Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Credit Unions: A Theoretical and Empirical Overview

In 2009 there were over 49,330 credit unions across 98 countries with more than 184 million members and approximately $1,354 billion in assets. There is a great diversity within the credit union movement across these countries. This reflects the various economic, historic and cultural contexts within which credit unions operate. This paper traces the evolution of the credit union movement. It examines credit union objectives, and considers issues relating to efficiency, technology adoption, product diversification, merger, failure and demutualisation. The regulatory environment within which credit unions operate is also explored under the themes of interest rate regulation, common bond requirements, taxation, deposit insurance and capital regulation. The overview also considers demutualisation and the costs and benefits to credit unions of altering their organisational form.
Differences in earnings management between audited and non-audited private manufacturing firms: evidence from Greece

Using the level of discretionary accruals as a proxy of earnings management, we provide empirical results related to the extent of earnings management among a sample of audited and non-audited non-listed manufacturing Greek firms. In accordance with our expectations of the importance and the effect of external auditing on financial reporting, we observe that private firms that are obliged to provide non-audited financial statements report higher (lower) levels of discretionary accruals during upward (downward) earnings management compared to audited private firms. Moreover, we provide evidence consistent with the argument that some non-audited firms that are close to satisfying the criteria of statutory audit manage earnings in a direction that helps them miss the accounting related criteria. However, we fail to detect that external auditing confines the use of abnormal accruals in cases of debt issue. This result also contradicts our expectation that the low level of financial transparency that is driven by the non-publication of interim financial statements will demotivate private firms to manage earnings when raising debt capital.
The Impact of Campus Climate and Student Involvement on Students of Color

Jimmy Doan is a 2009 alumnus of the College of the Holy Cross, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. He works in the Department of Student Life as the Graduate Assistant for Campus Programs. His identities as a gay, Asian, male contribute to his passion and interest in exploring campus climate and environments for students of color and gay, lesbian, and bisexual students. As a second-year HESA graduate student, he looks forward to whatever adventures lie ahead of him. The Impact of Campus Climate and Student Involvement on Students of Color
Can GARCH Models Capture Long-Range Dependence?

This paper investigates if component GARCH models introduced by Engle and Lee(1999) and Ding and Granger(1996) can capture the long-range dependence observed in measures of time-series volatility. Long-range dependence is assessed through the sample autocorrelations, two popular semiparametric estimators of the long-memory parameter, and the parametric fractionally integrated GARCH (FIGARCH) model. Monte Carlo methods are used to characterize the finite sample distributions of these statistics when data are generated from GARCH(1,1), component GARCH and FIGARCH models. For several daily financial return series we find that a two-component GARCH model captures the shape of the autocorrelation function of volatility, and is consistent with long-memory based on semiparametric and parametric estimates. Therefore, GARCH models can in some circumstances account for the long-range dependence found in financial market volatility.
Do M&As Generate Value for Shareholders? An Analysis of the Italian Banking Sector

The aim of this paper is to verify if the M&As implemented in the past decade in the banking sector have created value for shareholders. For this purpose a sample of 72 deals carried out during the period of 1994-2005 were examined using the “event study” methodology. These deals were subdivided into three sections: acquisitions, mergers and M&As. The results obtained seem to suggest a creation of value for the target companies and a destruction of value for the bidders in all three cases. From the analysis of the combined values, on the other hand, a significant destruction of value is deduced in both mergers and in M&As.
What's Good and Bad in Political Communication Research? Normative Standards for Evaluating Media and Citizen Performance

Political communication research often claims that empirical findings are important or relevant for democratic politics without identifying the value judgments that support these assertions. Because these value judgments often lurk in the background as unstated premises, empirical scholars frequently advance normative claims about the importance or relevance of their findings without being aware that they are doing so. This chapter introduces normative assessment as a way to advance the horizons of political communication research by bringing these usually hidden claims to light. Doing so clarifies the normative standards that empirical scholarship implicitly uses to evaluate media and citizen performance. Drawing attention to these normative standards makes it possible to spot theoretical inconsistencies in empirical research while simultaneously broadening the theoretical foundation of this research to better appreciate varied ways that democratic communication can occur within complex information systems. The purpose of normative assessment is not to contend that one state of the world is somehow ‘better’ than another in an absolute sense, but rather to evaluate when and why a pattern of findings might be more important for some social problems than others, or might align more readily with some theoretical concerns than others. This chapter details how normative assessments relevant for political communication research can be made and defended.
Dorsomedial medulla stimulation activates rat supraoptic oxytocin and vasopressin neurones through different pathways.

1. This study utilized retrograde anatomical tracer techniques and in vivo extracellular electrophysiological studies to examine caudal ventrolateral and dorsomedial medulla afferents to supraoptic nucleus neurosecretory neurones in male Long‐Evans rats. 2. In one series of experiments, pentobarbitone‐anaesthetized animals were subjected to ventral exposure of the hypothalamus and rhodamine‐tagged latex microspheres (0.05‐0.2 microliter) were injected into one supraoptic nucleus. Following perfusion with paraformaldehyde‐glutaraldehyde 18‐24 h later, cell counts were obtained of rhodamine‐ and/or catecholamine‐labelled neurones in the caudal ventrolateral and dorsomedial medulla both ipsi‐ and contralateral to the injection site. 3. In the caudal ventrolateral medulla, each injection labelled fewer than 15% of the catecholaminergic neurones; with small injections, most (68‐100%) of the rhodamine‐labelled neurones also displayed catecholamine histofluorescence. In the caudal nucleus tractus solitarii, one‐half to one‐third as many rhodamine‐labelled cells were observed, but a higher percentage (13‐100%) of these were non‐catecholaminergic. 4. Extracellular recordings were obtained from antidromically identified supraoptic neurones classified as vasopressin (n = 106) or oxytocin (n = 26) secreting. Single cathodal pulses (0.2 ms duration, 0.02‐0.08 mA) applied in the caudal half of the ipsilateral nucleus tractus solitarii evoked a transient (30‐50 ms) activation of 63% of both vasopressin‐ and oxytocin‐secreting neurones. Mean latencies (+/‐ S.E.M.) for vasopressin and oxytocin cells were 49.8 +/‐ 1.0 and 46.5 +/‐ 2.4 ms respectively; these were not significantly different. Similar responses were noted to contralateral stimuli applied to four vasopressin and two oxytocin cells. 5. Vasopressin neurones activated by caudal nucleus tractus solitarii stimulation displayed similar patterns of response to stimulation in the caudal ventrolateral medulla. However, latencies from the nucleus solitarius (mean 47.6 +/‐ 1.4 ms; n = 59) were significantly longer (P less than 0.05) than from the ventrolateral medulla (41.5 +/‐ 2.0 ms; n = 17). In eight out of eleven vasopressin neurones tested, interruption of synaptic transmission through the ventrolateral medulla reduced or abolished the caudal nucleus tractus solitarii‐evoked excitation but had no effect on their response to baroreceptor activation. This manoeuvre affected zero out of five oxytocin cells similarly excited by nucleus solitarius stimulation. 6. These observations indicate that visceral input mediated through the nucleus tractus solitarii is transmitted differentially to supraoptic vasopressin‐ and oxytocin‐secreting neurones.
Characterization of a chloride conductance activated by hyperpolarization in Aplysia neurones.

A voltage‐clamp study was made of some properties of the non‐synaptic hyperpolarization‐activated Cl‐ conductance recently described in Aplysia neurones loaded with Cl‐ ions (Chesnoy‐Marchais, 1982). The experiments were performed on an identified family of neurones, which present cholinergic responses allowing an easy measurement of the equilibrium potentials of Cl‐ (ECl) and K+ ions (EK). The Cl‐ selectivity of the hyperpolarization‐activated conductance was deduced from four observations: (1) the extrapolated reversal potential of the hyperpolarization‐activated current, Er, was close to the reversal potential of the cholinergic Cl‐ response, which is the equilibrium potential for Cl‐ ions, ECl. (2) Modifications of the intracellular or extracellular Cl‐ concentration induced changes of the reversal potential Er. (3) A prolonged and intense activation of the current lowered the intracellular Cl‐ concentration. (4) The current persisted after complete substitution of intracellular and extracellular cations by CS+ ions, as well as after replacement of extracellular Na+ ions by Tris. The steady‐state Cl‐ conductance (gss) increases steeply with hyperpolarization. The kinetics of activation and deactivation are exponential and are characterized by the same voltage‐dependent time constant (tau), of the order of a few seconds or fractions of seconds. The curves gss(V) and tau (V) can both be fitted by a two‐state model in which the rate constants are exponential functions of the membrane potential (e‐fold change for 12‐16 mV). The Cl‐ current is much more affected by changes of the intracellular Cl‐ concentration than predicted simply from the change in Cl‐ driving force. Both the conductance and the time constant of activation are strongly modified. Modifications of the extracellular Cl‐ concentration do not always alter the amplitude of the hyperpolarization‐activated Cl‐ current, but systematically affect its kinetics. The hyperpolarization‐activated current is abolished after prolonged exposure of the cell to an artificial sea water where NO3‐ ions replace Cl‐ ions, as well as after intracellular injections of NO3‐ ions. Increasing the external pH shifts the gss(V) and tau (V) curves to the left. Lowering the external pH has reverse but less pronounced effects. In cells which were not loaded with Cl‐ ions and did not present the hyperpolarization‐activated Cl‐ current, this current could be detected if the hyperpolarizing jump was preceded by short depolarizing pulses. In cells which were loaded with Cl‐ ions, the Cl‐ current became larger after a short depolarizing pulse. In the presence of extracellular Co2+ ions, depolarizing pulses no longer increased the Cl‐ current. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
HRM in the Middle East: toward a greater understanding

Since the publication of the first special issue on human resource management (HRM) in the Middle East in this journal in 2007, the last seven years have witnessed a significant increase in the volume and breadth of topics relating to HRM in the region. Our aim in this special issue is to contribute to a greater understanding of HRM research and practices in the Middle East, hoping to push the research agenda forward. To achieve our aim, we critically examine the direction that HRM research on the Middle East has taken in the last seven years. We then point to current and future challenges facing the region, and suggest how these regional realities are likely to shape HRM research and practices, thus suggesting avenues for further research. Finally, we present the nine articles included in this special issue. Taken together, these articles provide a better understanding of the challenging issues facing both employees and organizations in the region, point to important new developments in theory and practice and open up avenues for further debate particularly in the areas of employment nationalization policies, self-initiated expatriation, local employee's view on expatriate managers, female talent retention, knowledge transfer from multinational corporations to local subsidiaries, high performance work systems, and employee and leaders' behaviors.
Accommodation of End-State Comfort Reveals Subphonemic Planning in Speech

Abstract Applying the ‘end-state comfort' hypothesis of Rosenbaum et al. [J Exp Psych Learn Mem Cogn 1992;18:1058; Acta Psychol (Amst) 1996;94:59] to tongue motion provides evidence of long-distance subphonemic planning in speech. Speakers' tongue postures may anticipate upcoming speech up to three segments, two syllables, and a morpheme or word boundary later. We used M-mode ultrasound imaging to measure the direction of tongue tip/blade movements for known variants of flap/tap allophones of North American English /t/ and /d/. Results show that speakers produce different flap variants early in words or word sequences so as to facilitate the kinematic needs of flap/tap or other /r/ variants that appear later in the word or word sequence. Similar results were also observed across word boundaries, indicating that this is not a lexical effect.
Sur1 Knockout Mice

Sur1 knockout mouse β-cells lack KATP channels and show spontaneous Ca2+ action potentials equivalent to those seen in patients with persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy, but the mice are normoglycemic unless stressed. Sur1 –/– islets lack first phase insulin secretion and exhibit an attenuated glucose-stimulated second phase secretion. Loss of the first phase leads to mild glucose intolerance, whereas reduced insulin output is consistent with observed neonatal hyperglycemia. Loss of KATP channels impairs the rate of return to a basal secretory level after a fall in glucose concentration. This leads to increased hypoglycemia upon fasting and contributes to a very early, transient neonatal hypoglycemia. Whereas persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy underscores the importance of the KATP-dependent ionic pathway in control of insulin release, the Sur1 –/– animals provide a novel model for study of KATP-independent pathways that regulate insulin secretion.
Financial Sector Weakness and the M2 Velocity Puzzle

Deterioration in the link between M2 and GDP, along with large prediction errors, led the Federal Reserve to downgrade M2 as a reliable indicator in 1993. We argue that the financial condition of depository institutions was a major factor behind this unusual pattern of M2 growth. When constructing measures of M2 based on banks' and thrifts' capital positions, we obtain superior M2 forecasting results and a more stable relationship between M2 and the ultimate goals of policy. M2 may contain useful information when there are no major disturbances to depository institutions. (JEL E4, E5, G2) Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.
Transgender youth and suicidal behaviors: Applying the interpersonal psychological theory of suicide

ABSTRACT The interpersonal psychological theory of suicide (IPTS) was used to examine suicidal thoughts and behaviors among 129 transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) youth. Youth were categorized according to their gender identities: female to male (FTM), male to female (MTF), female to different gender (FTDG), and male to different gender (MTDG). Higher percentages of suicidal ideation were reported by FTDG and FTM youth; higher percentages of suicide attempts were reported by FTDG and MTDG youth. Perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness were significantly related to suicidal ideation and/or suicide attempts. Experiences of painful, provocative, and harmful events and acquired capability significantly predicted suicide attempts. The findings support IPTS in explaining suicidal behaviors among TGNC youth. Implications for prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.
9. Using Communities of Practice to Foster Faculty Development in Higher Education

Communities of practice are becoming more widespread within higher education, yet little research has explored how these social learning networks can enhance faculty development. The focus of this paper is to describe the first-year experience of a community of practice initiative at McMaster University that was designed to engage groups of faculty, staff, and students to share ideas and foster learning. Four communities were initiated: Teaching with Technology, Teaching Professors, Pedagogy, and First Year Instructors, all of which provided a forum of safety and support, encouraging new ideas and risk taking that in turn contributed to individual and collective learning. Though in its early days, we consider communities of practice an innovative way to regenerate current learning and surface teaching practices that can build dynamic academic communities to foster faculty and staff development. Communities of practice have enabled us to reach beyond formal structures (e.g., classrooms) to create connections amongst people from different disciplinary boundaries that generate learning and foster development.
Effects of air quality regulation on the destination choice of relocating plants

Whether lax environmental regulations are an important attraction for mobile capital remains one of the most controversial issues in the area of regulatory federalism. While the extant literature does a nice job of estimating the effects of environmental regulation on the spatial allocation of new plant births, one neglected area of research is the effect that environmental regulation has on plant relocation decisions. This paper uses an annual (1980--90) county level panel data set to examine the relationship between air quality regulatory stringency and the destination choice of relocating plants. We estimate empirical models using both parametric and semi-nonparametric specifications. Empirical results from both models suggest that air quality regulations alter significantly the destination choices of relocating plants. Copyright 2003, Oxford University Press.
Affirmative action and welfare in matching markets

This paper investigates welfare property of stable matchings in student-college matching markets when affirmative action constraints are present. We propose a new class of preferences called separable preferences with affirmative action constraints. We show that when colleges have substitutable and separable preferences with affirmative action constraints, (i) the student-optimal stable matching is weakly Pareto optimal for students, and (ii) the rural hospital theorem (Roth 1986) holds with appropriate definition of “colleges with vacant positions. ” Moreover, we note that (iii) when colleges have responsive preferences with affirmative action constraints, the student-optimal stable mechanism respects improvements in the sense of Balinski and
The Effect of Access to Post-Retirement Health Insurance on the Decision to Retire Early

The authors analyze the effect of the availability of post-retirement health insurance on early retirement behavior of men using data from the 1984, 1986, and 1988 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). They extend previous static models of retirement to account for access to health insurance as a factor in the retirement decision. The estimates from probit models of retirement during the SIPP panel period show that the offer of continued employer-provided health insurance coverage after retirement increased the likelihood of retirement before age 65. Also, the authors find evidence that the presence before retirement of retirement insurance coverage through a source in addition to the employer increased the likelihood of early retirement.
MICRO-IRRIGATION: ADVANCES IN SYSTEM DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT Subsurface drip irrigation for corn production: a review of 10 years of research in Kansas

Kansas State University initiated studies in 1989 to develop the methodology for successful application of subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) for corn production on the deep silt loam soils of the Central Great Plains, USA. Irrigation water use for corn can be reduced by 35–55% when using SDI compared with more traditional forms of irrigation in the region. Irrigation frequency has not been a critical issue when SDI is used for corn production on the deep silt loam soils of the region. A dripline spacing of 1.5 m has been found to be most economical for corn grown in 0.76 m spaced rows. Nitrogen fertigation was a very effective management tool with SDI, helping to maximize corn grain yield, while obtaining high efficiencies of nitrogen and water use. The research SDI systems have been utilized since 1989 without replacement or major degradation. SDI systems lasting 10–20 years are cost competitive for corn production with the more traditional forms of irrigation in the Great Plains for certain field sizes.
The politics of spatial renovation: Reconfiguring ritual places and practice in Iron Age and Early Historic South India

In South India, during the Iron Age and Early Historic Period, the space and meaning of certain ritual places were occupied and renovated by particular social groups in order to strategically meditate transitional logics of value and power. In northern Karnataka, during the Iron Age (1200–300 BC), megalithic monuments were built on earlier Neolithic ritual places (ashmounds), or materials from these places were removed and incorporated into megaliths constructed nearby, appropriating their space, material, and meaning, contributing to the construction of developing social distinctions. In the lower Krishna River Valley, during the Early Historic Period (300 BC–AD 300), Buddhist monastic communities constructed architectural complexes on, or proximal to, extant megalithic mortuary complexes, appropriating the space and meaning of these important ritual places. This paper explores how these strategic appropriations of socially significant places inscribed the landscape with novel forms of politically salient ritual architecture reordering the experience and perception of socio-ritual practice and place.