Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Study of Currency Market Volatility in India During Its Pre and Post Derivative Period

The paper is aimed at examining the impact of introduction of currency derivatives on exchange rate volatility of Pound. The data used in this paper comprises of daily exchange rate of Pound in terms of Indian rupees for the sample period April 2006 to December 2013. To explore the time series properties Unit Root Test and ARCH LM test have been employed and to study the impact on underlying volatility GARCH (1, 1) model has been employed. The results indicate that the introduction of currency futures trading has helped in reducing the exchange rate volatility of the foreign exchange market in India. Further, the results are also indicative of the fact that the importance of recent
New records of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Iran

The ant species list of Iran is far from complete. So far, only 110 species belonging to 26 genera have been recorded from Iran. For this study, we collected the majority of ant material in two periods of field work in spring and summer of 2007 and 2008. In total, we checked more than 35,000 specimens, and recorded 32 species and six genera new to Iran: Dolichoderus, Myrmecina, Proformica, Pyramica, Stenamma and Strongylognathus. Our new records from the Central Persian desert basins indicate that the ant fauna of this region prob- ably has more species in common with that of the Central Asian deserts than with the hot subtropical deserts of the Middle East and Arabian Peninsula.
The Determinants of Total Factor Productivity: The High-Performing Asian Economies Revisited

Despite the recognised importance of total factor productivity (TFP) in explaining the remarkable economic performance of the High-Performing Asian economies (HPAEs), the study of TFP and its determinants has received little attention in the empirical literature on economic growth. This thesis attempts to make a contribution in this area by examining different methods of analysing TFP to show the fragility of carefully drawn out results from different methods of analysis. We use different types of data (cross-sectional, time-series and pooled time series and cross-sectional data) and appropriate econometric tools and consider the hypothesis that the degree of openness of an economy, the different roles of government, and human capital are the major factors that influence TFP. We also carefully examine the different ways of incorporating human capital into the analysis. Different proxies for the role of government are used to capture the different effects of government on the economy. We also acknowledge the importance of using better proxies for the degree of openness of the economy. We do find that despite careful and systematic analysis of TFP, empirical findings in this area tend to be sensitive to the type of data used and econometric techniques applied. We are therefore careful not to suggest that the results of this study identify what the determinants of TFP are without a doubt. For instance, results from the cross-sectional analysis show that government intervention, measured in terms of government consumption expenditure, price controls and government ownership of enterprises, is a statistically significant influence on the TFP levels of countries. Contrary to the hypothesis, government intervention in terms of total government consumption expenditures is a positive influence on TFP. The other forms of government intervention, e.g., ownership and control of enterprises and price controls, are, as hypothesised, negative influences on TFP, but these results are quite fragile depending on the other variables included in the regression equation. There is some evidence that the degree of openness of the economy influences TFP levels. A less open economy, measured in terms of either the black market exchange rate premium or taxes on international trade as a percentage of the total trade sector, is a negative influence on TFP levels. The effect of human capital is not statistically significant. The time-series analysis of the individual HPAEs, however, shows that only government intervention, measured in terms of non-complementary expenditure, is a statistically significant influence on TFP, and that only for Malaysia. Granger causality tests for the joint causal effects of the hypothesised determinants, on the other hand, show that these variables jointly Granger cause TFP levels in four of the five HPAEs examined (i.e., Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand). Then, estimation of the pooled time-series and cross-sectional data, allowing for fixed country effects, appears to provide support for a long-run…
The structure of external financing at start-up stage: the differences between Swedish female- and male-owned firms

This article identifies the differences in external capital acquisition pattern between female- and male-owned firms at start-up stage in Sweden. The study sample is based on a unique and compressive database including 836 female- and 1,928 male-owned firms in 2008. Various statistical tests, such as factor analysis, are employed to analyse the data collected. The results indicate that significant differences exist in external capital structure between female and male-owned firms with regards to the use of individual financial sources. The structure of financing sources was also found having a different pattern at start-up stage between male and female owners. While the female owners prefer to use the formal capital sources, their male counterparts prioritise informal capital sources. In addition, female business owners prefer government grants as the third financing alternative before the risk capital while male counterparts behaved the opposite.
Rapid isolation of Arabidopsis thaliana developing embryos.

278 BioTechniques Vol. 35, No. 2 (2003) the selection of the vectors that are used in two-hybrid strategies. MG7α contains a deletion of the endA gene, compared to the point mutation in DH5α, which still allows for a residual level of endonuclease activity (14,15). The endA knock-out removes any residual endA activity and thus allows MG7α to produce higher quality plasmid DNA preparations than strains carrying endA point mutations. In addition to its use in the yeast two-hybrid system, the qualities that it inherits from its parent strain, DH5α, and the endA deletion we have introduced, make it a good all-purpose laboratory strain. This strain will be made available through ATCC (Reference no. MBA-78; Manassas, VA, USA).
Shirley, M.M. 2008: Institutions and development: advances in new institutional analysis. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. pp. 226. £59.95. ISBN: 1 845 42968 0

Progress in Development Studies 10, 4 (2010) pp. 363–86 and contracting (implementation) agencies. It is this reform which allows the massive increase in state funding of the NGO sector in the post–Cold War period, since it ensures a continued control of the inner state over those civil society organisations to which an ever greater range of functions are delegated. Of course, in addition to devolving activities to civil society, the state is able, through cofi nancing, consultation and managerialism, to extend and deepen its infl uence over this outer layer of the new state. While, as already mentioned, this collection points the fi nger, rather than identifi es the solutions, one or two contributions do offer pointers for alternative praxis. In a stimulating study of Indian handloom weavers, Nidhi Srinivas suggests that subaltern groups can appropriate and make their own use of managerial technique. This implies that managerialist discourses and modes of being and acting are self-imposed as well as representing technology of external disciplining. Equally importantly, it shows that, if we are suffi ciently critical of the dangers and risks of managerialism, and the ways in which it is used to discipline the charity sector, we can develop our own strategies of professionalization and management – which is doubtless what the authors of this unequal but stimulating collection would wish.
A Polynomial Time OPT + 1 Algorithm for the Cutting Stock Problem with a Constant Number of Object Lengths

In the cutting stock problem, we are given a set of objects of different types, and the goal is to pack them all in the minimum possible number of identical bins. All objects have integer lengths, and objects of different types have different sizes. The total length of the objects packed in a bin cannot exceed the capacity of the bin. In this paper, we consider the version of the problem in which the number of different object types is constant, and we present a polynomial-time algorithm that computes a solution using at most one more bin than an optimum solution.
Segmenting State Travel Information Inquirers by Timing of the Destination Decision and Previous Experience

In an effort to evaluate the effectiveness of its travel advertising programs, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development annually conducts an inquiry-conversion study. This survey gathers, among other data, information on the trip characteristics and travel decision-making behaviors of individuals who visit Nebraska. This article reports these data relative to when the destination decision was made (whether before or after receiving the Nebraska Travel Informationpacket) and to previous experience in Nebraska.
Multicentre validation of a prognostic index for overall survival in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia

We wish to validate in a multicentric CLL population a nomogram and a risk score recently developed to predict overall survival (OS). Complete records from 1037 CLL patients were retrospectively collected to estimate OS and time to treatment (TTT). Cox models were used to test the independence of age, β‐2‐microglobulin, absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), sex, Rai stage and number of involved lymph node regions (LNR). Accuracy of prognostic models was tested with the concordance index (c‐index). Median follow‐up was 5.5 years, with 151 deaths and 475 treated patients. Median OS was not reached (65% survival rate at 13.9 years), median TTT was 6 years. We confirmed the ability of the prognostic score to predict OS and TTT in three risk groups, with results comparable with those reported in the original report. However, ALC and Rai stage were not independent predictors, whereas the Binet staging system, which incorporates LNR variable, showed independent predictive power; furthermore, both 5‐ and 10‐year OS estimates from nomogram were lower compared to real data. When separately analysed, the impact of therapy on OS was not selected as independent predictor of OS in our series. According to these results, we proposed a simpler four‐variable model (age, sex, Binet staging, β‐2‐microglobulin) and a new nomogram. This model had a c‐index of 0.78 versus 0.76 of the six‐variable model (p = 0.043), showing better predictive accuracy. External validation and refinement are needed on independent data sets, possibly from cancer registry patients' series. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Public Sector Transformation and Ethics: A View from South Africa

This article describes the change processes the Government of National Unity adopted after the 1994 elections in order to transform the South African public service. It shows that the Government is faced with a number of problems (reasons for change) some of which emanate from the legacy of the apartheid past and others from the current situation. Further, the article looks at the vision, mission and objectives set by the Government for the transformation process, while the current change policies and programmes are also highlighted. Finally, the article explores how the Government is dealing with the ethical issues arising from the transformation.
Precautionary versus Mercantilist Views, Theory and Evidence *

This paper tests the importance of precautionary and mercantilist motives in accounting for the hoarding of international reserves by developing countries, and provides a model that quantifies the welfare gains from optimal management of international reserves. While the variables associated with the mercantilist motive are statistically significant, their economic importance in accounting for reserve hoarding is close to zero and is dwarfed by other variables. Overall, the empirical results are in line with the precautionary demand. The effects of financial crises have been localized, increasing reserve hoarding in the aftermath of crises mostly in countries located in the affected region, but not in other regions. We also investigate the micro foundation of precautionary demand, extending Diamond and Dybvig (1983)’s model to an open, emerging market economy where banks finance long-term projects with short-term deposits. We identify circumstances that lead to large precautionary demand for international reserves, providing selfinsurance against the adverse output effects of sudden stop and capital flight shocks. This would be the case if premature liquidation of long-term projects is costly, and the economy is de-facto integrated with the global financial system, hence sudden stops and capital flight may reduce deposits sharply. We show that the welfare gain from the optimal management of international reserves is of a first-order magnitude, reducing the welfare cost of liquidity shocks from a firstorder to a second-order magnitude.
Human resource management for international joint ventures: expatriation and selective control

It often can be witnessed that companies as a matter of principle assign expatriates into key joint venture positions. However, that basic attitude may be one of the fundamental reasons for human resource problems. Building on transaction cost economics it can be argued that selective control via functional gatekeepers instead of overall control offers an efficient mechanism to reduce opportunistic behaviour in joint-venture relationships.
A Comparative Study of VaR Estimation for Structured Products

The previous literature commonly concluded that GARCH models provide better volatility forecasts in financial markets. This paper adopts the backtesting criteria, the multivariate extension of the Diebold and Mariano (1995) test, RMSE (root mean squared errors), and MAE (mean absolute errors) to compare the performances of selected conditional heteroscedastic models for structured products in the low oil price and high oil price periods. The results illustrate that, in general, the performance of GARCH type seems to be better in the whole periods whereas it is not in the low period and the high oil price period.
Quantifying Contact with the Environment: Behaviors of Young Children in Accra, Ghana

To better understand the risks of exposure for young children to fecal contamination in their environment, we systematically characterized and quantified behaviors of 154 children, 0–5 years old, in four high-density, low-income neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana. A repertoire of six different activities and five different compartments (categories of locations within the household) was developed, and about 500 hours of ordered structured observations of activities and locations of individual children were collected. These records were analyzed using a competing hazards model, estimating (Weibull) hazard rates for each state (activity/compartment combination), dependent on the present state and the preceding state. The estimated rates were used to simulate sequences of behavior and describe days in the life of a child in low-income, urban Africa. Children younger than 1 year spent most time playing or sleeping off the ground, older children frequently played on floors. Relatively little time was spent in drains or wet trash areas. Critical combinations of activities, like handwashing after defecation or before eating were estimated to occur rarely. These quantitative behavior estimates can inform future risk assessments that examine the relative roles of various fecal–oral exposure pathways in low-income urban settings.
A Theory of Minority and Majority Governments

I develop a theory of the emergence of minority and majority governments in multiparty parliamentary systems. I study a general bargaining environment with a policy space of arbitrary finite dimension, any number of political parties, and a general class of preferences over the government agreement space. I find that only majority governments form in the absence of significant political disagreement. However, I show that, except for knife-edge situations, minority government are formed with positive probability when parties represented in parliament are sufficiently ideologically polarized.
Codeletion of the JUN proto‐oncogene and the CDKN2A tumor‐suppressor gene in HRAS‐transformed rat embryo fibroblast cell lines

The cyclin kinase inhibitor p16, encoded by the CDKN2A gene, suppresses the transformation of mouse embryonic fibroblasts by oncogenic RAS.In contrast, the c‐JUN transcription factor (a major component of AP‐1) has been suggested to be required for RAS transformation of rodent fibroblasts. The CDKN2A gene and the JUNproto‐oncogene have both been mapped to rat chromosome band 5q31‐33. We here show that both copies of the CDKN2A gene are deleted in four of eight transformed cell lines derived from the transfection of rat embryo fibroblasts (REF) with HRASVAL12. In two cell lines, the homozygous deletions involved a larger area on 5q31—33, which included the JUNproto‐oncogene. JUN‐defective cells showed high AP‐1 binding activity. Both AP‐1 binding activity and stromelysin (transin) mRNA expression were found to be RAS‐dependent in one of the JUN‐defective cell lines. The finding of deletions of the CDKN2A gene in RAS‐transformed REF cell lines is consistent with the concept that CDKN2A suppresses transformation by RAS. The occasional concomitant loss of the adjacent JUNproto‐oncogene does not prevent establishment of transformed and tumorigenic cell lines. Genes Chromosom. Cancer 20:82–89, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Impact of Child Care Cost on the Labour Supply of Married Mothers: Evidence from Canada

This paper provides estimates for Canada of the impact of childcare costs on the labor supply of married mothers. This is done by linking two microdata sources: the 1988 Canadian National Child Care Survey and the 1988 Labour Market Activity Survey. The key results show that the market wage and childcare costs have, respectively, a significant positive and negative impact on both hours of work and the labor-force-participation decision by married mothers. The childcare cost elasticities for labor force participation and hours of work are reported to be -0.38 and -0.32, respectively.
A Simple Matter of Control? NHS Hospital Nurses and New Management

Over the past two decades the National Health Hospital Service has been subjected to considerable changes in is organization. 'New' public sector management (NPM) has been given the task of changing hospital culture and making service provision more efficient. Nurses, as the largest occupational group within the National Health Service (NHS), have attracted considerable management attention and there are two distinct accounts concerning how NPM has supposedly gained control of the nursing labour process. Firstly, it is proposed that the physical division of labour of health care professionals is now firmly in the hands of hospital management through the use of Tayloristic techniques. Secondly, alternative accounts suggest that public sector organization cultures have been successfully orientated toward a customer service ethos, and that the convincing discourse of 'quality' is achieving some success as a normative control device. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2004.
Strategic and non-strategic differentiation

When firms choose the characteristic of their products before output is produced, imperfectly competitive firms may use this characteristic strategically so as to reduce the output level produced by the rival. Using a simple two-stage duopoly model, the author demonstrates that such "strategic" use of the product attribute reduces the degree of differentiation between brands. As an outcome, each firm loses some market power and competition is more intense. The author demonstrates through an example that such reduced differentiation leads to reduced joint profits and reduced welfare.
School choice and information

One of the pillars of the educational voucher system is that competition between schools to attract students would improve the quality of the education provided. Surveys in Chile have suggested that parents are not aware of the performance of their children's schools. In this paper, we assess the effect of public information of school quality on the school choice by parents. We use a data set which includes measurements of the distance between homes and schools, and the performance of the school measured by a standardized tests and the school fee for two distinct periods (1996 and 2003). Whereas in 1996, information regarding school performance was scarce, it was widespread in 2003. We conclude that regardless of these considerations, school performance is an important determinant of school choice. Thus, parents appear to act 'as if' they knew it when choosing a school. Nevertheless, making public the information regarding the performance of the schools has made it a more important factor in choosing a school.
Surgical treatment of Clostridium colitides.

INTRODUCTION Infection with Clostridium difficile (CDI) is the most frequent cause of nosocomial diarrhoeas. Most cases are successfully treated by antibiotic therapy, but nearly 10% may progress to the fulminative form of this condition. The objective of the work is retrospective evaluation of the results of surgical treatment in patients with the fulminative form of Clostridium colitis with revealing of risk factors leading to serious post-operative morbidity and mortality. PATIENTS AND METHODOLOGY Retrospective evaluation of the results of surgical treatment in patients with the fulminative form of Clostridium colitis between 2008 and 4/2012. RESULTS Between 2008 and 4/2012 Clostridium toxins were positively detected in 1,088 patients in total, 21 of whom underwent operations due to the fulminative form of Clostridium colitis. The operations included 4 total colectomies with terminal ileostomy, 15 subtotal colectomies with terminal ileostomy, 1 caecostomy and 1 axial ileostomy. The 30-day mortality was 23.8%, and morbidity reached 66.6%. High leukocytosis is a statistically significant predictor of post-operative mortality and morbidity (p = 0.008). CONCLUSION Early indication for a colectomy operation with terminal ileostomy in patients with the fulminative form of Clostridium colitis leads to lower morbidity and mortality.
A Monitoring Tool for Terrorism-Related Key-Players and Key-Communities in Social Media Networks

Terrorists communicate and disseminate their activitiesusing social media, such as Twitter, where complex networksof user accounts are formed and need to be effectively analysedby Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). To this end, we proposea novel visualisation tool that assists intelligence analysts andinvestigators through the presentation of the network formation,components, key-players, key-communities and through supportof keyword search in the terrorism domain, highlighting alsosuspended users and offering navigation in the user network