Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Strategic Skills on Supply Management Performance: A Resource- Based View

Although previous literature documented the strong link between supply management and firms’ performance, the study of supply management performance antecedents has been largely overlooked. Using the resource-based theory of the firm to establish a theoretical foundation, this study serves to fill a gap in the supply management literature with respect to supply management performance antecedents such as strategic supply management skills, supplier integration, and the supply management function’s perceived status. Such an understanding will help supply management professionals in rationalizing their investments in various interand intra-departmental decisions such as supplier relationships, recruiting the necessary skills in the supply management function, investing in a supply knowledge base, etc. The sample used for this study consists of 152 supply management functions from 19 different industries, represented by supply management professionals with titles such as supply management manager, director of supply management, vice president of supply management, and vice president of materials management. About 80% of the 152 respondents had corporate-wide decision-making responsibilities. Confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence of adequate model fit and convergent and discriminant validity for the underlying variables and their respective factors in the model. The conceptual model and the hypothesized relationships are tested using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Support was found for the causal relationships between the following variables in the model: 1) Supplier integration had a significant positive impact on supply management performance, which indicated that firms are looking to supply management to establish greater integration with suppliers that is expected to produce valuable supplier relationships that cannot be imitated by competition. 2) Strategic supply management skills had a significant positive impact on supplier integration; these skills allow the supply management function to develop strategies and practices that could be used as a valuable inimitable input to the firm's supplier integration planning process. 3) Supply management perceived status had a significant positive impact on supplier integration. This implies that higher supply
The Role of Activist Hedge Funds in Financially Distressed Firms

Abstract In this paper I investigate the role of activist hedge funds in the restructuring of a sample of 469 firms that attempted to resolve distress either out of court, in conventional Chapter 11, or via prepackaged restructuring. Activist hedge funds strategically gain a position of influence in the restructuring of economically viable firms with contracting problems that prevent efficient restructuring without outside intervention. I find that hedge fund involvement is associated with a higher probability of completing prepackaged restructurings, faster restructurings, and greater debt reduction. Overall, the evidence in this article suggests that activist hedge funds can create value by enabling more efficient contracting.
Entrepreneurship, cooperation and the firm : the emergence and survival of high-technology ventures in Europe

`The book you are about to read offers some very powerful insights into the link between entrepreneurship, industrial cooperation and the emergence of high-tech companies in Europe. It deals with the very essence of the potential that Europe can and should use in order to increase its competitiveness and retain at the same time its quality of living. ' - From the foreword by Janez Potocnik, EU Commissioner for Science Policy Presenting original and innovative research studies with a focus on new business development in science and technology, this book highlights the role and challenge of European cooperation to create new techno-ventures and encourage them to survive and even flourish. The book is an exceptional result of a distinctive network of European and American scholars, practitioners, and members of public institutions interested in the critical issues of emergence and survival of technology and knowledge based firms. The contributors study examples from both the old EU-member states such as France, Germany, the UK and the Netherlands, as well as newer countries such as Slovenia and Estonia. The book is unique in bringing culture and psychology together in the particular context of the nascent technopreneur. Using a plethora of different approaches, Entrepreneurship, Cooperation and the Firm will be of great interest to innovation and entrepreneurship policy makers at governmental levels, and also to those involved in research programs on entrepreneurship, innovation and organizational change. In addition, this book will be a stimulating read for academics, researchers and practitioners both inside and outside of the classroom.
The measurement of voting power

This book is the first of its kind: a monograph devoted to a systematic critical examination and exposition of the theory of a priori voting power. This important branch of social-choice theory overlaps with game theory and is concerned with the ability of members in bodies that make yes or no decisions by vote to affect the outcome. The book includes, among other topics, a reasoned distinction between two fundamental types of voting power, the authors' discoveries on the paradoxes of voting power, and a novel analysis of decision rules that admit abstention.
Potent anti-retroviral therapy with or without cidofovir for AIDS-associated progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy: Extended follow-up of an observational study

To analyze the clinical efficacy of cidofovir combined with highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) in AIDS-related progressive multifocal leukoen-cepalopathy (PML), a multicenter observational study was performed. Consecutive HIV-positive patients with histologically or virologically proven PML and at least 4 weeks of treatment after diagnosis were examined: 27 patients were treated with HAART, whereas 16 patients were treated with HAART plus cidofovir 5 mg/kg intravenously per week for the first 2 weeks and every other week thereafter. JC virus DNA was quantified in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by PCR. Baseline virologic, immunologic, and clinical characteristics as well as HIV RNA and CD4 responses to HAART were homogeneous between the groups. The median follow-up was 132 weeks. In one case (6%), cidofovir was permanently discontinued because of severe proteinuria. One-year cumulative probability of survival was 0.61 with cidofovir and 0.29 without (log rank test P = 0.02). After adjusting for baseline CD4 counts, JC viral load in CSF, Karnofsky, and use of HAART prior to the onset of PML, the use of cidofovir was independently associated with a reduced risk of death (hazard ratio, 0.21, 95% confidence interval, 0.07–0.65; P = 0.005). A randomized study will definitively establish whether cidofovir confers significant advantage over HAART alone in AIDS-related PML.
An Extended Topology of Parallel-Circuit Class-E Power Amplifier to Account for Larger Output Capacitances

This paper presents a modified parallel-circuit class-E amplifier that accommodates devices with larger output capacitances, recovering the class-E operating conditions. The finite inductor in the parallel circuit topology is replaced by a more suitable network composed of a series inductor and additional subharmonic resonators. Analysis of the class-E amplifier allows to determine the required frequency-domain response of this new network. Derivation of the circuit elements of the proposed network is shown in detail, and a design procedure for this modified class-E is provided. The analysis is validated by simulation and design of a test board. Measurements of the test board showed a drain efficiency of 80.7%, power-added efficiency of 78.6%, and output power of 4.91 W at 434 MHz, exhibiting levels of efficiency similar to that obtained by other amplifiers using the same device, but at much lower frequencies. According to the authors' knowledge, this study represents the first systematic approach to design class-E power amplifiers at UHF using devices with larger COUT by taking into account the use of arbitrary finite-feed class-E topologies.
Shopping Goals , Goal Concreteness , and Conditional Coupons

staff of La Verde's Market for their kind support and cooperation , and to the Editor, Dawn Iacobucci, the Associate Editor, and three reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions. 3 We propose a two-stage model to describe the increasing concreteness of consumers' goals during the shopping process, testing the model through a series of field experiments at a convenience store. Using a number of different process measures (experiment 1), we first established that consumers are less certain of their shopping goals and construe products in less concrete terms when they are in the first (vs. second) stage of the shopping process. The results of experiments 2 and 3 next demonstrate that goal-evoking marketing promotions (e.g. conditional coupons) are more effective in influencing consumers' spending when consumers' goals are less concrete. 4 Accumulating evidence points to the pivotal role of goals in our daily lives, providing us with a sense of direction and clarity for our actions, and influencing the way we think and behave demonstrated that goals can serve as an effective self-regulation mechanism (Shah, Friedman, and Kruglanski 2002), an important source of experienced utility (Kahneman 2000; Loewenstein 1999), and an avenue to satisfy " innate psychological needs " such as competence and autonomy (Deci and Ryan 2000). Building on the concept of goals, we examine how the types of consumption goals consumers have change over time as consumers go through the shopping process. We also test an important marketing implication of these ideas–that the success of marketing actions, such as promotions, depends on the type of goals consumers have when they are exposed to such promotions, and on the ways in which these promotions can influence their goals. When considering consumers' goals, it is difficult to imagine that such goals would be highly specified at all times. For example, a thirsty consumer might have an initial goal of drinking something, but this goal might later translate into the more specific goal of drinking a particular flavor of milkshake. Evidence for the idea that goals change from being abstract to more precise is apparent in Trope and Liberman (2003)'s construal level theory. From this stream of research, it is becoming clear that individuals define objectives and actions in super-ordinate terms for target activities in the distant future, and translate them into more concrete, subordinate actions only as the target activities draw nearer. For instance, respondents to a questionnaire (Trope …
CLASSICAL AND MODERN CONTROL STRATEGIES IN GLUCOSE-INSULIN STABILIZATION

Abstract This paper presents an analysis of classical and modern control methods for blood glucose control of diabetic patients under intensive care. Employing a modified two- compartment model proposed by Bergman, et al. (1979), linear feedback control law leads to a fully symbolic solution. In case of nonlinear approach, considering glucose injection as the only control variable and using Pontryagin's maximum principle, a symbolic-numeric solution has been achieved. As modern control strategy, optimal glucose-insulin control in the H 2 /H ∞ -space is presented using LQ and disturbance rejection LQ methods, which result in a numerical solution to the control problem.
Perceptual and Conceptual Disturbances in Anorexia Nervosa

&NA; Clinical symptoms and psychodynamic data on 12 patients with the classic anorexia nervosa syndrome were examined as manifestations of disturbances in the perceptual and conceptual fields. Disturbances in body image of delusional proportions were present in all patients. This is an important diagnostic and prognostic sign. Disturbance in the accuracy of perception or recognition of bodily states is the second pathognomic sign. Failure to recognize signs of nutritional needs is the outstanding aspect. The paradoxical overactivity of these patients is related to the same cognitive deficit. The third characteristic these patients had in common, an all‐pervading sense of ineffectiveness, is of more general significance. It is the outcome of a personality development with a deficit of confirmation of child‐initiated behavior. "Insight‐giving" psychotherapy is ineffective. Evoking awareness of impulses originating within the patient is essential if the treatment is to succeed.
A TIGHT CONNECTION BETWEEN GAMMA-RAY OUTBURSTS AND PARSEC-SCALE JET ACTIVITY IN THE QUASAR 3C 454.3

We analyze the multi-frequency behavior of the quasar 3C 454.3 during three prominent γ-ray outbursts: 2009 Autumn, 2010 Spring, and 2010 Autumn. The data reveal a repeating pattern, including a triple flare structure, in the properties of each γ-ray outburst, which implies similar mechanism(s) and location for all three events. The multi-frequency behavior indicates that the lower frequency events are co-spatial with the γ-ray outbursts, although the γ-ray emission varies on the shortest timescales. We determine that the variability from UV to IR wavelengths during an outburst results from a single synchrotron component whose properties do not change significantly over the different outbursts. Despite a general increase in the degree of optical linear polarization during an outburst, the polarization drops significantly at the peak of the γ-ray event, which suggests that both shocks and turbulent processes are involved. We detect two disturbances (knots) with superluminal apparent speeds in the parsec-scale jet associated with the outbursts in 2009 Autumn and 2010 Autumn. The kinematic properties of the knots can explain the difference in amplitudes of the γ-ray events, while their millimeter-wave polarization is related to the optical polarization during the outbursts. We interpret the multi-frequency behavior within models involving either a system of standing conical shocks or magnetic reconnection events located in the parsec-scale millimeter-wave core of the jet. We argue that γ-ray outbursts with variability timescales as short as ∼3 hr can occur on parsec scales if flares take place in localized regions such as turbulent cells.
Novel aspects on the pathogenesis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia and therapeutic implications

Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Mp) is a leading cause of community acquired pneumonia. Knowledge regarding Mp pneumonia obtained from animal models or human subjects has been discussed in many different reports. Accumulated expertise concerning this critical issue has been hard to apply clinically, and potential problems may remain undiscovered. Therefore, our multidisciplinary team extensively reviewed the literature regarding Mp pneumonia, and compared findings from animal models with those from human subjects. In human beings, the characteristic pathological features of Mp pneumonia have been reported as alveolar infiltration with neutrophils and lymphocytes and lymphocyte/plasma cell infiltrates in the peri-bronchovascular area. Herein, we demonstrated the novel aspects of Mp pneumonia that the severity of the Mp pneumonia seemed to depend on the host innate immunity to the Mp, which might be accelerated by antecedent Mp exposure (re-exposure or latent respiratory infection) through up-regulation of Toll-like receptor 2 expression on bronchial epithelial cells and alveolar macrophages. The macrolides therapy might be beneficial for the patients with macrolide-resistant Mp pneumonia via not bacteriological but immunomodulative effects. This exhaustive review focuses on pathogenesis and extends to some therapeutic implications such as clarithromycin, and discusses the various diverse aspects of Mp pneumonia. It is our hope that this might lead to new insights into this common respiratory disease.
Essays on crime, institutions and economic growth

The thesis contains three main Chapters in which the relationship between organised crime and corruption is studied from different perspectives. Chapter 2 presents a theoretical framework for analyzing the interactions between corruption and organized crime, together with the individual and combined effect of these phenomena on economic performance. We show how organized crime on its own reduces entrepreneurial activity, and how organized crime in conjunction with corruption may reduce such activity to a lesser or greater extent. Chapter 3 presents an empirical investigation into the impact of corruption on economic growth in the presence of organized criminal activities. Using a panel of 19 Italian regions for the period 1983-2009, the analysis reveals that corruption and organized crime have independent negative effects on growth, and that the effect of either is less severe when the other is also present. Chapter 4 presents a further empirical investigation which examines the determinants of organized crime and of common crime in a panel of Italian regions over the period 1983-2003. The analysis shows that both organized and common crimes respond symmetrically to certain drivers, but asymmetrically to others.
Annual research review: Reaction time variability in ADHD and autism spectrum disorders: measurement and mechanisms of a proposed trans-diagnostic phenotype.

BACKGROUND Intraindividual variability in reaction time (RT) has received extensive discussion as an indicator of cognitive performance, a putative intermediate phenotype of many clinical disorders, and a possible trans-diagnostic phenotype that may elucidate shared risk factors for mechanisms of psychiatric illnesses. SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY Using the examples of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), we discuss RT variability. We first present a new meta-analysis of RT variability in ASD with and without comorbid ADHD. We then discuss potential mechanisms that may account for RT variability and statistical models that disentangle the cognitive processes affecting RTs. We then report a second meta-analysis comparing ADHD and non-ADHD children on diffusion model parameters. We consider how findings inform the search for neural correlates of RT variability. FINDINGS Results suggest that RT variability is increased in ASD only when children with comorbid ADHD are included in the sample. Furthermore, RT variability in ADHD is explained by moderate to large increases (d = 0.63-0.99) in the ex-Gaussian parameter τ and the diffusion parameter drift rate, as well as by smaller differences (d = 0.32) in the diffusion parameter of nondecision time. The former may suggest problems in state regulation or arousal and difficulty detecting signal from noise, whereas the latter may reflect contributions from deficits in motor organization or output. The neuroimaging literature converges with this multicomponent interpretation and also highlights the role of top-down control circuits. CONCLUSION We underscore the importance of considering the interactions between top-down control, state regulation (e.g., arousal), and motor preparation when interpreting RT variability and conclude that decomposition of the RT signal provides superior interpretive power and suggests mechanisms convergent with those implicated using other cognitive paradigms. We conclude with specific recommendations for the field for next steps in the study of RT variability in neurodevelopmental disorders.
Food price changes and consumer welfare in Ghana in the 1990s

In this paper, we analyse the effect of food price changes on household consumption in Ghana during the 1990s and assess the extent to which changes can be explained by trade and agricultural policy reforms. The measurement of the total household welfare effect, one that jointly considers (static) first order effects as well as (dynamic) consumption responses, is the object of this study. Food consumption behaviour in Ghana is analyzed by estimating a complete food demand system using the linear approximate version of the AIDS model with household survey data for 1991/92 and 1998/99. The estimated price elasticities are then utilized to evaluate the distributional impacts of the relative food price changes in terms of compensating variation. The results indicate that the distributional burden of higher food prices fell mainly on the urban poor. While it is difficult to attribute the price changes and by implication the welfare losses, to any particular policy per se, a simulation analysis indicates that trade liberalisation may not have been responsible for the welfare losses. Our simulation exercise suggests that further tariff liberalisation would tend to offset the welfare losses for all households although it is the poor and rural consumers who stand to gain the most.
Acquisition of cognitive skill.

A framework for skill acquisition is proposed that includes two major stages in the development of a cognitive skill: a declarative stage in which facts about the skill domain are interpreted and a procedural stage in which the domain knowledge is directly embodied in procedures for performing the skill. This general framework has been instantiated in the ACT system in which facts are encoded in a propositional network and procedures are encoded as productions. Knowledge compilation is the process by which the skill transits from the declarative stage to the procedural stage. It consists of the subprocesses of composition, which collapses sequences of productions into single productions, and proceduralization, which embeds factual knowledge into productions. Once proceduralized, further learning processes operate on the skill to make the productions more selective in their range of applications. These processes include generalization, discrimination, and strengthening of productions. Comparisons are made to similar concepts from past learning theories. How these learning mechanisms apply to produce the power law speedup in processing time with practice is discussed.
A Novel Machine Learning Based Prediction Model for Energy Expenditure in relation to Varying Load , Incline , and Body Composition

In this paper we use machine learning techniques to develop a model for the prediction of the energetic cost of walking on a positive incline while carrying a load given the subjects body composition. Previous studies on prediction of energy cost have failed to incorporate load, incline and body composition simultaneously in their predictive models. By leveraging a more robust set of features including mass carried, incline and body composition we provide a more accurate model for predicting energy expenditure and demonstrate novel relationships between body composition and energy expenditure.
Evidence on Shippers ' Transport and Logistics Choice

In this paper we present the results of a microanalysis of freight transport demand in a logistics context. Current research concentrates with few exceptions on shippers’ choice of a transport. However, in a global context, shippers’ behaviour has to be conceived as a complex decision, which considers transport mode choice as only a part of a firm’s logistics strategy. Since there exists no data to directly estimate the marginal values for different qualities of transport and logistics services a stated preference approach is applied. Adaptive stated preference experiments are performed for 22 firms in Italy and in Switzerland. The experimental results 40 hypothetical binary choices per firm are completed by background information on the long-term logistics strategy. The results confirm the relevance of the logistics context (e.g. JIT strategies on the suppliers or customers side) for transport demand. The calculated marginal values of time and characteristics (reliability, frequency, etc.) give important insights and will permit to reformulate generalised costs in freight transport models.