Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pragmatic adaptation of the ISO 31000:2009 enterprise risk management framework in a high-tech organization using Six Sigma

Purpose - – This case study aims to present a viable solution to how organizations can adapt and customize the ISO 31000:2009 enterprise risk management framework to suits its needs and requirements. Design/methodology/approach - – Approach used for this case study is via adopting Six Sigma DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control phases) methodology. Findings - – Key finding is the importance of stakeholders’ feedbacks which are taken into consideration during the designing of the new customized enterprise risk management framework, integrated with all supporting processes, tools and resources. Originality/value - – The ISO 31000:2009 enterprise risk management framework dictates that it is not a one-size-fits-all. Rather, organizations who wish to adapt this framework need to customize accordingly, but there is no indication on how organizations can do it. This case study presents a viable solution to this challenge.
The Relationship between Intellectual Capital (IC) and Stock Market Performance: Empirical Evidence from Italy

Intellectual capital (IC) is an important source of value for companies. The competitive firm invests in new productive ideas through scientific and technological researches of the human factor and services. The traditional factors of “old economy” based on physical assets have been replaced or at least reinforced, with the belief that the “new economy” takes its steps mainly through IC. The knowledge workers, at every organizational level, have the knowledge that allows the organization to be competitive and deal with the complexity of the environment by creating intellectual added value. In particular, the proposed analysis consists with an empirical way to show other financial indicators and market-to-book (MTB) value from the perspective of creating value for shareholders based on the dynamics of companies’ performance, as value-added intellectual capital (VAICTM) is capable of expressing a direct relationship with the return on equity (ROE). The traditional financial information cannot ensure the high efficiency of a stock market and the need for IC reporting to explain intangible asset contribution in company performance.
THE INCREASE OF FEMORAL ARTERIAL FLOW BY STIMULATING THE DORSAL AND VENTRAL MEDULLA IN CATS

1. In chloralose‐urethane anaesthetized cats, the dorsal cardiovascular reactive area (DCRA) in the parvocellular reticular nucleus dorsomedial to the facial nucleus, and the ventral cardiovascular reactive area (VCRA) ventromedial to the facial nucleus, were stimulated by microinjections of sodium glutamate (100–200 nmol) or electric current.
Alzheimer movement re-examined 25 years later: is it a "disease" or a senile condition in medical nature?

Dementia in the elderly used to be rare, but why has it become a major social threat today? There can be many potential answers, but an ultimate one is clear: the longer life expectancy today. This knowledge indicates that "advanced aging" is a primary suspect in the origin of senile dementia. If so, then why can many elderly remain healthy at the same old age? We know, for example, that elderly people commonly have a certain degree of atherosclerosis and osteoporosis, but only some of them develop severe clinical symptoms at the same age. These different outcomes generally can be explained by "risk factors" in life (exercise, diet, individual background, etc). It thus appears to be a general pattern that advanced aging (after age 80) will set the stage for various senile disorders, but risk factors largely determine the onset age as well as individual specificity of their clinical manifestations. In this context, senile disorders including senile dementia would differ fundamentally from the pathogen-caused conventional diseases (AIDS, polio, cancer, Down's, etc.) by origin, incidence, and intervention strategy. This view would call into question the current definition of senile dementia as a conventional "disease" (Alzheimer's). The term "Alzheimer's disease" originally referred to "midlife" dementia, but it is defined today to be the same medical entity as senile dementia on the basis that they both display the same hallmarks and symptoms despite their onset age difference. Now, after in-depth scrutiny, we finally come to realize that they are not the same disease, but as different as heart failure at midlife versus the "same" failure at advanced age (i.e., a conventional disease versus a senile condition). Thus, by eliminating the age difference, the new definition has converted a senile condition into a conventional "disease", thereby changing the course of its scientific inquiry to miss the main targets. This may be why after extensive studies for 25 years, the origin of senile dementia has remained an enigma.
Competitive and Organisational Constraints on Innovation, Investment and Quality of Care in a Liberalised Low-income Health System: Evidence from Tanzania

AbstractInternational health policy proposals increasingly emphasise health system strengthening and innovation. In a context of liberalised provision, the scope for innovative health system rebuilding depends on the viability, effectiveness and capabilities of the non-governmental providers. Yet the research literature examining the market behaviour of private health care firms in developing countries, and the incentive structures and constraints they face, remain limited. We demonstrate here the extent of perverse health care market dynamics found in Tanzania in the late 1990s, in relation to patients' need for reliable health care, and show that the financial and operating fragility of the firms constrained investment and innovation. We aim to focus attention on the challenge for innovative approaches to poverty reduction represented by the current market and business structure of health care in low-income countries and to discuss some policy implications.Les propositions de politiques de santé internationales mettent l'accent sur le renforcement des systèmes de santé et l'innovation. Dans un contexte de libéralisation des services, les possibilités pour la reconstruction de systèmes de santé innovants dépendent de la viabilité, de l'efficacité et des capacités des fournisseurs non gouvernementaux. Pourtant, la littérature universitaire portant sur le comportement de marché des entreprises privées du système de soins de santé dans les pays en développement et les structures incitatives, de même que les contraintes auxquelles elles ont à faire face, reste limitée. Nous montrons ici combien la dynamique de marché concernant le système de soins est illogique, par rapport aux besoins des patients, en Tanzanie, à la fin des années 1990. Nous montrons que la fragilité financière et d'exploitation des firmes entrave l'investissement et l'innovation. Notre but est d'attirer l'attention sur les défis des approches innovantes envers la réduction de la pauvreté, représentées par les structures productives et commerciales actuelles des soins de santé dans les pays à faible revenu et d'examiner certaines mesures qui pourraient en découler.
The Interaction of Post‐Acquisition Integration and Acquisition Focus in Relation to Long‐Run Performance

We examine the joint influence of post-acquisition integration management and acquisition focus on long-run post-acquisition performance. We develop a financial measure related to integration that is based on changes in net purchases/disposals of physical assets. For a sample of acquisitions by Australian listed firms, we find that the main effects and the interaction of our integration measure and focus are related to performance in the direction suggested by theory. Our results suggest that inconsistencies in previous studies of the focus-performance relation are partly explained by the failure to consider the post-acquisition asset management strategies.
Calculativeness, Trust, and Economic Organization

M Y main purpose in this article is to explicate what Diego Gambetta has referred to as "the elusive notion of trust. "'' As the literature on trust reveals, and as developed here, "trust" is a term with many meanings. The relentless application of calculative economic reasoning is the principal device that I employ to define and delimit the elusive notion of trust. The calculative approach to economic organization is sketched in Section I. The concept of "calculative trust," which enjoys widespread and growing acceptance but with which I take exception, is examined in Section II. Societal trust, which works through the institutional environment and takes a series of hyphenated forms, is briefly treated in Section III. Nearly noncalculative uses of trust of a personal kind are developed in Section IV. Concluding remarks follow in Section V.
Action Research with Undergraduate Preservice Teachers: Emerging/Merging Voices

Abstract This inquiry investigates action research as a tool to facilitate reflective practice in undergraduate preservice teachers. Typically utilized in graduate programs, action research is a viable tool for increasing preservice teachers' systematic classroom-based inquiry. This process is examined through a theoretical framework of narrative inquiry, and it utilizes a participatory design as the basis of inquiry. In this design, instructor and student are inquirers empowered to share their interpretations of the process of action research. The findings stem from a merging of the experiences of instructor and student and include recommendations for using action research with undergraduate preservice teachers, as well as suggestions for further consideration of the process.
Deep “Benign” Fibrous Histiocytoma: Clinicopathologic Analysis of 69 Cases of a Rare Tumor Indicating Occasional Metastatic Potential

Benign fibrous histiocytoma (FH) is one of the most common mesenchymal neoplasms of the skin. Several histologic variants of cutaneous FH have been described, some of which also have distinct clinical features including a propensity for local recurrence. Deep benign FH is an uncommon and poorly recognized clinical subtype that arises in subcutaneous or deep soft tissue. Only a single small series of these neoplasms has been published, and their clinical behavior is not well characterized. In this study, we report the clinicopathologic features of 69 deep FH retrieved from our consultation files. The patients included 41 males and 28 females, ranging in age from 6 to 84 years (median, 37 y). The most common anatomic location was the extremities (58%); the remainder arose on the head and neck (22%), trunk (11%), and in the deep soft tissue of the retroperitoneum, mediastinum, or pelvis (9%). All lesions arising in nonvisceral soft tissue were subcutaneous. The tumors ranged from 0.5 to 25 cm in size (median, 3.0 cm) and were well circumscribed grossly and microscopically. All tumors were composed of bland ovoid to spindle cells arranged in a storiform pattern with admixed lymphocytes. Multinucleate giant cells, osteoclastic giant cells, and/or foam cells were present in 59% of cases, whereas the other 41% were cytologically monomorphic, often resembling cellular FH. Other common findings included a hemangiopericytomalike vascular pattern (42%) and stromal hyalinization (39%). Four cases were classified as atypical deep FH due to the presence of scattered markedly pleomorphic spindle cells within an otherwise histologically typical lesion. The median mitotic rate was 3/10 HPF; 10 cases (14%) had >10 mitoses/10 HPF. Necrosis (2 cases) and lymphovascular invasion (1 case) were rare. Immunohistochemistry revealed expression of CD34 in 20/50 cases (40%), smooth muscle actin in 15/40 (38%), and focal desmin in 1/12 (8%). Of the 37 patients for whom clinical follow-up was available (median, 40 mo), 8 (22%) had a local recurrence; in all 8 cases, the tumor had been marginally or incompletely excised. Metastases occurred in 2 patients (5%), both of whom ultimately died of disease; however, this number is likely exaggerated due to consultation bias. The metastasizing tumors were large (6 and 9 cm) and 1 had tumor necrosis but they were otherwise histologically identical to the nonmetastasizing lesions. In summary, deep FH has many histologic features in common with cutaneous cellular FH; however, it usually has a more diffusely storiform pattern than the latter, is well circumscribed, and may have striking hemangiopericytomalike vessels. Similar to the cellular, aneurysmal, and atypical variants of FH, deep FH recurs in approximately 20% of cases and may rarely metastasize.
Competing Principals: Committees, Parties, and the Organization of Congress

Since Woodrow Wilson, political scientists have recognized the importance of congressional committees in the policy-making process. Congressional committees often determine what legislation will reach the floor of the House or Senate and what form that legislation will take. In spite of the broad consensus on the importance of congressional committees, there is little agreement on what explains committee action. Committees are alternately viewed as agents of the chamber, the party caucuses, or constituencies outside the institution. Each theory suggests a different distribution of power in the policy-making process.Forrest Maltzman argues that none of these models fully captures the role performed by congressional committees and that committee members attempt to balance the interests of the chamber, the party caucus, and outside constituencies. Over time, and with the changing importance of a committee's agenda to these groups, the responsiveness of members of committees will vary. Maltzman argues that the responsiveness of the committee to these groups is driven by changes in procedure, the strength of the party caucus, and the salience of a committee's agenda. Maltzman tests his theory against historical data.This book will appeal to social scientists interested in the study of Congress and legislative bodies, as well as those interested in studying the impact of institutional structure on the policy-making process. "This specialized study, of value to congressional scholars and partisan activists, enriches an understanding of the increasingly predictable patterns of committee variety. " --"Choice"Forrest Maltzman is Assistant Professor of Political Science, George Washington University.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF DISTRESS PREDICTION MODELS FOR CORPORATE LENDING

Three literatures on financial distress prediction are reviewed and evaluated in terms of their usefulness in credit analysis. These are (1) bankruptcy prediction models initiated by Altman, (2) behavioural studies of the ability of loan officers and others to make accurate predictions of bankruptcy and (3) attempts to simulate loan officers' judgements. It is concluded that techniques based on judgement simulation are likely to be the most effective decision aids.
Nitric Oxide Is a Signal for NNR-Mediated Transcription Activation in Paracoccus denitrificans

ABSTRACT By using the ′lacZ gene, the activities of thenirI, nirS, and norC promoters were assayed in the wild type and in NNR-deficient mutants ofParacoccus denitrificans grown under various growth conditions. In addition, induction profiles of the three promoters in response to the presence of various nitrogenous oxides were determined. Transcription from the three promoters required the absence of oxygen and the presence both of the transcriptional activator NNR and of nitric oxide. The activity of the nnr promoter itself was halved after the cells had been switched from aerobic respiration to denitrification. This response was apparently not a result of autoregulation or of regulation by FnrP, since the nnrpromoter was as active in the wild-type strain as it was in NNR- or FnrP-deficient mutants.
Crystal structure of the photosensing module from a red/far-red light-absorbing plant phytochrome

Significance Much of plant growth and development is regulated by the phytochrome (Phy) family of photoreceptors. We present an atomic perspective of plant Phy signaling through a crystal structure of the photosensing module as Pr from Arabidopsis PhyB assembled with its native chromophore phytochromobilin. Although its overall architecture and chromophore/protein contacts are reminiscent of bacterial relatives, significant structural differences are seen within the prominent knot, hairpin and helical spine features. Subsequent mutational analyses lend support to a toggle model for how Phys reversibly switch between their Pr and Pfr end states. This 3D structure along with the identified suite of photochemical variants should accelerate the rational redesign of Phy signaling for improved crop performance and optogenetic application. Many aspects of plant photomorphogenesis are controlled by the phytochrome (Phy) family of bilin-containing photoreceptors that detect red and far-red light by photointerconversion between a dark-adapted Pr state and a photoactivated Pfr state. Whereas 3D models of prokaryotic Phys are available, models of their plant counterparts have remained elusive. Here, we present the crystal structure of the photosensing module (PSM) from a seed plant Phy in the Pr state using the PhyB isoform from Arabidopsis thaliana. The PhyB PSM crystallized as a head-to-head dimer with strong structural homology to its bacterial relatives, including a 5(Z)syn, 10(Z)syn, 15(Z)anti configuration of the phytochromobilin chromophore buried within the cGMP phosphodiesterase/adenylyl cyclase/FhlA (GAF) domain, and a well-ordered hairpin protruding from the Phy-specific domain toward the bilin pocket. However, its Per/Arnt/Sim (PAS) domain, knot region, and helical spine show distinct structural differences potentially important to signaling. Included is an elongated helical spine, an extended β-sheet connecting the GAF domain and hairpin stem, and unique interactions between the region upstream of the PAS domain knot and the bilin A and B pyrrole rings. Comparisons of this structure with those from bacterial Phys combined with mutagenic studies support a toggle model for photoconversion that engages multiple features within the PSM to stabilize the Pr and Pfr end states after rotation of the D pyrrole ring. Taken together, this Arabidopsis PhyB structure should enable molecular insights into plant Phy signaling and provide an essential scaffold to redesign their activities for agricultural benefit and as optogenetic reagents.
Social Media in Destination Choice: Distinctive Electronic Word-of-Mouth Dimensions

ABSTRACT Studies investigating the influence of social media on destination choice are in an exploratory stage. Essentially, social media disseminates word of mouth electronically, unlike traditional word of mouth. However, within tourism, evidence has suggested that both terms may be used interchangeably. In this article, five points of difference suggest that electronic word of mouth is to be treated as a unique entity. The distinctive characteristics of electronic word of mouth are little known source-receiver relationships, channel variety and presentation of contents, opportunities for information solicitation, message retention capabilities, and content provider motivations for disclosure. Three considerations for destination management organizations are creating opportunities for past visitors to narrate memorable tourism experiences, involving industry partners to build relevant destination images and greater engagement with social media. This conceptual article advances the understanding of electronic word of mouth in presenting distinctive credibility profiles toward a proposed influence on destination image and choice.
Demographic and Sponsorship Considerations for Jazz and Classical Music Festivals

This article highlights the need for enhanced managerial awareness of the demographic profile of the audience for arts festivals. More specifically, comparison is drawn between classical music and jazz audiences at major UK festivals in order to highlight the appropriateness of a strategic fit between the demographics of music festival patrons and sponsoring organisation target segments. The potential demand for increased cross-selling of other live entertainment services is examined, and factors impacting upon accurate and erroneous recall of festival sponsor are explored.
Teaching enterprise in vocational disciplines: reflecting on positive experience

Business skills, particularly in the areas of science, engineering and technology (SET) and small firm development are becoming increasingly important. The vocational skills student learns can be augmented by an understanding of how business operates as well as an appreciation that enterprise skills can be applied within an organisation i.e. acting as an “intrapreneur”. Universities prepare students for many of the “professions” such as medicine, engineering, law and accountancy. Many other disciplines such as healthcare, social sciences and the sciences also require a professional attitude to be adopted. However, new graduates generally begin their post‐university career in a form of apprenticeship where their professional skills are developed, often via a pre‐registration period before achieving, for example, for engineers, chartered status. After that stage is reached, and with a few years work experience, they may move on to form practices or partnerships of their own. Based on the principle that business skills development, particularly in the SET disciplines, is likely to have a positive impact on the competitiveness of existing SET organisations, as well as encourage the creation of new, innovative knowledge firms, this paper aims to document the experience of introducing and embedding entrepreneurship education into vocational disciplines at Heriot‐Watt University, with a key objective being to provide a model which other institutions may find useful.
Firms' Financial and Real Responses to Monetary Tightening: Evidence for Large and Small Italian Companies

Following the idea that adverse macroeconomic shocks to the economy worsen agency problems between borrowers and lenders, this paper presents empirical evidence that small and large firms react differently to monetary tightening. We use aggregate annual balance sheet data for two subsamples of large and small private Italian companies over the period 1968-1991. Based upon qualitative and quantitative descriptive evidence, we first construct stringency dummies that capture periods of monetary tightness. We then provide descriptive evidence that, following a restriction, small firms report a sharper decrease in short-term dept and a steeper fall in both sales and inventory. Finally, inventory and fixed investment equations are estimated in an ECM form. Consistently with our expectations, we find that both inventory and fixed investment decisions by small firms display greater sensitivity to proxies of credit worthiness, the more so during periods of monetary tightening.