavior of interest rate volatility reflects the fact that interest rate dynamics are impacted by transient economic shocks such as central bank announcements and other macroeconomic news. Copyright The American Finance Association 1999.
Cryptographic hash functions : cryptanalysis, design and applications

Cryptographic hash functions are an important tool in cryptography to achieve certain security goals such as authenticity, digital signatures, digital time stamping, and entity authentication. They are also strongly related to other important cryptographic tools such as block ciphers and pseudorandom functions. The standard and widely used hash functions such as MD5 and SHA-1 follow the design principle of Merkle-Damgard iterated hash function construction which was presented independently by Ivan Damgard and Ralph Merkle at Crypto'89. It has been established that neither these hash functions nor the Merkle-Damgard construction itself meet certain security requirements. This thesis aims to study the attacks on this popular construction and propose schemes that offer more resistance against these attacks as well as investigating alternative approaches to the Merkle-Damgard style of designing hash functions. This thesis aims at analysing the security of the standard hash function Cellular Authentication and Voice Encryption Algorithm (CAVE) used for authentication and key-derivation in the second generation (2G) North American IS-41 mobile phone system. In addition, this thesis studies the analysis issues of message authentication codes (MACs) designed using hash functions. With the aim to propose some efficient and secure MAC schemes based on hash functions. This thesis works on three aspects of hash functions: design, cryptanalysis and applications with the following significant contributions: * Proposes a family of variants to the Damgard-Merkle construction called 3CG for better protection against specific and generic attacks. Analysis of the linear variant of 3CG called 3C is presented including its resistance to some of the known attacks on hash functions. * Improves the known cryptanalytical techniques to attack 3C and some other similar designs including a linear variant of GOST, a Russian standard hash function. * Proposes a completely novel approach called Iterated Halving, alternative to the standard block iterated hash function construction. * Analyses provably secure HMAC and NMAC message authentication codes (MACs) based on weaker assumptions than stated in their proofs of security. Proposes an efficient variant for NMAC called NMAC-1 to authenticate short messages. Proposes a variant for NMAC called M-NMAC which offers better protection against the complete key-recovery attacks than NMAC. As well it is shown that M-NMAC with hash functions also resists side-channel attacks against which HMAC and NMAC are vulnerable. Proposes a new MAC scheme called O-NMAC based on hash functions using just one secret key. * Improves the open cryptanalysis of the CAVE algorithm. * Analyses the security and legal implications of the latest collision attacks on the widely used MD5 and SHA-1 hash functions.
A comparison of properties of earnings, book value, and residual income for financial reporting under IAS and IFRS

We examine and compare the valuation properties of earnings and book value of equity under international accounting standards (IAS) during 2000-2002 with those under international financial reporting standards (IFRS) during 2003-2004 (the voluntary period) and 2005-2006 (the mandatory period). Accordingly, we conduct our investigation using a sample of German and Swiss companies reporting under IAS during 2000-2002 and IFRS during 2003-2004 and 2005-2006 by assessing the relative performance of three accounting-based valuation models. We find that the RI model dominates in all three time periods under study for both countries. Our findings are supported by robustness tests. Our study suggests that the recent changes in international accounting standards do not change the valuation properties of Swiss and German IAS/IFRS accounting variables. However, we document a decrease in the explanatory power of the accounting-based valuation models from the IAS period to the IFRS periods.
Local Government Accounting Standard-setting in Australia: Did Constituents Participate?

The Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (PSASB) has developed accounting standards for the public sector in Australia. A procedural ‘due process’ has been developed to protect the openness, neutrality and independence of Australian standard-setting both in the private and public sectors. Prior research into constituent participation in the ‘due process’ for specific cases in the public sector has raised doubts as to whether the ‘due process’ operated in an open, neutral and independent manner. It has found that account preparers were under-represented in their responses and used less sophisticated lobbying strategies than other respondents. The research also concluded that some constituents had favourable access to the ‘due process’, and that standard setters did not receive all pertinent information from constituents. This paper examines constituent participation in the ‘due process’ for the first public sector accounting standard, that for local government (AAS 27). The submissions made on the exposure draft preceding the standard – ED 50 – have been analysed using content analysis. The findings suggest that account preparers were well-represented in their responses and adopted the lobbying strategy of weighting their responses with supporting argument for the most controversial issues. Contrary to prior research, the paper concludes that in the case of ED 50 there is no evidence that the ‘due process’ failed to operate in an open and neutral manner.