Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Religion and American Public Attitudes on War and Peace

In recent years, scholars have discovered that the American public responds to foreign policy issues on the basis of fairly stable broad orientations toward international affairs, influenced by a number of demographic, ideological, and partisan factors. Although there has been much recent speculation about the role that religion plays in shaping such orientations, there are very few empirical analyses of that influence. In this article, I use the 2012 Chicago Council on Global Affairs survey to classify American religious groups on Wittkopf ’s (1990) classic dimensions of foreign policy attitudes: militant internationalism and cooperative internationalism. I find rather different religious constituencies for each perspective, with Evangelical Protestants and religious traditionalists from other faiths most supportive of militant internationalism, while ethnoreligious minorities and religious modernists are most likely to back cooperative internationalism.
Pakistan - Learning and Educational Achievements in Punjab Schools (LEAPS) : insights to inform the education policy debate

This report shares the findings of first round of the Learning and Educational Achievement in Punjab Schools (LEAPS) survey carried out in all the public and private schools offering primary level education in 112 villages of the province. This survey includes learning outcomes for 12,000 children in Class III in Urdu, English, and Mathematics together with detailed information on the beliefs and behavior of schools, teachers and parents. This large and independent exercise provides critical information on every aspect of the educational marketplace, including performance of all types of schools in select districts of the province. This report presents findings from the first round of the survey in 2003 along with trends for a few key outcomes between 2003 and 2007; a further report will incorporate all other information from the four rounds collected between 2003 and 2007.
Localized mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma treated with radiation therapy has excellent clinical outcome.

PURPOSE Extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma) is a distinct lymphoma with unique clinicopathologic features. We report the clinical outcome of stage I and II MALT lymphoma treated with involved field radiation therapy (RT). PATIENTS AND METHODS From 1989 to 2000, 103 patients with stage IE and IIE disease were referred. Their median age was 60 years, with a 2:1 female predominance. Presenting sites were stomach (17 patients), orbital adnexa (31 patients), salivary glands (24 patients), thyroid gland (13 patients), and other sites (18 patients). Ninety-three patients received RT--85 received RT alone, and eight received chemotherapy and RT--with a median dose of 30 Gy. The median follow-up time was 5.1 years. RESULTS A complete response (CR) to RT alone was achieved in 84 of 85 patients. Among CR patients, 14 experienced relapse. Relapse sites were mostly contralateral paired-organ or distant MALT locations and, infrequently, lymph nodes. The crude local control rate with RT was 95.3% (81 of 85 patients). No relapses were observed in patients with stomach or thyroid lymphoma, whereas 14 of 63 patients (22%) experienced relapse in the other sites. The overall 5-year survival rate was 98%, and the disease-free survival rate was 77%. Transformed lymphoma was observed in 14% of patients (two of 14) experiencing relapse. CONCLUSION Moderate-dose RT achieved excellent local control in localized MALT lymphomas and had curative potential for three fourths of the patients. Gastric and thyroid MALT lymphomas had better outcome, whereas distant failures were common for other sites. Despite relapse, the disease often maintained an indolent course.
Patterning of spinal cord oligodendrocyte development by dorsally derived BMP4

Oligodendrocyte precursors (OPCs) initially arise in the motor neuron domain of the ventral ventricular zone of the developing spinal cord. After dispersal throughout gray and white matter, OPCs differentiate in a characteristic ventral to dorsal sequence. The spatial localization of OPC induction is in part a result of both positive local sonic hedgehog signaling and dorsally derived inhibitory cues. One component of dorsal inhibitory signals seems to be members of the transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) superfamily such as the bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). We show that during the initial appearance and subsequent maturation of OPCs, BMP4 was expressed specifically in the dorsal midline and its expression was correlated spatially and temporally with phospho‐Smad 1+, BMP4‐responsive cells. Implantation of sonic hedgehog (Shh)‐coated beads adjacent to dorsal spinal cord in Xenopus embryos induced ectopic dorsal OPCs whereas BMP4‐coated beads inhibited OPC appearance. More importantly, blocking endogenous dorsal BMP4 with anti‐BMP4‐coated beads locally induced ectopic OPCs. Similar results were obtained using soluble ligands on slice preparations of rodent spinal cord in vitro. In dissociated cell cultures of embryonic rat spinal cord, Shh and BMP4 had antagonistic effects on OPC development and the sensitivity of oligodendrocyte lineage cells to BMP4 increased with maturation. These data suggest that BMP4 contributes to the pattern of spinal cord oligodendrogenesis by regulating both induction and maturation of spinal cord OPCs. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Markets for Experience Goods with Performance Uncertainty

This article analyzes the market for experience goods when the product's quality is uncertain. Unlike the case of certain product quality, in this setting, a customer who receives a bad product cannot automatically infer that the producer has "cheated. " In this two-period model, producers select either high- or low-quality technologies, and consumers individually decide whether or not to rebuy the product in the second period. The sequential equilibria involve mixed strategies in producer "honesty" and buyer "trust," and the form of these strategies under conditions of monopoly and competition is investigated. Unreasonable equilibria are eliminated by applying a form of Kohlberg and Mertens' invariance criterion. Several extensions are analyzed, including the use of first-period discounts and an infinite horizon model obtained by independent repetition of the two-period case.
Dendritic Spine Alterations in Neocortical Pyramidal Neurons following Postnatal Neuronal Nogo-A Knockdown

The myelin-associated protein Nogo-A is a well-known inhibitor of axonal regeneration and compensatory plasticity, yet functions of neuronal Nogo-A are not as clear. The present study examined the effects of decreased levels of neuronal Nogo-A on dendritic spines of developing neocortical neurons. Decreased Nogo-A levels in these neurons resulted in lowered spine density and an increase in filopodial type protrusions. These results suggest a role for neuronal Nogo-A in maintaining a spine phenotype in neocortical pyramidal cells.
On Establishing Primary Cultures of Neonatal Rat Ventricular Myocytes for Analysis Over Long Periods

Neonatal Rat Ventricular Myocyte Cultures. Introduction: Primary cultures of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes include a population of rapidly dividing nonmyocardial cells that can alter the properties of myocytes and complicate experimental interpretations. Without any intervention, nonmyocyte proliferation restricts the utility of primary cultures in biochemical and electrophysiologic studies to 4–5 days. However, with the recent interest in regulation of cardiac gene expression and the effects of growth factors on cardiac function, long‐term studies with stable heart cultures are warranted.
On Compulsory-Arbitration Schemes

This paper studies the settlements generated by several variants of a compulsory-arbitration scheme called ``final-offer arbitration'' (FOA). Some of these are now in use in several states, and one has been recommended by Clifford Donn as an improvement on existing schemes. Under reasonable economic assumptions, two versions of FOA now being used are equivalent to imposing z̄, the settlement the arbitrator would impose in conventional compulsory arbitration would impose in conventional compulsory arbitration, a result contrary to the intent of the FOA statues. However, a simple modification of Donn's proposal leads to a scheme that generates Pareto-efficient settlements that are at least as good for each agent as z̄. This suggests that substantial gains in welfare could be realized by a simple change in existing FOA statues and possibly also by using the new procedure in situations where compulsory arbitration is not now prescribed by law.
Organizational form, ownership structure and corporate performance: a contextual empirical analysis of UK companies

This paper contributes to the literature on organizational form and performance (the performance-conduct paradigm) by examining the impact of two sets of variables that have not been examined previously: measures of environmental uncertainty and alternative forms of controlling separation of ownership from control. The paper first examines the extent to which contextual variables such as perceived environmental uncertainty and age of the organizational form moderate the relationship between organizational form and corporate performance. Next, the paper extends the analysis by examining the possible effects of ownership and control structures on performance. Measures suggested by agency theory, such as conventional ownership proxies (i.e. proportion of shares held by identifiable, homogenous groups), the proportion of non-executive board members and Fama and Jensen's concept of separation of decision management from decision control are used in the analysis. The results indicate that these measures have direct impact on corporate performance in their own right, though the main impact is indirect through interactions with organizational form variables.
The private capital's social responsibility role in the sustainable human resources development with reference to Egypt

The private capital’s social responsibility concept refers to the existence of implicit contract which determines the rights and responsibilities of businessmen towards the society. It is notable that the private sector’s social responsibility concept is deep rooted and well-established to the extent that it could be sometimes misinterpreted as beneficiary work concept or public relations. This research is aim at identifying the concept and importance of social responsibility, its various components and forms with focus on private capital’s role in bearing social responsibility. It also aims to clarify the relationship between social capital and the realization of sustainable development. This research also handled the role of private sectors and their contribution in Egypt in the field of social responsibility and the potential benefits that the working companies in Egypt could gain through the contribution to social capital. Finally, the research reviews other countries experiences in the field of social responsibility and its benefit in order to introduce the necessary recommendation for activating the Egyptian private sector’s role in bearing the social responsibility. There is also no clear organization of the private sector’s work mechanisms as the private sector’s contribution is still less than what is expected. In spite of the latest development of the social work concept, it does not exceed being individual initiatives because of the absence of the organizing vision and the consistency among the needs of the society. This research relies on the descriptive method to describe, interpret and analyze the relationship between social capital and the realization of sustainable development in Egypt. The study examines the following hypotheses: There is a close relationship between social capital and sustainable development.
Cartel Contract Duration: Empirical Evidence from Inter-War International Cartels

A formal cartel organization sets up a multilateral relationship between firms in a given industry. While standard contracting literature has studied bilateral monopoly relationships in detail, there are horizontal relationships, like cartels, that also have contractual aspects. To shed light on how these contracts work, this paper takes a sample of legal formal cartel contracts and examines their structure and durability. Borrowing from industrial organization theories and transaction cost theories, the empirical model tests for the importance of demand uncertainty and cartel organizational characteristics in determining cartel contract duration. The results show that the more uncertain the environment within which the cartel operates, the shorter the expected cartel duration. Other industry structure characteristics and cartel organization variables included in the empirical model have a much weaker influence on duration. Copyright 2005, Oxford University Press.
Meaning and Action in Local Economic Development Strategies: A Comparison of Policies in Britain and the United States

Examinations and assessments of different countries' local economic development strategies have tended to overlook the very different rationales for such activity in diverse politicoeconomic cultures. Differences in the meanings ascribed to locality, to development, and to different programmatic partnerships—and in the divergent patterns of associated local actions—are studied by examining the metaphors used in the development policy literatures in Britain and the United States. The dominant UK metaphors are found to be control, coordination, and centralization, whereas those for the USA emerge as conflict, competition, and change. Enterprise Zones and Urban Development Corporations in the two countries are then examined for differences in practice, and it is concluded that differences in the societal and political meanings attributed to the two programs underscore the difficulties of cross-national transfer of development approaches.
Under the state's gaze: Upland trading‐scapes on the Sino‐Vietnamese border

Within the politically-defined Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), the borderlands of southeast Yunnan, China and Lao Cai province, northern Vietnam, have been categorized as being part of the GMS North-South Economic Corridor. I argue that the creation of this subregion and corridor have been an opportunity for the governments in these locales to extend their territorialization and create new state spaces. For centuries, relatively isolated and ignored by lowland rulers, ethnic minority residents in these borderlands maintained their own culturally appropriate livelihoods, trade networks and societies. Nowadays, an increasing state presence in the uplands presents both challenges and opportunities for local populations on either side of the border, be they ethnic minorities, or Kinh (lowland Vietnamese) and Han Chinese. Contemporary border narratives gathered from local traders managing important upland commodities shed light on the means by which these borderland spaces are shaping both attractive prospects as well as restrictive constraints. Local residents fashion new trading-scapes by drawing on kin ties, historical linkages, local indigenous knowledges and transnational societies that reach deep inside each country. As inhabitants carefully avoid or manipulate the state's gaze, I conclude that those living in the Sino-Vietnamese borderlands possess the agency to ‘do things differently’ from hegemonic development approaches supported by GMS sponsors, and can create, maintain, support and refashion culturally appropriate trade livelihoods.
Language Choice in Multilingual Mauritius : National Unity and Socioeconomic Advancement

Postcolonial nations are often caught in a thorny dilemma between the use of indigenous languages and that of the languages of colonial rule (Baldauf & Kaplan, 2004; Bolee, 1993; Kamwangamalu, 2008). e use of the native language as a medium of instruction appears to pave the way for the decolonisation of education, which consequently liberates young generations from the hegemony of colonial languages. UNESCO’s model (1995) also affirms the efficiency of vernacular education in comparison with education through the medium of a foreign language. The use of the mother tongue reinforces national unity and furthermore creates a sense of pride in the people of their own country, culture and traditions, as well as in themselves. Nevertheless, the indigenous language often serves domestic functions only and hence does not lead to the socioeconomic progress that developing countries strive for. Prestigious European languages are often preferred as the medium of instruction as it equips the nation with a communication tool to make headway toward socioeconomic advancement and participation in today’s interconnected global society. Multilingualism is generally perceived as quixotic and unrealistic in local society since survival of the fittest is also the way of the language world: hegemonic European languages as well as those that are regionally dominant are steadily taking over minority languages. The official adoption of the colonial language can, however, reduce the tension between ethnic rivalries in a region where the preferential treatment of one
Sustainability Innovation Cube - A Framework to Evaluate Sustainability-Oriented Innovations

Corporations increasingly subscribe to the principles of corporate sustainability, which is generally described as the integration of economic, environmental and social dimensions. Concerning innovation management, this emphasises the role of sustainability-oriented innovations (SOI). SOI is considered a tool both to address sustainability issues and to tap into new customer segments and markets. Yet SOI are very risky: both their market success and non-economic sustainability are uncertain. This paper presents a generic model termed the "Sustainability Innovation Cube" (SIC) for structuring innovations' sustainability effects in order to better inform corporate decision-makers about how to minimize the directional risk of SOI. The model includes the three dimensions: target, life cycle and innovation type. A qualitative expert study reveals the opportunities and challenges related to the developed model. Finally, practical implications are derived, limitations are discussed and a brief outlook is given.
An improved approach for valuing American options and their greeks by least-squares Monte Carlo simulation ∗

This Paper presents a new methodology to approximate the value of American options by least-squares Monte Carlo simulation. Whereas Longstaff and Schwartz’s approach does not utilize the underlying asset price movement, we develop several methods that incorporate the movement into option pricing. One category improves the R-squares from the regressions by using, [1] the weighted the discount factor from the current decision to exercise time. The other category improves the computational speed without sacrificing the convergence level by, [1] terminating early during the backwardation procedure, and [2] decreasing the number of observations for the regressors. Finally, combining both mathods, we can get improved R-squares and computational speed in comparison to Longstaff and Schwartz’s approach.
A THREE SECTOR GROWTH MODEL IN WHICH ONE SECTOR IS PRIMARY

This paper lays out a simple Ramsey three sector growth model. Each sector employs two economy-wide factors of production, while the primary sector also employs a sector specific factor. Two sectors are tradable. The motivation arises from a number of applications in which this basic framework can serve as a point of departure. These include the effect of a primary sector on the path of economic development and, more recently, contributions that suggest resource-abundant countries tend to be high-price economies that, consequently, miss-out on export-led growth. Since the model has a "market based" specification, it can also be used to capture numerous other policy interventions and modified to depict incomplete markets.
The Euro Interbank Repo Market

The search for a market design that ensures stable bank funding is at the top of regulators' policy agenda. This paper empirically shows that the central counterparty (CCP)-based euro interbank repo market features this stability. Using a unique and comprehensive data set, we show that the market is resilient during crisis episodes and may even act as a shock absorber, in the sense that repo lending increases with risk, while spreads, maturities, and haircuts remain stable. Our comparison across different repo markets shows that anonymous CCP-based trading, safe collateral, and the absence of an unwind mechanism are the key characteristics to ensure market resilience.
The Power of Certainty: A Dirichlet-Multinomial Model for Belief Propagation

Given a friendship network, how certain are we that Smith is a progressive (vs. conservative)? How can we propagate these certainties through the network? While Belief propagation marked the beginning of principled label-propagation to classify nodes in a graph, its numerous variants proposed in the literature fail to take into account uncertainty during the propagation process. As we show, this limitation leads to counter-intuitive results for even simple graphs. Motivated by these observations, we formalize axioms that any node classification algorithm should obey and propose NetConf which satisfies these axioms and handles arbitrary network e↵ects (homophily/heterophily) at scale. Our contributions are: (1) Axioms: We state axioms that any node classification algorithm should satisfy; (2) Theory : NetConf is grounded in a Bayesian-theoretic framework to model uncertainties, has a closed-form solution and comes with precise convergence guarantees; (3) Practice: Our method is easy to implement and scales linearly with the number of edges in the graph. On experiments using real world data, we always match or outperform BP while taking less processing time.
The Effects of Initial Location, Aspirations, and Resources on Likelihood of First Sale in Nascent Firms*

The formation of a new venture includes initial choices that affect the process of start‐up. Primary among these decisions is the choice of location whether to start from home or from an away location. This paper examines the impact of initial firm location choices and aspirations of the entrepreneur on the resource assembly process and the likelihood of first sale. Results show that home‐based businesses assemble different types of resources from their away‐based counterparts. Higher aspirations were associated with greater accumulation of organizational resources. The combined influence of location and aspirations showed that home‐based firms with high aspirations were less likely to achieve first sale. A post hoc analysis examined these affects within a subgroup of service firms and confirmed the previous results. This study suggests that in the initial stages of the new venture, there are processes and routines that home‐based businesses engage in that lead them to achieve first sales in a timelier manner than those businesses that are located away from home. Furthermore, high aspirations are associated with greater scale of organizational resources but not necessarily with achievement of sales. Implications are discussed.