Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Job sharing and equal opportunities under the new public management in local authorities

This paper starts with the assumption that local authorities, under the new public management, may use job sharing as part of an equal opportunities policy in order to attract and retain experienced and professional employees. Data collected from 32 councils in England and Scotland have shown that although most of the female employees would possibly prefer to work flexibly through job sharing, there was little or no established policies for the implementation of job sharing as a means of providing equal opportunities. With the consolidation of the new public management in local authorities in the late 1990s, the approach to the use of job sharing and flexible working in general has changed from emphasising equality to meeting business objectives. The promotion of job sharing is very limited and its implementation often restricted. Job sharing is undermined by a culture of full‐time work and determined by economic motives.
Pioneering descriptions of corporate greening: Notes and doubts on the emerging discussion

This article reviews the emerging discussion on corporate greening. The pioneering authors are found to have drawn on a number of perspectives in their descriptions of the greening process. Their views emphasise the choice of an environmental strategy, reform in management systems, organisational change, cultural change and institutional change. In spite of this conceptual diversity, the first accounts almost unanimously assume that greening will be, and should be, a top-down process starting from the top management and being implemented through formal measures. This article suggest that these assumptions should be relaxed and both empirical research and managerial practice should be receptive to other varieties of greening, too. In particular, informal and autonomous bottom-up processes may be very important in such a fundamental transition which greening may in some cases prove to be. This argument is based conceptually on an institutional view on the logics of managerial action, and empirically on studies in other fields of managerial work and on a case study of environmental management in a Finnish chemicals company.
Biology of the lymphatic marker LYVE‐1 and applications in research into lymphatic trafficking and lymphangiogenesis

The pace of research into the lymphatic system continues to accelerate with the availability of new molecular markers. One such marker, LYVE‐1, the lymphatic receptor for the extracellular matrix mucopolysaccharide hyaluronan, has been a key component of many important studies on embryonic and tumour‐induced lymphangiogenesis, and continues to be used for the detection and isolation of lymphatic endothelial cells. However, LYVE‐1 is interesting in its own right. Being a member of the Link protein family whose only other major hyaluronan receptor is directly involved in leukocyte migration and tumour metastasis, LYVE‐1 is already implicated in the trafficking of cells within lymphatic vessels and lymph nodes. The current challenge is to determine the precise roles played by LYVE‐1 and other scavenger type receptors in the immune functions of the lymphatics as well as to use LYVE‐1 and other markers to investigate the way in which tumours exploit lymphatic vessels for metastasis.
Wage Inequality and Segregation by Skill

Evidence from the US, Britain, and France suggests that recent growth in wage inequality has been accompanied by greater segregation of high- and low-skill workers into separate firms. A model in which workers of different skill-levels are imperfect substitutes can simultaneously account for these increases in segregation and inequality either through technological change, or, more parsimoniously, through observed changes in the skill-distribution
Students’ Perceptions on Social Networking Sites Influence on Academic Performance

This study attempts to obtain students’ perceptions on how social networking sites impact their academic performance. In this paper a survey was conducted by distributing 325 questionnaires to selected students from the Faculty of Computer Science and Information System, UTM Skudai campus students and 320 out of it was completed. The purpose was to obtain respondents’ opinion on the use of social networking sites and its influence on their academic performance. The study confirmed that most of the younger students are engage in the use of SNSs mainly for socializing activities rather than for academic purpose. However, most of the students do feel that the SNSs have more positive impact on their academic performance. From the analysis of respondents responses to the researchers questions as indicated in question 1 to 4 in table 5, the highest mean score is 2.97 which are responses to the question “Addiction to social networking sites is problematic because it affects my academic performance’. Similarly the highest mean score is 3.64 which are responses to the question “Through the use of SNS I can share information and resource materials with FSKSM members (videos, pictures, files, links etc) and this improve my academic performance”. Hence there is need for FSKSM policy makers to evolve strategies to guide and ensure that social networking sites are adopted mostly for academic purposes especially among the undergraduate students of the faculty.
Longitudinal Element Size Effect on Load Sharing, Internal Loads, and Fatigue Life of Tri‐Level Spinal Implant Constructs

The effects of implant stiffness on load sharing and stress shielding, of vertebral column load sharing on Implant fatigue life, and of instrumenting two versus one level adjacent to a comminuted segment on implant internal loads ware studled. Finite element models of six screw constructs with 4.76 mm rod; 6.35 mm rod, and VSP plate tri-level instrumentation of two motion segments (healthy vertebra case and comminuted) and an adjacent healthy motion segment with dimensions representative of the human lumbar spine were used, Also a simplified model was developed to predict the percent of axial load passing through, the column, which is a function of ki/kv the ratio of implant axial stiffness to instrumented vertebral column axial stiffness, For constructs with dimensions typical of the human lumbar spine, 77 to 80% of the axial load was predicted to pass through, one or two healthy motion segments when instrumented with either 6.35 mm rod or VSP plates, compared to 90% when Instrumented with 4.76 mm rods, When instrumenting smaller motion segments (in dogs) for comparison, 60% of the axial load was predicted to pass through the column for 4.76 mm rod and 33% for 6.35 mm rod constructs due to increased Implant stiffness ki as a result of decreased AP and longitudinal construct dimensions, and lower canine motion segment stiffness kv. Single level instrumentation adjacent to a comminuted segment resisted the entire axial load which produced a max bending moment of 11.4 Nm per 445 N axial lumbar load at each corresponding screw-longitudinal element junction as compared to less than 2 Nm when load sharing by a healthy motion segment existed. Thus finite implant fatigue life was predicted when instrumenting comminuted lumbar segments, with low probability of fatigue whan load sharing equivalent to a healthy motion segment existed. Instrumenting two levels adjacent to a comminuted human lumbar segment was predicted to reduce the flexion moment at screw-longitudinal element interconnections by 16% when using 4.76 mm rods, 32% for 6.36 mm rods, 36% for VSP plates, end 50% when ki = kv. These results Illustrate the clinical need to create load sharing when possible, to select an implant creating the desired ki/kv ratio depending upon the trade off between potential iatrogenic effects of stress shielding relative to the fatigue strength/life of the selected implant, and to control the patient's type of activity and number of cycles until fusion has satisfactorily been achieved.
Enhanced spatial modulation with multiple constellations and two active antennas

In this paper, we focus on spatial modulation (SM) which uses two active transmit (TX) antennas, and we introduce an Enhanced Spatial Modulation (ESM) technique, which conveys information bits not only by the indexes of the active antennas, but also by the constellations transmitted from each of them. The main feature of the proposed technique is that in addition to a primary modulation, it uses a secondary modulation that is obtained through geometric interpolation in the signal space. The secondary modulation has a reduced transmit energy compared to the primary modulation, and this leads to significant performance gains for the same spectral efficiency. We also describe other variants of the proposed ESM scheme in which the primary modulation is partitioned into two or more subsets and the lower-energy subsets are used in a larger number of combinations. We give design examples using four transmit antennas and 16QAM and 64QAM as primary modulations. The proposed techniques are compared to Conventional SM (CSM) and the results indicate that they provide a significant performance gain over CSM in terms of the symbol vector error rate (SVER) performance.
Expression of interleukin-22/STAT3 signaling pathway in ulcerative colitis and related carcinogenesis.

AIM To investigate the expression of interleukin (IL)-22 and its related proteins in biopsy specimens from patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and UC-related carcinogenesis. METHODS Biopsy specimens were obtained from patients with inactive (n = 10), mild-to-moderately active (n = 30), severely active (n = 34), initial (n = 30), and chronic UC (n = 44), as well as UC patients with dysplasia (n = 10). Specimens from patients without colonic abnormalities (n = 20) served as controls. Chronic colitis in experimental mice was induced by 2.5% dextran sodium sulfate. The expression levels of IL-22, IL-23, IL-22R1 and phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) were determined by immunohistochemistry. Bcl-2, cyclin D1 and survivin expression was detected by Western blotting. RESULTS Patients with active UC had significantly more IL-22, IL-23, IL-22R1 and p-STAT3-positive cells than the patients with inactive UC and normal controls. Furthermore, IL-22 and related proteins were closely related to the severity of the colitis. The expression of IL-22 and IL-22R1 in the tissue of initial UC was stronger than in that of chronic UC, whereas the expression of p-STAT3 was significantly increased in chronic UC tissues. In dysplasia tissues, the expression level of IL-22 and related proteins was higher compared with controls. Mouse colitis model showed that expression of IL-22, IL-22R1 and IL-23 was increased with time, p-STAT3 and the downstream gene were also remarkably upregulated. CONCLUSION IL-22/STAT3 signaling pathway may be related to UC and UC-induced carcinogenesis and IL-22 can be used as a biomarker in judging the severity of UC.
Learning Assets Innovation -- Serving the Inclusion Needs of the Socially, Intellectually, and Physically Disadvantaged

We aim to deploy and validate a novel approach for mainstreaming inclusiveness and accessibility related solutions which can be programmed, distributed and executed in the form of Applications, thus capitalizing on the Application effect and the Applications market economies. This will help the wide scale adoption of innovative services for facilitation of social interactions of any type of intellectually, physically or technologically challenged person and the elderly, including workplace adaptation and assistance in the use of sophisticated access-to-service environments. The Learning Assets Innovation concept enables the interface to be personalized based on the user's needs and preferences which can then be configured into a personalized profile. This profile will underpin and inform all engagements between the user and selected existing technologies so as to impact positively on the effectiveness of the user in the context of learning, employability, and social interactions.
Upgrading the self: Technology and the self in the digital games perpetual innovation economy

This article explores the upgrade and perpetual innovation economy of digital gaming as it informs understandings and practices of the ‘self’. Upgrade is situated in terms of digital gaming as a globalized techno-cultural industry. Drawing on accounts of governmentality and cultural work, research with digital games design students is drawn on to explore the overlapping twin logics of technological upgrade and work-on-the-self. The games industry-focused higher education context is examined as an environment for becoming a games designer and involving processes of upgrading the self. Having examined processes and practices of upgrading the self in terms of technological skills and personal development/enterprise, the article turns to some of the critical issues around anxiety, industry conventions and working practices.
Rapid declines of large mammal populations after the collapse of the Soviet Union

Anecdotal evidence suggests that socioeconomic shocks strongly affect wildlife populations, but quantitative evidence is sparse. The collapse of socialism in Russia in 1991 caused a major socioeconomic shock, including a sharp increase in poverty. We analyzed population trends of 8 large mammals in Russia from 1981 to 2010 (i.e., before and after the collapse). We hypothesized that the collapse would first cause population declines, primarily due to overexploitation, and then population increases due to adaptation of wildlife to new environments following the collapse. The long‐term Database of the Russian Federal Agency of Game Mammal Monitoring, consisting of up to 50,000 transects that are monitored annually, provided an exceptional data set for investigating these population trends. Three species showed strong declines in population growth rates in the decade following the collapse, while grey wolf (Canis lupus) increased by more than 150%. After 2000 some trends reversed. For example, roe deer (Capreolus spp.) abundance in 2010 was the highest of any period in our study. Likely reasons for the population declines in the 1990s include poaching and the erosion of wildlife protection enforcement. The rapid increase of the grey wolf populations is likely due to the cessation of governmental population control. In general, the widespread declines in wildlife populations after the collapse of the Soviet Union highlight the magnitude of the effects that socioeconomic shocks can have on wildlife populations and the possible need for special conservation efforts during such times.
Prevalence and Profile of People with Co-Occurring Mental and Substance Use Disorders within a Comprehensive Mental Health System

Objective: To examine the prevalence and profile of people with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders in relation to numerous demographic, diagnostic, and needs-related variables across a comprehensive system of mental health services using a standard methodology. Method: Data were collected on cases (n = 9839) sampled from specialty tertiary inpatient, specialty outpatient, and community-based mental health programs. Status with respect to co-occurring disorders was based on recorded diagnosis of substance use disorder and the substance abuse measure within the Colorado Client Assessment Record. The demographic and needs profile was compared across groups with or without co-occurring disorders within each level of care. Results: Overall, the prevalence of co-occurring disorders was 18.5%, and highest among clients receiving specialty tertiary inpatient care (28%), and within selected subpopulations such as younger adults (55%) and those with personality disorders (34%). There were few differences between groups based on co-occurring disorders in the specialty inpatient programs. For outpatient and community settings, the clients with co-occurring disorders were distinguished by a more impaired and complex needs profile and more likely to be young, single, male, and of low education. Across all levels of care, having a co-occurring disorder was strongly associated with antisocial and challenging behaviour, legal involvement, and risk of suicide or self-harm. Conclusion: The prevalence estimate of co-occurring disorders is likely representative of a multilevel system of care that serves a large, mixed urban and rural population. Results highlight the need to focus on specific subpopulations and sectors in pursuit of more integrated treatment and support for their mental health and addictions problems.
Beyond 2000: Assessment of Economic Performance and an Agenda for Sustainable Growth

Newly installed President Estrada is confronted by the same unenviable situation as his two predecessors. Former President Aquino has presided over an economy battered by the external debt crisis while President Ramos battled the aftermath of the Gulf war. The new administration, on the other hand, is facing a regional economic crisis. One section of this paper is devoted to explain the causes of the current crisis to help us understand why past policies have been ineffective to the present circumstances. However, the primary objective of the paper is to assess the performance of the economy over the period 1986-1997 and to determine how far the Philippine economy has gone. Special attention is given to the economic program of the immediate past president.
Inflation Forecasting with Inflation Sentiment Indicators

In this paper we argue that future inflation in an economy depends on the way people perceive current inflation, their inflation sentiment. We construct some simple measures of inflation sentiment which capture whether price acceleration is shared by many components of the CPI basket. In a comparative analysis of the forecasting power of the different inflation indicators for the US and Germany, we demonstrate that our inflation sentiment indicators improve forecast accuracy in comparison to a standard Phillips curve approach. Because the forecast performance is particularly good for longer horizons, we also compare our indicators to traditional measures of core inflation. Here, the sentiment indicators outperform the weighted median and show a similar forecasting power as a trimmed mean. Thus, they offer a convincing alternative to traditional core inflation measures.
Gender differences of parental distress in children with cancer.

BACKGROUND Reports published over the last few decades present contradictory findings about the psychological distress and coping patterns of parents whose children have cancer. Although an increasing number of studies have focused on psychological distress and the adjustment process that parents experience when their children are diagnosed with cancer, few of these studies have been conducted in Taiwan. AIMS Gender differences of parental distress experienced by Taiwanese mothers and fathers (164 couples) whose children were undergoing treatment for cancer were investigated. METHODS Parenting stress, psychological distress, somatization, as well as marital satisfaction were compared between mothers and fathers whose children had cancer. RESULTS Mothers averaged significantly higher levels than fathers for all forms of distress. Mothers and fathers whose children had been diagnosed within the previous 2 months reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, and global stress than those in the other groups. Both mothers and fathers whose children had been diagnosed within the past 2 months reported greater marital dissatisfaction than parents whose children were in the other treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS This finding indicates the need for a thorough psychiatric consultation at the time of diagnosis for children who have cancer and their families. Ongoing psychosocial support and education should have been integral components of the treatment program when relapse occurred.
Option Pricing with Fourier Series

We propose a simple and fairly general approach for valuing European options in closed-form. This approach leads to a single formula for the price of a European option. This formula is easy to implement, fast to execute, and only involves working with real numbers, in contrast to the Fourier transform based option pricing formulas. It also applies many option pricing models existing in the literature. Furthermore, the formula and the derived expressions of option "Greeks" are payoff as well as model independent, in the sense that their structure remains unchanged for any payoff and any pricing model, unlike existing pricing formulas.
Imbalance of World Heritage List: Did the UNESCO Strategy Work?

The official intention of the UNESCO World Heritage List is to protect the global heritage. However, the imbalance of the distribution of Sites according to countries and continents is striking. Consequently, the World Heritage Committee launched the Global Strategy for a Balanced, Representative and Credible World Heritage List in 1994. To date, there have not been any empirical analyses conducted to study the impact of this strategy. This paper shows that the imbalance did not decrease and perhaps increased over time, thus reflecting the inability of the Global Strategy to achieve a more balanced distribution of Sites.
Evaluation of various confidence-based strategies for isolated word rejection

Three baseline isolated word rejection strategies are initially proposed and their rejection performance is evaluated on two different types of out-of-vocabulary (OOV) utterances: OOV similar in nature to the in-vocabulary (IV) ones versus OOV consisting of non-speech events such as coughs, clicks, smacks, etc. A general OOV model, referred to as garbage, is added in parallel to the IV models and then a confidence measure, based on the contrast of the first best, hypothesis score with the garbage score, is used as an IV-OOV classifier. The discriminative power of some other confidence measures, utilising the distance between the first two hypotheses in the N-best list, is also investigated. Further, a considerable improvement (up to 34%) of the baseline classification error rate is achieved when the garbage model is supplied with word transition penalties.
Impure Science: Fraud, Compromise and Political Influence in Scientific Research

Short Changed: The Breakdown of Peer Review at the National Science Foundation Handing Out the Big Money: Neither Science Nor Sense Super Science and Politics Doctoring Data: Malfeasance in Basic Research Impure Profit: Marketing Medicine in Scientific Research Corporate Cash: Conflicts of Interest in Research Funding The Pentagon Science Game Where Do We Go from Here? Notes Index.
Comprehensive Performance Assessment—Springboard or Dead-Weight?

Since its election in 1997, the Labour Government in the UK has emphasised the need to improve the quality of public services. In the case of local government, this emphasis has led to the introduction of Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA). This article considers the merits of actual and intended CPA strategy within the wider context of public service performance measurement. The author concludes that the methodology leading to the December 2002 results and the intended way forward raise legitimate questions as to whether CPA can justifiably lay claim to being a comprehensive measure of performance.