Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New Directions in Research on Venture Capital Finance

This paper surveys recent research on venture capital and suggests directions for future research. There is new empirical evidence in the field, and new theoretical models have resolved some issues. The paper selectively examines recent findings, particularly models and empirical work about staging of financing, the use of syndicates, the process of screening investments, and participation by venture capitalists in IPOs. Finally, the paper identifies some of the remaining issues for which new research is needed.
Aluminum-Modified Molybdenum Trioxide for Electron Injection in Inverted Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

Electron injection using ambient stable electrodes is essential for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), particularly for the bottom electrode of the inverted OLEDs. Here, a metal-oxide-based highly transparent electron injection layer (EIL) is proposed. This metal-oxide-based EIL consists of thin layer of aluminum (Al)-modified molybdenum trioxide (MoO3). It is demonstrated that the surface of the MoO3 layer can be chemically reduced by a very thin overlayer of Al (1 nm), resulting in a lower effective surface work function as well as introducing a number of gap states in the reduced molybdenum oxide layer. With this surface Al-doped MoO3 EIL, efficient inverted OLEDs are demonstrated over typical conductive electrodes such as indium tin oxide (ITO) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythio-phene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS).
All-zero forecasts for lumpy demand: a factorial study

Lumpy demand is a phenomenon encountered in manufacturing or retailing when the items are slow-moving or too expensive, for example fighter plane engines. So far, the seminal procedure of Croston's (1972), with or without modifications, has been the preference for forecasting lumpy demand. Nevertheless, Croston (1974) and others, such as Venkitachalam et al . (2002), have suggested the use of zero forecasts when the demand contains many zeros. In this paper, we put to the test this idea by doing a full factorial study comparing five forecasting methods, including all-zero, under several levels of demand lumpiness, demand variation and ordering, holding and shortage cost. We evaluate the forecasting methods by three measures of forecast error and two measures of inventory cost. We find that all-zero forecasts yield the lowest cost when lumpiness is high; is it also best for mid-lumpiness, if the shortage cost is much higher than the holding cost. We also find that the lowest forecasting error does not necessarily lead to the lowest system cost. And contrary to the assertions in Chen et al . (2000b) and Dejonckheere et al . (2003, 2004), our factorial experiment reinforces the intuition that simple exponential smoothing is superior to an equivalent moving average.
T cell inflammatory response, Foxp3 and TNFRS18‐L regulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with nasal polyps‐asthma after staphylococcal superantigen stimulation

Cite this as: C. A. Pérez Novo, M. Jedrzejczak‐Czechowicz, A. Lewandowska‐Polak, C. Claeys, G. Holtappels, P. Van Cauwenberge, M. L. Kowalski and C. Bachert, Clinical & Experimental Allergy, 2010 (40) 1323–1332.
Does service intangibility affect entrepreneurial orientation?

Service firms face a unique set of challenges in their internationalization and foreign market growth. Their services' characteristics, particularly intangibility, constrain the options available to them for growth. When such firms are services International New Ventures (INVs), their challenges are combined with those related to rapid internationalization and growth. This research investigates how service intangibility and the typical challenges of INVs relate to the firms' Entrepreneurial Orientation and their foreign market growth. The findings show that indeed service intangibility has a relationship with firm proactiveness, risk-taking, and innovativeness; and that not all elements of Entrepreneurial Orientation have a positive impact on growth.
An Action Pattern Model of Inter-Firm Cooperation

An action pattern model was developed and applied to the examination of inter-firm cooperative processes. The model considered cooperation as a continuous cycle of actions and reactions between cooperating partners. The building blocks of the model include cooperative equilibrium, disruptive events, action types and action patterns. Three action pattern variables were proposed to describe the interactions. It was hypothesized that action patterns are contingent on partner relationships and the transaction cost characteristics of a partnership. The hypotheses were tested on a sample of 263 partnerships in the construction industry in Hong Kong. The quantitative study was supplemented by four in-depth case studies. The results show that: (1) trust was an important antecedent of action patterns; and (2) transaction cost variables moderate the relationships between partner relationships and action patterns. These findings suggest that future research should give more attention to the interaction of partners during cooperation.
Numerical Simulation of Magnetic-Field-Enhanced Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation in Cylindrical Geometry

Recent studies have demonstrated that the sheath dynamics in plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is significantly affected by an external magnetic field. In this paper, a two-dimensional computer simulation of a magnetic-field-enhanced PIII system is described. Negative bias voltage is applied to a cylindrical target located on the axis of a grounded vacuum chamber filled with uniform molecular nitrogen plasma. A static magnetic field is created by a small coil installed inside the target holder. The vacuum chamber is filled with background nitrogen gas to form a plasma in which collisions of electrons and neutrals are simulated by the Monte Carlo algorithm. It is found that a high-density plasma is formed around the target due to the intense background gas ionization by the magnetized electrons drifting in the crossed EtimesB fields. The effect of the magnetic field intensity, the target bias, and the gas pressure on the sheath dynamics and implantation current of the PIII system is investigated
Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of elite controllers

Purpose of reviewRecent studies have been published characterizing the epidemiology of elite controllers. The demographic features, clinical characteristics, and HIV disease outcomes of elite controllers are summarized. Recent findingsElite controllers are defined by the ability to spontaneously suppress plasma viremia. Despite differing definitions in the literature, studies have shown that elite control of HIV infection is established soon after seroconversion and occurs in less than 1% of HIV-infected individuals. Elite controllers are demographically heterogeneous with diverse racial backgrounds and modes of HIV transmission, though genetic studies demonstrate an overrepresentation of protective HLA alleles. Elite controllers typically have elevated CD4 cell counts, stable CD4 trajectories, and more favorable clinical outcomes compared with viremic patients. A proportion of elite controllers, however, may experience HIV disease progression with loss of virologic control, CD4 cell declines, and rarely AIDS-defining events. SummaryElite controllers are a subgroup of HIV-infected individuals characterized by the ability to spontaneously maintain virologic control. The mechanisms underlying elite control are aggressively being sought to guide vaccine development and novel therapeutic strategies. As elite control may be a temporary state, the ability to distinguish and further characterize elite controllers with long-term clinical success from those with HIV disease progression is of major importance.
An overview of accounting restatement activity in the United States

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of financial restatements by US companies to help students, professors, and practitioners gain a better understanding of restatements. Data from restatement activity that occurred between January 1, 1997 and June 30, 2002 is presented and relevant literature is cited to discus the players involved in restatements, the causes of restatements and their impacts.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 919 restatement announcements compiled by the General Accounting Office (GAO) that occurred between January 1, 1997 and June 30, 2002 is analyzed. The data and the relevant literature are used to examine the roles of companies, auditing firms, and the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the financial reporting process and show how they are involved in prompting restatements. Literature is also reviewed on the root causes of restatements and their impact.Findings – The misstatements that lead to earnings restatements are driven by a variety of .
Anal squamous intraepithelial lesions are frequent among young HIV‐infected men who have sex with men followed up at the Spanish AIDS Research Network Cohort (CoRIS‐HPV)

The aim of our study was to determine the baseline prevalence of anal squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) and associated risk factors in HIV‐infected men who have sex with men (MSM) in a Spanish ongoing multicenter cohort. CoRIS‐HPV started in 2007, nested in the Spanish AIDS Research Network Cohort (CoRIS). Anal liquid cytology testing was performed. High‐risk human papillomavirus (HR‐HPV) infection was determined, and positive samples were genotyped. We analyzed all subjects up to April 2011. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. A total of 551 subjects with baseline anal liquid cytologies were analyzed; 37.0% negative for intraepithelial lesion, 9.0% atypical squamous cells of uncertain significance (ASCUS), 41.0% low‐grade SIL, 4.0% high‐grade SIL and 9.0% inadequate. Prevalence of anal SIL (excluding ASCUS) in valid samples (n = 450) was 54.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 49.9–59.3). Globally HR‐HPV prevalence was 81.7% (95% CI = 78.0–85.2). Multiple infections (≥2 HR‐HPV genotypes) were documented in 77.7% (95% CI = 73.1–82.0). The only risk factor associated with anal SIL was the number of HR‐HPV types; MSM with five or more HR‐HPV genotypes had an odds ratio (OR) of anal SIL seven times greater (OR = 7.4; 95% CI = 2.8–19.6) than those with one HR‐HPV genotype. No associations were found for age, educational level, smoking, geographical origin, CD4 T‐cell count, antiretroviral treatment or number of sexual partners. The prevalence of anal SIL in young HIV‐positive MSM is high, and the main risk factor is multiple infections with HR‐HPV types.
Multilevel (mis)governance of palm oil production

The palm oil industry exemplifies the ‘regionalisation without regionalism’ pattern seen in other industries in Asia: extensive, regionally concentrated transnational economic integration accompanied by a low level of formal regional institution-building. Production is concentrated in Malaysia and Indonesia, and Asian countries account for a major share of the market for intermediate products. The ownership structure of palm oil production reflects the dominance of transnational Malaysian and Singaporean firms. There is no authoritative regional institution governing production, investment standards or labour in the industry. A patchwork of both enabling and regulatory governance institutions supports the industry. These are formal and informal, public and private, and are situated at multiple levels: within, below and across the nation state. Although the governance structure surrounding the palm oil industry has supported it well in terms of production volumes and profits, large externalities—environmental and social costs—persist. This article argues that the governance failures associated with the industry stem from different stakeholders' competing interests in contexts of highly unequal wealth and power distribution. Misgovernance is not an unintended consequence of institutions failing to keep up with markets in scale and scope, but is embedded in the multilevel governance regime that supports, and partially regulates, the industry.
Ownership structure and financial performance in Islamic banks: Does bank ownership matter?

Purpose - – This study aims to investigate empirically the relationship between ownership structure (concentration and mix) and Islamic bank performance, with a special attention to the identity of the block investor (foreign, family, institutional and state). Design/methodology/approach - – Regression analyses are conducted to test the impact of the identity of the first shareholders and the degree of concentration on Islamic bank performance, using a panel data sample of 53 Islamic banks scattered over > 15 countries from 2005 to 2009. Findings - – Results suggest that ownership is concentrated at 49 per cent, and for 41 banks from the full sample, the ultimate owner is institutional. State investors come in second place, followed by family ultimate shareholders. Using return on assets and return on equity as performance measures, empirical evidence highlights the absence of correlation between ownership concentration and Islamic bank performance. It also reveals that the combined effort of family and state investors is beneficial to bank performance. Results also indicate that banks with institutional and foreign shareholders do not perform better. Empirical findings suggest that the financial crisis impacts negatively Islamic bank performance. Research limitations/implications - – The use of dummy variables to measure the nature of the largest owner represents the main limitation of this study. This is due to the lack of information, as the percentage of the largest capital held referring to owner category was available only for some banks. Practical implications - – This research has given a brighter insight into corporate governance and bank performance in selected Islamic banking institutions. Findings provided useful information to bank managers, investors and policy makers. Financial performance can be improved by identifying practices associated with ownership structure. So, it will have policy implications for Islamic banks as to how to improve their performance. Finally, different types of bank ownership have had different concerns about implementing corporate governance practices among Islamic banks. Originality/value - – This work is the first of its kind for Islamic banks. It extends previous research by examining whether ownership structure (concentration and mix) affects performance. It also fills the gap in the literature by providing empirical evidence on a large sample involving data from 15 countries. Finally, manual data collection on ownership structure constitutes a large part of the research for this paper.
Product recall: supply chain quality issue?

Regardless of a company's efforts possibility exists that defective products may reach the customers which may results in to recall. Unless appropriate action is taken promptly, these defective products may pose serious threat on the company's profile. Recently, numbers of products have been recalled especially from automotive industries which were considered to be the best in class and brand. Researchers have attempted various studies on product recall but, hardly any study was conducted to find out the supply chain quality perspective. Thus, it is unobserved topic of research by the researchers and practitioners. In this paper, major recalls over a period of 20 years were searched through literature, print and electronic media and by AHP analysis the authors revealed nine major causes for recalls. After Pareto analysis most significant factors contributing to 66% of recalls were found to be rush through design, safety analysis and vendor quality. Based on the above results authors found that the product recall predominantly depends on how the quality is being managed in the supply chain.
ASEAN Economic Co-operation in the New International Economic Environment

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is currently at an important watershed. As an organization and as individual member countries, ASEAN has been under going major internal changes that have important implications for the future. All member states are implementing policies of economic liberalization, export promotion, and greater participation in the international marketplace, a major change for some. Moreover, changes in the international economic environment, including contradictions stemming from increased globalization and interdependence on the one hand, and the current trend toward bilateralism and protectionism on the other, render ASEAN economic co-operation more compelling. ASEAN economic co-operation programmes have in the past been limited, but new paths are being explored to take advantage of resource pooling and market sharing. And while ASEAN countries should continue to embrace unilateral liberalization and advocate multilateral co operation at GA TTand in other forums, significant advantages may be reaped through greater regional economic integration and working more closely together as a "bargaining bloc" in international negotiations.
The Coexistence of Competition and Cooperation between Networks: Implications from Two Taiwanese Healthcare Networks

The issue of coopetition, the coexistence of cooperation and competition, has recently come to the fore in the strategic management field. Previous coopetition research has focused on the intra-organizational level, inter-organizational level and triad level, but less attention has been paid to coopetition at the network level. The purpose of this paper is to address the coexistence of competition and cooperation between networks, and to depict how networks with different structures interact with each other. Drawing from a detailed case study of two healthcare networks in Taiwan, we demonstrate how they first initiated competition, followed by cooperation and then coopetition. From our analysis of this example of network coopetition, we develop three propositions that address the forces driving competition and cooperation and the different structures that allow competition and cooperation to coexist. We found that two organizations will compete and cooperate simultaneously when each organization has complementary but distinctly different sets of resources and when the field of competition is distinctly separate from the field of cooperation. In addition, two networks will find it easier to balance competition and cooperation when each network has compatible but distinctly different structures. We argue that the simultaneous existence of cooperation and competition is not dependent on closeness to the customer, as previously suggested in the literature, but on the balance between the forces for cooperation and for competition. We suggest from this research that networks can maintain the balance between competition and cooperation when they act using different structures. Finally, we discuss the implications of the value of competition and then coopetition at multiple levels of analysis and the implications for future research from a practical perspective.
Electricity Price Forecast: a Comparison of Different Models to Evaluate the Single National Price in the Italian Energy Exchange Market

In the last decades, electricity markets thoughout the Eurozone have undergone substantial changes. The deregulation of electricity markets stimulated investments in the production and distribution of energy, but there are large risks associated with these investments due to price volatility price. The paper in the introduction describes the algorithm that governs the operation of the Day-Ahead Market in the Italian Power Exchange and proposes an econometric model for short-term forecasting (six months or a year) of the daily Single National Price (Prezzo Unico Nazionale, PUN) of electricity. The model includes constants, regressors, moving averages, weekly and seasonal dummies, autoregressive and heteroschedastic variables. The results show a significant decrease in error of the short-term forecast of the analyzed time series, in comparison with the method of linear least squares, traditionally used in literature. An analysis on the influence of different variables on PUN such as brent, solar radiation and weather has been reported. A comparison of the different models with specific indices have been performed and discussed.
Talent Management as Success Factor for Organizational Performance: A Case of Pharmaceutical Industry in Pakistan

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to illuminate the importance of Talent Management Practices for the Pharmaceutical Industry in Pakistan and to impose the organizations for the development and implementation of TM mechanism in the industry that provide tools for achieving sustainable competitive advantages in today's highly competitive environment. Methodology/Sample - Data from the targeted pharmaceutical organizations were mostly obtained personally by researchers through survey questionnaire and structured interviews. The focus of interviews related to top management personnel, human resource experts and professionals according to availability. Findings - The main findings from this research are that talent management practices will definitely increases the performance of the organization. To be successful and gain sustainable edge recommended that organizations must keep eye on their people and take care of them in all manners. This process needed special attention as much as goals of the organization because the talented people are definitely the most valuable asset for an organization. Practical Implications - The essential features to compete and survival in the highly competitive environment the talent plays a vital role in the achievement of an organization's overall strategic objectives and visibly illustrates that the TM practices fully understands and supports the direction in which the organization is moving. Research Limitations - Data confidentiality policy of organizations, time constraint and unavailability of concerned personnel at the time of interviews were limitations in some cases while gathering data. Keywords : Valuable Assets, Career Planning, Competitive Edge, Talent Management, Performance Management
The role of procedural justice in the new product development process

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents and consequences of the level of procedural justice climate in new product development (NPD) teams. The aim is to discover answers to the following questions: First, can the procedural justice climate level be used to predict NPD team outcomes such as product performance and product creativity? Second, what NPD team characteristics can be leveraged to improve the justice climate? Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical model was developed and tested on the survey data collected from 93 product managers of Turkish companies. The product managers who participated in this study represented various industries, including those of telecommunications, food, material, software, machinery, chemicals, and service technologies.Findings – Statistical analyses demonstrated that stability, collectivism, and moderate‐level functional diversity of teams were significantly related to the procedural justice climate. In addition, procedural justice climate.
The formation of a tourist destination's image via information sources: the moderating effect of culture.

The present study aims to outline the growing importance of culture in the field of tourism. More specifically, it highlights culture as a moderating variable in pre-visit tourist destination image formation, through the information sources utilized by the tourist in the selection of a holiday destination (that is, travel agencies alone vs. travel agencies together with the Internet). For this purpose primary research used a multicultural sample of 371 tourists from different European countries. The results show that the formation of a destination's pre-visit image amongst tourists, based on the information sources they use, is moderated by the level of uncertainty-avoidance of their national cultures. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.