Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Cost Information and Feedback on Product Cost Decisions

In this paper we report the results of an experiment designed to investigate the potential benefits of more accurate costing systems. Subjects in our experiment participated in one of four single-person decision making settings which varied in terms of the accuracy of costing systems (less accurate versus more accurate cost reports), and the complexity of the economic environment (less heterogeneous versus more heterogeneous products). The costing systems provided imperfect reports that subjects could use to select forecasts of future product costs. Forecast accuracy determined the resulting payoffs for subjects. In addition to having the cost reports when makingforecasts, subjects also observed the association between forecasts and actual profits for previous periods and the rank ordering of the products' relative usage of resources at each of the production processes. The results from our experiment indicate that subjects did not select forecasts based only on reported costs. Rather they updated forecasts using profit feedback and the supplemental rank information about the products' relative usage of resources. We found that profits decreased as the complexity of economic environment increased; but increased with the accuracy of cost reports. The profits associated with less accurate costing systems, however, were not as low as we would have predicted had the subjects used the cost reports as their forecasts. In fact, using profit feedback, subjects were able to converge toward optimal profits even with imperfect cost information.
Reputation and Strength of Ties in Predicting Commercial Success and Artistic Merit of Independents in the Italian Feature Film Industry

We investigate what factors are required in order to succeed in project-based cultural industries. In particular, we focus on the effects of relational stability and reputation on two key dimensions of movies' success: commercial success and artistic merit. We combine the two dimensions of films' performance for a more accurate understanding of how authenticity and artistic merit are manufactured in the movie industry. We examine this question by analysing a sample of Italian films and focusing on the role of the film director. We argue that commercial success is favoured by a director's strong vertical ties (with producers and distributors) and economic reputation, while artistic merit is positively affected by a director's weak horizontal ties (with other creative partners) and artistic reputation. We propose an explanation in terms of varying degrees of task routineness and we use it to account for the divergence between our results and others in the cultural and organizational literature. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2005.
FDI in the EU Periphery: A Multinomial Logit Analysis of Greek Firm Strategies

LOURI H. , PAPANASTASSIOU M. and LANTOURIS J. (2000) FDI in the EU periphery: a multinomial logit analysis of Greek firm strategies, Reg. Studies 34 , 419-427. Outward FDI is a recent activity of Greek firms. It is mostly directed towards the Balkan countries and forms an alternative strategy to exports. An analysis of the decision-making process of Greek firms before undertaking any type of internationalization strategy is attempted using a multinomial logit model on firm-level data. Borrowing capacity, labour intensity, sales growth rate, relative firm size and acquired familiarity with foreign markets contribute to the strategic decision of investing abroad. LOURI H. , PAPANASTASSIOU M. et LANTOURIS J. (2000) L'investissement direct étranger à la périphérie de l'Ue: une analyse du type multinomial logit des stratégies des entreprises grecques, Reg. Studies 34 , 419-427. L'investissement direct grecque à l'étranger est un phénomène assez récent. En règle générale, de tels investissements sont orientés vers les Balkans et représentent une stratégie alternativè a l'exportation. A partir d'un modèle du type multinomial logit basé sur des données auprès des entreprises, on cherche à analyser le processus décisionnel des entreprises grecques avant qu'elles adoptent aucune stratégie d'internationalisation. Les variables suivantes contribuent à la prise de décision stratégique quant à l'investissement à l'étranger: accès à l'emprunt, importance de la main-d'oeuvre, taux de croissance des chiffres d'affaires, taille critique et connaissances acquises des marchés extérieurs. LOURI H. , P APANASTASSIOU M. und LANTOURIS J. (2000) Investierungen im Ausland von der Peripherie der Europäischen Union aus gesehen: eine multinationale Logitanalyse griechischer Firmenstrategien, Reg. Studies 34 , 419-427. Ins Ausland gerichtete Direktinvestierungen zählen zu den Geschäftsaktivitäten, in die griechische Firmen erst vor kurzem eingestiegen sind. Sie wendet sich vor allem an die Balkanländer und stellt eine alternative Strategie zum Export dar. Es wird eine Analyse der Beschlüsse fassenden Vorgänge in griechischen Firmen unternommen, die jeglicher Art internationalisierender Strategie vorausgeht, wobei ein multinominales, sich auf Daten auf Firmenebene stützendes Logitmodel benutzt wird. Kreditfähigkeit, Arbeitsintensität, Zuwachsrate von Verkäufen, relative Firmengröße und erworbenes Vertrautsein mit dem auslandsmarkt tragen zum strategischen Beschluß bei, im Ausland zu investieren.
Cognitive function in the early phase of Parkinson's disease, a five‐year follow‐up

Presence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as a predictor for Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) has been discussed from a clinical perspective. Recently, a Movement Disorder Society (MDS) commissioned Task Force published guidelines for PD‐MCI. However, long‐term follow‐ups of the PD‐MCI guidelines for the prediction of PDD have been sparse.
Mixed Driven Refinement Design of Multidimensional Models based on Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering

Data warehouses (DW) and OLAP systems are business intelligence technologies allowing the on-line analysis of huge volume of data according to usersâ needs. The success of DW projects essentially depends on the design phase where functional requirements meet data sources (mixed design methodology) (Phipps and Davis, 2002). However, when dealing with complex applications existing design methodologies seem inefficient since decision-makers define functional requirements that cannot be deduced from data sources (data driven approach) and/or they have not sufficient application domain knowledge (user driven approach) (Sautot et al., 2014b). Therefore, in this paper we propose a new mixed refinement design methodology where the classical data-driven approach is enhanced with data mining to create new dimensions hierarchies. A tool implementing our approach is also presented to validate our theoretical proposal.
Price‐Quality Correlations for Packaged Food Products

Prior investigations have indicated that relationships between price and product quality are considerably weaker for non-durables than for durables. Among non-durables, packaged food products frequently have exhibited the poorest correspondence between price and quality. This study, utilizing data from Consumers Union, analyzes the relationships between price and a measure of product quality for 679 brands in forty packaged food product classes over a fifteen year period. The study generally confirms earlier preliminary conclusions that the correlation between quality and price for packaged food products is near zero. In addition, the findings indicate that convenience foods, particularly frozen foods, display the poorest correspondence between price and product quality with more than 43 percent of all frozen food product classes exhibiting negative relationships between price and product quality. Some possible explanations for these findings and their implications for public policy are advanced.
Coffee consumption and the risk of colorectal cancer: A prospective cohort study in Japan

An inverse association between coffee consumption and the risk of colorectal cancer has been reported in several case–control studies, but results from prospective cohort studies have been inconclusive. We conducted a prospective cohort study among a Japanese population to clarify the association between coffee consumption and the risk of colorectal cancer incidence. We used data from the Miyagi Cohort Study for this analysis. Usable self‐administered questionnaires about coffee consumption were returned from 22,836 men and 24,769 women, aged 40–64 years, with no previous history of cancer. We used the Cox proportional‐hazard regression model to estimate hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals. During 11.6 years of follow‐up (425,303 person‐years), we identified 457 cases of colorectal cancer. Coffee consumption was not associated with the incidence of colorectal, colon or rectal cancer. The multivariate‐adjusted hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) of colorectal cancer incidence for 3 or more cups of coffee per day as compared with no consumption was 0.95 (0.65–1.39) for men and women (p for trend = 0.55), 0.91 (0.56–1.46) for men (p for trend = 0.53) and 1.16 (0.60–2.23) for women (p for trend = 0.996). Coffee consumption was also not associated with incidence of either proximal or distal colon cancer. We conclude that coffee consumption is not associated with the incidence risk of colorectal cancer in the general population in Japan. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Do hotel companies communicate their environmental policies and practices more than independent hotels in Dubai, UAE?

Purpose – This paper aims to ascertain how hotels in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), engage in environmental sustainability and what benefits and negativities can be incurred from such activity, and to determine the extent to which hotels use their own corporate websites to disseminate information pertaining to their environmental sustainability. Design/methodology/approach – The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in business has infiltrated since the latter half of the twentieth century. The hotel industry claims to engage in environmental sustainability due to the impact hotels have on the environment and considering the benefits that can arise from being environmentally friendly, such as positive corporate image and awareness of company’s stakeholders regarding company’s policies, practices and initiatives. A literature review regarding the current, most commonly used environmental practices and policies of hotels was conducted and content analysis was carried out in websites of compan.
The information content of dividend initiations: additional evidence

We hypothesize that the initiation of cash dividends indicates that a firm? s earnings and cash flows have become fundamentally less risky. We present evidence to support this hypothesis. A sample of firms initiating dividends displays a precipitous decrease in risk immediately following the dividend announcement. Although these firms? earnings do not subsequently increase, earnings volatility is significantly lower following the dividend decision. We also find that the decrease in risk is related to the excess return observed around the dividend announcement.
Protein Profiling of Bladder Urothelial Cell Carcinoma

This study aimed to detect protein changes that can assist to understand the underlying biology of bladder cancer. The data showed forty five proteins were found to be differentially expressed comparing tumors vs non-tumor tissues, of which EGFR and cdc2p34 were correlated with muscle invasion and histological grade. Ten proteins (ß-catenin, HSP70, autotaxin, Notch4, PSTPIP1, DPYD, ODC, cyclinB1, calretinin and EPO) were able to classify muscle invasive BCa (MIBC) into 2 distinct groups, with group 2 associated with poorer survival. Finally, 3 proteins (P2X7, cdc25B and TFIIH p89) were independent factors for favorable overall survival.
Socialization control and market entry modes in the international hotel industry

Relates the type of expansion strategies used by international hotel groups to approaches to ensuring organizational cohesion within these organizational settings. Achieves this by exploring dimensions of control and co‐ordination of managerial resources. Uses a case‐study approach which concentrates on the human resource management function to highlight current experiences in six different hotel companies and identifies their engagement in high degrees of social control. This result may be easily understood where the company both owns and operates its properties; however, the evidence suggests that franchising, a mechanism which is often seen as allowing hotel unit investors or franchisees considerable latitude in running the operation, is also susceptible to social control through management transfer and development policies.
The Role of Femoral Venous Pressure and Femoral Venous Oxygen Saturation in the Setting Of Intra-Abdominal Hypertension: A Pig Model

Femoral venous access is frequently used in critically ill patients. Because raised intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) is also frequently found in this group of patients, we examined the impact of IAP and positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) on femoral venous pressure (FVP) and femoral venous oxygen saturation (Sfvo2) in an animal model. Thirteen adult pigs received standardized anesthesia and ventilation. Randomized levels of IAP (3 [baseline], 18, and 26 mmHg) were applied, with levels of PEEP (5, 8, 12, and 15 cmH2O) applied randomly at each IAP level. We measured bladder pressure (IAP), superior vena cava pressure, pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary artery occlusion pressure, FVP, mixed venous oxygen saturation (Svo2), and Sfvo2. We found that FVP correlated well with IAP (FVP = 4.1 + [0.12 × PEEP] + [1.00 × IAP]; R2 = 0.89, P < 0.001) with a moderate bias and precision of 5.0 and 3.8 mmHg, respectively. Because the level of agreement did not meet the recommendations of the World Society of Abdominal Compartment Syndrome, FVP cannot currently be recommended to measure IAP, and further clinical trials are warranted. However, a raised FVP should prompt the measurement of the bladder pressure. Femoral venous oxygen saturation did correlate neither with Svo2 nor with abdominal perfusion pressure. Therefore, Sfvo2 is of no clinical use in the setting of raised IAP.
Visual-motor integration in children with Prader-Willi syndrome.

BACKGROUND Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is characterised by hypotonia, hypogonadism, short stature, obesity, behavioural problems, intellectual disability, and delay in language, social and motor development. There is very limited knowledge about visual-motor integration in children with PWS. METHOD Seventy-three children with PWS aged 7-17 years were included. Visual-motor integration was assessed using the Beery Visual-motor Integration test at the start of the study and after 2 years. The association between visual-motor integration and age, gender, genetic subtype and intelligence was assessed. RESULTS Children with PWS scored 'very low' (-3 standard deviations) in visual-motor integration and 'below average' (-1 standard deviation) in visual perception and motor coordination compared with typically developing children. Visual-motor integration was higher in children with a deletion (β = -0.170, P = 0.037), in older children (β = 0.222, P = 0.009) and in those with a higher total IQ (β = 0.784, P < 0.001). Visual perception was higher with a deletion (β = -0.193, P = 0.044) and higher IQ (β = -0.618, P < 0.001), but motor coordination was only higher with a higher total IQ (β = 0.429, P = 0.001). Visual perception and motor coordination were not associated with age or gender. There was a trend for visual-motor integration decline over the 2 year follow-up period (P = 0.099). Visual perception and motor coordination did not change over the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS Visual-motor integration is very poor in children with PWS. Children scored higher on the time-limited subtests for visual perception and motor coordination than the combined test for visual-motor integration. Separation of visual-motor integration tasks into pure visual or motor tasks and allowing sufficient time to perform the tasks might improve daily activities, both at home and at school.
Pay discrimination against persons with disabilities: Canadian evidence from PALS

The objective of the study is to estimate the extent of pay discrimination against persons with a disability in Canada. The methodology involves decomposing or partitioning the pay gap between persons with disabilities and a comparison group of persons without disabilities into a portion due to differences in the pay-determining characteristics and a portion due to the differences in pay when they have the same characteristics – commonly attributed to discrimination. In this study, we further control for differences in performance by restricting the analysis to persons with a disability that does not limit their performance at work. The data is from the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey linked to the 2006 Census. We find that persons with a disability that does not affect their performance at work are still paid about 10% less than a comparison group with no disability but with the same pay-determining characteristics.
The Morishima Elasticity of Substitution for the Variable Profit Function and the Demand for Imports in the United States

In this article, I derive expressions for the Morishima elasticities of substitution (MES) for the variable profit function and estimate these elasticities to shed some light on the substitutability between imports, capital services, and labor services. The results reveal that capital services and imports are Morishima substitutes, irrespective of whether the price of capital services or imports changes, and imports and labor services are also Morishima substitutes, irrespective of whether the price of imports or the wage rate changes. Thus, an increase in the price of U.S. imports (through tariffs or duties) will result in substitution (in the Morishima sense) into labor and capital services.
SECOND HOMES IN GERMANY AND THE NETHERLANDS: OWNERSHIP AND TRAVEL IMPACT EXPLAINED

In Western countries, the scale of second home ownership increased enormously in the last decades. Yet, the outcomes of this development on spatial patterns and behaviour are unclear. In this paper we focus on two issues that arise from this trend: first, the impact of the residential environment of the primary dwelling on second home ownership and, second, the impact of second homes on travel. The paper is based on two empirical studies carried out in the Netherlands and in Germany. In the Netherlands, the owners of second homes frequently compensate for the lack of leisure opportunities at home or in close vicinity of their home in urbanised areas in which they primarily live. The same is true for allotment owners in Germany. However, Dutch non-mobile caravan owners and German owners of second homes do not follow any compensation strategies. In both countries the use of the private car is dominant although in Germany travel distances are larger than in the Netherlands. Based on a typology of second homeowners a sketch of future developments will be given. Some recommendations for housing and transportation policies will be formulated. Copyright (c) 2005 by the Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG.
Neutrophil Responses to Sterile Implant Materials

In vivo implantation of sterile materials and devices results in a foreign body immune response leading to fibrosis of implanted material. Neutrophils, one of the first immune cells to be recruited to implantation sites, have been suggested to contribute to the establishment of the inflammatory microenvironment that initiates the fibrotic response. However, the precise numbers and roles of neutrophils in response to implanted devices remains unclear. Using a mouse model of peritoneal microcapsule implantation, we show 30–500 fold increased neutrophil presence in the peritoneal exudates in response to implants. We demonstrate that these neutrophils secrete increased amounts of a variety of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Further, we observe that they participate in the foreign body response through the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) on implant surfaces. Our results provide new insight into neutrophil function during a foreign body response to peritoneal implants which has implications for the development of biologically compatible medical devices.
Musical ideologies, practices and pedagogies

THis chapter argues that despite the inclusion in the curriculum from a wide range of traditions and cultures, formal music education continues to promote the values and processes associated with western art music resulting in the continuing alienation of children form the formal curriculum. The chapter explores the potential of framing a curriculum around Turino's concepts of musical practices rather than styles or genres as a means of addressing young people's alienation from music in schools.
A Reexamination of the Market-Timing and Security-Selection Performance of Mutual Funds

An extended and correctly specified version of the Treynor–Mazuy (TM) model is used to examine the market-timing and stock-selection abilities of domestic equity mutual funds. This extended model controls for the inclusion of non-S&P 500 assets in mutual fund portfolios. We document positive and significant market-timing abilities for 633 mutual funds during the 1984–94 period. This finding is in sharp contrast to the negative market-timing abilities found when using the original TM model, which does not control for non-S&P 500 assets. Security-selection abilities are significantly positive, and cross-sectional correlations between market timing and selectivity are significantly negative. The monotonic correlation between turnover and market timing is positive, and that between turnover and selectivity is negative. Neither of these findings is evident with the original TM model or with traditional linear parametric measures of correlation.
Policy interest-rate expectations in Sweden: a forecast evaluation

In this article, we evaluate two types of Swedish policy interest-rate expectations: survey expectations and expectations inferred from market pricing. The data are drawn from the most prominent survey of financial-market economists and from Swedish financial markets, and they are carefully matched by date to ensure comparability. Results show that both kinds of expectations suffer from bias and inefficiency, and in terms of forecast precision there is no clear winner. We do find, though, evidence that the forecast accuracy of both kinds of policy-rate expectations has improved since the Riksbank started publishing its own policy-rate forecast, suggesting that this communication strategy has been beneficial from a policy perspective.