Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Local government reform: introducing a new set of political dynamics

Introduction The Local Government Act 2000 sets out three executive options for political decision-making arrangements in local government: a directly elected mayor and cabinet, an indirectly elected leader (elected by councillors only) and cabinet, and a directly elected mayor and council manager. Moreover, the Act requires councils to consult the public on which political management option should be introduced. In addition to the three executive options, Section 31 of the Act (HMSO, 2000) allows authorities with populations below 85,000 on 30 June 1999, (according to the registrar general's figures), to introduce 'alternative arrangements' of a non-executive nature. Alternative arrangements can best be described as a non-executive slimmeddown committee system with an overview and scrutiny function an option available to some 86 councils, and being adopted by 59 councils. The principles of openness, transparency, enhanced accountability and greater responsiveness to citizen and stakeholder views, apply to these councils as well as to those adopting executive arrangements. Moreover, alternative arrangement authorities will need to demonstrate effective and visible community leadership to the same degree as executive arrangement authorities. As well as introducing changes to the structure and processes of council political decision-making, the White Paper, Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions (DTLR, 2002) sets out the Government's vision for elected regional chambers. Regional government, alongside executive arrangements for local government, particularly the elected mayor model, could fundamentally alter the dynamics of political decision-making and the conduct of local representation. Indeed, regional government and directly elected mayors could impact on the fortunes of political parties, providing the potential for successful non-party or single-issue candidates to secure election to office. The first section of this paper explores the introduction of executive arrangements to local government, and the new set of political dynamics they bring with them. The second section places executive and non-executive political decision-making arrangements into the context of directly elected regional government. The third explores how alternative arrangement authorities could approach political reform. The final section sets out the impact of executive and non-executive political decisionmaking on local government.
The pharmacology of efferent synapses in the lateral-line system of Xenopus laevis.

1. The nature of the transmitter substance released at the lateral-line efferent synapses was investigated by histochemical techniques in Xenopus and Acerina and by pharmacological methods in Xenopus . 2. The bases of lateral-line hair-cells and fine fibres in the lateral-line nerves reacted positively for acetylcholinesterase in Acerina and to a lesser extent in Xenopus . 3. Acetylcholine (10-6M, and acetyl-β-methyl choline (5 x 10-6M), which has a muscarinic action, caused strong reversible inhibition of afferent impulses when pipetted on to the undersides of lateral-line stitches. Carbachol (5 x 10-4 to 5 x 10-5M) caused a smaller reversible inhibition of spontaneous afferent impulses, but other nicotinic substances (propionylcholine and buterylcholine) had no effect. 4. Physostigmine (5 x 10-5M) prolonged inhibition of afferent impulses by electrical stimulation of efferent fibres, but atropine (5 x 10-6M) blocked it. 5. Calcium and magnesium interact at the efferent synapses in a way similar to that found at the amphibian neuromuscular junction. 6. Arguments are put forward to support the hypothesis that acetylcholine is released at lateral-line efferent synapses.
Reputations in Markets With Asymmetric Information: A Classroom Game

The authors describe a classroom game used to teach students about the impact of reputations in markets with asymmetric information. The game is an extension of Holt and Sherman's lemons market game and simulates a market under three information conditions. In the full information setting, all participants know both the quality and the price of the items for sale. In the second setting, sellers have better quality information than buyers. In the third setting, sellers maintain their information advantage, but buyers may post feedback on the sellers' performance. The posted feedback generally increases buyer trust and disciplines sellers, resulting in higher levels of trade and higher average product quality. The game can be completed in one class period and includes discussion questions.
Marketing Problems and Opportunities in Mid-Atlantic Seafood Retailing

Per capita seafood consumption in the United States increased steadily from 10.3 pounds in 1960 to 16.1 pounds in 1987 but has been lower than 16.1 pounds since 1987 (National Marine Fisheries Service). The seafood industry is facing a host of challenges, such as strong competition from less expensive imports and increasing consumer concerns about the safety of seafood. In 1993 more than half of all seafood
Policy capacity in Saskatchewan: strengthening the equilibrium

: This article examines the views of provincial public servants concerning how policy capacity can be strengthened. The findings are based on interviews conducted in 1997 with thirty-three senior public servants in the Province of Saskatchewan. Findings indicate that most public servants regard their role in policy-making as both natural and important to maintain, but they all accept the division of responsibilities in the policy process between themselves, as system stabilizers, and politicians, as the providers of energy in the system. In this regard, the public servants interviewed welcome clearly articulated goals that apply directly to their departmental concerns. Overall, the responses indicate that policy capacity can be strengthened by improving the government's policy processes, especially those linking cabinet and the bureaucracy, and those that operate horizontally across departments. These views are consistent with the traditional self-image of senior career officials who see themselves as policy managers overseeing a process that invests decisions with a high degree of legitimacy, power and accuracy. Sommaire: Dans cet article, on examine I'avis des functionaries provinciaux en ce qui conceme le renforcement de la capacite de prise de decisions politiques. Les constatations decoulent d'entrevues avec 33 hauts fonctionnaires de la Saskatchewan, effectuees en 1997. Selon les constatations, la plupart des fonctionnaires voient leur role de decideurs politiques comme etant naturel et important a maintenir, mais ils acceptent tous le partage des responsabilites dam le processus decisionnel, entre, d'une part, eux-memes en tant que stabilisateurs du systeme, et d'autre part, les politiciens comme source de dynamisation. Sur ce point, les fonctionnaires interviewes aimeraient voir des objectifs clairement formules s'appliquant directement a leurs preoccupations ministerielles. Dans l'ensemble, les reponses indiquent qu'on peut renforcer la capacite decisionnelle en ameliorant les processus decisionnels du-gouvernement, particulierement ceux qui relient le conseil des ministres au fonctionnariat et ceux qui assurent le lien horizontal entre les ministeres. Ces avis cadrent bien avec la perception de soi classique des hauts fonctionnaires qui se percoivent comme des gerants de politiques souhaitant que le processus qu'ils surveillent accorde aux decisions plus de legitimite, de puissance et de precision.
Correlation of a [13C]glucose breath test with surrogate markers of insulin resistance in urban and rural Asian Indians.

BACKGROUND High rates of insulin resistance (IR), which contribute to a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), have been noted in Asian Indians. Rapid, effective measures of IR could identify individuals at risk for CVD in this population. A [(13)C]glucose breath test has been shown to correlate significantly with invasive measures of IR in a Caucasian cohort. We hypothesized that the breath test would correlate significantly with surrogate measures of IR in Asian Indians. METHODS A total of 49 urban and 49 rural Asian Indian subjects underwent the (13)C breath test and 2-hour oral glucose tolerance testing. Correlations were performed between the breath test results and surrogate measures of IR including the homeostasis model of insulin resistance (HOMA). These two indices were also correlated with body mass index (BMI). RESULTS In the overall cohort, the breath test correlated significantly with HOMA (r = -0.40; P < 0.0001), waist circumference (WC) (r = -0.70; P < 0.0001), and BMI (r = -0.59; P < 0.0001). The breath test correlated significantly with BMI in the urban and rural cohorts (r = -0.65; P < 0.0001 and r = -0.36; P = 0.01) and with HOMA (r = -0.55; P = 0.0001) in the urban cohort. There was no significant correlation between the breath test and HOMA (r = -0.07; P = 0.61) in the rural cohort. When corrected for WC and BMI, the correlation between the breath test and HOMA in the urban cohort was no longer significant (r = -0.08; P = 0.57). CONCLUSIONS The (13)C breath test correlated significantly with HOMA values in urban but not in more insulin-sensitive rural subjects and yielded no incremental information over BMI. Further refinement of the [(13)C]glucose breath test is necessary prior to its use as a screening test for IR in Asian Indians.
Determination of Electric Conductivity and Local SAR Via B1 Mapping

The electric conductivity can potentially be used as an additional diagnostic parameter, e.g., in tumor diagnosis. Moreover, the electric conductivity, in connection with the electric field, can be used to estimate the local SAR distribution during MR measurements. In this study, a new approach, called electric properties tomography (EPT) is presented. It derives the patient's electric conductivity, along with the corresponding electric fields, from the spatial sensitivity distributions of the applied RF coils, which are measured via MRI. Corresponding numerical simulations and initial experiments on a standard clinical MRI system underline the principal feasibility of EPT to determine the electric conductivity and the local SAR. In contrast to previous methods to measure the patient's electric properties, EPT does not apply externally mounted electrodes, currents, or RF probes, thus enhancing the practicality of the approach. Furthermore, in contrast to previous methods, EPT circumvents the solution of an inverse problem, which might lead to significantly higher spatial image resolution.
Protocols and Hospital Mortality in Critically Ill Patients: The United States Critical Illness and Injury Trials Group Critical Illness Outcomes Study

Objective:Clinical protocols may decrease unnecessary variation in care and improve compliance with desirable therapies. We evaluated whether highly protocolized ICUs have superior patient outcomes compared with less highly protocolized ICUs. Design:Observational study in which participating ICUs completed a general assessment and enrolled new patients 1 day each week. Patients:A total of 6,179 critically ill patients. Setting:Fifty-nine ICUs in the United States Critical Illness and Injury Trials Group Critical Illness Outcomes Study. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:The primary exposure was the number of ICU protocols; the primary outcome was hospital mortality. A total of 5,809 participants were followed prospectively, and 5,454 patients in 57 ICUs had complete outcome data. The median number of protocols per ICU was 19 (interquartile range, 15–21.5). In single-variable analyses, there were no differences in ICU and hospital mortality, length of stay, use of mechanical ventilation, vasopressors, or continuous sedation among individuals in ICUs with a high versus low number of protocols. The lack of association was confirmed in adjusted multivariable analysis (p = 0.70). Protocol compliance with two ventilator management protocols was moderate and did not differ between ICUs with high versus low numbers of protocols for lung protective ventilation in acute respiratory distress syndrome (47% vs 52%; p = 0.28) and for spontaneous breathing trials (55% vs 51%; p = 0.27). Conclusions:Clinical protocols are highly prevalent in U.S. ICUs. The presence of a greater number of protocols was not associated with protocol compliance or patient mortality.
The Way of Clusters Uprising and Development in the Region (By the Example of The Petrochemical Cluster in the Republic of Tatarstan)

In the context of international economics globalization and markets consolidation forming cluster systems appears to be one of the main components in growth of competitive capacity of enterprises in a region. In terms of science a theory of cluster development being of particular interest as the synthesis of concepts concerning location of economic activity and a company’s competitive advantage makes possible to explain rapid emergence of cluster formations in different industry sections of the region. That is why the necessity of formulating appropriate corporate strategy for the companies- participants of the cluster can make provision for rise in the cost of an enterprise in postindustrial economy. On the other hand, practical utilization of cluster approach to substantiate a company cost escalation in the presence of competition can be considered as a tool for development of economics in the region. At the same time utilization of classic cluster systems in postindustrial economy appears to be not sufficiently effective. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014. v5n18p125
Construction of Barrier in a Fishing Game With Point Capture

This paper addresses a particular pursuit-evasion game, called as “fishing game” where a faster evader attempts to pass the gap between two pursuers. We are concerned with the conditions under which the evader or pursuers can win the game. This is a game of kind in which an essential aspect, barrier, separates the state space into disjoint parts associated with each player’s winning region. We present a method of explicit policy to construct the barrier. This method divides the fishing game into two subgames related to the included angle and the relative distances between the evader and the pursuers, respectively, and then analyzes the possibility of capture or escape for each subgame to ascertain the analytical forms of the barrier. Furthermore, we fuse the games of kind and degree by solving the optimal control strategies in the minimum time for each player when the initial state lies in their winning regions. Along with the optimal strategies, the trajectories of the players are delineated and the upper bounds of their winning times are also derived.
Conceptualizing the Regional Roles of Universities, Implications and Contradictions

The impact of universities on the economic wellbeing and innovative potential of regions has been the object of intense scholarly and policy interest in the last years. Despite this interest, a clear picture is missing in relation to the roles universities are seen to play, the benefits of university activities and the mechanisms through which they occur. This paper proposes a review and a critique of current views on the role of universities and their associated policy implications. To achieve this, the paper identifies five “models” for universities as they are reflected in the literature, each advocating different set of roles of universities, different spatial aspects of interactions, as well as different mechanisms for university engagement. National and regional innovation and research policies tend to explicitly or implicitly reflect one or a combination of several of these models, giving rise to potential contradictions or conflicts of policy rationales and objectives.
Eva Momentum: The One Ratio that Tells the Whole Story

Virtually all corporate managers use ratios like profit margin, earnings growth, and return on equity to set goals, analyze operations, and measure success or failure. Yet all ratios are wrong in the sense that every one of them can make it appear that operations are improving when a business actually is faltering, and vice versa. In this article, one of the pioneers of the modern economic profit school of financial management claims to have discovered a new ratio that accurately consolidates all the pluses and minuses of decisions and operations into a single reliable overall measure that cannot be increased without truly creating value. “EVA Momentum,” as the measure is called, is the change in a company's economic profit (or EVA) in a given period divided by its sales in the prior period. In other words, it is the size‐adjusted change in economic profit. The author goes on to demonstrate why most companies can use EVA Momentum as both their overarching financial target and the best way to keep score for multiple business lines. The article also shows why EVA Momentum is a better performance measure than ROI and that, as a diagnostic and management tool, it provides a more effective alternative to the popular DuPont ROI formula. Unlike the DuPont formula, EVA Momentum reflects the contributions to overall performance of important factors such as profitable growth, strategic retrenchment, and the quality of resource allocation decisions in general. At the same time, it provides a more accurate and informative means of examining performance, weighing tradeoffs, identifying investment opportunities, and prioritizing initiatives—all on the basis of their expected impact on a company's market value.
Uncertain Lifetime and Intertemporal Choice: Risk Aversion as a Rationale for Time Discounting

This article makes explicit the links between preferences over lotteries on length of life and intertemporal choice. It shows that the approach used by traditional life cycle models to account for uncertain survival corresponds to a strong assumption of risk neutrality with respect to length of life. Relaxing such an assumption leads us to develop a more general formulation of lifetime utility in which time discounting is directly related to preferences over length of life. Exponential and hyperbolic discounting are found to result, in a first approximation, from constant and hyperbolic risk aversion with respect to length of life.
When Auditors Err: How Mistake Significance and Superiors' Historical Reactions Influence Auditors' Likelihood to Admit a Mistake

The procedures performed by staff auditors are a critical component of the audit process, and mistakes in these procedures could jeopardize opinions if they are not communicated. While professional standards instruct auditors to report their errors, auditors have incentives to withhold information about mistakes because they are protective of their professional images. These conflicting pressures are examined by investigating the effects of mistake significance and superiors' historical reactions to mistake admissions on the likelihood that staff auditors will admit mistakes. We find an interaction suggesting that staff auditors are more likely to admit errors when their superiors have reacted positively, regardless of error significance. Conversely, staff auditors are less likely to admit apparently insignificant errors when their superiors have reacted negatively to prior mistakes.
Performance measurement of sustainable supply chains

Sustainability is of course vogue as well as being intentionally resource-conserving; yet despite its popularity and interest from the academic community, many of its characteristics still remain elusive. Its interpretation, management and cost seem only partially understood, for example, how can sustainability effectiveness best be measured? How do the opportunities for sustainability vary across different industry contexts? As such our interests lie in trying to better understand how opportunities for sustainability, particularly along a supply network, might manifest, and be performance- and cost-evaluated. The call for papers for this special issue put forward some of these key questions on sustainable supply chains, similar to those proposed by other authors such as Piplani et al. (2008) and Hassini et al. (2012). Within this special issue, a range of strong publications have been selected to help address some of these issues.
Measuring heavy neutrino couplings at the LHC

This work has been supported by the Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) and Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (MICINN, Spain) under the bilateral project ‘‘Signals of new fermions at colliders’’ (No. FCT/1683/27/1/2012/S and No. AIC-D-2011-0811). J. A. A. S. acknowledges support from the Projects No. FPA2006- 05294 and No. FPA2010-17915 and the Junta de Andalucia Projects No. FQM 101, No. FQM 03048, and No. FQM 6552. F. R. J. thanks the CERN Theory Division for hospitality during the final stage of this work and acknowledges support from the EU Network Grant No. UNILHC PITN-GA-2009-237920 and from the FCT Projects No. CERN/FP/123580/2011, No. PTDC/FIS/098188/2008, and No. CFTP-FCT UNIT 777.
Should the Exchange Rate Be in a Monetary Policy Objective Function?

Following from Woodford’s derivation of a benevolent monetary policy maker’s objective function from agents utility, a number of papers have suggested that policy in an open economy should have the same objectives as in a closed economy, and in particular that the exchange rate should play no role. We show that this conclusion is not robust to the presence of any shocks to International Risk Sharing. When such shocks are important, the exchange rate appears alongside output and inflation in the social welfare function. However the form of this target is rather different from that used by a number of authors.
Financial returns from new public management: a New Zealand perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to consider the potential for profit under new public management, through a study of New Zealand's state‐owned enterprises (SOEs). Design/methodology/approach – “Examination from the outside” involved analysis of financial data from 2001 to 2005 for the SOE sector. “Inquiry from the inside” involved interviews with senior executives from 12 of the 17 SOEs operating in New Zealand.Findings – Findings indicate the potential for SOEs as profitable government investments, with clear support for financial returns under NPM.Research limitations/implications – While this study is limited to SOEs in New Zealand, it provides valuable insight into one country's SOE sector, and offers a platform for similar studies in other countries. Strong financial returns from several SOEs highlight the potential for SOEs as valuable investments, and an important alternative to traditional sources of government funding. However, variations noted in the financial returns of individual SOEs al.
Preliminary research on continuous conditional random fields in predicting high-dimensional data

Predictions on time-series multivariate data, such as in the traffic flow dataset, have been largely accomplished through various approaches. The approach with conventional prediction algorithms, such as with Support Vector Machine (SVM), is only capable of accommodating predictions that are independent in each time unit. Hence, the sequential relationships in this time series data is hardly explored. Continuous Conditional Random Field (CCRF) is one of Probabilistic Graphical Model (PGM) algorithms which can accommodate this problem. The neighboring aspects of sequential data such as in the time series data can be expressed by CCRF so that its predictions are more reliable. In this article, CCRF is implemented to increase the prediction ability of different baseline regressors, i.e. SVM and Extreme Learning Machine (ELM). Both algorithms are examined in two different datasets. The result shows that CCRF is superior in performance when examined using dataset with more attribute. This is validated by the increasing of the coefficient of correlation of the baseline up to 7.3% of significance.