Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reputation risk: it is the board's ultimate responsibility

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline the major sources of risk to a company's reputation that a board of directors should take responsibility for monitoring.Design/methodology/approach – The paper looks at numerous corporate scandals around the world in the last decade which have highlighted that many boards of directors were unaware of some deep‐seated problems in their companies. Thus, their lack of diligence contributed in part to their company's loss of reputation.Findings – The paper finds that when a board of directors takes formal responsibility for the overall health of its company's reputation, two things generally happen. One is that the various board sub‐committees look for the impact on corporate reputation of their decisions. The other is that corporate reputation becomes a key performance indicator of the company's executive management team.Originality/value – This paper acts as a “call to arms” to boards of directors to put corporate reputation on the formal corporate governanc.
Escaping the Jungle

ABSTRACT One of the most challenging, but also most interesting, features of tourism and hospitality as an area of study is that there is considerable variability in the backgrounds and training of those who are involved in its management. In some commercial sectors there is a lengthy tradition of the use of marketing as an integral component of management practice, while in public management organisations, marketing concepts are either unknown or mistrusted. This lack of application of marketing is particularly apparent in the management of tourism to protected areas such as National and State Parks and forests. An ongoing challenge in this sector is to conduct research into visitors and how they choose and enjoy their nature based leisure experiences. This article will report on a project to improve the study and management of visitors to the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area in the North Eastern part of Australia. The study involved a travel lifestyle market segmentation of over 1200 visitors to the area based on travel interests, activities and desired rainforest based tourism experiences. The analysis identified four core types of rainforest visitor and these groups were compared and contrasted in terms of their service quality ratings and overall satisfaction. The article concludes with links to the management frameworks for this tourism destination and the value of different segmentation techniques
A BIAS‐CORRECTING PROCEDURE FOR BETA ESTIMATION IN THE PRESENCE OF THIN TRADING

In this paper, an alternative technique is developed for obtaining consistent estimates of beta in the presence of thin trading. The new estimator is tested on simulated data and the results are compared with those obtained from the Dimson [4] Scholes and Williams [9] techniques. The new estimator is found to have approximately the same bias as the others, but it has a considerably lower variance.
Slack, Planning and Organizational Performance: Evidence from the Arab Middle East

This study uses data from the Arab Middle East, namely, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to examine whether slack and planning (comprehensiveness of strategic decision making and extensiveness of strategic planning), which are of special importance at the moment in this recently established country, contribute towards or inhibit organizational performance. The interplay of slack and planning variables was also examined (moderating and mediating effects). The results of a survey of 174 public and private organizations show that both slack and comprehensiveness are important predictors of performance and that the impact of slack and comprehensiveness on performance varies with the age of an organization. Interestingly, this study shows that extensiveness does not influence performance, and even the age of an organization does not play a moderating role in this relationship. The location of this study brings up certain characteristics which contribute to explain its findings. I hope this paper to inspire scholars to study the determinants of performance in the troubled Arab Middle East region.
Productive transformations and bilateralism in the semi‐periphery: A comparative political economy of the dairy complexes of New Zealand and Chile

: This paper examines the evolution of the dairy complexes of New Zealand and Chile in the context of increasing bilateral interaction between the two countries, and their recent signing of a ‘Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership’ (TPSEP) free-trade agreement. The two economies can be said to occupy semi-peripheral positions in global markets and have, through the twentieth and into the twenty-first century, increasingly competed for market share in a range of primary product (particularly agricultural)-based export markets. Similar sets of historical processes, although variably timed, have shaped the roles of New Zealand and Chile respectively as resource peripheries, and the extent to which the two countries can collaborate for mutual benefit and transcend these roles is uncertain. In taking a sectoral approach this paper questions the compatibility of the two dairy complexes in the context of the TPSEP, and recommends further sectoral and localised studies in order to better appraise the model of ‘co-opetition’ promoted through the agreement.
Astrocyte responses to neuronal activity

During the past few years, it has been established that astrocytes sense neuronal activity and are involved in signal transmission. Neuronal stimulation triggered electrophysiological and/or Ca2+ responses in astrocyte cultures and in acute brain slices. Present even within one given brain region, different pathways of neuron‐to‐astrocyte communication involving different receptor systems have been described. These mechanisms include glutamatergic and NO‐mediated signaling. Neuron‐to‐astrocyte signaling can be confined to subcellular compartments, the microdomains, or it can activate the entire cell. It can even trigger a multicellular response in astrocytes, a Ca2+ wave. This form of astrocyte long‐range signal propagation can occur independently, in pure astrocyte cultures, but it can also be triggered by neuronal activity. Astrocytes also exhibit spontaneous Ca2+ activity. Neuronal activity in acute brain slices can organize this activity into complex synchronous networks. One of the functional consequences of neuron‐to‐astrocyte signaling might be the neuronal control of microcirculation using astrocytes as a mediator. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Batf 3-IRF 8-Id 2 DC Lineage

Macrophage and dendritic cell (DC) are hematopoietic cells found in all tissues in the steady state that share the ability to sample the environment but have distinct function in tissue immunity. Controversies remain on the best way to distinguish macrophages from DCs in vivo. In this Perspective, we discuss how recent discoveries in the origin of the DC and macrophage lineage help establish key functional differences between tissue DC and macrophage subsets. We also emphasize the need to further understand the functional heterogeneity of the tissue DC and macrophage lineages to better comprehend the complex role of these cells in tissue homeostasis and immunity. History of the Discovery of the Mononuclear Phagocyte System In 1908, Elie Metchnikoff (1845–1916), together with Paul Ehrlich, was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on phagocytosis (Kaufmann, 2008). Metchnikoff classified phagocytes (named after the Greek “phago” for devour and “cytes” for cells) into “macrophages” (large eaters) and “microphages” (a smaller type of phagocytic cell, the polymorphonuclear leukocyte now known as granulocytes) and argued that both types of phagocytes played an important role in host resistance against infections. Metchnikoff also recognized the close relationship between mononuclear phagocytic cells in the spleen, lymph nodes, bone marrow, and connective tissues, leading him to introduce for the first time the term “macrophage system” (Gordon, 2008). Karl Albert Ludwig Aschoff, a German physician and pathologist, developed this concept further and grouped several cell types into what he called the reticulo-endothelial system and subsequently the reticulo-histiocyte system. The reticuloendothelial system included reticular cells (or fixed macrophages) of the spleen and lymph nodes, endothelial cells of the lymph and blood sinuses, monocytes, and histiocytes, a term referred to as “tissue wandering as opposed to fixed” macrophages. These cells were grouped on the basis of their capacity to uptake vital dye in vivo, an assay thought to measure phagocytic activity. However, poorly phagocytic cells, such as endothelial cells can Correspondence: miriam.merad@mssm.edu. HHS Public Access Author manuscript Immunity. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2015 July 30. Published in final edited form as: Immunity. 2011 September 23; 35(3): 323–335. doi:10.1016/j.immuni. 2011.09. 007. A uhor M anscript
Influence of Pachymetry and Intraocular Pressure on Dynamic Corneal Response Parameters in Healthy Patients.

PURPOSE To evaluate the influence of pachymetry, age, and intraocular pressure in normal patients and to provide normative values for all dynamic corneal response parameters (DCRs) provided by dynamic Scheimpflug analysis. METHODS Seven hundred five healthy patients were included in this multicenter retrospective study. The biomechanical response data were analyzed to obtain normative values with their dependence on corrected and clinically validated intraocular pressure estimates developed using the finite element method (bIOP), central corneal thickness (CCT), and age, and to evaluate the influence of bIOP, CCT, and age. RESULTS The results showed that all DCRs were correlated with bIOP except deflection amplitude (DefA) ratio, highest concavity (HC) radius, and inverse concave radius. The analysis of the relationship of DCRs with CCT indicated that HC radius, inverse concave radius, deformation amplitude (DA) ratio, and DefA ratio were correlated with CCT (rho values of 0.343, -0.407, -0.444, and -0.406, respectively). The age group subanalysis revealed that primarily whole eye movement followed by DA ratio and inverse concave radius were the parameters that were most influenced by age. Finally, custom software was created to compare normative values to imported examinations. CONCLUSIONS HC radius, inverse concave radius, DA ratio, and DefA ratio were shown to be suitable parameters to evaluate in vivo corneal biomechanics due to their independence from IOP and their correlation with pachymetry and age. The creation of normative values allows the interpretation of an abnormal examination without the need to match every case with another normal patient matched for CCT and IOP. [J Refract Surg. 2016;32(8):550-561. ].
The Issues in Implementing Transition Program for Special Needs Students

This study is to determine the challenges and barriers faced by the special education teachers in implementing transition program for special needs students in Malaysian secondary schools. The issues that will be discussed are obstacles to the success of planning, training and placing the special needs students in the real working environment from the teachers’ perspective. The study found that these students posed attitude problems during training sessions, lacked commitment to attend training sessions and faced difficulties adjusting to working environment. Apart from that, the teachers agreed that finding workplaces for students with special needs to gain working experience outside the school and the employers’ readiness to accept trainees with learning disabilities are two issues that are crucially in need to be dealt with wisely. Even though there are many issues in implementing the transition program, the teachers are still very dedicated not only in monitoring the students’ progress but also in ensuring the well-being of the students at their working environment during internships.
A novel ReRAM-based main memory structure for optimizing access latency and reliability

Emerging Resistive Memory (ReRAM) is a promising candidate as the replacement for DRAM because of its low power consumption, high density and high endurance. Due to the unique crossbar structure, ReRAM can be constructed with a very high density. However, ReRAM's crossbar structure causes an IR drop problem which results in non-uniform access latency in ReRAM banks and reduces its reliability. Besides, the access latency and reliability of ReRAM arrays are greatly influenced by the data patterns involved in a write operation. In this paper, we propose a performance and reliability efficient ReRAM-based main memory structure. At the circuit level, we propose a double-sided write driver design to reduce the IR drops along bitlines. At the architecture level, a region partition with address remapping method and two flip schemes are proposed to reduce the access latency and improve the reliability of ReRAM arrays. The experimental results show that the proposed design can improve the system performance by 30.3% on average and reduce the memory access latency by 25.9% on average over an aggressive baseline, meanwhile the design improves the reliability of ReRAM-based memory system.
delta-Opioid receptor immunoreactivity: distribution in brainstem and spinal cord, and relationship to biogenic amines and enkephalin

We have recently developed antisera which recognize epitopes of the cloned delta-opioid receptor (DOR; Dado et al., 1993). In the present report we have further characterized these antisera, and raised additional antisera in rats. We used these antisera to determine the distribution of DOR-like immunoreactivity (-Ll) in rat spinal cord and brainstem in relation to serotoninergic, noradrenergic, and enkephalinergic neurons. We found DOR-Ll in fibers and varicosities distributed throughout the spinal cord gray matter, with highest densities in the superficial dorsal horn, in autonomic regions, around the central canal as well as in the ventral horn motor nuclei. In the brainstem a dense innervation of DOR-immunoreactive (-IR) fibers was found in several nuclei such as spinal trigeminal nuclei, midline raphe nuclei, parabrachial nuclei, periaqueductal gray matter (PAG), interpeduncular nucleus, ans substantia nigra. A group of DOR-positive cells was seen in the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus. In addition, a few DOR-IR cell bodies were demonstrated in the parabrachial nuclei, interpeduncular nucleus, PAG, and superior and inferior colliculi as well as around the central canal in the spinal cord. All DOR-positive cells showed a punctuate staining pattern within the cytoplasm of the cell body and in primary dendrites. No plasma membrane staining of cells or dendrites could be demonstrated using the DOR antisera. Double- labeling experiments for DOR and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT, serotonin) revealed that some 5HT-IR neurons in the raphe complex were surrounded by DOR-IR fibers. In the spinal cord a high degree of coexistence was found between DOR and 5HT in nerve fibers and varicosities in the neuropil around the motoneurons and in lamina V of the dorsal horn. In autonomic regions of the spinal cord, a low degree of colocalization was seen between DOR and 5HT; in the superficial dorsal horn no coexistence was found. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive neurons in the brainstem (in the A5 area, locus coeruleus, and A7 area) were apposed by DOR-positive fibers. However, no coexistence could be seen between DOR and TH in any part of the spinal cord. A close relation, but no coexistence, was observed between DOR- and enkephalin (ENK)-IR fibers in the spinal cord ventral horn; in the intermediolateral nucleus a low degree of colocalization was observed. Thus, a delta- opioid receptor may affect the activity of descending serotoninergic and noradrenergic neurons by means of modulating the release of neurotransmitters from afferents to these neurons. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Effect of Recruitment and Selection Practices on the Performance of Small and Medium Hotels of Osu Klottey Sub-Metropolitan Assembly of Greater Accra

The study investigated the effect of human resource Management practices on performance of Small and Medium Hotels in Osu Klottey Sub-Metropolitan Assembly of Greater Accra of Ghana. Descriptive survey design was used for the study. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were engaged to sample 200 respondents out of a total population of 501 full time workers of the hotels. Questionnaire, interview schedule and conversation schedule were formulated to guide the study. Frequency tables and charts were used to present the responses. Person’s correlation was employed to test the performance of the hotels. Major finding was that the relationships between the hotels’ performance and the recruitment and selection practices were statistically significant at alpha (? ) = 0.05. These indicate there are slightly little but positive influence on the selection processes on the hotels’ performances. Based on the findings some recommendations were made, which offers a new and improved performance. K eywords: Recruitment and Selection Practices, Small and Medium Hotels, Firm Performance
The empirical relationship between stock returns volatility and trading volume: evidence on the Tunis stock market

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between stock returns volatility and trading volume for the main 20 Tunisian stocks listed in the Tunis stock market. We test the effect of trading volume on the persistence of the time-varying conditional volatility of returns. Our empirical results show that in the majority of cases volatility persistence vanish when trading volume is included as an explanatory variable in the conditional variance equation. It implies that the mixture of distribution hypothesis (MDH) explain the autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (ARCH) phenomenon. In addition, we use tow different proxies for information arrival to the market, intra-day volatility and overnight indicators. We found that these are good proxies for information arrival and are important in explaining GARCH effect in stock returns.
Isolated distal deep vein thrombosis: what we know and what we are doing

Summary. Thromboses that are restricted to the infra‐popliteal deep veins of the lower limbs (isolated distal deep vein thrombosis, IDDVT) are frequently diagnosed in subjects with suspected pulmonary embolism (PE; 7–10%) or DVT (4–15%), accounting for 31–56% of all diagnosed leg DVTs. Despite their frequency, IDDVTs still remain one of the most debated issues in the field of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Conflicting clinical results have resulted in differing opinions on the need to test for IDDVTs and how to treat them. Due to discordant results, the real risk of IDDVT‐associated PE is not well established. IDDVTs are associated with (i) lower risk of recurrence when compared with other VTEs, and (ii) fewer late sequelae than proximal DVT. Diagnosis of IDDVT is based on ultrasound examination of all calf veins, which is more operator‐dependent and less sensitive than proximal vein examination. A series of studies has shown, however, that a single complete ultrasound strategy in symptomatic patients has comparable clinical results to serial proximal ultrasound, allowing approximately 15% better DVT diagnosis. Optimal treatment of IDDVT is still controversial. Guidelines recommend anticoagulation for 12 weeks, although 6 weeks may be sufficient. There is, however, insufficient data to support the diagnosis and treatment of all IDDVTs, and the necessary criteria to identify subjects at higher risk of complication are lacking. It also seems likely that different approaches may be better for unprovoked or secondary events and for deep or muscle veins. Specifically designed and adequately powered clinical studies addressing the issue of IDDVT need to be urgently undertaken.
To what extent are ethnic minorities in Britain over‐educated?

For the total population there is evidence of substantial over‐education in the sense that workers possess higher qualifications than are strictly required for the job. Using the fourth wave of the British National Survey of Ethnic Minorities, this paper attempts to ascertain whether ethnic minorities suffer from higher over‐education than whites due to possible discrimination. The results suggest a differential effect across various ethnic groups and a tendency for foreign qualifications to be rewarded less.
Hotel Selection Criteria and Satisfaction Levels of the Chinese Business Traveler

With strong growth evident in the business travel market in China, understanding the factors that influence the Chinese business travelers' hotel selection process is critically important. While research already exists about how business travelers in general select a hotel property, previous studies have focused primarily on European or Western markets. Due to a lack of research focusing specifically on the needs and satisfaction levels of the Chinese business traveler, this research aims to identify the most important issues considered by this market when selecting a hotel. Based on a survey of members of a Chinese business association, the results suggest that Chinese business travelers place strong emphasis on front desk services when choosing a hotel. In terms of factors that influence their overall satisfaction with business hotels in China, the study finds that common facilities contribute the most to Chinese business travelers' overall satisfaction of hotels. 商务旅游市场在中国呈现高速增长，因此有必要了解影响中国商务旅客筛选酒店过程的因素。 虽然现有的文献对一般商务旅客如何筛选酒店已进行过研究，但主要集中研究欧洲或西方市场，针对中国商务旅客需要和满意度的研究却很缺乏。 因此，本文的目的是确定这个市场在选择酒店时所考虑的最重要的因素。 中国商会会员的问卷调查结果显示，中国商务旅客选择酒店时十分强调前台服务的重要性。 研究发现，客房设备是影响中国商务旅客对商务酒店整体满意度的最重要因素。
A Brief History of Liberty

Acknowledgments vii Introduction: Conceptions of Freedom 1 1 A Prehistory of Liberty: Forty Thousand Years Ago 30 2 The Rule of Law: ad 1075 60 3 Religious Freedom: 1517 93 4 Freedom of Commerce: 1776 120 5 Civil Liberty: 1954 169 6 Psychological Freedom, the Last Frontier: 1963 208 Bibliography 244 Index 261
Electrochemical Behavior of Electrodeposited Sn Films: Possible Negative Electrode for Na+ Rechargeable Batteries

: Tin films on copper substrate, obtained by electrodeposition procedure, were structural and electrochemical characterized. In particular to investigate the possibility to use such metal as possible negative electrode in Na + rechargeable batteries, EPS (electrochemical potential spectroscopy) and galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling of the electrodes were investigated, at room temperature in organic electrolyte. Three crystalline and one amorphous phases were identified as well as high discharge capacity (738 mAh/g) was obtained after 4 cycles. Unfortunately material fading, due to the internal stress during sodiation/desodiation process, causes poor cyclability.
THE EFFECT OF PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS ON JOB SATISFACTION: A STUDY AMONG MALE MANAGERS IN THE KUWAIT OIL INDUSTRY

The present study is an empirical evaluation of job satisfaction among the managers involved in the oil industry in Kuwait. The study was conducted on 153 full‐time managers selected from three different oil companies. Mean student's t‐test, Scheffe test, and One‐Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were employed to analyze the data. The result indicates that there were significant differences found with regard to age, years of experience, managerial rank, and education.