Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Propriété intellectuelle et développement ou comment imposer au monde un système perverti

Intellectual property rights, patents in particular, are meant to boost innovation. They also constitute a barrier against the diffusion of recently accumulated knowledge, which is a public good. For a long time a balance has been kept between these two forces ; since about 1980, that balance has been more and more tilted against the free use of knowledge.Even the incentive function has been blurred : it is not exceptional that a party different from the actual inventor or discoverer is granted the intellectual property rights, often with an astonishingly large breadth. These trends are specially prevalent in two fields of utmost importance for future growth and well-being : information and life sciences and technologies.This is the system that has been imposed, within the World Trade Organization (WTO), upon the developing countries. Hence not only are these funnelled into a uniform system, whereas in the past the presently developed countries have been able to have their intellectual property systems evolving in tune with their respective pace of development ; but that very system is also crippled with perversions. It is not a risky bet to anticipate public health havoc in developing countries and significant financial transfers from them towards the richest countries, as first consequences of TRIPS, as the WTO framework is known.
Managing people across hospital networks in the UK: multiple employers and the shaping of HRM

Building on the insights from a growing number of studies on the HRM implications of inter-organisational relations, this article investigates the HR issues in two case studies of ‘best practice’, long-term collaborative working. It identifies three common challenges for HRM: (a) how to build employee commitment and identity to the partnership without putting at risk the employing organisation's goals; (b) how to establish attractive career pathways in a partnership context requiring some degree of sharing of skill standards and coordination of training provision; and (c) how to sustain partnerships in a changing policy and organisational context. The data point to inherent problems in managing employment when there is more than one employing organisation exercising influence. Differences in organisational goals and HRM approaches in hospital networks are an obstacle to long-term integration – especially in public–private arrangements where integration of goals and HRM is more difficult.
Specific in vivo phosphorylation sites determine the assembly dynamics of vimentin intermediate filaments

Intermediate filaments (IFs) continuously exchange between a small, depolymerized fraction of IF protein and fully polymerized IFs. To elucidate the possible role of phosphorylation in regulating this equilibrium, we disrupted the exchange of phosphate groups by specific inhibition of dephosphorylation and by specific phosphorylation and site-directed mutagenesis of two of the major in vivo phosphorylation sites determined in this study. Inhibition of type-1 (PP1) and type-2A (PP2A) protein phosphatases in BHK-21 fibroblasts with calyculin-A, induced rapid vimentin phosphorylation in concert with disassembly of the IF polymers into soluble tetrameric vimentin oligomers. This oligomeric composition corresponded to the oligopeptides released by cAMP-dependent kinase (PKA) following in vitro phosphorylation. Characterization of the 32P-labeled vimentin phosphopeptides, demonstrated Ser-4, Ser-6, Ser-7, Ser-8, Ser-9, Ser-38, Ser-41, Ser-71, Ser-72, Ser-418, Ser-429, Thr-456, and Ser-457 as significant in vivo phosphorylation sites. A number of the interphase-specific high turnover sites were shown to be in vitro phosphorylation sites for PKA and protein kinase C (PKC). The effect of presence or absence of phosphate groups on individual subunits was followed in vivo by microinjecting PKA-phosphorylated (primarily S38 and S72) and mutant vimentin (S38:A, S72:A), respectively. The PKA-phosphorylated vimentin showed a clearly decelerated filament formation in vivo, whereas obstruction of phosphorylation at these sites by site-directed mutagenesis had no significant effect on the incorporation rates of subunits into assembled polymers. Taken together, our results suggest that elevated phosphorylation regulates IF assembly in vivo by changing the equilibrium constant of subunit exchange towards a higher off-rate.
Convergencia entre Andalucía y España: una aproximación a sus causas (1965-1995)

This paper explores issues regarding the regional convergence process. We study the per capita income of Andalusia compared with the remaining regions in Spain over period 1965-1995. Using a very simple growth model with public capital as a production factor, we show that infrastructure endowment is not the main cause of Andalusian relative lower income per capita, so we guess there is a small effect of public investment on growth. However, productive public spending could have played an important role in minimizing the inefficiencies yielded by a non-competitive labour market.
Due Process Failure in Sector-Neutral Accounting Standard-Setting

This study of due process in New Zealand draws upon information concerning events from 1993 to 1996 that resulted in the revision of a newly approved financial reporting standard and the withdrawal of requirements for the disclosure of director remuneration. Traditional consultation processes preceding approval of the standard failed to provide the FRSB with an adequate signal of the opposition to come, indicating a failure of due process. Analysis of this case study suggests adoption of a single and sector-neutral Board in New Zealand was undertaken with a poor appreciation of how to manage effective due process in a ‘sector-neutral’ world.
Innovation Success and Absorptive Capacity: The Combined Influence of Information Systems and Combinative Capabilities - A Theoretical Model

Innovation is important for a firm`s success and has been shown to be essentially influenced by absorptive capacity (ACAP). ACAP has been conceptualized by various dimensions that, in turn, rest on diverse antecedents. Currently, little is known about the impact of information systems (IS) on these dimensions of ACAP. Drawing on the complementarity argument that IS will only render an effect if jointly employed with complementary organizational capabilities, we develop a research model that elucidates the interplay of organizational capabilities, ACAP, and their effect on innovation success. In particular, we deal with combinative capabilities by splitting these organizational capabilities into mechanisms and control modes. Addressing calls in the literature and from industry, this model contributes to our understanding of how to build and improve a firm’s innovation capabilities by theorizing combinative capabilities and IS as antecedents of ACAP.
Positive Accounting Theory and the PA Cult

Positive accounting theory is claimed to be explanatory of accounting practice; a scientific, empirical, economics-based theory. These claims are examined severally, and in significant respects are found to be untenable. Vast tracts of accounting practice remain unexplained, even unnoticed. That scientific enterprise is directed to the development of technical norms or prescriptions is set aside. The association between the ideas of economics and accounting extends, at the hands of the theory's exponents, not to the corpus of well-established economic notions, but only to tangential elements of economics. While purporting to shun prescription, the exponents of the theory, both actively and by implication, endorse conventional accounting which is heavily dependent on normative propositions. The‘theory’is marred by oversights, inconsistencies and paradoxes. The implicit hope that the methodology followed‘will provide a useful positive accounting theory’(Watts and Zimmerman, 1986, p. 362) entails that its proponents have offered no such theory.
Out in the cold? Flexible integration and the political status of Euro opt-outs

A common argument against flexible integration as a solution to increased preference heterogeneity is that a likely consequence for those member states opting out of the enhanced cooperation is a loss of status and influence generally in the European Union (EU). It has been argued, for example, that the decisions by Denmark, Sweden and the UK not to join the Euro is considered to be free-riding, which leads to a bad reputation and exclusion from informal networks. We test this proposed free-rider effect by comparing the network capital of Euro-outsiders with insiders in the Council of the EU, using survey data of more than 600 member state representatives. The findings speak strongly against the free-rider hypothesis, as the Euro-outsiders are highly ranked in terms of network capital.
An estimation of the demand for gasoline in Montana, and projections of future gasoline consumption

How gasoline consumption responds to changes in its own price is of interest to many different groups. States fund a large portion of their road construction and maintenance by a direct tax on gasoline. The federal government also receives revenue by directly taxing gasoline. Automobile manufacturers are interested in how consumers' demand for fuel efficiency changes with changes in the price of gasoline. For these reasons, and more, it is important to understand how gasoline consumption will respond to changes in price. Other researchers have already attempted to measure gasoline demand at the national level. However, very little work has been done at a state level. This thesis attempts to apply a model similar to the previously developed national models at a state level. The state examined here is Montana. This state is of particular interest because it differs from the national average in several key characteristics, including more vehicles per capita, less fuel efficient vehicles, and few alternatives to driving such as public transportation. The model employed simultaneously estimates the demands for vehicle miles traveled and fuel efficiency. By estimating the demands for both of these variables, it is possible to indirectly determine the demand for gasoline. When estimated, it appears that Montana's consumption of gasoline is less responsive to changes in gasoline prices, and more responsive to income changes, than the nation as a whole. The estimated model is used to project future gasoline consumption. The projections were developed using potential future levels of income, population, and gasoline prices. These projections indicate that it would require gasoline prices rising considerably before per capita consumption would decline.
The Economics of 'Wireless Net Neutrality'

Network neutrality issues have been vigorously debated worldwide over the past few years. One major aim of network neutrality proponents is to prevent high-speed Internet service providers from charging content providers for priority delivery. Recently, proponents have turned their attention to the regulation of wireless networks, such as those for cellular phones, which provide increasing numbers of consumers access to Internet services. Some application providers have relied on a recent academic paper to support greater regulation of wireless operators. Although the proposals to regulate these networks use the phrase "net neutrality," the regulations they seek to impose on wireless operators have little in common with those being sought for other Internet service providers. In this article, we provide a framework for determining whether certain kinds of regulations should be imposed on the owners of wireless networks. We also consider the benefits and costs of specific proposals for the regulation of these networks. Our principal conclusion is that the costs of most of these proposals are likely to exceed the benefits.
USWA-Bargained and State-Oriented Responses to the Recurrent Steel Crisis

The contemporary American integrated steel industry is at the peak of its efficiency, cost-effectiveness, technological sophistication, and productivity. But performance standards aside, domestic steelmakers have become even less competitive and find themselves on the brink of collapse. This time, however, the industry's distress is not caused by poor market behavior, primarily or in even in sizeable part, but by a hostile set of United States government policies. In response to the enormity of the industry's present problems, the United Steelwork ers of America (USWA) proposed a full throttle, protective national public policy that prioritized steelmaking as critical to the nation's economic vitality. In doing so, the union emerged as the most potent response to the industry's severe market failures and became the lead ing advocate for rationalizing not only domestic, but also global steel markets. This work strongly indicates that if the union is to remain relevant in representing the workplace, the USWA must profoundly reconsider the value of state-oriented political action in its bargaining approach toward the industry. To attain what the bargaining process can no longer provide, politics is now essential.
Dimensiones y factores determinantes de la competitividad internacional del granito: especial referencia a Galicia

RESUMEN El fuerte proceso internacionalizador que caracteriza a la economia mundial de las dos ultimas decadas, se pone claramente de manifiesto en el sector del granito, que inicio muy temprano su internacionalizacion, principalmente a traves de los flujos comerciales. En este caso, las inversiones en el exterior no son una via por la que opten las empresas, principalmente si hablamos de inversiones productivas, ya que las canteras de granito tienen una localizacion muy especifica, dificilmente reproducible en otros lugares del mundo. El objetivo de este trabajo es indagar acerca de las dimensiones y factores determinantes de la competitividad internacional del granito, haciendo especial mencion a Galicia, que se encuentra entre los principales competidores en el mercado mundial del granito. PALABRAS CLAVE: Competitividad; lnternacionalizacion; Granito; Cluster.
Back to optimality: a formal framework to express the dynamics of learning optimal behavior

Whether animals behave optimally is an open question of great importance, both theoretically and in practice. Attempts to answer this question focus on two aspects of the optimization problem, the quantity to be optimized and the optimization process itself. In this paper, we assume the abstract concept of cost as the quantity to be minimized and propose a reinforcement learning algorithm, called Value-Gradient Learning (VGL), as a computational model of behavior optimality. We prove that, unlike standard models of Reinforcement Learning, Temporal Difference in particular, VGL is guaranteed to converge to optimality under certain conditions. The core of the proof is the mathematical equivalence of VGL and Pontryagin’s Minimum Principle, a well-known optimization technique in systems and control theory. Given the similarity between VGL’s formulation and regulatory models of behavior, we argue that our algorithm may provide psychologists with a tool to formulate such models in optimization terms.
Metamaterial substrate for measurement of complex permittivity of liquids using open-ended coaxial-line probes

The new technique for determination of complex permittivity of a liquid media by open-ended coaxial line probes, based on using metamaterial substrate with known characteristics, is proposed. Following this technique, determination of wide variations of complex permittivity of liquid from only amplitude measurements of a reflection coefficient in a finite frequency range in combination with fitting optimal thickness of a tested layer of liquid is possible.
Selective high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of artesunate and alpha- and beta-dihydroartemisinin in patients with falciparum malaria.

A novel solid-phase extraction and a robust high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) separation procedure for artesunate and alpha- and beta-dihydroartemisinin, using post-column alkali decomposition and UV detection is described. Extraction was performed with Bond-Elut Phenyl solid-phase extraction cartridges and analysis by HPLC was carried out using a Waters Symmetry C8 5-microns 150 x 3.9 mm I.D. column. The mobile phase was 50% acetonitrile in 0.1 M acetate buffer (pH 4.8) delivered at a flow-rate of 0.7 ml/min. The column eluate was mixed with 1.2 M potassium hydroxide in 90% methanol delivered at 0.3 ml/min, in a 1-ml reaction coil at 69 degrees C, to form UV-absorbing chromophores which were detected at 290 nm. The recovery of all analytes was greater than 80%. There was no significant difference in the peak-area ratio of alpha- and beta-dihydroartemisinin in plasma. Preliminary pharmacokinetic data from six adult Vietnamese patients who received 120 mg of artesunate by intravenous injection for the treatment of acute falciparum malaria are presented. Despite limited data, the mean half-life of artesunate was approximately 3.5 min while that for dihydroartemisinin was 34 min. These data confirm the relatively rapid clearance of both artesunate and its principle active metabolite, dihydroartemisinin.
Rationale for and Interpretation of Economy‐Wide Materials Flow Analysis and Derived Indicators

Economy‐wide material flow analysis (MFA) and derived indicators have been developed to monitor and assess the metabolic performance of economies, that is, with respect to the internal economic flows and the exchange of materials with the environment and with other economies. Indicators such as direct material input (DMI) and direct material consumption (DMC) measure material use related to either production or consumption. Domestic hidden flows (HF) account for unused domestic extraction, and foreign HF represent the upstream primary resource requirements of the imports. DMI and domestic and foreign HF account for the total material requirement (TMR) of an economy. Subtracting the exports and their HF provides the total material consumption (TMC).
The economic efficiency impacts of alternatives for revenue reconciliation

About a dozen electric utilities in the US offer rates that possess real-time characteristics. In these implementations the real-time prices are updated at half-hourly or hourly intervals and in no case are the prices spatially differentiated. The implemented rates are based upon marginal generating costs with markups to account for system transmission and distribution costs or other revenue reconciliation needs. This paper analyzes how great is the impact of alternative price markup methods on measures of social welfare and the time pattern of real-time prices. A case study and sensitivity results are also presented.
The Union Makes Us Strong? A Study of the Dynamics of Workplace Union Leadership at Two UK Manufacturing Plants

This paper draws on qualitative case study evidence to investigate the way in which union leaders involved in two workplace organizations deal with the process of managing their role within the employment relationship. In particular, the influence of their leadership style on the commitment and participation of rank-and-file members is considered. The paper highlights the dialectical relationship between local leaders and members in terms of trade union democracy and local leadership style. Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd/London School of Economics 2000.
Czech Trade Unions in Comparative Perspective

This article covers the development of the Czech trade union movement after 1989. The emerging leadership aimed to emulate the most successful unions in western Europe. The transformation into a movement emphasizing collective bargaining was generally successful, but membership, bargaining coverage and ability to influence the government declined in the following years. Comparison with developments elsewhere in Europe suggests that this can be attributed to the specific political and economic environment and to the new union movement's origins. Strategic choices during the reconstitution of the trade union movement led to a structure that made it difficult to adapt to changing economic conditions.
The Normative Context for Women's Participation in Entrepreneruship: A Multicountry Study

Building on Global Entrepreneurship Monitor research, this study examines the impact of specific norms supporting women's entrepreneurship on the relative rates of women to men engaged in entrepreneurship in different countries. These specific norms are themselves related to both a country's general support for entrepreneurship and its level of gender equality. Countries with higher overall levels of entrepreneurial activity also tended to evidence higher relative proportions of female participation. These findings are still seen when controlling for the substantial effect of countries’ economic development in shaping patterns of entrepreneurial activity.
PÉRDIDA ESPERADA POR INSOLVENCIAS EN LAS ENTIDADES BANCARIAS: VALORACIÓN DEL MERCADO

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has recently issued a series of rules about the determination of the banks minimum capital requirements for the credit risk exposure. The Spanish Central Bank has al so issued a new regulation about the determination of the default expected loss in banks. Both institutions allow banks to use their intemally developed models for quantification purposes. In this paper we do a comparative analysis between both sets of rules. This analysis show a series of limitations in the calculation scheme proposed by the Spanish Central Bank. Furthermore, we analyse if the Spanish capital market has perceived the application of the new rules by the banks. For this purpose, we have used the prices of the banks shares during the year when the new regulation came into effect.
Staying the course: online education in the United States, 2008

Using responses from over 2,500 colleges and universities, the study examined the numbers of students involved in online education and the impact of this education for different disciplines and contexts.This report is the sixth in a series of annual reports on a study conducted by the Babson Survey Research Group for the Sloan Consortium. Using responses from over 2,500 colleges and universities, the study sought answers to several questions on online education: * How many students are learning online? * What is the impact of the economy on online enrollments? * Is online learning strategic? * What disciplines are best represented online?