Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Merging Limited Perspectives

For almost 40 years, the relationship between corporate environmental performance (CEP) and corporate financial performance (CFP) has been analyzed in hundreds of empirical studies without yielding conclusive results. A major reason for this unsatisfying situation is the use of different measurement and theoretical approaches. Our article provides a literature review of existing measurement approaches for CEP and CFP as well as an examination of available theories and factors regarding the causal relation, direction, and potential moderators and mediators of the CEP‐CFP relationship. In essence, we provide a synopsis by mapping not only the varying measurement approaches, but also the limited perspectives of the theories and factors about the relationship. With this synopsis, we aim to enhance the design of future studies through a metamodel that merges the limited perspectives of the theories and the factors on the CEP‐CFP link.
Can High Reserves Offset Weak Fundamentals? A Simple Model of Precautionary Demand for Reserves

Apart from exchange rate objectives which have resulted in reserve accumulation as a side effect, Asian countries have chosen explicitly to build up reserves at least in part for precautionary motives. This paper explores the issue of optimal precautionary demand for reserves by a central bank within a context of a simple analytical model. The model suggests that, in general, high reserves can help offset moderately weak fundamentals. However, if fundamentals are sufficiently weak, no level of reserves will be able to counterbalance the weak fundamentals. This is broadly consistent with the escape clause based second-generation models of currency crisis.
A new pattern of technology transfer in rural China: Triple helix of academy‐agriculture‐government relations in Baoji city)

Summary During the transformation of the agro‐technology extension system in rural China, many new policy experiments are emerging to rebuild the lost linkages and to improve technology transfer with the system and among systems. Applying the Triple Helix Model of academy‐agriculture‐government relations, this paper explores a new pattern of technology transfer with the case of BaojiCity. The authors interpret the mechanism of “Courtyards for Agro‐experts”, as well as the comparison between different types of courtyards. This article concludes that the Triple Helix in the agro‐sector improves technology transfer and accelerates knowledge‐based regional development. In the interest of farmers there should also be concern over reducing inequity during the reform.
Clinical versus ultrasound examination of the thyroid gland in common clinical practice

In a prospective series of 72 patients, clinical and ultrasonographic examination of the thyroid gland were compared in detail. Normal‐sized lobes were differentiated from enlarged ones both by inspection and by palpation. When lobar size was assessed by palpation, the estimate was most clearly influenced by increase in width. The correlation between two examiners in lobe size assessment was significant. In the classification of thyroid disease as diffuse, solitary, or multinodular, clinical examination and ultrasonography correlated significantly. However, only one third of the clinically solitary nodules proved to be solitary by ultrasound examination. Of 77 separate nodules, 43 escaped detection on clinical examination. Of these 43, 14 nodules exceeded 2 cm in diameter. It is concluded that the use of ultrasonography frequently alters the primary evaluation of thyroid nodularity based on palpation.
Home automation using edge computing and Internet of Things

The current smart home ecosystem is fragmented due to competing IoT standards, heterogeneous devices and non-interoperability of home automation solutions. This paper proposes a harmonized and interoperable home automation solutions exploiting the concepts of Edge Computing, Virtual IoT Devices (VID) and the Internet of Things (IoT). We present a smart home architecture, prototype and its application in an use case. Our efforts establish the prototype as a lightweight and secure solution for emerging smart homes.
Union Exclusion and the Decollectivization of Industrial Relations in Contemporary Britain

A major focus of the Conservative government's employment policy since 1979 has been the reduction of union power within the labour market, the employment relationship and as representatives of a separate ‘labour interest’ in society ' union exclusion. The principal impact of the legislative changes is to deny workers access to resources of collective power, thereby commensurately increasing employers' discretion to determine the terms of the employment relationship. When forming new subsidiaries and establishments, or purchasing non-union subsidiaries, employers have been able to resist unionization and recognition except on their own terms, but comparatively few have terminated existing union recognition agreements, preferring to marginalize the role of unions through the adoption of partial exclusion policies ' joint consultation, direct communication, performance-related pay, and the fragmentation of common employment and bargaining.
Snow-Covered Area Estimation Using Satellite Radar Wide-Swath Images

Satellite radar-based remote sensing of snow cover during the snow-melt season has been widely studied for different geographical regions, such as mountainous, open, and forested areas. However, a single method has not been found to function well on all regions. The investigations on boreal forest zone have allowed the Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) to develop a snow-covered area (SCA) method that is feasible using spatially limited European Remote Sensing-1/2 Satellite data. This paper investigates the use of wide-swath radar data for boreal forest SCA estimation for the first time. The TKK SCA method is adapted here for HH-polarization Radarsat data. The predominant aspect originated by the use of wide-swath synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data is the large variation in the radar incidence angle. The effect of incidence angle variation on SCA estimation is characterized in this paper. The foundation for operational implementation of the TKK SCA method is also established by an error propagation analysis presented in this paper. The error propagation analysis is compared with accuracy characteristics acquired between SAR and optical SCA evaluation. The performance of forest compensation, which is a key element of the TKK method, was analyzed for the wide-swath radar data. Furthermore, the correlation between the topography and the SCA estimation accuracy was examined in this paper. This paper lays the foundation for operational SCA estimation on boreal forest zone using wide-swath SAR data
Comment on Kala Seetharam Sridhar's (1996) "Tax Costs and Employment Benefits of Enterprise Zones"

This article is a comment on the evaluation of the Illinois Enterprise Zone program by Kala Seetharam Sridhar published in Economic Development Quarterly in 1996. Sridhar's evaluation method overstates the number of jobs created as a result of the Enterprise Zone program. The methodfails to recognize that many of the jobs created in an enterprise zone would have located in that zone in the absence of the program. For example, it is normalfor a new retail establishment that is replacing one that has moved out to obtain a building permitfor remodeling interior space and to qualifyfor a program subsidy. The jobs created in this new establishment cannot necessarily be attributed to the program.
Integration of Ethics in Malawian Public Accountancy Education

The study was a content analysis of recently revised Malawian public accountancy curriculums with an aim of evaluating the level of ethics integration. The study also examined the old curriculums in order to appreciate the improvements that the revision made in relation to ethics integration. The study analysed the curriculums of three basic entry levels namely; certificate level, diploma level and degree level. The findings suggested that ethics was not integrated in the old certificate curriculum; however it is now embedded in a single course in revised curriculum. On the other hand, in both the old diploma and old degree curriculums, ethics was embedded only in auditing courses. However in the revised diploma curriculum, ethics is embedded in three additional courses. In the revised degree curriculum ethics is embedded in five additional modules, besides, a standalone module has been introduced. Thus the results suggest significant improvements in the level of ethics integration in the Malawian public accountancy education. The study recommends further comparative studies to evaluate the quality of integration, besides examining the efficacy of teaching, learning and assessment of ethics.
Optimization of resources and waste management in construction and quarrying chain : toward a resource efficiency plan

Purpose. This paper aims to highlight the opportunities offered by the circular economy in the construction sector in terms of waste valorisation and reuse, in light of implementing a strategic resource efficiency plan within a sustainable construction waste management strategy. Methods. A material flow analysis (MFA) has been developed on national scale and extended to the whole chain of construction and quarrying activities that encompasses all stages ranging from raw material production, through manufacture of building products, to the construction of buildings and infrastructures. Using the most recent data on production, sale and import-export, an investigation of resources' use throughout the overall chain was carried out in order to establish the domestic demand for each product and the stock stored in the production system. Wastes production and their actual management were investigated as well as the potential of reuse within the chain. Moreover, potentialities of substitution of raw materials with residues produced by other activities were evaluated, identifying their current reuse rate and the potential not yet exploited as well as the limits and the critical issues. Results. The results highlight as the high domestic demand for raw materials is met almost exclusively by virgin materials and the substitution rate is very low. However, the potentialities in term of substitution are high thanks to the large availability of waste produced within the chain (i.e. construction and demolition waste) and outside it (e.g. bottom ashes, steel slag, and other industrial wastes used as material or traditional fuel substitution) Conclusions. The potential in term of substitution of raw materials with residues and wastes produced within and out of the chain is not adequately exploited and further efforts, in term of national policies and strategies are needed to effectively shift towards a full resource efficiency and circular economy in the sector. Data and results of this investigation could be useful to correctly address these policies.
Forbearance Impedes Confidence Recovery (Revised)

This paper is a revised version of DP02-E-005, where the mathematical structure of the model in this paper is substantially different from the previous one. The finding that countries that take a slow approach to reform during a financial crisis run into problems of persistent stagnation is usually explained as follows: Forbearance policy (i.e., an implicit subsidy to inefficient sectors) distorts resource allocation, causing a supply shortage of resources to the productive sectors. I propose another explanation: Forbearance impedes the recovery of confidence that is lost during a financial crisis. If confidence is restored through Bayesian learning by economic agents based on observations of government actions, then the inaction of the government (forbearance) impedes Bayesian learning. The model shows that forbearance policy delays economic recovery. (forthcoming in Journal of Macroeconomics)
Community-Supported Agriculture in the Research Triangle Region of North Carolina: Demographics and Effects of Membership on Household Food Supply and Diet

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is relatively new in North Carolina and growing rapidly with approximately 60 CSA farms. CSA members belonging to 5 farms in the Research Triangle (central) region of North Carolina were administered a survey instrument designed to collect data in the following areas: (1) demographic characteristics, (2) how members first learned about their CSA and reasons for joining, (3) the different sources from which fruit and vegetables enter the household, (4) outcomes and utilization of their weekly CSA share, and (5) fruit and vegetable consumption. The survey was distributed to 448 members of 5 CSA farms during the 2007 season and a non-CSA control group (n = 97); 210 CSA member surveys were completed and analyzed. Findings indicated that CSA members tend to be Caucasian, middle-aged, married, economically secure, and highly educated. The primary ways consumers heard of their CSAs were friends/acquaintances and the Internet/CSA Web sites. Additionally, members cited supporting local farms, healthier eating, and knowing where your foods come from as major reasons for joining a CSA. CSAs provided 46% of a household's weekly produce, and the majority (75%) of produce obtained from CSAs was consumed, with only a small percentage discarded. CSA members consumed significantly more servings of fruits and vegetables and a greater variety of these foods than non-CSA controls.
Unified Management and Optimization of Edge-Cloud IoT Applications

Internet of Things (IoT) applications have seen a phenomenal growth with estimates of growing to a 25 Billion dollar industry by 2020. With the scale of IoT applications growing and stricter requirements on latency, edge computing has piqued the interest for such environments. However, the industry is still in its infancy with no proper support for applications running across the entire edge-cloud environment, and an array of manual tedious per-application optimizations. In this work, we propose Steel, a unified framework for developing, deploying, and monitoring applications in the edge-cloud. Steel supports dynamically adapting and easily moving services back and forth between the edge and the cloud. Steel is extensible where common optimizations (but crucial for the edge) can be built as pluggable and configurable modules. We have added two very common optimizations: placement and adaptive communication, to cope with both short and long-term changes in the workload and environment.
EBV-Positive Grey Zone Lymphoma in an HIV Infected Man from Kampala, Uganda: Case Report.

AIM We describe the clinical, histopathological and immunophenotypic characteristics of an HIV-infected adult man on antiretroviral therapy who presented with an EBV-positive grey zone lymphoma. CASE PRESENTATION A 56-year-old HIV infected man from Uganda presented with a four month history of progressive abdominal swelling and B-symptoms. He was on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and cotrimoxazole. He was afebrile (36.9°C), severely wasted (BMI 14.8), and mildly anaemic. On physical examination, he had a 15 by 8 cm mass in the hypogastrium and umbilical region. The total white cell count was 8.3×103/μL; neutrophils, 5.72×103/μL; haemoglobin 11.1g/dL, platelets 528×103/μL, LDH 197 IU/L and CD4 367/μL. Abdominal ultrasound and CT scan showed a tumour involving the mesentery, jejunum and mid ileum. At laparotomy, a biopsy was taken, fixed, processed and stained with Haematoxylin & Eosin (H & E). Histopathology demonstrated large pleomorphic cells admixed with inflammatory smaller cells, Reed-Sternberg-like cell variants and frequent abnormal mitoses. Biomarkers CD20, PAX5, CD30 were positive but ALK negative (immunohistochemistry and strong EBER positivity in situ hybridization. The patient improved on modified CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone) therapy. DISCUSSION The tumour had features intermediate between mediastinal large B cell lymphoma and classical Hodgkin lymphoma. CONCLUSION We present a case of EBV-positive grey zone lymphoma in an HIV-infected man on HAART therapy diagnosed and treated in a resource constrained medical setting. The histological features are unusual and represent a low incidence lymphoma that is recognized by mixed features reminiscent of Hodgkin's lymphoma and mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma.
Pathfinder: applying graph theory to consistent tracking of daytime mixed layer height with backscatter lidar

Abstract. The height of the atmospheric boundary layer or mixing layer is an important parameter for understanding the dynamics of the atmosphere and the dispersion of trace gases and air pollution. The height of the mixing layer (MLH) can be retrieved, among other methods, from lidar or ceilometer backscatter data. These instruments use the vertical backscatter lidar signal to infer MLHL, which is feasible because the main sources of aerosols are situated at the surface and vertical gradients are expected to go from the aerosol loaded mixing layer close to the ground to the cleaner free atmosphere above. Various lidar/ceilometer algorithms are currently applied, but accounting for MLH temporal development is not always well taken care of. As a result, MLHL retrievals may jump between different atmospheric layers, rather than reliably track true MLH development over time. This hampers the usefulness of MLHL time series, e.g. for process studies, model validation/verification and climatology. Here, we introduce a new method pathfinder , which applies graph theory to simultaneously evaluate time frames that are consistent with scales of MLH dynamics, leading to coherent tracking of MLH. Starting from a grid of gradients in the backscatter profiles, MLH development is followed using Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm (Dijkstra, 1959). Locations of strong gradients are connected under the condition that subsequent points on the path are limited to a restricted vertical range. The search is further guided by rules based on the presence of clouds and residual layers. After being applied to backscatter lidar data from Cabauw, excellent agreement is found with wind profiler retrievals for a 12-day period in 2008 (R2 = 0.90) and visual judgment of lidar data during a full year in 2010 (R2 = 0.96). These values compare favourably to other MLHL methods applied to the same lidar data set and corroborate more consistent MLH tracking by pathfinder.
ANALYST BEHAVIOR SURROUNDING TENDER OFFER ANNOUNCEMENTS

We examine the usefulness and credibility of analyst recommendations by focusing on their behavior surrounding tender offer announcements. For our 1998-2001 sample, we find analysts did not identify takeover targets through their recommendations nor did they distinguish between wealth-increasing and wealth-decreasing tender offers. We find some evidence of conflicts of interest in analyst recommendations, but it is confined to the 1999-2000 dot-com period. However, the long-run performance following recommendations suggests that these conflicts have little ultimate cost to investors. 2007 The Southern Finance Association and the Southwestern Finance Association.
Cardiovascular and Central Nervous System Effects of Intravenous Levobupivacaine and Bupivacaine in Sheep

Commercially available bupivacaine is an equimolar mixture of R(+)-and S(-)-bupivacaine. S(-)-bupivacaine (i.e., levobupivacaine) is currently undergoing preclinical evaluation. Cross-over studies with IV levobupivacaine and bupivacaine were conducted in two groups of seven conscious sheep. Doses were chosen to avoid convulsions (smaller dose 6.25-37.5 mg/min) or to be potentially toxic (larger dose 75-200 mg/3 min). In subconvulsive doses, both drugs produced similar time- and dose-dependent depression of left ventricular systolic contractility (dP/dtmax). Convulsions occurred consistently with >or=to75 mg of bupivacaine and >or=to100 mg of levobupivacaine, producing an abrupt reversal of dP/dtmax depression. Subconvulsive doses produced minor cardiovascular effects on heart rate and blood pressure, whereas both were increased by convulsions. Cardiac output and myocardial blood flow were decreased with larger doses of both drugs. Doses >75 mg of bupivacaine or >100 mg of levobupivacaine induced QRS widening and ventricular arrhythmias, but significantly fewer and less deleterious arrhythmias were induced by levobupivacaine. Three animals died after 150, 150, and 200 mg of bupivacaine from the sudden onset of ventricular fibrillation. These doses of levobupivacaine produced nonfatal arrhythmias that automatically returned to sinus rhythm. We conclude that levobupivacaine could offer a greater margin of clinical safety than bupivacaine. Implications: Levobupivacaine comprises 50% of commercially available bupivacaine and is being considered for use in its own right. Local anesthetics can cause toxicity to the cardiovascular and central nervous systems. As a part of a preclinical evaluation of levobupivacaine, this study compared the toxic effects of levobupivacaine and bupivacaine in sheep. (Anesth Analg 1998;86:797-804)
Short-Run Determinants of the USD/MYR Exchange Rate

This paper examines short-run determinants of the U.S. dollar/Malaysian ringgit (USD/MYR) exchange rate based on a simultaneous-equation model. Applying the EGARCH model, the paper finds that the USD/MYR exchange rate is positively associated with the Malaysian real government Treasury bill rate, U.S. real GDP, the Malaysian real stock index and the expected exchange rate and is negatively influenced by the U.S. real Treasury bill rate, Malaysian real GDP and the U.S. real stock index. The Asian financial crisis has shifted the exchange rate function downward.
Monopoly Insurance under Adverse Selection When Agents Differ in Risk Aversion

Abstract This paper considers a profit maximizing monopolistic insurer who offers insurance to two types of risk averse agents in an environment where the uninsured position has the same distribution across types, agents′ utility functions are private information, and types are independently and identically distributed. We prove that if there is no lower bound on liability and the types differ markedly in their attitudes to heavy losses, the insurer can extract almost all rent by offering full insurance to agents who are more risk averse and two-valued partial insurance to the others. Under limited liability, separating insurance contracts have a similar structure but it may be impossible to approximate the first best. Unless the uninsured position is supported by two atoms, insurance is provided to all agents. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: D42, D82.
Family‐Friendly Management in Great Britain: Testing Various Perspectives

Five main perspectives on family-friendly management are differentiated by their conceptions about the nature of such management and not just by its assumed predictors. Multivariate analysis of the relationships among a set of family-oriented practices shows that some but not all are used in a systematic way. Regression analysis reveals that employers’ adoption of family-friendly approaches is explained by factors that span all five perspectives, but overall, the organizational adaptation perspective fares best.