bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Ownership Structure on Corporate Reputation: Evidence From Spain
Authors: Delgado‐García Juan Bautista , De Quevedo‐Puente Esther , De La Fuente‐Sabaté Juan Manuel 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACTManuscript Type: EmpiricalResearch Question/Issue: This study examines the influence of firms' ownership structure on corporate reputation.Research Findings/Insights: Using archival data from a panel of firms in Spain for 2000–2007, we found that ownership concentration in the hands of the largest shareholder erodes corporate reputation, whereas contestability of the main shareholder's power enhances it. Insider ownership shows a non‐linear relationship with corporate reputation, with lower corporate reputation at low and very high levels of insider ownership. Finally, if the largest shareholder is either a pressure‐resistant or a pressure‐sensitive institutional investor, as opposed to other types of largest shareholder, corporate reputation is lower. This last finding markedly differentiates our sample of firms in Spain, a civil law country, from firms in common law countries such as the US and the UK, where studies have found a positive relationship between institutional investors and corporate reputation.Theoretical/Academic Implications: Drawing on signaling and agency theories, our paper is, to the best of our knowledge, the first to analyze the influence of ownership structure on corporate reputation in civil law countries.Practitioners/Policy Implications: This study suggests that managers and directors should recognize how each characteristic of ownership structure influences the expectations of stakeholders. Low levels of ownership concentration in the hands of the largest shareholders, low differences in ownership concentration between first and second largest shareholders, and moderate levels of insider ownership are positive signals that should be communicated to foster corporate reputation. High levels of ownership concentration in the hands of the largest shareholders or high differences in ownership concentration between first and second largest shareholders impair corporate reputation and should be compensated by introducing corporate governance mechanisms that favor corporate reputation, such as increasing the number of independent directors or avoiding CEO duality.
FREEDOM AND WEAKNESS OF WILL
Authors: Hoffman Paul 
Published: August 2010

AbstractCan absolute freedom of will be defended by arguing that apparent cases of diminished freedom when we act out of passion are cases of weakness of will? Rogers Albritton thought so. What is intriguing about Albritton's view is that he thought when we act from desire we are making choices, yet our desires are not functioning as reasons for those choices. So our desires must be influencing our choices in some other unspecified way that does not diminish our freedom. I challenge the coherence of this position. My strategy is to examine the views of leading theorists of the will – Descartes, Aquinas and Reid – to argue that the only clear way in which passions can influence our choices so that we can accurately be described as weak‐willed and yet nevertheless free is that our passions influence our choices by providing reasons for them.
TRANSCENDING ABSURDITY
Authors: Mintoff Joe 
Published: August 2010

AbstractMany of us experience the activities which fill our everyday lives as meaningful, and to do so we must (and do) hold them to be important. However, reflection seems to undercut this meaningfulness: our activities are aimed at ends which are arbitrary, those activities are themselves insignificant, and leave little of any real permanence. The aim of this paper is to explore whether this discrepancy is inevitable, and in particular to examine recent formulations of the old idea that we can transcend it by forming attachments less susceptible to being undercut. The paper contrasts the life of doing good (devoted, for example, to working for a moral cause) and the life of knowing good (devoted to the appreciation of the so‐called ‘higher’ things in life, such as art and science) as ways of finding meaning.
WHY QUALIA ARE NOT EPIPHENOMENAL
Authors: Muller Hans 
Published: August 2010

AbstractIn this article, I give an original objection to Frank Jackson's argument for the conclusion that the subjective, felt properties of experience are causally inert. I show that the very act of asserting the existence of these properties undermines the claim that they are epiphenomenal. If this objection goes through, it is fatal to the argument in question.1
The Group Lasso for Logistic Regression
Authors: Meier Lukas , Van De Geer Sara , Bühlmann Peter 
Published: August 2010

SummaryThe group lasso is an extension of the lasso to do variable selection on (predefined) groups of variables in linear regression models. The estimates have the attractive property of being invariant under groupwise orthogonal reparameterizations. We extend the group lasso to logistic regression models and present an efficient algorithm, that is especially suitable for high dimensional problems, which can also be applied to generalized linear models to solve the corresponding convex optimization problem. The group lasso estimator for logistic regression is shown to be statistically consistent even if the number of predictors is much larger than sample size but with sparse true underlying structure. We further use a two-stage procedure which aims for sparser models than the group lasso, leading to improved prediction performance for some cases. Moreover, owing to the two-stage nature, the estimates can be constructed to be hierarchical. The methods are used on simulated and real data sets about splice site detection in DNA sequences.
The Combination of Ecological and Case–Control Data
Authors: Haneuse Sebastien J.-P. A. , Wakefield And Jonathan C. 
Published: August 2010

SummaryEcological studies, in which data are available at the level of the group, rather than at the level of the individual, are susceptible to a range of biases due to their inability to characterize within-group variability in exposures and confounders. To overcome these biases, we propose a hybrid design in which ecological data are supplemented with a sample of individual level case–control data. We develop the likelihood for this design and illustrate its benefits via simulation, both in bias reduction when compared with an ecological study and in efficiency gains relative to a conventional case–control study. An interesting special case of the design proposed is the situation where ecological data are supplemented with case-only data. The design is illustrated by using a data set of county-specific lung cancer mortality rates in the state of Ohio from 1988.
Clustering Using Objective Functions and Stochastic Search
Authors: Booth James G. , Casella George , Hobert James P. 
Published: August 2010

SummaryA new approach to clustering multivariate data, based on a multilevel linear mixed model, is proposed. A key feature of the model is that observations from the same cluster are correlated, because they share cluster-specific random effects. The inclusion of cluster-specific random effects allows parsimonious departure from an assumed base model for cluster mean profiles. This departure is captured statistically via the posterior expectation, or best linear unbiased predictor. One of the parameters in the model is the true underlying partition of the data, and the posterior distribution of this parameter, which is known up to a normalizing constant, is used to cluster the data. The problem of finding partitions with high posterior probability is not amenable to deterministic methods such as the EM algorithm. Thus, we propose a stochastic search algorithm that is driven by a Markov chain that is a mixture of two Metropolis–Hastings algorithms—one that makes small scale changes to individual objects and another that performs large scale moves involving entire clusters. The methodology proposed is fundamentally different from the well-known finite mixture model approach to clustering, which does not explicitly include the partition as a parameter, and involves an independent and identically distributed structure.
Partially Linear Hazard Regression with Varying Coefficients for Multivariate Survival Data
Authors: Cai Jianwen , Fan Jianqing , Jiang Jiancheng , Zhou Haibo 
Published: August 2010

SummaryThe paper studies estimation of partially linear hazard regression models with varying coefficients for multivariate survival data. A profile pseudo-partial-likelihood estimation method is proposed. The estimation of the parameters of the linear part is accomplished via maximization of the profile pseudo-partial-likelihood, whereas the varying-coefficient functions are considered as nuisance parameters that are profiled out of the likelihood. It is shown that the estimators of the parameters are root n consistent and the estimators of the non-parametric coefficient functions achieve optimal convergence rates. Asymptotic normality is obtained for the estimators of the finite parameters and varying-coefficient functions. Consistent estimators of the asymptotic variances are derived and empirically tested, which facilitate inference for the model. We prove that the varying-coefficient functions can be estimated as well as if the parametric components were known and the failure times within each subject were independent. Simulations are conducted to demonstrate the performance of the estimators proposed. A real data set is analysed to illustrate the methodology proposed.
Theoretical Measures of Relative Performance of Classifiers for High Dimensional Data with Small Sample Sizes
Authors: Hall Peter , Pittelkow Yvonne , Ghosh Malay 
Published: August 2010

SummaryWe suggest a technique, related to the concept of ‘detection boundary’ that was developed by Ingster and by Donoho and Jin, for comparing the theoretical performance of classifiers constructed from small training samples of very large vectors. The resulting ‘classification boundaries’ are obtained for a variety of distance-based methods, including the support vector machine, distance-weighted discrimination and kth-nearest-neighbour classifiers, for thresholded forms of those methods, and for techniques based on Donoho and Jin's higher criticism approach to signal detection. Assessed in these terms, standard distance-based methods are shown to be capable only of detecting differences between populations when those differences can be estimated consistently. However, the thresholded forms of distance-based classifiers can do better, and in particular can correctly classify data even when differences between distributions are only detectable, not estimable. Other methods, including higher criticism classifiers, can on occasion perform better still, but they tend to be more limited in scope, requiring substantially more information about the marginal distributions. Moreover, as tail weight becomes heavier the classification boundaries of methods designed for particular distribution types can converge to, and achieve, the boundary for thresholded nearest neighbour approaches. For example, although higher criticism has a lower classification boundary, and in this sense performs better, in the case of normal data, the boundaries are identical for exponentially distributed data when both sample sizes equal 1.
Non-Parametric Small Area Estimation Using Penalized Spline Regression
Authors: Opsomer J. D. , Claeskens G. , Ranalli M. G. , Kauermann G. , Breidt F. J. 
Published: August 2010

SummaryThe paper proposes a small area estimation approach that combines small area random effects with a smooth, non-parametrically specified trend. By using penalized splines as the representation for the non-parametric trend, it is possible to express the non-parametric small area estimation problem as a mixed effect model regression. The resulting model is readily fitted by using existing model fitting approaches such as restricted maximum likelihood. We present theoretical results on the prediction mean-squared error of the estimator proposed and on likelihood ratio tests for random effects, and we propose a simple non-parametric bootstrap approach for model inference and estimation of the small area prediction mean-squared error. The applicability of the method is demonstrated on a survey of lakes in north-eastern USA.
Theoretical limits of OPEC Members’ oil production
Authors: Kazim Ayoub 
Published: August 2010

AbstractIn this paper, investigation of theoretical limits of OPEC Members’ crude oil production is carried out. The analysis is performed at three different scenarios: 1. at OPEC's average annual production growth rate of 2.7 per cent; 2. at a growth rate of five per cent; 3. at an average annual growth rate of each OPEC Member based on its oil production in the past 25 years. The results suggest that the organization would fail to fulfil its percentage share in the global oil market by the year 2048, 2037 and 2024 in the first, second and third scenarios, respectively. Moreover, Kuwait showed to be extremely inconsistent and unstable in the three different scenarios, while the United Arab Emirates demonstrated great consistency among other OPEC Members as a result of the country's energy policy adopted many years ago.
Introduction: Charting a Contested Transformation*
Authors: EDWARDS GEOFFREY , MEYER CHRISTOPH O. 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThe governance of the European Union has been changed through its responses to international terrorism. The analysis of those changes is grounded in an examination of the different perceptions of the phenomenon in academic and political debate. This introductory article traces the most relevant changes across competences, policies and governing modes and highlights dynamics applicable to other areas of EU activity: cross‐pillarization, the growth of horizontal governing networks, co‐operation outside the treaty framework and the impact of third countries on EU policy‐making. The article puts forward a three‐pronged constructivist framework to understand better the main dynamics and factors underpinning the various forms of change, in particular why the emphasis has been on co‐ordination and information‐sharing rather than on supranational integration. Performance issues are then critically assessed, both in terms of whether the new measures, competences, instruments and resources are likely to be effective as well as with regard to the intended and unintended harmful effects for the civil and democratic rights of EU and third‐country citizens.
Legitimacy under Pressure: The European Web of Counter‐Terrorism Networks*
Authors: BOER MONICA DEN , HILLEBRAND CLAUDIA , NÖLKE ANDREAS 
Published: August 2010

AbstractWithin European law enforcement circles, counter‐terrorism networks and privileged partnerships tend to be preferred to formal bureaucratic structures because of their flexibility and directness. The professional preference for informal, bilateral and privileged relationships may, however, undermine the potential of formally established agencies such as Europol and Eurojust, which work through national and centrally co‐ordinated channels of information and intelligence. This article seeks to assess whether standards of democratic, legal and social legitimacy are under pressure as a consequence of this persistent preference for horizontal, direct and informal co‐operation.
Myths and Myth‐Making in the European Union: The Institutionalization and Interpretation of EU Competition Policy*
Authors: AKMAN PINAR , KASSIM HUSSEIN 
Published: August 2010

AbstractEU competition policy has become so strongly institutionalized that it is easy to overlook its precarious status in earlier decades. This article argues, first, that the Commission responded to the imperative arising from the extraordinary powers created by the treaty and the novelty of competition policy in post‐war Europe by developing a series of myths to provide justification for its prerogatives. Second, these myths have played a key role in securing acceptance of EU policy, though other factors have also been important. Third, the official mythology has been supplemented by an interpretation which has become dominant in the law and political science literatures; namely, that EU competition policy has ordoliberal origins. This article challenges this view.
Parafoveal perception during sentence reading? An ERP paradigm using rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) with flankers
Authors: Barber Horacio A. , Ben‐Zvi Shir , Bentin Shlomo , Kutas Marta 
Published: August 2010

AbstractWe describe a new procedure using event‐related brain potentials to investigate parafoveal word processing during sentence reading. Sentences were presented word by word at fixation, flanked 2° bilaterally by letter strings. Flanker strings were pseudowords, except for the third word in each sentence, which was flanked by either two pseudowords or a pseudoword and a word, one on each side. Flanker words were either semantically congruent or incongruent with the sentence context. P2 (175–375 ms) amplitudes were less positive for contextually incongruent than congruent flanker words but only with flanker words in the right visual field for English and in the left visual field in Hebrew. Flankered word presentation thus may be a suitable method for the electrophysiological study of parafoveal perception during sentence reading.
Stressed out? Associations between perceived and physiological stress responses in adolescents: The TRAILS study
Authors: Oldehinkel Albertine J. , Ormel Johan , Bosch Nienke M. , Bouma Esther M. C. , Van Roon Arie M. , Rosmalen Judith G. M. , Riese Harriëtte 
Published: August 2010

AbstractStudies regarding the interrelation of perceived and physiological stress indices have shown diverging results. Using a population sample of adolescents (N=715, 50.9% girls, mean age 16.11 years, SD=0.59), we tested three hypotheses: (1) perceived responses during social stress covary with concurrent physiological stress responses; (2) high pretest levels of perceived stress predict large physiological responses; and (3) large physiological responses to social stress predict low posttest perceived stress levels. Perceived arousal, unpleasantness, and dominance were related to heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and cortisol responses to a laboratory social stress test. Although effect sizes were small, the results suggest covariation of perceived stress and concurrent physiological stress responses in both the ANS and the HPA axis, as well as inverse associations between heart rate responsiveness and the subsequent appraisal of stress.
Teaching medical information retrieval and application courses in Chinese universities: a case study
Authors: Clark Adam W. , Li Hong‐Mei 
Published: August 2010

AbstractAn important aspect of Chinese academic health science libraries is their involvement in teaching medical information retrieval courses as part of the medical curriculum. Health science librarians in China have a more formal teaching role than is generally found in Western countries, including many full‐time teaching positions. This article provides a case study of Kunming Medical University Library, where courses are provided as credit units at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The teaching practices of Chinese health science libraries are compared with teaching experiences reported in Western countries. It is noted that Chinese government’s educational policy is similar to that of the United States in promoting the role of the library in teaching subjects as part of the medical curriculum. In China, this has lead to the development of teaching departments within health science libraries and the appointment of full and part‐time teacher librarians.
Definition of the tear trough and the tear trough rating scale
Authors: Sadick Neil S , Bosniak Stephen L , Cantisano‐Zilkha Marian , Glavas Ioannis P , Roy Deborshi 
Published: August 2010

SummaryBackground  Nasojugal groove and tear trough are interchangeably used terms by many authors in the literature despite the fact that they describe distinct and different anatomic entities. In the same vein, there are multiple descriptions of treatments and techniques for the cosmetic improvement of these anatomic areas without specifically addressing the anatomic difference between them.Objective  This study aims to define the anatomic characteristics of the tear trough and describe a novel classification scale for the evaluation of the tear trough deformity.Methods  The tear trough rating scale (TTRS) was applied to a representative sample of our patient population. Five of the authors evaluated each patient using the TTRS, and the numeric results were tabulated and compared.Results  The TTRS provided an effective, reproducible method for evaluating tear trough deformities, and there was very little interobserver variability.Conclusion  The tear trough should be defined as the depression of the medial lower eyelid just lateral to the anterior lacrimal crest and limited in its inferior aspect by the inferior orbital rim. The TTRS is a reliable tool for the classification of the tear trough and evaluation of therapeutic and cosmetic interventions.
Granulomatous reactions to permanent cosmetic tattoos successfully treated with topical steroids and allopurinol
Authors: Martín José M , Revert Ángeles , Monteagudo Carlos , Villalón Guillermo , Godoy Rosa , Jordá Esperanza 
Published: August 2010

SummaryTwo female patients presented nodular erythematous lesions overlying a permanent tattooed eyebrow and lip, respectively. Histologic examination showed in both cases epithelioid granulomas in close relation with scattered pigment. Complementary examinations and follow‐up disclosed a sarcoidosis. The lesions resolved after treatment with topical steroids and also oral allopurinol in one of the cases. Allopurinol may be an effective treatment for granulomatous reactions to foreign body particles.
New cosmetic emulsions for dry skin
Authors: Machado M , Bronze M R , Ribeiro H 
Published: August 2010

SummaryThe aim of this study was to formulate stable water‐in‐oil (w/o) emulsions containing oils with a high percentage of fatty acids, sterols, vitamins, cholesterol, and ceramides in order to improve topical treatment of dry skin conditions. Two w/o emulsions were developed and physicochemical characterized.The biological effects of the formulations were assessed on the volar surface of the human foreharm over 28 days. The results obtained showed that areas treated by either cream were significantly different from the control area, as assessed by epidermal capacitance and sebometry over the 28 days. Treatment with cream containing ceramides presented higher values of sebometry and corneometry.According to the sensory evaluation performed, both creams were found to have good acceptability.