Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Structural Conditions for Collaboration and Learning in Innovation Networks: Using an Innovation System Performance Lens to Analyse Agricultural Knowledge Systems

ABSTRACT Purpose: We investigate how the structural conditions of eight different European agricultural innovation systems can facilitate or hinder collaboration and social learning in multidisciplinary innovation networks. Methodology: We have adapted the Innovation System Failure Matrix to investigate the main barriers and enablers eight countries (England, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, The Netherlands and Switzerland). Findings: Results show some of the recent trends the AKS actors in these countries have experienced and how these have affected their potential to act as collaborators in multidisciplinary innovation networks. Lack of funds, combined with horizontal and vertical fragmentation and the lack of proper evaluation criteria for collaborative innovation networks are among the most important threats we found. Practical Implications: This study shows that each national AIS has some unique features. This means that the implementation of policies promoting collaboration and social learning (e.g. the European Innovation Partnerships and Operational Groups) should depend on a critical reflection of the existing structural elements of the AIS in each country and whether there is a need for inclusion of new actors, or whether certain innovations for collective goods should be promoted. Originality: The paper contributes to the ongoing discussion in the scientific literature on the advantages and disadvantages of privatization of extension and advisory services and the shift from thinking in terms of the traditional Agricultural Knowledge System towards a broader Agricultural Innovation System.
Turnover: The Real Bottom Line

Turnover is the rotation of workers around the labor market; between firms, jobs, and occupations; and between the states of employment and unemployment.1 “In-house engineering,” “revolving door policy,” and “management by turnover,” are a few of the many colorful and euphemistic terms used to describe this organizational phenomenon. By whatever name or form, labor turnover is one of the most significant causes of declining productivity and sagging morale in both the public and private sectors. Management theorists say it lies behind the failure of U. S. employee productivity to keep pace with foreign competition.2
FRICTIONS, RIVALRY AND THE EMERGENCE OF HETEROGENEITY.

The article reports on research which was conducted in an effort to investigate the role that frictions and rivalry played in the emergence of heterogeneity in business enterprises and to develop a friction parameter which could be used to investigate impediments to perfect competition in the industrial product market. Researchers found that in business enterprises there are complex interactions between elements usually thought of as playing out at different levels of analysis. They also found that mapping between value creation and value capture is moderated by industry-level factors and that firm heterogeneity depends both on features of the resource development process and on features of the industry.
Regional fiscal cooperation in metropolitan areas: An exploration

This article explores the potential benefits and costs of regional cooperation on metropolitan area fiscal policies. After discussing the relationships between cities and suburbs, as well as the role of local fiscal policies in regional well-being, the article presents and tests a model for measuring benefit spillovers resulting from fiscal policies. The results show that state and local infrastructures have important effects on metropolitan property markets, and that current spending is less influential than the level of public capital in place in determining property values. State highway investments are found to reduce the attractiveness of metropolitan area locations. Enhancements to central city infrastructure are estimated to significantly increase suburban property values, and the results of some simple policy experiments are examined. © 1999 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.
Efficacy of Commiphora molmol against hepatic coccidiosis (Eimeria stiedae) in the domestic rabbit

This study investigated the effect of oleo-gum-resin from Commiphora molmol Engler (Family: Burseraceae), commonly known as myrrh and as the commercial extract Mirazid, as a treatment for hepatic coccidiosis induced by the parasite Eimeria stiedae in domestic rabbits. Rabbits (Oryctolagus domesticus L.) were infected with sporulated parasite oocysts and subjected to treatment regimens of crude-myrrh suspension or the oleo-resin extract, Mirazid, each administered at 500 mg/kg rabbit body weight. Treatment of the infected rabbits resulted in significant reduction of mean oocyst numbers in the faeces of crude-treated rabbits (52.38%) and Mirazid-treated rabbits (90.90%), as compared to the untreated infected rabbits at Day 21 post-infection (pi). At Day 28 pi, no oocysts were observed in the faeces of treated rabbits, and both treatments resulted in significant recovery from all symptoms. Infected rabbits had normal body weight following treatment. Biochemical analyses showed that liver enzymes (aspartate amino transferase, alanine amino transferase, gamma glutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin), total protein and hemoglobin levels returned to normal in response to the treatments. The results also indicate that Mirazid was more effective than the crude myrrh, likely due to a higher content of the active ingredients. The results of this study indicate that myrrh extracts, such as Mirazid, are promising sources for novel effective anti-coccidal drugs that are safe to the animal and the environment. These extracts are recommended for use in clinical practices.
The relationship between a satisfactory in-store shopping experience and retailer loyalty

In this study consumer satisfaction with the in-store shopping experience is used to predict two measures of retailer loyalty. The first measure is an attitudinal measure of loyalty. The second measure is actual buying behaviour – actual sales recorded in monetary terms and in terms of units bought. The results suggest that a satisfactory in-store shopping experience enhances cumulative or ‘overall’ consumer satisfaction, which in turn enhances both attitudinal loyalty and behavioural loyalty (actual sales).
Quality of Available Mates, Education, and Household Labor Supply

"We investigate the impact of sex ratios by education and metropolitan area on spouses' bargaining power and labor supplies, to capture the local and qualitative nature of mate availability. Using Current Population Survey and Census data for 2000, 1990, and 1980, we estimate these effects in a collective household framework. We find that a higher relative shortage of comparably educated women in the couple's metropolitan area reduces wives' labor supply and increases their husbands'. The impact is stronger for couples in higher education groups but not significant for high school graduates. Results are similar across decades. No such effects are found for unmarried individuals". ("JEL" D1, J22) Copyright (c) 2008 Western Economic Association International.
New Evidence on Deficits and Interest Rates

IT IS GENERALLY ASSUMED ON THEORETICAL GROUNDS that increases in government borrowing cause interest rates to rise. 1 But empirical support for this proposition has been weak at best. Several recent papers have uncovered no strong relationship between deficits and short-terrn interest rates. However, the research reported here indicates that although the relationship between deficits and short-terrn interest rates may be tenuous, there is strong evidence that larger deficits are associated with higher long-terrn interest rates. Much of the debate about whether there is a strong relationship between federal borrowing and interest rates concerns the crowding-out question. This controversy centers on the direct and indirect eilffects of government fiscal actions on private spending. These effects have been well documented in the theoretical literature (e.g., Buiter 1977; Carlson and Spencer 1975; Blinder and Solow 1973). Many of the crowding-out effects studied in this literature depend on the connection between government borrowing and high interest rates (Friedman 1978; Meyer 1975; Silber 1970). This is called "short-run indirect crowding out" and may occur when increases in government spending (and borrowing) cause interest rates to rise, which then may cause private spending to be reduced (Buiter 1977, pp. 310-13).
MEKK1 is essential for cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction induced by Gq

Signaling via mitogen-activated protein kinases is implicated in heart failure induced by agonists for G protein-coupled receptors that act via the G protein Gαq. However, this assertion relies heavily on pharmacological inhibitors and dominant-interfering proteins and not on gene deletion. Here, we show that endogenous cardiac MAPK/ERK kinase kinase-1 (MEKK1)/(MAP3K1), a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase, is activated by heart-restricted overexpression of Gαq in mice. In cardiac myocytes derived from embryonic stem cells in culture, homozygous disruption of MEKK1 selectively impaired c-Jun N-terminal kinase activity in the absence or presence of phenlyephrine, a Gαq-dependent agonist. Other terminal mitogen-activated protein kinases were unaffected. In mice, the absence of MEKK1 abolished the increase in cardiac mass, myocyte size, hypertrophy-associated atrial natriuretic factor induction, and c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation by Gαq, and improved ventricular mechanical function. Thus, MEKK1 mediates cardiac hypertrophy induced by Gαq in vivo and is a logical target for drug development in heart disease involving this pathway.
Corporate sustainability discourses in a Brazilian business magazine

Purpose - – This paper seeks to explore corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Brazil through the “evolution” of the sustainability concept in one of the country's leading specialist business publications – the Exame Magazine. The idea is to understand how Exame portrays sustainable development and corporate sustainability in its Sustainable Corporation Guide. Design/methodology/approach - – The authors collected material covering five years of the Exame Sustainable Corporation Guide, from 2005 to 2009. The data were analyzed using discourse analysis. Findings - – The authors consider that the “evolution” promoted in this particular business media discourse on CSR and sustainability assumes, and stands for the economically dominant paradigm. In this sense, it cannot be viewed as an alternative that can realistically protect local environments. Despite the idea of a neutral journalistic approach, the concerns depicted in the publication still rely on profits and the chase for business opportunities. The authors also discuss to what extent this particular publication supports a specific hegemonic discourse. The different sustainability indexes adopted only reproduce practices that are desired and that align with the realities of the so-called developed nations. Research limitations/implications - – The paper focuses on what kind of sustainability discourse is propagated by the business media, and more specifically, by a well-known Guide published by a popular Brazilian business magazine. Through this method of diffusion, a specific kind of CSR and sustainability are drawn up that support the capitalist business model. This analysis can raise issues, such as the existence of a “dark side” of sustainability. Further investigation of the diffusion of the CSR and sustainability relationship in business media discourse, as well as of the uncritical adoption of western CSR models, might invigorate the discussion and provide valuable insights. Originality/value - – There is a distinct lack of studies on sustainability and CSR in emergent economies. Such initiatives can be developed in different ways because emergent countries' contexts may differ. Since Brazil is currently an important player in the economic and political arenas, understanding how the notion of sustainability is being discussed in the Brazilian business media can lead to important implications for corporate practices and organizational relationships with stakeholders, both internally as well as externally.
New Evidence on the Lending Channel

The response of aggregate lending to monetary policy is stronger in state banking markets where financially constrained banks have more market share. On the other hand, there is little difference in the response of state output across the market share financially constrained banks, implying that the aggregate elasticity of output to bank lending is very small, if not zero. I conclude that while small firms might view bank loans as special, they are not special enough for the lending channel to be an important part of how monetary policy works.
Investigating the Effect of Writing Centre Interventions on Student Writing.

Writing is one of the main means of assessment in tertiary institutions and helping students with writing could improve their overall academic performance and could ensure that students proceed to graduation. More and more, Academic Development initiatives are being 'driven to demonstrate their "success" by substantiating the rhetoric of their mission statements with researched evidence of performance' (Yeld and Visser 2001, 6). This article describes in detail one study investigating Writing Centre interventions by looking at improvement in assessed writing in the context of the curriculum. The context-embedded nature of the methodology coheres with an 'academic literacies' approach to student writing (Lea and Street 1998), rather than a skills-based approach. The study was achieved through interviewing forty first year students on their perceptions of the Centre and its influence on their writing; looking at consultants' comments; looking at grades; comparing independent assessments of the students' first and final drafts. This multi-faceted approach enabled a holistic and contextualized picture of student writing to emerge.
Raising capital for rapid growth in young technology ventures: when business angels and venture capitalists coinvest

We investigate the relational dynamics of raising equity finance to support strong growth in a technology venture when different investor types (business angels and venture capitalists) coinvest. Our objective is to ascertain which of two theoretical frameworks, agency theory or the cognitive approach to entrepreneurial finance, is the strongest predictor of the interactions between investors and entrepreneurs. We conducted a prospective case study whose analysis yields overall support for both approaches, while it also indicates that the relevance of agency-related and cognitive concerns clearly depends on the stage of the process and on investor-type. We conclude that first-time entrepreneurs may have an interest in addressing both formal and informal venture capitalists and that the proper timing and combination of investor-profiles may help to lower the cost of capital and contribute to future growth.
Labour mobility and plant performance: on the (dis)similarity between labour‐ and capital‐intensive sectors for knowledge diffusion and productivity

Abstract In this article we analyse differences between capital‐ and labour‐intensive sectors with regard to the impact of workforce composition and labour mobility on plant performance. By the use of geo‐referenced longitudinal employer–employee data on a micro level, we analyse labour flows between plants within and between labour market regions. The analysis is carried out using weighted least squares (WLS) regression analysis combined with additional variance analysis (ANOVA). The results show that there are differences between the sectors with regard to both in‐house workforce composition and type of skill inflow. A high degree of related knowledge in the in‐house workforce has a strong positive effect on plant performance in the labour‐intensive sectors. The analysis of labour inflow indicates that knowledge in the capital‐intensive sectors is localized – only intra‐regional labour flows give rise to increased plant productivity. In the labour‐intensive sectors, the geographic and cognitive dimensions complement one another; similar knowledge needs to be non‐local in order to be beneficial to plant performance, and unrelated knowledge mainly contributes to plant productivity growth when it is local.
An Analysis of Central Bank Interventions on Forex Market For The Post-Crisis Period

In this paper, we investigate the determinants of foreign exchange operations of the CBRT for the post-crisis period. Using modern time series econometrics, we try to analyze the different characteristics of FOREX market, and based on the estimation results, indicate the degree of effectiveness of the interventions of monetary authority throughout the implicit inflation targeting framework. The main policy conclusion is that the CBRT interventions seem to be under the control of uncertainties in economic environment, rather than decreasing the volatilities in exchange market, and this case in turn leads the interventions being inefficient.
Radiologists' Responses to Patients' Inquiries about Imaging Results: A Pilot Study on Opinions of Various Groups

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES.The authors analyzed opinions regarding how a radiologist should answer a patient's or patient's family's questions about radiologic results. METHODS.Questionnaires were obtained in a university hospital from 135 physicians of various specialties, including radiologists, and 501 nonphysicians, such as medical students, nurses, patients, families of patients, and hospital personnel. The questionnaire included three questions, each with five choices. The first question concerned a normal result, the second a minor abnormality, and the third a major abnormality. The five choices in each question consisted of two suggestive answers to patients' inquiries and three excuses for the refusal of immediate answers. Respondents were asked to choose the single most desirable and the single least desirable answer. RESULTS.Approximately 50% of all physicians believed that a radiologist should refer the patient to his or her physician rather than to give a suggestive answer to a patient with an abnormality. Considerably fewer physicians had a similar opinion in cases involving a patient with normal results. Patients and the families of patients believed that a radiologist should give at least a suggestive answer in any circumstances where the patient is agitated to know the result. Radiologists were reluctant to convey any information regardless of the test result. CONCLUSIONS.Physicians had significantly different opinions from patients and the families of patients, and radiologists preferred to keep their traditional role of referral physician.
Robust frequency-estimation method for distorted and imbalanced three-phase systems using discrete filters

The continuous monitoring of voltage characteristics in electric power systems, such as in microgrids, is required for power quality assessment, grid control, and protection purposes. Due to the presence of disturbances in the grid voltage, such as harmonics, imbalances, noise, and offsets introduced by the instrumentation, among others, the frequency-estimation process has to be robust against all these disturbances to obtain an accurate estimation of the frequency value. This paper presents a fast and accurate method to estimate the fundamental frequency of an electric power system. The estimation method works properly in balanced and imbalanced three-phase systems, and even in single-phase systems. The proposed solution is based on an algebraic method, which is able to calculate the frequency of a pure sinusoidal signal using three samples. A filtering stage is used to increase the robustness of the algorithm against disturbances in a wide frequency range. Simulation and experimental results show the good performance of the method for single- and three-phase systems with a high level of harmonic distortion, even in the presence of amplitude, phase, and frequency changes.
Multinomial Logit Model Of Housing Demand In Poland

Abstract When compared to mature housing markets, little has been done to understand the nature of demand on emerging housing markets in Central and Eastern Europe and to develop testable models for post-socialist economies. With the exception of Bazyl 2009 and Głuszak 2010, there is hardly any econometric evidence on factors behind housing tenure choices in Poland. The article focus mainly on: permanent (and current) income, household structure, lifecycle, and differences between local market characteristics. In the research, multinomial logistic regression is used to analyze factors that increase the probability of young households becoming homeowners. The major objectives of the study are: 1) estimation of housing demand at household level, 2) discussion of factors increasing the probability of becoming homeowner, 3) discussion of advantages and limitations of using classical qualitative response models to estimate housing demand. The research is based on latest European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EUSILC) 2007-2010 dataset (panel of approx. 4,500 households).
An examination of the use of high-investment human resource systems for core and support employees

In this study, we examine two competing perspectives regarding the relative use of high-investment human resource (HIHR) systems for core and support employees within establishments. Using data from 420 establishments, we compare a universal perspective suggesting that the level of HIHR exposure core employees receive is always greater than the level of exposure for sup-port employees, with a contingency perspective suggesting that the relative level of exposure for these employee groups is contingent on strategy, HR philosophy, or industry.The results did not provide support for the universal prediction that core employees always receive higher levels of exposure to HIHR systems than support employees within the same establishment. Moreover, while strategy and HR philosophy were positively related to the level of HIHR system use across establishments, they did not influence the relative level of exposure to HIHR systems for core and support employees. Interestingly, however, industry did exert a unique impact such that core em-ployees received significantly greater exposure to HIHR systems than sup-port employees in nonmanufacturing firms.There were no significant differ-ences in exposure for these two groups in manufacturing industries. Implications of the findings are discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Fine‐needle aspiration biopsy of papillary thyroid carcinoma

Papillary thyroid carcinoma is the most common malignant neoplasm of the thyroid gland, and fine‐needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) often is the initial diagnostic method used in its detection. Prior studies have shown that immunohistochemical staining for various cytokeratins in general, and cytokeratin 19 (CK19) in particular, can be applied as an ancillary technique for diagnosing papillary thyroid carcinoma in histologic specimens. In the current study the authors assessed the diagnostic utility of CK19 to detect papillary carcinoma effectively in cytologic preparations of thyroid FNABs.