Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of customer participation on service providers' job stress

There have been conflicting explanations of how customer participation affects service providers' job stress. This study explores the relationship between the two. Survey data from 293 customer-contact employees at 64 restaurants in Taiwan indicate that customer participation is positively related to perceived job stress and perceived workload, implying that it is inappropriate to explain job stress from the perspective of partial employees. Moreover, while customer participation increases the level of job stress, workload is only a superficial explanation for the relationship. The real explanation is role conflict, which is associated with changes in job characteristics. Implications of these findings for managing customer participation are subsequently discussed.
How Innovative are UK Firms? Evidence from the Fourth UK Community Innovation Survey on Synergies between Technological and Organizational Innovations

Using data from the Fourth UK Community Innovation Survey this paper explores the diffusion of a range of innovative activities (encompassing process, product, machinery, marketing, organization, management and strategic innovations) across 16,383 British companies in 2004. Building upon a simple theoretical model it is shown that the use of each innovation is correlated with the use of all other innovations. It is shown that the range of innovations can be summarized by two multi-innovation factors, labelled here ‘organizational’ and ‘technological’, that are complements but not substitutes for each other. Three clusters of firms are identified where intensity of use of the two sets of innovations is below average (56.9% of the sample); intermediate but above average (23.7%); and highly above average (19.4%). Distinctive characteristics are found to be common to the companies in each cluster. Finally, it is shown that innovativeness tends to persist over time.
Dietary Habits and Reproductive Biology of Typhlopid Snakes from Southern Africa

AssrnA.cr. -We studied diets, sexual dimorphism, and reproductive biology of six taxa of poorly known African blindsnakes (IlhinotyphloTts lalandei, Ilnna tnutntso, Ilttnn schlegelii petersii, Rana schlegelii schlegelii, Tqphlops biltronii., and'[qphloprs fornasiniil by dissection of 649 preserved museum specimens. Females matured at larger sizes than conspecific males, and the degree of sexual size dimorphism was most extreme in the large heavy-bodied Il. s. schlegelii. Reproduction was highly seasonal in temperate-zone T. bibronii and 17. Ialandei, with vitellogenesis in spring, oviposition in late summer, and hatching in autumn. All species were oviparous, with mean clutch sizes of four to 25 eggs. Clutch sizes were stn:ngly correlated with maternal body size in T. bibronii dtld R. lnlnndel. African Rhinotyphlops and Tqlthlops fed mainly on lan'ae and pupae of ants (88-97% ol prey items for five of the six species) but adult termites were also eaten. Only R. mucruso fed on termites to a significant degree (38o1, of prey items). A1l species fed infrequently on large numbers of srnall prey (mean number of prey per stomach = 80.4, range 1-927 items). Remarkably, although they attain almost 1 m in length, the world's largest blindsnakes, R. sc/r/rgr:/ii and R. nn4(n$o, fed on relatively small termites and ant btood. Collectively, our data show that typhlopid snakes har:e remarkably conservat ive diets, support ing the idea that the pecul iar skul l morphology t r f the lyphlopidae is an adaptat ion to feeding on smal l , c lumped, immobi le prey. Our f indings support the hypothesis that the binge-feeding strotegy of typhlopid snakes (rapid ingestion of prey, low feeding frequency, and larqe meal s ize) evolved to rn in i rn ize the t ime spent ins ide ant nests and, thus, to reduce the r isk of preyinllicted iniuries.
Pakistan's informal sector

This study reviews the main features of Pakistan's informal sector. The data on the informal sector, compiled from censuses and sample surveys in one major city (Rawalpindi), suggest that both real wages and employment have grown in the informal sector. The seeming paradox of real wage growth in a labor surplus economy is explained by real wage growth in both agriculture and large‐scale manufacturing, both of which were made possible by Pakistan's growth performance during the 1960s. The differences in wages between the formal and informal sector, after adjusting for age and education, are quite small, a reflection of high labor mobility between the two sectors.
Thy Friend is My Friend: Iterative Collaborative Filtering for Sparse Matrix Estimation

Matrix estimation or completion has served as a canonical mathematical model for recommendation systems. More recently, it has emerged as a fundamental building block for data analysis as a first step to denoise the observations and predict missing values. Since the dawn of e-commerce, similarity-based collaborative filtering has been used as a heuristic for matrix etimation. At its core, it encodes typical human behavior: you ask your friends to recommend what you may like or dislike. Algorithmically, friends are similar “rows” or “columns” of the underlying matrix. The traditional heuristic for computing similarities between rows has costly requirements on the density of observed entries. In “Iterative Collaborative Filtering for Sparse Matrix Estimation” by Christian Borgs, Jennifer T. Chayes, Devavrat Shah, and Christina Lee Yu, the authors introduce an algorithm that computes similarities in sparse datasets by comparing expanded local neighborhoods in the associated data graph: in effect, you ask friends of your friends to recommend what you may like or dislike. This work provides bounds on the max entry-wise error of their estimate for low rank and approximately low rank matrices, which is stronger than the aggregate mean squared error bounds found in classical works. The algorithm is also interpretable, scalable, and amenable to distributed implementation.
Pilot study of postoperative adjuvant chemoradiation for advanced gastric cancer: adjuvant 5-FU/cisplatin and chemoradiation with capecitabine.

AIM To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of postoperative chemoradiation using FP chemotherapy and oral capecitabine during radiation for advanced gastric cancer following curative resection. METHODS Thirty-one patients who had underwent a potentially curative resection for Stage III and IV (M0) gastric cancer were enrolled. Therapy consists of one cycle of FP (continuous infusion of 5-FU 1000 mg/m(2) on d 1 to 5 and cisplatin 60 mg/m(2) on d 1) followed by 4500 cGy (180 cGy/d) with capecitabine (1650 mg/m(2) daily throughout radiotherapy). Four wk after completion of the radiotherapy, patients received three additional cycles of FP every three wk. The median follow-up duration was 22.2 mo. RESULTS The 3-year disease free and overall survival in this study were 82.7% and 83.4%, respectively. Four patients (12.9%) showed relapse during follow-up. Eight patients did not complete all planned adjuvant therapy. Grade 3/4 toxicities included neutropenia in 50.2%, anemia in 12.9%, thrombocytopenia in 3.2% and nausea/vomiting in 3.2%. Neither grade 3/4 hand foot syndrome nor treatment related febrile neutropenia or death were observed. CONCLUSION These preliminary results suggest that this postoperative adjuvant chemoradiation regimen of FP before and after capecitabine and concurrent radiotherapy appears well tolerated and offers a comparable toxicity profile to the chemoradiation regimen utilized in INT-0116. This treatment modality allowed successful loco-regional control rate and 3-year overall survival.
Bank Risk Factors and Changing Risk Exposures of Banks: Capital Market Evidence Before and During the Financial Crisis

We analyze the capital market assessment of bank risk factors in Europe and the United States for the 1990–2011 period. The focus is on bank stock returns in a multi-factor framework that includes interest rate risk and market risk as well as credit risk, real estate risk, sovereign risk, and foreign exchange risk. Our findings indicate that bank risk exposures are multi-dimensional and time-varying but well reflected in bank stock returns. Dynamic beta exposures and time-varying variance shares accompany structural changes in the banking industry and the recent financial crisis. During the last two decades, interest rate risk has changed but credit risk still represents a major factor for explaining bank stock returns. For the recent financial crisis we provide evidence of a change in the capital market's assessment of bank risk exposures with a significant revaluation of real estate and sovereign risks. Overall, our factor model offers a parsimonious approach for modeling the risk dynamics in the banking industry and provides evidence for the capital market's ability to assess bank risk exposures.
Trade Barriers as Outcomes from Two-Stage Games: Evidence

A substantial theoretical literature on trade policy as equilibrium outcomes from cooperative and non-cooperative games has grown recently, but its implications have rarely been subjected to empirical scrutiny. It not only makes predictions about equilibrium levels of protection, but also positive observations about the choice of trade instruments. In this paper predictions from the two-stage games in Copeland (1990) and Copeland, Tower, and Webb (1989) are empirically investigated using bilateral non-tariff barrier (NTB) data between the United States and nine developed partner countries. This 'first round' of systematic empirical evidence suggests directions for further theoretical work.
Social protection for orphans and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe: The case for cash transfers

The unprecedented number of orphans and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe has created an urgent need to create innovative ways to provide for the social protection of these children. Innovative packages consisting of educational, food and psychosocial support are being implemented by non-governmental organizations. However, as the orphan crisis continues to deepen, more needs to be done and, learning from the experiences of other countries, the option of cash transfers for social protection for orphans and vulnerable children offers an attractive option for Zimbabwe. This article explores the possibility of using cash transfers for the support of orphans and vulnerable children and highlights the challenges and strengths of this approach.
The Role of Residual Gadolinium in the Induction of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis-Like Skin Lesions in Rats

Objective:Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) is an acquired, idiopathic disorder. Most of the cases are observed in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD). The objective of this nonclinical animal study was to test the hypothesis that gadolinium (Gd) deposits play a role in the induction of NSF lesions. In addition, we evaluated whether an acute response to Gd exposure can initiate a process that results in fibrosis of the skin. Materials and Methods:Han-Wistar rats were administered 3 intravenous injections of Gd-DTPA-BMA formulated without Gd-free excess ligand (Gadodiamide without Caldiamide) at a dose of 2.5 mmol/kg of body weight (b.w.) per injection given at 24-hour or 14-, 28-, or 56-day intervals. The occurrence and development of NSF-like fibrosing dermopathy lesions were followed. The Gd concentration was determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry in skin biopsies taken during the study and organ samples taken at the end of the study.In a separate study, after injection of a single intravenous dose of 2.5 mmol/kg b.w. Gd-DTPA-BMA administered to Han-Wistar rats, the expression of cytokines and signaling molecules in serum and skin tissue was determined by quantitative RT-PCR and Luminex technology 6 hours or 14, 28, or 56 days. Results:The occurrence of NSF-like macroscopic skin lesions differed between the injection groups. Shorter injection intervals resulted in more severe skin reactions. In contrast, the injection interval did not influence the long-term presence and level of accumulation of Gd concentration in tissue. The single injection of Gd-DTPA-BMA was followed by a rapid and transient induction of signaling molecules in the serum (MCP1, MCP3, IL1, IP-10, Osteopontine SCF and Timp1) as well as in the skin (MCP1 and TGFb). Conclusion:The presence of NSF-like fibrosing dermopathy in rats was found to be dependent on the injection interval and not on the amount of Gd in tissue. Our findings suggest the possibility of a more acute intrinsic reaction on administration of Gd-DTPA-BMA that triggers events leading to the development of skin lesions. The finding that single injections of Gd-DTPA-BMA were accompanied by a fast and transient induction of signaling molecules that are known to be involved in several fibrotic events provides additional support for this hypothesis. The study findings, however, do not support the theory that the long-term presence of Gd plays a relevant role in the development of NSF.
The Impact of Changing Markets and Competition on the NPD Speed/Market Success Relationship

Our research examines the relationships among four factors thought to be important to new product developing organizations. Those factors include the speed with which product developers produce new products and bring them to market; the degree of integration among the various groups participating in the New Product Development (NPD) process; the proficiency with which the product developers perform their tasks; and the degree of success attained upon the completion of the NPD process. Market dynamism, or the degree of customer changeability, and market hostility, or the degree of market competitiveness, are thought to moderate the relationships among the four previously noted factors.The research questions driving our investigation include: (1) Does NPD project success vary with NPD process speed? ; (2) Does NPD speed vary across innovation types (new-to-the-world products, line extensions, etc.)? ; (3) Does the strength of the relationships among NPD speed, organizational integration, NPD proficiency (overall and Fuzzy Front End [FFE]), and success vary with the degree of environmental dynamism (changing customer needs)? ; and (4) Does the strength of the relationships among NPD speed, organizational integration, NPD proficiency (overall and FFE), and success vary with the degree of market hostility (competition)? We probed the electrical equipment, medical device, and heavy construction equipment industries to provide the data to address our research questions.Our research suggests that the speed with which projects were completed in our sample did not vary between projects that were more or less successful. We also found that the speed with which projects were completed did not vary across various product categories (new-to-the-world, line extensions, etc.) of newly developed products for the industries studied. Primarily, we found that market dynamism moderates the relationship between NPD speed and NPD proficiency whereas environmental hostility mediates NPD speed and NPD proficiency, NPD speed and organizational integration, and NPD speed and new product market success.Our data indicate that speed is not associated with NPD proficiency, degree of organizational integration, and new product success in less dynamic markets whereas speed has an inverse relationship with successfully entering new markets, the proficiency with which development and launch activities are performed, and the proficiency with which new product marketing strategies were implemented in more dynamic markets. Finally, we found that speed is inversely related to successfully entering new markets, overall NPD proficiency and organizational integration, predevelopment stage proficiency and organizational integration, and development and launch proficiency and organizational integration in non-hostile (competitive) environments whereas we found no significant relationships between these factors and speed in hostile environments. We provide several implications for both scholars and NPD managers.
Impact of Updated Material Production Data in the GREET Life Cycle Model

The Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (GREET) model developed by Argonne National Laboratory quantifies the life cycle energy consumption and air emissions resulting from the production and use of light‐duty vehicles in the United States. GREET is comprised of two components: GREET 1 represents the fuel cycle of various energy carriers, including automotive fuels, and GREET 2 represents the vehicle cycle, which accounts for the production of vehicles and their constituent materials. The GREET model was updated in 2012 and now includes higher‐resolution material processing and transformation data. This study evaluated how model updates influence material and vehicle life cycle results. First, new primary energy demand and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions results from GREET 2 for steel, aluminum, and plastics resins are compared herein with those from the previous version of the model as well as industrial results. A part of the comparison is a discussion about causes of differences between results. Included in this discussion is an assessment of the impact of the new material production data on vehicle life cycle results for conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by comparing the energy and GHG emission values in the updated and previous versions of GREET 2. Finally, results from a sensitivity analysis are presented for identifying life cycle parameters that most affect vehicle life cycle estimates.
Conflict Deaths in Iraq: A Methodological Critique of the ORB Survey Estimate

In September of 2007 ORB, a British opinion polling firm, released an estimate that 1.2 million Iraqis had been killed in the conflict, subsequently lowering its estimate to 1 million. We compare three ORB polls and find important irregularities in ORB's mortality data in four central governorates of Iraq that account for more than 80% of the estimated deaths. These internal validity checks indicate that the ORB mortality data are not credible and would suggest a much lower estimate than ORB has published. We also analyze a number of specific error sources in the poll. Systematic errors, which include non-coverage and measurement errors, mostly point toward overestimation. Variable errors are also substantial but they are difficult to quantify in part due to incomplete disclosure of methodological details by ORB. External validity checks, including comparisons with two much larger and higher quality surveys, reinforce the conclusion that ORB has overestimated the number killed in Iraq by a wide margin. Thus, our paper answers a challenge facing the field of survey methodology, to explain how different surveys have produced such divergent mortality estimates for Iraq.
Upper Secondary School Completion and the Business Cycle

Previous evidence suggests that enrollment in post-compulsory education increases (decreases) in cyclical downturns (upturns). However, little evidence exists on whether enrollment is successfully transformed into completed education. This paper adds to the literature by analyzing the relationship between completion of upper secondary education and regional unemployment using Norwegian regional panel data on students graduating from compulsory school between 1981 and 2004. We find robust evidence that completion rates are countercyclical. Our results suggest that poor labor-market conditions when starting upper secondary education have a lasting effect and motivate students to stay in school and graduate.
Exploring the Legacy of Sport Events on Sport Tourism Networks

Abstract An important amount of literature have focused on analyzing the consequences of sport events, particularly on the economic impacts; however as is often claimed, impacts also occur on the environment, culture and society. As sport events are intensive in stakeholders’ relationships, the creation and strengthening of networks among these stakeholders should be a first priority of strategies aiming at building events’ legacies. The purpose of this study is to explore the generation of effective networks in a regional triathlon event using social network analysis theory and techniques. Ten key stakeholders from the sports and tourism areas were interviewed before and after the first edition of the event in 2009 and the data collected were analyzed by means of social network analysis software. Findings indicate that there is an evolution in the structure and complexity of the network, affecting both the social, personal and economic components of relationships and the connectivity among local and external stakeholders. Subsequent implications for managers are drawn to plan strategies that ensure the effectiveness of the event in terms of positive legacies.
Accumulation of microcystins in water and fish tissues: An estimation of risks associated with microcystins in most of the Greek Lakes

Toxin‐producing cyanobacteria in lakes and reservoirs form a threat to humans as well as various forms of aquatic life. This study is an investigation into the occurrence and distribution of Microcystins (MCYST) in 13 Greek Lakes. The distribution of MCYST in water and surface scum and toxin bioaccumulations in the omnivorous fish species Carassius gibelio were surveyed in all lakes. Considerable amounts of MCYST were found in water and scum of all lakes, irrespective of the trophic state, the type of the lake, and the reported dominant cyanobacterial species. Toxin accumulation in six tissues (liver, brain, intestine, kidney, ovary, and muscle) of C. gibelio was also analyzed. Even though the target organ for MCYST is the liver, in our study, MCYST were found also in the rest of C. gibelio tissues in the following order: liver > intestine > kidney > brain > ovaries > muscle. Risk assessments were carried out, taking into account the WHO guidelines and the tolerable daily intake (TDI) for MCYST. Our findings suggest that the amounts of MCYST found in water of Lakes Kastoria, Koronia, Pamvotis, Doirani, Mikri Prespa, Petron, and Zazari, pose adverse health risks. Also, it is likely to be unsafe to consume C. gibelio in Lakes Koronia, Kastoria, Pamvotis, and Mikri Prespa due to the high concentrations of accumulated MCYST. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 25: 418–427, 2010.
A rapid signal processing technique to remove the effect of dispersion from guided wave signals

Guided acoustic and ultrasonic waves have been utilized in various manners for non-destructive evaluation and testing. If a guided wave mode is dispersive, a pulse of energy will spread out in space and time as it propagates. For a long-range guided wave inspection application, this constrains the choice of operating point to regions on the dispersion curves where dispersion effects are small. A signal processing technique is presented that enables this constraint on operating point to be relaxed. The technique makes use of a priori knowledge of the dispersion characteristics of a guided wave mode to map signals from the time to distance domains. In the mapping process, dispersed signals are compressed to their original shape. The theoretical basis of the technique is described and an efficient numerical implementation is presented. The robustness of the technique to inaccuracies in the dispersion data is also addressed. The application of the technique to experimental data is shown and the resulting improvement in spatial resolution is demonstrated. The implications of using dispersion compensation in practical systems are briefly discussed.