Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Two Concepts of Accountability: Accountability as a Virtue and as a Mechanism

This paper distinguishes between two main concepts of accountability: accountability as a virtue and accountability as a mechanism. In the former case, accountability is used primarily as a normative concept, as a set of standards for the evaluation of the behaviour of public actors. Accountability or, more precisely, being accountable, is seen as a positive quality in organisations or officials. Hence, accountability studies often focus on normative issues, on the assessment of the actual and active behaviour of public agents. In the latter case, accountability is used in a narrower, descriptive sense. It is seen as an institutional relation or arrangement in which an actor can be held to account by a forum. Here, the locus of accountability studies is not the behaviour of public agents, but the way in which these institutional arrangements operate. The present paper argues that distinguishing more clearly between these two concepts of accountability can solve at least some of the current conceptual confusion and may provide some foundation for comparative and cumulative analysis.
Is earnings uncertainty relevant for educational choice? An empirical analysis for China

We use the method of Dominitz and Manski [1996. Eliciting student expectations of the return to schooling. Journal of Human Resources 31, no. 1: 1–26] to solicit anticipated wage distributions for continuing to a master degree or going to work after completing the bachelor degree. The means of the distributions have an effect on intention to continue as predicted by theory. The dispersions in these individual distributions have no effect on intention to continue, suggesting that anticipated earnings risk does not play a role in the decision.
Towards implementation of Plug-and-Play and distributed HMI for the FREEDM system with IEC 61499

This paper presents an implementation of Plug-and-Play for the FREEDM system with IEC61499 function blocks. The FREEDM system is the envisioned next generation power distribution infrastructure which integrates DRER/ER with the legacy grid and is enabled by novel power electronics and distributed control. Plug-and-Play device integration is one of the key features of the FREEDM system that allows distributed renewable energy resources and distributed energy storage devices to be added or removed from the FREEDM distributed intelligent devices seamlessly. IEC61499 is an open standard for designing distributed control systems, which is investigated in the FREEDM project as an underlying system-level software architecture. Plug-and-Play is achieved by dynamic reconfiguration in IEC61499 to create the necessary function blocks during runtime for enabling Plug-and-Play between the DRER and the DGI devices. The developed Plug-and-Play technology is incorporated into the FREEDM infrastructure implemented in IEC61499 function blocks.
Service quality at an Inland Revenue Board's branch office in Malaysia

The research is purported to determine the customer satisfaction, service quality and efficiency of the queuing system implemented at service counters of an Inland Revenue Board's (IRB) branch office in Malaysia. The services provided at the counters range from income tax assessment, taxpayer registration, salary deduction and settlement of stamp duties for personal income taxes and transfer of properties. The office operates an M/M/S, single-phased system. A ticker system helps establish a FIFO queue discipline. On the basis of secondary data, the average taxpayer waiting times are much longer at the counters designated for document stamping. The waiting times range from three to 43 minutes. At the outset, it was believed that the prolonged service at the counters could contribute to taxpayers' dissatisfaction. A field survey of 100 taxpayers was conducted to assess, among others, their experiences when queuing for services. The survey results reveal that many respondents were dissatisfied with the long queues, the services were time-consuming, servers were unavailable and lack courtesy, and the equipment breaks down. On the basis of queuing variable values, the service level at the stamping counters appears to be adequate. The high average waiting times of 20 minutes or more occurred on six days in July 2003. Future research could be directed to determining the causes of the delays and determining what constitutes a delay to taxpayers. In addition, an assessment on the expenditures associated with the provision of services, service and waiting cost trade-off, and a survey on availability of knowledge on queuing theory within the organisation would provide a new direction for the research.
Phage T4 early promoters are resistant to inhibition by the anti‐sigma factor AsiA

Phage T4 early promoters are transcribed in vivo and in vitro by the Escherichia coli RNA polymerase holoenzyme Eσ70. We studied in vitro the effects of the T4 anti‐σ70 factor AsiA on the activity of several T4 early promoters. In single‐round transcription, promoters motB, denV, mrh.2, motA wild type and UP element‐deleted motA are strongly resistant to inhibition by AsiA. The α‐C‐terminal domain of Eσ70 is crucial to this resistance. DNase I footprinting of Eσ70 and Eσ70AsiA on motA and mrh.2 shows extended contacts between the holoenzyme with or without AsiA and upstream regions of these promoters. A TG → TC mutation of the extended −10 motif in the motA UP element‐deleted promoter strongly increases susceptibility to inhibition by AsiA, but has no effect on the motA wild‐type promoter: either the UP element or the extended −10 site confers resistance to AsiA. Potassium permanganate reactivity shows that the two structure elements are not equivalent: with AsiA, the motA UP element‐deleted promoter opens more slowly whereas the motA TC promoter opens like the wild type. Changes in UV laser photoreactivity at position +4 on variants of motA reveal an analogous distinction in the roles of the extended −10 and UP promoter elements.
Best practices of transporting PTPv2 over RSTP networks

Concerns are raised about the performance of a timing plane in the presence of network redundancy protocols which rely on network fault detection and recovery principle such as RSTP [1]. Since most of the present power substations networks are relying on STP like protocols, coexistence of a timing plane over these networks is imperative. This paper proposed basic principles to transport PTP [2] timing plane reliability over RSTP based networks and evaluate the performance of a timing plane in light of these principles using ring and mesh topologies. Test results show that deterministic timing plane transportation over RSTP networks is possible under most network faults with the exception being the failure of the root bridge in mesh topology.
Shareholder Preferences and Dividend Policy

This paper develops a theory of choice among alternative procedures for distributing cash from corporations to shareholders. Despite the preferential tax treatment of capital gains for individual investors, it is shown that a majority of a firm's shareholders may support a dividend payment for small distributions. For larger distributions, an open-market stock repurchase is likely to be preferred by a majority of shareholders and, for the largest distributions, tender offer repurchases dominate. Copyright 1990 by American Finance Association.
SEEING THROUGH THE RING: NEAR-INFRARED PHOTOMETRY OF V582 MON (KH 15D)

We examine the light and color evolution of the T Tauri binary KH 15D through photometry obtained at wavelengths between 0.55 and 8.0 μm. The data were collected with A Novel Dual Imaging CAMera (ANDICAM) on the 1.3 m SMARTS telescope at Cerro-Tololo Inter-American Observatory and with InfraRed Array Camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope. We show that the system’s circumbinary ring, which acts as a screen that covers and uncovers different portions of the binary orbit as the ring precesses, has reached an orientation where the brighter component (star B) fully or nearly fully emerges during each orbital cycle. The fainter component (star A) remains fully occulted by the screen at all phases. The leading and trailing edges of the screen move across the sky at the same rate of ∼15 m s−1, consistent with expectation for a ring with a radius and width of ∼4 au and a precession period of ∼6500 years. Light and color variations continue to indicate that the screen is sharp edged and opaque at VRIJH wavelengths. However, we find an increasing transparency of the ring edge at 2.2, 3.6, and 4.5 μm. Reddening seen at the beginning of the eclipse that occurred during the CSI 2264 campaign particularly suggests selective extinction by a population of large dust grains. Meanwhile, the gradual bluing observed while star B is setting is indicative of forward scattering effects at the edge of the ring. The spectral energy distribution of the system at its bright phase shows no evidence of infrared excess emission that can be attributed to radiation from the ring or other dust component out to 8 μm.
The development of personal models of diabetes in the first 2 years after diagnosis: a prospective longitudinal study

Aims Personal models of diabetes comprise beliefs about symptoms, treatment effectiveness, consequences and emotional responses to possible future complications. They are associated with, and influence, self‐care behaviour. Little work has examined potential influences on the development and maintenance of personal models. The aims of this study were: (i) to assess changes in personal models over 2 years from diagnosis of diabetes; and (ii) to examine the relative contributions of health threat communication (at diagnosis, since diagnosis, during follow‐up care) and personality to personal models of diabetes 2 years post‐diagnosis.
Nonrecurring Accounting Transactions and Stock Option Grants

We examine the effect of nonrecurring accounting transactions on stock option grants for a sample of US companies. After controlling for both the economic and corporate governance-related determinants of option grants, we find that the aggregate value of stock option grants is more positively related to nonrecurring gains than to nonrecurring losses. We also examine whether the asymmetric treatment of nonrecurring gains and losses arises because (1) information contained in the nonrecurring transactions is related to firms' long-term prospects, (2) weak corporate governance fails to curb more favorable executive pay arrangements, (3) executives possess superior bargaining power in the labor marketplace, and (4) firms have significant growth opportunities. While we find no support for the first explanation and some support for the third, we find more consistent support for the growth explanation and two factors related to the corporate governance explanation: director-executive duality and the frequency of board meetings. Copyright (c) 2009 The Authors Journal compilation (c) 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Determinants of radical product innovations

Purpose – Time and time again companies with leading positions in the market place lose their dominance when a radical change occurs in the technological basis. In some cases, the survival of companies is in jeopardy because old technology‐investments hinder managers from adopting new technologies. Following on from the resource‐based view, the purpose of this paper is to develop an approach which explains the ability of a company to generate radical product innovations through the willingness of managers and employees to put aside their existing knowledge and acquire new skills.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a causal analytic model to demonstrate the key influences on radical product innovations. The model incorporates formative indicators and we use a partial least squares approach to fit it. Since the central termini of this approach embody hypothetical constructs, causal modeling is the best‐suited approach to capture complex theoretical phenomena.Findings – The results show that the wil.
TCAD: Present state and future challenges

Since the advent of computer modeling of semiconductor processes and devices in the 1970s, Technology Computer-Aided Design (TCAD) has been an integral part of technology development over the past four decades. Today, the use of TCAD has become widespread not only for “More Moore,” but also “More Than Moore” technologies (Fig. 1). As process and device complexity continues to rise, so does the complexity in technology modeling. This paper discusses the present state and future challenges of front-end process and device modeling.
Sustaining Social Creativity

Although creative individuals are often thought of as working in isolation, much of our intelligence and creativity results from interaction with tools and artifacts and from collaborating with other individuals [Csikszentmihalyi, 1996]. Many traditional approaches to creativity, however, have disregarded the importance of social and material surroundings. A richer framework would enable software development, interaction design, and information content researchers and managers to understand the opportunities, challenges and principles of social creativity
Cost-effectiveness of a randomized trial to treat depression among Latinos.

BACKGROUND Rising mental health costs have brought with them the pressing need to identify cost-effective treatments. Identifying cost-effective treatments for depression among Latinos is particularly relevant given substantial disparities in access to depression treatment for Latinos compared to non-Latino whites. AIMS The goal of this paper is to (i) compare the cost-effectiveness of telephone and face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression to usual care received in primary care; (ii) compare the cost-effectiveness of telephone CBT directly to face-to-face CBT. METHODS As part of a randomized trial study, primary care patients with depression were randomized into three groups: usual care, telephone CBT and face-to-face CBT. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) between respective groups are computed by dividing the incremental difference in mental health care costs by the incremental difference in mental health outcomes. Mental health care costs are computed as the sum of intervention costs (cost of administering sessions) and non-intervention costs (cost of mental health services used that are not part of the intervention). Prices for different types of mental health services are taken from the 2010 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Mental health costs are estimated using two-part models. Mental health outcomes are measured by two depression scales: Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL), and are estimated using multiple linear regression models. The standard errors for ICERs are computed using 1000 bootstrapped samples and the delta method. RESULTS Each CBT intervention group is significantly more costly compared to usual care in terms of mental health care costs. Face-to-face CBT patients cost USD732 more than usual care, and phone CBT patients cost USD237 more than usual care. In terms of effectiveness, both intervention groups are associated with significantly reduced (improved) scores in PHQ9 and HSCL compared to usual care. Comparing the phone therapy directly to the same treatment offered face-to-face, we find that phone CBT is significantly less costly (by USD501) and more cost-effective than face-to-face when effectiveness is measured by improvement in PHQ9 scores. Specifically, for the phone CBT group, one score reduction in PHQ9 costs USD634 less than face-to-face. DISCUSSION One limitation is that we observe the mental health service use of patients for only four months. Phone CBT might potentially lead to substantial savings or even cost-offset in the long-run. Additional studies with long-run service use data are needed to establish these findings. IMPLICATION FOR HEALTH POLICY The finding that phone-based intervention is able to improve the depressive symptoms of patients just as effectively as face-to-face by spending less is crucial for policy makers and health institutions looking to adopt cost-effective depression treatments.
New Data on State Supreme Court Cases

The study of U.S. state supreme courts has been significantly constrained by a lack of available data. To remedy this deficiency, this article introduces an original data set of every state supreme court ruling from 1995 through 2010. We utilize automated textual analysis to search the text of thousands of state supreme court decisions and extract critical information on each case. This automated coding approach produces reliable measures of state supreme court decision making when compared with data collected by human coders. We present trends in docket size, dissent rates, and legal issues being heard in front of the court. This new data set will offer scholars numerous opportunities to expand our knowledge of judicial politics in the American states.
An Efficient Biometric Multimodal Fingerprint and Iris using an SVM Classifier and Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System ( ANFIS )

Recent times witnessed much advancement in the field of biometric and multimodal biometric fields. This is typically observed in the area, of security, privacy, and forensics. Even for the best of unimodal biometric systems, it is often not possible to achieve a higher recognition rate. Fusion of matching scores of multiple biometric traits is becoming more and more prevalent and is a very likely approach to boost the system's accuracy. The finger print and iris are among the most promising biometric authentication that can accurately identify and analysis a person as their unique qualities can be rapidly extracted during the recognition process. This biometric recognition and verification often deals with non-ideal scenarios such as faint images, off-angles, reflections, expression changes. In this work, a novel method for identification of fingerprint and IRIS is projected using an ANFIS-based matching algorithm, which is suitable for large-scale identification systems. An important feature and objective of the proposed system is to enhance accuracy and efficiency. The features of the fingerprint and Iris image is extracted using SIFT algorithm. The features are perfectly extracted from fingerprint and eye image using this algorithm. Then the extracted features are given to the Regressive SVM and Hamming Distance classifier. The regressive support vector machine and hamming distance is used as a classifier, it accurately matches the two set of fingerprint and iris features quickly.
Overview of social protection in the EU

The purpose of this paper is twofold: it presents the current state of the welfare state in the European Union, and it considers its future prospects given the various challenges to which it is exposed. In the presentation of social protection, which is the main component of the welfare state, we look at its functions: relief of poverty as well as the need to provide a sense of security for all. We also consider the reasons of its development.
Oil and the Macroeconomy When Prices Go Up and Down: An Extension of Hamilton's Results

In an important paper, Hamilton (1983) demonstrated a strong correlation between oil price changes and gross national product growth in U.S. data. However, his study pertained to a period in which all the large oil price movements were upward, and thus it left unanswered the question whether the correlation persists in periods of price decline. Moreover, the price variable he used was somewhat distorted by price controls in the 1970s. This note investigates whether Hamilton's results continue to hold when the sample is extended to include the recent oil market collapse and the oil price variable is corrected for the effects of price controls. Particular attention is given to the possibility of asymmetric responses to oil price increases and decreases, as suggested in the structural employment literature (Loungani 1986; Davis 1987; Hamilton 1988). Like Hamilton, I based my investigation on the GNP equation in Sims's (1 980b) six-variable quarterly vector autoregressive model,
Investor reaction to earnings management

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether earnings management that surpasses a threshold is associated with market mispricing. Design/methodology/approach - The paper examines the level of discretionary current accruals (DCA) as a proxy for earnings quality. Operationally the threshold of earnings management is defined as the mean DCA, and it is assumed that highly managed firms (both income-decreasing and income-increasing) produce low-quality earnings information. It is postulated that such management may lead to mispricing errors by investors who make incorrect adjustments for lower earnings quality. Findings - The evidence suggests that investors possess idiosyncratic perceptions toward earnings management. Investors of income-decreasing firms tend to under-adjust for analyst optimism, while investors of income-increasing firms are inclined to over-adjust for analyst optimism. In addition, investors of both types of highly managed firms appear to under-adjust for earnings management. These investor characteristics result in a post-earnings announcement upward drift of cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) for income-decreasing firms and a downward drift for income-increasing firms. Practical implications - The findings strongly indicate that there is a significant mispricing at the earnings announcement date for the income-decreasing (P1) and income-increasing (P5) portfolios and the mispricing persists in the short run. Thus, it may be possible for investors to exploit the mispricing by holding a long position in P1 and a short position in P5. Originality/value - Prior studies concentrate on extreme cases of earnings management that are subject to securities and exchange commission (SEC) enforcement. In contrast to these studies, this paper focuses on the market reaction to earnings management, which may or may not lead to SEC enforcement actions.
ECONOMIC SEARCH: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

This paper presents results of experiments designed to test several of the hypotheses present in the theoretical literature on “optimal” economic search. First we test whether the subjects (searchers) actually search for wages in ways that are consistent with setting an optimal reservation wage. We then proceed to determine experimentally the effects of risk aversion, increased search costs, changes in risk (brought about by a mean-preserving transformation of the distribution of wage offers), the presence or absence of recall, the existence of a finite horizon, and the searcher's state of knowledge about the underlying distribution of wages. In general, we find that the searchers exhibit behavior that is consistent with that predicted by theory. Differences between risk neutral and risk averse searchers are found, and the responses of both groups to changes in search costs, in the degree of risk, or in the state of knowledge are consistent with theoretical predictions.