Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stockholder Control, Uncertainty and the Allocation of Resources to Research and Development

LIKE a variety of firm activities, research and development is undertaken in the face of uncertainty. This uncertainty may well be substantial and is certainly pervasive, involving a variety of technological and market considerations. If such is the case, one would expect the uncertainty or, more specifically, firms' attempts to deal with uncertainty, to have an important effect on their choice of how extensively to engage in R & D. Clearly this is the implication of the theory of the firm under uncertainty, which in its general form predicts a variety of divergences from deterministic price and output decisions (e.g. see Holthausen [13] and the references cited therein) and which, in its more limited application to R & D, suggests an important effect on the R & D decision as well [I6], [I8]. To test empirically for the existence of such an effect one must not only define precisely the nature of the uncertainty associated with R & D, but also some measurable variable must be specified that will reflect interfirm differences in attitudes toward risk. One method of arriving at such a variable would involve considering the incentives and attitudes of the individuals making the R & D allocation decision.1 What factors determine their degree of risk aversion? A number of theoretical [I], [9], [25] and empirical [3], [12], [19], [22], [24], [30], [33] studies have suggested that one important factor may be the stockholder control situation in the firm. Such control imposes a variety of constraints and incentives on managerial decision-making and may be expected to have an important effect on the risk attitudes of management. The primary objective of this paper is to assess empirically how the allocation of resources to R & D is affected by the manner in which managers under alternative stockholder control situations react to the uncertainty of R & D activity. Such an assessment, of course, requires the consideration of a myriad of possible determinants of R & D spending. In this consideration,
The Agency Problems, Firm Performance and Monitoring Mechanisms: The Evidence from Collateralised Shares in Taiwan

This paper indicates that there is an inverse relationship between collateralised shares and firm performance. We further show that this inverse relationship exists only in conglomerate firms. These findings imply that agency problems resulting from shares used as collateral by boards of directors are more serious in conglomerate firms than in non-conglomerate firms. Moreover, we provide evidence that monitoring by institutional investors, creditors and dividend policy can effectively reduce the agency problems of shares used as collateral and thus can improve firm performance.
Purchasing Power Parity Theory Determinants -A Swedish Destination Study of International Tourists: a Count Data Approach

This paper employs the time-series negative binomial regression model (TNBM) to test the hypothesis effects of purchasing power parity (PPP) theory on the counts data of visitors to the north-west of Sweden (SW6 region). We consider a sample of monthly time-series count data from 1993:01 to 2008:12 taken from five countries: Denmark, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan and the United States. For each visiting country, we specify separate equations by including the relative available information. We then estimate these equations using the time - series negative binomial model (TNBM). The benefit of this model is that it is much more flexible and therefore likely to fit better (if the data is not Poisson distributed) and hence is more efficient than single-equation estimation methods such as least squares. We found that the number of visitors to Sweden is negatively related to the absolute PPP and relative PPP. This result is in accordance with macroeconomic theory and the PPP theory. The results also show that some lagged dependent variables, and several monthly dummies (representing seasonal effects), have a significant impact on the number of visitors to north-west Sweden. We also find that, in at least some cases, absolute PPP, relative PPP and relative price have significant effects on international tourism demand.
Feasibility of Effective Public-Private R&D Collaboration: the Case of Cooperative R&D Agreements

Since the mid-1980s, the federal government has supported collaborative R&D in private consortia and between industry and national research laboratories. One justification for these activities is that they can solve 'public goods' problems associated with producing non-appropriable, technology-base research. However, these efforts also create formidable contracting problems similar to those experienced in defense weapons systems development. We examine the early history of collaborations with the national laboratories, to ascertain whether or not this policy is working effectively, and find that the problems seem to be outweighing the benefits mentioned, in many cases.
The First Pan American Geosynthetics Conference & Exhibition 2-5 March 2008 , Cancun , Mexico Effect of Geomembrane Ageing on the Diffusion of VOCS through HDPE

This paper describes the migration of four commonly found volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in landfill leachates e.g., benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes through 1.5mm thick high density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembranes. Diffusion and sorption tests were conducted at room temperature (i.e., 22C) on both unaged and 13-month aged geomembrane samples. Ageing of geomembrane was carried out at 85C by immersing in synthetic leachate. The diffusion, partitioning, and permeation coefficients were estimated according to one dimensional diffusive flow equation based on Fick’s second law using a computer program POLLUTE v7. The results have shown that the permeation coefficients decreased by about 35-40% for aged geomembrane, which is probably due to the increase in geomembrane crystallinity of the aged sample. It is concluded that, other things being equal, ageing of HDPE geomembrane will result an improved barrier for diffusion of organic contaminants.
EZH2 Oncogenic Activity in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Cells Is Polycomb-Independent

Alternative Role for EZH2 Epigenetic regulators are implicated in cancer progression and proposed as therapeutic targets. Xu et al. (p. 1465; see the Perspective by Cavalli) report that EZH2 (Enhancer of zeste homolog 2), a factor previously thought to exert its oncogenic function primarily as part of the polycomb repressive complex, acts through a distinct mechanism in cells of castration-resistant prostate cancer. Rather than exclusively silencing gene expression through histone methylation, EZH2 acts as a transcriptional coactivator. The activation function of EZH2 plays a critical role in the growth of castration-resistant prostate cancer cells, which could be relevant in future drug development. An epigenetic regulator positively regulates gene expression in cell-based models of hormone-resistant prostate cancer. Epigenetic regulators represent a promising new class of therapeutic targets for cancer. Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), a subunit of Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), silences gene expression via its histone methyltransferase activity. We found that the oncogenic function of EZH2 in cells of castration-resistant prostate cancer is independent of its role as a transcriptional repressor. Instead, it involves the ability of EZH2 to act as a coactivator for critical transcription factors including the androgen receptor. This functional switch is dependent on phosphorylation of EZH2 and requires an intact methyltransferase domain. Hence, targeting the non-PRC2 function of EZH2 may have therapeutic efficacy for treating metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer.
Drivers of Autonomy of Public Agencies in Italy

The creation of agencies has been and still is a widespread trend in the public sector: governments in many countries often establish semi-autonomous single-purpose organizations to carry out a wide range of functions and tasks. The trend to autonomization is problematic as it affects public sector's governance: several bodies operate partly autonomously from the core elective government, and are sometimes loosely coupled with their ‘parent’ administration. Consequently, analysing the drivers of agencies’ autonomy is a crucial issue for public management. This paper, in the light of some major contributions in organizational science, assumes that agencies’ autonomy is influenced by factors that affect post-delegation relationships: agencies’ structure, culture and nature of the tasks executed. The study was aimed at testing a range of hypotheses about the autonomy of public agencies, using for this purpose the so-far not investigated case of Italy–much in the spirit of the accumulation of knowledge in an area of public management. Results do not provide any strikingly counter-intuitive finding, but a mix of confirmations and disconfirmations of previous findings that allow a finer-grained analysis on the determinants of agency autonomy.
Evolving policies for conservation: An Historical Profile of the Protected Area System of Nepal

Abstract Nepal has instituted progressive conservation programmes since the 1970s. This move was in reaction to very rapid rates of land clearance in the lowland areas of the country and an opening up to the world that led to nature-based tourism as a major economic enterprise. Formal conservation began with the passage of national legislation in 1973 offering strong protection for national parks and wildlife reserves, but denied usufruct rights to rural communities. From the late 1970s to the 1990s, the legislation was amended several times. Each case was, in several fundamental ways, a loosening of control by government authorities. Nepal now has buffer zone legislation and allows for the designation of conservation areas in addition to the more-strictly defined categories. Beginning in the 1990s, both government and foreign-backed projects have been implementing landscape level conservation approaches; a number of initiatives in trans-boundary protected area management with India and China have also begun and non-governmental organizations have taken an increasingly active role. This paper considers the expansion of the protected areas network in light of historical, cultural and economic factors and concludes that Nepal has been reactive in adopting conservation programmes. Both outside and inside influences have strongly affected the development of conservation programmes and there are several areas in which more work needs to be done. This includes the need for implementing both national and international conservation law and adopting social and biological monitoring programmes in and around protected areas. In addition, factors outside the control of conservation officials (i.e. a Maoist insurgency) have indirectly hindered conservation programmes in recent years and have greatly complicated prospects for further success.
Multidimensional Product Differentiation with Discrete Characteristics

In this paper we consider a duopoly model of multidimensional vertical product differentiation where product features are discrete and consumers' tastes are described by a joint density function that belongs to the class of Elliptically Contoured Distributions. We prove that in any equilibrium one firm always includes all characteristics in the product. Moreover, when types have perfect positive correlation the unique equilibrium involves maximum differentiation. More importantly, the main result states that the other firm's equilibrium level of differentiation is determined by the correlation among types.
Job Loss and Employment Patterns of Older Workers

This article uses data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine the employment patterns of workers aged 50 and above who have experienced an involuntary job loss. Hazard models for returning to work and for exiting postdisplacement employment are estimated and used to examine work patterns for 10 years following a job loss. Our findings show that a job loss results in large and lasting effects on future employment probabilities. Four years after job losses at age 55, the employment rate of displaced workers remains 20 percentage points below the employment rate of similar nondisplaced workers.
Communicating the value of dispatchability for non-utility generation projects

Electric utilities seeking to purchase power from nonutility generators (NUGs) need to provide information to NUG developers on the value to the utility power system of various attributes, in order that the developers can design projects that maximize net benefits. Dispatchability is one key attribute. This paper outlines three previous approaches to communicating to developers the value of dispatchability, and describes a fourth approach. The fourth approach presents a table of numbers representing the value of dispatchability as a function of the energy bid price and escalation rate. It has the advantage of simplicity from the perspective of the developer, while still providing a meaningful signal to the developer. >
Power to the parishes ‐ a (missed) opportunity

Parish and town councils form the lowest tier of local government in England, but have been left out of government proposals for a new duty for local authorities. The proposed new duty will give local authorities wide‐ranging power to promote economic and social well‐being. Unlike principal authorities, it is likely that these grass‐roots councils will have to rely on their power under s.137 to spend on activities outside their specific powers. This article reviews the findings of a recent national survey which was designed to assess the extent to which parishes are constrained by current s.137 arranagements.
Development of the Engineering Technology Word List for Vocational Schools in Malaysia

﻿The increasing demand for specialised instruction or lexis for Non-Native English Speakers (NNES) in various disciplines has brought about extensive research of specialized vocabulary in academic texts which help learners to make acquainted with their discourse communities. The word list which consists of the most essential words or known as “building blocks” in the specialized field is regarded as one of the most significant prerequisites in terms of curriculum development. This research emphasizes on the most frequently used engineering academic vocabulary in the form of an engineering technology word list developed using locally written Malaysian engineering technology textbooks for vocational programmes in upper secondary education. The frequently used engineering technology words are selected from the vocational-programme engineering corpus (VPEC) to enhance English for Engineering Purposes (EEP) learning. A word list named Engineering Technology Word List (ETWL) is developed and it is a valuable resource to English for Engineering Purposes (EEP) in Malaysia. The introduction of this word list can be a source of reference where key vocabulary can be accessed for curriculum development in vocational programmes. Besides that, in order for the publishers and EEP textbook writers to further advance the arrangement of vocabulary in developing EEP material, the ETWL should be the key reference.
Social Cost of Environmental Quality Regulations: A General Equilibrium Analysis

The use of cost-benefit analysis by federal regulatory agencies has expanded greatly in scope and sophistication. Unfortunately, agencies continue to employ private cost rather than social cost to evaluate environmental quality regulations. Furthermore, general equilibrium impacts and intertemporal effects of regulations are typically not included in the evaluation. In this paper we estimate the social cost of environmental quality regulations mandated by the Clean Air and Clean Water acts. We construct an econometric general equilibrium model of the United States to demonstrate that social cost estimates diverge sharply from private cost estimates. We also demonstrate that general equilibrium impacts are significant and pervasive and that intertemporal effects of the regulations, heretofore ignored, are significant.
The C-MAC videolaryngoscope for prehospital emergency intubation

Tracheal intubation has long been regarded as the gold standard in airway management. Although this has been debated in the context of prehospital emergency airway management,1 there are undoubtedly a number of advantages to securing the airway with a cuffed tracheal tube. Subsequently, a number of different devices have evolved to assist with difficult airway management. Alternative airways to the tracheal tube that do not involve seeing the vocal cords directly (supraglottic airways) are becoming increasingly popular, and in situations where tracheal intubation is to be attempted, devices that assist in the visualisation of the vocal cords have been embraced with enthusiasm by many prehospital and hospital providers …
PPP - policies, practices and problems in Ghana's urban water supply

Since the beginning of the 1990s, comprehensive reforms of the Ghanaian water sector were initiated by the Bretton Woods Institutions. The Government of Ghana was obliged to restructure the sector by establishing regulatory bodies, opening the sector to private sector participation and separating responsibilities for urban water supply from rural water supply. The parastatal Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) was created to be solely in charge of urban water supply. In spite of external assistance, GWCL continued to suffer from massive financial, managerial and technical problems. The gap between supply and demand increased while demand for potable water in the cities was on the rise and the supply systems were degenerating. In order to introduce greater efficiency, two options for public–private partnerships (PPP) were developed and contested, over a period of 10 years. At first private companies were invited to take over the GWCL by a lease contract. Numerous factors, among them a massive anti-privatisation campaign and global economic trends unfavourable to private investment, particularly in the water sector, caused a comprehensive revision of the policy and the modification of the PPP programme from lease to short-term management contract with an ensuing affermage concession in 2004. This process was to be supported by external donor agencies substantially upgrading the water supply infrastructure. However, it seemed doubtful if the recent policy would lead to a sustainable system of urban water supply and substantial improvements in the supply situation of the poor. Patronage relations were not sufficiently addressed and alternative PPP options based on local potential had not been considered. The case of Ghana raises issues of imposed PPP policies that are not based on adequate information about local, national and international framework conditions.
The National Interest and the Politics of Threat Exaggeration: The Blair Government's Case for War against Iraq

During the 2005 General Election the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, suggested that the invasion of Iraq was in 'the national interest'. Whether he knew it or not, this phrase has often referred to controversial decisions taken by governments, away from scrutiny and subject to criticism when made public, but which they believe are in the best interests of the British state. The article summarises the consequences of the invasion in terms of the subsequent criticism and official inquiries before addressing the question of what is the national interest. The article then considers what exactly was the threat, and whether or not it was exaggerated, and what evidence is now emerging to indicate that the decision to invade was taken 'in the national interest'. It concludes that there was a decision to support the USA and that the threat was exaggerated to justify this decision.
Comportamento exportador de empresas brasileiras do setor de rochas ornamentais: um estudo de caso múltiplo envolvendo fatores organizacionais, gerenciais e ambientais

O presente artigo busca verificar a influencia de tres grupos de fatores determinantes: (i) ambientais, (ii) organizacionais e (iii) gerenciais das estrategias de marketing/exportacao de empresas do setor de rochas ornamentais de um pais emergente, o Brasil. Para alcance do objetivo proposto, realizamos uma investigacao com tres empresas mineradoras, em diferentes estagios de internacionalizacao, da regiao de Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, principal polo extrator e beneficiador de granito do Estado do Espirito Santo, no sudeste do Brasil, de onde se originam cerca de 60% das exportacoes de rochas ornamentais do pais. Optou-se assim por uma pesquisa de carater qualitativo por meio do metodo de estudo de caso multiplo, o qual contou com varias fontes de evidencia, coerente com as recomendacoes de Eisenhardt (1989). O estudo de caso nos permitiu identificar as categorias de fatores que influenciaram as estrategias de marketing/exportacao das empresas foco deste estudo. Para a analise dos dados, foram confeccionados os casos individuais e realizada a analise intra- e inter-casos, buscando-se identificar semelhancas e diferencas entre as empresas estudadas. Nessa etapa, foram usadas as dimensoes sugeridas pela revisao de literatura. Em seguida, confrontamos os resultados obtidos com os achados existentes em outros estudos. Desta forma, procuramos aumentar a validade interna dos resultados e enriquecer o nivel conceitual da pesquisa em questao. Como conclusao, observamos que, quando comparado a estudos internacionais, existem semelhancas e diferencas na analise dos fatores determinantes das estrategias de marketing/exportacao das empresas de Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, pertencentes ao setor primario e localizadas no Brasil. Sugerimos que mais pesquisas sejam realizadas no contexto de paises emergentes, na busca por possiveis generalizacoes. Palavras-chave: Competitividade de Industrias Brasileira. Pequena e Media Empresa. Exportacao. Estudo de Caso. Aglomerado de Cachoeiro de Itapemirim.
Option Implied Cost of Equity and Its Properties

The estimation of the cost of equity capital (COE) is one of the most important tasks in financial management. Existing approaches compute the COE using historical data, i.e. they are backward‐looking methods. This study derives a method to calculate forward‐looking estimates of the COE using the current market prices of stocks and stock options. Our estimates of the COE reflect the expectation of the market investors about the COE during the life of the investment project. We test empirically our method and compare it with the Fama/French (1993) three‐factor model for the S&P 100 firms. The empirical results indicate that our COE estimates (1) are plausible and stable over the years as required by appropriate discount rates for capital budgeting, (2) yield an equity risk premium close to the market equity risk premium reported by Fama E. F. and French K. R. (2002), (3) generate strong return‐risk relationships, and (4) are significantly related with investor sentiment. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 29: 599–629, 2009